‘Real-World’ Influences: Dutch, Scots, Baltic. A little bit of Disco Elysium. Arpeneans hail from the far south of Ōchis, stemming in part from early People of the Ox and Talenic cultures which inhabited those lands. They tend to have fairer skin than the Talens, and sometimes possess light hair and eyes. Sometimes, they have red hair. Arpeneans’ ancestors were swift to build settled agrarian societies. Arpenea proper was a province of the Sasinthēne Empire of Tanthes, but was never thereafter conquered. Rather, Arpeneans were largely unified by their own Orthodox Empire, recognized from Tanthes, albeit with a highly contested border with Panarine. Though long a bulwark of Adanist Orthodoxy in the south, their distance from Tanthes ultimately laid the groundwork for a Monist schism in Goscelebe. Most Arpeneans, as a result, are Adanist– either Orthodox or Gosselevite.
Generally, Arpeneans are stately, mercantile, and philosophical. While the history of southern Ōchis is largely defined by frequent warfare, it was also a hub for great political and artistic thought. Aalmergrafe and Goscelebe were centers for vast leaps in the arts, particularly in painting. Arpenean painting tends to be dramatic and naturalistic, whereas their statuary tends to be highly utilitarian. Their clothing is austere, preferring monochrome courtly fashions with embroidery that contrasts in texture but not in tone. The powerful wear white, which represents virtue. Their designs favor the white lily, the hedge, and the pentacle.
They’re represented by the Daartlawer language.