In a land of great lakes, vast forests, and towering mountains, a many races have been born.
Many tribes resided, around the many lakes at the headwaters of the Yukon River. They were all fiercely territorial, and intensely competitive. These differences that kept these people separate and estranged for centuries.
But one man was born who would change all of this. One day, the infant boy followed his father off to a hunt, and became lost. He would have certainly died, alone in the snow, if it hadn't been for a woman from another tribe who found him and raised him as one of her own.
Named Ikayeh by his rescuers, the boy grew up strong, and by maturity he was one of the most respected hunters in the entire tribe.
But he was constantly harassed by his fellows for his unknown parentage, his lost past.
So Ikayeh left, and spent many years wandering through the wilds. Eventually, he returned back to civilization, rediscovering the very tribe he had been born into.
It had come across hard times. A great power struggle had claimed the lives of many and scattered the tribe. Now it stumbled leaderless towards a deadly winter.
Taking Ikayeh's arrival as an omen, the tribe accepted him as a leader. Ikayeh led his people on a long journey, to the tribe who had raised him in his youth.
He was also accepted by the other tribe, who were suffering as well. For a great plague had swept the region, and it was killing off many of the tribes. Knowing that unity under adversity was the only way to survive, Ikayeh joined the two tribes into one, and wed a woman from the tribe of his raising to cement the bond.
Ikayeh and his united tribes, calling themselves 'The Yukon', continued to journey around to the other devastated tribes, bringing them into the greater whole and spreading any excess food to those who were unable to gather it for themselve.
By the time winter had reached its height, Ikaeh had contacted every tribe in the region. All had been attracted to him like a magnet, believing him to be a gift from the gods. For wherever Ikaeh went, disease and suffering would miraculously come to an end, and the gifts he brought would help all recover from the terrible events of the previous year.
So with all of his followers, Ikaeh built a great settlement for all to weather the winter in. Protected from harsh winds by the mountains, and surrounded with abundant resources, this great place allowed the Yukonians, or Yukonners (there's still disagreement on the word) to spend a pleasant winter, and excellent summers from then on.
In the years that followed, it was determined by Ikaeh that the settlement would be the permanent home of the Yukon. He named the city Tagish, and the first permanent structures appeared there. While some people returned back to their tribes, they remained loyal Yukonners and spread the nation.
Ikaeh eventually wandered off again, leaving the rule of the Yukon to his son Tasaka. It is believed by his people that the goddess in the sky brought him back to a realm of heroes, to a home in the night sky.