The Maedari
History of the Maedari
The Maedari – the People of the Wolf’s Heart – consider themselves the First Men of Aesvar, the western lands. The primitive stone tool using ancestors of the Maedari who first migrated into the plains and hills of what was to become southern Chelos were not the first to dwell in Aesvar though. Already the Arduq – the Earthborn – dwelt there, in their bronze age cities, as too did the hobgoblins who were to become the ancestors on the Aracan, living in towns across the wide plains of the later nation of Chelos.
As the Maedari began to settle down, to learn to till the land and taught the crafts of copper and bronze by the Arduq, there came a war to the plains. Only scattered, fragmented tales remain of those times among Maedari or Aracan, but those that do speak of darkness and shadows, of those the Maedari call Aelfir. Long and bitter was the struggle between the Aelfir and the Aracan and Arduq, and even among the Maedari some were drawn into it, and while at last the darkness was vanished, the hobgoblins were left a shattered, broken people.
The Maedari tribes grew strong though, and in time were unified under the first High King, Cavraean, and the mysterious woman, Jaessa, whom he took as his Queen. Of the days that followed, of the flourishing of the Maedar, much is told in The Maedari Book of Deeds, of the Kings and Heroes of old. The High Kingdom could not last though.
Out of the north came fierce sea raiders, those who would become the Chelosians. They settled on the northern plains and spread wide, driving the Aracan beyond the mountains into the arid lands beyond. Inevitably clashes followed between Maedari and Chelosians, climaxing in the period of time just prior to the Iron Age, the telling of which the poets call The Epics.
It was the Chelosians that emerged victorious following the death of the last High King, and the Maedari splintered as they were driven south from the plains, into hills and mountains and forests. The Haekari they became, and the Iskaeri, Vaeiri and Kiashians. Many among the Haekari were ruled over by the Chelosians. The Haekari hill tribes never wore this yoke lightly and over the centuries started numerous rebellions, often aided by their cousins from the other Maedari nations.
For centuries the Chelosians dominated southern Aesvar, though strife both internal and external saw to it that the Maedari nations remained free, and despite wars and disputes that arose, relations between the nations improved.
Then came the waning of Chelos, in the days of Heric Jennet, a legendary Maedari hero. A new threat arose, in the arid lands that lay between Chelos and distant Amar. From among the fractured Nacatori tribes emerged a new power, unifying them into a horde set on conquest. Northern Chelos was swept asunder, only to be stopped at the Gates of Chelos by the efforts of Heric and warriors from the lands of the south.
In the century that followed, after the deeds of Heric and inspired by him, the Maedari came together, forming the Maedari Commonwealth. From humble beginnings, the Commonwealth has grown, its ships and merchants sailing far and wide, seeking new lands to explore and colonise, and new markets to trade in.
A new threat is looming on the horizon though, that of the powerful Hakset Empire which dominates Aesfal, the western lands. There have been skirmishers over the years as both nations manoeuvre for the clash that is coming, seeking out alliances and resources for a clash that is destined to shake the known world.
Maedari Peoples
Over the centuries the Maedari have developed into four main cultural groups; the Iskaeri, Vaeiri, Kiashians and Haekari.
The Iskaeri
The second most numerous Maedari people behind the Haekari, they were pushed to the far south, to cold lands where snow lay heavy during the winters. The nation they founded was to become the model for the Commonwealth in later days, for each city was largely self-governed, but over it all was The Gathering, where the lords of each city would come to debate, to settle differences and disputes and where no voice was more important than another. An open, gregarious and boisterous people, it was they who set the Maedari on the road to a mercantile empire.
The Iskaeri for the most were tall and heavy built, and from among them most red haired Maedari are found.
The Vaeiri
The smallest of the Maedari tribes, the Vaeiri dwelt in the cold highland forests of the south and were a reclusive people, seldom venturing from their villages. They had no centralised authority, instead each village looking after itself. Among the other Maedari, tales of told of the Vaeiri woodcraft, of their ability to move silently, to track and hunt and above all their supposed powers over plants and animals.
Physically the Vaeiri tend to be as tall as the Iskaeri, though not as bulky, and eyes of amber, hazel and green are more common than among other Maedari.
The Kiashians
The Men of the Lakes dwelt close to the Chelosians, yet secure in their hill fastnesses among the mist shrouded lakes under the reign of their kings and queens. Always wary of the Chelosians, many among them were quick to lend aid to their Haekari cousins during times of rebellion. They were a more serious people, always aware of the precariousness of their position should Chelos turn its full attention upon them. Even after the days of the Commonwealth, the Kings and Queens continued to rule, though more as figureheads.
While still tall, the Kiashians tended to be shorter than their southern cousins, and darker of hair.
The Haekari
Most numerous of the Maedari, the Haekari were descendants of those who couldn’t or wouldn’t flee the collapse of the old High Kingdom. Most, those called the Lowland Haekari, were ruled over by the Chelosians. The rest, the Haekari of the hill tribes, never wore the yoke of conquest easily, or not at all for some tribes, for they saw themselves as the heirs of the High Kingdom, though they lacked the strength to overthrow the Chelosians and the influence to reforge the old High Kingdom. One group of Haekari stood out, those on the island of Aenetan. It was never conquered by the Chelosians and in later days became renown for the great university founded upon it that became the great centre of learning through out southern Aesvar.
Due to centuries of proximity to the Chelosians and mingling among them, the Haekari often lacked the stereotypical features of the Maedari; tall, pale haired and pale eyed. Many Haekari bear the dark hair, eyes and aquiline features of the Chelosians.
