EditProto-Norse Warriors of the Frozen North- Tone: a warrior land where battle-ready aggression, forthrightness, hard work, and bold accomplishment form the basis of personal honor, and a persons place is determined by how honorable they are regarded to be. A person is either strong and will overcome challenges or is weak and deserves their fate.
- Timeframe: -600 years to Present"
- Artifice: Generally Standard, verging into High in maritime concerns.
- Region: Norizia
- Capital: N/A
- Notable Settlements: Wicilund (~53,000), Halvorlund (~51,000), Trellolund (~48,000), Njorvalund (42,000), Scythalund (~39,000), Jyllund (~21,000), several smaller lands
- Government: Semi-democratic semi-feudal
- Ruler: various
- Races: Human (~600,000)
- Languages: Anorn
- Religions: The New Gods (Icus Pantheon)
- Coinage: Anoerni (2gp), Noerni (1gp), Laroerni (1sp), Kamoerni (2cp), Wicoerni (.5cp).
EditSynopsisA collection of tribal kingdoms of related peoples, sharing a common language, culture, religious pantheon, and mythology. Any given kingdom might be at war with or in alliance with any other at any given time.
The guiding principle of the Anornian people is that you must make yourself. They believe that heredity has less to do with a person's worth than personal determination. Any person might earn renown for their deeds, gather followers, found a kingdom, take over an existing one, or what have you. To their minds there are no excuses for mediocrity and a person has no one else to blame for their place in life other than themselves. Due to this, they take personal honor very seriously and put much faith in strength of character and of arms. Boldness and successful ventures are the mark of a person worthy of fame and power.
Anornians are organized and self-identify along liege and vassalage lines. A leader is judged by the quality of their vassals (measured by number of followers, wealth, military might, and so forth), and conversely those who have a powerful liege must be worthy at some level or else their vassalage would be held by a lesser leader; thus the prestige of a person's liege is a measure of their own power and vice versa. The very mightiest leaders owe vassalage to no one.
Anornian fiefdoms are somewhat amorphous things, with boundaries that wax and wane as land grabs are won and lost. There are currently eight of consequence but literally around a dozen additional tiny fiefdoms exist here and there both within the lands generally recognized as Anornia and also abroad. Some fiefs are inland, but generally speaking Anornian culture is coastal in nature and with very few exceptions fiefs and settlements are on a coast or river.
Rulers of a fief are called Lairds and their power within their fief is high, but most Lairds owe vassalage to a more powerful Laird and also their own people might overthrow them if they become weak or unpopular.
Anornians are best known for their seafaring, being one of the few peoples willing to brave deep waters. They make their own long and narrow shallow-drafted vessels from the plentiful black perennial forests that spread across their lands, and keep their shipbuilding arts a closely held secret presided over by skilled and wealthy individuals. Their ships are plied for travel and trade, but also for violent expeditions and plunder-driven raids that make them the terror of any land unfortunate enough to be reachable by water and within striking distance.
Outsiders that come to Anornian lands and prove themselves (learn the language and acclimate to Anornian culture) are accepted based on their personal competency the same as any local. All others exist to be dominated. By Anornian reckoning, those strong enough to resist being dominated are worthy of respect, those who are unable to resist being dominated deserve their fate.
EditMagicThe Anornians have a rich magical tradition.
The Anornian mythology is dense and colorful, reading like a soap opera of the gods, and people identify closely with the deities with many having a personal favorite that they hold to. Traditionally Anornians identified most strongly with Anor (thus "Anornians"), but the worship of Stor has taken on increasingly greater influence as the culture has come to rely more on sea-reaving; combined the two faiths account for more than half of the Anornian population's primary point of worship. Ecclisiastics, generally called "Devoteds", are somewhat common and generally live among the populace rather then being sequestered or organized; almost all practice some other trade in addition to their duties as holy men and women.
The Dryd of Groen (Grenicus) are an exception; they live apart from civilization and reside in the wild typically organized into "circles".
There is also a strong tradition of Occultists, Alchemists, and Runecrafters, referred to by their specialty or by the catch-all term of "Magnus". As with the Devotees, Magnu generally live among the populace and either ply their magic for profit or have some other trade in addition to their magical abilities.
Daemon cults sometimes spring up, but they are ruthlessly dealt with when discovered. Many Daemon cultists have retreated to the hinterlands and live in hidden valleys, caves, and ruins, causing problems for travelers and outlying settlements.
EditDetailsAnornians are great workers of wood, and thus they favor wooden stockades over stone, though there are a few exceptions. Anornians also have a distinctive runic alphabet, with glyphs that serve both as individual letters and also as symbolic devices with complex meanings, and they enjoy carving them into wood, stone, and flesh (via both scarification and tattoos).
Currently the Laird of Wicilund, Baeljor Bardensen the Bold, is by far the most powerful man in all of Anornia thanks to being in the enviable position of being a famed and mighty warrior, owing allegiance to no one, and currently having more followers than any one else; further the Lairds of Trellolund and Jyllund are vassals.
Anornians have a rich musical tradition, with a wide selection of songs including battle anthems, ballads, lays, heroic epics, and dirges. A professional class of musician / entertainers exists called Skols who travel freely, making their livings on coin and sustenance gifted by appreciative audiences. Most Lairds retain at least one Skol both to entertain their halls and also to ensure that the Laird's accomplishments are recorded in verse.
Humans
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