Golgóssa

Golgóssa is one of the six continents. It was the fourth to be populated.

## Geography

Golgóssa is a continent-wide forest. The rolling hills and towering mountains of this land are all entirely covered with healthy trees of every kind, the tallest of which are well over 100 meters tall, some over 40 meters wide.

Since the invasion of Arfaxad, its lush beauty has been marred by fire. Whole provinces of trees have been burned to the ground to make room for Arfaxad mines, quarries and cities. But before the forest was colonized, the continent had a network of vine bridges, allowing travelers to journey from city to city without their feet ever touching the ground, where the dangerous fauna might pose problems. And their cities resided up there in the trees, too: with giant platforms encircling the towering redwoods, houses carved out of living sekoias, and countless hamoks hanging from the branches of mammoth redpines. In the south, especially on Tellarnath, there were also whole cities on docks.

The geography of the forest is split into two regions: the coast and the interior. The coastal regions are covered with a welcoming forest, redwoods in the west, redpines in the east, and palms on Tellarnath. Slipping on the crags at the foot of a mountain, or getting lost among the lianas are the worst of your worries. The interior, however, has far more treacherous dangers. Sharp bluffs, frigid mountaintops, quicksand, thorny snares, venus mantraps, and carnivorous game pose hazards for the unprepared voyager. A sharp mountain range called the Shelf divides the coast from the interior.

## Climate

The north of Golgóssa gets ample snow in the winter, while the south remains hot, but sees heavy rains. The rest of the continent sees a mild winter and mild summer, which makes for comfortable living year-round. Huge storms from the Maratim seas sometimes break against the Forest’s eastern shores.

## Resources

Wood, plenty of wood. A vast amount of fruits, vegetables, herbs, plants, alchemical ingredients. There are also luminous crystals that are unique to the deep caves of the forest: eyestone, firestone, seastone, heartstone, sunstone, moonstone, starstone, thunderstone, and fearstone. There’s ample ore that has not been mined: tin, copper, iron, kobalk. However, the native Woodkin did not mine. Nor did they farm. They live entirely off the fruits of the living forest.

## Fauna

There are Woodkin names for every animal. Kaífloru, the green heron. Nogrol, the armored bat. Yehfloteh, the mist moth. Mukhrum, the sound-eating glowing mushroom. Samboru, the Maya trance-bear, also known as the hexabear for the hexagonal hallucinations it inspires. Shésaka, the fire fox. Akufloru, the iridescent fish. Silnoren, the albino snake. Gorak, the boar. Flobora, the otter. And lastly, the Elk, the Tasí or Tasíboru, the very symbol of Golgóssa. There are many breeds: mosselk, amberelk, silverelk, yiltelk, sinderelk, tawnelk. There’s also a vast population of birds nesting in the high canopy of the forest: the Hanhar, the best singers, whose feathers are dotted with complex patterns; the Mimiku who have fur, not feathers; and the prolific songwriters, the tealjay. Some fish: Red haku, Pekari, Makerel, Kohogs, Sandy Straits, and Merlin, the hermits of the sea.

Insects: dozens of types of spiders, beetles, bees, moths. The forest-dwelling Mossmoth (eucyclodes discipennata). The playful indigo Mistmoth, dwelling near mist. And the clothing-eating, urban-living Slikmoth.

## Flora

Mostly deciduous trees (most evergreens are indigenous to Mekthnel), and Cedars are indigenous to the Cliffs! Popular trees that needs mentioning: the Salik Alba, the Nitabush [similar to manzanita], the Kalabash that grows the gourds, the Amari, Pupanarí, Narsisus, Hrasinth, Krokus, the Rose, Pallid pallor, Aspen, Redpine, Birch, Sumak, Yew, Arbutus, Poplar, Sekoya, Redwood, Fern [green, yellow, purple], and the psychotropic Koribush [Hickory].

Some ingredients for herbal medicine, inspired by:

http://www.cancerlynx.com/BOOKONEAROMATICS.PDF

Dictamnus: also called Dikthamus in the tundra. Believed to have certain magical effects, such as being immune to iron weapons (a lie) and curses. Though it will cure a body of iron poisoning, as well as bestowing sexual virility to both men and women.

Kardamon: Said to cure male baldness, but is more successfully used to clear skin from acne, warts, psoriasis, impetigo, tshiken pox, and tinea versicolor. Also called tongue grass.

Malacatron: Page 17. Fends off silkmoths when placed between clothes. Can be ground up to use as breath freshener. Grows all over the forest. Reddish when wet, white when dry. Best effects when dry, but takes a long time in the sun.

## People

The native Golgóssan populace are known collectively as the Woodkin, although truly there are numerous different “people”. There’s been so much intermixing between them that one would be hard-pressed to distinguish any racial groups, apart from two major strains: the freckled black folk of the coasts, and the darker black folk of the interior. They’ve been named the Vérabír and the Fórabír respectively by the eugenicists of the Cliffs, but no one uses these terms in the forest. They’re all “Woodkin.”

Though their skin is invariably dark, Woodkin all have quite bright eyes; often green, yellow, hazel, and on rare occasion blue, often all mixed together. They are known to be agile, slender, and observant. They are welcoming of strangers and are slow to temper. They excel in the Apollonian arts, especially music and storytelling, but they are also cast as fickle, skittish, lazy, and unpredictable.

## History

Ancient. Before the Rings crashed, Hrathid claimed the most thriving continent as his own. It was then home to enormous beasts with mal-intent, created by Wayward thoughts of the Ringpeople and banished from the Rings. The planet herself, an entity the Woodkin call Kobessa, accepted the beasts with grace, promising to transform them into loving beings of their own. That is what Kobessa does: bring darkness to light.

But four beasts did not want to change, and remained full of mal-intent. These were called the Stólid, and Hrathid shot his arrows from the Rings and killed them. His arrows impaled the Stólid, and became the first trees; what were called the Four Zúten Pilta, or “Alpha Trees” which gave birth to all species of vegetation across the planet. These Zúten Pilta were said to give off a calming purr, and their sap--called ambrosia--was like milk and honey combined.

When the Rings collapsed, the people of Golgóssa had it easiest. Hrathid’s arrows had already grown and spread across the continent, providing them with easily accessible sources of food. At first, they lived in harmony with the fauna, none of which were descended from the four Stólid beasts.

The earliest rivers were made of ambrosia from the Zúten Pilta, and the people grew strong from drinking it. But Hrathid worried the Woodkin might drink too much ambrosia, and so he traded the sapin tree to Vesta in exchange for glaciers to place in the forest’s highest mountains, which would feed the rivers and lakes after the ambrosia went dry.

The Woodkin at first lived only around the coast, because they were afraid of leaving the water. But Hrathid won three Kalabash seeds from his lover Qualito, by challenging her to a game of wits. Qualito always believed she was wiser so she was unafraid, but Hrathid was wiser because he drank from a secret oasis in the Sands that bestows ageless wisdom. He planted the Kalabash seeds in Golgossa and his people had gourds to carry water with them wherever they went, so they were free to venture deeper into the forest and began creating the first Treecities.

The Woodkin found themselves contending with dangerous creatures of the forest. Some believed the Stólid had survived, taking the shape of wolverines, bears, piranhas, and anakondas. In the year 533 AF, a woman named Volíra Sinflóru began building an enormous network of vinebridges connecting all the Treecities in the continent, so travelers wouldn’t have to contend with the beasts of the forest floor.

Meanwhile, the ancient Maratim empire built colonies on the southern isles of Golgóssa, and by 636 AF had an imperial presence on Tellarnath and the south coasts of the mainland. The Woodkin at this point were entirely peaceful, and had no words for war, so they did not even consider fighting back. The presence of the Pelagoans on the coasts might explain the slightly paler, freckled complexion of the coastal Woodkin. But the Pelagoans also brought their religion, the cult of Zarex, the Conquest of Death. Thus, there is an ancient shrine to Zarex hidden on Tellarneth. But old Maratar’s presence changed the Woodkin society more significantly than giving them freckles and a hidden shrine. It’s widely believed that this period was the origin of the Woodkin apothekas, the famous alchemy labs where shamans brew magical ointments that can accelerate the healing of nearly any wound or sickness. Apart from the elixirs of Maratar, these ointments are by far the best remedies on the planet. Moreover, the cult of Zarex introduced violence to the forest. First, the Maratim taught the Woodkin how to hunt the animals with bow and arrow, and showed them how to use animal tallow, tendons, and hair for special medicinal remedies. The venom of the snake was especially revered. The hallucinations induced by small doses of this venom gave birth to the Woodkin cult, the People of the Snake, or the Keí,kusaí, who believed the life consisted of a constant war to remain alive. Life was called the Feral Hunt. These were the initial Maya of the Fourth Way.

The Maratim religion of the Künrekthnïr actually originates here, in Golgóssa. According to myth, a Hematite Orb fell on Tellarnath one winter night. Zarex himself heard of this mysterious orb, and the Keí,kusaí’s adoration of it. They claimed the orb whispered in their minds. In fact, this orb was created by Hrathid, as an amplifier of telepathy, and the whispers they heard were from him. In the year 666 AF, Zarex came to steal the orb, but Hrathid stopped him. They knew fighting would solve nothing; two immortals can fight for centuries with no winner. So instead, they played a game of Fourbeads for the orb. Through deceit Zarex won, and thereafter Maratar left the forest with the orb in tow.

With Maratar gone, the Svaikusai created a violent society obsessed with bloodshed and bloodlines. High priests performed ritualistic cannibalism. Virgins were sacrified in gruesome ceremonies honouring the winter solstice. Their warriors wore Konda scales, and Geko skin. In trances induced by the venom of albino vipers, their shamans made prophecies of the moon dripping fire upon the forest, scorching every tree, and all life dying. They worshipped Hrathid, not as the clever piper of the woods, but as the blood-drenched demon of the hunt.

Hrathid, looking down upon the horror that had taken root in his forest, and the bloody depictions they made of him, decided to intervene. In the year 914 AF, he summoned the most powerful warriors across the continent for a contest. When they all appeared in his cave in the heart of the forest, the challenge was revealed: whoever could kill a beautiful silver-elk would be crowned the greatest warrior and receive his most luminous sword, Ampshí. All the warriors hesitated, because even in their bloodthirsty minds, the silver-elk was a sacred being that induced the deepest tranquility in their hearts and made them soft. But one of the warriors, a child named Wóparsen, killed the silver-elk. He believed this was a test, meant to see who can overcome their own emotions, to reject the softness of the heart, and embrace the hard purpose of the mind. But Hrathid wept for the dead elk, and told them the lesson was exactly the opposite. He showed them the power of compassion, and taught them the Fourth Way. Wóparsen, who was so struck with guilt that he wept for four days, became Hrathid’s most devoted student, and despite killing the silver-elk, was awarded Ampshí.

Thus the people of the Snake become the People of the Sky. The Svaikusai became the Kaikusai. And once they learned the Way of the Heart from Hrathid, they sent emissaries out to all the Treecities of the forest, and converted the whole continent to this new compassionate worldview, acting as therapists, healers, and public speakers for the layfolk. In one short generation, the whole population became largely vegan, anti-war, and ceased consuming venom. The People of the Sky were heroes, affectionately called the Windbearers.

The first beadsheets were created in this period, detailing the formation of the world from the primordial Fog by the Four Winds. Treatises on love were composed: one calling love the “upward spiral.” The Story of Woparsen became a favourite tale of the early Windbearers. The tales of the Seven immortals were also sketched during this time. Chief among them was the prophecy of the endtimes, and the return of the Seventh, who would erase their memory and live among the mortals. It was revealed that the Mentor of the Seventh, the Teacher of Teachers, will be born to a Windbearer, who will one day will deliver an iridescent wooden artefact called the Sigil, which was carved from the fallen Alpha Trees, to the enigmatic Seventh, who would wear the Sigil like a necklace so the world might recognize them when they return.

Precolonial. The Windbearers spread their Way of the Heart across the continent in a process called the Softening. And although veganism became prevalent, not all aspects of mainstream society were successfully softened. At this point, there were a number of competing monarchies in the forest, and although they all wanted to unite into one larger nation, none of them could decide which monarchy would rule. In the year 2410 AF, a famous Windbearer named Dodamba toured the forest, convincing many monarchs to lay down their crowns and unite with their neighbors. Not all monarchs agreed.

After some short wars, the Woodkin organized themselves into two nations; the interior, and the coast. In the year 3203 AF, the two nations warred for supremacy in a century-long conflict called the Shelf War. The Windbearers refused to take sides, and promoted peace everywhere they could. They gladly accepted apostles from both nations, leading to mistrust from both monarchs, and rumors of Windbearer spies.

It was forbidden to cross the border at that time. Windbearers hated this; they tried desperately to host peace summits, but they accidentally sparked battles with these efforts. An uneasy truce was struck in 3444 AF, but broken again in 3622, when the famous architect from the tundra called Alekthar crossed the Spine and came to the forest. He wanted to build an enormous structure in the forest, and the monarch of the interior allowed him to do so, much to the jealousy of the coastal monarch, whose spies were captured inside the construction site. The forest was on the brink of all-out war--until a young Windbearer named Darenpoy left Hrathid’s cave for his Versing in 3907 AF. The mystical artefact called the Sigil was stolen by a dour Windbearer named Gótanda, and Darenpó was dispatched to retrieve it. Pó followed the villain Gótanda for years, covertly crossing into the coastal nation, and sailing to Tellarnath, where he killed Gótanda in combat and retrieved the Sigil. But on his return journey, he encountered an apparition of the Seventh, who tasked Pó with ending the Shelf War and uniting the forest. So, Poy presented himself before the king of the coast, pleading that the king end the Shelf War by marrying his eldest daughter to a prince of the interior. Poy was arrested under suspicions of being an assassin and a propagandist of the interior, and was put in prison for life. While in prison, the king’s eldest daughter visited him, the freckled beauty Amossa, who learned that Poy was a Windbearer, and demanded that he teach her how to bear the Wind. Suffice it to say, the two fell madly in love during her visits to his cell. After learning of this illicit tryst, the king decided to execute Poy, but Amossa protected her lover, demanding that she be killed first. The power of this public drama shook the coastal nation, and resulted in the king committing public suicide, Amossa taking the throne, and marrying Darenpoy, thus ending the Shelf War!

Colonial. In the year 3917 AF, during the most lavish wedding the Forest had ever seen, where the two nations merged as one, and celebrated together as siblings, a Shaman received a sudden vision. She foretold of the coming invasion from the Cliffmen, who would burn their cities, murder the Windbearers, and turn all Woodkin into serfs on their manors. Darenpoy, at his own wedding, volunteered to lead an army of the finest archers and the bravest Windbearers in the forest. They flew on a fleet of airships to meet their enemy directly, who arrived on a galleon of seaships. But the battle was short, and Darenpoy died, leaving the Sigil in Amossa’s care. She fled to Hrathid’s cave, whose location was already a well-kept secret. The heroic story of Darenpoy was erased by the Arfaxad victors, and for centuries the Woodkin lived as serfs, second-class citizens in their own land, after tasting the bliss of a free and united forest for so brief a moment.

The colonial regime made it their first priority to control the Windbearers, who were not initially killed like the Eldershaman predicted. The Windbearers were simply marginalized and banned from speaking publically. There were some skirmishes in this early period, between the colonial Centurions and some brave Windbearers who resisted assimilation into the Commonwealth. But Arfaxad learned that the Windbearer’s power was closely tied to the health of the trees, and so they began burning whole provinces of the Forest to weaken their enemy’s power before battle. Watching his precious Forest burn, Hrathid was said to weep for 100 years.

The ancient Treecities were all burned to the ground; the Woodkin ensurfed; and all remaining Windbearers went into hiding in their concealed caves. Thus began the colonial era.

The Event. The Gap opened in Din Legossa and according to the Windbearers, the woods go mad. The Wind speaks horrible prophecies, recalling the fire falling from the moon predicted by the People of the Snake.

Taboo of the Maya. Immediately after the Event, when the Taboo of the Maya is instated, the settler Golgóssans begin a new tradition called The Feral Hunt. Many a bard’s tale is sung about the brave colonial heroes of the Feral Hunt, who went on expeditions into the deep forest to seek out the concealed caves of the Windbearers. One by one, these caves are “hollowed out,” which means their inhabitants are massacred.

In the year 333 AE, the printing press is invented in the Cliffs, and other technological advancements follow. By the year 444 AE, the Feral Hunt is officially over, and all Windbearers are believed dead. By the year 600, the presence of the Windbearers becomes a distant memory, and most citizens of the Commonwealth believe that the Maya are nothing more than bard’s tales. Even their own Parsons of the Fifth Way are nothing but sad zealots to the secular layfolk. However, in 682 AE, when the colonial miners uncover the massive structure built by the architect Alekthar, and begin blasting away the gargantuan redpines of the area, the surviving Windbearers finally come out of hiding. They begin a series of covert acts of eco-terrorism against the colonial mines, and in the year 700 AE the Second Feral Hunt officially begins. To the colonist, the name Windbearer is synonymous with terrorist. But the Windbearers are prepared; they strike from the shadows with insane guile and accuracy. They prove to be nearly impossible to track back to their caves. But with enough time, more caves are discovered and hollowed out. By the year 1000 AE, all but one last cave is hollowed out--the cave where Amossa hid the Sigil, and where Hrathid first taught the Fourth Way to Woparsen. The Windbearers of this cave are incredibly proficient, and they strike against the colonial project with devastating success. This greatly slows Arfaxad’s technological progress.

But the colony does not grind to a halt entirely. During this period, new cities are made, Great Dins in the style of the vertical cities of the Cliffs, but also broad Gols, smaller cities in a hybrid style, incorporating aspects of the indigenous architecture upon flat ground or atop hills.

The last Windbearers continue to attack the colonial mines and quarries, but the Arfaxadi military become more concerned with their “Slow War” against the Maratim empire. In the year 1300 AE, Maratar attempt to capture Tellarnath, but fail. In 1750, there is a surf uprising in Tellarnath which is put down with force by Arfaxad. But in the year 1785, serfdom is officially abolished in the Commonwealth, and Woodkin are recognized as equal citizens under Commonwealth law. This is the beginning of a new multicultural Golgóssan society. Woodkin rise up in the Volumes (class), some becoming prominent political and business figures, while others emigrate to the Cliffs. Racism grows less explicit, although it’s a slow process. During the era of Woodkin serfdom, enpatroned Woodkin took the name of their patron cliff (deCorus, deTeltic), and were free. But after abolition of serfdom, Woodkin can take the name deGossa.

In the 1900s, there is a revival of interest in Windbearer architecture and aesthetics, from both Woodkin and Cliffmen alike. Old beadsheets and other artefacts are discovered in hidden caches, and assembled in a national museum in Din Légossa. This is a period called the Wind Revival. The Black Simians, an anti-colonial political movement, emerge out of this revival. At first, the Simians hold peaceful protests, but gradually they become a military group with chapters building autonomous settlements in the woods. It is rumored some Black Simians make contact with the last surviving Windbearers cave and organize eco-terrorist attacks together.

The 1900s sees the decay of what’s called the Manorial System (feudalism). The loss of the Woodkin serfs put a great strain on the economic base of this system, and a proto-capitalist merchant class are slowly gaining power throughout the century. By the 1960s, when Talim Windbearer is born, the last remnants of the Manorial System are nearly gone, and the Black Simians have more power than ever, led by the charismatic and zealous woman nicknamed Feral Fíona.

Notable Names. Wóparsen. Dódamba. Darenpó. Talim Windbearer. Líra Windbearer. Akwaka. Fíona Ferúl.

## Politics

Precolonial: there were competing monarchies. Under Arfaxad, the forest is ruled by a Duke and his court, who are semi-autonomous of the King of the Cliffs, the Arcon.

## Economy

Similar to European feudalism when Arfaxad invade. By late 1900s AE, the woods are transitioning to capitalism.

## Law

Golgóssa is subject to Arfaxad law. But the influence goes both ways: the Law of Precedents guarantees whatever changes are made in the colonies must also be made in the Cliffs. Slavery was illegal, but serfdom was imposed upon the Woodkin. Unlike peasants, who were poor but free to live in villages, serfs were tied to the land they were tasked with tilling for their Earls. However, serfdom was made illegal in 1785 AE in Golgóssa, and thus triggering largely change in the law of the entire Commonwealth. By the 1900s AE, feudalism is in its death throes. The old draconian laws of the feudal era are slow to change, so there’s vast differences in how the law is executed by its individual agents, the Pandects.

Pandects are entirely separate from the Centurions, who are the soldiers of the Commonwealth. Pandects are in some senses above Centurions, who they can command to apprehend citizens they believe to be criminals. Pandects are lawyer-police hybrids, who go about seeking lawbreakers at their own will, with the freedom to investigate anything they choose. They use darbies to subdue their victims. Single and double varieties are available to them. All citizens must co-operate with the Pandects in all inquiries, which obviously opens the way to vast abuses of their power. Pandects only receive the Silver Badge and their darbies when the Earl’s Court decides they have good character and understanding of the law. Pandects mostly deal with village and city life, whereas the Centurions deal with hunting brigands and Black Simians in the wilderness. Pandects mostly concern themselves with sniffing out Black Simian or Windbearer sympathizers (a crime punishable by law) and drugdealers. Drugs are highly illegal across the Commonwealth. Grass is illegal but largely tolerated. Kori, Venom, and Silósibin are not tolerated.

## Class

Pre-colonial Golg,góssa was replete with guilds, and the government’s main concern was finding everyone a vocation that they were passionate about. People wanted for very little, since everyone lived in a hammock and ate the fruits right off the branch. Thus, the only real classes were the royalty, labourers, and the treeless (homeless). After Arfaxad invaded, their class system was adopted, with its clearly designated Volumes: the Highest Volume were called Speaking Volume. They participated in the Votes, and included politicians, business leaders, guildmasters, and court bards. They are clearly distinguished by their scarves tucked into their belts. Raised Volume were landlords, journeymen, business owners, traveling bards, and successful merchants. Flat Volume was the designation for the average citizen, which included salt farmers, labourers, apprentices, children, and provincial bards. Low Volume, what are often called Whispers, we might call the lumpenproletariat: the treeless, paupers, drunks, kori addicts, brigands, those Woodkin who live in the makeshift camps deep in the woods without political representation at all, and worst of all: failed bards.

## Currency

Arfaxad currency, called collectively Speech. The lowest denomination are silver Strokes (small silver triangles). 10 Strokes make one Copper Word, a coin with a triangular space that can fit a silver Stroke. 10 Words are worth one Bronze Phrase, a triangular shaft that can fit 10 Words around it. The rarer denominations are: Glass Graphs, triangular prisms which can fit around a Bronze Phrase loaded with 10 Copper Words around it, and lastly, the Chrome Tome, which is a pyramid that can fit a Glass Graph within. Some Speaking Volume folk put such large currency on display in their home, as they are constructed with extreme artisanal prowess.

## Military

Historically, the best archers in the world come from Golgóssa. And although the Windbearers are decidedly not warriors, they have been known to engage in combat when needed, and fought alongside Woodkin archers when the Cliffs invaded. They use their stone swords not as melee weapons but as “fetishes” to focus their manipulation of the Wind. After the colonization by Arfaxad, Golgóssa’s military are the Centurions, armed with silver pikes, rapiers, and crossbows.

## Technology

Golgóssa’s natives appeared to the cultured eyes of Arfaxad to be utter primitives. The Woodkin didn’t have metallurgy or livestock when Arfaxad arrived. But they did have an insanely sophisticated woodcarving technology. They were able to make all kinds of contraptions with wood, like alarm clocks, musical instruments, aqueducts, airships (which required Windbearers to lift them), as well as booby traps, locks, and hidden doors. One is tempted to invent a term like “Woodpunk” to describe these Woodkin innovations.

## Transportation

Golgóssans were prolific boatmakers, but they preferred to travel by elkback, sometimes by elk-drawn wagon. In the days before Arfaxad’s colonization, most travelers used the vast network of vinebridges to travel the continent.

## Communication

Windbearers are excellent long-distance telepaths, whispering messages on the Wind. Those Windbearers who were not proficient telepaths instead whispered messages to tealjays, who brought them to their target. But for the layperson, communication was largely accomplished face-to-face. The written word was very seldom used to communicate at distances.

## Medicine

The ointments of the Windbearers were famous, however they disappeared with Arfaxad’s arrival. Now the tinctures of the herbalists are the best medicine the continent knows. But one thing has not changed: the Woodkin discuss every disease, parasite, and illness as an autonomous being worthy of love.

## Cuisine

Largely vegan cuisine. Kinwa, mukhrums, katsu sauce, almond sauce, prika sauce, firedrop sauce, suma soup, nita soup, miso soup, soi bean, sprout bean. Use of kado oil to cook. A very common food is flatbread made from barley, served with green hummus. Arfaxad learned how to make green wine from the raingrapes, and introduced seafood into the Forest diet. Fruits are extremely common food: Raingrapes, Sunkones, Pinepears, Kitrus, Firedrops, Firmelons, gori berries, ice berries, heart berries, sprig berries. Some truly weird dessert resulted from the Golgóssan hybridization with Arfaxad cuisine: Honey anchovies, maple wafers, glazed hibiscus, firedrop marsipan, kitrus flan. Golgóssa  is best known for its salts. There is a huge culture of salt in the native cuisine, and Arfaxad greatly desired this salt, which was one of the many reasons for their colonial invasion. There are a number of types of salt, most of which come from the salt flats on Tellarnath: Bole salt is the most common, but there’s also Amossa’s Tears, Whiterun Salt, Tomkat Salt, Blaksand Salt, Siltsand salt, Liana salt, Snowdust salt, Quagmire salt, and the spicy Firedrop salt.

## Fashion

Golgóssan fashion is colourful. The coastal culture are not afraid showing skin, living barefoot, and wearing vibrant sashes, vests, and dresses made from hemp. With the arrival of Arfaxad, their vaguely European dress was combined with the Woodkin style: with silk becoming the most prized material. Tattoos, especially white tattoos, were reserved for the Windbearers.

## Language

The indigenous languages are very rarely used on the continent after Arfaxad’s colonization. One of those languages is Kaikúsai. That language is composed of meaningful syllables which are put in combination to make words with often multiple meanings. The language is thus replete with word play, poetic imagery, and ambiguity. “Gol” means village in the native tongue, but “Gó” means gift, and “Gós” means exchange, while “Sa” means mind, or energy. So the word Golgóssa can mean either “the village of exchanging energy,” or “the village of generous minds.” Their curse words revolve around Windbearers culture: Windtaken, Off your gourd, Koltsaní (charred tongues, an ancient form of torture). After colonization, people use Arfaxadi’s vulgar curse words: elkshit, for example.

## Music

Golgóssans love their music. They have no shortage of unique instruments. The hempharp, the hempiskord, the waterpipe, the bowed vilona, the gongdrum, the klavé, the tarp jambé, the firestone symbals, and of course, dozens upon dozens of varieties of flutes and woodwinds. The human voice, of course, remains central to their music.

## Myth

Myths in Golgóssa often center on a single character.

The story of Woparsen: one of the first Windbearers, who lived his whole life to make up for the violence of his previous life. He became a hardcore pacifist and toured the forest teaching pacifism. His life-story is a series of episodes wherein it seems like violence is the only answer, but Woparsen finds again and again that love makes the best defense. The Storyteller is given free rein to invent new episodes, provided they always end with Woparsen’s pacifism.

The story of Silasen, a follower of Woparsen, who refused to till the land, to harvest crops, or to dig for minerals. He saw this as abuse against Kobessa, the mother earth. “We’re vegan because we have empathy for animals. But isn’t eating plants equally violent?” Silasen is captured by The Venomdrinkers, the remnants of the People of the Snake, and they intend to eat him. He must use violence to escape, and on his return journey he speaks to the snake who shows him how violence is not necessarily a bad thing; how there is a time and a place for everything; the anti-Woparsen.

The Story of Tsharnaga. Born in the salt flats of Tellarnath, a creative and carnal soul who invented ritual uses of the salt. He had many lovers, and together they made a playful ritual of nudity, meant to express the time before time began, the polymorphous perverse. Salted bodies orgy in the fields, a ritual towards fecundity and fertility. This in particular is what made the colonists see the Woodkin as barbarian, but they missed the ending, where Tsharnaga had so much sex that his sexual organs developed a mind of their own, and took command of his body. He had to castrate himself to save his mind, and in his later years Tsharnaga had no fun.

The story of Barkolomas. In the depths of the forest lie the Alpha Trees. Climbing to the top of one of these trees was said to bring you as high as the Spine, to the top of the atmosphere, at one with the gods. It could make one immortal. Its fruits conferred divine revelation to mortals. Barkolomas was assigned to the sacred post of protecting one of these trees when--in the 1240s AF--he heard news of a fire cult from across the sea (the Salemo) coming to steal wood. They burnt as they go, seeking the best wood in the whole forest, and thus threatening to cut down the Alpha Trees. The Shamans understand why it’s alright to let the Alpha Trees fall. [Moving from Arborescent to Rhizomatic logic.] But Barkolomas doesn’t agree. He knows he cannot fight the Salemo singlehandedly, Barkolomas decides to climb the tree, since he might be the last one to do so. It takes several days to get to the top, and it’s very exhausting. Meets all sorts of creatures along the way, who tempt him to give up. They tempt him with gifts; the ability to soar down unhurt, the ability to sing like the birds, the ability to attract a mate with beautiful garments, and visions of what they call the emerald beyond. But Barkolomas resists them all and reaches the top. And from the top realizes why it’s alright to let the tree fall. The Salemo chop the tree down, and make two hundred and twenty-two staffs with the wood, and the hero falls with it. Some say he died, while others say he jumped from the Alpha Tree to the Spine before it fell.

The Story of Dodamba. The young Dodamba does an amazing feat without training, saves a village from a band of brigands out of deep emotional need; a raging fury. He was thereafter brought to train with Windbearers, but they only try to trigger his anger again to get the same response. They devise tons of external things; horrible smelling salts, storytelling, triggers associated with tightening of rope around his neck, or certain phrases. All fail to trigger the emotional response. In a moment of need, Dodamba realizes that instead of triggering his anger with external things, he needs to find a new need from inside. Internalizing the need: that moment of crisis inspired a feeling inside of him which can be accessed without the external crisis. After much practice, he found the easiest emotion for him to conjure *ex nihilo* was laughter. He stayed in the cave, needing no external stimulus, laughing until he could summon fire from his fingertips. They called him Dodamba fire-fingers.

The Story of Darenpo, which was noted in the History section. One key to understanding the significance of Po’s story is that many Woodkin who were loyal to the old king and the old nations, helped the Commonwealth invade the forest. The Arfaxadi, therefore saw Po as a tyrannical leader, a violent ruler, and their version of Po’s story is totally different.

## Rituals

The Woodkin have huge cleberations four times a year. The Summer solstice (Sosalia) has the flower procession. Winter solstice (Turnalia) has the gift giving. Autumnal equinox (Feralia) has the Fourbead championship. And Vernal equinox (Kovalia) has the festival of powdered paint.//The Gesture is performed by layfolk as well as Windbearers as a gesture of good will. “I take from the whole, to give back to it.” There is also a common practice of sending prayers out on the Wind, whispering words into your hands and blowing them away.

## Calendar

The Gol,gossan calendar revolves around the four days of celebration (Sosalia, Turnalia, Feralia, Kovalia) which crown each of the four seasons. They divide their calendar into 4 months, with alternating 31 or 32 days, equally 126 days.  Their Astrological system also revolves around the quartet of the seasons. The four stages are:

Larva               Water     Summer solstice

Kapilar             Fire      Autumnal Equinox

Kukún               Earth     Winter Solstice

Moth                Air       Vernal Equinox

## Religion

The Woodkin never really worshipped Hrathid, but followed his gospel, regarding the virtue of pacifism, veganism, love, and compassion. There is strong belief in the native population of the Seven immortals, and the return of the Seventh. After Arfaxad invades, and especially after the Taboo of the Maya, these beliefs are largely forgotten. However, the belief in reincarnation is ubiquitous. Woodkin believe we each live a procession of lives that follow the cycle of the four stages.

## Gender and sex

The early Windbearers not only taught veganism, pacificism, and compassion, but also reprimanded the ancient Keí,kusaí society for its patriarchy. Thus, the forest has since been a utopia of gender equality. The women of the forest are just as likely to work nearly any vocation as the men, with a few exceptions: women have always been exempt from the military.

## Aesthetics

Really into storytelling. The beadsheets were a specialty of the Windbearers, but their style survived orally. They’re really into music, big public performances at all the festivals. They have a lot of visual arts as well, square mandalas, representing the four elements, love to paint surfaces and clothing with lots of patterns, squares and diamond shapes interlocking, rough edges on everything.

## Architecture

The native architecture is quite simple. They would build within living forests. That included hollowing out trees, building platforms around trunks, and hanging structures between branches. These were called Treecities. They also built Dockcities in the hotter places. After Arfaxad invaded, all these cities were erased, and there’s two types now: the Dins in the Commonwealth style, with alabaster pillars and pointed roofs, and the Gols which are a hybrid architecture; wooden villages, sometimes with hollow trees, but most often with other more superficial aspects of the native towns; the axis mundi tree in the center of a circular building, the birch post, etc. They still have all aspects of a colonial village, like the rostrum in the town square.

Arfaxad aristocrats decided to maintain the Golgóssan naming convention of keeping “Gol” in the villages. They believed this would help integration, and it did. However, all the villages that stand today are new ones. None of the pre-colonial cities exist, and since the trees were burnt, precious few ruins remain of them. Some of the Dins are built over a pre-existing city. For example, Din Selano was built over the old capital city of the forest. Even though they are Dins, the colonists attempt to create something uniquely Golgóssan with their architecture; incorporating trees and hanging gardens into the city (except for the capital city, Din Légossa).

## Education

Education was informal in the pre-colonial times. It was believed one’s life itself was the great teacher, and the stories the Windbearers told were meant to impart the lessons of past lives. Arfaxad brought their academies with them and now school is private and tuition must be paid upfront.

## Philosophy

The natives don’t have a professional philosopher class, but they do have a culture of philosophical discussions. Much of their philosophical work is baked into their stories. Those who discuss philosophical concepts are more akin to therapists or mentors, and are called “Allies.”

## Magic

The Fourth Way, the Way of the Heart, the Kaíkusaí, or the People of the Sky, the Windbearers.

The Windbearers are primarily teachers. Their lives are stories: they write them by making choices. They complete their lives when they complete their stories, and distill the lesson at the core of their lives. Becoming-beadsheet.

An Arfaxadi historian wrote: “There were Waterbearers, Firebearers, and Earthbearers too, but these schools were not nearly as popular. It was far more convenient to bare the Wind, and very quickly the entire Maya tradition of the forest became synonymous with the Windbearers.” This is not true. Windbearers is a colloquial name for the Kaíkusaí, the People of the Sky, who saw in the Sky a perfect metaphor for their goal: oneness with everything, unity with the entire horizon.

The Way of the Heart revolves around empathy. The guiding principle is that one can only change what one is. One can only move one’s body because one is one’s body. Thus, by empathy one expands the self. When the tyro becomes one with the Wind, they are able to manipulate the Wind in any way they desired, including powerful gusts that can move objects of other people, even lifting airships into the sky. So the tyro is first taught to learn to empathize with animals.

But becoming one with the Wind is difficult. The tyro is first taught to empathize with other lifeforms, and thus empathy with animals becomes central to the Way of the Heart. They learn the Postures of other lifeforms. Through breathing patterns, mindset, and physical stance, they can assimilate new qualities and abilities. One eventually adopts the subjectivity of the animal, and in advanced stages can actually physically resemble the animal. There is no fixed set of Postures; new ones are invented all the Time.

Every tyro must leave their cave-sanctuary on what’s called a Versing. During their solitary Versing, the tyro is expected to grow in close kinship with the forces of nature, and return to the sanctuary with a new Posture to teach everyone else. The list keeps expanding, therefore, and many sanctuaries have different versions of the same Postures, emphasizing different aspects of the same animal. Some Postures are dangerous and very difficult, and are thus kept secret for only the shamans to use. One such Posture is the Hexabear.

A partial list of Postures:

* -       Heron
* o   Posture: standing, one leg off the ground
* o   Strength: silence, hearing the Voice of the Wind
* o   Weakness: slower responses from the ego
* -       Bat
* o   Posture: crow pose, hands open, eyes closed
* o   Strength: see with sound in darkness, through walls
* o   Weakness: immobile, silent creatures are invisible
* -       Owl
* o   Posture: hands holding eyes open
* o   Strength: can see light emitted by warmth of bodies
* o   Weakness: cannot turn eyeballs, cannot see insects
* -       Mist Moth
* o   Posture: constant movement, on your feet
* o   Strength: in the moment, reflexes, improvisation
* o   Weakness: irrational, unpredictable
* -       Mukhrum
* o   Posture: Sitting cross-legged
* o   Strength: perfect recall, psychometry
* o   Weakness: ignorant of physical surroundings
* -       Otter
* o   Posture: leading with head, smiling
* o   Strength: Spontaneity, lack of hesitation, inhabitation. Conquers Stage fright, social anxiety
* o   Weakness: lack of decorum, lack of language
* -       Elk
* o   Posture: on all fours, head high
* o   Strength: discernment, lie detector
* o   Weakness: Distrust, skittish, sensitive, inability to deceive. You can tell if someone else is lying but you reveal your own intentions much more easily
* -       Snake’s Tongue
* o   Posture: on belly
* o   Strength: immune to poison, sensitive
* o   Weakness: cannot move easily, may attack friends.
* -       Hexabear
* o   Posture: perfect posture in movement.
* o   Strength: boost to strength; endless momentum; does not register pain; ability to entrance others
* o   Weakness: slow movement; may push oneself too far to the point of physical exhaustion
* -       Stik Bug
* o   Posture: on all fours, loose joints
* o   Strength: concealment, turn invisible
* o   Weakness: move slowly, inability to attack
* -       Parrot Beak (Syrinx)
* o   Posture: squatting
* o   Strength: Translation, Quick learning
* o   Weakness: No discernment, absorbs all information
* -       Toad
* o   Posture: close to the ground
* o   Strength: Can leap, climb, follow quick movement, catch arrows from the air
* o   Weakness: gluttony, languor, belching, no guile
* -       Fish Scales
* o   Posture: warriors pose
* o   Strenghth: Slip through tight spots, hold breath
* o   Weakness: No memory, no rational thought
* -       Dragon
* o   Posture: bridge pose
* o   Strength: Breathing fire, staying warm
* o   Weakness: Violence, quick temper
* -       Hummingbird (also known as Dodamba’s Fire-fingers)
* o   Posture: snapping fingers
* o   Strength: producing fire, laughter
* o   Weakness: haughty, ignorant of danger
* -       Bees
* o   Posture: twiddling fingers
* o   Strength: Can coordinate, think logically, see from multiple perspectives
* o   Weakness: Become callous, lack of emotion, willing to sacrifice others, lack of individuality
* -       Kameleon Skin
* o   Posture: splitting eyes in two directions
* o   Strength: total invisibility; Looking in two places at once; Splitting the mind
* o   Weakness: inability to assess dangers, low initiative
* -       Tortoise
* o   Posture: hackles up
* o   Strength: Concealing against mind reading, lie easily
* o   Weakness: Not letting others in, distrust
* -       Spore
* o   Posture: tip-toes
* o   Strength: Transcendence, Glance into spirit world, Astral projection
* o   Weakness: lose sense of time, can remain in this state for very long
* -       Maggot
* o   Posture: leading with the nose
* o   Strength: Can eat anything, accelerated Healing
* o   Weakness: total id, indulgent, disgusting
* -       Telajay
* o   Posture: dancing
* o   Strength: intuitive sense of music
* o   Weakness: impossible to coordinate, arrhythmic
* -       Redwood
* o   Posture: stand straight up, hands above head
* o   Strength: Constant focus, slow time, bear Wind
* o   Weakness: fire, slow to act, loss of motivation
* -       Límur
* o   Posture: crouching
* o   Strength: purge worry, problem solving, climbing
* o   Weakness: Mischief, Deceit
* -       Widó
* o   Posture: standing on fingers and toes
* o   Strength: lack of fear
* o   Weakness: Reckless
* -       Gekó
* o   Posture: hugging oneself
* o   Strength: Raising frequency, happiness
* o   Weakness: overly trusting, martyrdom
* -       Firefox
* o   Posture: rolling the foot
* o   Strength: Soft footsteps; stealth
* o   Weakness: flighty, will never fight
* -       Goat
* o   Posture: droopy eyes, bad posture
* o   Strength: Things don’t bother the goat, never jumps
* o   Weakness: May ignore alarms, signs

After the tyro completes their Versing, invents their new Posture, they become Versed and are able to build their own stonesword. The stoneswords of the Windbearers are not traditional weapons used for melee combat; they are “fetishes” to aid their empathic focus, to help bear the Wind.

After the Versed has refined their lesson, they create a wooden mask and ascend to Shaman, or Koro. Then, the Windbearer has the option of remaining in one of the sanctuaries to train other Windbearers, Or they can live among the laypeople and share their wisdom, acting as public servants. The Shaman who remains in the cave to train new Windbearers is called a Koro. The Shaman who leaves the cave to live among the laypeople is called a Taka. These are prefixes used before their names. Each sanctuary has an Eldershaman, Sokoro, who composes a beadsheet of their lives.

They make a big deal out of the directions. Windward (against wind) versus Leeward (downwind) are important concepts in their cosmology. Rather than debating whether the world is determined by laws of nature, or subject to our free will, (this is what the Arfaxadi philosophers debate endlessly), the Golgóssan “Allies” see the world as moving in directions.

One direction is leeward (the path of least resistance; the natural world moves leeward). The other direction is Windward (the path of human hubris). In their efforts to help enlighten the laypeople, they will help those who come to them with mundane problems and the most common response is to help the person adjust their energies from Windward to Leeward. The concept of Leeward is very similar to the New Age concept of “Getting into Alignment”. Move thy life Leeward.

Some Windbearers also provide an oracular function. By using the mukrhum posture, they can consult with the Forewinds and receive answers that are never false. Though they are trained not to ask questions that are too specific (for the Wind is abstract by nature, and merely shows directions and feelings, not facts--it can only reveal what is Leeward, not Windward).

There is no central command or coordination of the sanctuaries, however there is one Eldershaman who is elected to communicate with the rest of the Maya world (via astral projection). The sanctuaries as a whole are politically decentralized: culturally paralleled but moving in unique directions. The caves are connected in a rhizomatic and highly secret (even from their own people) network of underground rivers which are extremely dangerous to traverse for their violent rapids and dangerous inhabitants (venomous spiders; swarms of worms; and bloodthirsty moles). This allows Shamans to visit each other without leaving the caves, however these tunnels are so well hidden that no Arfaxadi archaeologist has yet to discover them, and their entrances have been lost.

Inside each sanctuary lies an Inner Sanctum; a round room with four round windows facing the four cardinal directions. Curling around the room is a wooden bench with spaces for the six Shamans of the sanctuary. In the middle of the room is a wooden cube; the throne of the Eldershaman. Regular conferences are held between the seven Shamans of each sanctuary where herbs are consumed, their masks are donned, and the Forewinds are consulted for guidance.

The stoneswords come with a long list of Sword Poses which are not martial arts, but linguistic arts. Each pose denotes various contradictory meanings, and are used by gifted poets of the beadsheets to frame the meaning of their poems. The highly specialized and nuanced art of Stonecutting was passed down from those earliest visitors from Mekthnel.