Update 2
In the years since Thor had last Orbited, the political layout of the gulf had changed a lot.
A wave of Cities and Expansion had occurred, with most civilization sporting at least two centers of population.
The Fishing Village of Targus, only one of many on the Imperial Coastline, became the first to have a population of over five hundred, Causing Imperial Bureaucrats to appoint it regional capital, home to the government administrators of the fishing villages.
Much further north, A Myamevalle exploration party, following the river north, encountered the first civilized people outside the Gulf Cultural region. (Though considering the Empire and the Myamevalle gulf people was a small stretch, most scholars consider them to be culturally similar to the other Gulf People.) The Myamevalle explorers, nearly dead of starvation, and exhaustion, were saved, in the middle of an Unforgiving blizzard by a foraging party of a people calling themselves the scholars.
As the explorers recuperated, they learned much about their saviors. Their order had been founded at the end of the dark days, by an association of international scholars, here in the (Oos? What kind of name was that?) Those Scholars had attempted to save as many books and Works of art as possible. Since then, in their Old tech fortress, the Scholars and their descendants had worked diligently to restore and preserve old writing.
The explorers, though they were treated very well and learned of the Works of the Ancients, through plays and lectures put on by the Scholars themselves, they longed for their home on the banks of the River. At last, spring appeared and the explorers returned south, carrying with them gifts of copies of the works of the ancients
a group of Seven Books, portraying the awesome powers of some of the ancients, and a great war fought by a boy and some of his friends who could channel these powers against a powerful, nearly immortal foe who also had these great powers. These Books were enshrined in Cincinna, and became the root of a group of worshippers, the Order of the Pheonix, taking their name from the books themselves. Throughout Myamevalle this worship spread, and they began to take the word elsewhere.
The People of Kasharan contented themselves with Expansion.
The People of Ironica and the Cove worked to the same Goal, though unconsciously: Both sought the destruction of the uncivilized people between their two empires.
The Cove Succeded beyond their wildest dreams. The whale people were assimilated completely, now supplying the cove with skilled navigators, a trait that the cove lacked, despite being skilled seafarers. The cove now turned its attentions towards the Baptums, and the Pirate King Himself began to devise the plans for the conquest and assimilation of this highly superstitious people.
Their Cousins, the Echijanian people had finally annexed the entire southern island, and had built a city on the northern Island. This City, though now only a rough frontier outpost was sure to become a center for trade, and a place from which to plan the conquest of the northern island.
The Storm that would, in the far north, strand a party of explorers and cause the meeting of two people began in the south of the gulf. It gathered strength and speed, and became truly a Device of the Gods, and though it lost some as it crossed the Echajin Islands, the storm once again picked up strength and power before striking the Dominion. As it raged above The Dominion, On a hill the east of Fazure, an old Metal tower, which legend said once carried light to the homes of the ancients, was struck repeatedly with lightning. The plant growth on the tower ignited, and, despite the battering rain, the Entire hill became a Raging Inferno. Weeks after the storm abated, Dominion Surveyors decided that the hill would be a perfect location for a city, as it was on the ocean, and able to protect Fazure from any attack, as well as regulate trade, and be fertile. In a moment of Humor, the Surveyors name the Hill, and therefore the city, Char.
The Gallardorian People expanded outwards, and founded the city of Conosso to the south of its existing cities.
The Singordians, always full of debauchery and cruelty, lost land to the incensed barbarians.
This Period of time saw not only the contact with the Scholars, but also with the plains people. A Galladorian Hunter was the first Gulf Person to encounter these new peoples. His wandering following prey soon took him far northwest from his people
and he preferred it that way. He disliked the bustle of the towns, and he viewed the outskirt farmers as Provinicial and Boorish. Hunting gave him solitude, and he could think. He was stalking a herd of deer, when, while following them, he broke from the forest. So used was he to the closeness if the trees that was so common throughout the gulf, that he swayed with shock. He gazed around at the open grass, the rolling hills. And in the distance, saw it. A plume of Smoke. Surely people couldnt live out in the open like this? What did they live in? What did they use for shelter and food? Curious, the Hunter traveled toward the Smoke
the journey took days, and by the time he located the fire, the people who had made it were long gone
but enough was left there to intrigue the Hunter
What could have made those strange tracks? And what was the purpose of the strange, pointed, wooden shaft lying on the ground?
Curious, the hunter explored the plains, sleeping on the soft grass. One morning, the Hunter Came across a House, abandoned yes, but undeniably a house, made of Dirt blocks and Grass.
The hunter traveled westwards for another day, and, coming over a hill, saw it beneath him
a huge city made of Dirt. and people riding on animals? That couldnt be safe?
Techs:
Netting: This invention allows for greater fishing catches, allowing for larger coastal villages. Netting allows the creation of fishing villages, which cost only 3 gpt and provide 1 gpt, but must be very near water. (requires trade) (7 tech points)
Archery: the Hunter that discovered the Herders of Ariskan brought back a wonderous military invention: a piece of wood and rope that launched another piece of wood farther and stronger than anyone could throw it. (provides +10 percent to defense) (4 tech points)