LINESII- Into the Darkness- Part II

[Swissempire]

WHOAH! I just gave it some THOUGHT!

To: Gerougia
From: The Swade Ascendancy
Hail and well met brethern. We heard of your glorious people by way of our Grand Allies of Sintonia. We are the Bladeist Fatherland, perhaps you've heard of our religion, for it seems to have effected the formation of yours. Excuse our diplomats ragged appearance, they have had to travel a long way and in hiding to skirt the Vile Ships of Veritas.

We bring you news of a world corrupted by the plague of Oneism, but soon to be pacified by the forces of good, headed up by the Bladeist Crusaders whom lay they lives on the line. But we are also bearers of the Message of the Blademaster. We shant push our religion on you, but we offer to help you build your self up to to level of most Bladeists States. Once Oneism is finally defeated, perhaps we can share a peaceful world, together.

And be warned, the Valin lie and backstab. Recently they have betrayed their closest ally by Conquering their entire homeland, and history tells of how the Vaqlin builds up minor Barbarian or newly Urban states and then annexs them or conquers them. Kalamar, Emor, Sintonia, the list goes on. Beware, young Disiples, and stay safe.

 

[alex994]

OOC: *sigh* If they are the self respecting philsophers and etc implied by their stats....

IC:

To Swade Ascendancy
From Guangfei

On the matter of your silence, we assume that you have declined to respond to our well intended message. As you refuse to respond, we will pointedly tell you something. Continue your preaching of Bladeism south of Ozkir, Swade and Aryie and Guangfei will take actions to defend her soverignity and those of her neighbors.

From henceforth, all Swade missionaries are expelled from Guangfei and will be refused transit across the Empire on pain of death. All subjects of the Ascendancy are ordered to leave the Empire. However, as always the subjects and representatives of Myocaca are free to remain in Guangfei.

EDIT: OOC: WHy doesn't Buguan have an army? I assumed the allied tribes had an army to fight after all...

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Buguan has no organized army.

 

[Cuivienen]

Any response to my PM, Iggy?

 

[alex994]

Ditto. Same here

EDIT: And the Swades don't even have contact with LB

 

[Kentharu]

From the Gorinese Empire
To Merhai

We offer your people a NAP

 

[Cuivienen]

The vote was narrow, but it had passed, and both the councilors and the people would praise it.

Hamaniar rode atop the stones her horse alone could have smoothed. Within her first year as a councilor from Aldisir, from a new and wealthy walk near the great gates of the city, she had lost track of the number of trips she took on the White Road[1] between Aldisir and Keliosir, traveling to and from the Hall of the Council. Always, in that first year, and in the many years following, her home awaited her on the return trip to Aldisir. Not this time. This time, things were different.

She was prepared for the sight of the ruins. She had seen it from far the day the city fell, and again upon its liberation. She had returned four times during the construction of the Cenotaph, its dome rising up in the wreckage. The wreckage was mostly gone now. The hill on which Aldisir had rested was crowned only by new construction; the Hall had exploited the opportunity to order the construction of hundreds of new buildings of shimmering greystone quarried in the surrounding mountains. People were returning to Aldisir now, the wealthy and the poor, though many among the poor had also taken the opportunity to pledge as Soldiers of the Dove. Hamaniar herself had considered such a course for a while, when she despaired of Aldisir ever being rebuilt.

She and her fellow councilors from the city had been in a long limbo. There was no one left to support them, and three whole classes of councilors form other cities and form the countryside had passed in and out of the Hall during her time. Most Revered Jarsindin had decreed that the Aldisir councilors would remain until the city was rebuilt, but still she felt awkward among her fellows from elsewhere. It was liberating but oppressing, representing no one. She had the niggling feeling that the Path did not involve undiscussed decisions like hers, and feared for the future should her own personal wisdom prove unworthy and incomparable to the wisdom of the many.

However, the time for such hesistance was over. Aldisir was revived, and today she would attend the opening of the Cenotaph. Some called it a somber occasion, one to makr the passing of thousands of Kelia soldiers and of tens of thousands of Kelia civilians lost in the bloody war with Tsaya. Others called it a festival, a celebration of the triumph of the people over adversity, and of the rebuilding of Aldisir. Hamaniar herself was conflicted. Her son had died in the fire, and her daughter had died in the last battle at Tsariga, right when victory was at hand. Hamaniar did not mourn her loss; her children would return, somewhere, though likely farther away than she could imagine. Nonetheless, she could not shake the sadness she felt for the destruction of what had been wrought by the people: the farms and homes, the shops, the guidehouses, the courts, the walls. The libraries and the schools.

She sighed. What is lost is lost, and what is new will replace it. She allowed herself a small smile at the ancient proverb, a definition of Kelia society. Her horse strode beneath the greystone arch that marked the West Gate of the new Aldisir. The landscape changed not at all within the walls—farms stretched off to both sides still—yet one day the city would need new walls, and larger. Hamaniar knew that she would not live to see that day, but she would live to see its beginnings. The Cenotaph was to open today, and it would be the start, just maybe, of a new dawn. For Aldisir, and for Kelios.


[1]Named for the whitestone (marble) with which it is paved at the entrance to Keliosir and, formerly, Aldisir. For most of the distance, the road is actually paved with normal bluish-greyish local rock.

 

[~Darkening~]

Shouldn't be economy be 8? 5/3?

For cities I counted Ardan, Vael Dash, and Cuasitia.

For regions I have lower and upper Davar, Upper and lower Arcadia, andeither Nontin or Radis. On the map it shows Upper Arcadia, then a line beneath Vael Dash, then another line between the mountains leading into radis.

 

[Swissempire]

TO: Guangfei

What message? And if you wish, our missionaries will no longer travel through your lands. But seeing as how Sintonia is below Ayrie, and how Bladeism is becoming a true force in the world, we will not let our faith be resticted by you. We will not preach in your lands, but other than that, we cannot make any promises.

 

[Cuivienen]

Garmarfin let out a long breath. He was too old for this sort thing. He should never have volunteered for this assignment. Even the Council had seen it when he stood before them. He was one of most honored of the Guides, a great leader among the people and looked to for counsel by the entire populace of Faransir, yet the Council had only barely voted to appoint him leader of the Tsayan expedition. At the time, he had though himself slighted, his honor impugned and the Council foolish. He had been the foolish one to declare his desire to run a mission so far from the easy lands of home. So great a fool.

They had come down out of the mountains of the new road, perhaps the first civilians to traverse the still-rough stones. Some place far to the east, the army was still working; the road would be finished in less than a week, if it were completed on time. Gamarfin did not think he would ever reach the city at the far end. His mission was not truly meant to, in any case. They had been sent only to instruct the people of Tsaya, most of whom huddled in tiny homes set far back in the countryside, still afraid of marauding Kelia armies. The damage of war was something Garmarfin wished the world could do without. Though he himself had lost nothing, it pained him greatly to see one person so afraid of others, so unwilling to cooperate and to work towards the ultimate vision.

He was proud of his job. He was bringing these people out of their shelters, reassuring them that the war was over, that the shades of death had passed, and that all of the people of Kelios would now work together to rebuild. Sometimes he was met by cries of joy and tears of hope and his heart was raised high. These Tsayans quickly welcomed him and his followers into their homes and learned his teachings. Nonetheless, there were a minority of Tsayans (a small minority) who turned to rage at his words of comfort, who retreated inward into their places of shelter and refused to speak to him. It was these people who made him break down and cry, for them and for the future of all people. How could there be so much distrust in the world, so much unwillingness to work together? It baffled a man who had lived all his life in the highlands of Kelios.

Now he was falling ill once more. It was his fourth illness on the trip and looked set to be the worst yet. Each had been worse than the last. He could teach fewer Tsayans when ill, could dispatch fewer of the young and zealous to scour the countryside for stragglers. He could not command the intricate network of Guides that had already spread itself Tsaya like so much lace. Coming here had been a poor choice on his part, one borne from the vanity of a man grown too obsessed with his own righteousness. Every Tsayan who turned him away broke his heart and made him only weaker when he had to be strong. Coming here had been a poor choice on his part, indeed.

----​

Months later, the shrouded body of Garmarfin reaches the city of Tsarinsir, formerly Port Tsariga, just a few days ahead of the Most Revered. He had brought hope to the people of Tsaya, and faith that cooperation would bring the world farther along the Path. He had died in peace, if illness could be called peace, in the open plains. The Guides of Tsaya were reorganized now, and a new, young leader was chosen. But Garmarfin would not be forgotten, and, in his speech before the assembled people of Tsarinsir, Most Revered Jarsindin bestowed upon him a new title: Chosen. Garmarfin, first of the Chosen Guides, went down in the lore of the people of Tsaya, and, even when Tsaya had shed all distinctiveness, reverence for the ill man who brought them hope would remain.

 

[alex994]

OOC: Excellent update, if a bit anti-climatic. I still remember a certain mod saying Valin influence in Qingdao isn't harmful

To Swade Ascendancy
From Guangfei

Your continued preaching of your faith to the lands West, East and south of Guangfei is detrimental to the safety and well being of the Empire. Cease your activity.

To Bladeists of the Ascendancy
From Guangfei

That message is the one which you politely chose to ignore. Continue upon your present path, and there will be war.

 

[Cuivienen]

OOC: Seems like everyone wants a huge, all-encompassing world war over there. Good thing Kelios is entering what will hopefully be termed the "Long Peace".

Three stories down, at least four more to go thsi turn.

 

[Kentharu]

From The Gorinese Empire
To the International Community

The Gorinese Empire expresses it neutrality in all current matters.

 

[LittleBoots]

WHOAH! I just gave it some THOUGHT!

To: GerougiaFrom: The Swade Ascendancy
Hail and well met brethern. [...] Beware, young Disiples, and stay safe.

No offense, but I'm gonna wait until Iggy okays this, as your weren't on the list. Maybe through Sintonia, but I'm gonna wait, like I said. I'll reply to anything from Sintonia, if you influence that.

@Iggy - Bah. Just. Bah. Where are they? Living here for such a long time you'd think I know. My map is already pretty small, you could at least give me a direction

FROM: Gerougioikoi Metikarchon (very roughly: Foreign Minister)
TO: Citadel of Knowledge

Valin wise-men have spoken with us at length about your great libraries. We request access to these stores of knowledge by our Holy Men. Naturally, we do oppose any sort of escort or limitations, we merely desire the free exchange of knowledge. In return, we will provide you with compilations of Gerougioikon works, as well as summaries thereof. We regard sophia (knowledge) as one of the highest pursuits of Man and eagerly await your response.

OOC: If you'd allow it JD, I'll write a summary of my religion from the point of view of a Citadel scholar.

 

[alex994]

To Citadel of Knowledge
From Guangfei

His Imperial Majesty respectfully requests access to all information involving Bladeist religion, culture, way of life with a particular emphasis on the Swade Ascendancy's history.

 

[Swissempire]

To Citadel of Knowledge
From Guangfei

His Imperial Majesty respectfully requests access to all information involving Bladeist religion, culture, way of life with a particular emphasis on the Swade Ascendancy's history.

OOC: Does that mean you want ME to write a story?

From: Swade Ascendancy
To: Guangefei

Very well, we shall abide my your wishes and preach no long to the east west or south of your lands.

 

[alex994]

A Dash of Humor​

“Food for the body is as necessary as knowledge is for the mind. An essential and much better well cooked as knowledge well written. It is a true hallmark of civilization indeed.” –Anonymous Guangfei Scholar

Yangzhou Chao Fan (Fried Rice)​

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 jin(500 grams) of rice
1/2 liang(25 grams) of shrimp
1 spoonful of salt
2 stalks of leek
½ onion
½ clove of garlic
1 ge(100 mL) of oil, preferably vegetable

Optional:
One spoonful of soy sauce for taste
Pinch of ginger for spice

Cooking Instructions:

Preparation- The two eggs are to be cracked in a bowl where both the egg yolk and white are to be stirred until it becomes a fine yellowy liquid. The stalks of leek are to be cut into small pieces while the shrimp is to be beheaded and de-tailed. The onion is to be peeled and then cut into finer strips while the clove of garlic is to be grounded up into small pieces. The ginger, if used, is to be also well grounded up prior to the cooking.
-The fire upon which the meal is to be cooked should have been burning for around 20 minutes prior to the cooking. The work (think frying pan but deeper with curving sides) should be well oiled and washed prior to the actual cooking.
-Freshness is optimal, observe for any defects or signs of decay in the chosen ingredients

Cooking- The stirred egg yolk and white is to be placed into the frying pan first with a few drops of oil placed shortly afterwards and once the yolk and white have solidified via the usage of the turner. After this, the rice is to be added and through the turner the rice and egg is to be mixed.
-After mixing, the shrimp should be added next and allowed to heat before adding the onion peels and then the sprinkling the pieces of garlic upon the dish while using the turner to cook the food. The oil is to be of course added gradually as the ingredients are added into the meal
-Continue using the turner and mix around the food and if you have experience, you should “throw” the food into the air or so to speak to insure a better quality as the food lands on the well heated wok. If adding soy sauce or ginger, this is the time to add them.

Presentation- Prior to presentation, the pieces of leek are to be added into the rice and quickly mixed. The fried rice should be preferably placed upon a large plate and presented while still steaming hot.

 

[Cuivienen]

Great, now I'm hungry.

I meant to post another story here, but I'm too tired to finish it. Instead, I have some diplomacy.

To: Sanx
From: Kelios

Hail, friends! We would like to formalize our friendship into a defensive pact against the potential aggression of foreign barbarians. Do you agree?

 

[jalapeno_dude]

From: Citadel
To: Gerougioikoi Metikarchon

Agreed. We will send you some scrolls. (OOC: That's fine.)

From: Citadel
To: Guangfei:

Agreed. You may send scholars to the Citadel in exchange for us being to send our scholars to Guangfei permanently.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Shouldn't be economy be 8? 5/3?

F i x e d .