LINESII- Into the Darkness- Part II
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Yaran, Crown Prince to the Syracian Empire, strode confidently down a corridor of the Imperial Palace in Jara.
Ah, Jara. Named after the Uniter, the great and beloved Jara, his father: Warrior, leader, wise and benevolent emperor - oh, and lately, raving madman.
It was his wounds, of course. Not the spear-thrust to the groin which had ensured Yaran's eternal status as only child, but the older, deeper ones, cuts and stabs that scored organs and caused the leaking of whatever vile fluids lay within. They poisoned his father's mind, slowly at first, until in recent years everything had gone downhill at once.
He was becoming irrational, erratic. Money and labor were poured into the construction of a great roadway connecting the cities, despite all the economists' warnings that the trade increase would hardly cover the outlay. The army was assembled, troops marched to deal with the pirates that marauded the coast and came close to ruling the Bay of Khemal, and then simply sat in their encampments, waiting an order to march that never came. The pirates fled out of sheer intimidation, but they took everything of value with them, leaving nothing to offset the expense of moving and feeding so many soldiers.
And so it was that Yaran began to take charge. A good thing, in his opinion: His father refused to see the necessity of using power to lead the people down The Path. Yaran was not so narrow-minded. He had taken over matters of diplomacy first, that his father did not touch off a major war with a ribald story at an inopportune moment, and had only a week ago achieved a major victory, concluding an alliance with the powerful nation of Kelios to the west. That he shared their beliefs meant he could speak to them in their own language.
The adoption of the Thresis Bow was his victory as well. Already it was mounted in towers along the cities and harbors, and work was underway on a larger ship to accomodate its use at sea. His father barely understood the concept, but Yaran saw the benefits of such a powerful weapon immediately.
As he saw the benefits of many things ...
The doors to the council chamber swung open before him, and he faced his father's circle of advisors. His advisors soon enough. The Crown Prince smiled a predatory smile.
"Esteemed advisors ... we have business to discuss."
Ah, Jara. Named after the Uniter, the great and beloved Jara, his father: Warrior, leader, wise and benevolent emperor - oh, and lately, raving madman.
It was his wounds, of course. Not the spear-thrust to the groin which had ensured Yaran's eternal status as only child, but the older, deeper ones, cuts and stabs that scored organs and caused the leaking of whatever vile fluids lay within. They poisoned his father's mind, slowly at first, until in recent years everything had gone downhill at once.
He was becoming irrational, erratic. Money and labor were poured into the construction of a great roadway connecting the cities, despite all the economists' warnings that the trade increase would hardly cover the outlay. The army was assembled, troops marched to deal with the pirates that marauded the coast and came close to ruling the Bay of Khemal, and then simply sat in their encampments, waiting an order to march that never came. The pirates fled out of sheer intimidation, but they took everything of value with them, leaving nothing to offset the expense of moving and feeding so many soldiers.
And so it was that Yaran began to take charge. A good thing, in his opinion: His father refused to see the necessity of using power to lead the people down The Path. Yaran was not so narrow-minded. He had taken over matters of diplomacy first, that his father did not touch off a major war with a ribald story at an inopportune moment, and had only a week ago achieved a major victory, concluding an alliance with the powerful nation of Kelios to the west. That he shared their beliefs meant he could speak to them in their own language.
The adoption of the Thresis Bow was his victory as well. Already it was mounted in towers along the cities and harbors, and work was underway on a larger ship to accomodate its use at sea. His father barely understood the concept, but Yaran saw the benefits of such a powerful weapon immediately.
As he saw the benefits of many things ...
The doors to the council chamber swung open before him, and he faced his father's circle of advisors. His advisors soon enough. The Crown Prince smiled a predatory smile.
"Esteemed advisors ... we have business to discuss."
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
Sorry Iggy, I know this might mess up update events a little, since you've already done my part. I left it very openended for Part Three, though.
The Crusade
"Understand that we do not fight a war of aggression. We fight a war of liberation. Veritas shall liberate you from your clumsy stupidities, your pagan rites, your bigoted killings. We fight wars to uplift, instruct, and understand."
-Oceanus Quintalis, By the Waters of Khadon
Part Two:
The Chamber was consuming him. With each day he spent in the darkened hall, deep below the mountain's roots, he felt the odor of corruption growing stronger.
Once, there had been a tantalizing hint of hidden knowledge, like an elusive incense that wafted around a temple's pillars. But it drew back, like a silverfish, fleeing into some remote cave below even the Chamber. Once it was gone, the sense of evil grew. And the Stratikrator knew that he was not alone. There was Presence here, something not entirely human. Xenophon could feel it.
His beard steadily grew as the second week passed. He had been urgently trying to translate the inscriptions, but his urgency was slowly turning into something worse...hysteria. The food left by bewildered soldiers went untouched, as the Stratikrator spent hours muttering to himself, pondering over the roots of the dark script that ran along the columns. It seemed that around the swirling, pseudo-Valin script, occasionally a small tendril of text would skip away, twirling down the pole towards the floor. Finally, he realized the pattern.
The columns ran down the hall in three rows, except where they formed a sort of jagged ring around the black table, carved with the map of Tellus. Each of these "ring" columns had one of the detatched lines of text. Within the jagged ring of large columns was a smaller ring of round columns surrounding the table. This smaller ring contained the only white columns in the entire hall. As the lines of script broke from the outer columns, they ran across the floor - How had he not seen this before? - to surround the ring of white columns in a circle of rippling black script. The epicenter of the circle was the black, square table, with the eerily accurate map of known Tellus carved, a dark circle, into the stone.
Suddenly, it hit him. The circle that the lettering formed...it was a One's Circle! The One's circle was an ancient Veritasan symbol, a white circle representing Tellus with a single point in the middle, which was the One. He almost laughed with relief. Such an innocent symbol...perhaps these people were Oneists after all! Perhaps the name of Eldos had been a mistranslation, or a word with some other meaning...
But then, looking around the hall at the columns, he saw something else. The smaller columns surrounding the table formed a One's Circle, this was true...but that outer, jagged ring of black columns made another pattern. Grabbing a spare piece of parchment and charcoal, he began to scribble erratically on the paper. His mind, honed by years of mathematical study, effortlessly calculated what the chamber would look like from above.
A nine-pointed star, surrounding the One's Circle...what did it mean?
And everything fell into place. A distant memory echoed back from the past, a passage from some forgotten text, or the life of some other Stratikrator....
"The Phoenixes fell on the city, and Eldrar burned. Carved into the main gate, a solid wall of oak, read an inscription in their tongue. 'Eldos reigns supreme,' it said, and was surrounded by a star of nine points. The gate was broken and burned, and we passed into the city. The symbol of their demon-god was cast into oblivion."
The nine-pointed star. The symbol of Eldos. The symbols of the One and Eldos merged. What was this hellish place, this hall of nightmares? The One and Eldos could not be more different...the One was a just God! Oneism was a religion of peace!
Oh was it, a sneering voice within him whispered. Or do the One's followers seek the same as those of Eldos, but with different words? No! It was not true...this was a trap, a plot, he had been lured here, there were demons at work! No, the voice said. The only demon lies within...with you, destroyer of nations, Stratikrator.
The Stratikrator held back a scream, and gritted his teeth. That voice was not his. This place would not break him. He would wrench the truth from this wicked hell-hole, even if it cost him his life! He bent his gaze onto the One's Circle, trying to find some hidden meaning. He squinted...and saw it. The circle of indecipherable script surrounded the white columns, but here, and there, and there again, a thin line of black text peeled off the circle, just as it did with the columns.
A thin spiderweb of lines converged on the table, black marble carved out of the rock itself. They ran up the legs, and under the table. They converged there, the Stratikrator saw. That was where he would find his answer.
Crawling over the discarded piles of food, Xenophon passed through the outer columns, into the star. He felt so cold...like an insect, wandering on the surface of a glacier. Stepping into the inner circle, he approached the table. His knees protested as he slid himself underneath. Raising the torch above him, he raised a flickering torch and gazed at the underside of the black table. And the Stratikrator found his answer.
The spider web of indecipherable text converged on a perfect replica of the black, nine pointed star, with the One's Circle within. With widening eyes, he saw the strange language separate into pure Valin and pure Eldra when it met the Star and Circle. The blocky, Eldranian runes ran along the outside of the star, even as the Valin script circled within. He read the inscription, hands trembling.
In the black star: "We are your Tas, Chosen, Eldos, God of All. To stain the soil of Tellus with the blood of the Veri is our eternal praise to you. We embrace the Chaos that is your being."
In the white circle: "We are your Tas, Chosen, Eta, God of All. To raise the Veri into the light of Tellus is our eternal praise to you. With joy, we embrace the Light and Order that is your being."
Inside the tiny point that was the middle of the One's Circle, a Valin inscription swirled into the center, into nothingness. Unlike the unearthly perfection of all the runes in the room, this seemed sloppy, somehow, like someone had chiseled it into the stone in a hurry.
"We lived here, in perfect peace. The One granted us power and might. Like Gods of the Sky we dwelt in glory and honor. Sin has destroyed us. It is lost. We are Veri, the exile begins. They have fallen. We have fallen..."
And in the very center, "The Lore-Master must turn the Blade on itself, before he too is cut down. The Disciple shall see the Knight, and Black shall face the White. The Tomb must be opened."
The harsh knock of footsteps suddenly filled Xenophon's ears. The Stratikrator was filled with despair. What must he endure now? What...now?
"My lord Stratikrator?" The call echoed through the hall. He saw a young, black-haired man, white armor gleaming and sword drawn, with a look of incredible concern and anxiety on his face.
"Vespasian...oh, praise the One. Vespasian."
To the shock of the young Host-Lord, Stratikrator Xenophon began to cry.
The Crusade
"Understand that we do not fight a war of aggression. We fight a war of liberation. Veritas shall liberate you from your clumsy stupidities, your pagan rites, your bigoted killings. We fight wars to uplift, instruct, and understand."
-Oceanus Quintalis, By the Waters of Khadon
Part Two:
The Chamber was consuming him. With each day he spent in the darkened hall, deep below the mountain's roots, he felt the odor of corruption growing stronger.
Once, there had been a tantalizing hint of hidden knowledge, like an elusive incense that wafted around a temple's pillars. But it drew back, like a silverfish, fleeing into some remote cave below even the Chamber. Once it was gone, the sense of evil grew. And the Stratikrator knew that he was not alone. There was Presence here, something not entirely human. Xenophon could feel it.
His beard steadily grew as the second week passed. He had been urgently trying to translate the inscriptions, but his urgency was slowly turning into something worse...hysteria. The food left by bewildered soldiers went untouched, as the Stratikrator spent hours muttering to himself, pondering over the roots of the dark script that ran along the columns. It seemed that around the swirling, pseudo-Valin script, occasionally a small tendril of text would skip away, twirling down the pole towards the floor. Finally, he realized the pattern.
The columns ran down the hall in three rows, except where they formed a sort of jagged ring around the black table, carved with the map of Tellus. Each of these "ring" columns had one of the detatched lines of text. Within the jagged ring of large columns was a smaller ring of round columns surrounding the table. This smaller ring contained the only white columns in the entire hall. As the lines of script broke from the outer columns, they ran across the floor - How had he not seen this before? - to surround the ring of white columns in a circle of rippling black script. The epicenter of the circle was the black, square table, with the eerily accurate map of known Tellus carved, a dark circle, into the stone.
Suddenly, it hit him. The circle that the lettering formed...it was a One's Circle! The One's circle was an ancient Veritasan symbol, a white circle representing Tellus with a single point in the middle, which was the One. He almost laughed with relief. Such an innocent symbol...perhaps these people were Oneists after all! Perhaps the name of Eldos had been a mistranslation, or a word with some other meaning...
But then, looking around the hall at the columns, he saw something else. The smaller columns surrounding the table formed a One's Circle, this was true...but that outer, jagged ring of black columns made another pattern. Grabbing a spare piece of parchment and charcoal, he began to scribble erratically on the paper. His mind, honed by years of mathematical study, effortlessly calculated what the chamber would look like from above.
A nine-pointed star, surrounding the One's Circle...what did it mean?
And everything fell into place. A distant memory echoed back from the past, a passage from some forgotten text, or the life of some other Stratikrator....
"The Phoenixes fell on the city, and Eldrar burned. Carved into the main gate, a solid wall of oak, read an inscription in their tongue. 'Eldos reigns supreme,' it said, and was surrounded by a star of nine points. The gate was broken and burned, and we passed into the city. The symbol of their demon-god was cast into oblivion."
The nine-pointed star. The symbol of Eldos. The symbols of the One and Eldos merged. What was this hellish place, this hall of nightmares? The One and Eldos could not be more different...the One was a just God! Oneism was a religion of peace!
Oh was it, a sneering voice within him whispered. Or do the One's followers seek the same as those of Eldos, but with different words? No! It was not true...this was a trap, a plot, he had been lured here, there were demons at work! No, the voice said. The only demon lies within...with you, destroyer of nations, Stratikrator.
The Stratikrator held back a scream, and gritted his teeth. That voice was not his. This place would not break him. He would wrench the truth from this wicked hell-hole, even if it cost him his life! He bent his gaze onto the One's Circle, trying to find some hidden meaning. He squinted...and saw it. The circle of indecipherable script surrounded the white columns, but here, and there, and there again, a thin line of black text peeled off the circle, just as it did with the columns.
A thin spiderweb of lines converged on the table, black marble carved out of the rock itself. They ran up the legs, and under the table. They converged there, the Stratikrator saw. That was where he would find his answer.
Crawling over the discarded piles of food, Xenophon passed through the outer columns, into the star. He felt so cold...like an insect, wandering on the surface of a glacier. Stepping into the inner circle, he approached the table. His knees protested as he slid himself underneath. Raising the torch above him, he raised a flickering torch and gazed at the underside of the black table. And the Stratikrator found his answer.
The spider web of indecipherable text converged on a perfect replica of the black, nine pointed star, with the One's Circle within. With widening eyes, he saw the strange language separate into pure Valin and pure Eldra when it met the Star and Circle. The blocky, Eldranian runes ran along the outside of the star, even as the Valin script circled within. He read the inscription, hands trembling.
In the black star: "We are your Tas, Chosen, Eldos, God of All. To stain the soil of Tellus with the blood of the Veri is our eternal praise to you. We embrace the Chaos that is your being."
In the white circle: "We are your Tas, Chosen, Eta, God of All. To raise the Veri into the light of Tellus is our eternal praise to you. With joy, we embrace the Light and Order that is your being."
Inside the tiny point that was the middle of the One's Circle, a Valin inscription swirled into the center, into nothingness. Unlike the unearthly perfection of all the runes in the room, this seemed sloppy, somehow, like someone had chiseled it into the stone in a hurry.
"We lived here, in perfect peace. The One granted us power and might. Like Gods of the Sky we dwelt in glory and honor. Sin has destroyed us. It is lost. We are Veri, the exile begins. They have fallen. We have fallen..."
And in the very center, "The Lore-Master must turn the Blade on itself, before he too is cut down. The Disciple shall see the Knight, and Black shall face the White. The Tomb must be opened."
The harsh knock of footsteps suddenly filled Xenophon's ears. The Stratikrator was filled with despair. What must he endure now? What...now?
"My lord Stratikrator?" The call echoed through the hall. He saw a young, black-haired man, white armor gleaming and sword drawn, with a look of incredible concern and anxiety on his face.
"Vespasian...oh, praise the One. Vespasian."
To the shock of the young Host-Lord, Stratikrator Xenophon began to cry.
JosefStalinator
Я буду снова здесь
All the time spent writing that story could have been spent updating 
alex994
Hail Divine Emperor!
A good story, but alas predictable 
Oruc
Reactionary
Those Veritasians really did get around, they found an abandoned temple city in the swade jungles in another story.
Swissempire
Poet Jester
They did?
And the whole "turn the blade against itself"
But, it was a crazy good story, i'll give you that
And the whole "turn the blade against itself"
But, it was a crazy good story, i'll give you that
Oruc
Reactionary
where is lux?
Oruc
Reactionary
Lux was never surrounded by jungle, In the other story he wrote this guy got lost somehow in the jungle near their old trade post/colony in the swade jungle.
I distinctly remember it, was in the other thread but I still remember.
jalapeno_dude
AKA Panda Judo Eel
No, he's talking about something WAY back (like before Emor was founded).
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
I was wondering if someone would bring up that old story. A sea captain bound for the colony of Sempronia was stranded on the coast of what is today Myocaca, found...something, and was killed by proto-Bladeists before getting back to his ship.
alex994
Hail Divine Emperor!
I would say you should join after the update
Add my country after the update
Fwiglo
Cities: Fantigo
Leader:The Council of Five /Foozicaba
Religion: Trinlinism
Government: Oligarchy
Economy: 2- 2/0
Population: To be determined by me
Army: To be determined by me
Navy: None
Education: None
Technology: Bronze Age
Confidence: Tolerating
Culture: None
Wonders:
Description: Fwinglo is perhaps one of the smallest country in the world. They are isolated from everybody. They found their religion through an old man who been in many countries. Through him, Trinlinism was found. Due to its size, their government, The Council of Five, was able to make the country stable. They spent most of their time on economy, building roads, and making farms for efficient. Now, they decide to reveal themselves upon the other empires.
Put me somewhere near the place where I shaded yellow
I edited the template changed a bit
Fwiglo
Cities: Fantigo
Leader:The Council of Five /Foozicaba
Religion: Trinlinism
Government: Oligarchy
Economy: 2- 2/0
Population: To be determined by me
Army: To be determined by me
Navy: None
Education: None
Technology: Bronze Age
Confidence: Tolerating
Culture: None
Wonders:
Description: Fwinglo is perhaps one of the smallest country in the world. They are isolated from everybody. They found their religion through an old man who been in many countries. Through him, Trinlinism was found. Due to its size, their government, The Council of Five, was able to make the country stable. They spent most of their time on economy, building roads, and making farms for efficient. Now, they decide to reveal themselves upon the other empires.
Put me somewhere near the place where I shaded yellow
I edited
the template changed a bit 
~Darkening~
Weep, Mother.
You realize that region is extreme tundra/artic? I mean, Orum (the green region on the main continent) itself is a snowy place. You realize that there are no bladiest countries north of Swade? Bladiesm isn't really an option for you, as you'll be mostly surronded by a people that were targeted for genocide.
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