Hammer and Steel

[Tycho]

10/9/11; Chronological chapter list follows. Differnt parts of story marked in brackets, such as [C&E] for Cambridge and Epsilon
[ZF]Part 1
[ZF]Part 2
[ZF]Part 3
[ZF]Part 4
[ZF]Part 5
[ZF]Epilogue
[H]Humphrey the Crow
[T&L]Deep Roads
[C&E]Operator 444
[J]Part 1
[J]Trials of Joshua
[C&E]Interrogation and the Takedown
[C&E]Arson
[HA]Age of Settle. Part 1
[C&E]Fire
[C&E]Run, Don't Walk
[HA]Age of Settle. Part 2
[AMK]Ultimatum
[AMK]Exodus
[Misc.]Caparin, Part 1
[C&E]Recon
[AMK]Joining the Flock
[C&E]Sniper
[C&E]Just for Fun
[HA]Fifty Bells/Journal Part 1
[AMK]Descent
[C&E]Mobilization
[C&E]The Dive
[Misc.]Heart of the Beast
[C&E]Snowbell
[C&E]Snowbell II
[AMK]A Murder of Crows
[C&E]All of Cambridge's Hate
[AMK]All Men Must Die
[C&E]Last Man Standing
[Misc.]Caparin, Dark Discoveries
[Misc.]Caparin, Price of Soul & a Dream
[AMK]The Burials and the Meeting on the Highmount
[Misc.]Caparin, Part V
[AMK]Meetings and Questions
[C&E]Snowbound Trains
[C&E]Bootstrap Hangtime
[Misc.]Caparin, Part VI
[Misc.]Caparin, Part VII
What Must Be Done
Red Dawn, Black Day, Night of Flames Part I
[Misc.]Caparin, Part VIII
Red Dawn, Black Day, Night of Flames Part II
[C&E]Bid the Agents Adieu
[AMK]An old Friend Returns for Business
[AMK]The Price of Salvation
[VTB]Discussions and Deliberations
[C&E]Harvard's Rescue Mission
[LC]Escape from Washington
[MT]The Curtain Falls on Act 1
[C&E]Bloody November
[LC]Icy Maw of the World
[LC]Tours, Offers, and Waffles
[C&E]Files, Gunshots, and Bloodstained Christmas
[VTB]Charting a new Course
[MT]Act 2 Begins With A Small Hitch

10/2/2011; chapter list added to keep the story orderly so people don't have to randomly click and hope for a specific chapter.

Zach:
Zach the Founder, Part 1 (1'st page)
Zach the Founder, Part 2 (1'st page)
Zach the Founder, Part 3 (1'st page)
Zach the Founder, Part 4 (2'nd page)
Zach the Founder, Part 5 (2'nd page)
Zach the Founder, Epilogue (2'nd page)

Humphrey:
Humphrey the Crow (3'rd page)

Tales and Legends:
Legends and Tales of America (3'rd page)

Cambridge and Epsilon:
Operator 444, (3'rd page)
Interrogation and the Hit, (4'th page)
Arson, Murder, and Pancakes, (4'th page)
Fire, Ice, and Explosives, (5'th page)
Run, don't Walk (5'th page)
Recon, (6'th page)
Sniper on the Grassy Knoll, (7'th page)
Just for Fun, (7'th page)
Mobilization, (8'th page)
The Dive and the Storm, (8'th page)
Snowbell, or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Start Screaming on the Floor, (8'th page)
Snowbell's Vicious Streak, (8'th page)
All of Cambridge's Hate, (9'th page)
Last Man Standing, (10'th page)
Snowbound Trains
Bootstrap Hangtime
Bid the Agents Adieu
Harvard's Rescue Operation
Bloody November
Files, Gunshots, and Bloodstained Christmas

Joshua:
Dutchmen, (3'rd page)
The Trials of Joshua, (4'th page)

Historia Amerika:
Beginning of the Age of Settlement Part I, (4'th page)
Beginning of the Age of Settlement Part II, (5'th page)
The Fifty Bells of Kain the Prophet and the Journal, (7'th page)
The Journal, part 2 (7'th page)

A Mad King/Nathanial's Tale:
Ultimatum (6'th page)
Exodus (6'th page)
Joining the Flock, (6'th page)
Descent into Darkness, (7'th page)
A Murder of Crows, (9'th page)
All Men Must Die, (9'th page)
The Burials and the Meeting on the High Mount
Meetings and Questions
An Old Friend Returns for Business
Homecoming and the Payment for Salvation

Sorou, the Angel of Death:
What Must Be Done
Red Dawn, Black Day, and the Night of Flames, Part 1
Red Dawn, Black Day, and the Night of Flames, Part 2

Vera, the Brave
Discussions and Deliberations
Charting a New Course

Li Chang, the Revolutionary
Escape from Washington
Icy Maw of the World
Tours, Offers, and Waffles

Ming Tian, the Assassin
The Curtain Falls on Act 1
Act 2 Begins With A Small Hitch


Miscellaneous:
Caparin's Tale in the Deep Roads Part I; Journeyman (6'th page)
Caparin's Tale in the Deep Roads Part II; Heart of the Beast
Caparin's Tale in the Deep Roads Part III; Dark Discoveries in the Deep Roads, (10'th page)
Caparin's Tale in the Deep Roads Part IV; The Price of a Soul and a Dream
Caparin's Tale in the Deep Roads Part V: Strange Things All About
Caparin's Tale in the Deep Roads Part VI: Council With Strangers
Caparin's Tale in the Deep Roads Part VII: The Truth Behind the Quest
Caparin's Tale in the Deep Roads Part VIII: Sacrifices

Hello Civ Fanatics, I've been lurking for little more than a year now around the forums and only recently decided to sign up and join the forum goers. Stories and Tales is one of my favorite places to read, as the community creates a lot of great narratives. Haven't really written much myself, outside of school and little stories that I give too friends, but I hope that this one can help give me writing practice and feedback for future things.

I hope all of you enjoy.

Hammer and Steel

Zach the Founder: Part I
The camp that they had established had been quiet for three days now, the people still grieving silently for their leader. As their customs had dictated, they had been silent, not caring for anything else and drinking very little. Every night they had looked into the stars and sought a star that marked their leaders ascension into the afterlife.



Terry only smiled at that. The fools honestly believed that the leader that they had all worshipped and followed for close to thirty years now had fallen to his death fighting off a pack of lions that had threatened to attack the huts and tents of the wandering tribe. They all believed it and not a question was asked, not even from the tribesmen who were not a part of his select few. After all, two thirds of the warriors that protected the people of the tribe followed him and him only, as their loyalty had been easy to acquire.

A cup of fermented grape juice that they had collected as they had passed the wild plants two years ago was grasped in his hand as he watched the people of the village go about their business quietly, without a word spoken between them as they went about and did their odd chores and work to improve the area that they had settled for the time being. Children were even silent, and the toys that they usually played or competed with each other were nowhere to be seen. Not only were they in mourning, they were in fear. One man had questioned how Zacharias had died while Terry lived. Smiling, Terrey had walked out of the village with the man, and the next day his lifeless corpse that had been mauled and ripped to pieces washed up onto the shore, the crystalline waters lapping around his gouged out eye sockets. Not a word was raised when the body was brought to the village and a bonfire raised.

A young boy with black hair slipped from one hut to another, his head down and his legs moving as fast as he could, no doubt not wanting to be seen. What he didn't know that he had Terry's eyes watching him carefully as he slipped into the dwelling that held the nature priestesses Thelma and Victoria. Both of them disliked Terry to the point that their conversations were filled with more acid than words, but he could not dispose of them without the entire village turning against him. Forty warriors wielding clubs made out of fallen logs were no match to several hundred determined townsfolk who would hold scythes and shears and hammers.

As of the boy... Zachiarias' son was a tricky situation. By all rights, once his father died, he should have become leader if he was a man. But only fourteen season cycles had passed since his birth date, and he was four short of the amount that he needed. He did have support though; the priestesses and most of the tribesfolk, but he didn't have weapons on his side all that much, and if they made the move first, even if they overwhelmed the warriors and Terry himself, they would lose half of their collective strength and not only that but lose the protection from rabid animals that would stalk them as they moved and wandered to a new location.



Tossing the cup aside, Terry stood up and walked out into the middle of the camp smiling as he did so. He was over six and a half feet tall, well muscled, and had a cunning look on his face that spoke of intelligence and insidiousness rolled into one package. All in all, he was a man to be feared, not a man to be loved and cherished.

Planting his feet firmly into the earth, he allowed the bodyguards that always followed him to catch up to him. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted out a gathering call to the people, a sound between a bird call and a bellow.

Shadows appeared in hut doorways and tent openings as people shouldered their way through and gathered around the central circle of stones and the firepit. Many of them had a sulking look on their faces as they looked at Terry with fury for interrupting them with their work. As far as he was concerned, they could stuff it.

Wearing a wolfish grin, Terry began to speak. "We have mourned long and enough for our fallen leader, the great Zacharias, and it is time for us to move on, to start a new dawn as it must. We must start anew in the ashes of the old and have what we once had, a strong leader."

Jeers broke out from some people, only because they were camaflouged and cloaked by the mass of people surrounding Terry. At this point he had a grin so large that any larger would have split his face apart from the muscles being overextended. They would never try to pull anything against him or face being killed.

"Which is why," he continued unabated, "we must have a new leader. One to lead us to new lands and oppurtunity, a leader to protect and make sure that all of us stay alive and flourish forever more. I shall be that leader to take us forward, out of the rut that we have dug for ourselves, and bring prosperity to our tribe." His smile dissapeared as he looked every one over with dark eyes that dared them to challenge him. "Does anyone have any objections to that?"

"As of matter of fact," a voice called out from beyond the rabble of people, "I do."

Turning around and looking at the man who spoke against him, the only emotion and feeling that Terry had at the moment was utter shock. "Zacharias....how did you.. but you should have... how?"

Striding forward, Zacharias approached the usurper. Every man and woman and child in the village looked upon him with awe; the leader returned from the dead, long scars covering his body. His face was a mess of old wounds and lines that traced and crisscrossed and intersected everywhere they could. An especially long gash slashed upwards across his mouth, over the bridge of his nose, and over the left eye which gazed out with a milky paleness. Black hair covered the dome of his skull and fell to his ears, and his fingers grasped a staff of ashwood. A giant robe made of sheepskin covered his frame, dyed red with blood of slashes that he had taken from wild animals.

"You should have done better than that." Zacharias spoke icily. "If you are going to do something or try to fool me, at least try to finish what you started." The staff made a thudding sound on the ground as the tribes people parted way for him to walk up to Terry. "You didn't though did you, and now you will pay the price."

Zacharias stopped before Terry, at least half a head shorter than the six and a half foot man. His eyes, blue and cold, commanded utter respect even from the man who despised him. "Now," said Zacharias, "are you going to peacefully leave in exile, or do I have to toss you into the river?"

In answer, Terry drew out the knife that had been made out of the black and sharp dragonstone. "Not very likely," he spit out. "If I kill you, I still win, and you can't beat me Zach."

The sheepskin robe fell from Zach's shoulders, revealing a brown tunic and breeches, but no weapon. "It is a duel then." he said simply.

And with that Terry hurled himself at the man.

Tribes people screamed and scattered, and a few held their ground and watched with round eyes as the knife descended forward to Zach's contempt filled face. Moving fluidly, he dodged the stabbing motion and as Terry turned around to strike again, Zach delivered a kick to his groin so fierce that he thought he had dislocated his ankle and snapped a tendon.

Terry barely gave it a second thought though, and slashed in a bloody fury, desperate to smite down the former leader that threatened his rule. Forwards and sideways, diagonal and upwards, none of his blows landed. Zach on the other hand, was on the defensive and going backwards up a hill. Terry allowed himself a small smile; this hill top was covered in treacherous pieces of rock, ledges, half cliffs, and a large chunk of rock that hovered above the water.

Laughing with glee, he lunged forward and grabbed Zach by the throat and picked him up. "Now is the time you die, eh old friend?" Maniacal screaming echoed down the hill into the village at the base of it. "This time, I will make sure that you will bathe once in blood, once in water, and once in fire. And when I remove your head, let's see you get up after that." The knife arced upwards from Terry's waistline and smashed into the right side of the ribcage. Zach was surprised yes, but yet he still struggled as blood began to flow from the wound and pool on the ground before flowing down the slope. Another kick, this time to the throat sent Terry sprawling backwards and Zach falling to the ground. Coughing from the lack of air, he picked up the dragonstone knife and turned around just in time to see Terry.

The rock in his hands was larger than hog, and thicker as well, but all Terry could see through a film of red that obscured the world was Zach, who just would not die. Screaming in fury, the rock descended down to Zach, who just barely managed to roll away, bits of sharp stone digging into his back. Looking back, Terry was upon him again, picking him up and throwing him thirty feet up the hill before he realized what had transpired.

"Give it up Zach!" Terry called to out to him. "I will let you live if you surrender and swear fealty to me! You don't have to sacrifice your life over a petty position! We can work together for the betterment of the tribe!"

"When have you ever been interested in making sure the tribe was well and healthy?"

Terry's response was simply charging up the hill like a wild boar, grabbing Zach by the head and repeatedly headbutting him until Zach could taste blood and watch multicolored stars spinning around in front of him.

Terry turned around and spotted a rabble of people that had followed them to the crest of the hill. "Well?!" He shouted to them. "Would you rather follow me or him? The strong or the weak, the effective versus the inefficient, what would all of you pick-!"

A knife plunged down into his shoulder blade, scraping along the bone before it was removed violently in a spray of crimson. Laughing now, Terry turned around to see Zach with his eyes raised up in a comical fashion and holding the knife stupidly.
"Zach how many times have I told you now, you can't beat me? I haven't been counting, so you'll have to tell me if this is the first or second, or fourth time since I've said it." He arched his head back up to sky and cackled, the sound so creepy that it was indescribable.

Until the knife plunged into his chest that is. Terry stopped laughing and started to shout at Zach as he was stabbed over and over again. Zach didn't even know what he was doing at this point, all he knew was that this man had to pay, he had to die so that they could be rid of a possible tyrant that would not rest, he would try again and again to sieze power until he succeeded.

The knife continued to slam upwards into the abdoment and chest area, blood spraying out in copious amounts, covering both men. Terry fought back, but he had already lost so much blood that his reflexes had slowed down. He toppled to the ground,bleeding and cursing.

Zach had finally stopped, and looked down at Terry, drencehd in blood with the bright sun framed behind him, looking like the angel of death out of their legends. "Any last words?" Zach spit out. Terry said some choicer ones that described Zach's mother and father's creation of him, and how his internal organs would one day be nailed to a tree.

The knife fell once more.

Terry's throat bubbled as the life poured out of him.

Hauling the body out to the edge of the cliff, Zach paused to look at the very same waters that he had plunged into only two days ago. He did not know how he survived, all he knew is that he had.

Terry's body dropped away, and was swept up by the foaming waters.

___________________________________________________________
Writer's Note: How did you like the first chapter? People thrive on feedback so please, comment if you want.

 

[Mosher]

Nice start, what mod are you using?

 

[MoreEpicThanYou]

Reminds me of the beginning of PotU.

 

[Yoshiegg737]

Nice start, what mod are you using?

Looks like Neoteric World, if you ask me

 

[BigTin]

I agree with Yoshi, it looks like Neoteric World. And it reminds me of Pi's old American story on Neoteric World. Hopefully you will do better than he did Tycho!

 

[Optical]

This looks really promising. Nice to have more stories with some meat on them out there. Good luck!

 

[hoplitejoe]

A rather bloody start Starting as you mean to continue?

 

[SamSniped]

Reminds me of the beginning of PotU.

It does, actually. Here is a section from the foreword-

There are, of course, several fictional worlds where immortals do exist. One of my favourites has always been the Highlander universe, especially that of the first movie and the TV series. In case you’re not familiar with Highlander, in that fictional universe, a small number of people in the world are, mysteriously, immortal. Their immortality manifests if and when they die an untimely, violent death. They cannot be killed, unless you sever their heads from their necks. An immortal who does that to another one then takes his opponent’s skill and knowledge—called “the Quickening”. The immortals hide their true nature from humanity, but cannot do so from one another—they have a sort of sixth sense about that. Thus, they live through the centuries and periodically fight one another with swords. Eventually, only one immortal will remain; and he or she, who survives all the battles through the millennia, will claim the Prize—whatever it is.

Also the beginning is similar. I enjoyed PotU, and will most likely enjoy this.
SUBBED!

 

[Princeof Persia]

Subbed.

 

[Tycho]

A rather bloody start Starting as you mean to continue?

Yes, and rather violently. This is not going to be the most heartwarming story here.

Nice start, what mod are you using?

Neoteric world, on a giant map, turned down the settings so that the computer runs it easily.

Also the beginning is similar. I enjoyed PotU, and will most likely enjoy this.

The beginning was inspired by Princes of the Universe (which I enjoyed tremendously), but unlike Sisutil's fiction, these people are not immortal.

I agree with Yoshi, it looks like Neoteric World. And it reminds me of Pi's old American story on Neoteric World. Hopefully you will do better than he did Tycho!

Thank you for the praise BigTin, though I believe I am not on par with Sisutil or Tomorrow's Dawn. And I intend to finish it as well.

EDIT: Update either tomorrow afternoon or Saturday.

 

[mayor]

man you can write
If you keep it up this might just become a second PotU

 

[Tycho]

Part 2: Zach the Founder
"How did you live sir?"

The question was the foremost of the tempest of inquiries that bombarded Zach after he had walked back into the village, coughing up blood. Thelma had stitched up his wounds and scrapes the best she could, and now he was sitting in a rough hewn chair in his hut near the centre of their established village. He grimanced from time to time as the gashes and bruises twinged and pulsed, already shaping up to be ugly marrs of the flesh.

"Well that's a good question," he confessed to the people. His people that is. "Terry had stabbed me in the back and tossed me into the depths of the river. I think I drowned, but I am not completely sure. All I remember is black water, and the sun blazing high in the sky. I blacked out. "He paused for a drink of water as the people listened enraptured. "I washed up on the shore many miles from here, bruised and dazed and lay there for hours maybe. Then people came to help me; they picked me up and carried me into their village, all the while talking in some unintelligible tongue."

"I woke up later, and was greeted by a man wrapped in furs and animal skins. He understood fragments of our language and carried on a rather long conversation with me before he dressed me and sent me forth, pointing along the river back towards where our people had settled." Zach smiled. "It took almost all of two days to find all of you, but I finally did. I always knew that there was something off about Terry, but I just could not figure out what it was. Now we know, and he paid the price for his hubris and arrogance."

Everyone nodded; Terry had always seemed a little off, and had personality quirks one could only assign to a psychopathic sociopath.



"Well people, I confess that I must lay down right now and try to get some sembelence of sleep." Zach cracked a smile at them, scars rippling and shifting around. "I'm just going to mull things over for a bit, talk to Thelma for a bit, then decide what we do next."

"What do you mean do next?"

Zach grinned some more. "Well, I'm thinking should we stay here, or move on like we always have, be nomads. This hill seems good, but I'm going to think this over for a bit."

The tribespeople began to trickle out, albiet slowly and grudgingly. Thelma and Zach waited patiently till the last person backed out through the doorway before they looked at each other.

"Something you wanted to talk about sir?" she asked. Her plump frame moved about the hut, straightening valuables and prizes that had been collected over time. Trophies of wild animal kills, token gifts from other people, it was a lot but still the room felt bare and empty.

Zach remained quiet for a few more minutes as Thelma continued to work about before he spoke. "Thelma, we all worship the gods of nature. You deal with omens and dreams don't you?"

"Why of course I do. Why do you ask?"

He shifted some in his seat, one of the scrapes on his back pulsating angrily.

"I didn't tell them the whole story when I fell in the river."

"Really? What happened."

"I'm not sure really, I just heard water rushing around me for what seemed like
an eternity. Then, I opened my eyes, and found I was in some sort of stone cavern. You know the one that we found by that forested hill were the jaguars had ambushed us? That would have been a rut in the ground compared to this one."

"Oh dear."

"Anyways, I sat up, dazed and wandering how I could sit up on water... then I heard it.

"It seemed like grass and leaves rattling together to my right. I turned my head to look over, and I saw a giant wall emblazoned with a symbol. Many stars arrayed in a circle surrounding one that had as many points as my hand and two toes."

"Was that it?"

"No. I saw... a cross, an equal sided one, bathed in blood and painted black. Fire raged around it. The horse lords rode in the North and the South, a black cloud spreading out from around them. In the east across a sea of tears, the ones who wore the white cloth and crowns of olive leaves marched against the other nations, smiting them down and bathing the continent in a crimson tide. To the coast in the Northwest, a king saying he was the sun-god would rise forth to challenge us.

"And then I saw a city of glass.... being consumed by the raging fires of an inferno as the masses of people screamed from above and below. Giant beasts ground forward through the mud, grinding the bodies of the fallen soldiers as screaming stars streaked across the sky to deliver divine punishment and wrath to people. The marching of black... sandals I guess, I heard going through a torrential downpour in a stone city. And I saw an arrow of god, rising from the ground in a fiery plume of light to deliver a
caustic downfall to an enemy."

Zach looked over at Thelma, who stood with her eyebrow cocked.

"Anything else?" she inquired of him. Zach shook his head.

"What you saw sir is quite... frightening. What you saw was of the future, but I can not tell how far away it is from our time. Maybe you should get some rest sir, and think about your decisions and options now, as well as the omens."

"Thank you Thelma. You have your leave."

Zach curled up on a reed mat with a woolen blanket to cover him up, but it was not really needed. The heat during most days of this season blistered the skin off of you, and then you would freeze in the winter till your body parts started falling off.

He lay there thinking about what he had dreamed for a long while. Even though he had told much to Thelma, he still had not told her about the last dream. He was too afraid to recall it right now, and it took a lot to frighten Zach. Standing in front of a roaring lion three times the size of a normal human made you toughen up and grow a pair.


Zach had not realized he had fallen asleep till the dream came, like the rising tide of a flooding river. Indeed, he could here rushing water around him, and feel the cool liquid flowing over him, though he could still breath. Peace filled him as his eyes remained closed as the water seeped into his pores, flowed into his nose, ears, and mouth.

"Come to me." The voice was the barest hint of a whisper, a rustle of leaves in the breeze. "Come to me." It said. And Zach rose up and he did.

All around him was a pale milky light that allowed him to see far enough ahead to see where he was going. A shoreline of white sand with a gnarled tree with trailing branches scraping the ground gently. "Come to me," the voice said again, "Zachiarias, son of Nathaniel, grandson of Hawthorne the Mighty." He stumbled along the surface of the water.

He heaved himself onto the shoreline easily and trip-walked to the tree, his arms hanging by his sides, swinging with every step. With lidded eyes, he watched as if from outside his body as he touched the tree, feeling every groove in the bark. He smiled at it; the trunk had some blemishes and cracks but it had less of a rough feel to it than other trees.

"Thank you Zacharias," the voice said. "Now look up."So he did.

At first there was only darkness, as if he was in a cavern again or looking into a cloudy sky with no moon. Then he saw it: the ball of light, descending from above silently to the shore where he stood. He smiled at it, not knowing why.

When it got down to eye level with him, it took the shape of a human being, slowly shaping itself into a woman to be precise, covered in a blanked of pale, shimmering light. A hand extended out to his face, stroking it lightly as he smiled at the figure.

"You have nothing to fear Zacharias. Pick this location as the spot for your tribe's home. In time, you shall arise to be a mighty civilization to smash apart others and claim your place as the mightiest of them all. You will not see it in your flesh and blood, but you will see it nonetheless. You won a great victory against Terry, who would have led your tribe and people in endless wars that would have seen your people die and the work that you and your forefathers created crumbled to ash. Do not let that happen."


Zach opened his eyes now, standing up and looking out at the stars, at a beautiful new crescent moon hung aloft in the sky.

He suddenly realized where he was; the top of the hill with the village down below and the river crashing and foaming beyond the cliffs and juts of the rocky body. Zach hit himself, rubbed his eyes, and pinched the skin of his wrist, but it was not a dream. He was very much awake. "Settle here," the voice had said. He did not know why, but maybe he should settle this spot. It would not do well to upset any spirits or gods that bid them to live here.


"Alright people, I've made up my mind." The gaggle of tribesmen and women rubbed their sleepy eyes and shook themselves awake. When Zach called for a tribe meeting, you would go, even if you had a rock lodged in your skull.

"We will settle here. This is a good enough spot, and not only that, it is one of the best. Hills are easily defensible, and no one shall be able to conquer this area easily, as neither the terrain or us shall let them."

"Now, I want as many of you people who aren't going to hunt or farm for food to please bring enough timber and wood from the nearby forests to allow us to build a static settlement. Let us live and flourish for as long as the gods permit us!"

The people cheered, tiredness forgotten. They had a task to do, bidden to them by their leader. Zach watched men hustle off and woman pick up and sort the tools to start planting crops and gathering any food they could, busy as an anthill.

He looked into the cloudy sky and thought back to the night before, with the
woman who had bid him to declare this spot their new settlement. May we grow and prosper, and may our future generations flourish as well. I hope that what I dreamed was just that... a dream and not a packet of omens. I sincerely hope so...



___________________________________________________________
Hope you enjoyed!

 

[MoreEpicThanYou]

This... IS the next PotU!

 

[Yoshiegg737]

Neoteric world, on a giant map, turned down the settings so that the computer runs it easily.

Hey, I'm good! I must be playing too much Civ

And yes, this story is extremely well written. Similar to PotU and Celestial Bureaucracy. Your up there with the greats, man!

 

[MoreEpicThanYou]

I actually think it is better than Celestial Bureaucracy, and has the potential to tie and maybe even surpass PotU.

 

[Optical]

I think they're as close to three equals as you'll find. I seriously love this story! It's really great

 

[Tycho]

This... IS the next PotU!

And yes, this story is extremely well written. Similar to PotU and Celestial Bureaucracy. Your up there with the greats, man!

I actually think it is better than Celestial Bureaucracy, and has the potential to tie and maybe even surpass PotU.

I think they're as close to three equals as you'll find. I seriously love this story! It's really great

Thanks for the praise you guys! I hope that you are enjoying the story as it is created, and it is going to be a long one. For the purposes of a good story, I have disabled all victories except religious and conquest, and you will see many civs fall! 18 or so after all, and if I could run Barbarian Civ mod without it crashing my computer every time in the 1800s you would see plenty fall.

If it's the next PoTU... high praise considering the caliber of Sisutil's work. I am honored to be held in esteem with Tomorrow's Dawn and Sisutil. Hopefully they both finish their sagas before I finish mine.

I will be shoving an update out the door every 2,3,4 days with rare exceptions, and if it is not essential to the plot, it will be a fluff update concerning the entire empire, it's arts and architecture, and anything that might be interesting.

Hey, I'm good! I must be playing too much Civ

Since when is that a bad thing?

 

[Tycho]

Zach the Founder: Part 3


"Alright people, on my command, heave! HEAVE!"

Men and women grunted while straining to put the massive piece of timber into the foundation for the new house. The thing must have weighed more than ten men, but was crucial to making the new dwelling for the new family. Zach's son, Victor, had married and was his wife was soon to have a child, and they stood proudly nearby as it all came together.

Zach on the other hand was sitting in a chair, wrapped in a woolen blanket and stoking a fire along with three other men arrayed in a semicircle around the fire. They came here for a reason after all, and Zach couldn't really be surprised. The warriors needed a new leader after Marcus had been killed by a wild lion attacking the settlement. He had died bravely, and the flames of the funeral pyre had caressed the body and reached for the sky as he crumbled into ash and was buried.

Nicholas, Jack, and Humphrey were as different as the sun, moon, and clouds. Nick was lithe and strong, with a cunning mind and easy charm that wooed the women of the village. He was a good man, although he liked to do things in an audacious manner, something that could be a problem on the battlefield.

Jack on the other hand, was muscled to the extreme and so masculine that walking in a ten foot radius of him would make you grow chest hair. Jack had a problem with thinking things through, and indeed he was not the brightest star in the sky, but he was capable, had the faith of the men, and was loyal to the letter, the exact opposite of Terry in many ways.

Finally, Humphrey. The smallest of them all and only slightly muscled, Humphrey had been perpetually sick as a child with coughing fits and was unable to do much exercise or physical activity. Rheumy eyes and deep circles underneath them were the most striking thing about him, but he was charismatic, intelligent, and a strict disciplinarian.

"It is indeed a pity that brave Marcus died fighting." Jack spoke now as he stared into the pits of the fire as it licked the wood. "He had quite a bit to live for, though his widow will be taken care of quite nicely."

"I hope you don't intend to marry her," Humphrey cut in. "She will just as soon chop off your manhood as accept a nice batch of wildflowers you get for her."

"Is it too soon to be talking about that?" Now Nicholas joined the conversation. "After all, Marcus has barely been sent to the stars and you are already making plans to move on his widow? That is a little crass of you to do something of that nature."

"Cut to the chase. You three came here for a reason didn't you? About how each of you is cut out for Marcus' spot?"

The men finally heaved the timber log into place with a final push, then selected another one to continue their work.

Jack at least looked embarressed, while Nicholas was unfazed and kept a winning smile up that had little effect on Zach. Humphrey on the other hand was ignoring the others at the moment as he played with a bit of rope, tying it in endless nots and unwinding it gently.

"I must admit Zach, you are quite the observational one, knowing what we came here for." Nick's smile was wide, but his eyes glowed with a hunger for power. The leader of the warriors was after all the second in command of the tribe and most likely to succeed the leader once he died.

"You do not live as long as I do, and get to where I am without observing the world around you. For instance, I understand that you took a seventeen cycle girl into the field last night, most likely to give you confidence today, and had plenty of fun doing-"

"Let's not dwell on that shall we?" Nick said hastily, with an expression of ruefullness as well as redness from embaressment. "How did you find that out?"

"I could hear you from my house, I'm surprised you didn't wake the entire village up."

"Another one of Nick's attempted conquests." Humphrey unwound the rope again as the men who raised Victor's house heaved another log into place. "Let us not dwell on petty subjects as such."

"Indeed."

They all dwelled in quiet as each person thought to themselves. Zach stoked the fire with the stick and watched them raise his son's house. It was a pity that his mother was not here to see it.

"So tell us Zach, who are you going to pick? Humphrey seems to be rather out of it and Jack... we will just leave that unsaid after all....."

"If you keep this up Nick, it won't be you."

"Ah."

They waited some more as Zach stared into the fire, orange and glowing, embers shooting up into the air as pieces of wood moved and fell. The scars he had gotten from the fight with Terry were visible, whiter than all the others, and the knife that had been used to kill the attempted usurper was sheathed at his waist. The past surrounded him, and sometimes it was not welcome to come into Zach's head but it did so anyways.

"Erm, sir?"

Zach instantly snapped up to Nick's face. "Yes?"

"I don't mean to rush you or anything, but is their anything that you wish for the warriors to do? We are getting bored since we are no longer on the move as much, and therefore have rather trivial things to do."

"I have nothing at the moment, maybe tomorrow I will."

Humphrey jerked the rope in frustration. "Well we need something to do, and assembling houses and cutting timber gets a little monotomous after awhile, as do drills, especially when there are three people trying to lead."

"As I have said, come back tomorrow and I may have something."

Anger and bitterness could be seen in all of them as they got up and left Zach at the fire. It wasn't needed since it was summer, but he cared for it anyways because he liked fire.

Stretching a bit, his stiff muscles and bones protested but gave up as Zach stood, casting off the blanket. These days, he felt tired all the time but he didn't know why. As for the dreams.... none like the ones he had seen all those years ago formed in his mind. Indeed, he had not even seen the woman in his normal dreams.

"I'm still here you know."

Looking left to right, there was no one near Zach at that time; the closest people were the retreating forms of the trio of warriors.

"It has been awhile since you thought of the cave haven't you Zach?"

"Yes it has. Why are you talking to me now?"

"Because I deliver this message to you. Sieze your destiny in your hands right now, as well as your people's destiny. Spread the glory of your dream to the far reaches of the land, guide them."

"How can I do that?!" he muttered in frustration.

"Because you can. Liberate the villages of the many tribes and groups around here. Let them join your empire and lead them and your own people to new heights."

"But where are the villages? How can I find something if I do no know where it is?"

"That is the point. You must spread out and find it on your own, sending scouts to find them and bring them back to your village. A diverse society will rise and prosper while a society that is not will stagnate."

"Can I at least have a hint as to where it is?"

"Think back to your past. That is all I will say for now."


"So tell me again what you want us to do sir?" Nick couldn't believe his ears when Zach had come to him, asking a lowly warrior for help on a quest of some sort.

"We have to follow the river down the countryside until we find a village, and see if we can bring the people back here. Do I need to go slow enough so that you can here each bit of it smacking against your brain?"

"No sir, it's just that... yesterday you seemed a little bit slothlike, and now you are completely... different is too vague of a word to describe what has happened."

"You don't need to understand what has happened, I just need you to gather up all of the warriors and get ready for this journey. It is of the utmost importance that we do this now, there is not a moment to lose! We have to leave as soon as possible."

"....Okay sir. I'll gather up the men. What about Humphrey and Jack?"

"Bring them with us, I still need to decide who is going to be the leader of the warriors."

"Yessir." Nicholas dashed off to go rouse the men from their assorted leisure activities. They would grumble and complain but they could miss a few of their gambling games.


They left the village that day, at high noon, birds chirping in the air as a few clouds rolled lazily across the sky. The heat was bearable but just barely so, and it was a good thing as well. If it got too hot, they would not be able to walk far without having to rest to avoid heat exhaustion and loss of fluids and neccessary minerals. Salt was a rare thing to come by in these areas, so they had to take it at a leisurely pace.

By the second day, they had not even gotten to the bend in the river that signified it flowing north to the far lands, but they were still making good progress for such a large group. Few animals could be seen, and ones like the lone panther or bear steered well away from the group of humans as the trekked throught the forests.

Tall oaks and maple trees soared upwards, roosts for birds of all sorts. Plenty of wild game could be found, and plenty of club bashing allowed fresh meat to be partaken of, vension especially as well as wild boar meat.

The men did have a habit of grumbling though. On the third day as the neared the curving banks of the river, Nick was stung after a beehive half the size of a man fell on him as he was trying to get some honey. Needless to say, the results were... less than pretty. Nick's face had swollen to almost twice it's normal size, and whenever he talked it sounded as if he had gotten his nose broken. Humphrey had laughed at him so hard that he had fallen into the river, and when he emerged, a black eye was promptly bestowed upon him.

Two men trying to catch a wild rabbit reached into a hole in the ground and recieved dozens of quills from an angry hedgehog. The wounds became infected despite care, and one man had to have his left hand amputated to avoid the gangrene from spreading to the rest of his body while the other had to amputate his entire arm because he had waited too long.



"Damnation!" Nick swore as his face twinged. The hives and assorted blisters and bumps from the bees were going down, but they still hurt as if he was being hit in the face with a club. Gingerly poking it, he cursed again and continued to try and heat his vension stew with a dark look. Humphrey smiled at him from across the fire, the black eye around his rheumy orb going down but still making him look like a raccoon's cousin.

"How in the hell did you get this far without being injured Zach?" Nick complained to him.

"I wasn't as stupid as you. Sometimes it amazes me how daft you can be."

"Not my fault, but did you see the size of those damn things? Almost the size of figs they were, and angry as if the fires of the underworld filled them!"

"Again, that was your own fault for trying to get it."

Tempers were rather short at the moment. Kyle, one of the more hardcore gambling players, had been accused of cheating. Jack had seperated him and another man by picking them up by their necks and bashing their heads together. By the time it was all said and done, men were turning into bed early while acting similar to wild dogs by snarling insults at each other. Even Jack's pet wolf Catcher didn't act like that. He just stood by and watched the men yell at each other whenever one felt like it.

"So how far till we get there?"

"About another two or so days at this rate. All these injuries and foulups are not really helping."

"Not my problem."

"Your face says otherwise."

Humphrey started laughing again, but quickly stopped after another black eye was bestowed upon him.

"Do not worry Nick, we shall be there in a few days."


The ford across the river rushed with water but luckily it only went up to about waist level height. Otherwise there would be problems with crossing the silty bed of the river, a quicksand like quagmire that would have drowned many people in ages past.

Zach looked across the waters as dawn broke across the world. Little huts and tents had been erected on the opposite side of the river, smoke rising out of the village, no doubt from cook fires and a central one. It all seemed so peaceful now, unlike the buzz that had taken place when Zach had been pulled up out of the waters and onto the bank years ago.

Yawning sleepily, Nick and Humphrey approached from behind Zach as he stood on the river bank, a staff of wood clasped in his hands. "Is this the place?" Humphrey asked with eyes even more rheumy and lidded.

"Indeed it is. These people are rather sophisticated for tribals, and even have their own language that is much different than ours."

"Mmmm. Nice place then."

"Indeed. So be nice to these folk. We do not want to anger them. Which means that Jack is going to have to keep Catcher on a leash while we are here."

"I'll go tell him," offered Nick. The blisters had finally subsided, though angry red marks still were present. "I have nothing better to do at the moment, so I shall go wake him."

Zach nodded at him, and Nicholas strolled off back into the makeshift camp that they had made. Tents made out of animal skins and a small cook fire as well as packs with extra items that had been needed were strewn about the bank.

"We cross in a few hours Humphrey, get the men up and together, and tell them that I hope they like getting their feet wet. No other way across the river."

"Will do sir."


Zach wasn't going to lie; the water was cold enough to make a person's manhood crawl up into their abdomen. He gritted his teeth, and used the staff to tap the bottome of the ford, making sure there were no surprises for the crossing people. So far nothing.

Jack and Nick followed close behind, teeth chattering. Nick sounded like chips of ice were hitting each other, while Jack sounded like an avalanche of boulders. Humphrey and a group of six or seven men were behind them, going slower than the others but still making progress. Other men waited on the side of the bank to step in the water and mentally prepare themselves.

The riverbed sloped upwards suddenly, leading Zach upwards and out, dripping and colder than he had been in the water. At least the sun was out today, and not clouded up, or even worse: raining.

He patiently waited for the others to cross the river, many of the men looking like they were in pain. Zach would not have been surprised if chunks of ice floated in the river. If it was like this in summertime, wintertime could not have been much better.

The last man brought himself onto the bank, and shook himself a little bit before straightening up and falling in line with the rest of the warriors. Their clubs were clasped to their waistline and dripped with the moisture from the river, except for Jack's. He was at least a head taller than Zach, and his club was almost as long as himself. Being hit by that would be an instant trip to the worst pain you would experience in your life.

For leauges they walked to the village, grasses tickling their feet or brushing against their legs as they stomped through them. Nobody said a word, but Zach could tell that the men were tired and itching to do something. They could just wait on it right now.

Stopping for a moment and squinting off into the far distance, Zach spied a shepard tending a flock of scrawny, small sheep that grazed and tumbled around in the grasses.

"You there!" He called out to the shepard, cupping his hands around his mouth. "Can you help us?"

The shepard looked up with his hooked staff as a long haired dog herded the sheep around if they strayed off. His features had barely slanted eyes, and a light golden skin tone, with short black hair under a broad reed hat. His eyes widened as he looked at Zach. "Tā shuí zàicì shàngzhǎng!" He called out, people emerging from their huts. "Tā shuí zàicì shàngzhǎng!"

 

[mbkkbm]

wow....this story is amazing. Subbed!

 

[MoreEpicThanYou]

This story is... ALL HAIL TYCHO!