1. Vascones
An Indo-European tribe settled in the Pyrenees mountains bordering both Spain and France, the Vascones were first encountered by the Roman Republic. Their descendants are the Basque peoples inhabiting the same region as their ancestors. Roman records indicate that the Vascones had used a language so alien, and nothing like they had previously encountered, that to this day it has not been deciphered. Assimilated under Roman rule, the Vascones faced threats from the Franks, the Goths, the Visigoths and Arabs in the Middle Ages, but had managed to not be too influenced from outsiders, due to the isolated geographical region they inhabited.
2. Kvens and Sami
Inhabiting and controlling almost all of the Scandinavian peninsula, apart from the southern regions facing the sea, were the Kvens. Together with the Sami people they had lived lives of hunter-gatherers since their ancestors settled the land in ancient times. Following the migratory herds of reindeer, the Kvens and Sami over time erected permanent settlements and formed chiefdoms, later growing into petty kingdoms. Shamanistic in religious belief, they were the biggest influence to the core pillars of the Norse religion. Over time, as the Vikings grew in power, and later became Christianized, the Kvens and Sami people lost their territories, yet were given special privileges and treatment, never fully being regulated in their way of life.
3. Picts
Stubbornly resisting Roman rule, and forcing them to build the famous Hadrian Wall, were the Picts. Meaning “painted ones” in Latin, due to the blue dye colored markings and tattoos that were associated with them. The Picts were descendants of the Celts, who were driven to inhabit the northernmost regions of the British Isles, by the Romans. Skilled craftsmen, evident of their wooden and stone engraving, the Picts had left a lot of their craft dotting the landscape of Scotland today. Most likely practicing Druidism like their ancestors, it was never confirmed how they had lived their day-to-day life. No-one being unable to fully decipher their Ogham writings, the Picts had resisted both Roman and Anglo-Saxon influence for a hefty amount of time. Sadly, they were later conquered and assimilated by the Vikings, as they had no allies on the British Isles.
4. Avars
Disputed of their origins, the Avars were nomadic tribe peoples that came from the lands of what is present-day Mongolia. Driven out of their ancestral lands, likely due to losing power to the Gokturk Khanate, the Avars began journeying westward to settle a place and call it home. Some had remained in the Caucasus, while others were employed by Byzantium emperor Justinian I to defend the northern borders of the empire. With the death of the emperor, the Avars were left unemployed, and had begun to settle in the Balkans, particularly in what would later be known as the Hungarian Basin. Forming a “ring” around the former capital of the Huns, the Avars began their raids from every direction. Yet as they were sedentary peoples, an iron fist was required to rule over them, and with the death of the one capable of doing so, the Avar Khaganate, met its’ end at the hands of the Franks.
5. Magyars
Like their Uralic ancestors, what would later be known as the Magyars (Hungarians even later), had begun a long and arduous journey in history to find a place to settle. Becoming subjects to the Khazar Khaganate, the Magyars would begin their journey once more, after a rebellion had broken the Khaganate. Seven chieftains, headed by the legendary Arpad, had learned much from the Alans along the way. How to garden, agriculture, as well as some elements of husbandry. Some Khazars allied with the Magyars, and together, they settled the Hungarian Basin. They wrestled for control of it from the Eastern Frankish Empire, Great Moravia as well as a principality of the Empire of Bulgaria. Over time, the Khazars that had joined the Magyars, and the Avars already present, swore fealty, and assimilated among the Magyars.