Pronunciation: mer-COR-ee
Demonym: Merkori/Merkori
Racial Distribution: gnome (51%), elf (42%), other (7%)
Primary Languages: Reyvial
Merkori tribes are independently organized, each one headed by its own druidic shaman, a roles typically filled by the wisest old woman in the tribe. Female tribe members are largely static, whereas men are more likely to leave the tribe of their birth to join a new one. Allied tribes will sometime organize a trade of multiple members, to strengthen their alliance and provide new blood to both tribes to ensure diversity of skills and genetics.
The bulk of the Merkori peoples' trade is hunted pelts and meat, but its most important trade is in rare herbs and flowers. Such plants grow deep in Merkori territory, in very precise conditions and under instructions of care passed down by Merkori herbalists for centuries, which are a secret closely guarded from outsiders. Considered sacred gifts of the primordials, the Merkori often trade these herbs as a show of goodwill to allied nations, with the unspoken threat that access to them will be cut off should they be aggressed. Past attempts to conquer Merkori communities have ended in the burning of these sacred gardens, ensuring that they cannot be used by invaders even if the invaders happen to know how to care for them.
Merkori territory covers much of the eastern half of the Kiebe Forest, including in its borders more of the wode lands than Amalar. The Ruukhara River cuts through the eastern end of the forest, sometimes serving as a starting location for trade sent out to the ocean land of Shosané. Peppered across the dense forest are the gargantuan starscraper trees, which tower over the surrounding forest and are capable of hosting Merkori villages in their hollow trunks and vast branches.
The Merkori have strong traditions revolving around reverence for the primordials, treating them almost as minor gods local to whatever area they hold dominion over. Shrines to the primordials can be found throughout Merkori territory, where one can burn incense or a portion of their hunting or foraging results in honor of them. A tribe's shaman serves as an interpreter of the primordials' will, contacting them through secret rituals and sometimes receiving signs and omens in turn.
All Merkori villages are situated within the hollow trunk of a starscraper tree, gargantuan trees many times the size of the other species surrounding them. Communal cooking and crafting areas sit on the ground at the base of the tree, and sleeping quarters consisting of curtained off hammocks and platforms can be found in the upper areas of the trunk, or in roofed areas of the branches. Thick vines hanging on the inside and outside of the trees can be climbed upon by gnomes or adventurous folk of other races, and pulley systems can be used to lift the elderly or disabled to greater heights.
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