Raven Blackwell
Mongoose
Aelthwold- Niord’s village
Aelthwold is typical of many small villages with Asgard. Located at the end of a small valley somewhere in the center of Asgard Aelthwold is far from the borders of its neighboring lands of Cimmeria, Vanaheim and Hyperborea. Built in typical Nordenheimer fashion the longhouse is the center of the town with the various outbuildings, huts and stables built around it. The longhouse serves as the meeting and dining hall for the man of the valley and the home for the unmarried men of the clan. It’s primary furnishings are a single long table with two low benches and the clan chief’s chair at the end. The communal kitchen is connected to the longhouse. The married warriors of the clan live in huts surrounding the long house. Women live with their parents until they are married and then move into a hut built by their husband. There are no children born out of wedlock- if a man makes a woman with child his honour dictates that he must marry her. As chief of the Raven(1) clan of the village Niord has a number of huts of his own but since his wife’s death he has taken to sleeping in the longhouse with his men leaving his daughter Henga to sleep alone in his hut. She has used this opportunity to slip away with suitors such as the young Conan but unknown to her Niord is fully aware of her activities. One might think he looked the other way when she favoured the young Conan in order to perhaps bind Conan to his clan in a more permanent way.
The clan’s other buildings are purely functional- huts to store supplies, a stables and a granary. All building are built of wood and thatch. The area around the village is cleared and is used to grow what grain they can from the soil during the land’s brief fertile periods but the villagers subside more on hunted meat, gathered vegetables and goods traded with the Brythunian than their own agriculture. The village lacks a protective wall. Until recent years the village existed with few conflicts but increased raiding from both the Vanir and the Hyperboreans have pushed the border conflicts into Niord’s lands. In response Niord had begun construction on a defensive ditch and palisade but it was not yet near completion by the time of Tir’s raid.
Tir’s unexpected and bloody raid upon Aelthwold came upon the traditional Nordenheimer holy Autumn solstice when the warriors were engaged in the sacred hunt of Ymir. To raid on such a day was a sacrilege, but the resulting surprise allowed to Tir eliminate the vast majority of the village’s woman, children and elderly. Only the intervention of Conan and the swift return of Niord and his men prevented it from becoming a complete slaughter. The village suffered great damage with the destruction of several huts and severe damage to the granary and longhouse. After the subsequent annihilation and capture of almost all the village's men by the Hyperborean wizard lords it is unlikely that Aelthwold will every recover and Henga and her remaining people will be absorbed by a neighboring clan or be captured by a slaving party.
(1) No, this isn’t a bit of hubris in calling Niord’s clan totem a Raven. Look above Niord’s head at the carving in his chair in Issue #1, pages 15 and 20. The clan chief’s chair he is sitting in is engraved with a bird whose position and appearance make me think it is a Raven. Of course, I could be prejudiced…..8)
Aelthwold is typical of many small villages with Asgard. Located at the end of a small valley somewhere in the center of Asgard Aelthwold is far from the borders of its neighboring lands of Cimmeria, Vanaheim and Hyperborea. Built in typical Nordenheimer fashion the longhouse is the center of the town with the various outbuildings, huts and stables built around it. The longhouse serves as the meeting and dining hall for the man of the valley and the home for the unmarried men of the clan. It’s primary furnishings are a single long table with two low benches and the clan chief’s chair at the end. The communal kitchen is connected to the longhouse. The married warriors of the clan live in huts surrounding the long house. Women live with their parents until they are married and then move into a hut built by their husband. There are no children born out of wedlock- if a man makes a woman with child his honour dictates that he must marry her. As chief of the Raven(1) clan of the village Niord has a number of huts of his own but since his wife’s death he has taken to sleeping in the longhouse with his men leaving his daughter Henga to sleep alone in his hut. She has used this opportunity to slip away with suitors such as the young Conan but unknown to her Niord is fully aware of her activities. One might think he looked the other way when she favoured the young Conan in order to perhaps bind Conan to his clan in a more permanent way.
The clan’s other buildings are purely functional- huts to store supplies, a stables and a granary. All building are built of wood and thatch. The area around the village is cleared and is used to grow what grain they can from the soil during the land’s brief fertile periods but the villagers subside more on hunted meat, gathered vegetables and goods traded with the Brythunian than their own agriculture. The village lacks a protective wall. Until recent years the village existed with few conflicts but increased raiding from both the Vanir and the Hyperboreans have pushed the border conflicts into Niord’s lands. In response Niord had begun construction on a defensive ditch and palisade but it was not yet near completion by the time of Tir’s raid.
Tir’s unexpected and bloody raid upon Aelthwold came upon the traditional Nordenheimer holy Autumn solstice when the warriors were engaged in the sacred hunt of Ymir. To raid on such a day was a sacrilege, but the resulting surprise allowed to Tir eliminate the vast majority of the village’s woman, children and elderly. Only the intervention of Conan and the swift return of Niord and his men prevented it from becoming a complete slaughter. The village suffered great damage with the destruction of several huts and severe damage to the granary and longhouse. After the subsequent annihilation and capture of almost all the village's men by the Hyperborean wizard lords it is unlikely that Aelthwold will every recover and Henga and her remaining people will be absorbed by a neighboring clan or be captured by a slaving party.
(1) No, this isn’t a bit of hubris in calling Niord’s clan totem a Raven. Look above Niord’s head at the carving in his chair in Issue #1, pages 15 and 20. The clan chief’s chair he is sitting in is engraved with a bird whose position and appearance make me think it is a Raven. Of course, I could be prejudiced…..8)
