Olmeid Llopek Lore and NPCs

The island itself does not have a stable geographical location but has been known to move throughout time and space, being moved by the gods. Currently it is floating in an astral sea far and hidden in many other civilizations. The island itself would have a sun and moon that circle the island and dip beneath the waves, where the Olmeidian underworld is located. The sky itself resembles a dome of a coconut shell.

The island itself is actually a collection of islands measuring about the size of hawaii. They are shaped like an atoll, basically one large crescent shaped island sits in the middle that is called Llopekai or Llopek. In the center is a smaller round island with a volcano in the center called Olmeidi’i or Olmeid. Smaller islands trail off from the two larger islands and few of those have mountains but are very Hilly.

Llopek is very mountainous and green with a few active volcanoes. Olmeid has one very active volcano in the center that is said to be the home of the volcano goddess who seems to be suspiciously similar to Pele. Olmeid seems to have suffered a big volcanic eruption some years ago and collapsed one side of the volcano towards what used to be a bustling city of Milu. What remains of the city are ruins, and cooled lava flows.

Geology: There are very, very few indigenous metals or ores with exception to Majhilichite. Most of this has to do with the volcanic nature and how the islands were formed. Deposits of minerals are just not old enough for the minerals to really form. The constant erosion and movements of the island itself prevents most ores of metals from forming. Colorful beaches of pink or black sand signify that corals and volcanic ash are major contributors to the island's makeup.

Majhilichite is the Ore that is most common but even it is not very hard or durable. It bubbles up from the volcanos and is deposited after it cools. Some of it can be found in old dormant lava tunnels.

Majhilichite Ore has unknown origins but it is strongly suggested to be remnants of either the early creative forces of the universe or where chaos ley lines deposited vast quantities of magic on the island. The ore looks a lot like bismuth and has the same harness as gold but when heated up, it creates fumes that can be breathed in and give visions of alternate timelines, past and future events. It can also greatly increase magic capabilities. So much so that even a handful can have humans stand toe to toe with gods. However, it is very magically radioactive, with the risk of causing anomalies such as tumors, illness, magical abilities, mutations, insanity or even death. Throwing it into the water is bad news because the water will become tainted with the ore and mutate or poison wildlife and people alike. Mining this ore is very dangerous as it involves actively working alongside volcanic activities or digging vast networks of unstable tunnels. It can be transmuted but into what?

Climate: Tropical. Summers are hot and rainy, winters are very warm and dry. There is no snow or ice even on the tops of the mountains because the mountains are not high enough to really develop snow.

Flora and Fauna: No large mammalian animals aside from humans, boars, dogs and miniature alpacas. In fact what makes Olmeid so special is that several species of animals that went extinct on the polynesian islands on earth are found exclusively here signaling that at some point the islands themselves were on earth for some time. Lush jungles and rainforests make much of this land difficult to explore, but also a great place to grow food and crops.

Like a blend of oceanic, mesoamerican and with influences of another elven like culture. Much of the island has been colonized and destabilized so the culture has the hallmarks and scars of such. There is one interesting quirk however is how much thievery, pirating, scamming and smuggling goes on. It is essentially an island of thieves. There are also other populations aside from the Olmeid Humans such as The Manoi’i, the Menehune, The Manualoha`ii, and Mo`oala`ii,

Dues to a complete societal collapse throughout its history, the people of this land have developed an odd society that does not look down upon thievery, murder, and lying as a means of survival. Several nobility families have grown corrupt and developed into very much like various kinds of crime families. However what is prized most of all in this land is loyalty. Well a strange form of loyalty anyways. It is perfectly acceptable to run around and stab each other in the back so long as you are on the same side, family or country; however, it is completely unacceptable to betray members of the same family, group, or country to another.

Sex, and gender: There was a time when none of it really mattered but after being colorized for a very long time, the gender roles became much more separated. Men and women can both hold jobs and such but property rights and inheritance is traced patrilineally in some families while other (mostly llopek) is done matrilineally. The Fa’afinas are a caste of people who do not fit the gender molds and come with their own issues of strife but also boons. Homosexuality for a long time after the elves left was banned and punishable by death after many efforts to boost the population… But that has since changed in many ways. It seems as if efforts of one of the major oligarchical family members had pushed against the religious leaders to get it accepted once again.

Language: Olmeidense, Llopekish, (these languages are very similar to each other and have a family in both mesoamerican and polynesian languages though it seems like some Latin influences worked its way though) common..

Religion: The religion does not really have a name but the plural word for the gods can be Atua (Olmeid) or Akua (llopek) It is a soft polytheism which means they worship many gods but often interpret other or outside gods as aspects or other forms of their native gods. That is not to say that they won’t worship outside gods. The big main gods of Olmeid are Llopekai, Ecksigal, Hina-Aerys Foritunihi, Fatyr, Majhilai, Helewyno’e, Volculele, Em monu’uellai, Aguasi, Aerosk, Ipuhuelai, and Maui.

They also believe in nature spirits and a form of animism as with a lot of ancestor worship thrown in for the mix. Aumakua are family spirits that watch over each family household and can take the shape or form of animals. Many people get tattoos signaling their family heritage, deeds, caste, marital status, basically their whole life story. Those without a caste or children do not get tattoos.

Structures: Their buildings are often made of wood with thatched roofs but higher castes have been known to build with stone. Religious buildings are often huge undertakings and built with stone with intricate carvings and detail. Some even take pyramidal like formations.

Government: Ogliarchal/anarchy state. The island is divided up between five wealthy families of the islands. The The Kaʻanāʻanā, Nihomano’ui, the Ilio’da’akua, the Mo’ori eskatl, and The Llamedelos. Adding to these complications are also the various kahunas and temples to the gods that also claim rulership. Politics on Olmeid is very complicated. There does not seem to be anyone currently incharge. The Llamedelos family used to be the largest and most influential family on the island but some ten odd years ago after the volcanic eruption in Milu, they have since struggled to gain back the power they once had. That and two members and leaders of the Llamedelos family disappeared after the volcanic eruption.

People are born into caste systems and are rarely able to marry out of it for it is believed that higher castes have high amounts of Mana which can be dangerous.

Ali’i - Highest form of nobility. These are the kings, queens and princes and princesses. (Ali’i in Olmeid are now all gone, They have all been killed some time ago.)
Kahuna - Ranked at the same height of nobility. These are holy people and mages, shamans and such.
Nobility- the land owning caste, there are few of these since there is not much land in Olmeid Llopek to own.
Commoners- The workers and common folk.
Fa'afafines- Those who are able to transcend gender and caste systems. They are special people that can commit Kappu and get away from it for they are said to be born special. Sometimes they are treated with some suspicion because they are also known tricksters.
Outsiders- Those born from outside of Olmeid Llopek
Slaves- Self explanatory.
Casteless- Those born outside of the caste system. They are often shunned from society and considered bad luck to be around or that their Mana is very dangerous. It is forbidden to associate too much outside of your caste, and absolutely Kappu to marry outside of your caste for that creates a casteless offspring.
The Humans
The Menehune (small hairy like humans that come out at night)
The Manoi’i (Shark people that have their own clans under the oceans. Some can walk on land)
The Manualoha`ii (flightless Parrot and raptor like people, susceptible to becoming seers for they are highly susceptible to Majhilichite fumes)
Mo`oala`ii (Gecko people)
Orcs/oni (Very japanese in culture)
Elves (almost all are slaves at this point and very few remain. Spanish conquistador in culture)
Half elves (Often considered castless and shunned)
It starts when people came to the island although the Olmeid Humans would have you believe that they were the first to inhabit the island but the Mano’i’i very much disagree. According to the Mano’i’i they were the first to come to the island attracted by the warm currents and plentiful coral reefs and made their home there. This is approx 400 BCE to 1085 CE.

Archeological evidence suggests that the ancient Olmeids arrived at the islands approximately 3 thousand years ago. Early on into the development of the culture on the islands, people already started to form complicated caste systems and social hierarchies. One such system is the Kappu system which details social and ecological taboos to avoid or face harsh punishment by the gods. One speculation is that these taboos developed in reaction to living on such a small island since much of the taboos focus on resource gathering and maintenance.

It is suggested that the Olmeidians had an extensive trade network that wrapped around the ocean but at some point the trade disappeared and Olmeid became more focused inward although the Mano’i’i picked up the burden of trading for outside supplies.

At some point the Olmeids developed a complex writing system made up of glyphs on folded papers made from fiber of tree bark. These folded papers are known as Folios and contain much of Olmeids histories, belief systems and astrological catalogs. This enabled them to create a very elaborate belief system and the Kahuna caste thrived because of it. In a short time there was a golden age of discovery in magical and escatological pursuits. In the meantime the Ali’i caste also grew, cementing their power and enforcing social control through brutal human sacrifices. The Olmeidians say that these ancient ancestors called themselves the Maiians. The Maiians also began to use the ore Majhilite to help predict the future.

1085 CE to 1100 CE[/u] It is said that as a result of this, two twin gods came to the land to put an end to the human sacrifices. Llopekai and Helwyno’e were these two gods. One embodied the light and all that is good while the other was selfish and hateful. They were both described as very fair skinned with strange ears. They came preaching about worshiping the light and doing away with human sacrifice as well as enforcing monogamy on humans, who at the time were polymarital. There was enough of a following that it threatened the Nobility’s status. At some point Llopekai stepped in as a human sacrifice, declaring that all human sacrifices should be paid for at this point for his blood is said to run eternally. Helwyno on the other hand grew enraged at his brother's death and stole a ship with a few dissenters. It is said that he placed a curse on Olmeid to face destruction when he came back. A new cult was formed around these two gods, both sides of the cult worshiped the god of light and the god of darkness, claiming there will be an end of times and judgment of “wrong doers”

1210 CE Large ships arrive to the islands from far away, on the east side. At first these elven visitors were welcomed as gods or powerful warriors from the realms of light and darkness. Over time though, diseases were introduced to the main population and the Ali’i were forced to destroy the kappu system in order to allow settlements there. These people were elves from a distant empire that decided to try and help the Olmeidians modernize but in doing so accidentally destroyed their entire way of life. At some point the Ali’i grew tired of these visitors and raised an army to throw them out. This was the start of many wars that the Olmeidians could not compete with. Many of these battles were heavy losses on the Olmeid side.

1230-1250 CE The elves won the war and the Ali’i were forced into hiding. The colonizers would then completely overhaul the island to shape the culture in their image. Belief in the other gods were banned, writings of the Maiians were burned or destroyed, and many of the Olmeids were enslaved. Population declined on the island heavily.

1245-1260 CE Many other travelers and races arrived on the island to trade, one other empire of orcs began to support the Ali’i and train the warriors, providing them better weapons to stand up to the elven overlords. For this reason, Olmeidians are more friendly towards orcs and half orcs.

1261- 1300 CE Many rebellions were led against the elves and each one stamped down, but over time through attrition, the elves began to pull out of Olmeid and although the empire of orcs were gearing up to get ready to swoop in and take over the island for themselves, the two empires eventually got into a costly war with each other. As well as news of Olmeids rebellion inspired other colonies of the two empires to rebel as well. Olmeid was eventually left alone although the costs and scars of war across the island were very heavy. Majhilichite mines were destroyed, leaking the noxious ore into the waters, slowly poisoning many of the natives and wildlife. The Ali’i caste was all but destroyed leaving a power vacuum for the nobility to fill in. Eventually five families took control over most of the land on the island. Culture began to break down, there was little trust in governance and authority. The economy even collapsed as gold, silver and precious metals became rare and new currency was introduced. Most people turned to a life of crime until the five families decided to organize the crime. Trade with the outside world has all but stopped.

The five families are the Llamedelos, Kaʻanāʻanā, Nihomano’ui, Ilio’da’akua, and the Mo’ori eskatl

1300 CE- 1400 Llamedelos family began to dominate the other families in politics, The large family known for its ruthlessness towards their own family members grew and consolidated power during this time until the death of Saruo Llamedelos. From there the brothers turned on each other for the next forty years to gain power, eventually ending in Saruo Llamedelos II,( also known as Gadd) his grandson came to power until a dragon attack happened in Olmeid from a far distant land called Urraim. Gadd’s uncle Ecksel Llamedelos, a long time black sheep of the family, used this moment of weakness and opportunity to seize power in Olmeid where he decided to reopen trade routes with the Orc empire, and tried to establish a peace with Urraim but it failed spectacularly.

1405 CE The Orc empire decided to betray Ecksel and bring in its forces to capture Olmeid, forcing the Llamedelos family to flee. The volcano also erupts as they were fleeing. The Orc empire pulls out, figuring the island is destroyed and the island moves once again.

Current time is ten years later, so 1405, the island has moved yet again this time far from any potential invaders. People have slowly begun to rebuild, the families are still at each other's throats but now there seems to be less stars and there is no outside trade. The island is isolated. Many things have changed including the acceptance of homosexuality and more wiggle room for gender roles. There has also been a concentrated effort on rebuilding family and social networks.

The islands of Olmeid have an established religion, though the religion itself does not have a name. The islanders have never thought of naming it, for the longest time, they never really had to. Most of their lore has been preserved through songs, and storytelling, mostly done by Temple priests. There is even a strong connection between music, dance and the religion itself. Many of the names and holidays oddly don’t follow polynesian belief or naming and it is theorized this is because of outside cultural influence from the time that the religion of the Atua was banned.

Llopekai: God of goodness, and perfection.
Element: Light.
Fact: This pale pointy eared god was said to rise up from the sea and teach humans about goodness, and kindness. With him, humans learned to be monogamous, and ended human sacrifice to the gods. Llopekai offered himself in sacrifice instead of humans, claiming that because he was a god, his blood would outlast any mortal's blood.
Sacred animal: None. There is a sacred flower however, the plumeria.
Offerings to God: Plumerias strung together in a lei and incense
Holiday: Llopekai's Challenge; A week where many events are held, often to show off the abilities of mortals as if to say, you spilled your blood for good reasons. Everyone must perform a 'good deed' before the week is up, otherwise it is said you are a demonic being and are often shunned from society. Starts December 13th.

Ecksigal: Androgynous deity of Secrets, night and thieves.
Element: None
Fact: Ecksigal appears to have Bat like ears upon their head. The deity appears as the same gender to whomever encounters it. Offerings are made during full moons. Ecksigals' sibling is Ipuhuelai, who was tricked into carrying extra light and doing double the work in the day time by Ecksigal.
Sacred animal: The bat
Offerings: Ear/lips of creatures to honor the secrets that the animals have kept.
Holiday: Ecksigal'not. Night where locals burn a large sculpture or pyre built up of twigs, small trees, and foliage. For a week they gather anonymous letters of secrets and burn those as a way of cleansing themselves of the old year. January 2nd.

Hina-Aerys Foritunihi: Goddess of chance/luck, chaos and fortune.
Element: Chaos
Fact: This goddess is said to play games with the god of Fate, often trying to overthrow the order of the world. Her pawns are various mortals. It has been said that once she cooperated with Fatyr to curse a group of mortals who sought to overthrow chaos and order so that they could control the land. It is bad luck to say her name. Sometimes she will bestow an unlucky mortal as being her champion where chaos and disorder will follow that mortal for their entire life, but will have an interesting life unknowingly serving the goddess.
Sacred Animal: The butterfly
Offerings: Dice, coins,
Holiday: Fortunihii's Favorites; A day dedicated to determining how much Fortuni likes you. It is often held with plenty of money in hand, often saving it up to try and be in the eyes of the goddess. The others who weren't so lucky must now hide their remaining coins. The children will then commence to see who is favored by hunting for the coins, then keep the coins they find. May 22nd.

Fatyr: God of fate, order, and death.
Element: Order
Fact: Fatyr has eight arms and was the first god to be born. He weaves strings to keep order in the world and to control the fates of mortals like how a spider weaves a web. When strings tangle, there is trouble or usually death. Because he finds humans so troublesome and chaotic he works to end all life in the manner of setting up games and playing against Aerys Fortuni.
Sacred Animal: The Spider
Offerings: Bracelets, to show that the people can keep order, often made of tweed, string or beads.
Holiday: Fatyr's grah. A week long holiday where people dress in all black and do not speak for this is the only time that Fatyr sleeps. This allows the dead to wake up and attempt to sneak home: Should someone speak, he may wake up. On the seventh day people celebrate with food, music and memories of the deceased, even holding parties at graveyards. Second week of november (varies. Always begins on a sunday and ends on a saturday.)

Majhilai: Goddess of wisdom, magic, and music
Element: Time
Fact: Majhilai was the goddess that taught humans how to weave magic. Her tears are said to create Majhilichite (a magical ore found near volcanic vents of Olmeid.) which she cries due to the suffering of humans as Voculele is said to have taken one of her lovers away from her out of jealousy. Majhilai is the most helpful to humans and tries to show them how to manipulate the weavings of Fatyr to avoid the terrible fates that he leads them to. Most mages worship her.
Sacred Animal: The Iwi. (A bright red colored honeycreeper)
Offerings: Aged wine, Machilichite, Honey
Holiday: Majhilai's Contribution; A day where there is plenty of music and dancing, some performances of magic, and plenty of story-telling take place to honor the goddess and her attributes. March 12th.

Helewyno’e: God of evil and darkness and the underworld.
Element: Darkness
Fact: This pointy eared god is brother to Llopekai and left when his brother sacrificed himself vowing to return to the world and bring ruin. It is widely believed that he lived far under the sea, under the ground and devours and tortures the souls of the wicked, eventually turning them into demons to do his bidding.
Sacred Animal: The pig
Offerings: None
Holiday: Helewyno's Feast; Day where the people throw their most valued possession or a facsimile of said possession into the sea in the hopes of gaining his acceptance. Afterwards, they celebrate by having a great feast. The next day they must all wash themselves several times by the ocean, so that they may cleanse their souls. August 18.

Volculele: Goddess of the volcanoes, fire and sledding. Also known as Pele.
Element: Fire
Fact: Volcule takes the form of a serpent or of a beautiful woman with a bad temper. The most active of the gods, she often disguises herself and walks among mortals. She has been known to take in humans as husbands, many however would meet terrible luck or fates. She tends to take on many mortal lovers but none of them have a good fate.
Sacred animal: The snake
Offerings: Jewels, jewelry and food.
Holiday: Volcule's Poultice; A day where the people perform several dances and offer sacrifices to the goddess. All the while they cover their bodies in calming poultices and creams so that they may soothe Volcule's temper. July 17th.

Em monu uellai: Goddess of the earth and fertility, life
Element: Earth
Fact: She is the mother of all creatures on Olmeid. Literally and figuratively. She is Vocule's younger sister and was hatched from an egg in Vocule's warm arms. She then gave birth to three eggs, one hatched into all animals of the sea and air, the next all animals of the land including humans and the last were all the plants.
Sacred animal: The owl
Offerings: Colored stones/shells, to show you appreciate the beauty and nature of Em monu uella Sometimes youths will bring apples to offer, a forbidden love, repressed desires and sweet temptations, in the hopes that the goddess will respond and bring them together.
Holiday: Em monu uella'as - Day of Em monu uella. Basically your Easter and Valentines Day wrapped into one. A day to celebrate the end of the dry season, colors, and fertility of the land. Usually on this day, lovers will trade gifts; friends will trade flowers and fruit. Weddings are often held on this day. People wear white and tan on this day for at the end of the day, dyes and pigments are thrown at each other. April 10th.

Aguasi: God of the sea and merchants, and pirates
Element: water
Fact: He was a conceited god who loved to see his own reflection. Out of spite for his selfishness, the other gods denied him access to land and condemned others to look at him and only see their own reflection. Merchant relation would be greed, the want for self-improvement and gain. The Moa or shark people of the islands claim the god to be shark shaped.
Sacred animal: Clam, for it must keep its pearl within.* (Llopek island) Or the Turtle. (Olmeid Island)
Offerings: Pearls, clam shells, shell jewelry, masks
Holiday: Aguasi's Punishment; Holiday in which masks are worn in order to conceal everyone's face, the masks would be worn in Aguasi's likeness and are not to be taken off, those that do are said to suffer from severe ugliness. June. 12.

Aerosk: God of storms, sailors, the sky
Element: Air
Fact: The god that often despises the lives of mortals and is easily angered. Living in the heavens, when he is angry he casts his storms upon the people to take out his anger, often for their mistakes. At one time he embraced Em monu uellai so tightly that people were squashed and had to walk with their backs hunched over. It was Maui who raised the sky by beating up Aerosk and keeping him from embracing mother earth so tightly.
Sacred animal: Greater Frigate or Iwa. An aggressive bird known to bully others into giving up their food.
Offerings: Jade, Drums (sound of thunder), Fish, anything to make him happy.
Holiday: A day that the people celebrate by giving all sorts of gifts to others, regardless of status between them. They celebrate having survived Aerosk's wrath and good health. Nov 28th

Ipuhuelai: God/goddess of the sun and day
Element: None
Fact: twin sibling of Eckskigal. They are chased across the sky everyday by the night. Ipu was said to have stolen a secret of Ecksigal and so he/she chases him across the sky every day. Ipuhuelai was said to once have many legs and was the fastest of all the gods, however a fight with Maui who removed all their legs forced the sun deity to slow down and extend the day to be longer.
Sacred animal: The tern
Offerings: Every day before sun down, there is a small prayer-song offered, sometimes Hibiscus flowers are offered instead.
holiday: None, but the seventh day of every week is taken off as a break. Shops shut down and no work is performed on that day.

Maui: shape shifting god, son of Em monu uellai and tossed to the sea after being thought to be still birthed. Maui grew up under aguasi’s home but eventually ran away to majilichai’s place where he learned how to shapeshift and care for humanity. He died trying to crawl back into his mothers vagina when she slept in order to be reborn again and gain immortality for all of humanity.