Kapikami

After the Sundering, the priests of the Kapikami held a huge ceremony of remembrance for all those who died at sea, and whose bodies were not recovered. The main ceremony lasted for a year and a day, and the great temple at the heart of the city was built around the celebrants as they chanted. And ever since, there has always been a priest continuing the rituals in the temple, easing the passage of the souls of the millions who died in the Sundering, and all who have since been lost at sea.

The chiefs of Mahareva trace their ancestry back to a single legendary survivor who, of all the Kapikami at sea when the Sundering struck, had the skill to survive that huge storm. Legends tell how she piloted her little boat through seas churning with waves as high as mountains, and to this day it is said that her descendants are the finest sailors and navigators in all the Broken Lands.

A major religious centre, Maraupoe is the departure point from this world to the next for those of high rank. Once ritually dried and salted, the corpses of great leaders are brought here from the islands far to the south, and sent off on an unmanned sailing ship, for their final voyage to the Paradise of the Kapikamai - where "there are a million islands in emerald seas, and there are no wizards nor gods nor other torments."

After the Sundering a lone survivor from the Order of Silver Light came to Oramatete to demand the obedience of the people. They tore out his tongue and crushed his fingers so that he could no longer work magic, and then the priests cursed him that he might never die; then they tied stones to his feet and cast him into the harbour. It is said that his howls of anguish can still be heard echoing through the waters, five hundred years later. Not coincidentally, Oramatete is the favoured venue for Kapikami chiefs to meet with foreign diplomats.

Parataoti is build around the great Temple of Loss. Each Kapikami male hopes to make pilgrimage to this temple before their wedding day, to petition the gods to permit him a happy marriage, healthy children, and the strength to support them. Foreign visitors may be more interested in the rich market which has sprung up around the temple, as Kapikami petitioners sell their finest handicrafts in order to buy suitable offerings for the temple.