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Kolvyk and Rovyk, the Half-Brother Twins (Waldenian Etiological Myth)


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KOLVYK AND ROVYK, THE HALF-BROTHER TWINS

BY

OTTO THE TARCHARMAN

 

AS RECORDED FROM ORAL TRADITION

 

NOTE: The term ‘Waldenian’ used here refers to the ancient tribe of the Waldemannir (sing. Waldemaan) and is to be distinguished from the more modern appellation of ‘Waldenian’, which can be used for either the Haesenified Waldenians who remained in the realm of Haense following the collapse of their kingdom (see: Vezucheti) or the Waldenians of the Vander creed which migrated south to the lands of Kaedrin [translated as Westerland in most northern tongues] or elsewhere in the heartlands (see: Westerlander/Heartland Waldenian).

 

For a complete list of references in this work, please see Haeseni Mythologie. All footnotes may be found at the bottom of the work.

 

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During the dark days, before Garmund [God] touched the offspring of wealth[1], the sky shone in silver gleam and the world forever was at war. Kings counted beyond measure, rivaling that of the grains of sand on the beachfront, and all fought for dominance over one another. There was not a greater ruler in this era, none more famous in deed than the warrior Wilfervyk, champion of the Almannir and battle-hardened lord, considered great amongst his people and respected between his peers. In his blood flowed the line of the giants, his divine father, and by his hand was his house protected and armies victorious in battle. Wilfervyk took the throne from his father, Sigharvyk, at a young age and ruled for many years, though never took a wife or concubine.

 

    Eventually, the people of the Almannir told their king that he must marry and produce an heir, for by this time Wilfervyk’s hair had greyed and the people feared for what to come if he passed. Wilfervyk agreed, though he wished not to marry merely any maiden, for he desired his sons to be of the most virtuous and powerful clan. He sent men to scour the land from east to west and north to south, instructed to search for a woman who would make a proper queen of the Almannir. For three years they did, before returning to the Almaan sovereign with their findings: there was only one proper daughter worthy of knot, a daughter of King Uldarik from the lands to the north. Many times King Uldarik proved his mettle in Wieklen’s jaw[2], and so did his daughter, famed chariot-rider and wielder of oaken bow, who was well-known by many courts and sung in glory by minstrels and bards.

 

    Suitors from far and wide had come to Erristen[3] for her hand, though the warrior-woman in stalwart vow swore to bed only the most courageous and powerful of kings. Chief after chief were rejected by her scrutiny, and many believed she would never take to the knot any man. One of these would-be paramours was Heomar, a scion of the god Haruhtrow, who was said to play the flute as beautifully as the songs of the birds. Yet no words or music ever opened the heart of Uldarik’s daughter, however, and he remained in the court of Erristen bitter yet determined. By this time, Wilfervyk sent his men to meet with King Uldarik for his scion’s hand, presenting with the house a trove of treasures and gold, taken from the many raids performed by Wilfervyk. She remained unimpressed, and like the others she sent the Almaan’s representatives off.

 

    Wilfervyk sat spurned, but remained vigilant- his next attempt came from him entering the halls of King Uldarik himself, paying respect to the elder sovereign and presenting even more opulence than before. Even the servants of Erristen were given broaches of pearls and rings of silver, and everyone in the hall cherished the name of Wilfervyk in song and drink. All except the daughter of Uldarik, however, and when Wilfervyk came to finally meet her, he proclaimed in poem,

 

‘I bring you honey,

Gold and silver,

Gifts beyond the sea.

As arrows in a quiver

Are the victories I have won,

Spear-shaft righteous received.

Rivaled to none,

Few have done what I achieved.’

 

    He then said,

 

‘Abundance grows in Almannland,

More than the clans of Sindvarland[4],

With skies pure and clear.

Gold piles on the quays,

Cows fat and sheeps filled

With lack naught of food.

Queen of glory, song-sung trilled

In your prestige accrued.’

 

    Wilfervyk presented the king’s daughter with many chests of gems, from garnets and amethysts to rubies and pearls, and because he was renowned throughout the world, many in court expected her to agree to be queen of the Almannir. But she stood from her high seat, where she sat beside her father, and proclaimed,

 

‘Men have come in myriad

With familiar quest

Yet each nothing more than cad.

You, another mindless egest,

Why do you think yourself

Of any reputable station?

Keep your jib dethelf,

Leave this respectable nation.’

 

    Wilfervyk, though spurned, responded in turn,

 

‘Uldarikung, words like knives

You wield, why so?

In any trial and strife

Reap shall I love soughed,

And none shall hold me back.

Name it, and not coward

Will I be, not flack,

And mitigate will I your froward.’

 

The court of the Uldarikungs murmured amongst themselves, and by the intervention of the king, it was decided for a trial to be held to test Wilfervyk, chosen of course by the royal princess. She declared the trial such:

 

‘Shackled and chained

In Gertugvandisted[5]

Of cursed god’s domain.

None have escaped his homestead.’

 

    Such a trial was severe, though as a man of his word, Wilfervyk agreed in solemn vow. For ten days was he to stay, and upon the eleventh morning was he to free himself readily and return; if he did not, the daughter swore herself to remain forever apart from the Almaan’s side. The king of Erristen ordered for great silver shackles to be brought forth, strapped upon the fierce lord’s wrists, and taken was he to the cursed lands in the north-east, where the Wopperklaws[6] were said to live freely. A band of soldiers escorted Wilfervyk, including some of his bravest and more fierce warriors, but when they reached the hall of Gertug[7], all but he fled back to the lands of more pure intent. Wilfervyk, the strong Almaan, remained in steadfast audacity and determination, and slowly he wandered into the courtyard of that cruel deity.

 

    Dark-faced guards came forth, blighted ilk of Gertug, and escorted the princely Wilfervyk to his cell. And for ten days did he remained, enduring the torture and torment by the hands of the Gertugivar[8], though never once did he shout or scream and soon the guards came to respect and fear the Almaan lord. After only five days, no guardsman would even walk close to the cell of Wilfervyk, never before seeing such a man who could endure such enormous misery. The Gertugivar were not the only to observe this feat- the Cloud-Lord, that loyal child of Asser’s cloth[9], came to pity the plight of the great lord, and from the sky he descended. From the barred window, Meargost spoke,

 

‘Son of Sigharvyk[10],

Enduring all with struggle none

Shows the signs of proper physique.

Behold this ring of Swithun[11],

Wear it and no eye will detect

You doing what is must

To escape without suspect

And vamoose those monsters plussed.’

 

    The ring which the Cloud-Lord portend appeared upon Wilfervyk’s finger, gleaming in gold and feeling as cold as the frost of the sky. Suddenly, Wilfervyk turned invisible to the naked eye, unable to be seen by none but Meargost himself. With his great strength did he break the chains of his shackles then, scissioning them in two and hurling the broken metal aside, and cloak-draped he wandered the halls of Gertug unmolested and unhindered. After sometime he found his way of escape from the palace, and by the peeking morning light he returned to the hall of King Uldarik and his daughter.

 

    None expected the Almaan to return after the ten days, if at all, though expectations had been exceeded and the court rejoiced in merriment and mirth. Envoys were sent to the princess-daughter of King Uldarik heralding the news of his triumph over her draconian ordeal, though it took her three days till she joined the festivities of the courtiers, electing instead to remain in her tower in solitude. Whispers of the handmaidens tell of her weeps during those three days, in stark contrast to the jovial celebrations of her husband-to-be. She cried out to her milk-sisters,

 

‘Today I die the most cruel of deaths,

How the gods play the most inane of jests.’

 

    The daughter of King Uldarik was not the only to harbour such notions- the former suitor of the princess, Heomar of the Thienrung[12], retained ire and jealousy in his heart upon hearing the ill-fated news. The divine blood within him, of trickster’s brood, stirred something wicked, and he proclaimed,

 

‘What trickery, what ruse, what deceit?

None can escape that atoll of despair,

Atleast none of mortal brood-

This subterfuge shan’t go unpunished,

And the blood of Haruh shall be requited.’

 

And so, Heomar bided his time and ambitions, intent on seeing right his perceived wrong. The heralds, by the king’s orders, declared the wedding of his crown daughter and the brave lordling in one week’s time. It was to be the grandest of affairs, as according to the poets and bards paid Littung gold[13], and all princes and lords of reputable stations were invited at the expense of the king’s coffers. So many arrived for the affair, so it is told, that three new halls had to be built in order to fit all the priests and dukes, kings and prophets, and many more gathered from all directions. Many had heard the stories of Wilfervyk, and many more had heard the tales of Uldarik’s daughter, and to see such an event unfold as this was a sight to behold to the ancient ones.

 

With great pomp and celebration the union of the two divine-blooded youths, of Osbjor[14] and Istun[15], came at last, and the choirs of bards and people sung the praises of Wilfervyk’s deeds and the beauty of his new wife. A feast held in their honor spread from the castle to the village outside, with foodstuffs of boar, bull, and bread aplenty. Mead and bear poured as freely as rain in the wet seasons of Rhen, mirthful and festive all in jovial commencement. Wilfervyk, that newly-made groom, partook in festivities both grand and minuscule, and drank so much that his tongue became loose and dull.

 

In a cove of his compatriots, the peers of the hinterlands badgered and acclaimed,

 

‘Wilfervyk, Wilfervyk, friend of all,

Tell us how you escaped from Gertug’s claws.’

 

    Wilfervyk responded tartly,

 

‘Brothers, brothers, my kin and novel kith,

You pluck my brain like a farmer’s scythe.

Flock like hawks, see my bounty-

A ring, gift of Meargost, from Swithun’s county.’

 

Exposing the ring from lamb’s cloth, the folk admired divine handiwork- yet in the shadows, Heomar saw, and with a laugh he foretold,

 

‘That is the tool, the wicked thing,

Who let him escape from torture unswinged.

The buffoon, he is, for showing it here,

For this night my revenge shall endear.’

 

The lordlings of highland’s bosom passed about the ring and examined it for themselves, and in the chaos was left upon the oaken table abroad. Heomar, that witty soul, swiped it as quick as the swan upon the open sea. And that night came to be the final dusk of convivial merriment, and as custom the Almaan took the Littungmaan with him to his bed. When his task concluded, the Lord of the Almannir left as quickly as he arrived, leaving the newly-deflowered maiden in retirement. Yet when she laid alone and in solemn reticence, the ringed Heomar came to her, disguised with Swithun’s magick, and as the Almaan had done so did the Theinrungmaan sow his seed in the valley of Morgasza’s daughter.

 

And so in her womb came the conception of two sons, two offspring of the same mother yet of quarrelling exalted blood. Once the festivities of Erristen had ended, Wilfervyk took his wife, that daughter of Uldarik, to one of his many estates in the land of the Almannir: to a castle known as Osbinhein[16], whose walls stood higher than any other in the lands of the Hjungmannir and Dormannir[17]. It was here where the Littugmaan’s offspring gave birth to the two half-brother twins of the Almaan’s household, where in ceremony he bestowed them the ancestral names of Kolvyk and Rovyk.  Both children grew to become mighty sons, each in their own right, yet the manner of their genesis left unavoidable conflict. 

 

The robust Kolvyk, the true son of Wilfervyk and Osbjor-blooded, carried with him the height of the giants, said to bear over all in seven feet of mass, and his strength was said to have no equal match. In a single hand could he bend any metal and with a single fist could he break any obstacle which stood in his way. His weapon of choice was the hammer, made of adamant and carbarum, and all foes were crushed by the weight of his advance. Indeed, Kolvyk’s fortitude knew little bounds and all the bards acclaimed him as the most vigorous of the two sons. Courageous too was he, and never once did he surrender challenge or trial, even when all odds were against him.

 

Embedded with the blood of the mustang-deity[18] and cherishing the arts of riding, the half-brother Rovyk matured into the most distinguished charioteer and rider, never bested once in his skills of the steed. All foes dreaded the hour of when the hooves of his horse marched forward, and with deft precision he pierced all with his spear of magickal aurum. Minstrels of the land bestowed him the cognomen as quickest and most agile of the two brothers, second to known in his feats of speed whether on horse, in the waves of Pisktro[19], or on the land of Sindhor’s skin. He was also known as the most handsome of the two, his golden hair and blue eyes epochal among the dark-haired maids of those hinterlands.

 

Both scions fought for the mantle as the greatest of the two offspring, and from the instance of birth their rivalry emerged: it is said that Kolvyk tugged violently upon the umbilical cord of his brother, and in return Rovyk had locked his head with babe-like appendages. Competitions were held aplenty amongst the sons, and while each would best eachother in a wide array of ordeals, none ever was able to call superiority over the other. And so, during the life of their now-elderly father Wilfervyk, both children served under the same banner as their begetter, fighting for the Lord of the Almannir whether by Kolvyk’s hammer or Rovyk’s halberd.

 

In one war against the Dormannir, specifically the tribe of Vidungmannir[20], Wilfervyk called his two offspring to take up the gauntlet with him and march to war. Kolvyk debouched with a thousand men, clad in thick bronze and hide and wielding in their hands great hammers and epees of irons, while his brother too embarked with a thousand riders, mounted on steeds and brandishing spears tipped with adamant. The armies of Wilfervyk and his sons met the rival host of Vidungs, led by their general Yistevy, near a shallow crossing on the river Waldor, where the currents waned enough for men to pass without fear of drowning. The Vidungs with shields of oak and calamite made stand on the opposite side of the estuary, their shieldwall blocking any would-be trespassers.

 

The lord Wilfervyk spoke to his sons,

 

‘The mighty men of Vidung

Hold stalwart the edge of the stream,

There they lined en masse astrung.

Victory now might be ill-seemed

But the horses of your lot, those riders

And the clubs of the great warriors too

Shall make quick work of them like eiders,

Their blood in the Waldor spewed.’

 

    He then ordered his child Kolvyk, brandishing his great hammer, to take his soldiers forth to meet the enemy head-on. Meanwhile, the steeds of Rovyk’s command, quick in their advance, crossed the river a few miles south, whereupon they came at the enemy’s rear end. And through the wisdom of their father, who prepared such a stratagem and ordered his sons forth, the Almannir gathered their forces under the dual banners of Kolvyk and Rovyk, and took their positions. The riders of the Haruhtrung charged forth and crossed the river during the peak hours of the dusk, and in the morning hid themselves in the bush behind the Vidungmannir. As the dawn broke, the Kolvyk and his warrior broke fast and took their stand in the waters of the Waldor, as the Obsjorung proclaimed,

 

‘The eye of Gorm[21] gazes on us,

Shall he blink or see with content?

Let our father see and say thus:

“None shall doubt these men’s descent!”’

 

    In a flurry they surged forth upon the shieldwall of the warriors of Yistevy, smashing their great war-hammers and maces of bronze upon those wooden shields. Many of the Vidung fell in the immediate charge, broken among their mighty blows. In the thicket, Rovyk saw all and he beckoned to his men, stating,

 

‘Our brothers, see, they take glory

From the bloodied hands of foes.

Shall we wait for our beards hoary?

Let us make this river their own barrows!’

 

    At that, the great stallions of Almaan’s make assaulted from behind, charging forth in valliant cries. They cut many down with their sharp and deadly spears and swords, and without escape the Vidungmannir were cut down man-by-man. When their general Yistevy refused the wolf’s milk[22] and took flight, the elderly Wilfervyk followed to apprehend with sword in hand. Yet the Vidungmaan took his bow in hand, and with prayer to Lemdak[23] he recited,

 

‘Elk-sage, the great, hear me:

See upon this arrow true, mark met,

See upon it fly right when set free.

Keep me in your divine debt.’

 

    The general set free an arrow of obsidian, and with the hand of the winds by the hunter’s grace, it struck the neck of the Almaan king. He fell forth from his horse, collapsing on the ground below, and with the battle won the sons hurried in speed to tend to their bloodied sire. They brought him forth to the camp of their warriors, and the priests chanted prayers and canticles of healing. Yet the grip of Maan[24] had taken root, and the sisters played lots[25] for the life of the lord. With death in the winner’s corner, the lord spoke to his sons for the last time,

 

‘Kolvyk, Rovyk, my sons of virtue,

The day has come of my destined fate

And leave our clans without nurture.

Who shall take upon its hefty weight?

Harken now and hear my words,

Make pledge below the abodes of the gods[26].

Both of you shall take this herd

And neither will walk the roads unshod.’

 

    Before their father, they made promised vow to rule the Almannir as joint-kings, fellow partners in reign, and made blood-pact before the gods. The two sons then buried their father in a great barrow, which they filled with riches of aurum and gems, sealing it with the magick of the Rechur lords[27]. And the army proclaimed the twins their crown desert, returning home to Almannland to anoint the new monarchs under the eyes of the gods. For some years then the two sons ruled together, as they swore to their father on his dying litter, but the rivalry they held since childhood only simmered in the meanwhile. Even the people whispered and bickered about which son was the greater one, and while they acknowledged each other as equals in the public eye, secretly they both boasted their superiority over the other in groups of their closest followers.

 

    In the great hills of Nenziland[28] where Kolvyk’s supporters numbered greatly, they whispered and spoke,

 

‘Look, look, see the mighty one:

Kolvyk, which sees all evil undone.

His brother, the lethargic thing,

Cares more flings than the art of a king.

Why must our valiant and diligent patron

Be equal to that lukewarm matron?’

 

And in the forests of Aestern[29] they cheered the name of Rovyk, whose name their cherished, and said to themselves,

 

‘Wealth spills from golden head of him,

That son Rovyk, the man of calloused limbs.

Yet his brother cares little for those ruled,

Preferring instead his books for fools.

Where is honor in that which fails

To even speak to the people that prevail?’

 

    Eventually the words of their people reached the ears of the dual kings, first disturbed then intrigued. Thoughts raced their minds, and soon they came to agree with the people who chanted against their fellow kin. 

 

At first, the Osbjorung Kolvyk said to those of his closest companions,

 

‘On heads both sits a crown of chamomile,

Yet who does the kingly act so freely?

It is I who keeps our coffers filled,

And the stores of the granary milled.

It is surely not him, my brother Rovyk

Who drinks more mead than the village sceptic.’

 

    Even Rovyk, that Haruhtrung, professed to his sword-brothers,

 

‘Morn from dusk my horse treks

As I keep the people from chaos’ beck.

Rovyk, lesser the man and greater the oaf,

Who rarely puts on the warrior’s coif,

And hides instead in his abode, 

Not giving those what they are owed.’

 

    No conflict though came to head, as the oath they made upon the wish of their gone begetter, and they remained peaceful pensive co-rulers, joint in authority. Such would not last, however, and upon the fields of the Uthenwald they broke at last. There, they met a rebellious foe, a chief of low-renown which refused to pay tribute. In quick order did the army of the Almannir march to pacify, taking their citadel by storm and vanquishing all those who stood in their way. When the village stood pacificied and the villagers gathered in the courtyard, the brothers deliberated their fate. Kolvyk in magnanimity wished to spare the lot, wishing instead to have them as thralls and serfs in the fields of Almannland, though his brother wished for them to put to the sword and pyre, as an example of those who take up arms against their rule.

 

    They argued, and soon their close companions and knights followed suit, and it erupted into tested violence. Brother struck brother, and kin struck kin, and the battle-born children of the Almannir quarrelled in the Uthenwald. The two sons of Lord Wilfervyk, breaking vow sworn in blood, wrestled in open combat and struggled for superiority. But all is seen in the eyes of the sage of the upper sea[30], and as the brother tussled in the mud of their broken oath, the great god landed upon the nearby tree, crowing out,

 

‘Ruptured is the bond of blood,

Sworn in oath before my name.

The damage ensued and virtue becloud,

With your only bedfellow to be is shame.

Harken now, ye vow-breakers,

There can be only one King of Almannir,

Only one to rule its mighty acres;

The other left mindless bleared.

Three trials, there will be, three ordeals,

To see who is worthy of the crown.

The victor the people to shall kneel,

And the northern lands are his ground.

 

The first, the test of puissant strength,

To lift the boulder left by giant arm length[31].

The second, in trial of the river Huns,

That who is quicker shall be the one who won.

Last, the duel to decide fate of this tribe,

To who the laurels shall be ascribed.’

 

    Combat halted and the men of both brothers listened, and the word of Gorm they obeyed. By horse they travelled to the lands of the Galdr[32], where Rugr[33] had set that momentous rock, and began their trial at morning’s break. First was Kolvyk, that giant-blooded man, who stepped forth in vigor and robust aim. With both hands he lifted in ease the rock of Rugr which crushed that snake to debris. When Rovyk attempted the same feat, however, he failed to follow the strength of the Obsjorung, and sat spurned in task unfilled. In boast, Kolvyk said,

 

‘In me, my sons and daughters too,

Is the blood of Galdr and Obsjor’s due.

My brother, however, who failed immense

Has little vigor to be spent.’

 

    After the trial of Rugr’s rock, they journeyed then south through the lands of the Sindvari and the tribes of the Huns, coming upon the roaring current of its vein. The children of Wilfervyk lined themselves upon the shore, and when the sun reached its noon peak, they raced across the surging stream untamed. Rovyk, with the blood of steed, could not be beaten with his speed, and in mere minutes finished while Kolvyk struggled in the waves alone. As his brother boasted before, Rovyk said,

 

‘See now, see now, my glory attained,

With victory the nikors[34] have deigned.

What of my kin, who fails to achieve

The triumphs that I will weave.’

 

    The final trial came upon the rills of the sacred land of the Galdr, where both mortal and divine alike gathered to witness the bout. Kolvyk stood with his great war-hammer in hand, his brother too with his mighty spear, and each wore nothing but hide and woolen pants. A border was set with the bones of goats and rocks found in the streams, and by the kakaw of the crow-god did they begin their fight. For hours and days they engaged in bloody contest, never once did one gain the upper hand. It was not until after ninety days, when the snows began to first fall, that conclusion came- in a blow of tenacity did Kolvyk make Rovyk tumble and fall, but in his overreaching strike stepped out of the tightly-made ring. Immediately the people cried, the supporters of Kolvyk declaring him the ultimate winner, while those of Rovyk proclaimed the opposite. 

 

In his divine judgement, Gorm declared,

 

‘Fate has shown its true hand,

For the destiny of the Almannland.

Kings both shall you be, but rulers apart

In lands divided by rocky compart.’

 

    And so, by his power, he rose into the skies once more and with the words of sacred power did he create from the center fields of the Almannir a great range of mountainous walls. To these mounds, he called the mountains of Gren [or Grendok], and with it he split the lands of the tribes in two. To the east where the hills of Nenziland resided, Kolvyk took as his patrimony; to the west, where the forests of Aestern shone, Rovyk too took as his realm. Centuries thereafter, the divided tribes lived separately, and though they both considered themselves the heirs of the Almannir, after the years they became their own people. While the eastern sons continued to call themselves Almaan, those to the west adopted a new name: Waldemaan, or the tribe of the Waldemannir, to reflect their lands of the forests of Aestern, and named their realm Aesterwald after it.

 

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[1] - ‘offspring of wealth’: alluding to the Four Descendents, sons of Wealtfyr (‘Fire of Wealth/Fire of Prosperity’).

[2] - ‘Wieklen’s jaw’: referring to open battle, a fight.

[3] - ‘Erristen’: the capital and hall of King Uldarik.

[4] - ‘clans of Sindvarland’: the tribes of the north which claimed descent from Sindhor, the Earth-Mother. They were accordingly blessed in agriculture and pastoralism in Dulonian tradition.

[5] - ‘Gertugvandisted’: name of the prison, hall of the god Gertug (see fn 7).

[6] - ‘Wopperklaws’: cursed beasts of magickal origin.

[7] - ‘Gertug’: a minor god of the Rechur (the underworld), considered one of the twenty children of Garundorech.

[8] - ‘Gertugivar’: literally the ‘sons of Gertug’ (see fn 7), referring to the soldiers and servants of Gertug’s court.

[9] - ‘the Cloud-Lord, that loyal child of Asser’s cloth’: referring to Meargost, the Lord of the Clouds and his mythical birth from being cut from a corner of Asseran’s (the sun) magickal wool tunic.

[10] - ‘Sigharvyk’: the father of Wilfervyk.

[11] - ‘this ring of Swithun’: a ring once belonging to the magical ibszi known as Swithun; according to myth, the wearer of the ring is said to turn invisible to all creatures besides ibszi, and allows a non-ibszi to reputedly enter their hidden, mystical realm.

[12] - ‘of the Thienrung’: a tribe to the south of Erristen; they considered themselves the children of the trickster and minstrel-god Haruhtrow. Heomar is considered a ‘Thienrungmaan’ or part of the ‘Thienrungmannir’.

[13] - ‘Littung gold’: referring to Uldarik’s tribe, the Littung Confederation, with both Uldarik and his daughter considered ‘Littungmaan’ or ‘Littungmannir’.The tribe considers its patrons Mogasza and Istun, a major and minor Nikirandz deity respectively.

[14] - ‘Osbjor’: one of the major Nikirandz gods and considered the ‘King’ of the Nikirandz pantheon, father of the Galdr (see fn 32) and considered patron of the Almannir confederation.

[15] - ‘Istun’: a minor Nikirandz god, considered a patron of the morning dew.

[16] - ‘Osbinhein’: one of the many villages owned by the Almannir confederation, reputedly known for his almost impenetrable defenses and high, basalt walls.

[17] - ‘Hjungmannir and Dormannir’: catch-all name for the pre-Raev settlers of the Huns-Waldor [Hussarian or Raev] basin. ‘Hjungmannir’ are the tribes which settled in the south, closer to the ‘Hjung’ or ‘Huns’ river, while the ‘Dormannir’ are the tribes which settled in the north, near the ‘Dorr’ or Waldor’ river.

[18] - ‘the mustang-deity’: Another name for the god Haruhtrow; the most common symbol of the minstrel-deity was the horse, a symbol of fertility and energy.

[19] - ‘Pisktro’: the Nikirandz deity of the sea.

[20] - ‘Vidungmannir’: a tribe of Hjungmannir which lived in the mountains of modern-day Vidaus near the former border of Hanseti and Ruska. Vidaus is etymologically derived from ‘Vidungmaan’ or ‘Vidung’, roughly translating as ‘hill, mound’.

[21] - ‘eye of Gorm’: alluding to the third eye of Gorm the Third-Eyed Crow, a major Nikirandz deity; It is said that all battles, conflicts, and other such deeds were all seen by his third, omniscient eye.

[22] - ‘refused the wolf’s milk’: referring to Wieklen (see fn 2), to refuse the wolf’s milk is an allegory for refusing a battle, usually used to denote a ‘coward’.

[23] - ‘Lemdak’: a minor Asserandz god of hunt and animals, usually portrayed as an elk.

[24] - ‘grip of Maan’: literally meaning the ‘grip of death’, Maan being the primordial god of death.

[25] - ‘sisters played lots’: referring to the primordial goddesses of Aan (Life) and Maan (Death), in ancient tradition it was common to refer to life as them ‘gambling’ or ‘playing lots’ for whether a man or woman shall meet their fate that day.

[26] - ‘the abodes of the gods’: referring to the constellations of the night sky, which were commonly thought to be the homes of the mortal gods.

[27] - ‘sealing it with the magick of the Rechur lords’: commonly in ancient funeral rites, the barrows were sealed with prayers to the Rechur (underworld) spirits, namely to keep it sealed from any would-be looters or pirates.

[28] - ‘Nenziland’: the eastern portion of the ancestral lands of the Almannir.

[29] - ‘Aestern’: the western portion of the ancestral lands of the Almannir.

[30] - ‘sage of the upper sea’: a common title used for Gorm (see fn 21).

[31] - ‘the boulder by giant arm length’: referring to the story of Rugr (see fn 33) and his battle with a snake, whereupon he used a boulder to crush it after a fierce debate of words.

[32] - ‘Galdr’: the giants of ancient folklore, commonly attested to being the children of Osbjor (see fn 14).

[33] - ‘Rugr’: a minor Nikirandz deity and a Galdr of Osbjor (see fn 14).

[34] - ‘nikors’: traditionally portrayed as water-demons, though in some cases can act in both benevolence and malevolence; Commonly, the tides and currents of local rivers and springs were blamed upon the nikors.

 

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