Primordial Evolution Game/Western Legends

The Trickster Spirit

During one night, while the herd rested, the visions visited the shaman of the tribe. Nad'Lun's shaman saw luminous shapes in the sky, and they spoke unintelligible things. They took the shaman to a place made of cold smooth rock, and they grafted an amulet on the shaman's head, just below the infrared eye. The shaman then wakes up, the glittering amulet still stuck on the shaman's head.

The strange amulet frighten the shaman and his flock.

With haste the shaman commands the herd to stop next to the great canyon in which the river to the coast flows. He prepares to consult the Soul Wind that flows through the world.

The shaman did not manage to catch anything from the Soul Winds, except for a slight alarm pheromone to the south of their position.

And so did the shaman gather a group of brave and capable individuals, so that they might investigate the cries of help coming from south.

One member of warriors, herders and gatherers composed this fellowship, and to aid them they were given 4 tuft hoppas and one flash hoppa.

"Run to the south my children, and find what causes our brethren to cry for us!"

As they head south, they start to find the alarm pheromone moving into another direction. But now the alarm pheromone seem to get stronger, and the tuft hoppas are feeling more afraid by the day. The warrior gestured, "What strange smells the winds give us! It seem to lead us in different ways, trying to get us lost!"

"Apprentice shaman! Use your knowledge of the scent way to guide us to our elusive brethren! There is no time to be lost!" exclaims the warrior.

"May the Soul Wind guide my gaze!"

Try as they might, the pheromone seems to come from all directions, and perhaps none at all. The apprentice shaman even noted a kind of presence, somewhat associated with malice and trickery. It seems like the work of spirits. But suddenly, the spirit makes itself known in the guise of a bright purple sentient Hopper, seemingly made of the mists of the swamp. "Hahaha, you were fun to misled, nephews. I admire your tenacity and zeal to rescue a brethren in trouble." it gestured.

"For that, I shall give you a present - will it do you good, or will it do you harm? Only time will tell..." With the last gestures, the spectre of the trickster disappears, along with a swath of fog into the marshes. In the middle of a clearing, the group saw a light-colored Maiden coming, its pouches holding clumps of bright blue plants.

The event leaves the fellowship in awe. The maiden is humbly accepted to the group, the tribals being too afraid to question what they just witnessed. In silence, they build a camp and go to rest with their guest.

The Fair Maiden's Arrival

A new dawn rises, and the Fellowship packs up their camp. The mischievous spirit misled them and lured them astray with its tricks, and now, the fellowship is lost. Luckily, the young herder should be able to locate the herd by its signature scent. The herder managed to track a herd of Tuft Hoppa pheromone, and they follow it. To their relief, this isn't one of the spirit's tricks again; It led them out of the marshes and into the river plains.

Once the scent was found, the herd was easy to locate.

The fellowship returns to the campsite. It seems that the herd had not moved during the absence of these brave adventurers. Perhaps the shaman was too worried about them, so he prevented the herd from moving.

The return of the fellowship is met with joy, but the fair colored maiden quickly becomes the center of attention. Her scent is new and exotic, and the color of her skin has never been seen before. It doesn't take long before the majority of the tribe is all over her, welcoming the her to the tribe.

While this is going on, the fellowship reports to the shaman. They tell everything they saw, but even the shaman seems to be confused.

"Bring the young one to my hut, I must analyze her, and seek guidance from the Soul Wind. The world spirit is indeed restless if what you say is true. Meanwhile, you should tell the hunters to get back to their duties, the herd has been stationary for almost two weeks now, and the our supplies are starting to get depleted. Also inform the herders that they need to collect the scattered herd, we will be departing soon."

The maiden reiterates what she said to the group: that she comes from a great tribe in the sky, and she brought gifts in her pockets. The Soul Winds seem to agree with her story. The shaman examines one of the gifts. "What kind of plant is this? I have never seen one quite like this one."

The shaman asks how the maiden managed to find her way here.

She says she was sent to this world to look for another tribe, for the great sky tribe was the only one. As for the plant, her people uses it for food and equipment, and they farm them. Her tribe calls it the Hrass. She said she'll happily share the secrets of farming.

The shaman is somewhat confused by the concept. Since the times of O'nulaa, have the Nad'lun wandered the plains with the hoppa herds. To settle down and plant the Hrass and wait it to grow seems....against the nature of his people. He still thanks the maiden for giving these plants and the knowledge how to utilize them. He will preserve their seeds for future usage.

The Nightmare Spirit

A terrifying Nightmare Spirit happened to visit the eldest shaman, and put forth visions of death and disasters of a great scale. The spirit then declares for the Lem to either follow him in spreading death and destruction, or stand in its way and be obliterated. If they want to follow the Nightmare Spirit, they will put a skull on a stick and put it outside the shaman's hut.

The Ta'Mirel saw this spirit. And as one it was refused with a brave response. The lem used the horn of the Ramel blood gorger. On this they attached a rib from an alpha ramel. Ensured Death and Strength with the longest reach. This was their message. In symbolic ritual each Lem tied a sinew rope to the massive spear. one by one. "We are powerful allies, and horrific enemies. Stand with us, or be crushed beneath us spirit." The Ta’mirel decorate their tula with these totems. They are driven to action after a perceived threat.

The Ta'mirel made their stance known to the spirit... they chose to defy the nightmare. Indeed, in the following months, trouble falls upon the Ta'mirel in the form of carnivorous Ragas attacks which claimed their Cidex pair, and four of their own. But all is not lost, for the Cidex left them their bones, and they managed to capture several Ramel eggs.

The meeting of K'lahk and Ta'mirel

The Nightmare pictograph

The Ta'Mirel send a detachment of heavily armed force of emissaries to Tundra Frowgman territory, thinking it important to overwhelm a potential ally into submission. In tow they carry packs of weapons, armor, tools, and musical instruments.

The K'Lahk thought the Lem were about to conduct a large raid on their village, and threw stones to the supposed intruders. The Ta'mirel, however, stood their ground and managed to hold their agression long enough to not attack the K'Lahk outright. This action was seen by the K'Lahk, who now stopped their rock volleys, curious as what these strange armored Lem have in mind.

The Ta'mirel sent a heavily armored Lem with the message-spear. The Lem stood right outside the K'Lahk village's borders, and stabbed the message-spear to the ground. It then sat down, while waiting for a representative of the K'Lahk to come.

The K'Lahk find this behavior unusual and quite unbecoming of the Lem who have raided their cousins. They spend some time discussing a course of action, really just arguing, until they finally decide to send out two of their own. One of them an older Frowg that has seen many things and is considered knowledgeable on many subjects, and another a warrior, in case this was a trick.

The elder Frowgman, accompanied with the warrior, approached the lone armored Lem. The Lem then gestured at the spear, slowly pointing at the different pictures engraved on it. The elder Frowgman is confused at first, until he saw the black figure killing the Lem. "I think the long-heads are in trouble," he said to the warrior. "What is it that trouble you so, o long-head?" He then said to the Lem, which obviously do not speak Frowgmanese. The Lem then spoke, slowly, while drawing a circle with crosshatches in the middle of it on the snow.

"Bhasss... Ket." That is what the Frowgmanons heard in the frozen winds.

The Lem picks up some armor and points to the inside of it. It is woven like a basket. The Lem indicates the equipment is for the frowg, then gestures one last time to the final picture on the spear, and leaves. in the equipment pile is a map spear on how to reach the Lem.

The K'Lahk provide the Lem with Baskets before they go. They gather up this great pile of stuff and study all of it.

The elder K'Lahk argue about it for a while and decide that whatever is bothering the Lem is a big enough deal that they came to show them about it. Many remain skeptical since nothing has really befallen them yet but the final idea is gratitude to the Lem, for their gifts if not their warning, and caution against a heavily armored Lem force.

As a final note the K'Lahk feel rather embarrassed about the result of their initial assault on the Lem, justified or not, and decide to work on that as time allows.

The K'lahk and Ta'mirel Exchange

The K'lahk also decide that if they are going to keep communicating with the Lem, they need to do something about this barrier and send back a messenger to try and work out letting some Frowgs stay with the Ta'mirel for a while and vice versa so they can learn more about the other, secure an alliance and ease trade.

The conclave invites the FrowgMen into their tribe. They go on their hunts, eat with them, and in time they begin to learn eachothers language. The frowgs are confused at first as to when sleep happens. It is learned Lem do not sleep. Accommodation is made for the Frowgs with simple bedding.

Next, they learn that there were no elders. As each Lem splits, the resulting lem share the memories of the first, they have no unique identity.

Finally were the rites of death. When one Lem dies, the tribe eats it. They gain some of its memories and biomass. In this way the lem lives on. This was also odd for the frowg. They were invited to participate.

They are blasted with visions, images and feelings they can't decipher and then end up learning the language of the Ta'Mirel and forgetting their own, not noticed until they actually had to communicate with the Frowgs of the K'Lahk again.

The Lem representatives are accepted into the K'Lahk. There is much discussion about this, even after the decision has been made, but in the end, what is done is done. The Lem are put through what to the Frowgs is a rigorous schedule selected from the main areas of K'Lahk life, an opinion slightly changed after they learn the Lem do not sleep, though they are still provided with accommodations.

They go on hunts with the warriors and engage in their axeplay training and entertainment, and end up teaching the warriors more than they themselves are taught, showing them the proper ways to hunt Cidex.

They work alongside the craftsfrowgs as they create instruments, building segments, tools and weapons for the Tribe.

They practice with the artisans, engaging in the story telling and acting they perform every night, though the storytelling comes much later than the acting for them till they learn the language.

And lastly they sit with the elders of the tribe, who discuss among themselves the actions most beneficial to the tribe to take.

At the end, the K'Lahk have a great deal more appreciation for the Lem and were astounded at their rapid learning of the Frowg language.

The Mountain Kunaba

The K'Lahk explore the northern mountains, looking for anything of value or interest. It is presumed they were lost trying to find a way to the summit.

A rescue operation is conducted by the K'Lahk villagers. Aided by some of their Ta'mirel allies, they went to look for the missing scouts.

They reached them just in time, for the scouts were trapped within a cave during an avalanche.

One survivor mentioned that they had somehow angered the mountain's spirit, and he thinks the mountain demand respect from them.

The rescue party and the survivors then successfully returned to the village, to the warm embrace of wives, sisters and mothers.

The artisans pester the survivors with questions and soon have started drafting a story for it. With all the things they have to remember, the artisans have begun making small marks to help them recall stories and special things. They name the mountain "Kunaba."

The K'Lahk, inspired by the stories and a desire to be able to record them for future generations to understand, had developed Written Alphabet! Although it's very different from their Fo'wil brethrens' writing.

The elders have a discussion about what to do with Kunaba. They are not certain how to appease the spirit of the mountain, but decide that maybe having a festival in its honour and doing the play they made about it might help out. The K'Lahk made a very good performance, combining dancing with shadow puppetry. Throughout this festival, the K'Lahk recounted and reenacted their history so far, from their arrival on the northern lands, to the encounter with the Lem, to how they ended up on the foot of the mountain.

They sent another group to scout out Kunaba again, maybe now whatever resides there is appeased. To their surprise, they found a large patch of Ragas on one side of the mountain. The scouts returned in a hurry, narrowly escaping the vicious carnivorous Ragas.

Everyone agrees that Kunaba is a dangerous mountain and should only be attempted by the strongest and most cunning, and never alone.

The Nad'lun Settlement

The Nad'lun continue their migration towards the large inland lakes and the fresh plains that surround them, only stopping occasionally for supplies and repairs.

As the Nad'lun descend to their usual river crossing glen, they find it completely flooded.

Luckily they manage to catch some food, more than enough to last until the water recedes.

While they wait, the herd disperses to the nearby regions to feed, along with some herders to guard them. The Nad'lun use this time to warm up their social ties with dances and plays, repair their gear and raise the young and perhaps breed few more.

The fair colored maiden has gained quite popularity amongst the younger Nad'lun. Her ideas about farming are still being rejected by the Shaman, and the other elders, as to them, the nomadic lifestyle is the only true one.

The younger hoppas on the other hand find the idea intriguing, and full of possibilities.

The maiden and her followers have gathered at the shores of the river in order to get some water, and test the farming idea in practice.

Fast lane to agriculture city, I see. the younger Nad'Lun find that it is easy to grow Hrass, and this particular kind is growing rather fast with the Maiden's effects and the fresh river silt carried by the flood it is planted on. The Hrass's bulbs grow fat in just over a month, at which time the floods recede and their path opens once more.

The waters have moved, and now the path is clear and the time for the Nad'lun to move onwards has come. The seeds of dissonance have been sownd however.

The moth of wait was quite blissful for the tribe. Three children reached adolescence while 2 more were born. The hoppa herd grew and feasted in this lush and fertile river valley, and the Nad'lun had more time than ever before to just lay back and do what they pleased.During this serene month the youngsters cultivate the Hrass in abundance.

In this fertile ground, the plants grow fast and become extremely nutritious.

But now that the time to move out is at hand, some Nad' lun would rather remain in this valley, and continue this easy lifestyle. The hrass could provide them with a steady supply of food, along with the herds, as the vegetation in this valley seems to be bountiful. This doesn't fit well with the elders, who think that staying put would stand against all of their traditions and beliefs. The hrass grows too slow for them, as the herd never stays put for long.

They place their blame on the fair maiden, who they see responsible for perverting the minds of the youngsters with revolutionary ideas.

The elder council has gathered to a hearing, to decide the appropriate course of action.

The elders resent the idea of settling down, but they cannot argue against the clear benefits of cultivating the Hrass. It grows fast, it is easy to farm and it's parts have multiple potential uses. The leaves could be potentially woven into sheets and ropes, which have formerly been mostly made from hoppa skin and tendons, which have been in limited supply.

But it is also clear that there are risks in settling down in one area. The herds can't graze the valley indefinitely, and the hrass is dependent on a steady supply of water.

The Nad'lun argue deep in to the night, both the traditionalists led by the shaman and the brood mothers gain supporters, as do the followers of the maiden. Eventually, when the final speech dance has taken it's place, a compromise is made. The tribe will split into different groups, some of which herd smaller herds in the plains surrounding the valley, while the the rest of the tribe will stay in the valley, and cultivate the hrass.

This way, the massive herd won't exceed the ecological capacity of the valley, and thus allowing the Nad'lun to build a safe heaven in this protective glen, in which they can farm hrass and grow in strength.

The smaller herds will be led by experienced herders and guarded by warriors and flash hoppas, as they travel the plains and eventually return to the valley for resupply, news and orders from the elder council.

The valley will be used as a stronghold for the tribe, in which they can be safe in case of a disaster. The annual flooding will allow the hrass grow in steady supply, which will give the Nad'lun a secure power base.

The elder council is forced to accept this agreement grudlingly, as so many of the younger and even mature Nad'lun see the benefits this plan gives to them.

The transition to this new way of life, won't be instantaneous of course. The tribe itself needs to grow first, before they can actually split apart and guarantee the safety of the massive herd.

It will be seen if the food supply of the valley can bear the strain the herd gives to it, while the Nad'lun prepare for this revolutionary shift in living.

The First Road

The Ta'Mirel put forth a request that there are vanguards of Lem at the K'lahk village, and Vice versa. In addition a simple path with outposts will be built between the two villages.

The K'Lahk are overjoyed with the kindness of the Ta'Mirel and have no problems setting up a long term alliance with them and helping them man outposts.

Due to the lack of suitable materials, no real roads have been made. Mostly they're just well-used trails. The outposts were a good idea, as they can provide wayfarers with supply on the way. Some outposts have been made between the two villages. The outposts were strong, built from massive Cidex bones and carved stone, each one lit up at night with a pyre.

Art blossomed in the Ta'mirel tribe. Possibly because contact with other tribes has softened their xenophobic nature. The Lem sent a crate of Ramel eggs, and a tamer to the Tundra Frowgman camp as a gift and potential future weapon for their allies to use when the time comes.

The Ta'mirel, having discovered how to work stones, proceed to smooth out the paths using the stones. It was then found that placing slabs of flat rock works, and the first stone road is made, between the Ta'mirel and the K'Lahk.

The Ta'mirel found out that the Road can be improved with the addition of crushed Ragas root under the rocks. This made the road smoother, while also making small plants grow near it. these became ready food for their Ramel beasts of burden. This led to the outposts becoming more travelled, and thus, more settlers develop the outposts into villages.

The Ta'mirel teach the K'lahk

Finally the Lem language is deciphered from the exchange and the K'Lahk are able to communicate with their tall neighbours in their own tongue. A few Frowgs even take up their families and move to live among them, wanting to experience the simple unity of Lem life. Hopefully the Ta'Mirel are welcoming of the idea.

The Lem induct some of the frowgs that chose to take part in their death ritual to undergo berserker training with the Solider-Killers. Less frenzied Frowgs are welcomed to train with the Scout-Hunters, learning how to use the Net as a weapon, combined with a mounted Ramel charge.

The Ta'mirel tried to teach the K'Lahk in the arts of war and fighting, but differing viewpoints and body structure had slowed progress.

There are enough riding ramel that the lem wish to share this new mode of transport and labor with their allies. The K'Lahk failed to capture further Ramel this season. Dissatisfied, the men then asks the Lem for guidance in caring the few they do have. They learned quickly. The Frowgyouths seek to master the art of riding Ramel. More and more of them show up at the corral, learning their skills through Lem instructors.

The Ta'Mirel welcome the K'Lahk to their homes and life, and in time begin to see the tribes as one, as the Frowg would put it, "family." The lem did not realize it at a conscious level, but long ago in their genetic memory the Lem and Frowg were allies once before, the lem like loyal dogs tagging along. If the frowg knew, it would be poetic to them, but this was lost to the ages and the depths of the Lem's subconsciousness.

The Great Hall

The K'lahk decide to build a great hall for their gatherings, one big enough that all frowgs from all over the land can come and enjoy. It is a colossal task by their estimates and will no doubt take quite some time to do, but they are up to the task.

The K'Lahk expands further, knowing that the Ragas are in the mountains. They try to gain as much land as possible, and in cases, they did by defeating carnivorous Ragas and harvesting their root. These, in turn, became good material to make their great hall, the construction of which is going smoothly.

The Lem begin to move towards helping the Frowg as they help each other, instinctively. They pile onto the great hall project, working while the frowg sleep. It seems that the construction of the great hall is already receiving great efforts from the K'Lahk tribesmen, and the Ta'mirel hands found little to do. During the day they attempt to turn the road outposts into full blown villages.

The artisians also work feverishly to recall more of their history to tell when it occurs to one, could we not make the story ourselves? The idea is an alien one to most, but a small group of Frowgs take it upon themselves to make a story that will move the people, something everyone has always wanted to hear. They think the stories they create didn't work as well as the old stories. They tell these stories to their children instead.

The K'Lahk continue the building of the great hall, gathering materials from all over their new territory to make it the best it can be.

The mighty task inspires the K'Lahk, driving them to find even better ways to build, sturdy enough to stand the march of time and still be visually pleasing.

The Great Hall's construction is unimpeded, but it will take some more time until it's ready for habitation. New building techniques were devised for the Great Hall so it can last the tests of time; Little do they know that it'll be used in almost every home they will make in the future. The K'Lahk discovered Slightly Advanced Construction!

The Tuft Hoppa Plague

The time is right for the decision, as a mysterious malady strikes the herds of Tuft Hoppas. The infected Hoppas lose most of their leg strength in just three days after the initial symptoms of getting purple rashes on their body, and soon afterwards die. Most of the tribe's herds were decimated, with only a tenth of the Tuft Hoppas resilient enough to survive the plague.

In the meantime, the Hrass grows plenty on the valley, and distraught herders begin to think about changing their lifestyle.

After the first outbreak of the Spotted Plague, scouts were sent to determine the cause of it, as well as looking for wild Tuft Hoppas to domesticate. It seems that there's been an anomalous wind pattern coming from the marshes, depositing fine dust all over the eastern river plains around the time the Spotted Plague happened.

It is not known why only Tuft Hoppas were affected.

This disastrous event causes strife amongst the Nad'luns. The traditionalists, the shaman especially saw the plague as a sign and a punishment from the ancestral spirits for the abandonment of the traditional lifestyle.

The farmers on the other hand claim that by farming hrass, they saved themselves from total disaster, as without an ample amount of tuft hoppas, the tribe would be in serious trouble if they still were nomads.

Overall, the split within the tribe is stronger than ever, but the circumstances themselves prevent an overall collapse. The traditionalists can't abandon the valley and adopt the herding life again, as there aren't enough hoppas to be herded. The two opposing factions work together for now, to ensure their common survival.

They send out multiple scouts, some to locate more tuft hoppas and others to investigate the marshes. The farmers start planting new crops to alleviate the looming food shortage, and also to give the now aimless herders something to do. The Shaman also attempts to search answers from the Soul Wind.

Scouts have managed to find that wild Tuft Hoppas have less casualties than domesticated ones, and they soon find some groups of wild Tuft Hoppas.

The investigation team went to the marshes, and saw that the marsh had suffered a minor drought, which caused some soil to dry up. Comparing the dried marsh soil to the fine dust matches them; the dust had indeed come from the marshes. Exactly why does this cause the plage was not yet known.

There were large amount of dried-out purple-leaved Yantar on the dried-out patch of soil.

Little does the investigative team know that every move they make is observed carefully by hundreds of tiny sensors. Sensors belonging to the Glud.

Meanwhile, the Shaman receives a sizable aura of sickness from the Soul Wind. Understandable, since the herds are still recovering, but the Shaman can pick up small clues such as 'purple?', '!marsh-smell' and '!bad smart Hoppa'. He thinks this plague may be caused by the trickster entity from the marshes.

Meanwhile the Shaman is dismayed by his visions, and curses the trickster spirit An'zutha. The fellowship's encounter with it has brought nothing but harm in his eyes. First the floods, then the abhorrent farming and abandonment of the ways of O'nulaa and now the plague. The trickster has to be behind all of this! It squirmed its way to the tribe through its agent, the fair maiden, who poisoned the minds of the young!

The Shaman storms from his tent, and heads straight to the Hrass fields. There he encounters the fair maiden, whom he immediately charges and bashes with his staff. Before he is able to harm her any further, he is fortunately restrained by the other farmers.

"This foul wench has brought ruination to our people! Her ways are corrupting us and bringing the wrath of O'nulaa upon us! She must go!"

The violent outburst of their leader has left the majority of the tribe in a state of discomfiture, some of them might agree with him on some level, but this kind of an unwarranted attack on a young maiden is unheard of.

Tensions rise. Some of the older Nad'Lun agrees with the Shaman, but far more thinks the Shaman's getting too old and is losing its mind. For now, no open hostilities ensue, but the Shaman is slowly losing control.

Fortunately the conflict subsides without any blows, but the inner tensions of the tribe are still extremely strong. It seems that the farmers have the upper hand though, as the violent outburst of the shaman only served to alienate him from the majority of the tribe.

He is still respected for the wisdom and guidance he has provided to the tribe in the past, but some think that these current struggles are taking their toll on him.

The maid is tended by her followers, some of which are infuriated by the shaman's actions. The maiden however advise against this, and begs her followers to bear no ill will towards the traditionalists, as they too are doing what they think is best for the tribe.

When the scouts return with the tuft hoppas they found, some of the tensions are alleviated. The familiar sounds and scent of the tuft hoppas eases the minds of the traditionalist herders, who can once again, return to their former occupations, and even the shaman seems to be rather relieved.

The herd is still far from its former glory, but it has begun to recover.

N'olai defeats the River Serpent

A hunter that was tasked to lure the Slizer to the shallows by tossing pieces of tuft hoppa meat had instead attracted the attention of the beast. The Slizer then bursts out of the deep river, snatching the unlucky Hopper hunter, and got itself stranded in the shallows. The other Hoppas, partly terrified, partly enraged at the casualty, jumped in and starts stabbing the Slizer. The Slizer retaliates, causing quite a few injuries and another casualty to the Hoppas, and tries to snatch another Hoppa into its hungry maw.

Deftly using all but one of its appendages, this Hoppa held the mouth of the Slizer open, while the free appendage reached for a dagger and stabbed the Slizer to death. The brave Hoppa was carried about a good mile or so during the struggle.

After the Slizer and the before quite unremarkable young herder named N'olai was swept by the river in their struggle, the tribe was in a state of confusion. They swiftly started moving down stream in desperate hopes to avenge their fallen brethren.

Eventually they came upon a small cove, in which the slizer was lying dead. At the shores, bloodied but alive, sat N'olai. There was much rejoicing to be had, as a mere herder was now a legend. The gap of dissonance between the traditionalists and farmers was all but forgotten in the great feast that followed.

Most of the Nad'lun didn't care for the body of the beast, but while the tribe celebrated, some of the more curious ones attempted to loot the corpse.

The Nad'luns feast lasts deep into the night, they eat and play and dance the night away. Eventually the very reason for this grand celebration is forgotten, as the hoppas embrace each other in their newfound unity. Rows and disagreements are settled and social bonds reformed.

The split within the tribe is healed almost completely during this festival.

N'olai, the serpent slayer and the champion of the celebration, managed to withdraw himself from the party, after it became clear that the fest celebrating his deeds had much greater purpose in reuniting his tribe. His departure was only noticed by the fair maiden, who proceeded to follow him.

The maiden who unintentionally caused the inner split to form, and the herder whose heroic act remedied it, both thought that their presence at the feast would only distract the Nad'lun from their reformed unity, thus the two young hoppas, stayed back and watched their tribe's reunion from the trunk of a massive Calix Yantar plant.

The Gift of the Soul Wind

The next morning the shaman ponders on the resent events. The threat of inner conflict is all but gone now, and things seem to be taking a turn for the better. Although the other hoppa that got killed by the slizer was his top student in the arts of the Scent Way, losing him was a heavy blow to the future of the tribe. Without a shaman, the Nad'lun are aimless. A replacement must be found. The shaman consults the Soul Wind for answers.

The Shaman consults the Soul Wind... and the graft on his head suddenly glow a dim yellowish hue and hummed. It drove the Shaman into a trance. Knowledge suddenly rushed into its mind; it was if a whole layer of reality was peeled away, uncovering this truth to the Shaman. The Shaman learned that all sentient Hoppas can learn how to read the Soul Wind as easy as breathing, if there are specific points on their body that were poked simultaneously. Then another information floats into the Shaman's vision; poking another set of points lets a Hoppa to communicate without having to move, produce pheromone or be in sight range.

After recovering from this revelation, the Shaman calls for one of its most inept students, and tried the technique on the young Hoppa. Suddenly the young Hoppa sends a message without moving at all: "Hey, what'd did you do that for?"

The Shaman, overjoyed, tries again on another passer-by, and the same thing happened. Soon after a storm of fervent poking, the whole tribe, even the Maiden, can talk without moving or spewing pheromones.

Special ability unlocked: Telepathy.

This stunning new ability is taken with mixed feelings, the Nad'lun are now able to communicate much faster, now that there is no need for dancing, but on the other hand, many are afraid that with this newfound ability, they will lose what remains of their traditions and culture. Some fear that the Scent Way will be forgotten, now that it isn't necessary for communication anymore.

Others think that their new ability will just augment their existing communication, as the pheromones are still capable of conveying primal thoughts, emotions and motivations with stunning clarity.

Although the shaman himself discovered this skill, he still wishes to preserve the Scent Way. He dedicated his whole life for studying it, and thus he can't allow it to fade away in the advent of telepathy. He needs to find a follower for himself, a new shaman.

The new shaman must be able to unify the tribe under one banner, he must inspire the Nad'lun to greatness. Luckily, a suitable candidate emerged very recently.

N'olai becomes a shaman

The Shaman summons N'olai to his hut. There he explains the young hoppa the situation. He tells N'olai that his time is up. The shaman is old, over 38 years of age. Tribal hoppa's life span is usually around 40 years. The shaman must pass down his knowledge of the Scent Way, the Soul Wind, legends, tales, myths, everything he knows. For not even telepathy can decipher the fickle currents of the Soul Wind, one needs knowledge for that.

His top student, the one that the Slizer killed, was supposed to take up his mantle. Now it can't be done, and time is running out for the Shaman. He can perhaps expand on N'olai's training, but he can't make him a Shaman fast enough. The shaman has a plan however. He might be able to use telepathy to transfer his knowledge to N'olai swifter. It is the only way to ensure that all that must be known is preserved.

Meanwhile, the tribe sends scouts to cross the river once more. Others ready themselves for a hunting trip. The maiden is organizing the foundation of another Hrass field.

The Shaman strains hard, and soon N'olai found information seeping into its brain... N;olai lets the information in, like the river rushing into the plains. Within instants, new concepts in Shamanism became known in N'olai's mind, obviously transferred from the Shaman. After an hour of intense data-transfer, N'olai had received the Shaman's body of knowledge, and both were severely exhausted. The Shaman pulsed a message to N'olai: "And now, the legacy will be continued..."

The next day, the Shaman died of natural causes.

The death of the shaman comes abruptly for the Nad'lun. Although the atmosphere within the tribe had been rather tense during these last few month, the shaman was still beloved by the majority of the tribe. He had guided the Nad'lun with great wisdom for decades, and his sudden passing leaves the tribe in shock.

Again, do the Nad'lun stay awake deep into the night. A grand funeral pyre is lit and the body of the shaman, along with his belogings are placed in it, so that his spirit may once again merge with the soul wind. There is no dancing this night, the Nad'lun stand and watch silently, as the fire burns away their former leader.

N'olai, is the one to lit the pyre and thus assume the role of the next shaman, although some of the elder, more experienced herders are rather skeptical about his merit for this mantle.

The next day, is still a day of mourning, but the Nad'lun still continue their duties. Hrass is harvested, hoppas herded and the scouts move out to the unknown territories past the river, in search of new grazing land.

The amulet that was grafted to the shamans head is uncovered by N'olai, beneath the ashes of the pyre, virtually unharmed. Many of the Nad'lun had already forgotten about this thing, as the shaman had only exposed it once. This discovery sends his mind in motion. This amulet had set these events in motion in the first place. Where did it come from? What is it?

Suddenly, a sense of dread fills him. He carefully puts the amulet into his pouch, afraid of touching it, and carries it to the shaman's former hut. There he starts digging through the memories and knowledge the shaman transferred, for clues about the amulet.

N'olai stared at the amulet and became fixated with a slight touch. The day had burned away, and the amulet was missing. N'olai only noticed much later, the amulet was fixed firmly to him. The world was visible to him, even with his eyes shut. In the dark, asleep, the Scent Way was with him always.

The K'lahk journey South

The construction on the great hall has been going smoothly, but the K'Lahk finally encounter their first real problem, shortage of supplies.

The tundra has always been a place where usuable resources are few and far between and now the K'Lahk are using up the little they have stockpiled over the years for the building of new houses.

The elders, seeing this would be a problem in the near future, decide to send a large group, consisting of at least 7 families to go to the south and harvest large amounts of Frilla.

They plan to use the Ramel as beasts of burden to pull back the felled trees on sleds of made mainly of Cidex armour with copious amounts of carnivorous ragas roots as binding.

It is a colossal task and will require much planning, not to mention the issues with uprooting seven or eight families. but it must be done if the work is to progress as planned. They send a runner with a letter to the Ta'Mirel, inviting them to send Lem along if they so desire.

There is strength in numbers and the journey will be difficult with so many to manage along with beasts. If they do send anyone along, the K'Lahk promise to assist them with their own business in the south.

The The Ta'Mirel accept and match the K'Lahk numbers.

The K'Lahk barely manage to hunt enough supplies for the trek, and since building materials are scarce, the main construction for the Great Hall is postponed.

The K'Lahk journey south west, passing on the very edge of the Ta'mirel lands on their treck.

Finally they reach the river separating the north and south and there they find a new problem.

There has never been much trouble crossing this waterbody before, but they have never tried to do it with such numbers before, including the goods and beasts they travel with.

After some discussion they decide that building a bridge out of their remaining building supplies would probably work best for them, even though it will leave them with little shelters to put up for the group until they can prepare something on the other side.

Perhaps they can seek safe haven with their southern brothers.

The Lem have a surplus of stone, and Ramel Plates (ramel shed their horns and plates regularly). They will help with the bridge, it will be a good joint exercise and useful knowledge in the future.

The combined Ta'mirel and Tundra Frowg manage to finish the bridge, but they have to return to gather more supplies because of the snowstorm. The caravan then retried, this time having easier travels because the snowstorm had abated, and the bridge is still standing strong. They manage to reach Fo'Wil territory, and helped with the locals. Nothing much was learned from them, apart that they have different mannerism and culture from the Tundra Frowgs. It was then the Ta'mirel consulted the Fo'Wil elder about their nightmares.

The K'Lahk group proceed to the great frilla forests nearby, axes at the ready and dig into the free trees, for supplies to use un the building of the great hall.

As the K'Lahk lumberjacks are about to strike the Frilla trees with their axe, a Fo'Wil ran screaming at them, and promptly shocked the lead lumberjack. Tensions rise a bit before the Fo'Wil explains that they revere the Frilla trees, and thus they only harvest its dead bark. The K'Lahk were confused, because their version of Frilla trees didn't shed their bark

THE K'LAHK HARVEST THE EVER LOVING HELL OUT OF THE BARK, VINES AND OUT ROOTS UNTIL THEIR RAMEL CAN CARRY NO MORE

AND THEN THEY TAKE MORE

The Great Hall's construction gets going again with fresh supplies, and thus the Great Hall is completed.

Fwill meets the spirit of Kunaba

Back home in K'Lahk, the tribe continues it's daily life, each working a bit harder to take the load for those gone to the south.

The unfinished, yea, barely begun great hall stands in the rough center of the territory, far larger even in it's initial stages than anything else yet attempted by the Northern Frowgmen.

It is during this time that one young frowg, armed with his fathers 4 axes and clad in his armour, decided to do something forbidden. Scale Kunaba.

Taking his families tamed ramel and provisions, he makes his way to the imposing mountain in the dead of night, eager to make a name for himself and be among the first stories told in the great hall.

History will make him a legend, or a fool.

The young Frowg trekked through the snow, seeking to defeat Kunaba by conquering its peak. First, he had to plow through a clump of carnivorous Ragas. He fought, and succeed in beating them, at the cost of his Ramel. The youth pressed on, and the higher he gets, the more snow and cold buffeted against his body. He went up, and through a blizzard. During these days his provisions dwindled. he still pressed on. After a few more days of high winds and snow, the youth was close to his limits, both mentally and physically... it was then the boy received a vision.

An elderly Frowg, his skin white like snow and garment grey like the mountain skies, approached him from the direction of the peak. He spoke, "What is it with you Frowg mortals' determination towards this place? I applaud you for your bravery, boy. But tell me, why do you try so hard to reach my peak?"

The boy was troubled by the question, he was no elder, who knew the ways of the world to answer, and beyond that he had questions about the frowg before him. He had never seen one of such colour before and it seemed laughable to him that an elder had reached here before him.

He kept his questions to himself however, feeling the answer important, not only to the asker, but to himself. Why did he do this?

"To...prove our worth. Our worth to live in this land, to inherit it. If we are held back by such a small thing, then how can we hold our heads high."

The boy shook his head; he had said much more than he intended, or even consciously thought. Nevertheless, it was said, and he waited for a reply, gripping his axes for defense as much as comfort.

The elder Frowg laughed, sounding much like the howl of the wind through a narrow valley.

"You have proven yourself to be brave enough to come to my doorstep. But remember this: respect nature, and nature shall respect you. Now begone, you have better things to do than just freezing to death here."

A blizzard quickly obscures the elder Frowgman, and the off-white and greyish color soon encircled the youth, obscuring him until it was just him, the grey-white void, and the shrill wind at his ears that remain. It seemed like forever, but the blizzard clears... and the boy found himself just outside the village.

The youth, Fwill, is slightly confused as to how he got back home, but cannot wait to tell everyone what he had seen and felt.

He immediately rushed in to a meeting of the elders, where they were discussing what to do about his disappearance and the loss of a Ramel and launches into his story, delaying questions with sheer enthusiasm.

The youth, named Fwill, has brought honour to his family.

With the elder taking his side, the rest of the council was eventually won over and his story accepted as true.

He is quickly flooded with Storytellers and prospective spouses, each eager to be the first to take his time.

It is a grand occasion for the family, as Fwill has brought them honour and prestige. Fwill who was second in his warrior group is raised to leader and he has been given permission to continue the family, taking a new symbol for himself (right) based on the main family symbol (left).

The Fo'wil teach the Ta'mirel

The Lem as a whole have been bothered by the dream/thoughts thoughts during their periods of inactivity. Ash, Death, weakness, cultivation. What did it all serve to show them? They knew the frowg were spiritual, so they consulted a Frowg Elder on the matter to see if any thing could be learned.

The Ta'Mirel and K'Lahk payed their way in their jounry south to the Fo'wil. The Lem wanted to speak to the Elders badly, they kept insisting that they needed to see their spears. In time it was explained the spears bared the story of the nightmare. It was the only time the "lem" had slept. In it a mosterous spirit offered them the chance to give into their natural urges and destory the world. They refused and it promised retribution against them.

The Lem offered an alliance of the Ta'mirel and K'lahk tribes. They would trade knowlegde and aid each other in the Tomorrow War.

The Elder told the Ta'mirel representative about the legends they have, of how long ago, before the first Frowgmen ever walked on these lands, the World-Force created this world. Soon after the World-Force made creatures grow and prosper, a visitor from beyond the stars laid a flaming egg on the world, and the egg-yolk came to life. This new creature was helpful to the world, but it was but yolk.

The Great Force saw that it should fulfill its destiny to be truly born, and thus, to ensure they were born, the Great Force cracked the world-land so the yolk may mature. Through this great calamity, the yolk managed to be reborn. Along with the great crack, the first Frowgmen also appeared, and according to legend it also caused the world-land to be split into four pieces.

Humbled by the fact that the frowg knew this yet it was their story. The Ta'Mirel listened, it was not just their story but of all Lem. The Fo'wil were a tribe of story tellers, merchants, artisans, artists, and farmers. To the Lem they were not soldiers, tacticians, or even simple fighters.

The Lem wished to protect these people and teach them to protect themselves. Against that which will come in Tomorrow War.

N'olai dominates the Screaming Hoppa

N'olai is rather distraught by the tribes troubles. The amulet managed to attach to him without him noticing it, and he also failed to predict and guard the tribe against the flood. His career as a shaman hasn't started very well. He attempts to seek guidance from the Soul Wind.

He struggeled to commune with the soulwinds. His mind still was reeling from experiencing the previous shamans memories first hand. They came in flashes at any moment breaking the concentration required for communion with the soulwinds.

The herders start seeking wild tuft hoppas to replace the ones they lost in the floods. During their search they come upon a Screaming Hoppa, which quickly tries to intimidate them to back off. One of the herders gets the idea to attempt to commune with the raging creature.

In a moment scouts came running into the village, attempts to control a Screaming Hoppa had failed.

N'olai faces the murderous hoppa, and dominates it's rage filled mind with dance, pheromones and telepathy.

As the creature calms down, and becomes passive, the the tribe bursts into cheers. Now, N'olai has two great deeds in his name. The screaming hoppas have been communed with before, but they are almost always extremely hard to pacify, and thus, the have never really been integrated to the herd. Their minds are too aggressive and stubborn for allowing the full scope of the scent way to reach them.

Now with telepathy however, N'olai could finally preach the shield of rage that clouds their minds, and convey a simple message to the beast's head. Calm down, everything is fine here.

The Nad'lund attempt to use the creature as a watch dog at first. They are notoriously territorial, a trait that is less prominent in the constantly moving packs of Flash Hoppas, which had been used for this job previously.

As they are also hardier and bigger than their tuft hoppa cousins, they could make for great labor creatures. The mega hoppas are so big, that their strength only has limited uses, but the screaming hoppas are more compact, and thus they could be used in more varied ways.

Its insticts cause it to shake off any rope or large load. As a dog of war, it is very capeable, indeed it is quite literally a living engine of destruction, though in its pacified state it releases pheramones used to attract other screaming hoppa during times of mating.

The Lone Hoppa

Far ahead of the camp a lone hoppa scout wanders far to the north. It encounters a group of K'Lahk artisans working on carving a frilla tree into living art. Cautiously the Emissary comes forward, and begins a dance of greeting. They seem shocked at the hoppa and react as if it is a beast.

The Hoppa reaches out with Telepathy and "shouts" to the K'Lahk their dire situation. They bring the Hoppa to meet with their elders. The Lem escort the hoppa, it attempts to commune with them but they either ignore it or cannot "hear". The Hoppa gets a sense of unnaturalness around the Lem

The emissary attempts to convey their predicament to the K'Lahk leaders, while also inquiring about the nature of his hosts.

The K'Lahk elders are very, very confused by the voices in their heads. The more level headed (or some would say the crazier) of the elders attempt to think back,

The Ta'Mirel present at the meeting of the hoppa and K'Lahk could not understand what voices the Frowg elders spoke of, but the beast in front of them posed a threat. The massivly plated warriors tackled the Hoppa and subdued it. They would take no chances, and if it was sentient, then perhaps this would allow for interrogation later.

Being tackled by the lanky armor clad creatures causes the emissary to panic. He desperately tries to escape, and unconsciously causes him to release both strong alarm pheromones as well as reach out his mind for help with bursts of telepathic waves.

The frowg elders notice a strange scent in the air since the odd creature came in, but that can't place it and it doesn't seem harmful so it is mostly ignored as hygienic issues.

As the elders are about to walk away, they hear the voice again admist the stench. "PLEASE HELP! PLEASE! WE ARE STARVING AND YOU HAVE MUCH" the Lem see the disturbance in the Frowg and become visibly agitated, to the point of frothing at the mouth.

Ok, the elders after some brief investigation to discover who said it eventually settle on the newcomer. They again attempt to question the creature and calm their Lem brothers.

The Frowg understand the plea of hunger. They tell the lem what they hear and in turn the Lem clam down a great deal.

The Frowg elders show off the village to the lone hoppa. The Lem assemble a Ramel convoy carrying carts laiden with food, supplies, stone and equipment.

The Frowg lead the convoy. Two lem stayed with them as a token force. Upon arriving at the village a dialogue began. The Frowg agreed to provide aid to the Hoppa tribe. The lem recieved an explanation of what happened later, and decided that they needed to create a system to communicate with the hoppa.

The frowg and lem aided in unloading the cargo, and reconstructing the village with the new and foreign materials. There was a dance competition between the frowg and hoppa, even the two lem participated, but lem are bad at dancing.

The supplies greatly aid the Nad'lun and the strange guests that brought them are met with curiosity. Although the differences in thought patterns still create a language barrier of sorts, the hoppas are able to telepathically convey rudimentary messages to the frogmen.

The lem speak to the frowg, the frowg think to the Hoppa. The message is clear. Opportunity for hoppas to come and live and learn amongst the Enclave, to return with what has been learned. Of alliance.

The Nad'lun consider long and hard about joining the enclave, but in the end, they decide to decline, for now. They still see themselves as nomads, not bound to other than themselves, and thus the idea of joining something greater scares them.

They still agreed that they could allow one observer from the enclave to stay, as long as they also could send one of theirs to the enclave.

Fwill returns to Kunaba

The warriors of the K'Lahk decide to do something impressive as well so as not to be left behind by the artisans. Led by the hero Fwill wielding 4 war axes, 20 warriors set out to take down the biggest, meanest Ramel around.

Fwill marched off into a blizzard, the worst of his generation. Accompanied by K'Lahk Frowg, to accomplish a deed of legend. Battling up the Mountain Kunaba they sought a beast of unrivaled supremacy. One by one the elements the brave frowg warriors retired back to the village. In the end, only bold Fwill was left. Standing at the top of the mountain he croaked his challenge so loud it ripped across the tundra.

His challenge was answered by Valorishous, the largest and oldest Ramel. Its blade horn gigantic, chipped from age and war. The ancient Ramel looked to the small creature for a final worthy fight. The blizzard obscured the Kunaba peak. Fwill was never heard from again. Fwill became a tragic hero. A warning that even the strongest, alone, is easily broken.

A lone scout wandered the base of Kunaba and found in the snowdrifts something historic. A massive skeleton and the four axes of Fwill.

The K'Lahk mourn the loss of their warriors, and the hero Fwill. They have had greatness and sorrow in a short period, and the artisans feel that it must be remembered.

The Artisans compose a saga about Fwill, performed at the Great Hall at the next gathering. The K'Lahk in general agree that it was good. The K'Lahk seized the bones of the massive Ramel which were added to the great hall. His recovered Axes would go on to become symbols of fortitude and endurance.

They also create a group of commemorative discs, with an image of the Great hall carved on one side, and an axe resembling Fwill's on the other, representing the contrasting events, of happiness and sadness, in such close proximity to one another.

It quickly becomes popular among the Frowgs, the topics represented on it so close to their hearts.

The Ta'Mirel see their pain, and feel now is the time to distract them with a friendly skirmish. The K'Lahk win, and a good time was had by all. The memory of Fwill was honored.

The Fortress City of Geshud Deler

The discovery of metal has propelled the tribe forward. Crude stone tools gave way to simple metal tools, the simple metal tools made finer and finer tools. Now the steel of the Onolkeshan is their greatest treasure, weapons sharp and true cleave thru armor. The culture of the Onolkeshan honors the blacksmith and miner. Stone-working has slightly improved with the advent of metal joints, bolts, and scaffolding.

With the advancement in metallurgy Onolkeshan have now better chance in taming the world and increase their hardness of the earth. But people can't eat metal and to increase population, Lem of Onolkeshan need new food sources. There are few ways to achieve this including: Taming some of the local fauna, Expand to south where sea is full of fish or finding a way to grow plants that can survive in winter or which can somehow grow underground to be safe from the cold.

And so the first try will be finding new plants to grow as it is easier to grow food where you already live that run after it to other areas. And there must be a way to defend the increasing wealth. So it is time to roll for finding the new plant to grow and building of city walls with newly acquired advancements in masonry.

Onolkeshan have fortified their home with steel and stone. The huts became towering buildings, those became joined by walls, still the structures swelled and in time the Onolkeshan had created a fortress, and from that fortress they continued to build, stacking higher, taking advantage of available space until the fortress city became one massive Keep. deep in its bowels mines continued to be exploited, foundries worked day and night creating molten steel and smiths hammered away on their latest project.

The Great Fortress-city Geshud Deler rises with speed never seen before. It started as simple project to build walls but soon expanded to change the landscape forever. But even with such great development the problem with food still stays. As farming near city was no longer an option, the great leader of the tribe decided that it's time for Onolkeshan to win their fears and start expanding to south near the sea. With new tools and building techniques it should be easier to success in this quest but as all Lems knows in their subconscious "nothing is ever sure."

The Founding of Laster

At the Fo'Wil village there was a Festival for the Ta'mirel and k'lahk guests. There was dancing and music. The young K'lahk warriors found the Fo'Wil maidens quite comely, and in turn the maidens found the K'Lahk the same.

The Fo'wil host many contests and invite The K'Lahk to particpate. They win a number of these challenges. The prize for winning was the right to marry in the tribe. Some K'lahk choose to take the maidens as wifes. Of them, some choose to stay with the Fo'wil and others returned to the north with their new wives.

Over time the K'Lahk rediscovered their connection to the Frilla, paved a simple road to Fo'wil territory, and built a small encampment.

It is a time of great prosperity for the three tribe group, especially for the K'Lahk and Fo'will. The tribes have interminged much more naturally than with the Lem, bearing to their similar nature, and it has been discovered, though the...repeated efforts of some of the more friendly members that the two people's are similar enough that children can be brought from their union, bearing the hardy skin of the Northerners and slightly stronger electrical powers than the norm, some even being born with poison glands strong enough to knock out a Ramel instead of the standard electrical mutation.

The discovery of the wide mutation in their offspring was taken with mixed results and to stave off what could be growing grumblings, the elders of the tribes had a meeting.

All of them.

Never before had all the members of the K'Lahk or the Fo'will sat together at the same time, the sheer number of each group overwhelming, but now, they came out in their numbers to discuss the future of their tribes.

Discussions took 3 days, and little new tasks were taken up in the villages during this period. When the elders revealed themselves it was with great Joy that the news of their official union into one tribe, was accepted.

From that day forward they were no longer K'Lahk or Fo'Will, but the LasTer.(bah names).

The sigils of Fwill and the Great hall, now carved from stone and more detailed, were becoming more widespread among the tribes, some attempting to build collections of them.

With the new tribe, came new government. The tribes were too large now, as a body to be completely covered with the current system. Thus came new Judges, who were verified and taught by the elders and sent out to govern and settle disputes among frowgs. Above them stood a grand Jury of elders who would rule on matters in different section of the tribe. At last above them stood the Council of elders, who decided the direction the Laster would take, what was needed to make them prosper.

Age, while still a major factor to be accepted into the ruling body, was now not as great as it once was, the council in need of hands to manage the change. Younger frowgs, and even Lem should they attempt the test would be accepted into the council, jury or as a judge if they could prove their wisdom in front of the council of elders, along with their patience and general leadership ability.

The First City

Finally the council decide that a main city, a huge feat of architecture in between the two territories, near the mountain pass by the river separating the tundra from the plains would be a good step in unifying the tribes, having a single place for them to live and call their base.

The Ta'Mirel make moves to aid in drafting up the new city. They see the location as an extremely strategic position. In addition it solved their over population problem. Their villages were crowded, even for the lem who had no need of living quarters.

If allowed to live in the city the Ta'Mirel will add to it with planned projects such as a wall, trenches, towers, digging into the side of the mountain and below the city. The lem offer to raise and train frowg soldiers and incorporate them into a unified army. The Lem would command it while the frowg service their needs.

Before the Ta'Mirel move into the city, they request a few things as part of the Enclave. One, that they be left to self govern. They will acknowledge the concerns of the council so long as they are just, and protect the interestes of the greater whole. Two, they will raise an army of every Ta'Mirel, and any willing Frowg, train it, and equip it. Only some Frowgs volunteer for the army, usually the young ones eager to prove something. In times of need they will defend the enclave, and in times of peace they will prepare tirelessly for when the Tomorrow war comes.

The Ta'Mirel terms are accepted and will remain so unless their presence is deemed to have negative impact. This changes things such that if any Lem wishes to be on the Council or anywhere the Lastér government they must swear allegiance to the Lastér and follow it's laws and ways.

They are more reluctant to accept the help or presence of the Onolkeshan Lem. They are not like the Ta'Mirel, more secretive and they bicker even more than Frowgs. If the Ta'Mirel will vouch for them then they will be allowed under supervision. In terms of building they will only be allowed to help with the outer wall and be paid for their work with food, coin or promised assistance in a matter of their choosing. Payment outside this must be discussed by the council first.

A mining attempt at the mountains turn sour due to lack of proper supports built. At least a dozen miners lost their lives, and the superstition of the mountain grows in the populace. After rethinking what went wrong, the Ta'mirel tried digging under the city, with proper support beams this time. They're proceeding successfully.

After knowledge sharing with the Onokelshan, the city's walls are built as marvelously as Geshud Deler, rivaling it in being a landmark. Meanwhile, the inner city, since it is built with the accomodations of different species in mind, is proceeding slower.

The Fortification of the Great city is done, the spire is constructed. Underground tunnels cant be seen, but they are there.

The Ta'Mirel suggest that in light of the Onolkeshan's great efforts they be allowed to live in the city proper if they so wish, as their culture is primarily one of knowledge seekers, craftsmen, and thinkers. If anything having them around would be of benefit. The council will allow it

Digger City

The project is completed, much resource has been extracted, and in a skillful manner as to leave a habitable and functional "under city" the mine shaft at the center of it will continue to dig, but resources will never be gained like they were during those frantic seasons of digging.

Mountain Hold

The mountain yields, and the lem tear into it with vigor and glee. Earth resources are abundant, and this greatly increases the horde of building materials the enclave has, as well as create yet another potential useable area for the city.

The Spire

Massive. It towers above the city, and even the mountain the city is built near. All things considered, the mountain's cannibalization facilitated the construction of the spire. It provides a launch site for the Ta'Mirel scout gliders in addition to functioning similarly to the historical K'Lahk "Great hall" but on a much, much larger scale. There is ample living space and room for other projects within it. The Onolkeshan engineering teams also have ensured it is as heavily fortified as any other part of the great wall.

The Onolkeshan are Betrayed

The scouts go to the west, across the tundra, their interlocking plate mail makes little noise. They follow the strange flying beasts, past a settlement mixed of frowgmen and other lem. other lem, this was significant, you were not alone. Still further to locate a village mostly composed of lem. They wore heavy armor, and heavier weapons made from the local tundra beasts. It was less of a village and more of an army.

Scouts should return home with the knowledge they have gathered as it is the greatest priority. While scouts are returning one of them get idea to make something that helps remembering the route they used. As Lems have great memory they haven't needed maps before because their kingdom is still small and doesn't have that much remembering, But this whole treck of the continent brings new information and some of it stored too deep to remember. Thus they make a map of mostly landmarks.

The scouts were detected and became spooked. In their mad dash home they had no chance to make a map. The Ta'Mirel deployed a reactionary force. They did not invite any Frowgs. They were prepared to offer an alliance or to declare war.

Lem that approach are greeted well because even though they are outsider they are other Lem as well. Onolkeshan are also very interested in Ta'mirel Flying aparatus. Onolkeshan have no interest in war, they only want to learn more knowledge.

The Ta'Mirel tell the Onolkeshan of their history and culture. In Ta'Mirel culture everyone helps everyone, there is no need of leadership due to the instinctual cooperation. They are also preparing for a war that will come some day. The Ta'Mirel show them, the ancestral memory of the Nightmare Spirit invading their minds, demanding they stand by its side in destroying the world.

If the tribal leaders agree to an alliance they will be incorporated into the Enclave, where they will shall and recieve all technology discovered by the individual tribes in the enclave. They will gain protection from the Ta'mirel. In exchange they will be expected to share resources and knowledge, and prepare for the Tomorrow War. Finally a they must host a small population of other tribes in their territories to promote cultural unity.

Much of the population are exalted with the new knowledge brought by joining the Enclave but there are also many that are worried with letting outsiders in to their cities. To keep the unrest from growing the leaders decided that the other races will have their own districts in the city. That way they are in the city but there is little boundary that keeps the Lem calmer.

With the news of other Lem and joining the Enclave it took no time that there was new law proposed. While Onolkeshan themselves gained great deal of knowledge by sharing genetic memory with Ta'Mirel many are horrified by the possibility how easily Ta'Mirel could "steal" their knowledge. Thus the new law states that if any non Onolkeshan Lem takes genetic memory from Onolkeshan Lem they must either be killed or join Onolkeshan tribe.

While Onolkeshan have no right to decide fates of other Lems they are so obsessed with their knowledge that it blinds them to think that it's their right.

Onolkeshan should not be seen as greedy Lems that only care for themselves. They will gladly trade their products with other tribes for materials and information, but they don't want to just give the knowledge to others. And to make the trade happen they start to build roads to west.

A short while after celebrating their newly gained knowledge by Enclave there were some evil rumors going in the streets. Some spread the rumors how the officials had betrayed the people in joining the Enclave and how the Onolkeshan people would lose all their knowledge. Of course people ridiculed that because as all of them had seen it was Onolkeshan who gained new knowledge.

Time passed and some traders claimed that they had seen similar products being produced in western lands. Of course they also were ridiculed for they were only traders and everybody knows that people who sells news to highest bidder cannot be trusted.

More time passed and people started to find products that were similar to theirs even though they were most of the time inferior quality. This made the people worried. What if the rumors were true? Many started to question the joining of enclave and asked "were we the only ones who gained knowledge?".

Shortwhile after some lower officials brought the contract to the air. The Ta’mirel had forced them to abandon the Law protecting Onolkeshan genetic memory. The people were enraged! How could they betray us? The most important and holy thing to them was given away so easily. Of course the officials had tried their everything to prevent the losing of tech and still safeguard their peoples future but the negotiations didn't go well.

People didn't know this and thus were starting to rebel. Normally the Great Fortress itself would have quelled rebellion with it's great walls but with the invention of great cannons breaching it was easier. one night it all started.

The Ta'Mirel moving into Geshud Deler are horrified to see protest and unrest. Armed Ta'mirel Lem soldiers speak to the population:

"You feel betrayed, that you fear a loss of your knowledge to outsiders. Knowledge cannot be lost, if it is shared and used. The speed at which we complete the quest for understanding can be multiplied with our combined numbers. Alone, we learn less, fighting amongst yourselves, you learn nothing.

Know this! you have flourished, and learned a great many things from the Enclave, and the enclave has learned from you as well, we are now kin in this matter. those who seek to hide, and conceal learning from their kin are betrayers of the worst kind, as they promote Ignorance and dismiss the pursuit of understanding in favor of greed, or pride.

Finally, it will never be an argued fact, the best craftsmen come from the Onolkeshan tribe, now we ask you...Accept what has happened, and continue to do what you do best, we need your abilities!"

As the anger of the people didn't come out in the form of rebellion the situation is somewhat getting better. There are still some unrest but with the help of other Enclave forces the people were pacified quickly. Their words helped diffuse the situation for now.

The Onolkeshan trade Knowledge

Fishing in coast have been better after new advancement in techiques and tools but the nets only abled Onolkeshan to get fishes from the coast. Fishers told how they have seen bigger fishes farther in the sea but they have no means to get them.

Many great minds started to work after this request. They knew how some materials would float on water, like trees and other vegetation, but as Onolkeshan territory was in cold north there was not enough materials like that to build them. They would need to find some other materials to make this happen. With new metal tools they can continue to harness the earth even more. To make seaworthy ships Onolkeshan will need someone who doesn't have genetical fear towards water to help them. This is why emissary was sent to Ta'Mirel to ask if they would want to help them with this quest as it would benefit them both.

Ta'mirel scouts reported that the Nad'Lun had learned to create floating objects. Perhaps they would be willing to educate the Onolkeshan scholars on the subject.

With the Ta'Mirels guidance Onolkeshan diplomats are going to wisit Nad'Lun and ask their help in building ships. Of course Onolkeshan are ready to give something in return for the aid of Hoppas.

Ta'Mirel and Onolkeshan forces arrive outside the Nad'Lun village, where the Onolkeshan will speak if the shaman will hear.

The Nad'lun are willing to share their knowledge of boats with the Onolkeshan, in exchange for knowledge of more potent weaponry, so that they may better defend themselves against the deadly slizers. They are willing to pay for the materials needed to build the steel weapons with their surplus of hrass, and some of their hoppas.

Onolkeshan accepts this deal and also are willing to actually make these weapons for the Nad'lun so that their quality will be certain. This will be done in goodwill not only from Onolkeshan but as whole Enclave. Also if and when the better ships are developed the Onolkeshan are then able to help the Nad'lun to make boats that are able to withstand attack of aquatic bladeworm. If the Nad'lun still want to be able to make the weapons yourself the Onolkeshan are glad to give the materials for hoppas and hrass.

The Onolkeshan give smaller cannons not bigger immobile ones as they would comromise the defences of Enclave cities. For those i will need the opinion of other enclave tribes.

The Nad'lun do appreciate the offer of Onolkeshan about making the weapons, but they also resent the idea of being dependent on others for their own protection. This is why they would ultimately like to be able to manufacture the weaponry themselves.

If the Onolkeshan supplied some weaponry, along with the knowhow to make them, would be ideal. The Nad'lun village itself currently lacks the capacity of even making the cannons, so a starting pool of them would be a good thing indeed.

The Onolkeshan provide Nad'Lun with some cannons and the way to forge metal. And as promised receive some hoppas and hrass as compensation for materials. With the new knowledge about boats the Onolkeshan can soon continue its research with success.

The cannons while massive and cumbersome are an effective mounted weapon for defense. A recent Onolkeshan break thru in weaponry has created a lighter more mobile weapon.

Nad'suul Pirates

The Na'suul raiders have grown in strength too. K'nula, their warrior leader has grown in to a living legend. How he is supposed to be even alive at this point is a complete mystery. Ever since he took the role of the chief of the group, the tales about his valor have just kept growing.

He is said to been able to inspire tremendous courage with his simple presence, and to be able of convincing anyone to join his raid herd.

The greatest of the tales tells how K'nula defeated a King Stalking Hoppa in single combat, and then claimed it's eyes as his price, which he then made into a mighty trophy he bears. This deed has convinced numerous of his followers that he is in fact the reincarnation of the great O'nulaa himself. The raids are now fueled by both blind fury and religious fervor, instead of just blind fury.

These legend have been scattered to the Soul Wind, and thus they continue to draw tribal hoppas from all over the eastern coast to the Na'suul banner.

The Na'suul relations to the Nad'lun and their settlements are complicated. They usually stay clear of them, but they occasionally raid their trading vessels. This has given the Na'suul access to both weaponry, technology and supplies they could not otherwise acquire. The Nad'lun themselves are confused by these violent hoppa raiders. They have no idea of where they originate, or what they want, other than the things they take by force.

The Na'suul start building an attack boat fleet of their own, that they are planning to use to be more effective at raiding the river ships. They have a remote cove near the coast, in which they can hide from the unwelcome sight of the outsiders.

It is made from the captured trading ships and armed with scavenged weapons, such as cannons, gravel-guns and traditional slings.

The Na'suul become successful at developing rum from the excess hrass pups they have been able to steal from the Nad'lun trading vessels

The Nad'lun struggle with the Forge

Over eager Nad'lun learn the hard way cannons are not safe. One tribesman dies, and multiple bruised and unconscious members are found. Attempts to create forges meet with failure. Even with the aid of the Onolkeshan. Mounting the cannons on their boats provides some measure of control, but is only a guaranteed hit at extremely close range.

The Nad'lun attempt to build a forge again, as they dislike being dependent on others for necessary tools.

They attempt to expand to the shores of one of the great lakes, near the mountain range at the middle of the continent (the cyan dot.), in hopes that the mountainous terrain will give them access to stone, so that they don't need to buy it from the enclave. They also try to figure out the best way to dig trough the hard stone, and how to effectively break rock.

Anyhow, Nad'Lun seems to have bad luck with forges and metal. Their latest attempt at digging a mine and researching new ways to mine are a fluke, and their attempts at a forge was not adequate enough to re-melt bought metal. As the Shaman searches the Soul Wind, the Shaman finds that there's a deluge of magical trickery behind all this. Has the trickster spirit returned to see An'ua's descendants? Only time will tell.

THE LEM! THE LEM MUST BE BEHIND THIS! THOSE BASTARDS! I CALL SHENANIGANS! SABOTAGE! Yells the enraged hoppa on the boat.

The Nad'Lun gets a break from the metallurgy-related bad luck and managed to make a functioning forge.

Although the forge is crude and primitive when compared to it's Onolkeshan counterparts, it is the first step for the Nad'lun to become self-sufficient with metal production.

It also serves as a symbol for them, as now they don't need to rely on others for their necessities. They don't dislike other species, but they resent the idea of being dependent on outsiders.

The Bane of the Burrahn

On a regular hunting trip, one of the Burrahn Stumbles across something unusual: A Frilla tree with what looks to be tunnels leading beneath the bark. He considers taking a closer look, but decides that it is a better idea to report his finding. While surveying the area, an Adoni sneaks up behind the unaware Mevola. The Light carried by this hunter is returning to the spirit of Nemir.

Seeing how the hunter was gone longer than expected, another had to go out for food. It is not uncommon for a later than expected return from hunting trips, or even the occasional death. What is unusual, is that the last few hunters to go that way haven't returned. A small expedition party is assembled to go check out what has been causing these disappearances, so that the chief and counsel can best decide on further action.

With the disappearance of the scouting party, the location of the Adoni has been dubbed "Darrahnek Mervaa", or in our English Land of Mervaa, Taker of Radiance (the moon-god). It has been declared by Chief Lenarus as a forbidden land now.

The Lenarus fights the Adoni

Lenarus looks out over the village which he had been the chief of for the last thirty years of his life. In this time, he had watched so much change. The sudden appearance of the Glund and the devastation they brought to his people. The poison. Although that had long-passed and gave the Burrahn a tool to help fight off threats such as the invaders from the south and Purple Flouz, he still feels regret for allowing it to happen.

Hunters used to be on their own while making trips out into the wilderness but these new instruments allowed them to coordinate over long distance. Not only that, but new life was brought to the tribe with music.

The vast improvements to the network of vines allowed the village to grow larger than ever before. Surely these are great times for the Burrahn tribe, but with an old hunting ground becoming the lands now called Darrahnek Mervaa, Lenarus fears that this period of prosperity may not last much longer. He must know what lies within the unhallowed grounds.

Lenarus gathers the council and explains what he plans to do. Lenarus himself plans to go out unto the Land of the Mervaa. He hands his staff to the eldest member. "If I do not return, I leave our people in your capable hands," the chief says to [I have yet to name this guy].

He says that he cannot accept this request, and the rest of the council tries to convince their chief otherwise, but Lenarus has made up his mind. He takes his trusty spear, a large shield, and a container of glund poison. Farewells are made, and he starts his journey.

Unlike most of the tribe, who were born of frilla bark, he was one of the Ground Born: Mevola who grew strong on the fertility of the forest soil. The Burrahn believe the Ground Born grow larger and stronger than the rest of the tribe because they take in the light Nemir took from Kraless directly from the earth, instead of taking it second hand from the trees. Rarely do they survive, as they are easier to get to for predators while still growing. Only the lucky or strong survive. Those who are Ground Born are strong enough to use the full shields.

Lenarus moved with an authority and unspoken grace that kept the predators of the wild at bay. He was a peer, not prey. slowly he crept into the old hunting grounds. the wind whispered slightly, and the air grew chill...Lenarus would never know it, but that wind had originated from Kunaba, cursed mountain of the frowg.

In that moment of distraction he was attacked by 3 adoni. Sweeping his spear wildly backwards the blunt end knocked one onto its back, then following up he gored another thru the eye, but the spear stuck fast. Using his massive shield he crushed the last one like a bug, which it was. On an attempt to retrieve his spear for the the vile beast the tip broke off.

With a snap of his tentacles (vines?) he broke the end of the stick off and made a very long and sharp wooden steak out of it. Deeper into his old hunting grounds were more and more of the beasts. He had seen enough, it was time to turn back. Then it was too late. The beasts had crept up silently on him again. Twice he was caught off guard, and felt like a damn fool.

He did not want to die a fool. A violent melee ensued, the makeshift pike cracked and splintered, it became a club. the club too broke. The Bark armor was in ruins and all Lenarus had left was his bottle of Glund poison and shield. In a gambit Lenarus poured the poison on the shield and surged forward crashing into the sea of Adoni.

It had been six days since their chief left to uncover the secrets of Darrahnek Mervaa. The people of the Burrahn tribe were beginning to wonder if Lenarus would ever return. When the day turned to dusk, a badly injured Mevola limped into the center of the village, whom all of the tribe recognized to be their chieftain. That night was filled with song and dance in celebration of Lenarus' return. While the tribe partied into the night, the chief watched happily while his wounds were tended to before turning in. With a lack of medical knowledge, he will be forever crippled.

The next day, Lenarus shared his findings with the council. without a lower jaw, his speech had become difficult to understand, but after enough time, the message got across. The existence of the Adoni has been made known to the Burrahn. With this knowledge, preparations are made for in the case that they ever begin to wander into the village.

Some Adoni have started coming close to the village, but the preparations have proven adequate at keeping them at bay. Crutches and peg legs are made for those who become injured in defense. Lenarus himself even has a wooden jaw.

Without seeking word from the council, one member of the tribe gets the bright idea to try luring some slizers to the adoni nest.

The plan worked well. A brave Mevolan was sent to aggravate and lure a land Slizer to the Adoni hives. He went and saw one. Staying quiet, he throws rocks at it to get its attention.

What he didn't expect is that he also aggravated a Rage Glund along with the land Slizer. So now he's running (or rather, swinging from tree to tree) for his life while two monstrous beasts chase him below the canopy. Soon enough, he reached the forbidden area, and some Adoni also followed him, jumping from tree to tree like him.

Soon enough, the Mevolan reached the Adoni hives, and he barreled through, throwing rocks to distract Adoni warriors. He managed to outrun all of them, and reached a Mevolan village. What he missed, however, is an awesome fight, the Land Slizer fighting the Shogun Glund in the Adoni hive, while Adoni are scurrying about trying to defend their home. Truly, a spectacle missed.

The Vyrii Invasion

The Vyrii, descendants of the macrovirus that infects Lem, had started to show their influence in the world. After centuries of isolation on the northern side of the Kunaban mountain range, their hordes start sending out small raiding groups. Several Enclave, Ta'mirel and Onokelshan hunting parties have met them... and only a handful returned, badly maimed, telling of the grey-shine devils.

The Lastér never truly believed the Lem story of the threat, but now, they have no choice. The Laster sent some airborne scouts northwards. They saw three dozen Vyrii drones readying their weapons. One of them saw the gliders, and quickly grew and shot spikes at the scouts.

The scouts dived and dodged against the hail of spikes, and thankfully there's no casualties. The gliders swerve with small holes on their wings, retreating, while the Ramel-riders cover their retreat.

The War Effort

To the Ta'mirel, this resonates with their prophecy, that the Nightmare Spirit has sent his armies upon the living world. The Ta'Mirel were thrilled in the face of oblivion. It was time to preform their self appointed function. Protect the planet that is their adoptive home. Hopefully soon the Frowg population will join them in Total War. Everyone fights or everyone dies.

From deep in the undercity Lem Tamers release the oldest of the Ramel, some are truly ancient beasts of war. Grown massive in their time alive, kept alive and conditioned for this moment. The Ta'mirel pass the giant Cannon research to the more scholarly Onolkeshan and Frowg. Super massive siege cannons were researched and carried by the greatest of the Ramel War beasts.

Vyrii raiders keep raiding isolated villages and outposts, making off with equipment and weapons. In response, Ta'Mirel and Frowg settlements were heavily fortified. The smallest ones were stripped for resources and then booby trapped heavily.

There is war. To the Ta'mirel it was Glorious. Ahead was an enemy to slaughter, and be slaughtered by. They couldn't be happier. No race would ever know the level of rage and joy they felt, no race would ever see this hell if the Ta'Mirel held the line.

The Alternate Plan

The Onolkeshan Capital city from a distance looks to be on fire, with smoke pouring from it. It was almost true. Every forge, every foundry, every smith and engineer was hard at work, day and night hammering out weapons of war.

Onolkeshan who shared the same genetic knowledge about Vyrii, they also had the fire inside them to do their best to repel this threat. Great boats will be built for the Altenative plan if these alien creatures would somehow win. Also new type of explosive shell for cannons is to be researched. Road to the west must be fortified and secure because it is the lifeline between enclave and Onolkeshan territory where the Alternative project will start. If this road is lost it will be extremely hard for others to get into the Great boats when the need rises.

Unknown to the other tribes, the Ta'mirel do not plan to escape. Instead, the Ta'Mirel plan fight a guerrilla war to slow the enemy so that other tribes can begin an Exodus to foreign lands.

The Great ships are still being loaded for the worst scenario and more Onolkeshan have moved to the great harbor to be closer when the moment arrives.

Law and Politics

There is an underground movement growing where frowgs take the bodies of dead lem that have not been consumed, boil them in water, and inhale the fumes. They get blasted with half formed memories and such, but they don't last. Sort of like a waiting dream. The movement is scattered enough that officials have not been able to crack down on it as yet.

News of this horrible act arrive to Onolkeshan Officials. They are worried. In response, they state a new directive: No Lem should move alone and unarmed. This is explained as vilgence during war. Of course truth is that if they cannot cut the demand they must halt the supply. After this no Lem of Onolkeshan shall move alone and unarmed even in the city.

In response the Ta'mirel Lem enforce hrash punishment for this offense. Convicted and captured frowg have a choice: Join a suicide legion to fight the Viri. March unarmed into Ragas territory. Or Be publicly executed.

The Lem have cracked down on Dreamscaping(tm) and now go armed in the city. While this is no doubt for their own safety, it also means that any violent encounter will no doubt end a fatal one. The Ta'Mirel Lem capture offenders regardless of the level of their involvement.

While many Laster argue that this is fair and just as is their right, the view that this is the way of the Ta'Mirel and not the Lastér has been gaining support. Spearheaded by a young council member, a dark skinned frowg named Kaleel, discontent with the 'brutal judgement of the Lem sending foolish young Frowgs to their death for a life error' has been growing and the Lastér are split.

The council is split 40/60 on the topic in favour of the traditional elders who think the punishment fits the crime, but support is steadily growing and notable dissonance has entered the Ta'Mirel-frowg relationship for the first time in ages.

One thing they are agreed upon is that this is an internal matter and refuse to allow Ta'mirel or Onolkeshan involvement in the proceedings, whether through dislike for their neighbors or desire to deal with the matter discreetly.

As the arguments for both sides heat up, the most influential councilfrowgs on each side stand out, the rest beginning to fall behind them in terms of support. On the side of tradition(right) is the esteemed elder Jogda, a wise and aged frowg who wants to keep the peace of the Enclave and continue working together. On the self proclaimed side of 'the true Lastér'(left) is Kaleel a military frowg turned councilfrowg after proving his wisdom on the battlefield.

After days of arguing, Jogda calls for a vote from the house to see the path that should be chosen at last. Roughly half the council remains undecided but so far support rests lightly with Jogda and the traditionalists.

Silenced for now, Kaleel drops the topic.

The Vyrii Counterattack

The Vyrii Overmind noted these Lem fighting with unbridled ferocity. Vastly different from their giant brethren. More agile, more cunning, and just as driven as their gigantic brethren, they present a threat to the Vyrii. But the Vyrii Overmind has plans.

The Vyrii sent out a force two dozen strong, half of them drones and half of them berserkers. He sent these towards the southwest, towards the K'Lahk homelands. Meanwhile, he also sent out a smaller force of a dozen to silently sneak towards the south, towards the gap between Mo'Shunka and Onokelsha territories.

The Ta'Mirel so distracted with the carnage never noticed the two small strike forces slip by. The Laster will be hard pressed to protect their ancestral lands as they fell on the village outskirts with surprise and an uncaring ruthless efficiency.

A cry rises up as the Vyrii are spotted on the horison, and the frowgs of the K'Lahk lands ready themselves for battle. Their is no time for grand preperation or strategy, no time to prepare the cannons, the Vyrii advance too quickly, all they can do is grab their axes or crossbow, ride out on hastily strapped on saddles, and try and halt the foe outside the settlements.

But, the Vyrii's berserkers slowly gain ground, the K'Lahk manage to evacuate the women, children, and elderly. The men stay behind to defend the village to their death.

In the morning, there's only two Vyrii are left standing, a drone and a berserker. Both are considerably wounded, however, and the village is burning. No K'Lahk survivors, but the women and children had successfully escaped and warned the other villages.

An explosion happened; the village's remains of an arsenal takes out the drone. Only the lone berserker stands. It searched for the Overmind, but the Overmind saw that the battle was too costly. The Overmind then severs the neural connection to the berserker. The berserker moves no more.

Reaction to Vyrii Counterattack

The Lastér were shocked. The Vyrii somehow subverted the Ta'Mirel lines and launched an attack on their northern territories. This was unacceptable. If the Lem could not be depended on to handle the Vyrii then it was time to take matters into their own hands.

The K'Lahk territories are scoured and any Vyrii remains found taken to be studied by Enclave scientists. They will analyze their weaponry, their bodies and find effective ways to defend themselves... and to destroy Vyrii. The relatively unharmed berserker body should do wonders.

Results of Vyrii dissection: The Laster finds out that the berserker's weapons were grown, but further study shows that their forms were optimal for piercing and stabbing, with some slashing possible. They can replicate this with their metalworking. But, they cannot seem to pierce the skin of the berserker easily, so they went and got a Lem to hack at it with an axe. After a while, and after the Lem went into a rage, the researchers return to find the berserker carcass badly mutilated, and a broken axe. Goddamn it, Lem lab assistant.

The Onolkeshan see that Ta'Mirel alone might not be enough to stop the Vyrii. That is why the king decides that small force of Onolkeshan field engineers are to be sent to the frontlines while rest of the people keep fortifying the lines for the worst scenario. The roads to the west must be kept safe.

Far from the Front

The Nad'lun are warned, and advisted that the Enclaves capital is better protected, with plenty of food and shelter for all who come. A Ta'Mirel scout/emissary requests N'olai and An'ua see the City for themselves and make a decision.

Unlike the northern races, who have faced the true cruel nature of the world, the Nad'lun have been lucky enough to live in a state of near tranquility for generations. The only creatures that have threatened them in recent memory have been the slizers, but the Nad'lun have been able to cope with them quite well, thus reducing their threat value to the one of a mere beast. This naivety combined with their strong independent identity made the Nad'lun quite skeptical about the danger the Enclave warned them of. It didn't help that their great city is far in the north, as tribal hoppas dislike the cold.

For the average Nad'lun, the news of strife in the north are quite inconsequential. "It is not our fight" is the most common mentality. The idea that something could actually threaten their blissful existence across the banks of their great river Vu'na is almost unthinkable.

Even if the warnings of the northerners go unheard by the majority of the tribe, the elders are wise enough to be concerned. Although N'olai and An'ua both doubt that what ever is going on in north will reach their sanctuary, they still fear the change if it does. This sentiment is shared by the rest of the elders, but beyond sending an emissary to the great city, no other actions are made.

Kaleel climbs Kunaba

Following his soft defeat in the council, Kaleel searched himself and his tribe for the true path of the frowg. If he was wrong, then he was causing more harm than good, however if he was right...then he must win.

He recalled the tales he heard as a child, of the great hero Fwill who braved the wrath of Kunaba with only his axe and family Ramel at his side with whatever provisions it could carry, to seek the spirit of the mountain. It was said the mountain blessed him with wisdom and great power and he became a mighty warrior.

And so Kaleel made his decision. Armed with his own Ramel and his 4 axes along with some fire fluid and dried food, he set off to see Kunaba. History will mark him a fool, or a legend.

Kahleel came close to the peak, but then he was suddenly beset by the gigantic Ramel guardian. He quickly grabbed his axes, and fought the Ramel by jumping onto its back.

But then, a sudden snowstorm blew in. as visibility drops, the sound of metal against hardened carapace can still be heard amongst the howling winds, and the grunting and shouting of giant Ramel and Frowg alike. After a while, only wind can be heard.

Kahleel did not return. The next year, scouts and rescue teams combed the area, and found the remains of a Laster, a Lem... and a gigantic Ramel, in a valley below a ravine.