stuge
Emperor
I can swap with Immy and play tomorrow.
Fall From Heaven Leader's Tale - Valledia the Even
- Thread starter Ozbenno
- Start date
OK, stuge and Imhotep are swapped!
stuge
Emperor
The Training Yards of Udenarat were a massive complex. "The strong roots of the Amurite army" they were called, by the influential people who had convinced Valledia to order them built. Among the recruits who went to train there, the Yards were colloquially known as Funland. Or, alternatively, as Sunshine-and-lollipops land.
During daytime the Yards were always bustling, as young, aspiring warriors learnt how to fall face first into mud, heal blisters with a red-hot knife, and other such skills vital to a campaigning soldier.
Right now, with Midnight long since gone, everything was quiet. The only signs of life were the cussing of the unfortunates who had picket duty, and a single lit window, high up on the stony frontage of the gaunt Administration building. The light was given off by a lone candle, which illuminated a quill pen scratching across paper, bringing about the following words:
For the third battalion
300 quilts, wool
300 pairs of boots, leather
Half an acre of canvas, tents, for the making of
30 gri
The scratching ceased with a loud snap, which was followed by a hearty "Bugger that!"
Andar Baran hurled the stump of his quill into the corner and decided that the moment called for some sulking. Lately there had been lots of sulk-worthy moments. He'd liked being the quartermaster for the 1st Foot of Nimarail. In those days the Amurite army had been a rather sprawling organisation, with no real central command. The skirmishes with barbarians were dealt with by local militias, in which every unit pretty much looked after itself.
Then, suddendly, the army had been forced to reform. It had to be serious, it had to mean business, and because an army with serious business needed a Head Quartermaster, the seemingly most competent invidual had been picked out of the myriad of local quartermasters. Now Andar wished that he'd been a little less anal retentive in his last job. He might have been able to keep it.
War with the Fool...
All wars come with a large pricetag. Lately there had been news that the research funding had been cut entirely and the tolls had gone up. Naturally there had been much grumbling from the sages and the merchants. One of Andar's friends, a merchant from Cevedes, had bitterly said that "They pour huge amounts of money into something that is only used to make dead people. That's the greatest business idea right after Goblin Butlers Ltd."
Andar had got a good laugh out of that, although he was in no form opposed to more funding for the army. But he was quite annoyed at the fact that over half of that money went to three pompous old men, or the "Arcane Legion", as the damn geezers had styled themselves. Yesterday he'd been forced to sign for their travelling larder. That thing was outrageous. They could very well be the key to victory, but the footsoldier inside Andar loathed the fact that the three of them could eat more in a day than ten ordinary soldiers.
Grunting, Andar picked up a new quill. He was the Head Quartermaster after all and he'd be damned if he couldn't take those arrogant arseholes down a peg. A live skunk could probably pass as a vital magic component...
During daytime the Yards were always bustling, as young, aspiring warriors learnt how to fall face first into mud, heal blisters with a red-hot knife, and other such skills vital to a campaigning soldier.
Right now, with Midnight long since gone, everything was quiet. The only signs of life were the cussing of the unfortunates who had picket duty, and a single lit window, high up on the stony frontage of the gaunt Administration building. The light was given off by a lone candle, which illuminated a quill pen scratching across paper, bringing about the following words:
For the third battalion
300 quilts, wool
300 pairs of boots, leather
Half an acre of canvas, tents, for the making of
30 gri
The scratching ceased with a loud snap, which was followed by a hearty "Bugger that!"
Andar Baran hurled the stump of his quill into the corner and decided that the moment called for some sulking. Lately there had been lots of sulk-worthy moments. He'd liked being the quartermaster for the 1st Foot of Nimarail. In those days the Amurite army had been a rather sprawling organisation, with no real central command. The skirmishes with barbarians were dealt with by local militias, in which every unit pretty much looked after itself.
Then, suddendly, the army had been forced to reform. It had to be serious, it had to mean business, and because an army with serious business needed a Head Quartermaster, the seemingly most competent invidual had been picked out of the myriad of local quartermasters. Now Andar wished that he'd been a little less anal retentive in his last job. He might have been able to keep it.
War with the Fool...
All wars come with a large pricetag. Lately there had been news that the research funding had been cut entirely and the tolls had gone up. Naturally there had been much grumbling from the sages and the merchants. One of Andar's friends, a merchant from Cevedes, had bitterly said that "They pour huge amounts of money into something that is only used to make dead people. That's the greatest business idea right after Goblin Butlers Ltd."
Andar had got a good laugh out of that, although he was in no form opposed to more funding for the army. But he was quite annoyed at the fact that over half of that money went to three pompous old men, or the "Arcane Legion", as the damn geezers had styled themselves. Yesterday he'd been forced to sign for their travelling larder. That thing was outrageous. They could very well be the key to victory, but the footsoldier inside Andar loathed the fact that the three of them could eat more in a day than ten ordinary soldiers.
Grunting, Andar picked up a new quill. He was the Head Quartermaster after all and he'd be damned if he couldn't take those arrogant arseholes down a peg. A live skunk could probably pass as a vital magic component...
stuge
Emperor
-Reduced science to 0% to pay for adept and warrior upgrades.
-Gathered forces in Hyol. A training yard will complete there soon and we can upgrade the three elite warriors to swords.
-Had a CTD due to my stupid anti-virus program. I hope this is the right autosave.
-I gifted sugar to Perpy on demand. Cancel it when possible.
*Highlight of the set*
Perpy had a combat 5 sword healing in Cevedes, which headed east. I forgot to move one of our Giant spiders out of the way and the sword attacked it. I was all "damn", until the spider actually killed the sword. Then I did a little happy dance.
There's another bad mofo sword headed the same way however, so watch out.
We can use our hunter and spiders to deal with it once the war starts.
-Gathered forces in Hyol. A training yard will complete there soon and we can upgrade the three elite warriors to swords.
-Had a CTD due to my stupid anti-virus program. I hope this is the right autosave.
-I gifted sugar to Perpy on demand. Cancel it when possible.
*Highlight of the set*
Perpy had a combat 5 sword healing in Cevedes, which headed east. I forgot to move one of our Giant spiders out of the way and the sword attacked it. I was all "damn", until the spider actually killed the sword. Then I did a little happy dance.
There's another bad mofo sword headed the same way however, so watch out.
We can use our hunter and spiders to deal with it once the war starts.
·Imhotep·
Legendary Builder
Got it, but i'll rather need the complete 72 hrs frame...
Immaculate
unerring
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2003
- Messages
- 7,623
You write very well with flavour and with style. And humour. Your character, in only a few short paragraphs lived and breathed. I am very impressed.
stuge
Emperor
Thank you.
Kudos to Terry Pratchett. Reading his works kicked off the evolution of my writing style.
Writing stories is fun, although I'm more of a ranting essayist.
·Imhotep·
Legendary Builder
It was dark. Caran looked up at the sky. Doubt was in his eyes. The billowing clouds were towering high above, looking like fortresses and dungeons a god had built in overheaven. From afar he felt a gentle breeze on his face, and on it was borne the distand rumble of growing thunder. All the day the feeling of an appearing threat yet hidden had been growing on his mind, until at last every step forward was accompanied by a sense of dread. Why on Erebus his Lord hat sent him on this hopeless journey ? He was young still, but yet old enough to know that no one should dare to speak up against Perpentach the Great. The people that had tried were lost, never to be seen again among mortals.
This morning his Lord hat called him to his throne room, where he sat in pride and glory, whereas the smaller folk had to work in the mines and on the fields. His father had told him that Perpentach was a god, immortal, never ageing and never changing. At that time he had believed that and admired the greatness of their leader. But now, as member of the Royal Guard, he was not so sure anymore. Yet he had quieted his doubts - doubts were a thing in the Balseraph realm that could make a man short-lived.
He now was on a hopeless errand - he alone should pass secretely into the lands of the Amurites and if possible discover something of their plans. To the folk Perpentach feigned that he feared nothing and resided in absolute power and glory, but Caran knew that was not true - all too often now had the Amurites been discussed at the King's Court lately. Perpentach certainly feared what they might become if they discovered again Kylorin's lost secrets.
And here he was, in the woods at the Amurites' borders - and the sky spoke of the dooom he would meet. As Caran crept stealthily beneath the rustling leaves he suddenly was aware of a great light. So bright it was that it illuminated even the dark clouds above. He crept nearer, cautiously. He then gasped with astonishment...there they were. Three, no, four Men in great cloaks, and every of these held in his hand a glowing ball of livid flame, terrible to behold. With this Caran's errand was fulfilled - he knew now that the Amurites were on the verge of discovering their lost magic knowledge.
As he tried to turn away he wasn't aware of a great pile of twigs at his back - as he tread on them they cracked and rustled with great noise. As Caran now sped around the trees' boles he heard a sound like a great wind rushing through leaves. With the twinkling of an eye he saw the great light approach - and was never seen again in the King's Court again...
OOC stuff:
Varn Gosam was busy:
The Luichirp also:
The Balseraph razed a barb city
We are ready to attack, we have 4 Wizards with Fire II.
Be careful though - there are some Balseraph units roaming in our land. I teched Deception (5 turns left) after Way of the Wicked came in, Gibbon may still be in reach.
Imhotep
This morning his Lord hat called him to his throne room, where he sat in pride and glory, whereas the smaller folk had to work in the mines and on the fields. His father had told him that Perpentach was a god, immortal, never ageing and never changing. At that time he had believed that and admired the greatness of their leader. But now, as member of the Royal Guard, he was not so sure anymore. Yet he had quieted his doubts - doubts were a thing in the Balseraph realm that could make a man short-lived.
He now was on a hopeless errand - he alone should pass secretely into the lands of the Amurites and if possible discover something of their plans. To the folk Perpentach feigned that he feared nothing and resided in absolute power and glory, but Caran knew that was not true - all too often now had the Amurites been discussed at the King's Court lately. Perpentach certainly feared what they might become if they discovered again Kylorin's lost secrets.
And here he was, in the woods at the Amurites' borders - and the sky spoke of the dooom he would meet. As Caran crept stealthily beneath the rustling leaves he suddenly was aware of a great light. So bright it was that it illuminated even the dark clouds above. He crept nearer, cautiously. He then gasped with astonishment...there they were. Three, no, four Men in great cloaks, and every of these held in his hand a glowing ball of livid flame, terrible to behold. With this Caran's errand was fulfilled - he knew now that the Amurites were on the verge of discovering their lost magic knowledge.
As he tried to turn away he wasn't aware of a great pile of twigs at his back - as he tread on them they cracked and rustled with great noise. As Caran now sped around the trees' boles he heard a sound like a great wind rushing through leaves. With the twinkling of an eye he saw the great light approach - and was never seen again in the King's Court again...
OOC stuff:
Varn Gosam was busy:
The Luichirp also:
The Balseraph razed a barb city
We are ready to attack, we have 4 Wizards with Fire II.
Be careful though - there are some Balseraph units roaming in our land. I teched Deception (5 turns left) after Way of the Wicked came in, Gibbon may still be in reach.
Imhotep
So war is upon us...
Roster:
Ozbenno - civless until 11/6
Immaculate
rex Rgis of Tyr
Imhotep
stuge
The Jopa - UP
EverNoob - On Deck
Roster:
Ozbenno - civless until 11/6
Immaculate
rex Rgis of Tyr
Imhotep
stuge
The Jopa - UP
EverNoob - On Deck
The night was so hot and humid that one could think that he just entered the swap, but Elmar knew better. Thing is, Elmar had traveled through the swamps before he reached Coombe View. This night was just fine for his taste. But, for Mulcarns sake, could it be that entire Coombe View went there as well? Festivities that celebrated the start of the summer season were going on for three days already, and no one was showing any intentions of stopping. Balseraph loved the heat, summer, sweat, moisture... Elmar remembered his deceased, Arawn have mercy upon him, grandfather, who was always telling stories about Age of Ice. And even his grandfather shunned this excessive heat. So what was going on in the heads of this crowd? And Elmar could tell that neither one of them could be old enough to even feel the lingers of Age of Ice.
Elmar was a scout. Hell, he was supposed to be a scout. But what he was doing for last few weeks wasn't scouting, at least not as he imagined it. Valledia wanted to gather as much informations as possible about Balseraph army, garrisons and cities, so Elmar was one of the chosen. What he did right now wasn't exploring or scouting, it was espionage.
Elmar wasn't trained at this. He didin't know Balseraph manners, dances, legends... Luckily, Balseraph culture was diverse enough that just about any man could fit in. He just sat in the tavern, ordered some ale and watched the show going in the main plaza. It was the best way to fit in that he was capable of. He had his orders, and he will do his best to carry them out.
The show was amazing. The crowd were singing, the entertainers were all around, right now some trained animals displayed amazing skills, and much to Elmar's pleasure, those disgusting freaks were nowhere to be seen. Mere memory of those poor people he saw yesterday made his stomach twist, however no Balseraph seemed to share his distaste.
So far he saw only local militia, soldiers that common people called Merrymen. Despite uniforms, with those masks they carried, soldiers didn't seem merry to him at all. One thing he also noticed – Balseraph people didn't care about Amurites at all. No hate, no grand military schemes, some probably didn't even know that far up north existed another nation.
As he thought, people cheered even more, as young black haired girl went up stage and sung. Crowd silenced for a brief moment, just so that they could hear her, then started chanting with her.
...and who cares what the Nightwatchmen say
the stage has been set for the play
so be here to love me, today
Elmar shook. Nightwatch were basically a secret police, agents in secret service working for King and taking care of state security. Nightwatch were a Balseraph invention, but Valledia quickly accepted the idea and introduced the Nightwatch through the Republic, under the very same name they were know in Blseraph lands. She brought the idea even fruther, and in just few months Nightwatch were responsible for deaths of many mages and Senators that supported Veil, or discriminated mundanes, or those that agitated mundanes into rebellion against mages. They held Republic in check, but soon they became dreaded even amongst common citizens. Actually man could disappear in the night just for saying Nightwatch aloud in a public place. Their existence was a public secret, so Elmar was confused, even uneasy, that crowd chanted „forbidden“ name right here. And if Balseraph really had Nightwatch as well, then it would be precisely their task to find and execute Elmar. Disturbed, Elmar drunk remaining ale, and stood up, heading for the crowd. Behind him, two men silently did the same and went in the same direction, their eyes firmly on Elmar's back.
Elmar was a scout. Hell, he was supposed to be a scout. But what he was doing for last few weeks wasn't scouting, at least not as he imagined it. Valledia wanted to gather as much informations as possible about Balseraph army, garrisons and cities, so Elmar was one of the chosen. What he did right now wasn't exploring or scouting, it was espionage.
Elmar wasn't trained at this. He didin't know Balseraph manners, dances, legends... Luckily, Balseraph culture was diverse enough that just about any man could fit in. He just sat in the tavern, ordered some ale and watched the show going in the main plaza. It was the best way to fit in that he was capable of. He had his orders, and he will do his best to carry them out.
The show was amazing. The crowd were singing, the entertainers were all around, right now some trained animals displayed amazing skills, and much to Elmar's pleasure, those disgusting freaks were nowhere to be seen. Mere memory of those poor people he saw yesterday made his stomach twist, however no Balseraph seemed to share his distaste.
So far he saw only local militia, soldiers that common people called Merrymen. Despite uniforms, with those masks they carried, soldiers didn't seem merry to him at all. One thing he also noticed – Balseraph people didn't care about Amurites at all. No hate, no grand military schemes, some probably didn't even know that far up north existed another nation.
As he thought, people cheered even more, as young black haired girl went up stage and sung. Crowd silenced for a brief moment, just so that they could hear her, then started chanting with her.
...and who cares what the Nightwatchmen say
the stage has been set for the play
so be here to love me, today
Elmar shook. Nightwatch were basically a secret police, agents in secret service working for King and taking care of state security. Nightwatch were a Balseraph invention, but Valledia quickly accepted the idea and introduced the Nightwatch through the Republic, under the very same name they were know in Blseraph lands. She brought the idea even fruther, and in just few months Nightwatch were responsible for deaths of many mages and Senators that supported Veil, or discriminated mundanes, or those that agitated mundanes into rebellion against mages. They held Republic in check, but soon they became dreaded even amongst common citizens. Actually man could disappear in the night just for saying Nightwatch aloud in a public place. Their existence was a public secret, so Elmar was confused, even uneasy, that crowd chanted „forbidden“ name right here. And if Balseraph really had Nightwatch as well, then it would be precisely their task to find and execute Elmar. Disturbed, Elmar drunk remaining ale, and stood up, heading for the crowd. Behind him, two men silently did the same and went in the same direction, their eyes firmly on Elmar's back.
I started the war, sneak attacked the city, took it, and now our army is sieging AV holy city, with only one drown remaining inside and two units still able to move or attack, so AV holy city can be taken this turn (and with good odds).
The reasons I didn't write about war and why I left the turn uncompleted:
1)I wasn't sure whether to raze or take AV holy city
2)I had some overheating issues with my PC, so I had much restarts and freezings. Normally I'd stick it out, but since I had a war to fight it's annoying when you fight few important battles and then PC freezes. So please excuse me that I played only the minimum amount of turns. I hope that whoever plays next writes a real war report.
The reasons I didn't write about war and why I left the turn uncompleted:
1)I wasn't sure whether to raze or take AV holy city
2)I had some overheating issues with my PC, so I had much restarts and freezings. Normally I'd stick it out, but since I had a war to fight it's annoying when you fight few important battles and then PC freezes. So please excuse me that I played only the minimum amount of turns. I hope that whoever plays next writes a real war report.
stuge
Emperor
Nice take on the Nightwatch. 
Rex rgis of Ter
Me I'm a Creator
Please raze the Av holy city. As we don't have inquisitors (Esus sucks that way) we won't be able to keep the AC in check that way. We should probably raze all AV cities to be safe.
OTOH, we could make a short detour to leaves and purge AV from our lands. From your story it sounds like the AV spread to us. Is it so?
OTOH, we could make a short detour to leaves and purge AV from our lands. From your story it sounds like the AV spread to us. Is it so?
One more thing: I set research to warfare. I'm afraid our army might show lackluster performance when faced with tougher defenders like archers, if we don't promote troops with city raider.
Our 26 XP troops with Combat 1-5 actually preform worse than Balseraph 10 XP City Raider 1-3 troops when it comes to attacking cities.
Our 26 XP troops with Combat 1-5 actually preform worse than Balseraph 10 XP City Raider 1-3 troops when it comes to attacking cities.
Immaculate
unerring
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2003
- Messages
- 7,623
they also spread from non-holy cities. To 'extinguish' a religion, you have to raze/use inquisition on all cities with it. And then, whenever someone else researchs the required tech for the religion and gets the disciple, you have to kill the disciple or raze/use inquisition the city he converts.
Rex rgis of Ter
Me I'm a Creator
However, no other civilization on the map, except maybe the Svartalfar will research the religion. If we manage to spread CoE to them first AV will be gone forever.
I remebered we're going to have to convert Arendel and Beeri to get them to join the Undercouncil. Good civs cannot join it so we'll have to use intimidation to switch them to CoE. Once the Balseraphs are gone we should convert all their cities and ask them to convert. If not, we can kill or captipulate them, follwed by conversion. The same should be done for the Malakim.
BTW, awesome Nightwatch story.
I remebered we're going to have to convert Arendel and Beeri to get them to join the Undercouncil. Good civs cannot join it so we'll have to use intimidation to switch them to CoE. Once the Balseraphs are gone we should convert all their cities and ask them to convert. If not, we can kill or captipulate them, follwed by conversion. The same should be done for the Malakim.
BTW, awesome Nightwatch story.
