Kessho-kō

* Map
* Capital

Kessho-kō is the name for the nation, the capital and the river it is built on. What were once a larger people from the far north, they were forced to migrate south and find new lands. The great Saviour-Mother Kessho led her people for years through harsh wilderness until they came upon their new river home. The city and river took their Hero-Ancestors' name and the Chapas forever became one unified peoples under a banner of community and cooperation.

Chapas are a short and sturdy race of semi-aquatic beaver-like mammals that make their homes along rivers and lakes. Their bodies are short and broad with wide webbed hands and feet, and a flat, powerful tail. They are a hard-working peoples who take pride in helping one another and never turning their backs on those in need. They are an old race pushed out of their ancestral homelands who have only recently begun to rebuild.

Basic Statistics

## History

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## Geography

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### Fauna

Information about the cute little animals.

## Languages

### Kesh-lik

Developed over years during the Great Migration, Kesh-lik forgoes many of the loudest aspects of Tlik, saving those only for alarm or "shouting", and prefers short, quiet and straightforward language. It still retains much of the chittering and clicking of Tlik, but they have been modified to be accents to their words and can change the tone and meaning, but rarely represent full words or ideas themselves.

### Tlik

The ancestral language of the Chapas, it consists of loud whistling, teeth clicks and chattering. Chapas need to be able to hear both on land and underwater, and Tlik has developed especially for that. It even works well enough that Chapas underwater can understand those on land. Due to the Great Migration, Tlik was slowly refined into a new language that relies on quieter and more straightforward words and noises. Every child is still taught Tlik as a tradition, but only fishermen, hunters and shamans use the langauge in any meaningful capacity.

## Religion and culture

### Moral values and principles

*The Chapas take great pride in both their deep connection to nature as well as their ability to bend nature to their whim. They try to keep a balance between the expansion of their civilization with their veneration of the natural world. Given the large family sizes of the Chapas, they have many interconnected relations and they hold the community in the highest regard. They young are expected to learn, the adults are expected to work and the eldery are expected to raise children and teach them. Everyone is taken care of as they need and to turn your back on a Chapas in need is a sure way to lose the favor of the ancestors.*

### Traditions

The Chapas traditions are still young as many of their old ways were left behind on The Great Migration. They value community, education and cooperation.

###### Chapa'Tia

The first day of every week in every spring is "Chapas' First". It is a celebration of the end of winter and the time when the first pup-packs(Chapas give birth to 3-7 pups at at time) will start to be born. The Chapas celebrate with large parties and feasts where they will introduce the pups born the previous week to the community.

###### Chapalokti

This day marks the last day of harvest and the first day of the fishing season. It is a weeklong affair of fishing, feasting and love-finding. The breeding season follows shortly after, so this week is when many courting pairs will "make it official" and begin fattening up/storing food in preperation for both mating and the cold weather.

###### Mina-Colo

Lit. “plant/planting festival,” this celebration marks the end of the planting season. This is one of the biggest affairs of the year, and starts with the building of a large effigy of a Chapas who contributed greatly to the community. Food is offered to the effigy, then there is much feasting and dancing. Throughout the celebration the effigy is decorated by community members, and at the end of the night the effigy is burned, it’s ashes are collected, and the community spends the next morning spreading the ash among the fields and riversides.

### Religion

*Ak'chaas is the belief in the life around you. Followers of Ak'chaas usually give praise and thanks to either ancestors who will oversee and help with a task or nature spirits whom will offer general guidance and wisdom. There is no formal hierarchy or organization of the religion beyond most settlements having a Shaman and perhaps an apprentice. Shamans tend to handle community ceremonies and general wellbeing of the followers rather than upholding any actual religious duties. The close ties of the Chapas peoples mean many ancestors are shared throughout their lands.*