Call of the Clan: Askr (OOC/recruitment/planning)

[Pretzelparty]

Call of Clan Askr

 

Hi, Everyone! I’ve been kinda sad lately after realizing how few Whitescar based OCs there are. I’d also noticed there was a bit of aversion to the idea of the viking caribou when they were first released (and I admit they could have had a better first outing), but I’d been kind of hoping more of our user-base might find some interest in playing the native creatures of Whitescar. I can’t speak for the other clans in the region but I started my own a while ago. Clan Askr is a very open and rather progressive clan. Moose, Caribou, pony, griffin, etc. All are welcome but for certain reasons those born on Whitescar land typically are the most prominent if only because those who have weathered the land’s harsh conditions are likely to work well in them. Outsiders are still permitted to join the clan but they have a bit more to prove. If you have any questions about the groups listed or positions I should elaborate on please feel free to ask.

 

---The Clan Itself and its Positions---

 

In northeastern most territory of Whitescar there is a Hold the size of a city surrounded on all sides by a sea of resilient trees. The caribou who live there follow many paths, a great deal of them them artisans, but all of them fight for what they love against the things that encroach on their lives: Be they the threat of the monsters who stray too far from the serpent's spine, or the rebel allied clans who push at their borders. Since their clan first came to be, Askr Caribou have been the more calm tempered and hard working members of the species, but also some of the better ranks of their kind to brave the harsh wilderness of their homeland. To other clans in the lands of Whitescar: Askr is a group composed of inventive minds and well trained warriors, most of them follow a pantheon of gods headed by the two deities Tuktu and Qalipu.

 

With the clan's current rise to prominence, and their willingness to accept members of other species and develop new ways to fight battles for their land, They have become one of the most powerful clans in the current Whitescar scene: Now headed by a chieftain who is adamant in the shared vision of a unified homeland and a brighter future for the caribou.

 

Karls

 

Karls are a low rung in the clan's hierarchy, but still massively important. Composed of merchants, farmers, and craftsbou of varying professions: these citizens make up the backbone of Askr as a whole. As the clan was founded by artisans such as them, they are some of the more knowledgeable and more experienced members of their trade in caribou-kind. While all are taught how to fight and protect themselves their knack for the production of the most iconic imagery for the viking aesthetic of their species has not dulled and to this day it is hard to match the speed and strength of one of their longboats of the sky, or the potency of their magic nullifying inlays.

 

Recently a group of the most skilled members of their caste have joined together and began working directly with the forces of the clan's military to produce some of the more unusual but unique weapons that the high ranking caribou tend to wield. Typically these items are weapons that can change form or function using engineering techniques from other countries. Example, A large axe that can extend into a halberd.

 

Through a good deal of hardwork, loyalty, and the blessings of the citizen's goodwill: A Karl can actually become a Jarl.

 

Jarls

 

Jarls are similar to nobles, they are wealthy, own more land or typically are in charge of the land that a Karl owns. Unlike the nobility of Equestria, the offspring of the Jarl will not inherit his position as the title is given to those who show exceptional ability or strength in any form. Service as a warrior is not required but it is an immense boon. When a Jarl is chosen they usually wind up living in a larger house or more fortified home inside of a hold (usually the one they lived in) and are in charge of settling matters among the community within it, acting as a judge might and dispensing justice that suits the situation. Jarls can appoint advisors and have guards of their own and tend to command smaller armies. as a part of the Askr clan some of the newer additions to this rank are former chieftains to older clans who have joined in alliance to Sigrun's own. Many important topics dealt with by the clan are done with feedback from all available Jarls and are regularly voted on.

 

Chieftain of the Clan

 

Jarls after some time serving and pulling of particularly noteworthy deeds have a chance to be the Chieftain over their entire clan. The chieftain hold a good deal of the wealth and determines may important decisions of the clan. When we go to war with another clan, when states of emergency are declared, when food stores are low and monsters begin to grow too close to settlements: All of these are things that the Chieftain must deal with, as well as worry protect their own family and keep the morale of the clan high. As of now the clan is lead by Chieftain Sigrun.

 

The Seidr (Translation:The Seers)

 

Titles:

Seidkonur (Female)

 

Seidmenn (Males)

 

Perhaps due to the less aggressive nature of the clan's inception, the practice of Seidr: The shamanistic practice of the caribou, has gained more notoriety among the citizenry. Trances, visions, medicine, potion making, are all practices that many Seers learn. These caribou and creatures tend to be somewhat more introverted than many of their rowdy and outwardly inclined kin and more prone to studying books instead of swinging a sword. Many of them carry staffs at their side and carry a plethora of salves and potions to aid the ailing and sick. It is also not uncommon for Seers to bond with a certain animal at their side, this creature usually being intelligent enough to assist in medical aid. Some of their ranks even have learned to cook food for starving warriors and are usually trained to be a soothing presence to any warrior who did not get the end they had been hoping for.

 

The Seers are led by by the Highseer Ylva, sister of the current chieftain although due to the current increased demand for Seers in the service of medical needs for the armies she has saw fit to share her position with a fellow seer and together have founded the group in the clan known as the Hooves of Qalipu: The askr clan's goddess of the aurora.

 

Being one of the least magically blessed species, the caribou’s mystics do not have any innate magic to use. The sorcery that they speak of is based around visions and trying to untangle and understand the web of destiny. If one cannot respect them for the practice of what little mystic options are open to the caribou, perhaps one can appreciate they’re regular acts of charity.

 

Skalds

 

Poets and historians: The skalds of the Askr clan have gone through changes not unlike the clan's seers. Rather than focus on the mysticism and shamanistic practice of the seers, the Skalds began becoming a more official and respected group of caribou who wove wonderful poems and sang inspiring songs of the heroes in the past. Most Skalds of the askr clan tend to be knowledgeable historians and seekers of the the glorious past of the Whitescar's natives.

 

Clan Army

 

Skogenvakt: A ranger type branch of the Askr army. They serve as the first line of defense against invading clans and provide early warning against the monsters that come down from the spine. They tend to try to blend into their white and green surroundings with many camouflage tactics and favor ranged methods of attack such as longbows and crossbows, but they are perfectly capable of fighting on most terms. Thanks to the in-depth knowledge of the forests, terrain and local fauna, the Skogenvakt have turned back many an invasion force.

 

The order is led by a commander appointed by the Chieftain.

 

Huskarls

 

The personal guard of the chieftain and family, made up of a group of well trained warriors hoof picked by the chieftain herself. These warriors are trained in various disciplines to be fiercely capable bodyguards and bulwarks against threats to the clan’s head or any relatives who stay in the center of the great Hold.

 

The Mestrdyr

 

Loosely translated, Mestrdyr means the ‘greatest beast’. In a few ways this is hardly inaccurate as it was a term coined by a group of seers who were infected by the plague curse that was visited upon the clan courtesy of W.R.A.I.T.H. After the treatments were given to the citizens of the clan and beyond this group have been concerning themselves with unlocking the secrets of this curse and using the power it brings as a boon to their species.

 

Enemies of the Clan

The Rebel Caribou Armies of Olin:

 

While there are many clans of Rebels, the clan of Olin has been the most active against Askr territories.

 

Lead by the Chieftain of clan Olin and the infamous Red Jarl, the caribou of clan Olin came to embody the oldest and most traditional mindsets of the natives of Whitescar combined with it’s most worrying aspects. The rebel’s way is one of conquest and the glorification of the old ways of caribou culture. To a rebel, the caribou are the only true great race and all others are inferior. Ponies, the eastern originating races, griffins, hippocamps, etc: all are beneath the greatness of Boukind and are not worth a thought beyond taking what they currently have that can be used by their clan. On some level the clan does honor other caribou in the way their ancestors would but that luxury seems to be allowed only to worthy opponents. The current Askr Chieftain was once the mate of the Red Jarl: although to her she knows him as Brann.

 

The Remnants:

 

A group of caribou from the clans who rejected Sigrun’s offer to join her own. Usually these were individuals who were planning to join the rebel ranks or work against the high king. In the case of either of them they would find their lands seized and their clan’s treasures and artifacts taken and used by the Askr clan.

 

Necromancers:

 

A strangely common problem in Whitescar would be the necromancers that commonly torment the land. All clans have had to deal with these practitioners of the darker sides of magic. The necromancers are as far as anyone knows not organized and rarely have allied with each other. Necromancers can come from any species although it is safe to assume that the more magically gifted ones would be the most prominent. Among the Askr Clan, Necromancers are generally viewed as perverse and wrong, the presence of outspoken necromancers is usually not welcome and so far only one necromancer has been allowed into the clan… this necromancer having helped the entirety of their clan when in crisis. This case is unique though in that this mage: Chipper Demise, has not raised any caribou and only animals. Any who tamper with the fallen of the clan tend to be treated with scorn at best.

 

Notable Events

(in order of occurrence)

 

Rebel leader’s younger brother taken in by the chieftain

 

Aiding the Crystal Empire after it’s horrible sacking by the rebels.

The beastly berserk plague inflicted by WRAITH.

 

Recovery and slow of the war against the rebels.

 

The great debate between the Shogun of Neighpon and Chieftain of the clan of the fate of a sacred blade.

 

(More to come!)

 

[Blueblood]

Notable Allies include:

 

Halvard Breen, Chieftain Sigrun's current mate.  He brings with him an alliance to Clan Breen, a power in the West of Whitescar (info sheet coming... soon-ish).

 

Chipper Demise, Above-mentioned necromancer and dark, now part of Clan Askr after providing vital service during the WRAITH plague.

[Ciraxis]

I myself am very interested in more interactions with caribou. I mean, Whitescar is basically Skyrim - what's not to like?

[Bellosh]

On 1/4/2017 at 8:55 AM, Pretzelpony said:

Rebel leader’s younger brother taken in by the chieftain

 

That would be my caribou: Limi.

[Dio]

Working on a master craftsbou!