PureNES: Epoch of Glory

[North King]

he gets stats that quickly, while I joined a while ago and I still don't have?

I haven't seen a story from you in ages. In fact, I'm not entirely sure I remember who you are; Liassa? If you still want in, then stats will come quickly.

 

[jeps]

Liassa, yes.

I've been busy recently, but now everything is loosening up with the exception of the High Holidays

 

[Cuivienen]

I think I asked one of these question via Pm, but anyway...

What's the name of the main river in Daraj, and what's the name of the Telcari capital? I've been improvising names, but I don't want to simply make up names for some of the most important locales.

 

[Cuivienen]

And here are a pair of stories from last turn that were PMed. They explain what was going on with Corrina Melesion, who was referenced a few times in my other stories.

“Corrina! What a pleasant surprise!” Corrina Melesion bowed graciously as Leion Aldarius waved her into his sitting room. “I had heard of your return to Teler, but I hardly believed it. You have been nearly a decade gone in the east, making the fortunes of yoru family. The Melesioi are now first among the Spicer families, are they not?”

She smiled. Leion was eager to talk; it might go better than she had hoped. “We are, by the grace of Celia. Our operations have been greatly expanded in the past years under my watch, and the influx of Haffasans did wonders for production. We have begun branching out into industrial products. Even steamships grace Algana harbor.” She paused to let the impact of this statement to sink in. “You must visit Algana some day. The city, for it is a city now, has all the amenities you might find here in Teler without the dust of ages.”

“It sounds like I shall have to!” He was impressed. “But surely you did not come here to boast to an old friend? You have been meeting with members of the Council, Corrina. Everyone knows this, and everyone knows also that I have the Emperor’s ear.”

Well, at least we got there quickly enough, she thought. Corrina had never been one for small talk, and the greatest of the Aldarii could be so flowery in his speech as to last for hours.

“You are right, of course, Leion. I am here in Teler to represent the interests of the Families, and of Algana and her dependencies in the Spice Isles.” She paused and looked Leion directly in the eyes for moment.

“Go on!”

“Yes, well, we have a certain concern that has been waxing in importance for the past few years. For some time we considered it not worth bothering our heads about, but now the issue has come to a head, and we must petition the Emperor to do something about it.”

Leion looked confused. “Do something? An issue in the Spice Isles? But it would be common talk here in Teler. The Spice Isles are one the jewels of our commercial empire.”

“And so they shall remain, I hope. But our area of concern is not within the Spice Isles, though it will perhaps impact us more directly. Our area of concern lies to the south and west of Algana, in the midst of a bloody war.”

Leion still looked befuddled. At first, Corrina wondered how a man so slow could have risen so high, but then she realized that those so far from the East had different concerns from her own, and might not find the same connections of import.

“I am speaking, of course, of the war in Qiankun. The people of that land are our ancient enemies, and they are represented most distinctly by the decaying Yun Empire in the war. Yet the Yun must not lose their war.”

At this, Leion laughed. “And why not, Corrina? Surely you aren’t growing soft; the deaths form war do not bother you, do they?”

She could not quite decide whether to feign offense or not. “Not at all, Leion. No, my concern is no truly the welfare of the Yun, it is the danger of the Jin Bo. They are merchants, Leion. Sailors. They will compete with our monopoly in eastern trade. They will ally with the petulant Telcari, silly rebellious children that those fools are, against our naval dominance.” She took a breath before continuing. Leion did not interrupt.

“The Yun are no threat to us, to the Empire or to the Families. They look inward, they conscript men rather than building navies, their bureaucrat squabble amongst themselves and sap what strength they have. They may have once been our enemies, but we should make them our friends. This is why I have returned to Teler, to convince the Council and the Emperor of the need to intervene in affairs in the East.”

Leion had been nodding in agreement throughout her short speech, and he seemed slightly startled by its abrupt end, as if he had expected an hour-long rant. She let her mouth turn slightly downward at the edges.

“I… see.” Leion mustered no more for a moment. “You bring a dangerous proposition here, Corrina Melesion, but you will have an audience with the Emperor. And what have the reactions of the Councillors been?”

Her slight frown turned into a wide smile. “Very positive.”

The Emperor paced back and forth in the Lesser Hall. Why had he chosen to meet the woman here? What did she want that Leion found so important as to possibly disrupt the return of the envoy to Daria? He almost laughed at the thought: a woman of the Families here in Teler itself talking privately with the Emperor!

The Councillor rivals of the Families would accuse him of favoritism again, of course, but such talk was just meant to goad him into support of them. The Captains of eastbound ships resented the Families’ power, and they always would, but far from it was for the Emperor to act to weaken them. And he knew nothing of what Corrina Melesion wanted, only that Leion had seemed quite… disturbed. And he rarely was.

As the Emperor sat down in the imperial chair (no throne here, not in the Lesser Hall), the door opened to admit the Understeward and a woman of an unfortunate lack of beauty who the Emperor immediately knew was Corrina Melesion.

“Your majesty, I give you Corrina, of the Noble Mercantile Family Melesion. I have your leave to depart?”

The Emperor was slightly surprised at the Understeward’s uncharacteristic formality, though perhaps the woman was making him nervous. “You may go.” The Understeward bowed, and departed.

The Emperor turned towards the Spicer woman, who quickly dropped into a deep but clearly rehearsed curtsy. “Your majesty, my thanks for offering me but a small portion of your time.”

“It is a small thing, Corrina Melesion. Your thanks are appreciated.”

The woman rushed forward. “I bring a proposal from the Families, not one of economics, not precisely; I know that we badger the Council enough about trading rights in the East!” She laughed nervously before continuing, “No, the proposal I bear concerns war. The war to our southwest, to your northeast, the war in Qiankun.”

That caught his attention. “Qiankun? And what of it? The Families have never before shown an interest in fighting wars.”

“No… No, we have not, but the circumstances are now different. Majesty, the Jin Bo must not be allowed to overthrow the Yun!” This last sentence was delivered with a tone of desperation.

“Ah… yes. I see why that might of concern to the Families. Well, I will certainly consider this, but we have yet to hear from Daria. If we must continue war in the north, the Jin Bo must go ignored for now. I am sorry that I cannot give a more definitive answer yet, Corrina Melesion, but I will make a decision in the coming days.”

He paused before speaking again. “I hear you have been talking to Councillors. About this?”

“Yes, majesty.”

“And they approve?” She nodded. “Good. I am glad that we had this audience, Corrina Melesion.”

“The… the pleasure is mine, majesty.” It was funny how this woman who at times seemed so reassured could stumble so easily.

“We will speak again three days hence. The Understeward will see you out.”

 

[North King]

I think I asked one of these question via Pm, but anyway...

What's the name of the main river in Daraj, and what's the name of the Telcari capital? I've been improvising names, but I don't want to simply make up names for some of the most important locales.

I remember, I've just been waiting for Thlayli to come online to confirm things.

*cough*

 

[alex994]

OOC: *gasps at reading cuiv's story* You hurt me Though alas, you're all too right.

I plan to write some stories on the weekend when my workload softens

 

[North King]

Liassa, yes.

I've been busy recently, but now everything is loosening up with the exception of the High Holidays

Liassa
Ruler/Player: j_eps

Government: Constitutional Monarchy. While there is a king, his power has waned somewhat in the last few decades, increasingly finding that the Senate wields quite a bit of power in its own right. However, a strong ruler can still govern effectively: he merely needs to debate more than his predecessors might have.

Technology: Technologically, Liassa, like all nations far from Arios, somewhat lags. But this is only a minute difference, for Liassa has ascended past its sister states in the Celian Sea, adopted many Ariosi technologies, and even invented a few herself. Of course everything relating to the sea, navigation, or shipbuilding is at the cutting edge, but also domestically, Liassa finds itself near the leaders of the pack.

Culture: Where the Telerians retained tradition, Liassa eschewed it entirely. The old faith of Celia holds little sway here--Seraphism has risen as one of its main rivals, but in general, religion holds rather little sway. Instead, the arts are developing in a much more secular manner, and a very modern one as well. The old philosophers are held in little regard by all except academics, and new thought is turning Liassa in a different direction entirely...

Economy: The Liassan economy is rapidly diversifying and getting increasingly sophisticated. They of course have a flourishing fishing industry, and a massive trade empire. However, they also are rapidly gaining an efficient industrial base as well; their production is increasing exponentially. All in all, it is a good time to be a Liassan--if you are a businessman.

Military: The military is sophisticated, particularly the navy, which is actually one of the most advanced in the world, and certainly the most advanced south of the Gates of Fire. Somewhere on the order of 300 ships serve in the navy; all of the largest are pre-dreadnoughts and burn coal. The army, by contrast, is a mere 25,000, and somewhat underpowered, but this is a nation which relies on steel walls...

Infrastructure: Railroads have come into prominence on the home island recently, but as the vast majority of the Liassan Empire lies at sea, so too does their infrastructure. Nearly every good is carried by a steamship at some point in its life: in Liassa they are both fast and massive. Of course, the connectedness of their empire declines the further away you get from true ports, but that is not surprising.

History: Liassa is one of the successors to the erstwhile Telerian Empire, greatest nation of the ancient world. While they did not inherit the island home of Telerius, the fleets of Liassa did find themselves excellent islands, far from the hellhole that their mainland had become, and founded their own kingdom here, ports overlooked by high mountaintop fortresses. While they were relatively minor for a long period of time compared to the New Telerian Empire, they managed to garner some of the more advanced technologies of the northerners, and combine them into their own designs: they were the first Telerians to develop ironclads and steam engines, and they now have the most powerful navy, ship for ship, in the Celian Ocean. Alas, they are outnumbered, so their ship vs. ship advantage is outweighed by the sheer numbers of the New Telerian Empire; they are thus trying to find new ways to expand their empire: onto the southern continent, and even into the Mournful Coasts.

I think I asked one of these question via Pm, but anyway...

What's the name of the main river in Daraj, and what's the name of the Telcari capital? I've been improvising names, but I don't want to simply make up names for some of the most important locales.

Narbudda for the Daraji river; Alvana for the Telcari capital.

 

[Cuivienen]

Thank you

 

[North King]

I think we'll make the deadline Sunday, when the bell tolls noon. This is so I can update by at least Monday night, as school starts on Tuesday and entangling things would be a bad idea.

And as you might have guessed, updating arrangements are the same this turn as last: I will be on Glory, Thy on Excelsior. It will probably switch after this turn.

 

[alex994]

OOC: I like you more than thlayli updating Glory! STAY WITH US! *uses the force*

 

[Thlayli]

You're just saying that 'cause NK let you win.

 

[North King]

Ah, but what of the evil that comes after?

*evil cackling*

 

[Lord_Iggy]

No Victory is Absolute.

 

[Cuivienen]

You're just saying that 'cause NK let you win.

NK updates on time...

 

[North King]

It's been a loooooooooooooooooooong time since I've heard that said about me.

 

[Cuivienen]

All right, well, I'd hoped to be able to write another story or two to augment the four already done (Four!? We only saw one!), but I've been packing and generally getting ready for school for a while. We're driving up tomorrow morning, after which things will be chaotic for a few days, so I'm just going to send orders tonight before packing the computer. Expect them in a couple of hours.

 

[Kozmos]

I want to write a story, but I cant really figure out how or what.

 

[Thlayli]

I want to write a story, but I cant really figure out how or what.

By typing.

I'll send you some diplomatic stuff soon.

 

[Shadowbound]

I can't figure out how to start mine.

 

[~Darkening~]

Just be like everyone else and rip off a movie .