In this part of the turn:
The tribe of the western rainforest has major changes to their cultural practices
The southernmost tribe establishes new clans with their own clan signs
Two more regions (the eastern island tribe and the southwestern forest tribe) culturally develop
The southwestern forest tribe develops a formal nest-building ceremony
Overview
I am doing a project of incremental worldbuilding. In other words, I’m taking aspects of worldbuilding and changing them slowly over time, in hope of creating a world that has the real weight of history behind it. In addition, I’m using randomness and ‘game-like’ mechanics, as well as assistance from ChatGPT, to help work my way through this process and ensure that I am sometimes surprised by the results.
The Eekraw are an avian species that has developed sentience. They’re slightly shorter than human height, and live around 80 years absent illness or injury. They can’t lift off vertically, requiring a cliff face or tree to jump off to successfully initiate flight. They have strong and dexterous foot talons, meaning their feet rather than wings are needed to work tools. They live in communal nests, with a nest of four-six adults raising their young together.
It is currently Turn 11 of the worldbuilding process.
The Table of Contents of all my posts is below:
The inhabited world looks like this:
The previous part of Turn 11 is below:
I’ve just completed the settled region round for this turn. Now, I’ll move onto the migratory regions.
First off, I’m going to do some changing around of the turn order. Nothing major to substance, just moving things around a bit to make the order make more sense. Random events will be at the beginning of a turn, as will cultural evolution, while myths/oral history will be in the middle.
The turn order is below:
Random Event
So, for the migratory regions, I’ll start with a random event. Since there are more than ten regions, I’ll roll twice on the table.
2d24: 10, 4
10 - Culture massively changes. 1d17 = 9. Region 9
4 - Society evolves. 1d17 = 15. Region 15
Event 1 - Massive Cultural Evolution
Region 9 is the rainforest in the west of the central continent.
First off, I’m going to redo the cultural overview for region 9 to match how I’ve redone all the other cultural overviews, with a strength score for the cultural aspects.
Biome: Tropical Rainforest Biome
Society/Social Structure:
Clan units of multiple nests, limited specialization. Specialization is at the nest level
Ye’ar (priests) (at the nest level, i.e., one of the nest in a clan is the Ye’ar nest)
Ikra’dyr - a nest which is tasked with being lookouts/defenders for the rest of the clan
Clans conduct trade with each other when their migrations pass each other
Technology/Tools
Shelter: Nests burrowed in dead trees
Culture:
Reverence for the sun (5)
The Varook are evil shadow spirits. The Ye’ar (priests) conduct rituals to try to drive the Varook away spiritually (5)
Each clan has a EkVeere (clan song), an oral history of the clan that is sung to remember the past. The entire clan joins in to sing the EkVeere. (5)
Oral History/Myth:
Varook Ekver’wa (darkness of the song of the Eekraw) - Once, all the clans of the Eekraw were together, unified and at peace. Ka’vek was a brilliant male Ye’ar, who traveled between the clans learning their histories and rituals, along with his female student, Ve’kra. However, Ka’vek was struck by a vision, a prophecy of impending strife and division. He knew that the clans of the Eekraw would fracture, hoarding their knowledge and fighting where once they maintained unity and peace. His student Ve’kra bore witness to this prophecy. (5)
R’Veek’re Ratru (the clan sings) - Ka’vek, the brilliant male Ye’ar, and his female student Ve’kra, created the EkVer’wa, the song of the Eekraw, which related the whole history of the Eekraw. However, knowing of the disunity to come, they decided to split the Ekver’wa into fragments, known as EkVeere, and distribute them amongst the clans. The only way to recreate the entire EkVer’wa would be to reunite all the scattered clans of the Eekraw. (5)
I’m going to take “change across entire culture” as meaning every cultural aspect changes, so rather than rolling for which myths change, I’ll just change them all.
I will also roll three times for each myth on whether the strength of the myth changes.
There are 5 different cultural aspects that might change, so I’ll roll 5d10 three times.
5d10: 9, 10, 10, 2, 2
5d10: 7, 5, 2, 5, 3
5d10: 2, 6, 3, 4, 1
Reverence for the sun goes down twice and up one for a total of 4
Varook goes down three times to 2
Ekveere goes down once and up twice for a total of 6
Varook Ekver’wa goes up three times for a total of 8
R’Veek’re Ratru goes up three times for a total of 8
Now, changes to each:
Revere sun
The standardized table I’ve been using for the evolution of myths doesn’t really make sense in this case, so I’ll do something different.
Expand on nature of sun (i.e., ancestor, spirit, etc.)
Change to revere something else
Expand on how they revere sun (i.e., rituals)
1d3 = 2
They now revere something else.
Inner moon
Outer moon
The ocean
The forest
Spirits
Ancestors
1d6 = 5
That makes sense with the presence of the evil Varook — the Eekraw of this tribe revere spirits, but some of them are evil.
New myth:
Revere good spirits of the rainforest, which give the tribe food and shelter (4)
Also added to the lexicon:
Trook’voa (life of the forest canopy) - spirits of the rainforest
Varook (Evil spirits)
Now, for the Varook (evil spirits). Again, the table doesn’t quite fit, but it’ll fit close enough that I can interpret it.
Adds a new aspect to the story
Adds a new additional character
Two characters are merged together
An aspect of the story takes on greater prominence
An aspect of the story fades in prominence
The story becomes associated/related to another story
Embellishment of details
Add or increase a spiritual/supernatural element
Something specific to this myth
Something specific to this clan
1d10 = 7 - embellish details.
New myth:
The Varook are evil shadow spirits formed from the dark shadows of the rainforest. The Ye’ar (priests) conduct rituals to try to drive the Varook away spiritually and prevent them from attacking the tribe. (2)
EkVeere (Clan Song)
Adds a new aspect to the story
Adds a new additional character
Two characters are merged together
An aspect of the story takes on greater prominence
An aspect of the story fades in prominence
The story becomes associated/related to another story
Embellishment of details
Add or increase a spiritual/supernatural element
Something specific to this myth
Something specific to this clan
1d10 = 1 - a new aspect.
Possibilities:
Dance associated with it
Every clan member sings a specific verse
Storytelling roles (members act out aspects of history)
Elements of improvisation
Done during a feast
Aerial dance
Echo and response
Ceremonial paint
1d8 = 3 - storytelling roles
New myth:
Each clan has a EkVeere (clan song), an oral history of the clan that is sung to remember the past. The entire clan joins in to sing the EkVeere. Portions of the EkVeere are acted out, in which members of the clan take on the roles of important figures of the past. (6)
Varook Ekver’wa (Prophecy of the clans splintering)
Adds a new aspect to the story
Adds a new additional character
Two characters are merged together
An aspect of the story takes on greater prominence
An aspect of the story fades in prominence
The story becomes associated/related to another story
Embellishment of details
Add or increase a spiritual/supernatural element
Something specific to this myth
Something specific to this clan
1d10 = 8 - add/increase the spiritual/supernatural element
Prophecy becomes more salient
The fracturing would be supernatural
Different clans had supernatural artifacts
The prophecy was delivered by a rainforest spirit
Ka’vek had to steal the prophecy from a Varook
Prophecy found in a particular tree in the rainforest
1d6 = 6 - prophecy in a particular tree in the rainforest
New myth:
Varook Ekver’wa (darkness of the song of the Eekraw) - Once, all the clans of the Eekraw were together, unified and at peace. Ka’vek was a brilliant male Ye’ar, who traveled between the clans learning their histories and rituals, along with his female student, Ve’kra. Ka’vek once came upon a massive tree in the rainforest, one that was clearly blessed by the rainforest spirits. He and his student Ve’kra spent the night in its branches. That night, Ka’vek was struck by a vision from the spirits, a prophecy of impending strife and division. He knew that the clans of the Eekraw would fracture, hoarding their knowledge and fighting where once they maintained unity and peace. (8)
R’veek’re Ratru (Clan song split into parts)
Adds a new aspect to the story
Adds a new additional character
Two characters are merged together
An aspect of the story takes on greater prominence
An aspect of the story fades in prominence
The story becomes associated/related to another story
Embellishment of details
Add or increase a spiritual/supernatural element
Something specific to this myth
Something specific to this clan
1d10 = 9 - something specific to this myth
“Something specific to this myth” is a pretty broad and hard to interpret change. I think that I won’t worry if the possibilities could fit in one of the other categories, I’ll just go with whatever might make sense.
Possibilities:
EkVer’wa split along with physical artifacts
The Varook stole one of the EkVer’wa and replaced it
The EkVer’wa is living
Instead of Ka’vek and Ve’kra splitting the EkVer’wa, the clans took their parts of it themselves
Ka’vek and Ve’kra fought about the EkVer’wa, and one of them split it against the other’s protests
They didn’t believe the prophecy
1d6 = 6
R’Veek’re Ratru (the clan sings) - Though Ka’vek, the brilliant male Ye’ar, and his female student Ve’kra had received a prophecy that the clans would fracture, they thought they could prevent it. They created the EkVer’wa, the song of the Eekraw, which related the whole history of the Eekraw, and gave fragments of it, known as EkVeere, to different clans. They believed that the need to unite to recreate the entire EkVer’wa would prevent the fragmentation from happening. However, the clans fractured, taking their own EkVeere with them, preventing the EkVer’wa from ever being recreated until all the scattered clans of the Eekraw were reunited. (8)
Slightly changed from ‘they didn’t believe the prophecy’ to ‘they thought they could prevent it.’
I’ll also do a round of basic language change — pick a category and have all the words in it evolve.
1d8 = 1
Basics (1):
Ku - me
Ya - you
Ra’u - them
Rewa - us
Ree - yes
Kroo - no
Event 2 - Society Evolution
Now, the second random event I rolled — Society evolves in region 15
Region 15 is the coastal temperate forest region at the southernmost point of the central continent.
Biome: Coastal/Island Temperate Forest
Social Structure:
Clan units of related nest groups, limited specialization
Specialization is at the nest level (i.e., there is a nest of Yeek)
Trades younglings between clans to create new nests. For example, two clans might agree to combine their most promising younglings to create a new nest in one or the other clan. Or a clan with a nest that has lost a member might request a surplus member from another clan. This also creates ties between clans.
These Eekraw use R’theere (luminescent moss) to create specific symbols to represent their clans, so other clans will know when they’ve crossed paths. Not a territorial thing, as they migrate
Technology/Tools
Shelter: Nests in the trees
Culture:
Revere ancestors (5)
The Fark are evil shadow spirits (originally based on a predator of an ancestral biome). The Yeek (priests) conduct rituals to try to drive the Fark away spiritually. Only the Yik call them Fark, everyone else calls the evil spirits Rakva to avoid drawing their attention. (5)
Myths/Oral History:
Roewava’kre (ancestor-flight) - Every 16 years, the moons line up on the equinox in such a way as to make a broad light across the water. This reflection is a beacon the ancestors use to fly back to the world and revisit their descendants. (5)
Tariti’bar - Tariti’bar was a youngling, a member of a clan that was large, and therefore hard for a youngling to make a mark. He heard there was another clan that had been devastated by disease or predators, and therefore needed new males to fill out its ranks. He traveled a long distance through the forest to find this clan, and at one point stayed in the air for around 80 miles, further than most Eekraw even thought possible. Eventually he reached this new clan and had so impressed the clan that he was accepted into a new nest as Ekifa (fostered youngling from another clan) of the clan, and eventually was accepted into the nest of Akirak, a prominent female. (3)
I’m going to steal some of the possible societal evolutions that I came up with for the societal evolution for settled region 1 earlier in the turn, and then add some new ones
Leadership structure — one particular nest is the leader (Yeek or a new one)
Leadership structure — a single Eekraw is the leader
Leadership structure — Simple vote structure for decisions
Leadership structure — council of elders
Division of labor by age
Disputes between nests resolved through a challenge system
More elaborate symbols to identify clans
Formalized nestbuilding/mating
1d8 = 7
So, these clans have more elaborate symbols to identify each clan, which they draw with the luminescent moss. I created a set of clan signs — now there are notable different clans.
Varea Ratwa (Clan Sign)
Varea Roo (Clan of the sun) — a large circle with lines extending out, symbolizing the sun
Varea Teltra (Clan of the forest) — a stylized tree with branches
Varea Travar (Clan of the ocean) — stylized waves
Varea Trak’ti (Clan of the stream) — a stylized river
Varea Ratal (Clan of the clearing) — five uneven circles with a hole in the middle, symbolizing a forest clearing from above
Varea Skirra (Clan of the fish) — a simple fish symbol
Varea Ratrali (Clan of the Ratrali (armored quadruped)) — a simple depiction of the creature
Varea Bartil (Clan of the Bartil (edible leaf)) — a simple depiction of a leaf
Varea Roi’kroo (Clan of the moon) — two simple circles, representing the two moons
Varea Vakre (Clan of the flight) — a simple symbol of two wings
And I’ll do a basic language evolution in this region
1d8 = 7
Creatures (7):
Teo - dangerous creature
Skiha - non-threatening/harmless creature
Sikati - nuisance creature
Kirra - harmless sea-creature/fish
Teltikav - Medium-sized creature with sleek body that can adjust its colors to blend with the forest, four multi-jointed legs with flexible, nimble feet that allow it to grip and traverse the trees as easily as the ground. Ambush predator
Tikyilvar - Large predator reptile, has large tail with spikes on it
Tratavar - Semi-transparent gliding kite-like creature, Paralyzes its prey then wraps it up and slowly dissolves it
Ratali - A slow quadruped with a long snout and a strong, armored back. Excretes dissolving enzyme to soften tough materials
Verskik - Large floating creatures that are buoyant due to gas-filled sacs within their body, graze on tree tops. When threatened, they release the gas, which both disorients and harms their opponent and causes them to rapidly sink downwards, hopefully evading the predator
Toskar - A medium-sized ground-hugging herbivore with a tough, segmented body. It moves up to bushes and squats on top of them to eat their leaves while keeping its shell between it and any predator.
Vartrat - A medium-sized, winged quadrupedal prey animal that molts seasonally. Usually feeds on grasses and low-hanging leaves, travels in loosely-knit migratory groups.
Siratti - Small-sized animal with a hard exoskeletal shell, four legs. Feeds on hard fruits, travels in large herds.
Jilvar - Small, winged reptiles that feed on flower nectar and fruit
Cultural Evolution
Some cultural evolution took place in the random event step, but it is now time for the normal cultural evolution.
There are 17 regions, so I’ll roll twice.
2d17: 5, 14
Region 5
Regions 5 is the coastal/island region on the eastern edge of the central continent. It’s the cultural ancestor of Region 15, the one we just conducted a social evolution for.
Biome: Coastal/Island Tropical Deciduous Forest
Social Structure:
Clan units of related nest groups, limited specialization
Specialization is at the nest level (i.e., there is a nest of Yeek)
Trades younglings between clans to create new nests. For example, two clans might agree to combine their most promising younglings to create a new nest in one or the other clan. Or a clan with a nest that has lost a member might request a surplus member from another clan. This also creates ties between clans.
These Eekraw use To’ili’varskti (moldable tree resin) to create specific symbols to represent their clans, so other clans will know when they’ve crossed paths. Not a territorial thing, as they migrate
Technology/Tools
Shelter: Nests in the forest, lined with insulating moss
Culture:
This tribe reveres the sun (5)
This tribe reveres the spirits of the trees (5)
This tribe reveres the ancestors (5)
The Fark are evil shadow spirits (originally based on a predator of an ancestral biome). The Yeek (priests) conduct rituals to try to drive the Fark away spiritually. Only the Yeek call the Fark by their name, the rest of the clan call them Raikivi to avoid bad luck. (5)
Myth/Oral History
Akir’krat - Akir’krat was a young adult Eekraw, just past her full maturation. She was taking care of a group of nestling when she saw a Tich diving at the nestlings. She used magic to summon a Travar’tich’vake, which attacked the Tich and gave her time to pull the nestlings into the safety of the trees, protecting them from the predator. (5)
Tariti - Tariti was a youngling, a member of a clan that was large, and therefore hard for a youngling to make a mark. He heard there was another clan that had been devastated by disease or predators, and therefore needed new males to fill out its ranks. He traveled a long distance through the forest to find this clan, and at one point stayed in the air for around 80 miles, further than most Eekraw even thought possible. Eventually he reached this new clan and had so impressed the clan that he was accepted into a new nest as Kiva (fostered youngling from another clan) of the clan, and eventually accepted as a nestmate of females of the clan. (5)
So, there are six cultural or mythological aspects that might change. I’ll start by rolling for strength changes — if I roll below, strength will go up, equal it’ll stay the same1, and above it’ll go down.
6d10: 2, 10, 2, 2, 2, 4
So, all of the beliefs increase in strength except for reverence for the spirits of the trees.
Now, I’ll roll another 6d10 to see which cultural aspects change. A roll above the number means a change to it.
6d10: 8, 6, 1, 3, 3, 2
So, only reverence for the sun and the spirits of the trees change
Sun reverence:
As before, the normal cultural change table doesn’t make a ton of sense in this case, so I’ll use a modified one:
Expand on nature of the object of worship
Expand on how they revere object of worship
Add an additional aspect (e.g., moon added)
Associate to a specific object/location/ritual
Connect to another belief (e.g., ancestors associated with sun)
Be more specific in worship (e.g., sun’s light, not just sun)
1d6 = 2
Expand on how they revere object of worship. I’m going to say they use the position of the sun and whether it is behind clouds or a tree or a cloud from an animal to give them guidance in their daily lives.
This tribe reveres the sun, and takes guidance from the sun in their daily lives. For example, if a tribe member wants to make a decision and sees that the sun is behind a cloud, they will likely interpret it as a bad omen. (6)
Reverence of the Trees
Expand on nature of the object of worship
Expand on how they revere object of worship
Add an additional aspect (e.g., moon added)
Associate to a specific object/location/ritual
Connect to another belief (e.g., ancestors associated with sun)
Be more specific in worship (e.g., sun’s light, not just sun)
1d6 = 4
Associate to a specific object, location or ritual. The obvious choice here is the To’ili’varskti (moldable tree resin), but I’ll give a few more options
To’ili’varskti
Same
Tarakre (floating buoyant herbivore)
Varsk’ti’jilk (delicious nuts)
1d4 = 4
So instead of the To’ili’varskti, the Eekraw associate the forest spirits with the Varsk’ti’jilk (nuts) that are often found on the forest floor.
This tribe reveres the spirits of the trees. The tree spirits reward devotion with Varsk’ti’jilk (delicious tree-nuts) (4)
Now I’ll do a quick language development.
1d9 = 5
Other (5):
‘chee - suffix for small
‘thi - suffix for young
‘ge - suffix for new
‘vaer - suffix for big
Vara’ - prefix for significant/important
Rahi’ - prefix for sacred
‘wie - suffix for place
Region 14
Region 14 is the temperate forest region at the south of the western continent.
Biome: Temperate Forest
Society/Social Structure:
Clan units of multiple nests, limited specialization. Specialization is at the nest level
Ye’ar (priests) (at the nest level, i.e., one of the nest in a clan is the Ye’ar nest)
Ichra’dyr - a nest which is tasked with being lookouts/defenders for the rest of the clan
Clans conduct trade with each other when their migrations pass each other
Technology/Tools
Shelter: Nests burrowed in dead trees
Culture:
Reverence for the sun (5)
The Varcha are evil shadow spirits (associated with avian predators of a previous homeland). The Ye’ar (priests) conduct rituals to try to drive the Varcha away spiritually. (5)
Each clan has a EchVeere (clan song), an oral history of the clan that is sung to remember the past. The entire clan joins in to sing the EchVeere. (5)
Oral History/Myth:
Karvek and Veekra - Karvek was a brilliant Ye’ar, who traveled between the clans learning their histories and rituals. With the help of his student Veekra, he created the EchVer’wa, the song of the Eekraw, which recorded the whole history of the Eekraw. However, he foresaw the splintering of the clans and split the song among the clans, so each has a fragment of the overall song, which is the base of their own EchVeere. Unless they are united, no clan may share its fragment with any other, but once all the Eekraw are united in one, they will finally have the entire EchVer’wa once more. (5)
Rikrere (night omen) - The Eekraw once saw lights in the sky, over and over again, pointing this way (southwest). They left their old homeland, and traveled for long days and nights, until they reached their current location. Some say they did not fulfill the omen, and ought to keep going until they can go no further. (5)
Yigti Ratrak (traitors to the clan) - During a season of the worst weather ever experienced, the clan suffered greatly, and most died of famine. One nest seemed to hold up better than the others, and were praised and put in charge of the entire clan for their work in helping the other, weaker nests. However, the clan discovered that this nest had in fact hoarded all of the food of the clan, keeping their strength up at the expense at everyone else, directly causing the deaths of many clan members. The adult members of the nest - Talu Yigti (male), Vaoshra (male), Chritrai (female), and Etrachi (female) - were expelled from the clan for this grave offense, and were marked as Yigti (traitors) and marked with death should they return. (6)
Again, there are six cultural aspects, so I’ll roll 6d10
6d10: 6, 8, 9, 3, 9, 1
So, all except the stories of Karvek and Veekra and Yigti Ratrak go down, those two go up.
Now, roll 6d10 for changes:
6d10: 4, 10, 8, 1, 1, 1
The myths of the Varcha and the EchVeere change, the rest stay the same.
Varcha:
Adds a new aspect to the story
Adds a new additional character
Two characters are merged together
An aspect of the story takes on greater prominence
An aspect of the story fades in prominence
The story becomes associated/related to another story
Embellishment of details
Add or increase a spiritual/supernatural element
Something specific to this myth
Something specific to this clan
Die Roll: 1d10 = 9 - Something specific to this myth.
Alright, I’m going to steal the table I used earlier to change the ‘revere the’ statements and modify it slightly for the Varcha.
Expand on their nature
Expand on the driving off rituals
Add an additional aspect
Associate to a specific object/location/ritual
Connect to another belief
Different types of Varcha
1d6 = 1 - expand on their nature
Formless shadows
Bring bad luck
Dispelled by light
Corrupt spirit
Invade dreams
Influence weather
Enhanced during eclipses
Bring disease
Sap energy
Take form of shadow birds
1d10 = 10 - shadow birds
New myth:
The Varcha are evil shadow spirits that take the form of great shadowy birds flitting across the night sky. The Ye’ar (priests) conduct rituals to try to drive the Varcha away spiritually. (4)
EchVeere
Adds a new aspect to the story
Adds a new additional character
Two characters are merged together
An aspect of the story takes on greater prominence
An aspect of the story fades in prominence
The story becomes associated/related to another story
Embellishment of details
Add or increase a spiritual/supernatural element
Something specific to this myth
Something specific to this clan
1d10 = 2
Add a new additional character. In this case, a character doesn’t really make sense, but I’ll add in a position. The R’echray’ar (sing priest) leads the clan in chanting the EchVeere.
Each clan has a EchVeere (clan song), an oral history of the clan that is sung to remember the past. The entire clan joins in to sing the EchVeere, led by the R’echray’ar (priest of the song, a member of the Ye’ar clan). (4)
Basic language development:
1d8 = 1
Basics (1):
Shu - me
Yia - you
Uru - them
Lewa - us
Shre - yes
Hrew - no
Social Development
I’ll roll one region to undergo minor social development
1d17 = 14
So, region 14 again.
Possible changes:
Leadership structure — one particular nest is the leader (Yeek or a new one)
Leadership structure — a single Eekraw is the leader
Leadership structure — Simple vote structure for decisions
Leadership structure — council of elders
Division of labor by age
Disputes between nests resolved through a challenge system
More elaborate symbols to identify clans
Formalized nestbuilding/mating
Specific role for the R’echray’ar
1d9 = 8
Formalized nestforming
When younglings become adults, they are of age to find nestmates and form a new nest, usually made up of four to six adults. Forming a nest occurs in a ceremony where twigs are exchanged between all of the new nestmates, and their new nest is formally established
The Ye’ar and Ichra’dyr nests choose what younglings will join their nest, unlike the other nests which are chosen by the young adults themselves.
Basic Language Development
1d8 = 4
Verbs (4):
Rieveh - to fly
Rieree - to succeed/excel
Varhe - to teach/educate
Recha - to sing/recite
Ijir - to use
Rilier - to forage
Ralav - to land on a tree
Allal - to land on the ground
Ratar - to defend/protect
Rechta - to care for/nurture
Karek - to challenge
Tallrel - to light/illuminate
Rachji - to trade
Charek - to conduct ritual
This seemed like a good place to split up the post, before the expansion step which takes up a lot of space. The final part of Turn 11 will be posted in a future post.
A slight change from the procedure I used before.