Vidarr the Terrible

Well, I'm just going to upload the map to somewhere, what would work best for everyone? mega.co.nz? rapidshare?

Who wants to take over the map before I can no longer post on the forums? I can send over the PSD I've been using if you want. It's pretty organized. All the names are on separate layers, organized in folders by continent, and there are quite a few helpful layers. Or does anyone even care about the map anymore? EDIT: For the sake of removing any ambiguity, my nation is going to go inactive soon. LINK TO PSD

*icelandic recognition and nordic brotherly love*

Updated. Map thread is for requests only, not for discussion. Especially not for OOC attacks.

Alright, before I update, can I get a complete update on what's happened in South America? One person, one post please.

Seriously, that's what I'm starting to do with Midgard.

The Northern Wars When the Protestant Reformation was happening, Midgard generally supported the Protestants, agreeing with them that the church was just a political tool, and not one of religious use. Although given a friendly warning by the Ottomans, Midgard aligned itself with the Protestants in their fight against the Catholic Church, and opened its borders to Protestants and Reformed Catholics alike. In 1637, Midgard officially joined the Protestant side of the Thirty Years' War, and sent the Tjodsvord down to the Holy Roman Empire. This time, the Catholic armies were stronger, and the war left both nations hurting from the war. In the end, although the Protestants and Midgard won, it would turn to be a Pyrrhic victory for Fylkir Ralv II. A year after the victory in the Holy Roman Empire in 1648, Brandenburg, Bohemia, and a few other German nations declared war on Midgard. In 1650, England declared war on Midgard, invading their American territories and the Jarldom of Skotland. Overwhelmed and unable to mobilize the Great Heathen Army in time, Midgard had to concede defeat to both nations. Estonia was taken by Brandenburg, and Christian missionaries would be allowed within Midgard. In America, Midgard lost all territories to England, except for the island of Vinland, which retained its semi-autonomy under the Norse crown. The Second Northern War was started by Russia in 1655, who was seeking to claim Finland and Karelia, yet again. This time, the Great Heathen Army was fully mobilized, but still lost ground to Russia before sustaining a stalemate. In the end, Russia was able to sue for peace, claiming Ingria and the city of St. Petersburg. Fylkir Ralv II, while overseeing the loss of significant territory, was not considered a bad leader, just unlucky. One example of this was his decree in 1652, where he allowed human sacrifices to be made at the yearly Blot, in honor of some special anniversary that he dug up. This scared many Christian missionaries from proselytizing in Midgard, and as no nation wanted to challenge the Great Heathen Army on their own ground, the decree went unchallenged. Ralv II also declared that Midgard would no longer be a European nation, and would stay out of their affairs, focusing only on trade and sciences. ((This is where my canon diverges from CNRP canon, as in CNRP canon Scandinavia is conquered by Russia and the Christians, and all lands except Iceland are lost.)) Viðarr IV Ralvsson Hármyrkr, Fylkir af Miðgarðr (b. 1647, c. 1679, d. 1725) After the death of Ralv II, people began to doubt the role of the Fylkir as the voice of the gods, wondering how Ralv II lost two wars. Vidarr echoed these thoughts, and decided that matters of the nation should be left up to democratic processes, so that the people have a say in whether or not to go to war. As all local regions had their own Landthing, which presided over locals laws and matters, Vidarr IV laid the groundwork for the Althing, or general assembly. With the Althing came a constitution for the assembly as well as the crown, essentially codifying what had been in effect for centuries, and democratizing the process. Each local thing would vote on local laws and customs, with there being an overarching national law that each locality had to conform to. The Althing would be democratically voted on (the first universal sufferage), and then vote on legislation proposed by members of society. This constitution was ratified by a constitutional assembly, and signed by the Fyklir on September 5, 1680, becoming the first Constitutional Monarchy. The Next Few Centuries Midgard, would grow to become a sleeping giant. Through a heavy focus on trade and a powerful navy, she became a rich nation, dominating the main North Sea Trade routes, which ended up going through Vinland. Through their alliance with the Ottomans, they maintained a heavy influence over the silk road, gaining them even more wealth, and allowing them even more knowledge. While the Norse did not consider themselves a Militaristic nation, they prided themselves on the organization and the equipment available to the Tjodsvord, which was now on the technological forefront. Midgard also made great strides in non-military technology as well. Half of the inventions of western civilization during and after the scientific revolution were either made by or influenced by technology made by the Norse. Culturally and Politically, they made great strides to be on the forefront of progressiveness. Diplomatically, Midgard remained open only to the Ottomans, even when other European nations wanted to open relations and alliances with the most advanced nation in Europe. Midgard only commented on European affairs when the French were revolting (which was was always, according to then Fylkir Leif II), and Sigurd II's recognition of the United States of America. Sigurd II only recognized them out of schadenfraude for the British. When Napoleon was doing his conquering, Fylka Lagertha II was remembered for her intimidation of him. The Fylka was quick to mobilize the Great Heathen Army, putting them in constant drilling in preparation for Napoleon. Napoleon knew that if he tried to invade Midgard, his armies would be crushed, and he would be sacrified to their gods. On top of that, Lagertha as a person scared him. She was tall, muscular, and very outspoken. She would frequently emasculate men who tried to go over her head or assume societal dominance over her. Even with her husband, she assumed the familial leadership role. Many European comics at the time depicted her as a hairy, ugly amazonian, but painters at the time captured her likeness as a fair, commanding looking blonde woman, who was depicted in traditional battle armor, wielding a large axe. The biggest reason Napoleon was afraid of Lagertha II, was that she would send the amputated genitals of various animals to Napoleon as warnings. Eventually, the European powers defeated Napoleon twice, and things went back to normal. Alliances began forming, and power-blocs were rearing their ugly heads. Fylkir Ragnar III (r. 1877-1924) attempted to warn other Europeans that this was a dangerous idea, but none were interested in listening to a godless heathen. The World in 1918

1. Been suggested before, by you. Terrible idea, because the technology gap would still exist, unless you propose bringing down the top and then bringing up the bottom. 2. How would we decide what is overextended and what isn't, or is that just a targeted attack on people with big land empires (cough cough Triyun MGL and Cent), as has been every single attack in this thread. There is no rule that can "fix" CNRP, and every thread created that tries to "fix" CNRP just "breaks" it even more, because people would rather argue about rules than just write stuff.

Almost four centuries ago, Copenhagen was the seat of power for the Harmyrkr dynasty in the vast Kingdom of Midgard. The Danish people enjoyed boundless liberty, and the nation was just starting to open up to religious freedom, when a pan-Christian coalition stabbed the Kingdom in the back, conquering all the lands except for Iceland. A few years before Vidarr's coronation, a Danish Kingdom took root, and converted to a Norse religion, something close to Nordic Asatru, but a more conservative model, as some scholars noted. King Vidarr was curious, and decided to take an opportunity to meet with the Danish King and pick his brains about his realm. A letter would be sent to the King's desk to request a diplomatic meeting.

As far as South America goes, Triyun has been seriously, or jokingly, disputing stuff. So I'm going to leave it like it is until South America is completely sorted out. Joking requests or joke disputes will be given severe consequences. Other than that, updated.

The Kingdom of Iceland recognizes the new government of Great Britain, wishing the new monarch a long and productive life.

A guy who wants other people to stop telling him what to do wants to tell another person what to do. That's rich.

Updated.

Miðgarðr through the High Middle Ages After Vidarr II came his son, Thorvald (b. 1299, c. 1320, d. 1348). Thorvald led Midgard through a series of wars against the various Christian orders who tried to convert the realm. Thorvald was dead set on taking the entirety of the Baltic coast for Midgard, or at least a vassal state. Thorvald succeeded in conquering Estonia in 1346, but died of the Plague two years later. The plague hit Midgard the hardest. Combined with the little ice age, nearly 40% of Scandinavia's population was wiped out. However, some historians believe that the Black Plague was directly responsible for the success of the Vinland colony during this time. Many healthy people were escaping the peninsula to Vinland and Markland, helping to expand and grow the only new world colony so far. During the same time, the wars of Scottish Independence were being fought, and the Norse vassal state of Nordic Skotland fought alongside Scotland proper. Thorvald signed a treaty with the Scottish King, allowing the King of Scotland to rule over Nordic Skotland and Orkneyjar, in return for an alliance between the two nations. Viðarr III Eiriksson Hármyrkr, Fylkir af Miðgarðr (b. 1432, c. 1450, d. 1506) Like Vidarr II, Vidarr III was also in the Sandseggr, where Vidarr met Mehmet II, the future conquerer of Constantinople. The two became very good friends, and Vidarr was treated like a prince when he was in the Sultan Murad II along with Mehmet. When Mehmet was Sultan the first time, the two of them engaged in parties and other royal debauchery fit for a Sultan. The Ottomans taught Vidarr of the art of the modern cannon, while Vidarr taught them how to love. When Vidarr III became Fylkir, he engaged in a military alliance with the Ottomans, which remains in effect today, and is the longest unbroken treaty in the world. When Mehmet II began the conquest of the Byzantines, Vidarr III sent divisions of the Great Heathen Army to Anatolia to aid in their conquests. Although he was not asked for help, Vidarr sent troops as sort of a "fuck you" to the Christian nations who invaded Midgard in the past. From then on, Midgard and the Ottomans shared a large amount of trade. The Nordic Renaissance and Early Scientific Advancement Erik III oversaw a Nordic "renaissance" around the same time the Italian Renaissance was happening. During this time, Nords began adopting Italian art styles, leading to a lot of statues and art pieces of past kings, as well as more stylized runestones. Erik III set aside forested land north of Oslo to build the Fylkirsviðr, or King's Forest. Artists around Midgard began crafting large stone pillars with runic inscriptions of the Kings, as well as statues to commemorate the great ones. Erik also commissioned the best artists to construct runestones along a long, riverside trail that would be called Viðarsraun, or Vidarr's Trail. There would be various runestones and statues to commemorate the Vidarrs of the realm, and has continued to be added to, even in modernity after the reign of Vidarr V. The religion also underwent a modernization of sorts. Erik III and Ralv II oversaw a series of changes to the Asatru, continuing the changes of Vidarr II. Now, the myths became even more metaphorical. The world was not created from a giant, but the giant Ymir was a metaphor for the body that the world once was, and that Odin created the world as we knew it from that world. The science that had been arriving from the south was seriously challenging the beliefs of the Asatru. Although there was a very tough resistance from conservative Asatru, the religion became more progressive. Europe in 1600

House Harmyrkr of Iceland sends its warmest regards and finest gifts to the House of Denard, congratulating them on their free elections in Somalia, and officially recognizing their statehood.

Why are people ignoring this? This is probably the best idea that'll help CNRP. IC incentives to compensate for IG deficiencies? That's a great idea for the community.

Religion in Iceland While the Nordic Asatru church was the official religion of Iceland, most of the citizenry would identify as atheist. There were few in Iceland who believed the gods were real, and that the myths were true stories. It was mainly a cultural norm, stories that they told their children, like Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy. The myths became a moral basis, and an ideal to look up to. Depending on the house's favored god, there were different family ideals. Iceland had been that way since the mid-19th century, when the church organization was largely diminished under King Ragnar III. At that time, he said, religion played a much smaller role than Ideology, so there was no need for an organized church, when citizens could read the myths on their own. Conservatives panned the move, saying that it was abandoning the gods. Conservatives continued to quietly protest the issue, until Vidarr's inheritance became an issue. His father, Mikael I, had been very liberal with the teachings of the myths. As a result, Vidarr was an outspoken atheistic Asatru, a first for Nordic royalty. Conservatives took to protesting Vidarr's inheritance, conflicted by the fact that Vidarr II could be a sign that the gods would be avenged. This was even after the fact that Vidarr denounced imperial conquest until his mouth bled.

Miðgarð in the Early Middle Ages In 1066, William the Conquerer invaded the Anglo-Saxon lords of England. As a show of good faith to the descendant of Norsemen, Olaf II (1066-1095) offered to send a division of the Tjodsvord to assist William. William did not send a reply, meaning that he either ignored it, or the message was intercepted. Either way, the weakened Anglo-Saxon lords easily capitulated to William's also weakened forces, making the Norman conquest that much easier. Historians believe that Olaf II wanted to end the hostilities between Christianity and the Norse faiths, by openly trading with other nations. Olaf II recommended against Viking raids, but did not outlaw them outright. He did, however, stop the practice of converting those of other faiths during raids, and called back the Norse missionaries (the ones that hadn't been executed or imprisoned). When the "First" Crusade is called, Olaf II denounced the Christian nations for once again starting a war over religion. Olaf sent a letter to the Pope, asking for clarification as to why they were going on a murdering spree, when his god said, "Thou Shalt Not Kill". Olaf's son, Leifr, would go on to allow viking raiders to journey to the middle east to raid Christian lands. These vikings would form the Sandseggr, an fraternity of Asatru in the middle east, and would retake Jerusalem in 1187. The Sandseggr would be the first sign of good faith in a long history of Norse-Islamic relations. In 1168, Chieftess Devana of Arkona, a Slavic pagan holdout on the German island of Rügen, entered the court of Fylkir Sigurd I, and requested to be protected. Sigurd married her, and a year later Devana gave birth to Hadvar II. Hadvar II oversaw a secret alliance with Saladin of the Ayyubids to help fight off the Third Crusade. Midgard in the 12th and 13th centuries saw a period of great economic growth. While Europe was busy in the "Holy Lands", the Norse were able to establish better trade, as well as better production. The arrival of cast iron and a very early form of gunpowder from the far east proved mostly useless for the Norse, until they began to learn how it worked and how it was made, which would result in the eventual development of an early blast furnace, circa 1284. The early gunpowder, however, was dismissed as a children's toy until the late 13th century, when the a messenger from the Sandseggr reported what was the first use of a "cannon". Norse alchemists suddenly took gunpowder seriously, while Norse diplomats began travelling to the lands of the Mameluks in droves, so they could share technologies. Norse Leaders Oláfr II Ragnarsson - b. 1022, c. 1066 (44), d. 1098 (76) Leifr Oláfsson - b. 1079, c. 1098 (19), d. 1154 (75) Sigurd Leifrsson - b. 1117, c. 1154 (37), d. 1186 (67) Hadvar II Sigurdsson - b. 1169, c. 1186 (17), d. 1224 (55) Eirikr Hadvarsson - b. 1208, c. 1224 (16), d. 1261 (53) Expansion of the Jarldom of Vinland 1084-1261 Viðarr II Varðir (the Defender) Hármyrkr, Fylkir af Miðgarð, Vinr af inn Kánæt (b. 1239, c. 1261, d. 1320) Vidarr's acquisition of the crown led many to believe that he was fated to become King. Vidarr was born the third son of Eirikr. His oldest brother, Ralv, died during a raid of Southern France. The next oldest, Olaf, died of hypothermia while hunting in the Norwegian mountains. Vidarr survived through worse conditions, however. Not expecting to be in line for the throne, Vidarr joined the Sandseggr. He fought for various Middle-eastern sultans, ended up in India. He returned to Scandinavia in 1260 after a courtier found him and gave him the news of his brothers' deaths. A year after his arrival, Eirikr died, leaving the crown upon a very surprised and overwhelmed head. He wanted to live up to the legacy of Vidarr I, but had no desires for military conquest. Instead, he made a huge push from raiding and pillaging to trade and production. Over the course of his reign, he instituted the Ásatru Umskiptir, the religious reforms. Amongst the reforms was the first "metaphorizing" of Norse Myth. The church administration got together and resolved that the world was not made of the flesh, but that Ymir's flesh was stone and earth. It was merely a canonization of what people had chosen to believe for few centuries. Vidarr managed to end the practice of Viking raids. Raids had been dwindling since the 11th century, to the point where only nobility or the rich would captain a raiding ship. In addition to the end of viking raids, an emphasis was placed on the afterlife of those who did not die in battle, that men and women who did good in their works for the kingdom would live and work in the realm of the gods. Vidarr would soon get his chance for military greatness. In 1271, the Mongols invaded through Finland, and the Great Heathen Army was called to battle for the second time in history. This time, they had a new invention, an early form of the cannon. Although only two were in use, they managed to be quite useful to the Heathen Army, scattering horse charges and breaking lines. The Norse and the Mongols were going through a five year stalemate at Aurvangr ((around OTL Olonets)). In 1276, the aging Vidarr II met with Genghis Khan, and they agreed on a truce. They respected each other greatly, and exchanged gifts. Genghis Khan gave Vidarr an early Chinese musket and a Steppe horse. Vidarr gave Genghis Khan a famed Uthbert sword and a gold Mjǫlnir necklace, both of which have been lost, presumably after the death of the Khan. Regardless, Vidarr was still named a friend of the Khanate, and Midgard is still remembered as one of the only nations to not be defeated by the Mongols.

Hadvar Viðarsson Hármyrkr Fylkir af Miðgarð (b. 965, c. 1002, d. 1029) King Robert II did not surrender so easily to Hadvar, which obviously gave Hadvar a bit of anxiety. Hadvar had vowed that he would not take take leadership of the nation until he could give his father a proper burial, which he did not have the time for, as he was busy leading raiding crews on the edges of France. So, Hadvar decided to see the King of France himself. A formidable raiding party, led by Hadvar, was sent down to the South of France by way of the Mediterranean. From there, they made their way through France up to Robert II's palace, bypassing the vast majority of the remaining French armies. As he journeyed through France, Hadvar discovered that the people were absolutely sick and tired from the war. Because of that, Hadvar's army was sometimes greeted with open arms to villages. Eventually, Hadvar reached Orléans, and a fierce battle was had, as Hadvar charged into the palace, and forced Robert II's surrender at swordpoint. This is one of the many events we have very good documentation of, as one of Hadvar's soldiers wrote a lyrical poem about it, "Hráparð ok Hadvar." The forced surrender of Robert II was the most notable part of Hadvar's reign, unfortunately. However, he did make significant conquests, and oversaw a great amount of land added to the realm. The first conquest was from the Finnish Defensive War (1002-1005), fought against the Vladimir the Great of the Kievan Rus'. Vladimir thought that, with the Great Heathen Army recovering from a war in the west, they could take Finland and Karelia. What he did not know, was that the Great Heathen Army was merely the conscripted "levy" army, and that Midgard had a series of smaller, professional retinues stationed around the realm. This army was called the Þjóðsvǫrðr (lit. nation-guard), and was instituted by King Vidarr I during his conquest of Finland and Karelia, as sort of a "National Guard", that would be well trained for defense of the realm. Consequently, the largest of the divisions of the Tjodsvord was the Finnskavǫrðr, or Finnish Guard, which numbered around 10,000 soldiers. The Finnish Guard, although smaller than Vladimir's army, emerged victorious due to superior training and the fact that, unlike the Russian armies, they weren't levied farmers with spears and archery equipment. After the destruction of the "Russian" army, the Finnish Guard occupied the region of Ingria, while a few divisions of the Great Heathen Army crept around the nation, hunting and killing any remaining enemy armies, until Vladimir surrendered, giving up the now Norse region of Ingermanland, and large chunk of northwestern Arkhanglesk. The next addition to Midgard was in 1011, when a peasant revolt in Holstein allowed Hadvar to annex a small chunk of German lands. The ensuing border friction drove Hadvar to expand the Danevirke to cover the new borders between Midgard and the German empire. The Danevirke was a series of border fortifications along what used to be the southern edge of Denmark, which had been expanded upon during the reign of Gorm the Old. Vidarr had long since forgotten the project, as there was too much tension along the border to risk messing with the fortifications. Finally, in the waning years of Hadvar's reign, a group of Icelandic Vikings raided the northern parts of Scotland, under the old "Convert or Tax" orders of Vidarr's reign. The Icelanders had obviously not received, or had ignored the word that raiding was to cease under Hadvar's leadership. The King was angry, but was surprised when the Scottish lords sent a message that they were swearing fealty to him. In an act of kindness (and of diplomacy), Hadvar allowed them a sort of autonomous independence as the Jarldom of Skotland, and let them continue speaking their language, as long as their officials could communicate in Old Norse. In 1029, Hadvar felt himself growing weaker. Like his father, he wanted to die in battle, so he went and led a raid on an Irish monastery. Ireland had not technically been part of the "agreement", so Hadvar did not feel like he was breaking his word. After a few weeks of pillaging and battle, Hadvar was slain, leaving the Kingdom to his son, Ragnar. Ragnar Kannin (the Explorer) Hármyrkr, Fylkir af Miðgarð, Jarl af Vinland (b. 992, c. 1029, d. 1066) Ragnar was the first Norse King to be born at the royal palace in Copenhagen. He was also the first to be educated solely in Miðgarð. When he was 20, Ragnar left the mainland, and went on an exploration of new lands discovered west of Iceland. The first place he went was a trading post in Greenland, and then eventually to Vinland, which had been discovered a decade ago by Nordic explorers. Ragnar actually helped set up the first settlement, a trading village called Iðavǫllr (Idavoll), named for the realm where the god Vidarr would remain after Ragnarok, "the field where Asgard once stood". Idavoll began a theme of colonial capitals being named for locations in the norse myths. Ragnar would go on to expand and integrate the colonies of Greenland and Vinland. Greenland fell under the control of the Jarl of the Miðrnóttsól, which was the realm of Iceland, and the North Sea Islands, as the name literally meant Midnight Sun. Vinland, however, became its own Jarldom, semi-independent from Midgard as was Skotland. In fact, Skotland was a model for Vinland's administration. At its creation, the Jarl of Vinland would be Ragnar, but Ragnar would go on to give the title to his second son, Haakon. Haakon Ragnarsson would be the first of the Bær af Vinnskr, or House of Vinland, which would replace the clan name of Darkhair. Miðgarð at the death of Ragnar Kannin in 1066

Territorial Acquisitions of Miðgarðr under King Vidarr the Terrible Viðarr Ámáttr Hármyrkr, King of Denmark and Norway, Fylkir af Miðgarð (b. 937, c. 959, d. 998) The failure of Christianity to make a "beachhead" in Scandinavia by converting Denmark struck a major blow to the church. They were more determined than ever to stop the Viking menace. Missionaries were sent in hordes, but executed by most Scandinavian lords. Vidar was not as ruthless, and chose to have his own "missionaries" convert them to the norse faith. In fact, one of Vidar's most famous actions was sending missionaries into Europe to convert people back to their ancestral pagan faiths. When Vikings would raid along the coasts of the Lowlands, France, and England, they had the policy of "hverfa eða gjald", literally "turn or tax". This would have severe consequences later in Vidar's reign. Vidar had also instituted what Norse historians consider to be the first university, in Copenhagen. Vidar would invite raiding captains and various travellers to the university and have them learn about other ancestral religions. Heimdallsholl still exists to this day as a part of Copenhagen University. While the legitimacy of this "university" is ignored by many mainland European scholars, Nordics and those of Norse ancestry. In 965, the King of Sweden declared war on King Vidar for Scania and the northern parts of Norway. Vidar used both psychological and physical warfare to defeat and eventually conquer Sweden. He would send a large army to surround and capture a smaller one. The general of that army would tell the enemy of Vidar's exploits in saving Scandinavia from the christian menace, and would ask them if they would deny that he was the human form of the god Vidar, son of Odin and brother of Thor. If the army accepted, and joined Vidar's armies, their lives would be spared. If they refused, they would be slaughtered mercilessly. This earned Vidar the nickname Viðarr Ámáttr, or Vidar the Terrible, a name used affectionately by his subjects, and respectfully by his peers. In addition to his educational, religious, and warfare exploits, Vidar also encouraged settlement to Iceland, opening up huge lines of trade. He instituted a policy that Icelandic Viking raiders could keep their spoils in Iceland without having to go back to Copenhagen. This caused the Icelandic population to explode, which gave way to a necessary trade route between Iceland and Copenhagen through Faroyjar, Orkneyjar, and Hjaltland (angl. Shetland Islands), established in 971, just 11 years into Vidar's long reign. After the Norse lands had all been unified under one crown, Vidar turned his attention east, to the Finns and Sami people. He first sent his missionaries to assimilate their faith into the Norse faith. Then, he used the same tactic on them that he did the Swedish armies. Most had heard of Vidar's infamous policy, and the benefits of being a subject of Vidar the Terrible, so Finland and Karelia were easily subjugated. Miðgarð Vidar's realm stretched far beyond the region of Denmark, and he was growing tiresome of his cumbersome title: Viðarr Ámáttr Hármyrkr, King of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, Jarl of Iceland, Finland, Karelia, and the North Sea Islands. In 974, he consolidated the title into the most imperious name he knew of: the Empire of Miðgarð, or simply Midgard. His people were not Danes or Swedes, they were Norse, Nordic, or Nords. He consolidated all power to Copenhagen, and invited all nobility to stay for weeks at a time, instead of sending messages back and forth when a discussion was needed. To further parody the Christian Kingdoms, Vidar commissioned a banner, to be worn on armor, shields, and carried into battle. It was the traditional raven banner, but with a silhouette of Mjolnir in the lower-right corner. Additionally, Vidar organized the beliefs of his people into a form of organized religion, the Norse Asatru. This would allow Midgard to retain its religious unity for centuries, even with the evangelicals of Christianity staring them down from across the Baltic sea. As for his personal life, Vidar had three sons: Hadvar (born 965), Ragnar (Born 967), and Haakon (born 972). As Vidar and his sons now had a high profile in Europe, Vidar could not just send them out into the continent without them being accosted by missionaries and clerics trying to convert them. Instead, Vidar had sent them with merchant caravans to study under Arab and Byzantine scholars, who had no clue who these three Germanic young men were. Vidar's wife Lagertha was turning heads as the ultimate leader of the Norse army, her duties being to train generals and draw battle plans. In the early 990s, tensions were rising between the Holy Roman Emperor and King Vidar the Terrible. Fearing the worst, Vidar and Lagertha worked together to arm and professionally train all able-bodied men and women of the Kingdom. It was an expensive task, paid for by the heaviest seasons of raiding in history during the late 970s, all the way through the early 990s. In 995, the Great Heathen Army was fully equipped, trained, and ready. There is no known number of how many were in the original Great Heathen Army, but it was the largest army in Europe at the time, well equipped, and organized like retinue armies. The Heathen Armies are sometimes called the "Roman Legions of the North". In 997, Pope Gregory V called for a Crusade. The Vatican refuses to call it a crusade, instead referring to it as a, "religious coalition war against the northern menace." The "forgotten crusade" included the Holy Roman Empire and France, as well as many other Christian nations. Both Vidar and Lagertha led an army in defense of the realm. Vidar's sons had also returned to lead armies and fight for the good of the realm. In 998, Vidar died the way he had always wanted. It took three men to take down Vidar, and even after being stabbed multiple times, he crawled over to Lagertha, who had also been gutted. The both of them continued to shout encouragements as they waited for the Valkyries to come, hoping to go to Valhalla together. After the death of Vidar, the armies fought harder. Some of the soldiers ditched their armor and painted their faces, fighting naked like the berserkers did. Over the next year, nations began pulling out of the war. The invading armies had been defeated, but Midgard was sending out almost constant Viking raids to nations still at war. Hadvar made an offer to the nations that he would halt all raids for his reign as long as the nations surrendered. The King of France was the last to surrender to Hadvar, after he led a raid on the the King's home in Orleans. It was only after the war that Hadvar allowed himself to take the crown of Midgard. The Kingdom of Miðgarðr at the Coronation of King Hadvar Viðarsson Hármyrkr - 1002 AD

OOC Preface I don't intend for this to be a realistic look at what the history of the world would be with my changes, however it's more an experiment in what this fictional nation would do during different events in history, as well as the advancement of an ultra-idealist and alternate version of the nation I RP in CNRP. I labelled this as collaborative because if people eventually want to make their own threads and nations in this world, we can all run through world history together, and hopefully, eventually, have a collaborative future story going on. This is completely unrelated to CN, and is just for you all to read or join in if you want to. [hr] The Hármyrkr (Darkhair) Dynasty Kings of Miðgarðr and Children of the Æsir‎ Background The year was 950, and the setting is Scania. Erik Ironblood (Járnbloð) was the Jarl, under the Danish King Gorm the Old. Erik was a shut-in who had no wife, and therefore no child to pass his title to when he died. As his health began to fade, he turned to his personal blacksmith, Olaf Darkhair. Olaf was the favored blacksmith of the region, and had even made a few swords for King Gorm. Erik thought extremely highly of Olaf, and as his last act as Jarl, Erik made Olaf the sole heir to his estate, titles and all. While Olaf was popular in the region, Gorm was not pleased with this decision, as tradition stated that the title would go to the King, who would either keep the title for himself or give it to another. This started the short-lived rivalry between the Darkhair clan and the House of Gorm. The Reign of Jarl Olaf Darkhair of Scania Olaf held no ill-will towards King Gorm, and King Gorm kept his distaste for Olaf to himself, out of respect to the wishes of Erik. Olaf was allowed to attend royal gatherings, and was allowed to sit with the other nobility at the Danish blót. Olaf enjoyed all of the privileges of any other vassal, and the Scanian people enjoyed as many privileges as they could have as well. The rivalry, however, was heated between Harald, son of Gorm, and Vidar, son of Olaf. They constantly fought. Harald would torment Vidar (born 937), telling him he would do everything in his power to take away his title when he became King. Eventually, the fighting became so fierce that they would find Harald and Vidar drawing blood, so at the request of Gorm, Olaf sent Vidar on a journey through Europe to study the works of other nations, while Olaf would try to repair the bonds between Gorm and the Darkhair clan. In 958, Gorm the Old died and Harald Gormsson became King of Denmark. When news reached of Harald's ascension him, Vidar returned to Scania with haste. His arrival came as a shock to the people, who had adopted the rumor that Vidar had died fighting in the Varangian guard. This rumor worked well for Vidar, as he did not have to worry about Harald trying to assassinate him. Harald, thinking that he would inherit Scania by royal right, had Olaf poisoned in 959. Ragnarok Comes to Earth Harald Bluetooth was especially irritated when he learned that Vidar was in fact still alive, and was now the Jarl of Scania. He could not resist having Vidar killed, as he would face a revolt from an already suspicious populous. He would have to turn to religious means. Of course, Vidar was a favorite of the priests at the blót, and was known across Scandinavia as a Varangian warrior and world traveller. In 960, Harald turned to a Christian cleric by the name of Poppa, who tested Harald's new faith in the Christian god. After successfully proving his new faith, Harald declared Denmark to be a Christian nation, and began converting his people. Vidar refused. It was at this point that the Danish people began panicking. They had since likened their powerful King to the human form of Odin, which may have had something to do with Harald's own boasting and parading. After his conversion, Danes believed that Christianity was Fenrir, who had killed Odin, and Ragnarok was upon them. Harald's metaphors would come back to bite him, as the "death" of "Odin" would be avenged by the god Vidar. Harald sent an army across Øresund in the summer of 961 to dethrone Vidar. Harald's army was met with a fierce resistance from the Scanians, bolstered by support from nearby regions of Sweden and Norway. Vidar received assistance for an invasion of Denmark after his marriage to Lagertha, the daughter of the King of Norway, Haakon Fairhair. With Haakon's support, Vidar was able to conquer Denmark and raise the raven's banner yet again. As a bonus, Vidar was also the heir to the Kingdom of Norway.

Because I completely mixed up what was being annexed in my head. Is Triyun actually disputing the annexation?

Map updated. I got an imgur account, so guess what's hosted on imgur now?

Icelandic Military The Leiðangr (Angl: Lething, Abbr: RLDI), would be reformed, as of Viðarr's coronation. Historically, it was a system set up by his ancestors that conscripted Icelandic farmers into a military force for the defense of Iceland in particular. It was never meant to be a huge force, just a system where able-bodied men would be trained to use military-grade weapons in case of emergency. The Leiðangr will conscript around 30,000 combat trained troops, not counting support or defense installation crew, which will be under the jurisdiction of Leiðangr leadership. The Gæslan is the Royal Icelandic Coast Guard (abbr: RICG), and is the primary military focus of the Kingdom. The RICG consists of a handful of ships and helicopters, and is only to patrol and enforce the EEZ of the nation. The Kingdom has no primary naval force, and will not maintain one until such time as it is deemed necessary. Around 200 elite combat personnel will be employed in the Víkingasveitin (abbr: VV), a special counter-terrorism unit as part of the Royal Police, but will be treated as their own unit. The Íslenska Loftvarnarkerfið, or the Icelandic Air Defense Force (abbr: RADF), is the nation's air force, although only consists of a couple squadrons of F-15 fighter jets, a few support aircraft, and a few transport aircraft.

Update.