Some of this might be a little unclear. It's because I became tired, so the last 20 minutes work or so was a little rushed. I expect to edit the whole thing soonish, ask if you have a question.
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Rathmark
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Tradition: Magocratic
Nation Name: The nation is called
Rathmark, the island they live on
Valdarskrone (literally World’s Crown). An alternative name of Rathmark could be Kaldmark, after the native inhabitants.
Any inhabitant of Rathmark is called a Rathing, the possessive form of Rathmark is Rathegian. Similarly, you could be named a Kalding, and something of Kaldmark is Kaldegian.
Capital Name: Æddun
Rathmark is organized mostly as a loose confederacy of a large number of tribes scattered across Valdarskrone. The only thread that truly draws the tribes together is the trolldom concept and the governing circle of magi that traverse the lands from Æddun’s council. The state is extremely individualistic, meaning that institutions are decentralized in a faux anarchist fashion, but this also means that the nation’s most powerful individuals - the trolldom magi - are near-worshipped and decide the proceedings of the provinces at their own whims. Basically the mages rule from the council in Æddun because people believe they should, according to the tenets of trolldom. Æddun’s court itself isruled by Vilnar, a very powerful trolldom mago that embrace both cold and fire magic.
Race: Human
Valdarskrone was actually originally dominated by Kaldegian tribes, physically resembling the Inuits of our world. They were the first to rise unto the island from the underground archives. The proto-Rathings arrived in ships some twenty years later, and were welcomed by the pacifist tribes, as they settled on the southern tip of Valdarskrone. The result is what could be articulated as a multicultural entity, but it would be more appropriate to say the two cultures melded together without much issue. Some examples are:
* The Kaldegian anarchist societies worked well in conjunction with the Rathegian rampant individualism
* The Rathegian ideal of magical potency fed into Kaldegian light magic and astrology
* The internal harmonic mysticism of the Kaldegian made a lot of sense for Rathegian ideas of personal physical and mental prowess
* Kaldegian totems inspired the foundation of Rathegian architecture
* Both cultures relied on fishing and hunting to survive in the cold climate and understood the balance that civilization had to maintain with nature
It should be mentioned that gender roles don’t exist on Valdarskrone within either culture; however, cultural roles are very much a thing. If anything would mess with the stability of Rathmark, it would be that certain things are expected from both the Kaldings and the Rathings.
Kaldings are introvert, patient, wise, interdependent, organized, harmonic, and when the two cultures met, the Kaalit were capable at “light magic”, drawing power from the sun and moon to procure fire spells. Internal connections with the arcane are usually meditative.
Rathings are extrovert, decisive, intelligent, independent, creative, capable, and when the two cultures met, the Rathings were capable at “soul magic”, drawing power from pure will to procure cold spells. Internal connections with the arcane are usually outreaching.
Still, even with the assumed roles, the two cultures are mostly equally represented in all layers of society, be it the household, fishing, craftsmanship, studying trolldom, governing or fighting.
All in all, when I say “Rathegian” or “Rathings” in the rest of this cultural submission, I mean both societies as they are really one thing at this point.
Values: Calendar feasting, magical prowess, elderdom
CALENDAR FEASTS are a big part of Rathegian life, and people of all ages participate in them. Summer solstice, winter solstice, and spring and fall equinoxes are all celebrated in splendor and happiness. Usually the individuals that have further mastered the art of trolldom showcase the new developments within magic. Of all these feasts, winter solstice is the most important, as when it comes, it means that the world has postponed the apocalypse.
MAGICAL PROWESS, or the mastery of trolldom, is central to Rathegian self-understanding. Due to the expectation for a coming apocalypse, individuals that are highly skilled with these things, that are peace with themselves, that master the molding of the world, these individuals are celebrated by all of the common populace. Simply, Rathings all believe that the point of civilization is to grant individuals enough powerful magic to withstand the coming of the end of the world. This is why it’s possible to structure such an unruly lot through the idea of powerful individuals.
ELDERDOM is included here because of the central role trollblood drinking has to the understanding of these individuals. Since trollblood’s magical attribute increases the lifespan of humans, most of the magicians don’t physically age past the equivalent of 25 years. Elderdom is a concept of age that is very important to the understanding of how a near-anarchist society is ruled by mages just because people believe that they should. Rather than aging, the magi that drink trollblood can spend their years perfecting their understanding of the universe and drawing on the ancient traditions that the Kaldings and Rathings both once had. (Probably, that is.) Respect for and adherence to mages is similar to Abrahamists’ and Confucianists’ respect for and adherence to the elder and the father. Simply by virtue of “being older”, that is, being good with magic, gifted magicians should be respected. This works by social contract as the people that don’t respect the elders are shunned by their immediates.
Religion: Trolldom
Trolldom is many things. To outsiders, trolldom is usually understood as the practiced faith of Valdarskrone’s inhabitants, which is not all wrong. But the practice of trolldom goes beyond a belief system about some otherworldly pantheon of gods. Trolldom and its practices are integral to the Rathings’ view on how life and magic weaves into each other.
Rathings believe that everything has trapped magic within, and that tapping into this magic is the source of all lifeblood. When born, you have lifeblood transfered to you through your mother, and for the remainder of your life you must consume lifeblood from the meat and plants you eat. (This means, of course, that the food they eat should have lost as little blood as possible during preparations.)
As Valdarskrone and many of the world’s northern mountains are populated by arctic trolls, often this tapping into creatures’ lifeblood means that Rathings literally drink the trolls’ blood for power. The rejuvenating properties of troll blood extend the lifespan of the northerners way beyond normal human aging and gives them more affinity with the cold climate due to increased metabolism and warmth. Troll hunts are favorite pastimes of Rathing raiding bands, and they both raid the mountains on Valdarskrone as well as sailing past the southern coast mountains during the summer.
The world is understood as running in cycles. Each cycle is begun and ended by a cast of divine beings known as the Dead Gods. The Dead Gods are cowardly, however, and afraid of the power of mortal men. The last world cycle of the Hyllär was simply expended due to the individuals not being powerful enough, something that could have been prevented if the Hyllär knew trolldom. Whenever winter approaches, the Rathings brace themselves for the apocalypse, known to them as Vinterrak. If mages are powerful enough, the lifeforces within all things will cower and postpone the end of all. When Vinterrak eventually comes, everything will freeze, both water, ground and air, and the world’s mages, by the virtue of their trolldom, will fight the final battle against the Dead Gods, hopefully ending this vicious cycle and starting the Age of Man.
Starting Hero: Kran (Barbarian)
More details on this guy Sunday probably.
Leader Name: Vilnar
Leader Trait: Blessed
Leader Background: <optional, but preferred> I’ll probably add some here on Sunday.
Starting Location: 
