Diaspora Of The Kythians

by K'bur, Kythian Historian

With the Lord and Lady missing, and society struggling to keep itself together, the Kythians found themselves in a bit of a predicament. They were at the mercy of the elements, and they needed a breakthrough to save themselves. They needed a miracle that would bring them back out of their hiding spots, and to the land they claimed as theirs. And what was that wondrous invention that allowed the Kythians to prosper? It was something they had all along. Fish.

With their newfound need to protect themselves from the elements the Kythains found themselves looking at the world around them. All the other beasts were surviving, so why shouldn't they? Did they need to devolve? No, they simply needed to be clever. And that is exactly what one of them pulled off, during a morning meal. This young one, by the name of Kreena noticed the peculiar rib structure of the fish he was eating, and that it held it's shape while he ate the meat from it. Well, that was all it took, really.

Kreena stopped using his fish like a bowl, and turned it upside down, noticing that its shape still held. He went to get a larger fish, and found that if he put it over his head, it kept the wind and harsh sun off of him, and kept him from drying out. It kept the hail and debris off of him during storms. He could still see, he could still work, and best of all, he could eat it when the weather passed.

Well, needless to say, soon all Kythians were going about their days wearing the carcass of their meal. They took artistic pride in the visual appearance of their newfound tool, which meant they took better care of them, and learned to preserve them. It also meant they took a deeper appreciation, aesthetically, in the food they ate, since that's where the tool came from, and aesthetics naturally led to renewed interest in the arts.

It looked as though this simple tool has started the Kythians back on the path of appreciation, instead of struggle. It did more than that, however. Coupled with another modest invention derived from fish, the canteen, the Kythians had everything they needed to undergo longer journeys, and survive in the heat to the south. They spread through the jungle to the south, and eventually came to the ocean, where they found new and greater sources for their tools. From there, they fanned out both to the east and the west, and more importantly, meeting representatives of other peoples. Here they started to set up trade, and again, things were looking up, until as naturally happens in trade, disagreements arose.

From those disagreements, and the altercations that followed, the Kythians finally recognized their original tool for what it really was. It was armor. It was a weapon of war...