Isvik

Isvik is a viking village in The Nixium Oath in northern Prospit.

History
Little is known of Isvik and the presence of ancient, abandoned mine-shafts deep underneath indicate that this site has been inhabited much earlier than previously believed. In its current incarnation, it was first settled by a trading, seafaring people who referred to the settlement as Isvik in mid-July 2021. At this stage, Isvikwas nothing more but a wind shelter and a wall built by snow to protect the people from wild monsters and the surrounding barren snowy beaches. A chronicle known as the Isvik Saga is the primary source document for contemporary historiography of the settlement and it details how Isvik grew from this to the fortified village it is today. It refers to the first settlers as vikings and Isvik translates to ice-bay in their language.

Attracting attention for its peculiar location and newfound security, a wandering people who worshipped the moon led by ClanofWada found the village one day when it was empty and believed it to be abandoned, and claimed it as their own and named it Jericho. The two peoples though, tolerated each other and assimilated over time.

Isvik's population swell and shrunk in different stages, and was narrowed down to two individuals and a dozen enslaved villagers at its lowest point, when ClanofWada left. However, in the subsequent months Jarl Pzychosocial made the villagers free men and with the help of Huskarl Potipoti Isvik was expanded and returned to a moderately prosperous settlement. Things took off further once the warrior Antonlovetuva joined and Isvik became a place of on-and-off buzz.

During the Prospitian Revolutionary War, Isvik covertly sided with the rebellion against Acquendavia and pledged resources and one warrior. Fortunately however, the conflict was over before the village was drawn in. After the war Isvik entered into the AIA, the Prospitian Provisional Union and formed The Nixium Oath together with Archivia.

Culture and Religion
The culture of Isvik is primarily of viking stock. The architecture is characterised by the extensive use of wood for longhouses and decorations such as roof-dragons, and several open fireplaces for warmth and cooking. Farming and farming tradition is done in a small-scale, and the people enjoy a diet based on a few crops, fish, meat and alcohol. Isvik is home to the first sauna in all of Alathra, which is utilised as a place for resting, socialising and discussing business.

The population of Isvik has never identified as adherents to any religion, though it is a superstitious society who occasionally practice divination, sacrifices and rituals to various spirits, gods and divine figures such as The Olarian Tree.

Geography
Isvik is the second northernmost settlement on the Olarian Peninsula and on all of the continent of Prospit. It is located on the western shore of the Roldafjord, the frozen mouth of the River Rolda which flows from the Pond of Tears until The Great Frozen Sea Belt, opposite of the northernmost settlement on Prospit, the Garden of Eden. The surrounding areas are vast frozen plains and beaches, only supporting synthetic forestry and limited agriculture.