Children of Ekya

## Home or Free, Land of the Captive

This bunch hails from the Easternmost continent, named Ekya with the least amount of contact from the outside world second only to the Velo.  They share the island with a race of giants.  Some can grow to over 50 feet tall, and their diet consists of any sort of meat they can find, which also includes humans.  To combat this, the people living on this island continent have adapted their culture to thrive out of the sight of these giants.  Using techniques similar to ninjitsu, they live in hiding from these beasts.  About 40% of the people born to this nation leave it once they reach adulthood, wanting a significantly safer life than what their homeland can offer them.  To make up for this, they often become assassins because of how well they were trained to get around unnoticed.

Those that leave their homeland call themselves The Exiled, for good reason.  They cut off all communication with their family at home when they leave.  Most of them join up in circles elsewhere around the world.  These organizations are mostly unknown to those who don't go looking for them.  Those that do normally have some sort of ilicit reason for doing so.

The first of The Exiled was a man named Zawla, who built his own rudimentary raft out of logs and rope to sail west towards Adalih East.  Many believed him to be dead until he returned years later with stories of the outside world.  After his return, people began leaving en masse, the initial exodus included 60% of all Ekyans alive at the time.

People not from Ekya seldom visit, preferring to not getting eaten by a giant while on vacation.  Those that are born here that leave usually never return.  The rest of the world knows of the giants through Adalih West expeditions.  They went out in search of new conquests, but found a foe greater than they could have imagined. The world's image of Ekya is a wasteland of mountains and giants.  Reality is not too far off, but the common folk know nothing of the Exiled or of the Homebound, the name the Exiled have given those that choose to stay on the island.  Eventually, they heard about the name and took a liking to it, and began using it for themselves.

The Exiled that have gathered in Adalih West have a particularly brutal initiation: in order for any outsider to join them, they are put to the task of not being killed by an Exiled within X amount of time.  If they can survive the attempt on their life, they are allowed to join.  This guild is called The Khufasi.

The Exiled and the Homebound have two different gods.  Some exiled still worship the Homebound god, though.

Uk'Maz: The Exiled god.  The god of the Sea, of Freedom, and of Darkness.

While the Exiled are happy to be away from their homeland, they still uphold a majority of the traditions that they inherited.  Uk'Maz's aspect of Darkness is proof of that.  She usually takes on the form of a mermaid when appearing to her constituents on water.  On land, that of a woman shrouded with robes.  She is of average height, and in artwork is usually shown standing behind an Exiled performing an assassination.

Um'Zali: The Homebound god.  The god of the Earth, of Safety, and of Darkness.

Um'Zali seldom manifests above ground, choosing to stay under the earth, away from the light and where it is safe.  He is usually depicted as an old man wearing nothing but a loin cloth.  He does all he can to keep his people from going up to the surface, for danger lies above them.  He takes solace in those underground passageways; and sometimes he assists in the digging of new ones, excavating much quicker than any of his worshipers can.