The Isle of North Koau

        This island is believed to be haunted by ancient spirits, or possibly bewitched. North Koau (ko-wow) is home to a rare form of orchid, the mist lotus, that emits a narcotic airborn polyn. This flower seems to be exclusive to rainforest of North Koau. Those who remain on the island for more than a few hours will begin to hallucinate. The majority of these hallucinations are auditory, most often taking the form of strange music, chanting, or whispers. In addition, the narcotic creates a sense of calming euphoria, along with blurred vision and swimming colors. The combined effect is a giddy state of bewildered bliss, which remains in effect until the drugged individual either manages to find their way off the island, or starves to death. As if the polyn weren't enough, the island is also full of smothergourds, which trap and devour those attracted by their vibrant colors. There is only the faintest trace of animal life on the island, as if the plants were the true dominant species.

        Both the lutrai and the koba tend to avoid this island, though on rare occasions druids and shamans will visit in order to collect the exotic mist lotus for use in incenses and remedies. This must be done during the day, when the polyn clouds settle. The lutrai chose this spot to hide a terrible artifact, one that once nearly destroyed their culture. It had remained here, undiscovered, for nearly a thousand years.

The Tree of Ruin

        At some point in the distant past, a demon found its way to Cekus, disguised in the form of a great bone spear. The fiendish monstrosity had been imprisoned within the weapon for eons, and was able to exert its hateful influence through anyone who held it. The demon, whose name was Ruin, sought to create war and hatred where none had existed before, overwhelming both the lutrai and the koba with a creeping mutual mistrust for one and other. For many years, they fought over possession of the red spear, and it changed hands many times, in increasingly bloody battles, before finally breaking apart in a tug-of-war between opposed chieftains. This released the demon from its prison, and for days the island chain burned as it savored newfound freedom. Many died, lutrai and koba alike, and for years the demonic tyrant lorded over both races, demanding sacrifices and great gifts whenever he pleased. None stood any chance against the terrible beast, whose skin burned away mortal weapons and set the very ground alight - aggression only fuelled its strength.

        Ruin may well have subjugated and eventually destroyed both the lutrai and the koba had it not been for a young musician named Moa, whose gentle songs undid the demon's magic. She wandered from village to village, bringing an end to petty conflicts and undermining the hatred that had clouded the minds of the island folk. This so enraged the demon that it had the young lutrai captured and killed horribly before an assembly of those she had tried to inspire. With this sacraficial attrocity, the demon had hoped to inspire fresh hatred from which to repair the damage Moa had done, but such was not to be. There was only a terrible sense of loss, of shock and remorse so overwhelming that it struck the demon stone dead in the midst of its ritual. Its body withered and its flesh burned away, leaving behind a smoldering spear. Ruin had been bound once again.

        Upon the death of Ruin's mortal form, his power over the lutrai faded, and they mourned the terrible tragedy by burying the remains and the many weapons they had built in a secret grave within the darkest vale of North Koau. The mist lotus, they hoped, would keep any being from ever finding the spear - it growns especially thick around the demon's prison. At the centre of this grave grows a skeletal, bone-white tree, which entombs the spear housing Ruin's spirit. Locked within the ageless wood of the white tree, it remains trapped to this day, full of brooding, psychotic hatred. Even touching the bark of this wooden prison causes a sense of absolute terror, and the fills the mind with whispered promises of power and revenge radiating from the imprisoned demon. The weapons buried around the bone tree are all cursed.

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