• a huge, "primal magical" storm appeared out of nowhere; bringing with it creatures and spirits from the jungle and creating chaos
• the group has helped the Hitti-Shar, who lack means to communicate with the supernatural, avoid the worst consequences of the storm
• the group earned a lot of respect from the Shar for their actions and successes; they found the Hitti-Shar to be hard people with a strange attitude to violence; but with a lot of shared values as well
• before the storm hit the central Hitti-Shar settlement, Kurakap appeared and offered the Hitti-Shar aid in return for subservience - and it had special messages to the players as well
• the group ascended the mountain from which lava was flowing into the valley; they found an ancient, powerful mountain spirit there - dying; they were able to aid it so the death was peaceful (not a violent volcano eruption), though it cost them
• after recovering from their exhaustion, they only had a brief rest - some Chikautil had indeed managed to revive the Megaloceros, but not in a helpful form - more as a nightmare that drained life and primal power from all it encountered
• the group fought off this beast at high cost, then started to pursue it into the mountains to end the threat
• while pursuing the beast, they were attacked by strange "drained" creatures and forced to withdraw, too weak for a second round against the beast

what they learned

• the Shar had similarly "cruel gods", or at least powerful distant gods with cruel priests; these gods and priest kept power by summoning armies of "angels" - until one day, these angels stopped appearing
• the Shar deeply distrust gods - and leaders and anything else - that is distant and impersonal and rules through proxies; for them, leaders are personal, seen and felt; even their ancestors with their living anchors have a "direct" connection
• the Shar waged war a decade ago against the Pharic leauge; this was pretty much a draw set to resume at some point in the future
  • the Shar don't mind war, but the more experienced of them are aware that this has an influence on their culture, and that their is little glory in it
  • to many Shar, who hope to "join the ancestors" upon death, being taken prisoner or slave and dying so far from your ancestors that you cannot join them after death is a worse fate than being killed in battle close to home, where you can join the ancestors
• the storm brings relief to some types of spirits; the mountain spirit was "unable to pass on" until it was hit by the storm, though this was in part due to a ritual conducted by the Rumi Runa to "stabilise" their valley
• the storm had created "oases" of new life, with spirits and seed transported from the jungle, in some previously bleak valley in the mountains