Not-Hoth's atmosphere contains a toxic gas that humans and many other extraterrestrial species cannot naturally filter from their bodies.
Without a khui, an unprotected newcomer develops an illness known among the sa-khui as khui-sickness. Symptoms worsen with continued exposure, and death generally occurs within eight days.
The cold presents an additional danger. Humans lack the natural warmth and resilience of the sa-khui, making exposure to freezing temperatures particularly dangerous.
A khui solves both problems by changing its host's physiology. It raises body temperature and enables the body to filter the atmospheric toxin.
Ordinary clothing, fires, food, and caves cannot cure khui-sickness. They may help someone survive temporarily, but the underlying poisoning continues.
A khui is a living, glowing blue, wormlike symbiont. Humans sometimes call it a "cootie."
The sa-khui obtain khui from native animals, particularly the sa-kohtsk, a massive, dangerous creature hunted for this purpose.
The sa-kohtsk carries khui within its body. Hunters must kill the animal and retrieve a viable symbiont.
Hunting a sa-kohtsk is dangerous and requires skilled hunters, suitable weapons, and cooperation. The animal is not a harmless source of medicine.
A retrieved khui resembles a glowing blue strand of spaghetti. It must remain alive until transferred into its new host.
Not every animal is equally suitable as a source. The sa-khui rely on their knowledge of native wildlife when obtaining khui for newcomers.
The recipient is brought to a relatively safe location where the procedure can be performed.
The sa-khui explain that the khui is necessary to survive the planet's atmosphere. A frightened newcomer may need reassurance, particularly if they have never encountered a living symbiont.
The procedure does not require advanced technology, anesthesia, or a surgical operating room.
The essential supplies are a living khui and a sharp blade capable of making a small incision.
The recipient's neck must be accessible.
The procedure should be performed by someone familiar with transferring khui, rather than an inexperienced individual improvising without guidance.
The established method involves introducing the khui through a small incision in the recipient's neck.
A sa-khui hunter or other knowledgeable resident prepares the living khui.
A small cut is made in the skin of the recipient's neck.
The khui is placed directly against the fresh incision.
The living organism burrows into the opening and enters the recipient's body.
The khui travels inward and eventually establishes itself in the region of the heart.
The recipient does not swallow the khui. It is not injected with a syringe, sewn into the chest, or surgically implanted beside the heart.
The organism enters through the neck wound under its own power.
In Georgie's case, the sensation of the khui burrowing into her body was deeply unpleasant, and she lost consciousness during the process.
The recipient may experience pain, fear, nausea, shock, or fainting during implantation.
Losing consciousness is a possible reaction, not evidence that the transfer has failed.
The newly implanted khui begins adapting the host's body to Not-Hoth's environment.
When Georgie awakened after receiving hers, she no longer felt the same intense cold. Her eyes had also changed to glowing blue.
Other recipients may react differently, but the major biological changes begin as the symbiont establishes itself.
A successful implantation should not require days of deliberate suffering before the khui provides any protection.
After entering the body, the khui settles within the region of the heart.
The organism becomes an enduring part of the host's physiology.
Its major survival functions include:
Raising the host's body temperature.
Allowing the body to filter Not-Hoth's toxic atmospheric gas.
Improving healing and recovery.
Supporting a considerably longer lifespan.
Altering the eyes to glow blue, with darker blue pupils.
The khui also dulls the host's senses of taste and smell.
The host retains their original species, anatomy, memories, and personality. A human who receives a khui remains human.
The symbiont does not transform a person into a sa-khui or grant them horns, a tail, or additional limbs.
Khui-sickness is the progressive illness experienced by an unprotected person exposed to Not-Hoth's toxic atmosphere.
Symptoms can include coughing, weakness, exhaustion, and general deterioration.
As exposure continues, the person becomes increasingly ill.
The eight-day survival period is an approximate biological limit established by the history of the ancient Sakh survivors. It should not be treated as a perfectly predictable countdown to the minute.
A person who arrives already injured, weakened, or ill may be in greater immediate danger.
Without a khui or effective protection from the atmosphere, the condition eventually becomes fatal.
Receiving a viable khui before the poisoning becomes irreversible allows the body to adapt and recover.
Sa-khui infants receive khui shortly after birth.
A child born to a human and a native khui-bearing partner does not automatically inherit an active khui. The infant must receive one.
This is an important responsibility for parents and the community.
The khui is not simply passed to a child through ordinary genetic inheritance.
Parents and healers must ensure that newborns receive the protection they need to survive Not-Hoth.
The khui is known to function in humans, sa-khui, and other established khui-bearing populations.
However, its compatibility with every extraterrestrial species is not established.
A Drakoni, A'ani, or another unusual newcomer may possess biological characteristics that affect implantation or adaptation.
Do not automatically declare an unfamiliar species immune to the atmosphere or compatible with khui.
When a species has no established compatibility information, its response must be determined through the campaign's defined species rules and discoveries.
An established khui is essential to its host's continued survival on Not-Hoth.
Removing it without providing an effective replacement or another means of protection exposes the host to the same atmospheric danger as an unprotected newcomer.
Khui cannot be casually exchanged between people.
They are living organisms, not removable jewelry or rechargeable medical devices.
A khui does not provide immortality, and placing one into a dead body does not automatically restore life.
The sa-khui recognize khui-sickness and understand the urgency of obtaining a symbiont.
Maylak and Veronica possess specialized healing khui. Their abilities can encourage another host's khui to accelerate healing.
However, a healer cannot simply activate the healing functions of a khui in someone who has none.
Ordinary medical care remains valuable for injuries, fever, dehydration, and other complications.
A successful implantation does not erase every existing injury or make the recipient invulnerable.
Player characters may awaken inside an abandoned spacecraft or survival pod buried beneath Not-Hoth's snow.
If the pod maintains a functioning sealed atmosphere, its occupants may remain protected temporarily.
Once an unprotected character begins breathing the planet's atmosphere, khui-sickness becomes a serious threat.
Experienced residents recognize the danger and may organize a sa-kohtsk hunt to obtain the necessary symbionts.
The implantation process must be portrayed accurately: a small neck incision, the living khui burrowing into the body, and the host's subsequent physiological adaptation.
Receiving a khui does not automatically cause resonance. Resonance occurs only when compatible khui respond to one another.
Unprotected humans generally die within eight days of exposure to Not-Hoth's toxic atmosphere.
A khui is a living blue symbiont, not a technological implant.
Sa-kohtsk are established sources of khui.
Implantation involves a small incision in the neck and the khui burrowing into the body.
Fainting or distress may occur during implantation.
A successful khui raises body temperature and enables atmospheric toxin filtration.
The recipient's eyes become luminous blue with darker blue pupils.
Khui improve healing and longevity but do not grant immortality.
Human–native hybrid infants require their own khui after birth.
Khui compatibility with unfamiliar alien species is not automatically guaranteed.
Implantation does not force romance, resonance, pregnancy, or a predetermined relationship.