Vala (Val-A)
Humans who dwell in the cold wastes and massive waves of Vatenrelm, the vala are proud and stubborn.
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Female names often portray natural items and objects of beauty, such as plants, rivers and non-predatory animals, as well as positive adjectives. Thus, a common female name might be Twansgir Tartefbag (Full Flower, Daughter of Bearfighter)
Masculine names
Male names are often portray an animal or beast that holds a certain characteristic that the family hopes the boy to inherit, as well as quality often associated with battle or even a weapon. Thus, a common male name might be Goekils Gonvlenut (Eaglespear, Son of Dragonwing)
Family names
Vala lack traditional family names, instead using a patronymic system, taking the name of the father and adding the suffix pre (child of), nunt (son), or bag (daughter). Alliteration was also seen as a bringer of good fortune, and thus many names are alterative. It is also common to name a child after a deceased ancestor, adding another suffix to the end of the name based on how many times the name has been used in the family, although this additional suffix is typically only used in formal settings.
Thus a common name might be Goekils Gonvepre-to (Eaglespear, Child of Dragonwing, third of his name)
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
A majority of vala speak Vlatya Common.
Average technological level
The Vala's warrior culture lends the them being master blacksmiths, forging many strong axes. They are also excellent lumbermen, providing many of the realms labor by harvesting the many trees in the Frost Hold, and have developed many techniques to optimize efficiency.
Common Etiquette rules
Youth must always slow respect their fathers and elders, but most Vala are gruff and care little for pleasantries. They love swearing and are considered quite vulgar by most, and many create, personal vulgar greetings for each other. What might seem like an insult to another might simply be how a Vatan greets a close friend.
Common Dress code
Valan children must keep their hair long, and either keep it braided or unbraided, based on gender. Valan females must keep their hair braided, while males must keep them unbraided. When reaching adulthood, they must swap, with men expected to keep their hair or beard braided, and woman allowed to let their hair flow long.
Valans wear many layers, as even in the warmer summer months, the temperature of the Frost Hold is quite cold. They wear well insulated linen or wool undergarments and socks, then a warm under-tunic or dress, followed by a full-body thick jacket of leather or wooly hide. The undertunic is typically decorated with family sigils and patterns, as the thick jacket is typically removed at indoor social gatherings.
Color is very important to the Vala, as it helps destinguish each other in the snowy tundra. Warriors will typically have a set of lighter jackets, to help them sneak through hostile territory, but most wear black or brown colors. For the rich, they will often wear brighter colors to stand out even more and portray their status, such as red or purple.
Art & Architecture
Nearly all Valan settlements are built around natural massive hot springs known as the Blewensou (Soul Spring). These Blewensou provide the much needed warmth to survive in the cold of the realm. The Vala bathe in these waters weekly as a community, to save on water needs, though very rich families can sometimes afford to pump water directly into their homes.
A Valan house are known as Ichtak (Family House). These houses are large, long buildings, built with the sturdy pine and oak trees that are common to the Frost Hold, and usually only contain a few rooms. This first room will be a small entrance way, where the inhabitants could remove their snow-laden boots and jacketed outer-wear. The central room contains the fire and dining room, where a large fire pit is kept, helping keep the entirety of the house warm. Then, two separate other rooms are typical, a room with simple cots for the family to sleep in, and often another large room for smaller livestock and other animals to dwell. For wealthier families who can afford a permanent barn, this secondary room was either kept as a storage place or as a private room for the either head of the family or the most elderly. These lchtaks typically house entire generations of families, with the wife typically moving into her husbands Ichtak.
Foods & Cuisine
Most dairy of the Vala come from the Tweurtly (Wooly Cow), a large breed of wooly yak and bison. Many of their wool for their clothing also comes from these Tweurtly. Their protein mostly comes from fishing off the coasts of Vatalend, as well as common walnut known as a Ukpon (Thick Nut). Twurtly milk is commonly made into yogurt and mixed with Ukpons as travel rations. Kale, cabbage, and turnips are the most common vegetables, as they are the easiest to grow in colder lands.
Ale is a common drink, almost as common as regular water, and was drunk by Vala of all ages. A common non-ale drink is brewed from the curlded milk of the Twurtly and known as Pudou (Sour Milk), but is a very bitter taste and is considered a low-class drink. Mead and wine are more expensive drinks, that are much harder to brew in the cold of the Frost Hold. Most Vala communities import alcohol of all kinds from the Salana dwarves who dwell in the tropical North Vatan Sea.
Birth & Baptismal Rites
Each Blewensou has at least one birthing hut on its shores. Once a women enters labor, her husband carries her to the hut, were midwifes attend to them. Once the birthing is complete, the new father emerges with the baby and cleans it in the Blewensou. Nine days after the birth, the family holds a naming ceremony, where friends and family gather at their home, bringing small gifts, and the father announces the child's name to the clan.
Coming of Age Rites
For a Valan boy to become a man, he must partake in a Elgoji Ceremony (Proving Ceremony). This ceremony varies from household and village, usually dictated by the fathers profession. A woodcutter, for example, may have his son chop wood all day and night without rest, or a merchant may have their son run the business all day with no guidance. Each Eloji is separate, and once passed, the youth is granted his Elgoji tattoo somewhere one his body, to prove that he has become a man. For the many who wish to become a warrior, a separate Elgoji must be partaken, with a warrior tattoo given, but all warrior Elgoji involves some sort of potentially deadly combat to pass.
Unless a Valan girl is in training to become a mage or a Kwuinsung, they have little in the way of challenges. Most are simply married off as soon as they are of old enough age.
Funerary and Memorial customs
The Vala prefer burial at sea, crafting large funeral barges that hold many of the Valas personal items, especially their most favored weapons. Such ships are set onto the ocean and lit ablaze by an arrow from shore, usually by a member of the deceased immediate family. They believe that dying at sea increases their souls chance at reaching the Valahala. This sea burial is mostly reserved for warriors and their families. For non-warriors, large graveyards and barrows are built, and the dead interred. These barrows are typically, large underground labyrinths, with Jarls and other more important members of society buried closer to the center, while the normal citizenship is buried farther out.
Common Taboos
The Vala live by a warrior code, and thus disdain anyone who would break that code. For most Vala, death is preferable to a dishonorable defeat, and one who shows cowardice will quickly be shunned and mocked.
Homosexuality is viewed negatativly by the Vala, as they believe it is a man's job to satisfy his wife, and to lay with another man is to shirk duites. For a women to lay with a women, it is less a bad reflection on her and more of the men around her, who have failed to attract her attention.
Common Myths and Legends
Most Vala worship Valahem, the human who ascended to godhood after many trials and battles. Instead of dwelling inside a realm in the Ygg, he is said to sail the Cosmic Battleground on his godly ship, Valhala, and that the Valkyries guide those who have died in battle to join the crew.
It is also believed that at Krakuwiij, the fabled end of the world, the Alkan god Fenris will break his chains, and that Valahem must fight him for the fate of the world.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
The Vala view long, well kept hair as beauty, and males with less hair or complete clean shaven are viewed with distaste. Scars on the face or front are common and are even shown off with great pride, a sign of past triumphs. Scars on the back, however, a viewed as signs of retreat and cowardice, and are of great shame to those who bear them.
Gender Ideals
Valan gender ideals are complicated. For the most part, men are expected to become laborers and warriors, while women take care of the household, but women are permitted to run their own businesses', and often are found in positions of power in mercantile roles, with the exception of physically taxing jobs such as blacksmithing. A woman cannot hold a home property unless their husband has passed it to them in death, but are allowed to own business property. Unmarried woman have few prospects, as a males reputation is what brings renown to a family. While the males reputation and the families reputation are considered one in the same, a female is allowed to divorce their husband at any time, if they feel they are being mistreated or that their husband has brought shame to them.
Woman are not permitted to become warriors, save for becoming a Kwuinsung (Shieldmaiden), who are shield-bearers and medics, whose souls are believed to become Valkryie's upon death. A girl must lay her claim to become a Kwuinsung before reaching 10 years of age, preferably by 8, and once the desire is stated, it can't be revoked. The girl is than taken away from their family to train with the Kwuinsung, a training that is said to exceed that of normal warrior training for men. During this training period, which typically lasts until the girl is around 20, the girl must remain chaste, and is only permitted to lay with a man once they have participated in a battle. Even afterwords, a Kwuinsung is never permitted to get married, and must only ever lay with those who are warriors. Due to these regulations, very few become Kwuinsung, and are often either the children of great warriors and existing Kwuinsung, or street urchins or unwanted bastards seeking a way to gain prestige.
While woman are not able to become warriors, they are the only ones allowed to become representatives in matter of law and state, save for the position of Jarlship. However nearly all conflicts are settled by matter of duel between men, so many Vala don't see the need for hiring any form of legal defense. The few legal women that are in practice are known as Suibeeks, or "Law Speakers". It is also typically on the woman who become mages, as most men viewed using spells in combat as an act of cowardice.
Courtship Ideals
Most Valan woman are married off once they come of age. Valan man must work extra hard to ensure that they can maintain their mariage and avoid divorce, as many women have little say in their first marraige and may be resentful of their husband. However, woman who divorce their husbands often have a much harder time attracting a new one, and unmarried woman have little options in Valan society. While adultery is a serious crime for married folks, sex iteslf is viewed as a common act not to shy away from, and many Valan are very open about thier sexual exploits.
Valan weddings almost always take place on a Luvday, the last day of the week, and is considered to bring bad luck to hold a wedding on any other day of the week. A wedding ceremony often involves the exchange of familial ancestral weapons, typically axes or swords. After reciving the weapons, the two bethrothed would stand before a marriage preist, light a large fire, and state their vows to each other. After the vows are spoken, the couple strips each other and throws their clothing into the fire, symbolizing the end of their old state and starting anew. They then enter the Bloezon (Tub of Joining) a bath tub placed over their marraige pyre. They bathe each other, and braid or unbraid each others hair. After bathing, they emerge and dress each other in their marriage attire, then invite their guests to join in a great feast. The extent of this feast is a reflection of their social standards, and it brings great shame to the new family if they cannot supply a feast that satisfies all their guests. In rare cases for the particularly wealthy, this feast can even go on for several days, and are often full of drunken debauchury. At some point during the feast, the newly weds consummate their marraige, often in full view of the entire procession, so to provide witness of the finalization of their union.
Very few weddings take place in the winter, as the Vaten winter brings intense storms that leave most Vala to hunker down and greatly restricts travel. Most take place in the summer or fall, once the harvests has increased the food supply to sustain the wedding feasts.
Relationship Ideals
The Vala forge strong bonds of friendship easily. Vatenrelm winters are the harshest in the world, and thus Vala villages come together to help support each other during tough times. The Vala gain respect through decisive action rather than words, and thus many seek to bring glory to their family name, often leading to friendly rivalries. While individual rivalries are often competitive, family or village rivalries often escalate into grudges and generational warfare.
Major organizations
While a majority of the Vala dwell in their ancestral home of Vatalend, many others are spread wide across the realm, serving the Kingdom of the Waves and acting as pirates in The Lawless Surf. Many also work in some capacity for or with the Overseas Merchant Guild.
Among the elite of Vatalend are the Jormandurs, the greatest warriors of the Vala people.
Random Vala Homelands
| % Rolled | Homeland | Trait Gained |
|---|---|---|
| 01-20 | Tundra City | Tundra Child |
| 20-40 | Coastline or Island | Beachcomber |
| 40-60 | River Village | Inheritor |
| 61-75 | Frozen Forest | Snowstride |
| 76-90 | Ship-City | Pirate |
| 91-94 | Underwater City | Deep-Sea Native |
| 95-00 | Unusual Homeland | (Roll on Unusual Homeland Table) |
Encompassed species
Related Organizations
Languages spoken
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