Home, Rules, Message Boards, The Parthenon (AIM), The Parthenon (AOL)
Back to World, White Seas, Tribes of the White Seas
The Fensalir
South of the White Seas and down to the northern boundaries of the Northmen Kingdoms are the Fensalir, known to most southlanders simply as "the AEsir," for it is these clans with which outsiders are best acquainted. Clans of the Fensalir include the Rhoskav, the Skarlar, the Gjallandi and many others. Each one is proud and warlike, and extols its courage and fierceness above its rivals'. While the Fensalir recognize the same gods as the human kingdoms, they primarily venerate Eoshdorr and Baoz, who represent different facets of strength.
In their homelands, the Fensalir are farmers and herders, raising wheat, cattle, and woolly sheep. They net fish from the cold crystal rivers that run down from the Spinning Winds to the White Seas and gather alpine berries from the mountains' slopes. Several clans have developed woodworking and metalsmithing to fine arts.
These are not, however, the activities for which they are best known. It is their tradition of raiding that has made them famed and feared throughout the Kingdoms of the Northmen, as well as along the coast of the Twelve Kingdoms as far south as Langmyr and even Seawatch.
The key to the success of Fensalir raids lies in their dragonships: graceful, comparatively lightweight boats capable of moving under either oar or sail. The shallow draft of the dragonships allows them to navigate rivers, lakes and coastal seas with equal ease, and under courageous captains to risk even the open ocean. The light weight permits their crews to carry them short distances overland, bearing the vessel from one river to another to thwart pursuit or surprise unwary towns. Combined with the giantkin strength and ruthlessness of their crews, the dragonships are and for centuries have been a serious threat to isolated towns and villages all the way to Seawatch. While most raiders only seize food, livestock and valuables, some clans take thralls, and the Gjallandi are known for conducting blood sacrifices with townspeople to win Baoz's blessing on their raids.
Dragonships are named for their exquisitely carved prows, which are customarily designed to resemble dragons or crested serpents with the unique insignia of their clans. The dragonships of the Skarlar always have serrated spines running down their necks and eyes of azurite or onyx, while the Rhoskav mark their ships with gilded crests and travel under sails of white bearing a four-legged dragon in red. The Gjallandi, who are known even among the Fensalir for bloodlust, decorate their dragons with necklaces strung from the bleached bones of their victims, and break their vanquished foes' swords so that their shards may serve the beasts as teeth.
The importance of the dragonships to Fensalir culture can hardly be overstated. A boy is not considered a man among them until he has gone on his first dragonship raid; this is a more momentous occasion than his first killing or his first woman, and a youth who is unable to raid because of physical or emotional impairments is likely to be forever viewed with pity or disdain, regardless of anything else he accomplishes in his life. The great heroes of the clans are buried or burned in their dragonships, outfitted in full armor and weaponry, and sometimes accompanied by a host of sacrificial maidens captured in raids.
The navigation of the dragonships is a closely kept secret among the Fensalir, who conceal their true methods behind a screen of ruses and false practices that may, perhaps, be regarded as lucky -- for despite all their skill, they are as superstitious as any other sailors -- but which have no actual predictive value. It is said that they keep crystals threaded from silver wire, and hold these crystals up to split the sunlight and thereby orient themselves more accurately than any compass could. Another tale says they keep cages of ravens on board the ships, feeding them on the flesh of their raid-victims; when a Fensalir crew loses sight of land in unfamiliar waters, they release the ravens and follow the course of their flight to shore.
Whatever the truth of these stories, it is indisputable that the captains of dragonships will risk -- and conquer -- seas and storms that the best of the Breidhain would hesitate to confront. For them this is a point of pride, and indeed their skill is such that AEsir sailors and mercenaries can find lucrative employment across Meditra. Many Fensalir leave their homelands to earn fortunes in human lands, acting as an unofficial counter to the impression of their people left by the raiders.
There are no comments on this page. [Add comment]