Kingdom of Kourmar

Location: Southwest.

Capital: Difare City.

Natural Resources: Forests For Building Ships and Firewood, Large Varieties of Fish and Game in All Regions, Fresh Water From Mountain Glaciers, Fortifying Mountain Ranges, River and Ocean Access.

Environment: Light Snowfall Can Be Expected Year Round In the Southern Regions, Northern Regions are Warm Enough to Cultivate Crops But Winter Can Still Kill Growth Before Harvest, Frozen Mountains and Dense Forest Make the Harsh Winters Even More Difficult, Windstorms and Blizzards are Common.

Major Sources of Income: Raiding, Piracy, Trading Acquired Goods, Fur Trade. Slave Trade.

Major Expenses: Military, Naval Fleet, Military Ventures, Imported Food, Production of Alcoholic Drinks.

Military: Kourmar's Naval Fleet Has The Most Advanced and Diverse Group of Ships in The World, All Ships are Capable of At Least Short Range Ocean Travel and Can Run in Shallow Rivers, Their Designs Allow Them To Be Fast Moving and In Some Cases Very Well Armored, Transport Ships Carry At Least Fifty Men and More are Usually Loaded, Army; Most Citizens Are Soldiers That Wish to Fight and Make a Living by Plunder, Unless Directly Employed By a Lord or King the Soldier or Mercenary Supplies Their Own Arms and Armor, Ventures are Frequent So The Individual Raider Does Not Find Cost an Issue For Arms and Armor, There Are Few Calvary and Mounted Units Outside of Kourmar Until a Raider Can Steal a Horse for Themselves, In General Kourmar Raiding Parties Gather More Momentum the Longer They are Unopposed.

Belief System(s): Gods and Goddesses, Asked for Favor When Needed and Given Sacrifice and Honor For Success, Deities Are Used As Examples of Ways to Live By, Their Ancient Ancestors are Considered to Be The Deities The Worship, They are Viewed as Greater Men That Lived In The World and Have Moved to an Even Greater Realm of Existence, Deities that Give Undesirable Examples to the People are Not Worship but Feared, Those That Worship the Unwanted Gods and Goddesses are Considered to be Dangerous, Shrines and Idols are Common in Homes as the Places and Tools of Worship, Idols are Often Taken From the Home When Away to Raid Another Town, All Kourmar Share The Same Faith and Beliefs or There are Quickly Pushed Aside, Some Will Fight Each other Directly In Competition Over the Favor of a God or Goddess that Another Has Claimed. Kourmar do not bury bodies they burn them. They will not perform Pyres on ships or boats unless a member of the Royal Family has died. Vessels are almost Deities themselves.

Society: Kingdom structure makes overuse of the available land until it is depleted and importation is required. With mostly frozen climates the land available for farming is almost non-existent. The northernmost areas of Kourmar allow for some farming in poor soil and warmer temperatures. These crops are used to feed livestock, slaves, supplement food storage, and mostly grow grain and starch to be used in production of the wide array of distilled, fermented and brewed drinks. Most food consumed for anything but survival in Kourmar, is brought in by merchants, that profit well from the business. Livestock and crops stolen from other settlements go a long way in keeping the Kingdom from starvation.

In the Kourmar climate, alcohol is considered a requirement. It is found in every variety and many unique to the region. The natives drink alcohol like water and more often in the cold. Many other Kingdoms seek out the superior quality of drinks made in Kourmar but have difficulty trading with them.
The slave trade of Kourmar is nowhere near the size or organization of Tortha's but useful in the same effect. Conquered areas that are not rich or have little to take have their women, children, and men taken back to Kourmar. The captured men are made not to survive the return trip and if they do, they are made for sport and entertainment. Sometimes worse fates are imagined on purpose. The women belong to the Kourmarian that takes them and the children are sent to perform tedious labor or be raised as warriors depending upon their age.

As a large society of hunters the Kingdom has no particular law or regulations against taking what can be taken. The Fur Trade of Kourmar does well because of the unregulated hunting. The Kourmarian Mountain Range is a vast hunting ground well used by Kourmarian Hunters. No outsider would consider taking camp among the frozen Mountains. Extremely tough creatures of every nature are found throughout them, inviting Kourmarians to use the area as training grounds. The creatures grow tougher and more aggressive with every generation.
Being a Warrior Culture all people of the Kingdom are warriors to some extent.

The nature of the people lends to and encourages the behavior of seeking conquest and opportunistic raiding.
Enemies are robbed of all belongings to contribute to the Kingdoms wealth (largely) as well as the individual Raider's livelihood. Though many warriors are underneath the Kingdom's rule, others make attacks in small groups or on their own accord.
The King is considered to be the strongest in the Kingdom and most worthy of leading the people. Many challenge this and not all challenges are answered honorably. The King's most loyal Guards or the Challenger's rallied supporters tend to join the fight. On rare occasion, Kings have been taken off of their throne in this way and the people have accepted it without issue.

Alignments: Enemies and Allies Made And Abandoned In Order To Expand The Kingdom and It's Wealth.

History: The Kourmar have inhabited the same region of the World for as long as they can trace back. They were at first, numerous tribes that lived in the same desolate region. Barely surviving the Winters at war with each other they built what ships they could and sailed up river. Every tribe that had left to settle in warmer regions, had returned to Kourmar with the wealth of the World. The area amassed wealth and arms to the point that the tribes of Kourmar, unified to become the Kingdom of Kourmar. The man that proved himself strongest, Higfal, crowned himself the first of countless Kings. Raiding became the agenda, Boats became faster, soldiers better armed, and Kourmar's enemies quickly became fortified and armed. Society did not advance far after that but their Ships, and ability to strike settlements without warning and take everything only continued to improve.

In more recent times, even an alliance with Tortha was forged in blood and tribute and still remained dangerously uncertain. The only Kingdom that the Kourmar showed respect in any form for has been Nycenia. Several unsuccessful attacks against Nycenia finally resulted in enough wonder over the weapons that they used, to begin purchasing them. The two Kingdoms found acceptable terms in exchanging newly developed weapons for gold and a subtle cease fire. A cease fire that the other Kingdoms were largely unaware of.

Flag/Crest: An Axe, A Mountain, and The Moon. Blue, Black and White.