Vanormers

The Vanormers are a culturally defined community native to the Vanor Highlands of Eldara, a fictional continent. They form a distinct ethnic group through a shared language, Vanormish, and a lineage-based cultural tradition centered on craftwork, storytelling, and seasonal cycles. The term Vanormers is both ethnonym and identifier for residents of the Vanor region.

Origins and history: Archaeological and linguistic evidence suggests habitation in the Vanor highlands since the early Iron Age, with the modern identity coalescing in the medieval era as mountain clans consolidated under regional authorities. They maintained semi-autonomous village networks, with a customary law code that governed land use, inheritance, and craft guilds.

Language and society: Vanormish is the primary language; it coexists with languages of neighboring groups; it features a rich oral tradition, proverbs, and songs. Social structure is clan-based with extended-family compounds; leadership historically rests with elder councils and craft guild heads. The dominant crafts are woodcarving, furniture making, and textile weaving.

Culture and economy: The Vanormers organize seasonal festivals tied to planting and harvest, with the Grove Tide festival being a notable example. Their cuisine emphasizes grains, root vegetables, dairy, and smoked meat. They maintain traditional music, polyphonic singing, and ritual practices honoring ancestral spirits; many households practice a syncretic blend of animist and monotheistic beliefs.

Modern status: Today, Vanormers live primarily in the Vanor Highlands and nearby valleys, with smaller communities abroad due to migration. They continue to produce woodwork and textiles for regional markets and actively preserve the Vanormish language through schools and cultural associations. Debates over language preservation and land rights are ongoing within regional politics.