The Wends

The Wends are a group up in the northeast of Saxony controlling a region that borders on the southern Baltic Sea. They are an ethnic grouping of Slavs that share many social traits of the surrounding Saxons & Nordic peoples.
They are raiders with permanent settlements in form of towns & cities. They build ships in the classic Viking design with a few Slavic features built in. The ships have enough space to allow for horses to be accommodated. This allows them to carry out raids with mounted cavalry, something they are known for. They are only bested by the Frankish cavalry units, though they are hired as mercenaries by the Franks when they deem it that more of such units are needed.
Each city & town will usually be dominated by a local chieftain and their retinue. The settlement will have a dominant tribe of Wends, with lesser tribes present, and farmlands around each. This allows for a permanent source of food production in the harsh conditions here, and a base to operate from. With their cavalry, it also allows the necessary means to raise new horses for use.
Shrines to the gods are present in or nearby, along with a priesthood attending them. As such they are Pagans, with little truck with Christianity. They have a major temple at the city of Rethra to the primary god of their people: Radogost. Though saying this, it is believed to be an alternative name to the solar deity Svarozhitz (also referred to as a god of fire).
As for the tribs themselves, many would mark out territories with strips of woodland, and taking their names from local place names. They regularly take a Germanic form of the name due to regular contact with e Germanic tribes to the north, west, and south, along with some who still exist within the bounderies of the Wend's territory.
The Danish islands of Mon, Lolland and Falstar have minor settlements of them, and this sometimes raises tensions between the two. It also allows then better access to the Baltic Sea and beyond where the majority of their ships can doc as well as being harder to raid in the off-chance the Danes are sucked into the conflict too.

Culture

Average technological level

City builders & ship builders, the Wends also are able to produce steel items to a respecible level. Their cities are build to permanently stand, and their ships are designed similarly to V?iking longships, and can accommodate horses.

"I've heard of the Wends. Raiders on land and sea. They make use of both longship & cavalry to spearhead their raids too. Pagans though, the Heathens."
Amon, Paladin based at the Eschbach church.