A bleak country Upon reflection, however, it seemed to me not so strange that
this should be so, in a bleak country, one in which many of the trees, too
would be stunted and wind-twisted. In Torvaldsland, fine timber is at a
premium. Too, what fine lumber there is, is often marked and hoarded for
the use of shipwrights If a man of Torvaldsland must choose between his
hall and his ship, it is the ship which, invariably, wins his choice.
Marauders
Torvaldsland is regarded as the area from the thinning of the trees northward
Kassau is the seat of the High Initiate of the north, who claims spiritual
sovereignty over Torvaldsland, which is commonly taken to commence with
the thinning of the trees northward.
Marauders
Torvaldsland Homes
Soil is thin and found in patches
Farms are small and scattered Its arable soil is thin and found
in patches. The size of the average farm is very small. Travel between
farms is often by sea, in small boats. Without the stream of Torvald it would
probably be impossible to raise cereal crops in sufficient quantity to feed
even its relatively sparse population. There is often not enough food under
any conditions, particularly in northern Torvaldsland, and famine is not
unknown. In such cases men feed on bark, and lichens and seaweed.
Marauders
The stream of Torvald is a current, as a broad river in the sea, pasangs
wide, whose temperature is greater than that of the surrounding water.
Without it, much of Torvaldsland, bleak as it is, would be only a frozen
waste. Torvcliffs, inlets and mountains. Its arable soil is thin and found
in patches. The size of the average farm is very small. Travel between
farms is
often by sea, in small boats. Without the stream of Torvald it would
probably be impossible to raise cereal crops in sufficient quantity to feed
even its relatively sparse population. There is often not enough food under
any conditions, particularly in northern Torvaldsland, and famine is not
unknown. In such cases men feed on bark, and lichens and seaweed. It is not
strange that the young men of Torvaldsland often look to the sea, and beyond
it, for their fortunes. The stream of Torvald is regarded by the men of
Torvaldsland as a gift of Thor, bestowed upon Torvald, legendary founder
and hero of the land, in exchange of a ring of gold.
Marauders
Seasons in Torvaldsland
Torvaldsland numbers the years from the time of Thor's gift of the stream
of Torvald to Torvald
Spring equinox is considered the start of the new year in Torvaldsland
Most Gorean cities use the
Spring Equinox as the date of the New Year. Turia, however, uses the Summer
Solstice. The Spring Equinox, incidentally, is also used for the New Year
by the Rune-Priests of the North, who keep the calendars of Torvaldsland.
They number years from the time of Thor’s gift of the stream of
Torvald to Torvald, legendary hero and founder of the northern fatherlands.
In the calendars of the Rune-Priests the year was 1,006.
Marauders
Winters are long and harsh and dark
Serpents are kept in roofed sheds while men play kaissa during the cold months
His wiliest tricks, of course, I knew, he would seldom use saving them for
games of greater import, or perhaps for players of Torvaldsland. Among them,
even more than in the south, Kaissa is a passion. In the long winters of
Torvaldsland, when the snow, the darkness, the ice and wintry winds are upon
the land, when the frost breaks open the rocks, groaning, at night, when the
serpents hide in their roofed sheds, many hours, under swinging soapstone
lamps, burning the oil of sea sleen, are given to Kaissa. At such times, even
the bond-maids, rolling and restless, naked, in the furs of their masters,
their ankles chained to a nearby ring, must wait.
Marauders
Torvaldsland on Gor
