On a faraway world, humanity is thriving. Across the surface of this planet, thousands of tribes have been born and strive to become something greater – a true civilisation. They struggle with one another for this privilege, for the opportunity to leave their mark on the world for evermore.

We are following one of these tribes, who call themselves the <span class="mu-s">Protavic</span> – the <span class="mu-i">beast-bringers</span>, in their own tongue.

They belong to the <span class="mu-s">Scavic</span>, a race of people with soft faces, fair hair and blue-grey skin. Like the rest of their kind, they inhabit the <span class="mu-s">Grascan</span>, a vast oceanic forest filled with dangerous beasts and towering trees.
The Protavic people have settled by the <span class="mu-s">Croglatol</span>, a great freshwater lake. The forest thins out along its shore, which allows the native tribes to prosper without fear of predation.

Traditional beast-bringers are now in the minority. They are sedentary pastoralists, who rear swine and tend to hives of honey bees along the shore of the Croglatol. They worship <span class="mu-s">An</span>, the Allmother and the source of the divine energy that flows through all living things, <span class="mu-s">Drocrom</span>. They prize intelligence and cunning above all else and though they view their tribe as supreme, they prefer to subjugate other tribes through commerce rather than violence.

The <span class="mu-s">Anamilivic</span>, also known as the <span class="mu-i">children</span>, make up the majority of the tribe. They are the distant descendants of the <span class="mu-s">Vuvovic</span> who were integrated into the Protavic tribe. Though they enjoy an identical lifestyle to traditional beast-bringers, they also practice ritual scarification and the ceremonial drinking of blood. In addition to the Allmother, they worship <span class="mu-s">Il</span>, the Great Father, the son and lover of An. He is the strength to her wisdom.

There are also those Vuvovic who were allowed to serve the Protavic tribe as a warrior caste. These <span class="mu-i">blood-drinkers</span> lead lives free from labour but serve as the tribe's soldiers. They serve as the vanguard during times of war and during times of peace, they catch slaves, guard caravans and protect the tribe's borders. Though most of them are Anamilivic, a small group of blood-drinkers are still diehard Vuvovic traditionalists.

Some of the tribe's eccentricities deserve to be mentioned.
Though the majority of the Protavic's sustenance comes from the pigs that they have domesticated, bees and their honey have far more cultural significance. <span class="mu-s">Butol</span> is a sacred form of mead drunk during ceremonies and festivals, while beeswax is used to produce all sorts of artefacts of cultural and religious importance.
The beast-bringers' fixation with intelligence has led them to develop many methods of testing their wits, to ensure that only the wisest are allowed to lead their tribe. These include an abstract board game called <span class="mu-s">Blocrum</span> and a complicated written language known as <span class="mu-s">Protadrol</span>, which the Protavic's elite are expected to excel at.