LINESII- Into the Darkness- Part II
- Thread starter Lord_Iggy
- Start date
Swissempire
Poet Jester
Iggy, i have contact with Littleboots through Sintonia, right?
@SS- Sorry, I've been very busy and am away from my map computer.
Your nation has half of an island about 1 cm from north to south and .6 cm east to west, and colonies on a few neighbouring islands.
BTW, the river to your north is quite dry and cold, though irrigatable. Beyond it is a wasteland of ice.
Your nation has half of an island about 1 cm from north to south and .6 cm east to west, and colonies on a few neighbouring islands.
It was good, an interesting insignt on your nation, like all stories are.
BTW, the river to your north is quite dry and cold, though irrigatable. Beyond it is a wasteland of ice.
Silver Steak
The Ghost of SS
No worries, Iggy. I'm not really a big piece of this NES puzzle anyway. Although I admit, I do look forward to being rediscovered. 
Oruc
Reactionary
when do orders have to be in by?
Cuivienen
Deity
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2003
- Messages
- 8,011
Kamyanan was credited with the brilliant plan to provide for both the defense and the wealth of the nation at the same time, and it was from the name of his Order, the Order of the Dove, that the new farmer-soldiers received their name.
He was inspired by the serfs of Tsaya. Admittedly, and even Kamyanan knew this, serfdom was not a good place to start. However, the idea of service to the nation tied to the land stuck with him even after his studies of Tsaya were abruptly ended by the outbreak of war. Kamyanan had been a young man then, young, hale and healthy. Now, with rheumy eyes and creaking bones, Kamyanan could not again stride across the Tsayan landscape. What he could do was postulate, and this he did.
In Tsaya, men (and women, who were somewhat subordinate) were forced to work one field. This field belonged to the family and had been acquired by the family ages and ages past. Tsayan law did not permit the land to be sold or leased and required an annual head tax paid to the king in full. The harsh laws against selling had prevented abuses by the Tsayan aristocracy but had also tied the Tsayans to the land. Then, by requiring that at least one man from every plot of land enroll in the military, Tsaya had maintained its military forces and become an aggressive and expansionist power. After all, more land was always needed for second sons.
Kelios, of course, would not tie its people to their land. There was no great aristocracy to fear in Kelios; no man had more power than another by virtue of birth. Nor would it oblige all members of the nation to join the military. However, with the opportunity of huge swathes of unsettled Tsayan lands and many empty plains to the north besides, Kelios could institute some semblance of the old Tsayan serf system. Kamyanan had planned it thusly:
The poor of the cities and those who cannot afford taxes on their farmland in Kelios will be granted completely virgin land in Tsaya should they choose to accept it. By accepting it, these urban and rural poor pledge only one thingthat they, or whoever owns the land on which they will settle, will answer a summoning call to fight in the military. However, if at any time a settler wishes to be free of this military obligation, they may sell their land to another who is then obliged to fulfill the military service tied to the land. In this way, a latent army can be grown from the fallow fields of Tsaya while the pressure on the poor in Kelios proper is reduced.
Kamyanan himself immediately found support for the plan. It seemed, after all, to mesh perfectly with the ideals of civic duty and cooperation between individuals. While no one was completely bound to serve, service was owed by whomever chose to farm land granted to them by the nation. Among the more reticent Guides there was some resistance to the idea, but the few Councilors who heard of it sang its praises. It was not long before Kamyanan, now extremely old and decrepit, was asked to speak before the Council. It had been many years since he ascended the marble steps, as always thronged with those wishing to see the workings of the Council.
When he spoke, had he not been too old to sweat profusely, he would have been doing so from nervousness. His nervous laugh echoed forth more times than some in the assembled cared to count, but they forgave him his aged oddities. The Soldiers of the Dove were born.
I think I lied before and this will be my last story for the turn. Still, 5 is pretty good, no? Maybe I'll feel inspired tomorrow. Sending orders now.
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
Nice story Cuiv!
If you could send me a copy of your orders when you do them Imago, that would be great.
Why do I always get stuck running outnumbered alliances fighting against a massive empire that's really a federation of lots of smaller powers?
And their annoying lesser allies...
If you could send me a copy of your orders when you do them Imago, that would be great.
Why do I always get stuck running outnumbered alliances fighting against a massive empire that's really a federation of lots of smaller powers?
And their annoying lesser allies...
Oruc
Reactionary
Lord_Iggy said:
does look quite spiffing doesnt it.
Anyways, does the new world have horses? or did I bring any over with me?
Thlayli said:If you could send me a copy of your orders when you do them Imago, that would be great.
Why do I always get stuck running outnumbered alliances fighting against a massive empire that's really a federation of lots of smaller powers?
And their annoying lesser allies...
Because your very agressive
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
emu said:
Good point.
But wow, this seems like NES2 V with ramids.
Kentharu
Zebra Commander
maybe you shouldn't try to conquer someone... every turn
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
Kentharu said:
Please, it's not like you guys have spotless records either.
Since when was trying to conquer people a bad thing?
And I'm in the business of "liberating" now, my enemies are the conquering ones.
Kentharu
Zebra Commander
no no! war is fun dont get me wrong but yea constant war is only fun if you have guns... more killing 
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
Kentharu said:no no! war is fun dont get me wrong but yea constant war is only fun if you have guns... more killing
We should declare an end to all wars on Tellus, so that we can focus our efforts towards inventing guns.
Kentharu
Zebra Commander
or nukes which ever, both kill stuff a lot... and make such pretty explosions!
Cuivienen
Deity
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2003
- Messages
- 8,011
Thlayli said:Nice story Cuiv!
If you could send me a copy of your orders when you do them Imago, that would be great.
Why do I always get stuck running outnumbered alliances fighting against a massive empire that's really a federation of lots of smaller powers?
And their annoying lesser allies...
I got inspired by the "Byzantines and Their World" class and the small farmer system. Of course, Kelios has no land-monopolizing aristocracy so the system can hold up more effectively.
Cuivienen
Deity
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2003
- Messages
- 8,011
I find it hard to believe that Norvalin (now Veritas), Arcadia (now Ardan) and the Citadel failed to ever bring a single pair of horses for breeding to Azulia in 300+ years of settlement.
Anyway, how are my orders, Iggy? Not too detailed, I hope.
Anyway, how are my orders, Iggy? Not too detailed, I hope.
~Darkening~
Weep, Mother.
Horses aren't really that big of a part in Ardan life. For the generals, yes. Anything else, no.
~Darkening~
Weep, Mother.
Playing the Hero
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts
-Unkown writer
"What is it that drives competent men to make such stupid decisions with their lives Tare?" The aging man asked, smiling slightly, slightly amused.
"Fate, of course." the other man answered with a barking laugh. "Otherwise, the One would get mighty bored up in his palace if this world was uneventful, wouldn't he?" The blond-haired man said with a small smirk.
"Heh..." The other man, brown-headed, said laughing- agreeing with the man third in line for control of the Union. Jarn Atrex- thee brown-haired man- stood leaning against an ancient stone wall, running a wrinkled hand through his thinning scalp. "If thats true, then may the One help us- it surely will be interesting."
"The One helps only those who help theirselves, m'lord." His faithful second-in-command, Tare, replied. "Sitting around and doing nothing will surely not help our cause anymore."
"Yes- but to war on this scale? Our troops haven't seen a true battle since the time of the great war! Blastmephy, they haven't seen a great battle ever!"
"So, why not let them see one now?"
"This is not a game! Lives are at stake, the future is at stake!"
"Then let us not treat it as one!" Tare vented. "Why sit here and twiddle our thumbs while the rest of the world decides our fate for us? Why sit passive while they play out our destiny?!"
"I know not Tare but think of it form my position! Do you want to be the one who lead destroyed all hope of greatness our nation still has the chance for?! Do you want to be the one put down in history books as the greatest fool Ardan ever produced? I bear the weight of not only your dreams but the dreams of every man within the Union that wants to live to an old age! OF EVERY CHILD THAT WISHES TO BE PUT TO BED BY THEIR FATHER! BY EVERY WOMAN WHO WEEPS BY THEIR WINDOWS FOR THEIR HUSBANDS WHO WILL NOT BE COMMING BACK!" Jarn yelled, his voice bouncing off the stone walls. Where Tare had vented, Jarn had gone all out- his eyes were possessed by a fire unkown to hundreds of previous generations, his nostrils were flared like the greatest beast, and his teeth had already dug into each other.
"I know not what the future will call us if we lose but I know what they will call ud if we do not even try: cowards." Tare said, his comment stinging the ego of the great general.
The older man sighed and seemed to calm down."Are we truly making the right decision?"
"No one can answer that question." Tare said. "Well..." he paused. "At least no one down here on Tellus."
"Why is it that we always have to play the hero? To child ourselves, to force our men to come in and do the impossible?"
"Nothing is impossibe- the very ties of existence could unravel at any moment, I remind you."
"Then why do we leave it upon ourselves?! Why? Why do we take hope in the darkest cave? Why, my friend, must we continue to make love to a dream?!"
"because even in the darkest cave there is a ray of light. Because there is always a sunrise around the corner from midnight. Becuase, even if its a dream, it is something worth fighting- and dying- for. Because we must."
The old man sighed once more. "Why does the One curse me with a poet for a general? What you have said will not happen for years down the road, ages gone past by the time our children's grandchildren having their own families to tend to."
"Because, m'lord, it is only those who can foresee these changes in the world can make those changes to the world. To play the hero is to play the Creator, to play the Creator is a sin. To leave it upon our future is a sin." He said solemnly, eyes bent forwards.
"So......Are we doing the right thing?"
"It all depends on your definition of the 'right' thing, m'lord.Thousands will die on the fields of battle. Fires will ravage the lands once more. Hundreds of thousands will march to war, and more will not be left behind. The world will not be the same, nor would I be willing to gamble to have it come out in our vision either. Blood will pour as if water drawn from the lake."
"So....."
"In my oponion, I believe what we're doing is the best decision mortals like us can make. The best decision anyone can make, for the matter."
"I see....." The old man whispered, staring out of the gray windows.
"Let the drums sound once more, m'lord! Let the world know that not all things from the past are so easily discarded! Let the world realize that what the horsemaster couldn't, we can! Let the drums beat once more, m'lord!" Tare said rythmically, urging the commander on.
"Well then, let us begin; it is time to commit our sin." Jarn said with his toothy smile. In the distant thunder could be heard crashing over the sounds of feet.
Similar threads
