Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/Back in the Southern Horizon woods, a few minutes after…/

/Chatter.../

Within the second floor, everyone could be seen hearing Kuddan speak as he recounted what he just told Testros and Tina to Dale.

It wasn't a full story full of details, but it contained the essence of what they just discussed, which was enough for him.

Compared to the first floor, the room wasn't that big, being only around 10x10 meters, being decorated with several things scattered around a main giant table and a few chairs.

To Dale and the others, this was a large table for a dozen to sit together, but to a Karkavan, likely only a few would be able to sit at once.

This floor was effectively Kuddan's house, the place he did all of his usual activities from sleeping to working, with this room being where he received guests most of the time.

The third floor was a storage area for all kinds of materials, most of them serving as raw materials for his hobby as an Artifact maker.

Since he couldn't move as much as he once did, he spent his time making things for those that could, such as weapons and clothes, albeit he preferred to carve wood, his reason being that it felt lighter on his elderly muscles.

This included the masks they all wore on their faces, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say everyone that was born in this city received a mask from him at any point during their lives.

The fourth to sixth floors were dedicated to one singular "machine", and from the way Kuddan explained, Dale assumed it to be an observatory.

The Karkavan worship nature, and that doesn't extend solely to the ground but to the skies as well.

Through the observation of the upper world, they believe they can understand its will and understand the lower world at a deeper level as one reflects the other.

Kuddan said that every First Elder is in charge of it, but Kuddan himself hadn't touched it in decades, saying he had "lost his touch".

He said that it would be best to stay away from it if he couldn't see it anymore as it would be best to be blind to its revelations than to misinterpret what it said.

Though he still cleaned it and performed maintenance as that was his duty.

Either way, the second floor was rather welcoming and cozy as its wooden and simple smell made Dale relax a bit.

It had a very earthen atmosphere to it…

Albeit… Everything was pretty large…

From the chairs to the position of the windows, Dale wasn't even half as tall as most doors…

And even then, this place was claustrophobic for the Karkavans.

Even if not all reached a high stature like Muddan, they still had an average height of about four meters, with women usually being smaller than men.

This Manor was built with the idea that only the Elderly would use it, hence, things were toned down quite a bit, although it was still large enough to fit a masculine Karkavan like Muddan in it…

Though, if he ever came inside, he would have to be careful to not hit his head on the ceiling…

Thankfully enough, because Kuddan was very old, many of the chairs around them were made to suit his size, so they had enough for all three of them to sit around as he told them his story.

…

"... And this is why I decided to send Muddan to the North, that is how desperate the situation is." Kuddan replied as he put his hands down

""...""

Hearing his words, Dale was silent, thinking about what to say next.

Tina and Testros were also silent but not for the same reason as Dale.

They had already heard this story, they were just thinking what to do next.

"Hum..."

'I understand everything now.' Dale thought silently as he scratched his head

'To better visualize things, first, it is needed to understand that the Karkavan's territory doesn't extend solely to this city.'

'They are divided into 5 large cities with no minor Tribes or Villages, having all of them interconnected through roads.'

'One in the Center, one further North, one further South, one to the East, and the last to the West.'

'Albeit those cities are more like Towns or very large Villages, they cannot compare with their main one.'

'The reason why they have these cities is due to the passing of the seasons.'

'In the past, all Karkavan lived together in the Center City, but after understanding how inefficient that was, they started to cover more space.'

'Having all of the Karkavan in one place strained the forest too much since they had to hunt, cut down their surroundings for space, and just overall were a nuisance for each other due to their size.'

'So they conquered four intrinsic spaces that served their own purposes.'

'The city of the North was built close to one of the rivers that are fed by the lake, its high temperature caused it to not freeze during winter, allowing them to have access to running water through the cold.'

'The city of the South produced food all year round due to its fertile soil, even in winter as a small part of the Soil did not freeze.'

'So they were responsible for making food for all.'

'And even the West and East had their purposes.'

'Together with the Center to connect them all, they lived in harmony with the forest for centuries, never having problems with food or their numbers while also developing their culture and technology.'

'It was slow in a sense, but they were in complete and utter peace.'

'However, that wasn't quite enough as even with so many cities, they still had too many people that would often find themselves with nothing to do as the seasons passed…'

'So to fix that problem, they made several groups that would move in together with the seasons.''

'First, you had the "Stay-Ins" who lived in their respective cities at all times, usually composed of the Elderly and the young who couldn't move around as much.'

'Next, you had the "Cyclers" that moved around the cities as the seasons passed, they were proficient in all kinds of works and could be considered as the backbone of their society.'

'Every season there would be massive migrations and it was usual for the Karkavan to wave goodbyes at their friends and family since they would only be able to see them 9 months later when the season restarted.'

'Of course, people moved and traveled around, but those were individual cases most of the times.'

'The final group were the "Hunters", warriors that moved around constantly to protect the surroundings and hunt for food, mostly by ending the lives of Elderly beasts and those that broke the balance of the forest.'

'All other Karkavans were just civilians, usually receiving a bracelet to identify them as such.'

'The bracelets in their arms pretty much indicated what "Caste" they belonged in, despite the fact there were no such large discrepancies between the people in their society.'

'To me, this was quite the shock since I thought it was impossible for such a "just" society to even exist, but here they are.'

'They do have their differences as Strength is a rather large factor tied to one's authority, albeit the Elderly are seen differently since they can't fight anymore.'

'Heh, it's almost as if this was fantasy…'

'Either way, this leads to the situation at hand…'

'Out of their 5 cities, they lost 3, and they're about the lost their last one.'

'Their main City is overpopulated and crowded, and if the last City falls, everyone would be forced into one space.'

'According to Kuddan, about 40% of their Population lived in the Central city, so even if they take out their losses due to the fights and in the process of migration, the end result would still be double what they currently have now.'

'They can't sustain this, at least, not for long, and not without some costs as well.'

'The Karkavan have been preparing a Strike Group to go to the depths of the Forest and take down what is destabilizing it, and midway through those preparations they decided to gamble and seek help in other places.'

'This is because the Karkavan believed their target wouldn't fall with strength and numbers alone.'

'I know the Karkavan would have at least one strong Warrior like Testros or Tina if not several, they hesitate because they want to reduce their own losses as well, even if that means letting the problem escalate a little...'

'I understand their thoughts, but I think they were a tad too naive, they should've nipped the problem in the bud, even if it meant losing a few of their top warriors...'

'But what do I know? Is it that easy to tell your family to sacrifice themselves for the greater good?'

'To this goal, Resko wasn't the only place they sent their warriors to, all kinds of ancient settlements in the forest were explored...'

'All with the exception of the Last Fortification, for obvious reasons.'

'This means we have a choice now.'

'To move forward and meet with the Strike Group, or to... Gamble once more!'

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Notes

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