The Erthens are known across Mernia as the Empire-Bane, a title earned through bloodshed and defiance during the legendary Noble Revolution. They were the first people to rise openly against the ancient Mernic Empire, whose dominion had endured for more than a thousand years and was once believed unbreakable.

During the revolution, the Erthens became infamous for their ruthless and highly effective methods of guerrilla warfare. Striking from forests, cliffs, and hidden coastal strongholds, they harried imperial forces relentlessly, transforming the landscape itself into a weapon against the empire. Yet much of this identity faded following the Dirty Revolution, particularly after the public executions of the surviving Noble Revolutionaries, whose deaths marked the symbolic end of the old resistance.

Since then, the martial reputation of the Erthens has become both blessing and burden. Revered as warriors, they are endlessly called upon to fight the wars of greater powers, serving causes not always their own. Nowhere has this cost been felt more deeply than during the brutal Paolemernic Crusades, which has left Erthen/Erthenia with a devastating shortage of fighting-age men. Across the beaches and plains of the so-called Holy Lands, the bones of Erthen warriors lie buried beneath foreign soil, far from the homes they died defending.

Yet the Erthens are remembered not only for war, but for their fierce sense of honour and kinship. Though many communities remain poor in wealth and land, the bonds between Erthen people—particularly beyond the great cities—are renowned for their strength and loyalty. Hospitality is considered sacred among them, and strangers who arrive in peace are often welcomed as kin beneath the same roof and fire.

A common Erthen greeting reflects this deeply rooted sense of unity: Yon Mer nel Azu—One Ocean of God. The phrase serves as both blessing and reminder that, despite division, all people remain bound beneath the same vast world.