an overview, penned by Kimura Akane, Shichidan archivist of the Ji clan, 1607 RE
Duchann is a relatively large island-nation located off the eastern shore of Leode and bounded by the Leode Channel and the wider ocean to the west and east, respectively. Geographically, the island is divided into three different areas of varying topography—the mountainous highlands in the northwest, dotted with numerous bodies of freshwater, known locally as lochs; the central lowlands, dominated by a rift valley and affected by bouts of intense volcanism; and the southern uplands, characterized by very long ranges of hills interspersed with broad valleys. The climate is temperate but changeable, with mild winters and cool, wet summers. Rainfall varies widely; the western highlands are the wettest part of the island and the lowlands the driest. For the most part, heavy snowfall is not typical, but it does become more common with altitude.
As far as scholars have been able to gather, the island was initially uninhabited by humans. Led by a minor Leoden nobleman, Calan Greatfather, groups of settlers began building the first permanent villages on Duchann soil in 51 RE; before that time, the island was used as a safe harbor for Leoden fishermen operating off the coast and, it is guessed, the first groups of pirates in Terra. Calan Greatfather’s original village is known as Breskara. Its ruins still stand today in the northwestern corner of Duchann, where a lack of timber caused the settlers to turn to local stone during the construction of their homes. Over time, the village has acquired a certain cultural significance for Lochsman around the island.
At the time of its founding, Breskara’s inhabitants numbered approximately three hundred and all of them lived under Greatfather’s sigil. It is unclear whether or not these original settlers intended to establish Duchann as an outpost or colony of Leode, but the feudal lords across the Channel largely ignored the settlers; and so, by the time any interest might have been paid to neighboring island, it was too late—Duchann’s history had already diverged.
After Greatfather’s death, the people of the island had started to spread out, as families—calling themselves “calans” in honor of Greatfather, the word from which the modern day designation “clans” derives—split off to explore and settle elsewhere. Over time, a number of territories developed, ruled by the chieftains of various clans, with clans Synvo, Marae Vincio, Twoson, and Dakka as the most influential. These became known as the head clans, overseeing, governing, and protecting other smaller clans whose lands fell within their wider territorial holdings. Relationships among clans were usually peaceable enough, with bonds established via marriages or mutual kinship; and, for the most part, the clan system functioned as a loose coalition. Significantly, however, Dakka emerged early on as Duchann’s most ambitious and warlike clan, actively conquering other clans in an attempt to expand their influence.
The clans’ systems of government and worship vary regionally, but as a general rule, the Lochsmen have always tended to pay special attention to Brother Earth, Sister Magma, and Brother Fire. Individual clans also tend to claim the attentions of Lesser Spirits, which inhabit a given territory and pursue their own goals, sometimes but not always at the direction of the Greater Spirits. Despite the Lochsmen’s frequent references or appeals to these spirits, it is understood that the Spirits have their own affairs to which they attend and, though they may come to the clans’ aid in times of very great need, such succor is often unexpected and sporadic at best.
From about 90 RE to 110 RE, a series of bitterly fought battles occurred between the Duchann inhabitants and the roving dwarven navy. For a short time, the dwarves controlled the island and it seemed that they might manage to establish villages and a government of their own; but they were driven out relatively quickly by persistent hit-and-run attacks from significantly smaller groups of Duchann skirmishers. One dwarven soldier, remembering those battles, wrote that the Lochsmen’s resistance was both “harðaz eða œrr”—old dwarvish which translates, roughly, to “fierce and mad.” Needless to say, the dwarven influence on the island was nominal at best. The most permanent remnant of this time are the crumbled remains of a stone wall, running from east to west across the middle of the island, that the dwarves attempted to construct as a last-ditch protective measure between themselves and the Lochsman.
A golden age of stability and prosperity occurred between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, resulting in the establishment of a peace treaty with Leode, as well as commercial and educational links with the mainland. In 1296 RE, a system of general public education was developed and implemented around the island. The period came to a jarring end, however, when clan Dakka marched on neighboring clans without warning.
However, in the year 1614 RE, the various clans of Loch Duchann united briefly in order to overthrow and destroy Clan Dakka, returning Loch Duchann to its traditional clan system of governance.
Culturally, music is of great importance. Traditional instruments include the highland bagpipe, drums, harps, fiddles, and accordions. Festivals of music are quite common, bringing clans together for a week of peace each year.