Foremost among the frosthanded, The Grand Jarl stands as monster slayer, ice breaker, horizon-crosser. They do not lead the Jarls of the Iron Valley, as much as they drive them forward and onward, to greater deeds and darker seas. A title of respect and renown, they wield power on and off the seas.
Election
The Grand Jarl is elected at the Spring Summit each year through a popular vote of all Jarls. Jarls receive 1 vote per (base) tier of naval investment they have.
Only Jarls with a Naval Investment with a base tier of 2 may stand as the Grand Jarl. If there is no Jarl with a tier 2 Naval Investment, then no Grand Jarl may be elected.
Term
The Grand Jarl serves a term of two years. They may immediately stand for re-election after this term if they wish. There is no term limit.
Powers and Responsibilities
Seacallers Legacy - The Grand Jarl must always be a Jarl and must always have a Naval Investment of at least tier 2. Any who serves a term as the Grand Jarl may never stand for the Concordian Throne, such is the legacy Calreda Seacaller. If at any point an Iron Valley citizen who is either a Senator or Throne must be executed, the execution must be metered out by the Grand Jarl if possible.
Wavemaster - The Grand Jarl is a position of respect among the Jarls of the Valley. While they are not the Reeve of all Jarls, they are worthy of deference. Jarls should address the Grand Jarl by the title ‘Jarlthane’ and heed their wisdom, never speaking over them, be it in council or on the deck of ship.
Stormhome - The Grand Jarl sits on the Reeves Council of Bolsterlee. If they are also a Reeve from the region, they retain this vote, allowing them to vote twice within the Reeves Council of Bolsterlee.
Saltborne - Once per year, during the Autumn Summit, the Grand Jarl may declare an Expedition. This Expedition can be vague and target a cardinal direction (such as ‘West’ or ‘South-East’) or specific and target a particular continent or region (such as ‘Southern Hildeblanc’ or ‘Deep into the Icereach). There may be additional information requested, guiding these adventures, but should be limited to three sentences or less (‘We want to hunt for treasure’ or ‘We are interested in the stories of lost Jarl settlements in this region and want to look for signs of their establishment’ for example).
At the following Spring Summit there will be a Special Downtime action made available to Jarls to pursue adventure and exploration in this location. It will be possible for ship captains of other nations to also attend, but at considerably increased risk.
Icevault - There are sparse amounts of Thunder Oak spread across the Iron Valley, particularly without the control over the Bailite thrallic Kingdoms. In times long past many of these great oaks were claimed by powerful Jarls to be ‘Keelhulks’, trees held in perpetual ownership by great Jarls to keep their ships afloat. The Grand Jarl lays claim to the income from these Keelhulks.
For every one of the following regions held by the Iron Valley, the Grand Jarl receives an income every season of 2 Thunder Oak.
- Bolsterlee
- Baile Fealtoiri
- Baile Fein
- Anderslee
History
The history of Jarls within the Iron Valley is old, and deeply interwoven with the history of the Valley itself. However, the position of Grand Jarl is shorter.
The first Grand Jarl was Calreda Seacaller, arguably the greatest Jarl of history. It was her slaying of Baelag the Ninth that bound the Jarls to the land and it is as their representative that Seacaller represented the Jarls to the Reeves and Warlords of the Iron Valley. It is from her that a great amount of the Jarl’s traditions and lore originate.
Following Seacaller, there are records of only two more Grand Jarls;
Gyda Vogdottir, she who rallied the fleet. Vogdottir is well known for her adventurous actions on land, notably into the Bailite woods during their occupation by the Iron Valley. Her great logging expeditions felled many colossal trees which were brought north to Anderslee and Bolsterlee to serve as the keels of the largest ships seen in the Valley since the Age of Stone. Her great vessel; ‘Stormwym’ is said to be lost beneath the craggy harbour somewhere in Baile Lochra.
Hrallmund Thunderblood, he who fought the war. An ally of Deorling, Hrallmund was the only Valleyfolk commander to lead large-scale offensive actions against the Artebazzani during the First Mercenary War. His numerous small fleets, led by his personal longship ‘Knifecarver’, would raid Artebazzani shipping and even burn parts of Lerona Mere harbour during the war. While his actions did not save the Iron Valley cause during the war, it drove Thunderblood into great renown and granted him the title of Grand Jarl, which he held even after the war ended. Thunderblood was wanted by the Artebazzani Empire even after a peace treaty was signed. The Grand Jarl simply sailed to Anderslee and lived out the rest of his life among the Jarlhomes on Esterra’s eastern coast, sailing from port to port where he was always welcome. ‘Knifecarver’ was last seen being sailed out of a Jarlhome in Anderslee to escape the Illsevir invasion. It has not been seen since.
A great Jarlhome in the Bolsterlee town of Jaalstead was appraised in late 224AE and then commissioned by the Senator of Bolsterlee, Jarl Rannhilde in early 225AE. The first large Jarlhome built in a generation, it would serve as the seat of the first of many Grand Jarls to be elected to lead the Jarls, the first of the Grand Jarls of the Age of Heroes.
Historic Grand Jarls
| Name | Date |
| Ranhilde the Harpoon | Spring 226 - Incumbent |
| Ranhilde the Harpoon | Autumn 226 - Spring 226 |