Kula

The tiefling kulas are at once a cultural fixture and a survival mechanism. Nowhere in Halinor can large numbers of these unlucky souls settle peacefully; common superstition charges tieflings with the spread of misery, bad luck, and ruin to those communities they inhabit. Not everyone holds to these beliefs, but enough do that makes places like Little Tieflingtown in major cities or small villages outright impossible. They must go somewhere, and that somewhere over the centuries has turned into a collection of caravans--families that travel together for company, for safety, and for trade.
The kulas follow a simple pattern--travel, setup, trade, and tear down. They travel between villages and cities, wary of highwaymen and monsters as they forage and hunt to take care of their community. Setup occurs when they reach their next town, transforming their wagons into temporary huts, tents, and trading posts. Commerce follows wherein the tieflings offer their odd wares and services to curious townspeople, giving the kula's inhabitants a chance to fill and diversify their coffers and larders.
The tear down is the close to this stage and often the most dangerous. Curious townspeople eventually turn into suspicious ones. Bad turns of weather or crops are blamed on the tieflings and spark bad turns of hospitality. By the time the pitchforks and torches come out, the tieflings are usually taking down the temporary establishments and hitting the road, but periodically this phase turns bloody as the devilkin beat their retreat.
Sometimes a kula can be as small as a single family; mostly they are formed by several, three to seven, that come together or split apart as needed. The Great Kula is a rare occurence but is the named owed when seven or more families join on the road. The Thirteen have never all been together at once for fear of their population being so packed together and vulnerable. Tiefling stories foretell lasting piece after this happens, though just as many stories in Halinor foretell lasting doom.

Demographics

Kula are formed from primarily tiefling members, but they are not the entirety of the population. Other outcasts are likely to be found here, anyone from half-elves to aasimar or even exiles from major nations. You will find people of all ages here; while travel does not get easier on old bones, the way the world treats them leaves tieflings fiercely protective of their fellows in the kula. Their elderly offer a great source of wisdom and practiced handling of tarot, but even those too old to contribute in any way are tended to until dignity in life is no longer possible.

Government

Government in the kula is unlike any other in Halinor. Strict heirarchy is not possible, because as much as these are autonomous groups, they are also families and carry an intensely personal style inside each group. The Thirteen ostensibly holds some sway over the theoretical laws that might govern tieflings, but in practicality these are at BEST suggestions. No family member is ultimately held to any law but what governs the individual; sons, daughters, and the in-betweens follow their own path.
In many cases this cleaves closely to the family. When the world is so openly hostile to an individual, it can be tough to strike out against the matriarch or patriarch in any given kula, especially one of the Thirteen. The family will take care of you in youth and old age; the family will support you in times of scarcity. Rare is the tiefling that would throw away that lifeline.

Infrastructure

The core of the kula are the tiefling wagons known as koshaka. These convertible wagons shift from transport to stalls or shelters, perfect for peddling wares and shifting quickly to movement again. Their design is passed down on generational lines, and while slight differences exist between the Thirteen Families, they are primarily aesthetic differences.

Assets

Tieflings do not have much in the way of assets in a traditional sense, but they do have a (necessary) love for bartering and a penchant for collecting rare, interesting, and/or taboo ingredients, items, or resources. More than their peculiar physical items are the services they offer.
The worst jobs are typically able to be filled by tiefling day laborers, but more valuable even than that are their tarot practices. Guided by the stars in their physical travels, the reflections of the constellations are made in their cards, and a strictly secret method of fortune telling via those cards is the most popular tiefling trade.

Type

Caravan

Inhabitant Demonym

Devilkin