Kingdom of Jomne

An ancient kingdom dating back to the very beginning of the Era of Isolation, the Kingdom of Jomne rules over the inhospitable northern reaches of Vechna, and was once the most feared power in the world.

Structure

Jomne is traditionally ruled by a king, with the position passing to the king's eldest son. Beneath the king are jarls, who administer lands and regions granted to them by the king.
Subjects of the jarls are either karls or thrallr. Karls make up the majority of the population of the Kingdom of Jomne, being freedmen and landowners holding a variety of positions ranging from farmers to smiths. Thrallr are the slave class of the Kingdom of Jomne, comprised of slaves taken from raids and bondsmen - Nordlings unable to pay debts and forced to work to repay it.

Culture

With much of the Kingdom of Jomne completely inhospitable to almost all life, and with little arable land, Nordlings are known to be the hardiest folk in the world, and with a culture to match. In a land where survival relies on those around you, Nordlings place extremely high values on the ties between family members and friends, weaving tightly knit clans within society. This reliance on survival also means however, that Nordlings tend to be extremely suspicious of foreigners and outsiders, doubly so of foreign religions and cultures.
In general, Nordling society places greater emphasis on one's own merits than titles and one's birth. Unlike in other feudal societies, one's birth into a certain class doesn't prevent them from moving up, or moving down. Thrallr can become jarls through work, determination, and cleverness, and jarls can become thrallr, if they happen to be incompetent, weak, and too trusting of those around them seeking their position. As such, despite a frontal facade of stoicism, Nordling society is constantly in a state of flux with the ambitious constantly seeking to climb higher up the ladder and attain greater power, wealth, and status - believed to be the influence of the dwarven Primal Curse.
However, the relative lack of arable land and a society filled with an ambitious people constantly looking to ascend the hierarchy of power has also led to one of the most infamous aspects of culture in the Kingdom of Jomne: raiding, or vikingr. During hard times, often winter, ambitious men and women may take up arms and set sail to raid the seas, ambushing merchant vessels or pillaging vulnerable coastal communities all along the Narrow Sea or the Sunset Sea. Those who are successful may find themselves returning to celebrations, newfound respect, and even an elevated social status. Nordling history is filled with accounts of famous raiders returning with grand treasures and establishing their own settlements, becoming jarls. These accounts, often told by skalds and other singers, spur many Nordlings to take their shot at greatness.

Assets

Gold coins in the Kingdom of Jomne are referred to as himnar (himnars plural). These coins bear the likeness of a Nordic king on one side, and an ancient rune on the other.
Silver coins in the Kingdom of Jomne are referred to as skjöl (skjöls plural). These coins typically bear the image of the legendary Shield of Svanlinn on one side, and an ancient rune on the other.
Copper coins in the Kingdom of Jomne are referred to as dreg (dregs plural). These coins typically bear only a single marking of a rune on one side.
All Nordic coins are notoriously hard to counterfeit; all minted coins are decorated with elaborate swirling patterns and laced with faint magic whose enchantments are kept a highly guarded secret, making replicating them extremely difficult. As such, Nordic coins are heavily used throughout the world by merchants and anyone looking to make large, secure transactions. Previous attempts to replicate Nordic coins have always ended with the counterfeiters hunted down and killed by the Golden Bank of Jomne, some assassinated in remote locations on the other side of the world.

History

According to the skalds and historical tomes of the Kingdom of Jomne, the land of Jomne was initially split up into multiple different jarldoms ruling over fortified mountain towns. However, these many small jarldoms would eventually be brought together through conquest under one king named Erik "Thunderhood" Rendahl, who ruled from the city of Kleifar in the south. After bringing the jarldoms under heel and unifying Jomne, King Rendahl further encouraged the development of mining and smithing in his new kingdom, as well as the construction of larger and more grand mountain cities built atop veins of gold and deposits of diamonds which would be bled dry. Over the years, the vast riches King Rendahl accumulated were said to have driven him mad with paranoia, and he was smote by the gods after he openly challenged them.
Soon after King Rendahl's death, the Kingdom of Jomne fell apart once more as various jarls attempted to take King Rendahl's place, beginning the War of Ice and Steel. The war lasted for over two hundred years, and throughout the war most of the vast mountain cities built under King Rendahl's reign were destroyed by invading armies or by nature itself, with the foundations collapsing under the sheer weight of the buildings, burying tens of thousands. Eventually, the kingdom was once more stabilized under King Vedar "Runebranch" Nese, who was believed to be a descendant of Odin himself for his powers of foresight and great wisdom. Under King Nese, the Nordlings began to move away from the mountains and towards the flatlands and coasts, which led to the foundation of the capital city of Hvinr. King Nese further developed the Nordling smithing ability, and bestowed upon the Nordling smiths ancient runic symbols which were said to bear magical powers that could allow for them to make weapons fit for the gods.
King Nese's successors inherited a land that was peaceful and highly advanced in the ways of smithing, masonry, and deeply faithful of the Ievigtrú. When the Era of Isolation came to an end, for a time the Kingdom of Jomne stunned all but the dragons with its splendid castles and towns, and Nordic steel was considered unparalleled in its perfection by metalworkers. With the end of the Era of Isolation, the Kingdom of Jomne found itself growing very rich through trade; the abundance of precious metals and gems as well as fine metal goods, furs, and ivory made the Kingdom of Jomne an extremely lucrative trading partner.
However, the Kings of Jomne still wished to achieve greater heights, and in the year 95 AC, King Asgeir "Bloodraven" Nese launched two invasions against the Rurikid Principality and the Drangian Kaiserreich in the pursuit of even greater wealth and power. In the end however, King Asgeir and his sons were killed in battle against the Kaiserreich, and the combined forces of the Kaiserreich and the Rurikid Principality sacked the capital city of Hvinr in the year 124, ending the Nese bloodline. The destruction of the Nese bloodline spelled the beginnings of a dark age for the Kingdom of Jomne as it slowly recovered from the disastrous war against the Kaiserreich and Rurikids. The sack of Hvinr destroyed much of the advanced magical knowledge the kingdom possessed.
By the year 240 the Kingdom of Jomne has emerged as a major power in the world once more under the Sörenstam line. In the year 241, King Lief Sörenstam the Black would attack the Rurikid Principality, beginning a series of raids and skirmishes called the Northern Crisis that ended with the Rurikids forces to pay the Kingdom of Jomne an annual tribute called the Nordgeld to prevent further attacks by the kingdom. With the money from the Nordgeld, the Sörenstam kings were able to restore the Kingdom of Jomne to a semblance of the power it once held before the Great Northern War.
In the present, many believe the Kingdom of Jomne will be looking to assert itself as a grand power once more by taking advantage of the War of Three Thrones and attempting to invade Gränsland.

Demography and Population

Dwarves comprise a large majority of the Kingdom's population (70%), followed by humans (10%), half-orcs (10%), elves (5%), , and dragonborn (5%).
The vast majority of the kingdom's population is located in the south, near the coast where there is the most arable land and fishable waters.

Military

The military of the Kingdom of Jomne is well-known for its nearly unmatched heavy infantry that fight in the ancient dwarven way: wearing heavy armor inscribed with protective runes, and wielding large shields and axes or hammers. Due to many of the kingdom's wars having centered around attacking well-defended mountain cities and tower fortresses, the Kingdom of Jomne's army is second to none in siegecraft and engineering, with the kingdom being responsible for the invention of most siege weapons used in the present day such as trebuchets and ballistae.
However, while highly trained and elite, the standing army of the Kingdom of Jomne is small due to its sparse population. The standing army numbers around 15,000 warriors, the vast majority of them heavily-armored shield-bearers. The rest of the Nordic army is made up of troops gathered from the leiðangr, a form of levying that draws from the karl population, with men provisioning their own arms and armor. While far from elite, the Nordling warrior and raiding culture means a significant portion of the populace is familiar with arms and armor, and can be quickly drafted on short notice during seasons when farms need little care.

Founding Date

-3895

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Demonym

Nordling

Government System

Monarchy, Absolute

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Market economy

Major Exports

The Kingdom of Jomne is famous for its exports of valuable metals and gems from its mountains. However, the kingdom also exports furs, salted fish, ivory, lumber, and mead. Historically, the Kingdom of Jomne also dealt heavily in the slave trade, particularly with the Drangian Kaiserreich.

Neighboring Nations

• Karadzic Principality
• The Solaris Empire