100 years ago, the Norse came to the land they called Vinland. It was a strange land, a land of warring tribes and mysterious gods, of thick woodlands and primordial landscapes. To use a phrase from a later time, it was to put it quite simply, a whole new world.
Suffice to say that in the century since then, North America has changed to quite an extent.
Though at the beginning of the 11th century there were 3 Norse settlements on North America, now only one remains on Newfoundland, and even its position is precarious. Those on the mainland were wiped out by the natives decades ago now. For a time, Erik the Red and his descendants would rule as the Kings of Greenland, but after a series of failed holy wars against the natives their power has waned - Newfoundland is now independent once again, as are the more hospitable southern areas of Greenland - only at the very northern reaches of Greenland do they still rule.
By far the greatest change of all though has taken place on the mainland. The Innu tribe of the Sheshatshiu was an insignificant inland group at the beginning of the century. That was to change with the ascendance to power of Amaqjuaq. A child of barely 4 when his father died in a skirmish with a raiding party, as an adult Amaqjuaq would come to subjugate the tribes of the Pakuashipi and Unamenshipit, declaring himself High Chieftain of the region. Though his conquests would go no farther, he would spend much of the rest of his reign embarking upon wars of humiliation on his neighbours in order to reinforce his supremacy, coming to build up an army larger than all his surrounding tribes combined.
But whilst Amaqjuaq may have been the one to bring Sheshatshiu to prominence, it would be his son Inuksuk who would truly change the face of North America. Equal parts ambitious and zealous with regards to his beliefs, Inuksuk had seen the power of Norse society, and moreover, the power of their religion - indeed, the very first war he fought upon his ascension to power was against a tribe of catholic converted natives. Obsessed with the realm of the spiritual, Inuksuk would spend much of his early reign conquering holy sites and building temples to the gods, before taking the action that would cement his place in history forever: reforming the Innu beliefs into a system akin to that he had seen the catholics use, with holy texts written in pictographs on birchbark, an organised hierarchy of Shamans and a proper system of longhouse-temples.
Inuksuk's legacy wasn't done there either. The influence of Norse society had already been spreading, and in the years after his reformation of the native beliefs, he would reform his system of government entirely into one much more akin to those of feudal Europe, to the point of even independently developing castles and well-equipped heavy infantry troops to enforce his rule. Ironically, by this point Inuksuk's domain was in actual fact
more developed than the Norse holdings in Newfoundland and Greenland by this point.
More organised, better equipped and still as ambitious as ever, Inuksuk would sweep over his neighbouring tribes in a wave of conquest, his iron armed and armoured troops overwhelming their disorganised opponents even when there wasn't a numbers advantage. Ruling over a territory greater than any native tribe that had ever before existed, Inuksuk would come to refer to himself by a title once again influenced by the Norsemen of Greenland: King of Nitassinan.
That was all decades ago of course, and Inuksuk is long dead, even in spite of his attempts at obtaining immortality in the later years of his life. Today, the Kingdom of Nitassinan is by far the greatest power in Northeast America, and indeed in many ways could easily stand on par with the kingdoms of Europe. Yet even so, this may not be the case forever: the current King, Inuksuk II is old and sickly, and has only produced daughters - who the crown will pass to in the event of his death is uncertain, but not one of the candidates have even a fraction of the competence of their predecessors. Dissatisfaction is rife amongst the Kingdom's vassals - large factions are gathering in the hopes of achieving their independence, and with the spread of new religions from the Old World, division only continues to worsen.
The face of North America has changed drastically over the 11th century, and the 12th looks to be one no less tumultuous. But who will come on top? What will the years bring? Only time will tell...