Continent of Norria

  Greenmoore: The southernmost area of the continent with the most fertile lands that allow for farming and herding to be sustainable; they are often the most fought-after lands on the entire continent that grant great wealth to anyone that holds them.   Iron Marches: A rugged and harsh land to live in, the soil makes it difficult to grow things, and they were once the most war-torn areas over resources. It is the most populated region on the continent, with various tribes and clans living on it.   Murky Waters: A vast swamp land that is difficult to traverse due to unstable ground and lack of knowledge of the region. Some people can get lost as the terrain can easily make them lose their sense of direction.   Chillbound Steppes: The vast grasslands that divided the green south and the frozen north. It is a harsh land where great beasts roam, and few places offer protection from the elements. Many of the Ruskev Roveni bands make their home here, roaming the land to survive and thrive.   Frostmore Reach: The far northern region of the continent that knows only endless winter to all that live here. It holds many people and beasts who have learned to adapt to the harsh climate and do what they must to survive.   Icewind Pennisula: A series of islands and glaciers on the edge of the Frostmore Reach where isolated settlements avoid the rest of the continent. Where the world is said to end as a sea of ice lies beyond it with no way to cross it.   Skyhold Mountains: The northern mountain range that covers a large area of the Frostmore Reach, shielding much of the snowy region from spreading farther south. It is home to the Snow Blood Giants and is considered the most treacherous region to travel across due to the unforgiving cold and strong winds.   Crescent Peaks: The southern mountain range of Norria is known for its rich deposits of metals and is home to the Earth Blood Giants. Much of the range shields them south from storms that could damage the environment.   Burning Isle: A set of islands engulfed in flames by an active volcano known as the Burning Mountian that continually releases lava. While most of this does not affect the mainland, there are times when the volcano gets violent, causing earthquakes and tidal waves.

Harsh Winters: The winters in Norria are more severe than winters in any other part of the world, as it is found near the icy epicenter of the north, with the lands further north being worse off.   Savage Storms: In the southern regions of the continent on the Northern Sea, violent storms are common with Þrumandi reiði being the strongest and can quickly destroy ships and devastate coastline should they go over land.

Much of Norria's climate is a cold and harsh place to live and travel across its untamed landscape, with the south being the most fertile land to live in; the farther one travels, the colder and inhospitable it becomes.

A Time of Giants

  Not much of ancient history is known about Norria, only that the Giants were the dominant race that ruled over the land in nomadic groups scattered across the continent and lacking any knowledge of the world beyond Norria. Yet they were known for their stone masonry and metallurgy skills, such as making iron tools and weapons. While they had no known settlements, they left behind many temples and shrines to their god, Runbonar, whom they deeply revered, leaving offerings and feasting in his honor. The Giants, having a strong connection to the earth and nature, often were said to know many secrets and only live off the land with what was needed to survive to avoid harming it. This way of life changed when Humans first arrived in Norria, being most likely refugees from the Western Lands during the Beastmen Invasion. Seeking to claim these new lands for themselves, they would settle across the vast lands of the Greenmore and begin to tame the land. The Giants mainly ignored them as they thought these small creatures could not harm them and continued their way of life. Not until their numbers grew and began to spread further across Norria did the conflict with the Giants emerge, leading to the First Giant Wars and the near extinction of the Giants themselves. The remaining Giants fled into the mountains, where they would remain and find protection from the Humans that continue to this day. This brought about a new age with Humans becoming the sole dominating species on the continent and would spread all across the land unopposed.  

Darkness of Winter

  During this period, Norria was controlled by various tribes of hunter-gatherers and farmers, and the foundations of Norrian culture were heavily developed. Yet the warrior culture it developed had yet to come into being due to a lack of conflict with these tribes. That was not until a devastating volcanic eruption on Burning Mountain caused the sky to darken with ash and blocked out the sun. This led to a highly harsh winter known as the Dead Winter and forced Humanity across the continent to seek shelter underground in caves to seek warmth from the ever-freezing landscape. Starvation and the cold would claim tens of thousands during this time as they tried to survive, hoping for spring to come once more, never to realize it would take years for this hellish winter to end. When it finally did end, those who survived left their cave dwellings to be left with little to survive on and turned on one another. In the north, many of the people retained their tribal hunter-gatherer cultures it takes and saw little change; in the south, however, raiding and war became a more common practice than trying to farm the still-frozen landscape. The remaining tribes would reemerge as new ones, founding the Norrian, Bosibi and Curavin peoples that would wage stake their claims upon the land being a period known as the Iron Age as iron became more sought after by tribes and clans to crush their enemies. Various plots of land constantly shifted from one owner to another as the conflict continued until there were finally chieftains, known as Jarls, who managed to hold onto them. Leading to a brief period of peace in the south as Jarldoms ruled over them.  

Coming of the Warlocks

  While Norria had little knowledge of the rest of the world, they would realize its size after explorers finally arrived on the continent to establish trade and attempt to acquire lands. However, the native tribes drove out the explorers, leaving Norria mainly alone as soon as it became known for its barbarian people and harsh landscape. Yet this would not dissuade all from trying, as a band of exiled mages would arrive in this wild land and using the unholy might of Dark Magic see it conquered, become the masters of the continent being forever known as the Warlock Lords and founding the Warlock Dominions that would rule with an Iron fist for centuries. It was a dark age for the people of Norria as the Warlock Lords made them suffer greatly by turning them into their slaves for war and experimentation in the dark arts. Many new races and creatures would created through their twisted power as they continually carved more of it, even after halting their deaths to achieve near immortality. As the centuries passed, so did the Warlock Lords' thirst for power and their desire for vengeance over those banished from their homelands. This would bring about the invasion of the Western Lands and the destructive Warlock War that would see their rule over Norria undone. Those who survived the conflict could not maintain their lands, with rebellions spreading as the oppressed natives sought to be free once more. The bloodshed in what would be known as the Bloodtide Rebellion would be some of the worst the continent had seen in centuries, and no sacrifice was too great in removing the Warlock Lords from power. When the last of them was finally slain, Norria would finally be freed, yet nothing changed after that as the tribes refused to unite and reverted to their way of life before the Warlock Lords, but now the Humans would not be the sole inhabitants of the continent as the fight over the ruins of their overlords' empire to control whatever they could in this self-proclaimed Age of Heroes.

A Lawless Age

  In the three centuries that followed, Norria experienced little change as warring tribes and clans sought to destroy or dominate one another for glory and wealth. This led to the founding of many warbands seeking adventure and fame across the continent in the hopes of tales and songs being written in their names in their lifetime and long after. It was time that the people of the continent sought to maintain their freedom above all else, refusing to be ruled by a greater authority other than their own. Thus, the desire for battle was considered the greatest of these freedoms, for they would have their chance to feast with their gods for eternity. This did not mean that they did not band together against threats or achieve remarkable goals, such as the Great Raid and the Draugr Invasion that remain legendary to this day. But like all things, they come to an end as one man had a dream of uniting Norria under him to create a better future for all, a man who would forge his path for the good of all with his name spoken with fear and awe, Darius Harkon. He was only a boy when he first set out on his own and became a legend across Norria and abroad with his faithful companions amongst his Warband, the Storm Guard. After seeing the world and the possibilities that came with it, he sought to become the first king of Norria. Many saw the potential he could bring to them. In contrast, others refused to join him, preferring to stick to their current way of life, which led to the Northern Wars of Unification that would the entire continent ravaged by all-out war once more. Darius would see his goal achieved at the end of this senseless fighting as he was declared the High King of Norria and founded the Kingdom of Norria where he set out to achieve his dream transform Norria into place worth living for all.  

Dawn of A Kingdom

  Much has changed since the kingdom's founding by High King Darius, as the barbaric practices of old have long since been removed under his rule. New sciences and engineering have been introduced to expand knowledge, build infrastructure, and improve life amongst people. New Jarls govern the land to ensure that tribes can no longer feud and raid one another for the sake of peace. Slavery has ended on the continent, with all chains being broken to set free the enslaved to choose their path in life. Despite Norrians having the power of rulership, all races and cultures have been given equal opportunities to better their lives under the kingdom and their descendants afterward. This has greatly perplexed many of what goes on in the Mind of the great Darius Harkon, as no one would believe such a ruler would be so generous nor forgiving as he. When the unification wars ended, rather than putting all that fought against him, he granted them mercy and offered them a choice to stay and build his kingdom or leave their homeland and live in exile, with it being a mixed bag on those choices. The new High King seeks to better the world through clear vision rather than a desire for power; such a thing is often rarely seen, let alone found in a place such as Norria. Yet, not all believe this is his true intention nor wish to see this new kingdom change the balance of power as it begins to create trade and extend political cooperation with other nations. As tensions grow with the waning Vatian Empire, many have come to wonder if the fledging kingdom will last long enough to truly show what it can achieve.

Most people stay away from Norria due to the dangers of this untamed land and its warlike inhabitants. Those who dare to come here are often traders looking for exotic goods to acquire and adventurers seeking their fortune in the many ruins and untapped resources. Yet, as the new kingdom government solidified its law and authority, more people such as Alchemists and engineers have begun to arrive for ventures in this new land of possibilities.