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Faendradi, Clan of the Tree
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One of the three forest Clans (Faendradi, Jagrling, Ulthferen) living in the broad
expanse of the Voldwald Forest, and also the smallest of all the Clans. The Faendradi
are much reduced in numbers and are skirting close to extinction due in large part
to the heavy influence of an enclave of Aelfing that has been interbreeding with
the Clan for almost two thousand years.
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APPEARANCE & DRESS
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Faendradi Aeldenari (Thegn)
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The Faendradi bear much Aelfing blood among them, and they show it. The average
Faendradi ranges between 54 and 510, weighing in between 125 and 185. They are typically
far less beefy than their cousin Clans, though still wirily muscular. Most have
coppery red or yellow (not blonde; yellow) hair but some have Aelfing colors such
as ethreal silver, and shades of purple.
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Their eyes are usually violet, indigo, or an eerie purplish light gray. They favor
simple but elegant form-fitting soft brown leathers and rarely have jewelry, preferring
natural ornaments such as feathers, fresh flowers, and garlands of leaves. Most
Faendradi wear simple moccasins made from deer hides in the wilderness and delicate
slippers for finery, but some go entirey barefoot.
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The Faendradi still wear the tartan, but usually wear them as a sash or as a sash-belt
rather than as a kilt. They usually incorporate purples and greens in their color
schemes.
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GENERAL CHARACTER
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The Faendradi prefer to live quiet, isolationist lives for the most part. Their
lifestyle is similar to the Jagrlings, but less active. Though there are some dissenters,
most Faendradi hold the Aelfing in awe and feel privileged and honored to be chosen
by them for their patronage.
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The Faendradi dialect of the Machtig language is decidedly a little different than
the other Clans, heavily influenced by Aelfing words and pronunciation. Other Machtig
find Faendradi place names to be odd and often hard to pronounce, and many of the
names of the Faendradi people as well.
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NAMING CONVENTIONS
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Another interesting point is that though the Faendradi use the patronymic surname,
rather than the omnipresent variations of the "son" or "daughter"
suffixes some families use the general suffix "-aled", which is an Aelfing
convention that means "offspring of". Thus Bedwyr son of Berwyn might
be named Bedwyr Berwynaled (ber-win-AH-led) rather than Bedwyr Berwynssen.
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FOREIGN RELATIONS
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The Faendradi are extremely isolationist and have been verging into xenophobic over
the last couple of centuries. Not only do they have no direct contact with outsiders,
they have little contact with other Machtig.
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TRADE
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The Faendradi import some food from the Huarthmunn and export mostly curios and
Aelfing-influenced crafts, but trade is not a significant aspect of the Clan.
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ORIGINS & ORGANIZATION
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A pocket of Haelfinan (Aelfing to the Machtig) survived in the Vold, which they
call Alaendar (olly-END-ar) through the wars of the Ages of Legend. They
were pushed close to extinction over the ensuing millennia, and were on their last
legs before the Machtig landed two millennia ago and drove off the Kor that had
been a bane to them for many centuries.
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Much reduced in numbers, the Haelfinan were essentially forced to interbreed with
the newly settling Machtig who would become the Faendradi just to have a chance
to avoid dying out.
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What only the Druids and maybe a Skald or two among the Machtig realize is that
the Haelfinan plan to subsume the previously human Faendradi into themselves, "breeding"
up the half-breeds systematically as more pure blood elves are born and grow to
adulthood, until eventually the human "taint" will be minimal, and the
Faendradi will have disappeared.
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The Druid Elders are secretly trying to turn the tables, and breed the Aelfing into
the human population until the Aelfing disappear. It's been a slippery slope, and
it will take many generations to resolve, but both the Druids and the Haelfinan
share the same short term goal of reversing the slide of the Faendradi population
into extinction.
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Due to the Aelfing blood which is in all Faendradi bloodlines, the Faendradi are
much less fertile than humans and have a very slow reproduction rate which with
accidents and untimely deaths have caused their population to steadily decline.
People live longer (it is not uncommon for a Faendradi to live well into their second
century), but the death rate has still traditionally exceeded the birthrate for
the last thousand years and the population has dwindled.
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The Druids and Haelfinan both have been trying to encourage growth amongst the Clan
and have made excellent progress in the last century due in large part to the lack
of any wars in that time, but have only barely been able to stop the downward slide.
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PROFESSIONS
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The Faendradi are composed of Thralls (50%), Thegns (15%), Druids (10%), Skalds
(10%), Zauberers (10%), and Non-Thegn Fertigkeiten (5%).
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THEGNS
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Most Faendradi Thegns use the following Packages or some variation of them:
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Archer: approximately 70% of all Faendradi Thegns
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Bladesman: approximately 15% of all Faendradi Thegns
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Scout: approximately 10% of all Faendradi Thegns
- Approximately 5% of Faendradi Thegns have a fighting style or discipline unique
to their families or circumstances.
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ZAUBERER
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Due to their heavy Aelfing heritage over half of the Faendradi are Aeldenaren with
at least one Gift and all bloodlines carry the potential for Aeldenaren.
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However only those with many Aeldenaren Gifts become Zauberer and even then most
do it only out of a sense of civic duty as they must pay more besterung for the
privilege, and among the Faendradi though the traditions are observed the distinction
between the castes of the Machtig is less marked.
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DRUID
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The Faendradi are very closely aligned with nature and they have a disproportionate
number that become Druids among them. Part of this may be because it is one of the
few ways for a Faendradi to get out of the Clanhold without going into self-exile
since the long standing Laird Neirin Cadocaled uniformly denies requests to go on
fairing. Additionally those that chafe at the Clan's increasing subjugation to the
Aelfing see that the only people effectively working against it are the Druids and
thus are eager to lend themselves to the struggle on their side.
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SKALD
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The Faendradi are also renowned for their Skalds, who are traditionally believed
to be the most talented and fairest-tongued men in the Vold. Many Lieferung Meister
Skalding are chosen from the Faendradi Skalds.
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LAIRD AND HUSCARL
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The Clan Laird is traditionally called the Forest Laird. His Huscarl traditionally
numbers a paltry ten or so Thegns and are called the Gewhlt (GEH-wolt; the
Favored) due to their close ties with the Aelfing. What they lack in numbers they
make up for in skill, each said to be equally good with a longbow or a sword. The
Gewhlt currently number only four under the long reigning Laird Neirin Cadocaled.
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CLANHOLD
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The Faendradi Hold lies south and west of the Jagrling, west of the Huarthmunn,
and is ringed on the west and southern side by the Wundvolding. The Faendradi lands
are completely covered by the Voldwald, and are a deep and dark forest where few
outsiders care to tread. Some Ungheuer live within the area, but the Faendradi apparently
have few problems with them.
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Then of course is the Aelfing community which has had such a massive effect on the
Faendradi as a Clan. A pocket of Haelfinan that managed to avoid being destroyed
or chased off the continent during the Ages of Legend, the community was whittled
by the passing of millennia and the influx of the Kor but still exists. Its exact
location is a closely guarded secret, protected by both the Haelfinan and the Faendradi.
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There are only a few settlements in the Faendradi Hold; so few in fact that they
are all listed below under Settlements of Note.
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CLAN SEAT
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The ancestral home of the Clan is Llawruchaf (thare-OOAH-ka) which
is commonly called the Baumhause (BOM-hoos) by all other Machtig who find
the name alien and unpronounceable. It is an actual tree-city built among the boughs
of several giant trees in imitation of the Aelfing enclave of Alaendar.
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OTHER SETTLEMENTS OF NOTE
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Carregnasef (care-egg-NAH-seh), Sitting in the bottom of a valley that leads
up into the Wundvolding Hold, Carregnasef is a small steading. It serves as the
principle point for the minimal trade between the Wundvolding and the Faendradi.
The Faendradi buy metal goods made from silver, gold, and bronze from the Wundvolding
on occasion.
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The Faendradi trade fresh game and occasionally trinkets in return for these materials,
but they trade at a disadvantage. The dwellings here are made of deadwood and furs,
and look very temporary from the outside, but once inside they are comfortable enough.
Many of the residents sleep outdoors around communal fires for much of the year.
Seat of a Reeve-halten.
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Bwydpwynt (bwid-PWOI-eent), this steading is built near the border of the
Faendradi and Huarthmunn Clanholds and is one of the two principle points of trade
with the Huarthmunn. The Faendradi trade for much needed food stock like grains,
vegetables, and bread.
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They trade furs and trinkets, as well as some commodities like prized Faendradi-made
arrows, bows, and leathers. This settlement is just at the edges of the boundaries
of the forest, and the inhabitants live in wood cots for the most part. There is
a single longhall, but it is small and mostly used for ceremonial and official undertakings
like marriages and the occasional trial, and the like. Other Machtig often refer
to it as Woodpoint (VOOD-point). Seat of a Reeve-halten.
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Buanowedd (bwah-NO-eth), this steading is also built near the Huarthmunn
border, but a few hundred miles to the south of Bwydpwynt. Despite the distance
between them the two settlements are very similar, save that Buanowedd is built
a deeper into the woods and the entire steading is built around the trees in a more
organic fashion.
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An interesting detail about Buanowedd is that virtually every morning a stiff wind
kicks up at dawn, coming out of the mountains and blowing quite heavily for about
an hour, and then fading away. Most Machtig refer to this steading as Wanoveth (vah-NO-weth).
Seat of a Reeve-halten.
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CLAN VIEWS
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The Machtig are an individualistic people, but nevertheless there are some generalities
about how the Faendradi think of the other Clans.
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- Herodi: Kor in man's skin. Deadly warriors, but they know how to do nothing
save destroy.
- Raevoring: Little better than the Herodi. Worse in some ways;
at least the Herodi are consistent. The Raevoring are dangerously random.
- Ulthferen:
Part of the natural cycle of life and worthy of respect, but enemies of the Aelfing
and therefore not to be allowed near them.
- Huarthmunn: A good but unimaginative
people. Generous neighbors.
- Wundvolding: Strange, Var-like men. Useful for
trading, but never to be trusted. The Aelfing tales of the Betrayal of the Var are
always to be recalled.
- Hengsting: Distant people, they seem to live in harmony
with nature and they are creators rather than destroyers.
- Pargori: Friendly
does not mean friends. They bring things that are needed, saving us from having
to venture out for it, but they seek to profit from everything. They are exploiters
and would no doubt seek to find some way to profit off of the Aelfing, so they are
not to be allowed near them.
- Jagrling: They
mean well. If only they would put aside their caution, the Aelfing might choose
them too.
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