Elk Clan

in The Human Clans of Sjonderwold

Proud and independent nomads, the Elk clan are servants of the open plain first, the lightning raid second, and the Wolf clan a distant third. The Elk also have very little need of cities , seeing them as vulnerable because they cannot be packed up and moved in the night. The few permanent settlements in Elk lands are made and populated almost entirely by the Wolf.   Elk people organize themselves into familial tribes, known as “herds”, which compete, absorb, and split with the shifting of the generations. This fluid tribal landscape frustrates Wolf jarls attempting to negotiate with the Elk, as one herd might suddenly and unexpectedly attack or rebel based on interactions with other herds.  

Elk Mercenaries

The tribal divisions also makes it common for smaller, younger herds to hire themselves out as mercenaries to other jarls in a symbiotic relationship: the jarl enjoys the service of powerful cavalry, and the Elk get a chance to prove their prowess.   An understanding that is not always clear to the jarls, however, is that the Elk agreement is only for as long as their leader believes he needs the experience. It is not uncommon for jarls to commence hostilities expecting to have the service of Elk spears, only for them to have ridden off into the night.