Let's start a band!

Bear with me, I had a plot idea and couldn't shake it lmao If you're interested (you have a char that fits or you could be persuaded to adopt one) this is the place to post and let me know c:

“It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.” - Voltaire

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 comradery. Their goal is not only to survive, but to thrive; earning both honor and glory in their tireless pursuit of wealth. First and foremost, each free member is treated as a sovereign entity; coming and going as they please and tending to their own affairs. What holds the band together is respect and the knowledge that together they are stronger than they could ever be alone.

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

LAWS
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. Hjarrandi's laws, while few, are to be taken as seriously as if Odin himself decreed them.

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 law, 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 consort or 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.

Alright, so I have the bones of a band put together, right? So now the question is, who will lead it, yeah? Well, GATHER ROUND FOR A CONVOLUTED STORY that totally wasn't spun together just to marry two of my favorite Ardent families/a butt ton of my favorite old charries. Nope.

SO a few years ago after Yfir fell (and rl ate Laz) Taufr and his father, Laufey, went to the Finnvi's homeland. There, Laufey became very successful. He became a Jarl (chieftain/alpha) for a kingdom there. At his side through all of this was Taufr, who was, perhaps, not the best son. Prone to depression and willfulness, eventually Taufr ran back to Ardent in the hopes of reuniting with the rest of his family and escaping his father's obvious disappointment, but not before impregnating a feisty traveler. That traveler was Rhys Imperialis.

Rhys, knowing children would hamper her freedom, decided to leave the litter with Taufr. Unbeknownst to her, Taufr had already left. She ended up leaving the pups with Laufey, who spared them from illegitimacy by recognizing them as Finnvi and raising them with his own children.

And that is how I got Valkyrie Finnvi. She would be the one to lead Hjarrandi. In a nutshell she is shrewd, analytical and a capable actress. I used the Voltaire quote for a reason; seduction is part of her repertoire. Valkyrie is a reaver and a rascal, but she recognizes that force isn't always the best means to an end. She could charm the quills off a porcupine.

SO if this interests you, please let me know! If there's interest for this kind of thing, I want to know it before I make Valkyrie's purchases as I don't want to scrape together the money for a mutation pass and end up not needing it.

Oh, I did promise adopts, yeah? Okay, so, if you're interested but don't have a char who would be interested in this sort of thing, I might have a couple Finnvis for adoption. They would all be between the ages of 1-2 years and would either be from Valkyrie's litter or her aunts and uncles through Laufey. IF there's enough interest in these I'll put up an adoption thread for them later.