This RP is only for invited players!
Please do not post unless I have invited you.

This is the place where you started. Your reknowned emprise may be in another place far in the future, but this is where we explore your humble beginnings.
Come, explore the world of yonder, where you choose your story.


Map:

The land of Animo.
Meaning: Courage, Mind, Soul.

Ivy, you can start by setting up your story. Where you live what it's like and all.

Zuni (Bluebird)


He was brought up years ago in a tribe until he was a decade old. A red moon appeared and the tribe scattered, leaving him alone. Lost, he wandered around until he found the town miles away after days of walking. Since then, he's never forgotten his tribe and stayed in the town.
He doesn't know what happened to his tribe but believes one day he will find them again in Animo. The day the blood moon appeared was the night he met Hopi, on his ceremony day to become a fully trained Hunter and tracker, his loyal companion who Zuni can't even think about being apart from.

His mother died from an illness when he was 7 years old, he was devastated and trained harder for her. Every year on the day of her death, he places a tulip on her grave as it was her favourite flower. Her name was Hopi, meaning peace. The young stallion he'd met in the forest that night was had been named after her, due to her beautiful dark brown hair.

Several years later, when he was nine years old, his father died while hunting. A rouge spear plunged through him when he was hunting. Zuni paid his respects every week to his father by leaving a pelt from his prey to dry and placing it no the grave, replacing it every week. At 4 years, his father gave him his bow to grow into and taught him how to change it to suit his size and height. Two years later, he was gifted a pocket knife to skin his own pelts with. His name was Okelousa and he was a trader as well as adviser, doing a little fighting but more of an adviser.

Lastly, his sister Choula, meaning fox. They were close, she was two years younger than him. Zuni enjoyed training with her and teaching her, she looked up to him a lot and depended on him. The bond between them was close, same with their mother as his father was rarely around. She trained as a tailor, but in her spare time Zuni taught her how to use her bow. She loved bird eggs he would bring back for her. They were separated when the blood moon arose, but currently doesn't weep for her, but tries to make her proud. He misses all of his family.

Zuni's Cherokee (Guide) is Vanneau, who taught him hunting and climbing as well as tracking. They had a close bond, as Zuni was always curious and wanted to learn. he tried hard in everything and somethings this resulted in him being a little reckless. Apart from his family, he is the only person Zuni is comfortable around and doesn't go all shy on.

He is also friends with Penateka, who is one year older than him. He admires her bravery and sometimes they practise together, however her Cherokee, Gitxsan, does not like him.

Village image: (Home of Acolapissa Tribe)


Village members & Name meanings:
Teller/ Chief: Caddo (True strength)
Shaman: Bidai (Brushwood)

Warriors:
Aigle (Eagle)
Chelan (Deep water)
Dakota (Ally)
Eskimo (Fir tree)

Hunters:
Hopi (Peace)
Gingolx (Skull)
Gitxsan (Mist)
Gizwui (Red earth)
Iroquois (Adder)
Isleta (Flint)
Vanneau (Lapwing)
Pilthlako (Swamp)
Colibri (Hummingbird)

Tailors:
Mimbres (Willow)

Arapaho:
Nusabi (Cloud)
Nooksack (Mountain)
Mowachaht (Deer)
Okelousa (Black water)
Paui (Spring)

Tanima:
Pahodja (Dust)
^{Training to be Warrior. Cherokee is Dakota}
Zuni (Bluebird)
^{Training to be Hunter. Cherokee is Vanneau}
Penateka (Honey)
^{Training to be Hunter. Cherokee is Gitxsan}
Choula (Fox)
^{Training to be Tailor. Cherokee is Mimbres}

Tribal words:
Arapaho - Trader/ Wise. These are people who communicate with other villages and are advisers, but they also know skills like crafting.

Tanima - Apprentice/ Student. They are training to become something and are usually ceremonied at 9-13 years old to become a full village member.

Cherokee - Guide/ Teacher. They teach Tanima their skills.

Tribal traditions:
Very few warriors are needed to guard the village, as it is so deep into the forest and often left alone. Hunters know climbing, tracking and basic fighting as well as usual hunting skills, a few learn to skin pelts and prepare food, though it's usually left to the Arapaho to do this.
Tailors make clothes and support kit, as well as tanning the skins. They're important and usually respected.

Sometimes in the evening, Zuni will practise on his own, help his mother prepare food or help his sister with her sowing and how to use her bow. Other times, he goes to the gathering sight, where a large fire is set up and the village has debates or shares information.

When death happens in family, you must pay respects to them appropriately and visit them.

(Okay, should the tribe be in the hilled forest by Amador or somewhere else? Also, how old is Zuni at this moment.)

Vanneau, (that's what I'm calling the Cherokee) started the lesson. "Okay, the first rule when climbing, as I'm sure you already know, is to always watch your step. Make sure the branch is thick enough to support your weight, that you have a good foothold, and perhaps most important of all," And here he paused, looking Zuni straight in the eye, "Make sure that the branch is not dead. A dead branch may snap at the slightest pressure. Now, how do you tell whether a branch is dead or not?"

(Sure. He is around 7 years old)

Zuni looked at the branches, "It's bark will be rougher and look browner than a normal tree, the sap will be different.." he thought from the top of his head, guessing

"Those are both good guesses, but the main way to tell is whether or not the branch has leaves. However, you must be able to tell even in winter. Some other indicators include a branch having dead leaves clinging to it when the rest are alive or gone, the bark stripped away to reveal smooth wood, and any variety of fungi growing on said branch. There will be little to no sap, but that is practically impossible to tell at a glance."

He nodded and balanced, taking it to memory, "Cherokee, will my mother be okay?" Zuni asked tentatively (I think i'm going to have his mother die when he was 7 from an illness)

(Okay, what about his dad?)

"I don't know, Zuni." Vanneau replied with a shake of his head. "I'm no healer, but she hasn't seemed to be getting better." Then he looked up and smiled, "But don't worry too much, I'm sure she will eventually."

(Killed on hunting mission at 9 years? Tribe wasn't that close family bond)

Zuni nodded to reassure himself and went back to tree climbing, feeling the branches for stability. As he scaled the tree quickly, his hand soon met a dead branch. He was just about to pull himself up to it when he realised it. Looking down, he wasn't sure where to put his hand so he didn't fall.

(So his dad is still alive?)

"Zuni, see that small branch below you? If you grip the trunk with your hands you can step on it to reach the branch above you. Otherwise you can grab it to lower yourself down and find another path." As Vanneau said this, he climbed up to a nearby branch.