Wintermark culture and customs

Age, Infirmity and Death

The land of Wintermark is harsh but this serves to make the Winterfolk strong – it is the cold forge on which each of them is tempered. They face life unbowed by the ferocity of Winter and refuse to acknowledge their own mortality. All three peoples share the idea of the good death – a death that is not sought but comes while fighting the enemies of the Nation or the Empire.

Winterfolk refuse to compromise as they grow older preferring to push themselves to seek new challenges to overcome. Hunting savage trolls, breaking enemy lines and fighting single combat with enemy champions are all common practices for older Winterfolk. A few choose to walk north into the Heart of Ice, the great ice-storm Sydanjaa, and are never seen again. Legend says that they battle forever against the creatures deep in the storm

Those who are maimed or crippled by birth or bad luck are expected to strive to overcome any infirmity. They seek ways to compensate for any physical weakness, pushing themselves harder than their able-bodied companions or learning new skills that allow them to continue to strive regardless of any perceived disability. In legend, many Wintermark heroes are maimed or crippled by the loss of a hand or eye before they can reach their good death.

Those who die a good death are interred in the Kallavesa marshes, their bones lying in the dark waters alongside those of the first king of Wintermark and the great heroes who have come since. As a hero's life fed the nation when they were alive, their body feeds the marsh in death. It is believed that this custom helps to ensure a good next life for the greatest of the Winterfolk. “To sleep in Kallavesa” is a powerful metaphor for the rewards of glory and heroism, and to speak of “those who sleep in Kallavesa” is to invoke the very heart of what it means to live in Wintermark.

Scars

Scars are important to the Winterfolk. Tradition suggests that a warrior who passes through a battle without being blooded cannot have found a worthy enemy to fight, and is pitied as a consequence. As a sign of respect, some Thanes will cut a young warrior who has fought well in his first battle but not been blooded. Others will mark a young warrior before their first battle as a way to encourage them to avoid taking unnecessary risks. Some bands re-open old wounds before a battle begins so that those who face them can mark their courage. All such cuts are little more than a nick, but done with a sharp knife so that they bleed profusely.

The Hunt

In spring the warriors and hunters of many halls across the nation travel together to the Suaq territories, where the Suaq lead them to the edge of the floes to hunt seals and whales in communal meat gathering before racing back inland as the ground breaks and melts in their wake. The hunters must contend with the dangers of the hunt and the floes as well as the threat from orcs and others that also seek to hunt in the same climes.

Hospitality

Any traveller visiting a Hall in Wintermark may claim one drink, one plate of hot food and a bed by a hearth for one night, without any payment or even thanks. This generosity is mandated for one occasion only; beyond this a Hall owes a traveller nothing and may turn him or her out into the night. However, a guest who works for their sustenance and shelter is entitled to hospitality for another night, and it is customarily unacceptable to refuse a traveller who offers to work. Wintermark folktales are filled with stories of unwanted guests who overstay their welcome which usually end when a cunning Suaq tricks them into taking unmerited food or drink, or into failing to complete their assigned work.

Art

Crafting is second nature to the Winterfolk. Stone, metal and wood are carved with runes, but they are rarely painted, coloured or enamelled, as crafters prefer to show the beauty in the underlying colours of the materials. By contrast fabric and leather are often decorated with carefully painted or embroidered images that complement their colour and texture.

This nation is also known for its poetry, intended to be recited or sung rather than read. While epic tales of heroic deeds or historical poems are popular in formal situations, there is also a tradition of short and entertaining poems, often improvised, in informal situations such as a tavern. Riddles are also a traditional pastime. Cold winter nights are both long and tedious, and it is all too easy to fall asleep on duty or lapse into a numbed state of depression. Thinking up and answering clever riddles helps keep the mind limber.

The Winterfolk are not uneducated, but books and scrolls are treasured among them simply because paper and parchment fare poorly in the damp climate. In Wintermark, history exists primarily in oral form, or on rune-carved slabs of stone, sheets of metal, or artefacts of bone. The Winterfolk celebrate and remember the past, but they are never bound by it. This attitude to the past is the foundation of the Wintermark legal system where each transgression is judged on its own merits, rather than on the basis of past precedent. This practical attitude to legality went on to form the basis of the Imperial codes of law.