[OOC] Historically Speaking

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Please do not post here, this is for reference materials only.

 

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Welcome to the Myrsky Syntynyt, the Stormborn.

"Viking is a verb, you know. One goes a-viking." - Michael C. Frassetto

Situated on the upper elevations of a finger of a fjord, the pride is able to look down on its surroundings. The sheer cliffs which characterize the area are not necessarily the highest points, but they are the most obvious ones and they offer protection to the Stronghold. The highest points are actually above the cliffs, and they have something of an ice melt situation going on. The more gradual slope on the other side of the stronghold is deceptive, giving the impression of easy access, but the waters in the stream move every bit as quickly as those surrounded by cliffs, and at their edge is a marsh. There is also a wooded area which is said to be haunted and into which most Stormborn do not care to venture, except, perhaps, on a dare.

The Stormborn themselves tend to live in the center of the upper elevations, in a cliff-protected portion called the Stronghold, where there is significantly less vegetation but for the hardy mint which they love so much, and which causes a state of inebriation in those who make use of it. What fertile, open ground does exist in the pride is used to house the herds of prey beasts the pride keeps for easy slaughter.

The weather is often harsh and unforgiving in this rocky land, and it is a rare day when the sun is not partially shaded by clouds or fog or both. Rain is frequent here, with its violence ranging from a light mist to torrential downpours. There is also hail, seasonally, and an entire season in which storms rage most of the time. Prior to the storm season is a windy season which the pride holds in special esteem, for it heralds change.

Clearly some liberties have been taken with the African coastline to make it suit the Stormborn setting, as you can see from the very rough map. Just go with it.

 

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Alliances and Enemies

The Stormborn is always happy to form relationships (good, bad, or otherwise) with other prides. If you would like to set something up, PM Ctrl F Greenie. (Below the spoiler are prides that have been disbanded.)

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Maestros Del Mar (a.k.a. "Those Filthy Pirates")
The Stormborn dislike the pirates and hate to be mistaken for them. They view them as unruly, selfish, thieving miscreants. Just because they also happen to live near water and go out raiding does not mean they are remotely similar. The Stormborn tend to kill pirates when they encounter them, or at least give it their best shot. This is a deeply ingrained prejudice, though a fairly recent one, only dating back to Aesir's tenure as Warlord. The pride's disbandment will probably not disappoint many people.

Einaliai Thalassai (a.k.a. "Those Vicious Monsters")
The Stormborn do not trust the lionesses of this pride, viewing them rightly as dangerous temptresses who will steal all they can from a lion and leave him drowned or witless after doing so. The creatures who inhabit their lands are considered monsters, even if they are beautiful, and it is a brave and foolish Reaver who goes seeking one for a Thrall, though to bring one back in a raid is an impressive feat. Generally these monsters are thought to be bad luck, and bringing them back is risky not only for oneself, since they are tricky, deceitful creatures, but also to one's neighbors.

 

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History

Legend has it that the Stormborn are children of storm gods, with a liberal infusion of warrior gods. Whether this is true or not, it's the claim that the Stormborn make, and others would be wise not to dispute it.

At some point after the gods themselves no longer intervened in the affairs of their Stormborn, they became a pride of marauders, venturing out from their stronghold by the sea to capture whatever they wanted or found needful. It was necessary because the gods were no longer there to provide for their children, and the harsh climate surrounding the stronghold was extremely defensible, but not conducive to many life-sustaining activities like hunting, though there is always bounty to be had from the sea, for those who know how to catch it.

As the Stormborn exhausted their resources and began to look afield, they realized they were very good at taking whatever they wanted, regardless of the protests of the original owners. Women, herds of preybeasts, and anything else that caught these powerful lions' attention were not safe. Any who stood against them were overpowered, often brutally, and the survivors were made into indentured servants, little better than slaves which came to be known as Thralls.

Naturally, not all lions are born fighters, no matter how good their bloodline, and yet they may still be Stormborn. It took some time for the pride to recognize this fact, since they believed that they were all meant to be conquering fighters. Once the Freeborn class emerged, however, things began to run much more smoothly in the stronghold, since they were now a recognized part of society, and not merely very bad or reluctant warriors. And the Freeborn found ways to make themselves useful.

Inbreeding has never been a problem for the Stormborn, given their tendency to take Thralls and then get children with them, whether legitimate or not. Bloodlines are important, of course, and those who can trace their bloodlines back to the gods are afforded a certain amount of respect, if not actual authority. Nevertheless, because the blood of the pride has become so mixed, it is difficult to tell whose blood is pure, if anyone's is, and so they very slowly began to allow exceptional outsiders to occupy places in the pride, though these places had to be fought for and earned.

The Warlord who instituted the official system of challenges and several Warlords after him spent the entirety of their rules losing the title and winning it back from challenge-happy Reavers. It didn't take long for changes to be made once again to how Warlords were chosen, and the election system was instated, though it took some time for the Captains, Lawspeakers, and Priests to learn to vote in the pride's best interest. Bribery was and remains a popular means of ensuring support for would-be Warlords.

All of this happened so long ago that most names have been lost, even to the Lawspeakers and Priests whose task it has been to preserve history. Of course, some of that may have been willfully concealed by various lions. There are always parts of history that are better off not known. Much has gone since then, and while the tales are wondrous, the telling of them would take entirely too long, and so they'll pass untold for the time being.

And so we find ourselves looking at the current Warlord.

Not Stormborn by birth, Aesir came to his position in the Stormborn by winning a Challenge and working his way quickly and violently through the ranks. It took him less than a year to achieve Captaincy, as the Captain of his first band died on a raid and he was elected to the position in her stead, and two years to decide that he would make a better Warlord. Unfortunately, the current Warlord, Gunne, was in perfect health, and not likely to die any time soon, Aesir took matters into his own paws and challenged him for the position

He lost that first challenge, but not his life, and Gunne sentenced him to three years as a Thrall. From this position he seduced the Warlord's pretty young bride and convinced her to kill the Warlord and name him her consort. To this end, he enlisted the aid of a priestess named Morrigan who supplied the necessary herbs to kill Gunne. When he became Warlord, Aesir gifted the former consort to one of the Captains to ensure his loyalty and support and rewarded Morrigan for her role by asking her to be his wife.

His behind-the-scenes machinations were not generally known and for a while Aesir led the pride through a time of relative peace and liberal beliefs, allowing females to become reavers and captains and encouraging viking bands to work on extending the pride's borders. Much of this changed when a traditionally-minded captain named Njal returned from a prolonged tour at one of the pride's outposts and decided to bring some of these rumours to light before challenging Aesir for leadership of the pride during the next breytast vindar. Njal was victorious in his challenge, blinding Aesir and then taking the shocking step of exiling the crippled former Warlord along with his entire family, with the threat that any family member of Aesir's remaining in Stormborn lands would be made a Thrall.

Warlord Njal returned the pride to its more traditional routes, discouraging and practically forbidding females from holding martial roles and instead encouraging them to stay close to home. He also restored the restrictions on Thrall offspring, stating that any thrallborn would be a Thrall. The pride was fairly evenly split between Stormborn who supported Njal's conservative rule and those who chafed under it. During his rule, a sizeable portion of Aesir's family hid out in the forest below the Stronghold, contributing to the rumours that the place was haunted.

Njal's reign was also fairly peaceful, but he did not retain his position for all that long. A young captain named Ruzanski who had been almost-exiled by Aesir returned from the nigh-impossible quest the former Warlord had set him and eventually challenged Njal for his position during the next breytast vindar. Upon winning, he shortened his name to Ruzski and set about reversing most of Njal's rulings regarding female reavers and captains and recalled Aesir's exiled family to the pride. Generally speaking, Warlord Ruzski is a well-liked leader.  

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Reign of Svana

The reign of the first female Warlord for many generations was quiet for the most part. She brought forth a number of new Captains and managed to see a new High Priestess in her seat at last. Svana's reign, however short, will remain memorable to all those that lived beneath it. A female in that position was nearly unheard of and would likely go down in history.  

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Reign of Zjarri'fol

Another female Warlord, something the likes of the Myrsky Syntynyt wasn't prepared for. The challenge with Svana was underwhelming at best, but satisfied the requirements to ensure a victory for Zjarri'fol.

Unfortunately her reign has not brought along triumphs, mostly deep regret. Her name has been sullied by misfortune after misfortune. The final of those misfortunes being the God that cursed their home to the doom of hunger, a hunger so fierce that often times the night would turn to day and moans could still be heard. Even though she has fixed the problem... it's possible the pride sees having a female leader - aside from the priestesses - as being bad luck.

No triumphs during Svana's reign and a lack luster performance by Zjarri? Neither could possibly blame the pride members for beginning to question...  

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Reign of Ushindi

Violence was clearly something this Warlord is very familiar with. He swept aside Zjarri'fol with ease, leaving behind a battered and very near lifeless body of a lioness that at one point breathed life into the very soul of the pride. Though her time as Warlord was lack luster she wasn't despised - by all.

To some his actions were predicted, and welcome. A female Warlord? The pride had made many changes over time and this was likely one that brought them plenty of the bad fortune they had seen. Generations bore witness to situations that could easily be seen as avoidable had the pride chose to stay with their history. Historically speaking bloodlines were power, males left to secure wealth while females stayed home to keep the den and raise the next generation of sons and daughters of the Storm.

With the rise of Ushindi he has made it clear that he wants to revisit the old, while updating to include some new. He isn't foolish enough to believe that the females that once experienced freedom won't fight, but he will only give in so much. Thus the birth of Shield-Maidens and Valkyries. The trusted females, not that they imagine they will run off, no - they can handle themselves. War isn't unfamiliar to them and so they will survive.

Ushindi isn't finished here though...