The Ki'Nau are the indigenous people of the Menagerie Coast and the surrounding Swavain Islands. They were granted the blessings of Uk'otoa and became very powerful, but surviving worshipers of The Cloaked Serpent grew jealous and sealed Uk'otoa beneath the Lucidian Ocean.[1]
Bisaft Isle contains Ki'Nau ruins,[2] as does the Cyrios End Forest.[3] Many people of Ki'Nau descent still live along the coast, especially in Gwardan,[4] Othe,[5] the Quoraska Jungle,[6] and Tussoa.[7] Copia Lake and Sepesca are still holy places to the Ki'Nau, and Copia Lake is protected by the Clovis Concord as a sacred ritual site.[3] The Ki'Nau language of Naush is still widely spoken throughout the Clovis Concord.[8]
The indigenous Ki'Nau were largely human[9] prior to contact with Marquet.
History[]
Official art of Uk'otoa assaulting unwelcome ships on the Lucidian Ocean, by Zoltan Boros from Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 17.[art 2]
The Ki'Nau are descended from the survivors of the floods that destroyed the pre-Calamity civilizations along the Menagerie Coast. Most of these survivors were skilled sailors who weathered the storms caused by the magic of the Calamity's battles. Once the waters subsided, they settled the Swavain Islands, but the oceans were remained dangerous. Uk'otoa reached out to the Ki'Nau, promising them protection if they worshiped him, and the Ki'Nau agreed. Their society flourished.[10]
Around 400 PD, the Ki'Nau civilization came into contact with two others: explorers from Marquet, and another seafaring culture known as the Vukan. The Marquesians offered to make a trade agreement, and the Ki'Nau accepted, permitting the Marquesians to establish the outpost of Damali,[11] and requiring, among other things, that the Twinward Isles be preserved and untouched.[7] The Vukan, however, simply attacked the Ki'Nau in an effort to capture their homes and take their valuables. The Marquesians agreed to aid the Ki'Nau in their defense against the Vukan. Uk'otoa also kept his promise to the Ki'Nau, and destroyed the Vukan culture in their home villages.[10]
The Marquesians who had assisted against the Vukan began to settle the coast, but their acceptance on the coast was made more tenuous by Uk'otoa's displeasure, as he disapproved of their worship of other gods. Meanwhile, Marquesian worshippers of Zehir were secretly plotting to seal Uk'otoa, Zehir's abandoned creation. They eventually succeeded,[10] killing the Ki'Nau on Urukayxl.[7]
In the mid-400s PD,[12] the Marquesians living on the Menagerie Coast petitioned J'mon Sa Ord for independence, which was granted, and a joint society that would eventually become the Clovis Concord emerged from the Ki'Nau and Marquesian alliance. Ki'Nau of elven descent founded Gwardan along with elves from Marquet;[4] Othe was founded as a Ki'Nau spiritual retreat;[5] and Tussoa, once a Ki'Nau fishing village, became a small city with a significant Ki'Nau population.[7]
Several centuries prior to 835 PD, the Ki'Nau holy site of Sepesca was destroyed in a conflict with goblins of the Lushgut Forest. A few Ki'Nau still hope to resanctify the location.[6]
Religion[]
The Ki'Nau had a strong seafaring culture, for which they worshiped Uk'otoa for a long time.[10] However, beyond the cult of the Leviathan Lord, it is known that the Ki'Nau were very spiritual and had a great respect for nature and worshiped deities connected with it,[13] also following animistic faiths that have lasted until the present through the descendants of this culture in places like Othe;[5] moreover, these descendants now often make offerings to Melora the Wildmother, whom they consider to be a collective entity uniting their former nature gods in a single female form.[13] In towns on the Menagerie Coast like Gwardan the inhabitants also pay respect to the local fey folk to ensure peaceful coexistence and secure access to natural resources.[4]
Trivia[]
- The name "Ki'Nau" means "the Water Children" in Naush.[10]
- Orly Skiffback tells Jester that he learned the art of magical tattooing from the descendants of the island folk of the region.[14] He was presumably referring to descendants of the Ki'Nau.
- The Ki'Nau might have been connected with the original seafaring inhabitants of the Island of Viscan, although they lived there before the Calamity.[15]
References[]
- ↑ See "Dangerous Liaisons" (2x37) from 1:16:34 through 1:17:21.
- ↑ See "A Storm of Memories" (2x46) at 0:14:33.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 61.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 66.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 69.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 75.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 77.
- ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 9.
- ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 176.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 17.
- ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, pp. 16–17.
- ↑ See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 43. "Nearly four hundred years ago" as of 835 PD
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 See Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 23.
- ↑ See "A Pirate's Life for Me" (2x41) at 0:39:35.
- ↑ See "Loose Ends" (1x84) at 0:18:22.
Art:
- ↑ Fan art of a Ki'Nau man, by Mikael (source). Used with permission.
- ↑ Official art of Uk'otoa assaulting unwelcome ships on the Lucidian Ocean, by Zoltan Boros from Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, p. 17. This file is a copyrighted work. Its use in this article is asserted to qualify as fair use of the material under United States copyright law.