🧙🏻‍♂️(Georic Gazetteer) Jarldoms of Zieland

The Jarldoms of Zieland

Pantheon: Norse
Ruled: King Harald IV
Capital: Bringen  (55,000)
Other Cities: Bergen (20,00), Tonsburg (15,000), Trollheim (10,000)

Language: Zieder

Flag/Emblem:  White sea serpent on indigo field

Coinage: Wyrmanlian Standards are considered acceptable for trade (mark (s) and skilling (c) ), barter.
Important Personas: Numerous jarls, chiefs, priests, etc.

Alliances:  Trade agreement with Nifflen

Hostilities: Wyrmnal

Open Warfare/Skirmishing:  Coastal raiding only.  

Intrigues:  Uncertain

Demi-Humans:  Sea elves, dwarves in the mountains.

Magickal Devices:  The Grey Cape of Niffleheim

Thumbnail Sketch:  Perched on the western edge of the territory we call Skandia, Zieland still maintains the stereotypes that most folk assume with Wyrmnal.  Viking raiders, marauding the countryside, eradicating non-Norse temples.  

What the casual doesn't understand is that the coastline of Zieland is vast, stretching well into the Mer Arcto.  Low estimates mark the coastline as over 15,000 leagues.  Much of this can be given to the vast fjords, long inlets with steep elevations.   Many villages live along the water, and herding/mining operations are in the higher elevations. 

One of the Retreating Fjords of Zieland

Zieland raiders and explorers were the ones who establish Nifflen and Grossnifflen, as well as other settlements further west.  These explorers have also sold their services as mercenaries, with notable groups influencing politics in Albion, Barthey, and Markovia.

Limited information on the extent of Zielanders western travels.

Slavery is legal, although extremely rare.  

The further north one travels the interior, one passes the massive herds of mountain goats, then reindeer and finally the Ice Giants and Ice Witches.  Little has been detailed of these creatures.  

Religion:   Zielanders are strict Norse adherents, focusing on Odin, Thor, and Freya.  Any other proselyting is met harshly, and repeat offenders can be executed.   

Points of Interest:

The fjords of Zieland run the almost the entirety of the western coast and can be quite spectacular.

The Port of Bergen, with it's mixture of modern shipbuilding, viking longships, and classic Zieland architecture and town design, might be the only communities outside of Bringen that should be visited.

The Jotanheim Mountains:  The highest mountains in Zieland are home to tremendous glaciers, year round snowfall in some parts, and a host of ice creatures, giants, wurms, and even a collection of so-called witches. 

The Tomb of King Olaf - One of the few pilgrimage sites for non-gods in the Norse mythos. Located in Bringen, next to the largest temple dedicated to Thor.

Mentions in the Blogs:

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #52 -  Commander HouseKarl of the Legion of Merit retires, preferring to patrol the northern reaches of Zieland on Ice Lizards.  

Lost Dispatches of Feraso #63 - Comparing and constrasting the fjords of Zieland versus the cliffs of Markovia.

Commander Rolf HouseKarl (d. 1043)