The Kaoh
The Kaoh are a sea-faring folk famous for their sleek, fast ship and the homes that they make on artificial islands of their own construction. They make their home across the waters that surround Quentriandal's mainland, preferring open water to shores and islands. It is a freedom that allow them to go where they please, to hunt for food and fortune where-ever it may be.
The Ocean-Folk
The average Kaoh are of brawny build, with skin of any color though their work in the sun tend to leave them tan. Their Masques are sharp and angled, often reminiscent of the head of a fish. Warriors or rogues might wear a Masque that resemble a shark or barracuda, while the kindly grandmother tend more towards whales - and everything in between. Like all humans in Quentriandal, they sometimes have bestial traits, but for the Kaoh they are always from aquatic animals. Hair colors tend towards dark or brown, but seeing red, auburn, blond or even green isn't that uncommon. The Kaoh have an higher than average tendency towards grey-hued eyes.A few of the Kaoh are even born with gills, allowing them to breath underwater for long periods of time. These few almost always join the Shark-Tooth Claw.Kaoh try to keep their hair braided or short and their clothes minimal - they are always ready and expecting to get wet. When they venture into colder waters, they dress accordingly with the skins of aquatic beasts or traded pelts. Jewelry is popular when the Kaoh are not working and are most commonly drawn from the seas. The tooth of sharks or other great beasts of the deeps are particularly significant, but they trade for gold and silver when they can. Otherwise, bone and coral are the most common materials used.
Carried by Ocean Currents
The Kaoh are adept sailors, fishers and skilled ship-makers. Every Kaoh are an expert swimmer from early age and even the young sometimes joins the ships to that go hunt. The Kaoh live on great, artificial island made out of moss, bone and a special type of ocean-living tree which the Kaoh coax to grow into the correct shape. The biggest of these island is perhaps a kilometer or two, with families staying deep inside the island-structure or on the boats attached to it. To the Kaoh, there is nothing more important than the ocean. It is their mother and benefactor in all things. They are a fierce and independent people, prone to stories travel and adventure. They sometimes raid coastal settlements or merchant ships, but are more likely to visit and trade.Burial At Sea When a Kaoh sleeper reaches the end of her life, she is returned to the depths that gave Kaoh life. A weighted casket is prepared and the deceased is traditionally given a single gift by each of their family and friends. When all farewells have been said, the casket is slid into the water and left to sink.
A Thousand Tales at Sea
Stories with the Kaoh almost always involve the water or oceans in one way or the other. Even the 'fish out of water' style of narratives tend to have the final point be the Kaoh returning to the seas she so cherishes. Kaoh pirates are usually themed as outlaws and renegades, the fringe of an otherwise kind people. Such attacks are almost always lead by particularly bestial Kaoh and often feature themes of unexpected ambushes, as the expert swimmers of the Kaoh can silently swim to a craft and climb the side of it. Other stories deal with their connection to the ocean in other ways, as friends of various aquatic beasts or the victims of some of the more dangerous, vicious monsters of the oceans. It is exceedingly rare for a story to feature the complete destruction or sinking of and island-home, though they happen, typically as the climax of a particularly vicious tale or the beginning of a story of rebuilding.The Infinite Seas
The oceans that surround the dreaming-world are called the Infinite Seas and for good reason. They appear to continue for eternity, until they stop at the End: where there is no more dream. The Kaoh never venture past the Near Oceans and in Kaoh folktales, the far away oceans past that are the domain of devils, demons and maelstroms that lead to a staggering variety of different hells. Read more about the Infinite Seas
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