Watered thunder-rock experiment 1 Thunder-rock in water experiment 2 Respect thunder-rock by returning it 3
Focus on our weave-work. Play around with improving the design while we're at it-- we are a creature of experiment.
(4)You're able to improve both types of sleeping mat a fair amount. Using smaller fibres means that mats take longer to make, but it also means that they're not as bumpy. You've also figured out how to reduce the bumps in general by making sure the fibres are connected quite tightly, but not too tightly, something that also takes longer for a better result. You spend the rest of your winter fulfilling your duty to the tribe by improving the sleeping mat designs and, by the end of the winter, you've given a few of these finished newer designs to some of the greatest contributors to the tribe, including Ealrad. During the grievances section of the winter you also hear some people wondering if you could make proper clothing out of the fibres, like the skins a few members of your tribe wear. Apparently this winter was particularly cold for some reason.
You also notice that the whispers go completely unmentioned for the entire winter. In a way, that's almost weirder than the whispers actually being there. You wonder why no one can hear them now...
(3)When winter is over, you hold another seasonal feast. People seem to enjoy the seasonal feast at the transition from winter to summer a lot more than they like the other feasts, so you've begun focusing your efforts on the feast people like instead. This time people seem more receptive to the idea and a few people do even seem to enjoy the various exciting things they can do, like trying out their aim with a Thwipper or a rock-thrower, but many people were still cautious to take part in the festivities. All in all it did better than the previous feasts, but you're pretty confident that it will still take some time for your people to get used to being active for fun.
Have Ealrad direct the production of a couple more Thwippers. Meanwhile, work on crafting enough simple rock-throwers to arm a substantial number of our warriors, and begin training them to hit distant targets (with regular rocks, for now).
(5)Speaking of the feast, one of the most popular activities was thwipping. To summarise, two or more people were given a Thwipper and were then given various different tasks, from seeing who could thwip a small-spear the furthest to thwipping as many small-spears in as short a time as possible. While only a few people expressed interest in them before the feast, many people enjoyed this and have decided they want to train with the Thwippers to do better at the next feast, giving you the perfect opportunity to train your people with these new weapons! Since he was the one who invented the Thwipper, you've placed Ealrad in charge of Thwipper production and have had one particularly skilled man begin training your people in Thwipper use.
Meanwhile, you personally begin directing rock-thrower production. While you definitely see the usefulness of Thwippers as fulfilling your previous requirements, rock-throwers are able to shatter bones and even rocks if flung hard enough. While training people in the use of the rock-throwers, you also find that there a few different ways of using the rock-throwers. Other than simply whirling it around your head or at your side, a few people try whirling it in specific patterns. While these patterns are generally just attempts at showing off and nearly all fail, a few people discover that they have an easier time whirling it around in a certain way. You've also realised that another difference between the Thwipper and the rock-thrower is that the rock-thrower requires more strength and movement and is just not very stealthy in general while the Thwipper is simple to use and near instantly looses a small-spear at it's target. You have a feeling that both of these weapons will be important, just in different ways. Perhaps the Thwipper is better of as a surprise weapon while the rock-thrower will be good as... well, a weapon.
Having learned that the stone spirits are enemies of Fire, perhaps we can learn their reactions to other elements. Start with water, in various modes of activity: still, flowing, and raining. This should be interesting, as water is also an enemy of fire.
Meanwhile show our respect for the stone weakened in the fire mistake by returning it to rest in the cave from where it came. Give it a 'burial' of sorts.
Obtain a long stick, soak it in river-water, and tie a thunder-rock to its far end. Return to the site of the fire ritual and plant a light-stick into the earth. Deliver the thunder-rock towards the flame, standing as far back as permitted by the long stick. Observe at which point the fire begins to change as the thunder-rock approaches; do the two vessels need to touch for the spirits to initiate their combat, or do they perhaps aggress preemptively? How do the fire spirits behave with the rock at their border, as opposed to the central position held in the last experiment? Does the battle end if the thunder-rock is hastily withdrawn?
(5)Having figured out the thunder-rock response to fire, you decide to further experiment with it. You search around and, eventually, find a very long stick that's able to hold the weight of the thunder-rock at it's end without breaking, though it does bend a bit. You return to the rather charred sight of the first experiment and try to plant a light-stick into the rock, only to realise that's not going to work. You search around and eventually find a little bit of a crack which you're just about able to jam the light-stick into and walk as far away as the long stick will let you. With the light-stick's fight lit, you slowly move the thunder-rock towards the fire. The reaction begins when the edge of the flame touches the thunder-rock, at which point the flame begins rolling away and then back again in a strange rippling motion. You hold the stick still and watch as the fire begins to ripple more and more violently despite you holding the rock still, until it eventually ripples too far away and simply ceases to exist. You're pretty sure this is the whole force thing coming into play, as the fire spirits hit the thunder rock more violently each time it returned but kept getting repulsed by the spirits in the thunder-rock.
You then hold the stick in the nearby stream's water. Naturally it won't do anything, because it is impossible for a spirit to be aligned against opposite spirits, but it's good to test an-
The water violently explodes away from the rock and you fall over backwards, surprised. The thunder-rock topples to the ground next to you and everything around you is absolutely drenched in water, including you. However ,you don't care about that, and are instead focused entirely on the rock lying next to you because of the significance of what it just did. According to the shamans, the spirit world is made up of opposites and neutrals - fire against water, heat against cold, predator against prey, these are all examples of oppositely aligned spirits. The neutral spirits are simply spirits that don't necessarily have an opposite except in certain conditions, with prosperity, humans and air being good examples of neutral spirits. However, it is supposed to be
impossible for any spirit to be aligned
against all other types of spirits. And yet, the thunder-rock spirits have reacted violently to everything that touches them based on force, seemingly disregarding spiritual alignments. But, that disregards the shaman teachings...
Intelligent+
Narrow-Minded Activation: Then the realisation strikes you: There is only one possible solution to this conundrum. There are two main rules in the teachings of the shaman. Firstly, most spirits have an opposite. Secondly, neutral spirits are the exception. All else is based around these two core beliefs... but the latter is wrong. It was created because there simply wasn't any known opposite to neutrality, because there had never been an example that could prove the second rule wrong. It has been a source of argument for so much time, but you have now discovered the truth. The second rule
is wrong, and you have the thunder-rocks as proof! They are the opposite to neutrality - they are violent to all regardless of the circumstances, slowly hurting and then killing all that touches it regardless of spirits.
You return the thunder-rock to it's previous resting place later that day. You don't seen an effect yet, but it's time for the experimentation thunder-rock spirits to rest anyway. They've served you well.
What are you going to do? It is mid-spring and there is one issue of immediate importance: You have discovered proof that there is an opposite to neutral spirits. You have discovered chaos spirits.