Joint History of the Bardonian, Ryzani, and Olthiac Peoples

The Bardonians, Ryzani, and Olthiac peoples are all thought to be of the same, or similar, origins, and as such are sometimes referred to as *The Brother Tribes*, *The Northern Cousins, or the **Brothian Peoples**,* the last term being popularized after the rise of the Brothian Union, which has since dissipated. All three came from a continent hither to unknown in the northwest of the world, at similar times, and are thought to be related to each other in some vague, distant context. However, as time passed and they became isolated from one another, their cultures distorted and changed from their ancestors, and as such, they are considered different peoples today. Additionally, this distinction includes the Vologdan, Deutzani & Kelzak peoples as well, although all the aforementioned groups are considered to be subgroups.

## The Bardonians

The Bardonic peoples are usually considered to be the first to migrate, roughly around 2000 BJC or ~2200 years before the present day. Some Old Bardonian literature refers to the land of origin for the Bardonians as 'Azas' or Azia. It is still debated why exactly the Proto-Bardonic peoples started migrating south, but decreasing temperature and overpopulation are attributed by most historians as the cause.

The Proto-Bardonic group would migrate south through rough and icy waters, using their skilled fishermen and sailors to survive, though some would inevitably die. They reached the northern coast of the Syltör Ring and went inland and, according to oral history, went through Dandal Pass. On the other side of Dandal Pass was the sea north of Lemebah, and from there they trekked southward again hugging the eastern coast of Syltör, eventually landing in modern day Carthya, and spreading out across the Bardonian subcontinent.

From there, they would split into many tribes with their territories stretching roughly across the modern territory of Bardonia, with a few exceptions along the traditional border with Ryzan (the Carthyans would soon displace the Bardonians living in their modern territory). Eventually they would form city-states and small kingdoms which traded with more developed civilizations such as Almador. Throughout the centuries, many prophets would reveal paths of the Dandelions to the peoples, slowly forming the modern Bardonian culture we see today. One of the city-states, Sängta, would come to be controlled by a group of senators, and they renamed the city to Bardonia. The rest is history.

## The Olthiacs

The Olthiacs were another coalition of tribes that arose in the same are as the Bardonii. They were populous, and had taken much of the land abandoned by the aforementioned folk as they migrated south. However, about a century after the Bardonii left, a new threat was emerging in the north of the region. A race of giants, called the Milzi, began moving south in search of new lands to settle. Some accounts say that these giants were up to 10 feet tall, and could rip the strongest warriors sent to stop them in twain. Thus, a mad onrush began coming south, known as the Second Migration. Various tribes of the Olthiacs, from the Tarostii to the Wyegesh began to come to seek refuge, hoping to follow the Bardonii, though by this time the glaciers had long since melted, forcing them to go overland, around the sea.

Once they found the mountains the Bardonii had passed beyond, they halted for nearly 50 years, before beginning again. Apparently not finding the Dandal Pass, the Olthiacs opted instead to cross the summits of the hills instead. Many would die on this perilous journey, and many more would turn back and face the Milzi. However, there would be several tribes who did make it over the peaks, and into the region today known as Olthiaca. There they would destroy the few Bardonii settlements left behind, and each tribe would settle their own land, becoming the Olthiac Petty Kingdoms, which would dominate that region for a millennia, untiL they were conquered by County Remtal, and made into the Fiefdoms of Westreach.

However, the migrations did not stop at the edges of Olthiaca. Rather, they continued south along the Fluss Wessreich, lead by the Tarostii, and west, along the Bardonian Coast and islands in the Northern Sea. These two groups would form the South and the Insular Olthiacs respectively.

Now, without an outward threat, the various tribes and fiefs turned inward, and began to separate into the aforementioned Petty Kingdoms, which would form the region into a land of rising and falling kingdoms, overwhelmed with chaos and foul creatures of the night, giving rise to its modern culture.