Actually, they live right next to the other culture sporting a very similar ancestry from Air and Wave. The Ygglings are descended from Ygg Seastorm (according to Jrusteli "researches" a son of Valind) and Nelarinna, "a minor goddess of the Neleomi Sea". A certain Malkion was the son of Aerlit, a Kolati (minor air god, son(?) of the oldest air son of Umath, again according to Jrusteli research) and Warera Triolina (another descendant of the Neleomi tribe if I recall correctly). Neither culture was ever "Orlanthi", although the original Akemite peoples may have been similar to early Vingkotlings, or the near-Orlanthi migrating peoples like the Tawari.
I really doubt the Vingkotlings know much about Orlanth, if anything, and certainly they know next to nothing about Ernalda. Their climate doesn't allow much agriculture, with the harvests more often than not barely providing the seed grains for next year's sowing. More important will be the herd beasts, which would include some (smallish and shaggy) cattle, hardy sheep, and possibly some reindeer if my suspicions about Winterwood as an arctic forest - i.e. comparably light, at least at the fringes - are true. Their mainstay would be whaling, fishing, and seal-hunting. During the Closing they would have had to wait for the sea-beasts to appear between their Isles, and during the Ban their access to quality wood may have been cut off as well.
After the Opening, the Loskalmi have razed Vendreog, one of their sacred isles, and raised a base called Coldfort. (Source: Tales 10, p.7)
My view on Coldfort borrows heavily from the early Hanse settlement in Bergen, but combined with a generally Lofoten feel of the environment. For those unfamiliar with that part of Norway, Lofoten are a chain of wind-beaten islands with sizeable mountains (IIRC up to 700 metres above the sea) in the centres and stretches of maybe 2 km of comparably flat land at the coasts. While they sport one of the steepest fjord valleys in Norway, the fjords generally aren't that precipitious.
The old Hanse outpost in Bergen served as the main reception station for the dried cod fished around Lofoten. In the real world, the fish was brought south along 1000 miles of difficult coasts; in northwestern Fronela, the distances are shorter. Still, the existance of a central reception station by Loskalmi merchants, likely combined with a monopoly for the Loskalm trade and no connections to Seshnegi ports, will force the remaining Yggling fisherment to deliver their catches to Co(l)dfort.
The Loskalmi colony there will likely maintain a strict policy of non-fraternisation, almost monastery-like (as did the Hanseatic merchants in Bergen).
What does everybody feel about dietary proscriptions in Malkioni and especially Loskalmi society? Would there be a religious demand for fish on Wildday as there was in mediaeval Europe?
Nick Brooke replied:
>Their variance is proportional to their distance. Most Orlanthi aren't
>sea-reaving Viking types who worship Ygg (god of the Winter Sea Storm) or nail
>living wolves to the figureheads of their longships, after all.
The living wolves were a later invention, IMO, and happened after Orstando had left the Neleomi sea. Possibly his death enchantment into his ship started this custom.
>IMG, the barbarians are different in different parts of the world,
>but even the Yggs folk are still "recognisably" Orlanthi.
IMG, they may share some common "Storm People" traits, like clannish organisation and warlike culture, but - mainly due to the lack of proper agricultural facilities, including pasture - they would be vastly different from even the Brolians, Keanos or other hunt-oriented Orlanthi.
Peter Metcalfe:
>I think they are independant Storm Worshippers rather than migrating
>Orlanthi.
Listen up, everybody: Peter and I share this impression!
>They know their Storm God Ygg is be the son of the Great
>Glacier. Orlanth (or rather the Orlanthi Storm Traditions) was
>introduced at a late date by either the followers of Talor or the
>God Learners (worship him or we'll kick your teeth in). They would
>know of Orlanth but assign him some secondary role within their
>pantheon.
>>Has anyone done any background on them?
>use Vikings?
Generally quite sound, but the Ygglings do have some important differences to the common picture of the ("southern") Vikings (i.e. those south of Halogaland).
>2) Does anyone have a date for the birth of Argrath?
Al Petterson:
>According to Sun County he won the Garhound Contest in 1604.
That's the one date in published sources we have; however I am not sure whether MOB didn't insert this on the fly.
If this date is correct (I won't bet that Greg knows, but I'm fairly certain he won't tell if he knows), I would date Argrath's birth to 1588 or later. The best (only) account of Argrath's youth is Argrath Saga, which mentions his father killed at (Argrath's) age 3. Terasarin is reported to have "resisted growing Lunar strenght with all his ability." I suppose that means that there were Lunar or Lunar Tarshite raids on Sartar, and lots of fighting.
>He'd be
>at least 18 and no more than 25 or so (he's described as having been
>"young" when he won it; given that the typical contestant is in his
>early 20s, you wouldn't describe someone older than 25 as "young" in this
>context.
I understood "young" as being the age of Rory or other local contestants, i.e. about 16. Since he killed a Lunar Tax collector at age 14 or so, he cannot have left Sartar before 1602, the earliest date I would expect Lunar taxmen in Sartar.
This is based on MOB's 1604 date. Argrath may actually be younger than that, but hardly older.
>There are some problems with this estimate, as I'd like to know during
>which years he became an outlaw from Sartar and assumed his disguised
>identity in Pavis (must have been before he won the Contest, so on
>reflection he was probably closer to 25 than 18 in 1604).
Actually, I expect his time with the Bison people to have occurred after this contest, i.e. from 1605 to about Moonbroth (1610). (He may have been part of a Sartarite exile organisation in Pavis from 1603 to his capture by the Bison people.) After Moonbroth, he would have re-entered Pavis and started his rebel organisation there, keeping in contact with his three Praxian secret warrior societies (Twin Spears, Bullocks, and Swordmen).
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