Oleander

The Oleander peoples are a mix of conquered territories and vassal states given to vastly different cultural heritages and beliefs. Despite this, the empire still attempts to make a homogenized culture with varying degrees of success. This has created an empire whose people have a vast range of different looks. However, one unifying factor among the Oleander peoples is the forced conversion to the Allfather and a rebuking of the Old Gods.
The original people of the Oleander Throne settled the Silvium region generations ago. The original Silvium people were a very organized people who created much in the way of cultural history in arts and drama. The peoples tended to be very industrious and often altered the land to fit the needs and requirements of their civilizations. After the Dragon Reckoning, many nations in the mainland were devastated, weakened both militarily as well as politically. Silvium was relatively unscathed and the king, Kaeso Oleander, took advantage of the situation and began a quick conquest of its neighbors, forming the Oleander Throne. Over the following generations, the Oleander Throne continued to expand, pushing their military might throughout many nations of the mainland, keeping many of the new territories as vassal states. This caused the Oleander peoples to mix with the different people of the differing regions. However, the original Silvium people were typically short or medium in height, with hair and eye colors that were both dark. Their skin tone was typically tanned, especially in summer. However, today, there bloodlines are so integrated that there is no single base phenotype of the Oleander people.
The Oleander people are a very militaristic and politically based culture, with a strong emphasis based on industry. There is still an overall appreciation for the arts, and they have adapted many cultural cornerstones of vassal countries into their own culture.
Only the Allfather is worshiped in Oleander. Conquered nations are forced to denounce the "Old Gods" and must pay tribute to the Allfather. In most areas, worship of a heathen Old God is a crime punishable by death. That said, the vastness of the empire makes it difficult to truly enforce these policies. The reality is that many regional leaders only pay lip service to the Allfather. However, few would still openly worship any of the Old Gods, as fear of being turned in and executed as a heathen creates an ongoing threat and paranoia to those who would oppose the Allfather.
The Common trade language is known by most every Oleander, though most also speak their regional language or Silvium.
The Oleander peoples tend to have overall poor relations with most demi-human races. The Elves tend to be more opposed to the industrialization of the Oleander Throne, and when the Oleander Throne pushes into Elven areas, very few are converted and the rest are either executed or taken as slaves. On the whole, the Dwarven peoples tend to avoid the Oleander Throne and as the Oleander have spread, so has the Dwarven suspicion of all humans. Halflings are tolerated by the Oleander people, provided that they convert and pay tribute to the Allfather. Relations with other human nations tend to be mostly strained. As the Oleander Throne has grown, more nations have come to realize the threat that they are, but as the Oleander strength has grown, there has been little that can be done to stop their progress. Many smaller nations have submitted themselves to become Oleander vassal states rather than engaging in a battle that they know that they will lose. Obviously, there is an opposition from the churches of the Old Gods to the Oleander people monotheistic worship of the Allfather, but they reacted too slowly and could not halt their influence's advance.

Race: Human
Regions: Mainland Merra
Deities: The Allfather
Starting Languages: Common, Local Dialect or Silvium

Encompassed species

• Human