The Rising of the Predators

One of the disadvantages of the Zamars' short life span and general disdain for reading has resulted in the continuous cycle of being unprepared for the Rise of the Predator. Beneath the surface of the ground lies over a dozen great beasts, the Great Predators, who slumber for hundreds of years. They are dormant and almost undetectable. They make up the small lakes, hills, and plains that make up the geography of the world. They shape the land to hide themselves while they sleep beneath the pattering feet of the Zamars and the other smaller predators. Every two thousand years or so, the creatures emerge from their slumber, disturbing the very ground beneath the Zamars' feet and disrupting the entire ecosystem as lakes disappear, mountains crumble, forests are destroyed, and settlements are torn apart. The Great Predators emerge and migrate across the Realms to find their next resting place. During their migration, the land is torn asunder: Zamars frantically try to salvage their lands and retain their identities when the land is being shaped around them. Entire tribes have been wiped out because they lost their camouflage and were hunted by the other Predators. The Great Predators will often travel over the course of a single day until the sun and moon converge in the sky, then they will simply lie down where they end up and allow the process of terraforming to proceed. As the process ends, the Zamars must take stock and figure out where the new tribes are to be brought and how the world is changed for them after the Migration. Once the Migration is over and the tribes have been relocated, the life of a Zamar continues. Their lives are short and each Migration becomes nothing more than an old folk tale for each new generation. It fades into the background of Zamar life until the next Migration emerges and the cycle begins anew.