In the twin forests of Dusilv in the outer islands of Gyrah, the Duannum nation of cocidians live as deeply mystical hunter-gatherers. They are mostly matriarchal; their leaders are councils of elders. Though there are some in their tribes who plant herbs for spicing or medicinal purposes, they do not engage much in agriculture. Instead, they have many foragers and gatherers among them who complement the work of their hunters.

Central to their culture are the somniatores. A somniatore is one who uses fungal and herbal concotions to have vivid, powerful dream visions, which they use to guide the tribe. They also use these powers during rituals, festivals, and other traditional gatherings to join the tribe together and guide the hunting for each season. A somniatore is usually an elder who can no longer hunt or forage

Children are raised by the entire tribe, and each child is taught as many skills as possible from a young age. Most children decide their own path during adolescence, requesting to take on a specific role and be taught further. They are tested and trained, and once they reach maturity, they must take a vision journey with the somniatores in order to seek their animal guides. Duannum tribes only have one animal guide, usually a bird of some kind: griffon vulture, crane, bar-headed goose, whooper swan, alpine chough, bearded vulture, mallard, bar-tailed godwit, white stork, or eastern Palhuric [andean] condor are the most common. Each individual has an individual of the tribe's guide to be their guide, which they find within their own dreams. If they dream of an animal other than the tribe's guide, they are sent to find a new tribe, as this indicates they are chosen to marry into a new tribe.

Tribal territories are determined by the habits of their animal guides and the powers of their dreams. If there is a territorial dispute, it is often resolved with councils between elders and somniatores, but sometimes, they resort to battle or other competitions.

Annually, there is a gathering of tribes in between the twin forests which give their territory its name (Dusilv = dua silva, two forests). During this gathering, the somniatores share discoveries from their dreams, foragers and hunters discuss their seasons, and others in the tribe trade goods and materials. It ends with a great feast during which most of the adults take some kind of concoction to have powerful dreams - only a few adults remain sober in order to watch the children and protect the gathering - and in the morning, anyone who dreamt of an animal guide must share what they saw. If they dreamt a guide not of their tribe, they must ask to join the tribe of their new guide. If they dreamt of a guide for a non-extant tribe, it is taken as a sign that a new tribe must be formed, and each tribe asks for volunteers. If no one volunteers, the dreamer must build support or find a way to survive without; this is very rare, however. Often times, duannum look to join new tribes. Their territories are small enough that they can still visit family in other tribes.

Duannum crafts are very colorful and tend to focus on imagery from dreams.