Zelakos
This small island in the Great Southern Archipelago is rather barren and would appear at first glance to be entirely inhospitable, a terrible place to call home. In fact the story
majority of the inhabitants tell is that a cruel and ill-tempered god, after discovering they had mastered his fire, took them from their distant and beautiful ancestral homeland and placed them here as punishment. The gods kind-hearted wife, who took the form of a fish, heard her husband had done this and was overcome by a great grief, she saw the people failing to prosper in this new land and wept inconsolably. The god, who was in the form of a man, realized his mistake too late and in desperation called upon his wife's mother for help. She met with her family, and after much deliberation it was decided that they shall help the people of this island. They became the fish and other sealife which sustained the people and allowed them to flourish in their rocky prison. Some of the mothers family however, where not happy with the new arrangement, and became the feared twelve legged sea monster known as the Ta-Nuka.
This Story, however unlikely, goes along way to explaining why the islanders of Zelakos look so different from the other peoples of the mainland and the other islands. They are both of darker complexion and possessing of larger eyes. It is also the basis for the tattoos on the neck all have once they have passed the age of thirteen, meant to represent gills.
Most of the population live in small villages near the shore, and while there are no cities as of yet there is a town named Pescafolae in the centre lying at the intersection of the many trade routes covering the island. This is where the islands small community of scholars reside, hiring themselves out to help local chieftains in need of a problem solver. For example, in one village the freshwater supply from the nearby spring was being polluted. A scholar arrived an discovered that the problem lay in their method of disposing of waste. He told them to remove of their waste through burial and the problem was resolved. These scholars, or
Ilgati as they were called, garnered a lot of respect from the people of the island but were not seen as strong enough to hold any real political power.
Their watery world permeated every aspect of their lives, births are often performed on-board fishing vessels and the dead put to sea as a gift for the sea mother and her family. Cleansing oneself with water regularly is an important rite for the Zelakons, as it is meant to keep you close to the all giving sea (While simultaneously helping check the spread of diseases). Most art, although primitive, is influenced by the liquidity of the sea, and the most popular stories are those of brave and cunning seamen doing battle with the Ta-Nuka or performing great feats of maritime endurance. Women are given an almost equal status within the society due to the importance female gods played in their current prosperity, and are allowed into all the holy places, can become priests and are even, in extreme cases, allowed to divorce their husbands.
The military of the island consists of the fishermen and their harpoons. War between various clans is fairly uncommon as they all feel united by a common culture and inheritance, but when it does occur it is usually settled through the use of shock tactics, such as burning houses and sinking ships in harbour.
Am I all good?