Following the discussion in Avanthal's OOC thread, I thought I should post my ideas on creating official names and specialties for the five major Holds of the Vantha here. I think this will be useful for anyone who wants to create or interact with a Vantha character if these were more defined, rather than having everyone making up their own Hold names. I'm not sure where this should eventually go, perhaps under "Social Structure" in the Vantha racial write-up or in the Avanthal city page.
So far, all I have is a proposed history of Avanthal and the five major Vantha Holds. The write-up on individual Hold characteristics and specialties will be forthcoming. I just wanted to put something up for now, so that people can read and critique what I have so far.
==History of Avanthal and the Five Holds==
Thousands of years before the Valterrian, the Vantha first arrived on Mizahar along the shimmering, colorful pathways in the night sky that were hereafter named Morwen's Lights. Guided by their beloved Goddess-Queen, they settled in the northernmost region of Mizahar. Though the region was not quite as cold and forbidding before the Valterrian, it still presented a challenging environment in which to make a living. From ice and snow, Morwen constructed the magnificent Ice Palace, where she still resides to this day, and the Vantha built their first Hold around it. With ingenuity and perseverance, the people flourished and the community grew, creating the city known today as Avanthal.
In a matter of generations, the Vantha adapted remarkably well to the northern wilds. They learned to hunt and fish for food from the ice reaches and to work harmoniously with each other to ensure the community's survival. Eventually, the population of Avanthal increased to such an extent that the city could no longer hold all the families gathered within. Seeing the overflow, Morwen proclaimed that a new Hold must be established under a suitable leader. Vantha legends still tell of how Morwen evaluated potential candidates for not only leadership skills but also physical and mental strength. Their storytellers claim that she set the candidates to solving mind-bogglingly complex riddles and logic puzzles or challenged their survival skills by seeing how well they fared in the Talderian winter with only minimal tools.
All the tales agree that the leader she chose was, somewhat surprisingly, a woman. Her name was Ariah. Wise and forceful, she was a Stormwarden of Zulrav who had created the first Stormgems that allowed the Vantha to grow food crops in the bowels of Avanthal. Morwen gave her the responsibility of establishing a new Vantha Hold with her family and any who wanted to join her. Ariah told her Queen, "We will settle where the cold winds do not howl in our ears, but sings softly through the snow." To the south she went with the assembled families, until they found a temperate vale surrounded by low hills where the wind whispered musically around them. There, with help from Morwen and the people of Avanthal, Ariah and her family built Snowsong Hold. When it was done, some of the younger children were fostered in the new Hold, maintaining Snowsong Hold's ties of blood and tradition with Avanthal.
For many years, the two Holds were all the Vantha needed to house all their people. Periodically, people from Snowsong Hold would move away to live in Avanthal and vice versa, which further strengthened the bond between the Holds. However, Avanthal gradually grew overpopulated again. Again, Morwen tested many candidates until she found a worthy leader and invited him to found a third Hold. This time, it was a mighty hunter and tracker named Furol, who told Morwen, "We will settle where the ground gleams with the sheen of ice." True to his word, he led a host of families to the coastline, where a rime of ice limned not only the earth, but also the waters where seals, fish and polar bears abounded. Furol and his people built their new Hold and named it Iceglaze. Members of Snowsong Hold and Avanthal helped to construct Iceglaze Hold and sent some of their younger children to foster there, carrying on the traditions set by Ariah and Snowsong Hold.
The overpopulation of Avanthal and subsequent creation of a new Hold occurred twice more in the history of the Vantha, with each Hold being established a few centuries apart. The third Hold was led by Svavin, who told Morwen, "We will settle where the earth's bounty grows amid the fields of white." He led his families southeast to where hardy patches of lichen and moss dotted the ground, allowing herds of musk oxen and reindeer to thrive. He named his new Hold Whitevine Hold. The fourth Hold was led by the renowned poet and storyteller Kaisa, who told Morwen, "We will settle in a place of beauty, where the snow glitters like diamonds and the frost gleams like precious pearls." Appropriately enough, she named her Hold Frostpearl Hold.
When the Valterrian erupted across Mizahar, the Vantha suffered their share of casualties during the upheaval. Not only were their homes battered by earthquakes and firestorms, but the sundering of the continent pushed the Vantha's lands even farther north. Morwen did her best to shield her children, but her focus lay in helping imprison Ivak. For the most part, they had to survive the cataclysm on their own. When the worst of the destruction had passed, the hardy Vantha reemerged to rebuild and repopulate their Holds. Because theirs had always been a culture of unity and cooperation, the Vantha managed to salvage the broken pieces of their community and mend them into a fair semblance of their formerly thriving society.
Indeed, Avanthal gradually recovered to where it became overpopulated once more, causing Morwen to decree that a fifth Hold must be created. The leader she chose was Viari, a consummate survivalist who decided to settle his Hold in a completely different direction than the others. He took the families of his new Hold northward, where the cold bit even more fiercely than it did in Avanthal. It was said that when Viari reached the spot where he settled, the Aurora was shining overhead in radiant hues of rose, green and gold. He fell to his knees and prayed to Morwen, "We will settle where your lights glow brightest." And thus, the fifth Hold of the Vantha, Skyglow Hold was established.
==The Five Holds==
Each Hold has developed a unique specialty and culture that sets it apart from Avanthal and the other Vantha Holds. These arose from the traditions that the Hold's founder established, as the founders all came from different backgrounds and possessed different values that were passed down through their families and followers. From those values and traditions come each Hold's special stories, songs, beliefs, and customs. The location where each founder chose to settle for their Hold also influenced what the Hold specializes in. After all, certain trades and industries, like fishing or farming, may only be possible --- or at least far easier --- to practice in specific climates and locales.
It is important to note that merely because a Hold specializes in something does not mean that it is all the Hold does. Every Hold must contain proficient hunters, farmers, fishers, whalers, healers, artists and practitioners of other industries in order to ensure their community's survival and well-being. People from all walks of life and all occupations can be found in any Vantha Hold. However, members from a particular Hold do devote more time to the various crafts and trades their Hold specializes in, so they tend to be better at it than those from other Holds. Even people who do not personally practice their Hold's specialty will at least possess a rudimentary knowledge of it, simply from constantly being around those who do.
In addition, members of the same Hold usually possess certain personality traits that often bear some relation to their Hold's specialty. Of course, like with the Hold specialty, just because the Hold has a reputation for something doesn't mean that their every member will fulfill it. Each Hold inhabitant is a unique individual who might very well diverge from their Hold's norm. However, members of the same Hold generally display a commonality of behaviors and qualities because they share the same culture and traditions.
The oldest of the Holds after Avanthal, Snowsong Hold, specializes in growing a wide variety of food crops in the bowels of their Hold. Located southwest of Avanthal near the coast, the terrain around Snowsong Hold consists mostly of flat lowlands, with sandy beaches along the coastline. This area boasts milder temperatures than can normally be found in the Ice Reaches, which creates a long crop period. With the aid of magical Stormgems crafted by their founder, Ariah Snowsong, crops can be grown and harvested for most of the year. Thus, Snowsong Hold is one of the most important agricultural areas in northern Taldera, because they supply much of the grain and vegetables that are eventually traded to other Holds. In addition to agriculture, Snowsong Hold inhabitants are also known to pursue fishing and harvesting marine mammals because of their proximity to the sea. Because their primary specialty often forces them to defy the very climates in which they live, members of Snowsong Hold tend to be strong-willed and resourceful. They are not afraid to confront life head-on and take what they can from it.
The original founder of Iceglaze Hold had been a legendary hunter, and to this day the Hold still honours the arts of hunting and tracking above all else. The location of Iceglaze Hold on the western coast gives their members ample opportunity to demonstrate their prowess. Fish, seals, walruses, and polar bears roam the icy terrain surrounding Iceglaze Hold, supplying their spear- and harpoon-wielding hunters with plenty of game. Members of Iceglaze Hold are widely known for their knowledge of how to use every part of the animals they hunt, from the pelt to the flesh and bones. Iceglaze Hold inhabitants tend to be stronger and more physically inclined than most Vantha. They are by no means belligerent, however. Indeed, their hunters believe in a powerful spiritual contract between them and their prey. As long as they hunt only out of need, rather than for profit, Iceglaze Hold members believe they can enter into a mutually beneficial relationship with their prey: the hunter can sustain his people by feeding on the animal and the animal sacrifices itself so that its spirit might live on in the hunter's body. However, should they ever violate this contract, they believe their prey will surely be offended and no longer allow themselves to be captured in the hunt.
Whitevine Hold is also known for its abilities and beliefs concerning animals, though their work involves the breeding and fostering of animals rather than the hunting of them. This sprawling Hold is found southeast of Avanthal in a region where reindeer and musk oxen abound, thanks to the hardy patches of lichen, moss and grass that manage to thrive amid the snow. Whitevine Hold members soon domesticated herds of reindeer and musk oxen and raised them for their meat, hides, antlers, and milk. Their herds were allowed to roam free on pasture grounds, while herders from Whitevine Hold kept a keen eye on their numbers, health and sustainability. With the success of their herds, their members extended their talents to breeding dogs and horses, including the famous frostmarches, windrunners and Avanthalian sleigh horses native to Taldera. To this day, an animal trained in a Whitevine kennel or stable is highly prized. Members of Whitevine Hold tend to be patient, nurturing, and in tune with the earth's rhythms and the changing seasons. Many of their stories revolve around animals who teach and aid humans in times of need.
The Vantha are famed just as much for their creativity and eloquence as for their trades, and Frostpearl Hold members devote themselves to developing these qualities as much as possible. Founded in the hills directly south of Avanthal, Frostpearl Hold lies in a region of stark, striking beauty. As their founder, the lyrical poet Kaisa, described it, "From the first moment the sunrise is reflected from ice canyons to the blissful stillness of the tundra at night, this land is full of wonder." Even as they work hard to survive, the descendants of Kaisa and her followers still endeavor to capture the glory of the Ice Reaches in their art and crafts. Artists and performers from other Holds try to visit Frostpearl Hold at least once in their lives to enjoy their artistic, beauty-loving atmosphere. Frostpearl Hold also maintains the most contact with southern lands. Their passion for aesthetics and novelty often leads their inhabitants to become traders who regularly travel south to exchange furs and Vantha goods for exotic fabrics, spices, beads, and food. Of course, Frostpearl Hold also contains its share of warriors, hunters and tradesmen, but even they keep themselves well-rounded by pursuing artistic pastimes like carving, etching, weaving or dance.
The youngest of the Holds is Skyglow Hold, so named because its founder attributed his choice of where to settle his Hold to the guidance of Morwen's Lights. This certainly would explain why, contrary to all common wisdom, he chose to travel toward the inhospitable north to establish his new Hold. Indeed, the Aurora does shine surpassingly brightly over Skyglow Hold, as if to compensate for the howling wind and tempestuous winter storms that assail it every year. Because of their location on the far northern coast, the inhabitants of Skyglow Hold are the most proficient whalers among the Vantha, as well as the most skilled in preparing and utilizing whale bones and meat. Skyglow Hold members combine a stoic, practical attitude with a deeply spiritual devotion to Queen Morwen, whose frosty touch affects them even more than it does the rest of the Vantha. Only through her mercy and wisdom do they survive the long winters and chilly summers, they believe. They take great pride in their ability to withstand frigid temperatures, and many of their rituals involve feats such as ice or winter swimming and other ordeals to test Hold members' mental and physical fortitude.