morgandy is going to share with you a passage written by eira~caeth explaining Torvaldsland. This girl is going to share it with you in three sections, at the end of each sections she will share quotes that support the discription. To help you better envision what is being discussed morgandy will also share a link to a map found on eira's site as well.
"Torvaldsland is not a specific city or town but is instead generally considered to be the area that begins where the northern forests ends and sweeps northward to Axe Glacier and the Polar Plain.. On a map of Gor its borders are marked by the skerry of Einar in the south and the frozen wastelands claimed by the Red Hunters..The skerry of Einar is a large thin rune-stone that seemingly reaches for the sky. Of course the men of Torvaldsland view such things as boundaries differently then any map or general consensus may dictate. To them the boundaries of Torvaldsland are marked not by rune-stones or maps but by their ships, to them these lands encompass Torvalsland and mark its boundaries ships have been known to journey as far south as Schendi and Bazi and as far west as Tyros and Cos."
"Rune-stone of the Torvaldsmark is taken by many,to mark the border between Torvaldsland and the south. Many of those of Torvaldsland, however, take its borders to be much further extended that the Torvaldsmark. Indeed, some men regard Torvaldsland to be wherever their ships beach, as they took their country, and their steel, with them."
Marauders of Gor, pg. 45
Ax Glacier was far to the north, a glacier spilling between two mountains of stone, taking in its path to the sea, spreading, the form of an ax. The men of the country of Ax Glacier fish for whales and hunt snow sleen. They cannot farm that far to the north. Thorgeir, it so happened, of course, was the only man of the Ax Glacier country, which is usually taken as the northern border of Torvaldsland, before the ice belts of Gor's arctic north, who was at the Thing-Fair.
Marauders of Gor Pg 139
"There are tiers of mountains, interlaced chains of them, both east of Torvaldaland and north of her. Ax Glacier lies in one valley between two of these chains. These chains, together, are sometimes called the Hrimgar Mountains, which, in Gorean, means the Barrier Mountains. They are surely not a barrier, however, in the sense that the Voltai Mountains, or even the Thentis Mountains or Ta-Thassa Mountains, are barriers. The Hrimgar Mountains are not as rugged or formidable as any of these chains, and they are penetrated by numerous passes. One such pass, through which we trekked, is called the pass of Tancred, because it is the pass used annually by the migration of the herd of Tancred."
Beasts of Gor
"Torvaldsland itself is a harsh and rocky land with many cliffs, inlets and mountains. Its geography resembles the Scandanavian countries of Earth. Arable soil is rare, found in thin patches and extremely valuable so farms are small with sa-tarna being the main crop. Tospits, peas, beans, cabbage, onions, suls, fruit trees, and radishes generally make up the rest of the crops. Due to the short growing season in Torvaldsland famine is not uncommon in some areas and during these hard times people may turn to bark, lichens and seaweed to sustain them til the next harvest.Torvaldslanders also raise certain animals such as milk bosk, verr and tarsks. During the summer, the bosk are herded into the mountains to graze until the winter. Bees are also kept to produce honey, both for food and for mead, a favorite drink of the men of the North." (from eira~caeth's site)
"Torvaldsland is a cruel, harsh, rocky land. It contains many cliffs, inlets and mountains. Its arable soil is thin and found in patches. The size of the average farm is very small. Good soil is rare and highly prized. Communication between farms is often by sea, in small boats. Without the stream of Torvald it would probably be impossible to raise cereal crops in sufficient quantity to feed even its relatively sparse population. There is often not enough food under any conditions, particularly in northern Torvaldsland, and famine is not unknown. In such cases men feed on bark, and lichens and seaweed. It is not strange that the young men of Torvaldsland often look to the sea, and beyond it, for their fortunes. The stream of Torvald is regarded by the men as a gift of Thor, bestowed upon Torvald, legendary founder and hero of the land, in exchange for a ring of gold"
Marauders of Gor, pg.54
"Many of them were giants, huge men, inured to the cold, accustomed to war and the labor of the oar, raised from boyhood on steep, isolated farms near the sea, grown strong and hard on work, and meat and cereals. "
Marauders of Gor, p 38.
"Upon reflection, however, it seemed to me not so strange that this should be so, in a bleak country, one in which many of the trees, too would be stunted and wind-twisted. In Torvaldsland, fine timber is at a premium. Too, what fine lumber there is, is often marked and hoarded for the use of shipwrights If a man of Torvaldsland must choose between his hall and his ship, it is the ship which, invariably, wins his choice."
Marauders
Torvaldsland, though not treeless, is bleak. In it, fine Ka-la-na wood, for example, and supple temwood, cannot grow. These two woods are prized in the north.
Marauders of Gor Pg 27
We can see from these quotes that homes and farms were isolated, not close together, and that while Torvaldsland isn't a forest, it's not all together void of trees. Something this one has been confused with for some time. There are SOME trees.
"There are no Homestones in Torvaldsland; as in the south; the mountain known as Torvaldsberg is instead considered to be the Homestone of all of Torvaldsland. The legends of Torvaldsland speak of a great Warrior named Torvald who slumbers within the mountain until he is needed by the people of Torvaldsland once more..Torvald is the founder and first Jarl, or ruler, of the land known as Torvaldsland.. He was a great warrior and sailor; his ship was known as the Black Shark; and it is said that the God Thor bestowed upon him a special gift in exchange for a gold ring. That gift was the stream of Torvaldsland. The Stream is actually a current in the Thassa that moves eastward to the coast and then northward and without its warmth Torvaldsland would be similar to the frozen wastelands that the Red Hunters claim." (from eira~caeth's site)
"The Torvaldsberg is, all things considered, an extremely dangerous mountain. Yet it is clearly not unscalable, as I learned, without equipment. It has the shape of a spear blade, broad, which has been bent near the tip. It is something over four and a half pasangs in height, or something over seventeen thousand Earth feet. It is not the highest mountain on Gor but it is one of the most dramatic, and most impressive. It is also, in its fearful way, beautiful."
Marauders of Gor, pg. 220-221
"In the far distance, the moonlight reflected from its snowy heights I saw, too, the Torvaldsberg, in which the legendary Torvald was reputed to sleep, supposedly to waken again if needed once more in Torvaldsland."
Marauders of Gor p. 192.
"I had suspected this when I had stood on the heights of Torvaldsberg, on a windswept rock, looking upon the lands beneath, white and bleak, and beautiful. Even the Kurri, on its height, stunned, had stopped to gaze. I had learned much in the north."
Marauders of Gor pg. 295
In leaving the Thing-Field I saw, in the distance, a high, snow-capped mountain, steep, sharp, almost like the blade of a bent spear. I had seen it at various times, but never so clearly as from the Thing-Field. I suppose the Thing-Field might, partly, have been selected for the aspect of this mountain. It was a remarkable peak. "What mountain is that?" I asked. "It is the Torvaldsberg, said Ivar Forkbeard. "The Torvaldsberg?" I asked.
In the legends, it is said that Torvald sleeps in the moun-tain, smiled Ivar Forkbeard, to awaken when, once more, he is needed in Torvaldsland."
Marauders of Gor Pg 180
Stream of Torvald
a warm current, pasangs wide, it moves eastward to the coast of Torvaldsland and then north. It's warm temperature enables communication and re-supply of between the various small farms and communities of this bleak area. Those of Torvaldsland regard the stream as a gift of Thor, bestowed upon Torvald, legendary hero of the land, in exchange for a ring of gold.
Marauders of Gor, pages 55-56
What this on gathered from these quotes is that there were mountains, as we know, but there were also fields, as it says the Thing Field.
From what she has read she imagines that the beginning of Torvaldsland, just outside of the Northern Forest, there would be flatter areas of land, and the further north you go the steeper the land gets and more mountainous.
Cities/towns and islands of the North.
Kassau
: a town at the northern bank of the forest, it is a town of wood. The town is surrounded by a wall, with two gates, one large, facing the inlet, leading in from Thassa, the other small, leading to the forest behind the town. The main business of Kassau is trade, lumber and fishing, particularly parsit fish from the plankton banks north of the town. Lumber, particularly ka-la-na and tem-wood are traded to the North, which is virtually treeless. Kassau is the seat of the High Initiate of the North.
Book 9: Marauders of Gor, pages 25-28
Kassau is the seat of the High Initiate of the north, who claims spiritual sovereignty over Torvaldsland, which is commonly taken to commence with the thinning of the trees northward.
Marauders of Gor Pg 25
The population of Kassau I did not think to be more than eleven hundred persons. There are villages about, however, which use Kassau as their market and meeting place. If we count these perhaps we might think of greater Kassau as having a population in the neighbourhood of some twenty-three hundred persons.
Marauders of Gor Pg 28
Thorstein
"Forfeit the girl," said Bjarni of Thorstein Camp, addressing the boy, "and I will not kill you." "I do not care much for the making women of Torvaldsland bond," said Ivar. "It seems improper," he whispered to me. "They are of Torvaldsland!"
Marauders of Gor, p 147.
While these Islands may not be specifically Torvaldsland, morgandy felt it was important to add them as they are close to us and likely that the Serpents travel there for trade and such.
Islands
Skjern
: an island in Thassa, it is located West of bleak, rocky Torvaldsland and north of the northern forests.
Book 7: Captive of Gor, page 198
Hunjer
"Some Cosians tend to fond of hot paga so, too, are some of the folks in the more northern islands, interestingly, such as Hunjer and Skjern, west of Torvaldsland. this probably represents an influence from Cos, transmitted through merchants and seamen. In the north generally, mead, a drink made with fermented honey and water, and often spices and such, tends to be favored over paga."
Vagabonds of Gor. page 16
"I did not go as far south as Anango or Ianda, or as far north as Hunjer or Skjern, west of Torvaldsland. These islands, with occasional free ports on the coast, north and south of the Gorean equator, such as Lydius and Helmutsport, and Schendi and Bazi, make possible the commerce between Cos and Tyros, and the mainland, and its cities, such as Ko-ro-ba, Thentis, Tor, Ar, Turia, and many others. "
Raiders of Gor, page 137
Also known as exchange islands, they are administered as Free Ports by the Merchants. Included are Teletus, Tabor, and Scagnar. Others were Farnacium, Hulneth and Asperiche. In the south are Anango and Landa, and in the far north, Hunger and Skjern, west of Torvaldsland. These islands, and free ports on the coast such as Lydius and Helmutsport, Schendi and Bazi make possible the commerce between Cos and Tyros and cities of the mainland.
Raiders of Gor Pg 137
...The governance of Lydius, under the merchants, incidentally, is identical to that of the exchange islands, or free islands, in Thassa. Three with which I was familiar, from various voyages, were Tabor, Teletus and, to the north, offshore from Torvaldsland, Scagnar. Of these, to be honest, and to give the merchants their due, I will admit that Tabor and Teletus are rather strictly controlled. It is said, however, by some of the merchants there, that this manner of caution and restriction, has to some extent diminished their position in the spheres of trade....
Hunters of Gor, page 43
This one is sure that the Men of Torvaldsland would consider Those three islands, Skjern, Hunjer and Scagnar, to be part of Torvaldsland, the only reason this on says they may not specifically be part of Torvaldsland is because it is mentioned that they were governed by merchants....though the islands of the North don't seem to be as strictly governed as the others do.
This next bit of information is not from the books, but rather from Wikepedia.....she wanted to add some information on Scandinavia since it is mentioned that Torvaldsland is very similar. If you get the chance it's very interesting to read about these countries and gives you a good perspective on what our home here is like.
girl will warn you, that while interesting, it is a bit tedious, and she shortened much of the information so it wouldn't make ya'll fall asleep....but felt it was important to share.
Scandinavia:
The geography of Scandinavia is extremely varied. Notable are the Norwegian fjords, the Scandinavian Mountains, the flat, low areas in Denmark, and the archipelagos of Sweden and Norway. When Finland is included, the moraines (ice age remnants) and lake areas are also notable.
Scandinavia includes Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...for the most part.
So, if we figure that Torvaldsland is like this area, we have a varied landscape, low areas, mountains, Fjords, and sea ports.
The climate varies from north to south and from west to east; a marine west coast climate typical of western Europe dominates in Denmark, southernmost part of Sweden and along the west coast of Norway. The central part - from Oslo to Stockholm - has a humid continental climate which gradually gives way to subarctic climate further north and cool marine west coast climate along the northwestern coast.
A small area along the northern coast east of North Cape has tundra climate due to lack of summer warmth. The Scandinavian Mountains block the mild and moist air coming from the southwest, thus northern Sweden and Finnmarksvidda plateau in Norway receive little precipitation and have cold winters. Large areas in the Scandinavian mountains have alpine tundra climate.
An alpine tundra is explained as.....
The alpine tundra is a windswept, treeless area that extends from treeline to the highest mountain peaks. Much of the tundra appears as barren rock or a cover of thin soils. Yet in many places deep soils and abundant plant cover exist. A mosaic of plants communities dot the landscape, evolving in response to variations in soils, wind exposure, snow accumulation, and other factors.
There are large seasonal variations in daylight. In areas north of the Arctic Circle, the summer sun may never completely descend beneath the horizon, hence Norway's description as the "Land of the Midnight Sun." During summer, inhabitants south of the Arctic Circle still experience sunlight nearly 20 of the day's 24 hours.
"In the long winters of Torvaldsland, when the snow, the darkness, the ice and wintry winds are upon the land, when the frost breaks open the rocks, groaning, at night, when the serpents hide in their roofed sheds, many hours, under swinging soapstone lamps, burning the oil of sea sleen, are given to Kaissa. At such times, even the bond-maids, rolling and restless, naked, in the furs of their masters, their ankles chained to a nearby ring, must wait."
Marauders of Gor, p 58.