DominionNES2
- Thread starter LDiCesare
- Start date
I will leave the NES for the time being, until I think out something more in accordance with the play style...
Immaculate
unerring
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2003
- Messages
- 7,623
Pūrṇatā Kē Dina
The priest had awoken early; today was Pūrṇatā Kē Dina (the day of perfection) and there was much to do on the holy day. Everywhere throughout the city men and women and children were decorating or preparing the little rice-paper dye grenades they would throw at each other in celebration of the revelation of the first stele. There would be parades and feasts, music and dancing, prayers and celebration. Amongst the priesthood there were many rituals to attend to.
Already the priest could hear the sounds of the city awakening though the sun would not crest the horizon for at least another hour. The first thing he did was pull on a coarsely woven cotton robe and make his way to the great river to perform his morning purification. At the rivers edge, huddled together in small groups, were a dozen or so other priests, whispering and pointing at strange lights downstream. As he and they watched, the lights grew stronger and brighter, seemingly floating against the current. As they got closer, more and more priests as well as lay folk began to congregate, eager to witness this unexpected Pūrṇatā Kē Dina miracle. The lights were soon close enough that the crowd recognized them as folded paper lanterns, each with a small oil lamp within. The paper was folded in such a way to make the floating lanterns appear as water lilies and lotuses and were dyed in pink, purple, yellow, red, and orange. The crowds, the priests included, kept pace with the strange lanterns that seemed to float against the current and soon found themselves directly outside the great temple where the high priests were preparing for the holy day morning prayers.
One by one the lotus lanterns were lifted from the water, cradled by reptilian hands and one by one slithering naga forms clad in golden bejeweled armor swam out of the waters, the lanterns lovingly cradled in their clawed talons. In complete silence and in solemn procession, though they occasionally would smile at a younger member of the crowd, they made their way to the high temple. There they formed up in ranks before the grand statue of the pantokrator and began singing, in rasping siblssent voices thick with the hypnotizing honey of the naga the Song of Perfection.
Thus were the Legion of Golden Serpants born.
By getting more worshippers.
You get that by having them grow up and multiply, but it's a slow process even for the fastest breeders.
You get them by converting people. Building temples, sending your prophet tell about your faith, spending money on preachers, using magic to perform miracles, all boost your faith in the concerned area. It's somewhat more effective to spend money on big cities than small ones, but in a given country cities are usually about the same size, except for some capitals and for Eldergate, which is huge. It's definitely more effective to preach in a land you control than in a territory you don't control.
Yes, to make things simple we can assume that. However, it's unlikely Patalnila and Ulm actually know about each other, so they might not even think of communicating.
KaiserElectric
Total Freakin Besties
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2007
- Messages
- 3,461
To Taernsvwyn:
We appreciate your gesture, but we have no need for foodstuffs at the time. However, we have excess wood for trade, so if there is anything else you would like to offer, we can consider it.
We appreciate your gesture, but we have no need for foodstuffs at the time. However, we have excess wood for trade, so if there is anything else you would like to offer, we can consider it.
Northen Wolf
Young Hunter
I'm sorry if I'm asking something stupid, but I was talking about:
So, for my dominion (Cold, Mountainous) to spread, I need temples and more belivers? I believe that I do have more pop than several others. Say I build insanely huge temple for Anvil, would territories around that temple change to more Ancient-Ulm-like?
Kyzarc Fotjage
Rise Up
I believe that the Dominion: n/a means that your dominion doesn't alter the land which it has spread to like some other dominions do. For instance my dominion makes the land more turbulent but more lucky. Seon's dominion makes everything die.
Seon
Not An Evil Liar
And brings cold. And turbulence.
Oh, and luck too. But that's not as importance as chaos, cold, and death.
Northen Wolf
Young Hunter
Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
I can't make my orders for today. 
I think it was due today at least. I'll make sure you get it tomorrow, but tonight I've made an oversight with time.
EDIT: Oh, it was due tomorrow. I'll easily get my orders done by then.
I think it was due today at least. I'll make sure you get it tomorrow, but tonight I've made an oversight with time.EDIT: Oh, it was due tomorrow. I'll easily get my orders done by then.
Kyzarc Fotjage
Rise Up
when are orders due? I thought that the wednesday deadline was just for the first update and that from then on they were due by friday, preferably earlier.
nutranurse
Unlikeliest of Slash Fics
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2009
- Messages
- 2,077
Oh! I did not realize that orders were due thursday! Or that I even got my stats, for that matter. I keep forgetting the NES is e-mail based, sorry LDi.
Northen Wolf
Young Hunter
I did get the stats, but I too did not relize that they were already due tmrw. I'm fine with friday tho.
How do I get the deadline clearer? I put it in the post right below the update. I can update the first post, and/or bold it/increase the font size.
Getting orders by friday would be necessary for me to start updating Friday evening (I still have a few rugby matches this month that will take most of my saturday time) in order to get update finished this week-end. If I don't have enough orders by Friday, it will take more time and update may be mid-week.
Getting orders by friday would be necessary for me to start updating Friday evening (I still have a few rugby matches this month that will take most of my saturday time) in order to get update finished this week-end. If I don't have enough orders by Friday, it will take more time and update may be mid-week.
Seon
Not An Evil Liar
You could post the deadline in bolded, red letters as your sig.
KaiserElectric
Total Freakin Besties
- Joined
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- 3,461
Or on the front page.
nutranurse
Unlikeliest of Slash Fics
- Joined
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- 2,077
Both of those would help tremendously!
Immaculate
unerring
- Joined
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a story!
The grand palace of Fornalis was not so great as the temples of Logapur but they were magnificent none-the-less. There was much marble, a local product from a quarry at the city’s edge apparently. The walls were covered in delicate ivy vines and the palace gardens were carefully manicured; gardeners flitted about, trimming hedges and pushing lawnmowers, seemingly uncaring of the two armies that encamped outside the walls. Lord Lofar himself seemed also not to care too greatly. Certainly he entertained his visitor without apparent anxiety or fear- perhaps he felt his position too strong to have to worry about the Mallitain or Bhumi forces beyond the high walls.
Today he entertained a Bhumi priest, a nāga male, who, for the purposes of the visit, had assumed his two-legged, more human-appearing form. None who stood close and observed intently would think him a normal man however- his yellow eyes were slitted and his skin was covered in very fine golden-brown scales. His neck was long and flexible unlike any man’s and his hands ended in talons. None-the-less, the form was much more accommodating of the expectations of man than the half-man, half-snake form he might otherwise take. The nāga’s name was Āvāza and he had been chosen for the diplomatic mission on the basis of his high rank and his deep understanding of the many stele he had studied during his visits to Nāgapur. While he maintained his bejeweled golden armor and characteristic falchion, he wore these under a long robe of coarsely woven and undyed cotton, signifying his vows of dedication and purity.
“Āvāza, the pantokrator is dead. I recognize that we are children of the Pantokrator. But she left us and is dead, beyond hope of recovery. A priesthood dedicated to the Pantokrator doesn’t make sense to me. She won’t answer our prayers anymore. Why worship her anymore?” Lord Lofar continued as he and Āvāza and a handful of guards circled the gardens, throwing breadcrumbs to the birds.
The nāga replied with a question of his own, his small fangs glistening with the venom that in battle would kill a man in mere seconds, “You are a father King?”
Lofar nodded, bending low to pick a ripe strawberry as it peaked out from under its characteristic fuzzy leave, “I have a son, but a babe as yet.”
“And your father before you, he was king?” Āvāza continued.
Again a nod, “He was- beloved by his people, known to be fair and just.”
It was Āvāza’s turn to nod, “Just as the Pantokrator was. But now that your father is gone, have you turned from his mission? Have you ignored his teachings? Do you not try to be fair and just, as he was? Your father was more than a warm body. He was a message and an ideal. Even if his shell is gone, his spirit passing into another form, his legacy lives on. You serve his legacy now do you not?”
The meaning of the nāga’s words were not lost on the King of Fornalis. He slowly chewed the strawberry he had plucked, savoring the flavors. Mentally, his mind did the same with the words of the nāga, “You are right of course. We did serve the pantokrator and her ‘death’ does not mean we should turn from her teachings or her ideals. She protected and nurtured us and that we cannot forget any more than I can forget my father’s work. But where do you and your brothers fit into this?”
Āvāza smiled again, again revealing his small fangs. The priest was never happier than when he could discuss theology and was that much more pleased that Lofar was taking the time to properly consider the discussion and apply his surprisingly sharp mind to the debate, “We are servants of the Pantokrator, not her shell that has passed on, but of her message and ideals. Amongst our order, the greatest of those servants is the Sacred Child, the Pavitra Baccē. Before the pantokrator’s passing, she breathed life into a perfectly formed lotus floating in the sacred waters. That lotus grew and took the form of our messenger, the first amongst the servants, the one we call the Pavitra Baccē. The Pavitra Baccē revealed the stele, these are ancient teachings, sure and true, simultaneously both an ancient unbroken tradition and a dynamic teaching for modern times. The stele reveal the “Pūrṇatā kē li'ē rāstā” (Way of Perfection- our faith).
Perhaps the king only hoped to learn more of a potential enemy or perhaps his interest was more benign, but as he nodded again he asked, “Tell me of this Pūrṇatā kē li'ē rāstā.”
“Well, firstly, contrary to many who mistake our faith for others, we do not believe the sacred child to be a god. He is created from the creator, just as you and I are. Like us, he is a child of the creator. His name reminds us, and perhaps even himself, of that every time it is spoken. He is a messenger and his message is simple- we must guard creation and perfect it. We continue to do the work of the Pantokrator, just as you continue to do the work of your father.
“Secondly, our message comes from the steles. These are monuments which stand amongst the ruins of an ancient city deep in the jungle- the city we call Nāgapur. The city is forgotten to many and few live there- the ruins are sprawling and overgrown. Once they were home to a people the stele describe as celestial musicians. They were known as the Gandharva. Now they stand ruined except for their treasures and their wisdom. The wisdom of the Pantokrator, of the Pavitra Baccē, of creations wiser than myself awaits us upon these monuments. I have visited Nāgapur many times and have made my home there for many years but the city continues to be a wonderful holy mystery to me. I have searched for the stele and their wisdom and read of creation, of the plight of the Pantokrator and of her sacrifice. I have read the history of my people and of yours. I have even read of my destiny, of my future. I knew before I met you that we would have this conversation and I knew it because I read it upon the stele. Others will visit the stele and read what they need to know- the wisdom they partition is a personal one. Many a would-be adventurer, from your people or elsewhere has travelled to the ruined city in the jungle, having heard of the gold and gems that can be found there only to find one of these stele and see in it the story of their childhood, their search for the city and finally their future. Because the stele are our link to the “Pūrṇatā kē li'ē rāstā” and because they are such a personal experience, so to is everyone’s path to perfection. We are not all equal and none of us is perfect. And so we strive.”
The lord of Fornalis appeared to find this somewhat incredulous but did not interrupt.
“That is the third lesson I will share with you today regarding our faith: perfection. We follow a ‘way to perfection’ realizing that none of us, even the Pavitra Baccē himself will ever be perfect. And yet we must strive. It is striving that is important- even if we know we will never be completely successful. This the work and the mission of the Pantokrator. And it is our duty to her. Just as you must continue to protect and guide your people as your father did before you. And so we seek to share the message of the way of perfection, knowing that the path to perfection is different for all. Ultimately, we teach that each must strive to be better each day than they were the day before, knowing that our imperfection will mean we often fail. The way or path to perfection is just that. A path we must each of us individually take. We walk this path. Strive for it. And each day we get closer. That is what is most important.
“Really its pretty simple.”
The king nodded again, “This is a really delicious strawberry. You should have one.”
The grand palace of Fornalis was not so great as the temples of Logapur but they were magnificent none-the-less. There was much marble, a local product from a quarry at the city’s edge apparently. The walls were covered in delicate ivy vines and the palace gardens were carefully manicured; gardeners flitted about, trimming hedges and pushing lawnmowers, seemingly uncaring of the two armies that encamped outside the walls. Lord Lofar himself seemed also not to care too greatly. Certainly he entertained his visitor without apparent anxiety or fear- perhaps he felt his position too strong to have to worry about the Mallitain or Bhumi forces beyond the high walls.
Today he entertained a Bhumi priest, a nāga male, who, for the purposes of the visit, had assumed his two-legged, more human-appearing form. None who stood close and observed intently would think him a normal man however- his yellow eyes were slitted and his skin was covered in very fine golden-brown scales. His neck was long and flexible unlike any man’s and his hands ended in talons. None-the-less, the form was much more accommodating of the expectations of man than the half-man, half-snake form he might otherwise take. The nāga’s name was Āvāza and he had been chosen for the diplomatic mission on the basis of his high rank and his deep understanding of the many stele he had studied during his visits to Nāgapur. While he maintained his bejeweled golden armor and characteristic falchion, he wore these under a long robe of coarsely woven and undyed cotton, signifying his vows of dedication and purity.
“Āvāza, the pantokrator is dead. I recognize that we are children of the Pantokrator. But she left us and is dead, beyond hope of recovery. A priesthood dedicated to the Pantokrator doesn’t make sense to me. She won’t answer our prayers anymore. Why worship her anymore?” Lord Lofar continued as he and Āvāza and a handful of guards circled the gardens, throwing breadcrumbs to the birds.
The nāga replied with a question of his own, his small fangs glistening with the venom that in battle would kill a man in mere seconds, “You are a father King?”
Lofar nodded, bending low to pick a ripe strawberry as it peaked out from under its characteristic fuzzy leave, “I have a son, but a babe as yet.”
“And your father before you, he was king?” Āvāza continued.
Again a nod, “He was- beloved by his people, known to be fair and just.”
It was Āvāza’s turn to nod, “Just as the Pantokrator was. But now that your father is gone, have you turned from his mission? Have you ignored his teachings? Do you not try to be fair and just, as he was? Your father was more than a warm body. He was a message and an ideal. Even if his shell is gone, his spirit passing into another form, his legacy lives on. You serve his legacy now do you not?”
The meaning of the nāga’s words were not lost on the King of Fornalis. He slowly chewed the strawberry he had plucked, savoring the flavors. Mentally, his mind did the same with the words of the nāga, “You are right of course. We did serve the pantokrator and her ‘death’ does not mean we should turn from her teachings or her ideals. She protected and nurtured us and that we cannot forget any more than I can forget my father’s work. But where do you and your brothers fit into this?”
Āvāza smiled again, again revealing his small fangs. The priest was never happier than when he could discuss theology and was that much more pleased that Lofar was taking the time to properly consider the discussion and apply his surprisingly sharp mind to the debate, “We are servants of the Pantokrator, not her shell that has passed on, but of her message and ideals. Amongst our order, the greatest of those servants is the Sacred Child, the Pavitra Baccē. Before the pantokrator’s passing, she breathed life into a perfectly formed lotus floating in the sacred waters. That lotus grew and took the form of our messenger, the first amongst the servants, the one we call the Pavitra Baccē. The Pavitra Baccē revealed the stele, these are ancient teachings, sure and true, simultaneously both an ancient unbroken tradition and a dynamic teaching for modern times. The stele reveal the “Pūrṇatā kē li'ē rāstā” (Way of Perfection- our faith).
Perhaps the king only hoped to learn more of a potential enemy or perhaps his interest was more benign, but as he nodded again he asked, “Tell me of this Pūrṇatā kē li'ē rāstā.”
“Well, firstly, contrary to many who mistake our faith for others, we do not believe the sacred child to be a god. He is created from the creator, just as you and I are. Like us, he is a child of the creator. His name reminds us, and perhaps even himself, of that every time it is spoken. He is a messenger and his message is simple- we must guard creation and perfect it. We continue to do the work of the Pantokrator, just as you continue to do the work of your father.
“Secondly, our message comes from the steles. These are monuments which stand amongst the ruins of an ancient city deep in the jungle- the city we call Nāgapur. The city is forgotten to many and few live there- the ruins are sprawling and overgrown. Once they were home to a people the stele describe as celestial musicians. They were known as the Gandharva. Now they stand ruined except for their treasures and their wisdom. The wisdom of the Pantokrator, of the Pavitra Baccē, of creations wiser than myself awaits us upon these monuments. I have visited Nāgapur many times and have made my home there for many years but the city continues to be a wonderful holy mystery to me. I have searched for the stele and their wisdom and read of creation, of the plight of the Pantokrator and of her sacrifice. I have read the history of my people and of yours. I have even read of my destiny, of my future. I knew before I met you that we would have this conversation and I knew it because I read it upon the stele. Others will visit the stele and read what they need to know- the wisdom they partition is a personal one. Many a would-be adventurer, from your people or elsewhere has travelled to the ruined city in the jungle, having heard of the gold and gems that can be found there only to find one of these stele and see in it the story of their childhood, their search for the city and finally their future. Because the stele are our link to the “Pūrṇatā kē li'ē rāstā” and because they are such a personal experience, so to is everyone’s path to perfection. We are not all equal and none of us is perfect. And so we strive.”
The lord of Fornalis appeared to find this somewhat incredulous but did not interrupt.
“That is the third lesson I will share with you today regarding our faith: perfection. We follow a ‘way to perfection’ realizing that none of us, even the Pavitra Baccē himself will ever be perfect. And yet we must strive. It is striving that is important- even if we know we will never be completely successful. This the work and the mission of the Pantokrator. And it is our duty to her. Just as you must continue to protect and guide your people as your father did before you. And so we seek to share the message of the way of perfection, knowing that the path to perfection is different for all. Ultimately, we teach that each must strive to be better each day than they were the day before, knowing that our imperfection will mean we often fail. The way or path to perfection is just that. A path we must each of us individually take. We walk this path. Strive for it. And each day we get closer. That is what is most important.
“Really its pretty simple.”
The king nodded again, “This is a really delicious strawberry. You should have one.”
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