HandofOmega/Krisvati
Krisvati, The Isle That Dreams
Krisvati is a midsized island to the west of the Neck in the Western Ocean. It's exact location varies, and it is perpetually shrouded by thick mists. Those few who chance upon it and return describe it as a fantastic land of many wonders, and eventually perish attempting to return to it. Brimming with lush and colorful flora, and such features as rolling hills and waterfalls, the island is a picture of tranquil beauty, and the many fauna to be found there are unusually docile. If there is any danger there, it is subtle and comes from the human inhabitants...
Krisvati is populated by a people who call themselves the Deva. Numbering a little over a few thousand, the Deva population is mostly centered in the capital city of Ketu, whose soaring spires and stupas are strangely invisible from the sea, tho a few hundred families make a living in small villages scattered across the isle. While appearing much as ordinary Westerners, the Deva are an unnaturally beautiful people, often decorating their well-shaped bodies and attractive faces with colorful fabrics, precious jewelry, elaborate tattoos (many of which act as slow-acting alchemy, whose effects take place as they absorb through the skin), and alluring perfumes. Theirs is a sybaritic culture, which seems engineered to create a succesion of constant celebration and spectacle. Even their organically graceful architecture, whether in stadium-like halls or cathedral-like homes, is ornately crafted to channel the continual flow of music and incense to stimulate all the senses to best effect.
The Deva speak an exotic varient of Seatongue, and often trade with the floating merchant-city of Denzik when it comes into their waters. Their major exports are incredibly fine clothing woven from the silk of mutated giant worms, jewelry crafted from fine gems readily available throughout the isle, and various potions and drugs created with a Thaumaturgical finesse unmatched in Creation. Both sexes wear long wraps of brightly colored fabric, wear their iridescent hair long and full and bear facial adornments and designs that indicate social status. They worship no gods known elsewhere in Creation, but instead follow their own unique religion, which involves the "tithe" of one hundred of the best, brightest and most beautiful among them each generation. These "tithes" always return, with gifts from the gods...
Deva society divides itself into 5 Castes: Priests, Warriors, Entertainers, Workers and the Unnamed. The Workers live quiet lives providing the materials and processes that support life for the other castes, of which the Entertainers are by far the most populous, especially in Ketu. The Priests and Warriors tend to stay out of sight, except for ceremonial roles in the many processions down the wide avenues of the capitol. The Unnamed wander the island aimlessly, or are put to endlessly repetitive work aiding the Workers.
The Truth about Krisvati: Krisvati is actually an ongoing experiment by the Fair Folk. The nearby Agate Court created this society long ago and continue to maintain it for their abstract and concrete pleasure to this day. They watch newcomers slowly assimilate to their artificial culture, and make their sport with the "tithe" they receive from the island, and often send many of the women back with child. In this manner, an unusually large strain of Fae-Blood runs through the Deva population. Dwellers on the isle possess the full range of Fae-Blood Merits and Flaws, which explains the impossibly consistent superior quality of the goods and services found in the City, as well as the City itself (treat most items found there as Exceptional-Perfect quality). This also explains the near constant parties and spectacles, as the Deva seek to fill their inherited hunger with all the emotion and passion that they can squeeze from each other and their visitors (that this also feeds the nearby Raksha is, of course, a happy coincidence). The Unnamed caste are actually the Enchanted and Ravaged castoffs of the Deva's hunger for dreams...
The Deva love and worship their inhuman patrons, who sometimes walk among them, both in hidden guise and in their full splendor. They abjure the worship of the true gods of Creation as an unspeakable blasphemy, and only Priests and Shamen receive a cold reception among them. The nearby Freehold doesn't welcome their presence there, but does seem to care for their toys, after their fashion. While not one of the Living Islands of the Deep Wyld, Krisvati does possess many similar properties, tho they are beyond the control of those living on it. This is partially the source of the dread the Deva have for their Raksha parents, for they can wipe out the entire culture within a day if they so choose...
