The Kingdom of Ostland

Ostland is composed by two large quite fertile and populated islands just off the shores of Vestland, Noslo and Kalslo. Two minor islands, Osterslo and Kunslo hold the remaining population, but they are little more than large rocks. The weather is mild in the good season, but harsh and stormy in winter. However, fish is abundant in the seas around Ostland, and there is enough pastureland for livestock.

The two major islands are politically divided into many clan holdings. Towns developed from the sieges of larger clans and serve as quarters for the royal or clan armies and navies.

The land is almost entirely settled, and there are nearly no natural dangers except storms, and no monsters or other intelligent predators save for the local Northman raiders and pirates.

Ostland has a history of piracy and raiding. It was the first Northman kingdom, and from it Vestland and Soderfjord were colonised. Cnute of the Zealand clan founded the Kingdom, back in the fifth century AC. His sons settled the mainland near Norrvik, in modern Vestland, and, at its maximum expansion, the Kingdom of Ostland included a region larger than the lands currently held by the Kings of Ostland and Vestland.

However, it took only a century for the descendants of Cnute in Vestland to rebel and gain independence from their Ostlander relatives. Ostland Kings concentrated their action in the southern lands, raiding the coastal Soderfjorder jarldoms and the Alphatian colonies in Nithia.

When the Jarls of Soderfjord created the Nordhartar League, fifty years ago, and allied with Ylaruam and Vestland to discourage Ostlander raids, the Ostlanders allied in turn with the Thyatian Empire. This alliance still stands, and the Ostlanders have been recently associated in the Thyatian effort to conquer and settle the Isle of Dawn. Three Northman colonies have already been established on the northern coast of the great island.

Ostlanders epitomise the Northman warrior, practicing piracy as their way of life, and measuring everyone by his personal strength and fighting prowess, and by the strength of his clan. They hold sorcery, and to a lesser extent most forms of scholarship, in contempt, when they do not fear it outright. Skalds are their only scholars, and they are warrior-scholars, adventurers, and keepers of the traditional lore contained in the songs of the heroes. Thievery is not practiced nor welcomed, not because they have compunctions about taking someone else’s property, but because it is considered dishonourable to do so through guile, as opposed to force.

There are three social classes in Ostland: jarls, karls and thralls. Jarls are clan leaders. Their power is absolute. Within their territory, even the King must impose his will upon them through a show of force, to the extent that he must collect his taxes personally. Karls are freemen, as long as they remain on good terms with their jarls. They aren’t able to get much wealth, as there is nearly no trade in Ostland, and the jarls get the largest share of the plunder from the raids. Thralls are slaves, either prisoners of war, or descendants of thralls, or karls who have outlived their usefulness to the jarl.

Priests, or godar, are well respected, though only those of Odin and Thor wield any real power. Thor’s godar are mostly berserker-like warriors, prone to violence and showing little interest in erudite pursuits, while the priests of Odin are the real minds behind the jarls’ thrones. Powerful godar of Odin also called Ravens of Odin, and act as judges and advisers for the jarls, and the High Priest of their order, Asgrim the Bowed, is the main adviser to King Hord Dark-Eye.

The Cnute clan, under the leadership of King Hord Dark-Eye, strongly controls the clans of Ostland. The King selects the best young warriors from each clan for his Royal Houseguard, which helps to keep the Cnute clan strong whilst weakening the minor clans. The staunchest opposition to the Cnute clan comes from the Ostman clan of Kalslo, which periodically rebels against the Kings.

There is also a religious rivalry between Kalslo and Noslo clans, as the latter support the official cults of Odin and Thor, while the former are followers of Frey and Freyja. Moreover, the Ostmans are known for their non-conformist behaviour, and their clanhold of Ostmanland is nearly the only place in Ostland where foreigners are welcome, and where one could find a wizard. On the other hand, their town, Ostmanhaven, has a larger share of cutthroats then most Northman ports. Currently, the rivalry is not open, but with the raise of stronger nations in and around the Northern Reaches, it is conceivable that the Ostmans could receive some help and support from these foreign powers.

The Kingdom of Vestland

Vestlanders are a more varied lot than other Northmen. There is a fair share of frontier men, holding to the traditional Northman lifestyle and society, with jarls being the absolute leaders of the clans. On the other hand, the urban areas see a much different society, with wealthy merchants and craftsmen having a much greater influence, to the point that guilds have become
the major power in the towns. In general, the freemen of Vestland are proud and independent, keeping a strong military tradition and ready to fight in defence their rights.
While wizards are still uncommon in Vestland, there is a tradition of openness to the southern magic style, and the Uppsala College provides formal education to students in the magical arts. Many more wizards learn their craft through traditional apprenticeship, providing the nation with a number of competent magic users.

Vestland is a feudal monarchy, with jarls, who often style themselves as “dukes”, owing loyalty to the King. Actually, the power of the aristocracy and of the King is limited, since the wealthier clan members are no more under the political control of the jarls. The King is advised by a Royal Council, which, while composed by figures selected by the King himself, represents the different power groups of the nation, including the merchant and craft guilds, the freeholders, and the clergy. This Council has no formal power, but the King is wise enough to follow its advice, since the interests groups it represents are quite able to overthrow him.
The jarls of the most powerful clans have reacted to the menace of the modernisation in different ways. The head of the Rhoona clan tend to distance himself from the central authority of the monarch, but has taken the southern title of Duke, and maintains an ever-growing castle and court. On the other hand, the Landersfjord jarl fully supports the merchant class, and rivals with the House of Ottar in his munificence towards wizards and scholars. Haverfjord is torn in a power struggle between the conservative jarl and the town council.
The most popular gods here are Frey and Freyja, while only the aristocrats and their retainers worship Odin and Thor. Worship of Loki is allowed, though rare, and many lesser cults, catering to the new social classes, are rising to prominence, like Forseti’s or the White Whale’s.

The Soderfjord Jarldoms

Soderfjord’s territory is not terribly suited for settling. It is composed by a large coastal plateau, broken by the valleys of the Saltfjord and Otofjord rivers. The plateau is covered by patches of wood and grasslands, and is the best farmland of the country. The river valleys are densely populated, and the towns of Soderfjord and Backwater are built there. Two other regions are settled the northern border with Vestland, and the southern mountain town of Castellan, which serves as a trade post on the route to Cinsa-Men-Noo in the Emirates of Ylaruam.
The western and southern borders of Soderfjord are composed by mountain and hill ranges unsettled by humans. Nomadic gnoll herders inhabit the Gnollheim Hills, and the Hardanger Mountain Range is home to kobold clans. These regions, while considered part of the Jarldoms, are not controlled by the Soderfjord clans.
At the centre of the nation lies a vast marsh, dotted by small areas of fertile land. Only few settlers live in the Great Marsh, mostly guardsmen in the fortified shelters that serve the Marsh Road to Castellan. The Marsh Road is part of a trade route that cuts through the nation from north to south, bringing caravans from Vestland to the Jotunvalk Pass, which signals the border
with the Emirates of Ylaruam.

Soderfjord existence as a nation dates back only to 950 AC, when the Nordhartar Defence League was formed through the Treaty of Allied Dominions signed by the most powerful jarls of the region. Before that time, the Soderfjord jarls constantly waged war on each other, but every time one of them looked powerful enough to establish himself as a King, his rivals would
band together to overthrow to upstart monarch. Frequent Ostland raids only made things worse.
After the formation of the League, treaties were signed with both Vestland and the Emirates of Ylaruam, which were interested in securing the Overland Trade Route and in avoiding any attempt by Ostland to conquer Soderfjord. As the Kings of Ostland turned to Thyatis for help, a stalemate was reached, which has allowed the League to survive up to this day, despite the
widespread infighting among the powerful jarls.

The people of Soderfjord uphold the values on independence and self-reliance, and the democratic tradition of the thing, the legislative assembly of all freemen. The society has formally only two classes, the jarls and the freemen, since slavery is illegal,
and the merchant class is not nearly as developed as in neighbouring Vestland. However, jarls are the only law in their own domains, so there are some regions where freemen are actually kept in servitude by the local jarl.
The towns of Castellan and Soderfjord stand out as exceptions to the common population mix of the Jarldoms. The latter is a port full of those shady characters common in the southern lands, but rare in the Northlands, and houses the only large, permanent military force of the Jarldoms, Ragnar’s Brigade, quartered in Ragnar’s Fort, the residence of the current war leader
of the Nordhartar Defence League.
Castellan has a large share of foreigners among its residents, including a dwarven quarter, and a number of Ylari merchants. A fairly large native merchant class has grown here, and the influx of money due to the presence of the Overland Trade Route has speeded the transformation of the town, which now sports a stone fort of dwarven making, and many more stone buildings than the rest of Soderfjord’s towns.
Other than humans and dwarves, the only inhabitants of the region are hostile humanoid tribes. These include mostly gnolls and kobolds, but also frost giants and the mysterious moulder dwarves.

Soderfjord’s rulership is divided among the Council of the Great Jarls and the war leader, currently Ragnar the Stout, the jarl of the Soderfjord clan. The Council meets twice a year, and has power to issue laws and policies, and to select the war leader, who is responsible for defence, but has no other powers. Even though the Council can make laws, it cannot enforce them, since
within a dominion the local clan leader or jarl is the only authority, and it is actually illegal for anyone else to policy the domain, even if the jarl does not apply the Council’s laws.
The people of Soderfjord worship mainly Frey and Freyja, though jarls and warriors honour Odin and Thor instead. The worship of Loki is widely tolerated, and even followers of Hel can allow themselves to relax their secrecy standards, if they are powerful enough, since the central government is too weak to enforce the ban on these cultists.