Wawati
Well, I wish I could say I've seen stranger. We weren't expecting any sort of life when we began to scout Okta-Quinto. Okta-Seko had a few Mechanicals that were still in working order, but most of them are broken down. This lot somehow managed to break down and not even notice. They think they're human. How they haven't noticed the absence of certain biological parts, we'll never know. They're fully convinced they're some native tribe-or some Memoria's idea of a native tribe-from thousands of years ago. According to {name} they were programmed to be part of a museum exhibit. And as far as the Mechanicals in the expedition are concerned they're fully operational with no major glitches, bugs or viruses. They're just insane. I know Mechanicals gain some... odd quirks if they're not reset on occasion, but this one takes the cake.Chief Engineer Baravi's Log, 1892
Naming Traditions
Feminine names
Females of the Tribe are denoted with the denonym "'Mal" at the end of their given name.
Masculine names
Males of the Tribe are denoted with the denonym "'Gul" at the end of their given name.
Culture
Major language groups and dialects
We Speak to trees! The Trees speak to us! Together, We are one forest! They Tell us of Changes in sun, in rain, in ground. In Turn We tell them of creatures, of River, of Edge of Forests. We Speak, and we are One.
"We Speak" He says. I don't think I could call that horrid noise 'speaking.' They face the Forest of Metal and let out this unholy screech that could peel the whitewash off a fence. It almost sounds like a language, if you can communicate meteorological changes in a single noise.
Average technological level
The Wawati have many tools. See this curious orange light? It is warm like the sun, but it can hurt, unlike the sun. And this? Stones that are sharp, we tie to sticks. We use them to hunt, to poke the orange light until it leaps. And this! A Small stream, blocked with rocks. It holds water, that we may use it. The Wawati are ad-vanced.
They're robots. They're *$&#* robots and they think the most clever 'advancement' they have is the spear. That they're still running after all this time is either a testament to the technologial prowess of the Memoria, or sheer dumb luck.
Common Dress code
Wawati use the forest for their cloak. Leaves from tree, make cloak around leg. Vines from ground, make Cloak for head. Bark from bush, make cloak for arms. The Forest Gives our Cloak.
For some reason, authenticity if I had to guess, the 'clothes' of this tribe aren't made from an artificial or durable material. They genuinely pull leaves and vines off the trees to make their clothing. It's rather well made, but then I'm not sure even this lot could do anything sloppily. I'm sure they have to replace their clothes on a regular basis, but it gives them something to do, if nothing else. It's not like they need to hunt...
Funerary and Memorial customs
As far as we can tell they don't have anything in the way of traditional funeral customs; they can't exactly die, after all. The closest that they have come is the 'Spark of Life' they give to their fallen comrades. It was sheer luck that we got to watch it happen in the first place. According to the chieftan it happens very rarely when outsiders visit. The stricken Mechanical is lain on a long, flat wooden surface. A member of the tribe is sent to the river to fetch a 'Spark Snake', which upon inspection is just a rather angry Ekyl being forcibly removed from its habitat. The Mechanical's chest is opened revealing the inner circuitry. THe Ekyl is placed on the chest and, typically enticed by the smell of delicious metals, bites down on the central power unit. The resulting spark is usually enough to bring the Mechanical back to a functional state. The Mechanical afterwards, according to the Chief, must take some time to remember who he is and his role in the village. [Name} Postulates that what is actually happening is the Mechanical, while revived from a dead state, still needs time to properly charge their inner reserves, and may have incurred some data corruption from the sudden jolt through their systems. If these guys got one jolt like this every 500 years, it would explain so much about their current condition.
Common Myths and Legends
Wawati have many tales. There is the tale of Berith'Gul, Who Walked for three days before reaching the End of The World. He Said it was Flat, and cold, and resisted his touch. Then He walked Three Days Home.
There is also the tale of Karip'Mal, Who Sought the Gods to Find the sickness that filled the Trees. The Gods lived in their great clear Hall so that they may look out on the world. They Nodded and Thanked Karip'Mal for telling them of this 'plight'.
Then there is the tale of Gula'Mal, who aided a traveler that fell in our village. She Carried the traveler to the hall of the Gods, the Great Clear Hall that can see the World. The Gods took the traveler into their care and sent Gaula'Mal back to us, to bring word of her travels.
As far as I can tell their 'myths' are old reports and incidents that happened in the village, seen through their rather strange perception of the world. I've got to hand it to the Memoria, they don't do anything halfway.
Barvai's Addendum: After spending a couple days in the camp, one of our Mechanicals started actin' odd. He started wearing leaves similar to those of the Wawati and speaking their language more fluently than ours. It was after he picked up a spear and shouted something in that horrid screeching voice that we dragged him out of the camp and back to Okta-Seko. We shut him down for a bit and he seemed fine when he came back, although he couldn't remember his time in the camp clearly aside from a vague feeling of assimilation, whatever that word means. It was rough enough not being able to bring Mages due to the Fool's Ichor Deposit, but our job's going to be a lot harder if we can't even use Mechanicals.
Encompassed species
Related Locations
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