Turn Two: LandscapingOn the northwestern coast, a god wept. His prophet, Lilith Reso, was transformed into a stone - a stone that would regulate the excesses and shortages caused by the geomancers in western Imartu until the day it was destroyed, stolen, or reformed. Close to where the stone fell, the flower Ul'thial sprouted as a testament to Kain's regret. This plant proved to have unexpected powers after the god had woven back into the Essence - for all who tried to pluck it were turned to stone.
Kain, unwittingly with the aid of his brother, channelled the built-up energy into the sea, splitting the land and sea to the north and causing great and terrible floods. By raising the Coastwall, the Mole Clan lands were protected from the worst of the floods.
[15] Rumours abounded about the nature of the flower, from granting immortality to the one who could safely pluck it to containing the very god himself. After over a dozen were turned into stone, though, the would-be champions of the Mole God ceased their efforts. [7+4] Impressed by these powerful acts, the Mole Clan's faith in their deity was renewed and the geomancers that Lilith had trained raised a tall hut around the flower and placed Lilith's Stone upon a smooth stone altar within.
[17] The shrine collapsed within a month as the sea washed out the sand from its foundation. The geomancers rebuilt it, with a thick stone base to the bedrock. It collapsed again when a thick wind blew over its walls. The geomancers rebuilt it once more, with walls thicker at the base and wooden poles at the top to hold them and the roof together. The tops of the walls collapsed and the walls fell apart. The geomancers held the walls together with an arch, then two arches, then a dome. At last, the temple held.
The lessons learned from building Lilith's Shrine spread amongst the other geomancers of the tribe, and though the Mole clan continued their migrations for food, they erected stone shelters and defensive houses along their route, providing permanent village shells that they could occupy with ease.
The Mole Clan geomancers develop Masonry, moving them to semi-nomadic status. Geomancy in Western Imartu is now regulated by Lilith's Stone and will not cause excesses. The stone channels excess energy into raising the Coastwall, which over time becomes a long hill. The act splits the tectonic plate below it, changing continental drift for the future. Ul'thial presently accumulates Essence and turns those who try to pluck or damage it into stone.
The excessive energy use this turn drains Kain, who starts with one act less than otherwise. (3 Acts were used.)The eathquake brought about by Dolrael tore the Weasel lands apart, forming a new river and bay. Water flooded the forests with such fury that much was turned into saltwater marsh as a result. [15-4] The Weasel Clan prove resourceful for all the disruption and though the clan is damaged it is not destroyed or shattered apart. [16-1] Many slaves attempt to escape and the surrounding clans try to break free of Weasel slavery to little avail - the slavers recapture or kill them and Weasel dominion resurges once again.
[10] Jilganheim's appearance strikes doubt and confusion into the minds of his people. Did he disapprove of their actions? Should it matter? Was he laughing at just punishment - or just because someone was suffering? The ethos of Jilganheim's followers becomes split three ways; those that believe in vengeance for wrongs, those that believe that Jilganheim laughs at cruelty and will reward those who go to extra length to humiliate their victims and those who believe that nothing matters at all, that whether you do good or evil, punish or satiate yourself, that all life is utterly random and so should one's actions be. The three cults remain small yet influential, [1+4] but infighting between them and the moral dissonances amongst the people weaken faith in Jilganheim overall.
[14+2] Added to this is Dolrael's appearance in their dreams.
"If you return to the land of my people, I will destroy you, for I am the god of Earth and I fear no-one." The layfolk of the Weasel Clan hear this message in their dreams, coinciding with the destruction of their homes and the sinking of their ancestral grounds into bitter marsh. They heed Dolrael's message and stay far from the Bear Clan, sparing them from their slaving raids. More than this, a cult develops worshipping Dolrael not as merely a god of Earth but as a terrible avatar of destruction and might. The bear enters Weasel Clan as a figure that leaves a trail of destruction in its wake, wherever it might tread.
[1+4] The complacency and arrogance of the Bear Clan is beyond words. Saved by their god, they start to believe that there is no point in fearing - their god will save them, whether they worship him or not. Free to enjoy their lands without fear of earthquakes or raiders the Bear Clan expand - but faith in Dolrael and his power dwindles to a mere fairy tale. As time passes, Dolrael's strongest followers remain in the Weasel fanatics of destruction alone.
The Weasel clan survives and persists, but is drastically changed in its outlook - it reaches a tipping point over what to believe in - Destruction, Vengeance, Cruelty or Chaos. Dolrael has the potential to claim the sphere of Destruction. Jilganheim has the potential to claim Vengeance or Cruelty, or to strength the power of Chaos.
The Bear clan prosper and grow, but become faithless in their complacency.The steles in the Etyuki villages are a thing of wonder. [15+2] 'Readings' of them quickly become a part of daily ritual and around them poems and tales of their people, of distant lands and of Orseth, their provider. In time, there is demand for the stories and poems to be left for new generations as the steles are - stones are gathered from the marsh and carved in the same style as the writing on the steles. [17+2] The messages written on the steles influence the culture and upbringings of the Etyuki, who take readily to the endorsements to pragmatism, tolerance and forethought. The Etyuki learn to approach problems with careful thought before action and to accept one another's differences.
Intermarriage between different parts of the clan become common and the various tribal chiefs begin to meet more and more regularly to determine the actions of their kin. In time, these meetings become formalised and regular moots to determine the rulings of the Marshes occur. Under the new tribal Oligarchy, the Etyuki flourish. Semi-permanent villages persist but the four stele villages remain for decades as centres of faith and government and as the sites for the tribal moots. The fishing grounds and fish nurseries grow bigger around these four villages to support the booming population.
The Dwarf Clan develop Writing from the steles, weaving worship of Orseth into their readings. Orseth's following grows accordingly. The steles have an additional, unknown power - they will translate the written words upon them to whatever first language the user speaks, making them a universal translation tool for the future.
Four towns arise around the steles and their chiefs gather regularly at them for moots. A semi-formalised government is created as the Etykui develop Oligarchy. They adopt it as their government, giving them greater social cohesion and better commerce between tribes. The Etyuki take the first step into life as Settlers.Inspired by the annual festivities of the Lizard Clan, barter becomes commonplace in the Eastern Steppe. Traders bring clams and fish from the coast, herbs and furs from the mountains, hide and vegetables from the steppe all gathered at the festival grounds, now a place marked out by several rocks and used each year for the dance of the sun. The Lizard Clan, in whose migration grounds the festival point fell, prospered greatly from this arrangement.
[20+3] Trade links with the Lizard Clan (who had taken to calling themselves the Tokzoku in honour of their god) expanded greatly in the following decades, to the point where the Tokzoku were trading with every clan from the northern cape to the southern coast. Their name was known by all and so were their merchants. So much so that fat as the clan grew, they grew fatter by tributes from those that knew and respected their strength.
[3] Such success came at a price. The merchants who travelled from clan to clan more and more often became attacked by raiders seeking to seize their wares. Though merchants began to travel in groups and with guards, the Tokzoku were woefully unskilled when it came to combat.
The raiders continue to be a problem, but with such good relations the Tokzoku stand to benefit even further if they can deal with them.
The Tokzoku develop Trade. They develop strong trade links with a great many tribes and enjoy tribute as a result, boosting their prosperity immensely to the point where they become Semi-Nomadic. Tokchoko's worship spreads with them.
Raiders become a serious problem in Tokzoku lands and across the Eastern Steppe.[14+3-3] Impressive as the Tokzoku become, the Falcon clan are not intimidated into tribute payments, though their trade links profit them and bring in wares from across the Steppe.
Guided by their deity, the Falcon Clan begin the dangerous but profitable endeavour of Coriolium Sifting, a primitive method of extracting Coriolium. It largely involves gliding into the less turbulent regions of a Coreolis Storm with reed nets sewn with bird feathers. Simply gliding through the storm, Coriolium dust is trapped in the feathers and can be carried back to the islands, dusted off and pressed into wet clay to form little levitation slips. These slips, bound with reeds around the waist, help turn gliding into limited flight. Combined with Aerobatics, this proved to help the clan not only with hunting but also in making the long trips to Tokzoku lands for trade.
The Falcon tribe also learn how to domesticate birds, training them to hunt, to fly to and return from certain locations and to lay eggs for food. Though no way exists to record messages to send between tribes, training different birds for the task allows the tribes to send simple messages; a raven to say that all is well, a sparrow to suggest a meeting, a hawk to suggest an urgent meeting, a crow to warn of war or great trouble and so on.
[1+2] The young falcon who spreads such knowledge pioneers ventures into the Storms for fresh Coriolium, but to an ill fate - he flies too far into the storm and never returns. Stories tell of dark and terrible things in the mist within, but no windrider ever returns to tell the tale. [10] A healthy fear develops of the inner Storm, with some saying that Aeolos failed to protect his prophet whilst others believe the young falcon was punished for transgressions. Faith in Aeolos remains stable.
[13] Though difficult, a stable connection remains between the two disparate parts of the Falcon Clan. For now, they remain unified and their territory expands with them both north and south along the spine of the mountain. The irregular moots between their chiefs provide the basis for a government, but there is insufficient stability for the two sub-clans to unite under a single rule just yet.
The Falcon Clan develop Coriolium Sifting and Avian Domestication, which provide multiple benefits to the clan. Their regions expand and they grow more prosperous, leading to Semi-Nomadic status. Worship of Aeolos stabilises with no great increase or decrease in power.[9+2][3+7] The duel of words and powers between Slask and Promidalchus drives deep wedges into the Wolf Clan. Not only does Promidalchus' display settle within the minds of the onlookers, an apparent challenge to Slask's power shakes the faith of believers.
The chief hated Slask, though he feared him more. He hated the killer of his child. He hated his god. He hated himself and all the world. But he loved his son. He loved his son enough that his hatred had sustained him for over a century. "Yes," he said. "Yes, bring him back!"
At Slask's command, the earth trembled. A tiny hand burst from the soil, then an arm. Struggling and gasping, a child emerged. Dazzled and confused, he reached out for the only figure he recognised - his aged and broken father. The chief, tears streaming openly, rushed to embrace his son. After a hundred years finally, finally he held his only son once more. The moment filled his heart with joy and the rage, the rage that had sustained him through all odds, left him.
The chief died.
His son, sobbing first with joy at the reunion and then with horror and sadness at his father's corpse still clinging to him, was witness to the confrontation between the two beings that appeared in the village commons.
Tomas watched as a child his own age was slain by a terrible, gaunt man, then raised once again by the might of the wolf-beast that had slain him. He knew this creature, Slask, though now it wore the face of a man. He could see that face, and the true face, every time he blinked or shut his eyes. He saw the raised child blinking and wailing, then running for the shade of a hut as the light of the sun began to burn his eyes.
The gaunt man spoke then, terrible words, and the child screamed and lunged at one of the crowd. He tore into the throat of the onlooker and drank the blood, then turned and fled the village into the forests. Tomas remained, devastated by the succession of terrible events that had come to pass.
[15-4] Terrified as the village was of this child, the son of the ancient chief brought back again, the villagers knew that this was an act of Slask. They took him in and gave him his father's hut. They raised Tomas like any other boy and in the fullness of time they would have trained him as a warrior - had fate not intervened.
[10] The body of the slain villager was taken into the forest and left for wild beasts, but when others passed that way again some days later on the hunt, no sign of it was found. Rumours began to circulate amongst the tributary villages of pale-faced men stalking the forests, devouring fruit, nuts, birds and beasts wherever they went, tearing them open and draining the blood.
[17+2] Then came the day the creatures struck a village. They came at night, always at night, striking silently with spears or brazenly with torches and axes, in packs of twenty or more. Men, women, children, all grey faced and ravenous, they slaughter the entire village save a couple of survivors who flee in time. When scouting parties return to the village later they discover the food stores torn apart and utterly devoured, the bodies vanished.
The next day, two more villages were struck. By the end of the month, three whole clans had been wiped out. The Night Reavers, as they became known, struck mercilessly and often and warriors were brought each night to the edges of the swiftly expanding territory the Reavers hunted within. Those that dared venture into these forests found them a deathly silent place. No birds, no beasts, nothing but the rustle of trees in wind. And then, very often, they might just hear the faint sound of footsteps before they died.
Half of the forest's population were wiped out by the Night Reavers and soon enough were added to their numbers. Soon enough the plague reached both the Raven Clan and the heart of the Wolf Clan's territory.
[20+2] Promidalchus' message had come to the dreams of the Raven Clan and their berserkers had taken it to heart. When they heard of the terrible threat approaching, they decorated their furs with raven feathers in preparation for battle. On the evening the Night Reavers reached the foothills of their mountains, the Raven Berserkers were ready. The creatures, looking upon the sight of the warriors, lost the terrible drive and hunger that compelled them to fight. Many continued to stare happily at the berserkers, finally sated, even as their axes cut them apart.
[7+3-4] The Wolf Clan fared far worse than their northern neighbours. The reavers came and struck without mercy, more than a hundred of them stalking through the forests. Most of the Wolf warriors were slain as their families fled further and further out of the forest. During one such retreat, the reavers broke into the camp and the boy Tomas came face to face with one of his mentors and father figures, returned from the grave and possessed with such hunger that even though the sorrow in his eyes, Tomas could see the rapaciousness that consumed him.
Tomas was afraid. More than this, he was angry. Angrier than he had ever been. The reaver swung his axe towards Tomas - who caught it in his claws. Tomas let out a scream, a scream that turned into a howl. Rage filled his being as it shifted and changed and the terrible wolf-like creature he became tore into the body of his old friend. Tomas emerged into the night and fought reaver after reaver, sustaining wounds until forced to retreat with the rest of his clan.
Even with the aid of Tomas' transformation, the Wolf Clan was forced into exile on the coast as the reavers seized more and more of the forest. They might well have claimed it, had the Raven Clan not intervened. Their warriors marched into the forest with their axes and bags of raven feathers, decorating their camps with them and driving the Reavers further and further into the forest until they could travel no further - though the reavers lost their appetites in their presence they still fought back and killed whilst the warriors tried to slay them until the point the Ravens had lost too many to fight on. They wedged clumps of raven feathers into trees and carved simple pictures of raven feathers onto stones, which they arranged in a simple fence around the forests where the Reavers still roamed. In this way, the Reavers did not pass beyond the line of raven signs and were confined to their part of the forest.
[9+5] The Raven clan took up the responsibility of patrolling the Ravenwall and for it many of those that had envied them turned to admire them instead. A major part of this was due to the fact that many of their enemies had been slaughtered by the very beasts they had driven back. So it was that the Raven Clan made alliance with most of the forest clans and received the tributes that the Wolf Clan had formerly extracted - minus, of course, their sacrifices.
The Wolf Clan survived as a minor clan on the coast of the forest, hunting and trying to rebuild their strength. The great and terrible child sacrifices of the past shrunk to votive offerings out of practicality, [6+4] but the presence of Tomas and his power in battle helped keep faith in Slask high - but now limited by their weak numbers.
Promidalchus' influence is increased with that of the Raven Clan, who beat back the Night Reavers into their own part of the forest; the Deadwood, a silent realm where little animal life survives for long save the raven. Surrounding it is the Ravenwall, a series of large stones carved with images of ravens and raven feathers to placate the reavers within.
The Raven Clan form an alliance with the other forest clans against the reavers, which they lead. They receive tribute and grow more prosperous as a result, putting them in a position to unite their alliances at a later date.
The Wolf Clan is reduced to a shadow of its former glory, with Slask's power diminishing in turn.
Tomas, the first Wolfkin, is possessed of great power in battle, but his strength is only passed on by lineage. He has several children, all with his power of transformation and triggered by anger. He eventually rises to leadership of his clan.
Calin, the first Night Reaver, spawns hundreds of his kin before they are killed or driven back into the Deadwood. He never ages, remaining eternally a child, but survives the cleansing and becomes a proficient fighter in his own right. He learns to decorate his clothing with raven feathers, sating his own hunger and attracting followers within the night reavers. He gathers many of the surviving night reavers in a clan, based around raven nests.
The Night Reavers never age and suffer no illness, but are burned by sunlight and must hide in shelters or caves during the night. They are also incapable of healing anything more than a scratch or graze - injuries must be sewn together and whilst severed limbs will work when sewn back on, burned body parts are lost forever. Reavers cannot reproduce save by killing and arise with full memories and skills. They can continue to learn and engage in self-improvement once risen.Shalrum kept thinking of spider webs. When he was idle, he found himself plaiting little webs and crosses out of rushes and reeds. He kept making them and one day he was so frustrated that he threw one into the river, where it lodged amongst the rocks. When he came back later to fish with his spear, what did he find but an eel trapped in his handiwork!Guided by Val Aurum, the Spider Clan swiftly develop better fishing techniques. The stable source of food leads them to return time and time again to the best fishing grounds and boosts the prosperity of their clan. With more free time, the Spider Clan is free to turn their minds to more intellectual pursuits - meditation and thought. [2+5] Shalrum, amongst others, attributed their successes to the spider, Val Aurum, but many more were simply willing to believe in his own successes and intellect than any supernatural guidance, even in spite of his own words. So it was that whilst the legend of the guiding Val Aurum came into being, it remained just that - a legend.
This prosperity is not without dangers - the recovering Weasel Clan begins to prey upon the Spider Clan's borders, raiding fishing villages for fresh slaves.
The Spider Clan develop Fishing and prosper as a result. Little of the credit goes to Val Aurum, who nevertheless develops a weak following.The Shark Clan, following the advice of the bearded stranger, develop a system of training for their hunters and warriors to act as a group. Each man in the village learns where to keep his spear, how to find and fight with it in a raid and how to fight together when the raids come. In this way the Shark Clan develop the first true organised Militia to defend their villages.
Propelled by Imber's words and imbued with a certain divine vigour, the Shark Clan chiefs travel to the surrounding clans with words of peace and alliance against the raiders. [7+5] The response is lukewarm, but the fire in the chiefs' voices speaks to some and a loose alliance is formed with those most at risk from raider attack.
Dortak gained power quickly within the Marshfolk. Though he understood little of the images that had burned through his mind, one stuck: Copper, beaten into shape. Into tools. Into knives. Into
axes. He and his men scoured the swamps for nuggets of the shiny ruddy metal and, here and there, found it intact. There was not much, though in his visions Dortak saw it hidden beneath the earth. [3] He and his men tried to dig until they could find it, but with no luck. Weeks were spent digging with their stone axes but all they achieved were chapped hands. Eventually he and his clan gave up the effort, relying on what they could achieve with their beaten copper instead.
[17+5-5] As it turned out, they could accomplish a great deal indeed. With poison-tipped spears and copper axes, striking at night and hitting the unprepared, Dortak and the clans that allied behind him laid terrible waste to those that opposed him. [14] Though the raiders were keen to take slaves and property, Dortak asserted sufficient authority to quell their rapacious desires. Instead he presented an ultimatum to the Shark Clan and their allies - submit to him and pay an annual tribute to the manifest glory of his people, or be destroyed.
The Shark Clan submitted rather than be destroyed, offering regular tributes to Dortak and his clan. Dortak's clan grew in strength from the tribute, asserting more and more authority over his neighbours. Eventually he would come into a position where attempting to assert true rule could be possible.
[11+5][2] Whilst Dortak sang the praises of the Crow God that had aided him, worship of Imber fell into disrepute. Many of the Shark Clan blamed their god for his failure, though they continued to keep their militias against those raiders that ignored Dortak's promise of "protection". What alliance they had led crumbled under their subjugation.
The Shark Clan develop Militias and forge an alliance with neighbouring clans - to no avail. They are subjugated by Dortak and his allies and forced into debilitating annual payments of tribute.
The Marshfolk develop Metalworking by beating native copper, but their supplies are limited due to a lack of mining techniques.
Worship of Imber weakens, whereas Utran's following grows larger with Dortak's success.The next thirty years prove fruitful for the clans of Imartu. The Mole clan, moving from stone shelter to stone shelter, came upon the remains of a forest fire. They found fresh fruits and grains growing freely in the ashes, taking from this the idea of shoving seeds in ashen ground for the future. The technique took several years to perfect, but eventually the Moles fuind fresh fruit and grains waiting for them at sites they had abandoned a year or more before. They became less nomadic, waiting for a few years at a single site to get all they could from the soil before it died and they moved on to another spot, letting the forest reclaim it over time.
The Spider clan continued to develop nets, their weaving growing finer and finer. Eventually they begin braiding flax and even the long hair from slain beasts into finer and sleeker fabrics. The Spider clan perfected the art of Weaving in fabrics, baskets, huts and fishing traps alike.
The Raven Clan in their long battles against the Night Reavers and in putting down raiders amongst their new allies develop their spears. Old spears were thick, heavy affairs - one had to get right up to a beast or opponent and hold him down whilst you shoved the spear in. It was a long, bloody and difficult affair. By some fluke of trend, spears became thinner and thinner amongst the ravens, sleeker and more balanced. In fact, the Ravens began to throw their lighter spears. It was only a matter of time before the art of both spear-making and spear-throwing became widely practiced and accomplished, proving to assist in war and hunting alike. So widespread was it that it reached even the tiny Wolf Clan and crossed the hilly passes to the north, where the Bear Clan adopted the new ways with an unexpected relish.
To the south, Dortak and his clan exploited the Shark Clan ruthlessly. Not only did they exact tribute, they forced them to teach them the techniques of carving out canoes and training their men as a militia, to respond better to attacks and to take orders more effectively in raids.
To the north, a small band of Falcon clansmen were sheltering in a floating island from a storm when the storm in its mighty strength blew it further and further from home. When the storms subsided the Falcons found themselves serenely descending towards a foreign shore. To their surprise they met windriders there, windriders like the southern clans who stuck to the ground. The strangers proved kindly, welcoming and tolerant of the Falcons and their strange ways and introduced themselves as the Etyuki.
The Falcon tribesmen stayed amongst the Etyuki for many months, teaching them how they chanted and danced to Aeolos, how they tamed birds for eggs and communication and even how they sifted coriolium from the clouds, making the Etyuki a gift of the coriolium they had left. The Etyuki in turn taught the Falcons the techniques of hollowing out trees to make solid, seaworthy canoes. They gave their new friends supplies, fresh water and their prayers to make it home safely, which they did.
Upon returning and telling their clansmen of a kindly, peaceful people without the various military advantages enjoyed by the Falcon clan, the chiefs of the Falcon clan immediately decided to start raiding the Etyuki from the skies, capturing slaves and forcing them to sift Coriolium from the most dangerous parts of the storms.
All in all, relations soured.
The Mole Clan develop Slash and Burn Agriculture.
The Spider Clan develop Weaving.
The Raven Clan develop Throwing Spears, spreading it to the Wolf and Bear Clans.
The Etyuki trade Canoes with the Falcon Clan for Avian Domestication, Music and Coriolium Sifting.
The Falcon Clan develop Slavery - and use it on the Etyuki.
Thirty years have passed.Promidalchus: 2 Minor (2)
Jilganheim: 3 Minor (1)
Aeolos: 2 Minor (2)
Orseth: 2 Minor (2)
Imber: 1 Minor (1)
Slask: 1 Minor (1)
Kain: 1 Minor (2)
Dolrael: 1 Minor (1)
Tokchoko: 2 Minor (2)
Utran'Vitran: 2 Minor (2)
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Topic: Godhood V: Legacy of the Titans [RP] (Read 10757 times)