A Guide for World Builders
Chapter 2: The First Societies
Hunter-Gatherers
By the time the Fubarnii species had evolved, the extensive swamps of an earlier geological age had long since dried up and Anyaral was pretty much as it is today, though the Argoran Wastes were less barren, and the forests extended over a greater area. The plains1 of what is now the central Empire and the Casani Territories were their home, and as they spread throughout Anyaral they also adapted well to mountainous regions. The forests however posed a greater danger as the early Devanu societies were established in those areas. With the forest stretching most of the way across the continent at the time, the Fubarnii on either side developed somewhat independently. The racial differences between the Fubarnii of the Casani and Argoran mountains and of the Empire and Delgon are apparent even today. Later, as the forests were pushed back, the Fubarnii of the central area became something of a mongrel of these two, while the Delgon remained isolated in the highlands and developed their own characteristics such as the paler skin. The recessive green colouring is characteristic of the Casani and Argoran branch, but not particularly common in the current Central Empire.
For thousands of years the two intelligent species lived side by side, the Devanu in the deep forests, the Fubarnii in the colder mountain regions where the Devanu could not live comfortably, and both in uneasy coexistence on the plains. The Devanu were an old species; though not as dextrous as Fubarnii, they had long ago discovered that they were well adapted for plains life and were able to communicate and organise their social interactions such that working in packs to bring down large prey was a possibility that had not been open to their more primitive ancestors. They had a preference for settling in the high places, however, where the Fubarnii tended towards low, hidden settlements. Something of an arms race may have occurred as the newly sentient Fubarnii learned to adapt and protect themselves from this ancient, intelligent predator; what the Devanu lacked in dexterity and technological progress they made up for with cunning and increasingly complex social hierarchies, while the Fubarnii, without the natural weapons of a predator species, constructed their own. In this way, the two species lived and developed together.
Plains-dwelling Fubarnii lived on naturally growing fruit, nuts, leaves and fungi, garkrid and small animals. As their technological capability increased, they were able to cut up tough roots, set up nets in the rivers and set traps for larger or swifter prey. Hunting of very large animals was a rarity – even an enuk would provide more meat than one extended family required, so large hunts were a special event at times of festivals or gatherings where the meat could be shared out among sufficient numbers. Besides, enuk were at this time starting to be domesticated for riding. Leatherworking therefore developed through the use of small pelts rather than large hides.
