Name of Nation: Kingdom of Heorot
Government:
Heorot is a monarchy with its own royal family that as ruled in an unbroken line since the days of its founding with a sole exception during the Age of Mist where a powerful noble deposed all of the royal family except for one, young Beowulf. In the early days, there was emphasis put on the "royal blood" concept and as such the bloodline is prone to minor instances of inbreeding -some more direct than others- which has left some mutations in the bloodline.
The current king is King Leodradic IX, married to Queen Gwynda, once a daughter of a small noble family before proclaiming she would marry only the heir to the kingdom. Both of them are mentally unstable and rather obviously insane, however both of them have a hidden cunning that many do not realize at first glance. While many of their laws and edicts passed are nonsensical and annoy their court to no end, some have proven to actually benefit the realm.
Such was the case with the Anti-Forest Fornication Act which while listed off a great number of random illicit activities prohibited in forests, is seen as a base for environmental protection and the Three Fancy Hat Edict which said that anyone owning more than three sufficiently fancy hats would be taxed more with fancy hats being a luxury only the rich can afford.
This has obviously not sat well with several nobles and more than one attempt has been made on the pair's life but every time, the plans have been foiled, exposed or otherwise failing due to the most incredible acts of randomness. Just like the effects of their more successful laws, its highly debated if the King and Queen actively have an effect on their survival or if they are just lucky. Yet, the pair are very popular with the commoners who find their antics endlessly amusing and have yet to been at the but end of any serious, harsh laws.
Although insane, the two have a deep and trusting romantic and professional relationship with King Leodradic letting his wife take over many responsibilities usually left to the men of the court and government to which she has proved a surprising skill at. The Queen has proven a skilled if not enthusiastic stateswomen and speaks 16 different languages (although half of them are nonsensical gibberish like "Tree" or "Sea Dwarf"). The King on the other hand has personally overseen military training and exercises, even going on mildly suicidal expeditions into the deep forests of Heorot proving at least a capable commander despite not being exceptionally gifted at it.
Species: Human and Dwarves
Culture:
History:
Hundreds of years ago, deep within the blood of the Heorot, there had been a northern tribe known as the Hethroalgar who lived in the far north and like many of their neightbors looted the southern lands for plunder and riches. They lived simplier lives of raiding and battle but were as every civilized as the southerns, at lesat to themselves. However this all came to an end when they were forced out of their homes as a great warlord rose up and they were unwilling to join him. Rapidly assembling ships and rafts, they piled everything they could as their warriors bled for their safety and sailed south once more for the final time.
The seas were not easy and despite all of their prayers and worship, the Hethroalgar had lost at least half their numbers to the harsh tides. When they landed, they were greated by dwarven settlers who had reinhabited the beaches since the Hethroalgar razed the human settlement in raids prior. Wary of the newcomers, the Dwarven king attempted to remove them throuhg military force. The Northmen however where no keen on being forced out of a home again and there were still enough among their numbers to resist. In time, the King decided to give the Northmen three impossible tasks in the hopes they'd wipe themselves out doing it or just give up an leave. These tasks have since been known as the Trails of the Mountain King.
First was Baraz Kali'Galum, "Slay the Beast". For centuries a great dragon had slept under the mountain hold of the dwarves, sitting upon the precious minteral deposists which the dwarves ddespirately wanted. Sending their best men lead by the legendary Wulfrik Heorotson,
the humans dove into the underground to do battle with the dwarves. However, instead of attempting to fight the dragon, Wulfrik instructed the warriors to sneak silently up to the dragon and stuff its mouth and nose full of raw lead while a group of women sung calming songs and peoms to calm the dragon's sleep. When the dragon awoke and saw the intruders, he attempted to roast them all alive, melting the lead in his mouth and nostrals, suffocating himself. And without loosing a single warrior, Wulfrik had slayed the beast.
Infurated, the dwarven king set them on the next task, Galmaze Raithrul, "Split the Mines". Taking half of the mythical stash for himself,
he left the humans with the other half hoping that they would tear each other a part over it from greed. The warriors of Hethroalgar nearly did exactly that before a woman known as Sivir Faylnyr, wife of Wulfrick Heorotson, had organized the non-warrior men and women and created a system of dividing the loot based on deeds, experience and past actions, inadvertently creating the base for the legal system of Heorot
At his wit's end, the furious dwarf king ordered the humans into the deepest depths of the mountains to hunt for the legendary tomb of Orath Runehand, hoping to trap the warriors within by blasting their tunnels. Oblvious to the plot against them, Wulfrik along with his brother, Tyrigg, lead their warriors into the deep underways of the mountain, not knowing that their entrance had already been blocked off once they were out of sight. By the time they realized what had happened it was too lake, but Tyrigg convinced everyone that there had to be another way out of the tunnels. Calming any immediate mutiny, the warband would stumble upon the tomb of Orath Runehand, half starving and delusional. It said that there they met the ghost of Orath who was so infuriated upon hearing the trials the humans had been put through after leaving their native home, he struck the ground with his rune-forged hammer and split it in two, shattering the dwarven holds above and creating Ironfrost Pass, one of the few relatively safe route through the mountains. More than one source claims that Tyrigg who was the one to tell the story had actually embellished the story using choice words he knew would anger the dwarven spirit in such a manner that he'd exact punishment against the corrupt king.
Now freed from their tomb, the warriors rushed into the halls and holds of the dwarves who had all been frightened by the massive earthquake under them. With their own warriors unable to put up a fight and more burred under ruble, Wulfrik and his brother forced the King to abdicate his throne and grant the humans their home as new settlement for the Northmen. Legends hold that instead of bowing to the Northmen, the king assembled his personal guard and fought with Wulfrick and his warriors in a ferocious battle that caused a river of blood to flow from the throne room out into the halls. Finally, after besting the king in single combat, Wulfrik again shouted his demands but the king only cackled madly as he crawled his way over to an edge, blood leaving a deep crimson path behind him, and threw himself into an open pit of lava which erupted when his body hit the surface.
Now both dwarf and human ran as fast as they could from the mountains as they erupted into flame and began to crumble. Once out in the open plains, the dwarves decided that they were no longer in any position to resist the demands of the humans and allowed them to live on their land, slowly assimilating into their society over the ages. From the "Trials of the Mountain King" was born three figures that would go on to be venerated as ancestor gods, Wulfrik the War-King, Sivir the Honor Maiden and Tyrigg the Iron-Scholar. Indeed it would be Wulfrik who would be crowned the first High King of Heorot, naming the kingdom after his own namesake.
In the ages since, Heorot has seen multiple kings and queens come and go as well as two major civil wars, one which had deposed the Heorot dynasty and install the Scytha dynasty, and another lead by Beowulf Heorot to reclaim his family's throne. Time and time again, the people of Heorot have defended their home form invaders by sea from the Sea of Morska and by land through the Dwaizarh Mountains, continuing the legacy left in their Northern blood.
Territory Claims:
Long has the land of Heorot been cruel and untamed with tales of monsters and otherworldly beasts stalking the Dravenwald Forests, prowling the misty foot hills of the Reach, swimming in the depths of the River Tibyr and haunting the old dwarven tunnels. Such a reputation has earned the land the name of the "Wildlands" especially in ages past where to this day, it boasts the highest number of paranormal reports in the world. This has had the effect of making the people of Heorot a very superstious populace who even in modern time with science and reason, cling to folklore of monsters and beasts in their lands.
The most prominent geography in the Kingdom is the mountain range known as the Dragon's Spine that go so high that many pierce the cloud layer and very few paths lead in and out of the mountain range, the largest of which is Ironfrost Pass which houses the largest defensive fortifications in the kingdom. Within this mountain range is where a great deal of industry takes place, using old dwarven ruins as the base for factories and mines. However, a great deal of dwarven tunnels have been lost to time and just as many monster myths live in the dark halls of lost dwarven holds and mining tunnels as does those on the surface. The Dragon's Spine is also cited as the reason why Heorot is always colder than the rest of the continent, sometimes the temperature dips down to that of their ancient homeland in the North.
The soil of Heorot lacks a great deal of fertility and thus few things can really grow and those that can rarely grow in large numbers. However, the forest of is plentiful with wild plants and game which some hunt and forage for, if not for the fact they can't make a living any other way most of the time. Making up for this, the rivers and the sea are teeming with fish and seafood as well as great forests of seaweed kelp harvested by the locals.
Economy:
Technology:
Army:
Officially formed in the 1500's and then reformed in the late 1700s, the Herot Royal Army has had a long and proud history which they proudly trace back to the age when they were still a northern tribe that raided the southern realms. Because of their pride in traditions, they prefer to fight in colder climate such as mountains with lighter troops and commonly take advantage of waterways.
Military service is purely voluntary and thus comparatively small despite letting both men and women serve (although women tend to see more rear guard actions such as supply officers or artillery crews). The tremendous industry of the Heorot however ensures that every soldier, company and regiment is extremely well armed, fed and equipped with plenty of surplus stocks to spare.
The Kraggson Model 1871b is a slightly updated design of a very old gun chambered for the .30-33 Kragg round that was built with the dwarven philosophy of building things to last. Through a mixture of stubborn pride and apathy, the army has yet to feel the need to adopt more modern designs. In addition, instead of using water-cooled machine guns, the army stills uses finely wrought gatling guns and artillery pieces that go back decades only slightly modernized over the years. Shotguns are also common place in the military and unofficially used to designate symbol as a common infantry man will have a simple utilitarian boom stick while officers take pride in their fine artisan crafted weapons with inlays and engravings.
Ever since olden times, the Heorot way of war could be summarized as swift and brutal favoring rapid aggression to over take the enemy. More than once the attacking besiegers found themselves being charged by Heorot defenders or being chased across vast distances by the Heorot. The Kingdom claims the first use of "mobile foot" by using special wagons that were capable of transporting small groups of men by horse and could even be turned into boats. To this day, the Heorot use these tactics now replacing horse wagons for trucks.
Navy:
Drawing upon age old traditions adopted to a modern age, the naval warfare maneuvers of the Heorot are unorthodoxly aggressive and unique. Instead of focusing their tactics around large capital ships, the Heorot have always had a preference towards smaller, faster ships as well a boarding actions. In the age of sail, Heorot pirates and raiders where infamous for their abilities to board ships or destroying them at close range.
In more modern times, the Heorot have designed special ships called "Knorrs" -sometimes labelled "longships" to outsiders- a mix between Torpedo Ram vessels and transports. These ships have a very low profile compared to their contemporaries and are fielded en masse at high speeds to break through an enemy's defenses to "crack" open ships by either ramming and boarding them or using torpedoes. Their usages was popularized by the stunning naval victories against the most recent Uruk Invasion where night attacks by Torpedo Boats with Royal Marine compliments crippled naval forces, most notably during the Battle of the Ice Cliffs.
Air Force:
Rolls:
8 - Territory - Your nation is decently sized, with room for a few cities and a decent amount of farmland.
8 - Tech - Your nation is still antiquated, but modernization is about to begin or in its beginning stages.
6 - Your army is relatively small, but is maintained year-round.
17 - Economy - Your economy is well-off, and a majority of what needs to be funded is.
20 - Production - Your nation is at the top of its class, and a large portion of the world’s goods are produced here.
12 - Navy Size - You have a decently sized navy, with a fairly militarized portion.
7 - Airforce Size - You have a few biplanes
17 - Mobilization Ability - It takes a month to mobilize.
Other:
