Baltos

The Baltos were a civilization who fled the Bloatlands and settled in the Thinlands. They were one of the Twelve Nations, but since their conquest by the Satemid Empire have been assimilated into the Istosloveny and are practically extinct.
=== History ===
The Baltos were once divided into several related tribes who consolidated into a common people during the Bloatfall. After their exodus from the Bloatlands, rather than settle a single ethnopolis, they built three minor cities at key trading locations within the same region to the east of the Urethral Mountains. These were the cities of Prusa, Lietvona, and Luttpils. Their local economies were supplemented by trade with a local Urethral indigene tribe known as the Shtonars. The Shtonars provided Paki scalps and animal furs in exchange for grains and cereals, such as Corn Flakes and Trix, and eventually themselves became sedentary baltophiles, settling the city of Štonimaa at their trading grounds. The Balto cities and the Shtonars later founded a loose economic and political union called the League of Balto States.
During the Warring States Period, the Istosloveny took advantage of the chaos and the low defense budget of the League of Balto States and invaded. The Balto cities were quickly conquered and incorporated into Istosloveny territory, with many of the native inhabitants being forcibly conscripted into the Satemid army and sent to the Eastern Front on suicide missions at the Burning Lesion, holding off the nascent Bloatspread while containing walls were built behind them. Others were deported in small numbers to Istosloveny settlements where they were forbidden to speak their language or marry within their community, while ethnic Istosloveny squatters inhabited their former homes. This was a part of the Satemid Population Transfer program.
The Baltos have been largely assimilated into Istosloveny culture, and today the Balto cities are minor settlements within Istoslovensky Sarovat. The names of the settlements have been Slovenified, and they are now known as Prusk, Litvonya, Lutgrud, and Shtonya.
=== Behind the Scenes ===
The Baltos are based on the real-world Baltic peoples. Their cities of Prusa, Lietvona, and Luttpils take inspiration from the ethnic Prussians, Lithuanians, and Latvians respectively.
The name "Balto" derives from the 1995 live-action/animated adventure film Balto.