These members of the
Ice Tribes are the strangest of the many tribes
that inhabit this area of the Icelands Coast in the far recesses of
Northern Sarvonia. Some
scholars wonder if human is still the
proper classification of these people. Their appearance, as well as their
unique culture suggest at something less than what we comfortably call
human. Located at the very northern tip of
the Icelands Coast, far in the
Northern Sarvonian continent, these blue skinned people shun the rest of
the world and keep much of their culture locked away from outside eyes.
Appearance.
The Vertan people are very distinctive in their appearance. Marked by the
hrugchuk lichen that they
live on, it has turned their skin a light blue hue, but is more noticeable
around their lips and fingernails. Their hair is touched by the
hrugchuk lichen as well,
being a dark blue that is hard to distinguish from the normal black of the
Ice Tribes except in good light. Their eyes are
strange, the pupils of which are uncommonly large, and the irises are an icy
light blue. Folklore suggests that these Vertan people were not always like
this, and that a thousand years ago, they were the same as other
Ice Tribes. Generations of living under the ice is
believed to have changed them, though no one can say exactly when this might
have happened. The first reports of the "Blue Men" are believed to have been
made around 800 years ago.
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Picture description. A Vertan hunter hunting for fish in an ice
cave. Image
drawn by Seeker. |
Vertanese males are normally no more than one
ped one fore to one ped
two fores in height, with females being a touch shorter. They are an emaciated
looking people, being very gaunt in appearance. The women carry somewhat more
weight to them, especially in the belly area, breasts and hips. This probably
has a relation to childbirth, however, the rest of their bodies are just as
gaunt as the men.
Vertanese have smaller hands and feet, characterized by thicker fingers with
strong fingernails that grow quicker than someone might imagine. Their bodies
are covered with more hair than the normal
human, though not heavy enough to be considered a fur. Their backs and
chests, arms and legs are the areas that this extra hair can be found, even
among the women, though less thick as the men.
Vertan wear their hair long, with personal grooming not very high on their
priority list. Women sometimes wear their hair in long ponytails, or even
braided, men wear theirs loose and often wildly uncombed. It may be that they
use this as a way to unnerve the enemy in battle.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
Still to be added.
Territory.
The Vertan people live at the northernmost tip of the Icelands Coast. This area
is cut off from the rest of the Icelands Coast by a large ice shelf that rises
high above the surrounding land and extends out into the Ice Sea. To the south,
they are bordered by the Filmainrim and to the southeast by the Sanartrim, two
other Ice Tribes.
There are two confirmed communities, Vertico and Sirnil, though many more are
suspected. However, because of the remote region and the Vertanese propensity
for isolationism, no other settlements can be confirmed. Of the two, Vertico is
thought to be the larger, having a population of over 1000 people. Sirnil is
considerably smaller at less than 500 people. It is impossible to even guess at
how many Vertan people there are scattered throughout the land.
People.
Vertanese people are distinguished from all other Ice
Tribe peoples in that they choose to live below the ice. Because of the Ice
Shelf, they are not able to use materials available to other tribes, such as
wood or even stone. Instead, they have adapted by digging below the ice.
Intricate cities are here, all hidden from the outside world. Steps or paths
carved from the ice spiral downwards into burrow like mazes of corridors and
rooms. Some of these rooms are small and intimate, being used as a sleeping
quarters or something similar, while other caverns are breathtaking in their
enormity, able to comfortably hold hundreds of people.
Their knowledge of ice and how to live not only successfully, but quite
comfortably, sets them apart. And apart is exactly what they are. They are very
shy people, and rarely interact with outsiders. Often, strangers are treated as
enemies and are attacked on sight. Some traders are allowed into the cities,
and even a few have been accepted freely by the populace, but for the most
part, strangers are not trusted.
Women are treated with little compassion or respect here. In fact, because they
are seen as nothing more than tools for propagation of the people, every third
girl born into Vertan society is killed, in order to lessen the number of
mouths to feed. As well, when a woman ages beyond her child bearing years, she
is banished from the community. Like most of the Ice
Tribes, a woman has many husbands. When she is selected to be married, her
husband is known as the first husband, then the husband's father as second
husband, then the eldest brother down to the youngest brother. The first
husband has complete control over his wife, and freely shares her with her
other husbands, with jealousy a rare thing, as one might lend a
horse. All children born of this union
are considered the children of the first husband.
The Vertan speak with an Ice Tribe dialect, which
is mistakenly called Remusian, because the
Remusians have been the largest group known to the
southern people. It is this language and the religion of these people that link
the different Ice Tribes into one people.
Housing.
From reports of the two confirmed Vertan settlements, the Vertan people carve
everything out of ice. From the surface of the ice shelf, stairs and paths lead
downward in a spiral pattern, deep into the bowels of the ice. Tunnels fan out
from a large alcove, leading to individual homes and to more community oriented
meeting halls. Their homes are as small as one room hovels, built for one
person, or many roomed for families of those with greater standing in the
community. These houses can be all on a single level, or might have stairways
leading down or up or both. Levels are not something that seems to have any
specific meaning other than its aesthetic quality.
Sleeping rooms are often adorned with a large block of ice, hollowed out and
filled with hides for insulation and comfort. Eating areas have a flat raised
block in the center of the room with blocks of ice surrounding it, like a table
and benches. They have no plates, and food is placed directly onto the table.
Soups and such are served in wison horns that fit into holes drilled into the
table. Community rooms are created where shared toilet facilities are located.
Usually built above a chasm in the ice, or even above the sea, men and women do
their business beside each other with no social awkwardness.
Architecture here ranges considerably, from plain walls to intricately designed
patterns carved into the walls and ceilings. Columns support the larger rooms,
while carved relief columns are placed at the entrances of smaller rooms. There
are no doors here, except for occasional flaps of hide hung in the entrance of
some rooms. These are rare, however, as the Vertan do not consider modesty or
privacy as big concerns inside their communities.
In the darkness below the ice, the Vertanese have made use of a luminescent
seaweed called Morsheela. This floating seaweed is harvested from the Bay of
Calinth, then hung in many areas of the community on the walls and ceilings. It
freezes in place, and gives off a cool glow that gives off enough light for the
Vertan people to see where they are going.
It is thought that in the beginning the Vertan took shelter in natural
crevasses and caves in the ice. Then, over time, they expanded these caverns
using tools traded for with other tribes, mostly the Filmainrim. Using these
tools of stone, or more valuable metal, they worked out from the natural caves,
building their settlements into the maze of tunnels they have today. It was a
natural evolution that continued for centuries.
Clothing.
Hide is something that is in short supply in this remote location; few animals
live on the ice shelf. Therefore, leather clothing is a very valued commodity.
Fortunately, these deep caverns are surprisingly warm, and only a thin
protective layer is needed to keep them comfortable.
Wison hide, though thick and not
very comfortable for light clothing, is used for the outside clothing,
including parkas and boots. Pinnip
skin is used for lighter apparel, including shirts and breeches and gloves.
However, they also make use of a far more nightmarish item. The Vertanese have
perfected the art of tanning human skin
and create items of clothing. Using the skin from the back, or chest or thighs
of people who have been defeated in battle, they soak the flesh in a mixture of
salt water, urine and gruber roots. These
gruber roots are farmed at the lowest levels of the Vertan cities, where actual
soil can be found. A strong smelling and heavily alchaline mash is made from
crushing these roots which is then mixed with the salt
water and urine. The flesh is then soaked
in this mixture for days at a time, until it has cured, then brought out and
left to dry over a fire. After this, it is tanned in a more traditional way of
using fat and brains. For the most part, human flesh is used mainly for shirts.
Males wear these garments, and are used as a status symbol, especially if the
skin used was from a significant foe. Many of these shirts still have the
tattoos of their enemies on them.
Diet.
Fishing is practised by the Vertanese. Some of their tunnels lead down to where
the ice shelf extends out into the Ice Sea. Holes are then carved so that the
sea beneath is accessible. Fish, attracted to the light and pinnips needing an
air hole to breathe are then hunted from there. The Vertanese use a harpoon
fashioned from icicles they harvest from the ceilings of special ice farming
caverns. Though fragile, and only able to be used for short periods, these
harpoons provide the Vertanese with enough fish to sustain themselves.
As well, small game is also hunted on the surface.
Nue'mon and other birds that live
their or fly over on their migratory patterns are a favourite, as well as sea
going animals such as the pinnip.
Wison are hunted in the summer. The Vertanese people will cause the herd to
stampede toward deep crevices in the ice, where they harvest the meat and hides
at their leisure. A typical "fall", as the Vertanese call this, will harvest
anywhere from 20-50 animals, and might be done twice in a season, though some
years are better and some years none are harvested in this manner, depending on
the wison migratory patterns in any given year and the luck of the hunters. It
is said that the community of Sirnil did not have fresh wison "falls" at all
for ten years in a row in the 1640's and 50's. During this time, famine became
a huge problem and many died. It became known as Zundefor's Trial, as the
people felt he was testing their faith.
Still, fresh food is hard to come by. It is because of this that the Vertanese
eat the lichen that grows on the walls of their tunnels. Named
hrugchuk lichen because of
its blue colour, it was thought to be a type of
hrugchuk grass before being
classed a lichen. The lichen, when brewed into a tea, stems the desire for
food; effectively numbing the bodies hunger. This is what has given the
Vertanese people their emaciated appearance.
There is a rumour, perhaps propagated by the other Ice
Tribes, that the Vertanese resort to cannibalism. It is said that they
revere heroic warriors and hunters by putting the flesh of the deceased into a
large stew which is then eaten by most if not all of the community. It is
believed that the essence of the heroic figure is then imparted upon all those
who had partaken in the meal. The Vertan people refuse to discuss the issue
outside of their own communities. There is, however, precedent for this. It is
known that the Remusians had practiced this rite a
millennium ago. With the Vertanese proclivity toward the taciturn, it may be
that these rumours are never confirmed or refuted.
Weapons.
The Vertanese use both conventional weapons
that they trade for, and their ice harpoons. These conventional
weapons are axes and hammers made from
stone with handles of wood or bone. Some harpoons are gained, from bone, as
well. The Filmainrim are the largest trading partner for these
weapons. These two tribes have had the
most stable relationship over the years.
The ice harpoons, called Hiljooru-ohm-Paltay (lit. "monster's fingers"), are
created in special caverns. These caverns are believed to have once been the
breeding ground of large monsters made of ice, Shicain-fey-Hiljooru (lit.
"monster of ice"). These giants are said to be the offspring of Pargis, the Ice
God. He created them to be warriors, who ruled the land before the time of the
Ice Folk. But, being a mean and malevolent race, they were destroyed by the
mortals who made the Icelands Coast their home. Still, Pargis tries to secretly
create once more this army of ice behemoths. In deep, dark caverns they are
birthed from the ice itself, emerging from the ceilings as long stalactite
icicles. Given enough time, years if not hundreds of years, the ice giant
matures and breaks free from the cavern ceiling to become a sentient presence,
three to five peds in
height with arms, legs and head.
Before the ice giant matures, these living icicles can be broken off and used.
The ice has the strength of the giant, and will not break easily, though this
property will fade after a few days. The formers melt the ice into the proper
shape and weight. Often, they inscribe prayers to Pargis onto the harpoons, in
order to appease the god for the destruction of his children. Others inscribe
prayers to Aleshnir, Sea Animal Spirit, to ensure a successful hunt.
Occupations.
The Vertan community revolves around the ice miners. Whether carving out new
caverns and corridors, or maintaining the existing ones, the Vertanese must
always be aware of the shifting ice shelf. The warmth of the community fires
and even body heat slowly melts the walls and can create dangers such as
cave-ins. Therefore the people are somewhat nomadic. They have a series of
tunnels that they use for a few years, then move to new areas. The old areas
are not abandoned completely, but are left to "heal". Left empty, the Vertanese
ice workers go in and rebuild the walls by spraying water onto them by use of
their mouths. It is a slow process, but over the course of a few years can once
again refresh the tunnels and rooms.
Hunters and fishermen are the next largest group. With the scarcity of animals
in which to hunt, it takes a constant effort in order to feed the community.
Formers are the next largest group. Called formers for the way they form ice,
they build everything from the ice harpoons to beds, to tables and anything
else the people might need. They also create magnificent facades along the
tunnels, depicting scenes of nature or battles in relief, or fluted columns
with an extravagant entablature above. They are the true artisans of the Vertan
people.
The more adventurous of the Vertan might become traders, travelling south to
trade Saiph-Stones for such things as clothing, food, weapons and tools. These
Saiph-Stone gatherers patrol the beaches found under the ice, looking for the
brilliant blue stones. They trade with the other Ice
Tribes, mostly with the Filmainrim and the Sanartrim, but will send
excursions as far south as the Kordos province of
Remusia.
The lack of actual soil here precludes agriculture to a great degree. They grow
gruber roots, as well as a few other fungi like plants that they eat in stews
and soups. Soil is found at the lowest levels of the caverns, and the
enterprising Vertan have brought small amounts of soil to different levels,
where only a thin layer of dirt is needed to grow the fungi like plants. The
gruber roots need more soil, so are still only harvested on the lowest levels
where actual land is found.
Government.
The Lanrul is the head of each community in Vertan society, as it is in Ice
Tribe society in general. Both the communities of Vertico and Sirnil have
lanruls who rule them. These are elected positions that the lanrul holds for
life. A lanrul is elected by only the men in the community, with warriors
getting a somewhat stronger vote, perhaps a two to one ratio compared to non
warrior votes, though this ratio can be stronger or weaker depending on
circumstance. In times of war, the warriors may have three or four times the
voting power of a non-warrior. Once a man has achieved the rank of lanrul, he
is the sole voice for the people in his community, his lanne. Of the two
lanruls of note, Kijhini of Vertico is the one who holds the higher position,
and represents the Vertan people at every Langral Meeting.
Most Ice Tribes have Warlords who rule smaller nomadic clans, but it is unknown
whether the Vertanese follow this rule. Because of the extreme conditions on
the Ice Shelf, it has proven so far impossible to confirm the existence of
nomadic Vertanese clans.
Production/Trade.
The Vertan people are a poor people. They do not produce anything that they can
trade to other tribes except for the medicinal unguent Feurergelee. This
ointment they trade to the Filmainrim and the Remusians
and the Sanartrim. In return, they get vegetables, weapons, tools and clothing.
They also trade the Saiph-stones that they find on their under ice beaches.
They do not waste energies trying to fashion these stones into anything, but
simply trade them as they are found.
Natural Resources.
The Vertan have little in the way of natural resources. Saiph-Stones are the
largest of the natural resources here. They harvest these stones on the
shorelines far below the ice. Harvesters scour these beaches when the tide is
low, filling small rawhide baskets with the precious stones.
There is no wood here, and the oil from the blubber of pinnips and other sea
going animals is used to have small fires for cooking. The fires are kept small
and extinguished after the cooking is done. Light is provided from a seaweed
known as morsheela. When this seaweed is dried, it glows with a slight
luminescence. The Vertan people hang this seaweed in their corridors and rooms.
If extra light is needed, they make use of the Fire Fish, the
Fallu-eck-fyrthara, using them as most would use candles. These are small fish
that are numerous in the Bay of Calinth, especially during their autumn run,
when huge numbers of them return to the Bay of Calinth to breed.
Holidays,
Festivals and Observances.
Of all the Ice Tribes, the Vertanese are seen as
the most dour. Now, this is like saying so and so is the shortest
Brownie in the room. As a matter of
degree, it is hard to tell the difference between a dour Vertan and a chipper
Remusian. Still, as a people, this stoicism has
lent itself to a population that observes no known holidays or festivals.
Living below the surface, they hold no important days linked to the changing
seasons. Their minimal regard toward women means that marriages are no more
highly esteemed than the importance of a successful hunt. Death is considered
another facet of life, and though the memory of the loved one will be held
dear, no ceremony or observance is made. The exception to this is the rumour of
the community stew. Only the birth of a son is considered a joyous event, being
celebrated with extra food at the evening meal, which in many cases is cooked
by the new mother.
Important Achievements. The
Vertan people are known for their communities under the ice. They are masters
at knowing how to carve into the ice, where they can safely tunnel, and where
to avoid. They are sometimes called "Ice Dwarves" by some scholars, for their
considerable acumen at under ice construction and their short stature. The term
is a misnomer, however, as these people are not
dwarven, and trace their history as do
all the Ice Tribes, to people that were there many
thousands of years ago.
The main Vertan city of Vertico is close to three hundred years old. In a place
where the ice is constantly shifting, this is an incredible achievement and a
testament to their skill. It is said that the tunnels here fan out like a
spider web for many strals in every direction. The western city was said to
have been severely damaged in 1423, when there was a strong earthquake caused
by a volcano under the ice. Between the cave ins from the tremors, and the
massive melting from the lava floe, it is said that over 400 people were killed
in that disaster. However, that is the only time that a tale of one of the
Vertan communities having a serious loss of life due to the construction
failing.
