Known by many names, Kolt’so Kemen, Strats Rypna and Vedmala* , the ancient meeting site in the southern most region of the Temur Frontier is marked only by a circle of stones, thirty paces across, and the ashes of a thousand fires. Visitors to the Temur Frontier: travellers, merchants, even raiders, marvel at the certainty of the local people that this is the same Kolt’so Kemen their mothers and fathers talked of. How do they know it is not half a mile to the north? That the exact location has not been lost, after all those years, all the snow, trodden foot of man and best, every flood the region has witnessed? The Temur simply smile at such questions, reassuring the foreigners that they just know, that they can feel that events of the past happened here, and not half a mile to the north.<br/><br/>For centuries now the site has been used as a gathering point for the tribes, one of several in the region, one of hundreds across the entire Frontier. In times of celebration or dire war, folk will meet here to share a meal and talk, and if necessary, come together and fight. It has averted many lesser conflicts, and seen the preparation for great battle, including the fight for Nebo’s Peak, and in the time of Podna, when the Abzan marched for fifty days from their land of ash to this land of green, and Merki Dragonclaw himself met them in a morning, and drank to the dead at Strats Rypna under that the stars.<br/><br/>Spring and the snowmelt always bring folk to here, in anticipation of the head butting that will no doubt occur in the flurry of activity invariably brought on by the warm. Currently there are two members of the Yushon making camp in the area, the Peresk are yet to show up. By day there are games, spear throwing, running, or tenj** for those of wit over brawn, and by night stories are told around the fire. Currently a race is just ending, to the Marang and back, a three hour trial about to end. Five fancied their hand at victory, but it comes down to two. In the lead is an ainok, half a mile behind him a dwarf. The ainok is quicker, but also wearier, and the dwarf is gaining ground, but can she do so fast enough?<br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>“RAIDERS!”</strong></span>summon shouts, and heads instinctively snap south. But that is not where they are, for as bloodthirsty as the Kologhan are, they are not without their tricks. Instead they outflanked, and now approach from the west, and they found a plaything on the way. Two ogres, a human and two orcs. One of the orcs is mounted, the rest are on foot. They are toying with someone, a man, by the looks of it, riding some sort of beast. It is no horse, its walks lower, and it has a shell rather than a hair, a turtle? Maybe, although this is less green, brown rather, and its tail is longer, ending in a thick ball. The two ogres follow close behind, roaring and snarling menacingly, but never quite catching up, whilst the orc on foot follows behind them alongside the woman, who occasionally stops just long enough to lose an arrow at the mount, which shatters against its hard shell. The mounted orc circles around, using the horse to block the creature, slowing it down long enough to allow his companions to catch up, and giving the mount a parting shot with his axe, which also fails to do much, although he finds it entertaining. They are towing with him: He is just over 200ft away and closing, but it looks like they could end the chase at any time and gut him, and his mount.<br/><br/>* = In Sever, Zaap and Vostok respectively.<br/><br/>** = tenj = a Temur strategy game between two or more players, each controlling 4 coloured cubes of wood or bone: 2 red (the hunters), 1 blue (the shaman) and 1 green (the chieftain). The aim is to capture your opponent’s chieftain. There is no board, the game is played on the ground or any flat service.<br/>