Bjornland

When most of the people of Covenant think of Bjornland, they think of a harsh land populated by savage barbarians. They think of dark forests, snowy peaks, and treacherous, rocky fjords. When they think of the people, they think of bloodthirsty raiders rowing their longships to the beat of war drums.
In truth, the land of the gods of the Aesir and Vanir are much more than this. It is a land of incredible natural majesty, and a passionate, vibrant people with rich traditions of poetry and song.

Structure

The main unit of Bjornlander society is the clan, made up of several united families. This clan is ruled by a jarl taken from the noble family ruling the clan. The title is usually passed to the eldest child of the previous one, but occasionally they name another as their heir. This is considered to be incredibly embarrassing to the jarl's eldest child to be passed over in this way.
Bjornland as a whole is ruled over by a king or queen, who sits the Bear Throne in Hjalwick. This role is mostly symbolic, with their power limited by how much the jarls want to listen to their word. This monarch is selected by the jarls after the previous one dies. In theory, they are no longer part of their clan, but in practice almost all monarchs still show their former clans great favor.
Also in theory, the clans of Bjornland have been at peace for a very long time despite their many feuds, but in practice that is only because they haven't devolved into full-scale war. Raids between them are still quite common, and it is frequently very difficult for the monarch to keep what tenuous peace exists.

Culture

As with many of the people of Covenant, the gods have shaped the culture of Bjornland. In particular, the gods of the Bjornlanders value courage more than anything else. As such, most Bjornlanders seek death in honorable battle, seeking to earn themselves an eternity in Odin's hall of Valhalla or Freya's hall of Folkvangr.
The most common way to seek this sort of death is to engage in a long tradition of going viking-- that is, raiding others. Some, however, choose to gain their honor by joining the adventuring profession, usually aiding their companions through simple force of arms.
Magic is also an important part of the Bjornlander culture, as overseen by the goddess Freya. The most important and respected mages are women called the volva, mage-priestesses of Freya. Most are diviners, although many are enchantresses or transmuters instead. The practice of magic is considered to be very effeminate, but there are male mages, such as Vidar Elf-Child, who usually dedicate their magic to Odin instead. Most of these are evokers, although some are diviners, instead.
In addition to their martial tradition, the Bjornlanders also have rich traditions of song and poetry. They highly value their skalds, warrior-poets who sing songs and tell tales which turn the deeds of their clan's warriors into legend. Some of these skalds are capable of wielding bardic magic, which many Bjornlanders consider to be a blessing of the god Bragi.
The Bjornlander love of poetry also manifests in their love of flyting, an exchange of rhyming insults. These verbal duels are often considered prime entertainment in the Bjornlanders' grand mead halls. The quickness of wit required is often considered a gift from or a form of praise to the God of Mischief, Loki.

History

The story goes that Odin was the first to set foot on the land that would become Bjornland. The Bjornlanders state with pride that none of the other gods set foot there, as the land was too hard and dangerous for their people, but the All-Father knew his own people could thrive where none others could.
He stood on the highest mountain in the range that would become known as Skaddi's Peaks and blew his horn, summoning the Aesir and Vanir to his side. Overlooking the land that was now theirs, he instructed the other gods to make it ready for their people.
The elves and dwarves were the first to arrive, before the gods had even prepared the land. Indeed, the elves had even fought a war, dividing themselves into three factions, which would one day become the light elves, dark elves, and black elves.
When humans finally did arrive, they all met with Odin, who told them the land would be divided among many clans, and told them that it would be up to them to figure it out. This is how the first wars between the clans of Bjornland began, fighting for land, power, and most importantly, the favor of the gods.
This fighting ended when an invasion seemed to come from nowhere. The monstrous orcs came in a seething horde sweeping over Bjornland and Fasach. The clans of Bjornland were barely able to come together, but they were rallied by Halvar Leifson, of the now-destroyed Clan Jondrakr. When the orcs were driven back, he was crowned the first king of Bjornland with all of the clan jarls and the city of Hjalwick watching.
Without the war between the clans or against the orcs, the society of Bjornland stagnated for the lack of the conflict the people and gods of that harsh land crave. Thus, they turned to the sea in search of the proper challenge. Many died in the attempt, but that was its own challenge. In the end, they found what they were looking for.
The nation of Aurand was wealthy and unsuspecting. Before they even knew what was happening, coastal towns and cities were being plundered. Even to this day, Aurandian communities still suffer raids from Bjornlander vikings and some Aurandian kings launch unsuccessful invasions against Bjornland.

Demography and Population

Officially, Bjornland is a human kingdom, with a population scattered mainly among small towns and mead halls built in a vast wild land. Many Bjornlanders are also half breeds, particularly half-orcs, half-dwarves and half-elves. The vast majority of these half-elves have light elven heritage over dark or black elven.
A large population of other races live in Bjornland, as well. Orcs are the most numerous, followed by elves, including light elves living above ground and dark elves below. The black elves live almost entirely within Bjornland's borders in isolated communities, such as the city of Enav'ral. In addition, Skaddi's Peaks have the highest population of dwarves anywhere in Covenant

Territories

There are many words that can describe a land of such extremes as Bjornland: harsh and beautiful, wild and majestic, but most of all it is the sort of land that forges a people into the the great warriors and survivors that they are. The Bjornlanders take pride in these difficulties, claiming to any that will listen that every harsh winter and every monster attack makes them stronger than they were before.
This land is dominated by Skaddi's Peaks, a range of grand, snow-capped mountains. What lowlands that exist are defined by vast forests of spruce and birch trees, interspaced with windswept clearings. Rocky fjords cut through the jagged coasts, and serve to protect more than one town or city.
The climate of Bjornland is infamous for its cold weather, long winters, and heavy snows. Their summers, on the other hand, are short, but very mild. In the summer, the days are long enough that in the far north the sun never sets, and the nights are just as long in the winter. In the dark of night, grand ribbons of light often dance in the sky, a spectacular sight, famous among travelers.
Just like the people, the beasts of Bjornland must be strong and adaptable to even hope to survive. Such creatures consist of the likes of wolves, foxes, elk, moose, reindeer, among others. Among the most prominent are bears, which lends Bjornland its name, "land of bears" in the sacred tongue of the Aesir.
The magical creatures in the land include such creatures as werewolves, werebears, owlbears, bulletes, perytons, and especially trolls. Fey are somewhat common, especially on the Fasachan border, where the veil to the Otherworld is thinner. The deadly and seductive huldra is one such being unique to Bjornland. Additionally, an irrational attachment to a warrior's grave goods leads to this person lingering in their barrow beyond death as a wight, or in the more extreme cases, the dreaded draugr.
The most distinctive creatures in Bjornland are the dread creatures known as linnorm. These degenerate relatives of dragons live on the deep wilds preying on anything that crosses their path. The slaying of such a creature will grant a warrior the sort of honor that can never be lost, no matter how ignoble their later actions.

Military

Bjornland does not have an official military, as its clans lack unity. The closest thing they do have to a formal military is the warriors sworn to the service of the monarch. Because making such an oath is an individual decision, the size and skill of this force is dependent on the standards and popularity of the ruling monarch. Fortunately for them, entering the monarchs service is seen as extremely honorable, so most monarchs have their pick of warriors.
Likewise, the clans of Bjornland have warriors that fight for them. Far from resembling a formal military, this is more of a loose association of fighters. Many Bjornlanders are honored to make up this force, and a significant number of the people of Bjornland have at least a casual familiarity with weapons, particularly broadswords or battleaxes.
Bjornlanders rarely use arcane magic as a weapon of war. The volva do use their magic to aid their clans, but they usually use it for support behind the scenes, such as enchanting the arms and armor for the clan's warriors. In particular, they use divination magic to foretell the results of the clan's battles. Although only some actually have access to this sort of magic, the effect of the warriors' morale is undeniable.
While arcane magic rarely plays a part in battle in Bjornland, divine magic is a fixture for the warriors of the Bjornlander clans. Priests of Odin, Tyr, and Hiemdall often find themselves fighting alongside their kin and keeping them alive through their battles. The most spectacular and respected are the priests of Thor, who call down the wrath of their god on the enemies of their clan.

Foreign Relations

The kingdom of Bjornland as a whole can be best defined by conflict. Much of that conflict is internal between the clans, but most is not. Many of the Bjornlander clans have regular conflict with nearby orc tribes, and dark elves enjoy coming up from the Underdark to steal their treasures and take their people as slaves.
As a nation, Bjornland has historically fought with their neighbor, the clans of the wild land of Fasach. As they continually fought back and forth, they pleased the gods of both cultures. Still, the Bjornlanders sought greater riches than that possessed by the rustic Fasachans. After many dangerous voyages across the sea, they found what they were looking for.
This was when they found the continent of Acitern, and the northernmost nation on it, the kingdom of Aurand. Ever since, they have raided up and down the continent, but especially Aurand. No matter what, the Bjornlander vikings are only half of the story, however. As feared as they are, their traders are still welcome, and coin always still flows.

Agriculture & Industry

Although most in Covenant would consider the Bjornlanders to be nothing more than glorified pirates, this is far from the whole story. As a functioning society, they have other needs to fulfill. A civilization cannot support themselves solely through raiding. It's just that many foreigners do not see the homeland of the Bjornlanders.
Interspersed in those wilds lies grazing land for cattle, goats, and sheep, as well as fields of robust grain. These serve to support the dietary needs of the population. In addition, the grain gets used to create copious amounts of ale. The Bjornlanders also have a long tradition of beekeeping, almost exclusively to brew their famous mead.
Also, Bjornlander metalworking-- very specifically the creation of weapons-- is famously good. Bjornlander weaponsmiths often attribute their best pieces to the spirits of especially honorable warriors who are cremated in their forges. Indeed, those weapons created after such a cremation seem stronger and able to hold an edge better than others, even with no magical properties.

Trade & Transport

The vikings that leap from their longships and raid unsuspecting villages and palaces are only part of what makes Bjornland what it is. In addition to warriors, these people are also very prolific traders. Indeed, the Bjornlander love of adventure can be seen in their merchants just as much as it is in their vikings.
Bjornlander merchants tend to be extremely far-ranging, even going so far as Kemet or Sakkal. The reception these merchants get tends to depend on their destination. In distant lands, they are often welcomed due to the strange and exotic goods they bring. Closer to Bjornland, however, there is a lot more hostility due in large part to the actions of the Bjornlander vikings.
Most of what they transport to other places are their craftworks, as well as those of the cultures they trade with, especially the dwarves and elves. In addition to these goods, many merchants sell what valuables the vikings have plundered from elsewhere and are willing to sell in distant markets.
Despite the harsh nature of Bjornland-- or perhaps because of it-- the Bjornlanders have a certain love of luxury goods. When they don't steal exotic treasures such as jewelry and spices, they trade for them with others. The best traders among them have become nearly as wealthy as the clans' nobles.

Infrastructure

Communities in Bjornland are often quite isolated, making any connections between them very tenuous. They often do have roads that lead between them, but these aren't maintained, and thus end up overgrown and dangerous, sometimes to the point of disappearing completely. Many of these communities exist on the coast, or along rivers, meaning they all have a waterfront, which often serves as their true connection to their neighbors.
Of all structures built in Bjornland, there are two that serve as the most distinctive. The first are the mead halls that serve as gathering places for warriors. Some of these halls are the grandest structures that entire towns are built around. Others, however, are in isolated places, often accepting only the most skilled warriors into their fellowships.
The other of these signature structures is the stave temple. These are tall, multi-level buildings for the worship of the Bjornlander gods. These buildings are always beautifully decorated with intricate carvings, often of gods, heroes, and monsters. Most of these buildings are deceptively small on the inside, with their tiered design used to create a vast open area for acoustic purposes.

Stave "Temples"
Stave temples, as described here are an anachronism. Stave churches were first built in the late medieval period. As their name suggests, only the Christian God was ever worshipped in such buildings.
That said, they are a signature Scandinavian design, and they do look really cool. Considering how they serve the Nordic aesthetic, my hands are tied.

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Capital

Hjalwick

Demonym

Bjornlander

Government System

Monarchy, Elective

Power Structure

Confederation

Economic System

Traditional

Location

Skogsmark

Controlled Territories

• Hjalwick

Neighboring Nations

• Fasach

Notable Members

• Halvar Leifson
• Vidar Elf-Child