The Provinces of Noth

# Civilization

Noth or the Provinces of Noth is one of the constituent regions of Distarious and is currently a divided nation ruled by Jarls, and in phases of moving through sovereign absorption by Midistarious. The largest region of Distarious, the dominion of Jarls extends from the northern border where the Fang Mountains meet the Sheer Cold, an inhospitable land, to the southern edge of the Valley of Three Queens far to the south.

Noth has been ruled by the Jarls for thousands of years from a few distinct cities. The more prominent settlements in the region are Kemirosa, Perinklus, Kolskygge, Pontu, and Plastesia. These Jarls are not ruled over by a King or Queen and instead govern themselves until times of great need where a High King will be consoled. It is known that a new High King will be selected every year under the night of the first full moon in Spring. Each year under the night of the first full moon in Spring, each of the Jarls meet at the current High King's home to select a new one after considering each strength they have to offer. Examples include, House Quenna for times of war and conquest, House Valara for times of wisdom, House Jerisee for times of commerce. In some cases, it is possible to call a ultimatum where a new High King can be immediately replaced with another. Other notable reigning families of the region include Aeris, Canam and Mori. No matter the legitimacy of their birth, a child born in Noth will always take their father's last name.

## Society

### Culture

The people of Noth are a harsh people, seemingly unapproachable to most outsiders. Those who get to know them find that they are even more caring than they originally lead on and that their way of life is much more interesting.

Those who live in Noth are referred to as "northmen" or "nords". Most residents within Noth are human descendants of Eldar, although over the years, other races were slowly accepted into being considered as such, examples including many variants of elves, dwarves, bal'ari and orcs. Vikken, druids and Seiðr and all those who can trace their lineage back to the Age of Genesis still practice the eldar tongue, but this does not mean that they neglect the common tongue. Northern accents are considered by others to be quite "stiff" and "frosted". Northmen are often large in stature and have thick beards, long hair, and heavy cloaks of wool or fur.

The constant cold and the iron grip of winter set apart the northmen from the people of the south. Noth's terrain and climate do not easily yield the necessities of daily life. Northmen place less of an emphasis on courtly ritual and culture, and instead prefer tradition, hunting and brawling. Northmen have long memories, and a lord who does not seek his rightful vengeance threatens to have his own men turn on him.

Some northmen live in remote, distant areas where they act as little more than clans and tribes. These remote folk keep to themselves but are often mistaken for bandits by those who are not local to Noth.

#### Religion

Most nords follow Vikken and Jørdan beliefs, and have little inclination for the newer religions of the south. There are a few houses who follow Embodism, including Houses Valara, Quenna, and Aeris. Due to its religious aspect, most northmen refuse to take holy orders and thus cannot become anointed knights. Heraldry in Noth is much simpler than that in the south, showing the lesser influence that chivalry has had there.

Northmen hold honour in high regard, and many respect the beliefs inspired by Vikken belief such as Nīþing and those who disrespect the ideology behind this will likely be spat upon.

### Economy

The people of Noth trade in Gil. Each Gil is uniquely printed in accordance with the province in which they were made but they are all of the same size and weight (near enough the size of a £2 coin). As the north is largely uncultivated, there are few roads of import there and so mostly, commerce takes place to the south border. Most of the inland trade passes by either the Great Distari Road or the rivers. Trade items from the north include wool, hides, and timber.

# Geography

While some say the vast north is nearly as Midistarious, it is actually a much larger landmass. The region is sparsely populated, with vast wilderness, forests, pine-covered hills and snow-capped mountains, speckled with tiny villages and holdfasts. Noth is mainly coated in snow-touched environments; boreal forests, tundra and alpine shrublands. With a typically cold and bleak climate, it is no stranger to snows and rain but even the sunny days are unwelcome as the clear skies bring biting frost with it during the following nights. Its climate is cold and harsh in winter and occasionally it will snow in summer. Noth has a few land barriers, dotting the south; the Sereneties and the Valley of Three Queens. It is bound on each other side by major seas, the Sheer Cold to the north, the Bay of Snow to the east and the Copper Straits to the west.

The country's landscape is difficult to traverse for the unwary traveller; mountains, deep and wild forests, rapid rivers and deep-set snows are just a taste of the harshness Noth has to offer. The population of Noth is divided into several provinces sparsely spread throughout the land in towns and cities alike. The country is surprisingly popular to visit as many young adventurers across the Known World hear of the challenge it has to offer.

Kemirosa, the ancestral seat of House Jerisee, is a large castle located in the north beneath the Fang Mountains. Nearby is the town of White Tree where lies the vast White Forest, a spectacular boreal forest of Noth where the snows rarely stop falling, extending westwards to the Grey Wastes and by extent, the Ashlands. Plastesia, the seat of House Valara, lies in the east where the Silver Tundra joins the Bay of Snow. House Mori rules the Icicle Isles in the Bay of Snow. The Fang Mountains extend from the Silver Tundra to the Barbarian Vale where the Nīþ reside in the exiled town of Barbaria.

Across the sea in the Bay of Snow, the Icicle Isles serve as defensive ports and trade towns. Kolskygge, the seat of House Mori, is situated on the main island whereas Volskygge and Karskygge sit on the smaller of three islands. South of the White Forest is hilly terrain divided by gorges, rivers and a few large lakes. Cliffton, seat of House Ulvar, is located by the largest of these lakes overlooking a steep gorge. Farther southwest is the Frozen Prairie, which contains a few small villages and taverns. Just west of the White Forest and Frozen Prairie is the Grey Wastes, a battered plain which are ruled by storms ringing endlessly over the barren land. West of the Grey Wastes is Ashlands, a distorted land of darkness, lethal mountains called the Shards and hilly dunes of black sand. House Canam rules the large town of Bleakton. There are a few murky rivers which flow south from the Shards, meander south into the coast dividing the Frozen Prairie from the Serenties where finally it meets its estuary upon which the city of Pontu, seat of House Aeris, is located.

North of the Serenities is the Silver Tundra, the largest region of Noth forming the central connecting point between the rest of the provinces. A vast swamp called the Marshlands of Vibrio lies to far east of the tundra; House Canam once ruled here from Meridia until they had been forced to retreat. The ruined castle of Waynon, located on its own peninsula lies in ruin peering from a single island connected to the mainland via a few smaller islands called the Waynon Stones, serves as a reminder for the dangers lurking in this desolate region.

Across the coast of Puncture, westwards from Waynon, the Fist and its four rivers spill out into the sea. Dividing the Fist from the Silver Tundra is a mountain range known as Dragonsridge and a mountain pass that is not accessible during the winter where the Speartip river flows from the Fang Mountains, through the tundra and out into the Puncture through the Fist. Perinklus, home of House Quenna, is located on its estuary, while Rook and Ironfeld are located along the estuaries of the small rivers northwards, respectively. The Fist is the east neighbour of the Valley of Three Queens and northern neighbour of the Crownlands of Midistarious.

The Valley of Three Queens constitutes as three large and very different forest; the northern most Eldar Wood a seemingly enchanting woodland gloried with ancient trees, and teeming wildlife; the Grey Forest which has been taken by Midistarious and the Duchy of Prestille; and finally the western Woodland of Queen Dianne, subjectively known as the Haunted Forest by those who believe in such tales. Arkyle, the seat of House Norgaard, is located near the edge of Woodland of Queen Dianne sitting on the border of Midstarious's Duchy of Ruhba. The Bereft Delta runs passed Arkyle and carves up the hilly terrain of the Tors beneath the Sereneties. On the southern-most side of the delta on the coast of the Shiny Sea, Pine Port one of the major ports of Noth, carries out trade across the rest of the Known World.

## Weather

### Seasons

Noth is strongly affected during the winters, with thousands of people killed and famine a common occurrence due to poor harvests before winter or the inability to raise crops during the cold springs and summers that can sometimes feel like autumn or winter. Some Jarls maintain greenhouses at their castles, such as the glass gardens of Bleakton.

Once autumn is declared by Frostshard Circle, the Jarls of the north store away a part of the grain they have harvested; additionally food is smoked, salted, and otherwise preserved ahead of winter. Coastal communities, such as the Icicle Isles depend on fish and inland ice fishing is common on the rivers and lakes. Poor harvests before particularly long winters will mean famine, however.

In winter, snows can fall forty feet deep. Rain falls cold and hard, and sometimes turns into hail that can send men running for cover and ruin crops. Even during summer, snowfalls are not unusual but tend to be brief and not particularly damaging to agriculture. This weather is mostly blamed on the close proximity to the Sheer Cold in the north.