The Korweynites (lit. called
"The companions of Korweyn") are the ruling tribe of the
Empire of
Korweyn. They intermingled over the millennia of history with other tribes but
those called pureblooded Korweynites are still proud of their bloodline that
reaches back to Korweyn the Great, the Great Defeater of Darkness.
While the second Empire of Korweyn is rather open minded and tolerant towards
its multicultural society it is still mainly Korweynites and Kassites who make
up the higher ranks of imperial administration and military commands, but today
the term Korweynite applies to any inhabitant of the floodplains around the
capital Kormendale up the Ranesh and west to the Soho mountains.
Appearance.
As Korweynite blood mixed with various neighboring tribes over the centuries
it is difficult to tell what a pure-blooded Korweynite is supposed to look like. Most Korweynites
are of average built, have copperbrown skin of various shading and curly, dark
hair from brown to deep black. Blonde is rather seldom but from time to time
some Korweynites with fairer skin and hair appears. The hair is usually cut
short or worn in many small braids. The most common eye colour is brown though
gray and blue is surprisingly frequent for their skin tone. A tale tells that
the blue eyes were a gift of the sky to its greatest children on
Caelereth and
thus light eye colours are often seen as a sign of good luck.
The most common clothing is the "Eben" a wide tunic with strengthened shoulder
pads that reaches down to ones knees and is held together by a cloth belt around
the waist. Men usually wear trousers and boots to it, women often longer, dress-like
variants. This clothing exists in nearly endless variations to make it fitting
for various tasks and fashions and is often sewn with colorful cloth that contain
artistic ornaments either sewn onto it or woven this way.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
The Korweynite eagle represents the imperial banner and the tribal sign all
in one.
This species of eagles which resides in the mountain regions of the Soho Mountains
is seen as the Korweynite symbol, the wings raised above the body reaching to the sky
and looking like beams of the sun. The eagle and the
sun are the symbols these people
identify with most, thinking to share their fate to strive to the farthest heights
of the skies and every day facing the evil tides of darkness.
Territory.
The original homelands of the Korweynites lie west of the Sohon Mountains as far as Gelm. During the Age of Darkness (“The
War of the Chosen”) they hid in the deep valleys of the mountains till they joined the Taénrhim – the later Kaýr – in the war against Menemronn. After the war they founded their capital on a mountain saddle which was one of the few only passable routes through the Sohon Mountains. With the fall of the first empire the place became abandoned and the Korweynites joined their only left allies, the
Kassites on the plains and settled in the area of Kormendale which became the new capital as they rose to new power. Kormendale and the fertile regions along the river Raneshar are still their coreland though the empire they built spreads many hundred strats to the east and west and south beyond the Kaleman
Islands.
People.
The Korweynites became famous in Nybelmarian history as the closest ally of
the Kaýr, the Highelves of the Emerald Woods. They have
a deep feeling for honour and justice and though they have the same flaws as
all humans they try to be righteous in all their ways. Their tribe became a
leading force after the The War
of the Chosen and stood in opposition to the Murmillions
in the east for more than an age.
The Korweynites developed many things to outweigh their disadvantage in
numbers by that time and especially founded the city of Kormendale which was
surrounded by a network of irrigation projects that made this area one of the most fertile
parts of Nybelmar supplying the near to one million citizens big metropolis.
Maybe influenced by the elves the Korweynites honour above all the spiritual arts
as literature, music and arts and enjoy studying old epics and poems. In many
ways they also work magic this way. They do not call for the powers of
magic but merely bid them into submission
with the fine arts. This made sorcery in many ways a practical way of these
spiritual arts and well-respected. The Art of Imbuing is widely spread and often
used on various objects from jewelry to the fundaments of houses.
Magic is seen as a blessing of the gods
which must be used to their liking.
In society the Korweynites discern between seven social classes, any with its own features.
Ranking above all is the imperial family, only they are allowed to wear diamonds
and the feathers of the Korweynite eagle in their dresses. They're followed
by the nobility, soldiers, artists, craftsmen, farmers and servants. This strict
hierarchy opened with the rise of the second Empire which allows any Korweynite
a minimum of personal rights but still is an important question of status and
also the reason in many positions where otherwise great disputes about rank
and class could break out. The imperial family depends on Kassites whose both
loyalty to the emperor and ignorance for inherited rank makes them most fitting.
Housing.
The Korweynites were a nation of farmers and herders in ancient times and began
early to found cities as protection against a dangerous environment. Houses were only
one story high with one room for used as a workshop or for business and one for the family.
In the cities two to three story houses became the norm with one cellar for
supplies, the ground floor for workshops and every story of the house for another
family. The roofs are flat in general, sometimes only covered with straw, but usually
built as a terrace on top which makes the Korweynite houses look like little
– or in cities big – guard towers, and in fact often they formerly served this function,
too. The imperial palace of Kormendale is based on this scheme, too, with four
tower-like houses at every corner. Everyone of them about five floors high and
one huge terrace tower with seven floors and 100 peds in width. These five main
structures are connected by an array of smaller houses serving administrational
purposes, guest rooms, guard rooms, corn chambers and more while the corner
towers serve as barracks for the guards.
Clothing.
As was stated before the standard clothing is the “Eben” a simple tunic often
made up in bright colours with complicate ornaments. This clothing serves as
much as official clothing as well as for everyday work but exists in many forms
and is worn by men and women alike. The usual Eben reaches as far as to the
knees, however, for official uniforms and dresses the tunic reaches to the
floor. Soldiers have two cuts in the tunic to permit free movement. Jewelry
consists mainly of bracelets, pearl strings and circular shaped necklets. The
last is a sign of nobility and is plated with gold and coloured in bright colours.
The ornaments on these plates indicates the heritage of someone and is a status
symbol. Theft or wearing a faked necklet is sentenced with death. Korweynites
wear usually light boots and headcaps that tie together their braids in a very
fashionable way. As with the necklets such headcaps - which are called kyphelms
- show also the status of its bearer. Only members of the imperial family and
the imperial guards are allowed to wear such kyphelms crowned by feathers of
the Korweynite eagle. Military helmets look like entrenched versions of such
kyphelms in design and style.
Nobles have their kyphelms plated with gold, painted in bright reds and blues
and decorated with "pure stones" which are all precious gems with
crystal properties like emeralds, rubies, sapphires but not diamonds which are
reserved for the imperial family alone.
Soldiers have their kyphelms mostly in silver, brass or even crude iron, crowned
with the feathers of crows or various other birds. Highly priced are colourful
feathers from birds living on the islands of Kaleman which remind one of pheasant
species.
Artists often wear a kyphelm made of leather and simple clothes that are often ornamented
with complicated patterns. Sometimes plates of fyrite are fixed to their kyphelms
shimmering in all colours of the rainbow. They don't wear feather very often
- when they do usually those colourful feathers are prefered which soldiers wear - but
they often
have colored cloth straps attached to their kyphelms.
Merchants and craftsmen usually don't wear metal kyphelms but ones made from
leather and wrapped in clothes. They look rather simple compared to those of
the nobility or soldiers. They spare any decorations on the cloth at all but
sometimes simpler stones like mountain crystals or amber are attached to the
forehead and strings of pearls or in cheaper variants painted ceramic stones
are wrapped around the kyphelm.
Farmers have only one-coloured caps, only sometimes fixed with a ring of
copper, seldom decorated with stones like onyx or polished marble.
Servants and slaves are not allowed to wear kyhelms at all. They usually wear
straw hats or simple clothes to cover from the sun. In past times the strict
traditions demanded from them to shave their hair - both men and women - as
well but this has been abandoned in recent times and is only followed by very
traditional families of merchants and nobles who won't allow servants to wear
their hair any other way.
Diet.
The main meal of a Korweynite is grain or rice baked to bread or a tasty stew
mixed with fruits and vegetable. Meat up the table though poorer families only
have enough money to add various roots to their everyday meal. The region of
Kormendale is rich on fertile land and wine and apples grow at any hillside.
The rivers of Espesh and Ranesh are connected to vast irrigation systems to
allow the growing of rice and other water intensive vegetables. The fields are
sewn and cropped that allow for at least two harvests a year providing the greatly
needed food for the great cities of Korweyn.
Weapons.
The Korweynites are land warriors, usually fighting on foot. Till the joining
of the Kassites the Korweynite's only cavalry consisted of the noblemen. The
common soldier wears breastplate, a large rectangular shield, bracelets, kneelets,
a pike, a shortsword and a dagger. The Korweynite troops wear a headcaps shaped like
a eaglehead with the beak covering the nose area. The noblemen wear mostly chainmail
over their Eben with a closed eagle-helmet, the eyes of the eagle being the
eyeslits. Their weapons are a round shield, pike and sabre, sometimes also a
recurve bow. The helmets are often decorated with
horse hair or feathers. Other
troops of the Empire wear their uniforms in similar fashion only the headcaps
being of different design with animals or signs of their heritage.
Occupations.
Since the rise of the second empire with Empress Tiara Ueweniel women and men
are seen as equal. Only the right of age determines the next in succession. The
same applies to all kinds of occupations. The Korweynites might have been
heavily influenced by the Kaýr in this matter so even noble females with sufficient
skills may join the armies. Traditionally a family works in a certain business
together which has created a series of rich and powerful merchant families over
time.
Government.
The Empire of Korweyn is indeed a constitutional empire with a senate consisting
of the leaders of all provinces and the Emperor as the head of the senate. The
Emperor is the highest in hierachy confirming all rules and orders that have
been passed by the senate. The current senate consists of more than 100 leaders
of the various provinces and the different tribes living in it. Any citizen
has to obey the imperial law but is also defended by it against the nobles governing
their region and holding all executive and juridical powers in the area. The
Emperor ensures that this does not lead to tyranny or robbery in the lands.
The hillelves as well as the temples hold additional powers in this respect
standing outside the hierarchy only below the Emperor.
Production/Trade.
The Korweynites are mainly farmers, so wine, grain and fruits are the main products
they produce. However they evolved to great merchants as well connecting all
regions of the Empire with a vast network of tradelanes rising life conditions
in all corners of the empire. They're very versatile in pottery and smithing
though they eagerly seek the work of dwarven smiths whereever possible, as long
as they produce the armor after Korweynite design.
Natural Resources.
The Korweynite's corelands mainly consist of farmland so all kind of resources are imported
from other provinces. The main supplies for metal ores and precious stones are
especially in the Sohon Mountains though the Korweynites very much appreciate
the lapidaries of the Hillelves to the north where further deposits of especially
rubies and emeralds are found. Iron and coal for the smithes comes from the
southeast and silver from west of the Sohon Mountains. Notable for the dresses
of the Korweynite upper classes are the Kaleman islands which not only are the
source for spices and wood but also for a vast array of colourful feathers from
all kinds of birds living in the mountainous rain forests of the islands.
Festivals.
Still to be added.
Important Achievements.
One of the most famous structures of the Korweynites is the "City of Kings",
the old capital of the first Empire. It was turned into a city of tombs and
vast monuments any traveller has to pass on his way from the core of the empire
to the vicekingdom of Huronor. Any king and many famous nobles have built their
mausoleums in the old city districts making this town of the dead nevertheless
a growing city. On the eastern hillside all kings and emperors of Korweyn have
built large statues facing to the east to greet the rising sun in the morning
and face the rising darkness in the evening. Entering the city is prohibited
and its gates only opened when another king has died. Any noble or hero who
has earned the right to be buried within the limits of the city has to be preserved
up to this point which has made mummification a great art among the Korweynites.
