Mankind: The Kingdom of Jorren

In times past, seen as the heathen devil of the world, mounted in the south where all is cold and nothing godly can live. These men of stone and iron would leave a story throughout their time in history, marked figures of courage and valor. Their rise to modernity would be just as impressive.

Jorren is a land steeped in a rich cultural heritage, based in ideals of honor, courage, wisdom, and glory. They have a rich industry that is strong, but limited by a respect for their land - as is common in these southern nations. They value responsibility, personal honor, martial strength, and courageous feats.  The people of the mountains are not so tall as the people of the valleys, but they are characterised by strong body structure. Their eyes are typically green, with cool colored hair that is flaxen, brown, or black. The coastal Dolfs are believed to be paler than most, but all have a fair complexion. The Wufarths of the west are considered explicitly tall, and often have darker hair.

The politics of Jorren are an interesting take from the traditional southern culture. The various kings of the land hold a great moot to decide upon the ruler of the realm, who rules with the council of all kings under him. The Skrymir, as he is known, cannot rule by force alone over all the lords under his domain. He must be wise, strong, and honorable to sustain the rule of his lands. It draws out political process, but provides a respect for politics and those within it.

The gods of Jorren are many, but chief of them is the figure Wotann the Horned-Chief. He is an Asdean god who dies with the coming of men, in an ancient war that remade the world. He is the wise one, and was chief of all things mortal in the world before. He was the great war-chief, and his actions gave rise to man’s place in the universe. Often it is believed that strength is given to mankind by Wotann’s spirit upon birth, and that is the strength he needs to persevere through life. Humility in the face of Wotann and the trials he endured fosters this strength, as does the courage to use it, such as he possessed. Trial by combat is sacred to those who worship Wotann, treachery and cowardice are seen as grave misdeeds.

The presence of magic in Jorren is rare, but is often fostered by reclusive institutions that teach wisdom in Wotann’s name, developing an elite magister that can utilize their power. Mages that come from Jorren have distinct variety in their magical affinity, but most avoid commanding Generatus, Intersticy, or Gnosis practices; the most prestigious mages to come from Jorren have often been stormcallers, channelling the power of wind and lightning.






History cannot reveal the origins of the peoples who would one day found Jorren. The best histories on the matter are - in fact - their own. Ancient tales past through word-to-mouth, ancient inscription on old rock faces, and the timeless heritage of the peoples themselves. Those of Jorren descended from potent stock.

The most ancient histories put to word had are those of the Jorrs in the early classical period. In their sacred writing that put symbols into stone, done with hesitance for fear of the magical power of this inscription, we have many depictions of brave souls who lead brave lives. These folk aspired to brave deeds and honor, to face death with pride. They write of their heroes slaying great foes and destroying evil things. It shows a colorful culture that would continue to develop throughout history.

The next peoples of note in the ancient realms of Jorren would be the Wulfarth. These folk would be much the same, though possess writing later, dwelling in a western mountain range and devoted to their valor much the same. The Wulfarth did not write, and it is said int he ancient Jorr writings that they did not sing songs of joy. They knew only death and were a grim people. They did not think that death would bring them any joy, and that their life pursuits did not matter in what would come after.

The Jorrs and the Wulfarth would oft feud and bicker, hating each other and fighting over the stones of one hill or the next. Another people int he picture were those of the Dolfs. These were men of a different stock who lived to the south of the Jorrs, living along the cold, frigid coastlines. The Dolfs were much like the Jorrs themselves, but fiercely independent.

The late classical period showed the height of Bacharium as a center of power in Western Lankhmer. It would oft raid south, oppressing the peoples that were barbarian to it, not uplifting them as much as subjecting them to their rule. The Moors and the Fiondar would be staunchly pressed under the boot of their oppression, but the Jorrs would give a mental image for the southern kingdoms that would last until the modern day. They would resist in full force, organized and intrepid, they would harass their invaders profusely

The greatest ‘tragedy’ that ever occurred was a massacre in the ‘heart of the savage lands’. The Jorrs had united under their kings, forming a place that would henceforth be known as Jorricland. These heathen devils stood fast in the name of their gods when Bacharium attempted to marginalize the entirety of mankind under the worship of the Adean gods. Under the leadership of Magnraus Skycaller, the Jorric people had a united military force that could compete with the disciplined forces of the empire. Being distant from these lands and without supply lines, it turned into a massacre. Magnraus was announced an enemy of the empire, and all his people supplicant in his crimes.

These charges would stand for hundreds of years, and would be answered again with the rise of these barbarian kingdoms. Jorricland would set aside feuds with the Wulfarth folk, whom would stand as allies. The Dolf folk would send their aid, and they would become a force known as "The Great Southern Army". Referred throughout northern history as a terrible, horrendous, and unrelentingly thorough force, the Great Southern Army would release Gaudeny from its oppression, and march on the first counter-active assault on the empire of Baccharium.

With Bacharium’s eventual fall, perilous ways through the mountains provided the Jorric peoples a certain dread in the opinions of the northern kingdoms. They would steel in from the mountains under the cover of mists, and assail cities that were assumed defensible. Their kings would fight for fiefdoms of foreign lands, as well as their treasures, and raise mounds to their honored dead in great graveyard fields. It is said that there has been a Jorric heathen-king for every province in modern Mandoria.

The Wulfarth folk would form their own kingdoms, much as the Jorrs had done to create Jorricland. They would establish themselves adamantly in their borders, fashioning ships purchased from the Vindels who would loan shipwrights to the other southern kingdoms. They would be feared throughout the period as the most remorseless and brutally effective sea-raiders that the north would have to experience. They would sail from the south through to Bacharium, Londor, and some evidence suggests as far as the border Mandoria shared with Shen - evidenced by some ancient Aquidorian relics.

The nation of Jorren would come to be once the Jorric peoples would annex the neighboring Wulfarth kingdoms. With their ancient rivalries long in the past, their feuding minimal, and a sharing of gods and ideals - the union would be a strong one. This league would then absorb the coastal Dolfnweid, descendant of the Dolfs before them. With this union, they would establish the imperial kingdom of Jorren. They would also expand southwards to the southernmost reaches of the known world, called Kjostenmark by them, to establish the first successful colony-state on such frozen land.