Mole People

= Mole Kingdom of běžьkatigorà = The Southern Mole Kingdom of běžьkatigorà is a sub-terrain kingdom inside the territory of and below Loyalist Uldarash. Most of the kingdom is located underground in New Haven mountain, the largest mountain in Loyalist Uldarash. While the Kingdom is firmly part of Loyalist Uldarash and within the capital city it is granted certain autonomy, for instance having its own king.

Relations have not always been easy between the Loyalist Uldarash settlers and the native mole people. One point of constant issue is the amethyst gardens. The gardens are an important cultural icon to settlers but the moles consider the crystals food and have to be constantly shooed away from eating them.

The Mole Diaspora
The origin of the moles is lost to time. But through stories and myth the moles of běžьkatigorà claim their heritage to some long ago great mole kingdom in the far north. While their ancient heritage is mostly unknown, the great exudes they took leaving their home is mentioned in much of their oral tradition. One such legend states:... The journey was tough; many moles died due to disease and starvation as well as attacks by surface tribes.

The founding of běžьkatigorà
The světбояринъ (name of their tribe) moles found their way to New Haven mountain were they settled their new home. The mountain proved to be an excellent home containing an extensive cave network. While excavating the tunnels for their new home the moles discovered large deposits of amethyst. We now know the whole mountain is one giant geode. The moles quickly fell in love with the taste of the rock eating large quantities of the stone. It was seen as a sign of status and wealth as well as food. With high demand and only privative mining techniques the moles soon ran into a shortage of the precious stone. As the moles soon ran out of the rock its symbol as a status symbol only grew.

Overview of mole culture and society
Due to the tight living conditions and the loss of many of their number on their journey to New Haven mountain a strong communal culture has developed. Moles will often sleep in huge piles in large warrens. The sharing of rescores among their number is common and moles will often give what they have to those who need. While trade is not a foreign concept to the moles they barter or mostly share what they have with each other. This made the concept of money very strange to mole society, with many not understanding it or refusing to use it.

Amethyst is very important in mole society and culture. It is mainly sought after as food, the moles finding it especially tasty, but also as it is used as jewelry and art. Before Loyalist Uldarash the moles had eaten most of the amethyst they could easily mine. This only increased the demand for the rock. With the founding of Loylasit Uldarash the settlers brought with them advanced mining techniques. This opened up huge veins of amethyst previously unavailable to mole miners. While still rare the moles were overjoyed with all the new amethyst.

Seashells and other marine objects are sought after for mole jewelry. This is due to its rarity in mole society as moles don't often venture to the surface let alone to the ocean.

Gov
běžьkatigorà government is an elective monarchy. Where new elections are held upon the death of the previous monarch and the newly elected monarch serving for life. While there is no codified constitution dictating laws the king does not hold absolute power. Rather most mole kings rule with a light touch. Within mole society there is a strong sense of egalitarianism. After the King the most powerful mole is the High Justice in charge of determining what is a crime and dispensing justice. At any point the King can appoint a grand vizier who serves as his chief advisor and helps in the running of the realm.