Hymari

The Hymari peoples are a populous and developed human culture who primarily reside within their namesake region, Hymar. However, the Hymari have also left a legacy of settlement on the continent of Cet'aenn as well as having influence on Mortvügg, and their culture is widely recognized and respected throughout the eastern hemisphere. The Hymari are most known for their hospitality, honor, and courteous behavior towards outsiders. This is displayed even during wartime, with customs like surrender negotiations and the conduct of messengers all being governed by strict codes of honor. The Hymari are also a very bureacratic culture, with significantly developed administrative and legalistic ministries. This extends even to things like military logistics and religions traditions. However, their standards are largely clan-based, leading to friction between different administrative structures. The Hymari are also known for being very family-centric, with strong ties to both clans and immediate family. It's seen as extremely dishonorable to go against or slander one's close family, and familes often form patronage cliques within ministries or industries. The Hymari clan structure was formed by multiple families who shared similar values to one another forming alliances and eventually becoming closely related to one another and collaborating in political endeavors. These ancient clans have formed the backbone of the squabbling Hymari states for thousands of years, even as clans split, merge, and split again. To be a part of a clan is to espouse their values, and those who fail to uphold these are often cast from the clan and even their families, becoming wanders or mercenaries, known as TBD in the Hymari language. These unfortunate people have their names stricken from clan records unless they manage to regain honor. They are known to join pseudo-clanlike guilds or leave Hymar and explore the world, and many of the settlers of Cet'aenn were originally clanless exiles who chose to settle there. The TBD are also known to be recruited by the Demonologist guilds of Hymar, as they have nothing to lose and are more likely to accept the dangers of demonology.

The Hymari are a very hardworking culture who are primarily agricultural. Their rice fields cover much of Hymar, and provide food to support many nearby regions, including valuable mountainous areas where food is harder to grow. The Hymari use this massive surplus of rice to conduct widescale trade with a number of different networks, most prominently the Gnomes. Their coastal metropolis-cities are known to be melting pots, with people of numerous cultures and races having their own quarters within the cities. Many of these cities have recently fallen on hard times due to the invasion of Minotaurs from Mortvügg in the early 20th century SC, who looted and extorted these cities' wealth as they arrived. These invaders have been working to stamp out the Hymari civilization by breaking up the clans, enslaving the people, and enforcing their culture, and it remains to be seen what effect this will have on the Hymari. This has only reinforced the dominance of the agrarian countryside as the backbone of the Hymari.

The Hymari culture has also been shaped by the arrival of several pulses of human migrants from Mortvügg. The Hymarians are known for their hospitality and tolerance for other cultures and religions, and Hymar was the destination for most refugees who fled Mortvügg. These refugees retain a significant population of fully-Mortvian culture, but they also have large populations of refugees who have integrated into Hymari culture or intermarried with the Hymari population. This has led to cultural exchange from both sides, with the Hymari adopting some Mortvian cultural practices and in some cases forming new cultural groups. The Hymari are welcoming to people of many races and cultures beyond just the refugees from Mortvügg. There are notable populations of many of these groups, including the Halflings, Gnomes, Elves (in particular Forest Elves, High Elves, and the half-breed Eldritch), and Jade Dwarves. These groups are often spread throughout the lands of Hymar, and form a part of the traditional ethnic makeup of Hymar alongside the Mortvian and Khaid'bon human. There are also small communities of An'seidnan, Human Cultures of Ærellion, and Dark Elven merchants and traders, but these are minor compared to the other large minority populations.

Of the ethnic groups, the Zuhua are the most famous to the outside world, being the half-Mortvian half-Hymari population of the region. Despite their mixed ethnic blood, they are considered to be fully Hymari, as one of the distinct peoples of Hymar. Although they may maintain some cultural holdovers, such as an increased propensity of Mortvian-origin festivals and traditionally Mortvian crafts, they have become a major part of the Hymari clan system, whether that be through assimilation into previously existing clans or through the formation of their own clans. They're also known for increasing adoption of mixed Hymari-Mortvian names, depending on the exact heritage of the family. Zuhua are mostly located in the eastern region of Zhon-Tu, so they are likely to be involved in mercantile activites or fishing. However, there is also a significant population of Zuhua in the inland portion of the central pass through Hymar's coastal range.

Unlike the Zuhua, the Bailong are generally fully or almost-fully ethnically Mortvian, though like the Zuhua they are closely integrated into Hymari culture. The main difference between the Bailong and Zuhua is the Bailong, while generally culturally Hymari, are not incorporated into the formal clan system, though they may exist unofficially or on the fringes of clans. They often form a major part of the mercantile caste of Hymar due to their lack of clan ties making them more flexible in negotiations, and not being bound by clan regulation and guidelines. Although the main delineating line between the Zuhua and Bailong is that the Bailong have Hymari blood (as usually when people are integrated into clans they will marry someone from the clan), there can be Bailong who are largely Hymari and some Zuhua can look like Bailong due to genetics. Hence, the two are often confused by outsiders. The Bailong actually tend to be spread more evenly across Hymari than the Zuhua, but their population base is still centered in Zhon-Tu.

1. Mountain Hymari: southern mountains
2. Southern Hymari: the more tropical regions, also probably more Cet'aenn migrants came from here proportionally
3. Northern Hymari: north coast and mountains, closer to the elves
4. Central Hymari: flatlands in the middle, more traditional