Kingdom of Caldeland

The Kingdom of Caldeland is peopled by the Calden, who organize themselves tribally. The native language, Cald, is spoken with little variation from County to County.

Politics

Caldeland is a tribal culture for the most part, whose tribes are each ruled by a Count who rules a County. These Counts all elect a King from their number to lead them in matters regarding inter-tribal affairs, and who speaks for the Kingdom with other countries. The Kings are elected based on popular support, related to how well their tribe fares. Constant scandals result in regular reshuffling of the King and even the Counts, but this does little to affect the stability of the Kingdom. Everybody expects Kings to do good things and bad things, and know that they can just replace a King that abuses his powers at will.

One of the most important institutions in maintaining the stability of the system are the shamans of Krolag, Spirit of Justice, who dispense rulings on legal conflicts. Most everyone is satisfied with the judgements that they hand down. At the base of the system are many personal freedoms that the common citizenry have. As long as these are not infringed upon, the typical Cald is happy with their leadership.

The Calden are typically peaceful, seeking only to trade with their neighbors, and become prosperous. At the moment, however, they are under attack by Goralik Empire who seeks to bring the Calden under their sway. The Calden have resisted well to this point, not wanting to fall under the Empire's iron fist. But the Empire has vast resources, and will probably be able to bring them to bear in time. Then Caldeland will fall, and it's people will lose the freedoms that they love so dearly.

Economy

The economy of Caldeland comes down mostly to simple agriculture and herding. The coastal areas are known for their fruit orchards. Cities are small, typically, and have few industries. The main Calden export is mechanical devices made by the Guild of Engineers. These are very valuable, but made in very small quantities. On the other hand, the Calden import trained horses in large numbers to support agriculture and in an attempt to grow a cavalry to defend the country (the heavy cavalry of the Empire is a major threat in battle). This results in a trade deficit that has weakened an already feeble economy quite a bit. The Counts have put a lot of money into growing the Guild of Engineers to make this industry stronger, and there are signs that this is working, and that this may go a ways to dealing with the trade deficit.

None of the wealth from this trading ends up in the hands of the commoners, however, who live a very basic lifestyle on average. Only the Nobles, Guildsmen, and Merchants see any of the benefits of these trade interactions.

Ecology

The Counties of the Kingdom are spread across a number of climates, all affected by their position on the sea, which tends to temper them all somewhat. Unfortunately for many places, the mountains to the north block a lot of moisture in the air, and droughts are common. Fortunately the sea-side orchards have fruits that are resistant to the droughts, which prevent them from becoming full-blown famines. Still cereal crops do fail, and hard times are not uncommon.

Most of the land between the cities and Counties is completely wild, often heavily forested, or swampy. These areas are infested with dangerous wildlife. Natural resources other than wood are scarce, with only a handful of mines in the whole kingdom, for example. There are probably plenty more in the mountains, but these places are usually so dangerous that nobody wants to even investigate them.

Culture

Highly Values: obedience

Known For: cuisine

Popular Entertainment: theatre

Respected Profession: government employee

Discrimination: religion-based

Major Taboo: hygiene

Major Social Ill: infidelity

The Calden value obedience, from sons to fathers, Guildsmen to Guild, and Counts to King. They take freely given oaths of obedience very seriously, as part of the structure of their culture that keeps it so stable, and which therefore maintains their freedoms in the first place.

Caldeland is known for its cuisine, which usually involves fruit combined with grain or meat staples, strongly seasoned. Mariners who reach their port never fail to partake of the local cooking.

The Calden have a long tradition of theater, one that is nearly universally enjoyed. This is not only an urban tradition, but even the smallest of villages will put on shows from time to time. The stories told are usually local legends or stories from myth that reinforce the local religious practices.

Those who work for the community in some fashion, such as guardsmen in cities, or wardens in more rural districts, are held in high esteem, as these positions are usually voluntary, and held in addition to some other profession. There is little governmental infrastructure due to this tradition of individuals taking care of such duties. On the other hand, each Count has their own personal cadre to help with administration, and these individuals are only held in as high esteem as is the Count for whom they work, typically.

The Calden believe that their shamans understand the universe well, and that the beliefs of other religions are very wrong. This opinion has only grown as the Empire presses down on the Calden, threatening to build their temples and worship their dark, dark gods. Outsiders are welcome enough in Caldeland, but those displaying their beliefs will face any number of possible negative reactions.

One particular thing the culture doesn't take to well is people cleaning themselves, which they see as dangerous (a slight to the local spirits of the land) and/or as a trait of the empire.

The religion of the area strongly promotes monogamy, but there is a strong tradition of wives cheating on their husbands with single men and foreigners, which leads to a lot of break-ups of families.

Motto

The Motto of the Calden is Authority, Genius, Humility.

Authority means that freedom is only maintained by giving obedience to those competent to be in charge. And changing who the authority is, if and when they show themselves to be less competent than thought.

Genius means that the culture honors those bright enough to bring benefits to their culture, such as the Guild of Engineers. And again, putting the right guy in charge at the right time.

Humility means that even the highest doesn't maintain his position unless he is doing it for the good of all. And that a lack of humility will bring a leader down fast.

Military

The Calden are renowned for their martial prowess, which is largely due to their units being largely comprised of berzerkers. These frightful warriors have no fear it seems, and fight tenaciously to their deaths wielding their traditional bladed spears. Many armies simply flee before such fierce onslaught. The only advantage that the Empire has over these powerful footman units (other than their sheer numbers and resources) is their heavy cavalry, which the Calden are countering by building up a cavalry of their own. The Calden cavalry is relatively light and untrained, but fights with the same berzerker spirit, and moves very swiftly.

Leaders are elected by the groups of men that assemble from each County to lead them, as is typical of the culture. If not enough men come, leaders may decide to institute a lottery draft until they feel that their unit has been rounded out appropriately.

When not at war, these units are raised from time to time to put down a County that tries to split off to form it's own Kingdom. Everyone realizes that it's important for the tribes to stay united in the face of their enemies, and fealty to the King is key to that.

Magic

Occurence: omnipresent

Source: granted by spirits

Major Use: travel

Viewed: as normal

Enchanted Items: very common

Religion

Type: monotheism

Focus: reincarnation

Worship: joyous public sacrifice by priests

Associated Artform: sculpture

Prevalence: believed by a few

Holidays: very few

Population

Urban: 44%

Rural: 56%

Literacy Rate: 5%

Gender Ratio: 1.36 male(s)/female

Fertility Rate: 5.1 children/family

Life Expectancy: 37.6 years

List of Counties

High Rainvale