KINTOK (KIN-TOCK)
Kintok
Population: humans (variant). Humans born here have gray or white hair and polydactyly in hands and feet (six fingers/toes)
Overview
The expansive country that takes up half of Lain-Lethor's northern portion, KINTOK (Kintok) is a country of snow and deep religion. Its once-shining cities lie in disrepair, and its people live in fear of the Five-Point Authority. Rocky mountains and cold, flat expanses are the hallmarks of Kintok's geography. The majority of the country to the north is locked in a perpetual winter. This has resulted in the development of strong, hearty attitude in its people, as well as a possible reason for their collective reliance upon religion.History
Kintok was once the powerful seat of the Dark Court before the takeover of the Five-Point Authority. An ancient lineage of STERSI and STERSIS (emperor and empresses) ruled from ∩OSPON (Xospon, the City of 10,000 Corpses). However, it faded to relative obscurity after the fall of the Courts, which happened in large part due to Queen Rya's (formerly STERSIS REIO) betrayal of her country to join Lord Alamaeus. Internal riots and the absence of a STERSI resulted in the breakdown of the country's economy, and things once commonly available like medical care and public transportation all but disappeared. In the current age, a shadow regime led by TERISTERSI (emperor-in-waiting) TMITRI KE›ESTOK (Dmitri Kevestok) has begun gathering strength in order to defeat the Five-Point Authority and restore ∩ospon to its former glory. Their forces are mounting in the new capital, ITEPSI (Itepsi, the Western Maw). This regime, with secret allies spread across Lain-Lethor, is known as the Kevestok Coalition. The region's forever-winter was said to be a remnant of the ancient Elven Shattering, when one of four elven kings angered a goddess and split the northern regions (then purely Elven) into four areas of locked weather. Over time, most elves moved away from the wintry region, founding the nations of Zampogna, El'Gardel, and Cantiivilan. Those who stayed behind, the Drow, intermingled with the hearty humans who had begun to migrate north. This is a possible explanation for Kintoki humans' white hair and polydactyly (extra digit on each hand and foot).Population
Kintok is primarily a human region, though other hearty beings such as Orcs, Goliath, and some Aaracokra are known to live here as well. This is the only native region for Kintoki humans, who are born with white hair and six fingers and toes on each hand and foot. A remnant from ancient Drow ancestry, these adaptations are said to have helped humans survive in the harsh snowy landscape. Other such similar adaptations, such as a stocky frame, white feathers/fur, and additional digits have been seen in races beside humans. There is unjust prejudice against Kintoki subraces, particularly in the Core Lands of Lain-Lethor. Kintoki humans are discriminated against due to political propaganda from the Five-Point Authority, who fear that Queen Rya may one day return to her people if aware of their current plight and treatment under the regime she joined. While most Kintoki are content to stay in the northern regions, those who do wish to travel or who are forced to by circumstance have been known to dye their white hair and sever their sixth finger, hiding the scar under a pair of gloves. The STERSI and the STERSIS (his wife, or the empress) rule Kintok rigidly. However, there is utmost respect for and almost casual love for these rulers. The people of Kintok have not engaged in any rebellion or revolt in 800 years, since the first STERSI took ∩OSPON in a bid to oust corrupt leaders. Since then, the STER (ruling house) has been utterly transparent in its dealings. All decisions made by the STERSI are postponed until he has heard every single subject who wishes to be heard on an issue. The STER is perhaps best known for its strict self-referential law: if any STERSI, STERSIS, or STERSES (children) break a law their citizens must follow, they immediately undertake the death penalty. The one exception to this is the traitorous Queen Rya.Religion
The primary cultural characteristic of Kintok is its unique religion. Kintok religion is known as FIRO∩ (Firoch, literally “shared blood”). Adherents worship PON, death, in the form of the death god PONOROS. While it’s speculated in some scholarly circles that they’re actually worshipping Kelemvor under a different name, PONOROS is a wholly unique god, with some of his origins being traced to a time before the Faerunian pantheon. PONOROS is said to be a great wolf that comes from the mouth of KROP O›EK (the River to Nowhere). It drinks at the river's fount for the long journey to KINTOK. There, it gathers souls who have died and brings them to KROP, or infinity. Their blood slakes the wolf’s thirst for the journey back. Sometimes, especially in more modern days, not many people die, and the wolf remains thirsty. Most homes in KINTOK have a bowl of water at their door. If the wolf cannot slake its thirst before sundown, there may be attacks or even war, so it can quench its thirst with RO∩ (blood). If a family forgets to put out water and are caught, a sacrifice is needed. Water (KRE›ES) is venerated next to life itself. The wolf is a common symbol of both the country and its religion. There have been many theoretical forays into the reason for the monotheistic worship of PONOROS and broader veneration of death found in FIRO∩. Some explain it as a reaction to the naturally harsher climate of Kintok and the prevalence of death-by-exposure, especially in the early years of the eternal winter before the population adapted. To treat death as a hungry animal, in need of sacrifice to appease it, is a way to give suffering and death a purpose. It also displays a sense of inevitability, seen in the inability to tame a wolf, which can offer a sense of acceptance and peace in the face of death. Of course, there are those who speculate that the Great Wolf is a real beast of flesh and blood who comes from the Lands Past the Mist in the north, but no explorer has ever followed the River to Nowhere so long as to find it. The appreciation for the natural order of death has resulted in a shared hatred of artificial life extension by the adherents of FIRO∩. Necromancy, time magic, and any other form of cheating death is considered blasphemous, with users labeled ∩ORIPR (wolf-denier). The taking of one's own life is a controversial issue, with most regions accepting the choice as valid, but some more conservative areas considering it an act of denial (as the wolf did not take you). While this is the case, it also offers a sense of equality between all genders and races (all things must die, and therefore are equal). Beings with a long lifespan, such as elves and centaur, are treated with the same veneration as the tiniest snow mouse.Fauna
Large arctic fauna such as moose, elk, and caribou can be found in Kintok, along with white foxes, martens, and mice. Wolf attacks are rampant in Kintok due to the high wolf population, though the people often take this to mean not enough died that day. Because of this, the sacrifice of sentient beings takes the place of the water or blood bowl in more conservative provinces.Flora
Pine forests and tundra define the plant life of Kintok. Lumber is a common good here, with most houses built of entire logs (though sometimes supplemented with stone from Kintok's mountains). During the brief growing season in the southern regions, flowers such as Snowcaps and Winter's Bane can sprout, their white and pink blossoms covering the hills outside of ∩ospon.Natural Resources
Kintok is known for its lumber, furs, carvings, and the red and gray-veined stone (RO∩EKSE›ET, Fleshstone) that comes from its mountains. Because Kintok's borders have been closed since the advent of the Five-Point Authority, Kintok goods are exceptionally rare in most other countries. In Borea-Malun and Collome, they are strictly prohibited. Even so, Kintok-carved staves are known for their immense power as arcane focuses, and Fleshstone is coveted by the wealthy to be used in their halls and manors. The River to Nowhere does provide a strong travel and trade route with both Cantiivilan and the Core Lands, but due to Kintok's isolation, it is rarely used for such things.
| NAME | KINTOK |
| RULER | TMITRI KE›ESTOK |
| CAPITOL | ITEPSI |
| POPULATION | 650,000 |
| ALLEGIANCE | Kevestok Coalition |
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