stNNES4: Pheonix From the Ashes

[North King]

Oh yeah, the update... *is currently on page 4 in wordperfect*

 

[jalapeno_dude]

I've also got a story planned out, but I guess I'll wait until after the update...

 

[North King]

No harm in that, good sir.

 

[North King]

Update 0 (2000 BCE): Nations Rising

It had been a cold time. There had been ice everywhere. Ice in the mountains, ice in the forests, ice in the grasses of the plains. There had been ice everywhere, an age of ice. But that was an ancient tale. A long passed ancient tale.

It was warmer, now. Lands that had once been completely land were now underwater, old hunting grounds had disappeared. Now thousands found themselves cut completely off from the old lands. Their new homes were rapidly diverging, but at the same time, the melting ice had led to it being much more connected at the same time. Enterprising individuals crossed mountains and seas to find that their neighbors were incredibly different from themselves, with odd customs and strange habits.

It had taken time, a long time to grow accustomed to these new environment. But by now they were already slowly contacting each other, and making alliances, friendships, rivalries.

Around the world, people had realized that they had been irreparably changed by their environs. They now often planted seeds where they had once gathered berries, dragged cattle where once they hunted boars. They had become settled, unmoving, unchanging. They had grown to love the land, the giver of life.

Soon enough they founded small villages. Communes of people banding together that they might live in harmony and thus increase their livelihoods. These villages grew into cities, glorious cities with massive stone buildings in some. The people built themselves walls to keep out the foreigners, they had forged new metals in smoking fire pits. They had built new wonders, new marvels never seen before.

They had established civilization.

But then, there were the others.

Filthy savages, who never took a bath in their life. They lived on the frontiers and savaged people randomly, taking what they did not own with brute force. Many were said to be cannibals. How could the gods have wanted the earth to fall under the hands of these... people?

Of course, to them, they were simply those that refused to live by the new codes and laws the civilizations had established, who were ruled by no hand but honor and the boundaries of their peoples. They would not and could not submit to these new civilizations that had cropped up.

These civilizations, they knew, fervently they did know, were corrupt. They tore up the ground to plant crops where one could easily survive off of the natural world without harming it. They ripped stone from its original place and mutilated it, forcing nature to bend to its will. Could the gods have willed it so, that the beautiful broad prairies that stretched between oceans, the forests that were the home of the majestic trees, the home of the gods themselves, the mountains, were destined to fall under the sword of these... these people?

It was, perhaps destiny that these two mindsets could never agree. They were as stark and opposite as night and day. There could be no option but war.

Of course, not all peoples were identical. Far from it.

Born among the hills and forests of gently rolling middle Britain, the people of Celtia quickly strive to show their independence from other areas. Their king Brennus refused point blank to pay their annual tribute to the Cantivelliaunii, and war rapidly ensued. In the massive climactic battle of Cambridge, Brennus lead his forces into a heroic and gallant charge that broke the might of the Cantivelliaunii empire and led to their independence as a nation. Now the King turns his eyes on the rest of the fair isle of Britain. It is said that to the far east, in the land some know as Cornwall, are the strange people of the Dumnonii, who seem rather similar in many respects to the Celtians, though some of their customs seem a little odd, especially their rituals before sacrifice... Despite all this, though, perhaps an alliance could be wrought?

Far to the East, across the roiling waters of the black-blue North Sea, through the Sund, in the rich plains of Sweden, lies the nation of the Goths. They are a fierce people, some would even call them savages, however, they do not believe it to be so. They view themselves as a superior people to those Celtic brutes across the waves of the narrow Sund. They are, after all, tall, strong, blue eyed people with a whole land that seemingly wants of conquering. Their fishing ships from coastal cities, meanwhile, have made landing on the distant shores to the south. They tell of a barbarian tribe, the Jutlanders, who are rather similar to themselves, not at all like those Celts. Still, they are small by many estimates, and the people of the Goths hunger for war. Alarich has many choices for his new people, it would seem.

Traveling through the massive forests of the land not yet called Germania, and over the majestic snowcapped peaks of the south, we encounter the unusual lands of Aquilon. The people of this large city are quite proud of their Italic heritage, and have managed to keep the large hordes of Goths from overrunning their city for some time, stout walls and good garrisons having helped them in that field. One of the more odd aspects of their culture that leaves the surrounding peoples quite mystified is their love of odd music, played to the beat of massive drums in strange arrangements, on stringed instruments of varying size. This music has managed to make their culture seem appealing (if a little apprehensive type of appeal) to the people of the outside world. Not all is well in their colorful land, though. Hordes of Gauls gather at the gates of the city more often than ever in these imperiled times, while far to the south, it is rumored that the Etruscans are slowly cementing dominance over Italia. Even further south, it is rumored, are hordes of fierce warriors that come out of nowhere in gargantuan ships to raid, sack, pillage and burn.

Appropriately enough, we next travel over those same warm, blue waters to the next unusual culture: Carthage. A city of large proportions, it is popularly said by the people who live there to have been founded long ago by the clever Queen Dido, who was told when she asked the local chieftains for land that she could have as much as she could cover with a hide. She immediately had her people cut the hide into thin strips, and surrounded a large area. That was to become the base of Carthage. With a massive local natural harbor, Carthage seems built for plying the waves, and a thriving fishing business is spreading amongst the locals. Also they have begun to trade their wares like pottery to the people around them, bringing much home to their city in the way of goods. Through these travails they have encountered several new nations near them. To the north are the mysterious Sea Peoples, who seem to be ever searching for a good place to conquer. Apparently Carthage is sufficiently small enough to warrant passing up, for their massive biremes are headed East, perhaps to wreck havoc on some faraway nation. Closer to home and more important in terms of defense and trading is the nation of Mauritania. This land was settled by formerly nomadic brothers of the Berbers, and appears to be rather sophisticated at the least. To the south of course are the ever present nomadic Berbers, who thankfully stay behind the wall that is the Atlas Mountains.

Across the lands that are slowly turning to desert, into the land where it is said gold is as common as sand, we enter the Dominion of the Pharaoh. Or, perhaps we should say, Pharaohs. For in addition to Upper Egypt, there is the nation of Lower Egypt, who is not quite in a mood to consent to falling under one king. Suffice it to say, the pyramid builders are divided in twain, with the Delta submitting to the rule of he who has the red crown, the Upper Nile following the white crown. When will the two crowns become one? Only time will tell, time and blood.

Far to the south of both of these nations, out of the slowly desertifying Sahara comes another tribe, the Malians. They have found themselves on the rich, fertile banks of the Niger river, and have settled down to a new life, one of farming and trading. They are also the intellectual heart of the Sahara, famous for their great wealth of knowledge, and indeed the wealth of their cities. But there are storm clouds on the horizon. Massive hordes of Berber tribesmen ravage the northern lands, and they can only be turned away by force. Even further to the north, it is rumored, lies another people, the Garamantes, and past them a massive ocean of water, such as no living Malian has ever seen. Perhaps these people, strange as they may be, can be convinced to aid them against the Berbers, especially with their excellent chariots?

Back to our little sojourn around the Mediterranean, we sail north over the calm waters of the Aegean Sea and through the Dardanelles into the Sea of Mamara, where, sprawling across the Golden Horn lies the great city of Byzantium. A marvel of architecture, its walls are larger than any others in Europe, and that is, perhaps, a good thing. To the north lies the massive tribes of the Dorians, a group that is not afraid at all of invading a nation fully, as it has already done to Hellenia. To the east of Byzantium lies the large state of Macedon. Macedon’s capital, Pella, appears in many respects like Byzantium, and a large complement of spearmen guard the nation rather well, as it is said they resisted a Dorian invasion. Far to the south, known only through vague trading contacts, are a few other states. There are a large number of city states on the islands of the Aegean Sea, occupying islands such as Delos, Naxos, and Euboea. Meanwhile, on the mainland, the Dorians are attacking en masse, it would seem, though city states like Athens, Mycenae, and Olympia resist their advance so far. On the opposite shore of the Aegean is the city state of Ilium, a large city with walls that almost match Byzantium’s. They are guarded fiercely by the Trojans, as they are known to the Greeks through whom the Byzantines know them, and the city is also a major trading hub. Though it is rumored that there is an even more powerful king to the east of them, as well.

We travel then to the Middle East, a land slowly being transformed as the massive forests that once covered its lands give way to heavily irrigated farmland. Among these valleys many states have sprung up, among them, Babylon, Nippur, Umma, Lagash, Sumer, and Ur. These states seem rather alike in culture to outsiders, but they fiercely deny any connection between them and are subject to frequent wars. To the north of them are the Assyrians, who with their siege archers seem poised to carve out an Empire among these lands, and are a constant threat to everyone else in the land. To the west lie the Mitanni, a independent people who are ready fighters despite their small size. To their south is the Judeans, a strange people following a stranger religion, and on the coast are various similar cultured city states like Tyre, Sidon, and others. They are very prolific traders. To the very east of the area is Persia. Golden nation of the area, ruled from Susa, they are superb in many respects, be it trading, warfare, or religion. However, the large threat of the Medean Empire looms over the nation, and only time will tell if their new leaders can stop this threat from materializing.

Again we digress from our grand trek across Eurasia for the slight serendipitous journey to Cimmaria. A nation that practically lives on horseback, they have recently defeated their longtime rivals the Scythians and are poised to strike into the former tribe’s lands. It is well known that any steppe nation that is defeated often gets assimilated into the victor, so perhaps they could gain greatly from this new expansion? Then again, the road south looks ripe rather undefended as well...

Back to our Eastward march, we encounter next in the high, windy mountains of the Hindu Kush the mysterious Bactria. Though their culture seems somewhat undeveloped, it also seems to be centralized around a central driving force. Who knows where these newly united tribesmen may go? To the south, of course, looms the dangerous threat of the Aryans, but they, too, seem fixed on greater prizes. Perhaps more worrying indeed is the small horde of Scythians that seems to be slowly passing down into the northern lands. Surrounded on all sides by enemies, however, they continue to prosper, the major city of Balkh being a new religious center as well, it seems, for the prophet Zoroaster is preaching a new religion, one based on the eternally opposed forces of good and evil. This new creative energy could surly be used for better purposes than merely a poorly accepted religion...

Far to the south, over the fertile Indus valley, lies Gujarat. Gujarat, it would seem, is rather more democratically inclined than most of its neighbors, its government being a council rather than a tyrant as the Harappans and those of Satavahanihara. It also is one of those following the religion of Hinduism, one of the first sophisticated belief systems of the world. The future seems to bode well for Gujarat, or at least the near future. However, in the long term, the people of Satavahanihara could prove a problem, while the Harappans, though they are highly advanced, seem to be only a buffer between Gujarat and the rumored hordes of Aryan tribes that lurk beyond the Hindu Kush. Who can say what the future may hold?

On the opposite side of the subcontinent, or near enough, is Magadha, a large new kingdom under the rule of Harshavardhana, the first of his name. It is located on a strategic position on the Indus river, and though the neighbors of Delhi, Bengal, and Satavahanihara lurk nearby, none as of yet seem to pose a threat, and it looks like the subcontinent will be at peace... For now. With the gods’ grace, perhaps, the new kingdom can rise above the others to become greater and more powerful than any that came before.

Far to the East, past all contact with India or any of these previously mentioned people lies Myanmar, inhabiting the massive jungle that stretches for miles in every direction. Rumors speak of great turmoil in part of the nation, as a brilliant red tortoise has risen from the waves to prophesied the first of a new dynasty. While the people are somewhat frightened of this premonition, it would seem that Myanmar is destined for greatness...

Of course, there are neighbors. One is the unremarkable Ayutthaya, which, though a large city and with a powerful army, doesn’t seem that different from Myanmar. Further East, though, it is said, is the nation of Funan, a great city which rises straight from the jungles, stone temples sprawling in their majesty across the earth. These people have the favor of the gods, it is said, but will that prove enough?

After all, there is one more neighbor, more powerful than any of the three of them. Looming out of the north like a giant is the Thai tribes, who seem intent on conquest in all directions. Though their attention is divided, even a limited effort by them could wreck massive havoc on the nations of the region.

Southward on the Malay Peninsula is the Kerajaan Langkasuka, or Malaysia for short. They are a great nation in a strategic position, for they are on the end of the peninsula, meaning there is little threat of the Thais invading, whereas they are also at a crossroads in the water, meaning they have vast trading potential. Already, their canoes reach out to the outlying islands, and while no organized states have been found, there is certainly much potential here. Sumatra, for example, harboring massive tigers whose pelts would be worth a great deal in the markets back in Malaysia proper. Borneo, whose massive jungles have many products to offer, and even the faraway, fertile island of Java, though that latter seems to have the most potential for developing rival states to Malaysia. Also the land itself has many potential products, such as the newly discovered tea, made from boiling the leaves of local plants.

 

[North King]

We sail northward over the warm waters of the sea that is not yet named after the Philippines, landing on the shores of Taiwan. A large island, it was rapidly united under one king by this point in time, though troublesome native remain in the interior and might prove a problem in that regard. Besides this minor afterthought, it would appear that Taiwan has large areas to grow into. Stray fishermen have reported sighting land in all directions from the island, and to the west, of course, is the fabled mainland, though it is occupied by a violent people known as the Nan Yue. These people are closer to the Taiwanese, though, than those of the rest of the mainland. The people of the northern mainland, in particular, have much lighter skins the Taiwanese do, and the contempt on both sides is mutual. Perhaps, though, good relations can be established anyway?

Meanwhile, on the mainland is the new state of Yue. It’s capital of Hangzhou is a very large city, and likely to grow larger as the architects of Yue apparently have big dreams. The city, they envision, will be surrounded by four sets of walls and a giant moat, and thus protected from all outside attack. The xenophobic people of the city approve of this. What are the outsiders to the people of the city with the greatest city in the world, not to mention the fabled beautiful women of Hangzhou. Other ideas, though, they look suspiciously on, such as the school of the city, which, while it has raised some people’s education, is often unattended, especially in the autumn due to the harvests. Outside of domestic matters, troubles loom. The rival state of Wu to the south seems intent on gaining land for itself, and building an empire, while the Nan Yue behind them are completely different from the Chinese. To the north are the fascinating Shang, a people who are superb with their bronze working skills and also have much to trade to Yue, perhaps they can call these people civilized, at the least?

To the north, practically in the steppe, but not quite in the steppe, is the nation of Manchuria. Sporting an excellent army, they view the southern Chinese as inferior to their might, and even more so to the Koreans. Perhaps they might sweep down and crush Korea? However, this task is easier than it sounds, as the nations of Silla and Parhae are quite powerful in their own right, and they fight with a fervent religious fanaticism. It will be a tough conquest either way, especially as the Chinese nation of Yan has a large wall on their northern frontier that will prove rather difficult to breach, or so it would seem.

And then, on the steppes... The heart of the steppes beats louder and stronger than ever. Thundering hoovebeats trample anything in their path. The steppe grows stronger, as the Mongol horde, a terrible menace poised to sweep into China, grows larger every day. They face challenges from their neighbors the Toba and the Yue Qi, and these sorts of things cannot be ignored...

And the soft belly of China lies exposed.

* * *​

And in the land so far away it might be considered another world, soft ripples of tension come out of the Southwest. The Apaches are a rising new star, perhaps a uniting and driving force of the region. They have the potential to become a considerable power, but they are surrounded by rivals... The fabled Anasazi, with stone dwellings carved into cliffs... The fierce Hausetecs, wielding a phalanx of spears to defend their desert home... The proud Comanche warriors. Only time will tell who becomes the master of these lands.


NPC diplo:

Strictly NPC diplo is in italics, so though you ought to read it, you needn’t.

From: Medea
To: Persia

We demand you pay us tribute, lest we test our weapons against yours...

From: Assyria
To: Babylon, Sumer, Lagash, Ur, Nippur, Umma, Persia, Mitanni, any other nations that hide around here.

Bow down to us, or we shall slaughter you all.

From: Babylon, Sumer, Lagash, Ur, Nippur, Umma, Mitanni (all NPCs from above diplo)
To: Assyria

Go suck on it.

From: Assyria
To: those in above diplo

Fine. We’ll be at your gates shortly before noon.

From: Troy
To: Athens, Byzantium

We would like to offer you trade and NAPs.

From: Athens
To: Troy

Though we have little to trade as of now, we accept.

From: Athens, Mycenae, Olympia
To: Byzantium, Macedon

We are under siege by the Dorians! Please, aid us!

From: Macedon
To: Greek nations in above diplo

While we would love to help, we are tied down at the moment. We will maintain a stance of open hostility towards them and friendship towards you, but that essentially changes nothing.

From: Gauls
To: Aquilon

Give us tribute or die.

From: Dumnonii
To: Celtia

We would like to open trading relations with your people, would this be possible?

From: Etruscans
To: Aquilon

We would like to perhaps extend an offer of alliance with your people, and crush these troublesome peoples in the way as well.

From: Sea Peoples
To: Carthage

We have no quarrel with your people. We would like to use Carthage as a port, though. Can we have Rights of Passage?

From: Harappa
To: All other Indian Nations

HELP!

From: Satavahanihara
To: Harappa

With what?

Anyway, no.

From: Delhi
To: Harappa

We’re a bit tied down ourselves, you know.

From: Silla
To: Parhae, Yan

We offer peace and alliance with you all.

From: Parhae
To: Silla

Screw you.

From: Yan
To: Silla

Fine.

OOC: Hope you enjoyed. Hope also that it wasn’t too repetitive, for it is a challenge to describe the beginning of nations over and over again using different phrases each time. NPC stats up soon. Map in next post.

 

[North King]

Le Mappaallaa of Doom! (and yes, that is MY phrase, though I notice others have stolen it recently)...

 

[conehead234]

OOC:Great Update

To:Athens, Mycenae, Olympia
From:Byzantium
If we aid you, what would be in it for us.

To:Troy
From: Byzantium
Sure.

 

[North King]

To: Byzantium
From: Greek States referred to above

Trading rights, NAPs, alliances, whatever you want! We need these Dorians off of our backs.

 

[jalapeno_dude]

Great update! Now to read the irrelavent parts...

Could you tell me which Middle-Eastern state is which (specifically the ones on the Tigris and Euphrates), preferably by color?

Also, you said I was to the far west, but that can't be right, based on the location of Susa. Am I correct in assuming that I am the teal-colored one, and the big one is Medea?

 

[North King]

You're teal, Medea is swedish blue (I name colors after countries, unfortunately), Babylon is Navy, and the Sumerian city states I could never remember for the life of me.

Mitanni is green, Judea is ocean blue, Petra is sand tan, Phoenecia is Purple, of course. The red one is Assyria. The far west was a typo...

 

[conehead234]

to:Greek Citystates
From:Byzantium
We are afraid that we cannot help at the moment. If you can hold out, maybe in a few years.

To: Dorians
From:Byzantium
If you do not attack us, we will not attack you. Do you agree?

 

[blackheart]

To: Korean States
From: Manchuria

Pay tribute to us...

*ominous tone* OR ELSE!

 

[North King]

To: Byzantium
From: Greek Cities

Fine.

To: Byzantium
From: Dorians

We attack who we want, when we want. No one tells us when.

From: Silla
To: Manchuria

No.

From: Parhae
To: Manchuria

You're Silla's worry.



BTW, stats are done.

 

[irish_lad]

To: Myanmar
From: The Kingdom of Funan

The people of Funan wish to keep peaceful ties with Myanmar. Which is why we would like to enter a NAP with your fair kingdom, and possibly establish trade between our two nations in the future.

 

[das]

OOC: Nice... but I thought I said it was meant to be on the river OXUS (a.k.a. Amu Darya). Its thus much further north then that... Think just south of Samarkand. And remember, we renamed our city.

 

[das]

Well, she's studying in Moskva. But I think she learnt Russian from this woman from Sankt Peterburg.

Either way, not very southwest... Haha.

Could you enlighten me on Russian dialects? (In off-topic forum if necessary.. )

Well, generally the Russian dialects tend to be divided into "o"s (St. Petersburg, Urals, basically the "north") and "a"s (South-West, and Center as well I guess). So Moscow should be in "a-zone".

Who's Martin Hobbert? Martin Hodder is the PM of Britain though.. Muahahah

Yup. He shouldn't underestimate polar bears, because every PM of Britain who underestimated them eventually died.

 

[BananaLee]

Well, generally the Russian dialects tend to be divided into "o"s (St. Petersburg, Urals, basically the "north") and "a"s (South-West, and Center as well I guess). So Moscow should be in "a-zone".

Cool.

Yup. He shouldn't underestimate polar bears, because every PM of Britain who underestimated them eventually died.

Alright... And it's election year.. Hmmm..

Anyway.
I don't know why I'm doing orders for this NES first but Lesson Two of The Most Basic Guide to Malaysian History is two paragraphs away from completion.

 

[BananaLee]

Last lesson, we stopped at Apit who was a really nice chap. We are just about at the end of the whole dawn-of-civilisation thing now, at the reign of the Eagle King. Essentially, if it hasn’t been nailed down by Apit or any of the other guys last time round, the Eagle King or his wife would be responsible for it.

This dude went by the name of Gusti Lang Hanayos, and the list of inventions and creations attributed to him would make his biography look like that of some Neolithic da Vinci. No big surprise, considering the fact that we’re discussing a culture that put a lot of emphasis on the wisdom of their kings. Having a name to hang a whole pile of inventions on seems to be a universal theme on all ancient cultures and let’s face it – if you happened to live four thousand years ago along the Melaka River and someone came up to you saying, “Hey, I know how to predict the future, I can make a real boat – not those hollowed-out-log-thingies and to top it all off, I know how to make those shiny yellow things into very nice shapes,” you’d certainly be impressed. Hell, I know I would.

He didn’t invent the wheel, but he brought the concept to a point where a nice cart can be constructed from it. He is said to have figured out the basics of astronomy and used it to put together a calendar and a form of celestial navigation, both firsts for the Malay people. He is even said to be responsible for constructing the first boats and although there are no details after all these years, I’m quite positive it was not some lash-together raft or dugout canoe but a real bits-o’-wood-fastened-together boat, with sails and all that. Lang Hanayos also got his named plastered all over the earliest known medical textbook, the Perbincangan Perubatan – Medical Discussions – and was composed almost entirely of conversations between the King, several physicians and a few advisors in his court.

He had a wife who was named Ruchi. Now, Ruchi has got ramie and ramie weaving to her credit. Ramie was a plant, which, depending on the production process could end up having the lustre and feel of silk, or the coarse strength of hemp. Legends abound regarding the origins of ramie cultivation but the most consistent legend is that of Ruchi developing the methods behind it. In reality, though, I would reckon that ramie was discovered by accident. A few lean years without harvest and the people would look at anything as food. Probably at some point during a famine, a hungry Langkasukan got desperate enough to throw the stalks of the some wild plants into the pot to cook Imagine his (or her) surprise when the stalks unravelled into strands of… fibrous thingies. That must’ve been freaky. After all, it was supposed to be dinner! Nobody knows what really happened after that but if the legends were anything to go by, the Queen gave a good look at the strands and decided that she liked them. Next thing you know, she knew how to spin those fibres into yarn and weave it into luxurious cloth and even got some other people to do it too. As if that wasn’t enough, she determined where the stuff came from (the stalks of the ramie plant) and what the plants needed (highly nutritious humus-ed soil). In the blink of an eye, ramie cultivation was born. Who needed sheep?

Back to Lang Hanayos, one thing you had to hand to him was that he didn’t hog all the inventions to himself. He liked talented people and he encouraged them greatly in court, or so the old accounts say. If you had a good brain and bright ideas that'd be good for a growing civilisation, the Eagle King wanted to hear from you. Remember those shiny yellow things? Gold was found in the rivers north of Langkasuka’s capital and upon realising its malleability, Lang Hanayos came up with the idea of melting the metal and hammering them into nice shapes but it was a craftsman in the Eagle King’s court, Purujit who did all the work and established metal-working as a way of life in Langkasuka. Other people came up with things like the twelve-note musical scale, measuring instruments and various other things.

The Eagle King was credited with the invention of pictographs, but like the other inventions mentioned in this lesson, it was probably more of a formal nailing-inventions-to-a-name thing like ‘Ruchi being the inventor of ramie cultivation’. Pictographs are the ultimate concept in Malay culture and is the base of its writing and so, it would be natural to give someone the credit of creating the writing. However, it is more likely that the Eagle King had merely codified existing writing systems or at least, catalogued them for posterity. What made him do all this? Remember how Paras could tell the future by staring at a tortoise shell? Well, by now, the Langkasukans had concluded that it’d be easier to predict the future if you had a tortoise dinner first. Boil the shell in conjunction with the proper rituals, and then go looking for your markings. No one knows what happened after that, but tortoises probably petered out so the Langkasukans had to look for other alternatives to divine the future.

As it turned out, they discovered that by bones cracked under heating. This must’ve been really unusual phenomenon for the wise dudes back then because they decided that this was an excellent way ask the supernatural what was going on. The technique got more refined to the point where a suitable bone was picked (scapulas were the in-thing) and the question carved onto the bone. Then, the bone was stuck into the fire and they waited for the cracks to form. The arrangement and direction of the cracks would tell the answer. These bones were then chucked away, never to be reused. The benefit of this was that modern archaeologists could actually find them bones and learn about old Malay history. It's fascinating how the development of the ideograms of today can be traced back to the first vaguely representational pictographic doodles and scribbles on the shoulder bones of domestic animals. Well, the story says that they were dragon bones but unless the dragons came in sizes of oxen, pig and horse, then the bones were most probably that of domestic animals.

The last and probably most important aspect of Malay life credited to Lang Hanayos was the development of a ministerial system of government. The Eagle King didn’t want any of that one-man divine rule crap. Instead, he appointed four other people, collectively called the Orang Kaya Berempat to help him in government affairs. The four offices of Bendahara, Penghulu Bendahari, Temenggung and Laksamana had their own responsibilities and together, the four ministers took care of the smaller things in life like day-to-day administration, taxes, minor court settlements, and security, leaving the king free to do the big and more important stuff – such as spending his time with his harem, or listening to that new composition by some weird musician.

As you can see, the Eagle King has got a CV longer than the most meticulous worker. After all, how often could one boast of creating a writing system that is used until the present day, with slight modifications?

Our next stop would be the Three Model Emperors, in the so-called Golden Age of Malaysian history. I hope you do not mind my putting it off till the next lesson.

There is no point in typing this silly history lesson when anyone can see that it’s partially a ripoff from Chinese history and partially the mad influence of the polar bears….

 

[Azale]

To: Glorious Land of the Nan Yue
From: The Rukai Dynasty of Taiwan

Our peoples are not too different. Perhaps your populace likes the land, and we prefer the sea, but in all reality thats where the differences end. We are much more alike to one another than either of us is to the Chinese states of the Wu and Shang. We want none of your land, and Im sure our little island doesnt interest you, so would a mutual alliance for the betterment of both our similar peoples work for you?

To: China State of Yue
From: The Rukai Dynasty of Taiwan

Greetings, mainland friends. We wish no quarrel with your armies or people, as we have heard rumors of grand defense structures being built in your capital. Never fear, we much prefer the wide open seas than the savagery of land conquest. We would like to sign an agreement to trade, sponsored or non sponsored, whichever you prefer.

To: China State of Wu
From: The Rukai Dynasty of Taiwan

We know little of you, but we have heard that you are much similar to the Yue people of the north. Which means your civilized and prefer peace, correct? If so, lets sign a mutual agreement to not harm either party. Can you agree to this?

 

[Fëanor]

From Apaches:

To Anasazi
Cliff People, your houses of rock and dirt cannot protect you from the Mighty Apache people, we demand you pay us tribute and in exchange we shall not burn your villages and abduct your people. We demand you send us 3 Tipis worth of Clay Pots and Basket filled with Maaiis

To Haustecs
Desert People, your Spheers (Spears) do not frighten us! Your lands of dust and sand do not interest us and therefore we will only demand a token tribute of 100 Spheers and 2 Brides

To Comanches
Buffalo Hunters of the Plains, your warrior are brave and your ways of life similar to ours, but living in the temperate plains with plentiful Buffalo has made you weaker than the Apache, acknowledged this and send us 100 Buffalo hides as tribute and we may sit around the fire to discuss peace and friendship. Refuse and your warriors will be killed and your brides and Children will become ours.