The Mountain People
Records are little shaky about the Mountain People and their lost kingdom that used to stand amongst the mountains that separate Dazuvell from Norëthir. But one thing everyone seems to agree on is that the Mountain People were a little different from the rest of humanity. With eye colours not variating from shades of grey with strange, diamond-shaped pupils, they could easily be pegged as Mountain People, even without taking into consideration the cultural tattoos that could be found under their eyes.
Nowadays, it is quite difficult to run into someone who is visibly a member of the Mountain People. The bloodlines still exist, but they have been mostly diluted through time and the unique features have been mostly lost through the mixing of blood. Despite this, some try to hold onto lost traditions that threaten to fade away and become lost to time, and those who are certain of where they come from still don the tattoos.
The Mountain People are the descendants of those who managed to take shelter underground during the Epoch of Snow. But instead of keeping to their own kinds for the most part like in other underground settlements, they mingled and their bloodlines ended up merging together into their own pseudo-race comprised of human, elf, and dwarf blood (though with much more dwarf and human blood than elf).
The Mountain Kingdom, which rose and then fell in the Epoch of Recovery, was destroyed by the Raiding Lords The Mountainbreaker and The Trophymaker, causing the Mountain People who managed to escape the destruction to scatter across Aegéfaer. Despite the fact that the kingdom is no more, the Mountain People manage to live on in their full-blooded and mixed-blooded descendants.
Naming Traditions
Family names
When it comes to naming, the traditions are a little different from the wider world. While Talnorines have [given name] [family name] structures and some tribes from the thin strip of land south of Beht'adur's southern mountains have [family name] [given name] structures, the Mountain People have naming traditions that revolve around [given name] of [town name] or [given name] of [family name].
Culture
Shared customary codes and values
- The Mountains keep us closer together than those who live down below, so we must tolerate each other more than they would themselves.
- Our men are strong, our women are strong, our children are strong.
- Children are observant and often have something meaningful to say.
- The mountains will be here forever and so shall we.
Common Dress code
When it comes to how people dressed, the style of clothing didn't change very much from what was worn during the Epoch of Snow. They dress a little warmer than those who live down below due to elevation and often have to start dressing for winter sooner than even the people of Dazuvell.
Art & Architecture
Art
Perhaps due to their isolation, the Mountain People developed a type of art that was wholly unique to them. They developed a paint that seemed to bind to the rock, as if the minerals used to colour the paint bound to them like they had when unrefined, so that their finished masterpieces would not fade with the years unless the rock itself began to erode. And the paint itself seemed to protect the rock somewhat so that erosion was slowed, if not halted altogether. This paint was used to create massive murals and still-life scenes on walls and sides of mountains that can still be seen to this day if people wander into the ruins. Something about the art left behind by the Mountain People seems to dissuade people from vandalizing the ruins, which has allowed them to, thankfully, exist for so long.Architecture
The Mountain People worked with the land and the mountains and the slopes. Free-standing buildings only stood on the flat land between the peaks while houses and other buildings were built into the rock in ways that mirrored their dwarven heritage. Due to the abysmal growing season, they devised massive and beautiful greenhouses that trapped heat from the sun and the geothermal springs that could be found in the mountains.Funerary and Memorial customs
The funerary customs of the Mountain People is unique compared to the the cultures found around it. Through complex and detailed processes, the bodies are placed in mountainside tombs where they are mummified by the cold and dry air found at the elevation the tombs are in. The tombs are carved from the stone and are big enough to house the entirety of a family. Bodies are placed in simple and light wooden boxes that are carried up to the tomb via a removable pathway that will be removed after the coffin is interned in the tomb.
Ideals
Beauty Ideals
The beauty ideals of the Mountain People doesn't variate much from the world that existed outside of their secluded mountain kingdom—with some exceptions. Tattoos add to the beauty of someone due to the fact that every tattoo one wears speaks of a milestone or achievement. Women with strong hands are seen as more beautiful than ones with delicate hands that haven't seen work.
Gender Ideals
The Mountain Kingdom was one of the most egalitarian kingdoms to be found in Eldûra at the time, where both men and women were able to shoulder the same burdens, have the same jobs, and fill the same niches in society. Unfortunately, the invaders would feed upon this by targeting the women in the army, guards, and tactical spaces almost exclusively, despite the fact that the women were nearly as strong as the men on average.
Major organizations
- The Monarchy of the Mountain Kingdom
- The Mountainbreaker's Men
"Where did you go, o mountain souls?
We see that you are gone, your stone is stained.
You no longer linger in your mountain holes—
We miss your strength, we wish you remained."
Related Locations
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