Original World Bingo

Nearly everyone in OWB has filled at least one square, but here I am, the creator of the bingo, with no squares filled…until now!  Prompt:  Describe a point of tension or conflict in your world; if there is active war over it, tell us what the current situation is.

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“Kama’o?”  The word meant ‘Auntie,’ and most of the village had taken to calling her it.  She didn’t mind, as she looked down her beak at the chick in front of her.  Curlew was a thoughtful one, and had many more questions than the other chicks, who had all just run outside to play after practicing how to make rope.  

“Yes, iiwa?” she asked the five-year-old.

“Why do the Raiders come and take people away?”  Kama’o had expected questions about the event that had supposedly happened in a nearby village, but most of the children were content to play and forget about it.  Not Curlew.  

Kama’o clacked her beak a few times, thinking.  “The Raiders were cast out from Avian society a long time ago, and live on the vast ocean,” she finally explained.  “They fish the sea, but sometimes they cannot find enough fish to fill all of their bellies.  So, sometimes they come here to take our fish and the food the true land provides us with.  

“Lately, they have also begun taking Ravens.  It is said that they cut their wings and force them to catch fish for them.  When they finally molt in new feathers, they are released and allowed to make their way back home.  But very few of those taken ever come home.”  Kama’o leaned down to preen some stray feathers on Curlew’s head.  She was good at preening and talking, so she continued.  “Why do you ask, iiwa?”

“Because Ivory,” who was the granddaughter of the Eldest, “said that Auk worries about raiders coming to our village.  So I wanted to know why they came,” Curlew explained.  

“Well, now you know,” Kama’o told her, straightening up and shifting her wing feathers to get more comfortable.  “Are you frightened?” It was always a possibility when they discussed the Raiders.  If she wasn’t careful, she’d have to talk nightmare remedies with Curlew’s parents.

“Yeah,” Curlew admitted, pushing her way under Kama’o’s wing.  “A little.”

The @originalworldbingo prompt was to describe a city from the point of view of a character who hasn’t seen it before. Well, that’s not quite what my muse handed me, but I think it’s still in the world building spirit of the Bingo.

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“We don’t really have cities like you do,” Hunter said to the rogue. “We’re nomads, you see. Roaming the plains is how we live. But once every five years, all the clans come together for a great gathering.

“There is a valley, with a wide river running through it. No one lives there but all the clans have claim to it. For the Gathering, we assemble. Hundreds of tents dot the landscape. A riot of clan colors. You would think it random, but they aren’t. Every clan has its place and every tent has its place within the clan.

“The highest clan, whose leader is like your King, but…not really. It’s hard to explain. Anyway, the chief of First Clan has her tent in the center. The closer your tent to hers, the higher your status.”

“Where is yours?” the rogue asked.

Hunter laughed. “I am Bard, which gives me some status, but I am one of the youngest, and my clan is neither low nor high. I would be…not on the edge, but somewhere in the middle. Close enough to the river to get water easily but far from the horses.”

“Far from the horses?”

“We prize our horses. They get the prime land in the valley, with the good grazing. The closer you are to the horses, the better your camp.”

“I see. What happens at this Gathering?”

“Clan alliances are made and renewed. There are games, which determine status. The First Clan must fight for its spot. The last Gathering was three years ago, and Eighth Clan amazed all by winning top ranking. It is extremely rare for a clan to rise so high so quickly.”

“It sounds amazing.”

A moodboard for my first completed square in the @originalworldbingo