Loendites

Loendites are a hypothetical ethnolinguistic group described in ancient chronicles and later speculative histories as inhabitants of the Loenda Archipelago along the western coast of the fictional continent of Aeldoria.

Origins and timeline: Scholarly reconstructions place the emergence of the Loendites in the late Bronze Age, with communities consolidating into coastal chiefdoms by the first millennium BCE. The name Loendite appears in maritime records and marginal annals, though interpretations vary and few primary sources survive.

Language and society: The Loendite language is posited as part of a proposed Loendic family. Reconstructible features include an agglutinative structure and a modest case system, though evidence rests on fragmentary inscriptions, onomastics, and toponyms. Socially, Loendite communities are depicted as small, kin-based chiefdoms centered on fishing settlements and river trade, with ceremonial feasts and tiered kin networks.

Economy and material culture: The economy centers on fishing, shellfish gathering, salt production, and barter with inland communities. Pottery is utilitarian; metalwork is sparse but includes adzes and chisels. Defensive works appear as simple coastal stockades or watch sites at several settlements.

Archaeology and modern reception: Excavated sites yield shell middens, hearths, and limited inscriptions, presenting a picture of a resilient maritime people. In contemporary literature and games, Loendites are used as a template for coastal-adapted cultures with distinctive vessels, rituals, and navigational knowledge. Scholars caution that Loendites, like many such groups in speculative histories, are a constructed label rather than a firmly documented population.