Arathorian Culture - What Northerner's Get Up To

Good evening, as the relaunch of the Kingdom of Stromgarde looms closer, (keep an eye on the EVent section for the massive festival of festivities that approaches!) we here in Strom thought it would be wise to perhaps show people what we northerners get up to. This also offers Arathorians who don't wish to join the guild the opportunity to join in on the lore and the language! This is being released along with a new Registry Post (for those who take notice, we have decided to get rid of the player Monarchy, we've all kinda danced round it for a hell of a long time and people have been utterly disgusted by it. A new start means a fresh perspective and I don't want a silly title keeping us from growing.) I'll explain in lamens terms our faith and help those who want to play around with it the opportunity to! I'll also enclose our 'language' and how we use it!

The Ancestral Faith

The Ancestors are Arathorians who are long gone, passed away in battle, sickness, or of age. They await us in their halls to raise a mug to us, to let us join their grand feast. We ask for their guidance, for they have seen more in their final moments than we ever can in life. We honor them, for they gave their life's for our land. -Saihna

This brief summary of what the ancestors are is key to understanding how you as a player; be you Arathorian, Stormwindian, Dwarven or Gnomish would react and interact to the faith. The Ancestral Beliefs are not like any other religions per sei. The Ancestral beliefs hold true to the fact that all the Ancestors were and are men. Flesh and blood that ascended to the halls in glory and honour. They hold the power of any spirit; sometimes this is more and can be granted to the still living but we do not revere these ancestors as Gods.

The Commandments

The Ancestral Faith like Judaism holds true to a very strict code of ethics, straying from such is frowned upon harshly by the community. Whilst Stromgarde like any other city-state became civilised and modern it held true to it's core beliefs, this makes the city more tribal and their code of ethnics faultless in their eyes. Arathorian society is dictated majorly by Honour therefore many of the commandments are dictated by the same. The Commandments are as follows:

One: Trifling audience with enemies - Plainly this means that if you look upon an enemy of the state and do not kill them this is viewed as cowardice. However such a vague commandment obviously has it's 'loopholes'. No Arathorian should be expected to charge an army of the horde alone as this is foolhardy and sacrificial. This also brings into your head the idea of 'honour'. Arathorians as a race of people are honour-bound; therefore they cannot kill a child or unarmed woman, nor a man who is unarmed. They cannot kill the sick and infirmed and they cannot kill an advisary who has met them in good faith. These are all murder in the eyes of their fellow Arathorian. In short this commandment is focused solely on turning from a fight and being a coward or plotting with the kingdom's enemies without the intention of destroying them.

Two: Forsake allies of Arathor -This is plain enough. Should you turn your back on an ally when they need aid is to forsaken Arathor's judgement which is above your individual mind. However again there are exceptions, for example if a Wildhammer dwarf is arrested in Ironforge you are not expected to aid the Wildhammer and incriminate yourself just because Arathor is closer to the Wildhammer Clan. This is an important commandment however as Arathor is all about Honour and forsaking an ally in one of the greatest dishonours.

Three: Cowardice in War - War is a major figure in Arathorian Society. Therefore to turn back in the face of the enemy when all your fellow Arathorians are taking to the field is a great dishonour to you and your family. This like the others has exception, if you are war-wounded then you are obviously not expected to go into battle, however you are expected to remain at the campsite/battle site and help in any way you can while you recover. Also should the day be lost and you are ordered to retreat to save loss of life this too is an exception to cowardice as it is wisdom from your superiors.

Four: Murder of an Arathorian - "To turn your blade on your brother is the greatest sin, to do so is to turn the blade upon your own soul." -Ysriel Mosstouch. Murdering of a fellow Arathorian is the last test to be a follower of Phelgas so this shows just how serious it is. To murder a fellow Arathorian earns instant banishment adn shunning from society and damning to the Void. Murder does not need to be by your own hand, it also counts if you were responsible or ordered their death. If an Arathorian is condemned to death the executioner is obviously absolved.

The Ancestors and other Religions

Most people who ask me about the Ancestors ask 'what about x religion in comparison with y do they clash?' It's surprising just how understanding the Ancestors are of other faiths.

The Light - The Light is one of the most misunderstood connections to the Ancestors. Stromgarde does have paladins, it has priests who wield the light including my own Anaei. The Light is a divine force, granted to us by an unknown source. This source is unknown to all races; even the Draenei do not have a source as the Naa'ru are 'of the light' not 'the light'. Going back and using the fact that the Ancestors are not divine means that the Light melds well with the Faith. The Ancestors too wielded the light and ARathor's descendants shall too. We simply do not revere the Light as an entity or a deity but a natural force like magic.

The Titans - The Titans are a touchy subject, obviously it is clear they created the world, therefore they created the Vry'kul who in turn were cursed with flesh and devolved once more into Humans. However the ARathorians do not put much stock in worshipping or aknowledging them as the dwarves have shown us proof that they are gone from the world and are not Gods themselves and cannot hear prayer. Therefore the Ancestral Faith does not quarrel with Titan beliefs however they do not go together.

I'm not an Arathorian.

I've been asked so many times, "Do I believe in this as a mercenary?" No. Of course you don't. Unless you were raised into this faith or convert you have no reason to believe it. However if you wish to be an Arathorian citizen you must convert to this faith and even then you must be human. Therefore when an ancestral event occurs in the guild and you are not of the faith you go simply to show support to your fellow soldiers without the need to worship.

I am an Arathorian, what should I be doing?

Arathorian worship is a lot like Nordic Worship. It was done via battle and feasting. We are not appeasing Gods, we are celebrating and fighting in the name of the fallen therefore we have no pomp ceremonies like those unto the light. However there is a Clergy of the Ancestors which venerates 'the High Ancestors' whom we believe hold the most power and deserve appeasement. Unless a priest as a normal Arathorian you are expected only to do your duty and follow the commandments to revere the Ancestors.


This sums up the Ancestral Faith for beginners. If you feel i've left anything out or have any questions please post ahead and ask!

Language

Stromgarde, like most of the seven kingdoms, after the split kept a unique dialect that developed into its own language over the centuries. In Stromgarde this is known as Arathorian, as the cradle of Human Civilisation the Arathorian people safeguarded artifacts from their ancient past which helped them keep their 'ancient tongue' from the Arathorian Empire.

Not many words are taken completely into the spoken language, but instead together with the northern accent most carry it becomes an odd mixture of the common and Arathorian tongue. These phrases are treated as 'old sayings' than proper linguistics. However the study of Ancient Arathorian still exists and many strive to speak it though not all the language is available. The Ancient language is mostly put to use during rituals and events, to honor that of the Ancestors and their true language. A few phrases are quite known even in the non Arathorian community, such as "An dornu kel Fodrig" and "Esarus thar no'Darador". The later phrase being written on the statue of Turalyon was the beginning of the initiative to create an ancient language.

Any Arathorian has the opportunity to study and speak the language. While the Ancient tongue presents itself in the form of 'old phrases', Ancient Arathorian is only known by scholars and nobles, this language is available to any Arathorian who wishes it or those who seek to study it within the guild, we feel it gives our members a unique feeling of humanity outside Stormwind. This idea dates back to the beginning of Arathorian roleplay on Defias Brotherhood, where Arathorian players wrote random words in /say to speak to one another, and then translated this in a whisper. To make it more simple we've taken it a step further and created a channel for this purpose. Joining /Arathorian, as a Arathorian character (or a character that has for some reason studied the Arathorian language) be part of this initiative. To prevent metagaming another channel is up where people roleplaying in Stromgarde speak their Arathorian. If you for some reason happen to come up to Stromgarde, wishing to speak Arathorian with the people there you can contact anyone within the guild.

This is perfect! I feel it's been needed to be put out there for a long time now.

Much support!

By blood and honour we serve.

I have just one question, and I ask it because there is nothing more frustrating to a player than being left out of conversations because of language barriers. As I understood it Common was the universal tongue, spoken by humans and many other races since time immemorial. Esarus Thar no'Darador is just such a phrase in common, translating to English as By Blood and Honour we Serve. What's the reasoning behind giving the Arathorians a unique language given we're all Arathorians somewhere up the line and indeed speak the same language in lore that we did then?

Geneviève wrote:By blood and honour we serve.

I have just one question, and I ask it because there is nothing more frustrating to a player than being left out of conversations because of language barriers. As I understood it Common was the universal tongue, spoken by humans and many other races since time immemorial. Esarus Thar no'Darador is just such a phrase in common, translating to English as By Blood and Honour we Serve. What's the reasoning behind giving the Arathorians a unique language given we're all Arathorians somewhere up the line and indeed speak the same language in lore that we did then?

By lore yes, we have all spoken 'common' however there were many different dialects. it evolved. We in Arathor thought this was a place we could develop on. Yes we're all Arathorian at some point however when the kingdoms broke off and Stromgarde remained just like Gilneas (by lore) we thought a unique language would help our members distinguish from Stormwind. The Arathorian Empire at it's founding would have been closer to the Vry'kul/Azotha line than modern humans so we developed again on the idea that they themselves would have had a unique tongue.

So no, by lore this does not exist but we thought it would be a unique and defining feature for the people of the North. Although the By Blood and Honour We Serve just like Trol'kalar is 'ancient common' which is in lore. It's why we based the entire concept on it.

It's great that you took the time to write this up for the lot of us to read, as always I enjoy reading the culture you've created for your guild.

I have some thoughts I wish to share however...

First... I like the commandments, but the list looks incomplete. You have four commandments for how to act in war and with enemies. But nothing of normal life. Nothing regarding spirituality. Nothing about how to treat your fellow people. Nothing about respect to the elders (living ones). Nothing about stealing.
It's as if there's nothing but war for this creed. Against everyone and everything.

Then I reacted to this statement:

The Modern Arathorian Tongue is spoken by all native Arathorians...

I believe this is much too far. Presenting it as a language that the Seikenid-Trollbanes (As opposed to the Dungalion and the Thorasic) have ressurected as a means to establish a historical and neo-traditional claim and are now enforcing/creating among their supporters is fine. Excellent in fact.
But claiming all Arathorians speaking it as their maternal tounge is too far. Especially since Strahnbrad, Tyr's Hand and Light's Hope Chapel all were Stromgarde settlements in W2 and only recently shifted over to Lordaeron.

At least to me, it's a far more interesting idea that a small subgroup of noble Arathorians and their supporters are actively ressurecting it as a means to promote national unity and pride (around themselves ) but that the Arathorians as a whole still primarily speak common (with a distinct accent), worship the Light and till the earth.

the Seikenid-Trollbanes

... *appreciated*

The Commandments are not so much incomplete as undiscovered. The Religion itself is very much a work in progress, there are more minor commandments that are taught in regular events. Twas more a teaser!

The Modern arathorian tongue bit I did not mean to be pushy, I meant is more as they all had the opportunity to speak it. I am not saying this is a mother tongue to the north, most of the population would speak common if not all it was said as a, "If you play an Arathorian and wish to be involved with the lore we've created you are more than welcome."

Ah, good.

Perhaps putting it "A recent political movement lead by the Seikenid line of the Trollbane family has recently begun rediscovering and recreating the old Arathorian tounge"?

Gahalla wrote:Ah, good.

Perhaps putting it "A recent political movement lead by the Seikenid line of the Trollbane family has recently begun rediscovering and recreating the old Arathorian tounge"?

I'll probably just edit it to the any arathorian has the opportunity to speak it.. What you suggest makes it sound a lot more sinister than it originally was.

Would it then be fair to say that a young noble from Stormwind or Kul'Tiras might have been taught 'modern' Arathorian in addition to other 'useful' languages?

Geneviève wrote:Would it then be fair to say that a young noble from Stormwind or Kul'Tiras might have been taught 'modern' Arathorian in addition to other 'useful' languages?

If they dare to lower themselves to such savage standards?


Edit;
I made a GHI book, a dictionary, under a random-generic arathorian whom doesn't exist in game. A book 'he' had taken time to write and publish to allow arathorian citizen to learn their ancient mother tongue, to honour their ancestors and to be proud of who they are.

Now I doubt the book is used much anymore, but surely the concept isn't too far fetched. *Looks at Anaei.*

I use the book. A lot.

Gahalla wrote:Seikenid-Trollbanes

That amused me, highly

Much love. I both reiterate and approve of everything said here!

Ishap wrote:

Gahalla wrote:Seikenid-Trollbanes

That amused me, highly

I'm now thinking about a gnome that studies human culture. He's observing the Arathorians and makes notess comparing all the kinds and muttering "Amazing" every 1.67 minutes.

Kristeas Sunbinder wrote:

Ishap wrote:

Gahalla wrote:Seikenid-Trollbanes

That amused me, highly

I'm now thinking about a gnome that studies human culture. He's observing the Arathorians and makes notess comparing all the kinds and muttering "Amazing" every 1.67 minutes.

You were beaten to it by a dwarf who mutters, "Savages" every 3.2 seconds. Maybe they could be friends!

Anaei/Vezullia wrote:

Kristeas Sunbinder wrote:

Ishap wrote:

Gahalla wrote:Seikenid-Trollbanes

That amused me, highly

I'm now thinking about a gnome that studies human culture. He's observing the Arathorians and makes notess comparing all the kinds and muttering "Amazing" every 1.67 minutes.

You were beaten to it by a dwarf who mutters, "Savages" every 3.2 seconds. Maybe they could be friends!

now i just feel stupid D:

Dam you internets. great thread btw!

I recall most Arathorians rp'ing they speak the tongue in a broken manner too, not fluent (even if their common aint that fluent either with the dialect xD)