Jarldom of Trelleby

Introduction

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  The Year is 1325...

  
  

  Welcome to the Ravenhead Community!
  
  The Ravenhead Community is a strict Roleplaying society set in alternative version of Earth's history, playing as if the Vikings adapted along with the advances of Europe, stayed true to their Pagan beliefs, and continue to flourish as a society. Charlemagne's war of extermination against the Saxon's ended in failure, for the Kings of Scandinavia allied with their Southern brethren far beforehand, the Irminsûl still standing - with the Franks pushed back, the beginning of Christianity in Scandinavia simply never happened, thus creating a VERY different Viking Age. Whilst raiding remained a main focus of the early culture, so did rapid expansion. The Kings knew their native lands were not as rich and plentiful compared to the rest of the known world, responding by turning their full focus to the Baltic Sea. The resistance of the Wends? Obliterated, forced to merge into Norse culture or be put to the sword. With nearly full control of the Austmarr ("Eastern Lake") and under the guidance of the Circle of Scandinavian Kings, an Alliance of Kingdoms within Norway, Sweden, Finland, even a loose affiliation with Iceland , the Nordic people created a organized religion around their Pagan Gods, referring to it in a more 'romanticized' fashion, the Icelandic term Forn Siðr("Old Ways") - temples were erected, priests and missionaries sent to all corners of Scandinavia, converting Pagan Tribes that were still considered 'Barbaric'. An while the Norse Society flourished in terms of 'Modernization' as hundreds of years started to pass, establishing education and a written language, they very well remained the 'Scourge of Europe', for they stayed quite true to their warrior roots -- raiding was being replaced by the excitement as 'Glorified Mercenaries', taking a page out of the book of the mighty 'Jomsvikings', young men being granted permission to fight for glory and gold for another civilization. Another major law that had changed was the treatment of Seiðr Practitioners, or those who took part in sorcery. Whilst both genders had existed within the society of Magic, only women were respected, with male practitioners being refered to as 'Ergi', an Old Norse insult that carried great weight. Relizing just how the arcane arts could benefit their society, such treatment of the Seiðmenn came to a halt.
  
  In the late 1310's to early 1320's, one of these Kingdoms located in the far, frigid north of Norway, Rhafhode, had established itself as a well-recognized member of the Circle, staking out a Jarldom in the resourceful region of Skåne, Sweden. Currently in the rule of it's second King, Håkon Sirfalas, the acquired region's rule was tasked to be overseen by one of the young King's closest advisers and friends, Jørn Harmaajärvi, when it's current Jarl fell ill, thus establishing a House for the man of the warrior-caste. In the port town of Trelleby, nestled along the Southern coast of Skåne, both the banner of Ravenhead and House Harmaajärvi are seen; the dock is bustling with merchant ships, while the town was a equal mixture of farmers, soldiers, and merchants alike. Serving as the eyes and ears in the Baltic for the Kingdom's capital in the North, Fjordheim, the once small settlement continues to grow along with time, learning to co-exist with a ever-changing Europe...

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