Settlers

Origin

The people that started rebuilding villages after the war later became known as Settlers. They were the people that wanted to rebuild society as they knew it and bring back order to the world. But time after time they were attacked by Raiders. At first the Settlers tried to defend themselves, but there always were more Raiders and with each attack the Settlers were weakened. So they decided to give in to the Raiders and proposed an agreement to them. Unfortunately the Settlers were at the short end of the bargain, because of their little power. So the Raiders took everything. Their weapons, their grain, their technology, sometimes even their sons and daughters, doing god knows what to them. Some settlers weren't satisfied with the result of the negotiations and took off becoming the Nomads. But the Raiders soon found most of them again and made an example of what happens to settlers that disobey them. Soon very few of the settlers tried uprisings or escaping and accepted they coudn't escape the Raiders. Over the years they developed a rich mythology about the few Settlers that actually managed to escape and become Nomads, although they mostly never heard of them again. These stories are often partly true but very exaggerated, making the Nomads the heroes that will one day free the Settlers from the Raiders.

Society

The settlers live under very poor circumstances having to live on what the Raiders left them. And the Raiders take most of everything. Sometimes Settlers try to hide some of their produce from the Raiders that come to take it, but it rarely ever works and the punishments are harsh, ranging from public whipping to death. The Settlers' clothing mainly consists of cloth rags which ist the only thing the Raiders leave them. Most adults have to work all day to provide enough food for their families, so other than working there aren't many activities Settlers take part in. They do however often sit together in the evenings and sing songs and tell stories about Nomads, which gives them hope that some day everything will be better. Although these stories are made up for the most part the Settlers take great pride in them, as the Raiders will never take them away. These stories are a big part of why the Raiders hunt down as many Nomads as they can find and have the publically executed. The children of the settlers spend their time with each other as their parents have very little time for them. The older ones teach the younger ones and watch them as they play with each other.

Mythology

Every Settler knows the stories about how the Nomads will one day liberate them all and how they resist the Raiders even 200 years after the Raiders took over. These stories are the last hope of the Settlers and they hold on to it with even their last breath. If they lose their hope they can't go on anymore. Some settlers are even inspired so much by these stories that they try to make it outside the village, looking for other Nomads. But the Raiders are very quick to catch those runaways and let the villagers know what happens if anyone else wants to try it.