Nvaon

The Nvaonese were humans who lived without magic running through their blood, as was the case for the Ildsif above. They inhabited the Deeprealm.
❗The following is forgotten history that was largely lost post-Reckoning!❗

Society

The Nvaonese lived in structured cities and respected a strict social hierarchy. Those who rejected the harsh rules lived in roving bands, often as marauders, and had a life filled with hardship. These bands were often composed of those with mixed Ildsif and Nvaonese blood, who were unwelcome elsewhere.
Due to the Deeprealm being choked of near all light, the earth was fruitless and dangerous. Even the plants were carnivorous, feeding on the insects which processed the fallen detritus of the aemir trees and occasionally small animals; every creature was gripped by a life-and-death struggle to survive. Only near the edges of the island would scant traces of light reach to nourish crops, and even then, the marshy terrain rendered much of the land unusable.

Power and Leadership

Nvaon was a fiefdom ruled by policy-crafting court nobility, known as senators, and overseen by a king.
The Nvaonese were largely handicapped in their endeavors to gain territory in the Skyrealm by their lack of magic. The exceptions to the rule would be House Lethe, a divine bloodline, and later the War-Scholars, a group of magic researchers.

Economy

The kingdom of Nvaon traded under a common currency, known as iod. Land was divided among the senators, who collected taxes and performed services for their people as they see fit.
Even basic goods such as food and cloth were rare commodities. As stone and wood were much more commonplace, builders and craftsmen formed the majority of employment, and the Nvaonese possessed grand sculptures and ornate architecture despite their general lack of prosperity.

Culture

The Nvaonese worshipped Ammayn as a fickle and dangerous goddess that could bring either fortune or misfortune, though they were less religious overall than the Ildsif.
Power, martyrdom, and self-control were valued above all other qualities due to their lack of basic necessities. A common sentiment was that 'the man who survives on one bite keeps his children alive a day longer than the man who takes two.' They formed a prudish society, especially prevalent the higher the caste; excess and indulgence were scorned as signs of weakness in all fields of life, and even something as harmless as kissing one's wife in public was seen as a symptom of having a weak will.
As such, they largely disdained the Ildsif, believing them to be morally bankrupt thanks to their excess of food and resources never providing them the opportunity to prove their character. The Ildsif's open way of speaking, revelry, magic, and courtship behaviors were all appalling culture shocks to the Nvaonese, who feared what they could not understand.
On the contrary, they took great pride in beauty and grandeur, particularly in their stonework, which is still appreciated post-Reckoning in what ruins have survived.
The capital of Nvaon was Setya, the ruins of which are preserved in Atonement.