Othenia

Othenia is a tribal nation located in the north north east region of the northern temperate forest of the western continent. Othenia borders the northern edge of the central savannah and the eastern tropical forest. Othenia lies nearby the nations of Laagassu, Masat, Elero, Argenta, Ironoslwen and Mimibi

The people of Othenia are average/above average sized fair skinned humans. They are gathered together in tribes which all share the same culture, religion, and racial features. The tribes maintain contact with each other and oftentimes work together for common goals.

The independence of each tribe made diplomacy and cooperation with the Othenians a relative challenge as agreements with one tribe might not transfer to another. Many Othenians believed that a great uniter needed to bring all the tribes together under one flag. This desire was met when during the chaos of the first Laagasu war a number of tribal leaders united under the quick and effective leadership of Golmar of the Othen tribe.

## History

In the ancient days the Ancestral Othenians wandered without purpose and without a home. Life was difficult and the people were weak. One day a young man known as Reimar the stout was hunting and foraging in the forests near his tribes camp when he was attacked by wolves. Reimar gathered his strength and wrestled each wolf to the ground until he was the only one still standing. Tired and wounded Reimar rested on a nearby tree. Suddenly there was a freezing wind and in front of Reimar there stood a huge man. He was covered in warm furs and appeared to be made of a winter storm. The man introduced himself as Wulric and congratulated Reimar on being the first to successfully pass his test. Reimar, confused, asked what the large man meant. Wulric explain that each young man who he saw potential in had been given a test. The test consisted of a pack of wolves who would attack, in order to succeed the person had to prove their strength by defeating but sparing the pack. Each time before Reimar they would either perish in battle or kill the wolves.

Wulric revealed himself as a god and offered Reimar his favor if he would follow his teachings. Reimar accepted the offer and was commanded to return to the spot every day to receive instruction. For many years Reimar would return to the same spot from his home tribe of Othen and learn. Reimar learned about hunting, survival, community, strength, and brotherhood. Reimar shared what he learned with his fellow tribespeople and soon they began to accompany Reimar to his lessons.

After the entire tribe of Othen had learned Wulric's teachings he departed. Wulric's teachings spread throughout the tribes until they united under the name of Othenia. The Othenians united into one tribe and spread their people and teachings across the land. Othenian life changed from a difficult painful life where each day was a struggle for survival to a life of peace and joy where people could live without fear.

For untold centuries the people lived in peace and prosperity, life was still hard but survival was possible. However one day, the despoilers of the ancient western empire arrived from the great river. They began to speak in their strange tongues towards the Othenian scouts who encountered them. To this day it is unknown who struck first but the result was clear, only two Othenians survived the massacre and returned to warn the tribes. What came next was a war unlike any the Othenians had ever seen, after centuries of conflict the empires expansion plans were stopped in part to the assistance of the ancestral people of Ironoslwen. However the war came at a heavy cost, 3/4 of the Othenian population was dead or missing and the Othenian tribes were scattered across the north.

Many centuries later the western empire fell and the Othenians began to reunite. They discovered that in their years of isolation the world had begun to advance, the Othenian leaders set about reuniting the scattered tribes. They expanded and advanced in technology reestablishing contact with the Noghlas of Ironoslwen, as well as discovering and making friendly contact the people of Argenta, eventually the Othenians discovered that many of their people now lived in the land controlled by Laagasu and Numeor. After their requests of alliances or return were denied tensions and war erupted. The Numeor war was fast and decisive as the people of that nation joined the Othenians in overthrowing their leaders. However the Othenians remained divided without a united leader and independent tribes. It was soon after the end of the war that the idea of NEIA first began to be discussed by the leaders of Othenia, Argenta, and Ironoslwen. When the first Laagasu war broke out the Othenian armies were routed and the armies of Laagassu pushed into Othenia. In this moment of crisis Golmar the uniter rose up from the Othen tribe and united the tribal leadership.

Under Golmar the Othenians rallied and with the aid of armies from Ironoslwen, mercenaries from Shrivipahit, and funding from Argenta, the Othenian armies pushed into Laagasu and defeated their enemies. After the war the Othenian tribal leaders recognized the need for central leadership and in a unanimous decision declared Golmar the uniter as Othenias first Jarl. Golmar then formalized Othenias relationship with Shrivipahit and the HCC, happily signing a trade and protection treaty. Then in a historic meeting in Othenias capital of Wulfenburg the leaders of Othenia, Argenta, and Ironoslwen signed the NEIA constitution and officially created the North Eastern Imperial Alliance

## Geography

The terrain that houses Othenia is a cold temperate region of the Northern temperate forests. There are 4 seasons with cold winters and warm summers.

## Languages

The official language of Othenia is Othenian, descended from molus in the molic language family

## Religion and culture

The people of Othenia are followers of Wulric the god of wolves, winter, storms, and war. They base much of their cultural values on the religious teachings of Wulric. Othenians value a strong sense of wolf pack like community where the strongest provide for and strengthen the weak.

### Moral values and principles

Othenians place strong value on community and family, they believe that the strongest of each family has a responsibility to provide for and strengthen the weaker people in the family. They believe in communal strength and that a weakness in the community weakens the entire society and must be fixed or eliminated. One of the greatest sins in the eyes of the Othenian people is to stand idly by and let those in need suffer, even worse is to actively prevent them from getting stronger and become self sufficient.