Qualla

The **Qualla,** a race of merfolk, are one of the many sapient races found in Solthris, created from the humans and orcs of Xaxalin by the dragon Njardr amidst the sinking of Arteanu. Living mostly beneath the seas, their civilization is now centered beneath the waves of the Drowned Reach.

## Subspecies

When the magic of Njardr transformed the humans and orcs of Arteanu into merfolk, their different origins resulted in different breeds of Qualla.

### Naquassi

The Naquassi Qualla are the merfolk created from humans. Their skin color ranges from green to blue, and while some individuals might be speckled with corals and shells, others have softer skin akin to that of humans or elves. They possess fish-like appendages along their bodies, growing mainly from their arms and legs, though it not uncommon for some to arise in other parts of their bodies, including their heads. The Naquassi wear cloths sown from seaweeds and leathers taken from marine creatures, and often adorned with shells and corals as well as various precious materials such as gold, silver and pearls.

The Naquassi rule the greatest realms of the Qualla, the heart of which lies beneath the Drowned Reach, once the land of Arteanu. The greatest of their nations, the Qyani Empire, stretches across the Gulf of Ruin, and contains within its borders the island-mountain of Njardheim, around which rises the glittering Qyani capital of Zyvhess. To the west, the three frontier kingdoms of Miqen, Merjan and Neghan defend the Drowned Reach from the horrors of the seas beyond in a military alliance known as the Slaveshi League. To the east lies the realm of Dryssan, growing around the Dragonroost Raitho, and further east still Nevsan borders on the precipice of the Xaxalic Ocean.

Naquassi society is varied, though most nations are based upon a stratified society with various classes. Scions of noble families usually follow the path of the coral-knight, the wave-binder, the tide-seer or the storm-priest, while the commonfolk are more commonly seen as soldiers, merchants, craftsmen and beast-herders. It is the duty of the Naquassi clerics, the storm-priests, to enforce the Edict of Storms, and it is with this variant of Qualla that most land-dwellers engage in trade and commerce.

#### Laquari

The Laquari Naquassi Qualla are the most well-adapted of the merfolk to the surface air. Thought to have been created by Njardr as ambassadors to the other peoples of Solthris, they are often referred to as river-folk for their preference to live amongst the grand river systems of the <laquari-elf kingdom> in central Xaxalin. Indeed, that realm is inhabitted by both elves and Laquari, who together hold dominion over land and water. Though these river-folk prefer to live beneath the rivers themselves, they are also a great asset for controlling the Inland Sea of Xaxalin. Having grown distant from the preoccupations of the other Qualla over the Edict of Storms, the Laquari care more for the politics of central Xaxalin, and are often seen in markets and courts across the land.

A second group of Laquari, however, still holds true to the Edict, and are often counted amongst the allies of the Qyani Empire. Known at times as the island-folk, they have built their own collection of city-states over the ruins of the Jazyrh Archipelago, where the great cities of Arteanu once stood. Renowned for the mist-callers, it is said that their magic allows them to fade into mist and shadow at will.

#### Ashaqua

The Ashaqua Naquassi Qualla are widely considered to be the most mysterious and cryptic of the merfolk. Not long after the birth of the Qualla, some amongs them were drawn away from Njardr and towards the dark powers hidden in the depths. Although warned by the Nvordrak not to seek unholy power in the abyss, these merfolk sought them out nonetheless, and for this were cast out and transformed by Njardr in punishment. If they held such love for the lightless depths, then he would grant them the means to live there forever, growing bioluminescent appendages from their bodies and granting them great resistance to the crushing pressures. Yet they were also cursed to be unable to breathe air, being thus forced to remain the rest of their existence beneath the waves.

Most Ashaqua do not live amongst the other merfolk, and are even more rarily seen by the surface dwellers, making their homes instead in the deep trenches of the ocean, where they have built their temple-cities, ruled by their fathom-speakers. They conduct research into the creatures of the deep, and are said to commune with dark forces in the abyss. They are not hostile to the rest of the Naquassi as a rule, and some have recently even come back to the Drowned Reach, seeking repentance from Njardr. None has yet been given.

### Zathani

The Zathani Qualla were once the orcini slaves of Arteanu, and as such harbor little love for the descendants of their ancestral captors. Their body is scaley and strong, varying from green to black, and their legs have given way to eightfold grasping tentacles. So too are their features distinct from the Naquassi, bearing large apendages similar to horns.

Though at first they lived and fought with the rest of the Qualla under the Edict of Storms in the Drowned Reach, over time they drifted apart from their centers of civilization and into the frozen waters of the Glacial Ocean. There they tame and hunt the great leviathans and krakens of the north, having adopted a nomadic lifestyle. Considered by the Naquassi as barbarians, the Zathani have shifted their view on the Edict, having come to believe that they are the chosen people of Hafrjal and the true heirs of Njardr. As such, thy conduct regular raids upon the Naquassi settlements, especially against the frontier states, and are often seen riding all kinds of great beasts.

## History

### Njardr and the Seals

For centuries after the Godspact, the last living Nvordrak dragon, Njardr, kept watch over six runic seals holding the Dread Serpent, Jardyr, prisoner, ensuring no mortal would ever break them and unleash the creature's terror upon Solthris. However, as time passed, Njardr watched as the mortal civilizations declines and came to loath the state of the world, especially its lack of true magic and knowledge. He came to believe that none would ever possess the power to unleash the seals even if they so desired, and so returned to the plane of his master, Hafrjal, the Stormbringer, though he had the wisdom to place a spell to warn him if the seals were ever in danger.

### The Sinking of Arteanu

Millennia later, amongst the growing civilizations of Xaxalin, the humans of the land of Arteanu built their capital atop the Serpent's central seal, noticing the nexus of ley-lines in the region. During the war that fell Xaxalin twelve hundred years ago, the Arteani king sought to draw power from the seals, causing damage to the nexus of protection. Njardr, realizing his misjudgement of mortal magic, recognized the danger posed to the seals and sought to reach them in time to protect them. His efforts were in vain, however, for he arrived too late to stop the king's foolishness, who had unwittingly unleashed the power within the seals in a destructive blast that turned Arteanu to dust and sent the sea rushing in to fill the void.

In the cataclysm that followed, Njardr expended his considerable power by placing a great spell upon the mortal inhabitants of the land that would soon be drowned, changing their forms and physiology so that they would be better adapted to life beneath the waves, having grown gills and fins and being now able to breathe both water and air. Njardr did not do this out of mercy, but because he would need servants to repair the seals and guard them, for the world now had the potential to unleash the Serpent. These merfolk would call themselves the Qualla, and their mission of repairing and guarding the seals would become known as the Edict of Storms.

As the dust of the Drowning faded, Njardr came to each of the five outer seals, where he raised mountains and called forth dragons of storm and sea from around the world to worship and serve him. They would act as his most elite servants and guardians, and he in turn would grant them protection and vast lairs and riches. These mountains would become the Dragonroosts, and upon the central Seal, where once the capital of Arteanu stood, the Nvordrak's own lair would rise, known as Njardheim.

### Fracturing of the Qualla

When Njardr transformed the sinking mortals of Arteanu into merfolk, humans were not the only ones affected. A large number of the Arteani orcini slaves were also given his gift, and for a time all of the Qualla followed the Edict and their new master together. One century after the Drowning, however, conflict began between the Zathani and the Naquassi. The latter had once been humans, and had owned the orcini as slaves, a fact that was not easily forgotten. The Zathani demanded that they be given full control of all Qualla affairs, and when the Naquassi refused, civil war broke out. Before the merfolks' budding civilization could be severely damaged, however, Njardr intervened. He would not allow such infighting amongst his subjects, not while the Seals were still so fragile.

Thus the Zathani decided to depart the Drowned Reaches, and the Nvordrak gave them leave. In the cold waters of the north, he reasoned, they would learn a great variety of magics and new skills, which they could then put to use were he to ever call upon them in the future. And in the cold northern waters of the Glacial Ocean, they did. The Zathani learned to tame leviathans and krakens, and they grew ever more ferocious and warlike.

Centuries later, as the Naquassi civilization expanded, yet another issue arose. A group of the merfolk explorers were delving ever deeper into the Xaxalic Ocean, and there found dark powers that had remained hidden for millennia. Njardr himself set out to investigate the source, and was horrified at what he discovered - this was the consciousness of the mythical Drowned One, a primordial god of eons past, a force that could threaten not only the merfolk but Njardr himself. Immediately, he forbade the Qualla from going near it, and sought to ward against its influence. And yet, many of the Naquassi lingered, wishing to draw upon this power, some seeking knowledge of the world that had passed while others hoped to gain the power to topple their political enemies.

Then, however, Njardr made a discovery - this essence in the depths was long dead. It had no real influence, it was no real threat. He could still, however, use the insubordination of these heretics as a show of force so that no other Qualla sect would dare oppose his will. If the unfaithful so wished to consult the fathoms, then Njardr would grant them their wish: thus they grew biolumiscent appendages, so they could more easily navigate the lightless depths, and granted them greater resistance to the crushing pressures of the abyss. And then the dragon removed their ability to breathe air, so that they could never again venture into the surface.

The transformed Naquassi became known as the Ashaqua, the deep-folk, and they built their first city-temple in the trench beneath the Xaxalic Ocean where the primordial essence had once resided. Over time, they spread across the oceans of Solthris, carving various enclaves along the edges of deep trenches, where they continue to worship and study the powers of the depths. More recently, a number of Ashaqua have returned to the Drowned Reach, seeking redemption and Njardr's forgiveness. So far, they have gotten neither. Nevertheless, these repentant Ashaqua have become allies to their Naquassi cousins, and follow the Edict of Storms once again.

### The Might of the Qualla

In the centuries following the Drowning, a coalition of humans and dwarves from southern Xaxin conquered a number of tribes descended from old Arteanu, establishing a kingdom surrounding a mountain range known as Vyrandh upon the shores of the Gulf of Ruin. Soon, however, this budding realm came into conflict with their neighbors: tribes of orcini in Magrok to the east, and the dragons of Dragonroost Thurisaz to the west. Though a dragon was a far more formidable foe than any single orc or goblin, the Vyrandhi sought out ways to subjugate the dragons in hopes of using them against their enemies. About seven hundred years ago, the dwarves began using powerful geomancy to trap dragons as they took flight and protect themselves from dragonfire, ultimately invading the Dragonroost itself. Within, they discovered a runic seal, though they did not comprehend its significance. All they knew was that it held tremendous magical power, and thus sought to channel it for themselves. With this kind of magic, they thought they could put a stop to the orcini raids, and perhaps conquer all of Xaxin itself.

When from the sea, armies of Qualla arrived to bring war towards Vyrandh, the humans and dwarves were prepared - with the power if Thurisaz at their disposal, they brought the merfolk low. Yet the Naquassi would not stand for this violation of the dragons and their seals. The Edict of Storms demanded they be protected. At this time, all Naquassi lived united under the guidance of Njardr in a budding realm they named Qyan, and together their priests came before the Nvordrak himself to ask for power to destroy the blasphemous land-dwellers. The dragon obliged. With magic flowing through their priests and magi, they called forth gigantic tidal waves that broke through the armies of Vyrandh and swept through their cities. Coastal towns were obliterated, and cities in the interior were turned to ruin by the sheer force of the waters. In a single day, Vyrandh was destroyed, with only ruins and salt water lakes in the wake of the Qualla's fury.

For the centuries to come, the land-dwellers of Xaxalin would remember the Hammer of the Tides, and no disturbance would come to the Dragonroosts or the deep seas.

### Recent History

Until recently, Njardr lived amongst dragons and merfolk in his lair, overseeing the repair of the seals and blessing the worthiest of his servants with power. However, about a century ago, the Nvordrak himself went on an expedition with an objective known only to himself and his closest advisors to the land of Rakshar, where he disappeared under mysterious circumstances. None know where Njardr has gone, or if he will ever return. In the wake of his disappearance, the Zathani Qualla have launched ever-bolder raids upon the kingdoms of the Naquassi, and the Dragonroosts fall into desrepair...