Soulmeliti Forests
Stately and beautiful, the entire nation of the Soulmeliti blends into their forest. From their nature-scaped gardens that blend flowers and foods to their homes that homes carved into hillsides and built into trees, a traveller might pass through the entire forest without even realizing that there were inhabitants. Their lives, society, and most importantly, their honor, is cultivated with equal care.
Structure
The Styvalhyme Family has firm political hold over the Soulmeliti Forests. They take responsibility for the well being of the Soulmeliti people and have earned their trust over the past two and a half thousand years. Taxes are seen as a civic duty, as is care for the poor and service in the military. The A'dorno Family family stands firmly behind the Styvalhyme’s, supporting their decisions and serving them Human would serve their liege. For all of Tarien to see, the other families follow the A’Dorno example. Behind the scenes however, other powerful families offer services to the Styvalhyme. Due to the complex system of honor, the Styvalhyme’s then grant these families favors. In an effort to balance the powers of families in the Forest, and to maintain their own, they often push the limits of honor, granting favors that are not expected, or those that create great responsibilities for the recipients.
Culture
While wealth divides the Soulmeliti sharply, their society does not reflect it in the same manner as it does in Human lands. The Soulmeliti believe in a life of balance and spirit, which gives them a strange sense of honor. They have both great pride and humility. A Soulmeliti will rarely ask for assistance with anything, even if in the deepest destitution. At the same time, however, a peasant would spend his last coppers to buy a merchant a glass of wine. No Soulmeliti would refuse a gift, as that would insult the giver. Expecting obligation for a gift would also dishonor the recipient of the gift, as would not feeling obligated to giver cause dishonor to the receiver.
The result is a culture who’s wealthy free feed the poor, and the poor bear no resentment to the wealthy. In sense, the community is a large family. With such a common identity, the Soulmeliti are often seen as arrogant and isolationist. An insult to one Soulmeliti insults all, and acts of loyalty to one often result in gaining the trust of others.
History
The Soulmeliti Forest has the longest history on Tarien. Dating back to before the invention of writing, a Soulmeliti concept that evolved around 2,200 BC, the Soulmeliti began to track their own history. The first texts appeared in 2,123 BC, when individual Lords, known as Dyiamo’s, began to tract agricultural gains and commercial transactions on papyrus scrolls. A major breakthrough in historical records came in 2,087 BC, when Trilliodorus Naltryhim penned the Scroll of Years. He defined a year as the a complete cycle of winters, and named each year according to a vision granted to him by Tyloma. This system of naming years still remains the standard in the Soulmeliti Forests, although in the years following the Great War, the Soulmeliti have become more worldly, and have adopted the standard Eldorian Calendar for bureaucratic purposes.
The Soulmeliti developed central government in 2001 BC when the general council named Algorinth Styvalhyme Speaker of the Forest. His family still rules the Soulmeliti today, with the eldest male serving as Forest Speaker. In addition to possessing great honor, Algorinth used the general distrust of the Elynthi, who lived as cousins to the Soulmeliti in the southern part of the Forests, as a rallying point for his political gains. By fueling the distrust, Algorinth managed to enrage the Soulmeliti against their cousins. He ordered the construction of Solarin in 1,997 BC in order to defend against possible attack from the “bastard half-Soulmeliti of the south.” The Elynthi responding by constructing Naz’Asketon. When Solarin was completed in 1,982 BC, it stood as a monument to ascetic practicality. Woven into the forest itself, this grand capital could remain invisible to the untrained eye. Homes were built in concordance with the great trees, some of them even used the trees to create four and five story buildings, connected on the upper levels. Situated on the banks of the Silver River, the city sparkled as jewel under the sun, a testament to the glory of Tyloma, the true goddess and power in the universe. Naz'Asketon, on the other hand, stood as a bastion of defense for the now paranoid Elynthi. Its three story, thirty foot thick stone walls are now merely a legend, but at the time stood as the most impregnable fortress imaginable.
With defenses at home intact, Algorinth led Soulmeliti armies north, into the Orkish Hills. Here the skill of Soulmeliti warriors became legendary. After his great success in the North, Algorinth returned to Solarin and set his people act ease. Unfortunately, his death in 1,818 BC came with only one witness, an Elynthi servant, and rumors of betrayal and murder circulated through the trees of Solarin. Meltorythe Styvalhyme, Algorinth’s son and the new Forest Speaker observed the ritual year of mourning and then began a covert investigation into Elynthi activities. Some Soulmeliti known to have Elynthi sympathies, vanish. In 1,800 BC, he made a bold proclamation before the general population of Solarin that “the Elynthi are an aberration…a blight upon all for which Tyloma stands…and must be eliminated en mass.” Fearful, the Elynthi retreated inside their walls at Naz’Asketon for protection.
By 1,795 BC the Forests had erupted into full scale war. Elynthi and Soulmeliti bands skirmished daily. Through shrewd political maneuvering, Meltoythe’s advisors managed to obtain Khadric support for their conflict. By late fall, a full five thousand Khadric warriors marched into Solarin. The combined Khadric and Soulmeliti forces drove the Elynthi wholly into Naz’Asketon by 1,793 BC. In a brilliant stroke of coincidence, the Orks reunited under a leader who legend claims is eight feet tall and as brilliant as a classically trained Eldorian strategist. This leader, named Grat the Undefeatable, cut off Khadric supply lines, forcing the Soulmeliti’s allies to withdraw and battle the Orks in their own hills.
Taking advantage of the situation, Merdenkali Shal'Ratzen, an Elynthi political leader, uses Tylomian rituals to contacted a higher being. He summoned a demon-lord named Nosferian. Fearful for his people’s existence, Merdenkali barters away their eternal souls should Nosferian aid them in this war. In the spring of 1,787 BC, Merdenkali dons the black robes of Nosferian and assumed complete political and spiritual control of the Elynthi. The Elynthi launched a major counter attack in 1,784 BC and break the siege., By 1,776 BC all of the Soulmeliti and Khadric forces had been pushed back to Solarin. In the Battle of Vorkallic Pass, where the Khadra and Soulmeliti caught three hundred thousand Orcs in a narrow pass and rained death with arrows, and Khadric berserkers, and Soumeliti swordsmen fought ten and twenty to one, the Orks suffered unimaginable defeat. They lost two thirds of their forces before Grat the Undefeatable fell to a Khadric axe and the Orks fled in panic. After a two-month march south, the Soulmeliti and Khadra pushed the Elynthi armies back to Naz’Asketon once again, although the Elynthi forces burned every inch of ground they give up during their retreat.
Finally, after twenty-five years of siege, a human named Legerdemain, one of the Pre-Ordained, in what the Order of Shar'iish'ta called a Window of Fire, and the founder of magic, fell victim to a routine Elynthi patrol. He annihilated the patrol with a word and a spell. After meeting with Meltorythe, he agreed to side with the Soulmeliti. In a great spell he blows open the impregnable walls of Naz’Asketon, reducing thirty feet of stone to rubble in an instant. The Soulmeliti and Khadra charged, and ninety percent of all Elynthi were put to death. The remaining Elynthi fled east , across the Darien Plain. Soulmeliti calvary harassed the Elynthi rear flanks, but Merdenkali summoned demons to defend his people’s flight.
After Nosferian’s tears destroy Tyloma’s sacred valley in 1745 AC, she smites Solarin with a pillar light to teach them humility. Misinterpreting the sign, the Soulmeliti blame the Khadra and begin another war. Over the next thirty years, Soulmeliti troops move north through the Ork Hills, using magic to gain influence with and eventually the alliance of the Orkish tribes. Soulmeliti send Orkish shock troops in the Khardin's tunnels. The first, and they die by the thousands. With the destruction of Khardin by the Khadra, the Soulmeliti pull back, fighting their former allies all the way back to New Solarin, their rebuilt capital.
The Great Plague baffled healers and priests as it spreads through the Forests in 1562 B, killing over half the population. Mysteriously, it vanished in 1456 BC as quickly as it came. During the plague years, the poet Ranshali Modethyll wrote what many consider the greatest tragic play of all time. Lasting the days, The River of Tears details the history of the Soulmeliti and Elynthi war. It is first performed in 1499 BC at the funeral of Meltoythe Styvalhyme.
A great tradition of literature and philosophy among the Soulmeliti began in 1318 BC when Jan’tor Evel’hylle penned The Way Is the Tree, detailing the complex system of honor the Soulmeliti maintain to embody balance in their lives. In 1055 BC the tradition continued when Delorian Manshi’iet dedicated his mosaic, Tyloma’s Grove on the back wall of her temple in New Solarin. Philosophy was further defined in 733 BC with Duality of Metaphysics by Andra Moeynshiem. She postulated that a Soulmeliti, or any sentient being for that matter, has a separate soul and body, combining together only in this fleeting life. She died mysteriously in 624 BC, in her sleep at the tender age of 220 winters, shortly before completing a controversial essay entitled Morality of Tyloma/Morality of Soulmeliti and was immediately canonized by the religious officials. More religious manuscript than art, Rai’ayl A'Dorno's poem the Tiara of Tyloma set Tarien's standard for confessions and was canonized in 245 BC.
The Soulmelit also have a long tradition of elite warriors. Trapped in the Orkish Hills, a handful of warriors defeated an army of five hundred orks. The survivors pledge to to honor their fallen brothers and sisters by defending the borders of the Soulmeliti Forests for generations to come, giving birth to the Kirsh'shaluush. These warriors, wielding the two-handed blades in one hand and often using the pair in a deadly combination combine their swordsmanship with a mastery of acrobatic martial arts. One Kirsh’shaluush is said to be the match for a hundred Orkish soldiers.
After their debacles with other races, Soulmeliti contact with humans, was handled tenderly and moved at an excruciatingly slow pace. Beginning in 880 BC and located in what is now Galencia, the Soulmeliti worked hard to foster a relationship of trust until they signed the Drakshal Accords with Raliph Markudar VI in 645 BC.
Technologically, the Soulmeliti continued to advance the art of warfare by improving their bows in 215 BC. Sor'salyn Jentri designed a bow as tall as himself, but set the handle at the lower third, allowing him to fire arrows easily from horseback or while kneeling.
In 183 BC, Carni'key Kal'haiyllyn wrote the epic The Dragonslayer. The hero, Vernal Trielheim inspired youths from New Solarin to Geyla. The Khadric Clanchief Jandor Goldtooth enjoyed the epic so much that he printed it on Khadric printing presses. As a result, the two states begin to re-establish diplomatic relations. After nearly a decade of negotiations, they signed a pact of non-aggression and trade named The Mending Matters and trade between the two resumes. Kal’hairyllyn did not fair so well with his next epic, The Dragon Knight, written after a visit from a Silver Dragon convinced him that not all dragons are evil.
Diplomatic relations with the Empire of Eldoria began in 3 BC when Thanerithyn Styvalhyme declares the Empire a “friend of Tyloma”. They continued over two centuries later during negotiations for the Trans-Rheuthengage Highway. While Eldoria received extra-territorial privileges in other nations, the Soulmeliti paid for, constructed, and still patrol and maintain all of the highway within it’s borders. The treaty that they signed merely gives merchants the right to travel the highway without paying taxes. The trade that blossomed from the construction of the Highway now accounts for over three quarters of the revenue in the Forests.
When the Great War began in 456 AC, the Soulmeliti enlisted the aid of Galencians and Eldorians against their Elynthi foes. Eventually the Zennonaize Confederacy joined the conflict on Soulmeliti’s side while Orks and the Flietch-ta Empire ally with the Elynthi. The war, however, was fought inside the forests and the devastation is immense. Elynthi hit and run tactics with Demonic shock troops razed hundreds of acres of forest. Despite the efforts of Soulmeliti priests after the war, some sections of the forest never return. Dyianr'ri Shien'shoam, from the Kirsh’shaluush order rose in prominence and took command of the army.
After Alequeas Waterfalls ended the war, Dyianr’ri moved to Katzpütch, and began to build force bent on revenge. Trade resumed in the regrown forests, and Imperial Legionnaires remained to provide protection from Orkish raids. The memories of the war remained fresh, however, and the graves served as reminders. Many wished to bury the past, but many saw the need for vigilance, and over the years, the size of Dyianr'ri's Army grew to over ten thousand and marched on New Solarin.
Finding themselves unwelcome in New Solarin the People's Army, as it was now called, continued their march across the Denton Plains toward the Merdenkal Peninsula. At first, they won a great victory, burning Bren'niin and executing most of the nobility. When they arrived at the Blighted Wood, however, they met their doom at the Battle of the Fallen Moon in the form of Selengar Shal'Ashen.
After this, the greatest defeat in Soulmeliti history, the tattered remnants of the army fled westward, pursued by the Elynthi until and laying siege to New Solarin. When the city fell the following year, with vengeance in their dark hearts, the Elynthi mercilessly execute the Soulmeliti nobility and begin an occupation that lasts over a hundred years. Weak willed and greedy, the Empire of Eldoria forsook their former allies and recognized the Elynthi as the legitimate rulers of the Forests.
Those Soulmeliti not living in the forests began gather in Karradone and organize a nation in exile. Leaderless, their actions were fragmented at first but slowly gained cohesion, with one of their first acts a protest of the Blacksteel trade in Eldoria. Greedy merchants, fearful of public sentiment impacting their profits, turn the crowd against the protesters and violence erupted. Seeing public sentiment growing against them, many Soulmeliti began to seek a new homeland. Together with a handful of human supports they left Karradone in 530 AC for the newly explored Azermathian sub-continent, settling at the southern end of Hopki Bay and founding the Palatiir Republic, a place where human and Soulmeliti could coexist as brothers and sisters.
Not all Soulmeliti were content to forsake their homeland, however. May saw their allies in Eldoria as the key to freeing the Soulmeliti Forests from Elynthi rule and continued to bend the ear of the emperor after emperor. Other's less patient with the slow machinations of politics, began to appeal to human greed. Paying vast sums to merchants trading in New Solarin, these expatriots had slaves smuggled to freedom in merchant caravans. Treachery, however, betrayed the operation in 573 AC, leading the Elanthai Council to declare war on Eldoria. In a series of Yquick and brutal battles, the Elynthi take Mathe and then, after a short seige, Drythe. With the Empire on its heels, the spark of revolution seeme certain to be extinguished.
Nearly a century after the occupation began, however, a young Soulmeliti claiming to be the son of Vernal Styvalhyme, the last Forest Speaker, and Dyian'ri Shienshoam, emerged in exile. Partnered with a Prydithen warrior named Igor, seeking pay his own debts, Thantherian Styvalhyme began an epic quest to free the Soulmeliti people. With little coin and fewer friends, he travelled Tarien, assembling parts of a huge golem known as the Gods' Hand. In his many travels, conscious of the debts he incurred and his inability to pay them, he began the List of the Thanked, the roll of the true friends of the Soulmeliti Forests to whom debts are still being paid. His quest a success, he and Igor used the golem to free first Drythe and then Mathe, shattering Elynthi Armies. Realizing that taking back his homeland would require bloodier battles, Thantherian smuggled himself into New Solarin to stage a slave revolt, forcing the Elynthi to fight on two fronts as Eldorian forces invaded from the west. Nearly hundred years after it had began, the occupation of the Soulmeliti Forestss was ended.
The occupation had stained the souls of the Soulmeliti people and they withdrew into isolation to mourn. Their isolation lasted through the Mage Wars and they took no part in the terrible acts inflicted upon the arcane in human lands. Neither did they offer refuge to fleeing magi, however, a fact that many remember to this day. Neither did they allow entry to human citizens of the Palatiir Republic, though they embraced visiting Soulmeliti from this strange state with open arms. Many Soulmeliti citizens of the Republic, having lived alongside humans for centuries, found the decision disturbing and left the Forests for their new homes, vowing never to return; the first schism in memory for Tyloma's children. Finally, after 150 years of isolation, Forestspeaker Thantherian reopened the forests, trade and travel between in the rest of Tarien slowly returning to this day.
Demography and Population
For the past century and half, with the Forest's borders closed, only Soulmeliti might be found in their nation. The opening of their borders in the last decade has slowly started to change that dynamic, though not by much. Non-Soulmeliti are not allowed to travel to forests without a Writ of Passage. Such documents are only issued from select Soulmeliti embassies in foreign state: Drythe, Geyla, Grennig, and Karradone. While hundreds have applied, only about three dozen have been issued in the past decade. Most of these have gone to Galencian merchants and Khadric craftsmen. Interestingly, not a single Writ has been granted from the Karradone embassy, where even Jethrick d'Uthar, the regent, was denied.
Territories
The Soulmeliti Forests epitomize beauty. Over sixteen hundred square miles of virgin forest has taken the breath from many visitors. The northern part of the forest consists of narrow conifers, dwarfed by giant redwoods. The forest here is not thick, but full of shadows as the each redwood’s canopy blankets the floor with hundreds of feet with shade. The weather here brings all four seasons. Winters are cold and snowy, though substantially milder than those to the Orkish Hills to the north. Summers bring warmth and humidity, perfect for growing rice and other crops. Further south, the winters bring a bite to the air but no snow and the forest changes to thick copses of maples and oaks. Soulmeliti silk farms abound and small, wooden buildings serve as homes and clothing shops.
Two of Tarien’s largest rivers run like veins through the forest, bending to nearly kiss each other along the outskirts of New Solarin. To the west, the Silver River produces trout and other fish but to the east, the River of Tears has no game. According to legend, no animal will drink from the River of Tears inside of Soulmeliti borders, for the sorrow of Nosferian is said to taint its waters. The Soulmeliti do, however, use this river to transport goods north and south. Far to the east, a burnt section of forest scars its beauty. In this strip, nearly twenty miles wide and almost a hundred north to south, no vegetation will grow. It’s blackened earth a destroyed by demonic magic and reminder of the horror that was the Great War.
Religion
Only one deity is worshiped in the Soulmeliti forests, and that is Tyloma. In fact, most Soulmeliti believe that only one deity exists on Tarien. All other instances of divine power are either shades of Tyloma, misinterpreted by heretics of other lands or evil expressions of the anti-god, Nosferian. While other temples are not allowed in Soulmeliti, worship of other deities, Nosferian excepted, is tolerated. Indeed, many Soulmeliti find this other worship humorous. Soulmeliti themselves are exceptionally religious, spending time each day in prayer to their goddess. Often, the Soulmeliti combine their daily worship with graceful exercise that focus both the body and the soul. It is not uncommon to see hundreds of Soulmeliti gathered in the early morning, worshipping and exercising in unison. Most have a personal relationship with her, preferring meditation and contemplation to organized worship. Her priests serve as advisors and spiritual counselors instead of spiritual leaders. Major feast days, however, change this practice, as the priests bless the great banquet tables laid out in New Solarin and other villages, leading the community in great prayers of thanksgiving for the harvest or askance for the spring planting.
Foreign Relations
History has strained Soulmeliti relations with foreign states. While technically allied with Eldoria, many harbor resentment for the Empire's inaction during the first years of the occupation. Others believe that by coming to Thantherian's aid, the Empire has discharged it debt. The debate, conducted quietly in Soulmeliti households, has proceeded with typical Soulmeliti civility over the past century and half.
The Palatiir Republic, causes a similar diviceness among the Soulmeliti people. Unsure of how to treat their brothers and sisters that have formed a state alongside humans, some feel that they are no longer truly Soulmelit. Others believe that the tiny Republic should have done more themselves during the occupation, and that forming their own expatriate community they gave up on their homeland.
Relations with other human nations vary from cordial - with Galencia who has long held a place in Soulmeliti hearts - to amused - with Grennig Peninsula and its free dealing ways - and finally abject horror - with Sarya's Republic were the voice of the people has clearly gone so horribly wrong. They think little of further flung or smaller nations, such as those in Azermathia or the Zennonize Confederacy.
Of non-human lands they maintain diplomatic relations with Underground Kingdom of the Children of Kharl, centuries of familiarity breeding trust with Khadra. While there is no embassy in New Kharolin - what Soulmeliti could be made to suffer a life under the stones - the majority of Writs have been given to Khadric craftsmen.
Soulmeliti have little use for other races. Their patience, while great, is tested by the Nerrid and they frown upon the barbarous ways their cousins, the Kari-Zaro. They are always at war with the Orkish Hills to the north, border skirmishes a regular occurrence as one tribe or another invariably tries their luck in the northern Forests. Finally the Soulmeliti are still at war with the Flietch-ta Empire and the Elanthai Council, both by decree and in their hearts. And while they elect not to pursue this war at the moment, all that reside in New Solarin know that it is merely a matter of time before the battle is joined anew.
Agriculture & Industry
The Soulmeliti economy is one of the most diverse in all of Tarien. Agriculturally, the Forests produce silks, cottons, tobacco, medicinal herbs, rice, rare woods, gums, and a wide variety of vegetables. Other Soulmeliti, especially those in the north, focus upon hunting game. As they keep few livestock themselves, these Soulmeliti perform a valuable service, providing most of the meat for the Forest while scouting for Orkish raids at the same time.
Trade & Transport
The Soulmeliti, export few raw materials. Instead, many families specialize in weaving, clothing manufacture, and woodworking to produce artisan products that demand the highest prices in Eldorian and Grennig markets. Other families deal strictly in trade, moving these valuable goods from the isolation of New Solarin to trade for metals and stones in a Galencia, or to more expensive markets to the south. Due to the diversity of the economy and the high demand for their products, the Soulmeliti are not affected by fluctuation in world trade to the same extent as the Eldorian Sea region. The nature of the economy, however, does create a great disparity in wealthy among the Soulmeliti. Merchants earn extravagant profits while farmers barely subsist. The nature of Soulmeliti spirituality, however, holds that wealth means little, so the wealthy spend money freely, commissioning festivals, entertainment, and works of art for the general populace.
We will rally to protect our homes, our families, our very way of life. We will arm our sons and daughters and defend our forests. We draw the line here, at the River of Tears and declare that by Tyloma’s grace, the fires will burn no longer. To do this, it is with great sorrow, I must ask of you the greatest gift, the dedication of your hearts.”
Dawn Near Der'heikyme
Maps
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The Soulmeliti Forests
Battle of Tentor'kirsh
Dyian’ri’s thighs burned and her calves twisted like twine. She had crouched beneath the shade of the ancient trees for six hours, silently watching. The light breeze glanced off her sun-bronzed cheeks, bringing with it the stench of charred earth. Barely twenty paces to the east, where they camped, a ten-mile swath of destruction cut into the forest. The ground, still wet from the rains that by Tyloma’s grace, had prevented the fires from demolishing a broader section of the timeless forest, was a puddle of soupy ash.
The Elynthi camp, with a full compliment of five hundred soldiers, demon-priests, and their pet demons, rested languidly though the day. She cursed Nosferian and his black souled people. She had spent the day waiting for any sign of their next move and had gained nothing. So unlike the Orcish raiding parties that she single handedly destroyed during the first years of the war, these Elynthi were the mirrors of her own kind. Long lived and patient, the bided their time for opportunities. They took a section of forest and immediately razed it, waiting months until they advanced again. She resisted the urge to shake her head.
The lucid movements of her counterpoint, the Elynthi soldier perched at the edge of the forest on the boughs of an oak, snatched her from her reverie. He had sat in the tree as long as she had crouched here, yet in one fluid motion, he sprung from the tree. His replacement followed with a similar movement. Dyianr’ri felt the rage raise inside her. To leap with such ease, she had practiced her art for over seventy years, but the Elynthi came upon such physical skills without effort. Annoyed at the futility of her day, and filled with rage at the fifteen-year invasion of homeland, she eased out of her crouch. Her stomach twanged with hunger, and she headed silently back to her own camp.
She followed a stream for two miles, stepping from stone to stone, avoiding the telltale splash of water, and leaving no tracks along the bank. The smells of garlic and ginger filled her nose as she reached the edge of the camp. The sun had fallen completely, and the flicker of watch fires danced against the darkness of the forest. Her keen night-vision picked out a sentry, some thirty feet up with his bow knocked. She waved and drew the symbol her goddess in the air. He nodded as she passed. Dyianr’ri accepted a wooden bowl of rice and vegetables, as the war had deprived the Soulmeliti of meat, and ate hungrily. A messenger stood to her left, politely waiting for her to finish, as Soulmeliti custom frowned upon speaking while someone enjoyed a meal. She set the bowl down on a rock to her left, and stared at the messenger. A child, she thought, not yet eighty. The war had taken its toll on her people. Children were forced into the roles of young men and woman and young men and woman into roles of adults. “Report.”
He spoke of casualties and advances on various fronts. Word that a great leader of the Orcs had descended on Dalencroft disturbed her. Although Dalencroft was over five hundred miles to the west, and on another front, she felt pain for those murdered by the savage beasts. At least, she thought grimly, the Elynthi destroyed everything, quickly and mercifully. The Orcs took time to cause pain. Absently, she drew one of her two matched swords. Nearly four feet in length, slightly curved, and sharp only on one side, both her blades were made of a thousand layers of paper thin and folded mithril. With a practiced eye, she examined its edge. With proper care, her blade could slice through solid stone.
The messenger had nearly completed his report when the wind shifted. The sharp bite of death filled the air for the briefest moment and Dyianr’ri leapt to her feet. Demon-scent. “Raid!” she screeched, her blades already in a defensive position as the air around them filled with fire from an Elynthi spell. She flung herself to the ground and the crackle passed air stilled. With a quick glance at the charred heap that moments ago was her messenger, sprang forward, leaping over her own men and charging directly for the largest demon that she could see.
Founding Date
Before Written History
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Training Level
Professional
Veterancy Level
Veteran
Demonym
Soulmeliti
Leader
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Economic System
Market economy
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Species
Related Myths
Magic in the Soulmeliti Forests
While magic might not be woven into the everyday fabric of life in the Soulmeliti Forests, like it is in the far flung nations of the Nerrid Alliance and @Elanthai Council, the Soulmeliti are no strangers to the arcane arts. Nearly every child studies the arts for a time as a child and it is rare to find a Soulmeliti without at least one magical trick. Those that exhibit greater natural talent are encouraged to study more deeply and often spend their long lives reading ancient tombs and mastering the art. Others blend their talents into everyday activities, using the arcane as a tool for agriculture, crafting, and for those who walk a finer line of honor, stealth. Perhaps most famous of all are the Aran'fantarhyme, who blend their talent with the arcane into their mastery of the blade.
The Trans-Rheuthengage Highway Near New Solarin
Soulmeliti Honor
When one lives as long as the Soulmeliti do, it the importance of proper behavior and polite speech becomes amplified. Words spoken decades ago and actions taken in previous centuries seem as fresh to the Soulmeliti as yesterdays weather might to a human. Over the millennia, the Soulmeliti have developed a rigid set of behavioral codes into a system of honor to keep their society running smoothly. These rules are both complex and simple at the same time. At their heart, they ensure that no action causes offense to another as Soulmeliti have a deep respect for an individual’s space, thoughts, and beliefs. While a human might easily rattle off his opinion of the Emperor’s latest decree or a lady’s choice of gown, a Soulmeliti rarely speaks her mind when unsure of her audience’s opinions. This respect pervades society deeply, with each person well aware of her place within it and carefully acting as her position might dictate, but always in a way that shows the value of another’s position.
Thus, a member of the ruling Styvalhyme family would bow deeply to a simple a farmer and never hold her position in society over him. That same farmer would show deep respect for the Styvalhyme, graciously thanking her for taking on the burdens of leadership. Importantly, while a Soulmeliti will rarely speak their true mind, when do make a statement, they stand behind it unfailingly – always honoring their debts and obligations. And while no honorable Soulmeliti would hold another’s debts or obligations over another, neither would she refuse the fulfillment of that debt or obligation as that would dishonor the debtor.
While many of these societal norms have become embedded in the surrounding cultures – in the Flietch-ta Empire and Elanthai Council in particular – each has evolved to have different nuances in their honor codes to better reflect their true natures. A Soulmeliti, of course, would never hold those codes to the same level of esteem as their own.
Winter in the Northern Soulmeliti Forests
"And they say the Soulmeliti have opened their borders? I think not. While they may claim it possible to visit their forests for trade, how can you call it open when not a single member of my guild has been approved?"