Discover the World of Trudvang - Part 3

The Fury of the Stormlands

There are many regions of Trudvang that are wild and untamed. But the region that contains the wildest and most untamed lands, by far, are the Stormlands. During our continued trip through the regions of the continent, we head east of Mittland, into an area dominated by the fight between chaos and order, and many times, chaos reigns supreme. Let’s take a deeper look.

The Stormlands are home to rough and rugged people descended from the Wildfolk of the Noordland. Their lineage does them well, as any weaker individual would soon succumb to the whims of nature as they ravage across the land. These Stormlanders are in constant battle against powerful elemental forces. Nature is always trying to reconquer anything that man attempts to build. The ground, itself, seems to fight against anything being built upon it, and the region is cut through by harsh rivers filled with deadly rapids, jagged mountains that dare anyone to attempt to step foot onto them, and deep forests filled with untamed creatures that would as soon eat a man as look at them. Forming a settlement and working the land is almost impossible… almost.

The loosely-associated towns that do pock mark the Stormlands are only held together by one thing: religion. Here, one’s devotion to the Gerbanis faith is the only thing that ties one to another. There is no great ruler to owe fealty to. There is no sense of self in regional differences. It is simply spirituality that causes the Stormlanders to feel as one. Rituals are performed devoted to the gods in the hopes that they may be spared from its wrath. But all know that the end might be just around the corner.

The main god in the Gerbanis faith is Stormi. He is the allfather, god of wisdom and the wind. The highest in the pantheon, when a Stormlander dies, it is said that they will join the great chaotic storm that is the universe (with Trudvang as the eye of the storm) and they must seek out the fertile lands and green pastures inhabited by Stormi. However, Stormi regularly makes forays into the Great Storm in order to battle the evil forces therein. As such, the souls of the dead must go with him, lest they be left behind to be swallowed by the maelstrom. In the Stormlands, dying young and strong is not seen as a detriment, as such youth and strength will surely aid them in the afterlife and the battles they will fight there.

Such a harsh land creates warriors who are also brash and reckless. Stormlander warriors are distinct in several ways. First, they almost always shave their heads entirely. They also wield huge, two-handed axes in combat. These weapons can cleave a man in two with ease. Armor is eschewed, and instead, totems are worn, a sign of a warrior’s devotion. In combat, Stormlanders enter a bloodthirsty frenzy unlike any other warrior in Trudvang. They hack and slash wildly, looking to do as much damage as possible while ignoring whatever wounds they might take themselves. It is often only pure exhaustion, or maybe the lack of enemies, that could bring a raging Stormlander back to calmness. Few are those that relish entering combat with a Stormlander.

The exact borders of the Stormlands are ill-defined. Since there is no central ruler or a true sends of being to a particular place, the areas bordering other regions simply include a large expanse of land. It is not uncommon for a wandering group of traders or merchants to suddenly find themselves within its borders. Such occasions frequently end poorly for said travelers, unless they can manage to find their way back west again and into the Mittlands. The harshness of the region has taken care of more than a couple unwary travelers.

What sort of adventures will you have in the Stormlands when you play Trudvang Legends? Will you be able to survive in its unforgiving wilderness? Will you choose a hero from that restless land as your character and prove that while many heroes come from Mittland, the most truly heroic are from the Stormlands?

Stay tuned as we continue our look at the various lands of Trudvang, and be sure to keep an eye out for the launch of the Kickstarter campaign for Trudvang Legends.

By Jason "Polar Bear" Koepp

Read Part 1 here

Read Part 2 here

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