Who are the Jutai?

Since I mentioned that one of the main characters in MASK OF SWORDS would be Sigaldra of the Jutai, naturally I have gotten a few questions asking who the Jutai are. A short explanation is below. Note that it contains mild !!!SPOILERS!!! for SOUL OF SORCERY, SOUL OF SKULLS, and SOUL OF SWORDS.

When the Tervingi left the middle lands for the Grim Marches, they came across another barbarian nation called the Jutai. The Malrags had almost destroyed the Jutai, and the survivors were holed up in three towns. Athanaric and Aegidia the Guardian wanted to ignore the Jutai and go through their land in peace, but Ragnachar wanted to claim the supplies of the Jutai and kill them if they resisted. Two of the three Jutai towns agreed to join the Tervingi, while Ragnachar slaughtered the third. The remnants of the Jutai nation then accompanied the Tervingi to the Grim Marches.

After Ragnachar murdered Athanaric and Mazael Cravenlock killed Ragnachar in battle, the Jutai swore to Mazael as their new hrould. The Jutai stayed loyal to him, and sent men to fight at both the great battle of the Northwater and again at Knightcastle. After the war (which later became known as the Runedead War) was over, the Jutai returned to the Grim Marches, and Mazael settled them in a destroyed village a few days’ ride from Castle Cravenlock.

Sigaldra is the last holdmistress of the Jutai – among both the Jutai and the Tervingi, the holdmistress governs the affairs of an individual village, while the headman deals with matters of war, defense, and outsiders. But since the Jutai have no men left of sufficient stature to claim the rank of headman, Sigaldra has been serving as both the holdmistress and headman of her hold, essentially making her the last leader of the Jutai.

-JM