LINESII- Into the Darkness
- Thread starter Lord_Iggy
- Start date
alex994
Hail Divine Emperor!
A Citadel Study of Guangfei, 1248 Part 1
After studying the New Veritasians and noticing the subtle differences of their thought to their ancestors in Veritas, my team and I began preparations to Guangfei, the fabled land to the west. The younger members of my team were filled with anxiety and joy knowing that we would be the first team from the Citadel to survey and categorize that virgin land. In truth, I too was excited, for from veiled remarks by the New Veritasians, Guangfei was as receptive to Veritasian ideas as a pigeon to a bijaguar. Veritasian culture had flourished in the Cradle, and her cultural influence could be subtly seen even in the farthest areas. But here? Veritasian culture was brushed aside as if it was nothing. That fascinated me, and from that moment I knew I had to reach Guangfei. We found a guide and translator provided by the Guangfei Ambassador at Redemption who told us that when we reached the Capitol to look for the Foreign Minister and tell him who gave us the guide. There was something funny afoot indeed. How did that Ambassador know who we were and what our mission was? That was on my mind as we crossed the Dadong Mountains, while the younger ones, especially David talked with the guide who was around his own age.
After crossing the mountains reaching the banks of the Fei River we managed to purchase passage on a Veritasian ship leaving the newly built city for Bandong. The trip was quite pleasant, but so quiet. Asking the Captain gave me no more information but a glance of incredulity. I asked our guide by the name of Li Shimin, whom by now we had gotten well acquainted with. In our discussion he spoke of several Imperial Edicts by Emperor Wu against piracy on the Xi, Fei, Fan and Ku Rivers and how pirates would be treated upon capture.
Im afraid I almost lost my lunch in that discussion of the treatment of pirates but I was intrigued. The Emperor had in essence destroyed piracy with the brush of the pen (slice with a knife actually) enforced with the will and might of the Imperial Navy. Or so Shimin had said. We reached Bandong shortly and greeted by a spectacle of a Guangfei festival. The colors, noise and general aura overwhelmed us. Nowhere, nowhere at all was pageantry this detailed and splendid. Veritas in her heyday perhaps had this, but only in Veritas itself, not a provincial city.
Every shade of nearly every color was present, except yellow. The others didnt notice of course, too caught up looking at the festivity, especially the young women watching. They would be talking of the lovely Guangfei women for days but right now I asked Shi why yellow was absent. The response was a bit nerve racking I say, but it had sense. Yellow was the providence of the Emperor and the Imperial Family and all else were forbidden to wear it.
We spent a day in Bandong while waiting for further passage to Guanzhong and stayed in a pleasant hostel. As we sat down to lunch, the first shock came from our food utensils. There were no forks or knives. In their place were two well smoothed out wooden sticks. Chopsticks they were called and Shi taught us how to use them to eat and I must admit these chopsticks are a lot more cost effective then forks and knives. Of course, it was also a nice laugh watching some of us chase a pea around his plate with his chopsticks failing to pick it up.
For a few silver coins we had a magnificent feast. We had rice in abundance, and many many various types of cooked vegetables in an excellent black sauce. Then came our greatest shock, a medium sized pig coated in a crunchy layer. We stared at this unknown entity which we couldnt recognize as a pig, Shimin broke the silence laughing at us before he explained what it was and how it was made. As we finished the meal, we were given a bowl of thick creamy soup. It was delicious, the whole meal was. Many of us after returning home would sigh remembering our delicious meals in Guangfei in comparison to the nearly bland food we had.
That night as we proceeded to the docks to reach our ship we were accosted by a band of around 12 thugs who had noticed our relatively lack of weaponry. As we hastily took out our weapons Shimin turned around and apologized deeply for this inconvenience and told us not to be too shocked. The others in the team didnt heed him even as he took out two swords and plainly didnt believe he could take them on. Unlike them, I had paid attention to him in our travels. His actions and movement resembled much like a snake, silent and deadly.
He took out the twin swords and gestured towards the thugs after shouting out a few words (David translated and said he was insulting their mothers for having such dogs of a son, so the mother had to be a dog) and apparently enraged the thugs charged at him en masse. As we prepared to flee thinking he had brought us time the unlikely happened. With a single kick he delivered a crushing blow to the first mans face before coming down in an arc with his swords and slicing around the hips for the next two men. Those two men suddenly began bleeding extremely hard and during the fight would die from lack of blood.
With three down and nine more to go the thugs, still confident, pressed on as Shimin put both of his swords away apparently disarmed. He then took out four knives, normal kitchen knives to most, but I saw they had been designed for throwing. With a practiced flick of his arms, four other thugs fell clutching their bleeding throats. The other 5 thugs fled while Shimin collected his knives and wiped the blood on them and his sword on the thugs and then motioned for us to follow to the ships. We followed a bit shocked and unable to form coherent words or thoughts about what had happened.
Shimin had been polite, civil, and well educated able to parse poems at a moments whim yet he was also a great warrior. The moment faded as he had resumed his normal role and many of us assumed that it had never happened and it was a moments fancy. I never forgot though, and remembered it. As we proceeded to Shangei we were surprised by the beauty of Guangfei. Along the way, Shimin pointed out various rocks believed by them to have once been great giants who had fought the Yellow Emperor and lost. It was beautiful, beyond words. Shimin commented that perhaps in the future people from the Cradle would visit Guangfei and spend money enjoying the sights.
At Shangei, we encountered a city in mourning. Strangely, mourning colors in Guangfei is not black, but white, to show the pure essence of the soul going to join his ancestors. Even here, in Guangfei they believed in a soul. After inquiries, we learned that Emperor Wu had died and that Prince Ku had become Emperor Yi-Ga. Our first stop in Shangei was the Temple, an ornate structure with curving and natural lines surrounded by a beautiful and well tended with flowers and trees blooming. Lighting the incense we proceeded into the temple and looked upon it.
Inside was simply a large wooden board with two distinctive characters. That was the name of the late Emperor, Liu Che, according to Shimin and we paid our respects to him with a simple bow. Others were not so humble and had thrown themselves on the floor of the temple and were prostrating again and again. There and here there were little children walking around smiling playing with the incense and paying their respects to the late Emperor. Emperor Wu had been a great Emperor it seems, for him to be held so reverently in esteem by his people.
As we left the Temple there were even more people coming to pay their respects and we proceeded to a restaurant for a meal. There, we were told that they would not be cooking meat and were only eating vegetables for the next week to mourn the death of Emperor Wu. The people of Guangfei were not at all, a spiritually bankrupt people, and were wealthy in spiritual and material matters. Shimin seemed to be in a hurry to return to the Capitol and urged us to finish our meals quickly. When we asked, he told us that we would witness a spectacle that no one outside Guangfei had ever seen if we hurried.
We would see, the enthronement of a Guangfei Emperor To Guanzhong!
Silver Steak
The Ghost of SS
Great story, Ken!
Sorry to hear that, das. It makes me quite sad. I suppose it makes you happy, since das is sad spelled backwards. Not funni.
Sorry to hear that, das. It makes me quite sad. I suppose it makes you happy, since das is sad spelled backwards. Not funni.
1889
Mayor of H-Marker Lake
Toward the Autoregium
Despite the unusual method of his election Sundiata found that it caused little trouble, many of the members didn’t wish to draw attention to their own so called elections either. Sundiata sat at the council eyeing the other men as a wolf eyes a flock of sheep. And just like the sheep they were they cowered. Luculis, The High Elder, knew better though. He had seen many reformers appointed before; it took surprisingly little time before these wolves forgot how to be wolves and joined the rest in trying only to be the fattest sheep.
Luculis kept an eye on him anyway. After all he had outwitted the two witless minions sent to deal with him before, but Sundiata had put himself in the trap none the less.
Luculis let the arguments circle The White Chamber fruitlessly. The people turn to banditry because they lack food. Food can not be distributed to the needy because bandits steel it. The council was unwilling to send the army against the bandits for fear that it may lead to outright revolt, (not to mention the chance that the army might actually loose.) Luculis grew tired of the pointless show. He told his aid to bring Sundiata to his private chamber; he decided he had better deal with the wolf before any of his sheep were slain.
*****
Luculis invited Sundiata in; he greeted his guest warmly, offered a drink, a seat and got to work. “Do you play Chess (similar to Strategy, but spelled different) by any chance?” “A little” Sundiata lied.
It began routinely. Pawns forward: a gang of bandits, two expendable underlings.
Luculis deployed his legions (i.e. a knight). “You know the east. How do you think we can end this trouble?”
Sundiata sent his prophet (i.e. a bishop) to block. “The people turn to banditry because they have no food not because they are thieves.”
Luculis’ citadel (i.e. a rook) advanced. “You heard the Assembly, we want to aid our law abiding citizens, but first the banditry must be stopped.”
Sundiata sacrificed a pawn. “Do you intend to starve them into submission?”
Luculis contemplated the kill, but remained wary; he decided to withdraw his knight instead in hopes of luring the wolf out. “This will be a decision of the council, not mine alone. Regrettably I think the army will need to be sent.”
Sundiata cautiously probed his opponent, advancing a pawn into enemy territory. “Have the marauders distribute the food. Once the people are fed most of them will return home, if the bandits keep it for themselves they will lose their popularity.”
Luculis struck, his legion took the distracted prophet. He was sure now that this one would not become a sheep, he was a wolf through and through and could never be trusted near his flock. “Very well, but you must also go to ensure that the aid is distribute in the name of the Assembly.”
"We'll have to finish our game when I return" Sundiata said as his pawn took Luculis' citadel.
They parted, each sure that he had won. Sundiata had been given the resources to raise a personal army, Luculis had expelled his only opponent from the council and given himself time to prepare for the final encounter, for soon the populace would be calling for a return of the Autoregium as if it had been their own idea.
jalapeno_dude
AKA Panda Judo Eel
Orders have been sent.
Nice story 1889, but if I can make a slight correction:
Strategy is like more freeform chess, kind of like a cross of chess and warhammer. Ask Thlayli.
Or don't. He's on vacation actually.
But a great story nonetheless.
@Kal- Sure.
Strategy is like more freeform chess, kind of like a cross of chess and warhammer. Ask Thlayli.
Or don't. He's on vacation actually.
But a great story nonetheless.
@Kal- Sure.
1889
Mayor of H-Marker Lake
Lord_Iggy said:
Thanks, I was looking for the story he wrote on it but gave up. Anyway that was like 500 years ago; one more thing that changed after the exodus I guess.
I'll finish story and get orders in over the next 24 hours.
Kozmos
Jew Detective
Orders sent along with like a bazzilion questions.
das
Regeneration In Process
Just realized that I have no army whatsoever. 
This is going to be a very fun turn. 
This is going to be a very fun turn. 
Kentharu
Zebra Commander
i was wondering when someone would notice
To Tellium
From Lengelzai Yesui
We thank you for this gift, and will place the statue next to his fathers sword, in honor of his efforts to the Lengel, and his attempt to repay the debt to Veritas for its Host-Lord's Vanitas efforts. We hope that such cooperation will continue on for many more centuries.
From Lengelzai Yesui
We thank you for this gift, and will place the statue next to his fathers sword, in honor of his efforts to the Lengel, and his attempt to repay the debt to Veritas for its Host-Lord's Vanitas efforts. We hope that such cooperation will continue on for many more centuries.
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