History of the Viera
Okay, I know that female rabbits are called does, and males are called bucks and babies are called kittens. Does anybody know what to call a group of rabbits? I don't know. If anybody knows, please tell me! This first chapter focuses on how the Viera begin to structure their culture. And it is kind of amusing when they realize they don't multiply as fast as regular rabbits would.
1. The First Viera and Viera Law
There were originally sixteen rabbits transformed into Viera. Two males and fourteen females. The males were told by the Wood to split the females and the females were not to mate with the other male. It was to prevent incest. When the kittens grew up, they were to find mates from the other family. The Wood promised these first kittens would be equal males and females. All the females would have children that first time. The Viera still had a problem.
They believed that they could still multiply like rabbits!
And they had trouble figuring out how to mate with their new forms too. They couldn't exactly mate like rabbits did anymore. And they had unusual feelings about it too now. Something called "Love" that mere animals didn't exactly feel in the same way. It was from watching pairs of Humes who entered the Wood to be alone that they learned. And the Humes didn't realize the Viera race's existence yet. Viera were at least smart enough to stay hidden and watch and learn.
Viera began to have problems. A female Viera who didn't realize that she was pregnant would insist on mating repeatedly to ensure that she got pregnant, giving other females less time with the males. And so the Wood began telling the females as soon as they conceived. She was tied to her creations in a way nobody could comprehend. She knew everything about them. And she could communicate telepathically with them.
Viera didn't like having a year and a half gestation, and it was incredibly hard on the females. Three of the first female Viera died in childbirth, and that revealed an apparent flaw in Vieran design: they were delicate, particularly the women. (Many don't realize that Viera reproduce in the exact same way as Humes, and as male Viera are rare since one can be mate to multiple females and are rarely seen, Humes don't seem to realize this. Most still believe that they are born from the Wood itself. That was pretty much the case with the original sixteen, but not any others.)
Once there were enough Viera, the Wood, as their creator, began giving them rules. These rules are still in use by the Viera, and are known as the Green Word. The rules are as follows:
No Viera may ever leave the boundaries of the Wood, or he or she shall never be permitted to return.
No Viera shall ever kill another Viera without reason (Revenge is not a good reason, so execution for murder is not permitted)
No Viera shall ever harm the Wood by cutting down trees.
Viera shall never settle arguments with violence.
No Viera may cause irreversible damage to another Viera.
All Viera are part of the Wood, and should treat each other as such.
No Viera shall attempt to mate with one who is not a Viera.
No Viera shall force him or herself on another Viera.
Viera shall speak the truth at all times.
Viera should not change their names, as they are given by the Wood. (Nicknames, however, are permitted)
Viera shall not kill animals for sport unless they then eat the animal.
If the leader of a tribe should die, the next leader is the oldest child of the leader. If there is no child, then the sister or closest friend will become leader.
Viera should not mate except to have children.
Viera must pass down the Green Word to their children.
All Viera must defend the Wood from all harm.
If a Viera should find an orphaned child, he or she will take it into their village and raise it as one of their family.
Viera tribes shall not fight amongst each other.
No Viera shall ever attempt to mate with a brother, sister, parent, or child.
Viera shall respect the power of fire at all times and never use it as a weapon, but try to keep it away from the Wood-mother.
All Viera young should be born deep in the Wood.
Viera from the same families began banding together. There were two tribes formed. The Wood had split dark-skinned Viera from light-skinned Viera. One of the two males was dark, the other was light. One tribe called themselves "Rava" and the other was "Veena".
Eventually these tribes would band together, when a threat emerged that was the scourge of the Viera for millennia.
The next chapter is about the Reena-Kaana, who are created by the Wood to protect the Viera from the predators, but become an even bigger threat than any stupid monster when they decide that the Wood created them to eat the Viera.