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Dungeon Master

cowleyc

Feb 9, 2023 5:51 pm
Feb 9, 2023 5:51 pm
Lands
The Lands of the Northlands
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Estenfird

[ +- ] General Information
Overview: As one of the newest Northlander colonies, Estenfird is a wild land on the frontier of what the Northlanders call civilization (and considering that the rest of the world thinks of the Northlands as the frontier, that is saying something about its ruggedness). Less a nation than a quarrelsome collection of independent-minded settlers, Estenfird does not have a køenig or jarl, leaving the local Things and the Althing of Estenfird as the only semblance of government in the region. Estenfird ranges from the tip of the Skagerrok Peninsula northwest along the Ice River as far as Nieuburg. Few settlers have pushed beyond Nieuburg, as the climate becomes far too cold for agriculture and the Nûk, although not violent, have made it known that they do not appreciate people moving into their lands. Many brave words are said in the halls of Estenfird about pushing the Nûk out of the way, but so far none have dared to confront that enigmatic and mystical race.

The average Estenfirder is a rugged and forthright person, inured to hard work and dangerous environments. They are often stern and taciturn, slow to speak, but quick to act. Few Estenfirders go a-viking, as they have plenty of adventure at home. In the southern portions of the region, along the many rivers and on the coast, agriculture takes precedence, and many Estenfirders are farmers or herdsmen. The rivers of Estenfird are rich in fish, but the surrounding waters yield only a poor catch, making this region one of the few that sees little in the way of maritime activity. Inland and in the mountains, fur trapping and logging are the primary industries. In the spring, fur trappers and hunters come down the rivers and gather at Three Rivers and Nieuburg to sell their season’s catch. In the fall, the loggers come down in huge flotillas of cut timber, selling lumber to merchants from throughout the Northlands and beyond.

Estenfirders are notorious for their independent ways, a factor that causes worry in the more dictatorial jarls of other regions. There are no jarls in Estenfird, and to even suggest such a thing is to invite harsh words if not a duel. Many who come to the region do so to escape crimes or feuds or to live as free men and women beholden to and reliant upon none. The local Things meet once a year, drawing in people from the scattered farmsteads and logging camps. The Things of Estenfird are unique in that they do not have a landholding requirement — there is so much unclaimed land in the region that all a person has to do to become a landholder is to point at a place and say "mine." Instead, to speak or vote in the Thing, a person must be free and have the sponsorship of anyone who has spoken before at that Thing. The Althing of Estenfird works in a similar way, only the requirement is that the sponsor has already spoken or voted in the regional Althing.


Gatland

[ +- ] General Information
Overview: Three centuries ago when the tribal moots of the Northlanders evolved into the system of government known today as the Thing, not everyone was in favor of the change. True, the Things do not have much power per se, but their social might is very high, especially in Hordaland, Storstrøm Vale, and Estenfird. One of the leading groups that opposed the growing power of the Things was the Gat clan, who took themselves and their followers and settled a harsh and distant region, naming it Gatland.

Gatland is ruled by its jarls, all of whom are connected to the Gat clan in some way. Each jarl is a king in his own domain, undisputed ruler of a piece of territory that contains only those who offer allegiance to him. Even Jarl Ljot Gatson, the eldest of the Gat clan, has no true authority over these petty tyrants, though his economic and military might means that his word is often heeded.

The land itself supports this sort of locally focused government. The interior of Gatland is dominated by the Olf Mountains, leaving only a coastal fringe capable of supporting farming. Even there, the soil is poor and rocky, forcing the people of Gatland to rely on the sea for much of their sustenance. To the sea they have turned, becoming the best fishers and whalers in the Northlands but also crossing the whale road to trade and raid. In fact, trading/raiding is such an integral part of Gatlander life that some have entirely given up farming.


Hordaland

[ +- ] General Information
Overview: Hordaland is a loosely governed kingdom that is on the brink of collapsing into warring jarldoms. The former Køenig, Ragi Steinson, passed away last year after a lengthy illness, leaving behind a 10-yearold son as his heir. Young Køenig Leif Ragison rules through his regent mother, Gudrid Ragiswif. The jarls are divided as to their loyalty, with some supporting the køenig, some throwing their might behind Ragi Steinson’s bastard son Amundi the Blond, and still others being courted by both the Gats and Hrolfs.

The Hordalanders are more cosmopolitan than most of the other Northlanders, while remaining true to their Northlander ways much more so than the Hrolflanders. This is in large part due to the city of Halfstead, the Northland’s largest settlement and biggest trading center. Hordalanders are used to seeing strange travelers from distant lands, many of which come and stay for an entire season before sailing off for home. It is not unusual for a Hordalander jarl to host one or more strangers from the Southlands or even the distant Caliphate for the winter, and to do so is often considered a great boon and sign of status.

However, the people that settled Hordaland came from the Storstrøm Vale, the very heart of Northlander culture. Hordalanders cling tightly to their traditions, seeing every freeholder as his own ruler and giving the jarls only enough power to organize the hirth and see that the kingdom is well managed. The local Things are very popular, and most Hordalanders treat the rulings of the Things as being more law than suggestion.


Hrolfland

[ +- ] General Information
Overview: The Hrolfs, one of the two most widespread and powerful of the many families of the Northlands, exert tight control over this area. The family is vast, and no one member has been able to convince the others to name him køenig and thus establish a third kingdom in the Northlands. Covering the entire Jarvik Peninsula from the Andøvan Mountains to the south to the Straits of Half, lies Hrolfland. The Hrolf clan rules this land with an iron fist, having either clan members or allies in every region in a position of power. Furthermore, the more powerful family members have begun attempting to institute more feudal systems of government and land management, even going so far as to dissolve local Things and outlaw the formation of an Althing of Hrolfland.

In order to shepherd their resources and stave off the land-greedy Gats, the Hrolfs have imported ideas and strategies from the Southlands, including employing Southlander mercenaries to fight fellow Northlanders. In Hrolfland, one can find the beginnings of a true feudal system, the use of crossbows and siege engines, and nobility who have taken to fighting from expensive (and imported) warhorses.

The common people of Hrolfland are little more than thralls at best, kept in bondage to the Hrolfs by vows of obligation. Even the townsfolk owe much of what they produce to their local jarl, who is always a Hrolf. The entire network of related jarls is officially ungoverned; however, Jarl Magnus Hrolfsblood is the predominant member of the clan and exerts a great deal of influence. Jarl Magnus fancies himself a king (not the lesspowerful Northlander køenig), though he has yet to openly claim that title.


Nûkland

[ +- ] General Information
Overview: Beyond the Northlands, indeed at the edge of the world, lies the vast evergreen forests and open tundra of Nûkland. How far it stretches north of its beginnings along a line running from the conifer forest of the Frozen Taiga just north of the World’s Edge Mountains to the far ice of the Endless Glacier, no one knows. Nûkland is at least several thousand square miles in extent, and likely more.

The taiga is home to a variety of large fauna such as saber-toothed tigers, giant beavers, cave bears, and huge palmate-racked deer. The trees of the taiga slowly give way from towering pines and spruces to stunted versions of these evergreens and eventually to clumps of dwarf trees sheltering in any nook or cranny the land provides. The terrain changes from soft pine needle-covered forests to boggy tundra, frozen throughout most of the year and providing fodder only in the short summer.

On the tundra itself, only the hardiest animals such as arctic wolves, musk oxen, reindeer, giant bears, and the legendary woolly mammoth thrive. Other megafauna have been reported, but many in the Northlands dismiss stories of tigers the size of horses, woolly rhinoceroses, and even giant sloths as just tall tales. What is known is that the strange beasts unlike those found in more southerly climes can be found here, and returning with the claws, fangs, or pelt of such a great beast would put a hero well on the way to having his own saga sung in the mead halls of the Northlands.


Seagestreland

[ +- ] General Information
Overview: The coast is a wild region known as Seagestreland, the home to the savage barbarians known as the Seagestrelanders. These barbarians are not Northlanders, and live by herding and farming in the rich forestlands along the coast. For generations, there has been a mixed relationship between the Northlanders and the Seagestrelanders. Longships come to trade, bringing iron tools and luxury goods to exchange for gold, furs, amber, and slaves. Sometimes the Northlanders arrive and just take what they want, causing the Seagestrelanders to be very wary of the approach of a longship. Numerous temporary trading posts along the Seagestreland coast are inhabited for a few weeks or months during the year. Only one of these is a permanent settlement that sees traffic year-round and, even then, the winter population is small.


Storstrøm Vale

[ +- ] General Information
Overview: The long valley of the Storm River runs from the lower slopes of the Waldron Mountains to the North Sea. It is the longest-inhabited and most heavily populated area in the North, and as such is often considered the heart of the Northlands. There is currently no køenig of the Vale, but in times past, one or another jarl had amassed enough power to claim the crown. Today, the Vale is divided into a host of petty jarldoms, each vying with the others to become powerful enough to claim the title of køenig. The local Things exert a great deal of authority, often vying with the jarl for power. Many of the Things’ jurisdictions cross the boundaries of more than one jarldom. The Althing of Storstrøm Vale meets once every ten years, and is the scene of some of the most heated political battles in the Northlands, for it is the vote of the Althing that decides who shall wear the crown. More than once over the years, these votes have resulted in spilled blood.


The Vale is the cultural heartland of the Northlands, the place where the Northlanders society as it exists today originated and where Northlander social mores find their greatest expression. While the coasts of the Hord Peninsula are nearly as densely settled, and the Gatlanders are the epitome of the viking ethos, the Vale-folk are the standard by which all others are judged. Here the largest godshouses, the burial cairns of some of the Northlands’ greatest heroes, and many of the most popular ballads sung by the skalds are set.

A wealthy and industrious land, the Vale is rich in good farmland and pasturage for their famed sturdy ponies, has plentiful fishing both offshore and in the Storm River, and even has access to iron and silver in the Waldron Mountains. The land is deficient in only two things: true wilderness (though the foothills of the mountains are somewhat wild) and room. Every generation sees individuals or entire families leave the Vale seeking their own land in less-crowded regions.

Vastavikland

[ +- ] General Information
Overview: Harsh, rugged lands breed hard, strong people, and no land is as harsh and rugged as Vastavikland. Estenfird may have its deep forests and tall mountains, and Nûkland its vast snow-covered tundra, but Vastavikland surpasses them all in natural wonders that can kill. The Olf Mountains do not so much roll toward the sea as march down to do battle, forming steep cliffs cut only by narrow fjords. Small holdings fill every habitable and arable inch of these valleys, but even so there are always more mouths than the land can support. Thus, the Vastaviklanders have developed a culture centered on raiding and trading the steady but tiny trickle of gold that flows down melt-water streams from the glacier-choked mountains.

To say that Vastaviklanders are violent is an understatement; even jarls and køenigs are chosen by ritual combat. Men and women are raised to become warriors, and even the few thralls are trained to fight. Every spring, hundreds of longships set sail; those that come back bring much needed supplies, those that don’t have reduced the number of mouths to feed during the winter.


North Sea, The

Part of no specific land, but central to all, the North Sea is the lifeblood of the Northlanders. The whale road of the Great Ocean Ûthaf and the infamous Northern Passage finds its terminus in the North Sea, and the waves that lap upon the rocky shores of the Seal Coast find their genesis in those same cold waters. For the Northlanders whose culture and sustenance relies upon the tradition of going a-viking, the North Sea is their highway and their escape route. The lives and livelihoods of a great portion of the population of the Northlands rides in longships upon the eddies and currents of the North Sea, and as its tides pull so too does their fate.

While the waters and cold are capable of quickly killing those that fall in for long, that is not the only danger that the dark waters hold. Storms are swift and sudden on the North Sea, and these gales have left the wrack of many a longship of doughty warriors upon some desolate shore or at the bottom of Rán’s domain. As a result, ghost ships crewed by draug and worse haunt the campfire tales of many a stalwart sword brother, and it is not unknown for brine zombies to rise from the surf on a foggy coastal night. In the deeper waters, brine dragons, devilfish, grindylows, sea drakes, sea serpents, dire sharks, dragon turtles, gigantic specimens of octopi and squids, and even the legendary krakens pose hazards for the merchants, fishermen, and raiders alike that ply the sea’s steel waves and freezing spray. The Sea is a fickle mistress, from the secrets she holds to her deadly children, and even the mightiest køenig dares not forget to pay her homage.

Dungeon Master

cowleyc

Feb 9, 2023 6:00 pm
Feb 9, 2023 6:00 pm
Lands
Strange Places

Jomsburg Island

The lair of the feared Jomsvikings, Jomsburg is a fortress-city perched high above the North Sea. Tall, thick walls surround the city, even on the seaward side, and the Jomsvikings have spared no expense in the construction of their defenses, even going so far as to import priceless siege equipment from the Southlands. These siege engines throw stones large enough to sink a ship or shatter a shieldwall. The city proper is on the cliffs; however, a second city exists in a network of caves that lead from the main fortress through the cliffs to the sea caves below. It is in these sea caves that the Jomsvikings bring their longships and beach them in safety. The sea caves are strongly defended with underground fortifications and massive chains that can be stretched across their mouths in order to block attacking ships. A further defense is the nature of the caves themselves, for their entrances are difficult to spot and their passages are a maze of narrow winding watery tunnels. They are also allegedly home to the mysterious Jomsbeast.

The Jomsvikings themselves are notorious vikings and mercenaries who terrorize the Northlands and beyond with impunity. They are a tightknit brotherhood who have sworn blood oaths to each other and to their master, Jarl Ut the Fat. These pirates and cutthroats refuse to abide by any law but their own and live a life of debauchery and slaughter, taking what they want and crafting no goods, growing no food, and providing no useful services themselves — other than rapine and slaughter. Only the most desperate jarl would dare hire the Jomsvikings, and so most of the brotherhood spends at least part of the year in the service to the nobles of the Southlands or the distant Caliphate.


Mother Hengrid’s Cottage

Deep in the marshes that form the delta of the Dnipir River is a simple cottage inhabited by a kindly, but somewhat mad, old woman. This woman, one of the three daughters of the Norn Skuld and a mortal hero, exists to offer aid and comfort to heroes on glorious quests. Those daring enough to brave the dangers of the swamp may find aid, information, or just a warm place to sleep — provided, of course, she doesn’t kill them first.

The cottage sits in a small island in the delta, bordered on one side by a large arm of the Dnipir River, and on the other by a smaller tributary. Crooked trees, brambles, and sickly hammocks of grass cover the island, giving it a more sinister air than the rest of the swamp. Even in the depths of winter, snakes and insects swarm the island, and the air is warm and fetid. In the center stands a small cottage and garden plots, as incongruous in its surroundings as the island is in the swamp.

Mother Hengrid greets visitors warmly and provides food and lodging for them. However, she expects them to help with the chores around her cottage, such as fetching firewood (the woodpile is guarded by some sort of fearsome creature), washing the dishes in the river (in which lurk giant frogs and worse), or feeding table scraps to her dogs (actually otherworldly canines such as yeth or hell hounds). Those who offend her find themselves cast into her cellar where they must battle giant vermin in order to escape. A hero in her favor, however, receives magical potions in the form of produce from her gardens.


Old Meg’s Cave

The Jomsburg is home to more than just the Jomsvikings and the Jomsbeast, for in a series of caverns on the southern cliffs of the island lives Old Meg, one of the three daughters of the Norn Skuld. Old Meg is a wizened, insane hag who offers deadly challenges to prove the mettle of those who come to her seeking aid. Those who pass receive information, items of magical potency, and respect from a half-divine entity. Those who fail are never heard from again, for not only do they lose their lives, but their very souls as well.

The Caverns of Old Meg sit in a cliff, the opening 150 feet above the crashing surf. There is no safe anchorage below the cliff, and the sea crashes constantly against a rocky reef at the cliff’s base. Holding a ship there is nearly impossible, and most who try are swept onto the rocks while seabirds cackle and swoop at anyone below.

The caverns themselves twist and turn, appearing in a different form every time a person enters, and never the same twice. Sometimes the journey through the caverns to Old Meg’s lair is a simple one, other times heroes face a maze filled with traps or dangerous guardians. Once one reaches the end, he must still contend with the crazed witch and her tests. These tests can take the form of a living game of hnefataftl, battling one’s own fears made manifest, facing one’s character flaws, or even defeating the very thing you came to learn how to defeat (and thus learning an important truth about your enemy). Whatever the test, those who fail are destroyed body and soul.


The Tomb of High Køenig Kraki Haraldson

On a manmade hill overlooking the Storm River, not far from the Hall of the Hearth Stone, sits the tomb mound of Kraki Haraldson, the first and only High Køenig of the Northlands. Well before the Northlanders expanded far beyond the borders of the Vale — for in that time Hordaland, Gatland, and Hrolfland were the far frontiers — one jarl managed to rise up and unite the entire Northlands under his banner. Kraki Haraldson was a fearsome warlord, a feared sea reaver, and a brilliant politician. His might managed to unite even the feuding Gats and Hrolfs, as well as hundreds of independent jarls.

Not all were happy with this state of affairs and, following a decade of rule, a cabal of oath-breakers who styled themselves as freedom fighters assassinated the High Køenig. The families of these assassins fled and settled the land that is now Vastavikland. The High Køenig was laid to rest in a magnificent tomb that was in turn buried under tons of earth in order to keep his wight safe or, as some say, safely inside. To date, none have dared to open the barrow, despite the legends that speak of untold riches and, more alluring, Kroenarck, the Sword of the High Køenig — a weapon that some say would make its owner the second High Køenig of all the Northlands.


Yrsa’s Rock

Out on the Great Ocean, not far from where the North Sea flows out to join the world sea, lies the fabled abode of Yrsa the Fair, one of the three Daughters of Skuld the Norn. Yrsa waits on this pillar of stone jutting out of the sea, chained at the summit and guarded by a fearsome beast. She lives as a test of the courage, heroism, and good manners of would-be heroes and rewards those who rescue her with boons and wisdom. Those who fail are consumed by the wyrm that guards her. Much is to be gained from rescuing Yrsa, but be warned, she only rewards those who come to her for the best of intentions and who treat her with utmost grace and respect.

The location of Fair Yrsa’s Rock is not common knowledge, but those steeped in wisdom and learning maybe able to piece together its general location somewhere in the Cymu Current far south of the Cymu Islands but nearly due east of Halfstead.


Strange Things

Beast Totem of Shibauroth

Several generations ago, a band of heroes fought a sect of the Beast Cult in the heart of Storstrøm Vale, defeating the vile cultists and freeing the upper reaches of the Storm River from the grip of the God of Blood and Beasts. The center of the cult’s worship was a great stone idol depicting Shibauroth sitting atop a massive runestone, images of his bestial followers and their victims coiled below him like the scales of some huge wyrm. The totem disappeared after the cult leader was slain, but has since appeared time and again where the Beast Cult finds a new home. After a local sect of the cult is defeated, the totem again vanishes, only to appear again in some out-of-the way location. Every appearance seems to draw in new cultists, calling to fell beasts and perverted souls alike.


The Black Dragonship

The appearance of any dragonship is cause for alarm, but even more so when the sails are black with mold and the hull is the silver of aged wood. The Black Dragonship is said to be result of hubris and a curse. In the time of the grandfathers’ grandfathers, an infamous viking named Folkmar the Reaver cut a bloody swath across the seas, pillaging every coast from the Northlands south. Never did he build anything, nor did he establish a hall with the fortunes he won. His men would come and go, but always Folkmar was a threat to all and sundry during the 30 years he sailed the seas.

His downfall came as he was aging, his old wounds catching up to him and driving him to increasingly more desperate acts. His men began to drift away, for there was less and less reward for the increasing risk, and it is hard for an old man to recruit young warriors to his cause when all he has to offer is a lifetime of pillaging. Finally, Folkmar sailed his ship to Yrsa’s Rock and attempted to force the daughter of Skuld to extend his life and give back his youth. Needless to say, he was less than heroic in his endeavor, and instead of being rewarded, Folkmar was cursed for having the temerity to make demands of a child of the gods. For all eternity, he would live, but he would continue to age, as would his ship and his men, cursed to rot yet remain alive.

Thus, he does to this day, an undead apparition of moldering bones leading a crew of rotted men. For part of the year, the Black Dragonship remains sunken at the bottom of the sea, but on nights of the full moon, "viking nights" as they are sometimes called, it lifts from the sludge of the ocean’s floor and hunts once again for fresh prey. It is said that all the loot of Folkmar, from the days before his curse and the decades since, lie at the Black Dragonship’s monthly resting place somewhere beneath the waves.


The Hearth Stone

The Storm River splits into two branches roughly halfway along its length, reforming again several miles farther downstream. At the split stands a great stone of pitted black rock that is as hard as iron yet seems to float and bob upon the waters like a giant cork. This rock is known as the Hearth Stone, for legend holds that it was the home of the first Northlanders following Swein Sigurdson, the mold and forge from which the gods made them, and the center of the Northlands. If this is true, it happened so far back in the distant past that none can truly call it naught but legend, save those who come there to call upon the gods, and the godi who have built a mighty godshouse that spans the river.

From one side of the mighty Storm River to another, a massive construction of wood, the only bridge that crosses that great river, straddles both forks of the waterway and brings pilgrims to stand directly above the Hearth Stone. A clan of godi whose ancestors spent 40 years constructing it manages this godshouse/bridge. Pilgrims are allowed entrance, provided they give an acceptable donation. Once inside, they see one of the wonders of the Northlands, for every inch of the structure is carved with depictions of the gods, as well as monsters, villains, and heroes. The entire history of the Northlands can be seen here, and as new events of import occur, they are added, even if a new room needs to be constructed. Young members of the Hearthsons clan spend the early years of their adulthood traveling the Northlands to learn of — and often participate in — important events. Oddly, although so much of the history of the Northlands can be learned from studying the carvings inside the godshouse, the room that once held the origins of the Gat-Hrolf feud collapsed into the river and was washed away many, many generations ago, leaving that a mystery to the current generations.

Dungeon Master

cowleyc

Feb 10, 2023 2:28 am
Feb 10, 2023 2:28 am
Lands
The Lands Beyond

Cymu Islands

The Cymu Current is a warm-water current that flows past the mouth of the North Sea and heads northeast toward distant and unknown lands. The Oestryn Isles are said to lie in that current, but many hold them to be just a legend, or a confusion of the real Cymu Islands with a dream of fiction. The Cymu Islands are a small chain of volcanic islands that lie in the middle of the Cymu Current. They are lush gardens, heated from the warm waters of the sea and from the boiling rock within their hearts. Strange animals are known to inhabit these islands, lizards and snakes of grotesque size, birds that have no feathers, and even lizards that walk like men. The Northlanders rarely visit the Cymu Islands, though their location is well known and often used as a place of refuge for those blown far out to sea or who have chased whales or merchant vessels too far from more regularly traveled sea lanes.


Monrovia and the Southlands

Seagestreland may be the most convenient place to trade and raid, but the most profitable is the Southlands. Monrovia is merely the northernmost of these kingdoms and petty baronies, and the one most often visited by Northlanders. Unlike the Seagestrelanders, the Southlanders of Monrovia are on the watch for Northlander ships and respond with force whenever and wherever they can. Watchtowers line the coast, and the local hirths (called militias in the Southlands), although one-for-one not as good of warriors as the average Northlander, are numerous and backed up by mounted warriors clad in metal plates from head to toe.

Monrovia’s ability to fend off raids of all but the most-isolated settlements (and the fact that many settlements have a wall of some kind) has encouraged Northlanders to trade here and raid farther south. Further encouragement comes in the form of trade from Monrovia north, as well as a close relationship between Monrovia and the Hrolf clan. Ships and caravans from Monrovia regularly travel into Hrolfland and enjoy the protection of the Hrolfs (though it should be noted that not all Northlanders recognize this protection). The Monrovians, as well as other Southlanders, also hire Northlander mercenaries for their wars, though many Northlanders do not see this as being nearly as profitable as raiding, and some see it as outright dishonorable.

The Duchy of Monrovia is ruled by one jarl (called a duke by the Southlanders) who himself serves some other more powerful jarl or køenig (or in this case, a queen). Several lesser jarls serve him (though they have strange names such as "knight" or "bannerette"). Most of the people appear to be thralls to these jarls, save in the towns where freemen live. The minor jarls keep households of warriors who ride horses and clad themselves in heavy armor like lobsters. It is said that no shieldwall can withstand the charge of these mounted warriors, especially if they are backed by hordes of thralls wielding longbows. It is best to hit Monrovia and all the Southlands quickly and with the element of surprise, for once at sea, raiders are safe from these cowards. It should be noted that the Southlanders are at best poor sailors and their ships are slow, clumsy, and badly handled.

Beyond Monrovia lie dozens of small kingdoms, all of which are targets (or trading partners) of the Northlanders. Aside from the coastal settlements, not much is known about these lands, although all are similar to Monrovia in structure and technology. Of the dozen or so Southlander nations, the ones most frequently visited are Brounthia (ruled by a queen), Hesten, Lastrania, and distant Pelshtaria.


Sea of Grass

Stretching south and west from Seagestreland is the Sea of Grass, an aptly named plain that runs for thousands of miles. The long, slow Vindelsalven River runs through this plain, and provides an easy means of reaching the lands beyond, though the journey is one of many weeks and fraught with peril. Despite the risks, the Southlands beyond are known to employ Northlander mercenaries in their armies, as well as bodyguards for wealthy nobles and merchants. Also, gold is found along the river, and raiding villages during the journey south is a favorite and profitable past time.

There are dangers on the Sea of Grass, for horrible monsters hunt the plains and can be found in the deeper parts of the Vindelsalven River or in areas where the river has spread out into a marsh. The marshlands are said to harbor strange men with the heads of lizards, great black wyrms that can break a longship in half, and worse things. Beyond the marshlands, which may be the river’s source, an arduous portage must be made onto the Shimmering River (which carries the traveler south to more Southlander kingdoms) that is made more perilous because it lies in the lands of the K’Haln, a notorious tribe of horse-riding bandits.


The Far North and the Oestryn Isles

Legends hold that somewhere northeast of Estenfird lies an arm of land that is rich in gold, silver, and ivory. A place where whales are plentiful, seals abundant, and the people weak and fearful. No one alive has sailed there, for the voyage across the Great Ocean is dangerous and the reward could merely be a myth. Also, the same tales tell of a land of verdant green and warm winters far across the Great Ocean, but again no living man or woman has been there and returned. In general, although great sailors, the Northlanders are not ones to travel far out on the lonely expanse of the Great Ocean, for there live monsters of great size, masses of seaweed that can swallow ships, and strange and fell currents. No one is afraid of making the journey, but none sees the profit in chasing down riches found only in tales.
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