Kyth

Patron: The Watcher (Julunggali)
Capital: Truehome
Primary Race: Half-Elf
Primary Language: Chithonic
Suggested Traits: Beacon of Faith, Defiance, Duelist, Handler, Islander, Levelheaded, Quick Reactions, Sea Legs, Walkabout
Regional Feat: Fierce and Loyal

Description

Outsiders say that the people of Kyth have sacrificed their freedom for security, but to the half-elves of the island, they have merely found a place they can call home.  More-so than any other nation in modern Zenáthras, Kyth is a theocracy, dedicated to the worship of the Great Gods Kaeshem and Gwolth.  The rocky island is completely covered in temples, from which the half-elves gather everything they need in return for prayer.  Water flows from the wells and springs inside the monolithic edifices and foodstuff is summoned into being by the residents' collective magic during the morning, afternoon, and evening masses.

At the center of this worship is the Watcher, the great, pallid serpent that espouses the virtues of balance and neutrality, which can only be truly found by the worship of law and chaos in equal measure.  Life on the island is a thing of constant prayer and pilgrimage, with every resident expected to visit every temple and pray, kneeling before every icon, at least once in their lifetime.  While not engaged in these activities, they devote themselves to caring for the island and the creatures on it or producing holy icons.  And, of course, there are the extremely dour, cheerless religious 'festivals' they hold, which are seen by outsiders as little more than an excuse to spend even more time praying.

History

Half-elves have never had the best time of it throughout the history of Zenáthras, being disliked by both their parent species.  They have alternately been seen as too weak by humans or too brutish by elves, been distrusted as gypsies as they began to come together in their own wandering communities, and falsely accused of crimes or perverse practices whenever they tried to settle.  The War of the Traitor-Heroes caught a small flotilla of several ships unawares as they were actually leaving the island known as Big Stone, from which they had been banished by the distrustful populace.

When the magic that had been keeping the weather calm failed and the spells guiding their ship fizzled out, they were caught in a terrible storm that tossed them about for nearly two months.  Food running out many of the crew and passengers deathly ill, the surviving ships crashed back against the shores of Big Stone, where they found the island completely deserted.

That remains one of the biggest mysteries of that mysterious time, for the nation-devouring onslaught of monsters would not begin in earnest for several more years.  Still, the half-elves could only thank the luck that did not see them cast out to sea again and began building a home for themselves.  Their luck was not to stay good, however, and monsters began appearing on the island, seeming to emerge from the very stones.  A hundred years after their landing, the half-elves of Big Stone were reduced to a few scattered tribes eking out an existence, but that all changed with the coming of the Watcher.

A powerful Great Beast that emerged from the sea, it devoured the monsters that threatened the half-elves and declared that the one path to their salvation was through prayer and the contemplation of the cosmic balance.  Swayed by the promise of food and safety, these half-elves agreed and set about slowly erecting the temples that the Watcher demanded.  Over time, as ships from other nations arrived and news began to flow out, half-elves from around Zenáthras would make their way to this new place, this land they could call 'home.'

Foreign Relations

Kyth is friendly enough to those visitors that do not mock or challenge their beliefs.  They are nominal allies of Jyvestra, Marukeem, and the Council of Wyrms, as well as trading partners with the Tide Princes, who have a small but fervent market for Chithonic iconography abroad.