Aklon

After the Akkan-Shai won the Great War, they consolidated their power in atop the former ruins of the Argent House, declaring a new era of Ruling over the remnants of the Great Deluge, their grand alliance came to be known as 'Aklon', a center from which the Akkan-Shai worked tirelessly to cement their power before the Torpor. Aklon's capital was destroyed by the Deluge, with much the empire falling into disarray. Many of the Akkan-Shai were injured, disturbing the Torpor. Many people believe that this disturbance is the root of the Dream Sickness that plagues Geron.

Underwater Nation of Strange Constructions
Aklon is a sinister, aquatic nation stewarded by the diminished but powerful Kanshai, a hideous and grotesque race of fish-like creatures that once ruled the seas in a bygone and ancient age. Most of it's population consists of [[Th'afga]]] slaves that toil away at the behest of their masters, carving nauseating, escherian cities from coral and basalt. Above Aklon's waterline, the the towering ruins of Elder Kasbenir are infested with shambling humanoids twisted by the Dream Sickness who seem to be drawn inexplicably to this place.

Search for the Unknowable
While the Aklon is reclusive and disdainful of the civilization that has grown in the wake of the Flood, diplomats of the Th'afga are known to travel to the surface at night and impose the will of the Akkan-Shai on settlements and city-states, demanding tribute to the sleeping masters. It seems to most that the Th'afga are searching, motivated by the appetite of their masters to comb through the deep mud and murk which smothers the ancient, sunken cities of the Sister Seas.

The Stinking Slaveships
The most industrious and terrifying of the [[Th'afga]] command Sea Hives, great mobile colonies of coral and sponge, bent to the will of the Akkan-Shai by the putrid mucous which can be harvested from the Sleeping Masters. The Sea Hives allow the Th'afga to comfortably roam the coasts, collecting slaves and administering to the duties of the empire. Legend has it that in age of antiquity, one such hive ship is said to have washed up in Tharsos, having been battered by a freak storm. Those foolish enough to have explored its remains told horrific stories about half-swimming through dank, constricted passages full of mind-poisoning mucus, of living walls riddled with the dead, and even of huge, man-eating worms and aggressive crab-like creatures the size of horses.

Sightings of Sea Hives are becoming more frequent in the Three Seas as years go by, though perhaps 'sighting' is a misnomer. The unmistakable stench of such a structure bobbing along with the ocean current is often the surest sign of such an event.

Torpor and the Sleeping Masters
The Akkan-Shai's perception of time is such that they can and often do sleep for thousands of years, an event known as 'Torpor'. Inexplicably, the majority of ancient Akkan-Shai appear to slumber simultaneously, leaving their incredibly loyal servants to care for them until they wake again. Their psionic abilities are potent but aimless during slumber, causing a strange madness called the 'Dream Sickness' which ebbs and flows with the stars. A rare few Akkan-Shai avoid the Torpor through lichdom and other potent forms of necromancy, making the [[Ebokan]] artifacts of particular potency to them.

The Dream Sickess
The astronomers of [[Kalam]] have noticed that the strength of the Dream Sickness can be predicted to some degree by the stars present in the night sky. On nights when shooting stars will be plentiful, the Dream Sickness is likely to have a greater effect. While these episodes of madness are inconvenient on land, they're downright deadly at sea. Whether water is a more powerful medium for these psionic illnesses or the confines of a ship simply make the delusions more dangerous, sailors are known to indulge all manner of superstitious wards to avoid risking such an episode.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 License.