Sharr Kur narrowed his eyes warily as the guns were dropped into the sand, he did not know what they were but he could piece together they were some type of mysterious weapon.
"I'm Sharr Kur." he put a hand to his chest and pointed at the sand "This esh Zib." some of the words the foreigner was using did not really connect with Sharr Kur, for example 'exploration'.
"Ya explaratin party? What esh Explaratin? Mit... Mitarva? Miterva?" Sharr Kur pulled the boy to his hip and kept a hand on the boy's shoulder "Boy, find tha Cipion, tell 'em thar esh explaratin mitarva on Zib." And with that the boy dashed off, looking behind him every now and then - terrified of the unknown men. Sharr Kur on the otherhand, while in awe of other humans existing and looking so different from his own people, still seemed to be resolute in standing his sand. "Ar ya the Cipion? Mitarva Cipion?" he questioned Ackermann.

Zibian Coast, Atoll Ring - 15:20 12th May

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The coast of Zib, as the men would soon find, was separated into two distinct sections. The outer most ring the product of classical atoll structure noting a defined increased elevation of marine mountain formations. The sand was crisp and pure. A line of tropical plant life held together the sands with their roots as their trunks reached high into the air. The crystal blue waters off the coast made sea-life readily available to spot. Small tropical fish darted through the water, and a roaming reef shark zipped away from the raucous path of their small watercraft. There was an entrance into this atoll ring where the pressing tides of the world's ocean pushed away the gathered sands forming a crescent sandbar to the east, opening up a pathway into the much deeper but virtually just as clear waters surrounding the Island proper. A dense treeline stood between the marine's view and whatever may lie within. What could be seen on the island's coast though were disturbances in the sand, irregular disturbances. While the sand was a poor medium for defined tracks it appeared that there may have been a gathering of wildlife around peeled crab shells. Initial inspection of what was readily available to be seen may indicate that the island lacked human civilization.

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City of Zib, Interior Island of Zib - 15:30 12th May

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Cipion Cas Dzi lounged on a bed of palm leaves and sand, below a canopy of green woven palm leaves. His relaxed expression as he popped open a crab's shell with a tool made from a wooden hand with a singular shark tooth as a pry was symbolic of most evenings on Zib. That was until a small child rushed up to him, kicking sand with his toes as he did so.
"Cipion! Cipion! Thar esh a ship! A ship!" the boy said with wide eyes, panic tangible
"A ship? Boy thar esh a lot o'ar ships! Go away." the Cipion waved dismissively towards the child
"Cipion! Cipion wel ya please!" the child complained
The Cipion looked up from his meal with a dangerous expression and waved the tool slightly at the boy
"If dis esh a'other of ya games child, I wel feed ya to the Sharrs, aye?" Cas Dzi looked to a heavily scarred man to his right, scales and gills engraved on his tanned body visibly giving him an aquatic theme "Sharr Kur, go with the boy, find these ships o'his."
The scarred man stood up slowly and put on his head a wide brimmed woven hat that extend in all directions at least a foot an a half. The sunhats were decorated with fish bone and feathers that dangled off the sides near the ears "Aye Cipion." he said in a deep voice. The large man followed the boy, in his hand a spear with a triple stingray barb at point.

The Cipion watched both leave and then looked to the old men and women near him, being tended to by young women feeding them and giving them water.
"And what do ya think o'this, Old One?" he nodded to one of the old women
"Cipion, thar old tales of lands away from Zib. Perhaps they have found us?" Her accent was much weaker than the younger Zibians including the Cipion, her age placing her closer to the original settlers of Zib
"Ha... glad ya still have ya humor." the Cipion grinned kindly at her while snickering, before going back to his interrupted meal.

The old women smiled back at the Cipion then turned and whispered in the ear of one of the young women who smiled at her and rushed off towards a large twisting wooden horn sitting on a three legged stand for its size was too large for anyone person to hold. Placing her lips at the aperture the woman blew hard into the instrument which created a reverberating high note to a quickly descending and holding low note which rumbled throughout the island.

The Cipion was not impressed and jumped to his feet "Damn ya! What was tha, huh? Do ya see a storm woman? No? I don't see a storm! Foolish girl, ya wel scare everybody! Get away from thar!" the Cipion was livid and turned to the old woman, knowing that she had put the younger one up to it "Ya been acting an eel, old one, what have ya been sayin' to tha girl?"
The old women bowed her head and said in a voice that only an old woman could muster "Ohhh Cipion, I'm sorry for it. I just though ya like a bit o music."

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The Zibians believe that when they die their souls take the form of a entity called a "Soul Fish" which is depicted on their flag in the traditional art style of the Zibians. This belief stems from their ancestors who wanted nothing more to escape the island but where unable to do so under their own power. To them the ocean was freedom and the land was a prison. This belief has eroded to a degree so that now the Zibians of today do not see their island as a prison but as home and the oceans are still revered as the greatest freedom.

Ritual scarification is extremely common among the Zibian people as all have a pair of three scars below their jaw bones to the direct south of their ears on the neck. These scars are made with careful attention to detail and are symbolic of the gills of a fish. There are some that take this further, attempting to show their worth and favor of their ancestors. These men or women, although normally men, go out hours before sunrise and chum the waters around them. Armed with whatever they bring with them the Zibian attempts to kill the sharks that come to the chum. This more than often ends in the death of the Zibian as very few men or women are capable of killing these apex predators with such primitive gear (especially when there is more than one shark present). Those that do survive and kill at least one of the sharks take the fish onto shore where they call together all with in earshot to witness their deed. The shark is carved up for a feast in the honor of the Zibian and the jaws with the teeth still intact are put upon a wooden altar called a Sea Shrine. These sea Shrines are normally located at a high tide mark on the shoreline of the island. The Zibian being honored will be treated for their wounds as best of their ability. If they survive the Zibian will be given scale like scars down the tops of their arms and the top of the legs down to the top of the foot. The honored Zibian's teeth will be filed into points symbolic of the shark they have slain. These champions of the Zibian people will be looked upon in their communities as cultural leaders, however they lack any legislative or executive power, and are called Sharrs. For example if the sitting Cipion was a Sharr as well his name would be Cipion-Sharr Cas Dzi where as a normal Zibian would be known as Sharr Mort Uhi if the person's name was Mor Uhi. It is an honorary prefix.

The Cipion is thought to be a devolved pronunciation of the word Captain. This would be unsurprising given the leadership of their ancestors were lead and guided by Captains of the sea. Unlike the legislative body of the Elders or the Old Ones, the Cipion is a singular hereditary title. The Cipion can trace his or her lineage to the fabled First Cipion, the man elected from his peers to lead the exiles in their quest for survival. Mutiny against the Cipion is considered a paramount crime that will be punished with death by sharks, or more clearly put ... death by being eaten alive by sharks in the morning hours of the next day. The Zibians believe that any one who mutinies against the Cipion will be cursed to become bound to the island never to swim among the school of the ancestral Soul Fish in their grand exploration. The Cipion's authority is over how, if ever, the Zibians will deal with foreigners or new arrivals as well with dictating the direction of the Zibian people. While the Cipion does not create new laws since that is the area of the Elders, they do in effect push the Elders in a direction. That is they hold enormous referent power over the Elders who normally only convene officially to decided on a dilemma that the Cipion has that he or she has decided is in need of wise men and women to solve.

The least difficult to understand traditional organization of the Zibian people is the Council of Elders also known as The Old Ones or simply "Elders". A Zibian is considered to be an elder when they have visibly gray hair from at least two paces. No Zibian can be denied their place within the council as it is a birth right for all. The council rarely convenes of its own accord. Normally convened by popular petition or the directive of the Cipion. These Zibians on the council determine what laws should be created or disbanded and take their roles seriously as they will be judged by their ancestors for acting out of greed, spite, laziness, and so on. Elder Sharrs co-chair the council with the eldest of the Elders. It is not uncommon for meetings of The Old Ones to take multiple days to reach a conclusion as it takes a simple majority to pass but as these are the eldest among them health concerns do arise such as mid-day sleeping sessions. Participation is completely voluntary as no Zibian is required to attend council meetings regardless of age.