Pavrhians

Pavrhians (Sethrian: pavri) are an ethnolinguistic group of humans predominately found in Sethris, where they make up the vast majority of the human population. Pavrhians are descended from the humans that arrived in what is now eastern Sethris and founded the Empire of Pavrhitsöth, the precursor state to the Republic of Sethris. They speak the Pavrhian language family, of which Sethrian is the largest surviving member. They typically worship their native polytheistic religion, Lüetivyrn, but some other religions such as Solonism and Sagaism have also become popular.

History
Pavrhians arrived in modern-day Sethris around 600 years ago. It is thought that the original Pavrhians were exiles from northeastern Eldham, though as they were a pre-literate society at the time there is no written record of where they came from. At the time, they spoke an unattested language now called Proto-Pavrhian, the common ancestor of the modern Pavrhian languages. Proto-Pavrhian continued to evolve due to the new environment and influences from the languages of the native Sethrian races, especially the Vinvüri, whose writing system they eventually adopted and adapted for engravings on stone and wood, becoming the first Sethrian runes, which began the Old Sethrian period of the language.

Around the same time, the Pavrhians had undergone a period of expansion, having assimilated the territories of the Applernians, and controlled most of the territory of modern-day Sethris. Their king declared the Empire of Pavrhitsöth, from which the modern name for the ethnicity is derived. They continued to exert influence all over the new Empire and became the most powerful group in the country by far, leading to the widespread suppression of the Vinvüri and Geksiri, while the Koldëti managed to resist through the creation of the Koldëti Confederation between the Northern and Southern Koldëti Tribes.

At the dawn of the modern period of Eldham, the influence of the Empire of Pavrhitsöth began to decline and eventually it collapsed. Prominent Vinvüri cultural leader Volt Yalfël reunified the region, founding the modern-day Republic of Sethris, and called for reconciliation between the Pavrhians and the native races. Around the same time, the runic writing system was dropped in favour of a version of the Traveler's Tongue alphabet.

Pavrhians are still the largest ethnic group in Sethris, but their dominance has declined since the days of Pavrhitsöth. Some extremists have called for a return to the imperial times, but by and large they have reconciled with the other races. Modern Pavhrians tend to have small amounts of Applernian genes as a result of the assimilation of Appernians into the dominant culture of Pavrhitsöth, which has caused some recessive Applernian traits, such as red hair and green eyes, to appear in some Pavrhians.

Culture
Pavhrian culture is one of the many distinct cultures in the Republic of Sethris. It is the predominant human culture and has mostly absorbed the culture of the Applernians, although a minority of unassimilated Applernians remain.

Cuisine
Pavrhian cuisine shows strong traditional use of fishing and farming. Early Pavrhians ate both saltwater and freshwater fish, especially salmon, which migrate along the Whiteridge River annually. There is also heavy use of game, such as rabbit and venison, as well as the meat of domesticated animals, especially mutton, beef, and poultry. Pavrhians also enjoy the fruit of the sweet berry bush, which grow all over Whiteridge.

Music
Traditional Pavrhian folk music usually consists of melancholic dances played on the fiddle. In modern times, other instruments from other cultures have been introduced and used by the Pavrhians, especially brass instruments such as the trumpet. They also have an entire genre of music for use in the military, called Tlovreläs, literally translating to "war music", consisting of quick and solemn marches.

Fashion
Pavrhian fashion is adapted to the cold environment of Sethris. Typically, they wear leather tunics lined with the thick, white fur from the Sethrian fox or Sethrian deer. They often wear belts adorned with gold and valuable gemstones and padded leather gloves both for warmth and defense. Hairstyles are typically short or braided down to the shoulders both for men and women. Men with beards often braid them as well.

Art
For visual arts, Pavrhians make ornate pottery and tapestries, as well as carvings into wood and stone. They also decorate walls, fabrics, and statues with paints and dyes derived from berry juices and flower petals. During the nostalgic Pavrhitsöth Revivalist period, they also tended to engrave nonsensical sequences of Old Sethrian runes as symbols, despite the fact that no one understood them by that point.