Extinct Cultures
| Expanded Cultures Lore | |
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| Part of Cultures lore. |
Aloria has beheld many Ailor Cultures over the centuries that have risen and fallen across many diverse lands, most notably in the Regalian Archipelago. Some have reigned long, while others have reigned for a very short time, but all these groups have left some impact on the world. This page is considered Expanded Lore, meaning it is not required reading for a roleplay experience on MassiveCraft but can be used to add additional depth and content to Roleplay.
Old Ceardian
Old Ceardian is the Culture that all other Ailor Cultures descend from. It died out centuries ago as the Ceardians civilized or migrated to new lands while those remaining in Oldtera eventually formed the Ceardian Culture, which later also spread across Aloria and was similarly absorbed or transformed. Little is known about Old Ceardian Culture as the Destruction of Ceardia eliminated access to many ancient sites Regalians were only just beginning to explore while also sending thousands into a diaspora across Aloria, dividing their myths and knowledge of the past even further. It is known, however, that the Old Ceardians worshiped many faiths that added to their fractured state, with The Blood Covenant best known today.
Proto-Velheim
The Proto-Velheim were explorers who were the first to dare to leave their homeland of Oldtera millennia before the Cataclysm. The timescale at work around this time is unclear as the events are deeply steeped in the beliefs of the Fornoss faith, and there are inconsistencies. Still, broadly, after several millennia in Volaheim, the Proto-Velheim began to exit this paradise for the material world once again. They spread a network of portals, Vaarda Gates, across Aloria, from Oldtera to Southwynd and up into the Alorian north. They also sailed the seas to accomplish these voyages and did not rely just on Magic. In their explorations of the world, they forged a trade network across Aloria and established many outposts that grew into notable settlements still known today. They were largely peaceful but still held warrior honor in high regard while being able to defend themselves from attackers. However, shortly before the Cataclysm, a more militaristic and aggressive mindset spread through their society. At this point, the modern Velheim people were born. As mentioned, the Proto-Velheim worshiped Fornoss, but they also held other beliefs or respected gods not held up as part of the core Fornoss pantheon, much as the modern Velheim do today.
Proto-Daen
Proto-Daen Culture was the Culture of Ailor slaves during the reign of the Allorn Empire. Considered a crude imitation of Allorn society, the Proto-Daens developed in two different directions. Those in the north became the Ithanians, freed from bondage by choice of their masters and gradual integration while those in the south freed themselves through violence after the Cataclysm, becoming the Daendroque. Very few Ailor today have an interest in learning about the Proto-Daens, as the successors of these slaves have found it more productive to look at the gains they have made since their freedom rather than reflecting on their worst moments in history. The beliefs of the Proto-Daen are considered to be incredibly diverse, drawing from the faiths of many different populations elsewhere in Aloria blended into one population.
Sarnt
The Sarnt were a mysterious group of mountain and cave-dwelling Ailor local to lands now considered part of Drixagh. Their cave dwellings had impressive magical doors capable of hiding them away and appeared to have been isolationist. Their end came when the Proto-Velheim began to travel into the area, prompting an aggressive war that saw the Sarnt either absorbed by the newly formed Velheim or killed off in large battles. The modern Velheim have limited memory of their conflict with the Sarnt but claim they were the people the Velheim took the design for the Skagger Axe from, helping birth the Skagger Order. Due to the nature of Sarnt Magic, however, many of their ancient sites with writing and artifacts remain preserved or still sealed away giving a unique insight into their society. The Sarnt fear-worshiped The Midnight as part of an ancient monotheistic faith that is now considered extinct.
Sarnan
Natives to the deep forests and swamps of what is now Leutz-Vixe territory, the Sarnan were a red-headed tribal people attested to among the records of the Wirtem and later the Regalians. While once a great mystery in past decades, evidence uncovered in recent years confirms that the Sarnan were either absorbed by the external groups that migrated into the region with the Regalian Empire or were killed in the conflicts caused by this expansion. The Sarnan left a minor impact on modern Leutz Culture, and their Pagan Faith of Sarna remains loosely documented today. It is officially considered extinct, like the culture it stems from, though rumors persist it is still practiced today among some Leutz of the deep woods, or who can trace their lineage back to the Sarnan people.
Voltman
The Voltman were another pre-Cataclysm Ailor group of the Regalian Empire, who formed around the Shoenn River Delta. Generally a peaceful culture, the Voltman existed as a unique tribe until around 75 BC, when a large influx of Ceardian colonists arrived in the area and intermingled with the Voltman. Following the rise of the Regalian Empire, House van Sherburne would ultimately see the Voltman incorporated into the new state, where, over time, they became part of the Cearden. Despite having no military conflicts that could have destroyed their records, little is known about the Voltman people besides their strange religion. Now a Dead Faith, Voltessis had the Voltman worship lightning as a goddess, and their knowledge later helped developments in areas of Regalian technological innovation.
Hacar
Originating from the southern reaches of the Shoenn River Delta, the Hacars were a conquering people with a militaristic society who followed the now Dead Faith known as Hethseth’s Tithe. They conquered their neighbors without spears, swords, or daggers, incorporating tribes of the nearby Vularos, Voltmann, and others as part of the Hecarian Kingdom they controlled. However, their military might meant little to the Regalians, whose march of conquest saw them as one of the first foes faced by Regalia. The First Hacarian Conflict of 28 AC ended in the collapse of Hacar dominance and their subject peoples rebelling in favor of Regalia. While a group of Hacar fled over the River and began the Hacarian Kingdom, this effort barely lasted a few more decades, and the Culture ultimately became part of the Empire following the end of the Second Hacarian Conflict. As a result of the Ithanian Gem Boom, many Ithanians arrived and eliminated the last vestiges of the Hacar culture, along with faith in the Tithe.
Vularos
The Vularos were a rugged Ailor culture of the pre-Cataclysm Corontium, living around modern-day Montania & Vultaro. A tribal society spread thin across a vast stretch of land, many in their populace followed the worship of the now Dead Faith Etna’s Fire, which proclaimed the requirement of sacrifices to appease a terrifying deity locked away by the Vularos magical ancestors. Despite this grim faith, the Vularos had a flourishing society, well adapted to surviving the volcanic terrain that dominated their living space. However, the expansion of the Regalian Empire and the arrival of external peoples saw the Vultaros absorbed and their faith eliminated. The Dressolini of today rarely trace any lineage back to these backwater people but instead, favor their Daendroque and Wirtem ancestry and scoff at any idea of something living under their region’s largest volcano.
Iltar
The Iltar were an island-bound people living on what is now known as Basta, who were considerably advanced. The Iltar Kingdom they established lasted for over three centuries and focused on trade and artwork, within an egalitarian society. Trading with Elves and other Ailor groups, the Iltar’s home faith known as The Ebullience was gradually joined by many others, from Anglian Draconism to Elven Estelley to even Hacar Titheism. After the fall of the Regalian Kingdom and the rise of the Regalian Empire, Unionism soon became a significant religion on the islands. A political coup launched by Unionist Iltar saw a relatively bloodless fall of the Iltar people into the Regalian sphere. The arrival of Ithanians, and the growth of Unionism, saw the Iltar identity removed, and their faith similarly extinguished.
Zaubez
The Zaubez Culture was a group of Ailor that lived on the southwestern fringes of Corontium on what is known as the Rim Isles. While involved in trade, the region remained relatively low in population and followed a very bizarre faith, called Fothaznar, which professed belief in a headless bird deity, with elements of mysticism and strict social structure due to just who could access the region’s strange bodies of water. One of the last groups to fall under Regalian influence, the gradual decay of the Zaubez population in the face of other groups, like the Daendroque, saw the Zauna Kingdom of these Ailor surrender to Regalia in a battleless war. The region’s identity was ultimately entirely replaced by outside groups, the now Dead Faith of Fothaznar faded, and the lands are now populated mostly by Allar.
Trivia
- There have been dozens of Ailor tribes and Cultures sprinkled all over the Regalian Archipelago before the Cataclysm. However, the years of Regalian expansion, consolidation, and repopulation have made it difficult to classify many of these peoples, with some artifacts of these groups often dismissed as a modified tool made by a more “civilized” Culture such as the Wirtem.
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