Northrim
The land called Northrim is considered by the Achaeans to be savage and uncivilized, and in some ways this is true.
Landscape
The land itself is largely uncultivated, with some Northern tribes still preferring to hunt and forage rather than farm their food, and the landscape is dominated by tall, frozen mountain crags and vast, dark forests that stretch as far as the eye may see. In these moutains and forests live magical races and monsters little understood by men. Elsewhere dwell the hardy men of the North itself, called Barbarians by the Achaeans, split into many tribes often warring with one another over age-old feuds. Yet they are proud of their freedom and their unconquered homeland, which the Achaean Empire has consistently failed to break.
Religion
The gods of Northrim come in two categories: the Aesir and the Vanir. By and large, men of the North primarily worship the Aesir, while the Vanir are mostly revered by Northrim's reclusive magical races of elves, as well as certain races of dwarves, though dwarves largely worship the Aesir as men do. Generally speaking, Northerners revere battle and are a warlike culture, though this does not inherently make all clans of the North "barbaric," as the Imperials may believe.