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The Sea Laird of the Raevoring
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The Raevoring are the third most numerous Clan, and though total landmass of their
coastal Clanhold is relatively small, it stretches a distance of more than a thousand
miles across most of the length of the Vold.
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However the rugged coatal bluffs and sandy shores are not ideal for the raising
of crops, and there is little in the way of natural resources aside from a few groves
of citrus fruit.
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The people are the Clan's greatest resources and include what may well be the hardiest
sea-salts and mariners in the world that ply their trade across the Sea of Osloanda,
the Bay of Solace, and beyond. The gross national product of this Clan is measured
in loot and tributes taken from far away peoples.
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BADGE OF OFFICE
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The mark of a Raevoring Laird is a pendant made of enchanted wood inlaid with gold
bearing a distinctive sun symbol. Legend has it that the device was a family heirloom
carried from the old country across the long waters by the father of the first Raevoring
Laird, Tharvor Bardensson.
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The first four Lairds of the Clan were all from that line and each wore the
pendant in turn, so that with time it became associated with Laird-ship. When the
fourth Laird died without heir, his sons all having died on farings, he gave it
to his chosen successor Laird Vandergrim Vordinsson and everafter it has passed
from one Laird to the next as a mark of office.
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It was lost for a time almost eight hundred years ago when Laird Tommin Garvensson
was slain in the foreign lands of Hortash, but a great faring of enraged Raevoring
set out to wreak terrible vengeance upon the island nation, and eventually recovered
the pendant.
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HALL
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Hafenstadt is the original Macthig settlement in the Vold and has a great deal of
cultural significance to all of the Clans, but it is particularly important to the
Raevoring as the starting point of their entire way of life. The first two hundred
odd years of Raevoring history is seated almost entirely in and around Hafenstadt
until the Clan grew large enough to begin settling other steadings along the coast.
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Built up on a natural terraced rise, with the bulk of the settlement about a quarter
of a mile from the coast, with docks, shipyards, and longhalls used as warehouses
filing the space between, many of the longhalls have at least partial views of the
sea. Seahawks and gulls fly overhead, and their screeing cries and the crisp smell
of the sea carried in on a near-constant breeze are well beloved by the natives.
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Almost every thing is made of hardwoods, from the docks to the longboats to the
buildings, and almost every piece of it has been carved by skilled hands to bear
some symbol or visage.
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The Clan Seat has pride of place at the apex of the rise and is the quintessential
longhall design that many lesser Machtig structures emulate. Huge, vaulted, and
expansive, the elaborately carved and heavily gilded structure is very impressive
in a barbaric fashion. The Laird's Hall portion itself is several stories high internally,
and open to the rafters, making for a suitably ostentatious throne room.
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The decoration of the Laird's Hall varies with the current Laird as they hang all
their own trophies and whatever Clan trophies they like around the walls and rafters.
The current Laird has somewhat loud tastes, and the Hall is currently decorated
in a garish mess of various battle earned trophies and miscellaneous spoils of war.
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Gunnar Bergthorsson
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Gunnar Bergthorsson (GUN-ahr BERG-thors-son)
is the current Raevoring Laird and has sat the Laird throne in Hafenstadt
for eleven years.
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APPEARANCE
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Gunnar is a looming, seven foot tall giant of a man that would strike
fear into the hearts of any sane person were he to jump out of a longboat as part
of a raiding party and charge at them. He also has the air of someone that not only
knows this about themselves, but revels in it. Which is to say that Gunnar is something
of a bully, and is capable of remarkable pettyness.
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In his hall, Gunnar wears the tartan of the Raevoring clan. Outside
of his hall, when raiding and the sea beckons, he dons blood-red chainmail (reputedly
enchanted) and a helmet bearing a horsehair crest looted from who knows where that
he is quite fond of. His favored colors are red and gold as is evidenced by his
armor, or gore and gild as he calls it, and his hall is a garish mess of trophies
and spoils of war.
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Of special note, Gunnar had a huge long boat made for himself and
his warband a decade ago. fully twice as wide and half again as long as typical
longboats, Gunnar named her 'Svena' after his mother. In addition to sheer bulk
the longboat is gilded and decorated with expensive enamels, resulting in a unique
blood-red and golden vessel that can not be mistaken for any other. To drive the
point home, her sail is red and sports Gunnar's personal symbol, the horsehair crested
helmet.
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HISTORY
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Gunnar's father was originally a favored Sea-Reeve and then later the Reeve of Skaelorn.
The third of four brothers, Gunnar's early life was a rough and tumble coming of
age. Warrior trained and eager for battle he took to the sea in his fifteenth summer
on his elder brother's longboat.
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By the time he was thirty he was a reknowned Thegn and had visited all the major
ports of call across the Osloanda, even wintering in Worfinal on two occassions
when the faring he was on was delayed and couldn't make it back to the Vold before
the winter storms set in. By the time he was thirty two he had seven longboats under
his sway and was named a Sea Reeve by Laird Unthel Fargusson.
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Five years later Gunnar had seventeen longboats and had amassed sufficient support
to challenge the increasingly unpopular Unthel. After Unthel had fallen to Gunnar's
axe he was sided for and became the new Laird.
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In the eleven years since then Gunnar has been fairly popular, mostly because he
doesn't really govern. He essentially just lets the Raevoring be Raevoring so long
as they pay their besterung and don't flout or challenge his authority.
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PERSONALITY
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Gunnar is fond of fine drink and beautiful women; his language
is rough and raucus. He seems to try to be chummy with everyone that he is moderately
pleased with; not unlike a huge, loud, drunken father figure.
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But woe to those who would incite his wrath. Justice is
dealt out quickly, and personally by Gunnar when circumstance permits and those
who are not currently in favor with him would do well to seek sanctuary far from
his hall. In addition to being volatile, he is also fickle, and those on the outs
today might be back in his good graces tomorrow and vice versa.
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BATTLE
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In his youth Gunnar was a brutally effective fighter thanks to his huge size and
boundless strength. Weilding a longhandled greataxe like other men swing a stick,
he has slain warriors from more lands than he has fingers to count them upon, and
though he suffered a few wounds here and there he never fell in battle and was always
ultimately victorious.
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However as he creeps into late middle age his rowdy youth is catching up with him
and his strength is beginning to fail in small ways that he has thus far been able
to hide. In particular he has been having a lot of problems with his back and knees
in the last few years and went so far as to have a bath house built for himself
where he can soak in hot water and steam, a practice he became much enamored of
while in Worfinal in his youth.
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Impinging age aside, he is still more than a match for most but he has a creeping
suspicion that some young prodigy with youthful energy could overcome him and thus
has begun taking steps to ensure that promising young Thegns are kept busy on farings,
and takes an avuncular interest in them when they are in steading so that they view
him as a friend and patron and give him their loyalty.
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POLITICS
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Gunnar is not intellectually set up to be much of a politician, but
he knows he doesn't approve of Kaenha Kennering; the wily little Pargori has "made"
Gunnar look foolish too many times to forgive. Reserei on the other hand is a boon
companion and everything a proper Machtig should be. Reserei has deftly turned Gunnar
to his side, in other words, and Gunnar will hear no ill word against him currently.
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INTRACLAN
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Gunnar is the sort of person that you either love or hate, and he has made both
many enemies and many friends in his life. Outside of Hafenstadt where folks are
not exposed directly to his volatile nature his policies are approved of and he
is generally supported as a decent enough Laird.
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In Hafenstadt itself among those who have even occassional contact with him there
is a definitely feeling that one must watch ones step around him, and there are
some who semi-secretly consider him a tyrant and work towards his overthrow. Several
possible contenders to supplant him exist but are still in watch and wait mode.
If Gunnar makes a mistake or is seen to be weakening he'll soon find himself facing
down challengers but still holds his rule as of now.
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INTERCLAN
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Raserei has Gunnar's full support. The charismatic and motivated young Herodi
has charmed, flattered, and gifted Gunnar adroitly and if Gunnar is still in power
when Kaenha's rule ends there is no doubt that Gunnar will side for Raserei.
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Privately, Gunnar see's Raserei as a powerful key to maintaining his power a little
longer; many Raevoring yearn for a return to the way things were in the stories
and sagas from before the current era of Pargori rule, and Raserei is generally
seen as the Laird most likely to see that come to pass; by supporting him Gunnar
bolsters his popularity with those Raevoring.
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Though he would never admit it,
Dyorgrim scares Gunnar just a little. Even if the tales of his past have
been embellished by the Skalds, the man's hard stare and unyielding nature make
Gunnar pause. Gunnar understands that he has nothing Dyorgrim wants or needs, and
he is not a man to tolerate his tantrums and mood swings and thus he has restrained
himself on the few occassions when the two have met.
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Chigante just doesn't impress Gunnar, who is something of a size elitist.
He sees the compact horseman as being too small to be a real warrior, and he's no
fun at all.
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Raserei seems to think otherwise and insists that Chigante is a necessary component
not only for his vote for awarding Oberlaird, but also in the great war Raserei
plans for afterwards so Gunnar tries to remember to be polite, but he just can't
make himself take Chigante seriously.
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Brengreifer is a good lad, though a bit stiff. The Huarthmunn are necessary
to the Raevorings survival since they provide most of the food consumed by the Clan,
and they have guested each other on many occasions. Gunnar definitely claims precedence,
but otherwise treats the Huarthmunn Laird well.
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For his part Brengreifer tolerates Gunnar with good graces but privately would rather
avoid him.
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Keanha has no respect for Gunnar at all, verging on contempt, and though
he is careful to keep his language polite and knows well how far he can go, the
crafty Oberlaird has repeatedly embarrased and befuddled Gunnar.
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Gunnar hates Kaenha with a deep passion, and it is only the fact that an Oberlaird
cannot be challenged save by a person of their own Clan challenging for Lairdship
that keeps Gunnar from calling him out. Few things would make Gunnar happier than
an opportunity to slay the uppity little Pargori.
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Bjorjan is privately contemptuous and publicly stonefaced towards Gunnar.
They've only met on two occassions, and neither had much of anything to say to one
another.
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Gunnar has no frame of reference to understand the quitely dangerous Jagrling Laird
and lumps him into the same basic category as Kaenha and Chigante; while they may
technically be Thegns by the standards of their Clans they are hardly what Gunnar
would consider to be proper warriors.
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Neirin has never met Gunnar but it can be predicted that if they did meet
they would not take to each other.
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Gunnar doesn't know what to make of the Faendradi; he has never met one and like
many Raevoring he almost considers them to be semi-mythical. He knows that they
exist and are Machtig but all the stories of their strange abilities and relationship
with the Aelfing must surely be embellished by the Skalds.
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Wolkengreifer basically respects Gunnar. Privately he thinks of him as a
great fish-eating bear with a bad tooth. Large, malodorant, cranky, and very dangerous
to anger. The Raevoring generally support the Ulthferen, and thus Wolkengreifer
considers them to be allies. Wolkengreifer went on a faring with a Raevoring warband
in his youth, and has a better understanding of their culture than most and is able
to use this understanding to get along with Gunnar.
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Gunnar generally likes Wolkengreifer and has enjoyed lifting flagons with him on
a few occasions and considers him a friend.
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