Chitsone Sandrunner
The Chittiki were Awakened at the edge of the mountains that formed the eastern wall of the Great Basin, and for many, many years, they were content to live there. Their warrens were dug into the earth and soft sandstone of the foothils. At first, they tended crops and hunted small animals in the foothills and the grassy plains to their northwest - the region that has been called the Basin Desert since the The Great Strife. Soon, they came to know of the Elves in the forest that grew in the souther basin, and then the Dwarves whose Delve was on the far western edge of the basin. To them, the basin was the whole world - and they were content.
Well... most of them were content. Until Chitsone Sandrunner came of age. Chitsone was a merchant trader like his father, Stirtnine. His wares consisted of the variety of semiprecious gems and stones that his people harvested from surface deposits in the foothills of the mountains, and which the Elves and Dwarves liked to use in jewelry and other adornments. (The Chittiki were fascinated by shiny and pretty colorful stones as well, but were not beyond trading with the other Folk for even shinier or more useful tools and trinkets.)
Chitsone set out with several of his elder children on a journey of discovery. He took with him a collection of the polished agate and carnelian stones, and quartz and calcite gemstones that were the stock of his trade in the hopes of finding a new market. As he left the Ratfolk's settled areas, he visited a friend - a prospector and miner that harvested many of the stones Chitsone traded with. The friend showed him some rather boring looking rocks that he had come across - whitish crystalline stones that were unusually hard - hard enough to scratch any other type of stone. The old miner called them "scratchstones", but he pointed out that if one of these were struck sharply, a clear, flat, almost polished surface was revealed. Partly out of courtesy for an old family friend, and partly out of curiosity about these strange new stones, Chitsone purchased several before continuing on his journey.
Before Chitsone, no other member of the Chittiki race had ever crossed the high passes through the mountains that formed the eastern wall of the basin, so he had no idea what to expect. As it happened, his crossing brought him out of the mountains in a place where a finger of the mountain range to the north continued to block his passage that way, but the land ahead and to the south revealed a broad, dense jungle - far denser than the forests where the Elves made their homes in the Basin. Chitsone and his kin descended from the last mountain pass, attempting to skirt the edge of this jungle by using the foothills of the mountains that persisted to the north.
It was in this jungle that Chitsone had his first encounter with other Folk of Cartyrion. He and his retinue had wandered into the hunting range of an Amurrun lord, NEED A NAME HERE. Fortunately, Chitsone's skills at diplomacy enabled him to talk the Catfolk noble out of treating he and his family as prey - this was helped by the Amurrun's amazement that Chitsone could speak the common tongue. For Chitsone's part, as soon as he realized that the Catfolk spoke the common tongue, he knew that there must have been past exposure between these creatures and the dwarves and elves - for that is where he had learned the tongue himself. The noble was immediately interested at this strange, yet clearly intelligent being that had come down out of the mountains and invited the contigent to his abode to rest, feast, and to tell all about themselves. After commenting that in invitation "to" dinner was always better than an invitation "as" dinner, Chitsone accepted.
In discussions with the Amurrun, Chitsone learned of another race of Cartyrion's folk - the Humans. He also learned that the Amurrun and these Humans were currently in conflict as they were beginning to move into Amurrun territory without regard for the marked hunting territories that the Amurrun establish for themselves. But, fortunately for the world, this noble saw a day coming when the conflicts would end and there would be peaceful interaction between Amurrun and Human. Chitsone decided that, having come this far already, he would venture a bit farther to learn more about these Humans, and so, after thanking the Amurrun for her hospitality, they continued their journey eastward.
Eventually, they reached the shores of the Inner Sea and turned north along the coast. It wasn't long before they encountered a human settlement. It was unlike anything the Chittiki had seen before. They had seen the elven homes built into and around the trees of the forest, and they were, of course, familiar with their own home of countless warrens dug into the earth, but this was a city of buildings clustered together - each clearly designed to hold many people - and there was a palisade wall of wood built around it! And there were strange buildings at the very sea's edge as well - buildings that appeared to be floating in the sea itself, adorned with tall poles and banners of cloth hanging from the poles. As they stood admiring this sight from a distant hilltop, one of the strange floating structures appeared out at sea on the horizon - moving toward the settlement! These humans had houses that could travel across the water! Chitsone had to learn more.
Approaching the city, the Chitsone were challenged by the human guards who, of course, had never seen anything like them before. But they were admitted after a brief pause. They roamed the city, and in the course of their visting some of the merchant shops there, discovered that the curious, but essentially useless scratch-stones they carried were apparently something that the humans called "diamonds". And they were riidiculously valuable to these humans.
Chitsone was thrilled. His journey of discovery ultimately resulted in the Chittiki becoming a major force upon Cartyrion. He discovered routes and means for his people to travel to any part of the world they desired. He also disovered that the Chittiki commanded a source of wealth that allowed them to interact as equals among the other races of the Folk almost from the beginning. It was because of Chitsone's curiosity and journey that the Ratfolk are now found almost everywhere on Cartyrion. They are a presence in every major city and town. In addition to their home warrens, a number of other Chittiki warren complexes can be found in low hills all around the world.
Well... most of them were content. Until Chitsone Sandrunner came of age. Chitsone was a merchant trader like his father, Stirtnine. His wares consisted of the variety of semiprecious gems and stones that his people harvested from surface deposits in the foothills of the mountains, and which the Elves and Dwarves liked to use in jewelry and other adornments. (The Chittiki were fascinated by shiny and pretty colorful stones as well, but were not beyond trading with the other Folk for even shinier or more useful tools and trinkets.)
Chitsone's Ambition
Chitsone lived at a time when the Chitttiki population density in the home warrens was getting rather high. Chittiki are prolific, and the foothill regions to the north and south of their Awakening warrens were becoming laced with homes for the burgeoning population. This also brought competition among the growing number of traders willing to journey across the basin to trade with the Dwarves and Elves, and as a result, it was getting harder to support a family. Chitsone decided to try something no other Ratfolk had tried before -- he would cross the mountains to see if there were other places to trade - and perhaps even to live - in what surely must be a huge world beyond the basin.Chitsone set out with several of his elder children on a journey of discovery. He took with him a collection of the polished agate and carnelian stones, and quartz and calcite gemstones that were the stock of his trade in the hopes of finding a new market. As he left the Ratfolk's settled areas, he visited a friend - a prospector and miner that harvested many of the stones Chitsone traded with. The friend showed him some rather boring looking rocks that he had come across - whitish crystalline stones that were unusually hard - hard enough to scratch any other type of stone. The old miner called them "scratchstones", but he pointed out that if one of these were struck sharply, a clear, flat, almost polished surface was revealed. Partly out of courtesy for an old family friend, and partly out of curiosity about these strange new stones, Chitsone purchased several before continuing on his journey.
Before Chitsone, no other member of the Chittiki race had ever crossed the high passes through the mountains that formed the eastern wall of the basin, so he had no idea what to expect. As it happened, his crossing brought him out of the mountains in a place where a finger of the mountain range to the north continued to block his passage that way, but the land ahead and to the south revealed a broad, dense jungle - far denser than the forests where the Elves made their homes in the Basin. Chitsone and his kin descended from the last mountain pass, attempting to skirt the edge of this jungle by using the foothills of the mountains that persisted to the north.
It was in this jungle that Chitsone had his first encounter with other Folk of Cartyrion. He and his retinue had wandered into the hunting range of an Amurrun lord, NEED A NAME HERE. Fortunately, Chitsone's skills at diplomacy enabled him to talk the Catfolk noble out of treating he and his family as prey - this was helped by the Amurrun's amazement that Chitsone could speak the common tongue. For Chitsone's part, as soon as he realized that the Catfolk spoke the common tongue, he knew that there must have been past exposure between these creatures and the dwarves and elves - for that is where he had learned the tongue himself. The noble was immediately interested at this strange, yet clearly intelligent being that had come down out of the mountains and invited the contigent to his abode to rest, feast, and to tell all about themselves. After commenting that in invitation "to" dinner was always better than an invitation "as" dinner, Chitsone accepted.
In discussions with the Amurrun, Chitsone learned of another race of Cartyrion's folk - the Humans. He also learned that the Amurrun and these Humans were currently in conflict as they were beginning to move into Amurrun territory without regard for the marked hunting territories that the Amurrun establish for themselves. But, fortunately for the world, this noble saw a day coming when the conflicts would end and there would be peaceful interaction between Amurrun and Human. Chitsone decided that, having come this far already, he would venture a bit farther to learn more about these Humans, and so, after thanking the Amurrun for her hospitality, they continued their journey eastward.
Eventually, they reached the shores of the Inner Sea and turned north along the coast. It wasn't long before they encountered a human settlement. It was unlike anything the Chittiki had seen before. They had seen the elven homes built into and around the trees of the forest, and they were, of course, familiar with their own home of countless warrens dug into the earth, but this was a city of buildings clustered together - each clearly designed to hold many people - and there was a palisade wall of wood built around it! And there were strange buildings at the very sea's edge as well - buildings that appeared to be floating in the sea itself, adorned with tall poles and banners of cloth hanging from the poles. As they stood admiring this sight from a distant hilltop, one of the strange floating structures appeared out at sea on the horizon - moving toward the settlement! These humans had houses that could travel across the water! Chitsone had to learn more.
Approaching the city, the Chitsone were challenged by the human guards who, of course, had never seen anything like them before. But they were admitted after a brief pause. They roamed the city, and in the course of their visting some of the merchant shops there, discovered that the curious, but essentially useless scratch-stones they carried were apparently something that the humans called "diamonds". And they were riidiculously valuable to these humans.
Chitsone was thrilled. His journey of discovery ultimately resulted in the Chittiki becoming a major force upon Cartyrion. He discovered routes and means for his people to travel to any part of the world they desired. He also disovered that the Chittiki commanded a source of wealth that allowed them to interact as equals among the other races of the Folk almost from the beginning. It was because of Chitsone's curiosity and journey that the Ratfolk are now found almost everywhere on Cartyrion. They are a presence in every major city and town. In addition to their home warrens, a number of other Chittiki warren complexes can be found in low hills all around the world.
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