Kambi

Kambi is a small and lightly inhabited island southeast of the larger island of Bara. Until a few years ago, it belonged to the Bara Karajan and was used only for the hunting of wild goats - the most common creatures on the island, outnumbering the Phaṇin inhabitants by a hundred to one or more. But when the Tagápulo Empire formed an alliance with the Bara Karajan against their enemies, the Kingdom of Tiwu, they purchased the island to use as a military installation. Since then, it has become the center of the Empire's operations within the Mekonggan Archipelago.

The transformation has been rapid and dramatic. The island's inhabitants were conscripted to help construct Imperial facilities, and most were surprised to discover that they now lived within the territory of the Tagápulo Empire. Several chose to relocate to Bara, returning to the domain of the Bara Karajan. Those who remained have had to conform to Imperial laws and standards - a change that has caused no small amount of friction between the locals and the soldiers stationed there.

There have been rumors of agitators proposing an uprising against the Empire, but so far, nothing has come of them. The inhabitants of Kambi are too few in number and largely unarmed, and most understand that to challenge the might of the Empire would end in disaster.

Notable Spirits

The god of Kambi is Kambongra, the spirit of the island's goat population. Unusually for islands in the Great Ring, Kambi's god does not appear to have arisen from the beliefs of any inhabitants most would consider sapient. Instead, it seems that the wild goats of Kambi are themselves capable of imagining and worshipping a god of their own creation. The Phaṇin hunters acknowledge Kambongra's existence but do not worship him - they simply recognize him as the god of the goats.

Kambongra manifests as a giant goat, twice the size of the typical wild specimen, and is known to possess the power of speech. He is often seen among the herds, and when he is present, he protects the nearby goats from hunters. However, the Phaṇin have discovered that the god is easily distracted, and have developed a practice of staking a female goat in heat near herds where Kambongra is sighted. He will invariably go to her, allowing the hunters to take their prey while the god's attention is elsewhere.

Since the arrival of the Tagápulo Empire, matters have grown more complicated. Imperial policy dictates that when occupying a new territory, soldiers are to adopt the worship of the local gods in order to secure their favor - a tactic that usually succeeds, since the beliefs of worshippers can gradually alter a god's nature. But when they came to Kambi, the Tagápulo found themselves unsure how to proceed with a deity born of goats. In the end, they chose to adapt existing rituals used elsewhere in the Empire for rural or nature gods, following the standard protocols for settlement in lands under divine patronage.

Kambongra has found this entire process bewildering and seems to be growing more human-like with each passing year. Though he was born from the imaginations of goats, the introduction of human worship has proven to be a powerful transformative force - far stronger than the simple faith of hundreds of goats.