Kindaria

Kindaria is a remote land with vast expanses of wilds shot through with deep chasms. These chasms are home to some of the most large, strange and dangerous creatures in the world. Life in Kindaria is largely defined by whether one lives in the various homesteads or calls the Timeless Bazaar home. Most Kindarians are rustic but proud homesteaders who band together to work the fertile farmland and protect themselves from monsters. On the other hand, the Timeless Bazaar is a city built to cater to travelers and adventurers seeking to explore both the chasms and the mysterious Deep. The Deep is a vast complex of caverns and chambers that underlies much of Kindaria. Climbing and mountaineering are facts of life in Kindaria and various straps, belts, hooks and loops are incorporated into common clothing to facilitate this.

### Geography, History, and Climate

Kindaria is bordered by Melluria to the west, the sea to the north and east and by a largely unexplored volcanic wasteland to the south. The entire landmass of Kindaria is a vast, gently sloping plain. The southern and more inland reaches of Kindaria are cool, comparatively dry and dominated by prairieland. As one travels northward or towards the coast, the prairie gives way to tree-dotted savannah and eventually to dense jungle.

However Kindarian geography, and indeed much of Kindarian life, is dominated by the chasms. The grasslands and jungles are shot through with deep canyons and ravines. Separating Kindaria into hundreds of “islands” of land. In addition to being a physical barrier, these chasms are home to strange and dangerous wildlife.

In a few places, the canyons provide access to a vast underground complex of unknown origins that seems to stretch under much of the grasslands. This enigma has become known simply as “The Deep.” The Deep remains to this day only partially explored, and there are rumors that it can never be fully explored because it is changed by the whim of Garioch himself. Within the Deep are traps, treasures, and monsters at every turn, and an equal number of would-be explorers find their deaths as find their fortunes.

In common, smaller chasms, the environment feels rather primordial. In the dim light, few green plants grow despite the fertile soil. Instead fungal forests proliferate, inhabited by creatures resembling giant spiders, scorpions and centipedes. In the deeper chasms, especially those that provide access to the Deep, even stranger creatures live - dwellers underground who exist largely independent of the surface world.

Most of the structures in a typical Kindarian homestead are homes and barns, but it's not unusual to see a smithy or mill. By tradition and necessity the tallest structure in any homestead is the watchtower. Most watchtowers are a simple wooden scaffold, though some may be enclosed by thatch or reed or even made of stone blocks. The purpose of the tower is twofold, to offer a platform where people can watch for danger and to hold a beacon fire that can be lit when danger is detected. An elevated fire can be seen at great distances at night over the relatively flat Kindarian terrain, and provides valuable warning to adjacent settlements as well as any passing travelers.

The Timeless Bazaar is the only large city of Kindaria. This name is misleading, as the Bazaar is just as affected by time as anything. It simply never stops functioning, trading at all hours and remaining lively and active every day and night of the year. The chasms of Kindaria as well as the Deep draw adventurers, explorers and monster hunters from all over the world, and the Bazaar's main industry is catering to these travelers. The Bazaar was first established when explorers discovered a major threshold that overlooked a particularly deep chasm. Upon examination they discovered that this chasm broke into the Deep. Over time this opening was widened and made more accessible, giving any who wish it, access to the Deep.

### Politics, Government, and Economy

The basic unit of life in Kindaria is the homestead, a community that blurs the line between a family group and a farming village. Under normal circumstances each homestead is largely independent and largely lacking in what an outsider would call government or economy. Everyone shares in the chores of the farm and looks out for each other. Guidance is provided by a small homestead council, or occasionally by a single elder. The appointing of leaders is democratic, done by formal vote in some homesteads and general consensus in others. When a situation arises that is of concern to multiple homesteads, a conclave is called, with representatives from each homestead meeting to discuss the issue and vote on a course of action. There are stories of great conclaves involving every homestead in Kindaria, but one on that scale has not been called in living memory.

Minor crimes in Kindarian homesteads are dealt with socially as befits a family. For serious breaches, the typical punishment is exile. A criminal sent on their way with supplies in broad daylight stands a good chance of finding a new home in the Bazaar or in another land. Exiling someone at night is a far more serious matter, traditionally reserved for the most serious situations and has fallen out of favor even for them in recent years. However all this is largely academic; most homesteads are, barring the occasional monster, peaceful places that spend little time thinking of crime and punishment. That said, Kindaria has a certain appeal for those who prefer to avoid the formal structures of government in other lands, and a few homesteads are notorious for being willing to take in those who are unwelcome elsewhere.

Though the climate varies in different parts of the region, a common theme throughout Kindaria is extremely fertile soil. Because of this, the dominant business is farming. Staple crops, especially grains and tubers are grown in great quantities. Kindarians also raise livestock, mostly in the form of goats and pigs. Large animals are fairly rare and cattle in particular prized for the amount of milk they can provide. A few homesteads are lucky enough to be located along one of the few major roads in Kindaria or near a lattice threshold. These are only a little larger than the average homestead under normal conditions, but host periodic market days when caravans arrive from other regions via road or lattice and people come from all the neighboring homesteads to trade with them. In particular Kindaria enjoys a robust trade with neighboring Melluria, who are always willing to barter refined metals and constructed goods for basic foodstuffs.

The Bazaar is an anomaly in Kindaria, a place that thrives on trade, travel and commerce. All manner of things are available for sale night and day, but the focus is on things that might be needed as an adventurer, treasure hunter or monster hunter venturing off into the wilds, the chasms or the Deep. A common trick, usually regarded more as a prank than a scam, is to sell newcomers an “Authentic Map of the Nearby Deep.”  Anyone who has spent any time in Kindaria knows that such maps are worthless. Some say the Deep is touched by Thiacris so that its shape cannot be understood. Some say that it was Garioch who made it ever changing. Still others claim one need not invoke the Genesori to explain why a huge and incredibly complex structure isn’t mapped correctly. Regardless of what you believe, maps are worthless. An experienced guide is better, but you should be prepared for even them to get lost occasionally. The most significant political and economic forces in the Bazaar are guilds. From rope-braiders to armorers to healers, every profession an adventurer could need has a guild in the Bazaar.

### Everyday Life

The average homesteader has little interest in martial pursuits and doesn’t think of themselves as an adventurer. They regard those who actively seek out danger as foolish, but that doesn’t mean they are any stranger to hazards. Incursions from chasm-dwelling creatures are rare, but an ever-present risk. A simple journey to the next homestead involves crossing the chasms. With a little luck, via a crude rope bridge, but failing that by venturing down into the chasm, crossing it and scaling the far wall as quickly and quietly as possible.

Any journey in Kindaria is a significant expedition and the small homesteads don’t have luxuries such as inns. Even if they were large enough to support them, the typical homesteader would never make a business of hospitality. A visitor to the homestead is a guest of the family, greeted and welcomed as one might a distant cousin. Most homesteads maintain a guest house specifically for visitors; even those that are too small or have fallen on hard times go out of their way to put a roof over travelers heads and a warm meal in their stomachs. It's a difficult place to travel, and no one wants to spend the night in the open if they can help it, especially near the chasms. As such, it's an unwritten rule of Kindaria that hospitality is not lightly denied. Conversely, requesting hospitality under false pretenses is a deep taboo. Visiting a homestead with the intent to do them harm is one of the most serious crimes imaginable, followed closely by failing to mention any risks that hosting you may bring. Even this is not grounds for refusal of hospitality though. To say “I seek shelter, but I am a wanted criminal in another land” and be told “We will shelter you, and feed you, but if authorities come, we will give you to them” is certainly not commonplace, but it is very Kindarian.

Occasionally a visitor is invited to stay for one reason or another. This is an occasion for great celebration. There’s little to recommend one homestead over another other than the people, so such an occasion is usually accompanied by a wedding, adoption or apprenticeship, but the more private event is typically eclipsed by the welcome feast and the preparing of a home for the new resident. Sometimes such an occasion for feasting aligns with the availability of an unneeded bull or a milk cow that no longer produces, creating an opportunity to make a local delicacy. While the available beef is old and tough, and the local wine is not considered quality by more “sophisticated” nations, the combination of the two along with local vegetables, pork and a complex, multi-step cooking process creates a unique stew. Due to the set of circumstances that has to occur for the dish’s creation, consuming it is almost a rite of passage for homesteaders. Of course a version of it, often made with higher quality ingredients, is available at any time from any of a dozen taverns in the Bazaar, but those in the know will tell you that without the love, care and cause for celebration, it's not “real.”

The vast majority of homesteaders spend their days tending to the homes and the surrounding farms, but a few specialists are exempt from day to day chores. A skilled blacksmith or weaver may be excused from farm duties to focus on their trade, and there is one uniquely-Kindarian specialization, the mountaineer. Even by the standards of Kindaria, mountaineers are masters of climbing, ropework and search and rescue. Their duties include building and maintaining bridges and climbing paths, but they are expected to spend most of their time training themselves and their apprentices, to be ready in the case of an emergency. Most homestead tradespeople are locals who apprenticed with the closest thing to a local expert, likely someone from the next homestead over, but mountaineers who trained with the guild in the bazaar are prized. Should a homestead’s mountaineer fall afoul of the many dangers of their profession, many homesteads will request aid from the Bazaar rather than giving the job to one of their own.

Art, as it is regarded in many nations, is rare in Kindaria. One seldom encounters a painting, or a sculpture, or a formal performance. Rather Kindarians tend to prefer the embellishment of necessary items. Embroidery, pottery, woodcarving and the weaving of patterns into thatch all bring beauty to items that are needed for everyday life, and this fusion of practical and aesthetic resonates for most Kindarians more than “pure” art. A popular craft in Kindaria is the shaping of trees. Living, growing trees are tied, twisted and bent into specific shapes. This is used both to craft living trees into structural elements of homes and other buildings and provide decorative touches to homes and their surroundings.

To an outsider all homesteads look simple and rustic, but they are quite varied if you know what to look for. The signs of a prosperous homestead aren’t gold and jewels but stability and permanence. A watchtower made of stone rather than a simple wooden scaffold, a small herd of cattle rather than a single dairy cow, large shaped trees that needed several generations to grow into their current pattern, a well maintained house set aside just for guests - to a Kindarian homesteader these are the things that represent wealth.

### Current Events

Kindaria is rather timeless. Life in the homesteads continues much as it has for generations and the Bazaar is an always-changing flurry of constant activity. But despite this, there have been a few noteworthy events of late. In the Bazaar, the Illustrious Kindarian Society of Delvers and Excavators (called the Delver’s Guild by those in a hurry) has done something unprecedented. They have taken a permanent position in the deep, complete with fortifications, patrols and encampments. Their goal is to “pacify” a small part of Deep, allowing travelers less eager to risk their lives an opportunity to experience the adventure of the Deep. Thus far, their camp is not exactly safe, but certainly safer than most of the Deep.

Meanwhile, far to the North, in the jungles of the far reaches of the Kindarian peninsula, homesteads have been reporting sightings of Skourrigal. A chasm-dwelling creature not unlike a giant centipede, they are considered commonplace by adventurers and mountaineers. However the few that leave the chasms tend to stick to dark places. They’re a grave threat to small groups traveling at night, but until recently one approaching the lights and noise of even a small homestead was almost unheard of.

### Cultural Plot and Themes

To be a Kindarian is to face danger and be part of a community. Consider whether you want to play a citizen of the tumultuous city of the Bazaar, a resident of a tight-knit homestead, a traveler who hasn’t found their permanent place yet, or an exile who lost theirs. Do you want to actively seek out danger, or (unsuccessfully) try to avoid it. When you do fight monsters, is it for fame and fortune, to protect your people or simply when cornered?

Folks in the Bazaar make their livings on seeking adventure in the chasms, wilds and deeps or by serving those who do and so that sense of excitement pervades everything they do. To a homesteader the focal point of society is family, though not always blood. They regard those who go looking for danger as foolish, but they also accept it as a fact of life. When monsters rise from the chasms, sometimes you have to run, sometimes hide and sometimes fight. You won't meet an adult homesteader who hasn't done all three at some point. And while most don't tend to think of themselves as warriors or adventurers, even the simplest farmer knows they've survived in a place where many couldn't. There's a bit of swagger in even the humblest Kindarian, and they know they've earned it.

### Costume and RP Themes

Since climbing cliff walls and navigating crude rope bridges, often while carrying farming equipment or weapons,  is such an integral part of life, wearing various straps, hooks and buckles is the norm. Over time this has evolved from a practical necessity for attaching tools, weapons, climbing gear or ropes into simply an element of the culture. For homesteaders belts and straps of leather, canvas and rope bearing steel hooks, rings and clasps are normal wear. Some merchants and artisans of the bazaar, and some travelers to Kindaria have adopted the form without the function, wearing brightly colored straps with brass or gilded hardware.

Kindarians are fond of embroidery and decorative stitching. It provides an opportunity to add both reinforcement and aesthetic touches to otherwise simple clothing. Loose garments or hair are always worn in styles that can be easily secured if needed, especially below the knees or around the face. Shin wraps and pulled-back hair are common sights.