PureNES: Epoch of Glory

Thlayli

Thlayli

Le Pétit Prince
Joined
Jun 2, 2005
Messages
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Location
In the desert
PureNES: Epoch of Glory​

Spoiler Our Poetic Introduction :
Eons before the age of men, the world had come to life. Streams of flame rolled over night hills, a quilt of light across the land. The smoke of earth frowned upon rocky plain, and all was the uttermost dark. The moon shone down, but no rock saw its light–silver lined only clouds.

A crack–the narrowest of gaps–a cleft in the interminable veil of soot opened, and the golden sun peered through. The glow of quartz and stern lines of basalt were unending, but the fire had gone. Drops of water fell from the sky, and a reddish bog filled with the subtlest hints of a sea. A grain was moved.

The bloods of the earth ran together, and a stirring woke a wave. The meanest of creatures; the humblest of beings; the vanguard of eternity.

Clouds turned a salmon hue of sunrise, and the sparkling white crests crashed on a barren shore. The menagerie of life that filled the seas moved with an easy grace, and they had no bar to their glory but the shores of the ocean.

Sunset; sunrise; the sky glowed a lively blue. The lands were verdant green, and a forest covered the earth, alive with the songs of birds and wolves, the hiss of cats, the hoot of owls, the buzz of flies, the muffled thought of brooks. Another song rose, soft and slow, from the trees. It was a melody tuneless yet soothing, sliding, calming; an infant swayed to its time.

The child fathered a man, who raised a low hut of bricks and wood. The man’s daughter pushed a seed into the ground, and a row of dancing stalks sprouted into the air. The huts grew and split; walls girdled the city; fields stretched to the ends of the realm; a pyramid scraped the sky.

The cities spread from land to lands. Gods were born and died; wars fought: the fields drunk of crimson. Millions walked the world, and the wild became tame.

Smoke filled the skies again, pouring from the furnaces of men, not stone; it blackened a green earth. Machines rose and fell to an exact rhythm, and wheels turned in time. Men marched to war with guns on their shoulders and steps to a beat. A world away, a woman who had never heard a king’s decree drove a seed into the earth.

* * * * * * * * *​

We will not lie: if you are illiterate, or if you detest a fun romp in a world that you can mold to your preferences, then you probably won’t like this. However, if you enjoy the drama and fury of an NES with deep background, genuine thought in updating, and a sweeping, epic storyline, then you may well enjoy this.

Now, this NES will be unusual, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, let us introduce the comoderators: Thlayli and North King. Yes, that’s right, there’s two of us running this NES, mostly because it is a mammoth undertaking. Now, of course, you take the slowest mod in the forum, mix him with the old record holder for slowest mod, and you get? Oh... Probably not a very fast team. However, this is different, changed from the format we all know. We should be able to get updates out fairly quickly.

You might be curious as to some of these differences. Well, here’s one: while we appreciate orders, and will accept them for this NES, they’re not really that important. In fact, if you just wrote three or four stories in a turn, and didn’t send an order set, it wouldn’t even matter that much. That’s because the stories are the beating heart of this, the framing and picture both. It’s not more work: it’s simply a different way of doing things. You can send guidelines, or fully fledged orders if you want, but they don’t really matter that much: what we want are stories... No, what we want is an epic tapestry that contains ten thousand stories, written by the NESing community.

So what’s to become of us? The moderators, of course, will still be here. We don’t want OOC fighting, and there are still updates to write and maps to make.

So, don’t panic. It’s not as though it will just be a trip in lala-land where no one has any clue what’s going on. It’s still an NES. They are still your nations. We are still going to help with describing the nations in stat-like things. And hopefully we can all enjoy this.

Now, there’s something you should know before we start. This world is utterly massive; several times the size of Earth. That means that the hemispheres... haven’t really mingled. And what does that mean? It means that while the statesmen play their little game of national chess on the one side, men of iron and steel will be carving out bloody empires on the other. It means that there is a world where the industrial revolution has taken full hold on the one side, and a world where empires still rise and fall on the other side.

Take your pick, and if you want to switch later, you probably shouldn’t worry about it.

There’s a lot of room.
 
Spoiler Industrial World Introduction :
Welcome to a world of conflict. Titanic battles once rocked the world, and the lull is finally coming to an end. Grandiose emperors, scheming statesmen, and heartless tyrants alike care little for cultures and moral values…their greed is insatiable. Will you stand behind the world order, or violently throw it down? Will your ambitions shine in daylight, or lurk in the shadows?

Welcome to a world on the frontier. Cities thrive, and empires reign, but it is still a wild, untamed, untested world beyond your vision. It waits to be discovered.

Welcome to a world of endless opportunities. It is a world so vast that anything you dream might become possible.

Welcome to PureNES.


Industrial Rules

This is the world in 1509:

Spoiler The Known World :
PureNES_Named_Map.PNG


Here’s the nation template that all nations will (eventually) be using:

[Nation]
Ruler / Player:
Government:
Technology:
Culture:
Economy:
Military:
Infrastructure:
History:

Many nations are currently using pure descriptions, or a separate system in the case of the Arios nations. These old descriptions will be attached in the “Nation Statistics” posts, and will be converted to the simplified system over time.

When confirming a nation in the thread, please write a short paragraph about your nation’s culture. Then we’ll fill in the rest of the relevant information, and give you your updated template.

Statistics Information:

All of the following are simplifications, and players are encouraged to improvise and innovate with their nations…or crush innovation, whatever their plans happen to be. All of this will be reflected in their stats. In most cases, stats will be descriptions rather than values or titles.

Government

Your nation’s form of government reflects its political system, but it has a greater impact. Its degree of centralization, liberalization, and fancy concepts like that will affect your people’s reactions, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the entire country.

For example, a free-market, democratic state might have a strong and prosperous economy, but find waging wars impossible due to internal dissent. On the other hand, an autocratic nation could suppress dissent and enact laws fairly easily, but gain the animosity of its neighbors and be wracked with poverty.

Small changes to your government can be made peacefully, for the most part. Large changes either have to be made slowly, over time, or quickly, with some degree of upheaval. Starting a revolution might be an easy goal to accomplish, but there will typically be enemies protecting the old system when that occurs.

Technology

Since in Arios and elsewhere, technology has diverged significantly from OTL in various regards, this stat will reflect the industrial capabilities, inventions, and advances within your nation. This stat will be quite varied, depending on the nation’s character. It will directly impact what you can do,

Technology is always dynamic, but it will take stories and time to change.

Culture

A nation’s culture is its spirit. Its character and attitudes, customs, rituals, and anything you can imagine should be contained here. The nation descriptions should give you an idea of what to write. Feel free to explore all the possibilities that your nation has. Imagine yourself in it, and its culture will begin to flow.

Economy

Industry, agriculture, and trade. Beyond that, products and economic strength are other factors we’ll include.

Military

This is a semi-numerical stat. Divisions of soldiers and squadrons of ships are the mainstay. UU’s are assumed to be included in that total, but if they’re a completely separate force we’ll include them elsewhere.

Infrastructure

A fairly self-explanatory stat, this covers the quality of roads, railroads, canals, communication networks, and the like. It heavily influences non-stat factors like supply lines, living standards, and prosperity.

History

The already completed nation descriptions you see before your eyes. They’ll probably be added to over time.

Stories vs. Orders

As we know, in conventional NESes, orders are the key, stories are supplements. In this, it is skewed nearly the opposite: stories are essential; orders are not necessary. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

As a general rule, we prefer stories to orders for this NES. If you can describe something in a story rather than in an order set, it makes it easier for me to read, and probably more fun for you to write. At the most basic level, you could write about the king, sitting on his throne, issuing proclamations or deciding upon elaborate schemes. At a more sophisticated level, you could write about the effects of the orders: if the peasantry are seeing roads being built, for example, your Infrastructure stat will be affected. And so on.

However, stories, while they are the beating heart of the NES, should not be considered the only thing that will be read.

Orders that summarize the actions you’ve taken during the turn are always appreciated–but as they are summaries, they should not be pages long and going into vast amounts of detail. Feel free to write your orders in story form and PM them to us, as well; that might actually help.

If you have writer’s block, and absolutely cannot contribute a single story for that turn, then you are allowed to send orders. Note, however, that countries who never have a story written will eventually stagnate and die.

Thirdly, if you are doing something that absolutely must be kept secret, you may send orders for that, as well. Normally, this will probably only apply to military operations against player-controlled countries.

In all cases, orders are limited to a single private message: 10,000 characters, if I recall correctly. (Though in some cases, Thlayli will be lenient...NK will not)

Now, there are some things (these are mostly common sense), which your stories should not do. These can be summed in a few simple rules:

1. You cannot directly affect another nation with your story. You can write about the build up to an assassination attempt, but you cannot decide what the outcome is. You can write about the campaign leading up to a battle, but you cannot decide the battle’s resolution (unless you agree with another player as to the result, in which case, have them notify us as well). You can write about your own people’s losses, but you most certainly cannot decide another nation’s entire military is gone, unless a moderator or the update confirms it.

2. Keep things realistic. You cannot just “decide” that you have nuclear weapons. Technological changes are decided by the moderator. Likewise, therefore, you cannot have some random god swooping out of the sky to give you victory.

3. If you fear that something might be iffy, wait for the moderator.

Addressing a few concerns you may have:

1. Your stories are welcome. If don’t have much experience at writing, then honestly, that’s all right. Many people hesitate to do so because they fear the stigma of being branded a “writer”: don’t. Many hesitate because they fear their writing isn’t good enough: the moderators, at least, will read it, and if you want, we’ll help you with it. You can never get better except by practicing.

2. No, we don’t hate you, and yes, we will stay committed to this as long as we have enough people in it.

3. No, we won’t update “NAO”. We will update when we can. We want this to succeed more than anyone else, and we will update on time as best we can, but the unavoidable truth is that sometimes even we have to bow to the pressure of the outside world. Please be patient.

4. The normal story/order deadline is Friday. Secret stories can and should be posted on Saturday.

If there are any other questions, by all means, ask away.
 
Information Archive

Note: Yes, the information archive is quite incomplete. We'll be adding to it over time, but you can expect to see a complete list of world religions, as well as a broad outline of the world's history, soon. (tm)

World History:

Religions of the World:

Cultures of the World:

Climate and Geography:

Alliances and Wars (current):

Miscellaneous:
 
Reserve #1

In case you're curious, these reserve posts are for when one of us goes on vacation for an extended period of time. I can still edit stats in "Thlayli's" thread if I'm updating in his stead.

You see? We do plan these things out, funnily enough.

Now go plot your pro or anti Harry Potter party quickly. They'll stop being relevant soon.
 
First Post. Yun Empire

Cultural Description: The culture of the Yun Empire, and by extension Qiankun has existed since time eternal. While some traditions may vary from province to province, the unifying culture of the Empire is similar. Many dharmic religions have roots here, but they are held equal to the great reverence for the ancestors the People have. Her culture is unified and strong, or was, until fickle Western Ideas turned the once loyal mercantile classes against benevolent Imperial Rule.

Spoiler first story :
The Beautiful Twilight ​

“The Empire, the Eternal Empire, stands at the door of the domain of the God of Death. The Yun Dynasty, appointed by Heaven as The Guardian of Her Chosen Realm, now fights to maintain her heavenly duty. For more then a thousand years, the Empire has stood in the way of famine, of pestilence, of unending war and of chaos. Now? If the Dynasty falls, so shall our civilization.” –Yun General Zhou Yu

He, General Zhou Yu, sat in quite an uncomfortable chair as he observed the proceedings that were occurring in front of his eyes. If not for the discomfort he felt, he would not have believed the words and sight he was both hearing and seeing. Such talk went against the grain of what he had been taught against childhood, it was shocking. It only confirmed his opinion of the majority of bureaucrats, timid, coward and weak. He quivered with anger and rage but he summoned his restraint and discipline, he was a General, not a common soldier.

“Your Majesty, the only path I see is the one of peace and conciliation. Any other paths would only lead to the greater suffering of your people, can you stand the bloodstains of millions upon your hands? Your Majesty has the choice to end all that, and simply accept the demands of General Fang Lizhi and those of the coastal cities. Then, unified and strong once more, we can easily crush our southern foes.”

“But Prime Minister, surely you do not believe in the words you’ve just uttered?” He glanced at his nominal superior on his left in surprise; General Li Fang had a reputation for not interfering or at all commenting on anything non-military. If General Li of all people had voiced a voice of opposition, he should do so as well.

“I agree with General Li. The large majority of our armies have yet seen battle and it was only the surprise of the coastal cities that allowed them to gain such a quick advantage over us. We can still easily crush them if we take this golden opportunity to do so. General Fang, the coastal cities, and the rebellions are but the extremities of the Empire, the core remains loyal.”

It was brave of him, perhaps too brave. Instantly, everyone looked at him. Everyone. It wasn’t exactly pleasant but he firmly stood his ground.

“Do you fear blood so much Ministers, that you shirk from it even when it is the only course left? If we were to negotiate with General Fang and the rebels, who next? You think our neighboring state will admire weakness or even see it? It is a sign of weakness, that the Yun Empire cannot even keep her own home in order. They will invade.

Then what Minister? The Telcari would the least of our concerns, Haijon, Zhanda, the western nomads will see our situation as weaken and will invade. Then what you wonder? Fang and the rebels will rise up again and fight us. What the barbarian thinks aside, what will the subjects of His Imperial Majesty say? His loyal, faithful subjects whom still cling to him for protection! Are we to abandon them to the clutches of our foes?”

He waited for the inevitable retort from the powerful and talkative Prime Minister, and as he calmed down, he realized the extent of what he had just said. He had questioned not only the Minister’s advice, but his mind as well, a terrible feeling of dread came to his stomach, knew he would regret it. Yet, to his surprise, other voices were raised, coming to his support. They looked to the Emperor, the ever so young Emperor, what was he? Naught but in his early twenties, he was the Emperor.

With a crystal clear voice, one of sure confidence and strength considering the weight of Heaven and the Yun Dynasty upon his shoulders, he decided the verdict.

“Negotiation is out of the question, military preparations will be taken.”


Spoiler Second Story :
My Fine Family​

“The Memoirs of Chen Yiming is a must read for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge and opinion on the conditions of Southwestern Karai from the eyes of a soldier who lived during the Second Imperial Crisis of the Yun Dynasty.”

My family is one of tens of thousands, no millions, of other families who farm the wealthy and fertile fields along the many rivers granted to our people since the beginning of time. I would be lying if I wrote that we were poor, it would have been a mark against my soul. No, we were well-off; my father was firmly a member of the gentry. According to our family tree, our first ancestor who settled here was a high ranking military officer under Emperor Andi, the restorer of the Yun Dynasty.

The vast tracts of land granted to him, said to have been 300 li in every direction, were mostly lost, gradually, through time and ill-management by so many of our less distinguished ancestors. Just three generations ago, my great-grandfather turned that around. Through intelligence, hard work and a hint of luck and chance, he restored the declining family fortunes though we still could not be compared to our founding ancestor. Grandfather as well as Father continued the trend, Father would be especially successful taking three wives.

I am the first son of the third wife, and as such I had a long line of older siblings before me, ignoring the fact that my mother had other children, all daughters before me. I had around 8 older siblings, 5 brothers and 3 sisters. In addition, I had three younger siblings were all boys but one. Let’s just say I didn’t get as much attention or material goods as most of my siblings with one small exception.

I was educated and could read and write. So could my two eldest brothers, but as one would inherit Father’s property and the other would go into the civil service, I wasn’t exactly sure why I was educated. Have I mentioned that Father hated seeing his sons idle? I think that was the reason I was sent off, too young to work on the land and too old to remain at home, I was sent with my two eldest brothers to the village teacher.

The village teacher was a retired official and the students, around 40 in number, were taught inside his relatively large house. Everyday, from mid-morning to dusk, with religious holidays and harvesting aside, we would be there reading and writing. I grew closer to my brothers despite the 7-8 years in our age difference. I can remember when I was but 5 winters old and recall my eldest brother leading me to school one day. It’s difficult for me to admit that I missed him.

My eldest brother has been long dead.

I still remember those fateful nights when the call went out for soldiers to join the Imperial Army. Our family was assumed by our neighbors to send at least one son considering the number of men in our household, grandfather excluded on the count of his old age. The choices were my three eldest brothers, with a preference on the third one going. He had no calling, no land to inherit or skill, it would have been better for him, for everyone if he had went. He didn’t go.

It wasn’t as much of my three eldest brothers not wanting to join the Imperial Army, it was more of the three fighting for who would get to go. They knew they could die or worse, but they refused to shirk from their duty, their duty to their Family, their duty to the Emperor. To surprise us all, my eldest brother, the one who was going to inherit, won that fight.

My eldest brother, that same man, a child no longer, would go fight spurning the life and path set in front of him by Father. I remember when I was barely 10 years old that my eldest brother went to serve in His Majesty’s Imperial Army. I can still see him now, years later, handsome and dashing, in his light dull green uniform with his shining musket with his short sword at his side. I remember as that was also the last time I saw him.

Four years came and went; we received semi-regular mail from my brother. Father would beam with so much pride and joy as the letters from our village’s soldiers would be read out loud, the more private and sensitive parts tacitly skipped or ignored. The letters stopped coming in the fourth year, the last letter we received spoke of his promotion to 队副 (Lieutenant), Father was just so happy. I could have sworn there was a tear of joy at the corner of his right eye.

After the letters stopped coming, we did not worry that much. An officer did not have as much free time as a recruit and there were news of numerous skirmishes and battles, it’s a bit difficult to write letters when bullets are whistling past you. In the fifth year since my brother had left, the courier who usually brought mail with him, specifically came to our home with a group of other official looking men.

They refused to sit or take any food but acquiesced to taking some wine. The mother of my eldest brother was visibly shaking as the courier solemnly informed our family that our son and brother was dead, killed by the Jin Bo rebels as he, along with many of his soldiers, stood their ground buying time with their deaths so that their comrades could safely retreat. There was a little solemn and serious ceremony as they presented to my parents, posthumously, a bronze medal with two crossed swords.

A week later, with the blessing of my family and the village elders, I enlisted in the His Imperial Majesty’s Armed Forces. Looking at myself in my mirror for one last time, I saw a confident young man looking back at me in the Emperor’s green with my musket at attention and my sword in the scabbard at my side. I swore that for a second I saw my brother in the reflection smiling at me. After saying farewells, I rode away from my home, and a distance away, I came to a stop and looked back at home for one more time.

I would honor my brother’s memory.
 
First post. *waits for map*

EDIT: Bugger.

EDIT2: Reserving <insert random name here>
 
Banana, you're so secret, you don't even know where you are. We don't even know where you are!

We're sorting through the startup right now, but you'll have your map(s) soon.

EDIT: Ruleset is up. Please confirm (or reconfirm) nations with a paragraph on the culture of your nation, Banana and Iggy excepted. The reason for this is that we're converting all the old nation descriptions to a standardized system.

So your first post should look like:

Claiming (nation).

*culture description here*
*first story here, or repost*
 
CONFIRM: Liassa

rest of stuff edited in tomorrow. I have 5 minutes of battery left.
 
Great. In addition to the great powers, there are plenty of second-tier powers with huge potential. You can also start a variety of movements, rebellions, secret organizations, guilds, and the like.

If players want to remain completely secret, they can PM their stories to me and NK, who will store them in the secret underground vault where all the PureNES data is located, and then archive them to be revealed later at the player's choosing.

Also, to clarify some questions I've been getting, this thread isn't solely my NES, and the cradle thread isn't NK's NES. The whole thing is one coherent NES, and though I'll mostly be in charge of the developed world and NK will mostly be in charge of the cradle, all major decisions and update events are decided mutually.

(Please see the edit in post 13 for confirmation information.)
 
Culture
Spoiler :
Held together by common religious beliefs and common cultural orgin, that Hadatonese villages and towns remained strongly independent of each other was strongly influenced by geographic boundaries. Attempts at unifying the population have been hard fought, and only recently have attempts to win the minds as well as the bodies over to unification begun.


First Story
Spoiler :
Tsuyoiki Kainu held a sheet in his hand. It had come in that morning by a few soldiers belonging to the Emperor. They were not of warrior class. No, they were definately peasants. The Emperor had dressed the men up in nice uniforms and given them gun and sword, but Kainu could see the men were not warriors. Their muscles were not as well trained. From across the room, he could feel that the soldiers were not ready for action, yet they didn't have the calm aura of a seasoned and studied master bladesman. These men were peasants taken from the field, taught how to shoot a gun and take orders, and maybe how to do both while in combat.

Kainu read the letter:

Quote:
Tsuyoiki Kainu,
With the sincerest apologies to the inconvience it may cause you and your family. The great and wonderful Emperor requests that your eldest son join the other sons of our land at the training fields of the Palace of the Emperor. Once there he will join in studies under the greatest teachers of our land. He will be given training as a warrior in both the sword and firearm. He will learn the great stories of our ancestors and the history of Hadato. When he returns to his home he will be one of the great leaders that will help our people and land rise to the glory of the Emperor.

With the deepest gratitude as a servant of the Emperor,
Honno Toukotsu
Kainu looked back up at the soldiers. He thought of the room behind him where his son Meitori still slept. He was young, but was quickly learning everything Kainu could teach him. Meitori was already as good with the sword as Kainu was at his age and was learning to use a gun as well. Kainu had his own men who could teach knowledge to the boy. Some had taught Kainu when he was young. They were good teachers.

Kainu was tempted to kick these soldiers out of his home and forget the whole morning. He knew better. The emperor would be sending these letters all over the land. It wasn't just Meitori that the Emperor wanted. No. The Emperor wanted every clan leader, town leader, village leader to send someone to the Palace. It would act as protection for the Emperor. Kainu detested this, but he also knew that many of the other leaders would send their sons and if he didn't do the same, it would leave him up to a possible attack from the Emperor. Kainu would not risk all the families in his village for his own desire to not lose his son. He would capitulate and send his son to the Palace. He would however not let his son leave alone. Kainu would join his son at the Palace and judge for himself if his son's training would be decent.

Kainu decided they would leave midday the following day. He wanted to be one of the first to arrive as to not seem like a possible rebellion risk, but he would not arrive first and seem like a weak pawn of the Emperor either.
 
OOC: *has done everything as asked* :D
 
Indeed you have.

Yun Empire
Ruler / Player: alex994

Government: An ancient mainstay of Qiankun, the Yun are structured in a traditional imperial system. Though Imperial edicts reign supreme, there is an elite core of advisors to assist the Emperor in his decisions, and a small army of bureaucrats, functionaries, and servants to uphold the highly hierarchical system. It is fairly stable, but prone to corruption.
Religion: Dharmic faiths persist throughout the country

Technology: Most of Qiankun has reached roughly a late Enlightenment level of technology. Armaments remain significantly behind Celia and on par with Beidan, while much domestic production remains as it was in the feudal era. However, the elite take a keen interest in science, and some fields, such as "physics," have advanced even beyond their counterparts in Arios.

Culture: The culture of the Yun Empire, and by extension Qiankun has existed since time eternal. While some traditions may vary from province to province, the unifying culture of the Empire is similar. Many dharmic religions have roots here, but they are held equal to the great reverence for the ancestors the People have. Her culture is unified and strong, or was, until fickle Western Ideas turned the once loyal mercantile classes against benevolent Imperial Rule.

Economy: The Yun remain a largely agricultural nation outside their central core, which has become fairly urbanized. The central western coasts, now in rebellion, formed a heavily mercantile region. A large number of rudimentary "factories" have been established to mass produce goods, such as matchlock muskets and clay wares. The large population base of the Yun remains their greatest strength, especially during political upheaval.

Military: Officially, the wartime Imperial Army contains roughly 2,000,000 soldiers. Of these, 1,800,000 are conscript peasants. The other 200,000 is comprised of the Imperial Cavalry and Artillery, as well as other specialized units. A conscript unit has a line of musketmen, supported by a large core of lightly armored pikemen. They have relatively low morale and strength. The Imperial Cavalry, comprised of volunteers from the wealthier patriotic families, are well equipped with flintlock rifles and sabers. They have better than average leadership. The Artillery Corps is also the best in the region, though only slightly superior to the Jin Bo. The Navy has been largely shattered by defections to the rebellion and defeats. Roughly 100 war junks remain blockading Shensen, and 50 junks have been driven into the northern ports. They are in varying states of readiness, but morale is relatively low.

Infrastructure: Currently in flux. There is a well-maintained system of roads and canals in the center of the country, but in the north, southern border regions, and far western provinces, there is little but a rudimentary road network.

History:
Spoiler :
The Yun Dynasty are merely the latest holders of the crown of Qiankun, a land whose lineage may well predate the Telerians. United by ancient dynasties, the influence of Qiankun was gigantic: every neighbor has felt their hand at some time or another, and the rather pathetic hill nomads to the north never really posed a challenge. Thus they were able to develop in splendid isolation, convinced that they were the only true civilization in the world, and that all others were barbarians. The long Silken Way led so far from the Qiankun that no one really knew what was on the other side; all that mattered was that they received masses of money for it, to fund the splendor of their own court. Unchallenged at land, they began to expand by sea, sailing into the Beidan Ocean and subduing some of the Spice Isles, while explorers also scoured the west for signs of a nation that must submit to the Divine Throne. Unfortunately for the Qiankun, they found this nation in the form of Telerius, the most powerful land of its time. The Telerian Empire noticed the ships of the Qiankun, and laughed at their demand of homage, responding with a full invasion force of ten thousand ships and, supposedly, ten million men. They poured into the southeast of Qiankun, subjugating city after city; the old dynasties abandoned their fight for the Beidan Ocean to pour all of their considerable resources into driving out this evil, demon-like threat. Literally millions of men were mustered by either side, and the dragon met the eagle on a field that spanned a continent. Whole cities were slaughtered; mountains were built with the rubble of devastated walls. Finally the Qiankun held the Telerians to something of a stalemate, and built the Great Wall, a massive defensive work that plunged the nation into bankruptcy but fully demonstrated their ability to mobilize massive manpower. Rebuilding their nation slowly, their empire began to reach new heights of architecture and culture. When the Telcari broke away from their erstwhile rulers, the Qiankun saw the opportunity, and struck. Yet these Telcari were masters of defensive works as their masters had been before them, and though many cities were ruined, they managed to grimly, tenaciously hold on despite everything. Final solutions evaded the world, and the wars dragged on through millennia, draining the power of both nations nearly to the breaking point. Even when the Telcari were docile, a massive Argai invasion was only barely turned back from the western lands after decades of fighting. After several interregnums, the &#8220;New&#8221; Yun Dynasty replaced an older branch, and avoided the sea and its works entirely, focusing on building a powerful land military. Guns were cast by the hundreds of thousands, and an army like the world had never seen marched on the Telcari one last time... only to be thrown back at the Eretrii River. It was the ultimate straw; the peasantry had enough, and simply left their camps. Generals found themselves without armies to command. The long suffering merchant class rose under the rebellion of the fierce and secretive Jin Bo, whose imported Western technologies were wielded with effectiveness by the low peasantry to kill the highest noble; the Emperor&#8217;s armies were routed at every turn. Shensen, a tiny peninsular people, rebelled as well, and vast swathes of northern lands fell away to warlords. The Emperor insisted nothing was wrong; Qiankun had resisted many storms before, and would weather this as well. But his calm was not pacifying; it was disastrous. The Telcari launched their own, long-awaited invasion, landing behind enemy lines even as their own forces arrayed for battle; new armies were no more successful than the old at fighting the Jin Bo. The people of Qiankun may never die, this much is true. However, the power of the Yun Dynasty is fading fast, and would-be usurpers are prolific. A superb leader must be found, one who can turn the overconfidence of the West against them, and appeal to the sense of unity that Qiankun has. It is an age of generals, blood, and glory. It is Qiankun&#8217;s darkest hour.


EDIT: Religion has mysteriously vanished. It will take its place in the information archive, since it would be tedious and time consuming to repeat the same religions and sects for country after country.
 
The Confederate Kingdoms of Jathalland.

Cultural Description: The Confederate Kingdoms of Jathalland is a union between the states of Athuria and Jekever. Centuries ago, these people defeated Thulean pirates and raiders from across the seas, and in doing so, forged the beginnings of a colonial empire which would span the known world. Unified, hardworking, and with an industrial might unparalleled, the Confederate Kingdoms merely bides its time, ever expanding its fleets and sending them across the globe, preparing to secure hegemony.
 
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