Kingdom of Jotun

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The Kingdom of Jotun

Wardens Of the North, Northmen, Wolves

General Technology Indicator: 67 - Late Middle Ages

Population: The population of your kingdom. Be reasonable.

Size of Domain: The Frigid North

Technology Tags (Positive): Smithing, Architecture, Siege Warfare

Technology Tags (Negative): Luxury Goods,

Race:  Man

Ancestry: Northmen

Clothing: Though the stereotype is that the men of the north wear nothing but fur and animal skins, this is actually false.  Most Jotun wear heavily padded cloth and leather; while they do sometimes wear fur, this is usually only far, far to the north.  Jotun boast an innate resistance to the cold, so fur garments in the southern parts of the kingdom are unnecessary.

Kingdom Type: Mountainous, Tundra, Steppes

Kingdom Geological Analysis: An abundance of stone and iron, though nowhere near close to the mineral wealth of the neighboring Dragonstone Islands. 

Kingdom Description: A great portion of the kingdom is frigid mountain, tundra, and steppes.  However, the hold of Drakkenfel, is actually relatively fair-weathered, wedged between the Jagged Sea and the deserts of Sipeon.

Political System: The Kingdom of Jotun is just that: A kingdom.  It is a fairly typical monarchical state; it is ruled by a king, and his vassals, various lords and ladies.  However, the Jotun do not suffer incompetence or idiocy among their lords; there are more than a few instances lords being removed from power by the people themselves.  The Jotun are unique in that their lines of succession do not discriminate by gender; a highborn woman is just as powerful as a highborn man, perhaps moreso.

Economical System: The Jotun economic system is, more or less, the standard feudal system.  They use a metal-based currency, like most humans.

Language: The Common Tongue; Though some remain who speak the Old Words, the language of the founders.

Culture

The northmen are known as a hardy, tough breed who hold the comforts of the warm, "soft" south in disdain.  They are enthusiastic warriors, and many become renowned soldiers and mercenaries all over Mortalis.  They excel in all manner of warfare.  They are often thought of as an incredibly stubborn people, and are both renowned and berated for their sense of honour.  They are also renowned smiths.  They have a not altogether unearned reputation as hard drinkers and unruly folk.

The Northmen are a superstitious people.  They have many legends and myths.  Unfortunately, this superstition has led to a persecution of witches and wizards, though the King seeks to end this.  Depending on where you are in the kingdom, sexism ranges from a hinderance to non-existent.  The western holds have been the subject to repeated Sipeon invasion; as a result, Sipeon culture has bled in.

Religion

The Northern faith, in many ways, resembles the faith of their cousins to the south, but is also very different.  Primarily, they worship Puritus and Kaotika; who they view as husband and wife.  They believe that Kaotika is not inherently evil.  She is night, she is chaos, and she is wrath, but she is not evil.  Not inherently.   They see Puritus and Kaotika as counterparts; Justice and Wrath, Day and Night.  They have their own names for the gods and spirits- to them, Puritus is Sol, and Koatika, Nia.

All the other gods of the 'southern' faith are not viewed as deities to them.  They are spirits of creation; even Magi, the source of magic, is simply a spirit to them.  They are the first children of Night and Day, Puritus and Kaotika.  As a result, while most homes have shrines to the spirits, there are no temples to the lesser gods.  They also believe that individual places and lands have their own spirits; though these are not often worshipped.  There are, however, temples to Night and Day, Kaotika and Puritus.  Typically, statues of Sol are made from white marble, whereas likenesses of Nia are carved from black onyx, or, occasionally, obsidian.  The races of Mortalis are the second children of the Two, the younger siblings of the spirits.  Daemons, to them, are literally nightmares, the foul thoughts of men, elf, and orc given form by Nia to punish mortals for their sins.

History

Founded in ages past, the Kingdom of Jotun has stood for era upon era.  The first men who inhabited it came from the south long before the time of Illonia; mostly exiles, bandits, or escaped prisoners.  These men formed many warring tribes and cities-states; the first King, King Theon Callistan the Uniter, united the warring nations into the first Kingdom of Jotun, from the Old word for 'United', and led them into an era of peace and prosperity.  The capital of Jotun, Drakkenfel, stands on the place where the young Theon alone, first of this name, slew a massive, blue wyvern that threatened his village; the men and women who came to follow him took this as a sign.  In time, the Sapphire Drake became the symbol of the House of Callistan and the kingdom itself.  What is now the Kingdom of Jotun was once five separate nations- Drakkenfell, Whitethorn, Arisaen, The Stormlands, and The Tear; eventually, they all were conquered by King Theon.

The Kingdom of Jotun has been called 'The Stone-Forged Land" because of their resilience and stubbornness.  During the time of Illonia, they withstood two separate crusades, their faith declared heretical.  During this time, Aeric Kaestan became known as the Breaker of Chains and the Bane of Illonia for his bravery and cunning in the face of the Crusade.  They fought Illonia to a standstill, with the aid of the Dragonstone Islanders.  The Illonians were fools for invading the Kingdom of Jotun in the first place; the cold mountains were unfamiliar territory to them, as was the Jagged Sea to the east. 

Many years have passed since then.  The Northmen have only recently exited from civil war.  Seventeen years ago, the King Bran Callistan fell ill and passed away; while he had two sons and the line of succession was clear, the Steward Barristan Voche attempted to seize the throne through a military coup.  For eight years, the Royalist forces warred with Voche's in a conflict that has become known as the Jotun Interregnum.  During the war, Voche's forces were typically referred to as "Redcloaks", because of their characteristic red banners and capes.  The Royalist forces were lead by Prince Andal Callistan, true heir to the throne.  At his side fought Ser Jon Therys; King Bran's bastard son and half-brother to Andal.

During the final battle of the war, Prince Andal was slain.  The Royalist forces won the day, but their king was lost.  Without a pure heir, Jon Therys, a man of common birth but of royal bood, was raised to the throne; legitimized as King Jon Callistan.  He himself has one child; Maya Callistan, his child with the sorceress Iyra of Whitethorn, who perished giving birth to Maya.

King Jon is popular among the common folk; slightly less so among the lords.  Many of the lords view him with some disdain because of his common birth.  He is sometimes called, mockingly, the 'Half-King', though never directly or within earshot.  Some even accuse him of assassinating his own half-brother during the war; this seems unlikely.  When in court, he gives off a an air of discomfort and a distinct wish to be somewhere else.  He is forty years of age; his daughter, Maya, is sixteen.  She inherited her mother's fiery red hair and aptitude for magic; she's a fairly skilled mage in her own right, though that information is little known outside the King's inner circle.  Though she is sometimes looked down upon as "a bastard's bastard", this not true.  Iyra and Jon were married for four months before Iyra's death giving birth to Maya; she was a commoner, but this does not make Maya a bastard.  And if it did, King Jon is hardly at fault.  He was the bastard son of the king; he fully expected Andal to ascend to the throne after the war.  There has been talk of marrying Maya to one of the the Arristone sons to strengthen her claim; however, as of now, it is just that- talk.  King Jon has instituted a multitude of reforms since his coronation; he's pushed for racial and gender equality, an end to the persecution of magic-users, et-cetera.

Jon Callistan, The Half-King

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Jotun Reference Images

Royal Swordsman

Royal Archer

A Jotun Sorceress

Clothing Typical of the Northern Holds

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Noble Houses of Jotun

House Callistan, of Drakkenfel

House Kaestan, of The Stormlands

House Eavais, of Whitethorn

House Myhre, of Arisaen

House Vaelstad, of The Tear

// will detail when I'm less busy.

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