The High Chief considered the offer from the former Storm Clan member for a long time before he sent an ultimatum - none who had ever taken heads as trophies could ever be allowed into the land of the People. Exile was sufficient, but if possible such men were to be brought to justice. Additionally, any woman who had been taken in a raid was to be given the option to leave her husband if she so chose, with the People taking care of her and any of her children until they could find a new equilibrium, if necessary. Finally, there was to be no raiding of neighbours - all military actions were under the control of the High Chief, and unsanctioned attacks, even on outsiders, would be considered the same as if they attacked other members of the People.
The young man considered these demands, and after some consultation, arrived at the lands of the People with slightly fewer people than he had started with, and visibly disarming in front of the warriors. They and their animals were then escorted deeper in to the territory and shown a spot of hillside where they could set up pastures and farms under supervision. In a few years their warriors could begin serving in that capacity once again, but not all together, at least not initially.
This acceptance, despite being in accordance with the legends of generosity of the past, did not exactly sit well with many people who had just finished up a generation of conflict with these people, especially not the newly integrated hill tribes. For his part, the High Chief offered both additional resource allocations to those groups, along with subsidized resettlement of upset families deeper into the territory of the People, giving them access to prime farming and pasture-land, just as he was also moving to expand the settlement around the original holy site. This... irritated many people as they saw newcomers - in one way or another - getting preferential treatment over older families. Part of this was ameliorated by bringing more land in the hills that could not be used for farming or forestry because of slope under cultivation via the construction of terraces, but since the initial construction of the terraces was a gigantic pain in the ass, this also upset people.
Fortunately, as new crops started to come in from the productivity of the new farms on the hills, around the expanding holy site, within the tended forests, and from the farms benefiting from the black soil now that nowhere near as much of it was going to the blighted forests, the solution seemed simple: throw a party! There had always been extra rations at important times like the harvest, the solstices, the equinoxes, and certain phases of the moon at different times of year were the times for the elders to tell the youngster various stories to thrill and educate them, and minor feasts whenever important visitors stopped by, but with the chiefs controlling the distribution of food, having a truly spectacular feast was not something that typically happened. With the new storehouse tallies - especially now that they were mass grinding grain to flour that could keep for a much longer period - there was a much, much larger bit of wiggle room in the budget than there had been in generations.
The end of the struggle against the blight that no living person could claim to have seen the start and end of, and the wrapping up of the conflicts against the Storm Clan - although the north would probably always be a problem with the news they were getting out of the way the nomads were killing each other and sniffing around for loot once more - it seemed an appropriate time to celebrate. Major feasting was added to the post-harvest budgets of every settlement, with especially large celebrations in the main valley village and the coastal village. This loosening up of rations, as well as extra work for artists and artisans to make special items to show off at the feasts, is almost immediately welcomed by the People - especially the newcomers who aren't quite used to the more dour attitudes of the central tribes that make up the People, and calling people together to party has definite benefits.
However, with all of the new activity, and the newcomers, when the next High Chief comes into his role, he notes that the subordinate chiefs aren't entirely being honest with their reporting. It's obvious that they are playing fast and loose with their budgets in ways advantageous to their villages, their families, and themselves. While not too bad, it is something of a major departure from the norm, and could lead to trouble later if not nipped in the bud - although the act of getting his subordinates back in line could mean trouble now. On the other hand, the High Chief found that he had a great deal to do, and offloading some of the work to the lesser chiefs and their subordinates could free up considerable time to address the big issues.
What to do about troublesome subordinates...
[] Bring them back in line (Increases Centralization if successful, decreases stability if not)
[] Let the matter lie
[] Delegate further responsibilities to the local chiefs (Changes government type to Central Oligarchy)
As the years went on, aside from internal grumbling, there were also obvious issues outside the lands of the People. The northern plains were a gigantic mess of fighting, and the occasional raid would wash up against their northern hills, mostly stealing livestock and making off with a few lone people caught out in the open now that the numerous little settlements had walls ringing them to keep them safe, but still something the warriors had to deal with. It also made finding out more about the elusive source of gold that the nomads had found hard to find, as apparently they traded/raided it from a group further to the west, and the people who had explained about the sunlight coloured material could only shrug as to whether those people made it or traded for it themselves.
Closer in, trouble was brewing again. The Western Confederacy had been learning well how to farm along the hills that made the borders of the lowland floodplains, and were now more numerous enough that there were thoughts of going to kick in the teeth of the Dead Priests. This would be grand and all, but some of their settlements now in the lowlands proper, and the Spirit Talkers were starting to take exception to this. While the People didn't have any great desire to take the land, it was obvious that since it could support bad farming practices quite well, with more responsible practice it would be quite the prize and thus conflict was probably going to be inevitable. While no one wanted the Dead Priests to claim the territory, someone was going to take it, and there was some suspicion that the Spirit Talkers had declared the place taboo so that they could better justify it to themselves and the spirits if they took over once they knew how to actually make the land productive. Still, there was a pressure to pick a side and join one group or the other in a major raid on the Dead Priests, especially since with the most animals and the best woodworking they could actually field large numbers of war carts, which should function about as well in the lowlands as the northern plains where they had been first created.
Commit to a War Expedition against the Dead Priests next turn (min. Secondary focus)
[] Join the Spirit Talkers
[] Join the Western Confederacy
[] Stay out of it
Because of continued commitment to taking in outsiders, Love Thy Neighbour has consumed Pioneering Spirit to shape its advancement
Love Thy Neighbour -> Land of Opportunity
You welcome all, offering food and shelter if they will contribute to your community. Sometimes these newcomers behave badly, and sometimes they bring strange new ideas, but in general they strengthen your community, especially in the long run
Pros: Enhanced absorption of new ideas, +1 social value from current or historical neighbours, whenever a neighbour suffers a stability drop, have the option to also suffer a stability drop in exchange for a large boost to Econ and technological and social advancement by absorbing especially large numbers of people
Cons: Many think you weak, not accepting the needy can cause stability drops
Draw bonus social value from which neighbour?
[] Western Confederacy (Probably Pioneering Spirit again)
[] Spirit Talkers (Probably spiritual based)
[] Northern nomads (Probably honour based)
