The Qué-Nal, or Que-Nal, are a culture of Abanasinian Plainsmen that now live on the island of Schallsea. They are good sailors and all their numerous villages line the shore along Schallsea. The Qué-Nal people typically have dark hair and olive skin. They speak the Plainsfolk Language.
Schallsea lacks metal. The ore in the Barren Hills was mined out long ago. The Qué-Nal makes their art, weapons, and tools from animal bones, stone, and tanned hides. They have secrets for tanning hides that makes metal unnecessary. The Qué-Nal usually dress in buckskin and leathers.
Unlike their Abanasinia cousins, their villages are more permanent. The villages in the north are made of wood and thatch and in the south they are made of stone. Large villages have at least one vessel to travel the New Sea. They will travel as far as Sanction for trade. Each village has a Spirit Pole. A tradition they learned from the Wemitowuk. Also, usually each household keeps a jar of Waukani on hand.
During the year 416 AC, there were about ten thousand Qué-Nal living on Schallsea.
Age of Might[]
The Qué-Nal lived in a village on the Abanasinia Plains called by the same name: Qué-Nal (Village).
Age of Despair[]
The Qué-Nal lived in Abanasinia with the other Abanasinian Plainsmen tribes. Following the Cataclysm, the New Sea formed and the Qué-Nal began to reverently worship The Blue Phoenix (Habbakuk) and Zebyr Jotun (Zeboim). They worried that without their devotion, the gods would wash away the rest of the land. They went on a crusade to force the other tribes to worship these gods, but the other tribes focused mostly on ancestor worship. The Qué-Shu and Qué-Teh tribes united against the Qué-Nal, and in 182 AC, the Qué-Nal were forced to flee in mass to the New Sea with barely sea worthy ships. They landed where the Port of Schallsea now stands on the island of Schallsea. They found the Wemitowuk there and with their help the Qué-Nal made it through their first winter on Schallsea. Over the years, the Qué-Nal became expert sailors and their religious fanaticism lessened.
War of the Lance[]
In 348 AC, the Blue Dragonarmy invaded Schallsea. The army made their base of operations in the largest Qué-Nal village (at that time) then known as Ke-Tat. They renamed it to Port Schallsea or Port of Schallsea. The dragonarmy enslaved many Qué-Nal into excavating rocks to build their new fortress. Any that were uncooperative they massacred by tying them to boulders and dropping them into the bay. Qué-Nal fought the Blue Dragonarmy with the help of a shaman named Shirlinn. The Dragon Highlord Kartilann was killed and in grief Skie killed hundreds of Qué-Nal and Wemitowuk. After the war, Qué-Nal abandoned the area around the Port of Schallsea. They believed the bay to be haunted by the spirits of the men, women, and children murdered there.
Age of Mortals[]
In 391 AC, Goldmoon, a Qué-Shu, came to Schallsea to build her Citadel of Light. This caused a divide in the tribe. The shamans, led by Shadowwalker, believed that the Citadel's teachings were against the gods and began working against the Mystics immediately. After talking with the Citadel's representative, Iryl Songbrook, Chief Skydancer believed that the Citadel could be good for his people and that they only wanted to dwell peacefully on the island. He even ceded the land of the Port of Schallsea and the Bay of Schallsea to the Citadel.
Unfortunately, the increased pilgrim traffic across their land fueled Shadowwalker and his followers' hatred of the Citadel. In 392 AC, Shadowwalker and the Qué-Nal that followed him allied with the dark mystic Gair Graymist and attacked the building site of the Citadel. They were stopped by Goldmoon's followers, Solamnic Knights, and Qué-Nal loyal to Chief Skydancer.
Over the years to come, Shadowwalker continued to preach against the Citadel of Light. Saying that those that follow the Citadel have turned their back on the gods and the spirits of the Qué-Nal ancestors were very angry about their presence on Schallsea. A few shamans doubted this and tried to communicate with their ancestors. One man communicated with his dead wife. He told his people that his wife assured him that the Qué-Nal ancestors had no problem with the Citadel being on Schallsea. In fact many ancestors believed that the Citadel would help benefit the future of the Qué-Nal. Shadowwalker and his three closest allied shamans claimed to have communicated with dead chieftains and shamans and they are all angry about the Citadel. They attempted to discredit the man that spoke against him and forced him to find refuge in the Citadel of Light. Some young Qué-Nal fueled by Shadowwalker would still commence in attacks against on their journeys to and from the Citadel.
In 416 AC, Shadowwalker and his followers allied themselves with some Dark Knights. The knights, along with Shadowwalker and his followers, helped kidnap Princess Mercidith Redic and Skywalker's daughter, Rainsong. This action forced Skydancer to declare his allegiance to the Citadel. A group of adventurers later recovered Mercy and Rainsong. Following this Chief Skydancer and the Council of Elders exiled Shadowwalker and those that follow him from the tribe and from Schallsea.
Leadership[]
The Chieftain of the Qué-Nal leads over all the Qué-Nal and their villages. There is a Council of Elders of the Qué-Nal which helps the chief in important decisions like exiling a tribe member. There is also a Chief Shaman that oversees the spiritual needs of their people and the other shamans.
Religion[]
The Qué-Nal religion focuses on worshiping their ancestors, but mostly on a few Gods. Following the Cataclysm, their primary gods were The Blue Phoenix (Habbakuk) and Zebyr Jotun (Zeboim).
Burial[]
Unlike their Abanasinian cousins, the Qué-Nal do not make stone-walled burial chambers for their dead. They bury them in mounds in the earth that are decorated with stone mosaics and intricate carvings. Fishermen's mounds are also decorated with shells and nets. Hunters' mounds have arrowheads. Warrior mounds have daggers thrust into the mounds. A Qué-Nal Burial Ground can be found north of the Citadel of Light beyond the Lake o' Swords.
Qué-Nal Villages[]
Ke-Tat - Now known as Port of Schallsea.
Kree-ku[]
Qué-Ash[]
Qué-Fallan[]
Qué-Hep[]
Qué-Jotun[]
Qué-La[]
Qué-Mont[]
Qué-Nal[]
Qué-Pek[]
Qué-Tepeht[]
Qué-Theh[]
An unnamed Qué-Nal village was near Castle Vila. It is abandoned now.
Kender Tales[]
One source stated that the Qué-Nal began to worship false gods of the sea after the Cataclysm. This contradicts all other sources and this one mention is even contradicted in the same source.
Another source stated that the Qué-Nal worshiped Zebyr Jotun before the Cataclysm. They then shifted from worshiping the goddess to ancestor worship with the other Abanasinian tribes, but kept many of their dark traditions. It was these traditions that lead other tribes to believe that they still worshiped her. This contradicts other sources and seems unlikely because the forming of the New Sea is what these sources state as one of the tribe's reasoning for turning to Habbakuk and Zeboim and embracing the sea.
References[]
- Citadel of Light, 'Book 1' p. 7, 12-17, 26, 49-50
- Citadel of Light, 'Book 2' p. 41, 74-77, 88-89
- Dragonlance Campaign Setting p. 170
- Holy Orders of the Stars (Sourcebook) p. 16
- Tasslehoff's Map Pouch: Legends The Continent of Ansalon map
- The Silver Stair p. 74-75, 117-118, 120-121, 137, 141, 255-259, 281, 294
- War of the Lance (Sourcebook) p. 6, 130-131