Saxangles

History

Five hundred years ago the Saxangles were the dominate human culture, north-west of the Brother Sea (one of the Twin Seas). The only other societies in the region were of other races—the mountainous Dwarves, the peaceful Halflings of the Moot, and the druidic Elves who populated the Great Northern Forest. While Saxangle civilization was divided into dozens of competing kingdoms, they were at least nominally united by the High King of the Saxangles—elected by the kings and earldorman of the Witan. The amount of actual control that the High King exercised varied over time and by location. Still, the Saxangles were prosperous and largescale conflicts were relatively rare.

That all changed the day the Great Portal opened along the beaches of the Sunset Sea. Out of the portal came a horde of horse warriors known as the Fran, themselves displaced from their homeland by Orcs. These warriors who used a combination of martial and magical skills in battle, overwhelmed the Saxangles and conquered all their lands in the space of only a decade.

Most Saxangles that survived the Conquest resigned themselves to rule by Fran overlords, but many choose to leave their ancestral lands and head towards the Great Northern Frorest. These lands were mostly populated by Wood Elves, the descendants of the army that brought down the City of Drowla, and Dwarves that worked the mines and controlled the mountains. The arrival of the Saxangles began centuries of warfare as the humans and halflings—driven from The Moot—cut down the forest and established settlements. Fortunately for the Saxangles, the Wood Elves lacked the unity to resist this great migration. Still, things would have been harder for the Saxangles if the Drow of New Drowla had not provided mercenaries for the humans and halflings to defeat the Elvish tribes and Dwarfish kingdoms—thus punishing the Wood Elves for the destruction of old Drowla. This aspect of history is either ignored or forgotten by the Saxangle.

Overtime, geography and the ambition of local warlords fractured the unity of Saxangles and the tradition of electing a High King was forgotten in all but song. Some Dwarves abandoned their ancient kingdoms to join with Saxangle society, while others remained within the mountains. The elves moved deeper into their forests and the Drow lost interest as their empire fell to decline. The land became a mishmash of hundreds of small-scale kingdoms—the Great Northern Forrest renamed the Land of Petty Kings by outsiders, or Pettylin for short.

Saxangle Government

Major Saxangle settlements are ruled by warlords who hold the title of King or (more rarely) Queen. These monarchs control lesser settlments in the surrounding area through vassal lords called ealdorman. Most ealdorman hold their position by hereditary right, but some are appointed directly by the King or Queen.

The legitimacy of a monarch is held up by three pillars. First, there is the election of the Clutiwitan—made up of the kingdom’s ealdorman. In almost every case, this election is a formality and there is very rarely a doubt in the outcome. It just so happens that the eldest son of the last king is usually picked as the next king, unless the dynasty has been otherwise overthrown. Second, the monarch claims religious and social authority by acting as the central figure in important communal ceremonies (even marrying prominent members of the community). Third, and most important for practical purposes, is the King’s ability to protect the people within his kingdom. A King who fails to win battles or deter raiders will find himself replaced by a more able warlord.

While specifics differ from settlement to settlement, generally an ealdorman or monarch has authority over military and criminal matters. Other aspects of rule are governed by a Town or Village council. These councils are overseen by an official known as a reeve and they settle civil disputes, manage local economic policy, and deal with other matters not controlled by the lord.

One power of a king or ealdorman is to summon the Fyrd, which is a militia that consists of every male of a certain age—although it is common for women to voluntarily join the Fyrd. The Fyrd is used to augment the standing army of the nobility in times that perpetual raiding is replaced by all-out war between neighbours. A less official but still critical role of the Fyrd is that it is often the deciding factor in political disputes between nobles or between a noble and the council. Whoever the Fyrd will follow, has the true power.

Saxangle Social Structure

Saxangle society can nominally be divided between noble and commoner classes—with a religious caste forming a third group (more on that below)—but the distinctions are not as clear as they are in other lands. Technically, the title of “lord” can only be claimed by an Ealdorman or the immediate family of a monarch. In practice, any warrior who attracts a sizable band of warriors can claim the title of “lord.” A child born a farmer can through martial skills and a bit of luck find themself a lord, a particularly clever farm boy may even be able to make himself king. The real distinction between a nobleman and a commoner is that the nobleman is the commander of fulltime professional soldiers—or is the offspring of a commander of fulltime professional soldiers.

Nobleman usually own land of their own but most of their income comes from the taxes paid by commoners who contribute in exchange for protection. The nobility also earn income from raiding neighbouring kingdoms, elvish tribes, or Dwarf kingdoms. Kings tend to give a free hand to ealdorman to raid at will, except against those who are explicitly allies of the kingdom.

The upper tier of commoners is made up of clerks who either work for the king or the reeve, tradesmen, and prominent farmers. In some settlements, merchants are also members of the upper-commoner class, but in most settlements a merchant is little more than a peddler who is forever moving between communities. Notables of this echelon of society make up the town and village councils (although clerks are never members). Membership to the council is decided by existing members in most settlements, but some settlements have different traditions.

Next in the social order are less prominent farmers. These folk own and work their own land with the assistance of family members and occasionally hired labourers. However, they do not own enough land to make them prospects for the council and generally they can do little better than subsistence with any excess going to the local lord.

Next to last on the social order are labourers and mine workers. These are freeman and members of the Fyrd who do not own land and must work the property of others to make a living. They tend to be unskilled workers and suffer the most in times of economic hardship. Last are the slaves. Not every Saxangle settlement has slaves. It tends to arise in periods where there is a notable labour shortage. Slaves come from defeated enemies, captures during raids, or criminals. They are given the worst jobs and have the shortest lives. However, the children of slaves are not themselves considered slaves and instead fall into the property less labourer class.

Religion

The Saxangles worship the Norse gods as described on page 299 of the Player’s Handbook. Religious practice is both private and communal. Saxangles pray to the particular god of their choice in their daily lives, but they also come together as a community and worship the gods in elaborate ceremonies. Each god has their own specific festival or ceremony connected to a life event. Festivus is a festival that takes place during the longest night of the year and honours all the gods of the Norse pantheon.

Religious officials fall into three categories. First are the ealdorman and monarchs who take the lead during religious ceremonies within their settlements. These noblemen do not have any religious authority outside of leading prayers and getting to be the one who cuts the sacrificial goat’s throat, but they are considered closer to the gods by virtue of being chief worshippers.

Second are the bards. These are men and women who travel between settlements and recite songs and poetry about the might of the gods or the great deeds of heroes who are touched by the gods. Their role is to provide every Saxangle an understanding of not only the gods and history, but also a working knowledge of the monsters and creatures that lurk in the forests. Indeed, bards are often sent along on quests because of this knowledge (and with the hope that the mission will generate a song that will praise a noble’s braveness/wisdom). (Note: Drow bards are highly valued—although still mistrusted—because they provide entertainment that goes beyond the traditional Saxangle bard).

Finally, there are the clerics who either operate small temples that are sparkled throughout Pettylin or who travel between settlements to provide locals with a conduit to the gods. These clerics are touched by the gods and make up a very small portion of the population. They can be chosen from any social class and when identified they go to one of the temples for training. The temples are isolated from Saxangle communities and are outside the authority of any king. They are protected by the holy magic of the clerics and the might of a cadre of holy warriors.