Jarnish Colonies

The Jarnish Colonies were a series of towns and townsteads centred on two sites in the western Aelder Woods. These two sites are the towns of Yngar and Sarin, which were founded by pioneers from the Jarnish Empire during the 9th century BIF. Jarnish settlers arrived in the western reaches of the Aelder Wood in around 885 BIF, just a few years before the Zaiki Miracle and the subsequent collapse of the Jarnish Empire. These early colonies remain the sites of large towns within the Empire of Nara Tok, while Yngarians and Sarin-folk remain two of the larger groups of human to be found in the region of Volodaria.
Yngar was the earliest of these colonies, joined a few years later by a second site in Sarin. Early trade between these first towns was common, along the Bay of Yngar, though this practice died out shortly before the reign of Maknor Wildfyr in Yngar.
Over many centuries, the peoples of Yngar and Sarin would develop their own dialects of Jarnish, though Yngarian has since fallen into relative obscurity after their annexation into the Empire.

Yngar

The town of Yngar lies near the Wannib Delta, among the Maknorian Marshes. It was founded a few years before the town of Sarin - the first of the Jarnish colonies in the region. The town enjoyed a strong trading relationship with the Sarin-folk of the Fajlan Marshes for over half a century before they became focussed on disputes with the Forest Giants of the western Wood.
Accounts from this time mostly stem from oral history, and so there is little that can be truly confirmed. However, it seems likely that the Forest Giants were far friendlier than their northern cousins, and so for a long time, they enjoyed peaceful relations with the Yngarians. More, there is some evidence to suggest romantic or amorous relations between some Yngarians and some Forest Giants, which led to the birth of the Goliaths. However, the giants remained naturally territorial, and so as the Yngarians expanded, building more settlements deeper into the woodlands, many conflicts arose between the Giants and the Jarnishmen. Relationships soured, and by around 830 BIF, it had become common for Yngarians to actively hunt the Forest Giants.
It was into this culture of violence that Maknor Wildfyr rose to prominence. Maknor was a fearsome warrior, who had earned great respect for his role in the slaying of a dozen Giants. Maknor quickly became the chieftain of Yngar,and by around 800 BIF, had gathered enough support to pursue a more permanent solution to the Forest Giant problem. The Yngarians set the western woods ablaze, themselves sheltering in the marshland around the Wannib river delta. Maknor's crusade was successful - the Forest Giants were almost entirely wiped out by the fires, and those few who survived were hunted to extinction in the following years. Worse still, Maknor's flames caused the death of many Aeldrin tribes, as well as the loss of the sacred grove of Daqi trees. It also saw the death of the last remnants of diplomacy between the Yngarians and the Sarin-folk, who were outraged by the violence of their cousins.
Over the following centuries, Yngar would expand only slightly, building settlements in and around the Wannib delta, until eventually being assimilated into the Empire of Nara Tok, soon after the founding of the imperial colony of Selucia in 169 IF. It served some use as a garrison for the Redcloaks, and a fortification guarding the lands west of the Wannib, though it has since faded into irrelevance.
Yngar is a port that lies near the Wannib river delta. Its locale is lush and fertile, and the marshlands have mostly been employed for agricultural purposes. Fishing is also of great importance to the Yngarians. Since Maknor Wildfyr's reign, over a millennium ago, the Yngarians have settled into simpler pursuits, many turning to fishing and agriculture. The town is used as a port by the Empire, though little trade is conducted on the Qanician Sea. It features a small watchtower, remnant of its use as a frontier outpost when the Aelder Wood was first colonised by the Empire. Maknor Wildfyr and other ancient Yngarian heroes still maintain a large part of the town's cultural identity, and tales of giant-hunts are commonly told in the Yngarian taverns.

Sarin

The folk of Sarin historically enjoyed a much more positive relationship with the local Aeldrin than their cousins in Yngar. Soon after their arrival, accounts describe encounters with the Manaqi tribe, who provided the new settlers with gifts. Over time, they taught them much of their language, and eventually became instrumental instructors in how to survive in the hostile marshlands. Some suggest this was in part, meant to echo the kindness supposedely given them by their goddess, Daisha, Goddess of the Forest during the Birth of the Aeldrin.
After a generation, the Sarin-folk had integrated almost entirely into the local culture, learning and binding themselves to the laws and customs of the Manaqi. This assimilation hurried the end of trading links between the Sarin-folk and the Yngarians, who had earned reputations as enemies of the Aeldrin even before the time of Maknor Wildfyr. In the aftermath of Wildfyr's campaign in the west, the Sarin-folk completely cut themselves off from the Yngarians, and further intertwined themselves with their Aeldrin allies.
By the time of the Empire's expansion into the south, Sarin had fully adopted the Aeldrin ways, even serving in defence of the forest during the Aeldrin-Imperial Frontier Battles. Their reputation as guardians of the forest was sufficient to grant them a place in the great council of 193 IF, where Volodar convinced the gathered Aeldrin to accept the signing of a treaty with the Empire. As such, they were integrated into the Empire along with the local Aeldrin. Since then, their way of life has changed very little - they still maintain close ties with the Manaqi who remained in the area, and few Sarin-folk have seen fit to leave their home in the southern marshes.
Sarin lies in a small bay in the southern reaches of Volodaria, a few day's walk from the centre of the Fajla marshlands. There is some trade between Sarin and the city of Astria - the Sarin-folk export fish and rare herbs to the larger Astrian markets.