Creature:Silvan/New Aratacia

History
It is unknown when the modern Silvan species emerged, though a rough estimate by Drodo experts puts it at around 150 000 years ago. Due to the generally frosty/hostile relations between Drodo and Silvan, it is also unknown when Silvan civilization first emerged, though it is theorized that the Silvan first began using agriculture about 4000 years ago, and the first organized, literate states emerged soon after that 3000 years ago. The history of the Silvan has faced a major disruption in the form of Drodo settlement of the world. Within a few years huge, walled cities appeared on fields and in the hills and a huge orbital ring began to make itself clear aaginst the blue sky, causing panic and tensions. Many neighbouring kingdoms to the Drodo have responded with hostility, launching raids and (unsuccessful) full-scale wars against the colonists. However, many private Silvan merchants have used the new settlers as an economic opportunity, engaging in small-scale, unregulated and often unseen trade with Drodo settlers, police, and even cavalrymen on patrol outside of city limits. This has meant there has been a steady flow of manufactured and technologically advanced goods such as firearms, telephones, computers, and radios diffusing among the Silvan population, causing cultural shift and in many cases anxiety amongst the ruling classes. The future of the Silvan remains uncertain.

Society and Technology
Silvan societies are generally similar to that of other ancient societies; Highly stratified, with a wide wealth gap. Most Silvan nations are lead from the top by some sort of absolute ruler, below him being a wealthy aristocracy, and a tiny middle-class of artisans and merchants. The bulk of the population would be the peasantry and slaves. Silvan societies do have a certain level of social mobility to them, however, as class appears to often be defined *entirely* by wealth and skill, with the concept of family or lineage being unimportant. This means that a skilled-enough peasant *could* become an aristocrat if they proved themselves in battle, or were to accumulate enough money. This makes Silvan society very hierarchical but also meritocratic. Silvan nations often have an unusually-high level of organisation and administrative sophistication for their actual advancement, thanks to the Silvan's natural inclinations towards the collective. A defining element of most Silvan societies is warfare. Silvan reproduce extremely rapidly, require little food, and are politically organized. Add this to a world with exceptionally fertile soil but only so much of it and the inevitable result is dozens of nations, all with the population and wealth to wage war endlessly. Traditional Silvan warfare makes use of enormous armies, potentially numbering in the hundreds of thousands or millions, made up mostly of conscripts and levies, led by aristocratic officers. The majority of Silvan troops are lightly armed and armoured, with better-off members of the lower classes making use of spears, short-swords, and shields with little or no armour and the poorest being used as javelin-armed skirmishers, screening and harassing. Wealthier Silvan make up the heavy infantry and cavalry, often wearing a brigandine coat and steel helmet, and armed with a bow, lance, and sword. Drodo settlement, however, has changed Silvan warfare. The introduction of firearms and motor vehicles have proven to shift the paradigm of Silvan warfare. While Silvan still make use of large armies, and most troops are often armed only with traditional weapons (firearms are still in very short supply and go for a high price), those with wealth or luck often purchase or steal firearms, and while individual Silvan tend to have poor accuracy with their weapons, crafty Silvan generals compensate for this deficiency by planning ambushes, where they have the greatest opportunity to deal damage to their enemies. Silvan are also known to use stolen trucks as motorized chariots, often to surprisingly strong effect.

Psychology
Common Silvan personality traits include curiosity, craftiness, aggressiveness, and defensiveness. Silvan are feared for and respected by Drodo settlers for their endless craftiness and adaptiveness, being able to learn new jobs, behaviors, and use of equipment or weapons quickly and with little instruction. What helps greatly is their curiosity, and willingness to learn about new things or people- at least, once their initial reluctance and tribalist tendencies are overcome.

Silvan have little concept of a biological family, and identify far more with the greater tribe, state, or religious belief. Their ability to identify so strongly with such an abstract idea as the state has been some of the strongest evidence of great intellectual capacity, alongside their general adaptiveness and ease with which they learn new things.