Tartok
Both a bloodline and a culture founded by Siku Tartok. When she clashed with her sister Nanuq Kesuk of Shearwater Bay, Siku departed from her sister's claim and forged her own path: eventually leading to the creation of a more bestial culture, wherein wolves were welcomed to appease their baser instincts. The culture is heavily influenced by Inuit traditions. The packs work more like a militia wherever they lay their claim: the matriarch at the helm, and her children serving as her soldiers. They typically shun spiritualism in their pursuit of things more tangible.
Contents
History
Seahawk Valley to Teekon Wilds
Within the Seahawk Valley, upon the coast, there lived a pack of highly spiritual wolves within the pack of Shearwater Bay. Its leaders Nutaaq Kesuk and Nauja Kesuk held an extremely strong faith that was further influenced by the houngan Koios Iqniq. Their children, Nanuq Kesuk and Siku Kesuk were strongly involved in this vodun-based culture, although it was Nanuq who was more deeply entrenched. She bonded with the houngan and when the time came that the leadership was at its end, Nanuq and Koios stepped up to take the role. Together they brought the next generation to life within Shearwater Bay: Jinx Kesuk, Kaskae Kesuk, Vex Kesuk, and Arktos Kesuk. These children were taught of the duality between the faith's main deities, made to participate in various rituals, and together made Shearwater Bay stronger.
While all of this was happening, Siku as the loyal sister. She had once found the faith appealing but as she matured her opinion began to shift, until she broke away completely. This caused a rift between the sisters that led to a confrontation, and Siku left. Her time bettering herself physically led to a connection with another like-minded wolf, Kilgharrah, who became her mate and the father to her first litter. The first branch of the family began upon Arktayok Peak within the Seahawk Valley when the pair conceived a litter of three: Atausiq, Malruk, and Pingasut; the following year, there were four more: Atausiq, Malrok, Pingasut, and Sisamat.
As these children grew and developed their skills, they either caught Siku's eye or they did not, as she had high standards for each of them, which mostly went unmet. Of her first children only the names Tonraq Tartok and Tonravik Tartok are known in the oral history. It is known that Siku took different mates over the course of her life in accordance to the traditions she set, seeking only the strongest men to father her children. Her second mate was a man named Aves with whom she had four more children. Her last mate was Skull who gave her four more.
From there the legend splits across the bloodline. Some tales include the exploits of Tonravik, who went on to create her own branch with her mate Iqniq Tartok, and their children Anuniaq Tartok & Kaertok Tartok, of Sawtooth Spire. Another speaks of Aariak Tartok who, along with his brother Kingumut Tartok, was born in to the life after his mother Quilak Tartok was brought in to the fold by Siku herself, who considered Quilak a sister. There is also Kaniq Tartok the only son of one Atuun Tartok, who was the matriarch of her own branch.
Within the Wilds
Ouroboros & Sawtooth Spire
Tonravik visits the Seahawk Valley for the first time as she gathers together wolves for her first claim. She leaves shortly after when called by another branch, as they need bodies in a war. In the spring when she returns she has Njal Sveijarn and Echelon Tartok with her.
They approach Duskfire Glacier where Njal's wife Tuwawi Sveijarn is the matriarch with the expectation that they can unite, but Tonravik expects to take the helm of the pack, and is offended by Tuwawi when this does not happen. Tonravik and Echelon depart and leave Njal behind. Eventually they come across Kroc Tartok and together the trio decide to make their home at the then-occupied Ouroboros Spine, ousting the former leader, Cara.
That spring Tonravik finds two strong men who are willing to father her first litter, and so they are made to fight and to prove themselves. Between Iqniq and Kodiak, it is Iqniq who succeeds and becomes Tonravik's mate and they conceive the pack's future together.
The wolves of the mountain contend with trespassing from the lowland pack of Hoshor Plains, and Tonravik deals with them swiftly. She hunts down the trespassers and dominates one of them, leaving the culprit catatonic on the border of their home. She keeps the other one alive upon the Spine as a captive, and deems the area free of trouble.
A storm hits the Wilds in the summer of 2015, forcing the pack to relocate. The Spine is hit directly and so this branch of Tartok must find somewhere more suitable to settle before Tonravik gives birth. They find Sawtooth Spire and as they work on their claim, Tonravik gives birth and four cubs survive: Atuaserk, Malrok, Pingasut, and Sitamat.
Of these children, those that meet adulthood and earn their names include: Kaertok Tartok and Anuniaq Tartok.
Tartok-Sveijarn
Njal Sveijarn and his wife Tuwawi Sveijarn's two boys, Valtyr Sveijarn and Larus Sveijarn, grow up and become part of the Tartok lineage in their own way.
In the case of Larus, he meets Saghani Tartok and forms a bond with her. His mind starts to deteriorate due to illness, and he becomes unable to hold on to a long-term memory, which leads him to abandon Saghani. She returns to the Wilds to hunt for him and never finds him again. Her children through Larus include: Tulimaq Tartok, Ikkuma Anneriwok, and Sedna Tartok.
When it comes to Valtyr, the elder brother left behind Duskfire Glacier after it fell and his family deteriorated. He met one Sybil Inisfree and fathered three children with her: Ratha Inisfree, Shea Inisfree, and Aisling Inisfree. After some time he dispersed from this home he had made and journeyed the coast, where he met Priixu Corten of Meares Island, and settled there. Valtyr and Priixu had a trio of their own: Aegir Sveijarn-Corten, Angrboda Sveijarn-Corten and Njord Sveijarn-Corten.
2019 to Present
After some time north of the Wilds, Kaertok Tartok and his brother Anuniaq Tartok return. By this point Kaertok has many bastard children throughout the wilderness, but it is in the spring of 2020 that he becomes a father again: chosen by the alpha female of Legion, Arbiter Dokuga, so that she may have strong children. He fathers: Royal Dokuga, Haunt Dokuga, and Vex Dokuga. Along with them, Kaertok fathers Meerkat Redhawk after a fling with Towhee Redhawk of Redhawk Caldera.
Each child of Saghani's brood excelled in their own ways; Tulimaq a hunter, Ikkuma a free spirit, and Sedna an Issumatar of her own branch (Unnuakvik), within which she's borne her own children: Kigipigak Tartok, [[Nauja Anneriwok, Nuiruk Anneriwok and Kivirut Tartok. After her previous mate's death (Auktuk Tartok), her new mate Naamaruk Tartok has taken up the role of Sangilak within her village, and is the father of Aniruk Tartok.
Naming
Children are number-named until they are weaned.
- Atuaserk
- Malrok
- Pingasut
- Sitamat
Once weaned, they are given one or more names in their native tongue based on their personality and perception by their parents and the rest of the pack.
Surnames
- Anneriwok
- Given to yearlings, as well as pledged outsiders prior to them proving themselves.
- Tartok
- Given to Anneriwok around two years old, and to outsiders if they prove loyal.
Terms
- Aokkatti
- a title given to blood-bond between wolves who've decided to be each other's "battle buddy"; this commitment is for life
- Sangilak
- a title given to individuals that are successful in combat; survivors of war, or older warriors who wish to take on Anneriwok for tutelage.
- Issumatar
- typically the title for the matriarch of a Tartok claim. Sometimes refers directly to the progenitor of the Tartok culture, Siku.
