The Overview of the Polar Bear Communities

Almost all races have a myth or legend from where they spawned. Some claim divine creation, some even dare to proclaim direct divine descent in some form. The Polar Bears have no such legends or myths, for they claim that they were present upon the world since the start of days, before the world even truly was. The histories written by magi-scribes claim that for hundreds of thousands if not millions of years, ursinekind roamed the land, if it could be called land, as creatures halfway between the realms of spirit and material in the blessed, primordial cold. They were there before the Age of Monsters, and when abominations roamed the land they were there with them. It is said that during the Age of Monsters the Polar Bears were uplifted from merely existing, like their non-polar brethren, into thinking and dreaming by the mystical All-Father. They claim that with his blessing, they gained the power to forge great empires of ursines and sit on top of the primordial food chain. How exactly such alleged empires of so-called "Primordial Frost" existed in contrast with historically proven warmer climates and ruins of ancient pony settlements, with ponies never mentioned in the stories of magi, is something that bear scholars refuse to elaborate upon and have been prone to threaten violence if questioned too much upon.

It is somewhere during this alleged period, the so called "Age of Starsteel", Polar Bears moved from merely nomadic tribes of warriors into more settled societies, taught by legendary magical beasts such as the boar Gallinbursti, direwolf Fenrir, the nameless Great Raven, and so on. It is said that during this period bear armor was first forged, and great armies of armoured bears marched across the North under various alleged warlords and pseudo-monarchs, with so-called "Monster Kings" being an often applied moniker. And in the heartlands of their race, which bears claim are their current lands, great holds were dug into the mountains and raised in the great taigas and tundras.

One would assume that such primordial, and as any pony, griffon or changeling scholar would proclaim clearly absurd, statements on history, even if believed by some creatures, should hold absolutely no importance on societies, politics, economics and ways of war in the modern day. However, it is in this mythological past that bears find their definition. Thus, many of them even in the modern day believe they are creatures of primordial frost in some form, with statements about frozen souls and hearts of ice prevalent in bear rhetoric. Furthermore, many of them seem to feel some kinship with the countless wild beasts that roam the north still.

In any case, on the shores of the Polar Ocean there are many clans, as well as a healthy population of clanless bears. From the spiritual shamans of Clan Rozenkrantz to the arrogant warriors of Clan Kane, from the fortress lords of Clan Gotlung to the penguin-majority fishers of Clan Anker, the politics of the Communities are defined by clans. Wesslandia is home to the upstart Triple Alliance of Falsen, Brodkorb, and Benkestok, and Key Lake was once home to the crystal-obsessed Clan Rosensverd and gold-hungry Clan Tordenstjerne. But any discussion of clans would be incomplete without including the Three Great Clans: the harmonists of Volsungr, the warrior-scholars of Svartpels, and the currently-ruling Scyfling. Each of these Three Great Clans has far more resources and power than a lesser clan, and each would make a worthy leader for the Communities. The clanless bears, for their part, are willing to cooperate with anyone who treats them well, and are being increasingly integrated with the newly-modernized Communities.

Paw Wellington of Clan Scyfling, Despot of the Communities, has ruled with a fair but firm paw for the past five years, acting as a modernizing force dragging the backwards Communities into the industrial age. During the Unification War of 1000-1002, Paw pitted muskets and Griffonian mercenaries against traditional axes and armor, eventually conquering or allying with every clan save two: the aforementioned Clan Rosensverd and Clan Tordenstjerne, who were exiled for collaborating with changelings. They have not been seen since they were driven into the Changeling Lands.

Paw has been a good ruler by modern standards, but not necessarily by bear standards. He is perhaps too distant, too obsessed with foreign ideas, and many clans are getting tired of his seemingly absurd demands for unity and modernization. Change may be coming. While it is unlikely that any of the minor clans could truly pose a threat to him, Princess Eira of Volsungr and Thunder Lord Torben of Svartpels may be another matter. Eira's time in Equestria has changed her, and she now dreams of a new dawn for the bears. Torben has been a faithful ally to Paw, but even he may not be able to tolerate some of the changes to come.

While the bears may be divided internally, they largely agree on enemies abroad. The terrible Changelings must be dealt with, and the Griffon Frontier is rightful bear territory that must be regained. A union with the Penguins would also be desirable, as the two peoples share souls of frost and polar winds.

Will the polar spirit of the Land of the Frozen Seas endure, or will it be subjugated by its encircling enemies? Only time will tell.