Andalus
Andalus lies in the South Realms of Midgard. The Straits of Herakles separate it from Serkland. Valland and Serkland have been engaged in a prolonged struggle for control of Andalus.
Numerous small tribes call Andalus home, none of which have achieved substantial international influence, and thus all of which have become caught up in the greater struggle between Valland and Serkland. These tribes hail not from a single indigenous culture, but rather several originally distinct cultures—the Vascones, the Cadizians (who were descended from Miklagardian settlers long ago), the northern Jacetanians, and the Endor.
The Cadizians are the most numerous. They exist in a class-based society led by chiefs but upheld by a council of nobles. Nobles hold various warriors and lesser classes as vassals. Other classes include priests, artisans, and slaves. Cadizian chiefs, in turn, only hold on to their sovereignty by hiring their warriors out to Valland or Miklagard as mercenaries.
Both sides are thus using the native Andalusians to kill one another (including the other native cultures such as the more reclusive Vascones) while avoiding losing their own people.
Andalus is also home to the mairuk, a race of jötunnar that managed to avoid banishment by the Vanir primarily by refusing to give in to the temptation to eat Man-flesh. Instead, they live in the mountains in relative solitude and avoid human contact.
Inspiration Notes
I derived the name Andalus from Al-Andalus, a Muslim kingdom in Spain and Portugal at about the same time period as the Norse epics (a name that obviously became “Andalusia”). Over the years, control of the area was contested between the Carolingian dynasty and the Abbasid Caliphate, a conflict we see playing out during the series.
Type
Region
Location under
Andalusians Related Ethnicities
Vascones, Cadizians, Jacetanians, Endor
