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Referred to by some as the Old World,
Vulmura is
considered the birthplace of occidental culture among
the Uren. The Mortal Race that inhabits the
region can be found everywhere from the windswept steppes
of Wyrr to the temperate shores of the Acentran
Sea. Unlike Lyrast (a more true true "homeland"
of the Uren), the continent of Vulmura is not dominated
by the Uren but rather by the Elve, who rule the immortal
Great Anahl alongside
the Faeri. Sharing
the western reaches of the continent live the remnants
of the Dwürden Kingdoms,
left over from the twilight of the Third Age.
A study of Vulmurani history is a study
of sweeping wars and moving people. It is believed
that at the end of the Third Age the Uren moved westward
from Lyrast into the ancient lands of the Dwürden
and Elve. The migration was prophesized centuries
earlier by Elve seers, who convinced their Queen that
war would be futile. News of these portents were
delivered to the Great Dwürden Halls in the hopes
that they would seek to repel the invaders, and fall
doing so. The mountain people prepared nearly
340 years to do war against the coming Uren. When
the Uren finally came, the Dwürden repelled them
again and again but the Uren numbers were too large
and the Dwürden casualties too great. In
time they learned that the Elve had set them in the
path of destiny's hammer and seeing their folly thereafter
welcomed the Uren into the lowlands of coastal Vulmura.
This movement of Uren into the Dwürden lands
is accepted as the dawn of the Fourth Age.
The migrated Uren traded frequently with
the Dwürden and exchanged all manner of goods,
produce and knowledge. This exchange of lore prepared
the Uren in ways unavailable to them in their previous
home of Lyrast. Here the Mortal Race was taken
by the guiding hand of an Elder Race and prepared timeless
vengeance against the Elve. It is guessed, that
many of the battles of Uren were instigated by the Dwürden
to prepare the young race and give them experience for
the wide-ranging wars to come. Those wars have
not yet occurred.
It is notable that the Elve are not oblivious
to the Dwürden agenda, and have sought to crush
Uren powers throughout the world when the opportunity
presents (i.e. the Dekàlan-Acentran War). The
Eylfae are a patient and calculating people however.
Their aid in the Great War saw many dividends.
First, with their aid Acentran armies they were
able to stem the inexorable growth of a powerful Uren
empire that in time would have threatened their homelands,
limiting their own loses. Second, their aid in
the liberation of Acentyrea earned them the good will
of the Coastal Vulmurans and allowed them to marginalize
the Dwürden. Vulmurani history remembers
the Elve as those that fought beside them when the Dekàlan
Empire was destoryed, it remembers the Dwürden
as ancient allies who in time of need, hid within their
mountain cities.
The Uren of Vulmura are typically divided into one
of four major divisions: Coastal, Old Vulyran,
Flaanish and the Kaldari.
Coastal. The Uren of southern Vulmura
are dubbed the Coastal Vulmurans, though the majority
of inhabitants of the continent live along shores and
rivers. The Coastal region stretches along the
souther shores from Palda to the edge of the Great Anahl.
Coastal Vulmurans are a tan-skinned people of
moderate height with hair color ranging from brown to
black. Though some small variations exists
(i.e. Allyrians tend toward fairer skin tones), Uren
natives of the region are mostly indistinguishable from
their Vulmurani neighbors. Eye color of most kinds
can be found in this region though brown and green-blues
pervade. People: Acentrans, Allyrians, Dirimorans.
Old Vulyran. Above the Dwürden ranges
which bisect weatern Vulmura, live a fair-skinned race
that is both tall and light-haired. Though most
are tanned and burnt from the unyielding northern sun,
the features of the Old Vulyran are unmistakeable. Old
Vulyrans are taller than most Vulmurani with blonde
to brown hair and brown to green or blue eyes. There
is variation from this due to centuries of dilution
due to the marriage and the enslaving of their southern
neighbors. Due to a historic record of raids into
the prosperous south, the distinctive Old Vulyran appearance
is not welcomed in Coastal Vulmura. People: Wurm
Nomads.
Flaanish. Though maps chart the Great
Flaan as trackless unihabitable swamp, the region is
host to a pocket civilization of Uren that have existed
for millennia without extensive contact with Vulmura
proper. When the Flaanish do appear in the streets
and trading bazaars of Allyria, most consider them traders
from distant Lyrast. The Flaanish are shorter
than most Vulmurani with a muted olive-green hue to
their skin. Their hair and eye colors range little,
from dark brown to black. As a whole, the Flaanish
are a stocky people. Few Flaanish travelers attract
attention to themselves. Among strangers they
typically walk with their heads bowed as a sign of deference. People:
Flaanish.
Kaldari. Separated from most of Vulmura
by the Elve Great Anahl, the Kaldari people do not interact
much with their western kin for both geographical and
political reasons. Unlike the Coastal Vulmurans,
the Kaldari have a venomous relationship with their
immortal neighbors, the Elve. This relationship
is best exemplified by the Great Thorn Barrier. The
Kaldari are a medium-sized people with fair skin and
dark hair, which is often curly. Their eye color
encompasses a wide spectrum but tends toward gray-blues
and gray-greens. People: Kaldakulari.
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Acentrans
Allyrians
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Dirimorans
Flannish
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Kaldakulari
Wurm Nomads
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