Kau Kiek Forest
KAU KIEK FOREST
The forest of tall trees that extend a kilometer above the ground and whose bark varies from blue to purple. Its huge leaves come in different colors, creating a unique visual spectacle. It´s the ancestral home of the Floti, who live here in arboreal communities, building wooden houses on tree trunks, connected by extensive bridges, as well as “protective nets” made of fall-resistant vines (many Flotis prefer to move by gliding from a place to another in the region).
They live in tribal communities where everyone works for the collective, collecting food, water and resources that everyone can enjoy. Its main source of food comes from the cultivation of giganuts, huge chestnuts that reach 30 centimeters in diameter, which sprout from an exotic type of vine that grows by wrapping itself around trees. They have been carefully selected over generations of Flotis to produce ever larger nuts. Due to the risk of fires, fire is prohibited in the tree villages of Kau Kiek. The forges and furnaces are built in skrocks, so that no spark touches the foliage by accident, although they are rare as metallurgy is not a strong feature of the Kau Kiek Flotis culture. This is more due to the almost religious devotion that the Flotis have towards the forest than the real risk of large fires, as the extraordinary vegetation in this place has a resin that makes it resistant to flames. The houses are illuminated with flourishing fungi that are harvested in the region.
Population:
10.000 (90% Floti, 5% Sandon, 5% Phaemon).
Government
Kau Kiek´s government is a council of the old ones, that is, the oldest and wisest Flotis are part of an assembly that discusses political issues and the majority of votes determines which course of action to take for the entire population.
Languages: Tii kik(majority), Common.
Religion: Worship of nature
Import
Manufactured and metallurgy articles, leather, minerals.
Export
Giganuts, flame retardant resin, masterpiece strings. Wood (Flotis have a special technique that produces straight wooden sticks that are cut, keeping the mother tree intact in the process).
Festivals and commemorative dates
Volak – It´s an event without a fixed date on the calendar, which depends on the sporadic occurrence of ascending air currents. When the days start to get very windy, news of the Volak Festival spreads quickly by word of mouth. A circuit of protective nets is then delimited, serving as a route guide from the beginning to the end of the area race disputed between the bravest Flotis, who wish to win glory – or the attention of a suitor. The winner of the race is crowned King or Queen Volak for a day, and takes pride of place at the banquet that takes place after the race ends.
Kalal – An ancient Floti legend tells of the Flying Grandma, an ancient Floti endowed with magical powers and who is capable of flying instead of just gliding. She flies over the good Flotis’ homes during the New Year, leaving the inhabitants’ favorite treats in them. Those who have been selfish and petty receive some random punishment: some cherished object is lost or broken without explanation, or the flourishing fungi go out upon entering the unfortunate home. Many other pranks could be the work of Flying Grandma, who displays enormous creativity to mock those with bad natures.
Altak – The Altak festival brings together the Flotis of Kau Kiek around the tallest tree in the forest, around which they sing songs of respect and devotion to their sacred home. It occurs in the middle of the year.
Maskak – This is a superstitious date for the local people, in which they believe they must make and wear the scariest masks they can and scream towards the ground. Due to the immeasurable height of Kau Kiek’s trees, no one ever descends into the dark area of the ground, which legends say is full of disgusting creatures that crawl in the darkness. The purpose of this holiday is to intimidate the evil spirits of these disgusting beings, so that they remain restricted to the dark area of the ground.
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