[OOC] Children of the Greatfather

[gorgenmast]

Children of the Greatfather

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Since the first days of the world, when the Greatfather and his six mighty sons walked the land, Magnar has been the homeland of the Born: children in their tongue. A dozen centuries have passed since those heady days, and in that time the children of the Greatfather's sons have tamed the rugged lands of Magnar and carved out six great realms, one for each of the Greatfather's sons. The hosts of the vengeful dead have been laid to rest forever and the trolls have been banished to their lairs deep in the mountains. Invaders too have come to despoil the birthright of the Born; the Thalasan invaders, bringing horses and magicks, succeeded in destroying one of the great realms, but they too were ultimately repulsed. Every enemy of the Born, unbowed children of the Greatfather, has been laid low. Magnar was their hard-earned birthright and for hundred of years, the Born have assumed that their homeland would be theirs to inhabit for all time.

But now, Magnar faces a threat greater than all the revenant hosts, savage trolls, and Thalasan fleets combined; an adversary that no amount of courage nor skill at arms can repulse. The doom of the Born is no mortal army, but Magnar itself, for an unending winter has seized the land. Snow is now liable to fall within weeks of the summer solstice, and the tremendous glaciers of the mountains creep into the valleys, crushing villages and forests alike in their inexorable advance. Famished and desperate, the northern realms plunder their southern neighbors. As war rages across frigid Magnar, the court of the Master's Citadel at Draath has descended into madness. So great is the courtly turmoil that the Master has been assassinated for the first time in 700 years.

There is a new Master of Magnar, Evar Varvudda. Never expecting to become Master, Evar became a sailor and traveled to distant lands across the Sturmsee, the Sea of Tempests. Now that he has returned, Evar speaks of bountiful, verdant lands to the south. Faced with the imminent doom of Magnar, the Master of all Born has suggested the unthinkable: that all Bornic men, women, and children abandon the Greatfather's birthright and establish a new homeland for the children of the Greatfather.

Introduction

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Children of the Greatfather is an advanced nation roleplay set in a low-fantasy medieval world. This roleplay focuses on the five realms of Magnar, a septentrional landmass with a culture and climate similar to that of the greater Scandinavian region of Europe's medieval era. Due to a rapid climatic shift akin to the so-called Little Ice Age that occurred in medieval Europe, Magnar's climate has quickly become too cold to sustain its agrarian society. The Master of Magnar - who is essentially the king of this land - has suggested relocating the entire population to the more temperate lands across the sea.

I am looking for 4-5 competent storytellers who can post regularly to control one of each of the five realms of Magnar. I may allow any extra players to assume control of the native civilizations of the southern landmasses, or the non-Born population of Magnar. I am looking for writers that can weave together a compelling story that fits the setting. Creative, setting-appropriate worldbuilding is another skill I am seeking in applicants.

Lore and Setting

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History of Magnar

Days of the Greatfather

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According to legend, the Greatfather inhabited Magnar since the birth of the world. He roamed the valleys and mountains of the land, exploring a land inhabited only by the beasts of the woods and hills. He spoke to the animals and the trees, befriending them and learning their wisdom. To the Greatfather's dismay, all living things around him eventually died. From the whales of Magnar's stone gray seas, to the mighty icewalkers of Magnar's northern reaches, all living things on Magnar met their end sooner or later. Even the trees, the longest-lived of all the Greatfather's friends, eventually declined and died. The immortal Greatfather could only watch as mortality claimed all life around him. The Greatfather walked Magnar for nearly three thousand years, searching in vain for another immortal being in whom he could confide.

From the heavens, the valkyries watched the Greatfather's melancholy search. The valkyrie Nystra took pity upon the Greatfather and descended to Magnar to befriend the Greatfather. The Greatfather was elated to meet a fellow immortal being, and he took Nystra as his wife. Nystra bore the Greatfather six sons over the course of their marriage - the very first of the Born. The Greatfather was tremendously proud of his new family, and together the Greatfather and his children explored Magnar, teaching them all of the wisdom he had learned in his solitude among the beasts. Nystra taught the Greatfather and his sons the ways of the valkyries - how to settle down and live in a domicile and be civilized.

Eventually, Nystra tired of the company of the Greatfather and left. Horrified by his wife's disappearance, the Greatfather left his sons to their devices as he went out to find Nystra. The Greatfather searched Magnar for many years, and eventually found her in the haunt of the troll Shebalog. Nystra had taken Shebalog as her new husband, and with him had sired many sons and daughters. Overcome with jealousy, the Greatfather went into Shebalog's cave in the dead of night and killed Nystra and Shebalog with a heavy rock. Upon seeing the blood of his wife on his hands, the Greatfather wept loudly. Hearing the terrible cries from the chambers of their parents, Shebalog's children fled the cave in the night and scattered across Magnar.

A remorseful Greatfather returned to his home to see his sons once again. He encountered Eshkag, one of his sons, in the woods outside the house, scrabbling about in the dirt eating acorns and roots. When questioned as to why he was doing this, Eshkag explained that his brother Seolhi had striken him blind in a fight, and that he could not find his way back home.

A furious Greatfather returned with Eshkag to find his home was in shambles. His sons had succumbed to infighting, and their disputes had caused the house to fall into ruin. Seeing that his children could not be trusted to live together, the Greatfather elected to divide Magnar amongst his children. The Greatfather sent the children to the far-flung corners of the land so that they would not fight amongst themselves. Eshkag, however, was in no condition to fend for himself, and so the Greatfather allowed Eshkag to stay with him.

In their own corners of Magnar, the sons of the Greatfather established their own houses, and eventually encountered the daughters of Shebolag. The Greatfather's sons took these women as their brides, and sired the second generation of the Born. And as their children grew up, the Greatfather was horrified to find that his own children continued to age. Due to the wounds inflicted by Seolhi, Eshkag was the first son to pass away. He died in the Greatfather's arms, who was as saddened as he was bewildered, for he did not understand how the offspring of two immortal beings could be mortal. But the valkyries in the heavens had conspired against him. Seeing the Greatfather murder their sister Nystra enraged the valkyries, and so they placed the curse of mortality on all of Nystra's children - that the Greatfather would never again find company in a fellow immortal.

The Greatfather could only watch as his children withered and died like all other beings. Refusing to watch his progeny die like all other life, the Greatfather departed the realms of the Born and has never since been seen.

The Age of Strife

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In the absence of the Greatfather, his children multiplied across Magnar. The houses established by the first Born grew into estates with plenty of wheat and livestock. The great forests of Magnar were thinned to build homes and palisades for their estates. Great swathes of forest were cleared to create pasturage for sheep and cattle, particularly in Magnar's southern hills. The oldest and most established estates were those built by the original sons of the Greatfather, and these typically became the seats of each of the six realms. Smaller estates sprang forth, and the masters of these estates pledged their fealty to one of the six realms in return from protection from livestock thieves and banditry. As the six realms accumulated wealth, their masters became increasingly avaricious. Realms attacked one another to plunder cattle and other wealth. The incessant raiding and pillaging led to mass starvation among the common folk, and killed many men of fighting age.

The Master of Magnar

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It became clear that something had to be done to stop the rampant warfare. It was apparent that a leader among the Born was necessary in lieu of the Greatfather. Magnar needed a master above all masters. Isvald Lastrund, the Lastrund Master, suggested at a feast of the six masters of Magnar that Mastery of Magnar be a rotating title. The Master of one realm would serve as master; upon his death, the master of the realm next in line would assume mastery of all Magnar, based upon the order of birth of the forebear of each realm. An election was summarily held, and Isvald Lastrund was named the first Master of Magnar.

Thalasan Invasion

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Several hundred years of relative peace ensued, and Magnar's population swelled. Wars between the realms continued to occur, but were much fewer. The Masters of Magnar had established a lasting peace among the realms. But the peace was shattered with the arrival of the Thalasans. A seafaring people from across the Sturmsee, the Thalasans arrived first as a small number of traders, greedily exchanging furs, pelts, and ivory from walruses and icewalkers for exotic goods from the southern lands. But within two years of their initial arrival, a massive fleet of great Thalasan warships landed on the southern coast of Magnar. Cohesive, well-organized armies of soldiers bearing metal armor disembarked from these ships and effortlessly routed the disorganized warbands of the Bornic defenders and their exotic siege engines laid waste to the primitive estate fortification. Most terrifying of all, perhaps, were their horses: exotic animals from the south that the Born had never encountered before.

Within months, the Thalasan hosts had driven the Born into the northern hinterlands of Magnar. The Realm of Lastrund had been utterly vanquished at the Siege of Draath, the southern realms had fled into the North, and Ysmor Blacktooth, Master of Magnar, was skewered by a Thalasan lancer at Byrno. Mastery of Magnar fell upon Solveig Eshkag. Solveig recognized that continuing to attack the Thalasans in a piecemeal, uncoordinated fashion would spell doom for all of the Born. Unity among the Greatfather's Children would be utterly necessary. Solveig approached the Master of the Seolhi - the perennial nemesis of the Realm of Eshkag - and offered material support for Seolhi boats to waylay Thalasan supply ships arriving and returning to the south. He persuaded his fellow masters not to waste their warriors in futile counterassaults of their captured estates, but to conduct brief nighttime raids and ambush small cohorts of Thalasans traveling the countryside.

Solveig's coalition was very effective at hamstringing the Thalasan advance into northern Magnar, but he knew that he would not be able to expel the Thalasans without help. He turned to the non-Bornic peoples in the icy north of Magnar, and met with Lypaak, a king among the sons of Shebalog. In exchange for assurance that the Born would leave the far north of Magnar in peace, Lypaak assembled an army to assist Solveig and the Born in freeing Magnar from the Thalasans, complete with a cohort of reindeer-mounted warriors.

Seolhi pirates had captured correspondence from the Thalasans that indicated that their hosts were mobilizing to capture Narskur - the Eshkag stronghold and center of Solveig's resistance. With this knowledge, Solveig recognized an opportunity to deal a decisive blow against the Thalasans. At the plains near Yorvask, the northward-marching Thalasans encountered the largest army ever assembled by the peoples of Magnar. An effective charge by reindeer-mounted javelineers caught the Thalasans off guard, giving the Sons of the Greatfather and Shebalog the opportunity to charge into the Thalasan infantry and engage them in their preferred one-on-one melee. After hours of intense fighting, Solveig and Lypaak's armies emerged victorious, and the Thalasans were killed to the last man. A number of Thalasan horses captured after the battle became the forebears of most horses in Magnar today.

Following the great victory at Yorvask, Solveig and the children of the Greatfather marched directly against Draath - the former seat of the Realm of Lastrund. There, they encountered a mighty citadel where the Lastrund estate had stood a year before; a tower of stone built in the Thalasan fashion. Donning the armor and clothing of Thalasan warriors slain at Yorvask, Solveig's mightiest warriors approached the gates of the keep pretending to be Thalasan soldiers. Once inside the keep's gates, the Bornic warrior lashed out savagely against the garrison inside and opened the gates for the Solveig's army waiting just beyond the treeline. The Thalasans inside the keep were utterly butchered, and Solveig personally beheaded the Thalasan lord. The Thalasan commander's severed head was paraded atop a pike when victorious Solveig returned to Narskur, and eventually a goblet was fashioned out of his skull. The remaining Thalasans scattered across Magnar were eventually slain by vengeful Born or sailed back home - either on their own ships or commandeered Bornic boats - never to return again.

Post-Thalasan Magnar

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A hard-won victory over the Thalasans belonged to the Greatfather's children, but many Born predicted that they would return to avenge their fallen kin and conquer Magnar in earnest. But 630 years have passed since the Battle of Yorvask, and the Thalasans have never been seen again. Their conquest of Magnar ended in defeat, but the Thalasans left an indelible mark upon Magnaran culture during their brief reign. Most of these innovations have been martial in nature. Foreign weapons like maces and halberds have been adopted by the Bornic warriors who previously used only axes and swords, and Thalasan-inspired war machines like the ballistae are now utilized by the wealthier masters. Fortifications are now built out of stone if possible. The Thalasan-built citadel at Draath, the example from which all Magnaran stoneworkers draw inspiration, now serves as the court of the Master of Magnar. Perhaps the most revolutionary change to Magnaran society is the introduction of the horse. Cavalry have turned the art of warfare on Magnar on its head, and have forced warriors to adopt new tactics and weapons to counter the threat of horse-mounted foes.

The Thalasan contributions contributed more than just new ways of waging war. Thalasan loanwords and place names persist - particularly in the south of Magnar. Thalasan traders left behind an appetite for foreign goods such as spices and fruit wines. And the Thalasan encounter kindled an interest in the wider world beyond Magnar. This interest has driven some adventurous Born to brave the Sturmsee and see what lies beyond Magnar's shores.

Cartography

Magnar Geographic

Magnar Locations

Application

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I admittedly hate writing applications, but they are a necessary evil. Remember that people really only skim these to get a feel for your nation, so don't spend a lot of time or effort on your application.

Realm Name: One of the five remaining realms of Magnar. Effectively a duchy or great house.
Realm Master: The realms trace their history back to the six sons of the Greatfather, and the master of the realm is a direct descendant of one of the original six sons. Although male masters are much more common - female masters are permissible.
Master's Biography: May be combined with Realm History
Realm History: May be combined with Master's Biography
Realm Seat: The capital of your realm. Not particularly important as you will not be ruling from here for very long.
Realm Boundaries/Location: Again, not terribly important at first as the Born will be fleeing their homeland before long. But for the purposes of immersion, it would be nice to know where everyone is relative to one another. When the colonization of the southern lands begins, your realm's boundaries will be more pertinent.

[Publius]

First!

Reserved for my application.

There's no map yet, but I'm going to claim somewhere in the south and if possible I'd like my territory to include where Nystra and the Greatfather raised their children and/or consummated their marriage for the purpose of having a holy site and being sour at the Thalasans.

(Heavily WIP; made on phone)
Realm Name: Eshkagi
Realm Master: Aedier of Eshkag the White Stag
Master's Biography: WIP
Realm History: WIP
Realm's Seat: Greathearth
Realm Bounds: The fertile plains and fruit groves of the south and the great forests surrounding them, containing the Greathearth.

[Lauder]

I HAVE ARRIVED, PEASANTS!

[CollectorOfMyst]

Here to express interest - though I will undoubtedly have questions. Especially since this may be one of my first Nation RPs. But hey, have to start somewhere, right?

[gorgenmast]

Good to have everyone.

In the interest of letting as many people participate as possible, I will be giving my realm up for someone else. I will instead be playing as Evar Varvudda and his retinue.

Here to express interest - though I will undoubtedly have questions. Especially since this may be one of my first Nation RPs. But hey, have to start somewhere, right?

@CollectorOfMyst

Ask away. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me. PMs are fine, but Steam messenger is the best way to reach me throughout the day - as I have the Steam app on my mobile phone. Steam name is 'gorgenmast' if anyone wants to friend me.

[Sloth]

Alright, now that I'm finished reading through the tidbits of lore and all that, would it be at all possible to have a Realm of Born in the North of Magnar descended from a son of the Greatfather who took to smithing? The admittedly very basic idea I've got so far is that this son of the Greatfather consulted with Dwarves, Icewalkers, and so on to learn their ways and subsequently became ignorant of his siblings' quarrels as he was too busy chilling with non-Born. Even had a fun idea where as of yet unnamed son would seek out the sons of Shebalog and not immediately kill them, resulting in his descendants being branded "Troll Lovers" or some other slur, but that's just me spitballing to myself and it seems an Eshkag pulled that off before me. Out of grief or what not he became the Master of Magnar's Northern mountain ranges and all that fun stuff, descendants get that cool architecture/blacksmithing/so on specialization, make vague attempts at staying out of wars with everyone else, potentially pick up a lot of cool stuff from the Thalasan Invaders, or try to innovate their own cool stuff using Thalasan techniques? I dunno.

Am I rambling? I do that.

Basically think a relatively isolationist northern region of badass blacksmiths and stonemasons who have the audacity to not hate their non-Born cousins that is subsequently brought to the brink of starvation and might actually be starting to raid other Bornic?? Realms for the first time in many centuries because winters suck, yo. Ignore the fact that Evar is calling for the Born to come together again for a Great Reaving or what not and other Realms might not like them at the moment.

Maybe I'd be better off actually writing the concept up rather than rambling like a mad man, but I've gone too far now. Do let me know. If it's a no go, I'll either try to cook up some other harebrained scheme or slink away into the shadows, crying to myself.

[Little Bill]

Realm Information

As long as they have existed, the Seolhi have been on the outskirts of Magnar. The Seolhi isles run along Magnar's Western shores, making up an archipelago whose craggy mountains breaks apart sea storms, sparing their Eastern neighbors the damp winds the Seolhi isles are known for. Their harsh, stormy homelands are not by chance or choice; In the earliest years, the Greatfather granted his son Seolh domain of a small, barren formation of islands as punishment for blinding his brother Eshkag in an unarmed duel of strength. Believed to be born from the line of the wickedest of the Greatfather's sons, Seolhi culture has been inherently hard-hearted since its inception -- Children's tales from the isles tend to incorporate grim, straightforward lessons, funerals involve little more than rifling through the pockets and disposing of a corpse, and the societal expectation of the elderly and enfeebled to unburden their families through suicide is so strong that there is a specific Seolhi holiday for it, known as "Raft's Day."

Since Seolh was cast out to the Western isles, the reputation of the area has managed to improve very little, as it has bred a people known for little more than their clannish, territorial nature and their use of ships as year-round homes to escape their homeland's foul weather. They are stereotypically seen as untrustworthy for their insular customs, though this is also because of the multiple instances of cannibalism and shore raiding in times of famine. For their muddy homeland, territorial ways, and the belief that they routinely "eat their own eggs", they are often referred to as "The Turtle-People" by their Born brethren. They have taken this as a nationalistic symbol, particularly due to the prevalence of aggressive snapping turtles in the brackish rivers of the isles, and the supposed medicinal effect of powdered turtle shell on a man's virility.

Following recent weather anomalies, the Seolhi were among the first to unanimously agree to the great migration, as they stand to have the most to gain. They are a maritime culture through and through, favoring seamanship over war or art, and have high expectations of their people's new place in a new Magnar. The Seolhi, after all, are able to take their prized homes with them, while the neighbors who they believe to have spat down on them from their stone towers cannot.

<sub>• The ancient seat of the Seolhi monarchy is located in the southernmost tip of the isles, in a short cliffside castle known as Urchin's Reach. It is squat, dark grey, and walled off on all sides, with a sole tunnel entrance through a cove underneath the castle -- this is a protective measure, making the fortress only accessible during low tide, once at daybreak and once again at dusk.

• The Seolhi have contributed relatively few inventions to Magnar's history, instead spending most of their history preoccupied with infighting, though there are three creations that the isles rightfully take credit for; the lobster crate, the galley, and a style of somber eight-lined poem known as "Sküvosa". Aside from their original creations, the Seolhi isles supply the rest of Magnar through their trades with firstly with salt, as well as pearls and cured meats. Though it is not a true export, the backbone of the Seolhi economy is made up of money sent home by Seolhi sailors and fishermen living in other realms.

• Due to the poor farmland and comparatively high rate of death in the isles, be it through murder, drowning, or the most common killer of the West -- respiratory infections -- the Seolhi isles have the lowest population of any realm, and highest number of immigrants living abroad. "Wandering Seolhi" who have left the isles for one reason or another typically live nomadically, running aground to cook meals or gather supplies wherever they have sailed.</sub>

Realm Rulers

The Master of Seolhi, Einar Seolhi, is a man of seven-and-eighty. Though once known for his cunning intellect and shadowy diplomatic tactics -- namely bribery, intimidation, and extortion -- his once-devious mind is now a cloud of fragmented memories and nameless faces. These days, he is lucky if he remembers to wear his crown to court, much less the intricacies of ruling the realm. In fact, it is a well-kept secret within the walls of Urchin's Reach that Einar is unaware of the great migration taking place. For the last three years, he has believed it to be the last month of winter. In his stead, the realm is almost entirely lead by his remaining children, Dag and Suriah Seolhi.

In his youth, Einar Seolhi was known as "The Cloak of The West" for his reliance on secretive dealings and intrigue to rule the isles. His son Dag, on the other hand, is known by his men as "The Hammer of the West". After an attempt at Einar's life some thirty-odd years ago, he sent his only child to be sired as far from the Seolhi isles as possible, being raised by the ruling family of Steindahl for a sizable coffer of gold. Among the northerners, Dag grew as harsh and cold as the land, focusing his waking hours avoiding the torment of his many foster brothers and honing his skill with the hinterlander's weapon of choice; the Morningstar. In his solitude, Dag grew into a fearsome, cruel combatant.

Dag returned ten years later, half-blind and covered in a patchwork of scars, but quicker and stronger for having earned them. He is a warrior before he is a prince of the Seolhi court, and having never learned so much as how to rig a sail, his identity as a warrior is paramount in establishing dominance in his interactions. Though his father eagerly awaited his return, gifting him a sizable longboat and ancestral sword upon his arrival, there has always been a sense of bitterness on Dag's end for his father's abandonment, as well as for his return home coinciding with his father's slow descent into delirium. Having spent the last decade in his native isles, Dag has accrued a crew of two dozen loyal cronies despite his inability to sail, spending most of his time in his captain's quarters.

Of the five children sired by Einar Seolhi, Suriah is the only one to have survived growing up in the isles. Considering the circumstances of her birth, this is nearly miraculous; Delivered a month early and through a breech birth that killed her mother during delivery -- three separate but equally poor omens in Seolhi culture -- Suriah was called only "The Girl" by her wetnurses until she was two, out of the Seolhi custom to not name children who seem small or sickly. In spite of her mercurial health as an infant Suriah grew up like a weed, embracing both the princess's matters of royal court, and the seafaring customs of her people. Despite the slight inferiority complex garnered from vying for her father's attention amidst the death and disappearance of her older brothers, Suriah's life was easily the easiest following her ill health as a child, until a fateful birthday.

On the seventeenth anniversary of her birth, Suriah fainted in the halls of Urchin's Reach and began to shake violently, as if possessed by spirits. For a fortnight, she slept with a breath so faint her father feared to put a blanket over her chest. After all known medicines failed, Einar turned to the spiritual world, sending for priests, healers, and miracle workers throughout all of Magner. His quest ended shortly after meeting the witch Vasvalya, who breathed life into Suriah with a blessed sealskin pouch. From there, it is rumored among the low Seolhi lords and other enemies of the Seolhi crown that Suriah would go on to study the denomination of the witch who healed her, cursing her enemies to gain swift victories in her father's name.

[gorgenmast]

Alright, now that I'm finished reading through the tidbits of lore and all that, would it be at all possible to have a Realm of Born in the North of Magnar descended from a son of the Greatfather who took to smithing? The admittedly very basic idea I've got so far is that this son of the Greatfather consulted with Dwarves, Icewalkers, and so on to learn their ways and subsequently became ignorant of his siblings' quarrels as he was too busy chilling with non-Born. Even had a fun idea where as of yet unnamed son would seek out the sons of Shebalog and not immediately kill them, resulting in his descendants being branded "Troll Lovers" or some other slur, but that's just me spitballing to myself and it seems an Eshkag pulled that off before me. Out of grief or what not he became the Master of Magnar's Northern mountain ranges and all that fun stuff, descendants get that cool architecture/blacksmithing/so on specialization, make vague attempts at staying out of wars with everyone else, potentially pick up a lot of cool stuff from the Thalasan Invaders, or try to innovate their own cool stuff using Thalasan techniques? I dunno.

Am I rambling? I do that.

Basically think a relatively isolationist northern region of badass blacksmiths and stonemasons who have the audacity to not hate their non-Born cousins that is subsequently brought to the brink of starvation and might actually be starting to raid other Bornic?? Realms for the first time in many centuries because winters suck, yo. Ignore the fact that Evar is calling for the Born to come together again for a Great Reaving or what not and other Realms might not like them at the moment.

Maybe I'd be better off actually writing the concept up rather than rambling like a mad man, but I've gone too far now. Do let me know. If it's a no go, I'll either try to cook up some other harebrained scheme or slink away into the shadows, crying to myself.

@Sloth

I'm going to nitpick briefly - I am choosing to avoid all non-human sentient beings in this RP except for the odd troll due to their prominence in Scandinavian mythology, and even they are more solitary monsters than any civilized race. Therefore, I'm going to have to shoot down your interaction with dwarves simply because they don't exist. Icewalkers are some kind of wooly arctic megafauna with horns or tusks - maybe like a mammoth or giant yak. But other than that, the concept sounds good to me.

[Sloth]

@gorgenmast Thanks for the information my man. This is why it never hurts to ask. If Trolls are essentially monsters maybe I can spin it around to a realm wide disdain for their ilk as they've had to safeguard the rest of Magnar from them for generations? I'll see what comes to mind with some more brainstorming and get back to you.

[Little Bill]

Still working on Seolhi-Princess info, but other than that, sheet's done.

[gorgenmast]

Still working on Seolhi-Princess info, but other than that, sheet's done.

@DeadBeatWalking

I'm loving the Seolhi, Dead. Accepted without hesitation.

[Slamurai]

How does the map work, exactly? Is white historical Magnar land and the green foreign southerner land?

[gorgenmast]

How does the map work, exactly? Is white historical Magnar land and the green foreign southerner land?

@Aristo

Not quite. That map is just Magnar, the southern lands are south of the map's southern edge. Will reveal that in another map later. The green on the Magnar map is halfway arable or vegetated. White is mostly barren tundra or icepack.

[Sloth]

Since @DeadBeatWalking convinced me to put my crappy work in progress here after he read the pad I was working on, I figure why the hell not. Keep in mind there's still a fair bit to be filled in over the next odd day or so, particular the Master biography and recent history, but y'know.

Now I need to hit the hay before my brain starts to liquefy.

And if I don't finish this everyone's allowed to kick my ass.

Steindahl WIP

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Like the rest of the Masters, the history of the Stein begins at the origin of the world, when the Greatfather and the first of the Born roamed prehistoric Magnar. Much like his father, Steinar, eldest of the brothers, left his home after Nystra's disappearance. Rather than search the world for his mother, Steinar chose to hunt down those he thought had stolen her: the Trolls. During his battles against the Trolls, Steinar is said to have crafted a suit of armor and a massive warhammer within the heart of Magnar's central mountain.

After years of nearly unending combat throughout Magnar, Steinar was called home by the Greatfather, and was mortified to see that his beloved siblings had fallen to infighting and corruption. As he was not there to protect or guide his brothers as he should've been, when it came time for the brothers to be banished to the far reaches of Magnar, Steinar all but exiled himself to the northern wastes, the native territory of Magnar's Trolls. If he could not protect his family from themselves, he would ensure they would never fall to the children of Shebalog.

Unlike his brothers, Steinar was never wed, as he was consumed by his quest to safeguard Magnar from the northern Trolls. As the second generation of the Born spread across the Realms, three of Steinar's nephews and two of his nieces, one for each his brothers, would seek him out at his northern fortress. Weary of their cousins' infighting, the five sought to become Steinar's children. Touched by their dedication and loyalty, Steinar would fill a drinking horn with his own blood and have them drink from it, and thus these five would become the first of the Stein.

Steinar's war against the Trolls would continue for the rest of his life, shaping the landscape and traditions of the Realm he was given providence over. Eventually, he fought his way to the peak of the Troll King's mountain and slew him in personal combat. He had taken many wounds however, and Steinar breathed his last and fell from the colossal mountain fortress. The shockwave when he hit ground was felt throughout all of Magnar, and the mountains that sprang from the impact now serve as Magnar's natural border with the land of Trolls.

Ever since, the Realm was known as Steindahl, and the mountain renamed Steinar's Peak.

There is only one known instance of a Stein Master waging war against his fellow Born, approppriately enough, at the tail end of the Age of Strife. Under the pretense of unifying the Bornic Realms as his forbear would have, Agnar Stein all but left his Realm's mountain forts for the Trolls, bringing the full strength of Steindahl to bear against the chaos in the South. Due to their cousins' weakened states and their own superior equipment, the Stein advanced very swiftly. It was only when one Isvald Lastrund called for a feast on neutral ground that Agnar ceased his campaign, believing that the other Masters were going to bend the knee. Instead, Agnar was outraged at the proposal of a rotating Mastery of Magnar. He would not leave the feasting hall alive, and the Stein, despite being the eldest of the Born, found themselves last in the line of Magnar's Mastery.

Following Agnar's execution and Isvald's coronation as Master of Magnar, Stein history becomes rather one note. While their cousins reaped the benefits of peace in the South, The Stein returned to their home, carving forts out of the sides of mountains and raising villages in the valleys, all in a never ending effort to tame the land and eradicate the sons of Shebalog. Because of this eternal campaign and their endless supply of stone and metal, the Stein mastered the art of construction and blacksmithing. It was not until the Thalasan Invasion that Magnar would know better weapons or fortifications than those in Steindahl.

<sub>• Heimgard, like most of the Realm's major settlements, is situated at the source of one of the Northern rivers, theirs being the Gnifri, east of Steinar's Peak. While it has its origins as one of the many Stein fortresses built to defend Magnar from Trolls in ancient history, Heimgard now serves as Steindahl's capital and one of its two primary trading ports. The Old Fort makes up roughly twenty percent of the city's landscape and acts as the quarters for Steindahl's ruling family and visiting nobles.

• Steinar's hatred of Trolls has seeped into the very identity of his descendants. Within Steindahl there exists a class of slaves known as the Dolbri, or "Troll Bloods" that are said to originate from the icy plains north of Magnar. They are considered to be unworthy of all save the most unsavory tasks in the Realm, and serve at the behest of their Bornic overlords. To call someone a "Troll Lover" is a grave insult.

• Because of Steinar's adoption of many of his wayward nieces and nephews, Steindahl has a diverse population of various Bornic ethnic groups, making Steindahl at once an isolated Realm removed from the majority of Magnar's internal problems and a melting pot of various traditions. In short, any peaceful Born are welcome within Steindahl and may find a home amongst its people. Crime against a citizen, however, is severely punished.

• Accordingly, if a Stein noble is childless, it is not uncommon for one to adopt an heir via Blood Oath. If this ritual is completed, the participants are considered parent and child as far as anyone in Steindahl is concerned, and receive all the expectations therein. Adopted children are considered just as legitimate as biological children in terms of Stein law and general attitude.

• Only Steinar's armor remains in his Realm's possession, as their ancestral hammer was stolen by a descendant of Shebalog many centuries ago. While this adds fuel to the fires of hatred the Stein feel for Shebalog's children, it has also turned the warhammer into a symbol and signature weapon of the region, with many Stein smiths aspiring to craft a hammer to rival Steinar's own.</sub>

---

Born at the onset of one of the harshest winters in Magnar's history, Halvar Stein has personally seen the effects of starvation and desolation on his Realm's populace, and for the first time in many centuries, the Stein have begun raiding their Bornic neighbors.

This is Andar. He's Halvar's uncle. He is weary of his nephew's abandonment of Steindahl's tradition of non-aggression against their fellow Born, but with winter hitting the Stein in full force, he sees no way to dissuade his Master. Until that call to cross the Sturmsee where Halvar's obviously gunna go for it and everything's gonna be awesome.

[gorgenmast]

Digging the Steindahl. Seems like they'll satisfy many of the traditional viking niches. Let me know when you're wrapped up and you'll be good to go.

I am itching to throw up an introductory IC. Looking for one more completed app or nearly-complete WIP before we begin in earnest. Also going to poke @Publius, @Polybius, and @The Nexerus to see if anyone who expressed interest in the interest check thread would still like to participate.

[Polybius]

@gorgenmast Have to respectfully withdraw interest. Looks like a really cool setting though!

[gorgenmast]

@gorgenmast Have to respectfully withdraw interest. Looks like a really cool setting though!

@Polybius

I appreciate the prompt response. Thanks for stopping by.

[Publius]

Digging the Steindahl. Seems like they'll satisfy many of the traditional viking niches. Let me know when you're wrapped up and you'll be good to go.

I am itching to throw up an introductory IC. Looking for one more completed app or nearly-complete WIP before we begin in earnest. Also going to poke @Publius, @Polybius, and @The Nexerus to see if anyone who expressed interest in the interest check thread would still like to participate.

@gorgenmast

Hi. Sorry about my initial burst then lack of activity; I had a bunch of things pop up then sizzle out. I'm still interested, and my broad idea stands. I can't quite guarantee a deadline for an app since I have some other projects going on, but *hopefully* it will be done in a week, more hopefully over the weekend when I have more time on my hands.

Addendum: Sorry I didn't respond sooner; I didn't get a ping (which appears to be the reason for your edit). If that sorta thing ever happens, don't be afraid to PM so I see the notification.

[Dinh AaronMk]

Googer booger, can I do some Non Born in the mystical non-Born lands somewhere in the south.

kkthnx lub u

[Pepperm1nts]

I have an idea for a character or small faction. I'm interested in seeing more Bornic realms first, though.