Stoccar

The Stoccar are a people native to Sortland, a former state, now the northernmost region of the Yocilum Empire. They primarily live on and along the rivers in mountainous areas of their native land. Up until The End , the highest concentration of Stoccar were found in the Chesmis area.

They build houses stood on poles in rivers or lakes, where they make their living from fishing from rafts or gathering food and materials from underwater. They are known to be exceptionally great divers and navigators, rarely losing their sense of direction in muddy waters. These houses form small communities or tribes led by a chieftain. Within their own culture there are no leaders above the chieftain, and no greater society. They are, and almost always have been, subjects of other nations.

Appearance

The people have light brown skin or tan skin. Their hair is curly, and ranges from a dark blonde to black. The men tend to get beards from a young age, which is also curly. This is believed to originate as a natural defense from mosquitoes. Most are of a slender build, but with a chest proportionally bigger than most people, a feature for supporting bigger lungs for these natural divers.

Stoccar use little to no clothing, besides straw sandals, and thus also have no cultural outfits or clothing traditions to speak of.

History

Origin

Sharing a noteworthy similarity in looks and traditions with the river Tollans, the Stoccar are likely emigrants of Watolla. Their rafts may have taken them from the rivers to the ocean, either intentionally or by accident, and the currents dragged them to Sortland. As they generally lack the tradition of written recordings of their history, one can only speculate how they truly ended up here.

Subjugation

For the longest time, the Stoccar were part of the state of Yocilum. Their decentralized nature caused them to fit poorly within the highly structured Yocil society. Early on they had trouble adapting to the concept of money, and did not understand why they had to give up some of their fish as "taxes" to people they didn't know. "For protection" For roads!" they said, but the Stoccar neither needed nor benefited from those things.

Ignorance and defiance was quickly turned into compliance by way of violence. Tribes persistently denying the state their pay-day were exterminated. The role of a chieftain turned from being a wise leader to a collector of goods to be given to the Yocil government. Some chieftains even took the opportunity to establish taxes themselves, lowering living standards of their people while they lived in abundance.

Independence-ish

The Stoccar found an unlikely ally in the faraway country of Auregelmir. Even stranger, the events leading to their freedom was caused by aure expansionism in pursuit of exotic wares from foreign lands. They had discovered luxurious goods such as coffee and cocoa, and forcefully drove out the Yocil to establish a plantation colony, which they called Sortland.

The aure did not demand tax or tribute from the Stoccar, and would instead pay them to serve as guides or plantation workers. As the region was mapped out and the colony effectively expanded, small settlements around the plantations grew into towns, and towns grew into cities. Local governments combined into regional regulators. And the aure wanted nothing more than to include the locals, who knew this land better than them.

After a few decades under the prosperous rule of Auregelmir, Sortland officially became a vassal state of the great northern kingdom. One could say their way of life changed as a result, with the Stoccar taking a more active role in what we consider "civilized society" today. But most never truly left their traditional way of life, with even high standing politicians eventually retiring to their river villages.

The End

As the newly branded Yocilum Empire sought to expand north, Sortland was first in line. Aure soldiers and mercenaries held them back for some time, but their supply lines were too far off to efficiently replenish their forces. The empire seemingly had an endless supply of troops, which not only marched on the vassal state, but also attacked the countries of Crownmark from the ocean. Sortland fell.

The war eventually led to the explosive event known as the End, where the Chesmis mountain range was ripped in half, separating the continents. The remaining mountains were covered in a poisonous blue fog that seemed to kill or mutate every living thing inside. Whether under the mercy of the empire or the fog, what became of the Stoccar is unknown.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Alali, Ayibatari, Bolouere, Ebiere, Iniebi, Kemebi, Seiyefa, Tari, Timiebi, Yenimi.

Masculine names

Amatari, Dabota, Ebipadei, Igoni, Koroye, Pere, Tamuno, Toru.

Family names

Stoccar surnames are traditionally patronymic, with the child taking their father's first name as their last name. Under the rule of Auregelmir, some added the suffix "son" or "dottir" to their last name, following aure naming convention.