Burdam

## Overview

Burdam is almost the northernmost part of the portion of the island of Ritian that was ever under full Namorian control. Until quite recently it was very similar to other parts of post-Namorian Ritain, predominately worshipping Thebe and native gods who had joined the congregation, and struggling for supremacy in the southern half of Ritian. The Norsvik raids and invasions have changed Burdam more than anywhere else in Ritian – they are now in charge, and Norshame settlers have been arriving in large numbers for several decades. A lot of the prime land in Burdam is now farmed by the Norshame, with the former population pushed to more marginal areas on the foothills and mountains.

The principal city in Burdam is now named Jansvik. Once known as Eanwicceastre, home to the most vibrant community of Thebian scholars in Ritian (and one of the most important in the world), it suffered extremely in the Norsvik raids. Even before the Norsvik took over, their raids had despoiled the temple of most of its riches and killed a huge proportion of its priests. Many others fled to the continent, taking the remaining treasures with them. The priests were not killed or persecuted for their religion, but because they held treasures. The denuded temples are still open for worship and the remaining priests provide full pastoral care.

The Norsvik who conquered Burdam and who now maraud into Kewes, Mierrsa and Haleren (to the south) and Bernic, Pictavia, and Alt Clyd (to the north) see the native population as beneath contempt, there only to be taken from for the glory and enrichment of the Norsvik. They are hated and reviled by those they rule, as well as those they have failed to conquer. The Norshame settlers who followed them have a much more ambivalent relationship – although they know that the natives are not of the Norshame they see the benefits in peace and trade. In the cities, individual Norshame settlers may be on superficially good terms with the original inhabitants, but en masse they are resented for having huge trade advantages as well as having taken all the best land and resources.

## Government and Law

Currently the country is ruled by Monarch Harthac, one of the Norshame who was born in Burdam. She is a strong warleader but not one of the Norsvik and seems to be content to rule and raid from Jansvik rather than leaving to raid and conquer far afield. Harthac has advisors who are Norsvik, some who are not, and even a couple who are not of the Norshame at all, including the High Priest of the Thebian temple in Jansvik. The Skaldinavian system of Meets has been adapted somewhat, and certain specific non-Norshame may be allowed to have a voice at the discretion of the ruler. All free Norshame are allowed to speak. The Monarch has absolute authority, and no matter what discussion takes place at Meets, her decision is final. If her decision is unpopular enough, it may lead to rebellion, so taking heed of the discussion is sensible.

Every one of the Norshame has a blood price, just as in Skaldinavia. The punishment meted out for crimes is proportional to the blood price of the victim and the value of the damage done. Leaders who can settle things to everybody’s satisfaction are well thought of.

Theoretically, the laws of the Norshame apply to the Norshame only and all others have no blood price so can be harmed without repercussion. In practice, those who are in charge of a particular place will guarantee the safety of those they consider worthwhile, including the labourers. The original inhabitants of Burdam do therefore have some recourse, unless the Norsvik dispossess them. In disputes involving none of the Norshame it is quite common for village mediators or clergy to go by the original laws from before the Norsvik annexion.

## People

There are basically four different types of people in Burdam, who are treated in very different ways. The Norshame know they are the true people, and the Norsvik are almost idealised as the pioneers who opened up this fertile new land to settlement. These worship the family of gods headed by Wod, and are governed by the same rules as in Skaldinavia.

The original inhabitants are not subject to the same laws, and as stated above they are treated legally in the same way as foreigners are in Skaldinavia – for the sake of expediency, they are guaranteed by whoever the land they live on was given to (or in the towns, the town leader), who will be responsible for getting their reparations if they are victims. It sounds complicated, but it seems to work, though the Norsvik can get away with harming them for minimal or no punishment.

The last type of people are the slaves. In Deir, most of them are those captured by the Norsvik, some from Deir and some from wherever the Norsvik were raiding. The rules for their treatment follow those of Skaldinavia, including the possibility of ransom, if their families can find them.

Fashion in clothing is a mixture of Skaldinavian and Deiran/Mierrsan (those being very, very similar). Wool is the most common fabric, and everyday wear is a tunic longer than mid-thigh with or without trousers. Brighter colours are worn by those who can afford them, and a dark-coloured sleeveless dress or tunic in a heavy fabric, worn over a light-coloured sleeveless garment in linen or silk and fastened with elaborate brooches is the height of fashion.

## Religion

The Norshame follow the pantheon headed by Wod, and the Deirans and Mierrsans follow the gods of Ritian who are part of the Thebian congregation.

Wod, the parent of many of the Norshame gods, leads them in the way a still-vigorous elder leads a mortal extended family. Wod has always been acknowledged as the greatest of all the gods, and their powers are mystical and far-reaching. They traded an eye for knowledge of the world, and have two ravens that fly anywhere they command bringing back information. Wod may be called upon for advice on any subject, though they have a particular affinity for rulers and powerful mages. Although naming people after the gods is a valued tradition in Skaldinavia, no child is ever given the name of Wod. It is an ill omen to name a child something they cannot live up to.

Wod has had many partners, though their principle one is their wife Rygge, who lives with them in Gaard. Rygge is the god of marriage, invoked at weddings, and of prophecy. The oldest child of Wod and Rygge is Thorn, who has become the god of thunder and strength. Thorn wields a mighty hammer and takes an interest in the affairs of warriors. Their second child is Ador, their third is Njordn. Njordyn fathered two children, twins called Frja and Frjo who became the gods of fertility and abundance.

There are many other gods in the pantheon. The one who causes most trouble is Lokk, who Wod bore and who was fathered by an ice giant as part of a bargain to secure Gaard. Lokk feels as the oldest child of Wod’s body, he should be given higher status than those whom Wod fathered. His resentment has caused a lot of trouble amongst the gods.

Although Thorn is possibly the most popular in Skaldinavia, in Burdam Lokk is a more common choice, especially among the Norsvik.

The temples of Thebian gods were full of riches and scholars, and were the first and the worst despoiled by Norsvik raids. They still stand, but many priests have left them for mainland Porea, especially Namor. Those who remain are active in their pastoral duties of teaching, mediating, marrying people and taking care of the dead, but the dizzy heights of famed scholarship are beyond them. The priests wear robes, and those who follow primarily Thebe will wear white if they can. Small temples stand within a day’s walk of most places, and there are travelling priests who make rounds. Given the state of the country, some temples can go for weeks to months without a priest, but people will still go there for private prayers and communion with their gods. As elsewhere, there are many, many gods of everything from harvest to childbirth to coopers. Thebe and Cuthbern are possibly the most commonly worshipped in Burdam.

As can be imagined, the followers of gods in the Thebian congregation have no love for the gods of the Norshame. The plundering has largely ceased, but what was lost continues to burn.

## Towns and Cities

**Jansvik** has the highest proportion of Norshame in Burdam, almost outnumbering the native population. It was once a Namorian city, the capital of the North, and the city walls still stand. The most imposing buildings are the temples and the monastic hospitals and schools, echoingly empty with only a tenth of their former inhabitants. The High Priest of Thebe in Eanwicceastre was traditionally second in seniority over the whole of Ritian, only outranked by the High Priest in Cantiaco. Rivalling the Thebian temples is the new temple to Lokk, with elaborate shrines to Wod and Thorn. Some of the precious metal and jewels looted by the Norsvik from Thebian temples throughout Ritian has been used to decorate this new temple.

After over a decade under Norsvik rule, the city is beginning to economically recover. The economy is no longer based mainly on barter (among the natives) and plunder (among the Norshame), and in the past few years the minters have started issuing coins again – the first issued in Norshame territory. Traders and merchants are common, as the wealthy Norshame, making good use of their fertile new land, need to sell their wool, wood, and grain, and want to buy luxuries. The crafters of the city are again working their way back to prosperity.

**Other cities** are neither as impressive as Jansvik, nor as heavily influenced by the Norshame. They all bear some scars from the years of raiding, and have less confidence that it will not start again. An influx of dispossessed farmers has swelled their population, almost replacing (numerically) those who died fighting. They all have Thebian temples to a variety of gods, all of which show scars of being raided.

## Trade

The biggest trading place by an order of magnitude is Jansvik. So wealthy have some of its inhabitants become that Nevicians have begin coming to trade, and some of them even have permanent abodes in the city. The primary export is wool – all the countries of Ritian are known for the quality of their wool. Other bulk goods are leather, vellum (sadly no longer in the form of illuminated manuscripts), and high-quality wood from old-growth forests. The crafting expertise lost in the fighting has not yet been regained, and high value manufactured goods are made only in small numbers.

## Magic

As everywhere with a Thebian presence, religious magic is held in high regard by the native population. Elemental magic is used more as a tool. Totemic magic is occasionally used by the Norshame, but more often by the Dowran, who have become less common since the Norsvik took over, retreating to Alt Clyd and Bernic.

## History

Burdam is in the northern part of post-Namorian Ritian. The two northern kingdoms Deir and Bernic were often separate but frequently ruled together. Like the southern kingdoms of Kewes, Mierrsa, Cient and Haleren, they jostled for power and territory. Their ruling families intermarried but this did not stop the fighting. The twin kingdoms were dominant from about NY 1500, often having Mierrsa and sometimes Kewes under tribute.

The Norsvik raids interrupted the status quo. The first raid was in NY 1546 on Indisfar, off the coast of Bernic, where a temple to Cuthbern (god of Bernic and Deir) stood. That shocked the whole of the two kingdoms, but it was the first of many. Indisfar rebuilt, thinking they would not be targeted again, only to fall victim almost immediately. After several attacks, they took their holy relics and began to travel with them through the kingdoms. Stripped of precious metal and expensive cloth, the relics were safe from the hands of the Norsvik.

After years of raids bleeding huge amounts of treasure from the kingdoms, the Norsvik strategy towards Ritian changed. The first year they overwintered was NY 1603, and from then on they began to be invaders rather than just raiders. A huge army, a great host of Norsvik, descended on Ritian in NY1617 and didn’t leave. Arriving in Haleren, they raided and plundered there until they were paid to leave in coin and horses. Rather than leaving and going back to Skaldinavia, the army crossed Mierrsa and headed into Deir, where they headed for the principle city of Eanwicceastre. At this point, the two kingdoms were between rulers, with two rivals vying for the throne. The Norsvik took the city with only a small battle and sacked large parts of it.

The rival claimants to the throne regrouped, joined together, and attacked the city within three months of it falling. After a very bloody battle, their attacking force was obliterated, and they were both killed. Not only that, but many of the Deirans in the city were also killed. The Norsvik stayed encamped in Eanwicceastre, and their leader declared himself Monarch there. They have controlled the city ever since, and are so dominant there that the city has even come to be known by their version of its name, Jansvik.

The great army of Norsvik overwintered in Eanwicceastre, then headed south to Mierrsa. That year they raided and pillaged, living off the land (stealing all the food from the Mierrsan farmers), and they overwintered in Mierrsa. The following winter, they overwintered in Eanwicceastre again, and consolidated their hold on Deir. Already a few non-Norsvik Norshame (mainly traders) had begun to arrive as they had after the Norsvik consolidated control in the cities on Evernie.

The great army left again, to plunder the south. Their activities are detailed in the histories of the countries they attacked. Eventually, in NY 1627, the army split in half and one part returned to Deir. The leader, Halfdarn, confiscated most of the land from its original owners and shared it out amongst many of his warriors. After this, the Norshame began to come across in large numbers, many thousands coming to occupy the fertile lands of Deir.

Deir had fallen to the Norsvik, but Bernic remained independent. Although raided on by and under tribute to the Norsvik, the inhabitants kept their land and native ruler.

From Dier, the Norsvik pressed south into Mierrsa, eventually occupying the whole of the north-eastern half (including some areas of territory which had never been firmly under Mierrsan control). The combination of Deir and half of Mierrsa became known as Burdam, though the original inhabitants do not really consider it a true country and continue to think of themselves as Deiran or Mierrsan. Nevertheless, it is ruled by the same Monarch from Jansvik.