[IC/OOC] Ask the Nomad: Q&A with Kiu Ghesik

[Kiu Ghesik]

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ASK THE NOMAD
For all your nomad-questioning needs!
^{(Also known as the one and only Kiu Ghesik Q&A.)}

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Greetings, all! Through the wonders of the novel and innovative technologies of plot device, contrivance, necessity, and the most benevolent Mother's blessings, we have managed to create a means for all of you to ask questions which we shall then attempt to the best of our ability to answer. Do understand, though, that terms and conditions apply, that we are not entirely certain what the medical effects of exposure to this Q&A include, that clinical trials of this Q&A have not yet concluded, and that we do not, unfortunately, know what a "Genghis" is, nor will we ever. Sounds like a cool dude, though.

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So, since I've noticed that Q&As are getting big again among my fellow denizens of F7, way down at the bottom of that ol' forum index, and because I've a perpetual need to hop on every bandwagon I come across, I've decided to make my own.

Feel free to ask whatever here, really. Anything helps- even obscure details about our society, such as our favorite variety of hamburger, will help me develop it further. The one exception is simple "what do you think about x" questions- I'm fine with them if you put some effort into them. IC, OOC, whatever you want- questions directed to or about me, the KG-user, should be marked as OOC, though, for my convenience. Thanks beforehand, friends!

Oh, and of course this does mean you have to make a Q&A now, my man. Yeah, you. You know who you are.

And you know what you did.

[Free Ravensburg]

Where’s the blanket

[Empirical Switzerland]

"Hello Caller Ari, 'tis me, The Helvetic Man you may have seen around or not, Lord Bodie! May I inquire, are you a horse-girl?"

[Kiu Ghesik]

Where’s the blanket

"Where you'll never find it. And if you touch it again you'll get an express ticket to oblivion, thief."

[Bani Musandam]

"Hello, hello, Rais Ari. I have a question for you that I have asked a few nomads before, but I am curious. If conditions forced you to settle down, how exactly would you forge a 'settled' society? On that note, how do you think that would affect your personal life?"
- Malik Munjid Khatib Al-Musandami

[Wuchu]

[Contract-mandated tag]

[Free Ravensburg]

Are you going to dine in hell?

[Kiu Ghesik]

"Hello Caller Ari, 'tis me, The Helvetic Man you may have seen around or not, Lord Bodie! May I inquire, are you a horse-girl?"

"I... am disappointed to have ever met you. No. I am not. Do not bring such things before me again."

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-Amgery Ari

[Western Fardelshufflestein]

"What...is your favorite drink of ze alcoholic variety?"
-King Alastair Laertes Amadeus Ludwig Kehrer IV

[Kiu Ghesik]

"Hello, hello, Rais Ari. I have a question for you that I have asked a few nomads before, but I am curious. If conditions forced you to settle down, how exactly would you forge a 'settled' society? On that note, how do you think that would affect your personal life?"
- Malik Munjid Khatib Al-Musandami

"Thank you for asking this of me, Malik. I am unsure as to how I would answer- I would not want to settle down. I do not know your people's views on the matter, but my folk believe our way to be closer to our god's divine will for man, and to be a more satisfactory and constructive mode of living than in settlements. So I suppose I would like to like in a settlement that resembles our current way as much as it possibly could- that is, a society of a few dozen per settlement, no more, where one is raised among family and friends and learns young the value of loyalty to the band and love for the many. But I do not think that such a way of raising one's young would prevail in settled society, and thus, I do not wish to live in such a place. It would be to give up my culture's highest ideas, I think, even if many among even my own people would disagree with me.

My life, I think would lose its splendor. I pride myself on my people's independence and distinct nature from those around us. If we were to become like our neighbors, we would merely be another wayward people, with little to distinguish ourselves but a few odd traditions and our manner of speech. I do believe you will agree that such a fate, to become a failure in that sense, is distasteful to say the least. In that same sense, I would fail my father if his nation were to fall outside of his vision for it. I could not tolerate such a thing.

Despite the conclusions I have come to, I thank you, Malik, for posing this question to me, and for coming here. I may disagree with you on a good many things, but of the leaders here who face the same dilemmas I do, who live in a time similar to my own, you are the most personable. Though that is not a high bar to clear, given how the others are an elder-killing, divining fool and a petty lord playing healer. Perhaps we may yet do great things together."

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-The start of a beautiful friendship...

[Empirical Switzerland]

Hello Ari, if I may ask. Have you heard of the dark lands of Jiflandor, and the trouble it has been causing the Northern areas of Ghes?

[Skratmalatis]

What does your name mean?

[Kiu Ghesik]

Are you going to dine in hell?

"If not me, then a representative of my folk. The philosopher must not be left unharrassed. I've been thinking I'll send Khensughin to put that etsáhla on his ass, if I don't do it myself. He's quite the strapping fellow, he can handle it."

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-Fight! Fight! Fight!

"What...is your favorite drink of ze alcoholic variety?"
-King Alastair Laertes Amadeus Ludwig Kehrer IV

Hello Ari, if I may ask. Have you heard of the dark lands of Jiflandor, and the trouble it has been causing the Northern areas of Ghes?

What does your name mean?

Your questions will be answered within 24 hours. Feel free to leave more in the meantime.

[Magical Medical League]

First, do no harm "Good day to you, Caller Ari. I come with questions on your culture's medical techniques: your traditional methods and ways of healing those who are wounded and caring for those who are sick. Are there any herbal remedies to be drunk for illness, for example, or are there practices that are mean to bring people closer to good health after a birth? I would be quite interested to hear this from you." -Magical Medical League Captain Nijyou Hanako -魔法医療援助連盟 1等陸尉 二条波奈子

[Bloodshade]

"Hey there, ya cute little horse lady! Interesting for you to be opening your nation up for all sorts of questions, you don't strike me as the type to sit down and answer questions.

Anyways, question time! Now tell me, how do you want to shape your nation for the reminder of your life? What would you want to preserve and what would you want to expel or keep at bay? What do you consider to be the greatest threat to your way of life and do you think you possess the means to keep it at bay?"

- Ambrosia

[Libitina Jezebel Bartley-Wolff]

So I heard you're afraid of the Coven and its secret operations, right?

But, well, who cares? After all, the Coven exists only to live for the Dark Lord C̵̢̼̩̦̭̜̝̮̍̀̉͛H̸͓̬̳̲͊͐̊̄̎̓͂͊̇͑̈͆̽̍̃͗̓̓̾̽̓̓̅̈́̽̅͂͘̕͘͘͝I̵̢̪͙̊̽͐̂̈̿̌͋̌̆͒̂̚̚͜͝͝͝N̴̨̨̢̖͎̬̪̯̗̖̰̰͓̱̫̯͉͇̲̮̭͕͉̪̳̲̤̗͔̬̲̟͈̖̥̘̠̻̰̘̟̩̗̝̘̝̳̋̒͆̅͂͆̄̌̾̉̀ͅͅͅ ̸̱̲͚̂̑̃́̈́̈́̾̄͆́͐̋̽̎͂̾̀̅͗̿͠͝C̷̛̻̒̐͂͊̽̓̆́̎͌̐̓̏̅̑͋̈́͛̇̐̿̒͐́̌́́̂́͊̕̚̕̚͝͠͝͝͝͝H̷̢̧̨̢̥̼̦̞͕̻͓̥͉̥͇̩͙̼̺̟̪̟̘̟͈̭̳͓̼͚̘̞̹̦̱̗̟͕͉̝͇̤͚͆̽̽̆̓̊̌̚͝ͅͅͅĮ̶̛͇̣̗̜̲̖͇̲͇̲̥̟̺͚̣̖̩͉̃̿͋͂́̇͆͌̍̆̍̈̎͑̅̀̓̈́́̋̃̕̕͘͝͝ͅN̸̢̢̧̛̲͖̖͈̩̠̮̥̣͉̱͍͈͔̫͚͙̟̺̙̜̳̬͉̪̰͓̰̲̪̭̮̹̲͇̐͗͛̆̐̿͌̏̄͌̅͌̓̃̀͆͌̆͊̈́̿̈̌͑̿̄̄͊̂̃̈́̈̆͂̑͗̔́̍̊͂̓̀͗̑̃̀̑̕̕̚͜͜͝͝ͅ.

I had to ask you something: how does it feel to have your eyes wide sewn so as to have your growth stunted by the Great Old Ones? And how does it feel to have your chromosomes mysteriously harvested? Does it feel awful? Horrifying? Or can you feel the fright that lives through the veins of all His servitors?

[Zeloria]

"Hey there, a while ago, one of our space-battleships and science-stations crashed into an ocean close to the area where you are currently residing. Can we please retrieve it?"

- D.A.I

[Kiu Ghesik]

"What...is your favorite drink of ze alcoholic variety?"
-King Alastair Laertes Amadeus Ludwig Kehrer IV

"Araq. Hits you like a bloody hammer, it does.

Oh, wait."

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-It reminds her of her old man in that way.

[Xykonero]

"So, do you plan on making an alliance with apes? I think you'll find them very... Wait, even better idea. What about dolphins?"

- Emperor Comrade High Commander Ail E.N. Posadas

[Kiu Ghesik]

Hello Ari, if I may ask. Have you heard of the dark lands of Jiflandor, and the trouble it has been causing the Northern areas of Ghes?

"No, what the fuck is a "Jif"? It's pronounced "Gif." What sort of monster would- alright. We're killing these people."

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-Gonna burn some cartoonishly evil green folks at the stake real quick, if you don't mind...

[Empirical Switzerland]

Hello Ari, if I may ask. Have you heard of the dark lands of Jiflandor, and the trouble it has been causing the Northern areas of Ghes?

"No, what the fuck is a "Jif"? It's pronounced "Gif." What sort of monster would- alright. We're killing these people."

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-Gonna burn some cartoonishly evil green folks at the stake real quick, if you don't mind...

Good. Thank you for your honest and true purpose. Save the world from these heathens.

[Halexandria]

OOC: What made you decide to go with a nomadic nation?

IC: What made you choose to be nomads? Is it because it's the way it's always been, or is there some other motive?

[Kiu Ghesik]

What does your name mean?

"As strange a name as it may seem, 'she who gives the war-cry'. My pretitle Akhens is roughly translated as war/battle/conflict. 'Ar' means cry/shout, and the suffix -'ri' indicates that the name is feminine."

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-Amgery nomad has an amgery name.

[Kiu Ghesik]

-snip-

"Well, um, hi there. Uh, Patyu here. So, uh, I've a bit of experience with this- please don't ask why- and Ari, um, doesn't. I think I might be better suited to answer your question.

So, uh, on medicine- each band usually has a healer and a healer's apprentice, much as each band has a priest and a priest's apprentice, the healer acting as a doctor and the apprentice as a nurse, if you will. So, I'm not our band's apprentice, but my, uh, friend Aphadri is, and she taught me a good deal of what she'd learned from the healer. Her job is to collect the ingredients that our healer, Vashri, uses in poultices, to direct others in their making, to help with curing the less severe illnesses, and so on. So, uh, for an example, when Ari broke her ankle a couple of years ago, Vashri was the one who did the initial examination, and then Aphadri would come by her tent every so often for a while to check up on the brace and put a wet rag around the ankle to curb the swelling.

On your question about our way of healing, it is, uh, far less complicated than your own, I would say. Primarily, we use poultices and herbs to treat our wounded, as you said, and wet-rags and hot water to clean wounds. We've also found that the preparation and consumption of hot tea is a relaxant, if not a healing agent, and helps to encourage the sick to survive their illness, if such a thing makes sense. We've tried to lance wounds before, but it comes with risk of infecting the would, for whatever reason- Aphadri thinks it has to do with the bronze in the needles reacting to flesh, whatever that means. I think she's wrong on that count.

We do our best to ensure that women who have just given birth are given the rest they need, as well, though you must understand that giving birth is an incredibly dangerous act for both the mother and the child, and that much of a newborn's band's attention will be on ensuring the child survives through the next few weeks. The midwives are there to help the mother deliver, and while they will certainly tend to the mother before and after the birth, she is of secondary concern to her child. Both are significant, though. It sounds callous, I know, but we don't really live lives that allow much else. I hope that answered your questions, even if I'm not the one you expected to hear back from, I know."

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-Cinny rol is sad ;-;

[Kiu Ghesik]

"Hey there, ya cute little horse lady! Interesting for you to be opening your nation up for all sorts of questions, you don't strike me as the type to sit down and answer questions.

Anyways, question time! Now tell me, how do you want to shape your nation for the reminder of your life? What would you want to preserve and what would you want to expel or keep at bay? What do you consider to be the greatest threat to your way of life and do you think you possess the means to keep it at bay?"

- Ambrosia

"I'm, uh... 'cute little horse lady...' uh. Hm. Not sure how I, ah, feel about that. You're, um, uh. Huh. And to be fair, I wasn't in favor of creating this thing. Patyu made me."

"That I did!"

"Alright, enough from you. Get out of my tent. Okay, he's gone.

On to your question- I'm not sure as to how I plan to move forward, really. I suppose I want to emulate my father as best I can, in a sense. What he created he intended to be far larger than it was at the time of his passing, I'm sure- he made it to last. It is my responsibility to preserve that; he would want no less. And I want to remember him, so to ensure the survival of what he wanted to create is the least I can do in his name.

I would not want to purge anything from our society, really. I have fought hard to defend it- why would I want to change it from that which I have fought to defend? Perhaps, uh... there is one thing, and it connects to your final question.

The greatest threat to our people is, um, no offense, but nations like yours. Or, more precisely, your mode of living- settled nations outproduce our own. I can dislike them and still acknowledge the fact. The challenge, then, is to find a way to match our larger, settled neighbors while remaining true to our own way of life, a difficult task. We have done so until now through strength of arms, but such a thing cannot last. I have, for example, taken the reins from the Council as best I can in the past few years, even if they do not approve of my advances, as it is necessary to do so. My father recognized that the Council for all the good it does is not a fast-acting body, and thus did his best to dominate it as a body. I have done the same, though I know that my own skill when it comes to addressing them is far less than his ever was. I do think we can advance to match you all, of course, even if I am not sure how- I need to believe so. And I will not be convinced otherwise.

Thank you for your question, of course, and-"

"Don't be a stranger! I promise you that Ari will remain polite, even if Vic shows up. Right, Ari?"

"No."

"See? Perfectly friendly. Anything you want to ask, we'll answer, and, uh..."

"Get. Out. Of. My. Tent. Now."

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-Oh, would you look at that! I think it's time for a shift in scenery, folks! Hah! *pleasedon'tstabmeihaveafamilytoo*