Javik
Gatland’s second city — though really just a large town — Javik is a fortified jarl’s hall that has grown into a full-fledged settlement thanks to several generations of sound management by the sons and daughters (as well as grandsons, granddaughters, great-grandchildren, etc.) of the legendary Jarl Ǽstrid Gatsdottir. Granny Ǽstrid, as she is known, is still alive, though she does not take part in the day-to-day affairs of her jarldom. Decades ago — how many none really know — Granny Ǽstrid decided she was too old for going a-viking when she lost her last tooth in the sands of the distant Ammuyad Caliphate. Since then, she has turned her genius and energy to cultivating her domain, establishing trade and alliances throughout the Northlands, and watching her horde of progeny grow and, in many cases, grow old.
The town itself flows down toward a wide fjord from the High Hill upon which the sprawling Hall of Ǽstrid stands. Although the size of a town, and functioning much like one in many ways, Javik is governed as if it were a simple jarl’s hall, and nearly everyone in Javik is related by blood or marriage (save the thralls of course). Merchants and other travelers are welcome, but find that the workshops are not storefronts and anything to be purchased must come from the jarl herself or one of her many, many representatives. The prices may be high and often in the form of barter, but travelers should take comfort that Granny Ǽstrid holds the laws of hospitality in high regard and will not turn away the needy, the honorable, or the desperate. There may be no inns, but there is always space for strangers in the hall’s common room.
Settlement
Javik, Town of
Type
Town
Owning Organization
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