What does it mean, the Fasa li Nuam were the first druids? Do ther druidic traditions predate the Faewyr and Dwaedn Wyr?
First druids in Arad. Whether they or the Faewyr were the "first" is debatable. Faewyr had already practiced druidry before ever coming to Arad, certainly. Dwaedn Wyr get their druidism from their origins as a Faewyr group.
Are the Dwaedn Wyr traditions carried down from the original Faewyr homelands, or was it developed in the Lost Lands?
Faewyr homelands. Probably added some of their own unique twists over time, of course.
What was the kingdom of Old Aetgard like? (It'd be nice to know what it was like when it was in full swing, as well as the early years AND the declining years)
I'll get back to this one later. You can at least get a glimpse of some of their archetecture by exploring the Vatnfjall Ruins and Valeria (if you can get admittance to the latter).
Are there any current cults to Vodr? How is it believed Vodr died? Is he considered more 'mythological' than the other deities, because of his 'death'?
There are certainly groups that still believe Vodr lives, or at the least believe he continues to have influence despite having been "defeated" or losing his mortal body or being banished (or whatever they attribute his defeat/death/disappearance to). Some of these groups worship or serve or follow him, and some of them seem to have power because of it, though whether that's through the power of Vodr or their own (some kind of elemancy, perhaps) is a topic of debate.
What are some creation myths that the cultures of Arad typically believe in?
I'll get back to that. I've been wanting to reveal some info on this particularly for the Huec and Giganti people for a while now.
I would like to know more about Shadgard's origins. How was it started, also would like to know how it relates to the iron wall barrier. Was it there before the town was or was the town there and then the wall placed?
Shadgard started as something kind of like a tourist destination. Some people from Aetgard discovered Redrock Canyon, and within it, the statue that stands in what is now the Town Commons. Further in was the Barrier. There were also some stone dwellings carved into the canyon walls. Back then, the place was called Sjagardr. This became a popular spot for people to visit in order to observe the curiosities, and naturally some entrepreneurs set up little shops, inns, taverns, etc. around the area to accomodate visitors.
When the Plague hit western Arad, Sjagardr was hit just like everywhere else, though due in part to its tiny population (not many people actually lived there) and that fact that after the plague started, they didn't really receive any visitors (fewer plague carriers), it was lucky enough to suffer less. In the aftermath of the plague, as survivors were finding places to band together and try to create a new life, Sjagardr was one of those places. It was a well-known spot and was already populated by some survivors, and had some facilities there already. Also, unlike the larger towns and cities, it wasn't overflowing with plague-ridden rotting corpses, which is always a plus. Sjagardr became more settled and populated as survivors heard about it as a new haven, its name was bastardized into "Shadgard" as Common Speech became more ... common.
After it became more of a town and less of a tourist attraction, the mining operations started. They had a good supply of pine from the surrounding forest, but the residents needed metal. The first mines were started near the Barrier, with the secondary purpose of exploring what might be behind the massive solid wall. As they dug further in and saw how startlingly deep the Barrier went, the town council began to worry about whether it was a good idea to discover whatever was behind the thing. It was decided to abandon the mines there and start new ones in a different area of the canyon (where players can go now). Later on, the old mines were converted into facilities to be used by a local chapter of Church.
I'd like to know more about the Guild of Thieves.
Maybe Greer will chat with you about it sometime.
What is riln?
I've never really decided. It's some kind of coinage, or at least something similar to coinage. I'm tempted to go with the typical pieces of silver and gold, but that's just so boring!
Viali caste system
I'll get back to that later, though it might not come up during this Lore Week.
Why did Mistral get founded on a platform over the water? Why were the Vatnfjall Ruins abandoned in the first place, and why didn't the founders of Mistral just clear out the old ruins and live there, since one must travel through the ruins to get to and from Mistral anyway?
Vatnfjall was one of the more prosperous cities of Aetgard. A local leader of the city had a fancy keep built on the mountain out over the crystal-clear sunny lake, with a long bridge leading over to it. A small platform was built on the lake around the keep to house various facilities as well as local nobles and other people in positions of prestige and power, as a way to kind of separate themselves from the commonfolk. It eventually became its own little district for the nobility, and had things like a fancy music theater and other hoity-toity-we're-so-sophisticated stuff like that.
Then the Plague hit. Vatnfjall was hit hard, its population wiped out. The nobility on the platform forbade people to seek refuge with them. However, they still depended on the goods and services of the people on the mainland shore, so they couldn't completely cut themselves off, and so they were infected with the plague as well.
Later on, groups of plague survivors were looking for places to live. Some of them began repopulating Vatnfjall, particularly areas that were mostly abandoned during the peak of the plague (less rotting/plagued bodies to clean up). They avoided the bridge leading into the foggy gloom they found always surrounded the lake. They did well for a time and built up a decent community in the ruins, and things were looking good. However, that's when the canim struck. The beastlike men kidnapped people and raided supplies, or at the worst, just killed and ate people on the spot. The canim quickly got a foothold in the Vatnfjall ruins, and the residents living there fled over the fog-shrouded bridge and over to the lake platform. They were able to set up some guards and use the bridge as a choke point to keep out the canim invaders. Being surrounded by the lake, the people were able to sustain themselves on fish. As their community grew, they were able to build some boats in order to reach the mainland shores and gather other resources, there, but they never risked going over the bridge and through the canim-overrun ruins of Vatnfjall.
These days the lake-town has grown, and the platform has become pretty crowded. They have enough resources now to have well-trained guards and sentries, as well as their trained varhounds which help sniff out the skulking canim in the ruins. They find it worth it to patrol the centravel avenue through the ruins to their lake-town in order to allow visitors and commerce to easily reach their town. The canim population has dwindled somewhat but hasn't died out, and the people of Mistral Lake haven't yet found it necessary to try and rid the ruins of the beastmen in order to repopulate it - they're doing very well in their new town, thank you very much.
Have there been individuals since Vito that could channel their inner light without training?
Yes, but they're rare. No, player characters can't be one of these individuals.
What was the first major invention/innovation of Grumm?
The toilet! But really, I couldn't say. Something to think about, I guess.
I'd also like to see more info on the different racial cultures. There are still races that have no information on the Wiki. Faewyr, Giganti, Huec, and Parren have nothing. Anything that can be filled in regarding general lifestyle would be great. The Immortals section is also sorely lacking.
Working on it.
For a specific question: Who exactly are the Faewyr, and how do they relate to the Dunwyr?
The Faewyr are from another continent to the west/northwest (I'm working on a larger world map right now on my other screen! I almost have a name for this continent, not sure I like it though). One of their great raider sea-kings established a settlement in northwestern Arad, which eventually (over a very long time) grew into the powerful kingdom of Aetgard (which was also bolstered by immigrants from various other places, many of them from Grum or Ivial, and some from overseas).
The history of the Dunwyr is largely unknown. There are several theories and speculations of course. The Dunwyr claim to be protectors of the land, working to reclaim the lands for the Wilds that have been seized and ravaged by humankind. They claim Faewyr origins, as is made obvious by their name "Dunwyr", "wyr" being the Faewyr term for "people" or "people of".