User blog:Harold Burned-Mane/ASoS - The Setting

This blog is about setting the scene for the next Burned-Mane Canon RP, A Song of Snow. It will be centered around Skyrim and the Falmer. To help people familiarize themselves with my version of Skyrim, I will be explaining a few things.

The Province
My version of Skyrim is actually about 1000 times larger than the games, for realism's sake. Instead of 40km squared, it's 40000km squared. A city like Windhelm, instead of having 54 citizens, has about 54000 citizens. Instead of taking like 2 in-universe days to cross Skyrim on foot, it takes months. All of this is to make the place feel more like an actual country and less like a county in a state and to make the cities feel more like cities, instead of small villages.

New Settlements
To compensate for the added space of making the area of Skyrim 1000 bigger, there are new settlements dotted around the province to populate it more.

Eastmarch

 * Pagran Village: A lumbering village located on the shores of the river that leads to Windhelm. This village provides most of the lumber used for construction in the city.


 * Vernin Wood: A town located on the mountains to the southeast of the hold. Built in ancient times, it served as a military outpost to guard Eastmarch from elven invaders. Now it serves mostly as an outpost to the Stormcloaks, similarly to Helgen.

Falkreath

 * North Keep: A walled town, located near the western bank of the lake that dominates Falkreath Hold. Built in the 2nd Era to defend Falkreath from Reachmen invaders, the town as served its purpose more than once. In recent history it has continued to protect Falkreath from the Forsworn, though with the disbandment of that group the importance of North Keep has dwindled.


 * Oakwood: A small village in Falkreath hold on the shores of the eastern bank of Lake Ilinalta. The village survives on fishing and hunting in the region and trade their goods with both Falkreath and Riverwood, to the north.

Haafingar

 * Seapoint Village: A fishing village located on the northwestern coast of the hold, though it tends to serve as a stopping point for trade from High Rock to Solitude.

Hjaalmarch

 * Winstad: the new capital of the hold of Hjaalmarch. Was built around Winstad Manor, as citizens were drawn to the safety that living next to the Dragonborn provided. Eventually it became a village and began to draw trade from Solitude and Dawnstar, as it was built close to the northern shore of the hold and had a small port, unlike Morthal. When Harold Burned-Mane was made Jarl of Hjaalmarch, he moved the capital of Winstad. Since then Winstad has become a small town in size.

The Pale

 * Helarchen Creek: A small town built around a Dwemer fortress, located to the southeast of the hold. It is a stopping point for trade coming from Windhelm to Dawnstar by land.


 * Dunparwall: Located in the southern mountains of the Pale, Dunparwall is a mining village. Similarly to Stonehills from Hjaalmarch. It provides Dawnstar with plenty of important minerals for trade and use in construction.


 * Lainter Dale: A village located north of Whiterun, used as a trade-stop for those heading from Whiterun to Dawnstar. It is also located in the most fertile part of the Pale so the village provides the hold with most of its food. Heljarchen Hall was built next to this settlement.

The Reach

 * Granite Hall: A town located to the east of the hold. It was the primary seat of Clan Silver-Blood prior to them obtaining the city of Markarth. It still serves as both a military outpost in the region, as it had during the conflict with the Reachmen Forsworn, and trading hub. Built on the ruins of a Dwemer city, like Markarth. Ruled by Thane Balfring Silver-Blood.


 * Amber Guard: A farming town located to the southeast of the hold, where the terrain is more suitable for farming. The village was burned down by the Forsworn in 4E 218, but it has since been rebuilt. The Jarl gave a portion of the land, who's owners were killed during the attack, to the Reachmen to placate them.

The Rift

 * Nimalten: A village located in the western part of the hold. It serves as a stopping port for trade coming in from Falkreath. The villagers mostly live of hunting from the surrounding area.

Whiterun

 * Black Moor: A military town and the Legion Headquarters in Skyrim. Located It is not under the jurisdiction of the Jarl of Whiterun, instead it is ruled by the General of the 4th Legion. Currently ruled by General Hrongar Great-Horse.

Winterhold

 * Whistling Village: A mining village built around Whistling Mine, a portion of the population works in the mine, but it also serves as a resting spot and trade center for those heading to the hold's capital. Headed by Thane Thorgar.

Nobility
What follows are a list of the Noble Clans of Skyrim, the ruling elite of the holds.

Clan Stormcloak
The ruling clan of Eastmarch and the Royal Clan of Skyrim. The Stormcloaks obtained the throne of Skyrim during the Civil War that started in 4E 201 and have held it since. They are strong and charismatic rulers. The current head of the clan is Ursine Stormcloak, High Queen of Skyrim. She is in her late 20s and still unmarried. Her heir is her younger brother Addvar Stormcloak.

Clan Builderson
The current ruling clan of the Pale, after the extinction of Clan Northstar. They were distantly related to the Northstars so they were given the Jarldom. They were chosen over Clan Merilis due to political concerns over the Civil War. The current head of the clan is Jarl Sorli the Builder, a woman in her late 60s. Her heir is her son, Sirgar Builderson.

Clan Burned-Mane
The current ruling clan of Hjaalmarch. The Burned-Manes were given the Jarldom of Hjaalmarch over Clan Ravencrone, after Clan Builderson became Jarls of the Pale, due to political concerns over the Civil War. They rule the hold from the town of Winstad. The current head of the clan is Jarl Harold Burned-Mane, the Dragonborn. His heir is his son, Rigmor Burned-Mane.

Clan Gray-Mane
The current ruling clan of Whiterun. The Gray-Manes obtained the Jarldom during the Civil War, after Clan Great-Horse was ousted from the throne by the Stormcloaks. Known for their peculiar gray hair, despite the age of its members, and their connections of the Companions. The current head of the clan is Jarl Avulstein Gray-Mane, a man in his mid 50s. His heir is his son, Frald Gray-Mane.

Clan Ice-Crown
The ruling clan of Winterhold. They've ruled the hold since the 1st Era. They used to hold much power before the start of the 4th Era, when the Collapse happened. Since then they've become the weakest and less influential of the ruling clans. The current head of the clan is Jarl Korir Ice-Crown, a man in his mid 60s. His heir is his son, Assur Ice-Crown.

Clan Law-Giver
The ruling clan of the Rift. They've only obtained the throne during the 4th Era, after the extinction of the usurper Jarl Hosgunn's Clan Crossed-Daggers in 4E 129. They've had many problems ruling the Rift, namely because of the Thieves Guild, but after the arrest of Maven Black-Briar and the destruction of the Cistern the clan as begun to prosper once again. The current head of the clan is Jarl Harrald Law-Giver, a man in his mid 50s. His heir is his son, Tyr Law-Giver.

Clan of Stuhn
The ruling clan of Falkreath. They've held the position for a while. The current head of the clan is Jarl Siddgeir of Stuhn, a man in his mid 50s. He has strained relations with most of the other Jarls for his allegiance in the Civil War, but was allowed to inherit the Jarldom after the passing of his two uncles. His heir is his daughter, Holmgeira of Stuhn.

Clan Silver-Blood
The current ruling clan of the Reach. They obtained the throne during the Skyrim Civil War. Prior to this they were Thanes in the hold, with their seat in Granite Hall. The main branch of the clan was extict with the death of Jarl Thongvor and his brother at the hands of the Forsworn, so the Jarldom passed to Thongvor's bastard son. A secondary branch of the family still rules as Thanes in Granite Hall. The current head of the clan is Jarl Eignach Silver-Blood, a man in his late 40s. His heir is his son, Thonnoc Silver-Blood.

Clan Wolf-Fang
The future ruling clan of Haafingar. The clan was formed by Erich Wolf-Fang, the son of Elisif the Fair. It is thought to be an off-shoot of Clan Súrsson, due to it being commonly believed that Erich is the son of the late Jarl Erikur Súrsson. Erich, the only member of the clan, is the heir to Jarl Elisif the Fair, a woman in her mid 50s.

Military
Skyrim has a standing military, The Stormcloaks, as well as an Imperial Legion garrison. As such the province has rather low disorder, with little bandit presence and few major criminal activity. The Legion in Skyrim, namely the 4th Legion, serves the Emperor of Tamriel and not the Ruler of Skyrim.

Guards
The guards of Skyrim are technically a part of the Stormcloaks, but unless the province is at war they serve only the Jarl of their respective hold. When the guards are drafted into the Stormcloaks during times of war their ranks transfer over to Stormcloak ranks, starting from the bottom up. The ranks for the guards are as follows:
 * Captain - Oversees all guards in a hold
 * Lieutenant - Oversees all guards in a settlement
 * Investigator - A veteran guard that mainly serves to solve crime
 * Guardsman - The average guard in a settlement
 * Recruit - A newly recruited guard

Other Important Points

 * Skyrim still has dragons, though most of the surviving dragons are non-hostile to the population. Some are under the service of the Dragonborn and live in the northwestern mountains of the province. Others are disciples of Paarthurnax and call the Throat of the World their home. The few that are still hostile are constantly hunted down by the Dragonguard, who's base is Sky Haven Temple in the Reach.