The History of Altertümlich

This is a concept I’ve had in my head a while, I thought I’d write it down.

The History of Altertümlich

Compiled from written accounts and folklore


History
It is unclear how exactly the first tree people known as ents came to be. Until recent years, they remained somewhat of a mystery to outside civilizations. Some suggest the ents first have always existed, while others believe life was breathed into the ents by Baomere himself. The ents offered no answers themselves, only knowing they gradually became more conscious of their surroundings, coming together to form a single powerful nation.

The beginnings of entish society were rather brutal. Three great tribes were formed: Bluetrunks, Faalgräds, and Niddhelms. Each tribe had it’s own unique language, culture, and prejudice. A rivalry arose between the strong Bluetrunks and the deceptive Niddhelms, each trying to outperform the other. A war broke out between the two, with the Niddhelms somehow managing to all but exterminate their much stronger enemies. But the victory was a costly one, and the magic-centric Faalgräds seized the opportunity to conquer all. For thousands of years, the ents were ruled by a series of fair and just Faalgräd monarchs. This era of harmony was not to last.

Although the conquered nations had been treated as equals by the Faalgräd, the cultural tensions still ran deep. A society of Niddhelm ents worked their way into the hierarchy through several generations. When their time had come, they declared the empire their own, skinning the old ruler alive and establishing a new ruler, simply known as The Altertümlich. Little was known about the first Altertümlich, or those who followed him. It was a Niddhelmese title that meant Ancient. This new society ruled with an iron fist. Several more revolutions followed, but each one ended with the rebels burning alive. Over time, each new ruler was more sympathetic to the civilians, until a true democracy was established. The entire nation now bore the name Altertümlich as well as the island on which is was located.

Notable Terms
Bluetrunk:
The Bluetrunks were a tribe of ents renowned for their strength and prowess in battle. Following a series of faulty war strategies used against the Niddhelm tribe, the Bluetrunks were slaughtered entirely. It is unknown whether any survived the onslaught

Niddhelm:
This ent tribe was defeated by the Faalgräds shortly after their victory at the Massecre of Stonecreek. They eventually overthrew the Faalgräd Empire, later establishing the Altertümlich. They are typically associated with politics and power-games.

Faalgräd:
These ents are known especially for their magical abilities. The Faalgräds alone are capable of extracting the souls of their victims and enemies. They ruled the Faalgräd Empire, later overthrown by the Niddhelm rebellion.

Altertümlich:
Initially the title for ruler of the ents, it was later used to refer to either the ent’s native island or the nation itself.

Crimson Purge:
The Crimson Purge was the mass genocide of every single mammal in the forests of Altertümlich for the purpose of strengthening the army. Over the course of two years, enough animals were destroyed to create one hundred twenty thousand huorns.

Reefzilla:
Reefzilla was the first ent titan, created from the soul of an enormous stone troll. Reefzilla is the last surviving member of the subrace of coral ents. He is nearly invincible as the wearer of the Living Armor.

Huorns:
Huorns are ents created from the souls of animals. These take the shape of the animal from which they were formed, typically wolves or bulls. They tend to be much less intelligent than a typical ent, but they are extremely dangerous in battle.

Living Armor:
This suit of magical armor is not only made from mithril, but it can shield the wearer from all types of mortal magic. It is able to scale to the size of it’s wearer, and is similar to the Unarmor. It was made popular by the titan Reefzilla, on whom the armor is one meter thick.

Characteristics
Ents are relatively solitary, typically seeking friends only a few times a year. Lacking reproductive
organs, ents do not have any gender at all, preferring to be referred to as males. This is because the human word “it” is used to refer to inanimate objects and beasts, not sentient humanoids. The ents are warlike by nature, and have little to no sympathy to other beings. Most stand 4 meters tall, although the illiterate huorns are smaller in stature, often crawling on all four legs.

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So… I’m going to guess you were happy with the reveal of the ent-like mob models hidden in the game code a few weeks back? (They sound right up your alley, considering Altertümlich’s lore…)

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I must have missed this. Could you send me a link?

I’ll do one better–here’s the original post and pictures.

@sir_ghost:

In entities > monsters > forest there are “ents” and “ent-minions”, and they look amazing!

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I love how they keep the cute style of the game while still looking scary and threatening.

From Ladders Measurement Tools and More Now on Steam Unstable Branch Build Develop 1633

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Wow, this is much better than I imagined. Thank you!

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If I post my civ’s lore, will someone find Radiant models of my civ?

That would be really awesome.