Culture of Kaldor

Food and Drink

Peasants subsist on coarse barley and oat bread and barley pottage. Chickens and ducks are common. Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, and chestnuts appear in many recipes. Haniale is the most popular ale — a piney nut-brown brew bittered with Sorkin Spruce buds.

Noble households consume large quantities of game and imported spices (black pepper, cumin, sandalwood). Upper-class cooks are often imported from Melderyn. Meats with thick sauces, grilled fish on herb beds, and roasted game are popular.

Fishing in crown rivers is free each Peonian Lesser Sapeleh during salmon spawning.

Entertainment

Kaldor is home to outstanding troupes of thespians and traveling harpers. Storytelling is an advanced art, especially among those of Jarin descent. Vocal music is usually solo plainchant or duet; the ability to improvise lyrics is esteemed more than tonal beauty.

Clothing

Heavily influenced by the wool industry. The court of Miginath Elendsa is intensely competitive. Furs are common but customarily restricted to certain social strata. Feathers of gamebirds are considered strictly barbarian accoutrements.

Khuzan jewelry is relatively common. Laws against counterfeit Khuzan goods are enforced — production of arms bearing Khuzdul weaponcrafter clan marks is punishable by death.

Despite its long history, Kaldor is still a frontier society, not nearly as class-conscious as southern Melderyn. Most folk favor bright colors. The king instituted an annual award for the best dye color.