World of Kio

Kio is the name of the small island nation that once ruled in this area. Very little is known about their culture and experiences. The extent of their knowledge is limited to a small half-burned library under the ruins of an ancient castle. They use a strange written language, but when the characters are translated it appears to be in English.

[characters]

[planet]

Kio is an Island nation located on a planet called Cairn, an earth-like planet where magic is known to exist but uncommon. Humans live on much of this world; however Sators, the natives of Kio, live in the southern reaches of the world. How humans got to this world is largely a mystery, and those who do know the origins curse it as dark magic. Technology is limited, it is possible to find electronics from Earth, but it is very rare. Most of the societies exist at a renaissance level of technology. Most people do not travel, which makes the WindRose expedition quite strange.
The primary form of currency is Copper; in this world it is rarer than gold and silver. Coins often have holes in the center, or resemble beads, so they can easily be threaded onto a length of twine or string for safe keeping. Many earth-style fashions are popular among the wealthy.

The WindRose Expedition was founded by Kevin Arun, a human research scientist looking at the links between magic and known science. He heard rumors of ancient Kio and organized a team to come live in the area for an extended period of time and help him with his research. The human team is from a city near the Islands of Kio called Tarai. The city is known for higher education, but does not boast any local magic users. Many of the people of Tarai study history and science, particularly farming science to help improve the lives of farmers and the quality of food.
Upon arriving to the main island of Kio the research team set up camp atop a cliff in a large field. This camp was a short walk from what came to be known as the Rune Tree, a leafless tree that pulses with strange energy. Their camp is small, but the natives of the island have begun settling nearby out of curiosity and the availability of trade. The natives are all Sators, but not the same as the Sators of the main land. The Sators of the main land have hand more closely resembling hooves, three fingers with only 2 knuckles and two ‘thumbs’ which are opposable on each side of the hand. The Sators of Kio have more human like hands, suggesting a link between the two species.

[Sator, Kionian and Human hands]

It wasn’t long before the natives showed Kevin how to make a ‘sprout’ out of windseeds and natural items. From here Kevin began setting up a more formal laboratory to test the magic at work and try to quantify it. The natives of the land offered to help, and Kevin often observes their experiments to help more quickly discover what kind of magic exists in this world. The natives do not think of the creation of the sprouts as magic, it is simply commonplace. They do not attach any significance to the Sprouts other than as cute companions.

The natives observe the blossom and harvest festivals, where they honor the sprouts who have ‘returned to nature’ these are sprouts which have voluntarily buried themselves in soil, their bodies disappear and a bud springs up in their place. The blossom festival, in spring, is when these buds flower and the natives celebrate with songs and feasts. In fall the harvest festival is celebrated at night where ancient legends and stories are shared.
Rumb and Mik explore the islands that the team has found. It wasn’t long before they found the old castle with the ancient library. There are many mysteries on the island, and Rumb makes sure to keep everyone in the safe areas so they do not get injured, and so the ancient artifacts they find are preserved.
The natives live very simply; they eat vegetables and fish primarily. The expedition team will often catch rabbits and sometimes deer, if they are lucky, but the natives only rarely share in a meal of this type. There are two other villages on the islands, one on the far side of the main island, and one on the smaller island to the west of the main island.

[map of kio]

Many of the natives who have stayed in this area are distrustful of the expedition team, particularly on the smaller island. They prefer to stay away and live in peace. All of the natives traditionally stay to the coastal regions, and none know how to write in the ancient language. No pictures exist of the ancient people of Kio, so it is unknown whether or not the natives are related in any way.

Besides Kio there are two other major territories on Cairn. There's the Pepperlands, where there is a series of castles ravaged by disease, populated by people hateful to outsiders. Next is The Calling Stone the northern lands of Cairn populated by primitive people who don't have the means to travel the rest of Cairn.

**NOTE:** Pepperlands and The Calling Stone aren't yet in Windrose, but do exist.

Note: Image taken off of Ely's tumblr