Ryjtyvayl
The Ryjtyvayl are a group of several Talvinen ethnicities who can be found to the west of the Kalas Murgalu Mountains. Concentrated in northern Provdyalmis, the Ryjtyvayl have, over many years, been slowly pushed out of the southern territories, but in the past tribes existed in the south, past the tbd mountains as well as the marshlands. Although many of the Ryjtyvayl have been assimilated by the Relvetsian peoples and they have been greatly influenced by the Relvetsians, many retain their own culture and continue the traditions of their ancestors. Ryjtyvayl are usually split into 3 different subgroups- the Luvyal, the Posëlkâs, and the Roklâtöj.
The Luvyal are southern Ryjtyvayl. Composed into several different tribes, all with slightly different beliefs and traditions, they have nonetheless largely been under the control of the Relvetsians since the rise of their first states. Although they are very different culturally, the Luvyal have only rarely been rebellious, typically when forced to change their beliefs. However, even this strife is not as much as it otherwise would have been, given the similarity between the Relvetsian faiths and that of the Luvyal. Though their settlements are scattered throughout the southern lands, the bulk of the Luvyal reside among or to the north of the tbd mountains, concentrated in the hills and lowlands, where they have practiced agriculture and hunting for generations. The Luvyal have also practiced horsebreeding for centuries, and their horses are seen as hardy and well-adapted for the forests. These horses are also used for their meat, and constitute a small but important part of the Luvyal diet. Due to centuries of assimilation by the Relvetsians, the Luvyal are the smallest group of Ryjtyvayl, in both numbers and in the land they control, with their settlements rarely being found north of the tbd river.
To the north of the Luvyal, the Posëlkâs dominate. The largest grouping of Ryjtyvayl by population, their lands have nonetheless come under threat by Relvetsian settlement, and much of it is no longer Posëlkân-majority. The Principality of Perym is one of the few parts of the former Relvetsian Empire to retain their Posëlkân-majority. These Relvetsian settlers, at first mostly fur traders from the mercantile Grand Republic of Sklovosk, originally mostly 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. From their, the settlement only accelerated. Besides Perym, there are several tribes living just east of the cursed forest, in lands never conquered by Relvetsia due to their proximity to the woods. Many Posëlkâns are active in the fur trade, with contacts in both east and west. They have good relations with the other Talvinen peoples who inhabit their north and east, allowing and exchange of goods between the Relvetsians and these other Talvinens.
Finally, the Roklâtöj are a Ryjtyvayl people living within the cursed forest itself. This forest, inhabited by thousands of corrupted and evil spirits, is a dangerous place to live, but the Roklâtöj manage. Split between tribes who worship these dark spirits as deities and lead dangerous raids into the lands surrounding the forest and those who attempt to ward and suppress these spirits, they are a hard people, well used to disaster and war. The Roklâtöj are the only Ryjtyvayl to never even be influenced by the Relvetsians (even the long-independent Posëlkân tribes traded furs and generally acceded to Relvetsian demands when they were made), and there is much to be learned from them. Unfortunately, even those who don't worship evil spirits are reclusive and do not trust outsiders, with family and tribal bonds dominating their society.
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