Skelliger
The people, however, are not only backward corsairs and plunderers as most Continentals powers see them. Quite a number of them are fishers, jewelers, merchants, alchemists, or other common professions and at least two examples of a classic mage are recorded: Marquard and Astrid Lyttneyd Ásgeirrfinnbjornsdottir. In contrast to the North, the Islanders are predominantly free and posses rights nearly equal to those of the jarls and kings who lead them as the gap between higher and lower classes is milder. While being able to speak without a problem in the Common Speech, they have their own language, the Skellige jargon, based on the Elder Speech. Many of the Skalds that hail from the isles utilize bagpipes. The inhabitants domesticated bears and utilize them in warfare. On the Skellige Isles, women and men stand on legally equal footing, and both train in arts of war and seafaring. In practice, however, certain discriminatory beliefs still persist; it is much harder for a woman to reach a ruling position.
Culture
Clans
A clan is a kinship group among the Islanders, giving its members a sense of shared identity and descent. Skellige is divided into seven clans, each seated on one of the archipelago's larger islands. At the base of each clan are kins led by a so-called bonds; bonds, in turn, are then led by the clan chieftain called jarl (not to be confused with the "Jarl of Skellige" which refers to the main commander of the armed forces).Every Skellige clan has its own insignia and characteristic colors that define it as a distinct group bound by family ties and age-old traditions. These colors also act as a distinguishing mark that lets warriors easily identify each other on the fields of battle. They appear on clothing, sails, shields, and tartans.
- Clan Brokvar
- Clan an Craite
- Clan Dimun
- Clan Drummond
- Clan Heymaey
- Clan Tordarroch
- Clan Tuirseach
Religion
The Gods of the Sea and goddess Freya are chief objects of worship throughout Skellige. Undoubtedly, the latter is revered by the Islanders above all other deities, and she is a central figure in their religious system. They grant her the venerable title of the great modron, meaning "mother" in their tongue, for Freya is the patron of fertility, love, and beauty. She also poses as the patron of soothsayers, clairvoyants, telepaths, as symbolized by her sacred animals: the cat, which sees and hears while being unseen, and the falcon, who watches everything from the sky, and by her jewel: the necklace of foresight Brisingamen.Apart from these, Islanders revere mythical hero Hemdall, his mistress Heulyn, and their children, founders of the most powerful clans and the first alleged rulers of the archipelago: Grymmdjarr, Modolf, Broddr, Otkell, Sove, and Tyr. They also trust and believe in local druids, who are seen as wise men and act as diplomats, royal advisors, warriors, and wielders of magic.
There are also two forgotten deities: Svalblod and Melusine. Svalblod was worshiped by a cult cast out of Skellige, for even in a land of violence-orientated culture, these worshipers practiced rituals so drastic that they repulsed the minds of many. When it got too far, jarls brought an end to it and by 1272 only the henge in Fornhala remained standing.
Melusine was a siren but was so strong, large, and different from the others that some Islanders worshiped her as a semi-divine being. She hibernated in a cave at the southern cliffs of Spikeroog, leaving at times to hunt. The locals feared her enough to worship her and even built a massive shrine in her cave, remembering her as the mad and dangerous Lady Melusine of the Depths.
