Fjorden

Fjorden
por Isaac Stewart
Etnia	Fjordell
Capital	Widor
Región	Sycla (Opelon)
Mundo	Sel🐱︎
Universo	Cosmere

“ The pagan nations of Arelon and Teod have been blackened scars upon my land for long enough. ”

— Wyrn Wulfden the Fourth

Fjorden is a theocratic nation-state on Sel. The people of Fjorden are called the Fjordell. Strict and militaristic, Fjorden is the dominant country of the continent.

Geography

Fjorden and its client states encompass vast majority of the continent of Opelon. Fjorden itself is the largest and northernmost of them, lying along the long shore of the Sea of Fjorden, while to the west, it's bordered by Atad Mountains and the country of Arelon. From South and East, Fjorden is bordered by its many subjugated nations -- going West-to-East, those are Duladel, Jindo, Jaador, Hraggen, Geant and Svorden. Hrovell is another subjugated state, although it lies south of Hraggen and Geant, and doesn't border Fjorden directly.

Fjorden has many fortified cities. The most notable of them is Widor, the empire's capital.

History

For centuries, the Fjordell working class lived and died under feudal system, which treated them worse than farm animals. They did not rebel, as they were raised to it, and to them, the feudal system was the only system.

The original state reigning over Fjorden was the Old Empire, also known as the First Empire. Over three hundred years ago, the Old Empire nearly conquered all of Opelon—only Arelon, with the help of Elantrian magic, stood against it. Eventually, the Old Empire fell because of administrative problems—it conquered more than it could hold.

About three hundred years ago, Wyrn Wulfden the First converted to the Derethi religion, and within a generation all of Fjorden had done likewise. Thus, Fjorden was reborn -- this time, as a theocracy. For the next three hundred years, the Wyrns have been blatantly altering their country’s own histories and literature to make it seem as if the empire has always been a manifestation of divine purpose. Poetry and lives of kings were all rewritten to remove any references to now-pagan religions.

Now, instead of sending troops across the continent, Fjorden sends priests. It is said that the conversions obtained—or forced—by these priests have granted Fjorden more power than even the First Empire once held, and so, by the time of the Reod, it has become the continent's dominant state, and Wyrns are more powerful now than even.

Shortly after the Reod, Fjorden began to spread their influence West once again, beginning with Duladel Republic. This was successful, albeit bloody, and ten years after the Reod, the Fjordell turned their sights to now-weakened Arelon. They began by sending Hrathen to attempt to convert the nation to Shu-Dereth, and thus make it submit to Fjorden. Should this prove impossible within three months, Fjorden would send armies to destroy every living being in Arelon's cities. They also lent financial support to Telrii, an Arelish follower of Shu-Derethi who wanted to take the Arelish throne, and sank king Iadon's merchant fleets.

Simultaneously, they began working on the conquest of Teod, a close ally of Arelon. They forced their king, Eventeo, to convert under threat of invasion, and removed the Teod ambassadors in Arelon. They also threatened to kill Eventeo's daughter, Sarene.

Their plans fell through when Elantris was restored, and the Elantrians recovered their power. Following that, the Fjordell were casted out of Areleon, and latter out of Teod.

Politics and culture

Government and religion

The modern Fjordell empire is governed by a militaritic theocracy. Both the church and the empire are ruled by the Wyrn; the current Wyrn is Wulfden the Fourth. The skaze, splinters of Dominion, also have a direct influence on Fjordell politics.

The national religion of Shu-Dereth commands all followers to adhere to a rigid chain of command, reminescent of ancient Fjordell feudal system. At the top of that chain is the Wyrn, who's believed to commune directly with the Dereti god, Jaddeth. This allows each person in the empire to serve Jadden, even though only the Wyrn is holy enough to do so directly.

Military

For the Fjordell, religion and war are almost the same thing. The military serves the Wyrn and will crush entire civilizations for him. Their conquests are quickly soldified by the arrival of Derethi priests, who strive to convert the entire population to Shu-Dereth. The Fjordell believe that with all mankind united under Wyrn's rule, Jaddeth could rise from His throne beneath the earth and reign in glorious majesty upon the world.

The conventional armies are augmented by the users of Fjordell magic, the Dakhor. Those monks, trained in the Dakhor Monastery, undergo vigorous physical training, becoming warrior monks. A few months after a boy is initiated into the Dakhor order, his bones start to grow and twist, adopting strange patterns, reminescent of Fjordell symbols. These symbols grant the Dhakor priests various powers, most of them battle related. The prayers and incantations used to create Dakhor monks are secret; even the gyorns, high-ranking priests, don't know them.

Notes

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