[b]-The Cindorayi, Population: 37, Year 0 IL (Inland), The Beginning of Time-[/b] [u][b]A New Way of Life[/b][/u] In the glimmer of the light of the full moon, thirty small boats, like canoes in structure, glided along the surface of the water of the great Edenan Ocean. In each sat an adult Cindorayi, some with small children in their laps. They guided themselves with the small, spiky coral branches they had grown accustomed to using as paddles as they passed ever closer to what appeared to be a small bay in the continent's shoreline. Sitting proudly in the boat at the forefront of the small flotilla, Lunysvet, the Great Elder, spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She was tall and graceful, and wore a circlet of small turquoise crystals, embedded in coral. Cocking her ears, she turned to look into the center of the inlet they were passing, only to see something that defied her very eyes. "Everyone, we must stop!" she announced in her firm, authoritative voice. Though she was quite old, age had not diminished her august presence. "That, my fellow Cindorayi, is what we are meant to find." She pointed at the object, which sparkled in the moonlight at the very center of the bay. A collective gasp rose in the others, and they anxiously reoriented themselves to travel into the bay. --- As their canoes scraped against dry land, the Great Elder was the first one to rise, and she began striding quickly towards the edge of the forest surrounding the bay, where the sparkling object lay. The others followed behind her, at a respectful distance. "What do you think it is?" one muttered to another. "The moonlight going to Lunysvet's head, I expect." the other whispered back. The Elder must have heard, however, as she flicked her tail in annoyance as she continued to approach. Lunysvet finally reached the object, now evident as an enormous piece of the same crystal she wore on her head, surrounded by a shiny material, and picked it up. She smiled wider than any of the other Cindorayi had seen her smile before, and she tucked it into her robe. "This crystal is a sign. Never before have we seen such a large moon crystal, especially in plain sight." The Great Elder spoke with such solemn conviction, the stars almost seemed to brighten behind her. "The time has come for our people to finally give up our nomadic ways and settle down, for the first time, on dry land. Many of you know we have long been searching for our home, but you do not know why. All this I will explain to you later. But first, we must build a place for us to live, and begin a new way of life." There was a distinct muttering of unease, but the Cindorayi settled to sleep in preparation for their morning tasks. [i]~One Year Later, in the Present Day~[/i] An entire year had passed since Lunysvet's announcement, and the Cindorayi people had been working harder than they had ever worked in their entire lives. From virtually nothing except for their pearl knives and coral tools they had brought with them on their boats, they had built for themselves a large village with wood they had cut down from trees and the twine rope they were so adept at making.They made beds from their canoes and dead grass, and adorned many of their huts with the lovely smaller moon crystals that they occasionally found on the ocean floor. As expert fishermen (those coral paddles had more than one use), they had more than enough food for the few new children that had been born. After all this time, the Great Elder still remained silent on why they had chosen to remain here, though her wisdom was not publicly questionable. Finally, one day, roughly a year later on another full moon, Lunysvet asked the others to build a large fire for the night. --- The sun shortly dropped out of the sky, and the stars once again gleamed on the moonlit night. The logs at the center of the fire sparkled and twinkled with orange tendrils of flame, and smoke wafted up into the sky. Lunysvet rose on the staff she had adopted since landing, and began to speak. "Very few of you recall the story I am about to tell, and none of you truly remember it. Today, I will recite to you, for what I believe to be the last time, the story of our nation." "Moons and moons ago, eons and eons ago, our people did not exist on this world. But one day, a star fell from the heavens to the earth, and we emerged. We were confused and scattered, however, and we left from where we emerged because of conflict between us. We are one of the three groups that departed, and no sign of the other two has ever been found. My great-great-grandmother, Zuliya, saw a sign from the moon that said we must return, and started us on our current path. Our way of life was simple, and it always worked. We travel in the direction of the moon, towards the place of the fallen star, over the ocean. We only venture on land to sleep and for when the seas grow too rough. This crystal..." She pulled the object once again out of her robe, and showed it to the others. "This crystal is the last remnant of the fallen star, and is the sign that we must stay in one place once more." She returned it to under her cloak. "It has been a serious adjustment for many of you, and already as a people we are beginning to change. The time of the Great Elders is no more." She took the coral circlet upon her brow, and broke it into pieces, scattering the blue crystals all over the ground, to the amazement of the other Cindorayi. "Tonight, you must choose a new leader, one who will guide us in this new age." A few minutes of anxious discussion occurred around the slowly fading fire, until Lunysvet's voice once again rose above all others. "I will call your names, one by one, and you will vote for who you believe should be leader." After a short pause for silence to occur, she spoke again. "Anton." The male pricked his ears, and responded, "Ekatyrina." She called the next name, and they also said "Ekatyrina." This process continued for twenty-seven more people, until it became obvious that there would be only one choice. Beaming with joy at the trust and respect the others had for her, Ekatyrina cast the final vote for herself, and the Great Elder bowed in silence for a few moments. Finally she nodded, and took out the crystal, placing it in the young woman's hands. "Ekatyrina, our nation entrusts its future into your hands. As they entrust the future, I entrust the past to you as well. Keep this safe always, until its truth is revealed to us." "Thank you." responded Ekatyrina, as she bowed to the former Great Elder. Lunysvet bowed in return, and so it was that the Cindorayi nation retired for the night. Just before sunrise on the next day, a spasm rocked Lunysvet's body, and her heart stopped, finally allowing her spirit to join the moon in the sky, or so they would always believe.