KHULUN!!!!! (D7, LE, around Khulun's Yurt)

[Moto Khulun]

“I would like to meet one, do they talk like us? Are they really like snakes or more like man? Do they have magic? I have many questions,” she says thinking on the subject.

[Soshi Yuuru]

"They can talk, yes. Their legs are a snake body, but torso and head look like a man. They do have magic; they use pearls to power it..." He put his fingers on his pearl naga netsuke.

"They look like this. This is a piece they made that I found."

[Moto Khulun]

“Pearls for magic? Sounds like magic of the Iuchi, but different I guess cause snake-men.”

She looks at the pearl and says, “Is this magic pearl?”

[Soshi Yuuru]

He shook his head, "Nah, more of a trinket made from a smaller one. Found it in the ruins of one of their cities."

[Moto Khulun]

"They had cities? What are they like?" she asks with interest.

[Soshi Yuuru]

"Now? Mostly ruins. The Naga ruled large parts of the empire before humans existed. Their cities were vast and numbers great. They... fell into a period of dormancy for... well longer than I know. When they arose, the Empire had risen and their first interactions with our people were not friendly. We fought a war to subjugate the beasts, many lost their lives and the ancient ruins became further damaged by battle... But there is still much beauty and many treasures there. It's a special place.. and dangerous." Yuuru spoke with a hushed tone showing a kind of admiration and awe for the topic they were discussing.

[Moto Khulun]

“What do you mean before man, the people that became the Moto were birthed into the world with fire and blood, but maybe it is so? I wonder what the world was like before there was man? They were able to build cities make great empire and then… just gone?” she says curiously.

“What caused their end? Great enemy? Wrath of the Gods?”

[Soshi Yuuru]

He shrugged slightly, "I am no expert on their lore, but they speak of a deep slumber. It is something they did to maintain a connection with the dream world... and wait for the moment they would be needed... some bit of prophecy or something. I'm not entirely clear on the reasons for their slumber. But slept they did."

[Moto Khulun]

"I don't understand, they just slept? For how long?" she asks.

[Soshi Yuuru]

"Hundreds and hundreds of years." He replied.

[Moto Khulun]

"And they did not die?" she says with confusion.

[Soshi Yuuru]

He shook his head, "They continued to exist in a dream world as they call it... Their bodies are quite different from ours... They birth and rebirth, but keep their memories... and share them collectively among those that are tied to their greater conscious..."

[Moto Khulun]

"Sayyed Yuuru is snake man sage," she says with respect.

[Soshi Yuuru]

He chuckled and shook his head, "No, you could get this much and more out of them with a simple conversation with one of the Naga. There are also some books, one by a famous Asako who was a veteran of the war."

He took another bite, "Do you like to read Moto-san?"

[Moto Khulun]

"Reading is boring, but I could read about these snake things... wait we can talk to them?" she asks.