Country Name: Kingdom of Sweden
Flag/Coat of Arms:
Capital Name: Uppsala (marked yellow on map)
Government: Elective Monarchy
Religion: Germanic
Army/Navy Tradition: 3 Army, 2 Navy
Leader Name: Sigrid Ericsdottir of Stenkil
Leader Traits: Herald of the First Hymn, Scholar of the Spectrum, Skilled Diplomat
Leader's Betrothed Name: Håkan Olafsson
Leader’s Betrothed Traits: Skilled Tactician, Skilled Strategist
Cultural Base: The Kingdom of Sweden is in many ways an oxymoron. Once the Vikings were the scourge of Europe, raiding the coastlines of Europe for generations. Now, Sweden is on the defensive, the last great pagan kingdom of Europe. Once a nation of warriors fighting for their place in the afterlife, Sweden now has to fight in the matters of diplomacy, playing off the hatred of the Christian's larger hatred of the Sacreans to prevent a Northern Crusade.
However, one thing continues to persist even in the modern days: Freedom and Resistance. The King of Sweden is still elected by all free men in the Mora Thing, rather than through blood alone. The victory of the Pagan chieftains in the Great Holy War reversed the growing rise of feudalism within Sweden; although thralls still existed, they still comparatively had more rights than serfs in Christian Europe while not being as large component of the population.
And while even their once brothers-in-faith fly the cross, the raven banner still flies in Sweden.
History: Perhaps the most pivotal moment of the Swedish Kingdom was, like with England and the rest of the Norse world, the year 1066. Whereas Denmark, Norway, and Normandy fought over the soul of Albion, Sweden instead fought for the soul of itself.
Stenkil, the first non-Munso king of Sweden, converted to Christianity and had two sons, both named Eric. The elder, Eric Stenkilsson, followed his father with the cross, while the second, Eric the Holy (then referred to Eric the Heathen) refused to convert and continued to follow the old ways. When Stenkil died, the Christian Eric was Stenkil's perferred and likely voted heir. However, rather than wait for a vote, the two brothers waged war with one another, not only for the title of King, but for the faith of the nation itself.
The Second Battle of Fyrisvellir should have been a rout for the Germanic adherents. 100 years ago, the Jomsvikings fought on these very same plains, and lost to the Swedish king Eric I, who became known as "the Victorious" after the battle.* The Christians were better equipped and more numerous than their counterparts. By all accounts, the "true" king of Sweden should have routed the pagan fanatics. However, an omen was in the sky that day: a lone raven flying across the sky, crossing the noon sun. Was it Odin blessing the faithful?
What could have been described as only a miracle happened for the Germanic fighters as they ferociously broke through the Christian lines. The two Erics engaged in personal combat, and after an intense duel, Eric the Heathen cleanly sliced the neck of his Christian brother. Proudly raising the bloody head of the Christian Eric, his army faltered and broke apart. And on those plains of Fyrisvellir, Sweden rejected Christianization
Of course, the newly crowned Eric II "the Holy" couldn't just ignore the sizable Christian minority (mostly concentrated in the south). Much as his father refused to go after the holy sites in Uppsala due to fearing an uprising, Eric couldn't go after the churches being built in the south of Sweden for both internal and external reasons (Norway and Denmark might be too busy killing each other over land rights, but if Sweden made too much noise they would surely stop to attack Sweden instead). Instead, Eric II codified laws protecting Christian rights in return for making Sweden officially a Germanic nation.
(At this point there's a few kings between Eric II and the current monarch. It's not important going through each one so I'll just list the House of Stenkil)
Stenkil ???sson 1060-1066
Eric II "The Holy" Stenkilsson 1066-1089
Lief I Ericsson (Not to be confused with the Icelandic explorer) 1089-1092
Ragnar "the Boneless" Liefsson 1092-1111 (His war with Denmark successfully brought Scania under the Swedish crown)
Halsten "the Unready" Ragnarsson 1111-1112 (Killed in battle with Danes in their attempt to retake Scania)
Lief II Ragnarsson 1112-1145
Magnus Liefsson 1145-1154
Eric III "the Old" Magnussson 1154-1191
It is the death of the long reining Eric III, died of a heart attack shortly after the sky flashed white. Eric had two children, Magnus and Eric. Both have actually passed before Eric III did. Magnus had no children of his own, but Eric had three sons and a daughter. In normal times, likely a prominent jarl from another family would have been elected, ending the line of Stenkil. However, his daughter, Sigrid, was a Seiðr practicer, and was attracting a large following after she was recieving visions that Ragnarok was approaching. When the sky flashed white, it seemed to have validated her claims that the endtimes were coming. During the conveining of the Thing, she shrewdly promised she could try to prolong Ragnarok, and save Sweden, if only she had the throne.
And there was no rules against electing a woman...
*That first battle is 100% true and I honestly didn't even know about it until I researched areas around Uppsala. I already settled on Fyrisvellir when I realized there was already a battle there, and I looked it up. This kind of blew my mind in how I unintentionally set up something so poetic
Starting Location: In attachment. Sorry for low quality just used the map in the OP don't sue D:
