Iuven (EYE oo vhen)

Origo-Roic

The Iuven people are a Human ethnic group native to the shores of Lake Roic in central Novyum, on the major continent of Ethae. They share a deep cultural and historical identity with most Normon of the Heartlands. They, through the Lakortha tribe, more than any other culture, defined the modern Novya identity. The Iuven take pride in their heritage, often to the point of considering themselves true inheritors of that legacy, and true rulers of Novyum.

Iuven were originally an ancient tribal people that dwelt around Lake Roic as far back as can be remembered. Historians believe they migrated to the shores of Roic in the early Edian Age. Many myths put them as the first humans to have deep connections with the Elf people of the Elder Tree. Putting them as the possible origins of the elven bloodlines that would once day dominate the nobility of Ethae.

With the rise of their kin to the north, the rest of Iuven culture faded and merged with the growing power of the Lakortha. By the founding of the Republic of Lakorth all Iuven tribes had been united under the Lakortha banner. It was these united tribes that formed the first senate that would define the Republic. As the Republic expanded the tribes vanished, absorbed into the Lakortha. The name Lakortha no longer was defined as dwellers of the city of Lakortha, it encompassed all of the Iuven. Later it would come to mean every citizen of the Republic.

The decline of the Republic saw the term Lakortha fade from common use, eventually becoming a term used for citizens of the former Republic and the people of the past. With its decline came the return of the Iuven as an identity once more, especially during the reign of the United Kingdoms of Novyum. The old tribal ties had been lost over the centuries, replaced by the united cultural heritage of the Heartlands. Today the Iuven are identified as the Novya dwelling around Lake Roic, their people's ancestral homeland, and the lands north of the city of Lakorth, commonly referred to as the League of Lords today.

For many, though their glory has faded and been replaced by new northern powers, the Iuven have always been the ideal for Novya culture. They are the people that are literally and figuratively at the heart of the Heartlands. That said, most Iuven live separate from the rest of the Heartlands, hidden safely away from the Novyum Civil War behind the Roic Wall. Behind the Wall, the traders trade, farmers farm, and peace flourishes. The Iuven are aware of the world beyond, but they hardly care.

The Iuven of the League of Lords territory, have a different life. They must deal with the civil wars. The lords that established the League to protect the region north of Lakorth from the wars spend more time fighting each other than keeping the peace. Much of this fighting is done through political intrigues, but occasional skirmishes break out with lines are pushed.

The Luven are a traditional people. Family comes before community. Marriages are nearly always arranged, for both commoner and nobility. These marriages are usually brokered for alliances, or come with doweries to protect family assets. Gender roles are traditional, with women taking on her husband's family name, and the man expected to support and protect his wife. That said, Iuven women are highly educated. Many attend universities. While their husbands are away for working and fighting they manage the household. Some women, who are widowed, or do not have a family to arrange a marriage match, start business. Many of the modern great scholars of Lakorth are women.

Affairs, for both men and women, are common among the Iuven culture. They are even romanticized in the poetry, theaters productions, and novels of the culture. This in no way means they are normalized and accepted. Spouses, both male and female, caught in extramarital affairs can expect divorce, possible financial ruin, and public shunning. This is especially true among the noble families. Most of those caught leave Iuven lands due to the shaming that follows.

Trijan faith permeates all of the Heartland's cultures, and none more so than the Iuven. lakorth is home to the the Grand Cathedral of the Church. Something the devote Iuven take extreme pride in. Even those that live nowhere near Lakorth will remind people that it was Iuven that build the famous structure. There is a cultural need for all Iuven to be seen as pious.

Like all Novya the Iuven have a pale completion. Their hair is near universally blonde. For women, hair is kept up out of the face, and back, flowing freely and long. Men keep their hair short but flowing. Light facial hair is a common style for Iuven men. Mustaches are often seen on the older generation. Thick beards are seen as barbaric and unsightly. The Iuven are distinct from northern other cultures in that, though blue eyes are common among Novya, the Iuvens are always a pale blue color, reminiscent of the eyes of the elf. Most of the high noble families are such a brilliant color that many claim they seem to glow.

Blue is a cultural color for them. Most Iuven clothing is predominantly a blue coloring. It is popular for those that can afford it to wear colors matching their eyes. However, most blues are acceptable. Darker hues are popular in the shores of southern Roic, will pale hues are dominantly worn in Lakorth and the League's lands.