Drefu (ˈdɾe.fu)

"They have chosen their least inviting location to send foreigners - I presume to give them little reason to stay."

— Izar Ibarzabal

Drefu is an island in the Nûrîka group in the Southern Region. It has been designated by the Sarru of Nûrikan as the location where all foreign trade will occur, and any ships from beyond Nûrîka are required to dock at Tawakina, on the southern shore. The town sits on a shallow and rocky beach, requiring the ships to anchor nearly a mile from the shore and row in on small boats. While the rest of the island is quite beautiful, Tawakina is surrounded by low cliffs that prevent visitors from seeing much of the interior, and the Xapeta regard it as the least attractive spot in the entire archipelago.

Anyone who does manage to visit the rest of the island will find low rolling hills covered in tropical rainforest, with many beautiful beaches and secluded bays. There are rumors of smugglers who meet clandestinely with outsiders in some of these locations, but nobody really believes that is true.

Notable Spirits

The god of Drefu is known as Hnaenö, and he is a major figure in Xapeta folklore. Long ago, Hnaenö was hatched from an egg that floated upon the waves. Where the egg came from nobody knew, and the young hatchling sailed in the eggshell for three days and three nights before being found by the Xapeta. In those days, they lived on their boats, having found no land that would welcome them. They adopted Hnaenö and brought the child aboard. When they asked how long Hnaenö had floated in their eggshell, the hatchling replied that the sun had risen three times since the world began. This astounded them, since Hnaenö was the size and had the bearing of a six-year old, and the egg had been too large for any Kikipua to have laid. But they did not consider abandoning the strange child, and Hnaenö became one of them from that day forward.

When Hnaenö had grown another three days older, they asked the Xapeta where they were sailing to. The Xapeta replied that they had no place to sail to, and were searching for a place they could land and rest. Hnaenö looked over the side of the boat and pointed towards the seafloor. Why cannot you rest there? they asked. We cannot, the Xapeta replied; We would drown should we land upon the bottom of the sea. Hnaenö considered this, and then asked for a length of rope and a strong hook. Taking these, they dove into the water, and planted the hook in the rock at the bottom. Then Hnaenö swam back to the boat, dragging the rocks higher and higher until an island emerged from the sea. Here, said Hnaenö, now you can land and rest. That island they named Drefu, the risen land. They climbed its hills and and marveled at what Hnaenö had pulled from the sea. Only later did they find that they were close to the other islands of Nûrîka, and when Hnaenö realized how close they were to such a larger island, they nearly drove Drefu back into the ocean in irritation. But the Xapeta convinced Hnaenö not to destroy the risen land, and Hnaenö agreed. They would go on to have many adventures afterwards, but always returned home to Drefu. When the time came for Hnaenö to die, the Xapeta buried their body in the heart of the island, and Hnaenö's vast spirit grew to fill every stone. They remain there today, dreaming of the ages when heroes sail the sea - both those in the past, and those yet to come.

Geography

Drefu is the second largest island in Nûrîka, and is the southernmost of the main islands. It is an irregularly shaped island, with two major sections, one to the north and the other to the south. The Xapeta call these the island's northern and southern wings, as they claim the island is shaped like a bat in flight. Drefu is about thirty-five miles long from northeast to southwest, and is fifteen miles across at its widest point.

The island is almost entirely flat, with only a few low hills in the southern portion. Much of the island's interior is covered in rain forest, and the Xapeta mostly live in villages along the coast. There are several small islands located near Drefu - the largest of these is four square miles in area and is called Tiglath. It has been set aside for Telmun habitation, and the inhabitants are forbidden from landing on Drefu proper.

Type

Island

Location under

Nûrîka

Included Locations

• Tawakina

Owning Organization

Nûrikan

Geographic Details

Location: Southern Region
Latitude: 13.8 degrees North
Longitude: 12 degrees West
Average Elevation: 52 ft
Highest Point: 338 ft
Lowest Point: 0 ft
Area: 466 sq mi

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