Thirteen Invasions

A grimoire spelt by Minaev the Foundling, The Thirteen Invasions is a collection of descriptions of the thirteen peoples that have come to define the Milosian Peninsula: some mythical, some historical, and some a mixture of the two.
Aernigh and the Deinain: From what little we know, most assume the Aernigh were the original inhabitants of the Peninsula, and (much like today) the Deinain were the gods they worshipped. Minaev asserts, however, that the Deinain themselves may have been the true masters of Milos, who used superior weaponry or mysticism to rule over the Aernigh before somehow dying out. Minaev's critics, most notably Genev the Terrible, are quick to point out that neither of these peoples constitute an invasion. Minaev includes them to be thorough, however, and justifies her title by pointing out that the Monosi would stage two major invasions into the Peninsula.
Hadrash: While the Aernigh and Deinain may each find their origins in truth, Minaev readily admits that the Hadrash were pure fantasy. Framed as the descendents of the Monsters that dwelt beneath the Sea, the Hadrash serve as adversaries to the Deinain, Aernigh, and even the legends of the Orrish invaders and their cadet peoples. Hadrashi warriors are oft described as giants, deformed beasts, or even dragons. There is even some crossover with older myth, with several Deinain children being said to be half-Hadrashi.
Orrish: The Orrish are the first Milosians whose existence are supported by physical evidence. Ruins throughout the Peninsula have been ascribed to them and their various cadet peoples, as well as ancient villages, battlegrounds, and weapons of bone and wood. The most prominent of these cadet peoples include the Leante, the Siiari, the Yfri, the Sutri, the Rathi, and the Bastisi, though this last point has been contested often.
Ethels: To this day, it is unclear if the Ethels came from across the Sea or down from the Pass of Peril. Minaev takes the less sensational route for once, suggesting they were simply another cadet people of the Orrish, who elected to move farther south for some reason, coming into contact with the Rathi. Their wars with the Rathi would lead to their dominant position in the Ethelands and in arguably all of Milos. Sometimes called Etheli in order to link them to the cadet peoples of the Orrish, the term "Ethel" is a constant source of confusion, as it is also the name of the canton itself, citizens of the canton, and the ruling clan.
Leante: Though widely understood to be descendents of the Orrish, the Leante have their own legend wherein they emerged from the Western Seas to rescue the Milosians from the Hadrash, after which all swore fealty to the Leante people. Today, this is widely accepted to be an interpretation of Clan Beth's conquest of the Cape of Monsters. Some see this as the subjugation of the Siiari, while others see it merely as the war between the Beths and the Odons.
Dog Men: Some legends depict the Dog Men as beast-folk, similar to the mythical Hadrash or the werewolves of the south, but historical evidence indicates these warriors wore the skins of canines into battle. They are believed to have come down through the Pass of Peril, and some stories indicate they were eventually repelled, destroyed, or absorbed into local tribes. Others allege they are in fact the ancestors of the Bastisi people, whose modern culture revolves greatly around dogs. Most of the nobility of Bastis reject this, insisting their ancestors were the same Orrish settlers as the other Ancient Milosians.
Shigir: Likely a corruption of "Shyei Geir," the so-called Shigir were refugees of Seoi heritage from Samaya. They fled into what is now the Yfri Fields in response to the Orckid Invasion, begging asylum of the King of Field and Sky. Two generations later, the newest King of Field and Sky would wed a princess from among these refugees. The Samayans' integration into the nobility of the Fields would benefit them greatly when the Old Orckid Empire at last came to Milos.
Viisianars: The largest and most influential of these invasions, Minaev surprises none by spending much of her Grimoire discussing the Old Orckid Empire. Not only did it have the largest impact, but their love of spells and records makes their impact the easiest to research. Five of the seven cantons we know today were likely formed from the remains of the ten governorships the Orckids carved Milos into. They introduced spelling (though some dispute this, making the unlikely claim that the ancient Orrish were spellers as well), codified laws and governance throughout the land, and (perhaps paradoxically) introduced centuries of peace to a land thought to be oft torn by internal warfare.
Raven Folk: Also called the Black Feather Clan. Unbeknownst to most, Milos actually suffered two invasions under the stewardship of the Viisianars. The first fell exclusively in the south, along the western and southwestern shores of what are now Urudun and Revellia. Legend records the Raven Folk, much like the Dog Men of the north, as monsters with the heads of ravens and the bodies of men, coated in feathers and bone-like armor. Exactly who these invaders were is unknown: they left behind no language, like artifacts, and apparently no dead, if they were indeed monstrosities. They struck at the very extremity of Orckid influence, and as such Imperial forces were slow to respond, but eventually the People of the Black Feather were defeated and expelled, or possibly wiped out entirely. Some have suggested these invaders might be precursors to both the pre-Khabarese Urudunites and the Siiari, though by and large this idea is dismissed as fancy.
Mornals: Remembered in the Esterlands chiefly as the doom of the Viisianars, the Mornals did in fact rule the Peninsula for nearly three centuries, much of this time actually following the Great Collapse. Little can be said of this era of the New Orckid Empire, save that they were crueler masters who had eviscerated much of the infrastructure the Viisianars had built by the time Cenedras the Deliverer arrived to free the land and usher in the Early Royal Age.
Monosi: Though little is said of Cenedras's Conquest, Minaev does paint a largely praise-filled portrait of the 123rd King of Kings. This was the era preceding the Burning of the Great Spellery and the Lost Age, so ultimately little is known of it. Most credit this time as the reemergence of the traditional feudal systems that would inspire the Grand Geas and the Lordslands as we know them today, but Minaev actually suggests that much of this cultural transformation likely took place under the brutal and incurious stewardship of the Mornals. She claims that the only major cultural shift found in this era was the predominance of the Host Keeping Faith, which she claims would have been practically nonexistent beforehand. Many have disputed this, insisting the ancient Orrish were likely Host Keepers of the Old Faith, but Minaev counters this by suggesting that, even if this were true, the faith would likely have suffered greatly under the Old and New Orckid Empires, who both worshipped the Sixteen Pillars.
Khabarese: Though they never made much foothold beyond what is now Urudun, the Khabarese Crusade is often credited as the rebirth of history in Milos. Fearing subjugation to the Satari gods, kings all over the Peninsula revived the practice of spelling and wizardry in hopes of countering the new invaders. Though their armies rarely marched into the other cantons, Khabarese notions of chivalry, love, and militarized piety would spread throughout the land.
Roylians: Refugees of the Century Wars, the Roylians claim direct heritage from the Roynasi, separating their histories from the Onzui Ohir and Shyei Geir, who supposedly father most of the major peoples of the Esterlands. During the Century Wars, the Roylians were forced to flee to the southern side of the Sentinel Mountains, leaving their ancestral home open to invasion by ethnic Monosi who (as of the signing of the Grand Geas) are now subjects of Milos (calling themselves the Milosi). The Roylians would fight some battles to carve out their new lands, largely pushing itinerate Bastisi farther south into modern-day Bastis, but their resettlement into the Peninsula was a relatively peaceful one.