#alwaysummer

Uluu and Yandod smoking and getting to know each other + Tail being a freak.

I already introduced Uluu the Summerfolk in an earlier post. He's a lowlands Summerfolk that got in trouble with Osdu da Lag's bandit band in Alwaysummer and is now fleeing to the Sun Empire, where he will join a wandering group of entertainers as a wrestler and later work as a bodyguard, soldier and eventually die. This poor man's life has always centered around violence but his dream was to be a shepherd and spend his days alone in the wild.

During his voyage to the Empire by boat he met Yandod, a crewmate of the unregistered/illegal fleet that Uluu used. This is the only time that Uluu had been at sea and he hated it.

Yandod is native to the northern coast of Alwaysummer and his culture is one of the most hateful towards Summerfolk but during his voyages to the western coast of Alwaysummer he met plenty of Summerfolk and his prejudices lessened so in the current day he has no problem befriending Uluu.

Tail is an old, female talking monkey that was given that name because she lost most of her tail in an unknown accident. In this picture she's trying to give smoking a go, but is very displeased. She's an alcoholic though. Talking monkeys are native to the deep forest that surround the central mountain range, but can also be seen in some cities, where they are often considered vermin and in ships all around the sea, where they are valued because of their ability to climb ropes and sails and to obey specific orders in exchange for some food/liquor. Tail, bc of her injury and age, is no longer able to climb that much and is kept in the ship because the crew mates have become fond of her and they find her funny.

Description of an encounter with a summerfolk, taken from a letter sent by the diplomat Isji Fan to his superior:

My lord of the eastern tributary province, I send you this letter as an update on the unsuccessful negotiations with Osdu da Lag, the summerfolk warlord of the Yukas valley, on the subject of granting safe passage to our merchants and peasants through this region.

We first sent a summerfolk envoy to his hidden hill fortress, who was treated with respect and arranged a date for our meeting.

The summerfolk of the lowlands and specially da Lag are known for their brutality against their enemies but hospitality with messengers, so I was only accompanied by two lance bearing local soldiers and a translator, as a way of not raising any tensions.

My translator was Enkida, a girl from Four Ports, knowledgeable of many languages spoken by men and summerfolk of the region alike and loyal to our cause.

We arrived in the set location at the arranged time and waited sitting on portable stools. The place was a rocky clearing of the forest next to a weak shallow creek, with dense vegetation all around us, wich made it hard to see beyond the tree line.

After nervous waiting for about half an hour the sudden sound of pebbles sliding over one another warned us of our visitor, who had until now managed to move it's massive body through the vegetation unnoticed.

He was tall even for one of his kind, his thin body a moving palm trunck, and his frizzy hair, styled into many knots and intertwined with feathers and beads made his head look even more like the foliage of said tree. He beared full red warpaint on his face and most shocking of all, he lacked the typical large cloak of his people and exposed his pitch black naked body.

Before we even said a word, he sat down in front of us, with his legs, as long as a laying man could span, spread surrounding our group.

This action, my lord, wich you could find common to do in front of your guests, is extremely rare among the summerfolk and gave us a clear message. See, those of his kind rarely sit down and prefer to eat, work, talk and even sleep standing up, as, given their stature, lifting their body quickly from the ground makes their head ache and even faint.

Some summerfolk men clothing.

(The man on the right is only for size ref)

On the left is Osdu da Lag, a native to the lowlands south of the Udlas mountain range. A region wich experiences seasonal floods. He is a warlord who controls the Yukas valley, a crutial point of passage to connect Four Ports (main trading post of the Sun Empire in the continent of Alwaysummer) to the grain producing tributary regions. Da Lag and his summerfolk/human army of bandits have built a hidden fort in the mountains and attack merchant caravans and working parties who travel through this valley.

The current approach of the Empire is to hire da Lag's army as mercenaries to protect the passage, but negotiations have been unsuccessful. That is the context of this scene I wrote yesterday.

Summerfolk of the lowlands wear a massive wool/felt cloak to protect against the rain and cold. These cloaks are usually very ornate with geometrical and animal designs.