Arleü

The Arleü are a rugged and hardy culture that occupies the Arlean Isles in the Arlokian north. The cold and unforgiving waters of the northern seas are home to its six isles: Kvarstev, Ildstat, Rrond, Duebel, Skath, and Fogahe. Of these, only Skath and Fogahe are habitable, as the others are covered in ice and snow for much of the year. Both islands hold very small Arleü settlements better described as encampments. Place names are in Strvingydh, which the Arleü speak.
Despite the harsh conditions in which they live, the Arleü have managed to eke out an existence for centuries. They are a strong-willed and independent people, and their culture is shaped by the challenges they face living in such a remote and isolated location. As goes without saying, the Arleü are known for their seafaring skills, as they rely almost exclusively on the sea for their livelihood, and what little trade they conduct is done with the Veiq of Criamon-Sothet, and some with Cillt-Craiduk, although there are few resources they have to offer, and also few they need in return simply to survive. Being skilled hunters and fishers, they eat what they catch, and scrape together other items required for daily life wherever they might be found, their ability to thrive in such a challenging environment a testament to their resilience and determination.
Although they place a premium on self-sufficiency, the Arleü are at the same time a deeply communal people who value family and community above all else - unsurprising given the degree to which they must rely on each other: honesty, relatedly, is a central virtue of their culture. And though few ever visit, they are highly hospitable, and always happy to welcome outsiders into their midst, especially to collect the tales such guests bring with them from afar.
The Arleü are a deeply religious people who adhere to an array of old folk traditions common across northern Arlok, although some historians have suggested that certain idiosyncracies in their style of worship align them with the Vukthir-Hul - a group ejected from the Realm of Klar Bimment millenia ago due to its divisive views. Being non-literate, the Arleü account for most of their own history via oral storytelling tradition, but among the yarns they weave there are a number that lend credence to this proposition of origins.