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The Warren

Alone afraid; together brave.

History

When the Creators abandoned this land, the wild things of the world were allowed to proliferate. From the mammoth whitetails to the lowly field mice, creatures great and small grew to numbers unimaginable during the mastery of the Creators. The wild field mice, in times known only to their modern progeny from oral etiologies, were hunted ruthlessly. Feral skulkers and foxes - numerous now in the absence of the Creators -  brought swift and cruel death from the shadows and tall grasses. Deathshadows and nightwings ruled the skies. The life of a mouse in those ancient times was short and filled with terror.

In time, the mice learned the power of cooperation. Driven together by their many predators, the field mice discovered strength in numbers. Mice, when joined together, were able to repulse even the most savage of beasts. It was during these formulative times that the mice adopted their home - the hollowed trunk of a massive beech tree. Its aperture was fortified with palisades and walls of bundled twigs. Rope ladders were strung up into the tree's enormous boughs, and cozy burrows were excavated from the punky heartwood and roots. This great abode was known as the Warren, and to this day it serves as the home of nearly one hundred mice.

In the safety of the Warren, the mice are free to devote their energies to various crafts and arts. Builders, cooks, apothecaries, toolmakers, and many other skilled professions exist within the Warren, allowing the mice an outlet for their creative potential while enriching the lives of their fellows. The mice of the Warren now live long, fruitful lives.

This prosperity comes at a cost. Predators, drawn by the multitude of mice living within the hollowed trunk of that great tree, lurk perpetually in the bushes and grasses surrounding the Warren. Hungry beasts sometimes directly attack the tree, hoping to claw their way through the palisades to the tasty morsels within. The dangers of the wilds, while mitigated, are ever present. Able-bodied mice are expected to protect their home and sometimes die protecting their families and home.

Leadership

The wisest and most knowledgeable mouse is chosen by the Warren to serve as Judge of the Warren: an arbiter in disputes between mice and decision-maker on behalf of all those who call the Warren home. According to the oral history, there have been twelve Judges of the Warren since the founding times. The current Judge is Brittletooth the Elder. Brittletooth is by far the oldest mouse in the Warren, being at least three winters old. Brittletooth, despite his advanced age, is as wise and sharp as he ever was. He is well-regarded by all of his subjects, for his time as Judge has been prosperous for the Warren.

Culture

Mousekind, being a smaller and more passive species, are less inclined to violence than the barbarous rats. Mice are certainly weaker than the bellicose rats, but their sense of community and fellowship with their peers gives the mice of the Warren strength in unity. From an early age, the pups of the Warren are taught the value of unity. In their most important lesson, the instructor mouse will take a dry piece of straw and effortlessly snap it in her paws, explaining that a solitary mouse is akin to a single piece of straw. She will then present the pups with several straws tied together in a tight bundle, and invite the pups to try to break it. After the pups have all tired themselves by trying unsuccessfully to break the bundle, the instructor declares that the mice of the Warren are like a bundle of straw: weak individually, but unbreakable together.

Army and Warriors

The Warren has no army to speak of; war is a concept known only to mousekind from stories told by the few rats that have visited the Warren. The Warren protects itself from predators with a militia of sorts. Guardsmice patrol the limbs of the great beech tree, looking down onto the ground below for any sign of predators lurking nearby. Armed with bows or slings, these sentries are tasked with raining projectiles down onto any predator below with the goal of driving them off.

Occasionally, however, the mice must venture out from the safety of the Warren in order to procure foodstuffs or supplies from the the outside world. These expeditions are extremely dangerous, but necessary to the survival of the Warren. These expeditions are led by strong, hard mice, tasked with protecting the travelers from the myriad dangers of the outside world. The greatest of these expedition leaders is Mirrik Bristleback, the Champion of Judge Brittletooth.
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