Khinghan Lands

The Khingan or Khinghan are nomadic herders (a sort of a Cossack/Hun/Mongol) in the far north-east, well beyond the western mountains of eastern Salem.

They live in small family groups following their herds of giant elk and reindeer. They travel the steppe between the hidden farm shrines of the Hind where they gift some of their herd to the shrine guardians who pass on the bounty of the Hind in the form of fruit and vegetables. The huntsman have no shrines but during each hunt the heart of the prey is eaten raw in the Hind’s honour.

Khingan family groups are quite small, 2 or 3 families who are usually closely related, but in times of danger they will meet up with their extended family calling the clan together to face the threat. Larger threats see the gathering of the horde which then sweeps across the steppe leaving death and destruction behind it.

They have 3 main tribes, or clans. The Irtusk clan is the biggest rich in food and horses, the Tomsk clan guard the Salem border and are raiders. Finally the Siberian clan are very tough, dress for extreme cold, ride reindeer and have access to rich minerals. These are the biggest and most well known clans, but not the only ones.

The one thing to note about the Khingan is they never lie, its against their religion. Rather than lie they will say nothing and walk away. In conversation the Khingan will generally provide one or two word answers, they are blunt, say what they mean and even what they think in a way that may seem rude to outsiders, they don't do small talk.