A Stylized Interpretation of Icente People by a Southern Artist

The Icente People are a semi-nomadic ethnic group of Humans from the Northern Areas of Volaris. Split into several tribes, they descend from a more noble past. Prior to the Icente becoming who they are, they were the Icenium; a group of Northern Humans who raised great towers to their Ancestor Spirits in the land prior to being pushed out of more bountiful areas of the North by the Volk Culture however this knowledge of their origins has being lost to time. This ethnic group of Hunter-Gatherer-Raiders struggles alongside their more in the North, maintaining a tense coexistence with The Volk.

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Food

The Icente’s main source of food is rudimentary root farming for items such as Turnips or Potato’s. Meat is often Game or whatever can be traded at a good enough price, The Icente, through their knowledge of the more remote area’s of The North boast an understanding of good spots for Birds, Deer and Boar compared to the Volk.

For drinks they typically drink hot beef stock referred to as "Beef Water” or Vegetable (referred to as “Earth Water”) Stock. As a culture: there is a general distrust of any alcoholic beverage which isn’t produced from Honey as Honey does not decay.

Salt and Spices are not unknown to the Icente, however they are hard acquired and are almost exclusively taken from Southern Caravans attempting to trade with the Volk.

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Clothing

Examples of Icente Clothing

Icente Mercenaries wearing Icente Armour in Foreign Lands

Icente Clothing is marked by its warmness, wool and linen are primary cloth used for their clothes. Bright Colours represent a status symbol, meaning this person is either wealthy or acquired the colourful clothing on raids that brought bounty to the persons tribe. Armor is rudimentary however, typically constant of a long Hauberk and Couters as well as some form of plate helmet, usually a spangenhelm with a chain facemask. Nobles often sport full plate helmet, depicting a rudimentary face.

Warriors are known to daub their face and hands with woad as a form of primitive fear tactic.

“Who is going to expect to be attacked by a screaming blue man?”

-Chief Edmund of the Hawk People

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Warfare

Icente pride themselves on their mobility, being able to attack and retreat in quick order as well as making good use of their surroundings. A force is usually caught in the tree’s where they are attacked from either end with a shield wall and then peppered with arrows. 

Weapons among the Icente consist of Swords, Round Shields, Bows, Blunt Weapons and the occasional Crossbow.

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Gestures and mannerisms

Considered to be a more cheerful people than the dour Volk, they hold a great value on life and nature and this is represented in their outlook. There is always a way to either escalate or deescalate. A common gesture among the Icente, likely a relic from the Old Icenium is their propensity to make the “Thumbs up” gesture in order to show things are good or okay. 

The Icente are known to talk with their hands a lot.

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Language

Icente People speak the common language albeit in a limited capacity, as more refined words were not needed and were forgotten over time.

The Icente do not write, they draw runes in order to communicate. These runes are often a blessing and a curse as they stifle communication but work as a good cipher.

Example: 

[Woman stick figure Wearing a Skirt with a small child], [stick figure of a man], [sunburst picture].

“Mother, I am Good.”

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Traditions/Festivals/Holidays

There are 3 festivals that surround Icente culture

• The Summer Solstice Festival: Known as The Longest Day, it is celebrated with dancing and feasts around an ancestral totem. However it also marks a time for the Icente to prepare for Winter.

• The Winter Solstice Festival: Also known as The Longest Night, The Icente build a large pyre, dancing around it and make offerings to The Spirits, Nymphs and Ancestors. Considered a Barbaric affair by most Southerners and Blasphemous by the Volk, It holds a deep place in the hearts of the Icente.

• Springtime Festival: Springtime and the thawing of snow around Icente Settlements. it  is celebrated with roasted food and fresh vegetables, this happens at the onset of spring or the permanent melting of the snow, whichever comes first.

A common tradition among the Icente is the concept of the Bloodletters Oath. when two tribes war with eachother, the losing tribe more send ¼ of its young adults away to serve 20 years of “Penance” for the crime of shedding their fellows blood and not gaining the honor of victory to wash away the sin. This prevents unnecessary warring and holds the added benefit of hardened warriors who served as Mercenaries, Healers with fresh Knowledge, Blacksmiths with new idea’s and other professions that the Icente may not know or may be behind on returning in their middle age to take on positions as Elders.

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Beliefs

The Icente worship the souls of the Ancestors that came before them. The idea of Gods and Omnipotent Beings is known to them and they are not bowed by such notions. But they have their own worship and they venerate the souls of those who come before. Spirits and Nymphs are worshipped by the Icente as well as their are believed to be as close to the natural world as may be.

A folk belief believes in an legendary Icente known as the Sword-bearer rising to repair the old Ancestor towers and drive the Volk further North so the Icente may claim their lands.

There is a tense relationship with The Volk which the Icente can’t explain what it stems from.

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History

There are around 40+ Icente Tribes which inhabit the North in a semi-nomadic state. Conflicts are the only thing that lead them to move. Their History begins as the Icenium; a group of Northern Humans that inhabited the North pre-collapse. They lived a good life prior to the co-ordinated attacks from the nascent Volk. The old Icenium started on good ground, repelling Volk attacks however with inevitable losses, when the Volk took an Icenium town, they dug in and could not be dislodged. Within the span of a generation, the Icenium Kingdom had fallen to attacks and aggressive expansionism from the Volk. The Icenium were pushed into the more remote area’s of the North however the collapse brought an ability for the Icenium, now known as the Icente to re-integrate into more bountiful regions and contend with the Volk. What the Volk have in stubborn tenacity, the Icente have in a more intimate knowledge of the land and how to utilise it, putting them on an even footing. This has led Icente raiding parties to go as far as raiding Volk Caravans for Food and Weapons in leaner months and it is considered a great honor to have taken a Volk Caravan.

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Traditional Government

Icente tribes are usually governed by a Chief or Council of Elders which preside over decisions.

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Folklore

Folklore is a large part of the Icentes Culture. There are several creatures that the Icente believe in. It is said that Scouts, Hunters and Patrols of Raiders have interacted with them before or had to hide from them.

[It should be noted that there is no substantial evidence for any of these existing, it is simply hearsay and quite literally Folklore]

The Huldra

The Huldra are believed to be flightless fey who are known for their beautiful features and flawless physique. They prey upon hunters and fisherman. If the Huldra can convince a man to lay with him through their serene beauty. It is said that she will plant a kiss on his lips then promptly steal the soul of the man to extend the Huldras life. However if a man can outsmart the Huldra and convince her to marry, she will be purged of the Huldra curse, becoming mortal. The process wipes the memory of those affected and the couple will act as if they were childhood sweethearts. This is often disputed when they return from travelling with women and comment on their long marriage; however these protests fall on the deafest of ears.

Male Huldras exist. Known as: Huldrakarls they are said to entice wayward women, prostitutes and daughters of wealthy men when they are travelling on the road or Forest. Often appearing as an Innkeeper or a wounded traveller, using their supernatural charm to claim the traveller.

Huldras are easily killed as they have no method of defending themselves however if a Huldra is killed and not thrown into a river are said to bestow a curse upon their killer in which their children will be born utterly beautiful, upon their 18th Birthday they sprout a tale and leave their settlement to become Huldra’s or Huldrakarls themselves.

Nisse

The Nisse are the supposed immortal enemy of the Icente. it is said that the Nisse gnaw at the gates and poles of Icente Settlements . While travelling some young Men and Women have reported being accosted by Nisse during their time resting in Igloos or caves. Icente runes for “Warning” or “Illusion” are carved on signs of entrances to the camps to dissuade the Nisse. The Nisse stand at 1 foot tall at the highest point which is their hat, they bear long beards and blue clothes, they are carnivorous and are said to be actually benevolent unless slighted.

Trolls

Trolls. Believed by southern Scholars to be an inbred, twisted line of Demon are reviled by the Icente are one of the main reasons that the Icente have not attacked Volk Settlements as this would leave settlements open to Troll Attacks. The Trolls will often ambush patrols in groups, eating men in one bite and spitting out schrapnelled armour in one spit. There is nothing that will put the fear into the heart of an Icente Person that the shout of “Troll”. They are identified by their wart ridden, slimy skin, corpulent bodies and large nose. They normally live in the forest however feral trolls have being seen skulking in Peat Bogs, Tundra and Hills that surround the Green Forest, they are considered a real and very prevalent threat compared to other entries into the Folklore.

The Wardens

The Old Icenium were not the first inhabitants of the North, nor were they the first people to think they had assumed custodianship over it. Not all Forest Spirits are elated with the arrival of these “Usurpers”. The Wardens which appear to be a composite of a Forest animal and Person are said to patrol the Forest looking for people who would damage the forest, some Wardens simply kill for the pleasure of it. It is said by Elder’s that the Wardens are murderers and other evil people who have being cursed to carry out a life of punishment as a twisted creature of the Forest. Anyone who has laid their eyes on a Warden has rarely lived to tell the tale. They stalk the Forest looking for those who are lost or resting and mercilessly butcher them into a bloody mess for the crime of entering their Thicket or Grove which they prowl. The earliest account of a Warden is attested by two (Now Dead) Hunters who investigated the disappearance of a patrol of Raiders deep in the the Taiga, they encountered a Camp with a smouldering fire where they set their eyes upon a Warden feasting on the remains of the Soldiers. They ran off into the Night and told their tale, soon after Patrols of Raiders began reporting remains of Travellers, Hunters and People from outlying area’s around the Tundra and Taiga. The two Hunters who found the Warden went missing no more than 4 miles outside their village a few weeks later, only two blood spatters remained. 

A big thank you to @Setsuko_for working with me and allowing me to use The Volk with this Culture.

VOLK MAXXING