Hjarrandi Band

Who can’t defend the wealth they have must die, or share with the rover bold.” - The Saga of Olaf Haraldsson, c.6

While strength will take you places, too heavy a hand will band your adversaries against you. Couple your strength with amenity and you'll increase your chances of success tenfold. Hjarrandi is a nomadic band of freemen (and women) brought together by blood and camaraderie. Their goal is not only to survive, but to thrive; earning both honor and glory in their tireless pursuit of wealth.

Current leader: Valkyrie (Dróttin)
Former leaders: None!
Members: Éldi (Thane), Eisleif (Thane), Eyrún (Thane), Alfrún (Hexe), Dagfinn (Thane), Dragon (Temp), Cloudburst (Temp), Runa (Temp) and Gavroche (Temp)

index

Ranks, Code of Conduct & Raid Rules
Culture
Band Assumptions
History

Ranks, Code of conduct & Raid rules

RANKS
Dróttin - the leader of the band
Drengr - This is a title of prestige for seasoned fighters
Hexe - The band's sorceress/sorceror. He or she acts as the dróttin's advisor. S/he helps choose raiding targets, blesses raids, trades and festivals, etc. as well as see to the spiritual health of the band.
Thane - The free wolves, thanes make up the general population of the band. This includes fighters, healers, navigators, etc.
Kind - The band's children
Thrall - Captured wolves
Níðingr: freemen who have acted shamefully

CODE OF CONDUCT
Few things mean more to a Norseman than his good name. The preservation of this name is the cornerstone upon which Norse society is built. Each member of Hjarrandi is expected to not only preserve his honor but the honor of the band as his actions speak volumes not only about himself but the company he keeps. Each member may come and go as they please, and tend to their own affairs, but there are certain things every member must keep in mind.

STEALING - there is a difference between things won in a fight and things stolen away in the night. The former is honorable but the latter marks one as a thief and a coward.

TREACHERY - it should go without saying that if you break your vows and betray your kinsmen there will be consequences.

MURDER - while raiders shouldn't shrink away from killing their sworn enemies, to take the life of a defenseless person or a kinsman is a grave offense.

INSULTS - Don't be quick to trade insults that question a kinsman's honor unless you're willing to accept the consequences. Seems kind of silly to include this as a rule, right? Well consider this: the honor of a Norseman is his identity, his worth. Besmirch his honor and you diminish his worth. In defense of one's honor it is acceptable to strike someone down.

FAMILY - the children and mate of a raider are to be treated with the same respect as the raider himself as his family is simply an extension of him. All children, legitimate or bastard, belong in the band and the mate (not concubine, mind you) of the raider is expected to be treated with the same respect as a brother or sister.

RAID RULES

If possible, fights should be limited to dominance matches.

Raiders can start minor maim fights if insults have been traded and honor has been called into question.

If a raider is challenged to a maim fight then the raider is welcome to respond in kind.

Scare tactics are welcome as long as the raider doesn't behave shamefully.

Only the Drottin has the power to take captives in a raid but members can make suggestions if they see a good target.

Talismans and weaponry can be brought and used in battle.

Culture

Hjarrandi's culture is VERY LOOSELY based on Viking culture. Valkyrie, the band's current leader, comes from a place where her people are known for being tactical warriors, smart traders, and daring explorers. She's brought that ideal with her and expects her band members to be (or become!) the ferocious fighters, lionhearted adventurers, and versatile tacticians she's accustomed to.

RELIGION
Polytheistic, animistic, and pantheistic in nature with a high regard for magic and a liberal pinch of shamanism. The Old Norse religion is complex and fascinating, and I'm in no position to do it justice here. This section is just meant to give you a feel for its tenets and doesn't come close to covering even a fraction of this religion's intricacies.

GODS
The pantheon of Old Norse gods can be divided into two groups, the Æsir and the Vanir. The Æsir (pronounced  ICE-ir) are beings thought to hold the universe together and keep the giants from turning it back into the formless chaos it sprang from. Their home is Asgard, which rests in the highest branches of Yggdrasil, is partially surrounded by a wall and can only be reached by the Bifrost, which is a burning rainbow bridge that connects to Midgard (the wolves' world).  'Æsir' refers to multiple gods,  'Ásynju' (pronounced  ah-sin-yoo-r) refers to multiple goddesses,  'Ásynja' (pronounced ah-sin-yah) to one goddess, and 'Áss' (pronounced ohs) to one god. The best known members of the Æsir are Odin, Frigg, Thor, Loki, Tyr, Baldur, and Heimdall.

The Vanir (pronounced Van-ir) are associated with fertility, wisdom and prescience, and are thought to be the bringers of health, wealth, fertility and luck. They are thought to be skillful practitioners of magic and are more associated with nature than their Æsir counterparts. Their home is in Vanaheim, the exact location of which is unclear but thought to be the Underworld. The best known members of the Vanir are Njord and his children Freya and Freyr.

SUPERNATURAL FORCES
In addition to the pantheon of gods there are a host of spirits and other supernatural beings collectively referred to as Vættir. There are the landvættir (land spirits), the Sjóvættir (sea spirits), and Húsvættir (house spirits.) There's also  Álfar (elves), Dvergar (dwarves) and Jötnar (giants/trolls). The spirits protect and care for the places they live, and are thought to exert a tangible control over their territory. Wolves who have any tie to their surroundings will do well to appease the spirits who call that space home.

RITUALS

BLÓT
"To worship with sacrifice"
Blóts (pronounced blawts) can be dedicated to any god, spirit or ancestor and revolve around a sacramental feast. The sacrifice is usually a prey animal or a prisoner of war and the blood of the sacrifice is believed to have special powers. The shared meal is considered sacred and the many toasts said throughout serve special, separate purposes.

DÍSABLÓT
This is a harvest-related sacrificial holiday. Gonna try to rework it into something for wolves at a later date.

MAGIC
Seiðr (pronounced Say-der) is Old Norse magic centered around discerning fate and how to make changes to it. While Seidr is more commonly practiced by females, it is open to both sexes and male practitioners (while stigmatized by society) aren't unheard of. Female practitioners are called vǫlva or seiðkona and males are called seiðmaðr, although in Hjarrandi the official title of the band's seer is Hexe.

SEX, LOVE AND MARRIAGE
Marriages are often arranged by the parents of a young couple. Instead of being thought of as a union of two individuals, marriage is considered a union of families. It's for that reason that even marriages based on love are thought over carefully before the commitment is made; there's more at stake than the happiness of the bride and groom. There are a couple wedding day rituals that I'll one day detail if there's a need, but not today!

While marriage and procreation are important, premarital relationships are acceptable provided none of the participants are betrothed. Adultery is common, but frowned upon. If a band member catches his or her mate in the act, he or she is justified in killing both of them, but what happens is largely up to the jilted lover and society tends to base its condemnation (or lack thereof) on their reaction.

Polygamy is acceptable, as is concubinage.

Non-heterosexual relationships are fine, but because an emphasis is placed on procreation they might consider a marriage between a same sex couple a bit odd unless a workaround of some kind has been established. Acceptable? Yes, definitely. Just atypical considering how important offspring is to the culture.

As previously mentioned, there's nothing wrong with premarital relationships and no one will think anything of your character dating or sleeping around. However, it would be wise to tread carefully because having kids before you're married will do a great deal of damage to your reputation and potentially make your life a bit difficult. If a father chooses to recognize his illegitimate children they still won't receive as much support from his family as they would if they were legitimate. If he doesn't recognize them, they belong to their mother and all of the responsibility will fall on her to raise and care for them.

Band Assumptions

GENERAL ASSUMPTIONS
These are things I encourage you to assume IC about Hjarrandi and Valkyrie if you have a character in the band. The limited amount of free time we all have to post can sometimes make it difficult for a character to learn basic and important things about their pack, band, culture, etc. so while these aren't mandatory things your character must know, they will certainly add to your character's understanding of the band, its culture and its leader if you choose to use them.

Band members see Valkyrie regularly.

Band members can learn anything detailed on this page from Valkyrie herself as she would be happy to explain them in conversation. So you can assume Valkyrie taught your character the word seidr and a basic description of what it is, but you can't assume she taught them a spell or a ritual, because none are listed here.

All of the fighter types take turns guarding the loot - just don't name people specifically.

The band moves as a group once a season to a new section of Boreas (north, east, south, west). There won't be a mandatory thread every time, but you can assume your character followed Valkyrie to the land with (don't name specific individuals without their player's permission!) their band mates.

The band moves to a new territory once a month. This is for the band check. Because it is usually just a territory or two away from the previous one, Valkyrie won't expect them to travel as a group like they do when the seasons change. You can assume your character is always notified of the new location but your character doesn't actually have to go there with Valkyrie. All that's really required is that they are close enough to answer the call when she gathers them for raids.

At the very least band members see each other semi regularly provided they aren't actively avoiding their fellow band members. I'm not saying you can assume specific things about specific characters, but you can make general assumptions about the group as a whole. Because band members semi live with one another, you can assume your character sees or smells their bandmates with some regularity.

Hormonal changes won't go unnoticed. If a drug sniffing dog can detect cocaine in a vacuum sealed bag stuffed in the gas tank of a semi, no doubt your character can tell if his or her bandmate is pregnant/lactating/in heat.

COMMON WORDS AND PHRASES
These are frequently used terms you can assume your character has picked up during their time in Hjarrandi regardless of whether or not they've officially heard them used IC. A number of insults have been included because mild jabs at one's honor are common motivators during training, pep talks, etc. These terms are a mix of Old Norse and Icelandic.

Churl - The common man. Can be applied to low ranking pack wolves and rogues or used as a casual insult to belittle a thane who isn't pulling his or her weight.

Fífl/Fáviti/Bjáni - Idiot

Weregeld - the worth of a being or item. Basically restitution for stolen items, injuries or the death of a family member. The wronged party is compensated for their loss by a payout from the guilty party or parties. Failure to pay weregild will undoubtedly result in retaliation.

Danegeld - the price bands and packs can pay to avoid being raided for an entire season.

Drótt - a war-band. Can be applied to Hjarrandi or any group of fighters who initiates a raid against them.

Drenskapr - the band's values. Drenskapr is the raider's code of conduct. More or less their idea of chivalry.

Raggeit - bloody coward. Literally "as cowardly as a goat"

Slápr - a lazy person

Auimingi - weakling

Hamingja - Luck, but not the mainstream definition of it. Viking luck is "a quality inherent in the man and his lineage, a part of his personality similar to his strength, intelligence, or skill with weapons, at once both the cause and the expression of the success, wealth, and power of a family.”

Fjandinn/Andskotinn - damn

Fokk - Fuck

Fylgja - an attendant spirit (i.e. a companion) whose well-being is thought to be intimately tied to that of its owner. Plural is fylgjur

BAND MEMBER ASSUMPTIONS
Below is a list of band members and general assumptions your character can make about them. Please note these are vague assumptions and to learn specific details about them you must talk to their player or learn something IC

WIP - still need the opinion of current band members. Will have an opt-in feature.

travel history

WINTER, YEAR 12 - SOUTH

Inu Island

Trades - none
Danegeld - none

raid history

*gasp* It's empty! Gonna haveta fix that, eh?