A Different World: Age of Darkness [IC|Closed]

by **Olthenia** » Thu Sep 01, 2022 6:23 am

K H O R T U U N

THE BLACK KINGS ON TRIAL
by Haasje mo Travenno, First Speaker of the Coven of Sorcerous Wisdom
The following being a summary of the salient points of the debate which led to the resolution of the Coven of Sorcerous Wisdom on the subject of the magic of the blood

HISTORY
The study and practice of ‘Blood Magic’, known colloquially as 'worship of the Black Kings', has a history that dates back before even the earliest Ustarran city-states. Virtually all the earliest laws of our lands make mention of it as expressly forbidden on pain of exile. Nevertheless, a few independent practitioners of the arts of sorcery are known to have continued its study.

The Sisterhood of Starry Wisdom, precursors to our own Sorcerous Coven from before the Age of Blood, declared similar strictures against its use, not only because it was dangerous, but their belief in holy and unholy ancestor spirits made it unseemly. Again, in spite of this, we hear many tales of studious sisters and wise mothers alike who ignored this stricture. When the venerated Baneera mo Gaal left Kura Kumbe, she may have disagreed with the Sisterhood on many points, but she also refused to allow Blood Magic to be taught in our Coven.

Almost 100 years of the Star-Count have passed since the time of Baneera, and there have been many wise mothers to lead her Coven. The question of Blood Magic has continued to be asked. The strictures against it in the Coven have never been lifted, but attitudes regarding it have shifted back and forth. Some particularly prudent mothers have been inclined to ignore it entirely, some have fought very actively against it, and still other wise mothers have been rumored to have knelt before the charnel alters of the Black Kings themselves.

In my new role as First Speaker of the Coven, it is my duty to set policy on this matter. Though I have my own opinions on Blood Magic, I took counsel with two of the most learned sorceresses amongst the Khortuun; the Mothers Votha mo Parliss of Ustar and Ulliceta mo Kajah of Sorrowfree, and we debated for two days.

What follows are summaries of the salient points of the debate, arguments and counter-arguments, which led to the resolution of our Coven on the subject of Blood Magic.

ARGUMENT
Argument by Mother Kajah: Blood Magic is, at best, poorly understood. The precepts upon which this power is founded exist as a primal force of the Mother-Moon’s universe, and we will not make it disappear by ignoring it. We might as well attempt to forbid and ignore the sea or the sky. As an institution dedicated to the study of the magical arts and mundane sciences, we have obligations to the truth. To censor ourselves in our salons is antithetical to our mission of neutrality and objectivity.

Counter-Argument by Mother Parliss: The Sorcerous Coven must balance its quest for knowledge with responsible caution and ethical standards. It is not 'censoring' a sister's course of study to have her proceed cautiously and with clarity of purpose. It is not limiting a sister's freedom to set rules and boundaries - indeed, it is essential. The devastation of the White Death reinforces this point.

Argument by Mother Parliss: Worship of the Black Kings is anathema amongst all civilized people. To embrace it publicly, the Coven would inspire fear and hostility in the populace at large – from the humblest camel drover to the proudest temple matron. Our ancestors wanted this institution to be unlike the fabled Sisterhood of old, which was elitist and seclutionary. We ignore public opinion at our own risk. We will certainly lose our charters in many places including, very likely, the entire Vale of Ustar, where sentiment against Blood Magic is very strong.

Counter-Argument by Mother Kajah: Yes, we should be sensitive to the concerns of the community, but they should not and must not dictate the extent of our scholarship. 'Blood Mage' or 'King-Slave' to many uneducated persons simply means an evil sorcerer. A stock character from children’s pantomimes and Spring Feast spectacles. It is madness to limit our work because of prejudices and half-formed understanding. It is an affront to the purpose of objective study to turn our back on a subject merely because of public opinion.

Argument by Mother Kajah: Practitioners of Blood Magic were the scourge of Ustar and the world a mere century ago. Whether operating independently or in concert with the minions of the so-called ‘Lord of Lead’, they were responsible for many horrors, animated kraalen and flesh-fiends and other forms of the undead. To best combat any future menace of this sort, we must understand the powers of the Blood Magic - yet we cannot hope to do so by restricting our study of the Black Kings and their evil.

Counter-Argument by Mother Parliss: No one is disputing the threat of the Black Kings - in fact, that is the very essence of my argument against our Coven making it a School to be studied by our initiate sisters. We can and should know what our enemy is capable of, yes - but we must be careful not to step into a trap of looking too deep into their ways, and making those ways our own. We do no one any good if by studying the evil ways, we become evil ourselves. As the oldest precepts of the Mother-Moon states: "Those who stare into the dark between the stars should take heed, for that darkness stares likewise into them."

Argument by Mother Parliss: Blood Magic is inherently dangerous. One cannot 'dabble' in it. Even its simplest rituals requires the spilling of blood – and this immediately begins to corrupt the caster's soul; whatever Corvidian naysayers might claim. Their Boneblessed are callous, cruel and unseemly in both mind and manner to all Khortuun. This is not conjecture, but simple fact. It is irresponsible of the Coven to teach and thereby encourage a sort of magical study which has proven itself, time and time again, to bring nothing but terror and misery on the practitioner and world. Or should we ask the Wolf-Brothers what became of their Lost Cities?

Counter-Argument by Mother Kajah: All Schools of magic are dangerous to the uninitiated – as much as the falx or keen-sword is to untrained hands. A simple infusion from the School of Wyrd can cause great harm when distilled by a novice, not only to others but to the sorceress herself. The School of the Outsider by its very nature forces the practitioner to divorce her mind from logic, to embrace a temporary sort of insanity, which one might argue is very like corrupting one's soul.

Argument by Mother Kajah: The Coven already permits some forms of Blood Magic. The 'Schools' of magic are, as we know, artificial constructs, originally formulated by our elders to divide and thereby simplify study. They have changed many times throughout the years, but at their heart, every wise Mother knows, to study different school is askin to studying different sides of the same coin. When a student of Runecrafting draws life and purpose into a golem of rock and steel, she is touching on the School of Blood Magic. When a student of the Outsider communes with His Shadow, she too may be considered guilty of a paean to the Black Kings. The School of Runecrafting, as I have stated previously, has some kinship with Blood Magic as well. To state that our sisters may not learn the ways of Blood Magic is to stifle theoretical knowledge of other, more historically legitimate Schools known to our Coven.

Counter-Argument by Mother Parliss: Yes, the Schools are intertwined, but the standard rituals of each School have passed the proof of time. We know that a student of the Outsider, properly instructed, will not be permanently harmed by her experience. In many ways, it is a question of extremes - how far we would permit our studies to take us. Blood Magic by its nature relies on the practitioner going further into the darkness than is wise, virtually guaranteeing her destruction. It has no place in our Coven.

CONCLUSION
The risks of studying Blood Magic outweighs its usefulness. The Coven does not wish to censor the study of any of its members, but it will not tolerate studies in Blood Magic, except in limited form for the purpose of combating its evil adherents. This may only be done by rare individuals who have proven themselves both highly skilled and highly cautious, and then only with the Coven’s express permission and supervision.

AFTERWORD
I regret to acknowledge the truth behind the rumor that Mother Ulliceta mo Kajah was more than an apologist for Blood Magic, she was herself a practitioner. Upon this revelation, the Priestesses of Sorrowfree attempted to arrest her, but she made good her escape. We have every confidence in her swift and eventual capture – if the Mother-Moon wills it.

Though I disagreed, I respected her logical reasoning enough to include her arguments in this text, and I see no reason to remove them. It is disappointing, however, to see that her interest in 'the truth' was nothing more than a euphemism for her slavery to the Black Kings.

This unfortunate situation merely illustrates how essential it is for members of our Coven to be wary of the lure of Blood Magic, and be vigilant to its practitioners' infiltration in our homes and halls.

by **Pentapolitan Kyrene** » Thu Sep 01, 2022 9:29 am

The bar-Ayyat

"Menhar was lost upon the water - her ship was stirred
She passed one league into the depths and was lost
Menhar was lost upon the water - her ship was stirred
She passed two leagues into the depths, and was afraid
Menhar was lost upon the water - her ship was stirred
She passed three leagues into the depths, and was despairing
Menhar was lost beneath the water - her heart went weeping"
- The tale of Menhar the Sailor, l.1-7

It was sad among the Ayyatu that all men are born a'ship. As was often the case with such aphorisms, this came with two meanings. First, of course, the spiritual sense - men, when born, are placed within a vessel upon a journey that, once began, must end. All sailors tire, all hulls wear through, all holds run empty - all men's lives fade, and pass back to sea. The reason the words passed in popular parlance, though, was that they also served as a joke - literally speaking, almost all men in old Uyyun had been born in houses traditionally said to've been built from the hulls of the ships that had brought their forebears across the great ocean. There was another, baser joke entailed in the wording, involving a common Ayyati euphemism, though that was kept for the tongues of sailors and the halls of tap-houses. The salt-saints might've disdained the phrase more, for that baseness, if they had been more inclined to severity.

In these days, many of the bar-Ayyat, the people of the tide itself, had never actually stood on board a sailing ship. Most were well familiar with boats - fishing skiffs and dhows, little vessels for passing up and down the river, and along the rough coast to Nar-Balhur, if the need arose to witness some trial or ceremony. These foreign boats, washed upon the shore, were a sight to behold, and a site that awoke some dormant thing in the Ayyati breast. The people of the city thronged to see them - to climb aboard and feel the sturdy make of the vessel. To look over the carvings in the boards - to luxuriate, for a moment, in shared memory.

A few, as they sat, remembered a song or story some elder had told them through wind-cracked lips. Some remembered the tales of dread Hassur, breaking the world in water and storm, shaking heaven. Such tales were a favourite among children in the house of tides - it was a sport of the singers to try to render ancient calamities as vividly as they could, and so the tales grew in the telling. Others - those whose parents had been quieter in disposition, perhaps, recalled the tale of Menhar, The Lost-and-Found. Few memories remained of times before the landfall, but the tales of Menhar the sailor were well loved among those few. She had been lost from the fleet, wind-blown and cast into the midst of the sea, from where she found her way home again in time, passing through fear, despair and hardship in the sea-beneath-the-sea. It was a comfort, for people lost among deserts and the salt-sea, to know they were not alone, lost in their lives.

by **Lazarian** » Thu Sep 01, 2022 10:11 am

The Ancient Ways

Shinestream, West of Corvus
Seventh of Harvesttime

Chik-chik. Chik-chik. Chik-chik-chik.

As the last of the sand sifted away into the stream, Noran Sandshifter looked at the empty pan in disappointment.

His family had been here since time immemorial. Longer than anyone could remember. Their tents were flung all across these lands, clustered in small pockets of family-clans. Like the Old Corvidians. His father, his father’s father, his father’s father’s father - they had all taken their first breaths here and all been laid to rest in these fields.

And evidently, they had all sifted here too, he thought with a grumble. Yawning, he stretched, dipping his legs into the river and letting the water run through his muddy toes.

Some of his cousins and their families had taken to a new method of gathering the precious gleaming stone. They’d take flecked rocks from the riverbank, then smash them to pieces and sand upon slightly slanted tables, where water would wash away the worthless dirt and leave behind the precious fruit of their labors.

It was interesting, to be sure, but he wasn’t for it. It was hard work to drag the rocks to the crushing tables, and that wasn’t even getting to the arduous crushing process itself! They thought they were so clever, but they lost the forest for the trees. The new process took all day and all your effort. The young men of the village flopped into their straw beds with exhaustion at night, arms and back aching from heaving stones for miles.

But Noran’s ways, the ancient ways? No, they didn’t take all day. You set up your traps, set out your lines, and then sifted in between bites. And laid in the cool waters of the stream, from time to time. And basked on warm rocks in the sun. And peeled the catch while listening to the songs of the birds.

Maybe the ancient ways were slower, and produced less gold. Sure. But Noran didn’t have to carry rocks or swing hammers, and so that was that.

Order:
Corvus: -2 from Citizen Scholars. -5 from Peasants. -2 Peasant movement to City. +2 from Houses. +5 from Capitol City. +18 from Government. Net 16.
Cavon: -2 from Citizen Scholars. -3 from Peasants. +2 from Houses. +2 from Village. +11 from Government. Net 10.
Corvin: = -2 from Citizen Scholars. -2 from Peasants. -3 from Freedmen. +1 from Hamlet. +8 from Government. Net 2.
Total Nationwide Order: 44 Order + 30 Order = 74/133. Neutral next turn.

Research: [21/38 -> 27/38 Firechar Comprehension]
1 from Scientific Method
2 from Corvus (Capitol City)
3 from Citizen Scholars

Diplomacy: None this year.

by **Novas Arcanum** » Fri Sep 02, 2022 6:07 am

Glory of the Taiyang Dynasty

A Golden Age Dawns for the Taiyang!

On the eastern shores of the continent the wheels of time continued turning. The Taiyang Dynasty would for a time look inward caring little for what happened beyond it's borders. The threat of the barbarians was forgotten and though the nobles whispered that the dynasty had lost the mandate due to the depravations inflicted on the people of the Middle Kingdom the wounds of that event were soon healed. The Middle Kingdom was constantly invaded by barbarians but it would stand strong and powerful no matter what.

In the midst of momentous and great change, the Taiyang Dynasty would have a seismic event occur. Future historians would note that this would be the first golden age the Huang would enjoy since the days of the ancient Shao Dynasty. It is in the spring when the snows melted, and the world was born anew that the great ruler Emperor Han died of a mysterious disease. His death was mourned and a great funeral would be held in Jingshi to commemorate his sublime rule of the Middle Kingdom. The rule of the empire was supposed to pass on to his eldest son, Zhao Zhang a man not favored by the scholars of the Celestial Court.

Zhao Zhang preferred to spend his days with beautiful women in his arms, and rice wine on his lips. He partied and cared little for studying the classics and was the opposite of a virtuous man that the great Philosopher Lao wrote in his teachings. The scholars and bureaucrats would conspire to have him killed and an emperor of their choice placed on the Dragon Throne.

His younger brother Zhao Gengxin heard of this conspiracy. An unimportant figure in the Imperial Family, he was slated to become a daoist monk at a temple in the mountains. No one really cared for him and believed him to be inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. This worked out perfectly for Zhao Gengxin who was ambitious and aspired to be more than a simple monk. Thus, the bureaucrats were sloppy and allowed their plot to be heard, as Zhao Gengxin listened from the shadows in the halls of the Celestial Palace.

The Imperial Guard was loyal to the now deceased Emperor, and staunch believers of his wisdom. Zhao Zhang was the favored son and the Emperor wanted him to succeed him if word got out that nefarious plotters were scheming to replace him and have a figurehead take the Dragon Throne in his place blood would flow like the Yu River in the Celestial Court. Zhao Gengxin struck a deal with the scholars support him in taking the Dragon Throne and he would not tell the Imperial Guard of their most heinous plot.

The scholars agreed, next Zhao Gengxin went to Zhao Zhang. The two brothers were surprisingly close, in fact Zhao Gengxin knew his older brother like a book. He knew that all Zhao Zhang wanted to do was party and have sex and that he didn't want to rule at all. Zhao Gengxin worked out a deal, when Zhao Zhang ascended as the Emperor, the first decree he would pass would to be to allow Zhao Gengxin to take the throne in his place. In exchange Zhao Zhang would be given a annual stipend and allowed to party to his hearts content. Zhao Zhang happily agreed, and this satisfied the desires of both the nobles and the Imperial Guard. Zhao Zhang's word as the favored son of the previous Emperor was considered gold and with the backing of both of the nobles and the Imperial Guard Zhao Gengxin's rule would be secure and absolute.

Zhao Gengxin would become the Hongxi Emperor and his rule would see Huang Civilization enter a golden age...

Nanzhou

City Layout
22,000 Population |22,000 Freedmen
5 Catapults
Infrastructure:
Grand Wall [Siphoning], Garrison | Forbidden Palace, Great Canal | Aqueduct, Houses, Dense Housing, Spinning House , Workshop, Paddy, Bloomery
Rural Community [+4 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Wealth. +1 Bonus Food]
Rural Community [+4 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Wealth. +1 Bonus Food]
Rural Community [+4 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Wealth. +1 Bonus Food]
Farming Community [+7 Food, +1 Labor, +2 Wealth. +1 Bonus Food for every two types of Domestic Crop]
Reaping Station[+2 Food,+3 Wealth,+1 Luxury,3 Silk]
Artisan Conclave [+1 Food, +3 Wealth, +1 Industry]
Village Output → +2 Labor, +5 Food, +2 Wealth, +1 Industry, +2 Order, +2 Luxuries.
Workshop → -8 Wealth,+ 12 Industry
Spinning House → - 3 Silk, +3 Wealth
Total Wealth Output
16 Wealth
Population Actions:
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → + (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → + (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
2000 Freedmen → Studying the Laoist classics.
Construction:
Simple Sewers → [0/50 Labor|15/15 Wealth|15/ 15 Industry]
Rural Community[3/3 Labor|3/3 Wealth|1/1 Industry]
Military Actions
Garrison Army[Iron,Iron] → Patrols
Galley Squadron → Aids Yuzhou in patrolling
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] →Patrols
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth

Yuzhou

City Layout
18,000 Population|13,000 Freedmen. 5,000 Bureaucrats.
Infrastructure: Reinforced Stone Wall, Garrison | Temple of Heaven, The Long Wall | Aqueduct, Simple Sewers, Dense Housing, Deep Quarry
Rural Community[+4 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Wealth, +1 Bonus Food,+1 Stone,+2 Timber]
Frontier Outpost[Torched]
Watchtower [Walled Fortress:+1 Labor,+1 Food]
Deep Quarry → +2 Stone
Village Output → +2 Labor, +5 Food, +2 Wealth, +1 Industry, +2 Order, +2 Luxuries.
Total Wealth Output:
+9 Wealth
Population Actions:
5000 Bureaucrats → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| +1 Order|1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| Demands I Luxury|2 Disorder (25% Disorder Ignored from Housing) )
3000 Freedmen → Studying the Laoist Classics.
Construction:
Frontier Outpost [5/5 Labor|5/5 Wealth|2/2 Industry]
Rural Community [3/3 Labor|3/3 Wealth|1/1 Industry|1/1 Timber]
Reaping Station [0/5 Labor| 1/1 Wealth]
Military Actions
Garrison Army [Iron, Iron] → [Patrolling]
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] →[ Patrolling]
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth

Zhongdu:

City Layout
Population 11,000 |11,000 Freedmen
Infrastructure
Garrison | Dense Housing
Artisan Conclave → (+1 Food, +3 Wealth, +1 Industry )
Reaping Station [+2 Food, +2 Wealth, +3 Timber, +1 Luxury]
Village Output → +2 Labor, +5 Food, +2 Wealth, +1 Industry, +2 Order, +2 Luxuries.
Total Wealth Output
9 Wealth
Population Actions:
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
1000 Freedmen → (Studying the Laoist Classics)
Construction

Watchtowers → [5/5 Labor|2/ 2 Wealth|2/ 2 Timber]
Military Actions
Garrison Army[Iron,Iron] → Patrols
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] → Patrols
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth

Qindao:

City Layout
5,000 Population | 5,000 Freedmen
Infrastructure
Hamlet Output → +1 Labor, +3 Food, +1 Order.
Garrison
Total Wealth Output
3
Population Actions
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury(1 Silk is consumed +1 Order for 5 Years,+5 Luxuries)
Garrison Army [Iron, Iron] → Patrols
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] → Patrols
Construction
Watchtowers → [0/5 Labor|2/ 2 Wealth|0/ 2 Timber]
Reaping Station → [5/5 Labor|1/ 1 Wealth]
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth
Stockpile
1 Silk

Jingshi:

City Layout
5,000 Population | 5,000 Freedmen
Infrastructure
Reinforced Stone Wall | Jiayuguan Fortress (Ruins) | Houses
Capitol City Output →[ +2 Labor, +5 Wealth, +5 Industry, +5 Order, +2 Research]
Frontier Outpost → (+2 Food, +2 Wealth, +1 Timber, +1 Stone)
Watchtower → +1 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Army Cap
Total Wealth Output
9
Population Actions
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
Construction
Reaping Station → [0/ 5 Labor|1/ 1 Wealth]
Military Actions
Army [Iron, Iron, Unicorns, Composites] → (Recovering???)
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] → Patrols
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth

Nanzhou

City Layout
22,000 Population |22,000 Freedmen
5 Catapults
Infrastructure:
Grand Wall [Siphoning], Garrison | Forbidden Palace, Great Canal | Aqueduct, Houses, Dense Housing, Spinning House , Workshop, Paddy, Bloomery
Rural Community [+4 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Wealth. +1 Bonus Food]
Rural Community [+4 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Wealth. +1 Bonus Food]
Rural Community
Farming Community
Reaping Station[+2 Food,+3 Wealth,+1 Luxury,3 Silk]

Artisan Conclave [+1 Food, +3 Wealth, +1 Industry]
Village Output → +2 Labor, +5 Food, +2 Wealth, +1 Industry, +2 Order, +2 Luxuries.
Workshop → -8 Wealth,+ 12 Industry
Spinning House → - 3 Silk, +3 Wealth
Total Wealth Output
16 Wealth
Population Actions:
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → + (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → + (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
2000 Freedmen → Studying the Laoist classics.
Construction:
Simple Sewers → [0/50 Labor|15/15 Wealth|15/ 15 Industry]
Military Actions
Garrison Army[Iron,Iron] → Patrols
Galley Squadron → Aids Yuzhou in patrolling
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] →Patrols
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth

Yuzhou

City Layout
18,000 Population|13,000 Freedmen. 5,000 Bureaucrats.
Infrastructure: Reinforced Stone Wall, Garrison | Temple of Heaven, The Long Wall | Aqueduct, Simple Sewers, Dense Housing, Deep Quarry
Rural Community[+4 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Wealth, +1 Bonus Food,+1 Stone,+2 Timber]
Frontier Outpost[Torched]
Watchtower [Walled Fortress:+1 Labor,+1 Food]
Deep Quarry → +2 Stone
Village Output → +2 Labor, +5 Food, +2 Wealth, +1 Industry, +2 Order, +2 Luxuries.
Total Wealth Output:
+9 Wealth
Population Actions:
5000 Bureaucrats → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| +1 Order|1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| Demands I Luxury|2 Disorder (25% Disorder Ignored from Housing) )
3000 Freedmen → Studying the Laoist Classics.
Construction:
Frontier Outpost [5/5 Labor|5/5 Wealth|2/2 Industry]
Rural Community [3/3 Labor|3/3 Wealth|1/1 Industry|1/1 Timber]
Reaping Station [0/5 Labor| 1/1 Wealth]
Military Actions
Garrison Army [Iron, Iron] → [Patrolling]
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] →[ Patrolling]
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth

Zhongdu:

City Layout
Population 11,000 |11,000 Freedmen
Infrastructure
Garrison | Dense Housing
Artisan Conclave → (+1 Food, +3 Wealth, +1 Industry )
Reaping Station [+2 Food, +2 Wealth, +3 Timber, +1 Luxury]
Village Output → +2 Labor, +5 Food, +2 Wealth, +1 Industry, +2 Order, +2 Luxuries.
Total Wealth Output
9 Wealth
Population Actions:
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
1000 Freedmen → (Studying the Laoist Classics)
Construction

Watchtowers → [5/5 Labor|2/ 2 Wealth|2/ 2 Timber]
Military Actions
Garrison Army[Iron,Iron] → Patrols
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] → Patrols
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth

Qindao:

City Layout
5,000 Population | 5,000 Freedmen
Infrastructure
Hamlet Output → +1 Labor, +3 Food, +1 Order.
Garrison
Total Wealth Output
3
Population Actions
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury(1 Silk is consumed +1 Order for 5 Years,+5 Luxuries)
Garrison Army [Iron, Iron] → Patrols
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] → Patrols
Construction
Watchtowers → [0/5 Labor|2/ 2 Wealth|0/ 2 Timber]
Reaping Station → [5/5 Labor|1/ 1 Wealth]
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth
Stockpile
1 Silk

Jingshi:

City Layout
5,000 Population | 5,000 Freedmen
Infrastructure
Reinforced Stone Wall | Jiayuguan Fortress (Ruins) | Houses
Capitol City Output →[ +2 Labor, +5 Wealth, +5 Industry, +5 Order, +2 Research]
Frontier Outpost → (+2 Food, +2 Wealth, +1 Timber, +1 Stone)
Watchtower → +1 Food, +1 Labor, +1 Army Cap
Total Wealth Output
9
Population Actions
5000 Freedmen → (+1 Wealth|1/1 Food| 1/1 Luxury)
Construction
Reaping Station → [0/ 5 Labor|1/ 1 Wealth]
Military Actions
Army [Iron, Iron, Unicorns, Composites] → (Recovering???)
Defensive Army (Conscripts) [ ] → Patrols
Government/Civics
+3 Order,+1 Wealth

by **The Empire of Tau** » Sat Sep 03, 2022 5:30 pm

The Bacchanal Republic of Manikos - Turn 7

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sun Sep 04, 2022 6:27 am

Strength, Stone

Caverns of the White Hills, Kharbarinth
Twentyfirst of Last Seed, Year Five Hundred Fortyone of the Reckoning

One foot in front of the other. Breath in through the nose, out through the mouth to the count of four. No faster, no slower. Just breathe.

Gods, he hated working down here. Glowglobes pushed back the darkness, sure. The masons had shaped the walls into sheer smooth stone, no longer rough-hewn and monstrous, aye. Carefully chiseled channels in the floor allowed the condensation to run into drains, preventing it from gathering in the ancient midnight pools that were once all too common in the caverns, yes. It was, to the uninitiated observer, like nothing so much as a large construction of some great palace with a bit of a drainage problem, lacking merely windows.

Not so much for the Artificer.

His senses were keener, his sight deeper. He felt the weight of the rock and stone, invisibly pushing down on their tiny hollow here in the bowels of the earth, far below the Mother's domain of green and sky and soil. Even as he breathed carefully to prevent the panic from rising in his breath, he could feel each imperceptible exhalation of the sediment, the earth-tides languidly pulsing, shifting the cocoon the artisans had woven about this immense hall. Each pulse put a bit more strain on the columns, the facing stones, the very walls.

It was like an itch at the back of his skull he couldn't scratch. His rational mind told him it would be centuries before any of these supports failed, warded and stolidly built as they were. And yet the infinitesimal lunges toward collapse worked upon his heart in steady rhythm, bringing each breath in this oppressive vault just a bit quicker.

Nothing for it. Best to get this over with quickly.

The Artificer turned to the entourage of men and women who paced behind him, forcing a sickly smile onto his pale face and gesturing expansively toward the pile of heavy granite blocks that had been placed in the center of the cavern.

"I apologize for the brief exercise, good mistresses and masters. As you know, the Brotherhood values our secrecy highly, and eyes are everywhere. Here we can be sure no living soul above or below looks upon this demonstration, so you have appropriate moments to consider her use before our enemies are aware of the provenance."

Bearded faces and elfin smooth nodded in turn, most dismissing his condolences with no more than a quirk of the eyebrow or a toss of a head. Such was to be expected. If the results warranted the security, none would object.

"I begin."

He intoned the mystical words once, the scrap of doggerel which each Deepkin mage included prior to their incantations. It wasn't much, a basic recitation of the ages of the earth, a claim to be the oldest and wisest kindred who were here before all others, first creations of the Father. Some of his colleagues who hailed from bloodlines that didn't originate in Kharbarinth, like the men and women from Kar Agala, found the affectation quaint. But every mage of the Landsraad learned it - it would be almost like working without wards, to not include the claims.

Then he launched into the actual passes, sketching runes of burning light and languid sorcery in the air before his chest. It made him uncomfortable, working with pure magic in this fashion. It was much more stable, much more predictable, to cut your intentions into stone or steel before waking the enchantment, for such workings could be inspected and proofed ere they twisted any of the skeins of the tapestry of the world. But this particular rite, unfortunately, precluded such an effort.

With a final cry he completed the incantation, and a gesture sent the words of power floating across the short distance to the immense stone blocks, where they sank into the rock with a whisper of heat and prismatic light. The Agaladrim had done a good job preparing for this test; each of the monolithic stones were as tall as his waist, and six times as wide, the stuff which would take coordinated teams to lift on a crane for city defenses or towers of powerful provenance.

Smoke rose from them now, the entropy of the reaction gathering pace. Slowly the stones dissolved, hundreds of bushels of pure gray-blue granite slumping into a deep gray slurry which flowed downward, rock over rock. Normally it wouldn't be quite dramatic, but he had wanted the spell to have a visual impact his mundane observers would be aware of, and the muttered imprecations and oaths at his back told the tale of that success.

Forward the slurry crawled, until it stopped just before his feet, a flowing river of obsidian stone in motion which suddenly began to pile up on itself. It began to draw back, leaving behind bricks of inky black stone as it retreated, each neatly stacked two high, until the slurry itself was completely gone and only a few dozen bricks like those a mason might turn out in an hour or two remained of the great heap of granite blocks.

A question came from behind, high and fluting and apparently amused.

"You've managed to make tiny blocks out of heavy building stone, magister? Not exactly an achievement."

The Artificer did not turn his head, merely nodding and smiling to himself.

"If you please, madam, step forward and pick up one of the bricks."

From out of the edge of his vision one of the green-bordered robes of the Scholarium, and a well-muscled woman with chestnut hair stooped, placing a hand around one of his creations. She paused, arm tendons standing out, and then frowned. Her other hand descended, so she could get a better grip on either side of the construct, and tugged again. Her efforts might as well have been against one of the pillars that held up the roof of the great cavern, for all the effect they had.

She stood, nodding. He inclined his head, having expected a test such as this.

"Each of these stones now possesses within them the density and essence of a block forty times her volume. Even one of the Agaladrim will struggle to lift it, and as you might guess, the value of such a resource will be formidable. I have tested these runestones against siege-hammers and they care not a whit for that impact. As you may surmise, the uses for such a substance in defense planning and construction are... formidable."

Open conversation broke out then, and the Artificer allowed himself a genuine smile, the oppressive weight of the earth above forgotten completely for the moment in the acclaim of success.

by **Scornerse** » Mon Sep 05, 2022 9:44 am

IC Portion WIP

Sunlion Mandate

Government: Celestial Monarchy

Ongoing Construction:

Local Market in Khorshid (9/10 Labor, 20/20 Wealth, 5/5 Industry)
Apothecary in Khorshid (0/25 Labor, 0/80 Wealth, 2/15 Industry)
Upgrading Mshtra to Village ( 5/5 Labor, 5/5 Wealth, 2/2 Industry, 5/5 Timber) COMPLETE!
Local Market in Mshtra (4/10 Labor, 10/20 Wealth, 0/5 Industry)
Local Market in Zhl (0/10 Labor, 10/20 Wealth, 0/5 Industry)

Upgrading Mshtra to Village ( 2/5 Labor, 5/5 Wealth, 0/2 Industry, 2/5 Timber
Local Market in Khorshid (5/10 Labor, 10/20 Wealth, 5/5 Industry)
Local Market in Mshtra (4/10 Labor, 10/20 Wealth, 0/5 Industry)
Local Market in Zhl (0/10 Labor, 3/20 Wealth, 0/5 Industry)

Khorshid Food:
Produced: +3
Received: N/A
Transfered: N/A
Consumed: +2
Net: +1

Mshtra Food:
Produced: +7
Received: N/A
Transfered: N/A
Consumed: -3
Net: +4

Zhl Food:
Produced: +5
Received: N/A
Transfered: N/A
Consumed: -3
Net: +2

Luxuries;
Khorshid - 0/1
Mshtra - 2/2
Zhl - 0/0

Global Order: 16
Reserves: 6 Wealth, 3 Stone, 2 Rubies, 2 Diamonds

Armies:
[Iron, Iron, Composite Bows] In Khorshid Garrison

Technologies:
Refined Construction, Refined Smithing, Simple Machinery, Saddle, Governance

Researching: Urbanization (4/20)

by **The GAmeTopians** » Mon Sep 05, 2022 4:42 pm

The Folk

The quarantine of Dale continues, the populace continuing to be supported by their northern kinsmen. Additionally, a spry young scholar from the capital has proposed a novel theory - perhaps the strange crystals from Dale’s mines, seemingly so far useless, could cause harm to the Folk with their song. It would certainly explain the lack of spread to the other cities, since the crystals had remained stockpiled in Dale, rather than being distributed beyond its borders. Not finding any other immediate solution to their plight, and spurning the strange religion of the visiting wanderer, the freemen of Dale promptly dumped their findings back where they came from! Only through cooperation, they would achieve glory.

EVENT RESPONSE: The Wasting
Dale has been placed under city-wide quarantine in response to the outbreak of plague, with strict restrictions placed on the activities of the citizens, and careful aid provided by the Council as the Demarchs begin to search for the cause.
Effects: -100% Labor Generation in Dale this turn, all excess Food in Dale consumed by isolated populace (4 excess Food), 3 Wealth and 3 Industry transported by Vael (reflected in actions)
Singing Crystals are discarded out of suspicion that they hold dangerous magics: -3 Singing Crystals, citizens are warned to turn over any small scavenged crystals to the guard - they currently have no known uses regardless.

Starting Order: 55 (Tier 1 Culture!)
Starting Wealth: 134

Order Total: 55 + 0 + 2 + 2 = 59, 59/30 = 1.97 (Happy)
Research Total: 3 (2 from Capitol, 1 from Tier 1 Culture)
Researching Garrison (7/10) -> (10/10) (Complete!)

Wealth Total: 134 - 131 + 1 + 8 = 12 Wealth

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:41 pm

Year Fivehundred Fortyone of the Reckoning Ends
Era Four, Year Seven Ends

The Khortuun of Sorrowfree: Men and women plots strange things beneath the midnight sun - for the midnight sun indeed passes over the Vale of Ustar this year, the Mother Moon devouring her consort and casting the land into the shadows of night though it is yet noon. There are whispers in the Retreat of secret rites performed as the Mother Moon dominates the land, but only rumors. Far more immediate are the effects east of Sorrowfree, in the drylands which the Bonadar have claimed for the Khortuun, where isolated farming villages not far from the Great Pit are suddenly set upon by ravening hosts of abominations. The beasts seem to have been agitated by the disappearance of the sun, and use this opportunity of disarray and confusion amongst the settlers to prey upon weak flesh. A Reaping Station is all but depopulated, overrun by the monstrosities, little but gristle and blood on the stones to tell of the fate when a patrol happens upon the massacre.

The bar-Ayyat: The repair and re-launching of the mighty vessels has reminded the Ayyati of the good days, of how they were once masters of the waves. Civic fervor is at an all time high, and work upon public projects sees many volunteers giving of their sweat and salt for the good of the state, even in the ranks of the functionaries that maintain the apparatus of the clan-halls and record-moots. The bar-Ayyat gain +1 Labor in every Settlement next year, and a bonus Civic Point for the next four generations.

The Remnants of Corvus: There is good news from Cavon this year, some of the best one could hope for; men working in the Nightmetal mines report striking an impressive vein of native silver, lustrous and valuable, which will no doubt make the settlement rich indeed. Native Silver has been discovered in Cavon.

The Taiyang Dynasty: Disgruntled bureaucrats have raised an army against Zhao Zhang, rallying warriors and princes to their banner in the eastern reaches of Zhongdu; their treason is great, for some say that they wish to restore the Yu to their ancestral seat, while others speak of Zhao Gengxin as having given his blessing for this revolt, dissatisfied with the size of his stipend and his loss of power at court. How many men march in this army, and who they might rally to their cause - all this is unknown, but of very serious concern to the Peace of Heaven!

The Bacchanal Republic of Manikos: Reports have come back to Nea, from the sellswords outriders - a camp of wildmen has been located just west of Machaka, more than a camp really, for her walls are high and constructed of stone. This represents a serious threat to the people of not only Machaka's outlying settlements, but her sister cities as well...

The Landsraad Imperium: No prospecting results have yielded anything of consequence - however unlooked for the people of Tsargrad have happened upon an understanding of the strange nodule-weeds which grow off the shores of their city, the knowledge coming from local fishermen who have everyday interactions with these odd plants. The small rocky bundles appear to be a concentration of metals, a type of low-grade iron which the weeds might filter from the sea, or draw from the ocean floor, suitable for smelting if harvested in great amounts. A discovery indeed, for Tsargrad lacks much in mineral wealth...

The Sunlion Mandate: Roaming nomads have arrived in Khorshid, petitioning the mistress of the Sunlions for relief against the lord of Mshtra. Apparently the master of the city has been levying high taxes on those wandering folk who settle within the bounds of his walls, and casting those who will not or cannot pay these fines into chains! To side with the master of the city may be fruitful in terms of coin and sweat, but outlanders can be either a blessing or a curse...

The Folk: The crystals have been discarded, and it appears that the guard have been handed in several of the wayward items from locals who were much taken with the strange shining objects and their cool song. No immediate effects have been observed - the ill languish or recover, as is their wont, and new cases of the Wasting have continued to trouble Dale even weeks after the crystals were returned to their earthen home. But perhaps time will heal these wounds? -1 Population Growth in Dale this generation. There is little else to report this year.

The Storm Empire of Warcyfle: A great storm lashes the Mirror Sea this year, a hurricane like the many great typhoons who disturb the tropical waters every year, but this one more mighty and terrible than many which have come before it. Luckily the people of Warcyfle are largely prepared for such eventualities, and any damage which occurs is minor. The bounty of storm-energy, however, is not to be despised. Every Electromantic Forge has been charged to full!

by **Olthenia** » Sat Sep 10, 2022 1:28 pm

Crystal-Carver's Way
Tenth Day of the Arc of Silt, Year Fivehundred Fortytwo of the Star-Count

The camels brayed.

That, and the slow clink of riding leathers, was all the world was. Makkeb liked that just we well. His was the life of a camel drover – like his father and father’s father before him. The sway and occasional forlorn bray was something he had always known, ever since he was old enough to know his waking hours from dreaming ones.

Yet now, halfway up this wide, sun-licked stretched of the Ustar Vale?

Nah. He felt it in his bones, Makkeb did. There was something off ‘bout the way the herd felt, all of a sudden. Beneath him, Makkeb felt his own best – Ni’kala – plod to a halt and stretch her neck into the balmy desert breeze. Snort. Snuffle.

“Easy, girl-“ Makkeb murmured.

The caravan was four days clear of Sorrowfree by then – and about a day free of the last settled parts of the Vale of Ustar. Maps and mothers alike all agreed that the Vale of Ustar was – and always had been – the heart and soul of the Khortuun people. But that hardly meant the entirely long gut-line of rocky desert vale was dotted with farmsteads and bean-rows. So out here, far from the light and love of the lights behind them?

Hfff~ Out here, the look on Headman Lunab’s face was grim indeed. ‘Course, that wide, pale knife-scar running down one broad cheek made that a more or less permanent feature. But still! As his camel waddled by Makkeb – there it was. Bad news.

“Bad news, Headman?” he crowed. And Lunab hocked and spat in passing – then flashed white teeth in a knife-split grin. “Storm coming~!” Those were all the words the Headman called before his beast had born him past him – farther down the line of men and baggage camels.

And Makkeb groused – shielding a hand above his eyes as he peered skywards. A storm? Now?

“Star-spangled puckernuts~” he cursed – and reared Ni’kala around to face his section. Damn it all. If the Headman was right – that meant Makkeb’d have to prep his animals for scything winds and sheets of rock-dust. Now – heck, sooner than now! This instant, preferably.

Ah, well. Nothing to it but to do it, of course – and no matter how comfortable his saddle had been.

Storms, like baggage camels, waited for neither Mother nor man.

by **Lazarian** » Mon Sep 12, 2022 2:32 pm

CORVUS

TURN 8:

Order:
Corvus: -2 from Citizen Scholars. -5 from Peasants. +2 from Houses. +5 from Capitol City. +18 from Government. Net 18.
Cavon: -2 from Citizen Scholars. -3 from Peasants. +2 from Houses. +2 from Village. +11 from Government. Net 10.
Corvin: = -2 from Citizen Scholars. -2 from Peasants. -3 from Freedmen. +1 from Hamlet. +8 from Government. Net 2.
Total Nationwide Order: 44 Order + 30 Order = 74/133. Neutral next turn.

Research: [27/36 -> 33/36 Firechar Comprehension]
1 from Scientific Method
2 from Corvus (Capitol City)
3 from Citizen Scholars

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Thu Sep 15, 2022 2:24 pm

The Price of Existence

Sootstained District, Nerroth
Eighth of Neap Tide, Year Five Hundred Fortytwo of the Reckoning

Along the cobbled street the Cordwainer walked, heavy footfalls barely audible in the fog-filled morning of the sea mists. In other times the clack of its metallic steps would echo up and down the alleyway, but it had chosen to make this sojourn before most of the inhabitants of the city were awake for its own reasons.

It is a poor moniker though. The Cordwainer very clearly thought of itself as a him, though he had no particular reasons for that determination. A machine created for laborious work and dutiful toil ought to be a man, he had concluded several months ago, and that was that. In other cultures he might have thought differently, but the Cordwainer had never had the privilege of journeying beyond the bounds of the Imperium; indeed it had never even left Nerroth and her cool oft-clouded hills.

This morning his steps were alacritous, a swift pace that ate up the leagues of the long journey it had begun before dawn. Normally he worked down by the clay-pits, in the northwestern outskirts of the polity, but today he did what he always did on the Sun's Day; he returned to the animunculatory in the city center that had given him birth.

It was here that the artificers prepared the dense fuel pellets of coal which the golems of the city relied upon for power, here that the glowing hearts were fed for another week of animation and thought. The carefully riveted door upon his chest would be opened, and a heap of the heavy black heartstone fed into his inner fires, to provide motive force for the days to come.

Amongst themselves the golems that served the city fathers often discussed the rumor of better power sources coming out of the west, of inscribed runestone glowing like a miniature star that could replace one's heat chamber permanently. The Secondborn who were gifted which such might were valued servants indeed, given immortality like their creators, liberated from the bonds of duty to become their own individuals, if an Artificer or mage gazed upon them with favor.

One day the Cordwainer might merit such a life. It had only been twenty and two years since he had begun to walk this mortal coil, and the sons and daughters of the Emperor were not even beginning to gain independence from the needs of the flesh at such an age, by and large. He would bide his time. But to dream, yes, that was his province.

He dreamed of liberation as he walked along the mist-enshrouded street.

Town: 31000 Population | 2000 Iron Golems, 5000 Debt Serfs, 7000 Golems, 18000 Deepkin
+12 Labor, +27 Food, +21 Wealth, +12 Industry, +9 Order, +12 Luxuries. +27 Wealth, +17 Labor, +21 Industry, +6 Order from Population. +6 Labor, +27 Wealth, +7 Industry, +2 Order, +1 Research, +2 Power Stone from Constructions. +11 Wealth from Government.
2 Rural Community: +69 Food, +6 Labor, +24 Wealth, +3 Amber, +6 Wool, +6 Order.
2 Reaping Station: +30 Food, +30 Wealth, +36 Resource (18 Hematite, 18 Cotton), +6 Luxury, +6 Order
6 Frontier Outposts: +90 Food, +72 Wealth, +114 Timber, +120 Stone, +144 Ore (29 Granite, 23 Diamonds, 20 Obsidian, 48 Coal, 24 Rubies), +9 Amber, +18 Order
33 Hematite converted to 89 Wealth, 22 Industry
10 Timber converted to 20 Industry
5 Wool: 5 Luxuries
Bonuses: Diamonds consumed [-3 Disorder]
Income: 213 Food, 41 Labor, 307 Wealth, 82 Industry, 8 Enchantment, 8 Runic Enchantment, 20 Luxuries, 1 Research, 104 Timber, 120 Stone, 1 Wool, 1 Hematite, 29 Granite, 22 Diamonds, 20 Obsidian, 48 Coal, 24 Rubies, 9 Amber, 18 Cotton, 2 Power Stone
Expenditures:
6 Luxuries for Populace, 2 sent to Kar Agala
-6 Timber for Golems
-2 Food, -2 Stone for Constructions.
1000 Debt-Serfs being dispatched to Weft
4000 Deepkin being consolidated to Hermitage (E)
4000 Deepkin being consolidated to Hermitage (NE)
Upgrading Forgefend (Town) to (City): 15 Labor, 15 Wealth, 10 Industry, 25 Timber, 10 Stone
Training Army via Retinues [15 Wealth, 15 Industry]
Constructing 3 Artisan Conclaves in Central [9 Labor, 9 Wealth, 9 Industry]
Constructing Artisan Conclaves in E, NE, NW, W [12 Labor, 12 Wealth, 12 Industry]
Land Clearance in Central [6/25 Labor, 15 Industry]
Secondary Power Point Sensing [6 Enchantment]
+43 Disorder from Populace, -7 Disorder, -3 Disorder from Luxuries, -50% Disorder from Housing. +11 Order from Constructions. +47 Order from Holdings. 43. End: 199 -> 242 Order
End: 1128 Wealth, 238 Industry, 57 Luxuries, 420 Timber, 516 Stone, 4 Wool, 6 Hematite, 174 Granite, 137 Diamonds, 120 Obsidian, 144 Coal, 96 Rubies, 54 Amber, 18 Cotton, 5 Power Stones

Village: 14000 Population | 1000 Gem-Mind Golems, 1000 Golems, 13000 Deepkin
+9 Labor, +15 Food, +15 Wealth, +3 Industry, +9 Order, +6 Luxuries. +24 Wealth, +18 Labor, +20 Industry, +6 Order from Population. +5 Labor, +7 Wealth, +2 Power Stone from Constructions. +5 Wealth from Government.
3 Artisan Conclave: 9 Food, 36 Wealth, 9 Industry, 9 Order
2 Rural Community: +60 Food, +6 Labor, +18 Wealth, +6 Wool, +3 Order
Frontier Outpost: +12 Food, +9 Wealth, +12 Timber, +27 Stone, +21 Ore (12 Malachite, 9 Wyrdstone), +3 Copper, +3 Order
2 Frontier Outpost: +24 Food, +18 Wealth, +24 Timber, +54 Stone, +42 Ore (16 Diamonds, 6 Obsidian, 15 Galena, 5 Platinum), +3 Obsidian, +3 Lead, +6 Order
Reaping Station: +12 Food, +9 Wealth, +18 Resource (5 Malachite, 13 Wyrdstone), +3 Luxury, +3 Order
Watchtower: +3 Food, +3 Labor
17 Malachite: 40 Wealth, 6 Industry via Furnaces
10 Wealth: 15 Industry via Workshop
5 Wool: 5 Luxuries
6 Enchantment: 8 Labor via Ritualized Geokinesis
Income: 135 Food, 49 Labor, 171 Wealth, 38 Industry, 14 Luxuries, 6 Enchantment, 36 Timber, 81 Stone, 1 Wool, 22 Wyrdstone, 3 Copper, 16 Diamonds, 6 Obsidian, 15 Galena, 3 Lead, 5 Platinum, 2 Power Stones
Expenditures:
5 Luxuries for Populace, -3 Timber for Golems, -2 Stone for Constructions.
Consolidating 4000 Deepkin to Hermitage
Consolidating 4000 Deepkin to Frontier Outpost [C]
Constructing Apothecary [11/25 Labor, 80 Wealth, 15 Industry] -> [25/25 Labor] [Done]
Constructing Artisan Conclaves x3 [N, NW, S] [9 Labor, 9 Wealth, 9 Industry]
Upgrading Frontier Outpost [C] to Scrape Mine [20 Labor, 5 Wealth, 5 Industry]
Conducting Land Clearance [S] [8/25 Labor, 15 Industry]
Casting Rune of Hearth on Khoramor [12 Stone, 6 Enchantment]
Prospecting Khoramor
+27 Disorder from Populace, -7 Disorder, -50% Disorder from Housing. +9 Order from Constructions, +6 from Populace. +34 Holdings. 40. Total: 152 -> 192
End: 112 Wealth, 10 Industry, 34 Luxuries, 155 Timber, 317 Stone, 120 Wyrdstone, 18 Copper, 68 Diamonds, 30 Obsidian, 66 Galena, 15 Lead, 10 Platinum, 8 Power Stones

by **The GAmeTopians** » Tue Sep 27, 2022 11:01 pm

The Folk

EVENT RESPONSE: The Wasting
Dale has been placed under city-wide quarantine in response to the outbreak of plague, with strict restrictions placed on the activities of the citizens, and careful aid provided by the Council as the Demarchs begin to search for the cause.
Effects: -100% Labor Generation in Dale this turn, all excess Food in Dale consumed by isolated populace (4 excess Food), 3 Wealth and 2 Industry transported by Vael (reflected in actions)
Singing Crystals ban is continued. Any leftover crystals are to be turned over immediately for disposal.

Starting Order: 59 (Tier 1 Culture!)
Starting Wealth: 12

Order Total: 59 + 0 + 2 + 2 = 59, 63/30 = 2.1 (Ecstatic!)
Research Total: 3 (2 from Capitol, 1 from Tier 1 Culture)
Researching Scientific Method: 3/10

Wealth Total: 12 + 6 + 1 + 8 = 27 Wealth

by **The Empire of Tau** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:13 pm

The Bacchanal Republic of Manikos - Turn 8

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Tue Oct 04, 2022 1:56 pm

Year Fivehundred Fortytwo of the Reckoning Ends
Era Four, Year Eight Ends

The Golden Year

A particularly mild winter, timely spring rains, and gentle warm growing season have combined to create the conditions for a bumper crop in the eastern reaches of the Known World this year. Fields are overflowing with fruit and grain, and the calves and foals grow strong and hearty. Many of the more superstitious folk of many kingdoms call this year a blessing, and banquets and feasts are in abundance.

The Folk, the Huang, the Riverlanders, the Machakim, and the Eleskari gain +50% Food Production from Holdings, and each Agricultural Holding produces a bonus Order if it already produced at least one.

The Khortuun of Sorrowfree: This year is a quiet year for the people of the Vale of Ustar, with little to report. Mayhaps that is a good thing, to let goodwives grow fat and old men live in peace.

The Remnants of Corvus: Strange tides blow strange fellows. A great storm out of the west has ravaged the coast of Corvin, causing little damage but leaving an odd occurrence in her wake: several large ships of an unfamiliar make have been smashed on the rocks not far offshore of the city, and the water is stained purple near their crushed hulls. They are not like any vessels the folk of Lo are known to sail, a mystery indeed. Intrepid men might venture out to these hulks to seek knowledge, or the more sensible stay away from the mysterious blight in the waves and the ill omen of shipwreck.

The Landsraad Imperium: Ensorcelled riders upon the great ships of the sky have been reporting curious sightings - immense beasts, like unto whales, but hiding on the upper sides of clouds, and grazing on the wispy vapor of the air. The provenance of these creatures is curious, and it is unknown why they have not been sighted before, but these are strange times.

The Folk: The signs of the Wasting are beginning to recede, for whatever reason; fewer diagnoses are being reported, and casualties are slowing down, though many of those ravaged by the disease show only a very slow recovery. Perhaps a crisis has been averted here...

The colonization efforts to the west have gone forward swimmingly - roads have been cut into the depths of the coastal forest, and settlers may easily follow thereafter. In positive news, a large amount of shattered and easily harvestable granite has been discovered by the men involved in creating the infrastructure in this region. +5 Granite

The Bacchanal Republic of Manikos: Emissaries dispatched westward are received favorably, if cautiously, and feasted by their hosts. These people appear to be ruled by a hereditary king, who knows of how his ancestors raided Manikos, but who is careful to emphasize that it has been many lives of men since his young warriors marched east. The armed forces that parade for the emissaries are formidable, and well-armed, though perhaps this is an impression intentionally cultivated... at any rate, the outlanders seem open to trade or other profitable arrangements, depending on the specifics of any such negotiation.

by **Olthenia** » Tue Oct 04, 2022 9:04 pm

Update Machine

Relief plaque: Winthrop Eddleton (Landsraad, 1757–1811) 1795
Object Place: Spire of Eternity, Landsraad, Central Principalities
________________________________________
Medium/Technique: Pine, glass lenses, spun souls.
Dimensions Overall: 191.8 x 60.6 x 46.4 cm (75 1/2 x 23 7/8 x 18 1/4 in.)
Credit Line: Unknown. Information redacted.
Accession Number: 60.532 (NOT ON VIEW)
Collections: Hegemonic
Classifications: Furniture

So-called ‘Update Machines’ were popular entertainments. This example was operated by removing a medallion set into its side panel and inserting prints of lattice-spun souls into a slightly angled rack, near the base. Catching the light from a window, and supposedly powered by sheafs of burning wood, the prints were viewed through an eyepiece that projected a magnified image of imagined futures. Artists and craftsmen working in the neoclassical manner frequently employed obelisk-like forms of the machine, suggestive of memorial monuments. The portrait on the medallion and the carved urn near the machine's top are attributed to Spire-native architect and supposed hegemon, Winthrop Eddleton.

________________________________________
Catalogue: Raisonné de Eddleton 215
Inscriptions: Label inside of bottom of urn: "James L. Usari’s Property"
Provenance: Said to have belonged to one Sammo Kitsuragi (1738-1816) of New Revachol, Lazaria, on, inherited by James L. Usari; inherited on November 5, 1906, by his daughter, by Miss Murya Chaz Girou; owned later by Sundip Chaterjee, Cavon; purchased from Halliat Arons, Carconia, Harkback Union, by the Museum in 2018 (Accession Date May 11, 2018).

by **The Empire of Tau** » Wed Oct 05, 2022 1:27 am

The Bacchanal Republic of Manikos - Turn 9

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Sat Oct 08, 2022 12:47 pm

A Cold Heart

Colonists' Quarters, Clarion
Twelfth of Winter's Breath, Year Five Hundred Fortythree of the Reckoning

At the window the man stood, breath turning to condensation on the glass as he stared out over the snow-covered fields. It was not long after noon, and yet already the sun was sinking toward the horizon. By the Father, he hated the long days of darkness here. They hadn't said anything about that when they were recruiting men to go north to Clarion. Much had been made of the temperate coastal summers, the beauty of the river, the glittering emeralds, the chance to make one's own fortune.

They hadn't mentioned the bone-numbing cold, or the ice that closed the bay to shipping from Last Seed to the very last days of Sun's Dawn. They hadn't talked about the shadows that moved in the gray twilight, or the families that went to sleep every year only to never wake again. They hadn't hinted at the long hours huddled around the fire, praying that the Father allowed the sun to rise again.

He sighed and turned away from the grim vista. This year he was determined not to dwell on the melancholy. Business was good, and there was always more work to be done, if he felt like throwing himself into his account books to get away from the too-present reality of gloom and overcast skies. It was brighter now than it had been last year - the bespelled chandelier was a gift from his father-in-law in Svalheim, a curious magical oddity in most lands, but only too welcome for the steady daylit radiance it cast in the inner room of the home.

The man seated himself upon the bench, and stretched his hands briefly, trying to call some warmth to them. He was no longer young. The joints creaked and cracked, but eventually settled down. Reverently he lifted the oaken panel, softly setting it against the cork backing. His fingers were too rough for this work, really. Part of him looked forward to the day when his labors would be at an end, and he could devote himself to the work more fully.

A press on the long plank of ivory, torn from the tusks of a northern seal. Somewhere in the marvelous contraption a hammer fell on a length of precisely stretched wire, eking forth a pure note. He had tuned it himself, but a week past, feeling the mood coming. Now all was in readiness.

First low and deep, sonorous and melancholic, the notes dripped from his fingers. Dark song, given voice by machine, for dark times. But it was not all shadow. As he played, working his way up and down the ivory staircase, his right hand interwove the faintest countermelody, a high and carefree memory of light.

The light may have faded from the world, the heat from even his breath - but to be human was to bear a memory of warmth and sunshine and summer days to come again in his very bones.

by **The GAmeTopians** » Mon Oct 10, 2022 9:32 pm

The Folk

Fear gives way to unity, and chaos gives way to order. The fair people of Dale at last break the shackles of their strange illness, and the coast folk of Ornmount raise a great aqueduct from the mountains just in time for their Great Harvest. Back in the capital, the fires of industry burn apace - the Western Glades are already home to two new villages, with freedom’s sprawl taking over leagues and leagues of this New Land.

Starting Order: 63 (Tier 2 Culture!)
Starting Wealth: 27

Order Total: 63 + 7 + 5 + 5 - (10 + 9 + 10 = 29 Freedmen) = 51, 51/30 = 1.7 (Happy)
Research Total: 5 (2 from Capitol, 3 from Tier 2 Culture)
Researching Scientific Method: 3/10 -> 8/10

Wealth Total: 27 - 4 + 3 - 13 = 13 Wealth

SPECIAL ACTIONS: Exploring South of South of Vael!
BUGFIX: Horizon Seekers acquired on Turn 8, as discussed previously over Telegram (long delays be like that)

by **G-Tech Corporation** » Wed Oct 12, 2022 1:51 pm

Year Fivehundred Fortythree of the Reckoning Ends
Era Four, Year Nine Ends

The Khortuun of Sorrowfree: Inspectors and assessors report unexpected success - it appears the architects who were working on the Local Market in Sorrowfree overestimated the amount of work still to be completed in the main square. The Local Market is ready to use ahead of schedule, and some improvements to the process will be helpful in the future. New Local Markets take 2 less Labor to construct.

The Storm-Empire of Warcyfle: Food disruptions rocked the Storm Empire this year, as unexpectedly late rainfalls and the economic changes brought on by construction efforts in the rural regions of the Blessed Peninsula saw many go hungry. Protestors are downing tools in Mauti, save for those involved in farming and hunting, and many bands of men and women have disappeared into the jungles to seek other sources of sustenance for their starving families... time will tell if they return. 2000 Peasants have gone missing!

The Bacchanal Republic of Manikos: The western men seem to have ample supplies of horseflesh, and are willing to trade their heavy chargers for Machakan wealth, if the price is right. Aside from that, they are a proud but poor people. Little else of note unfolds in Manikos this year, aside from a sighting of what might have been a raiding band by outriders to the north.

The Landsraad Imperium: Good news from the frontier this year! The inland city of Farholme, being settled by many new families, reports the discovery of rare reclusive beasts like giant bats in the nearby foothills of the Blue Mountains. These creatures seem docile enough, and have glorious scintillating skins that shimmer and flare to fire in the sunset light when they swoop and dart above the city. The citizens seem much taken with the display, and migration has stepped up to the city. Resource Discovered: Scintillating Bats. +5 Colonial Development.

Prospecting deep under Svalheim has revealed a source of brilliant lime-green gemstones. Their provenance is unknown, and not recorded elsewhere. No other prospecting has been successful this year.

The Magisterium of the Eleskari: Eleskari outriders report disturbances near Kelsk'ar, amongst the local tribes. It seems one of the mages is attempting to build a cult following their particularly impressive geomantic powers, and is inducing the tribals to raise monument to their ability.

The Folk: Harsh premature winter storms lash Vael this year, damaging the harvest significantly in the middle of the time of gathering in. A food shortfall is, however, averted due to the overabundance of goods in the markets and the ample reserves of the state. The explorers dispatched to the far south of Vael report an empty land of wide rolling plains, bordered by rippling grasslands to both south and west. To the east rise the familiar forests of Dale. Pure white crystals, which shift to a prismatic hue beneath the moon, stud this landscape in the shade of the hillocks. Stands of white birch are also to be found here, as well as a stone of a oddly pinkish-tan color like old blood.

The Miri Voh Shiri: Beneath the mountains of ice and black rock the hidden followers of Mornslebb labor, their prosperity given to them by the one above. Good omens have been heard this year, and sons grow tall and strong where others might not have survived. Outcasts are attracted to the plenty of the vale, and join the ranks of the faithful. +1000 Peasants

A Different World: Age of Darkness [IC|Closed]

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