@Flying_Tonk
In an empty space near the edges of the fjord where the has been multiple books and reports written about this area where the Dze inhabit, a floating spectral of light appears and seems to float there for a time, just bobbing up and down. The little spectral of light hovers there a bit longer, before popping and within a couple seconds from that point a rift appears for a moment with a loud crack in the air heard for a couple miles, a portal was formed and two individuals step out of it. The portal is left there, but a weird lock symbol appears over it and stays. One individual that is wearing a long robe that is covered in vines that are slowly twisting and turning all long her arms and legs, she is excitedly looking about and jumping about looking at all the flora nearby and the feel of the land, her name is Wasylyna Yevdokiya. She is of the House of Uritel, the Sixth House of Fliblisha. The other individual that stepped out made no audible noise as she moved out, and noise seems to deafen around them. She is wearing a cloak of pure black that seems to absorb the light around her, but has tiny little white dots, similar to stars in random places on it. Underneath she is wearing a dark, almost black blue set of armor that seems to never stop moving and roiling under the cloak. She seems to be slightly annoyed, and a tiny bit winded, and her name is Anzhela Kira. She is of the House of Tunsiec, the Second House of Fliblisha. They are both high level vrajimag in Choslow.

Anzhela leans to the side slightly, crossing her arms, and says, “Syl, I don't know why you are so obsessed with this region. There is no reason for us to be here, or at the very least me being here.” She finishes saying this with a small huff.

Wasylyna is bouncing about all over the place, looking at everything with one of the biggest smiles ever, not hearing anything Anzhela said, “Hel! Look at all of these plants, and the animals off in the distance! I've never seen any of them before! This is one of the best days ever! I can't believe you were powerful enough to do this!” She finishes saying while touching some nearby trees, feeling the inner life of each of them.

Anzhela gets a hidden surge of pride at hearing the praise, and flips her long silver hair over her shoulder, “Oh, it was nothing. It helped that this area was already very well described and pictured, that's half the battle…” There is continuous conversation between the two friends, both of them just enraptured with what's happening and not particularly paying attention to their surroundings anymore.

The shore is assailed by the powerful waves of the Wintry Bight and a freezing wind blew from the inland regions, in the distance a horn was heard, crystal clear and mighty in sound, and nearby a strange rumble would be felt. It wasn't constant, it fluctuated and pulsated like a birdsong, yet it could only be felt as it banged the ears like mallets on a drum. The evisceral sensation would be overtaken by a strange calm in the rumbling vibration, relaxing the bones and muscles and slightly dizzying whoever was not used to it; the spring sky revealed some sunlight but still massive clouds sheltered the lands from the light.

In quick succession would the ground shake slightly and an echo appear from the inner fjords, it was the sound of rushing hooves like that of horses; twenty riders clad in lammelar and scaled armour of iron and felt, boots of a malleable but hardy leather and with helmets capped in iron, woolen earsides, plumed tips and masked faces would appear. The riders bore no weapon in hand but for their buckler shields, their swords seathed, maces or axes in their backs and bows on their quivers, they were not there for a fight. At the helm another rider with a red shoulder belt of silk and bearing an indigo hair standard would indicate his status as the leader. Their mounts were alike horses but had two dagger-like fingers near the hooves, their fur was thick and soft, strange appendages hang from the sides of their mouth at the end and their neck manes were instead colorful sails of skin; their armour was of iron and their saddles carefully ornated with silver, platinum, gemstones and exotic textiles.

They would slow down their march and surround the Cholish couple, with their hands in the reins of their mounts, and their captain would dismount, fixing the standard in the ground with it's metal, spear-like end, and would take the mask off his helmet and speak to them. Tall he was, almost at two metres, like his mount, and he clearly was not human for he possessed only four digits in his hand and his face had similar pairs of tendrils where the moustache would be in a human and at the tips of the chin, his eyes had a sparkle akin that of the night sky and yet clad in a mist that shrouded all his thoughts and intentions. He would then utter in the Solarian tongue:

Tẋeł̣eeq: "¡Greetings foreigners! You have come to the lands of the Dze, please accompany us to our camp so you may be able to survive, for night will settle and it is not kind to those not used to it. Speak your names and I shall reveal mine and that of my people"

Thus he spoke, then he would await an answer.

    Flying_Tonk
    The pair of friends got slightly spooked, one much more than the other. Hela got much more spooked between the two and stood more at the ready, she didn't recognize this species, but it was clearly different based on the fact Syl got even more excited when she saw them and all. Syl proceeded to basically vibrate in place, her hood for her robe bouncing about and finally falls off, her hair is shown to be brown and is a mess to call it simply, curls everywhere. She bounces forward, extremely happy to see Dze up close and personal like. Hela spent the time that Syl was bouncing about between the Dze just calming herself down and looking at the newcomers. She was interested in beings close to her height, she herself was 203 centimeters tall, just over the one that spoke. Syl on the other hand is around 187 centimeters tall.

    Eventually Syl stopped bouncing around to actually process the words that were said, and get excited once she heard the words come out of their mouths, she studied Solaren back in the Octonary. She stands in place, vibrating and finally speaks, “HELLO! I AM SO EXCITED TO MEET YOU, I'VE BEEN WANTING TO COME HERE SINCE I WAS YOUNG AND MY GOOD FRIEND WHICH IS HER, HER NAME IS ANZHELA, BUT I CALL HER HELA! YOU SHOULD TOO!” She takes a long breath after pointing at Hela, who is just quietly shaking her head and looking at this spectacle, Syl continues speaking, “OOOH OOOH, I NEVER SAID MY NAME! MY NAME IS WASYLYNA, BUT ALL MY FRIENDS CALL ME SYL, AND YOU ARE MY FRIEND NOW! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO COME HERE AFTER I'VE READ MR. HERON'S WORKS!!” She finishes with a big flourish by spinning in place and throwing her hands up in the air. She then blinks before getting much quieter, “whoops, I forgot you guys don't like loud that much…” She at least had the decency to look embarrassed after that, and look down at her feet. Hela has still just been watching, though a small smile is present on her face at watching the antics of her best friend, also hoping the Dze don't mind her antics.

    Being over fifty years old, the T'aan was mildly surprised at the reaction of the foreigners. Lucky for him they seemed to understand Solaren and although her voice was loud, it was not extremely bothersome but the enthusiasm yet astonished the Dze; the T'aan would percieve it as a passion of the youthful attitude and take no offense, instead relaxing his stoic expression.

    Tẋeł̣eeq: "Very well, it seems the Tsǫt'aan's predictions were right..." -he mumbled in his own native tongue, immediately switching to Solaren- "¡Worry not, young lady! For we take no offense to expressions of delight, I see word of us has spread among foreigners. I am Tẋeł̣eeq, T'aan of the Nywii."

    He would pause before speaking again, taking a quick glance at Hela's garments, apparent to his eyes as a devotee of the stars, like his people, before speaking again to Syl while pointing at Hela.

    Tẋeł̣eeq: "I see you and your friend are in some capacity devotees to the stars if your garments are anything to hint at, come with us then, for we too know of their spiritual divinity"

    As he finished speaking he would signal for a great animal, larger even than the Dze on their mounts, sporting a great mane and a saddle with three individual seats on the back of the animal, fixed in place. It appeared to be docile as it slowly moved around towards where the T'aan was.

    Tẋeł̣eeq: "This will be your mount for the journey to our camp if you wish to come, it will carry you to wherever we go."

      Flying_Tonk
      Syl perks up greater at hearing this, happy she didn't fumble the bag at getting to talk and converse with these people. She basically explodes with excitement, “OH MY GODDESSES!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, I WAAAASSSSS SO WORRIED I OFFENDED YOU GUYS AND IF THAT HAPPENED I WOULD BECOME A SAD SYL, AND NO ONE LIKES A SAD SYL... ALSO!- IT IS REALLY COOL YOU SEE OUR OUTFITS?! THEY ARE SPECIAL FOR OUR MAGIC AND BECAUSE WE ARE OF DIFFERENT HOUSES WE HAVE DIFFERENT OUTFITS-
      Before Syl could continue, Hela walks up and covers Syl's mouth with her hand, and gives her a look that basically says wrap it up, we can talk more later. Syl continues to try and talk through Hela's hand, with little results, before Hela just rolls her eyes and steps back and lets Syl continue. “-AND THAT'S HOW THE PENGBEAR LIVED A FULFILLING LIFE AT THE MUSUEM!” She finishes saying before actually noticing the mount and basically spring launching herself towards it, immediately riding on top. Hela more slowly follows suit, walking towards Syl while not making any noise at all, and the stars seem to flutter and fly and make pictures but also mean nothing, when she gets near the mount she looks at it questionably, before shrugging and floats herself up and next to Syl, just following Syl's lead. Unfortunately, she knows minimal Solaren, but has been getting the basic gist of it, before looking down at Tẋeł̣eeq with a look of questioning. Syl has been basically spouting off ceaseless questions about the animals and the like, though it is going fast enough and the words too jumbled to properly make sense.

      The T'aan, ever more confused, would simply try to keep up with her talkng speed and answer her, in his perspective, strange questions but at some point he simply uttered "Ḿiiċẋḿeŋṕał̣lǫǫwu" as he pointed to the sky, almost like if he was talking to himself, the other twenty armoured Dze exclamating "¡Ṕał̣ńyqew!" and laughing a bit, reviving the ever so monotonous situation they were in. While not a slander against the foreigners, he had begun to lost pace with Syl and he was admitedly tiring out, though he had yet to grow annoyed, in an effort ot get her to slow down he would then speak.

      Tẋeł̣eeq: "Strange questions you have asked me, but it is now my turn to ask back what information has been given ¿Where do you hail from and what is your intention in these lands?"

        Flying_Tonk
        Hela was getting the feeling if she had Syl lead this entire adventure, it wouldn't be that great, and would probably come off as an annoyance, it has happened before when it came to Syl. With this in mind, Hela redirects one of the stars from her garment with her eyes and slides it towards Syl's throat, and as soon as it makes contact all the talking she was doing went dead silent, and yet she continued as if nothing happened. Hela lets out a small sigh and looks at Tẋeł̣eeq, cringing internally, knowing that she hasn't studied Solaren in years, so, it is a little rusty. She starts to speak in a slow and unsure manner, constantly trying to find the right word, “We sorry-...she get very happy?” She says, not exactly sure but continuing, “We come from the...Matr-Matria...” She lets out a small huff, “We come from Choslow, far away, near Nova Solarius, Voidkree, and Santi Rasta...we come here, because...she wanted to see herself, this place and these people...very big interest for here. I come, because she friend and I way for her to come here.” She sighs to herself and speaks in Crystallic, “Goddesses, I wish I studied more, I sound so stupid right now.” She continues in broken Solaren, “She wants learn of here, herself. Any question more?” She looks at Tẋeł̣eeq, hoping that he had somewhat understood her and weren't about to drop them off in the middle of nowhere from how bad she just butched this language.

        As that broken Solaren spectacle is occuring, Syl notices that she has been basically put on mute, and decides to do her next best thing and just meditate and let her magical leylines flow out. Allowing her to feel more intimately the heartbeat of this forest, and focus on its breathing. The vines on her arms and legs are glowing various different shades of green and yellow. She has become lost in her own little world for the time being.

        Tẋeł̣eeq would smile, the whole situation more of a light comedy to him than anything, though a bit suprised at how Syl seemingly went silent without much explnation, he made a sound of approval to Hela and speak.

        Tẋeł̣eeq: "I commend your attempts at speaking Solaren, it is clear it is not your native tongue. At some point I also had to learn it, for us and the Tsǫt'aan realized we needed to communicate with outsiders somehow. Now, those placenames sound familiar to my ears...¿Are all of those nations and yours allied in a confederation like ours?" -his innate curiousity taking hold of his words and this presenting itself as an opportunity to learn more of not just these foreigners, but all those who have come before-

          Flying_Tonk
          Hela lets out a small breath she was holding, happy that she was somewhat understood by these people, or at the very least by Tẋeł̣eeq. She sits there for a moment trying to think of the words to say while glancing at Syl to check how she is doing. Syl is now in a small trance it looks like, gentle swaying to the movement of the forest around us, experiencing it to the fullest extent she can. Hela chuckles lightly, before focusing her attention back to Tẋeł̣eeq and speaks the best she can, “Thank you, I speak Crystallic and Thestrian more.” She pauses before trying to move forward, ”We in, money group together with all…of them?” She huffs knowing she doesn't know the words for that, and has to make do, “We…protector of Santi Rasta, and old friend with Nova Solarius.” She sighs and goes back to Crystallic for a moment and whispers under her breath, “Of course the one time I skip on learning how to use the auto translate magics, is the one time it is actually useful…” Hela has been finding this a more interesting journey overall compared to what she thought it would be when Syl initially convinced her, and is now low-key hoping to see more of this place. Syl now has small wispy tendrils drifting towards various plant forms and swirling and intermingling with them, it is a weird sight to most, humming. Of course, this is still completely silent to the outside world. Hela tries to say, "Who you and people, and where go?” Hela wincing at the butchery of it, but pressed on through it.

          Some of the soldiers would silently stare at Syl's strange trance, thinking her a spiritually gifted individual, although certainly an odd one. Tẋeł̣eeq would listen to Hela, confused at the concept of money, but understood the bulk of her message and answered to her questions.

          Tẋeł̣eeq: "We are the Dze, we were born with the trees, the mountains, the night sky and the earth. We are going to the camp of my people, for if you stay for too long out here alone, either the night or luck will kill you"

          The clouded sky had begun to darken, the sun was setting and the wind had begun to draw colder. As the T'aan went silent, the strange vibration would return, the source was unknown but the Dze did not open their mouths and yet it seemed as if their mouths vibrated too...whatever they were doing it seemed to be communicating, but not in audible speech. It lasted but for a few seconds yet it felt much stronger and not even a minute later an answer was felt by her and heard by them. They were indeed talking to another group of Dze...how though was a mystery.

            Flying_Tonk
            Hela makes a small 'Ahh' noise when she hears what Tẋeł̣eeq says. Happy to not be in this death trap of a place, though normally she would just fade into the shadows and erase her presence, it would be tiring to do all night, especially after making that portal. Hela looked at the growing darkness and enjoying the solitude of it all, she was welcomed into the night and darkness easily, but chose to stay to not freak out the Dze. She could tell they aren't familiar with magic, based on their reactions to Syl and her trance. Hela would be a little weirded out as well if she wasn't used to it, she found the nature fanaticism of the House of Uritel tended to be strong. Hela decided to unmute her friend, now that she isn't on a tirade so she pulls the little star that was on Syl's throat and brought it back to herself, spinning it in the surrounding air. Instantly as that occurs, Syl's hums are audible and following the heartbeat of the forest and seems to be looking at all of it and none of it. She looks at Tẋeł̣eeq and says, “I thank you, helping us. Hope not mind, not good to not talk for long.” She finishes that short blurb, while pointing at Syl and returns the star back onto her garment, though now the stars seem to be copying the constellations in the sky, but they are moving around along it. She looks at the stars, and continues, “Camp sounds good, hope to experient good time, you friendly.” She has reassigned herself to her speech being pretty butchery and just tries to make her point as best she can. She is grateful that they are probably going to a friendly area, she really hopes that the worrying thoughts aren't gonna happen.

            As they entered into the tall forest, with trunks as wide as the great animal that carried the cholish and as tall as skyscrapers, the land truly felt...primal. As they approached a clear in the forest near some streams of water they spotted totems of stone with carved faces, garments and inscriptions; the Dze would bow and make hand gestures in respect, sometimes stopping to remove vines or weeds that had grown on them. These were clearly sacred and they exhumed an ancient aura, for they had not been made by these current Dze, but by ancestors long gone by.

            Near the creeks and atop a crag overlooking a waterfall was the camp of fifty or so tents of the Nywii, they were round in shape and of an exterior of felt and similar materials, the ground inside covered by a similar textile to serve as a flooringand with inner frames of wood, their roofs were dome like and they had a top part uncovered from where heat seemed to emanate and they were large in size, easily accomodating 4 Dze, with no clear distinction for larger tents, yet despite this the land provided enough space for all tents to not be cramped and have plenty of space around them for one to walk, run or leave belongings. The people of the tribe paid little mind to these foreigners as they kept working, a elderly woman weaving, lumberjacks chopping up wood and in the outskirts an anvil was heard, this was not a primitive lifestyle, but a sophisticated and organized people with clear division of labour.

            The T'aan would signal to a tent with some pottery vases at the entrance and a symbol representing a constellation and spoke to the cholish girls.

            Tẋeł̣eeq: "We always keep one or two tents empty for guests, as dictate our customs, it has more than enough commodities for you and trays with food and drinks have been prepared; enjoy yourselves, for you have my leave to wander within the territories of my tribe and clan under our protection. Word has been sent to the Tsǫt'aan, in about two weeks we should get a proper answer for what his mind about you will be. Please excuse me, I have duties to attend"

            He spoke and as he finished he quickly whistled and went with his retinue of soldiers back through the path and then took a turn inland, they had been called or were calling something and they rode with urgency towards the forest.

              Flying_Tonk
              Hela was entranced by all that is occuring around the village of people, as well as the journey that was to come here. She found the totems extremely interesting feeling the aura exude from them quite intensely. She looked at Syl who seemed to still be in a trance, so she had to float her down and has so far just put her down outside next to the tent. As she watched the Dze, she wondered what their lives were like, their history. It was quite a fascination, she glanced at Syl, and back at everyone, and for once seemed to understand a tiny bit about Syl's fascination with this place. She reached into her garment, of course it just looked like the void and pulled out a small scroll, she would proceed to write in it for a minute or two, before tying it up and burning it with a green flame, and watch as the ashes of it swirl and fly off, she still had to contact her higher ups that she was here, along with Syl, and seem to be here for the foreseeable future. She hopes that won't cause too much disturbance, she also hopes the distance won't be an issue. Hela finally looks at Syl still humming, and launches five of the stars at Syl and have them go around her head, and a quick flash and Syl falls asleep, the stars fly back to the garment and rejoin their constellation. Hela proceeds to float Syl inside and lay her down, and she just sits at the front of the tent flap, and just watches and examines everything from a distance. Hela feels a small well of excitement to be here, and can't wait for the two weeks of being here. Hopefully they don't commit too many faux pas, but it is bound to occur, she supposed. She was probably just gonna let the night play out, much happened today so far, maybe brush up on Solaren.

              During the early hours of the night the sky had begun to clear, revealing the sparkling stars, while half of the tribe went to sleep and some remained huddled or close by the campfires, with many of them speaking in their tongue, similar to what the T'aan had uttered yet the sounds were different and the structure had a distinct character, some took out flutes, reeds and bowed instruments, playing music to the moons, the stars, the sun, the mountains and the earth.

              Gentle and happy polyphonic chants marked the night in combination with complex patterns of finely weaved musical instrumentation accompanied by the sound of critters in the night and a soft, temperate breeze. Four hours later would most of these go to sleep and those that had slept before would awake, repeating the process during the second half of the night as the ring around the planet began to shine in silver and white, announcing the rise of the sun in a few hours.

                Flying_Tonk
                With two weeks of time to spend, it is only a wonder the duo could do as much as they could. Within the next day, Hela would recieve another scroll back with a flash of green fire appearing in front of her, and dropping into her outstretched hand. She would proceed to read it, and she understood, by order of Her Queen Ascendant, they are now to stay and wait, and observe. For Syl, this was basically a dream come true for her, for Hela. Less so. She was still happy to be here. They will observe and do many things. The things below are what each individual got up to in that time.

                SYL
                Syl was fascinated with the people, and the nature of this place. Those were things she read countless reports of, the issue was a lot of them were bits and pieces. The fact that now she can interact with the people and examine everything really wilded her up. Her first bit of examination was how the Dze interacted with each other, as individuals as well as a unit, and the different levels of the unit, from direct family to the whole tribe. She wanted to see the familial dynamics between children and parents, sibling with sibling. She would do her best to be respectful about it, she would try to communicate to anyone that did know Solaren if they didn't she did the best she could with gestures that she read about to help. She wanted to join in their activites and the like. With this in mind, she looked at each of the tools that they used in their daily life and how they used them. She wanted to see how they interacted with nature, and how they treated each thing they came across, as well as wondering how each tribe of Dze interacted with another tribe, but's that only if another came about. She would also wish to understand how the bodies of the Dze worked, since it was completely different than her own, and she found that very very interesting, she wanted to see how they decorate themselves and what is considered decency and the like. She would attempt to mimic or learn the Dze language in this area, she wasn't ever sure if she was doing okay, she was just lucky she was really good at languages, having to know multiple such as, Thestrian, Crystallic, Solaren, the various languages in Santi Rasta, and some Voiditen.

                HELA
                Hela wanted to be a bit more reserved, the thing was. A lot of that was abandoned when she first heard the music they played. It is some of the most intriguing and beautiful she has heard ever, and she wanted to know everything about it. She wanted to understand each instrument, how they worked and flowed together, wanted to see how the music was made and set up. She especially wanted to understand the meaning behind them, the history of it. She also found the old totems most intriguing as well, but wanted to not touch them for fear of disrespect. She would seek out Tẋeł̣eeq, or someone from the tribe, to see if they may allow her to look at it. She wished to understand this ancient totem, wanted to understand the aura that exudes from it, if it could possibly have any latent magical properties that she could tell from a distance. She also remembered that these people mentioned stars and the land within their introduction, so which wanted to know their constellations. She didn't expect similarities, with two different cultures. She wanted to see what they saw in the sky compared to her, someone that owes their life to the night and stars.

                BOTH
                Of course, they didn't want to be greedy. So they were completely open about their cultures. The Choslish people are made of two cultures, Thestrian and Crystallic. Each have a language that is dominant in Choslow, so basically everyone in Choslow knows both. They were willing to share everything about it, Syl much more so than Hela. That is more due to the open and friendliness of Syl. They were also willing to talk about their lands and show pictures of the lands through shadow magic, changing and whirling about to show properly. If anyone was interested, they are willing to talk about the history, as well their biology if it ever comes up. Syl much much more willing to talk about that than Hela, Syl doesn't know shame. Hela would know more about the history, and she is the one doing the shadow magic. They wanted to understand the Dze spiritually gifted ones, she would do this with Hela, for Hela understood theory and the feel of magic much better than Syl. They wanted to know if it was different, and if so, how it was. They wanted to understand the spirituality of the Dze, and how it flowed through the day-to-day life.

                During the two weeks the Dze would show a change in attitude towards the foreigners, for although friendly, these people were not keen to easily trust others, yet it seemed as if these foreigners were different, to them at least, and they silently appreciated that. Children would occassionally watch the two Cholish women and run away if they were spotted; the Dze seemed to have a relatively usual family structure, however strictly monogamous and yet it seemed that couples were happy with eachother, no matter the age it seemed. Later would the T'aan explain their philosophy on love one day: Dze would not date in the conventional sense before marriage, for they had a much easier time figuring out who a compatible partner would be and they would build such a relationship up as it was started. A young boy would play a melody of his own making in a particular style on a flute or a girl would carve out in tree bark a hieroglyphic message and the other side would reciprocate by answering them, this would go for a few years until it was officialized. It was unsure wether non-heterosexual couples even existed in this tribe or the nearby ones they occasionally visited while accompanying the T'aan, but he answered anyways that it was indeed extremely rare, but not ostracized; most likely a cultural or biological factor, it was certainly something to note.

                Each family had from 2 to 4 children and they would help out their parents without much of a gender disinction in childhood, daughters learning how to smelt ore and sons learning how to weave, their parents too seemed to specialize in many crafts, some Dze doing carpentry and hunting or pottery-making and later cooking, they had to, for although specialized, they had to remain somewhat generalists due to the semi-nomadic lifestyle which they embraced.

                The T'aan would explain this one day as they found him fishing in a small lake, Dze were beings of curiosity and of learning and it was considered a sign of strength to know of many crafts. Although the Nywic language these people spoke was related more closely to the partially deciphered Old Dze, it was mutually unintelligible asides vague cognates and so the Dze who knew Solaren, very few still, would much rather learn Thestrian and Crystallic, the T'aan included, and teach it to their kin slowly. The Dze had superb hearing and, unbeknownst to the Cholish, extremely good vocalization due to their two vocal organs and so had no trouble getting used to the sound and structure of the languages the Cholish knew.

                Although very reserved about things such as biology or explaining their muddied and bloody history, the T'aan in particular would listen and answer to any questions they had and he would look and listen with meticulous detail at any show of magic they showed, unable to understand it properly but assuring himself it was a form of technology, or information about Choslow and ask back to them in hopes of knowing more.

                "These totems were made by our ancestors more than three hundred generations back. We know not what they made them for but their spirits live on in them, their memories and experiences; they are what tie us to them, the sky to the earth and we must keep the ties clean, just like we clean the totems every day if plants grow on them"-said Tẋeł̣eeq one day to Hela as he brought her to one of the totems, bowing to it first before speaking. It depicted a male dze, a warrior in basic garments and yet no mask, sporting a spear on one hand and a rope on the other. The details were so well kept it looked as if they had been carved less than a day ago, the stone of the totems made of a strange composition, sturdy and able to withstand time-

                He would allow for her to visit the totems so as long as she dared not deface them and inspect them to her hearts content, as did the musicians allow for her to be taught their craft, explaining their musical modes and the way the instruments worked. The musicians were young and enthusiastic, slightly more eager to share in knowledge than the older adults and they spared no time to even teach Syl and Hela how to properly play their instruments during the mostly cloudless nights that defined their stay; through them they would also learn of several Dze constellations and their cosmology, many constellations had the names of local fauna or of great spirits, their gods. The Lequn, the horse like creature they usually rode in; the Scaledmane, a large reptilian being that occasionally was seen in rocky outcrops or the Guardian of Souls, the galactic disk which they believed was the holder of stars and the souls of those who died.

                Syl could also witness the Dze were not eager in changing their enviroment in large scale actions, a tree would be chopped and the lumberjack would take seeds of the tree from a pouch and spread them around; a hunter would take down male animals but would not shoot female animals with calfs or if it was pregnant and the few Dze who ventured to ore deposits would only take amounts requested by blacksmiths, for the concept of surplus in a society where it might weigh the travel of the community down was not required.

                Lastly, in terms of magic it appeared as if the Dze, although spiritual to a degree, were not openly magical however there was a scent of it...an aura, just like the one on the totems but much weaker, in the case of the totems it seemed to affect life around it, turning panicking animals into tamer creatures, fostering the growth of trees of tender fruit and slowing decay. It seemed as if Dze magic did not exist, or at least not strong active magic, but rather a passive effect that reflected their spirit when at peace, cheerful, nurturing and happy, yet hidden as if it did not want to be seen.

                  Flying_Tonk
                  The past two weeks were nothing short of a dream come true for Syl. She got to truly experience the life of the Dze and, well, at least this tribe specifically, but she felt so much closer to them than she ever felt with most people back home. She did wonder how they just had such an easy time figuring out their partners, she wished it was that easy for her. She also had to wrap her mind around that they were strictly monogamous, wasn't the most difficult thing, just not that heard of back home. She was pleased to see the fairness in what and who did what, she truly was happy for that, she has heard some more extreme groups back home wanted to put the masculine population back down and revoke much of the equal rights they had gained centuries prior. She disliked that group, strongly. Anyways, she had to unfortunately give up on the idea of trying to speak any of the Nywic language really, just didn't have the right vocal range, but she was more than happy to go over the languages she did know. As a member of the House of Uritel, it was with great delight to see the respect to nature in all its forms.

                  Hela, also had a most intriguing time during this stay. She didn't know Solaren well when she first got here, but she did brush up enough to now not immediately stumble over every couple of words. Practice seems to have been just perfect. She was the one who really wanted to go into the history, but specficially of this tribe. They may be united, but each tribe probably has their own history, and she didn't mind the bloodiness of it all, she also would ask in regard to basic biological things about the Dze, such as body structure, organ placement if they knew, and reproductive, but tried not to be too forceful about it. She also found the idea of their magic being even close to technology funny, she went out of her way to explain more properly in-depth how their magic worked. How it was bloodline related, and how each person of Choslish descent would have magical leylines of certain Houses that influences their specifics of magic. She went further on to explain that the more advanced a technology is, with no magic involved, the more it makes the leylines within the Choslish people uncomfortable. So most tech based stuff has to either be made specifically with that in mind, or not have the reason it makes them uncomfy. She explained how she was of the House Tunsiec, which specializes in the magics of illusions, dark, and various other smaller types. She mentioned that Syl was of the House Uritel, which is all about nature and the earth. She would go on to mention how each House is a part of the culture of Choslow, being a form of identifier. Most everyone within Choslow is a part of a House. She would then tell of the history of Choslow, more of a brief overview, starting from their nomadic roots, though most stories before the establishment of the first Queen Ascendant are mostly folk tales, all the way to modern day. Went over the bloody mess that was the 7 Queen Revolt, with the country ripped asunder, the Megaran Renaissance, all the big points of Choslow history. Hela was overjoyed to be allowed to study the totems, and made to draw down every single one she got to visit, and made sure to ask about if anyone knew of any information about them, and always wrote a short biography or details about them, making a small book over time. She wrote it in Solaren and Thestrian. Syl didn't focus much on the magical side of things, but Hela did. Hela would proceed to write down all of her small findings on Dze and their aura as she came to calling it, as it didn't seem to be an active effect, but a passive. She even had Syl help out greatly to understand what was occurring, since it seemed the magic laid more closely to the House of Uritel. Hela would write much about this topic, and spend much time writing in the book. In the times she wasn't doing all that, she was with the musicians, she felt the music flow through her and enjoyed it to great lengths. She even loved the constellations she was shown, new ones that never existed before in her eyes, and on her starry garment, many of the old constellations got pushed or moved around, and the ones from the Dze appeared, the Guardian of Souls one specifically took center stage now on the garment. Hela loved this group of people ever so much, she almost never wanted to leave now, and she could tell Syl felt very similar to it. Hela took extensive notes of everything for Syl, since Syl's handwriting was atrocious. In total, there was five different books written or started, one on the totems and their lives, with mixes of Dze history for context. One on the life of this specific tribe, one on the way the music of the Dze worked, one of the cosomology of the Dze and how it compares to those of other cultures around the planet, and the last one was about the magic of the Dze, this one was a bunch of theory and magical terminology. The last involved much study closely and made connections where could.

                  Two weeks had passed, a horn in the distance blew in a strange pattern and the T'aan heeded the message it carried as it resounded in the valleys of the mountains and in the fjords. The Tsǫt'aan was summoning them. He would approach the pair a few minutes after he heard the response.

                  Tẋeł̣eeq: "The Tsǫt'aan calls for your presence. I will escort you for the journey there, it should take no more than 20 days on a relaxed pace. I will not ask if you wish to stay or go, for his word is law and his request honours you; that way you can learn more of what you seek to know, for he is even more versed in the stories of our ancestors than I"

                  Around them things had begun to move, a unit of twenty warriors was assembled and additional mounts, those of the great manes, were assembled both to carry the items for their tents and to carry the Cholish, who had not been taught yet how to ride the Lequn, though spare mounts would be brought still.

                    19 days later

                    Flying_Tonk
                    Hela and Syl remembered that they were going to meet this Tsǫt'aan. They have been such a time in this area, experiencing all that could be offered and allowed. They truly got immersed within this tribe, and were a tad sad that they had to leave for a length of time, but knew that is was what the Queen would want, as well as a chance to learn more, perhaps. Hela was much more interested in the learning more part, the quest for knowledge and understanding never truly ending, especially after feeling that new source of magic.
                    Hela and Syl proceeded to follow Tẋeł̣eeq and his commands to which mounts to ride and with whom. They didn't want to make a headache of things with this movement, since they don't know how to ride the Lequn, though that could maybe be fixed along the journey, with Syl already imagining doing tricks while riding one. Syl was positively vibrating about and couldn't wait to get this journey stared, her vibrations through enough to start drilling a hole in the earth from pure excitement. Hela was more calm about this, though still excited to learn more and see the Tsǫt'aan. She has only heard vague things about him from Syl and her ramblings at 3am after reading those textbooks she loves. They hoped this journey would be more or less easy and maybe enlightening.

                    As they began to travel to the west, they would have to cross the Fjord Massif, a mountain range that stretched for the entirety of the region, creating inner valleys behind and which lowered in altitude to the far north-west. The mountains were steep and the paths were narrower than expected, but they nontheless could travel them at ease. The Dze would provide the Cholish with appropriate garments for the cold so they wouldn't freeze during the journey, however as they were traversing the mountains the climate suddenly began to worsen...the Dze apparently knew of this, they could tell hours and even days in advance when it was going to rain, when it was going to snow and when there would be wind. On the seventeenth day of journeying the two were approached by Tx̣eł̣eeq with a slightly concerned expression.

                    Tx̣eł̣eeq: "We will have to make camp early, we will set up eight tents, with one for you, in the valley below. The paths will be covered in snow before dark and we will be unable to continue, so we will have to wait out the storm here"

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