The Tribal Elders of Delphi

"Akeres!" the agonised scream cut through the quiet marble halls of the Delphian Council chamber. The king was in attendance, and his guards drew their swords in anticipation of a potential attack on his person. Everyone turned to look toward the sudden commotion.

A blood streaked figure ran toward the assembly but collapsed on the marble floor before the guards could reach him.

Councillors moved toward the now-silent figure on the floor, whose chlamys was streaked red with blood, while the king's guards attempted to hold King Bazil back protectively.

"Aside!" he bellowed and strode forward purposely, intent on investigating why there had been an interruption.

The wizened former chief minister Melda of Islandia stepped forward. "That's Phrenios, son of Phrenos!"

He had lately spent a lot of time with Phrenos and his son, in closed meetings with Melodios during the course of the Royal Commission.

His eyes widened in alarm: his son must be in danger.

The old man straightened and any who beheld him forgot he was no longer chief minister as he authoritatively bellowed: "Guards! On me!"

And then he was off, with a lightning speed most unsuited to someone of his age.

"What did he say?" one of the Councillors asked of another.

"Akeres."

"Our Akeres? Son of Aketos?"

"It would explain his absence today. And others."

They exchanged a dark look as the chamber emptied.

-----

Several hours earlier

Phrenos, son of Typios, rushed in to Royal Commissioner Melodios's office without announcing himself. Melodios looked up to chastise the rude visitor until he saw the look on his colleague's face. "What is it?"

"Akeres, son of Aketos!" Phrenos spat. "He was responsible."

He handed over a piece of parchment to the Royal Commissioner, who read it with a deepening frown.

He looked livid. A member of the Delphian Council. Complicit in regicide. The proof was incontrovertible. He was obviously not working alone.

"Summons the guards," Melodios darkly intoned.

"Phrenios!" Phrenos bellowed.

The summoned lad ran in, hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword. "Yes, father!"

"Summon the guards. As many as you can."

"Yes, father," the lad ran off quickly.

Melodios put his fingers together, thinking furiously. They were going to have to move quickly. There wasn't time to inform the king, his father Melda or his son Melodios; they were all in a Council session and if the information on the parchment was correct, there was no time to lose.

-----

The Royal Commission arrived at the street outside Akeres's house. Melodios, the Royal Commissioner strode up the street flanked by two dozen guards and his loyal deputy Phrenos and his son Phrenios. All swords were sheathed.

They were surprised to find a large group of men waiting outside the house. Were they waiting for them?

They weren't. However it seemed the Royal Commission had stumbled upon a conspiracy.

"Akeres. Zelios." Melodios addressed the Councillors and their entourages politely but curtly. There were many more guards than Melodios had counted on.

"Royal Commissioner," Akeres replied with mock deference.

"There's no need for this to end in bloodshed," Melodios entreated.

"Is that why you've brought so many armed men? To avoid bloodshed?" he replied incredulously.

Nothing more was said. Tenseness hung in the air. They knew why the Royal Commissioner and his guards were here. And they would not go down peaceably.

-----

Melda burst upon the bloody scene as he gasped and wheezed from the unexpected exertion of running from the Council chamber to the street upon which Councillor Akeres's house lay. And he froze.

The blood-soaked bodies of countless men lay tangled together in a mess in the middle of the street. Many of them still impaled with the weapons that had slain them.

He pushed forward, fearful but searching.

He found what he was looking for.

He wished he hadn't.

-----

Minister Melodas came upon the scene moments later, and through the crowd of guards securing the scene, beyond the pile of bodies he saw his once-bold grandfather bent over, his body repeatedly wracked with loud sobs as he cradled a body to his chest protectively.

As Melodas crept forward he saw that his father, Melodios, had been slain in the melee. And then he fainted.

-----

King Bazil had been presented with the official report from the Royal Commission into the Death of King Alexander.

His death was ruled regicide, and two members of the Delphian Council, Akeres and Zelios were named as co-conspirators.

During the Royal Commissioner's attempt to take them into custody the Royal Commissioner, Melodios, was slain, as was his deputy Phrenos, and all of his guards, with the exception of Phrenios, son of Phrenos who had survived his wounds.

Both Akeres and Zelios were dead, as were their guards who had prevented their capture.

The bloody affair was over.

It appeared as though all guilty parties were dead, and it came at the cost of the former chief minister Melodios. Some wondered if the investigation was worth the price paid in blood.

But most of all, people were shocked that members of the Delphian Council itself were implicated in the death of their king.

Councilor Aplistios addressed the council. “Distinguished ministers, I beg your pardon for my callousness but the business of this council is to run the state and advise the king. There will be ample time mourning our fallen members but let us not forget our duty. I did not know Councilor Melodious well but it is evident that he was a man who took his duty seriously as well.”

Most of the council wrinkled their noses at Aplistios’ insensitive interruption, not for the first time. Aplistios was relatively new to the council; in respect to the age and wisdom of most of the rest of the council he was relatively new to life as well. Aplistios was from Kirrha. The son of a merchant who supplied caravans bound for Zurich. Everyone who encountered Aplistios no matter how briefly was well acquainted with how the caravan trade was destroyed by the war. Those who knew him better would also here how Siamese warriors killed his father and destroyed his family estate in Kirrha.

Since then Aplistios had come to Delphi in pursuit of a much older wealthy widow who elevated him to the council before quickly succumbing to old age. On the council, Aplistios had been a tireless champion of the merchant class and an opponent of the war with Siam.

“Trade is the life blood of any nation. We have forced the Siamese to bend their knee, but what has it profited us? Our people, formerly happy raised their fists to the late king and this council. This blood lust for conquest now turns on itself and consumes our king and our fellow councilors. I say it is long past time that we return to the proven ways of peaceful trade and the comforts of wealth.

Kirrha will be ready for a new project very soon. I ask this council to make that project a cargo ship. Just one of theses ships could more than double our income in a stroke!
Our army rules on land shall we not rule the waves as well?"

((Melda and Melodas were not in attendance to this Council session due to their grief. And Phrenios, son of Phrenos is recovering from his grave wounds, but he's not a member of the Delphian Council anyway.

As for my advice . . . I'm intending to load up the game tonight and see where we're up to, and what my advice will be. ))

Edit: Also, those two traitorous Councillors will have friends within the Council who might not be happy they're dead, even if they don't agree with the regicide.

((Okay, here's my advice. It comes from Melodas many weeks or months later (i.e. within your first in-game turn). Melda takes his son's death very hard. He retires properly; doesn't even attend Council meetings anymore.

This advice mostly relates to issues within the next five turns, because presumably you'll be wanting additional advice then and the situation might change.

Melodas's advice is as follows:

Happiness and gold are two things we really need to build back up. Unhappiness should decrease slightly once the people of Sukhothai realise resistance is futile.

I think we should consider purchasing a caravan in either Kirrha or Delphi Nova. I say this rather than a cargo ship solely because we don't have any navy to defend our seaborne trade routes, whereas we have quite a sufficient land army.

When Dostana finishes with its granary build a work boat. Dostana needs growth.

Extend the King's Road --- or Meldanian Highway --- to all the cities. Once the three Siamese cities are connected to the kingdom proper happiness and trade should improve --- right?

In 2 turns Milan is going to reward us with influence for our cultural output. If we had enough gold we could push that to ally status. Having Milan as an ally would protect our west flank.

I think we should build up Sukhothai to be our fortress city. It is where potential threats will be coming from by land.

Once steel is researched I say we go for gunpowder; modernise our army.

After that, I'm wondering if we should tech straight to dynamite which will give us amazing protection (being able to blast three tiles away!) and offensive capability.

That is my advice for now. ))

((Wouldn't a sea-based route be more profitable than a land one? I seem to remember something like that))

I mostly agree with Melda

Melda said:

Unhappiness should decrease slightly once the people of Sukhothai realise resistance is futile.

Click to expand...

Is that true, that we get extra unhappiness while cities are in resistance? That would be great.

I think we should consider purchasing a caravan in either Kirrha or Delphi Nova. I say this rather than a cargo ship solely because we don't have any navy to defend our seaborne trade routes, whereas we have quite a sufficient land army.

Click to expand...

We need to decide what we will do with our gold. We have a fair amount and need to put it to some use. Buy a settler, a caravan, a cargo ship, or city state alliance. Personally I have found cargo ships a better investment since they make more money than caravans. As for a navy, I would very much like to see some Delphian war ships.

When Dostana finishes with its granary build a work boat. Dostana needs growth.

Click to expand...

True

Extend the King's Road --- or Meldanian Highway --- to all the cities. Once the three Siamese cities are connected to the kingdom proper happiness and trade should improve --- right?

Click to expand...

I second naming it the Meldanian Highway. Again the populations of the new cities are really small and the road is long, so it might even be a net lose at first but the road is a military neccesity too so it must go ahead. I don't believe there will be any change in happiness. When Delphi finishes Notre Dame we will have 8 happiness for a while but that will quickly dissipate as we have 6 growing cities now.

Once steel is researched I say we go for gunpowder; modernise our army.

Click to expand...

Strongly agree, Gunpowder puts us in the Renaissance and gives us our first spy! Hopefully we can steel some techs before others have any deffence against espionage. Our current mix of swordsman and chariot archers will not serve us well in our next war, we must upgrade our build new units.

1889 said:

Is that true, that we get extra unhappiness while cities are in resistance? That would be great.

Click to expand...

((Well, I thought so, but a check of the Civ 5 wiki indicates that I'm wrong. Bugger.))

MiguelBazil said:

((Wouldn't a sea-based route be more profitable than a land one? I seem to remember something like that))

Click to expand...

1889 said:

We need to decide what we will do with our gold. We have a fair amount and need to put it to some use. Buy a settler, a caravan, a cargo ship, or city state alliance. Personally I have found cargo ships a better investment since they make more money than caravans. As for a navy, I would very much like to see some Delphian war ships.

Click to expand...

((Well, I'm not opposed to cargo ships, I just think if we want to go down that route it's essential that we put a warship out there ASAP to ensure the trade route isn't plundered by pirates or enemy nations.))

Bazil felt weared out after just a few days of being back in a ruling position. Many would kill to be in his place, allured by the sweet songs of power and control. But not him. He saw the death up close, and that had costed the life of a close friend, and of more people with knowledge and a good heart. He wanted no bloodshed, yet his decision weighed heavy on his shoulders. It was his decision to investigate this issue.

Nothing could be done now, "what's done is done". But that didn't make him feel any better. The council had started already, there was noise and discussion, but he was away. More was on his mind. And he wanted not to decide on what to do next. He still had to explain everything to his family, and above all, he wanted them safe. All these worries were eating him up inside.

He rose from his seat, slowly and faced everyone. The noise died. He had a determined, yet tired look. Some worried, some wondered if he was still fit for the ruling life. But his words now trembled in the room:

"Dear members of the council, before continuing debating the future of the nation, I want to address some issues. I cannot keep ignoring this. With the death of Melodios, one of the great wise men in our nation, and regicide from the same people that were here to help the king rule, I'm starting to wonder what kind of people we are, and who are we to decide the fate of this nation.

Let it be known that this is not the way the nation was envisioned. Not even once before had something like this happened. Not even our enemies were capable of such treacherous act. If we cannot even have some honor and decency with each other and our disagreements, then how can the people trust us? How can they believe that more will not die in the streets, murdered by their own kin? How can we ask them to pick the sword to defend against other nations, when they worry more about the swords protecting their backs?"

At this point, many eyes turned down. Some didn't agree, some still showed anger in their eyes, yet resentment seemed to take over the whole room

"I will perform my duty, and I will do my best to rebuild what was destroyed with this war. But let it be known that once that is properly on its way, I will consider changes on how the council is organized, and how we rule."

Heads turn, worried, and a wave of protest emerged...
"how can you do this?"
"you cannot decide such a thing"
"this goes against all the old ways"
"no one in the council will agree"

Yet, the voice of the king now roared a big "SILENCE".

"How can any of us speak of the old ways, when those amongst us decided to destroy that? Can't you all see? We've got blood on our hands now. This way has been stained, we can't keep going like this. Would you have the people revolt if something like this was to happen again? Would you like to see your families murdered at the hand of those you swore to protect?

The poeple will have to trust us again, and they will demand change. They will demand us to be responsible. The only way for them to accept that this council is not a nest of traitors, is if we show that we can change.

However, this is not to happen now. The nation is broken, and if they break, we break with them. This will require time, and time we will take. We will take 4 days for preparations and a cerimonial burial of the previous king, and of those that fought and died in this unfortunate situation. I want the people to see and participate, and we will mourn with them. Even those that may not have liked Alexander will surely agree to mourn those that died for the truth.

Then, we will decide on how to rebuild. Take the rest of the day off and consider my words. Think about those close to you. That will be all"



The council ended in a cloud of discomfort. But the worst of all is that nothing but the truth had been spoken. Could the king and his family survive until the end of the reign?

((I'll look into the save tonight, and look at your advices again, and then we'll decide on how to do this. Sorry about the dark update, but I want to legitimate the change of flavor of council decision. The nation must evolve ))

Melodas, son of Melodios was in a very dark place.

His father had been slain doing his duty to the kingdom and the Crown.

Melodas's grandfather, the once-mighty Melda of Islandia, had taken it even harder: he had been reduced to a mere shell of his former self. He would not see anyone. He would not leave his home. He had no more interest in the kingdom's affairs. His resignation from the Delphian Council had not come yet, but Melodas was sure it was only a matter of time.

For his part, Melodas had no intention to resign from the Council; despite his loss he felt he had much yet to offer the kingdom. He just had to first recover from his grief before he could face that chamber. And that would take time.

With his grandfather sequestered and isolated, Melodas was on his own.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. Phrenios, son of Phrenos had also lost his father in the same sad circumstance. Worse, too, Phrenios had seen firsthand his own father cut down right before his eyes and been powerless to stop it. As the only survivor of the altercation, albeit seriously wounded, he seemed to have taken to blaming himself unduly for the events that occurred.

The two had leaned on each other for support as they tried to come to terms with the shocking incident and their loss.

Melodas had not yet gone to see the king.

But when he did, he wanted to revive a very old Delphian punishment which had not been used for an age. As the traitors who killed his father were already dead, he was going to implore the king that the traitors' families should pay restitution through the ancient Delphian concept of collective punishment: the guilty parties themselves might be dead, but their wives and children, and in some cases grandchildren, lived on. Melodas would see their family lines ended for their crimes against his family, the kingdom and the Crown.

Melodas, son of Melodios was in a very dark place.

((leaving notes to myself, will update a bit later
> Khirra will finish a worker in 1 turn
> Dostana to finish granary in 2 turns
> Delphi still takes 7 turns
> Muag is producing a shrine, decision on annex or puppet))

The cerimonial burials were complicated days. Very light rain fell at the end of those, as if the skies mourned together with the people. But there was a certain relief amongst the people, that no one was ignored, not even the King they doubted before. There was now some time to heal the wounds and return to normal life. There was much to rebuild, not only the return to peaceful days, but trust too. The once audible echoes of protest died to a background noise. Not everyone heard, but it was still there.

A few days after the cerimonial burials, the council reunited again. Melodas, that hand't been seen in the last few days, was now present in the council. Dark circles under his eyes showed that sleep was something he wasn't doing much lately. Aplistios was as active as always, and that kept annoying some members of the council, but Bazil was already getting used to it.

"Members of the council, I have been looking at a few maps and reports from our cities. Our nation has grown, and the first city conquered from Siam has already lowered their resistance enough so that they can rebuild. Also, our own cities have improved in their infrastructure, but much needs doing in calming the people.

I would like to propose 2 things for now: that we start a sea-based route from Khirra, as it will be more profitable, and to return to building fishing boats in Dostana, as those are the issues that need handling now.

I would also like to hear opinions on two other issues: how should we organize our new territory ((workers, city specialization, and should we puppet or annex siamese cities. Keep in mind we haven't discussed if we want to be an empire or not, and that annexing will slow down policy adoption)) and if we should start working now on expanding our roads. Also, I'd like to name our future roads as following:

> The connection between our capital and the previous Siamese territory will be named as "The Melodios Path", as he risked everything to go into Siam territory, and brought as many insights;
> The connection between siamese cities will be name "The Great Alexander Interconnect" as he was the conqueror of Siam and showed us that we can face anyone and win. No more will people look at us as easy prey for their interests thanks to him and his tactical and war prowess.

Tell me your thoughts."

Melodas, son of Melodios rose to speak before the Council for the first time. This was his father's world, not his. But his father was dead, so it fell to him.

"I understand my father preferred a land route instead of a sea route, but although my father was a great man," he stalled for a moment, "he was not perfect. I have been swayed by the arguments put forward by Councillor Aplistios and believe a sea route will be more profitable. But I would stipulate that we must ensure these searborn trade routes are properly defended. We will need to create a Royal Navy if these lines are to remain secure and unbroken.

"I also second the proposal to construct more fishing vessels at Dostana once the city has completed its current work.

"On the subject of rebuilding and how we want our kingdom to look . . . I personally believe we should allow the Siamese cities to rebuild in their own ways. Let them keep their own governments. It matters not. Whether their own people realise it or not they all answer to us. I say leave them with their own puppet governments. Attempting to integrate them more fully with our kingdom in its current state would I believe be detrimental.

"Your proposal regarding the naming of the great roads does my family and the late king proud. I second these proposals. We should more fully expand the road network. All roads shall lead to Delphi Nova. All hail the king."

The assembled Councillors mumbled or muttered "All hail the king," albeit some of them begrudgingly.

Melodas bowed to King Bazil then sat back down.

Edit: ((So that's now the Meldanian Highway, the Melodios Path and the Great Alexander Interconnect? We're amassing quite a lot of named roads now. ))

Second Edit: Removed note about name similarities as the previous post has been amended.

((It's purely for flavor, so it's all cool . We could add the Melodios Path to the Meldanian Highway and leave it as the original, if it makes it simpler, maybe 1889 wants to propose this?))

((As much as I highly value Councillor Aplistios's input --- and I really do --- perhaps we should set a deadline for the end of the weekend so that you can play some turns at the start of next week. Just to make sure the game keeps its forward momentum going. ))

Edit: For example that would leave [timer=05/04/2015 4:00 AM UTC;Round Over][/timer] until your Monday morning. So we have until then to get advice to you.

((Sorry Melda, I was out yesterday. I will probably play this today and start writing up. I'll look into 1889's previous advice and take it into consideration, I doubt he'll change it now so yeah)).

((Coolio.

I was thinking that weekends were busy times for you.))

(( They usually are, but it depends a lot. This weekend I came back to my hometown, but I brought my full tower with me, and I don't have a lot of my MP group on, so it should be possible to play in a few hours. ))

((Excellent ))

Sorry I didn't realize you were waiting for me. As I understand it:

Kirrha will build a cargo ship after the worker.
Dostana will build a work boat after the granary.
Workers will build roads.
We research gunpowder after steel.
We have 19 more turns unit representation and want to hold off expansion until then.

I would like to suggest some military units head out to our next city site in the west to protect that. It will take a settler 7 turns to walk there from Kirrha. I would like to purchase that and walk them out there in preparation.

That still leaves us with lots of gold in the bank which does nothing. A courthouse costs 400. I usually like to buy those especially in a poor production city like Muang Saluang. I think we should annex that city as soon as we have representation because it is coastal and we will start having to build a navy. In the mean time maybe buy another cargo ship in Dostana which will pay for itself in about 50 turns.

((I'm torn between buying the cargo ship and allying Zurich tbh.

EDIT: I'm placing here where I'm guessing we will want our future city to be. I'm guessing right of the top crab, where we can work truffles and salt in the future [third tier expansion]?

))