Nation Name:Great Kingdom of Grattzerhiem, The Troll Kingdom of Grattzerhiem
Flag:
(Note: The noble houses of Grattzerhiem would put their heraldry in the middle where all of the points of the triangles meet in the flag to symbolize their rule over Grattzerhiem).
Region/color on map: Anaga/Grey
Capital: Magganburg
Capital Population: 24, 000
Other Major Settlements: The port city of Jommunburg, the Trade city of Nabbinliche and the Fortress towns of Kannirspiel, Buckhiem and Vottergrade.
Population: 5,000,000
Racial demographics:
Trolls 89%
Orcs 7%
Others 4%
Social dynamics: The Trolls of Grattzerhiem respect martial prowess which has been instilled in their culture for as long as they know. They worship a pantheon of Gods and favored among this Gods is Tanith, The God of War. Their society honors great warriors from their history and puts great importance on martial skills. Commoner fathers would teach their young how to use bows and spears and all of the nobles teach their young to use a swords and lances. Their system of law reflects their high respect for martial prowess. Whenever two parties accuse each other of wrong doings, the righteous between the two would be determined by combat. Some of the Grattzerhiemers still practice the old ways of their ancestor by raiding ships passing through near-by waters and looting what they had on board. Most however, including the nobles, have kept away from the outside world.
Calendar:
Winter Solstice - Regarded by the Grattzerhiemers as the first day of winter and a sacred day for the followers of the Water God Jakkar. Ritual sacrifices are made and great celebrations are held during this day.
Equinox - Regarded by the Grattzerhimers as the first day of spring and a sacred day for farmers and the followers of the Harvest and Fertility Goddess Thuma. Ritual Sacrifices are also made and great celebrations are also held.
The Feast day of Amrinne the Brave - Held during the 4th of the Grattzerhiemer month of Corlic, the feast day of Amrinne the Brave celebrates the date of birth of the late King Amrinne of house Gorrer. Great celebrations are held during this day.
Art: The Grattzerhiem's society revolves around their reverence for martial prowess and the sacred aspect of war and the battlefield. Most art forms from Gratzzerhiem reflects their high ideals for warfare. From poetry to tapestry to sculpting, every bit of their artistic works are focused on their supreme reverence for battle. Warrior poets are known to come home from battles with masterful ballads and poets about the battles they fought. Sculptures would depict the heroic and glorified battles that they have fought over the centuries and paintings would focus on the brave heroes of their past who have shown their extreme battle abilities.
Law: The system of law in Grattzerhiem is as simple as it is brutal. When one party accuses another of wrongdoing, their case would be settled in a court of battle. Champions chosen by both parties, which may or may not be part of their own and may be paid to fight for one camp or the other, are pitted against each other in a small circular ring with a blunt weapon of their choosing. Whoever comes out victorious is the righteous of the case.
Education: The common folks of Grattzerhiem cannot read and cannot write even in their common language of Common/Low Gratthic. Instead of being taught how to read or write, parents would teach their children how fight and the basics of their trade. For example, a farmer Grattzerhiemer would teach his son or even his daughter how to use a spear and a bow from a young age while also teaching them how to plow the fields. Nobles however are also taught how to read/ write and properly speak their language of High/ Blue Tongued Gratthic but their mentors would focus more on training them how to wield their weapons. Scholars and monks of different churches in service to different gods and goddesses however would neglect teaching themselves the use of weaponry and instead focus on more intellectual pursuits.
Type of Government: Heridetary Monarchy
Influence and relations: None as of yet.
Important People:
The current king of Grattzerhiem, Lord Arterius of house Barliff.
Queen Marlanne of house Jousser, the wife of King Arterius.
The little lords Tabbish and Koln and the little lady Vasse, children of King Arterius.
The riches duke of the land, Lord Malwin of house Ghork.
Lord Alfrin of house Gorrer, a direct descendant of the great King Amrinne the brave and adviser to the king.
Trading and tax: The trolls of Grattzerhiem's main sources of income are fishing and metal mining. Because of the location of their homeland, the usual weather in Grattzerhiem is cold and damp and is not very suitable for farming. The trolls of Grattzerhiem has relied instead with the reach bounties from the seas and the ore veins running deep through their lands. The metals mined are forged into the finest assortment of tools the land has ever seen, rivaling wares made by the dwarfs. Among the most sought after are the swords made for nobility. This swords are razor sharp even after countless battles and will outlast their user most of the time.
Major industries:
Fishing
Mining
Metal refining
Metal forgery
Major Associations: None as of yet.
Currency: The Grattzerhiem royal coinage.
Military -
In the past, Grattzerhiem did not have any sort of professional army of any sorts. When nobles would fight each other or foreign invaders, they would field as many commoners as they can to their side. Nobles would this by convincing the trollfolk of their righteousness to rule, their divine will, their gift from the gods or whatever agenda they see fit to convince the locals to join their side. Recently however, the royalty has created a standard army to fight for them on the field with a fair wage. This army includes;
8,500 trolls armed with spears divided into 3 war bands.
1,500 archers.
3, 000 Guards at Arms armed with Halberds.
500 Troll Knights.
Added to this is the newly christened Royal Navy with 3 Hulk ships and 13 cog ships with 20 archers each on board.
Landscape: Most of the Grattzerhiem lands are rocky, baron and throughout most of the year, covered in snow. The main land are littered with high mountain peaks and gentle valleys while the smaller sialnds have rocky coast that would shred a ship's hull to pieces.
Wildlife: Very few animals are hardy enough to survive in this conditions. Small creatures such as hares and mountain mice thrive out. Falcons also are native to Grattzerhiem. A great abundance of marine life also lives in their waters.
Notable places:
Mount Rohler, the highest mountain in all of Grattzerhiem and possibly the world.
The Grattzim river, a river that runs straight through the city of Magganburg.
Summary: After their long history of coastal raiding and successfully defending their own shores against foreign invaders, the current crown of Grattzerhiem has decided to isolate himself and those loyal to him from the outside world, to avoid being entangled in the troubles of others.
History:
The Kingdom of Grattzerhiem has a long, prosperous and very rich culture centered around their love and reverence for war.
The first trolls to inhabit this lands were small tribes arriving from the sea. Seeing that the lands were uninhabited, they took the opportunity and set themselves home in the main isle. The first trolls found that living in this unforgiving lands were going to be tough. The cold seasons, the unrelenting blizzards and the unmerciful winter took the lives of many of the first trolls who wanted to set the main island as their home.
As time passed though and more tribes of trolls came, proper settlements and strong port towns begin to grew in number. Soon great holds and keeps were being built by rival tribe leaders so that they may defend themselves for each other. As territories were carved out and clans swore their allegiance to one tribal leader or the other, wars broke out over who could control all of the lands. Five main tribes ended up having control of the isle. The Thonmir had the north west, the Bawrir had the south west, the Lovitz had much of the central south, the Grattzer had control of the north east and the Peckker had control of the south east. For two decades, the tribes fought among each other for more lands. During the 7th century of the Grattzer calendar, on the 5th of the Grattzer month of Miem, Amrinne of house Gorrer took leadership over the Grattzer tribe. Amrinne led a campaign against the Grattzer tribe's enemy at the time, the Peckkers. After convincing the Lovitz tribe to end hostilities with the Bawrir and help him against the Peckkers, Amrinne led his armies to many swift victories bringing the Peckkers to their knees. The Peckkers surrendered and the spoils were shared between the Grattzer and Lovitz tribes. The Bawrir however, jealous of the riches the two tribes acquired, attacked the Lovitz. Amrinne decided to help the Lovitz bring down Bawrir if the Lovitz swore their allegiance to him and him alone. After the Lovitz tribe leader agreed, Amrinne led another swift and decisive victory against the Bawrir. The Bawrir however and their ruling clan refused to surrender and were slaughtered by the combined Grattzer and Lovitz armies. The Thonmir, now standing alone against the Grattzers. Fearing the faith suffered by Bawrir, the Thonmir entered into a political alliance with the Grattzer by marrying the Thonmir's leader's daughter, Amaya, to Amrinne. After the two wars, the tribal leader of Lovitz, Housgar, plotted to overthrow Amrinne and place himself as the sole leader of the lands. Amrinne however, through his spies, knew of this plot. He then has Housgar's son, Bannis, to murder his father in exchange for wealth and influence. Bannis accepted and stabbed his father while he was asleep in his chambers. Amrinne then had Bannis executed for treason.
Having no other enemies to threaten their rule, the house of Gorrer continued to rule for another 600 years until what is now known as the 'Night of the Black Daggers'. It was on the 23rd of the Grattzerhiem month of Sallim, that a rival noble house to the Gorrers, the House of Chonne, had their assassins murder King Dogmar and his family. In his chambers at the castle in Magganburg, assassins began to murder the royal family. All of the Gorrer line was thought to have been killed but prince Kombar escaped along with his wife, princess Varyinne. The two escaped to an island to the east inhabited by Orcish settlers. There they convinced the Orc natives to defend them from other trolls working for the Chonnes. The usurper king, King Olgar of House Chonne organized an army to take the eastern island and capture prince Kombar. The invasion was repelled however, costing King Olgar a humiliating defeat. Over the course the nest four years, another 6 invasions were executed leading to disastrous defeats. After the defeats, the locals of the main isle began to support Kombar and helped the price land on the main land. Like his ancestor, Amrinne the brave, Kombar led a swift and decisive victory. He then had Olgar beheaded after he captured the castle of Magganburg.
Because of the frequent wars and the fact that the Grattzerhiem lands aren't arable, some of Grattzerhiemers had taken to raiding and looting the sorrounding neighboring coast to sustain themselves. This raiders created hardy ships called 'magrins' which were slick boats that were relatively small and agile. They would surprise the coastal settlers and pillage them without warning. This raiders became known as Brivings.
The Briving raids did not go unnoticed however and soon the settlers banded together to defend themselves. Over the next years, they built fleets to defend themselves and their trade ships from the Brivings. After that, they decided to end the Briving threat by invading Grattzerhiem for themselves. The nobles of Grattzerhiem were still divided by petty feuds however and they themselves were taken by surprise by the foreign invaders. Because of their infighting, the invaders were able to hold ground for the next couple of years along the northern Grattzerhiem coast but could not take any more grounds then that. After a number of failed campaigns to retake the lost grounds from the invaders, the bickering nobles were repelled by the more unified invaders for years to come.
A minor noble and great grandson son of a briving warrior, Thann of house Barliff took matters into his own hands. He purchased the service of several mercenaries from the Borvan empire and started his own campaign to retake the Grattzerhiem coast. After his great victories, the masses began to join him in his efforts and soon the invaders were driven off to sea. The house of Barliff has ruled ever since and has kept close ties with the Borvan empire.
Strengths: Have great strength and are able to adapt quickly to their environment.
Weaknesses: Not very agile, very slow.
Name: Trolls
Classification: Sentient
Appearance and Shared traits: Gray skinned with tough hides, they can also grow to 7 to 9 feet and are incredibly muscular. The troll race is a rough and hardy race that are able to adapt to their environment with ease. Unlike other races which takes several generations for their offspring to survive in new environments, the troll kin only takes a few for their race to evolve in the environment they occupy. Their unique ability to rapidly evolve to their environment has made them great survivalist and has made them able to adapt to place where other races might perish.
Lifespan: 50 to 70 years.
Languages: High/ Blue tongued Grattzer and Low/ Common Grattzer
Religious beliefs: The Grattzer Pagan Pantheon
(Will be explained in detail later on).
Preferred occupations: Warriors
Famous people:
The late King Amrinne the Brave of house Gorrer, legandary king and warrior and folk hero
Tomahck the noble, friend of Amrinne the brave and legendary warrior and folk hero
Hamish Seaborn of house Koln, legendary briving and folk hero
Jomir salthide of house Morr, legendary briving and folk hero
High Priest Volnne, late high priest of Tanith, legandary warrior and folk hero
Strengths: Great and determined fighters, great sea raiders
Weaknesses: Fractured noble houses because of generations of fighting, isolation from the rest of the continent
