The Hilly Forests

The Hilly Forests have stayed the same for generations. It is hilly, which makes it unsuitable for agriculture. At the same time it's not too cold and quite humid, so trees, especially pine, thrive there. The average highs in summer is 20C and in winter the average high is around 0C. It never gets really hot or really cold. There are sometimes storms with heavy rain or snowfall, but homes are not destroyed by this. The Hilly Forests are beatiful in the fall when the leaves change color, and in the beginning of winter when the first snow falls. The people in the Hilly Forests keep animals, especially pigs, and hunt deer and elk in the forests. They are experts on everything related to wood - cutting, carving, planting trees, logging on the river, building houses, and so on. This provides significant trading income. The mountain people have very little wood, since it's so cold, and the desert people have very little since it's so warm. The kingdom has wood, but they have not built the same level of expertise, since they have so many other things they focus on (especially agriculture), unlike the forest people, whose main occupations are related to wood. Some people on the edges of the hills also fish.
The culture of the Hilly Forests is based on villages with 100-200 people each. People have fairly strict rules about behavior, so as not to cause trouble, since everyone in the village knows everyone else. They need to get along, or else they will all fail. The villagers are strong and hard-working. They are not easily perturbed - "what happens happens, we'll manage somehow".
The Hilly Forests are excellent at getting along with other cultures, and are generally well-liked. They never hurt anyone as long as no one hurts them. They trade with everyone, and while they are in many ways the least cultured they are also the people with the most exposure to different cultures. This influences them less than expected, as they are very comfortable with their own culture, and mostly try to avoid making mistakes and any change or anything that might break the internal peace. They view outsiders with suspicion. They avoid participating in wars if they can. This mostly succeeds, since everyone knows the people of the Hilly Forests won't attack anyone.
The culture has a strong independent streak, and although they are part of the kingdom, the kingdom has never been able to fully exert the control they wish upon the Hilly Forests. It is far away from the kingdom, and hilly, so the roads are not very good and in general it is very hard for an organized army to get control. The people of the Hilly Forest really know the geography and are excellent at defending the Hilly Forests. The people in the Hilly Forest are cautiously both making sure relations are good with the kingdom and at the same time undermining any attempts to control and change the uniquely stable and peaceful culture of the Hilly Forests.

Type

Forest