Skallahn

The Jotun-held territory of Skallahn.

Overview

Skallahn is part of Kalsea, the northern kingdom of the Jotun, that is ruled by Yrsa Jansdóttir, Queen of Kalsea, Jarl-of-Jarls. It borders Sermersuaq and the mudflats of Kallavesa, and forms the northern coastline of the Gullet. The landscape is generally rugged and windswept, usually cold and exposed to the elements in most places. The coastline itself is rocky with intimidating fjords, composed narrow winding inlets running between the steep cliffs leaving precious few spots that accessible to ships. Much of the landscape is wild pasture grazed by vast herds of long haired cattle or sheep, tended to by thralls.

The main settlement is the port of Kierheim, one of the only ports anywhere in the territory. It is under the control of the Jarl of Kierheim, who effectively rules the territory on behalf of the Queen.

Points of Interest

The Kongegőr

The Kongegőr stretches from Kierheim to Alsterbo where the Gullet is at its narrowest. Known to the sailors of Wintermark and the Marches as a treacherous area of shifting islands and dangerous rocks, the Jotun have a slightly different perspective. The thralls of Dalvi maintain a series of hidden routes north across the causeway, allowing Jotun armies to travel by land from Kierheim to Alsterbo and vice versa. An army that controls Kierheim or Alsterbo can effectively cross to the other side of the Gullet without the assistance of a navy, and can block the ability of enemy armies to cross should they so wish.

Having now had the chance to survey both sides of the Kongegőr, Imperial scouts can confirm it is impassable to a navy. Smaller vessels of the kind used by independent fleets could pass through the Kongegőr if they travel at high tide and pick their routes carefully, but the causeway couldn't be navigated by a navy. Large warships would quickly run aground on the jagged rocks, and be destroyed.

Market of the Crossroads

There is a large market hosted every season in Bjarkey where Jotun from across Skallahn come to trade goods, renew loyalties, and negotiate future deals. Originally it was just a place for the mineral wealth of the northern mines to be brought for trade; it was Jarl Ustigar who first extended invitations over a decade ago for the Jarls of the Narkyst to visit and sample the delights of the market. Now the market sees a bustling trade in ore, salted meats and fish from across Kalsea and mead, leather, and crafted goods from Narkyst.

The market has seen significant development over the past two years; the portion dedicated to the trade of orichalcum in particular has been extensively expanded.

The Shining Caverns

In northern Eyrarfell there are a number of deep tunnels going deep into the high peaks. Beneath the mountain lie great veins of mithril, which provide the Jarl of Kierheim with a significant portion of his wealth. The foothills are the site of several large villages of thralls home to miners and the farmers who support them, as well as a sizable garrison of Jotun who protect them.

Estimates suggest the mine provides 19 wains of mithril each season.

The Broken Chasm

In central Ulfrsmoor is a wide chasm; large enough for all the tents of Anvil to be spread out to dry and still have space to spare. According to local myths, the chasm was once a great lake which was drained when the ancestor Ulven challenged a troll king to a drinking contest.

The chasm is rich in white marble but also a source of white granite. Estimates suggest the quarry provides 16 wains of white granite each season.

Walls of Kierheim

The port of Kierheim is ringed by a thick curtain wall that provide significant protection against an invasion by land. There are unusual sea defences. here, clearly intended to protect the docks and the waterfront, but it is not clear from what. The city is effectively protected by a fortification of strength 6,000.

Ulfrsborg

There is a squat and powerful fortification in Ulfrsmoor of strength 3,000.

The Locked Door

In Mindrkyst there is a strange structure at the top of one of the low, rolling hills in the region. It is made up of two huge standing stones, each easily twice the height of any reasonably sized person, topped by a connecting stone of similar size. The stones appear to be made of white granite brought from the nearby quarry. The two standing stones are inscribed with the runes Hirmok, Tykonus, and Yoorn; and the lintel stone has been scored with the pattern of stars that makes up the constellation of the Lock. Jotun thralls give the area a wide berth, but there is a small building not far from this ominous location that is home to a group of godhi who regularly visit the Locked Door.

Temple of Ulfrskelf

The sacred temple of Ulfrskelf lies north of Kierheim in Ulfrsmoor. According to Jotun legends, this is where Ulven, the oldest of the Jotun faðir "died". The Jotun claim that Ulven sought the belly of the world, the Omphalos, the point where the Howling Abyss meets the mortal world. She found it here, buried beneath the stone, and tore the mountain apart with her bare hands to reach it. The terrain here is peculiar, the temple lies at the bottom of a deep gorge, as if the surrounding mountains were torn apart by some gargantuan hands. A thousand stone steps are cut into the side of the gorge leading down to the temple.

Ulfrskelf is the most sacred site the Jotun possess, there are many warriors training and studying here, and countless more make pilgrimages to the site to challenge their skills under the watchful eyes of the godhi.

Steelweaver's Crucible

The Steelweaver's Crucible, is a vast forge at the foot of a great mountain. The forges run night and day, as the thralls labour to produce weapons and armour for the Jotun armies. The master of the Crucible is said to be a living statue, six-foot tall and cast from bronze with four arms. Each arm is so strong that it can wield a blacksmith's hammer and the statue works tirelessly beating mithril to fashion four weapons at a time.

The doors to the crucible are thirty foot high, and fashioned from orichalcum reinforced with mithril and steel. There is likely three or four hundreds ingots, at least, in the doors. They are carved with scenes depicting a giant sized female orc battling against various monsters.

Regions

Greenwall

• Quality: Coastal

Greenwall is dominated by large grazing lands given over to herds of cattle on the lowlands and sheep on the hillsides. In between these large farms there are scores of small crofts, growing grains and a peculiar dark, spongy, purple vegetable. There is little open coastline but there are a few scattered hamlets dedicated to fishing. Like farming this industry is operated entirely by thralls. The ones here pledge their fealty to Jarl Asbjørn Dalgaard who has their hall near to the border of Iron Stand.

Iron Stand

The plains of Iron Stand are vast and open; great herds of muskox and caribou spend their time grazing at the stubby grass. The ruins of the Iron Banner, built by Emperor Guntherm, remains near the centre of the region and the town of Overgaard is built in and around the once proud fortification. Jarl Ebbe of Overgaard rules over the region.

There are also a number of abandoned ruins in the north east of the region near to the border with Sermersuaq and the Jotun territory to the north. These ruins are given a wide berth by the Jotun.

Ulfrsmoor

The moors of Ulfrsmoor are undeniably beautiful; the low rolling hills are carpeted in a dense matting of light purple heather. The quarry of the Broken Chasm cuts deep through the centre of the region; sudden and harsh. There is a small settlement near to the quarry which is populated mostly by those thralls who work the stone as well as a small barracks garrisoned by the warband of Jarl Alvilda Ottesen.

The sacred temple of Ulfrskelf lies in the north of the region at the bottom of a deep gorge. There are gardens of herbs that surround the temple which are tended by a number of thralls.

Eyrarfell

• Quality: Hills

The hills of Eyrarfell do not reach as high as those in Morrow but they are more than a match for the peaks of Skarsind. Small mining towns are scattered around the foothills leading up to the mountains where orichalcum is brought down the passes along with iron and gold. The greatest of all the mining towns by far is Einarshal, ruled by Jarl Gilla Sverrisdóttir. The thralls who work the Shining Caverns dwell here.

In eastern Eyrarfell is the great forge known as Steelweaver's Crucible; where what appears to be one of the constructs of the Autumn realm works tirelessly to produce arms and armour for the Jotun. The thralls who work the nearby mines are regularly seen taking wagon loads of ore to the forge.

Mindrkyst

• Quality: Coastal

The coastline of Mindrkyst is surprising populated; there are a number of villages dedicated to claiming the bounty of the Gullet along the coastline. The largest of the villages, Fisk, is bedecked in the banner of a walrus and is home to Eisa Winterborn; the draughir hero who led the Jotun forces in Skarsind before the Winter Solstice 383YE. By far the largest settlement in the region though is Drakenberg which is ruled over by Jarl Gorm.

The strange structure known to local thralls as the Locked Door is at the crest of the highest point in the region, though still nothing in comparison to those found in Eyrarfell. Constructed from white granite and inscribed with runes the local thralls who are spoken to are unsure what purpose it serves, though some Imperial magicians suggest it may the same purpose as the Imperial Conclave's declarations of Enmity.

Bjarkey

The region of Bjarkey is easily the most densely populated in Skallahn; the city of Kierheim is easily the match of Meade or Cargo in size. Surrounding the city is a high wall built of white granite drawn from the Broken Chasm. The city is large and relatively closed packed by Jotun standards, but it it has a stark beauty to it with tall stone buildings with slate rooves that are surprisingly well built.

In the centre of the town, directly in front of the jarl's keep there is a series of great fountains, built by Ustigar's father, each of which is filled with exotic fish of every imaginable colour. There are the remains of a much earlier curtain wall, inside the city, which have long since been abandoned and partially dismantled, but which are still preserved near the keep itself. These older walls have little defensive value - but they depict scenes of battles between different groups of Jotun and with what looks like Wintermarkers. Some claim that one of the figures depicted on the walls is Emperor Guntherm.

There is a vast market known as the Market of the Crossroads which is held every season to allow trade between the inhabitants of Skallahn.

Fareskov

• Quality: Forest

The forests of Fareskov are dark and primaeval; they have much in common with the woods of Weirmoor. There are some signs of cultivation; groves where dragonbone and ambergelt are harvested, but the majority of the forests are left over to the wilderness. This is where the Jotun of Skallahn come to hunt the dire beasts, to test their mettle against a dangerous and powerful foe to prove themselves as being worthy of the Kirkja.

Near to the edge of the forest is a ruined manor built in a style reminiscent of those found in Dawn; adorned with depictions of gryphons and hawks. Once used by Jotun warriors to rest before they ventured into the forest to hunt the dire beasts that make the place their home. Traditionally it was home to the heralds of Hayaak who would offer challenges to worthy Jotun but since the exile of the Hawk Lord the manor has gone to ruin.

OOC Notes

• Every region of Skallahn belongs to the Jotun; this is a Jotun territory
• The Walls of Kierheim are a rank two fortification
• Ulfrsborg is a rank one fortification
• Strategic consideration: The Kongegőr is a causeway that appears to allow armies to cross the Gullet without needing the assistance of a navy.