state colours: blue and yellow
Elector: Theoderic Gausser
Provincial capital: Salzenmund
The Sea of Claws lies off the Nordland coast – it is the only Imperial province to have a direct link with the sea. Because of this, Nordland has been a favoured target of Dark Elf raiders, seeking slaves and other plunder. It is hardly surprising then that Nordlanders reserve a particular hatred for the Elves of Naggaroth.
Nordland is home to part of the Imperial Navy (the remainder docks at Altdorf, reaching the sea via the wide and deep River Reik), and the province has many regiments that are adept at naval operations – the Nordland Mariners being the most famous of these. Nordland also derives a certain degree of influence from its Coastal Road, the preferred route to Marienburg from the cities of the north (a far less hazardous journey than the one through the Drakwald Forest). The road is notorious for its many and extortionate toll gates.
The Nordland nobility is notorious for claiming titles and lands they have no rational connection to. For example, the Elector claims to be Prince of Marienburg, thanks to a distant ancestor on his mother’s side who is said to have once lived in the city. The ruling council of Marienburg were not amused by the Elector’s claim, and have forbidden him from ever entering the city.
The Laurelorn Forest is home to a community of Wood Elves. These feral remnants of the once-great Elven civilisation guard the forest jealously, slaying all who dare to enter. The Elves are generally feared and hated by the Human population, and pressure is growing on the Elector to drive them out for good.
Nordland’s most famous historical hero was the Elector Count Enrich Moltke, slayer of Dieter Helsnicht the so-called Doomlord of Middenheim. Moltke ran the necromancer through with his Runefang at the battle of Beeckerhoven; the body was never found, and some claim that the Doomlord haunts the Drakwald Forest to this day.
A map of Nordland
See also The Elf of Oberwesel: a folk tale of Nordland
Text copyright JRT 2007, all rights reserved.