Qwe'tsn Empire

General overview
The Qwe'tsn Empire, once known as the The Tiger of the Northwest, was an ancient Highlander empire lasted for 1,400 years before its collapse 1000 years ago. It once covered the entirety of Annoros, which includes modern-day Valore, Nova Regna, Iremith, Tetra, Seekers End, Kaer Hrafin, Varn Torum and a sizable portion of Aristios. Its capitol city was Yuv'aen located to the southeast of the modern-day Valorian city of Elgaia.

Qamehr
the Qamehr are are branch of the old Qwe'tsn Empire's aborigines. They settled in the mountains of Ar'kath for safety against other tribes. Due to the mountain's rugged and rocky terrain, it was a naturally defensive location. The people carved pools into the rock, which would fill up in heavy rain. They used this technique to contain water and allowed them to cultivate rice. Their population boomed and their settlements expanded all over the mountain range.

They had a particular interest in the beauty of a lotus flower, which was also portrayed in many of their architectural elements, be it a shrine, a spire, decorations. Because they had an easy access to stone, rock quarries were a common sight, some quarries survive even to this day. The abundance of material meant that a lot of their architecture was based on stonework, which mean that their buildings stood strong for an enormous amount of time and also made it easier for archaeologists to research the remains. The Pahad Pani is one of the first settlements discovered by the Qadakhi explorers.

Travelling among mountains was difficult, that's why the Qamehr built resting temple houses along well travelled highways. Many of these temples later became residential centres, as the people settled near to sell goods and feed the travellers.

Being isolated in the hills didn't make for good relations with the neighbours. Even though they allowed free passage to anyone, being isolative, led to envy and jealousy of many. Advocating for peace and non-aggressive culture meant that the Qamehr had virtually no standing army and were considered easy targets. The inevitable eventually happened and the Qamehr had to pick up their makeshift weapons to fight back the invaders. One by one the settlements fell and their people fled anywhere they could. The majority of them went south into deserts to hide from the aggressors. Many of them perished under the hot and dry climate, but those who survived settled near the more friendly coastline and formed the basis of seafaring tribes, which were later joined by the Qadakhis.

Qamehr faith

Miners discovered large amounts of iron in the mountains, which they developed a cult around it. Each foundry had a specialist iron shaman that would bless the iron ore and convert it into sacred liquid.

The people had invented their own polytheistic religion, they had many that they believed controlled the weather, but the main theistic bodies were incarnated in the leadership. Each chieftain of the settlement was considered to be a God's messenger's, while the high priest or the warlord was above them.