#vankaskan

I'm not trying to steal anyone's thunder. I'm simply throwing my hat into the ring to help promote this new, wonderfully awesome show that got canceled just as the story began to soar. One of which includes surnames for the main heroic cast plus the ratlords, which will dabble into fanmade lore in an attempt to both further develop the background of Wolf King's characters, and to drum up some interest in the show proper.

So, let's get to it.

King Wergar and His Line

Wergar and his family name is Fenrir. While it may seem cliche, I feel it fits because in Norse myth, Fenrir began as, essentially, a normal child - albeit a giant wolf. It was only when the Norse gods tied him up to a rock that Fenrir became consumed with anger and hatred.

Likewise, Wergar Fenrir struggled with the bestial instincts of his Wolf form from the age of sixteen until shortly before his first children were born. His wife, Queen Amelie, had a soothing effect on his struggles, and could help him calm the beast when not even his best friend Duke Bergan could. Eventually, he completely mastered the Wolf inside him, and he and Amelie were overjoyed to soon welcome three children into their world, followed a few years later by a tiny pair of actual twin children.

Duke Bergan of Brackenholme

To honor both Bergan's book and television counterparts, I made up a surname for him and his family. And so they are named here Duke Bergan, Duchess Rainier, Lord Broghan, and Lady Whitley Simbavarg.

It's an odd one, but hear me out. Simba is Swahili for "lion", while varg, according to one source, means "killer" in Swedish and, while it is associated with wolves in Switzerland (supposedly), it makes for a lot of poetic irony and fun for this lore building. Because then it means their family name is "lion killer", which makes it ironic that Bergan is responsible for the Lions' tyrannical rule, tragic that Broghan was (indirectly) murdered by the Lions, and poetic that Whitley is the one pushing for action against the Lions. Therefore it makes it all the more fitting that she falls in love with the Wolf who defeats the Lions and inspires him when all seems lost.

Magister Hector

I tried finding a Vietnamese surname that would fit to honor Hector's VA (who, correct me if I'm wrong, is Vietnamese himself), but nothing felt right. So I went to Thai names, and I found the perfect one.

Baron Huth, Magister Hector, and Lord Vincent Metharom. If you look that name up on behindthename.com, it's perfect for Hector and his dad, and totally ironic for Vincent.

Duke Manfred and Earl Mikkel

With their names, these two are 1,000% Germanic coded, and I will not take criticism. With that comes the need for a name that sounds authentic, old-fashioned as befitting their knightly standing, and true to who they are.

And so, I've chosen to call them Duke Manfred Von Brandt and Earl Mikkel Von Brandt. Their name is short enough to roll off the tongue easily, sophisticated sounding, and even has a meaning of "ash tree", which I personally believe suits them as staglords.

Count Vega

This man is as Spanish as a doubloon, and no one can convince me otherwise. Since I'm rather familiar with Spain's naming conventions/their prominent historical figures, I've got one right ready for him:

Count Vega Fernando Castillo. Castillo refers to the Kingdom of Castile, and Fernando is a variation of the name of their famous King Ferdinand. Thus, it all fits his noble heritage (FYI, Vega is both Spanish and Arabic, and let me tell you, the Arabic meaning is very on point for this man's history.)

Lady Gretchen

For this one, it was relatively easy, especially since it alludes to her werefox lineage.

Lady Gretchen Renaud of Hedgemoor. Renaud is a form of Reynard, which references Reynard the Fox from folklore - and, given how Reynard shook up society a lot, it fits Gretchen to a T.

Lady Shah

If memory serves, Shah is a Persian word that means "king". And, well, since I love researching Ancient Persia, or anything associated with it, I chose one that could have a really fun meaning.

Lady/Countess Shah Alfarsi. Alfarsi means "the Persian", so her name would directly translate to "the Persian King" (also a double meaning when you consider she can pass on her werehawk line to a child.)

Vanmorten and Vankaskan

Honestly, I can just see Saxon fitting them. Blunt, yet also has enough history to allow them a legitimate sounding claim to nobility.

Queen Amelie

I see Amelie as half Gray Wolf given her name. She's clearly Eskimo/Inuit coded like the others from Shadowhaven, but her name implies more than just that. So, I think her mother was a Gray Wolf noble who married into a royal/high nobility White Wolf clan. And I think I know what would be a good maiden name for her.

Queen Amelie Nunatak, later Fenrir. Nunatak translates to "lonely mountain/peak", and given Amelie is both the last living member of Drew's immediate family and one of the few other White Wolves in Westland, it fits.

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Well, there's the start of my Wolf King lore building. I...might chicken out and let Broghan and Mikkel live, or at least Mikkel. Either way, this ain't my last rodeo in Lyssia, folks.

I'm sad Gretchen doesn't get a dress, but everything else about her is perfect. I love her crown and the flowers on her clothes. And her attitude. And her immediately stepping in mud. (All of the character introductions are so good).

I love the Bear and Wolf carving hidden behind a tapestry! It looks beautiful, but it's also such a cool way of showing the history that is being buried during the Lion's reign! And the scene works well to condense Bergan's long history with the Wolf while explaining why he's reluctant to help Drew now.

The scene with Gretchen and Lucas is also well-done! I like that we see Lucas continue to be awful while Gretchen tries to make up excuses for him so early on. She knows he's horrible! But she has to hope that he will be less horrible to her, even as we see that that's not the case. It makes her sympathetic even at this stage of her character arc (and showcases her cleverness, too, since she still can manipulate him!).

(I respect orange guy giving up and selling the broken wood of his stand as firewood. Truly, he is an innovator)

Vankaskan asking Hector who was lord of Windfell in his quiz hurt!! I did not expect to be sad about the Hawks this early!

(And why did he say Count Carsten? Would Baron Griffyn have been included in an adaptation of book 3? If not, what would that mean for Shah? I am now just thinking about her)

Oh Vincent how I despise you. We skip straight to his book 2 characterization here, and he's just as despicable as he was there (although we have no moments of sympathy for him).

Broghan is explicitly designed to be a visual foil of Whitley.

Every piece of clothing on Whitley is directly opposed on Broghan with armor. Shirt? Breastplate. Jacket? Pauldrons. Baggy pants? Trousers covered in armor. Multiple Sash belts? Single wooden belt. Ornate arm bands? Leather bracers.

(Scene lighting non withstanding) Whitley consistently has more color in her design than her brother. Though they both share the Brakenholme green, he lacks the bright oranges Whitley wears. Instead seemingly having a deep burgundy. Part of me wonders if these two colors are meant to partially be both woodsy autumn colors as well as a nod to their mother Duchess Rainer. Who is a foxlady.

Gretchen does wear a paler shade of orange, and Rainer is her aunt. Could be a connection, could be nothing.

Both of Whitley and Broghan’s weapons of choice are pole arms. One a blunt quarterstaff, the other a sharp axe.

Even their hair. Whitley’s being loose and falling over her face. While Broghan’s is braided and stands up.

Both designs serve to accentuate the differences between the siblings and their personalities.

But do you want to know the best part?

Combine them…

And you get their father.

Bergan has Whitley’s jacket, Broghan’s wooden armor, Whitley’s ornate arm bands, and Broghan’s hair braids (albeit just in his beard).

Just a great visual connection between a father and his children.

In a similar vein.

Hector and Vankaskan have very similar garbs, as is befitting master magister and apprentice.

Both wear a very East Asian inspired outfits (if anyone can help identify what they wear resembles the closest please tell me). While Hector’s has sleeves, Vankaskan’s is sleeveless over a long sleeved undershirt. Though both have a sort of archer’s glove.

The most distinctive difference are all in the details.

Vankaskan doesn’t have any form of pouches or materials belt like Hector does. A visual indication of the difference in their level of skill as magisters.

Hector’s hair is tied up in a bun while Vankaskan’s is loose over his face. For Hector is emphasizes his full magister-in-training look, while for Vankaskan it enhances his already rat-like visage and age.

Their colors also illustrate their differing characters. Where the red and gold of Vankaskan’s robes connects him to the Lionlords, Hector’s all black places him closer to the greys that mark the Wolves.

But black is also the only color they share, symbolizing their practices of dark magik. And where Vankaskan wears it sparingly, Hector is cloaked in it.

If you know, you know. If you don’t…

Silco’s grandpa: