Nordenland
The mysterious forest
dwellers of Nordenland
are an ancient race with
a strong kinship to magic
and faerie folk. The Norden
inhabit a region of lush
woods, hills, narrow
rivers, and sheer cliffs,
all of which hide their
own kind of secrets. The
capital of the province is
Erlefurt, a city in West
Nordenland that houses
various colleges devoted to
each branch of magic.
Nordenland is a province divided. Those that
hew to the Bürach Empire reside in the western
region, where they have raised a city much
like those in other provinces. Those who reside
in the east have abandoned their oaths to the
emperor and reverted to the Old Ways, living
closer to nature. The forests and bogs of eastern
Nordenland contain the roots, berries, and fruits
that they use in their magic rituals.
Structure
West Nordenland is ruled by an Arch-Duchess
that has been loyal for centuries to the Imperial
Family. They maintain order in Erlefurt and its
surrounding country while declaring Easterners to
be traitors to the crown.
East Nordenland is ruled by the Patriarch and
his Oaken Court. They keep the borders of
their forest ensorcelled so that none may enter
without their knowing. They do not recognise
imperial authority and are willing to fight for
their independence. The Empire has little to no
influence on East Nordenland, as most of their
forces are out fighting wars elsewhere.
The Norden armies are largely lightly armoured,
armed with wooden shields and broadswords.
They deploy powerful druids and mages among
their ranks. The Eastern Norden are known for
employing giant war bears to aid them on the
battlefield.
Assets
The Eastern Norden are mostly composed of
outlanders of various races. They reside in
the woods and swamps, forsaking complex
technology and relying on their connection to
nature to thrive. Most live in the forests, in
treetop villages to keep away from the magical
beasts that wander their domain. Tribes are led by
chieftains, who themselves answer to their leader,
the Patriarch.
Their xenophobic tendencies have kept foreigners
and trade away, though it is not unknown for
their mages to take in foreign apprentices who
swear fealty to East Norden.
The Westerners, on the other hand, insist that
modernisation is the way forward. They have
adopted windmills, waterwheels, and farming
tools. They use boats to ply the waterways and
trade lumber and dry goods with the other
provinces. The large number of coastal villages in
their province provide access to saltwater fish that
help support their food supply.
The Norden’s greatest talent, however, lies in
magic. Any mage who aspires to a name in the
Bürach Empire goes to Erlefurt in order to gain
mastery at one of the famed Great Colleges there.
Norden mages are renowned for their skill and
intellect, and remain in demand throughout
the Empire.
History
The ancient province of Nordenland sits on
the threshold of a variety of other dimensions,
including that of the faerie realm. The presence
of otherworldly beings constantly exposes the
Norden to magical events and creatures. As such,
they have the largest number of mages and druids
in the Empire.
The god Ulmyr emerged from one of these
interdimensional rifts. When he beheld the
Norden, he saw a people he could call his own. He
gathered the scattered tribes into one mighty clan
and helped them to hone their arcane potential.
When Emperor Indorious was crowned, Ulmyr
joined with the other gods into a united pantheon.
The Norden followed their god and Nordenland
became a province of the fledgling Bürach Empire.
Many Norden had misgivings over this move,
as they had preferred their ways to those of a
foreign power. This simmering anger did not
wane with time. As the towns and cities of the
other provinces sprang up at their borders, the
Norden found their territory shrinking and their
influence diminishing. The neighboring province
of Rauland’s need for timber lured loggers to
the Norden forests, which in turn weakened the
magic of the realm. Infuriated, the Norden fought
a war to reclaim their lost territory but were
outnumbered. Eventually, they were forced to
accept an armistice and agree to new boundaries.
With the Gods’ End occurring, everything fell to
chaos. Conflict broke out amongst the provinces
as the gods ordered their followers to fight for
their glory. Despite their love for Ulmyr, the
wisest of the Norden knew that if they continued
the war there would be nothing left of their once-
proud realm. Thus, they conspired with like-
minded individuals from the other provinces to
assassinate the emperor.
With Leopold I dead, the assassins absconded
with the four holy artifacts. They were supposed
to bring these artifacts to Nordenland in the hope
that the wizards could find a way to reverse the
gods’ madness. But before the artifacts could
reach Nordenland, old wounds reopened among
the Norden. While the loyalists wanted to restore
the Empire, some of the Norden remembered
their past humiliations and wanted Nordenland
free from imperial rule for good. Those who held
the artifacts would have the power to steer the
province’s future.
Fighting broke out over the treasures. Then, to
everyone’s shock, the artifacts blazed with light,
levitated into the air, and vanished. Without a
chance to cure their insanity, the gods were left to
fight to the death.
The strife split the Norden into two factions, each
blaming the other for their downfall. Those who
believed in the Old Ways gathered in the east.
Those who wanted to remain in the Empire kept
to the west. The people of East Norden view their
Western brethren as blood traitors who abandoned
their true family. The Westerners consider those
of the East weak and behind the times.
Skirmishes have frequently erupted between the
two factions, and it seems a new civil war is in
the offing. Both sides continue to search for the
missing artifacts in hopes of restoring their god
and gaining the upper hand in the conflict.
A decade after the Gods’ End, woodland life
in Nordenland began to change into hideous,
deformed versions of themselves that attacked
other life indiscriminately. Both sides accused the
other of dark magic.
Sighting of the towering antlered figure settled
the matter. To this day, mages from both sides
are struggling to stop the Beast from corrupting
their land any further
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