Difference between revisions of "Dominion Era/Tolvaar (Culture)"

Revision as of 03:53, 15 October 2016

The wolf-shifting peoples of Di'Termalttë, the Tolvaar are known in the Tretalleri tongue as Di'Fareni, and in Dominean as Di'Faeren. Younger by far than the two elfin races, Di'Tretâllë and Di'Elledŷnnë that they share the continent with, it would nevertheless be a mistake to call the Tolvaar primitive. Though their ancestral home lies in the Exiled Realm, due to their good relations with Di'Tretâllë, it is not uncommon to see Tolvaar enclaves within the lands of the Dominion.

Religion

It may well be an exercise in futility to attempt to paint the Tolvaari clans of the Dominion Era in broad strokes when it comes to the matter of religion as writings, both Tolvaari and not, indicate that during this time period, Tolvaari religious views varied wildly from one clan to the next. However, it is useful to loosely categorize Tolvaari belief systems into three groupings: secular, Dominean, and animist. This work largely addresses the animist Tolvaari belief system, and at best only touches upon the other two, however, there are works devoted to the examination of the culture, qualities, and traditions most commonly associated with the Dominean Tolvaar and Secular Tolvaar.

Before we dive into each of these three categories, however, it would be prudent to discuss one feature of the collective mythos of the Tolvaari peoples that is present consistently among all the clans: the legendary figure known as the Lady Veýs. Regardless of religious belief, one would be hard-pressed to find a Dominion Era Tolvaar who did not genuinely believe in the existence of the Lady Veýs. Though the stories of the Lady Veýs are many and, as with most things, differ from clan to clan, a common thread that links them all is the idea that the Lady Veýs was a redemptive figure in the mythological history of the Tolvaar. The most common sentiment is that prior to the Lady Veýs' intervention, the Tolvaari Clans cared only about strength, and that she had come at a time when all the political posturing of a previous age had turned into all-out war between the clans. The stories disagree on what exactly the Lady Veýs did, but they do agree that prior to her arrival, battle was the Tolvaari way of life. It was the Lady Veýs that taught the Tolvaar the value of peace and unity between the clans, and she that carved out a place for the Tolvaar in the history of Di'Termalttë.

The Secular Tolvaar

There is very little, in terms of religious belief, to talk about with regard to the secular Tolvaar, for they do not believe themselves subject to neither gods nor spirits. Morality, for the secular Tolvaar, is not defined by gods nor by nature, but instead, by the accountability of one sapient creature to another. Furthermore, the secular Tolvaar believe in the value of evidence and are quick to demand it when confronted with extraordinary claims, which they summarily reject if evidence is not provided.

The story of the Lady Veýs is perhaps the one exception to secular Tolvaari scrutiny. Most secular Tolvaar accept the existence of the Lady Veýs as truth due to the preponderance of documented conversations between the Lady and other respected figures of Tolvaari history. However, during the Dominion Era, there was a small but slowly growing section of the secular Tolvaari population that approach the literature with a new hermeneutics, choosing instead to believe that the Lady Veýs was not a single person, but rather the conglomeration of a number of prominent women throughout Tolvaari history whose work eventually led to where the Tolvaar are now.

The Dominean Tolvaar

Influenced largely by their proximity to Dominion lands, the Dominean Tolvaar comprise the majority of the Tolvaar that live near the borders of the Exiled Realm and the Tolvaar who live within the Dominion itself. In fact, by the end of the Dominion Era, a number of the older Tolvaari enclaves in the Dominion have become fully integrated, with a number of Tolvaari clans swearing fealty to the Ivory Throne, the most prominent of whom are the Nôrak, or the Blue Feather Clan.

The Dominean Tolvaar adhere to the Faith of the Nine and though many acknowledge the authority of the Grand Rookery on the matter of the faith, to the Dominean Tolvaar, the Nine, like them, are able to change forms. Many depictions of the Nine in Dominean Tolvaar homesteads and settlements take on the image of Tolvaar, instead of the more elfin features more commonly associated with them. Furthermore, despite the canonical interpretation of the Nine as put forth by the Grand Rookery, Dominean Tolvaar approach some of the Nine with a very different point of view. The Stranger, for example, is regarded by the Tolvaar with a wariness that is absent from the Tretallë. And though naturally more warlike than their brethren who live within the Exiled Realm, the Dominean Tolvaar still see the Rider with a sense of disdain. This is because, despite their closer ties with the most successful military power in the world, the Dominean Tolvaar retain the pacifistic cultural values instilled in the Tolvaari peoples by the Lady Veýs. The fact that the Rider represents the glory of war, the exhilaration of battle, and the revel in felling one's enemies, is diametrically opposed to these values.

One of the most prominent aspects of Dominean Tolvaari beliefs is their approach to the Tretalleri legendary figure, the Prophetess Llyrileýwa. Though a minority believe that the Prophetess and the Lady Veýs are two distinct individuals who fulfilled the same role for two different peoples, the majority of Dominean Tolvaari are convinced that the Prophetess and the Lady are one and the same. Though this was not acknowledged by the Grand Rookery at the time, modern-day scholarship, most notably the Grand Rookery itself, counsel that the most likely case is that the Prophetess and the Lady are the same person.

The Animist Tolvaar

These Tolvaar comprise the vast majority of the Tolvaar who live in the southern reaches of the Exiled Realm, where the Tolvaari ancestral lands are. Specific beliefs among these Tolvaar are very different from one clan to the next, but common among them is the general idea that the essence of divinity is contained by all things. To the animist Tolvaar, every creature, form of the land, form of the water, or heavenly body, are gods unto themselves. The animist Tolvaar reject the idea of deities, often arguing that to ascribe divinity to metaphysical entities is to deny the innate sacredness of all life, the land and water that give birth to it, and the heavens that provide light and shade that it may thrive.

The animist Tolvaar adhere to practices more associated with the druidism of old, and this is often attributed to the fact that it is the animist Tolvaar who, legend alleges, were the most influenced by the Lady Veýs. Though, as mentioned above, the animist Tolvaar are anything but homogeneous, one of the most prominent traditions among the animist Tolvaari clans is the worship of the moon. Another feature that is present in most, but not all, animist Tolvaari clans is the tradition of ancestor worship, though to use the word 'worship' is to strip the practice of its significance. Animist Tolvaar who practice ancestor worship do not worship in the same sense as Di'Tretâllë worship the Nine, instead, the animist Tolvaar revere their ancestors and believe that by reaching through the veil separating the world of spirits and the living, their ancestors can give them strength and guidance through life.

To the animist Tolvaar, the Lady Veýs is about as close to a goddess as they possess in their faith. She is treated with great reverence because the animist Tolvaar believe that not only did she teach the Tolvaari peoples the way of peace, but also allowed them to reconnect with the land that they had lost their ancient connection to. The animist Tolvaar further believe that come the day when the Tolvaari peoples are once again lost and wandering without purpose, the Lady Veýs will return to reopen their eyes.