Lifestyle
The ancient Suel were haughty, of right to power, and of non-concern for others. Their lack of compassion is rarely encountered anywhere else and they created a lot of atrocities.
The modern Suel who live among the other human cultures such as the Duchy or Urnst and the Sheldomar valley have lost this haughtiness and replaced it, overtime, by a boldness and rowdiness, which can be equally dangerous when roused. The savages of the Amedio, of Hepmonaland, and the Barbarians in the North-eastern Flanaess exemplify this violent and wild character trait.
The Old Suel Imperium was governed by contesting noble houses, family honour and ancestral history was worth dying for. They actually fought more among themselves than other human groups because of these ancient allegiances. A caste system was strongly enforced and the whole social environment was a very dangerous and often a toxic place. The concern for family does have a good side, for a Suel may well send wealth back to his family while he is away or may summon a sibling and train her or him.
We also know that the invading, or rather, fleeing, Suel bands, wandering over the Flanaess, were led by noble families. The caste system was kept alive without fail during this extremely turbulent period.
The modern Suel of today still retain this affinity for family and ancestral history, although they often use a narrower definition of the word to include only siblings, parents, and children. Suel of different countries often dispute each other’s claims regarding ancestry and nowhere is this practice more evident than in the Tilvanot Peninsula. A bare few Suel can still trace their lineage all the way back to the days of the empire and to one of the ancient houses.
The ancient Suel were exceedingly cruel, torture and slavery were the norm. Fortunately, most Suel have only inherited the relatively minor flaws namely: opinionated, selfish, and blunt. Many also tend to be prideful and unwilling to admit flaws or personal hardships. In the modern Suel, the cruelness of their ancestors resurfaces in their political plotting which can be exceedingly aggressive.
As a whole, the ancient and modern alike, are a proud, commanding, determined, opinionated and overbearing people with little regard for other cultures and quite often at odds with their own culture as well. Neither are they known for their patience and so have a short way with disagreements. Besides these traits, Suel from different countries also have some different character traits, above the forementioned.
Thillonrian Culture
art by luciano Neves
“Fear not death for the hour of your Destiny is set and none can escape it.” Thillonrian proverb
We start our tour of the various Suel far to the north. Interestingly, the people of the Thillonrian Peninsula also known as Rhizia in the cold tongue, are of the purest blood, but are the least like their ancestors. The Suel tribes of the Fruztii, Cruski and Schnai were the commoners of the ancient Suel Empire with a primitive dialect and few magical capabilities. The emporer had only made them Noble Houses to make them track down the lost prince of the Suel, Zellif Ad-Zol.
They have adopted a lifestyle many would call barbaric, and keep themselves occupied by raiding each other, or neighbouring civilizations. Besides being excellent warriors, they also excel as trappers, hunters, seaman and fishermen. Their continued survival, in one of the most unforgiving climates on Oerth, clearly demonstrates just how adaptable they truly are, which is why they are not above allying themselves with their culturally diverse neighbours in times of need.
The cold mountainous peninsula is divided up by three societies that are just as complex as their counterparts in the south of the Flanaess. The Suel barbarians, or Suelii as they call themselves, retained the caste system and have a political structure based on social class with obligations and rights attached to each class. We note that although the strongest ties are to kin and lord, this loyalty is to the person of a lord, not to his station. Because there is no real concept of patriotism or loyalty to a cause, dynasties rise and fall quickly on the Thillonrian Peninsula.
The Kingdom of the Schnai
It have the largest population of the Suel in the north and are the strongest and most powerful of the Suel barbarians. This is due to the fact that they suffered very little from the tragedies of the Greyhawk Wars. The Schnai are a rough, unforgiving people in a rough, unforgiving land. Although they discourage open conflict among themselves, battles over everything from the rights to own slave women to simple matters of honour take place regularly among them. However, there remain a constant set of conventions related to a person’s role in society, which has its own expectations of everyone from the king down to the poorest halfling slave.
What passes for law in individual jarldoms and the kingdom as a whole are a mix of written agreements adhered to by blood oath, and whatever whims the jarls dictate over their own provinces. For instance, men who steal, have a hand cut off, while men who commit murder (as opposed to killing a man in an acceptable duel) are themselves killed in public.
They Schnai have an independent feudal monarchy where rulership is hereditary, but the king is expected to respect the authority of his jarls in their areas of authority. He thus wields great but limited powers in his realm as he needs to have the approval of most of his jarls to carry out the most far-reaching actions. There is a dangerous dynamic power struggle between the Jarls and the king that actually keeps the kingdom stable. Being an effective king of the Schnai means being able to either manipulate the jarls and win their approval, or simply being so fierce and powerful that they dare not oppose you. The king thus works his influence through strength, charisma, fear, granting favours or refusing to aid a certain Jarl. This attitude is reflected in all layers of their society.
The jarls meet annually at the Assembly of Knudje, in the town of the same name. The king is not allowed to attend these meetings, and any spies he sends are brutally and mercilessly killed if they are caught. Here, the jarls discuss their course of action in their dealings with the king, settle various judicial disputes, and coordinate military action against humanoids or their neighbours. They also select delegates to speak to the king, to have him resolve disputes that the jarls themselves cannot agree on, and to discuss their desires for the nation and seek out compromise with the king. The jarls wield a great deal of authority, more than their counterparts the Frustii and Cruski, and use it to lord over their people as a whole. Slaves and weaker members of society are treated brutally. There is no chance even for a slave or woman to improve their lot in life.
What Schnai are also famed for being the most skilled shipwright in Rhizia, and Schnai captains are felt to be the luckiest.
art by Ladyloth
The Kingdom of the Cruski
It is the most ancient of the three, their royal lineage being the oldest, and its people consequently are proud and independent, always holding themselves to be higher than their northern cousins even if they are the least numerous. They believe that their ancient god Vatun gives their king the right to rule over all the peoples of the Suel, and that they have been chosen by their deity to someday forge a grand barbarian empire in his name. Their land is the coldest and most severe of the Suel barbarian kingdoms, but that hardship has served to strengthen their independence. Dwelling in seaside towns and mountain steadings, they make hunting, fishing and whaling their major occupations. Shipbuilding is clearly important, and piracy is as well, with seasonal raids southward providing both wealth and the opportunity for battle that the barbarians crave.
This independence is noticeable in their hereditary feudal monarchy where the king actually has no formal institutions to maintain control over his people or his Jarls. The king must make his will imposed by non-lethal force, coercion, or willpower. Any of these methods are acceptable, provided the king remains a strong leader in the eyes of his subjects and his Jarls, who act independently of one another.
They have a similar clan system that exists in the other Barbarian kingdoms, but it is much looser and intermarriage is quite common. The people of Cruski are fractured into many small individual families who, for the most part, act independently of one another. Amongst the Cruski, might makes right and fights and disputes break out over large matters such as hunting territory and mineral wealth, down to petty matters over women and ale. Whole clans may attempt to take over and enslave others. The reasoning in all this is that everything a man has, even his own life, belongs to him only as long as he can defend it. If he cannot, then he is not deserving of it. They view all other cultures, human and nonhuman alike, as being weak and decadent, unable to protect or control themselves. Women, demi humans, and slaves are all viewed with the same lens in their society, namely, if they can stand up for themselves, then they may prosper as well as any man. If they cannot, then they are condemned to the same servitude as any man who cannot hold his own.
The Kingdom of the Fruztii
It is located in a much more temperate climate and farming is consequently an important part of their economy next to fishing and mining in the eastern Griffs. However, their most notorious pursuit is taking their longships on far reaching raiding, and it often proves the most lucrative as well.
The Fruztii are easily the most united of the three peoples and more prepared to help each other out, feed each other when someone is starving, and cooperate as a nation. In a similar fashion, the clan-based social structure is very strongly tied together, with considerable power invested in the king. All common men, equal to one another in matters of law and justice, are organized into families that each claim a town and led by a chief. Villages in a region form a clan and are ruled over by a jarl who pay tribute to the king, who is the final ruler of the realm. Relations between the king and his nobles are very good, keeping in tune with the cooperative and cohesive spirit of their people. The Fruztii, like their kinsmen, treat women as second-class citizens, though abusing them is frowned upon. Demihumans who win their approval will be treated well and though they take slaves, cruelty to slaves is not well regarded. A slave and his family are thought to be guests in a man’s household, to be protected by him in exchange for their service. Although a spirit of cooperation exists among the people as a whole, individual brawls and fights erupt all the time. Jarls and chiefs are continually challenged to duels by young warriors, who wish to rule in their place. The leaders must accept these battles or be branded cowards and lose support of the people.