Yþrúka

Yþrúka /ɪ:θruka:/ is a village located in midwestern Kaiqonon in Ela'k Forest, in western Dragonía. Much like the other settlements in that part of the country, the only visitors there are travelers on their way to and from southern Malónat to the west. Few spend more than one night in Yþrúka, as the surrounding woods are believed by many to be haunted.

History

The village's name is derived from Yþrú Kag or Spirit Stone, referring to a large boulder just outside the settlement where nature spirits were given offerings in hopes of ensuring successful hunting, and was a major shrine for Alalaríans in the region millennia ago. As Útel culture and increased focus on ancestor worship supplanted this ancient tradition, the villagers renamed their home Aned Kag or Ancestors' Stone¹ to reflect this change, and since then mentioning or even looking directly at the boulder has become taboo.
Nevertheless, unscrupulous Útels have been known to perform a certain ritual by the boulder in hopes of cursing their enemies, which consists of circumambulating and striking the rock while uttering the person's name. Anyone caught doing this is marked with the glyph for spirit on their forehead and stripped of their clothes before being chased out into the woods, never to be seen again.
Since the exiles have no hopes for receiving proper funerary rites, their ghosts are believed to haunt the surrounding area and often blamed for all sorts of misfortune. Because of this, the people of Yþrúka are known for being vary of venturing into the forest and are particularly afraid of the dark, more so than any other Útels.

---

¹Despite this, most Útels still refer to the village by it's original name amongst themselves, in official documents and within Kaiqonon's Yt-Þarizen.

Type

Village

Owning Organization

Kaiqonon