Divine Intervention III: RagnarReign of Terror

Far above, hidden away, the one known by many names watched. Lord of Shadow, Lord of Magic, Grand Master of Science and Technology, LoS LoM GMoSaT (pronounced as Loss Long Mosat to LoS LoM GMoSaT's annoyance) waited.

This, truly, would be fascinating.

Ragnar snapped awake, sweating. It was cold. Why was he sweating? What manner of creatures had tortured him in his sleep, a sleep that rarely came and a sleep that he now feared. The voices were still ringing in their heads, and their images were still emblazoned in his mind.

He sat up, and pushed his way out of his personal home, and two of his servants met him immediately.

"Ragnar, you have awakened!"

"Yes, I have. I am hungry. Bring me some food, and send for a mistress. But do not fall idle; when I am finished with both, we have work to do."

-----------------------

Nidaros was growing - it was time to expand to other settlements. The arrangements were made, and the party was outfitted. It was revealed, shortly, that a number of wild beasts now followed Ragnar's command, much to the astonishment of his people. He wasted no time in sending them off on various missions; some came back, others didn't.



He seemed uncannily obsessed with the west, and with the help of new warriors and his feral allies he managed to map most of the land around him. A settlement was decided upon; there were rich veins of copper there, to make weapons from. Guarded by a warrior and, they say, a pack of wolves, the settlers departed and word was soon sent that Upsala was up and running.

But Ragnar was not satisfied.

He demanded another settling party, and some adventurous young folks agreed to the task. He spoke privately with him, and it was not long before we learned of the new settlement - Eldarion, as it was called - and the rumors that big plans were in motion for this city. And still Nidaros grew.



He met others on his journeys - and journey he did, for Ragnar could not sit idly by and be a king of inaction. He almost instinctually knew other immortals existed, and was proven right when he met another.

Saladin was his name, and he was indeed the champion of the Divine; he had founded and expanded a great organized religion by the name of Islam. But Ragnar would have none of it; in a somewhat loud dispute, Ragnar said he had met the divine in his dreams, and none of them were of this Faith. I do not think those two will be kind to each other in future dealings.



But there was one whom I remember quite vividly.



Hannibal, they called him. Leader of the people of Carthage. It was said, in their legends, that they had descended from the sky in a glorious chariot of the stars, but for their greed in the days of old they were punished and their chariots were taken away. Their leader, apparently, was named after this great chariot after his immortality was proven.

I know that I came away with a shiver up my spine; Ragnar himself seemed somewhat spooked by the story, although I doubt a man such as he can feel true fear.

----------------------

World:


As Ragnar settled back down to sleep after a hard few centuries, the dreams returned...

Got it.

XLC

As you requested, Runner

"Ragnar awaken. It is I, the God of Gold and Transport. Look at the Carthaginians, Ragnar. They are my chosen people. To them I give great gifts, gifts of gold. Their supply of my metal will never run low. And for you, I also give gold. May this be a foretaste of things to come if you honor me. But beware Ragnar, for I will protect my people. Never must you war with them else terrible things will befall you. I highly recommend you work on befriending them, for even if they declare war on you, you will be held responsible. Also, I give a majestic road to you, to aid in your friendship with my people. Beware Ragnar. Befriend my people."

And Ragnar slept.



Changes (Probably safe for TheForestAuro):

Got it. 10 chars

Ragnar found himself brutally tossed on a plain that extended for miles. He couldn't see the water, though he sensed this was an island. He wondered what the use of this was, as he could make out a walled town in the distance.

"FOOL!" roared a voice from above. "I AM CHURCHILL, GOD OF CONFLICT, COMBAT AND CRUMPETS AND YOU CHOOSE TO QUESTION MY DOMAIN AFTER I AM (relatively) NICE TO YOU?!" Ragnar was a bit taken aback by this.

"See the city over there? That is where my army, the best soldiers in the world, gather. If you can prove to me that Vikings are tougher than that lot, you will reap the rewards. However: you must conquer this area before you realize what the value of it is. For that is faith."

"I didn't think I'd be getting a theological lesson from a god of c's..."

"Oh, and by the way, I am god of conflict, so naturally, the other civilizations have something to do to. Don't be surprised if they lose ground. And also, I would remember this about me: I do like a fair fight." With that Ragnar was left on his own to face hordes of infantry thundering across the plains.

He woke up in a cold sweat.

((Had it. Then I had computer troubles. Someone else can mod in the change, anyway, if I miss it.))

Raganar once again foud himself somewhere he didn't understand. This time, he was surrounded by a thick... fog?

"Ragnar,' three voices spoke as one.

A long silence followed, but before Raganr could ask the voice to continue, it resumed on its own accord. "I am one who is known by many names. You may simply call me by the title Lord of Shadows."

Again, the voices stopped for a long pause, and as before, they continued when Raganar was about to speak himself. "Your people are interesting. They show so much potential, yet they seem to still need a ways to go before they start rolling."

A short pause followed, permitting the words to sink into Ragnar's skull, before, "There are gems next to the city you built for the Sea God. When next you wake, you shall find a mine and a road have been built to assist you in removing them, although I shall leave the foliage for your men to clear. Use this gift wisely, Ragnar."

Ragnar felt himself slipping away, as though his time to leave was upon him, but the Lord of Shadows had some parting words for him. "Before you leave, I have a warning. Those who pursue the path of technology often find themselves at odds with the Goddess of Nature. Tread with caution."

Ragnar felt as if he was far away, but the Lord of Shadows last words still reached him. "When your people can build forges and workshops and work iron, I shall return. Until then, take care."

@CCRunner7

@Churchill's Hat

I don't see a save.

If Churchill's Hat didn't make any changes (no list of them), then here's the save with my changes and CCRunner7's.

[edit] OK, now it's here.

Got it

(ten cha)

Quake in fear, puny mortal, for I am the Great Spirit of the Sea!

Though your forefathers have known my wrath, I come to you this day with an offer of redemption.

I entrust this ship, The Happy Wanderer, to your care and task you to guide it safely around the landmass on which you make your home.

It is a fast ship, to be sure, but be aware that it cannot defend itself, and that I will be most displeased if it comes to harm.

If, however, you should succeed in your mission, and bring The Happy Wanderer safely home to Eldarion once more, then you shall have my patronage.

Wow, I'm an idiot.

Here's the save w/ Winston Hughes, the Lord of Shadows, and CCRunner.

((Let's see how often I can affect in-game events without making any changes to the save. ))

A smile etched the stony face of the storm god. Already, the Viking people had erected a city in his honor, and he did not doubt that they would expend every effort to succeed in his quest. He was pleased with the mortal's work. Still more pleased was he that the mighty sea god had chosen his city as the place of origin for the Happy Wanderer. Should the mortal succeed in both their quests, an allegiance of storm and sea would be fortuitous indeed.

But there were many other gods, all of whom had their own expectations of the mortal. Eldarion doubted whether he would be able to please them all... and there was one in particular with whom the storm god was displeased.

"Runner," he sneered. "Your divine insolence weights the battlefield before its lines are even drawn. What makes the Carthaginians so worthy of your favor?"

That night, rain descended on Carthage, and the storm god took the form of an old man, heavy cowl masking his face as he strode unseen among the mortals. He soon found out the source of the Runner's pleasure - a massive temple stood in the very heart of the city, the names of two gods carved into the stone pillars. One of them bore his name.

As he sat down upon the steps to rest himself, unaccustomed as he was to taking on this form, an escort of soldiers rapidly made its way down the temple steps, taking him roughly by the arms.

"Begone, you old fool!" one sneered. "You desecrate the temple of Rolorunnerism with your begging!"

"But you have been given so much by your god," Eldarion said in a pleading voice. "He has showered you with gold! Is it too much to ask for an old man to be given a pittance?"

"The only pittance you'll be given is a night in the dungeon," another snarled. "Take him!"

The storm god had seen enough. To the astonishment of the soldiers, they were left with naught but empty robes as the storm god returned to his divine form. Staring balefully down at Carthage, he was momentarily tempted to drown it with a single torrential downpour.

"Runner," he growled. "You have chosen poorly indeed. The time will come, my divine friend. Yes, the time will come, and your pathetic chosen ones will know the wrath of my own."

((Quick reference on the pantheon so far in order of divine manifestation:

Elona, Goddess of Nature
Eldarion, God of Storms
Runner, God of Gold & Transportation
Churchill, God of Conflict
NoDot, God of Shadow, Magic, and Technology
Winston, God of the Sea))

Winston Hughes said:

@CCRunner7

Spoiler :

When you give gold to a civ through the Edit City screen, all civs get the same amount (so everyone, including TheForestAuro, now has 5000 gold).

Click to expand...

Well, that was stupid

Oh well, just one more example of my generosity

I really like this idea, but I don't plan on being a god or downloading the saves to check out the map, so if its possible I'd love to see more screenshots of the lay of the land, I love following RPCS, but too much text not enough screenshots.

We now folks have a major problem.

We need to start with the original save and edit all the changes into a useable save. Should not be too hard really.

Lets call this a 'got it' - and I'll deal with it tonight.

*waits for the next set of turns to go by*

I like the story behind this one, though.

Louisville was hit with Hurricane force winds and 270,000 people are, what the mayor is referring to as, in an "extended power outage."

You all may be waiting for a little while :]

I think most people have had snow days, but Louisville, is getting to have a hurricane day... all public schools are closed... lol... but we'll do our best to get the ForestAuro a lap top... tee he... the game must go on...