Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

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Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby Cronn Thunderhowl on Wed Feb 23, 2011 8:24 pm

Note: The following text describes the society and lifestyle of a majority of wolven, yet it is not fit to hold for all of them. In regions where the wolven are a minority (a minority not dominating the rest of the society that is), the wolven have adapted and their habits have changed. Besides, the wolven have existed for over thousands of years, and there are wolven tribes out there which still hold on to social structures and habits, which the majority of the wolven have long forgotten. So, read up, but don't take it for fixed in concrete. Take it as an advice and a possibility to play wolven characters consistently.


Wolven Organization.


Wolven have two social groups they belong to: The pack, and the tribe.

The Tribe
The usual wolven tribe consists of 10 and more packs (the biggest tribes count around 50 packs), yet the Tribe as a whole plays a relatively little part in the wolvens everyday life, and thus, speaking importance, takes a place beneath the pack in the wolvens mind. In times of peace wolven barely ever think about the tribe, even though they automatically respect other wolven from different packs of the same tribe as some of their own. Yet the tribe simply has no practical relevance, as long as there is no threat of a war, no pack is in dire need of help, or no conflict between packs threatens the inner peace of the tribe. .
In these occasions, the wolven gather. A formal tribal meeting, a thing, is arranged, calling the different packs of the tribe together, either on a place which has spiritual meaning to the whole tribe, or at a place which is strategically advantageous to wolven. In either case, decisions will have to be made, and this means that there has to be a tribe alpha. The alphas of each pack then gather and decide, or fight for, who shall take the position of the tribe alpha. Because wolven like decisions to be made quickly, this process seldom takes longer than the first day of the thing. When the alpha of the tribe is decided, the other alphas become his representatives or generals, depending on the occasion which called forth the thing, and the reason for the thing is brought before this council of alphas and their trusted shamans. Each pack is allowed to speak, before the Tribe Alpha decides: Be it either to go to war (which he then consequently leads), be it that he reconciles or decides the argument that stands between the pack, or be it that he decides to grant the help of the tribe to the pack in need, or deny it.

The Pack

Wolven are organized in loose packs of up to thirty adult wolven (not counting children, halfbreeds or slaves), even though the pack might grow to up to twice this size. Yet this only happens before the pack splits, thus creating two packs which roam the territory of their tribe. Splitting up is a necessary consequence of the aggressive and dominating nature of the wolven, because in a working pack every wolven has its place in a clearly defined hierarchy. In times of peace though, every wolven might be challenged by another wolven for his rank, and it often happens. When the pack grows too large, this habit becomes a stress on the overall efficiency of the pack. When the place of a particular wolven in the pack becomes blurry, because there are too many wolven competing for the same rank, they become uneasy, even more aggressive than usual, until the alpha and the shaman of the pack decide that it is best for the pack to divide. If this happens, the secondary shaman of the tribe, for there are always two, becomes the new primary shaman of the new pack and proclaims the “Path” (meaning the wolven god) which the new pack is going to follow according to the will of the gods. Then both shamans pick a new student from their remaining packs, to prepare for the next division or for the death of the primary shaman, and the division of packs is complete, while the wolven of the new pack immediately begin to compete for the ranks in the hierarchy.

Hierarchy of the pack:

The Alpha
No one knows where the Word "alpha" originated, yet it is a common name for the rank of the leading wolven in a pack, and fix part of the wolven language. The alpha wolven may be a male or female wolven leading the pack.The wolven have, due to their polygamous nature, just one leader, instead of a leading couple, as it is the case with wolfs and in the strong superstition of humans about wolven. The alpha wolven leads the wolven in times of war, and this is the only time when he cannot be challenged by other wolven for his rank. In times of peace, the alpha decides where to hunt, and were to roam and also about wolven law. He may seek counsel with the shamans, and, in difficult cases even the warriors (yet never the godspeakers, their perspective is too skewed because they are too close to the ideal of one particular wolven god).


The shaman and the secondary shaman


The rank of the shaman in the wolven society, together with the rank of a secondary shaman or a godspeaker, cannot be achieved by a challenge. Given the wolven beliefs (see religion) it is also not a rank to strive for, at least for most wolven. When a wolven pack splits, or the old shaman dies, the former secondary shaman becomes a fully recognized shaman, either in one of the new packs (if the packs divided), or in the old pack itself. The role of the shaman is to give advice to the alpha and to the pack, about the will of the gods.
It is an important role, and almost immediately after a wolven becomes the primary shaman of a pack, he searches for a secondary shaman to train. If a wolven pack loses its primary shaman, without there being a secondary who has finished the training, the pack has to rely on other packs of their tribe. When a secondary shaman loses his teacher, before the time is right, he seeks out the Alpha and asks for a formal tribe meeting (a Thing), in which he presents the case and asks for assistance, Often a secondary shaman of another pack will then join the asking pack as a new primary one, or, if there is no fully trained secondary shaman yet, the other packs allow the asking secondary shaman as an additional student to their primary shaman. Of course this means, that the pack, which lost their primary shaman, will roam the lands completely without proper spiritual guidance for at least some time, and the first solution remains the preferred one.


For more information about the role of the shaman see Wolven Religion


The warriors (beh'ta) and the godspeakers
The warriors , called "beh'ta" are the "second in command", the officers of the alpha. They may represent the alpha in decisions which do not affect the whole pack, they enforce his decisions, if necessary, and they are leading wolven on the hunt and in battle. Most packs will have five or six beh'ta which lead on the rest of the pack.
Of similar social recognition, but without the permission to decide practical issues, due to their strong dependency on just one wolven god, are the "godspeakers", those wolven which channel the will of the wolven gods, and who are considered to be candidates for the ascend to godhood in the End of Days. This being an unofficial rank, it cannot be taken from them by a challenge.

The subordinate wolven
These wolven form the main body of the wolven society in a pack. Though they are no less warriors than the beh'ta, and they are hunting and fighting just like every wolven would, it is expected from them to take care of the everyday tasks, or see to it that they are taken care of. Most wolven who care for the children are subordinates, and they are also the ones which look after the weapons. They do not tan the leather though, because this is, due to the reek and the sensitive wolven noses, work for the omegas, who are of even lesser standing in the wolven society.

The omega wolven.
Form the viewpoint of a particular omega, he or she may be the most insignificant being of all, part of the pack, yet only because they are tolerated by the wolven in better ranks. They are not of any value whatsoever.
But this is not true. From the viewpoint of the pack as a whole, the omegas are almost as important to the functionality of the pack, as the alpha is. This is due to the fact, that arguments are natural part of the wolven every day life, but wherever there is a winner, there is always a loser, a frustrated loser with bottled up emotions. If there was no possibility for the wolven to get rid of these emotions, they would endanger the very structure of the pack.
The omega is this possibility.
A wise wolven alpha will know this, and care for it, that the taunt and the cruel games, which the omegas are subjected to, do not get out of hand and endanger the omegas life. Though then again, this brings shame on the omegas, because they have to rely on the alpha to protect them.
A wolven alpha who does not heed to wisdom will at first lose his omegas, be it because they die, or because they run away. And then he will have to watch how his pack tears itself apart.
The work of an omega does not differ greatly from that of a slave, which comes as no surprise, as the rank is only slightly better. (halfbreeds are born into this rank, but due to them not being allowed to challenge a wolven, they are stuck with it). Work which is dull, time consuming or unloved by the other wolven is set to be done by omegas and slaves. The tanning of leather for example is a job traditionally associated with omega wolven, because of the reek, which is even less bearable for the fine wolven noses.

(Note: This rank could be used as an explanation for playing a submissive wolven. Most wolven will not be sumissive wether they were omegas once or not. But some may, because it is what their life was before they left the pack. Make something of it.)


Wolven Society

Wolven Lifestyle

Living in a Caer

…As we walked towards Caer Winterrage, my guide and friend Conr Irongrip pointed at the human, elven, orcish and wolven corpses, which bordered the path which led up to the entrance. They were thrusted on spikes and spears, sometimes complete corpses, sometimes only the heads, all of them still wearing their armors, or at least their helmets, which gave them away as being soldiers once. Flies were swarming them, some of them already crawling with white maggots, yet most of them seemed to be dead only for days. The path between them was tinted in the color of dried blood. All this sent a clear message: Mess with us, and you end up like this. No second chances. The Caer itself was basically a wooden fort, or better… a fortified village. I saw wolven in crude leather armor patrolling the ledges of the fortified walls, staring down on us, as we approached. The exchange of a short nod between Conr and the two grey furred wolven guarding the entrance gave us the permission to enter. But as soon as we passed this magical border, everything changed. I saw smiling wolven women, carrying embellished wooden baskets with food. I saw humans and elves, I knew already they were slaves, talking and even joking with their wolven masters, and I saw children, humans, halfbreeds and wolven, playing in the dirt. I saw all this, just a few footsteps away from the corpses of slain enemies which were still visible through the closing wooden gate behind us. It confirmed what I learned years ago with my friend. To wolven, death was an eternal companion.
The growling voice of Conr pulled me out of my thoughts. “Three packs of Tribe Winterrage live in this Caer, Eldoriel, together with their slaves and children. We have to apply to the Caer Alpha, to get the permission to stay for longer than a day. Follow me.”…

Excerpt from the book “Traveling with Wolven” by Eldoriel Hawkflight, elven emissary and later mate of Shanra Spear-that-Kills, known as Eldoriel Mammothkiller.


For several centuries now, the wolven society is undergoing a massive change. The immense pressure of human and elven settlements, invading territories formerly belonging to the wolven and the, though slowly, growing numbers of wolven in the wolven territories have led the wolven to overthink their nomadic lifestyle. While the wolven of the central wolven territories still hold on to the nomadic life of single packs, living in tents and following the migration routes of their prey, the wolven which live at the borders have recognized the strategic value of fortified settlements. The wolven call this form of settlement a “caer”. While still much smaller than the human cities, the biggest caers bear up to three hundred people, which breaks down to four to five packs of the same tribe, their slaves and their children. Spoken in wolven terms, these settlements are equivalent to a permanent partial thing of the tribe, and therefore one needed another form of alpha, which would lead these caers. This alpha is the so called “Caer alpha”. While each pack of the caer still has its own alpha, this caer alpha stands, hierarchically spoken, above them, turning it into another rank which a wolven can (and will) strive for. The responsibilities of the caer alpha are the same as those of a tribe alpha, with just the exception that this rank is constantly taken, instead of being assigned only when the necessity arises, and the caer alpha decides only for the packs of his caer.

A typical caer will have a nave (wolven word for house or long house) for each pack which lives in the caer, the so called "pack naves" and a central, often bigger nave, which is called the "caer nave". The pack nave is where the shaman of the respective pack resides, together with the secondary shaman, if there is such. Counsels of the pack alpha with his beh’ta take place here, and here is where wolven come to declare the “Path” which they are going to follow (see religion). The caer nave is the place where newcomers, be it wolven of other packs of the tribe, or guests like merchants, have to apply to the caer alpha, who resides here for the time of his reign.
The wolven themselves often live in naves surrounding the pack nave, which naturally leads to the formation of pack districts within the caer.
Nevertheless, caer wolven have a much tighter relationship to their tribesmen of other packs, than the nomadic tribes do, and often there is at least one “inn” or some equivalent, where the wolven of different packs can meet. If present, this inn will usually be found in close vicinity of the caer nave or the market place. Relationships between wolven of different packs are common within a caer.
Often, but not always, there will also be a central marketplace, where the wolven of the pack may barter for goods, be it with the wolven of the other packs, or with the traveling merchants, who have recognized the wolven settlements as good chances to earn money by bartering things wolven need or want (steel, beer) against things they are known to provide in good quality (leather, meat, ingredients for beer).
It has even become a joke to expect at least one haggling dwarven merchant in this place, mostly because the inn is not far away, where he can rely on the quality of the beer, because it was him who sold it to the wolven.
Every Caer is surrounded by a wooden palisade, where the wolven of each pack take turns on the watch. The wolven themselves haven’t found the patience yet to delve deeper into the secrets of stonemasonry to construct stonewalls. This may also be a reminder at their nomadic ancestry and their experience that, what may be a good strategic position now, may become a deathtrap another day, such that it would be a waste of working power to erect those walls. And wolven do not waste anything.


Nomadic Life
…“The pack has roamed this area long enough. We have to leave and return next year, when the hunting grounds have replenished.“ The pack alpha nodded to this statement of his shaman, and stepped out of the tent. I followed him.“Ulfar is right, this region has nothing for us to gain anymore. Let Gaea do her part, such we may return next spring”. His gaze wandered about the 27 tents which were the home of his pack before he turned to me: “We will leave this area now, and move to the north, to hunt for mammoth. Your way leads south, but I encourage you to stay for a little longer, and share one last evening with us. We will feast and then we will mate, and it seems as if Shanra has found quite some interest in you, “Elven Emmisary”.
I never had any regret about staying for the evening. I saw the impressive efficiency, with which the wolven took down their camp, taking half a day for something which I estimated as at least two days work. And when the evening came…
I did plan to wander south, meet with my kin, and write the book I had been researching for 2 years. But this last evening, this evening with Shanra, made me change my plans. It is only much later now, that I write these letters, yet I still recall every minute of this fateful day, and I shall never forget it, as long as I live”…

Excerpt from the book “Traveling with Wolven” by Eldoriel Hawkflight, elven emissary and later mate of Shanra Spear-that-Kills, known as Eldoriel Mammothkiller.


When talking to a human about how he thinks wolven live, the traditional picture that comes to his mind is somewhat like this: A number of tents made of fur, either somewhere on the grass plains of the northern steppes, or on a glade in a dense oaken forest. For centuries it has been like this, and many wolven still follow this ideal.
The traditional wolven camp is organized as follows: Located in the center is the tent of the shaman and, if there is one, the secondary shaman. It is surrounded by the tents of the wolven alpha and the beh'ta, which then again are surrounded by the tents of the subordinate wolven and the omegas. The slaves share the tents of the wolven they belong to.
Not being bound to a specific location, like their cousins that live in a caer, the nomadic wolven packs often follow the migration routes of their prey. And while the days of equinox are still of spiritual meaning to the wolven which live in caers, they hold a very practical meaning to the nomadic wolven. Often it is these days when the wolven, after a long hunt, and an equally long orgy, take down their camp and begin their trek for the summer- or wintercamp.
The lifestyle of these wolven is often less advanced than that of the caer bound wolven, mostly because they lack the trading possibilities, which those wolven have. Steel for example is a sought for commodity, and while spears are relatively common, weapons which are almost entirely made of steel (swords) are almost never to be seen. Another difference between nomadic wolven, and caer wolven is the importance of the hunt. While all wolven value the hunt as something special and important, being a successful hunter has a very practical meaning to the nomadic tribes. If the hunters fail, the pack will starve. This, among other things, leads to it, that wolven of the nomadic tribes are often better hunters, while wolven which live in a caer are usually better warriors.



Wolven Names
The first name of a wolven is a about what his mother wishes for him. Because Wolven can rarely be sure about the identity of the father, this name is given to the wolven by the mother. Over the centuries this has become a tradition, and nowadays it is considered her sole right, which cannot be taken from her. Wolven names have three forms: A neutral, a male form and female form. In wolven scripture they are written the same, even if they are pronounced different. Sole male nameroots and sole female nameroots exist, yet they are seldom, because every name means a quality which the wolven mother wishes for her child to have, and most qualities apply to both sexes. Strength (ulfr) for example

Wolven male names are short, usually two syllables long. Three syllable long wolven male names are seldom, (Vekannar). Same holds for female names, there are just more three syllable names due to the female flection.
When coming up with a wolven name, it is a good practice to look at list of ancient german, Slavic or gaelic names, take away some letters, such that one finds a somewhat Nordic sounding neutral form, and then extrapolate male and female form from this wordstem by adding some new letters. Or… if someone has a cool name already by looking at the lists, use that, and extrapolate the written form (neutral form) from it.

Neutral: Aenr male: Aenir, Aenor, Aenar, female: Aenra, Aenira, Aenora,
Neutral: Adrn male: Adaran, Adaron, Adren female: Adrena, Adrona
Neutral: Avr, male: Avar female: Ava, Avra
Neutral: Avn male: Aven female: Avna,
Neutral: Albn male: Alben, Albon female: Albna, Albena
Neutral: Alfhr male: Alfhor,Alfher female: Alfhera, Alfhira
Neutral: Audr male: Audar, Audur, Audro female: Audera, Audara, Audra
Neutral: Berngr male : Berengar, Berngur female: Berengra, Berenga
Neutral: Caln male: Calon, Calen, Calni female: Calna, Calne,
Neutral: Conr Male: Cronn, Conner, Conar female: Conera, Conra, Crona
Neutral: Crix Male: Crixen, Crixan female: Crixa, Crixi
Neutral: Davk male: Davak, Davek female: Davika, Dakva, Davkha
Neutral: Fenr Male Fener, Fenor female: Fenra, Fenora
Neutral: Garn Male: Garon, Garan female: Garna, Garena
Neutral: Gark male: Garoakh, Garak female: Garka, Gareka
Neutral: Ulfr male: Ulfher, Ulfar female: Ulfhira, Ylfra
Neutral: Shanr male Shanar, Shanor female: Shanira, Shanra
Neutral: Veknr: male: Vekannar, Veknor female: Veknara, Veknora

This list is by far not exhaustive, and there are wolven tribes which do not give names at all, but describe a wolven solely by what he can do best (Scout, Runner, Slayer), or other features (Fang). The list just describes usual wolven names. Again: This list is by far not exhaustive, and if you have a wolven name with a cool sound to it, then use it. It will work somehow.

Most wolven then will have a second name which will describe attributes of the wolven, or things he or she had done once. This name is called "honor name". Wolven who have yet to show a trait which is worthy to be described in an honor name, are called "Son of..." or "Daugther of..." followed by the mothers name.

Examples for Honornames: "Sharpfang, Razorclaw, Bloodfang, Morningkill, Thunderhowl, Silentstrider etc...

Yet again there are regions where this tradition is lost (usually those close to more civilized regions), and where the wolven keep a family name, in most cases the family name of the mother, or of the father, if he is known, and the mother complies with it.



Typical wolven sentences
The following words, sentences and exclamations are almost solely used by wolven. The exception here is the word orc, which has found its way into the common language, yet hearing one of the other expressions almost certainly means that a wolven is nearby.

Fenr`s (Garn`s) Testes , Arha`s Tits, Fenr’s (Garn’s) cock.


Used as swear words sometimes, but usually to emphasize a sentence, they were originally exclamations of astonishment and respect. The number of adjectives emphasizing the impressiveness of the respective body part scales with the astonishment which the wolven wants to express, with two adjectives being the maximum.

Examples:
"Fenr’s testes, this blade is as sharp as the butt of a mammoth."
"Arhas firm tits… this is a large Horse you have their…"
"Garn’s long, veined cock…" (remains speechless)


He/she has gone Hogwards

The wolven use this to express, that, in their opinion, a person has gone too far on the path of forbidden knowledge. The source is of course the god Hog as the deity of forbidden knowlegde. Used for all mages which refuse to stay under the "protection" of the pack. (for more information about the relationship between wolven and mages, see wolven religion)


Orc (used instead of Goblin)

Wolven word for goblin, which has found its way into the common language

Gaean
Wolven Word for Mage

Gaeode

Wolven word for Druid

Grey wolf
A common nickname for Garn, referring to the alleged fur color of the first wolven Garn’s soul took hold in.

Vhach!
Obscene Wolven Swearword. In the meaning somewhat similar to sexual abstinence.

White wolf
A common nickname of Fenr, referring to the allged furcolor of the first wolven Fenr’s soul took hold in.

Wake the (white) wolf

A wolven proverb that means readying oneself for a fight, by unleashing the inner beast that is part of every wolven. When speaking specifically about the white wolf, it means to prepare for a war, referring to the alleged fur color of the first wolven Fenr’s soul took hold in.

Also the title of a melodious yet primal battle hymn, incantated when the wolven go to war, first sung when the wolven had to defend against the first human settlers, who came over the sea.



Wolven, Sex and Procreation
Wolven do not have many children. They explain it with the intricate and complex designs of several gods which influenced their creation, instead of being just one, as it is the case with the other races (see wolven religion). Of course this may be only their own explanation, yet nevertheless the fact remains that wolven are not blessed with children very often, and, rumors aside, never with litters, as many humans may think, extrapolating their experiences with wolfs. When pregnant, wolven women rarely ever give birth to twins, actually having twins is even considered a wonder. Having twins means in the wolven society usually, that the parents actually had been host to the spiritual essence of two wolven gods, and must be considered candidates for the ascend to godhood in the End of Time.

Given this, wolven would have become extinct long ago, if it were not for the strong sex drive which drives these beings. In a wolven society, sex plays such a big role, that it is even unfit to work as a political tool. If one alpha would try to abuse his powers to dictate mating partners… he would die a swift death at the claws of his pack. But he (or she) doesn’t have to. It is nothing one could enforce, but the natural attraction that wolven feel towards the strong, will always lead to more sex for the leader.

Given the strong wolven sex drive, they have little to no understanding at all for the concept of “staying faithful” Each adult wolven in a pack may have more than one sexual partner, and it is not frowned upon. Therefore it becomes quite hard to tell which child belongs to which father, but the wolven solve this dilemma by raising their children by the pack.
In fact every wolven of the pack feels a strong obligation to do this, and the protection instinct of wolven concerning their children has become close to legendary. This protection instinct even transcends to halfbreeds and, oddly, to the children of other races too. It is said that one does not know rage, who didn’t dare to threaten a child in the presence of a wolven.
Be it as it may be, this community effort to raise children also benefits the pack as a whole, because it allows wolven females to take on their role in the pack shortly after weaning the children, thus mobilizing necessary resources in the usually harsh environments wolven live in.

Halfbreeds

Often humans think that wolven will not allow halfbreeds to live, that they consider them a disgrace to the wolven legacy, and a waste of a perfectly good chance to father a “true” wolven, yet this is the result of superstitions, false myths, and probably even projection of what humans would do (that’s how wolven rationalize this stupid belief.) In fact wolven often take slaves, not just for hard labor, but to satisfy the ever present hunger for sex, and sometimes children are the result of these intercourses. Given the false myths, one might think that this brings disgrace to the wolven who owns these slaves, but it doesn't. The wolven who owns pregnant slaves shows that wolven women are not waisting their time, for he is not shooting blank, and wolven women who have just shown their fertility by giving birth to a halfbreed, will be wanted partners, shortly after they weaned it.
Nevertheless, there are differences between halfbreeds and full wolven. While full wolven are allowed to challenge another wolven for a place in the hierarchy, this opportunity is never given to halfbreeds. Thus they are always bound to the lowest rank, the rank of the omega wolven, yet, even worse, they have no chance to escape it, like ordinary wolven do.

Slaves
"You thought of Mr. Muragi as weak and old, useless as a slave. Thats why you gave him to me. But he isn't. He is a great warrior, and taught me his art"
Corag Son-of-Danjel, former wolven omega, and later wolven alpha, lateron known as Corag Ironfist, after challenging Dunjak Swiftfang for his rank as Beh'ta and applying the "Stance of the Terrorcrane" on him.

"Yes, Danjel-Son. Never show any mercy. Mercy is for the weak. That is the secret of my art. Now beat him up"
Mr. Muragi to Corag Son-Of-Danjel, before the aforementioned fight


Wolven take slaves. Some humans may know grisly stories about what wolven did to settlers, about the killing sprees and about humans being torn to pieces, after the wolven were done raping them. This is, depending on the region where the humans stem from, either propaganda, or complete superstition. Wolven are not known to squander. If someone gets caught in a wolven raid, and he is not wielding a weapon, there is a good chance for him or her to end up as a wolven slave after the ravishment is over. There are many tasks, boring or time consuming, in the wolvens everyday life, which have to be taken care of, just like the ever present sex drive of the wolven masters, so why waste perfectly good candidates who can see to that?
Each wolven, be it the alpha or even one of the omegas, may have the amount of slaves, which he is able to take care of and keep in check. Yet nevertheless, even if omegas are allowed to keep slaves, they hardly ever get one. This is due to the wolven habit of dividing the “loot” after a successful raid. The wolven alpha comes first, then the warriors and shamans, then the subordinate wolven. A wise wolven leader will always care for an amount of slaves to be given to his subordinates too, to keep the pack satisfied, but the omegas position is just too low, such that they only get slaves if there is someone which the other wolven simply won’t take, be it because the wolven consider the slave ugly, damaged or unfit for the service as a slave at all.
When a wolvens challenges a superior and wins, and thus his rank in the pack rises, he is given the opportunity to take as many slaves from the loser as he sees fit, or barter them for some of his own. Former omegas which rise in rank often take all slaves from the loser, leaving the new omega with as many slaves as the former one owned beforehand, which means, in most cases, none.
The work of slaves ranges from simple, dull tasks, such as grinding the wheat every morning, or pumping up groundwater with the “Wheel of Life” (which has become infamous as “Wheel of pain” to the slaves themselves), to specialized tasks such being a scribe, if they are able to write and read, and the wolven see a need for such.
And of course it is expected from each slave, to be always ready to please his or her masters carnal demands if desired.



Wolven and animal domestication


Wolfs (wargr)
Wolven tame wolfs for as long as their history dates back. Loyalty, team spirit and the ability to work in a pack make them natural choices as pets, at least to wolven.
Wolven train their wolfs for the hunt, and the hunt in these teams is so successful, that there are even legends and superstitions that wolven speak the language of wolfs. This is of course nonsense, though it is true that domesticated wolfs get along with wolven masters much better, than they would do with other masters.
On a second, but important, note, the wolf is also a terrifying weapon in the hand of a skilled master, and many wolven tribes take their wolfs into the war alongside their battle-boars, even equipping them with the same crude leather harnesses (though suited to them) to emphasize their fierceness. The relationship between a wolf and his wolven master is so deep, that a dead wolven will often be buried together with his wolf or wolfs, because they cease to eat shortly after the death of their master, and it is considered a mercy to end their lives, before they starve to death.

Wild Boars. (horgr)
Wolven have held Wild boars as pets for a long time, yet not as a livestock, but for battle. The view of a wolven holding the leashes of their battle-boars, equipped with sharp metal tips over their tusks and with foam on their muzzles, has made some soldier think twice before charging.
Just like their wolves, wolven train their boars a long time for the battle, and the relationship between master and pet can become very deep during this training, yet not as deep as the relationship between a wolven and his wolf. Boars don’t lose their will to live and don’t cease to eat after their masters death, and it would be a waste of combat strength for the pack to kill them. Therefore it is not done.

With the time most wolven families developed either a preference for wolfs as pets or for boars, and just with the cat owners and dog owners of the humans, there is few understanding between both.

Cattle (burgr), pigs (hurgr) and goats (salgr)
Approximately at the time when the wolven decided to build the first caers, they also adopted the art of livestock breeding from the humans, using the livestock of raided villages as a basis. Today they hold cattle, pigs and goats, just like the humans do, but they use wolves or boars as “cattle dogs”. This has led to the false myth that wolven need no cattle dogs at all, because the one wild boar, that watches over his wild looking but less savage cousins, is hard to tell apart from them, at least for non wolven.


Wolven Law


The right of Challenge

Wolven are a race prone to conflict. And because conflict has the tendency to get out of control, the wolven had to find a way to codify it. Courteousness is a quality in predators. One way to do this is the right of Challenge. Every wolven in a pack represents a rank, and can, in times of peace, be challenged for this rank. The challenge can range from a simple fight, for example when an omega challenges a subordinate, over hunting or weapon crafting contests, which will be decided by either the shaman, or , if present, a godspeaker of Garn or Leki, to standoffs between whole groups within the pack, for example when the alpha is challenged.
This diversity of possible challenges may surprise, but the wolven are not so stupid to believe that a simple fighter could lead a pack. The alpha and his warriors need to instill respect, and thus, besides being formidable fighters of course, need to have leadership qualities, which have to be tested. Thus, the challenging of the alpha, or a high ranking beh'ta is often accompanied by preceeding weeks of forming pacts and alliances. Now... a fight has the tendency to get out of control, and although a fight between two opponents might be decided without unnecessary bloodshed, it is not so simple with fighting groups, and the violent wolven nature would see to it, that many wolven would die an unnecessary death, if it really came to a fight. Thus the challenges for the rank of an alpha or beh'ta often end with the weaker team yielding, and no, or close to none bloodshed at all. If both teams are of almost equal strength and none of the opponents yields, the decision is left to the shaman, who asks the gods for advice. In these rare cases the decision often goes to the challenger and not the challenged one, because it is expected from a leader to have the majority of wolven behind him, and considered a lack of leadership if he doesn’t. This leads to several political results. Though technically allowed, if the pack is not at war, the wolven rarely challenge their alphas, if their pack lost their shamans. The very rare cases in which they did became bedtime stories to chill the young wolven, and teach them not to try it. Unfortunately, because of this, a weak leader will probably try to get rid of the shaman and his student altogether, before he can be challenged. Thus it is in best interest for a shaman to choose the better leader in case he is asked. The one which values the shaman’s wisdom, and knows about the shaman’s importance to the whole pack, that is.

The right of Revenge

„My name is Erek Moonslayer, you probably killed my father, prepare to die…”
“Probably?”
“He was one of the suspects…”

Erek Moonslayer, before slaying Anthila Darkstrider, the Moriel priestess that killed his father’s best friend.


Wolven packs are small, and even a wolven caer will not make a human village look small in comparison. In groups of this size, everyone knows everyone, and has to rely on everyone too. Therefore crimes, or those which are perceived as such, are rare. But they happen, because, for them to happen, it suffices to have two.
Now…the wolvens concept of sin is neither very prone to self reflection, nor is it very clear. What is wrong, or right, depends on the wolven who is asking this question (see Religion), and the mileage of different wolven regarding the “sins” of another one may vary. Now for a human it may seem strange, even impossible to build a civilization under these preliminaries, because… If someone had the right, and the possibility to do anything he wants… without repercussion… he will. Simple as that is it? But this reasoning bears a strong oversimplification. There are always repercussions.
Because wolven value the strength to defend what is theirs, and not being beings of strict, complicated rulesets, they settled for a right they call the “Right of Revenge”.
When a wolven, or the ones he or she hold dearly, becomes a victim to what he considers a crime, he or she may decide to take personal revenge on the wrongdoer, instead of turning to the alpha to settle the matter.
Failing to do this, but instead “running for the alpha” is often frowned upon, considered immature, and brings shame on the wolven, if the case is not particularly dire and against the very nature of wolvenhood. Besides, most wolven will, knowing that the wolven alpha will always decide for the best of the pack, and not the particular wolven, who already devalued himself as a defender of the pack, because he turned for the alpha, definitely make use of the option of taking out revenge by themselves.
Wolven see the thirst for revenge as something natural, necessary and desirable even. If one wasn’t able to feel this strong urge to repay someone for what he has done, to make him feel the same pain (or more)… how could he stand through the efforts to make it happen. To take revenge on another wolven, not being prone to “cold vengeance”, but being of tactical reason, a wolven would look out for a weakness, and wait for his next chance to strike, which could take at least a little. Therefore, at least in the wolven mindset, it is necessary for a wolven, that he is able to keep up the flames of vengeance, until the deed is done.
Therefore, if a wolven is out for vengeance, other wolven will not interfere (except the one it will be taken out on of course). This is a form of respect. If he is strong enough to take it out on the one who crossed him, he earns the feeling of satisfaction it brings when the flames of vengeance are quenched. If not, then he has to learn the hard way, that the ones who are not able to defend what is theirs, will lose it, and rightly so. This even transcends to other races. If it is not a wolven who was the wrongdoer, but one of the minor races… then it is considered natural for a wolven to take care of it himself.


The role of The Alpha, and wolven punishments
The role of the wolven Alpha

Wolven have few fixed priorities to protect, but those they have, are adamant:

1. The Well being of the Children
Wolven have few Children, and they will not tolerate anything, that threatens them. You threaten the Children, and your life is forfeit. There won’t be a call to the alpha, there won’t be a court. The wolven will gather and end you. No pack or tribe will protect you. You are a dead man walking. But not for long.

2. Well being of the pack
The alpha leads his pack and is its final judge. He is responsible for the well being of the pack. The “Eye for an eye” mindset of wolven is prone to lead to feuds, if none of the wranglers yields, and without the wolven alpha there would be no way to keep these conflicts in check. As long as such a feud runs with just two wolven, it’s their matter, yet if it begins to spread and threaten the functionality of the pack, it becomes the matter of the wolven alpha. In this case, as in all cases when the behavior of a particular wolven becomes a threat to the pack, he may decide to end the feud (or the malicious behavior) for good, and, depending on the damage which it caused, punish the wolven as he sees fit.

Wolven Punishments:
Wolven are physical people, and thus their punishments are too.

The Beat up
A wolven who this sentence was imposed upon will be secured, before a number of wolven, depending on the significance of the crime, will be allowed to beat him up until he either loses conscience, or a time predetermined by the alpha has passed. The wolven alpha takes part at these beat ups as a supervisor, and can end the Beat up early, or prolong it as he sees fit.

The Whip
In the last centuries the wolven which live in Caers adapted the punishments of public lashing. The delinquent will be secured in a rack, and then subjected to a number of whiplashs, predetermined by the wolven alpha. The wolven alpha takes part at these lashings as a supervisor, and can end the Lashing early, or prolong it as he sees fit.

Banishments
To protect the pack from further threat through a wolven, the pack alpha may decide to banish the particular wolven from his pack. The wolven must leave the pack with nothing but his weapons, and may not return until either the alpha or (later) another alpha of the pack decides otherwise. A wolven which returns nevertheless is outlawed, and will be subjected to “The Hunt” every time he does so.

The Hunt
The Hunt is basically the Wolven version of an Ordeal. Wolven which are sentenced to the death are allowed a head start on the rest of the wolven, which will hunt them. If the delinquent manages to escape for three nights, he is banished. Wolven which are caught will be killed by the rest of the pack.

The Tearing of the Soul
Wolven whose crimes are so heinous, that they defy the wolven understanding, may be subjected to this punishment, which is based upon the wolven believe of reincarnation. Usually the wolven think, that the reincarnation is a good chance for a criminal to start over again, to lead a new life in which the soul of the wolven has a new chance to make things better, instead of worse. But some criminals are considered beyond this betterment, and the wolven consider it a service to the wolvenhood to clean the Pool of souls from this impurity, which is beyond redemption.
This being a punishement which has a spiritual notion, it is the also only punishment which the wolven alpha may not impose on its own, but has to ask the shaman for the permission of the gods.
If a wolven is sentenced to this kind of death, a Hunt is called for, but the wolven who will hunt him will bless their weapons in a specific ritual, which then allows the weapon, at least in the wolven belief, to tear out the soul of the weapons next victim, and store it. The pack will then hunt the delinquent, but the hunt will not be called off before the delinquent is killed by one of those weapons. Though he may escape, the wolven will never cease to hunt him when they face him again.
Wolven consider weapons which have "torn out a soul" and stored it unfit for work. These weapons will never be used again, they are considered evil, and will, at least in the wolven belief, turn against their master, if they are to be wielded again.
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby Cronn Thunderhowl on Sun Mar 13, 2011 7:09 am

Hmm, seems as if i am coming to an end. I will fill in all the "Information is following" Placeholders, and then i will probably add an example of a small tribe, like the Tribe "Winterrage" from which my wolven stems from.

I would really like some comments on the matter, because i am thinking about sending it in, such that it can become a part of the Belariath background.
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby miyuka on Sun Mar 13, 2011 4:07 pm

Lookin good so far
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby Greywind on Tue Mar 15, 2011 9:05 pm

I am glad to see you back at work.
I am enjoying reading this immensely.

Very very good work so far.
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby Cronn Thunderhowl on Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:40 pm

Decided to remove the part "Relationship to other races" because the decisions necessary to write that would, at least in my opinion, take a cosiderable amount of playtesting. (and because there are so many races).
I (as a player) know yet too less about other races, and doing a partial list (writing about a subset of races) would not be good too.

The list so far was:

Relationship to other races


Dwarves:

Dwarves are good miners, wolven, due to their size, rather not. But wolven like steel.
Dwarves like meat but are, usually, lousy hunters. Wolven are natural hunters.
Can you say natural symbiosis?
Dwarves make good beer, Wolven provide good ingredients for beer...
Both like it, and they like the same dirty jokes.
Can you say natural friendship?

Elven

Sylvan elven


The relationship between Sylvan elven and wolven is… complicated. Complicated in the sense of multilayered. There are at least a few sylvan elven tribes which share their territory with the wolven, yet, unlike the humans, they are not known for expansionism, because they are few, they have a long lifespan, and because they have even less children than the wolven. Wolven respect them as good hunters and value the intricate woodworks, which they put on their bows, yet they do not consider them too fragile to be taken as a slave either. So what a wolven thinks about a Sylvan elven essentially depends on what his tribe thinks about them, and can range from “good slaves” to “valued trading partners”.

High elven
High elven are almost as alien to wolven as it can get, if one does not consider the magi. Most wolven at least doubt that Sylvan, Moriel and High elven share common ancestry, but between Wolven and High elven there will often (but not always) be a pejorative subcontext, which originates in the fact that most wolven know High elven just from stories (and vice versa), and both cultures consider themselves as the apex of creation, yet because of opposing argumentation. (High elves consider themselves superior, because they were the first race, wolven because they were created last. High elves are proud of their civilization, which separates them from natural threats, wolven are proud, because they do not “need” that kind of separation to stay alive. So… basically a relationship full of preconceptions.

Moriel
They are somewhat the polar opposite of a wolven. Wolven are lousy liars. Looking into their eyes you can literally tell how agitated they are. Moriel... well they are somewhat better at bending the truth without anyone noticing until its too late. The ressources both need are yet too different (wolven live in plains and forests, Moriel in the Nethergloom) to explain open hostility, yet wolven will most probably see them as "mischievieous little buggers", and make no secret of their mistrust.


Humans:

The relationship of wolven and humans is basically a ressource driven antagonism. Humans strive for the same ressources as Wolven do, and they usually do it in the same places. They are known to be expansive, and their numbers are (due to the low birth rate of wolven) growing faster. Yet the wolven have adapted and slowly established a draw. All this gained the Humans the rank of respected opponents in the mind of the wolven, be it that they are barbarians (who are fierce fighters) or high Humans (who are, usually, better strategists).


Cat People


Goblins

Pixies

Nymphs and Satyrs

...

so if anyone would like to help, it is open for discussion.
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby Cronn Thunderhowl on Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:28 am

Tribe Winterrage, a typical wolven tribe:
Where the boondocks of the wolven forest meet the southern foothills of the wolven peaks, there lies the territory of the Winterrage tribe. In the south it is dominated by the dark primeval forest where giant sequoia trees cast there shadow over the "underbrush" of smaller trees like firs, stoneoaks and birches, while in the north it extends far into the mountain ridge known as the wolven peaks, into regions where the snow melts only in the mid of summer. The climate of the territory is harsh and cold, as are the wolven who live here, and the temperature raises above the freezing point only in late April, when it is followed by a short but intensive spring, which then leads to an equally short but pleasant summer with temeratures that lie between 15 and 25 degrees.
Yet the region, though harsh, is also full of hidden ressources like iron, which is mined by dvarves and profitably sold as steel to the wolven, who exchange it for wood and meat, which the wolven gather by hunting game, bears, mammoth and behemoth, or breeding cattle and pigs. Yet there is also gold, and thus there are invaders who, unlike the wolven, consider it valuable. In fact the wolven of tribe Winterrage have fought an on and off war against high human settlers for generations now, which has come to an extended (but not always respected) truce only in the last years. Yet it is not only the high humans. There are barbarian human tribes from beyond the mountain ridge, who call themselves "Courgans", who believe in dark,unforgiving gods and who love to celebrate twisted and bloody rituals to appease them, in which they sacrifice wolven and high human settlers alike.
There are also the sylvan elves in the eastern part of the wolven forest (Which has another name in their language), and though it is no war they are leading against the wolven, both, wolven and elven like to take slaves from each other, which leads to some animosity from time to time, when one of the parties pushes the envelope.
And there are the ocassional goblin raids of unorganized but large groups of goblins, which have to be fought off.
Due to this external pressure, the Winterrage tribe was one of the first wolven tribes, which began to build fortified caers, and it has held onto it till today.
The tribe, consisting of 15 packs distributed over 8 Caers, and thus only of mediocre size compared to the tribes which roam the southern part of the wolven forest and the adjacent steppes, is known for his ferocity in battle. In the high human settlements it is said, that the wolven of Winterrage replace their hearts with iceblocks before going into battle, but in fact their coldness is just a result of being native to a harsh and unforgiving environments for uncounted wolven generations.

The hierarchy of the Winterrage Pantheon

Because of the harsh climate, there are not enough ressources to feed the wolven AND the humans or elven, and thus war is an eternal companion to the wolven of Tribe Winterrage.
Because of this, Fenr has replaced Garn as the leading god, leaving Garn as the second most important god because of the importance of the hunt to sustain all wolven of the tribe. Leki is rather unimportant to the wolven of Winterrage, for the tribe simply has no time to value the achievements of wisdom, because of being threatened so often. The same holds for Arha, for even if the desire in the wolven to have sex is always present, the overall situation is too hard, to allow for the members of the tribe to give in too often (which leads to unchecked orgies whenever the rare chance presents itself. Really... they are infamous!). Rhe, on the other hand, as a protector of new life, is highly valued. Sira and Skodi are of average importance, because of the necessity to stay through hard times, and the necessity to outwit the enemies. Thus the hierarchy of the Winterrage pantheon is as follows:

Alpha: Fenr
2. Garn
3. Rhe
4. Sira
5. Skodi
6. Arha
7. Leki

The Order of the Winterrage pantheon

Image


Read as follows: Gods directly connected by a solid line oppose each other, Gods are allied to their neighbors along the dashed line.


As said, Fenr is the highest god to the wolven of this tribe, but Garn challenges him very often. Garn is less aggressive than Fenr, and urges, that instead of waging war for food, the wolven of Winterrage should use the natural resources better, and attack only to expand the hunting grounds. Accompanied in this believe is he by Rhe, who sees the valued children die in young age, instead of being able to found new packs. Skodi and Leki stand neutral to Fenr. Sometimes, in times of war he can rely on their wisdom, but they both agree, that Rhe and Garn have their points. Sira is on Fenrs side, arguing that the wolven had to endure too much, and have to strike back, while Arha is drawn towards the strong Fenr sexually, and hopes that the wolven will have more time for “more important things” when the settlements of men, elven and goblins are burnt down.

The 8 Caers of tribe Winterrage

Caer Winterrage:
The oldest Caer of the Winterrage Tribe and home to three packs. Once it was the most important, but has lost this importance in the last decades, since the tradition of servicing the tribe alpha and his men as a home was broken by Davika Ice-in-the-Veins, who chose the Caer of the Howling Sisters as her home. Yet, because of its location just between the outskirts of the wolven forests and the foothills of the wolven peaks it has kept its importance as a trading post. The wolven packs living here are the Mistrunner pack which follows the path of Skodi, the Winterage pack which follows the path of Fenr and the Shadowtracker pack which follows the path of Garn.


Caer of the Thunderpeak:

A small Caer far in the wolven mountains, but home of Conr Splinterfang, the actual tribe alpha, which was chosen to deal with the renewed Courgan assaults in the newer past. The caer has its name due to the large mountain of the same name, which towers over the large, yet uninhabitable valley next to the wolven caer. The wolven of Winterrage believe, that this mountain was the place where the first wolven were created by the wolven gods, and the regular avalanches that rumble into the valley under thundering noise, and which make permanent settlement impossible, are due to the rage of all the other gods, which were not able to stop them. The Caer of the Thunderpeak is home to just one pack, The Thunderpeak pack, which follows the path of Garn.


Caer of the Howling Sisters:
The Caer of the Howling sister lies in the north eastern rim of the tribes territory. Not far in the north of the caer begins dwarven territory, while sylvan elves roam almost equally far away in the south. This led to it, that the packs of this caer have by far the most elven slaves, and the best relationship to the dwarven merchants. It has its name from two peaks (The sisters) which howl in a creepy tone, every time the wind blows through the pass between them. The Wolven packs who live here are: The Swiftkill pack which follows the path of Fenr, The Pack of Skodis Veil which follows the path of Skodi and the Pack of Garns Eyes which follows the path of Garn.

Caer of the Frozen Peaks
This small Caer had been burnt down by Courgan barbarians 17 Years ago, but was rebuilt ten years later as a necessary outpost. It lies just a few hundered meters beneath the snow line, where the snow never vanishes, and is the caer where the winter hits the hardest. This Caer is home to the Frostrunner pack which follows the path of Fenr.

Caer of Tower Rock.
This caer has its name from the strange rock formation which... well... towers above the caer. A rock needle of at least 200 meters height and slick, unclimbable walls. The wolven argue that this rock was placed here by the gods in the time before they gave up their physical bodies, and the few non wolven who have seen it, agree with the thesis that the rock has artificial origin, though one has to wonder about the purpose. Two wolven pack live beneath the Tower Rock: the Morninghunter pack which follows the path of Rhe and the pack of Siras Hands which follows the path of Sira.


The Stormshield Caer

The Stormshield Caer is the Caer which lies farthest south of all Winterrage caers. Its name comes from the ancient and giant sequoia tree which grows in the center of the caer, and which is named Stormshield because it is known to stay through the strongest storms, which even fell stoneoaks and firs alike. Two wolven packs live at the feet of Stormshield: The Windhowler pack which follows the path of Garn and the Silent Hunters which follows the path of Skodi.

The Caer of Siras Crying
Next to the Stilling basin of a Waterfall known as "Siras Crying", where the water of two rivers known to the wolven as "The Streams of Siras tears" falls hundred meters down the highest cliff in the wolven peaks, before it flows further west as the stream called the "Rushing Water", there lies the Caer of Siras Crying. The Winterrage wolven actually believe that the mountainridge, where both rivers spring from, is the place where Sira was tortured by the gods of the minor races, and where her body, which she left behind as she gave up her physical form, is still crying and feeding the rivers. Only one pack, which follows the path of Sira, lives here: The pack of Siras Patience.

The Caer of the Shadowglade
The Caer of the Shadowglade is the caer lying farthest to the west of all Winterrage caers, and its packs have therefore clashed with the high human settler most often. Its name comes from the large glade on which it is erected, which lies adjacent to the "Rushing Water", and which has its name because of the large fir trees and the nearby cliff, that block out the sunlight and immerse the Caer in shadow or twilight for most of the day. The Blooddrinker pack which follows the path of Fenr and the Warrunner pack, which follows the path of Garn live and fight here. Of all Winterrage caers, this caer is by far the best fortified, and has withstood many high human and goblin raids in the past.


The Caer Winterrage, a typical wolven caer

Image

When approaching the gate of Caer Winterrage one will see the corpses of slain enemies, be it orcs, elven, humans or even wolven of hostile wolven tribes, whose bodies and heads are thrusted on spikes, which border the way up to the gate. But if someone has been in the wolven territories for a little longer (and survived it) he will know that this is a common picture with wolven caers.
Caer Winterrage is completely surrounded by a wooden palisade, and wolven in leather armor are constantly patrolling on its battlement to salute probable agressors with a hearty rain of deadly arrows, if necessary.
The Caer itself lies at the south-western mouth of a little valley, which passes over into the wolven forests, while its north eastern branches slowly ascend to the level of the surrounding mountains.
The wolven packs living here are the Mistrunner pack which follows the path of Skodi, the Winterage pack which follows the path of Fenr and the Shadowtracker pack which follows the path of Garn.

1. The Caer nave
The caer nave overlooks the rest of the caer from a plateau in the south, which, like the south western exit of the caer, is approachable only by the path that leads up from the rest of the caer. To the left and the right of the Caer nave are two long houses which once, since the tribe alpha (if there was one) was meant to live in Cear Winterrage, were used to house the pack alphas of the remaining Winterrage packs for the duration of a thing. Today, since the tribe alpha does not necessarily live in Caer Winterrage anymore, they are home to the alphas of the other two packs which live in the caer, together with their mates, children and slaves. The actual caer alpha is Gonar Claw-that-Tears, the alpha of the Winterrage pack, a young wolven of impressive size and brawn, yet also tactical reasoning.

2. The Pack naves
Three wolven packs live in Caer Winterrage: the Mistrunner, the Winterrage and the Shadowtracker pack, each with its own shaman, whose naves somewhat establish the center of the respective district. The Winterrage district lies farthest west, the Mistrunner district forms around the northern pack nave, and the homes of the Shadowtracker pack occupy the region south of the little brook that flows through Caer Winterrage.Their actual shamans inhabiting the pack naves are:
Winterrage: Hanera Ghostwhisper and her student and future second shaman Garen Deathspeaker.
Shadowtracker : Garoakh Voice-of-the-Shadows and his student and future second shaman Shanra Snowfur
Mistrunner: Coran Heart-of-the-Veil and his second shaman Yodr Seeker-of-Darkness


3: The Marketplace

The marketplace, though small to human standards, has become one of the social centres of the Life in Caer Winterrage. There is an almost permanent delegation of the dwarves, and an on and off delegation of the elves present (if there is no war going on with them), which offer their goods (on opposing sides of the market of course, dvarves on the northern side, elves on the southern). Wolven or visitors are almost immediately after treading onto the market in the middle of a "praising" war, with dwarves and elves shouting at them, to lure them over to "their side".
This often, but not always, leads to the result that one first walks towards the boothes of the wolven, which occupy the western side of the market, even though the wolven do not praise their goods at all, because they consider it undignified, and argue that "quality speaks for itself".


4: The Tavern ("The Fleapit")

While still called "Gathering Place" by some older wolven, the word "Fleapit" has found its way into the wording of the younger wolven, when talking about the tavern. This is due to a little joke of its owner and innkeeper, the dwarf Durgon Son of Daginn, who put this name in dwarven runes above the entrance after taking it over from its last owner. The wolven, not necessarily literate people at all, even less so in dwarven runes, thought of it as a dwarven embellishment, until a drunken dwarf told them the meaning. Durgon already saw his head adorning a spike before the gates of the caer, yet the caer alpha, who happened to be in the inn at the time, got up, aprroached him with a threateningly serious face, and padded him onto the shoulder with a thundering laugh. Asked later about why he did not punish Durgon he answered "One of the reasons to like this place is because of the humor of his owner. So why should we punish him for something we like?". And this is the story how the "Gathering Place" became "the Fleapit".

5: The Weaponsmith
Adjacent to the marketplace lies the nave of the weaponsmiths. The actual Weaponsmiths are Fenron Mountain-that-walks, of the Winterrage pack, who actually lives in the nave, and Conra Bladeformer, a subordinate wolven female of the Mistrunner pack, who lives in the Mistrunner district. Fenron is notable as he has his name due to his size, and his size is impressive. With towering 3 meters he is much taller than a usual wolven ever grows, a true giant, thus most wolven of the caer simply call him "Mountain", and sometimes joke that one of Fenrons ancestors had been a yeti, and no wolven.
Conra though considerably smaller for being a female, is still of impressive size too. She is one of Fenrons mates and even if she is not sure that both of her children are his, their size is a giveaway.

6: The godspeaker of Fenr
Not far from the caer nave of the Winterrage pack lies the long house, where the godspeaker of Fenr, Yodr Swampraider, has his home. Though the wolven, with the shaggy fur in the color of light mud, is only about 2 meters tall and thus quite small for a male wolven, he nevertheless was and still is one of the most revered warriors of the tribe, and has led an eventful life which has even led him far to the south. When proudly walking through the wolven caer, it seems as if his age, visible well on his wrinkled muzzle, did not impair his ability to fight, tough outside the caer he likes to trick enemies into thinking of him as weak and easy prey, before turning the "Rage of Fenr" on them. With the dwarven and elven merchants at the marketplace he is infamous for "twisting up sentences", because he is quite good at learning the vocabulary of other languages, yet has no patience for the grammar. He is a good friend to Durgon, the owner of "The Fleapit", and shares his kind of humor.

7: Food Storage
The Caer living wolven adopted the techique to store food for the winter and for hard times in central stocks from the human settlers centuries ago. Caer Winterrage has three of these stocks, each one with one storeroom for grain, one for salted and cured meat and one for beer.

8: The Leatherworker
To work leather is a, though necessary, unloved work with the wolven, simply because of sensitive wolven noses and the tanning reek. The omega wolven that work and live here lament often that, even after leaving the nave, they remain "smell blind" for at least half an hour. They are supervised by Ashak Bluntnose, the leather worker itself, who is a subordinate wolven of the Shadowtracker pack, and who, despite his name, has one of the sharpest noses of all wolven of the tribe. Yet he can only bring it to full capacity if he leaves the nave for a day or two, which happens practically never. Ashak does not sell his leather in the nave, but brings it down to the marketplace twice a week, because he rightly fears that otherwise his wolven based clientele would shrink considerably.

9: The Bowyer
The bowyer of Caer Winterrage is a mysterious woman. Though her bows are excellent, as are her fighting skills, she is somewhat of a loner and has withdrawn from wolven society. It is said that she speaks little, and the little she talks, she talks to her elven slaves. She arrived in Caer Winterrage 12 summers ago, her slaves already with her, asked for the permission to stay as a wolven of the Shadowtracker pack, and help to fight the high human threat. After gaining the permission, she immediatly challenged a subordinate for his rank and won. Ever after that, she never challenged anyone, and sucessfully fought of all challenges of omegas. With her bows she combines the art of sylvan and wolven woodcrafting. Some wolven consider her a witch, because it is said that with a bow she never fails, but few dare to speak this to her face. Those who did faced her wrath, and never said it again. Oh... and no one knows her name. Therefore she is only known as "The Bowyer".

10: The Healer
Two wolven, both belonging to the Mistrunner pack, have decided to follow the path of Sira. Conr Keeneye, a gaeode (wolven word for Druid) is already old, finishing his sixties summer, and unlike Yodr Swampraider, the age did not mean it well with him. Some say that if he was not such a good healer, he would have passed on to the next life already, but few doubt, that, when he finally does so, he will choose the path of Sira again. Yet, most wolven hope that there are still a few more years left for him, because, even though his hand is shaky, and all the physical work has to be done by his student Calne Sharpclaw, his knowledge about healing herbs is unsurpassed by any wolven of the tribe, and thus they hope that he can still pass on some of this knowledge to Calne.
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby Cronn Thunderhowl on Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:31 pm

And thats about it.

I will give this thread some time, so everyone can take a peek and comment, before contributing it to the website.
Then i will contribute the part about wolven society (My first post) and the part about Tribe Winterrage and Caer Winterrage (my fourth post) to the website. So read up, and, if you find something to your disliking, please post here.

Greetings

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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby lyllamarie on Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:02 pm

don't worry, no need to send it off somewhere. This will be pulled into Dev once Wolven come up for review to be looked at, and/maybe added to the site upon the race's finished review. :)
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby Cronn Thunderhowl on Mon Apr 04, 2011 7:44 pm

Ah damn, so the old send in something to improve the site and you may choose gold or XP deal is off hmm? Damn Damn Damn... So there was i hoping to squeeze out a little more XP for Cronn by at the same time making the overall race a little more defined thus beating two flies with one clap. (Did that with the wolven religion once, which helped Cronn to jump from 1 to 3)

Well be it as it is, is there a timeframe when you hope to get to the wolven? Could one try to use the stuff written here and play it on IRC, even if it is "not yet accepted background information?" Like playtesting if it works?

And... as a hint for the wolven review: The part about Tribe winterrage in the Religion writeup (where it is used as an example) does not quite match the description here. It reads "Tribe winterrage is a rather small tribe (only 8 packs)" and should, to match it with the things i wrote, mean "Tribe winterrage is a tribe of mediocre size, consisting of 15 pack spread over 8 caers." Just so it does not get missed when you review the wolven.

Well nevertheless was fun to come up with some stuff, i wonder what to do next. I was wondering about the swan may, there are so few around... i ask myself if it comes because there is too less background information available...
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby lyllamarie on Mon Apr 04, 2011 8:21 pm

You can certainly play at it, as its not swinging terribly away from how things are now.

Tribe can be submitted for xp/ the likes, and those who submit things here and is later pulled in by Dev is given xp and/or gold. The rest is more a change on the information wolven have as a whole and will be done once the race is for review.

In terms of 'time', we go in alphabetical order and we're on magi at present.
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby Cronn Thunderhowl on Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:11 am

well...

kinda late i suppose but i would like to submit the "Tribe Winterrage" part for experience. I missed that it had to be declared ánd thought that it would be taken in from dev anyway.

Where would one have to declare that if this is not the right place?
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Re: Wolven society (Tribes and packs)

Postby lyllamarie on Thu Apr 23, 2015 12:12 am

don't worry Cronn, it'll all be taken care of and Dev will be sure to review all the work you did.
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