The history of Nekenalos is extensive, messy and commonly peppered with misconceptions from those who think they have it figured out, but the brunt of it lies so far in the past that the kavkema of Tarnish have only a mythological understanding of it at most.

To most kavkema of the Tarnish faith, it's clear that a force, creature or incredibly intelligent Nayabaru with the title Karesejat and the name Terenyira decisively contributed to the state of the world today.

It's also reasonably clear that the mythological figure of Tamas̀ˆelu is considered a tangible individual by many kavkema outside of Tarnish and that, should she truly exist, may be responsible for staving off the final extinction of the kavkema, but between Sinukaaj and Silukaaj this is considered a potentially dangerous hope to indulge in. Tarnish does not believe in personal saviours.

(The group of Tarnish faith kavkema from the Tarnish main campaign have since encountered Tamas̀ˆelu and are grappling with that revelation and what it might mean for them.)

Status quo

The Nayabaru and kavkema have long since stopped being in any state resembling a war. The last time there was an open conflict, the Nayabaru decisively won and have systematically hunted the kavkema ever since.

One core philosophical difference between kavkema and Nayabaru is whether death may be inflicted on a thinking creature. To the Nayabaru, murder is the worst evil, well beyond any torture; to the kavkema, a merciful death is preferable to a life of even well-intentioned imprisonment. As such, the two species routinely terrify each other, but the Nayabaru have better resources, and it's more frequent that a kavkem is incarcerated for life than that a Nayabaru dies at the claws of a kavkem.

While there are some kavkema who dare try to oppose the Nayabaru, the general understanding from a kavkem perspective is that they are best avoided and fled from.