Valcust
Lord of Altera
The Nakam Race has now become Extinct.
All contact from Kavdek has ceased, as if the entire island and outside population of Nakam has vanished. No new Nakam will be arriving or appearing, and no new Nakam characters may be created.
The only exception to this is two existing Nakam having a biological child.
Navigation:
{Questions and Answers} - Ask questions to clarify the Lore!
{Lore} - All the official lore can be found here (ORGANIZED)
{The Art} - Ever wondered what the Nakam look like?
{Applications} - How to play a Nakat + list of Active Nakam
{Lexicon} - Verba, the language of the Nakam
Anyhow, let's begin..
~Transportation~
Kavdek is a big place, that's not to say that it's not still an island, but it is a rather large one at that.
Because of such, most things can't be expected to permanently travel by foot, can they?
Actually, Verbali has set up multiple bases within the heartland of Kavdek, each of which is based within a pre-existing native village.
The mode of transporting messages from the outposts to their main base (Verbali) could be comparable to a relay-race; that is that one Nakat carries the message to the nearest outpost, then another carries it from that outpost to the next, and so on until the message or package reaches it's destination.
Though, as for personelle transportation, many chose to utilize the power of the snow oxen, as their oddly muscular upper bodies allow them to pull hundreds of pounds of weight even in the heaviest of snow storms.
Ships are also used around the perimeter of the island, leading to many outposts also being stationed on the coastline around Kavdek.
Airships, however rare, have become increasingly popular amongst the rich within Verbali with recent years.
Because days fit for flight are a rare occurrence, there is no known company of air-ship construction crews within Verbali. However, many trade ships offer "catelogs" of parts that they may transport in, for a "build it yourself airship kit!"
Many ship kits are seen as scandles and rip-offs, as they may be missing parts, or just plain not work.
However, the few honest air ship traders have lead to a recent growth of airship traffic around Verbali, and the surrounding area on the island.
~You Keep Mentioning Equality Amongst Living Beings, Yet Nakam Are Also Stated To Be Carnivores; How Does That Work?~
To put simply- respect.
Those close to you are meant to keep, and are not to be used for supplies of any kind.
Of course, Cannibalism is out of the question, yet most Nakam find it as easy to kill another as easy as it is to hunt.
Morality rarely comes into play, at least if the "murder" was committed for a reasonably provoked reason.
(I.E: Threatening a person with their sword)
Just the same- even if a Nakam is host to a family of wolves within their own village, they see no issue in taking others for meat and pelts- as they never knew them.
That's not to say that they take hunting lightly, all respects to the animal they take must be made.
Much of the time, a Nakat hunter will explain to his/her kill that his/her family needs to eat, or that it's simply their job.
And, more often than that, Nakam hunters will always treat their kill with the utmost respect while transporting it.
Wrapping bodies in a warm skin and carefully transporting it home also results in meats of legendary quality.
~Footwear (or lack there of)~
Looking at the many Nakam who now inhabit the Northern Kingdoms, one would be hard pressed to find any of them wearing any type of shoe/boot/flipflop/foot wear in general.
While this does not mean that the Nakam never wear footwear, it does mean that they only do so in extreme conditions.
Compare it to this- Most chose to be barefoot when taking a trip to the beach.
Whether this is to do with the high tempretures or softer footing is up to the individual- the same is for the Nakam.
Even at a young age, Nakam footpads are toughened to withstand even a small nail jabbed at them.
Their own native lands are extremely cold, as stated numerous times before, and while they themselves wear boots of leather and pelts while on the island floor, when abroad, many prefer to be barefoot because of the higher temperatures.
"Well, if it's because of the heat, then why don't you see many shirtless Nakam around?"
Again, this comes to respect.
While it may not be in their own culture to remain modestly clothed at all times of the day, Nakam are observant enough to realize that there's not much clad chest-ness to go around, and observe such a custom with respect.
Simply put- barefoot just makes sense to them when abroad~
~Nakam Art~
One could imagine that the cultural differences between Verbali and the general population of Kavdek would result in drastic differences between the two art styles.
For one, most native Kavdek art would be about as primitive as one would expect. Most figures are made of lines and circles. Perhaps there could be a talented artist hidden amongst a village, though most advertizement signs or simple paintings would contain the same primitive figures. However primitive the art form, the paint that most use, is not. Many Nakam use the same inks one would use for fur staining to paint images on surfaces, resulting in shimmering hues of blues and golds, perhaps even reds, browns, and multiple other metallic paints.
Verbali, with it's multiple influences in widespread culture, has developed a sense of advanced art.
However, a custom has remained with the Nakam people from their artistic origines, in that the depiction of one's exact face is taboo.
This comes about as a respect for the dead- as they hold no homage to their physical body, only their spirit.
Because of this, many homes are adorned with the fur staining patterns of loved ones or the deceased, rather than faces of the aforementioned.
This does not mean that the depiction of one's body is forbidden- quite the opposite.
Many times, Verbali Artists will ask about for stories of travelers and guards, painting crucially detailed murals of whichever scene they find most interesting in their mind's eye.
The Verbali guard houses remain a favorite hot-spot of artists, as their full-face masks leave a kind of loophole to paint "faces" on figures.
Though, even after the blatant statement of the taboo, it is not uncommon to find a non-Nakam artist within Verbali willing to paint faces.
~Medical Knowledge~
"Alright, so you guys have no magic, so how do you save your worst wounded?"
Well, it all depends on the wound.
As speculated, without the aid of healing magic, Nakam have become extremely knowledgeable in the ways of medical care- whether that be trauma, paternity care, or otherwise, years of trial and error have left even the natives with a somewhat advanced knowledge for care of the wounded or sick.
For one, they understand that clenliness is healthy. Which leads to any medical tools being cleaned before use, as well as the banishment of cross contamination by using tools that have just been used on another patient.
When coupled with bone setting and splinting, natural medicines derived from the jungle plants able to coagulate even the heaviest of bleeding wounds, and proper trauma care, many Nakam have been brought back from the edge of death through no magical assistance.
Because of this, it isn't uncommon to see amputee Nakam, heavily scarred Nakam, blind, bruised, battered, balding, just those who have clearly been through heavy punishment and pain.
This is most common seen in the Guard district of Verbali, even those who are no longer able to continue their duties are never thrown from their provided cotts and homes in the guard houses.
This does bring me to prosthetics- while most natives who've lost limbs are left to lean on staffs or canes, a section of the Verbali guard has developed an artificial leg and foot from a slightly bent branch of a tree able to bend the slightest bit and support the wearer's weight, with an added nailed pad at the bottom for stability, the entirety of the structure attaches to the wearer's limb by a simple cloth wrap coupled with a carved wooden cup to fit the stup, using simple wrappings to hold it to the wearer.
Arms have been a bit more complex to figure out, no such full arm prosthetic has been developed. However, hand prosthetics are moreoften considered toolboxes rather than limbs.
By using a simple "twist and switch" lock system on the wrist of the prosthetic limb, the wearer may switch out the hand for many differently positioned hands.
Perhaps a cup oriented vertically or a cupped hand oriented horizontally forward, or a saw, had the wearer gone into carpentry, an entire array of hands have been created by many different inventors within Verbali.
Most often, a wearer will carry all these different hands in a side-bag.
~Nakam Writing~
Though most stories and lore of native Kavdek is kept through word of mouth, a native written language does exist, though the letters work a tad bit differently than in written english.
Take, for example, the sounds of mouth that take more than a single letter, IE: Th, ee, oo, and so on, Rather than relying on a combination of letters, such sounds are represented by their own letter in their alphabet.
While most native are illiterate to common tongue written language, most Nakam are able to read in their own language, as it serves as an important bond between villages in organizing travel through the use of signs along established roadways.
Verbali, however, is mostly devoid of this text, save for the city's many libraries, who are actively seeking to save the text from extinction within the civilized world.
As well as Nakam exclusive bars and other such places that would seek to only attract the attention of the specific race.
Now, for the elephant in the room, the name of the Nakam written alphabet is referred to as "Ludkava", which essentially translates to "tangible knowledge"
(alright, open challenge. I'd like someone to assist me in coming up with the actual written text alphabet of the Nakam language. PM me if you're interested, I've no clue what sort of applications this could have, but I'd imagine this can be pretty fun and interesting :3)
~Catnip.~
I suppose this bit has been a long time coming, but here we go >_>
First off- Catnip does not have the same effect for everyone. While the broadened definition of the herb can be said as "slightly mind-altering", the standard is that it's effects last, at longest, half an hour.
As for the high, it will in most cases severely impair a Nakat's judgement, though their exact attitudes during their endevor varies according to their personalities and subconscious mind.
Some may become overwhelmed with a sense of companionship and love, forcing them to be hug-machines.
Others may become stoic, and choose to simply sit by the fire, with a handy snack nearby.
While others still may become frantic and slightly feral, leading them to be hostile, yet retaining their ability of slurred speech.
While this plant does not grow in their native land of Kavdek, Verbali citizens are known to buy and use the herb in recreational use through incents and tea.
Slightly spiked ale is also a favorite amongst the pubs and bars in the city as well, leading to a slight increase in the amount of skirmishes that appear within the city walls, though nothing drastic.
~Ruins~
As with any long populated area, there are remains of villages and civilizations long abandoned.
Many abandoned jungle floor based villages reside in the east, though these mostly serve as teshvadiik hideouts, their location and abundance would suggest that the earliest of Nakam establishments were largely stone-based, as well as equipped with enough survival supplies to keep their land and citizens safe enough to create stoneworks able to survive hundreds of years.
For obvious reasons, they must've abandoned their heavy stone-based building techniques when moving to higher ground, as it would've been much more difficult to support.
Many abandoned suspended villages remain in the central island, though most of them have no tragic story beyond the villagers seeking homes elsewhere.
The rotting and degrading remains of the first attempted modern civilization can be seen at the north end of the island, in the form of a half-completed castle.
The exact origines of this castle are unknown, though the wide abundance of scaffolding around it's walls coupled with the complete lack of furnishings would suggest that it's inhabitants were cut-short in their project.
One very unique and interesting ruin remains to the south.
A cave resides on the top of the islands tallest mountain, it's twists and turns prevent any snowdrifts from reaching within (and will also turn away the most aware of unwanted visitors.)
The cave's walls remain etched with lines in fantastical patterns, and many of it's walls are structurally smooth and perfectly flat.
Deep within the cave resides a single village- still kicking. Though it's population remains dwindling, their strongest warriors are at constant guard to the back exit of their small town.
They claim to be the protectors of the elders, saying that the final chamber of the cave inhabits those they claim to worship, and will let no one short of a fate blessed Nakam pass through their defenses.
Many who pass through the gate, even with the village's permission, are never to return.
Those who do return remain catatonic, in an almost dementia-like stupor, mumbling things of light and knowledge.
~Sports & Games~
Just about every civilization in the world has some form of recreation native to the area; as such, the Nakam have more than a few "sports", though there seems to be one that is considered a past-time: Kashgev.
Rules are as such: The objective is to capture the opposing team's marker (usually a pike, or stick left in the ground) and bring it to your own.
The game begins when both team leaders stand back to back within wherever they wish to play the game (usually the forrest ground, or a similarly set place with many cover pieces)(Teams usually consist of somewhere around six to eight players). They walk fifty paces each in directly opposite directions as their respective team follows.
As soon as they reach their fifty paces, the pike is left in the ground, and the game begins.
If you should encounter the opposite team on your way to gather their pike, you may choose to:~ A) Throw a snowball at them, which, if it should meet it's target, forces them to touch their own team's pike before being allowed back into the game. Should the player who was hit with said snowball be carrying the opposing team's spike, he/she must leave it where he/she stands. Or B), run up and tag them. In doing this, you run the risk of being hit by a snowball, or tagged yourself. If a player is tagged, they must join the opposing team's side.
Sportsmanship is generally required amongst the players to carry out a full game, though usually this is no issue with Nakam, as they'd take any victory gained through lies as a dishonorable act.
Though it should be known that while there exists no "professional" kashgev teams, it's simplicity and popularity has made it a widely known favorite of adults and children alike.
Many other sports have found their way to Kavdek as well, through way of Verbali, though you're less likely to find a sport so widely enjoyed in Nakam lands.
Nakam also enjoy games not only of the body, but of the mind and skill as well.
Simid is the widest known game of this category, as it's basis exists within the earliest of Nakam villages.
Simid is, in a way, a war simulator, in which two or more opposing players must expand their own imaginary villages, while attempting to overtake their opponents.
It is played using multicolored pieces of stone, though more valuable sets may use pieces made from actual valuable metals.
"pieces" can refer to any number of shapes and sizes, as there is no regulatory shape or size for the pieces themselves. However, the die used must be six sided, and use only one of each number from 1-6 painted or engraved on each side.
The game consists of 4 painted pieces:
"Colorless": While not a physical piece, the number of "colorless" pieces a player has directly corresponds to the amount of pieces one is allowed to categorize into the following sections for his/her own intentions and objectives.
Blue(roll): Guardsmen, used to combat opposing guardsmen
Yellow(3): Farmers, for every two farmers in a line that are touching, the player gains a single "colorless" Piece.
Green(5): Craftsmen, used to create weapons for the guards, increasing their attacking number by the number of craftsmen.
Black (4): Archers, used just as guardsmen, however they gain no additional strength from craftsmen, yet they can attack the opposing player's pieces without first engaging their guards, but suffer a -1 for their attacking roll.
The game is ultimately simple, each player takes a turn organizing their beginning set of eight colorless pieces into whatever they'd like to begin with.
For every two farmers that are directly next to each other, they are allowed an additional one colorless piece per turn.
However, guardsmen are by far the most important pieces, as they'll essentially serve as a protective barrier. Your pieces must be set up in a series of lines, how ever many lines you want. Some prefer to keep a singular, continuous line as their village, other players prefer many different smaller lines. Each line must be horizontal to your position, giving each a beginning and end.
The object of the game is to eradicate your opponent's village, their line, using your own guardsmen.
Any attacking guardsmen must be placed on the outside of a line, at either the beginning, or the end.
Guardsmen can only attack the beginnings and endings of the opposing player's lines, and, as one may've guessed, combat consists of rolling a die each, and seeing who has the highest roll. Whomever loses the battle, loses their guard.
However, should a player make it through an opposing player's line's guard, and reach another piece (Yellow, green, or black), they must roll a number higher than each pieces HP, which is typically 3 for farmers, 5 for craftsmen, and 4 for archers.
These "Direct attacks" gain no additional points from craftsmen.
Guards continue to attack so long as they are victorious in their fights, however, if they should lose a fight against any piece, that guardsmen must be placed back into the unused piece pool, and is considered deceased.
As stated above, an archer acts as a guardsmen, however, they must be placed at the forward most line, anywhere within said line, and may attack any piece they wish, at a cost of -1 for their direct attack roll.
Each turn, a player gathers their colorless pieces, and creates their village as they see fit. They can chose to either attack their opponent, or reconfigure their lines.
The game ends once a player's lines are completely killed off.
Just as with sports, many additional games have made their way through to Kavdek via Verbali, however, none are as popular as Simid.
~Ailments and Diseases of Kavdek~
Just as with any foreign land, Kavdek's terrain provides for unique ways in which a person can be physically and mentally miserable. Yaaaaay~!
"Invisible icicles"- Actually a case of cold-climate fleas. What with the Nakam's gratuitous amounts of fur, "invisible icicles" can remain an issue for quite some time. Luckily, any sort of extreme warm weather is known to kill off any sort of native flea species. Unfortunately, all places warm enough to "heal" this ailment are overseas.
"Greenfoot"- A type of cold-weather mold that first appears as spores in snow, awaiting a warm body to melt said ice and allow it to stick to their fur and/or skin.
This allows the mold a certain level of reproductive stability, allowing it to spread spores in snow wherever the host should travel.
Adverse effects to the host, besides having the affected area overcome with what appears to be dark green fur, includes rashes of the skin underneath infected area, and said rash does have a strong possibility of becoming infected and all that goodness.
"icerot"- mostly known to overtake extremities, this infection works in tandom with the extreme cold to rot away areas with slowed blood flow in cold climates. While not life-threatening (as the infection cannot overtake an area that has warm, healthy blood flowing through it.) it does result in many ears, fingers, and other extremedies being damaged. Icerot of the ears has been described as appearing: "as if the flesh were to become paper, ripped and torn, the remaining grain being jagged and crude, though no blood is seen."
However, due to the nakam's fur coat, icerot usually only results in the tips of ears being eaten away. Any and all other extremities are usually covered in a healthy layer of fur.
"Desert soul" - a bacteria found in stagnant water sources within caves about Kavdek. Thought to've come about from the teshvadiik invasion, should any infected stagnant water reach a mucus membrane, the Nakam in question will be overcome with a heavy cough, debilitating weakness, and an extreme fever, though symptoms usually take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to arise.
It's name came about when the eyes of those infected were seen as dry, and the body remaining hot for hours after death, even if it were to be set on snow.
While this disease is non infectious from person to person, an infected water source can mean the end to an entire village.
~More Medical Goodness~
So, I've mentioned in the past that the Nakam are a bit advanced in the ways of medicine, having so much time to accumulate the knowledge through good ol' trial and error.
However, let's delve a bit deeper into the issue~
Chronic conditions such as heart murmurs or other slight deformities have been made readily diagnosable thanks to one of the more prominent natural tools of the Nakam; their ears.
While they're nowhere near sensitive enough to hear heartbeats across the room, many Nakam doctors have been trained to diagnose heart and gastric conditions by sound alone.
Of course, no every day Nakat would be able to press his head against the chest of a pained man and make sense of the garbled noises- one must be trained to seek out key pointers from rhythm, sound, and intensity.
This also comes in handy for maternity purposes, as a developing child's heartbeat can also be heard through the mother's abdomen.
While sound diagnoses are no where near 100% accurate, they give the doctor in question a very reliable jumping off point for treatment.
Medication has also come far from the outside world- when coupled with the trade of far lands, many Nakam doctors have been able to order remedies and plants from nearly across the entire world. Of course, the more difficult to obtain, the more expensive the medication.
However, secretism surrounding some Nakam made medication has left some merchants believing that they're selling grass clippings to foreigners for an easy fortune, unaware of the plants true purpose.
Surgery is nowhere near the science known of the modern world, however, amputations and otherwise healing surgeries (such as major stitching of open wounds, cleaning of infections) have been made much more reliable within Verbali than the outside world.
Better yet, due to the conditions surrounding most Nakam deaths, bodies have been donated by loved ones to doctors for study, under such conditions that they be cremated once observations and experiments have been concluded. Remember- the Nakam do not believe in holding onto physical representations of their loved ones, only their memories. So a body is only important for it's ritualistic purposes (cremation, spreading of ashes, etc.)
These observations and experiments with cadavers have lead to leaps in understanding of both Nakam and (thanks to weary travelers) humanoid bodies.
"Wait, weary travelers? What do you mean?!"
Relax, there's no known conspiracy to kill unknowing visitors for scientific purposes.
However, Kavdek is a dangerous place. And you took a knowledgable risk coming here.
Say our guards come across a disarmed (litterally) human corpse semi-buried under a snow drift after a brief run in with a saberdog. Why should it be our responsibility to haul your idiotic frozen butt across the sea? You know what? We're goin' to use you. For science. We appreciate the donation, and thank you for choosing Kavdek as your place of death.
~Fur Facts~
The Nakam's pelt isn't much different from what you'd expect- hair. That brings into question the properties and abilities of such a covering.
Of course, when completely drenched, there's no way to tell exactly how long it'd take for the person in question to be soak-free. Fur length, thickness, consistency all effect such a process, as well as clothing and weather.
A shorter-furred Nakam wearing not but a pair of shorts on the sunniest of days is sure to be completely dry within an hour, if not sooner.
A longer-furred Nakam wearing the finest of robes and wears of all of Altera rushing to get indoors after a flash rainstorm may take a while longer to dry completely.
With all taken into consideration, though, most wouldn't expect to remain drenched for more than a few (horridly and hauntingly unpleasant) hours.
As for aging, the short answer to whether or not color occurs is "yes.", The long answer would be that pigment within hairs gradually wears away with age, and is most often first evident at the extremities.
Let's take, for example, a dark furred black Nakam.
With age, their fingers, tail, rear abdomen, ears, hands, feet, lower legs, muzzle, may become a lighter hue of brown.
With even more age, the brown may advance farther up the Nakam's body, leaving behind small twinges of white and grey hairs, and even lighter browns.
As said before, pigments will mostly gradually wear away, rather than transfer straight from their previous color to grays and whites.
~Moar Wildlife~
Focusing on domestication, there are pleanty of tiny critters some children may be prone to keeping around as pets, others that hunters and farmers may keep about to assist in their tasks.
Alongside wolves, many hunters may take advantage of the Amta'iluin, or tree spirits, a native species of carnivorous bird. These creatures can stand up to three feet tall, their small- hawk like forms sitting atop absurdly long legs. Their pointed beaks resemble a spear's tip, pointed and compact. Amta'iluin live in large groups, most of their lives within the brush of the trees above, using their lanky legs to climb from branch to branch, only diving out of trees when they spot unknowing and vulnerable prey. While these birds weigh little over thirteen pounds, the sheer number of living projectiles decending on a single target has lead to some larger groups targeting even Nakla, and overtaking them.
However, many flocks of Amata'iluin are much to small to achieve such a feat, mostly preying on Icebacks and watervines.
The Watervines in question are a form of reptile, though these are mostly found in small clearings and the coastline of the Kavdek island.
While not overly hostile, the sight of an average Watervine is something to be given awe.
Averaging at thirteen feet long, weighing up to three hundred pounds, these odd scavengers are known to cause distress within villages, despite being mostly harmless.
These large lumbering creatures feast on the ever present supply of frozen carcasses around the island. Unlike other reptiles, Watervines are warm blooded, causing them to leave behind small tunnel ways beneath the snow wherever they travel.
Ever since the Verbali port has opened, a strange, other worldly creature has invaded the island of Kavdek. These small beings created havoc within native villages, spoiling what food they didn't steal with their droppings.
While having no name for these creatures, native villagers began calling them "Tasam Rodem", the Mischief makers. Foreigners may know them as tree squirrels.
Because many Nakam villages are based within the tree canopy, these squirrels have become a nuisance comparable to mice. However, some children have been known to keep these creatures as pets, finding their habits of nut hiding as a fun "hide and seek" game. (and as an added bonus, hunters have discovered that they make for easy to serve meals~!)
~Remember to ask questions in the comments!~
All contact from Kavdek has ceased, as if the entire island and outside population of Nakam has vanished. No new Nakam will be arriving or appearing, and no new Nakam characters may be created.
The only exception to this is two existing Nakam having a biological child.
Navigation:
{Lore} - All the official lore can be found here (ORGANIZED)
{The Art} - Ever wondered what the Nakam look like?
{Applications} - How to play a Nakat + list of Active Nakam
{Lexicon} - Verba, the language of the Nakam
Anyhow, let's begin..
~Transportation~
Kavdek is a big place, that's not to say that it's not still an island, but it is a rather large one at that.
Because of such, most things can't be expected to permanently travel by foot, can they?
Actually, Verbali has set up multiple bases within the heartland of Kavdek, each of which is based within a pre-existing native village.
The mode of transporting messages from the outposts to their main base (Verbali) could be comparable to a relay-race; that is that one Nakat carries the message to the nearest outpost, then another carries it from that outpost to the next, and so on until the message or package reaches it's destination.
Though, as for personelle transportation, many chose to utilize the power of the snow oxen, as their oddly muscular upper bodies allow them to pull hundreds of pounds of weight even in the heaviest of snow storms.
Ships are also used around the perimeter of the island, leading to many outposts also being stationed on the coastline around Kavdek.
Airships, however rare, have become increasingly popular amongst the rich within Verbali with recent years.
Because days fit for flight are a rare occurrence, there is no known company of air-ship construction crews within Verbali. However, many trade ships offer "catelogs" of parts that they may transport in, for a "build it yourself airship kit!"
Many ship kits are seen as scandles and rip-offs, as they may be missing parts, or just plain not work.
However, the few honest air ship traders have lead to a recent growth of airship traffic around Verbali, and the surrounding area on the island.
~You Keep Mentioning Equality Amongst Living Beings, Yet Nakam Are Also Stated To Be Carnivores; How Does That Work?~
To put simply- respect.
Those close to you are meant to keep, and are not to be used for supplies of any kind.
Of course, Cannibalism is out of the question, yet most Nakam find it as easy to kill another as easy as it is to hunt.
Morality rarely comes into play, at least if the "murder" was committed for a reasonably provoked reason.
(I.E: Threatening a person with their sword)
Just the same- even if a Nakam is host to a family of wolves within their own village, they see no issue in taking others for meat and pelts- as they never knew them.
That's not to say that they take hunting lightly, all respects to the animal they take must be made.
Much of the time, a Nakat hunter will explain to his/her kill that his/her family needs to eat, or that it's simply their job.
And, more often than that, Nakam hunters will always treat their kill with the utmost respect while transporting it.
Wrapping bodies in a warm skin and carefully transporting it home also results in meats of legendary quality.
~Footwear (or lack there of)~
Looking at the many Nakam who now inhabit the Northern Kingdoms, one would be hard pressed to find any of them wearing any type of shoe/boot/flipflop/foot wear in general.
While this does not mean that the Nakam never wear footwear, it does mean that they only do so in extreme conditions.
Compare it to this- Most chose to be barefoot when taking a trip to the beach.
Whether this is to do with the high tempretures or softer footing is up to the individual- the same is for the Nakam.
Even at a young age, Nakam footpads are toughened to withstand even a small nail jabbed at them.
Their own native lands are extremely cold, as stated numerous times before, and while they themselves wear boots of leather and pelts while on the island floor, when abroad, many prefer to be barefoot because of the higher temperatures.
"Well, if it's because of the heat, then why don't you see many shirtless Nakam around?"
Again, this comes to respect.
While it may not be in their own culture to remain modestly clothed at all times of the day, Nakam are observant enough to realize that there's not much clad chest-ness to go around, and observe such a custom with respect.
Simply put- barefoot just makes sense to them when abroad~
~Nakam Art~
One could imagine that the cultural differences between Verbali and the general population of Kavdek would result in drastic differences between the two art styles.
For one, most native Kavdek art would be about as primitive as one would expect. Most figures are made of lines and circles. Perhaps there could be a talented artist hidden amongst a village, though most advertizement signs or simple paintings would contain the same primitive figures. However primitive the art form, the paint that most use, is not. Many Nakam use the same inks one would use for fur staining to paint images on surfaces, resulting in shimmering hues of blues and golds, perhaps even reds, browns, and multiple other metallic paints.
Verbali, with it's multiple influences in widespread culture, has developed a sense of advanced art.
However, a custom has remained with the Nakam people from their artistic origines, in that the depiction of one's exact face is taboo.
This comes about as a respect for the dead- as they hold no homage to their physical body, only their spirit.
Because of this, many homes are adorned with the fur staining patterns of loved ones or the deceased, rather than faces of the aforementioned.
This does not mean that the depiction of one's body is forbidden- quite the opposite.
Many times, Verbali Artists will ask about for stories of travelers and guards, painting crucially detailed murals of whichever scene they find most interesting in their mind's eye.
The Verbali guard houses remain a favorite hot-spot of artists, as their full-face masks leave a kind of loophole to paint "faces" on figures.
Though, even after the blatant statement of the taboo, it is not uncommon to find a non-Nakam artist within Verbali willing to paint faces.
~Medical Knowledge~
"Alright, so you guys have no magic, so how do you save your worst wounded?"
Well, it all depends on the wound.
As speculated, without the aid of healing magic, Nakam have become extremely knowledgeable in the ways of medical care- whether that be trauma, paternity care, or otherwise, years of trial and error have left even the natives with a somewhat advanced knowledge for care of the wounded or sick.
For one, they understand that clenliness is healthy. Which leads to any medical tools being cleaned before use, as well as the banishment of cross contamination by using tools that have just been used on another patient.
When coupled with bone setting and splinting, natural medicines derived from the jungle plants able to coagulate even the heaviest of bleeding wounds, and proper trauma care, many Nakam have been brought back from the edge of death through no magical assistance.
Because of this, it isn't uncommon to see amputee Nakam, heavily scarred Nakam, blind, bruised, battered, balding, just those who have clearly been through heavy punishment and pain.
This is most common seen in the Guard district of Verbali, even those who are no longer able to continue their duties are never thrown from their provided cotts and homes in the guard houses.
This does bring me to prosthetics- while most natives who've lost limbs are left to lean on staffs or canes, a section of the Verbali guard has developed an artificial leg and foot from a slightly bent branch of a tree able to bend the slightest bit and support the wearer's weight, with an added nailed pad at the bottom for stability, the entirety of the structure attaches to the wearer's limb by a simple cloth wrap coupled with a carved wooden cup to fit the stup, using simple wrappings to hold it to the wearer.
Arms have been a bit more complex to figure out, no such full arm prosthetic has been developed. However, hand prosthetics are moreoften considered toolboxes rather than limbs.
By using a simple "twist and switch" lock system on the wrist of the prosthetic limb, the wearer may switch out the hand for many differently positioned hands.
Perhaps a cup oriented vertically or a cupped hand oriented horizontally forward, or a saw, had the wearer gone into carpentry, an entire array of hands have been created by many different inventors within Verbali.
Most often, a wearer will carry all these different hands in a side-bag.
~Nakam Writing~
Though most stories and lore of native Kavdek is kept through word of mouth, a native written language does exist, though the letters work a tad bit differently than in written english.
Take, for example, the sounds of mouth that take more than a single letter, IE: Th, ee, oo, and so on, Rather than relying on a combination of letters, such sounds are represented by their own letter in their alphabet.
While most native are illiterate to common tongue written language, most Nakam are able to read in their own language, as it serves as an important bond between villages in organizing travel through the use of signs along established roadways.
Verbali, however, is mostly devoid of this text, save for the city's many libraries, who are actively seeking to save the text from extinction within the civilized world.
As well as Nakam exclusive bars and other such places that would seek to only attract the attention of the specific race.
Now, for the elephant in the room, the name of the Nakam written alphabet is referred to as "Ludkava", which essentially translates to "tangible knowledge"
(alright, open challenge. I'd like someone to assist me in coming up with the actual written text alphabet of the Nakam language. PM me if you're interested, I've no clue what sort of applications this could have, but I'd imagine this can be pretty fun and interesting :3)
~Catnip.~
I suppose this bit has been a long time coming, but here we go >_>
First off- Catnip does not have the same effect for everyone. While the broadened definition of the herb can be said as "slightly mind-altering", the standard is that it's effects last, at longest, half an hour.
As for the high, it will in most cases severely impair a Nakat's judgement, though their exact attitudes during their endevor varies according to their personalities and subconscious mind.
Some may become overwhelmed with a sense of companionship and love, forcing them to be hug-machines.
Others may become stoic, and choose to simply sit by the fire, with a handy snack nearby.
While others still may become frantic and slightly feral, leading them to be hostile, yet retaining their ability of slurred speech.
While this plant does not grow in their native land of Kavdek, Verbali citizens are known to buy and use the herb in recreational use through incents and tea.
Slightly spiked ale is also a favorite amongst the pubs and bars in the city as well, leading to a slight increase in the amount of skirmishes that appear within the city walls, though nothing drastic.
~Ruins~
As with any long populated area, there are remains of villages and civilizations long abandoned.
Many abandoned jungle floor based villages reside in the east, though these mostly serve as teshvadiik hideouts, their location and abundance would suggest that the earliest of Nakam establishments were largely stone-based, as well as equipped with enough survival supplies to keep their land and citizens safe enough to create stoneworks able to survive hundreds of years.
For obvious reasons, they must've abandoned their heavy stone-based building techniques when moving to higher ground, as it would've been much more difficult to support.
Many abandoned suspended villages remain in the central island, though most of them have no tragic story beyond the villagers seeking homes elsewhere.
The rotting and degrading remains of the first attempted modern civilization can be seen at the north end of the island, in the form of a half-completed castle.
The exact origines of this castle are unknown, though the wide abundance of scaffolding around it's walls coupled with the complete lack of furnishings would suggest that it's inhabitants were cut-short in their project.
One very unique and interesting ruin remains to the south.
A cave resides on the top of the islands tallest mountain, it's twists and turns prevent any snowdrifts from reaching within (and will also turn away the most aware of unwanted visitors.)
The cave's walls remain etched with lines in fantastical patterns, and many of it's walls are structurally smooth and perfectly flat.
Deep within the cave resides a single village- still kicking. Though it's population remains dwindling, their strongest warriors are at constant guard to the back exit of their small town.
They claim to be the protectors of the elders, saying that the final chamber of the cave inhabits those they claim to worship, and will let no one short of a fate blessed Nakam pass through their defenses.
Many who pass through the gate, even with the village's permission, are never to return.
Those who do return remain catatonic, in an almost dementia-like stupor, mumbling things of light and knowledge.
~Sports & Games~
Just about every civilization in the world has some form of recreation native to the area; as such, the Nakam have more than a few "sports", though there seems to be one that is considered a past-time: Kashgev.
Rules are as such: The objective is to capture the opposing team's marker (usually a pike, or stick left in the ground) and bring it to your own.
The game begins when both team leaders stand back to back within wherever they wish to play the game (usually the forrest ground, or a similarly set place with many cover pieces)(Teams usually consist of somewhere around six to eight players). They walk fifty paces each in directly opposite directions as their respective team follows.
As soon as they reach their fifty paces, the pike is left in the ground, and the game begins.
If you should encounter the opposite team on your way to gather their pike, you may choose to:~ A) Throw a snowball at them, which, if it should meet it's target, forces them to touch their own team's pike before being allowed back into the game. Should the player who was hit with said snowball be carrying the opposing team's spike, he/she must leave it where he/she stands. Or B), run up and tag them. In doing this, you run the risk of being hit by a snowball, or tagged yourself. If a player is tagged, they must join the opposing team's side.
Sportsmanship is generally required amongst the players to carry out a full game, though usually this is no issue with Nakam, as they'd take any victory gained through lies as a dishonorable act.
Though it should be known that while there exists no "professional" kashgev teams, it's simplicity and popularity has made it a widely known favorite of adults and children alike.
Many other sports have found their way to Kavdek as well, through way of Verbali, though you're less likely to find a sport so widely enjoyed in Nakam lands.
Nakam also enjoy games not only of the body, but of the mind and skill as well.
Simid is the widest known game of this category, as it's basis exists within the earliest of Nakam villages.
Simid is, in a way, a war simulator, in which two or more opposing players must expand their own imaginary villages, while attempting to overtake their opponents.
It is played using multicolored pieces of stone, though more valuable sets may use pieces made from actual valuable metals.
"pieces" can refer to any number of shapes and sizes, as there is no regulatory shape or size for the pieces themselves. However, the die used must be six sided, and use only one of each number from 1-6 painted or engraved on each side.
The game consists of 4 painted pieces:
"Colorless": While not a physical piece, the number of "colorless" pieces a player has directly corresponds to the amount of pieces one is allowed to categorize into the following sections for his/her own intentions and objectives.
Blue(roll): Guardsmen, used to combat opposing guardsmen
Yellow(3): Farmers, for every two farmers in a line that are touching, the player gains a single "colorless" Piece.
Green(5): Craftsmen, used to create weapons for the guards, increasing their attacking number by the number of craftsmen.
Black (4): Archers, used just as guardsmen, however they gain no additional strength from craftsmen, yet they can attack the opposing player's pieces without first engaging their guards, but suffer a -1 for their attacking roll.
The game is ultimately simple, each player takes a turn organizing their beginning set of eight colorless pieces into whatever they'd like to begin with.
For every two farmers that are directly next to each other, they are allowed an additional one colorless piece per turn.
However, guardsmen are by far the most important pieces, as they'll essentially serve as a protective barrier. Your pieces must be set up in a series of lines, how ever many lines you want. Some prefer to keep a singular, continuous line as their village, other players prefer many different smaller lines. Each line must be horizontal to your position, giving each a beginning and end.
The object of the game is to eradicate your opponent's village, their line, using your own guardsmen.
Any attacking guardsmen must be placed on the outside of a line, at either the beginning, or the end.
Guardsmen can only attack the beginnings and endings of the opposing player's lines, and, as one may've guessed, combat consists of rolling a die each, and seeing who has the highest roll. Whomever loses the battle, loses their guard.
However, should a player make it through an opposing player's line's guard, and reach another piece (Yellow, green, or black), they must roll a number higher than each pieces HP, which is typically 3 for farmers, 5 for craftsmen, and 4 for archers.
These "Direct attacks" gain no additional points from craftsmen.
Guards continue to attack so long as they are victorious in their fights, however, if they should lose a fight against any piece, that guardsmen must be placed back into the unused piece pool, and is considered deceased.
As stated above, an archer acts as a guardsmen, however, they must be placed at the forward most line, anywhere within said line, and may attack any piece they wish, at a cost of -1 for their direct attack roll.
Each turn, a player gathers their colorless pieces, and creates their village as they see fit. They can chose to either attack their opponent, or reconfigure their lines.
The game ends once a player's lines are completely killed off.
Just as with sports, many additional games have made their way through to Kavdek via Verbali, however, none are as popular as Simid.
~Ailments and Diseases of Kavdek~
Just as with any foreign land, Kavdek's terrain provides for unique ways in which a person can be physically and mentally miserable. Yaaaaay~!
"Invisible icicles"- Actually a case of cold-climate fleas. What with the Nakam's gratuitous amounts of fur, "invisible icicles" can remain an issue for quite some time. Luckily, any sort of extreme warm weather is known to kill off any sort of native flea species. Unfortunately, all places warm enough to "heal" this ailment are overseas.
"Greenfoot"- A type of cold-weather mold that first appears as spores in snow, awaiting a warm body to melt said ice and allow it to stick to their fur and/or skin.
This allows the mold a certain level of reproductive stability, allowing it to spread spores in snow wherever the host should travel.
Adverse effects to the host, besides having the affected area overcome with what appears to be dark green fur, includes rashes of the skin underneath infected area, and said rash does have a strong possibility of becoming infected and all that goodness.
"icerot"- mostly known to overtake extremities, this infection works in tandom with the extreme cold to rot away areas with slowed blood flow in cold climates. While not life-threatening (as the infection cannot overtake an area that has warm, healthy blood flowing through it.) it does result in many ears, fingers, and other extremedies being damaged. Icerot of the ears has been described as appearing: "as if the flesh were to become paper, ripped and torn, the remaining grain being jagged and crude, though no blood is seen."
However, due to the nakam's fur coat, icerot usually only results in the tips of ears being eaten away. Any and all other extremities are usually covered in a healthy layer of fur.
"Desert soul" - a bacteria found in stagnant water sources within caves about Kavdek. Thought to've come about from the teshvadiik invasion, should any infected stagnant water reach a mucus membrane, the Nakam in question will be overcome with a heavy cough, debilitating weakness, and an extreme fever, though symptoms usually take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to arise.
It's name came about when the eyes of those infected were seen as dry, and the body remaining hot for hours after death, even if it were to be set on snow.
While this disease is non infectious from person to person, an infected water source can mean the end to an entire village.
~More Medical Goodness~
So, I've mentioned in the past that the Nakam are a bit advanced in the ways of medicine, having so much time to accumulate the knowledge through good ol' trial and error.
However, let's delve a bit deeper into the issue~
Chronic conditions such as heart murmurs or other slight deformities have been made readily diagnosable thanks to one of the more prominent natural tools of the Nakam; their ears.
While they're nowhere near sensitive enough to hear heartbeats across the room, many Nakam doctors have been trained to diagnose heart and gastric conditions by sound alone.
Of course, no every day Nakat would be able to press his head against the chest of a pained man and make sense of the garbled noises- one must be trained to seek out key pointers from rhythm, sound, and intensity.
This also comes in handy for maternity purposes, as a developing child's heartbeat can also be heard through the mother's abdomen.
While sound diagnoses are no where near 100% accurate, they give the doctor in question a very reliable jumping off point for treatment.
Medication has also come far from the outside world- when coupled with the trade of far lands, many Nakam doctors have been able to order remedies and plants from nearly across the entire world. Of course, the more difficult to obtain, the more expensive the medication.
However, secretism surrounding some Nakam made medication has left some merchants believing that they're selling grass clippings to foreigners for an easy fortune, unaware of the plants true purpose.
Surgery is nowhere near the science known of the modern world, however, amputations and otherwise healing surgeries (such as major stitching of open wounds, cleaning of infections) have been made much more reliable within Verbali than the outside world.
Better yet, due to the conditions surrounding most Nakam deaths, bodies have been donated by loved ones to doctors for study, under such conditions that they be cremated once observations and experiments have been concluded. Remember- the Nakam do not believe in holding onto physical representations of their loved ones, only their memories. So a body is only important for it's ritualistic purposes (cremation, spreading of ashes, etc.)
These observations and experiments with cadavers have lead to leaps in understanding of both Nakam and (thanks to weary travelers) humanoid bodies.
"Wait, weary travelers? What do you mean?!"
Relax, there's no known conspiracy to kill unknowing visitors for scientific purposes.
However, Kavdek is a dangerous place. And you took a knowledgable risk coming here.
Say our guards come across a disarmed (litterally) human corpse semi-buried under a snow drift after a brief run in with a saberdog. Why should it be our responsibility to haul your idiotic frozen butt across the sea? You know what? We're goin' to use you. For science. We appreciate the donation, and thank you for choosing Kavdek as your place of death.
~Fur Facts~
The Nakam's pelt isn't much different from what you'd expect- hair. That brings into question the properties and abilities of such a covering.
Of course, when completely drenched, there's no way to tell exactly how long it'd take for the person in question to be soak-free. Fur length, thickness, consistency all effect such a process, as well as clothing and weather.
A shorter-furred Nakam wearing not but a pair of shorts on the sunniest of days is sure to be completely dry within an hour, if not sooner.
A longer-furred Nakam wearing the finest of robes and wears of all of Altera rushing to get indoors after a flash rainstorm may take a while longer to dry completely.
With all taken into consideration, though, most wouldn't expect to remain drenched for more than a few (horridly and hauntingly unpleasant) hours.
As for aging, the short answer to whether or not color occurs is "yes.", The long answer would be that pigment within hairs gradually wears away with age, and is most often first evident at the extremities.
Let's take, for example, a dark furred black Nakam.
With age, their fingers, tail, rear abdomen, ears, hands, feet, lower legs, muzzle, may become a lighter hue of brown.
With even more age, the brown may advance farther up the Nakam's body, leaving behind small twinges of white and grey hairs, and even lighter browns.
As said before, pigments will mostly gradually wear away, rather than transfer straight from their previous color to grays and whites.
~Moar Wildlife~
Focusing on domestication, there are pleanty of tiny critters some children may be prone to keeping around as pets, others that hunters and farmers may keep about to assist in their tasks.
Alongside wolves, many hunters may take advantage of the Amta'iluin, or tree spirits, a native species of carnivorous bird. These creatures can stand up to three feet tall, their small- hawk like forms sitting atop absurdly long legs. Their pointed beaks resemble a spear's tip, pointed and compact. Amta'iluin live in large groups, most of their lives within the brush of the trees above, using their lanky legs to climb from branch to branch, only diving out of trees when they spot unknowing and vulnerable prey. While these birds weigh little over thirteen pounds, the sheer number of living projectiles decending on a single target has lead to some larger groups targeting even Nakla, and overtaking them.
However, many flocks of Amata'iluin are much to small to achieve such a feat, mostly preying on Icebacks and watervines.
The Watervines in question are a form of reptile, though these are mostly found in small clearings and the coastline of the Kavdek island.
While not overly hostile, the sight of an average Watervine is something to be given awe.
Averaging at thirteen feet long, weighing up to three hundred pounds, these odd scavengers are known to cause distress within villages, despite being mostly harmless.
These large lumbering creatures feast on the ever present supply of frozen carcasses around the island. Unlike other reptiles, Watervines are warm blooded, causing them to leave behind small tunnel ways beneath the snow wherever they travel.
Ever since the Verbali port has opened, a strange, other worldly creature has invaded the island of Kavdek. These small beings created havoc within native villages, spoiling what food they didn't steal with their droppings.
While having no name for these creatures, native villagers began calling them "Tasam Rodem", the Mischief makers. Foreigners may know them as tree squirrels.
Because many Nakam villages are based within the tree canopy, these squirrels have become a nuisance comparable to mice. However, some children have been known to keep these creatures as pets, finding their habits of nut hiding as a fun "hide and seek" game. (and as an added bonus, hunters have discovered that they make for easy to serve meals~!)
~Remember to ask questions in the comments!~
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