Mezzani

The Mezzani are a group of people native to the Mezzan Islands to the west of Enland, directly across the Mezzani Sea from the Oereldian Peninsula. The Mezzani claim to be descended from three legendary tribes, the Ikaros, the Daedana, and the Zan. The Ikaros were the first to arrive on the islands, followed closely by the Daedana who settled on the opposite end of the archipelago. The Zan are said to have arrived some hundreds of years later, bringing with them many of the core concepts of modern Mezzani culture, including Mezzani religion. Over the subsequent centuries, the tribes interbred significantly and merged, eventually forming the modern Mezzani people.

The Mezzani civilization is considered to be among the oldest and most stable of all known, with a continuity stretching back many thousands of years. The Mezzani have, for most of their history, lived in independent city-states scattered across the archipelago. The largest and most powerful of these is currently the city of Kreta, which exercises a limited political hegemony over most of the islands' smaller and weaker city-states.

The Mezzani city-states are well known for their contributions to arts and letters, being home to many of the known world's most renowned educational institutions. These include the ancient Academy of Tortalos, and the Mage College of Kreta. The Mezzani are also renowned for their sailing prowess, and unparalleled ship building techniques. Mezzani architecture is widely admired, and it is not uncommon for the rich in other countries to commission Mezzani architects and artisans to build for them, as a show of wealth and influence.