Sudland

Sudland (meaning: southland) Is a cold southern land in Alexius home to the Suds.

It is located south of the kingdom of Marennium and west of the world's vein.

Inhabitants
Sudland is home to the Suds, a human culture heavily inspired by anglo-saxon/norse culture and the nords from the elder scrolls series.

Suds value their own people, religion and virtues very highly and thus are not the most welcoming to outsiders, with the exception for the dwarves of the world's vein which they see as wise allies. They are also quite warlike, recently having set out and conquered and settled new lands. This warrior culture is a product of their history and harsh climate, as well as their lands being bordered by the Dark East which is home to many dark creatures and monsters. Warfare is however far from the only thing in their minds, because they do trade with their neighbours as well a trade overseas.

The Suds do not have one political entity but are divided into different smaller countries led by Jarls and Petty kings.

These countries are as follows:

Onshall: The biggest of all countries in Sudland, ruled by a king as well as suzerain of Ostmark. Founded by Tryggve Onsson.

Isarham: Located in the north west of Sudland, known for their iron mines

Fjellfot: Located in the north of Sudland at the foot of one of the twin peaks

Drakenburg: The most recently established country, techically not part of Sudland but settled by suds, located west of Marennium and known for it´s overseas trade.

Hringburh: Located in the northeast of Sudland on a island surrounded by rivers, known for it´s agrarian culture.

Ostmark: Located at the border of the dark east. Ruled by a Margrave, vassal of Onshall. It´s purpose is to protect the border from incursions by monsters as well as to keep the ´´villagers´´ out.

Wulborg: Located at the center of Sudland, known for their master archers and fur trade.

Religion
The Suds adhere to a polytheistic pantheon based heavily on Norse/Germanic paganism with some deviations.

Some of their main gods are: Odin, Thor, Tyr, Freyja and Freyr

There is a Great temple situated in the center of Sudland, having patronage from all sud countries and being a place of peace and worship.

History
There are some ancient accounts on Alexius by the ancient elven civilization about the  south , home to human hunter-gatherer tribes aswell as cave dwelling dwarves but there are not a lot of elvish accounts to begin with so much of this part of Sudland's history is unknown.

There was an ancient human empire situated in the southern and eastern part of alexius from which the Suds aswell as the civilization of Hallstad-Sansbury are descended from. Some ruins of the empire can still be found in the south eastern part of Alexius, like falls barrow bleak. This empire enjoyed great power, resources and culture but eventually succumbed due to it's emperor being influenced by dark magic from the east. after which the emperor started turning on his own people, leading to civil war. During this civil war a big horde of monsters fell upon the western lands of alexius through the south east of Sudland, which was not protected by the world's vein. Due to al the conflicts going on inside the empire, local commanders of the army took it upon themselves to protect The lands of Sudland and it's people, taking over territories inside the crumbling empire, The descendants of these commanders would later become the Jarls and petty kings of Sudland. To the north of Sudland there was less conflict, with the brunt of the monstrous hordes attacking the southern land.

These events led Sudland to become Warlike and heavily kin oriented, giving rise to the small monarchies of Sudland. whereas the civilization of Hallstad-Sansbury took on a government based on the imperial senate, gaining a more democratic form of government.

Not long after these events, peace had been restored in Sudland, with it's people gaining a new identity. One person by the name of Tryggve Onsson wanted to make an effort to help the people of Sudland by establishing a small temple by the name of Onshall, writing down knowledge gathered from around the old empire, in order to preserve knowledge of the past and to teach the Suds in theological and practical subjects to help them fight back against scattered pockets of monsters around Sudland.

In Recent history there has been a few years of harsh winters, which led to a famine in the northern parts of Sudland, leading many Suds to seek land to raid and settle in order to fill their bellies. this led the the conquest of Nordmark, belonging to the Hallstad-Sansbury civilization aswell as the settlement and creation of Drakenburg. Onshall has also grown a lot in recent history, prehaps as a response to the encroaching country of Marennium.