Kalani

The Kalani tribes inhabit the Serpentine Mountains of Quentoria, often said to be the coldest region of the world. They have survived the harsh environment for hundreds of years, and are fiercely proud of their communities and homeland.

Culture

Culture and cultural heritage

The Kalani are split into tribes that live across Quentoria. Although each tribe has its own form of government and its own traditions, all of them share their Kalani heritage. 

Shared customary codes and values

The Kalani highly value hard work and the strength of the community. Every person is believed to have important talents, and they are expected to use those skills to aid their tribe. Those who possess physical strength hunt for food and gather vital herbs from the frozen cliffs. Those who have keen intellects practice medicine while those who have lived for many years impart their wisdom and experience to younger generations.

Common Dress code

The Kalani typically dress in warm furs. Many people choose to accentuate their dress with carved bone jewelry and hairpins. Most people wear their hair long and loose when inside and tie it up when journeying outside their underground homes.

Art & Architecture

Pixabay Image by Graham-H

The Kalani are talented stone masons and have carved out sprawling underground cities within the Serpentine Mountains. Most tribes live in permanent underground shelters and send their hunters out into the frozen landscape above when necessary.

Many of the older cities have been carved with decorative scenes depicting Kalani legends and historical events. These carvings are then used to teach children about their history and cultural heritage.

The Kalani also create beads made of bone and metal to wear as jewelry. The color and patterns of these beads have different symbolic meanings and can be used to tell stories all on their own.

Funerary and Memorial customs

The Kalani burn their dead, as fire is said to represent the essence of life while the smoke carries the soul to the afterlife. After the embers have died out, the ashes and bones are collected and buried in underground mausoleums carved into the mountainsides. Many tribes maintain catacombs that have lasted for hundreds of years.

Common Taboos

Murder is considered one of the greatest taboos. Every person is a valued and necessary member of their community, and to kill another person is to undermine the integrity and survival of that community. Although skilled hunters are highly valued in Kalani society, they are never used as soldiers.

Kalani tribes occasionally meet and trade with each other, but they generally stay away from each other to avoid warfare. Animals and plants can be scarce in the frozen landscape, and the Kalani believe that it is better for tribes to remain separated from each other than to risk competing for resources.

Major organizations

The first pyromancers were Kalani, and the ethnic group still makes up the majority of the Ashheart monastic order.

Related Organizations

• Ashheart Pyromancers

Related Locations

• Quentoria

Feminine Names

Afya, Anya, Dasha, Dessa, Elizaveta, Galina, Inna, Ivana, Katya, Ksenia, Lara, Lyusya, Melora, Nasya, Nesha, Rasia, Sezja, Taisiya, Vasilisa, Viktoriya, Yulia

Masculine Names

Alexei, Arkadiy, Daniil, Dima, Evegny, Grigoriy, Ilya, Innokentiy, Kirill, Leonid, Mikhail, Nikolai, Pavel, Pyotr, Sava, Tikhon, Timofey, Valeriy, Yaroslav, Yuri

Androgynous Names

Alexis, Keesa, Micha, Mischa, Pascha, Sasha, Scriabin, Vasha, Zhenya, Zilya