Masgar

The Masgar are a west Vastallosi cultural and people group native to the dark oak forests of western and central Vastallos. Today they reside the dark oak surrounding the city of Porta Fiume.

Origins
Believed to be native to Rathnir and Vastallos, they consider themselves the tal-injam, roughly translating to ‘of wood’ symbolising their connection to their homeland.

Masgar oral tradition describes the forest spirits creating the first Masgar people and are thought to have existed on Vastallos long before the arrival of humans from Jagdas. However this is disputed by modern scholars.

History
Pre-Ombrian contact Most of the history during this time is preserved through oral traditions with a notable lack of any written sources

The first Masgar lived as nomadic tribes travelling throughout the dark oak forests following food and water sources. They largely ate seasonal fruits and vegetables but when food was scarce, Vastallosi bison were often hunted.

The Masgar at their peak had several distinct tribes spread throughout the forest with distinct cultures and languages beginning to develop.

The decline of Masgar population began 200-300 centuries ago. Oral traditions describe a sickness sweeping through the forest, with tribes being wiped out. This is believed to coincide with an increase in introduced animal species and settlement near the forest.

Contact with the outside world

The dark oak forests have always carried a certain eerie and dangerous reputation and combined with the Masgar’s isolationist culture, there has been little contact with the outside world.

A few brave individuals did venture outside of the forest, bringing back stories of the surrounding peoples. The L-Ewwel Odissea is an ancient story to the Masgar and describes the adventures of Vagranti throughout Vastallos.

There are no foreign accounts of the Masgar, suggesting that they were not known to the outside world until recently.

Foreign contact began to increase as of a few centuries ago due to the increasing in logging on the fringes of the forest This lead to a number of raids but largely to a retreat further into the forest interior. This is believed to be how the knowledge of the Masgar became known to the Ombrian republic and more important importantly Essendor who is the first recorded individual to purposely seek contact with the Masgar.

Post-Ombrian contact

During the Factions Period of the Ombrian Republic, efforts were made to reinvigorate the countryside and develop the frontier. Contact was made between the Chief Diplomat Essendor and the last remaining Masgar tribe, lead by Lost Coastlines. A deal was struck where the tribe would settle the land in the name of the Ombrian Republic in exchange for support from the Doge. Believing this to be their saviour from the disease which had been ravaging the Masgar for centuries, they agreed and the city of Porta Fiume was founded over the ruins of Illyrix. This event is known to as the migrazzjioni gdida or the last migration as well as the civilising of the Masgar to non-Masgar. This event holds a great deal of mixed emotion to the Masgar. On one hand it is seen as a salvation from the disease, while it is also remembered with a great deal of sorrow as it is seen as the destruction of the tribe's millennia long way of life. While there has been a small movement to return to the forests and the simpler tribal life, the fear of the disease returning has prevented them from doing so.

Today the Masgar are continuing to build up Porta Fiume and creating a settled way of life for themselves.

Culture
Modern day Masgar culture is a rapidly changing culture. The recent and sudden change to a 'civilised', settled life has brought rapid changes to how the Masgar see themselves and their cultural practices and is still an ongoing process. It can be described as a mix of Masgar and west Vastallosi native tradition as well as Carvaian practices.

Masgar are obsessed in presenting a civilised and proper perception to the outside world, though this is far from the truth. With the majority remembering pre-settled life the millennia old tribal practices and culture still remain. This is kept away from the eyes of foreigners who are instead greeted by imposing walls, temples and lighthouses. A common phrase that you may hear muttered under a Masgar's breath is 'must be cvilizzat', or must be civilised when in the company of non-Masgar people.

Masgar tend to remain secretive and isolationist however and instead prefer to dwell in Porta Fiume rarely ever leaving the city. It is generally only the Savii Lost Coastlines that interacts with the wider world.

Due to Porta Fiume almost solely being inhabited by Masgar, a dual culture has begun to develop with Masgar describing themselves as either Masgar or Fiuman.

Monument building
The Masgar carry a recent but strong love for building large monuments, mostly from diorite and brick. This is generally attributed to the notion of being 'cvilizzat', with Masgar wanting to show that they are just as civilised as the rest of the world. This is why Porta Fiume is so large and developed compared to the small population of Masgar.

Naming conventions
Personal names are very important to the Masgar. They believe that to know someone’s name is to hold power over them. Because of this, personal names are only shared inside family groups. When interacting with the wider world many Masgar typically take a name based of a geographic feature. For example, the current Savii of Fuila took the name Lost Coastlines in honour of the ruins of Illyrix when constructing Porta Fiume.

Zfin Selvagg
Zfin selvagg is a holiday for the Masgar lasting for around 3 days. Representing the return to their ancestral home in the forest, the holiday is celebrated during a full moon. During this holiday Masgar will abandon their settled life and return to the forest to dance, drink and celebrate their tribal history. The moon is central to this holiday and many find this holiday a welcome change from an overwhelming city life. To be invited to a Zfin Selvagg is a great honour.

Religion
Modern day Masgar are predominantly adherents of the Ebrei faith. But before their conversion to Ebreism, the Masgar followed a collection of polytheistic and animist beliefs. Generally the forest and rivers were believed to be composed of spirits who represented the emotions of nature. The forest spirits would merge with the rivers spirits to continue the cycle of seasons and life. A common bedtime story told to children is that if they misbehaved the forest spirits would come and drown them in the river.

The moon was also worshipped as the protector of the earth, shielding the forests from the harsh light light of the sun each day. If the moon was not worshipped or respected enough, it was believed the the sun would penetrate the shield and start wildfires. Today this lunar worship is found in the holiday of zfin selvagg.

While much of the original religion is lost, much of the Masgar’s cultural practices are rooted in pre-Ebreist religious traditions.