[b]The Cindorayi Republic, Population: 186, Year 26 IL, Age of the Quarter Moon[/b]

[@Elitestpotato]

"I was chosen." said Ekatyrina in response. To illustrate what she meant, the other Cindorayi gathered around her in a circle and pointed, as if picking, at her. "The Cindorayi pick amongst all the members of their race who they want to be the leader. Whoever is chosen by more than half wins." This time Sonya stepped into the circle, and roughly 80% pointed at Ekatyrina and 20% at Sonya, showing how it worked.

When it was finished, Sonya said, "The chief is selected by us so that they work for us, not themselves."

---

Nadya quietly gestured at the teskur in the distance, blissfully grazing. Her party of hunters had traveled farther east than ever before, in pursuit of new and more exciting game. She and the others with her, riding on their hawkynders, drew arrows and fitted them to their bows, drawing back and then firing in quick succession. The four arrows flew gracefully and struck the teskur in the side. It bellowed, and prepared to charge at them, but it had only taken a few steps forward when another volley struck it in its face and it fell to the ground, dead. Nadya cheered, and the others tugged at their improvised stirrups and rode forward to collect their prize.

A peculiar sensation came over her as she began to follow, and she hesitated. Something wasn't right.

In that brief moment of hesitation, an enormous net fell from the trees around the three other hunters, and entangled them and their hawkynder mounts. Out of the surrounding trees from all sides came other Cindorayi which Nadya had never seen before, who charged forth with knives and spears of a shiny, brownish material. Realizing that she could not fight so many, she turned around and urged her hawkynder as fast as possible back to the village. Two of the attacking warriors stood prepared with their spears, but she let fly an arrow which killed one. The other warrior, seeing her pull another arrow from her quiver, jumped out of the way of her path.

And so Nadya escaped the ambush set for her hunting party, and rode swiftly back to inform Ekatryina and the council of the news: the final group of Cindorayi had been found, and their intentions were clearly not benign.

---

Stone tools: 8/8
Animal Husbandry: 3/5
Wheel: 1/4
Copper Working: 1/8

[b]The Kingdom of the Cindorayi, Population: 142 (one casualty from combat), Year: 76[/b]

"Wake up." a Cindorayi male voice said gruffly, slapping Kseniya in the face.

Kseniya regained consciousness dazedly, trying to make sense of her surroundings. Her hands and feet were tied behind her, and she and the other two members of Nadya's hunting party were tied similarly. In front of her, atop a throne fashioned from stone, sat a man with a crown of the same brownish, shiny material which was embedded with moon crystals. Two guards, also male, stood to either side of him, one evidently having been the one who slapped her in the face.

"Who... who are you?" she managed to pronounce.

The man on the throne smiled. "Who am I?"

"I am your ruler. I always have been, and I will always be. You may call me... Rajah."