Frozen skies and iron tides

Drbeansguy

Aboard the first Herwan cutter the R.S Clarecomere rides across the western coast of Pythia, their destination is of the confirmed dze settlements. The ride to the north of Pythia was long and horrible, the inexperienced sailors caused incident after incident. But nevertheless they persisted until they reached the Cloudspear peninsula.

The director: "God are we there yet, this place is horrible. Why did i agree to take a ship"

Cartographer: "Yes sir, we are reaching our destination, and maybe the solid land will be more stable"

The cartographer sticks his head over the railing of the ship and promptly throws up his loaf bread.

The director: "Is it just me or is that the coastline, please let it be the coastline"

It was the coastline, and once it was confirmed that it was land and not a puke stain the pilot immediately went closer and closer to the cost, then they hit the sand.

Flying_Tonk

Unkind seas hit shore, yet a calm wind from the north hailed a calmer dusk than what the day had been. Clouds covered the entire sky and their majestic silver to dark grey shades appeared to move like the surface of the ocean when one is submerged and a very light drizzle was falling on the lands, for in spring it would not oftenly snow.

Shadowcloak rangers would detect the presence of the ship and quickly mustered a force of twenty of their kind to watch over this settlement as their infrasonic message reached the local tribes, as they knew not which foreigners were the ones on board they decided to wait until they came down of the vessel to proceed with their next move.

Drbeansguy

The ramps of the Clarecomere fall straight for the sand, once it hits the ground skimtari start filing out and fully enjoying the sand and solid ground. The director and cartographer come of last and they could not be happier. The director in ministry standard starts to speech to his skimtari crewmates.

The director: "Alright lads we made it, after a long long long long shipside we made it. Now i know you want nothing to do with that ship for a while but we still need to unpack, so team 3 go unload the cargo, team 1 start documenting the immediate area, and team three watch out for natives. We want to make a good impression and not make them warpath."

Flying_Tonk

Having passed half an hour or so, the rangers would identify the foreigners as the ẋtƚun, the undead, or so they thought. They would inform of such to the local chieftains and begin to approach through the foliage near the shore, tall grasses being their cover and their capes rendering detection impossible under normal circumstances; there they kept watching until a horn was heard in the distance, announcing the arrival of the T'aan and his retinue.

"It has been barely a year since they appeared" -thought Quṕyċe to himself- "¿What could they want now?...At least this time they are not stranded" -he finished thinking as he and his twenty guards arrived towards the ship. He bore a standard of indigo braided hairs and his armour shone with the thin golden rays that began to pierce the clouded sky, as he took the mask off his helmet he announced to the Herwans in their tongue.

Quṕyċe: "¡Greetings, foreigners! I am Quṕyċe of the Cánii, I come in the name of the Tsǫt'aan and bid you both welcome and an invitation to follow me, for both these lands are deadly and our laws strict, may you wish to follow you will be given shelter until you decide where you may go per our laws of hospitality"

He spoke as he extended his arm forward for a handshake, a well known foreigner gesture the Dze used with them.

Drbeansguy

Most of the crew look over and greet Mr. Quṕyċe, everyone but the cartographer. Unfortunately he doesn't speak ministry standard so he just stares at Quṕyċe with a weird expression.

The director: "Hello Mr. Quṕyċe, on behalf of my crew we will follow you. And please excuse my dear friend with the map, he cant understand us but he speaks electarian."

The director walks up to Quṕyċe and tries to give him a handshake, but he has no clue what a handshake it

Flying_Tonk

Quṕyċe: "Very well" -nodding as acknowledgement and shaking the director's hand in initiative- "Please tell me your names and accompany me to my camp, it is not favourable for you to stay stranded out here for too long"

Almost as if in syntony with the land, a dry and cold wind, piercing like arrows and the light drizzle ceased for a moment, having coated the ground in a thin layer of humidity now being taken by the air once more.

Drbeansguy

Director Olatsu: "My name is director Olatsu with the Herwan research division, My cartographer is named Mr Claffin, official cartographer of herwan resource division. That's everyone important i think. But lets get away from that ship, i want nothing to do with it."

Director Olatus pulls away from the handshake and orders his men to get their stuff and start moving

Flying_Tonk

The Dze guide them through the coast towards the hilly outcrops where their camps are, passing through the sea of tall grasses near the coastline. They would march and guide these foreigners for an hour or two towards the camp as the sky darkened with the setting of the sun, the night a cold one. The T'aan would signal to three empty tents in the camp which seemed like they could fit the crew of the ship. The fifty or so other tents were bustling with activity, from children playing to stoves cooking, elderly storytellers announcing myths and legends and craftsmen practicing their art.

Quṕyċe: "These tents will be your homesteads until you decide to continue your journey or the Tsǫt'aan requests for your presence, per our customs you will have three days to decide your next course of action. I will leave you now for the night, if you excuse me."

The tents on the outside were covered in a layer of protective felt, while on the inside a flooring of a similar soft material was present, a wooden frame made up the structural base of the tent and additional layers provided strength, while blankets and cushions were stacked on a corner of the tent and trays of food and drinks had been prepared.

Drbeansguy

Director Olatsu: "Thank you sir this will be of great help, we very much appreciate this"

The director turns around and give a slight nod, then the other skimtari start to go anywhere but the tents, specifically back to the ship because they forgot their documentation books. But the director stays,

Director Olatsu: "Oh by the by i have a question, would it be fine if we made documentations of your people? See us skimtari have a weird obsession with the documentation of everything, and i would like to be the first to open the first archive in Herwa about the dze.

Flying_Tonk

The T'aan would stare into him, his eyes dimly shining like the stars in a clear night yet they shone brighter, he could feel the Dze gazing into his thoughts, if only for a brief moment, as he firmly spoke.

Quṕyċe: "I will only reveal what is asked and deemed prudent to share, so ask and you will be answered"

He would not say it openly, but he had begun to grow skeptical of foreigners...the Tsǫt'aan had been right, too many were arriving at too quick a pace. They would have to be careful, too many friendly arrivals had begun to make them weary.

Drbeansguy

Director Olatsu "Great, don't worry this will be fast and painless, by that i mean we aren't poking around too deep. Regulations n stuff."

After saying that Mr. Olatsu takes town a notepad and an incredibly wet piece of paper, the paper is almost completely fallen apart.

Director Olatsu: "My questions are: How do you specifically feel about the increase of foreigners arriving, how do you feel that humans with advanced technology exist in the world, and do you and yours wish that the foreigners would leave you alone forever"

Flying_Tonk

Quṕyċe stopped walking abruptly and simply stood there, looking at the ocean upon a clouded day...the questions were blunt, weird and he ponders how to answer. After what were mere seconds he would quickly glance at Olatsu from his sideview, the starry glitter of his eyes shone brightly and the director would feel an uneasy sensation as if the Dze was gazing at his mind, unearthing thoughts and learning memories; a few more seconds would pass and we would then speak.

Quṕyċe: "We are a people of our land, what happens outside is not our concern. Foreigners may arrive, but they may not stay; for our land has bled enough thanks to those who wished to stay without our leave"

Drbeansguy

Director Olatsu just gives a slight nod, and gives a brief smile.

Director Olatsu: "A short and sweet answer, that's something i can appreciate. Frankly i wish some other species are as straight-forward as you, anyways enough about me and my opinions, I humbly thank you for not slaughtering us the moment we landed, i promise within two nightfall's we will be out of your hands."

Flying_Tonk

The T'aan would simply nod and leave as night drew by, the sky cleared for brief moments and allowing the glow of the stars. The Herwans would be left alone during this time as the Dze huddled closely to their campfires. Their simple life gave an aura of calmness as did their nightly music, harmonic and with many instruments played in gentle notes. Half of the camp would go to sleep for half of the night and the other half remained, switching at midnight. The Dze were a structured people despite their seemingly free, nomadic lifestyle.