Dominion Era/Tolvaar (Culture)
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. It is important to note that these belief systems play an integral role in Tolvaari culture and therefore, it is difficult to discuss Tolvaari culture at any length without referring to any of these three groupings. This article shall focus largely on the commonalities between these three groupings, but each one is distinct enough from the others that they warrant articles of their own which can be found here:
To temporarily satisfy the curiosity of the reader, and in the interest of brevity, we shall touch upon the distinctions between these three groups briefly.
The Animist Tolvaar reside primarily in the southern reaches of the Exiled Realm. They are concentrated around the white cliffs of Vaar-Akôr, which the Tolvaari Clans consider to be their ancestral lands. The Animist Tolvaar, notably, adhere more closely than the other two groupings to the old ways of the Tolvaari Clans. That is, they believe in the innate sacredness of all things, they reject the concept of gods, and they consider themselves one with the land as the druids once did.
The Dominean Tolvaar are, unlike their brethren, naturally more warlike. They reside primarily in the region in and around the Exiled Realm's border with the Dominion as well as in numerous enclaves in Dominion lands. It is unknown whether their warlike nature is the result of the influence of Dominion ideology, as a competing theory posits that it is instead their innate tendency to war that draws them to the Dominion. Regardless, their close proximity to the Dominion has certainly influenced their religious beliefs and the Dominean Tolvaar worship The Nine of the Tretalleri faith. Where the animist Tolvaar reject the concept of deities, the Dominean Tolvaar embrace them.
The Secular Tolvaar residing primarily in the northern reaches of the exiled realm where much of the trade between the Dominion and the Exiled Realm passes, the Secular Tolvaar are different from their brethren in that they reject any notion of the supernatural that is not accompanied by empirical proof. Easily the most technologically advanced of the Tolvaari clans, the Secular Tolvaar are also the most likely to live in proper cities. There is little to speak of with regard to religion and faith for the Secular Tolvaar for they refuse to acknowledge that which is asserted without evidence, but they are notable for their philosophy that the purpose of life is to uncover truths both personal and cosmic, which certainly places them favorably in the eyes of the Grand Rookery.
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.
