Pre-CNES: Flowers on the Working Title
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Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
Part Two – Drums of the Balmora – Late Antiquity, Medieval, and Early Modern Times
It is best to begin where we left off, in Aljian. The Era of the Three Leagues from 1600-1900 CE brought a modicum of peace and prosperity that was only periodically ruined by Avlach raids, none nearly as devastating as the first which had destroyed Old Jadian. The Avlach themselves gradually civilized under Lijiani influence, and their confederacy ultimately collapsed and reformed as a puppet of the Ikanid League. This state was called Chumyr, and it began the long tradition of pseudo-Lijiani, pseudo-Vlachid (Vlachid being the catchall term for the nomadic horseriding people of the great central desert) states.
The Ikanid League managed to breach the stalemate using an army of Chumyr, which they then used to conquer New Jadian (just called Jadian by most), and cow Qudin, somewhat impervious because of their location on the islands, into submission. It seemed that the Ikanid had finally unified the Lijiani into one great League, but it was not to be.
A small trading city under the sway of the Qudin League, Qijad, had built up a huge fortune in the Lijiani Sea carry trade. In fact, they had been the leading city of the Qudin League for more than a century as Qudin itself fell into slow decline.
Qijad declared independence from Qudin, landing an expeditionary force on the continent to challenge the Ikanid League and their Vlachid mercenaries. Independent cities across the Lijiani Sea rallied to Qijad’s banner, and their Consul, Sai I, proved to be a masterful war-leader, defeating the cavalry hordes of the Chumyr and the heavy infantry of Ikanid alike. The ultimate resolution of the war came when the Chumyr agreed to switch sides, in return for the promise of fertile land in Lijian itself. Ikanid was razed to the ground and used for this land. A lasting alliance was born between the Chumyr (eventually just called the Chu) and the Qijadi, who used their new allies to fully conquer the remnants of the Three Leagues that resisted.
The Grand Republic of Qijad was born.
Qijad was much like Ankos in that it had super-regional authority, but nothing like it in its government structure, a representative assembly consisting of senators from across Lijian. Barbarian tribes (like the Chu) were cowed and civilized before being used as buffer states to protect the core Lijiani cities themselves from new potential threats, along with a system of border fortresses and organized republican legions. A Republic-wide census secured proportional representation based on property-holding males, with no special privileges (at first) reserved for the aristocracy. Trade blossomed, and the Lijiani sea entered a golden era. Republican academies training the next generation of civil servants established a canon of mathematics, philosophy, history, and rhetoric that caused an outpouring of new scientific thought.
The Grand Republic also sponsored a series of exploring fleets that travelled both north and east. The eastward-sailing ones failed to return from across the wild Tenjir, but the northern fleets discovered the Vanasi people, isolationist folk who worshipped a permutation of the Thousandfold God in strange jungle temples. Later explorations revealed the southern coast of a vast island that the Qijadi explorers called Ejin, but its locals, the Dharamapalasi, killed those explorers that set foot on Ejin itself. Undeterred, a conquering army established a colony, the first foothold of the Grand Republic on the great northern island. The Dharamapalasi would fiercely resist the Qijadi for another two centuries before being utterly conquered.
We leave Qijad hegemonic in the east, to return to Selena and Ankos’ might.
The emergence of a massive confluence of tribes in the north of Selena only gradually began to impress itself on the Ankoi as a threat. In Ankoi chronicles, they are called the Tenoi, legacy of an early mistranslation on behalf of an Eparchial chronicler. In their own languages they called themselves the Tain. For long centuries had they warred amongst themselves in the Balmora; now population pressures began to drive many tribes to the south.
Foremost among these was the Ar Daeach, who settled on the Semikadiran frontier. These offered themselves to the Ankoi as mercenaries at first, and the Eparchy found a certain utility in the fierce woad-painted barbarians as auxiliary forces. Unfortunately for the Ankoi, the Ar Daeach were simply using this relationship as an excuse to gain Eparchial favor and experience with their military tactics, for such a time as they might have an opportunity to take Semikadira for their own.
Flush with success at their effortless conquest of Narisiya, the Ankoi took advantage of the continued indolence of Great Parsha to invade the Three Rivers in 1900 CE, the richest and most densely populated region of the world. The Ankoi military machine struggled with the logistical difficulties of operating over a large desert, so far from their fleets, but the outmoded Parshan levy sent to meet them was easily crushed. The last of the crumbling Diarchies was abolished, Parsha was occupied and subjugated, and a vast flow of wealth entered the Ankoi coffers. Far-ranging Alephoi traders managed to pass through the Keitos (Edge, in Alephic) and land on Ejin, finding an island in the midst of a massive war of Qijadi conquest, but with plenty of trading opportunities, Selenan wool and wine for tea and spices from the easterners. Lasting contacts beyond the economic sphere were non-existent, however.
Ankos enjoyed about 50 years of total hegemony before it all went pear-shaped.
In order to rule Great Parsha over such a great distance, the Eparchial Council had to place an Ankoi general there in order to act as a satrap. This general, however, was effectively independent of the elective responsibilities of the council. As a result, he was able to appoint his son Ahiral to succeed him, and this son, raised in Parsha, surrounded by Parshan advisors and influenced by a mixture of Parshan and Ankoi ideals, declared himself the divine heir to the Missing King, with his wife as his fellow Diarch. This explosive religious proclamation touched off a massive civil war in the Eparchy.
The newly declared High Kingdom of Ankos controlled only Parsha itself at first, but was able to conquer Narisiya from the Eparchial loyalists, and beat back all initial attempts to retake Vara. The Eparchy wasted no time in assembling a massive army and fleet, which landed in Narisiya…just as a large tribal confederacy of Tain coming south from the Balmora assaulted the frontier of the Triumphal City itself. Ankos was forced to recall their armies to lift the siege, and the city was only kept from collapse with the help of Ar Daeach, which demanded major land grants in Semikadira as the price. Ahiral, of course, used this opening to launch his own invasion of Selena. Ankoi fought Ankoi, with Parshan and Tain auxiliaries on each side. Ahiral, however, was ultimately defeated not far from Ankos itself. It took another fifteen years to reconquer Narisiya and Parsha, with Ahiral and his Parshan wife committing suicide at the end of it, a tragic end for a brilliant leader.
The twenty five year civil war had exhausted Ankos, and devastated its heartlands, Ankossa and Semikadira. The balance of power shifted towards the Alephoi cities, which demanded increased autonomy from the center. The Ankoi increasingly relied on Daeacht mercenaries to put down increasing rebellions under the fractious cities of Alephos, and their increasing power made them the effective masters of Semikadira. The Empire was weakened, but not broken.
Until the coming of the Urethaku.
Contemporary Ankoi chroniclers said that a million man army came boiling out of the Kobo Mountains, destroying everything in its path. (The actual number was most likely lower, but without a doubt it was a huge invasion.) The first chronicles of the Divine Empire of Tloksu, the first of many Urethaku states to enter the historical record, chiseled into great stone steles a declaration of holy war in the name of the chief goddess Miehak. The desert, they believed, was barren of life because of the impurity of the people that lived in it, and their refusal to worship the true goddess of the earth and the Urethaki pantheon. The only way to return the desert to forest, they claimed, was to cleanse the impure. At this point, Parsha and its great ancient cities were the last major source of revenue for the Ankoi. The Eparchy sent all its best remaining legions to Parsha in order to attempt to hold the Three Rivers against the Urethaku. They fought a desperate battle and won numerous small victories, but the Urethaku numbers and ferocity were too much. The Ankoi force was killed to a man.
In the wake of the final loss of Great Parsha in 2080 CE, the Eparchy retrenched, but the writing was on the wall. The Ar Daeacht assumed increasing power over Ankos, as did the remaining Alephoi cities, until the Eparchial Council’s power was but a mere formality. Interminable civil wars neutralized what power the Eparchy had left, until the Ar Daeacht declared an independent Eparchy, and following that a High Kingdom, taking Semikadia with it. The feeble attempts of the Ankoi to resist their former vassals’ usurpation caused a brutal sack of the Triumphal City in 2163. The great, continent-striding Eparchy of the Ankoi was history, but for a rump state in Narisiya. This Sarkantine Eparchy (so named after their capital in Narisiya, Sarkantos) would prove to have enduring tenacity, skirmishing against Urethaku-occupied Parsha and Ar Daeach alike. But they soon abandoned the Alephic language in favor of Parshan, and were an ethnically Parshan state claiming the Ankoi mantle of rulership.
For their part, the Ar Daeacht ruled a fascinating cosmopolitan society, composed of Semikadirans, Tain, and Ankoi. We will speak more on the cultures and customs of the Tain and their High Kingdoms later on, but for now it is important to note that Ankossa and Alefei (the corrupted name for Alephos) were deluged by Tain migrants coming south. Ankoi culture would survive intact, (Alephoi less so) but mutate greatly in response to the linguistic and political changes added by this addition of large numbers of Tain tribes.
The Pax Qijadi lasted for over 500 years with a few small interruptions, from 1950 to 2450. Qijad itself far outstripped Ankos as the largest city in the world, with almost two million inhabitants. Advanced (for the time) plumbing, sewer systems, and entertainment arenas were funded by an extremely efficient taxation system and meritocratic bureaucracy supplied through a series of state-run schools. The fleet was peerless, launching trade missions to Ejin and “discovering” Selena through a series of mutual interactions with Alephoi traders, before the collapse of Ankos threw the whole region into darkness.
Qijad, while benevolent, was also highly imperialistic, considering itself (perhaps rightly) to be the font of all that is good in the world, and it launched pacification campaigns against the Dharamapalasi on Ejin and the Goroniye raiders that periodically harassed the Upper Siat. Qijad used the Chu to great effect as prized cavalry auxiliaries, a role that (unlike the rebellious Daeacht) they were content to provide in return for immunity from taxation.
This long golden era was brought to a stunning collapse by the emergence of a powerful new faith in the deserts of central Aljian. The rise of the Stăpânate of Voravia unified the countless, countless Vlachid tribes of the great deserts around a charismatic faith, the Pure Sun. The doctrine of the Pure Sun was administered by their Prophet Kyril, and it rapidly repudiated the growing faith of the Thousandfold God that was the dominant religion of eastern Aljian. Due to the dual assaults by the Urethaku and the Voravians on the “civilized” world for religious reasons, this period is often called the Theocratic Age.
The clash between the Stăpânate of Voravia and the Grand Republic of Qijad was truly apocalyptic in scope. Qijadi discipline met Voravian fervor in a series of battles that raged across the upper Siat. Over time, the Qijadi began to lose ground due to the mobility advantage of the Aravian armies on the high plains of the Siat. When they could not inflict decisive defeats on the well-trained republican armies, they raided endlessly into Lijian, devastating the countryside and causing a prolonged economic depression, and further straining ties between the capital and provincial merchant centers.
The Qijadi were gradually pushed out of the Upper Siat region, and after that, it was a matter of time before the inland Lijiani cities (which unlike the island-based Qijad were vulnerable to Voravian raids) seceded from the Grand Republic, agreeing to accept missionaries of the Pure Sun and autonomy under the rule of the Stăpânate. A rump-Qijad and Chu were the only remaining independent powers, Chu managing to remain independent due to their crack cavalry corps and a network of powerful fortresses defending their peninsular home. Qijad retained its mercantile dominance, but other cities (such as Zhami) became the political center of the decentralized Qijadi League. Qijad itself declined severely.
Depending on whether you ask a Thousander or a Solist, this era was either a dark age or a golden age to surpass the primacy of Qijad. Regardless, it was a middle age, of tension between Lijiani urban centers and Vlachid magnates that controlled the countryside. A climate of religious toleration and scientific accomplishment was fostered in the Lijiani city states, much of it advances in military technology driven by the simmering resentments between the “free” and “enslaved” regions of Lijian, and the desires of both sides to reunify Lijian as a Republic or a Stăpânate. It was a violent time composed of many small wars and raids. This period, from 2550 to 3100, was the Era of Division.
From 2100 to 2350, Urethaku had built an unexpected empire of their own, and the wealth of Parsha flowed south across the Kobo, to build a brilliant canal-city deep in the jungle. Tloksu and its Divine Empresses (the Urethaku were a matriarchy during this period) alternated between tolerating the Parshan dualist religion and brutally repressing it, but Parsha was always an uneasy conquest. Attempts to turn the great northern desert into a jungle were generally unsuccessful, but the attempts inspired vast aqueducts and irrigation canals, infrastructural improvements not seen since the early Diarchies of Great Parsha. Despite the somewhat intolerant Urethaku rule, Parsha prospered.
That prosperity, of course, attracted predators. Na’a’tu raiders, sailing across the Zular Sea, raided the southern coastline, proving a small nuisance. The Urethaku were unskilled with boats and incapable of combating these raids beyond stationing more troops in coastal areas. But the Na’a’tu, who had organized themselves into small city-kingdoms around the coastline of the Kahuni Sea, were but a small threat.
A greater one was found in the Sarkantine Eparchy. Sarkantos had underwent something of a renaissance under a series of proud generals, and a series of punishing desert raids (aided and abetted by Parshan rebels) made much headway in the Three Rivers. This encouraged a full-scale invasion, and a general rising of the enslaved Parshan population. Thrown out of the great cities of the Three Rivers, a major Urethaku army was ambushed in the desert. The Sarkantine forces took advantage of the weakness and crushed the remaining armies, “liberating” Parsha under a new Eparchy.
For their part, the Urethaku retreated into the Kobo, already fighting amongst themselves. The defeat would prove fatal for their first Divine Empire.
Returning to Selena, the power vacuum following the collapse of Ankos was filled by several states. Most prominent among them was the High Kingdom of Ar Daeach, former Ankoi vassals, which ruled Semikadira and most of Ankossa. Ankos itself remained a tiny rump city-state, one of many in the former region of its dominion. New Tain tribes established their rule over Alefei, most prominently the Kingdom of Garivoe. The cult of the Missing King largely died out during this period, mostly due to persecution on behalf of the new Tain monarchs who did not want to provide ammunition for an Alephic rebellion.
The majority of the new kingdoms adopted an ever-growing polytheistic pantheon, which, unlike the Lijiani Thousandfold God, did not coalesce into monotheism. Instead the fusion of Selenan and Tain polytheistic pantheons turned into a pantheism, with hundreds of individual familial, local, regional, and even personal deities proliferating. The main pantheon was limited to about twenty popular gods and goddesses, but the divine nature of almost anything became a standard theological interpretation of this highly religious time. Only one god was forbidden, as mentioned before, the Missing King, not that that prevented the Ankossans from worshipping him in private.
Among the Ankossi city-states, various experimentations with alchemy produced many strange substances, including one which ignited when lit on fire. This would not become relevant for quite some time. More relevant were the continuing advances in mechanical technology, as wind and watermills began to proliferate across the landscape. A complicated network of feudal ties between Ankossi Servants and Tain Kings and Mormaers (dukes) began to develop, culminating in the anointment of the High King of Ar Daeach as the First Eparch of the (mostly powerless but still influential) Eparchial Council. The position of First Eparch, like the position of High King itself, was an elective one, and elections were periodically disputed by the highest Mormaers of the land. Further north in the Dunmora, more barbaric Tain coalesced in tribal kingdoms and fought amongst themselves.
Ar Daeach and Garivoe maintained relatively good relations during the opening stages of this period, each having its own relatively wealthy urban poleis (Semikadira and Alefei) to rule over. This changed with the migration of the last major group to shake Selena to the core: The Utánozhatatlan. Arriving in waves beginning in roughly 2450, the Utánozhatatlan disembarked in warbands, ravaging the coastline with their longships. The Alefei were able to protect their cities, but lacking ships of their own, the Tain in the countryside were slaughtered and driven back north. The Kingdom of Garivoe assembled its finest knights to face this onslaught, marched into the eastern mountains…and were slaughtered in a brutal ambush by the invaders.
The Tain were helpless to resist the eastern peninsula of Selena from falling entirely under the control of these new invaders. Founding several large cities, Zsatva largest among them, they built their new Birodalmat (or Empire) around the warrior with the highest count of slain Tain. It was a somewhat brutalistic system, but an effective one. The Mormaers of Garivoe belatedly recognized the Utánozhatatlan conquest and signed a treaty agreeing to give tribute that the invaders contemptuously accepted. It was at that point that the High Kingdom of Ar Daeach deposed the Garivoe king, declared Garivoe a sub-kingdom, and launched a crusade against the Birodalmat. The wars raged across the plains of Alefei, and ancient cities (including Alephos itself) were ransacked. Ankossan crossbows met Utánozhatatlan lancers, and the land was bathed in fire. Alefei had become the Utánozian Marches: The most unhappy place to live in the world.
Part Three - The Opening of the World - The Colonial and Industrial Eras
Will come soon. :3
Edit: Maps, maps, before I sleep.
It is best to begin where we left off, in Aljian. The Era of the Three Leagues from 1600-1900 CE brought a modicum of peace and prosperity that was only periodically ruined by Avlach raids, none nearly as devastating as the first which had destroyed Old Jadian. The Avlach themselves gradually civilized under Lijiani influence, and their confederacy ultimately collapsed and reformed as a puppet of the Ikanid League. This state was called Chumyr, and it began the long tradition of pseudo-Lijiani, pseudo-Vlachid (Vlachid being the catchall term for the nomadic horseriding people of the great central desert) states.
The Ikanid League managed to breach the stalemate using an army of Chumyr, which they then used to conquer New Jadian (just called Jadian by most), and cow Qudin, somewhat impervious because of their location on the islands, into submission. It seemed that the Ikanid had finally unified the Lijiani into one great League, but it was not to be.
A small trading city under the sway of the Qudin League, Qijad, had built up a huge fortune in the Lijiani Sea carry trade. In fact, they had been the leading city of the Qudin League for more than a century as Qudin itself fell into slow decline.
Qijad declared independence from Qudin, landing an expeditionary force on the continent to challenge the Ikanid League and their Vlachid mercenaries. Independent cities across the Lijiani Sea rallied to Qijad’s banner, and their Consul, Sai I, proved to be a masterful war-leader, defeating the cavalry hordes of the Chumyr and the heavy infantry of Ikanid alike. The ultimate resolution of the war came when the Chumyr agreed to switch sides, in return for the promise of fertile land in Lijian itself. Ikanid was razed to the ground and used for this land. A lasting alliance was born between the Chumyr (eventually just called the Chu) and the Qijadi, who used their new allies to fully conquer the remnants of the Three Leagues that resisted.
The Grand Republic of Qijad was born.
Qijad was much like Ankos in that it had super-regional authority, but nothing like it in its government structure, a representative assembly consisting of senators from across Lijian. Barbarian tribes (like the Chu) were cowed and civilized before being used as buffer states to protect the core Lijiani cities themselves from new potential threats, along with a system of border fortresses and organized republican legions. A Republic-wide census secured proportional representation based on property-holding males, with no special privileges (at first) reserved for the aristocracy. Trade blossomed, and the Lijiani sea entered a golden era. Republican academies training the next generation of civil servants established a canon of mathematics, philosophy, history, and rhetoric that caused an outpouring of new scientific thought.
The Grand Republic also sponsored a series of exploring fleets that travelled both north and east. The eastward-sailing ones failed to return from across the wild Tenjir, but the northern fleets discovered the Vanasi people, isolationist folk who worshipped a permutation of the Thousandfold God in strange jungle temples. Later explorations revealed the southern coast of a vast island that the Qijadi explorers called Ejin, but its locals, the Dharamapalasi, killed those explorers that set foot on Ejin itself. Undeterred, a conquering army established a colony, the first foothold of the Grand Republic on the great northern island. The Dharamapalasi would fiercely resist the Qijadi for another two centuries before being utterly conquered.
We leave Qijad hegemonic in the east, to return to Selena and Ankos’ might.
The emergence of a massive confluence of tribes in the north of Selena only gradually began to impress itself on the Ankoi as a threat. In Ankoi chronicles, they are called the Tenoi, legacy of an early mistranslation on behalf of an Eparchial chronicler. In their own languages they called themselves the Tain. For long centuries had they warred amongst themselves in the Balmora; now population pressures began to drive many tribes to the south.
Foremost among these was the Ar Daeach, who settled on the Semikadiran frontier. These offered themselves to the Ankoi as mercenaries at first, and the Eparchy found a certain utility in the fierce woad-painted barbarians as auxiliary forces. Unfortunately for the Ankoi, the Ar Daeach were simply using this relationship as an excuse to gain Eparchial favor and experience with their military tactics, for such a time as they might have an opportunity to take Semikadira for their own.
Flush with success at their effortless conquest of Narisiya, the Ankoi took advantage of the continued indolence of Great Parsha to invade the Three Rivers in 1900 CE, the richest and most densely populated region of the world. The Ankoi military machine struggled with the logistical difficulties of operating over a large desert, so far from their fleets, but the outmoded Parshan levy sent to meet them was easily crushed. The last of the crumbling Diarchies was abolished, Parsha was occupied and subjugated, and a vast flow of wealth entered the Ankoi coffers. Far-ranging Alephoi traders managed to pass through the Keitos (Edge, in Alephic) and land on Ejin, finding an island in the midst of a massive war of Qijadi conquest, but with plenty of trading opportunities, Selenan wool and wine for tea and spices from the easterners. Lasting contacts beyond the economic sphere were non-existent, however.
Ankos enjoyed about 50 years of total hegemony before it all went pear-shaped.
In order to rule Great Parsha over such a great distance, the Eparchial Council had to place an Ankoi general there in order to act as a satrap. This general, however, was effectively independent of the elective responsibilities of the council. As a result, he was able to appoint his son Ahiral to succeed him, and this son, raised in Parsha, surrounded by Parshan advisors and influenced by a mixture of Parshan and Ankoi ideals, declared himself the divine heir to the Missing King, with his wife as his fellow Diarch. This explosive religious proclamation touched off a massive civil war in the Eparchy.
The newly declared High Kingdom of Ankos controlled only Parsha itself at first, but was able to conquer Narisiya from the Eparchial loyalists, and beat back all initial attempts to retake Vara. The Eparchy wasted no time in assembling a massive army and fleet, which landed in Narisiya…just as a large tribal confederacy of Tain coming south from the Balmora assaulted the frontier of the Triumphal City itself. Ankos was forced to recall their armies to lift the siege, and the city was only kept from collapse with the help of Ar Daeach, which demanded major land grants in Semikadira as the price. Ahiral, of course, used this opening to launch his own invasion of Selena. Ankoi fought Ankoi, with Parshan and Tain auxiliaries on each side. Ahiral, however, was ultimately defeated not far from Ankos itself. It took another fifteen years to reconquer Narisiya and Parsha, with Ahiral and his Parshan wife committing suicide at the end of it, a tragic end for a brilliant leader.
The twenty five year civil war had exhausted Ankos, and devastated its heartlands, Ankossa and Semikadira. The balance of power shifted towards the Alephoi cities, which demanded increased autonomy from the center. The Ankoi increasingly relied on Daeacht mercenaries to put down increasing rebellions under the fractious cities of Alephos, and their increasing power made them the effective masters of Semikadira. The Empire was weakened, but not broken.
Until the coming of the Urethaku.
Contemporary Ankoi chroniclers said that a million man army came boiling out of the Kobo Mountains, destroying everything in its path. (The actual number was most likely lower, but without a doubt it was a huge invasion.) The first chronicles of the Divine Empire of Tloksu, the first of many Urethaku states to enter the historical record, chiseled into great stone steles a declaration of holy war in the name of the chief goddess Miehak. The desert, they believed, was barren of life because of the impurity of the people that lived in it, and their refusal to worship the true goddess of the earth and the Urethaki pantheon. The only way to return the desert to forest, they claimed, was to cleanse the impure. At this point, Parsha and its great ancient cities were the last major source of revenue for the Ankoi. The Eparchy sent all its best remaining legions to Parsha in order to attempt to hold the Three Rivers against the Urethaku. They fought a desperate battle and won numerous small victories, but the Urethaku numbers and ferocity were too much. The Ankoi force was killed to a man.
In the wake of the final loss of Great Parsha in 2080 CE, the Eparchy retrenched, but the writing was on the wall. The Ar Daeacht assumed increasing power over Ankos, as did the remaining Alephoi cities, until the Eparchial Council’s power was but a mere formality. Interminable civil wars neutralized what power the Eparchy had left, until the Ar Daeacht declared an independent Eparchy, and following that a High Kingdom, taking Semikadia with it. The feeble attempts of the Ankoi to resist their former vassals’ usurpation caused a brutal sack of the Triumphal City in 2163. The great, continent-striding Eparchy of the Ankoi was history, but for a rump state in Narisiya. This Sarkantine Eparchy (so named after their capital in Narisiya, Sarkantos) would prove to have enduring tenacity, skirmishing against Urethaku-occupied Parsha and Ar Daeach alike. But they soon abandoned the Alephic language in favor of Parshan, and were an ethnically Parshan state claiming the Ankoi mantle of rulership.
For their part, the Ar Daeacht ruled a fascinating cosmopolitan society, composed of Semikadirans, Tain, and Ankoi. We will speak more on the cultures and customs of the Tain and their High Kingdoms later on, but for now it is important to note that Ankossa and Alefei (the corrupted name for Alephos) were deluged by Tain migrants coming south. Ankoi culture would survive intact, (Alephoi less so) but mutate greatly in response to the linguistic and political changes added by this addition of large numbers of Tain tribes.
The Pax Qijadi lasted for over 500 years with a few small interruptions, from 1950 to 2450. Qijad itself far outstripped Ankos as the largest city in the world, with almost two million inhabitants. Advanced (for the time) plumbing, sewer systems, and entertainment arenas were funded by an extremely efficient taxation system and meritocratic bureaucracy supplied through a series of state-run schools. The fleet was peerless, launching trade missions to Ejin and “discovering” Selena through a series of mutual interactions with Alephoi traders, before the collapse of Ankos threw the whole region into darkness.
Qijad, while benevolent, was also highly imperialistic, considering itself (perhaps rightly) to be the font of all that is good in the world, and it launched pacification campaigns against the Dharamapalasi on Ejin and the Goroniye raiders that periodically harassed the Upper Siat. Qijad used the Chu to great effect as prized cavalry auxiliaries, a role that (unlike the rebellious Daeacht) they were content to provide in return for immunity from taxation.
This long golden era was brought to a stunning collapse by the emergence of a powerful new faith in the deserts of central Aljian. The rise of the Stăpânate of Voravia unified the countless, countless Vlachid tribes of the great deserts around a charismatic faith, the Pure Sun. The doctrine of the Pure Sun was administered by their Prophet Kyril, and it rapidly repudiated the growing faith of the Thousandfold God that was the dominant religion of eastern Aljian. Due to the dual assaults by the Urethaku and the Voravians on the “civilized” world for religious reasons, this period is often called the Theocratic Age.
The clash between the Stăpânate of Voravia and the Grand Republic of Qijad was truly apocalyptic in scope. Qijadi discipline met Voravian fervor in a series of battles that raged across the upper Siat. Over time, the Qijadi began to lose ground due to the mobility advantage of the Aravian armies on the high plains of the Siat. When they could not inflict decisive defeats on the well-trained republican armies, they raided endlessly into Lijian, devastating the countryside and causing a prolonged economic depression, and further straining ties between the capital and provincial merchant centers.
The Qijadi were gradually pushed out of the Upper Siat region, and after that, it was a matter of time before the inland Lijiani cities (which unlike the island-based Qijad were vulnerable to Voravian raids) seceded from the Grand Republic, agreeing to accept missionaries of the Pure Sun and autonomy under the rule of the Stăpânate. A rump-Qijad and Chu were the only remaining independent powers, Chu managing to remain independent due to their crack cavalry corps and a network of powerful fortresses defending their peninsular home. Qijad retained its mercantile dominance, but other cities (such as Zhami) became the political center of the decentralized Qijadi League. Qijad itself declined severely.
Depending on whether you ask a Thousander or a Solist, this era was either a dark age or a golden age to surpass the primacy of Qijad. Regardless, it was a middle age, of tension between Lijiani urban centers and Vlachid magnates that controlled the countryside. A climate of religious toleration and scientific accomplishment was fostered in the Lijiani city states, much of it advances in military technology driven by the simmering resentments between the “free” and “enslaved” regions of Lijian, and the desires of both sides to reunify Lijian as a Republic or a Stăpânate. It was a violent time composed of many small wars and raids. This period, from 2550 to 3100, was the Era of Division.
From 2100 to 2350, Urethaku had built an unexpected empire of their own, and the wealth of Parsha flowed south across the Kobo, to build a brilliant canal-city deep in the jungle. Tloksu and its Divine Empresses (the Urethaku were a matriarchy during this period) alternated between tolerating the Parshan dualist religion and brutally repressing it, but Parsha was always an uneasy conquest. Attempts to turn the great northern desert into a jungle were generally unsuccessful, but the attempts inspired vast aqueducts and irrigation canals, infrastructural improvements not seen since the early Diarchies of Great Parsha. Despite the somewhat intolerant Urethaku rule, Parsha prospered.
That prosperity, of course, attracted predators. Na’a’tu raiders, sailing across the Zular Sea, raided the southern coastline, proving a small nuisance. The Urethaku were unskilled with boats and incapable of combating these raids beyond stationing more troops in coastal areas. But the Na’a’tu, who had organized themselves into small city-kingdoms around the coastline of the Kahuni Sea, were but a small threat.
A greater one was found in the Sarkantine Eparchy. Sarkantos had underwent something of a renaissance under a series of proud generals, and a series of punishing desert raids (aided and abetted by Parshan rebels) made much headway in the Three Rivers. This encouraged a full-scale invasion, and a general rising of the enslaved Parshan population. Thrown out of the great cities of the Three Rivers, a major Urethaku army was ambushed in the desert. The Sarkantine forces took advantage of the weakness and crushed the remaining armies, “liberating” Parsha under a new Eparchy.
For their part, the Urethaku retreated into the Kobo, already fighting amongst themselves. The defeat would prove fatal for their first Divine Empire.
Returning to Selena, the power vacuum following the collapse of Ankos was filled by several states. Most prominent among them was the High Kingdom of Ar Daeach, former Ankoi vassals, which ruled Semikadira and most of Ankossa. Ankos itself remained a tiny rump city-state, one of many in the former region of its dominion. New Tain tribes established their rule over Alefei, most prominently the Kingdom of Garivoe. The cult of the Missing King largely died out during this period, mostly due to persecution on behalf of the new Tain monarchs who did not want to provide ammunition for an Alephic rebellion.
The majority of the new kingdoms adopted an ever-growing polytheistic pantheon, which, unlike the Lijiani Thousandfold God, did not coalesce into monotheism. Instead the fusion of Selenan and Tain polytheistic pantheons turned into a pantheism, with hundreds of individual familial, local, regional, and even personal deities proliferating. The main pantheon was limited to about twenty popular gods and goddesses, but the divine nature of almost anything became a standard theological interpretation of this highly religious time. Only one god was forbidden, as mentioned before, the Missing King, not that that prevented the Ankossans from worshipping him in private.
Among the Ankossi city-states, various experimentations with alchemy produced many strange substances, including one which ignited when lit on fire. This would not become relevant for quite some time. More relevant were the continuing advances in mechanical technology, as wind and watermills began to proliferate across the landscape. A complicated network of feudal ties between Ankossi Servants and Tain Kings and Mormaers (dukes) began to develop, culminating in the anointment of the High King of Ar Daeach as the First Eparch of the (mostly powerless but still influential) Eparchial Council. The position of First Eparch, like the position of High King itself, was an elective one, and elections were periodically disputed by the highest Mormaers of the land. Further north in the Dunmora, more barbaric Tain coalesced in tribal kingdoms and fought amongst themselves.
Ar Daeach and Garivoe maintained relatively good relations during the opening stages of this period, each having its own relatively wealthy urban poleis (Semikadira and Alefei) to rule over. This changed with the migration of the last major group to shake Selena to the core: The Utánozhatatlan. Arriving in waves beginning in roughly 2450, the Utánozhatatlan disembarked in warbands, ravaging the coastline with their longships. The Alefei were able to protect their cities, but lacking ships of their own, the Tain in the countryside were slaughtered and driven back north. The Kingdom of Garivoe assembled its finest knights to face this onslaught, marched into the eastern mountains…and were slaughtered in a brutal ambush by the invaders.
The Tain were helpless to resist the eastern peninsula of Selena from falling entirely under the control of these new invaders. Founding several large cities, Zsatva largest among them, they built their new Birodalmat (or Empire) around the warrior with the highest count of slain Tain. It was a somewhat brutalistic system, but an effective one. The Mormaers of Garivoe belatedly recognized the Utánozhatatlan conquest and signed a treaty agreeing to give tribute that the invaders contemptuously accepted. It was at that point that the High Kingdom of Ar Daeach deposed the Garivoe king, declared Garivoe a sub-kingdom, and launched a crusade against the Birodalmat. The wars raged across the plains of Alefei, and ancient cities (including Alephos itself) were ransacked. Ankossan crossbows met Utánozhatatlan lancers, and the land was bathed in fire. Alefei had become the Utánozian Marches: The most unhappy place to live in the world.
Part Three - The Opening of the World - The Colonial and Industrial Eras
Will come soon. :3
Edit: Maps, maps, before I sleep.
Kraznaya
Princeps
You know, by dropping off the suffix, you turned inimitable -> mimicry
Fix plox
(also you missed another self imposed deadline :3)
Fix plox
(also you missed another self imposed deadline :3)
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
I will never be able to write enough fast enough to satisfy you. Brb, amputating my fingers.
Kraznaya
Princeps
[19:35] <+Thlayli> but I absolutely, 100%, am entirely confident about being done in
[19:35] <+Thlayli> 2 hours?
[19:35] <+Thlayli> 2.5 tops?
Hey, these aren't my deadlines. :3
[19:35] <+Thlayli> 2 hours?
[19:35] <+Thlayli> 2.5 tops?
Hey, these aren't my deadlines. :3
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
I demand perfection in my work. :<
Before the fall of Ankos:
After:
Before the fall of Ankos:
After:
Crezth
i knew you were a real man of the left
Thanks for all of your hard work Thlayli.
Everyone else: Tomorrowtime, hopefully after Thlayli is finished, I'm opening up nation submissions. Stay tuned for rules regarding that and stuff.
Everyone else: Tomorrowtime, hopefully after Thlayli is finished, I'm opening up nation submissions. Stay tuned for rules regarding that and stuff.
Crezth
i knew you were a real man of the left
EVERYONE please note Thlayli is still working on the rest of the history, but it's on it's way. If you want you can wait for it to come out before submitting your nation, and you may freely edit your nation submission once it has come out (I won't be going through and pressing these all into the game until the deadline anyway), but for now I'm posting all this so you guys can start thinking and talking.
Okay, let's get this party started.
Submissions & Stats
Nation submissions can occur at any point throughout the NES. To begin, you identify one province to serve as the Capital (it generally cannot be a province already belonging to another player, see the section on “Insurrection” for more details), and then you dole out 20 Nation Points however you like to “buy” from a variety of qualities for your nation (see the “Nation Shop” for more details). Take a look!
Beginning of the NES
At the beginning of the NES, the opportunities are limitless. You have 20 Nation Points (NP) to spend when first creating your nation; these can be spent on things in the “Nation Shop” which you may then indicate in your stats. Here is the basic deliverable:
[font=”Courier New”]Nation Name:
Flag:
Color:
Unit Type:
Provinces:
Units:
Improvements:
Extras:
History:[/font]
And again, annotated:
[font=”Courier New”]Nation Name: {such as: The Iron Fascists of the Greater South}
Flag: {See the “Graphics” section below}
Color: {Give a primary color, which will be the color of your provinces, and a secondary color, which will be the color of your borders; these colors will also be used for your units.}
Unit Type: {See the “Graphics” section below}
Provinces: {One “Capital” province, that is free, and as many additional provinces as you can afford with NP}
Units: {You start with 3 Infantry for free, all in your capital, but you may purchase additional units with NP}
Improvements: {Your provinces will all be unadorned to begin with, but you may add improvements to them for NP}
Extras: {Anything else you get from the Nation Shop which doesn’t fit into the above 3 categories}
History: {A description of your nation and its history, with consideration given to the Thlayli chronicles}[/font]
I will be doublechecking stats to see nobody runs over 20 NP. If you go over, I will cut costs (Units, Extras, Improvements, Provinces) until you are under budget. NP unspent at the time of nation creation will be turned into $ (1 per NP) and then put into your treasury for the start of the game.
For easy reference, here are links to Thlayli’s histories:
Thlayli’s History pt. 1
Thlayli’s History pt. 2
During the NES
If you want to make a nation after the launch - that is, during the NES - you are a bit more limited. To begin with, you can only have one province to start with, and you may not choose player-controlled provinces (generally) or capital provinces (ever) when doing so. You may not add Improvements when creating a nation during the NES.
[font=”Courier New”]Nation Name:
Flag:
Color:
Unit Type:
Province:
Units:
Extras:
History:[/font]
Insurrection
Any nation with more than 8 provinces can experience an insurrection whereby a new player joins the game as a rebelling province in the aforementioned nation. To do so, pick any province in that nation that was not one of the provinces that player started with (indicated on the map as a “core” province of that faction) without a unit garrison and PM me your nation submission rather than post it in the thread.
Note that competing nations can offer funds to alleviate pressure on an insurrection. If you have the support of a player, as well as a $10 stipend to go with it, you may rise up in any non-core province in the target region that is garrisoned with as many as 3 ground units. To do so, PM as above and refer me to the player who is allegedly supporting your rebellion. Once they confirm support, I will earmark $10 out of their income for your rebellion.
Nation Shop
Here are the things you can buy with your NP when making your nation (note you can only take each “Extra” item once per, and tech prerequisites still apply for techs obtained in the Nation Shop):
ONE EXTRA PROVINCE: 5 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE INDUSTRIALIZED: 10 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE URBANIZED: 5 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE W/ PORT: 2 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE W/ AIRBASE: 2 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE W/ FORT: 5 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE W/ RESEARCH LAB: 7 NP. Beginning nations only.
INFANTRY UNIT: 1 NP.
ARMORED CAR: 2 NP.
LANDSHIP: 4 NP.
ARTILLERY: 3 NP
OFFICER: 5 NP.
BIPLANE: 2 NP.
SUB: 3 NP. Only if you have a port.
DESTROYER: 2 NP. Only if you have a port.
BATTLESHIP: 4 NP. Only if you have a port.
MANDATORY SERVICE: 5 NP. Extra. Start with 10 Militia.
BUSINESS SCHOOLS & TYCOON CAPITALISM: 5 NP. Extra. Start with Business & Individualism.
NEW DAWN: 5 NP. Extra. Start with Third Way.
FIVE-YEAR PLANS: 5 NP. Extra. Start with State Socialism.
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC: 5 NP. Extra. Start with Syndicalism.
Graphics
Flags
You can choose one of any of the following flags.
Flags 1
Flags 2
Flags 3
Flags 4
Flags 5
Flags 6
“But Crezth!” I hear you cry indignantly, “I wanted a custom flag!” No problem. Simply make a flag graphic with the same dimensions as any of those above and send it to me, and I’ll try to cook it up like the other flags.
Unit Type
You can choose a helmet type (complete with a “general feel”
from any of these:
Names should be fairly self-explanatory. There will be plenty of extra customization as the game goes on.
Okay, let's get this party started.
Submissions & Stats
Nation submissions can occur at any point throughout the NES. To begin, you identify one province to serve as the Capital (it generally cannot be a province already belonging to another player, see the section on “Insurrection” for more details), and then you dole out 20 Nation Points however you like to “buy” from a variety of qualities for your nation (see the “Nation Shop” for more details). Take a look!
Beginning of the NES
At the beginning of the NES, the opportunities are limitless. You have 20 Nation Points (NP) to spend when first creating your nation; these can be spent on things in the “Nation Shop” which you may then indicate in your stats. Here is the basic deliverable:
[font=”Courier New”]Nation Name:
Flag:
Color:
Unit Type:
Provinces:
Units:
Improvements:
Extras:
History:[/font]
And again, annotated:
[font=”Courier New”]Nation Name: {such as: The Iron Fascists of the Greater South}
Flag: {See the “Graphics” section below}
Color: {Give a primary color, which will be the color of your provinces, and a secondary color, which will be the color of your borders; these colors will also be used for your units.}
Unit Type: {See the “Graphics” section below}
Provinces: {One “Capital” province, that is free, and as many additional provinces as you can afford with NP}
Units: {You start with 3 Infantry for free, all in your capital, but you may purchase additional units with NP}
Improvements: {Your provinces will all be unadorned to begin with, but you may add improvements to them for NP}
Extras: {Anything else you get from the Nation Shop which doesn’t fit into the above 3 categories}
History: {A description of your nation and its history, with consideration given to the Thlayli chronicles}[/font]
I will be doublechecking stats to see nobody runs over 20 NP. If you go over, I will cut costs (Units, Extras, Improvements, Provinces) until you are under budget. NP unspent at the time of nation creation will be turned into $ (1 per NP) and then put into your treasury for the start of the game.
For easy reference, here are links to Thlayli’s histories:
Thlayli’s History pt. 1
Thlayli’s History pt. 2
During the NES
If you want to make a nation after the launch - that is, during the NES - you are a bit more limited. To begin with, you can only have one province to start with, and you may not choose player-controlled provinces (generally) or capital provinces (ever) when doing so. You may not add Improvements when creating a nation during the NES.
[font=”Courier New”]Nation Name:
Flag:
Color:
Unit Type:
Province:
Units:
Extras:
History:[/font]
Insurrection
Any nation with more than 8 provinces can experience an insurrection whereby a new player joins the game as a rebelling province in the aforementioned nation. To do so, pick any province in that nation that was not one of the provinces that player started with (indicated on the map as a “core” province of that faction) without a unit garrison and PM me your nation submission rather than post it in the thread.
Note that competing nations can offer funds to alleviate pressure on an insurrection. If you have the support of a player, as well as a $10 stipend to go with it, you may rise up in any non-core province in the target region that is garrisoned with as many as 3 ground units. To do so, PM as above and refer me to the player who is allegedly supporting your rebellion. Once they confirm support, I will earmark $10 out of their income for your rebellion.
Nation Shop
Here are the things you can buy with your NP when making your nation (note you can only take each “Extra” item once per, and tech prerequisites still apply for techs obtained in the Nation Shop):
ONE EXTRA PROVINCE: 5 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE INDUSTRIALIZED: 10 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE URBANIZED: 5 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE W/ PORT: 2 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE W/ AIRBASE: 2 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE W/ FORT: 5 NP. Beginning nations only.
ONE PROVINCE W/ RESEARCH LAB: 7 NP. Beginning nations only.
INFANTRY UNIT: 1 NP.
ARMORED CAR: 2 NP.
LANDSHIP: 4 NP.
ARTILLERY: 3 NP
OFFICER: 5 NP.
BIPLANE: 2 NP.
SUB: 3 NP. Only if you have a port.
DESTROYER: 2 NP. Only if you have a port.
BATTLESHIP: 4 NP. Only if you have a port.
MANDATORY SERVICE: 5 NP. Extra. Start with 10 Militia.
BUSINESS SCHOOLS & TYCOON CAPITALISM: 5 NP. Extra. Start with Business & Individualism.
NEW DAWN: 5 NP. Extra. Start with Third Way.
FIVE-YEAR PLANS: 5 NP. Extra. Start with State Socialism.
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC: 5 NP. Extra. Start with Syndicalism.
Graphics
Flags
You can choose one of any of the following flags.
Flags 1
Flags 2
Flags 3
Flags 4
Flags 5
Flags 6
“But Crezth!” I hear you cry indignantly, “I wanted a custom flag!” No problem. Simply make a flag graphic with the same dimensions as any of those above and send it to me, and I’ll try to cook it up like the other flags.
Unit Type
You can choose a helmet type (complete with a “general feel”
from any of these:
Names should be fairly self-explanatory. There will be plenty of extra customization as the game goes on.
Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
I'll wait with submitting a nation till Thlayli finishes his thing.
Kraznaya
Princeps
Nation Name: Birodalmát Szűzies (Empire of the Pure)
Flag:
Color: Deep red, like the map
Unit Type: Tova
Province:
Center province is industrialized.
Units: 3 Infantry
Extras:
History:
Flag:
Color: Deep red, like the map
Unit Type: Tova
Province:
Spoiler :
Units: 3 Infantry
Extras:
History:
qoou
Emperor
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2007
- Messages
- 1,991
Nation Name: Basque Separatists
Flag: Here
Color: The flag's green
Unit Type: Finn
Provinces: Mountain temperate on south continent's western shore (Capital)
Units: 3 infantry, 10 militia, Officer (5 NP)
Improvements: Industrialized province (10 NP)
Extras: Mandatory Service (5 NP)
History: Basque Separatists
Flag: Here
Color: The flag's green
Unit Type: Finn
Provinces: Mountain temperate on south continent's western shore (Capital)
Units: 3 infantry, 10 militia, Officer (5 NP)
Improvements: Industrialized province (10 NP)
Extras: Mandatory Service (5 NP)
History: Basque Separatists
Nation Name: Gallee Kor
Flag: jas_monarchy.tga or wal.tga
Color: Purple
Unit Type: Fancy
Provinces: 1 Capital (Island), 1 Province Industrialized (Temperate Hills north of the Urethaku Jungles), 1 Province (Peninsula)
Units: 3 Infantry
Improvements:
Extras:
History: To come when we have more information.
Flag: jas_monarchy.tga or wal.tga
Color: Purple
Unit Type: Fancy
Provinces: 1 Capital (Island), 1 Province Industrialized (Temperate Hills north of the Urethaku Jungles), 1 Province (Peninsula)
Units: 3 Infantry
Improvements:
Extras:
History: To come when we have more information.
Crezth
i knew you were a real man of the left
Nation Name: Susumu
Flag: Kor_Monarchy.tga
Color: Brown
Unit Type: Sushi
Provinces: The top three provinces of Arabic-Japanese island, Capital the most Northern one
Units: 4 infantry (3 free), 1 Destroyer
Improvements: Capital Urbanized, Middle Province with Port
Extras:
History: to come
Flag: Kor_Monarchy.tga
Color: Brown
Unit Type: Sushi
Provinces: The top three provinces of Arabic-Japanese island, Capital the most Northern one
Units: 4 infantry (3 free), 1 Destroyer
Improvements: Capital Urbanized, Middle Province with Port
Extras:
History: to come
ChiefDesigner
Sunset Emperor
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2007
- Messages
- 761
Nation Name: Chaoyang Intendancy
Flag: GXI_monarchy.tga
Color: Gray
Unit Type: KMT
Provinces:
Units: 3 Infantry (free), 10 Militia (free)
Improvements: 2 provinces (10 NBP); desert province (capital) urbanized (5 NBP)
Extras: Mandatory Service (5 NBP)
History: The history of Chaoyang is the history of the Great Road, one of the few manmade structures visible from space. Stretching from <<CITY NAME> in Kobo, on the Jiai Sea, it winds its way through mountains to the shores of the Great Water; crossing the Great Water on ferries, the road continues south through the Zalafi Hills, to the ports on the Bay of Havens. Its peoples, while divided by language and culture, are held together their shared history; their dedication to the Intendancy; and the unifying institution of national service.
OOC: If you had your heart set on any of these provinces, please let me know.
Flag: GXI_monarchy.tga
Color: Gray
Unit Type: KMT
Provinces:
Units: 3 Infantry (free), 10 Militia (free)
Improvements: 2 provinces (10 NBP); desert province (capital) urbanized (5 NBP)
Extras: Mandatory Service (5 NBP)
History: The history of Chaoyang is the history of the Great Road, one of the few manmade structures visible from space. Stretching from <<CITY NAME> in Kobo, on the Jiai Sea, it winds its way through mountains to the shores of the Great Water; crossing the Great Water on ferries, the road continues south through the Zalafi Hills, to the ports on the Bay of Havens. Its peoples, while divided by language and culture, are held together their shared history; their dedication to the Intendancy; and the unifying institution of national service.
OOC: If you had your heart set on any of these provinces, please let me know.
Thlayli
Le Pétit Prince
Sadly, I was/am going to make a claim that overlaps with Matt's. Perhaps we can compromise?
But I'll finish the history first. Last part should be up in a few hours. :3
But I'll finish the history first. Last part should be up in a few hours. :3
Angst
Rambling and inconsistent
Oh well, this then...
. Will make a writeup on stuff when Thlayli's done...
Crezth
i knew you were a real man of the left
Two notes, everyone:
1. Desert and tundra are as good as temperate as far as income is concerned. They're harder to urbanize but that's about it, so don't worry that there's a premium on land.
2. lj, I'm afraid that the right-honorable qoou beat you to one of those provinces. Just an FYI.
edit: Here's an example of what an at-a-glance "minimap" will look like from update to update, using the asyet confirmed nation submissions as examples:
1. Desert and tundra are as good as temperate as far as income is concerned. They're harder to urbanize but that's about it, so don't worry that there's a premium on land.
2. lj, I'm afraid that the right-honorable qoou beat you to one of those provinces. Just an FYI.
edit: Here's an example of what an at-a-glance "minimap" will look like from update to update, using the asyet confirmed nation submissions as examples:
Spoiler :
Similar threads
[Extension]
Naval Capital Units for VP
