Skjotunhra

Skjotunhra is an Onthukhan, polytheistic religion based on the teachings and wisdoms of the first Freemen people from the Pale, fronted by the veteran High King Wulfgar Ironback. A small, modest faith, Skjotunhra is understood to be a culture which spread amongst the Freemen as an encouraged behavior and value system by word of mouth and communal experience. This oral practice originated form within the once humble city-island and capital of the Pale, Karthhold, and was subsequently passed onto the future lands.

Worship through Labor
Given that Skjotunhra is a faith known to be evolved out of Freeman culture, it promotes the behaviour of developing one's own strength and that of the community. It is said that in emulation of Skjotun-eldr's practices of forging, smithing, and crafting, and by extension the cultivation of society through the sharing and helping of these things upon each other, there comes a divine life. "'Continuance and persistence shall bless the working man. Forget not this, to the aging man: Do not acquire experience for the sake of the acquisition. Be not selfish in servitude to other workings than war. All shall return in due time, should your compass remain aligned. For I shall search with my hands and find the treasures of the sea within the depths of the sand. And all ye shall behold my glory.' - From the Sacred Texts: The Working Free Man, by the Speaker for the Dead "

Sand Speaking
Sand Speaking is a type of prayer and 'divine consultation' performed by Sand Speakers. They are those who have been chosen by Auga-lengoar, the Seer of What is to Be, and Hafalatinn, the collective of dead souls, to spread the wisdom of the gods and the past into society. The term itself implies a desert origin of the Skjotunhra faith, however this is a common misconception. In context of Freemen belief, one can extrapolate that the sand in reference is soul sand from the Nether, believed to be the passed liveliehoods of other humans. Given the universal accessibility of the Nether to any civilization, this conclusion has made the most sense to those foreign to the faith.

The practice of Sand Speaking is straightforward. A speaker merely needs to remain near soul sand and soul fire in order to manifest the long-dead souls and their wisdom. It's known that sand speakers commune in caves made of soul sand/soil to improve this connection to Hafalatinn, the personification of these souls. According to Skjotunhra texts it is possible for speakers to summon Hafalatinn's twin, Ragna-runa, granting them vision of the future. In text, this is depicted as 'dreamlike travels' where the speaker is plucked from the terrain to witness what is to come. Currently, the only known speaker to actually accomplish this was the Speaker for the Dead.

As an organization, Sand Speakers are the 'saints' of Skjotunhra, each offering a different contribution to the progression and facilitation of the faith and discussions between the freemen and the gods. Notable Sand Speakers of the Pale include: Jarl Kaidus Ariano, the Speaker for the Dead; Viola 'Wolf' Lightbringer, the Speaker of Songs; Eldritch, the Speaker of Mythics; Orinis Elliris, the Speaker of Travels; and the High King Wulfgar Ironback of the Pale himself.

Sea Spires
Traditional practice on the event of death for a Freemen brother or sister is to build a tall spire out of a stone material wall block in the ocean, leaving a bit sticking out from the water surface to reference the dead. This is believed to be a reference to Hafalatinn, the water realm god of death. Old texts suggest that to mark the fallen from the ocean floor above the sea surface is a sign of honor between the freemen, implying a 'memory beyond death and time'.

The High Gods
There are two great beings which form the world around the Freemen, encompassing all which is infinite and finite in the world.


 * Rofleio: Primordial being which forms the ground of the world. All that which cannot be reproduced by any means (without divine intervention) is of Rofleio. The Freemen believe that the terrain of the world is his back which he offers to.
 * Aldrendir: Primordial being which forms the sky that envelops the earth. Aldrendir represents the infinite things of the world. Highly mysterious to the Freemen but yields greater rewards; represented by his gifts of renewable resources.

Core Gods
The main Skjotunhra pantheon consists of five main deities, representing the aspects of Freeman society and the souls of the departed.


 * Skjotun-eldr: The king of the gods representative of all things the Freemen hold most dear in their society, namely labor, honor, and integrity. Often represented in myths as a polar bear, donning magical armor, he is accosiated with the forging of weapons, tools, and armor. Skjotun is the son of the Primordial Rofleio but acts as a balance between all the gods.
 * King of the gods, usurper of the first Tyrant King of the Sea. Often represented as a large polar bear, Skjotun-eldr is the patron god of labor (among honor and defensive battle) is therefore associated with the
 * Hafnát-vig: The original king of the gods, antagonistic god that was deposed and usurped by Skjotun. Lord of the waters and aggressiveness.
 * Aflbú: Goddess of the home and wealth. Representation of rewards, the arts and the hearth and often brings gifts to the Freemen. A daughter of the Primordial Aldrendir, wife of Hafnát but lover of Skjotun and mother of Solvi.
 * Hafalatinn: One of the 'twins of the Nether'. Hafalatinn is believed to have been a growing almagamation of a collective consciousness of dead souls; a personification of past human lives. Not much is spoken about the nature of this collective, apart from sometimes being interpreted as soul sand itself and the appearance as the occasional "ghost" (See "The Tale of Orinis").
 * Ragna-runa: The second of the 'twins of the Nether', Ragna-runa acts as a facilitator between the freemen and Hafalatinn, offering her twin's wisdom as an asnwer to sand speaking practices. Often portrayed as a ageless woman and sometimes called 'The Pale Lady', she occasionally reveals her own wisdom as a seer to the freemen.

Minor Gods and Deities
Listed below are higher beings which do not appear within the core books of Skjotunhra and are instead believed to be told of within the mythos surrounding the original texts. Few have their own legends to their name, others have been found to be more referential than actual beings.

Holidays
As with any community of believers, the Freemen honor notable events of Skjotunhra with holidays to mark the passage of time. These celebrations are canonized by both Freemen and Sand Speakers, implying that the holidays are a tradition continued not just out of obligation to religious belief, but also communal trust in one another.

Palemas
Palemas is a festivity of the wintertime, where Freemen gift each other treasures and trinkets and await the passage of Saint Paley on the eve of the holiday date, December 25th. As a holiday, it is credited to Speaker Viola Lightbringer and her written work "Palemas Song".