Tiding 00: The Breaking of Ninut

## Content Warnings

*"Back in Ninut, we had a tradition. Every day, as the sun dipped down behind the horizon, sunk into the green-shimmer deserts to the west, we would all stop whatever we were doing, and each of us would remove our veils and turn to watch the sun's collapse."*

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*For many it was a chance to talk, to share the trials of the day. It was a signal to relax; to drop tools and let muscles loosen. Others watched in silence. They would admire the sun-bright sky and all of the hues of the earth, which had been denied for so long by linen and cloth.
I... I like to spend the time watching those around me. My community, my people. I would dwell on their faces, lit in the soft vibrance of sunset; and whether a close friend or indifferent rival, in each of them I would find something to cherish. Even now, after all of these months on the road, I keep this tradition. Now when I look around, half of the faces are unfamiliar. Members of the Parish, and other strangers like us, uprooted from their homes. But… But even with them, there are still so few of us. So many were left behind in Ninut; chose to stay despite the storm. And… although I do not regret leaving, I wish we could have convinced more of them to follow us.*"

―An excerpt from the letters of Jeddah Assum, written for her children

## Summary

A storm sweeps over the Sharrow, different to any that has come before - haunted, deadly, alive. A caravan flees its wake, formed of the people of Ninut and the mysterious Parish. Leading them a reluctant guardian, outcast storyteller, rebellious kid and an unravelling spiritweaver.

## Synopsis

*[This episode introduces the story of Tiding, the world of Ryne, and the game system. This synopsis will include story elements that form part of the Tiding narrative; other information about e.g. characters or places can be found on their respective pages.]*

Ninut lies on the edge of the canyon carved over millennia by the Sharrow as it circles its land. Below them runs the river, flowing westwards from Carn Veskl. Rocks at the river's bottom form The Net, from which villagers retrieve objects from upstream.

For some time now, the people of Ninut had been fighting against a band of outsiders that called themselves the Jackals, who seemed to have designs on the Sharrow, the land in which Ninut lies. Then came a quiet year of peace and rebuilding, before the coming of winter.

The people of Ninut haven't always lived in The Sharrow, having settled here only a generation ago; the village is still being established. There's enough, but not more.

One day, an outsider arrives, a Weaver named Vilte. She comes with warnings for the village, about a difficult future. The village is fractured, with some believing Vilte's warnings and thinking about leaving; others are hostile and start to make plans to poison her. Learning of this, Vilte chooses not to let the village tear itself apart and instead takes the poison herself without the village's knowledge. She falls into a deep sleep and remains so for months.

Soon afterwards, four adults and a child calling themselves The Parish arrive in Ninut, having followed Vilte. They believe Vilte and have joined her to aid in spreading her message of warning. Some members of the parish are magic-workers, and this does nothing to ease the mistrust of them from those village factions against Vilte and her warnings. Simple charms cast on animals by Ayof, a Parish member, brings tensions to a head and the Parish is expelled from the village, along with the still-sleeping Vilte and around twenty of the village members of Ninut, who have heeded her warnings about what will befall the Sharrow.

## Game Mechanics

This story setup was determined by the cast playing through The Quiet Year, in which players build a map and play as a community making decisions over the course of a year in preparation for winter.

## Notes

### Plot Notes

**Warning! There may be spoilers ahead!**

*These Flimsy Rituals is distributed under a CC BY-NC-SA license. This wiki contains excerpts of scripted text and official shownotes, and is considered to be under the same license. Official artwork is not to be used on this wiki. Fanart pieces are distributed under licenses determined by the artist- please check the caption or alt-text.*