ITNES I - An Epoch of Change
- Thread starter das
- Start date
Symphony D.
Deity
Sometimes, I do not believe they understand.
Understand what, your Majesty?
Anything at all.
Begging your pardon, Majesty, but surely they must understand enough, or we would not be here.
… That is perhaps true enough. Perhaps then, sometimes they understand too much to see what is important.
I would agree with your Majesty that such a possibility is plausible.
It’s a trivial thing, is it not? For that is why we are here: to make them understand.
Indeed we are, your Majesty.
Then I suppose we must do our jobs then, mustn’t we? It’s time.
… Time for what, your Majesty?
Everything, child.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” said Empress Aya Aidan, “we live in, as the Chinese would say, interesting times.”
There were smiles in the crowd at the simplification. It was a motley assortment of officials, Representatives, nobles, and so on. As the Empress surveyed the gathered group she could pick out faces from that day just over forty six years prior, when the fortunes of the Khmer Empire had finally turned around. Things had indeed been interesting since then.
“I have asked you all to come here today in order that I might discuss with you my plans for the future of the Empire.”
“Firstly, as all of you are no doubt aware, our little Empire no longer consists solely of Khmers, or even Mon Khmer peoples, nor has it for quite some time.
“Indeed, it is now truly a multicultural affair, and with the liberation of India, the colonization of Tínhtừnam, and the acquisition of Kăodin, the name, long outmoded, is now altogether inappropriate to reflect the true diversity of our lands.”
“As I consequence, I and my advisors have decided upon a simple but elegant new title: the Oceanic Empire.”
“Although we are, by no stretch of the imagination merely a sea power,” she said, giving just a slight pause for the chuckles from amongst the crowd, “we find it reflective of the span of our state across the surface of the world, and hope the Legislature shall approve.”
There were murmurs amongst the crowd, most of which sounded generally positive. The Empress continued “Correspondingly, associated organizations shall also require a change of title.”
“Our famous company, the Khmerian Organization of Entrepreneurship and Mercantilism, or ‘KOEM’ as some know it, shall be renamed the Oceanic Mercantile Entrepreneurship Group and Association, or in a similar fashion ‘OMEGA’.”
“Similarly, the Imperial Khmer Army and Imperial Khmer Navy shall be renamed the Imperial Oceanic Army, and Imperial Oceanic Navy, or IOA and ION, respectively.”
The murmurs amongst the crowd again returned as the members rolled the words and terms across their tongues and conversed with one another; reception again seemed generally positive. The Empress took it in for a few moments before continuing “Secondly, as you are all aware, this great capital city is the great heirloom of the Great Asiatic War, built to restore the damage done by the Nihonese during their invasion.”
“However, for all its grandeur and size, it is important that a people not become too set in their ways.”
“It is also important that a capital city not merely be a capital city, but that it have some other function, such that its residents, whatever their power, might recall that they are serving in the function of a duty above and beyond the mere exercising of power for power’s sake; that they are ruling a nation and as such deciding the fates of millions of individuals.”
“In accordance with this, I have issued a decree to relocate the capital of the now Oceanic Empire to the city of Singapura, opposite the ancient city of Tumasek on Bintan.”
“Its positioning is excellent, situated at the nexus of sea-communication links of the Empire, and its location is easily defensible by both land and sea forces; in addition to this, it is possible for it to develop into a vibrant port city similar to its sister-city in Tumasek, to serve as an example of the vitality of the Empire and the commercial pulse which is its life-blood.”
“In addition, in symbolizes the multicultural nature of the Empire every bit as much as the shift of titles, and reinforces the commitment of the Imperial structure to efficient operation by the reception by local subjects.”
To this there was a somewhat less enthusiastic tone, but it was not necessarily negative. The Empress had been over the plans and the proposal was sound; they would understand more fully once they were briefed on the specifics later.
“Lastly, I have a final piece of business to disclose,” she stated.
To this emphasis there came silence and eyes turned again to the dais upon which the Empress stood. She smirked a little; proper word choice and inflection always had the capability to put people in their place. She continued “I have served in my position as Empress for forty-six years.”
“In that time I have seen our people through two major wars, and the expansion of the Empire to over double its size and across two oceans; in my time, traders have reached almost every port of call in the world, and our commercial power, though perhaps rivaled, is not bested, nor is our military might.”
She smiled softly “I would hope that history would say I have done an acceptable job.”
“But the truth is I am getting old—I am weary of this position and the toll it takes.”
“As such, as my penultimate act as Empress, I designate my successor.”
The Empress halfway turned and beckoned toward the right hand side of the dais, where there stood several pages, serving girls, attendants, and one girl of tall stature, with raven black hair and almond-shaped eyes of bright jade; a most unusual combination. She was no more than seventeen years of age from appearance. She was dressed in the style of the Nihonese kimono which had become popular of late, a midnight blue color with golden dragons patterned upon it. The Empress beckoned for her to approach, and she did so wordlessly.
As she came to stand beside the Empress, she seemed to dwarf the now elder women. The Empress smiled to herself; size also kept people in place. She gestured at the girl. “This is Ammara Vy Chan, my grandniece.”
“As some of you are no doubt aware, she has consistently been the highest performer on all of the succession examinations amongst the current cadre.”
“As is our tradition, it is therefore her right to be first in line to succession of the throne.”
The Empress turned, facing the girl and placing a hand upon her left shoulder “And it is my honor to confer to her the position.”
The girl stared at the Empress impassively, saying not a word. The Empress could not quite be sure if it was shyness, fear, or ambivalence, but from the animated conversations they had had previously she felt strongly it was but one thing: resolve. She had prepared for this possibility for her entire life, effectively.
The Empress removed her hand from the youth’s shoulder, took a step back, and removed the Dao of Empire from the left side of her outfit, before holding it outstretched in both hands, as a soldier surrendering a weapon. “The Empire is yours, Empress Ammara Vy Chan—may you serve it well, and may it serve you likewise.”
In a slow but smooth motion the girl took the sword with her right hand, holding it by the scabbard just above the guard and returning her arm to her side. The former Empress turned to face the assembled crowd. There was rapt silence. “With that, I announce my formal abdication.”
She turned back to the new Empress, and gave a warm smile—a rare sight—before nodding a little “They’re all yours now.”
With that, she turned to the right and went towards where the girl who had become Empress had stood, and walked out of the throne room, several retainers following with her. The Empress and the crowd watched her go. Several moments after she had disappeared from sight all eyes turned toward the lone tall figure clutching the Dao of Empire upon the dais. Even more slowly Empress Ammara Vy Chan turned her jade eyes to the group, running her unreadable gaze across them in a gestalt sweep before lifting the sword slightly and looking down upon it. The silence was deafening.
It was not perceptible to the crowd how her hand clenched tight around the scabbard. But they did quite plainly perceive her next gesture. With sudden ferocity she thrust her right arm upwards and held the sword upon high for all to see, exclaiming “Long live the Oceanic Empire!”
Much as forty six years before there was a moment’s hesitation before over a hundred fists thrust into the air and the cry came back “Long live the Oceanic Empire!”
And as so many times before the chant, though this time slightly different, echoed throughout the halls of the Imperial Palace. Somewhere within its halls, rapidly receding from the Throne Room, Aya Aidan grinned.
Understand what, your Majesty?
Anything at all.
Begging your pardon, Majesty, but surely they must understand enough, or we would not be here.
… That is perhaps true enough. Perhaps then, sometimes they understand too much to see what is important.
I would agree with your Majesty that such a possibility is plausible.
It’s a trivial thing, is it not? For that is why we are here: to make them understand.
Indeed we are, your Majesty.
Then I suppose we must do our jobs then, mustn’t we? It’s time.
… Time for what, your Majesty?
Everything, child.
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IMPERIAL PALACE, FUNANOKOR, KHMER EMPIRE
1632 LOCAL TIME, 21.04.0900AF
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IMPERIAL PALACE, FUNANOKOR, KHMER EMPIRE
1632 LOCAL TIME, 21.04.0900AF
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” said Empress Aya Aidan, “we live in, as the Chinese would say, interesting times.”
There were smiles in the crowd at the simplification. It was a motley assortment of officials, Representatives, nobles, and so on. As the Empress surveyed the gathered group she could pick out faces from that day just over forty six years prior, when the fortunes of the Khmer Empire had finally turned around. Things had indeed been interesting since then.
“I have asked you all to come here today in order that I might discuss with you my plans for the future of the Empire.”
“Firstly, as all of you are no doubt aware, our little Empire no longer consists solely of Khmers, or even Mon Khmer peoples, nor has it for quite some time.
“Indeed, it is now truly a multicultural affair, and with the liberation of India, the colonization of Tínhtừnam, and the acquisition of Kăodin, the name, long outmoded, is now altogether inappropriate to reflect the true diversity of our lands.”
“As I consequence, I and my advisors have decided upon a simple but elegant new title: the Oceanic Empire.”
“Although we are, by no stretch of the imagination merely a sea power,” she said, giving just a slight pause for the chuckles from amongst the crowd, “we find it reflective of the span of our state across the surface of the world, and hope the Legislature shall approve.”
There were murmurs amongst the crowd, most of which sounded generally positive. The Empress continued “Correspondingly, associated organizations shall also require a change of title.”
“Our famous company, the Khmerian Organization of Entrepreneurship and Mercantilism, or ‘KOEM’ as some know it, shall be renamed the Oceanic Mercantile Entrepreneurship Group and Association, or in a similar fashion ‘OMEGA’.”
“Similarly, the Imperial Khmer Army and Imperial Khmer Navy shall be renamed the Imperial Oceanic Army, and Imperial Oceanic Navy, or IOA and ION, respectively.”
The murmurs amongst the crowd again returned as the members rolled the words and terms across their tongues and conversed with one another; reception again seemed generally positive. The Empress took it in for a few moments before continuing “Secondly, as you are all aware, this great capital city is the great heirloom of the Great Asiatic War, built to restore the damage done by the Nihonese during their invasion.”
“However, for all its grandeur and size, it is important that a people not become too set in their ways.”
“It is also important that a capital city not merely be a capital city, but that it have some other function, such that its residents, whatever their power, might recall that they are serving in the function of a duty above and beyond the mere exercising of power for power’s sake; that they are ruling a nation and as such deciding the fates of millions of individuals.”
“In accordance with this, I have issued a decree to relocate the capital of the now Oceanic Empire to the city of Singapura, opposite the ancient city of Tumasek on Bintan.”
“Its positioning is excellent, situated at the nexus of sea-communication links of the Empire, and its location is easily defensible by both land and sea forces; in addition to this, it is possible for it to develop into a vibrant port city similar to its sister-city in Tumasek, to serve as an example of the vitality of the Empire and the commercial pulse which is its life-blood.”
“In addition, in symbolizes the multicultural nature of the Empire every bit as much as the shift of titles, and reinforces the commitment of the Imperial structure to efficient operation by the reception by local subjects.”
To this there was a somewhat less enthusiastic tone, but it was not necessarily negative. The Empress had been over the plans and the proposal was sound; they would understand more fully once they were briefed on the specifics later.
“Lastly, I have a final piece of business to disclose,” she stated.
To this emphasis there came silence and eyes turned again to the dais upon which the Empress stood. She smirked a little; proper word choice and inflection always had the capability to put people in their place. She continued “I have served in my position as Empress for forty-six years.”
“In that time I have seen our people through two major wars, and the expansion of the Empire to over double its size and across two oceans; in my time, traders have reached almost every port of call in the world, and our commercial power, though perhaps rivaled, is not bested, nor is our military might.”
She smiled softly “I would hope that history would say I have done an acceptable job.”
“But the truth is I am getting old—I am weary of this position and the toll it takes.”
“As such, as my penultimate act as Empress, I designate my successor.”
The Empress halfway turned and beckoned toward the right hand side of the dais, where there stood several pages, serving girls, attendants, and one girl of tall stature, with raven black hair and almond-shaped eyes of bright jade; a most unusual combination. She was no more than seventeen years of age from appearance. She was dressed in the style of the Nihonese kimono which had become popular of late, a midnight blue color with golden dragons patterned upon it. The Empress beckoned for her to approach, and she did so wordlessly.
As she came to stand beside the Empress, she seemed to dwarf the now elder women. The Empress smiled to herself; size also kept people in place. She gestured at the girl. “This is Ammara Vy Chan, my grandniece.”
“As some of you are no doubt aware, she has consistently been the highest performer on all of the succession examinations amongst the current cadre.”
“As is our tradition, it is therefore her right to be first in line to succession of the throne.”
The Empress turned, facing the girl and placing a hand upon her left shoulder “And it is my honor to confer to her the position.”
The girl stared at the Empress impassively, saying not a word. The Empress could not quite be sure if it was shyness, fear, or ambivalence, but from the animated conversations they had had previously she felt strongly it was but one thing: resolve. She had prepared for this possibility for her entire life, effectively.
The Empress removed her hand from the youth’s shoulder, took a step back, and removed the Dao of Empire from the left side of her outfit, before holding it outstretched in both hands, as a soldier surrendering a weapon. “The Empire is yours, Empress Ammara Vy Chan—may you serve it well, and may it serve you likewise.”
In a slow but smooth motion the girl took the sword with her right hand, holding it by the scabbard just above the guard and returning her arm to her side. The former Empress turned to face the assembled crowd. There was rapt silence. “With that, I announce my formal abdication.”
She turned back to the new Empress, and gave a warm smile—a rare sight—before nodding a little “They’re all yours now.”
With that, she turned to the right and went towards where the girl who had become Empress had stood, and walked out of the throne room, several retainers following with her. The Empress and the crowd watched her go. Several moments after she had disappeared from sight all eyes turned toward the lone tall figure clutching the Dao of Empire upon the dais. Even more slowly Empress Ammara Vy Chan turned her jade eyes to the group, running her unreadable gaze across them in a gestalt sweep before lifting the sword slightly and looking down upon it. The silence was deafening.
It was not perceptible to the crowd how her hand clenched tight around the scabbard. But they did quite plainly perceive her next gesture. With sudden ferocity she thrust her right arm upwards and held the sword upon high for all to see, exclaiming “Long live the Oceanic Empire!”
Much as forty six years before there was a moment’s hesitation before over a hundred fists thrust into the air and the cry came back “Long live the Oceanic Empire!”
And as so many times before the chant, though this time slightly different, echoed throughout the halls of the Imperial Palace. Somewhere within its halls, rapidly receding from the Throne Room, Aya Aidan grinned.
Symphony D.
Deity
There is only one God, and its name is Truth.
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OPENING SPEECH OF TEACHINGS ON TOTALISM
Given By Wai Chukche
Delivered 22.07.0901AF
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OPENING SPEECH OF TEACHINGS ON TOTALISM
Given By Wai Chukche
Delivered 22.07.0901AF
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Throughout history, numerous explanations have been put forward by civilized and uncivilized peoples to explain why things are the way they are. Virtually all of these suppose the invocation of some higher power.
In our own society, this is what is known as Dualism. It puts forward the worship of both a seemingly endless number of Gods and ones own ancestors, and has over several centuries accumulated a quantity of deities impossible to reckon in numbers. It is this very quantity of various beings worshipped which indicates that this cannot be the ultimate solution.
I do not put forward to you that your beliefs are wrong. Instead what I put forward is that they are only part of the grand scheme of reality. To worship any one particular deity or being is as beholding a reflection of the universe through a piece of broken glass; one may only see a small part of the whole. Even when taking into account the entire pantheon, its entirety is as merely a shattered mirror to all.
To understand all of existence, one must have a view of all of existence; ones mirror must be equal in size to everything in order to offer a proper reflection of it. The only way of achieving this is by obtaining a total perspective of creation. As the machinists say, the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
When viewed from this perspective, the worship of Empress Fan Chan, or of Shiva, or even the various Gods of other foreign nations is not wrong. It is merely of limited scope. All of these beings encompass ideas. They are symbols, and stand for a particular notion, concept, or belief.
Let me ask you, what is the truth?
It is the fundamental state of an person, place, or thing. For example, this granite rock, will remain granite short of some sort of catastrophic change to its character. Even if it is carved into a perfect cube, will it not be granite? Or if it is smashed into shards so tiny they cannot be seen by the eye, will it not be granite?
If a rose is called by any other name, is it not still a rose?
Truth is an unalterable fact of existence. It stands to reason that if facts can be true, that so too can concepts, ideas, and laws. This is where the deification of various entities comes into play; they are all embodiments of aspects of truth. The Empress Fan Chan is worshipped for her intellect, prowess, and aggression in forging the basis of Funan-Champa and later the Khmer Empire. Admirable qualities indeed, and they are true enough while standing alone. But does that explain all of existence? No.
It is only by taking the sum of all these parts, and adding them together to form a complete picture of life that we might have sufficient understanding to properly worship.
There are one hundred thousand Gods, and there is only one God; they are all one in the same, merely different sides of the same coin. To honor them is to seek an understanding of what they represent, and to seek out and learn in the regions in which there are gaps in our knowledge; to embrace totality is a never-ending process.
How then, do we worship a being such as this, which is all that can possibly be? How do we pay homage to a God which is the ultimate Truth of all things? The answer to that is simple: one must learn all.
The goal then of civilized man who accepts such a journey is to gain understanding of the greatness that is existence by determining its functions and processes, to know what makes it continue its endless cycles and how and why it does so. To know these things is to begin to know the Truth, and to know God.
This is what I put forward to you as Totalism.
MjM
Deity
Sending orders soon.
Orders sent.
MjM
Deity
Rather crappy orderset sent.
Insane_Panda
Deity
NPC me das, unfortunately I do not have enough time to make orders this turn. (I was gone all weekend).
silver 2039
Deity
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
- Messages
- 16,208
You can never hold India...its far too large.
Symphony D.
Deity
Territorial size has never stopped anyone who knew what they were doing from holding anything, from Persia, to the Romans, to the Mongols, to the British, to the Russians. It's not that big either; Australia alone is twice as large. If you mean people... people are people.
Disenfrancised
Beep Beep
Fin did agree to those terms last night over MSN...perhaps you should include conditional orders 
silver 2039
Deity
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
- Messages
- 16,208
Yes and people are rebellious. Theres no way you can hold India.
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
I'm not sure how the above terms apply to Gaelic forces in the area. However, we expect that Nortugal will observe the cease fire in the area of Gibraltar with respect to Gaul as well.
Gaul will not attack Nortugese forces holding their current positions, unless they are attacked first.
Gaul will not attack Nortugese forces holding their current positions, unless they are attacked first.
das
Regeneration In Process
Well frankly that's not up to you at all, is it?
Deadline is nearly here.
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