An Early History of Our World During the Reign of the Great King Richard as told by Sir Brian the Noble
And so it was the year 2215 when I, Sir Brian, did depart the Holy Seat of Power. My dear brother Richard, deemed the Great King by his Brethren, took the helm and as his first act, renamed the old city of Tenochtitlan. The Brethren had felt it befitting that we call such a place Paradise City, for it was teeming in resources and the people held it in high esteem. He had also spoken to Almighty God in a dream this same year. God had commanded that he rename the Holy City Jerusalem, and so King Richard obliged the Almighty, fearing his wrath and seeking his blessing. The Brethren saw this, and were pleased.
Some years later, in 2140BC, the holiness of Jerusalem had impressed the native population. They became subjects of the Holy Jewish Empire, thus expanding the borders of Jerusalem. King Richard, desiring information on what the German people were up to, sent a scouting party of young warriors from their encampment on the stone hill. To his dismay they spotted a traveling band of citizens, escorted by the German military. The Germans seemed intent on denying the Holy People their right to the promised lands of the southeast. My own heart was heavy when I heard this news. I cursed myself for not having made settling these lands a higher priority during my reign as Regent to the People.
The mighty King Richard saw no need for the young band of warriors to continue their journey. It seemed evident that the Germans would settle the area that we had coveted so he returned his brave warriors to their encampment among the stones, ordering them to observe the German people in their daily activities. He held a certain fondness for the Germans, having lived among them prior to joining his brothers in their quest for greatness. Nevertheless, he would not hesitate to smite them if the need arose. He preferred, however, to absorb their population peacefully, knowing that they would likely see the error of their ways and join our brotherhood as he had.
A second group of citizens set out from Paradise City to improve the countryside under King Richard's rule. They expanded the fur camps to the south and later, after the shepherds had refined their skills into a science they called Animal Husbandry, the band of merry workers headed north to cultivate pastures and build pens for the sheep in these grassy hills. Upon the departure of this band of merry workers, King Richard ordered the Captain of the Guard in Paradise City to immediately begin training more archers. Our empires defenses were weak and I was again saddened that I had allowed the scribes to convince me that building monuments were more improtant than claiming the countryside or providing for the defense of our people. I could only hope that our dear brother, the Black Knight,would forgive my oversight.
In approximately 2050BC, the people had finally completed their monument to Paladin the Holy Knight. I held mixed emotions during the unveiling ceremony. I was pleased to see that the people held our holy brother in such high regard. It had taken them centuries to complete this work but their dedication had kept them going. I was most impressed by our people. Still, I couldn't help but think their time would have been better spent in training for war or preparing to settle the land God Almighty had promised to us. Instead, we had allowed the Germans to exert an influence in these lands. It would take the blood of many a brave warrior or perhaps the teachings of many a bold rabbi to convince these people to join our illustrious empire. I feared it would require the former more so than the latter. I again cursed myself and prayed the Almighty could forgive me. I found refuge though in the fact that King Richard had heard the pleadings of our Guard here in Jerusalem. He had given them permission to raise up a new detachment of brave archers to defend the city. They rejoiced and began training at once.
A few short years later King Richard was dismayed to hear the report of his scouts. The Germans had founded a new settlement to the southeast of Jerusalem, just as he had expected. The scouts also reported the presence of a magnificent new beast near this German settlement. They referred to them as horses but were not yet sure about how they could be put to use by the Germans. It was unclear as to whether or not the Germans had developed a use for these beasts. Our scouts had observed the German citizenry building pens and cultivating pastures for their swine near the place they called Hamburg, so no one doubted that the Germans were aware these magnicent beasts existed just outside their new settlement. King Richard believed this is probably what had lead the German people to move there and I would have to agree with my dear brother.
It was about this time that our dear brother received a vision from the Almighty. He would ask the holy men to prepare for sending out rabbis to our heathen neighbors. He was also told by the One True God that we were His people and that we should be known as such. So our Great King Richard gathered the people and told us that we would now be known as The People of God. This pleased the holy men in Jerusalem. They would often approach me in the streets, lavishing me with praises that I should convey to my wise brother.
In approximately 1990BC, disaster befell our last band of scouts as they returned home to their families. Legend has it that they were set upon by a most vile and heathen people. So heathen were these people that war was the only thing they knew. They cut our brave men to pieces, leaving their corpses for the animals to scavenge. The wailing of their mothers and wives could be heard in Jerusalem for many months. But the people endured and continued to hail the Great King for they had finally completed a second gold mine near Jerusalem. This pleased the holy men a great deal, for the progress of our people in making new discoveries could be greatly increased.
It was not long before the young archers of Paradise had completed their training. They set out at once to avenge the deaths of our scouts. They soon encountered these heathens and set upon them with great fury, destroying every man who dared oppose them. The people rejoiced and praised these brave young men. The young women adored them, hoping to marry them when the brave men returned from their adventures.
It was about this same time that word came from the German Empire. They had adopted the same heathen practice as the Mongolians! They were forcing the people to labor excessively, sacrificing them in the name of rapid progress. I found such a practice to be despicable and warned our Brethren about adopting it. I did not feel that the Almighty would be pleased with us if we ever sank to such a low.
Our Great King Richard ended his first 300 years of rule by imploring the people to develop a faster means of transportation. They did as he had commanded. Our miners near Jerusalem had extracted a lot of gold for the people of the empire but had no way to move such heavy loads into the cities. Our hunters and shepherds in Paradise were anxious to move their goods into the cities as well. Not to mention that such an innovation was necessary soon if we were to move those magnificent stones into Jerusalem and Paradise. When our people had finally learned to build roads, thus enabling our citizenry to construct a vast transportation network, King Richard turned his thoughts toward the Almighty once again. He saw that it would be good if the holy men were to organize themselves into what he called a priestly class. I agreed, for I had a certain fondness towards these men of Jerusalem, having been Regent when they first discovered the ways of our God.
And so it was in the year 1750BC that the people completed roads into the hills surrounding Paradise. The shepherds could now bring mutton and wool into the city. The hunters and trappers were now bringing furs into the city. The people rejoiced at the availabilty of these goods. The mutton would keep there bellies full and stave off disease. The furs and wool would keep them warm on those cold winter nights.
Soon afterward, the first of many holy men departed Jerusalem and headed towards Paradise. The workers were sent to build quarries to extract the magnificent stones near Jerusalem. It was about this time that King Richard felt that our nations deficit should be addressed. The wise men were not particularly pleased but felt it was probably the prudent thing to do. After all, they had nearly completed their research into finding this metal the Mongolians and Germans called copper, so a lack of funds was not likely to hold them back for such a short period of time. King Richard promised them that he would return their funding in a few short years, although it would probably not be to the level they had enjoyed in centuries past.
Around the year 1645BC, the scribes completed their search for copper. King Richard was dismayed that none could be found within our borders. However, a small deposit had been discovered in the cold regions to the far south. Perhaps one day the natives of this area would come under our rule. Or maybe a few hearty souls from Paradise or Jerusalem would brave this inhospitable land and establish a settlement there someday. Nevertheless, he kept his promise to the wise men and gave them their funding. He told them, however, that he would need to retain a portion of this wealth for the good of the empire. The Almighty had commanded that the people should tithe, meaning they would pay a small portion of their income in taxes to the empire. It was believed this would help the treasury to grow, providing for a means of quickly equipping the troops with new weapons when they became available. Or perhaps we could one day learn to negotiate with our neighbors for their knowledge, something they would no doubt wish to be compensated for.
It was in this same year that I found myself deeply saddened. A dark cloud had fallen over our nation. Our dear brother had been influenced by the despicable Mongolians! He forced a portion of the population into servitude, most of them from the uneducated lower class. I was outraged!! After all the hard work I had completed finding the One True God, he dared to bring the Almighty's wrath down upon us by following such a despicable practice? I felt I should go at once to the Brethren and discuss this matter. It must not stand! We are a holy people, devoted to the worship of the One True God! We cannot, no I dare say we must not, allow ourselves to be influenced by the heathen nations around us! Do we really want to be like that despicable despot Saladin? Even he has adopted this practice. This is the work of the Evil One dear brothers! We must not allow it to continue!