Gardians
Although it is agreed that the name of the continent Relmgard and its Gardian inhabitants are related, scholars debate whether the Gardian name comes from them being inhabitants of Realmgard or Realmgard is so named because it is the place where Gardians live.
Due in part to this connection between the name of the continent and its inhabitants, the term Gardian is sometimes used to refer to any inhabitant of Realmgard regardless of their place of origin within the continent. And the Gardians are often viewed as the “default” inhabitants of Realmgard.
Properly, however, “Gardian” refers to the inhabitants of the northeast Realmgard, corresponding roughly to the territory of the Free Cities which share a culture and language but are not united under a single political authority.
The earliest origins of modern Gardians are traced to the early cultures of Realmgard pre-dating the arrival of the Elves and the establishment of the Elven Empire in the Realmgardic Period. Many of these culture were eventually incorporated into Elven Empire, though others remained on the periphery and were viewed by the Elves as barbarians.
The collapse of the Elven Empire led to the consolidation of the Gardian culture in the northeast and the establishment of the Free Cities, which have become disproportionately consequential in Realmgard’s history to their relatively small populations and held territory thanks to the extensive travel and trade routes that pass through the Free Cities.
In the present, Gardian is considered to be primarily a cultural and geographical term rather than an ethnic one. The citizens of the Free Cities are considered to be Gardians primarily by virtue of living in the Free Cities rather than any other factor.
Due to the proximity of Middelmere and Hrimfax to the Gardian cultural sphere, the Middelmerish and Hrimfaxi languages have heavily influenced the developed of the Gardian language. The language is the most widely-spoken language on the continent, as the mother tongue of most inhabitants of the north and east of Realmgard, considering only marginally different from the modern Middelmerish dialect, and spoken as the most common second language across the continent for the purposes of diplomacy and trade.
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