Organizations
The political situation in the Giantdowns is as split as the cultural one. Invaders, natives, settlers and refugees all husband their own domains, and goblins, men, dwarves, giants, orog, and even a few elves all of mixed alignments and loyalties all dwell within the borders of the Downs. While many communities, especially of Rjurik and goblins, remain unaligned, especially in the provinces of Trondelaag and Skansoeren, the major powers have begun to consolidate into factions, one of whom may well take the Downs as their own one day.
The Watch
The men and women who patrol the Rjurik Giantdowns and keep settlers relatively safe from their enemies are known as the Watch. They operate casually in all the Rjurik settled provinces, though they keep small garrisons in Vjelthelma, Lemnjohen and Midjarna. The Watch is broken into three branches, all under the command of Hogrun Njalsson. The most visible members of the Watch serve in the holmjarllen, or "home guard". They are the actual garrison troops meant to repel humanoid or monster attacks. Vjelthelma, Lemnjohen and Midjarna each support a single holmjarllen garroson, each garrison being between one and two hundred men under arms (totaling two units of irregulars). With the recent unpleasantness in Bjorlangen, Hogrun has begun recruiting a third cohort of perhaps two hundred in Midjarna, but he doesn't know if he can find that many able bodied warriors, let alone how he will pay them. As it is keeping his current force paid is nearly impossible.
The Second branch of the Watch is called the marklorjen or "march warden". The marklorjen patrol the borders of the Rjurik Giantdowns, keeping guard against invasion or danger. There are perhaps another hundred marklorjen, but they spend the best part of their time committed, harrying supplies to Ghuralli and the White Witches's advance forces and keeping watch on the Gorgon's Border. The last branch of the Watch does not officially exist. Those few who know of it call it the svinarek, or "outriders". Only Hogrun and the outriders secret leader know the exact number of members in the band, but it cannot be more than a few dozen. The svinarek have the dangerous job of infiltrating the renegade bands of Rjurik throughout the Giantdowns (the Kjarhoelle of Trondelaag being the most notable).
Ghuralli's Warriors
The humanoids of the Giantdowns cannot be lumped together. At best, they can be grouped into two factions: one organized and wholly evil, the other more loosely affiliated and benign. The most cohesive group of humanoids in the Giantdowns serves the awnshegh known as Ghuralli. Recently, with the help of some ogres and fhoimoreans, he built a snakk realm within the Giantdowns. His minions are clearly divinded - the goblins in his service are numerous, and are his labour force, his hunters, scouts, spies and sentries, while the orog warriors who share his long house are his warriors, elite and prized among his followers. He has many allies amongst the natives of the Downs, such as the giants and a handful of native goblins, and perhaps even the Kjarhoelle, but it is the orog and goblins who form the heart of his loyal followers.
The White Witch's Mercenaries
No one expected the White Witch to attempt an invasion of the Giantdowns, which is probably why she managed it so easily. As near as anyone can tell, the awnshegh made some sort of alliance with the Kjarhoelle tribes and avoided the worst of the humanoids in the mountains. She used a collection of Rjurik and goblin agents to muster a small army of mercenaries in Trindelaag and northern Bjorlangen, then sent them against the Watch's meager defences. This move did not catch the Watch completely unprepared, but the vicious attack swept away its defences.
Now the White Witch's mercenary army occupies Bjorlangen. She has managed to set up a small holding there and has picket riders along the eastern and western borders. The Kjarhoelle continue to raid and pillage the area, and the army's main concern seems to be keeping the Bjornlangen Rjurik from escaping before they can be enslaved.
The Kjarhoelle
Brutal and wicked, the bandit tribe of the Kjarhoelle follows the example of its scarred and ancient leader, Chieftain Tjorvaal. The Kjarhoelle could be considered the antithesis of the Watch. While the Watch styles itself a guardian force for the Rjurik population of the Downs, the Kjarhoelle disrupt the lives of the Rjurik settlers as much as possible. In the summer months, the bandits raid the other provinces, attacking settlements in Lemnjohen, Bjorlangen, Skansoeren and Boganhaar and then fleeing back into the twisted ravines and mountain passes of Trondelaag. They engage in little trade, though Tjorvaal may have an alliance of some sort with Ghuralli.
Like the Watch, the Kjarhoelle have two branches. The tarloelle or "gatherers" are the raiders and armed men and women of the tribe. They venture forth from Trondelaag in groups of ten to fifty, attacking either fixed targets, or whatever wanderers they can find. They treat their enemies brutally, seldom killing but often maiming those they take alive. The hjorlag or "housewarmers" live practically as slaves among the Kjarhoelle. Most hjorlag are men and women maimed in battle, persons too young or old to travel with the taroelle, or captured enemies broken into service. Every member of the taroelle has at least two hjorlag to look after his possessions and territory while he's away, and woe betide a hjorlag who fails in his duty; Kjarhoelle warriors train themselves in torture as well was battle.
The Emerald Spiral
The Emerald Spiral temple, devoted to the worship of Erik, has holdings in nearly all the Rjurik kingdoms throughout the highlands. Run by Gretta Seligsdotter, it has very conservative views and focuses on respect for nature. In the Giantdowns, two major centres of Erik's faith are found amongst the rolling downs, one in Midjarna and the other in Vjelthelma. While Gretta is the overall regent of the Spiral, two druids share responsibility for the people of the downs, Kalla and the mysterious Huralla.
The Silverhead Dwarves
The first dwarves came to the Giantdowns nearly a thousand years ago. They arrived in small families and individually, perhaps fleeing the Gorgon's corruption of Mur-Kilad, of the tightly organized societies of Baruk-Azhik and Khurin-Azur. They made their way west in search of new homes. Drawn to the isolated Silverhead Mountains, many settled in the caves and caverns of the northern Giantdowns, carving out homes and mines for themselves. But the dwarves encountered the various giant races of the mountains early on. The fought the ogres and fhoimoreans, but they came to an agreement with the stone giants of the Downs, some say that Morsjarlur himself came down from Mount Silverhead, and spoke to the dwarven leaders, forginf an alliance between the two races that would last generations.
Today, few dwarves exist in the Silverheads. They have always been slow to breed, and their semi-secret community attracts few immigrants. Of late, younger, adventuresome dwarves have come down from the Silverheads and mingled or traded with the Rjurik settlers, causing tales of the settlements to leak out. The Rjurik settlers warily welcome the dwarven traders. Both races are proud folk with strong traditions. They tend to be reticent in their dealings with one another, each hoping to avoid offending the other.