Vect

Terrifying paint faced warriors surge fourth from the swamps and forests, burning a village and taking the captives back with them for whatever horrifying torture and sacrificial rites they may preform. This has been a story told all too often by the people of the old kingdoms. While it is true, it is only half of the truth. The Vectish people are believed by some to be terrifying demons, but in actuality the majority of learned folk understand that they are the descendants of the fallen Vunao Kingdom. After the great accident of druid magic going haywire and drowning the newly named Deadlands in swamps. Not every inhabitant perished. While some stayed within their small villages in the few clearings there were, some where lost deep in the swamps. They would huddle together and try to survive in these swamps against horrifying monsters, such is the horror and constant war these tribes had to fight to survive that it would scar their minds forever.
However the worst came when the Black Wings came. These are believed by scholars to be vampires, who would at times, completely wipe out entire tribes to make way for their plots. However, some tribes would figure out an idea to keep these dark, vengeful spirits away. They would offer great sacrifices, typically from outsiders to the tribes, in grim offering to these dark spirits. They would inflict horrific torture out of a desperate fear and grim survivalist attitude and it seemed to work. The Black Wings seemed to have left them alone, or more likely moved to manipulating them from the shadows. As such the Vect have formed a pseudo religion out of these sacrifice, not out of respect but fear that they may anger these spirits and meet them, and embrace a grisly fate.
However, Ashenfeld has always sought to settle the Deadlands to expand its borders, however every attempt at settlement would end in abject failure. Part of it was of course the vampires and their undead armies, but no small amount of caravans were raided and slaughtered by the Vectish Tribes, and to this day the sight of a face painted Vect warrior is a terrifying image for those who live on the western border of Ashenfeld.

Naming Traditions

Family names

Vectish people do not use family names.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

The Vect have a language known as Vunish, which some linguistic scholars point to as more evidence of the Vect being the direct descendants of the Vunao Kingdom

Culture and cultural heritage

Some of the more cruel Ashenfeld slavers would imply that the Vectish people have no culture. This is untrue, as under the grim rites they practice is a culture like anything else. Family is everything to the Vect, for there might not be another day they have them. They celebrate eveyrday they are alive, thanking the world that the spirits haven't come to take their lives away. They sleep early so that if the spirits come for them, they pray it will be a quick death in their sleep.
They are said to be fearless in battle, but they do fear. They live in fear of their spirits, for while one may think they worship dakr spirits, they sacrifice captives in raids to keep them away. When spirits come to a tribe, it means death for everyone in the tribe. As such they inflict grim acts of torture on their captives before sacrificing them because the spirits love pain and suffering. Doing such acts sate the spirits, and keep them away, and as such the Vectish Tribes live another day.
They are distrusting of outsiders for some of the first encounters with outsiders was unfortunate as it involved a rather black hearted band of slavers from Ashenfeld. This has resulted in the Vectish preferring to sacrifice and raid outsiders, and generally to stand mostly united against any attempts at foreign invasion. Yes, while it is a grim life the Vectish live, it is wholly necessary in order to survive in one of the most terrible places in the world. It may even be a warning for what life must be like if these cursed areas spread across the world.
One small curious note is some similarities between the people of Aravec and the Vectish. Some theorize there may be a common ancestry of some sort. Perhaps at one point the Vect and the Aravec were one and the same.

Average technological level

Due to how horrifyingly grim the swamps they live in are, most of their technology is makeshift and salvaged. The deadly nature of the swamps does not leave much time for technological advancement, however a very intricate and unique medical field has recently been observed among the Vectish Tribes.

Common Dress code

Dress code for the Vectish tribes is typically revolving around loinclothes and animal hides, as they believe waring animal pelts can imbue one with spiritual power

Art & Architecture

The Vectish people have been known to paint incredible, if grisly, works of art. Typically they use the color red, for red is sacred to the Vectish. They tend to paint historical scenes, as they seemed to not have too manty written works (this does not imply they don't have a written language but that they just haven't recorded much down).

Coming of Age Rites

Coming of age rites are typically revolving around hunting the first animal, where when a child does so they are considered adults. They are given a bow with 10 arrows, and an axe.

Funerary and Memorial customs

Typically, Vect funerals are simply cremations, as the Vect fear the undead and so prefer to not leave anything to chance.

Ideals

Gender Ideals

Vect are a egalitarian people, although women are seen as the heads of the household, and may choose who they marry. The concept of marrying as a business or for political reasons is entirely alien to the Vect.

Courtship Ideals

A Vect looking to court a spouse will usually give a bounty of animals, hides, and even sacrifice a captive as signs of devotion for them.

Relationship Ideals

Relationships are fairly open for the Vectish. During idle hours men and women, so long as they are of age to marry, may partake in relations with any they desire. If a girl becomes pregnant they typically marry the father, though if they were already married then the child is simply considered the son of the husband. As such the concept of strict, well documented family lines isn't as big of a deal to the Vect as it is to outsiders. While some say this is a sign of pure decadence, many other scholars point out that this type of casualness in relationships seems wholly related to their "live happy if briefly" attitude. They may die any day, as such why shouldn't the people partake in whatever makes them happy as long as all are willing.

Major organizations

Vectish Tribes