Shea'Kem (Cuba) by Kirk Smith History - ( I think most people know what Cuba is like today so i will begin in the year 2001) In June of 2001 the long time dictator of Cuba, Fidel Castro died, the apparent cause of death was old age. The death of Castro was to some people an answer to their prayers and to others the loss of a great man, but regardless of personal opinions of the man they all knew it was trouble. After the announcement of his death riots broke out which were quickly and brutally put down, this violence was just the beginning. Two days later a civil war erupted between no less than four military commanders and their loyal troops, who all thought that they should become the next dictator. The people had other ideas on who should run the country, over fifteen separate (many had the same political goals but refused to work with each other) guerrilla armies were formed in the first few months after Castro's death. So began the bloodiest period in Cuban history, the streets and hills were turned into a combat zone where no one was safe. Two and half million people fled the country for the U.S. and other countries, the mass exodus of 2002 made the earlier ones in the 1980's and 90's seem insignificant. The influx of all these people nearly crushed the economy and resources of Florida in less than a year. In the United Nations assembly the American delegate warned that U.S. troops would be sent to Cuba regardless of whether the U.N. approved or not, so a resolution was quickly passed and implemented by the U.N. to send troops to Cuba and put an end to the civil war. The U.S., France, Russia (a former ally), Mexico, and Sweden (Medical personnel only) landed in Cuba on January 16, 2003 and met armed resistance shortly after arriving. Even with the superiority of soldiers and weapons it took nearly five years of combat before you could safely walk down the street again (or what was left of it), and the cost in lives went far beyond the expectations that anyone had predicted. Not all the of the various guerrilla groups had been totally routed though, most had suffered serious loses but still lurked in the background and began to build up their forces while the country itself began to rebuild. The U.N. forces would remain in Cuba as an occupation force until the rifts came, fighting periodic uprisings. When the rifts exploded and released their mystical energy Atlantis reemerged and caused tidal waves that devastated Cuba, monster and demons poured out of the Bermuda triangle and terrorized the few that survived the ley lines and the tidal waves. Among those who did survive were former guerrillas and U.N. soldiers, as well as civilians who lived inland away from the coast. Former enemies suddenly found themselves as allies against a common enemy(or uncommon enemy, depends on how you look at it). They managed to survive by hiding in the hills and jungles, living the nomadic lifestyle of a guerrilla fighter. Equipment and supplies soon began to run low and the situation even more desperate than before. At the same time some of the surviving children began to show signs that magic and psionics were beginning to manifest themselves, these children would become the next generation of guerrilla warriors. It was this generation who first made allies with non human races and began the blend of guerrilla warfare and magic that their society is today. The first group of DB's they made an alliance with were the Simvan, who have also heavily influenced their society. Intro to the City Today - Nestled in the hills of old Cuba lies the city of Shea'Kem and a few other small villages, most are well hidden and camoflouged from aerial view. This is a conscious tactic to protect their location from monsters and anything else that can fly, and the majority of the town is underground and is reinforced by the secretions (M.D.) of a large alien insect domesticated by the simvan. All the cities have electricity and running water all provided by techno-wizard devices and are pretty comfortable places to live. They have adopted a policy of isolationism, but will accept any member of the races who currently make up the population of their society. All others, who are of an unknown race will have to prove their worth and good will, anyone who is of a race that is considered an enemy will usually be attacked as well as those who consort with them. Their society relies heavily on techno-wizardry, because they have no means to produce conventional items. Those who have no mystical or psionic powers are usually farmer, herders, or craftsman of some type. The only exceptions are those who join a combat clan, and spend their lives searching for and destroying supernatural enemies. Those who do have mystical or psionic power make up the elite class, who have dedicated their lives to protecting or helping their fellow citizens. Most have become either scholars, mystics, techno-wizards, or warriors. Who controls the city - the city is controlled by a council of elders, from all three castes, warrior (Kar'gnarth), scholar (Kar'noul), and the ordinary man and craftsman (kar'gger). - how much they control - they let most things take care of themselves and only step in when they are needed, or something that effect the whole society is concerned. - how they came to power - becoming a member of the council of elders is not easy, first you have to live to a ripe old age, then you have to have a reputation as a wise and caring person. - motivation for it - the council of elders rules because most things (education, skills, lore) are passed down from one generation to the next, and most people figure that you must be pretty smart and wise to have stayed alive as long as they have. The elders also have more experience in most matters and are not as rash, and thoroughly analyze the situation before coming to a conclusion. - levels of secrecy - most things are kept secret from outsiders and those who are suspected of being spies (have had problems over the years with spies from Atlantis) but those who have been here for a while and are trusted can find out just about anything they want. - hidden agendas - refugees from the preserves in Atlantis have informed the council of elders of the situation their. So eight years ago they began to send special operatives to parts of the preserves in order to help train those who want to fight and evacuate those who don't. The operation is very small and only about 1000 people a year are rescued from the preserves, but they have been making progress in training people to fight and currently have around 3000 trained warrior in the preserves fighting the minions of the Splugorth. * the Splugorth do know about this and they actually like the idea as it increases the thrill of the hunt if you have crafty and intelligent prey. They have also been experimenting with techno-wizard m.o.m. devices that use p.p.e. which is converted into i.s.p then used to stimulate areas of the brian responsible for psionic powers, they have been quite successful and have achieved better and more consistant results than normal m.o.m implants.(see TW-M.O.M. Warrior) - what they have done with their power - they try and protect the people from the supernatural monsters, with regular patrols and combat missions preformed by the combat clans. They also try to improve the quality of life for people with the production of techno-wizard devices and a sense of peace and order among all the chaos that surrounds them. - peoples view points on the controller - people in general have no problem with the elders, occasionally the combat clans complain because they believe that they should take a more aggressive stance. - city defenses - are provided by combat clans who are armed with techno-wizard devices, an aggressive attitude, guerrilla warfare skills, and a lot of attitude. -OCC and RCC's of controlling body - can be just about any o.c.c. and r.c.c that is common to the community, there is a great variety of races who make up the society but the most common are human and simvan. -The combat clans - is a general name for them most have names that reflect an attitude or belief held by most of the members of the clan, some however have names that have been passed down for generations such as the "Screaming Eagles" an American pre-rifts infantry division. Most combat clans have between 20-30 members although some have as few a five, and most try to have a range of members from different races and o.c.c.'s which helps the cohesion of the society as a whole and helps the combat clans because they are diversified and have members who can carry out special types of combat operations which contributes to their overall combat effectiveness. Joining a clan is no small step, because once you are a member you will be one for life, you will fight and live with the same people all your life and in all probability you will also die with them. Each member of the clan contributes to the training of a new member, but one member will be the one who gives the new guy most of his training (same o.c.c.). Besides learning combat skills, the person is also required to learn the history, and legends of his particular clan. All of the clans share a common religious belief, which was heavily influenced by the simvan. The greatest honor a warrior can receive is to be killed in combat by his enemies, because afterwards he goes Kar'gnarth aslina (hall of warriors) which is similar to Valhalla in Viking mythology. The funeral of a fallen warrior is a very important occasion, which includes a lot of drinking and eating, and each member of the clan is required to say something, sing a war song, tell a story about the deceased and his skills as a warrior, recite a poem about the guy or something of that nature. These funerals can last for days with long story's being told about the dead guy, after all this is done the members of his clan mix his blood with a homemade alcohol made from goats milk, and prepare the body for the final feast. The final feast is the last part of the ceremony, in which the blood wine is drank and the deceased is consumed by his fellow clansmen. In the case of the body not being retrieved from the field of combat a goat or other animal is used instead. There are 8000 clansmen of varying o.c.c.'s and r.c.c.'s but the most common are wilderness scouts and psi-stalkers - weapons shops - there are none, if you want a weapon or other item you must find a techno-wizard who is willing to make the item for you. Most clans have one or more techno wizard who makes weapons, this individual is highly regarded, and has the status and prestige that weapon smith's had in ancient times. - Rarnok's armor - sell armor made from the m.d. secretions of the giant slan'iito insect domesticated by the simvan. Each suit of armor is custom fit to the buyer and comes in two types, light and heavy, and usually takes only two days to make. Rarnok will also make custom made suits out of m.d.c. animal hides, but you have to provide the material, this type of armor will take much longer to make some times up to a month depending on the specifications. ( see Shea'Kem weapons and equipment for detials). Rarnok will take cash or trade. - Public buildings - The arena - this is a large underground arena capable of holding up to 2000 people, it is only used to settle individual disputes between members of different clans. The two opponents are given their ancient weapon of choice (s.d.c.) and are unarmored, they enter the arena and fight to the death. (if one of the opponents is an m.d.c. being then the elders will try to make the fight as fair as possible, by giving the other warrior armor and a m.d. weapon) - Places for shelter, nourishment, and entertainment - Maria's - is a restaurant which serves traditional Cuban dishes as well as simvan delicacies (don't ask what they are). Sources of food range from modern domesticated animals to over a dozen alien species domesticated by the simvan including dinosaurs, and large insects. Castro's bistro - a small restaurant which caters to mainly humans, prices are a little higher than most, but it is a good place to eat if you want some typical human food. Sarlon's saloon - is the largest bar in town (holds over 300) and serves a variety of alcoholic beverages from the mild to the mind blowing. Prices are pretty good, average 5cr. a drink, but service leaves a little something to be desired. Sarlon's motto is "Service with a Snarl" Balguals - this is another popular bar, it is much smaller than sarlon's, prices are about the same but service is better. Trivanto's hotel - this is the only hotel in Shea'Kem and is usually only used by people visiting from the smaller villages. Rooms are very basic, and cheap 15cr. a day, it is a good place to stay until someone can find a more permanent place, or if your just visiting for a short time. - Odd places - most of the pre-rifts buildings and cities have been destroyed and those that were not are covered by thick jungle and are very hard to find unless you know where to look. There are two small nexus on the island which are constantly monitored for activity by the clans, but other than this Cuba is covered with dense jungle and areas of alien vegetation. On the island of Haiti there is a small splugorth outpost that serves as an off loading point for slaves captured in South America, the slaves are then sent to Atlantis through the pyramid in the center of town. Occasionally the splugorth minions stationed here go to Cuba to "hunt". - Ways in and out - the only way to Shea'Kem is to travel through the jungle, there are a few small to medium sized trails used by merchants and others who need to transport goods from one town to another. This is usually done by caravan, they usually use dogs and horses to transport goods, but some of the simvan use dinosaurs as pack animals. These caravans are usually well guarded but are still attacked by monsters and demons on a regular basis. Anyone traveling through the jungles of Cuba will run into members of a clan patrol sooner or later (probably sooner) who will approach them and say hello, or ambush them depending on what race they are. This can be a very unnerving event, 10-30 well armed soldiers of over a dozen races suddenly appear out of nowhere and surround the characters. Population - 113,000 racial breakdown Human -40% Mutiod human -20% Simvan -25% Lizard men -5% Goblin -2% Orcs -2% Grimbor -1% Wolfen and Kankoran -1% other -4% (this includes a multitude of other races including, those from Atlantis, palladium, and other dimensions or planets, their populations rarely exceed 1000 and some races are only represented by one or two individuals.) *all of the races above except those from the "other" category have been on earth for at least a hundred years, and have been influenced by the ley line energy and produced mutated offspring such as psi-stalkers(or dogboy in the case of the wolfen and kankoran) bursters, mind melters, others have abandoned their traditional ways of life and can be found doing things no one else in their race has ever done (like a techno-wizard orc, a rogue scholar grimbor, a goblin mystic,but these are pretty rare) and around 40% of all the population has some form of minor psionics. education and literacy levels- are pretty high, but most is passed on orally from one generation to the next, most people 70% can read and write at least one language and most can speak at least three or more languages. the most common are spanish,simvan, and gobbley. opinions on giants- enemy dragons-enemy coyle- enemy vampires- enemy splugorth- enemy other supernatural beings- enemy Demons- enemy General technology level- is pretty high but is limited to techno-wizard devices. any techno-wizard device in the rifts book can be found as well as any item on the Shea'Kem equipment list. Relations with other places - none, have a policy of isolationism Plans for future expansion -none ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Return to RIFTS cities]