[h2][center][color=Brown]Raethel Norvegicus and the Rattus People[/color][/center][/h2]

As the days passed by, time continued its march forward and things continued to progress. The original incident with the water monsters was a tragic affair, with what pieces of the victims that could be gathered brought together through what belonged to who was simply impossible to tell. To leave their remains on the surface was unthinkable, but the question of what [i]exactly[/i] to do with them was evasive. In the end a special crypt was dug out deep down into the earth and the remains sealed inside of it, the names of those Rattus who they likely belonged to (or at least who had been on the water craft when it was attacked and weren't recovered) engraved upon the stone that sealed their final chamber for those to come and see if they so wished. 

There had actually been two lines of thought that had contributed to this idea. The first had been as an acknowledgement of their little seen co-creator, the deity Zelios. While only Raethel Norvegicus, the first Rattus to awaken had ever had the pleasure to encountering Zelios, albeit rather briefly, the deity of darkness had made a positive impression all the same. It felt... right, the idea that when a Rattus died that their remains would be entombed in the darkness of the earth in order to be in the realm of one of their makers. 

This also sparked something of a debate in the construction of the crypt itself. While the god of darkness had not deemed it fit to come and visit them for some time, some Rattus argued that in the realm of permanent darkness that the crypt would represent, the possibility of Zelios popping in to pay a visit and show respects to his departed children were likely higher then him walking up to one of the outposts in the middle of the sky's cycle of heat and light. So logically, the crypt needed to be big enough that Zelios could move around comfortably without disturbing the bodies... or pieces there of, as the case might be. This was deemed easy enough to do with Rattus construction methods (IE, bending the earth into whatever shape they needed it to be) and space wasn't an issue down where they were making the crypt so it was approved.

This led to a second discussion. Namely, about the possibility that Zelios, who had been absent for their lives, might not actually know the Rattus he was coming to visit and pay respects to. After some back and forth, a decision was reached; The family and friends of the deceased would, once the crypt was dug out but before the bodies were placed within, enter the crypt and engrave the names of their departed loved ones, alongside their achievements in life and just general stories about them so that Zelios might read and know those who he was coming to visit better. This seemed perfectly reasonable, but it did require some planning so that each of the departed (including those who sadly did not have any body to recover) would have a section of their shared resting place dedicated to them so there wouldn't be any overlap of engravings. 

The second reason for the crypts was so that the departed might also be allowed to come closer to Aethel and the First Father by decomposing. Death and decay, by their very nature, was a source of the wind of death... the very wind that Aethel sacrificed the First Father in order to create and bring to the world. The promise that one's body would, once the end had come, become a new source of mana that was spiritually connected with Rattus and rat kind was comforting in a way... and the chance to do such in the safety of a sealed crypt where it come decompose in peace without being ravaged by scavengers seemed like a respectful thing to do. 

There was some debate due to the...patchwork nature of the recovered. That it might be seen as disrespectful to only bury parts of the person rather then the whole body... or completely lack a body at all. The matter became so heated at the height of it that they agreed to go and ask Aethel for their advise on the matter. Briefly waking their deity from an afternoon nap, Aethel listened to the question before answering "[color=pink]As far as death is concerned, the spirit leaves the body at the moment of death. While it is true that there is a connection between the spirit and body even after they have parted, the spirit isn't impacted if the body it left behind is buried safely in a tomb or left to rot in the lairs of several animals that took chunks back to their children as a meal. The fact that you tired to recover their body so that they could be within the place where you wish to honor and respect their memory is almost certainly appreciated all the same. But don't feel like your failing them because they got killed in such a manner where you can't recover anything without risking joining them in the process.[/color]"

With the matter largely settled, the first crypt was prepared and the first of the Rattus to die were entombed within it. They would not be the last. While messages were quickly spread across the outposts about the unexpected dangers that the [i]water monsters[/i] presented, some messages didn't make it in time for the warning to save lives as water craft and Rattus alike found themselves attacked by the grey monsters: One messenger boat, despite knowing the danger of the rotund beasts, ended up ambushed by one and never reaching their destination. All paws on board lost.

[hr]

Despite the sorrow and rage that was lingering in the air due to the outrages of the [i]water monsters[/i] and the leaves that had been lost to them, there was also an air of excitement as Raethel sat across from a very special Rattus. There was a twitch of his tail, a deep breath and... "[color=brown]Congratulations... Rzelios. I believe you're ready to join any band that is heading out to explore and secure a home for yourself and our people.[/color]" The words were practiced and refined by having helped oversee the basic education that each and every Rattus that Aethel and Zelios had brought into existence, but what made this moment special was the name.

It was the last one that needed to be given. All Rattus, living and dead, had been giving a name, either by themselves and their families or by him personally. The decree of Zelios had been fulfilled at last... and personally he hoped the deity would find the choice for the final name of the current generation to his liking. 


[hider=Summary]
The Rattus discuss and work out exactly what they're going to do with their dead after hippos killed the first few members of their kind. In the end they opt to create crypts deep in the earth so that their departed can rest in the darkness of Zelios as their bodies decompose and create a fresh breeze of the wind of death (black mana), connecting them further with the first rat that Aethel killed all those aeos ago to create said mana in the first place. Family and friends will get a chance to engrave details about the departed, including stories about them, within their crypt so that if Zelios ever decides to drop in to see and offer respect to his children he'll be able to learn who they were.

Raethel also names the last Rattus of this current generation, fulfilling Zelios mission of him in the process.  


[/hider]
           

[hider=Spirit]
Start: 6

+1 for being apart of a post for longer then a line.
+10 for completing divine quest (Name all the Rattus)

-8 Introduce new technology (The Rattus have developed a written language. It is generally engraved in stone.)
 
End: 9
[/hider]