The mountain folk who live near the ispolini believe them to be the second people to populate the world after dwarves. The ispolini themselves accept this story but have none of their own about their own origins. Instead, ispolini live by a set of rules about the seasons, hunting, and survival in the cold mountains. They fear breaking these rules, for it would mean they are not fit to live in this world. They are compelled by their rules to live in balance with the people around them and the beasts and plants of their territories.

Ispolini live in small families with large hunting territories. Their homes are in caves, which usually have nine large chambers and three small ones: a communal area, a kitchen, food storage, a room for art and storytelling, three bedrooms, and two altar rooms (one for their Divine, one for their ancestors) are the larger rooms, and two bathrooms and a closet are the small. If the family becomes too large for these quarters, they split off and find or build a connected set of caves to live in. Extended families live in close proximity and make up a tribe ruled by a small council of the two best hunters and one elder.

Tribes of ispolini have complex alliances and rivalries, and they often fight over territory. Territory they win is taken and the tribe living there is made into slaves for the family. These slaves can win their freedom by either marrying into the winning tribe, by escaping for three days (a rule that must be abided by), or by buying their freedom. Freed ispolini who do not become part of the winning tribe usually form new tribes (if there are enough of them) or join another tribe they once had an alliance with. A defeated tribe can never be reinstated, however, and all family bonds within that tribe are forgotten unless formed into a new tribe.

Within ispolini tribes, there are three recgonized genders: muzh (roughly "male"), zhena (roughly "female"), and a third gender called vsichko (literally "all," but the literal translation does not encompass its contextual meaning). Culturally, muzh tend to be warriors, hunters, and rulers. Zhena tend to be gatherers, child-tenders, and weavers. All vsichko, however, are holy people. The vsichko priests are the counterbalance to the rulers' council and have the right to veto their decisions. If the rulers' council objects, the tribe holds a gathering to discuss. Most of these end with a consensus, but sometimes, the tribe splits.

It is the job of the priests to tend the altar rooms, remember the ancestors, and make the appropriate yearly sacrifices: one in the spring to protect from blackberry bushes, one in the late summer to cool the world down, one in the fall to begin the hunting season, and one in deep winter to protect from the winter storms. Each sacrifice is a solemn ceremony during which a child, an adult, and an elder are stripped, bathed, and sent into the wild to bring back a deer, a wild boar, or a bear. The animals brought back are skinned, gutted, and deboned. The skins are cleaned and used to bind the elder. The child is soaked in the guts. The adult is caged by the bones. The meat is then cooked and shared with all guests except the three chosen. When the feast is over, one of the chosen is stoned to death and buried under a boulder. Ispolini throw rocks at these boulders when they pass them. The other two chosen are released and given reprieve from ever being the sacrifice again. If one or more of the chosen does not return from the hunt, they are considered to have been the sacrfiice for the year. If it turns out they are still alive, the tribe kills them and considers themselves cursed for three generations.

Ispolini children are raised by the zhena. Children are trained at an early age to fit one of the three gender roles, though until they reach adulthood, these roles can change. They reach adulthood at their last growth spurt, which always happens when they turn 19. Once an adult, they must take up the tasks the rulers' council or vsichko demand of them.