Vikaa'ra

= Vikaa'ra = Capital City: Lochnaa'r

Relative World Location: Northern Othonia

Current Ruler / Title: Lofdungr Wulfirc Erikson, of Clan Vi'darrleif

Type of Government: Monarchy

Military Structure: palace guard, border patrols, standing militia

Guild Associations/Headquarters: Jewelcrafters, Warcrafters

Cultural Advantage: Reduced cost buy-in to Jewelcrafters or Warcrafters Guild (player's choice), half cost buy-in to the Northmen martial school

Association/Affinity: earth, steadfastness, survival, craftsmanship

Topography
Vikaa'ra is a warlike culture, which is divided into four Clan territories and one neutral territory in the center. There are five Clans, however the most docile of them, the Bragindur, controls the neutral territory around Lochna'ar, the Great Hall of the King. Due south of Lochna'ar, within sight of the stronghold, stands Yggdrasil (the World Tree). The coastal regions are riddled with deep fjords, allowing the seararing tribes to build very secure and nearly impenetrable harbors for their fleets of longboats. The longboats draft shallow, and, being controlled by oarsmen, can be safely maneuvered into very tight spaces. The villages situated atop the cliffs construct makeshift elevators, stairs, ladders, and scaffolding to allow access to their floating docks at sea level.

Some ports are built into existing caves, allowing the longboats to be grounded rather than docked, while stairs carved upward in the rock provide access to the village and easy defense against invasion. Along the coast, the Great Southern Current brings frigid arctic water down from the ice cap, making the climate quite cold throughout the Vikaa'ran coastal region and even into the northern province of Ejheria. The northeastern portion of the country is almost exclusively dense mountainous evergreen forest with mixed hardwoods farther south. In the mountains, waterfalls and caverns dot the landscape.

The central territory is a vast field of rocky terrain, known as the Bjargvollr, with a single peak towering above the landscape. This ancient volcanic neck, aptly named Fjall Myrkr (the Mountain of Darkness), is a stark reminder of why the central plains are so flat and lifeless today. While the soil is fertile, the igneous rock formations make it thoroughly impractical to grow more than the occassional garden. As such, this neutral area is dedicated to housing the burial mounds of all five Clans, as well as four of the six Temple sites in the country. Just south of the rock field lies Draugrmyrr (the Ghost Swamp).

The southeastern region at the base of the southern range is primarily mixed deciduous hardwood with a sprinkling of evergreen at the higher elevations. Sprawling across both of the southern territories are the Heilagrbjarg, or Sacred Rocks. This area is sacred to both the Haldibjorg and Leucetormr Clans, and is said to be the Realm of Fairies (speaking of the Fayrens' distant, very wilde cousins). Both clans patrol the border of the Heilagrbjarg, not for fear of invasion from Ejheria, but to ward of incursions by the mischeiveous Wee Folk.