Look Upon My Works

Beh, I shouldn't be awake right now, but whatever I had me a thought.


So, as Diplomacy has been sort of a theme for the past three updates since we met Lugalkam I was struck by the question of "Well, how does diplomacy work when it's tribals?" It is a pretty substantial question, though not exactly crucial to our means of survival right at the moment.


A big thing to start with, which ties into my previous thing on legislation and the lack of Law context, is the fluid nature of Kin Diplomacy. To give context to what I mean, Law and legislation and legislative bodies can regularize both the protocol and formal requirements of diplomacy and they can regularize the effects of diplomacy and have it hold in treaty and contracts beyond the lifetimes of the negotiators. Law, and the other advanced social concepts that tend to appear along side it(for different reasons, and often not spawned from law itself) can make it so that societies elevate diplomacy beyond the level of an interpersonal relationship and into a contract which is binding under whatever agreed upon terms there are.

For the Kin however, they lack Law and legislation and also most advanced social structures beyond the interpersonal. What this means obviously is that in the Kin themselves rely on interpersonal skills taught by their parents and the honored grandmothers and extend this out to their diplomacy. You can see it in the interactions between Fire Defeats-Many and Lugalkam. Their agreement is not between the Kin and the Godlanders, it's between Lugalkam and Fire Defeats-Many. Lugalkam's people have the theoretical social basis to understand more complicated diplomatic overtures but in this context there really isn't any point.

It's also not even really a formal agreement at all, given that Fire did not exchange an item with Lugalkam when they talked, for it to be held as collateral, as described in their practices. In fact from what I can tell those sorts of formal binding agreements are purely Kin to Kin associations, and it hasn't occurred to them yet for such things to apply to deals between other people outside the Kin. This goes beyond diplomacy as well, into the nature of binding trade agreements, which are similar enough that there is a lot of overlap. In the sense that the trade agreements are not going to be contracts per se and will be purely personal constructs between two people based on personal connection.

Now interestingly, for all tribals on or near the Kin's level of development this sort of diplomacy holds true both nomadic and semi-nomadic/settled. They may approach first contact, and extended diplomacy, in different ways based on cultural context but the bed rock of it will be interpersonal relations between the important people who meet each other as those people representing themselves because there isn't exactly a sense of "The state/kingdom/overarching social structure".

What are the consequences of this? Well it leads into the "Diplomancing Nomads is Hard" concept common to history, because you have no wider connection or social structure to address and get to everyone in a particular region, and that each particular tribe you basically have to make friends with on your own merits as a person and not a representative of something larger. They may respect that something larger as a force to consider, but they'll listen to your negotiations because of the charisma of the negotiator and their ability to sell their shinnies. So it leads to the dilemma where you have to do this with every tribe in a region and some of them will hate each other's guts in feuds spanning literally generations over shit we would consider weird. (Go look up the Basus War, I am not kidding)

That's for more complex folk interacting with Kin like nomads and nomads in general, as well as settled but un-advanced tribal peoples. For the Kin interacting with other tribes close to their level it leads to a couple of things. First is that every relationship will be between people, and families instead of Tribes. For the most part, with stuff only escalating to the Tribes getting involved when stuff goes sideways. If people don't like each other, then that's a big limiter and it is not one we can really effect at all. This limits the direct number of relations the Kin can actually sustain.

However, in a different part of this, you can actually have webs of relationships and inter-tribal diplomacy which span huuuuge areas of land. (again look at the Basus war) No one person or tribe will be personally connected to everyone else, but you can have the formation of tribal blocs based on interpersonal connection. Which in turn means that for certain things you can get masses of tribes coming together over something.

Now of course a lot of this interpersonal diplomatic stuff is predicated on family blood ties. That's a thing which will be common for most people, since humans are still at the point where tribalism and its associated common thoughts(usually that trust worthiness is an extension of blood relation, which tended to end up being true) are predominate. It actually will even apply to one degree or another, though likely be executed in different ways for truly settled non-tribals like the Godlanders. This means that a lot of ties between tribes which are more than a fleeting "How do ya do?" are bound using familial marriage ties, though depending on the culture they may not be exactly common. Often it may be that marriage will be between members of different families in the same clan, or between members of different clans, and then sometimes between members of different tribes.

It really kinda depends. Then there's things like blood brother traditions and blood oaths, which can facilitate the same role without marriage becoming involved. And then all the other traditions and rituals I don't know about.

What this means for us as a player base is that we will essentially have to hold diplomacy on a case by case basis. And that playing based on the idea of "Do I like this person, and how bad can they hurt." is actually totally viable and in character, and probably exceptionally reasonable when dealing with other tribes since they will be doing something similar. The barriers we'll have to overcome are different definitions on what is prestigious and also a variety of different social practices.

A big part of it that intercession in conflict will often come down to arbitration by the spirits and those in our societies that truck with the spirits. As well as deeper relationships and friendships will need to be consecrated beneath their domains.

I think that's it for now... *rummages around*

Yeah, I'm done on this topic for now.

Apologies for the double post but I got hit with a inspiration.


"Kin Scrolls I"

The beginning of a pictorial chronicle of the Kin to Air's first Great Journey.

Hallo hallo again, I have more arts as gifts.

*plop*


"Kin Scrolls II"



"Fire Defeats-Many's spear"

Author's Note: Warning, this gets pretty grim some places, so if you aren't for reading about a village getting burned to the ground, I would not recommend reading.

[X] - Life
[X] - Speak of Us

Partitioning

In the middle of the camp of the fishing folk, they huddle; at the mercy of the Kin to Air, who wrestled with demons in the underworld, and the black-headed men of the Land of the Gods, they huddle. Women, children, men; old and young, all subdued by the demons that possessed you in battle, and made each of you as tenfold warriors of theirs. They whisper among each other, whispering in a strange, guttural tongue of harsh words and slithering sentences, like the scaled fish they take from the water and eat; like the strange spirits of the river, they no doubt worship.

Lugalkam looks at you expectantly, waiting for you to make your choice. You ask him to stand back and let you confer, to which he agrees, and you bring the hunters together. You ask of them, their desires, but you can already see the gazes that the young hunters, faces still flushed with blood, cast towards the women of the fishing folk, and you yourself, are in need of a wife. You ask of them, if they desire anything more, but must quickly calm them when they speak of the golden jewelry, wishing to save that for Lugalkam, whose eyes you have seen glitter at least as much as the gold, when they fall upon it.
Brilliance strikes you, and you know what to ask for, smiling as you call off the conference and return with your host, to Lugalkam and Ninthutha, and the fishing folk.

"I ask firstly, of you, Lugalkam of the black-headed people, who come from the Land of the Gods, that I be given the unmarried women and the children of the fishing folk, and that all who are married be given the same fate as their husbands, as to not to separate them."

To this request, Lugalkam seems to acquiesce easily, smiling happily that you make such a light request, and motions to his men to stand ready, as he shouts in the language of the fishing folk, to separate the married from the unmarried, lifting his bloody blade so it glints evilly in the dying sunlight of the evening. Terrified, they separate from each other, those who will not move, being moved by the soldiers with crude gestures and rough pulling. You bid Lugalkam speak, and he commands, once again in their strange tongue, and the mass of unmarried women, and children move, shuffling and clustered together, towards you.

Then you speak to Lugalkam again, and give your second request; your stroke of genius, which will secure greatness for the Kin.

"Secondly, I ask of you, Lugalkam of the black-headed people, who has become to me like a brother, through battle, that you and your men speak of us, and speak of our greatness, and say, "The Kin to Air, who are all kin to the woman who went into the land of dry dust and worms, and wrestled with the demons within, are great in the eyes of the spirits, and our gods", and that you bring this message with you wherever you go."

At this, Lugalkam laughs joyfully; a cheery laughter, not in mockery or jest, but in friendship forged, speaking up heartily.

"As you wish, Izidabduesh, of the Kin to Air, who says to me "you have become to me like a brother, through battle", I shall spread far your story, and say to them, "this man was born of Arashgichar, who is queen of the underworld and sister to the Queen of Heaven", and I shall tell them of your great deeds."

This, you find a most pleasing agreement.

Then, it is Ninthuta, property to the god Merthoch, who speaks up. In a harsh voice, she bids Lugalkam have the men and married women brought back, guarded by the soldiers, so they can be made to work. She also then bids him set the buildings aflame, to terrify others of their kind into fearing the retribution of the Land of the Gods, and seek other raiding targets. To these wishes, Lugalkam agrees, and he bids his soldiers take the remaining and lead them from the place, to stand afar under guard.
Also to this, Lugalkam agrees, giving the command and sending a group of men to make torches and bring forth fire.

Finally, it is Lugalkam's time to make his own claim, and he takes nothing but the gold and jewelry; personally looking through every hut and house for the tiniest piece that glimmers, bringing back necklaces with amber inlays and elaborate statuettes. Signs from trade afar and signs of wealth; both things that are now Lugalkam's.

Then, he calls forth again, the men who have returned bearing long sticks and timber. They arrange the timber and surround it with large stones, taken from the banks of the river. His men impale the long sticks they held, which you realize are the broken spears of the fishing folk, into the ground, while Lugalkam then takes a small stick and begins spinning it quickly between his hands, as he holds it to the collection of unburning timber. Around him, the three men he called forth begin stomping their feet in the earth, singing a song which you understand not, despite your partial understanding of their language.

"Ana Merthoche imen! Elenu thiemethoa imen!"

They stomp their feet, they shout their cry to the heavens, and the warriors keeping the captives, bid the ones they have taken kneel and lay hands upon their shoulders, forcing them down.

"Urumerthoch! Elenu keskel imen! Emkereene panazue imenak!"

In the dying, golden glow of the sun, dark clouds have begun to gather on the sky, slowly blotting out the last, feeble rays of light. The warriors take from the captives, an old man, bringing him forward, towards the great camp, held by his arms, by two warriors, as Ninthutha's eyes have rotated, so her visage is spots of white, full of tiny, red veins. From her mouth come words that sound nothing like what the warriors now holler and scream, if they are word, they are words of Merthoch.

In Lugalkam's hands, fire has begun as one would expect, and the smoke it gives off is caught in the heavy winds, dancing in a quick and murderous dance, while the three warriors have picked up their sticks, bashing them towards each other, roaring like beasts while they run around in circles. In the smoke and flame, the demons within your masks come alive, snarling and biting in the well-carved wood.

"Merthoch! Arashgichar imene ninzu! Arashgichar imene shusum tumuzuene!"

The light and heat of the fire can be felt even where you stand, the warriors have set their sticks alight. Only one holds the old man now, the other has digged a hole, in which they force him to kneel before filling it with earth again, so only his head pokes above the earth. Ninthutha has spread her arms, screaming words unknown to man, shaking violently in the light of the flame.

"Merthoch!" The warriors and Lugalkam scream in unison, shouting to the heavens as Ninthutha collapses, as if her spirit had journeyed away from her vessel, while the warriors run to the village, setting alight every building they come nearby. In the reddish-orange sunset gleam of the burning village, you can yourself shiver, despite the heat; perhaps the warriors of the Land of the Gods are not vultures as they say they are.

In the awful gleam, the fiery colours cast their eyes a terrible gold, and Lugalkam's snarl resembles a toothy maw; imagery that reminds you all too well, of a wolf ready to pounce on weakened prey. Soon, the fire is over, and the village has been reduced to nothing but ash, skeletal timber and a single old man's head sticking up from the earthen ground, long since choked to death in the ash.

You go each to your own, finding places to camp and sleep, and when the morning comes, you part your ways, Lugalkam's soldiers having long since left in the night, only seen by the few you had awake to guard the women and children. The morning sun colours the sky a pale grey, a light blanket of clouds drifting across the dullish blue at snail-pace speed, while hunters gather their spears and get ready for movement, and both captives and younger hunters look with horror at the place that used to be their home.

You yourself, are unsure what you feel about the black-headed people have done, while you do not know these people, it is not hard for you to see for your inner eye, one of the honoured grandmothers, or - Wolven Dream devour you for the thought - most honoured elder Air, themselves interred in the earth, choking on ashes as your people are dragged away and all you know to be, burns in front of your eyes, if you yourself do not lie in a shallow grave with only a metal-tipped spear as your corpse's adornments.
Regardless, you must move onwards.

What Will You Do On Your Journey Back?
You have claim on at two choices.

[ ] Language - You will attempt to learn the language of your captives, by means of interaction with them, naming things in your language, and making them do the same in theirs. You will also attempt to teach them your own language, thus ensuring that they can speak, and know what to say when they come to the rest of the Kin to Air.

[ ] Food - You will attempt to gather food and forage while you travel, ensuring that you have more than just what you need to complete the journey. Thus, the Kin to Air will be able to walk and travel for longer, as will surely be necessary many times during the Great Journey towards the place seen in the fire.

[ ] Exploration - You will attempt to learn more of this strange land by the river, which you have come to, by sending out hunters short of days to return with news of what they see, and sending out hunters long of days to experience personally what it is, and give their verdict on the nature of all that they find.

[ ] Joy - You will attempt to bring good cheer over the hunters, ensuring that they are in good mood when they return. Both the captives and the hunters you bring, should both be cheerful, so that they best as possible can get along, and meet the rest of the Kin to Air with smiles rather than surly faces.