The Villish

Written by strawberryAle

Thunder echoes the lightning's storm. von Hagen family motto, the most prominent family of the Villish people.

One of the three major civilizations that managed to unify the other nations into Tregaron, the Villish were once a group of hearty and nomadic folk that lived primarily nearby the low lying coast of the northeast. Unlike many of the other ethnic groups found in Tregaron, the Villish were originally not a kingdom or fiefdom, but rather a band of nomads that preferred to roam from north to east along the coast. They were avid fishermen and hunters, and more notoriously, incredible warriors.
Their love for battle lead to many of the Villish forming free companies that served as mercenary organizations, until one of the Villish Kings, Alaric von Hagen, had made the decision to unify all of the Villish tribes under one banner. This alliance lead to the formation of Vilisturm, one of the largest kingdoms in all of Tregaron.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Bianka, Helga, Phyllis, Kora, Claudia, Liesel, Kriemheld, Hildegarde, Stella

Masculine names

Lachanon, Viktor, Siegfried, Ralf, Wolfgang, Marius, Dietrich, Rainer, Ludger

Unisex names

Micha, Michi, Eike, Sascha, Luca

Family names

Primary Houses

Von Hagen: The most prominent family of the Villish. Von Hagen was the name of the original noble house that ruled over the Villish people, originally lead by Alaric the First.
Tritten: House Tritten served primarily as a family of craftsmen, The Trittens are now renown shipwrights and engineers that live within Hagensport.
Von Lafrenz: Once a small house built upon mercenary work and sell swords, Lafrenz took great honour in serving as guardsmen for the King. Lafrenz now serves as the noble house appointed to control the eastern province of Tregaron. They 'earned' this rank when Lachanon, the head of their house, decapitated the old King upon discovering Frederick's identity as a vampire.

Example Names

Grimmel, Gerst, Fried, Essen.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Common: The 'Common Tongue' is the primary language of all humanity, and subsequently, the common tongue of the Villish.
Villish: A language that was mostly left dead after the unification of the Church.
Accents/Dialect: The Villish are known for having a bit of difficulty pronouncing th sounds, which can often come off as 'z' instead. Their w's are also either silent, or sound somewhat similar to a v instead.

Culture and cultural heritage

Hearty and hardworking, the Villish value perseverance and effort over all else. They take great pride in their ability to adapt and overcome any other situation through personal strength and unity. The Villish have a very strong sense of camaraderie. Though they may have a somewhat rough and tough outlook on life, they're a people that value friendship over all else. The Villish strongly believe that a team effort is needed from all sides for the mutual benefit of all parties.

Common Etiquette rules

To the Villish, actions speak far, far louder than words. Insults or other such things are often seen as simple jests or plays between two close friends. While the Villish are fully aware and know what word is considered to be foul-mouthed or not, they do not have any customs or hatred towards cursing and swearing.
Insults are thus very rarely taken seriously outside of threats (and even then, such threats are often either challenged or ignored.). The Villish speak through their fists and actions; it's just that simple.
The Villish have a very 'do onto others' approach to things; they often go out of their way to help or assist each other when someone is in need, and it is often considered very disrespectful -- and even pigheaded, to watch someone suffer through a situation rather than help them.

Common Dress code

The Villish are known for bearing a strange 'battle-ready' dress code for most official stand-ins. Armour is worn like dresses for certain situations; with ornamental or decorative armour used at ceremonies. Those who are particularly well off are known for keeping a special suit of armour made just for occasions. Even women are known to wear armour.
Dresses and flowery things such as that are actually seen as hilariously inconvenient and should never be worn at a formal occasion. Even weddings are often celebrated with the couple wearing heavy armour; they both even wear helmets, up until they take their vows to remove them.

Art & Architecture

The Villish are known for their stone carving. While they were still nomadic, the VIllish often carved stones and rocks with Villish runes that recounted the tribe's exploits. It was their way of communicating to the world around them. These stones also served as important cornerstones that were later used as places to settle around. Community runestones are still often used by nobles to recount their family's exploits.
The Villish mostly build things of wood. Many of the low-to middle class Villish families actually still live in a traditional long house; they're long, sloped, and sturdy buildings that provide several rooms for each member of the family, along with a central dining hall and lounge. These homes are designed to hold not just the immediate family, but several members. This further promotes the importance of family to the Villish.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

"Kingsday:" Also sometimes called 'Love the King day', this celebrates the unification of Tregaron at the hands of the three original Kings. Kingsday is a day that also gives thanks to the soldiers and fighters that sacrificed their lives to bring a peaceful time to their people. They are honoured in a great feast --traditionally either held in the community center of the city(such as a Church or town hall). Kingsday is sometimes also honoured by a small family.
Merchants are sometimes paid by officials to mark their price down for families to enjoy Kingsday; the celebration is of great importance to the Villish people, as it observes the importance of family and togetherness. It is held on the first Sunday of May.
Neighborday: Neighborday, or 'Saints Giving', is a holiday that honours the less fortunate and the poor. It is a day where the Villish people do their best to help aid the poor through any means possible; be it finding a home, giving food, or helping them find their place in life. The Villish people like to try keeping true to this day as often as can be, but it is thanks to this holiday, that poverty remains rather low among their people.

Coming of Age Rites

While there is no technical coming of age rite, the Villish people often conscript an oil painting to commemorate their grave when they reach ages 20 and 40.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Sea Burials: Villish shipwrights, naval officers, and soldiers, are known to partake in what's called a Sea Burial; they make special ships filled with the coffins of the dead, and send them off at sea to sail until they capsize or nature causes them to crash ashore. This is typically reserved for specific people, but the main criteria to a Sea Burial is rather simple; the person in question needs to have had an adventurous life.
Oil paintings are a common way to remember not just those who are buried, but also to commemorate anyone who passed. Oil paintings are often done whenever someone reaches the age of 20 and 40.
For further closeness, it is often customary for a small amount of that person's blood to be used in the paintings, to further increase their importance. The paintings are also often done with the person dressed as if ready for battle; fully suited in armour, and armed with a weapon of their choice.

Common Taboos

The Villish people abhor the idea of disrespecting the dead; even the enemy deserves the decency of a good burial. Disrespecting corpses in any way, is a severe offense to the Villish people. They see bodies as the last way one can be memorialized, and to defile that is to greatly disrespect the person in question.
It is exceptionally taboo to 'stand idle', as they call it. To watch as someone struggles without raising a hand or offering assistance, is generally considered a cowardly act.

Common Myths and Legends

Alaric III's fall: King Alaric III, the Grandson of the first King, is known for being among the first vampires to take in the curse. Alaric was known for being far beyond the savagery of any Villish warrior; a bloodthirsty man, even by Villish standards. It is said that Alaric's identity was discovered when he lost himself in his vampiric blood lust, tearing into a soldier to feast upon him on the battlefield. His right hand at the time, Lachanon, swiftly beheaded the man shortly after.
The Ironwraiths: During the feudal era, a group of Villish soldiers were widely regarded as among Vilisturm's greatest fighters. These soldiers were known as 'Immortals', and clad themselves in thick steel with imposing masks on their helmets. When the soldiers grew greedy and defected, they boasted that the king's coin would not be enough for their services. In response for this treatment, the King sent his soldiers to route the band. Every head in the Immortals was worth a small fortune, and soon, they were all either hunted down, or brought forth to the king for execution. He had their heads mounted upon his wall, with their corpses stripped naked and impaled as an example to those who betray the crown.
One day, the severed heads had soon disappeared within the next week, and soon, the stories of headless men roaming the woods came to pass. The King was later found sitting upon his throne, with no head upon his shoulders.
The myth of the Ironwraiths carries back for generations, and it's said their spirits wander the forests at midnight.

Historical figures

Alaric Von Hagen I: The First of his name, Alaric Von Hagen was the first 'true King' that unified the Villish people under one banner, becoming the enormous kingdom of Vilisturm, Alaric worked along with two other noble lords in unifying Tregaron under their rule. This became known as one of the first true eras of peace, and to this day, Alaric is celebrated as a hero.
Alaric Von Hagen III: The grandson of the first, Alaric Von Hagen was known for ruling justly for his people up until he sought to expand the borders of the Villish people. During one of his battles, Alaric revealed his vampiric nature, and was beheaded by Sir Lachanon Lafrenz. He is often called the 'Traitor King' for his descent into vampirism, which tainted the Hagen family name.
Lachanon Von Lafrenz: Lachanon was a military general, and while he had retired his throne, Lachanon had become renown as a brilliant war hero that aided in the growth of Vilisturm. Lachanon was also commended for his decisive strike on Alaric III. He later established an order known as the Kirchenecht, or 'Church's Servant'. These became the first Witch Hunters, who in time became a mainstay to hunting strange or potentially dangerous threats to the Church.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

Generally speaking, the Vilisturm have a great fondness to features that somehow display strength. Scars for example, are often something that's seen as a proud accomplishment or memory of a great battle. They like physical fitness and muscle overall. The Vilisturm are less fond of 'scrawny' or 'skinny' looking folk.

Gender Ideals

Women are expected to be the protectors, while men act as the hunters and explorers.
As the Vilisturm have lost the need to go to war as often as they did, this dichotomy had eventually faded off until both gender roles are pretty much on an equal playing field. Both genders may be soldiers, just as they both may stay at home and provide for the family.

Relationship Ideals

Vilisturm relationships are generally built upon the idea of supporting and caring for each other. For the Vilisturm, to commit to a romantic relationship is to assume that you are willing to help your loved one through any situation you can, so long as they may return the favor at some point.
Before Tregaron became the peaceful nation it was today, the Vilisturm marriages were built upon the concept of having one stay home to protect and provide for the family, while the other left to fight or provide for the nation. While this type of relationship is still somewhat similar to what they have today, the Vilisturm basically see marriages as a form of long-term partnership of assisting one another through tough times.

Encompassed species

• Humans

Related Organizations

• The Holy Church

Related Myths

• Spindlespine