Peeps

This is really rough. It's looks a little like stream of consciousness writing. Anyway, here it is.

Of Men:
Midlanders
Ebresh
Easterns
Podes

1: Midlanders
An agricultural society inhabiting the fertile plain that dominates the middle of the continent, Midlanders tend to be of average height (5’10” to 5’11” for males and 2 to 3 inches shorter for females). Midlanders have pale to brown skin and are usually sun darkened from working outside. The Midlands are the bread-basket of the continent and as such most Midlanders are farmers, shepherds or herdsmen. They are widely known for their hospitality but also for their stubborn nature and their colloquial wisdom (snow like meal, snow a great deal). Midlanders society is made up of independent farms each governed by a family and sometimes supporting several families on larger farms. Midlanders meet once a week at the local market (usually a collection of tents and booths clustered in a field) to trade and socialize. There are no cities as such in the Midlands though some farms have grown large enough to resemble small towns. The most famous of these farms is the Linkton Farm in the North Midlands. Midlanders are shrewd traders and supply many of the countries surrounding them with goods. They are constantly in danger of bandit attack and each farm employs it’s own fighting force usually trained by a former soldier or elder militiaman. The Midlands also enjoy special protection from surrounding countries due to the nature of the land and the value of the people that work it as the Midlands provide nearly all the food for the surrounding countries. As stated before Midlanders are fiercely independent and do not take sides when nations go to war choosing instead to profit from supplying both armies with food and goods. Some Midland farmers are wealthier than the kings that buy their goods but due to the nature of the people of the Midlands one would never know it.

2: Ebresh
A tribe of hunters and warriors residing in the High North, the Ebresh are a dying race. They are the tallest of the tribes of men and men over seven feet tall are not uncommon. Ebresh men ten to wear well-trimmed beards while the women keep their hair in thick braids. A man’s beard is symbol of his authority and to have one’s beard shorn is a sign of deepest humiliation. For the women hair is much less important than having children according to the Ebresh a truly blessed woman will bear more than ten children, more than thirteen children is considered a sign of divine favor. The Ebresh are hunters and subsist by hunting and foraging in the northern forests they call home. They are great breeders of dogs and often cross their own fierce breeds with the massive wolves that share the forests with them. Typical Ebresh family society is man and usually two wives. One wife a man takes when he is young, in his early twenties is typical marrying age for young men, for women it is typically younger (15-19). When an Ebresh man is old (in his late 50’s to early 60’s) he takes another wife to comfort him in his old age and to assist the fist wife with the work. When an Ebresh man dies his possessions pass on to his second wife who is responsible for caring for his first wife until she dies. When only the second wife and the man’s children are left a brother of the dead man who has no second wife takes the widowed second wife of his brother to himself and raises the firstborn son of the dead man to take over the house which then passes to him upon marriage to his first wife at which point the cycle is repeated. The Ebresh share the High North with the vicious Shogar and are at constant war with them raiding back and forth and killing as they may. Both races have suffered greatly from the constant battle and now the Shogar have been pushed high into the tundra while the Ebresh live in scattered bands throughout the vast forest. The Ebresh are accomplished metal workers and craft marvelous coats of mail, swords spears and axes. They are the greatest archers and trackers in the realm and are often called upon by southern kingdoms to catch criminals or scout for military campaigns.

3: Easterns
The Easterns are shorter than both the Ebresh and the Midlanders and their skin ranges from dusky brown to bronze to nearly black. They are a sea people, builders of boats, navigators, shipwrights, fishermen and explorers. The people of Manslin are Easterns. Eastern families are typically small with three children being considered a large family. This is due to the fact that Easterns are great builders and the largest cities on the continent lie on the Eastern shore. Easterns are an urban people and consider the Ebresh to be barbaric and the Midlanders simple. They are typically a wealthy people taking pearls and coral from the sea and trading their wares for gems, gold and dry goods. Both men and women wear jewelry in the form of rings in the ears and nose as well as necklaces, bracelets and finger and toe rings. The men are frequently tattooed on their backs, forearms, and chests with images of the sea, sea creatures, or runes. Women wear their hair unbound in various styles and are often tattooed at the small of the back, ankles, wrists and around the navel. Easterns are great traders and convey goods up rivers and down coastlines to the farthest corners of the continents. Easterns ships are the largest and fastest on the water and the Shipping Guild closely regulates who and what is ferried about in them.
Note: Mansliners are sometimes considered a sub group of Easterns as they focus all their maritime efforts on fishing and do very little trading or exploring. They are by far the most insular of Easterns.


Podes:

Ran out of time.
More to come...