Legends of Belariath

The Northern Clans

Religion

Only the Shamans have any real authority and it all derives from Cragtooth, the Harrower. This, now, ancient spirit has been feasting upon thousands upon thousands of tormented spirits since the Clan's first years. It has the power to manipulate the weather within that region of the Northern Wall, it has the power to manifest as a great Wolf(though it rarely does this) and it has the power to taint and change beasts.

The Shamans work in the name of the Winter Wolf, coaxing and goading the Chief to ever greater bloodshed and raidings upon the other barbarian clans around them, and the farming villages in the surrounding Grass Sea.

Shamans

Upon the Day of Ascent, those girl-children who have been secretly selected by the Shamans are ambushed and beaten savagely, their clothes torn, and then tossed out into the blinding snowstorms. There, they must find a way to survive the night. The entrance to the warm caves is just 'there' within sight and they need only go back inside to survive. No dishonor is given to those who do. But, they can never become Shamans, their greatest honor. Those that struggle on into the night are visited by the Wolf. Its bloodred eyes and glistening teeth are seen in the whirling snows and the Shaman is born from that encounter.

They are inducted into the Shamans and their identity is made secondary. They wrap themselves in wolf furs and wear a mask that is reminiscent of a wolf. They never reveal themselves to slaves or outsiders without the mask and furs. To their own Clansmen, they show their faces, however. The Shamans give up on having children, though they may lay with whomever they wish amongst the Clansmen, they are forbidden children of their own. All children are theirs, all Clans are theirs. They are the only women allowed to live within the Holds at any time. The oldest and strongest of the Shamans form the First Pack, a ruling council of Shamans who send word to the Chieftains as to what the Wolf desires and when.

The Harrowing

This is the custom that the Wolf demands, the price put upon Its protection and leadership. Every week of the long long winter, a few living sentients must be staked out in the howling wind and driving snow outside of the Holds as nightfall sets. And there, the Wolf Cragtooth sets upon them and feasts upon their own spirit. Their flesh is left where it lays, a gift to the wolf packs that the Clans let roam free through their mountains. The wolves feast upon the tainted spiritless flesh until it freezes, and then it is left there in the snow until the coming of the spring. The crows then finish what is left of those unfortunates; the first week of spring is called Crows' Feast for this very reason, for they number in the thousands those first few days, feeding upon the remains of so many sacrificed souls.
The Harrowing was first done out of vindictiveness, without thought for the Wolf's desires. But, the Shamans could see the Wolf's hunger as it fed upon those howling tied captives and they could see that it grew stronger from such. Thus, the custom was born. This feasting upon spirit-tainted flesh occasionally results in the transformation of those wolves and crows.

Their Creatures

The Harrowing, Cragtooth's feasting upon living spirits, creates tainted flesh. Flesh that is then consumed by the wild packs that roam freely around the Holds, and by the crows that clean the bones free every spring. Every so often, a malevolent transformation occurs at one of these Harrowings, or during Crows' Feast. The flesh 'changes' the wolf, or crow.

The wolf undergoes a painful and horrifying change, growing in size from that of a normal wolf to being nearly five feet at the shoulder and covered in mangy fur. Blood-red eyes, and their paws grow talon-like claws. The Clansmen call them Brothers, but most of those outside the Clan call them Dire Wolves. The Dires let the Clansmen ride them in battle so long as they're allowed to feast upon the fallen, something the Clansmen never deny them, lest they become a meal, too, which happens inevitably every summer to at least a handful of Clansmen. Cragtooth's Price, they call it. No saddles or reins, the Clansmen simply grip to that greasy fur and hang on. Inevitably, the Dires will pick a rider and that Rider is inducted into the Windrider Clan.

The crow also undergoes a massive change, even more so than the wolf, growing in size. It achieves a fifteen foot wingspan and stands as tall as a large man, and these too will allow one of the Clansmen to ride them and even bond with them. That Clansmen is inducted into the Blackfeather Clan. The Bloodravens are voracious eaters and as eager to raid and slaughter as the Dires, and there is some good-natured rivalry between the two. But, between them, they are a force to be reckoned with by all surrounding Clans.

Due to the climate and terrain, only the strongest of packs thrive around the Northern Wall, but these are survivors through and through and they have a taste for human flesh due to the constant sacrifices in the winter time. Still, they are of nature and not yet unnatural creatures. That honor is reserved for the Dires and Bloodravens.

In the winter, Cragtooth roams the mountains, bringing howling storms and blinding blizzards without remorse or care for His people. Only the weekly sacrifices calm enough to rest and let the winds die. In these blinding storms, packs of Spirit Wolves roam.

Spirit Wolves are the spirits of deceased Northmen who die of old age or in battle. Those deceased are given great elaborate funerals and then their bodies are given over to the wolf packs. It is the greatest of glories for the Northern Clans, and the reason so many are so unafraid of death. To run with Cragtooth for all time. However, only those who die of old age are chosen as pack leaders. Crafty Cragtooth does not want suicidal Clansmen, after all.

Spirit Wolves are intangible and can only be harmed by magic and magical weapons, though there are some Class abilities that can also harm them. They run in packes of six to ten and are led by a larger, tangible Pack Leader. This beast possesses near-human level intelligence and the pack follows his lead and commands without question. They roam only during the winter and delight in testing the defenses of the Holds and Lowland villages, feasting upon any too weak to defend themselves. Cragtooth, however, only feasts upon the sacrifices.