Amongst the abyssal marshes in the Adderswamp, the kalba segu are one of the most feared nations. They control six powerful but small cities made of warped wood and stone. Each city is ruled by a municipar, who usually views themself as a king, emperor, or god. Each city has its own traditions, but common among them all are their reverence for the crescent moon (a symbol, to them, of changing and of hidden power).

There are three main facets of life in a kalba seguan city: the military, the slaves, and the free citizens. When a kalba segu is spawned, they are immediately enslaved by their parent (or eaten, if their parent is hungry or depleted). They spend the first hundred years of their life enslaved unless they buy, maneuver, or kill their way out of it. After 100 years, they are usually emancipated by law, meaning not true freedom, but a shift into toiling for the municipar or other more powerful figures as a soldier in the military. Every kalba segu who has not achieved freedom by other means spends 200 years in the military. Only the cunning, ruthless, or strong gain any kind of freedom. This is not uncommon, however, especially after a few decades in the military, where they often learn skills that allow them to fight or outwit their way to freedom.

Citizens enjoy a laissez faire approach to their lives. As long as they pose no threat to the municipar, they can do as they please. As they spawn asexually, gender is not generally a concern among them, but political unions are common. "Marriage" is a term used by outsiders as the closest way to describe these, as they involve deep social and communal connection. A closer transltion of these political unions would be "long-term alliance." Love is not impossible to a kalba segu, but it is culturally seen as a weakness. These political unions are usually between two moderately powerful (militarily, politically, socially, magically, financially) kalba segus in order to achieve more power. These unions often use their power to keep their children out of the military (unless they are a military "family") and instead free them before 100 years are up to make them more powerful allies in the various machinations of kalba segu society. (The concept of "family" is also a taboo among them; the ruling classes of the kalba segu try to discourage every kind of collective organization they can. A society of individuals is much easier to control.)

All kalba segu society is a political game. Ruining your opponent, getting them killed, or tricking them into embarrassing themselves is preferable to outright conflict, but they will resort to violence if necessary. A smart municipar pits his rivals against one another; a foolish one is deposed and replaced rapidly.

Kalba segu keep canines of every kind. They train them, whether wild coyote or domesticated lapdog, to fight, to hunt, and to kill. Rich kalba segu import them from all over the world, often bringing in hellhounds, black dogs, and vargr. Poor kalba segu are usually slaves who take care of the canines of the rich, and thus, form bonds with them and often take a pup or two secretly to keep for their own.

The six cities are often at war with each other, which is a relief to the other nations nearby. Rivalries between the cities are deep and extensive, usually based on control of trade routes, mines, or other resources, but sometimes as petty as minor insults between municipars.