Looks like the birds have it. Very well, then..
Thousands of years ago, it is said that this land was very different. The people were split into many dozens of tribes, mages bringing peace to friends and woe to enemies, and the leadership of the gods to direct our actions through times of chaos and bewilderment. It is said that we lived from the mouths of the icy rivers to the north, to the swamps deep in the south, to the lakes in the mountains far, far to the east.
And then things changed.
Hundreds of years ago, the mages had no more mighty powers, and the priestly caste could no more bring the words of the gods to light our path. The safe havens protected from the elements by the spells of the mages were gone, and we had no leadership through the cold seasons and the dry seasons, telling us where to move and when to move. Fighting, while always present, threatened to consume us in pointless combat over the few remaining havens where we could live year round.
But that did not last. One, or several, as it is sometimes told, showed us a better way. He went from place to place, visiting many, talking to the high and the low, spreading the philosophy of unity, and questioning, making it plain that where one may fail alone, many may succeed together, and that only by spreading our knowledge and discoveries could we manage to survive together. It was painful, and it was difficult, and some did not listen, but in the end we made peace, we learned to survive without the spells of the great, and without the orders from the gods. Once again, we lived from the ice rivers to the north, to the marshes of the south, and to the high mountain lakes far to the east. We even made peace with the hunters from across the ocean, and for long years have we traded with them and exchanged goods and ideas. Some of us now live over the ocean, as some of them live in our settlements here.
And then things changed.
Now, we do not live across the width and breadth of this land. We are hunted by the swift runners, with their bows, that come in innumerable numbers across the plain, ever seeking out us in their inexhaustable drive for domination. We now live only along a few places near the ocean, and around the inland brine sea, where we have existed since time immesurable. No longer do the traders arrive each year, with their fine goods and new weapons, and no longer do we harvest the silks and cloths from the plantations in the mountains, with which we build our nets and farm our food.
I'm afraid, we are doomed.. unless we find a new way. All of you are young, and are among our best. In two nights, we will have a great summoning, the likes of which has not been done in centuries, where the whole weight of our people will attempt to reach our gods, and hopefully provide us with some direction in the solving of this crisis. We do not know if it will work, but we must seek out a new way, or else face destruction.