Armedean (culture)

Armedeans are a hardy people residing in the central Vasterlands, either as a majority in Avzold or a suppressed minority in northeast Efulia. They previously inhabited a much larger area, but most migrated east from their original lands in Vadya and were slowly forced back into their current bounds facing extreme prejudice from the Chaons in the lands they settled.
== Origins and History ==
The Armedeans were originally a contingent of Armenian ships of the Vasterlands Fleet - a portion of the Halcyonian Flotilla which headed west along the coast of the Vasterlands. They settled in the central Vasterlands in the 7th Century BCE.
The Armedeans shared the Vasterlands by several other cultures. The Huons occupied the Geung Peninsula in the far west, and the still-unidentified culture of Ancturum and Dangosturom bounded their eastern border.
Over time more peoples moved into the Vasterlands as well; the warlike Gehemnians came by sea in the 1st Century BCE and drove a wedge between the Armedeans, uprooting them and forcing them to flee east and west. The western Armedeans settled in what is now Vadya and integrated with the native tribesmen, who had followed the Armedeans through the mountain passes several decades afterwards. 
The eastern Armedeans refused to go quietly into the night, and coalesced into several feudal states. The most powerful of these, Narvonna, managed to unify most of the central Vasterlands by allying itself with the Ancturum culture.
Narvonna and its client kingdoms survived until the Great Gap. Following the Gap, Narvonna and every other Armedean state had been crushed along with Ancturum. The Efulians, a hybrid culture combining Armedean and Gehemnian, moved into the void while the Armedeans were in chaos. As a result the Armedean culture survived as a majority in only a single country: the Duchy of Avzold, which endures to this day. Elsewhere Armedeans are found in northern Efulia, where they are repressed by the local lords.
== Culture ==
Armedeans are habitually optimistic people. Armedean folk tales have exclusively happy endings, and songs and tunes are sung in an upbeat fashion. It could be said that the bad luck that befalls the culture as a whole is balanced by the good luck that befalls each individual.
== Religion ==
The Armedean culture is bound unconditionally to its religion. Armedeans have always worshipped fire, a habit said to have been brought from Earth. Over time the religion centralised, and shortly before the Great Gap it was determined that there are three separate fire entities: Sanat, representing heat; Kazavon, representing light; and Avedig, representing pain. These three became the basis of the Armedean Fire Gods, a religion which has come to encompass much more since then.Category:Cultures