While ghouls and gnolls compete for the Singing Wastes’ rocks and sand, the Nekh rule the skies. The Nekh are a matriarchal race of large vultures blessed with intelligence and an extra set of talons, which they use to craft tools and wield sophisticated bone javelins. Eroded effigies of Nekh dot the Singing Waste, giving some credit to their claim that they ruled the land before the Queen Sinister banished the rains. Most outsiders are loath to believe this. Their songs - swelling choruses of croaks, clicks and squawks that shake all but the gnolls and ghouls, are a crucial part of the Singing Wastes’ cacophony.
The Nekh, despite their hideous appearance and appalling hygiene, are not cruel or arbitrary like elves or gnolls. They simply demand tribute from anyone who enters their territory. In their minds, they are scions of an empire that includes everything from the Sea of Typhoons to the Devil’s Fingers and the Tantalus Mountains to the Cornfields. Tribute could include elephants, night cattle or magic items. Those who fail to pay are harried to death then eaten.
Connections
- The Nekh and gnolls congregate twice a year at a strange temple to perform rites that ensure that game comes to these dry lands (14.27).
- The rookeries of the most powerful Nekh tribe are built atop sand-blasted spires near The Breath of the Earth (12.28).
Hooks
- What relationship do the Nekh have with the Singing Waste’s ghouls and gnolls?