Bjørnsberg

Bjørnsberg, or Morcoronor in Aurlûnoren, was a small mountain kingdom in the northwest of Syltör. Its name translates roughly to "bear's mountain" in the Traveler's Tongue. The Bjørnic people make up a majority of the population, mostly concentrated in the capital and largest settlement of Toppmøte. Because it no longer exists, this page documents the history and culture of the Bjørnic People or Bjørnskfolk.

Religion
The nation follows Twin Dragon but with also with regional variations, mostly honoring Bjørnic folk heroes and belief in the spirts that were the focus of the native religion. They are from 7 cities that most Bjørnians believed were physically on the edge of the world before education of the greater world of Rathnir was common. (Nowadays the official doctrine places them somewhere within the cosmos of the Twin dragon religion, but some believe them as hidden in their own realms on the edge of the Syltor continent) In each of these cities there is a spirit king that rules them. The existence of the world or bjørnsberg depending on the telling, is said to be the result of the spirits coming together in one region. Each has a festival day, but not all are celebrated commonly. Note while spirits of a type tend to be a certain way, this is not universal.

The Seven Spirits of Bjørnic Folk Religion
Bergfüth are the spirits of the mountain. They are said to be wise, humble, and solitary. Out of all the spirits they are the most respected, but the hardest to reach. They can provide wisdom to those who are brave enough to journey to and hike the mountains and are the reason that monasteries of bjørnic faith are overwhelmingly built in the mountains.

Regnverglede are the spirits of the rivers and are said to be joyous, playful, and youthful. They are a favorite of common folk and are said to have discovered how to brew alcohol. The festival to honor them is still held in any area with bjørnic people and is often attended by outsiders who wish to experience bjørnic culture.

Roligtre are tree spirits who are said to be mostly tranquill, but are the least consistent in their behavior. They can often provide minor advice to those who develop a connection with the forest, but not to the scale of the Berghüths’ wisdom. They often are associated with and live in lighter forests rather than the dark and deep parts where Mørk-edderkoppdemon tend to dwell.

Lillafulth are trickster spirits. There is no specific place that they live. They are often associated with the color purple. They are responsible for a large amount of mischief in tales of Bjornic folklore. Unlike other spirits, it is unheard of for an individual to worship Lillafuth exclusively. Ironically they are the type of spirit that most consistently fit their common description. (trickster)

Snå-enslige are said to reside in their city for most of the year, only coming out in winter. They are the spirits of snow and winter. Like the Lillafuth, the common perception of them is not as positive as the Roligtre, Regnveglede, and Berghüth and thus worship of them has been discouraged after the rise of the twin dragon house of Helheim. They are sometimes portrayed as sad and longing. Their close worshipers often partake in a winter fast during their holiday.

Oransjædelægger are the spirits of fire and greatly feared for the destruction they can cause. There are thought to be far fewer of them around the world than other types of spirits, but they can cause great destruction when they work together.(A forest fire) However there are said to be far far more of them than any other total. The explanation of this is that in mythological times the other spirits raged a war on them after nearly everything in the world at the time burned down. The Oransjeødelegger and their city were cast into a realm known as Neth after they lost.

Mørk-æddorkøppdemon : The word Mørk-edderkoppdemon translates in the traveler's tongue to: “Dark spider demon” However, they are not always in the form of spiders. They can take many forms, but none can protect them from the pain they feel when in sunlight. They are said to be responsible for all that lurks in the dark forest at night and are the most feared of the spirits. Parents often tell children that the Mørk-edderkopp demon will come and bring them into a spider cave if they do not behave.

Government
In the status quo, the Bjørnic people have been displaced from their land by the expansion of the Mushroom Kingdom within Northorn. They have been since resettled in land bough by Norfthorn from Andorn. The capital of this region is Regnverkurve which is led by Vidar Helheim, son of Bjørn Helhiem

Early/Pre History
The region in Syltör now known as the North Bjørnic Mts was originally populated by the Autochthono-Bjørnsk, a hunter-gatherer human people similar to the more well-known Ghuren to the south. These peoples, whose true name is lost to time, lived in tribal societies for thousands of years. Not much else is known about them other than their archaeological remains, but linguists theorize that their language was used as a substrate that made the Bjørnsk tongue so unique among the other northern peoples.

The Brothian migrations would come to the north of Syltör starting around 2200 years ago. About 1700 years ago, a minor Nortfolk tribe from called the Trans-Bjørnsk migated from Northeim in Beauridine. The interaction between the Trans-Bjørnsk and Autochthono-Bjørnsk -as well as the Olthi-Bjørnsk a group of Othiacs- would birth the first true proto-Bjørnic culture and people within two centuries. It is unknow why these 3 peoples got along so well but there are scholars curently working on theories.

The northern migrations brought agriculture and settled living to the proto-Bjørnic culture, in the form of small villages and towns. They paid minor taxes to Norfthorn or Andorn as the states established themselves, and exchanged control over the land, but the local people kept their own culture.

There were two major tribes Djøn and Yakek, and a difference in their methods of living led them to split. The Djøn settled in small communal towns, often along rivers. The Yakek were a nomadic culture in the region of Bjørnsberg, (name given later), after the huge bears of the region, and these people where dubbed Bjørnians. Up until the founding of Norfthorn nobody invaded them, being very good at defense, but because they retained the nomadic lifestyle of the original Nortfolk migrants it was easy to divide and conquer them. The Bjørnians were not invaded by Andorn until many years after the Bjørn-Elven War. Sometime that is not exactly between the founding of Toppmøte and then they began to settle into towns as them and the Djøn became more similar.(Though small amounts of semi nomadic Bjørnic people continued to exist until today. But because of their frequent stopping at and exchange with Bjørnic towns, they are a nearly identical people.)

Much of Bjørnic history is passed down via bards, but the truth in these cases is often disputed and considered apart Mythothica Bjørnsk.

The founding of the First Modern Bjørnic state
Modern Bjørnsberg was founded by Asries Flaskor, descended from a mysterious mercenary family that had its origins in Bjørnsberg long ago. He purchased with the help of local peasants and personal wealth a small amount of land from Norfthorn to create a Bjørnic state. They inscribed on a stone: "Here Is Toppmøte The city of the Bjørnians" This nation was the smallest in all Rathnir, as well as being quite poor and a laughingstock from the past antics of Grennetic Flaskor. Initially the government could best be described as a peasant commune.

The effect of the Allium-Coalition War on Bjørnsberg
Asries Flaskor allied with Ryzan, and after there Annexation he tried to claim a larger portion of Andorn(then apart of Bardonia) them, but he obviously lost and was executed, his son Frognog Flaskor was not killed but fled, he then was taken to Duragrad where he would make Cheese until he was 15. The Bardonian empire did not attempt to integrate the nation but merely sacked the single city of Toppmøte, causing most people to flee to villages and towns throughout the nearby area. At this point the stone was lost but it is unknown if it was destroyed, looted, or simply now lies in some river or cave. (Small wet caverns under the City are common) A white peace was eventually singed, but much later. [put exact date and singers here in future]

The Rebuilding and Helheim Coup
In early august, shortly after the Allium-Coalition war, Frognog Flaskor and many other Bjørnians began to return to their land. Frognog Flaskor became the de-facto leader after he led many to return to Toppmøte, which many people where skeptical of at first. But his speaking skills and being the son of Asries Flaskor led people to accept his rule initially. Another popular figure was Bjørn Helheim, who had more reasonable goals, but Frognog remained in charge during the initial rebuilding of Toppmøte.

In order to join the Syltör League Frognog agreed to be a tributary of Aurlûnor Velande without knowing the full extent of this because of his youth. In order to deal with this situation he began a complex and unrealistic plot to start a coup in Andorn and then invade the Velande. Helheim decided to go to the Velerath off Aurlunor and contact her, not wanting to risk conflict with them. During the turmoil after a scandal where Forgnog flaskor gambled with state funds(gambling is considered wrong in Bjornic culture), Helheim took power in an Aurlûnor Velande backed coup. However, he did not expect that the nation would be made into a theocratic monarchy and direct vassal of the velande.

The Helheim Duchy
The helheim government made much early progress, implementing a legal code and school system as well as beginning the overall construction of the city of Toppmøte. However, do to there being little farmland there was trouble sustaining food supply in the growing city, and there were large sections of field within the city. This led to Hejure(Duke) Børn Helhiem contacting many small vilages and towns in the surounding nations of Andorn and Norfthorn. These vilages and towns were ethnicly Bjørnic and were willing to trade grain for goods produced in Toppmøte. "The rurals" as they were refered to euphemistically soon became important to Bjørnsbergs economy. Problems began to arise agian after Frognog Flaskor began to try and take back Bjørnsberg. He biuld a fort near Toppmøte and was started ocasionaly ambushed carts along the poorly developed dirt roads between Toppmøte and settlements in "The rurals" (OOC: He wasn't able to get new players and up until the coup there were only 3 citizens, so there were two after. Much of the architecture and lore was designed in this point but overall it was slow from lack of players. Also the fort's existence was beginning to scare Helheim)

The Reunification Summit
On October 23rd 2021, a conference was held where it was agreed upon That Børn Helheim(the monarch appointed by Aurlûnor Velande) and the previous leader Frognog Flaskor (who was planning to take back his position by force) would rule with equal power, appointing a high commander to lead the military and serve as a tiebreaker vote. (Full constitution here) Ever since the new nation officially named just "Bjørnsberg" has been able to develop more and is generally on an upward trajectory. The nation would pay a small monthly tribute to Aurlûnor Velande and is still a vassal but has local autonomy.

The Independence Summit
On December 9th Bjørnsberg gained full independence and functioned as a feudal monarchy with Frognog Flaskor as a king and Bjørn Helhiem being the lord of Toppmøte. The nation had plans to join Norfthorn but did not until later on. The nation still vastly small was not incredibly relevant, but continued to have active players, gain wealth, and build Toppmøte.

There was an era where things looked quite hopeful, while more records remain of the fall, those events were at the end of many years of small but beautiful city state.

The great spiraling
At this time, Frognog Flaskor's mental and physical state entered a rapid decline, as he was ravenged by an own disease having something to do with goblins. This would make him very paranoid of people around him, espically Helhiem, and this would be what led to his downfall.

The country nearly descended into a civil war on January 4th. Frognog Flaskors paranoia started to get the better. He told Bjørn Helhiem to give up all of his authority in the nation. Not wanting to deal with him at the moment he kicked fristi out of the claim. Frognog Flaskor then started preperations for a civil war and refused to negotiate with Bjørn or get a mediator as Sloth Flaskor suggested. (who didn't want to fight) Eventually he calmed down and with the mediation of Pway Tocoa of Norfthorn agreed to not start a white peace and to both stop being idiots.

A few days after this the nation entered a union with Norfthorn to benefit economically, militarily and politically.(politically as in to protect their stability) While they intend to stay with them for the foreseeable future, they can leave at any time.

During this time, Frognog Flaskors mental state and physical state was quickly weakening, and his decision making wasn't sound, so for this, Helhiem forced him into abdication and later killed him. When Helhiem Frognog on his death bed, he has several mental physical and spiritual diseases. Including Ryzani Flu, Goblin Syphillis, Gut worms, Narcissism, depression, severe rapid aging extreme paranoia, and a unbalanced soul to the point where being around Helheim (a warden of Twin Dragon) and the priests he brought with him caused spiritual pain to both, nearly falling total wraith corruption despite having an especially strong-willed soul and more.

"While some may view his killing as a brutal betrayal for political power, I didn't want to do it and it pained me greatly. Yet still, I knew that it was his duty to remove his soul from the mortal plain as soon as I could and in a way that would save it from an eternal fate as a pawn of a more powerful creature of discord. I had the goblins removed from his chambers, I halted any movement of his with a ring of fire around him, I gave him his paper of divorce from his husband, I read the rites, I told him why I was doing this and I wished he could of chosen another path and was disappointed in him. I then began the ritual. It was agonizing to me even with the help of two priests and two priestesses. Then came the killing which I shall not recount. After we laid oil-soaked(NOTE: vegetable oil) ''cloths and spare lumber and incense upon the corpse and cremated him in his bed. It was the only way we could do it to not taint ourselves further, as we would later burn the robes we wore that night. It was also the way that was the least painful to me. At last it was over, but what is to come?"'''

-Quotation from journal of Bjørn helheim

Later on after great political turmoil the nation was annexed by Norfthorn slowly. Helheim was briefly deposed but was reinstated as a town leader. Horrible stagnation defined the province for the rest of its existence. However, later the Bjørnic people would be relocated off their land by the Norfst government. While many opposed this at first and the fate if they refused was unclear at best, they gained MUCH more land in their new territory compared to the cramped territory they had before. Vidar, son of Bjørn Helheim, founded the city of Regnverkurve. While the city is young, the hopelessness of the previous era has been shed Bjørnskfolk once once look towards the future with thoughts of destiny.

Endemic Wildlife
The Grey Northern Bjørn (Ursus griseus borealis) is the largest bear in Rathnir, with some males being able to stand 12 feet tall, weighing just under half a ton on average. (2x the height of the average Bjørnian male) These bears are fairly passive omnivores but are some of the strongest animals in Rathnir.

The confusingly named Bjørnic Bear, (in the native bjørnsk it is usually referred to as just "Bjørn" as it is the most common variety) is a smaller brown bear that can stand on average 7-9ft tall. It is more fierce than most bears, but most Bjørnic hunters know how to safely exit an encounter with it.

The Andorn Lindworm and Syltörese Tiger are historically known to have lived in the mountains, occupying separate niches from the bears. However, these two predators have been driven effectively extinct locally, with the only modern members of these species crossing the border from Norfthorn or Andorn.

Ethnic Groups
The primary ethnic group is Bjørnian, and this race spread out all over Central Western Syltor (South Andorn, North Aurlunor Venlande, and north Eastern Norfthorn.) There is also a goblin population in the Toppmøte sewers.

Raising of children and Education
In bjørnic culture, the phrase "It takes a village to raise a child" -while not commonly said- is greatly embraced. Bjørnians see raising children so that they spend most of thier time in one house as abusive. You can walk into nearly any town or village square (or intersection in Toppmøte) and see children playing. Parenting is very lose terditionaly and is only considered moral to spank children for bullying of others, not disobidience of adults. However, influence from Aurlûnor Velande under the era of thier rule has caused some stricter parenting in relegious Twin dragon households. Youth begin to learn some form of trade such as farming or smithing and take on work, but do not work full time as in bjørnic culture it is considered an important time to experience life. Ever since the Education was little in befor Børn helheim's rule, but adaquate for rural life. Under the new system literacy is becoming a standard as well as basic arithmatic and history. Schooling is more significant in Toppmøte than rular areas like many things in the nation. This basic schooling goes up to around age 13, but there are more classes offered past this point in Toppmøte. Most who who do not intend to work in a schollarly field (or to be a bard) may take a few extra classes, but begin to focus on learning a trade.

Bards in Bjørnic culture
Bards are very popular in Bjørnic culture and will often go from town to town telling legends in song, as well as other music. This was traditionaly done in taverns but in Toppmøte ampuatheaters are becoming popular. Traditionaly bards were the most educated, being literate and having knowlage of history. Because they are educated in Toppmøte but travle thoughout the country (and sometimes the surrounding areas), bards are like a bridge between the two halves of the nation

Superstition and popular religion
The most popular religion is Syncretic between pagan belifes and Twin Dragon but both are popualar in own right depending on where in the nation. Vilages lean pagan, while the urban population lean Twin draggon. Superstition from both traditions are common, regardless of class or the rual/Toppmøte divide. Gambling is looked down upon in Bjørnic culture.