Aleirus (uh-lay-ruhs)
"They're not a good crowd, I tell ya. Just a bunch of thugs sticking their noses in places they don' belong." - A concerned Sirtzite
Basic Overview
Appearance
The Aleirans are from the west on an entirely different continent across the sea. They're comprised of a huge mishmash of people from across the continent, so they can look like anything.
Common Habits
Mores
- Don't mess with the gangs, do what they ask, and they will generally leave you alone
Folkways
- Look out for your own at all times, helping strangers is frowned upon
- Keep your head down and serve out your time
History
Ashfall
Aleirun didn't exist as an empire until about 250 years after the Ashfall. They grew extraordinarily fast and are now the dominant empire of the Eastern Continent.
Colonist vs. Mainlander
The colonists were mainly comprised of criminals, now it's normal people, but they're still very desperate. Criminal colonists are used to only looking out for themselves, needing to do anything to survive in the brutal conditions of the High Desert.
Mainlanders who come to the colonies are either travellers or desperate people. Aleirun is a prosperous nation, so it takes certain circumstances to make them move.
Mainlander or not, they deal with the gangs that formed by paying them off or doing whatever they needed to do.
The Nation
Government
The government of the colonies is particular to exactly which colony you're in. Functionally, the colonies all just act like city states that are on amicable enough terms with each other.
Society
The mainlanders generally have a higher status than any of the colonists. They get special trade rights and are allowed to come and go freely from all colonies.
Colonists are usually stuck in whatever colony they've been assigned. The criminals are literally forced to stay while the other colonists are just too poor to risk leaving. Some of them are even indentured servants to the leader of the colony and are legally not allowed to leave.
Culture
Aleiran culture is a huge mishmash, especially in the colonies. The most unifying thing about the culuture is that they're willing to do just about anything to survive and grow.
Military
There's not a formal military presence in the Aleiran colonies besides some militia for defence from border skirmishes and the skeeln. However, mercenaries of all persuasions can make some good money from protecting the colonies or wealthy people within them.
Economy
Aleirun, the mainland, is strongly backing the economy of the colonies. They get all the food and luxury goods from the motherland and they ship back expensive natural resources in exchange.
Aleirun is using the colonies as a staging ground to send more of its own merchants to sell goods to the native people of the region. Sirtza doesn't like this in the slightest as the nobles all know that they're buddying up with both Myr and Khairae due to the more exotic trade. Khairae is getting a very good deal from Aleirun and are allowed to trade freely with them. The same can be said for Myr, except that Myr has imposed heavy tariffs on the foreign ships if they pass into Khairae territories.
The colonists themselves try to trade with anybody that comes through. Whether that be mainlanders or travellers from other nations. They don't have much besides Aleiran trinkets and baubles. However, wealthier merchants have started to enter the picture and sell their expensive goods.
There's lots of room for you guys to create your own culture in the world with this ethnicity.
