Norse Fylkirate

**Dev. Status** | Conceptual

*"Hail the Aesir,*

*hail Asynjur,*

*hail to the all-giving earth.*

*Fair speech and wisdom*

*to us famous ones*

*and healing hands as long as we live.*"

-"Hail Day", an Old Norse song still popular to this day in the Fylkirate
The Norse Fylkirate is a Quantum faction very loosely based on Task Force Thor and the Skandinavian Barbarians joke fan-faction. Staunch polytheists who see war as a truly glorious thing, the Fylkirate promises to bring the terror of the Vikings into the modern age as these Norsemen and women bring the wrath of the gods upon their foes. But at the same time, they are lovers of life and of humanity, and seek to create a world where the threat of Ragnarok never comes to pass. On the third hand (maybe typing this in a patch of Jade was a bad idea), they are also in it for the loot and the securing of trade partners that they can use to enrich themselves.

## At a Glance

 **Visual Themes** | Modernized Vikings with bits of later parts of Scandinavian history with mild sci-fi touches

## Background

### Uppruni eða inn Norðri

The story of the Norse Fylkirate begins in the 700s after the fall of pagan Saxony to Charlemagne. Fleeing Saxon refugees brought with them tales of how the unified and dogmatic faith of the Christians helped Charlemagne and his paladins defeated the Saxons in their own homeland, and how their own lack of a formal hierarchy and doctrine made defending their faith from Christian missionaries so very difficult. A Danish petty king known to history as Sigurd af Munso the Grim took these tales seriously, and concocted a scheme with which to unite the Norse people and to not only protect; but to spread their beliefs, and so engaged in a conquest, unification,of Scandinavia no less worthy of the epics than Charlemagne's own conquest of much of the western half of the long dead Roman Empire. And unlike many others Sigurd had a dangerous skill; he could read, he was well self-educated thanks to his father owning a number of scholarly Byzantine, Catholic monks, and even Arab thralls and Buddhist visitors from Southern Asia, and he wasn't above adopting the ideas of others.

Reforming and restructuring his faith to have the same degree of organization, of universal appeal, of theological strength, and to have the same power for bringing unity to the disparate Viking clans and tribes as Christianity, Sigurd's achievements in aiding the Norsemen's spiritual matters were only rivaled in his reorganization of Viking society in temporal affairs, creating an imperial administration modeled on what he had read of Rome, Greece, and Carthage. He crafted a parliament known as the "Althing" and a bureaucracy based on his vision of the Roman Empire to placate the nobles and to get them to buy into his scheme with an offer of power and a say in governance, and he created for himself the crown of Keiser of Scandinavia and Fylkirate of Asatruar while setting his capital in what in the main universe is now called Stockholm. He had saved the Norse from Christianization and helped set the world for a very strange course.

Following his death, the Vikings continued to be a dominant force in Europe, converting many of the other European pagans to Forn Siðr faith and reformed at roughly the same time that the followers of the prophet Mazdak brought Zoroastrianism back to Persia with the crumbling of the Abbasid dynasty, and the Tengri beliefs of the Turks, Hungarians, and Mongols were reformed while the Norse spread across the world The Finnic lands of far northern Russia and modern Finland were conquered. Fiefdoms throughout Russia were carved, the British Isles were repeatedly invaded and sacked, and the Americas were discovered and settled. A war-loving culture that engaged in raiding and pillaging as a respected profession flourished alongside more peaceful means of acquiring wealth such as trade or more conventional warrior work in the few standing military formations of the time.

The Mongol Invasions came as a rude surprise not only to the Vikings, but to essentially the entire western world as the sons and grandsons of Temujin showed the west what the east had just gone through. While the Mongols were fair if firm rulers after their conquests were finished, this did little to alleviate the trauma of their initial invasions. The Mongols only turned back from conquering all of Europe due to the untimely death of Ogedai Khan that required the Mongol Tumens to turn back and select the next Khan. Hulegu Khan proved more interested in the Middle East and Southern Asia, perhaps to the fortune of Europe.

In the years afterwards, the Vikings rebuilt, and as the times changed; so did their army. Mail gave way to plate armor, gunpowder became increasingly widespread. Pikes, shots and professional armies would replace the highly mixed levies of before as the medieval era gave way to the renaissance. Other European nations would follow suit in the quest for colonies; though they found that the natives were capable of a far more vicious fight than in the timeline from which most other factions hailed from. Games for the control of Europe were interspersed with wars over influence in Africa, Asia, and the Americas. The Norse people gave a hearty snort when Christianity engaged in devastating intersectional wars, but found themselves unable to keep out of such good scraps and having to intervene in conflicts between the Slavic and Baltic converts to the Norse faith.

### The Norse with Hawk Tattoos

The Age of Enlightenment brought about great changes to the world as empirical mindsets became the vogue for intellectuals and standardized methods of science were formalized. The Vikings, though a spiritual people, were not blind to the benefits of secular science and did much to be patrons for those minds who could bring advancements for the Fylkirate and the Nordarikki. In spite of all that had changed, America still formed (though it’s revolution ended in failure thanks to British loyalists and France not supporting them), and France still crumbled under the sheer inefficiency of its own system to birth a revolution that would shake Europe to its core as General, then Consul, then Emperor Napoleon brought war to the world.

Joining with the various coalitions against France, the Norse were crucial in helping bring about Napoleon's defeat. Following his defeat, the Scandinavians continued to play the colonial game, claiming all of Antarctica for themselves and doing something nobody seriously expected anyone would try; establish permanent colonies on the floor of the world, just as they had manage to establish large and healthy settlements in northern Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland, and their great colony of "Riki Vinland". Further territorial expansions included settlement of what in the paradox universe is called "Terra del Feugo" after negotiating with the Incans, as well as claiming South Africa and New Zealand.

But what they couldn't foresee was Europe deciding that instead of crushing France during its moment of weakness; they would instead form a directorate, with former enemies becoming allies in the aftermath as Byzantium, France, Britain (and its American colony), Austria-Hungary, Spain, the German Kaiserreich/Second Reich (claiming lineage from the very same Holy Roman Empire, or first Reich that so frequently proved to be the Nemesis of the Vikings), and the Kingdom of Italy. All of these nations committed themselves to the goal of conquering the world and crushing those who would oppose their Christ-God. Once again, war had become about faith for the Norse.

The Norse turned to what allies they could, the Multi-denominational and cosmopolitan Russian Empire had Tengrists, Muslims, Jews, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Confucianists, Daoists, and its state faith of Forn Siðr all present and accounted for; all of whom were in no hurry to see the Catholics, Orthodoxists, and Protestants of the Directorate try to conquer them for the vast riches of the Motherland. The Yuan Chinese, saved from potentially ailing into obscurity by the arrival of green crystals from the heavens offered their hand in alliance, offering them the united efforts of the Manchu, the Mongols, the Han, the Uyghur, the Tibetans and all the peoples of China. The Incans were the final part of the alliance, and would help hold South America and ensure that the Directorate would face a war on at least two fronts in the Americas.

For decades on and off grinding warfare was waged that saw little gain or advantage for anyone. Then came Mussolini and his Fascist Concordiat revolutions that suddenly took a knife and twisted it into the back of the Directorate. Gains could finally be made, an end was in sight for the Norse who howled in anticipation of a glorious climactic finish. After an arms race spanning so many centuries the Norse had developed their own peculiar arsenal; one that proved highly effective in the final offensive against the Directorate. Then someone tried setting up a bomb using a liquefied variant of the Jade crystal that while impressive, brought little more than misery for the Earth. The Meglarak came, and that was a royally unpleasant mess, though the fighting was certainly glorious.

The Tendriculous came, and that was even more of a mess, though it was even more glorious for the Norse. Then a force that simply called itself the Vorgaxa came and that wasn't nice at all for anyone. Whereas some nations despaired, the Fylkirate and Nordarikki were all too glad to throw themselves into battle. The glory of Valhalla was a promise that had not dimmed in more than a millennia, and they fought hard and proudly, perhaps somewhat ill-disciplinedly, as the emphasis on glory tends to encourage a degree of recklessness not seen in other armies, but they fought bitterly; rarely retreating without orders and fighting for the glory of the Gods with the same vicious fury they did so long ago. And just as suddenly as the aliens came, they left. The world was in shambles from such a long period of total war culminating in alien invasion, with the Directorate shattered, all of Eriksonland (North America) beyond the West Coast and Antarctica destroyed, the Concordiat taking over Italy (with Rome itself reduced to a crater to stop a Vorgaxa infestation), a shattered White Russia falling under the rule of the Khan, and both the remnants of China and Japan uniting as one communist nation. But the Vikings stood, strong and proud, and as the one who mortally wounded the Vorgaxa invasion ship with the largest Voltager cannon ever made cemented themself as the leading superpower.

### The New New World

The next chapter in Norse history would be opened by the Concordiat, who in looking for ways to get off world and gain more resources to rebuild from, ended up creating portals to two more Earths. Both Earths were very different. In one earth the White Russians were long dead, there was no sign of anything like the directorate ever existing, China had died only to be reborn in strange new form by the so-called Atomic Kingdom, and rather than century long meat grinders the world wars of this world were fast and furious affairs. A dizzying array of factions were present, all competing for their time in the sun, and it would seem that another force of alien invaders known as the Ecumene was present on the Earth. And in another the German fought against the British and China had become kingdom called as the Viceroyalty of Xian, and all three faced worshippers of a dark god.

Whereas the Concordiat immediately boasted of how it would spread fascism to the peoples of this Earth who clearly needed it and how it would show this Ecumene the power of humanity, the Norse had a more pragmatic view of things. Firstly, they could use a boost in their reconstruction efforts. Secondly, this new world presented an opportunity in the form of new foes to face and new trades to be done. Thirdly, polytheism was clearly much worse off in this world, and they felt as if it were their duty to rekindle the faith in the proper gods here. Finally, just because the Concordiat was not the Directorate did not make their motives any less suspect than the government they replaced.

Viking agents carefully infiltrated the Concordiat's portal research divisions and fed the data back to the Fylkirate's own scientists who worked on constructing their own portals. Though not the equals of the Concordiat in Portal technology, the Norse had the advantage of being able to "look over their shoulder and copy their notes" so to speak. Soon enough they had their gates to the other world, which they dubbed the "Bifrost Gates". Further exploring the other world brought back a great deal of news to the Fylkirate. Not was this world richly diverse in human factions, there were a number of very inhuman factions also at work besides the Aliens.

The Fylkirate decided that it would be best not to operate in the eye of the public right away. The Concordiat was unlikely to respond well to the Fylkirate blowing its cover before it was ready, and the the last thing the Norse needed was a war on the home front when they were still busy rebuilding. But the Norse could hardly stand bye and let their people suffer as they rebuilt painfully from the devastation dealt by the triple invasion. So they turned to what their ancestors did; raiding. The sheer outlandishness of their methods helped seal their secrecy. Combined with their methods at covering up their tracks, the Norse quietly faded into the stuff of conspiracies and quackery. That being said, a few were allowed to know, so as to forge trade relations.

Namely this meant the Atlanteans and the Reactionary Guard, while on the other hand, some more astute factions were able to figure there was more to the tales of Norse raiders than Syndicate-funded pirates or Dread Corsairs playing a bad joke. This primarily meant those factions already heavily invested into the secret world such as the Talon, the Ecumene, and the Protectorate. Others were to be opposed on principle, such as BUAC, the Atomic Kingdom, and the Unionists. But for what must be the first time in centuries, the world is starting to see ships flying the flags of the Norse gods disgorging raiders. Though no longer as brutally harsh as they once were, seeking to minimize civilian damage and eliminate atrocities and abuses, they're no less fearsome for it.

Though millennia separate them from the days of Sigurd the Grim, the Norse remain a people staunchly proud of their past and hopeful for their future. They remain a people with an uncommon love of fighting and an attitude towards war as a glorious thing, with no death on the battlefield, no matter how horrific being incapable of outweighing the honor achieved or the paradise of Valhalla (though notably pleasant afterlives are allowed for those who didn't die gloriously in battle in the reformed faith), leading to soldiers who are terrifyingly brave if perhaps a bit too eager to win some glory.

## Gameplay

### Build Mechanic

When a norse building is constructed, an uncontrollable truck is sent from the base that will then unpack and setup at the buildsite. So the closer a structure is, the faster it gets built.

### Tier Mechanic

Certain structures can research the items needed to advance a tier up directly from the structure.

### Valhalla Calls!

A combination of their love of battle, their culture of dying in battle, and their training make Norse units extremely resilient to Morale Loss, and many common morale loss systems will have severely reduced effects (or even outright immunity) on Norse units. In fact, in the event their morale breaks or they take a lot of damage in a short time they wouldn’t be debuffed or retreat but instead go berserk, massively boosting their stats, and will automatically charge/engage the nearest enemy unit in melee in a rampaging bloodlust, don’t worry about them attacking their allies by accident (they’re not THAT mindless). But for the duration the commander cannot order or control them until their morale is restored, and said bloodlust, if unchecked, can lead to them making stupid/suicidal charges.

### Raiders

All Norse units generate some extra income from doing damage to enemies on the field of battle derived from a small percentage of the damage they deal. This heavily encourages extreme aggression and actively seeking out battles to get more credits, and they get even more from attacking buildings and economy units.

### Technology

 File:IconFylkirate.png | Lasbyge | A corruption of ”Lets build” in Danish. Lasbyge are modular, interlocking, bricks of various sizes made out of a special wood-plastic hybrid material that’s as tough as steel but significantly cheaper and easier to build, that can be further reinforced via specially made glue and cement. Making it the perfect material to quickly build up the Norse structure and defenses.

## Norse Warhosts

*"Through the strength of our arm and the faith in our gods, the Norse people have remained ever strong. From farthest Vinland to nearest Danemark our lands spread. And now to other worlds too shall our lands spread. We love war, we are not afraid of war. But we also love peace, our families, and our homes. Thus we must take what we must from those who cannot stop us so that our homes may be strong. And if they would seek to raise their arm against us we shall strike them down like all others who have opposed us in the centuries. We will strike them at sea, at land, and in the air, we will strike them in the very stars too if need be. Make no mistake, we return to the course of the Viking not because we are ruthless, but because it has to be this way. But I feel that new life shall be born beneath the bloodstained sands."*

- Testimony of Sigurd Larson

### Temple Warriors

Warriors recruited from the Norse Holy Orders around the world, Temple Warriors are elite infantry formations who can drive home an assault where others would falter.

## Behind the Scenes

The Norse Fylkirate is based on The Red Star Rising's fascination with pre-christian european religions and culture, blatant Scandinavophilia, love of alternate history, and one too many Crusader Kings 2 playthroughs. Aesthetically they draw influence from the Vikings, Incorrect depictions of Vikings, Post-Pagan/Cold War Scandinavia, and just a bit of the Chaos Warriors and The Elder Scrolls' Nords.

Ya hinger dinger dargen.