noun (n)

• the quality (as of scenery) being grim and gloomy and forbidding(noun.attribute)

  Example:
  The sternness of his surroundings made him uncomfortable.
  

  source: wordnet30
• uncompromising resolution(noun.attribute)

  Synonym:
  strictness
  

  source: wordnet30
• The quality or state of being stern.(noun)

  source: webster1913