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The Jarvela clan is a nomadic arctic tribe, originating in lands far away from Ardent. Truthfully, calling them the “Jarvela clan” is a bit of a misnomer, as they don't have any official name for their group -- and though many of the wolves in the tribe are related by blood to the Jarvela family, many are not. Without any sort of formal organization, they have no leaders and no official name. They simply exist, following similar travel routes as one another and maintaining a loose group based on shared interests, culture, and loyalty. Based on the Sami religion of northern Scandanavia, many of these wolves are intensely spiritual and finely in tune with nature. They worship reindeer as sacred, historically surviving mainly off following their migration each year. Rather than being strict in their faith, they tend toward the more spiritual and metaphysical side of religion, allowing for loose interpretation of their beliefs.
GENERAL CULTURE
This group are, first and foremost, nomads. They are taught from birth a love for life and adventure, to revere nature and all things in it - but also to love themselves and family above all else, and to reject any notion of anyone having authority over them. They can be all sorts of alignments, though lawful ones are rare - they tend to be more chaotic, adhering to either their own standards or even none at all. Taught to have a deep love for nature, they vary wildly in interests - some are devout healers, others driven by the thrill of the hunt, while others might simply having a love for exploring the world or even be drawn to show off their physical prowess in battle.
They are receptive to others joining their group and forming bonds with them, so long as they respect their way of life, and all who join are considered as good as family. Group bonds can be as tight as family bonds in many circumstances, and sharing blood means less than camaraderie.
As far as language, all should be fluent in Finnish, their mother tongue, and most know some English (though not all have to know it perfectly; disjointed English is pretty common for those that grew up in the tribe), and some might know bits other Northern languages as well, depending on their travels.
Note: these wolves have all left the main tribe to come to Boreas/Auster! The tribe exists in some far-away northern land that doesn't exist on site, so all wolves here are presumed to have left the main tribe at some point in their lives.
RELIGION
This link gives a good overview of Sami shamanism, on which this group’s religion is based. The most basic aspect of their faith is that it is extremely focused on
nature - they have a strong love for nature and all things in it. Many tend to be adventurers, and to long for the company of the trees and of rivers as strongly as that of other wolves.
Animism, the belief that all things have souls (including things like trees and rocks), is a major aspect of their faith too; they also believe that a shaman known as a
noaidi, as an intermediary between the spiritual and physical world, is able to enter into a trance and consult with the dead. These
noaidis had general interactions with the spirits too, often able to help predict the weather to help follow the reindeer herd, among other things.
Another thing they strongly worship is
reindeer - in the far north the group thrived exclusively off following their herd and hunting them, worshiping their sacrifice and never feeding needlessly, and always working to help their herd thrive and protect it from other predators.
Click
here for a good list of some of their deities.
RELATIONSHIPS
They tend to view sexuality as an extremely fluid thing; their teachings emphasize free love, and no real importance is placed on monogamy for either gender. In fact, monogamy is seen as a bit unnatural by most, and this is something most of the group would pass on to their children. Of course, wolves that chose to mate for children would often be especially close to the parent of their child and consider them a closer relationship than others, though this isn't definite.
TRADITIONS
They would follow the reindeer migration each year - they would travel long distances in the spring, when the reindeer would gather to breed, and again in the fall when the herds would break apart and move to more heavily forested areas before winter set in. They lived in the north, often in mountainous tundras, and are used to a hard and brutal existence. Fighting and rowdy behavior is not uncommon among these wolves, and they often had friendly brawls among one another.
They are taught about and generally drawn to strange land formations of all sorts, called sieidis, and often would offer sacrifices to them - including animals, prey, and things obtained from prey (horns, hooves, etc.)
VALUES
They place high importance on values such as independence and self-preservation. The weak were not coddled; if someone could not keep up, they were left behind. They tend to be a bit selfish in this regard, though they were raised to be both fierce and fearless.
Most are also pretty anti-authoritarian and detest the ideas of packs or any kind of ranking structure in a group.
Alignments can vary wildly, though most stray away from both extreme ends of the spectrum, and chaotic alignments are common.
CURRENT WOLVES
Áki Jarvela {inactive} - Left the group in the Winter of his 3rd year, whereabouts unknown.
Though any wolves now would be too young to have met him, most would've known his father, who also had tusks.
Sabine Jarvela {inactive} (sister to Aki and Sunniva)
Sunniva
{deleted} (sister to Aki and Sabine)
Kai Jarvela (Aki's son) - Born on Ardent in the Fall of Year 8. Wouldn't know members of the group, but would probably recognize them as family pretty quickly!
Mikkal Jarvela (Aki's paternal cousin)- 6 Years old
Kanja Jarvela {inactive} (Sabine's daughter) - Born in the tribe and lived there briefly, but has since come to Ardent, 2 Years old
Asgeira Aldfinnr {inactive} (unrelated)
{inactive} - Joined the tribe with her brother Jouko when their parents were killed, 2 Year old
Jouko Aldfinnr {inactive} (unrelated) - Joined the tribe with his sister Asgeira when their parents were killed, 2 Years old
APPEARANCES & RULES
Wolves born within the family generally have similar coat patterns, but they can vary quite a bit! These colors include whites, greys (from light to dark), and dark to bright red patterns.
Wolves born outside of the family can have any appearance. However, because these wolves generally come from the extreme north, they tend to be bulkier and have thicker fur. Tribal markings aren't uncommon.
These adopts have
no activity requirements and will not be taken back for any reason whatsoever. Please consult with the players of characters before making wolves that are directly related to someone else's (i.e. parents, siblings, children). Wolves who are cousins/other distant family of the Jarvelas are fair game, though!
Please, no wolves that go against everything their family believes in (i.e. hates religion, wants to be a slave for a pack, or anything equally as absurd), because that's just no fun. They don't have to be best buds with everyone, or embody every single idea of the group, but please... nothing too outrageous!
Here are some designs you're welcome to claim and apply with:
one,
two,
three 
