Bjarmaland

During the Ragnarok Era, Bjarmaland is the name for what would be (much of) Russia. The land is home to numerous native tribes as well as settlers from Sviarland (in Holmgard). It is divided into several loosely defined regions, made more nebulous by the nomadic nature of many of the native tribes.

Bjarmaland has always held a fairly sparse population due to its harsh winter climate, proximity to the fearsome Midgard Wall, and its substantial number of natural predators.

A little over a hundred years ago, a tribe in Taraz, the Huns, swept across the land (eventually conquering what became Hunaland), displacing the Aesir from Kiovia as well as causing other disruptions. The Hunnish migration was due in part to the arrival of jotunnar through a breach in the Midgard Wall.

In recent years, an increasing number of jotunnar have come across the Midgard Wall and established their own petty kingdoms within Bjarmaland. Among the greatest of these, Hymir controls much of the Kiovia region.

Due to the added pressure on human civilization from these jotunnar, most of humanity within Bjarmaland has begun to fail. This, in turn, has led to the jotunnar continuing to spread further into Midgard.

Inspiration Notes
Bjarmaland appears in Norse sagas as a realm located in modern Russia, probably along the White Sea. In the case of The Ragnarok Era, I use the name to represent almost all of Russia up to the Ural Mountains (where the Midgard Wall separates the world from Utgard).