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Vaelsh |
Mention of the name Vaelsh brings to mind many images. Snow, trees, and viking warriors. While each of these is true in a way, Vaelsh is a complex nation and culture, much like any other. It has a rich nautical tradition, as well as being very open to dealing with beings of other species, a rarity in the Wyrld.
Capital
The one and only city also lends its name to the greater nation. At the end of the Escherenn River, Vaelsh is a spread out city built of stone and wood in equal proportions. Almost half of the population of this city is transitional or seasonal.
Social Structure
Most of the Vaelsh live in small farms, camps, or holds spread throughout the penninsula and surrounding region, although a fair number are also at sea or making the trek back from trading expeditions to the south at any given time.
Every Vaelshman belongs to a clan, usually their father's clan, although there have been rare instances in which a man switches clans during his life. Vaelsh children and women are not members of a clan. Young men are inducted into the clan at a festival sometime between their fifteenth and eighteenth birthday. Earlier inductions are considered more auspicious for the fate of the man.
Outsiders are only inducted into a clan as the highest honor, and the number of times this honor has been afforded are few, although noteworthy. The inclusion of the Rock Troll Adum Chackthar into the Tresnar Clan marks the beginning of a long and friendly relation between the two nations.
Political Structure
The political structure of Vaelsh is very loose. In most cases dealings are done with a representative from an individual clan rather than the nation as a whole. The Vaelsh (which is the word meaning "to come together" in their language) did not have a unified government or large permanent settlements until they came in contact with foreign human nations.
This confederation of clans makes decisions in a council that meets in Vaelsh. The council has authority only in affairs that affect the safety of the Vaelsh nation and people as a whole, and the clans are not obligated to obey the dictates of the council. The true power of the council is as a tool of communication between respected representatives of the clan leaders who then return to their clan leader and convince him of the wisdom of a particular course of action. In recent times the clan leaders themselves have moved from ancestral homes to Vaelsh, and usually take part in the council directly.
Religion
The religion in Vaelsh is similar to the political structure in many ways, although it is quite separate. Rather than a large organized community, or any sort of system involving ordained priests, the Vaelsh follow a reasonably simple religion. Deities and local spirits are appeased or beseeched more than they are worshipped, although the occasional person who dedicates themself to following one particular being does exist.
For the most part the elders concern themselves with these issues and the general community brings concerns forward to be handled by those with more experience. Vaelsh bards and poets, called skalds, are often consulted by the elders as part of the process of determining the proper way to address a particular supernatural being.
Some of the most noted super-natural beings known to the Vaelsh are:
Gods:
Other beings:
Economics
Economics in Vaelsh is based upon two very different systems. For trade with other nations the Vaelsh use precious metals, either in small chunks and ingots, or coins from other countries. No minting process has yet been established in this northern realm.
Amongst themselves the Vaelsh people still utilize their time honored system of barter. Chickens for bread, lumber for oxen, etc... In addition to this direct barter system lies the bonds of clan. Clansmen often live within a short days travel of each other, and are usually more than willing to help with tasks that one family cannot easily do alone.
The raising of new buildings and other such large projects are often done by all Vaelsh of a particular clan in the local area. Large economic projects, including trade voyages and caravans to other nations, are often undertaken by a number of clansmen once they have set things in order on the homefront to allow their absence. The growth of the city of Vaelsh has allowed an increasing number of Vaelshmen to specialize in their trades, and these northmen have shown a surprising savy for trade and other related ventures.
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