Zeder

Nestled in the ancient southern continent, the Kingdom of Zeder lies like a great, dreaming serpent in the black jungles of the world; impenetrable, ever-shifting, and older than memory. Travelers who brave its wandering trees and carnivorous foliage speak of wonders, and madness, and the taste of sandalwood on the back of the tongue.

 

Enter the Shadowed Jungle

The Black Jungles of Zeder are alive; not merely with beasts and flora, but with ancient sentience. The trees walk. Not in metaphor, but in truth. They uproot and wander, reshaping the kingdom’s terrain like a dream reshapes memory. Rosewood barricades sprout overnight; banyans twist into arches; neem trees silently migrate across districts like flocks of birds.   Roads disappear. Towns are swallowed whole. Cities like Hanere Utarana emerge from the vine-strangled past and vanish again. Only Goliam, the capital, remains immutable, an obsidian-and-marble monolith said to have been built by the gods themselves as an anchor in the sea of verdant chaos.   Goliam is a city which is beyond ancient. It is the point around which the jungle swirls. The buildings are intricate and tall, every surface carved with designs and stories. The smells of sandalwood, teak, cardamom, and clove permeate the air, mixed with the rich earth and spiced wood of the jungles. Every spare nook of the city is occupied by shrines and statues of the many, many Zederian gods, as well as foreign gods which have been adopted into their pantheon.  

Traditions and Peoples

 

Festivals and Holy Days

The Zederian calendar is fluid and often determined by the movement of the jungle or celestial signs. However, major festivals include:  

Hanere’s Descent (Utarana):

Held at the beginning of the monsoon season, this weeklong festival commemorates Hanere’s fall and mourning. Women dress in black and silver, prayers are said for lost mothers, and martial games are held in her honor. On the final night, the city lights up with red lanterns, said to guide Hanere’s spirit through the jungle.  

The Bloom of Velarati:

When the silk trees flower, once every few years, artisans gather for a festival of weaving and storytelling. Every thread woven during this time is believed to carry a divine blessing.  

The Duel of Echoes (Khaali Yuddha):

Once a year, under the full blood moon, respected duelists from all over the kingdom gather in Goliam for a grand display of ritual combat. The winner earns a silk sash woven with the name of Mantu himself, and may request one royal favor.  

Cuisine of the Jungle Kingdom

Zederian cuisine is bold, aromatic, and fiery; not in spice, but in fragrance. Each bite is an offering to the senses.   Staples include:  

Black rice and honey-laced lentils

Spiced river fish wrapped in banana leaves and grilled over sandalwood embers

Haathee milk curds, sweetened with jaggery and cardamom

Jungle teas infused with rose petals, clove, turmeric, and bark shavings

Sour tamarind soups mixed with roasted mushrooms and jungle herbs

  Street markets in Goliam are filled with fried breads dipped in pepper-chili chutney, skewered meats dusted with dried lime and salt, and vendors fanning the scent of cloves and cinnamon into the humid air.  

Fashion, Adornment, and the Art of Being Seen

  To be Zederian is to adorn oneself as if one's body were a temple. Both men and women wear long, draped fabrics - saaras, vanghis, and pavadas - dyed in peacock blues, sunset reds, and vibrant golds, often woven with metallic thread. Gemstones are common: moonstones for love, tiger’s eye for strength, and obsidian for protection.   Tattoos are both religious and personal: stories inked in swirling scripts across arms and backs. Most citizens tattoo their favored god’s name or symbol on their right hand, a visible pledge of faith and identity.   Hair is worn long, often braided with gold thread, beads, or perfumed flowers. Even warriors adorn themselves, wearing etched armor over silken sashes, blending beauty and brutality with ease.  

Mystery and Trade

Though difficult to reach, Zeder is a vital part of the southern economy. Its silks, medicines, and rare spices fetch high prices. Trade is usually conducted at the jungle’s edge, where merchant cities like Ruta Varana maintain shifting, semi-permanent bazaars.   The kingdom's alliance with Gehnnia allows some predictability in commerce, and Zederians welcome traders warmly, though with the cryptic courtesy of people who know more than they say. Those who earn their respect, especially by participating in ritual duels, may be given safe routes to Goliam... or at least as safe as the jungle ever allows.   There are no sorcerers to speak of, but there are priests and tree shepherds who do their best to chase off obnoxious trees from the major roads. The jungles are home to many predators that happily stalk travelers and the largest herbivores in the world, the haathee; great beasts with large ears, long trunks, and four tusks.  

Politics in the Tangle: Thrones, Blood, and Silk

Though Zeder is ruled by a dynastic monarchy, power is rarely stable. Beneath the serene title of His Serene Wisdom lies a kingdom teeming with vibrant political rivalries, veiled insults spun like gold, and vendettas old enough to have become folktales.   Only a few great bloodlines may ever sit the throne; the Nine Families, ancient houses believed to be direct descendants of the jungle gods themselves. Each claims sacred right through ritual, bloodline, and divine favor. And though the House of Atal currently wears the crown, it is by no means secure. Their dominance rests upon delicate alliances, oaths extracted in shadow, and timely sacrifices to the gods.   When a monarch dies or is deposed (or disappears mysteriously, as they often do), the jungle doesn’t wait long before it devours the power vacuum. What begins as a dispute in council chambers quickly becomes a duel in the rain-soaked streets; daggers drawn beneath lanterns, war elephants marching through flooded roads, cousins leading city factions against their own blood.   Civil war is not rare. It is expected.   These are not wars of devastation but of ritual and precedent—blood must be shed, debts must be paid, and gods must be shown that a throne is earned, not given.  

The Nine Families of Zeder:

 

House Atal – Current monarchs; known for diplomacy, assassination, and their haunted palace gardens.

House Virevanti – Keepers of the eastern jungle; silk merchants and poisoners.

House Chalma – Hereditary generals; command the southern river forts; loyal only to themselves.

House Revala – Favored of Hanere; considered war-hungry mystics.

House Kedaal – Wealthy merchant-priests, often accused of heresy.

House Narra – Scholars and map-keepers; rumored to possess the original Names of the Trees.

House Jhanu – Famed duelists; their blood is said to be part divine, part serpent.

House Palsh – Once royals, now exiled; may rise again.

House Shathi – Control the roads, such as they are; smugglers and kingmakers.

All houses maintain secret armies, personal gods, and forbidden texts. A subtle insult at a wedding can undo decades of peace. A duel at dawn might change the course of succession.  

Goliam: The City of Anchors

“Goliam is not a city. It is a thousand cities wearing the same face.”

— A Zederian proverb

  Goliam, the capital, is a miracle of stillness in a kingdom of shifting wilderness. It is said the city was not built so much as planted, grown from the bones of a long-dead god who lay still enough for towers to rise from his ribs.   The city’s architecture is vast and vertical. Stone ziggurats wrapped in flowering vines, gold-plated domes, suspended bridges, and carved faces of forgotten gods watching from cornices. Canals run through its heart like veins, carrying water from underground reservoirs blessed by Daanika, goddess of medicine.   Goliam is divided into Nine Wards, each tied to one of the great families. These are like city-states within the city itself, governed with separate laws, customs, and dialects. Between them stands the Throne Compound, a sprawling walled garden-palace protected by the Silent Guard, eunuchs taken from the jungle at birth and trained to hear lies.   Markets bloom in alleyways and courtyards, colorful silks hung like banners, spices heaped into pyramids, storytellers drawing crowds with tales that may or may not be propaganda from the Nine.   There are no official city maps. Even locals navigate by memory, scent, and ritual. Outsiders are advised to hire a guide or risk vanishing down a side street that did not exist yesterday.    

Customs and the Art of Intrigue

Zederian culture is a theater of elegance and calculation. Power is never shown directly; it is suggested in gesture, dress, and wordplay.  

Social Etiquette:

The Left Hand is Sacred – Used for prayer and public gestures. Offering or receiving something with the right hand alone is considered an insult.

Greetings Vary by Region and Rank – Among nobles, a nod of the head is accompanied by a poetic phrase or quote. Among commoners, the hands are pressed palm to palm in gratitude to the gods.

Duels are Legal, if Ritualized – Insults may be answered in blood. Every ward maintains an arena where sanctioned duels may be fought - barehanded, bladed, or magical.

Coming of Age:

At 16, a Zederian youth undergoes the Naming Ritual, in which they select their public name, often infused with an aspirational title. Names are fluid and can change through life events.   For example, Jael-ni-Khavari ("Daughter of Khavari") may become Jael-vana-Tarpach ("Jael, who conquered the obsidian pass") after a successful campaign.  

Marriage and Romance:

Marriage is both sacred and strategic. Noble unions often require a pilgrimage into the jungle, where the couple must return with an offering from the Living Forest, symbolizing their ability to survive Zeder’s trials.   However, Zederians do not stigmatize lovers outside marriage. Romantic poetry, secret liaisons, and open triads are common among the upper class, often celebrated in temple murals and song.  

Death and Remembrance:

When a Zederian dies, their body is wrapped in silk, covered in herbs, and burned at dawn. Their ashes are placed in a scented urn and kept in the family’s ancestral temple - often underground and filled with offerings and half-buried statues.   Once a year, during Hanere’s Descent, families carry these urns in silent procession through the streets, a ghostly parade of remembrance. It is the one day where politics, rank, and rivalry pause, and all are merely children mourning the dead.  

Welcome to the Jungle

Zeder is a contradiction - warm and dangerous, ancient and ever-changing, open-hearted and wrapped in secrecy. It is a kingdom where gods walk among mortals, trees defy their roots, and the past is never fully lost - only waiting to be found again.   Those who enter the jungle kingdom rarely return unchanged. Some find madness. Some find gods. A few find home.