Caerdwicca
by Marco Dalmonte English translation by Gary DaviesFarbautides (Loki) - Guile, deceit, intrigue, fire
Manadyn (Protius) - Water, oceans, marine creatures, capriciousness, travel
Viuden (Odin) - Authority, sky, storms, winds, knowledge
Notes:
1. Caerdwicca is a barony with little more than a thousand inhabitants situated on the southern coast of the island, a protectorate of Thyatis governed by the Thane (local Baron) Uthgaard McRhomaag. It lives almost exclusively by piracy that ravages Alphatians, Alatians, Minrothaddans and Thothians, and this guarantees their relative independence from Thyatis that is content to use the Caerdwiccans as a disturbing element in the south of the Isle of Dawn in order to threaten the commercial routes of its adversaries and draw advantage from it without exposure.
2. The cultural heritage of the Caerdwiccans rests in their Neathar roots: are probably the descendents of the minority group of Neathar that reached the island in 2000 BC and they advanced into the Shadow Coast until arriving on the southern coast of the Dawn, nevertheless ended cut off from the rest of the clan settled in the central-northern area because of the distance and of the hostile creatures that made trade impossible with the rest of the island. The ancient beliefs of the Dawnese cult are still today the basis of the Caerdwiccan mysticism. Despite not being extremely religious, the Caerdwiccans are nevertheless superstitious, and for this have erected in their small settlements three temples to the Immortals considered most important in the attempt of ingratiating them: Viuden (Odin), the creator and lord of the skies and storms, extremely important for a seafaring culture; Manadyn (Protius), the lord of the sea and marine creatures, patron of travellers and sailors in general (as important as Viuden but more hostile and therefore less favoured); Farbautides (Loki), the lord of deceit and guile, patron of pirates and thieves, to whom the Caerdwiccans can date back to the birth of Caerdwick, the founder of the clan. Farbautides in the Caerdwiccan culture doesn’t have a negative value, but represents the guile with which they can deceive and overcome the enemy, typical mentality of the pirates of this nation.
3. According to the Caerdwiccan belief, the one who is opposed to the Great Father Viuden is the dark sister Nyt (Hel), lady of the kingdom of the dead, of the cold and darkness. There are no priests of Hel or temples dedicated to her in Caerdwicca, and any follower of the Immortal discovered by the Caerdwiccans is immediately hounded, burned alive and its ashes scattered in the sea in order to not attract misfortune on their settlements.