Anak Kaoh

The island of Kaoh is one of the most remote in the Great Ring, and is home to a strange race known as the Anak Kaoh, the people of Kaoh.
Legend says that a century ago, a Telmun man and a Naga woman fell in love, against the wishes of both their peoples, and the laws of the Malikate of Saba. They fled in the night, just ahead of the agents of the Malikate sent to arrest them, and put to sea in a stolen boat. A storm came upon them, and the tiny ship was tossed far from Saba, and they floated for three days and nights on the open waters before they saw a dark arrowhead on the eastern horizon, splitting the rising sun in two. This was the island of Kaoh, emerging out the sea. They made for shore and found the islet steaming in the morning sun. The rocks were hot to the touch, but as they stepped out of the boat, a spring burst forth from a crevice and the lovers drank of it and came to know the god Kaoh. 
Kaoh was a great mountain beneath the sea, and a dreaming god. It heard the dreams of the stranded lovers, and rose out of the sea to grant them safe harbor in their plight. For several days after they landed, the islet continued to rise and expose more land to the air, until it was ten times the size of the rocky islet they first spotted. Kaoh reached into the Dream and brought forth what plants and creatures could survive on its exposed summit, to serve as food and shelter for the people it had adopted. And then it did more.
That night, Kaoh came to the lovers while they slept, and joined with them in their dreams and their bodies. He used his power to make their union fruitful, a thing which had never been seen before. The Naga bore a single egg which contained into two children, the first of the Anak Kaoh. 
The children were twins, male and female. They each bore aspects of their parentage, with traits of both human and kikipua. But there was something more in their makeup. They grew swiftly, and when they spoke, it was in a language never heard before outside the dreams of Kaoh. They called this language Phasah Kaoh, and taught it to their parents, and many other things besides. 
The twins were named Rithin and Sreyleap, and they were the beginnings of a new people. They were the children of three parents, and made up of equal parts of their mother, their father, and their god. Kaoh had long dreamed of a people, one who would in time rise to form a great empire, and in these children his dream began to become flesh. 
This is the beginning of the Anak Kaoh. Rithin and Sreyleap had four children, each with the aid of Kaoh. With each new birth, the island lifted a little further out of the sea, granting more land and more room to the people living upon it. The Anak Kaoh do not have many children in each generation, so the island is still quite small, only thirty square miles, but it continues to grow. Each new child also brings a part of Kaoh's dream into the world with them, creating the oddity of a new-born culture with a rich and deep history.

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Main Article: Phasah Kaoh

There is only one dialect of Phasah Kaoh spoken among the living Anak Kaoh. However, they claim that several dialects exist within the Dream that will be made manifest in future generations.

Foods & Cuisine

The culinary traditions of the Anak Kaoh are known as the Ahar Kaoh, and include the extensive use of insects and the highly unusual sngaorotrei, or stew fish.

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

The Anak Kaoh resemble humans most often, but bear several marks of their Naga heritage, as well as traits that come only from the dreams of Kaoh. Their builds are most similar to the Naga, with lean, serpentine builds and natural grace. Their eyes have vertical pupils like the Naga, but are colored in all the shades of the ocean. They have skin, not scales, although it is has an iridescent sheen not found among humans. 
The Anak Kaoh adorn themselves with tattoos and jewelry, mostly made from coral and seashells. The greatest marker of beauty among the Anak Kaoh is their voice - a beautiful speaking and singing voice is prized beyond any aspect of their appearance.

Parent ethnicities

• Naga
• Telmun

Encompassed species

• Kikipua

Languages spoken

• Phasah Kaoh

Related Locations

• Kaoh