Kingdom of Halta (2003)

Threshold kingdom sourcebook for Exalted, first edition.

Back Cover:
Lords of the Forest
The Linowan call the Haltans man-apes and jape they lie down with their pets as with their husbands and wives. Savants of the Realm claim that the Republic's inhabitants are no more than Wyld-twisted slaves of the Fair Folk. Yet, the Haltans and their beast companions live free and prosperous in the forests of the Northeast and pay no tribute to the despotic Realm. Now, at the dawn of the Age of Sorrows, the trees can no longer shelter them. Where will the Haltan nation stand in an age of warring gods and heroes?

Masters of the Beasts
Kingdom of Halta details the Haltan people, with their arboreal society, their animal companions and their endless war with the Linowan. Inside, players and Storytellers alike will discover the secrets of the Haltans' trade with the Far East, their pacts with the Fair Folk and their ancient resistance to the Realm.

From the Introduction:
The Threshold of Exalted is home to many kingdoms. Most are petty autocracies, miniature Realms ruled by despots who are themselves tiny imitation Empresses. But though these are the majority, they are not the only sort of nation to exist in the Threshold. Many large states maintain stable governments with distinct cultures. These nations are profoundly influenced by the gods and magical world around them, and foremost among these nations (both in terms of political importance and degree of magical influence) is the arboreal Kingdom of Halta.

Kingdom of Halta explores this wooded kingdom, a redwood paradise that serves as the very instrument of its forest gods, who do not rule it as princes, though they are in its people’s hearts. It was likewise shaped by Lunars, but it is not their tool. It is forever a product of its endless rivalry with the ground-dwelling Fair Folk, but it has come to an uneasy understanding with the fey and is not defined entirely by its opposition to faerie. Finally, Halta is forever locked in a brutal war for land with the Linowan, a great tribal nation whose people are the protectors and servants of their deciduous gods just as the Haltans are the guardians of their redwood habitat. All of these conflicts serve to create a diverse and flexible society.