Continuing from the last post, here is the Skandaharian language tree as it developed after the GRoF.
The Vanitar
The Vanitar tribe(equivalent to East Germanic) was the first to leave the ancient home of the Skandaharians, travelling west over the mountains to a lush forest in a great basin surrounded on three sides by mountains(modern Wendar). Over the next few centuries the Vanitar prospered and grew in population, leading to further migrations outside of the great basin to the north and the west. After more than five centuries of isolation, a group of ragged and weary elves arrived in the forest of the Vanitar; the elves were fed, welcomed and given a new home among the human tribes. This welcome was short-lived however as humans have short memories. Just one hundred and fifty years after the elves arrived, the Vanitar had vanished from the forest. Elven records of this time are sparse, yet most non elven scholars agree that a conflict of some sort arose between the elves and the humans, and the elves won out. Since this time the valley and and forest have become known as the Genalleth Valley after the elves who occupy it.
The Renatic
Some few Vanitar survived in the regions north of the Genalleth valley bordering the northern wildlands for the next few centuries. Eventually the elves expanded northward into these areas; the elves avoided the local Vanitar descended humans who viewed the elves as powerful spirits who had to be placated to avoid their wrath. After 200 years of elven settlement a new kingdom, Forenath, was established in the north. Forenath was a rare example of humans and elves living in a harmonious society together; over time the language of the humans took on elements of the elven tongue. This language spoken by the people of Forenath was known as Renatic(equivalent to Burgundian). Unfortunately Forenath was doomed; a plague struck the Renatic humans of Forenath, and the elves either refused or could not help the sick. This led to tensions rising between the elves and humans once again; human mobs attacked isolated elves, and elves struck back at the humans. The population of Forenath was decimated by the divisions and strife; only a quarter of the human population survived the plague and war in small scattered villages, and most elves fled back to the safety of the Valley of Genalleth with a few remaining in hiding in secluded foresthomes. During the civil war a few groups of elves and humans in a desire to maintain the unity of their two people fled north to the Parthenal hills and their descendants live there to this day, over the centuries the Old Renatic tongue took on more and more aspects of the elven tongue so that the modern Parthenal language is for all practical purposes an elven tongue.
The fall of the Kingdom of Forenath left the region open to invasion from goblinoid hordes from the mountains and for the next two centuries the ancient realm of Forenath and the northern borders of the Genalleth elves were ravaged by Goblinoid raids. This period of chaos came to an end when the Genalleth elves allied themselves with the Thang Republic. The Thang legions quickly drove the goblinoids back, proving their worth to the elves. Beldareth, an elf lord who had worked closely with the Thang, led a joint venture between the Genalleth elves and the Thang humans to found a new city, Nimbeth, on the northern border of the elven realm. Nimbeth paved the way for elven settlement in the north again. The remaining Renatic humans began to prosper under the rule of Nimbeth and their culture was influenced by the Thang garrisons. The language spoken after the founding of Nimbeth is generally referred to as Neo-Renatic, as opposed to the Old Renatic of Forenath.
The first cracks in the alliance between the humans and the elves showed when a group of elves from Nimbeth violently dispersed a group of Renatic humans in order to found a new city, Thalion. These humans retreated to the nearby Moors of Chlyras, where frogfolk lived. The next generation of humans who had fled to the moors, known as the Moor-Men, attacked the elves of Nimbeth and after several years of hunting the Moor-Men, the elves exiled them to the northern wildlands. When these Moor-Men, now calling themselves Murrians, emerged over a century later and with the help of the local Renatic population conducted a series of hit and run attacks against the elves of Thalion, the elves retaliated against all humans, Murrian, Renatic, and Thang alike. The elves of Thalion committed a great slaughter and enslaved any survivors; this great betrayal by the elves cut off the Thang from their northern territories dealing a great blow to the Empire of Thanegioth. What followed were 30 years of Murrian attacks and elven reprisals against the local populace until the elves were finally able to defeat the Murrians in an open battle and drive them back north. To this day the Murrians speak a debased form of Neo-Renatic.
Over the centuries, many Murrians migrated further north and comingled with the nonhuman denizens of the Swamp of the Beast. Around AC 200 a man of Murrian descent by the name of Maggoroth emerged from the swamp with a horde of warriors behind him both human and non human, and he was able to establish a kingdom over the surrounding lands which survived for nearly three centuries before losing its grip on the subjugated people. The people of the swamp came to call themselves and their language Meggaran, after their legendary leader.
The Hag
While most of the Vanitar settled in the Wendarian basin, the Hag tribe(equivalent to the Vandals) continued the journey into the inhospitable north. For a time they settled on the plains northwest of the Blackridge Mountains on the border of the the swamp of the beast. Many centuries later, when the ice and snow retreated north, many of the Hag made the trek further north in search of new lands while some stayed in the home they had always known. Those that stayed in sight of the Blackridge Mountains have maintained their isolation and independence from outside influence for these long centuries and are known today as the Hagomerian tribes. The Hagomerian language and lifestyle have been maintained by tradition and are likely the closest in relation to the ancient Vanitar.
Those that continued the journey north, calling themselves the Rohag, settled first in the Llacenvale and Clearwater valleys and after some centuries expanded into the region today known as the Hill and the Dale. The Rohag were isolated for many centuries until elves fleeing the wars in Forenath settled in the Parthenal hills. The elves had little contact with the native humans and the two groups coexisted with little conflict. It wasn't until the 5th century BC that this equilibrium was disrupted; the Thang Legions marched north and crushed any resistance, demanding tribute and military service of young men to aid in their wars against the Adri-Varma. The Thang never had a strong grip on the region and individual tribes were still ruled by their own kings and chieftains; as long as the tribe provided enough soldiers to serve the empire they were left to govern themselves. Over the next century and a half of foreign rule, the Rohag traditional beliefs and language were heavily influenced by the Thang; even after their departure from the region the language spoken after the Thang conquest is now referred to as Neo-Roag. After the betrayal of the Elves of Thalion, the Thang legion that was stationed in the north lost control of the local tribes and were banished to the mountains east of the Clearwater, after wandering through a harsh winter what was left of the legion was rescued by an Alfish tribe, leading to the brief glory of the Kingdom of Alinor.
The latest chapter in the story of the Roag occurred approximately three centuries ago with the rise of the Essurian Empire. Many the eastern Roag were dominated by the Essurians leading to a split among the Roags. The High Roag are those of the east and southern 'civilized' kingdoms left behind after the collapse of the Essurians. The Low Roag are the more northern tribes, some of whom have consolidated under the leadership of a king while others have remained organized in small free tribes.
The Vanar
While some Vanitar journeyed north and some stayed behind to settle in the Genalleth valley, another larger group of Vanitar traveled east. They found a land of expansive plains and dense forests already populated by various tribes speaking many languages(the ancestors of the modern Ethesti and Ethengar). The Vanitar quickly dispersed and settled in small groups, often conflicting with the natives and driving them out. The dispersed tribes began to call themselves the Vanar(equivalent to the Goths).
After half a millennia a new test arose for the Vanar tribes. On the banks of the Yalu Sea in the east, also known as The Cradle, a new religion was quickly growing and gaining followers. This was the Temple of Law; they purported to worship a benevolent creator god above all other gods whose Law was the only law worthy of following. This new god was known by many names, but is mostly commonly recognized as 'He Who Watches.' One Kargan, a leader among the western Vanar tribes converted to this new faith and was the first king of the Kingdom of Law. From this time, the Vanar of the west under the kingdom of Law became known as Karganites, speaking what is now called Old Kargan(equivalent to the Gruethingi Goths), and the the Vanar of the east became known as the Vandar, speaking Vandaric(equivalent to the Thervingi Goths). The Vandar remained free and maintained the traditions of their forefathers having no single ruler, simply a collection of tribes.
The Kingdom of Law prospered for three centuries until it fell to its enemies under the sway of the Temple of Chaos to the south who had allied themselves with the Borean goblinoids of the north. The Karganites that were not put to the sword were captured and enslaved and had to practice their faith in secret among the enemy. Some few Karganites fled in all directions taking their faith with them, and in the process spreading it to new lands; this diaspora of Karganites(speaking an equivalent of Yiddish) continues to wander foreign lands to this day, being welcomed in some places and shunned in others. In the remnants of the old Thang Empire the Karganite faith has taken root to the point of creating a new Holy Empire devoted to spreading the faith.
More than two centuries after the fall of the Kingdom of Law, the Temple of Chaos was toppled by nomads from the Great Waste to the south. These nomads, the Adri-Varma, established a new empire ruled by Magi upon the Great Plateau, and began their reign by freeing the enslaved people of the Temple of Chaos. The Karganites returned to their homeland to find it overrun by goblinoids; a great warrior chief, Galan, drove out the goblins and founded the new city of Galandar atop the ruins of their capitol. Over the next few centuries the freed Karganites spread across the land once again, setting up many petty kingdoms. The Karganites remained apart from their cousins, the Vandar to the east, separated by their beliefs and way of life; to the Karganites, the Vandar tribes were considered barbaric uncivilized people. The city of Galandar prospered and rose to such prominence that the Karganites began to call themselves the Galanese(equivalent to the Visigoths).
Eventually a new power arose in the east; the Thang empire after defeating their great foe, the Nithians, in the east turned their sights westward and found there an enemy in the Adri-Varma. The Thang quickly dominated all the disparate tribes of the north who stood before them. Rather than resist, the city of Galandar welcomed the Thang and with the the help of their legions conquered their neighbors. The Kingdom of Galannor was the greatest ally of the Thang Empire in the north for two centuries and was greatly influenced by them culturally and linguistically during that time, and retained many aspects of the empire after it retreated from the north. Galannor modeled its government after the empire dividing the kingdom into duchies, and even adopted the alphabet and writing system of the Thang. The syncretized language that resulted from this has come to be called Royal Galanese.
The Vandar tribes in the east were unable to resist the Thang and fell under their sway and were used as mercenaries by the Thang in their many wars. Many tribes on the border between the Adri-Varma and the Thang empires switched loyalties many times over the generations. During this time of competition between the two great empires the Vandar tribes began calling them selves the Rundar and their language Rundaric(equivalent to the Ostrogoths). After the Thang Empire retreated from the north the Rundar tribes fell under the say of the Adri Varma.
The great migrations which toppled the Thang empire and turned the Adri Varma Plateau into a wasteland also decimated the Kingdom of Galannor and the Rundar tribes. The Rundar were all but wiped out with the desolation of the Adri-Varma and now only a small remnant survives in the eastern borderlands; they speak a variant dialect known as Rutharic (equivalent to Crimean Gothic), and are comprised of only two major tribes, the Hangall and the Hargan. The Kingdom of Galannor fared little better; Galannor itself maintains only a rump of its former territory, simply the hinterland of Galandar itself. Seven independent duchies and a few baronies dependent on the duchies survive in the former territories of the kingdom. The Kingdom of Galannor maintains Royal Galanese as the official language of state, but many of the common folk speak debased forms of the language, so there are now three main dialects of Royal Galanese referred to as High Galanese, Middle Galanese, and Low Galanese, spoken by the nobility, the burghers, and the commoners respectively. Since the separation from the Kingdom of Galannor, the surviving duchies have taken to calling themselves Karganites, after their ancestors, and their language Ducal Karganite; though in truth their language is nearly indistinguishable from that spoken in the Kingdom of Galannor. These four varieties of Royal Galanese are so similar they could more accurately be described as accents than separate dialects. Together the Kingdom of Galannor, the Duchies, and several Karganite tribes form the Council of Law in an effort to maintain some unity among a common people. After a hundred-years war between the Council of Law and Hule to the south, several Karganite tribes became isolated from Galannor and the Duchies; these tribes, whose dialect is commonly referred to as Outer Karganite, have reverted to amore primitive lifestyle and belief system.
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