The Earlkingdoms of Torrhame

These are the Earlkingdoms of Torrhame:

Gamstrond: Gamstrond is the capital region, the first area settled by the norse, and the Earlkingdom of the king himself. It is the most populous, and has the highest number of towns, built near fertile land next to wide and fruitful rivers. The capital, Godsgate, is built at the site of the Emerald Pyres and where the portal that brought the norse to Torrhame appeared. it is made up of three old Earlkingdoms: Viduhn, Guthrahame, and Kirkivik. In Godsgate, the majority of people worship Honir, whereas in Lullaby, the old capital, most worship Magni.

Lifland: Lifland is the other side of The Root mountains from Gamstrond, and was settled by warriors of Torr (Thor) who were seeking vengeance for the murder of Mothi by the rootmen. It was a teeming home of the rootmen, until these warriors decimated them. As a result, there are many hillforts scattered across Lifland, due to its long history as a frontier, and its people are very hateful of any of rootman descent; their history of being invaded and attacked by the rootmen has only exasperated their hatred and led to the development of their martial culture. Their land is dominated by two great rivers: the river Lif and the river Yar, which provide much of their sustenance. The rest of their land is mostly rolling hills and highlands. In recent years, they were at war with their neighbour, the Earlkingdom of Morkfell, which led to another rootman invasion. Their Earlking, Dagmir, has since proclaimed that he would make a better king than the current king, and has banned any of root descent from owning land or property in Lifland, essentially dooming them all to thralldom. Worship here is almost exclusively of Magni/Mothi, and is very fervent and militant.

Morkfell: Morkfell is to the north of Lifland, the border between the two traditionally being Honir's river. Morkfell was the second-to-last Earlkingdom to be founded, as the area was a area of strong rootman resistance for a long time. It is dominated by a huge forest, the Jotunwood, which contains trees up to fifty feet wide at the base and six-hundred feet high. it is sparsely populated, with the majority of people living in the extreme east, where the trees are thinner, the highlands of the north, of the fjords of the east. The major settlements are the capital, Torrfast-Bywater, where the Earlking holds his court, the port-town of Haakon's Eye in the southeast, and the trade-stop of Borrivik in the east. Worship is predominantly of Honir, as many Honir-worshippers were the first to settle it, as Torrfast-Bywater was built beside Honir's Tears, lakes that are considered to be holy sites. Though conflict with the rootmen is common, especially since the Warden Gates on the northern border fell, many rootmen have been assimilated into Morkish culture and thus tolerance is high.

Saethar: Saethar is a large island to the southeast of Lifland and Gamstrond; indeed, it is about the size of both combined. To its eastern and western extremities it is mostly fjords and mountains, but the centre is a large, wide basin, with a river at its centre, with lots of flat land and very few trees. Saethar was originally settled by rootman tribes who lived nomadically, until King Torrfast led his refugees there from the kingdom during the Great Collapse, when the rootmen temporarily regained the kingdom. Torrfast learned from the nomad tribes and merged his norse refugees and the local rootmen into a single force of elite fighters and cavalrymen, which he then used to reconquer the kingdom. Afterwards many of his horsemen returned to Saethar, and have lived there since. The Saeth are famous (or infamous) for being so accepting of those of root blood, and even for having mostly root blood themselves. During Torrfast's kingdom they were loved, but since, as anti-rootman feeling has grown, they have become vilified across almost the entire realm, with the exception of Morkfell, which has a sizeable Saeth population. In recent times, their Earlking, Grendaa the Seax, has announced that Saethar will welcome any rootmen from Lifland into their earlkingdom as free men, and even organised warbands and ships to help escort them out of Lifland. The forces of Lifland and Saethar have clashed in the islands between their two Earlkingdoms more than once. The majority of people in Saethar worship the Saethoryk, a figure from old root legend who they believe was made incarnate in the form of King Torrfast.

Jund: Jund is a small collection of islands and coast to the north of Gamstrond. Its chief feature is the island of Jund itself, which is made up almost entirely of ore-rich mountains, and a giant volcano in the centre. The rest of their lands are similarly rich in raw goods and resources. Jund has a history of being a trade centre, supplying Gamstrond with metals, fish, and goods. In history they split away from the realm on two separate occasions, the last being barely one hundred years ago. The independent spirit of the Jundish is still strong, and though it is officially now a part of Gamstrond, a prominent figure on the island, Jella, 'Blazing Sun of Jund', is rallying many to his cause of restoring Jund to its former glory. The capital, on the northern coast of Jund, is the town of Jundeon, which has a constrasting look, being split equally between the impoverished hovels of the fishermen and the miners, and the large halls and houses of the wealthy merchants.