Rjurik
One of the Five Tribes
From a letter from the Imperial Chamberlain Caliedhe Dosiere
Occupying the wind-swept lands north of Avonlae, the Rjurik make their living by hunting, fishing, and herding in the hills and moors of their territory. The Rjurik rely on self-sufficiency to see them through, yet they also place a strong bond on the clan. They are nomads in the summer, but return to their halls at first snowfall, there to keep the cold at bay with feasts and roaring hearth-fires. Hunting parties venture out into the cold as necessary to replenish their larders. Because of the harsh landscape and the ever-present danger of monsters, the Rjurik almost never travel alone.
The Rjurik are led by jarls, but the true rulers of the people are the druids who dwell in groves. They bend the Rjurik opinions and conduct the rites that keep the culture mighty. The jarls seek out the druids in the oaks and taiga, searching for words of wisdom to guide their people. I have always believed that we Avonaler have underestimated the druids in Rjurik society, and that many of our conflicts stem from this mistake. There is little war in Rjurik. For one thing, the Rjurik people don't see the need to glorify themselves through massive battles. For another, clans are usually a good distance from each other, making the logistics of battle uncertain. Finally, the Rjurik prefer one-on-one challenges when an insult is dealt or when an upstart seeks to become the new jarl, rather than wasting precious lives in large conflicts.
This is not to say that they will not fight wars. When foreign armies invade the tundra, the Rjurik can mobilize faster than nearly any army in Cerilia, as our northern rulers have learned over and over again. Since they know their land well, they can travel across it far faster than their enemies, and reinforcements seem to arrive at supernatural speeds.
The Rjurik are led by jarls, but the true rulers of the people are the druids who dwell in groves. They bend the Rjurik opinions and conduct the rites that keep the culture mighty. The jarls seek out the druids in the oaks and taiga, searching for words of wisdom to guide their people. I have always believed that we Avonaler have underestimated the druids in Rjurik society, and that many of our conflicts stem from this mistake. There is little war in Rjurik. For one thing, the Rjurik people don't see the need to glorify themselves through massive battles. For another, clans are usually a good distance from each other, making the logistics of battle uncertain. Finally, the Rjurik prefer one-on-one challenges when an insult is dealt or when an upstart seeks to become the new jarl, rather than wasting precious lives in large conflicts.
This is not to say that they will not fight wars. When foreign armies invade the tundra, the Rjurik can mobilize faster than nearly any army in Cerilia, as our northern rulers have learned over and over again. Since they know their land well, they can travel across it far faster than their enemies, and reinforcements seem to arrive at supernatural speeds.
