North Sea Fold

**The North Sea Fold** is a country located in Scandinavia that stretches across the nordic regions, ending in northern Greenland.

## Basic Information

### Motto

"Steadfast and faithful till the mountain king's hall falls" / "Tro og fast til Dovre faller"

## Lore

### THE SAGA OF HARALD HÅRFAGRE

Harald Hårfagre, known in English as Harald the hairfair, was a man of great ambition. He is famous for letting his hair grow until Norway was fully unified. However, his legacy carried on, and his descendants wanted more. A powerful kingdom known as Sweden was forming to the east, something Erik I. the bloodaxe was not happy about. Erik launched an invasion of Sweden, lasting more than 20 years. Erik was overthrown by Håkon the good, who through negotiation with the Swedish lords managed to establish peace in feudal Sweden. With Sweden now integrated, the Norwegian monarchy was no longer in danger of being usurped by Denmark, with Olav the 1st pulling a reverse maneuver and instead usurping the title of the North Sea Empire from the danes. The danes immediately went into revolt, and although the Danes couldn’t land in Scandinavia due to the overwhelming supremacy of the Norwegian fleet, the Norwegians couldn’t defeat the Danes on land due to the lack of proper men.

### THE SAGA OF HARALD HARDRÅDE

Harald Hardråde (Harald the ironfisted), had seen the defeat at the hands of the Danes. He had watched day by day as it happened, himself fighting in the war and narrowly avoiding death. Harald immediately set about improving his armies and consolidating his power, something he did by revitalizing the Berserkr troops. The Berserkr started a huge recruitment program, and after rigorous training, the Berserkr made up 45% of all North Sea Empire army forces. At this point however, the North Sea Empire was in decline, as they had been pushed out of England fully by 1066, and were struggling to hang on to the newly established Duchy of Finland, the empire decided to focus on internal matters. The Berserkr however were not happy to say the least.

### THE SAGA OF MIKLAGARD

Miklagard, at the time the capital of the Byzantine Empire, was a city notorious for massive riches and unexplainable phenomena. If there was one city that could keep the empire alive in the Berserkr’s eyes, it was Miklagard. The Berserkr went against orders to garrison ports, and instead assembled a fleet of almost 500 longships, more than 50000 men. The Byzantines put up a good fight and refused to surrender the city, resulting in a 75 year long siege of Constantinople. Eventually, the city became so devastated that the Ottoman empire from Anatolia decided to invade. In the chaos and confusion, the west bank of the city was seized by the Berserkr, whilst the East was seized by the Ottoman Empire. As a thank you gift from the Ottomans, a fort was gifted to the Berserkr on the other side of the city.

## Present situation

### THE SAGA OF HARALD REX

The North Sea Empire kept all of its traditions and language throughout the years as a result of isolation, and eventually decided to ditch the title of “Empire” for the more appropriate title of Fold. The North Sea Fold amassed a fortune off of selling oil and iron, resulting in high government spending towards welfare. This welfare state system has proved to work well in practice, although many still argue that the empire is too defenseless.

As for Miklagard, the North Sea Empire has acknowledged its existence and helped provide financial aid, however Miklagard has not done nearly as well as the Empire itself. The descendants of the Berserkr live in a tense relationship with the Turks, and the only thing keeping them from collapsing is the Berserkr army, staying true to its traditions.

## Governmental system

The North Sea Fold is an absolute monarchy ruled by SodaMapping1. It is heavily influenced by old viking traditions and is thus not only essentially an ethnostate, but also a highly religious state with no separation of church from state.

As for Miklagard, they follow a more traditional way of rule, electing Chieftains every time one either dies or otherwise is deemed unfit to rule by the others, which happens to be quite often.

## Cities

Bergen, also known as Bjørgvin, is the capital of the North Sea Fold. While not exactly a massive city, it houses some of the more important buildings, such as Outland Norway and Bergenhus fortress.

Stockholm only has an Ikea and is purposely built to be a shithole.

Helsinki is a modern city with a traditional wooden aesthetic. It houses Europe's only major space hub.

Miklagard is a traditional viking city. It features a pub, housing, and a fortress. Miklagard houses a canal through the Istanbul strait, it's main source of income.

## Languages

Every important sign has been painstakingly converted to old Norse Runes by Soda, despite them being highly unrealistic if the North Sea Fold was to actually exist.

Official languages of the North Sea Fold include:

- Norwegian

- Swedish (ew)

- Danish

- Finnish

- Icelandic