The Land of Torvaldsland |
| 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. Thus,
most of their farms are very small. Due to the rarity of good land, communication
between these isolated farms is often by sea in small boats. Famine is
not unknown and in those times, people must subsist on bark, lichens and
seaweed. The stream of Torvald is a current, as a broad river in the sea, pasangs wide, whose temperature is greater than that of the surrounding water. Without it, much of Torvaldsland, bleak as it is, would only be a frozen waste 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, 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 of Torvaldsland as a gift of Thor, bestowed upon Torvald, the legendary founder and hero of the land, in exchange for a ring of gold The growing season is about one hundred and twenty days. Sa-Tarna is their primary crop and is commonly sown in the fall, a month after the harvest festival. This allows the crop to develop a strong root system before the deep frost will temporarily stop its growth. Tospits, peas, beans, cabbage, onions, suls, fruit trees, and radishes are also grown though larmas cannot grow there. Tospits, also called "seaman's larma," are important because they can be eaten while at sea to prevent certain nutritional deficiencies. This is vital to a culture that is often at sea. There are few trees and ka-la-na and temwood will not grow there. Thus, those woods are very valuable. A hall constructed of ka-la-na wood would be seen as a great luxury. Torvaldslanders also raise certain animals such as milk bosk, verr and tarsks. During the summer, most of their bosk will be driven into the mountains to graze. In the winter, the animals will be brought back. Bees are also kept to produce honey. |