LINES-World of Magic

[das]

The Hand.

(as told by Drasec-magus to his and your humble servant Taldyr during their last journey to the Island of Tyuleni in 1500 BC)

Young one... you asked me to tell you about the hand of Kiy... It is only well that you wish to know...

Now they say much about that hand. They say... that it changed Kiy. That... it was because... of that damned left hand that he did all those things... they speak wrongly - he aged, and fell... under bad influences... but you know about it now. The hand... was for the best, it did many things that one could not say to be aimed against the people.

It was his left hand, ofcourse. He lost it at Tana, when fighting with Vargas. Vargas was the Scy... the Scythian shaman, a powerful geomancer and still a formidable... warrior. But Kiy, though inexperienced, already then showed his skill, cutting Vargas down personally... though may your lightning strike me, Perun, if you did not help him there!

Yes... the hand... when he awoke, he was shocked, and... scared... He thought himself unable to rule... Tirski and I... Tirski was a great warrior who helped Kiy much and who also suffered later on... we thought that Kiy's rule would be for the best, and... we were right, for that time... All went wrong much later, there was none of this evil in him back then... Anyway, Tirski and I persuaded him... to rule on... And I promised... to help him... but failed. Vargas... cursed his arm, and ruined it as well, and the Dead Water could not reattach it.

The Urrians... they were foreign, and I hold them responsible for many bad things that happened to the world... in the past both recent and distant... but they also achieved much, they knew much and so we... Tirski, Kiy and I... decided to invite them... to call the great Barishen, the Urrian magus... He was a great healer, that much I can acknowledge... but... he could not save his arm, nor... could he... give Kiy a new one. When it was heard that Kiy wanted a new, different arm if the... the old one... could not be reattached... the people, in their wisdom and prejudice that is one and same... protested and cried, saying that it would make him no longer himself... And later, other people... dishonourable, but enlightened people... claimed that this hand was the cause of all troubles...

...this Illyrian hand. The Illyrians... People of the West... were related to Tripoleans, and spoke a similar language, but their magic was not like ours... it was unnatural... it was AGAINST nature, it was anti-natural... and very efficient. Their leader... the necromancer called Ren... as a token of friendship... had his cronies create a hand... It was a real hand, just like the one Kiy had lost. Their knowledge... was vast, but unnatural and impossible for me to penetrate... for it was chaotic and evil...

They gave him that hand, and attached it to him, and with Dead Water they... made it a part of him... and after the first few days... Kiy felt normal... and got used to this hand... But it was not all normal... For though that hand... I maintain... did not make him into the monster he became later... gave him much strenght. Physical strenght, you ask?.. No... It made him more... resolute, more reckless, more ready to challenge the gods and their will... He lost a hand, but got it back anyway... and no longer feared punishment...

But... though I realized all that... back then, even I thought... that perhaps, a strong, determined ruler was... what we deserved and needed... and at first... it was for the best... New cities were built... the surviving Scythians were not given any quarter... and the land strenghthened... Kiy went against all... No matter what the fools and the smart people alike thought... he had things his way... and ignored advice... of all but himself... or so he had thought... Going against prejudice, he invited wisemen of Illyria, Ur... and other basurman countries... he made the people learn... he enlightened them... he made us train our disciples better and better... he invigorated the country... perhaps...

Perhaps it would have been for the best had he died before the bad side of his recklessness had shown itself... But then... I still hope... that our people, that all people have learned... Maybe in that case... it was not for nothing...

 

[JessicaKathrinn]

What is this game about? It looks interesting but it's kind of weird, like a fantasy setting. Would anyone care to explain the concept to me?

 

[Disenfrancised]

(earth map fresh start NES)^magic=Fun

Also Iggy are we getting story bonuses for the last round (or have I missed them)?

 

[jalapeno_dude]

Orders sent.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Oops! I forgot Story Bonuses!

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Story Bonuses

Avalon- +1 Loyalty
Gorin- +1 loyalty
Khemri- + 10 liches
Hyperborea- +20 galleys
Mongolia- Rebellions in Southern Korea won't happen.
Elgovia- +10 galleys
Karthage- +1 turn on wonder

 

[Erik Mesoy]

(the following is the result of many many PMs.)

Elgovia and Hyperborea do hereby jointly declare their intent to abide by this,
The Pact of Ka-Commoriom.

Substantive Articles:
Article the First: The articles contained herein, that are substantive and do constitute the leading section of this pact, shall remain so without change for as long as this pact remains in force. Should a signatory party to this Pact abrogate their responsibilities as set out herein, all other parties are freed of their obligations towards said party and have just cause to seek repairs from said party.
Articles that are nonsubstantive are subject to renewal every century, save if one party explicitly seeks to renegotiate a clause. In such cases, nonsubstantive articles and clauses may be changed or removed as is fitting in the circumstances.

Article the Second: All parties signatory to this pact do pledge alliance and allegiance to one another; none are in any way to make war upon each other or support the efforts of a third party to do so.

Article the Third: All parties signatory to this pact do swear to abstain from interference in the colonization or expansion efforts of another signatory party with regards to the continent known as Vendalia.

Article the Fourth: All parties signatory to this pact are to provide military support to any party that is subjected to outside aggression; if just cause is found, they are obliged to provide economic support in addition.

Article the Fifth: Parties that are signatory to this pact are not obliged to provide support should another party choose to commit aggression with regards to a third party; however they are still bound as set out in Article the Fourth to support such a party if their homeland are threatened.

Article the Sixth: All parties signatory to this pact must to the best of their ability see to it that information, trade goods, workers, and other such items may flow freely between the lands of said parties.

Article the Seventh: By the unanimous vote of all existing parties may a third party be invited to sign this Pact with all it entails.

Article the Eighth: Should a signatory party to this pact be found neglectful or otherwise detrimental, a substantive vote comprising two-thirds of all other members is sufficient to have said party removed from the pact; thereby all obligations by other parties to said party are made null and void.

Minor Articles, Section One: Regarding the usage of Hyperborean Warp Portals
1. Hyperborea makes her warp portals open to the general movement of goods and peoples as made specific below;
Merchants and civilians may move through for a small fee towards the upkeep of the portal, diplomats and messages may travel freely, military personnel may move after authorisation is received.
2. Persons travelling through the warp gates are subject to Hyperborean law as regards travel, goods and documents.
3. The Hyperborean government reserves the right to stop and investigate any person, goods, or information travelling through the gates, detaining them without charges for a period of no more than three months.
4. Hyperborea pledges to construct portals at the other partners requests provided some economic compensation is offered.
5. Objects considered hazardous (see Appendix One) must be registered and tracked through the network to ensure its integrity. Some substances will not be allowed to travel via normal gate for risks to network integrity.
6. Hyperborea reserves the right to add any substance or persons to the Hazardous Objects list at any time.
7. The signatory nations that use Hyperborean Warp Portals for purposes of facilitating foreign policy are to have a united foreign policy towards the nations reached through said portal(s); any non-economic treaties, pacts or declarations of war are not to be made without discussion with the other nation. Hyperborea retains the right to veto any non-economic action in the East.

Minor Articles, Section Two: Regarding Trading Posts such as Rhodes
1. Hyperborea pledges free use of this portal to the signatories of this pact in return for an upfront cost and fair tolls once large volumes of trade have occurred.
2. Any alliance military forces on Rhodes are to be placed under Hyperborean command if the Island is attacked and any alliance naval or military assets in the Mediterranean Sea are to make the defence of Rhodes their highest priority.
3. Alliance members are to have their own separate city districts (probably about 1/8 city in area) where their laws and sovereignty are to be respected, but any individual in the larger city or island is subject to Hyperborean law.

Minor Articles, Section Three: Regarding Old Hyperborea

1. The pact members are to recognise the dangers of Old Hyperborea and make no attempt to land or investigate it without the assistance of the Hyperborea priesthood.
2. The pact members are to assist Hyperborea when she calls for aid against any who try to exploit the vast powers or awaken the unimaginable dangers that are present in Old Hyperborea.

Appendix to Minor Articles One: Hazardous Objects and Controlled Substances

• Non-Hyperborean mages
• Magical substances such as Trafe
• Magical objects such as Avalonian plants

Also, Elgovia and Hyperborea do hereby invite Iroquois to become a signatory to the Pact of Ka-Commoriom.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

@Lord_Iggy: This turn I'm sending 2 eco points to Hyperborea to pay for a construction and 2 to Ur for a trade route, right?
Also, did Disenfrancised send you conditional war orders looking something like this?

Spoiler Only for Lord_Iggy's eyes :

additionally are you still on for war with the **removed**? I will send a large IF statement in my orders

Make clear in your orders that you are going for war and I will ask to do this:

Do a large **movement** with horrors and priests to **location**, there I will construct a warp portal **location**. I will also assign 15 of my most skilled galleys to your command (no troops as of yet though) - remember to give them orders!

I'm in support of this - we're acting in concert, and it's time for our first major event.

 

[Kal'thzar]

To Karthage
From Khemri

We will begin our trade route this turn.

 

[Disenfrancised]

Nice work Erik!

Spoiler Erik, and our Omniscient Moderator :

I've requested (and paid for) a small gate directly from Ka-Commoriom to Rhodes seperate from the main portal network - for your mages and magic and the like. Cross your fingers that it won't blow up

The Portland gate (the city (to be) and coast I'm going to name Na-Cykranosh and the Coast of Cykranosh) is likewise independent from the network but there is only one gate at present so be careful!

 

[The Strategos]

To Karthage
From Khemri

We will begin our trade route this turn.

Indeed, our merchants are already on their way.

 

[Disenfrancised]

Hmmm looks like I have a little bit of time before my lift gets here...


...The rune glowed purple on the hide for a second, then faded like a dying ember.

"And that is all?"

"Yes, this is your offical pass, you have paid for five years of unlimited access."

"A thousand thanks my good priest, I will send my first shipment through this very afternoon!"

"You have already purchased warehouse space and quarters? Somewhat presumptous on our good will do you not think?"

"Well come now, I'm a respected businessman, your hardly going to refuse!"

"Indeed you are often thought of by us"

There was something about the way the priest phrased that; most of his face still hidden by the cloth and metal mask, but his eyes narrowing in inspection, that gave Koomi a flutter of fear. He quickly repressed it however and slid his shopkeeps smile over his face - much like a infantryman would raise his heavy shield.

"Well now I'll be off. One last thing - how is the new port pronounced again?"

"Roe-dz, a odd sounding word to be sure, the multiplicity of tongues spoke in Valusia seem a recipie for confusion."

"Yes, yes. Good day to you."

"and to you"

As he left the temple Koomi's muscular body guards fell in around him, he had just paid 200 tee for this slip of paper after all, and had little mind to lose it.

"Sentrioon, any messengers from the yard whilst I was waiting on the pathmakers pleasure?"

"No" the impassive built of chief guard replied, his calm features a mix of all the racial types that had ever stopped in Ka-Commoriom to spread their seed. "But Uleenin wander past earlier, he was about to speak but then ran off like a frightened rabbit"

"Honestly you would think the most accomplished thief in the city would have more balls than that! But I guess he doesn't have the brain, I mean stealing the bust of Eidon from the great temple itself - who is he going to sell that too I ask you! Not to mention its cursed, If he wasn't my brother I'd have turned him in in an instant!"

"Yes Koomi"

"Oh well as soon as we get over to the new city we'll set up shop and look for some barbarians to flog it and its curse to!"

There was a great whistling off in the distance as the great gateway was slowly tune to its destination, for this city every was about to change...

 

[TerrisH]

To Elgovia and Hyperborea
I am inturested in joining this pact you have made, if for no other reason then Avalon boarders Old Hyperborea also. as I do plan to establish a few cities on the contineint, but the places we have chosen to establish them are out of the way of your current expansions.

(note, one city to the west along the northern coast. continual conilzation of the Isle to your north, and Florida+carribian isles)

 

[Erik Mesoy]

"March to the drum and prepare for war
Bring out the ayurn swords from the store!
We shall be avenged for our dead kinsmen
Never shall our home be threatened again!"

Once the spark had come, it was surprisingly easy to mobilize the Elgovian military. A secret diplomatic mission to the Haidan barbarians in the west had gone awry, leaving the main corps dead. The secondary corps had returned with tales of walking trees, vines that fell down to strangle men, and the very ground rising up murderously. The whispers had spread quickly across the entire nation. "dark forests" ... "living trees" ... "an evil presence in the earth itself" ...

Cledamar, speaking once again through the Chaos Throne, commanded a greater growth of the Elgovian military, which had already grown quite large in recent times. Men came from far and wide to be recruited. Who, after all, would not wish to be off on such a great excursion? For the first time ever, Elgovia would use its force against a hostile power.

And to compound this success came the inventors. They had begun to forge new swords and spearheads out of a new type of iron. Iron had, of course, been known for hundreds of years as a weak bronze; iron was brittle and weak. But the inventors were making iron in a new way: leaving it in cold fires for an hour, then folding it and forging it a second time. Now iron was replacing bronze as the standard material for weapons.

The negotiations with Hyperborea came right on the heels of the signing of the Pact of Ka-Commoriom. The Hyperboreans were more than happy to aid their allies, and give their mostly ceremonial army some practice. They had volunteered a small fleet of river barges already, and promised troops later, so the marching could begin right away.


ORDERS
2 econ points to Hyperborea for the warp gate to Rhodes
2 econ points to establishing a trade route with Ur
2 econ points to buying infantry
1 econ point to increasing education (yess! Iron age!)
1 econ point to increasing economy (yay! Prosperity!)

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Actually, I decide when people enter the next age. You have a few elites with iron weapons, but you can't mass produce them yet. Soon however, you will learn how.

 

[Toteone]

November Vacation - An Antarctican Tradition

In the month of November the children of Antarctica are not encouraged to attend school. Instead most of them choose to involve themselves in the workforce for a full month. The standard salary a child receives in the month of Nobember is 10% of what a grown man would expect from the same line of work.

The November Vacation was established to allow the children experience in the day-to-day functionings of adult life. Most of them come back to their local school with experiences to share.

The businesses that benefit on this particular form of child labor usually contribute a substantial amount of their gains towards the building of roads. Hopefully this will improve the economy even more to come.

[increase education?]
[free roads?]

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Write a longer story and I'll give you a bonus.

 

[Erik Mesoy]

Toteone, that particular story smells of cheese and modern times. Begging for two things at the bottom of five sentences is just asking for the GM to slap you down.

Anyway,

I decide when people enter the next age. You have a few elites with iron weapons, but you can't mass produce them yet. Soon however, you will learn how.

Somebody needs to do their homework on OTL iron and bronze.

Wiki Sez:
By 3000 BC to 2000 BC, increasing numbers of smelted iron objects (distinguishable from meteoric iron by the lack of nickel in the product) appear in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Egypt. However, their use appears to be ceremonial, and iron was an expensive metal, more expensive than gold. In the Iliad, weaponry is mostly bronze, but iron ingots are used for trade.
I'm moving to war and I have intercontinental trade, besides being the most advanced nation in the world. Not being able to mass produce iron is just contrary to reality. What's more reasonable is that I haven't discovered carbonisation yet.

Sorry if this seems whiny, but I hate it when internal consistency or relative consistency are ignored on the "it's magic!" excuse.

 

[The Strategos]

I'm moving to war and I have intercontinental trade, besides being the most advanced nation in the world.

New Atlantis: Education: Enlightened +8
Atlantis: Education: Clever (3/6)
Atlantica: Education: Clever +6
Illyria: Education: Above Average (0/5)
Elgovia: Education: Average (3/4)
Sudafrika: Education: Average (3/4)

Would you like to rephrase your "most advanced nation in the world" statement? I think Illyria has been "Above Average" for a couple turns now, if he hasn't gone to the next age yet, you definately shouldn't expect it either.

 

[Toteone]

Toteone, that particular story smells of cheese and modern times. Begging for two things at the bottom of five sentences is just asking for the GM to slap you down.

Anyway,Somebody needs to do their homework on OTL iron and bronze.

Wiki Sez:
By 3000 BC to 2000 BC, increasing numbers of smelted iron objects (distinguishable from meteoric iron by the lack of nickel in the product) appear in Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Egypt. However, their use appears to be ceremonial, and iron was an expensive metal, more expensive than gold. In the Iliad, weaponry is mostly bronze, but iron ingots are used for trade.
I'm moving to war and I have intercontinental trade, besides being the most advanced nation in the world. Not being able to mass produce iron is just contrary to reality. What's more reasonable is that I haven't discovered carbonisation yet.

Sorry if this seems whiny, but I hate it when internal consistency or relative consistency are ignored on the "it's magic!" excuse.

-regarding my story
Tough kitty toenails =^_^= I'll sketch up something more magicky next time though. ;-)

Also when the boundaries of magic are so vague and hasn't been properly defined in a game then 'it's magic' excuse if not solid is certainly a worthwhile point until Lord Iggy puts his foot down.