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The Trident Isles

by Irving Galvez from Threshold Magazine issue 18

KINGDOM OF OSHKAMAB

[Image: 8 miles-per-hex Map of the Trident Isles]

http://pandius.com/Threshold_18_MapTridentIsles.png

Inside Trident Bay, on the inner side of the Orc’s Head Peninsula and north of the Texeiran Colony of the Horn, there are three isles known as the Trident Isles. It is known that there are dangerous tribes of humans, strange creatures and monsters that protect these isles. The copper skinned tribes (who call themselves the Thenekos) that live there are very aggressive to outsiders and leave nearly nobody alive. For many, their culture may be a bit primitive, but they have hidden knowledge that make these people dangerous.

The trade and pirates routes pass near them but never too close. Many sailors are aware of the legends of the surroundings. It is also known that in the past, Texeiran soldiers battled to conquer the isles but failed.

Fortaleza da Boa Vista, the closest town, is plagued with stories that people tell of those isles. These stories vary from old buried pirate treasures to a great snake that watches over the isles. Almost no one has tried to go to the isles but the few who have done so have not been seen again. The most famous story is the one of Santiago de Sanchez, owner of a great ship that crossed the oceans. Anyone who saw his ship knew how powerful his crew was. But even with his great reputation it is known that his ship sunk near the isles. Some say that the cries of a desperate woman bewitched them, while others say that the great serpent ate them -- but the truth remains a mystery.

The Thenekos

History

Time Before Azcans

In the early centuries of the 4th millennium BC, the Thenekos used to live in a small city kingdom in old Atruaghin territories, that was completely independent from de Azcan and Oltec empires. When they traded, they presented themselves as nomadic tribes so that their city continued to be hidden. Their culture was best known as experts in construction as well as crafters of copper weapons and tools. Their main agricultural activities were the sowing of corn and sugarcane . All these products were used for trading.

Azcan Conquest

But eventually around 3600 BC the Azcans found their city and battled to conquer it as part of their empire. With the year they forgot their gods mainly because they felt abandoned by them and started to worship some Azcan gods.

Lanaku's Voyage

One night the leader of the Thenekos, Lanaku, dreamed of a big feathered serpent that told him that a war was coming, that when it started he and his people had to escape to the coast and build some boats and leave that place. That he was going to guide them to a new place where they could live in peace and harmony. When Lanaku asked who he was, he answered “I’m Quetzalcoatl; if you are faithful to me, I will always keep you safe. Don’t talk to anyone , just take your family, I will guide you to safety.”

Soon afterwards (around 3000 BC), a war broke between the Azcans and the Oltecs, and Lanaku took advantage of it to escape from slavery and went to the coast. They built boats, filled them with food, seeds and animals, and sailed to sea. Months of uncertainty passed, every night they camped on the shores and every morning they returned to the sea. They passed through lands where beastmen and other different and hostile creatures dominated. But every night there was Quetzalcoatl communicating through dreams and guiding them to their future land.

Finally they arrived at the three isles that were hidden in a gulf and named them Oshkamab (Trident Isle in their language). They established their first settlement named after their great leader, village of Lanaku. Quetzalcoatl asked them to build a pyramid, and a temple on top of it, in the middle of the biggest isle (Paktha Isle). After building the pyramid, a horn appeared on top of it one night and in his dreams the god told Lanaku that only when he felt there was great desperation and that the shadows of death walked among his people, could he sound the horn for aid.

The village grew prosperous and expanded to the isle. They began to grow corn and sugarcane as well as hunting and fishing. But, distrustful by nature, they preferred to be self-sufficient and not seek trade with other people near the isles. They discovered that they weren’t alone, there were other creatures that also lived there. They learned to live with the creatures in these isles as well as to keep away from the existing dangers.

Lanaku’s time was about to end. Quetzalcoatl gave him great power so that he could teach each head of town, and that this knowledge would be transmitted from generation to generation. That would be the Legacy of Lanaku for his people. Lanaku’s death marked the end of his era and from now on the New Era of the Thenekos would start.

Beast-Men War

Many years of growth and progress passed by. It seemed that peace was inherited infinitely. Until the beast-men set foot in the isles in 1100 BC. The conflict that ensued would be remembered as the Great War. A great battle took place in the isle of Paktha, where the invasion of the beast-men seemed to be victorious. When they saw the tragedy of the invasion, they sounded the Horn of Quetzalcoatl without knowing what would happen. Everything was silent for a few seconds, then from Ojbayal Isle, a great thunder was heard and the earth trembled. A huge feathered serpent began to traverse the isle, killing the beast-men he encountered on the way. The beastly men, seeing such a strange creature, fled fearfully from the isles. As soon as the army left the isle, the huge snake returned to Ojbayal Isle and disappeared. The Thenekos discovered a crack was made on top of the temple, after the earth shook, and they used it to be give offerings to Quetzalcoatl, and from there on the offerings were thrown there. That day the Thenekos made a great celebration to honor their god and promised not betray him.

War with Texeiras

Many years passed whereby everything remained in peace. As the Theneko people had already spread across the isles, they began to have problems with some creatures that inhabited them, the Chenekes and the Aluxes. These creatures had their own language as well as their own villages on the isles and conflict began between them. Young Chajip volunteered to learn more and negotiated with these creatures a better way to coexist on the isles. He worked 10 years to learn about / from them and made an agreement to respect their territories and trade with them. In return, the other creatures sent representatives to the Theneko capital village of Lanaku to learn from them.

Fifty years later (950 AC), several ships approached Tsipil Isle and they were full of Texeiran soldiers. First, they attacked the orcish village of Olom and enslaved them. Again war started, Texeiran explorers seeked to take control of the isles. They tried to conquer Ojbayal Isle but the Aluxes asked the Chenekes and Thenekos to help. A coalition of Thenekos, Aluxes, and Chenekes fought together to protect their isles. Still the Texeiran humans were better equipped and more disciplined, so the Horn of Quetzalcoatl was blown again. The great feathered serpent came to their aid and with the help of all the combined forces, the Texeiran humans were expelled from the isle. The allied forces liberated the village of the orcs and from then on they also became allies. Again a great party was held in honor of Quetzalcoatl but this time they celebrated with their allies.

Santiago de Sanchez

Santiago de Sanchez, born in Narvaez, was a great merchant and pirate. His ship was a large sailing ship and was feared by anyone who could see it at a distance. Having the necessity of hiding the treasures he obtained illegally, he decided that the Trident Isles, with all their mysteries around, would be the correct place. For years he would sneak into the night to bury his valuable things. The Thenekos started noticing that the ship, in the middle of the night, moved close to the isles from time to time,hid things and then left the isle again. However, they never found what and where those things where hidden. The ship continued coming back, so one night in 990 AC they ambushed these humans and killed all those who were on the isle. The ship sent more boats to try to counterattack the Thenekos but they failed, at the end of the night the sea was blood-stained and the ship was in flames sinking near the isle. The Thenekos discovered these men carried boxes with gold (material that they knew from the Azcans) and strange stones, and decided to sacrifice these treasures to Quetzalcoatl.

Government and Society in the Kingdom of Oshkamab

The Thenekos government is theocratic, they follow Quetzalcoatl as their main god-king. After Quetzalcoatl, the Council of Nahuas rule Oshkamab. This Council guides villages in absolute respect for Quetzalcoatl. They defend the identity of each village through respect for traditions and social norms. They unify the laws so that trouble can be resolved following stable and clear rules. They aim to respect and recognize the traditions and history of each village. They reconcile conflicts between villages and limit their territories. They decide when they have to go to war. Their meeting place is the temple on top of the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, in the capital of village of Lanaku. Actually the Council also has Aluxes, Chenekes and Osom orcs representatives as they are also considered a part of Oshkamab territory.

Each village has its own shaman leader named Nahua, who is at the same time the head of a lineage. The Nahua is the spiritual and religious guide of his people. The Nahua have special powers given by Quetzalcoatl, taught through generations, known as the Legacy of Lanaku. They are responsible for the law, distribution of land and tax burdens among the families, the recruitment of the people for the armies, and the participation of the members of the village in the numerous religious festivities.

The Nahua has a private property at the center of the village and it is from here that the village starts to grow. Nahuas houses have palisade walls to protect them better. The villages are occupied by families divided into four, six, eight or ten symmetrical neighborhoods, oriented towards the cardinal points. The predominant type of houses is of circular form with high ceiling finished in tip, built with roofs of palm leaves, walls of adobe, wood and floors of stone, its top roof is commonly covered with an inverted pot to prevent water from penetrating . When men get marry, they have to live with the mother of the husband, they build a house made of a single room in the mother's terrain.

The laws and punishments are carried out by the Nahua according to the Council of Nahuas agreements. Murder and treason are the highest crimes and are paid with death. Rape and kidnapping are punished with loss of body parts, lashes, fines and degradation of social class. The medium punishments are paid depending on their nature with economic fines, imprisonment, lashes or even the loss of some extremity of the body. Minor punishments usually range from imprisonment to fines.

Social classes among the Thenekos are:

• Nahua - Leader of the Village;

• Nahua nobel family - A leader's family;

• Kush Warriors - Proven warriors of Quetzalcoatl;

• The Tisin - The best archer of a village;

• Common warriors - Normal soldiers;

• Merchants, farmers and craftsmen.

The Thenekos recognize the independent kingdoms of the Chenekes and Aluxes and respect their autonomy. And they recognize the Olom village as part of Oshkamab territory.

Thenekos Appearance

The Thenekos, on average, are of short stature, 5’ to 5´2” height, with copper skin, straight black or dark brown hair, generally strong and in good health. They do tabular cranial deformation in three forms: erect, oblique, and mimetic; they sharpen their teeth. They paint their hair in different colors and tattoo their bodies. The Thenekos pierce the nasal septum and lobes for the main purpose of using shell, copper and bone ornaments. During war they paint their bodies. They use blanket clothes (made of cotton and a plant fiber combination of henequen, agave or yuca) use elegant jewelry made with shells and snails, which are combined with copper ornaments and fine feathers. Theneko women dye their hair yellow if unmarried and red if married.

Thenekos Calendar

The year is divided in twelve periods of 28 days each.. This is how they calculate the arrival of spring and the winter solstice. Through a mirror of water, they observe the movement of the moons, and by means of the celestial trajectory, they can interpret when it´s time of sowing.

Months

Kaal, Tsab, Osh, Tse, Bo, Akak, Buk, Washik, Beleu, Lajun, Lajun Jun and Lajun Tsab.

Special Festivity Days

Kaal 1 – New Day – This is the celebration of the day Lanaku died.

Bo 12 – Mother Terra Day – A minor celebration held in some homes where they honor Mother Terra.

Osh 21 – Quetzalcoatl Day (or Summer Solstice) – This day a great religious ceremony is held at the pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. Everybody goes to watch the great serpent coming down the pyramid. This effect is produced by the sunset and the shape of the pyramid. The next day, farmers start to sow sugarcane and corn.

Washik 7 – War with Texeira Celebration – This is more like a military festival. Nahuas, Kush Warriors, Tisins, archers, and warriors put on their war uniforms and are honored at the villages. A party is also held at night .

Lajun 20 – Day of the Dead – This celebration honors the dead. They tend to paint and decorate the cemeteries with flowers and candles. At night, a big party is held where everybody takes food, sugar or corn alcohol and gives it freely for all to celebrate.

Lajun Tsab 4 – Oshkamab Day – This day celebrates the discovery and landing on the isles.

Lajun Tsab 21 – Winter Solstice – The Thenekos realized that for a few days the sun did not move, so they celebrated the "birth" of the next cycle.

Religion

Creation of life

There was a time when nothing existed, there was no ground and no sky. There was only an infinite sea and all was in darkness. Until Mother Terra (an alias of the Immortal Terra) decided she wanted to create something; she created Anam (Mystara). But Anam was sinking so Mother Terra created 4 creatures - the coyote, the eagle, the jaguar, and the tecolote (a large kind of owl). She put each creature at a different point to hold up the land. These creatures drowned, but their sacrifice calmed the waters and since then their spirits lived forever. From then on, these creatures were known as the cardinal points.

Creation of the Thenekos

It is said that Mother Terra formed a copper colored pod corn into a dough and gave life to two men and two women. With the corncob she made their bones, from the corn silk she made hair and from the corn husk, skin. Since then, the Thenekos can’t live without corn and are known as the “men of the corn”.

Theneko Deities

Mother Terra for many centuries was the main god of the Thenekos. But after the Azcans conquered them, she became a minor god. Quetzalcoatl (Atruaghin) took the opportunity to expand his followers and acted through dreams on Lanaku to have him build a new place of worship for him. He adopted some Thenekos beliefs that were used to worship Mother Terra and adopted part of the history of Mother Terra’s creation of the world.

So in these days the major Theneko god is Quetzalcoatl, his temple (The Pyramid) at Paktha Isle is the major worship place for him but still Mother Terra has some shrines among the Thenekos.

Sacred Grounds of the Nahuas

To the north of the capital, in a controlled access location, are the Sacred Grounds of the Nahuas. It is considered a very spiritual place and is forbidden to enter here unless you are Nahua or will be initiated as one. There are always guards in the zone. The remains of all the Nahuas, including Lanaku, are kept here.

The Legacy of Lanaku

In the middle of the Sacred Grounds there is a small room where initiations are held . Every time a Nahua dies, his remains must be brought here by his successor (he must be of the same blood), who then cremates his body. The initiate must bring offerings of food, leaves of certain plants and trees. During the ritual the initiate must enter the room. At the center, he must build a campfire, in a pot he must put four blood drops, the offerings, the leaves, and some ashes of the dead Nahua. He has three days to find the spirit of his predecessor and obtain his powers. With the ritual he is transported to the animal spirit realm and must prove he has got a strong soul and enough wisdom to tame the spirit. To do this he must make a Ceremony general skill roll: a successful roll means he finds the spirit; on the first day the check is made with no penalty, on the second day with a +4 penalty, and on the third day with a +8 penalty. If the initiate does not find the spirit, he has to take back the Nahua´s ashes to the village and give them to the next on the line of descent to become initiated.

Power of the Nahuas

We already described what the Nahuas do, here we describe their powers in game terms. Each Nahua has a link to the animal spirit of his village and only he can be tied to this unique spirit. Nahuas must be of lawful or neutral alignment and have good nature. They obtain their power through the Legacy of Lanaku. They use the same XP table, saving throws, spell progression, and turning undead ability of a cleric of the same level but have access to a limited selection of cleric/druid spells:

1st-level: Cure light wounds*, detect magic, protection from evil*, purify food and water. 2nd-level: Bless*, hold person*, snake charm, speak with animals. 3rd-level: Cure blindness, cure disease*, hold animal (D), remove curses*. 4th-level: Cure serious wounds*, neutralize poison, speak with plants, sticks to snakes. 5th-level: Commune, cure critical wounds*, dispel evil, truesight. 6th-level: Cureall, speak with monsters* (D), weather control (D), wrath of Quetzalcoatl (A). 7th-level: Holy word, metal to wood (D), restore*, transport through plants (D).

[* Reverse spells available; (D) Druid spell; (A) Same spell as Wrath of Atruaghin, from GAZ14.]

Nahua´s animal spirit powers are described below.These powers can be use three times per day, and each has a duration of 3 turns.

At level 3 the Nahua can communicate and see through the eyes of animals of their spirit kind.

At level 5 he can transform into his animal spirit, but this animal is a bigger sized specimen of its type and does +3 extra damage per attack. At this level he can also use, a gaze power to charm people , detect evil or cause fear (like the 1st-level magic-user or cleric spells of the same name; save vs spells to negate).

At level 7 his gaze power can cure/cause disease, remove curse and curse as ability. He can also enter a trance that allows him to communicate with the Nahua spirits; this power gives a +2 Wisdom bonus for a turn.

At level 10 he can transform into a man-beast of his animal spirit type; in game terms, the Nahua gets the movement, and armor class or the animal type (if better than his own), as well as the animal's natural attacks and damage, getting on each attack a bonus damage of +1 for every two full levels beyond level 10.

Oshkamab Economy

Their major Theneko activity is the farming of corn and sugarcane. These products are the basis of the diet of the people. From the corn they make several sub products, for example, tortillas, corn bread, tamale (dish of seasoned meat wrapped in cornmeal dough and steamed or baked in corn husks), and corn brandy (an alcoholic brew). From the sugarcane they produce sugar, sugar juice, molasses, sugar alcohol, fertilizer (after milling the cane, the waste from the cane is used as fertilizer) and sugar rum. They also raise cattle and goats for meat and milk products.

Thenekos are excellent stone and mudbrick builders. They use copper and seashells to make weapons and tools. On Paktha Isle there is a copper mine, Ojbayal Isle is rich in adobe earth used to make mudbricks, and at Tsipil Isle there are several stone quarries used for construction.

The only coin used in Oshkamab is the copper piece (called Quetzaly) which is only produced at the capital village of Lanaku and distributed to the other villages and also use barter as a trading method.

Oshkamab Military

Adopting some features of the Azcan Empire, the Theneko boys are trained at the Mancebo House. This place are centers in which the young people of the village are educated to serve their community and for war. Some are trained in body combat (one handed weapons and shield) and others as archers. Male children are taken at the age of 6 for their preparation and are not seen again until they master the weapons or are expelled . They live for years within the Mancebo House depending on how their learning progresses. Each time they reach a goal, they get a tattoo reward, so on until they finish their training and receive the tattoo of a warrior or an archer. Those who fail to reach the goals are expelled and are given a tattoo of dishonor, which means that they must devote to doing menial tasks. But since they still have some training, they can be part of the Belemas when a war is approaching. There are 700 active warriors soldiers, but in wartime this can grow up to 1200 soldiers.

Most of the weapons used by them are made from copper, stone and even shells. Hand to hand weapons are normally stone maces, copper axes and copper swords (various lenghts, from short to normal). There is a special flat wooden mace of 70 to 80 cm. long with 6 to 8 obsidian blades on both sides that is only given to the Kush Warrior, warrior that proves to be worthy of Quetzalcoatl, this mace is call Macahuitl. The Macahuitl is slightly heavier than the mace and inflicts 1d8 of damage. Archers are trained to use the spear, short or long bow, and the arrows can be of shell or copper points.

The armors are mostly leather armors or studded armors with pieces of copper. Only the Kush warriors can use Kush padded copper armors (AC7), the chest protection is made of copper (a padded shirt is use under) and the rest are made of padded pieces so he can have flexibility for fighting. Most armors are decorated depending on how good the warrior has been in battle. Helmets are also used by some warriors - leather helmets and the copper-wooded helmed. The copper-wooded helmet normally has the shape of an animal and is only used by the Kush warriors.

There are two kinds of shields - the more common wooden shield is decorated with birds or winged snake feathers, but there is a lighter shield made from sugarcane that is very effective in protecting against missiles but not used for hand to hand combat (AC modifiers: none in melee combat, and -3 versus missiles).

Military Ranks

The Nahua of the capital village of Lanaku is the supreme commander of the Theneko in wartime. He is in charge of protecting the pyramid and in the worst of the cases blowing the Horn of Quetzalcoatl.

The Nahuas act as captains of their village army and coordinate with the supreme commander for the military strategy.

Kush Warriors are divided into two branches. The most respectful ones act as bodyguards of the supreme commander and have to go to the capital when a war is near. The other ones are responsible for protecting the Nahua of his village and also act as a lieutenant for guiding the common warriors.

The Tisin is the best archer of the village; he commands the archers following the Nahua orders.

Common warriors are the rest of the hand to hand and archer forces.

The Belemas are the lowest rank and are all those people who are not active in military but are called when there is a war.

[Image: Map of Pakhta Isle]

http://pandius.com/Threshold_18_PakhtaIsle.png

Paktha Isle

Population: 2,600

Area: 1,242 square miles
Paktha is the largest of the three isles. It has a natural barrier of mountains (Maputh Mountains) and in the center is a type of valley that extends eastwards to the coast. This is the isle with the best natural resources since it is the only one that has fresh water river that extends to a small dam made by the Chenekes. Here was built the first village of the Thenekos, the village of Lanaku. However, after the pyramid was built Lanaku decided to move the capital village where it is now, leaving the old Lanaku village mostly abandoned. But some people decide to stay there and renamed it Chunun village. The Thenekos expanded to the east and built the newest village on the isle, Wahjut. After this, they built Tasabal Road, made with stones, to connect the villages; and in the narrowest part of the mountains, the wall Fort of Oshkamab was built to provide protection from future invasion. The island also features a copper mine where some Thenekos work all day.
The Thenekos are very respectful of nature, they only hunt and use the materials needed to survive. This is why the Chenekes became their allies. Although everything seems peaceful now, there are two creatures they have learn to respect. One is the ahuizotl, a strange animal that is seen near Kawalat River. The other creature (called the Shadow Walker) has not been there much time but everybody is scared of his presence.

Capital Village of Lanaku

Pop. 1,320 Thenekos, 20 Olom orcs, 12 Aluxes, 6 Chenekes

The village of Lanaku was originally located on the shore of Ima Beach, but when the construction of the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl was completed, a larger village, later called the Capital Village of Lanaku, began to be built. It is now the ceremonial and political center of Oshkamab. The Thenekos who live here are known as the Coyote Clan. Many of the decorations of the village incorporate figures or paintings of coyotes. The Nahua of the capital is known to harbor the spirit of the coyote.

[Image: The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl in Lanaku]

The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl is located at the center of the settlement and is the largest construction on the isle. It is made of stones and at its top is the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. This temple, besides being the center of religious ceremonies, is the meeting place of the Council of the Nahuas. There is a stone throne where the great Quetzalcoatl is supposed to sit and 6 wooden thrones where the Nahuas and the representatives of the Chenekes, Aluxes and Olom orcs sit. There is a large crack in the temple that was made when the horn was first sounded. This crack is where all the sacrifices for the god are thrown. It is said that at the bottom of the fissure there is a great treasure, since all the valuable things that the Thenekos sacrifice are there, things that have been collected and looted in battles as well as the last treasures of Santiago de Sanchez . The cave labyrinth of the copper mine might have secret passage that could take you right below the pyramid. Inside this temple there is also a secret stairway that leads to the roof where the Horn of Quetzalcoatl is. Only the Nahua of the capital knows how to access these stairs.

[Image: Map of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl]

http://pandius.com/Threshold_18_Quetzalcoatl.png

After the pyramid, the Great Palace of Lanaku is the next largest structure. Built with the finest wood of the isle as well as with stone and adobe, much of its interior decorations are made from copper which gives the palace a unique look of natural colors and lights. Its perimeter is fortified by a double wall of palisade and has only one entrance that is well guarded. The Nahua that lives here is a true descendant of Lanaku. So although each tribe has its leader, there is a certain respect for the royal blood.

The largest Oshkamab market is also located here. In its surroundings, you will find various workshops that make weapons, armors, tools, stonework, adobe and copper. Plant and animal products are also sold here.
In front of the palace is the copper coin workshop. This is the only place where the Quetzaly is made. In Oshkamab, only the copper coin is used, any other coin that comes into the hands of the Thenekos is sacrificed to Quetzalcoatl. On the front of the Quetzaly is the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl and on the back is the feathered serpent.

The main Mancebo House is also located here in the village. Although each village has its own Mancebo House, this one has more prestige. The Mancebo House during wartime doubles as barrack for the Kush Warriors that come to protect the supreme commander.

Lanaku also hosts some special guest houses for the representatives of the Aluxes, the Chenekes and the Olom orcs. The orcs grew too much to the point that some of them have to sleep outside of the house. Families who live in the surroundings constantly complain that they smell bad and live in a ugly hovel. But the Nahua has asked them to have a lot of patience since they are considered allies. The Nahua promised he was planning to build a house on the outskirts of the village to keep the complaints from growing.

Around the village are also found the largest fields of sugarcane and corn, the pillars of the kingdom’s food economy.

Chunun Village

Pop. 350 Thenekos

Chunun village is the oldest village of the island, since it used to be the ancient village of Lanaku. When the capital was created, this village was left in the power of the Tiu Clan (Eagle). The Nahua here is empowered with the eagle spirit and most decorations in the village are representations of this animal. The villagers here mostly work as shell collectors on the beach. The shells are used for the manufacture of diverse things from arms to materials of decoration. There are also many fishermen who stock up the largest fish market in the isles. The village was built on Ima Beach and does not have fertile land to cultivate, so they use most of the trade to purchase corn and cane

The Chunun villagers are responsible for protecting the western part of the isle but they have the advantage that near them is the Fortress of Oshkamab. The Mancebo House was moved from the village to this fortress so that the children are taken there to to be trained. Lately, death has surrounded this village and has made the villagers feel like they are prisoners at home, especially at night.The Shadow Walker is often seen at night and someone always dies in its wake. They have been investigating this creature but they have only seen it turning into mist or disappearing towards the Maputh Mountains. Many believe that it is a restless Nahua spirit that seeks revenge.

Fortress of Oshkamab

Pop. 92 Thenekos

Built after War with Texeira, its main function is to bring security to the west. It is a great wall that blocks the narrowest passage of the valley. Behind the wall is a fortress where soldiers live and train. Chunun's Mancebo House was also moved here.

Wahjut Village

Pop. 200 Thenekos

Wahjut village is the newest of the villages. It is built on the east side of the isle to protect this entrance of the isle. The people of this village are known as the Tecolote Clan (Owl) and their village is decorated with paintings and statues of this animal. Like the other villages, it has its Mancebo House and small market. The people of this village have the responsibility to trade with the other isles as it is the nearest village to them.

Wahjut villagers are known to have the best farming lands, so their crops are the finest in all the isle. Here boats are built to trade and to transport people or soldiers in wars, and fishing is also a good activity. It is also the closest village to the Chenekes, so it is very common to find Chenekes walking around the village, especially those who are traders. Also the village is well known for their natural healers and alchemists.

The Kingdom of the Chenekes

Pop. 600 Chenekes

Chenekes are small creatures that resemble and have the same characteristics and abilities of the pixies described in PC1 Creatures Crucible Tall Tale of the Wee Folks. But Chenekes lost their wings a long time ago and in compensation gained the ability of haste. Chenekes are warlike creatures that tend to be territorial. They inhabit the forests and jungles, they take care of springs, trees and wild animals. Their height can be between one and two feet. They tend to carry weapons and use armors.

Like the Aluxes, Chenekes are native to these isles. At first, when the Thenekos came to the isle, they started to suffer the invasion of their territory. But in some way the Thenekos started to respect their territories. When there was calm, some beast-men burst their territory and killed several animals and caused damages. The Chenekes saw that humans were also fighting this beast-men but preferred to carry the war by their side independently. After the horn was blown, a giant snake passed through their territory, killing beast-men and peace was restored.

One day the king of the Aluxes went to visit the Chenekes; he spoke well of the humans and presented Chajip to them. Chajip started to learn from them and after three years, he was accepted among the Chenekes. He opened a trading route to their village and invited a representative as part of the Council of the Nahuas.

The territory of the Chenekes is in the southernmost part of Kawalat River. Not being a big river, the Chenekes built a dam that at the same time served to served as a border of their territory their territory. Towards the west are the mountains, towards the south and east the sea, and towards the north the dam. Its leader is King Neftarus, who is in charge of ruling the Cheneke people.

They take care of the creatures in their territory but also they look out for the creatures in all the isle. The Thenekos' appreciation for nature has helped their friendship with the Chenekes grow stronger and has brought peace between the two peoples.

The Chenekes are a warrior creatures and although limited by their stature, they do not freak out when a battle approaches. Their military comprises 250 warriors that also patrol their territories.

On the eastern side of the river is The Big Amte (oldest tree in the isle). The Chenekes built a watchtower on top of the Ante that offers a perfect view of the eastern part of the isle.

Items of Paktha Isle

The Horn of Quetzalcoatl

The horn is a magical instrument and an artifact created by Quetzalcoatl. Its only function is to wake up the Gargantuan Feathered Serpent that lives in Ojbaya Isle. It can only produce sound when there is a really desperate situation. Otherwise, one could try eternally to produce a sound but nothing will happen. It is made of copper and it gives the pyramid a shiny brownish color on sunny days.

Personalities of Paktha Isle

Coyote Clan Nahua Oklek

He is a 47 years old Theneko descendant of the Lanaku lineage. He is a hard ruler in the teachings of Quetzalcoatl. He knows that he has a great responsibility to the kingdom and tries to control everything around him. He is considered a fair person but very square, who only sees the world in black or white. His father commanded the army during War with Texeira, so he hopes that with whatever life left in him, he can prove to his country that he can also protect them. He has extensive knowledge of military strategy and is very persuasive when it comes to speaking at the Council of Nahuas.

On his normal days,he is always dressed in robes that are well decorated with copper ornaments and on his head he wears a hat with a coyote's head. During moments which require him to show off his military role, he uses a special studded armor which he can remove quickly if he needs to.

His stats are Str 13, Int 13, Wis 16, Con 10, Dex 12, and Cha 14. He is a 21st-level Nahua. During battle he uses a Macahuitl +2 and a studded armor +2, but he prefers to transform into his man-beast form.

Tiu Clan Nahua Jilim

Jilim is the youngest of the Nahuas, he is only 26 years old. His father died young, which caused him to take the Legacy of Lanaku at age 16. He has tried to learn from other Nahuas but his love for music, party and alcohol, usually clouds his vision. The best parties of the kingdom are the ones organized by Jilim. He has not yet wanted to form a family. He rules in a relaxed way that usually creates more conflicts than resolutions. His character is friendly and calm but if he is drunk, he usually makes terrible decisions. His father liked to sow and it is something he inherited. It is not uncommon to see him at the farms.

His stats are Str 16, Int 11, Wis 13, Dex 13, Con 9, and Cha 12 and he is a 11th-level Nahua. He likes to fly so he attacks in eagle or eagle-man form. During war, he is in charge of scouting enemies during the day.

Tecolote Clan Nahua Tsunun

Tsunun is the oldest of the Nahuas. He has to fight against the Texeirans and is part of the stories that he likes to tell. At 72 he is a gentler leader and it is common to see him walk in the village offering help to those who need it. He knows that there is a creature that walks at night in his village, and has tried to improve the guards to avoid more deaths. Sometimes he walks around the village at night in animal form trying to spot this creature. The Council of Nahuas pays much attention to his words since he is considered the wisest of the members.

He is a level 25th-level Nahua and his stats are Str 10, Int 14, Wis 18, Dex 13, Con 9, and Cha 15. During battle, he normally scouts enemies at night and with that information tries to ambush them. In his man-beast form, he tries to use his abilities and cast spells. His man-beast form is the weakest of the Nahuas, but as his animal is nocturnal, he has been conferred the power of infravision.

Chajip

He is now an old man. Being a normal man, he has an extraordinary intelligence that helped strengthen the kingdom. He was the main mediator between the Thenekos and the Aluxes, Chenekes and Olom orcs, and thanks to him, they are now allies. Even at the age of 80, he still teaches the young Thenekos the languages ​​of these creatures, so that every time there are more who know how to communicate with them. He does not like to stay for long period of time in a single place so he goes from village to village teaching.

Tujup the Copper Coin Workshop Supervisor

Tujup has been in his position for more than 20 years. He is in charge of supervising the production of copper coins of the kingdom. He also takes care of the security guards of this workshop. Being a renowned copper working artist, he was selected for that important job. At night when he finishes work, he dedicates time to the creation of copper jewelry, these pieces being the most expensive in the kingdom.

King Neftarus of the Chenekes

Neftarus has been ruler of the Chenekes for a long time. He has always been very protective of his kingdom and the nature that surrounds it. He commanded to build the dam in the river and thanks to that there are large reserves of water on the isle. At first he didn’t want the humans, but little by little he started to trust them. Even so, he doesn’t allow humans to freely enter his territory. Only those who have applied for permission to trade or to discuss political matters are allowed to enter the kingdom. Although considered part of the Kingdom of Oshkamab, he has his autonomy over the territory. He only leaves his territory when he has to appear at the Council of the Nahuas. For other matters, he sends counselors to live in the human capital.

Creatures of Paktha Isle

The Shadow Walker

This creature is a vampire that was not originally from the isle. When Santiago de Sanchez thought he could hide his treasures here, he captured the vampire to use him as guardian. The truth is he kidnapped the vampire and left him at a cavern on top of the Maputh Mountains. The vampire needed blood by nature so he studied the villages and saw that Chunun was the best to attack from time to time. He always tries to be careful but he knows there is one human that isn’t afraid of him (Tsunun) and can feel his presence.

Ahuizotl

The Ahuizotl was created by James Jacobs and first appeared in the April, 2003 edition of Fiend Folio for D&D 3.0 ed.; what follows is an adaptation of the creature’s stats to BECMI D&D and Mystara. This creature is the one that roams at Kawalat River. It is not known how many of these creatures live in the isle.

AC: 1

Hit Dice: 7+14** (L)

Move: 120’ (40’) / Swimming: 40’ (10’)

Attacks: 2 claws/1 bite/1 tail

Damage: 1d4/1d4/2d6+2/1d6

No. Appearing: 1

Save as: F8

Morale: 11

Treasure: Nil

Intelligence: 8

Alignment: Chaotic

XP Value: 1,500

Monster Type: Monster (Very Rare).

An ahuizotl is a sinister creature that lurks underwater and snatches its victims from hiding so that it can feast on its favorite body parts: eyes, teeth, and fingernails. Although fairly large, an ahuizotl is quite squat and can lurk in water as shallow as 3 feet deep. The creature resembles a monkey in form, but it has a head and hind legs similar to a dog’s. It keeps its body flat and low to the ground while on land. The most unusual feature of this creature is its long, prehensile tail, which is tipped with a muscular hand. An ahuizotl can speak the common tongue.

Ahuizotls can see in the dark and mimic spoken voices of specific persons with unnatural ease; it takes a successful Wisdom check by someone who knows very well the voice of the real person to notice something strange.

In combat an ahuizotl prefers to lurk in the shallows of its lake among the plants, keeping the tip of its snout above water so it can entice victims with cries for help. If a victim comes near enough, the ahuizotl quickly tries to snatch the victim with its tail hand and retreats to the depths of the lake to feed. Ahuizotls also use the same tactics on people in boats.

When the ahuizotl hits someone of man-size or smaller with its tail hand, the victim suffers normal damage and is grappled. An ahuizotl deals a grappled victim tail hand damage each round, unless she can get free with a successful Strenght check at -4 penalty. A grappled victim can still attack the ahuizotl, but does so at -4 penalty. If the ahuizotl is into the water, it will attempt to hold a grappled victim underwater in order to drown her; a victim can hold her breath for a number of rounds equal to half her Constitution score before starting to drown (use the drowning rules described in the Rules Cyclopedia, page 90).

Moreover, during melee an ahuizotl always tries to deal damage to its opponents’ eyes. If the ahuizotl’s bite or tail attacks score a natural 20 on the roll, the target is permanently blinded in addition to suffering normal damage.

Terrain: Any warm River/Lake.

Thenekos as PCs

Theneko characters have the same stats as any other human. All human classes are open to them. Magic-users among the Thenekos tend to be more a sort of alchemists than adventuring sorcerers or battle wizards, nevertheless they are highly prized in the kingdom for their abilities."

Theneko sample names:

Male: Abatwaléh, Bahtsik, Chajíp, Chakam, Exóbtsis, Expidh, Jilim, Kámal, Kuitól, Loním, Ojhuél, Olíph, Toshil, Tzipák, Watsib, We’él, Yaan.

Female: Ajatlab, Albedh, Alhua, Chuyém, Ehath, Ich, Iyaláb, Jel, Kaylál, Kitsá, Oth, Shekél, Tam, Tayja, Unuph, Xewé, Yanél.

[Image: Map of Ojkbajal Isle]

http://pandius.com/Threshold_18_OjbayalIsle.png

Ojbayal Isle

Population: 800

Area: 544 square miles

This is the middle isle of the kingdom. It is mostly covered with mountains (Tsalak Mountains). It is well known as the home of the Gargantuan Feathered Serpent. Most of this island is considered territory of the Aluxes, but they gave the Thenekos a small portion of it so that trade could be made easier.

Tsapik Village

Pop. 270 Thenekos

Tsapik is the only Theneko village outside Paktha and home of the Jaguar Clan. They decided to build a village here, after the Aluxes agreed to an alliance, because the location was near an adobe mud source. This is a small fishermen village but here is found also the mud brick workshop. From there, the boats carry mud bricks through all the kingdom. It is normal to see Aluxes walking on the streets and even some of them working with Thenekos. The inhabitants also collect sea shells for various purposes. Not having much open land for agricolture, they have to trade most corn and sugar from Wahjut village. The village’s territory is somehow limited because most of the isle is considered Aluxes’ territory, so if the inhabitants of Tsapik want to go deeper in the island interior they need to ask for permission from the Aluxes Kingdom.

It can be rightly said that this village is the most peaceful one to live in. It consists of a small population and a very friendly environment. Villagers constructed a special shrine for Quetzalcoatl’s Feathered Serpent. Every new month at nightfall they build a small wooden raft, put some offerings on it, light candles, and send it into sea. This is done to celebrate the peaceful times and thank Quetzalcoatl for them.

Aluxes Kingdom

Pop. 520 Aluxes, 10 Thenekos

The Aluxes have the same stats as the brownies described in PC1 Creatures Crucible Tall Tale of the Wee Folks. The difference is that they don’t become attached to a place, they are more sociable and live in communities. What follows is then just a summary.. They resemble humans but are about 2´5” tall. They occasionally help humans, without asking for anything but will wholeheartedly receive a gift. If you offer a low quality gift or criticize their work, they can become troublesome.

The Aluxes have always lived in the Ojbayal Isle; what their ancestors told them was that they were created from adobe and were initially only small statues. But after a stormy day, a lightning struck them and they were born;then they became protectors of the adobe. They began building their village near the area where this material was found, and jealously guarded it. After living alone for a long time, with only a few other strange creatures as company, one day bigger creatures similar to them came to the big isle. The Aluxes always observed what they did from distance. They also saw some beast-creatures landing on the isle, and fought those creatures. After days of battle, they heard a horn and after that they heard thunder, the land trembled, and a big coatl came down a mountain and went to the big isle.

Some months after, a group of those creatures arrived on their isle and began to try to take their adobe. They were aggressively persuaded to move away from that isle. But still in the distance they saw these creatures grew more and more. Some time later, one of them came to the isle and brought some gifts; he told them he was Chajip and stayed near the Aluxes’ village trying to teach and learn from them.

Chajip was smart and learned their language. He told them that his people wanted to respect their territories. They wanted to send someone back with him to learn about the Thenekos. So they accepted and after two years they were trading in peace. The Aluxes knew the Chenekes very well, and offered help to meet their king.

The Thenekos invited the Aluxes to be part of the Council of the Nahuas and a trading route was established between them. The Aluxes traded adobe mud, mushrooms, ram meat and coatl (winged serpents) meat, feather and leather. They received in exchange milk products, copper tools and some weapons. The Thenekos sent people to teach them how to do mudbricks.

Aluxes are not warlike creatures but tend to be annoying when they try to persuade enemies to leave. If they have to fight, they prefer to use guerrilla tactics. Since they are fairy people, they can become invisible and attack at distance with strategy. They will never attack using hand to hand combat. They prefer to use ranged weapons and run to hide. They mostly use blowguns with poisoned (coatl venom) needles, but can also use slings and javelins.

Their military force consists of only 120 Aluxes trained on guerrilla tactics. When there is a potential risk, they can call 100 more unskilled Aluxes.

As fairies they do not worship any god but they respect the great coatl that lives in the isle.

The majoy challenge for the Aluxes are the coatls or winged serpents. They have several nesting places around the isle. They don’t like to be disturbed and will attack anyone coming too close. But the coalts produce very good products for trading.

Personalities of Ojbayal Isle

Jaguar Clan Nahua Padhum

He is the strongest of the Nahuas having the spirit of the jaguar. He is also very religious but in his village it is common to worship both Quetzalcoatl and Mother Terra - the latter has more followers though. He is a mediator leader who always tries to solve things, trying not to affect negatively anyone. From time to time, he likes to travel the isle in his animal form, which makes him feel free. Being Nahua of the only Theneko village outside the Paktha Isle, Padhum is always keeping an eye on his people’s needs, especially food. He has a very good relationship with Lonpy, the Aluxes’ king, and they spend time together exchanging stories. Usually they travel together when they go to attend the Council of the Nahuas.

Padhum doesn’t like to use any armor or weapon during combat. He prefers to attack in his man-beast form. He is a 15th-level Nahua and his stats are Str 16, Int 13, Wis 14, Dex 10, Con 13, and Cha 11. He is 40 years old.

King Lonpy

Lonpy is in charge of the Aluxes kingdom. He is very funny and likes the good life, especially eating. He likes to sit watching sunsets by the light of a campfire and tell stories. Lately he has found very good company in Padhum who also likes to tell stories of his people. Lonpy likes to hunt coatls since he considers these creatures to be a great challenge, but at the same time he tries to protect them in such a way that their population on the isle does not decrease.

Lonpy organizes all the community’s tasks and supervises the extraction of the adobe. There are three major places where the Aluxes dig for adobe, but the isle is well known to have plenty more places. He is planning on building a second village to start processing adobe in another part of the isle.

Creatures of Ojbayal Isle

Coatl

AC: 6

Hit Dice: 1* (young), 2* (mature) or 3* (old)

Move: 30’ (10’) / Flying: 120’ (40’)

Attacks: 1 bite or spit

Damage: 1d4+poison or spit (blindness)

No. Appearing: 1d10 (for each 4 coatls one mature is present, for each 8 one old is present)

Save as: F1 (young), F2 (mature), F3 (old)

Morale: 10

Treasure: Nil

Intelligence: 3

Alignment: Chaotic

XP Value: 13 (young), 35 (mature), 50 (old)

Monster Type: Monster (Rare).

Coatls are winged feathered serpents that like to live in the rocky caves of Ojbayal Isle. The color of their feathers can vary from different combined tones of green, red, and blue. They are sociable with their species and it is common to have several coatls living together in a lair. They hatch eggs and become very aggressive when protecting them.

Coatls are territorial and will try first to scare anything coming near their lair, but if they fail they will attack. They attack by biting their opponent and if they succeed, a venom is injected in the target. After being bitten, the victim must save vs poison or receive an extra 2d8 points of damage; if the save is successful, the victim only receives half damage. If the poison isn’t neutralized (with the saving throw) it will continue to have effect, causing and additional 1d4 damage each subsequent round for 1d6 rounds. Coatls also have a second attack which consists in spitting venom at their victims’ eyes; a successful hit will force the target to save vs poison: if the save fails, the victim will be blinded for 1d4 rounds.

Coatls don’t have treasures in the lair but the feathers, the venom, and their leathery skin have high value. Only a mature coatl’s skin can be used to produce leather. Young coatls’ skin is too weak to endure the leathermaking process, while old coatls’ skin is too rough to work with. Some Aluxes have managed to tame coatl pets. To tame a coatl as a pet, one must snatch a coatl egg before it hatches, and be the first creature the newborn coatl sees. The coatl will protect its owner by instinct, and can be trained to perform simple tasks such as bringing objects back to the owner, but can’t be trained for combat.

Terrain: Cavern, Hill, Mountain.

[Image: A Coatl]

Gargantuan Feathered Serpent

AC: -4

Hit Dice: 30* (195 hp) (L)

Move: 150’ (50’) / Flying: 360’ (120’)

Attacks: 1 bite or tail

Damage: 3d10+4 or 1d10+4

No. appearing: 1 (Unique)

Save as: F36

Morale: 10

Treasure: Nil

Intelligence: 12

Alignment: Neutral

XP Value: 9,000

Monster Type: Monster (Very Rare).

The Great Coatl - as the Aluxes refer to it - is a unique magical creature created by Quetzalcoatl. In many ways it is like a dragon. It is 22 feet long and the color of its feathers varies from different tones of green, blue, and red. Its snake head has two large fangs which it uses to attack, and it also uses its tail to inflict damage. It can move both on water and land, but moves faster by flying. It has a dragonlike, cloud-shaped breath weapon (size 50’x50’x30’) of toxic venom doing damage equal to its current hit points, half that if a victim saves vs dragon breath successfully; the creature can use its breath weapon three times per day.

After creating such a powerful creature, Quetzalcoatl put it in a full hibernation trance. This creature can only be awakened by the Horn of Quetzalcoatl. It’s a powerful creature but it is not immortal, and it can’t leave the isles area. It just follows the command of the supreme commander, and after the task is done it returns back to its cave and hibernates again. It does not possess any treasure and has no intention of having any.

The weakness of this creature is that it is normally hibernating, so whoever find its lair can take advantage of this to kill the creature. If asleep, it will take 1d6 round until he fully wakes and can attack back. However the creature’s lair is hidden in a maze of caves that stretch all around Ojbayal Isle.

Terrain: Cavern (Ojbayal Isle only).

[Image: Map of Tsipil Isle]

http://pandius.com/Threshold_18_TsipilIsle.png

Tsipil Isle

Population: 201

Area: 156 square miles

Tsipil is the smallest of the three isles. This isle is the one that has the most difficult conditions to live. Almost all of its surface is mountainous (Tsipil Mountains), and you have to climb a lot to find some water. On the other hand the waters around this isle are good for fishing. Except for the orcs and the mountain giant that live here, you can only find nests of birds that migrate here for the breeding season and stay until the hatchlings are strong enough to fly on their own. The orcs came to this isle long before the Thenekos arrived. They were expelled from the other isles and found this one uninhabited, or so they thought. After some time, they realized that in the highest slopes of the mountains lived a big creature - they called him Pulik - who was very crabby. They learned that getting close to him only meant that he threw big stones at them. So they learned to avoid that area.

The Olom Orcs

The orcs came to these isles before the Thenekos came to live on them. At first, they got to the isle of Paktha, but they were expelled by the Chenekes; then they tried to stay in Ojbayal, but their luck was the same with the Aluxes. So they ended up on the smaller isle, Tsipil, where they established Olom village. For a long time they lived with what the isle could give them, which really was not much. Fishing was their main activity and during the breeding seasons they collected eggs from the birds that were nesting.

The isle was very small, so there was always conflict between the orc clans for territory; this forced the orcs to migrate and search for new lands. For that reason the orc population never increased, and once some orcs left, they were no longer allowed to come back.
With time, they learned that men came to the other isles. That there had even been a war against the beast-men that had ended with a great roar from the sky and with a very strange tremor in the earth. But as these things didn’t affect them, they didn’t worry. And so the Olom orcs lived with ease and happily, only worrying about what their next meal was to be.

Fifty years ago, the orcs saw a fleet of ships approaching their isle, and before they could do anything they were enslaved by humans. These humans were different from those who inhabited the other isles; and from the orc village these humans went to fight against the inhabitants of the other isles as well. After two years of slavery, a great roar was heard in the sky and the earth trembled. Within a few months, a large group of humans, Aluxes and Chenekes freed the orc village and expelled the other humans from the isles. The orc leader, Terdam, decided to join the victors knowing it was going to be beneficial. The humans showed great interest in the stones of Tsipil island and began to trade with the orcs. The only problem was that the best stones were located in the highest slopes of the isle. So, using their “great” intelligence, the orcs decided to harass the giant in order to have him throw down the stones, among which they could collect the finest ones. One day the orcs left the giant some food to see how he would have reacted, and eventually an unspoken pact of trading food for stones was agreed upon, and it lasts to this day. Of course, occasionally some orcs still die during these "exchanges".

The other humans (the Texeirans) left tools to build weapons and the Thenekos taught the orcs to use them; they became very good at it. A group of pigs was left behind by the Texeirans, and they learned to raise them successfully. The orcs’ main trade goods are stone, copper weapons, fishes, pig meat, and - at the right time - bird eggs and feathers.

Personalities of Tsipil Isle

Terdam

Terdam is a dark-yellowish, fat orc that is regarded as the orcs’ leader. After War with Texeira, no one wanted to be the leader of Olom village; he was persuaded by other orcs, telling him that if he was to be the leader they would give him more food and nobody could object him anything. Terdam accepted, but soon he realized that being leader was a lot of work; he started looking for someone else to pass leadership to, but nobody wanted it. Chajip spent time learning to speak his language, and then began to advise Terdam on how to use the political power that his people had given to him. From then on, he began to better organize the village and to concentrated the village´s production efforts toward toward what could be traded with other isles. Chajip sent him a teacher so that he could instruct his people in using arms. Little by little Terdam earned the respect of the other orcs and now he is really in control everything regarding the orcs.

Pulik

Pulik is a very lonely mountain giant. His kind lived in this isle for many years. Pulik´s family got sick from a strange disease, and died when he was young. He learned to survive alone. He knew he had to protect his lands from the little ugly creatures that lived by the beach. So each time they came too close he scared them away by throwing stones. But for him that was also the only situation which could ease his loneliness. Pulik always longed to see those creatures every day. One day the creatures left him food, and that continued every subsequent day. Pulik understood that they wanted stones, and were leaving food in exchange.
Pulik still does not want to have direct contact with those creatures, but he has gradually grown fond of them, and now would be willing to defend them if they were endangered.

Creatures of Tsipil Isle

The Weeping Woman

It is told that, before War with Texeira, one day the Olom orcs realized that a family of humans had built a house on their isle. They got so upset at it that one night went out to kill those humans. The desperate human mother watched as her husband was killed and her two sons drowned by the beach. She asked Quetzalcoatl to allow her to have revenge for the whole eternity, then threw herself off a cliff, crying and screaming for the death of her children. From then on the orcs hear the horrible cries of a woman at night. It is said that whoever hears these wailings is found dead in the next day. The Weeping Woman is always around the area where the human house was. After several deaths, the orcs don’t go to that place anymore. This creature is now no other than a very vengeful banshee; if any living creature passes near her haunt, she will attack - regardless of whether trespassers are on a boat, ship or on land.

Images

	[Image: 8 miles-per-hex Map of the Trident Isles] Map of the Orc’s Head Peninsula and Trident Bay (detail) by Thorfinn Tait. Used by permission of the author.	See below
	[Image: Map of Pakhta Isle] Map of PakhtaIsle by I. Galvez, made in Hexographer. Used by permission of the author.	See below
	[Image: The Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl in Lanaku] Manuel de Corselas, El Castillo o templo de Kukulkan. Chichén Itzá, México. 2010. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported via Wikimedia Commons	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:002_El_Castillo_o_templo_de_Kukulkan._Chich%C3%A9n_Itz%C3%A1,_M%C3%A9xico._MPLC.jpg
	[Image: Map of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl] Map of the Temple of Quetzalcoatl by I. Galvez, made in Paint. Used by permission of the author.	See below
	[Image: Map of Ojkbajal Isle] Map of Ojkabjall Isle by I. Galvez, made in Hexographer. Used by permission of the author.	See below
	[Image: A Coatl] Author unknown, drawing of Feathered Serpent from Codex Borgia. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.	https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Feathered_Serpent.jpg
	[Image: Map of Tsipil Isle] Map of Tsipil Isle by I. Galvez, made in Hexographer. Used by permission of the author.	See below