Demesne of Ice
Perhaps the most-known aspect of the nation known as the Demesne of Ice is that its towns' leaders are (almost) all giants - and the nation sits entirely in a harsh tundra on the northern half of Dalkaria. Legends tell of the giant kingdoms of old on the island, where non-Giants rarely traveled for the first several centuries of the world. As humans and elves began to expand from Ayndrinor to the nearby islands, they encountered these warring giants and their strongholds. Many humanoids were taken as slaves by the giants, but others chose to remain as traders and ambassadors to the non-Giant world. Eventually, two races of "giant-kin" came into being and lived harmoniously with the giants: the goliaths and the firbolg.
These two giant-kin races make up a good portion of the population in the Demesne, though the recent growth of the capital at Lakewatch has brought enough humans and other peoples that the giant-kin are not definitively in the nation's majority any longer. The goliaths have natural resistances, as many of the giants do, to the harsh winter climate and are able to hunt and forage effectively in the frigid temperatures. The firbolgs, on the other hand, are adept at growing edible plants in the otherwise barren tundra. They tend to be more concentrated in the towns themselves, where they grow the root vegetables and various mosses that constitute the majority of the tundran diet.
Each of the towns of the Demesne - with the exception of the capital - are led by a hereditary Jarl that is chosen from among the Giant families of that town. Currently, all of these jarls are Frost Giants, but Ulfskiir has many prominent Stone Giant families as well, and the two have swapped control of the town for centuries. These jarls have absolute say over their towns and the goings-on within them, and collectively they meet once per season to hear arguments and proposals for new laws and policies for the nation as a whole. This quarterly meeting is known as the Thing, and only the jarls and invited guests are allowed to attend the hearings.
The position of Jarl in any town is hereditary but does not have to go to the eldest child and is not exclusive to males. Each jarl makes a formal proclamation, at some point before they die or abdicate due to old age, naming which of their children is to succeed them on the throne. In cases where a jarl dies suddenly or chooses not to name an heir, the town calls a Moot to determine its next leader. If there is more than one viable heir, the Moot chooses from among those. If no clear heirs are known, the Moot instead chooses from among the other Giant families to start a new dynasty. This Moot is made up of one representative from every family in the town, including the non-Giants. Most families have traditionally sent their eldest member as the representative, but that is not a law or requirement.
The other interesting thing about the jarls and their succession is how it affects the naming of towns. In a custom passed down from the ancient Giant kingdoms, when a new dynasty begins, they strike the old name of the town from all official documents and buildings. The town is renamed for the new dynasty, with the family name followed by "kiir" which means town in the Giant language. The only records that exist anywhere of previous town or dynasty names would be in the journals of traveling merchants or scholars.
The flag or insignia of the Demesne is rarely used except by the Thing when it is in session. It is a white banner with angled corners, all white to represent the snow and ice that the citizens live amongst, with various runes in the center and different scrolling patterns around the outside.
Structure
The best description for the government of the Demesne would be an oligarchy, though that slightly misses the mark. The nation functions as a confederacy, with the individual towns responsible for almost all of their laws and policies. Only a few things are dealt with on the national level, and those items are decided upon by the leaders of the towns in quarterly meetings called Things. The capital city - being newer and having fewer giant-kin in its population - does not having voting rights at the Thing, so there are only four voting members. Therefore, any resolution or new law must pass with 3-1 votes. 2-2 votes table the policy or law for discussion at the next Thing if more evidence or additional sources can be presented on one side or the other. The leader of Lakewatch can submit suggestions and can participate in the discussions of new policies, but the final decision-making is for the Giants only.
Culture
Perhaps one of the main tenets of the Demesne's culture is kindness and caring for others in the community. Across the tundra, all taverns maintain warm fires and always have a corner where any traveler or anyone down on their luck can stay out of the cold. Because food is already scarce in the region naturally, any excess food is brought to the taverns to be cooked and/or distributed to others in need of warm food. This spirit of community and compassion is by no means unique to the Demesne, but it is more prevalent and more obvious to observe here than in other parts of the world.
History
Not much is known about the island of Dalkaria before The Smiting, as the Giants tended not to keep rigorous histories or archives. It is widely held that since the creation of the world Giants have roamed this island and created kingdoms within its borders. Some of these kingdoms are still rumored to exist to this day, deep within the mountains of the island or hidden away in the Forbidden Forest.
Toward the turn of the third millennia of the First Age, the Frost Giants began to establish new strongholds across the northern tundra, from which they waged war on one another. The humanoid slaves and settlers within these strongholds began to form some semblance of civilization, and eventually the wars between the Frost Giants cooled, and they all began to see the benefits of creating a (mostly) peaceful society to survive the harsh climate. And so, many of the towns of the Demesne mark their foundings from the time the Giants freed the slaves and generally stopped warmongering and aggressively attacking their neighbors.
The Giants maintained - and still do to this day - their position of leadership in the region and in the individual towns, by creating hereditary titles that can only be passed to Giants. Known as Jarls, these leaders maintain sole control over their towns, though each has a small council of advisors to assist with the logistics of running a town and also provide suggestions and guidance to the ruling jarls.
Because the Giant towns were geographically and socially isolated, they were not affected at all by The Smiting. In fact, they had no idea anything had changed in the wider world for a few decades, until the settlers of the rest of the island began to expand and encountered the tundra towns. These people brought stories of lush, unclaimed lands on the southern part of the island, past the Punchbowl Mountains, and many giant-kin in the tundra were tempted into resettling in the newer and less harsh part of Dalkaria.
The migration of people away from the tundra and toward the more hospitable southern area has continued through the last several centuries and into the modern times. A good many firbolgs have left the tundra for the fertile plains where they can practice their agronomy more effectively, though the ones who stay behind find immense passion in growing crops where they have no right to survive, protecting the delicate balance of nature but also providing for their family and neighbors.
The somewhat recent founding of Lakewatch and its continual growth have attracted settlers from around the world, eager for a new start in a more isolated and simpler place. Though it is populated by humans, halflings, elves, dwarves, and other races, Lakewatch has taken on the giant-kin pride in community and helping out the needy. As the capital grows in size and importance, there are continual calls for its leader to gain a voting right in the Thing, though the leader has never been and likely never will be a Giant. This racial requirement of the jarls has come under heavy scrutiny in the recent past, but the Jarls have so far been able to shrug it off as the hopeful demands of a populace new to the area and not understanding the Giant and giant-kin culture.
Foreign Relations
The only official foreign relations the Demesne has are with the nearby neighbor, the Serene Republic of Dalkar. The two often cooperate on trade and the acquisition of goods, and all exports from the Demesne have to pass through at least one Dalkarian town before being loaded onto ships for further shores. Relations between the two nations are friendly, though the Giants of the Demesne look down on the Serene Republic's form of government, which notably includes no hereditary titles and no Giants in positions of leadership.
The only interactions the Demesne citizens have with other foreign nationals come in the form of occasional travelers who venture into the tundra. Some come looking for rare hunting opportunities or to trade for some of the renowned walrus scrimshaw, while others come to study the tundra's flora and fauna for academic or scholarly purposes. The Demesne accommodates these travelers as much as possible, though all are given warning of the Demesne's attitudes toward community and what happens to them if they act inhospitably or uncharitably toward others while visiting.
Harthur oer Strangur (Tough and Resolute)
Founding Date
2643 1A
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Alternative Names
Kingdom of Giants
Demonym
Tundrans
Government System
Oligarchy
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Traditional
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Manufactured Items
Notable Members
Comments