Dorlafans
Dorlafans are, obviously, the most common ethnic group in the Cities. For all the many diverse groups settling here, the majority of migrants have always been local, travelling 1-100 miles. Several points should be made about Dorlaf. One is that it is a large and diverse region, from the cities and farms on the plains to the coastal towns to the hill settlements. There are traditionally many variants between the natives of different regions, and others the further east or south you travel. Another is that Dorlafan has always been something of a mongrel culture. Many different races have settled there over the centuries; its central location, general prosperity and often relaxed border controls have made it a popular location for migrants. The tendency has increased since Christoté was formed but was also present during the Erish Empire and Kingdom of Dorlaf days. (As with many other countries conquered, there are still many Erish influences present). In names alone, the diversity can be seen. The traditional Dorlafan practice of ending a surname with 'son' (denoting the trade of the father) or 'ton' (describing place of origin) is still the most common. But many Dorlafan family names also end with an Erish 'en', a Zabric 'i' or 'o' , a Kratzan 'z' or a Schallic 'ic'. Both these geographical and demographic diversities make generalisations misleading. They are enhanced because Dorlafans have always been willing to adopt new or different customs, costumes etc. largely for novelty value, a tendency which has been enhanced in the Cities.
Physically Dorlafans generally have pale brown skin with dark brown or black hair, eyes. The common build is quite tall and skin. Bright clothes have always been favoured, though the Cities habit of wearing such costumes during leisure hours and donning darker, more practical outfits for work is long established in Dorlaf. The two dominant churches have always been those of Ella and Garrath, usually adopting the more staid, mainstream branches of each faith. Several dominant features of Dorlafan culture have strongly influenced the Cities. One is the tradition for tolerance and liberalism. Though generally thought to be a Christotan invention, the Confederacy has merely enhanced it; even in the Kingdom days Dorlaf was one of the more liberal nations. The culture maybe grew out of old teachings stressing the importance of hospitality; it was also shaped and helped shape Dorlaf's underplaying of physical power and warfare as a badge of status. In place of these, material goods have been strongly valued, together with displays of intellect and wit. In turn, this anti-force culture has had a mutually beneficial relationship with the status of women, given something resembling even footing with men centuries ago. Two traditional Dorlafan recreational activities have fared rather differently under Christoté/Cities times. One is the value placed on oral communication. This flourishes at both an informal level, giving rise to a high level of gossip, discussion and contacts made with relative strangers. It has also infiltrated the arts; theatre has always been Dorlaf's chief artistic field, and at the more popular end, ballads and tales have flourished at the expense of pure musical entertainment. The influence of all these can clearly be seen in the Cities; even with a high level of literacy, oral communication continues to dominate at all levels. Another long-established Dorlafan custom was gladiatorial combat; the Ruarn Arena was just one of many arenas built for such sports. It was, however, outlawed in 994, reputedly at the insistence of Tars Tukas, and continues to exist only in a very neutered form in the athletic contests. Quite why the largely peaceful Dorlafans so enjoyed the sight of people hacking one another to bits is debatable; local liberal writers tend to change the subject as quickly as when the matter of the popularity of public executions is raised.
Elsans and Kratzans are in roughly the same position in the Cities. Large numbers have settled here over the years but they form no separate culture as such; after a few years, migrants are usually completely assimilated into the broader population. Invariably they bring their culture with them, some elements of which have been incorporated into the broader Cities culture, a few (and far less) are retained by the immigrants as special badges of their status. But the crossovers are so fluid that, together with the similar physical appearance of the peoples, Kratzans and Elsens can hardly be said to be different ethnic groups to the Dorlafans. Most recognise this and feel the three central Christotan provinces represent a single race, in contrast to those on the northern and southern fringes. Some theories go further and claim that the peoples of the whole stretch of middle Teraf, including the central areas of Erenland and a couple of the southern Flaugian states, form one basic ethnic group. There are certainly physical similarities - the central Erish are also brown skinned and dark haired, though generally thicker set than Christotans - and also some shared cultural and religious beliefs. Furthermore, although different languages have been adopted the dialects of these regions are surprisingly alike. It's only a theory, though, and not a popular one. Most Christotans prefer to think they are the total opposite of the Erish (though see below). A counter-theory also points out that the regions have mixed together so often through history that some mutual influences are inevitably, irrespective of half-baked ethnic ideas.
Elsey
Elsan migration to the Cities has anyway slowed to a trickle in recent years. Although the Labbish invasion brought a flood of refugees, most resettled after the war. Indeed, the reconstruction and then economic boom in Elsey has made it far more a host than donor province, with some workers from the Cities emigrating in search of high wages and decent living space. The take-off of Elsan manufacturing and mining has added to local admiration of the people as being resilient, hard-working and efficient, if rather soulless. The latter quality, though, has been rather belied by the recent explosion of Elsan art, dominated by theatre and poetry, and these days dominated by memories of the dark days of Labbish rule.
Kratzans
Various stereotypes exist about Kratz; the province of rich men, inequality, ossified ruling families, rural wildlands and, above all, horses. All have a little basis in truth. The province is far more rural than Elsey or Dorlaf, with only three cities of real note. The population is fairly dense but hasn't concentrated into a few great centres; instead large villages, farmsteads and tenants cottages proliferate in most areas. Few of these are truly isolated, being well connected by road networks and rarely far from other areas. A large proportion of the wealth comes from pastoral farming. Cattle, sheep (especially on the central upland plains) pigs and hens are all kept in large numbers, with a good deal exported to other provinces. The real profits, though, come from horses, which are reared especially in Dempex Fields, Ashton and Usgarth Vale. A number of the breeds are held to be among the finest in Teraf, maybe only second to eastern Erenland. The structure of pastoral farming, together with some rather illiberal laws, have kept land ownership unevenly distributed, with a few families owning large swathes and most others forced to work as salaried labourers. The labourers are exploited fairly heavily, though conditions are gradually improving. The top few families have mainly remained at the top for many generations and are fairly universally reviled. The egregious Tannerz clan are the most universally notorious, though there are several others just as bad but more parochial in their operations. At the same time, Kratzan law is very liberal on matters like penal codes and tolerance of trade unions and other worker's associations. The result is a mild but enduring instability. Rural demonstrations for better rights are frequent, and landowners sometimes resort to extra-legal brutality to try and get co-operation. For all that, wages in some sectors can be quite high, some small farms are flourishing and a slew of collective farms were created in the 1310's, especially in the south, and still survive. Manufacturing is only intensified around the towns; lace making in Sharsaw, leather goods in Burnette, and a string of small towns in the east centred around brick-making. Domestic production in the villages is based around textiles, which has been hit badly by outside competition and shows no signs of emerging from its slump. The coastal towns and villages are faring rather better with the fishing industry quite strong (despite the occasional Cuorn Tal pirates). Like in Dorlaf, though, the coastal board sees itself as separate from the rest of Kratz; regardless of the fact that it holds the provincial capital, Salbair.
A lot of Kratzan culture and art mythologises the past. Especially revered is a period in the 200's and 300's known as the Equan era. It began when the Jurick Empire was driven out and lasted up to a destructive civil war in 367-8. Horses naturally played a large part in the period; according to legend the Jurick surrendered after their armies were wiped out by a great cavalry charge led by Gronac Equan (not true incidentally; the bankrupt empire folded in the east after barely a few skirmishes). Equan was proclaimed Kratz's new king and was said to have built a nation of proud, fierce warriors, starting a line of cavalry monarchs. His grandson, Elbac Equan, is an equally revered figure. Said to have an almost supernatural empathy with horses, he won a great battle with Dorlaf in 345.
The Dyons
A somewhat mysterious race with strong internal traditions and a reputation for bloody-minded independence. The Dyons are a nomadic race who have never had a homeland of their own, but are scattered across the southern fringes of Teraf, from Gesund to Grencolé, Dinos and Chadrak in Erenland. Their origins are uncertain. The Dyons claim they were the first humans in Teraf, living alongside the Elder Race before the great migrations, but are by no means the only group to make this contentious claim. They speak a language which is approximately Jurick but has mutated considerably. It is just about explicable to other southerners but a Jurick speaker in Astmad, for example, wouldn't understand it.
Like other nomads, the Dyons have a long history of persecution to look back on; especially viscous pogroms were instigated by Erenland in the 700's and 1100's and even federated Gesund hasn't been exactly innocent. Their culture broadly rejects the concept of nationhood and a single ruler who commands vast numbers of people. They see the only legitimate authority as being a religious one and the only acceptable 'nation' as their concept of 'waekas', a clan-based structure of several families sharing a region. However they don't proselytise their ideas and only try to achieve them for themselves through peaceful means, cohabiting with other cultures and trying to live in the gaps of authority. The Dyons also believe that keeping domestic animals is wrong (not because of the cruelty - their worship involves animal sacrifice). As they are also denied much land-ownership they have evolved into great craftsmen and traders; their intricate jewellery and statues fashioned from reeds and wood are highly prized. Dyons are a familiar sight on the Moretti Road, trading with and occasionally robbing the merchant caravans.
The Dyons worship Ferlan in theory, though again in a manner which would be unrecognisable further north. Their worship is built around elaborate, ritualised gatherings on certain holy days, 42 a year in total with the 11th May been the most sacrosanct. Their priests also act as the community leaders. Rather than being past down through families, resulting in priestly castes emerging (the more common Ferlan habit), priests can come from any family and are said to be directly ordained by the God. Most commonly a baby who is born just after an old priest dies is said to have inherited his spirit. Traditional costume is bright, colourful robes, usually patterned with vivid squares and triangles. The most common garment is a single piece of cloth which begins as a head scarf, stretches down to be wrapped around the body and is looped between the legs to function as a loincloth. Dyons tend to wear far less clothing than most, particularly Dorlafans, with little stigma about breasts or navels being uncovered. A custom they share with the Zabric is the complete shaving of the heads of boys and girls who have just reached adulthood (13 in Dyon culture); though unlike the Zabric the 'mature' hair which subsequently grows on a Dyon head is almost never cut.
The various hardships they faced have pushed numbers of Dyons to the Cities, usually migrating in whole families. They live in tight sub-enclaves, for example on Kakran Crescent, Jalkin, or Cevyran Road, Forgar. Turn a corner and without warning a courtyard can become full of vivid blankets, tiny workshops and half-naked flesh. Their reception has borne out the old Cities saying of "All welcome, almost all patronised" and the designs, if not the cut, of their clothing has influenced mainstream style. Physically Dyons have very dark brown skin and black hair, with heavily set bodies and faces. Their families inbreed a great deal, and very rarely consort with other races, which has retained their strong physical homogeneity.