Forwarded message:
> Date: Sun, 26 Mar 1995 15:02:23 +0800
> From: RICHARJE <Jeff.Richard_at_metrokc.gov>
> Subject: The Tribes of the Volsaxi
>
> I thought I had sent this last week, but apparantly it was never
> posted.
>
> As some of you all may know, Joerg and I have been working on
> developing Volsaxiland and Hendrikiland, despite the valiant attempts of one
> Son of Fergus to unleash the destructive power of the Crimson Greg.
> Eventually we intend to post our discoveries of the fascinating folk south
> of Wilmskirk. But the Son of Fergus has called our hand, so without further
> ado, here are some notes on the Volsaxi confederation circa Fire Season
> 1617:
>
> The Volsaxi are a confederation of four Heortling tribes and a handful
> of independent clans led by a Warlord and his High Council. Rarely the
> Warlord will be recognized as the King of the Volsaxi Tribe, and will have
> authority over all of the tribal Storm Voices of Volsaxiland.
>
> The Volsaxi spiritual center is the ancient oppidum of Whitewall,
> sacred to Orlanth and the residence of the Volsaxi Warlord-King and his
> household. Until about sixty years ago, Whitewall was in the hands of the
> Etori clan of the Kitori, a fierce people who claim kinship with the Dark
> Trolls of the Woods.
>
> The four tribes of the Volsaxi had been tributory to the Kitori or the
> Hendriki until Volsax the Liberator from the Umating clan, a companion and
> friend of the great Prince Tarkalor Trollkiller, led the tribes against the
> Kitori and behind Tarkalor's banner. After they had seized Whitewall, the
> tribal kings and chieftains clamored for a Warlord. Some suggested that
> Tarkalor should be Warlord and King, but he rejected the honor, saying that
> Volsax was their true leader and spoke eloquently about Volsax's virtues.
> Volsax was acclaimed Warlord and King of the Volsaxi by the assembled
> warriors in Whitewall.
>
> In 1617, the four tribes of the Volsaxi are:
>
> The Bacofi: King Gelholdt the Magnificient. One of the largest of the
> Volsaxi tribes, the Bacofi are often seen as the main rivals to the
> Dunlaingi in terms of political preponderance. A strong tribe with many
> subject clans, the King at Maiden's Hill (so called for the Earth spirit
> that led Bacof to a place where he could shelter his kin from the Kitori)
> has lost much of his former influence to the Volsaxi warlord at Whitewall.
>
> The Bacofi border the Troll Woods and border wars between the Bacofi
> and the Kitori have claimed many lives from both tribes. Perhaps because of
> this, the Bacofi are not as out-spoken in their hatred of the Kitori as are
> the Curtali, although chief Hrothgar Trollbane of the Agnari is a definate
> exception to that rule.
>
> The Hellerfell clan near the Troll Woods boast as a clan-elder Domnall
> the Thunderer, the High Storm Voice of Whitewall. The Frodling clan, also
> near the Troll Woods, are an Elmali clan. Their chieftain Wiglaf Flameblade,
> now an old man, swore a prime-oath to Warlord Turloch over the young King
> Gelholdt and swore personal loyalty to King Broyan after his acclamation as
> King of the Volsaxi.
>
> The Kurtali: King Egan Intamorlson. The Kurtali's fierce hatred of the
> Kitori and of the creatures of darkness is legendary throughout Volsaxiland.
> Even before the days of Volsax the Liberator, the Kurtali maintained a rough
> independence from the Kitori overlords by their sheer ferocity.
>
> The Kurtali are a "weak" tribe with 10 strong clans including the
> Rostoak, the Shea and the Thrusa. Currently the Rostoak clan holds the
> tribal hill-fort at Stagwood, which they have held since Enfrew became King.
> The King of the Kurtali is often little more than an over-chieftain and
> major Kurtali religious ceremonies are often performed at Whitewall, only a
> day or two away.
>
> The Laingali: King Broyan Pendasson. The founding tribe of the Volsaxi,
> the Laingali have long maintained a political primacy in the confederation.
> The Umating clan remains the richest and most respected clan in Volsaxiland.
> All but a very few of the Volsaxi Warlords have come from this clan, and all
> Volsaxi Kings have been Umating. Other Laingali clans include the Percevi,
> whose stockade boasts a shrine to Issaries, and the Cunobelin, whose herds
> graze the hills on the north shore of the Solthi. All in all the Laingali
> boast 11 clans.
>
> The hill fort of Dun Laing (Laingal's Fort) is the site of the tribal
> moot and the temple to the gods of the tribe. In times of war, the clans
> seek shelter for the women, children and cattle behind its ramparts. The
> Umating clan live beneath its walls and claim rights as the "royal" clan of
> the Laingali. The Umating King at Laingal's Fort maintains strict control
> over the clans of the Laingali and as the King is often the Warlord of the
> Volsaxi, he usually has great resources at his beck and call.
>
> The Sylangi: King Audan Irminsuling. The Sylangi have the dubious
> position of being the tribe bordering on Lunar Sartar. The tribal hill-fort
> at Two Top (so called because of the hill's distinctive "saddle" shape is
> well fortified. There are thirteen Sylangi clans, with the Irminsuling being
> the most important, largely thanks to King Audan.
>
> The Irminsuling clan currently hold the tribal kingship and having
> first gained it when Audan was acclaimed in 1603 following the defeat of the
> Volsaxi Warlord Ogotorig at the hands of the Lunar Army. King Audan was
> crucial in getting Umating chieftain Turloch Jarangson elected as Warlord of
> the Volsaxi in 1605. Several years later, he cultivated the friendship of
> another Umating, the powerful Storm Voice Broyan Pendasson.
>
> Broyan Pendasson and his Sartarite companion, the exiled Queen (and
> powerful magician) Kallyr Starbrow pursuaded Warlord Turloch to support King
> Audan in raiding the Kingdom of the Kultain, a tribe allied with the Lunar
> Empire. The raid was very successful and it is said that the Sylangi became
> one of the wealthiest tribes of the Volsaxi as a result. King Audan
> generously rewarded the Volsaxi who aided him and is called the Just as a
> result.
>
> The next year, Broyan, Kallyr and another Irminsuling, the famed Wind
> Lord Harvast Blueskin, persuaded the Warlord into leading the Volsaxi fyrd
> against the Kultaini. The Volsaxi crushed the Kultaini, plundering and
> burning their tribal fort. To the eternal glory of the Volsaxi nation, a
> Lunar army marching to succor the Kultaini was routed and the victors
> returned home with Lunar armor and much booty.
>
> That fall, several Syangi clans moved their herds into the land once
> occupied by the Kultaini. Some chieftains are worried about Lunar
> retaliation, but all have profited from the destruction of the Kultaini.
> Some intrepid Sylangi bloodlines have even begun feeding their herds on the
> land once worked by the Kultaini.
>
> Besides the four tribes, the several more-or-less independant clans
> follow the Volsaxi warbanner. These include The Night Leapers of Dorinstead
> (although they still participate in Kurtali rituals), and the Welundings of
> Smithstone.
>
> Some say that the Volsaxi boast a fifth tribe: the exiles from Sartar.
> Several thousand Sartarites, many whom are skilled veterans from the
> defeated Army of Salinarg or from the Uprising of the High Council, have
> greatly strengthened the Volsaxi. Many have created clans, like the Ollili
> Colymar or the Sons of Starkad (a clan created from many Sartarite tribes
> and clans) while many more continue with their ancestral clan associations
> and support various powerful Sartarite exiles in Whitewall (Kallyr Starbrow,
> Leika Beti).
>
> The Sartarites mainly reside in or around Whitewall. Few own land and
> most farm (in the renting sense of the word) the lands belonging to the
> Great Temple-Ring. Seeking to maintain their dignity and their status, many
> have sworn loyalty to King Broyan as gesithmen or huscarls, or have joined
> the Temple-Ring as temple warriors. Having no allegiance to any of the
> tribal kings, the Sartarites have greatly strengthened the hand of King
> Broyan, making him by far the most powerful Volsaxi Warlord-King in the
> confederation's history.
>
> The Warlord of Whitewall maintains four forts in Volsaxiland besides
> the Hill-Fort of Whitewall. The first of these, Trollkiller's Tower, was
> built in the reign of Volsax and keeps a watch on the Troll Woods in
> Bacofiland. The second fort, Ortossi's Keep, is on the hills above Phortan's
> Fields in Sun Dome County. In the reign of Warlord Turloch, Road's End was
> reinforced and garrisoned with Volsaxi warriors from the tribes. The final
> fort, Bull's Stand, is along the upper Syphon River in Laingaliland, and
> maintains a shrine to Orlanth's chaos-fighting brother, Urox.
>
> Anyways, these are notes from my campaign and from Joerg's. Use them,
> ause them, ignore them or comment on them.
>
> Yours truly,
>
> Jeff Richard
End of Glorantha Digest V1 #227
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