Clan Okse

This article is under construction. Not all information in this article may be accurate to the current state of the world.


From their territory of Kynland in northwestern Binordheim, Clan Okse has been the focus of many legends of the past. The ancestral Okse were the first to land on Binordheim and the first to carve out their own home in the cold north. They were also the first to feel the effects of their new land and see the first dwindlings of their people until the great tree Sarendril was planted upon the arrival of the Nornir and Clan Hjort. Since their landing they have held true to the traditions passed down to them from generations past and urge their fellow clans to do the same to varying affect.


To some of the other clans however, the Kynlanders are brash and egotistical. Quick to anger at a challenge to their beliefs and quicker still to judge those of their kin. Additionally, within the territory of Kynland the Askarn, the ancestral race of the Nordic people, are treated with a great deal more respect than their growing majority of human kin to the point that a human born of an askarn is seen as a curse by many, the lingering effects of the sundering of Sarendril.




Putting aside their sometimes archaic beliefs, the Okse Clan has earned the respect - in some cases grudgingly - of the other clans by their strong belief in acting honorably, even toward an enemy. This has, however, had some downsides in the past as their honorable nature makes them vulnerable to deception both from within and without.

Structure

Like most other clans, Clan Okse is led by a monarch (either a king or queen) who acts as the central governing entity connecting the independent regions of Kynland under their control. Each city or town of importance has its own jarl that rules over their own region. Those who rule over larger towns are superiors of those jarls who rule over towns in their region. Villages are often led by a similar leader but anything smaller than a town is ruled by the closest town or village.

Heirarchy

Basic heirarchy of the people goes as follows: Konungr (king/queen), Jarls, Karls (landowners and free men and women), then Thralls.
Clan Okse, more so than other clans, value the lives of askarns more than others and often see them as superior. As such, regardless of their shrinking minority among the populous, no non-askarn has held a position of Jarl or Konungr and very rarely do they achieve any rank of significance among military or otherwise. Askarn often have the better jobs, most pay, nicer houses (as well as the nicer districts within settlements), and the most lands owned, though those that are farmed are done so mostly by non-askarns. The lands owned by non-askarns tend to be undesirable, small, or due to something significant that they have earned it.

Culture

Resurrection

It is tradition of Clan Okse to avoid the resurrect the dead after a week has passed, especially those of warriors who have died in battle. After this term has passed it is believed that the soul has passed to their final rest, be that Valhalla, Helheim or any of the other afterlife realms and to bring them back would be an act that defies the gods.

Necromancy

Necromancy, in the terms of raising undead, is seen as immoral and disrespectful to the dead when it involves humanoids. Those who study such practices within the borders of Kynland are seen as traitors and treated as such. Regardless of the stipulation on humanoid bodies, there are few if any practitioners of necromancy in Kynland for fear that they would be implicated in certain crimes. Even if a necromancer would use their magic to animate dead animals or monsters to fight few Kynlanders would accept such acts in a battle scenario as honorable or sporting.

Public Agenda

The Aurocks Clan is dedicated to preserving the history and customs of the nordic people. They can see their people's culture fading as influence from the outside makes to their kin, and work to discourage the adoption of these new customs.

In addition, they look for a way to heal Sarendril. They are by no means the only ones searching for a solution, they are however the most dedicated to seeing it restored since with each year the tree decays the number of askarn born dwindles, and the cold of the north pierces further south.

Demography and Population

Clan Okse has the highest population of Askarn - or boasts that it has - yet is one of the smallest clans.
The major races accounted for in Clan Okse are as follows:

• Human - Majority (much to their dismay)
• Askarn - Minority
• Half-elves - Enclaves
• Goliaths - Groups
• Aasimar (Einherjar) - Groups
• Orcs/Half-Orcs - Individuals
• Djinnborn (Genasi) - Individuals
• Ursen - Individuals
• Dwarves - Few Individuals
• Elves - Few Individuals

Territories

Kynland

Naturally bordered by mountains to the north and west, the river ___ to the east, and the sea to the south, Kynland’s borders are well defined. Though their borders have shrunken from earlier times, Kynland remains the ancestral landing of the first members of Clan Okse on Binordheim. In those days, Kynland was heavily forested from the mountains to the north nearly to the shores in the south, and those forests were infested with all manner of beasts and monsters, the worst being the trolls. The trolls were not dangerous for their strength or size alone, for there are many larger, stronger beings in the world, but for their cunning and they despised the nords’ cutting of the forests for supplies. For generations after their landing the Kynlanders fought for every bit of land they could gain while other clans spread wildly in seemingly unoccupied areas, until one costly push by the Okse Clan decimated the forest troll population and pushed them deeper in to their wooded realm away from the Okse. Since then, incursions of trolls from the northern forests sometimes make their way south to harass those nords pushing deeper into the forests for lumber and [special tree/plant material the trolls cherish], but they are quickly taken care of by local military or mercenaries sent to guard such excursions.


Most of Clan Okse’s major settlements sit closer to the southern coast where the forests have been cut back to allow for arable land to farm or where plains already dominated the landscape, but smaller towns and villages have moved in to the forests in the north.

Military

Though smaller than some of the larger clans’ armies, Clan Okse’s military is not to be underestimated. In addition to their large force of askarn warriors, Clan Okse has kept alive some of the old martial traditions, training their warriors to be elites upon the battlefield. It is common for an askarn warrior in the Okse military to have learned a number of traditions that leave it a force to be reckoned with alone, let alone alongside more of their kin. While some of the training does not work well with those of a smaller stature than the askarn, the humans and other races placed in the Okse armies are no less well trained.

Religion

Kynlanders hold the Aesir close to their hearts over the Vanir and especially over the Jotunn. Odin, Thor, Tyr, Baldur, and Freja are the highest held gods of the land, but all Aesir are represented in Kynland hofs.

Foreign Relations

Clan Okse is the most xenophobic of the clans, dissuading their people from participating in customs that make their to Binordheim through trade or relations with outsiders. They will however trade with foreigners that come to their shores for goods that they need.

One foreign state they will not deal with is the Empire of Aestara due to their connection with the sundering of Sarendril.

Agriculture & Industry

Much of the land that has been cleared is used as farmland for crops or livestock. Other major industries include: masonry, mining, metalworks, logging, and fishing. Clan Okse has taken pockets of the once immense forest that dominated the landscape when they first landed and used it to their benefit. They have also taken to mining the mountains that surround them for stone and ore, making them self-sufficient in iron and other necessary materials.

Trade & Transport

Kynland accepts trade from outsiders, mostly from Clan Muninn (in spite of their poor relationship), but far fewer nordic traders are from Kynland than any other territory. Most of what Kynland trades in is lumber

Type

Geopolitical, Clan

Alternative Names

Clan Ox, Clan of the Aurochs

Demonym

Kynlander

Government System

Democracy, Representative

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Mixed economy

Currency

Usually trade is done in coin or by barter of goods or services. The coinage doesn't matter to the Nords as so many countries' coins have made their way in to their lands that they never have not had need to mint their own and accept all gold, silver and copper in equal measure. Some of the stricter merchants and buyers weigh the gold they trade or have partitioned pieces of jewelry made to ensure accuracy in its worth but most don't care.

Major Exports

• Stone
• Iron
• Furs
• Lumber
• Livestock
• Silver Jewelry

Major Imports

• Spices
• Honey
• Silks
• Gold
• Foreign herbs

Legislative Body

The king writes what laws need be written, overseen by an the Lawkeeper who ensures the laws recorded properly.

Judicial Body

Interpretation of laws is the duty of the Lawkeeper of each settlement within Kynland, as with the rest of the Nordic clans. The king, jarl or leader of a settlement uses the interpretation of the law to pass down their judgements.

Official State Religion

Nordic Pantheon

Parent Organization

Nordic Clans

Location

Binorðheim

Neighboring Nations

• Clan Geit
• Clan Rev
• Clan Ulfur

Related Ethnicities

• Nords

Heraldry: Gold, white, and silver