The Jarldom of Nordria
The Jarldom of Nordria is a large kingdom located the the north of The Aleanza across a landbridhe known as The Frozen Path. The kingdom was founded by a legendary Nordling hero known as Ragnar Jotunhammer after claiming the Jotunhammer and uniting all 6 major jarl clans against the dragon empire that used to occupt most of Santus known as the Argentum Consortium. Today the Jarldom of Nordria is still made up of these 6 major clans, but with most of the giants dead they are instead ruled by their Nordling ancestors. The capital is located in the city known as Ragnars Valor a massive port city located in Serven's Maw. The town is the only place where large scale agriculture can be done with the rest of Nordria's land being cold year round which has forced the Nordlings to turn to raiding as their primary source of food. Nordria's military is smaller than similar sized countries, but their warriors are fierce and their navy is unmatched by anyone except for The Kai with enchanted ships and skilled navigators to guide them they are able to both raid land and ship effectively gaining a reputation as a sight to be feared on the water. The people of Nordria worship The Order Tide, but have unique interpretations of each god seeing them is incarnations of animals unique to their region. Today Nordria has a peaceful trading agreement with The Aleanza to the south, but despite this continues sporadic raids on their territory as well as others, passing them off as innocent pirates, but with the Second War of the Beast Raging there is rumors that they will soon declare a side.
Structure
The Jarldom of Nordria is not unlike the Aleanza in structure, but it is simplified and contains much less of the politcal scheming as each Jarldom within the kingdom is less autonomous than a great house of the Aleanza. The Jotun King rules with absolute power with a personal army made of his personal Huskarls and levies and he oversees 6 Jarldoms each with their own territory and military force all of which are loyal and answer the call of the king should war be upon Nordria.
Within each Jarls territory they appoint mayors known as Earls to oversee their cities, these earls will then appoint two major figuresa Seidr, a seer who would oversee matters of Religion within the city and interpet runes to assist their Earl in managing the city and the other is a Vordr who is the head of security and usually selected from among the earls personal Huskarls.
Nordrian society is organized in caste system with nobles on top, the king and Jarls, Karls below them who are freemen usually warriors or craftsmen and finally Thralls who are captured slaves usually brought from raids to work the fields or mines. Each noble also keeps a retinue of personal guard of the finest fighters in the area known as Huskarls who are given the best equipment on offer
Culture
Nordrian culture on the outside is seen as very crude and tribalistic with blood sacrifices to the gods, raiding and a general love for drinking and fighting being seen as barbaric, but for those who really know the Nordlings they understand that their culture is built from a connection to the land they live in. Nordlings are first and foremost a warrior people famed for their skills in combat and ability at sea, but they are also incredibly skilled craftsmen, carpenters and hunters. Nordlings love to tell stories and while they do posess a writing system the preferred method of storytelling in Nordling society is to inscribe ones journies and achievements on their own body in the form of tattoos for all to see and one can tell how well travelled a nordling is just by looking at their skin. Nordlings also of course love a good drink and due to their natural bulk generally drink in large quantities, but all in all they are a people with close bonds to kin and family and fight tooth and nail to protect their own.
History
The Jarldom of Nordria was founded by a famous warrior and figure of legend within Nordling society Ragnar Jotunhammer. Ragnar was born of two unnamed giants, but was abandoned due to being small and forced to survive on his own in the wilds. Soon he found himself in a human village in the frozen wastes and there too was shunned away because he was seen as a freak, however soon the town came under attack from a raiding band of frost giants. Instead of watching the village be raided Ragnar instead took up a hammer and joined in on the defense personally slaying 2 of the four giants and rallied the humans to kill the rest and soon enough they saw him as a hero, however the local frost giant jarl was none too pleased. After uniting the people Ragnar was soon declared Jarl and began building this village into his personal holding and realized that the Frost Giant Jarl called Botreld needed to be dealt with so he gathered his finest warriors and set out to raid the jarl’s longhouse. When Ragnar arrived he and his warriors stormed the fortress surrounding the house and slaid his personal huskarls before forcing the Botreld to surrender to him, but instead of killing him Ragnar offered to let him swear fealty and join him and his companions in conquering the known world. Ragnar and his companions then swept across Nordria uniting great Jarldoms of frost and fire giants alike uniting them under one ruler, but one final obstacle stood in his path before true greatness could be achieved, Hartr the High Jarl of Nordria and a powerful storm giant opposed Ragnar’s army and soon the two armies met in battle giant vs giant. The battle was fierce and shields were splintered, but in the end Ragnus and his forces through might and pure fervor won the day and even Hartr bent the knee. From this point on the lands of Nordria were united under Ragnus and he was declared the Jotun King and he appointed 6 Jarls to be on his council and formed The Jarldom of Nordria.
Demography and Population
The lands of Nordria are harsh and cold with only the lands of Vinland, and Ymir's Hearth being able to support a large population. Nordria is a smaller country population wise with many dying in raids or due to the harsh nature of the land, but those who do survive are incredibly tough and resistant to disease. Most live in small villages scattered across the lands usually along the sea along with some of the major cities that dot the landscape. Almost the entire population is Nordling with scattered pockets of other races, mainly humans.
Territories
The Jarldom of Nordria is split into 6 main regions, 5 of which of overseen by one great Jarldom and the main one is ruled by the Jotunking on top. The Regions are as follows:
The Foot of Yggdrasil is the region that connects to the continent of Sanctus by way of the Frozen pass, the region is mostly a frozen waste until you reach the land where the river known as Yggdrasil's Roots start to run through and that region is a mild tundra where crops are able to grow and in this region there is a large city known as Atla. This region is overseen by the Jarldom known as the Jarldom of Dahl and the current Jarl is Ivar Dahl
The Sword Coast is the region to the north-east of The Foot of Yggdrasil. The region is heavily forested and the rest is split between coastline and tundra. This region houses the city of Balder and is overseen by The Jarldom of Knutson and the current Jarl is Leif Knutson
The Valley of Legends is the region to the east of The Sword Coast that lies south of Ymir's Wrath. The Region is heavily forested with more tundra than the Sword Coast but less coastline. This region houses the city of Frey's Haven and is overseen by the Jarldom of Cattegat and the current Jarl is Beowulf Cattegat
Kaldr's Call is the region to the southeast of The Valley of Legends. The region is heavily forested with little tundra and a large amount of coast surrounding the pennisula and at the tip is the city of Tyr's Pride. The region is overseen by the Jarldom of Castus and the current Jarl is Askeladd Castus.
The Dragon's Tail is the region at the end to the east of Kaldr's Call. The region is mostly barren with large mountains and a small tundra region and a lot of coastline. The region is overseen by the Jarldom of Trentum and the current Jarl is Halfdan Trentum
The final region is known as Ragnar's Rest and is filled with lush grassland very suitable for crops. There is small forests and a small mountain range occupying the region and it houses the capital known as Ragnar's Valor. The region is overseen by the current Jotunking Thorfinn Jotunhammer.
Religion
The Jarldom of Nordria worships the same gods as The Aleanza, however they instead refer to them as individual animal aspects that theyve assigned to each god. The people of Nordria also still practice the ways of sacrifice and in order to honor their gods will offer periodic offerings the most sacred of which would be human sacrfices which they refer to as a Blot. The animals they assign to each god are as follows:
Kalos - The Sabertooth
Apsida - The Owl
Lunai - The Rabbit
Moradin - The Ram
Kord - The Kraken
Sylvanus - The Stag
Zisa - The Wolf
The Raven Queen - The Raven
Bahamut - The Dragon
Laws
Law is taken very seriously in Nordria which is surprising to some, each Jarl and the Jotunking are responsible for overseeing and keeping the law within their territory. When a trial is required as crimes are committed the Jarl will assemble a council of elected individuals who represent the people and hold an event known as a Thing where the accused will be put on trial and the punishment decided as a group. These events are sacred and sacrifices are made to honor the gods beforehand and the entire thing is overseen by the towns Seidr.
Founding Date
365 BTB
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Leader
Leader Title
Founders
Government System
Tribalism
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Gold
Platinum
Silver
Copper
Official State Religion
Neighboring Nations
