Faering Karhu/Upbeatband

On The Name Karhu
The origin of the name Karhu is muddy considering it is not of the Valdtunga Lexicon but it does translates to Bear.

Erovald
House Karhu began with Grokaremenn Karhu (fatman) and his twin brother Lengaremenn Karhu (long and thin man). Born to a Valdic seamstress and a Valdic Fisherman sometime in the year 40 of the Travelers Calendar. The twins' birth was the source of one of Karhu's many family stories. Supposedly, their mother’s water broke on their father's fishing boat (only the gods know why she was on the boat), and the twin's father quickly delivered them, only to be overcome by the realization that he was a father. Daunted by that responsibility, he jumped into the ice-cold Bay of Cod and drowned himself. Coincidentally, the twins grew up to be fatherless. Since it was customary for the father to name the children, the twins grew up nameless and fatherless. The memory of the twins' childhood fell out of memory, though some figments survived. The twins were regulars at the Sirvoske estate, regularly chopping and selling wood to him for beer money. Despite never having an official name given to them, the Valds of Erovald gave them nicknames, nonetheless. The shortest and roundest of the twins became known as Grokaremenn, and even though it was meant as an insult, he took it as a source of pride to have a name. The tall and skinny twin became known as Lengaremenn, though instead of his brother, he took it as an insult and regularly cried to their mother about it. One night, shortly after their 17th birthday, the twins decided to go out for a drinking spurge, and they ended up horrendously drunk that night. Wandering the streets of Erovald aimlessly, they stumbled into the docks and headfirst into a deaf fisherman's boat, with the fishermen not noticing them. Their mother, noticing they were past their curfew, began to search and search for her children with no avail until a neighbor told her about seeing them at the docks. She quickly commandeered the nearest rowboat, with the men yelling at her to stop, and tried to row to the unconscious twins, with the deaf man being blind to it all. The weather that night was quite the opposite of pleasant, and a storm began to brew as well as the large 10+ waves characteristic of the ocean beyond the Bay of Cod. Quickly, the mother found out why the men yelled at her for taking the boat—not for stealing but for the now-revealed fact that the boat needed repairs and, in its stern, a comically-sized hole! The rowboat quickly began to take in water as the twins awoke to the brewing storm and their mother near drowning. The twins yelled desperately at the deaf fishermen, only for him to turn his ear. The twins looked in horror as a massive wave (5 feet) crashed into their mother’s sinking boat. There was to be no time for grief, as then that wave crashed into them.

Eskirija
Alone, cold, and wet, the twins found themselves on a new land. New land, new people, new issues—the twins had developed hydrophobia. Quickly, the twins, upon awakening, ran from the beach and, in a short jog, found themselves at another beach and screamed for help. After a shorter jog, they yelled a yell filled with tears after seeing a bug-ridden fish awashing another beach. Then, at their fastest and shortest jog, they found themselves upon a small hill overlooking their new hell, a small snow-covered island, and began to cry for their now-lost mother and beg the gods for why they had this terrible misfortune. They yelled at each other profanities,

“Oh Grokaremenn I will kill you here now and split open your fat belly and use it as a fireplace to keep me from death!”

“The gods damn you, Lengaremenn! I will kill you first and skin you for a blanket.”

They fell asleep cold and bitter that night.

They awoke warm and content in a comfortable woolen bed and to two beautiful women. One with long blonde hair and green eyes tied together by a beauty mark on the right cheek, and the second woman with long blonde hair and green eyes tied together by a beauty mark on the left cheek. The twins quickly fell in love with their beautiful hostess, though not to the approval of their father, Chief Arlofan. Arlo challenged the twins to a fight for his daughters, and they accepted. The duel was held in the morning the next day. Arlo charged forth towards Grokaremenn with a punch that could cut down a tree aimed towards Grokaremenn’s belly. The punch landed a direct hit, but by the gods! Grokaremenn’s belly bounced the punch back towards Arlo as Lengaremenn gave the final blow. Arlo lay on the ground, but he was a proud man of his word and let Lengaremenn and Grokaremenn marry his daughters. Grokaremenn married the left-beauty-marked gal, and Lengaremenn married the right-beauty-marked gal. The following years were peaceful for the twins, as when Arlo left Eskirija, he made them the new mayors, and with their newfound interest in alchemy and mining, the hydrophobic brothers rarely had to see the ocean. Then, as one of Grokaremenn’s drunken ideas, they began and officialized the House of Karhu.

Eldham
The twins awoke on their 21st birthday not to happy wives and kids but to their wives nagging.

"Lengaremenn, don't think I haven't seen you flirting with my sister!” said the right beauty-marked gal

"Grokaremenn, don't think I haven't seen you flirting with my sister!” said the left-beauty-marked gal.

The twins tried to defend themselves and not make a scene in front of their young children, but soon they found themselves getting out of bed and continuously backing up from their understandably angry wives. Without the twins knowing, they were now at the docks of Eskirija and slowly and surely were backing up towards the end of the dock. “For the gods sake, Lengaremenn! You are scared of water, and you live on an island!" said the right beauty-marked gal.

“For the gods sake, Grokaremenn! You are scared of water, and you live on an island!" said the left beauty-marked gal.

With that said, the twins realized where they were—the docks. Paralyzed by the nearby water and all the pain the ocean has caused them, they then fell back into a small boat. The fall of Grokaremenn and the following bounce of Lengaremenn on Grokaremenn caused the boat to become untied, and slowly they drifted away from the docks, paralyzed and unable to do anything as their wives continued to berate them. It was a long time coming. For days, the boat drifted as the twins were paralyzed until they felt the reassuring nudge of a boat against sand. Quickly, the dehydrated and hungry twins ran out of the boat and found themselves on a new, strange land. Thank the gods for it! But they found themselves in a harsh, arid, sandy land, and most importantly of all, waterless. The twins quickly built themselves a small makeshift hut, but in a matter of hours, a dark truth came upon them. They were dying after being starved and beerless (the twins could only drink beer) for days; their time was now limited. Quickly, the twins inscribed their story on their clothes in berry juice and said their goodbyes. The hydrophobic twins, Lengaremenn Karhu and Grokaremenn Karhu, founders of House Karhu, died of dehydration. They began House Karhu but left another generation of it fatherless.

It would be around 250 years later, sometime in the 290s, that their descendent, Faering Karhu, following tales of Valds, came upon his forefathers fossilized remains and, using a dating technique, one of his friends found that by pure chance, his ancestors were the first Valds to step foot in Eldham.

Eskirija
Born in TE 237 in Eskirjia, the same town that the Karhu’s have been trapped in, Faering’s name was a pun to his father. The name Faering is the same as the name of a type of boat used by the islanders (though not the people of Eskirjia), and Faering’s father found it the most comical action to name his son after a boat. Simply because why would a Karhu ever enjoy the water enough to be on a boat? Faering grew up exploring the hills of Pahonjau with his little brother Vestr (named for being born facing the West Star), and in their first 10 years they saw the rapid urbanization of Tsalja into a bustling metropolis with traders from all over the Rough Sea. It was there that Faering would begin to have the urge to see Rathnir beyond his birth island. He wanted to see lands of eternal green or lands of hot sand. Faering also grew to despise his family seeing the Tsalja grow into a large city, with Eskirjia having had the same five buildings built by his ancestors 200 years ago. With animosity towards his family and a desire to see the world, he enacted a plan with his brother Vestr. They would stowaway on one of the many merchant ships and escape from Pahonjau that way. And that they did ironically using the face of a Tengalan seafarer. They were stuck in the bow of that Faering for days until they coincidentally found themselves against the gates of Maxstadt, the capital of TEK.

Maxstadt
Faering and Vestr had nothing on them and spent the next couple years working odd jobs around Maxstadt until they were able to buy an apartment. As Vestr worked around Maxstadt, Faering worked himself through school, becoming immersed in many of the stories of his people, the Valds, and their exploits with Frostmarch, Skjoldbrodir, and even some grand cities in Eldam. During their stay in Maxstadt, they grew concerned for the future of the Valdic people, and by chance, they met AC0N Kolbeck, a prominent member of the Skjoldbrodir jarlship. They quickly found that they all had a deep concern for the future of the Valdic people, and through negotiation, Faering secured the friendship of an old hamlet named Narva, and under his promise to AC0N, it would be turned into a safe haven for all Valds. Faering and Vestr packed their bags and eagerly traveled to the shattered seas to find their new home.

The End of Frostmarchian Sovereignty
Not even a year would pass by till news reached them that Frostmarch was nearing collapse, and with that, they collected a group of Skjoldish Valds and traveled back down to Frostmarch. Managing a small army of militias towards the other side of Rathnir proved more challenging than first expected, and after having to face multiple storms, they appeared to the capital of Frostmarch, Haunefièl, just in time to see smokestacks from the Rough Sea. They were late and spent the next day scavenging the blasted walls and firing town for survivors, but with no luck. It was there that Faering fell into a great depression and just slumped in the ruins of Haunefièl. Vertr tried to convince Faering to come back to Narva with him, but Faering kneeled there silently. Faering and Vertr parted ways in 269 against the background of a broken land.

Broken Land
Faering would spend the next few weeks of his life wondering about the former Frostmarchian lands of Sørligste, spending nights on the streets of barren cities and days in once-popular bars. Everywhere he went, there was a feeling of brokenness. The many cities he had spent his life hearing of were nowhere to be seen. The remains of Erovald were what left him with the greatest impression. Erovald, one of the oldest cities of Sørligste, the former capital of Frostmarch, the walled city, and the birthplace of his grandparents, was reduced to nothing more than an ominous blackstone palace, a monument for the people who destroyed his ancestral land. Faering wept on the overlooking hills of the once-mighty city. The morning came, and with it came a new, invigorating belief in the preservation of his people. Faering began the journey towards the Lorentian homeland in the hopes of finding other Valds on the way. Along the way, he stumbled upon the dwarven city of Grimagund and their leader, Hohe Tanner. At first, Faering was welcomed into Grimagund and was friendly with Hohe as they both shared a mutual dislike of the Lorent, but as the days went on and Faering recovered from a minor frostbite, tension grew between Hohe and Faering until, upon hearing concerning facts, Faering realized that damn Hohe really deserved that ban. Faering escaped Grimagund and coincidentally entered the campsite of two notable figures, General Imi (gunnar) and GH Eagle. They all found they had a common interest in the preservation of the Valdic people and formed the first inner circle.

First Inner Circle
Faering quickly befriended Eagle and Imi, though soon they had to part ways in the hopes of building up a power base that could retake Frostmarch. Faering first traveled to Sparwood to visit the Republic of Aquillia and befriended their leader, Raven. Faering would do odd jobs for them for some months till he finished what he came to do, which was to make friends. Next, his travels took him to a small artificial island named Petograv, which was the then capital of Sotronia (during my time there, the name changed from Sotronia->Barosia->Frostholm->Neo Plageta), and Faering found some other Frostmarchers there, such as its then king Dchar and an advisor. They quickly hit it off, and Faering was named temporary mayor of Petograv in the year 272. Faering would then spend the next several years of his life tearing down the city of Petograv to be rebuilt to the desire of Dchar and terraforming the island in its entirety. During those years, Faering would begin to feel a sense of insanity settling in, as his time in Petograv was not an enjoyable one. He was blamed for many of the issues that Petograv faced, such as slow progress and low player inactivity, and it was a consistently negative time for him. Thankfully, in TE 287, he was able to escape. He traveled back to TEK into the lands of Serafini and, during a stay in an inn in Solium, met its mayor, Tannicmantis 991, and then became quick friends with Faering, who was appointed as caretaker of the then-abandoned dwarven hold of Volanshar. During a late night working on cleaning the amethyst crystals that Volanshar was known for, the spirit of Claygamer, the founder of Volanshar, came to him, and they enjoyed a nice conversation and went their separate ways.

Many Returns
Faering was getting old; he was no longer the young man he once was, and he decided that the time was now to return home. He chartered a ship and traveled back to Eskirija. On the way, he visited some of the libraries in that region and accidently stumbled upon a book written by his dear friend Eagle, “St. Istvanvar.” He bought the book and sought to return it to his friend Eagle. He found Eagle on an estate he owned in the lands of Yimmu Audal, and they discussed their adventures. Imi went on to found the town of Roherium, and Eagle was in the process of buying some towns in TEK. It was during Fearing’s stay at Eagle’s estate that he would meet Fraz and Schants and befriend the both of them, joining the second inner circle. Faering left his friends on a return voyage to Eskirjia to visit his parents. Eskirjia was exactly as he left it; the only difference was the lack of his parents. Faering wept and cursed himself for his youthful naivety, spending his life chasing dreams of far-off lands and of dying people all while his parents' lives passed. Faering only had his brother Vestr at this point, and so he rounded up the Valds of Eskirjia and returned to Narva.

Narva


Faering was greeted warmly by Vestr, for it was the first time they had seen each other in years, and they quickly connected with many of the other Valdic towns of the shattered sea and began more frequent communications with those isolated communities that were once part of Skjoldbrodir. It was during that time that Faering met Baldur Kolbeck-McSpiegel (doom_is here) and Bjarni Kolbeck (Azurepattycake). In fact, it was during a light night of beer with them that the term “Pan-Valdicism” was coined by Faering and used. Narva, with the united brothers and the help of Bjarni Narva, began a new period of growth as the ancient city was updated and reformed.

Valds in TEK
A letter had reached Faering from his old friend Eagle that his purchase of multiple towns in TEK territory had succeeded, but he needed help building it into the city we needed. With a host of young men, Faering traveled back to TEK to the port city of Kylasholmar and began construction of the Grand Castle of Resurrection. During construction, Faering elected to take a small trip to the city of Dawnhold to see the 2nd World’s Fair. Fearing was enjoying himself while experiencing the many booths of so many different people, and then came the final announcement that the time god Iristor would soon freeze Rathnir and Eldham and a new world was to be sown.

Faering’s Insanity
The world is ending? His people’s legacy in danger? His dreams unfulfilled. These issues were making their mark on Faering, and he stormed from the World’s Fair towards Kylasholmar. After a week of sailing in solitude, with his only company being his ever-deranged thoughts, he collapsed in his room at Kylasholmar. Schants came to Faering wanting to hear news about the World's Fair but only found Faering slumped over cursing it all, “What is there to my name? I'm not a strong bug like you schants! I'm not of nobility like Eagle! I'm not a master builder like Bjarni! I'm a man with no dreams fulfilled!" Schants kneeled down and told Faering, “Stand proud, Faering, for you are strong.” And Faering did; he shed his tears, gathered his supplies, and began his journey back to Narva. His first night during the voyage, he was visited by a Certain stoneystoner, where he was teleported to a library in the sky filled with hundreds of years of books, and then Stoneystoner said, “You like, Lord, don't you, choose any book." And Faering then did so; he chose a book and found himself back in his ship with his new pile of books. On the same day, Faering was struck by lightning directly from Stoney himself. Faering’s mind began to race. Was Stoney trying to tell him something? Or was it all in his mind?

Lotus
Faering Karhu has been with the squatter nation for as long as it has existed, and accidentally became its first citizen. Faering has acted as an advisor to the nation through its existence and has seen it move across Rathnir and become one of the most active towns in Rathnir. I love Lil_mdx! Great guy and great nation filled with wonderful people.

Important Events/Movements Faering contributed too.

 * 1st, 3rd, and 4th councils of Eyon
 * Defense of Castonia in the year 215
 * Blessing of GH_Eagle as Last Grand Jarl
 * 2nd World Fair
 * Valdic-Diaspora
 * Pan-Valdicism