Relvetsian
Populating mainly the forested lands of Vneys and Vnutyr Relvetsia, as well as most of the much more heavily forested Provdyalmis, the Relvetsians are a proud and ancient people group. To the wider world, however, their culture has long been seen as backwater when compared to the more civilized Rodłowi. Despite the historical back-and-forth of border areas as various Empires rose and fell, the Relvetsians continued to be seen as lesser, especially in the writings of Wesevölk, who preferred the more centralized and accessable Rodłowi. Of late, this opinion has been generally reinforced as the rapid fall of many Relvetsian nations to the Voðeren. However, it is important to note that the Relvetsians are not, in fact, savages, and their ancient traditions are just as valuable as those of the western Telgreners. Indeed, beyond this, they are not the isolated and insular people that many have believed, as trade routes have historically boomed between them and neighboring people such as the Talvinens. In particular, the trans-centralis slave route has brought many goblins through the plains from Orentelar, connecting the Orentesh, Clesentians, and Relvetsians in a prosperous trade route for everyone except the goblins.
Physically, Relvetsians are a rather pale people group, and the dominant hair color is a dark brown. Their eyes are often vivid, and usually dark, except in the north, where there are many Relvetsians with lighter hair and occasionally even blue eyes, reflecting partial Talvinen heritage. These northerners are known as the Cetyvetsians, and are a blend between the Talvinen populations of Provdyalmis, which predate Relvetsian settlements in the region, and the Relvetsians themselves. Besides Cetyvetsians, the Relvetsian cultural sphere is composed of the Veltelvetsian, Chernoyetsians, Sinizadetsians, and Örsensians.
Of these four peoples who collectively make up the Relvetsian sphere, the Veltelvetsian are both the most well-known and the most politically dominant, having long asserted their influence over the other ethnicities. Often, this takes an imperialist or paternalistic attitude, with many Veltelvetsians seeing it as their duty to spread proper Relvetsian culture to the other subgroups, who they feel have drifted away. This assimilationist attitude has caused significant issues in the past, and was a significant contributor to the fall of the Relvetsian Empire. Indeed, the Veltelvetsian consider all the different subgroups of Relvetsian as facades, and feel that the people should be united under one culture, which they see as returning to a united roots. The term Veltelvetsian is a self-designation meaning "Great" or "Greater" Relvetsian. Although such narratives have often been utilized to gain support for wars and on a geopolitical level to claim lands, the common Veltelvetsian people are known to be tenacious and hardoworking people with a deep appreciation for traditions and cultural expression. Veltelvetsian settlements can be found all throughout the Relvetsian lands, on account of their longstanding dominance under the Empire, though they are for the most part concentrated in the region of Vneys Relvetsia.
Moving south into Vnutyr Relvetsia the population swiftly changes to predominantly Chernoyetsian-cultured populations. Vnutyr Relvetsia is a more fertile and less densely-forested land, and much of it is covered in farms, especially in the south. Consequentially, the region has been fought over for many years by the Relvetsian Empire and their Rodłowi counterparts. Living between these two powers, the Chernoyetsian have historically fought for their autonomy, which is escpecially relevant for those in the borderlands. They have a long tradition of local autonomies led by military leaders known as Hetmen. Elected from the ranks of their fellows, these Hetmen have for many years managed the fierce warriors known as cossacks, largely autonomously from the state. They were valuable borderguards against Rodłowi incursions or raids from the centaurs of the plaires centralis. Although not prevalent in Cetyvetsian lands, these Hetmen have become a certerpiece of Chernoyetsian traditions, seen as showcasing their military prowess, autonomy, and populist traditions. Although often relied on for military operations along the frontier, the Chernoyetsians have a tumultuous relationship with the Veltelvetsians and Relvetsian identity itself. The Relvetsian Empire saw these populist and autonomous traditions as contrary to their more authority-based ethos, and for many years applied far more pressure on the Chernoyetsians to assimilate than the other Relvetsians. This was compounded by the spread of the Wysoki Wyunałt faith across the Chernoyetsian lands, which the Relvetsians saw as a threat to the New Prioslevidy church and which tied the Chernoyetsians closer to the Rodłowi. Consequentially, the Chernoyetsians largely abandoned the Relvetsian Empire at the first signs of its collapse, splintering into waring hetmanates. Chernoyetsians may also be known as South or Black Relvetsians, though their skin is no darker and the black probably refers to the more fertile soil.
To the east of the Veltelvetsians, the Sinizadetsian are the dominant population group. They may mostly be found inhabiting the western swamps of Provdyalmis, with the eastern swamps being a refuge for trolls and goblins. Settlements can also be found to the north of this marsh, up to the Provdyalman passes, where their population disperses in favor of Cetyvetsians or Talvinens. Many Sinizadetsians trace their ancestry back to a tribe of Relvetsians known as the Kyrivyna, who, exiled from the more desirable lands in the west, carved out a life for them in the wetlands. This unitary view is supported by the extremist faction which currently controls the Grand Principality of Kyrivyna. However, it is much more likely that the Sinizadetsian culture descends from a blend of tribes instead of just one, with significant pressure from the more central Veltelvetsian culture. Although not as heavily targeted as the Chernoyetsians in Veltelvetsization efforts, the much smaller population of Sinizadetsians combined with their lack of effective autonomy or value in military operations led to much of their culture being assimilated. The Sinizadetsians were also already much closer culturally to the Veltelvetsians, so cross-cultural exchange was also natural due to being in the same Empire. Unfortunately, Sinizadetsians are mostly seen by outsiders as a people with no unique history, being simply a collection of isolated tribes of Veltelvetsians who resisted modernization longer than those in more prosperous regions. The Sinizadetsians may also be referred to as East or Blue Relvetsians.
Moving into the northernmost reaches Relvetsian settlement, the population is dominated by the Cetyvetsians. Though only found in parts of Provdyalmis, primarily along the river [tbd], they are nonetheless an important people in terms of politics and in their blended culture. This is because unlike the other Relvetsian peoples, the Cetyvetsians are not fully Yuskiy, and contain significant Talvinen admixture. The population of northeastern Provdyalmis has historically been split between the fully Talvinen tbd and the mixed Cetyvetsians, who began appearing around the 12 century SC. Though earlier traces of Relvetsian settlements have been noted in legend and in the genetic structure of the region, by and large any ancient tribes of the region were fully assimilated by the Talvinen by the time the first settlers from Veltelvetsian lands began appearing. At first mostly fur traders from the mercantile Grand Republic of Sklovosk, small colonies of Cetyvetsians began popping up as these typically male outlanders took local women as their wives, and this continued after the fall of that nation under the Relvetsian Empire. Following the 1256 coup by Micali Velikoyvyr and the establishment of the Principality of Perym as a subject of Relvetsia, small numbers of soldiers and administrators began living in the region as well, and naturally many of these became linked by marriage to local families. Finally, after Perym was shrunk significantly during the 1560s, the new Voivode of Severostok recieved significant immigration as the government sought to increase control over the region by supplanting locals with Relvetsian. Now, almost 500 years after the conclusion of these 3 waves of migration, the Cetyvetsians have become their modern mixed selves, though they are far closer to other Relvetsians than they are to Talvinens. Cetyvetsians have become a majority in the now destroyed Voivode of Severostok, as well as Kolomyzeroo, while in Perym proper they remain a minority. Due to the harsher lands they have settled in, the Cetyvetsians are also known as North, Cold, or White Relvetsians.
The final groups of Relvetsian are the Örsensians, who live in the Konuger of Örsenland. Örsensian culture began during the invasion of Relevtsia by Voðeren raiders, who took control over a sizable portion of the Relvetsian coastline on the border of Vneys and Vnutyr Relvetsia in 1784. The region was composed of a mix of Chernoyetsian and Veltelvetsian populations, and provided a prosperous base for their operations. From there, the Voðeren raided and pillaged inland for nearly 50 years, after which they were pacified and became a subject of the Relvetsian Empire. With the region remaining under a Voðeren monarchy, but slowly becoming integrated into the Relvetsian political scene, the upper classes started to mix, and before too long a new culture had been born. Although the Örsensians took many years to fully encompass the Konuger's land area, slowly the people began to merge into one, which was possible due to the broad cultural acceptance of both by the Örsensians royal family. The majority of the population of Örsenland, even those with absolutely no Voðeren blood, have become fully Örsensians culturally, with the laws and customs of the region being a mix between Relvetsian and Voðeren. The majority of the Örsensians have come to follow the old state religion of the Relvetsian Empire, New Prioslevidy, which has eased the cultural convergence.
Comments