ASK MOST SOUTHERN HISTORIANS AND THEY WILL TELL YOU THAT GRIMMA IS NO PROPER COUNTRY. BUT PERHAPS SHE DOESN’T NEED TO BE FOR HER PEOPLE TO RELENTLESSLY RAID THEIR NEIGHBORS, SEARCHING FOR SPOILS AND RICHES THEIR BARREN MOTHERLAND COULD NOT GIVE THEM…
Grimma
Grimma is a harsh, jagged land at the far northeastern edge of the Mainland — a spearhead of mountains descending into the cold, restless ocean. Isolated by geography and infamous by reputation, Grimma is the smallest country of the Continent, but feared far beyond its size.
To the rest of the Continent, the Grimma people are raiders, plunderers, and ruthless warriors. To themselves, they are survivors of an unforgiving land, bound by ancient oaths, clan blood, and the wild spirits of the mountains.
Grimma is not a unified kingdom. It is a loose constellation of tribes, each ruled by a Chieftain, though his authority is often symbolic. Real power rests in clan councils, ancestral oaths, and the unwritten but ironclad traditions of the land. Clans feud, ally, betray, merge, and fracture continually — but when an external threat looms, they are quick to unite against a common enemy.
Across the Continent, Grimma has earned itself a notorious reputation. The clans are feared because they strike without warning, pillaging coastal settlements across the North. When two southern nations go to war, Grimma immediately sees opportunity — a divided coastline, undefended ports, merchant ships with few escorts. They are sharks that smell blood in waters not their own.
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[Show]History
The origins of Grimma are obscured by time and the fog that clings to its mountains. No chronicles record the precise moment this harsh northern land became a nation, though all traditions agree on one point — Grimma began as a refuge for the rejected.
Centuries ago, small groups of "demons" — people whose human forms bore animal traits — were expelled from Vascavanian lands. Their horns, hooves, and other beastly features were seen as omens of misfortune or dangerous magic. Driven northward, they wandered until they reached the barren peninsula that would become Grimma. Here, in this landscape of stone and snow, they found what the South had denied them — a place where no one else cared to live, and, therefore, a place they could claim.
Cut off from the Mainland by mountains and hostile territory, the exiles intermarried and their numbers grew. Over generations, they fragmented into small, kin-based groups that eventually became the earliest Grimman villages and clans.
Though the land was brutal, the coastal tundras possessed surprising pockets of fertile soil. The first Grimma communities survived by cultivating hardy grains and root vegetables in the short growing season, fishing in the frigid southern waters, and hunting scarce game. This early era was one of quiet perseverance. Tools were simple, metalwork crude, and technology limited — yet the demonfolk endured.
Grimma’s true transformation began when its people first met the Ieplans. Ieplan traders, navigating the cold northern seas, stumbled upon Grimma’s isolated shores. Shocked by their appearance but intrigued by their resilience, the Ieplans established tentative trading relationships.
Through these exchanges, Grimma learned of the wider Continent, new tools and metals, and, most importantly, shipbuilding. The demonfolk quickly realized a fact that would alter their destiny; they were far stronger and more resilient than the average Southerner.
What began as simple trade voyages gradually shifted in purpose. Grimma ships grew sturdier, faster, and more numerous. The Grimma folk discovered how easily coastal villages and unfortified ports of the South could be attacked.
Raiding soon became their primary enterprise.
The Southerners, namely Vascavanians, learned to fear the silhouette of a Grimma longship emerging from the fog. Through these raids, Grimma acquired metal, wealth, and foreign goods they could not produce themselves. Their fame, or infamy, spread across the Continent.
Throughout these turbulent centuries, Iepla remained Grimma’s sole consistent ally. The Ieplans knew the Grimma folk before their raiding days, and both nations shared harsh climates, physical shifter populations, and a mutual distrust of the Vascavanian Empire. The two northern peoples formed a quiet alliance — trading goods, knowledge, and occasionally warriors.
Over time, Grimma solidified its identity, not as a kingdom but a patchwork of proud, independent clans bound by shared heritage and harsh conditions. No empire has ever claimed Grimma, though Vascavania has tried many times before; all of them campaigns remembered only for their quick failure.
The mountains, the cold, and the demonfolk themselves made certain that the peninsula remained forever unconquered.
Geography
Tall, frost-covered mountains dominate Grimma, with some summits even cloaked in clouds year-round. Avalanches in spring are common and deadly. Vegetation is rare; even sturdy evergreens struggle on the shallow soil. Much of the north is bare rock, ice fields, and perilous cliffs. Where the mountains recede, cold tundras stretch toward the sea. Wind-swept grasses, hardy shrubs, and low mosses are the only vegetation capable of surviving.
The climate is just as unforgiving. Winters can last up to nine months, with the sun barely rising during this period, and the Northen sea partially freezing. Summers are brief thaws that bring with themselves mudslides and floods, often accompanied by brutal storms.
Most Grimma settlements cling to the rugged coastline — fishing villages, raider ports, and fortified cliffside communities. The sea is their lifeline and their weapon. Agriculture is impossible; metal is scarce; wood is imported or harvested from shipwrecks and driftwood. Small pockets of iron are mined from the mountains, called "Old Bones." Grimman steel is brutal and extremely durable.
This barren, unforgiving geography enforces decentralization and constant movement, which is the reason why Grimma people have never formed proper towns. Instead, they rely on semi-permanent inland holds, and larger, more permanent settlements along the seashore.
Society & Culture
To Southerners, the people of Grimma are simply called "demons" — an ominous name for misunderstood people whose natural human forms bear the unmistakable marks of their animal heritage. Horns, tufted ears, slit pupils, hooves, or elongated canines are all common features among them. Most Grimma folk are bovine-based shifters with curling horns, powerful builds, and (cloven) hoof-like feet.
Grimma culture is shaped by the brutal land that birthed them. Its people are loud, bold, and unapologetically proud; driven by survival, clan loyalty, and an unspoken warrior code. They grow up believing that soft lands make soft people, and thus they view the Southerners — with their cities, fertile fields, and warm climates — as pampered and fragile. Grimma folk rarely mask their disdain; they are blunt, direct, and unafraid of causing offense.
Conflict is not merely accepted in Grimma — it is expected. Every person is raised with a weapon in hand, and the sword is the soul of their culture. Grimma swords are crude but effective, and their wielders are renowned across the Northern seas for unmatched bravery. Children are trained early in both armed and unarmed combat, and clan disputes are often settled through ritual fights rather than negotiation.
More than anything, Grimma people value their freedom. No clan bows to an outside ruler, and no tribe tolerates subjugation. In a world dominated by empires, councils, and various other forms of despotism, Grimma stands alone as a land that has never been conquered. This independence is a point of immense pride, woven deeply into Grimma's identity.
Their fast ships and knowledge of treacherous northern waters make them exceptionally dangerous. Grimma warriors strike isolated outposts, trade routes, and border fortifications whenever an opportunity appears, vanishing into northern fog before retaliation can arrive.
In Grimma, gender is secondary to capability. Survival in a brutal land has shaped a culture where what one can do matters far more than what one is. Grimman society judges individuals by strength, endurance, loyalty to the tribe, and usefulness to the community. As a result, Grimma is one of the least gender-stratified societies on the Continent.
There are no rigid gender-exclusive roles in Grimma. Any adult capable of fighting may join raids or defend the village, regardless of gender. Women warriors are common and respected, especially those who have proven themselves in battle.
Grimman families are mostly practical. Partnerships are fluid and often temporary, shaped by survival needs. Marriage, where it exists, is informal and rarely permanent. As a result, child-rearing is communal; children belong to the tribe more than to any single parent. They are raised with minimal gender distinction, trained early in endurance, combat basics, and survival skills.
Technology & Economy
Grimma’s technology sits at a low–to–mid medieval level, but it is highly specialized rather than broadly advanced. Grimma does not pursue innovation for comfort, aesthetics, or efficiency in daily life; instead, all technological advancement is driven by survival, warfare, and seafaring. In many areas, Grimma lags behind Vascavania — but in several narrow fields, they are unmatched.
Despite their harsh environment, Grimman smiths are highly skilled. Weapons are typically heavy, and brutal, including but not limited to swords, cleavers, axes, and reinforced spears. Armor is functional rather than ornate, such as layered leather, bone plates, and notorious horn-reinforced helms for the few Grimmans who do not possess a natural pair of horns.
Grimma is far more advanced at sea than on land. Their ships are notable icebreakers with hulls designed to survive collisions with ice and rocky shores, often reinforced with bone or iron ribs. These are perfect vessels for coastal raids and quick retreats into narrow fjords where larger ships cannot follow. Navigation relies on stars, currents, bird patterns, and spiritual signs rather than instruments. Southern navies consider Grimman ships unpredictable and terrifying.
In conclusion, Grimma is not technologically stagnant — rather, it is selectively conservative. New technology is adopted only if it if improves survival, combat effectiveness, and does not weaken tradition or autonomy of the clans. This is why complex mechanisms are distrusted, and reliance on foreigh materials is seen as a vulnerability.
Religion
Grimma has no centralized religion, no priesthood, and no canonized myth. Instead, its faith is an ancestral animistic system rooted in survival, blood, and the land itself. Religion is lived, not taught.
The core belief of Grimma's animism cult (commonly called The Old Way) is that the whole world is alive; mountains breathe, storms listen, blood remembers, the sea chooses who returns. Everything possessed a will. To ignore this will is dangerous; to disrespect it is fatal. Death, however, is not seen as a departure; the dead are believed to remain very close, and are often consulted through rituals, fire, or even dreams. Fallen warriors "walk with the storm", ancestors guide hunts, raids, and migrations.
While there is no formal priesthood to The Old Way, religious figures exist in the shape of Shamans. These are often people who survived extreme events, such as avalanches, drowning, or other near-death experiences. They serve as mediators between people and the higher powers, and interpreters of signs rather than moral authorities.
Grimma religion is rich with various rituals and practices, which include blood offerings, totems carved from bone and stone, war paint mixed with ash and blood, horns and hooves adorned with talismans. Blood holds a specific and very important role, often as a sign of sincerity.
