BornAndTorn 68 When Past Becomes Present 1

' How shall we proceed?'

I would suggest teleporting me to the spots you want to have cities built on. So that I can decide which civilisation fits the most to that place. A tribe that is known for living in a jungle should not be placed in a world of ice. A certain level of authenticity should be kept.

How many different cities are we talking about here?

' You do not have to design more than a few different cities, as your work will be used as a prototype to design other cities from that specific tribes.'

That is called copyright infringement.

" What is this copyright infringement stuff?"

You are quiet for such a long time and the first thing you ask is that?

' I am also interested in understanding the concept known as copyright infringement'

Can we just start working, otherwise I will lose the rest of my sanity before we even started?

' Okay let us start with this one.'

Thank you, how about.....

Would you kindly give me a heads up, if you teleport me out of the sudden? I am getting quite nauseous if I am not prepared mentally.

" Humans are such frail creatures, it remains a mystery how they even were able to survive."

That's a weak argument, coming from a parasite that just leeches of the body of its host. Anyway Mr Observer please be mindful, when choosing the place where you teleport me to. Even though I prefer overseeing the whole area, I am not capable of flight. Since my wings, became obsolete when I reformed my body over and over again. So please either deactivate the gravity or put me somewhere safe.

' What would you prefer standing on a top of a flying monster or standing on a cloud.'

I would prefer the option, that would stop my current freefall.

' This bird is one majestic creature, known for its majestic wings and its angelic. After it had been tamed, it became the symbol of freedom. Enabling the fight against the vile monsters even in the sky.'

It just looks a gigantic seagull and it also sounds the same. Was it tamed by using leftover food by any chance?

' How did you know, how the creature was tamed?'

They are the same kind of gluttonous creature as the version I knew beforehand. They will eat and fight over anything that even remotely looks like food. They pay no respect to any other being when food is involved.

But as much as I want to tell you about it, I would rather finish the task, so that I am able to prepare for the future.

Before you start a long introduction describing the scenery in front of my eyes using various adjectives, that alleviate it. It is just a jungle. A place with a warm climate and full to the brim with insects and other small animals. Some predators can be found in it as well, but those are nowhere as tall as this bird. The native tribe that can be found here, are mostly known for living in close communion with nature.

Their lifestyle and mannerisms have adapted to this ecosystem. Their clothes consist out of animal hide and they learned to use the remains of their prey fully. They use it for medical purposes as well as to make normal items out of them.

This kind of tribe has a strict distribution of roles, as the men are responsible for hunting. They form groups and use weapons made out of wood and stones to kill their preys. They lace the tips of their pikes and arrows in a toxin from an animal and kill much stronger prey that way.

The women are collecting several things from edible fruits to sticks and other items. They are also rearing the children until they have reached the age of maturity and have to undergo a ritual to transition to adulthood. The preparation of weapons and their maintenance was also part of their daily life.

Their culture and level of education have not developed that well. They know many things about the jungle, but concepts such as numbers are limited. They are not able to differentiate things if the amount of it is higher than 7. They refer to such a number as many. 1,2 and many. They never had the need to develop a complex system like numbers beyond such a simple level. They have no use for things like money and if they want something they will just either produce it or trade for it.

They believe themselves to be a child of Nature and that their origin lies within it. They wors.h.i.+p and gave it the name of Mother Nature.

This should suffice to create a unique tribe with a different outlook on life.

" Are their many tribes like this left in your world?"

No many of those tribes have died out and those who are still left refuse or should not come into contact with modern society.

' One last question, what kind of procedure was this ritual.'

I do not know what exactly their specific ritual was. But I can describe the ritual of several other tribes. This ritual is meant for the boys and girls in some instances to prove themselves worthy and to get rid of their childhood.

The way such a ritual was conducted could range from hunting an animal alone to putting your hands into a glove full of biting insects, who would gnaw and inject the fangs into your skin. For the latter, it was considered a success if the Child did not let out a noise of pain during the whole duration. The length of that process took usually more than an hour. This process was repeated several times over months.

Of course, there were different outlooks on this matter as well. Other tribes wanted the child to overcome its fear of death. A rope was tied around the leg of a child and then it jumped from a height of around 10 meters straight onto the ground. Once the vine had been fully extended, the fall should have been stopped. But the vine was often either too long or too short that lead to many botched rituals and many dead children.

The parents of such a child would not feel sad, they would feel ashamed for having born such a weakling and in some cases, they would have been expelled by their tribe.

" Tell me more, tell me more about such interesting stories. I want to know many more rituals of this manner"

In some cultures, they mark this transition in young boys, with the removal of the foreskin from their s.e.xual organs. Any kind of flinching would bring great shame over the family of the boy. Certain tribes took it even a step further and forced the man to swallow the skin. Afterwards, those boys would have to stand over an open fire as their wounds were bleeding.

In some cultures, you were only considered a man, when you captured someone and sacrificed that person in the name of your G.o.ds.

Some girls will have their teeth sharpened by rocks, this appeal is considered beautiful. Others have to endure staying still for 4 days in the blistering heat and are not allowed to drink themselves, those have to be given to her.

Of course, there are many more, but I want to tell you about the most fascinating rite I have heard about. This ceremony requires the young boy to not eat or drink anything for four days. Afterwards, they were hung up on hooks and had to smile till they pa.s.sed out from the pain. After the pinky fingers had been removed, they had finally become a full-fledged man.

' All that information and that was only the first city you designed for me, I am looking forward to what I will see and learn in the next city.

But please for the love of everything tell me when you are about to tele...

PORT ME. That one was on purpose right? Admitting it would not hurt anybody here, rigggggghhhht?

' Moving on, what kind of city and tribe does fit into this wonderful place?'

It is just a plateau full of trees surrounded by mountains. There are several tribes who I could use, but the one that strikes me as the most fitting into this game world is a tribe called the Aztec.

I mentioned them indirectly before, they were the ones with the human sacrifice.

They believe that the place, they have built their city on, is sacred ground as they witnessed a prophetic event right in front of their eyes. Their main G.o.d supposedly had led them from an island in the sea straight to their promised new land.

In their social hierarchy, there was next to no chance of reaching a higher cla.s.s. Ones social standing was the result of your birth. The lucky ones were born into n.o.bility enjoying riches and special privileges. They could wear coloured clothes and live in buildings with more than one floor, their highest spokesperson was always of n.o.ble birth.

The farmer and craftsmen were viewed as the same cla.s.s but they have very different responsibilities the farmer was responsible for the production and processing of food, whether those stem from sowing seeds or hunting animals or fis.h.i.+ng.

The craftsmen were tasked to create and build many different items and tools. Their social standing was depending on the craft they were practising. Those who created jewellery out of precious materials, in this context mostly metals like silver or gold, were highly praised. The production from accessories from feathers had the same kind of recognition. That jewellery was mostly produced for the sake of the n.o.bility.

Other art was placed in other festive places like temples and offer sites. Similarly, they could be found in houses of the n.o.bility and rich traders.

' Excuse my interruption, but what are those metals you are talking about? As of now, I have no knowledge about those.`

Its the stuff your weapons are made of.

' Weapons? Those are mostly made out of the bones from monsters. They are commonly only used for ceremonial acts. Their role in warfare has mostly been replaced since the emerging of magic. Only commoners with no talent still wield weapons out of stone and wood. There are some mages that utilize magic with a specially made weapon, but those are a rare occasion.'

" I remember it clearly, they made a weapon out of one of my favourite bodies, I can never forgive them for that. How dare that imbeciles wield it in front of me, flaunting with it as if they were deserving of it. But that was a long time ago, those who wielded it have been dead for ages. But it is a shame I just can not erase."

Now I am interested in what kind of weapon did they make out of you. A mighty s.h.i.+eld, known of its st.u.r.diness, a sword knowing for its sharpness, A bow known for its immense power?

" It was not just a weapon, it was a tool capable of transportation the enemy, with a sh.e.l.l so thick nothing could penetrate it. It was not a mere sh.e.l.l, it was armour, it was a fortress. Nothing could stand in its way, everything destroyed once it was ripped apart by the sharp teeth."

By any chance, we are not talking about a tortoise here, right? Please do not tell me, that its only downside was its speed with such a ma.s.sive body.

" Its speed was not a downside, because it was not needed. At its lifetime, this body had not once been defeated."

A bold hypothesis, but did you die due to not reaching your food in time? Malnutrition seems like a problem, with a gigantic body like that.

' Before you ruin the relations.h.i.+p with your partner any further can we please continue? Time is not exactly working in your favour.'

So to answer your question, in your eyes metal is just something like a stronger version of stone weapons.

We left off, at the cla.s.sification of the social hierarchy of the Aztec. Those craftsmen were also responsible for the production of the weaponry. They used a material named obsidian for this matter. Every man was forced to partic.i.p.ate and serve in wars, especially if they wanted to inherit a high rank in society.

This focus on warfare was not reflected in the treatment of the tribes they have captured. They demanded tributes but were not exploiting those who they had defeated.

Though there was a group, that was exploited and scorned. You were not born into this group, you came into this group based on your own actions and misdeeds. These were referred to as slaves, this kind of role was reserved for the most heinous crimes like murder and if you had debts that you could not repay. Disobedient children can be cla.s.sified as slaves as well if they are not deemed fit for society.

As you can see only the worst of the worst were cla.s.sified as slaves. Those slaves were then used as a sacrificial offering. They were offered up on top of their highest pyramid, their closest spot to G.o.d. Their heart was cut out and their corpse was thrown down the stairs. Those sacrifices were not always unwilling enemies or slaves, sometimes famous warriors would sacrifice themselves. It was seen as an honour for them.

The limbs of the famous warriors were then consumed after they had been grilled over a fire. Sometimes children were caged and then forced to cry to appease their rain G.o.d. Those children were then starved to death.

This should suffice for another tribe, that will give the player a unique perspective.

So what is next?....

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So we had the Vikings, the Amazonian tribes, the Aztec, the Amazons, the nomadic tribes and we have the Inuit. It sure looks like I have covered nearly every different area.

You would not let me design so many cities if the map would stay the same size and the only reason I can imagine is a great number of new players coming into this world. So tell me now, what have you planned for the future. I need that information to be able to prepare myself as best as possible.

' This world is undergoing a huge change, as the previous mana restriction has been lifted by a great margin. This was only made possible by the funding of the Churches. The Church demanded to increase the number of players that are partaking in this training simulation. They wanted to widen their involvement, as they even send their own staff into this world.'

'Their plan of creating several similar monsters like you was also done on their wish. They were wis.h.i.+ng for monsters, that would pose a challenge to every player because the monsters as of now were too easy for the players. The total numbers of monsters increased by a lot and each and every one of them will get stronger. You will have a hard time if you want to kill these monsters with your current strength as their intelligence was also increased to adapt to the movement and tactics of players.'

'The chances of encountering a lone monster have decreased by a lot and the monsters now appear in h.o.a.rds. I can not give any details yet about the upcoming event, there are no plans, in the database for it.'

'In accordance with our agreement, I will teleport you to a distant village. If the situation should ever arise in the future, I hope to be able to request your help once more. Thank you for your input once more. '

Have fun in your new home, Mr Bug.