Treman

Term used for the people of the Empire of Trem during the first age.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

When Trem was founded there was an abundance of languages and dialects. Even within Trem itself there were those who could not understand each other's language. This hampered the imperial bureacracy and stifled attempts to draw on a wider pool of talent. In order to overcome this a new language was developed that became known as the common tongue. Taking syntax and vocabulary from several different sources within Trem it was made the official language of the empire.
The relatively simple language spread to other countries through Trem's merchants and gained popularity amongst those trading across multiple lands. As it's popularity spread it became the primary language for most lands, though some preferred to keep their own native tongue.

Shared customary codes and values

Talent can be found anywhere. Circumstances may dictate your opportunities but not your abilities. For a land to prosper it must make best use of the talent available.

— Emperor Mellonase Asharac

From the founding of the empire Tremans were taught that they needn't be content with just taking over from their parents. Success could be measured not in coin or land, but in making full use of your talents. Ambition was a virtue, and since learning could make realising ambition easier the Tremans were among the first to regularly teach children to read and do arithmetic.
The downside to this was that the leaders of a community or even the empire changed on a fairly regular basis, as competing groups thought they were best suited to running things. This disruption was quietly accepted by most Tremans who viewed it as simply being how you got the best leaders.

Average technological level

Trem was the first land to establish a large centre of learning as the sharing of knowledge was one of the core principles underpinning Treman culture. New discoveries at the University of Trem were celebrated across the land and it was a point of pride for Tremans how much their land had contributed to the understanding of the world. Even the naming of the world stems from this with it literally meaning, that which holds the people of Trem.

Related Locations

• Trem

Better Number

Aside from creating the common tongue, a variant of which is still spoken today, the Tremans are also credited with defining an improved method for recording numbers. Based on the simple premise that most people used their thumb to count joints in their fingers whe adding numbers the Tremans established a method of using symbols to track numbers in groups of 16. This method spread through their merchants and was gradually adopted across the lands.