Greater Normark

Kingdom of Greater Normark Större Normark
Flag
Motto: Mother Nature smiles at its sons and daughters
Anthem: Past the seven rivers and the seven valleys, seven kings rest for seven eras
Map of Greater Normark
Capital	Oskarsviik
Official languages	Normanish, Vaalian, Sunuuti
Ethnic groups (2016)	Normarkians, Sunuuts, Vaali
Demonym(s)	Normarkian
Government	Parliamentarian Monarchy
• King	Valdemar VII
• Prime Minister	Dan Haugen
Establishment
• Kingdom of Normark	January 15, 1604
• Kingdom of Normark and Vapmi-Nuunusaq	September 2, 1886
• Kingdom of Greater Normark	February 27, 1945
Area
• Total	2,093,190 km2 (808,190 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	8,582,079
• Density	4.1/km2 (10.6/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	655,576 billions
• Per capita	76,389
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	686,437 billions
• Per capita	79,985
Gini (2020)	28.1 low
HDI (2020)	0.959 very high
Currency	Normarkian Crown (NMK)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy

Normark, officially known as the Kingdom of Greater Normark (Norwegian: Rike av Større Normark) is a democratic constitutional monarchy located on the continent of Nortua in the Coalition of Crown Albatross. It is bordered by New Anea to the east, Bikal, Norlansia and Mobina to the south and Sprotavia to the west. It is also bordered to the north by the Northern Ocean. By geographical area, it is one of the largest countries in Nortua with an area of 808,190 square miles and one of the least densely populated countries on the planet Iearth with a population of 8.6 million. The administrative capital and largest city is Oskarsviik, and with a population of 1.72 million it has a fifth of the normarkian population. 90% of the population inhabits the southern and southeastern parts of the country, due the inhospitable and close to inhabitable very cold permafrost and tundra climate of the northern and northwestern parts of the country.

Normark was first inhabited by adulan folks migrating from northeastern Adula to southwestern Beatavic and then continued migrating northeast when the ice sheets began to slowly retreat until they reached Lake Presyk and the area around modern Bikalian and Normarkian borders around 9000 years ago. These adulan migrants would later migrate east and south, roaming around as smaller nomadic tribes. It wasn’t until around 7000 years ago that the earliest agricultural settlements appeared east of Lake Presyk and around the river Bjurå where the towns of Bjure and Veiranger are now. Nomadic vaali tribes migrated from the east and had their reindeer driven livestock in the central parts of modern Normark around 7000 years ago. Around 5000 years ago were the first vaali agricultural settlements created around the Golden Valley, and over the next thousand years different vaali tribes migrated east and south, creating their own cultures, chiefdoms and ways of sustaining themselves. Many different tribes, kingdoms and chiefdoms were formed where Normark now is, after the migration and expansion of the Bjurå settlers. Around the 7th century was the Kingdom of Nor created, by Norfolk and the legendary King Sveinir the blind around the river Bjurå, which would become the predecessor to Normark.

Around the early medieval period the Kingdom of Nor expanded from just around Bjurå westwards toward Lake Presyk and eastwards toward the modern norlansian border. During this period were the southern parts of modern day Normark consisting of several smaller kingdoms, with Nor being the largest of these ones. During a period of 54 years were the other kingdoms either annexed by Nor or joined as a vassal under King Oscar the prosperous. The Kingdom of Normark was created 1604, when the kings of Østerdaal, Brekket, Lovanger, Sotheim, Nor and Sunnerland signed the treaty of Viik, integrating the former kingdoms as vassals under the kingdom of Nor and with Oscar the prosperous as their first king. The kingdom changed name from Nor to Normark, to encompass that the kingdom was the land of the northern people, not only the norfolk. During the next centuries the kingdom expanded both east and north, and by the 20th century Normark encompassed an area stretching from the border of Mobina in the south, to the new Anean border in the east, Lake Baffan in the west and the ocean in the north. 1886 was the constitution rewritten and the name changed, to encompass the creation of two normarkian protectorates in the form of the vaali inhabited state of Vapmi and the sunuuti inhabited state of Nuunusaq. During the world war was normarkian nationalism rising and the normarkian government worried that neighbouring states would try to land grab or start rebellions in their protectorates, so they rewrote the constitution to integrate Vapmi and Nuunusaq into Normark and to create a more unified normarkian integrity. The former protectorates became normarkian regions but they still kept some autonomy, for example they were allowed stronger juridical power over certain regions were their respective ethnicities were a majority. The state also changed its official name to Greater Normark, to include Vapmi and Nuunusaq, not only the original normarkian region.

Normark has advanced rapidly in the fields of technology while maintaining the steady economic gains of mining, logging, and fracking. Normark is known for its cultural diversity, stunning natural beauty, and social liberties. Same-sex marriage was legalized in 1979, and marijuana has been legalized since 2011. Tax rates tend to be high thanks to public healthcare and a strong welfare system. Normark is a highly developed nation, with high standards of living, a relatively strong military and a strong government relatively free of corruption.

Etymology

The Etymology of Normark comes from the normarkian words Nor for north and mark for land. Normark means the land of the northern people, and its name translated literally means Northern Land. The name Nor also comes from the kingdom of Nor and the people of Norfolk that were highly active in the creationg of the Kingdom of Normark. Norfolk stood for the folk of the north and Konongariket Nor meant the Kingdom of the North. The name Normark could therefore also be read as the land of the norfolk, which would be read as the land of the northern people.

History

Normark was first inhabited by adulan folks migrating from northeastern Adula to southwestern Beatavic and then continued migrating northeast when the ice sheets began to slowly retreat until they reached Lake Presyk and the area around modern Bikalian and Normarkian borders around 9000 years ago. These adulan migrants would later migrate east and south, roaming around as smaller nomadic tribes. It wasn’t until around 7000 years ago that the earliest agricultural settlements appeared east of Lake Presyk and around the river Bjurå where the towns of Bjure and Veiranger are now. Nomadic vaali tribes migrated from the east and had their reindeer driven livestock in the central parts of modern Normark around 7000 years ago. Around 5000 years ago were the first vaali agricultural settlements created around the Golden Valley, and over the next thousand years different vaali tribes migrated east and south, creating their own cultures, chiefdoms and ways of sustaining themselves. Many different tribes, kingdoms and chiefdoms were formed where Normark now is, after the migration and expansion of the Bjurå settlers. Around the 7th century was the Kingdom of Nor created, by Norfolk and the legendary King Sveinir the blind around the river Bjurå, which would become the predecessor to Normark.

Around the early medieval period the Kingdom of Nor expanded from just around Bjurå westwards toward Lake Presyk and eastwards toward the modern norlansian border. During this period were the southern parts of modern day Normark consisting of several smaller kingdoms, with Nor being the largest of these ones. During a period of 54 years were the other kingdoms either annexed by Nor or joined as a vassal under King Oscar the prosperous. The Kingdom of Normark was created 1604, when the kings of Østerdaal, Brekket, Lovanger, Sotheim, Nor and Sunnerland signed the treaty of Viik, integrating the former kingdoms as vassals under the kingdom of Nor and with Oscar the prosperous as their first king. The kingdom changed name from Nor to Normark, to encompass that the kingdom was the land of the northern people, not only the norfolk. During the next centuries the kingdom expanded both east and north, and by the 20th century Normark encompassed an area stretching from the border of Mobina in the south, to the new Anean border in the east, Lake Baffan in the west and the ocean in the north. 1886 was the constitution rewritten and the name changed, to encompass the creation of two normarkian protectorates in the form of the vaali inhabited state of Vapmi and the sunuuti inhabited state of Nuunusaq. During the world war was normarkian nationalism rising and the normarkian government worried that neighbouring states would try to land grab or start rebellions in their protectorates, so they rewrote the constitution to integrate Vapmi and Nuunusaq into Normark and to create a more unified normarkian integrity. The former protectorates became normarkian regions but they still kept some autonomy, for example they were allowed stronger juridical power over certain regions were their respective ethnicities were a majority. The state also changed its official name to Greater Normark, to include Vapmi and Nuunusaq, not only the original normarkian region.

Pre-history of Normark (9000 BCE-4th century)

Normark was first inhabited by adulan folks migrating from northeastern Adula to southwestern Beatavic and then continued migrating northeast when the ice sheets began to slowly retreat until they reached Lake Presyk and the area around modern Bikalian and Normarkian borders around 9000 years ago. These adulan migrants would later migrate east and south, roaming around as smaller nomadic tribes. It wasn’t until around 7000 years ago that the earliest agricultural settlements appeared east of Lake Presyk and around the river Bjurå where the towns of Bjure and Veiranger are now. Nomadic vaali tribes migrated from the east and had their reindeer driven livestock in the central parts of modern Normark around 7000 years ago. Around 5000 years ago were the first vaali agricultural settlements created around the Golden Valley, and over the next thousand years different vaali tribes migrated east and south, creating their own cultures, chiefdoms and ways of sustaining themselves. The first ethnic and cultural split is hypothesized to have happened around this time. The so-called Urvaali split into three major ethnic divisions. Those who stayed as reindeer herders around the Aroukoska region became the Nordvaali. Those who traveled westwards became the Storvaali, and this ethnic group split into several ethnicities in turn. Those who stayed around the Golden Valley and Gudavaggan and became settlers dependent on forestry and hunting in the forests are known as Skogvaali, those who traveled further westwards and became nomadic hunters and warriors are known as Divaali and those who traveled to Lake Presyk and mostly focused on agriculture and fishing became known as Västvaali. Those who traveled south and later east are called Östvaali, but they were and still are much fewer in number compared to the other groups. The ethnicities weren't and aren't bound to their lifestyles or their work, but thanks to several hundred years of isolation from each other led to different languages or dialects, different cultures, different physical features and even different religions.

Around 3000 years ago it is hypothesized that a few tribes of Nordvaali migrated north past the mountains when the climate became warmer, and inhabited the northern parts of Normark. When the weather later became colder again and these parts got the permafrost back and got put below snow, most of these tribes died but those who survived adapted and would become the ancestors of the inuit people. They would continue migrating north until they reached the ocean, and they would populate northern Normark and the southern tips of the islands. Stone Tools and symbols that have been found in Aroukoska have also been found in the home regions of the inuit, and a vague trace of archeological findings related to the nordvaali has been found leading from Aroukoska to northern Normark.

Age of Chiefdoms (late 4th century to late 9th century)

Around the 4th and 5th century the first scripts naming any type of kingdoms or people in southern Normark appeared. These scripts name the existence of many different earldoms, chiefdoms and petty kingdoms that were said to be inhabited by “the barbaric people of the mountains and the north”. These different chiefdoms were inhabited by the people that would later be known as normarkians and most of these chiefdoms would later, at least the geographical areas they were in, become a part of the Kingdom of Normark. The number of different chiefdoms, and the similarity of their language and cultures, has dubbed this period of history as the age of chiefdoms for the country of Normark. This period is dated from the 4th or 5th century, when the first script named the existence of any folk in the region of modern day Normark, to the 10th century when the medieval period began. The Petty Kingdom of Nor was formed around the river Bjurå during the 7th century by legendary king Sveinir the blind, and around the 9th century is the town of Viik, which would later become Oskarsviik, noted in any type of scripture. A few scriptures name the town of Bjure, centered around Fort Bjure, as the trade and power center of the north. The age of chiefdoms ended around the 10th when the smaller city states, petty kingdoms and earldoms were absorbed by larger Kingdoms and a more distinct culture, language, religion, political system and feudal system were created. A more defined political, economical and religious stability ensued, becoming the end for the small individualistic forts and town-states. This process began around the late 9th century when several forts and villages around Bjurå from south of Viik down to Lake Presyk were taken over by the Kingdom of Nor, which began the unifying of one distinct norfolk identity. Several kingdoms would follow the next decade after smaller forts and villages expanded by taking over several neighbors, with the biggest ones of these newly formed kingdoms being the kingdom of Brekket, Sunnerland and Lovanger. The official ending of the age of chiefdoms is a very discussed subject, but most historians date it to the event known as the banquet of blood, which was when King Heigr the red of Nor invited a bunch of mercenaries, chiefs and jarls to his castle for a banquet, which ended with King Heigr the red and his men killing all guests. This event would allow King Heigr to take control of a bunch of forts and villages to the east, south and west of his kingdom.

Medieval Period (late 9th century to 1604)

The medieval period began around the late 9th and the middle of the 10th century, when the normarkian tribes began to create a uniform identity, culture and similar languages, and with the small individualistic chiefdoms and tribes getting replaced by 5 kingdoms; the kingdoms of Østerdaal, Brekket, Nor, Sunnerland and Lovanger. The medieval period worked as both the period where a uniformed language, culture and identity were created between the kingdoms when the Kingdom of Nor’s influence spread to the other kingdoms and as a period where the Kingdom of Nor expanded due to successful wars and battles against the other kingdoms. During the medieval period did the kingdom of Nor also expand immensely, and is often called the first instance of Greater Normark. The kingdoms of Nor and Sunnerland were in constant wars with each other, with the former kingdom annexing the latter one before Sunnerland broke free after the First Norish Civil War. The different paganistic religions in the region also started to get replaced by the norish religion of x, due to missionaries and forced occupation from the norish kingdom, with only the kingdom of Lovanger keeping its paganistic religion until it joined the kingdom of Nor during the late 17th century.

In the year 1011 was the first law book and juridical system implemented into Nor by Leif II, called the “Word of the king” in old nornish (Kongaird). The Kongaird didn’t only decide what was legal and not, but it also created the feudal system that would then be used by most normarkian kingdoms during the medieval period and it also divided the kingdom of Nor into vassals, courtships and townships. The kingdom had already de facto been ruled by a similar position and the formalization was a way to legitimize the king’s power. Due to infighting, marriage and other conflicts the amount of vassals, courtships and townships and their sizes varied a lot, leading to it very often being extremely hard to understand who had the most power and also made the king at some points almost powerless. One clear example of this was when the nornish vassal of Veiranger got incorporated into the vassal of Bjure after Jarl Nils Bjøver married the daughter of the baron of Veiranger, and when the king asked for help in the First Norish civil war would Jarl Nils Bjøver ignore the king and instead helped Sunnerland to break free, killing the king in the process. These actions would then quickly lead to the second nornish civil war after Jarl Nils Bjøver failed to crown himself king of Nor, and when the war was done the vassal of Bjure seperated into three smaller and more powerless vassals ruled by the new king’s closest men. In a short amount of time the vassal and king dynamic shifted drastically, and it had even led to two civil wars in a short succession.

The Nor-sunner war (1022-1027)

In the year of 1022, only eleven years after the kongaird was implemented by Leif II, had relations between Nor and Sunnerland begun to crumble after a petty conflict between KIng Leif II of Nor and King Gottfrid the Ill-tempered of Sunnerland that came from a failed marriage between the nornian prince Valdemar and the sunnerlandian princess Sigrid. Leif II believed that in order to be able to defend themselves against their eastern and northern neighbours that a southern alliance would be needed, and the best way for alliances was through marriage. Gottfrid the Ill-tempered was offended of the proposal, because Leif II hadn’t offer the crown prince but what he deemed as the least noble and favourable of the princes. Gottfrid instead married away princess Sigrid to the King of Lovanger Heindrik Hølver, which created an alliance between Sunnerland and Lovanger, two kingdoms that surrounded Nor on different sides. The King of Nor felt threatened of this alliance and feared that both Lovanger and Sunnerland would attack him, and decided that the best way to deal with this alliance was to attack Sunnerland and force them into an alliance with themselves. The war officially began in the fall of 1022 and ended five years later after a forced marriage between King Gottfrid the Ill-tempered and the nornian Princess Maurit. In the coming 20 years would Sunnerland be a vassal to Nor ruled by Gottfrid the Ill-tempered and during this time would the Kongaird be forced down on the vassal and the troen på den nedgående solen (the faith of the setting sun) would introduced into the sunnerlandian people.

Geography

Greater Normark has an area of 2,093,190 km2 (808,190 sq mi). It is bordered to the west by Sprotavia and Villorvi, to the east by New Anea, to the south by Bikal, Mobina and Norlansia, and to the north by the Northern Ocean. Greater Normark consists of several mountains, rivers and valleys to the south but the majority of the country, which exist north of the arctic, is dominated by vast areas covered with permafrost, taiga forests and mountains. The area north of the polar circle is divided between regions having a subarctic climate and a tundra climate, with the tundra climate dominating further north and closer to the Northern Ocean. The most northern points of the northern islands even have an ice cap climate and the islands are largerly inhabited. The northern areas of Normark are very inhospitable and most people therefore lives in the south which has a humid continental climate and land fit for agricultural purposes. Furthermore are the southern valleys of the giant rivers flowing through Normark great agricultural land with early normarkian civilisations getting created arounf the southern parts of the river of Bjurå which flows from Lake Presyk to the northern ocean. The southern region is also covered with temperate broadleaf and mixed forests.

Demographics

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1830	2,279,005	—
1840	2,498,165	+9.6%
1850	2,673,483	+7.0%
1860	2,896,244	+8.3%
1870	3,049,734	+5.3%
1880	3,526,384	+15.6%
1890	3,628,190	+2.9%
1900	4,003,776	+10.4%
1910	4,543,823	+13.5%
1920	5,109,437	+12.4%
1930	5,739,745	+12.3%
1940	6,203,567	+8.1%
1950	6,735,103	+8.6%
1960	7,345,876	+9.1%
1970	7,456,202	+1.5%
1980	7,394,662	−0.8%
1990	7,580,321	+2.5%
2000	7,951,009	+4.9%
2010	8,337,121	+4.9%
2020	8,582,079	+2.9%

The 2020 Normark Census enumerated a total population of 8,582,079, an increase of around 2.9 percent over the 2010 figure. Between 2010 and 2020, Normark's population grew by 230 thousand people. Between 1980 and 2010, the population increased by a little more than 1 million, equivalent to 13.9 percent overall growth. The main drivers of population growth since the population and emigration crisis of the 1970s are immigration and, to a lesser extent, natural growth.

The most densely populated part of the country, accounting for nearly 90 percent, are the southern regions bordering Norlansia. Around 7 percent live around Lake Bikal and east towards the Golden valley, and only 3% live north of the polar circle. In common with many other developed countries, Normark is experiencing a demographic shift towards an older population, with more retirees and fewer people of working age. In 2002, the average age was 39.5 years; by 2020, it had risen to approximately 40 years. As of 2020, the average life expectancy for Normarkians is 83 years.

Culture

Cuisine

Normarkian cuisine (Normarkian: Normsk mat) in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in the normarkian valleys, mountains, wilderness and to some extent the hills and the fields of the southernmost tip. It differs in many respects from the normarkian cuisine in the historic kingdom of Nor and early Normark to the cuisines of the sunuuts living near the cold and frozen coast in the north and to the different vapmi cuisines based on the central parts of modern Normark. Many of the traditional dishes are the result of using conserved materials, necessary because of the long winters and the mountainous terrain. The traditional cuisine of the sunuuts is heavily based on fishing and sometimes seal or whale game, due to the permafrosted land and extremely cold temparatures making it impossible for agriculture and livestock. The traditional cuisine of the vapmi really depends which culture or tribe, with the vapmi near Lake Presyk having a cuisine based on fishing, certain livestock consisting of cows, the growing of potatoes, beets and other vegetables that are tolerant to the cold. The vapmi based in eastern Vapmi has a more diverse cuisine based on hunting game and to some extent agriculture with beets, potatoes and beans. The cuisine of the normarkians varies a lot but is mostly based on hunting game, husbandry of livestock of sheep, cows and pigs and agriculture of wheat, beans, beets, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes.

Modern Normarkian cuisine, although still strongly influenced by its traditional background, has been influenced by globalization and also the mixing of cuisines of the different cultures in Normark that used to be isolated from each other: pasta, pizza, tacos, and the like have become some of the most popular foods and foreign cuisines have been given a normarkian take and normarkian dishes have been remade with new spices and condiments.

Sports

Sports in Greater Normark consist of a wide variety of games but with winter games being the most popular. The most common sports are ice hockey, association football, floorball, curling, cross-country skiing and Alpine skiing, with ice hockey and association football being the official winter and summer sports, respectively.

Ice hockey is Normark's most prevalent winter sport, its most popular spectator sport, and one of its most successful winter sports in international competition, with only cross-country skiing and alpine skiing being more successfull internationally. Furthermore is ice hockey Normark's second most popular sport, with only association football having more active players. Normark has also had moderate to good success in the past in a variety of winter sports, with speed skating, skijumping, freestyle skiing and bobsleigh having all been sports that Normark has dominated in the past and have moderate popularity in the country. Association football is Normark's second most popular spectator sport, but its popularit is mostly focused to the southern more warmer and populous regions of Normark, which contrasts with Ice hockey which is popular in the entirety of the country with even competing clubs as north as the northern islands. The Elitetoppen is the highest association football league in Normark, and is the sport leage in Normark with the 2nd highets spectator rate, only being beaten by Normark's highest hockey league called NIHL. Normark also has a strong tradition of Floorball with Normark being early in Iearth to have a floorball team. Due to the country's floorball tradition and the sport's international obscurity, Normark has had relative success in floorball championships in the past.

Internationally, Normark often competes well compared to its population in international winter events such as the Olympic Winter Games. In other sporting events, such as the association football cup the World Cup has Normark had minor success with the Greater Normark national football team, also known as the Wolverines. Normark's biggest achievement in association fottball however was achieved when Greater Normark women's national football team won 1999 Women's World Cup. Normark also hosted the 2005 Winter Olympic Games in Brekket.

Recreation

Since Normark has a varied mountainous terrain and massive forests in the south, the country has for a long time been popular for hiking, camping, mountaineering, hunting and fishing. Even the the barren permafrost ridden northern Normark is popular with adventurers and hikers seeking a more challenging experience. The region of Østerdaal is also famous for its many downhill and mountainbike trails that goes through the lower parts of the Tannfjell mountain range.

Water sports, both motorized and non-motorized, are mostl enjoyed in lakes in the south, seeing how the northern coastline very often is either covered by ice or the water too cold to do any activities in. Due to this fact are sailing and other sports needing larger bodies of water mostly restricted to the area around Brekket and western Normark. Water activities in Normark is most often based in its many different rivers that stretches across the entirety of its massive land mass.

In the winter, cross-country, telemark skiing and downhill skiing are enjoyed in the mountainous regions of Normark, with the regions of Østerdaal, Vapmi and Oskarsviik being the most popular places to ski in due to their beautiful mountain landscapes and snowy winters. Østerdaal is by far the most popular for downhill skiing seeing how the largest mountain range in Normark passes through it, the Tannfjell mountain range.

Greater Normark also has a high participation in sports like association football, ice hockey, curling, golf, volley ball, basketball, handball, floorball, skateboards, athletics and so on.