While all inhabitants of the Last Bastion could be considered Altherian,
those who were either raised among the outcasts and exiles of the ruins of
Altheria in the years before the Blight, or who were born in Altheria after
the Blight share a specific cultural connection with each other and the
citadel.
Before the Blight, the city of Altheria was mostly abandoned and in
near-complete ruin. It was built by the Ancients long ago and populated by
many different peoples and cultures throughout the course of history.
As a walled port city with a natural harbor, Altheria held strategic value
to different nations in the Old and New Kingdom eras, as well as those from
across the ocean looking for a foothold, though its location in a far-flung
corner of the continent made it difficult to take and hold by any single
power for very long. Some even speculated that the Old Magic of the Ancients
that remained within the city was itself responsible for the inability for
any one external power to permanently settle it. It became a less attractive
target for military conquest or civilian settlement over time, and as such,
an unofficial agreement that the citadel of Altheria was to be a kind of
neutral ground arose. This left it more or less in ruins for the last few
centuries, with only small groups of exiles and those with nowhere else to
go taking up residence.
When the Blight came, Altheria was where many fled to. With the appearance
of the Barrier to keep the Blight out, Altheria became one of the few truly
safe places to go. That handful of exiles suddenly grew to a huge community
over the space of weeks.
Children of the people who sought refuge in Altheria, born after the Blight,
have no first-hand knowledge of how the world used to be. Altheria is all
they have ever known, and they have a limited connection to the old ways of
their people. Altherian culture is fluid and reflects the myriad
perspectives of the many different peoples that arrived there.
Many Altherians seek to better themselves and their new city. Their
motivations and desires typically stem from the realization that they are
the best hope for the world to survive the Blight. They are, in a way,
Aelandris' second chance.