Absolution 4: Tabula Rasa

Malach took the coins; several Mingers and Mails, and even an Mand from a winking merchant who reminded him of Kausta.

He quickly moved over to his table and tallied the income for his show, his quick marks flourishing over the scroll of his paper ledgers, marking domestic and foreign currency and his profit.

Standing up, he addressed the crowd, "Tired of counting money by hand? Worried that you are being cheated constantly? Nevermore! With the newest Record clerks from Malachite Marvels, my Company, you can feel safe that every single nail and splinter is recorded.

For ever error, I will personally refund you an Ox, or the amount in err, whichever one is lower with a minimum of one hand.

Hire a Record Clerk now and not only will you recieve a cheep, long term lease but I will also group you with a veteran, who will teach you how to take records your self!

Buy today!"

From Malach the Mage to Punt
*Slams a giant bag from behind his back, full of gold, onto the hand, cleverly slipping it off a second before crushing the arms of the Punted ambassador* "Here's the spare change you requested! What goods do you wish in exchange?"
 
Hey,

To: High Priest Koreandre II of Persia
From: Crown Prince Fu Longwei of the Heavenly Dragon Empire


I would like to offer Honey to you. It is used by the Indus people to make a alcohol called Madhu. It is made with honey and rain water. Prehaps 2 EP.

To: Consul Scrappy of Kush
From: Crown Prince Fu Longwei of the Heavenly Dragon Empire


It is excellent news that we have reach the agreement of Iron for wonderous Fragrances and the Alliance between our great lands.

To: The Council of Paupa
From: Crown Prince Fu Longwei of the Heavenly Dragon Empire


The Dragon Empire would like to help you in the advancement of your peoples. I would offer you the Wisdom of the Hangui and its Codes for 3 EP. Let us exchange thoughts on such a deal.

To: The Great King Sim of Korea
From: Crown Prince Fu Longwei of the Heavenly Dragon Empire


I offer to have my Shipbuilding Hanghui teach you the Wisdom of Sailing for 3 EP to be paid for by 1 EP for the next 3 turns and sign a treaty to protect each others ocean trade routes. Much like the treaty I have with King Soru XIV of the Celestial Kingdom of Kitanato. I would like to express my joy at your offer to send soldiers to help The Shang Empire.

To: King Soru XIV of the Celestial Kingdom of Kitanato
From: Crown Prince Fu Longwei of the Heavenly Dragon Empire


I would like to offer mass amounts of salt for use in food storage for 1 EP. Why such a low amount for a trade good. It is because you have offered to help The Great Shang Empire in its war against the Khanate. Prehaps there is other things you would like such as knowledge? I would listen to your thoughts on such other deals.



MTec11
 
To: Satura
From: Punt

We will trade for your Pitch.

To: Heavenly Dragon
From: Persia

Agreed.

To: Heavenly Dragon
From: Paupa

Agreed.

To: Heavenly Dragon
From: Korea

Agreed.

To: Heavenly Dragon
From: Kitanato

1 EP is a fine price. We will pay you 2 more EP for the wisdom of Hanghui.
 
To: Consul Scrappy of Kush
From: Crown Prince Fu Longwei of the Heavenly Dragon Empire

It is excellent news that we have reach the agreement of Iron for wonderous Fragrances and the Alliance between our great lands.
To Kush

Truly you have accepted this bid without allowing a counter offer.
 
To: Satura
From: Kush

Pupppy Power! If only Scooby had been alive to negotiate this deal! Alas, he is dead, my fragrances head East, and Iron is in my hands. We cannot change the past.
 
The Vengeance of the Magicians and the Burning of the Camps

Commercial Story: Kush (Sitar)

-

In the land of Kush the people drink their honeyed beverages and spend hours in the tavern. Counsul Scooby and later Scrappy were both known to visit such places at all hours, even travelling out of Indus to follow their favorite Sitar players as they toured the small taverns of the countryside.

One of the favorite songs of Kush is an ancient tale, stretching back to the founding of Kush and the fall of Baejoi. The Vengeance of the Magicians and the Burning of the Camps.

High Mage Timborr stayed within his chambers,
When the city outside was nothing but dangers.
And his people had fled,
Or were in the streets dead,
Timborr played with his levers,
And rabid pet beavers,
Waiting to face the invaders.

Five units of Warriors,
Tore the gold from all the corridors,
Wandering through a great maze,
From the walls seeped Kuhorsehockye Haze,
Their confusion had no remedy,
For battle they were no longer ready
As they arrived at Tiborr's bottleneck.
At a crash they all hit the deck,
The doors around them were closed,
Tiborr had even engineered the windows,
To deploy at a whim,
The beavers within
The vast palace beaver stores.

But rabid teeth were only phase one,
And Timborr's vengeance was hardly half done,
With the twist of a yolk,
No more Kuhorsehockye smoke!
Poison instead,
From the walls! All were dead!
And the High Mage smiled like the sun.

When the Kuhorsehockyes went to go see,
Baejoi would no longer be,
But we did find the camps,
Of the barbaric tramps,
And burned them all to the ground,
To their screams and their sounds.
The warriors never returned,
But from refugees we have too learned,
Of the Mage's Revenge,
And the long vanished lands.
While we play our sitars,
And pray to the stars,
That Baejoi might once again be.


-

OOC: Looks like it's not an A Game day for my poetry.
 
Consul Scrappy was actually not in Indus when the messenger arrived. Word held that Consul Scrappy was following his favorite Sitar player (Barry Garcyus) on his Still Grateful tour through the Southern Provinces.

When the foreign messenger finally found the Consul he was on the outskirts of a makeshift camp.

His response was simple.

To: Satura
From: Kush

Punt has told me of the embarrassing state of your army although we do respect their capacity as dancers we have also heard of the heavy losses you took near Iruba. I have also heard a great deal about the armies of my new ally.

I'm not that drunk.
 
Epic Poems

Commercial Story: Tatui (Trade Good: Poetic Epics)

-

The people of Tatui composed long poems, which they recited in the public places in exchange for donations.

Their favorite was "Tisn the Sailor" who travels through the Mediterranean encountering all manner of supernatural obstacle.

But "Tisn the Warrior" is no less popular, it describes Tisn's glory in the battles against Urian soldiers in the wars of the Rivers.

There are others, Tisn's story is generally recited, but the poems that get written down tell different stories, "The Song of the Seas" is essentially a manual on sea travel. "The Song of the Stones" tells about the Faith of the Stones as it is practiced in Tatui, and even "The Song of the Sun" which is the accompanying Zorrkanist version.

In every home, though, is "The Epic of the Scorpion."

It is a story of agents and subterfuge.

-

To: Satura
From: Tatui


We are interested in a Trade Agreement.

-

OOC: When you tried to put Lead in as a Trade Good I seriously considered a scenario where I would add Arsenic as a trade good for Tatui so you could maintain the tradition of trying to poison one another.
 
The men gathered as the barracks built itself. "What's happening?" asked a Sudanese newcommer.

"Hadrian gave an awesome speech" replied one of the workers, "We're so industrious, our sweat are building us a barracks for us."

And so it was, powered by industriousness and a lot of sweat, the building slowly rose into the sky, the fields clearing themselves and obstacle courses placing themselves on strategetic places. Metal oozed out of the ground and forged themselves into weapons, then placed themselves onto weapon racks formed by imploding tree trunks. Clay dragged itself over and mixed itself into cement, filling into the slots of the stone which float genetly through the air, propelled by gallons of laborious sweat.

With the hard work over, the details begun. Puddles of sweat scooted about, carrying rags and cleaning up the site. Some of the sweat appeared with gold and begun inlaying the Captain's office, while other puddles wrote the name on the entrace. "ACADEMY OF IRUDITE HEROS" with a subtitle, "May their sacrifice always be remembered. May their sacrifice always be repaid."

By nightfall, the barracks was completed. Hadrian gave an nod and said, "That is the power of Industrious, folks" and walked away to cheers.

OOC: Of course, sweat may or may not be a metaphor for actual work. But with a regional leader named Malach the Mage, you can never know. ;)
 
Hadrian and Malach took a night ofter Akten's Day's rest. They looked into the heavens and marveled at the wonders they saw there.

Malach asked many questions, the newly famous Sudanese leader was very interested with the aspect of Zorrkanism that dealt with cosmology, and Hadrian told him all the tales, one by one, of the great stars.

Zorro's palace was the moon, and the stars are those enlightened ones returning to his palace. On the way, they must wander through Zulep's darkness as it offers temptation to their nearly perfect souls. And every night, several fall to his dark whisperings, streaking through the sky in a great flash of light, to bury themselves into the soil of Aset's prison and free him just a tiny bit more.

Malach asked him why Zorrkanists called Stoners "Aset-Cultists", and Hadrian felt sad to explain. The Faith of the Stone singlemindedly gave their faith to the stones below, towards Aset, the great evil. While thought, activity, free will, and other emotions free one from the body towards Zorro's Palace, and towards the embrace of Akten himself, base emotions such as uncontrolled lust, fear, or hatred caused by Zulep leads to one trying to control his emotions uncontrollably. If such a man succedes, he becomes an animal, empty of spirit and soul. If such a man fails, he gives in for he feels he has no other choice, and becomes an animal as well.

No, Zorro's thought's, Akten's protection, that is the savior of the heavons from the corruption of the earth, explained Hadrian.

But Malach had other ideas. What if he studied the movements of the great stars as they move towards Zorro's palace? Can he see which men were saved or not? And if the enlightened who are freed from their corpse do fly towards Zorro's Palace so brightly that they shine as stars, can one such as he hitch a ride?

There is only one way to find out, but he will save this experiment for a different time...

After all, he though as he took his hands away from his knife, I rather like King Hadrian.
 
No one knows how the members of the Stoney Hearts club are chosen. They know that many of them are from Ur, handfuls from Zull, Sudan, Kurdia and Cyria, and two from Persia.

Many of the members also happen to be quite high up in the Inquisitorial Structure, but the reason for this correlation is unknown.

Octavian, Prime-Citizen of Satura, Inquisitor-General of Zorrkanism, Wielder of Silvertin, and Defeater of the First Spear of Kush, Oceanstrider, the Raiser of Lighthouses and the Completer of Promises, the Mighty, the Pure, and the Head of the Stoney Hearts Club.
Much is said about him, but little is truly known of his origins, his upbringing: he seemed to appear suddenly halfway during the Urrian Inquisition while the efforts flagged as a teenager, and it was his personal efforts that turned it from a failure like in Persia to the great success it will soon become.

Orion, Inqusitor-Captain of Ur
Orion always looked up to Octavian during his predesessor's days as Inqusitor-Captain, and when he succeeded his Idol's post, he set about his duty with greater furor. He always calls for more support to send to the Land of the Sun, and personally patrols the outskirts of Ur.

Olando, Inquisitor-Captain of Mongolia
A fast rider and a skillful diplomat, he was appointed to defuse the tensions of the Heavenly Dragon's occupation of Persia, and detached his chapter from the increasingly hostile atmosphere to discover the truth behind the mysterious Khanate.

Obadiah, Ambassador to Tatui
One of the Stoney Hearts Clubmen who is not within the Inquisitorial structure, Obadiah is a key ambassador in Tatui who has maintained the loose and distant relationship with the only stoned state with speaking terms with Satura.

Osborn, Ambassador to Cyria, Inquisitor-Commissar of Levant
Osborn is key in organizing those Zorrkanists, be they Mercantile or nucleated, in the lands dominated by the Faith of the Stones. Ambassador to Cyria, he has defeated over nine thousand assassination attempts, including six hundred and sixty six in the year leading to the start of the River War.
 
the only state with speaking terms with Satura.

awwwww.... that isn't true. You still have Punt, LoTS, Persia and your choice of Western PC's.

Osborn, Ambassador to Cyria, Inquisitor-Commissar of Levant has defeated over nine thousand assassination attempts, including six hundred and sixty six in the year leading to the start of the River War.

lmfao.
 
Let me revise that. Stoned state in speaking terms with Satura.

EDIT:

With Zull, we communicate with airquotes, innuendos, winks, and shrieking.
With Kurdia we communicate with whispering.
With Cyria we communicate with shouting.
If Kurdia and Cyria are in the same room, we communicate by writing their doom on the wall.
 
Orlando sat his horse high above the pass where the Khanate's forces are fighting those of the strange oriental swordsmen of Shang. The forces of shang shall not be described here, but he watched as the Khanate moved foward again and again, only to break upon the lines of the swordsmen and barely pull back. Battle cries shatter the air as one regiment after another of the Khan's horsemen eventually retreat, giving the Shang enough time to pull back in good form to stronger fortifications.

Orlando returned to the Inquisitorial Head Quarters, pondering at what Zorro wished him to see. Retreat is obviously a great way to preserve a force, that is sure. But obviousness is not the way of Zorro; it has its times, but it is not now.

And so, Orlando prepared to return his contingent back to Persia, when he realized the true meaning of that battle. Yes, the horsemen could not break through themselves, yes, retreat was useful.

But if they could. What if they wore armor of Silvertin instead of leather and bronze? What if they had enough force to... to simply tear open enemy lines?

Swordsmen on horses... the swords wouldn't reach far enough for that purpose, no. For that, he would need spears. He pondered as his men passed valley and pass. Yes, there will be a spiral to draw away the blood, and a long blade to slide bodies off of the polearm. And it shall be called a lance.

And the sword, the sword need not be limited like those of infantry men. They can be long, absurdly long, long enough to generate the force needed to shatter shields and armor, and the men who cower behind it. Yes, that is what is needed.

By the time he rode onto the battlefield north of Ur, gone was his iron-woven robe. Gone was his simple battle armor. He had smithed the armor himself, the weapons himself, and stood, north of the endless battle.

He was a Cataphrat, and the thundering hooves of his horse shall break through those lines. Oh yes.

They will face Zorro's judgement soon enough.
 
To: Satura
From: Iberios


But, of course we are on speaking terms. You know your place, and your place is to surrender whenever we demand it. My friends in Cyria and I love talking to you.

Speaking of which, perhaps we leave Ur to the Urians, keep the land we've taken, and you pay us reparations (for feeding and transporting our armies into lands we rightfully hold).

-

Heavy Carpentry

Commercial Story: Iberios (Trade Good: Furniture)

They shaved the wood, trying to catch the curve just right. Sanding off edges, "A fine chair."

The real invention of Iberios, though, is not the chair, it's the wooden latch and the screw. The things they use to tie together two different pieces or the secure the doors of cupboards.

Every type of wood they could gather was devoted to this purpose, the larger trees began to fall and then men with saws worked on either side to cut it into shape.

Upon completion of that task the wood is loaded behind a team of horses into a wagon where it is taken down to the Workshops.

At the workshops skilled craftsmen turn wood into smooth bolts that would latch the furniture into place. Sometimes they would coat a container with hot wax before sealing it watertight.

No hammers, no nails. Just elegant simplicity and earnest work of the mind and body.

Another chair exits the workshop, and the quality control managers take a few minutes to check it for imperfections.
 
To Spaniels



We are negotiating with Zull, not you.


From Osborn to Participating Nations

The only reason, and the only reason we did not fight you before is that you, to be honest, are not worth it. A single brick from the golden streets of Waset can buy all of Kurdia, another can buy all of Cyria, and if you take out mainstreet we can surely buy all of Zull as well. A singlet drop of Saturan Blood is worth more than all the blood of all Kurds who ever existed.

Excuse me while I kill this bungling assassin *slick* ah, there we go. I feel well enough to offer a counter proposal: Leave the Land of the Sun.

No need to tell us whether you agree or disagree. You will leave it soon enough; either with your shields or on them.


Link to video.
LEAVE THE URIANS ALONE-WITH THREATS INSTEAD OF CRYING, LIKE

LEAVE UR ALONE, YOU BASTARDS! I CAN WIPE YOU OUT BY TRIPPING ON ACCIDENT
 
Top Bottom