Norovellir

Unlike the people of the continent, those that lived on Norovellir followed their own ways, both in culture and belief. They were a peaceful folk, who valued balance and the commodities of home above glory and power. Skilled artisans and artists, the people here soon began to prosper by trading unique items to the outside, using their advanced naval technology to reach farther lands. Even so, their customs remained the same, until the **Kingdom of Sacner** began to introduce itself into their lives. Sending, at first, only traders and settlers to set up outposts, this eventually turned into missionaries of the **Glorious**, seeking to convert their neighbors. Years later, King *Maxwell Keylor* married the daughter of the local Duke, and incorporated the island into his kingdom, thus acquiring much of its advancements and trade connections without bloodshed.

While not all welcomed the presence of these new settlers, most grievances were treated in town halls and debates, especially in regards to the missionaries and their disrespect for their customs and beliefs. Even so, as the years and decades passed, the original religion was slowly replaced by the **Faith of the Glorious**, something that led to violence and even armed conflicts. Today, while followers of the **Four Trees** remain, they do so in hiding and fear of the heavy punishments now implemented by the priests, being forced to live in fear and contempt even in their own homeland.

## History

The exact manner of how Norovellir was founded is a matter of some debate. After the flooding that divided the island into four, the priests of the Glorious claimed that this was a holy land, given its connection to the dismembearment of **Auriel**, and that even the old religion was merely a misinterpretation of the four **Forlorn**. In their eyes, the Norovellir people are descendants of ancient pilgrims that had followed one of the four knights, though some believe it to be **Gabriel**, and others that the local hero **Kaia** was actually the knight **Gaia**, before her ascension into the Forlorn of Demise.

For the natives, however, Kaia was a maiden warrior from a **far away land**, who had grown tired of war, loss and vengeance, and decided to sail the seas in order to find a new home for her people. Once they found the island, Kaia buried her sword into the greatest tree in the land and swore never to spill blood again. While she still honored all of their **gods**, much of the religion was now focused on **Nobara**, goddess of the forests, rivers, and mountains. Kaia believed that if they lived in balance with nature, Nobara would honor and protect them, as well as provide all that was necessary for them to thrive.

## Society

Day-to-day life on the original Norovellir was peaceful and calm, with people working on all expectable positions of a medieval society. It was not feudal per say, but they did have a leader that ensured some level of security and fairness in all things, which included taxes as well as public service. While there was no official military force, almost every villager knew enough about self-defense, archery and tracking to protect themselves and their families, and their distance to the continent, added to the relatively small size of the island, ensured that few to no bandits took any interest in it.
The few warriors trained were specialists that followed the way of the **Four Trees**, the main religion of the island, and each focused on a determined way of defense.

* Followers of **Nobara** were skillful archers and trackers, often serving as hunters in times of peace.
* Followers of **Lopalo** were powerful warriors, trained to focus on defense, rather than offense.
* Followers of **Ullar** were, more often than not, blacksmiths and inventors first, rather than soldiers, but specialized in weapons and armor.
* Followers of **Syragna** were alchemists and herbalists, focusing equally on the arts of healing and poisoning.

## Transition into Sacner

The transition from independent island to a part of the kingdom of **Sacner** was a “peaceful” one, achieved through the marriage of King *Maxwell Keylor* I and the now Queen *Nora Keylor*, known to some of most traditional Grots as Nora TurnTable, for her role in “selling out” her lands. When her father died, she became Duchess and, in this way, Norovellir became a vassal land of Sacner. With the decades, even their faith was replaced.

A few groups resisted the change. Some through voting and diplomacy, and others through the sword, but ultimately the merging was successful and soon Sacner soldiers and Priests of the **Glorious** were sent to the new land to make it truly a part of the Kingdom.

## The Islands

60 Years after Norovellir’s vassalization and 50 years before the **Game** itself, a series of floods hit both the continent and the Island, leading to chaos, hunger and death. Still, the greatest effect it had was to somehow separate the once great island of Norovellir into four, which were named according to its surrounding biomes. **North Plains**, **Wild Hills**, **Silent Forest**, and **Dark Waters** were thus born, leading to a heavily diminished land in comparison to the trading powerhouse of before.