Thulsoma
Thulsoma was created by a group of defectors from Virovene during winter of the sixth year of Dwilight. Who had grown tired of the inept leadership in Virovene. Those who would found Thulsoma were themselves inept, and of fear of invasion they fled to other realms, at first they planned to become little more than a principality of their neighbours for protection, but soon they realised the folly of this and fled south, to the Caerwyn colony of Asylon, the former ruler of Thulsoma soon rebelled and took over the colony. While Thulsoma, abandoned by the nobles of the past embraced its Saxon heritage once more, and Lady Haruka was proclaimed as their lord and saviour, and crowned as the most holy ForÞwíf Heofonþrym. Under her the realm reformed itself into an Anglo Saxon Heáhcáseren Kingdom, and the faith of old, Hrēdmōnath, was refounded and took to the hearts of the peasants, and became the state religion of the new Thulsoma, though the realm remained pluralistic.
Thulsoma finds itself situation on the north-western plateau of the Stormland's, based in Storms Keep and the regions that surround it. The realm is bordered by northern sea encompassing all the northern coastlines, and also forming a great river, some hundred metres wide or more, it flows from the northern sea, between the eastern realm of Libero Empire, and the Easternmost point of the Stormland's, down to the Black Mountain of Heþstorofa, known as Nastrond in the common tongue. It forms a powerful natural defence as the river flows with great power and force, no ships dare the jagged rocks of the cliffs, and the brutal tides of the river current, least of all the mighty Storms of the land, and with no bridge to conjoin the Stormland to the Liberite lands. The face of Storms Keep finds itself pointing south-Westerly, with to south the fields of Storms End, and to the west, the forests of Valldir. Storms Keep is forever bathed in darkness, a perpetual night as Storm clouds blot out the very sun and moon, forked lightning grants a rare reprieve from the these dark lands, heavy rains and Storms batter the Keep, though the stone is wrought with the skill of the Saxons of old, and no mere Storm can harm the battlements.
The Saxons are fiercely independent and isolationist, made tough and hard from constant expose to Storms and war, they follow the faith of their forebears with a deep zealotry and devotion both feared and respected by those who know of it. They base the way they comport their very lives on The Anglo Saxon Virtues and the teachings of the Hrēdmōnath, with both of these things instilling a great sense of loyalty and devotion to their realm and Heofon, as she is venerated by the Hrēdmōnath as the invocation of the Deaþgodas on earth, the envoy of the Saxon civilisation, bringing of the covenant of the God's. The entire population takes create joy in their military displays and heritage. The soldiers are highly revered as being the best of the Anglo Saxon people and wear coloured clothing under their armour (Typically the Goeguth, a part time peasant militia force of the young would wear leather armour, the Gedriht, the professional Soldiers wearing steel, and the Duguth, or the old retired soldiers wearing the mismatched armour of their past service) equipped weapons that look more like ornate ritual weapons than actual weapons of war... But, anyone who thought that would be wrong, for the swords men in Storms keep are exceptionally well trained and serious about the defence of Storms keep. It is the law of the land that all free Saxons must bear a sword at all times, and now how to use it, and to have also taken training on things such as archery, with Storms Keep isolated and surrounded by many a foe, the Saxons gladly militarise their very lives to protect their Kingdom and people.
The great Citadel is rumoured to have an outer wall completely constructed of the Liberite dead, held together by mortar, a second line of defence from Storms End, the first being the great fields of heretics placed upon poled Catherine wheels, any marching army would have to navigate through these great horrors, if they did not fall to Saxon rangers and hunters defending the dikes and palisades and bulwarks that litter the fields outside of Storms Keep. The surrounding lands are equally bizarre and there is many strange sound machines and whirling things howling in the wind to scare off trespassers, even rumoured to be haunted by phantasms.
The government of Thulsoma
- The ForÞwíf Heofonþrym and Godþrymm Beorncyning: At any one time in Thulsoma, the realm is ruled by two rulers, ForÞwíf Heofonþrym for a woman, Godþrymm Beorncyning for a man. Conversely to traditional monarchial systems, both titles are entirely independent of one another, and largely in practice contain the same power, nor are the positions dictated by marriage. Both positions are filled by separate nobles who have been anointed by the Saxonry of Thulsoma, and work in unison in the governance of the realm. Thulsoma runs under the concept of "rule by consent", where the rulers consist of the best man and women in the realm, with the support of the nobles and the commons, who consent to be ruled by them. Ultimately the power of the rulers is unabridged, save for the necessary consent of its people, which contrasts largely to many monarchial systems which dictate rulers through right, claim or lineage. Whilst the ultimate decision of the rulers of Thulsoma lie with the Witenagamot and the lesser folkmoots, the current rulers are obliged to name their "Act of Succession" in which they declare what is essentially their heir to the throne, the Aetheling (male) and Aethelingcwen (Female), to which it falls upon the Witanegamot alone as to whether or not to ratify their ascension to the throne.
- The Storm Legate, Chieftain At Arms: A military rank and title, one of appointment by the current rulers of Thulsoma and not a decision by either the people or nobility. It's power is considered to be second only to that of the rulers, with the duties of "Storm Legate" as leading the armies, and the "Chieftain At Arms" commanding the Fyrd and Hundredths of Thulsoma.
- The Mistress/Master Of Torture: This position is one as head of the Judiciary system, comparatively to foreign cultures where judiciary titles grant the nobles with great swathes of power, the Mistress/Master of Torture has very little power in Thulsoma. It falls to the nobles of Thulsoma at large to vote for whom they desire to lead their judiciary. The current head of the Ministry of Torture, is also obliged to appoint either a Vice Mistress, or Vice Master of Torture, a rank holdable only by a noble of the realm.
- The Servant Of The Coin: Named as servant to better represent of his/her work their role in the realm is considered to be of importance, higher than that of the Mistress/Master of Torture but less than the Storm Legate. The role of the Servant is to deal with the more intricate dealings of the economy and management of the treasury.
The Governmental Organisation Of Thulsoma
- The Hundredth: The lowest administrative division of Thulsoma
- Taxation:
- Land Ownership:
- Judicial system: Ministry Of Torture
- Adventurers: Adventurers are people of somewhat high regard in Thulsoma, at least higher than your average peasant. As they take it upon themselves to tackle the undead and monsters in the stead of nobles, who are cannot afford to hunt down every last beast, though they are also subject to great suspicion, they are known to be a lawless people, interested in only their own gain, and are infamous for the sale and repair of so called "unique items", which are considered to be a complete fraud, an invention by the Adventurers to launder money from the nobility. Of course some items are truly unique and invaluable, and there lies many relics in the world, but adventurers rarely come across true ones.
The Military Organisation Of Thulsoma
Thulsoma has a highly regimented and well organised military machine, with the Kingdom itself being highly militaristic. By law all freemen of Thulsoma must own a sword, and the law also allows it people to own just about any weapon by right.
- Þingalið: Soldiers tied to the state by oath contract for a set period of time, they served as the standing army of professional soldiers under the direct command of the state, pay for by taxes within the state.
- Hearthtroop and Household Soldiers of the Nobility: By right, all nobles of Thulsoma are allowed to hire and own soldiers as their own personal troop and army, these are known as "Hearthtroop" or "Household Soldiers". However, in the act of hiring of soldiers into their retinue, the noble troop leader agrees to a contract in which their armed forces serve the Kingdom first and foremost, to follow the direction of the Storm Legate, or their respective Marshal. The Household soldiers of the nobles are all grouped together into one military order the "Halgawaras-Ingaevoneangeln", from which, they are then distributed into respective armies, such as the Knights Of Holy Iron Chains.
- The Fyrd: Consisting largely of the male peasantry of Thulsoma, this is a part time army of the Kingdom, and also used as a means of organising the peasants for the construction of public works, to which all peasants are required to attend by law. All members of the Fyrd are required to publicly swear a votive oath of loyalty to Thulsoma, and to sign a contract with the state and ruler asserting their legal obligations (such contracts are kept en masse in records). The Fyrd can only be raised for military action by edict of the Chieftain At Arms, no other force in the realm has the authority to do so, however for acts of public works it falls to the discretion of the Ealdormann of the land, however any abuses of such a system are punished most severely. By law, the Fyrd are also required to own arms, however in cases in which weaponry is either insufficient, or of a lesser quality, the Kingdom's armouries are to supply the Fyrd with armour and weapons, also by law the Fyrd are required to train themselves in the use of arms and in the Longbow. The Fyrd at large is organised by a series of Regiments, for example the Fyrd of Storms End would be apart of the "Hreónese Regiment", of which the Regiments have no fixed marshal or officer class, upon their summoning by writ of the Chieftain At Arms, it falls to him to announce a leader of each respective regiment.
Hrēdmōnath
The state religion of Thulsoma, as founded by the Tyrant Mistress and spread across all Thulsoman regions, the construction of temples is supported by law, with each region being obligated to have at least one place of worship, and it being illegal to close down, or sack a temple without permission. While Hrēdmōnath is the state religion of Thulsoma, it is not the only religion, Thulsoma is highly pluralistic.
The Knights Of Holy Iron Chains
The anointed Holy army of Thulsoma, it is based in Storms Keep (With it a great blasphemy to be founded or based in any other region) the army is largely considered to be the elite army of Saxons, however, in Thulsoma its function served as that of the main army of the Kingdom. It marches under the banner of the Holy Halígern.
(Unsure if this is the exact chronological order, however I am adding them in as accurate a list as possible, I will more than likely forget a few battles)
First Battle Of Torrents Breath
First Raid Of Mount Black Nastrond
Second battle Of Torrents Breath
Third battle Of Torrents Breath
First Battle Of Mount Black Nastrond
The Order Of Árfæstnes
The Most Noble Order of Árfæstnes is the highest order of chivalry and knighthood The Anglo Saxon Virtues and the codes of Saxon Honour
The language and scripts of Thulsoma
Thulsoma uses a variety of different languages and scripts, first and foremost everyone in Thulsoma is required to learn "Common speak", the language and script most commonly used around the world, and most commonly used in dialogue with foreigners. The Thulsoman's have a native tongue and language, commonly referred to simply as "Anglo Saxon", which is the first language of every Saxon, and the language used by the Saxon ancestors. As for written scripts, Thulsoma is home to multiple ones, each serving a different purpose. The most commonly used script is "BlóðesfylleÞ", which is comprised of two different modes, basic and compound, this script is used generally in Thulsoma, but its use front of, or to foreigners is strictly forbidden, the script is formed by translating common speak Anglo Saxon into the correct mode and characters. Thulsoma then has several other scripts, one religious rune script, comprising of sacred Anglo Saxon Futharc, this script is used for religious ends, and it is a heresy to delineate the script to a foreigner, the final script "Mædelgewrit", it is a formal script, only ever used in Thulsoma for signatures and titles, and sometimes for names (Whether or not one uses BlóðesfylleÞ or Mædelgewrit for nouns is dependant on the person).
Rightful Lands Of Thulsoma
Storms Keep, in older times it used to be little more than a fortified lighthouse, with crude iconography within the walls, in better times, under the Saxon rule the Stronghold was spared such mistreatment. The centrepiece of the Stronghold is the fortified Keep at a central part of the settlement, nestled against a sheer drop into the ocean, the central keep is then surrounded by a palatial palace constructed by Heon Haruka, this is the innermost part of the city, further protected by a wall. The outer part of the Stronghold holds the urban areas, which are surrounded by the main stonewall. The lands outside the stronghold at one point where known to the locals as the Nifel peninsula, under Haruka she renamed the official term as "Saxon Stormlands", furthering her claim to the entire peninsula.
1. Storms Keep
2. Storms End
3. Torrents Breath - Currently under Liberite Occupation, to be annexed.
4. Valldir - Currently under Summerdale rule.
Historic dates and events
06-04-10: With the realm abandoned by the old nobles the peasants announce Lady Haruka, newly arrived noble as their Queen, she quickly installs herself as "Tyrant" and begins to bring in her own nobles to replace the losses.
- Old Thulsoma - Are you looking for the old Thulsoma kingdom before the Saxons?