Alfyr

"Forged of bedrock stone.  Quenched in fields of ice.  Honed by glaciers grind."

The men in the north are looked upon as stoic savages by most. Hidden away in ther holds and crafthalls, scattered throughout the great expanse of the Northern Kerekens, the northmen carve their homes out of the very bedrock of the mountain.

Name
Alfyr doesn't quite sit right with these people.

Jotnar  Gygjar  Dvergar  Dyrgjar  Alfar  Alfenjur  Vanir  Vanjur  Aesir  Asynjur

Something more like Duarv or Akhir or Duarg fits better, I think...

They aren't dwarves. They're craftsman, sure, but they've got more in common with Spartans than any dwarven culture I know of.

I like Duarv a lot but it's very obviously the word Dwarve.

Akhir is better suited to a sub-race, more nomadic I think.

Duarg is ok but not my favorite.

Culture
Alfyri care, above all things, for their legacy. Honor to them is more important than life and they hold strongly to the belief that what you leave behind in word, craft and deed defines who you are.

They are a people dedicated to the art of doing everything well and striving for perfection in every area of life. There are no finer craftsman.

It is the expectation in Alfyri culture that each member of a hold should act primarily in the interest and for the glory of their hold and any allegiences to house & clan come secondary.

Every Alfyr that is a part of Alfyri society has a group he calls family. He may belong to a house, clan, caste or hold.

Men tend to dominate public life in the hold, holding positions of power and leadership. Women, on the other hand, handled household affairs and maintained dominance in family matters. Save for matters of inheritance and politics, women are treated no differently from men and are afforded the same respect regardless of gender. Traditionally the male head of a house is accompanied by a female representative who is given equal rights on the council floor.

Each hold is ruled as it's own kingdom, with the halls and villages within it's territory falling under it's protection.

There is no traditional manner of leadership for a hold.

Delwindar is ruled by a King who makes decisions based on the suggestions of his councilmen. Both Threland & Graldar's leadership are an elected council of representatives. Ebredwindar is ruled by House Elberod, the head and nobles acting as king and council. Kholdadurim, Dulthreland and Berignar have only a small house presence and are instead ruled by a triumvirate of electors; one from the crafthalls, one of the priesthood and one from the Guard.

The Great Houses
Houses are family groups that follow a lineage, passing leadership and responsibility hereditarially.

Houses tend to be contained within a single hold.

The Clans
Clans are family-groups that follow an ideal. Each clan has different requirments for joining and almost all are led by elected leader.

Clans can be spread across several holds.

Delwindar
The first and greatest of the Alfyr holds

Geography & Climate
The great majority of Alfyri are settled in the Northern Kerekens, a great expanse of broken hills and jutting peaks crowning the northern part of the Elthreian Continent.

History
Much of Alfyri's early history is shrouded in mythology, gleaned primarily from ancient murals and skewed by an oral tradition. Not much is known about how the first holds came to be aside from what carvings are still left intact.

Bredalfar & Delwindar
According to Alfyri myth, the first Alfyri were drawn north, beckoned into the icy crags and grey peaks by the great elemental lord, Delwin. Guided by Delwin and aided by his Astral servants, the Aeterni, they carved Delwindar, the first and oldest Alfyr hold, out of the mountain. For generations they worked with purpose, carving a city out of the rock. The Aeterni taught them to smelt ore and shape metals, how to create song from shard and how to weave the threads of reality and manipulate current.

In time Delwin withdrew, leaving his servants behind to continue his work. The Alfyr grew too many in number and knew they would need a new place to settle. A city of their own. Bredalfar was founded leagues downriver where the river Bereding slowed and pooled into a great lake. Houses of lumber and thatch rose up out of the craggy hills and rolling scrubland.

Clan Vendalfyr
Exiled in the days of Vendigal for their treachery againsdt their own kin.