End of Empires - N3S III
- Thread starter North King
- Start date
das
Regeneration In Process
2. The Godlikes of the Cow Family Eat the Flesh and Blood of Their Brethren.
In the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Gaci, the Moti Great Family consisted of fourteen families, as well as the Elephant Family; but each family contained within itself one and many more, and the first one was the family of godlikes who were the direct descendants of the familial ancestor, whereas the rest descended from his lesser descendants and were sometimes considered little brothers by the godlikes, but were more often called human children, for they were merely human whereas the godlikes were human, but also partly gods, and also because the human children owed their godlike parents filial piety, which was expressed through gifts. Each family of human children was to pay a set number of gifts to its godlike parents - or more, and more was often demanded; and the foreigners, who had fish gills, pig tails and strange languages, called this taxes, whereas members of the Elephant Family and some of those human children called this tribute, though usually not when the godlikes were able to hear so. That said, more and more gifts were required, and so more and more human children started openly calling those gifts a tribute, which is something that is collected from enemies defeated in war, whereas family-wars have been forbidden during the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Frei; therefore, they reasoned, the godlikes had no right to demand tribute from their own families, even if it was called a gift. The godlikes responded by exiling them for lack of respect for their parents; and when those wayward human children took to gathering in camps and living off the roads, the godlikes started attacking them and killing them, and afterwards demanded more gifts so as to allow them to better fight against the outcasts. Nonetheless, disrespect grew, and some even began to claim that the human families were treated by the godlike families as though they were slaves.
In the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Eso Kotuu, Tikhupata Afono-Gog was the Cow Family-Chief; he had the head of a bull and the body of a man, and he was as strong as seven bulls and was prone to killing his enemies with his bare hands and drinking their blood; he was feared and admired by others and during the Good War against the Evil Family, he sat on the Good Council and led the armies of the Good Council families against the Evil Family and its allies, and it was he that killed Uyom-Risfa, the Chief of the Evil Family, in the battle near the Evil Family campsite; afterwards he laid claim to most of the lands conquered, but was killed as the Good Council fell apart and the more animal-minded families drifted away or sought to take those same lands for themselves. After that, the Cow Family fought against all of its neighbours, and that war ended only when the son of Tikhupata Afono-Gog was ambushed and killed, and afterwards his younger brother made peace with the neighbouring families and agreed to join the Moti Great Family. The Cow Family sometimes sought war and sometimes sought peace, sometimes had many allies and sometimes had more enemies, but it always remained rich and powerful. In the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Bonti, Cow Family-Chief Yensai-Frono was the first to stop going to the Council so that he could spend more time on raiding his neighbours and stealing their lands and cattle, and then was also the first to answer the Chief-of-Chiefs' summons to the Council so that he could extract many privileges for himself and his family, and since then the Cow Family-Chiefs were also the War-Chiefs of the Moti Great Family. Yensai-Frono died from old age; the son of Yensai-Frono died from war, the grandson of Yensai-Frono died from war and the great-grandson of Yensai-Frono died from war, because since the days of Chief-of-Chiefs Bonti evil has grown stronger and stronger through the world, the family-wars became more widespread and more brutal, and also pride and greed became even stronger than before, and those evil forces made the Cow Family attack everyone and everything and also made everyone and everything attack the Cow Family.
In the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Frei, the Cow Family defeated its neighbours, made some of them give up contested lands and flee north, and destroyed the others entirely, enslaving those who survived. During that time Kronto was the Cow Famly-Chief, and he was not without human-mindness and goodness, for when he was told by Chief-of-Chiefs Frei that it was not in accordance with the laws of Eso Kotuu to enslave one's relatives, he cried and repented, and freed the slaves, and adapted them all as his children, and he also kept all the conquered lands and allowed his new children to settle in their old camps and live there under his protection in exchange for gifts. The son of Kronto died from young age and the rashness that came therewith, as well as from a new war, for under the Frei-laws family-wars were forbidden and instead the Cow Family began attacking the animal-minded families outside of the Moti Great Family; the grandson of Kronto avenged his father's death and razed most of the animal-minded Lumada-city in his fury; the great-grandson of Kronto, who had the name of Frono, lived in times of peace and died of old age, and before doing so he noticed that the new families of human children have grown large and wealthy. The sight of their wealth made him very happy, so he demanded more gifts from them and from the other children, and organised a martketplace at the godlike campsite and several other outposts, and there traded with merchants from the south. The merchants from the south brought many beautiful things: vases, jewels, weapons, horses, strange animals and much gold, and the Cow Family-Chief tried to match their goods with the furs, foodstuffs, tin pieces and items and other gifts from his children; and the more merchants arrived, the harder he tried, and when some of the human families refused to give more gifts that would be traded away he began exiling those who protested, and when they rebelled he sent his younger brother to defeat them, then took more gifts and exiled those rebel leaders that had not yet died; and when the exiles began to join up with the bandits and attacked merchants he did not breath a sigh of relief but instead had them hunted down and slaughtered, for godlike traders of the Cow Family had already taken up selling things from the south to families and peoples in the north, and also selling things from the north to the southern peoples, and the Cow Family-Chief was reluctant to rein in his relatives that enjoyed travelling and trading so much, and hated the thought of them being killed by human exiles.
It is often said that the mind of Cow Family-Chief Second-Frono was tainted by greed, but it is more true to say that he had the mind of an animal, because most animals, though divine in nature, tend to look after their own and treat those of other families as though they were not their relatives, friends or enemies, but rather their prey or their herds, and also refuse to bind themselves by any laws other than their own, and in so doing go against the Great Family, which can only be truly served by those with divine hearts of animals and lawful minds of humans. That the Cow Family-Chief and his godlikes were touched by greed is also seemingly true, however - for how else could it be explained that they had mistreated their human children so, unless they were not their children at all?
In the fortieth year of the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Gaci, Cow Family-Chief Second-Frono died, and his younger brother Third-Frono became the new Cow Family-Chief. In the forty-fifth year of the same reign, a drought direr than those that came before it occured, as the Evil-God drew the Good-God's blood, and this drought continued into the next year, causing many deaths amongst the cattle and starvation amongst the humans, whereas the godlikes demanded even more gifts to make up for their losses. When several human-chiefs protested that the human-families could scarcely afford to give many gifts in such a time, they were expelled by the Cow Family-Chief; some of the other human-chiefs then tried to give the requested gifts, but were expelled by their families and were only able to return with the help of godlike warriors, who then took to defending the human-chiefs from their children in exchange for personal gifts.
In the center of the world is the feast-tent of Eso Kotuu, which is in the Elephant Family campsite, which is outside of the Moti-city; and the rest of the world radiates from it in the nine known directions. To the southeast and the east from the feast-tent of Eso Kotuu there were the lands and campsites of many families, and most of those families were human families within the Cow Family, and the campsite of the Cow Family godlikes lied there as well; there the Cow Family-Chief Third-Frono feasted with his junior godlike brothers and discussed with them the family affairs: they came to the concluson that Chief-of-Chiefs Gaci was doubtless hoping that their human outcasts would disrupt the old southern trade routes in favour of those that go through the Elephant Family lands, and that for this reason the Elephant Family warriors were chasing them out of the vulnerable bandit camps and into the forests where they could regroup. They also decided that when the council is held later in the month, Cow Family-Chief Third-Frono would ask the wise and benign Chief-of-Chiefs to order the War-Chief to lead the families in the destruction of bandit threat, which is in its nature an unusually strong and powerful reflection of the Evil Family that must be dealt with accordingly. Lastly, they decided upon a new family-law that would punish kinstrife and turmoil within the human families; and the feast was most enjoyable, because the godlikes ate the flesh and blood of their brethren the cows, as well as plentiful other gifts from their human children, who, however, starved in their campsites and mumbled of injustice.
It so happened that in one such campsite there lived two brothers, one of whom was named Darti and the other Kirti; and of those two brothers and their human-family more must be told.
In the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Gaci, the Moti Great Family consisted of fourteen families, as well as the Elephant Family; but each family contained within itself one and many more, and the first one was the family of godlikes who were the direct descendants of the familial ancestor, whereas the rest descended from his lesser descendants and were sometimes considered little brothers by the godlikes, but were more often called human children, for they were merely human whereas the godlikes were human, but also partly gods, and also because the human children owed their godlike parents filial piety, which was expressed through gifts. Each family of human children was to pay a set number of gifts to its godlike parents - or more, and more was often demanded; and the foreigners, who had fish gills, pig tails and strange languages, called this taxes, whereas members of the Elephant Family and some of those human children called this tribute, though usually not when the godlikes were able to hear so. That said, more and more gifts were required, and so more and more human children started openly calling those gifts a tribute, which is something that is collected from enemies defeated in war, whereas family-wars have been forbidden during the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Frei; therefore, they reasoned, the godlikes had no right to demand tribute from their own families, even if it was called a gift. The godlikes responded by exiling them for lack of respect for their parents; and when those wayward human children took to gathering in camps and living off the roads, the godlikes started attacking them and killing them, and afterwards demanded more gifts so as to allow them to better fight against the outcasts. Nonetheless, disrespect grew, and some even began to claim that the human families were treated by the godlike families as though they were slaves.
In the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Eso Kotuu, Tikhupata Afono-Gog was the Cow Family-Chief; he had the head of a bull and the body of a man, and he was as strong as seven bulls and was prone to killing his enemies with his bare hands and drinking their blood; he was feared and admired by others and during the Good War against the Evil Family, he sat on the Good Council and led the armies of the Good Council families against the Evil Family and its allies, and it was he that killed Uyom-Risfa, the Chief of the Evil Family, in the battle near the Evil Family campsite; afterwards he laid claim to most of the lands conquered, but was killed as the Good Council fell apart and the more animal-minded families drifted away or sought to take those same lands for themselves. After that, the Cow Family fought against all of its neighbours, and that war ended only when the son of Tikhupata Afono-Gog was ambushed and killed, and afterwards his younger brother made peace with the neighbouring families and agreed to join the Moti Great Family. The Cow Family sometimes sought war and sometimes sought peace, sometimes had many allies and sometimes had more enemies, but it always remained rich and powerful. In the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Bonti, Cow Family-Chief Yensai-Frono was the first to stop going to the Council so that he could spend more time on raiding his neighbours and stealing their lands and cattle, and then was also the first to answer the Chief-of-Chiefs' summons to the Council so that he could extract many privileges for himself and his family, and since then the Cow Family-Chiefs were also the War-Chiefs of the Moti Great Family. Yensai-Frono died from old age; the son of Yensai-Frono died from war, the grandson of Yensai-Frono died from war and the great-grandson of Yensai-Frono died from war, because since the days of Chief-of-Chiefs Bonti evil has grown stronger and stronger through the world, the family-wars became more widespread and more brutal, and also pride and greed became even stronger than before, and those evil forces made the Cow Family attack everyone and everything and also made everyone and everything attack the Cow Family.
In the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Frei, the Cow Family defeated its neighbours, made some of them give up contested lands and flee north, and destroyed the others entirely, enslaving those who survived. During that time Kronto was the Cow Famly-Chief, and he was not without human-mindness and goodness, for when he was told by Chief-of-Chiefs Frei that it was not in accordance with the laws of Eso Kotuu to enslave one's relatives, he cried and repented, and freed the slaves, and adapted them all as his children, and he also kept all the conquered lands and allowed his new children to settle in their old camps and live there under his protection in exchange for gifts. The son of Kronto died from young age and the rashness that came therewith, as well as from a new war, for under the Frei-laws family-wars were forbidden and instead the Cow Family began attacking the animal-minded families outside of the Moti Great Family; the grandson of Kronto avenged his father's death and razed most of the animal-minded Lumada-city in his fury; the great-grandson of Kronto, who had the name of Frono, lived in times of peace and died of old age, and before doing so he noticed that the new families of human children have grown large and wealthy. The sight of their wealth made him very happy, so he demanded more gifts from them and from the other children, and organised a martketplace at the godlike campsite and several other outposts, and there traded with merchants from the south. The merchants from the south brought many beautiful things: vases, jewels, weapons, horses, strange animals and much gold, and the Cow Family-Chief tried to match their goods with the furs, foodstuffs, tin pieces and items and other gifts from his children; and the more merchants arrived, the harder he tried, and when some of the human families refused to give more gifts that would be traded away he began exiling those who protested, and when they rebelled he sent his younger brother to defeat them, then took more gifts and exiled those rebel leaders that had not yet died; and when the exiles began to join up with the bandits and attacked merchants he did not breath a sigh of relief but instead had them hunted down and slaughtered, for godlike traders of the Cow Family had already taken up selling things from the south to families and peoples in the north, and also selling things from the north to the southern peoples, and the Cow Family-Chief was reluctant to rein in his relatives that enjoyed travelling and trading so much, and hated the thought of them being killed by human exiles.
It is often said that the mind of Cow Family-Chief Second-Frono was tainted by greed, but it is more true to say that he had the mind of an animal, because most animals, though divine in nature, tend to look after their own and treat those of other families as though they were not their relatives, friends or enemies, but rather their prey or their herds, and also refuse to bind themselves by any laws other than their own, and in so doing go against the Great Family, which can only be truly served by those with divine hearts of animals and lawful minds of humans. That the Cow Family-Chief and his godlikes were touched by greed is also seemingly true, however - for how else could it be explained that they had mistreated their human children so, unless they were not their children at all?
In the fortieth year of the reign of Chief-of-Chiefs Gaci, Cow Family-Chief Second-Frono died, and his younger brother Third-Frono became the new Cow Family-Chief. In the forty-fifth year of the same reign, a drought direr than those that came before it occured, as the Evil-God drew the Good-God's blood, and this drought continued into the next year, causing many deaths amongst the cattle and starvation amongst the humans, whereas the godlikes demanded even more gifts to make up for their losses. When several human-chiefs protested that the human-families could scarcely afford to give many gifts in such a time, they were expelled by the Cow Family-Chief; some of the other human-chiefs then tried to give the requested gifts, but were expelled by their families and were only able to return with the help of godlike warriors, who then took to defending the human-chiefs from their children in exchange for personal gifts.
In the center of the world is the feast-tent of Eso Kotuu, which is in the Elephant Family campsite, which is outside of the Moti-city; and the rest of the world radiates from it in the nine known directions. To the southeast and the east from the feast-tent of Eso Kotuu there were the lands and campsites of many families, and most of those families were human families within the Cow Family, and the campsite of the Cow Family godlikes lied there as well; there the Cow Family-Chief Third-Frono feasted with his junior godlike brothers and discussed with them the family affairs: they came to the concluson that Chief-of-Chiefs Gaci was doubtless hoping that their human outcasts would disrupt the old southern trade routes in favour of those that go through the Elephant Family lands, and that for this reason the Elephant Family warriors were chasing them out of the vulnerable bandit camps and into the forests where they could regroup. They also decided that when the council is held later in the month, Cow Family-Chief Third-Frono would ask the wise and benign Chief-of-Chiefs to order the War-Chief to lead the families in the destruction of bandit threat, which is in its nature an unusually strong and powerful reflection of the Evil Family that must be dealt with accordingly. Lastly, they decided upon a new family-law that would punish kinstrife and turmoil within the human families; and the feast was most enjoyable, because the godlikes ate the flesh and blood of their brethren the cows, as well as plentiful other gifts from their human children, who, however, starved in their campsites and mumbled of injustice.
It so happened that in one such campsite there lived two brothers, one of whom was named Darti and the other Kirti; and of those two brothers and their human-family more must be told.
Dannydehz
Chieftain
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2007
- Messages
- 94
Reign of Hammu-Rati 128 148 by the Seshweay Calendar
King Hammu-Rati with his son, Crown Prince Nabonida-Rati (right)
The Ritti Kingdom awoke from her Long Slumber with the coronation of King Hammu-Rati the Wise. The old King had passed away without an heir and the Ritti nobles convened to appoint a successor. The Ritti elite was fractured into different camps: Seshweay anti-tyranny populists, the old Elite conservatives and Maninist moderates. At times, it appeared that the Kingdom would descend into civil war, but pragmatism won out in the end. With Maninist mediation, the populists and old nobility reconciled and agreed to offer the crown to Hammu-Rati.
Hammu-rati was High Deacon of Dagar and a renowned scholar and judge. He was the highest legal authority of Ritti at the time of his coronation, a position he had to give up to his successor upon climbing the throne as no man could be Law and Authority at once. Amongst the first acts as King was the codification of all ancient laws into a single codex of law. Many outdated laws were struck, loopholes were closed and many new laws from the Aya'se Union were introduced as well, granting Ritti a more progressive and efficient Law system.
Secondly, Hammu-rati oversaw the expansion of the Senate and Council of Elders, granting both bodies additional rights as well as the right to tax farmland and thus raise a treasury of their own. The Senate would act as the main legislative body in the Kingdom, while the Council of Elders acted as the controlling body, enjoying the right of amendment or return of bills passed by the Senate. The renewed system placated both the Populists and Old Nobility as it ensured a balance between the two forces, with the Senate traditionally dominated by the wealthy merchants and urban freemen and the Council of Elders traditionally dominated by the landed class.
Through these two acts, Hammu-rati established a solid and stable foundation on which the Ritti Kingdom would expand over the years to come. The final act was the creation of a treaty of mutual defense with the Prokyr, which secured the mainland city of Mettio from outside attack, allowing the Ritti to focus completely on their oversea expansion. For while Hammu-rati was a Judge first and foremost, he was also an Expansionist, seeking to enlarge his domains overseas. While Hammu-Rati ruled from the Ritti capital, he sent his two gifted children to take charge of his oversea ambitions.
Reign of Nabonida-Rati 148 175 by the Seshweay Calendar
King Nabonida-Rati, sunken in deep philosophical thought
Nabonida of the Rati dynasty was 17 years of age when his father was crowned King and already, he was a skilled warrior and tactician, having served in the Royal Guard of the late King. It would not take long before Crown Prince Nabonida would be sent overseas by his father to lead the Ritti military expeditions against their enemies.
Over the many years that the Crown Prince would spend fighter overseas, he would develop into a skilled and charismatic general, much loved by his troops for his victories as well as his generous disposition towards his men. Strict and stern, Nanobida demanded great discipline and great feats from his soldiers, but in return, he would reward them richly when they succeeded, granting land and titles to his officers and rewarding the common soldiers with extra pay, plunder and wine.
Besides his skills as a strategist and a warrior, Nabonida honed his literary skills while on campaign, writing many small verses and musings on life, fate, faith and progress. During the long campaign season, when he was cut off from the intellectual elite in the Ritti capital, he would spend his spare hours writing down an impressive collection of works. But it was not until his coronation, followed by his permanent return to the capital that King Nabonida would begin to write his most famous work: Meditations of a King.
In Meditations of a King Nabonida paints a philosophy of denying one's emotions and focusing purely on calculating reasoning: Irgi in the Lutto language. When you master Irgi and allow it, rather then emotions, to rule your life, you will be freed from the many obstacles of life and you will take control over part of your destiny.
This new Irgi philosophy found much support among the new Maninist converts, who believe that good comes through your individual actions, not as a result of Divine intervention. This created a synergy between the Irgi philosophy and the Maninist faith, resulting in a popularization of the faith in the Ritti domains.
During Nabonida's reign as King, he promoted the integration of all cultures and all thoughts within the Ritti kingdom, laying the foundation for Ritti's tolerant government. All religions were allowed to profess their faith, all people were welcome to settle in Ritti lands and as long as they acknowledge the King's supreme authority, the King acted as the protector of all. Upon Nabonida's death, he was remembered as the Warrior-Philosopher King who fought to expand the Ritti borders as Crown Prince, and who worked tirelessly to promote stability and tolerance throughout the Kingdom as King of Ritti.
Princess Saphanel
Princess Saphanel the fair
When discussing the reigns of Hammu-Rati and Nabonida-Rati, you can not omit the life and achievements of Princess Saphanel. She, like her brother Nabonida, was a prodigious child: skilled in the arts of intrigue, organization, diplomacy and statesmanship. She was instrumental to the success of her father's reign, as she was appointed governess of the Ritti colony of Adua, situated strategically between the gulf of Sinsar and the Sea of Yadyevu. She was a master in divide and rule: Through clever diplomacy, local villages and tribes were played out against each other, while the Aduan colony profited from the strife and conflict. Under her reign, Adua grew in prominence and wealth and more and more of the surrounding lands fell under Riti dominion. So successful was her reign, that she inspired many artists to dedicate poems and sculptures of her, depicting her as the mythical Queen Elisha, founder of the City of Gold.
King Hammu-Rati with his son, Crown Prince Nabonida-Rati (right)
The Ritti Kingdom awoke from her Long Slumber with the coronation of King Hammu-Rati the Wise. The old King had passed away without an heir and the Ritti nobles convened to appoint a successor. The Ritti elite was fractured into different camps: Seshweay anti-tyranny populists, the old Elite conservatives and Maninist moderates. At times, it appeared that the Kingdom would descend into civil war, but pragmatism won out in the end. With Maninist mediation, the populists and old nobility reconciled and agreed to offer the crown to Hammu-Rati.
Hammu-rati was High Deacon of Dagar and a renowned scholar and judge. He was the highest legal authority of Ritti at the time of his coronation, a position he had to give up to his successor upon climbing the throne as no man could be Law and Authority at once. Amongst the first acts as King was the codification of all ancient laws into a single codex of law. Many outdated laws were struck, loopholes were closed and many new laws from the Aya'se Union were introduced as well, granting Ritti a more progressive and efficient Law system.
Secondly, Hammu-rati oversaw the expansion of the Senate and Council of Elders, granting both bodies additional rights as well as the right to tax farmland and thus raise a treasury of their own. The Senate would act as the main legislative body in the Kingdom, while the Council of Elders acted as the controlling body, enjoying the right of amendment or return of bills passed by the Senate. The renewed system placated both the Populists and Old Nobility as it ensured a balance between the two forces, with the Senate traditionally dominated by the wealthy merchants and urban freemen and the Council of Elders traditionally dominated by the landed class.
Through these two acts, Hammu-rati established a solid and stable foundation on which the Ritti Kingdom would expand over the years to come. The final act was the creation of a treaty of mutual defense with the Prokyr, which secured the mainland city of Mettio from outside attack, allowing the Ritti to focus completely on their oversea expansion. For while Hammu-rati was a Judge first and foremost, he was also an Expansionist, seeking to enlarge his domains overseas. While Hammu-Rati ruled from the Ritti capital, he sent his two gifted children to take charge of his oversea ambitions.
Reign of Nabonida-Rati 148 175 by the Seshweay Calendar
King Nabonida-Rati, sunken in deep philosophical thought
Nabonida of the Rati dynasty was 17 years of age when his father was crowned King and already, he was a skilled warrior and tactician, having served in the Royal Guard of the late King. It would not take long before Crown Prince Nabonida would be sent overseas by his father to lead the Ritti military expeditions against their enemies.
Over the many years that the Crown Prince would spend fighter overseas, he would develop into a skilled and charismatic general, much loved by his troops for his victories as well as his generous disposition towards his men. Strict and stern, Nanobida demanded great discipline and great feats from his soldiers, but in return, he would reward them richly when they succeeded, granting land and titles to his officers and rewarding the common soldiers with extra pay, plunder and wine.
Besides his skills as a strategist and a warrior, Nabonida honed his literary skills while on campaign, writing many small verses and musings on life, fate, faith and progress. During the long campaign season, when he was cut off from the intellectual elite in the Ritti capital, he would spend his spare hours writing down an impressive collection of works. But it was not until his coronation, followed by his permanent return to the capital that King Nabonida would begin to write his most famous work: Meditations of a King.
In Meditations of a King Nabonida paints a philosophy of denying one's emotions and focusing purely on calculating reasoning: Irgi in the Lutto language. When you master Irgi and allow it, rather then emotions, to rule your life, you will be freed from the many obstacles of life and you will take control over part of your destiny.
This new Irgi philosophy found much support among the new Maninist converts, who believe that good comes through your individual actions, not as a result of Divine intervention. This created a synergy between the Irgi philosophy and the Maninist faith, resulting in a popularization of the faith in the Ritti domains.
During Nabonida's reign as King, he promoted the integration of all cultures and all thoughts within the Ritti kingdom, laying the foundation for Ritti's tolerant government. All religions were allowed to profess their faith, all people were welcome to settle in Ritti lands and as long as they acknowledge the King's supreme authority, the King acted as the protector of all. Upon Nabonida's death, he was remembered as the Warrior-Philosopher King who fought to expand the Ritti borders as Crown Prince, and who worked tirelessly to promote stability and tolerance throughout the Kingdom as King of Ritti.
Princess Saphanel
Princess Saphanel the fair
When discussing the reigns of Hammu-Rati and Nabonida-Rati, you can not omit the life and achievements of Princess Saphanel. She, like her brother Nabonida, was a prodigious child: skilled in the arts of intrigue, organization, diplomacy and statesmanship. She was instrumental to the success of her father's reign, as she was appointed governess of the Ritti colony of Adua, situated strategically between the gulf of Sinsar and the Sea of Yadyevu. She was a master in divide and rule: Through clever diplomacy, local villages and tribes were played out against each other, while the Aduan colony profited from the strife and conflict. Under her reign, Adua grew in prominence and wealth and more and more of the surrounding lands fell under Riti dominion. So successful was her reign, that she inspired many artists to dedicate poems and sculptures of her, depicting her as the mythical Queen Elisha, founder of the City of Gold.
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
That's cool. If you need help with the rules, let me know.
Dannydehz
Chieftain
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2007
- Messages
- 94
The Ritti Economy
The Ritti economy rests on four key pillars: Trade, crafts, fishing and agriculture. All three pillars work hand in hand in bringing wealth to the Ritti lands and turning the Ritti into a key economic power in the northern regions.
Fishing
The largest Ritti economic activity is fishing and aquaculture: the main ingredient of the Ritti diet are fish and the Ritti fishermen sail far and wide in their search for the richest fishing areas. Besides being skilled fishermen, the Ritti have a long tradition of diving close to shore, hunting for octopus, crustaceans, oysters and pearls. Finally, the Ritti have learned how to create artificial salt-water ponds near the shore in order to grow edible weeds and algae. These latter are often used for medicinal purposes, as well as being used as food.
One final product the Ritti harvest from the sea is salt. They dig out shallow fields near the shore, then allow the seawater to fill the shallow fields before closing off the access to the sea. After some weeks of waiting, the Ritti warm sun will vaporize the salt water, leaving only the salt to be scraped off the dirt. Most of the salt is used to preserve the Ritti fish destined for export or storage, but an increasing amount is exported abroad.
Agriculture
The island realm of the Ritti lacks the vast farming regions of the south and thus lacks the capacity to feed the Ritti. Rather, the Ritti rely on fishing and the import of cereals to feed their growing population. The farmlands of the Ritti are instead used to grow scarce goods which they can use in trade enterprises. The warm, yet mild climate of the Ritti lands allows for the easy growth of lemon-, orange- and olive trees. All three fruits are edible, but are also used to produce cleansing oils and juices and as flavors when preparing food. Ritti olives and olive oil in particular are much sought after products. Most of the farmlands are owned by the Ritti rural middle-class. Yeomen who own their own land, as well as half a dozen or more slaves to work the land for them.
The more wealthy nobility dominate the beeswax business, as it requires skilled, expensive labor and high initial investment. While the production of beeswax is still small, it is growing as its uses are plentiful: beeswax is used to make candles and soap, it is used to created sculpting and jewelry molds and last but not least it is a waterproofing agent of much value in the shipbuilding industry. Besides beeswax, honey is also harvested from the hives and sold to the highest bidder. The beeswax and honey industry is growing fast especially in the new Ritti colony of Adua, where the cooler weather allows the bee colonies to thrive.
Crafts
Ritti crafts revolve around religious sculptures and talisman, controlled by the many temples, and more importantly: the naval industry. The City of Gold, the Ritti capital, grew to prominence by the grace of their efficient naval industries, allowing for ever-increasing fishing-, military- and trade fleets to ply the many seas. Many of the Ritti lower class finds employment in the docks, constructing ships to satisfy the growing demand for more vessels.
Trade
Finally, trade is the economic sector which allows Ritti to expand her horizon and look to the future. With the expansion of the Ritti kingdom to include Adua to the north, the Ritti have a good portion of the northern trade routes in their possession. Through trade, the Ritti have established themselves as the main traders in furs, hides and amber, both goods of the north and in high demand in the south. Their trade fleets sail from the many Ritti ports to Acca, Gallat and Ferman, but also as far as Lor, Aya'se and Trilui, bringing their Ritti products to these far-away places and returning laden with foreign, exotic goods.
The Ritti economy rests on four key pillars: Trade, crafts, fishing and agriculture. All three pillars work hand in hand in bringing wealth to the Ritti lands and turning the Ritti into a key economic power in the northern regions.
Fishing
The largest Ritti economic activity is fishing and aquaculture: the main ingredient of the Ritti diet are fish and the Ritti fishermen sail far and wide in their search for the richest fishing areas. Besides being skilled fishermen, the Ritti have a long tradition of diving close to shore, hunting for octopus, crustaceans, oysters and pearls. Finally, the Ritti have learned how to create artificial salt-water ponds near the shore in order to grow edible weeds and algae. These latter are often used for medicinal purposes, as well as being used as food.
One final product the Ritti harvest from the sea is salt. They dig out shallow fields near the shore, then allow the seawater to fill the shallow fields before closing off the access to the sea. After some weeks of waiting, the Ritti warm sun will vaporize the salt water, leaving only the salt to be scraped off the dirt. Most of the salt is used to preserve the Ritti fish destined for export or storage, but an increasing amount is exported abroad.
Agriculture
The island realm of the Ritti lacks the vast farming regions of the south and thus lacks the capacity to feed the Ritti. Rather, the Ritti rely on fishing and the import of cereals to feed their growing population. The farmlands of the Ritti are instead used to grow scarce goods which they can use in trade enterprises. The warm, yet mild climate of the Ritti lands allows for the easy growth of lemon-, orange- and olive trees. All three fruits are edible, but are also used to produce cleansing oils and juices and as flavors when preparing food. Ritti olives and olive oil in particular are much sought after products. Most of the farmlands are owned by the Ritti rural middle-class. Yeomen who own their own land, as well as half a dozen or more slaves to work the land for them.
The more wealthy nobility dominate the beeswax business, as it requires skilled, expensive labor and high initial investment. While the production of beeswax is still small, it is growing as its uses are plentiful: beeswax is used to make candles and soap, it is used to created sculpting and jewelry molds and last but not least it is a waterproofing agent of much value in the shipbuilding industry. Besides beeswax, honey is also harvested from the hives and sold to the highest bidder. The beeswax and honey industry is growing fast especially in the new Ritti colony of Adua, where the cooler weather allows the bee colonies to thrive.
Crafts
Ritti crafts revolve around religious sculptures and talisman, controlled by the many temples, and more importantly: the naval industry. The City of Gold, the Ritti capital, grew to prominence by the grace of their efficient naval industries, allowing for ever-increasing fishing-, military- and trade fleets to ply the many seas. Many of the Ritti lower class finds employment in the docks, constructing ships to satisfy the growing demand for more vessels.
Trade
Finally, trade is the economic sector which allows Ritti to expand her horizon and look to the future. With the expansion of the Ritti kingdom to include Adua to the north, the Ritti have a good portion of the northern trade routes in their possession. Through trade, the Ritti have established themselves as the main traders in furs, hides and amber, both goods of the north and in high demand in the south. Their trade fleets sail from the many Ritti ports to Acca, Gallat and Ferman, but also as far as Lor, Aya'se and Trilui, bringing their Ritti products to these far-away places and returning laden with foreign, exotic goods.
Book Budda
Industrial Athelete
Hi,
Im new to NESing, just started on ABNW before it had to shut down. Would I be able to join this? Or has this NES advanced too much?
Im new to NESing, just started on ABNW before it had to shut down. Would I be able to join this? Or has this NES advanced too much?
Terrance888
Discord Reigns
Sending Orders.
Welcome to NESing! The player just above is also new. Pick a NPC nation. Just read the rules and you'll do fine!
OOC: We are getting a lot of new players!
I will send my orders soon!
Welcome to NESing! The player just above is also new. Pick a NPC nation. Just read the rules and you'll do fine!
OOC: We are getting a lot of new players!
I will send my orders soon!
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
There's some history to catch up on, but as long as you want to play, you're welcome to.
Terrance888
Discord Reigns
Undia
Undia... one is amazed to hear Trilui and Trehan voices to far away from their homeland. Undia is a strongly fortified City on a Populated isle. In it is contained a protected harbor and thousands of natives and Trehan merchants, watched over by the everpresent Western Seas Fleet to watch for invasion and Pirates.
Primarly a stronghold to handle in its region trade it survives today. However, there is a reason for the fortification... for the Isle is not any isolated land, other cities and cultures populate it, and it is not just a large trade post in the Political reasonings in the world...for it is in essence the declaration of a Trehan [Censored]. Soon, Treha will connect all its possessions and its power will become more than considerable. It will have completed its transition from a backwater kingdom to a Marinetime Trade Empire.
Undia... one is amazed to hear Trilui and Trehan voices to far away from their homeland. Undia is a strongly fortified City on a Populated isle. In it is contained a protected harbor and thousands of natives and Trehan merchants, watched over by the everpresent Western Seas Fleet to watch for invasion and Pirates.
Primarly a stronghold to handle in its region trade it survives today. However, there is a reason for the fortification... for the Isle is not any isolated land, other cities and cultures populate it, and it is not just a large trade post in the Political reasonings in the world...for it is in essence the declaration of a Trehan [Censored]. Soon, Treha will connect all its possessions and its power will become more than considerable. It will have completed its transition from a backwater kingdom to a Marinetime Trade Empire.
Vertinari118
Deity
Good point Dachs.
Ninja Dude
Sorry, I wasn't listening...
North King, the Trilui have said that there is exotic ivory to the north. there was also a story about an animals bearing a striking resemblance to a unicorn if it did not just flat out say the word "unicorn". Are there unicorns in this world? I know this sounds silly, but it's been bugging me for a while and I just want to make sure.
North King
blech
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2004
- Messages
- 18,165
Krato doesn't have adequate information about that subject for me to ethically answer. 
For the record, neither does anyone else.
For the record, neither does anyone else.
Cuivienen
Deity
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2003
- Messages
- 8,011
My apologies for a really quite boring story...
The monarchy of Gallat was brought to an abrupt halt after centuries of existence by the sudden rise to prominence of the Highest Ward. After some decades, the term Servant (or, more formally, Servant of the Guide) would come into widespread usage.
The Highest Wards along with most of the remainder of the established Faith had coexisted with the monarchy since the earliest days of Gallat. However, the promotion of religious values and missionary work by the monarchy had undone the balance of power between secular and religious authorities. A priesthood previously disinterested in politics became aggressively involved in the funding and manning of missions. Moreover, Gallatene expansion became closely tied with the spread of Maninism, a factor not previously witnessed in an earlier world where most Gallatene conquests had already followed a related form of the religion.
A series of particularly potent Highest Wards had inserted themselves into the confidences of the kings. The bureaucracy had always owed a certainly loyalty to the established Faith as many prominent bureaucrats had been educated in Faith schools, and some had even previously been acolytes. However, the real shift in the bureaucracys loyalty had come under the reign of King Alrad IV, called the Fool.
The second-to-last king before the monarchy became a figurehead position, Alrad IV had been raised on his mothers estates, never entering the capital or receiving much training for the monarchy at all. His mother, the Princess Ilsa, was the only child of King Alrad III, a long-lived monarch whose own lengthy senescence had weakened royal authority. Ilsa herself died in childbirth, and Alrad III, by the time of her death, was already deeply senile, a condition that would last more than two decades before he died. In mourning for his only daughter, the king had refused to ever see his grandson, or to have him educated to be king.
Aware that their position was greatly strengthened by the monarchs weakness, the established Faith had looked on with some amusement, and the bureaucracy had continued to chug along mostly under the direction of successive Highest Wards. Indeed, little decline in Gallatene strength or economic vigor was apparent: expansion continued marginally in the northeast, and ties with the Tehabi Nahsjad strengthened immensely, leading to even more valuable trade across the desert. But the inner core of the monarchy was rotted.
When Alrad IV finally came to the throne, he shocked the establishment with the declaration that had come to worship a god with the head of a sheep, and proceeded to demand that the Faith disband and submit itself to the sheep god. Needless to say, this was tolerated by no one but a few with a good mind for a joke, and Alrad was murdered within a year of his ascension. The final ruler, a mere footnote, was Alrads baby daughter, Sula, whose power was usurped by the Highest Ward in her infancy.
The monarchy continued, but the new line became known as the lesser kings, for their only political responsibility was the governance of the city of Gallasa itself. (Other cities had long ago acquired governors, but Gallasa had always been a royal city under direct control of the king.) Sula was never in a position to challenge the established Faith, and so the transition to theocratic government was complete.
The monarchy of Gallat was brought to an abrupt halt after centuries of existence by the sudden rise to prominence of the Highest Ward. After some decades, the term Servant (or, more formally, Servant of the Guide) would come into widespread usage.
The Highest Wards along with most of the remainder of the established Faith had coexisted with the monarchy since the earliest days of Gallat. However, the promotion of religious values and missionary work by the monarchy had undone the balance of power between secular and religious authorities. A priesthood previously disinterested in politics became aggressively involved in the funding and manning of missions. Moreover, Gallatene expansion became closely tied with the spread of Maninism, a factor not previously witnessed in an earlier world where most Gallatene conquests had already followed a related form of the religion.
A series of particularly potent Highest Wards had inserted themselves into the confidences of the kings. The bureaucracy had always owed a certainly loyalty to the established Faith as many prominent bureaucrats had been educated in Faith schools, and some had even previously been acolytes. However, the real shift in the bureaucracys loyalty had come under the reign of King Alrad IV, called the Fool.
The second-to-last king before the monarchy became a figurehead position, Alrad IV had been raised on his mothers estates, never entering the capital or receiving much training for the monarchy at all. His mother, the Princess Ilsa, was the only child of King Alrad III, a long-lived monarch whose own lengthy senescence had weakened royal authority. Ilsa herself died in childbirth, and Alrad III, by the time of her death, was already deeply senile, a condition that would last more than two decades before he died. In mourning for his only daughter, the king had refused to ever see his grandson, or to have him educated to be king.
Aware that their position was greatly strengthened by the monarchs weakness, the established Faith had looked on with some amusement, and the bureaucracy had continued to chug along mostly under the direction of successive Highest Wards. Indeed, little decline in Gallatene strength or economic vigor was apparent: expansion continued marginally in the northeast, and ties with the Tehabi Nahsjad strengthened immensely, leading to even more valuable trade across the desert. But the inner core of the monarchy was rotted.
When Alrad IV finally came to the throne, he shocked the establishment with the declaration that had come to worship a god with the head of a sheep, and proceeded to demand that the Faith disband and submit itself to the sheep god. Needless to say, this was tolerated by no one but a few with a good mind for a joke, and Alrad was murdered within a year of his ascension. The final ruler, a mere footnote, was Alrads baby daughter, Sula, whose power was usurped by the Highest Ward in her infancy.
The monarchy continued, but the new line became known as the lesser kings, for their only political responsibility was the governance of the city of Gallasa itself. (Other cities had long ago acquired governors, but Gallasa had always been a royal city under direct control of the king.) Sula was never in a position to challenge the established Faith, and so the transition to theocratic government was complete.
alex994
Hail Divine Emperor!
OOC: Don't say that cuiv! If anybody should apologize, it should be das and his massive blocks of text
In his story, Chief-of-Chiefs and ____ Family Chief and etc repeats so many times my eyes burn 
Ninja Dude
Sorry, I wasn't listening...
OOC: After the next update, could the front page be updated?
Also, shush alex. Don't make me post a gigantic dictionary of Uggor words so that das can go nuts and make even more stories.
Also, shush alex
. Don't make me post a gigantic dictionary of Uggor words so that das can go nuts and make even more stories.Spoiler :
The procession walked up streets choked gray with dust, drifts heaped haphazardly up walls. Faces peering out of high windows and from greenery swathed roofs. All eyes intent, a single solemn figure, chained, dignified. A stumble, chains jerk, dignity stolen in the kicking of legs desperate to rise, struggling flailing, falling. Mounted men either side, grim faced, boiled leather spread with fat, glistening in the light of a blood red sun fading beyond human reckoning. Ahead, just a pace or two, serenity and composure contrasting with a slight twitch of a face held firm, a lip curling, a stifled blink, medallions of offices long held, and bright robes. A justice’s scales obscured in the folds, hidden by a man no longer sure that he deserves to wear them, a slight glance back at the accused, a tear, or just perspiration in oppressive heat glances down cheeks of iron. All the while the crowd trails, a hundred eyes wild with hatred, a hundred voices raised in hatred and words best not uttered uttered, a hundred people chanting with fever the catechisms of Unity, the holy mixed with the. The guilty was still struggling to rise, nobody thought of his welfare.
Framed against the fading red light of the day, the destination, a low mound, not a hill, for there were none in this dusty flat land. This mound was capped by a long platform, simple stone, and a skeletal tree long dead upright in the middle. On top of this tree, a hemp rope, nose dangling from it’s end. The result and the destination summed up in one single image. The result; of four verdicts, four appeals, six justices, the house of assembly, and the Chief Magistrate, still sitting on his horse. The chains snap, the guilty is stuck, foot in a pothole. All that can be heard in the silence of the crowd is a crack of bone snapping and a scream of pain out of previously still lips later. Stoicism in year’s worth of trials, broken in that instant, the humanity of the subject lay bare. The mounted men chains in hand pull up profane, the elder one dismounts, an attempt to drag the guilty up is met with howls of derision. A tile arcs through the crowd, it hits the ground, skitters towards the guilty prone on the ground, scores a hit high on the back of his crown. He falls limp. The crowd howls, screaming in rage, cheated of its justice and sport. A man charges at the figure lolling limply, the younger of the guards heels his mount into the man knocking him flat, beating him with the flat of his blade. The crowd is silent, the elder guard, sits on the balls of his feet, ready to sweep the guilty onto his mount. The crowd surges, the Justice turns and casts a baleful glance at them, scanning faces in the front rank, silence.
The elder soldier, kicks hard, the chained man doesn’t move. A kick, harder, the body lifted of the crowd, the broken leg at a sickening angle. A low moan escapes the lips of the chained. Silence still holds. The soldier drags the man to his feet, supporting him on his shoulder, they hobble forward. The crowd cheers, drowning out words whispered quickly into ears numb with pain.
Nobody wanted this, least of all the Magistrate, this was accounted not on guilt, but on ancestry.
I know.
Don’t hold it against His Honour, he’s much troubled, and so am I and the young-un up ahead.
I know.
Promise me you won’t haunt His Honour because of this, he’ll give you a decent burial, feels it’s the least he could do.
I won’t.
Okay then, we’ll make it quick, we got the hangman from up the river, not the drunk they call a hangman here.
I know.
Can’t be seen to be helping you, neither can the Magistrate,
I’m sorry. I know I don’t hold it against you, I just want time to think.
Aye, you don’t have much time for that.
The young-un was troubled. Riding past his loves house, he hoped she had heeded his advice, not to watch the spectacle. Course with her he could never quite be sure if she would, just out of a mismatched sense of curiosity quite at odds with the rest of her sensitive nature. The crowd troubled him, his captain had whispered briefly into his ear, a simple warning. If they get angry, kick up the horse and get out of there, they won’t let you be just because you wear your uniform. His blade was sitting easy in his lap, a hand resting ever so lightly caressing. He preferred not to think on the complexities of the case. He thought only that for a man who was supposed to be a murderer and rapist he must be real fast on foot, a veritable champion amongst men, to get from his camp to the town on the day of his foul deeds. It was something that the young fellow had once remarked in passing to the elder soldier now walking next to him. He’d been told to shut up, in a quiet slightly proud way.
The procession reached the mound. A quiet man, slight, balding, misfortunate enough to be dressed in executioner’s robes nodded wearily to the elder soldier. The executioners eyes dead, swivelling to look at his charge, a quick few measurements which his hands, a length of rope rapidly coiled around arms. The sound of a voice not often used, caked in malice or disinterest you could never tell which.
Bit tall.
We warranted he was, we build new gallows.
I warrant he’s still to tall, but we’ll have to make do.
He has to die, we weren’t told how, you do your job and you do it painless mind. This last bit was quiet, spoken in a cuff. The condemned kicked ineffectually, a few harsh words in some guttural language. Nobody looked. The crowd surged forward. It filled the hill. Faces all staring intently, shifting between the convicted, and the noose. The hangman inching forward… fate written large on the image of a noose stained red by a fading sun. Close, the sun fades, a fitful glimmer of some faraway god, angry perhaps t the death of its adherent. A powerless god, in this land of dry hills and heat to crack stones.
A change. A courtyard, and a dignified figure sitting on a dais. A justice’s scales revealed in the late afternoon sun, a figure sure of himself, not cowed by the magnitude of what he is about to do. A verdict read in soft tones to an uncomprehending defendant. A familiar face, out of chains, not so dirty or so abject in hopelessness yet. Howls of triumph, a slap of backs in the front rows as the verdict of guilty is read out, drowning out a carefully considered argument. A justice slumping back into his seat, a speech cut short, careful words, measured to show those now howling of the spurious nature of the case of the danger and the injustice. A careful warning to those involved. All ignored in for a quest of misplaced vengeance.
A change. Feet swing in the air, one kick of heroism seeming to flail in the direction of a distant homeland, seeking on the distant and now dark horizon home. A second kick, seeming to sail into the future, cut short. A shudder; like that of a spinning top ending its gyrations, flailing to its demise on some child’s floor. End.
A justice his back turned on a verdict he regrets. And with that would begin a reform process and years of long fighting for what seems a futile cause. Cobwebs of logic swept away by a burning desire for justice, opposition in Senate, and in the populace swept before the strength of the arguers.
A change. Success. Three times do a third of the Senators rise, and three times do they in unison proclaim acceptance. And each time the roaring of cheers and claps echoes from courtyards just outside the room. Heady days. A triumph for justice. Just a slow progression forward. Matah laughing in the background.
Framed against the fading red light of the day, the destination, a low mound, not a hill, for there were none in this dusty flat land. This mound was capped by a long platform, simple stone, and a skeletal tree long dead upright in the middle. On top of this tree, a hemp rope, nose dangling from it’s end. The result and the destination summed up in one single image. The result; of four verdicts, four appeals, six justices, the house of assembly, and the Chief Magistrate, still sitting on his horse. The chains snap, the guilty is stuck, foot in a pothole. All that can be heard in the silence of the crowd is a crack of bone snapping and a scream of pain out of previously still lips later. Stoicism in year’s worth of trials, broken in that instant, the humanity of the subject lay bare. The mounted men chains in hand pull up profane, the elder one dismounts, an attempt to drag the guilty up is met with howls of derision. A tile arcs through the crowd, it hits the ground, skitters towards the guilty prone on the ground, scores a hit high on the back of his crown. He falls limp. The crowd howls, screaming in rage, cheated of its justice and sport. A man charges at the figure lolling limply, the younger of the guards heels his mount into the man knocking him flat, beating him with the flat of his blade. The crowd is silent, the elder guard, sits on the balls of his feet, ready to sweep the guilty onto his mount. The crowd surges, the Justice turns and casts a baleful glance at them, scanning faces in the front rank, silence.
The elder soldier, kicks hard, the chained man doesn’t move. A kick, harder, the body lifted of the crowd, the broken leg at a sickening angle. A low moan escapes the lips of the chained. Silence still holds. The soldier drags the man to his feet, supporting him on his shoulder, they hobble forward. The crowd cheers, drowning out words whispered quickly into ears numb with pain.
Nobody wanted this, least of all the Magistrate, this was accounted not on guilt, but on ancestry.
I know.
Don’t hold it against His Honour, he’s much troubled, and so am I and the young-un up ahead.
I know.
Promise me you won’t haunt His Honour because of this, he’ll give you a decent burial, feels it’s the least he could do.
I won’t.
Okay then, we’ll make it quick, we got the hangman from up the river, not the drunk they call a hangman here.
I know.
Can’t be seen to be helping you, neither can the Magistrate,
I’m sorry. I know I don’t hold it against you, I just want time to think.
Aye, you don’t have much time for that.
The young-un was troubled. Riding past his loves house, he hoped she had heeded his advice, not to watch the spectacle. Course with her he could never quite be sure if she would, just out of a mismatched sense of curiosity quite at odds with the rest of her sensitive nature. The crowd troubled him, his captain had whispered briefly into his ear, a simple warning. If they get angry, kick up the horse and get out of there, they won’t let you be just because you wear your uniform. His blade was sitting easy in his lap, a hand resting ever so lightly caressing. He preferred not to think on the complexities of the case. He thought only that for a man who was supposed to be a murderer and rapist he must be real fast on foot, a veritable champion amongst men, to get from his camp to the town on the day of his foul deeds. It was something that the young fellow had once remarked in passing to the elder soldier now walking next to him. He’d been told to shut up, in a quiet slightly proud way.
The procession reached the mound. A quiet man, slight, balding, misfortunate enough to be dressed in executioner’s robes nodded wearily to the elder soldier. The executioners eyes dead, swivelling to look at his charge, a quick few measurements which his hands, a length of rope rapidly coiled around arms. The sound of a voice not often used, caked in malice or disinterest you could never tell which.
Bit tall.
We warranted he was, we build new gallows.
I warrant he’s still to tall, but we’ll have to make do.
He has to die, we weren’t told how, you do your job and you do it painless mind. This last bit was quiet, spoken in a cuff. The condemned kicked ineffectually, a few harsh words in some guttural language. Nobody looked. The crowd surged forward. It filled the hill. Faces all staring intently, shifting between the convicted, and the noose. The hangman inching forward… fate written large on the image of a noose stained red by a fading sun. Close, the sun fades, a fitful glimmer of some faraway god, angry perhaps t the death of its adherent. A powerless god, in this land of dry hills and heat to crack stones.
A change. A courtyard, and a dignified figure sitting on a dais. A justice’s scales revealed in the late afternoon sun, a figure sure of himself, not cowed by the magnitude of what he is about to do. A verdict read in soft tones to an uncomprehending defendant. A familiar face, out of chains, not so dirty or so abject in hopelessness yet. Howls of triumph, a slap of backs in the front rows as the verdict of guilty is read out, drowning out a carefully considered argument. A justice slumping back into his seat, a speech cut short, careful words, measured to show those now howling of the spurious nature of the case of the danger and the injustice. A careful warning to those involved. All ignored in for a quest of misplaced vengeance.
A change. Feet swing in the air, one kick of heroism seeming to flail in the direction of a distant homeland, seeking on the distant and now dark horizon home. A second kick, seeming to sail into the future, cut short. A shudder; like that of a spinning top ending its gyrations, flailing to its demise on some child’s floor. End.
A justice his back turned on a verdict he regrets. And with that would begin a reform process and years of long fighting for what seems a futile cause. Cobwebs of logic swept away by a burning desire for justice, opposition in Senate, and in the populace swept before the strength of the arguers.
A change. Success. Three times do a third of the Senators rise, and three times do they in unison proclaim acceptance. And each time the roaring of cheers and claps echoes from courtyards just outside the room. Heady days. A triumph for justice. Just a slow progression forward. Matah laughing in the background.
das
Regeneration In Process
That's the intended effect.
Don't worry, it should be toned down a bit now.Yes, yes you will.
das
Regeneration In Process
I suppose we are going to have to call your people "amphibiously enhanced" or "seaworthiness optimised", then.
