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.

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 likeminded 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. Economy 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 modernization 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.