The Chaun Concept Test

tHe cHaun Description: It is a sad truth of nature that the small- est of blossoms often bears the most potent poison, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the case of the chaun, the “Devils of the Wood” of the Eastern rainfor- ests. The chaun appear to be nothing less than wizened, beautiful children, standing three to four feet high. They are slender and muscular, their skin usually a dark chestnut in color. They stiffen their long, smooth hair using the sap of the tolembi tree, molding it into wild crests and dyeing it myriad colors and hues. When they speak to one another, the chaun gesture using their delicate hands, their deep, quickly murmuring voices almost impossible to understand. At least one fingernail on their off hand is usually lacquered to incredible hardness and then dipped in a batch of poison before battle. Little is known of their origins, although some sources claim that they began as the offspring of a village punished by a vengeful forest-spirit. The chaun themselves have no tale of their origin — they believe they have always lived beneath the canopy of the forest, existing in a state of nature. The chaun run and leap through the forest with preternatural quick- ness, sometimes on all fours. They are nomadic, resting in an area only until the food supply has dwindled due to their predations. Both men and women hunt, although the men use spears and the women small bows. All spear tips and arrowheads are dipped in one of the many potent venoms and poisons to be manufactured from the bounty of the forest. The leaders and elders of a tribe use iron and steel weapons. Some- times, these weapons are exchanged for toxic poisons and healing herbs. But more often, such weapons are taken from the bodies of hunters and explorers who made their way too far into the interior. The chaun are especially proud of their teeth, which they sharpen with shards of rock and then shellac with the same chemical they use on their nails, produced from a mixture of boiled leaves and tolembi sap. When the shellac hardens, the teeth are nearly unbreakable. Ac- cording to experienced guides and traders in the region, the bite of a chaun is able to snap bone in two. Typically, a pair of chaun will immobilize a foe’s arms or legs with their teeth, while the others fire arrows and throw spears to finish the victim off. The Devils of the Wood are masters of camouflage and stealthy movement through the jungle. They love to sneak up on bands of travelers unawares, using their poisoned nails and primitive weapons to pick off the members of a group one by one. Although the chaun’s poisons kill quickly and silently, there is a brief moment of searing pain before the victim expires that leaves a rictus of intense agony across the deceased’s face. Once their victims have spotted the chaun, the Devils of the Wood stop hiding and attack en masse — their small size is more than compensated for by their numbers and ferocity, and few beings can stand up to three dozen chaun biting, scratching and maul- ing them at once. Once the victims have fallen, the chaun will usually eat their kills on the spot. While the chaun are usually found only in the deep interior of the forests of the East, the Dynasts of the Realm pay well for specimens to use in gladiatorial games, and the Guild is always interested in samples of the chaun’s healing draughts and toxic poisons. Because of this, many make the dangerous trek into the forests’ interior at great risk to their own lives.