Update 4 (Years 300-400 Post-K7)
The
Aghak people’s attempts of nomadic seafaring kept being frustrated by the rough oceanic conditions of the outer sea. However, some of the groups well-settled in their home islands do use this forced sedentarism to start hunting for eggs of migratory birds that settle on the local cliffs, leading to a few generations of food surplus and, as a result, a local population boom.
(Aghak: -5% Centralization, -5% Conformity +1 Population Center in Region 36; player must choose type of new Power Point)
Up in the Tantara mountains, the
Hazo people face generations-long stagnation, riding on the successes of their recent adaptation and changing little in their lifestyle, despite some signs of developmental efforts by some family groups.
The
Syrisil agriculturalists, long-accustomed to producing some harvests even in the steamy rainforests of their homeland, start venturing into the fertile floodplain of Fee Shenete. There, their agricultural package quickly leads to overproduction of food and a flourishing of new communities. Meanwhile, their experiments with simple wearable costumes don’t really see much spread, being rarely used outside of shamanic rituals.
(Syrisil: -5% Centralization, -5% Conformity +1 Population Center in Region 9; player must choose type of new Power Point)
Meanwhile, the
Trasque communities surprisingly become the second culture of the Land of the Shining Sky to form proper proto-urban communities in the cave complexes of the Trasque ridge. Their cultural cousins from a less tamed Trasque Shaln region, meanwhile, continue perfecting their hunting and gathering skills, albeit without much of a surplus output to show for that.
(Trasque: +1 Survivalism; Region 34: Urbanization +1)
In the lake valley of Mona Yi Hu, more and more
Enaman people become moa-stalkers, making use of the primitive proto-herding techniques to improve their daily diet and bring up another population boom. Alas, their more tradition-bound cousins fail to compete with this primitive pastoralism, and their highly cerebral oral tradition continued exercises in complexity that added little to substance.
(Enamans: -5% Centralization, -5% Conformity +1 Population Center in Region 29; player must choose type of new Power Point)
The
Agomai hunters’ war parties continue venturing north into the canyon country, but find many of the previously known Yonike camps abandoned and very few communities left to subjugate anew. Meanwhile, some of their family groups start experimenting with proto-herding in the warmer, woody grasslands neighboring their homeland, so far with little to show for their effort.
Despite the failure of their first pastoralist attempts, the Agomai clans accumulate some knowledge of the neighboring land. Known as Hyagothia, it’s a temperate, seasonal steppe that get more forested closer to a big river that spills into the plain from a large and more cool mountain valley. Still, even in the forested mountains the climate is mildly alpine, and arable patches of good soil and green pastures are easy to find. Short-snout bears and mountain lions live only in the mountain slopes, while the plain is the domain of dire wolves and giant owls. The grass-rich steppes are full of large herds of donkey-like hippidon horses, while in the woods dire deer are a common sight. The mineral deposits are moderately rich, although they have to be found only in the frigid highlands.
With the Agomai yoke gone, the
Yonike people start to move closer to the more agriculturally productive lands of Aoni-chehek, particularly a few valleys located within the canyon system. This offers them a chance to grow in population thanks to a food surplus.
(Yonike: -5% Centralization, -5% Conformity +1 Population Center in Region 15; player must choose type of new Power Point)
The
Turape hunters and gatherers, unsatisfied with the conditions of their homeland, start making their way across the high mountain passes to the other side of the large island they populate. There, they find a steamy highland rainforest, rich with wildlife which the Turape find to be an easy game. This leads to a population boom among the families that decide to more permanently settle on the outer ocean-facing side of the ridge. Meanwhile, back in their cultural cradle, first (yet unsuccessful) experiments with better rafts and sailing boats are being made.
(Turape: -5% Centralization, -5% Conformity +1 Population Center in Region 6; player must choose type of new Power Point)
The land newly settled by the Turape is known to them as Nadelis. It’s a highland rainforest resting on a vast ridge of volcanic rock that still sometimes shows signs of active volcanism. Hot, humin air masses from the outer ocean slam this side of the mountains with all they have to bring, resulting in a steamy, rainy climate that is broken up into pseudo-seasons only by the annual events of polar night and polar day. Ferns are just as widespread as various exotic flowers. The wildlife is extremely vibrant, especially in the avian kingdom. The number of exotically looking birds is astonishing, and entire sections of the rainforest are regularly being reshaped by this or that species that enters its mating season, either to build up impressive nests or to clear space for mating dances or to create elaborate architectural displays that would attract females. The paradise birds feed on an extremely large population of various insects and arachnids and have only two real natural enemies besides humans: constrictor snakes and predatory lemur-like monkeys. In the high mountains, various caves host flocks of bats that keep the forests just as alive after dusk, replacing the ever-present day birds. The oceans are very stormy and unruly, but they’re also rich with fish, hunted upon by highly intelligent killer dolphins and dull, but effective saw-jawed sharks. Unfortunately, the never ending rains mean that hardly any fertile soil is left for agriculture or grazing, and the natural deposits are limited to timber and some volcanic minerals in the high mountains, mostly basalt and obsidian.
Aboriginal highlanders of the
Ankarne group show signs of attempting early domestication of llamas and dwarf horses - both in the high meadows of their homeland and in the neighboring lowlands they mistakenly hope to be more useful for pastoralism. Unfortunately for them, so far their efforts bring no noticeable result.
Yet, the ventures into the lowland expand the Ankarnean knowledge of the world. The land they have not yet named is a massive, treacherous salt marsh, resulting from a slowly retreating ocean that still occasionally floods the river delta, thus feeding several saline lakes. This makes for a stable, but rather minimalistic habitat, with mostly salt-tolerant reeds and glasswort dominanting the expansive landscape. Despite a relatively low precipitation, the salt marshes are a breeding ground for clouds of mosquitos. Aquatically, the river delta and the shore waters are not very vibrant, but do support big populations of killifish and crabs. Further inland, the salinity of the soils slowly goes down, and a few patches of arable land and pastures do start to appear, mostly frequented by giant flightless birds, both herbivores and predators. Very few natural resources exist here, except for one: the omnipresent salt.
The
Nekenee highlanders show signs of significant changes in their tribal economy. They improvise with early domestication of some cereals and eventually achieve an extensive breakthrough in high altitude agriculture, both intensively and extensively. Alas, this fails to trigger proto-urbanization as of yet.
(Nekenee: +1 Agriculturalism, -5% Centralization, -5% Conformity +1 Population Center in Region 12; player must choose type of new Power Point)
The
Happatara villagers continue pursuing the path that’s been working well for them so far, expanding their agricultural operations into new, fertile lands and proceeding to establish permanent settlements there. Their core towns continue to grow in size and complexity, and first rooftop streets are being made to improve their proto-urban infrastructure (needless to say, their new settlements are planned better and feature proper land streets). Experimentation with improvement of domesticated millet and rye continue, but so far without the desired breakthrough.
(Happatara: -5% Centralization, -5% Conformity +1 Population Center in Region 23; Region 23: Urbanization +1)
Sequences of freezing winters and short summers make life really challenging for many
Nari hillmen, forcing many of them to attempt migrations to the milder Tantara forest. Unfortunately, the survival rate among the travellers remains to be poor, and little experience can be drawn from these failed migrations. Those who remain in the Bashtun woodland attempt to develop new homeware and leather-based clothes, but their domestic craftsmanship remains highly infantile, utilitarian, and primitive for now.
Checkpoint map - Update 4:
GM's note: I'll be travelling the next week and may not have much time to work on the game. So, it'll go at whichever pace I choose to keep. Possibly, not at all - until I'm back home.
