Jugeum Union
The frozen land of raiders, barbarians and giants where civilization must constantly war for survival
Structure
The organizational structure of Union society is exceedingly simple, containing only four ranks:
- Hetja: A recent addition to the historically three-class society of the union, the Hetja(Heroes) are the highest rank of Union society, but are somewhat unique - they are not neccesarily rulers or leaders, but are instead the great paragons of Jugeum society - those rewarded with this rank for some mighty or legendary action deemed worthy of being called a hero. They hold immense respect among their people, and can come from all walks of life and classes - even thralls - and might not neccesarily be warriors, as the definition of 'hero' is loose enough to allow for a vast array of deeds to grant the rank. This rank allows for entry into The Skúlmaður(Council of Elders) that checks the balance of the Union's leading Trimvirate of Hero-Kings and Hero-Queens, the þrennhetja(Who themselves are drawn and elected from the ranks of the Hetja and Jarl alike in competitions held every 4 years or so). They are granted no special ruling powers, but are afforded immense respect, first pick in raids and wars of spoils, companies to lead, and targets to attack, as well as a host of other privileges. Once awarded, this rank is held for life and marks one as special, never capable of becoming a Thrall - upon their death, they are immortalized in massive stone carvings.
- Jarl: The highest rank of Jugeum society, better known as the ruling elite. They are often quite wealthy and rarely need to perform any hard labour throughout their life - and while they do tend to participate in battles and raids they often do so as chieftains and warlords rather than standard warriors. This rank includes the Chieftains of Clans and tribes, as well as rulers of the various cities across the Union(Generally seen as a different breed of Chieftain or Warlord, but one nonetheless).
- Karl: The freemen of Jugeum society - just above the thrall but sharing many similarities in their lifestyles. The main distinction between the two societal classes being that the Karl are considered free and have full protection under Jugeum law. This allows them to do things like own farmland and become warriors - In fact, the vast majority of warriors tend to come from the Karl class and often work as farmers when they are not on raids.
- Thrall: The thrall are slaves - the absolute lowest position that someone can have within Jugeum society. These individuals have absolutely no rights under the law and are frequently sold as a form of currency during transactions. The people who belong to this class can have gained their status in a variety of ways - the most common one being simply being born as the child of a slave, which automatically put them in this class. However, there is also the possibility of someone becoming a slave due to being captured in war or losing enough wealth, status, bodily health, and/or standing that they could essentially no longer fend for themselves.
Culture
See the page for the Myrkese for more information on the culture of the people who make up the union.
Public Agenda
The Union's agenda is a simple one - to survive, thrive, and expand its holdings. It holds no other special agenda, but this simple creed of raiding and expansion has brought them into conflict with countless other societies.
History
The Jugeum Union was formed only recently by the three largest and competing kingdoms that were active in the lands now occupied by the Jugeum Union, who united and formed the Union in direct response to first contact from the Kingdom of Tarthus-Tetsu and to better organize themselves against the threat posed by The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet, forming themselves together into a grand alliance led by each of the three rulers of the kingdoms that came together to form one enormous alliance that, while initially tenuous, has endured the test of time and stablized, having now formed strange democratic means of electing their trio of leaders from the among the best of each of the three former kingdoms's peoples and a council to check the power of this trio in a wholly strange and special form of government.
Demography and Population
The Jugeum Union's main populations are made up of Human, Jotun, Dwarf, and Goliath, with smaller concentrations of Dai-Yukai, Desert Elves(Snow Variant), Kobold, Sea Elves, and countless other True Giants being present as well.
Though technically Dai-Yukai are the first or second most populous race on the isle of Myrkheim, they, unlike their male counterparts the Jotun, do not commonly venture south of the Nidavellir Mountain Range which neatly bisects the entire isle, and stay in the northernmost reaches away from the Union's lands - and away from the civilization that drove them back into the north long ago and ruined their Isle-spanning empire that once controlled most of the island on Myrkheim. However, a few tribes do dwell south of the Nidavellir Mountains, and actively participate in Union affairs.
Territories
Ever since the reign of the first High Jarl Orvar rallied his people into rebellion against their Giant overlords in the days of yore and established the first clans of the Myrkese raiders on the Isle of Myrkheim, all territory south of the enormous Nidavellir Mountain Range which neatly divides the entire Island in two from west to east has been property of the more humanoid tribes of the union - while the lands north of the Nidavellir Mountains have remained the homeland of Giants, monsters, and beasts from beyond the pale.
In recent years, the Union has also claimed a small section of land on mainland Zheng-Kitar, capturing it from the Kingdom of Seoghar and forming a small three-city territory in the southern Shenchuan Tundra, along the coast of the inland Toldera Sea and the eastern coastline of Zheng-Kitar - though the Kingdom of Seoghar has frequently tried to retake it, they have failed and have begun talks to simply 'buy off' the Union, potentially giving them the land in exchange for more peaceful relations...though no agreements have been codified yet.
Military
The Union's military is a ragtag and motley thing, with little to no organization - instead of forming unified lines as is traditional for most Zheng-Kitaran cultures and fighting as a single unit, the raging Myrkese berserkrs that make up much of the outward military force of the Union are frothing, raging monsters who are singular armies unto themself - embodying the Union's ideal of 'One-Man Warfare', which sees them place much greater emphasis in making each man 'a perfect warrior' rather than building strength through unity and numbers.
While their army is not entirely made up of these frothing barbarian berserkrs, the rest of their military tends to be divided into small 'Shield Companies' that are small in number but made up of mighty and flexible veterans - no Myrkese warrior is allowed on foreign expeditions or into war without having faced countless trials in their homeland, whether that be facing giants, leading squads of other teens into battle against beasts, or otherwise. Because of this, most each warrior in a Shield Company is a powerful veteran of warfare, and the Union's military thus specializes in small-unit tactics and places great emphasis on flexible, powerful units capable of reacting to the flow of the larger combat on their own merits and abilities - making them a massive annoyance to more traditional armies.
Adding onto this flexible, small-unit warfare is the myriad races that call the Union home - though seeing such behemoths as the Dai-Yukai in Union armies is rare, seeing the towering Jotun is somewhat of a terrifying but common sight, often as leaders of Shield Companies or the larger and rarely used 'Shield Brigades'(Made up of many smaller Shield Companies). Additionally, Dwarves, and Goliath are frequent sights in the Union's armies as well and, while not as terrifying as the Jotun, still make for terrifying sights in theaters of war.
There is one exception to the rule of Dai-Yukai not participating in Union warfare - there is rumor of a powerful companies of warriors known as "The Shieldmaidens" who, while never seen in mainland expeditions, are said to be the most Elite Unit in the entire Union, and possibly the Bodyguards of the þrennhetja and the Skúlmaður, the two governing bodies of the Union - this company, whose main body is made up of Dai-Yukai exclusively, is a terrifiying military power that showcases the odd and brutally equal nature of the Union. Notably, the Shieldmaidens also maintain a host of smaller units made up of females drawn from other species, who act as forces that represent the unit on wars outside of the Union's homeland. These other units have been spotted on occasion as elite squadrons deployed alongside Veteran Shield Companies in particular tough or notworthy engagements.
Religion
Religion in Myrkheim is a strangely spiritual and tribal thing - while the Myrkese and the Union by extension do believe in and worship The Spirit Kings as well as their Elemental Saints, they do so in strange ways and through their own lenses, oftentimes having strange and more violent offshoots of the Spirit Kings that they venerate and pay homage to in battle or on the homefront. Their means of worship are also strange, as they tend to carve massive runic inscriptions on their homes, blades, armors, and items to inscribe the protection of the Spirit Kings into their everyday lives, and often imbibe hallucinogens, stimulants, or other strange intoxicants to alter their mental state such that they believe they are 'empowered' by their gods.
Otherwise, one is mostly free to practice whatever religion one wants in the Jugeum Union - they often only get involved in religious matters when it affects them or their citizens in a harmful or negative way.
Otherwise, one is mostly free to practice whatever religion one wants in the Jugeum Union - they often only get involved in religious matters when it affects them or their citizens in a harmful or negative way.
Foreign Relations
The Jugeum Union has notoriously terrible relations with almost all nations and people it comes into contact with - whether it be The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet, whom the Union's Raiding Fleets pillage and sack with alarming regularity, The Kingdom of Seoghar, whose northern lands the Union conquered to establish a mainland territory, or even just the tribespeople of the Glacial Drift, who they have had awful relations with since the moment they discovered the frozen drift and desired to colonize it in their constant search for more usable land.
The only nation they are on good terms with is the Kingdom of Tarthus-Tetsu, whose Pharaoh Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I has somehow gotten into the good graces of the Union with his supernaturally charming personality, enormous Treasure Fleets, and ability to understand and speak the 'language' of the Union to negotiate with the normally hostile marauders. The two nations are on decently good terms, and have mutually beneficial trade agreements and even promises of aid and assistance against their common foe, The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet.
Agriculture & Industry
Unfortunately for the Union, little of their homeland has farmable soil for much of the year - the freezing temperatures and blisteringly cold climate means that the ground is frozen solid and untenable to plants or crops in most any means. As a result, their agriculture is poorly developed compared to other nations, and has led to their cultural reliance on raiding and pillaging to make demands meet for their clans and families - though, there is a notable crop that is widely grown in the Union that cannot be found anywhere else .
This powerful crop created by the ancient Giant Empire is known as Thrytla(Loosely meaning "Giant Grass"), which is nearly the only thing capable of growing in the frozen soil - a similar analogue to wheat, but much more massive and hardy. This crop, when simply ingested raw(to say nothing of when properly baked and utilized), provides a small amount of nutrition and a small amount of heat to sustain one in the freezing northern climate - and is a large bumper crop for the beleagured Myrkese that make up the union.
Otherwise, their greatest industries are based in hunting, animal husbandry, and trees - the furs, pelts, meats, leather, fish, ivory, and more from the beasts they hunt and farm are their biggest and most booming industry aside from the one that stands above all others - their legendary Dire White Oak Trees that dot the island. These trees, whose wood is the best in the known world for both its durability, flexibility, as well as overall resistance to physical damage and even slight resistance to magic means that it is a massive industry to the Union, since the trees only grow on the Isle of Myrkheim.
Trade & Transport
Trade in Myrkheim is done along old roads carved out of the frozen ice that covers the ground in large overland caravans when overland travel must be done, but more preferably is done on Longships sailing the seas - since the land is plagued with the constant threat of Blizzards, True Giants, Bandits, Beasts, and Monsters, the ocean is a preferable way to travel where at all possible to the Union.
When travel must be done overland, it is often done using the remains of the roadways, bridges, and infrastructure of the old empire of True Giants - much of whose infrastructure has withstood the test of time - and either repaired or maintained such infrastructure to keep transport flowing throughout the Union, most notably the legendary Myrkheim Causeway, an enormous, miles long bridge connecting a southern peninsula to the island miles off the coast(See The Seven Wonders of Zheng-Kitar for more info on the Myrkheim Causeway).
Education
There is no central education system per se in the Union - though clan elders often spend time alongside the clan's chief military commander teaching young children from the tender age of 7 in the ways of battle and the world - meaning that children in the Union grow up from near birth learning of combat, tactics, how to survive, and all manner of things deemed neccesary to survive the brutal isle's conditions.
Related Reading
Cowards die eternal. The brave live forever.
Founding Date
3899 ASK
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Alternative Names
Orvarrheim, Jugeum,
Demonym
Juum
Government System
Democracy, Direct
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Barter system
Currency
Uniquely, The Jugeum Union has no official currency - while they are a supremely rich nation and have in recent years begun to push for a centralized coinage system, they are still a simple people who mostly rely on barter and exchange both internally and externally.
Major Exports
Thrytla, Wool, Dire White Oak Wood, Normal Wood, Fur, Leather, Fish, Ivory, Uttercold
Major Imports
Base Metals(Iron, Lead, Copper, Etc), Silver, Gold, Jewelry, Spices, Glass, Pottery, Silk, Tarthan Blackiron,
Legislative Body
The þrennhetja(Loosely translated as "The Three Heroes") are the ruling body of the Jugeum Union - three Kings or Queens who form a triumvirate and make communal, collective decisions to drive the Union's affairs. These three are drawn from the three major territories that came together to form the Union originally, and each tends to specialize in a certain field that combines to form a well-balanced trio of rulers, each usually focused on a specific task or part of the overall duties a singular rule of a nation would have.
Judicial Body
The Skúlmaður(Loosely translated as "Council of Elders") is a group of 39 that limits the power of the þrennhetja by evaluating their decisions and handling the interpretations of the laws that they ratify, and other judicial duties. Drawn from the ranks of the Union's most distinguished, decorated, noteworthy, or accomplished citizens, this council also holds the power to vote one or more members of the þrennhetja out of their positions and declare them unfit, incompetent, or otherwise unable to hold office.
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Related Myths
The Giant-Slayers
Dwelling on the Isle of Myrkheim, long considered the birthplace and homeland of all True Giants in and around Zheng-Kitar, the Jugeum Union has long been at war with the towering behemoths known as True Giants - from the towering Sun Giants and the mighty Dai-Yukai to the lowly Hill Giants and the more common Jotun, the Union has developed in direct opposition to these mighty beings, as they were originally slaves to them - a population of thralls kept by the Giants of yore in their ancient empire who were inspired to revolt by the ancient hero and First High Thane Orvar, wielding his mighty hammer Nidavellir for which the Isle's mountains are named. Their society is a brutal one - children are trained from the tender age of 7 to be perfect warriors in both mind and body, and are left to brutally face the harshest winters and beasts regularly with little to no help from their parents or mentors - one must live or die on their own merits if one is to make it in the land of the Jugeum Union. As a result, their society naturally forges and produces only the mightiest warriors, each taught to be an army unto themselves and trained to fight and kill Giants from birth. However, unlike other societies which might foster a xenophobic hatred for Giants, the Union's Myrkese people have no such qualm or belief - instead seeing them as the world's most dangerous and desirable hunts, like Dragons are to other parts of the world. They do not hate them, and often accept them into their society if they can get along - simply recognizing that they are their most dangerous foes, and train accordingly to defeat them. The Jugeum's people have, as a result of this harsh environment and their brutalistic customs, developed quite strangely as a people - women are mostly equal to men and often join in on battles as equally as men do, both sexes have equal odds of taking up housework or political duties, and they mostly have the same rights between them, which makes the sight of Myrkese women charging into battle a strange and disgusting sight for more Patriarchical societies on mainland Zheng-Kitar. Any are generally accepted regardless of beliefs, race, or looks if one can stand beside their people and tow the line, and no mercy is given to the capture or defeated.
Friendly
As the only nation the Union has reached friendly terms with, Tarthus and the Union have become close allies over the recent decades as the efforts of Tarthus and its Pharaoh, and the open mindsets of the Union's Trimvirate of Leaders has let the two nations come to incredibly lucrative agreements exchanging Tarthus's legendarily infinite stockpiles of riches, metals, and more for Jugeum's food, wood, and other resources as well as promises of mutual support in times of war, and against The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet - who both nations hate immensely.
Unpleasant but neutral
Though the Jugeum Union proved a hostile nation in the first contact war that saw them claim a cluster of land far to the north of Seoghar, the hostilities ended extremely quickly when the forces of the union, believing themselves to have encountered a pitifully easy enemy, overextended south into the homeland of Seoghar only to have their entire army obliterated by ambushes, firestorm assaults, and almost superhumanly precise surprise strikes that decimated their forces in lethal night raids and ambushes.
Ever since this short but brutal contact war, most of the animosity has faded on both sides and they have engaged in a long-term battle of the minds that both countries seem to enjoy now that they realize the other is a truly worthy foe - waiting and scheming behind the scenes to see who can win the war before it begins. Outwardly, however, they are perfectly fine allies who can, at least, meet on neutral ground for peace discussions without fear of either striking.
Openly Hostile
As the Migrant Fleed makes for a most juicy target for Jugeum Raiding Fleets, the two nations have naturally becoming incredible hostile to one another - the fleets of the union often sack and pillage sections of the Migrant Fleet's eastern armada, and the two war and battle constantly.
There has been several attempts at a cease-fire, but all ended in failure - so while no official cease-fire has been made, many captains in the Migrant Fleet have taken to a custom called the "Myrgeld" - a tax paid to approaching Union fleets to persuade them to leave without a fight. Thanks to this, while official relations are openly hostile, many in the Migrant Fleet have developed ways to make some kind of peace with the pillaging plunderers of the Union.
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