The Tribal Elders of Delphi

((Ok, re-wrote a proper history log for my own amusement. I'll read the rest in a bit))

Melodas, son of Melodios did not like foreigners much.

He did not rabidly hate them, though, in the way his grandfather, and his late father passionately hated the Siamese.

But even though he didn't hate foreigners, he didn't trust them. Because he didn't know them, and he couldn't be sure they weren't up to no good.

That his grandfather himself was an immigrant to these lands didn't seem to factor into it at all: Melda of Islandia had always had an intrinsic hatred of the Siamese for some reason he'd never shared. Melodas knew that Melda blamed the Siamese for Melodios's death somehow. It didn't really make sense to Melodas, since his father was killed by Delphian traitors, but he knew better than to argue. Melodios's hatred, by contrast, actually had some rational basis since he had been imprisoned by the Siamese for a time.

So Melodas didn't share his forefathers' hatred of foreigners. But he did not like them much.

Ten years had passed since his father's terrible death. And while it still hit him in the chest daily, he'd largely made his peace with hit. His grandfather, though, losing his favourite son . . . he'd never recovered.

Melodas stood with his grandfather Melda one on of the rare occasions that he ventured out of the house in the years after Melodios's death and they watched the foreign Queen Mother's entourage passing in the distance. Melda had truly grown into an old man in the years since his eldest son's death: his hair and beard were completely white and he walked with a cane.

He spat on the ground in disgust. "You keep an eye on her, Melodas."

"Yes, grandfather," Melodas replied automatically as he eyed the foreign delegation warily.

"Their whole race are tricksters and trouble makers. They'll ruin this kingdom, you know."

Melodas frowned at his aging grandfather's reflexive, unthinking racism.

But he would keep an eye on her. He didn't like her influence over the king. She was deeply unpopular in certain sections of the Council, Melodas knew. But others had been swayed by her enthusiasm and optimism --- and her early adoption of the official Delphian religion of Hellenism had won over many of the councillors.

Melodas wasn't one of them. He wasn't a particularly religious man. He honoured the gods, of course, but he was pragmatic about it: he only honoured them enough to keep them off his back; he wasn't a man of much faith.

His grandfather, Melda, had come from a land to the south where they worshipped very different gods. Having grown up with one religion and having been exposed to a second in the Delphian Kingdom had left him rather cynical about the whole thing, an attitude that had been partly carried down through the family line.

Melodas was especially sceptical about claims of visions and prophecies. He knew the Siamese woman had been in the ear of his king about some revelations she'd had, and knew of her wishes to name the fated new city after one of the gods.

Melodas disagreed, and had been quite vocal to his king that the new city should be named Alexandria in honour of the slain king Alexander the Great.

The Siamese entourage moved on, and Melodas helped his grandfather back to his home.

No, he didn't like foreigners much. And he didn't trust that Siamese woman in particular.



((I hadn’t actually mentioned this yet, despite the bit above, but when we were closer to settling the new city I was going to request it be named Alexandria in honour of our fallen king Alexander the Great --- just as the real-life city Alexandria was named in honour of the real-life Alexander the Great. But now we’ve got competition in naming: this should be interesting!

I don’t have any real advice at this stage. I’ll have an in-depth look hopefully tonight. Failing that, tomorrow night. But I wanted to get some roleplaying in for now, to add to the tone but also because I didn’t have time for proper advice just yet. ))

((What is the character limit for city names? Because Alexandria Apollonia would be a pretty cool name if it isn't too long. Or if you name it either Alexandria or Apollonia for short in-game but we use the longer one officially.

That naming wouldn't be completely off either. For example the real Alexander founded the city Alexandria Bucephala - named both for himself and his horse Bucephalous.))

((Intriguing compromise.

Apparently the character limit is 15 by default.

This thread is interesting reading, though.))

((well, it's a simple XML modification, but it would force any player to do it themselves... Is that desireable?

EDIT: I think there is going to be some tension now, since I'm considering to allow a representative of Siam in. Melda's character is so going to hate me ))

((Yeah, scratch that.

I think it might be more interesting to choose one over the other, instead of combining them, so that one faction is happy and the other unhappy.

Let the conflict begin! Mwahaha.

And yes, Melda is going to be very displeased.

But screw him. ))

((After reading that thread I went ahead and made a mod for it since there didn't seem to be any: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=13828280

It doesn't affect save games either, just like the Civ Name by Policies one, so if we do want a long name one would just have to load the mod once, name the city, and then it won't be required to load the save but the city will retain its name.

A city naming conflict in the Council does indeed sound more interesting though. ))

((Nice, already subscribed. Might start loading games with it in mind, just like the civ name that Melda suggested.))

((With regards to the two posts immediately before this one, I love the idea. So we can either go with an in-Council conflict of naming or have the really long one, since we can implement it without later players needing to load the mod.

The only options for Delphi Nova that really jump out at me are caravansary (to increase range of caravans and add gold to their routes), stable (to increase production) or workshop (to increase provduction).

I wonder if, in the medium-term it mightn't be an idea to have another city between Kirrha and [as yet unnamed and unfounded city] to protect our territorial integrity?))

((About a fourth city, there is a quite good city location between Kirrha and the city yet to be founded. This hill (see spoiler) next to the lake has close access to 2 wheat and 1 salt. And if we are fast and a little bit lucky, we can settle and buy the Mt Kailash tile which would be in the city's second ring - if Milan doesn't culturally expand there first.

If we're feeling lucky we should get a Settler out asap to possibly catch the natural wonder, but even if we don't it's a great food location + we'll have two Salts and can sell the second.

))

((I like that idea a lot.

But again: after we adopt Representation policy.

Of course if it's a plan we want to look at we could create the settler earlier than that as long as we don't settle them.))

Enyseis was tremendously relieved when the Thai Queen finally departed. He found the pageantry unseemly and the ceremony tedious. He was embarrassed to see his fellow council members fawn over the conquered queen simply because no other foreign dignitary would deign to send an emissary to Delphi. Finally, he hoped, the court could get back to normal and the council could get back to business, but it was not to be. The queen may have left but her insidious presence still prevented real work from getting done.

With an exasperated sign he rose noisily and tried to get the council back on track. “I applaud Madam Sueang’s very entertaining visit. But as the Delphians have yet to master the technology of Drama and Poetry I for one was not deceived. It has long been the plan of this council to annex the Siamese cities when the time is right. Madam Sueang no doubt hopes to reverse that policy with her show of religious affinity. Madam Sueang may very well be devout but Protestantism is growing much more rapidly among her people.”

“Now for myself, I admit that King Alexander was a brilliant general but after so many years many tend to forget that he was also a dangerous tyrant. Therefore I actually find Apollonia a more fitting name for our new settlement, but I must draw the line at allowing members of the doomed Siamese race into this council. They can only disrupt the business of liquidating their civilization.

Now on to serious matter; I suggest that Sukhothai be the first city annexed”

+++

Welcome Gurra, a very nice addition to our story.

I think Dostana needs a lighthouse next, that will be a significant growth boost. I love huge cities and the sooner you get started the better. I’d like to see aqueducts in both Delphi and Kirrha. We do need to be careful though. Building maintenance builds up fast especially in 9 turns when we finally get representation and begin annexing Siamese cities. Annexation will require courthouses which cost 4 gold per turn to maintain.

King Bazil rose and spoke to the council:

The addition or not of Siamese dignitaries to this council is not yet on the table. I believe her presence is welcome and should help appease the Siamese people that felt that we would just be tyrants over them. Whether we annex the cities, or let them govern themselves, one thing is for sure, we can't have civil unrest, and we can't do it right now.

If those cities are calm, we can continue to focus our attention on growing, which is my goal.

Dostana should have a lighthouse as his next project, since it needs more stable food sources to grow and use the querries around it. That is something that any of us can see as useful.

But what about our great capital? I like the idea of the caravansary since it would allow us to improve on our trade routes, which would help support some more maintenance in the future.

((I have nothing more to add at this stage.

Imagine Melodas campaigning heavily behind the scenes in the Council to have Alexandria be the name of the next city, but I believe he will be duly outvoted. Unlike Melodas, I like the other name as well. ))

Sorry for my absence, we are moving to a different city and packing and all the other BS involved in the move has sucked up all my time. Services are being disconnected today and I will be off the grid until June 1st. Wish me luck.

Good luck!

G'luck man!

((Gurra, while you're online and we're waiting for the next five rounds to be played, I have a question about your current character.

It's been ten years since the fall of Siam and the death of the Siamese king. How old would the Queen Mother be now? And how long-lived will she be?

We're currently jumping forward in five-year intervals, and King Bazil has ten more years to reign before he abdicates or dies.

At that point I'm intending to take over --- if the other players agree --- and revamp the ministerial system. Will the Queen Mother still be alive, and will she want to serve --- assuming she has enough support in the Council, which she might given her religious angle?

Or are you intending to kill her off at some point and move on to another character, perhaps a relative of hers?

I'm just wondering, I don't actually need to know --- especially if you want to keep a bit of mystery about your character/s or haven't decided yet.

Just something to think about while we're waiting for the final two terms of service by Bazil to be played out. ))

((I did state in her arrival story that she was 80 years old but I think I'll have to change that to somewhere in her early or mid-sixties to make for a more realistic age difference between her and her grandson Loethai (who was in his early teen years, he was just a child when Siam fell).

So Queen Sueang should be 65-70 years old now, since she arrived before the last 5 turns, and with her spirit and energy I can see her living for at least 15-20 years longer if not more. I think she has the strength and capacity to take on a political role herself if she would be offered one. Her grandson is ~18 years old.))

((Okay, sounds like if any opportunities were offered for you as a player in the next 15-20 turns it would be as Queen Sueang, then after that would be Loethai.

Having a Siamese person in the Council --- especially a woman! --- would be a real shock to the system that elements within it would fight passionately . . . but it's possible.

Once King Bazil's reign ends and Representation is adopted as a social policy, and assuming the players allow me to take over --- and my character Melodas rule --- I intend to defer to the representatives that the Council selects on how the kingdom should be run rather than making decisions myself like I did back in the days of the Interregnum, when Chief Minister Melda ran affairs because the throne sat empty.))