Birds of a feather - Civ Quest

The village of Feathergrass Hill was built in the shadow of one of the larger hills in the region, chosen, if one was honest, simply because it looked like a good spot. Covered in the soft and broad grass that gave it its name, the view from the top of the hill was beautiful. Lush grasses and shrubs on gentle slopes were all around, and the Slithering River wound through patches of trees along its banks to one side. Such a sight was peaceful and relaxing.

The village was built in the wind-shadow of a particularly tall hill with a relatively steep 'back' side. Something about the shape of the hill disrupted the wind, making it so you could leave your clothes out and they wouldn't be blown away. A necessary thing for a place where the people would live permanently. It was an excellent place to practice flying, too. The side of the hill that faced where the wind usually blew from was a long, shallow slope covered in feathergrass. Between the soft surface and easy landing, it was probably the best place in the world to crash into.

Most days would see a few enormous shapes powering through the air. To one of the hunting or gathering or wood-cutting camps in the morning to work, or looking for the large grass-eating animals that were obvious from the air, or to deliver a quick message, perhaps. Or even simply because it was fun! Once in a while, dozens and dozens of people would fly up and down Feathergrass Hill, singing and laughing as they flow. Even racing or trying dangerous, flashy tricks, sometimes!

While all the oldest People remembered the sickening sight of Broken Wing, who fell and died on his very first flight... Taking to the air was a primal joy for most, a rush of freedom like nothing else in the world. The dreadful fear of landing badly and being crippled melted away like snow under the spring sun when air was beneath your wings and singing through your feathers. Soaring into the sky and viewing the world from above was a joyous thing, even if it was very exhausting to keep up for long.

The people could fly, but compared to the incredibly small and light birds that shared the sky with them, they were incredibly clumsy, extremely fast, and very powerful, thundering through the air with more momentum than an entire flock of sparrows combined. Flight required planning and managing your speed and energy. One could not simply flap their wings and claw through the air, and they quickly began to understand and theorize about the methods and styles of flight.

Those who hunted animals and fought tended to be mostly men, and men tended to be more reckless, so it was surprising that the ones who enjoyed flying the most and spent their free time practicing tricks were usually women.

The whole of the people stayed together. Anyone who went off on their own quickly grew lonely and fearful, and did their best to return to the group. A few times, small bands formed plans to split off and go somewhere else, unsatisfied with something or other. Each time, Wisla Highnote felt the discontent brewing and changed whatever needed changing to divert it.

A loose collection of mud huts with thatched grass roofs had sprung up around the hill soon enough, scattered across the ground like tossed seeds. A few for storing food, a few for storing tools, some for work-places to do crafts like weaving, some for the eggs that would be laid each year, and many for sleeping and resting in. There was little organization beyond making sure each building had a lot of space around it - the Valki found being cramped or crowded unnerving at best, so Wisla had forbidden building the huts too close to each other. She did not plan the village out in much detail, though. Why would she? Things generally worked out alright when you left people to handle the details on their own, anyway.



The people could be calm and collected. They could be sensible and plan ahead. But, too often, they didn't. They got some crazy risky idea in their head and either disregarded or entirely forgot about the inevitable consequences. This was just a part of being people, and everyone felt it sometimes. You would get an idea and forget almost everything else for a while in pursuit of it. A flight of mind, it was called - one might decide to invent a new flying trick and stay in the air for hours attempting it, or attempt to carve a new tool, going through five large sticks in a row even if the results were not satisfactory, or spend two days flying to every roof in the village and decorating them with flowers, or try to lure the stone-dense and terrifyingly strong horned beasts of the plains into some half-baked trap despite the risk of being gored. That one had gotten the foolish hunter killed outright, just like Broken Wing.

Such moods were not totally overpowering - merely very compelling. But they caused trouble. Someone caught in a flight of mind would neglect their usual work, meaning that a wall was left un-done, a tunic un-made, or a dinner table empty. They were even contagious sometimes, if the one in a flight of mind explained it and the listeners found the idea compelling. Then again, such moods lifted the spirit. After a moon of hard drudgery and hunger, watching someone be taken in by a mood and do something unusual was entertaining, even inspiring. And being caught up in one was a feeling almost like flying. In the end, the people were unsure whether these were a good thing or not.

What attitude towards flights of mind did Wisla Highnote encourage?
[] They bring joy, inspiration, new ideas, and discovery. They are good as long as you don't get yourself killed. Embrace them!
[] They leave work un-done, and even if you think you are careful enough, you are probably not. One ought to resist them.



Wisla Highnote is many things. She is a shining beacon to some, with a ready answer to all kinds of problems. She is a calm voice in the heat of passion or panic, and an angry screech in the ears of those who would cause trouble. Her beauty and wisdom are surely unmatched. She was the one who saw more than anyone, who was whispered to by Vail, the Wise Mother.

Even if, in her thoughts to herself, she was terribly, unspeakably fragile and uncertain. It was all an act. Always seeming calm and collected, always speaking with confidence. She was fake. When presented with a hard problem, she would retreat from the ones who posed it, wander, and talk. After listening to the most reliable of her friends, she picked the ones that made the most sense, then then repeated their ideas as if they were her own.

Dresa's pink crest and wide hips were distinctive and immediately recognizable. She was carrying a small child on her head as she walked through the village, his little wings spread wide as he stared around at everything. "Look, Mati! It's Mama Highnote!"

Wisla let her beak open just slightly and tilted her head to the left a bit. A smile.

"Hello! Highnote!" The little one was two years old. Mati, Mati, he was... Ah. Govi and Dresa's child. Or so she thinks. Maybe Dresa and Venn. She had come together with both Govi and Venn quite often, and they sometimes argued about who the kid resembled more.

"Mama Highnote is the smartest person in the whole world!" Wisla felt a pang of guilt at that.

"Woooow."

"I wouldn't say that. I just try to help everyone. Oh! Did Basi show you how we need to take fruit skins away from the village so animals don't try to eat them and make a mess of things?"

"Of course, Miss Highnote. And, yes, she did. That's clever! Hopefully those things will annoy us less, now." Dresa bows. "Have a lovely day! Oh, I think Govi wanted to talk to you... But I'm sure he'll find you later if so, and I don't want to bother you any more than I have already."

"It's no trouble at all, Dresa." Wisla gestures at her. "You have a lovely day, too."

As Dresa walks away she coos to the boy, "See, Mati? Mama Highnote is kind and humble too. You should be like her when you grow up!"

Wisla took measured breaths, counting in her head, while keeping her slight smile affixed to her face. Every time something like that happened she felt twisted up inside for hours afterward. She was not clever or insightful at all, really. Her skill and power lied entirely in leading and inspiring other people. It could be... Tiring. The picture of perfection and brilliance fell away, sometimes. Every person has some failings, as Wisla was coming to learn.

Basi was good at both gathering news and teaching people things, tasks that seemed useless at first but were actually quite handy... But she simply could not shut up or keep a secret, even to avoid angering everyone around her. Jerosk was reliable, decently clever, and always followed instructions without panicking if some small detail was impossible... A perfect person to, say, go and find a good spot for a wood-cutting camp. But he was also incredibly lazy and would not use a single feather's worth of extra effort for anything. (Even this could be useful, though - he occasionally found useful shortcuts on some tasks that saved everyone some effort).

Wisla had a failing, too. An indulgence. While the Valki had no understanding of such things except in the vaguest and most instinctual terms, for better or worse, the vice and failing of the most famous, most respected, most obvious, brightest feather among the people, would shape what was considered good or bad, acceptable or forbidden in the common manners.

What was Wisla Highnote's way of keeping herself sane?
[] She asked the god Vail for advice and inspiration again and again, spending hours each day doing so, even though they never answered.
[] She claimed large amounts of food, many clothes and tools and shiny trinkets, and the biggest house all for herself, even if others wanted or needed them.
[] She let anger and fury and petty spite release her tension sometimes, cutting those she disliked with her talons or denying them food and shelter.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry for making you guys choose a vice, but I thought it might be interesting to show the sort of 'human' side of things (even if they're actually bird-people). And a society is defined by its vices as much as its virtues, sometimes.

Flights of mind are a psychological quirk of the Valki that you do not fully understand or know the details of yet. But they are a real psychological phenomenon, not just a cultural artifact.

Almost before she knew it, Wisla Highnote was old. Vail had told her of this, too, before he stopped speaking to her. Bodies crumble eventually, like a well-worn knife. Ah, those early days seem so long ago, and yetlike yesterday... There were more people than could be counted. The settlement at Feathergrass Hill grew ever larger as new children hatched every year. Even with the occasional death from stupidity or recklessness or the diseases that occasionally ran through the people, there were more than ever.

Wisla was almost glad her bones were starting to ache and creak. Even if it meant she could barely fly anymore for fear of snapping her wings in two. As she aged, she might well die before there became so many people she could not know all their names and likes and relationships to each other. There were six hundred and seven... Maybe six hundred and six, by now. One of the newly-hatched babes this year is still sick and nobody is sure if she'll get better.

Lately, her prayers to Vail are almost more like meditations on the people she has been responsible for since the very first day of her life. How can she protect them all? How can she make them happy? How can she ensure the future for them? Do you have any answers for me, O Vail? Shall I tell the people to plant more fields? Or to make more bows, arrows, and spears? Shall I punish one who made a simple mistake not out of malice? Does he deserve that? Is it good to drive fear into everyone else so they will be more careful, or is the fear itself a bad thing? Shall the people get their water from this part of the river, or that one?

Vail never answered, but thinking about these matters as questions to the god sometimes helped her come to a certainty, to conclusions. But it also stirred up memories. Broken Wing... That poor man's screams still linger in her mind. He saw the sky. He took to it. He fell and suffered and died, and went to Vail, sleeping. Dreaming. Such a short life. Was he right to try to fly? Most would say yes - you see something that you want, or feel the urge to fly, then you should just do it. Some would say that her ability to sit around not working and think about such questions was a sign of pure luxury. That much, at least, was true.



Value Gained:
Let the Mind Fly Free
When inspiration brushes past your wing, seize it and fly! See where it takes you! Create and act, for it is a joyous thing to let your mind fly free, even if you might suffer for it!
Pros: Somewhat improved chance of innovation, Increased chance for values to shift, Occasional uncontrolled exploration.
Cons: Increased chance for values to shift, Occasional uncontrolled exploration, Increased recklessness.



Wisla's thoughts were tangled. Vague. What was Vail's dream-place like? What did the god want? He created the people and educated them, at least a little bit. He created the world. And while he lets the people suffer and die, he takes them to himself after that. Perhaps it is a lesson. Rare is the Valki who learns to fly without smacking into the ground at least once. And without pain and difficulty, the successes might feel hollow, just as the many gifts and shiny trinkets she receives from the other people feel empty - she didn't work for these or make them with her own two hands! They are a token of esteem, of having succeeded at guiding others, but still...

The god Vail's purpose is unknown. His mind and methods are unknown. Perhaps unknowable. But he is every Valki's parent. Wisla's prayers and meditations bled into other aspects of her life. She got others to do the same sometimes - as acknowledgement and thanks to Vail, as a way to center one's self and calm the mind.

You have been devoted, my child.

Could it be...? Vail's voice, after so long? It felt almost unreal as she struggled to contain her surprise and continue meditating.

I am much restricted in this world. My messages must be infrequent and short. The same is true of the other gods, who created the other peoples. But if my Valki continue to have faith, you will receive gifts.

A few people thought that she might have imagined the message. That it was wishful thinking, a dream leaking into the world through the half-dreaming state that meditation was. These were mostly the same people who denied that Vail spoke to Wisla Highnote in the very first days, and so the others ignored them. It was a sign and a message. Vail still watched over them, and praise and venerance of him was worthy and good!



Value Gained:
Venerance of the Creator
Vail is the creator of the Valki. He watches over us and loves us, and he takes us from our empty shells when we die. Know this fact in your heart and trust Vail with your life, so that you can take to the sky without fear or worry.
Pros: Increased unity, Chance for Stability damage to not happen, Increased acceptance of death
Cons: Increased acceptance of death



Suddenly, Wisla jerked awake. She had fallen asleep while praying and meditating-! How careless and lazy of her! Then again, dreams are the realm of Vail... No. She can't deceive herself like that, even if some of the others do.

Bah. She is getting old. She was an adult when the people first appeared, and it has been fifty years since then. A few others have succumbed to the slow wearing-away of age, growing sicker and sleepier until nothing wakes them up, or simply keeling over one day for no clear reason. Each time, they would try to understand what had killed the poor dead Valk, then thoroughly destroy and scatter the corpse, the now-meaningless empty shell, returning it to the world - away from any farm fields or water sources. They had learned that lesson the hard way.

But she would not last forever. While everyone looked to her for leadership and advice still, even the young hotheads who hunted bison from the air with heavy stones dropped from above and spears designed to be grasped in either one's talons or hands, so they could be carried while flying and wielded as soon as you land, Wisla Highnote knew that one of the last truly important decisions she would make was who would lead after she died. And she needed to make it before she left an empty shell and it became an urgent matter.

"I think... Yes. Harvest should be over in a week or two. We are doing well. We have plenty of buildings and the harvest is excellent. We'll have a feast, I'll make a speech and announce a project. Later, I'll decide who leads the people into the future. We can begin planning for the future even now."

She slowly walked outside, peering at the wide, sprawling village spread out below. There were many mud-and-stone-and-wood houses here, as people tried different methods of building things. A few of them were tall, a home built on top of long sticks, or one with a second house built on top of the first one - a tall home was lovely and helped you feel like you had plenty of space, though children and the elderly could have trouble getting up there.

The wide open spaces between each structure felt a little bit more closed in as they fell and were rebuilt bigger, or added on to and expanded as needed. It was almost like a slowly sprouting forest of buildings. And towards the edges, down into the valleys all around and trailing along the river, there were a few more lonely structures with swathes of plowed fields around them. The source for most of the Valki's food.

There were more people than before. There would keep being more people, if Vail was willing. How do you best deal with that? How will the people be led?

Project:
[] They will build a shrine to Vail, a proper place to pray and meditate.
[] They will explore the world, searching for the other peoples.
[] They will build a second village to grow the Valki larger.

Leadership:
[] Wisla Highnote will choose a successor to become the Brightest Feather of the People. When she dies, they will lead. They will choose a successor as well, in their own time. With each Brightest Feather choosing the brightest one to follow them, the people will always have good leadership.
[] Wisla Highnote will choose five people from different flights of life become the Feathers of the Crest of the People. A hunter, a craftsman, an elder, a mother, and a farmer, perhaps? They will work together to decide the future of the Valki, choosing a new Feather who is much different than the rest of the Crest whenever one falls.
[] Wisla Highnote will declare that the people should choose their own leader - one who they all trust to make the correct decisions. If the people cannot like and trust the one issuing commands, they are doomed. With everyone discussing the matter, the most capable leader will surely be chosen.

---

This chapter was a little bit rambly. Wisla Highnote accumulated a surprising amount of character in the short time I've had her.

(She is a Diplo Hero, which is why you're getting to choose a government type and why you haven't had any internal strife yet)

Your first real main turn will be next after this update!