The Rith'ralir
Rith'ralir/Lord of Elves
PC (Player Character) Nation Name: Second Rith'kathuuk
Secondary Nation Names: Araliri, K'lella, Vorenos, Adderel
Cities: Rith'lorra (Capital), Adelon, Eshadrel, Felonnren, Gent'tai, Lloreleln, Akatha, Wedelras, Ridrun
Government: Absolute Tribal/Religious Monarchy
Culture
A History of Sorts:The Rith'ralir are a predominantly tan-skinned people, inhabiting the northwestern hinterlands. Their name roughly translates to People of the Wolf. They are a people based around religion and tradition, and this forms the backbone of their society. The Rith'ralir are animists, worshiping the Wolf Spirit, for their reverence and respect of the wolves which inhabit their land. The shamans, Rith'grathun, or Wolf-Talkers, have carried down the legends and myths of the earliest Rith'ralir tribes to present times, and are the keepers of both historical record (what little there is to be had) and the rites and tenets of worship of the Rith'gora or Great Wolf for whom the Rith'ralir are named. It is said that the Rith'gora created the heavens and the world (Pathrelum), and man to inhabit it. He appointed his servants, the beings of nature, to watch over man and bade them to see to it that man performed his will. And for a time there was peace, as man did live quietly and by the laws of Rith'gora, and he and his servants were pleased. But as man multiplied, so did his evil and sin, and the laws of Rith'gora were forgotten in man's ignorance and greed, and so Rith'gora struck man with war, famine and death and so man was punished for his transgressions against Rith'gora.
And so the rith'grathun hold that man did say that Rith'gora had forsaken him, and fell deeper into his evil ways. Few were those who remembered Rith'gora, and lived good and righteous lives in his eyes. War and discontent were the punishment for those who forgot Rith'gora, and they lived evilly, and suffered for their transgressions which in their ignorance and blindness they continued to commit. And seeing the fall of man, the contemptible wretchedness of his creation, Rith'gora was saddened. With his sadness, Rith'gora did make a plan to go among those men who still remained faithful to the laws he had set, and make for them a goal. And so the Rith'ralir were born, those men who flocked to Rith'gora's countenance and took of his guidance. According to this, the Council of Rith'grathun was called and all those men who were of true faith to Rith'gora were made Wolf-Talkers, shamans, to pass down Rith'gora's forgotten laws to the future generations, and to keep them pure. They would be prophets to the leaders of men, and would hold Rith'gora's laws in their hands to enforce as necessary with the spiritual knowledge he bestowed upon them.
And so those men Rith'gora had appointed his Talkers gathered up those that would hear Rith'gora's word, and began the Great March, away from the evil and the sadness and the wretchedness to begin the world anew, to make it right. And thus, the rith'grathun of today hold, ended the First Age of Man, and began the New, and the founding of Rith'kathuuk.
Those men who would listen to the Wolf-Talkers were named the Free Men, and the Free Tribes of the Rith'ralir were those who followed the Wolf-Talkers to the New Land for the promise of the Rith'kathuuk (Kingdom of the Wolf or Kingdom of God). They had an arduous journey ahead of them, and so the Free Men marched across the lands of evil, and they were tormented by the many demons of the Slave-Men, those who had forgotten the word of Rith'gora and lived in evil. But through their many torments, the Free Men arrived in the New Land which would be the home for the new Kingdom, the Rith'kathuuk. The rith'grathun bade the leaders of the Free Men, the chiefs of the tribes, to then build a home anew in these lands, who were alike the home of the wolves. The forests and hinterlands would be the home for a new way of men, that would be pleasing to the eyes of Rith'gora. And the leaders of the Free Men were allowed to build their realms within the Rith'kathuuk, and the rith'grathun would ordain the law of Rith'gora, and presumably all would be well. And for a time, it was.
But soon over many years the people forgot the suffering of the evil ways, and so they became complacent. As the great cities arose, and the tribes prospered, they began to envy each other for their material wealth, and the rith'grathun could do little as they saw the Rith'kathuuk slowly torn apart in evil.
With this, the rith'gathrun began to argue, to doubt each others' abilities to divine the will of Rith'gora, and the Great Schism began in earnest, and the Free Men turned against each other, and all was sundered in darkness for a time.
But from the rith'gathrun, a leader arose: Lorra'kalu. A young rith'gathrun, Lorra'kalu was of the tribe of Hathaa, and was the adviser to their chief. In the midst of the war and discontent that was the Great Schism, Lorra'kalu gathered about him warriors and scholars, rith'gathrun and rith'okai (common men/soldiers/farmers/etc) alike. Lorra'kalu did this with guidance from Rith'gora, a vision from the Wolf, and with knowledge of what he must do Lorra'kalu set plans for the Second Rith'kathuuk.
Born of fire. This sentence amply describes the Second Rith'kathuuk, which stood after the Great Schism as the light of Rith'gora's will in a New Land which had suddenly be sundered in darkness. The Great Schism ended when Lorra'kalu's forces became clearly triumphant, the armies of the multifarious enemies spent and worn. And those who had doubted the young rith'gathrun, his fellow Wolf-Talkers and chiefs of the "Free Men", alike, threw themselves at his feet and begged for his merciful wisdom. And it came...
Polity and Other Matters: When the Great March ended, and the First Rith'kathuuk was founded, some centuries ago, the tribes settled many cities, and based themselves around them. Commerce began to flow, and with the guidance of the rith'gathrun, all prospered. The great cities of the tribes became known to the people as: Adelon, Eshadrel, Felonnren, and Gent'tai, named for the first chiefs of Free Men. And under the First Rith'kathuuk, these cities and the tribes which ruled over and inhabited them were separate, united only by a common vision and belief in Rith'gora, and the Wolf-Talkers which divined this vision for the chiefs. However, following the Great Schism and the founding of the Second Rith'kathuuk, power has been taken away from the chiefs. There is now, and has been since Lorra'kalu was proclaimed at the end of the Schism, a single king. The Kathuu-Kalu rules, and his word is law. The skin tones of the Rith'ralir range from darkly tanned to slightly pale and fair. Tanned individuals are thought to be natural warriors, and pale ones are considered prime candidates for rith'grathun.
Domestic Life: Rith'ralir society is patriarchal, and the man is the head of the household. The average Rith'ralir family can expect a reasonable quality of life, unless they live on the frontiers near the "evil Slave-Men", who have forsaken the message of Rith'gora. Those who live in the cities, or nearby, are lucky enough to have quiet lives. While the Kathuu-Kalu is the highest authority, tribal figures (what ones there are to be had) still dominate the day-to-day life of most Rith'ralir. Agriculture is of course instrumental and common, but hunting remains a respected skill. There is little written language at all, what there is is only taught to the rith'gathrun, and otherwise the people are entirely illiterate.
Warfare: The Rith'ralir are taught to respect nature, and hunting is an instrumental part of this. Hunting is seen as honorable competition with the forces of nature, and those who are skilled in this art often fill important positions in the various armies which rise from time to time in the Rith'ralir's history. Rith'ralir warriors are often known to wear wolf skins into battle.
Religion: Little of the inner workings of Rith'gora's "vision", are known to the populace. It is the duty of the rith'gathrun to divine Rith'gora's will, and to inform the people of it as necessary, but also to keep it hidden as necessary. The rith'gathrun are summarily both prophet and secret-keeper, and they speak of Rith'gora's will only when it is needed.
