Ailor Cultures

This page refers back to the Ailor Cultures on the Ailor Page. While these fall under Ailor Cultures, they are not exclusive to Ailor. Other people like Eronidas, Elves, and even Asha or Kathar, can be raised in these Cultures as the Regalian Empire is a cultural blend where multiple people live together in culturally distinct regions. Each of these Cultures is briefly explained, trusting that the player knows what accurate information to source from Wikipedia or other media, to avoid copying and maintaining vast sections of text from other places. It is possible for a Character to be of none of these cultures and to have their own distinct culture or a mixed culture, though these things are not recorded on this page for the sake of brevity. While many of these cultures have real life references that follow a particular inheritance (like how Dutch and modern German flow from old Germanic), the direction of Cultural development is somewhat different in Aloria. As such, this page will reflect the ancient cultures at the top, and the newer ones at the bottom, while also explaining how and where those Cultures fit within world history.

Velheim

Velheim is not strictly a culture in itself, but rather a term that groups together many similar cultures all coming from one root people. The Velheim Culture together with the Dunden and Thaler Cultures (though these have changed over time) is the oldest Culture hailing back from the Oldt Era days (what the Ailor refer to as their native home continent of Old Ceardia), almost 15,000 years ago. Much of Velheim history is intertwined with their Religion Fornoss, which can be sourced from that page. Most Velheim Cultures form unions together with others. As such, some of them will be grouped together when reviewed. It should be noted, while all these groups have different languages, because they all inherently come from the same ancestor, there is a great deal of intelligibility between them, so long as they speak slowly. Serdi is considered "more melodic", while Skodje is very "flat and simple", Ørsti is difficult to understand for the others because it uses a lot of old phonetics, and Dasigyl is considered "guttural" and difficult to understand due to their habit to drop vowels.

• The Hvali and Søri Velheim Cultures (light pink and red on the map respectively) have held the closest to their Old Ceardian roots, many of the Søri even being refugees who fled the destruction of the Ceardian continent many years ago. The Hvali and Søri are based on early medieval Swedish culture, and also speak real-life Swedish with the in-lore Language called Serdi. They are Fornoss worshipers, but out of all of the Velheim people, are less obsessed with their cultural freedoms and independence, and have adopted a number of cultural habits of the nearby Thalder and Dunden people. The Hvali and Søri mostly subsist on whaling (for the Hvali), and farming (for the Søri). Whaling is a very important cornerstone of Hvali culture, with whale bones and imagery being common in their works of art. Søri on the other hand have developed a very strong agricultural society that has mostly abandoned the militarist roots of the Velheim people. As such, whhile Eili and Vola worship can be found among the Hvali, the Søri mostly only worship the Eili.
• The Driksi, Nordi, Hvitsi Velheim Cultures (dark blue, light blue, gray-blue respectively) are sometimes also called "The Three Skags", because they were once all one people called the Skeggi. Skeggi as a Culture was violently destroyed by the Regalian Empire as they subjected the ancestors of the Driksi in the Regalian Archipelago, while the ancestors of the Hvitsi and Nordi fled to their western brethren to avoid becoming part of the Regalian Empire. The Hvitsi then split off from the Nordi when they too became subject from the Regalian Empire, and so in the modern era, only the Hvitsi remain outside of the Regalian borders. Each successive people has a lower opinion of the previous (the Nordi look down on the Driksi for being subjugated, and the Hvitsi look down on the Nordi for falling in turn). There is a great deal of "no true Skeggi" happening among the three Skag Cultures, but the reality is that all of them have long moved past what it means to be Skeggi, and become their own distinct people. These three Cultures are based on late-era Viking Norse, and also speak real-life Norwegian with the in-lore Language called Skodje. The Driksi are fiercely independent while trying to preserve their cultural independence from the Empire's homoginization, while the Nordi are more embracing of Regalian customs, while maintaining a strong militaristic sentiment. The fiercest are the Hvitsi, who reject all forms of modern civilization, and are considered barbaric even by Velheim terms with their customs. The Driksi have a very complex mortuary culture that has spawned most of the Fornoss traditions surrounding the dead, while the majority of the necropolises are also found in Driksi territory. The Nordi are famed warriors, with the Nordskag Kingdom having one of the largest armies in the Regalian Empire. And the Hvitsi are just remembered for hating everyone that is not them, including other Velheim.
• The Kaini and Hjordi Velheim Cultures (light green and dark green on the map respectively) are much more solitary than the other Velheim cultures, and far less interconnected with the wider world. Both Cultures are also at risk of being lost in the figurative sense, as many of them are converted to Urlan by the local Urlan tribes, causing them to lose part of their customs and traditions as they merge into the more melting pot Cultures of the Urlan. The Kaini are still somewhat free from this slow death-fate, having built vast fortifications on hilltops and cliffsides, keeping the Urlan at bay. Kaini are mistrusting of outsiders, and like a metaphorical expression of their walled cities, put up many walls in their own heart before they let anyone in. The Hjordi as a Culture are not expected to exist for longer than 100 years, as their populations have plummeted to the few thousands. Hjordi are considered the most rustic or hick among the Velheim, masters at being unseen and survivalist skills, but lacking the refinement of higher cultures. The Hjordi come from a truly inhospitable landscape, nearly permanently covered in snow and permafrost, with Urlan constantly hunting them to convert, and with strange cultural traditions like turning the dead into compost, and using their skins as wall art to remember their lives in the tattoos on their bodies. The Hjordi have a very nihilistic outlook on life due to the very high child mortality rate, and their average life expectancy being very low. Both the Kaini and Hjordi are based on late-Viking era Iceland/Greenland settlers, and also speak real-life Icelandic with the in-lore language called Ørsti.
• The Tryggi and Hedri Velheim Cultures (dark yellow and yellow on the map respectively) are remnants of a once larger Hedri Kingdom that spanned much of the southern coast of Ellador. Due to a combination of the Vampire Wars, Isldar Wars, and conflicts with the Dwarves, this realm was broken in two and isolated from one another, allowing distinct cultures to come into existence. The Hedri were once a great trader people, and the modern day Hedri still have kept much of this alive, hiding behind a massive wall they say was built by the Gods to keep them safe from what else lurks in Ellador. The Tryggi have adopted many Dwarven customs and beliefs, with their society intermingling with Dwarves that live underground beneath their Kingdom, sharing many resources and knowledge. Both the Truggi and Hedri are based on early medieval Danish, and also speak real-life Danish with the in-lore language called Dasigyl.
• The Sunnvi Velheim Culture (isolated far south on the map) are an oddity that has been isolated from the other Velheim cultures for thousands of years. They were only recently discovered when exploration further south revealed landmasses to exist beyond Terra Incognita. The Sunnvi hold onto some of the old proto-Velheim customs, but have diverged very far indeed from the commonalities shared by the other Velheim Cultures. They are exclusively Vola worshipers, and have a culture strongly integrated with the summoning and bending to their will of Void Spirits. Their whole culture is brutal, tribal, war-like and seemingly crude to the female gender, a direct opposition with the gender-equality found in other Velheim Cultures. The Sunnvi are not based on any real-life culture, and speak a fantasy language called Suval, which only shared scant similarities with the other Velheim languages, and is not mutually intelligible. Sunnvi Velheim as a Culture are not currently playable, though Event Characters of this Culture may appear in Regalia on occasion.
• The Höge Velheim Culture (purple on the map) is a very modern occurrence, in which The Nordi people of Nordskag have started emulating the High Cultures of the Regalian Empire, building large Manorial Estates, ditching furs and chainmail for brocade and wide dresses, and adopting formal aristocratic habits. This culture is based on 18th-century Swedish aristocratic Culture, adopting elements of Ithanian and Wirtem (French and German respectively), while still holding onto many traditions to do with Fornoss Religion and their Nordi roots. Many non-Höge look down on them for submitting to the civilized realms and abandoning some of their wilder habits, while the Höge consider themselves to be the first freed from the yoke of dying customs, and able to weather the erosion of tradition by modernizing. Höge Velheim still speak Skodje, but do so with more pompous regality and over-enunciated syllables.