DigiDayDreamer
Commander
Why divide when you can conquer everything?
Posts: 210
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Post by DigiDayDreamer on Apr 12, 2004 20:17:03 GMT -5
The sigwar was often getting sidetracked with her thoughts and I was beginning to wonder if she was new to Noga. Obviously there hasn't been any visitors like her, with the exceptions of a few hurks. So it make me wonder what the likes of her would be doing here.
Finally she spoke again."I didn't mean to get silent... is... what I meant... yeah... um... I can still sort of make out your outline. Just keep talking and I'll follow."
"Talking? I'll try to make a good conversation." If I was 3 twassec years younger, I surely wouldn't have this kind of problem. When I was younger, I could have spouted all this kinds of random tangents from my family to Gerby and Zalae. But now, I was struggling to think of something. Possibly anything to talk about.
I started to talk about Yon, while leading this sigwar to the longhouse. "Well, I've been living here in Yon nearly my entire life now...and I have gotten used to all the visitors that come here...and I welcomed those visitors if they were nobody else other than me..." I paused, running out of ideas again when the sigwar asked me:
"Um... so, where do you nogan all sleep?"
Whew, at least I can answer that question: "We nogan sleep wherever we want. Lying on roofs of buildings, on piles of hay or other stuff, or simply on the ground. Well, here we are."
The longhouse was bright tonight and now I saw a good detail of the sigwar. She was wearing a white robe of sorts.
"You're a priestess? I didn't know such an important figure would visit our humble land," I said in reverence.
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Post by Devvyn on Apr 12, 2004 23:04:33 GMT -5
I roar in pain as the Nogan grabs my horn. I then grab him with both hands and toss him against a hut. Then I charge at him, both hands extended.
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RabbitDawg
Commander
I'm moron... the stupid side...
Posts: 193
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Post by RabbitDawg on Apr 13, 2004 0:25:28 GMT -5
"Oh, me? Well, yes, I'm a priestess. Sort of. Well, I was-- I still am-- but now, I've decided that maybe I should travel and learn more about other cul..." In the light of the longhouse, I was finally able to see the nogan clearly. It took my eyes a while to get a adjusted, but once it did...
"...tures... But enough about me. Let's talk more about you. Say... you... ha-- have you been to Sig by any chance? I know you said you've lived here all your life, but... you look really familiar. Just... like an older -- uh.. more experienced -- form of someone -- a nogan -- who I met a while back. Her name was Raizi. She ran awa-- I mean.... uh... nevermind that. But here's a picture if her."
I took out my writing pad. I remember sketching her picture once on my travels some time earlier. I don't mean to brag, but it was quite good, according to my eyes anyway. It seemed pretty accurate. I handed the the writing pad to the nogan... who REALLY ressembled Raizi. Maybe it is her? But then... she seems too old. She'd've aged too much if it was her... I think so anyway, though I wasn't too informed on nogan aging rates.
"She... she..." I searched my mind for something else to identify Raizi by than just my sketch. "...uh... checked her hoe alot? No... I know!! She owned this giant, living --like, REALLY living and moving and eating-- plant whom she called Gerby, and..." I was starting to become aware of what a big moron I must sound like, when she said...
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Post by Dragonfly on Apr 13, 2004 11:57:28 GMT -5
Whew! You guys went fast! Sorry, I've taken so long to post! ----------------------------------------------------------
Ah, Benid has gone down; another day on this planet. I go into my shack that I've had to rebuild 5 times already. I reach over and turn on a hand-held light and I proceed to mark off the today's date. I've been very eager to get off this planet; getting used to it has been quite a challenge. Yet the environment has been good for my physical abilities, so I'm now where close to complaining. I just spent my day with Rotun. He had obligingly allowed me to look at the most recent battles against the Ure. I studied some of the greatest Commander's finest moments; I looked at their strategies and their usage of the troops. Today was a good day.
I reached over and checked my communicator. I recieved no news of convoy assignments. I was ready to turn in for the evening so I went ahead and read a chapter in one of my books that was prescribed to me by my fleet warfare instructors; I then turned out the light, and automatically zoned out the Hurks shouting in the distance.
------------------------------------------------ As to the wrestling problem: No, blows are not exchanged in a wrestling match, yet speed is the usual determinant for the winner. Also, I'd expect the Nogan to be at least a little bit more intelligent than the Hurk. That's a big thing too. It doesn't matter how fast you are, if you go fast, but your opponent is intelligent enough to use your own weight against you, then you're a gonner. I'd actually say that a rather aged nogan pitted against a pretty young Hurk would be a close wrestling match.
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Post by TiJiL on Apr 13, 2004 17:11:50 GMT -5
A general murmur starts to rumble from the town again. Nogan and hurks slowly start gathering in the longhouse and around the fire in front of it. The smell of meat is very strong. Suddenly, you hear a shout.
"Meal's up" one nogan yells, standing outside of the Longhouse. He doesn't need to yell too loud as the nogan had been awaiting the announcement. The hurks, of course, hearing the announcement, barrel towards the longhouse hungrily. They have been trained, however, to get their food from a separate area so that they don't damage the longhouse or nogan. A group of six or seven hurks comes pushing through the giant doorway to a large table of food. A pile of meat eight feet high lies on one end, while hundreds and hundreds of pounds of assorted fruits, grains, vegetables, and nuts lay piled about. Each hurk grabs several handfuls of food and stuffs them into their mouths immediately, roaring aggressively and drooling profusely. They each grab as much food as they can carry and move back out to various areas of the city to eat. All of the food laid out for them is gone in mere erk, greedily taken away. (It should not really be considered rude, however. Bear in mind that hurks have a metabolism that requires enormous food intake, so they seem gluttonous to others, sometimes)
The non hurks take a much more civilized process to eating. Those that would like a free meal arrange themselves into two lines on either side of the Longouse. They are handed large cuya baskets. Each individual files past the food tables inside to browse from a large selection of meats, fruits, grains, nuts, vegetables, and sweets. Nogan do eat quite a bit, really, but they are all courteous and nobody takes all of anything.
Each nogan gets the food that they want and then sits down with a group of other nogan. It is not customary, on one of these cache meals, to eat alone (for the nogan). A matter of ettiquette involves any group of two or less nogan to ask a sitting group (called a 'ring') "May we of Yon (or wherever they are from) depart with your tales?". (This saying originates from when the nogan moved in caravans across Noga. Caravans would often stop in certain areas and exchange stories and knowledge with other resting caravans to pass the time.) It is customary for the ring to accept the newcomers, which is then finalized with a symbolic pressing of hands. Each nogan presses their left hand against the left hands of their immediate neighbors. Groups of 3 or more nogan can start their own ring.
Within an erkan, most of the nogan have collected their food and are gathered in groups of 3-10, sitting within the Longhouse and around the fire before it. While eating, the nogan are really quite talkative. A host of conversations fills the night air.
Zalae is in a small group of young nogan inside of the Longhouse. Lekjaw is outdoors, right next to the fire. His ring is the largest, as (as aforementioned), the passing of stories, wisdom, and knowledge is of great value and entertainment to the Nogan, and Lekjaw is reknown for his host of such things to tell. Nogan without a specific ring to join often head to his with the hopes that they may learn something from him.
_______________________________________________
Forgot to answer your question, Ziela. You can contact offworld people with a circular network. The only one in Yon is in the twassecc terminal station in the attic of The Bunker.
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DigiDayDreamer
Commander
Why divide when you can conquer everything?
Posts: 210
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Post by DigiDayDreamer on Apr 13, 2004 20:05:25 GMT -5
I gaped at the sigwar priestess. As she was showing me her picture and accounting her memories, I couldn't believe at first until she progressed to other bits of her adventure.
There was no doubt.
"Ziela! It's so good to see you again!" I shouted, giving the old, er, seemingly young friend a great hug. "I was beginning to think you had forgotten all about me and even Gerby."
I parted from her after a few moments, looking at her again from head to toe. "You've hardly changed, Ziela. But as you can see, I'm not the child I used to be anymore. I can see why you're surprised, being we last met only three twassec years ago."
"Meal's up," yelled one of my fellow nogan, and I watched them and a group of hurks gather to their places. I turned to Ziela with a smile, feeling like my young self again.
"Come with me, Ziela," I said, grabbing one of her wrists, "you must be famished from your journey. You can join me and my friends for dinner and then we can talk more about each other." I dragged her as gently as I could to the table, got two cuya baskets for both of us and gathered a variety of food in my basket. "After you're finished getting what you think should suffice your hunger, we'll head over there by Zalae," I said, pointing to one of the rings inside the longhouse. "But before we join them we must speak these words, 'May we of Yon and Sig (since you're from Sig) depart with your tales?' so we wouldn't look discourteous. Did you get that?"
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RabbitDawg
Commander
I'm moron... the stupid side...
Posts: 193
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Post by RabbitDawg on Apr 14, 2004 1:48:07 GMT -5
"Raizi!! So that's why you look so familiar!!" I surveyed her as she surveyed me.
"But as you can see, I'm not the child I used to be anymore," she said matter-of-factly. "I can see why you're surprised, being we last met only three twassec years ago."
"Yeah, you read my mind. That was the only reason I didn't think it was yo--" But then one of the nogan called.
"Meal's up." Before I had a chance to say anything more, Raizi grabbed one of my wrists and dragged me along to get food while explaining stuff to me. I tried to take it all in, but it was all so sudden. Then she asked me if I got all of it.
"Um... I... I think so...." Then, we went over to a group of nogan. I did my best to emulate Raizi's earlier example and said "May I of-- Oh, I do it for both of us? --May we of Sig and Y-- (It's better to say 'Yon' first, right?) Yon and... uh...
Raizi came to my rescue. "...Yon and Sig depart with your tales?"
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Post by Dragonfly on Apr 14, 2004 12:48:43 GMT -5
My nap was short, but it was good. It was more of a quick eye-rest than anything. I was attempting to train myself to be aware of my surroundings while in my sleep. Everyday I laid down in my shack right after Benid went down, and I went to sleep. If I slept through the Nogan cook's yell then my body would be starved the next morning, yet whenever I managed to hear the Nogan's call and awoke then I would be well fed and happy the next morning. Therefore, I'd be able to establish a pattern of light sleep, and it would be to the advantage of my sleeping mind to learn how to be able to hear things then proceed to awaken.
I'd been doing this for a while so, when the Nogan called, "Meals up!" I awoke, and proudly stepped out of my shack. I was slowly establishing a pattern in my abilities to hear and be aware during my sleep. I would be bored if I wasn't constantly setting goals to improve my body's capabilities. Aside from improving my unconscious mind, I also exercised, and attempted to increase my fighting reflexes by doing routines that I'd looked up in the circular with Rotun. Three times a day I would run for several erker, hike a different path through the hills, and attempt to increase my basic melee skills, by performing simple exercises that I'd already learned. This Noga was a good place to do all these things, the gravity was stronger here, so the exercises worked my body harder, and the food was good with high nutrition.
I walk over to the longhouse, and I pick up whatever food looks good. I give one word of thanks to the Nogan serving the food, and then I exit the longhouse to take my meal alone. After finishing my food, I let out a loud belch and I sit back to look at the stars. After about an erka of digestion I get up to work my third routine of the day. Exercising in the dark after the sun sets and before it rises are always my favorite times to work out; it's not nearly so hot as usual. The cool feeling is relaxing.
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Post by TiJiL on Apr 19, 2004 17:10:03 GMT -5
Well... I was waiting for Devvyn to respond, but he STILL hasn't. So, I decide that Molthor immediately stops wrestling to go get his share of food.
Tokmal: You choose tonight to run around the city limits of Yon, staying next to the palisade wall. The pitch black about you is only broken by the fire from Yon and the light on your belt. Your footfalls into the dry grass and dirt sound very loud to your ears, but not nearly as loud as the heavy footsteps of the Bolganu around you. Largely, they seem impartial to your presense, and just graze or sleep calmly. One, however, seems to have taken an interest in you. To your estimation it is a fairly young individual, judging by the sound it probably weighs at least a half ton. It has a loping, pounding sound to its footsteps that you can identify as a bipedal gait. (Young Bolganu are light enough that they can walk bipedally or quadrupedally. By their second birthday, however, the muscles and bones in their back and limbs are so heavy that they generally cannot run for any great distance bipedally as adults) It isn't causing you any harm, though, merely following you about in curiosity.
Ziela and Raizi:
Zalae accepts your request and stands to embrace Raizi. "Raizi!" she says "I haven't seen you in a season! How are things at your farm!" She then seems to truly notice Ziela, namely that Ziela is not the same species as she. "Wow... And who are you?" she asks. While she's techically shorter than the sigwar before her, she is a very intimidating figure.
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Post by Devvyn on Apr 19, 2004 23:21:45 GMT -5
Hey don't point the finger at me, I've checked the Universe every day, I was waiting for either ARRECK to post cause he hasn't posted since BEFORE I last posted, I was waiting to see if he wanted to eat or keep wrestling. Or TIJIL could say some more so I could post an intelligent response... I mean what can I say here? But since I guess I'm being forced to eat, I'll eat any way. Whatever...I rush over to the Hurk line and grab a large amount of food in my enormous hands, then run of to sit on a hill and eat it.
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Post by TiJiL on Apr 20, 2004 17:31:47 GMT -5
It makes sense that YOU would be the next post. YOU, being a hurk, have a clear contention right here. You might desire to continue wrestling in fear of losing, but you are also food crazed and would likely want to go and get your food. Arreck, being a nogan, doesn't need to rush to his food right away so really it was more up to you.
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RabbitDawg
Commander
I'm moron... the stupid side...
Posts: 193
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Post by RabbitDawg on Apr 20, 2004 19:53:22 GMT -5
The nogan ring, despite my terribly poor attempt at introduction, accepted us in when it dawned on one of them -- I guess she's the one Raizi called Zalae -- did a double take and noticed I wasn't nogan. She inquired of my identity.
"Oh, um... I'm Ziela. A prie-- " So maybe I better be careful about religion. They have their own divinities, after all, and if their religion was as important to them as ours is to us, then... "I mean, I pre... normally preside in Sig. I'm from Sig. Yeah. It's nice to meet you... Zalae, right? Uh... do I have your name I correct? My apologies if I'm mistaken..."
I still felt a bit awkward about this whole thing. I haven't had much chance to interact with other species THAT much. I mean... I did.... a while ago on that journey, but... it's not like I really spoke much that much to them, with the exception of Raizi of course. And Sav was always around too so that I wasn't the only one of my species in our entourage, but now... heh heh.... Gods help me.
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Post by Arreck on Apr 20, 2004 20:29:30 GMT -5
I dizzily stand up out of the wreckage of the building I'd just been hurled into. I'm still clutching part of Molthor's horn, though the rest of him is nowhere to be seen. Since tossing me into the structure, he has run off. Perhaps he got bored. More likely, the meal bell rang. Still carrying the horn, I continue searching for Zalae.
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DigiDayDreamer
Commander
Why divide when you can conquer everything?
Posts: 210
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Post by DigiDayDreamer on Apr 20, 2004 20:29:32 GMT -5
I greeted back warmly at Zalae, "Hey! Father and Mother are busy preparing for the next harvest with great zeal, as usual." I then noticed Ziela still as socially-challenged as I remembered, so I motioned her to sit down with me.
"Ziela's new here on Noga," I explained to Zalae, getting a bite of my bread and chewing it thoroughly before swallowing. "And she's also a good friend of mine; we traveled together back on Sig three twassec years and many a great adventures! Oh!" I smiled at my sigwar friend. "Maybe tomorrow, I can show you how much Gerby has grown, Ziela. That is, if he will be in its usual spot by the river. But we have other matters to talk about. How are you since these past years, my friend?"
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Post by TiJiL on Apr 20, 2004 22:16:28 GMT -5
(Note to Devvyn and Arreck: Gan'Jenk broke off the last seven or so inches of Molthor's horn. Nice trophy, and quite a feat, considering hurk horns are calcarious. Not to worry, though, Devvyn. It will grow back. Besides, it's not like it hurt)
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