Ancient Dremeria

Ancient Dremeria, also known as Old Dremeria, was a civilzation and people group that controlled what is now Dremeria. It was an ancient enemy of the Ashardian Empire, one that persisted until the Ashardians conquered the province in 993 AE. In wider culture of the Empire, Ancient Dremeria is often loathed as a vile, brutal regime.

Structure

Ancient Dremeria wasn't so much one nation as it was a loose collection of City-States. Each city was typically controlled by a Druid Lord, an adult member of the Ascendant class who made heavy use of a potion called Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow to expand their magical powers and maintain dominion over their land. The independent government of a City-State was known as a "House".

Culture

Ancient Dremerian culture was brutal and eerie. A loose confederacy of city-states, the Dremerians made heavy use of slave labor to maintain their lands, a carryover from their previous rulers. Dremerians widely followed the Old Faith, and their Lords often doubled as priests of their religion. There was also a heavy split between the Ancients and the Tribespeople, who were often the targets of the Dremerian's slavery.

Assets

The Dremerians had many, many wondrous materials and substances that allowed them to grow a vast nation. Many of these substances now are heavily controlled by the Empire, if not outright illegal to own.
Mind Salve was a fungal concoction made from mysterious spores once found in caves around Dremeria. Appearing as a thin, pale white broth, repeated ingestion of Mind Salve resulted in a fungal infection. This infection often materialized as a white fuzz inside the mouth, eventually spreading across the body. Mind Salve infection strips someone of their individuality, making them unable to resist any command. Mind Salve was how the Dremerians created a vast slave caste. When the Ashardians took over, they found no cure for the infected; they had to resort to mass executions, fearing that late-stage Mind Salve patients may spread the spores. Dremeria is a popular place for necromancers as a result of the sheer quantity of mass graves in the area. 
Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow was a strange alchemical tincture created through an unknown ritual involving humanoid sacrifice and the Old Faith. Ingestion of the thick, red fluid often resulted in death in adults. However, children who were dosed with the substance had much higher chances of surviving it later in life. Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow was purported to have a number of effects, including visions of the past, present and future, enhancement of magical ability, and, in high doses, omnipresence. 
Living Stone and Heartwood were two building materials utilized by the Dremerian Tribals, and ultimately pioneered by the Ancient Dremerians. Creating these materials required powerful druidic spellcasters, and allowed the Ancients to "grow" buildings and tools as easily as if they were plants.

History

Ancient Dremeria rose from the native tribes of the region. These tribes were mostly human, with an elven minority; they followed the Old Faith and preferred to live within nature. They were eventually swarmed and dominated by the Empire of Nurz during the Nurzite Expansion. As the Nurzites colonized the land, many tribespeople were sent to live and service the Nurzite cities being built across the forest. Eventually, the Nurzites began relying on Dremerian building styles to construct their cities, using a combination of Living Stone and Heartwood. 
When doom befell the Nurzites in 366 AE, the Dremerians continued to inhabit the cities they had built for their previous overlords. They took many of the militaristic aspects of Nurzic culture, becoming what is now known as the "Ancient Dremerians".

366 - 993

Alternative Names

Old Dremeria, the Kingdom of the Druid Lords

Demonym

Ancient Dremerian