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Overview

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The Volk are a cultural group originating from the northern reaches of Volaris. A hearty and resilient people by nature, the Volk find pride in braving the harsh and unforgiving terrain they call home. Most Volk possess brown or black hair, though their blood seems to allow for blonde and red hues to be inherited easily when mingled with outsiders. Volk also inherit long faces, fair skin, solid square features, and brown or green eyes.

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History

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The history of the Volk was shrouded in mystery long before the Collapse, leading to little but legends and superstitions as the only evidence of their past. It is commonly accepted that the first Volk migrated north to escape a large-scale conflict, though which one remains disputed. Stories are passed from family to family of their ancestors conquering great northern beasts and founding long-destroyed keeps. Since the Volk have no centralized history each family instead keeps their own familial histories, which often conflict with one another.

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Culture

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The Volk are a proud and resilient people, with only necessity bringing them south of the snows. Volk social structure is based on merit and familial ties, with the duty of preserving and serving their family being of paramount importance. It is common for a Volk family to build a fortress or find a large plot of land in a town and raise generations on those grounds. The union between man and wife in the Volk culture is seen as a most sacred act, and the two treat each other as equal despite their different roles in the home.

Volk men are encouraged to follow a martial lifestyle, raised to hunt and fight, given the harshness of their homeland. An emphasis of physical strength and endurance is encouraged amongst the people, with less defined muscles and more of a bulk build considered the normal so as to allow for better heat retention. Volk men often inherit a masculine stoic nature from their parents, taught to provide and protect their family. Volk women are taught tailoring and home-making at a young age, but are encouraged to pursue a practice in medicine or hunting when they reach maturity. Volk women embrace a nurturing mindset, seeing themselves as the ones to bring order to their house. It is also common for Volk women to adopt the mindset that while the men ‘play’ at being strong, it is really the women who hold a stronger nature and act as the stabilizing force. This is often true, as many pieces of art and music depict a strong and noble Volk man achieving near superhuman feats only because of the woman they fight for. Volk women also take pride in the strength of will and body of their children, often claiming that ‘only Volk women birth real warriors’.

 Cooking is a shared practice, as it is seen as a bonding time for man and wife. Other household chores are also often done together, as sharing the labors of a house or hold is seen as a fair exchange since the other partner will cover while a man is away fighting or hunting and the women are away healing or crafting. Despite often rigid gender norms, the crafting arts are often regarded as unisex and it is not uncommon to have female blacksmiths or male alchemists. Often seen as strange to some cultures, the Volk men are very open in their reliance on women, and the women very open in their freedoms and boast of not needing to ‘mind their tongues’.

Since the Volk value stoic endurance, honor, duty and strength, they prefer direct means of confrontation and despite subterfuge or overly-complicated political affairs. A common joke amongst outsiders is that the Volk are such bad liars they don’t even attempt it. In-line with their emphasis on physical prowess the Volk view Magic with superstitious disdain, often having familial histories or stories that serve as examples against magic or caution its usage.

Volk are a very religious people, with families naming either the Outrider or the Executioner as their primary god of worship. The Mother is also recognized in Volk households almost universally, given the frequency of medical care being provided and the value the Volk put in their young-folk.

The Volk share a custom where one family is often heralded by a number of others as the ‘strongest’ of the people, and the head of that family is given the informal title ‘Lord of the Volk’, as they view them the ruler of the people and not any specific lands. Being an entirely ceremonial title, it does not bring with it any additional wealth or lands. Instead, it carries a social and respect value amongst the Volk, even if that value is often lost on outsiders. This title can be challenged at will by any of Volk blood. In sagas of the past, the Lords of the Volk have rallied or united multiple Volk houses against one threat or another. A new Lord of the Volk has not been declared and accepted by the Volk since the second generation.

Lordship amongst the Volk is as other cultures practice where one family settles a hold and lesser families flock to its protection in exchange for goods or taxes. These houses train men-at-arms and appoint trained knights to fight for them in larger than normal ratios due to their martial culture, which in the past has led to more than a few conflicts between Volk houses. The common ideals of chivalry and knightly honor were quickly accepted by the Volk after the Collapse as the values of knighthood resonated strongly with Volk values.

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Language

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Though the Volk have evolved to speak the common tongue, remnants of the old Volk language remain in their accents. Simple words are replaced in common speech, with frequency depending on family and heritage. The most universal variants are the substitution of yes being “Ja”, please being “bitte”, and thank you being “danke”, though others exist. Also common amongst Volk is the absence of the letter ‘W’. Instead, in their written language ‘W’ is replaced with ‘V’, and in their speech the sound of ‘W’ is replaced with the sound of ‘V’.

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Attire

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Volk dress in earthen hues of browns, blacks, browns and blues, to contrast against the white of the snow. When hunting they can don white clothing, but it is not common. Long heavy leather or cloth clothing is common wear, with quilted overcoats and tunics also often seen. Linens are unheard of in Volk culture, as they remain too thin for use even in the home. It is also unheard of to see a Volk in the north to be without a fur cloak of some kind, either entirely fur for the wealthy or fur around the shoulders and cloth around the body for the commoners. If a Volk is south of the snowy regions, they remain with a cloth cloak whenever venturing out.

Volk do not enforce female dress, with it being extremely common to see a woman with pants and a tunic same as a man. Regardless of attire, it is also common for a Volk to wear a weapon, and be taught to use it, regardless of status or role. Volk are preferential to axes and longswords, with rondel daggers supplementing their armament. Archery is an acceptable practice, but is often reserved for hunting or where necessary in group tactics. In terms of armor, Volk fighters prefer heavier armors like brigandine and platemail, with chainmail often seen as acceptable only in emergent circumstances or to be used as daily wear.