Heavenfall

"Or better, depending on how you look at it. Not a big fan of living in the snow myself. I've done it too many times and it's never fun," he says with a shrug.

Kyosei nods. "There are definitely times it is too cold. Once you get used to it, though, it's harder to stand the heat."

"What's your home like?"

"Cold."

He waits a beat, then chuckles. "But really, the Isawa tribe is often cut off from the rest of the world for 5 months or even more at a time. We have to learn to use our own skills, or call on all the options available to us to get through the winter. Even so, things can get harsh. But, we keep trying."

"When I first lost my tribe I traded our stockpile of wood and an ox to a nearby group of Isawa for basic food. That's near where I grew up. A few days ride."

"How long ago was that?"

"I don't remember. I was 12 or so at the time, but I couldn't count the years very well. It was a long time ago," he replies. "They kind of blend together when I think of them. I remember events and things well enough, but not when."

Kyosei nods. "I understand. Some points in my past stand out stark in my memory. Others... just sort of blend together."

"Yeah. It's all a mess. It's been at least 10 years. Gotta be. Other than that, I just don't know."

"Have you given any thought to trying to join a tribe? Or, I suppose, one of these clans?"

"I've been thinking about it and learning about the different clans. I never wanted to be on my own, wasn't something I asked for. But none of the tribes I traded with were open to me joining. All scared I'd bring my tribe's bad fortune or illness to them. They were okay with me trading as long as I moved on. The clans seem more open to folks joining."

Kyosei nods. "Seems likely. And, judging by how many they've allowed to join that have curses on them, of one sort or another, lthey'd be crazy not to take you. Do you have any preferences? For that matter, what do you know of them?"

"Well, I'm sure they all got their own ideas of what they want. They'd have to want me to be part of the clan as much as I'd have to want to join. But I think I'm most curious about the Bat and the Dragon really. They seem to have the most personal freedom to be who you want, since their gods don't really tell their people how to do things."

"Hmm. Personally, I found Togashi, the little god in charge of the Dragon to be off-putting. I don't know if he's wise, or just detached. One is good in a leader - the other, much less so. If you are accepting advice, choose the Bat."

"Well, I ain't made a decision yet. Still have time to figure it all out," he says with a nod.

"Fair enough. Fair enough." The rasp, uh, rasped for a moment. "What do you usually trade?"

"Skins mostly. I collect quite a few in the wilds, hunting for food, and end up with more than I need. I trade them off for stuff I can't get in nature. Like, I'm on my third bronze pot for boiling water, traded for better tools for making arrows and fixing up my bow, that kind of stuff."

"Does your ranging carry you up to Isawa lands often? Or have you been steadily moving south?"

"Yeah, just moving south little by little with each season, changing the animals that I follow as I go. Part of it was curiosity, but part of it was not wanting to go back to where all my people died," he admits.

"That is understandable. And thus, you found yourself here."