The Cindorayi, Population: 103, Year 10 IL (Inland), Age of the New Moon

The Rice of Races

"Isn't it beautiful down there?" asked Lyudmila to her companion, Leo. The two had been friends practically since birth, and were raised in the same litter of children. Traditionally, the Cindorayi did not retain much attachment to their birth parents, and were instead raised by a group of women who volunteered to serve as mothers. Their birth parents might remain together and live together, or they might separate, there was really no restriction, though men or women who repeatedly changed partners were quite socially unacceptable.

"Indeed it is." responded Leo. The two were treading water, and then quickly recovered their breath and dove back into the sparkling waters of the sea. As they swam towards the shallow ocean floor, the water flowed around their sleek fur like that of a polar bear from a different world. As they came closer, it became quite apparent the ocean floor was covered in small sparkling turquoise jewels.

Lyudmila spotted a different-colored patch of the seafloor, and was curious enough for it to divert her from her quest. She scooped up a handful of the soft, malleable substance and brought it up with her in her rough bag with the crystals to examine it further.

This simple action sparked a revolution that would change Cindorayi life forever.

---

When they returned to the village, they quickly discovered that this new substance, which they called glina, could be molded into any desired shape, and furthermore that when left near to a fire it would harden and become rocklike. This quickly sparked a period of innovation for the science-loving Cindorayi, and they used it to make things from bowls to vases to eating utensils. They also determined that by adding things like mud or sand, they could make it more or less brittle.

The primary use for glina, however, became the creation of bowls out of which to eat and which to cook things in and an alternative to wood sticks for picking bits of food up. Soup quickly became a meal of choice for many Cindorayi, but the greatest change occurred when one of the Cindorayi surveying parties that Ekatyrina had sent out came back with a plant they called mifan (rice) which they boiled and produced a great quantity of food from a very small plant. It was then that Ekatyrina knew she found the perfect food with which to sustain their food supply, and ordered that it be planted all along the sides of the river valley and at the inland village as well, in their first great agricultural experiment.

"Only through working together with your fellow people may you find splendor and plenty.

The Rokthani | Population; 264

"Did they just... introduce themselves?"
"I'm sure of it! I don't know what else it could have been!"
"We'll have to take it at face value. So, how do we introduce ourselves? Line up one at a time, or what?"
"Wait, what are they doing now?..."

When the three figures had finished drawing... whatever it was on the ground, the Rokthan crowd immediately dropped attention from the Arsuron and focused closely on the sand scribblings, careful not to disturb them.
The Rokthani are natural problem solvers. When faced with a dilemma, the "work of art" that is the Rokthan brain chugs and churns in a remarkable attempt to come to a logical conclusion. However, in such an unnatural, alien situation, the average Rokthan is completely and utterly stumped.
"What is it?" said a captain obvious.
"Uhh... could be some sorta map, I reckon."
"Don't be ridiculous! It's obviously a depiction of whatever strange false god that they believe in!"
"Why you gotta jump to beliefs, man? Look at it! There's a uh... the river. Is that the river or a serpent? Do they believe in Ki'Kisk?"
"Blasphemy! He would never take creatures like this into his coil!"
"Shusshhh! Concentrate on the thing! That definitely looks like a river to me. But what's that it's leading to?..."
"'Could be more water out yonder Eastward. Hard to believe, though."
The Arsuron pointed to the real river, then the line on the scribbling, confirming their suspicions.

Overwhelmed by the tall visitor's naming of objects, the Rokthan ponder how to express their own language. An idea pops into one's head and he starts discussing it with the others. With great haste, he starts digging out a circle with his chin around the crowd of villagers. Once the circle was completed, the crowd turned their gaze to the visitors and spoke loudly and proudly.
"ROK-THAN"
@Nerevarine

For the first time since the great parting, the Rokthan groups who set out to explore the world around them are convening in Middlehome. There were many people reuniting with their families, friends, and old homes. Grand stories and rumors were told of the excursions that the groups had taken and the sights that they had seen. Some reported seeing part of the forest that had degraded into a sort of squishy, wet, smelly lake with strange trees growing out of it. They left that dreadful area immediately. Some said that they found the end of the forest and had come out the other end. According to witness testimony, beyond the forest lay a vast open field of greens teetering with life. Suspicions had been confirmed that the desert continued for a good distance beyond the Ki'Kisk river, though the exact extend of the desert was not known. The mountain range did not seem to have a stopping point in either direction, and it was theorized that it went on forever.
Though the project was, for the most part seen as a success, there were losses. An estimated 14 individuals lost their lives in the operation, and a ceremony will be held under the moonlight in remembrance. The excursion on the river Ki'Kisk has not been heard back from.
King Shel had joined in the discussion at this point. He and his teams led a venture in the mountain range Northwards to find suitable grounds to dig. Numerous spots were found and charted.
Just as Shel was about to give a speech to the populous, someone requested his attention. It was the
village organizer of Easthome. According to him, three strange beings visited Easthome and began acting hostile toward the village.

Arsuron Pop: 120

Anrétt was pleased to find the Rokthan catching on. When the creatures introduced themselves, Anrétt bowed to them, as was a normal show of respect for her people. This was a truly exciting development; sapient life not too far from their own lands! The three scouts looked around the small village. The idea of structures on the land was new, but it was giving the ever creative Anrétt ideas for her own people. Maybe, maybe the Arsuron could learn something from these people. But, if they were to transfer information, it would need to remain as it was told. She could not trust scouts travelling this far from the Arsur to reliably transfer information unchanged, and such lacunas and shifts of ideas could be troublesome. Anrétt brushed away the previous drawings she had made and began drawing strange shapes into the sand; while doing so she yelled over to Anlug to get her the two bone paddles from her canoe. The tool was made from a dolphin scapula tied with reed rope to a long stick of wood. It was more than enough to paddle a single canoe, but it would be repurposed for this occasion.

Anrétt began carving into the flat piece of bone, a series of strange symbols, and as she carved each one, she pronounced a sound with it. When she was finished, Anrétt repeated this process on the second scapula, before handing this bone plate over to the Rokthan. The symbols were as follows



Anrétt began reciting to the Rokthan her created symbols, and then read the two words that she had written down when she was sure that they had picked up on the symbols sounded

The first was her name Anrétt, the second was the word for boat, ärgős. She explained how the symbols worked, that they were syllables, always pronouced as their consonant sound and then a, and that adding a symbol will change what that sound was. She did this by using the sand, drawing the symbol she created for ka, and then drawing the added symbol, and pronouncing this, and repeating this for each vowel change. She also showed the the diffrence between a "deep" and "shallow" vowel; and showed them that all vowels become deep or shallow in a single word. She hoped that this would help them understand the Arsuron langauge a little more, and maybe even help them explain how thier own langauge works as well.
@MangoJuice

Den and Dem shuffled back when the strange new creature reacted with aggression. They stared at it still talking to it until they finally understood that it could tell that they were speaking but it couldn't understand what they were saying or wanted. "Den it... doesn't know what trade is!" "I see that brother what a great sorrow since it has such pretty things! WE must teach him how!" Swore determinedly the young Yelb. "Dem give me a sweet melon for three of my clear stones." "WHAT! I'd need 4 then two (Counting system only uses groups of four based on number of fingers and toes on each hand) clear stones and a smooth rock to make me as rich as a whole melon!" Whined the younger brother. "Stop crying Dem we need to show him what giving is do it and later we can start trading for the pretty hairy thing!"Pressed Den. "Okay" consented the brother. the pair made a ridiculously deliberate show of exchanging the items. Then they began an actual trade with one another. Den set half of a cabbage on the ground and Dem a handful of sweetgrass and 3 smooth stones. After some haggling in there short syllable language the pile changed to half a cabbage and a hollow stick that made a cool sound when blown (not music by any regards just pretty sounding), and Dem's a handful of sweetgrass and a large skipping stone. After the two piles were exchanged amoung the brothers did they turn earnestly towards there reptilian audience and repeated "Yel...Yel...Yel..." (Three sounds for a thing, four sounds for a thing doing a thing, that is the Yelb language Making Yelb trading or Traders.)
@Neruu

Time: Era of Gray (no precise timekeeping system developed)

Platta Civilization
Population: 103

Stirring

Although the Platta had understood the concept of counting, some Platta began to think more about using it in their artwork. This led to some ideas not yet considered such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and a simple shapes. Division hadn't yet occurred to them. The shapes recognized were lines, triangles, rectangles, and roughly circles. Each role of Platta saw different usage for these concepts which helped inspire new ideas. Lately, the exploration was causing a golden age of ideas. Some Platta liked this for the diversity of inspiration. Some found it frustrating from distraction of getting work done as the idea discussion made meetings longer. One solution for this started by those who preferred simpler ways, was that some of them would merely record what was said and a role for task determination was made. The group more interested in exploration continued to discuss rather than figure out tasks. These role splits was also the beginning of a split of the species. Tensions weren't high, but they were not resolved as much as some would like.

On other events in Platta life, something new was happening amongst Platta children. Traditionally, Platta children all knew each other and their caretakers were roughly equal in number. Lately, there were more children per caretaker, and so Platta children were spending more time with each other. The caretakers began thinking of ways to help teach the multiple children, and one answer that emerged was to make a game normally reserved for individual Platta with the caretaker to become a team effort with the other children as well. The game was working in teams, find things of different colors, and then make maps of where they were located, discuss the symbolism, and then have each group use each other's maps to find missing items. It was an game that taught of the many Platta jobs, and color symbolism.

The Rokthani | Population; 281

"Comrades! Family! All who reside in this domain! It has been many seasons since I have spoken to you all like this. It brings a tear to my aging eyes to see that we have made it this far. As I am sure you are all aware, as it could not have been possible without you, our lives have been saved. We have found new grounds, new food, new life. We are fuller than we have been in ages!"
The crowd whistles and clamors.
"And, as suspected, not all of us were able to see this day. The few individuals who gave their lives in the name of the Rokthan will never be forgotten." Shel began to recite the names of those who were lost. Three could not be identified or remembered. Shel continued his speech and went on to discuss the new settlements to the East and West, and forgive them for not being able to make this speech. The two settlements were now officially recognized.

Shel debated with himself whether or not to bring up the apparent hostilities in Easthome. "Now, there is an issue that has come up related to..." He decided against it, arguing that it would cause a panic. "...myself. I am very pleased to announce that my mate, Gnila, is carrying our brood, and with it, my heir."
The crowd gasped, followed by a loud, rumbling cheer that lasted for a good two minutes or so. "Please, please, settle down!" says Vinal, attempting to get his voice across in the loudness.
"Nothing is carved in stone yet, but things seem to be going well." Says Shel after the crowd eventually shut up. "As a final note, I would like to make it clear that our work is far from done! Ki'Kisk has prepared a practical feast before us, and it's up to us to dig in. May your hearts glow bright ever more! Shomal Ki'Kisk!"
The crowd responds with gusto. "SHOMAL KI'KISK!"

As the Arsuron took a gander at the village, they would find that it blends in well with the natural surroundings. What resemble hills and bumps in the sand are actually reinforced underground "huts" of sorts. Beside these structures are a few entrances that lead who-knows-where. The village seemed to be centered around a single fire pit with no ash, and also appeared to have been recently dug out.

When the Arsuron began explaining their alphabet, the elders understood almost immediately that it was some strange form of communication. The concept of the written word was not an entirely unfamiliar one, since the process was needed to keep track of crops, population, names and the like. But the sheer complexity of the system that they were being shown was mind-blowing. The younger Rokthan were taking a more creative outlook on the writing.
"That one kinda looks like a cactus, don't it?"
"No, you dunce! It's obviously a vulture!"
"That one's a gem! It's a gem, look, look at it!"
One elder, a large, hot-pink Rokthan stared intently at the writing and committed it to memory forever.
A Rokthan woman dragged out some snacks for their dear visitors. A delicious array of insects and dried prairie dogs.
@Nerevarine

Through manipulation of specific rocks found in the mountain range, the Rokthan have gained the unique ability to trigger spontaneous oxidization of organic material resembling that found in the summer heatstorms. The fire age had begun.

When a Rokthan youth was playing with a river reed, they split it and started blowing into the stalk out of boredom. Upon doing so, it startled him because it made a strange sound. The kazoo age had also begun.

Arsuron Pop: 125

The river mouth settlement had been taking off well, with the Arsuron using their newfound position to even defeat a group of Arusron Raiders from a rival tribe, even enslaving a few of them to help build the settlement. Anam had seen his excursion go from a suicide mission to one of great success in defending this major territory. Indeed from this point on, he would claim all land on the yijen re̋Hrëh to be territory of the Fiyah Alliance. From here Anam's collection of tribes would absorb all other Arsuron in the area, and perhaps more. Anam gathered all the residents of the village and those who thought that they would be returning to the traditional camp.
"Bańa! Today marks the beginning of our domination over the Arsur and beyond. We will begin colonization of all lands on this river immediately, and I want 4 groups of settlers to begin setting up settlements like this one on the banks of the river." He then turned to another 2 boats "You will go north from here, and settle along the coastline of those lands." Anam was pleased with the way that his tribe was progressing, and with luck he would have much to look forward to, that is, if his people did not grow tired of his seemingly insane demands.

Anrétt's group

Anrétt was the first to take something from the array of food. She started with the creature she could not identify, a prairie dog. Anrett lifted up the mask she was wearing, revealing her face to the Rokthan for the first time since she and her compatriots had come ashore.

The Arsuron had come from the sea, in the sense that their ancestors were amphibians, creatures similar to giant humanoid salamanders who came onto the land and decided to stay close to the sea. In many ways the Arsuron were tied to their amphibious origins, in the form of their ability to breathe underwater in a limited fashion, and the fact that they required the sea to reproduce, laying their one eggs close to their main camp and returning when hatching begins. The appearance of the Arsuron had begun to change over the many years they developed, and their faces were no exception. Under her mask was a very humanoid face, complete with a short nose, two yellow forward facing eyes, and a mouth which while possessing lips, was clearly a recent development in their species, as her long, sharp teeth poked out under them. However, the amphibious traits were there, specifically in how her eyes were covered by a nictitating membrane to keep out sand, and how her skin was smooth, lacking any kind of scales and seemingly moist. Upon taking a bite of the meat, her face lit up, mouth and eyes opened wide as Anrétt let out a sound similar to a loud chirp to show her excitement. The other Arsuron soon followed, even Angar sampling the food provided. The insects were of particular interest, as they were quite the delicacy in Arsuron lands. Insects were common along the Arsur but these particular kinds were quite the rarity. They were almost as good as the coveted crab or shrimp.

When the Arsuron were finished, they pulled their masks back down and began to talk amongst each other.
"Anrétt, have you had enough of your play time with the snakes yet?" Angar asked angrily, hoping to be able to return home to the Arsur soon and report to Anam.

Anrétt shook her head, "I'm going to stay here and learn as much as I can about them"

Both Angar and Anlug were shocked

"I'm serious, these people could be vital to our progress as a people." she replied "Look around you, they have things we don't, and vice versa. We could trade for them, that's why i made the Alphabet!" She pulled out the bone plate and handed it to Anlug. "Make sure that Anam gets this, guard it with your life!"

Anlug nodded as she and Angar went to go retie their canoes. Anrétt spoke to the Rokthan as best she could in their language, from what she had picked up in their clamoring. It was very broken, but she was sure they would know. "I here staying, friend-two-Arsuron home go, tell king place here. I learn of you Rokthan, live here place so trade and peace happen." She smiled under her mask, knowing that was awful, but hoping they would get it. Angar laughed heartily as he and Anlug began sailing back down the river.
@MangoJuice

Population:12



It took Tes and the others several moments to finally realize that the new creatures could not understand what they had said.(Though that didn't stop Tes from quickly grabbing the beautiful necklace and putting it around her neck despite it being much to big for her.) The family then huddled close together making a tight circle were they all discussed solutions.

Gib using a stick that was pointy and made it easier to pick fruit with started making simple scribbles in the sand. When completed they resembled a child's stick figure drawing. It depicted a figure that looked like a Yelb holding hands with a primitive picture of a Cindorayi holding hands while above them several Cindorayi and Yelb circled around the large moon crystal.

Gibson kept pointing at himself and the picture repeating "Gui...Gui...Gui..."
(Family,friendship,a group of people. This word means all three.)

Alvith Population: 148 - Age of Rielo
The sun was still in sky but had gone down some when Chief Rielo had returned to the village. Alvith were going about their business and the Ogurk herd outside village was eating grass. During the trip back to village Chief Rielo Kriivith had thought on what the Great Serpent had shown him. The Chief would retire to his hut for the day. Rielo had decided on the next day he would leave meat out in sun when it was at its hottest.
---
@Cuddle Pot Raclo was surprised when the small creatures didn't run off. The creatures just running off had been the desired outcome but now Raclo wasn't sure what to really do. As Raclo watched the two creatures acting odd exchanging things between themselves Maule another Alvith walked up. So now two Alvith watched the creatures.

"Raclo! What small things?" Spoke Maule.
"Don't know! Odd... no run, fearless? Odd!" Spoke Raclo before shaking his head.
"Kill? Small weak, Raclo kill." Spoke Maule gesturing for Raclo to just spear the creatures.

The Alvith Raclo shook his head, he wasn't going to just kill the creatures. For one he wasn't hungry and was nothing to really benefit him in killing the creatures. Wasn't a kill of something strong so wouldn't be a demonstration of strength. While Raclo and Maule would gesture to one another a third Alvith that had spotted the creatures walked up. The third Alvith was a child named Oarlo who wandered over to look at the strange creatures. Oarlo was far more impressionable and curious than a adult Alvith and had carried over something to join in what the young Alvith thought was a game. A tusk of a ogurk had been carried over by Oarlo who set it down to play in what the young Alvith thought was a game.

The Rokthani | Population; 299
Westhome: 88 | Middlehome: 152 Easthome: 54

The Rokthani were startled at first when the Arsuron removed her mask, since they were under the impression that the mask was their face all along. The idea of placing objects over the face to act as a disguise of sorts was interesting.

"Ohhh, I'm glad you enjoyed those little darlings! There's plenty more where that came from. Lemme go scramble up a batch from somewhere. I'll be right back, loves!"
Meek's cooking was known as some of the worst of the region. When she brought out the selection of food, the others nearly had a collective heart attack out of fear that the visitors would be completely disgusted and either turn on them, or leave to never return. Thankfully, Arsuron pallets are considerably different than Rokthan. The woman gleefully slithered into a hole to retrieve more "food".

When Anrétt spoke to the Rokthan in the most cohesive way since their meeting, everybody was completely silenced. The younglings and elders alike were fixed on what they were saying. After a few seconds, the cogs turned in most of their heads and the intention was... mostly clear.
"Staying? Here?! With us?!"
"Yeeaaah! Tall one, tall one! Gonna stay!" says a young one spinning around in circles.
"They can't stay here! Where would it... how would they... we don't even..."
An elder speaks up. "Now, now, Duul. Where's your hospitality?"
"Hospitalit-... but Grandfather, can't you see the problem with this? They're far too large! The tunnels are too small, they wouldn't-"
The elder interrupts. "Then build a bigger burrow!"
"Wha-" the Rokthan's face goes from concerned to irritated. "...have you gone senile, old man? How are we supposed to dig a hole big enough for them before nightfall?"
"I'll not be disrespected by the likes of you!" says the elder, raising his voice. "You dig it like any other. By digging it. I suggest that we all get started now, lest our guest here find them self without any place to sleep tonight." He lowers his frills momentarily at the Arsuron as a show of respect, and speaks simply. "Us here, create dwelling for you. You welcome here! Hope for good future!"
The entire village pitches in to tunnel out a place for the visitor to stay underground.
@Nerevarine

Upon hearing that Easthome was under some sort of attack, Shel wasted no time in organizing a party to counter the offensive. Eight warriors, clad in the finest leather armor, armed with simple metal fangs and spears, marched to the village as quickly as they could.
"I just hope that we're able to get there before it's too late..."

Meanwhile, in Westhome, the population is making considerable efforts in burrow insulation. The rainfall that curses this region has made it difficult to keep the shelter dry and strong. Experimentation has found that the water will simply slide off the sides if it's redirected with long leaves or other rigid objects. Structural support inside the buildings has also been found to be a wise solution. The trees of the region seem to be extremely useful tools for construction, but a more effective way of gathering the material than simply picking it up off the forest floor was being researched.

Methods of communication between villages were being considered. Attaching messages to birds and insects were a possibility, but there were issues on all sides. Catching them, attaching messages to them, and getting them to go where they needed to were all practically impossible.

Saurians, Population: 65
"Alright, huntress, show me what you've been thinking up."

The huntress turned to see Senith approaching. She grinned and gestured for him to come closer. "I'm glad you decided to hear me out after all, Senith. My name is Syera, by the way."

"Well then, Syera," Senith replied, "What is this solution to our huts?"

Syera took a couple of paces forward and stopped next to a small tree. She turned to look at Senith as she knocked on the wood. "We use saplings and fallen branches. They are thin, weak," She explained. "But the tree trunk is strong and stable. I think I know how we can use this."

Senith blinked. "You think you can make this work? How can we use them when they're rooted to the ground like this?"

Syera snatched a rock off the ground and tossed it to Senith. He caught it and stared at it perplexed. There was absolutely nothing special about the rock. It was wide and thin, but it was too big to work as a spearhead. "What is this?" Senith questioned.

"That is where you can help me," Syera said. "this is beyond my abilities. We're going to make a... spearhead of sorts. See if you can convince one of the more proficient spearhead crafters to help us."

Senith nodded. "Right."

-

Finding the good crafters of the village was not hard. They almost always lived on the side of the village closest to the lake. Not only did it make it easier for them to go out for a relaxing swim or bath, but it also made it easier to access certain trees and vines that grew around the lake. The crafters were frequently pestered by others in the village for more spearheads. If they couldn't be found outside of their hut sharpening stones, they were found trying to cool off at the lake.

Senith made his way through the village, successfully avoiding conversation with others desperate for advice he could not give. He had not been aware that the village was so dependent on his father. He could hardly wait for his father to return from the fishing trip.

Senith approached one of the huts. Hanging off of the side of the hut and lifted by what looked like two spear shafts was a small canopy made from large swamp leaves. Otherwise, the hut was completely indistinguishable from the other huts.

Sitting under the canopy was a tall Saurian. he was hard at work, chipping away at a nearly complete spearhead. Resting on the ground next to him was an assortment of rocks and finished spearheads. Leaning on the hut behind him were a couple of well-made spear shafts.

Senith stood in front of the crafter and lifted his arms to his chest in greeting. The crafter glanced up from his work and glared impatiently at Senith. He did not return the greeting.

"I need your skills, crafter," Senith started.

"Really now!" Exclaimed the crafter sarcastically. "I would never have guessed!"

"I-Its important!" Senith replied indignantly.

The Saurian sighed exasperatedly and rubbed his face tiredly. "Tell me then. What do you need?"

"I… Don't know…" Senith said uncertainly.

The crafter stared at him blankly.

"Look, it will be explained in due time. Come with me. Please," Senith begged.

The crafter let out another sigh. He groaned as he pushed himself to his feet. "Fine. Lead the way."

The Cindorayi, Population: 114, Year 12 IL (Inland), Age of the New Moon

Picture-Makers from the East

@Cuddle Pot
One of the strange creatures quickly took the necklace and put it on itself, prompting slight laughter from the two Cindorayi since it was far too big for any of them. They then curiously came together facing each other, which the Cindorayi couldn't make heads or tails of.

One of the other creatures picked up a stick and started making what looked like drawings, a picture of a gathering of their two species centered around the crystal. There was the noise of pounding paws behind the two, and Ekatyrina and a few other females arrived, passing between them to examine the drawing.

"It appears that they place the same emphasis on the crystals we do, and I think they mean to name themselves, as the Gui, either that or they mean that there is some sort of connection between us." Ekatyrina pointed to herself and the others, now numbering five, saying "Cindorayi." repeatedly.

She also pointed to the crystal, and said "moon crystal" in the Cindorayi language.

---

With the advent of rice-based agriculture, the amount of space taken up by the Cindorayi civilization has greatly increased. Andrei, the councilor of agriculture, recommended that they begin construction of a new village to the west, which Ekatyrina quickly agreed with. The simple construction of a new village was not all that happened, however, as some Cindorayi chose to build dwellings and farms farther away from the new village center, preferring to remain mostly isolated. As a result, the third, western village is becoming a sprawling, unplanned farm town which provides a great deal of food to the other two villages along the roads connecting the three. The western village has also begun experimentation on domesticating different types of plants, such as fruits and vegetables. It is difficult work, but many choose it for its relative solitude.

The expansion of villages has also raised the critical question of how to conduct votes, as Ekatyrina usually does whenever a divisive issue comes up. A messenger could count opinions and remember them while taking them back to Lunysvet, but this would be unreliable and the messenger could decide to change his message for his own benefit. As a result, the two villages have taken to hammering stone to leave indentations indicating the number of votes for each idea, but these are extraordinarily heavy and require several Cindorayi to carry.

Arsuron Pop: 135

At the River Camp

Anam was surprised to see the River Scouts returning after such a long time.
"Scouts! Yi'am be praised you have returned." he spoke as he approached their canoes. He was, however, solemnly silent after he noticed the absence of the scout leader. "Scouts, where is Anrétt?"

Anlug spoke up immediately, holding the bone plate that Anrétt created. "The Scout Leader has remained at the end of the River. She created this for me to return to you, sir." She knelt before him as she handed the plate to the chief. Anam took the bone plate and inspected it. "What is this, Anlug?"

"It is some kind of way of showing language silently, sir. Anrétt created it while we were going up the river. Each symbol is a sound in our langauge, it follows the song of sounds," Anlug explained, referencing the song that Arsuron children learn to practice pronouncing the sounds of the Arsuron language. Anam read the plate several times, comitting the system to memory. As of now, Anam, Anlug and Anrétt were literate in this abugida. "But, Anlug, why has she chosen to stay at the base of the river?"

"Well, sir, we..." Anlug was cut off by the rough voice of Angar. "She was taken by Savages out west."

Anam was horrified at this revelation. "Is this true, Anlug?"

"Well, there were people, I don't know if they could be called Savages but"
"Anlug is still in shock at the trauma of losing out leader sir. Her reports cannot be trusted"
Anlug was going to interject but Anam spoke once more.
"If this is true, Angar, what do you intend to do about it?"
"Sir! If you will have me, I would like to take a team of 7 of your finest Soldiers stationed at this camp and go up the river, rescue Anrétt and wipe those savage beasts that took her from the face of the world. We will not rest until every one of them is dead or a slave to us."
Anam nodded, "Very well, You may take them, Angar."
"Anlug will come as well, I require a second scout to help me re navigate"

A few hours later, the squadron was on its way upriver to attack the Rokthan. Anlug had been restrained in the back of a canoe. Angar planned to conquer the territory of the Rokthan and use the glory of it to levy popular support in favor of himself in a grasp for power and control of the Alliance.

Anrétt
Anrétt was interested very much in the ways of the Rokthan. As she watched them build her dwelling, she took notes upon a flat piece of stone she found, charting down the specifics of their methods and the materials used. She drew diagrams and thought of how it could be applied to her own people. She took notes of their farming, and decided that when she had the time, to try and carry out her idea of planting the Watermelon seeds and rasing them using the techniques she observed from the Rokthan. She was also interested in the biology of these people, given their radical differences from the Arsuron. She wondered, did they come from the Sea as well? She had always been told all things begin with Yi'am and all will end with Yi'am, but was that only in respect to the Arsur and it's people? They had some similarities, but many differences.
@MangoJuice

At the Camp
The Arsuron had begun comming up with an idea for their own fishing methods. Using reed walls, they isolated sections of the sea and began filling the with fish to be used later. Soon, however, after an accident in which the larget fish attacked and used smaller fish that had wandered in through holes in the reed walls, they found that if the fish were fed, they would breed creating more fish. Thus, Mariculture had begun on the Arsur

Population:12



Den and Dem were pleased when the smaller creature approached them with a pretty new item to trade. The brothers excitedly examined the large beautiful tusk. It was a gleaming white and smooth to the touch. Both knocked their knuckles on it and listened to the sound it made. Den and Dem first bargained between each other and decided to share the tusk and therefore they would pool their treasures to trade for it.

The brothers sat down in the sand facing the child and began placing their first offer between them and the child. All of their sweetgrass, rocks that when stuck together made pretty lights, a stone that felt cool to the touch even in the hot desert sun, and Den's pet toad (only after a tearful goodbye).
@Neruu

A slow breeze was blowing over the outskirts of Easthome. The desert crickets were chirping in the shadows cast upon the sands by the dunes and the setting sun behind them. The troop of eight Rokthan soldiers were almost finished with their trek across country to the village. Though they were in a hurry, they couldn't help but speculate with each other. Thoughts ranged from a gigantic monster capable of crushing many in a single foot stomp, to holy apparitions enraged by the actions of Rokthanity. All that they knew was that these things, whatever they are, are tall, strange looking, and hostile. The village organizer of Easthome was returning with them to see justice served himself.


@Nerevarine
"There! That 'oughta do it! For now, at least..."
The burrow that Anrétt would be staying in for the time being was complete. The entrance consisted of a short tunnel leading to a dark, slightly moist, but cozy den about eight feet wide by seven feet long, with a rather uncomfortable four foot high ceiling. Though this would be considered bare minimum living conditions for anybody else, for a Rokthan, it was the high life. Complete with soft river reed bedding, a skylight of sorts which could also function as a chimney, and state-of-the-art wood support beams, it was quite the lifestyle. The many Rokthan who put forth the effort to build the burrow were exhausted and laid out on the hill in what little sunlight there was to regain their strength. If Anrétt were to offer to aid in the construction, the Rokthan would refuse, claiming that "it would be a crime" to let her help. Whether they were speaking literally or out of kindness was not clear.
"See, my lad? I told you it was possible to finish it before dark." the elder says to his grandson who was laying limp panting in the sun.
"Yeah...... *gasp* totally...."

Once she was settled in, the village decided to hold a bonfire in celebration. This was a chance for the Rokthan to impress the visitor with their ability to harness one of nature's most destructive forces... for recreation.
@Nerevarine


Gnila Skethar's pregnancy was going well for the first few weeks, but then started to become strange. There were great pains one day, then they stopped the next. Rokthan broods typically consist of three to eight eggs, but it's almost as if they've all merged into one. All they could do at this point is pray that everything will turn out fine.

Vinal comes to Shel to have a word. "Milord, perhaps it would be best if I made my way to Easthome as well. If these beings are capable of reason, I may find some way to--"
"No. I won't allow that, I'm sorry. I need you here at Middlehome. You and I both know that I cannot rule this practical hive alone. Without an organizer, things would fall apart. I'm sure that our men will do what must be done."
"Yes, milord..."
"By the way, Vinal."
"Yes?"
"Drop the formalities. You've known me long enough."
"Aye... thank you, Shel."