Thurland

**Other names:** The Land of a Thousand Princes; Trollland; the Frozen Wastes; Vatorland; FatherLand;

**Language similarity and Naming Conventions**: Germanic

**Political Structure**: Decentralized federation

**Culture**: independant, agrarian, traditional

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Thurland’s first humans were  human settlers, independent minded rebels and cast offs from Astartes. It owes its name to the Thur, the Thurish word for both, father and family, which makes sense considering the clanish and familial nature of their culture.  They found a harsh and cold land, that had lots of resources for those who wanted to work. But early in the UShabti and AStartes war, the Ushabti seeded their land with trolls, and the need for tight family ties and discipline became more necessary. They terrorized the settlers but further militarized them. The Thurians became more hardened, defensive, militant and quite adept at fighting bigger and stronger opponents. Then the Astartes and the Ushabti fell. For a little while the kings and queens of Thurland sighed. they were tired of being a piece in a greater war.

In the wake of Ragnadron ascendancy the Giants expanded their growth. The first giants showed up, burned their ships and demanded terms with the humans. The Thurians saw their representative, and expected great warriors but also expected hospitality and the standard rules to be engaged. The Thurians expected negotiations, as one tribe to another. The giants expected unilateral surrender. They built a GIANT longhouse, stoked a huge fire. They brought cows to be slaughtered and ale enough for the head of the Giant army to get completely sloshed on. He did and became more belligerent and angry as the night went on, saying he would slaughter all the men and take the women as slaves, if they kept on insisting on talking of terms. The Thurlanders grew tired of it and called for Hrungnir, the favoured Princeling, to come.

The veteran hero of the troll war, the one who killed Gingram, the Troll king Hrungnir came. Abiding by the rules of the longhouse he asked the head of the Giant army to stop. The head of the giant army laughed and went to squash the Princeling, who clearly had far more experience breaking large creatures with superior strength. He sidestepped the blow, ran up the giant hammer and smashed his forehead in. The giants easily cowed the humans in Ushab, who were soft and used to being ruled. Not so with Thurland.

But the Thurians were incapable of wiping the giants out. The giants taken aback by the resistance of humans retreated to higher ground, and planned their next move. They tried to defeat them, in the ways that it had worked with previous nations and tribes. If they killed or captured a king or queen (really more a mayor or head of clan), another would rise up. If they destroyed a settlement, the Thurians would either move, and rebuild or hunt down the giant and rebuild after their interloper was killed. The Giants retreated to the mountains and glaciers, and became frost giants, waring with the trolls left there, but often venturing down to terrorize a settlement or city if it looked like an easy or valuable target.  Rumors still persist that the occasional giant can be seen if someone ventures far enough north into the glacial ranges. The giants could not kill and force the Thurians into a surrender.
 But the constant war with the giants had a peculiar effect on them as a culture. They still live as they used too. They forge complex weapons, and are great shipwrights, and farmers, horsemen and herders, even miners. But they still live in wooden buildings, and have ever moving settlements - why build in stone when their ancient enemies would just destroy them. The only castles and long lasting structures are natural ones, built on fiords, and cliffs.

Later the dwarves and the goblins clashed over Thurland, and the Thurians welcomed the dwarves, incorporating Vatorg into their pantheon, and Taighaglyp  into their enemies. Until the last 50 years of the great war, the Thurians supported their dwarven brethren until their stout generals began treating Thurian soldiers as disposable shock troops, and enforced dwarven discipline and law on Thurian settlements, treating them as barbarians. Then the Thurians returned to their guerrilla roots, fighting them off, and caving in the caverns and gateways to the dwarven underground realms.

**Religion**

The prime diety in Thurian culture is Vatolis, whom they call The Supreme-Father (or VelThur), and while

many other Gods are honored, they all relate in Thurian theology to one family, with Vatolis as the patriarch. Aulonia was his early lover, who later married his rival Thalasian ; Astraphenia is his mistress; Urmgai  in her female guise as his wife; Ausbaldis his fallen son; Lady Solarion is Vatolis' widowed daughter in law (by marriage of to Ausbaldis); Tyrock Arare  as Vatolis great grandson; Tragos is Vatolis' treacherous but necessary brother (because what would the Thurians do without fire); Osthania is Vatolis' grandmother and wise counsel, who grants Vatolis to take the faithful and honorable to his bosom in death; etc.  The Evil Gods fit in, as well but either represent alien evils (like Ragnadron  the God of the Giants), or as offshoots of the family tree.

**Culture**:

Thurian culture, as is clear centers around extended family and the harsh terrain that they live in.  Familial

roles are clearly defined based on capability, but everyone is expected to pull their weight in terms of providing for the needs of the community including its defence; everything is work or defence. The Thurian insistence that nothing lasts has a large effect of their culture - especially ornamentation. Ornate decorations are either left for those rare things that will last, such as steel, which means armor and weapons, which are never buried with their owners. Alternatively ornamentation is reserved for things that will quickly dissolve, so as to remind children and families to not hold onto any material thing to hard; a vital lesson from their wars against the giants; ornate braids and hair, woad and intricate warpaint, ice sculptures, etc.

Thurian is a harsh language whose written form steals heavily from their former allies. They have very few synonyms, with that being one more example of frivolity. Instead the realm of poetry takes the form of singing. Most Thurians learn to sing at an early age.   Games in Thurian culture all take the form of training, tactical or physical. Thurians love wrestling, dueling, and team games that resemble combat. Thurian hair varies from dark to stark white, but their eyes are almost invariably blue green.

**Politics**:

On occasion Thurland is referred to as the land with a thousand princes, because the leader of every clan

or major settlement has the title. Disputes between them are settled in a greathouse, and when the dangers are posed to the whole territory, a grandmoot is called, with decisions being decided by consensus between the heads of the families and towns, with major disputes often being settled by single combat.  While culturally similar, mapmakers could be kept constantly busy based on the shifting territories, rulers and honorifics shift constantly.

**Names**:

Thurians tend to possess two names: a given name and a patronymic. Men generally receive names of powerful ancestors and hero-kings, although some bear names that are actual words in Skald that their parents hope they embody or emulate in life.  Women often receive descriptive names that define their parents hope for their futures.

Male Names: Asbjorn,  Birger, Eilif, Herger,  Hrungnir, Hyglak, Jens, Kjell,  Kriger, Niklas, Olaf, Ragnar, Sterk, Storhoi, Tallak, Varg, Ulf

Female Names: Asta, Birgit, Dagny, Eva, Gerda, Gunda, Hege,  Ingegerd, Ingrid, Jorun, Magda, Nanna, Runa, Signe, Tine

**Economy**:

Many live in subsistence manner, farming and fishing where they can. As a hearty people, many have engaged in raiding and reaving, though not as official supported activities from the persepective of Thurland.

Major exports include fish, whale oil, lumber, and almost all Troll components come from Thurland. Thurians are renowed as some of the best shipwrights in the world.

Interesting exports other than Troll components, include Deep Ice (which seems to be indistinguishable in its properties from ice, other than it is a deep blue, and when immersed in water, melts at an extremely slow rate, allowing it to be transported globally);

**Prominent People** **and Places**:

    **Kaza-Rgha** - There are few capitols or permanent structures in Thurland, and few cities worthy of the name. However, when the dwarves burrowed up from the ground, they couldn't help but build grand structures. Kaza-Rgha is one of the most prominent of these, that stands as an exception to the typical Thurian pattern.

In dwarvish, Kaza-Rgha means "Fortress of Brotherhood", and was originally built as a testament to the commonality that the dwarves found with the Thurians. They build stone walls, and structures, and invited the Thurians into its safety. Over a hundred years a few started to accept and live within its protection. It is located in the Deep Fjord, a spring fed fjord that is warm, and feeds to the ocean.

Most merchants and traders come through Kaza-rgha, and few foreigners make port anywhere else. But most other Thurians view the longer lasting residents of Kaza-rgha as weak and decadent compared to their own rugged lives.

The fortress and city had been enemy territory during the last war, and the pathway up had been blocked when the family of Stewards, Thrandssons betrayed their dwarven masters and blocked the way up. The Thrandsson's were all killed as collaborators, and another family, Gylffson took the title of stewards, ruling the city and keeping the peace. There has been motions of Stewart Aevar Gylffson to claim the title of King of Thurland, but he has not been able to exercise his power past the city, despite wealth and influence from foreigners.

Most in Kaza-rgha have urban backgrounds, such as noble, guild artisan, etc.

Redash -

A very small town but a prominent port and trade hub, along the east coast broken shore. It has a few stone structures ancient in origin and mostly occupied by foreign merchants.

**The Glacial-Spears:**

This group of troll and giant hunters, claim they are the the reason why troll attacks have been few and far between. Whether this is true, or a means by which the Spears extort funds from others, they are undoubtedly tough and capable warriors. They include sworn brothers and sisters, who have survived in the ice and snow alone for the coldest months, and have been initiated into their brotherhoods rights. Their numbers include barbarians, rangers and the occasional fighter, rogue, or even paladin. Most likely background is outlander, hermit or soldier (for those that work in units)

**The Wodangrift**

Stone Speakers, act as the memories and the keepers of names and stories, these priests are respected and feared not for magical might, but their ability to share stories between themselves. They include no small number of bards, but also clerics (often of Vatolis), Druids, Wizards and sorcerers. Most likely background is acolyte, hermit, entertainer or scholar, although many take a more rustic bent to their practice.

**Queensvolk**

Thurland is uncivilized and one needs allies to survive, including from the enigmatic fey. Many make pacts and follow the undisputed queen of the feywild, the Icequeen. The queensfolk seek to appease her, and in doing so pledge allegiance to her and her kind, making sure they abide by the rules that seem superstitious to the uninitiated. Many follow strange practices, speak unusual prayers, and create more complex taboos to seek the aid if the fey. Some claim they have seen first hand that the sacrifices and taboos work, claiming that that the Queensfolk, seem to survive extraordinary circumstances, and are lucky. Others claim that they are merely slowly growing insane, and people only know of the lucky ones who survive. Queensfolk tend to congregate and keep to themselves, no different than others on the outside but with many fey related customs. Anyone can be one of the queensfolk, and many sorcerers, warlocks and druids receive their power from the feywild this way.

**Core Races:**

This does not necessarily limit the available races for play of players, these are the native expressions of the core races, and available playable races.

**Hunginmen (Dwarves)**

A thousand years ago, the dwarves had good relations with the Thurians, and viewed themselves as natural allies and brothers. But at the last years of the last war, the Thurians overthrew the increasingly violent tyrannical former allies and cut off the gateways to the dwarven lands under the ground. But this did nothing to remove the dwarves who had settled and adapted to the life above ground. In some communities the dwarves lived peaceably and were defended by elders and princes. But in most regions they were hunted down and killed, which forced them to band together and retreat into the mountains. There they either carved out their own fortresses, or co-opted and pushed out other residents. These Hunginmen, are mountain dwarves, and survive on their own, in isolation relying on clerics of Vatorg, and wisemen to provide the necessary resources for them. They have survived in a way that only dwarves can, by relying on stoic stubbornness.

**Humans:**

**Thurians**: See Above

**Ice Dragon-Tribes:**

 Before the giants, some of the humans extricated from the relatively civilized thurlanders, sought to survive in the wintery north. Some were strong enough to thrive. Some sought strength with supernatural forces which they thought could help them weather the frigid wastes and its perils. Some allied with Fey. Others allied themselves witht the trolls, and became Trollocs; and some found the Ice Dragons, and served them alongside Dragonbourne, and Kobolds. In ancient times, the Dragons served as gods and kings to these tribes, bestowing power on their elders, and magic to their warriors. Occasionally they were even taken as consorts.

As the dragons receeded and became rarer, the dragon-tribes remained, continuing to live in the same manner, in a primitive nomadic lifestyle guided by empowered elders and warriors. They roam the whole north, seeking signs of their gods, and have an cultural knowledge of Deep dragon caves in glaciers. The east has been the most hospitable to their eccentricities; such as their insistence on sacrificing outside material, and wealth to dragons, refusal to use mammals as domestic animals, and a frequent habit of filing their teeth down.

Common Classes:

* Barbarians (Dragon Totem Warrior) https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Path\_of\_the\_Totem\_Warrior,\_expanded\_(5e\_Subclass)
* Druid (Circle of the Land-Arctic)
* Sorceror (Dragon-blooded-White or Silver)
* Warlock (Venerable Dragon -  Silver or White)

**Elves and Half Elves of the East Coast:**

The Gold and Silver elves divide themselves in many nations, and there exist immigrants, refugees and exiles from both floating islands in Thurland. However, elves who have been here for centuries, bear no divisions between each other, and intentionally assimilated culturally to some degree with the humans, in order to remain apart from the suspicion of the dwarves, who had been very involved in Thurland in previous centuries.

As such, native elves have become much like their more primitive ancestors (bearing the capabilities of wood elves), and while they often still carry some religious customs of their forebearers, as well as some physical traits, their magical training has mostly been forgotten after a generation or two. Recent immigrants and exiles, retain their former origins, abilities and accents.

Thurian elves and half elves are often especially revered by Queensfolk, who see them as closely aligned with the Feywild, but retreated into the woods and glaciers when the dwarves exerted iron control during the last war. As such there is much emnity between the Elves and the Hugginmen.

**Halflings:**

**Kleintrolls** - **Gnomes**: Troll has a negative connotation, and originated as a Thurian word for "the others". During the height of the Astartes empire, when the gnomes emerged from their original destroyed plane, many settlers descended into the mainland and settled amongst the primitive (by AStates standards) thurians, who wondered what kind of strange fae creature had emerged.

Their often montley skin reminded the ancient peoples of their enemies the trolls, despite differences of temperment and violence, and so were dubbed "little others" or "kleintrolls", who then varied based on their location becoming Velttrolls (forest others), Untertrolls (undertrolls) and Steintrolls (Stone trolls).

Most thurians treat the Kleintrolls with reverence, and respect knowing their capable magics and mischievous natures.

**Rare Races**:

Goliaths