Surrounding the central heartland of Ebira are the vast and colorful Great Wilds of Lanad.
A mix of biomes, from Grassland to Forest to Jungle, the vistas are as beautiful as they are plentiful.

The land is mostly unconquered, but several large regions have been claimed by different ethnic groups.

To the Southeast, the Lilac Garden Expanse - home to just the Lilukati ethnicity and about a dozen Clans
To the East, the Yellow Paradise Expanse - home to the Yeka, Hara and Suta ethnicities and several dozen Clans
To the Northeast, the Rose Cluster Expanse - home to the Jalam and Rethian ethnicities and about a dozen Clans
To the North, the Great White Expanse - home to the Ebiran, Thelspar, Berias and Fandrian ethnicities and about a hundred Clans
To the Northwest, the Violet Moon Expanse - home to the Drukar and Nadia ethnicities and a few dozen Clans

And finally,

To the West, the Verdant Expanse - home to the Sharandan, Lihari and Yashwi ethnicities and a couple dozen Clans

--

Within one of the Lihari Clans, there lies the Village of Windwalker. The village is partially nestled in the trees of the Lesser Juna, an extension of the Greater Juna which takes up 60% of the Great White Expanse.

But also, a fair amount of the village is homed in the open plains.

The people of this Clan/village have a deep appreciation for the wind. For that reason, they have developed many customs:

 - The wearing of loose clothing like dresses and robes. Sometimes, they even drape their full bodies in large ribbons called 'Turpa'
 - Many people hang windchimes in their treetop homes, so they can listen for the sound of the wind.
 - Newlyweds traditionally consumate their union within the open fields. For this reason, such ceremonies are never held in winter
 - The clan hosts bimonthly tournaments, where talented members of the tribe grace their fellows with wondrous songs, to which they dance

---

Waking up in her bed, Rhya Brightsong is met with the savory scent of breakfast being cooked. Her mother is up before her, it seems!

Rhya has had the name Brightsong ever since she saw her 192nd New Moon. It was given to her by the Elders because of her clear voice, cheerful but thoughtful personality and musical skill.

It is not just in her village, but the whole of the Verdant Expanse hosts such celebrations. It is a tradition that has been adopted from the neighboring Violet Moon clan... though, Rhya has heard their celebrations are really different from their own. Some have said some scary stuff, especially about how the Drukar celebrate...

Regardless, not one to dwell on such unhappy thoughts for no reason - especially when a delicious breakfast awaits her, Rhya gets up and begins to prepare for the day!

OOC: Aaaand we're off! The reins are yours, my friend! I'll leave a bit more interesting stuff here though, about the New Moon Ceremonies:
There are actually three of them. Within the VE, the first two are not such a big deal, but the last one definitely is.

The first New Moon Celebration takes place when a child sees their 144th New Moon (about 12 years old). It's basically just a children's birthday party, lmao. If the village is in hard times, a family may opt to celebrate at home with their child - but usually everyone chooses to celebrate together, even if they can't afford the fanfare.

The second New Moon Celebration takes places when a child sees their 168th New Moon (about 14 years old). It's similar to the last one, but some families may take it a bit more seriously. You can think of it as an American Prom or something.

The third New Moon Celebration takes place when a child sees their 192nd New Moon (about 16 years old). This is a large matter, as children become 'adults' in this ceremony. Mainly, this means two things:

1. They get a surname from the Elders (with input from their parents). Before 16, children are just called by pet names / nicknames

2. They are socially allowed to 'marry'. Marriage isn't really an institution in the village, but there are union ceremonies for those who want to form family units. Overall though, the village is extremely liberal, so if you're not paired with another through ceremony, you can have as much fun as you like :wink: (this goes for both men, and women).

A village lifestyle is a communal one, so even when a pair forms a family unit, they still raise children largely collectively. A family is one's closest kin, but anyone you get along with and have known since childhood is basically considered a non-blood sibling. Ties are strong, here.

Keep in mind, these are the bastardized versions of the actual traditions. This is not a native thing to the VE, it comes from the VME. Hopefully these acronyms are obvious, I'm too lazy to write the full names lmao.

Also, the Third New Moon Celebration probably has some unique trials one must undergo. They are mostly formalities, but maybe some people find it difficult or upsetting. Something like 'having an elder dunk your head underwater for one minute' or something. One of those 'shows of sincerity' that are very common in many cultures.

Of course, since these are not the original forms, this is mostly for show. If someone really couldn't do that, it would be a bit embarrassing for everyone involved, but that's it. You'd still get your name and the recognition that comes from it.

Now, don't get me started on the kind of shit they do in the VME... hoo boy, let's just thank the stars we don't live there, eh?

Rhya woke to the new day much like she usually did. First came the smells, the sounds and then the actual awakening. As she rose up to sitting position, she rubbed her eyes. It only took a moment or two for her to go through all of it. It took less than a minute for her to be clothed. Rhya could hear her mother Kiira humming to herself in the next room, while preparing them the days first meal. The Melody was airy and flowing song that was usually sang for children, not really a lullaby, but it was often used as such. The sound mixed with the light dinging of the windchimes tied to three different spots in their family tree. Rhya performed a single big stretch, hand diagonally up towards the sky, raising herself to her toes and decided she was ready for the day.

"Rhya? You are up, good." Rhya's mother said smiling, looking at her daughter. "The meal is almost ready, but I am afraid the cooking stones are not quite hot enough anymore. Could you go down and get three hot ones from Jawad?" Rhya met her mother's gaze and offered ... almost predatory grin. "At it, mother!" She fetched the sling bag meant for the occasion, and donned it. Then Rhya hurried out of the doorway.

The village was quite a decent sized one, with about three dozen dwellings in it. What was a bit unusual about it was that it was partly built into the great trees and partly to the ground, situated right at the edge of the forest. Rhya's home was one built in the canopy of the tree, for her father Jakai had said, it brought them closer to the sky and the winds, to better hear its melodies. It was a friendly mannered debate that had been going on in the village for at least the last 3-4 generations. Some thought, that by living in the trees one was closer to the winds and sky. Others claimed that living in the open, without the trees distorting the winds singing, would bring one closer to the music of the world.

Personally Rhya loved to live in a tree. Her laughter sounded in the canopy, mixing with the ringing windchimes as she ran to the small platform outside the door, continued to a wide branch and then simply jumped. The house itself was situated almost 30 ft above the ground so jumping straight down to the ground would not be advisable. However, there were useful branches along the way. Rhya had her favorite route, using two bigger branches on the way. The jump brought her down about 8 ft to the next branch and small jump backwards lowered her to hanging from the same branch. A coordinated swing to use the momentum and the release of the grip brought her down to the lower branch. Quick tap of the feet to the branch, yet one small movement back to grip the branch with her hands and a quick release and she was crouching on the ground.

There were of course all kinds of ways to get up and down the trees. Branches, ropes, ropeladders and even one house where the family's mother had built simple stairs with a rope running around the tree as a railing to hold on to. Young Rhya was just too full of energy to use them to get down in a more... dignified manner. Close to their home was one of the few houses that were on the ground, but inside the forest's edge. This house was not anyone's home most of the time, though it was occasionally used as a home for one of the elder member's of the village, who could not live up in the trees anymore. It was made of logs and served multiple purposes for the families living in the trees. One of the main uses was that it bad a well made fireplace. It was not safe nor practical to build fireplaces or chimney-ways to the houses in the trees, though some did it anyways. However, most used the house and its fireplace for cooking or like in Rhya's case, to warm up specific stones that could then be taken to the treehouses to cook food.

Currently one of seniors of the village, a man named Thied, had taken the managing of the common house as his role. Thied had injured himself in the winter prior in such a manner that hunting or gathering was too taxing for him, but he was not a man to dwell in misery. Thied simply searched for a way to contribute and the arrangement had slowly formed to everyone's benefit. Rhya liked Thied and called him 'uncle'. The two often bantered when Rhya visited and Thied had actually taught Rhya something about listening the woods, when he had still been a hunter. Now the man was nowhere to be seen, but the fire was roaring in the fireplace so he could have been gone far. Rhya walked in, near the fireplace and quickly used the wooden tools to pick up three cooking stones from a shelf built into the fireplace. She placed them into the sturdy leather sling bag, made thick to prevent the heat from escaping too fast or burning Rhya.

The way back was slower. Rhya simply climbed a rope hung from an upper branch, arriving back to the door of her home. "Hmm, is that you already Rhya?" Kiira asked form inside. "Was Thied not trying to fill your head with stories this time?" Rhya chuckled walking in and giving the sling bag with the cooking stones to her mother. "It seems Thied had something to do, he was not in the house."

Rhya sat down on a pillow next to the table watching as her mother prepared the meal. There were already two kinds of spring berries on the table and Kiira was preparing a sort of porridge from certain forest herbs and seeds. A delicious smell told that there was also some kind of bread, Rhya could feel her mouth water and her stomach growled audibly. She stood up and fetched the plates and cups, wooden and worn, but of good quality.

Rhya cleared her throat "Mother is there anything essential happening today or tomorrow? I found  a beautiful clearing with a pond last autumn a few hours travel deeper into the forest and I was thinking of going there again. I have hope there could be multiple useful herbs and plants there. Maybe even small game."

OOC: This was incredible! Amazing first post, I love how you set the scene :)

After waking up, Rhya skips and leaps around outside - taking the most exciting path down to the grounded cabin. There, she is a bit disappointed that her friend Thied is not at home, but nonetheless she grabs the well-heated stones, and returns with them (a bit more carefully, this time) to her family home.

Eagerly awaiting her breakfast, Rhya throws out a question - to probe if she will have any free time in the near future in order to go explore a lovely clearing she found last autumn.

Her mother, Kiira, responds with an exasperated tone, "No, dear, you'll have plenty of time to play in the coming days... But, Rhya darling, you know I'm displeased with your insistence on hunting and trapping. Those are not tasks suitable for us as women, and you need to start getting over your childish fantasies about nature. It's a harsh place, and something better left to the men of the village."

After thoroughly crushing her daughter's spirits, Kiira hands Rhya her breakfast, "Now, eat before it gets cold."

OOC: A bit of a short response. I tried to establish the main tension between Rhya and her mother, but I feel I wasn't very subtle with it. Oh well, sometimes things can be blatant I guess.

By the way, I'm a bit curious, but who is Jawad?

If I understand correctly:
 - Kiira : mother, unsupportive of Rhya's ambitions
 - Jakai : father, may or may not be supportive of Rhya's ambitions
 - Thied : retired hunter, friend, supportive of Rhya's ambitions
 - Jawad : WHO???

Anyway, feel free to take control of the narrative for now, you're doing a great job and I still need a bit of time before I figure out how to get you all to meet up, LOLOL