Hinekōkō Crater (hi.neˈkoː.koː ˈkɾa.teɾ)
"The fruits of Hinekōkō are not for us to eat, nor should we linger long within its boundaries. It remembers the past, even if we have chosen to forget." - a Mu'o'a Fai Tala instructing an apprentice
Just to the south of the Papa Ahi plateau on the island of Motu is the strange and forbidding place known as the Hinekōkō Crater. It was once the breeding ground of the Loloto, who had filled the basin with a lake of caustic ichor that the early Mu'o'a named Vaituloto Lolo. This lake held the eggs and eel-like Loloto larvae, and like the Loloto themselves was very flammable. The Mu'o'a under Pinau set Vaituloto Lolo on fire during their war with the Loloto, causing the lake and all that lived inside it to perish.
In the centuries since the burning of Vaituloto Lolo, plants have taken over the scorched earth, leaving only the bulbous hill at the center bare of vegetation. Much of what grows within the crater is unique, and found nowhere else upon Motu, although some seems similar to plants upon the island of Matamata further south.
The Fai Tala and Faifāitonu speak of the crater as a sacred place, one reserved for the Aku and not meant for mortal feet to tread. Entrance into the Dream is possible from within the crater, and an unwary visitor might find themself wandering outside the physical world. The crater's connection to the Loloto is another concern - while the creatures themselves were exterminated shortly after Pinau burned their lake, the nightmares they spawned in the Dream persisted. To combat that, the ancient Fai Tala buried the tales of the Loloto to weaken their eidolons. As a part of this campaign, they have forbidden the crater to casual exploration so that nobody may encounter the malevolent ghosts of the Loloto and strengthen them by seeing, acknowledging, and spreading the tales of their existence.
Notable Spirits
Hinekōkō Crater is haunted by the eidolons of the Loloto, and they seek to lure any visitors into the Dream. They are immaterial in the physical realm, but the nature of the crater allows for travelers to slip easily betwen the two worlds if they follow certain paths. Once within the Dream, the Loloto will attack, venting their anger upon the living. Few who fall into their clutches ever escape alive, but they carry the memory of the Loloto into their own underworlds, where the tales of them may grow and sustain the unhappy Loloto ghosts.
Geography
Hinekōkō Crater is the lowest point on the island of Motu, with several areas resting below sea level. The crater is almost four thousand feet across, and encircled by a ridge that reaches about 150 feet higher than the surrounding jungle. In the center of the crater is an eight hundred foot high hill, which was once an island in the center of Vaituloto Lolo - this hill is the only place in the crater free of plants or other life, and is sometimes called Falemanu o Loloto by those Fai Tala instructed in the true history of the place.
Geographic Details
Location: Southern RegionLatitude: 8.55 degrees South
Longitude: 0.19 degrees East
Area: 0.43 sq mi
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