Kingdom of Skaldune

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 Skaldune is a stark and desolate place, with sprawling fields of sharp rocks and craggy mountains that rise like the bones of the earth. The land is devoid of fertile soil, and crops are an afterthought in a place where only the hardiest of creatures and men can endure. The weather is brutal, with biting cold winters, and the ever-present wind whipping from the Sea through the land.

Few things grow here, but the people of Skaldune make do with what they can find, and what is supplied by their better off neighbors to the north. Their settlements are small, crude villages built into caves or atop the cliffs, surrounded by crude defenses. These are not places of peace—they are fortresses of survival, designed to withstand the constant threat of both nature and their eternal enemies.

On the Southern border spans a massive wall, a joint project of the human kingdoms to help slow the incursion of Beast folk from the salt marshes. Skaldune mans this wall and often send hunting and raiding parties south to gather supplies and disrupt beastmen movements. 

 In Skaldune, strength is the only currency that matters. The people live by one simple creed: "The strong lead, the weak fall." There are no courts of law, no merchants haggling over goods, no scholars debating philosophies. Instead, Skaldune is a land where every man must prove his worth with his hands and his blade. Honor is not granted through titles or birthright, but through deeds of valor in battle. Only those who can wield a weapon with deadly precision, and whose bloodline is steeped in the carnage of combat, earn the respect of their kin.

Leadership: The War Chief, "The Scar" At the heart of Skaldune stands The Scar, the tribal war chief who commands all. The Scar is a title earned through bloodshed, bestowed upon the one warrior who has proven himself by besting the previous war chief in single combat. It is not a position given by birth, nor is it something that can be inherited. To lead Skaldune is to be a living embodiment of the kingdom’s brutal nature—unyielding, merciless, and always ready for war.

The Scar rules with absolute authority, holding the fate of the kingdom in his hands. His word is law, his judgment final. Those who defy him are quickly silenced, either by his hand or by the challenge of another warrior eager to claim his title. In Skaldune, the Scar’s reign is both revered and feared, for he is not just a leader but a living symbol of the kingdom’s indomitable will.  However, the position of war chief is never secure. It is only a matter of time before someone rises to challenge the Scar. When the challenger is strong enough, or ruthless enough, the Scar’s reign will end. The blood of the vanquished war chief stains the ground, and the challenger ascends to the throne of power, marked by the scars of their battle.

 Skaldune is locked in an unending war with the Beastmen—a savage, relentless force from the southern lands. These brutish, animalistic creatures come in many forms: hulking minotaurs, twisted wolves, and feral cat-like warriors, all bound by an insatiable hunger for destruction. They raid Skaldune’s borders, attacking with a ferocity unmatched by any other enemy, seeking to claim access to fertile soft underbelly of Lumeria that Skaldune stands guard of.

For generations, Skaldune’s warriors have fought the Beastmen in a bloody, ceaseless war that has scarred both sides. No truce is ever reached, no surrender offered. It is a war where only the strongest warriors survive, and where death is the only certainty. The Beastmen are a mirror of Skaldune’s own brutal nature—savages, driven by an animal instinct that matches the kingdom's own bloodlust.

The people of Skaldune live in a perpetual state of readiness, constantly sharpening their weapons, training in the art of war, and reinforcing their defenses. Every village, every stronghold, is a potential battleground, for the Beastmen are always lurking at the edges of the kingdom, waiting for their chance to strike. 

 To be a man of Skaldune is to embrace the life of the warrior. Children are raised with swords in their hands and taught the brutal realities of survival from the moment they can walk. Combat is the heartbeat of their culture; every Skaldunian knows that a fight could break out at any moment, whether in the training ring, on the battlefield, or even at the hearth.

Skaldunians live and die by a strict code of combat. Only the strongest lead, and only those who prove their strength in battle can claim any sort of power or influence. Betrayal is punishable by death, but a warrior who falls in honorable combat is mourned as a hero. Skaldune’s warriors are bound by this code, and failure to uphold it is a death sentence in itself. 

 The people of Skaldune are not soft-hearted. They are hardened by the land, and hardened by the constant struggle for survival. Their faces are marked by scars—both old and new—and their hands are calloused from years of wielding weapons. They speak little, but when they do, their words are often harsh and blunt, reflecting their view of the world as a place where only the strong survive. There is little room for weakness in Skaldune; anyone who shows it is left behind. 

Yet, despite the brutality of their lives, the Skaldunians share a fierce sense of brotherhood. A warrior who fights alongside his brothers in arms is bound to them by the blood they shed together. Loyalty, honor, and strength are the pillars that hold their society together, and they will stand united against all enemies—whether Beastmen or rival kingdoms—until the end of their days. 

 The followers of Balthor, the God of War and the Forge, are a fierce and unyielding people, bound by their unwavering devotion to strength, sacrifice, and creation. Balthor is a god of fire and iron, a deity who molds both the hearts of warriors and the weapons of battle. His followers believe that in the forge of war, they are tested and refined, their bodies and spirits hardened like steel. War is not only a calling but a sacred duty—an offering to Balthor himself. To wage battle is to honor him, and to emerge victorious is to bask in his divine favor. 

 Balthor is a god who believes in the power of strength, but he also believes in the power of creation. Through destruction, Balthor brings renewal, and through the forge, he shapes the destiny of his people. His followers see the world as a great forge—where every hardship, every conflict, is a chance to shape their souls into something greater. To follow Balthor is to embrace both the hammer of war and the anvil of creation, where only the worthy are allowed to rise.

The followers believe that war is the greatest form of sacrifice and that to lay down one’s life in battle is to offer one’s soul directly to Balthor. Every clash, every battle, is a prayer. Every victory is a gift from Balthor, and every death is a testament to the warrior’s devotion. Blood spilled on the battlefield is considered holy, and the followers do not mourn those lost in combat but instead rejoice, for they believe that the souls of the fallen are taken by Balthor to be reforged into greater warriors in the afterlife.

The central belief of their faith is that through destruction, they forge a path to glory. The act of forging is a sacred metaphor for their lives: they are constantly striving to hone their bodies, minds, and spirits in the heat of battle and the fire of creation. Their warlike nature is not one of mindless brutality but of disciplined, sacrificial devotion to their god.

The Hammer: Holy Symbol

The holy symbol of Balthor is the Hammer, a symbol of both war and craftsmanship. The hammer is the weapon of destruction, but it is also the tool of creation. Followers carry small hammers as amulets or wear them as tattoos to signify their devotion. Warriors are often gifted larger hammers, intricately forged, to mark their place in the pantheon of the faithful. The hammer is a dual symbol: it is the force that crushes enemies, but also the instrument that forges weapons, armor, and civilization. To strike with the hammer is to bring down wrath, but to forge with it is to build a future.

 The Forge of Battle

Every battle is considered a sacred trial, a rite of passage, and a chance to prove one's worthiness to Balthor. Battles, skirmishes, and war campaigns are treated as offerings to the god. Warriors, before going into battle, often perform a ritual known as The Forging of Blood—a process in which they sharpen their weapons, chant sacred invocations to Balthor, and cut their own hands to offer blood as a symbol of their devotion. It is believed that the more blood spilled in battle, the more favor the warrior gains from the god of war.

The Sacrifice to the Fallen

The faithful believe that to sacrifice in war—be it one’s life or the life of another—is to offer oneself to Balthor. When a warrior dies in battle, a ceremonial sacrifice is made in his honor. His weapons are consecrated in flame, and his body is burned in a great pyre to honor his sacrifice. His soul is then believed to be taken by Balthor, reforged in his divine forge to serve in the battles of the afterlife.  

The Rite of the Hammer

The Rite of the Hammer is a coming-of-age ceremony for young warriors. At a certain age, boys and girls of the faithful are taken to forge, where they must craft their first weapon. This weapon is their bond to Balthor, a symbol of their commitment to both destruction and creation. Once the weapon is completed, the young warrior must take it into battle for the first time, a ritual that proves their worth to Balthor. Only after they shed blood with their crafted weapon do they earn the right to truly call themselves a warrior of Balthor.  

The Shaping of the Warband

Warbands are the backbone of the faith. These groups of like-minded warriors live, fight, and train together under the banner of Balthor. Warbands are often led by a Forged Champion, a warrior who has proven themselves through great deeds in battle. The leader's weapon is often a massive, ornate hammer, imbued with sacred runes. Each member of the warband takes an oath to live and die by the hammer and to fight as one unit. They participate in yearly rites of purification, including combat trials and blood rituals.

 A dark and feared deity in the faith of Balthor is the Corpse King, a twisted and mysterious lesser god associated with death and the reanimation of warriors’ bodies after they fall. The Corpse King is a god of the dead who holds dominion over the souls of slain warriors, dragging them from the afterlife to be reanimated as mindless undead—warriors bound to his will. His followers are few, and they are viewed with a mix of awe and terror by the faithful. To invoke the Corpse King is considered an act of desperation, for while he can raise the dead, he demands obedience from them, and those raised are forever slaves to his will.

The followers of the Corpse King are often seen as cursed, for their worship is considered both dangerous and unnatural. They fear the Corpse King’s power over life and death, but they also seek to use it in times of need. A warrior who has fallen in battle may have his body taken by the Corpse King, reanimated, and forced to fight again in the service of the faith. The warriors who return from death are soulless, devoid of free will, and trapped in a state of endless battle, forever locked in the cycle of war.

To follow the Corpse King is a curse, for those who invoke him risk losing their own souls. His followers believe that by honoring him, they can avoid being reanimated, but in times of great need can use his power to sway the tide of battle. They live in constant fear of their god’s power and the fate of becoming one of the soulless themselves. In Skaldune’s darkest rites, the Corpse King’s symbol—a crown of rust atop a sun bleached skull —can be seen etched into altars, where the faithful offer not just prayers, but the bodies of fallen warriors, seeking to return them to the battlefield.