Havsgard is the area under the control of the Archon known as The North Wind. The North Wind inhabits a giant oak tree in the northern archipelago, known as Eitrat.
Havsgard is inhabited by two very similar peoples. The Ulvar and the Vuosaar. However, for a very long time, the Ulvar and Vuosaar were hard at war. Their hostility even fended off the original Faloran Empire and the area was not united in peace until The North Wind planted his seed.
The capital of the region sits on the roots of the great tree and is simply known as Eitrat. Recently, Eitrat sent his eldest son to create and inhabit a sapling birch tree in the great lake Vuosaari. This tree is known as Lyhtrat.
Runestones litter the countryside and newly pacted students of the universities are sent on a pilgrimage around the region to recharge them. This also serves as good practice for the new Vessel's powers and its bond with its spirit.
Ships are a vital part of both cultures. While the Ulvar prefer great warships to traverse the sea on, the Vuosaar rule the lakes and rivers with their smaller but faster vessels. Havsgardian ships are all adorned and carved with runes signifying the strengthening elements for water and wind spirits. These spirits are invited by vessels to inhabit the ship in order to guide it and bring good winds, in exchange for a sacrifice (usually a lamb). The blood of the sacrifice empowers the spirit when spilled on the runes as it inhabits the ship.
Both cultures also practice berserking. A berserker is completely covered in runes empowering his pacted spirit's element and carries weapons adorned with the same. Before a battle, the berserker invokes his spirit and lets it have complete control of his body, greatly empowering him but of course making the spirit mortal for the duration. Few spirits consider the risk worth it, but the weaker and more bestial spirits gladly grasp the opportunity to greatly increase their power.
Both the Vuosaar and the Ulvar are an equal people in that men and women can hold the same positions. They're equally likely to become warriors, students or workers. Social status in Havsgard is mainly tied to the number of battles one has participated in as well as the number of children one has raised. The average family dynamic mainly consists of one parent bringing glory to the household in the field of battle while the other pursues academic endavours to provide for the children.
The Vuosaar put an ever greater focus on family. While the Ulvar only consider the grouping of two parents and their children their family by status, the Vuosaar live in great collectives of children, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins and second cousins who all contribute to the status of the family. The head of a Vuosaar family owns a family knife adorned in all kinds of runes and holding great power. The knife and its powers vary from family to family, but they tend to express themselves in a manner mirroring the knife. If a family has a knife that is forged with golden ingots and freezes whatever it touches, they're probably going to dress richly and wear ice blue clothing.
The art to create family knives has been lost to the ages, so if a family loses its knife for whatever reason, it is considered extinct. And so the young members are quick to marry into other families while the older members commit suicide out of shame. In truth, the knives were made through binding and their origin has been intentionally obscured by the Archons.
The Ulvar, however, practice a greater connection to nature. Through magical rituals, they create hamns out of the remains of slain beasts. Hamns are items such as pelts, bones or teeth engraved with runes. With only a small use of magic, such as the one possessed by sparks, a mortal can activate the hamn and take on features of the animal it's from. A full bear pelt hamn would allow the mortal to transform into a bear while a wolf's paw would give them claws. The magical power of the hamns drain over time, however, and recquire recharging. Vessels on their pilgrimage are often asked to recharge hamns as the pass through a village, in exchange for food and housing. Hamns used by successful fighters tend to be self-sustaining though, as they often get covered in the blood of their enemies.
The Ulvar also express their connection to nature by challenging themselves to make familiars of quite large animals, such as bears, wolves and eagles. This process is very risky as it requires a lot of blood and Ulvar who wish to pact often bring up to three vessels to their pacting ritual to heal them after they create their familiar. The Vousaar on the other hand, prefer more practical familiars, such as pigeons or dogs.