The Free Men of Torvaldsland are different from the typical Gorean Male. All the absolutes of Mastery of Gorean Men are also of the Torvaldslander. But, the Torvaldslander is from the stock of Those who have weathered the harshness of the land of the North of the planet. They tend to be much larger in build physically than Their counterparts in the South. They also tend to be fewer numbers and populations, in lands that have longer growing seasons. The Torvaldslander Man is tough and enduring, the fittest of His kind. He is quick to anger, but just as quick to laugh. He is loyal to a fault and unforgiving in that manner when offended. In Battle, No One is more imposing or more frightening that the Warrior of the North. The battle cry of the Torvaldslander is enough to freeze the blood. “The Men of Torvaldsland are upon You!”

"Many of them were giants, huge men, inured to cold, accustomed to war and the labor of the oar, raised from boyhood on steep, isolated farms near the sea, grown strong and hard on work and meat and cereals. Such men, from boyhood in harsh games had learned to run, to leap, to swim, to throw the spear, to wield the sword, to wield the ax, to stand against steel, even bloodied, unflinching. Such men, these, would be the hardest of the hard, for only the largest, the swiftest and finest might win for themselves a bench on the ship of a captain, and the man great enough to command such as they must be first and mightiest among them, for the men of Torvaldsland will obey no other….." Marauders of Gor pg. 38

The Jarl of a Torvaldsland Steading, Who is the northern counterpart of a Ubar of the South, does not command as many men, as there are fewer in number. However, when the black arrow is passed from farm to farm, carried over the entire land, Each homestead or Steading is required to provide a Male who will do battle for the Jarl, to which His Family is owed allegiance. In times of war the war arrow commands many numbers of Men, that would not normally be under the command of a Jarl. In this way the lands of the Torvaldsland are defended. Only one or two Jarls in all of Torvaldsland have the power to be the equal of a Southern Ubar in His own camp or city, for there are simply not as many Warriors in Torvaldsland.

Each Man is a Jarl within the reach of His Ax. He is addressed as Jarl by His Family and slaves. "The" Jarl is the ruler of a Hall, most often like the longhouses of Vikings. In many ways the Torvaldslander is like the ancient Earth Viking. His ships, farming techniques, growing seasons, skills and talents mirror those of the Ancient Vikings, except for the longevity of all Goreans.

Each Torvaldslander Male is required to keep His own weapons and have them ready for inspection by the Jarl or His representative. In this manner there stands a militia ready for the defense of the land. Each Male, regardless of occupation, is ready to defend against an enemy. Torvaldslander Males compete annually at the Thing, and contest for prizes and rewards, most often a leather headband called a talmit. These headbands signify rank usually; An officer or Jarl, or lawman in the area. The prize headband is a special trophy. At the Thing, the Jarl hears grievances from any Male or Household, and often fighting is the only solution to the truth of a matter.

The Torvaldslander is the consummate sailor and can swim and raid with the best of them. Their dreaded Serpents ply the open seas with impunity, raiding wheresoever They choose. No city, town or village is safe unless it is landlocked. The Torvaldslander Male considers anywhere He beaches His Serpent to be Torvaldsland, taking His country with Him.

The favored weapon of the Torvaldslander is the Battle Ax. He is also handy with the longsword and the Torvaldslander bow and arrow. This bow is shorter than its Southern counterpart, and has less distance, but at short range is quite deadly. He also wields other weapons, including long knives. The Ax dance is an interesting outcome of the use of the Ax. One can feint and not place a full strike which may draw out an opponent. It can also be used to hook the ankle or leg of an opponent upsetting them and allowing for a killing stroke.

The Torvaldslander also loves to play Kaissa. The Northern variant is similar to, but not the same as the standard Kaissa. Men play long hours at this strategic game, even giving up time with bond-maids or battle to play. Much of the time at sea in fog or heavy weather, can find the Warriors playing on boards with peg holes to keep the pieces secure. He is also quite athletically skilled, being a sailor. One of the most famous acrobatic feats is the Oar Dance.

The Torvaldslander is by nature distrusting of those outside of His kin. But, He is loyal to those who earn His friendship or Who are in Themselves worthy of that trust. He is cunning and His looks belie that cunning. He is industrious and boisterous. Playing and working hard, He leads a hard life and enjoys that life to its fullest. He is untrusting of those of the Caste of Initiates, and has nothing to do with those who closely worship the Priest-Kings, believeing the Initiates to be phonies. They believe only in their own Gods, Odin and Thor. Many a Torvladslander has been put to death by followers of the Priest-Kings, for simply making the fist of Thor over their mugs.

One last skill... The Torvaldslanders, outside of Tarl Red Hair, also known as Bosk or Tarl Cabot, is the only group of Goreans to have succesfully killed and destroyed the dreaded Kurii. This is no small accomplishment. The secret lies in a feature of the Torvaldslander; His rage. He builds a power inside Him. His eyes glaze and become red. He sees the world in red. This rage passes from Man to Man, affecting all Gorean Males, until All within its effects is enraged, the berserker rage qrowing in Them, making Them more than equal, to killing the powerful and larger Kur. His Ax then becomes a weapon of impossible fury, the most dreaded weapon on the planet.

The Torvaldslander does not collar His own Free Women unless She trangresses the Family, however any woman taken in raid or battle becomes His bond-maid, upon entry into the bond-maid circle. He also honors the collar that the Kurii places upon Anyone, as He feels that the person is slave for not having chosen honorable death first. His bond-maid is shared freely, there being very few owned slaves in the North. Generally the Jarl in the hall, the steading, or farm owns the slaves and passes them to His Men for their use. The last One using the slave, chains her up at night.

The Torvaldslander enjoys good food, the bounty of the land and sea when available. He is tough and enduring when the winter comes, for weather does ill for the land. He laughs heartily and is rowdy, and lusty in His passions and His desires; taking whatever He chooses, whenever He chooses. He cares not, generally, for objects of beauty only for the value of those objects, often breaking gold plates or cups into pieces for trade. Enjoy Your visit to Us, and be welcome to a horn of mead, a mug of ale, fresh cheese and good meat, desirable bond-maids, and the finest Warriors, Shipbuilders, Farmers and Men in all of Gor.

(Nyx’s Note: there are perfectly good FW in Torvaldsland as well, but since a big axe weilding, servery smashing, rowdy and fun-loving Torvaldlander Warrior wrote this, He failed to mention it)