OSTLAND (Kingdom of)

Location: Off the coast of the Sea of Dawn, east of Vestland and southeast of Heldann.

Area: 8,920 sq. mi. (23,103 sq. km.).

Population: 131,000.

Languages: Heldannic.

Coinage: Krona (gp), eyrir (sp), oren (cp).

Taxes: None. All revenue is gained through raids into other nations.

Government Type: Feudal monarchy.

Industries: Piracy, agriculture (grain, potatoes, and beets), fishing, logging, and trade.

Important Figures: Finn Hordson (King, human, male, F5), Yrsa Svalasdottir (Queen-Mother of King, human, female, P10 of Odin), Asgrim the Bowed (Royal Adviser, human, male, P15 of Odin)

Flora and Fauna: Sheep, horse, cattle, goats, dogs, deer, elk, and brown bears can be found on the islands of Ostland. The forests are composed of ash, yew, and conifers.

Further Reading: GAZ7 The Northern Reaches, previous almanacs.

Description by Misha Mananov.

Ostland, the kingdom on the northern seas. Bastion of tradition among the realms of the northern reaches. Home of pirates and berserker raiders. Ostland has long held itself free and proud above its neighbors, but is its long tradition finally being forced to accommodate the changes in the world around it?

The Land

Ostland's population spreads itself across four large islands (Noslo, Kalslo, Osterslo, and Kunslo), as well as dozens of smaller ones located off the coasts (in fact, legend holds that at least one such island, the so-called Isle of the Sea Witch, floats at will across the northern Sea of Dawn). The lands are cold but fertile, perhaps the most suited to farming in the entirety of the northern realms. High-sea cliffs make excellent locations for fortifications to defend Ostland's territory from invaders, while providing safe havens for the longships that freely raid and plunder neighbouring lands.

The People

The Ostlanders are organized in clans, much like their landbound cousins. Above all others, though, the Cnute clan has held sway ever since the fifth century AC, when the clan's founder Cnute Bearchest established himself as the strongest and most influential among the neighbouring clans. More recently, however, the Ostman clans of Kalslo island have been at odds with the royal Cnutes. The more traditional Cnutes had been forced to put down two rebellions by the progressive Ostmans (and, it is rumoured, longed to plunder the tombs of the Cnute kings that lay on Kalslo island). Such conflicts are typical of the aggressive and territorial nature of all Ostlanders.

Recent Events

Enmities between the Cnute and Ostman clans seem to have stabilized since the events of last year, when war broke out between the two factions. King Finn Hordson seems to have done a passable job of making compromises with both sides. Indeed, he has proven fairly popular among the Ostman clans, who have demonstrated (through a long history of embracing sorcerous practices of outside nations) that they wish to usher in a new era in Ostland politics. King Hordson is treading a fine line, however, between the traditions of the Cnute clans, and the progressive tendencies of the Ostmans. He has already been victim to several assassination attempts, and there are many grumbles from both factions that he isn't working quickly enough towards their interests.