Tribe of the Elk
Варвары Регхеда
TRIBE OF THE ELK
The most renowned and most populous of the Reghed tribes, the Tribe of the Elk strives to carry on Wulfgar’s great legacy. For the most part, the tribe lives in peace with the Ten-Towners, and the tribe’s ruler leads his people with wisdom and care.
Jarund Elkhardt
King of the Elk Tribe
King Jarund Elkhardt is a towering barbarian whose deeply tanned skin and mane of auburn hair bespeak a life utterly removed from the comforts of civilization. Anyone who speaks with the terse ruler, however, learns that Jarund is no savage. At forty-two winters, he is the oldest king among all the barbarian tribes and has led the Elk Tribe for over half his life. Jarund has seen other kings rise and fall, has made war with his friends and peace with his enemies, and has led tribesmen he knew as babes to their deaths in battle. Always he has kept the survival of the Elk Tribe foremost in his efforts, and the strain of his long years of rule is written on his face.
Some members of the Elk Tribe refer to their king as Jarund the Elder, though never in his pres¬ence. The epithet is an allusion to the king’s late son, Jarund Twice-Born, who was killed three years ago in a hunt when he tried to bring down a cave bear. His spear struck true, but the creature tore open the young man’s chest in its death throes, leaving Jarund without an heir. The king never speaks of his son and shows no favor to any other warriors of the tribe to mark a possible successor. But as old as he is, Jarund cannot ignore the matter of succession for long, and many warriors have already started postur¬ing against one another in the event that the tribe
invokes the rite of combat to determine a new king after Jarund passes. Many of the tribesfolk speculate that the leader’s reluctance to name a successor-and the obvious favor he shows to Froya Harmoot— indicate that he hopes to sire another heir. Some of the women whisper that Froya is already with child-much to the consternation of Jarund’s wife, Wynneth.
Whatever the future holds, Jarund is a potent force for the time being, and he rules his tribe with a sure hand. He is gravely concerned about the early coming of winter, in terms of surviving the harsh season and what it might portend about the greater entities at work in Icewind Dale. In such matters, Jarund seeks the counsel of Mjenir, the Elks’ shaman; the king greatly respects his understanding of the workings of gods and spirits. The fact that both men have lost their sons serves to strengthen the bond between them.
Jarund’s attitude toward the people of Ten-Towns is a mix of disinterest and disdain. He refers to city- dwellers as “tamed men” and does not see much value in dealing with them. In Jarund’s mind, the people’s refusal to live with the land, and instead hide from it behind Walls, is the source of their trou¬bles. Although he knows the coming winter will test his tribe sorely, Jarund believes that the barbarians’
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strengths—their courage, fortitude, and knowledge of the land-will enable them to endure.
Jarund’s age and experience make him a cau¬tious leader. Because he does not long for glory as the younger warriors do, he is more apt to adopt a defensive position in battle and negotiation, opting to endure an enemy’s assault and wait to see what develops rather than extend himself in an attempt to achieve a quick resolution. Jarund commits to action only if he believes that a failure to do so would place his tribe at greater risk than would holding back. When he acts, it is with all the strength and fury one would expect of a barbarian war leader.
Mjenir Tormhaalt
Shaman of the Elk Tribe
Mjenir Tormhaalt is the shaman of the Elk Tribe, and perhaps its most influential member after King Jarund. Though nearly as old as Jarund, Mjenir looks ten years younger, for he has not carried the burden of rule nor endured the hardships of battle. He has icy blue eyes and platinum blond hair, which hangs in long braids across his shoulders.
Apprenticed at a young age to the tribe’s previ¬ous shaman, Mjenir has a deep understanding of the ways of the tundra—the flow of the land, the rhythm of the weather, the delicate interplay between herd animals and predators. This knowledge alone would make Mjenir an invaluable member of the tribe, but even more important, he has a connection to the spirit realm. It is common knowledge among the tribesfolk that Mjenir can speak with animals, and some believe that he can read omens in the clouds.
In truth, Mjenir’s command of nature spirits is tenu¬ous at best, and anything more than rudimentary divinations is beyond him. Still, he enjoys the author¬ity he has gained from the tribe members’ beliefs and does nothing to dissuade them. To the contrary, Mjenir occasionally takes great pains to consult his oracles conspicuously before recommending a course of action to the tribe, such as when and where to find the best hunting. More often than not, his counsel stems not from any mystical revelation but from his deep study of natural lore. Nevertheless, the tribe enjoys the spectacle and praises Mjenir’s gift when his advice bears fruit.
Mjenir had a son, Olaf, the sole offspring of his short marriage to a now long-dead wife. Olaf did not have his father’s gift for speaking with spirits or his curiosity about the world around him, instead train¬ing as one of the tribe’s warriors. Perhaps as a result of losing his mother at a young age and growing up with a father who seemed more interested in con¬versing with birds and squirrels, Olaf was more quiet and reserved than the other warriors. When a girl named Hedrun began to manifest strange abilities and was shunned by the rest of the tribe, Olaf was drawn to the young woman, not just for her beauty but for the loneliness they both endured.
Mjenir had mistrusted Hedrun’s abilities from the start, not least of all because they were greater than his own. Though the girl apparently had no control over her gifts, Mjenir saw her as a potential threat to his position of importance in the tribe. When he belatedly realized how fascinated Olaf was with the young woman, it heightened Mjenir’s fear that Hedrun would steal away everything that belonged to him. He forbade Olaf from seeing the girl, which naturally had the effect of driving his son straight into Hedrun’s arms. Tragically, jealous Auril would allow Hedrun no mortal love, and her power froze Olaf to death at Hedrun’s touch.
When Mjenir learned of Olaf’s death, he brought his son’s body before King Jarund as proof of the danger that Hedrun posed to the tribe. Though he could easily have demanded her life in payment for Olaf’s, Mjenir feared that he would be haunted by the vengeful spirit of one so great. Instead, he
believing that the girl would meet her end in the jaws of a wild beast.
Now that the winter storms have come unseason-ably soon, and the hunters have returned with tales of a witch wandering the tundra, driving beasts and snow before her, Mjenir realizes that his decision to banish Hedrun might have been a mistake. He has not shared his suspicion of the Ice Witch’s true identity with anyone else, lest he be seen as having brought her vengeance down upon the Elk Tribe. Similarly, he opposed Hengar Aesnvaard’s suggestion to find aid in Ten-Towns because he fears repercus¬sions if outsiders discover the witch’s identity and the source of her grievance. Instead, he urges Jarund to placate the gods with sacrifices and keep the tribe on the move to stay ahead of the witch’s attacks. In his heart, though, Mjenir knows he cannot outrun win¬ter’s fury, and he seeks a way to counter the witch’s threat without admitting his culpability to the rest of his tribe. Perhaps he can put a friend or a foe in the witch’s way-someone who might stand a chance of destroying her.
Warriors of the Elk Tribe
Hengar Aesnvaard
As a young man, Hengar Aesnvaard grew up hearing tales of Wulfgar Dragonsbane, the Elk king who slew the dragon Icingdeath and, along with the other famed Com-panions, saved Ten-Towns from the army of Akar Kessell at the Battle of Icewind Dale. To hear his fellow tribe members tell it, Wulfgar’s glorious vic-tories validated the Reghed way of life. The king’s loyalty to the tribes, his trust in his own strength to win through adversity, and the restless wanderings of his late career all spoke to the virtues that Hengar had been taught since he was a boy.
Hengar took a different lesson from the tales. Where others spoke of Wulfgar’s loyalty in rejecting a life with the dwarves to return to his rightful place among his people, Hengar saw a sense of duty. Where they spoke of Wulfgar’s reliance on his own might, Hengar saw the hero’s reliance on his friends. And where some pointed to the famed king’s journeys as a rejection of the sentimentality of city- dwellers, who foolishly die rather than leave their precious homes, Hengar saw the searching of a man who no longer felt at home among his people.
Now a seasoned warrior of the Elk Tribe, Hengar still has a habit of seeing things differently from
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