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The Echelon

The Mothfolk of Orogast take few pupils. Their most successful "collegiate society" is a mystic order of Theri led by Unknown, a knight-cum-sorcerer. Hailing from Orchalannon and having become disillusioned with The Reign of Eld and monarchism in general, he formed a mystic order of six sorcerers bound to one another by the "Rite of Undertaking". They are working to create an army of undead that would put an end to hereditary rule in The Land of Six Kingdoms.

They have conspired to conscript soldiers from Reux, binding the witless villagers as soldiers and servants. The rite transforms human souls into demonic spirits, then binds them to the bones of the decedent's body. In the process, runes of binding are added which constrict their behavior, such that the order and their converted underlings cannot betray the cause. 

With Orogast as their alma mater, the six founding members of the order excel in illusions, thaumaturgy, necromancy, and demonology.


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A Secret People

Pukalore, the lore of the little folk, is a hotly debated topic among a certain cross section of many societies. The Púkafólk are a disreputable branch of crypto-zoology to the people of Karnum; many refuse to believe they exist. Sadly, those who do believe love nothing more than to disagree with one another. There are groups of enthusiasts who share stories and theories about them, almost all entirely false and conjectural. One popular theory has it that Puka are the ghosts of children slain unjustly, sent to haunt their tormentors. Other theorists contend the Puka are evil spirits who can kill with a gaze, demi-demons who creep into bedrooms to feed on nightmares. Despite the uncertainty, people of quality continue to be slain in the senseless duels that arise from differences in opinion. 

Puka are, in fact, humans. However, they were created wholly by the Demonic Lunar Congress for a purpose. They were created as slave soldiers for a future war against the Cerentian Cosmonauts (refer to Unknown). Against all probability, the light of Karna found them deep beneath the surface...and they rejected their evil masters. This resulted in a bloody underground war of independence lasting a decade, which reduced their numbers greatly. Knowing that the little folk were created to abhor sunlight, Karna gifted them with the sálarmosa, a unique cave moss that converts the light of faith directly into sunlight. With ready access to sunlight, they were dependent on their masters no longer, and broke free. Fierce underground battle lines, protracted sieges, and deadly encounter battles were the norm while they fought hosts of Beastmen, lunar Mothfolk, and magically disguised Theri spies. The veterans of that war are a much-depleted host of consummate soldiers. Perhaps most tragically, there were Puka loyalists who failed to die for their demonic masters. These were turned over to Echelon to fuel their research into Blood Eagles.

Little Green Men

In appearance, the Púkafólk are small, pallid, under a meter in height, and terribly thin. They have larger heads and bulging dark eyes. They decorate their bodies with white, blue, or green (never mixed) bioluminescent pigments in intricate patterns, for they have an art for tattoo ink that glows by the heat of the body. The color of the tattoos denote caste, some of which can be occasionally changed, and some of which are a lifetime commitment. For the ink to be removed, one is plunged into a prolonged ice bath. This kills the ink's glow, and it eventually fades.

They have little hair, lacking even eyelashes.They have a small but sprawling underground civilization numbering several thousands across Midvale. They are never seen above-ground in daylight, as they are deathly allergic to direct sunlight (fatal in most cases from even an hour's exposure). Their history with demons also means they have had excellent but idiosyncratic teachers. Education is generally high among Puka.

They do not ride beasts, as a rule. No beast of burden could tolerate such a gloomy fray. For long distances, they use machines that, when cranked by foot or hand, can move quickly along steel rails.

In manner, the little folk are hardy, even-keeled, and highly pragmatic. They know no honor codes, but they take courage, pride in work, a sense of fairness, and a posture of taciturn self-reliance as a minimum standard of conduct. They speak in a patois of Altonian and Mashaya, but with a peculiar drawling guttural accent possibly acquired from demons. It would be just about possible for a speaker of both languages to converse, but even then the accent would be a severe hindrance to comprehension. Puka dress sparingly. Civilians wear little but their tattoos.

The Life of Ink

In Puka society, the religious and farming castes are as one. They are known as the votary. They wear green tattoos depicting solar symbols. Once one joins this faith, the only way out is being fed to the soil. Most of them spend their time doing the labor of the soul, meditating to focus their faith with the sálarmosa and creating a window to the sun at any hour. The rest of their time is spent in sowing, harvesting, and distributing their food. In addition to this, the votary have a considerable amount of political power within their religious remit. It was by their decree that all wrights should change jobs every five years.

The laboring and political class (known as wrights) all wear blue tattoos of varying design. Their tattoos denote one's job title and depth of dedication; One must change jobs every five years, but that is not to say it must be in a different field. Executive officials are quite nearly blue from head to toe, while menial laborers merely have their hands marked. People may leave this caste if they wish. Wrights have the most freedoms, but they are subject to the greatest pressures also. It is common to retire to a life of farming and religious reflection, once one has lost the appetite for life as a wright.

Operatives of The Black Chamber are adorned with white tattoos. Their cryptic designs intimate secrecy and power. They believe studying humanity's shadows (sins, violence, hubris) gives insight into the light, just as shadows define shapes. Their obscurantist rituals and cryptic tattoos form an unspoken language that hints at higher truths without expressing them directly. They can communicate along hidden channels, and traverse the darkness between thoughts. They characterize Karna as an ultimate truth and wisdom that casts shadows - the material world is one such shadow, they say. 

Gunslinging Vegetarians

At war, Puka don waxcloth ponchos and fierce masks. All Puka can be called to combat with no change in color. They are a deeply militaristic society, and even the most peaceful of them knows how to manage a firearm. The most common hobbies in their realm all relate to the care, use, and replenishment of highly personalized firearms. They only wear armor plates on their chests, but these can be very thick. They wield massive repeating scatterguns and cruel knives, and their regiments are foremost in the art of sapping, engineering, and trapmaking.

Before they gained independence, the little folk were brought great stores of meat, and given knowledge of evil weaponry by their demonic masters. After gaining independence they take no meat, but still they make war with guns. In fact, the deep mysteries of gunsmything are kept by an inner circle of priests. By a pact with the divine, they are the sole keepers of this deadly art, and if knowledge of gunsmything were ever to fall into the wrong hands, their faith dictates that Karna would rescind the blessing of sálarmosa and they would be again assailed by the vengeful demons whom they betrayed. This is the doom they sincerely believe is set upon them.

Culture Vultures

As a newly-minted people, there is a tension between the desire to look outward, and their obscurantist religious doctrine. And so, all Puka yearn for contact with other humans for culture and a sense of meaning, but the stakes could not be higher. This is why for so many humans, there is confusion and difficulty regarding the pukafolk. What are these bright little shadows who linger at the edges of civilization? Why do they love music especially? Why do they sometimes kill with only a glance and a loud cracking noise? Some claim to have encountered Puka in person but then later recant, claiming to have forgotten or misremembered. Some have gone mad after alleged encounters. Books get misplaced, as do desserts left out for them. Where do they live? So many questions to speculate on, but little to know. Do they live among us in secret?

The young are routinely sent above ground to learn of the world above, to better know their true isolation. They wander the land in a daze of vertigo and rage. They observe the world as it was meant to be lived in, so they can know what the demons took from them and know god's light firsthand. They travel incognito, heavily cloaked against the light, listening at campfires, following caravans, and sometimes conversing with travelers. They are often followed by agents of The Black Chamber...

After abandoning demonic servitude, Púkafólk have had to resort to stealing books and scrolls to support their education. They used to have access to spirit guides who would patiently tutor them in all things, but these are now gone. This explains some of their behavior around libraries and bookshops.

Secrecy and the Backlash

Out of shadow they come, cloaked in silence and darkness... The Black Chamber. This clandestine order was instituted to isolate their people in reaction to Puka theological doctrine, yet as human civilizations advanced faster, so too did The Black Chamber's scope and ruthlessness. Today, their arrival sparks dread, for those taken are never seen again. Their mandate - to enforce ignorance of human culture among Púkafólk, by any means necessary. For this they wield their previous masters' Demonic magics to burn the memories of their targets. No memory is safe. Not even Puka leaders can dissent without fear of reprisal. To The Black Chamber, this cultural purity is an end that justifies the means. But their cruel measures have left Púkafólk society stunted and disconnected. Recent oversteps cast light on The Black Chamber's actvities. Thrown into the deep end of history, how could such newcomers expect to navigate these shark-infested waters? 

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