Map of the Lumpral basin of the planet Kassidor with links to neighboring lands

The Lumpral Basin

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This is one of the great basins of Kassidor, this map is about six thousand miles wide and seven thousand miles tall. It is the third largest in area and fourth largest in population. Almost all of the population is in the central part of the basin. Because this basin is so large, there is a detail map of the central region, this page will deal mainly with the areas that are not on that map.

Over most of this map, the culture and language is different in almost every valley. There are over four hundred languages in use in this basin, and most of those four hundred are outside the central parts of the basin. Very few of these cultures participate in the worldwide culture of the planet to the extent they can avoid it. They do have the Instinct, but many of these cultures practice social coercion that can be quite effective.


Culture

This entire basin does not participate in the planet-wide monetary system of iron, copper, aluminum and titanium. Instead each city and valley issues paper money in small denominations and almost no one carries metal. That is as true in the major cities as it is in the most remote tribal areas. Of course, in the tribal areas most people may have never even seen paper money. In the most remote, all villagers are essentially slaves of the chief. In some they are all children of the chief.

The central parts of the basin have been settled since before 24,000bc., and there were forms of abstract symbology in use on the chieftain poles as early as 18,000bc. The history of the central basin is skimmed on it's page.

The remaining basin is almost entirely Enurate territory. Each of the valleys has it's own history and tradition, but writing didn't reach these lands until the Earth year gets an 'ad' on the end of it, so little of it is known. Oral tradition is good for hundreds of years, but after thousands, the details are very distorted.

Travel in these areas, other than the direct routes along the four major rivers (North Toumda, West Toumda, Lunstran and Lazahn) should be researched carefully before being undertaken. Hire a local guide who knows the language and can read a map well enough to show you where you are going. There are details available from previous explorers, but the last scientific contact with some valleys may be a thousand years out of date. Some valleys may not have seen any visitor at all from farther than the next valley in a thousand years.

Some cultures are openly hostile to outsiders and you will be stared at in silence by the whole community until you go away. The most extreme never allow any non relatives into their territory. That is not the norm, but there is not a lot of interaction between the different cultures and for any small village on most of this map, the arrival of someone from outside the area is going to attract attention.

They will not know any more about Centorin than they do about the people five valleys down this side of the hills. Outside the towns along the major rivers, most people over most of this area have not heard of the Highlands or Kassidor Yakahn and have certainly seen fewer Elves in their life than you did in the local year it took to get out of the lands of the Highland Elves. Most rural folk on the outer parts of this map don't believe in Elves, many don't even believe in Megnors and think Mythra came from the Nycoba Empire. Any talk of stargates and Centorin technology will be greeted by hearty laughter at best.

Once you are away from the rivers it is very easy to get yourself into an area where no one speaks 'Elvish' as they call Kassidorian. You will find no app on your comm to translate to the only language used for a day's hike in all directions. In almost every village you will find at least someone who speaks at least a little Mythra. There are nearly three billion in this basin who are fluent in Mythra, but two and a half billion of them live in the central part of the basin. Mythra is actually more like English and Centish and Portuguese than Kassidorian, but you only hear it in a few ethnic enclaves in the Highlands. There are some vendors who claim to have translator apps for Mythra, the ones from Talkrite and Wordmaster have the best reputation. Don't bother, It will be a miracle if you can keep your comm charged, even with a low-light solar foil.

Sexual conventions vary from those of 20th century Saudi Arabia to mandatory performances on the village green. All over the remainder of Kassidor you can be confident that it is never impolite to ask a woman about sex. That is not true in many cultures in the remote valleys of this basin. You could find your gear sabotaged in some for not getting her man's permission to speak to her. In some it is completely the opposite and every available woman in the settlement will present herself to any male traveler. In some you may need to prove you can satisfy a woman before you can carry on trade. Among the trans-Imbrey rural tribes it is still common for a supplicant to perform public fellatio on the tribal chief to gain access to the village. In towns along the major rivers, Kassidorian social norms are accepted, though sometimes begrudgingly.

In some valleys there are traditional drugs that you should probably avoid if you don't know anything about them. There are more different psychoactive drugs in the hinterlands of this basin than in the remainder of human space combined, including the reminder of Kassidor. Out of body experiences are common with the hallucinogens in use here.

Far up the Lunstran, one begins to see some influence of Vclel-Vi and there is over a thousand mile difference of opinion among residents of the area as to where the boundary between the two basins might be. Vclel-Vi is as modern as the Highlands and technical products from there are traded up to 3000 miles down the river. Its Highland Elf and Nordic genes become more noticable in people as you get farther up the Lunstran. In that region, as in the central regions of the basin, you may find some data service and even a public vid screen near the taps. But in other parts of this basin, the notion of data service and vid screens is not as real as the ghosts of their saints, and talk of them will bring hearty laughter at best.

There are remote tribes, and even a few not so remote, that still practice the Kluboeb religion and are still ephemeral. Most of them are extremely hostile to outsiders. The ones that aren't, practice the most elaborate ceremonies, usually for birth, marriage and death. The pageantry is overwhelming, rivaling the later days of America. As an outsider they will charge you iron to attend.

The arts, music, cuisine and dining habits vary as much as the cultures do. There are some that are outstanding. The Yerbish-ta culture, which is found in a France-sized area just to the east of the Naideron Plateau, is famous for the haunting melodies of their field chants. In that culture the villagers work communal fields and sing religious songs as they do. Their cuisine however, uses lots of tenticloid blood and live bugs so most will want to avoid that.

Many Enurate cultures have elaborate ceremonial wardrobes, in many of those, their ceremonial dress is a major component of an individual's wealth. Most of the ceremonies associated with them have a religious significance, or had one in the past. Much of what we know about them, we know indirectly from native anthropologists that have studied in the area. Most of these ceremonies are closed to people who are not members of the village, tribal and/or religious unit.

In some areas there are public houses with good food and passable entertainment, especially if you stay in the towns along the Lunstran. Once again, don't go into the hinterlands without a guide. You will probably be the first Centorin who has ever been there, and we frankly don't know everything you are likely to find.


Climate

Almost every climate known to Kassidor is found in this basin. It stretches from the equator to the southern ice cap. It has the deepest inhabited land on the planet, and some of the greatest heights. The pass thru to the Fmak basin is the highest of any commercial passes on Kassidor.

All the great deeps are in the central part of the basin and that climate is mentioned there. A deep climate reaches outside the central part of the basin in a thin valley that runs east two thousand miles. The strip of thick air is mitigated by the fact that it is a single thin line and not a million square miles in area. That area is as free of weekly temperature variation as Borlunth. It has an annual variation, with 70's in the winter, 80's and 90's in the summer. That is more than the annual variation in Borlunth.

To the west of the deeps and south of the Gardoolie's, the climate is very seasonal, getting more so as one approaches the pass of Alx Moyyog. That pass is one of the most difficult of the major passes on the planet, and takes one to over ten thousand feet barometric. The high plains in the south of this area is the most seasonal, weekly and yearly, of all. The high plains to the east of Alx Moyyog have some of the largest herds of scamp in the world, and some of the largest and most dangerous coriscamp hunting them.

In the far north on the equator, the climate is cool during dark, but blistering during Afternoonday. You will probably have to stay wet during Afternoonday. The natives of this area wear loose billowing clothing unless they are from Vclel-Vi, in which case they are not likely to wear any at all in the heat, and periodically douse themselves with buckets of water.

West of the Naideron plateau and continuing to the north is a region of cool rain forest on the outer slopes of the Fmekala Waste. The rain generally occurs during dark and while the temperature remains above freezing, hypothermia is possible if you are not prepared. Some of the most amazing flowers and the most dazzling lumin displays are found in that region.

Much of the western parts of the basin, from the Gardoolies on west, is quite arid. It is often rugged country, but there are some rolling prairies. There are large herds of grazers, and the large theropsoid carnivores that hunt them.

The Northeast of the basin often has a more pleasant climate. There is that thin strand of deep along the North Toumda. Once you are up out of the deep valley, there is a narrow band of midland climate, while a seasonal highland climate covers the remaining area. The area is very primitive however and there are almost no facilities for travelers in that area. Only anthropologists have ventured there.


History

The most important historical event for all Enurate peoples was the contact with the Elven world and the cure for aging. Because of the extreme poverty and backwardness, the Enurates were slow to adopt the new lifestyle, and their churches almost universally forbid it. Because this was before the Instinct, there was quite a bit of armed conflict over the issue, especially in the area known as the Forty Cities.

The Enurates were never united and never enough of a force to directly challenge the Megnor empires in the deeps, but Megnor individuals were in some danger thruout that time if they ventured above four miles below sea level.

Most Enurates gave up ephemerality by the 42nd century, once the contagious species immunity complex was released. Those living in the Forty Cities area today have become somewhat modernized and given up their primitive ways, but outside the major cities much of life has not changed for ten thousand years.


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