Qek, Land of Mystery

Introduction
''Mutex and his father each took a swig from the jug of watered-down araka. It had been a good day fishing, and it had been a good thirteenth birthday. A new set of bone fishing arrows was an excellent gift, and it fit Mutex's new role perfectly. He was now an adult, and he would provide the family's sea-meat.''

''A kayak rose over the waves. “Laertes!” Mutex called out. The Ammenite trader had been good to his family, trading good rice and bamboo for shiny rocks and knowledge. Mutex's brother had taught him the secrets of the kayak.''

''Mutex's nose filled with a black scent, though, carried over the Sea of Teeth. He stood to see, and saw his friend was in dire trouble or mad. A dozen kayaks came behind him, each ridden by a foul shade-thing, a dead spirit trapped in a dead body, rotting flesh and hungry teeth.''

''The ocean's roar filled the air, yet Mutex's voice could be heard above it. “Drown!” he screamed, and nine kayaks dived into the rough waters. It was not enough to save his friend, though, he knew, just as he knew what to do next. Drawing out a jeweled knife, he cut his palm, and then made a slashing motion in the air with the hand, his blood spraying into a door, a door into death which his spirit stepped into.''

''His roho flew over the waters with only moments to spare, a bright form, sharp with anger, and cut each dead thing's spark from its putrid body. Exhausted, he fell to rest in his own body again.''

''His father's face was proud and stern, a weapon severing him as well as his dagger. “You will never return to your mother again. Go now.”''

A Jungle at the Top of the World
Qek is the northernmost known land in Near, and one of the most forbidding. Filled from coast to mountain with thick rain-forest and jungle, Qek is a place of mystery and legend. It is the borderlands of the world and the north coast of the Sea of Teeth.

This hot jungle-land might well be left alone, were it not for the copious amounts of jewels found in its caves. There are no cities, no centers of civilization, only the smallest of villages along the coastline.

The people of Qek live among the jungle in small family units. Short, thin, and brown, the Qek (as they call both themselves and their land) hunt wild birds, boars, and reptiles and gather wild fruits for their sustenance. The people of inner Qek are generally unknown to outsiders; the families along Qek's shores that live on fishing are the few that generally speak with non-Qek. The boats of these people are legendary - small one-man kayaks made of jungle wood that they use to surf on top of the waves of the Border Sea, easily outrunning any other ship.

The Family is a Breathing Thing
The only real unit of people in Qek is the family. Families live together, carving out a small bit of land to call their own, although there's no real land ownership. Three generations usually live together: a husband and wife, some of their parents, and their children. Generally, as sons and daughters grow to maturity, they leave and form new family units; as one half of a couple dies of old age, the other will live with one of their children.

Qek has no government, but each family unit is part of a larger family unit. Within the larger family unit, families defer to the family they grew up in when they meet. In distant relations, the older family is deferred to, although they often choose another to make decisions. There is no clan-type structure in Qek: there are no clumps of unrelated people at all.

Stories without Letters
The Qek have no written language, at least not since the Year of Shadow. Because of this, their art revolves around painting and oral storytelling. A great majority of their art is utilitarian in nature: ornately carved spears and staffs; beautifully crafted clay jugs; shields painted with intricate camouflaging patterns. Without cities, traditional sculpture is almost unknown, although carved frescas in rock are relatively common, used to tell ancient stories.

The music of Qek is unearthly, and most outsiders have a hard time appreciating it. Their language is made up of a multitude of hard consonants, which lends a guttural quality to it, whether spoken or sung. In addition, the music has no traditional rhythm, instead alternating between discordant rhythms frequently. While a large part of their music - all based around stories - is sung, it is sometimes accompanied by a churang, a guitar like like instrument made of dried innards strung across a hollowed-out armadillo shell.

Qek's jungles are full of succulent fruit and spices, and are used liberally to season their food. A speciality that has reached out to be eaten elsewhere in Near is wild boar glazed with mango and cocoa, a plant native only to Qek. Cocoa (in the modern day, chocolate) grows in huge pods within Qek's jungles, and is used to make a hallucinatory beverage called araka of dried cocoa pods, fermented bananas, and hot chiles.

Araka effects

Distilled drug
 * (Undistilled effect of fermented bananas.) One penalty die to all Reason-based abilities.
 * If the Endure check is unsuccessful, heightened sense of spirits: two bonus dice to all Pray, Create, Sway, or Dueling Ability checks made against spirits.

All That Glitters is Trouble
The Qek do trade with the people of Khale and the wild people of Oran, the mountain country west of Ammeni, exchanging wild fruits and cocoa for tools of metal, which they do not have the craft to make themselves. In addition, Qek is known for its precious gems. The people of Qek find these stones useless except for tools (they tip their own spears with diamond, which slip through armor as if it were butter, for example) and they are often traded for goods or services. Men from other countries that do not respect the sanctity of Qek often attempt to sneak into the country and smuggle out gems and cocoa pods, although few return.

Everything that Breathes Dies
The people of Qek do not speak of religion: they worship no single entity or have organized worship. They do, however, have a strong belief in the idea of spirits.

Spirits have three forms, the roho, the sasha, and the zamani. (In case you're curious, the plural form of these words are the same as the singular.) The roho are the spirits of the living, the animus that gives them individuality and vitality. These are bound within the bodies of people, animals, and plants. People and animals have the strongest roho, while plants have the oldest roho.

The sasha are the "half-dead." Those who have died that are personally remembered by those still alive are sasha. Memories from stories do not count: someone who met the person while alive must still live. These spirits have a will of their own and remember their name, and they are said to hover close to earth, watching those who knew them. Their will can be bent by changing the memories of their human tethers.

The zamani are the true dead, those long dead and forgotten. They do not remember their name and their own will is the longing for final rest, in the oblivion above the earth.

Spirit-talkers
Some Qek, through birth or training, find themselves walking the path of the walozi, or sorcerer. These people can speak to the dead, get rid of evil spirits, and even bind sasha and zamani to new bodies. The Qek are no strangers to magic, and do not fear it, but walozi cannot be part of any family once they contact their first spirit. They are ejected to live on their own.

Conversing with roho and sasha is considered fine magic to use, and families will often consult walozi to contact their loved dead. Consorting with zamani, however, is dark magic, indeed, and any walozi known to do so is shunned. These necromancers will live deep within the jungle, performing their dark rites.

Roho can be:
 * Contacted. The spirit of a living thing can be spoken with. The spirit knows nothing that the person or animal would not normally know, but if a person is in conflict, their spirit might just be spiteful, and give information they would not. Contacting the roho of a person or animal without their consent is difficult, and cannot be done without trapping them.
 * Severed. To sever one's roho is to render their body will-less and barely alive. As long as the roho lives, the body will as well, but will only act on command from the walozi who severed the spirit. This is definitely considered a black art.


 * Playing Your Character's Roho
 * If your character's adventuring in Qek, you might find yourself in the odd position of playing your own character's spirit. Have fun with this, and do not hold back, afraid that the roho will betray your character. How often do you get to play your character's internal monologue?

Sasha can be:
 * Contacted. A walozi can easily speak with the half-dead. Their answers are up to them.
 * Given form. A walozi can let a sasha take spectral form and move freely. They can perform no physical act upon the tangible world, and cannot be harmed by physical means.
 * Bound. Sasha can be bound into their original bodies. The body must either be in good health, or ritually prepared. This same ritual is used to restore a severed roho to its body.
 * Severed. With this ritual, one can get rid of a spectral or bound sasha.

Zamani can be:
 * Given form. An evil walozi can give the zamani spectral form. They have few real features, appearing as withered, hungry ghosts.
 * Bound. Zamani can be bound into dead bodies, either fresh dead or ritually prepared. Unlike sasha, these do not have to be their original bodies, and can even be animal bodies.
 * Controlled. Zamani are bitter, hateful things with no want except to kill their summoner and return to death. A walozi can impose his will upon them with this ritual.
 * Severed. The beloved ritual of the zamani, this returns them to their sleep.

Other Species in Qek
The Qek have little problem with other species in their land, being a pretty curious people themselves. Elves are known to travel through Qek on occasion; some stories say they come from the wild deserts over the northern mountains as escaped slaves. What exactly enslaves elves in unknown, which is probably for the best. Goblins infest the hills at Qek's northern borders and run free through its jungles. Ratkin are rare in Qek, and thought of as a myth.

Sasha and Zamani
When sasha or zamani come into the living world, either as a spirit or bound to a body, there are limits to their abilities.

Sasha start as they were in life, but have half of their normal pools, and their ability ranks are capped at the success level of the ability check used to summon them, minus one. The number of combined Secrets and Keys they can have are also capped at the success level. Success level 6 grants full restoration, including pools and Secrets. If bound to a dead body, they are automatically severed when broken.


 * Playing a Sasha
 * Players with dead characters should feel free to have their characters brought back through Qek sorcery. They do obey all normal rules on pool and ability caps, but can gain experience for as long as they remain in the living world. If severed, they must be re-summoned and hope again for a skilled sorcerer.

Zamani can have no Keys. They start with abilities like beasts with Unskilled rank in each ability, and have no pools. They have advances equal to three times the success level of the ability check used to summon them. Half of these advances are spent by the player, if a player's character has summoned a zamani; the other half are spent by the Story Guide. If bound to a dead body, they are automatically severed when bloodied.

Qek Cultural Abilities

 * Gem-Cutting (Reason)
 * This is the art of cutting gems to pleasing shapes without causing flaws.


 * Kayaking (Instinct)
 * This ability is used to sail the one-man kayaks popular along the shore of Qek without smashing one's head into vicious rocks or drowning in the sudden waves of the Sea of Teeth.


 * Panther Style (Instinct)
 * Qek fighters melt in and out of the forest, stabbing their prey with a spear before they can ever be seen.

Qek Cultural Secrets

 * Secret of the Walozi
 * Either through an unusual birth or training, your character has the power of the walozi. She knows the rituals for contacting spirits, and can attempt this by spending one Vigor and using the Pray ability. This ritual takes about fifteen minutes to perform.


 * Ritual of Spectral Form
 * This ritual gives form to a sasha or zamani spirit upon a successful Create ability check. This ritual takes about half an hour to perform. Cost: 1 Vigor and 1 Instinct. Prerequisite: Secret of the Walozi.


 * Ritual of Binding
 * The walozi with this ritual can bind a spectral sasha or zamani spirit to a body. This requires no ability check, and costs one Vigor. However, an unwilling spirit can make a Resist ability check. If successful, the walozi must spend a number of Vigor points equal to the spirit's success level. This ritual takes at least an hour to perform. Cost: 1+Vigor. Prerequisite: Secret of the Walozi.


 * Ritual of Severance
 * Using this ritual, a walozi can sever a spirit with a successful Dueling ability check. This has no cost, but the walozi has a penalty die unless her roho is separated from her body. Speaking of that, a walozi can use this ritual to separate her roho from her body, severing herself. She can rejoin with her body simply by having her roho touch it and willing it so, but rival walozi might take advantage of this situation. Note that sasha and zamani might well have this ritual and fight back if one is spectral. This ritual takes one minute to perform if bound to one's body; if spectral, it's instantaneous as the two spirits fight. Prerequisite: Secret of the Walozi, or be a sasha or zamani.


 * Ritual of Zamani Control
 * This ritual allows the walozi to convince a zamani given form to do something besides destroy blindly, given a successful Sway ability check. Their need for destruction is so great that normal social interaction will not work. This ritual requires nothing more than special intonation and a hand signal. Prerequisite: Secret of the Walozi.


 * Ritual of Vessel Preparation
 * By removing all organs and applying powders, stuffing, and wax, one can prepare a dead body to accept a spirit with a successful Fine Crafts ability check. This not only allows a long-dead sasha to inhabit their old body, but has the added advantage of making the body much less vulnerable to physical harm. The body cannot be bloodied - all bloodied harm counts as bruised. Instead, after being broken, the spirit is automatically severed. What can make a ritually prepared vessel even more powerful is combining this ritual with the Secret of Imbuement.

Qek Cultural Keys


Group::Qek Summary::* Key XP::* Buyoff::*

Sample Names

 * Male: Ahexotl, Camaxtli, Cocoza, Ecatzin, Guacra, Hobnil,Huemac, Itzcoatl, Maxtla, Mutex, Ocelopan, Rimac, Pusca, Tangaxoan, Tlaloc, Yaotl, Zoltan
 * Female: Atzi, Centehua, Chantica, Cusi, Itzel, Ixchell, Malinche, Metztli, Nhutalu, Ocllo, Quispe, Runti, Tlaco, Xoco, Ysalane, Zafrina

Sample Qek Character Ideas

 * a jungle monster-hunter
 * an elven explorer
 * a fierce fisherman of the untamed Border Sea
 * a reclusive walozi on a quest for knowledge
 * a warrior whose family has been killed by jewel thieves
 * a wild monkey-like goblin