to be done
About the Salsham'ai
The treefolk are a matriarchal society with a deep affinity for nature,
who make their homes in villages of tree-houses. Hunter-gatherers they
trade with neighbouring human and other races and have quite a sophisticated
level of civilisation. Their homeland is made up of the dense forest tracts
on the island of Denralia. In appearance they are generally one and a half
feet to three feet tall; skin colour ranging from pale white to light brown.
Slender, with long straight hair, males don't grow beards. Note: They have
an instinctive ability to camouflage themselves and are extremely agile
climbers.
Government
The Salsham'ai lands are divided up into 10 regions each governed by
a Trunk Mother and these ten make up the Great Council that advises the
Great Trunk Mother who lives in the capital Thalsa. The council has the
power to confirm which of the GTM's daughters will be named heir. The Great
Trunk Mother is in all other respects an absolute monarch. On a local level
Lesser Trunk Mothers and Branch Mothers govern towns and villages.
Religion
Their priests are known as Loremasters or Loremothers and they combine
the role of priests, teachers, historians and healers. There is no formal
"church" each Loremaster learns by being apprenticed for no less
than 10 years. The theological principal of Salsham'ai belief is that Chaos
and Concord are balanced and that if this balance is disturbed or upset
it is detrimental to all life. While Salsham'ai society tends towards order
- so agreeing with Manrupashnar's philosophy - this is balanced by the
wildness of the large expanses of forest. They believe that all things
are a combination of Chaos and Concord. Shroma, Lord of Chaos is a sun
deity represented by a wild horned hunter and warrior, while Themnass,
Lady of Concord, a moon deity, is a learned and placid mother figure. There
is a wide variety of Sidhe connected to places, objects and creatures.
Way of Life
All are equal before the law but only women may take political office
as "Mothers", anyone may become a Loremaster, soldier, hunter
or trader if they can find someone to apprentice them. The whole culture
is based on an extended family type organisation and responsibility and
co-operation are important values. Communities are based on "tree-villages"
with houses built up off the ground in the hollow trunks and branches of
massive braashak trees, connected by rope bridges and swing ropes. They
control rich amber deposits and hunt for rare animal pelts and skins and
use these as a basis for trade with the human agrarian communities on the
island. They do not farm but have taken hunting/gathering to new heights
and are experts at exploiting the forests for their needs without ruining
the ecology. They are expert woodworkers and iron is a fairly scarce commodity,
so is reserved for the military, but bone, antler and flint are common
Places of Interest
The capital of Thalsa with its Great Library, Ironwood and of course
the Great Trunk are important places, but there are also the amber mines.
