Dwelling almost directly across the South from Gem, in the Eastern Mountains, the Delvan Cliff people are barely known in Creation except for some of their exquisite pottery -- which occasionally gets traded to other tribes, and then eventually back into the civilized portions of the Threshold where it fetches a small fortune. Bronze skinned and dark haired, the Delvan tend to be small and wiry, with large expressive eyes and deft manipulative hands. They live high up in the mountains, in cities carved into the cliffs over the centuries since the Fall of the First Age when their people migrated from the depths of the Southern Desert that was once their home.
The Delvan are one of the most advanced barbarian peoples of the South, their society having an extensive and formal barter system and a representative system of governance by the most powerful Clans (which are family lines tracing back to the Nobility of their old home, but which have lost almost all of their aristocratic leanings). There are three main cities among the Cliff People, the largest of which is known as Delavan -- it is the southern most city, and the first constructed by the Delvan. The other two, Gordi and Rinnis, are located a bit further to the north and linked to the main cliff-city by high-mountain roads. A single pass, descending down to badlands some 25 miles from their capital, is both well hidden and guarded by the Delvan. The rare Delvan with a desire to explore the rest of the South will descend the path in the dead of night, typically requiring the entire night to reach the rocky badlands and two more days afterwards to reach the first Oasis beyond. Such travelers typically return with many tales and fine treasures from beyond, but seldom make it to civilized lands.
The other type of contact with the Delvan have with the outside world is in the form of raiding. The Delvan are quite peace like, not having to worry about any enemy being able to reach their secluded home, but none the less a bit of a raiding culture has developed over the centuries. Only the highest ranked Nobles of the Clans are part of this culture, but the position is open to anyone who can fashion his own equipment -- a grueling process that involves trekking to the highest extends of the Delvan Mountains, and slaying one or more hybrocs. From the bones and feathers of the giant beasts are fashioned gliders, and the highly decorative plumed dress of the Nobles. Shamans then bless the gear, imbuing it with the fading spirit of the dead Hybroc. These flying warriors are well known to tribes as far away as Five Hundred Miles, for the Delvan are well-skilled in their spirit-gliders -- able to ride thermals and stay aloft for days, traversing thousands of miles at a time if necessary.
The object of these raids is not loot, or blood, but instead women. While a few female Nobles exist, and the occasional male captive is brought back (to great fanfare, as this is regarded as most difficult), the Delvan especially seeks out more wives. The greatest Noble Warriors might have as many as twelve wives, though most Nobles share with their relatives rather than hording all of the women to himself. The reason for this is not immediately clear; there is no shortage of women among the Delvan, and instead it seems simply to be a mark of prestige and power among the Nobles of the Cliff people to have a number of women of other tribes within your clan.
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