The Vanahelmling Horde

"'It is nearly time for raiding season, and the wolves are hungry.' "-Unknown Soldier of Antimone

Basic Overview
In the frozen tundras of the Hinterlands, far in the Northern Hemisphere of the world, rampages a clan of bloodthirsty barbarians that care only for themselves. A horde of men, orcs, and fiends of all sources that are renown throughout the region for their aggressive behaviors and murderous tendencies. A clan of looters and raiders that offer no love to outsiders, often pillaging villages in and towards Antimone. They take what they want from who they want, walking the snowy pathways throughout the vast continent. They are the monsters of the North, sending chills down the spines of those who hear their clan’s name. They leave none alive in the wake of their destruction, sending despair into the hearts of those who hear their savage war-cries. They are the Vanahelmlings, and they offer no mercy to those they come upon.

Roles of the Clan
Beneath the surface of their savage ways, there is an order to the clan. Everyone in the clan must put forth and contribute, and there is not one single individual who cannot do at least three jobs. There is no true ranking system, but there are positions of power. There are three honorary roles,  each one contributing a massive part in the overall flow of the clan and their survival. Only one of the honorary positions is passed down, and the rest are earned through blood.

The War-Chief
Someone must lead the clan, and the War-Chief is the one who does just that. The War-Chief represents his clan, leading them through times of trouble and making most of the decisions that affects the daily lives of his people. They are the fiercest among their people, often garnering the respect or fear of their subordinates. They must be physically and mentally strong, able to kill any who would dare challenge them for their role as War-Chief. They make sure everyone stays in line, ensure everyone is contributing to the clan, and check that no one is slacking. They organize the military actions of the Vanahelmlings, with help of the clan’s Champion of Wulfnir, and often leads their warriors into combat. The War-Chief is a man to be feared, for there is little these men will not do. The Role of War-Chief is earned through one of two ways. The War-Chief can be challenged by any member of the clan, and if he is slain the challenger becomes the new War-Chief. The other way is if the War-Chief dies in combat against another clan or in a raid, the Elder Sage will pick a new head of the clan. Anyone can challenge the Sage’s decision, however.

The Current War-Chief of the Vanahelmlings is War-Chief Urgrenn Kharn, a master of the art-of-war and a name that is feared throughout the Hinterlands.

The Elder Sage
A clan of warriors will naturally need a healer and a mentor, and often this role is fulfilled by the clan’s Elder Sage. The Elder Sage is, usually, the oldest living member of the clan. This member can be both male or female, depending on who is the wisest and the oldest, and is looked up to by the rest of the clan. They are picked by the clan, after the previous Elder Sage dies, and for the rest of that individual’s life they will hold that position. The Elder Sage’s main responsibilities in the group is to help guide the War-Chief along his path, helping them make decisions and acting as a voice of wisdom. In times of peril, and when the War-Chief cannot make a decision, the Elder Sage will be the final vote for any decision. The Elder Sage becomes temporarily in charge whenever the War-Chief and the Champion of Wulfnir go off to raid, acting as the head of the clan. If the War-Chief dies in combat against another clan or in a raid, the Elder Sage picks the next War-Chief. Their decision is final, but can be challenged by any member who deems themselves strong enough to take on the new War-Chief.

The current Elder Sage of the Clan is Elder Hunngild Vitmeg, a wise man that had, at one point, been the War-chief himself before giving up his role to Urgrenn.

The Champion of Wulfnir
When the War-Chief charges into combat, there is often another warrior charging in right beside him. That warrior is the Champion of Wulfnir, the second strongest warrior in the Clan. The Champion of Wulfnir is the second face of the clan’s might, often acting as a second-in-command. He organizes the strength of the people, acting as both trainer and disciplinary figure. He punishes those who steps out of line, and keeps eye over the slaves and supplies. He helps the War-Chief lead the soldiers into combat, offering advice on military strategies and being a second opinion to plans. The Champion of Wulfnir will, occasionally, be the face of the clan and fight against another clan’s champion when there is a dispute. Some say that Champions are imbued with strength by Wulfnir, the Wolf-God of the North. They say that when the Champion howls a battle-cry Wulfnir will grant them protection and give them the capability to win their fight, no matter what the odds are against them. The position acts similarly to the War-Chief’s when it comes to owning it, the new Champion either being picked by the Elder Sage or killing the previous one in a duel.

Other Roles
There are other ways that individuals may serve the clan, however, and everyone can do at least three jobs.

Hunters: The Hunters do exactly what their job sounds like, they go out and hunt for food. They hunt reindeer, seals, small animals, and other creatures of various sorts. They also, often times, double as fishers or archers.

Craftsman: The Craftsman of the Clan create various objects for their clan-mates. There are multiple times of craftsman, the most popular being the weavers who often use supplies stolen from raids or pelts from hunts and spinning them into hardy apparel for the blistering cold. Weavers also, of course, tend to double as tanners or carpenters, never just creating one thing or one type of thing.

Warriors: The Warriors of the Clan serve on the front-lines, charging head-first into combat to deliver killing blows to the foes of their people. Everyone in the clan, except the young, the elderly, and most of the women, are warriors. They spend their entire lives learning how to fight, and never stop learning until they either die or cannot fight any longer. Warriors also often take the roles of guards, wardens, trainers, and hauling supplies to and from the camp.

Healers: The Healers of the clan are, often times, the women or the elderly. They are those who cannot fight any longer, and stay at home to help mend wounds or see after the children. They use herbs, often gathered by the hunters or stolen by the warriors, to create poultices and bandages. Healers often double as storytellers and voices of wisdom.

Religion
The Vanahelmlings worship two gods, both of them respected for a different trait.

Wulfnir
Wulfnir, the Wolf-God of the North, is worshiped for his tenacity and savagery. Wulfnir represents the animalistic nature of the clan, and the Vanahelmlings utter prayers to him before they go into combat or fight. They say that Wulfnir takes both the form of a savage wolf and the form of a massive werewolf, shifting between both looks whenever he pleases. It is said Wulfnir helps the Vanahelmlings by guiding them to their prey, imbuing them with the strength to take down a foe of any size. Wulfnir is the father of wolves and all related species, groups of individuals which often appear monstrous and are deadly. He is the father of warriors and fighters, and so many men will give their prayers to him before charging headfirst into combat. Those that are blessed by Wulfnir will never flee from the battle, filled with an undying lust for combat that can only be sated by the blood of their enemies, much like the wolf.

Jhorntir
Jhorntir, the Father of Winter, is worshiped for his coldness and his strength. Jhorntir represents the North itself, visualized as the falling snow and the blistering cold. It was said, by the first of the Vanahelmlings, that Jhorntir was a massive frost giant which brought forth the eternal winter upon the Hinterlands. The Vanahelmlings utter prayers to him when they go on hunts, or to bless them when they need food or shelter. It is said Jhorntir’s breathe was cold enough to freeze entire acres of land, and that he enables his warriors to traverse safely across such perilous terrain. It has been said that Jhorntir is the father of travelers, often leading others through the winter-wonderlands and guiding them to places of solace and safety. Those that are blessed by Jhorntir will never lose their way, and they will never wander into danger, much like the father.

History
The Vanahelmlings have a long and bloody history, dating back for centuries. The clan’s first appearance in recorded history was in 172 A.T.H, when a horde of warriors wearing wolf pelts rushed into a village, bordering Antimone and the Hinterlands, and burned it to the ground. They killed most of the villagers and recruited the rest. The Vanahelmlings were, at this time, known as the Wulvenkin, or the People of the Wolf. However, their history dates another century back, a time that was filled with death, despair, and sickness.

The clan originally consisted of outlaws, outcasts, groups of individuals who had been taken from their homes by other roaming clans, and various other sorts of wanderers. They were a bunch of rag-tag survivors. Perhaps the fates had decreed it, but these lost souls had all come together and found one another in the frozen tundras of the Hinterlands. Despite their initial confidences, they had to survive the blistering and biting cold. Many of them perished in the worst of the year. They did not understand the land or the season, many of them being from Antimone. However, those that did survive learned how to control the land and bend the winter to their command, learning to conquer it. These hardy few would find more lost souls, taking them in and offering them a home. For a few decades it was like this, just lost souls banding together and doing what they could to live off the land. The clan was never that big, never surpassing more than 20 or 30 of them at once. However, as the later generations passed on by, and more of the members became 2nd or 3rd generation survivors, they needed a name. They, at this period, were known as the Jorntun, or the children of Jhorntir.

Eventually, of course, rival clans and hordes arose within the tundra, looking to the Jorntun for easy pickings. The Jortun were relentlessly harassed by other clans, often losing entire weeks worth of food and supplies from raids. At one point, they nearly did not survive a following winter after a harsh assault from the Helligornlings, a rival clan which saw the Jorntun as puny and weak. What doesn’t kill you, however, teaches you a lesson. After the first few years the Jorntun had enough, beginning to train themselves in the way of combat and self-defense. They learned to craft their own weapons, and how to stay alive during a fight. They trained themselves into warriors, adopting techniques that other clans used when they fought. The clan, once they learned, fought with such tenacity and rage it was said the Jorntun were like Wulfnir, fighting as if they were his children. The Jorntun would adopt the name of Wulvenkin, or the People of the Wolf.

For 5 decades they rampaged along the North, taking out as many rivals clans as they could come across. They spared none in their wake of destruction, slaughtering children and women alike. When they came along the Helligornlings, however, it was far worse for them. They didn’t JUST kill the women, but rather did unspeakable atrocities to them for the relentless years of torment they endured at the hand of the Helligornlings’ men. They kidnapped the children, choosing to raise the young-bloods as their own, and then either looted or destroyed the rest of the supplies. Out of spite and vengeance, the Wulvenkin would leave the warriors of the Helligornlings, that had not died in combat, to freeze to death in the cold. They left the women and men, that still lived, unclothed, practically ripping the apparel off of their backs and stealing everything they owned. Then, when it was all said and done, they left. They took their new belongings, and new recruits, and walked away. They condemned what remained of the Helligornlings to perish in the snow, a punishment for all the suffering they had caused the Wulvenkin.

For such an act of barbaric proportions, there was a message to be learned from it. A message the Wulvenkin wanted to make sure came across quite clearly to the other Hinterland tribes. If you messed with the wolves, you got the teeth.

As time rolled on, the clan begin to realize they needed more and more supplies to keep themselves alive. They looked to Antimone, and her ripe villages, and saw potential there. By now, the people of the Wulvenkin were at least 5th or 6th generation Jorntun, and so shared no love for Antimone. They journeyed to the border, and then began their rampage of looting and burning once more. This was the first recorded attack of the Wulvenkin, the name of the clan spreading throughout Antimone. The name had already been feared by the Hinterlands, and now it was to be feared by the southerners who lived in comfort and warmth. If the Barbarians could master the cold, they damn sure would master the warmth too. Despite some great attempts to dissuade the Wulvenkin from their raids, it was to no avail. They took what they wanted when they wanted, and anyone who got in their way would face great punishment. Their military ferocity and savagery was to be feared, and many proud warriors from Antimone would turn tail and run at the sight of such monsters charging forth. For another two hundred years it was like this, the Wulvenkin living the life of raiders. They would raid Antimone for a year, and then disappear for nearly ten. The Wulvenkin would eventually change their names again, near 320 A.T.H, and would rename themselves to the Vanahelmlings. It has been their name ever since, and even now they shift their gaze to the warming of Antimone. As the winter season is beginning to dwindle, the need for a raid has been warming up in the hearts and souls of the warriors.

Be warned, ye who live near the border of the Hinterlands and Antimone. Be warned, ye who holds their loved ones and their personal belongings in high-esteem. Be warned, ye who knows naught how to raise their blade in self-defense. Be warned, ye who lives a simplistic life in your homely villages.

The Vanahelmlings are coming, and they thirst for blood.