The United Tribes of Sanra

To the North-East of Lolgia stands Sanra. A proud nation descendant from ancient sailors and raiders from far off lands. Often seen as primitive by their neighbours they are strong believers in tradition, ritual, and spirituality. They value strength and respect of the lands as the lands tend to demand respect. Very few people would survive these cold lands but the people of Sanra stand strong through tradition and following the spirits of the land.

## Geography

The Sanran region is on the North East coast of Lolgia. There are a number of Islands beside the coast that are inhabited by different tribes. The area in the centre and central-southern regions are mountainous. On the border with the Smerean Kingdom there is an area on the map that is no longer marked as part of Sanra, this is Den Färgade Keep which no longer inhabited by the Sanran tribes.

## Politics

While there is a central seat of power in Vopeid most areas are ruled by a local Jarl and their court. These Jarls have full power over their lands and people though ultimately the Jarls have to answer to the high king, known as the Landets Röst (Voice of the Lands). The high king is elected by the Jarls usually from within their own ranks though formally anyone can be nominated. The Landets Röst often reign for hundreds of years as the spirits often prolong their lives to lifespans comparable to dwarves or elves.

### Election of the High King

When the ruling king dies or is removed from power the Jarls meet at the stones of Vopeid, a circle of stones that mark the landing grounds of the ancestors. Anyone nominated is brought into the stones and they debate who shall become the new king. Although they decide who is kind they do not decide if they become the Landets Röst. Only the Spirits can decide that through the ritual know as the Grundande (Founding)
 A new king must first enter the domain of Berg, the spirit of the mountains and the fire that lives below. They must leave having forged an axe with the strongest metal from deep in the mountain. If the new king does not have the blessing of Berg the axe will be brittle and weak. They must then enter the domain of träd, the spirit of the forests. They must enter one of the many sacred forests and cut down a single tree using their axe from Berg. If they successfully leave the forest with a log they cut down their selves then they have Träd's blessing. Finally, they must enter the domain of the most sacred of spirits, the everchanging water spirit Världshav. Using the trunk that they just fell as a mast for a ship they must sail from Vopeid to Helmen. Helmen is the final resting place of all the Kings that came before and one may only approach the legendary Stone of Sanra if the spirits of those kings approve. If they make the journey and land on Helman like the ancestors before them they can notch their family rune onto the stone of Sanra and they are now the Landets Röst for they have the blessings of the 3 Spirits of Sanra.

### The 1858 Election

After Landets Röst Huntor died after a long peaceful reign of 543 years. As tradition dictates, the Jarls went to the stones of Vopied to elect the new High King. They chose Manns Fron from one of the Mountain tribes. However, during his trials, he never left the forests of Träd. This caused a conflict between many of the mountain tribes who nominated Manns and the forest tribes who believe he must have offended Träd. This caused a 6-month long conflict where the forest tribes sieged the mountains denying the majority of trade into the mountains. This conflict stopped only after the election of the new high king who passed onto be Landets Röst. The new Landets Röst was nominated by sea tribes and is an aquatic half-elf named Runa Vidkunn. As part of her rule, she has set up more inter tribe trade and communication and is highly respected by most tribes.

## The Vampire war

Very few of the tribes had managed to defend themselves from the vampiric influence. The last stand of Sanra was when the armies of the dead marched upon Vopied. The warriors sallied forth to fight the armies of the dead, it is said that the lands themself fought with the united Sanrans as the spirits imbud them with the strength of all their ancestors. Leading this charge was the champion Ulrik, who is believed to be from the Mountain tribes though there is little to no proof to these claims. The heroic victory of that day was deemed as the first time the tribes started pushing back against the vampires. After this battle it is said that Ulrik left to aid other people across Lolgia.

## Religion

While most cultures have belief centred on gods from other planes, the Sanra people believe in the spirits of the lands that transcend the planes. For the most part, the spirits are neither good nor bad, they are balanced and have many different personas. There are the 3 major spirits Berg, Träd, and Världshav which represent the mountains, the forests, and the waters respectively. Tribal spirits are also thought to live within the lands and are worshipped locally within the individual tribes.

It is believed that when you die and you have served the spirits well you become one with the spirits, and in fact, the spirits are made up of the Ancestors. If a person has not served the spirits it is believed they are cursed to walk the lands forever never truly being able to rest, the most unruly of these unrestful spirits can even unbalance the local spirits of an area. The funeral rites are different for the different tribes and the wishes of the dead but often include burning or being cast off to sea.

### Druidic priests

People of the tribes may mark themselves as receptors for the spirits, and dedicate themselves to their will. Many choosing one major spirit to follow, often dependant on the geography of the homeland, though some keep themselves unaligned. They fulfil the roles that a normal priest would do in any other culture though their worship is more ritual and spiritual based. Often the most reputable priests sit in the court of the local Jarl and ensure that the tribes follow the will of the Spirits.

### The Silver Axes

There are many creatures in these lands that are deemed unnatural and so each tribe has a collection of Silver Axes, a group of spiritual warriors wielding weapons that burn the blood of all those that are deemed unnatural by the spirits. Their weapons are forged from the silver of Berg, quenched in the saltwater of Världshav, and the wood and leather of the handles are gifts from Träd theirself.

The Silver axes of Vopied are recruited from the best Silver axes of all the tribes and are the protectors of Sanra.

### The Silver Claws

There is a legend about the SIlver axes of Vopied that originated from the great war with the vampires. Nearing the end of the liberation of Sanra many vampires had embedded themselves in the lands and had corrupted the local spirits. The pushback against the vampires had halted and the Silver axes became desperate to cleanse the lands. The legend suggests that a group of Silver axes gave their bodies fully to the spirits and became mutated into beast men hybrids perfect for hunting down vampires. Some believe these silver claws still exist within the Silver axes and lycanthropes are still within their ranks. It is also believed that there are those who transformed but failed to keep control, and they roam the forests and mountains hunting and infecting people who wander too far from the road through many think these are just stories to scare children into staying close to their parents.

## Tradition

Many of the values of the tribes are based upon tradition, though most of the tribes have independent values and beliefs. The tribes can be grouped into three groups: the mountain tribes who follow Berg; the forest tribes who follow Träd; the island sea tribes who have an affinity for Världshav. While each tribe is different those in the groups have similar values for example the mountain tribes value craftsmanship and creation, the forest tribes value sustainable hunting and alchemy, and the water tribes value sea fairing. All the tribes' value sustainability, community, and respecting the forces of nature as they believe that these forces are driven by the spirits which are made up of the souls of the ancestors.

### Citizenship

People are often given one of 4 labels by each tribe they encounter: främling meaning stranger given to those who are not from Sanra and have yet to prove themselves; betrodd meaning trusted or friend given to those who are from a different Sanra tribe or those who have started to prove themselves; Stamman meaning tribesman for members of the tribe; and Ondska who are those that are the enemy of the tribe. Anyone can become Stamman if they prove themselves to the tribe and the Jarl declares it, usually, the tribes do not judge based on homelands because if you have become a Stamman or even Betrodd you are seen to have proven your worth to the community and therefore are part of it. People can prove their worth through working, helping the tribe, or just simply being one with the community.

### Raiding

The Saran people are decended from raiders and many costal tribes often continue the tradition of piracy. As the tribes believe they're working in tamdem with the spirits of the land then they believe their raiding is simply liberating natures resources from those that don't respect it. Although these raids are a point of contention between nations the High King offically does not condone the actions of the raiding tribes to prevent international inceident. On the boarders there are a few skirmishes from the forest tribes but many of these are done by smaller raiding parties.

## Low technology, high magic

The tribes of Sanra are not very technologically advance but instead get buy using ancestral and spiritual magic. There are few farms instead they are hunter-gathers that use the blessing of the spirits and the druid priests to ensure a plentiful bounty. They do not rely on war machines as the lands themselves will fight if the spirits wish it.

## Demographic

Most of the people are Humans descended from the Ancestors, though there are also a lot of half-elves and half-dwarves descended from those native to the land and the Ancestors.