The Kingdom of Narheim

Location The Kingdom of Narheim lies to the north of The Western Wilderland and to the east of the lands of the Kelati and Semilar Barbarians. It has only been officially a unified kingdom for a short while, being created thirteen years ago in 1008 by King Siggjan of the Eagle Tribe.     History   Until very recently, Narheim was a barbarian tribal confederation, similar to those of The Semilar Plains  and The Plains of Kelias . The Narheimer tribes moved into their current lands during the great movements of the last Barbarian Invasions. When The Kingdom of Jakta  started making increased contacts with Magoran  and the north, the tribes of Narheim were able to rapidly increase their wealth as traders gave them “gifts” to ensure safe passage of their caravans, as well as their knowledge and awareness of the wider world.   With this new found wealth, the new High King and Jarl of the Eagle tribe, Siggjan, was able to buy more and better weapons for his warriors. Through a combination of diplomacy and intimidation, he was able to turn his nominal title of High King into a position of actual power. Then, with Jaktan political support and financial aid, he was able to declare Narheim a Kingdom and assume the crown. There was little resistance from the Jarls, who were beginning to see the benefits of the wealth that civilisation bought, and Siggjan’s early social adjustments were able to build considerable support with the influential upper ranks of ordinary tribesfolk.     Terrain   Narheim is a land of rolling windswept plains, bogs and scattered forests. To the west it becomes considerably more hilly, rising into the Jagvar Hills. There are large numbers of small streams and rivers, most eventually ending up flowing into one of the two branches of the mighty River Driva. There are also numerous small pools and lakes, and one significantly larger lake (almost an inland sea), the Inlatsee.     Climate   The climate of Narheim is harsh, wet and windy. In winter, north-easterly winds bring snow down from the mountains, and the temperature usually hovers within a few degrees of freezing point, with occasional even colder snaps. In summer, the wind shifts to come from the south, bringing warmth but also frequent showers. These become heavier in autumn, often turning into harsh gales and storms. Only in spring is it dry, with the winds dropping to breezes from the west and only a scattering of showers.     Ecology   Narheim consists in the main of windy grasslands, interspersed with small forests and copses of hardy trees; oaks, hollies and birches. The boggy areas have reeds, heathers and scrubby thorn and bramble bushes. The kingdom is richly furnished with wildlife, with rodents, deer, foxes and wolves common in the grasslands, wild boards and bears in the forests and plentiful birdlife in the bogs. The Inlatsee teems with fish. Away from the villages, there are still a few monsters, although efforts are being made to hunt them down and make the kingdom safer.     Economy   The economy of Narheim is based heavily on subsistence agriculture, the main crops being barley, oats and rye. Livestock is comprised mainly of cattle, sheep and poultry, with a few pigs. There is little food to spare for export, but a certain amount of barley beer is exported south, mainly to Mount Stonedelving . More recently, King Siggjan has had some success creating a small industry distilling berry-infused spirits for sale to Jakta and The Grand Duchy of Enrieme . Most of the country’s exports are in the form of exquisite ethnic jewellery and crafts, mostly produced on a village level.   King Siggjan is attempting to establish mines, and modern industries in the new capital of Aquilholm, but these projects are likely to take years or even decades before becoming truly viable. In the meantime, they rely heavily on Jaktan technical and financial aid.   Most of the Kingdom’s imports come from Jakta in the form of free aid, although this is starting to very slowly diminish. Jakta provides a considerable quantity of the kind of small items needed to establish the social and physical infrastructure needed by the new kingdom. There are also significant imports of modern arms and armour. A major economic effort was devoted in the first few years of the kingdom to the building of a paved and walled road in the east of Narheim linking Magoran with Mount Stonedelving. The project is now mostly complete, and is starting to generate significant revenue in the form of the tolls that such a road can levy on travellers and merchants. It has also provided a well-received boost to the local economy, both in terms of the wages of the labourers building the road, and subsequently in the opportunities for new inns, stables, food vendors and other businesses serving passing travellers.     Social Structure   The lowest levels of Narheim’s society have not really been affected by the new political reality. There has been a filtering down of new tools and agricultural resources which have started to lift productivity and thus wealth. Life is still centred around the family and village, with very few real towns. Even the tribal capitals are no more than large villages. The one large town is the new capital, Aquilholm; some sections of this still resemble a construction site even after thirteen years.   Each village has a council, known as a Thing, and each village sends representatives to the tribal council, or Jarlthing. There is a national council, or Althing, but this is rarely convened. More recently, thegns from villages who have been Jarlthingas consistently for more than five years have been appointed permanent village chiefs by Siggjan, with the title of Cniht. They are expected to serve the king as mounted warriors, and are feudally responsible to their Jarls.     Political Structure   The new political structure is one of King Siggjan as absolute ruler, but listening carefully to the advice of the Jarls, the Althing and the newly titled Lord High Druid. The main difference between the old system and the new is that Siggjan firmly prevents any squabbles between the Jarls turning into open feuds.   With Jaktan advice, Siggjan is beginning to convert the Jarls into a class of feudal lords. This is popular with most of the Jarls, who are realists and also enjoy the idea of more direct control over their tribes.   One key reform Siggjan made early in his reign was to make a change to the rules of inheritance. Previously, Jarls were a hereditary class, each inheriting his rank from his father by primogeniture, but the High King was non-hereditary, selected by the Jarls from either their most favoured of the previous High King’s sons, or from among their own number. This frequently led to feuds and long periods where no High King had been agreed upon. Now, the crown it to be inherited only by a son of the King, and normally through primogeniture unless the reigning king publicly disowns an older son in favour of a younger, more able one.     Religion   The Narheimers are strong believers in the Northern Gods, but in a harsher more primal form than in the civilised nations to their south. Their priests are known as runeworkers, and work on a village level. The more senior and ambitious runeworkers sometimes choose to leave their villages in the care of a junior and become wandering druids.   There is a strict hierarchy of druids, currently headed by the Archdruid Erik Liedensson. He was appointed Lord High Druid by King Siggjan, and now spends much of his time at court, where he has become a firm friend of the King. He acts as his first advisor, helping him to implement the policies needed to bind the new realm into a unified and coherent kingdom without offending the many traditionalists in Narheim.     Foreign Policy   Siggjan’s foreign policy is currently strongly influenced by his friendship with Jakta and the need to develop the stability and cohesion needed to establish Narheim as a long-term kingdom. The Kingdom currently relies heavily on Jaktan advise and financial aid. There is a strong Jaktan advisory presence, which has been headed for the last eleven years by Sir Frantz von Sarram, nephew of Count Ordens von Sarram, Lord of Fort Sarram .   King Siggjan has also put considerable diplomatic efforts into negotiating treaties with the Kelati and Semilari tribes nearest Narheim’s borders, with a considerable degree of success. The tribes on the northern and eastern borders are far more savage, and have so far not responded to attempts to negotiate. To deal with these, Siggjan has happily employed some of his more recalcitrant Jarls to raid and burn. This prevents them making trouble at home, and they are carefully watched by Royal forces that Siggjan sends to assist them.     Armed Forces   The vast bulk of the armed forces are still found in the traditional way, with the Jarls being served by a class of huscarle professional warriors supplemented by bondi levies. Most of the bondi are for home service only, called out in times of crisis, but the best of them are taken on raids and expeditions to provide the huscarles with archers, skirmishers and medium infantry. A small proportion of the huscarles are berserkers and ulfhednar.   With the foundation of the Kingdom, Siggjan started to establish a feudal class of cnihts, and has also encouraged the Jarls to start converting some of the huscarles to similar mounted warriors. These well armed and armoured horsemen are proving highly effective on the rolling grasslands of Narheim, and because they are not as heavy as the heaviest of the plate-armoured Jaktan knights, still retain their effectiveness in the more broken terrain of the Jagvar Hills. The Kingdom can probably muster some two to three thousand of these heavy cavalry at present, supplemented by paid professional cavalry that Siggjan has hired.   In addition to hiring some individual mercenaries to supplement the Royal Huscarles, Siggjan can command several independent Royal units, including;   The Nieblings: a regiment of 1000 dwarven mercenaries from Mount Stonedelving, provided to Narheim as a symbol of friendship between the two kingdoms at a nominal cost (rumoured to be mostly paid in the form of barley beer !)   A contingent of Jaktan Knights of Tyr, consisting of 75 brethren, 75 sergeants, and 500 infantry.   The Royal Jaktan Volunteers: a regiment of 450 Jaktan knights, most of whom are younger sons or minor knights hoping to make a name for themselves. They play an important role in the training of the new cnihts.   The Royal Road Guard: a regiment of 400 mounted medium cavalry acting as a gendarmerie along the new Royal Road, ensuring it is free from disorder, brigandry and crime. They are well known for having absolute jurisdiction along the road and within a bowshot wither side of it, and are incorruptible and efficient in doing their duty.