The land of Hjorig, a sparsely populated buffer between the Brecht realms of the Overlook and the beasts of the Grovenkevic is a realm teetering at the edge of destruction. Battered by the gnolls to the east, wracked by rebellion, plagued by awnseghs in the north and ruled over by a paranoid megalomaniac.

Six centuries ago, exiles from the Rjurik Taelshore fled the aftermath of various clan battles. Believing in the superiority of using familial succession to decide leaders rather than clan vote, these nobles fought a bitter civil war in the north lands -- and lost. Fleeing across the Great Bay, they found the Brecht realm of Gauren weak and sparsely populated. Driving out the Brecht, they inhabited this isolated, hilly land and soon turned it into a relatively powerful state.

• A new regent's Letters upon Coronation
• Some candid and helpful advice from the Hjorig court

Hjorig is a rough hill country on the eastern side of the Drachenaur Mountains, a tumbled land of rocky broken hills, deep gorges, lonely ancient forest groves and sodden fens. To the north and east it borders the dark and foreboding Grovenkevic Forest, home of gnolls and worse, to the south and west the mighty Drachenaurs rise up, blocking much of the sunlight that would otherwise read this realm. The Rjurik have always looked West, towards the Taelshore, corntrolling the two passes over the mountains, one -- Rusfeg Pass -- led to Grevesmühl, the other is now controlled by the awnsegh called the Wolf.

Population numbers are estimates.

The heart of the Jarl's realm, Lektra is the most populous and well protected province in the realm, being the only that does not border a foreign state. Most of the Rjurik in this province are members of Kuppel's clan and are deeply loyal to the Jarl; those troops that have remained loyal to him are predominantly from this province. Lektra is a relatively fertile province and the farms here actually produce a surplus that is often traded to other provinces. These days, however, most of it is commandeered by the Jarl, both to support the war effort and to prevent the Coryl Rebels from capturing it in a raid.

Recently, clansmen under order from the Jarl destroyed the temples and shrines to Lirorn in this province, capturing and either killing or imprisoning the priests. Many in the clans grumble about the consequences of angering the gods, but others are expressing interest in hearing the priest of Belinik that the Jarl has invited to preach in Tronso.

Population: 500

Built on the foundations of the Brecht city of Gaurenstadt, the "city" of Tronso is a small cluster of fortified buildings around the base of Castle Kupple, the Jarl's seat. The guilder Borg Hedsen has made his headquarters here, within the Castle, so some commerce flows through the settlement. Beyond that, it is a garrison town and a center for local agriculture.

A small scale civil war is being waged in Bjorlen, between clansmen supporting the Coryl Rebels and those standing behind the Jarl in Tronso. The war has stayed small so far -- a farm burned here, a lone clansmen killed there -- but has become increasingly brutal over the past few months. The inhabitants live in constant fear and most have heavily fortified their homes; the majority of residents care more about survival than politics and some are talking about organizing their own defense force. Others are concerned about the fact that the war has prevented them from properly planting their crops this season, famine is feared in Bjorlen. Some speak of fleeing through Wolfgaard to join the Rjurik clansmen in the fishing villages beyond the forest, most however, prefer to risk death in Bjorlen than to risk the forest of an awnshegh.

The High Pass of Rusfeg opens up in the heavily forested province of Coryl; for generations it has supplied most of the wood for the realm. At one time, a paved road lead through this pass, ending in the Brecht city of Gaurenstadt. Within living memory that road was still used for traffic between Hjorig and the realms of Grevesmühl and Daikhar Zhigun, though the dwarves have sealed the pass ever since the Jarl withdrew out of Njorl and Kobar.

The highlanders of Coryl have always been the most "restless" of the inhabitants of Hjorig. Perhaps influenced by the relative lawlessness of Grevesmühl across the border, the men of Coryl chafe at control. The province has been particularly oppressed of late, since it was instrumental in both earlier uprisings against the Jarl. In punishment, most of the province's villages were destroyed and a wooden hill fort was built to keep watch on the population. Last year, local clan leader Otto Thorssen led a rebellion in the highlands and managed to capture the hill fort in a surprise attack and thus dominate Coryl itself. Today Thorssen effectively controls Coryl and some guerillas in Bjorlen and Ustuheim, but is unable to extend his control any further; at the same time, the Jarl seems unable to mount an effective campaign to oust Thorssen from the Fort. Both men desperately seek for outside aid, but so far have had no success.

The northeasternmost province of the realm, Haarlik has troubling neighbors: Wolfgaard and the Hag's Domain. Some say it is the meddling of the awnsheghs, but the Kupple line has never been able to solidify its control over this province. Thus the men in this cold, forgotten province live lives mostly outside the control of Tronso.

The Rjurik control over Kobar and Njorl have never been easy; these particularly mountainous provinces were captured from the dwarves several generations ago and the Rjurik have had to continually battle the gnolls and dwarves for them. For some time, they was inhabited by particularly hardy Rjurik settlers, often those seeking to escape the often authoritarian control of the north. There were also a few mines operating here as recently as 15 years ago. When the first rebellion rocked Einar Kuppel's reign, the Gnolls seized the opportunity to capture Njorl and Kobar. The Rjurik were driven out and today gnoll tribes pushed out of populous Mickelbraun and haunted Nys Annwn inhabit these hills. It will only be a matter of time before the Jarl looses control completely and they become considered part of the Gnoll Fells; these days, it is only periodic raids by the dwarves that stop the gnolls from solidifying their hold.

Kumar ...

Skaplan ...

Sodenside ...

Ustuheim ...

• Law: The Jarl still holds tight control over the law in the northern heartlands, but has lost control of the gnoll-conquered south and the rebellious western highlands.
• Temples: The Tor of Lirorn watches over the spirituality of the realm, though she faces growing oppression from the Jarl; the Gnolls worship their dark god in the south.
• Guilds: Borg Hedsen chafes under restrictive laws and the difficulties dealing with a realm under civil war.
• Sources: There are no wizards tapping the sources of the realm

Categories: Atlas | World:Aebrynis | Continent:Cerilia | Region:Brechtür | Region:Vosgaard | Domain:Hjorig