Albion Independents
The first humans to arrive in the New World were pale of skin and blue of eye, on one hand a fearsome race of warrior tribes, but also a prosperous strain of farmers and craftsmen with much to offer the West. They did not arrive by ships of their own creation, but with aid from the High Elves of old, who had sensed that a great cataclysm was destined to wrack the Old World. The Empire, in its hubris and degeneracy, had not only failed to stem the tide of Chaos, but also nurtured its taint within itself, and could not be saved. Thus the Elves turned to the only humans of the Old World not to have fallen under the influence of the Empire or the hordes of Chaos, the surviving inhabitants of the island of Albion. Expecting to encounter a simple race of cave-dwellers with an ingenuity akin to that of the dimmest Orc, they instead found several tough yet civilised, tribal nations battered by a private war of their own against the corrupted hordes of the Dark Master, but by no means bowed or broken. To the Elves these people had potential, and remained a bulwark against anarchy and unreason, and thus they proposed that the Overkings of the tribes lead their people onto their vessels and away from their haunted island to a new, untouched land.
Some of the Overkings and Overqueens had grown weary of ceaseless bloodshed in countless conflicts against the Fimir, Hordes of Shadow and other threats that now blighted the once-bountiful island, and agreed to lead their people aboard the sleek Elven galleys. The Truthsayers were largely appreciative of the aid, and Draiorix, their King, bade all bar six and himself to depart and pass their wisdom to the colonists. Yet three tribes stubbornly refused. The Belenii had begun a renewed push against the vile legions of Be'lakor to the north, and were confident in their ability to free the island from Chaos once and for all. The Toulenii, the most distrusting of the three, claimed this was a ruse planned by the Dark Master, and that the Elves would betray and slaughter any who embarked upon their vessels once they would leave the Misty Isle. Finally the Boreni, proud of their heritage and their duty to protect the sacred circles of Ogham Stones, could not abandon all they had worked so hard to build, develop and protect upon their beloved island. Thus did these tribes remain, and their fate became legend.
The rest endured months of voyage until they reached a vast new land, untouched by Chaos as the Elves said. Each of the Overkings and Overqueens marvelled at the swathes of space this continent offered them, and led their people to claim vast territories far greater than those they possessed back on their old island, and separation from other tribes meant raids and scuffles between them grew less and less. With the help of the tribes the migrant Truthsayers erected new Ogham circles that were blessed with extraordinary power that they could use to teleport from their new home to Albion and back again, and thus commune with those they left behind in the Misty Isle. Mighty new Hillforts were built to protect the tribespeople from the bands of Orcs, Beastmen and Rangos that dared threaten them, and where necessary, those beasts were hunted down and slain to prevent them from being a threat. In time, with all the tribes experiencing a new age of peace and prosperity, their Overkings saw that it would benefit for them all to form an enduring alliance, and thus was the mighty nation of New Albion born, ruled primarily by a High King elected from the Overkings of the tribes. The Albionites had reached the height of their power.
Then, the Old Worlders came. Masses of Imperials, Bretonnians, Estalians and Tileans, all fleeing the annihilation of their blighted homelands, landed upon the beaches that were now the property of New Albion. The High King, Belevelaunos, was uncertain of their motives and led an army to meet the settlers, but rather than leading an attack, he mounted his finest shield and bade his Shieldbearers carry him to the foreigners so he could parley with them himself. While the outlanders were grateful that humans were the first sentient life they would encounter in the New World, and were granted aid and assistance from the tribes, who provided them with enough land to settle on in peace, but in time they wanted more than the Albionites were able to give them. They desired the control of entire mountain ranges to mine gold, whole forests to harvest wood and swathes of additional land. Belevelaunos came to visit them again, and rightfully refused to accommodate such greed, yet was in return murdered by a spiteful Imperial carrying a contemptible stick that fired iron stones at range. In righteous rage, the tribes of New Albion attacked the foreigners' towns, confident in victory, yet the invaders were ready for them, and sent well-equipped garrisons to engage them. Armoured knights scythed down brave warriors, cannons sent metal balls crashing through chariots and handgunners shot down Eagle and Hog Riders. What began as isolated communities of refugees started to grow and swell like malfeasant tumours across New Albion, as the the outlanders relentlessly seized more and more land and brought their dark technology to bear upon the Albionites. Sacred Groves were burned, Druids massacred and Hillforts demolished and left to rot, replaced with invader settlements or defiled with churches to the savage barbarian god Sigmar. Those ordinary people who were not murdered were forcibly resettled into meagre reservations, imprisoned or enslaved by the nobility, all of them humiliated and afraid of what the Gods would make of their failure.
There were some Albionites that escaped conquest, yet they have paid for their freedom with lifetimes of unending conflict, with desperate attempts to drive back their ruthless foes in a war every bit as relentless and unyielding as that fought against Be'lakor and his minions, made all the worse in that no longer could they settle in safe, well-defended hillforts, for they would be quickly discovered and assaulted by the invaders, and destroyed by their black powder and metal-spitting weapons. Instead the scattered remnants of proud tribes are driven to wander the world in carts and wagons in long, melancholy processions, and having to scratch a living in meagre hunts and raids. Yet they know that despite being constantly at risk of destruction by Old Worlders, Skaven or the Greenskins and Beastmen, every day is a battle to restore the people of Albion to their rightful place as inheritors and protectors of the world that the Gods left for them, and that simply surviving is victory enough - victory in defiance of those who would see them dead, or else enslaved into an alien culture speaking an alien tongue. In time, perhaps a new High King may yet emerge to unify the surviving tribes, lead an organised resistance and banish the outlanders back to the seas from whence they came...
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
The Albionite language is still largely spoken by the last enclaves holding out against Estalian, Bretonnian and UCA invaders, but more integrated and subjugated communities have been forced to replace their mother tongue with that of their conquerors, particularly Estalian or Reikspiel.
Common Myths and Legends
The surviving Albionites continue to worship the same ancient gods that were revered prevalently on their homeland. Deities such as Orounnos, the Sun God, Dononn, God of Water, and Sucella, War God of the Sky, bear more than a passing resemblance to the lost deities of the Rangos, despite the two peoples having entirely different languages and cultures and thus rarely seeing eye-to-eye with one another.
Encompassed species
