according to "the hyborian age", "the cimmerians are tall and powerful, with dark hair and blue or grey eyes". they are a proto-celtic or proto-gaelic people. from the evidence in the stories, they appear to be partly or completely tribal hunter-gatherers, with no central government. as was the case with the ancient celts, the cimmerians are divided into clans who ceaselessly fight one another over resources, territory and to test themselves in battle. feuding between the clans is continuous unless the cimmerian people as a whole are faced with outside threats, such as when the country of aquilonia attempted to create the outpost of venarium within the boundaries of cimmerian territory.