View source for Souia-Vey Lore

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The Souia-Vey are an Isparian heritage group that live on the high steppes<ref name=BeardedAxeOfSouiaVey>2005/07 [[Throne of Destiny]] - [[Bearded Axe of Souia-Vey]]</ref> south of Milantos and east/northeast of Gharu'n on the edge of the known world.<ref name=BeardedAxeOfSouiaVey/> For now, their region has been free of portals to Dereth.

== History ==
=== On Ispar ===
Very little is known about the history of the Souia-Vey.
<br><br>One legend speaks of a battle between a king of Milantos and a hero of Souia-Vey. As the legend goes, long ago the Milantan sorcerer-king [[Karuz]] had come to the conclusion that the secret of eternal life lay in the blood of the of Souia-Vey. At his direction, Milantan sorcerers had been kidnapping villagers of neighboring Souia-Vey to perform foul rituals upon them. The Souia-Vey were largely helpless until the arrival of the hero [[Brador]]. Armed with a sword that seemed to fend off sorcery, Brador alone was able to repel the Milantan incursions. Frustrated by Brador's defense of the Souia-Vey, Karuz decided to end Brador's interference personally, and brought forth his own terrible weapon to do battle with the hero. There was a great clash, which laid waste to the land all around them. Some say the battle lasted for days, others say only an instant. Whatever the outcome, neither Brador nor Karuz were ever seen again.<ref name=BradorsFrozenEye>2005/07 [[Throne of Destiny]] - [[Brador's Frozen Eye]]</ref><ref name=DefilerOfMilantos>2005/07 [[Throne of Destiny]] - [[Defiler of Milantos]]</ref>
<br><br>Another possible legend, possible historical event is that of Sir Borlac and the Vessenjhe. Sir [[Borlac di Lotila]], wielding an ancient axe he called [[Smite]], led the knights of the Bull against the Souia-Vey warriors of Vessenjhe. Sir Borlac met the Vessenjhe on the plains of northwest of Gharu'n, and single-handedly slew every last Vessenjhe himself, according to tales.<ref name=Smite>2005/07 [[Throne of Destiny]] - [[Smite]]</ref>
<br><br>Mercenaries from Souia-Vey, along with Silvera, were hired by the Viamontians in Aluvia during the reign of Alfrega.<ref name=TheReignOfAlfrega>1999/11 [[Release]] - [[The Reign of Alfrega]]</ref>
<br><br>When Viamont recently invaded Gharu'n, along with the 5,000 Gharu'ndim and 3,000 Sho, a few hundred Souia-Vey mercenaries were also part of the the Malika's army.<ref name=TheInvasionOfIspar>2004/10 pre-[[Throne of Destiny]] - [[The Invasion of Ispar]]</ref>

=== On Dereth ===
The only known possible Souia-Vey on Dereth is the Apothecary [[Zongo]], traveling companion of Duke [[Raoul Lascera]], and famous for his beer recipes involving [[Moarsmuck]]. It is said that Zongo was a witch doctor of Souia-Vey who dabbled in poisons and dangerous distillations.<ref name=AshesAndDustRollout>2005/11 [[Ashes and Dust]] - [[Announcements_-_2005/11_-_Ashes_and_Dust#Rollout_Article|Rollout Article]]</ref>

== Culture ==
The Souia-Vey have been described as mercenaries,<ref name=TheReignOfAlfrega/><ref name=TheInvasionOfIspar/><ref name=DreadMarauderShield>2005/07 [[Throne of Destiny]] - [[Dread Marauder Shield]]</ref> bandits,<ref name=ToBeAShadow>1999/11 [[Release]] - [[To Be A Shadow]]</ref> warriors,<ref name=Smite/><ref name=BradorsFrozenEye/><ref name=BeardedAxeOfSouiaVey/> and raiders.<ref name=DreadMarauderShield/> They seem to have no qualms fighting for both sides in a war, as seen by their history and [[Elgenia Montani]]'s comment about Souia-Vey being duplicitous.
<br><br>There are two items mentioning Milantos capturing neighboring Souia-Vey villagers,<ref name=BradorsFrozenEye/><ref name=DefilerOfMilantos/> which would imply that the Souia-Vey have at the very least semi-permanent settlements, and at the most full-fledged towns.
<br><br>Although until recently it was thought that the Souia-Vey bartered or stole their weapons and only possessed rudimentary blacksmithing skills, the Bearded Axes of Souia-Vey have been verified to be Souia-Vey creations.<ref name=BeardedAxeOfSouiaVey/>
<br><br>The Apothecary Zongo is said to be a witch doctor of Souia-Vey,<ref name=AshesAndDustRollout/> which may imply that their understanding of magic and medicine is more primative than some of the other nations of the Ironsea.

=== Real World Basis ===
The most commonly used comparison is that the Souia-Vey are similar to Mongolians, as popularized by [http://ac.warcry.com/content/lore/ispar/souiavey Nayt al-Yad of Crossroads of Dereth]. While there is some merit to this claim, such as the Souia-Vey being known as mounted raiders from the high steppes, Nayt's work embellishes on the facts with fan-fiction.
<br><br>With the introduction of the [[Bearded Axe of Souia-Vey]], another possible real-world inspiration of the Souia-Vey are the Vikings, as the bearded axe is most commonly associated with Viking Age Scandinavians<ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-bearded_axe Wikipedia - Long-bearded axe]</ref>

== Factions ==
There are two known sub-groups of Souia-Vey. The first is the '''Vessenjhe''', of which we know nothing beyond their name and that they were apparently exterminated by the Viamontians lead by Sir Borlac di Lotila.<ref name=Smite/> It is said that Sir Borlac met the Vessenjhe on the plains of northwest of Gharu'n.<ref name=Smite/> It is unknown if this is a typo, and is really supposed to be northeast (where it is generally accepted that Souia-Vey is located) or if the Vessenjhe were really on the plains of northwest of Gharu'n, for whatever reason. If they truly were northwest of Gharu'n, that could place them in Roulea, so it is possible that the Vessenjhe were hired by Roulea as mercenaries.
<br><br>The second group are the band of mercenaries named '''Dread Marauders'''. They were cast out by their people for brutality and barbarism beyond even the standards of the Souia-Vey.<ref name=DreadMarauderShield/>

== Items ==
{{Item Table
 | Caption = Souia-Vey Items
 | Bearded Axe of Souia-Vey
 | Dread Marauder Shield
 | Brador's Frozen Eye
}}
{{Item Table
 | Caption = Related Items
 | Black Thistle
 | Smite
 | Defiler of Milantos
}}

== Art & Images ==
<gallery>
File:Antique Map of Ispar Labeled.jpg|A map of Ispar (fan-made)
File:Brador's Frozen Eye Live.jpg|Brador's Frozen Eye
File:Dread Marauder Shield Live.jpg|Dread Marauder Shield
</gallery>

== References ==
<references/>

== Further Reading ==
* [[Continuity]] articles:
** [[Continuity/Timeline of Ispar|Timeline of Ispar]]
** [[Continuity/Roulean Calendar and Portal Years|Roulean Calendar and Portal Years]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030330111854/http://ac.warcry.com/index.php3?content=lore/ispar/vey/intro Souia-Vey - Introduction] (Web Archive of Warcry's Crossroads of Dereth)

{{Lore}}
[[Category:Lore Database Entry]]
[[Category:Culture]]