-0 to 50 (400 to 450 AS)-

After the harrowing events that ensued upon his first contact with a foreign people (post to come later), Tapre Usi had not expected the second encounter to be as harmonious as it ended up being. For all that was different about the Vonoheimians and his own people, especially their language, they shared a vision of and commitment to a peaceful, cooperative future – not something that could be said about the tribe he had first encountered. It was in this spirit that Tapre had managed to convince a local official of the enormous city they called Ünterhausen to assign three scribes as envoys to the lands of the Payómkawichum, stemming from his original curiosity about the mysterious symbols they used to represent words. And, too, he and his party had even convinced those generous foreigners to supply repairs to his worn-down ship, along with fresh supplies so that those aboard could safely make the journey back home.

The return voyage proved uneventful, save for periodic attempts at communication between the Payómkawichum and their guests. Once the whole crew finally reached the lands of the Payómkawichum, there was much rejoicing to be had, and the scribes were paraded around the northern island and feted as guests of honor, after being introduced by Tapre Usi & co. Indeed, everywhere the foreigners went, they received gifts such as obsidian earrings, intricately-carved bone tools, and leather shawls from their hosts. Finally, the whole group proceeded to the annual meeting of the Payómkawichum, where Tapre had resolved to present a proposal regarding the scribes’ symbols.

Over the course of the meeting, the designated chief of the Payómkawichum had various orders of business to take care of, in consultation with the meeting’s other attendees. First, as usual, was the opening remarks on the part of this year’s chief, chosen from among the chiefs of the constituent tribes of the Payómkawichum. In this case, these included heartily welcoming the foreign visitors. Next, those who committed offenses (self-reported or discovered by others) were called on to receive their punishments. The perpetrators of particularly severe offenses were exiled to a certain small, westerly island, as had become the standard punishment in such cases.

The meeting went on with further discussion, until it finally reached the phase where any attendee could offer a proposal for the next year. At the appropriate time, Tapre Usi approached and detailed their guests’ unusual capability of carving symbols on stone, allowing them to demonstrate it, and explaining what it was supposed to mean. Tapre boldly proposed that the Payómkawichum adopt this writing system as a means of recording the oral tales and verbally dispersed laws they lived under, as well as commemorating their annual meetings. Much deliberation among the chiefs of the various tribes ensued, even delaying the usual ceremonies that had always commenced as the sun set.

Fifty years later, Vonoheim’s writing system had spread all throughout the lands of the Payómkawichum, and it had been adopted (with some deviations to better suit their own needs) by most of the chiefs and shamans of the various tribes for manifold purposes. With this writing system, the use of full moons to mark the annual meetings of the Payómkawichum had turned into a full-blown lunar calendar recording the various dates of significance among the various tribes. Those three Vonoheimian scribes who had visited so long ago managed to be responsible for all this.