Aran people

The **Aran**, who call themselves **Aranvalar** ("Plainsmen", in the Aran language) are an ethnic group native to the Eastern section of the Great Continent. Their heartland are the plains between the Sands of Itsori and the Belt of Fire, south of the Akuzorri Mountain Range.

The Aranvalar are mostly organized into a collection of warring clans. Most Arans are either nomadic or semi-nomadic, with a handful of Arans living in permanent settlements known as *ujraaki*. Most *ujraaki* – such as Bataajhang – are located along the River Yuu, while others are on the coast of the Smoking Sea to the south. A few of the latter of these settlements have grown into large ports, where merchants from other lands visit to trade. This, and the influence of the Vachai Dominion in the past century, has considerably affected the traditional nomadic way of life of the Aranvalar.

A major notable feature of the Aranvalar are bloodmarks (*akshamurqu*), face tattoos which represent allegiance to a clan.

## History

Aran lore dictates the Aranvalar came from the River Yuu. The first man who ever lived came from the egg of an ancient river snake known as Qunaajqu (who, in other myths, is presented as the River Yuu itself). The mythological motif of the serpent egg is present in other societies from the Eastern section of the continent, such as the Sivali.

Arans are an ancient society. Their location in the continent – with the Akuzorri mountains to the North, the Fires to the east, the Smoking Sea to the south, and the Sands of Itsori to the west – have rendered them relatively isolated from other people groups for thousands of years. Historically, cultural exchange took place with the Sivali, the closest nation and with whom they established trade routes (especially through the Smoking Sea).

Ancient Arans were most likely entirely nomadic, living in small communities engaged in seasonal movement. Sometime in the past thousand years, small Aran settlements began popping up on the banks of the River Yuu, expanding south until reaching the coasts of the Smoking Sea. Mugrajba was inhabited as early as 500 B.C.

War and conflict amongst Arans is also attested early into Aran history. Early conflicts likely arised over druki ownership and right to pasture on certaint territories, while disputes regarding the allegiance and right to make use of certain ujraaki later stood at the center of major disputes among Aran clans.

Certain clans have attained power among the Arans and have sought to establish hegemony over other clans in the past, establishing empires of considerable might. Control over vast amounts of territories and a mostly nomadic population, however, has time and time again proved difficult and few of these empires have lasted more than a generation –nearly always only succeeding for as long as its respective *quruk* lived.

## Society and economy

Druki play an important role in Aran society since their dawn; they have been domesticated for their milk, fibre, meat and skins. Druki are resistant to extreme weathers and thrive even on low-quality pastures, the likes of which abound in the infertile Aran plains. Horses are also key to the Aran way of life, as they allow for fast travel and are used in combat and warfare.