Aurelgard is a sort of fusion of Rome and Greece, with some Nordic elements. It's far north and has a culture of knowledge and order - they are forced to stay small because of the brutal temperatures of the north, and this allows their knowledge to spread across the kingdom much easier. They believe ancient people angered the gods. They gave the people souls so they could prosper, but they instead destroyed their world and killed each other blindly. The gods hid away in the mountains and sent a great cold of a thousand millennia onto the land. The cold seeps into the soul and drives people mad - to prevent this, they put runes on their armor and wear plenty of warm garments.
