“Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black
and deep desires.”
― Macbeth
 |
| Ingemar Hartensen |
Ingemar
Hartensen is well acquainted with this wisdom. More than most, I would imagine.
He has fought long and hard and has been drenched in the blood of his enemies.
Bathed by Kord, he would say.
He was also
weaned on tales of Schnai supremacy. The Schnai had always been the strongest
of the Rhizians. And Rhizians were the superior to all others, in strength, in
spirit, in deeds. So the elders have declared for generations. So too have the
skalds sung.
The Frost, Ice and Snow Barbarians are perfect
specimens of unmixed Suloise blood; the nearly albinoid Snow Barbarians are the
best example. [WoGA – 13]
He had taken
those lessons to heart. Had not the inferiority of all others proclaimed the
superiority of the Schnai, chosen by Vatun and Kord both?
Are they
superior? They are certainly hardened by their terrain and climate.
The king of Schnai rules the land between the eastern
Corusk Mountains and the wide Grendep Bay. The Spikey Forest separates the
territories of the Snow and Frost Barbarians, though the lands on both sides
are very similar. The climate of both kingdoms is nearly identical as well,
with a relatively temperate southern zone. The landscape of the kingdom of
Schnai is more rugged than the Fruztii region, however, though not so rough as
that of the Cruskii. The same could be said of the people, who are more
factious than the Fruztii, but more united than the Cruskii. [LGG – 105]
The Cold Tongue: This dialect, also known as Fruz, is
primarily Suloise with Flan admixture. It is spoken commonly by the Ice, Snow.
and Frost Barbarians. It has no relation to Common, and even speakers of
Suloise find it hard to understand. [WoGA – 16]
532 CY
Ingemar Hartensen is born. Conjecture.
He is not
Orvung’s son, else he would be named Orvungsen.
I have placed his
birth before Hundgred Rälffson’s
(placed by me in 549 CY), as Hundgred is referred to as the “young” king of the
Fruztii in thre Living Greyhawk Journal.
Ingmar is noted
as a CN male human Bbn16 in the same work, and I would imagine that it
should take a number of years to gain that level of experience.
550s CY
 |
| Orvung |
The Fists were flooding into the Fruztii highlands. Orvung,
in his wisdom, was sending aid.
Ingemar questioned why he and his fellow shields were
scaling the Kelten Pass in defence of Fruztii, the Schnai’s weakest brethren. Can’t
they defend their own lands, he wondered? Don’t be stupid, his thane
said; it’s no matter why we’re here, he said, we’re here to stay.
Ingemar did not understand just then. He was young. Eager. He yearned for
battle. And glory. He did not have to wait long. Within the week he had bloodied
his sword on orc and ogre and he knew that Kord must be pleased. Ingemar
revelled in his victories and painted his face with vanquished blood. Those
battles paled compared with his repeated clashes with the Fists. His and their
blood painted the high snows. He never felt so alive.
For nearly 30 years, [the Fruztii] have been under the
thumb of the Snow Barbarians[.] [FtAA – 25]
The Frost Barbarians are the weakest of the three
nations (of Suel peoples) inhabiting the Thillonrian Peninsula, called Rhizia
by these peoples. They have never recovered from the Battle of Shamblefield,
and have been under the suzerainty of the Schnai for the past two decades - and
several times previously as well. [WoGA – 21]
560 CY
 |
| The Euroz |
In 560 CY, the raids took a dramatic upturn, and in
561 a full invasion began. [LGG – 36]
The Fruztii called their brethren to arms. The time is
ripe take advantage of the Ratikians disadvantage, they urged Orvung in his
hall. Ratik busy fending off the orcs, they said. Ingemar agreed. But
Orvung refused, much to Ingemar’s chagrin. It was better to wait, Orvung
told the Fruztii, sure that the Aerdi and Euroz would destroy one another. Then
they would strike, Orvung said. The old fool, Ingemar thought. He’s
weak. Hesitant. Scared. Ingemar did not see the Red Robes of Shar
whispering to Orvung behing closed doors.
In 560, nonhuman tribes from the Rakers and Blemu
Hills struck into Bone March, subjugating the land in 563 and slaying its
leaders. [LGG – 91]
In 560 CY, the humanoids of the Rakers began major
forays into these lands. Turmoil within the Great Kingdom was so great that
opposition to them could not be effectively mustered. Within four years, the
ores, gnolls, and ogres of the hills and mountains had swept across the lands
in an orgy of pillage and slaughter. [FtAA – 24]
563 CY
 |
| The Bone March Falls |
Orvung was wrong, Ingemar raged! They should have heeded
Fruztii’s call to arms, but Orvung had stayed their hand. Indeed, he stayed
Fruztii’s hand, as well, when they could have rid the north of the Aerdi once
and for all.
In 563 the land fell to these invaders. its lord was
slain, and its army slain or enslaved. Humans in the area were likewise
enslaved or killed, and the whole territory is now ruled by one or more of the
humanoid chiefs. [WoGA – 20]
Ratik was now a haven for the Knights Protector, and
thus, would be an even tougher nut to crack than ever.
Most Knight Protectors of the Great Kingdom live now
in Ratik, refugees from Bone March, where Clement was a powerful member of the
order until the province's fall in 563 CY. [LGG – 158]
Worse, the Fruztii had turned to Ratik. How could they
do such a thing, Ingemar wondered, when three short years ago they had
urged Orvung to set Schnai’s berserkers on them? Could their betrayal be
because Orvung had spurned them? Was Orvung to blame, Ingemar wondered?
[Lexnol III of Ratik had] approached the lords of
Djekul, who had grown less wary of the proud Aerdi in the intervening years and
were even grudgingly respectful. With the Fruztii, Lexnol forged an affiliation
called the Northern Alliance. Ratik subsequently became fully independent of
the Great Kingdom and had the might to both hammer the orcs and gnolls of Bone
March and dissuade an invasion from North Province. [LGG – 91]
Yes, Ingemar blamed Orvung. He should have called upon
his clan to set sail, he knew then, but his thane restrained him. Remember
your oath to your king, his thane commanded him. Ingemar did; but he should
not have.
575 CY
Ingemar Hartensen is 43.
The Ratik-Frutzii alliance had not broken, much to
Ingemar’s surprise. Indeed, Fruztii relied more and more on Ratik and less and
less on their Rhizian brethren.
 |
| The Schnai; the Snow Leopards |
We Schnai ought to command the destiny of all Rhizians, Ingemar said; and he was pleased when he discovered that a great many of the others in his clan felt as he did. No sooner did they say so that the old thane “passed away” in his sleep, dishonouring their fjord, Ingemar said. He should have died leading his people into battle, he said, and the clan beat their spears against their shields at his words. Ingmar became thane of his village, to all the shields’ satisfaction.
A recent pact concluded between Fruztii and Ratik saw
a joint army wreak havoc in the Bone March, and during the next campaigning
season [576] clear the north pass of the "Fists." [WoGA – 21]
A major raid into Stonehold was mounted several years
ago by a combined force of Schnai and Cruski, though they were ultimately
driven back. [LGG – 106]
Orvung did this,
Ingemar reasoned. If the old fool had joined with Fruztii when asked, Ratik
would be no more.
576 CY
Kingdom of Schnai (Snow Barbarians): Orvung, F16
[WoGG – 17]
His Bellicose Majesty, King of the Schnai
Capital:
Soull (5,400)
Population:
90,000 +
Demi-humans:
Some
Humanoids: Many (in mountains)
Resources: copper, gems (L II)
[WoGA – 35]
The Snow Barbarians are the strongest and most
numerous of the northern peoples. Several decades ago they captured the west
coast below Glot and have managed to hold it since. For a time the Frost
Barbarians were under the thumb of the King of the Schnai, but the Fruztii are
now free except in pledge. This has not affected general concord with either
neighbor, as all three consider the Great Kingdom and the Sea Barons as their
most natural source of easy loot and profit. Although fighting invading
humanoids has become a national pastime, there are sufficient men left to man
the longships when campaigning season in the south is at hand. It is rumored
that the Baron of Ratik has sent messages to the King of the Schnai proposing
four-way cooperation to take the Hold of Stonefist and the Bone March.
Supposedly this proposal offers Glot and Krakenheim as possible gains for the
Schnai, while the Fruztii and Cruski would divide the Hold, part of Timberway
would be returned to the Frost Barbarians, and Ratik would rule Bone March. The
reaction to these proposals can not be guessed, but the Schnai are undoubtedly
keeping an eye on the joint Fruztii-Ratik ventures of late. [WoGA – 35]
Ingemar marvelled
that not only had the Fruztii alliance with Ratik endured, but it had also
flourished.
The alliance between Ratik and the Frost Barbarians
against the humanoids of the Bone March has borne fruit over years of
cooperation. The forces of Ratik now occupy the Loftwood and are preparing for
a major assault on the city of Johnsport, backed by a naval attack along the
coast to the east.
The other joint operation of these states has been
against the Hold of Stonefist. Fruztii forces have now secured the pass south
of the Hraak Forest and control the lands for 20 miles around. [WGS2 Howl
from the North – 6]
 |
| Rhizian Solidarity |
The Snow Barbarians have concentrated their attacks on
the Great Kingdom and Sea Baron shipping, although some of the Schnai are
assisting the Frost Barbarians in the Hold of Stonefist.
Rumors say that the King of the Snow Barbarians was
not pleased by a plan for the three barbarian groups to ally with Ratik. Not
that he didn’t trust the Baron of Ratik, who proposed the plan, but for simpler
reasons. Major invasions in the Bone March would drive tens of thousands of humanoids
into the North Province and might precipitate an attack from the Great Kingdom.
The King, being wily and crafty, prefers not to attract the Great Kingdom’s
full attention just now. [WGS – 6]
Ingemar took his
fleet to sea. It was time that the clans remembered that Vatun had decreed that
the Schnai were meant to temper their steel in the blood of their enemies.
Of late these raiders have joined with Frost and Snow
barbarians in order to counter the growing strength of the coastal defenders of
the Great Kingdom and the Sea Barons. [WoGA – 26]
They will raid their cousins to the south, the Snow
and Frost barbarians, or raid with them into Ratik or the more tempting Great
Kingdom. [WoGA – 26]
577 CY
Ingemar Hartensen is 45.
And so it was
that Ingemar took his ships into battle.
 |
| Ingemar took his ships into battle... |
The flagship was occupied with the help of prisoners
who broke free during the confused fighting and set fire to the vessel’s sail.
Jarl Froztilth, leader of the Schnai, many of his men, and the captured ship
were all taken to Asperdi. News of this success was said to have greatly
heartened the Herzog.
This event notwithstanding, many of the vessels from
the cold north did manage to avoid patrolling warships and successfully raid
North Province and the Baronial Isles. Captured cargo and undesired weapons are
said to find a ready market at Dekspoint (at the easternmost tip of Loftwood
Peninsula) or at Marner in Ratik. [Dragon #63 – 16]
Ingemar and his clan escaped. We Schnai have grown
weak, he told his shields. Orvung has weakened us. They agreed, They had
lain fallow for far too long.
578 CY
Spared defeat,
Ingmar’s raids became ever more daring. His fame rose among the Schnai, but
news of his exploits were ever overshadowed by Fruztii gains.
 |
| Ingemar |
c. 580 CY
 |
| Whispers in the Dark |
The Scarlet
Brotherhood was not pleased by this development. They had always been pleased
that the old king had always viewed the Ratikians with distrust, as his
forefathers had before him. The Ratikians were scions of the Great Kingdom,
Orvung had always growled, and whatever the fate of its mother country, its
true allegiance would always lay with it.
No longer. Orvung began treating with Ratik, potentially
undermining Shar’s influence on the peninsula. The old man had to go. They
panned for potential gold, and discovered Ingemar Hartensen waiting in the
wings. He is old, Shar whispered in Ingemar’s ears. Ancient, they
said. Past his time, they said.
He’ll die soon, Ingemar had said, wondering who
these red robed emissaries of Shar were, but sure of what they hinted at. He
did not trust them at first, thinking them spies of the old tyrant, trying to
lure him out and proclaimed a traitor. But their whispers became ever brazen,
and to the point.
Not soon enough, Shar coaxed.
580 CY
Ingemar had until then only caught glimpses of the red
robed emissaries of Shar. Their whispers worried him. What are they up to, he
wondered, when they told him, you should be king. What should they hope to gain by suggesting
what they had all but named?
 |
| Ingemar took measures... |
The time was ripe that Orvung be put to rest, he
declared. Orvung met his fate in the dark depths of night at age 90.
Ingemar Hartensen seized the Schnai throne to great
acclaim. He is 48.
Few rejoiced at the old king’s passing. Fewer still
protested. Even fewer took measures afterwards. To no avail. Few mourned their
passing, either.
[Orvung is king of the Schnai as of 576 CY, as noted in
the Greyhawk Boxed Set, and Ingemar Hartensen is king in 584 CY, as noted in
the from the ashes Boxed Set. References in the Living Greyhawk Gazetter hint
that the Fruztii and Cruski thrones are passed down through the ruling family,
and I would assume the Schnai no different. No mention was made of Ingemar’s
ancestry, so I took the liberty to add a little drama to the succession.]
582 CY
At 50 years of age Ingemar decreed that the Rhizians
should put aside their differences. They would be as one, as they once were.
The Schnai were the strongest of the three, he knew, so it was only a matter of
time beforethe Schnai would once again gain their rightful place among them. He
would bide his time until they were again under heel. But until then,
appeasement was a good a lure as any.
By the time of the Greyhawk Wars, the Cruski had
regained Ustula, and the Fruztii had nearly regained their independence. [LGG
– 106]
Ingemar increased the number of raids on the Great
Kingdom. He would have their wealth, and he would have them cower on their
shores.
The Snow Barbarians, or Schnai, are the most powerful
and populous group, dominating Grendep Bay and the northern Solnor Ocean with
their longships. Their marauding armies, along with those of the Ice
Barbarians, have made these savages a major force in the land. [WGS2 – 6]
All Rhizians
share the same belief as do Ingemar and the Schnai. The believe that one day
Vatun will return and that he will lead them to their rightful place in the
world.
If there was a
way to bind the Rhizians together and subvert them, this would be the way. Iuz
did. With ease.
In 582 CY, the god Vatun appeared to his subjects
among the barbarian tribes of the Thillonrian Peninsula. Ancient legend
predicted that the return of Vatun, who had vanished centuries ago, would
signal the birth of a barbarian empire in the north. Unfortunately, this
particular "Vatun" was actually Iuz, whipping the northmen into a war
frenzy.
The barbarians invaded the Hold of Stonefist, which
allied with them after Iuz ensorcelled Sevvord Redbeard, the Master of the Hold
The combined host then smashed through the Griffs and into the duchy of Tenh, which
was swiftly overwhelmed. [LGG – 15]
But not for
long.
[T]he Schnai, [were] drawn in by the false Vatun that
briefly deceived them all. When it was revealed that this was a deception of
Iuz the Old, the Suel barbarians withdrew from the alliance created between
their nations and the Stonehold. [LGG
– 106]
The barbarian alliance soon crumbled, but the damage
was done; Tenh and Stonefist belonged to the Old One. [LGG – 15]
584 CY
SNOW BARBARIANS (KINGDOM OF SCHNAI)
Ruler: His Bellicose Majesty, King Ingemar Hartensen of
the Schnai
[FtAA – 37]
Ingemar Hartensen is 52.
Ingemar has chosen to remain in Orvung’s alliance with
Ratik, for the time being.
The Snow Barbarians are the strongest and most
numerous of the northern Suel peoples. They claim suzerainty over all the
barbarian peoples, especially the Cruskii, and are rather patronizing toward
them. However, they have allied with their fellows against the Great Kingdom
for many decades and have been known to make occasional forays against the Sea
Barons.
Their alliance with Ratik is less cemented than that
of the Cruskii, but Ingemar seems amenable to continued cooperation after the
events of the Wars. He also has great hatred for the Stonefisters, and wishes
to mount a joint expedition with the other barbarian races through the Griff
Mountains to lay waste to Kelten. Time will tell if this comes to fruition.
The Snow Barbarians share many characteristics with
their brethren, but are the palest of all, many being almost albinoid.
Platinum-blond hair is not unusual. Their womenfolk have an unearthly beauty
and are often found as a trainers (dogs and dog-wolf hybrids), scouts, rangers,
druids, or the like, despite the dominant chauvinism of their men. This is a
proud and strong race. [FtAA – 37, 38]
The warriors of the Schnai are typical of the Suel
barbarians. They usually ply axe or sword in battle, and wear sturdy chainmail
coats. All use round shields, including the berserkers, who otherwise go
unarmored except for skins. Those berserkers dedicated to Vatun wield
shortspears or battleaxes, while the followers of Kord favor the broadsword.
The king himself favors Kord and has a company of berserkers among his
household. They are usually kept at Knudje, rather than at the king's court in
Soull, though the king sometimes sends them to guest at the halls of
particularly troublesome jarls. The king's other troops are of a more standard
variety, including companies of good archers. He has a few horsemen as well,
masters of the long, scything axe. [LGG – 105]
They still assert their supremacy over the Ice and
Frost Barbarians, but such claims are now ignored by their neighbors. Trade
continues between the three barbarian states as it always has, and they freely
mingle together on raiding expeditions to the southern lands. Shipwrights of
the Snow Barbarians are still considered to be the most skilled in Rhizia, and
Schnai captains are felt to be the luckiest. [LGG – 105]
590 CY
 |
| King Ingemar |
An intermittent war smolders with Stonehold. King
Ingemar generously feasts and rewards his chaotic jarls to insure their
loyalty. Frost Barbarian jarls also being feted to gain their friendship and
influence; this is viewed as blatant bribery, but it works. The king receives
Scarlet Brotherhood agents at court, but privately says he does not trust them.
[LGG – 106]
Nor should he.
Ingemar and his jarls
pondered their future.
The Fruztii and
Cruski had slipped from their grasp, for the present. But they had before. And
likely would again. But the Cruski were few. And the Fruztii brash. Neither
could stand without the Schnai for long. They never had. And never will.
The other barbarian nations, once strong allies of the
Frost Barbarians, have begun to pull away from their more sophisticated
cousins. As the Scarlet Brotherhood and Ratik nobles gain more influence at
court, old allies feel less welcome. [WGG3e – 8]
Ingemar watched his southern “kin.” They professed that
they were true to the Schnai. But they had been rumoured to have been seen in
Djekul. And Krakenheim. Did they whisper those same promises there that they
had to him? He also took note that he was not the only jarl in his hall they
lingered nearby.
He recalled when they had first approached him. And
pondered whether they might be plotting against him even now.
Ingemar Hartensen is 58.
One must always give credit where
credit is due. This piece is made possible primarily by the Imaginings of Gary
Gygax and his Old Guard, Lenard Lakofka among them, and the new old guards,
Carl Sargant, James Ward, Roger E. Moore. And Erik Mona, Gary Holian, Sean
Reynolds, Frederick Weining. The list is interminable.
Special thanks to Jason Zavoda for his
compiled index, “Greyhawkania,” an invaluable research tool.
The Art:
Sources:
1015
World of Greyhawk Boxed Set, 1983
1064
From the Ashes Boxed Set, 1992
9317
WGS1 Five Shall be One, 1991
9337
Howl from the North, 1991
11743
Living Greyhawk Gazeteer, 2000
Dragon
Magazine 57,63
Oerth
Journal #1, as found on Greyhawk Online
Greyhawkania,
Jason Zavoda
The
map of Anna B. Meyer
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