The Nebtkan Peoples of Sunar

Imperial Peoples: The Nebtkans

The numerous Nebtkan peoples who dwell in the flooded and overgrown world that was once Nebtka have always maintained a familiarity with their neighbors in Sunar. Seen by and large as a civilized people, the Nebtks are not disliked by the Sunarians, who actually perceive their two countries as siblings standing back to back against the world.
This idea, is a highly inaccurate one though, as Nebtka is in no way a cohesive country, nor has it ever been one. Nebtkans have notably never formed a singular state, for the simple fact that they are not actually a cohesive group of people. This Nebtkan identity is as such an artificial fabrication, that any true Nebtkan would reject as a form of Sunarian imperialism.
For this reason, most Nebtkans refer to themselves not as this made up Sunarian name for their “race” or “ethnicity”, but instead by their regional, racial and/or city affiliation. An example of this are the men and women of Sigina, in central Nebtka, or more specifically Naurochia, who view themselves as Siginari, or to a lesser extent Naurochians. This sharply separates them from the men and women of Gorum to the south who are culturally very different from the Siginari and identify with the Gorumite Empire. Nebtka is in reality, a very uncommon term used in the region’s western cities, to vaguely describe the land bridge between Magna Sunaria and Southern Atlamb. Because this was the region Sunarians communicated with most frequently, the name stuck as a catch all for the people and place, and has hung on ever since, throughout the empire. As such, to a Sunarian, the people to their west are uniformly called Nebtkans, much to the Nebtkans confusion, dismay and frustration.
Despite these troubles, about 10% of the empire's population is of Nebtkan descent and heritage, making up an astounding 1.5 million inhabitants who dwell predominantly in the empire's north. Because they are not a cohesive people, however, they are discussed as separate and distinct groups, below.

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The Western Nebtkans

THE WESTERN NEBTKANS

Appearance

The Western Nebtkans are visually quite similar to the Lower Sunarians with their skin generally being of a golden olive color. Among the urban population, one’s economic level can often be determined by how tanned they are, with sailors, laborers and farmers often being a shade darker than their richer, and more elite countrymen. Inland among the rural communities, a similar method can be used to determine general professions, though most Nebtkans there are of a slightly lighter complexion.
In regards to hair, Western Nebtkans often cut their hair short, or shave their heads entirely. Their hair is furthermore, a dark brown color, comparable with the neighboring Sunarians. Among men of the region most grow thick dark facial hair, with the urban population keeping their beards trimmed short, and the more rural population letting theirs grow into long bushy beards.

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Population and Geographic Location

Western Nebtka has always been a sparsely populated area of Nebtka, with most of the populous residing along the coast in the twin cities of Tarsa and Lalesh. Covered in a thick woodland, known as Bayzun Forest, the region has historically served as a borderland of sorts between the Sunarian Empire and the more densely populated areas of Nebtka further east. Numbering around 900,000 the Western Nebtkans are a highly urbanized people, with about a third of that number dwelling in, or around the two cities. The remainder of the populous live primarily inland, residing deep in the woods where most make a living selling timber to their urban neighbors for export abroad.
Situated in the empire’s extreme north east, and connected solely by the sea, these territories are a new addition to the country, and are of critical importance to the Sunarian Empire, as a source lumber. Lacking a proper source of timber in Sunar, the empire relies greatly on these woods to procure, cheap hardwood, and they took the territory to ensure its continued, and affordable supply.

Language

One element that has made the empire’s annexation of Western Nebtka more difficult, has been the vast number of rural dialects present in the region. Highly remote, the forested region is pockmarked in isolated settlements, that by and large keep to themselves and speak their own dialects or even languages. Unable to properly communicate with these people without local aid, the empire frequently employs translators to clarify just what is occuring outside the two cities of Lalesh and Tarsa.
For this reason, there exists a massive divide between the empire and its citizens in the new territories. Unable to directly communicate with the remote settlements, imperial officials are heavily reliant on locals, who in many cases cannot be fully relied upon. This is because there exists next to no way of actually telling if the translator is correct until well after he has failed in his job. For example if a translator incorrectly tells a village they are to pay less than they actually are supposed to in taxes, there is no way of knowing, until the villagers mistakenly send the wrong amount to Tarsa or Lalesh. As such mistakes usually take weeks to even appear, and even longer to fully resolve. For this reason, barely any assimilation has occurred in the more rural areas of Western Nebtka, despite the annexation happening almost a generation ago.
There is an exception to this though, and that is in Tarsa and Lalesh where centuries of trade with the empire, and each other, have instilled a vibrant fluency in the population. This has in turn made it exceptionally easy for the empire to operate in the urban centers, where long term business contacts have, through their role as translators, become a new elite for each city. There, in either city the lumber industry is booming as ship loads of hardwood depart every day for the Sun Delta and beyond.

History and Influence

For most of the empire’s history, Western Nebtka has been the main source of hardwood lumber for Sunar. This has seen Tarsa and Lalesh develop into bustling port cities to supply their western neighbor with a steady supply of lumber at what are usually fair prices. This status quo changed with the shattering of Nebtka by the Valoni, though, as the flooding of Nebtka’s lowlands opened up sea lanes to the east, and created new markets for the timber masters of either city. Tarsa, furthermore, became an island citadel, located directly at the western entrance of the newly created Shallow Sea. This allowed them to establish a powerful navy, with which they quickly began to levy a toll on passing merchants entering and exiting Belezine Bay. Lalesh in contrast changed little, as located further north, it was changed far less by the sudden flooding in east.
This situation changed suddenly a few decades ago, though, as war in the east between the Gorumite Empire and the Naurochians increased the demand from either nation for the lumber of the west. Unable to meet the demands of Sunar, and their cousins in the west, the two cities foolishly tried to cash in on the escalating conflict, and raised the price of lumber to maximize their profits. Angry over this alteration of the status quo, Sunar began to see the lumber rich lands of Western Nebtka as a lucrative territory to hold, and they received the perfect justification only a few months later. This came in the form of yet another price hike by Tarsa, who in an attempt to contain the fighting to the Shallow Sea, began to expand its already impressive navy. Unwilling to pay the new price, Sunar declared war, and conquered the island city before its navy even understood they were at war. Lalesh would fall a few months later, as Sunar wisely waned no rivals in its newly acquired dominance of Belezine Bay’s lumber trade.

Citizenship

The Western Nebtkans dwelling within Tarsa and Lalesh received full status as imperial denizens within a few months of the initial conquest. This was granted to try and encourage the timber trade to pick back up after the war, and largely succeeded once a local was also appointed magistrate over the new province. This position has been rotating between a Tarsan and Laleshi since, with both cities being surprisingly content given the recency of their annexation by the empire. The main reason for this is the level of autonomy granted to the cities, which has in essence negated the fact that they are no longer independent. Business for this reason, has continued unmolested for much of the annexation, under the condition that lumber prices remain calm.
Outside the cities, things have changed little since the age before the annexation. Locals continue their lives by and large as they did prior and are largely peaceful. Despite this though, Sunar has yet to grant proper denizen status to the rural folk, who truthfully don’t seem to mind their situation. Isolated and cut off from the authority of Sunas, or even Tarsa, they are a content group, who manage their own affairs and do not seem to pose much of a risk of revolting in the modern day and age.
Because of this level of local autonomy, most of the region's population have remained in their homeland, leading to an interesting situation where most Sunarians also don't really visit the region, except to trade. As such, the Sunarian majority, really only bases their perception of these newcomers on how good a deal they get while passing through the region; which since the annexation, has improved quite a bit.

Work and Economic Level

Economically reliant on the timber trade for their wealth and prominence, the men and women of Western Nebtka work by and large as woodcutters, carpenters and shipbuilders. Though, there are a significant number of farmers in and around each and every settlement. Fishing, especially on the coast is immensely common, and is the main source of food for large swaths of the population, especially in the two cities.
Lacking much in the way of raw metal, there are next to no mines in the country. As a consequence of this, there has never really been a widely imposed currency throughout the area, save for the influence of silver or copper coinage brought in from abroad. These tenders are rarely diversified among the rural commoners though, who instead operate on a barter system, working and trading for supplies, or food. Silver as such is valued solely in the cities were it could be used in trade with merchants from Sunar, or elsewhere.
With the imperial annexation of Western Nebtka in recent decades, the silver sekhmet became the official currency of the newly conquered province. It, however, continues to struggle outside the urban centers, and is often times rejected by the rural common folk, who prefer tools, supplies or food in exchange for their lumber hauls.

Religion

Religiously, the urban population of Western Nebtka practice beliefs that can be easily subsumed into Traditional Sunarian Polytheism. This eases religious tensions substantially as the local priesthoods from Tarsa and Lalesh have been accepted as legitimate patron priesthoods by the empire; thus giving them official imperial legitimacy.
Sunemrah is also on the rise among the West Nebtkans, but remains a minority across the new territories, and is often written off by the Nebtkans as a Sunarian religion for Sunarians.
There are also a great number of Tarsans who worship the God Asher, and refuse to accept the preeminence of Sune, despite such a belief being begrudgingly permitted in the empire. These Asherites make up the more anti-Sunarian population of the new territories and have engaged in some small scale resistance to what they see as an occupation. They are not significant, however, and are unlikely to achieve their dreamed freedom as most Nebtkans dislike them, and see them as an unwelcome extension of Gorumite imperialism.

Sunarian Perception of the West Nebtkans

Recognized as a hardworking people by the Sunarians, the Western Nebtkans of Lalesh and Tarsa are seen by Sunarians as a positive addition to the empire. Granting them unparalleled autonomy as a result, the Sunarians have pacified most of the West Nebtkans by allowing them something very close to self governance. Ironically, this has caused a situation where because of native autonomy, the Sunarians have no real desire to visit or settle in the province, and likewise the Nebtkans have no reason to leave. The exception to this being to trade with one another, with happens very regularly. As such a status quo of sorts has once again returned to Belezine Bay’s southern shores and shows no signs of ending any time soon.

West Nebtkans Perception of Sunarians

The West Nebtkans have largely forgotten the humiliation of being conquered by Sunarian Empire, and its place are thankful for a restoration of prosperity and order to the land. Despite this though, they see in Sunarians a pompousness most Nebtkans find incredibly ignorant. Content with their place in the empire, solely for the autonomy they receive, it is very likely that they would be far less friendly with the empire if a Sunarian was appointed to govern them.

Cultural or Ethnic Mixing

Relationships between Sunarians and West Nebtkans have no stigma associated with them because of the long history of trade and cooperation shared by the two peoples. Because few Sunarians visit or settle in Western Nebtka though, these relationships are few and far between. Interbreeding while in theory perfectly acceptable, simply does not occur as the Sunarians and West Nebtkans remain largely separated by geography. There are of course some exceptions to this rule among imperial officials and military operating in the region, though it is not significant enough to worthy of any real discussion.

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The Gorumites and Naurochians

The Nebtkans from further east rarely immigrate to the Sunarian Empire willingly, but over a millennia many people from these regions have come to dwell within imperial territory as refugees fleeing one crisis or another. The overwhelmingly majority of these cases today, can trace their arrival back to the great shattering of Nebtka, when Valone flooded the country’s lowlands under a wave of sea water and rendered millions, dead, or homeless. With nowhere else to go, many people packed up what little they had left and abandoned the shattered land of their ancestors to live in the more stable state of Sunar. The ancestors of these immigrants still live within the empire, and while most have integrated into the dominant Sunarian population after centuries, a small, but devoted minority retain their cultural heritage, and refuse assimilate.
These people are today often divided into groups, northerners, or southerners, which is determined largely by where in Nebtka they or their ancestors originally hailed. Men from the north as such tend to align themselves more with the modern cities of Naurochia, and strongly dislike men from the south, who in contrast get along far better with immigrants from Gorum. This has turned into a rivalry between the two groups, that on more than one occasion has erupted into violence within the Nebtkan communities scattered throughout Sunar.

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The Naurochian Nebtkans

THE NAUROCHIAN NEBTKANS

Appearance

The Naurochians are often of a olive, or bronze complexion, with famously smooth, and spotless skin. Despite this though, Naurochians also have a reputation for obesity, with many of its more well off individuals maintaining an ample, and extensive diet of luxuries. This is in large part because of the central location of Naurochia, which allows its numerous cities to often serve as the gateway between west and east.
Naurochian men frequently possess dark brown, or black hair like their western cousins; but differ in their manner of styling it, keeping it short, but never fully shaving it. They furthermore, almost always display a prominent and expertly trimmed goatee or beard, which is kept carefully maintained. This is not the case for men who have converted to Sunemrah, however, as it is customary for worshipers of the imperial faith to be clean shaven. Naurochian Women often keep their hair in a simple braid, or bun, but otherwise possess the same hair coloration, and physical appearance as their men.

Most Naurochian men stand at about 5’5 to 6’ in height, with there being few cases of fluctuation. Women, on the other hand often come in on the lower end of the spectrum, averaging between 5’4 to 5’7.

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Population and Geographic Location

Numbering at a total population of about 300,000, the Naurochians originally hail from the northern shores of the Shallow Sea, and long the eastern edge of Bayzun Forest. Upon migration to the empire itself though, these people tend to cluster around the warm, and fertile region of the Sun Delta, especially in its western territories where they are by and large the only minority group. For most cities they reside in, examples being Nascadet, Zoteph, Leem and New Desa, this concept tends to be a correct one.A sizeable number of Naurochians also live in the dense urban sprawl of Sunas, however, where the despised Gorumites tend to settle. Because of this gang warfare, racism and hate, are quite common for the Naurochians in the capital, who can frequently be found instigating fights between themselves and the Gorumites.

Language

The Naurochian population of the empire have in most cases come to learn Imperial Sunarian, and are thus capable of speaking it as an everyday language. Most first generation immigrants also retain the distinct regional language of their homeland, though it rarely carries on for more than a couple generations among their descendants.

History and Influence

While the region of Naurochia existed prior to the Shattering of Nebtka, it was by no means a federation like it is today. That development would only arise from the foundation of the Gorumite Empire in the south, which created a newfound need in northern cities for protection from the growing giant.
The Naurochians in Sunar hold next to no power within the empire and make up but a small sliver of the total population. Generally, they find work as laborers, or tradesmen in the cities they reside in, and rarely rise up in government.

Citizenship

Naurochians are not barred in anyway from holding status as a full denizen, and most are able to obtain it within a year or two of arriving in the empire.
Furthermore no law exists preventing Naurcohians from holding or being appointed to a government office in the empire, however, very few ever actually apply, or get hired for government roles. The main reason seems to be a cultural inclination towards trade professions or business, with many Naurochians instead finding work as craftsmen, or merchants. As such, it is generally the capacity to obtain a trading license that intrigues immigrants of Naurochian origin, rather than any of the other benefits provided to full denizens.
There are some Naurochians who are not able to obtain imperial denizen status though, and these are usually the poor, and malcontent elements of the group, who largely hail from the City of Crillis. For this reason immigrants from Crillis are poorer on average than their cousins from elsewhere in Naurochia, and most do not fit in well in Sunar where they are forced into the urban slums to live alongside the Emensi, and Sunarian poor. There, unable to rise, or afford to really leave, the people of Crillis often grow angry and impatient with the empire, and turn to crime to put food on the table. It is from these few that a black stain has besmirched the Naurochian, and Nebtkan image, as few Sunarians properly know the difference between each and every city and group under those mantles.

Work and Economic Level

Most Naurochians fluctuate somewhere between lower and middle class, with the bulk finding work as laborers, or merchants. In the case of the skilled few who are trained in a craft or trade, a career as a craftsmen is also quite common, with the image of the Naurochian carpenter being a widespread, but accurate stereotype. A sizable number of Naurochians also work as sailors on board trade vessels, or within the imperial navy, however, they are dwarfed in either case by a far larger Sunarian majority who exist in both area.
The poorest of the Naurochian poor are often from the City of Crillis, and most struggle to obtain well paying or rewarding jobs, but can on occasion find work as laborers, prostitutes, or thugs for hire. Men and women from Crillis are usually doomed to live in the empire's slums for their whole lives, as poverty turns many into criminals, a factor which destroys their chance of obtaining full imperial status as a denizen.

Religion

Naurochians often practice a wide variety of religions and can be found among most sects active within the empire.
A sizable amount, practice Sunemrah, as the imperial faith has a significant presence in the Naurochian cities of the Shallow Sea. The temples there in Naurochia, far from the empire, are often the first stop for Naurochians wishing to immigrate to the Sunarian Empire, acting almost like an embassy without any official capacity to do so. In these cases, temples serve predominantly as middle men, who organize transportation to Sunar, and insure the immigrants understand the process of becoming a denizen of the empire.
A sizable number of Naurochians also practice the Church of the Damned, though its worship within the empire is heavily repressed, and its custom of human sacrifice is outlawed. This has not stopped some of the more zealous members from carrying the practice out, which has tainted the faiths presence in Sunar immensely. As a result of this negative perception in the empire, many Followers of Doom, practice their religion in secret.

Sunarian Perception of the Naurochians

To Sunarians, most Naurochians are a welcome addition to the empire. Hardworking and skilled in numerous trades, Naurochians also make good and trustworthy merchants, who are frequently able to procure exotic goods from the east. As such, the Sunarians tend to like the Nebtkan’s who largely keep to their own neighborhoods, but charge fair prices for the services they offer.
Among the lower classes of Sunar’s numerous minority groups, where crime is an ever present issue, the Naurochian people of Crillis rank supreme, as several gangs run rampant in the slums. These poorer Naurochians are widely looked down upon by the Sunaran elite, who see them as a burden on the empire. In many cases, Sunarians simply wish they would leave the empire and return to Crillis. Few do however, as to book passage, or even garner enough supplies for the trip would require more money than most are able to obtain.

Naurochian Perception of Sunarians

The Naurochians often see the Sunarians in a positive light and respect the civilization they have cultivated over millennia. Fascinated by how vast the Sunarian population is, most Nauorchians feel honored to have been allowed to join, and for this reason often do their best to be good citizens.
As mentioned some of the poorer Naurochians often get involved in crime. Among these individuals, a resentment for the empire exists instead, as many believe it is unfair that they cannot find jobs, and are forced to struggle in the atrocious conditions of the slums. In these cases, they often ignore the fact that they entered the empire without money, or prospects, and that had they remained in Crillis, they would likely be even suffering under even worse conditions.

Cultural or Ethnic Mixing

There exists no stigma to relations between Naurochians and Sunarians, and interracial couplings do occur quite frequently. These are usually between second or third generation immigrants, however, as first generation immigrants often prefer to marry a partner from their home city out an assumed desire for something familiar. Because of these factors, Naurorchian families usually take a few decades to fully assimilate into Sunarian society, but when they do, they do so thoroughly, with the descendants of immigrants often identifying themselves as Sunarian, rather than Naurochian, within about 3 to 4 generations.

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The Gorumite Nebtkans

THE GORUMITE NEBTKANS

Appearance

The Gorumites vary somewhat in appearance, due to the geographic disparity in their land. In the north among the marshes, most people display a brown, or reddish hue to their skin, with a darker complexion overall than their northern cousins. In the south, this is a little different, as the cooler and windier environment leaves the men and women a shade lighter. Making them more similar to the Nebtkans residing in the Eastern Shallow Sea, than their northern countrymen.
Most Gorumites posses a dark brown, red, or blonde hair coloration, though among men shaving of the head is incredibly common. Men do, however, often grow a large bushy moustache, which is largely universal across the culture. This is not the case for men who have converted to Sunemrah, however, as it is customary for worshipers of the imperial faith to be clean shaven. Gorumite women are widely known for their slender physique, which is complimented by the braids they weave into their hair. Because of this striking appearance, Gorumite women are considered by many in the south to be some of the most beautiful women in the world.

Varying greatly in height, for no clear reason, the Gorumites come in all shapes and sizes, with the average height for both men and women being between 5-6 feet. Both genders are furthermore quite thin, with most Gorumites never weighing more than 160-170 lbs.

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Population and Geographic Location

Dwelling in and around the capital of Sunas, Gorumite refugees and immigrants do so as they feel it will allow them better opportunities in their new country. They specifically like the southern half of the city, which sits on the very edge of the Sun Delta and is thus a bit more windy and arid than the north. This is no doubt because of the areas similarities to their old homeland of Gorum, which fluctuates greatly between desert, plains and uninhabitable marshlands. Because of a small Naurochian presence in the capital though, the Gorumites are often drawn into violence, and engage in brutal street fights against their old world rivals. All together, there are about 200,000 Gorumites dwelling within the Sunarian empire, with the overwhelming majority being in the capital of Sunas.

Language

The Gorumites of the empire more often than not go out of their way to learn Imperial Sunarian as quickly as possible, in an effort to try and raise their status in Sunarian society. Some first generation immigrants retain their fluency in traditional Gorumite, however most stop speaking it once they have obtained a working knowledge of their new country’s language.

History and Influence

The Gorumites have only really existed since the Shattering of Nebtka, as before that they were a disorganized band of numerous cities rather than the centralized country they are today. In general, the Gorumites make up a tiny sliver of the empire's middle class and thus hold very little power within the empire. Occasionally they can find work in the lower bureaucracy as administrators and accountants, but most work in the private sector, or manage their own businesses.

Citizenship

Gorumite immigrants can obtain imperial status as a denizen, and most fervently try to acquire it as soon as they can pass the examination. The main reason for this seems to be a culture wide inclination towards ambition and gathering personnel power, with most Gorumites displaying a desperation to succeed and establish a niche for themselves in the Sunarian Empire. They are rarely genuine in this endeavor, though, as most Gorumites achieve the minimum to get them status, before they revert back to their old lifestyle, practicing their language and traditions in this privacy of their own homes.
Because of this behavior though, some in Sunar perceive the Gorumites as disingenuous and desperate sycophants, who are weirdly obsessed with increasing their individual social status. This has resulted in a strange situation where a government officials refuse to hire Gorumites, who have over the past few centuries developed a reputation as suck ups, and determined ladder climbers.
Another element at play in this barring from government, is their relation to the Gorumite Empire, which among some circles in Sunar is feared as a rising threat to the great empire. Viewing the Gorumite immigrants as spies, these circles have made it their duty to do everything in their power to prevent Gorumite’s from achieving high office, and in this endeavor they have largely succeeded. Today the few Gorumites who have obtained work within the government, are often overlooked, and passed over for promotion. Among the few who do slip through the cracks though, demotions over the slightest of mistakes are widely common, and few Gorumites retain power for long.
Despite this organized effort to repress their ambitions, the Gorumites remain hopeful, and continue to try and rise in their new homeland even with the resistance to their presence.

Work and Economic Level

As previously mentioned, most Gorumites attempt to find work in the imperial government, be it as scribes, administrators, imperial bankers, or one of numerous other bureaucratic careers. Most fail, however, and when they do, their skills often find a use in the private sector as assistants, servants, accountants, or secretaries for wealthy Sunarian, or Valoni men and women.
Another sector the Gorumites have found a niche for themselves is in the coffee trade, where their contacts back in Gorum make them ideal suppliers of the exotic beverage. Some Gorumites have in recent years even begun to open up coffeehouses in Sunas, to great success. Acting as locations for Sunarians and Gorumites to socialize and jest, as well as engage in board games and revelry, these establishments are widely frequented by the capital’s middle class, who are infatuated by the foreign Gorumite custom.
An incredibly educated, and business savvy group, the Gorumites rarely struggle economically, and few if any remain non-denizens for long. Once given permission to purchase property outside the confines of the impoverished ghettos, the Gorumites often come to reside within Sunarian neighborhoods, and try to blend in, often times deserting their former friends, and relatives to try and make new Sunarian ones.

Religion

Religiously, most Gorumites practice the worship of Asher, and consider themselves to be Asherites, even after their immigration to the Sunarian Empire. This has often caused problems between them and the Sunarian majority, as the Asherite god, Asher, demands unconditional respect as the sole god of man. Conflicting with the Sunarian concept of polytheism, and preeminence of Sune, this belief and the Aserite’s focus on patriarchal dominance, renders the two faiths almost totally incompatible.
Unlike in the newly acquired imperial city of Tarsa though, Gorumite Asherites are rarely violent, or rebellious against the Sunarian Empire, and generally just want to retain the right to practice their beliefs. Furthermore, lacking any proper organization in the empire's heartlands there are few Asherite temples or priests, making the faith of these Gorumite immigrants one that is a highly personnel and private affair.

Sunarian Perception of the Gorumites

The Gorumites have established a niche little place in Sunarian society for themselves, but nonetheless possess an obsessive passion to find work in government, and rise through its ranks. This factor has resulted in the Sunarians seeing the Gorumites in a negative light, as they come off as desperate, and make most Sunarians very uncomfortable.
Disliking the way they suck up to officials, and often racistly look down on even other Gorumites, the Sunarians see the behavior of Gorumites as incredibly undignified and try to avoid them whenever possible. This leads to an issue, however, as the Gorumites actively seek out Sunarians, and try to befriend, or win them over in hopes of improving their social standing. Though, in practice this rarely results in anything other than irritating the Sunarians, whose beliefs are just reinforced from the endeavor.
For all of these reasons, Gorumites have developed a bit of a reputation for being annoying, and a drain to deal with.

Gorumite Perception of Sunarians

The Gorumites see the Sunarian Empire as a golden opportunity to achieve greatness, as unlike in their homeland, promotion and rank in Sunar is in theory, meritocratic. In Gorum, a strong aristocracy controls most matters, and bars the overwhelming majority of Gorumites from ever achieving political aspirations. As such when they hear of Sunar most leap at the opportunity to make a name for themselves in an inclusive country that will treat them well.
This zealous desire, is often too much for the Sunarians, though, who find it incredibly uncomfortable to deal with, and thus avoid Gorumites when possible; much to their disappointment. A prideful people though, most Gorumites believe and will refuse to admit their behavior has built a bad reputation, insisting they alone, are the exception to the stereotype.
The Gorumite behavior is in truth quite revealing of what they think of Sunarians, as they try and appear as what they think the Sunarians want of them, and fail utterly in the process. Displaying racism towards their fellow Gorumites and a sycophantic tendency to try and befriend powerful Sunarians; it is evidently clear, that the Gorumites believe the Sunarians view themselves as a superior people. In the Gorumite mindset, the Sunarians want them, the immigrants, to prostrate themselves, and believe it will win them a better place in society, and so they do just that, without complaint.
This idea is a strange one as it is in part correct. The Sunarians often do view themselves as superior, but not in any case to the extent some Gorumites believe. Preferring assimilation to subservience, Sunarians are woefully misunderstood by the Gorumites, who have stubbornly shown no signs of recognizing their mistake.

Cultural or Ethnic Mixing

Gorumites often have an incredibly hard time assimilating, and maintain their cultural identity for several generations. One major reason for this is the Gorumite, or Asherite, custom wherein the father, or husband is in charge of the household. Maintaining absolute authority over the family, the average Gorumite patriarch decides who his children will marry, and is often times married, at the decision of his father, to a Gorumite woman. For these reasons, Gorumites of both gender, rarely marry non Gorumites, and as such, retain their traditional practices over a longer period than other groups where intermarriage is common.
Furthermore, it means that interbreeding is incredibly rare, as the Gorumites are a very conservative group who take marital vows incredibly seriously. A man found in violation of his martial vows in Gorum can often times expect to be castrated and sent into exile for his crimes, as Gorumite marital vows are not between spouses, but between an individual and their god, Asher. Women in turn are often executed for cheating on their spouse, and are rarely given a pardon or show of mercy.
Women in Gorumite, or more specifically Asherite culture, are not considered people, and are treated as the property of their husband, father, or male relative. In the more egalitarian Sunarian Empire, this practice is barred outright though, allowing Gorumite women significantly more freedom. While marriage between them and non Gorumite men is rare in the empire, it does occur, and in these cases a woman usually suffers greatly by losing her family who ostracize her and refuse to recognize her going forward.
As a result of all this, Gorumites rarely assimilate, and instead linger on over several generations as a distinct ethnic minority in the empire. Because they also keep good track of their ancestry it is not uncommon for modern Gorumites to have a clear and direct lineage of Gorumite ancestor, living in the empire, going back eight, nine or even ten generations. Indicating an immensely slow rate of assimilation among Gorumite minorities within the Sunarian empire.

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