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TRD - OLUM - The Night Matriarchs

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THE NIGHT MATRIARCHS


    The Olum are traditionally a very faithful and religious faction with many stories of history and lore used to teach lessons and morals. The most prominent of these lessons are the stories of the Night Matriarchs; Matriarchs of the past who are notable in Olum history. Below you can read about the six most common and widely-appreciated of the Night Matriarchs, as well as their stories.



VASKA || The Last Matriarch ||
        May Vaska guide your paws.

Seen by the majority of the Olum as the highest and most influential of the Night Matriarchs, Vaska was the last Matriarch to hold power in the Homeland. She died in a brutal winter along with over half of the Olum that also wiped out most of the Olum's food sources. It was after her death that her daughter, Lene, the next Matriarch, decided the Olum must find a new home. Vaska is seen as a guide and guardian to all surviving Olum.



SONJA || The Mother ||
        May Sonja watch over you and help you grow.

Beautiful and strong, Sonja isn't well-known for any specific story. It is said that Sonja was the first tiger in the Olum, thus bringing the Siberian tiger bloodline into their history. A very ancient Night Matriarch. There are legends that say Sonja was a very powerful healer.



EIRA || The Swift ||
        May you be as swift as Eira.

Eira was the first to discover humans. When she was just a young Olum, she was out hunting on her own when she saw the strange two-legged creatures with sharp weapons, heading for her camp, presumably looking for feline pelts. Because of her speed and bravery, she was able to rush forward and warn the current Matriarch, Gerda, about the approaching animals. The Olum fought off the humans, and Gerda awarded Eira by making her the heir to the Matriarch position, which she took up years later after Gerda's passing.




BARBEL || The Strong ||
        May Barbel bless you strength.

Barbel is fabled to be the first Olum to take down one of the mighty cave bears. When she got in a fight with the Matriarch's firstborn daughter, Corrine, over who would be a better leader, they made a bet; the first one to kill a cave bear could be the heir. They each picked a bear, and after a fight, Barbel's was dead, making her the first Olum to kill one of the beasts. When she went to check on Corrine, the heir was already dead. Barbel killed that bear as well, and returned to camp with the three corpses. Corrine's mother, Eles, was so grief-stricken that she immediately stepped down and gave the position to Barbel.



ULA || The Resilient ||
        May you be as resilient as Ula.

Ula is said to have been the longest-lasting Matriarch, who held the position for nearly 18 years. Her mother, the previous Matriarch, died when Ula was less than a year old. She was a gruff and brutal Matriarch, having to portray herself as powerful and intimidating to offset her young age. She had many children, and some Olum are still said to be her descendants. Ironically, none of her daughters were her heir; instead, she chose a predecessor to be her apprentice, and young cave lionness. Ula died peacefully at 19 years of age.




MONIK || The Faithful ||
        May you be as faithful as Monik.

It is said that while Monik was once out on a hunt by herself in a windy snowstorm, she got trapped in a cavern in the mountains when an avalanche blocked her only exit. She didn’t know, however, that her daughter had shoved the snow down the side of the mountain so she could claim that the Matriarch had died and she would be in power. Monik tried digging herself out, but to no avail. She waited for days, trapped in a cave with no food, begging the Night Matriarchs to help her. No help arrived until the day Monik was about to pass, and a spirit of a Night Matriarch appeared to her as Monik prayed. When Monik asked why the spirits hadn’t helped sooner, the Night Matriarch replied, “We were making sure that your faith stayed true until the end.” the mountain shook, a crack appeared in the side of the cave, where Monik crawled out and made her way back to the camp. She exiled her daughter for treason, and banned her passage into the Night River. The Olum use this story as a way to remind everyone to always believe and trust in the Night Matriarchs, and to never betray your Matriarch, lest you face the consequences.





Original designs by Earthdragon2 (Sonja), Pedropoliss (Eira), lunilai (Barbel), kit-kaboodIe (Ula), and Sarcasticwolfpeanut (Monik)
Lore and Vaska design by Staniqs

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kit-kaboodie's avatar
THATS RLY GOOD ;;;;O;;;;