Realms of Orbis: A fantasy nation roleplaying RP - Games

Realms of Orbis: A fantasy nation roleplaying RP

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[QUOTE=robinkooli;50895028]Like mines? Normal: [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/XxNluVe.png[/IMG] For war: [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/O8hPCxh.png[/IMG] Made with Paint.net[/QUOTE] A bloodstained flag doesn't really fit the Rules of Vexillology

Yeah just a red symbol would make a lot more sense.

[QUOTE=TheBloodyNine;50896048]Yeah just a red symbol would make a lot more sense.[/QUOTE] Sorry, didn't read into vexillology when joining this rp :v: Edited them, hope you guys like them now. [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/7Gi9OBe.png[/IMG] [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/D5CIRta.png[/IMG]

[QUOTE=robinkooli;50896137]Sorry, didn't read into vexillology when joining this rp :v: Edited them, hope you guys like them now. [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/7Gi9OBe.png[/IMG] [IMG]https://i.imgur.com/D5CIRta.png[/IMG][/QUOTE] [url]http://www.ausflag.com.au/assets/images/Good-Flag-Bad-Flag.pdf[/url] [editline]16th August 2016[/editline] [QUOTE]The Pink Panzer: The text that you have entered is too long (5607 characters). Please shorten it to 5000 characters long. The Pink Panzer: rip Sobotdot: jfc [/QUOTE]

[QUOTE]If you wander for long enough, if you let yourself melt into the forests and clear your mind of distractions, you might well end up at the city gates of Calliope. It has been suggested that the Nymphs somehow mask their forest kingdom through sophisticated magic, or that those who do find the fabled kingdom find themselves in the cooking pots of the cannibalistic oak nymphs who rule behind the leaves. The truth is far simpler, though – decades of solitude have simply rendered any knowledge of the Nymph folk useless and easily forgettable. Calliope has become the exception. Formerly the seat of a fairly insignificant duchy, the new capital of the Kingdom is now the cosmopolitan heart of a people who, merely twenty years ago, had never set foot outside their wooded homeland. Trees stretch seemingly endlessly into the sky, and the forest floor is forever in the shadow of the thick canopy above. Amongst the traditional treehouses, formed of natural bends and crooks in the trees, can be found the beginnings of mortal construction - a grand marble temple, chronicling the embellished history of the ruling Queen and her family, detailing their descent from gods and unification of the Nymph peoples. Although this immense spectacle is designed to form a centrepiece for the city itself, nothing that can be built by mortal hands dwarfs the Great Oak, a supernaturally-enormous tree that has been the home of most Dryads since the beginning of time. Sprawling across both banks of Lake Eurydice, with groves of and orchards of lesser trees crowding it like supplicants before their king, the Great Oak (known by the Nymphs as Nubere and revered by the Dryads particularly as the Tower of Alpheus) is sometimes referred to as a city within a city, and is at once a royal palace, an urban sprawl, a cathedral, and a legend. The very top of the tree, crowned by gold and green leaves, forms an atrium in which the Queen and her retinue reside – the organs of government are also found here, overlooking the city and, on a clear day, much of the kingdom as a whole. Lower down the trunk, dripping with vines and shining with sap, can be found the various cantons of the city itself; nearer the top are various networks of apartments where Dryads have made homes in the natural twists and turns of the gnarled branches, while nearer the forest floor is the Artisan’s Court, where the various guilds of Calliope occupy a large, hollow section of the Great Oak’s trunk. At the very bottom of the tree is the Garden of Alpheus, where according to apostolic legend the goddess Alphelusia the Waterer planted the first holy seeds that grew into the great forests of Knospe. Here, groves of golden trees stretch up the trunk of their great ancestor, cultivated by the priests of Alpheus. Calliope is the only place in the kingdom where foreigners live unwatched by the natives; what few stone buildings can be found in the kingdom are found on Calliope’s forest floor, far from the busy upper quarters of the city, and are the preserve of the tiny non-native population. [/QUOTE] A quick description of my capital city.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;50895479]8/12 turns in now[/QUOTE] I'm really excited to participate in this RP, but I hope that the large number of players don't overwhelm you.

I decided to stop giving a shit about the number of players because I don't give a shit about keeping to a timescale. I mean at this point it's a take it or leave it sort of thing, the next turn could be out in a week, it could be out in three months

I'm leaning on the months one :v:

I'm hoping on the 1-2 week turn out, waiting 3 months would likely end up with me forgetting I'm even in the RP

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;50907525][URL="http://facepunchrp.wikia.com/wiki/Creation_of_Centuries"]three months[/URL][/QUOTE] We might as well call you Hiatusnik in that case.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;50875482]Also have a labelled map: also pls keep inventing new names or cultural traits and lore and shit i can't do this all for u guys[/QUOTE] Even though it is a month late, I finally made an updated version of this info map in line with the ones I made before. [t]http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/facepunchrp/images/a/ac/RealmsofOrbisTurn13InfoMap.png/revision/latest?cb=20160908152930[/t] As Sobot said, keep suggesting new names for territorial regions and such, as well as cultural traits, lore and all sorts of stuff. Sobot, if you see any issues with the map, tell me.

still working on the turn, like half done. have this in the meantime: [quote][b]Bórsce, before the written word.[/b] “Just a story?” “Come now, how the hell were we to know?” “Well it's your fucking fault for pissing off the whoreson” The two goblins were bickering, as always. Alb and Ulb – the two goblins from the hamlet in the fields. They were by an old birch tree, sitting down and watching the small fire dancing before them. Alb was trying to justify himself “It was for a bet, how could I refuse? The lads bet me to do it!” “If I told you to shit yourself, would you do that?” asked Ulb “How much are you willing to wager?” “Fuck off” Their argument wasn't unsurprising. Alb had caused a big stink, and this wasn't because he had taken up a bet like Ulbs in the past. “You always do this sort of thing. We were told not to go over to the cave, and yet you went. Only reason I'm helping you now is because you're my friend” Ulb was glaring at Alb angrily, watching him poke a fire with a stick with intent curiosity.” Remember that curiosity killed the cat, as old gran would say.” Alb was only half listening as he played with the embers “Ah yes, but I love to poke around. Curiosity will be my death, but I'll know things nobody in the tribe has ever known before.” “Sure, but the oldest are the wisest and most cautious” replied Ulb. “It's why I fish, you just sit there waiting for the fish to hook on. Nice and quiet”. They had been sitting there a while, and Ulb was passing the time by carving fishhooks out of bone and antler. At that moment, Albs poking caused a log to topple over and release a spray of embers and sparks, nearly burning Ulb. Ulb got up and shouted “Fuck! Watch what you're doing! I'll go and leave you be!” “But you won't get to see my master plan in action.” He patted a sheep sitting next to him, which momentarily stopped chewing to look at the two friends with a puzzled expression. “Fuck your plan, you're a careless lout and I want no more part of this!” Alb sat there looking innocently at Ulb as he spoke “Oh? Ok.” These words were enough to cause his friend to get up and stomp off back home in anger. “Stupid arse! First he awakens a dragon in a cave because he thinks it was a made up story, and now he thinks that he can fix it?” Ulb was still patting his woollen clothes down (the same ones his friend made and mended for him as goodwill) when he heard a fearsome roar bellowing outwards. It rolled over the fields of rye, past the standing stones, through the trees, and into the houses of the villagers. At once there was a cry. “The dragon! He has come for us again!” Immediately the people ran out from their homes, grabbing their few possessions and making for the hidey holes they had dug or for the trees where they could hide. Even the chieftain was helpless against this monster – nobody could appease this beast. Ulb was much afeared, but he heard Alb shouting and was immediately driven to rescue his friend. He ran back up towards the cave where he heard the commotion going on. He bellowed loudly as he ran “Alb, where are you?” “Here!” shouted back Alb from behind a rock. The sheep was tied to a stake nearby, bleating loudly and trying to get away. Ulb dashed over just as the dragon turned his gaze upon the both of them. The dragon then got up on his hind legs, spread his wings, and shouted out loudly: “Why have you brought me a sheep little goblin?” “It is a gift! So that you forgive us!” shouted back Alb The dragons eyes grew red and he advanced closer to Alb and Ulb. “Dare you seek to trick me? This seems like a ruse, you will have put sulphur in its wool so that it may poison me!” Alb peaked his head out from behind a rock “No, it is but a gift!” “Then I have a gift for you too little one!” shouted the dragon. He opened his mouth wide and breathed in deeply as he prepared to blast them with fire. Ulb sat there quivering, but Alb thought that he might as well throw something that would distract the beast. Alb was quick thinking, and grabbed the bag of fishhooks from Ulb and lobbed it into the dragons mouth. Immediately the confused beast tried to spit it out, but they all came out of the bag and got stuck in the gums and throat. “Little shits! Fucks! Whoresons! Bastards! Cunts!” screamed the dragon. He was in such agony that he clawed at his mouth and throat in desperation before dashing for the river. Throwing his mouth into the water he began gulping greedily and trying to wash the fishhooks out. This didn't help, and the fishhooks tore away inside his body. Blood poured out and soon the dragon began to choke. Alb and Ulb rushed down to the bank of the river, where they were joined by the other villagers as they watched the beast slowly choke to death and the river run red with blood. Everybody stood there for a long time before the beasts gurgling stopped and it expired. It is said that this is how Alb showed the cleverness that eventually made the leader of this tribe, and with the help of his friend Ulb would go on to build their home village into a fine town that would later become the seat of the ruler of the Bolaków. The name of this town was Albaw, and another village founded nearby became known as Ulbaw. As for the river, it became known as the Smokrew (Dragonsblood) river.[/quote]

Any ETA yet?

Good luck trying to get a deadline out of Sobotnik

This month

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;51137519]This month[/QUOTE] He says on October 1st.

[QUOTE=Native Hunter;51138716]He says on October 1st.[/QUOTE] didn't mention which year

How many months left? :nope:

I've essentially given up on this.

Aaah you got me hyped ya fucks

[img_thumb]http://i.cubeupload.com/J02s3g.png[/img_thumb] Religious map: [url]http://i.cubeupload.com/F5Dhqb.png[/url] [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX8J8oPSsUE[/media] [quote]Do there exist many•worlds, or is there but a single world? This is one of the most noble and exalted questions in the study of Nature. - Albertus Magnus[/quote] World population: 320 million High Postclassical (Oycumen) Bīng yǔ huǒ dynasty (Jiuan) Events of the years 500 - 625 Third Age of Man (TA): -Every day the memories of the past slip away. Where once vast cities stood in much of Oycumen stood, there are but large towns made not from marble – but from timber and clay. Dark clouds shrouded much of civilization, a world doomed to the cycle of the rise and fall of nations. But this time – something was different. High stone towers of churches began to pierce through these clouds. A new civilization was gestating underneath, a vast behemoth of over a hundred million souls that lumbered onwards like a leviathan. Numerous wars, internal conflicts, and the invasion of the masked men did little but dent the intricate exteriors of this massive clockwork machine. Slowly but surely it lumbered onwards, dragging the rest of the world with it. The simple act of procreation was fuel enough for this machine, a fuel that compounded upon itself until it unleashed a tidal wave that swept all before it away. More people now live in Oycumen than in at the peak of Old Irminonia. They know of a vast world, their knowledge imperfect but there nonetheless. Cones of sugar and bags of chou are now in the west. The techniques of winemaking spread east. It took six thousand years since the discovery of how to make wine for it to spread, and a thousand years since the advent of sugar for both antipodes to have their sweetcakes. Within a century of the discovery of the basic principles of magic – everybody knows. Already the clouds are fading, and from atop the towers of the churches one can see further than the ancients ever could – something few have yet to realise. -This century saw Oycumen torn apart by religious conflict that was ultimately resolve in favour of the reforming Na'zyr Grand Patriarch who expanded his remit eastwards and established rule over the north. But as this period closed, there came invaders from Nigasand and Notos who threaten all of Oycumen with conquest. The plains ruled by the fearsome Kagan and the lands of Rob'lan lay witness to a titanic struggle, while nestled amongst all this was the King of Kiradai seeking a way to distinguish his nation and expand its influence. In the south Notos was subject to a lethargy only interrupted by Insain Bagu who inspired all of Notos to go forth and conquer, while even further south – there lay primitive despots and exiles seeking to make themselves the masters of a forgotten corner of the world. The great ocean of the east and the Empires clustering throughout and around it had multiplied their wealth a thousand times over and become truly majestic. They invented, discovered, innovated, and brought together a whole world. These superpowers struggled for control while an archipelago of conflicted elves struggled to keep pace. All around this world in this century, people came to know of the names of the great nations and their struggles. The next century would determine which of them would ultimately prevail. [img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=462795&dateline=1425134218[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/6smYyLw.png[/img] [b]Dvergfit – Damian0358 Capital: Diplómstaðr Culture: Dvegr State Religion: Verenism Race: Dwarf[/b] -The world was growing, and so too were the minds of those who lived under King Siglafráð. Much like his recent predecessors, he was a rather weak fellow. Brought into power in 496 at the age of 6 when his father died in a hunting accident, Siglafráð was made king partly because he was approved by the Gan emissary and partly because his mother considered him more pliant than his mentally ill elder brother (who later choked to death on a nosebleed after getting drunk on wine at a wedding). He spent much of his early reign reading books and playing with cats, but in the year 502 something happened that would change his life and the rest of recorded history for all time. A merchant who was contracted to supply food to the royal household brought the King a small treat. Sugar was grown in Mandarabad and was used like a kind of spice there, but somebody had invented a food made entirely from it, known as toffee. Siglafráð loved the toffees so much that he ordered regular deliveries. But his mother disapproved and forbade him from indulging so much. It took until 507 for the little king to throw off his mother and everybody who supported her, much to the horror of the Gan emissary and the other courtiers who considered him weak. Immediately after coming into true power, Siglafráð allied himself with the merchants and ordered the sugar canes to be brought to his Kingdom so that it may be grown and dwarves could enjoy sweets of their own. -Over the next few years, a few experimental farms were established here and there. It was discovered that the land was good for sugarcane in the hotter tropical climates, and hence farms began to sprout up in those locations. Soon sugar cones were being carted and shipped down the roads and on the backs of mules over the kingdom. It was starting to become popular among everyone too. Unlike in Mandarabad where the sugar had been used as carefully as one would use saffron, the dwarves cared not a whit for delicate cooking. As soon as one could buy sugar from a marketplace, dwarves began pouring, stirring, spooning, and mixing it into everything. The culinary world exploded and in the cities a whole craze of experimentalism took root. Some strange fellows even began mixing it in cups of chou with milk, which made the drink actually quite tasty and palatable to even children. The sugar craze spread so rapidly that toasts were drank to the good health of the sweet toothed king, and black teeth became fashionable. Those who could not afford or liked sugar made efforts to colour their teeth black. By the time this king was in his thirties he had already become immensely popular and wealth, for his estates had been geared towards growing it and the profits of trade were immense. He still paid the tribute regardless, and although the physical burden was slight (especially with the healthy profits), it was still a sore spot for him and the patriots of the realm. One of the other problems was the fact that because his sweet tooth had driven him to be proactive in trade, it had caused him to begin directly meddling in the affairs of the state. Against considerable opposition he forced through the creation of a unitary legal code for the whole nation – largely abolishing the old legal systems that held on the individual islands. The relatives of merchants began appearing in the court and to hold offices. These were dwarves with a hard nose for numbers and accounting, and they began to organise their duties as they did a business. The Kingdom thus prospered under their careful eyes and inkstained fingers. -Due to his tastes, the King demanded more expeditions be sent out to find new lands that may hold new culinary delights. Spice was becoming ever more important to trade, as was the extracts of many plants considered wholesome in their flavours. Notos was known as an unexplored land, one to the far east that traders from Aclary had travelled to in the past. Most of their stories concerned a land populated by near-savages who hunted animals and dug roots for their food – little good for trade. Some of the less violent ones had settled near the coasts and grew some crops or fished, and built huts from mud and rocks while engaging in minor skirmishes with other tribes to capture livestock and slaves. Known as “Sutteabad” by the merchants, this was rendered in the Dvegr language as Sutbjǫð who began to explore the land for themselves. Although warned about the difficulty of establishing themselves here, the dwarves did not heed these warnings. A trading post was established near to one of the tribes and it became hopelessly impoverished and was often the target of raids. In other areas they encountered disease, and the local tribes were either unwilling to trade or had little to offer in return. Some areas were good for cultivation with fine soils, but the lack of labour meant it was hard to establish farms. The vast majority of merchants instead focused on more profitable runs such as those with the goblins of Gor'lan. New to both sugar and chou, they quickly became fond of both and began buying it up for resale. Of course most of Oycumen has yet to experience these delights, and many difficulties exist in making and moving it. Although the able administrators of the Kingdom have improved the roads, allocated funds for the renovation and expansion of dockyards, invested in lighthouses, and adopted the trading practices of the Sakaksu elves there is still only so much land that can be worked. Either one can find land without workers or workers without land to work. -Siglafráð was a good king, remembered by all children alike as the king who enjoyed sweets – but the shadow of the Gan Empire still hung over his realm long after his death. Tribute payments continued, and the merchants who filled the administration preferred to keep the peace instead of rocking the boat. Some committees discussed reforming the military and navy – but nothing came of it as they had no idea of what to do. Ship design did improve however, mostly due to the fresh interchange of ideas between east and west. Even as Sakasu slid into chaos the dwarves were more than capable of assuming the role (Vimme of Skrall managed to help negotiate compensation for all merchants after Sakasu peasants ransacked merchant shipping). Strong ships with a lot of room and requiring only minimal crews were popular and developed at this time – allowing them an edge over the Sakasu elves. Most people generally shared in the wealth, with market towns popping up like mushrooms throughout the century. All manner of coins were minted that peasants and townsmen could use, and by the 620s it was rare to find a village that was more than half a days walk from a marketplace. Travelling fairs popped up, musicians and storytellers roamed the roads, inns sprouted up along the byways, and eventually people in the countryside began learning how to read road and shop signs. It became a tradition to stamp the name Siglafráð onto sugar cones, and as a result he was the first King of the Dvegr who everybody on all the known continents had heard of. It was known he had a sweet tooth. [img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=601768&dateline=1420557903[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/MkJs4P6.png?1[/img] [b]Empire of Skrall and Denna – Pezgod1 Capital: New Krellgr Culture: Skagosi State Religion: Verenism Race: Dwarf[/b] -Thousands of years ago, the ancestors of the dwarves of this empire discovered a way to make use of strange gemstones buried deep within the earth. Since then, a confused myriad of quacks, priests, and other assorted weirdos had a monopoly on them. The followers of Jakensin at some later point in time made a breakthrough that until recently had eluded the most esteemed magicians of the Empire. It was known that a particular variety of gemstones had magical abilities locked within them – ones that when activated could confer power on the object or the person using them. In the year 542, a secretive meeting was held between the Runeforgers (what the followers now called themselves) and representatives of the Emperor Thorak, including the distinguished young clerk Vimme. As was usual for the learned, they began by drinking and enjoying themselves rather leisurely before getting down to matters of state. A deal was struck, and a box with five immaculate gemstones were brought forth. Separate runes were carved into each by the Runeforgers, each indicating the speciality of the gem along with a name. These were apparently all the gemstones known to have powers. Rubies, sapphires, amethysts, peridots, and ambers are known to possess powers that can be activated by the holder. The terms of the deal set forth that Runeforgers would hold the monopoly on their production and manufacture, to be sold in return for agricultural products they could not easily grow in the mountains. -The court magician known by the name of Soltan Skaggs was made responsible for the task of incorporating the new knowledge and gemstones. Overseeing the first delivery he was able to secure a few dozen of these stones, with which he practiced their basic features. Apparently the Runeforgers had figured out how to avoid the malady of the madness by fixing it into a metal frame which (with proper handling) proved to be a useful tool. Rubies were known for their ability to light fires, while sapphires seemed to produce the opposite effect of cooling. But the most interesting curiosity was the peridot gemstone, which (when used to draw a triangle with hand movements) caused somebody nearby to become dazed for a minute. Another magician was messing with a sapphire one day when it caused a powerful wave of cold air to blast outwards, knocking over everyone and smashing a perfectly good bottle of cherry cordial. After several months of this nonsense, Thorak demanded results – he was trying to find a military edge that would prove useful in a war against the Gan Empire. His attempts to expand the navy had been thwarted when the Gan emissaries noticed and demanded the additional ships to be dismantled. Something new was needed, and his court magicians gave a most splendid demonstration of their abilities. Each one held five stones and demonstrated the casting of fire, invisible shields, mind control of a kind, and numerous other tricks which amused him greatly. The order was given to devote vast sums of money to both acquiring more gems and developing their capabilities. -Unfortunately it turned out that the Empire was haemorrhaging money, and rapidly. The Imperial treasury was effectively bankrupt and in debt to numerous merchants, nobles, and even monarchs. More money was needed, and in a country without money this was difficult – the currency was largely abandoned outside of the cities. To begin fixing this problem, Thorak started with the currency. He appointed the noted clerk Vimme (a former tolls collector and shopkeeper) to fix the problem. People didn't trust the money, and those that did couldn't find small change that they could deal with. To fix this Vimme introduced bronze coins of many different denominations in 545, which he did by personally travelling to markets to watch how people traded and asking them searching questions about how they conducted transactions. The smallest coins were made to match the value of the smallest goods that were bought daily, and denominations were made to match the value of common purchases. Finally, he built new mints and ordered regular shipments of bronze. Within a decade money was back in use, and unlike his predecessors he kept reliable accounts and tracked the production and flows of coinage. It turned out that salt was a big commodity, and so he introduced a small levy on it to raise much needed funds for the state (often being the one to introduce policies, Vimme prepared in advance to take advantage first). Then with the aid of the Emperor he reformed the land tax so that it was a flat tax which cared only for the area of land you owned. While this made the burden (relatively) light on the peasantry, it increased massively on the nobility. Unfortunately this had its own problems. The owners of mines, the traders, and those who kept small but profitable farms won out. Those who owned vast (and unprofitable) lands protested bitterly and lodged complaints or otherwise tried to sell off the worthless lands (such as swamps, wild forest, mountains, poor cropland, etc) to anybody willing to buy (some peasants were given free land so the noble could avoid the taxes). Despite the establishment of many new villages and farmsteads, most of the peasants gave up and abandoned their plots. Consequently large areas of land appeared to lack any legal owners. -With massive areas now having no legal owners, the state is forced to take them in and administer what amounts to wasteland for its own purposes. But timber is always in demand, and during these years some efforts were made to exploit the wild forests and plant some new ones. The crown established hunting grounds and logging camps, before making deals with merchants for the purchase of timber. As it turned out, the Sakasu elves needed plenty of timber to build their fleets of ships, fuel their forges, and a whole host of other things – but far inland the cost of travel made it prohibitively expensive to exploit. Sensing an ample business opportunity, Vimme convinced the Emperor Thorak to sell him the numerous and unprofitable royal estates in 568. Most of these forests were luckily in the Skellar river basin. With the aid of many peasants he managed to build a dam and create an artificial river which flowed to the west coast (rather than following the natural rivers course up north to the eastern sea). The logging camps were then ordered to make many more small ponds upriver and to fell trees which would be dumped into them. Using careful water management, the logs were then carried by the rivers down to a port he had established (imaginatively named Timberwater) where a sawmill processed them. This ingenious system eliminated the cost of hiring barges and wagons, allowing him to earn stupendously high profit margins in the process as he monopolized the timber industry and undercut all his rivals. He easily paid the taxes and used the money to build himself a massive mansion complete with fine wood furniture, glass windows, bronze sculptures, and luxuries from all over the world. The numerous debts of the Empire held by the Sakasu and other individuals were also renegotiated by this brilliant little fellow (who used the attacks against merchants as a bargaining chip in cancelling the debts), and such was his fame and fortune that when he died in 598 he was the richest dwarf (or indeed any creature) to have ever lived. Not only did his money pay for his ascension into the nobility and numerous fine mansions, but it also allowed him to establish his own zoo and several libraries. With a strong economy once more, the Gan tribute could be easily repaid a hundred times over – even after accounting for the ruin of Sakasu (for the Gan market replaced them). With peace now reigning, trade between Skrall and Gan has flourished and with it so has the wealth of both nations. The question of course, is would this continue? [img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=243999&dateline=1389299675[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/1Bk1VXv.png[/img] [b]Kingdom of Nigasand – Satansick Capital: Citadel Culture: Immortish State Religion: Sadara (Rage) Race: Orc[/b] -The new century opened up with problems for the Orcs of Nigasand. Although their independence was begrudgingly accepted by Notos and several provinces were retained on Oycumen, not much else was looking good. The economy was thoroughly agrarian with most orcs ekeing out a living amongst the ruins of the great irrigation works and cities. Various dynasties of minor despots lorded over the nation and ruled former imperial provinces as their own fiefs under whoever happened to be the most powerful orc at that time. As the world slowly climbed out of the gloom and the fields filled once again with life, Nigasand sank slowly deeper into it. The lords continued to bicker and divided up the carcass of a long dead civilization – even the great defensive works were pulled down to make houses and sheep pens. Nearly an entire century passed until something rather remarkable happened. In 588 an orc by the name Insain (of the Bagu dynasty) was born, and was noted for his unusually strong constitution and agility as he grew up. He also excelled in education as well, becoming well-versed in Sadara and the great classics of literature in addition to geometry. But this was a world kind towards the meek bookworms, and Insain fought ferciously in the petty skirmishes between nobles and in duels. But in 607 an event changed him forever when he was in Andokos. One of the local lords (Roderick) of Lutetia had anticipated his arrival and laid an ambush in one of the marches and attempted to kill the young prince – but he was unsuccessful. Insain grabbed Roderick and squeezed his head with such force that he fractured the mans skull and bent his steel helmet in so much that it could not be removed before his retinue dragged Insain away from the fight. But Roderick had put out one of his eyes in the process and survived the encounter – something which Insain never got over even when he became the leading despot of Nigasand in 611. This was a slight that could never go unreturned – and so he began preparations. -This plan began with the creation of an religious order, dubbed “The Conquerors”. They were to be an elite force of zealous orcs who channelled the old ways and were fiercely loyal to their ruler. In order to secure his powerbase, Insain demanded every single lord and town in Nigasand pledge an oath of fealty to him or face repercussions. Several refused to do so – something that Insain would not tolerate under any circumstances. He sent in a levied force to pillage the countryside of the rival lords, and when the were forced to come out to meet him – he brought forth the Conquerors to attack the personal retinues of the lords and slaughter them. In such a manner he managed to subjugate them and had the leading opponents of the new regime executed and their lands redistributed to his growing number of children. In 614 he finished solidifying his powerbase and set to work on building a massive army with which to conduct the Holy Struggle that he had planned. The damaged eyehole was filled with visions that slowly drove him into a state of rage – one that led him to become convinced that he was being led on a mission by God to purge the world of heresy and conquer all in his name. Heretics and any remaining “non-Sadarans” were to be immolated in great public bonfires unless they publicly renounced their faith, while the clergy was purged and their numbers filled with zealots devoted to the true message. Travelling out into the countryside they promoted the Sadara faith with vigour, winning over clans and villages with a mixture of threats and impressive works. One of the key reasons for their success was a vigorous push towards literacy on the part of these priests, who took the effort to establish a brand new (and newly blooded) administration. Temples were established along with schools that trained new priests to fill the new religious hierarchy. Nigasand had a fire in it once more, a raw and primal energy that propelled the throne of Insain Bagu atop a hundred thousand spearpoints. -In 616 Insain managed to secure the loyalty of the clans of Brarg – who by this point in time had lost any degree of cohesion and had broken up into petty squabbles between those who followed Old Rage and the new Sadaran faith. But all of them were impressed above all by strength and impressive demonstrations of it as well. Travelling down to meet the great chieftains, Insain declared he would grant them the right to Jus primae noctis – the right of the first night. In addition he would seize the lands of the weak and redistribute them amongst the most powerful. As a consequence many of the chieftains rallied to his side and over the course of two years they subdued the clans clinging onto the old ways and destroyed their fortified towns that once served as bases. Now styling themselves as petty kings, they pledged their support to Insain and his religious war. News of this war also spread to the court of the Grand Malik of Notos, Nizam II. Much unlike the founders of the dynasty, Nizam was rather unfond of war and preferred to spend his time pretending to be a minor civil official (he liked to be present at the construction of monuments and invested into every single project big or small he could find) as he went around the country in a leisurely manner. But the rise of Insain disturbed all this, forcing Nizam to once again begin spending monies on the army as some of his more restless subjects grew angry at his inaction in the face of an opportunity to spread the wings of the faith. Of course in the intervening centuries Notos had become much calmer and more tolerant – with a healthy agrarian economy boosted by considerable wealth generated by trading activities. Eventually Nizam was forced to offer some support and inevitably became tied up in the enterprise – something that escalated further when he discovered that uprisings Jar'val was being instigated by the Gor'lan republic. -618 was when the true religious war began in earnest. That year around an army of eighty thousand strong (primarily composed of orcs and smaller numbers of human mercenaries and converts and some goblins) arrived in Andokos and marched north to conquer the shattered remains of Cravant – formerly a part of Vesivir which by this point had collapsed due to the machinations of Aquilos in their invasion and conquest of Vesivir and parts of Amboise. What was left had formed itself into a petty kingdom of orcs and humans broadly following Na'zyr under the rule of none other than Roderick of Lutetia. He had recovered from his injuries, but was forced to wear a metal brace for his jaw and a special helmet designed due to the deformed shape of his skull. Roderick had taken the opportunity to design the helmet to have a most fearsome design – complete with a Kiradai mask that he embellished with gold and silver. In spite of his injuries he was still regarded as charming (for he cultivated a Cravant accent and made sure to patronize numerous troubadours and poets). He had also been a brutal man, who murdered many in his quest for power and had brought ruin to many of those he had subjugated. Now it was 619, and Insain Bagu had commanded his army to sweep forth into Cravant where numerous numerous wooden castles and stone keeps were taken in sieges, although pains were made to ensure that the peasantry were not mistreated (for many of them were Sadarans or had been forcibly converted from it). Roderick split up his forces to attack the warbands, making use of light cavalry and skirmishers to harass the heavy infantry and cavalry so favoured by the orcs. After three years of campaigning he had finally arrived at the gates of Mahasti, a city in the midst of a major wine-producing region and the capital of Cravant. There he demanded Roderick to come out and duel him, for he had lost the war and would be remembered as a despicable tyrant that no other lord of Oycumen was willing to help. Roderick then took efforts to ensure the safety of the denizens of the city was secured (mainly by stuffing all of the Sadarans into one area and threatening to kill them all if the city was assaulted) and that his men would be allowed to leave unmolested. It was under such terms that a duel was agreed to, and it was one that Insain Bagu ultimately won using the force of strength and courage against the cunningness and speed of his opponent. The city duly surrendered and the Na'zyr inside left while the lives of the Sadarans were spared. Thus all of Cravant was brought under the control of Nigasand, many of the lives of Sadarans were saved, and a springboard for an invasion of Palamecia or Aquilos was made possible. Not only that, but Notos was now finally mobilizing for war against Gor'lan and to support Nigasand. With the continent weak and divided by religious squabbles and dynastic disputes, Oycumen was ripe for the conquest. [img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=578995&dateline=1420214107[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/081z981.png[/img] [b]Palamecian Empire – iAmaNewb Capital: Pandaemonium Culture: Irminian State Religion: Na’zyr Race: Human[/b] -The Empire suffers from all sorts of problems, such as a divided church, divided subjects, and enemies pressing upon all the borders. The goblins of Venda are one such group – Savonic tribes who love to raid the marches of Ostrovir while carrying back slaves. The unfriendly King of Kiradai is partly responsible for this, as he encouraged them to convert to his heathen faith while supplying numerous gifts (ranging from catamites to scholars) to the leading chieftains of the area. Emperor Henricus was rather troubled by these activities, for they were damaging his rule and credibility in Ostrovir at a time when he needed a unified Kingdom to stand together in the face of the great evils of the world. But while leading a counter-raid against Venda in 548 he was humiliatingly captured by a raiding warband. The nobles of the Empire loathed him regardless as did the Grand Patriarch, and so they refused to raise the ransom monies. By the time the Emperors personal estates had raised the necessary incomes he had been badly tortured and lost both his eyes as a result. This left him understandably vengeful. But the clergyman Jeff saw the humbled Emperor and took pity on him for he had done so much to defend fellow Na'zyr while the corrupt church had refused to help him, and Jeff had recently returned from missionary work in Kiradai where he had banished after converting a courtier and the Patriarch had appointed an official replacement. He worked his way up the hierarchy and in 554 he became the Grand Patriarch. While he was a dwarf from Ostrovir, he actually had experience in both the insular and orthodox churches, realising that the key to the survival of the faith was the elimination of the widening breach between them. As such he declared that the church would be its own independent institution, and that no lord nor king could appoint religious officials as they once had in the past. He introduced a rigorous series of reforms that stressed the need for chastity and the moral correctness of the clergymen. As a consequence he wholly eliminated dynastic control and greatly reduced corruption within the church – but at the cost of alienating many nobles and some of the old senior clergy. He needed the help of a blind man. -In 561, Jeff appealed to Henricus for help in defending the position of the church. Aquilos and Bórsce were both rather wayward and needed to be brought back in. The Emperor began with a political marriage to Aquilos (his daughter was married to the heir of that kingdom) and a promise that the Emperor would not control the church. It was to be its own independent institution with internal administration and revenue collection – revenues that made it wealthy indeed. He had gathered a lot of church tithes and used it to outfit an expedition of a thousand knights to the Kingdom of Bórsce, a small nation which was tottering on the point of falling to the heathens of the Bannonian plains. Leading this expedition was the Emperor himself, who was to take several relics to the Duke of that nation. Upon arrival he gave the skull of St Ankas to Duke Chrabry who graciously accepted the gift and pledged his loyalty and that of his church to the Emperor and to the Patriarch respectively. In 563 something else happened that completely changed the game, for the King of Aquilos had acquired a most fearsome beast for himself – a dragon. With the dragon he not only crushed his rivals and opponents to his rule, but in 580 he invaded Vesivir itself and the result was the collapse of the Kingdom into numerous smaller entities. Henricus had died in 571, and his ineffective son Cornelius was unable to intervene in Vesivir. In that time, the centralizing and growing church administration slowly pieced together the disparate units of the Na'zyr faith, with their final victory in 589 when the King of Maalattumaa pledged his loyalty to the Grand Patriarch. -Although Jeff and Henricus were both long dead, the groundwork they established would go on to fundamentally reshape the whole empire. In 559 Henricus began to expand his royal hunting lodge at Pandaemonium and granted it city rights in 562. He also established the Imperial Senate, a body of 150 to 200 appointed electors who were given numerous benefits and influence in return for their support. Using this institution Henricus was able to pick and choose his key supporters and to build up a loyal body that he could rely on. What's more, as the city grew it eventually grew to become the capital of the Empire and as such it also ended up the heart of a growing network of roads and postal stations. His work was vindicated by his useless nephew Udo who (in spite of his incapability) was made redundant by the Imperial senate and the Na'zyr church which just barely held the Empire together. In turn, his son Henricus II would prove to be just the man they were looking for when he came to power in April 589. He expelled the corrupt chancellors and raised an army to deal with the incursions of the Venda goblins once more, who were raiding in Ostrovir and had laid siege to Rankburg. After defeating them he marched on their homeland and ransacked it with the help of the King of Bórsce before forcing them to adopt Na'zyr and splitting up their lands between nobles and bishops. He continued to strengthen the Imperial administration and strengthened rule in the east and north. In these years, stone castles rose up into the skies to replace wooden halls, and the first great cathedrals with stained glass windows appeared. A glassworks soon appeared in every city, stretching out thin sheets of the most wonderous substance into a myriad of new forms. He died in 618, leaving his weak and ill son to inherit the throne at the age of 7. Internal disputes flared up again when the nobles pressed for their rights and fought with churchmen. These problems could of course be managed, but in 619 Cravant was invaded by the Orcs of Nigasand, and what remained of Vesivir was swallowed up by the heathens. In the year 625 matters were made worse when Notos began to attack merchant shipping, before it was revealed that they too, were massing for invasion. The Grand Patriarch issued a call out for the nobles of the Empire to end their quarrels and to raise arms in defence of the faith. It would remain to see if they would listen. [img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=440820&dateline=1423541430[/img][img]http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/facepunchrp/images/a/a3/SayiteFlag.png/revision/latest?cb=20160502160442&format=webp[/img] [b]The Most Serene Republic of Gor'lan – Native Hunter Capital: Gilgamesh Culture: Sayite State Religion: Saya Race: Goblin[/b] -On the first day of the festival of the house, 578 TA, a thick sheathe of papers made its way to a copier in the middling town of Hir'yur. The copier dutifully carried out his work as he took down small wooden blocks, arranged them accordingly, and produced over 30 small books. They were the first edition print of the “Guide of the special properties of the gemstones”. Inside it contained all known information on the current knowledge of gemstones and their magical properties. Unlike any that came before, it was the first to systematically set out a study of the gems and divorce them from their semi-mythological origins when they were first discovered by priests in mines and quarries in the far eastern nation of Skrall. The author (Cohard) proposed that none of these stones were ever imbued with their magical powers – but instead already had them present beforehand as nobody has ever been seen utilizing magic without a stone. Additionally, each stone was limited in the powers it had, for the two stones with existing known properties (Rubies and Sapphires) were unable to replicate the powers of each other. Finally he reported that he had discovered the means by which they could have their powers activated. He recorded that invisible particles called midichlorians which were present in high numbers in some individuals were used to achieve this, but a subsequent investigation by the academy revealed he had made it up and had refused to divulge the true secret as to how gemstones were activated. It was only in 612 that a student realised that certain actions such as applying pressure, heat, or (more elaborately and with some more control) by rubbing a metal such as gold, silver, brass, or copper with the fingers while touching the gem. Originally the powers seem to come almost at random, but slowly the academics are figuring out how best to use them. While rubies can cast flames, it seems as though a more delicate approach allows the gemstone to selectively heat up objects. Much later, investigations into sapphires yielded similar results, with the difference being that sapphires can cool down objects instead. Unable to think of any real practical uses for them, and due to their relative scarcity, the students in the academy used the gemstones to light fires, heat up their food, and make chilled drinks. -Outside of the academies thick walls lay a thread to the goblins of the republic. Upon the plains to their north are the dreaded hordes, men who can be rapidly mobilized into a fearsome fighting force come the call of their strongman. The answer to these fears comes when a populist politician in Gilgamesh rouses the common folk of the city with cries about the evils of the horsemen from beyond. Having risen from humble origins as a loanshark and a landlord he is a political outsider. Do'lan Dómf managed to win the elections and immediately set to work on constructing a wall that was seventeen cubits high and in two sections (the western and eastern walls). Construction was fraught with difficulty for the Kagan Gneng grew angry and declared war on the Republic in 554 for it threatened the annual tributes and his control. Dómf then simply declared war back, claiming that he declared war first. Unfortunately the first skirmishes (554 to 557) saw the mercenaries and local levies utterly crushed. The council grew angry and held a vote of no confidence, one that Dómf lost. Unfortunately his successor (Briegkol) was unable to placate the lords - he had to win the war, something made difficult by the fact that the Kagan marched into Rob'lan and bullied most of the towns and major estates into paying him tribute. To start off, Breigkol began with a complete reorganisation of the army and navy in 558. Mercenaries and levies were to be abolished and were combined into a single role – professional soldiers. Men would work as fulltime soldiers under employ of the state. Thus the Republican Guard was created, and they were now garrisoned in barracks and fortifications throughout the borderlands. Briegkol also recognised the importance of navies, and as such overhauled it as well, making it perhaps one of the largest in recorded history. With this came expanded dockworks and supply chains – in turn a ruthlessly efficient logistical system. A new road network was also part of these reforms (one the Kiradai assisted with since it went to Bannon) and slowly the blockhouse system came to be. -As to how Breigkol and Dómf came about and were able to push through these reforms – it all began in small port where a strange foreign ship had arrived in 503. While not entirely alien, and although the dwarves on board were known to be from the east rather than the north – they carried something new with them. Sugar. Imploring the people there to try it, the commodity was an instant hit. Such was the popularity that the sugar trade boomed, and some noblemen began converting their estates so as to produce this most profitable crop. This unfortunately required land usage to be rationalized – and the peasantry didn't fit into this scheme enough to justify keeping them around. Fens were drained, forests were cut back, dykes constructed, and common pasturage enclosed. Although the manorial economy was never strong here, it was entrenched enough that as it began to fray at the edges it caused considerable upset to all those who lost out. Lands were enclosed to make way for profitable (and tasty) sugarcane, while the landless farmers were forced to move on. Many of them went to the towns and cities where they gave support to Dómf and other populists who promised all sorts of bold new policies such as free land or wealth redistribution (on account of the numerous merchants who had grown richer than even kings and emperors). By the 540s a new economy was coming into being as the number of banks multiplied as did the creditors and new businesses. Unfortunately this had also led to runaway deflation as silver and gold shortages came about and most poorer people found themselves unable to use money – some switched to smaller and smaller lumps of precious metals that they traded. Inevitably many of them were cheated by goldsmiths and other moneychangers, something that Dómf exploited when he needed the power of the mob. The Republican government slowly ground to a halt as tax payments became unreliable and it was forced to rely on the patronage of merchants, many of them whose political power came under suspicion by the commoners. -In the year 561, Breigkol had finally completed his military reforms – he now had a navy and an army filled to the brim with men who had little to lose and much to gain from military conflict, something that would prove useful in the war with the Kagan. He began by marching his army into Rob'lan and putting the soldiers to work on completing the wall and the road network there – which immediately drew the ire of Kagan Gneng (who did not even wait for his emissary to finish reading out the message, but actually ran to his horse and set out to organise the horde). In the 550s, much of Rob'lan had come under nominal rule of the Kagan as he drew “squeeze” from the numerous lords and towns there. Any interruptions to these payments meant a lot of trouble for the Kagan. But Briegkol was prepared indeed, for he had given orders to build numerous forts throughout the mountains and hills that were connected by a road network. When the advance guard arrived, the garrisons would take the opportunity to run out and murder smaller groups and destroying post offices which had fresh horses for messengers. The angry Kagan then ordered his horde to the western wall (having heard it was not yet finished) and with the aid of local mercenaries he easily punctured the brittle defences and moved onto the city of Robbliya where some of the last Tollirians lived on. Breigkol was unable to move in time to save the city, which was thoroughly sacked in 563 and many of the inhabitants were either enslaved or killed. -Seeking revenge, Briegkol ordered the navy to move vast numbers of troops north to the wall while sending raiding parties into the steppe. The Kagans army – overburdened with loot – marched north to meet Briegkols army. But instead of finding it they simply found a string of hastily built forts blocking the road north to the wall. Settling down into camps, sieges were prepared before it was discovered that Breigkol had marched into the mountains and hid there until the Kagan had dispersed his forces. Choosing to raid the camps only when this was achieved, Briegkol also made sure to have his men in the forts sally out at the same time to divide their attention. Making matters worse for the Kagan was the routine murder of messengers (bandits and peasants were paid handsomely or threatened to ensure they did this), often achieved by digging traps in roads or simply murdering the men when they happened to appear. Communications fell into disarray and in the chaos Gneng was captured along with 15,000 of his finest soldiers. To ensure that the Kagan would never dare to raise his fist in anger against the Republic again, Breigkol ordered all prisoners to be castrated and sent back on foot with the Kagan leading them. Their masks were also all confiscated and thrown into great pile in the central plaza of Gilgamesh where they were to be smashed to pieces and sold off to the merchants of the city. The monies raised by this war were small, and the war (not to mention the reforms) were so costly that it effectively bankrupted the richest country in the world. The wall was eventually finished, and garrisoned, but it relied heavily on the lands nearby being cultivated and the tolls as well. Many of the soldiers (former landless farmers) were given land as payment, but they were still holding out for more that the penniless government simply could not provide. Attempts were made to encourage the unemployed to take up work in minor industries, but the constant deflation and coin shortages made this a nearly impossible task. The century came and went – a rich republic hanging on the edge as a two-speed society lurched forwards. The merchant princes still funded the army and navy, it was necessary to keep the sugar flowing – but they also continued to dabble in intrigue. In 624 it was discovered that rebellions in Jar'val and Sen'les had broken out – and the excellent spies of Notos weren't blind as to the causes. Merchants had been funnelling supplies to the rebels via proxies, a good casus belli as any. But ultimately it didn't matter to the Grand Malik Nizam, for it had riches he could use and he knew of its internal divisions. Recently he had also been inspired by Insain Bagu of Nigasand and his religious wars in Oycumen, and as such was put under pressure to replicate his example in the name of his almighty god. Early in the spring of 625 an emissary arrived in Gilgamash with a letter from the Malik Nizam. It was a declaration of war. [img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=649717&dateline=1424230559[/img][img]http://i.imgur.com/Sev8cqK.png[/img] [b]Kingdom of Aquilos - Killbane Capital: Halingar Culture: Kytanni State Religion: Na'zyr Race: Human[/b] -Until this point in time, contemporary sources regarded Aquilos as somewhat of a backwater in Oycumen. A tiny kingdom backed into the corner of the continent and surrounded by powerful neighbours, it was no wonder that it was frequently glossed over by writers. But King Mateo managed to put him into the books for the first time in 581, largely because he forced somebody to write them. Unlike the previous kings he was able to do this because there now existed a sizeable and healthy number of literate scholars within his kingdom that could do this, largely because of the church. The sixth century opened up with nothing much for these historians to record, besides a few notes here and there about projects to rebuild the defensive works of towns and the opening up of mines to exploit natural resources. Agriculture began to improve steadily as well when the old two-field system of crop rotation was abandoned in favour of the three-field system. Peasants grew beans and barley while raising pigs as well. The impact of this was perhaps an extra bushel of grain or so per acre depending of course on the land and other conditions – but generally there was improvement. The population grew, some new villages sprouted up, and the Kings were soon wealthy enough that when Mateo came to power in 559 he upgraded his iron crown for a gold one. One day a dragon suddenly showed up in the Kingdom in 563, an event that caused the peasantry to “become much afeared” and resulted in a general panic. But it arrived at the court of Mateo and told him in no uncertain terms that he had come to repay a favour, one that he felt he could do now for the other dragons had apparently broken some kind of pact about involvement in political affairs. Pledging his loyalty to the Kingdom, the dragon asked only for an annual income of gold and silver. King Mateo was then written as having wisely took this offer up, and then went to his rival Duke Juvad Tilly who had insulted him through numerous wicked slanders and scandals. Upon arrival at the castle of Juvad Tilly, Mateo had it burned down and his rival burned alive to the cheers of the oppressed peasantry who took the opportunity to mention how awful Juvad was and how much they preferred Mateo. -The Kingdom began to change a lot after that event. In 564 the Emperor of Palamecia suddenly offered up his daughter and wrote a lot of letters to him in a really flattering tone. Then the local churches of Aquilos suddenly decided to fall in line with the Grand Patriarch after King Mateo promised to follow the mainstream faith. He reorganised the administration and began to introduce some deep and far-reaching changes. Blacksmiths sprouted up in every village while the peasantry were expected to keep weaponry as well as tool in case they needed to be conscripted into an army to bulk out the numbers. A system of beacon towers were constructed for basic communication purposes, while a large number of castles were constructed around the Kingdom to help stamp the authority of Mateo into the land. And then feeling rather confident at having improved the Kingdoms strength, he raised an army, hired numerous mercenaries, and got his dragon to get up as well. In 580 he invaded Vesivir, a prosperous kingdom that had recently fallen into disarray after the death of King Karl. While they were busy trying to elect a new leader, Mateo arrived in such force that he caused some of the regional lords to suddenly “forget” their vows of allegiance and to swear for the new invader. The rest of the Vesivir nobility raised an army and at the Battle of the Rowden River the bulk of the cavalry contingent was incinerated or torn to shreds by the fearsome dragon. The rest of the army (composed largely of levied troops) then broke and fled, and so in 583 Mateo marched unopposed into Lutetia where he declared himself King of Vesivir and Amboise. The difficulty of administering such a large land filled with a population that is rather upset by this rude intrusion was made evident by the numerous revolts and acts of passive resistance throughout the country. Poor tax returns and conflict with clergymen (not to mention internal wars between nobles) made controlling these lands difficult to say the least, especially due to differing legal systems. For the most part, Vesivir remained a semi-autonomous fief of Mateo while the bulk of Cravant broke away to form a new polity which was eventually controlled by a lord known as “Roderick”. -The remainder of the century saw unprecedented flows of wealth into Aquilos and an improving standing upon the world stage. The Grand Patriarch made sure to crown Mateo as King of Vesivir in 585 while the Emperor of Palamecia confirmed this status (despite his displeasure at being unable to take advantage of the collapse of Vesivir himself) in 587. Mateo would go on to rule until 597 when he died from diarrhoea. As was the custom, his children were given fiefs of their own to rule, and quarrelled over the riches that this enlarged Kingdom had to offer them. The dragon, being unwilling to take sides in this conflict, retired to the mountains where he lived in a cave admiring his jewellery. The decades continued to slide by. The countryside grew a little richer, the churches more beautiful, the castles sturdier, and the armies bigger. Schools proliferated while troubadours wandered the countryside. But in 619 this would change when from the sands of Notos came the Orc Insain Bagu. Consolidating his position in Andokos, he went on to smash the armies of Roderick and conquered all of Cravant before expelling numerous churchmen and nobles from the region in 624. Unfortunately for Aquilos the Kingdom was contested between two cousins (King Kadec of Aquilos and Duke Kemo of Amboise) who held an intense rivalry and had allowed parts of Vesivir to descend into conflict where proxy wars between noble factions supporting Kadec or Kemo had formed. While Kemo had naturalized himself in Amboise and was opposed by the lords of Aquilos proper, Kadec retained the old culture and refused to work with the native nobility of Vesivir. The church was often dragged into these squabbles and often elevated or excommunicated various nobles, while Palamecia stood by in a state of lethargy. With the Kingdom divided and the dragon refusing to intervene, news came of Notos mobilizing her fleets and attacking Palamecia. The Grand Patriarch issued a plea for the nations of Oycumen to come together and reclaim the conquered lands from their enemies. [img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=178241&dateline=1304611174[/img][img]http://i.cubeupload.com/q8SEH1.png[/img] [b]Mizukan – Deltasquid Capital: Sakasu Culture: Sakasunese State Religion: Fey-Verenism Race: Elf[/b] -The sixth century began as a time of great unrest and upheaval. Caught between external forces pushing forth the growing merchants and cities, the Fey and the peasants losing out, and the growing religious and cultural tensions, was the Queen of Mizukan. In such difficult circumstances as those it would be obvious to anyone that elven society was being pulled and twisted in every direction to the point it was tearing apart at the seams. The seamstress who promised to sew it back together was Llamyrl who (on account of her age) was one of the last elves around to speak the old elven tongue. Well-versed in classical literature, she realised that the old culture could not be allowed to perish. Despite having haemorrhaged a great deal of power to the bureaucrats and merchants over time, she sought to heal the divisions between the Fey and the new elves by making an official visit to one of the major shrines in 541. On a bumpy stagecoach ride to the shrine she could see just how much of the countryside had changed from her childhood. Where were once untamed forests and small villages of squat half-dug huts connected by winding paths and open fields with sacred groves and shrines – there were now stone walls and hedges enclosing them, tall and solid buildings with temples staffed by Verenist priests. Arriving at one of the last groves (protected by a nobleman who enjoyed folk music) she offered a traditional sacrifice and conducted the rites as overseen by the kulavanem. Soon after a number of Fey appeared, and the Queen pledged her submission to them and a desire to revive the old faith. They then asked her to return their land to the state it was once in, and to restore the old groves and shrines – to which she conceded, and then some. -Returning to the capital, Llamyrl declared a divine mandate and that she was supported by the Fey and common people against the forces which threatened to tear the nation asunder. Her first move was to issue an edict in 543 allowing for the removal of all Verenist temples in Fey groves – the result of which was peasant mobs going on a rampage throughout the countryside as they ransacked Verenist temples and chased the priests out of their villages. In areas where Fey worship was weaker such as the market towns, the mobs were met by the devout Verenists who refused to give way to the mob. In such circumstances the violence often exploded into riots where shops were ransacked and dwarves were chased out of their homes. In the more prosperous areas such as the big cities and ports there was little trouble save for the occasional beating or robbery. But it became clear to all within Mizukan that the nation was splitting right down the middle between the rural folks and the Fey, and the urban dwellers with their Verenist deities. The merchant princes grew infuriated after land reform measures blocked new developments in Fey land and requisitions took back many areas for the old groves. The peasantry (often having grown disgusted with the wealth of the princes) began to ransack manors and redistributing the lands themselves, and when the Queen tried to restore order she was constantly caught inbetween having to please the peasants desire to redress complaints and compensating the nobles losses. During these troubling times investment in the navy grew, requiring the importation of massive quantities of timber from Skrall which initially existed to cover shortfalls, before soon the nation became dependent on the shipments. Attempts to find new resources to exploit ended badly when traders who went south and east found a land populated by savages who had little to trade. The merchants grew angry at seeing their former contracts go towards enriching the dwarf Vimme of Skrall, and began to turn against the government. The bureaucracy slowly ground down to a halt as complaints and legislative bills flooded in and never got anywhere, and the cost of maintaining the peace grew ever more burdensome. The nobles (fearing for their safety) began to outright outfit privately maintained armies on their estates and in the towns while mercenary companies popped up like mushrooms. By 560, the country was sliding into chaos. -Every day that passed saw new troubles and opportunities. Many of the Mizukan elite and even had taken the opportunity to intermarry with the Gan, and in the process they brought over the cultural innovations of the mainland. Cultivating the Gan lifestyle and culture, the elite had grown into a sophisticated class of their own quite unlike those who they professed to rule over. The peasantry reserved most of their attacks for those deemed “Gan” which could mean anything from a Gan trader to a dwarf barber. It was when in 563 that Llamyrl arranged a marriage between her daughter and the heir to the Gan Empire that things finally boiled over. The Gan Emperor demanded that the marriage follow Gan law and custom, and as such the heir to the whole Kingdom was made subservient to the future Emperor of Gan. This was the last straw for the peasantry, who feared that the Gan were taking over by means of plot and subterfuge. In one instance, a peasant named Iorveth lead a mob to assault a shady-looking fellow in a pub and to kill him. On him were discovered papers detailing a “Society of Messengers” that apparently listed the ongoing details of a conspiracy between the elite of Mizukan, Skrall, and Dvergfit. Quickly assuming that the takeover was imminent he went to the Fey folk and declared that the Queen was corrupted and that the foreign barbarians had to be expelled before the Gan invasion manifested itself. The rebellion quickly spread, with dwarves and nobles being slaughtered in pogroms on a scale exceeding that of any that came before. The royal treasurer was captured and she was impaled and carried forth at the head of a mob to the capital with chants of “stab her in the cunt!” They broke into the ports and ransacked Gan ships, stealing or dumping the cargo overboard and killing the merchants. The army was paralysed as the Queen and the administration along with the noble families bickered about how to fix the problem. Inaction led to an outsider coming to force a decision. -The Gan Emperor was not happy about this, bringing the Bronze Bell navy and several dragons along with him in 567. Arriving in force, he imposed a fine on the Queen and set fire to one of the Fey groves for good measure before he fucked off back home. The princes of Mizukan had finally grown tired of the monarchy and opted to take matters into their own hands. Combining local militias, mercenary companies, and disloyal army units they set out to put down the rebellion with brutal efficiency. Iorveth was captured in 568 and had his skin flayed off before being cut up into several parts to be distributed to the major towns for display. Following this the other ringleaders were executed and the peasants were forced to disarm and return to their fields. Shortly after putting down the rebellion however, many of the nobles came to realise that they could depose the monarch and opted to march on the capital. There they broke into the defences and chased off the defenders with vases that spat smoke and cast bronze bolts. Most of the royal family fled overseas to Kitanai (a new colony west of Alchon) including the Queen where a rump state was established. In the absence of a legitimate monarch, the nobles began a great council to decide on who should be the next queen. Their bickering was answered by the Emperor – who declared that his daughter in law should be Queen (albeit virtually powerless). With dragons and a fleet at his back, nobody dared question his judgement. And so it was in 571 that the reign of Queen Imryll began – a virtual puppet of the nobles and responsible for funnelling regular tributes to the Emperor. In the absence of a strong centralized government the nation fell to the bickering nobles who divided up the country into fiefs and city states. With trade and commerce no longer an option of advancement for the nobles – thus began the Age of Civil War. [img]http://facepunch.com/image.php?u=381945&dateline=1428776993[/img][img]http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/facepunchrp/images/4/46/KiradaiFlag.png/revision/latest?cb=20160812013531&format=webp[/img] [b]Kingdom of Kiradai – ThePinkPanzer Capital: Baidala Culture: Delshor State Religion: Kirata Race: Human[/b] -The Kingdom of Kiradai existed at the opening of the sixth century as little more than a cluster of clans and towns cobbled together into an entity ruled by a man who boasted of himself as their “King” and their ruler. Nothing could be further from the truth, for he lacked even a castle to call his seat. He lived mostly on the move and would stay at one town or another for a while to eat all of their food before trotting off to another place where he would shout at one of his constables to issue some new decree. A true king needed to be much more than that, and Kovac II of Kiradai was quite possibly that man. He came to power in 534 and certainly caused a stir when he declared that he would settle down and build for himself a capital city at the site of a fishing village at the mouth of the Istros river where it bordered Palamecia and Gor'lan. Despite the concern with establishing such a city on the border, Kovac ignored these worries and laid the foundation stone of Baidala in 536. In order to ensure all trade was conducted here, he revoked the trading rights of nearby towns and lavished attention on giving Baidala autonomy in addition to numerous rights and privileges that established it as a “Free city”. Over the years it grew quickly over the eastern banks of the Istros and onto several islands in the estuary while several fortified towers were also constructed to defend the city and the river. Unfortunately this river was also shared with Palamecia, and the baron of the town of Sulata who managed to get various rights from his lord to make his town a major trading port as well with reduced duties on the sorts of goods that were taxed in Baidala. As a consequence merchants and smugglers alike flocked to the area to shift monies and goods (legal or not) between the two nations. Both settlements grew rapidly, although the prestige and economic strength of Baidala clearly outclassed that of its competitor in the west. No bridges were built here however, for the lords of Palamecia and of Kiradai could not agree on where to construct such a bridge and who was to profit by it and its tolls. Kovac had better luck in the east where he established good relations with the Kagan by giving him a lot of nice gifts. Except Gor'lan went and ruined it by building a wall which angered the Kagan and the attempts of the King to mediate ended in failure. His grand projects for building highways in the east came to nought, and attempts to negotiate a treaty with Gor'lan to acquire a port city failed as the other party refused to budge. Kovac was forced to turn his attention elsewhere. -The petty kings and tribes to the north were tempting indeed. The Venda goblins had made a name for themselves by raiding Palamecia and killing priests that had the audacity to visit them. Consequently Kovac II sent emissaries there bearing gifts and a Karda as well in a bid to convert them to the true faith. Thankfully for Kovac he was successful, and the chieftains of Venda banded together to conduct even bigger raids on Ostrovir which they looted thoroughly – the proceeds of these adventures going back home. In 543 they finally agreed to convert to Kirata and to construct temples. An upset Na'zyr missionary by the name of Jeff went to Baidala after having been kicked out by the last friendly chieftain in Venda, intent on continuing his missionary work. He made friends with the steward of Kiradai and converted him to Na'zyr, which pissed off Kovac and in response he threatened the priest murdered for his actions. Jeff then went home humiliated and vowed revenge on the heatens. Unfortunately the Empire took this threat seriously, and in 548 they conducted a disastrous invasion which led to the capture of the Emperor Henricus and his blinding by his captors before the ransom was paid. The Venda grew into a powerful kingdom and cultivated good relations with Kiradai, which give Kovac the courage to go f

Rushing this info map out for now, but I'll get an updated version out before the next turn comes out. [t]https://s12.postimg.org/g44e708qj/orbis_map.png[/t] Make sure to come to me if you want me to add something to the map.

Nice work \:smile:/

the toxx clause situation has not necessarily developed to my advantage this may be postponed for an indefinite period of time

I thought it was already :v:

we're back in business, start sending in turns pls

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