Norn

"*Norn isn’t a place you want to find yourself. I’ve seen wanted men turn themselves in and sent to the gallows over trying to hide away in that wasteland. If you don’t freeze to death in the night, you’re eaten by some hellish beast. Or if you’re really unlucky you run into one of the tribes. Probably a few dozen up there, all fighting, all clawing to survive. When food runs out, or some warlord get’s a big enough ego, they run down the mountain and kill anyone they come across. Men? Women? Naw… anyone who lives up there may look human, but they’re worse than the monsters. Legend says even the king himself is scared of fighting those beasts.*"

— Cautionary tail about Norn.
**Norn** is a land in New World, occupying the northwest fridge of the Lazuli kingdom. Initially it referred to an enormous mountain range raising up high enough to where snow falls for nine months of the year. But over time, the lands have become inhabited by numerous raiding tribes, vicious monsters, and other such threats that make it near imposable to traverse. Attempts to settle the land have been unsuccessful, as the weather and tough, rocky ground make it impossible to plant crops, and attempts at diplomacy with any tribe are met with hostility. Eventually the people learned to just give the mountains of Norn a wide birth, and learn to fear the occasional raiding party that venture down the mountans.

## Topography

Norn is largely made up with twisting mountain ranges and narrow valleys that make it incredibly hard to navigate. Even at its lowest point, it snows most of the year, and is packed full of large coniferous trees. While harsh, the Norn lowlands are also populated by numerous predatory animals and monsters, who often make use of the mountain’s many caves as dens. For the few months out of the year when it does not snow, this is easily the most hospitable of Norn’s locals. As such, a majority of Norn’s tribes make their home in these lowlands. There are also a number of left-over holds, keeps, and bridges built by the Lazuli Kingdom tried colonizing the mountain range centuries ago. Many of these still remain, and sometimes are occupied by the tribes should the need arise.
As one clime higher however, it becomes a different story. The terrain becomes harsher, the air grows colder, and the beasts, while fewer in number, are move ferocious and quite a number of them can fly. Moreso, landslides and avalanches become more common, and the paths can change year to year, making mapping things out next to impossible. Only the most resilient tribes, or the most desperate, make their homes up here, and often for reasons only they themselves are aware of.

## Notable Locations

* Genbu Sanctuary – A small, heavily secretive community flanked on all sides by tall mountains that make up a natural defence against most threats Norn has to offer. As such, the Sanctuary is just that; a safe haven against all of the danger and hostility that comes with venturing into Norn. That being said, it is home to a small, close knit community of demi-humans, who know their best chance of surviving is their secrecy.

* Giants Headstone – A particular mountain, named for the Giant’s skeleton impaled on a massive sword resting on the mountainside. Local tribes claim it to be the site of an ancient battle, but the factual details remain a mystery. Nowadays, the enormous bones act as a natural defence against invaders, with a majority of the Dead Walker tribe taking up residence within the giant’s ribcage, pelvis, and skull. They believe that the giant will one day walk again, carrying the tribe off to a faraway land and crushing their enemies underfoot.

* Blackstone Castle – An ancient castle set atop a high mountain. A veritable fortress reachable by only a select few roads and pathways, many of which have been lost to decades of avalanches, snowfall, and the steady encroach of nature. In it’s time, it was meant to be a foothold for Lazuli for expansion into Norn, constructed by a small army of mages and builders by order of the king himself. It was to be a combination of army base, waystation, and point of contact for any venturing into what would soon be a new vassal state of Lazuli. As the years went on, weathering years of constant snowfall, wild beasts, and tribal raiders made holding the castle untenable, and soon after it was abandoned. Nowadays the castle lies abandoned. The local tribes avoid the area, given it’s difficult-to-traverse-terrain and rumors of it being haunted. Given that nature of the caste however, rumors abound throughout Lazuli’s adventuring community that Blackstone is full to the brim with riches and powerful artifacts.