Coen Keuute

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**[This Page is currently a Work in Progress. Like, I know it's ugly, and I'm sorry you have to see it this way.]**

*Coen Keuute, known by some as Greycliff, is a small nation in the Northeast of the Western Continent. Approaching from the sea, one would find a coastline of jagged and cave-riddled cliffs, behind which lies a forest that is forever green and visually impenetrable. It's undeniable that the forest feels predatory, as though the trees themselves are eager to devour whole anything that comes close enough.*

*For many who cross its threshold, it will. Besides the aggressive Gote Bears that hunt along the forest floor, and the innumerable cave entrances hidden by overgrowth and time, some unnamable dark magic has made the spirits of Coen Keuute restless. Ghosts and unnatural spirits prowl the forest, searching for the warmth and energy of living things.*

Basic Statistics

## Random Bits

### Volvelek

*Coenik legend holds that Volvelek -- The Red Mouth -- has existed since before life was breathed into the world. It is a hole in the Earth, seemingly without bottom, lined with glistening red stone that makes those who come too close feel emptied of life. Warm air rises from it on occasion, a dark omen that brings earthquakes and plague, and on occasion, the Volkijuj -- writhing, hungry masses of tentacles created when a Juj goes too long without physical form. What the gods first created Volvelek for, the Coenik cannot begin to imagine.*

*The Coenik believe that it is now used to house the Juj, spirits without purpose, detached from their physical hosts. Their people are the Wardens of the spirits cast into Volvelek, and battle the Volkijuj that emerge. On the winter solstice, prisoners or exiles are cast in to satisfy the hunger of the Volkijuj.*

### Fauna

**Gote -** *A large bear with an ashen coat, revered by the Coenik as the apex predator of Coen Keuute. The Gote are highly aggressive, especially during their mating season in the final quarter of the year. Though there are countless caves in Coen Keuute, the Coenik people choose to live in the treetops instead because of these creatures alone.*

**Volkijuj -** *While in the forest, if you hear voices whispering your name, drop what you are doing and run. The Volkijuj are writhing, glistening, black masses of tentacles that rise from Volvelek and devour the living. The more a Volkijuj eats, the larger it becomes. The Coenik hunt and kill any of these creatures that rise from Volvelek, but some inevitably slip through the cracks.*

### Flora

**Mukute** - *A blue-needled, dark-barked coniferous tree native to Coen Keuute. The sap of the Mukute has hallucinogenic properties, and is used by the Coenik in their summer solstice rituals. It is not uncommon for creatures that touch trees in the forest to accidentally injest the sap, leading to the Coenik saying "Kutho Kuopo" (Lit. "He is careless with his hands"), used to indicate a person is losing their minds.*

## Languages

*The major language of Coen Keuute is **Coenish**, the laconic and ancient tongue of the Coenik people who have long resided in the nation's forests. The Coenik tongue often has words that vaguely refer to a vast number of objects. The Coenik use hand motions to emphasize specifics. As an example, a brief horizontal chop will specify that 'Hetto', the word for a sharp weapon, means 'Axe' in particular.*

## Politics

***Leader:*** *Merk Conju. At the most recent summer solstice, his ancestors told him that only by unifying the tribes of Greycliff could the Coenik keep their freedom and stay true to the pact. His bloody war of unification has made him few friends, but he believes it has saved his people.*

*Merk sits as the most powerful Conju, with a representstive from the six largest tribes sitting as secondary Conju with limited autonomy in governing their tribe. Merk has the power to overrule any of the secondary Conju. Merk could be deposed by any Conju who could best him in battle, but the people would likely refuse a Conju who had not defeated his predecessor in open combat. Being relatively new, it is unclear if a child of Merk would take his place upon death, or if he will appoint a new Conju.*

*Service in the military is mandatory for all citizens, with exceptions for pregnant women and children too young to effectively take up arms. If you can no longer serve, honor dictates you perform the Juto Keuka. Military service is not a long-term commitment, as the Coenik are not traditionally raiders or conquerors. Instead, this is an as-needed service when Greycliff is in danger. Greycliff has yet to fight a war beyond its own borders.*

*There are no hard-and-fast laws in Greycliff. Rather, should you be found to be working against the pact, your neighbors will likely take matters into their own hands. Having unified the tribes, codifying laws is the highest priority.*

*The Coenik tend to look down on outsiders. It is difficult to judge intentions when a weak-minded individual can so easily be manipulated by Juj. Thus, it takes time to build relationships with foreigners. However, the Coenik rarely wish them ill. It is not their place to war with or defile their neighbors. So long as they are not disturbed, they will keep a wary distance.*

*Within the tribe itself, the Coenik value only what a person can contribute. Gender and age matter little, only what a person does. Those who are considered weak in body or mind are usually ostracized, if not outright slain.*

## Religion and culture

### Moral values and principles

*The Coenik hold nothing in higher regard than purpose. If a horse breaks a leg, it is killed. Its pieces serve a new purpose, becoming food, clothing, and tools. Similarly, if a person loses their purpose, their death goes to aid the nation. A person's purpose is everything.*

*The Coenik similarly value Might. There's no place for weakness in their duty, and only a strong body and mind can withstand its rigors.  The Juj will devour a weak mind, turning it on its Kiju to sow discontent. Thus, the Coenik value their martial prowess and their mental fortitude. Pain and suffering are the crucibles from which strength is forged.*

*The Coenik strive to waste nothing, as all things have a purpose, and anything with a purpose has a spirit. They will wear clothing until it degrades away, hand weapons down from generation to generation, and eat any flesh that has not been corrupted -- including that of fellow humans. The Coenik refuse to waste even words, using as few as possible to convey their meaning.*

### Traditions

*Ask any Coenik what their most important ritual is, and they will point you to the **Juto Keuka**. Performed whenever a citizen reaches the age of seventy or begins to decline in health, it symbolizes the core values of the Coenik - Might and Purpose.*

*The elder Coenik spends ten days writing down the story of his life, then on the eleventh day, chooses the eldest member of his Kiju who has not yet spilled blood in combat. The selected citizen chooses the weapon to be used in the ritual, and the two fight to the death. A citizen who cannot defeat their elder has no purpose to the Coenik. The hope is that the Elder gives their knowledge to the tribe, as well as a warrior capable of taking their place, and the pieces of their flesh for use. This is a better fate than being a burden to the tribe and assures their reward of an immortal soul.*

*There are two annual festivals marking winter and summer solstice. The winter festival, held at the Great Pit, is a reaffirmation of the Pact. The Testament of Linus is told by the most skilled orator of the tribe, and several prisoners or criminals are cast in to satisfy the cravings of the Juj within.*

*The summer ritual begins with the drinking of the intoxicating sap of the Muk Tree, which allows one to temporarily become a Juj. Then, citizens reach out in an attempt to speak with their Keujuj (immortal, ancestral spirits). When the Keujuj have spoken (or refused to appear) the Coenik gather to speak of what they have been told, and what the year may bring.*

### Religion

*The Coenik follow an animist religion known as* ***Igodo***. *The religion is deeply personal to the Coenik, believed to be an oath from the tribal patriarch to the collective spirit world.*

*Igodo is built around the concept of a cycle of death and rebirth. A thing receives a soul upon its creation and returns that soul to be recycled when the thing has served its purpose. It is said that the ancestors of the Coenik so feared death and rebirth that they sought a way to detach their soul from their mortal body. They desired to live free as a **Juj**, a spirit without a physical attachment. When they accomplished this, they broke the chain of death and rebirth, creating entropy and evil. Not all of the ancestors of the Coenik had done this, however. The first **Conju**, a warrior named **Linus**, had accepted his purpose, and refused to detach his spirit. When he saw what his family had brought into the world, he went to the gods for aid.*

*The gods, enraged, gathered up the wayward spirits and cast them into the **Volvelek**, a Great Pit hidden in the misty forests of Coen Keuute. There, they charged Linus to watch over **Volvelek** and cast back in any spirit that might escape. As a reward for this promise, and for Linus' acceptance of this fate, they gave the Coenik Immortal souls, but only should they die in service of their cause.*

*Over the centuries, what the cause is has changed. Loose spirits - **Juj** - are considered the cause for all strife and suffering, and thus what is in service of the cause is vague at best. Death in combat is generally accepted as the purest form of service, though any work that aids the tribe (now nation) is a worthy cause. The worst thing a person can do is live beyond their purpose.*

*The Testament of Linus is an epic poem that describes the creation of Igodo, and is retold on the winter solstice, the day in which the Coenik believe the pact was made.*

### Art

*The Coenik are a people who would say they have no need for Art. While it is true that what most would consider art has no real place in their society, there are some things the Coenik have mastered so completely that they have become art in-and-of themselves.*

*They are a people strangely fascinated with words. They spend much of their time trying to fill as few words with as much meaning as possible. Writing, which is relatively new to the Coenik, has lost some of the nuance of their speech, with no way to translate their body language into text. However, their orators are some of the best in the world, telling riddles and stories that are simple on the surface , growing startlingly complex when given thought and time.*

*The Coenik are similarly expert carvers. They pride themselves in carving images into trees without killing them, letting their tales and history mesh with the living world. It is said that, if one knows how to read the Coenik carvings, one could never get lost in the Greycliff forests. The trees are storytellers, waymarkers, and maps.*

*Finally, the Coenik have their own Martial Art, known as **Set Juto**. Not meant for combat, Set Juto is a highly stylized martial art meant to reenact combat to empathize an orator's tale. Those who practice Set Juto are prized among the Coenik, and are the only citizens exempt from taking part in combat.*