The settlement of Lencenor by the Lencori Tribes (Marlanon in Old Lencori, meaning "Great Plain") and the history of Lencenor prior to the foundation of the Redfort, has been a subject of much debate among historians within Lorentainé and the Order of Chroniclers. The information gathered on this region owes much to the assistance provided by the head of the Rubyhold Institute of Humanities. Their extensive archives, some predating the oldest scrolls in Lorentainé by millennia, have proven invaluable in understanding the early cultural landscape of this region.
Early Inhabitants[]
The first human settlers in Lencenor are believed to be a people known as "Old Fisherfolk" who seemingly originated in the West Dameshead and then expanded west towards south Lencenor and north towards modern Exwes. However, historical records provide scarce details about this group. Some speculate that these fisherfolk might be the ancestors of modern Exwesser people, given their unique non-Damerian and non-Lencori ancestry, and old dwarven texts mention the Tretouni people as "Marlanized fisherfolk," possibly indicating an ancient group that had influence in that region as well. They seemingly interacted, sometimes through conflict and in other instances through integration, with the comings waves of proto-Lencori migrants.
Proto-Lencori Migrations[]
Around 3000 BA, the proto-Lencori, believed to have originated from a common ancestor people with the proto-Rohibonics, crossed the Lorentish Approach and made their way to the Small Country and the broader Lencenor. Evidence suggests early clashes with the natives. though later fisherfolk traditions present in Lencori groups attest a large degree of intermarriage and amalgamation between these migrants and the older fisherfolk groups. The southern regions of Lencenor, particularly around the Bloodwine River, the Sormanni hills and the West Dameshead, became focal points for these interactions. Archaeological findings, particularly pottery similar to the proto-Rohibonic ceramic tradition, follows the presence of these early Lencori as they expanded south.
Cultural Evolution[]
By 2500 BA, Ruby dwarven accounts note the emergence of distinct cultural groups. They mention the proto-Sormanni and the proto-Carnetori, indicating the gradual formation of identifiable Lencori societies with unique characteristics. Additionally, a friendly Lencori tribe established relations with Rubyhold, later recognized as the proto-Rubenti. The dwarves, in exchange for knowledge and protection, were permitted by surviving fisherfolk communities in the northeast of Rubyhold to construct a trading outpost and fortress during this time, fostering an early version of what would become the Exwesser people.
Cultural Divisions[]
Drawing from Rubyholder archives and extensive groundwork, the cultural divisions within the Marlanni territory before the Lencori Wars of 78 BA are outlined:
Rubenti[]
Historical close allies of the Ruby Dwarves for millennia, they lived along the Bloodwine River basin and in Rosefield, on the other side of the Ruby Mountains. Heavily influenced by the Dwarves, they became part of Castanor with the building of the Redfort and the Castfort before assimilating aspects of Damerian culture, joining the Damerian Republic at the time of its foundation. They became the most cosmopolitan and urbanized of the Lencori up to the Dragonwake while their multicultural urban centers, though less war-inclined than the Beldanni, grew an infantry tradition inherited from the Damerian and Castanorian legions, and eventually became the epicenter of Lenco-Damerian culture.
Beldanni[]
The Beldanni, rulers of the western plains of Lencenor, were not a unified people but rather a conglomeration of nomadic tribal kingdoms. Known for their unmatched equestrian skills, they were often employed as auxiliaries by both Castanor and the Damerian Republic. These tribes, often in conflict with one another and other neighboring groups, were labeled as Entebics by the Castanorians and Damerians, a name they eventually accepted as their own.
Sormanni[]
Natives of the southern coasts of Lencenor, the proto-Sormanni lived all along the coast between Mistspear and modern Wineport and inland to the Lencesk River's source. Close to the proto-Rubenti, they seem to have had good relations with the Dwarves from the start, and historians have found the possible origin of the dwarven Eidoueni gods on dwarves who travelled to the Sormanni hills and taught the natives metalworking. Indeed, the very name of the Sormanni Sardonni tribe (People of Iron) seems to come from this exchange. The proto-Sormanni were then conquered by the newcomers to the area, the Beldanni. Only in the Sormanni hills, where a local tribal chief rose and defeated the Beldanni riders in battle, were the natives able to stop the wave and form their own kingdom. This nascent Sormanni Kingdom would ally the Damerian Republic during the second century BA in its clashes against the Gnomish Hierarchy.
Abonni[]
Settled around the Lower Portroy river, they had good relations with Gnomish traders and diplomats even before the foundation of Portnamm around the year 1000 BA. Initially, the gnomes offered assistance, uplifting the Abonni in exchange for agricultural resources and military support. Over time, this association transformed, with the Abonni becoming part of the Gnomish Hierarchy and eventually evolving into the core of Iochander culture.
Rouderni[]
The Rouderni were a peaceful, pastoralist society within the external regions of the Redwood. Living independently, these groups engaged in trade if approached but did not actively seek it.
Tretouni[]
With their origins in the pre-Lencori fisherfolk who resisted the waves of newcomers to the areas of modern Tretun, Pearlsedge and the Pearls, they seem to have Lencorized through intermarriage and passive cultural influence rather than conquest. Known as Tretouni (the People Across) by the Lencori settlers of the Bay of Wines due to their strange foreign ways, they remained culturally distinct enough for the Damerians to classify them as “Tretuni”, setting them apart from the broader Lencori cultures in the region.
Carnatheiri[]
Occupying the Deruwren forest and adjacent lands, the Carnatheiri tribe remains a mysterious group in Lencori history. They fiercely protected their territory and, unlike their counterparts, abstained from seeking or accepting dwarven aid, leading to limited third-party accounts and speculative histories.
Gaesuni[]
Relatively isolated from the other Lencori in the Lorentish Approach, records on the Gaesuni are sparse, although archaeological remnants hint at their kinship with the Rohibonic Arami people who lived near the mouths of the Alen river.
Merissii[]
Having early encounters with the Gnomish Hierarchy in their native lands of modern-day Reveria and the Dragonhills, the Merissii became tributaries to the gnomes and seem to have been the first "taldouds" they met. Their position so far north of Rubyhold makes early documentation on their history challenging to ascertain, since most of the archives of the Gnomish Hierarchy were lost during the Dragonwake.
Edrinni[]
Comprising various tribes residing in the central and eastern Small Country, the Edrinni coexisted with halflings, sharing cultural traditions such as a love for food, home, and hospitality while displaying an unwavering determination to safeguard their way of life. It was common for mixed cities to rely on the Edrinni for self-defense to some degree, and Viswall itself was known for having an Edrinni guard together with the halfling defenders of the city.
The Division of the Lencori[]
The Lencori Wars divided the aforementioned peoples into two groups:
- The Lenco-Hierarchs, mostly centered on the western coast of Cannor from Clearshore to Royvibbob. These included the Abonni, Merissii and Edrinni. Heavily influenced by gnomish culture and traditions, the Abonni and Merissii would later unite during the Dragonwake in what would become the Lencori Iochander culture while the Edrinni stayed in the Small Country, close to the halflings.
- The Lenco-Damerians, with their cultural center in the Redfort, which was the Damerian capital of Lencenor. These included the Rubenti, Carnatheiri, Tretouni and Beldanni. The damerization of these Lencori peoples took place under the roughly 500 years of Damerian dominance in the area, and had more strength in the West Dameshead and the Bay of Wines than in the plains of Enteben, where the Beldanni (Entebics to the Damerians) lived. Damerian settlers and people from Rubenti, Tretouni and Carnatheiri tribes intertwined everywhere, but the area of the northeastern Bay of Wines became a melting pot from which a new Lencori culture was born:
Bróisandi[]
Born from mixture and intermarriage between Rubenti, Tretuouni and Carnatheiri under the rule of the Damerian Republic in the northeastern Bay of Wines, they became the quintessential Lenco-Damerian culture, as unlike the Rubenti they had no formal kings or chieftains, and as such their loyalty was solely to the Damerian Republic.