Norra

Norra is a sovereign state in the north of Ortus. It has land borders with the Mernove region of the Beygir Empire, Ardair, and the city-state of Bolcan. The capital is at Hallirt.

Religion
Norra's population is divided between the Soltiric Church (predominantly the Church of Norra, a Commonwealth Church) and the native Norran faith. The Norran faith emphasises bravery and nobility in life, holding the Jarndek  warriors as enlightened in their faith. The Jarndek could enter into a frenzy in which neither iron nor stone could harm them, battling against the weak folk from the south without armour. The wolf is held as a symbol of nobility and strength, and is a common motif in Norran art. Those that uphold these values are promised glory and power in the next life, living as gods above the foreign weaklings. Upholding these values does not necessarily mean violence, however, as cunning traders and mothers of many children are seen as equally brave as warrior. Even farmers may be seen as brave, living a harsh life and handling dangerous animals.

The Norran pantheon includes several war gods, as well as the ever-respected angels of death. Prayers are said to these angels before battle and before childbirth, demanding a place next to the gods should they die. Shouting ones demands to beings with control over life and death at a time when ones life is at risk fits Norran values well.

Early History
The early inhabitants of Norra were pale-skinned sea-raiders concentrated around the coast. They were known as the Handar tribes, and were thought to have viciously raided the coasts of Ardair and Gauterland, even reaching as far as the southern coasts of Meredonia. However much of the Handar were traders, with records of their sturdy longships found as far west as Kameria. Handar traders are thought to be the original settlers of Mernove.

Four Kingdoms Period
Norra emerged as four nations, as opposed to the countless petty kingdoms that preceded it, at around the time that the rest of Ortus established legitimate states.

The largest of these states was Sakra, along the southern coast. It was here that the future capital city began, at the mouth of a cave to shelter from the harsh winter snowstorms. They were the dominant traders in the Ortusian Sea and the first Norran state to permit the practice of non-Norran religions.

To the west, bordering Mekhem was Virta. Virta was the least significant of the Norran states, only noted as a channel for land trade between Mekhem and Sakra.

The north was dominated by Rikemark, in the region that remains to this day the most faithful in the old faith. Here the harsh environment led to harsh people, but also a strong sense of community. From this came an intense loyalty among the people to the King of Rikemark, to the extent that the line ruling Rikemark became the line ruling Norra as a whole. It also meant that Rikemark survived much of the internal struggles experienced by the other Norran states many years later, becoming the dominant force in the north,

The Kuldal were the warlike among the Handar peoples. Expanding deep into Ardair, they slaughtered and pillages their way to power. They favoured a primitive version of the Norran faith, in which only violence was considered bravery. Throwing down their farming tools, the people turned to piracy to survive. The chief among the Kuldal was decided by combat, and chiefs could be challenged to combat and were executed if they refused.

Havhal Union
Wracked by internal struggles, Sakra sent a desperate plea for aid to Rikemark. Agreeing to help, Rikemark organised a formal union between the two countries. As the royal families came from the same house (House Havhal), the new nation was named the Havhal Union.

Virta remained insignificant, becoming a puppet state for the newly formed Balkhdom of Mernove, as a shield to Havhal expansion westwards or as a platform for a Mernovan expansion eastwards. Renamed Ledema, it adopted the Mernovan Congress Church of the Pentarchy soon after Mernove asserted its hegemony over it.

Kuldal was wracked by civil war and poverty. Havhal and Eradine navies policing the Ortusian sea made traditional raiding extremely difficult, and the starving people took issue with the existing chief and indeed with all of his replacements. It dissolved as completely as a nation following the establishment of the High Kingdom of Ardair, acting as a major barrier to the traditionally easy act of raiding the Gargic peoples.

Norra
The former Kuldal region soon stabilised and many adopted the Soltiric through missionaries in Ardair. Many chiefs expressed an interest in joining the prosperous Havhal Union, and soon they were fully integrated. The Havhal Union was reborn as Norra, a union of all the northern peoples. As such, the Mernovan puppet state of Ledema was an issue.

Norra launched a brutal campaign against Ledema, with Mernove fighting for Ledema by proxy. Norra was successful, warriors even reaching as far as a few days from Iveda, however they withdrew due to fears of Eradine invasion. Ledema was given its old name, Virta, and fully integrated into Norra.