Men


 * "Let each man think himself mightier than a God and yet frailer than an ant. For although his wits might overcome the insights of the Divine, his sword-arm will ever only bear blade and pommel."
 * -King Rineld II

Men are a sentient terrestrial animal that inhabits almost every region of Vindir. They are known for their great ambition.

Humans have a highly developed brain and very complex mental capabilities. They are in fact capable of introspection, language, and reasoning, to name a few. These mental capabilities, combined with their natural predisposition to ambition, understanding and curiosity, allow humans to create and make use of various tools that help them to further understand and manipulate their environment.

Due to their unique talent to communicate, humans can create complex and organized social structures. They are, as a rule, highly social beings, which had led them to the creation of large social gatherings, such as towns and cities, inhabited by many cooperating individuals at the same time. Their natural predisposition to cooperation also enabled them to partake in endeavors beyond the abilities of a single individual.

Origins

 * Main article: Origins of Mankind

Since no reliable account record the exact origins of mankind, it is generally accepted than humans evolved on the mainland of the continent and presumably never left it. However, despite scholarly assumptions, it is not unerringly known if humans lived elsewhere before settling in Vindir.

According to the archaeological traces of habitation of various regions of Vindir as well as correlations made between the ancient written dialects and modern spoken and written languages of many of the different human cultures, it is most plausible that mankind originated from the area known as Southland, namely in the nations of Goldweald, Elmland, Sylvania and Orland, and that all human cultures are descendant of the early inhabitants of that region, who would later travel northwards and colonize other lands. The farthest written records of the early inhabitants of the Wealds attest the existence of the Vervassian people, a peaceful, nomadic and spiritual culture who lived chiefly by the raising of livestock and abode to the worship of a pantheon of goddesses which was headed by the eponymous sun-goddess Vervassia, of which very little is known.

Vervessians were divided among tribes led by one or more priest of Vervassia. Each tribe was attributed a respective territory and seldom ventured out of it, resulting in almost no territorial dispute between tribes. Based on almost every record that concerns itself with these ancient people, Vervessians were allegedly very peaceful and respectful towards themselves as well as nature. At the peak of their power, Vervessians could be found in every region of the Wealds, although they dared not cross the Venian mountains, which bordered the north of the Wealds.

It is commonly accepted among scholars that the Vervassians were the primeval ancestors of all following human races. The people would eventually abandon their traditional lifestyles and worships and divide themselves into groups that would become the modern races.

The founding of Avienny

 * Main article: Avienny

Some of the most technologically and culturally advanced Vervessian tribes of the eastern regions of the Wealds (namely the Barrs, the Leons and the Eraths) would develop agriculture and abandon their pastoral and nomadic lifestyles in favor of a sedentary way of life. This revolution in lifestyle took place, according to most sources, anywhere in between 3500 to 3000 BFE. The newly sedentary lifestyle of the eastern Vervassians would lead to the development of many new crafts, such as masonry, stoneworking, architecture and writing. These new crafts allowed the people, among other things, to record their history in a permanent manner; something that had not been possible before then. Indeed, all Vervassian record was hitherto transmitted by vocal means, and was therefore subject to much corruption. The Barrs, Leons and Eraths united and founded the Kingdom of Avienny (historically Awioen, of unknown origin), which would become the first documented event of human History in Vindir. Avien people, the inhabitants of Avienny, settled in what would later be known as Greywall in about 2000 BFE and tilled the lands to ensure their survival.

initially, the Aviens lived in peace and prosperity, and maintained friendly bonds with the Vervassian nomads, which were permitted to roam and hunt in Avien lands freely. The newly formed kingdom maintained the worship of the goddess Vervassia and her pantheon and abode to much of the philosophies and teachings they had inherited from their Vervassians ancestors. However, in 1379 BFE, the coronation of Iser the Righteous as leader of the Avien people led to radical changes in the kingdom's spirituality, philosophy and relation to the nomads. Iser outlawed the worship Vervassia, replacing the religion with one of his making, annulled the historical and ancestral territorial privileges that were accorded to the nomads and enslaved or executed those who denied either his authority over the lands.

As Avienny aggressively grew bigger in territory and demography, the nomads were forced out of the east, and exiled themselves to the west, to Midland, in order to avoid the persecution of Iser and his descendants. Many of the most warlike Vervessaian tribes of the east organized under one leader, the fabled warrior Palassir, and defended Midland from further Avien expansion, although some accounts attest that Palassir actively waged war against Avienny. The quarrel did not endure, as Avien monarchs abandoned their western territorial ambitions to instead turn their attention to the unclaimed northern lands that lied beyond the Venian mountains.

The founding of Aeduen

 * Main article: History of Aeduen

Almost simultaneous to the growth of Avienny in the east, Vervessian tribes of the western coast of the Wealds, which were quick to master the arts of mining, metallurgy and tool-making, also abnegated their nomadic lifestyle in favor of a sedentary one. These tribes, notably the Heless and the Ioniths, organized under the country of Aeduen (Ae western Vervessian for Man and Duen western Vervessian for God) and became known as the Aeduenian people. They developed and honed many new crafts, namely metallurgy, which enabled them to create more efficient tools and weapons. The great mineral wealth of the western coasts of Goldweald allowed Aeduenians to rapidly multiply buildings, tools and weapons. In just a few years, the kingdom grew exponentially along the coastline.

Unlike the Aviens, who had allowed a certain spiritual latitude at the time of its founding, Aeduenians almost immediately rejected and outlawed the ancestral worship of the sun-goddess Vervessia and, over the course of just a few generations, shifted their faiths to a monotheistic cult devoted to the god Magnus. All other forms of religion were banished on pain of death or torture. Religious matters quickly became of the highest importance within the kingdom as members of the ruling class were believed to be avatars of the offspring of Magnus. Disputing their rule, as these ancient people believed, would summon the wrath of the divine. Aeduen undertook a vigorous preaching of the worship of Magnus as well as their aggressive theocratic government and punished any contender.

From 1018 to 1001 BFE, Aeduen, led by Xiexios the first, expanded all over the Frontland, covering almost one sixth of Goldweald. The few remaining nomads of the east either fled to the barren Midland or to the even more inhospitable marshes of the south.

The founding of Elmland
Many explorers were sent over the mountains to claim and colonize these lands, but the danger engendered by the trip dissuaded Vertanny to pursue the expeditions. Abandoned to their fates and unwilling to cross the mountains again, the Verish colonists broke free of their allegiance to the Verish crown and claimed lordship over the new-found lands themsleves. They called themselves Hailms (of uncertain etymology, although believed to be a combination of Huldr, Verish for hound, and Aim Verish for Man since Verish colonists who had crossed the Venian mountains, having never seen horses hitherto, likened them to large dogs and became their first riders among makind, therefore dubbing themselves Men-Horses) and colonized the country which would later be called Elmland by their descendants.

The founding of Sylvania and Orland
The Hailms of the newly founded Elmland, having domesticated horses, which were native to that region, could travel the land at a much faster speed than their feet could allow. In just a few years, Hailms could be found anywhere in the large region stretching from the Venian range to the south and from the Ash mountains to the north. Although Hailms had founded the sedentary and stable country of Elmland in the south, many of their their peers traveled to the north and went back to a pastoral and nomadic lifestyle. They divided into three distinct tribes, the Cilwon and the Behrer, the ancestors of the Sylvanic people, and the Aurs, the ancestors of the Orish people.

The founding of the First Empire
The Exiles of Oenglad, who crossed mountains to flee from prosecution, are believed to be the progenitors of the people who would later inhabit the Northlands