the seven nomads

the seven nomads-chapter 1
Mariah stood at the edge of the small nomadic camp she belonged to. She starred out at the horizon, watching the sun set. She didn't know why, but lately she had been longing for new things in her life. It wasn't that she had a bad life or anything, she just felt like a change. For a Millenia, the nomads had roamed the plains, living off the land. They had lived in harmony with all the other living things in the land, including the elves and trolls. They had lived at peace with the other nomads since the end of the great war of darkness, more that 1,500 years ago. Mariah had just celebrated her thirty third birthday, which meant she would soon she would travel to other nomadic camps to look for a husband. It was a day she had feared all her life. Once she was married, she would have to obey her husbands every wish.
Mariah turned and looked back at her camp. THe nomads were all sitting around a large bon fire, talking quietly and eating their dinner. Her father, who was the leader of their camp, sat quietly at his private campfire in deep thought. He was a peaceful yet strong leader. Just then, Mariah felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and saw Phillipe, her closest friend, standing beside her.
"Come, Mariah," he said, smiling, "Let us eat." Mariah smiled and followed Phillipe back to the bonfire. She sat down on a large, flat boulder beside the fire and picked up a bowl. She filled it with stew and began to eat. She privately thanked Ru, the goddess of birth, for providing the food that she ate. It was a custom to do this while eating.
Mariah sat looking up into the night sky. The twin moons looks like two glistening eyes staring down at her. The stars were just beginning to show, and they twinkled lightly. She had spend many a night gazing into the sky. It was her favorite past time. When she was a girl, she had wished she could fly away into the night sky and touch the stars. She had always longed for freedom. Her nomadic family had moved around a lot through out her life, at yet she still felt trapped.
"Some day," she thought, "I'll be free. I can feel it just around the corner." The evening turned into night, and one by one the nomads slipped into their huts for the night. Mariah was the last one to go. She took one last look at the starry sky , then went to her hut. She snuggled into her make shift bed, made mostly out of zill skins, and drifted off to sleep.
Early the next morning, Mariah was awakened by the familiar sound of elven voices. Most likely elven merchants. Mariah yawned and rubbed her eyes. She lay in bed for a few more minutes, then she got up. She stretched and grabbed her bag of personal belongings, before stepping out of her hut. She was greeted by her father, who had just finished his breakfast.
"My daughter," he said. "Come, eat. There's still some roast zill meat on the fire." Mariah had eaten zill meat all her life, and had grown tired of it years ago.
"Ok, father," she said, "Maybe a little." She secretly longed for fruit, or even bread. But fruit was rare to find in the plains, and the nomads rarely made bread. The nomads believed that meat was the healthiest food to eat. They ate mostly meat, vegetables and milk from beastsnagz. Mariah sat down by the bonfire and took a bowl of zill roast. She picked at it, trying to avoid the fat.
"Don't be so picky, my daughter," said her father, "Be glad yyou're not starving." Mariah finished eating, then went to go bathe. It was a custom to bathe once a week for the nomads, but Mariah had begun bathing everyday, which was against her fathers wishes. As she headed for the bathing area, a small elf jumped in front of her and began to dance. It was Charlie, an elf she knew well.
"Where be you going, Mariah, old friend?" asked the elf, still dancing. Mariah smiled. "I'm going to bathe," she said. "When I'm finished, we can go exploring if you want." Charlie became excited when he heard this. "Hooray," he shouted. THen he burst into song. "Exploring, exploring, were gonna go exploring. Exploring, exploring, with my friend Mariah." Then Charlie began to do cart wheels in a circle. Then he scurried off leaving Mariah standing alone. She walked over to the private bathing house and ducked inside.