Men of the Autumnvale
History
Origins
The first mannish inhabitants of the Autumnvale, and the earliest ancestors of modern Valesmen, were an insular society known as the Achiad, which, following the close of the Dwarven-Draconic Wars, diverged from their Ulnosti and Bergic neighbours. When the first great tribes of Orcs, having occupied the abandoned mountain cities and strongholds of the Dwarves, began to turn towards the more fertile lowlands, mankind found itself thrust into an existential struggle. While surrounding groups abandoned the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of early man in order to establish sedentary agriculture, cities, and metallurgy to ensure their survival, the Achiad withdrew into deep into the woods of the Autumnvale for shelter. This was followed by the evolution of a reclusive, semi-druidic culture which was highly territorial, and developed methods of war, woodcraft, and magic to remain both hidden and secure. By the time the Ulnosti entered the Autumnvale, they were a bronze-age society, but even this development was relatively recent in their long history. Achiad legends tell of their warriors hunting orcs using arrows tipped with bone, flint, or the poisonous barbs of stingrays; spears and war-clubs also featured prominently, as did the coats of fish-scale armour that would become so prominent in the lore of the Autumnvale. A profound cultural and historic influence on the Achiad was their discovery of the dragon Svarcliste within Lake Bardalmere, in the northwestern reaches of the Autumnvale. The interactions between the dragon and Urlabhra Silver-Tongue, the most famous early Achiad Ceannaire (chieftain) and the only one possessing the formidable wit and will required to debate with Svarcliste, laid the foundations for both Credasvar as a mannish faith and the adoption of the Autumnvale as the Achiad's native land. One of the numerous legendary "tests" which the dragon devised for the new inhabitants was to confer unto them the responsibility to defend their homes, which lead to an event which is also present in the Orcish cultural memory, known in both traditions as the "Battle Under the Boughs," although it was doubtless but one of many clashes during this period as the boundaries between mannish and orcish societies were being defined across eastern Wythe. While at this point the Achiad were hardly warlike, ancient fireside songs such as "Thorns of the Trodden Thistle" (still popular in the wartime Autumnvale) recount in repetitious verses how, under Urlabhra's leadership and that of his successors, they adapted their circumstances, and in wartime fashioned poisoned arrowheads and speartips from the barbs of freshwater rays, great yew warbows, slings, and boiled leather armour from hides and animal glue. Both Achiad and Orcish folklore attest to the ferocity of the warfare, and both sides suffered greatly. Nonetheless, the Achiad eventually triumphed due to their resourcefulness and growing skill in woodland warfare. This resulted in the ancient feud shifting into periods of intermittent, low-intensity conflict, primarily raids and counter-raids, underscored by the implicit understanding that the Achiad were in the Autumnvale to stay. Martial skill, hunting prowess, and ability to both utilize and defend the resources of the area thus became hallmarks of Achiad culture, playing a central role in religion, leadership, and social relationships such as marriage. Achiad society was, for most of its existence, dispersed into various tribes and bands that occupied tracts of the vast woodlands and hills, with larger settlements occupying sacred or strategic ground, such as near Lake Bardalmere and the Whitestone (known to contemporaries as the Llydenmuice, or "wide-mouthed") River delta. These sites, in addition to serving as centres of agriculture, production, and exchange, were also home to the halls and gathering-places of the Comhairle, or the ruling council in which the disparate chiefs of the Autumnvale would convene to address issues beyond the capacity of individual tribes. While relations between the tribes were mostly amicable on account of religious unity and the need to defend against outside incursion, the occasional disputes were settled by brief feuds, or preferably, deliberation via the Comhairle and even ritual tournaments and games. Early Ulnosti observers at these tournaments noted with astonishment how sometimes egregious acts of bloodletting between tribes would then, generations later, serve as fuel for often good-natured competition and even humour at these events.Arrival of the Ulnosti
The arrival of Ulnosti settlers in the Autumnvale, and the resulting cultural synthesis that produced many facets of the area that are visible today, occured during an period of acute hardship for the Achiad. The Ulnosti themselves were recovering from an event that subsequent traditions have termed the "Great Foray," or the culmination of the wars between Orcs and Men following the fall of the Dwarven kingdoms. The newly-forged, militarily capable Kingdom of Ulnost was tempered by the crucible of those times, but the wide-ranging Orcish offensives during the Great Foray, although defeated by the emerging Ulnosti, had decemated the ranks of the martial nobility. Titles and lands were being redistributed to those who had proved themselves in victory, resulting in a "new" nobility of hardened warriors eager to establish themselves. One such family, the Ashdownes, were awarded some of the last "untouched" lands among those nominally claimed by the Kingdom of Ulnost; the Autumnvale. Until this point, the valley's proximity to the Orcish-occupied mountains and the pressure upon the new Kingdom had prevented virtually any Ulnosti settlement in the area, a situation that would soon radically change. The Achiad, who would otherwise be watchful and guarded against an Ulnosti incursion, were grappling with one of the most dire and obscure episodes in the Autumnvale's history. One of the few sources from the Era, the "Chronicle of the Tribes," a multi-generational work largely compiled under the auspices of the Comhairle, describes some of the calamities in short but obscure fashion: "Birds took flight from the trees of here, and flew far away. In their place, wicked, faceless, nameless things walked the woods. Pits opened in the land, and from them came foul and acrid air. Ill clouds hung in the sky, from which cruel spirits descended. Awe and fear were felt throughout the land, which scarce grew fruit." These events and what little written traces of them survive have prompted deliberation since their occurance. The most common explanations among the Valesmen themselves fall within the reasoning of their faith, known as Credasvar. The Sages of the Autumnvale generally agree that the cosmological balance required remain true to the pact with Svarcliste and ensure divine order had been disrupted in some dramatic way. Whether the Achiad themselves had failed their responsibilities through vice or negligence, or a demonic anthithesis to Svarcliste bent on counteracting his work in the Autumnvale was at play, is subject to further debate. Still other possibilities remain; the Orcish histories record a period of great hardship and turmoil within the neighbouring mountains around the same time, including much bitter fighting in the deepest places of the earth; this may also explain the rapid, unexpected defeat of their formidable armies in the Great Foray. When the Ashdownes and their followers, consisting of a large band of knights, soldiers, tradesmen, and settlers, entered the Autumnvale they were met not by the watchful Achiad, but by an intractable wilderness, attacks by ferocious beasts, and sinister magic. However, bouyed by their newfound status and recent victories, they elected to send messengers back to Ulnost and press onwards. When those men staggered back to Barracksmouth, recounting the travails of those who had entered the valley and relaying their request for assistance, tradition holds that several other martial houses rode to join the Ashdownes; namely, the ancestors of the Walmoors and Allisters. Fighting their way through the Autumnvale, the Ulnosti soon came upon the fortified settlements to which the Achiad had retreated. Although both peoples had long become warlike by necessity, and in any other circumstance would have likely fallen into conflict, the Achiad were struggling for survival, and the Ulnosti, despite the speed of their advance, now found themselves surrounded in hostile, inhospitable surroundings. Instead, the leadership of each group decided to exhange emissaries to prevent misunderstandings and to see what could be done to aleviate the peril which all in the Autumnvale now faced. Soon, the greatest lords and wise men of the Ulnosti were invited to the Comhairle. Although much translation, deliberation, disagreements, and gradual negotiation must have taken place, what is most known of these meetings is the pact which they produced. The Hopeful Pact, as it came to be called, was an oath sworn by the greatest chief of the Achiad, Diwechaf Golachaid, on behalf of the Comhairle, the Sage Weledoch Hassathol, and the lords of each of the three Ulnosti houses: Garwin Ashdowne, Bescwiath Walmoor, and Garwin Ashdowne. In exchange for the mutual promise of peaceful cohabitation in the future, both peoples pooled their collective strength, resources, and wisdom to address the terror at hand. The true duration of the crisis, and the losses sustained to combat it, will likely never be known, but what chronicles survive of the great deeds, sacrfices and losses, and heroes involved contributed greatly to the Autumnvale's folklore. The peoples who would make up the later Valesmen coming together to overcome an existential threat demanding strength, virtue, and cunning in equal measure, while fighting for the sacred peace and order of their home, are themes that have resonated with generations of the Autumnvale's inhabitants. By the time this titanic strife had reached its conclusion, whatever they had seen and experienced had transformed the Ulnosti into stout followers of the Achiad religion, Credasvar: there remain legends of Svarcliste fighting alongside men, and even appearing to demand a similar oath from the founders of the three great houses as he had from the Achiad of Urlabhra's day.Cultural Synthesis
The centuries after the vindication of the Hopeful Pact saw the Autumnvale return to peace and the recovery of its ecosystem as claims were staked, settlements constructed, and the countryside resettled. True to their oath, the Ulnosti and the Achiad lived agreeably, though the former soon began to greatly outnumber the latter. However, the adoption of Credasvar by the new inhabitants paired with the vital role that Achiad lore and magic had played in saving the Autumnvale meant that Achiad traditions exerted an outsized influence in the new cultural melting-pot. This balance was cemented by important marriages, most notably between Margen Allister and Foighne Iladiel, the daughter of Chief Golachaid. Such uinions and the need for political expediency meant that the lines of the chieftains of the Comhairle and the Ulnosti noble houses became joined until, after a time, the great families came to represent the union of these two authorities. The long age of peace and growth prior to the Imperial period meant that day-to-day customs and respective cultural peculiarities of the Ulnosti and Achiad had ample room to gradually adapt and combine into a generally coherent Valic identity without much long-term conflict. Moreover, as the events surrounding the Hopeful Pact passed into legend over the years, Valic culture benefitted from a unifying founding myth grounded in a religious outlook which acted as a social and cultural glue. The Sages, on account of their vital religious function and role in the Autumnvale's stewardship, retained almost all of their authority as members of the Comhairle. As such, that entity would live on, albeit entirely populated by Sages, who would continue to call meetings of the Comhairle to discuss matters of religious import, and to appoint several of their number as Chief Sages, who would serve as advisors and wise men in the courts of the Autumnvale's nobility. Long after the linguistic fusion of the Ulnosti and Achiad tongues delivered the Valic language, the Sages would still take "classical" Achiad names and speak the ancient language, practices which have persisted to the present.Characteristics & Culture
Two of the most profound impacts on the culture of the Autumnvale were the tumultuous events endured by its peoples early in their histories, and the subsequent long period generally characterized by minimal conflict with surrounding polities and an emphasis on internal prosperity and stability, the solidification of cultural and political institutions, and local trade. As such, upon Imperial contact, the Autumnvale was percieved as a region whose inhabitants had largely beaten swords into plowshares, followed a peculiar localised religion, and idealized the values of hard work, peaceable accord, and reverence for hearth, home, and the surrounding countryside; their martial traditions resided in what seemed to be a mythical past.Appearance
Encompassed species
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Languages spoken