Tolba is the second largest khanate in Warka, after Unktu. It is located on the western coast of Warka and encapsulates almost the entirety of the Milkweed Woods and most of the Setting Mountains.
The ruler of Tolba is Khan Fascinarē.
Geography
The tall, wooded range of the Setting Mountains stretches down the eastern coast of Tolba, providing a cliff-faced buffer from the western ocean below. These wooded mountains are nestled within the Milkweed Woods, a large forest that - according to legend - once held a portal to the Feywild, but no longer. Many people reside in both the mountains and the Milkweed Woods alike, despite possible danger. Lots of Tolba citizens build their houses into the sides of the Setting Mountains, similar to hobbit holes, and many in the Milkweed Woods build their villages either on the forest floor or suspended in the trees.
The capital of Tolba is
Calakmul, a city in the northern half of the Setting Mountains located on a plateau at the coast. This is where Khan Fascinarē resides and is the most concentrated area of population in Tolba.
Some creeks and tributaries trickle down through the snow-capped mountains here, creating large waterfalls hidden away in the thickly wooded forest.
Culture
Tolba’s culture is built off of traditional Tolba tribal culture. Originally, the Tolba tribe was made up of humans, wood elves, eladrin, air genasi, and halflings, but now any race resides within the wooded mountains.
Tolba’s culture, like Warka’s overall culture, puts a heavy emphasis on education and knowledge as well as rhetoric. It is important to know what to say and when to say it, so often Tolba folks tend to be careful and sparing with their words, though this is not a cultural universal. Due to this, the Tolba generally see themselves as the best among the Warkan tribes, being slightly aloof and occasionally haughty and aristocratic. Many of the most well known merchant families come from Tolba.
The Tolba practice slash-and-burn agriculture in some areas of the Milkweed Woods, slashing and burning a few acres at a time to grow different crops in, then letting that area regrow anew from the ashes of its old self and moving on to another area to grow. This influences their culture more than it may seem - the Tolba believe in a cycle of life and death, of hurt and healing, of death and then rebirth, because of the way they see the forest bloom in response to their agricultural techniques. Sometimes you must be cut down in order to see yourself fully grow.
Economy
Tolba’s economy relies on the exports of raw materials such as lumber and gold mined from the mountains. Their economy also picks up the agricultural slack for Warka, producing a large amount of crops comparatively to other khanates. The most valued cash crops are tobacco, hemp, and fruit is highly valued as well, especially traded to Threshold.
Tolba also produces a large amount of Brights silk made from the silk of worms that live in the Milkweed Woods, which is highly valued. They also produce refined wine and mead from various vineyards and breweries.
Comments