Pius Fidelis: Convert the Sume: IC Thread

[Maldiem]

The Festival

The Festival is a good time for all, with the many different events awing, entertaining and astounding the Sume in turn. The extremely large amount of food, and the huge fires do well to fuel Krixal's worship, and the myriad of events of plans by the other gods worked well. All in all, pretty much every Sume at the gathering walked away revering one or another of the deities at the festival, spreading their faith among their home villages.

What followed was a period of relative peace and silence among the Sume, as several generations passed with little of import issuing from Sume lands. The population grew, as did the faiths among the respective Immortals, and all was relatively peaceful. Those Immortals that showed up during this period found the Sume peaceful and friendly, but not terribly rousable, and were generally well-received but not significantly heeded.

A new generation has grown up, and the old leaders have by and large stepped down. The waters of conflict are once again rising, as the now-larger tribes begin to compete for resources, and their varying "religions" and philosophies have have divided them.

Worshiper counts:
Mandak: 15
Kranolk: 30
Krixal: 90
Forneus: 80
Awlruts: 30
Tirus: 120
Sedha: 30
Ardannis: 40
Tek: 40

((Basically, I did the numbers as though I hadn't been a lazy, lazy DM and neglected the thread while I took care of family crap. Consider all interactions prior to this post wrapped up, and feel free to begin new ones (just... in a slightly smaller volume, capiche?))

Changes

In this period of peace, the Sume go through a series of physical changes that leave them much stronger, much more resilient, and much faster. Additionally, all those lessons in hunting seem to have sunk in, and been realized through a massive increase in the quality if their weaponry. They've gotten far more intelligent, and their crude scrawlings in the ground have changed into a formalized, written language (albiet a language that must be carved into large rocks). Their language skills have increased such that they are now capable of forming most features of Modern Human languages.

[harmonictempest]

Ardannis, Turn 6.7

Ardannis appears near the group that contains the Sume who won the Traveler's Boon ((staff for winning storytelling competition)). He swings out of thin air into the topmost branch of a tree, as if he just swung from an invisible higher one, then continues down until he reaches the ground. Greetings, Sume, he calls happily. How goes it?

[tugboat]

turn 6.4
Tirus appears at the structure he had them build in hope that they would be there so he could give them there prize. If no sume are there he starts a fire in the fire pit to summon the Sume. When they do or if they are there he presents the prize “ I have crafted the reward for all sume to use. This is my crafted hand that will show you the weaknesses in your structures.” He shows them how to use it. “ I have also returned to show you how to make rope.” Tirus shows them how to make rope by cutting leather into strips and using the leather strips weaving them into longer strips. “I leave you with this to find more uses for it and will return here again to show you how to make more tool.” Tirus shows them how they can tie sticks together with it

[Maldiem]

Tirus and the Temple

After the festival, the Sume are very interested in this plan that Tirus has. It certainly helped that they each carted in a load of stone, but it becomes apparent that more materials will have to be procured on-site. It becomes evident that the structure cannot be finished before the Sume at the Festival must return to their tribes, so they split the labor up over time. It becomes a cooperative effort by the tribes at the Festival, such that a few Sume would return to the site from each tribe when conditions permitted and work on their bit of the temple. The temple becomes the work of generations, and eventually does become finished. On the 19th wall, each tribe picks a name in the newly-minting Sume written language, and carves it in.

While this construction was going on, the first permanent village sprung up around the temple. It is quite small (~20 Sume), and it makes its living on gathering, hunting, and trade from the builder/pilgrims that come from other villages. This is the center of Tirus's worship, and the home of Rauf, the son of the Sume that won Tirus's contest of resourcefulness.

Each tribe is actually a subset of a larger, for lack of a better word, "cultural" group. As such, they don't really identify each village as a tribe. Each village gets a side of the temple, but there are four major groups of Sume, which each pick out a symbol.

4 major Sume Cultural Groups:
The Baqi: The Baqi live near the coast, in the rainy forest. They're the most advanced of the Sume, and the Temple Village is derived from Baqi villagers.
Important Sume: Rauf, holder of Tirus's Building Hand-Thingy
The Fouad:
They live in the scrub on the Eastern portion of the hex. They're the best at wheels and carts, fire, and the tribe most influenced by Krixal.
The Husni: Semi-nomadic Sume that wander around in the central and southern poritons of the Hex. Heavily influenced by Ardannis.
Important Sume: Amar, holder of Traveler's Boon, an old Sume who was present at the great festival.
The Armen: The group that lives in the northern portion of the hex, they've been influenced by Tek, and Gandoran a bit before him.
Important Sume: Malik, holder of the Medal of Tek (assuming Tek gave that as the prize for the Art contest). A great artist, who inherited the Medal from his mother, the headwoman who won the art contest.

Ardannis (Coming soon.)

[Maldiem]

Turn 7
Turn 7.0-7.4

As the Sume wake up from their peaceful era, clouds gather on the horizon. A massive storm strikes Sume lands, at first with high winds and then torrential rains. Due to the wooded landscape and the Sume's primitive shelters, they aren't severely inconvenienced for the first few days, but as it becomes clear that the storm isn't leaving, hunting becomes a problem, and gathering is difficult. As the days go by, food gets more and more scarce as plants lose foliage, and streams and rivers start to swell. After the first 5-10 days, the Sume begin beseeching their respective Immortal friends for a solution.

[harmonictempest]

Ardannis, Turn 6.7-6.95 (wrap-up)

((So, he would have materialized near Amar, in a group of Husni))

After being received by the traveling group of Husni Sume, Ardannis travels with their group and other groups for most of the end of the turn, going from one group to another after he's finished with each group. He attempts to reach as many of the Husni as possible. In addition, he visits Tirus' village shortly before leaving ((so from 6.9-6.95 or so)).

While traveling with each different group of Husni, Ardannis teaches them storytelling - how to "enhance" a story and make it more interesting without losing the core of what it conveys, how to read an audience and suit your performance to them. He shows them how stories can be passed on, and changed, how history and teaching can be passed on through a good story, how an important story can be preserved through memory to pass on to other groups or later generations of Sume. Lastly, he teaches them some simple verbal games they can play while on the move.

He also teaches them how they may easily become better travelers (this assumes that semi-nomadic means "likes to travel, but tends to stop when there's ample food"). He shows them how to navigate, find food in the wild forest more effectively, so that they are less dependent on any one spot to settle, simply because there's adequate food there. He shows them how to mark a trail so that a following Sume can find where they've gone, or so that they can find that creek again later.

All his time with them is spent making them more self-sufficient and creative. He tries to get to all the Husni groups, if possible.

((You can describe it a Bard School, I guess - wandering and storytelling effectively.))

Examples:

Spoiler

Show

Example story (lesson): Two Sume were traveling together when a great beast rushed upon them out of the woods. One Sume quickly ran away and climbed a tree, where the beast could not follow. The other Sume, not so quick, and seeing that he could not get away, fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. When the beast came up to him, he held his breath, while the beast smelled him all over. Thinking him to be dead, and wanting live food to kill, the beast soon left. The other Sume came down from the tree and asked "what was it the beast whispered in your ear?" (not understanding that it had been smelling him). The first Sume replied "He told me never to travel with a friend who leaves me to die at the first sign of danger."

Example story (history): Long ago, the Sume used to play a game that involved throwing a round stone to each other. They would try to get it past another group of Sume, who tried to steal it from them in return. There was a selfish young Sume, who never thought he got thrown the ball often enough, and so one day, he made a plan. He would catch the ball, but not throw it to anyone, just holding it tight and running past the other group so that they could not steal it from him. This was against the rules. When the next game came, he did just that - he caught the ball and held onto it, no matter how much his friends called to him to throw it. As he ran by the other players though, the stone began to get bigger in his hands. Frightened, he tried to drop it, but was unable to. The stone got bigger and bigger, and began to rise into the air, taking the selfish young Sume with it. Eventually it rose so high and got so big, that it was above the highest tree and the highest mountain. It became the moon, and if you look hard enough, you can still see the face of the selfish young Sume in it, to remind all Sume not to be selfish like that young one.

Verbal games: He will teach them a collaborative story game, where one Sume starts a story with a few sentences, and then the next one must add a few more sentences, and the next, and so forth - the result often turning in unexpected ways as different Sume do unexpected or silly things with their part of the story. This game is called Shared Story.

If they appear to have a good grasp of the written language, he will also teach them a game called Word Trap. In this game, One Sume starts with a single letter, then the next Sume adds another, and so on. When a Sume adds a letter to make a word, he gets a point. The game can be played for as long or as short as wished, which makes it great for traveling. When the game is done, the Sume with the fewest points wins. If a Sume adds a letter that cannot make a word (example: g-a-m is passed to him, and he adds 'r' so as not to end it by spelling "game"), that round is over and he gets a point.

At around 6.9, he heads to Tirus' city. He does not linger if not welcome, and does not try to steal worshippers or ask them to like him more than Tirus, just befriends them. To them, he teaches some of the more interesting stories that he has heard the Husni make up, and shows them how to inscribe the best stories on walls or wood so that they are not forgotten. He also teaches them Threes and Fives, two games he has already developed. When showing them the games, he emphasizes that they will teach the Sume to plan and grow smarter.

Spoiler

Show

Threes: Tic-tac-toe, pure and simple.

Fives: Much larger board than Threes, usually around a 10x10 grid, though grid size is fluid and can be changed by players who want a longer or shorter game. Players take turns placing pebbles of their color, which must be adjacent or diagonal to an already-placed piece (of either color). Winner is the first to get five in a row of their color. Simple in design, plenty of room for serious strategizing. :-)

[Valgunn]

Awlruts, 7.3

A tornado of rose petals erupts from the plains picking up dust and pebbles on the road near the Sume she had visted before, it grew in size and power, quickly it rose up, and up to six feet in height, then suddenley the rose petals erupt outwards covering the surrounding area to reveal the Avatar of Awlruts. With her normal entrance done and out the way she began walking down into the Sume village trying to see if she could find the Sume she had talked to before.

[Maldiem]

@Ardannis, Turn 6.7-6.95 (wrap-up)

Spoiler

Show

((So, he would have materialized near Amar, in a group of Husni))

After being received by the traveling group of Husni Sume, Ardannis travels with their group and other groups for most of the end of the turn, going from one group to another after he's finished with each group. He attempts to reach as many of the Husni as possible. In addition, he visits Tirus' village shortly before leaving ((so from 6.9-6.95 or so)).

Amar and his village are flabbergasted by Ardannis's sudden appearance; many of them had heard only stories about Ardannis. Amar and the rest of the group exclaim and chatter at his appearance, and seem very pleased to see him. They explain that recent times have been quite prosperous, especially given the utility of Traveler's Boon.

Spoiler

Show

While traveling with each different group of Husni, Ardannis teaches them storytelling - how to "enhance" a story and make it more interesting without losing the core of what it conveys, how to read an audience and suit your performance to them. He shows them how stories can be passed on, and changed, how history and teaching can be passed on through a good story, how an important story can be preserved through memory to pass on to other groups or later generations of Sume. Lastly, he teaches them some simple verbal games they can play while on the move.

He also teaches them how they may easily become better travelers (this assumes that semi-nomadic means "likes to travel, but tends to stop when there's ample food"). He shows them how to navigate, find food in the wild forest more effectively, so that they are less dependent on any one spot to settle, simply because there's adequate food there. He shows them how to mark a trail so that a following Sume can find where they've gone, or so that they can find that creek again later.

The Husni find Ardannis's constant stream of teaching bemusing, but soon take to it quite well. Their foraging skills improve as Ardannis talks, but it becomes evident that they won't be able to adequately store their stories without some better means of writing; currently, they have no recourse but to carve their stories into rocks with crude tools, a laborious process that can take days, and cannot be taken with them without being loaded on a cart.

Spoiler

Show

All his time with them is spent making them more self-sufficient and creative. He tries to get to all the Husni groups, if possible.

((You can describe it a Bard School, I guess - wandering and storytelling effectively.))

Examples:

Example story (lesson): Two Sume were traveling together when a great beast rushed upon them out of the woods. One Sume quickly ran away and climbed a tree, where the beast could not follow. The other Sume, not so quick, and seeing that he could not get away, fell to the ground and pretended to be dead. When the beast came up to him, he held his breath, while the beast smelled him all over. Thinking him to be dead, and wanting live food to kill, the beast soon left. The other Sume came down from the tree and asked "what was it the beast whispered in your ear?" (not understanding that it had been smelling him). The first Sume replied "He told me never to travel with a friend who leaves me to die at the first sign of danger."

Example story (history): Long ago, the Sume used to play a game that involved throwing a round stone to each other. They would try to get it past another group of Sume, who tried to steal it from them in return. There was a selfish young Sume, who never thought he got thrown the ball often enough, and so one day, he made a plan. He would catch the ball, but not throw it to anyone, just holding it tight and running past the other group so that they could not steal it from him. This was against the rules. When the next game came, he did just that - he caught the ball and held onto it, no matter how much his friends called to him to throw it. As he ran by the other players though, the stone began to get bigger in his hands. Frightened, he tried to drop it, but was unable to. The stone got bigger and bigger, and began to rise into the air, taking the selfish young Sume with it. Eventually it rose so high and got so big, that it was above the highest tree and the highest mountain. It became the moon, and if you look hard enough, you can still see the face of the selfish young Sume in it, to remind all Sume not to be selfish like that young one.

Verbal games: He will teach them a collaborative story game, where one Sume starts a story with a few sentences, and then the next one must add a few more sentences, and the next, and so forth - the result often turning in unexpected ways as different Sume do unexpected or silly things with their part of the story. This game is called Shared Story.

The Bards-to-be already have a number of stories about the origin of common objects, but they particularly like the story about the origin of the moon. The game catches on, and it does well to pass the time on the path to a new camp.

Spoiler

Show

If they appear to have a good grasp of the written language, he will also teach them a game called Word Trap. In this game, One Sume starts with a single letter, then the next Sume adds another, and so on. When a Sume adds a letter to make a word, he gets a point. The game can be played for as long or as short as wished, which makes it great for traveling. When the game is done, the Sume with the fewest points wins. If a Sume adds a letter that cannot make a word (example: g-a-m is passed to him, and he adds 'r' so as not to end it by spelling "game"), that round is over and he gets a point.

This game is a bit dicey (mostly as a result of Ardannis's lack of knoweldge of the Sume language, and the oddness of speaking intent, not literal words), but they do eventually figure out what Ardannis is trying to say. This game is less well received, because not very many of the Sume are literate. It does catch on in some small measure among the more educated Sume, though.

Spoiler

Show

At around 6.9, he heads to Tirus' city. He does not linger if not welcome, and does not try to steal worshippers or ask them to like him more than Tirus, just befriends them. To them, he teaches some of the more interesting stories that he has heard the Husni make up, and shows them how to inscribe the best stories on walls or wood so that they are not forgotten. He also teaches them Threes and Fives, two games he has already developed. When showing them the games, he emphasizes that they will teach the Sume to plan and grow smarter.

Spoiler

Show

Threes: Tic-tac-toe, pure and simple.

Fives: Much larger board than Threes, usually around a 10x10 grid, though grid size is fluid and can be changed by players who want a longer or shorter game. Players take turns placing pebbles of their color, which must be adjacent or diagonal to an already-placed piece (of either color). Winner is the first to get five in a row of their color. Simple in design, plenty of room for serious strategizing. :-)

Calling the settlement around the Temple a city is a bit of an exaggeration, as it has a rather small population. Still, as some of the most well-versed craftsmen, and those most familiar with written language, the strategy games soon become a major pass-time. Fives is a bit complicated for them, but those Sume that stick with it quickly decide its the most interesting thing since the opposite gender, and take to it quite well.

[Maldiem]

@Awlruts, 7.3

Spoiler

Show

A tornado of rose petals erupts from the plains picking up dust and pebbles on the road near the Sume she had visted before, it grew in size and power, quickly it rose up, and up to six feet in height, then suddenly the rose petals erupt outwards covering the surrounding area to reveal the Avatar of Awlruts. With her normal entrance done and out the way she began walking down into the Sume village trying to see if she could find the Sume she had talked to before.

The Sume that Awlruts had talked to before is long, long dead. Its descendants, however, were still around, and at her appearance make a big spectacle, forming a circle around her (despite the torrential rain) and discussing her among themselves. What appears to be the Headwoman of the tribe asks her, "I am Sanya. My mother's mother told stories about one who looked like you. Are you Awlruts?"

[harmonictempest]

Ardannis, Turn 7.1

Ardannis arrives shortly after the prayers begin. I fear I cannot make the storm disappear, or food fly into your hands, he regretfully tells the Sume. My powers are over cunning and travel, not the forces of nature. Yet he does for them what he can.

He teaches them how to make crude rain shields out of large leaves, to keep the worst of the weather off, though he does not expect that to be a large concern to the Husni. He also teaches them how to weave nets from vines and let them drag through the swelling streams, catching the fish that are being swept downstream in the heavy current. If this is enough to satisfy the Sume's needs, this is all he teaches, passing from group to group and showing as many Sume as possible, as well as telling them to spread it to any more Sume they meet.

If this does not suffice, he gauges how interested they would be in traveling away from the storm for a short while. If they show interest, he shows them the manner of making crude but stable rafts on which they can swiftly travel out of reach of the storm. This is a lesson he avoids if necessary, knowing the dangers of traveling far on such uncertain craft.

[SithLackey]

Mandak, 3.3-3.5
Mandak returns to the same group he had visited who knows how long ago. "Greetings, I am Mandak. I have seen your flood, and have come to aid you." Assuming there is no hostility in their reaction, and a moderate willingness to listen, he will begin by showing then how to make the simple digging tools (think shovels) they need out of wood. The he will begin with the idea of food storage. "Sometimes times like this will come, when food is scarce. You must be prepared for this." He proceeds to dig a primitive cellar, and line the floor with wood. Then, he finds a salt rock in the woods, grinds some of it off using another stone, and sprinkles it on the first piece of meat they will let him get his hands on. Next he hangs it in the cellar. "This wood is to keep the floor from becoming covered in water. [...] This stone is called salt. When you put it on meat, it will become drier, so that you can store it for when food is scarce. [...] Under the ground, the air does not become as hot, so meat will stay edible longer. I am sorry I could not teach this to you before the storms devastated your lands. For a time, I was unable to visit your lands."

((More in the 3.5ish area, once the rains have stopped))
Mandak once again takes the Sume that will listen out for a lesson on forest living. "When the rivers grow too full, they can sweep into nearby lands. To stop this from happening, you must make the sides of the rivers higher." He shows them how, moving earth to the riverbank and raising it.

[Maldiem]

@Ardannis

Spoiler

Show

Ardannis arrives shortly after the prayers begin. I fear I cannot make the storm disappear, or food fly into your hands, he regretfully tells the Sume. My powers are over cunning and travel, not the forces of nature. Yes he does for them what he can.

He teaches them how to make crude rain shields out of large leaves, to keep the worst of the weather off, though he does not expect that to be a large concern to the Husni. He also teaches them how to weave nets from vines and let drag them through the swelling streams, catching the fish that are being swept downstream in the heavy current. If this is enough to satisfy the Sume's needs, this is all he teaches, passing from group to group and showing as many Sume as possible, as well as telling them to spread it to any more Sume they meet.

If this does not suffice, he gauges how interested they would be in traveling away from the storm for a short while. If they show interest, he shows them the manner of making crude but stable rafts on which they can swiftly travel out of reach of the storm. This is a lesson he avoids if necessary, knowing the dangers of traveling far on such uncertain craft.

The Sume forest has a very pleasant climate normally, so cold and exposure are not significant problems. As such, the leaf umbrellas do not see wide usage, though the Sume catch onto the premise fairly easily. The idea of using woven vines as fish nets, however, is immediately appreciated, and the Husni and Amar quickly set to work on that. Within a few days, they have a number of workable nets, and full bellies. This group of Husni loads its nets onto its carts, and, hopefully with Ardannis's company, travels throughout the forest spreading the discovery. The villages that are saved by the vine nets are immensely grateful to Ardannis, and his following sees a very large increase in numbers.

((Ardannis's following grows to 100))

@Mandak ((Response forming))

[Maldiem]

@Mandak, 3.3-3.5
((Uh... 7.3-7.5?))

Spoiler

Show

Mandak returns to the same group he had visited who knows how long ago. "Greetings, I am Mandak. I have seen your flood, and have come to aid you." Assuming there is no hostility in their reaction, and a moderate willingness to listen, he will begin by showing then how to make the simple digging tools (think shovels) they need out of wood. The he will begin with the idea of food storage. "Sometimes times like this will come, when food is scarce. You must be prepared for this." He proceeds to dig a primitive cellar, and line the floor with wood. Then, he finds a salt rock in the woods, grinds some of it off using another stone, and sprinkles it on the first piece of meat they will let him get his hands on. Next he hangs it in the cellar. "This wood is to keep the floor from becoming covered in water. [...] This stone is called salt. When you put it on meat, it will become drier, so that you can store it for when food is scarce. [...] Under the ground, the air does not become as hot, so meat will stay edible longer. I am sorry I could not teach this to you before the storms devastated your lands. For a time, I was unable to visit your lands."

((More in the 3.5ish area, once the rains have stopped))
Mandak once again takes the Sume that will listen out for a lesson on forest living. "When the rivers grow too full, they can sweep into nearby lands. To stop this from happening, you must make the sides of the rivers higher." He shows them how, moving earth to the riverbank and raising it.

The Sume already have shovel-like implements (though the Pupr scupr is far superior), and at this point they're willing to try just about anything. The woods don't have a lot of salt just lying around, though there is, of course, some, but with the wetness of the soil at this point, and large hole is almost immediately filled with mud and water. But the Sume do manage to use the shovels to erect some earthen barriers against the flood, which stops the village from flooding too badly. The Sume in this village are grateful if morose over their conditions, and Mandak's following grows a bit.

[harmonictempest]

Ardannis, Turn 7.1 (effectively Turn 7 wrap-up)

Ardannis does indeed travel with the group, spreading the helpful new technology as far as possible in the few weeks he spends with them.

Before leaving, he tells them he will be back to swap stories with them more, and to enjoy their journies while he is gone.

EDIT: Ardannis also makes some special effort to find the groups that Tek has described to them, explaining that Tek's powers are not as useful against nature, and more in communication between Sume - and that Tek asked him to help. He shows them the nets, as with all other groups.

[Valgunn]

Awlruts, 7.3-7.4

Listening to Sanya and hearing of her mother’s death became bemused by it, "Are these creatures truly this short lived?" Then turning to look at how much the Sume had developed since her last visit she continued this thought "But they have advanced so much. Perhaps such a short life has advantages.". Shaking her head to dislodge her thoughts before she made a fool of herself by staring into space. "Yes. I am Awlruts. It has been a long time since I was here." She clicked her teeth a few time in a rhythmic pattern before continuing. Not planning to stay long here, just long enough to reaffirm belief in her she will get down to the work of learning more about their culture, and if her last visit told her anything it was the Sume loved to talk. After learning much of their culture, she will then spend the remaining amount of time trying to teach them about shield. She will demonstrate how they work and what materials to use and if needed how to create them. When she is satisfied with their progress with the shield her time with them comes to end. With a very satisfied smile she will close her eyes and begin to Demanifest.

OOC: She will feel satisfied with how they have progressed with the shiled at 7.4, convient. Aint it?

[SithLackey]

Mandak 7.3-7.5 (Yes, that is what I meant...)
"It is unfortunate that the best time to prepare for a storm is before it occurs. Prosper, and overcome this adversity. If you prove you can live past it, you will be all the stronger for it." With that, the Earthlord departs his shell and returns to the outer plane.

[pseudovere]

Sedha turn 8-10 autopilot

8.8-9 Sedha observes the Sume from the shadows, learning as much as she can about them without actually revealing her presence (gown of darkness, +1 stealth, and the fact that she's a goddess of darkness should help)

[Maldiem]

Awlruts, 7.3-7.4

Spoiler

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Listening to Sanya and hearing of her mother’s death became bemused by it, "Are these creatures truly this short lived?" Then turning to look at how much the Sume had developed since her last visit she continued this thought "But they have advanced so much. Perhaps such a short life has advantages.". Shaking her head to dislodge her thoughts before she made a fool of herself by staring into space. "Yes. I am Awlruts. It has been a long time since I was here." She clicked her teeth a few time in a rhythmic pattern before continuing. Not planning to stay long here, just long enough to reaffirm belief in her she will get down to the work of learning more about their culture, and if her last visit told her anything it was the Sume loved to talk. After learning much of their culture, she will then spend the remaining amount of time trying to teach them about shield. She will demonstrate how they work and what materials to use and if needed how to create them. When she is satisfied with their progress with the shield her time with them comes to end. With a very satisfied smile she will close her eyes and begin to Demanifest.

OOC: She will feel satisfied with how they have progressed with the shiled at 7.4, convient. Aint it?

The Sume do not understand the point of the shield-- the prey animals almost never fight back, and those predators that can take out a Sume use main strength and ambush tactics, neither of which a shield is much good for. It seems like an awful lot to carry around (stone shield? One word: HEAVY!) for such rare circumstances. They appreciate that Awlruts is spending time with them, but amid the floods no progress is made on the concept.

Sedha turn 8-10 autopilot

Spoiler

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8.8-9 Sedha observes the Sume from the shadows, learning as much as she can about them without actually revealing her presence (gown of darkness, +1 stealth, and the fact that she's a goddess of darkness should help)

((Duly noted))

Turn 7 changes

Ardannis's teaching of fishing has seen very wide acclaim, and a parallel change, the invention of ropemaking, has gone along with it. An unexpected outcome of the Sume using vines to spin into ropes is the discovery that if this is done to fur, thread can be made. Its a pretty short trip between that and full cloth, which the Sume do manage to make by the end of the turn. While it is coarse and primitive, it serves to cover things that need covering, for now.

Mandak's attempt to help with the flood resulted in the Sume understanding that they could alter the flow of water features by building things in their way. There aren't a whole lot of uses for this right now, but a few of the brighter Sume have noticed that plants grow better in areas they've diverted the floodwater into.

It seems that as time goes on, the Sume get better and better and getting along with one another. Ardannis's stories and games may have played a part, but some of it may be attributed to the increasingly sophisticated language. At any rate, Sume groups are getting larger, as the rate of interpersonal conflict per capita goes down.

[harmonictempest]

Ardannis, Turn 8

Ardannis visits the Sume in Turn 8 only once, and very briefly. He appears near Amar, and explains that the storm continues to sweep southward across the world, and that there are other beings that require his help, as the Sume did during the storm. He promises to visit again when he can after the storm passes, and then leaves.

[harmonictempest]

Ardannis, Turn 9.05

Ardannis swings down out of the trees near Amar and his group, greeting them as usual and asking how they managed through the rest of the storm. ((Assuming here that they're mostly okay, based on your recent posts.)) Glad to hear how they've been, Ardannis begins traveling with their group as before, noting the recent addition of cloth and rope into their culture with pleasure.

He shows them how cloth and rope may be combined to make crude sacks (at this point, simply items wrapped in the cloth and tied up by the rope to hold them in place), showing them how much easily something is carried in this manner. He also shows them how, with a little patience, a tied-down sapling can provide the force to snare an unwary creature with rope, given a little ingenuity and some bait (basic noose snare trap for small creatures), thus adding a little more fresh meat to their diet. He travels with them for a week or so, swapping stories on the trail and enjoying himself greatly. He leaves them with a smile, and encouragement to keep on traveling, seeing new things, and sharing stories.

Ardannis travels across Sume lands, stopping in briefly with this traveling group or that, and showing them similar skills with rope. When he gets to Tirus' village, he shows off particularly how snares reduce the time they need spend actively hunting, giving them more time to build the temple better, or for games. He also shows them his new game board, on which playing Fives is as easy as telling the board "fives". A grid outlines itself on the board, as well as a small heap of shiny black and white pebbles to use as game pieces. The first Sume to grab one and run off, however, quickly realizes that anything the board makes vanishes swiftly once it leaves the board. While in the city, Ardannis asks how they're doing, whether they have recently heard from Tirus, and what he has instructed them to do.

[Thelonius]

Tek, Turn 9.01

Tek arrives 8 feet tall, Primary Avatar, wearing Mask of Benevolence.

He travels among Sume, seeking out his followers and teaches them the art of storytelling. He also composes several children’s stories, that are both interesting, and provide good advise for living.

[Maldiem]

Ardannis, Turn 9.05

Spoiler

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Ardannis swings down out of the trees near Amar and his group, greeting them as usual and asking how they managed through the rest of the storm. ((Assuming here that they're mostly okay, based on your recent posts.)) Glad to hear how they've been, Ardannis begins traveling with their group as before, noting the recent addition of cloth and rope into their culture with pleasure.

He shows them how cloth and rope may be combined to make crude sacks (at this point, simply items wrapped in the cloth and tied up by the rope to hold them in place), showing them how much easily something is carried in this manner. He also shows them how, with a little patience, a tied-down sapling can provide the force to snare an unwary creature with rope, given a little ingenuity and some bait (basic noose snare trap for small creatures), thus adding a little more fresh meat to their diet. He travels with them for a week or so, swapping stories on the trail and enjoying himself greatly. He leaves them with a smile, and encouragement to keep on traveling, seeing new things, and sharing stories.

Ardannis travels across Sume lands, stopping in briefly with this traveling group or that, and showing them similar skills with rope. When he gets to Tirus' village, he shows off particularly how snares reduce the time they need spend actively hunting, giving them more time to build the temple better, or for games. He also shows them his new game board, on which playing Fives is as easy as telling the board "fives". A grid outlines itself on the board, as well as a small heap of shiny black and white pebbles to use as game pieces. The first Sume to grab one and run off, however, quickly realizes that anything the board makes vanishes swiftly once it leaves the board. While in the city, Ardannis asks how they're doing, whether they have recently heard from Tirus, and what he has instructed them to do.

The Sume are waterlogged after the storm, and a number died in the floods and some starved, despite the new fishing nets, while the ecosystem was rebounding. It has been awhile since Ardannis's last visit, and the Sume are, as always, glad to see him. Amar has now retired, allowing his sun, Jafo, to do most of the leadership for the Husni.

The Sume in Tirus's village have not seen or heard of Tirus for some time, and this has undermined, if not destroyed, their faith in him. Ardannis's trick with the board makes them very impressed, but it doesn't seem to be in the Sume's nature to set something as malicious as a trap-- somehow it doesn't feel very sporting, and the practice does not see wide acceptance.

Turn 8 changes:
As the Sume recover from the storm, and are basically unbothered by the Immortals, they begin to notice another, more subtle force at work. A sound, beyond description, that resonates through everything around them becomes evident to some of the more astute Sume, and, after some studying, they begin to use it notice things that may be motionless, heatless, and soundless. "The Worldsong", as they refer to it, soon sees very wide use, as Sume hunters adapt to listen to it to find those things that would normally be invisible to them.

A few of the Sume that do not use the Worldsong to hunt have started experimenting with following the sound they hear with their own voices. While they do that, they feel much more in tune with the world, and there have even been a few instances of Sume especially good at following the Song manifesting some very small amount of control over natural phenomena.

[Thelonius]

Tek, Turn 9.01

Tek arrives to the lands of Sume. He is using Primary Avatar, 6 feet tall and wears Mask of Benevolence.

He goes from one group of Sume to another – “Greetings. If you have a little time, would you tell me of the time of great flood?”

Tek composes different stories about Sume and the Great Storm using his Storytelling skill (1).

[Maldiem]

((Forums are terrible for me right now. I'll respond to stuff tomorrow))

[harmonictempest]

Ardannis, Turn 11.8

Ardannis materializes among the Sume, and upon asking how they have fared, quickly learns of the Worldsong. He is greatly excited by this, and discusses with them its use and potential, attempting to discover the following:

1. Can the hunters who use it find anything, or only living things?
2. If they can find things they normally wouldn't, can they reverse it to make themselves harder to find?
3. What natural phenomena can the singers control?
4. If you're using just your voice to follow it, would your control be stronger if you sang?

In addition, he shares stories with as many wandering groups as he passes in his travels. When he reaches the city, he shares a number of these stories, and speaks of the desirability of keeping the stories known and not forgotten in each generation of the Sume. If they seem receptive to the idea, he tries to teach them the basics of writing, beginning with symbols and icons for things like "food", "hunt", "city". If this works, he moves on to individual letters like the one he's seen on the table-imps' table, explaining how each symbol makes a sound, which can be strung together into words. He takes as long as he needs until the basic idea gets across.

If they take to it, he shows them how these symbols can be carved into their walls as a permanent record of stories, and even history, such as the building of the temple.

Spoiler

Show

Bardruids?!?

[Altairius]

Ikeklos, Turn 12.4
Ikeklos had never walked among these creatures before. It was strange, to have had them there the whole time, but never have seen or met them! A true travesty. Perhaps it would make up a bit for lost time. So, it sends it's form of Kelkik to chum it up...

Up till turn 12.6(Or, rather, the point he would have to leave to get back to the inner plane at 12.6), Kelkik moves around the settlements of the Sume, just... spending time with them. He does some light teaching, more name-dropping than otherwise, but really he wants to learn about how they're all getting along. He never stays more than two days in one place, more eager to keep moving than otherwise.


However, as it hikes, it keeps itself engaged by making... symbols. Using rocks and its claws, it carves It's snowflake symbol, either on the item, or by carving it into a snowflake. It gives these items to any Sume who will shelter him for a night, a reminder to them, and him, that there's a god who owes them a favor...