Seerese

The Tribes of Seer, or demographically referred to as the **Seerese**, are a nomadic ethnicity of human beings who once claimed the Eastern Steppes as their home before the Scourge decimated the region. They are one of the three oldest and largest human ethnic groups, along with the Arathis and the Aeonics. The Stranniks and Ravnin, majority population of the Kingdom of Alterac, are offshoots of this ethnic group.

Seerese culture and beliefs have great influence among the northern cultures, their lack of historical records also spawned a variety of folklore and mythical tales that are popular themes for literary and artistic recreation in the north, and is one of the most popular field of study and topics of debate for contemporary historians and scholars.

Most of the Seerese continue to maintain their nomadic and hunter-gatherer lifestyle to this day. The destruction of their homeland during the Third War had led to a massive immigration wave to the Alteraci Mountains, where much of the population now reside. Scattered bands of Seerese nomads continue to live in the barren wastelands of the Plaguelands, fighting Scourge remnants while seeking food from isolated settlements left stranded in wake of the incursion.

## History

According to most legends and records that historians could agree upon, the Seerese are one of the oldest branches of human ethnicity in the world, appearing as a united clans of semi-nomadic men whom settled in what is now the Eastern Plaguelands and Silverpine Forest over 13,700 years ago; before they have separated into the Northern ethnicities (the Aeonics, the Ravnin and the Stranniks). Historians have traced their ancestry back to the Dragonreaver Clan, which would also suggest they were kinsman of the Arathi.

The Seerese were semi-nomadic, as there is archaeological evidence of animal husbandry and semi-permanent settlements, some of which were considerable in size. Horses and wolves were the first creatures that the Seerese may have domesticated with success, which they have utilized to a great extent in daily activities. The Seerese were also one of the first civilizations to invent paper using the endemic Milkweed found on the banks of Lordamere Lake, and records of Seerese writings with ochre on scraps of paper and on stone walls indicated that the Seerese inherited the Vrykul culture in form of language, religion and practices. It is unclear why the Seerese have very few records of early history, and explanations are still currently under debate within the academia.

Because of the lack of historical records it is largely unknown how the Seerese abandoned their lifestyle and adopted their unique nomadic culture that gave rise to the modern Alteraci culture. The Seerese have long roamed the Eastern Steppes as wandering warbands and raiding parties, relying on hunting and herding for food. This is considered a major retrogradation from their early form of civilization and have remained unclear of the motivations behind such a change till modern day. Currently the most popular theory was that a catastrophe of unknown nature eliminated many of the tribesmen and settlements, resulting in few of the original ethnical body left and the destruction of historical documentation, which also resulted in part of the tribe to move south into the Alteracs in search of new lands. However, this theory is still put under close scrutiny due to the lack of solid evidence supporting this claim except for a discrepancy of modern population compared to the oldest retrieved records.

Unlike their cadet branches of the Ravnin and Strannik, the Seerese remained barbaric for most of modern history, never establishing a viable civilization of any sort. Lacking of permanent settlement meant the lack of development of agriculture, craftsmanship and economy of any sort. Because of this, the Seerese rely heavily on looting and sacking settlements of the civilized, and are incredibly well-versed in military theory and horseback warfare. The Seerese were also able to assemble efficient, albeit crude, siege machines that secured their military power early in history and their peerless horse archery proved the bane of modern armored knights. Thus the Seerese were notorious in history to commit some of the most devastating invasions and massacres, including the Brunatre Terror, together with its cadet branches. At the time of the Second Seerese Invasion, the Seerese were able to conquer half of the Eastern Kingdoms and eliminated over half of the human population in the world, burning many cities to a crust and scorching the land into a barren waste.