Halta

The Republic of Halta is a largely arboreal culture in the northeast of Creation. Until recently, it has largely been uninvolved in the politics of the Threshold, except for their endless war with Linowan.

Overview

Geography

Halta is located east of Lake Sanazala and north of Mount Megatalpa. The terrain here is a mix of pine, fir, and redwood forest, with some of the redwoods growing hundreds of feet high. Even taller trees can be found in the far East, closer to the Elemental Pole of Wood. The tribes of barbarians and beastmen who live that close to the Wyld are effectively client states of Halta, and do a brisk trade in drugs, herbs, exotic animals, and metal ores. Halta has a better relationship with its fringe tribes than almost any other nation in Creation.

Other small kingdoms and client states are located southwest of the forest, and include Ardeleth, Bloody River, Jarrith, Shandir Woods, and Gossamer Stockade. Also in this area is the shadowland of Noss Fens, ruled by the Deathlord Dowager of the Irreverent Vulgate in Unrent Veils.

Chanta, Halta's capital city, has a population of almost two million. Other major cities include Resplendent Peak, Kajeth, and Caltia's Triumph. Many of these cities are connected by tributaries of the Silver River, or by the Golden Leaf Canal, an arc-shaped waterway that cuts diagonally through Halta from the northwest to southeast. Three ruined First Age cities are located in the Haltan forest, the most intact of which is the floating city of Shal-Maneth. Another, Yagan, has been taken over by the Fair Folk.

The vast stretches of forest between major Haltan settlements are often plagued with bandits, wild gods, and fae-blooded ravagers. The forest is simply too large to police effectively, so a small village can easily stay hidden for decades if they so choose.

Relations with the Fair Folk

The Haltans ambivalently coexist with several tribes of Fair Folk. A treaty signed in RY 280 lays out the terms of their interaction: the Fair Folk are free to do as they please with anyone on the ground, but cannot harm or be harmed by those in the trees. If they wish to enter a treetop city, they are bound by Haltan law. In exchange, the Haltans must supply them with a steady stream of sacrifices.

Today, the Fair Folk trade with Haltans, and cataphractoi occasionally join Haltan commandos for raids against the Linowan. They are one of Halta's best lines of defense, and the gossamer armor and glass weapons they provide are unmatched in quality. However, Haltans never forget that the Fair Folk are soul-eating monsters first and last; they may fight alongside them at times, but they keep iron weapons close at hand.

Three major groups of Fair Folk dwell in Halta and adhere to the treat. Marika, Ruler of Rivers and Swamps, has the largest territory and the closest to the Linowan border. Sluluru, Lord of the Lower Branches, dwells in eastern Halta and is the most generous toward Haltans (for now). He controls the ruins of Yagan. Yseult, Queen of the Stone Forest, despises humanity and only adheres to the treaty our of fear of the gods (and Sluluru).

Relations with Animals

Haltans have successfully tamed many species of animals that no one else could, including baboons, wolf spiders, and strix. A small subset of ata-beasts have human-like intelligence, and Haltans regard them as citizens with full rights. In the general view, anyone who can speak and reason is a person and has the rights of a citizen. This makes Halta extremely welcoming not just to the ata-beasts, but beastmen. Snakemen and hawkmen are particularly numerous due to Halta's history with certain Lunar Exalted, but far from the only types. Haltans view them with a certain reverences, seeing them as blessed by the gods; thus, beastmen tend to live in villages or neighborhoods of their own, apart from their human countrymen.

San-beasts are less intelligent than ata-beasts, but distinctly moreso than others of their kind. They form a key part of Halta's labor force, and while they don't have the same rights as ata-beasts, Haltans are fiercely protective of them. Most Haltans have at least one san-beast pet that accompanies them everywhere.

Government

Halta is ruled by a queen and a council of nobles; nobility is not hereditary, but must be earned in a series of structured competitions. The council chooses a new queen from the extended family of the current queen when she turns 40, allowing her to retire. The current queen, Chaltra Evamal, is 39. Below the nobility is a robust bureaucracy to oversee other matters of state.

Military

All Haltans (including ata-beasts) serve a term in the defensive Guard, though except for the Linowan border these troops mostly serve as firefighters and provide labor for public works. A much smaller force of elite commandos serve as career military. A network of fortresses and observation posts stretches along the western border to protect Halta's interior from Linowan incursions, or serve as a base for Haltan raids into Linowan territory. Haltans are primarily trained in small unit tactics, and only the commandos are trained to fight on the ground as well as in the trees.

Culture

Haltans have adapted their way of life to the treetops. Most of them have reddish-brown skin and green hair, similar to their beloved redwoods; they regularly consume a tea called Young Monkey to promote agility, and can climb through the treetops quickly and easily.

Young Haltans undergo a "test of survival" in their teens; those who do not or cannot take the test are not considered legal adults. The test involves surviving on their own in the forest for at least two weeks with minimal supplies, during which time they should successfully hunt an animal or collect a specimen of a rare plant. This is taken to prove that they are fit to live in the forest; while youths rarely die during the test, the ones that do are considered better off reincarnating somewhere else.

While Haltans have advanced medicine, disability and infirmity still occur. Some of those not able to walk and climb freely move about in sedan chairs carried by baboons; others are simply housebound for the remainder of their life, or commit suicide.

Architecture

Haltan cities are constructed hundreds of feet off the ground, in and on the redwoods that dominate the forest. The paths and platforms are constructed from a mix of living branches trained by tree-sculptors and dead wood; there are usually three to eight platforms at different levels, connected by ladders and elevators. Other platforms are linked with rope bridges or branches shaped by magic into level walkways, with ropes or living vines along one side for safety.

Travel

Tree travel between Haltan cities is slow and difficult, as they have no riding animals capable of walking the treetops and a fall to the forest floor may mean death. However, specially bred san-strix and san-herons can carry messages and small parcels long distances, keeping Haltan settlements connected.

River travel is somewhat easier, but requires a special banner purchased from the Fair Folk to do safely. Boats flying such banners can "dock" directly beneath cities like Chaya to load and unload cargo and passengers.

Economy

Rather than till the soil, Haltans tend crops that reside in the treetops with them, included mosses, pine nuts, and various fruits. Mushrooms are a common crop, and dried mushrooms a profitable export. Unlike terrestrial cities that must import grain from the countryside, Haltan cities are largely self-sufficient. Haltans do not raise animals for consumption — the idea disgusts them — but they keep some domestic birds for their eggs, and hunting and fishing are respected occupations.

Haltans also know the secret of preparing ironwood, which grows in the southern parts of the forest and serves the same purposes as steel. They craft several kinds of fabric and paper from processed bark, and are capable of mass-producing books. Some of their most exotic trade items are plants bred for their settles, such as glowing fungi as bright as First Age artificial lighting, which obviates the need for candles or lamps in the highly flammable tree-cities.

Kejeth and Resplendent Peak are the primary trade cities of Halta, each located on the forest's edge. Resplendent Peak, near the headwaters of the Silver River, mainly trades with the icewalker tribes and the Haslanti League; the alliance with the Bull of the North has been good for business. Kejeth, located on the Rock River, provides access to trade from the Scavenger Lands. Haltans import metal and glass goods, fine cloth, spices and exotic animals - the stranger the better. Small, green-maned san-horses are bred here, though typically only Haltans are allowed to buy them. Some Haltans also travel into the Scavenger Lands with their intelligent animals, part evangelist and part entertainment. The final trade city, River Blossom, is also the site of a Guild outpost, River Keep, which regularly sacrifices thousands of slaves to the Fair Folk to be able to walk on the ground in Halta.

Justice

Judges in Halta must pass a series of competitive tests in order to earn their titles. Fines are the penalty for most minor crimes, while more serious crimes might involve a sentence of indentured servitude to the state (slavery is illegal) or exile from Halta. Those fit enough to serve in the military can also sign up for a tour on the Linowan border in lieu of fines or indenture. Execution is reserved for traitors and other serious criminals; most are surrendered to the Fair Folk, although Haltans kill captured ravagers themselves.

The monitors are a secret police force that monitor foreigner in Halta. While Haltans are not paranoid by nature, they are continually wary of Linowan infiltrators. Traders with a long history in a given outpost are trusted, as are accredited Guild representatives and anyone whose skin or hair color marks them as clearly foreigners, but anyone else is likely watched by the monitors to ensure they are not Linowan or Linowan sympathizers. Often, the helpful guide hired by visitors to lead them through the trees is a monitor; they don't wear uniforms, and their only badge of office is an electrum pendant they can easily keep hidden if they wish.

Recreation

Their lush ecology means Haltans have access to a variety of drugs. The most potent are used only by shaman-priests, but recreational drug use is widespread and accepted, though public intoxication is strongly taboo (if only because the offender is likely to fall to their death). Haltans do not grow grain and thus do not brew beer, but they make several types of wine, mead, and a fermented sap drink called sek.

Bloodsports such as cockfighting are unknown in Halta, and Haltans who know of them elsewhere regard them as utter depravity.

Religion

Haltans worship the many gods of the forest, chief of whom is Caltia the Eternal, goddess of evergreens and rival of Golden-Eyed Jorst. While other religious observances are tolerated, such as ancestor worship or cults dedicated to the Exalted, those who do not revere the forest gods are regarded with suspicion and distrust. Shaman-priests employed by the government are numerous, and help ensure close ties between the Haltans and the spirits of the forest. Aside from officiating public celebrations, the shaman-priests honor the gods and ask for boons; summon and negotiate with elementals; and deal with the Fair Folk, with the help of both gods and thaumaturgy on their side. Many are beastmen or outcaste Terrestrials.

While most shaman-priests know some thaumaturgy, actual sorcerers are rare. Necromancy is illegal, and a few commandos train in Terrestrial Martial Arts.

Certain religious practices are banned, including the Immaculate Philosophy. Worshiping the Exalted in abstract is tolerated, but any specific Exalt who sets themself up as a figure of worship risks exile. Similarly, worship of the Fair Folk, Deathlords, or the Yozis is unacceptable. Any sorcerer or Exalt who travels with a bound demon is not permitted to enter Halta, and one who summons a demon while in Halta will be expelled.

Finally, the Haltan forest is home to many cults of small gods or spirits who have claims some section of forest and a small village of worshipers to serve them. These cults are strange, and a few are dangerous, but dealing with these wild gods can be very profitable if you can satisfy their eccentric demands.

History

Halta was founded during the Great Contagion, as people fled into the forest to escape the plague. They were met by two Lunar Exalted, Rain Deathflyer and Silver Python, who taught the refugees to live in the trees to avoid the dangerous wildlife of the forest and Fair Folk marauders. Most Haltan histories were not written down until a century or so after the fact, and say only that Halta was aided by anonymous, benevolent gods.

The Haltans and the Linowans have been at war for centuries, due to the conflict between their main gods — Golden-Eyed Jorst, god of deciduous forest, and Caltia the Eternal, goddess of evergreen forest. Perhaps the Haltans struck first by planting redwood seedlings in Jorst's territor, or perhaps the Linowan began it by raiding upriver for Haltan slaves. The first large-scale battle between the two occurred in RY 279, and resulted in so many casualties that it formed a shadowland called the Field of Woe.

Shortly after this, the Fair Folk invaded Halta from the east, and the Haltans could not defend themselves on two fronts. In RY 280, with the help of Caltia herself (and a nudge from their secret Lunar patrons), the Haltans negotiated their treaty with the Fair Folk and gave up access to the forest floor. In RY 318, another Linowan army lead by a Terrestrial Exalt attempted to invade Halta, but were instead slain or devoured by the Fair Folk and their hobgoblins. Only a few dozen survived to bring tidings back to their clans.

The war remained confined to border skirmishing until 761, when the Bull of the North brought his icewalker army to the Linowan. He made an alliance with Bloody River and Ardaleth in order to trap the Linowan in a pincer, and thereby gain unrestricted access to the Scavenger Lands. The Haltans agreed to ally with the Bull, committing nine trees of guards and a tree of commandos to the battle, as well as logistical support. The commandos were present at the Battle of Futile Blood in 764, when the Bull's forces soundly defeated the legions of House Tepet who had been sent to the aid of the Linowan.

Halta now stands divided over the future of their alliance with the Bull. The city-destroying magic used on both sides of the conflict has badly shaken some of the nobles, who fear such weapons beyond deployed on Halta. On the other hand, the Bull is a powerful ally, and continuing to support him would guarantee the defeat of the Linowan — while breaking the alliance now could make Halta his next target.