Vinevirke Vikings

*Written by* Karmatose*.*

### Territory

The Vinevirkians built their society on a cold, mountainous region to the West of **Old Vetus**. Historically, their territory consisted of the large central island as well as the four smaller islands surrounding it, but due to their tentative agreement with the City of **Norn**, their territory no longer includes the Southern region of the largest island. Most of their territory is cold year-round, but their waters are plentiful with fish.

The smaller islands that the Vinevirkians inhabit is well-known for having some of most beautiful landscapes in the known world - if you like snow. The coast is lined predominantly with beautiful basalt stone cliffs carved by the waves, and in the springtime you can see the smallest tufts of grass peering out from the snow. Although temperatures remain frigid all year long, many species of plant life have learned to adapt to the inhospitable terrain, including many forms of lichens and tough grasses, coniferous trees and low-lying shrubbery. Like the plant life here, Vinevirkians have become masters of adaptation.

### Important Places

* **Vinby** - The capitol of Vinevirke, and the only major city located on the central island. It is also the seat of Vinevirke's government, with a giant longhouse on a cliff overlooking the city serving as the **Great Chieftain**'s meeting hall.
* **Valhom** - The home of **Vinevirke's Warrior's Hall**. While the Hall is no longer used for it's original purpose of honoring fallen warriors since the nation's induction into the **Commonwealth**, the place still holds a great amount of cultural significance and the city has become an important figurehead for the Vinevirkian's old way of life.

### Society

Vinevirke is ruled by a **Great Chieftain** who lived in the capitol city on Vinby. The Great Chieftain is expected to choose an heir within five years of becoming Chieftain himself. While this title is often passed down the generations, the only true requirement for becoming the next Great Chieftain is committing an act of bravery impressive enough to catch the eye of the current Great Chieftain.

This holds true of any official position in Vinevirke - if you can impress the current position holder with your bravery, you may be chosen as heir. 'Bravery' in this sense may be interpreted in a variety of ways, depending on the predisposition of the current official.

After the Great Chieftain, the members of his council hold the next highest position. Each of the four council members rules as **Chief** over one of the islands surrounding the mainland, where their primary residence and birthplace is located. In matters of importance, the Great Chieftan will call all four Chiefs to his meeting hall in Vinby to convene. While the Great Chieftan's word is final, he is wise to consider the opinions of his council, or else risk a potential uprising.

Under each Chief is a **Village Head** for each village. The Village Heads are integral in the day-to-day management of their own villages, and will travel to the village of their island's Chief on the summer and winter solstice to report any major happenings. Historically, they would also bring with them a small portion of their spoils from war as a gift to their Chief to earn their favor in disputes, but this practice has been abolished since Vinevirke joined the Commonwealth. Instead, Village Heads will bring an offering of livestock or trade goods as gifts.

Architecture in Vinevirke tends to be primarily wooden - Vinevirkian architects have perfected the art of the wooden shingle. They also make impressive carpenters and are well-known for having some of the best shipwrights and sailors in the world. Many Vinevirkians also count themselves among the ranks of merchants and explorers, too. While warriors are still highly valued in Vinevirke, they are often more ceremonial in recent times, and many young men and women grow up dreaming of becoming elite soldiers in the Commonwealth's army.

Vinevirke is also known for having some of the toughest women in the world - there is little difference to a Vinevirkian between a man and a woman's job, provided the individual is competent at the task.

### Culture

Vinevirkians were once a strongly religious culture, but after their assimilation into the **Commonwealth of Vetus**, their religion has slowly been phasing out of common belief. Historically, most Vinevirkians believed in a pantheon of three gods- **The Divine Brotherhood**. There were believed to be two brothers and a sister in the pantheon - one representing life, one representing death, and one representing war. War was believed to be the unifier between life and death - to Vinevirkians, war *was* their way of life.

The sea plays an important role in Vinevirke culture, and most villages in Vinevirke are built directly on the coast. The building and maintenance of ships is a respected tradition in Vinevirke, and their ships have developed a unique structure to other cultures - longboats, able to seat sometimes upwards of two dozen sailors, marked by their intricately carved figureheads, often of various beasts that represent strength and bravery to them - bears and wolves are particularly common figures on their ships.

Even after their induction into the Commonwealth, it is common for Vinevirkian children to spend their time strategizing and fighting in mock battles with wooden weapons. As they grow older, this experience translates as basic military training and those who wish may pursue further education in the militant arts.

Not all Vinevirkians are classically educated, and illiteracy rates are astoundingly high there. However, most everyone in an official position is familiar with how to read and write at bare minimum. Thus, having a classical education is considered essential to anyone who wants to rise the ranks in Vinevirke politics.

### People

To Vinevirkians, bravery is everything - whether that means bravery in battle, bravery against the forces of the sea, or bravery against great odds. They are a proud people with a vibrant culture, which is why it often surprises others to discover how adaptable they can be, too. Vinevirkians know when to hold firm and stand strong, and when to let life flow past them like the river around the rocks. If something is not truly important, they are usually willing to let it go.

People in Vinevirke are usually hardy practical-minded people. They are easily carried away by driving emotions like anger and passion, but may have trouble expressing softer emotions like grief and guilt. They can be quite persistent when they need to be, oftentimes bordering on stubborn, but they also are wise enough to know when something is not worth fighting for.

### History

Vinevirke predates the formation of the **Commonwealth of Vetus** by a great number of centuries. It is unclear exactly how long their icy homeland has been populated, given their lack of clear record-keeping even now. Given their lack of local resources, the Vinevirkians made their living through the raiding and pillaging of villages on the mainland's coast. As a result, their seafaring skills are among the best in the known world.

When a group of refugees arrived on Vinevirke's mainland in an attempt to settle in a cavern underneath the **Engleher Mountain Range**, the Vinevirkians naturally saw this as an act of war. Yet, strangely enough, these refugees, calling themselves '**Norns**', never fought back. Instead, they offered peace offerings of rare minerals and precious metals in return for being allowed to claim some of their land. The Vinevirkians saw no honor in cutting down a foe who wouldn't fight back, and so a tense animosity was sparked with occasional brief skirmishes for over a decade before a tentative agreement was made between the two cultures. Vinevirke's land was rich in minerals, but the Vinevirkians had little understanding of how to extract them. The Norns, on the other hand, were intimately familiar with minerology and would offer rare minerals as tribute each year in appreciation for being allowed to claim the Southern region of Vinevirke's central island. This tradition has continued on for centuries to this very day.

Although the animosity between Vinevirkians and the Norns has faded, the clash between their cultures makes it difficult for the two neighbors to see eye-to-eye on most matters. For the most part, they leave each other to their own devices, only interacting when strictly necessary.

Some centuries after the arrival of the Norns, the Commonwealth of Vetus was founded on the mainland. Vinevirke was offered a seat in their alliance, and in exchange for providing warriors for the Commonwealth's army, they would be provided all the other resources they needed. While the idea didn't sit right with many of the Vinevirkians of the time, Great Cheiftan **Etlas Arnesen** of the time was a wise man who saw the benefit in joining the Commonwealth. Although he was criticized as a coward for bending his knee at first, over time most Vinevirkes came to see his wisdom, especially as Vinevirke flourished with the new wave of resources provided to them. Today, many of the Commonwealth's most esteemed warriors are from Vinevirke.

### Playing as a Vinevirkian:

As a Vinevirkian, you are likely very used to the cold, having grown up in the frozen tundra. On the other hand, it won't take much heat to make you uncomfortable. You probably are not particularly expressive when it comes to things like grief and guilt, but you may feel more open when expressing emotions like anger and passion. You likely struggle to see eye-to-eye with Norns, despite being practically neighbors, due to your conflicting views on war and government.

If you are a male Vinevirkian, you are probably secretly terrified of the women in your village. Likewise, as a female Vinevirkian, you probably not-so-secretly enjoy terrorizing the local men.

Vinevirkians are typically very fair-skinned and light-haired - blondes and gingers are common, although brunettes are certainly not unheard of. Green or blue eyes and freckles are also common features.