Uati Apai

Uati Apai could be a place of salvation for those who had nothing. Though the city-states of the Ralisu were wealthy, their people were not always so fortunate. When crops failed and trade dried out, or war dragged away anyone deemed able to answer, children were oft left to their devices. Therein lied the sole purpose of the Uati Apai.

Founded by mothers and grandmothers of some of the old, wealthy families in It'ūa, the organization took it to themselves to find and shelter the children left alone and helpless by events beyond them. While established by the grace and support of the matriarch, Uati Apai had to frequently rely on donations from others who wished to aid their cause.

Organization & Resources

As the founding members came from wealth, they had no shortage of contacts to call on for support. Not all saw the wisdom in their actions, but family influence was sometimes enough to turn the heads of the critics. Still the support tended to ebb and flow like the tides over time, and the matriarchs sometimes had to rely on their personal power and treasury to feed everyone under their care.

Food and shelter could be bought and donated, but education was a facet the founders took to themselves. Having grown up with high expectations and the most demanding of teachers, they taught the children religion and language, etiquette and writing, and all else any noble was expected to know in their dreams.

"Uati Apai. I wish there had been a place like that when I was growing up. I hear at first they tried to house the children in their homes. But their families called it a 'frivolous pursuit' and 'a waste' of their rooms and food. Said an orphan with none of that ancestral grayblood—whatever that is—could never be raised the same as one of their own. Ha! And they say these ralisu are too far removed from our own so-called betters."

"You know, there are stories of children whose parents left them on the streets, telling them they were orphans now. 'Times are rough', they said. 'Uati Apai takes care of you, now'. Has to be a special kind of torture, that. There are people who'll deny it happens, but I saw it with my own eyes. Still, I wish it had been the drink playing tricks on an old man."

"I don't know if they manage to keep that place alive. Times are getting more interesting by the day. Every summer gets colder and crops fail one after another where they used to thrive. The world is losing it's mind, and the Uati Apai are a lone island in a storm. I don't know if they'll try and face the tides on their own, or if this is all just a way to spend time, a passing breeze before they grow bored. But I'd like to live in hope. And maybe leave some of the grain at their doorstep rather than selling it."