Overview of Ískaldur

A group of explorers ventured to the Arctic, seeking new knowledge of the land there, and all the fame and recognition that would bring. They found a cold and bitter land, dead and devoid of life, a land where the sun never set and the world knew only frost and emptiness.

The explorers ventured inland, hoping to find something, anything, worthy of fame they could take back with them. Though some perished on the voyage, the majority pressed on, finally discovering a massive artifact frozen in a mass of crystals. Though initially ecstatic at their find, the explorers soon discovered the Mineraali, a race of beings formed of crystal and earthen material, animated by the relic’s massive magical power.

The Mineraali, disturbed by the intruding visitors, attacked them, and a great battle ensued, eventually dragging out to a long, protracted conflict as the explorers attempted to use their magic to fight off the superior power of their foes. Months later they finally claimed victory using their magic, and reached out to the artifact (the Heart of Odin).

In doing so, they unveiled a being calling itself Kirith, a “holy”, shining angelic figure that claimed itself as the keeper of the Heart. Impressed at their ability to defeat the Mineraali, she gave them a ‘gift’, transforming all the living explorers into undead, immortal beings, while assimilating the slain into the Heart and forming them into Einherjar and Valkyries (typecast as Ascendants), Homunculi-like artificial humans with superior strength, speed, and stamina, as well as wings and mighty metal-flesh bodies.

Rendered immortal, the explorers’ minds turned darker, and they dismantled their ships, using them to build dwellings in their new home of ice and frost, rejecting the outside world and pledging to defend the Heart and grow a new civilization, in the land where nothing breathed, and they could fight each other to their hearts’ content without fear of injury.

They have rested such ever since, but their nation, and their patroness Kirith have since grown aware of the world outside, and wish to know of it once more

The people of Ískaldur are isolated not out of choice, but simply because of the terrain surrounding them making them hard to reach and preventing them from providing the necessities required for most living things, primarily food. Having a culture built upon violence and combat, they’ve come to value strength over other things. Thus they will respect others who are strong, those trying to become strong, or otherwise those who express strength. They tend to dislike and even despise those who continuously take the roundabout way of achieving their goals without ever dirtying their own hands, for example politicians, manipulators, and the like.
As for their everyday activities, they tend to watch, bet on, and participate in combat between warriors. Nearly everybody has some skill with a weapon, although not all tend to use them as often as one might expect. Instead of warriors, some are smiths, some architects, and some mages, each providing for the rest of the population in their own way.

There are four different groups that make up the population of Ískaldur:
- Valkyrie/Einherjar: The Einherjar and Valkyrie are humanoid beings, something like modified Homunculi. Beings formed by the crystal (the Heart of Odin as they call it), they are in effect humanoid masses of living metal wire, enmeshed within a suit of armor they use as a body. They are naturally among the strongest and fastest creatures in Ískaldur, and tend to work as guides with the others to help train and strengthen them. Their bloodlust and power is matched only by the mighty Berserkers.

- Mineraali: Brought to life by the magic life giving crystal, they worship it and treat it as a holy deity and the cave where it’s located as a holy location. They were the original inhabitants of Ískaldur along with the Valkyrie/Einherjar. The actual Mineraali stand at least 6 foot tall, averaging about 7 and a half foot tall. They can be made of any naturally occurring mineral, including crystals, stones, and metals. They are the least combative of the four groups, but still share the love for it that the rest of the culture shares.

- Berserkers: Vikings who gone through trials to become berserkers and passed, they have become less human and more animal, with inhuman strength, speed, and durability while in a rage. Their skins become strong enough to repel weapons of steel and withstand the scorching heat of fire. They typically don’t wear much outside of animal pelts, and seeing them in armor is unheard of. They tend to interact with the vikings the most, due to originating from them in the first place, and are the most violent and volatile of the four groups.

- Vikings: typical immortal viking people, tend to wear animal pelts and armor. Probably the most understanding of humans of the four classes, due to once being human themselves.

The government is an absolute monarchy, led by the Chief of All. He has a council of advisors made up of the chiefs of each major faction, consisting of the Berserkers, the Valkyrie/Einherjar, the Mineraali, and the vikings. Instead of elections, who gets the position is determined through 1v1 combat, and if you wish to fight the king you must first defeat each of his council in a similar fashion. If you happen to lose, you will be burned by the honorary brand of loss, infused with magic that causes the resulting scar to never fully heal. People with one of these scars are normally accepted back into society with little problem, albeit with slightly less respect due to not having the strength to win. However after gaining a collection of them they tend to be shunned, only really acknowledged if the person attempts to challenge again. Currently outsiders are not allowed to challenge for a position of power.

Ískaldur’s economy is based upon the barter system, in which goods and services would be traded for other such things. Currency is only used in the placing of bets or settling small differences between services, that a simple arm wrestle wouldn’t be able to decide fairly. The main use of currency would be displaying it at home, where it’s common practice to compare the size of your treasures, if only for old time’s sake. The currency of Ískaldur is varied, made up of gold coins pillaged from the treasure halls of many past civilizations, with each house in Ískaldur containing what would be a small fortune. However due to that value of currency being the norm, a gold coin is treated like a silver or copper would be treated elsewhere.