The History of Fiorgynsheim, Book 1

By by Ovidicus Aviannus Luco-Cadrylin,
Scribe and Librarian of the Fiorgynsheim Mage's Guild

The Original Settlers

Here is a map of the known lands:  
Map of Fiorgynsheim *(see instructions below)

The Fiorgyn family had been living in the Land of the Seven Tribes (LOST, the campaign world of the Denver/Boulder chapter) for many generations, peacefully farming their lands and only rarely going out on viking raids. However, due to the convoluted land-ownership laws of the kingdom and other factors they little understood, they were dispossessed of their land. They resisted and protested, but found their new lord, a king of some sort (whom they no longer remember), to be too powerful. So they did what any good family of hardy folk would do; they went looking for new land to settle.

Frederich Fiorgyn and his younger brother Bjorn, along with their wives and children, (ten families in all) built a longboat and set sail. After a long and trying voyage in which they were driven from all sight of land and forced to make an open-ocean crossing, they finally arrived upon what we believe today to be a separate continent south-east of LOST. They dropped the former door-post of their old lodge, carved with symbols of their nordic deities, into the water and landed where the door-post did. Thus they found their new, god-favored home.

They quickly began work building a new family hall, or "heim," and thus Fiorgynsheim was founded. They built on the west side of a large river they called Frigodur (named after Frigga and Odur, two of their deities), near where it empties into what is today called Blake's Bay. The new land was very fertile: fruits, vegetables, even some native grains were available in the wild. They harvested what they could and stored it for their first winter. It was during one of their foraging expeditions that they encountered the Dainga, a barbaric but friendly native tribe. Frederich, realizing the benefits of establishing friendly relationships with the Dainga, visited and communicated with them as best he could.

In order to prove that the Fiorgyns were trustworthy and valiant, he promised the chieftain they would help the Dainga in a raid upon their ancient enemies, the Qer'Shatta tribe. This resulted in the battle of Fiorgyn's Folly, in which all the Dainga and Fiorgyns of the war party were slain, except Bergelmir (often called Barney), Frederich's second eldest son. Although this severely depopulated the family, most of the women and children (including several pre-adolescent boys and girls) were still alive. The Dainga and the Fiorgyns blamed each other for the failure of the raid, and have mistrusted each other ever since.

Without most of their men with no help from the natives, the Fiorgyns found survival an even harder prospect than before. Yet they found the willpower, intelligence and hardiness to stay alive. They made efficient use of their resources and survived the first few winters with little loss.

They began farming the land as soon as possible, and in a very few years were producing a maximum harvest. The family survived, grew, expanded onto other farmsteads, and even started ranching and other activities. Since Willamina Fiorgyn (Frederich's wife) was such a strong and commanding woman, they suffered no internal strife about the use or ownership of the land. The Dainga did not bother them, the Qer'Shatta seemed more concerned with warring against the Dainga, and the land was more than abundant. The children were growing up, marrying and producing children of their own. Life was peaceful and good.

Then the colonists came.

The Colonists

The first people from the Land of the Seven Tribes, other than the Fiorgyns, to discover the new land were Captain Rainald Amalfo and his crew, privateers sponsored by King Jubris of the Jumegevan kingdom (a small kingdom situated in a corner of the LOST). They discovered it quite by accident-blown off course by a storm-but soon realized they were not too far from their usual routes. In fact, this undiscovered land, Rainald thought, would make a very good secret hideout and safe-haven.

Captain Rainald and his crew had landed on the western tip of the peninsula, where they found a mountain range which came to literally a few leagues of the ocean. In these mountains they found caves and building materials with which they constructed a most excellent hide-out over the years. They spent their winters there or hid during times of persecution. They rarely encountered the Dainga or Qer'Shatta, and it was years before they met the Fiorgyns. But the Nordic family was amicable, and so long as the pirates stayed away from the Fiorgyn women (as much as possible) the two groups were not in conflict. They even supported each other on occasion with supplies or labor. Over the years, the pirates employed by King Jubris had built a nice operation.

But on one particular voyage, when they were "escorting" a princess passenger, they were forced to retreat to their stronghold to avoid re-capture. When they returned their charge to Jumegevan, the princess could not stop gossiping about the beautiful new land. And thus everyone in court learned of Rainald's and Jubris' secret land.

Soon, dispossessed people from LOST were emigrating to Fiorgynsheim. Jubris, attempting to regain what he thought of as his land, decided to establish an official colony. It would also make a good place to get rid of the undesirables in his kingdom, especially his incompetent youngest son Matheris.

Suddenly, everyone wanted to go. They wanted new freedoms, or a chance to escape the law, or to acquire wealth, or to do good deeds for their religion, or any of a thousand other reasons. Individuals, families, groups, even entire institutions (such as the Knights of St. Elias) moved to establish themselves in the new colony. For the most part they settled in and around the earliest habitation, the Fiorgyn's heim, and thus the colony was named, despite Jubris' efforts to name it otherwise.

Several years later (72 JY), Prince Matheris was finally ready to take over leadership of the uncontrollably growing colony. He also settled in the village around the Heim, and had a small castle built as a palace. He imported many of the functionaries and devices of government, such as the Marquise de Simonides (a High Priest of Ares), Baron Lestat, scribes and of course many soldiers (called the "Blackhawks") to serve as palace guards and militia captains.

The Fiorgyns resented the intrusion of so many people and their "civilization". Many of them, or at least those who followed their matriarch Willamina, moved onto new farms and ranches farther away, on the east side of the Frigodur River. But a few remained in their hall and village.

Matheris began enacting laws concerning land ownership, one of which proclaimed all citizens of Fiorgynsheim could take ownership their own land provided they produced from it adequate taxable income. Fiorgynsheim became a land of freemen, freewomen and landholders, and even more immigrants flooded in.

Matheris tried to take possession of whatever Fiorgyn lands that could not be legitimately claimed by the family, until a young man named Frithian Duneyrson-Fiorgyn (a matrilineal descendant) came forward to serve his family as political negotiator and intermediary between them and the Jumegevans. He negotiated for the family to receive possession of all lands east of the Frigodur River. Both factions found it so useful to have Frithian as an intermediary, that Matheris knighted him and made him an official advisor at court.

Currently, most of the Fiorgyns live on farms and ranches on their "reservation," trying to remain isolated from the colonists and the uncooperative members of their family who remained in town. Sir Frithian disagrees with their separationist attitudes and is trying to reconcile them to the civilization and government of the Jumegevans which is now a permanent part of Fiorgynsheim.

Today, Fiorgynsheim village qualifies for the title of "city," and there are several outlying villages in the surrounding countryside. Prince Matheris, operating through emissaries, negotiated a treaty with the Dainga Empire, and friendly relations will likely ensue.