¶ The Mjut
¶ History
The Mjut Tribe formerly occupied a great city in Norway called Kaupang.
Following the death of Jarl Gunnar Njalson, Frostulf Gunnarson was raised to Jarl. After this, he had the tribe moved from Kaupang to an un-named city south of Kiev along the Dneiper Pass.
Jarl Frostulf foresaw a future in which the long-term success of the tribe was measured against the other great empires of the world, and decided the course of action was to loosen their ties to traditional sea-faring culture and invest in trade and economic power. The Mjut people became trading partners and go-betweens for those in Norway and those in the Byzantine Empire to the south.
After a number of years of establishing themselves in their new city, Frostulf has led a group to the Valley of the Jarls for the blessing of Odin. This blessing will give them the right to dominate trade between the Nords, Rus, and Byzantines.
¶ Pre-History
¶ Origin
The Mjut are said to have been founded when a warrior named Auki was thrown from the bifrost by Thor. His name was stripped from him and in turn he called himself The Mjut. He founded a people of great strength which have persevered to this day.
¶ Ownership of Kaupang
Kaupang was held by a group of Viking the Mjut called “firar ójafnaðr” or “The Unjust People”. They had clear-cut and razed much Mjut land and left them destitute and starving. The Jarl of Kaupang taunted the Mjut and Jarl Gunnar by calling for a þing. There the Jarl said his land would be available for purchase for the sum of a mountain of coal. The Jarl of Kaupang knew they would be unable to pay the price for their land was barren now, thanks to him.
He did know the cunning of the Mjut or the strength of its warriors.
The Mjut conspired with Jarl Gunnar to slay quietly in the weeks ahead the Kaupang people and its warriors. In the end, they presented to the Jarl of Kaupang a mountain of coal all made from the bodies of his people before slaughtering him and using his Sviðarkol to forge the weapons Jarl Gunnarson and Frostulf would eventually wield. The trade hub now belonged to the Mjut and would give them enough wealth and security to prosper into the modern age.
¶ Vidar's Gambit
(See Stories Below)
¶ Traditions & Culture
¶ Faith
Vidar is the principle figure of worship for the Mjut, but they have a pantheon of other gods and goddesses of worship from many cultures. They are deeply pagan, but with their burgeoning trade relationship to the south and many tribesmen coming from the Byzantines, some Christian influence has emerged as well.
¶ Aggression
The Mjut have been directed by Frostulf to operate defensively for the most part, though raids have been and are still conducted. They are primarily focused on economic growth and centralization at this time, similar to what they previously established in Kaupang.
¶ Thrall
The Mjut have profited from and maintained a culture of Thralls either given or seized in raids or political maneuvering. They are given no rights as citizens and are restricted from keeping personal belongings.
¶ Joining the tribe as an outsider
The Mjut have accepted a buy-in from those within the Byzantine culture or outside of the Jarldom. For a fee of gold or for an agreement to work off their debt as Thralls, outsiders are permitted into their community and given full citizenship.
¶ Sviðarkol
The practice of Sviðarkol, or Coal Of Burnt Flesh is a strongly held belief in the tribe. The Mjut people only uses burnt meat as fuel for their forges. This meat can come from their honored dead, those slaughtered in combat, or the remains of creatures. They believe the spirit of the thing which is burned imbues their weapons, tools, etc. with power. The stronger the creature, the better the coal, the more powerful the weapon, the more impactful the armor. In a similar vein, their dead are not buried, but burned along with their belongings. The fuel from the burning of their honorable dead or their slaughtered enemies is the greatest enhancement of all.
¶ The Hunt
The people of Frostulf have a tradition of gaining honor in ritualized combat. One expression of this is Vigr Bardagi or Blood Blot. A hunter lures in prey and engages them in hand to hand combat to the death witnessed by the tribe. Life for life. Honor for blood.
¶ The Braid
Braided hair is a reward granted to individuals by the Jarl alone. It is given for acts of bravery or honor, for benefitting the Mjut. It is a great honor to wear them and a massive shame to have them later removed.
These people have been granted the braid from either Frostulf or Gunnar:
- Hefna Refr (Voluntarily lost them)
- Reginald Von Barr
- Ödd Boardbinder
- Jotunn Ironhand
- Gyth Marigold
- Dag Halvdan
- Basil Mudlilly
- Valgrad Griffith Barr
¶ Power Structure
The Jarldom's power structure is arranged in this manner:
Jarl - The unquestioned leader of the Mjut. They dictate the direction and state of the tribe in all matters.
Thanes - The Thanes are the acting will of the Jarl. They are the left and right hands. Should anything happen to the Jarl, they will be replaced by one of the Thanes. They are elected by the tribe. Chieftains are not eligible to become Thane, nor any Lawspeaker.
Chieftains - The heads of the clans of the Jarldom. They commune with the Jarl & their Thanes for direction and tribal/community needs.
Lawspeakers - This special religious class of citizen handles dispute, conflict, and issues of law within and outside of the tribe. They may hold no other position of power (presitgious roles are not included in this) but may reside in Clans.
Karl - The populace of the Mjut. They enjoy the full protection of the Jarldom and all the rights of citizenry.
Thrall - Non-citizen populace of the Mjut who have no rights or protections under the law of the Mjut.
////
The Mjut have several other prestigious positions that do not come with additional power within the tribe:
Banamaðr - Executioner and keeper of criminals. This would as you may imagine be a very part time job, but when needed, important. When the time comes to slaughter or to keep a prisoner, hiring guards, etc. that's you. You would also help with Holmgang with the Gothi. Valgrad Griffith Barr / Bjorn Barr
Goði - This primary responsibility of the Gothi is to lead feasts and prayers and sacrifice for religious or tribal ceremony. Think of a mix between poet, priest, counselor, party planner, and ritual bloodspiller. You would be expected to know much about Vidar for our people. You would coordinate with cooks and farmers to prepare feasts. You would lead Blot with the Jarl. Hefna Refr
Svidarkolgæta (Literally, "Keeping the Svidarkol together")- You oversee creation and distribution of Svidarkol. You would be in charge of its ceremony and use and ensuring everyone has enough to do what they need. You'd be working with smiths and anyone else. Farmers and hunters would report to you with their meat. Eirin Snow / Hepha Borrkson
Thrallgæta - You oversee the Thrall. You ensure they are not using wards. You ensure they are doing what is required of them. You would punish or reward the thrall as you see fit while also keeping track of their payment. You would probably be working closely with the Svidarkolgaeta. Dag Halvdan
Efla (The Supporter) - You are in charge of public works, construction, community planning. You plan roads, building sites, homesteads, you help keep buildings in the right places and the right sizes. You work with everyone. Upea Tiemies
Watchman - Security is their chief concern, day and night. Lykos Kleon
¶ Selection of The Jarl
Should disaster befall the Mjut, the Chieftains, Lawspears, and Thanes shall gather. There they will decide which of the Thanes should become the Jarl. Should no Thane be found worthy or ready to do so, they tribunal should select a member of the Mjut of any status beyond Thrall to the seat of power. Should it be decided a Lawspeaker should ascend, their position among their cult will be replaced and they will give up their seat as Lawspeaker.
¶ Selection of Lawspeaker
Should a Lawspeaker be removed from the cult, banished, given the throne by the Tribunal, slain, or otherwise go missing from their seat, the remaining Lawspeakers will fill their own void. The Lawspeakers select among themselves and are not elected. There shall never be less nor more than three.
¶ Law
There are four principle “crimes" of the Mjut, which as are as follows:
- Dishonor to yourself. Perhaps you acted like a drunken asshole. Perhaps you left an abundance of tree stumps, used coal of wood. These are crimes with no true victim other than the culprit. The punishments for these shall be rebuke, shame, and fine.
- The second crime: dishonor to the tribe. You have stolen from a neighbor. You have slain a brother or sister outside of holy holmgang. You have caused harm to another of ours. These are punishments of great burden, physical punishment, of thralldom, of exile. You will repay your tribe your trouble. The punishment shall fit the crime.
- The third crime is to cause anguish to the Mjut as an outsider. These can be as simple as overcharging for goods to murder. These are punishments of war, violence, embargo, repayment. The punishment shall fit the crime.
- The fourth is the gravest sin of all. To Invoke Disaster. These are capital crimes. The murder of a chieftain, a jarl. Inviting destruction of our people. Inviting the wrath of the gods. These are crimes with no limit of pain and death. The pain must be extraordinary to merit it and the repayment shall be horrific.
¶ Stories
¶ The Siege of Kaupang: Vidar’s Gambit
Word of the Mjut’s conquest of Kaupang spread swiftly across the Norse lands, carried by frightened traders and fleeing survivors. Stories of the Sviðarkol, a mountain of coal forged from human remains, and the slaughter of Kaupang’s people sparked fear and outrage. Rival tribes were eager to avenge the fallen and seize Kaupang’s riches for themselves so they banded together in an uneasy alliance.
Three great tribes descended upon Kaupang, their combined forces dwarfed the Mjut’s warriors, who had spent much of their strength in taking the town. By all accounts, the Mjut should have been doomed. Yet Jarl Gunnarson, now hailed as Gunnar Kolbane, had foreseen this. He had one final trick up his sleeve to save his people: Vidar’s Gambit.
Vidar’s Gambit, as the Mjut understood it, was not a single tactic but a philosophy. It was a willingness to endure the unbearable, to deceive the unwary, and to strike with fury when the enemy was at their most vulnerable. Inspired by Vidar, the silent god who avenged his father by ripping apart the wolf Fenrir, the gambit relied on patience, misdirection, and an unrelenting final blow.
Gunnar and his warriors knew they could not win through brute force. Instead, they devised a plan to use the enemy’s numbers, pride, and overconfidence against them.
The combined enemy tribes arrived at Kaupang’s gates, war cries echoing across the fjord. They expected to meet a defense, but to their surprise they found the city seemingly deserted. The gates hung slightly open, and no warriors manned the walls.
The Mjut had abandoned Kaupang’s outer defenses, leaving behind only a skeleton force to create the illusion of panic. Fires were lit in key areas, as if the Mjut were burning their own stores in a desperate bid to deny them to the enemy. Small skirmishers engaged the advancing tribes, then melted into the shadows drawing them deeper into the city.
The enemy believed the Mjut to be scattered and broken, so they surged forward in a disorganized rush. They poured through the gates, eager to plunder the trade hub and claim victory. It was exactly what Gunnar had hoped for.
As the enemy flooded into the heart of Kaupang, they discovered too late the cunning of the Mjut. The city’s streets had been transformed into a labyrinth of barricades, trenches, and hidden defenses. Key choke points were rigged with traps, pits lined with sharpened stakes, oil-soaked bundles that ignited when struck by flaming arrows, and collapsing structures that buried invaders alive.
The Mjut, hidden in ambush, unleashed a torrent of arrows, spears, and stones from the rooftops. Warriors clad in dark cloaks leapt from the shadows, striking down confused and panicked foes before vanishing again. The enemy ranks descended into chaos as they realized they were not hunters, but prey.
Despite the devastation, the enemy’s sheer numbers began to overwhelm the Mjut’s defenses. The allied tribes regrouped and used their superior numbers to force a path through the city’s streets. The Mjut fell back to the center of Kaupang, where they made their final stand.
It was then that Gunnar unleashed the true heart of Vidar’s Gambit. Hidden beneath the city square were vast stores of oil and pitch, which the Mjut had secretly placed there during their occupation. As the enemy swarmed into the square, the Mjut triggered the trap. Flames erupted in all directions, engulfing the invaders in an inferno. The square became a fiery cauldron, and the cries of burning men filled the air.
As the enemy ranks broke and tried to flee, the Mjut surged forward in a counterattack. They fought with fury and desperation, cutting down the remaining invaders with swords and axes forged from Sviðarkol. Jarl Gunnarson himself led the charge, his blade Kolbrandr cutting a swath through the enemy’s leaders.
By dawn, the battlefield was silent. The enemy tribes had been annihilated, their alliance shattered by mistrust and fear. The Mjut had suffered heavy losses, but they had held Kaupang. The city was scarred, its streets marked by fire and blood, but it remained theirs.
The victory cemented the Mjut’s reputation as a people of unyielding strength and unmatched cunning. Vidar’s Gambit became legendary, a tale told in hushed tones across the Norse lands. It was a reminder that the Mjut were not to be trifled with, that even in the face of overwhelming odds they would find a way to endure and prevail.
From that day forward, the name Vidar’s Gambit became synonymous with turning the tide of battle through deception and sacrifice. The Mjut began to rebuild Kaupang, strengthening its defenses and honoring the warriors who had fallen. The trade hub became a fortress, a symbol of Mjut resilience and a warning to all who might dare to challenge them.
Jarl Gunnar Coalbane’s name became immortalized in Mjut lore, not just as a warrior, but as a cunning leader who outwitted the greatest armies of his time. His blade, Kolbrandr, was said to glow faintly with the embers of the Sviðarkol, a reminder of the fire that had saved his people.