Wolfkin

Home Ground
 General Alignment

Colloquially known as "wolfkin," the Ulfhedinn are a race of animalistic hybrids that appear crosses between man and dog. They hail from the northernmost region of Visgird and live in strong caste societies.

## History

Originally foreigners from an archipelago far to the east called the Haelvrige Islands, the Ulfhedinn made north-eastern Lionsdale their home roughly 400BCW. They brought the strange ways of their old home with them and have for the most part maintained them over the years. This has led many of the more 'refined' beings to look unfavorably on Ulfhedinn as a whole, seeing them as simple barbarians.

## Demographics

Things like tribal percentages and gender ratios go here.

## Physical Description

The Ulfhedinn are a race of animal beings which, as their name suggests, resemble humanoid wolves. Most Ulfhedinn are fairly tall and bulky, standing at 6 feet tall and weigh around 210 pounds of muscle and fur. Females are shorter and more slender. Their eyes are typically yellow, amber, orange, or brown. Blue eyes are rare and usually, indicate extraordinary magical potential. Their thick fur coats are generally shades of grey, brown, black, and or white.

## Natural Abilities

All Ulfhedinn are taught to fight from an early age so they produce excellent fighters. Most use axes in combat as they are cheap to make and have more than one use, though those who can afford it prefer to use expensive steel swords. Those who can wield magic usually find themselves as religious leaders due to their ability to communicate and control the power of the spirits. The Ausii tribe, which is in fact a collection of southern tribes that joined together to fight of the stronger tribes, is one of few that trains its users as warriors, believing the spirits chose them to be vanguards and heroes.

Weaknesses
Ulfhedinn are adapted to life in the frozen tundras from which they originate. As such, they are especially vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat. When presented with high temperatures, Ulfhedinn may face heatstroke, heat exhaustion and dehydration, conditions that can all lead to death if the Ulfhedinn is not presented with an apparatus to cool it down. Ulfhedinn are also incredibly allergic to a rare precious metal known as Mythril; a small amount of this unusual substance is enough to render a Ulfhedinn ill, and larger amounts are a promised end.

## Culture

Ulfhedinn are split into various tribes who are constantly at war with one another. Some cultural specifics vary from tribe to tribe, but there are a few things found in all of them: They value their familial bonds and physical strength above all else, to slay or abandon one's own blood relative are seen as direct insults to the spirits. These are the two worst sins a Ulfhedinn can commit. These crimes are often punished by execution, denying the offender a warrior's death. They all use a runic alphabet, though it's more prevalent in the northern tribes. Both the northern and southern tribes refuse to teach their language to outsiders. Ulfhedinn are master smiths, creating some of the finest armors and weapons you can get in Lionsdale. They have a deep love and appreciation of the arts, though many outsiders miss this. While you'd be hard-pressed to find a painting by a Ulfhedinn artist in one of their settlements, you don't have to look very hard to see the deep love and appreciation they have for music and poetry. Some would even say they see drinking as an art. Unfortunately for their neighbors they also have a love of raiding, be it human towns or other tribes, their love of fighting drives them into constant conflict. Some of the larger northern tribes have even started attacking Imperial caravans, causing various problems for those who have allied themselves with the Empire. The Ulfhedinn are split between the tribes that are west of the mountain range and those that settled further north toward the front lines. The more southern tribes are loyal to the empire who allowed them to make a home in their lands, acting as a vassal state, and sending a portion of their warriors to act as shock troops on the front lines while those further north act more like bandits, raiding both armies.

### Religious Beliefs

To the Ulfhedinn, magic and religion are closely tied. All religious leaders can, at least in some capacity, use magic. The more masterfully one can control the arcane the more religious, and sometimes even political, authority they tend to have. They also only have one type of magic that is considered taboo on a religious basis; necromancy. Unlike the majority of Lionsdale's inhabitants, they do not worship any of the gods, but instead look to the nature spirits that they believe created them and led them to their new home instead for spiritual guidance. These spirits can be divided up into Three categories: Land, sea, mountain. The land spirits are connected to life, love, fertility, beauty, and peace. Offerings to them are made at the beginning of spring as the snow thaws out as well as the harvest season. The spirits of the sea are connected to chaos, battle, storms, death, and wealth. Offerings to them are often made by warriors during a time of war and everyone else at the beginning of the new year when violent storms begin to roll in from the eastern sea. The spirits of the of the mountain are connected to wisdom, protection, history, strength, and music. Offerings to them are made at the beginning of the winter. The Ulfhedinn make these offerings in one of two places, their home or in groves that draw spirits to them. The tribes are very protective of these groves and there are many stories of foolhardy adventurers or travelers trying to sneak or force their way in only to be killed by a 'Guardian'.

On top of these the spirits, the Ulfhedinn believe that warriors who die in battle will live on as guardians of these nature spirits while those who die outside of battle join the spirits in watching over those who come after them. Sometimes a deep feeling of bitterness or regret overcomes someone as they die and they can never properly join the spirits and wander the groves. For these individuals, the lorekeepers created a ritual they called 'Spirits Eve'.

More recently the worship of Yggdrasil has begun to spread through some of the less fervent believers, leading to believe that the spirits are just another way the goddess chooses to show herself to her 'children'. These people are an extreme minority and are only found in the southern tribes. They are generally already outcasts and are often treated with some degree of contempt. All that said, the southern tribes still tolerate more religions. The only religion the Ulfhedinn truly have a problem with is the Alician faith, more so because of the practitioners than the religion itself.

## Other

Ulfhedinn are omnivorous, though red meat is expensive and seen as treat. Most of the meat they get is fish acquired through trades with human villages. Since the demons and ogres have been pushing south, more pressure is being put on the southern tribes near the Ar'un Mountain Range as the northern tribes flee the army and push into their lands.