History of Lorkhan
Etymology
Modern etymologists believe the country's name means "the northward route" (the way north), which in Old Norse would be nor veg or *norð vegr. The Old Norse name for Norway was Nóregr, in Anglo-Saxon Norþ weg, and in mediaeval Latin Northvegia. The present name of the Kingdom of Norway in Norwegian Bokmål is "Kongeriket Norge" and in Norwegian Nynorsk "Kongeriket Noreg", both only a couple of letters removed from the original "northern way"; "Nor(d)-(v)eg".
Pre-historic Tribes: 10,000 B.C - 800 A.D
Recent archaeological finds suggest that hunters from the southern territories of Corellus could travel far north into Norgeland as early as the start of Holocene, 12 000 years ago, when the icecap was still on the highland. Temporary settlements and traces of tipis have been found as far north as the Jethro region in Lorkhan, and extend into coastal Gravedom.
The natural populace of Lorkhan, the Bjørneske has existed for tens of thousands of years in the Jethro Mountains. Human hunter-gatherers first came into contact with the Bjørneske around 8,000 B.C, starting a war that would last into the middle ages. Tensions between the two cultures exist even today between the people of Lorkhan and members of the Bjørneske Cult.
Lorkhan, as well as the adjacent country Gravedom, has a high concentration of petroglyph's throughout the country. These glyphs tell the early story of Lorkhan well. They depict savage bear people waging war with the indigenous tribes, and local fauna such as the fox, bear, elk, and wolf. The most famous of these carvings is the thirty feet tall and one hundred feet wide [Wall of Svorda], which depicts the long fought war the Bjørneske, and the triumphs and tragedies that came with the conflict. The carvings of this date between 6,000 B.C and 750 A.D
The end of this period came in the early dark ages. Many of the local tribes had moved to the safety of the already established Kingdom of Dasfurer and into the coastal territories of Gravedom. Those that remained likely died out by around 1300. AD.
The Viking Expansion
The first foreign people who explored Norgeland came in early 800 A.D during the height of the great Viking expanse. Sailors from Norway had been sent to explore the Americas, but their route had been inappropriately calculated and their ships came upon the shores of southern Corellus and Norgeland. Here they had mingled with the Germanic people and local tribes in the Kingdom of Dasfurer, and would gradually explore the northern reaches of Lorkhan. Again the humans were met by the Bjørneske, but this time the odds had been in the favor of the Viking explorers. Entire Bjørneske packs had been wiped out limiting their numbers to a meager few hundred around the middle ages.
By 1000 A.D several dozen petty kingdoms had been established by the many different settlers. This had begun the clan structure that is so relevant in Lorkhan's culture today.
