

Ambush and treachery they understand in full, along with vengeance and the importance of leaving no enemy alive. The Germans may not be sophisticated fighters, but they are cunning, clever, and do not know the meaning of fear. Peace is almost unknown to them, except when it won with an axe or sword.Īll of this has produced a race of warriors second to none. Warlords rise and fall among them almost continuously, and the difficult conditions in their homeland make sure that they have few large towns. Their constant feuding amongst themselves make them distrusting of strangers and difficult allies. They are a confederation of people who speak the same tongue and honour the same warlike and harsh gods rather than a nation.

The Germans are much like their Celtic neighbours, but with their own distinctive styles of dress, their own language and their own ways. This much, at least, the scribes of civilized lands believe to be true. Their gods are terrible and demand hideous sacrifices of men, women and children. They are born to war, savage in battle, unforgiving of insults, implacable when feuding, and cruel in victory. Some of this darkness, this menace, can be found in the people of the forests, men not easily tamed or turned to gentle pursuits.

The forests of Germania are dark and deep, and home to many brooding gods and malign forces.
