Khale, the roots of the world

Flaming forest
The Dragon's Kita is a narrow strait between Khale and the northern
jungles. Because of its control over this strait and a mysterious substance
called moon metal, Khale has incurred the wrath of its southern neighbor
Ammen. Ammeni has been waging a war of attrition against Khale for
several years now.
The forests are sacred to the Khale people, who live in the shadow of
their sheltering canopies. A member of the tribe finds everything he needs
in the forest. He gets medicine and food from mushrooms and plants, deer
can be hunted and ridden, and bows and spears can easily be made from
fallen tree branches treated with pitch. Before the time of shadow, great
rope cities connected the forest. Since then, the remnants of the tribe have
lived in the land.
Khale is a barren land: its many rivers flow with the blood of cousins,
as numerous tribes fight for the domination of their own land and the
Ammenite forces push ever further north. There is unrest in the country as
many chiefs try to unite the tribes, but so far no one has succeeded.

A tribe is a family
The people of Khale are a vibrant and strong people. They have light skin
and usually have black, brown or red hair and green or brown eyes. The
people of Khale are tall and healthy, but the culture's uninhibited use of
pleasure substances makes some of them human ruins.
The people of Khale operate in tribes of two to forty people, and they
consider all members of the tribe to be family, not just blood relatives. In
fact, brothers living in different tribes are not considered related at all,
except in the sense that all Khalees are related to each other. With
marriage, men join their wife's tribe and become members of a new
family. In addition, outsiders, those without family, can become members
of the tribe through a naming ritual.
In a tribe, status is very important. Although the lineages are
matriarchal, positions of power rest with men. The chief of the tribe is
almost always a man, the husband of the oldest woman in the tribe, and his
advisers, usually the Bard and the best warrior of the tribe, are also
men. When two tribes fight, according to Khale law, a tradition as old as
the Khale, only the men of the tribe are allowed to fight. If a woman were
to be found in the ranks of the tribe, it would be a terrible disgrace to the
tribe and the tribe in question might well surrender.
The deep green peninsula of Khale is an echo of the greenery of Qek
beyond Hammasmere. The peninsula was once a stone's throw from Qek's
Hungry River, but the Shadow Age earthquakes detached it from the
mainland when the river tore into the sea. Qek is still nearby and relations
between the peoples are friendly, even to the extent that the people of
Khale consider themselves related to the people of Qek.

Cousins ​at war

Each tribe governs itself in Khale, makes its own laws and occupies its
own territory. The Year of Shadow scattered the old tribes. Since then,
many of the new tribes have been at war with each other over land that
each claims as their own by inheritance.
 However, Ammeni started taking over Khale a few years ago. Many
tribal leaders have tried to unite the tribes to destroy the alien warriors
who are systematically clearing the forests on the southern border of
Khale. No true leader has yet emerged, and the people of Khale are
shrinking and weakening year by year. One unexpected side effect of the
war against the Ammenites has been that some women have become
warriors. This causes tension between the tribes.

We are the forest

The forests of Khale are wet and dense, but they range from sun-dappled
jungle to evergreen ravens. The forests of Khale are worshiped as
ancestors. Every tree in a tribe's territory is believed to be a fallen member
of the tribe that has been reborn as part of the land. (This further incites
tribal wars over the land, as each tribe believes the trees in the land to be
their own ancestors.) The ancient and legendary tree growing in the center
of Khale is said to be the mighty King Khale, the unifier of the entire
peninsula and the lands beyond, and of all present-day Khalees. father.
Khale's art culture is one of the most vibrant in the Middle East,
probably because the people of Khale regard making art as
worship. Although the paintings and sculptures of the Khalees are
beautiful, their music and stories, which overlap each other, are
particularly good. Their stories and songs usually tell of heroic ancestors,
though these are usually exaggerated or entirely made up, depending on
who you ask. (The Khalees insist that all their stories are true, although
one of their favorite sayings is, "The story should be told as it should have
happened.") Often the whole tribe dresses up and puts on a play that tells
the story of the ancient Khale. They can even bring other friendly tribes
into the play.
Religion revolves around festivals. These are gatherings where a tribe
- or several friendly tribes - gather for multi-day celebrations to celebrate
their past. All festivals tell stories about the mighty deeds of
ancestors. This is done ritually around the fire. In these rituals, there is
competition, when tribal priests, or bards, try to outdo each other with
fantastic stories. Bards are part priests and part artists. They have a special
position in the culture of the Khalees, as they are immune to inter-tribal
conflicts. When two tribes clash, the bards of each tribe meet and record
the story of the skirmish as the battle progresses. Killing a bard is a crime
and the sentence is usually death.
In Khale, magic is accepted and most people find it
fascinating. Khale bards and alien wizards (called druids by the Khaleese)
are highly respected and use magic freely. It is said that every Bard learns
three perfect chords in his lifetime: one brings tears of sorrow, another
turns sorrow into tears of joy, and the third puts the listeners to sleep.

Tribal arms
In the tribes, farming and hunting are both honorable occupations, and
craftsmen and artists are respected. The skill of Khale craftsmen to forge
sharp swords and carve strong tools and weapons from resin-treated wood
is legendary.
The Khaleans trade metal tools with the Qek, and their boats sail as
far as Jalna and Goren to trade spices that do not grow in the cold of these
lands. Many young Khaleese men who have lost their families have
remained permanently in the crews of ships and even become
pirates. Puinen Sirppi is a famous ship of young pirates that has raided the
coast of Ammen.
 The Khaleans like to drink and bring large quantities of beer from
Maldor and Goren and wine from Orania. They are also known to grow
marijuana, which is smoked for its hallucinogenic and relaxing
effects. This drug is said to produce epic stories from heroes and increase
sexual desire.

Other species in Khale

Like the qeks they claim to be related to, the khals have no problems
relating to other species. There are Hiisi tribes everywhere in Khale and
locals call them Maahis. The Khaleans find them amusing rather than
annoying. Elves are viewed with pity and suspicion: they are believed to
be the seeds of fallen ancestors who did not take root but now roam the
world. There aren't many rats in Khale because they live in cities, but there
is a rumor of one tribe in Khale that is made up entirely of rats.
At a certain age, Khale men (and why not women too) like to sail to
distant shores to trade and plunder. Although the Khale culture is
otherwise self-sufficient, these voyages make the Khaleese explorers
comparable to the Ammenites.

Green world
In the forests of Khale there is another, mystical world. This is the greatest
secret of the Khalees, and it is forbidden to share it with outsiders. Ancient
trees that are so big that three men can't climb hand in hand to encircle the
tree can be used as gateways to the Green World. This Green World is a
maze of paths. Some paths are so small that you have to crawl through
them, and some can fit five people standing abreast. The walls of these
caves are of living wood, pale and textured, and glow with a dim green
light. When the Fire of Heaven descended, many Khaleans fled to the
Green World and built cities in its vast caverns. These cities are now dead
and are said to be haunted. In the cities, gnarled trees grow, the trunks of
which show distorted human faces.
The green world covers the entire Khale and through it you can move
anywhere in the country, as long as you have a guide with you. The time
of arrival is then its own chapter: experienced travelers rarely have
problems, but those who get lost in the Green World may find themselves
in a completely different time. Bards sometimes travel these corridors to
earlier times to speak with their ancient ancestors, though none have been
able to travel to the period that began a hundred years before the Shadow
Age and ended a year after.
According to legends, King Khale himself roams these halls: he is a
great old man with a moss-like beard and scaly hands. Presumably, he or
other mighty ancestors can guide a wanderer to any time and place
through these halls, or grant great gifts as long as the wanderer completes
a task, which is usually a retelling of that ancestor's previous
adventure. During festivals, tribes sometimes send their mightiest bards
and warriors to complete a mission and seek success over their enemies.
As war engulfs the Khale from the south, some tribes have moved
entirely to the Green World, leaving the lands of the Khale behind. Their
big mistake is that the Green World cannot live alone: ​it is made up of the
forests of Khale, and when the forest dies, it dims and shrinks.

Moon metal
After the year of the shadow, a group of explorers found a forest in
northern Khale that does not resemble any other forest. Metal grew out of
the ground, shining like bright silver and growing branches like
trees. This, Khale's only metal, is said to be a piece of the shadow moon
that fell to the ground. Whatever it is, it has taken root and is growing in
the face of a natural forest.
Moon metal is easy to shape and is deadly sharp and strong. When
heated in a fire, it responds to the user's will and morphs into any good
quality metal object (automatic +1 weapon or shield). However, it breaks
the user's relationship with the Green World. If a character even comes
into contact with moon metal, he takes one penalty die on tree alliance
checks. Each day the character is in contact with moon metal, penalty dice
increase. There can be a maximum of five of them. To remove one penalty
die, you need to spend five Purity points and five Instinct points. (These
points do not need to be used all at once if the character does not have that
many.) The green world cannot be entered if the character is in possession
of moon metal.

Resources
The cultural talents of the Khaleans are flexible and versatile - the war
with Ammen has brought out the nation's intransigence. Guerrilla Warfare
(Instinct) , Spear Fighting (Pure) and Disguise (Instinct) are all capable of
causing difficulties for Ammen's Legion.
In addition to music and storytelling, the key abilities of the Khaleese
bard are Sukutieto (reason) and tree association (instinct) , a skill that
opens the way to the Green World. An alternative to these traditions
is moonsmithing (sense) , the art of working moon metal more
immediately useful in war.
Khale arts are typical of forest-dwelling savages, and perhaps more
mundane than some other cultures. The art of embracing the forest is a
good example.
Khale is at his most visible in bard-dominated arts of perfect chord
and those related to the Green World, such as forest path arts . Fast power
is provided by the art of the moon core and other powers related to moon
metal.
The tribe is the heart of Khale culture. So these keys , the key of the
tribe and the key of the lost child , concern the character's relationship with
his tribe.
Finally, the game-technical effects of marijuana, an important drug
for the people of Khaleda:

The effects of marijuana

Herb

one penalty die to reason-based abilities

heightened sense of touch (two bonus dice to some charm uses, one penalty dice to all resistance rolls
against seduction or physical torture).

(See the Ammen chapter on page 116 for more information on the
game's drug mechanics.)

Distant shores
The neighborhood is your world. Not only that the local differences even
within the nations are large and nothing is told about a large part of the
Near East in this book, it is even more desirable that the players make
changes to what is said here. So nothing prevents you from bringing your
own attractive ideas and cultures to Lähistö.
The people of Khale are a curious and adventurous people, whose
men tend to leave their homes at some point in their lives and sail to
distant lands. Despite the war and Ammen's trade embargo, this custom
still continues, and Khale's long boats also bring war supplies from all
over the Near East.
Due to this way of traveling the world, when creating a Khalean
character, the player can choose to decide that the character has spent time
in the side culture. A side culture is any culture in the Near East that has
relatively little material and resources, or is otherwise out of the focus of
the campaign. It doesn't have to be small or weak per se: even Maldor
could be a side culture if the campaign is set in the jungles of the north.
A Khalean character can learn the skills, arts, and keys of the
subculture they know just like the original inhabitant. Examples can be
found in the Resources section starting on page 145.
Creating new nations is good to start with a side culture because it
doesn't have to carry many characters. You can always supplement the
culture later, often based on game experiences! Here are some examples of
side cultures in whose ports Khalean ships could have landed:

Goren, Saints of the Highlands

In Goren, God and lesser spirits are believed to reside on the high peaks of
the World Roof. Only the holiest men climb the highest slopes, others are
content to mine, herd and farm on the hills of the highlands.

Inselburg, the beacon of freedom

A fishing nation hardened by the freezing winds of the south, which was
once the center of trade across the Baltic Sea of ​Maldor. Inselburg rose in
rebellion during Absolon's reign, and it is widely believed in the islands
that the skyfire was a sign of their victory.

Orania, the forgotten settlement

Orania was once the farthest part of the empire. In the Year of Darkness,
the legendary General Kalder saved the colony from destruction. Now the
country is a city-state centered on the city of Calderon, combining aspects
of Maldor and the nomads of the Plains.

Shar-tek, guardians of the mountain

The Shar-tek are mountain aliens in the Near East. They are few in
number and live in isolated, developed cities in the jungles of Qek. The
Council of Elders leading Shar-tek is committed to guarding Mount Shar-
tek. It is said that Absolon's tomb would be there.