Voðeren
The Voðeren are a storied people with a long history, with the majority of their ethnic background stemming from Wesevölk invaders of Frostreach and a minority coming from the island's original human inhabitants (Koðr). Voðeren first came to settle Frostreach specifically in 1230, after a political leader known as High Jarl Øldar, the Fierce led refugees fleeting violence in the wake of the fall of the Khanate of Clesentia. During this period, the island of Frostreach was more temperate than it is today, and over the years the Voðeren have adapted new traditions and methods of dealing with the renewed cold. During the initial period after landing on Frostreach, Øldar led a series of military campaigns that left the proto-Voðeren in control of almost the entirety of Frostreach. During this time, the Koðr were treated extremely poorly by the proto-Voðeren, and many were taken as concubines. However, due to the prevalence of mixed children, they became more closely integrated, which eventually ended in full assimilation and a blending of culture into the Voðeren. Thanks to this uneven distribution, various Voðeren have differing amounts of Koðr blood. The higher classes and those living in the northern parts of Frostreach tend to have more of this heritage, while southerners and Voðeren living outside of Frostreach tend to have less.
Following the conquest of Frostreach, The Frostreach Empire was declared and entered its golden era. The Voðeren came to dominate northern trade routes and led colonization efforts of the various other islands in Northern Telgren, thus spreading their people and political control throughout the region. The Frostreach Empire, however, entered a decline as the warm period came to an end and temperatures became colder every year. This led to their political control slipping, and eventually emigration from the island of Frostreach itself to its outlying possessions. As these lands became more populated, they chafed under the control of the far-away Emperors, and the Empire began to dissolve. By 1619, the Empire had been reduced to Frostreach itself, and the various pockets of Voðeren drifted apart, laying the framework for the various sub-groups which exist today. Though trade continued during this period, many more Voðeren turned to raiding, and continued to dominate the northern seas- just in a different way. Inarguably, this period of disunity has been by far the most relevant to the modern Voðeren cultures, defining their views on war, economics, and politics. During the time of troubles, the Þaru Wars erupted between many of the southern Voðeren, leading to defeated warriors escaping to and conquering lands in mainland Telgren, showcasing the power of the Voðeren people.
The Voðeren are generally tall, with blonde or light brown hair, with slight amounts of red hair on occasion. Their eyes are typically blue, though brown and green eyes are not completely unknown. They can be split into five different subgroups depending on which part of Telgren they call home, known as the Reachmen, Þarites, Albreaeren, Kræde, and Kalkösten.
Of the Voðeren, the Reachmen are naturally the most prominent and historically powerful. With the restoration of the glory of the Frostreach Empire under Gorm Ødgarsson, the Reachmen have once more found their military prowess, which they have historically been known for. Beyond this, they have traditionally been a cosmopolitan people, eager to trade and interact with other cultures and driving much of the northern trade routes. They are also the most used to the cold out of the Voðeren, due to Frostreach being situated in the very north of Telgren. They are a people who are used to harsh conditions, and who have long worked towards moving the border of settlements just a little farther into the cold wastes. The Reachmen are also distinct for their close relationship with the Dvur, from whom they have ben able to amass a considerable store of powerful and well-forged weapons, accelerating their expansion. By learning from the Dvur, they have gained a great understanding of forging in their own right, further bolstering their military prowess. Besides military and political goals, the Reachmen are also the center of the religion of Rusirr, which is a critical part of much of the Voðeren culture.
To the southwest of the Reachmen, the Þarites call the Þaru isles home. Originating from settlers who established colonies on the isles after their conquest by the eponymous Þaru, son of Øldar, the Þarites were some of the first people to establish a distinct identity from the Reachmen. Although the Reachmen are also very concentrated along the coasts, the Þarites almost exclusively relied upon the seas due to the smaller size of the Þaru Isles, with their colonies engaging in trade with Frostreach proper and working primarily in the fishing industry. After the fall of Frostreach, their expansion began in earnest, with Þarite states coming to control almost the entirety of the isles and engaging in far-ranging raids and bringing prosperity and slavery in force to the isles. However, they also continued to engage in peaceful trade, primarily with the Telrai of the Confederation of Numoanu, who are longstanding partners and allies. Although there has been some intermarriage with locals and with freed slaves, by and large the Þarites only have slightly more non-Wesevölk ancestry than the Reachmen. In recent years, they have also established new states on Mainland Telgren, with the states of Åavens Relvets, Goðisjord, and Jøkath all being founded recently by Þarites.
The third group of "pure" Voðeren are the Kræde, who live primarily along the Strait of Grenholl. The smaller islands and southern coastline of Grenholl there have been ruled by Voðeren for centuries, and the native inhabitants of them largely pushed out. These lands are quite fertile, and the Kræde are the most agriculturally productive of the Voðeren, although they often supplement their income with raiding. The Kræde are also famous for their high-quality mead, which is produced in large quantities and is the main export of the region. Like the Þarites, the Kræde have established several footholds on mainland Telgren, namely Rikkedenn and Sveisdal. Unlike the Þarites, who raided far and wide and generally dealt in large numbers of slaves, the Kræde traditionally feuded with the Rodłowi, and have tended to focus on their coastline when looking for targets, mostly due to it lying so close by.
Unlike the Kræde, the Albreaeren are a mixed people group who mainly live on the islands just off the coast of Grenholl, with some enclaves on Grenholl itself. Although these islands were some of the first parts of Grenholl to fall to the Frostreach Empire during its rise, the people there were respected by the Reachmen and many of them intermarried with Reachmen settlers, creating a mixed culture. The culture that emerged from these unions was very valuable to Frostreach during their first conquest of Grenholl, as it allowed them to lean on ties to the established nobility of the region and keep them compliant. Thus, many of these Albreaeren became rather high-class individuals, and many of the Albreannach clans originate from these peoples. However, with the receding of Frostreach, the culture began to recede as many returned to the Druidist faith of their countrymen and as the Reachmen ancestors became more distant. The culture has survived only in realms which had close contact with Frostreach after their withdrawal, thus leaving the aforementioned enclaves and islands as its holdouts.
Finally, the Kalkösten are found to the north and east of Grenholl. Descended from the few settlers who went east during Frostreach Golden Age, their colonies easily outmanned and swiftly integrated the Grenhóllr peoples living on them. Therefore, they have little mixed blood and share no cultural practices with the Grenhóllr, unlike the Albreaeren, with only a few names and surnames reflecting those who came before. The Kalkösten are mostly known for their trade and interactions with the Relvetsian and Kenttäinen peoples, with whom valuable goods from the east could be traded. Their raids and settlements were also typically further east, with the poor lands of northeast Grenholl offering little in the way of spoils and therefore being left mostly alone. Kalkösten settlements on mainland Telgren can be found in Svinge and Örsenland, and there are a small number of Kalkösten men who joined in the formation of Åavens Relvets.
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