Seraan

The Seraan are both a race and a cultural group that inhabited portions Syltör before the Elven expansions. Although it often overlaps, not all members of the Seraan culture were Seraan, and not all Seraan partook in the Seraan culture. As such, different terminology was used for each of them, with "Seraanmai" ("Kin of Seraan") denoting the members of the race, and "Seraansara" ("People of Seraan"). The Seraan population has been stable in the past few years, although farther back it suffered from a sharp diminution due to persecution, settlement pressure and a series of minor famines in Syltör.

Despite the Seraan world population nearing the 3 million, only about 250'000 Seraan still live in Syltör, in a mix of wandering clans, small settled villages and in usually poorer districts of sizeable cities, capitals and the like. The wandering clans form have a fairly important role when it comes to the minor aspects of economy, as they are often groups of travelling traders that sell information and rare items from across the world.

History
The Seraan are a pre-Elven race from Syltör. They are described by some sources as "elf-like creatures", that mainly due to their unusually pointed ears and high nose bridges. Their general appearance, though, most closely resembled that of the humans, with even their ears being more rounded than the elvish ones. What mainly separated the Seraan from other racial definitions was the fact that they once used to grow dragonfly-like wings that, due to the weight of their bodies, were used mainly for gliding and to balance. Over the years, though, the Seraan stopped growing their wings for reasons unknown.

Even being a very widespread population, they did not have strict ethnoracial continuity, meaning that their settlements, cities and states were known for racial and cultural diversity, with many non-Seraanmai still partaking in the cultural practices of the Seraan and their religion.

Early tribes
The early Seraan tribes were mountain and plain dwelling communities that mainly survived through foraging and hunting. At this period, societal complexity was very low, with little to no hierarchization in most tribes and but a technical division of labor. The development of a written language was fairly early, and it quickly became widespread as the different tribes interacted, but it did not lead to the formation of stratified societies until much later in history.

The early tribes formed into confederations, and three of the confederations allied themselves in a poorly documented event called the Varosse Pact, named after a mountain on which the pact was signed by the representatives of each confederation.

Kingdom of Olarã
Their most important historical State was the Kingdom of Olarã, that at the time was known for its size, wealth, and cultural diversity. They dominated a sizeable portion of Southern Syltör, having several tributaries and vassals, and being a thriving state until their conquest by the Kingdom of Almador.