Villagers

The Villagers, also known as the Testificates (Hhu: Hwuk), are an ethnic group and race inhabiting the worlds of Jagdas, Rathnir, Eldham, Abexilas, and other realms. Villager communities are well known for being organized into mercantile towns and their unique culture and history.

They are widely considered to be critically endangered, after their population was largely decimated. The causes of this endangerment vary and are interpreted by various populations in different ways. In the ancient villager lore texts it is believed that their population was destroyed by the rise of the Players, which include Humans, Elves, and all other kinds of people, causing them to retreat into the wilderness, become nomadic, or hide away from the remainder of the world.

While the languages and much of the culture of the Villagers have since died out, many of their customs and religious beliefs have passed on to the modern day and have informed beliefs such as Villagerism, Makerism / G0NFism, Sunite Faith, Hallowism, and others. Much of the history curated about the Villagers was recorded by StoneyStoner.

Prehistory
Much of the history of the Villagers before the Jagdas Crisis is lost to history. Most of this history is recorded in the existing remnants of Villager Lore, as compiled mostly by StoneyStoner, the server owner. It is known that multiple nations existed across Rathnir, Eldham, and Jagdas. All of these lands, in traditional Villager lore, were all part of one planet called Pajarael (Testificate Language: Pahaahra).

These nations of Villagers included kingdoms, and numerous tribes. Many of these societies were very mercantile in nature, which has been a fundamental park of Villager society to this day. Alteniquia and Ummarnu were known to have many Villagers at this time.

Collapse
Around the time of, or before the Jagdas Crisis, Villager society as a whole collapsed nearly simultaneously. In traditional Villager Lore, it is held that they were wiped out by the first incursions of Players. This includes Humans, Elves, and virtually every other ethnic group, who either did not exist prior to this or existed in small numbers; something that various traditional beliefs may contrast. In traditional tales, a demon or spirit by the name of Emen is associated with destroying Villager civilization and forcing them into the jungles of the world to live nomadically and in hiding.

Since then, Villagers have lived in very small numbers throughout the realms, and have been at risk of discrimination and acts of violence and purges.

Within Abexilas
It is unclear whether Villagers escaped the persecution that they had in other worlds on Abexilas, but Abexilas had by far the largest Villager population of any world, which it still maintains though it has slowly declined over time. Several nations were made consisting of and being led by Villagers, while others gave Villagers civil rights and emancipation. In some countries however, Villagers are still strongly persecuted against.