Apfeldite people

The Apfeldites are an ethnic group native to Apfeldonia. They make up roughly around 46% of the total population of Apfeldonia, and roughly 52% of the mainland Apfeldonian population.

Terms and Etymology
The term Apfeldite is a term that was given by the Apfeldites to themselves. The root of the word is Apfel however it is agreed that the original meaning of the root was not asociated with apples as it is today. The prominent theory is that it had roots within the ancient Apfeldite terms for horse or wheel, however this is only based on the accounts of nearby peoples stating that the Apfeldites called themselves the "horse people" or the "moving people". Therefor little evidence is shown to prove the theory and no official conclusion has been made on the topic. Regardless of the ancient meaning, apfel has been known as a classical term for apples, which are a cultural symbol of the Apfeldite people.

Ancient History
The Apfeldites started as a nomadic tribe living within the sea of grass. They were a large confederations of tribes with similiar history, ancestry, and culture. They were reknown horsemen and further more were some of the first people of Roscetta to develope chariots for warfare. Early cultural items for the Apfeldite people include mostly equestrian artifacts. They lived in portable wide round tents, with wood and then later metal braceings. They dressed in light, colourful clothing and as a result tended to live in the warmer areas of the sea of grass. Some time in ancient history(*) the passes of the Schulfsrum mountains opened by melting ice and allowed a mass migration of the Apfeldite peoples into mainland Apfeldonia. With their bronze weapons and chariots, they were quickly able to defeat the native Schulfens people and push them into northern Apfeldonia, they quickly however learned the ability to live in permanent settlements from the Schulfens and rapidly settled the southern half of Apfeldonia.

Early History
The Apfeldites quickly became the dominant ethnic group in southern Apfeldonia and set about creating factions. Two great ancient empires rose from this, The Lerz Empire, and the Trident Empire, this empires would thrive and prosper, significantly affecting the world, especially Rosecetta.

After the decline of these empires, both the Apfeldites and the Shulfens continued to break into fractured factions. These factions would remain fractured till King Rutgar I, envisioned a "united Apfeldite nation" and set about uniting these factions, which he accomplished his vision in 1066.

Imperial History
The Apfeldites were the main ethnic group in The Empire of Apfeldonia, and usually dominated politics, however there was no prejudice against any homeland ethnic group for positions of power. The Apfeldites would continue to be focused within Apfeldonia, however as colonies emerged, some started migrating towards these colonies, as a result you can find people of Apfeldite ethnicity and ancestry around the globe, but the main population still lives within Apfeldonia.

Modern History
The Apfeldites constitute a large percentage of people in Apfeldonia and throughout the world, as a result they have influenced world history signifcantly and they have made great strides and contributions to the development of mankind. Many famous people can trace their ancestry back to the Apfeldites or are considered an Apfeldite person, and thus their importance cannot be undermined.

Culture
The Apfeldites are an ancient and large ethnic group, their culture can be traced back to its founding and is a celebrated thing within The Empire of Apfeldonia. Apfeldite Culture has elements of both its ancient past and modern day traditions linked in.

Names
Though most Apfeldonians have adopted standardized names, the ancient Apfeldites did have naming customs of their own and several historical and even modern figures can be seen bearing such names.

a list of known Apfeldite traditional names

Rutgar

Braunfels

Felbar

Karnton

Lucelia

Lucia

Tolv

Pentar

Ocel

Ocelia

Bamberta

Lantgar

Dress
Most Apfeldites wear modern clothing, however the ancient and medieval Apfeldites had clothing customs that are used at traditional and ceremonial occasions. Traditional Apfeldite clothing involves bright or rich colours  and light clothing. traditionally, men would wear dull clothing when at work and the colourfull items during ceremony. Greens, blues, browns, blacks, and whites are traditional colours accosiated with men, while women wear red, yellow, light blue, white, and orange.

Food
Traditional Apfeldonian cuisine is focused around sweets, breads, and beverages. The Apfeldites have over 470 different types of bread, and bread plays a huge part in traditional and ceremonial cuisine, it is also widely enjoyed by Apfeldites in modern times and has become an international delicacy.

Apfeldite sweets is largely bread, fruit, and cream based. From sweet breads to fruit pasteries Apfeldonian confectionary foods are full of variety.

An international symbol of the Apfeldite people is their reknown Apple beer, it is traditionally alcholic, but can also be non-alcholic.

Religion
Although most modern Apfeldites follow the more widespread religions of the world, the ancient Apfeldites had a unique religion. Apfeldite paganism is highly attached to nature and the seasons, it is a spirit based religion revolving around ancestor and nature spirit worship. It was the widespread religion of the Apfeldites till the early 1600s. Several modern Apfeldonian customs and holidays are derictly tied to this ancient religion. In modern times several practices of the religion are practiced alongside other religions, as an example traditional Apfeldite marriage, whcih takes place in the middle of a field, with the bride and groom wearing traditional clothing, such as crowns of flowers, is still practiced by some people.

Symbols
The Apfeldite people have developed their culture since its starting and thus they have a history of symbolism and currently have a large amount of things to represent their culture, which can also be seen in modern Apfeldonian culture.

The largest symbol of the Apfeldite people is the apple, this fruit had only started to be cultivated by the Apfeldites after they settled in Apfeldonia, however evidence shows that before the Apfeldites arrived, apples grew abundant in Apfeldonia, as they still do and even the Shulfens people took advantage of this.

The Apfeldite people are often represented by horses. The Apfeldite people were one of the first cultures to domesticate horses, and were also one of the first cultures to develope chariots. One of the oldest Apfeldite artifacts, a metal brace from a traditional round tent was found bearing a desing of small horses runnig around the brace, due to the size of the brace, it is estimated that there are about 200 horses on the one brace. The horse is therefor used as a symbol of modern Apfeldonia, two notable examples are the horse statue at lipton, and the horse gildings of the royal palace.

The sword is a highly religious and ceremonial peice of weaponry to the Apfeldite people. Swords, were believed by the Apfeldites to hold powerful abilities. A sword could both take and save a life, and thus were thought to be highly blessed by spirits and ancestors, swords were thus often engraved with fantastic designs for ceremonial and religious use. A ceremony involving a sword is the vows of allegiance, in which the person giving the right holds his sword to the sky, wishing for it to be blessed by the spirits of the sky, the wind, the sun, and the ancestors and for them to witness his vow.

Notable People
Several notable or famous people are of the Apfeldite ethnicity, a list of a few of them are below

King Travis III

Rutgar I

Francis Beagelton

Reinhardt II, Duke of Oschtauch

Johann, Duke of Oschtauch

Tolv I, Duke of Verbania