Lands of Tyranny
Day 19 of The Centaur, Year 416
Nordlings
With ‘Nordlings’, the people from the Annorian region and the rest of the Empire indicate a large variety of people and tribes that inhabit the cold lands in the far north of the Continent, filled with frozen peaks, forested valleys, and in their northmost part, endless glaciers that end in a tricky and deadly sea, very difficult to navigate in. Nordlings give a great importance to the word given and to their honor, being often direct and rather physical in their actions. These hardy folks are expert huntsmen, fishermen with cultivating the little they can in these poor lands, and in general surviving in the most difficult conditions. Due to their dependency on fishing in such deadly, frozen and iceberg filled seas, they are also expert sailors, and sea raiders. With the coming of the Empire however, Nordlings became mostly integrated into its society and its armies, being a common sight under the typical armor of the legionaries, in many regions of the continent.
Society
Nordlings, even after more than a hundred years of loyalty belonging to the Empire, are still split into clans, each one of them keeping its own traditions and customs, appreciating different beverages, practicing different games, and using similar patterns and colors in clothing to distinguish the clan they belong to. Each of the clans is led by a chieftain, an inheritable title usually kept by the most noble or powerful family in the clan, wielded usually by male heirs, but at occurrence also by females, and renamed into Patriarch, as the Empire culture slowly sank inside the local one. Clans do compete with each other and are often at hands for territorial, inheritance, or family disputes, but these, instead than with blood, are regularly and legally solved by Fatebinders. The prestige of each clan is now not measured anymore on constant bloody battles, but in the prosperity of their land, in the construction of buildings, and in how many men and women of the clan would serve in the Armies of the Empire and bring tales of victories back home.
Men and women often had separated roles, with men being often outside of villages to fish, hunt, gather wood and supplies, or as warriors for their clan, while women tended to the affairs of the villages and the house. These roles were still not fixed, and it was relatively common to hear of women who dedicated themselves to outside activities or to fighting. Even with the coming of the Empire however, where men and women enjoyed a more equal status, the tendency of women to mostly tend to family affairs or to the village remained, even if many women decided to wander southwards, hearing the rumors of different, appealing lifestyles. This pronounced phenomena in turn caused a surplus in the male population that, with decreased infighting and less women available, started to flock into the Imperial Army, causing a sensible overall decrease in the population, today still visible in several villages being completely abandoned.
Nordlings, as members of the Empire, worship The Father, though the remnants of their previous shamanic religion and ancient worship of Dominium and Balthazar are cause of quite a well rooted heresy that mixes these more ancient beliefs with the cult of the Father.
These heretics, called “The Black Wolves”, often identify the figure of the Father with some animals, such as the wolf, the bear or the eagle. These men, completely normal in their daily customs and definitely still loyal to the Empire, practice rituals based on calling upon the spirits of their ancestors, the ‘totem animals’ of their clans, or the elements of nature.
Shamanism and shamans were a central part of the life of Nordlings before the coming of the Empire, and even now, especially in the most remote villages of the frozen north, these figures practice rituals to the spirits and their ancient gods, but seldom travel outside of these remote places, having very strong roots and connections with their land and their villages.The latter being actually a deeply rooted behavior even to this time, as the highest peaks, deepest forests, and icy glaciers are rumored for being hunting grounds for beastmen and other, almost legendary monsters, and for having several accesses to the Underworld, as it is testified by the disappearance of lone travellers and the young around caves and grottos, or by the presence in the hands of the most remote fishermen villagers of weapons of a craftsmanship that could not be otherwise possible with the available resources.
A particular standing in Nordling society is held by the winners of the games and challenges that each clan holds yearly, on occasion of the general assembly of the families. These winners are allowed to wear simple adornments for the entire year that allow them, other than the privilege of boasting, also other small privileges, such as always having the first drink of the evening for free, the first taste of an opened barrel of ale, or the most flavory anchovies. These or other similar customs got exported and still are part of some of the life of the Imperial Soldiers coming from these lands.
Nordlings have in the past been great sailors, their longships sailing the most dangerous seas and upriver, to explore, find new lands, commerce...and raid. In the modern world however, the space for raiding and piracy is little, but these people still feel the same drive to fight, adventure, discover new lands and new people, such energy, wanderlust and thirst for action brings many Nordlings to being explorers, but mostly sailors, and volunteering as recruits in the Imperial Army.
There are still people who do not manage to fit in the society at all, most of these coming from the very isolated north of the province, but even others are there, often ending up as headhunters, hired by the Fatebinders to hunt down criminals in hiding, or others, who still do practice naval raiding, usually of other small Nordling villages, nobody crazy enough to face the Imperial Navy, or even attract their attention.
Apparel
Nordlings often appear tall, with light skin and blonde or red hair, but their mixing with the southern inhabitants and slaves that were captured during the ancient raids made dark hair not so uncommon, even if it is the reason for some odd glances in the most isolated communities. They often wear furs and hides to adorn and complete their looks, while women often adorn themselves with precious stones or carved bones. All of them however, even if with lighter clothes, tend to still keep their skin covered even in warmer climates, for the double reason of keeping their sensitive skin protected from the sun, and for their culture, where the showing of skin was considered an intimate, provocative act to be kept indoors, even for the slaves, ideas that merged perfectly with the newfound worship of the Father.
History
​Raiders from the northern valley and shores were one of the early menaces the Empire had to face, and one of the obstacles to the rise of civilization in the early ages, as villages and towns had to spend great effort in building fortifications and to rebuild, in case of successful raids. With the rise of the power of Annoria however fortifications were built along the northern borders and on the coasts, while an organized navy was deployed to intercept and later to hunt back the raiders, soon after taking control of most of the divided and sparse villages and clans on the shores.
For decades the clans of the inner lands, or the ones on the Western shored, on the other side of the continent respect to Annoria, remained troublesome for the Empire with their constant infighting and threat to its borders, even more so since these mountain ranges hosted a number of great Dwarven fortresses and fortified towns, that constantly gave refuge to Dwarven troublemakers and instigators.
Every clan however was at some point forced to swear loyalty to the Empire, once the Edict of Winter struck in the region, bringing the already extreme temperature to lower of an extra twenty °C (thirty six °F) for more than an entire season, forcing many to abandon their homes and emigrate southwards, and starving out who didn’t. With the passing of time, Nordlings became loyal members of the Empire, merging their culture with its own. Their warriors and raiders started forming mercenary forces to be hired by the growing Empire, while gradually even becoming integrated in its own official forces.
It is news of about forty years ago that the most numerous and prosperous Nordling clans of the southernmost valleys manage to assemble an entire Legion of their own, entirely outfitted with the standard equipment of legionaries, but with a black sheep fur and iron masks, or helmets that would cover the entire face, making them look like more like some lifeless iron statues, earning them the surname of ‘the Iron Golems’.
Authors: Rashan
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