[Cimmerian History] Of Wolfraven

The home island and summer abode of the Raikothin. At it's heart lies the volcanic mountain known as Yaanek, famous in antiquity for the peculiar prophetic utterances of the Priests of Joy situated there.

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Orion
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[Cimmerian History] Of Wolfraven

Post by Orion »

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The Fortress of Wolfraven

The capital of Cimmeria is named for the Wolfraven tribe that inhabited the island bearing the same name early in Cimmerian history. Of the five isles, a tribe of Cimmerian folk has traditionally ruled each. Early on Wolfraven displayed a knack for dominance, raising exemplary warriors and building magnificent dragonships. Like the rest of the Cimmerian people, the Wolfraven Tribe was descended from a group of Hyperborean expatriates. It is unknown whom or what they were fleeing, since no record exists from that time, but some historians have attributed it to the eruption of Mt Yaanek, while others claim exiled criminals founded it. Regardless, Wolfraven was one of the earliest settlements and thus gained an advantage over the other neighboring isles. Always a rural community rooted in a simplified lifestyle, there was never any city named Wolfraven until much later in Cimmerian history. People simply settled themselves in groups across the small island, not bothering to name places or construct large dwellings. It wasn’t until the Wolfraven tribe began to exert influence and control over the neighboring islands that a city developed.

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Flag of the Wolfraven Tribe

A very small island, Wolfraven only has room for one city. When the tribe began to send war parties out against the other tribes, retaliatory attacks became more frequent. These attacks brought about a need for defense, and thus the city of Wolfraven was founded. Constructed initially as a wooden fort, the original structure was later razed and rebuilt several times, expanding during each reconstruction. It eventually became a large castle-like structure built of logs – as it remains today – and impenetrable to the rival tribes. Combined with the fierce warrior nature of the Wolfraven people, they quickly subdued the other four islands and united them to form Cimmeria. Although never a great power in its own right, Cimmerians were recognized as a strong people and are respected throughout Hyperborea. They remain a reclusive and rural people, untouched by the centuries of technology that have passed by on the mainland mere miles away. A stout and proud people, they are firmly rooted in the belief that their ways need not change so long as they are content. This belief certainly has a modicum of truth to it.

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Zelde bat Kalir
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Re: [Cimmerian History] Of Wolfraven

Post by Zelde bat Kalir »

Interesting. Let me try to add to this from my own resources.
Like the rest of the Cimmerian people, the Wolfraven Tribe was descended from a group of Hyperborean expatriates. It is unknown whom or what they were fleeing, since no record exists from that time, but some historians have attributed it to the eruption of Mt Yaanek, while others claim exiled criminals founded it.
My belief has always been more complicated. I wrote several years ago that the Cimmerians predated Hyperborean civilization although not necessarily proto-Hyperborean cultures.

I trace the Cimmerians not to the Hyperboreans directly, but to the migrations of the last Ice Age. 15000 years ago, peoples from Apollonia crossed the shallower seas of the era to Treesia, and from there to Hyperborea, Cimmeria, and Elwynn. These people are the ancestors of today's Fabonaar, Hyperboreans, Volsaarns, and certain populations in Wintergleam, although less closely related to the Elw.

Anthropological studies suggest the Cimmerians are the closest relatives of the Hyperboreans, but there are still significant genetic differences between the two, including the lack of an Audente contribution in Cimmeria and the greater commonality of albinism in Hyperborea.
Although never a great power in its own right, Cimmerians were recognized as a strong people and are respected throughout Hyperborea. They remain a reclusive and rural people, untouched by the centuries of technology that have passed by on the mainland mere miles away. A stout and proud people, they are firmly rooted in the belief that their ways need not change so long as they are content. This belief certainly has a modicum of truth to it.
This was unfortunately at the heart of the unfortunate happenings regarding Otter Sundrawer (1, 2). Our people had put quite a bit of work into colonizing and civilizing the area, going so far as to build a new and very Hyperborean capital, Tielion Aurumbe ("City of Aurefiction Auraumbre", after an ancient countess of the area). Some of the natives were unimpressed, especially in Uolrhaphen (your Wolfraven) and we suffered some terrorist attacks followed by a guerilla campaign. The whole affair eventually blended into the general death and destruction of the Elwynnese Civil War a few years later.

Our latest figures show Uolrhaphen as the eleventh-largest city in KaiRaikoth with a population of 120,000, and Tielion Arumbe as the twelfth-largest with a population of 80,000; these numbers suggest a colony that has continued to thrive after Otter's defeat.

In addition to the Hyperboreans, there seems to be a contingent of ethnic Stormarkers, from the period when King Harald controlled Cimmeria and Wolfraven was briefly traded away for Avaldsnes. That was long considered a political blunder and I am glad to say the treaty is no longer in force.

I have always thought of modern Cimmeria as still divided between colonial and native culture, albeit with more marginalization of the natives than during Sundrawer's time and perhaps the final settling-down of the islands at hand. But I am glad to see the Wolfravenites at least reclaiming some of their native culture.

And that is just a perfect flag.

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Orion
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Re: [Cimmerian History] Of Wolfraven

Post by Orion »

Well, that was illuminating. I had to look up what an enneagram was and then discovered I'm a Type 5, the Investigator. :book:

Where is Tielion Aurumbe in regards to the map? It'd have to be on one of the neighboring islands, no?

Anyways, all good information to have nonetheless. I'll need to take all that into consideration when writing further materials. And here I thought no one had done anything with Cimmeria over the past decade. :wink: Thank you for summarizing all that material, it is a great help.

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