Terstener

Terstener is the general term used to identify anyone from the planet Tersten. It refers to the collective Tersten people, rather than any specific Tersten culture.

Culture Groups of Tersten

Tersten is home to numerous cultures that have developed either as a mix of other off-world cultures, or as a creation of the harsh conditions of the planet. The planet has been divided into eleven culture groups. These groups share similar beliefs and customs, many of which developed off-world but evolved on the planet itself.

Pinasc

Pinascs are a group that developed on Tersten as a divergence from the traditional cultures of North Tersten (New Aresian, Martian, Yuklidian, etc.) cultures in the early 23rd Century. It has its own distinct social and cultural characteristics that make it uniquely Tersten. They primarily inhabit North-Central Tersten around Tersten City, but are present across the whole planet in one-form or another. Unlike their Nevokie cousins to the south, the Pinasc people live in a heavily industrialised and urbanised area. They are seen as the stereotypical city-slickers who rely on tech and not their hands. To other Tersteners, this is seen as a characteristic rudeness. Many Pinascs find themselves employed within law enforcement, or military roles. They are friendly to off-worlders, and share close to ties with Sol and Lordania.
Pinasc is considered a majority culture in North-Central Tersten. It is a minority culture in White Ocean City, Lawless Frontier, and Yukela
There exists a semi-friendly rivalry between Pinasc and Nevokie cultures, originating from the very real and serious rivalry between escaped convicts and penal authority.

Nevokie

Main Article: Nevokie
Nevokies originate from the plains and forests of southern Tersten. They are the primary culture group on the planet, with its people spread across the entire planet. They are most centered around the city of Nevada. They are named as a portmanteau of Nevadan and Okie. The term Okie refers to the various Oklahoman migrants who fled the dustbowl on 20th Century Earth. This term has seen a revival for those who migrated to the free city of Nevada.
Historically Nevokies are comprised of a blend of every culture in the Lordanian Region as well as numerous Solar cultures. Their origins come from the untold masses of people brought to Tersten as prisoners, as well as their families, soldiers, protestors, and freedmen that settled in the planet's south, around modern day Nevada City. Most Nevokies can name at least one grandparent that was involved in the penal system. As such, they are a careful and suspicious people, distrusting of any authority that is not their own. They have a reputation for being just as likely to shoot a stranger as they are shake their hands.
They are seen as traditional, but only in the sense of how they live their lives. They are equally as liberal in terms of social policies and welfare, with poor Nevokies being considered the poorest overall on Tersten.
They are a majority group all across Tersten.

Lawless-Nevokie

The Lawless-Nevokie are a sub-group of Nevokie, referring to the people who inhabit the modern day Lawless Frontier. Also called the Ranchers, these people are known for their rural charm, and how they just seem to be at home on the range. These people are the 'face' of Tersten Cowboys everywhere. When off-worlders picture a Terstener, it is typically the Lawless-Nevokie that they picture, with wide brimmed hat and spurs.
These people live in large families of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, but must importantly, 'Bloodparents'. Akin to the traditional concept of Godparents, Bloodparents are those that have made a pact or bond with one-another, and will raise the children of both as one family. As a result, each family can be considered its own community of on average, 5 or 6 children, and around 20 adults. This is more common out in the range, where families can be large and do not have to be fitted into smaller city life. Lawless is slowly becoming one such choking city, and many Lawless-Nevokie feel their time is slowly but surely coming to an end.

Yukelan

The people of Yukela are some of the youngest cultures to arrive and develop on the planet. Stretching as far as Whitecliff, on the edge of the Nevadan Republic; to the eastern edges of Greenstone and the Green River Valley. The region has been inhabited since the early days of the Pinascimate Penal Authority, where it was settled by escaped prisoners, adventurous colonists, and people simply looking for their own piece of land. The difficulty of reaching Yukela meant that all travellers had to traverse vast deserts and mountains, which limited early colonisation. During the reign of the PRL, much of Yukela was developed, including the settling of South Harelstone. Following this, a vast number of peoples moved into the area, slowly creating the modern day cultural borders of the Yukelan Region. Most recently, especially around the urbanised zone of South Harelstone, corporate influence has begun to seep into the establishment. The region has had a rough history with Corporations, as most of the corporations were invited here at the behest of Fascists, and not the people. However, the benefits of cheap, mass produced luxuries are hard to ignore.
The Yukelans are considered by the rest of Tersten to value brains over brawn. Many people, including Tersteners, make the mistake of assuming that Yukela is homogeneous, whereas it is actually considered a melting pot of cultures, traditions, and ethnicities. This is because many different types of people were brought to the planet, but most specifically to South Harelstone by the People's Republic, who spared little thought for pre-existing cultural beliefs.

Dustbowler

Dustbowler culture originates in the communities of prison life. Prior to escaping Harelstone Prison, the people that would become the dustbowlers were a sizable community that used body art such as tattoos to communicate stories and personality. Similarly developing a constructed language for communication outside of prison control, they became a distinct and divergent Tersten culture. Upon crossing the harsh badlands, many settlers were unwilling or unable to cross through the large dust storms that blow westward towards the White Ocean on its westward side. These settlers founded the city of Bibisango in the sheltered mountains, while the others pushed through, eventually arriving at an isolated harbor where the land was fertilised by nutrient rich sand, founding the city of Harmony. Dustbowlers are considered a unique and unusual development on Tersten and thus have garnered an exotic reputation by their peers, something most Dustbowlers consider to be vaguely racist. The use of their constructed language continues today, being only spoken in the badlands and dustbowl regions of West Equatorial Tersten.

Oceaner

Oceaner is a minority culture on Tersten, largely focused around the city of White Ocean and the geographic region of Mediolama. They are considered an average Tersten culture, with mixes of Nevokie and Pinasc merging here upon the coast. A lot of Oceaners are descended from Italian colonists brought to the planet as free settlers by the Pinascimate Penal Authority in early 2240. There is a large Italian influence along the coast of White Ocean, including a minority presence as far as Port John, which is located on the other side of the White Ocean.

Moorian

The people of Moore are some of the oldest settlers on the planet, and are largely comprised of a variety of Martian cultures, as well as influences from Hispanic, Germanic, French, and Nordic cultures. They have always been considered as 'distant' from Tersten affairs, but were highly sympathetic to the plights of convict-refugees during the days of the Penal Authority, which has garnered them close ties with their Nevokie cousins.

Calaman

Rovenan

Onoogan

Saralostian

Ethnicities of Tersten

Nevokie Pinasc Terstánach Tersteno

North Tersten

Tersten County

1. Pinasc
2. Anglo-Terstener
3. Martian-Terstener
4. Hispanic-Terstener
5. Gölich
6. Anglo-Terstener
7. Samaritan

Moore Republic

8. Martian-Terstener
9. Nordic-Terstener
10. Vallianic
11. Samaritan
12. Manzalan
13. Bantu-Terstener
14. Anglo-Terstener

Rovena Repúblika

15. Slavic-Terstener
16. Pinasc
17. Khetan
18. Bantu-Terstener
19. Anglo-Terstener
20. Hispanic-Terstener

Saralost Republic

21. Slavic-Terstener
22. Anglo-Terstener
23. Gölich
24. Aresians
25. Martian-Terstener
26. Hispanic-Terstener
27. Unathi



Central Tersten

República de Calama

28. Hispanic-Terstener
29. Gölich
30. Anglo-Terstener

Mediolama County

31. Italian-Terstener
32. Tersteno-Mongolic
33. Irish-Terstener
34. Operstoner
35. Aresian
36. Anglo-Terstener
37. Nevokie
38. Pinasc

Lawless Frontier

39. Nevokie
40. Rancher
41. Mesans
42. Wisani

Sahamptha Frontier

43. Dustbowler
44. Mesan
45. Hispanic-Terstener
46. Slavic-Terstener
47. Anglo-Terstener



South Tersten

Yukela Pradesh

48. Yukelans
49. Tersteno-Kinh
50. Montagnard
51. Aresians
52. Lanawan
53. Irish-Terstener
54. Indo-Terstener
55. Bantu-Terstener
56. Tersteno-Mongolic
57. Anglo-Terstener
58. Hispanic-Terstener
59. Anglo-Terstener
60. Italian-Terstener
61. Gölich

Nevokie

62. Nevokie
63. Martian-Terstener
64. German-Terstener
65. Anglo-Terstener
66. Tersteno-Mongolic
67. Gölich
68. Unathi

Onooga Frontier

69. Unathi
70. Tersteno-Mongolic
71. Anglo-Terstener
72. Gölich




Holidays


The fifth week of May is celebrated as Liberation Week, starting with the anniversary of the Harlestone Fire and finishing with the anniversary of the founding of Tersten City.
The anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Tersten is considered a national holiday, and is celebrated at the end of September.
In Nevada, the death of Jonathan Tersten is considered a day of remembrance. It takes place in the middle of March.

Parent ethnicities

• Upper Lordanian

Diverged ethnicities

• Pinasc
• Yukelan

Related Organizations

• Republic of Tersten
• Second Lordanian Republic

Related Locations

• Tersten