fCNES I – Out of the Darkness and into the Light

Okay, I will be gone starting tomorrow and ending a week from yesterday. This means no NPC diplo and no update during that time. I'll answer all diplo when I return.

The palace was elegantly and effectively built. The high roof and slanted windows provided shade while allowing for some airflow.
Still, it was a particularly hot day at the height of summer, and everyone inside the lower audience chamber felt it.

Lieutenant Dakat and his riverland translator Tingo were uncomfortable, as was, undoubtedly, the young boy Samir who would deliver the reply back to Wanax Hybalion at the capital of Dauhius, but his mouth might have been hanging open from panting or from his amazement at the sight of the grand palace. What he had seen of the city was so much more impressive than the hovel where he was born and grander even than Dauhius.
Despite their discomfort and feelings of rubishness, the trio had nevertheless succeeded in delivering their message in what Dakat hoped was proper diplomatic syntax.

The royal court had not seemed particularly attentive while the message was spoken, but Dakat figured that was to be expected, as the message was customary, not especially exciting stuff, and this atrocious weather could quite easily drive one to catatonic stupor.

Dakat’s brow furrowed as he waited for a response. The emperor, the high priests and magistrates, even the guards didn’t seem to be paying attention to him, each other, or anything else in particular. One guard aimlessly watched a fly buzz around. Several priests gently drooled, stains creeping down their ornamented tunics. The God-Emperor himself slumped in his throne, continuously scratching at the same spot on his nose. The chief magistrate at least seemed to be enjoying an honest nap, as his eyes were shut and he was lightly snoring.
The rest, however, started without perceiving.

Dakat looked at Tingo, who made a face and shrugged. These people’s strange gods must be borrowing their hearts for some mysterious, divine purpose. The lieutenant-ambassador coughed forcefully. Then he tried to make eye contact with each and every member of the court, without noticeable success, while Tingo quietly wondered if his particles had properly agreed with his nouns.
Samir glanced about himself, then hesitatingly reached for one of the pretty priestesses. Dakat stomped and frowned fiercely at the youth, who immediately took several startled steps backwards.

Had the Hosrusians’ expressions changed? Did their attention now seem to be more concentrated on their visitors? Dakat found it a creepy but hopeful sign.
“Perhaps,” he said to Tingo in Zhiroese, “We should try delivering the message again.”

Tingo, a little unnerved by the silence, swallowed dryly and began to speak as he had before, while Dakat watched their hosts’ faces, delighted to see signs of reemerging comprehension in their faces and movements.
The chamber echoed once again with Tingo’s translation:

Esteemed neighbors,

From the fair country of Zhiro Chief Hybalion sends his greetings and well wishes to the King of great Hosrus.
We wish to inform you of our friendly intentions towards all in these lands who abide by law and peace, and hope that you will reciprocate.
We also are desirous to make provisions for trading. Merchants would be welcome visitors in foreign markets, and we would each take efforts to ensure the safety and ease of travel as they approach our respective lands, to protect against banditry.
What say you?


As the riverlander spoke, a confused expression crept onto Samir’s face. Was that priestess smiling at him?

I'm back. Update will begin on Wednesday, so get orders in by that morning (EDT).

Orders sent.

Also how much eco will be needed to progress to the bronze age?

You can't spend eco points to progress to the Bronze Age. It will happen "naturally", though you can encourage it by improving education.

Cuivienen said:

You can't spend eco points to progress to the Bronze Age. It will happen "naturally", though you can encourage it by improving education.

Click to expand...

Well damn,then ill have to change my orders.I'll resend them.


IC: To Romallekan
From Zekul

We would be interested in a 5 turn NAP.

could i be npced please

spend econ on expansion and troop stuff or alocate as needed, cant send orders cause im still setting up my new comp (horay new comp, and italy won )

I've been defeated in my attempts to include a map in a pm. So Behold, the pinnacle of Zhiran cartographic knowledge!

Orders sent.

Well, I'm just back from vacation too. I'll send orders now, and cross my fingers in hope that they're not too late.

That's fine. My internet connection has been spotty today due to a series of severe thunderstorms here (we lost power for an hour and internet for five), so I haven't gotten any work done on it anyway.

My orders are now sent anyways. I hope you like them.

Crap, my orders will have to come in a little while

Oh dear. NPC me, if I don't get them in quick enough.

Okay, things are working out now. Today was my parent's anniversary, so I didn't get any work done. However, I will work on the update tomorrow and post it on Sunday. Feel free to send orders tomorrow if you haven't done so yet. I'm pretty lenient about orders.

Gah! I've been caught up in family affairs on the weekend, as I should have expected. I promise, 100% finally, that the update will be posted on Monday.

Looking forward to the update

Ditto to The Farow.

Update Three:
The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same​

1000 YR—1025 YR​

We begin at a new location: Ethomer, capital of the newest nation of the world, Rohirune. You see, a new revolution has taken place in the world, and not one of human devising. At least not this time. The plains to the north and east remain unexplored, but, out of east some time a few hundred years previous, the first horses wandered into the plane of human consciousness. The peoples of the region were largely unsettled and uncivilized; nearby Romallekan was stagnating, and former nomads such as Moroyo-Gaia had settled down, and thus the coming of horses had gone largely unnoticed. A few nomads only picked up on their domestication. Now, however, some of these former nomads have settled down and established a city, modeled somewhat off of the cities of Romallekan, though those are now in a poor state indeed. Rohirune extends far across the plains and into the grasslands and lightly forested regions to the south, but not all of the local nomadic peoples are happy about being pushed out of their traditional lands.

Speaking of nomads, or perhaps speaking of former nomads, the nation of Moroyo-Gaia has also been expanding heavily, especially into the forests of the north. This represents a return to lands once controlled by the Moroyans as nomads, which sits well with the people. (+1 Confidence) Education also flourishes in Moroyo-Gaia under the funding of the Shaman-king, and although religion is heavily emphasized in Moroyan schools, they have nonetheless attracted many scholars from surrounding lands due to Moroyo-Gaia’s relative tolerance when compared to its neighbors. The Moroyan army has also kept more belligerent nomad natives at bay, although a few skirmishes along the northern border have cost the lives of some Moroyan soldiers. (-500 Infantry of Gaia) Knowledge of bronze has reached Moroyan ears from both upriver and downriver, but the use of bronze has not yet become widespread, partially because tin is in short supply.

Zekul continues much as it always has, with slow, steady expansion and exploration of the frontiers of human settlement. They have crossed the western mountains, once rumored to be the edge of the Earth, and have simply found more humans living quietly on the other side. The region is drier than the native lands of Zekul, and cooler, but it is yet to be seen if there are other human civilizations there. Zekul has also focused on educating its populous, a highly expensive endeavor in the Copper Age, and some of the most educated have conceived of the possibility of mixing two metals to form a stronger one. However, development of this concept seems far away.

Zekul Archers stationed on the border with Romallekan have been observers in the implosion of that nation; a revolt by a petty lord combined with nomad incursions have left Romallekan near collapse. Many of its people are now streaming into Zekul.

Crospunia, always a nation of traders, has now attempted to establish colonies. The first settlement went quite well; although the Sarazans are not entire happy that Crospunia now controls the rounding of the peninsula, the Crospunian settlement is lively and thriving and Crospunian ships have explored the coastline to the south somewhat. The ships bound to the north of Kira, however, were caught in a storm and blown off course. Far from being lost at sea, the ships surprisingly landed on the coast of an island no one on the mainland—not even the nearby Geranese—knew about. Not only that, but the island apparently contains a civilized nation, Dalgan, with whom the Crospunians have begun trade. Competition from Saraza and Geraun, and possibly other nations, will likely soon arrive, but for now the Dalgae believe that the Crospunians are the only other civilized humans in the world. Convenient, isn’t it? In other news, the Crospunians have also begun the construction of a grand library in Crospunia City, and fears of Oemean aggression have not materialized despite a rather large Crospunian army stationed near the border.

Zhiro is isolated but growing, and its people have developed a wry sense of humor that defines the culture—ironic, in many ways—yet utterly unique. (+1 Culture) The have secured a key strategic location between two mountain ranges that allows the Zhirans a unique look at all the lands to the south by land. Zhiran observers have also seen nomads migrating southwards in large numbers (more on this later). Otherwise, Zhiro remains largely unchanged, though improving agricultural techniques (some borrowed from Hosrus) have strengthened the Zhiran economy.

The last vestiges of nomadism have faded from Siltoria (-1 Nomad economy), but agriculture continues to flourish. Siltorian agricultural exports to Ysuly and Tassqua have allowed those nations’ populations to boom, but have also made them somewhat reliant on Siltoria for food, an arrangement clearly to the advantage of Siltoria. Polhinos, however, has also taken advantage of this, and, in expanding its own agriculture, has alleviated somewhat the reliance of Ysuly and Tassqua on Siltoria. In any case, Siltoria is strong economically, and its new road system has only made it stronger, allowing for faster transport of grain from one location to another. (OOC: I’m not showing roads on the map right now; I may decide to do so later.) This has led to the construction of an enormous Wheat Market in the capital city of Elania, which, when completed, will easily make Elania the center of the grain trade in the north. (Also OOC: No spend points need be spent on wonders. However, those of you did put spend points into them have had your time to build the wonder somewhat reduced.)

While the recent burst of exploration by the Crospunians has taken both Geraun and Saraza by surprise, the Sarazans still out-compete the Crospunians, primarily due to their new and greatly enlarged navy, now the envy of all seafaring nations. (+1 Confidence) The Sarazans have heavily settled the peninsula past Thori and their influence there only continues to wax, providing them with a new region of production. (+1 Production economy) They, too, have explored past the peninsula, and, as it is less difficult for Sarazans ships to resupply in the region, have traveled farther. However, the Sarazns laissez faire approach to religion has led to the heavy expansion of Yexal into Sarazan lands, where it now forms the majority religion. Loyalty to religious leaders in Ixa has thus weakened the culture of Saraza and (mildly) threatens the King’s complete authority over all affairs. (-1 Culture, -1 Confidence)

Finally, Ara-Dan has invested in Education, and the programs have been even more successful than the ruler could have hoped, the people of Ara-Dan taking quickly to learning and the nobility encouraging it. (+1 Education) This is perhaps because Ara-Dan, nearly cut off from the sea, has few other advantages over its neighbors. Production on the Zenith Pantheon also proceeds faster than projected due to heavy government investment in the project. (OOC: Paying people extra always seems to make things happen faster.) Aranese explorers have also topped the mountains to their west, claiming all areas east of the mountains for Ara-Dan, and beyond the mountains have sighted the ocean. This access to the ocean may ultimately prove a great boon for Ara-Dan, out-competed in the Inner Sea by its neighbors.

Other Events:

Barbarians trapped between civilized nations invade Rixitum in an attempt to regain what they call their ancestral lands. Rixitum’s army has retreated to the cities and beyond the river. (-500 Spearman, -1 Confidence)

Heavy competition from Saraza and, to a lesser extent, Crospunia, weakens the Geranese economy dramatically. (-1 Production economy)

(OOC: I chose two of the four PC nations that did not send orders to have negative effects.)

(Separate OOC: There has now been a massive migration of tribes, as touched upon briefly with Zhiro. People wishing to start far removed from everyone else may now join, but it will be tough. NPCs Ysuly, Polhinos and Tassqua still extend beyond the veil, but only slightly.)

Map:



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