Those who dwell in Kherkhana are mostly Sereti Ogres, though they do employ many slaves to work their mines. And many Kaliti, after seeing that Kherkhana cannot be conquered by war, have turned to trade as a way to gain influence over the city. As a result, some of the mines in Kherkhana are owned in part or in whole by Kaliti nobles or lector-priests. Though they seldom visit the city and even then only briefly to inspect the progress of the mines.

Kherkhana is less city than fortress, with walls so thick that they would take years of constant battering by trebuchets to bring them down. The denizens of the city mirror their walls. They are large, well-muscled warriors, who have little regard for lavish finery and are known to be taciturn. They spend the majority of their time from birth, both men and women, training to hunt, smith, and fight. It is said a Kherkhanite youth is not truly a full-blooded adult until he or she has slain at least five warriors. Consequently, the warriors of Kherkhana are considered to be among the best in the world.

The sparsity of their communication is as sparse as their homes, which are often bare of any art or pottery - and certainly do not have any of the silk fabrics and pillows so common to the Kaliti household, which has left many Kaliti proclaiming that the Blue Orcs sleep on hard stone (this is not true, they use bedding made of many ram’s hides and fur covers). However, the Sereti do still maintain shrines to their gods and ancestors within their homes, most prominent among them the great eagle Kujluk, the Lord of the Mountain.

The large and blocky structures of Kherkhana are solidly built, but are not graceful. Set with the backdrop of the snow-capped Seret mountains, some find the city to be beautiful, in a grim sort of way. But most simply look upon it and shudder, for the interior decor is often made with the skulls and bones of Kherkhana's greatest warriors as a way to honor them forever.

Keep of Kuljuk - the enormous square tower that sits in the heart of the mountain city is known as the Keep of Kuljuk, after the lord of the eagles, one of the Kherkhanites most prominent gods. It is here that the Nakharar, the monarch who is elected every ten years by a council of chieftains, holds court in a chamber sparse save for a seat of stone and some fur rugs.



Forge of Forges- The massive forge in the smithing district of the city is simply called the Forge of Forges and it is said to burn as hot as dragon's fire. Using secret crucible techniques, the smiths of Kherkhana produce the finest steel in the world, known as Telling Steel, and easily recognized with its distinctive mottling that evokes flowing water. Weapons of Telling steel (also called Sereti steel) are highly prized.

Seret Mines - Worked by slaves, the mines delve deep and produce an enormous amount of rare gemstones and precious metals.

Some say that the city of Kherkhana was founded by dwarves and there may be some truth to this, however the Sereti ogres are not overly found of learning, nor archaelogical digs, and thus the matter has not been pursued overmuch. Whatever its origin, the city as it now stands is home to some of the fiercest warriors in all of Arethil. Most Sereti Ogres stand over seven feet tall and go to war girded in wonderfully worked lamellar armor and scimitars so finely made that they are prized all over the world.

The Kherkhanites commonly hunt beasts in the mountains, or make war on the ogre tribes known as Fists who still dwell higher up on the mountainside.

"Tiny eyes fixed on her, full of the cold, calm fury of the Sereti mountains, where Sword Lions train from birth to become supreme warriors in battle, and Kalla with every weapon under the sun. He remembered lessons in the way of Two Sticks in a yard at Kherkhana. The sticks needed to come like a growing drumbeat, beating toward a crescendo, and so he let them fall.

He struck, a javelin in each hand, seeking not to pierce but to slap with the wooden hafts themselves. His blows rained toward her, like the patter of heavy rain, falling toward her face, her shoulders, her arms, her hands, in a flurry that built upon itself as the gathering snow builds in the peaks of the Seret."