Clan Val'athri

[EnderMaiashiro 664]

Crest of the Val'athri clan - Original curator has been lost to the seas but her message remains.
"It is the stars that guide our path. The ocean is our calling, to live or die, it is the temptress who decides."

 

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History

 

Clan Val'athri began in the early days of Axios, calling the underground city of Magara’lin home. In these days, the Val'athri served as a devoted group of dark elves, dedicated to being among the few to venture to the surface for food and trade. Their specialties lay within canvas sails of their vessels as they sailed upon the rivers and oceans surrounding the continent, seeing them as an extension of Luara’s domain like the underground lake that they called home. Those that remained behind spent their time on Luara’s Lake, fishing and taking ‘ker to the Temple of the Moon, which sat near its center under an open part of the caverns where moonlight could filter through.

During the rebellion of Azul, the Val'athri served a vital role in the evacuation of Magara’lin, utilizing their ships to escape the attacks with the survivors. The fleet was led by Vaermina, who was the matriarch of the clan, out to the safe waters away from the continent. With the fall of their home, the clan strove for a nomadic lifestyle, hoping that they would not meet the same fate as their kin that remained. Over time in this new lifestyle, the number of Val'athri began to dwindle. Resources on the open ocean between continents were scarce, leading every fish and bit of plant to be a sacred resource when caught. Despite this, they remained true to their beliefs and traditional methods over the centuries at sea. While much of their history was lost with sunken vessels, stories of the past were told by elder members of the clans to the new generations to pass to their children in turn to maintain the history with what few sea damaged texts remained.

A number of generations having since passed, the Val'athri heard of the dark elven spiritualists beginning to congregate once more in the city nation of Nor’Asath. This provided a new hope for the long-time seafarers as they now had the prospect of reuniting with their kin, settling down from the nomadic lifestyle that they were forced into in order to have a chance at seeing a better future.

 

 

Appearance

 

Members of Clan Val'athri display a variety of characteristics that can fall into two categories. Members of this clan usually have black hair with red or silver eyes. While their skin tones vary widely, many decide to adorn themselves in gold jewelry along with leather and lighter armor useful in their sailing lives. Due to their extensive travel, many adopted tattoos as a way to document their lives. Many held tattoos to represent places they had been or their personalities to those knowing the meaning behind them. Due to their constantly moving lifestyle, most Val'athri have become medium build, being well suited for heavy lifting but not so much so that it could restrict their movement in fast paced situations. Men often reach up to 6’3 and their female counterparts reach 6'0.

 

 

Culture

Due to their nomadic lifestyle on the open ocean, Clan Val'athri spend most of their time on vessels and fishing as their ancestors once did. Trade often is integrated into this by trading their catch for other goods such as cloth and grain. Their adept sailing skills make members of the clan excel at leading combat at sea with swift maneuvers only achievable by those spending a life on the ocean. Their weapons of choice tend to be short swords, harpoons, and khopesh, all of which give superior speed in tight quarters such as below deck on a sailing vessel. 

    When not engaged in fishing or sea battles, the Val'athri reach back to their roots to explore the oceans around them, returning home with tales of far away lands and tattoos to accompany those stories. Older members of the clan often dedicate their lives to shamanism once they can no longer sail, as the lifestyle is tough on the body. It is these elder members that provide guidance to the will of the spirits and remembrance of the ancestors and their tales as once told between members of the clans in the high seas.

When not at sea, those of clan Val’athri often use their swiftness and agility gained from traversing a ship as effective rangers and scouts. Often taking a more covert approach to warfare, using longbows and daggers/short swords to silently eliminate their quarry. Val’athri utilize their skills and experiences to contribute and aid their kin whenever not on the open ocean.

 

The Two paths

 

Wave Walkers

Those who follow this path devote themselves to the sea, commanding or operating seagoing vessels and aiding their kin through trade and naval warfare. These Val’athri spend their lives on and around the ocean, waiting to see where she may take them next.

 

Dawn Blades

To the Val’athri that call the night their own, they do not wait for the waves of the ocean to guide their step, but rather make it themselves. Those among the dawn focus on stealth and tracking, skills often developed around the sea but taken further ashore to serve and protect their kin that remain behind.
 

 

 

Traditions

 

Sea Trials

Upon reaching 50, members of the Val'athri clan will choose between the Wave Walkers and Dawn Blades. Should they choose the way of the oceans, newly fledged adults will head out on their first journey to sea, tasked to spend a week out on the water with nothing but a choice in fishing gear and a small sailboat made of bark and canvas sails. Part of this task is to bring home a trophy to bring back to the people as a symbol of their dedication to the clan as their ancestors once provided. This trophy would then be presented as a sacrifice to Ankrus, the Spirit of Seafaring, who provided calm waters to return their kin home from sea.

 

Wilderness Trials

For those selecting the Dawn Blades instead, members of the Val’athri clan will be sent into the wilderness alone and tasked with returning to their clan's home without aid. They’re given basic supplies for survival, being a bow, arrows, a dagger, and a small pouch of travel rations. From there they must use the stars to guide them and bring back a trophy as an offering for Aztran who granted them the stars to chart their way home.

 

Walk of the Ancestors

Upon completing their trials, showing their devotion to their kin, a shaman will take the fledgeling ‘ker on their first spirit walk as a Val'athri to meet a spirit of their choosing that they will devote their lives to, among the three that the Val'athri worship as their patron spirits. The trophy that they return with is portioned off between the clan but the best selection being given to the intended patron of the newly fledged Val’athri.
Individuals spending most of their time on the ships at sea often select Ankrus, the Spirit of Seafaring, to guide their ships in safe waters. Those which wish to dedicate themselves to Drelthok, the Spirit of Dreams, often fall into the Shamans of the clan, lending themselves as a guiding light to those kin which call to them. Finally, those that find themselves carried by the wind to many locations dedicate their lives to Aztran, the Spirit of the Sun and Stars, which gives them the brilliant skies to guide them back home.

 

Significance of Dreams

Individuals in Val'athri will often see their dreams as windows across time and into the spirit realm. While they may not be shamans themselves, elements of one’s dreams can often be linked to a message being told by the ancestors to their kin. Oftentimes, individuals will seek shamans to join in on spirit walks to see the true meaning of their dreams.

 

End of Life

While death is not always something to be celebrated, members of Clan Val'athri take it as both a moment to grieve but also celebrate. Elders and those lost early would be bundled and laid to rest in a boat with a few of their belongings to take with them on their passage into the spirit realm to join their ancestors. The close family of the ‘ker will often leave gifts to comfort them in their eternal life until they themselves arrive at Stargush. All members of the family would then prick their finger or cut their palm to contribute a drop of blood to fall upon the fallen ‘ker, to signify the piece of them leaving with their family member. Once the small boat was prepared, straw and dry bark would be added in a layer over the individual before the boat is let off to float into the sea. Once a distance away from the shore, either the partner or other close family to the deceased would fire a flaming arrow towards the boat, setting it on fire until it and its contents are taken into the sea they once called home.