Absolution 4: Tabula Rasa

To Emperor Chao Longwei of the Empire of the Heavenly Dragon
From Octavian, Prime Citizen of Satura


I'm willing to sell copies of Hadrian's Treatise on Load-Bearing Arches and Malach's Calculations for Strength of Supports, and other requirements for the science of engineering, for a bargain of 8EP. These will be given to you through Persia through the Quarantined Island, the same where we will pick up your other[1ep].
 
Hey,

To: Octavian, Prime Citizen of Satura
From: Emperor Zhaohui Longwei of the Heavenly Dragon Empire


The offer is not acceptable. Though Satura requested 1 EP and will recieve the 1 EP. The offer of Engineering, my scholars tell me, may violate the World Divided Treaty.

Number 13: The Garden that is to the East, after the settling of affairs, shall be removed from discussion of policy. No policies of Satura will concern the East.

The offer itself, plainly shows Saturan interest in the Eastern Cradle. Which is denied by the World Divided Treaty.



WDT01
 
Of course, that EP itself came from interest in the western cradle, which I asked for to aid against the Plague as well as to look the other way to that blatant and unilateral passage of the treaty. Indeed, I stopped myself from invoking this clause
1-turn discussion for the breaker to explain himself and pay 5EP to the maintainer.
for that very reason. To keep options open in case more funds are needed against the Plague.

And more funds ARE needed.

As I am already arranging for copies for Persia, I am simply thinking of arranging 2 copies of this set instead of one to be placed on the Quarantined Island.

EDITOOC: Huh, maybe I should be a lawyer.

EDITEDIT: Seeing that we would send each other 5EP anyways, let's just prevent this possible vector for spreading Zulep's boils and ignore that this happened for any purpose other than instructional or rhetorical.

EDITEDITEDTI: As of "May 13, 2012, 06:23 PM ", we will assume silence as acceptance of our explanation.
 
"Buy your instant cure here! Buy your snake oil here!" cried the sales man. He is surrounded by prospective buyers. "Taken from the lowest snake and purified for eight leaps, it will attack the heart of Zulep's infection and purge it from the body!"

Hadrian saw this with disgust. Oh sure, he has found a well working ointment for the Boils. Well working, if it didn't take its weight in gold to smuggle honey out of Persia.

Then again, as long as it is not counter productive. The young Merchant Wylias himself never seemed sick, and he claimed to drink an entire bottle of the stuff everyday.

King Hadrian wondered if he can ship this snake oil instead of Ointment, after all, Snake Oil would be a proper trade good, would it not?

And seeing the passionate (enough to almost seem take to his eyes) testimony from a "cured stoner", perhaps it does work, too.
 
The Domestication of Bears

Militaristic Story: Wovvolk (UU: Bear Cavalry)

-

They met in captivity, he was quite taken by her eyes.

Deep brown eyes, pools as limitless as her caring soul, their vivacity was matched only by her luscious hair.

She was beautiful, her sturdy load bearing hips, and so kind, she always cared for the young, sought them out and nuzzled them, cradled them in her arms.

He so wanted to be the one to give her one of her own.

He ate his porridge at night, always as near to her as he could manage though it was not easy. She got a lot of attention from all the others, sniffing about her in a barbaric fashion.

She was too good for them, he knew, a refined female like that, she needed someone who understood the finer things. Could provide for her, do his equal share of work, the rest of them were just a bunch of lazy slobs. They would just ignore the young, leave everything to her to do. He would bring her porridge, drag her bucket all the way to her bed, anything she desired.

But he was always so silent around her, his own hair stood on ends, nervous, frightened.

Frightened! He was a brave male and never backed down from a confrontation, he had been in quite a few fights growing up, he had held his own, never panicked or backed down.

But she… she scared the hell out of him.

At the porridge line this night he is right next to her, his hair stands on edge again.

She smiles, almost laughs, looks right at him.

Looks right through him.

He blushes, if blushes is the right word, his cheeks kind of draw back in embarrassment and he brings his arm over his face, no words.

Now she does laugh, it comes out as loud barking, but he doesn’t mind, he dares to smile back.

And the days turn to weeks as they grow together, always near one another, always happy, smiling, bounding in the grass together.

On the morning of the winter solstice she gave birth to his first cub. The Thunder Gods roared their approval and a flock of owls, no mere ravens or geese, a whole flock of owls sat atop the bear stables until the evening, watching the newborn as it’s parents looked from the cub to the other, wide smiles on their snouts.

He would grow to be the father of all domesticated, civilized bears.

-

OOC: Yes, this is blatantly recycled. I don't deny that. But if I'm going to add the Wovvolk I want them to have a Bear Cavalry. And I really do like this story. I do not often write love stories, but this is my favorite.
 
And this Zero becomes One.

Enlightenment, understanding, the riddle of the spreadsheet dawns upon the King of Waset as he reads the notes made by his young friend Malach. He can see the relationships between the columns, the rows, the totals and averages, the taxs and the deductables.

With an intricate layer of nearly-transparent parchment laid over the papyrus, he can see the complex lines connecting everything.

But would this be too complex to institute into the Archives? They are already undermanned, and a retraining, if lasting anything more than a week, would shut down the Union.

No, he sighs, he has to redesign the spread sheet. Line up the sum and the averages, and make it easier to learn. And so he wrote an explanation back to Malach, and begun changing the Sudanese Ledgers into a form more suitable for conventional Saturan logic.

At the very least, his word will excel.
 
To: Iberios
From: The Seasworn

We would gladly trade you some copies of our inspiring 'Pirtate Tales' for your furniture.
 
As she loved the sea some men loved the land, the could hear the song of the grass as the waves sang her. It was these men who had perfected the farming techniques which had so increased the production of Madeiran Salt. The grainy substance which she had began to grow had many uses but none so savory as the one that sat before her.

The liquid was dark, almost black, but by the gods it was delicious. She sat in her rooms above the library; the roaring fire lit the room floor to ceiling. As she took a drink from her goblet the fire was in her throat, warming her chest and making her crack a grin.

Old she was, but not diminished by age, she sat straight and hard in her high backed chair. A beautifully carved chair, a gift from the noble Iberians, the shelves that housed the thousands of books below her in the library were also beautifully carved works of art. A book lay on the table before her, its pages glimmering in the light from the fire as she worked late into the night. These days she spent more of her time with sums and figures than with her axe, the huge black piece of metal which hung on the wall above the fire.

That was how the barrel had come to rest on the table beside her, trade had made the Seasworn rich and powerful, the sea would provide. She drained her glass and pulled the cork from the small flask to retrieve another glass of rum. The cask was empty…

“Why is the rum Always gone?” she sighed

She rose and hefted the empty barrel in her arms, replacing it with a full cask from the stack along her wall. She loved the fiery liquor, its heat reminded her of younger days when the heat of battle had inflamed her heart. These days she usually left the fighting to young men and stout warriors, but from time to time she could not resist setting sail for the sunrise and returning with holds full of plunder.


Trade Good Story: Rum
 
To: The Seasworn
From: The Wovvolk

The messenger from the far north swam into the harbor.

"We have heard," he panted, "Even in the far north the stories of your Rum, we will send all the furs you desire if you just let us have some."

To: The Seasworn
From: Iberios

Agreed.
 
The book that lay before her was strange; the books of the Seasworn were printed on sheets of fine shining bronze or brass. But this book was a scroll of some soft substance; the trader had called it ‘Papyrus’. Strange it may be but a book it was, a fine script and down the long scroll the story was written over and over in many tongues. Some of them she knew and some she did not, but soon she would this would be another invaluable tool for creating trade routes.

The scroll itself was another wonder; so much information stored so conveniently. The huge tomes that filled the Great Library of Queens Harbor were magnificent creations bound with huge rings of gold and silver and inlayed with gems and gold. But she could see the benefit of such a light and simple method of storing information, she had long since began keeping records of the trades that she made the work was tedious and time consuming. The wonderful Pirate Tales which were a source of pride to the Seasworn as many noble Captains were featured in the collection of battle songs. If it could be inscribed on such a scroll… in so many different languages, it could spread the glory of the Seas to those who lived thousands of leagues from the sound of the waves. Copies of the book had already been traded for much expert furniture from the noble Iberians. And so many copies could be made, cheaply, using such a printing material as this.

Her curiosity for learning new languages would have to wait, she called for a guard and told her to bring the trader back into her apartments. She would learn the secrets of this spectacular book.

Scientific Story: Paper ledgers
 
To: The Wovvolk
From: The Seasworn

The messenger stood dripping on the rug.

“And you say he Swam into the harbor?” Anne said in a disbelieving voice.

“Yes my queen, and he asked to speak to you in person” said the guard.

“Well then I suppose we had better let him speak his piece.” Anne said graciously “Welcome to Queens Harbor, it is quite an impressive feat to have swam to our lonely island, I shall do all in my power to make friends with such a noble people.”

The messenger panted his request. He had been sent, he said, by the Wovvolk people far to the north with an offer of trade.

After much negotiation she called one of her trusted captains and charged him to bring the messenger back to the far north and return with a load of furs, and the friendship of the Wovvolk people.

---

Sometimes I get wrapped up in RP :crazyeye:

---
"For those with short attention spans"

We accept...
 
The Courthouses of Tatui

Construction Story: Tatui

Old Man River was named oddly, as there were no rivers in the land of Tatui, but he was called this since he was known mostly for his adventures in Zull upon the Nule River long before he was an elder.

The Boils of Zulep were a great burden upon his people, and although he had taken to a custom of solitude and avoidance of the potentially afflicted he took this time to wander out and found a new city in his lands.

A place of cleanliness, where every person incoming would be held in quarantine before they were allowed entrance. A safe and isolated place, the opposite of a leper colony.

"We shall need a courthouse here to help maintain order."

"Of course," the Elder said, "If I shall move here for the safety then I shall require a courthouse. There are two courthouses in Tatui, we shall need at least one in the new city!"

"What shall we call it?"

"Rabat. The city of health shall be known as Rabat."

-

EDIT: Story List Updated.
 
This would be her last major project she knew, but she had achieved so many dreams, perhaps the gods would allow her to see this one to its end. The building would be beautiful, columns of stone, smooth and tall would adorn the front, they had been brought in by the ships, their weight was immense, but they would soon be in place. She brought her hand to her forehead to shade her eye from the glare of the midday sun, the building that was beginning to take shape before her would be a marvel of architecture.

The foundations were long since complete and the walls were taking shape, soon the massive stones of the roof would need to be hefted into place. The Queen had designed the new building herself; most of the justice had been performed by Captains for many long years, but she had implemented many changes over the years a new justice system required a new center of justice, offices and officers to fill them. More work and freedoms for the Seasworn, every man would have a right to justice on the high seas.

In her long years on the throne she had worked tirelessly to create a better life for her people, she had served her people well and was known far and wide as a wise Queen and a formidable warrior. She watched the working men for a while longer before she turned from her balcony to return to her work. The Courthouse was coming along nicely, it could be finished soon, again she prayed to the gods for the strength to see it through.

Building Story: Courthouse
 
So many long years had passed; the Captains had come and gone sons replacing fathers and grandsons after them. Here she stood again through so many seasons and through so many storms, on the jutting cliff with the waves pounding the base far below her.

They stood before her as other men and women had many years before, the Captains and the heads of all the families. But this time they were one people, this time they had come together to choose a new king, her successor, he would take over as lord Captain of the fleet and be king upon her death. The Seasworn would suffer no child leaders, no weaklings had a right to rule them, and they bowed only to strength and prowess.

Thus this council had been called, they would choose one from among them who would be worthy to replace Queen Anne Teach. This was the method decided by the great Council:

Any mans name may be put forth, however no man may submit his own name.

After all candidates have been put forth each shall speak to the Captains and Queen above the roar of the sea and there with the salt spray upon their lips they shall cry for their new king. The people will judge who shall rule over the Seasworn.

They were all here, the sun was rising, and this was a day blessed by the sea.

The first names were called out, notable Captains and lordly lords. Each man whose name was called walked forward to kneel before the Queen the name in each of their minds came from the lips on none, but they began to look about as if to see who would say the name. Finally they each looked to the Queen, who looked at her people and finally spoke the name.

“Edward” Anne said in her powerful voice.

And he strode forward, tall and straight, muscled like a maidens dream. Strapped to his back was a large black battle axe, not unlike the one worn on the back of the Queen. He wore black boots of finely tooled leather, the rest of this clothing was black as well, lacquered black ring mail over black leather breeches and jerkin. A red skull and crossbones were splashed across his chest, a black patch over one eye, the sigil of his house. He knelt before his queen along with the others. Five men knelt before the Queen high above the roaring sea.

One by one the candidates were allowed to speak to the Captains and the Queen first was Blood Eyes, Captain Jack Everly. The Captain of the Seas Hammer, known throughout the seas as Blood Eyes. His eyes burned red, and his skin was bleached white from birth, in most cultures an albino like him would have been feared, but as a Pirate Captain he struck fear in the hearts of his foes and was highly regarded for his skill at arms. He spoke of leading the Seasworn to glory and feeding the sharks far across the waves.

Next came the Twins, brothers, each had named the other and they spoke together. The twin brothers were Captains of identical ships; they were famed for trapping their prey between them with sharpened spikes imbedded in the rams of their ships. They had lofty plans of expansion, one spoke of expanding their inland holdings while the other talked of the plunder they would find from the people they would find in their new territory.

After the Twins came the Captain of the Victory, Benjamin Barbosa, Lord Captain of Landlubbers Retreat. He was a strong man, his huge black beard covered most of his face but his voice boomed and he was a powerful man. He began to speak, telling them how he would create a stable world, build roads and bring some infrastructure in the kingdom. He had become rich on farming ad trade, but he was still a formidable Captain with much support at the Council.

They had all spoken but him, the silence roared with the sound of the waves. The sea spoke to her its song had guided her for so long the last candidate looked at her, and she nodded at him. It seemed that the Captains and the Family heads held their breath as he began to speak.

“For many years our Queen has spent her life to protect and strengthen our people. She did not seek power, she accepted the mantle that was thrust upon her. She told me once when I was only a lad that ruling was not a right, but a responsibility. There are many storms before us and the seas are wide and wild, but if you should declare that I must be king then I shall do my best.” He smiled at the Queen and she gave her famous smile, which could bring joy or strike dread. “I grew up on the knee of our great queen, it was from her hand that I first accepted a blade, and she taught me to fight as well as any man. I owe her my life many times over, as many of you owe me your own lives. I sail the great salt seas with a skill unmatched by any among the Seasworn.” The fact that this last statement had not provoked an outrage spoke volumes. His voice rose and he cried out to the Council, “Brothers, declare me your future King and I shall bring you all glory and plunder, blood and gold, and we shall sail the waves to where no man has gone before!”

The rest was roaring, the candidates each had some support, but the vast majority supported Edward. Even old Blood Eyes and Benjamin Barbosa shouted out his name when the time came, forgoing their own claims.

When the choice of the Council was clear, a chant began, but Edward silenced them with his hands raised. He turned to the Queen and knelt before her; the Queen laid her hand upon his head and poured water from the sea over him. He rose and began to speak once again his voice rolling over them as the sound of the waves.

“My friends and brothers, you shall not regret your choice here today.” He reached out and took the Queens hand “Grandmother” he said “I will not disappoint you”

“You could never disappoint me my daughter’s son; you will make a great and powerful king.”

The chant began again unquenchable this time; the Seasworn roared their approval for their new king.

“Edward Teach, Edward Teach, Edward Teach.”
 
Amber Wealth


The pickaxe rises and falls again, underneath the realm of men, harvesting the wealth of caverns of old, searching for the amber gold, buried deep within the heart, of the many different parts, underneath the rocky Earth, merchant's love and merchant's mirth.

And so it was, in the reign of the Emperor Lun the First, that the great miners of the Shang breached the deepest part of their cavernous mines that they had as of yet discovered, and made a finding the highest of which would produce a multitude of wealth for the aspiring nation. Gold, in huge veins and quantities were found.

Hundreds if not thousands went to the northeastern provinces, and many would die trying to harvest large amounts of the gold when they were unprepared. However, over time, the Empire stabilized and made everything more stabilized in the region, and helped support the miners, to keep them from murdering each other over the precious new material that was slowly being mined and harvested from the deep shafts.

Over time, the new town of Shang-Zhou would spring up around the gold mines, due northwest of Laozai along the Sea of the Shang, and Shang-Zhou would gradually grow and expand in time.
 
Celestial Urns

Commercial Story: Kitanato (Ritual Urns)

-

The craftsman wrapped his braided cord around the clay, four high and he now had a bowl.

A simple people, the men of Kitanato have few resources at hand and so they work with what they have, groves instead of farms, small and widely dispersed settlements. They tell their children that these things breed discipline.

And so they work to craft urns, stone statues, write Haikus, what they do have they must be ready to offer up to the world, to bring in the foreign goods that they have become dependent on.

Anotherline of braided cord goes to reinforce the clay, the urn grows bit by bit, one at a time, of the highest craftsmanship.
 
Hey,

OOC

I was following the Gold/ Amber talk and I believe Amber is a Fine choice. I did some research and there is no Amber desposits in Shang Empire lands. The closest is in Korea and one in southern China. But this Earth is different so Amber is a good one. Wish I thought of it. :cringe:


Blaze Injun
 
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