Flavius Aetius
Ruler Of Liguria
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So, I can send orders tomorrow? Now I have to go to bed...
JNES: Civilizations
- Thread starter Jason The King
- Start date
Jason The King
Deity
Okay, I have decided to post the update region-by-region, and so here is the full update for both the Pacific and Caribbean/eastern Coast regions of America. Next region to be completed will be South America, followed by northern Europe and the Mediterranean. I have updated a few stats for the American nations, the rest will be done tonight.
Excuse the spelling mistakes. For some reason my Word is now asking for the CD when I want to do spell check...of which I do not have.
Excuse the spelling mistakes. For some reason my Word is now asking for the CD when I want to do spell check...of which I do not have.
Jason The King
Deity
JNES Civilizations
Update Seven
900 – 500 b.c.e. (yes, I know, only 400 years)
Curantis and Talomata
Curantis and Talomata will get to be the lucky nations who go first in this mega-update. The major theme of Curantis during this time is the ever-present struggle against the Talomata for supremacy of the Caribbean Sea, whether they wanted that or not.
Before we begin this period, it might bode well to remind you that Curantis had for the most part secured its dominant place in the Caribbean, while the Talomatan reigned supreme in the older, more tradition trade routes up the coast of eastern North America. This route, however, was on the decline by the time 900 roles around, with the Caribbean trade becoming the focal point of North American commerce. And here it is that Curantis, with its mega-capital of Thanto, reigns supreme.
The Talomatan were not about to quietly fade away. In order to further cement her power in the north, Talomatan warriors defeated the Malnica in the north, securing her allies in Wampanoag and Mohegan and subjugating the Malnica, establishing a military colony here, specializing in timber and fur harvesting, while also exporting slaves back to Talomata. With the victory here, Wampanoag and Mohegan have risen to become economic powerhouses, supplying food stuffs to most of the north east.
In an even further imperial move, the Talomatan have engaged the Coree direclty in order to secure the territorial integrety of the Cherokee. Under the great emperor, Matanaota, the Talomatan army crushed the Coree in a single battle, the Battle of Crooked Creek, where the Coree chief was killed and his chiefdom fell. Talomatan forces, now doubled in size thanks to slaves from Coree and Malnica, moved on to formerly take over the Cherokee whom they had rescued and install a governor in the territory to rule it for Talomata.
Matanaota died around 810, leaving no heir and causing controversy throughout the Talomatan Empire. A new dynasty was finally able to take hold, the Chandoag tribe, who implemented dozens of new reforms throughout the empire beginning in 781. First, they established an imperial throne, granting ultimate power to the Emperor and his ministers. Second, they installed governors throughout the provinces and colonies to enact the emperor’s laws and collect his taxes. They were normally members of the same family as the emperor or deep family friends. Other reforms included definining a system of taxation, and outlawing the slavery of other Talomatans (though foreigners were okay). This is also a time Domism really undertook a transformation in Talomata, turning into a religion more of imperial rule and warfare than of trade and commerce.
By 693 the Chandoag dynasty faded away, following it was a period of anarchy and civil war as the Talomatan throne was contended by three other families. During this time the Cherokee and Coree managed a successful revolt under their Chandoagi governors, throwing off the informal rule from Talomato and establishing their own kingdoms. Provinces within Talomata proper even broke away, as Talomata dipped further into civil controversy and disorder. It would be another hundred years before Talomata would see a unifying leader arise, but during this time the Curantis would experience a surge in power.
While the Talomatans were conquering a huge empire during the 800s and 700s, the Curantis were focusing on internal development as a new, monied elite rose up in Thanto who controlled most of Curantis, and indeed Caribbean, trade. The new aristocracy ushered in a new social order for the Curantis, where aristocratic merchants lived and traded within the cities, but controlled most of the lands outside the cities and derived profits from those who worked the lands. Farmers were still freemen, able to move to other farms or into cities as they pleased, and therefore obligated the merchant to treat and pay the farmers adequetly.
As society grew more sophisticated and fat off of the profitable Caribbean trade, technology was also sequestered from traveling merchants. Thanto by 820 had become a center for learning and philosophy, attracting intelligent minds from across North America and even going so far as to construct the world’s first large-scale library (if you don’t count the trade records temple in Supusi). The Great Library of Thanto became the focal point of innovation, especially when it came to political philosophy and maritime travel. New, hardier and larger Curantis ships soon became possible, springing the Curantis navy to the forefront of power, far suprassing the backward Talomatan fleet. No longer were the Curantis ships destined to go from coast-to-coast, now they were able to sling shot across the expanse of the Caribbean sea. And this technology came not a moment to soon, as the Aztecs and Zapoteca launched a full invasion of the peaceful Olmecs, fellow traders to the Curantis.
The war against the Aztecs and Zapotecs began around 778, when a large contingent of Curantis soldiers landed in Palenque, just miles from the Zapotec armies. A combined force then marched to meet the Zapotec, traversing dense and unpopulated jungle, until the Zapotec were encountered. The Battle of the Burning Tree took place as unexperienced Olmec soldeirs fought alongside the imperial Curantis forces, both giving and taking casualties until finally the Zapotec prevailed, if only due to numerical superiority. The Olmec and Curantis retreated to Palenque, where defenses were readied and another large contingent of Curantis soldiers, along with Carib mercenaries, arrived. The numbers were about equal now, and the Zapotec were a long way from home. It was then that the Aztec army, marching from the south, surprised the defenders, and with the Zapotec force burned and pillaged the capital of the Olmec Confederation. With the destruction of their capital and most of their ruling elite, the Olmec fell.
The loss of such a market and the political turmoil of thousands of dead warriors on his hands, the king of Curantis was in a desperate situation. Then, in 754, a huge hurricane stuck the city of Thanto head on, completely whiping it from the map and dealing the Curantis a heavier blow than the Aztecs or Zapotec ever could. The economic impact would last for a decade, and would cost the monarchy its power.
From 754 until around 744, Curantis was engaged in a civil war between those who supported the monarchy (mostly pious Domists and the royal family) pitted against the wealthy aristocrats who claimed the King was incompetant to rule the empire. This bloody civil war, though short as it was, drastically changed the face of the Curantis. At the end, the aristocracy won out, establishing an imperial senate to rule over all of the Empire. Though only the wealthy aristocrats could be senators, all of the wealthy class could vote for the senators, who were appointed for life. This, though a far cry from a true republic, set the foundations for the Curantis Imperial Republic that lasts to this day.
The Senate set out immediately to rebuild Thanto, intent on creating an urban utopia, built to attract commerce once again and to once more become the intellectual capital of North America. And in most cases, the Senate was successful. The new Thanto once again became a beacon of commerce and knowledge, with a huge stone and marble market constructed and the largest port in the world installed, as well as the Great Library restored to an even more spectacular monument than before. A huge temple to Domism was also constructed. But above all, the Imperial Senate Hall was constructed in the center of the town, dominating the skyscape, and forever leaving the footprint of the Imperial Senate in the history of Curantis. These public works conveyed the power and culture of the new Curantis imperial hegemony, and were enough to propel the Curantis into a new age of imperial growth into the 600s.
Back to Talomata, we see the opposite of the Curantis model of stability and growth. Talomata, on the contrary, was embroiled in a deep civil war, tearing the country apart for the better part of the 7th century. Governors were pitted against governors, aristocrats against farmers, and soldiers against their own comrades. Talomata experienced a series of invasions as well, including small northern invasions from the Seneca, Ohio and Powhatan, as well as a major campaign launched by an alliance of Choctaw and Curantis.
The northern three invasions came during the period between 650 and 640, where Talomata was at its worst. Talmoato was unable to lend support to the rebelling governors of the northern provinces, and so it was on the backs of the local armies to repulse the invaders. And repulse them they did, but only after years of fighting and back-and-forth advances. The real invasion, though, came from the Curantis-Choctaw alliance.
Unlikely allies, the Choctaw and Curantis Imperial Senate were able to strike a deal to cooperate in a full invasion of the fractured and weak Talomata Empire. In 632, a full invasion fleet left Curantis, destined for the southern tip of the Talmotan Empire, the Attaluscan province. At this time, the Attaluscans were up in rebellion against Talomato, and so were prime bait for the Curantis invasion force. After defeating the weakened and backward Talomatan fleet, the Curantis landed and began to march north.
Later that year, as the Talomatans began to rally their homeland forces, the Choctaw struck. The Choctaw, for the past two centuries, had been growing rich from the Mississippi River trade, a primary artery running from south to north through the North American continent. And so their army was well trained and well equipped with the most advanced weaponry at that time. Those Talomatan forces that remained on the border were easily destroyed, leaving the interior of the Talomatan Empire exposed for the Choctaw army.
By 630 it was clear the Talomatans were losing the war. The Curantis were at the gates of Talomato, and the Choctaw were advancing well into Talomatan territory, gaining allies from disident Cherokee and Coree tribes as they moved. Curantis had already sailed north, conquering Talomatan colonies as far north as Malnica, and “liberating” Talomatan islands within the Caribbean.
Talomata in 630
By early 629, Talomata was on the verge of collapse. But something was stirring in the heart of the Talomatan homeland. In the central part of the peninsula, a young man named Atalamato (auto-law-mah-toe) was rallying Talomatans around him. By mid 629, he had gathered a force of nearly 5,000 Talomatans, intent on driving the invaders out and remaking the Talomatan empire. These fanatical Talomatans marched north, engaging the Curantis from behind and defeating the Curantis force and the Curantis general appointed to lead the invasion by the Imperial Senate. Unorganized and disheartened, the Curantis retreated further south, eventually being driven into the Attaluscan province. Atalamato entered Talomato a hero, but still had to deal with the pretender-Emperor who was in charge of the battered empire. Unwilling to let go, the Chandoagi Emperor, Tulin IV, forced Atalamato from the city and declared his force a revolt.
Atalamato met with the emperor’s forces outside the capital, and in one swift battle he again achieved a victory none though was possible. Tulin was killed, and Atalamato proclaimed himself Emperor of the new Talomata empire, of which he and his supporters now called the Atalamato Empire. Marching across the empire, Atalamato gained thousands of new supporters and began to systematically retake each province of the interior, defeating the Choctaw in a series of battles, and finally driving them back into the Mississippi delta. But Atalamato did not stop here. He pursued the Choctaw into their territory, taking Ulaan in 625 and installing his own brother as the High Chief of the Choctaw and also annexing a good portion of eastern and northern Choctaw territory into Greater Atalamato, effectively gaining access to the Mississippi for Atalamato.
After capturing the Choctaw throne, Atalamato swings back to the east, and down the mainland, again gaining followers to push his army to nearly 10,000 men. He defeated the Curantis once again at the Battle of Swampy Meadow, expelling the island nation from the Talomatan homeland. However, this would be Atalamato’s last victory, as he would die two months later in March, 623, leaving his named-heir, his son Mato, to be Emperor.
Mato would prove to be just as successful as his father in battle, driving his army northwards to consolidate the empire and drive into Ohio and Powhatan territories, enacting revenge for their ill-fated invasions generations before. Mato would succeed in installing a puppet chief in Powhatan, and securing a lasting treaty with the Ohio. This, of course, after annexing portions of each nation’s land.
Mato would rule a militant Empire for over 20 years, quelling dozens of rebellions and defeating another Curantis invasion force. When he died in 596, his nephew Atalamato II would become emperor and further consolidate the empire by establishing a system of rotating governors and making the Talomatan language the official language of the empire, forcing all administration to be done in Talomatan. His heirs would further the “Talomatinization” of the empire, and would continue to expand by attacking the Seneca and installing a chief in that nation as well. Talomatan colonies were re-established in the north, with the help of the Wampanoagi and Mohegan allies. The current emperor, Allana’o, is proving to be one of Atalamato’s great builder emperors. In Talomato, Allana’o finsihed construction of a massive new temple to the gods of Dom, a fantastic new palace made of Coquina and marble, and many other shrines throughout the Empire. One such shrine, the shrine of Renda, is such a monumental and significant shrine that it has become the single most important pilgramage site in the entire Domist world, attracting Domists of every kind from as far as Azuro. The result is a highly important priest class in this city, and the growing importance of the Talomatan Domist sect. The building of this monument has transformed the seemingly backwater Cherokee interior city of Fallo into the most important city of the Domist world.
Back to the 7th century Curantis, we can see much else going on other then the wars against Imperial Talomata. Curantis is at the apex of its power – never before has any nation in North America been so wealthy, powerful and most imporantly, stable, as the Curantis are during this century. Even despite losing two wars (even though they came out ahead in terms of territory after the first war) against the Talomatans, the Curantis are going strong, carving themselves an empire across the Caribbean.
Uncontested on the waves, the Curantis army moves eastwards, conquering the last of the small tropical islands, establishing plantations and enslaving many people to work on these plantations, the navy, and in the army. This maritime, island empire, though, has its problems. The Taino people, the natives of many of the small islands captured in the east as well as the west, resist the Curantis rule and have taken to the seas in small fleets that act as pirates to traders and travelers. Because the sea is so expansive, even the Curantis navy can’t crack down on the pirates, leaving merchants to travel at their own whim.
And despite losing a trade partner in mesoamerica, the Olmec, to the Zapotec and Aztecs, trade continues to flourish with the Mayans. And when the opportunity presented itself with the death of the Mayan King who had no apparent heir, the Curantis quickly stepped in and peacefully installed a pro-Curantis dynasty, the Chachami, who continue to rule this day as a puppet state of Thanto.
What’s more, is in 618, as a different Curantis force were continually defeated in a second invasion of Talomata, the Imperial Senate sent a second force to the jungles of Mesoamerica just south of the Mayan to conquer the native population here. The success of this campaign no doubt was great cover-up for the failures in Talomata and would overshadow the eventual loss there. In this colony, named New Thanto, the native population would be put to work harvesting the jungle for timber, mango, rubber, animal pelts, and huge clearings be made for growing cacao. By 600, the colony would account for nearly 10% of the total earnings of the Imperial Senate, and nearly 5% of the total trade in the Caribbean.
The last century of our history in Curantis is a century of relative small growth, mostly due to an increase of Taino piracy and worsening storms in the Caribbean. Curantis would see little change in this period, except for growing tensions among the lower class and the continual isolationism of the Imperial Senate from society. As the century drew on, the Imperial Senate began to have closed meetings, whereas before their meetings were always public and outdoors in the open-air Imperial Forum. But as the century came to an end, most of their gatherings was done inside the Imperial Senate and closed doors.
Tensions have also begun to rise in the vast slave population that works most of the islands and New Thanto. The Mayans also begin to feel constrained by their puppet king, and a few small-scale revolts are brutally supressed by Curantis force. The Aztecs and Zapotecs are up to their old game again, with each possessing a new, militant dynasties. The Aztecs already have been somewhat constrained with their expansion in the north, and are desperately looking for another target for their restless army, with their eyes focused on the Chanton, an ancient ally of the Curantis. Several wars in South America have also led to the destablization of the region for trade, as Azuro begins to consolidate and create an empire.
AZURO EMPIRE HERE
From South America we move back up again to North America, into the northeast portion, at around 801. Here, we meet the Norse, who have managed to travel all the way across the frozen reaches of the northern Atlantic to establish a colony in what they call Vinland. This colony is important for a number of reasons, but most of all it is important because of what the Norse begin to trade to the natives.
Horses, though little in number at first, soon become a very important trade product to the unorganized native tribes of the northern forests. From these cold subarctic regions, horses are traded south, first to the great lakes kingdom of the Mohawk, and then onto where they truly thrive – the Great Plains. Here the horses break into an unfulfilled niche, where they thrive and populate the plains completely by 600. Thus, at around 620, we enter the Age of the Horse for the Lakota and, to a lesser extent, the Apache peoples. Whereas before these people relied on agriculture and and sometimes hunting the bufallo, the introduction of horses has completely militarized the tribes and transformed their economy to hunting and raiding.
It wasn’t long before a great leader arose among one of the Lakota tribes, brutally unifying the plains, and pressing onwards to the west where they conquer huge swaths of prairie and even parts of the Rockies. The Lakota, now stuck between civilized nations and untamable barbarian lands, have no where to go but into civilized zones. Their power and natural ability as horsemen have given them a distinct advantage militarily over the more urbanized and civilized peoples, who have only barely begun incorporating horses into their military arsenals.
The Apache, on the other hand, only expand their empire briefely, making contact first with the Navajo, and then with the entire western seaboard. Instead of continuing their expansion, however, the Apache have for some reason returned to sedentary life, deciding instead to go the civilized, urban route. Opening their borders to traders, the Apache have created a network of bringing Talomatan and Caribbean goods through their empire along a road to the western world, a route known as the Apache Road. This route, being the only viable way to trade between the two worlds, has become just as important as any sea route in the Americas, and his continuing to grow at an astounding rate. The value of trade passing through the territory is much more than any other trade route, connecting two different worlds and bringing together different ideas and cultures.
The result is the creation of a very urbanized, cosmopolitan string of cities along the road, serving the merchants and trading their goods. The Apache have transformed from a prairie, nomadic lifestyle to one of the richest, most important peoples in the Americas.
So if we follow this road west, we enter the Pacific World. Here things have been much more peaceful than in the east, though we do have our fair share of unrest. The most significant power, Taronlia, falls victim to civil war very early on, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.
Last time we left off with a huge war against the Sasketchewani. A combined alliance of Taronlia, Asotin, and the Yakima were facing off against the huge power. Unfortunately for the alliance, the Sasketchewan were able to rally their forces at the gates of their capital and defeat a combined Taronlia and Asotin army. With the momentum of the victory, the Sasketchewan coninued to push the Taro and Asotin back, nearing the old border, where the war stagnated. Internal unrest again rose up within the Sasketchewan, but the Taro were unable to fully utilize it because of their own troubles.
By about 850, the war was stagnating in the north and the morale of the people Mangar began to fade. High taxes to fund the war was taking its toll, as was the continued attack and growth in strength of the pirate people off the coast. These people, known as the Makah, grew to such strength that in 832 they captured and sacked Mangar. This was really the final straw for the Taro, the people revolting and the government fell into complete anarchy as provincial warlords gained power. Eventually the war in Sasketchewan had to be abandoned in 825. The peace treaty to end the war left the Sasketchewan in control of the whole territory of Taronlia in the north, from about 100 miles north of the Columbia river to the old border with Sasketchewan, effectively putting nearly 3 million Taro under the rule of the Sasketchewani chief. Asotin was able to achieve peace at pre-war borders, but the Yakima were not given peace and were eventually conquered as well.
By 800, Taronlia was broken into pieces, the chief only holding onto power within the capital of Mangar and its surrounding territories. But even with the kingdom of Taronlia broken, its legacy and culture continued to thrive throughout the territories, but most especially in the Chiefdom of the Chinook, who had bascially become as “taro” as the Taro people themselves. Finding it unacceptable for Taronlia to remain fractured, Chief Comcomly, he himself a native Taro, rallied the Chinook army and marched northwards. After early victories, Comcomly was defeated just outside Mangar by the Taro chief himself, fearful that the Comcomly would want to install himself the Great Chief of Taronlia. Thus, the Chinook Chiefdom failed to unify the Taro, and by 774, the Chinook too fell into fractured civil war.
As the south remained fractured, Asotin divided, and the rest of the Pacific coast beginning to crumble, the Taro under Sasketchewan began to act. By 750 the Sasketchewan grip was weakening, falling victim to, again, internal feuding between powerful chiefs and a continued incursion by nomadic tribes in the north. In 726 the Taro saw their chance, and under Chief Nama rebelled and set up their own capital at Jarash, an important fishing village on the Pacific coast. From here, Nama rallied his forces and attacked the Sasketchewan at the Battle of Fol River. The battle was more of a draw than anything, the Sasketchewan stopping Nama from advancing but unable to carry out any successful counterattack. As the two forces sat on the opposing sides of the river, the worst winter in known Taro history set in. The Saskies, being unprepared and hundreds of miles from their homeland, were utterly destroyed by the winter, and come spring, were easily pushed back by the Taro force.
With a lucky victory, Nama gained more momentum and pushed further into Saskie territory, defeating the Saskie chief three more times before he sued for peace. In 723, peace was finally achieved, establishing a Taro Kingdom called Armen in the north and reestablishing the Yakima Chiefdom to act as a buffer along the coast. The peace did not last long for the Saskies, though, as in 720 the Asotin, rivitized and with Lakota mercenaries, defeated the Sasketchewan force on the border and pushed north, reaching the Saskie capital by 721. A peace was then signed, allowing the Asotin all the land they had captured in return for a lasting peace treaty.
For the Taro, though, the next century would be a more bright one, a welcomed one after the past two centuries of chaos. Nama would have an extraordinary reign in his kingdom, living to be 98 years old and reigning from 723 until 655, when he died of natural causes. His son, being old himself, ruled for just under 5 years until his death, when his cousin, a woman named Arlin, took power in 650. The reign of Arlin brought extreme prosperity to the Taro when she revitilzed the trade along the Pacific coast, defeating the Makah pirates and establishing a formidable army and navy.
In 642, Arlin began to mobilize her army for the “retaking” of southern Taronlia and the city of Mangar, now a haven for Makah pirates, North Koreans, Iranians, and other evil doers. By the next year, the army began the long process of invading and uniting the Taro tribes, capturing Mangar by 638 and reaching the lands of the Chinook five years later. It was during this time when Arlin began to be regarded as a divine leader, someone from the heavens who came to reunited the Taro people (including Chinook, who now were regarded as lost cousins of the Taro) under one ruler. She was reported to cure the sick, raise the dead, instill blessed power among her warriors, and create fire from her hand. By 630 she had a cult following of nearly a million Taro, who practiced a religion known as Arlinism and who believed she was God. It is fortunate for them they didn’t think she was immortal, because in 624 Arlin died of natural causes, just two years after she had fully united all the Chinook and Taro tribes under her rule in Jarash.
The united taro empire of Armen would last for the next century, and the people would flourish. This, for all purposes, can be regarded as the Golden Age of the Taro. While the Asotin, Saskies, and Tongass all continued to fight amongst each other, the Taro and Chinook would develop a distinct culture, religion, and economy that lasts to this day. The most important development, the religion of Arlinism, is perhaps worth explaining a bit more.
The practices itself are not important to us now (though explanation could be useful in the future), but the history of the religion is of interest. With the death of Arlin, the cult surrounding her grew to enormous numbers. Nearly every Taro in the northern provinces were believers in Arlin and her divinity in both life and death. Huge shrines and totem poles were built across the region as Arlinism gripped society. The religion was soon geared towards the belief that Arlin’s successors, her family, were divine and her line would inherit the throne of Armen and rule as Gods. The religion began to take on a more fanatical aura, and by 542 the first human sacrifices to the ruling God were performed.
From the Columbian river on south, though, Arlinism grew in a much different way. Instead of believing that Arlin’s successors were Gods and needed to be worshipped as she was, the Taro and Chinook believed she was more of a spiritual divinity, that she and only she was divine. Her family were begun to be seen as corrupt and heretical, and were soon despised throughout the southern Taro lands. It wasn’t long before a full-out revolt against the theocratic regime of Jarash was in full swing, and in 539 a Chinook army helped defeat an Armen garrison force in Mangar, establishing the city as the capital of the new Taronlian Kingdom.
As 530 roled around, the Taro began to grow once more into what it had once been, 300 years ago. Mangar is slowly becoming once again the trade capital of the west coast, despite several wars against the Ohlone in the south and the Tongass in the east for territorial gains and buffer zones. The Taro people are no longer the care-free traders they once were, now having the fearful nightmares of once again being under foreign rule or divided by their enemies. Wars against their neighbors become to be common place, though the alliance with Asotin remains a focal point of trust within Mangar.
Even as the Taro borders expand at the expense of the Ohlone and Tongass, the reformed Arlinism practiced by Taronlians expand further. Huge minorities throughout the Ohlone and Tongass, and even some as deep as the Navajo and Apache begin to appear. It is as if the Taro culture knows no boundaries.
Map
Update Seven
900 – 500 b.c.e. (yes, I know, only 400 years)
Curantis and Talomata
Curantis and Talomata will get to be the lucky nations who go first in this mega-update. The major theme of Curantis during this time is the ever-present struggle against the Talomata for supremacy of the Caribbean Sea, whether they wanted that or not.
Before we begin this period, it might bode well to remind you that Curantis had for the most part secured its dominant place in the Caribbean, while the Talomatan reigned supreme in the older, more tradition trade routes up the coast of eastern North America. This route, however, was on the decline by the time 900 roles around, with the Caribbean trade becoming the focal point of North American commerce. And here it is that Curantis, with its mega-capital of Thanto, reigns supreme.
The Talomatan were not about to quietly fade away. In order to further cement her power in the north, Talomatan warriors defeated the Malnica in the north, securing her allies in Wampanoag and Mohegan and subjugating the Malnica, establishing a military colony here, specializing in timber and fur harvesting, while also exporting slaves back to Talomata. With the victory here, Wampanoag and Mohegan have risen to become economic powerhouses, supplying food stuffs to most of the north east.
In an even further imperial move, the Talomatan have engaged the Coree direclty in order to secure the territorial integrety of the Cherokee. Under the great emperor, Matanaota, the Talomatan army crushed the Coree in a single battle, the Battle of Crooked Creek, where the Coree chief was killed and his chiefdom fell. Talomatan forces, now doubled in size thanks to slaves from Coree and Malnica, moved on to formerly take over the Cherokee whom they had rescued and install a governor in the territory to rule it for Talomata.
Matanaota died around 810, leaving no heir and causing controversy throughout the Talomatan Empire. A new dynasty was finally able to take hold, the Chandoag tribe, who implemented dozens of new reforms throughout the empire beginning in 781. First, they established an imperial throne, granting ultimate power to the Emperor and his ministers. Second, they installed governors throughout the provinces and colonies to enact the emperor’s laws and collect his taxes. They were normally members of the same family as the emperor or deep family friends. Other reforms included definining a system of taxation, and outlawing the slavery of other Talomatans (though foreigners were okay). This is also a time Domism really undertook a transformation in Talomata, turning into a religion more of imperial rule and warfare than of trade and commerce.
By 693 the Chandoag dynasty faded away, following it was a period of anarchy and civil war as the Talomatan throne was contended by three other families. During this time the Cherokee and Coree managed a successful revolt under their Chandoagi governors, throwing off the informal rule from Talomato and establishing their own kingdoms. Provinces within Talomata proper even broke away, as Talomata dipped further into civil controversy and disorder. It would be another hundred years before Talomata would see a unifying leader arise, but during this time the Curantis would experience a surge in power.
While the Talomatans were conquering a huge empire during the 800s and 700s, the Curantis were focusing on internal development as a new, monied elite rose up in Thanto who controlled most of Curantis, and indeed Caribbean, trade. The new aristocracy ushered in a new social order for the Curantis, where aristocratic merchants lived and traded within the cities, but controlled most of the lands outside the cities and derived profits from those who worked the lands. Farmers were still freemen, able to move to other farms or into cities as they pleased, and therefore obligated the merchant to treat and pay the farmers adequetly.
As society grew more sophisticated and fat off of the profitable Caribbean trade, technology was also sequestered from traveling merchants. Thanto by 820 had become a center for learning and philosophy, attracting intelligent minds from across North America and even going so far as to construct the world’s first large-scale library (if you don’t count the trade records temple in Supusi). The Great Library of Thanto became the focal point of innovation, especially when it came to political philosophy and maritime travel. New, hardier and larger Curantis ships soon became possible, springing the Curantis navy to the forefront of power, far suprassing the backward Talomatan fleet. No longer were the Curantis ships destined to go from coast-to-coast, now they were able to sling shot across the expanse of the Caribbean sea. And this technology came not a moment to soon, as the Aztecs and Zapoteca launched a full invasion of the peaceful Olmecs, fellow traders to the Curantis.
The war against the Aztecs and Zapotecs began around 778, when a large contingent of Curantis soldiers landed in Palenque, just miles from the Zapotec armies. A combined force then marched to meet the Zapotec, traversing dense and unpopulated jungle, until the Zapotec were encountered. The Battle of the Burning Tree took place as unexperienced Olmec soldeirs fought alongside the imperial Curantis forces, both giving and taking casualties until finally the Zapotec prevailed, if only due to numerical superiority. The Olmec and Curantis retreated to Palenque, where defenses were readied and another large contingent of Curantis soldiers, along with Carib mercenaries, arrived. The numbers were about equal now, and the Zapotec were a long way from home. It was then that the Aztec army, marching from the south, surprised the defenders, and with the Zapotec force burned and pillaged the capital of the Olmec Confederation. With the destruction of their capital and most of their ruling elite, the Olmec fell.
The loss of such a market and the political turmoil of thousands of dead warriors on his hands, the king of Curantis was in a desperate situation. Then, in 754, a huge hurricane stuck the city of Thanto head on, completely whiping it from the map and dealing the Curantis a heavier blow than the Aztecs or Zapotec ever could. The economic impact would last for a decade, and would cost the monarchy its power.
From 754 until around 744, Curantis was engaged in a civil war between those who supported the monarchy (mostly pious Domists and the royal family) pitted against the wealthy aristocrats who claimed the King was incompetant to rule the empire. This bloody civil war, though short as it was, drastically changed the face of the Curantis. At the end, the aristocracy won out, establishing an imperial senate to rule over all of the Empire. Though only the wealthy aristocrats could be senators, all of the wealthy class could vote for the senators, who were appointed for life. This, though a far cry from a true republic, set the foundations for the Curantis Imperial Republic that lasts to this day.
The Senate set out immediately to rebuild Thanto, intent on creating an urban utopia, built to attract commerce once again and to once more become the intellectual capital of North America. And in most cases, the Senate was successful. The new Thanto once again became a beacon of commerce and knowledge, with a huge stone and marble market constructed and the largest port in the world installed, as well as the Great Library restored to an even more spectacular monument than before. A huge temple to Domism was also constructed. But above all, the Imperial Senate Hall was constructed in the center of the town, dominating the skyscape, and forever leaving the footprint of the Imperial Senate in the history of Curantis. These public works conveyed the power and culture of the new Curantis imperial hegemony, and were enough to propel the Curantis into a new age of imperial growth into the 600s.
Back to Talomata, we see the opposite of the Curantis model of stability and growth. Talomata, on the contrary, was embroiled in a deep civil war, tearing the country apart for the better part of the 7th century. Governors were pitted against governors, aristocrats against farmers, and soldiers against their own comrades. Talomata experienced a series of invasions as well, including small northern invasions from the Seneca, Ohio and Powhatan, as well as a major campaign launched by an alliance of Choctaw and Curantis.
The northern three invasions came during the period between 650 and 640, where Talomata was at its worst. Talmoato was unable to lend support to the rebelling governors of the northern provinces, and so it was on the backs of the local armies to repulse the invaders. And repulse them they did, but only after years of fighting and back-and-forth advances. The real invasion, though, came from the Curantis-Choctaw alliance.
Unlikely allies, the Choctaw and Curantis Imperial Senate were able to strike a deal to cooperate in a full invasion of the fractured and weak Talomata Empire. In 632, a full invasion fleet left Curantis, destined for the southern tip of the Talmotan Empire, the Attaluscan province. At this time, the Attaluscans were up in rebellion against Talomato, and so were prime bait for the Curantis invasion force. After defeating the weakened and backward Talomatan fleet, the Curantis landed and began to march north.
Later that year, as the Talomatans began to rally their homeland forces, the Choctaw struck. The Choctaw, for the past two centuries, had been growing rich from the Mississippi River trade, a primary artery running from south to north through the North American continent. And so their army was well trained and well equipped with the most advanced weaponry at that time. Those Talomatan forces that remained on the border were easily destroyed, leaving the interior of the Talomatan Empire exposed for the Choctaw army.
By 630 it was clear the Talomatans were losing the war. The Curantis were at the gates of Talomato, and the Choctaw were advancing well into Talomatan territory, gaining allies from disident Cherokee and Coree tribes as they moved. Curantis had already sailed north, conquering Talomatan colonies as far north as Malnica, and “liberating” Talomatan islands within the Caribbean.
Talomata in 630
By early 629, Talomata was on the verge of collapse. But something was stirring in the heart of the Talomatan homeland. In the central part of the peninsula, a young man named Atalamato (auto-law-mah-toe) was rallying Talomatans around him. By mid 629, he had gathered a force of nearly 5,000 Talomatans, intent on driving the invaders out and remaking the Talomatan empire. These fanatical Talomatans marched north, engaging the Curantis from behind and defeating the Curantis force and the Curantis general appointed to lead the invasion by the Imperial Senate. Unorganized and disheartened, the Curantis retreated further south, eventually being driven into the Attaluscan province. Atalamato entered Talomato a hero, but still had to deal with the pretender-Emperor who was in charge of the battered empire. Unwilling to let go, the Chandoagi Emperor, Tulin IV, forced Atalamato from the city and declared his force a revolt.
Atalamato met with the emperor’s forces outside the capital, and in one swift battle he again achieved a victory none though was possible. Tulin was killed, and Atalamato proclaimed himself Emperor of the new Talomata empire, of which he and his supporters now called the Atalamato Empire. Marching across the empire, Atalamato gained thousands of new supporters and began to systematically retake each province of the interior, defeating the Choctaw in a series of battles, and finally driving them back into the Mississippi delta. But Atalamato did not stop here. He pursued the Choctaw into their territory, taking Ulaan in 625 and installing his own brother as the High Chief of the Choctaw and also annexing a good portion of eastern and northern Choctaw territory into Greater Atalamato, effectively gaining access to the Mississippi for Atalamato.
After capturing the Choctaw throne, Atalamato swings back to the east, and down the mainland, again gaining followers to push his army to nearly 10,000 men. He defeated the Curantis once again at the Battle of Swampy Meadow, expelling the island nation from the Talomatan homeland. However, this would be Atalamato’s last victory, as he would die two months later in March, 623, leaving his named-heir, his son Mato, to be Emperor.
Mato would prove to be just as successful as his father in battle, driving his army northwards to consolidate the empire and drive into Ohio and Powhatan territories, enacting revenge for their ill-fated invasions generations before. Mato would succeed in installing a puppet chief in Powhatan, and securing a lasting treaty with the Ohio. This, of course, after annexing portions of each nation’s land.
Mato would rule a militant Empire for over 20 years, quelling dozens of rebellions and defeating another Curantis invasion force. When he died in 596, his nephew Atalamato II would become emperor and further consolidate the empire by establishing a system of rotating governors and making the Talomatan language the official language of the empire, forcing all administration to be done in Talomatan. His heirs would further the “Talomatinization” of the empire, and would continue to expand by attacking the Seneca and installing a chief in that nation as well. Talomatan colonies were re-established in the north, with the help of the Wampanoagi and Mohegan allies. The current emperor, Allana’o, is proving to be one of Atalamato’s great builder emperors. In Talomato, Allana’o finsihed construction of a massive new temple to the gods of Dom, a fantastic new palace made of Coquina and marble, and many other shrines throughout the Empire. One such shrine, the shrine of Renda, is such a monumental and significant shrine that it has become the single most important pilgramage site in the entire Domist world, attracting Domists of every kind from as far as Azuro. The result is a highly important priest class in this city, and the growing importance of the Talomatan Domist sect. The building of this monument has transformed the seemingly backwater Cherokee interior city of Fallo into the most important city of the Domist world.
Back to the 7th century Curantis, we can see much else going on other then the wars against Imperial Talomata. Curantis is at the apex of its power – never before has any nation in North America been so wealthy, powerful and most imporantly, stable, as the Curantis are during this century. Even despite losing two wars (even though they came out ahead in terms of territory after the first war) against the Talomatans, the Curantis are going strong, carving themselves an empire across the Caribbean.
Uncontested on the waves, the Curantis army moves eastwards, conquering the last of the small tropical islands, establishing plantations and enslaving many people to work on these plantations, the navy, and in the army. This maritime, island empire, though, has its problems. The Taino people, the natives of many of the small islands captured in the east as well as the west, resist the Curantis rule and have taken to the seas in small fleets that act as pirates to traders and travelers. Because the sea is so expansive, even the Curantis navy can’t crack down on the pirates, leaving merchants to travel at their own whim.
And despite losing a trade partner in mesoamerica, the Olmec, to the Zapotec and Aztecs, trade continues to flourish with the Mayans. And when the opportunity presented itself with the death of the Mayan King who had no apparent heir, the Curantis quickly stepped in and peacefully installed a pro-Curantis dynasty, the Chachami, who continue to rule this day as a puppet state of Thanto.
What’s more, is in 618, as a different Curantis force were continually defeated in a second invasion of Talomata, the Imperial Senate sent a second force to the jungles of Mesoamerica just south of the Mayan to conquer the native population here. The success of this campaign no doubt was great cover-up for the failures in Talomata and would overshadow the eventual loss there. In this colony, named New Thanto, the native population would be put to work harvesting the jungle for timber, mango, rubber, animal pelts, and huge clearings be made for growing cacao. By 600, the colony would account for nearly 10% of the total earnings of the Imperial Senate, and nearly 5% of the total trade in the Caribbean.
The last century of our history in Curantis is a century of relative small growth, mostly due to an increase of Taino piracy and worsening storms in the Caribbean. Curantis would see little change in this period, except for growing tensions among the lower class and the continual isolationism of the Imperial Senate from society. As the century drew on, the Imperial Senate began to have closed meetings, whereas before their meetings were always public and outdoors in the open-air Imperial Forum. But as the century came to an end, most of their gatherings was done inside the Imperial Senate and closed doors.
Tensions have also begun to rise in the vast slave population that works most of the islands and New Thanto. The Mayans also begin to feel constrained by their puppet king, and a few small-scale revolts are brutally supressed by Curantis force. The Aztecs and Zapotecs are up to their old game again, with each possessing a new, militant dynasties. The Aztecs already have been somewhat constrained with their expansion in the north, and are desperately looking for another target for their restless army, with their eyes focused on the Chanton, an ancient ally of the Curantis. Several wars in South America have also led to the destablization of the region for trade, as Azuro begins to consolidate and create an empire.
AZURO EMPIRE HERE
From South America we move back up again to North America, into the northeast portion, at around 801. Here, we meet the Norse, who have managed to travel all the way across the frozen reaches of the northern Atlantic to establish a colony in what they call Vinland. This colony is important for a number of reasons, but most of all it is important because of what the Norse begin to trade to the natives.
Horses, though little in number at first, soon become a very important trade product to the unorganized native tribes of the northern forests. From these cold subarctic regions, horses are traded south, first to the great lakes kingdom of the Mohawk, and then onto where they truly thrive – the Great Plains. Here the horses break into an unfulfilled niche, where they thrive and populate the plains completely by 600. Thus, at around 620, we enter the Age of the Horse for the Lakota and, to a lesser extent, the Apache peoples. Whereas before these people relied on agriculture and and sometimes hunting the bufallo, the introduction of horses has completely militarized the tribes and transformed their economy to hunting and raiding.
It wasn’t long before a great leader arose among one of the Lakota tribes, brutally unifying the plains, and pressing onwards to the west where they conquer huge swaths of prairie and even parts of the Rockies. The Lakota, now stuck between civilized nations and untamable barbarian lands, have no where to go but into civilized zones. Their power and natural ability as horsemen have given them a distinct advantage militarily over the more urbanized and civilized peoples, who have only barely begun incorporating horses into their military arsenals.
The Apache, on the other hand, only expand their empire briefely, making contact first with the Navajo, and then with the entire western seaboard. Instead of continuing their expansion, however, the Apache have for some reason returned to sedentary life, deciding instead to go the civilized, urban route. Opening their borders to traders, the Apache have created a network of bringing Talomatan and Caribbean goods through their empire along a road to the western world, a route known as the Apache Road. This route, being the only viable way to trade between the two worlds, has become just as important as any sea route in the Americas, and his continuing to grow at an astounding rate. The value of trade passing through the territory is much more than any other trade route, connecting two different worlds and bringing together different ideas and cultures.
The result is the creation of a very urbanized, cosmopolitan string of cities along the road, serving the merchants and trading their goods. The Apache have transformed from a prairie, nomadic lifestyle to one of the richest, most important peoples in the Americas.
So if we follow this road west, we enter the Pacific World. Here things have been much more peaceful than in the east, though we do have our fair share of unrest. The most significant power, Taronlia, falls victim to civil war very early on, but lets not get ahead of ourselves.
Last time we left off with a huge war against the Sasketchewani. A combined alliance of Taronlia, Asotin, and the Yakima were facing off against the huge power. Unfortunately for the alliance, the Sasketchewan were able to rally their forces at the gates of their capital and defeat a combined Taronlia and Asotin army. With the momentum of the victory, the Sasketchewan coninued to push the Taro and Asotin back, nearing the old border, where the war stagnated. Internal unrest again rose up within the Sasketchewan, but the Taro were unable to fully utilize it because of their own troubles.
By about 850, the war was stagnating in the north and the morale of the people Mangar began to fade. High taxes to fund the war was taking its toll, as was the continued attack and growth in strength of the pirate people off the coast. These people, known as the Makah, grew to such strength that in 832 they captured and sacked Mangar. This was really the final straw for the Taro, the people revolting and the government fell into complete anarchy as provincial warlords gained power. Eventually the war in Sasketchewan had to be abandoned in 825. The peace treaty to end the war left the Sasketchewan in control of the whole territory of Taronlia in the north, from about 100 miles north of the Columbia river to the old border with Sasketchewan, effectively putting nearly 3 million Taro under the rule of the Sasketchewani chief. Asotin was able to achieve peace at pre-war borders, but the Yakima were not given peace and were eventually conquered as well.
By 800, Taronlia was broken into pieces, the chief only holding onto power within the capital of Mangar and its surrounding territories. But even with the kingdom of Taronlia broken, its legacy and culture continued to thrive throughout the territories, but most especially in the Chiefdom of the Chinook, who had bascially become as “taro” as the Taro people themselves. Finding it unacceptable for Taronlia to remain fractured, Chief Comcomly, he himself a native Taro, rallied the Chinook army and marched northwards. After early victories, Comcomly was defeated just outside Mangar by the Taro chief himself, fearful that the Comcomly would want to install himself the Great Chief of Taronlia. Thus, the Chinook Chiefdom failed to unify the Taro, and by 774, the Chinook too fell into fractured civil war.
As the south remained fractured, Asotin divided, and the rest of the Pacific coast beginning to crumble, the Taro under Sasketchewan began to act. By 750 the Sasketchewan grip was weakening, falling victim to, again, internal feuding between powerful chiefs and a continued incursion by nomadic tribes in the north. In 726 the Taro saw their chance, and under Chief Nama rebelled and set up their own capital at Jarash, an important fishing village on the Pacific coast. From here, Nama rallied his forces and attacked the Sasketchewan at the Battle of Fol River. The battle was more of a draw than anything, the Sasketchewan stopping Nama from advancing but unable to carry out any successful counterattack. As the two forces sat on the opposing sides of the river, the worst winter in known Taro history set in. The Saskies, being unprepared and hundreds of miles from their homeland, were utterly destroyed by the winter, and come spring, were easily pushed back by the Taro force.
With a lucky victory, Nama gained more momentum and pushed further into Saskie territory, defeating the Saskie chief three more times before he sued for peace. In 723, peace was finally achieved, establishing a Taro Kingdom called Armen in the north and reestablishing the Yakima Chiefdom to act as a buffer along the coast. The peace did not last long for the Saskies, though, as in 720 the Asotin, rivitized and with Lakota mercenaries, defeated the Sasketchewan force on the border and pushed north, reaching the Saskie capital by 721. A peace was then signed, allowing the Asotin all the land they had captured in return for a lasting peace treaty.
For the Taro, though, the next century would be a more bright one, a welcomed one after the past two centuries of chaos. Nama would have an extraordinary reign in his kingdom, living to be 98 years old and reigning from 723 until 655, when he died of natural causes. His son, being old himself, ruled for just under 5 years until his death, when his cousin, a woman named Arlin, took power in 650. The reign of Arlin brought extreme prosperity to the Taro when she revitilzed the trade along the Pacific coast, defeating the Makah pirates and establishing a formidable army and navy.
In 642, Arlin began to mobilize her army for the “retaking” of southern Taronlia and the city of Mangar, now a haven for Makah pirates, North Koreans, Iranians, and other evil doers. By the next year, the army began the long process of invading and uniting the Taro tribes, capturing Mangar by 638 and reaching the lands of the Chinook five years later. It was during this time when Arlin began to be regarded as a divine leader, someone from the heavens who came to reunited the Taro people (including Chinook, who now were regarded as lost cousins of the Taro) under one ruler. She was reported to cure the sick, raise the dead, instill blessed power among her warriors, and create fire from her hand. By 630 she had a cult following of nearly a million Taro, who practiced a religion known as Arlinism and who believed she was God. It is fortunate for them they didn’t think she was immortal, because in 624 Arlin died of natural causes, just two years after she had fully united all the Chinook and Taro tribes under her rule in Jarash.
The united taro empire of Armen would last for the next century, and the people would flourish. This, for all purposes, can be regarded as the Golden Age of the Taro. While the Asotin, Saskies, and Tongass all continued to fight amongst each other, the Taro and Chinook would develop a distinct culture, religion, and economy that lasts to this day. The most important development, the religion of Arlinism, is perhaps worth explaining a bit more.
The practices itself are not important to us now (though explanation could be useful in the future), but the history of the religion is of interest. With the death of Arlin, the cult surrounding her grew to enormous numbers. Nearly every Taro in the northern provinces were believers in Arlin and her divinity in both life and death. Huge shrines and totem poles were built across the region as Arlinism gripped society. The religion was soon geared towards the belief that Arlin’s successors, her family, were divine and her line would inherit the throne of Armen and rule as Gods. The religion began to take on a more fanatical aura, and by 542 the first human sacrifices to the ruling God were performed.
From the Columbian river on south, though, Arlinism grew in a much different way. Instead of believing that Arlin’s successors were Gods and needed to be worshipped as she was, the Taro and Chinook believed she was more of a spiritual divinity, that she and only she was divine. Her family were begun to be seen as corrupt and heretical, and were soon despised throughout the southern Taro lands. It wasn’t long before a full-out revolt against the theocratic regime of Jarash was in full swing, and in 539 a Chinook army helped defeat an Armen garrison force in Mangar, establishing the city as the capital of the new Taronlian Kingdom.
As 530 roled around, the Taro began to grow once more into what it had once been, 300 years ago. Mangar is slowly becoming once again the trade capital of the west coast, despite several wars against the Ohlone in the south and the Tongass in the east for territorial gains and buffer zones. The Taro people are no longer the care-free traders they once were, now having the fearful nightmares of once again being under foreign rule or divided by their enemies. Wars against their neighbors become to be common place, though the alliance with Asotin remains a focal point of trust within Mangar.
Even as the Taro borders expand at the expense of the Ohlone and Tongass, the reformed Arlinism practiced by Taronlians expand further. Huge minorities throughout the Ohlone and Tongass, and even some as deep as the Navajo and Apache begin to appear. It is as if the Taro culture knows no boundaries.
Map
TerrisH
Mischief?
very nice up date, can't wait to see the rest of the world.
Abaddon
Deity
Fantastic depth!
wow... that was amazing. I've only read the Taro part so far, and I'll have to re-read it again to get it all memorized, but man, that was awesome.
So, are there two Taro's now? Or is the Purple Chinook and the blue Taronlia?
So, are there two Taro's now? Or is the Purple Chinook and the blue Taronlia?
Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
The Journey of Mopus; Part Two
The waves hit the beach and carressed the coast gently. The many ships and boats tilted in the silent water, as noone was entering them just yet. It was midday, and no man wanted to walk below the warm sun now. Though, the harbour of Anpe was filled with stands and shops still represented a dense populacy with many hands, heads and eyes. A shade of a person appeared between the many houses, and Mopus walked forth with his berb slave Mu at his side.
In silence and with high speed, they moved between the many shops and houses before reaching the numerous awaiting boats at the docks. Mopus looked over the boats, found a simple fishing vessel, and got aboard. Mu followed him and went aboard as well - he breathed heavily from the running while Mopus readied the sails. Mu looked at the young priest.
"This your boat?" he asked.
"No, this is naught but robbing man's property," Mopus answered, opening the sails completely. The boat was moving.
"But where we go with boat, not ours?" the Berb said, looking worried. Sailing out towards the ocean, it was difficult to see the many angry men running to the docks, with arms in their hands.
"We will follow every road with no man killing," Mopus said. A throwing spear landed just in the water beside the boat. Angry voices yelled at him as he sailed away from the city. They were readying their boats, but it was too late; the young priest got away with his slave.
---
The sky was silent as the engined motorboat roared, jumping in the waves. The electric light from the bulbs was casting white over the book, which Baga held. One of the archeologists sat at his side, examining something in his hand. Some silent 'Ahas' were enough to get Baga annoyed.
"WHAT?" Baga exclaimed annoyed. The archeologist jumped and looked at him frightened.
"What is it that's so damn interesting?" Baga asked.
"Well," the archeologist said. He hesitated for a minute, before continuing: "It's a spearhead."
"Aha," Baga said and looked back into his book. The archeologist became annoyed.
"Hey, it's no ordinary spearhead, you dimwit!" he said.
Baga made eye contact with the archeologist and made him silent. "Mate," he said, "Do you know why we are here?"
The archeologist looked at the metallic piece in his hand.
"We are here," Baga continued, "to find the traces of the journey of Mopus and to find out if he was actually real."
"But this spear was found in the ocean - it could be.." the archeologist said.
"Yes, it could be." answered Baga, stopping him, "But it's probably not."
Well, while the moon lit up the sea and those two sailed on in silence, there must be time to explain the conversation in short - They were looking for traces of Mopus. Mopus was, in the stories, a young Rilan priest, who were expelled from the ethnical Supusi people's capital of Anpe. His ideas were very innovative of his time - the traditional Rilan priests had a specific image of the world a great desert with a lake, created by Rila and his pantheon. This made them do several suicidial expeditions into the Atlantic ocean, only to lose contact with them. Of course, they wanted to reach the other coast of the lake, but their imaginations were not very exact - first of all, the world was not a lake, and secondly, it was impossible to reach the other side of the Atlantic at that time. When Mopus then published his ideas to follow the coast the length of the coast, the Rilan priests thought of this as an outrage. Mopus was chased out of Anpe by the city guard and Sobu Odo, the high priest of his time. Mopus still wanted to prove his theory. He sailed along the African coast to the ancient empire of Cueta and saw several tribes in Spain. On his journey, he acquired several followers (Especially of the merchant class), who created quite a turmoil in Anpe. In the end, the merchants convinced the priest class to accept his thoughts. Right now, the expedition is meant to find wherever Mopus died, finding out if he was alive at any time, or that it was just a legend created by the priest class to excuse the political change in those ancient times.
"Do you really think that it's the same spearhead as the spear thrown after Mopus?" Baga asked.
"No, but I hope so," the archeologist answered silently.
"What's your name?"
"Leoe."
"Very well," Baga said, looking at the coast. "Wait," he said, "That's where we're going -"
And they anchored at the coast, at a small fire pit.
The waves hit the beach and carressed the coast gently. The many ships and boats tilted in the silent water, as noone was entering them just yet. It was midday, and no man wanted to walk below the warm sun now. Though, the harbour of Anpe was filled with stands and shops still represented a dense populacy with many hands, heads and eyes. A shade of a person appeared between the many houses, and Mopus walked forth with his berb slave Mu at his side.
In silence and with high speed, they moved between the many shops and houses before reaching the numerous awaiting boats at the docks. Mopus looked over the boats, found a simple fishing vessel, and got aboard. Mu followed him and went aboard as well - he breathed heavily from the running while Mopus readied the sails. Mu looked at the young priest.
"This your boat?" he asked.
"No, this is naught but robbing man's property," Mopus answered, opening the sails completely. The boat was moving.
"But where we go with boat, not ours?" the Berb said, looking worried. Sailing out towards the ocean, it was difficult to see the many angry men running to the docks, with arms in their hands.
"We will follow every road with no man killing," Mopus said. A throwing spear landed just in the water beside the boat. Angry voices yelled at him as he sailed away from the city. They were readying their boats, but it was too late; the young priest got away with his slave.
---
The sky was silent as the engined motorboat roared, jumping in the waves. The electric light from the bulbs was casting white over the book, which Baga held. One of the archeologists sat at his side, examining something in his hand. Some silent 'Ahas' were enough to get Baga annoyed.
"WHAT?" Baga exclaimed annoyed. The archeologist jumped and looked at him frightened.
"What is it that's so damn interesting?" Baga asked.
"Well," the archeologist said. He hesitated for a minute, before continuing: "It's a spearhead."
"Aha," Baga said and looked back into his book. The archeologist became annoyed.
"Hey, it's no ordinary spearhead, you dimwit!" he said.
Baga made eye contact with the archeologist and made him silent. "Mate," he said, "Do you know why we are here?"
The archeologist looked at the metallic piece in his hand.
"We are here," Baga continued, "to find the traces of the journey of Mopus and to find out if he was actually real."
"But this spear was found in the ocean - it could be.." the archeologist said.
"Yes, it could be." answered Baga, stopping him, "But it's probably not."
Well, while the moon lit up the sea and those two sailed on in silence, there must be time to explain the conversation in short - They were looking for traces of Mopus. Mopus was, in the stories, a young Rilan priest, who were expelled from the ethnical Supusi people's capital of Anpe. His ideas were very innovative of his time - the traditional Rilan priests had a specific image of the world a great desert with a lake, created by Rila and his pantheon. This made them do several suicidial expeditions into the Atlantic ocean, only to lose contact with them. Of course, they wanted to reach the other coast of the lake, but their imaginations were not very exact - first of all, the world was not a lake, and secondly, it was impossible to reach the other side of the Atlantic at that time. When Mopus then published his ideas to follow the coast the length of the coast, the Rilan priests thought of this as an outrage. Mopus was chased out of Anpe by the city guard and Sobu Odo, the high priest of his time. Mopus still wanted to prove his theory. He sailed along the African coast to the ancient empire of Cueta and saw several tribes in Spain. On his journey, he acquired several followers (Especially of the merchant class), who created quite a turmoil in Anpe. In the end, the merchants convinced the priest class to accept his thoughts. Right now, the expedition is meant to find wherever Mopus died, finding out if he was alive at any time, or that it was just a legend created by the priest class to excuse the political change in those ancient times.
"Do you really think that it's the same spearhead as the spear thrown after Mopus?" Baga asked.
"No, but I hope so," the archeologist answered silently.
"What's your name?"
"Leoe."
"Very well," Baga said, looking at the coast. "Wait," he said, "That's where we're going -"
And they anchored at the coast, at a small fire pit.
Terrance888
Discord Reigns
Sorry! Will send orders with sections NOW!
Jason The King
Deity
Important Facts on North America
Richest Nations
1. Curantis
2. Apache
3. Atalamato
4. Aztec Empire
5. Armen
Largest Empires
(in terms of total land/sea lanes controlled)
1. Lakota
2. Atalamato
3. Aztec Empire
4. Apache
5. Curantis
Strongest Army
(in terms of size, morale, supply, equipment, and training)
1. Atalamato
2. Lakota
3. Aztec Empire
4. Curantis
5. Taronlia
Strongest Navy
(in terms of size, morale, supply, equipment, and training)
1. Curantis
2. Atalamato
3. Armen
4. Atalamato
5. Mayan
Strongest and Most Pervasive Culture
1. Taro
2. Talomatan
3. Curantis
4. Lakota
5. Aztec
Greatest Cities
(in terms of size/culture/importance)
1. Thanto - 35,000 (Curantis)
2. Lipan - 23,000 (Apache)
3. Talomato - 38,000 (Atalamato)
4. Mangar - 8,000 (Taronlia)
5. Jarash - 9,500 (Armen)
6. Fallo - 14,800 (Atalamato)
7. Cocho - 23,500 (Atalamato)
8. Wakan - 31,100 (Apache)
9. Chichen Itza - 27,000 (Maya)
10. Mohegan - 4,500 (Mohega)
so...3 of top 10 in Atalamato, and 2 in Apache.
Richest Nations
1. Curantis
2. Apache
3. Atalamato
4. Aztec Empire
5. Armen
Largest Empires
(in terms of total land/sea lanes controlled)
1. Lakota
2. Atalamato
3. Aztec Empire
4. Apache
5. Curantis
Strongest Army
(in terms of size, morale, supply, equipment, and training)
1. Atalamato
2. Lakota
3. Aztec Empire
4. Curantis
5. Taronlia
Strongest Navy
(in terms of size, morale, supply, equipment, and training)
1. Curantis
2. Atalamato
3. Armen
4. Atalamato
5. Mayan
Strongest and Most Pervasive Culture
1. Taro
2. Talomatan
3. Curantis
4. Lakota
5. Aztec
Greatest Cities
(in terms of size/culture/importance)
1. Thanto - 35,000 (Curantis)
2. Lipan - 23,000 (Apache)
3. Talomato - 38,000 (Atalamato)
4. Mangar - 8,000 (Taronlia)
5. Jarash - 9,500 (Armen)
6. Fallo - 14,800 (Atalamato)
7. Cocho - 23,500 (Atalamato)
8. Wakan - 31,100 (Apache)
9. Chichen Itza - 27,000 (Maya)
10. Mohegan - 4,500 (Mohega)
so...3 of top 10 in Atalamato, and 2 in Apache.
Attachments
Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
OOC: Fantastic idea, Jason! What a great level of detail you're describing. The graphs were just the icings of the cake 
Flavius Aetius
Ruler Of Liguria
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2007
- Messages
- 774
When the Mediterranean part of the update is coming?
Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
OOC: Oops, just saw this:
Assyria
Ruler/Player: ??/Head serf
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Capital: Assur
Religion: Paganism
Population: 4
Economy: Stable
Age: Iron Age
Education: None
Army: 950 footmen, 300 archers
Navy: 10 galleys
Stability: Unstable
Infrastructure: Sparse
Projects:
Babylon
Ruler/Player: NPC
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Capital: Assur
Religion: Paganism
Population: 3
Economy: Stable
Age: Iron Age
Education: None
Army: 350 footmen, 300 archers
Navy: 10 galleys
Stability: Stable
Infrastructure: Sparse
Projects:
Stat error me thinks?
Here is a list of stories btw; you can add them to a 'Hall of Fame of Stories' in your reserved posts:
Story of the Supusi early culture
Story of the Kurean early culture
Gods of the Talomata pantheon
Gods of the Burdi religion
The Kuruan War Council
A Creation Story
On the Nation of Taverix
Excerpt from Architecture in early northern Mogderia
Tale of Shaka Zulu
The Mangarian Code
Coquina
Reaching the Cueta
Invasion of the Kambangi
The birth of Johloism
Jarash the God Slayer
The nile is long
King Sensorix (Interlude)
Did this until page 13 enjoy. I don't have time for more now.
Assyria
Ruler/Player: ??/Head serf
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Capital: Assur
Religion: Paganism
Population: 4
Economy: Stable
Age: Iron Age
Education: None
Army: 950 footmen, 300 archers
Navy: 10 galleys
Stability: Unstable
Infrastructure: Sparse
Projects:
Babylon
Ruler/Player: NPC
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Capital: Assur
Religion: Paganism
Population: 3
Economy: Stable
Age: Iron Age
Education: None
Army: 350 footmen, 300 archers
Navy: 10 galleys
Stability: Stable
Infrastructure: Sparse
Projects:
Stat error me thinks?
Here is a list of stories btw; you can add them to a 'Hall of Fame of Stories' in your reserved posts:
Story of the Supusi early culture
Story of the Kurean early culture
Gods of the Talomata pantheon
Gods of the Burdi religion
The Kuruan War Council
A Creation Story
On the Nation of Taverix
Excerpt from Architecture in early northern Mogderia
Tale of Shaka Zulu
The Mangarian Code
Coquina
Reaching the Cueta
Invasion of the Kambangi
The birth of Johloism
Jarash the God Slayer
The nile is long
King Sensorix (Interlude)
Did this until page 13
enjoy. I don't have time for more now.
Jason The King
Deity
Armen is the northern blue nation, Taronlia is the purple nation. Jarash is the capital of Armen.
I expect to do Africa next, the Indian Ocean world, and then the Mediterranean, followed by Europe. It may take me into next week, I apologize.
And thanks Lord Joakim!!
I expect to do Africa next, the Indian Ocean world, and then the Mediterranean, followed by Europe. It may take me into next week, I apologize.
And thanks Lord Joakim!!
Abaddon
Deity
Hmm, one wonders where my nation will be in the update since potentially I am now in all four locations..
Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
No problem Jason Also, here's the remaining stories of the thread:
Albion
Amil of Taronlia
The Journey of Mopus; Part One
Italia: The Wars between Canfre and Apuli
The Journey of Mopus; Part Two
Statistics of Ancient North America
That should do the story listing for now And Babylon and Assyria still has the same capitals (Assur), is that by purpose?
and @Abaddon, I guess you're in the African part. Can't wait for it, Jason! Looking much forward to see what outcome my orders had.
Also, here's the remaining stories of the thread:Albion
Amil of Taronlia
The Journey of Mopus; Part One
Italia: The Wars between Canfre and Apuli
The Journey of Mopus; Part Two
Statistics of Ancient North America
That should do the story listing for now
And Babylon and Assyria still has the same capitals (Assur), is that by purpose?and @Abaddon, I guess you're in the African part.
Can't wait for it, Jason! Looking much forward to see what outcome my orders had.
Terrance888
Discord Reigns
My orders are wimpy! 
. Sorry to Jason! And the poem is -500 years old LJ!!! take that off until the warrings states period is over! I don't want Egypt to metagame and read the future and invade me, causing a parodox that kills Jason and leaves us on a cliffhanger. So take it off untile it is appropreate! (I still throught that the whole thing was 'barbarian' then!)
. Sorry to Jason! And the poem is -500 years old LJ!!! take that off until the warrings states period is over! I don't want Egypt to metagame and read the future and invade me, causing a parodox that kills Jason and leaves us on a cliffhanger. So take it off untile it is appropreate! (I still throught that the whole thing was 'barbarian' then!)
Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
What? I'm merely doing people a favor here, posting the stories. Charles, when you post a poem in which you state you want to invade another nation, I don't think you should expect people to ignore it just because a nation pops forth. Well, I won't take any responsibility Charles, I wasn't me who posted it 
Also, Egypt has enough problems on her hands. She's being invaded by two golden aged nations. That's not the most delightful thing to experience, in my humble opinion. We're not all attempting to gang up upon you, y'know Especially not Egypt. Right now she's just trying to survive.
Also, Egypt has enough problems on her hands. She's being invaded by two golden aged nations. That's not the most delightful thing to experience, in my humble opinion. We're not all attempting to gang up upon you, y'know
Especially not Egypt. Right now she's just trying to survive.
