Vallenheim

Hundred of miles off Dirus’ north-eastern coasts, behind the treacherous reefs that dots the Eventide Sea, an archipelago rests, swept in a thick blanket of seemingly ever-lasting white mist. Since humanity first sought to conquer the sea in great wooden boats, tales has been told by pock-marked sailors about the cold nordic isles, the uncultured, bloodthirsty savages that inhabited them and the untamed ice-swept wilderness where colossal beast-men with skin of fire, flesh and ice would fight bloody wars of domination.
Many tall tales have been told by loose-lipped, drunken sailors, and how much is truthful and what is flights of fancy can be hard to determine, but one thing is certain: Vallenheim is truthfully a land of wind-swept plains, frozen crags, and she holds more than the masterful, glory-seeking warrior-sailors and their longboats; giants of legend and titans of old, the Jotün guard their holds in the mountains, furred trolls of all sizes hides in their hill-homes and the callous fey-courts and hungry, bent covens of crones scheme perpetually for the soul and flesh of man.
The Kingdom of Vallenheim In Details:
Capital: Valdborg, Kalmar.
Official Language: Vallentunge. Written language: Runic.
Demonym: Vallish - Vallen.
Currency: Due to frequent use of raiding, the people of Vallenheim have amassed a great amount of foreign coin, as thus they utilize the Commonwealth’s system; with the familiar copper, silver and gold coins being used for most bartering and trade. While some coins bear religious or cultural signs native to Vallenheim, most of the coin in circulation on the isles has not been re-minted and still bears sign of its Dirusian source.
Geographical and Climate information: Vallenheim is an archipelago consisting of six larger and majorly populated islands, with a large number of smaller and much less inhabited islands dotting the area. It is situated off Dirus’ coast and holds great number of settlements. The climate of Vallenheim, being an northern island nation, manages to have both temperate areas, where the land is more arable and frigid zones, where the frost clings permanently to the earth. The climate is characterized for its extreme winters, where even the livable areas become harsh with frost and milder summers, where the snow and ice begins retreating. The average daily temperature in Vallenheim varies between -15 to 7 °C degrees (5 to 44 °F), according to the season in question.
Due to the harsh, icy climate that dominates most of the isles’ inner reaches, settlements are often spread far apart and situated upon the coast, with populations being mostly concentrated around the south-western coast, where the climate is milder and agriculture is a more viable.
The Isles:
Asafjord: Culturally and religiously, no single island could hope to compare with the isle of Asafjord in the hearts of the men and women of Vallenheim. Despite of the fact that it lies at the heart of the isles, Asafjord has a relatively mild climate, and would provide ample farming ground, it is relatively unpopulated. The reason for it is simple, for it is said that atop of Himinbjorg, a vast mountain, that the gods themselves have have made their home.
Out of reverence, it only priests and druids thread upon the ground of Asafjord for a majority of the year, but upon the sighting of certain stars or astrological signs, the summons of the priesthood will call upon all of Vallenheim and for days Asafjord runs red with the blood of sacrifice, as the men and women of Vallen bring offerings to their gods and participate in religious festivals.
As a consequence, Asafjord only has two settlements, and in truth only one that meets the definition of a town. Asahof is both the name of the grand, engoldened temple and the minor town that has grown around it. Usually the town is half-deserted as only priests and their apprentices live there permanently, but in times of religious festivity, the city bristles with life and the area around the town becomes filled with tents, as all capable men fight to live the closest to the great temple.
There are no name for the second settlement, for in truth it holds no structures, but the druidic circle within Asafjord’s woodlands has grown so vast and permanent, that only the extremely foolhardy would dare to enter, for to happen upon a druidic circle is to invite death.
Kalmar: Or officially Hár-Kalmar (High Kalmar) is the largest of the six islands in the Vallenheim archipelago, being easily larger than the three smaller island put together. Being the most southern laying island, Kalmar is has the mildest climate and has sunlight all year round, making it the most agriculturally developed area, yet one would be a fool to believe Vallenheim to be a place of safety and comforts, its forests are still yet untamed and its landscape can only be travelled with savvy guides.
To the north lies a range of massive, ice-frosted hills called Dys’ Knuckles, where a Jótun lord has a mighty hold and furred trolls slumber beneath the earth in their caverns, the men of Vallenheim rarely travel there, save but to prove their worth and make their axes and swords red in the heat of battle. From Dys’s Knuckles flows the beck of Röks-Fald (The Fall of Röks), a natural flowing watercourse that cuts south, through the plains of Kalmar. Röks-Fald is full of trout and salmon, and is easily navigable by faerings and small keelboats. Due to its rapid flow, it doesn’t freeze for most of the year; only in the coldest patches of the winter does it fully freeze over and becomes impossible to traverse by boat.
Röks-Fald mounds out into a deep fjord and from the nearby cliff, a sturdy fortification rests: It is nearly as great as the rock on which it rest and houses of darkened stone stand proudly in its shadow. This is the capital of Hár-Kalmar and currently all of Vallenheim too. Etched in stone above the winding town gates, the word “Valdborg” can be seen, and it is this name that the town has carried for a three hundred years.
Nifleheim: Nifleheim, formerly a mass of scattered, harsh plain-lands, more cropped by stony-outgrowths than any form of vegetation, is now defined as much by its endless wastes of white, strangling snow. A mere two-hundred years ago, the island was home to a minor clan of Vallish settlers, but overnight the rest of the isles lost contact with its inhabitants and when the first curious travellers sought to explore, they found it covered in ice and its former cities converted to icy halls. Since then, the Ice-Queen, Ishild, has controlled the island of Nifleheim alongside her ice-blooded scions and and an army of jotún, her distant brood, rumors says.
Mosfel: Mosfel is dominated by a vast, dark oaken forest called Myrkvidr, where the rare tree-sort known as darkwood grows freely into towering, vast colossus that blot out the sun with its blooming branches. The island of Mosfel is mostly uninhabited despite of its lush, fertile soil and rich underground, but not because of any lack of attempts at colonization. The wildlife has proven to be quite aggressive and oversized, and the trees themselves are whispered to have a will of their own.
Reynir: Positioned to the east of Asafjord, Reynir is known for its massive hill-dotted, volcanic activity, geysers and warm streams. With long stretching tundras, Reynir has a large population of wild horses,, cattle, chickens, goats, but the most common animal by far is the Reynir Sheep, which is kept as farm-animals for its meat and wool. The people of Reynir are known to be especially and aggressively traditional, and cling to traditions that has been forgotten or no longer finds support amongst the rest of the Isles of Vallenheim. Breach of customs or perceived offenses often lead to bloody fueds on Reynir, and only a deep knowledge of their ways and those of Vallenheim’s past can keep foreigners safe.
Logner: The people of the south-western island of Logner has long been known for their seafaring prowess and were long held to be as worthy and rich as rich as Kalmar. Famed for its shipyards, deep silver mines and rich hunting-grounds, Logner is a relatively flat and stony island, only periodically dotted by small hardy clusters of forest-lands. The capital of Logner is Vastervik, a large port town known for having the largest gathering of longships and positioned in the safe hollow of Vasterfjord, where the sea is mildest.
Yet one years ago, three warships bearing armed men from Dirus docked at the ports of Logner’s capital, Vastervik, their arrival was unexpected and concealed by an odd fog and thus the men of Vastervik could not muter much of a defense. Yet rather than facing extermination and an honorable death, the Jarl of Logner did the unthinkable and subjected his people to the foreign invaders, swearing oaths of loyalty to them. Since then, the remaining isles of Vallenheim has declared the people of Logner to be dishonorable traitors and has sought to rid Vallenheim from the foreign invaders!
Society of Vallenheim: Politically the island nation is an elective monarchy, united under the King of Vallenheim Isles. In accordance to the Landsting (a political assembly) and the ancient traditions of the Isles, the King is elected upon a great Folkemoot (a meeting of the people) by the elders and jarls of the nations. Each of the six isles are their own jarling, and while each jarl’s holds and fortune has grown and waned with time, they are all granted the equal right to stand before the throng of the moot and beseech the clans the right to take the mantle of kingship, to recite their deeds of greatness and their virtues of strength and to be judged upon the will of all free men and women of Vallenheim.
Culturally the men and women of Vallenheim share very few traits with their more “civilized” brethren in Dirus and even the few shared ideals seldomly have more than a passing resemblance to each other:
Naming Conventions: Personal names and naming conventions in Vallenheim differs quite drastically from Dirusian customs: Of forenames there are two types, compounded names and simplex names. The former consists of two compounded words, of which one is often drawn from Vallenheim’s religions (Tyrstein, Freydis, Asalaug), warfare ([Geirfinn= [Spear], Svanhild = [Battle], Hildigunn [Battle] or the animal kingdom (Styrbjorn = [Bear], Kveldulf = [Wolf].) The latter consists of only a single element and include more common names, such as Grim, Ulf, Karl, Asa, Ingrid, Knut and Sigrunn. Forenames often alternate between generations, seeing as it was a custom to name children after their grandparents.
While not every person has surnames, especially not the thralls of the kingdom, they are common amongst the free people of the Isles. Contrary to the forenames, the surnames have a lexical purpose and are used to characterize the bearer. Surnames based upon relationships, most often patronymic ones, are the most common. They usually compromise the bearer’s father’s name plus the word of son [-sen or søn,] for a male or [-datter or dattir] for a female.
If a man by the name of Egil had a son, the son would therefore be named Egilsen [or -søn] and if said man gets a daughter, she would have the surname of Egildatter [or -dattir].