Kenkunosoto

Population: 625 (100% Kenku)
Government: Theocracy
Religions: Pazuzu
Imports: None
Exports: None
Alignment: CN – CE – NE
== Life and Society ==
In the language of the indigenous people to the Shou Empire, the Ryukan people, Torinosoto means, ‘Bird Nest’. The Kenku themselves have adopted this name somewhat, though many refer to their home as Kenkunosoto, meaning ‘Kenku Nest’.
The Kenku live in a communistic society. They do not have any sense of personal property, and as a result, what most others would consider thievery is a common occurrence. When a Kenku sees something that he or she likes, they take it. When another Kenku sees that same thing, and likes it, they take it. It is because of this trait that, in the past, Kenku have been labeled as thieves.
The Kenku are not an overly religious group of people, but they understand that they owe their continued existence to Pazuzu. As a result, most Kenku defer to the leaders of the city, mainly the Warlock King, and consider Pazuzu their patron.
Specific nests are built into the cliff face, and they serve to differentiate family from family. Kenku nests are very little more than tunnels built into the Takaiyosho Mountains, filled with straw to keep them comfortable. Personal belongings of those belonging to the clutch are kept in these caves, but because of the nature of Kenku, often disappear.
== Major Organizations ==
Talons of Rekrok
== Major Geographical Features ==
Kenkunosoto is built into the cliffside of the Takaiyosho Mountains. Because the mountains are criss-crossed with natural caverns, and are made from a fairly light rock, the first Kenku settlers found the area extremely inviting, and settled there. 
== Important Sites ==
The Binding Throne 
== Regional History ==
The city of Kenkunosoto has a long and storied history, mostly known only to the Kenku who inhabit it, and the Thri-Kreen living below the Shou Empire. Like the Thri-Kreen, the Kenku inhabited the region before the Shou Humans arrived and cleaned the subcontinent of religions and beliefs that were foreign to their own. The Kenku lived in Kenkunosoto when the Shou Humans arrived in –2,000. Their cliffside city was founded about two or three hundred years earlier, when Kenku settlers first came to the area after emigrating from the southern continent.
Before the Shou Humans arrived, the Kenku got along fairly amiably with the native Ryukan Humans. Though they did not come into contact with each other all too often- purposefully, on both sides- when they did, they peacefully engaged in trade, cultural exchange, and the like.
The Kenku saw what happened to the Ryukan people when the Shou arrived. The Shou immediately begin converting them, and killing those who refuse to convert, and wished to retain their spirit-worshipping old ways. In -1,895, the Shou went to war with the Thri-Kreen, who refused to convert to the ways of the Shou people, and drove them underground. The Kenku knew then that their very way of life was going to be threatened when the Shou armies arrived in the Takaiyosho Mountains. In –1,892, the same year the Shou made their first contact with the Halflings, they made their first contact with the Kenku.
The leader of Kenkunosoto at the time, Squawat’le, had the residents assault the Shou soldiers as they arrived, giving the Kenku the benefits of attacking from the higher ground, attacking in a familiar location, and the element of surprise. Though he intended to wipe out all of the Shou, a small amount of soldiers and explorers lived and were able to escape. These individuals were able to return to Kai Qing, where they came from, and alert the rest of the fledgling Shou Empire to the existence of Kenkunosoto. In short, Squawat’le knew that the city was doomed.
It was during this time of despair that Pazuzu, the Demon Lord, appeared to the people of Kenkunosoto. In exchange for their worship, he guaranteed that, if the Shou Humans came marching to the base of their home, he would deal with them, and make sure that they did not bother the Kenku again. Because Squawat’le did not make a decision on the spot, Pazuzu left in his wake a large egg. If Squawat’le wished the aid of Pazuzu, all he needed to do was break the egg, and the Demon Lord and his armies would arrive to aid the citizens of Kenkunosoto.
For two months, Squawat’le and the other Kenku agonized about what to do. When the Shou returned, with an army, as opposed to an exploration team, Squawat’le felt that he had no other choice but to summon Pazuzu and agree to his terms. He broke opened the egg, and from it burst Pazuzu and his Demonic army.
The Battle of Kenkunosoto was a mighty battle. Shou Jei Fong, when he authorized the army of the Shou Empire to attack the Kenku, had sent nearly 10,000 men, in an attempt to utterly crush the Kenku. Pazuzu brought with him an army from the Abyrss consisting of Fiendish creatures, Vrocks, and Balors. For hours, the battle waged on, with it quickly becoming apparent that the Demon army supporting the Kenku was going to prevail. The Demons killed the Human army down to the last man, and handed to the Shou their worst military defeat, one that was so horrible that the event was completely written out of Shou history.
Pazuzu asked of Squawat’le for his payment a single thing- his daughter, Chakibi. Though he was reluctant to give her up, he had no other choice. Pazuzu mated with her, and she gave birth to a son, who was named Ak’Chak, who inherited the mantle of leadership from his grandfather, when he died in –1,812. Ak’Chak, a Half-Fiend loyal to and empowered by Pazuzu, became Kenkunosoto’s first Warlock King. Since Ak’Chak, a successive line of Warlock Kings have ruled the city.
Currently, the Warlock King of Kenkusoto is Skaraee’uu. Like many of the Warlock Kings of Kenkunosoto’s past, Skaraee’uu is unsure whether or not clinging to the old ways is beneficial to the Kenku he rules over or not. As such, he has begun many somewhat reformist policies, gaining the enmity of Rekrok, his brother, who formed the Talons of Rekrok, an extreme conservative group, in response.