MjMNES IV - A Fresh Start

[Abaddon]

Well that was a load of fun to read

 

[MjM]

AWE---SOME update

What's the state in northern Italy? I mean the greenish one.
Also I assume I'm trading with mostly the western med sea much more than with the east, which I intend to change to get that shiny iron

And I see about the mercenaries. I expand my armies normally, but every turn must pay 1 gold to keep my troops mercenaries.

That state... somehow slipped through NPC stats. I'm doing it now. It's Clusium.

Exactly, to keep the army you have now that's well trained, you will have to pay them one a turn. You can raise new mercenaries which would be more expensive, or normal troops, who won't be trained as well.

500 BC is... quite the jump. Are you sure it wouldn't have worked better with 1000 BC?

Other than that, a fine start, I think.

In hindsight, it probably would have. But oh well, it will have to do.

OOC @MjM: Oh, so my culture became slightly unaccepting due to Tyravian influence. Amusing, really. The idea of my cultural origins is that it was a natural harboring area where traders came for a long period to trade with the locals, eventually settling and interbreeding - the state is founded on being a multiculture. I'm fine with the details, as I like being touched upon, but I just want it clarified whether my neighbours will hate me for being uppity. It wouldn't bode well as I plan to write a lot of stories and perhaps play a few musical pieces, focusing on my culture - It's not a problem for a military civilization, and perhaps I'd have to adapt. But it's the fun thing about playing in a greater game. You never really know where history takes you..

Well you did write about how they followed their gods, so that comes with their polytheism. However, you aren't as close-minded as they are, and you can drift away from them if you want to achieve a more 'open' culture.

Nice first update. How many years will the first turn be?

I was thinking 10, but now I might think 5 may be better. Input anyone?

 

[MjM]

Where am I Mj!!!

I'm redoing China, so check back in a few hours and I will be able to tell you. although you are the dark green/brown color below blue and above purple.

Well that was a load of fun to read

In his outline he ordered a specific attack against you. And it didn't completely destroy you, although it did do some damage. He is surronded by enemies, so I think the footing now is more or less equal.

 

[Frozen In Ice]

Great Update! Do you think a map with labeled names might be possible? I personally find them quite useful for the first few turns for learning who's where and such. If its a lot of work I'll take my own stab at it as I'd prefer that your efforts be focused on more great updates.

East of the Ranshasskans are the Panchala, and further East still is Jharkhand.

Iron smelting has recently come to the Jharkhandi through way of their Eastern neighbors, the Panchala.

These lines seem to contradict one another. Could you clarify MjM?

 

[Abaddon]

Never mind.

 

[MjM]

Great Update! Do you think a map with labeled names might be possible? I personally find them quite useful for the first few turns for learning who's where and such. If its a lot of work I'll take my own stab at it as I'd prefer that your efforts be focused on more great updates.

I'll start working on that map.


These lines seem to contradict one another. Could you clarify MjM?

Er, sorry. The Jharkhandi got it from their Western neighbors, the Panchalans.

 

[erez87]

SADEMONI

As the artisans and merchants ruled the state politically the mercenaries they hired slowly begun to become a fourth class among the Sademoni. Mercenaries came from all over - Raka, Tyravus, Numidia, Hanakai and even as far as the Greek city states and Tianot. A few men even came from Amorak, but they were truly a rare occurrence.

This giant, and growing, foreign population was a constant force in the community and in the culture of Sademoni. The once small farming and artistic tribe now become a multicultural bumbling city with an agricultural majority that had no say in what the state is doing. As for the mercenaries, as long as they were paid they kept quiet, protecting the city from attacks and the shipping lanes from pirates. Yet this payment slowly became harder to come by. It is not from the lack of money. The merchants and artisans sold more and more constantly in far away markets, even with rising Raka port fees they still made more than enough. But living lavishly in Sademoni has become an expensive thing to do. Food prices were constantly on the rise, some merchants even went so far as threaten farming communities to give them food for cheaper, something that usually came out with the farmers leaving the village and moving to live further away from the city. This quiet cry out expanded the borders of Sademoni but this borders were harder and harder to keep under the state.

And this was nto the end. The religion of the Tyravus had a medium sized community inside Sademon city itself. They were a constant pressure on the rest, attempting to make others come to their faith and destroy others, and they went very far with violence against temples of other religions. This were mostly mercenary families who were of that religion, and the merchant-artisan council eventually understood that they cannot count on the mercenaries of the west and must expand their ties with the east. Sparta was a city of warriors, perhaps they could sent some of the disobedient merchants home and accept new ones, more trained ones, more powerful ones. Spartan warriors to protect Sademon city was a wish by many merchants, yet they knew the Spartans were most likely not for hiring. Other Greek city states seemed more plausible for merchants. The Greek soldiers among the mercenaries brought with them philosophy and other non-militaristic Greek people followed the soldiers, many times bring knowledge and information.

The artisans saw a need for a more interesting force. They saw their population as large enough to maintain their own kind of force, all they needed, was powerful weapons and those only existed in the west. It was for a change a simple agreement in the council - move the interest of the state into the west. But the council could not agree what to do in the west - hire more mercenaries or buy weapons and begin a Sademon armed force. The merchants could not accept the artisans with weapons, and the artisans were fearful of the merchant-controlled mercenary forces.





While the city dealt with diplomacy and politics the farmers continued to ever grow in numbers and territory. Some begun to leave the island itself and move into the nearby peninsula for housing and farmlands. Yet there were already people there. The farmers needed a force to make sure they can move to new grounds. And they knew the city dwellers also were out of room inside the city. They decided to make an official request of the city - to create a colony. A new city for the over crowded population of the city to move to, and for the villagers to leave around. A single men, Do'or Namir, a farmer with ties in a merchant family (he was the men to talk with about buying food for a great territory of farming communities, he handled a major granery house) put forward the suggestion. The merchant liked the idea of opening a new link with the world, artisans would agree as the overcrowded capital was filled mostly with them, and as part of the council's last agreements, a western colony would be a fine suggestion. The merchant, Theo Lumilos, sent the idea to his father who sent him to stand in front of the council. The idea was quickly passes, and goods were amassed. The villages under Do'or influence sold food for cheaper in return for this agreement.

The council chose the suggester, Theo Lumilos, to the job of seeing the growth of the new city - which was called Theosis in his honor. Theo, who knew he would need help handling the villages around, requested Do'or to become the minister of agriculture in his new city, and handle all deals with the farming communities. Do'or agreed and passed to news to his farmers. A new city was to begin.

SADEMONI DIPLOMACY

to Raka:
We do not appreciate the rising fees in your ports, they are quickly making trade with your fine state unprofitable. You would be wise to ease the taxing of foreign merchants in your ports for your own good.

to Athens, Thebes and SPARTA and Aegea:
Friends, neighbors, traders of the east. The city of Sademon is in need. It is in need of more trade! Trade in the west has become more of a liability than a good thing, but the east, your lands are fine and rich of many goods and people who want to buy our goods. We wish to lower our port fees with your states in return for the same.

On a second note, the city of Sademon great mercenary force is in need of filling the ranks. We request only that you allow us to have official embassies who's main job is to look for strong fine men and their families as mercenaries. Your people as mercenaries to Sademon would be well fed and mighty rich.

to Hanakai:
You and us are not so different. We are both trading communities with an unhappy, at times vile, neighbors. We are interested in strengthening our cooperation and friendship. Lower fees for merchants at ports and perhaps an alliance? We both have militaristic interest in the peninsula and we would be wise to join hands in this matter.

to Cyrenaica
Trade is fine between our states, but more can always be better. We offer lower fees at our ports in return for the same.

to Amorak
Greate state of the east. We heard stories of a great vile enemy of all, who conquers without care and kills and slaughters. Sea People. Is there any news of them?
Also, trade is a quality! Let us lower port fees in our states for each other.

to Tianot:
Hello island dwellers. It is interesting, like us and like the Tyravus of the west, you are an island based state. Unlike us and like Tyravus you are a more religious community, with great regard to your gods. Unlike Tyravus and more like us, you spread your wings, and words, and ideals in peace. You build temples rather than kill those who follow other religions. We fine this a fine quality for friends. We offer Tianot lower fees at our ports, and hope to receive the same. We welcome Tianot builders to build temples in our city as well if they wish so. And we wish to offer an alliance to those of the east - us people who have no land to escape too, us island states, need to stick together.

to Tyravus:
We shall lower port fees to your merchants if you will do the same. Also we suggest preaching more peaceful ideals.

 

[das]

MjM - This has its advantages, my main problem is that I was kind of expecting 1000 BC with my write-up. Ah well, I'll re-adjust to it.

 

[MjM]

From [1]Thebes, Sparta, Athens:
To: Sademoni

We will not lower our port fees, tariffs is where we get income from our trade. How would lowering these increase income for us? It would do just the opposite, in fact.

OOC: [1] The three of them are in no ways allies, but they all have the same response, so I just put as if it was from all of them instead of retyping the same thing three times.

 

[MjM]

MjM - This has its advantages, my main problem is that I was kind of expecting 1000 BC with my write-up. Ah well, I'll re-adjust to it.

Sorry, I thought I had said somewhere it would be from 2000 - 500 BCE. I'm pretty sure I did, but sorry for not making it more apparent.

 

[Angst]

SADEMONI
SADEMONI DIPLOMACY

to Raka:
We do not appreciate the rising fees in your ports, they are quickly making trade with your fine state unprofitable. You would be wise to ease the taxing of foreign merchants in your ports for your own good.

To the Sademoni:
We see you have been told ill news by merchants misunderstanding our announcements - they must have been green at our ports, the few who have told you these things. There has been no increase in neither tariffs, nor fees, nor taxes.

The medallion control system is a new experiment that we expect to utilize in keeping merchants honest and ensuring they pay their debts to the docks - half part the announcements have been about the new systems, but not about higher prices. The only new buffer traders have is that they have to visit the taxmaster on the way to the market. We understand the petty trouble that might arise from that detour, but it only eases our behalf of organization.

The only changes in price are that proved Tyravians get a discount. However, if you ensure a discount for our traders in your ports, we might be willing to do the same for you.

 

[erez87]

ooc: in a state ruled by merchants, riches come from lowered tariffs in other countries. The tariffs in our own country influence the economy much less.

to Greek States:
Lowered tariffs makes for richer merchants. Richer merchants are able to produce more trade, eventually producing more tariffs for the state. It is a complicated deal. Yet we have no intention of forcing others. If there is no interest we will not push forward this request for lowered tariffs.

to Raka:
Must have been a misunderstanding among merchants. Yes we will lower tariffs in return for lowered tariffs.

 

[MjM]

Here is a name map, added to the first page as well.

Spoiler NAME MAP 500 BC :

 

[MjM]

to Greek States:
Lowered tariffs makes for richer merchants. Richer merchants are able to produce more trade, eventually producing more tariffs for the state. It is a complicated deal. Yet we have no intention of forcing others. If there is no interest we will not push forward this request for lowered tariffs.

From: Greek States
Tariffs is how the government which the merchants reside in make money. Without them at current levels, we cannot see how more money will be made. We will not be lowering our tariffs.

 

[Angst]

I'm not a rakat. Other than that, I'm really happy for the map to be up.

And @erez87, your traders are in the deal too then, I will note it in the orders I send to MjM, not in the story.

 

[MjM]

I'm not a rakat. Other than that, I'm really happy for the map to be up.

And @erez87, your traders are in the deal too then, I will note it in the orders I send to MjM, not in the story.

lol sorry, I was doing it from memory :/.

 

[Terrance888]

To: Retokimas
From: Daragi Kingdom

Our nation is strong, and renowned among the Tigris-Euphrates. Shall we continue our trade peacefully for years to come, as we bring civilization to the barbarians?

Trade is always acceptable! May more wealth flow into our coffers!

@MjM
I more expected a small state surrounded by easily conquered city states; Time to go Barb Romping! . Pity my tiny, tiny economy though...

The words of the King of Daretoki must be heard far and wide. Only those so accomplished that the Council of Celebrities themselves, each famous in their own right, chooses the righteous man in the eyes of our Three Lords Lariso, Quaeso, and Erateso can become King of this city. Yet no matter how far the inscribed stone rolls downhill, or the flash of a mirror from hill to hill, or the flow of message craft, there is always a hill too high, a valley too deep, or a land to dry. By the time any message arrives it is broken, chopped, and worthless.
We, the priests of Kitokisol Triarchy, and the Workers of the Jerukima, south of Daretoki, must carry the words for him. With the clay body of Lord Erateso, given life by the blood of Lord Quaeso and strength from the sight of our Lord Lariso, the words are sealed to be spread to the far corners of our brethren.
First, our scribes write down the proclamations of our king on a clay tablet.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

 

[erez87]

SADEMONI THREE CLASSES

The community of the Sademoni is highly separated into the three major classes of the state: Farmers (nicknamed Agris by the merchants and artisans of the city as an insult), Artisans and Merchants. A growing fourth class is the mercenaries of the state.

The farmers make up the majority of the population, at good times reaching up to 70% of the population but usually numbering about 55-60% of the population. The farmers tend to follow the ancient ways of house related ancestral spirits, but also from time to time will see to the building of small temples in their villages in the name of some major god (usually Mother-Elexia, goddess of agriculture and life). They tend to build structures of wood and lack stone masonry almost completely. Most tend to the fields but a few families gained power by uniting many farming families under their influence in something called a great granary. These influential farmers tend to speak to the city when in need for something and deal between farmers and others. Unlike what might be expected of a population that has no say over the state, the farmers actually live rather good peaceful and rich life. Food prices in Sademon city are constantly on the rise (sometimes from overpopulation and sometimes from merchant greed) and the farmers always get the benefit of that fact. While culturally and financially strong they have a complete lack of unity among themselves and a complete lack of any military prowess to defend themselves against greedy merchants. They tend to not build from stone, or ever call stone masons (an artisan group) because their villages tend to move whenever the merchants succeed too well and come to force the farmers to lower food prices. The farmers are known to hire foreign educators for their young men and so are somewhat well educated. Richer farmer families, usually those in control of a great granary will even send some of the men of their family to study abroad or in the city. A most famous farmer as of late is Do'or Namir, a young but promising man of the Namir great granary family. This family has influence over great swats of land in northern Sademoni and as of late is interested in expanding farmlands into the peninsula.

The artisans make up the second largest part of the population. At their highest peaks they can even make 40-45% of the population but usually tend to number much less from around 30-40% of the population. The artisan population almost absolutely lives in the walls of Sademon city. A few communities exist near farming communities or inside great villa-settlements of especially rich merchants. The artisans are the major producers of the state. They produce everything from raw resources to completed goods and especially the luxury goods that tend to sell so well in faraway markets. Artisans will either sell their services or merchandise to Sademon merchants or will sell their merchandise to foreign merchants in the Sademon city port. This deal makes them make money according to skill, but they are easily the least stable class economically. Their population tends to increase in good times and then decrease from overcrowding in the city or from hunger. Culturally artisans are the greatest mixers of culture and tend to worship the growing number of gods in Sademoni temples. A small population of Tyravus pantheon followers tends to sometimes cause trouble, but they normally keep to themselves. The artisans are also the ones who are furthest away from the old ways of honoring house spirits (some farmers tend to say that is why they are so poor). Artisans who make the same goods tend to bound themselves in special guilds (like the guild of stone masons) that argue and fight with each other over space in the market. A known conflict is between two stone masons guilds that attempt to fight for control over who gets to build temples. The artisans, while poor, hold a strong hint of military force and will arm themselves if needed, unlike the farmers. Strikes, in case of greedy merchants, are also something that happens from time to time. This way the artisans keep themselves a part of the influential powers in the Sademoni democracy. Many older artisans leave their children with the job and become full job politicians in the name of the artisans and their guilds. They also tent to work in many of the government jobs as writing is a widespread thing among Sademoni people. It is almost unheard of when a diplomat, a scribe or a random government worker is not from an artisan family. Artisan class also tends to grow the fastest of all classes and will always threaten the farmers for being first in number. Lately with the spreading rumor of a second city, a colony of Sademoni on the continent, many artisans consider moving and many non-artisan know that a new city will allow their population to grow further than ever. Artisans cannot exist without a city, and a port, and merchants and foreigners to hire them, and the state cannot function without the artisans. The rumor of a second city colony has begun making a move among artisan politicians towards city-building. If one more can be built, perhaps many more can (although they tend to forget about food supplies dwindling if their population grows too far, and the farmers or merchants tend to raise food prices whenever they want). The most powerful artisans are those of the northern mosaic maker's guild. Any well balanced economically Sademoni would not be caught dead without a fine door mosaic at the entrance to his house, and true rich Sademoni usually have many of those in a great entrance hall to their houses. These mosaics also sell well abroad and a good merchant would not be caught without mosaic makers of the northern guild on his ships, or goods of their guild among his merchandise.

The final class is the Merchants. The smallest but richest few who truly hold the state in its balls with power and magnificence beyond all others. Unlike the other clans that tend to grow in numbers, unless stopped by hunger or room, the merchant class tends to shrink all the time. At its highest it took 10% of the population but it normally takes between 1-5% of the population. The merchant class part of the population grows whenever the others shrink. Being a merchant is a tough life. You must be rich already to attempt to fight with other merchants for trade. Riches are the only test. Have them and you can be a merchant, lose a trade even once and you will be forces to leave the life of a rich merchant and become an artisan, or worse, run to the fields and be forced to be an agri. Merchants are a ferocious class that lives on their infighting. Constant competition among them has shrunk this class greatly and a few stinky rich merchant families are the last left, living by using their riches to make more. The merchants care for religious matters is small - they honor their family spirits and take it to themselves to finance the building of great temples to many different gods, but their own personal faith tends to be around riches and wisdom. Merchants finance the building of poor schools for artisan kids, and hire private tutors for their own children. They would also send their children out to far away schools to learn philosophy, economy, strategy and many more fields. The merchants are easily not only the richest but also most educated, as you must know the world around you the best you can in order to truly make a profit anywhere. Merchant families live in Sademon city and the truly rich build great villas in the open lands that draw artisans, which the merchants finance for their fine goods, becoming small villa-settlements. Merchants also are the main politicians in the Sademoni democracy and most of all - they make the powerful economy of the Sademoni. They privately hire mercenaries that are than added to the growing number of those in the state. They hire them privately but then give their forces to the state. They are easily the most influential part of society as thanks to the vast riches they tend to have things go their way. Even farmers who despise them have to somehow work with them in order to sell their food and keep a good lifestyle. The merchants always look for ways to make more riches, to know more wisdom and to become the sole rulers of the state. They are afraid of the farmers ever striking and stopping to sell food (something that never happened yet, as farmers need to sell in order to keep their rather high level lifestyle), they are afraid of the artisans making up to their words and arm themselves in preparations of a civil war. They are slowly becoming afraid of even their own mercenaries that now easily outnumber them. They have the riches and wisdom to rule, but in order to be sole rulers they must win, and they can never truly win over the others because they know. They know the merchants need the rest. Many merchants of truly rich families escape this reality by building villas in faraway lands (some merchants who follow the Tyravus pantheon build villas on Tyravus island and finance temples there). Yet even those who try to escape know they are Sademoni, and others will always see them as that. The passing of a council vote over the creation of a colony in the peninsula made some merchants happy with the new land and resources to be brought into the borders of the state, but many know the only thing such a change would bring will be a growth among the artisans and those ground working agris. A second port will not be a good thing for currently ruling merchant families, but new merchants, usually coming from among the ranks of artisans who become rich enough to try and sale their goods abroad, see this new colony with good eyes.

A fourth class are the mercenaries - those who currently work and those who retired and moved to Sademon city to live among those who once paid them. They tend to have small families, and follow the gods they brought from their own culture. Most tend to not cause trouble and live quiet life, sometimes becoming artisans and sometimes living on whatever riches they succeeded in amassing in their lifetime of mercenary life. Some of these families once the retired soldier dies return to their home states but many remain and attempt to live their lives as Sademoni citizens. They are normally well accepted and succeed in joining the lifestyle, but they also tend to be more closed minded than a true Sademoni towards new knowledge and cultures. Tyravus pantheon followers who are mercenaries or ex-mercenaries tend to be violent in their attempts to spread the word. Small united groups of preachers tend to ruin temples to other gods, or temples that unite other gods with theirs. This violent people follow a strange form of Tyravus pantheon that slowly is becoming more and more violent with each passing generation but they are truly a minority among the Sademoni state ever growing population.

 

[ZeletDude]

To Hanakai:
You and us are not so different. We are both trading communities with an unhappy, at times vile, neighbors. We are interested in strengthening our cooperation and friendship. Lower fees for merchants at ports and perhaps an alliance? We both have militaristic interest in the peninsula and we would be wise to join hands in this matter.

To: Sademoni
We would be greatly interested in your proposed deals and would gladly enter an alliance with you along with lowered trading fees. Hopefully this is the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship between us.

 

[Kraznaya]

On the Milnarid Empire

The farmers of the Milnarid empire farm farms. The farms compose 100% of the farmland. The farmers are usually 100% farmers. The farm is made up of dirt. If it wasn't for dirt, there would be no farms, because farms are places that plants are grown for food. Some plants can have grain on them, and that grain is what people eat, and plants grow on dirt. That is how plants are grown for food, and why dirt is important -- because dirt is where plants grow, and plants have grains that people eat. But not all plants have grains; some have other edible things, too, like fruits, and vegetables. Those grow in farms too. But these edible plants aren't exclusively found in farms. They are also found in the wild. Grain is actually a variant of some wild grasses, most from the Mediterranean region. The Milnarid Empire can be said to live off farms, because people live off food, and farms provide food by having the dirt that plants grow on, though we mustn't forget the farmers who actually take care of the dirt and the plants that make a farm a farm. A farm is not a farm if it didn't have the plants that grew on it that provided the food. However the farmer despite being so fundamental isn't the most important person. Farming doesn't make him rich despite the fact that everyone needs to eat. It's just a fact of life. There are what are known as subsistence farmers and what some would call capitalist farmers. Subsistence farmers grow food to eat for themselves. They don't actually grow food through magic, it's just synthesizing -- photosynthesizing, you might say, knowledge of how plants naturally grow with dirt, water, and sun. Farmers know how big some plants get at certain times of the year, and when those plants have grain and fruits and such. Plants that are planted in farms don't always have food on them, the farmers should know what a plant will be like after some time. Though simple knowledge not everyone knows this because most people are stupid or lazy, or a combination of the two. Again, subsistence farmers grow food for themselves and a minimal amount after that to trade for other things they need; sometimes not even so much, because they sometimes know how to make those things themselves! It's not just a matter of know-how, but also of willingness and time and personal goals. Capitalist farmers also grow food, but they grow much more food than they need. It's not that they want to get fat, but they want more things that are not food. Food doesn't turn into other things, however! Sometimes they can, like a gourd can turn into a water pouch, but there are limits. Other people who are too lazy or stupid to farm, or grow their own food, do other things to compensate. For example a cobbler might make shoes. He'll make shoes, not just for himself but for the farmer. The farmer would then give him food in exchange for shoes. How many shoes the farmer is willing to give depends on how much he really wants those shoes. Although it might be intuitive that from this set-up, farmers should be able to get as much as they want in any society because everyone wants to eat food, this is not the case. I would say that this is a fact of life, again. Subsistence farmers are usually poor, even those who dabble in a little bit of capitalism on the side. Poor is when they don't have a lot of things. Again, facts of life, but maybe the next few sentences will bring more illumination to this matter. The reason why 100% of the population aren't farmers is because not everyone just wants food. Some people want to have nice things, too. But sometimes these people are just plain mean and selfish. They let the farmer farm as he does, letting the plants grow on dirt sometimes and then killing the plants to get the grain or the fruits or the vegetables, and yes, killing is usually necessary, but don't worry though, plants have seeds. Seeds are like tiny baby plants, that when placed on dirt, and given water and sunlight, become new plants with grains and vegetables and fruits anew! That's what's meant by planting. Anyway, these mean people lie in wait until the farmers finish with the planting and the harvesting. Harvesting is just a fancy word for killing plants or parts of the plant -- it's not always necessary to kill the entire plant! -- to get the edible bits. Edible just mean eat-able, but I don't know why it's not just called "eatable." Maybe because it sounds too much like "eat table," and nobody wants to eat a table, even though tables are made from wood and wood comes from plants! As you can see, not everything from a plant is edible. So the mean people wait, the farmers harvest, and then once the farmers are carrying their food to their houses, bam! The mean people point a sharp stick at them and tell them to hand over the food! These mean people go by many names, like "raiders," or "burglars," or "bandits," but that's only when the farmer thinks he can resist. When the farmer's finally given up on resisting, they're called "armies," "soldiers," and "government!" Farmers don't just raise crops though. A crop is what you call the food that you get from plants, or the plants that grow these foods, I'm not really sure, but it's close. Farmers also raise domesticated animals. Domesticated means these animals are comfortable doing the deed to make more of them in crowded conditions, and sometimes in the presence of the farmers; it also means that the animals won't try to kill the farmers who end up using them up for what they're worth and killing them in the end. Raising them basically means having them multiply -- a nice term for have sex and more babies -- then kill some of them for food and other materials. Sometimes they don't have to be killed to get the good things from them. A cow for example can be milked, a nice way of saying having its breasts fondled by a farmer, when she has a baby so that the farmer can drink the milk meant for the baby cow, or a calf as they are known. Once the cow is too old to make any more milk, she is killed for some beef, or meat that comes from cows. Meat is protein-rich food that comes from many living things. Beef from old cows isn't usually nice though, so sometimes calves are killed for nice, soft, beef. When people buy things from farmers, that is to say, trade, say shoes or whatever they make for food, how many shoes they give is not just determined by how much food they will get, but how much they want the food that they're going to be given! A lot of people like nice beef from calves, so a cobbler might give two pairs of shoes instead of just one when buying the same amount of calf-beef instead of old cow-beef. Shoes usually come in pairs, but sometimes they don't. After all, like I've said, farmers are usually poor, and poor people sometimes only wear one shoe, or no shoes at all! Come to think of it, pirates sometimes only wear one shoe, even if they are rich, because sometimes they have a peg leg. A peg leg is a wooden shaft someone attaches to their leg if their leg's been cut off, so that they can walk. A pirate doesn't need to produce anything of his own, since he can just go to a farmer and threaten the farmer with violence to get fruits to cure his scurvy and wood to make his planks. In this way, pirates are mean people, and have the potential to be governments. The Milnarid Empire acts in the same way, except it uses the wood for ships -- note that pirates don't actually make ships themselves, they have to take it from others! -- and the food to feed its armies. Empire is just a nice way of saying that a bunch of farmers and other honest folk who make stuff have given up on resisting a bunch of mean folk who take things from them without giving them anything in return. Sometimes this is justified, or made to look nice, to the farmers and other honest folk by the Empires with the reason that the Empire will protect them from other mean people like pirates, so they only have to lose some and not more. A lot of farmers and honest folk accept this, but those who don't sometimes organize to resist, that is to say gang up together to fight the so-called governments. When these gangings-up occur, they are called revolts; however, the government did not make the farmers and honest folk give up resisting in the first place by letting them have what they want, so they usually stab these people who join revolts dead, with the pointy sticks they usually carry around. Not to say that the Milnarid Empire's government and army came from pirates! They probably came from bandits and raiders, the landlubbing cousins of the ignoble pirate, arr.

story just won the nes, there should be no story bonuses from now on