Modresh

The Modresh are a group of Hudresh people who live mainly as nomadic herders, inhabiting the vast Northern Plains stretching from Ish'Atan (Great River) to the Alva'Atan (Mother River). They ride horses and tend herds of llamas, alpacas, and other hoofstock.

The Modresh (i.e., Mod Dresh, or "Leading People") consider themselves superior to all other Men. They speak a group of closely related dialects of the language they call Modreshrok.

The Modresh played important roles in the foundation of two empires: the Ish'atan (Great River) Empire to the west, and the Empire of Ishmod (Great Leader), also known as the Sorcorer's Empire, to the east.

The primary language of the Ish'atan Empire, Maghrok, emerged from a dialect of western Modreshrok. The Gyrish language (Gyrrok) emerged from an eastern dialect of Modreshrok, Feigyrrok, spoken in the region surrounding Gyr.

The founder, and to this day still the only, emperor of Ishmodia is Ishmod the Invincible, also known as The Sorcorer. Ishmod's mother, Alva Maghiss, was the daughter of Merchant Maghiss, a wealthy Modresh businessman who settled in Gyr.

Ishmod's early conquest of the Alva'atan valley depended largely on his forming and leading an alliance of Modresh tribes, whose swift riding horsemen defeated the slower foot soldiers and charioteers of the ancient city states.

For many centuries, Ishmod maintained unified control over the Modresh tribes, and the Great Plains remained an integral part of Ishmodia. The War between Father and Sons weakened Ishmod's leadership of the Modresh, however, and the Empire lost control of most of their lands.

The Modresh currently live in numerous distinct and quarrelsome tribes.