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Etymology: In the Kheldic tongue, Baergan Dhol means "Living Place."
It has been mistranslated as "home" or "homeland" in several places,
and while that may make sense it is incorrect. A better translation
would be "A Place That Lives." The name hearkens back to the Khelds'
druidic herritage and their reverence for the land itself as a living
thing.

Geography: Baergan Dhol is not really a country. It is an expanse of
land shared by a number of nomadic tribes. It is roughly defined as
an area within the Wyldegonne frontier north of two rivers that run
out of either side of the Dun Craugh Peaks, a north-to-south mountain
range full of ancient mysteries. It is bordered on the east by the
Oelthen Forest, and to the north by a small part of Kagnar, the
Plainsmarsh, and the Bahli. The land is mostly rolling hills and flat
plains covered in golden wheat and dotted with dense copses of small,
dark trees. As it nears the rivers to the south, those smaller copses
become larger woods and even full-blown forests. Herds of antelope
make their way around the plains, and following them, as they have for
thousands of years, are the people who gave Baergan Dhol is name: the
Kheldic Tribes.

People: The Khelds live a life of constant struggle for survival. In
an existence of hunting for food, weathering the elements, and
fighting for their lives against the savage orcs - or against worse
things that call the Wyldegonne home - Khelds have been forged into a
hardened, ferocious people. "To live in constant battle, you must
live for battle," is an old Kheldic saying. When Christianity came to
the Khelds, many made it their own, leading to the following prayer:
"Lady, your blood is my warpaint, your tears cool my tiring body, and
your word is my battle cry as I march, as you did, with this cross of
steel in my hands." Bottom line, these guys are tough. They fight
hard, and they love to fight. Their children's games are brutally
designed to toughen young Khelds for battle or teach them discipline
and patience while hunting. Their rites of passage differ from tribe
to tribe, ranging from killing your first deer to killing your first
orc to killing your first TEN orcs. Their hair ranges from light
brown to red to blonde, and their eyes tend towards blue and green.
They have pale skin, but their lives outdoors quickly tan it to a
healthy bronze. They have a tribal instinct born of necessity, and
are naturally suspicious of outsiders. Those who live near to the
Bahli are willing to trade, but rarely intermingle. They fiercely
defend their own, and by and large are deeply loyal to their clans.
Still, the wandering lifestyle has bred wanderlust in more than a few
who, having seen the savage spleandor of the Wyldegonne, wish to see
more. Beyond battle, the Khelds value stories and songs - especially
from beyond their own tribe. Khelds love to hear stories of OTHER
clans and OTHER cultures, and so their bards - called skalds - go
forth into the world to learn as many as they can before coming home.
Scholars who have met these skalds believe that this may be because
the constant battle that is a Kheld's life often matches or exceeds
the tales of a tribe's past heroes, so their own stories seem like
nothing more than retellings of their current lives. Many hold to the
old Druidic worship - belief in the strength and spirit of the plants,
animals, and the very earth all around them. Of late, Christianity
found its way into their firey hearts, as mentioned above. The Khelds
see no reason why the earth and their messiah cannot both be
worshipped, and many who wear the new cross still attend the druidic
rituals. There are a few tribes that remain die-hard druidic
believers, who say that the influence of Jusella Christ will distract
the Khelds from the land that deserves all thanks for sustaining the
tribes. Even so, each tribe tends to mind its own business about that
sort of thing - those who wish to follow the new faith are either
already in a tribe that accepts this, or they leave their less
tolerant tribe to find one what does.

Government: Each tribe is slightly different, but for the most part
each has a chieftain who retains various advisors on war, hunting,
inter- and intra-tribal matters, and magic. A tribe's skald is also
greatly valued, and is usually immediately related to the chieftain -
such as a niece or nephew, or sometimes one of the chieftain's own
children. This is not so of the other advisors, whom most chieftains
purposely select from different families in order to give everyone a
sense of contribution. The chieftain's eldest child becomes the new
chieftain, unless the former names a different successor, or is
deposed in some manner of ritual challenge. These challenges also
differ from tribe to tribe, but almost are almost never simply the
single combat one might expect. An advisor on warfare may be deposed
and replaced in such a way, but the Khleds know that their leader must
be more than a simple brute. The challenges range from games of skill
and strategy to team-based contests and even include verbal debates.

Military: Every Kheld, man or woman, is expected to be able to fight.
The most able become the warriors who train and lead others, but are
still expected to pull their weight in hunting, gathering, and camp
maintenance. Tactics differ from tribe to tribe, but all are skilled
in the guerilla-style warfare that Rannick used against the orcs.
Some even keep special squads of their most skilled ready for
difficult missions. In times of conflict, they all know where to hide
their non-combatants while the warriors prepare to move like ghosts
and strike like a firestorm against their enemies. Most Khelds prefer
larger weapons: spears, greatswords, greataxes, and the like. They do
not eschew the bow, but tend to use it more for hunting than for
warfare. Many of the Kheldic weapons are purchased from other
cultures, but a few have forges and mines they keep in the foothills
of the Dun Craugh Peaks or even in the ruins of ancient orcish
strongholds. The locations of these mines and forges are fiercely
kept secrets, of course.

History: Baergan Dhol's history is shrouded in the mists of the past.
According to Kheldic myth, the first Kheld was Rannick, a man of
legendary courage, strength, skill, and cunning, who came to the
broken land of Maddengrahl soon after or just before the fall of
Gordaine. He had many adventures in that savage time, and the list by
now cannot all be true, but the end of the story is always the same,
no matter which story-teller you ask. Rannick fell afoul of the
orcish kingdom that once stood in the lands of Baergan Dhol. He was
eventually imprisoned and tortured by the self-proclaimed orc king
Hordar, who stepped forth to lead the nation after the true king was
slain at the last battle of Gordaine. Rannick escaped, promising to
return and undo everything Hordar had ever made. He went back to his
unknown homeland across the sea and returned with a mighty band of
raiders. The kingdom was still reeling from the loss of their true
king, and it was all Hordar could do to keep his land from falling
into civil war. Rannick and his band pushed the kingdom over the
edge, and patiently and methodically cleared up the rest. With the
orcs fleeing, Rannick tore down every city that had survived the orcs'
self-destruction, and by his own hand slew Hordar in a titanic battle
in the king's own throne room. The legend says that when the fight
was over, he went to the king's balcony, looked out over the land, and
remarked to his friends, "You know, now that there are no more orcs
here, it is a beautiful land. Without them choking it, maybe it can
live again." Thus, the name "Living Place." Rannick's band of
raiders took wives and husbands from the orcish slaves they'd freed
and became the first Khelding Tribe: the MacRannick tribe. It still
exists today, and is widely considered the strongest and most
prestigious tribe. Over the centuries, many groups split off and
became their own tribes, but all have followed Rannick's decree that
the land be allowed to keep on living by making their way as
unobtrusively upon their home as they can. The orcs that fled south
have trickled back into Baergan Dhol, but their tribes are fractured
and broken. They war among themselves as much as with the Khelds, as
they no longer posess the unity of purpose that cracked at the Fall of
Gordaine, and which Rannick seems to have broken forever more.