Kingdom of Svearike

One of the oldest of the Skanni Kingdoms, ithe origins of Svearike have been lost in the mists of time. The King at Uppsala still reigns here near the great Temple of the Skanni Gods, much as he had since before the earliest days of the Empire. But the great Yngling Dynasty has at last come to an end with the death of Ingjald illråde and his psychotic daughter Åsa, passing briefly into the rule of Ivarr Vidfamne and thence to his grandson, Harald the Wartooth. It is now part of the Wartooth's growing empire, and though it is no longer the great kingdom it had been in the past, it retains its critical importance due to the presence of the Temple at Uppsala, where the Skanni pay homage to their gods, both Aesir and Vanir. No overking may rule the Skanni without the support of the goðar at the temple.

History

Svearike was once the greatest of the Skanni kingdoms, ruled by the powerful Yngling Dynasty that traces its origin to Odin himself. The core of the kingdom was originally comprised of six petty kingdoms, subject to the overking in Uppsala. The boldest of the Svear ventured into the Northlands, battling giants and trading with the humans who dwelt there, while merchants and colonists from Uppsala established trading posts in Österland on the other side of Uppsalian Sea. A series of wars eventually led to the subjugation of Götaland, along with the many smaller chieftaincies in the south. Their ambition as seafarers, especially given their desire to control the Kattegat Strait, led to inevitable conflict with the Danes.

Under the greatest of their kings, Ivarr Vidfadme (Widefathom), the warriors of Svearike took tribute from the Zealand and Jutland to the south, from the independent jarls of the western coast, and from as far away as Albion to the west and Gardarike to the east. Ivarr had come to the throne after defeating the wicked King Ingjald Illråde and his daughter Åsa who had caused the death of his own father Halfdan the Valiant, King of Skania. After Åsa murdered her husband, Ivarr's uncle Guðröðr, who had helped her kill his brother Halfdan, Ivarr returned, forcing Åsa to flee to her father in Svearike. Ivarr gathered an army and marched on Svearike, but Ingjald, determined not to be taken, killed himself and his daughter by setting fire to his own feasthall. Thus were Götaland, Skania, and Svearike united under Ivarr, who from this core kingdom promptly set about expanding not only north and east, but westward over the ocean to extract tribute from the Kingdom of Northumbria in Albion. From Northumbria, the sea-raiders of the western jarls who had arrived under Ivarr's banner allied with Bridei map Belli, Pictish King of Uerteru, helping him subjugate rebels in the Orkney Isles.

Territories

The core of Svearike is comprised of six provinces: Uppland, Västmanland, Södermanland, Närke, Värmland, and Járnberaland. Much of the area is dominated by vast and uninhabited forests, with mountains rising west of Járnberaland. Wolves, bear, and boar can be found in numbers, as well as deer and great elks. Not a few monsters inhabit these regions as well, from forest-dwelling serpents to foul hags. Not infrequently, humanoids, orgres, trolls, and giants make their way down from the mountains to pillage, slay, and return to their dark caves and and primitive halls. If it were not for the strength of the dwarf holds in the mountains, the whole of the kingdom might be overrun. Human habitations are small and well-defended, with farmsteads comprised of longhouses, storage sheds, and animal pens, often surrounded by a defensible palisade. Those who dwell in such isolated places, especially in the wild Northlands, tend to be stalwart fighters strong enough to deter any but the most largest and most organized marauders-although when giants and trolls attack in numbers, even these douty fighters seek to take their families and hide.

Götland lies south of Svearike. It is comprised of Östergötland (Land of the Eastern Gauts), Västergötland (Land of the Western Gauts), and Småland (Land of the Petty Chiefs). Much of the area is comprised of forested uplands with soil too poor for anything but subsistence farming.

The Northlands are even more sparsely inhabited, comprised of hilly and mountainous land covered by vast boreal forests. Beasts of the most ferocious sort prowl these woodlands-giant lions with great sabre-like fangs protruding from their mouths. Gigantic bulls can be found alongside the enormous elk common to the region. Humanoids, ogres, trolls, and giants walk freely here-but even these flee in fear from the Skannian serpents that occasionally hunt in the region

The Österlanden (Lands of the Easterlings) are largely unexplored by the Svear, who rarely venture beyond the confines of their coastal trading areas.

Harald Wartooth

Ingjald Illråde

In a history rife with cruelty and violence, Ingjald the Wicked is perhaps the most infamous of all rulers.  The son of Braut-Önundr, Ingjald was thought to be too weak as a child until his foster-father Svipdag the Blind, Viceroy of Tiundaland, fed him the heart of a wolf.  Thereafter, Ingjald was said to be of fierce disposition, dangerous to cross in any way.  His father arranged for him to marry Gauthildr, daughter of Agaut, King of Västergötland and granddaugher of Olof the Sharp-sighted, King of Närike.
When Ingjald took the throne after the death of his father, he built a splendid new hall-known as the Hall of the Seven Kings-in honor of his rise to the kingship.  Here he invited the seven greatest kings of the region, including his father-in-law Algaut, the king of Närike, the king of Fjärdhundraland and his two sons, the king of Attundaland, and the king of Södermanland, who was the only guest who did not arrive.  Along with many other prominent petty kings and jarls, these took their seats in the sumptuous new hall, carousing until they were all drunk.  At that time, Ingjald ordered the two sons of Svipdag to leave with their men and burn down the building with the helpless guests inside.  Thus in a single coup, Ingjald made himself the only ruler of all the landskaps.  Granmar of Södermanland alone escaped the treachery, and continued to make war on Ingjald with the help of his father-in-law Högne and his son-in-law the Wylfing sea-king Hjörvard until they too were trapped in a farmhouse and burned to death by the wicked Ingjald.

Ivarr Vidfamne

Gazetteer

The Kingdom of Svearike is divided into six landskaps, each once a petty kingdom of its own but now comprised of contentious jarls who pay homage to the King in Uppsala. Each of these areas has its own laws and its own assembly and is largely self-governing. They are tied to the King mostly through tribute and the levy.

Uppland: This region is the heart of Svearike, for the king governs from his great hall in Sigtuna, where one may also find the Temple at Uppsala, dedicated to Odin, Thor, and Frey. The king's hall is protected by the marshland and forest that surround it, along with the large freshwater lake, the Lǫgrinn, that laps at its shores. The Temple at Uppsala is surrounded by hills, giving it the appearance of a great natural amphitheater. Originally divided into the four Folklands of Fjärdhundraland in the west, Attundaland in the southeast, Tiundaland in the center, and Roðen along the coastal regions and archipelago, it became the center of regal power early in the kingdom. From here, the Kings of the Svear couldeasily maneuver north, west, south, and eastward over the sea-and those kings who could control the men of the Land of the Ten Hundreds and the religious center of the Temple could dominate the other five landskaps and the lands beyond.

Södermanland: This ancient landskap of Svearike is dotted with runestones second in magnificence only to those in Uppland. Bordered on the north by the Lǫgrinn, on the east by the sea, and on the south by the Kolmården, that wide and thickly wooded ridge of rocky land separating Svearike from Östergötland, it is a critical region to the defense of the kingdom. It is a hilly region, with marshy and water-filled hollows surrounded by forested uplands. Despite its wild character, the region is quite fertile, though not so much as can be found in the rich fields of Östergötland.