Union of the Ice Sea

{| border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" class="article-table article-table-selected" style="width: 1000px;" Contents The Union consists of Jorvic, Anglia & h-Alba.
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 * Geography
 * The Realms
 * The Dreamscape
 * Inhabitants
 * The Others
 * Culture
 * Changeling History
 * Politics
 * Religion
 * Laws
 * Factions
 * The Heartland League
 * The Union of the Ice Sea
 * The Prydain
 * The Changeling Race
 * Beasts
 * Ogres
 * Darklings
 * Elementals
 * Marked
 * Elfkin
 * Game Rules
 * Character Creation
 * Skills
 * Magic
 * Holy Powers
 * Combat
 * Health and Safety
 * Glossary of Terms
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With the Caerlaw keeping the peace, the Union has the following aims:
 * Using the Caerlaw to their advantage
 * Gaining the most influence in the Caerlaw
 * Allowing Jorvic & Anglia to regain lost lands
 * Weaken the Heartland League
 * Exploring the rest of the Changeling world
 * Finding lost treasures of the Far North
 * Locate nearby islands and setting up colonies

History


Formed initially by the Kingdoms of Jorvic and Anglia in response to the invasions of the Heartland League, after losing what was once Lincolnshire and Kent respectively, the Union of the Ice Sea was one of necessity. The estuary that left the Great Nightmare City was enough of a barrier to slow Wessex's advance into Anglia main. Likewise the Humber slowed Mercia's advance into Jorvic. Initially the Jarl of Jorvic and King of Anglia had hoped that they could counter Mercia and push back south, but when Northumbria joined the Heartland League, it stopped any hope of a Jorvic counter-attack.

Fortunately for the Jarl, the Chief Laird of h-Alba decided that it would only be a matter of time before Northumbria advanced into their lands, answering Jorvic's call for aid and evening the balance. The Lairds advanced down along the west coast, halving Northumbria and threatening Mercia, evening the balance of power.

Jorvic
Originally, the mighty Jarls of Jorvic control vast farmlands from the Humber to the  Wear and sweeps all the way across to the Pennines, though since the Great Divide the country only extends to the Tees. It is a bountiful land and though it is plauged by many cities filled with nightmares it has a large population. The people of Jorvic are hardy and tough. Arenas exist within Jorvic for those that wish to make their names known via combat. Generally they are weary of magic users and these arenas tend to be for those who fight with iron and steel. As a result, the magic users tend to form their own, Jarl-sanctioned, conclaves and too enjoy dueling with other conclaves. This made Jorvic a very dangerous enemy in the Great Divide and though it lost land to Northumbria, this was mainly due to a lack of troops in the area.

There are powerful beings that reside in within some of the areas of Jorvic. The Pennines are home to many Duergars and Knockers, whilst in other areas there is a strong Draconian presence. Whilst these dreamfolk are potentially dangerous, they are either avoided or have uneasy deal with some of the citizens of Jorvic.

Anglia
The flats and fens of Anglia are home to hardworking changelings who now live in fear of attack from the Mercians to the west, with only the river and the great nightmare city separating them from Wessex. There is plenty of good farmland for these changelings and they wish to retain their independence. They export a lot of food to other countries in exchanged for materials they lack. Anglia isn't known for it's great warriors, though it does harbour a lot of magic users and faithful changelings who have helped ensure that the fertile lands haven't become too swamped with Nightmares or spirits. When Wessex began to take control of southern Anglia during the Great Divide many of these individuals were responsible for the loyal citizens to escape through thresholds, whilst others held the forces off with magic or denied the invaders valuable assets.

The fens of Anglia however are home to many Pwca and Bansidhe, which makes it an interesting place to travel in. Whilst Pwca are generally friendly (if not a little mischievous) and are often looking to trade with passing changelings, Bansidhe attack any traveller on site. As a result, much of the travelling done by the Anglians is done via boat as a boat is easier to ward than a cart.

h~Alba
To the far north, in what was once Scotland, the changeling of h~Alba are a hardy bunch suspicious of their both their enemies, allies and especially of those who sit on the fence. They joined the Union to keep their Northumbrian neighbours from becoming powerful and to provide a border against those in the south. Their northern border is the high lands that rise up and are filled with many different sorts of dreamfolk and is very much not changeling territory. Changelings that live in h~Alba do so in the fortified villages and some have adopted a form of dress that was found in the area, known as a kilt. Like the rest of the Union, they rely on boats for much of their income, with many fishermen and sea-traders making up their economy. Occasionally there are groups of adventurers that head north in search of rumoured riches, though often they return empty handed or chased down by dreamfolk.

When Northumbria was moving forces to attack Jorvic, they also manouvered troops into a position to attack h~Alba. However, this had been anticipated and a counter attack was made along Northumbria's Western lands, poorly defended due to the 'safety' the Pennines offered from Jorvic. h~Alba made large gains and have profited the most from the Great Divide to date.
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