Álfar

Álfar, also known as the Kraka, is a

Vestieyvinid
The Vestieyvinid, or "Western Eyvinid", hailed from the small area surrounding lake Gefjunýtar, splitted from the local Langoheim people. During the Northern Chaos, a large number of the Langoheim Álfar found their own professional armies for self-defense or offering service for various warring factions. Gradually, they took advance of the mayhem caused by the messy conflict between the Clessonians and Northern Imperials. Alesander Gunndardsson, an influential Álfar leader, roused the dispersed bands into an unified Álfar army, largest ever seen in known history, and launched a shaking offense into the city of Clessone, annihilated the Clessonians and went on to expelled the Northern Imperials back to their metropole.

Now, the Vestieyvinid dominate West Fridagend - one of the most urbanized region of Álfarsland, developed with dense amount of infrastructures and cities left behind by the Imperials and Clessonians. Although these structures are taken to use when they see fit, the Álfar are at their heart a clannish people, and the Vestieyvinid are no exception. The civil society for which the region was developed is shunned, struggling to find its place in the Vestieyvinid's life, as they prefer the good old tight-knit clans called húsar that dispersed all over the region. Even in the large urban centers, territories and power are carved up between different húsar and groups. Regardless, where one lives somehow makes what one is, the Vestieyvinid are somewhat more cosmopolitan and civic-minded compared to other Álfar, with more of them undertaking bureaucratic and interclan professions than other Álfar people (who then becomes officials known as "papýrsnornir"). During the establishment of the Álfar judiciary, they instituted the Lex Eyvindsthyodorum, which is applied upon all Eyvinid people. This foundational set of laws deals with, most notably, legal status, generosity conducts, asset distribution, dispute settlement and feud regulation.

Living with the ever-present threat of an Imperial attack from the south, the Vestieyvinid don't generally view building interconnected efficient economic-oriented infrastructures as a priority, as complex and interdependent systems of infrastructure would be vulnerable should the Imperials launch their destructive attacks. Their construction planning favors defensibility, chaoticity and flexibility, which would help their society running despite severe disruption. Their workshops and farms are preferred to spread thinly than to be concentrated in large production hubs; a network of fortresses, supply depots and army camps which takes advantage of difficult terrains are maintained; disperse and autonomous communities are formed which in turn forms into decentralized networks of húsar called heiðinaveldi (literally "heathendom") generally overseen by groups of bureaucrats from myriad institutions. With a majority of them live in such communities, the Vestieyvinid are primarily a sedentary people, yet they have a migratory secondary nature. When facing a dangerous foe, an entire clan can lift themselves, leave their settlement behind and move away from danger area. While the warriors do the fighting, the non-combatants become camp followers and defenders, providing supports, services and supplies, turning the army into a movable town in its own right. In peacetime, for the most part only the pastoral part of Vestieyvinid population involve in a migratory lifestyle.

There are exceptions for this. Two metro metropolises - Stóðvyarsteinn and Óssabyggður - are significant population and commerce centers as well as the locations of many interclan administrative offices. Because of their sheer size and condition, total evacuation in case of attack is implausible. For direct defense against the Imperials, Stóðvyarsteinn relies upon Yrsasburg fortress to the west while Óssabyggður relies upon Asteridur stronghold to the west and Þórogivagur Bay to the south. Inside two cities, there are underground arsenals, covert recruitment center, undercover espionage network, smuggling market and secret societies, making them ideal havens for urban guerilla insurgents in case of enemy occupation. As decentralized as Vestieyvinid society is, however, its many activities are facilitated by many interclan institutions, and they are divided into two rival factions with two cities as main power bases - the Fornisogn ("Old authority") which dominates Óssabyggður and the Afvarkiveld ("Meritocratic governance") which dominates the other. The two have multitude quarrels in terms of ideology but the primary conflict is around legitimacy. During the autocratic rule of Guðrið Goðanisdóttir, the contention between the two is constrained as she keeps them tied into her power. But Guðrið is getting old, and her grip loosens; the wheel of chicanery are starting to turn again, as the ambitious and powerful set their eyes to the renowned Grand Chieftaincy of Álfarsland...

Austieyvinid
Austieyvinid, or "Eastern Eyvinid", are originally intrepid Vestieyvinid húsar (clans) who migrate to east Fridagend to feast upon the dwindled fortune of the Clessonians. As other Álfar institutions are hardly entrenched in this chaotic land, the húsa became the primary force that drives Austieyvinid society. Each of the húsa is ruled by a clan council, called the Samhringar, whose membership selection can be radically different by each húsa tradition. The most powerful húsar of Menurvinga confederacy - the Bjrunid, for example - value heavily their leaders' ability to tame, train and ride bears. The Stróhaldung select their highest leaders after a flyting - a traditional insult competition. Some other húsar choose their leader base on their fighting skill or hard-gained wisdom. The list goes on and on.

To make up for the lack of a central meditating apparatus, the Austieyvinid invented and elaborated upon (and still are) a set of detailed customs and traditions which seek to maintain a common welfare network. The húsar are demanded per traditions to show hospitality toward outsiders, and important characters of other húsar are shown the highest level of hospitality - a quarter in the clan hall. Abusing or contempt toward the law of hospitality (even if by an ordinary clan member) risks damaging a húsa's reputation, possibly leading to its isolation or even feuds. Specialized services (in the matter of rituals, myths, laws and commerce) are done by bands of travelling specialists - called guðalnar - in exchange to gifts and accommodation; these bands also hold the role of "higher education" in Austieyvinid society, as aside from the exceptionally wealthy who may go to higher education institutions in West Fridagend, most people who want to pursue a specialized craft would become an initiate in these bands. They don't have a permanent law court system, instead clans whose members are involved in a wrongdoings would negotiate compensation themselves, and in case of a deadlock, a guðalni specialized in law might be summoned as a meditator; if all else fail, a feud might start.

Higher than a húsa is the clan confederacy, which is a bunch of húsar in a trenchcoat. The confederacies have reached certain degrees of organization that can be said to resemble an interclan institution elsewhere. Founded with the purpose of minimizing potential animosity between disunited húsar and driving them toward a common interest, the confederacies function based on agreements between the húsar as outlined during their assemblies - the þing. In times of turmoil, a confederacy may muster an unified army. Such summoning is seen as the most shaking event can happen in the land, even though an unified army is hardly bigger than a regiment for their western relatives. In battles, the Austieyvinid are more warriors than soldiers, who harass enemy lines with firepower support before charging into enemy ranks with unmatched ferocity. They are not bloodlust warmongers, however, and more often than not they don't merely seek a foe to fight for the sake of it so much as target their enemy base or settlement, forcing their foes to meet them head on. Neither are they thoughtless berserkers, as they can become deadly skirmishers should they want to play the game of attrition.

Though, their world is slowly changing. The disperse húsar are slowly congealing into confederacies, in fear of annihilation or isolation in an increasingly unpredictable land as more and more regional powerhouses are forming. The confederacies, in turn, are building upon an ever-expanding wealth of precedent and customs for land ownership regulation and dispute settlement. The metropolitan West Fridagend, once a faraway land for many Austieyvinid, are becoming closer as trade networks are growing, allowing some húsar to prosper and thrive, which facilitates the development of trading towns. Many institutional officials from the west, dissatisfied with the lack of opportunity for promotion, seek their place in the eastern land, bring with them valuable expertise and methodical skills, which put them at odds with the guðalnar. These officials are sought after by ambitious chieftains and farsighted clans for their leadership prowess, which further institutionalize Austieyvinid society. As the authority of the confederacies is entrenching, the Austieyvinid may soon go beyond the bound of their disunity and seek new adventures beyond the soon totally devoured remnants of Clessonian power...