Located in a nigh-miraculous valley north of the Sram Mountains, Jorgrim is the burgeoning home of a number of eclectic tribes that have converged from the Iderran Wilds to enjoy the fruits of the lush land, somehow surviving within the rainshadow of the south's peaks. Some say the lesser mountains that wall the valley must be infused with the energy or spirit of nature.
Jorgrim was founded by the Wild Root tribe, who originally migrated to South Kalatoria from the Kadessian Wilds by braving the perilous Nadrek Pass, one of the only two ways around the abyssal Gaff Ravine
As of the year 412 AV, Jorgrim has finally been contacted by Ghanbar. Though merchants have long strayed off the Eastern Road to occasionally made contact with hunters from the fledgling civilization, only recently has a procession of elders from the large village left to Abarion in order to meet with the War King.
The village mainly sustains itself on hunters and gathers who venture the Iderran lands for wild root, spices and game meat. The people have also begun to grow early crops within the fertile valley, becoming semi-agricultural in nature.
Several years ago, Jorgrim accepted a wicked Kadessian wanderer calling himself Kuergrin, who brought with him a collection of Iderrans from tribes that were shunned for their cowardice. He is not the same ethnicity as the Wild Root tribe, who hail from the same region.
Demographically, Jorgrim is diverse, with the Wild Root minority coming from the far north and having a different skin tone and hair color to most ethnicities of Iderrans.
Around 12 000 people currently live in this settlement, but it is rapidly growing. Over 2000 people have joined in the last five years alone.
Sarvik is a lightly hallucinogenic weed that is often smoked in pipes or chewed. For some individuals, it triggers a Berzerk state and becomes addictive.
Social Attitudes (Gender and Sexuality):
In Jorgrim, men and women are the only recognized genders, and gender is believed to correspond one-to-one with biological sex. Someone from Jorgrim might find it difficult to understand a nonbinary or transgender identity, though they would have no preexisting stigma against it.
People in Jorgrim have staunch gender norms. Primarily, men are expected to be brave, while women are expected to be nurturing. A cowardly man is considered a 'failed man' and seen with disgust and hatred, while an uncaring woman is considered a 'failed woman' and seen with disgust and hatred.
Jorgrim society has rather segregated gender roles, with men being almost solely responsible for hunting, and women being almost solely responsible for rearing children. A man who does not go hunting frequently is seen as a coward even if they have other reasons for not doing so. A woman who does not raise her children is seen as a heartless crone even if they do actually tenderly love their children.
Heteroromantic heterosexuality is the predominant form of sexuality in Jorgrim. Homosexuality is strongly discouraged, though homoromanticism is considered acceptable but not if one is exclusively homoromantic.
Jorgrim has no concept of virginity.
Social Attitudes (Nudity):
Before puberty begins, children will generally only wear clothes should they want to. Once puberty starts, their parents start forcing them to dress regardless.
Male toplessness is widely practiced and acceptable. Except during winter, most men do not cover their chests in public.
Female toplessness is acceptable in a number of contexts (nursing, extreme heat, bathing, amongst only relatives, amongst only women), though it's not as universally permitted as male toplessness.
Male nudity is philosophically viewed as admirable, beautiful and natural, though the social contexts where it's acceptable are limited (bathing, sometimes when hunting).
Female nudity is philosophically viewed as admirable, beautiful and natural, though the social contexts where it's acceptable are limited (bathing, maybe during pregnancy).
Whenever the Elders host events of any kind, all individuals are expected to wear full clothing regardless of age or gender.
Social Attitudes (Family):
Creating a family is considered an obvious thing to do, and is a major part of life. One who does not at least attempt to start a family would be suspected of being severely lacking in some way.
Monogamy is strongly enforced in Jorgrim. There are severe punishments for committing infidelity.
When two individuals decide to become life partners, there is sometimes a ceremony of some kind held by the most respected individual who is readily available. Having an Elder host your ceremony is considered a great honor and a good omen. Oftentimes, these ceremonies are preceded by two separate, more casual celebrations, one for the man and one for the woman. Individuals who become life partners this way always also intend to have children, because the concept of being in an exclusive relationship is not distinguished from becoming parents
Generally, once a couple has had children, they are basically required to stay together at least until the children can walk. If at that point they are no longer in love, they can plead to the Elders allow them to back out of their previous commitments. This request is not often granted on first attempt, and usually takes a few years of consistent repetition before an Elder accepts.
Individuals who have had children with a previous partner may find it difficult to enter a new relationship. Elders rarely ever host ceremonies twice for the same person.
In situations where one is left alone due to their partner dying or disappearing for at least a year, the Elders will much more easily annul the previous commitments without making one wait years, due to the sympathetic situation.
Before an individual forms a life partnership, they have a great amount of freedom in how they engage in romantic and/or sexual relationships. It's not even particularly strange for an individual to be with multiple people at the same time, before deciding on one or none of them. However, a woman who becomes pregnant in such a scenario would be greatly pressured to either find a father for their child or induce abortion. Raising a child without a father (except when one is widowed) is a major taboo.
While family units do exist in Jorgrim, children are generally raised communally by the women of the village. Therefore, it's possible for two people entirely unrelated by blood to consider each other as 'close family', especially if they were raised together at a young age.
Social Attitudes (Age):
Once babies become toddlers and learn to walk, only then are they given names. Usually the father decides the name, but if the mother already has a preferred name it's not uncommon to continue using that.
Young boys and girls just play in the valley all day and cause trouble. It's a carefree time where one only learns to exist in society.
Children usually begin working when puberty begins, or even a couple years before. This usually means agricultural work or helping with chores.
After puberty ends for a girl, she is considered a woman. There may be a personal celebration in the family, but no wider ceremony exists. Women usually begin exploring relationships whenever they feel a desire to do so, which may be right away. If this takes a while, parents might start putting pressure on their daughters to get themselves out there.
Every year, all the boys who finished puberty that year begin a ceremony of adulthood. They have to go out on their own and bring back a hunt of some size. If they fail, they return in shame and are pressured to keep hunting as much as possible until they succeed in bringing back something good.
Generations ago, Wild Root Elders were traditionally the oldest and wisest members of a society. Nowadays, Elders are accepted much more broadly, as long as they are considered outstanding members of society. Not all of them were born as members of the Wild Root tribe, but they are conferred that status by becoming an Elder.
Legal System:
Like most tribal societies, antisocial behavior is punished through social action ranging from punishing social alienation to attempted rehabilitation via community intervention
Disputes between multiple parties (such as theft or assault) are often handled by the members of that person's family, normally their closest or eldest relatives.
In case of severe crimes such as murder or rape, a Wild Root Elder will decide what is to be done, usually after a public or private interrogation, depending on their style.
In the latter two cases, members of the Wild Root tribe are strongly favored. Families with Wild Root members have more social influence, and their words are taken more seriously due to them being favored by the Elders. Elders will directly take the side of their own in matters where they are not much more in the wrong than the other party.
Wild Root Elders:
- Alvisdan
- Lionheart
- Elder Gustav
- Knut Asbjorn
- Elder Tormod
- Blue Sage Golan
- Green Sage Ovard
- Drannik Hildrebrandt
- Kolga Hildebrandt
- Ingrid Oerichs
- Brynja Ravenfeather
- Sigurd the Ferocious
- Ragna Whiteblood