The Ealdèn Manlings, A Young Species in an Ancient Land

The Dawn of Manlings

In the days when the land was Salt, ancient beings of the dead earth wandered in search of a place to settle. One such being, Vecvir, spent millennia molding a mound of rock and dirt into a great mountain that rose above the wisps of clouds. Fatigued from the time spent crafting this impossible peak, he slept. As Vecvir slept, he dreamt of trees that almost rivaled his great mountain in height. He dreamed of small creatures wandering between the pillar-like trunks of wood. In his final rest, he created the Lauma, intelligent creatures that could sing songs like birds and love one another like swans. The Lauma would live amongst the trees in harmony with the other beasts of his creation.

"I wish not to be understood, friend—The Father of Sleep did not create Manlings, no, he simply stole them away from his sister, The Bled Mother, out of jealousy. Or, perhaps, he was curious to see how his Lauma would interact with creatures alike them. I assure you that he wasn't dissapointed"

- Indra of Leitėl

After a milenia or so of sleep after his creation of the Lauma, Vecvir took to traveling to observe what his siblings had created. Of all the creations, the High Plains of Andrytus created by his sister, The Bled Mother, garnered his attention the most. As she was no longer living and Andrytus itself did not detect his presence, he gathered manlings within his massive bag to take back with him. The intentions behind such an act were quite unclear, but The Father of Sleep was always needlessly curious. So much so that he wished to see how the manlings and Lauma interacted. As he had hoped, conflict ensued between the two species over territory. Inevitably, the two decided upon an uneasy truce that has lasted for centuries. Bored at the lack of conflict, Vecvir returned to his summit to sleep until conflict arose once again.

A Young Race Amidst Old Trees

The Ealdèn humans live quiet and peaceful lives even amongst the uneasy peace heald between them and the Lauma. Small clans of humans bonded over shared ideologies and spread out amongst the vast Ingrs forest of Ealdè. Villages often keep to themselves and seldom interact with outsiders lest they have the means to barter. As such, some clans are significantly larger than others. Leitėl, for example, is made up of a dozen or so smaller clans that all have a common interest in protecting their families within massive palisades. Other clans such as the elusive Siegėlė keep to their small encampments, practicing the magic of the Lauma.

Clashing of Culture

It isn't uncommon for one clan to disagree with another over any number of things: territory, culture, hunting grounds, etc. In fact, it is significantly more common to find a manling killing another than a manling killing Lauma. Many shamans of the Ealdèn clans suspect that the Father of Sleep cursed humanity with the urge to seek conflict. Over the unrecorded centuries of their existence, clans have entirely destroyed other clans in violent and brief conflicts. Recently, however, there has been a lull in such conflict. The very same shamans believe this to mean that Vecvir is sleeping soundly.