Kapre

The Kapre live in the largest and most ancient balete trees deep in the jungle and their hair resembles the viney tree’s exterior which helps to hide these big creatures.  Some hide their faces with wooden masks because they fear the Diwata of the jungle and they think by wearing them, they could be mistaken as the Diwata’s many jungle creatures.  Some say Kapres were originally from the mountains until they were banished by the Diwata residing in a volcano and their fiery eyes and red skin are hints of their lineage.  An enraged Kapre could wreak havoc, destroying all in its path.  Fortunately Kapres love to smoke and could be coaxed into leaving caravans alone sometimes for for their favorite tobacco or weed.

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The Kapre live to fight and eat, if they weren’t so busy beating on each other, we would all be turned into meat pulp.

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Kapres find girth attractive and gorge themselves to a healthy weight.

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The Kapre are solitary creatures and they rarely get along with their own kind.  Sometimes though they get work with Tao (human) as mercenaries or laborers, but it’s rare.

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There are a few Kapres who have found peace in the deep jungles and are content to smoke and explore its vast wilderness.

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When the Kapres were banished from their realm long ago they descended upon Tao villages with the ferocity of a tsunami.  None were able to match the Kapre’s strength and the Kapres took all that they wanted.  That was until a woman of the Nagini empire was stopped by a pack of Kapre slavers.  The woman challenged the largest of the Kapres to a fight; if she lost she would become a slave and if she won, the Kapres would let their slaves go and disappear into the boondocks.  At first the Kapres laughed at her and their leader who was the largest even  offered her a first strike at him, feeling generous from being so amused.  The Nagini woman accepted and poked the Kapre leader’s small finger with her dagger.  The Kapre leader laughed, the others laughed, and then the leader collapsed dead.  The Nagni woman pointed at the rest of them and told them that she was a Diwata (spirit) and that they were to be banished to the deepest parts of the jungle, never to return or that they would suffer her wrath.  The pack of Kapres never before seeing poison, ran for their lives to the jungle and the slaves were freed by the Nagini woman.  Two of the slaves were brothers who would later help found the Three Towns.

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The Kapres mainly eat meat and stay in the deepest parts of the jungle.  Their long vine like hair helps to conceal them among the large banyan trees.

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The short haired Kapre are among one of the more aggressive of their kind.  They do not hide like their long haired cousins as they are larger and welcome a good fight.

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Though Kapre encounters are rare there are instances where the roads get too close to the jungle and that’s when stories of legends or tragedies are made.

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Kapres range from 7ft-12ft tall and are powerful adversaries. They are thought of as dim by the Tao who have chanced upon them in the wild, but the ones who do not survive an encounter fail to tell the tale of Elder Kapre who have a developed cunning and are expert trappers of those foolish enough to enter their domain.

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