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Isáwa

Population : 125

Asahíya Oumán (Hard Awakening)

	The waters of the furious Bîma had just receded. Below the still tormented sky, the view was ghastly to behold : banks washed away,  trees uprooted, dead beasts littering the scattered banks of sand. From the tall cliffs overlooking the valley, several hundreds of meters high, abundant waterfalls were falling, draining the flooded plateaus.

	Eláda had been turned to shambles ; only the highest huts had been spared. The population had assembled on the heights, for a Beida Kowán, a great assembly of all the Isáwa. As soon as the waters had begun outgrowing their banks, messengers had been sent to the other settlements, who doubtless had suffered a similar fate.

	"Unamúnka kéidam!" yelled Prândi. "Those of Unamúno arrive !". Indeed, a band of a dozen individuals had just appeared on the rocky crest. While they descended towards the meeting ground, a noisy tantrum broke out among those already assembled. "What shall we do now ?" lamented one ; "Your hut was rubbish anyway." snarkly noted another ; "Well, at least I bring back some food every day." answered her interlocutor. 

	Before anything else could be said, Sôwán, the current Kanúm, or coordinator, of Eláda, solemnly proclaimed the beginning of the Beida Kowán. "Friends and lovers, parents and kin, we are here assembled under the watchful eye of Kyewón. The people of Eláda the gentle, Zómrun the evergreen, Tewakím the white, Héymar of the plain, Lohádi  by the woods, Kárgaš the high, Unamúno built of reed, Virún under the waterfall, Gámla by the mountain, bound in its flesh and mind by Šewár the everlasting, is here to deliberate on the sorrow of the rivers. While Ánde the shimmering (the moon) grew and faded twice, Óngi who always moves (River Aspect) and Lekému the thunderous (Sky Aspect) have unleashed all their might upon our home. Last year already, Bîma and Ífo had threatened to drown the valleys, and it is in the memory of all of us, save the youngest, that ten from Tewakím were seized by Bîma, never to be seen again.
	
	We cannot doubt that the land that reared us, that we love and cherish, will take more of our friends and lovers, parents and kin, if we do nothing. So I have called upon you all to know what path we must follow now, what future we must choose.

	Before we may discuss, let us remember Tumák, kind and joyous, Orošín the fast runner, and Káyedon the good hunter, before they enter their next life."

The silence was astounding. One could only hear the distant rumbles of the river, and the soft whisper of the wind. 

Rising up, Frøya, the Kanúm of Tewakím asked all to remember "Wôdam, whose stories brought joy." After her, one after the other, all the Kenám spoke for their dead.

After this was done, Sôwán gestured towards Aúpa, the Kanúm of Zómrun. She promptly expressed her anguish: "I have no doubt that you have all greatly suffered. Our settlement has been washed away, and the trees whose fruits we depend now lay at the bottom of Bîma. I have no doubt that we will rebuild, as we always have, but this time we of Zómrun feel something  has changed. Our ancestors spoke of the anger of the waters, but as an event many generations could live without seeing. In living memory, this is the third time the rivers have given us such sorrow, each time sooner and more terrible than ever before. When the rivers rise again, what will happen to us ? Will we wait for the waters to reach the cliffs ?"

Frøya, nodding, spoke in her turn. "In the short time since Onúma gave me life, I have seen Tewakím lose thirteen of her children. I cannot bear to see another one taken away. This is our home, the land which has always graced us with shelter and food. This is the land where Šewár made us see the sky for the first time. It is a land of wonders, which surely has no equivalent under Ráma the powerful (Sun aspect) and Ànde the shimmering. But I think that Bîma and Ífo have sent us a message from Bahéra the silent one (Death and Renewal). Our old life is gone, and we must start anew. This is what this means. There are lands beyond, where the sky is just as beautiful."

The crowd was visibly shaken. Some rose their hand in agreement, others brought it to their leg in disagreement. Šekém, the Kanúm of Kárgaš, forcefully opposed herself to the idea. "I cannot believe Šewár would be chasing us from the land he gave to us. No, no, no, the rivers are telling us something different. We have grown complacent, happy with what the land gave us, unwilling to improve our lot. Yet there is so much left to do. No one here can deny having wished there was a way to keep the sweet Tugúh (a type of berry) year round. Yet why has no one yet found a way solve this problem ? Because we have not tried. I believe Bîma and Ífo are telling us to fortify ourselves, to improve the land, protect it, and not simply live off it, like flies. We should not flee but rebuild, better and stronger, so that the anger of the rivers will never worry us again."

Many rose their hands. A fierce debate had been opened. It raged into the night, only to be interrupted by the strength of Hímyo the night-dweller (Sleep). At dawn, after all had been awakened, Sôwán, after the customary morning praise, revealed to all what the Kenám had agreed upon, so that it may be approved, or otherwise rejected. "Friends and lovers, parents and kin, we are here assembled under the watchful eye of Kyewón. After a long night, the Kenám have this to propose to you : our land is beautiful and plentiful, and it is here that Šewár revealed the life-bringing water to us. For that, we cannot be ungrateful. It will always be our home, ours to tend to and to celebrate. There is no better way to celebrate, we have found, than to rebuild, and to make better and more alive. We will not abandon our villages ; we will make them safer and sturdier."

A sigh of relief ran through the audience.

"Yet it is true Šewár has left many lands where we may still sing her praise. And so we will do what our ancestors did in the days before our birth, when they left Eláda the gentle to found the eight other settlements. We will send three parties, in all the directions of the wind. One shall head West,  beyond the cliffs, one shall head South, down the blue Bîma, and one shall head East, following the fast Ífo. Wherever they shall deem worthy, they shall set up their new home, and promptly send back a messenger to inform us. This is the start of a new life for the Isáwa."

Many cheered in the crowd.

"Friends and lovers, parents and kin, do you agree to this proposition ?"

In the assembly, practically all raised their hand. 

"And so it is."

Well part of history is not knowing exact dates of certain events that are so far back to not be recorded. A time keeping system I think should be more IC than OOC. Races that engage in regular interaction such as trade adopt similar time keeping systems to better coordinate trade, something like that happening. Look forward to IC in future that could involve various races that develop historians trying to align events in timelines.@Neruu

That's a very interesting part of things, I do agree. But since the system is OOC, the races wouldn't know about it anyway, and they'd have to figure out their history all the same. It would just be for our reference. Since the events right now are unfolding in a period before writing, which is bound to become somewhat mythological, we could play on that and have them create false chronologies, just like in real life.

Anyway, I should get to posting. --'

Edit: How many moons are there orbiting the planet?

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