Kingdom of Nortvin (NOR-te-VEEN)
The Kingdom of Nortvin is the largest and northernmost kingdom in the Confederation of Fieren. Occupying the region north of the Skytip Mountains, Nortvin is widely regarded as one of the most rugged kingdoms in all of Omath.
Structure
Nortvin is a feudal monarchy ruled by a King or Queen. Traditionally, this role has belonged to the {Placeholder} Family, though uprisings and civil war have briefly seen the {usurper} family take the throne.
The throne awards land and vassals to the various noble peerages to administer the region in their name. Most nobles were granted the title of Lundenlaird ("Landed Lord" in Nortvin.
Culture
It doesn't matter who or what you are. Your worth is determined by your effort.The Norten are a very straightforward people, with little time to debate or placate. As a result, they tend toward honesty (some might say brutally so) and a value on work ethic. This is a people who live with a short growing season and must build their sustainability around what can be grown and provided before the cold returns. Family planning tends to be one of the primary customs, which includes both reproductive planning and arranged marriages. Most families tend toward arranged marriages, either to merge and bring a second household's lands and production into their own or to set the new family up with their own farmland. While the Norten pay great respect and homage to their elders and ancestors, the ability to contribute to the family does ensure that most Norten do not live to old age unless they have a skill they can utilize to either earn coin or to bolster the ability of the other family members. Norten of either gender learn domestic skills such as weaving, cooking, or herbalism to support their families, or take up a trade skill by adolescence. Those Norten who cannot contribute to their family will often choose a ritual suicide, typically by drinking a poisoned tea, to reduce the strain upon their household. Norten tend to live on homesteads, granted or assigned by their provincial noble and are responsible for maintaining and growing the crops or livestock endemic to that province. Those unable to do so, either by lack of ability or through criminal trespass, are assigned to work in stone quarries, mines, or other general labor roles.
Demography and Population
The denizens of Nortvin are a hardscrabble bunch, accustomed to harsh climates and unforgiving territory. Nortvin is home to the largest percentages of Golenti outside the Dunmaer Plateau and their own subterranean kingdoms.
Territories
The Kingdom of Nortvin occupies the land west of the Dunmaer Plateau and north and west of the Skytip Mountains.
Military
Each feudal lord maintains a personal compliment of no more than 100 soldiers, a limit designed to prevent the creation of personal armies. In times of conflict, the lords conscript from their domains to fill the ranks of the Nortengård, its royal army.
Religion
Most of the general populace pays homage to multiple deities. They might say a prayer to Deiter as they sew their crops, entreat Shelyayl for a safe journey across a fjord, or whisper a prayer to Malelena when they attempt something risky. Pantheism is a popular state of religion in the country, though each home may have a shrine or other devotion to the deity that the family is most devoted to.
Foreign Relations
"The only thing colder than the land is the reception you'll get from its people" ~Badeninte Merchant leaving HundgårdWhile a member of the Confederation of Fieren, the Kingdom of Nortvin stands as the most isolationist of the compact nations, which suits its citizens just fine. The natural barrier of the Skytip Mountains and the rough seas of the Northern Ocean force all commerce and diplomatic outreach through the Hundgård Province and the nation's capital. The Kingdom was the last to sign onto the Confederation, only after much persuading by Malachi enEveil, the King of Baden.
Of the sea, the land and the sky
Maps
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Kingdom of Nortvin
Founding Date
1428
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Alternative Names
Kingdom of Northwind
Demonym
Norten
Leader Title
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Barter system
Judicial Body
While the Church of Deiter does hold sway in the Hundgård Province, most settlements take up their own issues within the court of their region's Lundenlaird.
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Comments