NPC - Fia Cruski Thief

NPC - Fia Cruski Thief

Trained thieves are rare in the North. The only active guild is among the Cruski and it is one of the complaints by the Schnai and Fruzti about how much the Cruski imitate the Southerns. Fia is young and quick. She is a legendary pickpocket and spends most her time in the various harbortowns on the coast mostly steeling from southern merchants and sailors.  She isn't shy about plying a dagger in the back if the situations calls for it.

She will normally pass herself off as one of the women who sells her body at the dockside taverns choosing drunken victims but prefers wealthy merchants. She has a small portion of Sedr magic that increases the potency of alcohol which she uses to great advantage.

Fia has grown a bit tired of the pickpocketing and is open to the idea of general adventuring especial where a thief would come in handy.

NPC - Thyra - Cruski Holy Warrior of Veli

NPC - Thyra - Cruski Holy Warrior of Veli

Thyra is a paladin of Veli and sworn protector of Runa the priestess who leads the Caretakers of the Sacred Ash. She commands the warriors who protect both the Ash and the Priestess-Caretakers though she and her warriors are not Caretakers themselves.

Unbeknowest to her Gynbyrg, who seeks to take over the Caretakers, has subborned several of her warriors though none of the other paladins who serve as protectors. 

 Thyra is both a paladin and a berserker fighting in the nude generally but with the protection of Veli and enchanted tattoos that serve her as well as any armor. Her normal weapons are a dagger of bone carved from a sacred white stag. It can freeze a person or item on a hit causing extra damage or shattering. In her other hand she carries a short-thrusting spear with a black volcanic glass blade blessed by Veli and capable of igniting into flame upon command. This is a powerful weapon making her more likely to hit and damage a target. 

NPC - Gyda - Cruski Noblewoman

NPC - Gyda - Cruski Noblewoman

The Cruski have had more interaction as traders with the lands to the south and have adopted more of their ways than the Fruzti or the Schnai. They are the least populous of the Manskr (as they name themselves rather than the outlander misnomer "Suel Barbarian").

The nobility among the Cruski has begun to set itself apart from the common tribesmen and are seen as less than worshipful of Veli or the other gods as they should be. Gyda is a good example of the new generation of Cruski nobility and yearns for the culture and goods brought from the southern warmer lands.

Still she has learned the basic magic of the Sedr and is a trained warrior. She has brought the art of Falconry to the frigid lands of the north as well as a lack of the facial tattoos and scarring that normally marks powers and events in the life of a Cruski.

There is a legend among the Cruski, that like the Rhennee they too are not from this Oerth but from some equally frigid world where a huge rading party of longships was swallowed by a fog and deposited on the shores of the Thillonrian peninsula ages ago.

NPC - Solvi - Caretaker of the Sacred Ash

NPC - Solvi - Caretaker of the Sacred Ash

Solvi is a druidess and one of the followers of Gynbyrg. She is devoted to the priestess and would gladly kill Runa herself to further the plan for increasing the power of the caretakers.

She has been sent to travel from Hall to village and recruit young women for the new order. So far she has been extremely successful and over two dozen young women have sworn allegiance. Now she travels with a band of half-a-dozen of these acolytes and has set up a secret camp where the others are being trained by three other members of the Caretakers loyal to Gynbyrg.

NPC - Gynbyrg Priestess of Veli

NPC - Gynbyrg Priestess of Veli

Gynbyrg while a priestess also possesses the powers of a druid. She is one of the caretakers of the Sacred Ash Tree among the women of the Cruski. 

The priestesses of Veli are a very secretive lot. They are one of the three orders within the tribe. The Caretakers such as Gynbyrg are a small order with no more than 5 or 4 dozen members. The Keepers of the Sedr are much larger and all women of the Cruski are members though most know only the smallest of cantrips. The Order of Veli contains both men and women and is large enough so that every hall or collection of hovels will have a priest or priestess watching over the tribe.

Gynbyrg is fairly young but is second only to Runa an ancient priestess who has overseen the Caretakers for decades. Gynbyrg wishes for the older womens death so she can command the order. She has been secretly gathering followers and on the death of Runa will greatly expand the Caretakers in number and in power.

Project - Sedr Magic of the Cruski, Fruztii and Schnai

Project - Sedr Magic of the Cruski, Fruztii and Schnai

Often called "Suel Barbarians" these people of the north-eastern Flanaess are at most distant relations to those of the Suel Imperium. During the time before the Rain of Colorless Fire they served at times as mercenary tribes but more often waged intermittent war upon the Suel. At the height of the Imperium's power they were driven from their lands far to the north-east where they dwell today.

These three tribal-nations worship the same pantheon of Gods though each has their own patron, one of three brother deities. Veli is worshiped by Cruski, Votan by the Friztii and Ve by the Schnai. Many other other Gods and Goddesses are worshipped though among all three Fray the Oerth-Mother is highest among all three.

Fray it is who gave the tribes magic, the Sedr, though it is said she taught it first to Votan while his brothers disdained its use, so that today it is among the Fruztii that men and women practice the art, while among the Cruskii and Schnai the Sedr is held secret by the women of the tribes.

Sedr magic has three branches, the Seeing, the Ice Magic and the Bone Summoning. Most who practice the art learn evenly of all three though some become drawn to one particular craft of the others. Women who use the Sedr magic are called Volle or witches and men are called Vola or warlocks. Skalds, the bardic-priests of Votan, Veli and Ve wield some of the Sedr magic but also possess the gift of priestcraft from their patron deity.

The first branch, the Seeing involves ritual divination, but also the ability to walk among the lands of the dead and speak with those dwelling there.

The second branch is Ice Magic and it is both strong in defense and offense for the wielder granting spells that allow casting of frozen bolts of ice, granting resistance or immunity to cold, summoning frozen elementals, creating sheets or barriers of ice and so forth.

The last branch is Bone Summoning, necromancy, and the wielder summons the dead and commands them.

NOTE:

"Suel Barbarians" is something applied to them by outsiders but the reality is that they were barbarian tribes that both raided the Suel and served them at times as allied or mercenary forces, They worship none of the "Suel" pantheon. Votan, Veli and Ve are brother Gods and Fray is a mother Goddess, but there are many, many lesser Gods in this pantheon. Among the tribes they either refer to themselves as the Volke (Fruz) or the Manskr (Schnai and Cruztii) and never "Suel Barbarian" which is a terrible insult.