All your life has been spent in your little village of around 500 people. You were born there, followed your parents' trade, and had never been further away than a week's travel to the next village. Though your life was not idyllic, it was uncomplicated, and you were contented with your simple routine of work, rest and then more work. You expected to live out your days in the village, perhaps marry a suitable partner from the neighboring village, work till aching limbs could no longer carry you onwards, and eventually die in your bed surrounded by the comfort of family and clan.
However, one day you found yourself unexpectedly elevated to the position of village head, around the same time that some unusual incidents were occurring in your village:
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
[] You and your fellow villagers began to crave the taste of meat more and more, while the grains and vegetables that form the bulk of your diet started to taste less and less palatable, almost outright repellent. For some of your fellows, the urge to consume meat grew so strong that they even dug up and ate ants and maggots, which your village usually only eats as a last resort in times of food shortages. Fortunately, it seemed that you and your villagers had improved your tracking skills during the same period as well, almost as if you were able to smell even the faintest scent of meat in the air, and even with your increased appetites you expected to be able to trade your surplus meat for many useful goods at the next market day.
- Cons: Growing dietary preference for meat, which is a luxury food or otherwise not easily found in your area.
+ Pros: Growing acceptance for, and ability to consume, all kinds of meat.
+ Pros: Growing ability to detect meat.
[] With the kinds of strenuous manual labour that most of your village's adults and older children did, it was not uncommon for you and your villagers to pick up various cuts and bruises at the end of each days' work, and your village knew of many herbs and poultices to treat those wounds. You noticed however that recently, you and your family members' cuts seemed to be healing much slower than usual despite regular applications of a reliable poultice that your grandmother swore by. Thankfully, your slow-healing cuts are not causing you any pain, nor have they affected your strength or stamina. You also rejoice at your neighbours' good fortune, as their elderly Matriarch has shrugged off her illness and returned to work like a sprightly child, after lying in bed on the verge of death for the past two months.
- Cons: Wounds and injuries heal much slower than usual.
+ Pros: Wounds and injuries do not affect your strength or ability to work.
+ Pros: Illnesses have much lesser effect, and the elderly have the vitality of their youthful days.
[] You find the light of the sun a little more glaring than it used to be, the heat of the sun a touch more uncomfortable, and you have taken to wearing a wide-brimmed hat weaved out of grasses and reeds when you perform your labour in the day. You have also picked up a habit of taking a nap during noontime, although none of your fellows look askance at your sloth as many of them have also started napping during the day. You try to make up for your indulgence by working additionally long into the evening, and your night-vision has also improved as your eyes adjusted to your new work routine.
- Cons: Less energy during the day-time. More easily affected by sunlight.
+ Pros: More energy during the night-time.
+ Pros: Better night-vision.
[Note: You will vote on the details of your village in the next vote, and the details of yourself (the new village leader) in the third vote.]
You find the light of the sun a little more glaring than it used to be, the heat of the sun a touch more uncomfortable, and you have taken to wearing a wide-brimmed hat weaved out of grasses and reeds when you perform your labour in the day. You have also picked up a habit of taking a nap during noontime, although none of your fellows look askance at your sloth as many of them have also started napping during the day. You try to make up for your indulgence by working additionally long into the evening, and your night-vision has also improved as your eyes adjusted to your new work routine.
Not even the wisest and eldest of your village can recall a time when the sun was so hot or glaring, but it is a simple enough matter to weave hats, brew poultices for mild sunburns, and adjust your working hours to avoid the brightest parts of noon. You always feel refreshed after your mid-day nap, and you have started looking forward to performing your work at night as:
PICK ONE
- [] [REGION] A fisherperson. Your ancestors had wisely settled on the coast of a sheltered cove, where fish abounds and clams, mussels and oysters provide both food as well as shells for carving. Like your fellows, you are an expert swimmer, and adept at carving canoes out of logs as well as using those canoes on the waters. You know how to read the waters and the skies for signs of fish, and how to find your way back to your village after heading out of sight of land.
- [] [REGION] A hunter and tracker. Your ancestors had wisely settled in woodlands abundant in furred beasts and good lumber. You know how to move silently through dense undergrowth, to see the movements of animals in disturbed branches and hoof-marks on the ground, and to throw your javelins swiftly and surely towards throat, heart or tendon.
- [] [REGION] A shepherd. Your ancestors had wisely settled on a land of rolling gentle hills. The hills provides your sheep with grass and sweet water, and your sheep provide your village with milk, meat and wool. You know how to treat the myriad diseases that sheep are afflicted with, how to find lost lamb through the nooks and crannies of the hills, how to drive off wolves with your sling, and how to work with your dogs to keep your sheep moving where they ought to be.
Though your village provides you with all you need and you are contented, you are aware that there is a bigger world outside. Besides the occasional trip to the neighbouring village one week away, the highlight of each year is:
PICK ONE
-[] [RELATIONS] The descent of the Great God's heralds to receive your village's paltry offerings and to grant a divine gift in return to the village. Though these heralds speak sacred words beyond your ability to comprehend, there is no doubt that beings such as them, standing head and shoulders above even the tallest in your village, clad in shiny hard coverings you have never found elsewhere, can only be the messengers of a powerful divinity. Two years ago, the Great God granted a knife far stronger and sharper than anything the village has ever seen, and last year your village was blessed with a set of clothing of a material softer than the finest down the birds of the air could produce.
-[] [RELATIONS] The Grand Gathering of your village and the five other villages within two weeks' travel away. Whether your village is currently trading or engaging in friendly raids with your neighbouring villages, during the week of the Great Gathering all feuds and disagreements are set aside, and the six villages meet to exchange goods, settle disputes, find marital partners, and feast.
(Note: This is a line vote, not a plan vote i.e. the votes for [REGION] will be counted separately from the votes for [RELATIONS].)
[X] [REGION] A shepherd. Your ancestors had wisely settled on a land of rolling gentle hills. The hills provides your sheep with grass and sweet water, and your sheep provide your village with milk, meat and wool. You know how to treat the myriad diseases that sheep are afflicted with, how to find lost lamb through the nooks and crannies of the hills, how to drive off wolves with your sling, and how to work with your dogs to keep your sheep moving where they ought to be.
[X] [RELATIONS] The Grand Gathering of your village and the five other villages within two weeks' travel away. Whether your village is currently trading or engaging in friendly raids with your neighbouring villages, during the week of the Great Gathering all feuds and disagreements are set aside, and the six villages meet to exchange goods, settle disputes, find marital partners, and feast.
Your life is simple but never dull, as your sheep would get into all kinds of trouble without you and your fellows' constant vigilance. Recently you have needed to rely more on your dogs to stand guard over the sheep on your behalf during the daytime due to the overbearing heat of the sun, but in return you let them rest longer at night when you take over watch duties.
One week ago and six months before the next Grand Gathering, the neighboring village had sent a delegation to your village to discuss dowry rates for the marriages to be arranged between your villages at the Great Gathering, and as was customary, your village chief hosted a feast for the delegation and your village. You thoroughly enjoyed the dishes of roast mutton, blood sausages and fermented sheep's milk.
Unfortunately, in a fit of drunken rage over an argument about which village had the better dogs, your village chief slapped his guest and knocked them to the ground. Your village chief dropped to the ground almost immediately after, dying of shame from his public and flagrant breach of guest rights.
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
[] [DEED] Peacemaker
- On the spot, you composed and sang a complex song about the entwined history of your two villages, the life and deeds of your village chief, and a tale of grudges born but then forgiven. The song was so touching that all present were brought to tears, and the neighboring village's delegation agreed to accept a nominal restitution of one sheep without declaring a feud against your village. For your deed, your village proclaimed you as their new village chief.
[] [DEED] Champion
- For a breach of this magnitude and committed by your village chief no less, the wronged parties were entitled to restitution equal to approximately a fifth of your village's sheep. To avoid impoverishing your village to such an extent, you offered yourself as a servant to the neighbouring village for twenty-five years as an alternative compensation. Impressed by your self-sacrifice, the head of the delegation offered to forgive the debt if you could win singlehandedly in a barehanded fight against five of them at once. Though you were bruised and bloodied at the end, you were the last person standing at the end of the fight. The neighboring delegation happily renewed oaths of friendship with a village that had produced a champion like you, and your village declared you their new village chief amidst roars of approval.
[] [DEED] God-whisperer
- As a god-whisperer, you know how to interpret the signs of the numinous spirits and gods, to soothe them with your whispers and to find new gods for the village, granting you respect and fear in equal measure from your fellow villagers. As your village chief collapsed on the ground, you stepped forward and declared that the gods' wrath is placated with the death of the offender, and to let the neighboring village's wrath be placated with your blood. You pierced your hand with one of the carving knives on the tables, but only a single drop of blood fell out. The neighboring delegation was shaken by this sign and hastily agreed that their grievance was resolved in full, while your fellow villagers hailed you as their new village chief in a hushed voice.
The largest house in the village, the place of honor at feasts and the pick of the wool in the spring shearing are reserved for the village chief, but each village chief still works as they used to before they took up the position, and it is no different for you. The very next day after you became the new village chief, you returned to your sheep and your dogs. However, for the following week:
CHOOSE ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:
[] [BOON] Your body was lighter, faster and stronger. Steep hills suddenly felt like gentle slopes, your sling stones went further than before, and you were able to pull out two sheep who had fallen into a crevice where previously similarly rescues had taken the efforts of at least three other villagers. This must have been due to your pride in your accomplishments giving you a burst of energy, so regrettably your physique gradually returned to its old self as your deed equally faded into memory over the course of the week.
[] [BOON] Your fellow villagers were more deferential to you, bowing at the waist when you passed them, whereas they had previously simply inclined their heads to the old village chief. They soon returned to their old selves as the week went by and they became more familiar with the notion of you as their chief.
[] [BOON] It felt like your dogs were more receptive to your commands, as though even they were acknowledging your new elevation to chief of the village. They seemed to react almost before you performed your hand-signs and whistles, like they were hearing your thoughts. After a week this level of responsiveness faded and they returned to being what they were before: merely the very best dogs a shepherd could hope for. Whooo's a good boy? You are a good boy, yes you are!
