Doeld'Uln

> *“For every word, an action. For every action, a pay. For every pay, a word.” - Doeld’Uln saying*
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## Val'Doeld'Uln

### Racial Distribution

mostly drowlath with some drowussu and mixed blood

#### **Colors**

Clan’s main colors are black and grey, with the white fish being colorized and patterned with each house’s own color and symbols to be used in their clothes, being the tiny detail they all wear with pride to show off their origin.

### **History**

Upon the Great Wars in the past, as the storm was yet only brewing in the horizon, many criminalistic elements of large cities saw the heightened military activity as a hold on their business, and left these civilized areas. With passing of time, these different organizations and factions travelling the land found each other in their quest of a new home, and joined together in a loose unit of comrades. In years that passed, travel, hardship and the voice of a specific bloodline managed to unite these factions under a blood oath to their new leader. A leader, who became known as the line of Doeld’Uln.

Even after being united, with the great wars this “rogue clan” with tons of known criminals of time was still hunted. To many they were a threat, for their talents, their knowledge, and the mixed ideals they brought together. So, Doeld’Uln were forced to flee, fight and stand for their survival. As they were blamed more and more for their past lies, the leading family of this new “clan” started guiding them away from any of those lies. The crimes and misjudgements of the past were thrown away. A rank based on one’s effort and talent was formed, free of former judgement. Hardship of escaping trained them in skills of words and knowledge, of trade, and of survival.

In early times of Doeld’Uln arrival to the Har'Ol'Nek'Preya, they saw that many areas had clans, companions and groups of old and new alike forming settlements and at least temporary houses for themselves, later in life to be formed into great clan fortresses and cities. Wanting to avoid too much of the attention due to their background, the clan took direction toward the further mountain and its secluded safety, thus meeting with the Val’Yurak’riti. At first it would’ve seemed that it’d be a simple war between the two, but quick thinking of the Ill’haress of Doeld’Uln and understanding sight of Rikunaunay of Val’Yurak managed to avoid such bloodshed. Thus, the new clan was allowed to settle and form home at the mountainside’s vents and hot springs.

Many of older clan members were ready to return to their ways of the past with a strong clan of Val’Yuraks acting as a shield, preventing involuntarily any backlash their criminal acts might cause. But the main family of Doeld’Uln kept firm, instead forcing the clan to use their wide knowledge of all of the old world’s cultures as currency. Information became their weapon, money, and way of life. Old secrets, favors, and tons of personal wealth were used to gain a foothold in politics of the new-forming city, to insert their members in almost every table for more information. Their reliability as informants, scholars and experts in what could be considered “exotic knowledge” gave them quite a status, especially when they declined any actual political power to themselves. Doeld’Uln had been hunted for power struggle with the ruling system before. They would stay out of it for good, merely using it as their way of wealth.

### ***Important people***

##### ***Notable family members***

Hu'inn Mituen Berei Fergeh Doeld'Uln

Mu’inn Mituen Berei Fergeh Doeld’Uln

### ***Culture***

#### **Houses**

Clan Doeld’Uln is built from originally over forty different houses. Bloodlines, gangs, religious organizations, all were mixed together as refugee group under one family’s name for the sake of survival. To this day, about half of these family name lineages have died out, absorbed into larger houses, and even now the smallest ones are as small as two or three members remaining. Every house is a Doeld’Uln first, but they carry with them also memory of their original culture, and thus almost every clan member is something-or-another-of-Doeld’Uln.

Each of these houses is very adamant in maintaining their line’s culture at least somehow alive, and thus for example clothing of the clan has very different colorings and patterns depending on who wears them. Each house has their own pattern for the fish in the Clan symbol, ranging from simple color change to elaborate patterns, and similar pattern is usually presented in their clothing. Between houses, children are a show of trust and alliances, and any children born are usually either presented as a ‘gift’ to one of two parental lines, or divided evenly between the two with mother getting the firstborn. Due to this and every house wanting to maintain their lineage and traditions adamantly, clan members have usually very complicated and long names. This is due to them first announcing their given name, then their mother’s house, father’s house, and then depending on their respect to lineages, they might also announce their grandparents’ or even great-grandparents’ houses, before finally announcing themselves as Doeld’Uln. If one of these is not a clan member, person usually declares that part either as the said clan (if respecting their ‘non-clan parents’ enough and prepared for slight shun this might cause), or as “Abbil”, Trusted friend. These “official names” are used rarely, though, and sharing one fully to another is usually considered a direct suggestion of having children together, as to show what houses would the newborn child be connected to.

#### **Clan culture**

Doeld’Uln have developed very hospitable environment in their clan’s fortress, offering it as a resort of sorts for any other clan members to visit, relax and get weight off their shoulders. They offer multitudes of services from housing, to food, to multitude kinds of baths, steam rooms, snow bathing, massages, games and other such spa essentials. They also offer some bit more exotic possibilities such as fish fight betting, courting for hire, competition on clearing a trapped hallway without being hit by the paint arrows and many, many other such treats. Ulns have embraced their very wide-spread mixed heritage, and brought in multitudes of games, social customs, cuisines and flavors all over the world.

Most important physical products Ulns produce are their delicate mixtures of light and strong liquors that use their local mineral-heavy spring water as base. Trading with any clan willing, using their local products, Ulns combine these into artistically-woven mixtures of flavors that would be impossible to produce anywhere else, and then both serve them at their fortress as well as sell them for hefty price to other clans. These liquors have gained even reputation of being a mark of very high-class parties and celebrations.

Other product they trade in, is information. It is an all-known secret that Ulns gather information from all the clans, publicly buying it, sneaking it off drunk guests or hidden with their spy network, and then sell this information to those that need it. Some theorize that they hold enough knowledge and secrets of clans to destroy half of them, but this is more than speculated bloating. Still, if one wants to learn about other clan’s future trade plans, shifts of focus in power, or simply what kind of gift that one lady you want to woo *really* likes, Doeld’Uln are the people to come buy that information from.

Common clan members work as servants, caretakers and maintainers of their small town -sized resort, as well as cooks, brewers and crafters to support these people. Agriculture or animal caretaking is light, with only pools of sharkoi being fed from time to time and tiny patches of cooking or medical herbs being grown where the environment allows. The clan controls some amounts of slaves and few goblin workers for specific works, but generally prefers actual bloodlines to work over less happy servants.

More talented or high-ranking members work as entertainers, courtesans and diplomats, both keeping their visitors happy as well as gather their clan’s valuable information resources. On backside, similarly important people are sneaking around, acting as spies and messengers on delicate subjects and making sure the current status quo of their clan is not disturbed.

To Doeld’Uln, equal value means everything. Good work is rewarded, and sloppy or lazy work is punished harshly. Every good deed must be repaid with similarly valued object or act in kind, and any wrongdoing must be returned in equal level. Their rules and laws are swift and brutal but fair, which has kept the small houses from rising against the main house all these years. This mentality of “fair trade” expands to their contact with other clans as well. Doeld’Uln rarely says a positive word to clan outsider without them first saying it to them, or paying for other services. But if one treats them fairly or with kindness, they will answer with similar acts upon the goodwiller. If one brings money or goods to them, Ulns will in turn give them a glimpse of heaven in their services. Long-term trusted customers tend to get extra positive treatment from get-go, as even the trust is something Doeld’Uln treat as value of return. Even missbehaved customers are not thrown out, but their bad behavior is simply ‘reduced’ from the payment they offer.

This mentality of trade and return has even created a proverb about Ulns: *“Even at their own celebration, Doeld’Uln will pay customer’s fare.”* It is most common for Doeld’Uln to give outright money or gifts in turn to the house’s owner when they enter celebrations, fairs or even negotiations simply to avoid being “in debt” from good treatment, food and entertainment. Even if they were invited guests.

#### **Mana affinities**

As Doeld’Uln are a mixture of dozens upon dozens of clans and bloodlines, mana affinities are mixed. Every house has their own “speciality” in different amounts and mixtures. Most common ones though are Light, Shadow and Air affinities with hint of Empathy and Blood talents in the mixture.

#### **Military**

Due to their small numbers as well as remote location, Doeld’Uln lack any specific military force. They do have dedicated guards for their fort, and majority of house members, even servants, are trained to fight in their home area, but overall in a war Doeld’Uln could sent out only a handful of soldiers. Laughably only a fraction of what any other clan could have.

What they make this up with, is their spy and infiltration unit. Trained individuals working in tight groups on different clans, gathering information and revealing secrets. Their talent is not in combat, but in silent removal of threats and causing distraction. Stealing hidden papers, capturing targets, interrogation, memory probing and wiping, they know it all. Said to be among the deadliest of the city’s forces in stealth and espionage, the ‘hidden crow’ units are a reason more than few guards look around nervously if their Vals have gained animosity of Doeld’Uln.

#### **Mana specialists**

Doeld’Uln and its fractured mana art lineges means that almost everyone’s talent is taught by their relatives, and honed in the hands of those who can grasp higher arts. They do not have unified mana art users, squads or houses, but everyone with talent is organized under some work name. Those very few with empathy and light affinities tend to be among the entertainers of the clan, making sure guests have great views and sensations all through their visit. Strong shadow affinity usually leads one more toward the Hidden Crows, or into working as a soldier at the fort. For ability to strike from darkness is almost ideal with all the hidden paths and peeking holes fort has built in it.

#### **Clan fortress**

The fort of Doeld’Uln might seem very hospitable at start, with open balconies, little spring streams and dozens of lamps lighting up the place as if to show everyone where to attack if they’d ever come up the mountainside. Truth, however, is very different. Only a few bridges actually cross over a large crevice of lakes and streams where the clan's main sharkoi population resides. Once crossing one of these bridges, visitors must firstly storage any weapon they haven’t left back home into fortified gateway posts, before they can walk across a wide and long front yard with small areas of benches, heaters and stone gardens set in rings for visitors to come cool their heads from the more clear warmth indoors. For even this close to the springs, the cold of the snowy mountain is still clearly refreshing in the air, misting one’s breath if staying away from the heaters for too long.

Inside, the fort’s main public area is built as a series of rooms interconnected easily between each other with sliding doors. Square room after square room, each easily locked away from the other with large doors in between. Floor is usually covered in thick carpets and furs from their ally’s trade, allowing almost anyone to walk bare-feet inside. Walls between rooms hide multitudes of cabinets, doorways and entrances, allowing Doeld’Uln to seemingly create tables, ground-leveled seats, bed rolls, even musical instruments and crafting tools out of thin air. These wall entrances hide away the ways for servants and clan members to move about in forms of stairs going both up into private quarters as well as down into servant areas and kitchens, allowing one to simply pop out from a wall not seen currently and walk into a room without disturbing other guests. Of course, this means anyone foolish to attack the fort would have to check every single wall separately while also being wary of an ambush coming from any direction at any time. There are also tons of hidden floor compartments and ceiling doors for transporting larger tools and gear into the main halls.

To the left and right of this grand meeting hall lies the private quarters of visitors. Singular rooms carved into the mountainside connected with walkways outside of them, balconies with strong roofs to prevent landslides reaching out from this walkway toward the cold outdoors and overlooking the great waters under, offering both very socially active public places as well as those of privacy. These are the guest rooms of the clan, and generally allow housing of hundreds of visitors at a time if need truly be. Above these “public” guestrooms lies the clan’s nobility and their housings. Here the hallway is carved inside the mountain, every house having their own complex of rooms and balconies in similar style as the visitors have. Above the central area, above the ceiling walkways of the servants, lies Ill’haress’ quarters where she as well as her daughters and closest advisors live. And once again, a multitude of hidden paths and secret doors branching from these hallways are common for servants to be able to come almost directly in front of any noble’s room without disturbing anyone else. Truly, if one so wishes, they can have a message delivered to every room in the fort without anyone else ever seeing the messenger on their way. Only place in the fort one must enter naturally, is the quarter of Ill’haress, for no known secret path has been carved to this complex.