Pre-House Varanath

Varanath, in some ways, is not the typical House city.  The keep of Varanath is actually separate from the city of Ardiango, instead of part of the city, as many Houses tend to be.  Before the time of Varanath and Houses ,though, Ardiango was a small hunting and wood cutting village.  Wood cabins were the housing of the day with a small, wooden palisade to keep out ogres and wildlife.  There were only a dozen families when the village started, the lumber being traded for food they could not hunt or find in the woods, such as wheat and sea going fish.  Pelts were also traded and used by the people of Ardiango.  This village would take centuries to grow into a large city, even after Varanath become a House.  It is such a far, out of the way place, that few wanted to travel there, let alone live there.  The people who lived in Ardiango were tall, burly men and good, child bearing hipped women.  They were no nonsense type of people who liked to talk about everything.