Teutobrens

"'Were it not for the tribes who sail the sky, we would be not men. Were it not for the men who would climb to the skies, we would have no mountains. Were it not for the mountains that pierce the heavens, we would have no Sëlwergott. Were it not for Sëlwergott, we would have no tribes. Always we've been, always we'll be.' - High Chief Arnulf Bogan, as recorded by Count Aleo Szilágyi in his memoir, From Suel To Sovereign: My Life As A Servant To All Peoples, Volume III: From Commander to Count. "The Teutobrens are a group of tribal humans living in the Himmelsstürmer Mountains, situated within the Placid Realms. Their territory straddles the borders of the County of Mamaros to the east and the County of Cybel to the west, though legally they are considered a vassal of the Count of Mamaros. Theirs is an ancient people, recorded to inhabit the mountains since before the coming of the Suel Empire, and their enigmatic culture of dragon worship has endured largely unchanged for millennia.

Mythic History
The earliest history of the Teutobrens is largely speculative, though not due to a dearth of data. Rather, the most ancient records of the Teutobrens predate the Suel era by so far, with so few neighboring histories to corroborate them, that it is largely considered a mythical tale rather than a true history. Compounding this frustrating historical question is the fact that the Teutobrens themselves kept no calendars, instead measuring things by more natural phenomena, such as the name of the reigning High Chief and the season of the year. After the arrival of the Suel, many of their histories can be roughly compared by aligning the sagas of a chief with his mention in a Suel manuscript and extrapolating from there, but this is still an arduous task. Still, there is a rough idea of the origins of the Teutobrens, even if it is filtered through millennia of metaphor and prophecy.

It is said that in the beginning, a haggard race of men did come upon the foothills of a set of mountains that did pierce the sky and rend the clouds, such was their imperious height. They climbed the foothills and were greeted by a massive, majestic silver dragon, which asked them their purpose in arriving. The humans supposedly were humble but firm, stating that they would respect the dragon's wishes, but needed to rest somewhere, and the mountains shimmering on the horizon had beckoned them. The dragon, curious about these men, offered them leave to rest upon his mountains for a short while as his guests. He apologized that the mountains may be treacherous, and then flew off to slumber. The race of men, grateful for this reprieve, set up camp all around the foothills and rested. Days passed into seasons, and still the dragon did not return, and so the humans built greater villages and climbed higher up the mountains. Along the way, they learned to live off the mountains, to herd the goats and gather the roots, to shape the stone and tan hides, to fight beasts and clear the peaks. Generations came and went, purging the range of the foulest beasts and building a culture, telling tales and carving sagas into the cliffsides and sheer rock walls. Finally, after four generations of men, the dragon returned, and found the work of the humans pleasing, especially in so short a time. By the dragon's reckoning, it had been a short nap since he had last checked, and he scarcely expected to find any trace of the men save bones and refuse. He told them that they had left the mountains better than when they had found them, and as such were welcome to live under his wings for all time, so long as they continued to honor him through this behavior. The humans were elated and pledged their loyalty to the dragon, who then revealed to them the secrets of magic and metal. The humans were the early Teutobrens, and the dragon their patron, Sëlwergott.

Scholars debate exactly when, if ever, the early Teutobrens had their initial meeting with Sëlwergott. The sagas counted backwards name several hundred High Chiefs before the coming of Suel, and even conservative calculations based off of this would suggest that the Teutobren presence in the mountains predates the Theme of Placitum by millennia. Teutobren sagas are considered unique but dubious sources of historical information in the absence of corroborating data, and if taken at face value have interesting implications for the history of the human race. For instance, several sagas tell of young Teutobren warriors doing their Fligsprigga and soaring so far that they found whole new lands to make home in and forgot their distant roots. According to certain radical scholars, the so-called "Lost Teutobrens" roughly correlate to the Uhlstars to the north (in what would later become the Kingdom of Fife) and the Uberongen to the west (in what would later become the Sigmarite Empire).

Beside Lowlanders
With the coming of the Suel into the region, the Teutobrens found themselves in regular contact with other humans for the first time in collective memory. These were not peaceful or happy times for the Teutobrens, who saw themselves as rightful lords of the mountains. The Suel authorities came with claims to own the whole of the mountains as part of the Theme of Placitum, and were met with axes and ire. Shamans and sorcerors blasted the legionaries with all manner of magics, and warriors painted with silver woad charged down the mountainside to cleave men in twain. For several hundred years, this would be repeated every few decades, to the same miserable results. The Teutobrens always fought viciously, while the Sueloise never seemed short of men to hurl up the mountain. Over time, the Suel sent men to parlay, though most too arrogant to meet the Teutobrens as equals.

The cycle was finally ended with the coming of Komes Aleo Szilágyi, a Suel military commander and administrator who convinced the Teutobrens to bend the knee as willing vassals. He promised they would be largely left alone, but required to send regular tithings of stone and goats down from the mountains. While some were against the move, the majority sided with the High Chief, Arnulf Bogan. The deciding factor was when a conclave of shamans met and disappeared into the peaks above the clouds and returned three days later claiming to have communed with Sëlwergott. They claimed their patron had told them to submit to the lowlanders in this token fashion, lest they eventually be destroyed over time. The High Chief and the Komes eventually became steadfast friends, hunting and camping together, and all was peaceful between the peoples.

The Age of Petty Lords
In the aftermath of the Great Collapse, life continued largely as normal for the Teutobrens, with Good Count Aleo smoothly transitioning into being a sovereign in his own right, and his vassals on the mountains still sending down their goats and stones. The Teutobrens tribes were happy to oblige, and even found themselves enjoying the new disorder, as the post-Suel era meant greater beasts to hunt and new experiences to seek out during their Fligspriggas. They even came to care for the people of Mamoros, the newfound County that Aleo Szilágyi led, and wept bitter tears upon his death. The sagas remember him as Lothar Ísealchríochach, "The Wise Lowlander", and he features as a prominent character in several tales. If myth does in fact contain a thread of history, then he was even one of the few lowlanders to have personally met Sëlwergott, a privilege even High Chiefs are not always afforded.

The times thereafter were largely peaceful, with the massive exception of the Great War Against Tiamat, which has been remembered as a time of great heroics and legendary battles. Many Teutobrens glided out into the wider world to fight, and while few returned, those who did were truly the stuff of legend. Meanwhile, the Himmelsstürmer Mountains themselves came under attack by white dragons, hoping to take advantage of the exodus of heroes to claim the range and perhaps even slay Sëlwergott. Thankfully, the Teutobrens held fast beside their High Chief, Æthelwulf Olarn, and the men of Mamaros climbed to their aid, setting off one of the most epic sagas ever carved. It is said that Sëlwergott himself descended from the clouds to aid the humans, and after the peaks were secured bestowed a steed of his own blood upon the Count of Mamaros, Matthias Drakehammer, who then led the combined armies to the east where they fought black dragons besieging the dwarves of Vulkhund Ziflin Varr. Finally, with a throng of dwarves under King Brom Raumusson joining them, the forces of good marched into the great black forest of the elves, known to the Teutobrens as the Low Storm due to the thick, dark canopy appearing like rainclouds down below from their mountaintops. They fought mightily against the green beasts as they went deeper through the forest, meeting bands of elves taking down dragons in skirmishes throughout the woods, until all met in a cataclysmic finale in a large glade. Elf, dwarf, and man fought shoulder to shoulder and back to back against dozens of dragons until the dreaded progenitor of the whole line assaulting the forest, the green wyrm Zargothrax, revealed himself. The sagas tell that he let loose a mighty roar and breathed a gout of acid so vile it could melt men into puddles. Scores of heores died or were brought to the brink of death, but it was no triumph for Zargothrax, as he left himself open to a vicious volley of missiles that nearly killed him. He tried to fly away, but they say Matthias was so enraged at seeing so many die that he grabbed the hammer of King Brom and hurled it with such fury at Zargothrax's head that he was instantly killed and fell to the earth once more. The ground shuddered and shook with the weight of the collapsed beast, and the soil was reduced to steaming acidic slurry in places from being saturated by the dragons' breath. Today the site is known as Heroes' Glade, and is the final resting place of all who fell there fighting the green menace, with Teutobren totems marking those who died fighting the greatest war of all time in the lowlands.

After the Great War Against Tiamat, Teutobren life proceeded as normal with little interruption. The shamans still communed with Sëlwergott, the chiefs still kept order, the youth still rode their gliders down the mountains, and the smiths continued to work their craft. The mountains were the comfortable home they had ever been, and the lowlands offered exciting adventures and diversions for those lost in the throes of youth or those hungry for glory. Much of history around them passed with scarcely their notice, though what little did make it into the record was expressed through the form of epic saga, such as the Great Deluge caused by the Circle of Laurels. During the Great River War, the Count of Mamaros invited the Teutobrens to join in their war, and many warbands readily assembled, eager for glory or steadfast in their loyalty to their lowland friends.

Sëlwergott and Bahamut
Teutobren religious culture is a surprisingly complicated affair, with outsiders struggling to understand exactly how it works. At the center of it all is Sëlwergott, patron dragon of the Teutobrens. He is venerated and forms the center of ritual and saga throughout the year. His role is not entirely understood because of his varying depictions in art and culture. Sometimes he appears to be a sort of god to the Teutobrens, but this is muddied by the awareness of draconic deities such as Bahamut or Io. In fact, a few clerics and favored souls of the draconic gods arise each generation. Some claim Sëlwergott is an incarnation of one of these gods, or a paragon of their vitrues, or an aspect of one made manifest. The various gods are paid tribute, but Sëlwergott is given a unique status and carries the most pull, with even the youngest and dimmest Teutobrens praising his name.

Shamans and Clerics
The dragon shamans and clerics of the Teutobrens fulfill distinct roles in Teutobren society, though this is hardly apparent to outsiders. The dragon shamans are extensions of the will of Sëlwergott, more mystic in their inclinations, more visceral, more experientially oriented in their ways. The dragon shaman carries the touch of Sëlwergott within him, invokes his presence when he enters the room, and is said to not go to an afterlife upon death, but rather be assumed whole into the rarefied airs in the highest peaks as a spirit, lounging in the clouds around their patron. By contrast, the clerics of the draconic gods are high minded individuals, connecting the dots and explaining the complicated web of divinity. They pray to know the minds of their gods, to guide their communities in more subtle observances and rites. The clergy are the wisemen of the mountains, whose knowledge of draconic mysteries is given the utmost respect; even if the average Teutobren does not necessarily understand them, they know that the ways of the clergy are to be followed for the good of all.

Song and Saga
The Teutobrens are not known for their written work or print culture, but for the rich oral tradition that carries their memory. Every village has at least a few noyadas, ones who know tales and sagas and pass them down. A rare few are the so called goniyadas, who are masters of a great many tales and whose knowledge is nigh legendary. While a noyada still has his other roles in the community, be it warrior, shaman, smith, or some other role, a goniyad has not other responsibilities, as he must stay safe and available for the tribes to study at the feet of. Every member of the tribes has learned at least a few sagas and litanies by heart, or at least a few short proverbs and pithy sayings, and much time around the campfire and during ceremonies are spent in recitation.

Aiding this are a few physical items. First among them is the thunder drum, the ceremonial hand drum used by many noyadas and even normal Teutobrens participating in rituals, producing a thunderous echo between the mountains, especially in concert. Usually made of stretched hide over circular frame, the back is not solid but rather a great knot where the cords of the hide meet, allowing one to hold it from the back and play it with their free hand or a stick. Some are very simple, usually those owned by normal folk, but those of noyadas or goniyadas often carry drums with figures drawn on them, usually representing a dragon, hero, or natural phenomenon. The second instrument is the kantele, a stringed instrument similar to a handheld harp, but with anywhere from five to forty strings, depending on the fineness of the instrument and the talent of the player. The kantele has an almost bell like sound of unsurpassed clarity. The final unique instrument is known as the drakepipes, typically made from a specially treated animal bladder, stomach, or other such organ. A series of pipes, usually of bone, are inserted, and the player breathes air into the contraption and controls the release via pipes using his fingers, affecting the tone. It is considered a beautiful if harsh sounding instrument, with some foreigners appreciating it more than others; historical records indicate the first Suel explorers to try to contact the Teutobrens were thoroughly convinced the drakepipes were possessed by a screaming demon.

The various traditional Teutobren instruments, used in concert with chanting, are common parts of everyday life and ritual. Typically a noyad will play one of the more skillful instruments and chant or sing while others around the fire will rhythmically pound thunder drums. Spoken tales and musical interludes alternate, with an evening around the fire usually being informative as well as entertaining. Most gatherings are informal, with attendance a bit less, as those who must work continue their labors and the elders and youths sit and take in the tales; in this way, many youths absorb their culture in gatheringe while their parents finish the work, and the noyadas act as teachers of a sort. However, there are select gatherings that are significant enough that the whole of a village will be expected to attend, usually presided over by a shaman or cleric with the noyadas and goniyadas following their lead. These gatherings are typically for holidays, solstices, weddings, funerals, and girding oneself before a major life event such as going to war or on Fligsprigga.

Totem and Monolith
While Teutobren written culture is severely lacking, they do have their own way of recording things beyond the oral tradition. Living on the mountains for as long as they have, they've developed a mastery of rock carving. While not learned in the sciences of engineering or masonry, decorative Teutobren stone carving is an art form, and forms an important cornerstone of their culture. Entire cliffsides are carved in massive relief to tell stories, with grand pictographs representing various sagas and prophecies. There are so many scattered across the mountains that the most masterful goniyadas will traverse the whole Himmelsstürmer range to find a carving they may have missed, then ask the nearest local noyad what it represents. Practically every village is in the shadow of a carving, and at the very least they will know that one.

Smaller, more personal stone carvings are also common, typically as part of remembrance of an individual rather than a saga. Some families may carve small idols, perhaps small enough to fit in one hand, to remember a lost love, departed pet, or other person close to them. For the dead, stone totems are carved for remembrance, usually in a central location. For most, this takes the form of a "totem stack", where a squat cylinder will be carved to remember someone, usually with a face on the front, and added to a stack of similarly designed totems for a family; totem stacking is an arduous ordeal, as tradition dictates the newest should be on the bottom, thus meaning the entire stack must be taken apart and reassembled each time. Sometimes they are even split into multiple stacks or built into mounds or small pyramids due to the sheer number. If a family dies out, their entire stack or mound is ritually hurled down the mountain, rolling until they crash and break. This is seen as appropriate, as the point of the totem is to connect to one's blood, and the end of a bloodline renders them pointless. The only exception are so-called "totemlisks", which are akin to large stone poles of greater girth and height than average. These will recount multiple deaths in concert, usually a hunting party that dies trying to slay a mighty beast or a warband brought down in concert by a vile monster. These are permanent, as they connect not only to blood, but to the bond between people performing heroic actions. These will usually be either towards the center of a village near a fire pit, or ringing the rough perimeter. An excellent example of totemlisks outside the Himmelsstürmer Mountains can be found in Heroes' Glade in the Claviculum Nigrum, which commemorates the brave heroes who died fighting Zargothrax and his damnable kin during the Great War Against Tiamat.

Teutobrens do not have traditional mourning customs as seen in most other human cultures. They do not bury their dead, nor do they cremate. Rather, they do "sky-burials", where the body is stripped naked and put in a spot where it is known that wild animals will find and devour it. This is considered an appropriate end, as the body returns to the mountains, in a sense, and the mountains will later support the future generations. For the most esteemed of folk, the body will be left in higher or more dangerous areas, such that dire animals or flying beasts will be nourished by their flesh.

Discovery and Destiny
The greatest coming of age ritual in Teutobren culture is Fligsprigga, where young Teutobrens must climb the peaks and launch themselves off using gliders of their own make. It is considered a rite of passage to glide down from the peaks and then begin the long, slow trek back, and one must bring something back with them. It is believed that Sëlwergott himself first decreed that the humans were still of the world even if they lived above it, and thus had to rekindle their connection to the earth in their lifetimes by descending from their lofty villages. Whatever the young Teutobren brings back is supposed to be for the good of the tribes. However, most important, the young Teutobren finds their calling, usually through what they find; one who alights near the dwarfhold of Vulkhund Ziflin Varr and comes back with a good set of smithing tools brings back both a valuable set of tools and the right to become an apprentice, eventually a smith, and perhaps finally a master, known as a dragonsmith. Meanwhile, one who lands in a swamp and wrestles with alligators and trolls brings back not only precious hides and sinews, but the makings of a great warrior.

Fligsprigga is wrought with hazards, and many fail and die. Bold and brave youngsters climb to higher and higher peaks for their leap, while crafty youths focus on the art of crafting the glider itself. It is believed that Sëlwergott himself takes notice of those who climb high enough, and pushes them further with his breath. Some who climb the most perilous heights and drink in the rarefied airs above the clouds are said to be given visions from Sëlwergott himself, and many shamans have said that such an experience was what pushed them down their path after their Fligsprigga. Even after the event, some journey to those lofty heights again in hopes of more visions, and these in turn become prophecies to be carved on the mountainsides.

Politics
The Teutobrens have lived for many centuries in villages and tribes. Tribes denote a level of familial connection, either by blood or marriage, which connects people between villages. Multiple tribes are found in every village, and every tribe is spread out across multiple villages. Each village has a chief, and every tribe has elders, who typically counsel the chief. A chief tends to arise from among the mightiest warriors in the tribe, though occasionally a shaman, sorceror, or other person may take the role instead. At the head of all this is the High Chief, currently Edur Baro, who speaks for the whole of the Teutobren people. Whenever the current High Chief dies, those who would seek the position assemble at his traditional hut beneath the clouds and swear an oath to submit to the will of Sëlwergott and defend the Teutobren way of life. They then sojourn up into the clouds, though no one is sure exactly what happens. Some never return, and one of the few who does becomes the new High Chief.

By way of the High Chief, Teutobren relations with the wider world are managed and cultivated. Within Mamaros, they are seen as delightfully exotic subjects. In the wider Placid Realms, they are seen as fascinating outsiders when they happen through their towns. The elves of the Claviculum Nigrum know them as eager and perhaps a touch foolhardy, even moreso than other humans, and enjoy taking them on hunts for the dragonblooded creatures left behind in the wake of Zargothrax all those years ago. In Vulkhund Ziflin Varr, the dwarves look at the Teutobrens as entertaining, fun to drink with and good for smashing goblins with.

Ecology
The Teutobrens are native to the Himmelsstürmer Mountains, which number among some of the highest peaks in the known world. In fact, due to the difficulty of accurately measuring the Giantshield Mountains to the far north in Varangia, the Himmelsstürmer Mountains have the honor of being the highest confirmed mountains on Ocedon. It is a harsh existence, especially as one ascends, with air getting thinner and plant life more sparse. The lack of arable land typically means Teutobrens eschew bread, but it can be produced by means of one of their few commonly cultivated crop: buckwheat. Buckwheat grows wild all over the Himmelsstürmer Mountains, taking well to the rocky, nutrient poor but moist soil. Buckwheat forms a substitute for grain, including being ground into flour or processed otherwise. Potatoes also take well to the soil, and are often preserved for leaner time; by stomping them flat and leaving them in especially high caves, they can be essentially "freeze-dried", then retrieved at a later time. Berry bushes and beehives are regular, if infrequent, occurrences in the landscape, and thus many Teutobrens forage for these goods. Boiling buckwheat with honey and a handful of berries creates a type of beverage known as "buckmead", and buckwheat flour mixed with either goat milk or water and perhaps a touch of honey can be cooked into small cakes known as "frycakes" as a staple food. Mountain goats thrive throughout the range, grazing on the scattered foilage and the occasional pasture in the foothills or deep valleys between the mountains. Most Teutobren villages have a small herd of goats, which are taken to pasture regularly and can be replenished rather easily through wild stock. Their hides, milk, meat, and cheese help sustain the villages.

The reason Teutobrens do not cultivate larger herds or crops is largely due to predator species. Berry bushes and beehives in sufficient quantity are ripe targets for bears, and the areas where they grow most commonly are playgrounds for even the dreaded dire bears on occasion. While they avoid settlements of humans, all manner of predator love to feast on wild mountain goats, such as hippogryphs, gryphons, trolls, and even the occasional hungry pegasus. Flying beasts can swoop down while creatures native to the Underdark occasionally slither up through cave networks. Especially in the springtime, the mountains come alive with all manner of creature, a rioutous explosion of life after the harsh winters. In the highest peaks, where Sëlwergott himself dwells, creatures touched by silver dragon blood live.

Weather atop the Himmelsstürmer Mountains is often harsh. Winters are bitter cold and almost all signs of life vanish. Many Teutobrens spend the last few weeks of autumn performing the harrowing but necessary task of searching caves for bears prematurely hibernating, as their hides make for superior cloaks and blankets to endure the deathly chill. During these months, resources stockpiled over the preceding year are slowly used up due to the paucity of anything fresh; jars of buckmead from throughout the year are drank, the goat herds slowly diminish as they are slaughtered one by one, and the dried potatoes are brought out from storage. Every batch of buckmead has a jar set aside during production specifically for the lean times at the end of the year, and frycakes at the end of winter, typically made from just water and dehydrated potato, are known as "leancakes", both for the time of year they come from and how pitifully skinny they turn out. In the springtime, the heavy snowfall melts, creating waterfalls across the mountains and saturating the soil, giving rise to new plants and, by extension, the return of animal life. Springtime in the mountains is stunning and gorgeous, and summertime follows suit, if being a touch drier. While it does still rain, the melted snowfalls have dissipated and the many waterfalls are reduced to trickles. Autumn is both a time of plenty and of peril, as the bounties of nature are at their fullest for harvest, but also the beasts of the realm feel the need to fatten up for winter; many batches of buckmead and goat cheese are able to be made and the branches are heavy with berries, but the risk of animal attack is highest in the prelude to hibernation.

Economy
The Teutobrens are hardly interested in economics, but even they recognize the value of trade. While they have little to trade, what they do have is of decent value; stone trinkets and handicrafts as exotic gifts, such as dire bearskin rugs or items crafted from dragon parts found in the high mountains. They seldom import anything, but when they do it tends to be rather technical, such as a fresh set of smithing tools. As vassals of the Count of Mamaros, the Teutobrens regularly pay taxes in the form of stone and goats, which are used for construction and feeding the Count. Metals besides copper and iron are scarce in the mountains, but the rare veins of other decent ores are valuable for trade, as the Teutobrens have little use for the materials themselves. Timber is the only commonly imported raw material, as trees are few and far between in the mountains.

Military
The Teutobrens don't maintain any form of standing military, as they do not entangle themselves with any sort of international politics, nor is banditry a concern in their mountains. However, most members of the tribes know how to hunt, fight, or wield magic as a part of their survival needs. When a group of Teutobrens join together in a warband, typically between four and twelve people, they stomp their way through the mountains to fight all manner of beast. Occasionally they throw themselves into the Underdark to hold the horrors within at bay, or even glide and stride down to the Claviculum Nigrum or Vulkhund Ziflin Varr to fight more exotic beasts for the thrill as well as the valuable exotic trophies and hides. Teutobrens prefer mighty axes and two-handed swords, though some do know how to use a shield, and they typically wear armor made of whatever hides are available. A silvery woad made from local antimony is used as a traditional body decoration before battle when they know for certain blood will be spilled.

In extraordinary times, one bearing the Mark of Sëlwergott may rally dozens or even hundreds of Teutobrens to his side. This mark is not easily obtained, as one must climb to the highest peaks and face challenges even the survivors never speak of. Then, they are gifted a single token of platinum designating them as marked. They wield powers and secrets passed from dragon to man for millennia, and command ultimate respect. Titles change for those who acquire the Mark, as they are entitled to the use of "war-chief" by default, though it may be modified depending on the person; a shaman becomes a "war-shaman", a sorceror becomes a "war-drake", a noyad be becomes a "war-singer", etc.