[solmyr]

Prologue - Jotunheim

War, war never changes.

Memory of war never goes away easily. From Giant's Throne to Bitter Wood, from Horseheight Hill to Dwarven's Sorrow, we won victory over victory against the Vanir race of Vanheim, but until the day we started to siege the great city of Vanheim. We had our chance, and courage is always on our side. If the filthy Helheim did not backstab on us and raid on our home provinces, if the grand admirals of Vanheim did not miraculously break the storm on the Sea of Eternal Ice and reinforced their capital on time, the whole history of North Land will be different. In the end, Niefilheim was no more. Jarls divided to seek their own fate.

Every Jotunheim child can tell this story, so does Garm, the first son of Fjun Glacier, Jarl of Glacier Clan. Fjun was one of the eight greatest Jarls in Niefilheim. Unlike his father, Garm was praised more for his wisdom than for his strength. When the final day of Niefilheim approached, Fjun Glacier ordered his clan kins pack and head south, along with their families and slaves. Rumor said that Glacier Clan feared the upcoming onslaught and fled, but Garm knows the truth: The eight Jarls were long separately both physically and mentally since the great rout in Vanheim battle. There was no hope fighting with them in the final battle. So when Angarboda, the chief advisor of Glacier family told Fjun Glacier, by showing him the twisted sign in blood bowl, that there was a great forest of Iron and Ice, a promising land to the far south, Fjun made up his mind and raised the assembling call.

The journey to the south was never easy. In the first year, harsh ambush and raiding from Valkryrie killed almost all the slaves. The next few years, a mysterious plague spreaded in the ranks, many old Gygjas did not make it in the winter. Later on, even the strongest Niefil giant caught the disease. Unfortunately, Fjun was affected in the fifth year of the journey. Angarboda tried every dark art she knew, but eventually, all she could do was to ease the Jarl's pain. Fjun died in the summer of the fifth year. Even in his final days, there was not a single clue of the whereabouts of the promising land.

So, after buring his father, Garm Glacier became the Jarl of Glacier Clan. His father left him with only a handful of bodyguards and a clan of dying giants. Even Angarboda began to show some symptom of disease. "The whole clan was doomed the first day the mysterious plague started", obviously the clan kins did not fully trust their new leader. "We march, Iron Woods must be near." Garm gave his first official Jarl's order.

--End of prologue--

Since this game is special, I'll try something new. Instead of picking allies or enemy purely based on a geopolitics prospective, I'll add ideology and racial/historical elements into consideration this time. For instance, if you read my prologue, Vanheim clearly got lots to do with the divide of Niefilheim. So unless efforts were put in from both sides, I would have a very negative option on Vanheim. I'll probably stop trading with them, send spies or even declare war.