Glydaken Folk

[goblinguy17 21]

 

Glydaken

The Beginning

There is not much written about the early days of the Glydaken people as they did not write about themselves because it took them a thousand years to develop a writing system. What we know of their early days comes from a group a civilized traders known as the Cartagenis who settled on the southern coast until...later days which will be explained later.

From the records it is understood that the Glydaken were savage and lived in clans even before their more “civilized” times. Living in small hill forts or ramshackle coastal settlements the Glydaken would generally capitalize on their local environment for food or economy. Meaning that a clan living in the woods would be VERY good at logging, but complete rubbish at any other skill making the need for trading and raiding. The people of Glydaken still love to raid clans that have blood feuds with their clan or may just raid them because they have nicer swords or because they think they have prettier women. This makes the Glydaken seem like unwashed barbarians to outsiders, but under the love of raiding and doing “uncivilized” activities there are some truly intellectual aspects of their society. They possess an intricate and complex religious system, are masters of iron forging, and also have manuscripts of clan history.

In the beginning the people lived in clans that warred among each other and it was most likely like this throughout the time before the Cartagenis began to observe them. On an uncertain date the people known as the Cartagenis or “men of magenta,” which is what the Glydaken called them because of their love of wearing magenta colored clothing. These people set up a colony called Malakas on the southern tip of the island which greatly disturbed the coastal clans at they did not like that outsiders were on their territory. At first the Cartagenis traded with all tribes on the coast and forest of the interior, but the failed to understand what was in the north and center of the island. In the recovered works known as the Noca Glydakae the Cartagenis describe the forest and coastal clans as wary, but friendly much like a cat or dog when they first meet a person. The Cartagenis were very arrogant and puffed up in their writings as they referred to the Glydaken as savages or dogs as they believed that they were only their for their personal benefit. In truth the Cartagenis were most likely refugees from some unknown land as they were were ousted by some unknown group in their homeland and decided to take a new home in Glydaken. A poor choice in settlement as the Glydaken winter is brutal and the people were from a warmer climate killing 20,000 new settlers out of the initial 100,000 Cartagenis folk. However, they survived and traded with a few clans for 400 years.

 

The great turn

The best way to die in Glydaken is to wrong a man or to back out of an oath, both of which highlights the nature of the Glydaken and shows what killed the Caratgenis. High Lord Harubus Cannae was met with an emissary from the north central area of Glydaken, an area filled with savage and brutal clans even by Glydaken standards. They wish to trade! The emissaries name was Torbeer MacCrannug a funny man described by his kin as nice and friendly something that was rare among the mountain clans of the north. While Torbeer was friendly he was appalled at what he saw in the city of the Cartagenis….Glydaken slaves. It turns out that the Caratgenian army would round up villages of forest and coastal clans and put them in chains if they refused to deal with the Cartagenians. Torbeer asked for trade and for his clans lands to be unsullied by the Cartagenian settlers, the lord said yes.

Years passed and Torbeer became the chief of the MacCrannug and one night he heard a commotion by the gates. Probably just Hassa the town drunk being dumb...sadly Hass was already dead as the Cartagenians were storming the clan hold after they learned the land held a large copper reserve. The clan was successful at repelling the invaders and on that day Torbeer called for the first great moot. The forest clans, the coastal clans, mountain clans, and even the outcast clans met to create the Ostach Cogdah a massive clan army that was made up of well over 700,000 men. These men marched from the highlands and waited for winter to beseige the Cartagenians as they did not fare well in the winter.

They assault the walls with ladders and once they broke past the walls their defenses crumbled as the men fled on boats leaving behind women and children. In a funny turn of events the king was left behind and Harubus begged for mercy at the knees of Torbeer, but Torbeer would have none. He gathered all remaining Cartagenians and had them watch as Harubus was sacrificed to the gods, in particular the MacCrunnug liked to behead with a great axe and did this to Harubus. The remaining men were sent away with male children off into the sea where they were never heard of again. The women of the Cartagenians were beautiful with red and brown hairs leading to the trait of red hair becoming very common in every clan of the Glydaken isles. While the Cartagenians had built a nice city with sandstone walls it was ugly and disgusting in the eyes of  the Glydaken and they tore it too the ground after stealing all of the wealth and most importantly the books.

In an odd way the Cartagenians gave the Glydaken a uniform writing system that was the same between all clans and regions. Also this made the Glydaken write down everything from crops quotas, to storms, to what their favorite type of bread was. They create a highly literate clan system that held grudges through writing and kept well document histories and religious documents.

 

The Island of Glydaken

The island of Glydaken has a mountainous north and center of the island, a west and east will deep and dense forest with deep cave system running underneath them, while the south is made up of sandy beaches and rocky islands. In the center and north the mountains are high and have small mountain roads carved out by mountain Glydaken which leads to their clan holds built into the valleys between mountains. These mountain have a lot of tin, copper, and iron deposits making them a hotspot for trade as these clans supply the life blood of the Glydaken and that is iron. However, the winters in the mountains make it impossible for food to be grown making the reliant on the forest and coastal clans for the provision of foods. The forest dotting the east and western sides of the island are deep and dense and light can barely penetrate the canopy of the tall pine and spruce trees during the winter. Logging and agriculture are major economic factors, but make this area a common raiding ground as people try and take food and wood products from the clans that inhabit this region. The coastal clans are fishermen that raid the interior, but also are very religious and support the island monasteries off the coast of the main island. They produce salt, fish, and build boats.

 

REligion

The religion of the Glydaken is an interesting one as it is so complex and hard to understand when explaining it to outsiders. This is due to the plethora of gods involved in the faith and the religious cults that follow them. There are three lord gods that watch over and command the minor and more worshipped clan and regional gods. The first is named Hashun who is represented by a bull and is known to dance through the afterlife chasing gods who are trying to ascend into one of the lord positions and put them back into their realm of the heavens. Annach is a beautiful woman known as the mother to her cult followers and she cares for the minor gods and women who are pregnant. In mythology she is the one who birth the first mortals and is mother to many of the minor gods. Aeal MacIr is the son of the old dead god ir and the leader of all gods, known to be the punisher and law maker he rules over all the gods and they live ( and try to circumvent) under his iron fist.

While the minor gods are worshipped A LOT more by clans and tribes as they have the most effect on the clans and regions that worship them. For instance, clan MacBaerin of the north live in a cold mountain fjord and worship the god Taebar who is the local god of fishing and hearth-warmth, something important to the locals. These gods then ask for certain sacrifices that can range from a piece of bread to a person from a rival tribe. The god is often supported by a cult or coven that enforces and commands the wills of their respective god. In most clan villages the higher ranks of the cult have a place in the hall of the clan chief. Many clans fight each other because they believe that their clan god has a fight or bone to pick with another clan’s god and use it as an excuse to raid and loot in the name of Taebar or Aedruni or...one of the hundreds of minor gods. Many regions worship a certain god, the clans of the eastern piney woods worship Haelia a maiden that brings great timber harvest and spares them from wildfires, making her common among many clans.

It is safe to say that many Glydaken love their gods, but these cult members will often go to great lengths to prove it. A coastal clan known as Clan MacImar have a group of warrior woman named Fiannachs and they refuse to cut their hair and tattoo their necks in worship of their god who grants them equality of with men if they fight in battle of defend a home. While this may seem minor some cults god as far as losing a pinky or isolation on a rock for a decade.

A few have converted to canonism or other faiths in Vailor, but they are not viewed as traitors as they are just visiting another minor god in the eyes of the other Glydaken. The Glydaken also write manuscripts in the homes of these cults or worshipping centers. They write these in the cartagenian script as it is their only literary basis to follow.Many of the intellectual and knowledge seeking minor gods make new acolytes in their cult or coven write a small manuscript known as a Ionisach Bauchadh which generally is over the history of the clan the acolyte comes from. New members write these so that a worshipping center can build up a store of knowledge that grants someone who joins knowledge about the isle of Glydaken and beyond.

When a Glydaken dies he believes that he or she will travel to the realm of the god that they have worshipped the most. Each minor god is believed to hold a small realm in the heavens that is populated with his followers. Each realm reflects that god and his followers making every realm unique. For instance Darae, a goddess of the eastern piney woods, has believed to have a realm that is heavily wooded and cold, but has warm stone towers where he followers live and celebrate in the afterlife. This is why worshipping two gods is somewhat rare as you want to show your respective god that you are dedicated to that god or goddess. The afterlife is seen as an exciting time and many almost look forward to it in an odd way as they see it as a reward for going through the struggles of the mortal realm.

 

The Clans

The Glydaken folk are divided into distinct units known as clans. These clans are unlike the dwarven clans due to the fact that Glydaken in the same clan are not always family by blood or even relation and these clans act more like tribes than anything else. Now these clans are divided into regions that generally help generalize otherwise very diverse and different clans. While one clan from one region may be very different from another in the same region they will most likely have a lot more similarities than those from a different region.

We must first start with the forest folk who make a living off the woods and all of the creatures that live in them. Usually these tribes are very defensive as both the coastal and mountain clans raid them for lumber, furs, and food. These has lead to them being very great hillfort builders and archers. Fierce clans like the Beurri fight several coastal clans, but have never lost their main city due to the thick wooden walls and skilled spearmen. Clans like the MacCanonach, Beuri, McArvenis, Teugri, and the MacUrdae are some of the largest clans, but power in the forest is never stable as clan's rise and fall faster than than the trees they cut down. Members of the these tribes often worship based gods like Caerina who has her worshipers sacrifice some wood and a mountain/coastal clan member to her before logging season. Men of the wood are built like lumberjacks and have immense strength and height. Brown hair is the most common next to black, auburn, and red as these tribes have nearly every hair or eyes color due to mixing with other tribes from other regions.

The coastal clans are interesting folk as they have many interesting and weird traditions that differ from the other clans. There are hardly any blondes in these clans as it is believed that the coastal suns prevent this from happening. These harder folk live in a cycle of fishing and raiding making them very religious people as they must endure hardship even in peacetime. The god Aedrani is worshiped by clan MacImar and their sister clans and this god reflects their brutal life. Followed by hermit monks known as the papar they isolate themselves and then during fishing season they take a few of the young to become papar for life and also sacrifice a great deal of enemies into the sea. They live in coastal forts built of stone, wood, brick, and anything they can really get their hands on and then make their houses out of thatch and wood. Many of these supplies are not common on the coast and they raid big forest clans for such supplies. They people of these clans often sport facial hair and the women do cut their hair past the age of 14 making them braid their hair in many ways. These people are also slimmer and have more toned muscle than muscle mass making them small. The most common hair colors are Auburn. Red, brown, and black. Oddy some of them have a tanner or sunburned skin color as they are exposed to the sun often. Major clans include clan MacImar, the MacDrusi, Tengae, and the Blackfaers which have all established themselves and their power fluctuates less than those the forest.

Ah yes the brutal clans of the mountains are enough to make even the hardiest of the forest and coastal clans tremor. Living in stone forts built into the side of mountain or in valleys between these mountains these beasts of raiding live.Unable to grow crops these men must hunt great beasts of the mountain like the crag boar or the Glydaken moose for food...and in desperate times even other clans….this may be a rumor spread by the old Cartagenians. In order to get some form of lumber and crops these clans come down from the mountains in the spring and summer in order to take these items from the forest and coastal clans. While all clans hold slaves the mountain clans keep a lot of slaves in order to have large numbers to appease their common god of Hushutadh who demands that slaves are kept to swell their numbers and to sacrifice for servants in Hushutadh’s realm of the afterlife. A girl taken to a mountain hold is most likely going to be the third wife of some raider, but a man taken is most likely going to be forced to build walls and if he rebels will be sacrificed by the local cult. All mountain gods are servants to Hushutadh making him a contender for becoming a major god, this is of course stopped by Hashun, he half-brother, who forces him and his servants back to their realms. These raiders are built like bulls and sport either fire red hair or blonde hair with a huge beard. Major clans are the Kurbasi, MacFiur, the Lasugii, and the MacGriar and these clans will most likely have to fight every other mountain clan for better forts, hunting grounds, and other lands.

Outcasted from the better lands and sent to the Leadranach Steppe the outcast clans are ancestors of clans that worked with and even help the cartagenians when the great siege of their city happened. The windy steppe is home to clans that live in dug-out homes that dip below the ground in order to avoid the harsh winds of the steppe. They have some arable land and farm on it and also use horses to farm cattle. They are the best horsemen on the isle due to living on the steppe, but other clans still attack their villages as it is seen as an honor to attack these clans. These clans all have black hair and it is presumed that it comes from breeding with the cartagenians, their men generally do not sport facial hair and cut their hair short. Their clan women are beautiful and are prized among other clans as they have tan skin and wear their hair in buns wrapped in a gold casing ( often bronze ) on the side of their heads. They worship the main god Hashun just as much as their clan or regional gods as they believe he will eventually forgive them and allow them to leave the steppe.

All clans wear a pattern known as a tartan (think of kilts and scotland/ireland) on their clothing and wear it in some form of the their daily wear. Even if you’re in the mud you should wear your tartan as it doesn’t matter what your doing you should be wearing the tartan and supporting your clan.

 

The current state of glydaken

The isle of Glydaken is in turmoil as a short winter has extended the raiding season making clan warfare and raiding twice as intense as normal. Clans from the north have united into several different clan confederations and it is believed they have done this in order to take more loot from the forest and coastal clans. The main priest of Hushutadh has stated that more slaves will be need for Hushutadh for use in his realm so the northmen are in a religious frenzy also. In the forest clans are constructing larger hill forts and clan strongholds to fight against the raiders. The woods themselves are littered with traps that will main or make an unlucky raider lose his leg. Have repulsed so many waves of mountain and coastal clans these tribes are becoming master fighters and will go on the offensive on some point which would be dangerous for the clans that rarely have to fight on the defense. On the coasts a great fishing harvest as lead to a boost in the clans birth rate causing the their numbers to swell. While raiding into the woods the coastal clans have actually formed treaties with some of the forest clans due to the danger that comes from the mountain clans confederations storming down into the lowlands. On the steppe the outcast clans have called for a meeting in the central steppe to try and unify the clans for a while. They wish to create a great army to prove to the gods that their mistake of siding with the cartagenians was a fault of their ancestors. The black haired outcast clans have been seen wandering into territories they have never raided before and this is worrisome to the clans that border the steppe.

 

OOC

If you want to play a Glydaken or a leader of a clan that would be awesome! Play whatever kind of clan you like or join one of the two existing ones.  I will be posting my own clan lore soon, but I can make other lores if you want.

 

Form

MC IGN:

RP NAME:

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOR:

[assasinnoah 5]

MC IGN: assassinnoah

RP NAME: Fingall

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOR: Green

[Pav33 101]

MC IGN: Mythical_Flipper

RP NAME: Niadh

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOR: Green

Note Ill be playing this as a side char whenever I have time. If for any circumstances all my other chars die off somehow I may consider making this my main. Ill be leading a forest clan.

 

[func_Soap 410]

Shameless bump.

Thanks for the write-up though, and to all you people making Glydakites, we're mostly in Courland ATM.

[Pav33 101]

Just now, mra8ur93ss said:

Shameless bump.

Thanks for the write-up though, and to all you people making Glydakites, we're mostly in Courland ATM.

Yea.... my other chars are currently at war with the courlanders so I think Ill go solo for rn XP

[assasinnoah 5]

On ‎25‎-‎5‎-‎2016 at 2:27 PM, assasinnoah said:

MC IGN: assassinnoah

RP NAME: Fingall

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOR: Green

Note: I will lead a brutal mountain clan.

[goblinguy17 21]

(

4 minutes ago, assasinnoah said:

On 5/25/2016 at 7:27 AM, assasinnoah said:

MC IGN: assassinnoah

RP NAME: Fingall

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOR: Green

Note: I will lead a brutal mountain clan.

 

17 hours ago, WalrusGames said:

 

MC IGN: Mythical_Flipper

RP NAME: Niadh

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOR: Green

Note Ill be playing this as a side char whenever I have time. If for any circumstances all my other chars die off somehow I may consider making this my main. Ill be leading a forest clan.

 

 

All are accepted that applied so far!)

[Elad™ 560]

Moved to the Archive. It shall be sorted into the appropriate category shortly.