[b]Arsuron Population: 300 Arsur Coast: 82 (4 in Uaru territory; 1 in Monastic Territory; 6 Illis) River Camp: 82 (6 Illis) Lotus Colony: 81 (6 in Soruli Territory; 2 Illis) Kanesh Colony: 21 (4 Illis) [hider= Trading Posts] Yijen Fork Trading Post: 16 (10 Arsuron; 6 Illis) Karom Mission: 8 (2 in Alvith Territory; 2 in Platta Territory) [/hider] [hider=Technological Progress] [list] [*] Agriculture: 4/5 [*] Bätänjűr (Arsuron Ninjutsu): Complete [*] Currency: 1/6 [*] Bronze: Complete [*] Organized Religion: 5/7 [*] Canal Building & Irrigation: 2/6 [*] Lunar Calendar: 2/5 [/list] [/hider] [/b] [b]Dogma[/b] Since his return to the Arsur Coast, It was clear that AntekH was not the same as when he had departed 2 úsrog ago. He held the title of anfir, a mysterious cult from the west. His talks of an overgod, and of a holy trinity had apparently won over AnreH, who had her returned companion increase missionary action to the Arsur Coast and Lotus colony. It would be declared that all people learn the correct ways. Though it was not official, mathematicism had become the official interpretation of the Arusuron. With mathematicism came mathematics, and an increased knowledge of how numbers worked, and how equivalent values could exist, increased trade efficiency. In the spirit of equations, traders began to ponder what was equal to what in trade. [b]A Sense of Place[/b] It was becoming very obvious to anyone who observed that the social structure of the Arsuron had become more rigid. The once semi-egalitarian Arsuron were developing a sense of Caste. As their mythology and religion was beginning to shift, they developed a story of justification. [i]When Fiyam created the world with the aid of Kiyam and Kikisk, it was only natural that the great one would divide us according to the holy number. He, the great one, split us into 5 castes. The Rulers, the Priests, The Merchants, The Warriors, and the Farmers. In each caste he declared 4 Tribes, and each tribe would hold 3 clans. The 12 Clans of the Arsur Coast would hold us all, our families relegated to a clan by our god and our place in this world decided thereby[/i] Perhaps most interesting was that this change was not declared by the Chief or by the Church, but simply was becoming an unwritten law. The people had begun to sense their place in the world and in society. The division was very strong, but each Arsuron Caste saw themselves not as a separate entity, but an archetype of their society as a whole. [b]AntekH's Magnum Opus[/b] "It is finished...after all these moons, it is finally finished" AntekH had begun work on this substance from the moment that he was elected into the speakers by the first anfir. And now here he stood, as the new anfir, and on this day he had perfected the equation he was working on, and created something beautiful and powerful in the resulting mixture. It was all as he had predicted, that the more tin he added to the copper, the stronger it became. Over time the metal was far beyond what he had expected, and beyond anything that copper could do. AntekH found that different levels of tin created different strengths, making the resulting creation a more versatile metal. It was perfection, and he had mathematics to thank for it. "Distribute the recipe to all the cities, and make sure that the suppy of tin is oppened to all. Bronze will become the new standard of our people. When all traders and missionaries return from foreign lands, have their copper weapons melted down and converted to bronze." [b]Shadow Warriors[/b] Anlug was an old woman now, long past her time of scouting and stealth missions. But not old enough to be unable to pass down what she learned. Indeed today she would be training a small group of 10 students in the art of Bätänjűr (Vetenshűr in Bronze Age Arsuronic). This martial art had been developed in the age before copper and bronze, but indeed these new innovations would only improve on the weapons she used as a young scout. Training was brutal and hard, but in the end, the students would be trained in arts that would make them masters of espionage assassination and other black ops; elites among the scouts. But for now the art was in its infancy, and only more practice would make it better. [b]Southern People[/b] [@Joegreenbeen] Today was a special day, the festival of Kireth. Today, Arsuron from all across the coastal territories had come to the central village to see the statue of Kireth being taken out, cleaned, and blessed by the priests before being placed upon a column in the sacrificial fire pit. A procession of 60 carriers hauled the statue, cast of pure silver, though tarnished at the moment. It was to be washed in a scrub of grit and then smoothed out and any lost features recarved. A crowd had gathered as the priests began vigorously washing the monument, as its dark black surface gave way to glimmering silver. The people were in awe, offering prayers to Kireth and counting intensely. For a while it seemed like none would even notice the Herenthor approaching. That was until a female member of the warrior caste took notice. The crowd had turned in near unison to meet them, though they would not be able to see their apparent look of anger at the ceremony being disrupted under their various masks. The priests than made a declaration. "Arrest the outsiders and hold them until the statuary is cleaned. We will question them inside the temple." And so 5 of the warrior Arsuron approached the three, and with the use of bronze tipped spears, began moving them away from the crowd and towards the nearby temple. Once inside, the three Herenthor were given a piece of paper and a copper drawing utensil, along with a small bottle of dye, with one of the Arsuron showing them how to use the copper pen. The 5 warriors stood inside the room, watching them to see if they were able to draw them anything. One of them begins to take hold of the pen, and after some trial and error, begins to draw what appears to be a village "Is that...a village, with other creatures like them?" one of the male warriors said "Look at that, its the Black Stone of Kiyam" Another female pointed out, in great excitement "A papyrus reed?" Another spoke in disbelief The 5 warriors looked at each other in shock and then at the creatures. It was obvious they were intelligent, but how much so? "We should wait for the priests to return, they will know better how to communicate with them?" Until the ritual was over, the warriors would watch over the Herenthor. [b]The Platta[/b] [@aweirdgamer][@Elitestpotato] As the Platta began to introduce themselves, the Arsuron began taking notes of their names in their book. It was all very exciting, but it was quite obvious that the Platta were not able to understand the Arsuronic Language. Antersh took notice of the Platta's interest in the colors and symbolism of [url=http://www.spongobongo.com/dns32.jpg]their cloth[/url]. The Geometric patterns were ones learned at a young age in the monastery, and Ansor thought it might be of interest for them to learn how to make them. The other took out his blank book and moved closer to the Platta, getting their attention and then showing them the way he drew the shapes using a dark blue ink. The shape was mostly made of lines and curves, but each one had a specific place and added a unique detail to the pattern. Some said this was a proof for the caste system, but others doubted that it was necessarily that. [b]The Soruli[/b] [@Diehard243] "If you want masks, we will give you masks" Anjar wrote back as he took out a piece of dolphin bone. The long scapula that was to be carved into a mask. With a series of heavy gashes and slow carvings, the mask would be tailored to Naho's face, taking into account her features not found in an Arsuron. After a long 4 hours of carving, the other traders had begun to recover from their high; with the one who had been jabbed a bit angered at his use as an experiment, and Anjar having completed the mask. All the while, he had taught Naho as much as he could about the carving process, and even gave her a free knife made of copper to help her carve more. He would provide her with as many scapulas as she and her people wanted, but the carving would be left to them. When Naho mentioned the exchange of an Arsuron for a Soruli, his mind immediately jumped towards slave trading, but began to ponder it over. A species like the Soruli would have no use for slaves, they must want something else from this exchange. Knowledge? It appeared that both had much to learn from each other. "You can keep that one," Anjar wrote, pointing at the previously prodded and stabbed scout. "But who will you send with us?"