SYSNES2: On the Lathe of Suns

So nothing that meaningful.
 
OOC: You horrible person noob. You spent 15e suing me after we agreed on an out of court settlement?!?!

Also Nintz, I've been trying to get a deal with the Seffasians for a while but Dis hasn't been cooperative!
 
What kind of deal?
 
Forest Emergency Fund Board Application - The Csser'ian Confederacy UC 4978

(All Requests Adjusted for Higher Csser'ian Building Costs)

General Surface Development (1x Solar Plant and 1x Social Infrastructure) (77e)

Aimed to begin the development of the General Surface Region on Heya and improve the standards of living there; would greatly assist in long-term plans to establish a domed habitat

Larsilla Services Restoration (1x Social Infrastructure) (22e)

To repair damage caused in the last year due to electrical outages and restore social services to the population.
 
Notice to All States in Lipsid Beta

Although the disturbances across the Forest Sector may be a mere distant threat, the Coran nation is deeply disturbed by the recent disturbances in Spinward, so close to home. With the infighting in Zeran space and the destruction of the Standardite fleet in Lipsid Gamma so fresh in recent memory, the Yanii, whom we held to be one of the major powers and a bastion of stability in the Spinward entered into a civil war.

We, the Most Light of the Coran nation fear that such signs suggest an era of impending chaos in the Spinward, and will devote ourselves in order impose order, justice, and self determination for all the people in the Spinward.

For that purpose, the Coran nation will continue its devotion to humanitarianism and provide aid to all the people in need, whether they be Zerans, Yanii, or any of the minor powers in Cathedral space. We declare that we will be foreign aid of 40 e using our own Emissary vessels to the Yanii space.

In addition, we will devote ourselves to promote justice and order in our own system. There was much suspicion among our nation that some Yanii military personnel conducted electronic warfare against our own nation. Obviously we believed the Yanii government to be above such treachery and was certain that the government will investigate and bring to justice those responsible. So we stayed quiet.

Seeing the status of the Yanii government, we no longer believe that is possible.

Therefore, we are regretful to inform that the Coran government is forced to take matters into our own hands. We will begin interdiction of Yanii vessels in Lipsid Beta space and detainment of its crew in order to investigate possible involvements in criminal activities and promise that they will be returned to the Yanii nation as soon as proper authority is reestablished in their proud civilization.

We apologize for any possible disturbances that this announcement may cause.

Thank you for your time.
 
We thank the Coran government greatly for its generous donation. We too wish to hold accountable criminals from the Hephoi administration, and as such will be instructing our Bat and two Flagella present in Lipsid Beta to dock at the Seat of Light. Our Planetophage will not be able to make the trip this year, as its habitation modules are critical towards the supply of Yanii teams on Lipsid Beta I.
In addition, we will instruct them to bring the Corans a stock of 20m that is currently otherwise stuck on Lipsid Beta I. We hope that you will find this a proper recompense for your gracious donation. If this happens to free up funds you had tied up elsewhere, we would greatly appreciate additional relief aid, as Yan remains unable to pay for critical life goods.
Furthermore, we have successfully made contact with the Yanii Diplomat team present in the Cathedral's Space, and they have our authority to negotiate various details with your people.

OOC: You don't even need to carry the 40e over to Lipsid Alpha if you don't want; I can use it for shipping costs, that can be paid from anywhere.
I have an entire 39m cache stuck on Lipsid Beta I, if that can get me any closer to not e-starving :p.



Updated Preliminary Proposed Yanii Budget for the Year of 4978
as would be required by the proposed Transparency Amendment

[pre]Lipsid Alpha
Stockpile +12e +9f +1m +9v
Expected Production +53e -12f -41m -39v
Expected Handmaiden TC contribution -142e +45m +45v
Gamma VIII Contribution -7e +5f
Necessary Suburbs Construction [406] -17e -2m -5v
Pacification efforts -23e -33s
Organizing interim government -8e -10s
Organizing full elections -2e -5s
Upkeep -26e -15v
SubTotal -160e +1f +3m -5v -48s
Coran donation +40e
Atooan donation +20e +20m
Year-end Total -100e +1f +23m -5v -48s[/pre]


[pre]Lipsid Gamma
Stockpile +6e +36f +2m +2v
Production -11e -3f +7m +14v
Yan contribution +5e -5f
Upkeep -6f -23v
SubTotal +22f +9m -7v
Hoped-for Zeran exchange +50f -9m +7v
f decay -18f
Year-end Total +54f[/pre]

Signed,
Chyn Ley, Elected Councillor, representing the Council for the Rebuilding of Yan
 
OOC: Seriously. Nobody is going to charge qoou interest?

IC:

The Csser'ian Confederacy pledges 5e to the Republic of Yan for relief efforts.

The actions of the Hephoi Government towards the Csser'ian Confederacy and the Csser'ian People were despicable. While the Confederacy is shocked at the assassination of an elected official and the subsequent chaos, the Confederacy sees the dire threat the Yanii people face. The Confederacy wishes a speedy recovery for the Republic of Yan, and after the recovery, a swift and thorough investigation into the subversive activities of the Hephoi Administration towards the Csser'ian Confederacy and the Hephoi Administration's conspiracy with the Standardite Commodores in coordinating acts of economic terrorism.

PM Leoni.
 
The Council for the Rebuilding of Yan welcomes all donations, no matter how small. We especially welcome a donation from the Csserians, who the Hephoi administration had unwisely decided to clash with repeatedly. We are glad that the Csserians do not hold the actions of a select group of individuals against all of Yan; have no doubt that we are bringing to trial members of the Hephoi administration, and investigating with the utmost diligence the alleged claims of their conspiracy with the Commodores.
As a symbol of the new relationship between our states, we would like to offer the Csserians the opportunity to research the Obscurum Beta ruins in joint operation with our specialists. Yanii expertise in mathematics and archaeology could be of great use to you, and it is something that many of our scientists have been looking forward to, but not allowed to do by the Hephoi administration.
 
Amendments to the Jeffords Agreements

The Hank-Sobor Consortium agrees to loan the Standard Territories 100e, to be disbursed in two tranches: 50e in UC 4978, and 50e in UC 4979. Repayment will begin in UC 4980, at 6% interest compounding yearly.

The previously negotiated specialist contract between the Consortium and the Territories continues as agreed, except that beginning in UC 4980, payments from the Hank-Sobor Consortium will be credited towards loan repayment rather than tendered directly to the Territorial government. In goods and services the Standard Territories commits to repayment of 17e per year until full repayment is achieved.

Signed,
Provisioner-General Kia Common
 
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Signed by Polyshareholder Seln Pelter, Hank-Sobor Consortium

To: Hank-Sobor Consortium
From: Hankish Republic

Burning Datha, will you stop doing those things without asking us? We're supposed to be going through a transition of power, goddamnit!

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qoou said:
As a symbol of the new relationship between our states, we would like to offer the Csserians the opportunity to research the Obscurum Beta ruins in joint operation with our specialists. Yanii expertise in mathematics and archaeology could be of great use to you, and it is something that many of our scientists have been looking forward to, but not allowed to do by the Hephoi administration.
Click to expand...

IC:

The Government of the Csser'ian Confederacy thanks the transitional government of the Republic of Yan for its offer. While we do appreciate the gesture, the immense distance between Yan and Obscurum Beta as well as Yan's current political situation makes us quite hesitant to enter into any partnership with the Republic of Yan at this time.
 
Knights of the Vale

History:

The Knights of the Vale do not have a word for their homeworld. The old Mernt had a name for it, but it is now forgotten to most; and the people of the Vale, whether Rulers or Ruled, associate with the Vale itself and not the inhumanly cold or hot parts of the planet. Their folklore fills those parts of the world with ghosts and monsters, though some of the most important stories also explain, by means of easy to understand to allegory, the workings of the planet's ecosphere. The great blessing of the Vale's fertility is a gift from the Other Side, as water arrives from high ground; if they are to flourish, the people of the Vale accept this gift and work respectfully to spread it in the proper ways. The broader moral for the Valers is as follows: keep your distance from the Other, but do not turn away its gifts and be respectful of those on whose your survival and well-being depends. This colours not just their view of the ecology, but also both sides of the relationship between Knights and Workers, a variety of hierarchical interactions within those two large social orders and in these days, the Knights' perspective on wealthier and less hostile outsiders.

The history of the Valers proper began shortly before the old Mernt Empire collapsed. Up until then it was a successful ecological project, an up and coming breadbasket and an ultimately fairly average well-to-do colony with not much to distinguish it culturally. The Vale was inhabited by several large matrilineal Mernt clans and a higher number of smaller clans and off-shoots enjoying their patronage. The large clans claimed and terraformed it under an imperial contract in the first place, and even back then there was a clear socio-economic disparity between them and their clients; but even though the latter were often explicitly brought in to carry out the more lowly tasks for their patrons, between their religious consensus and the overall warm, fuzzy feeling of growth and prosperity that did not appear so jarring.

Unlike on other worlds, the Mernt plague did not bring about a total societal collapse in the Vale. It came pretty damn close, however. The clans turned in on themselves as they struggled to maintain control in the face of a suddenly rebellious population. Economic hardship combined with paranoia and eschatology to undermine the previous consensus, and the single-minded focus of the clans on saving the ecology at any cost to their clients, who were chained to tedious menial labour, did not help. When grumbling, assassinations and spontaneous outbreaks of violence eventually gave way to organised rebellion, the Rulers, as they will become known, were taken aback. Their authority faltered, and entire lineages were slaughtered in the chaos that followed. The ones that held the line retaliated with cruelty born of desperation. Fighting the rebels and occasionally each other, the Rulers - those of them that thrived - made a rapid transition to warrior ethics and a siege mentality. By the time they won, aided by their superior technology and resources, few of them could raise any objections to turning their remaining clients into slaves, bound to their land and to their work.

For the first few decades after the rebellions, the outlook was grim. Off-planet contacts had ceased long before then, but now communications across the planet itself were degrading as well. The ecology had suffered a great deal of damage, much of which was beyond the now-diminished Mernt capacity to fix; it seemed as though it was set to decline further. The Rulers and the Ruled were still trapped in the cycle of rebellion and retribution - just on a smaller scale. And squabbling both between and within the warrior clans often turned violent as well, limited mostly by the fear of a new big uprising and somewhat by the influence of women and religious leaders.

Lasting change would come from a different quarter. While Valers tend to refer to the Lawgiver, the true prerequisites of his social reforms had come about by the time when he was just a young noble warrior named Arion. Firstly, the ecology of the Vale turned out to be more durable than its masters expected, at least as long as it was helped out by men. As it recovered from the previous stress placed on it, the fears of doom have gradually abated - although the population boom that this brought on could have been taken for an alarming sign in a different culture. In the meantime, though, as society was no longer seen as tethering on the brink of collapse, some of the previous hardships and strictures became relaxed, for both social orders. Trade and communication revived, somewhat. An intellectual and cultural flowering among the Ruler court cultures soon followed.

Unfortunately, between overpopulation, marginal relaxation of the conditions keeping the Ruled down and a growth of social criticism and cynicism, the Vale was put before another crisis before long. Elites hoping to keep the golden age going for their own tribe at the expense of others have launched wars; in such wars and in a renewed wave of rebellions, men like Arion proved their mettle. By the time a civil war put his tribe at the risk of subjugation by foreign powers, Arion had enough supporters and popularity to claim dictatorial powers and use them to carry out extensive reforms based on the ideas he and his circle had developed from their classical educations. Thus was the philosophy of Knighthood born, and the essential shape of Valer society that mostly exists to this day was formed. Over time, the Lawgiver's ideas spread to other tribes, resulting, among other things, in further restrictions on intertribal warfare and the development of ritualised alternatives - games and tourneys. And as the Knights of the Vale increasingly came into contact with outsiders, those changes had turned out to pave the way for a higher degree of political consolidation, culminating in the rise of the Knights Alliance, the formation of the Shining Legion and the election of the first High Warlord.

Society:

At the heart of Vale society is the division into Knights and Workers, or, more archaically, Rulers and the Ruled. It should be noted that Workers are at once closer to the traditional Mernt lifestyle (with smaller matrilineal families dominating) and, in those days, more dynamic and innovative. The Lawgiver's ideal is that Workers must focus on, well, work - farming, public works and sometimes crafts. That has never been fully the case, however. The tradition of using some parts of the Workers as an emergency militia has faded over time, but did not go away entirely, for instance, which also had the highly undesirable side-effect of creating a chance for a distinguished Worker-Warrior to become a Knight. A more alarming tendency for the previous century, however, has been the rise of crafts and trade in some parts of the Vale, leading to the emergence of large cities. This has been good for the development of a more advanced feudal economy, and also appreciated by the less conservative Knights who enjoy the benefits of a market culture; certainly it is helpful to have when dealing with commercially-minded outsiders! Others, however, regard the selling of travel permissions, sharply limited in effect and quantity though they are, as downright blasphemous and dangerous for the well-being of the Vale itself.

Traditional gender roles among the Mernt mean that women are accorded a great deal of respect and power within the household; they conduct household worship rituals, know great and terrible (as well as simply practical) secrets and own landed property by virtue of their connection to the land - even Rulers could not take this away from their subjects, though they could kill a family's matriarch and replace her with someone more pliable instead. Men, meanwhile, have a more prominent role in the public life of the community outside their own household, practicing a form of communal democracy. They also fight or travel to trade, where permitted - but Rulers always saw fit to protect the piety and innocence of their subjects by making sure they would stay safely rooted in the ground.

Among the Knights, things have taken a somewhat different turn. While having a great reverence for the land, they are not allowed to own or work it directly. Instead, the main purpose of their life is war. This central principle that was never challenged by Arion or eroded by modern prosperity. They did, however, modify the conclusions drawn from this view considerably. Needless violence or cruelty are strongly discouraged. A model Knight is expected to be courteous, educated and above all responsible and disciplined. He keeps his mind and body sharp and ready for battle, but does not seek war by itself; instead, in times of peace, he finds release in friendly competitions and tournaments. Another theme that is played up is responsible conduct - a Knight must not shy from duty, must look after his tribe's Workers and the Vale itself, must be pious and respectful, must not provoke the wrong foreigners without reason, must be a model for the younger generations and must not complain if appointed as a magistrate and saddled with tedious paperwork, for Knights are also Rulers.

Contrary to the misleading images conjured up by the word "Knight", Knights of the Vale have a strong collectivistic streak. They are not individual feudal lords, masters of their households and landowners. Their tribal and sub-tribal identity comes first. Just after that comes their age group; young boys, normally from closely related or just neighbouring lineages, associate in cohorts, are practically separated from their mothers at an early age and undergo a demanding process of education and training, where the aforementioned Knightly virtues, as well as literacy, basic science, tactics and use of weapons is drilled into their heads. Even after becoming full Knights - full adults - and being admitted to Knightly society at large, the members of the same cohort retain strong personal ties to each other. Likewise, it is common for them to participate alongside one another in battle and in games.

Curiously, Knight women are also subject to this collectivist spirit, if to a lesser extent. Girls are also raised in cohorts, though they are taught somewhat different things - housework, economics, arts and crafts, religious observances and self-defense. Upon coming of age, the female cohorts effectively form their own households, which then negotiate to marry Knights (women from the same cohort marrying men from the same cohort is an ideal, though it does not always work that way). This marriage is mostly important from religious and reproductive standpoints; male Knights are obviously frequently away, leaving the women to care for themselves and the children until the latter become old enough. At first glance, women do not play a huge role in public affairs, but in fact they have a great deal of soft influence, in addition to their control over the tribe's own economy. No leader or magistrate can safely ignore the Women's Moot, as it is called (though it is much less of a formal gathering and is more of an informal consensus among the households). And while they are not normally expected to participate in campaigns, women are certainly expected to be ready to defend themselves and their homes from any attack while their husbands are away.

The large, far-flung tribes remain the core political units for the Knights of the Vale. Any kind of individual power is inconceivable outside of the tribal framework. The adult male Knights are the main armed forces of the tribe; there are no private armies, but, of course, an individual Knight can gain a following among his fellow Knights and lead them on his own initiative - almost always in the name of the tribe and never against the express orders of the tribe's elders. The Knights do not have any kind of true monarchic institutions; personal titles and indeed overly self-aggrandising and individualistically assertive behaviour is generally disdained. Instead, a tribe is governed by a council of (particularly revered, male) elders and a wider tribal moot that elects generals and other magistrates from among the knights, usually with sharply limited authority and fixed terms. The ultimate authority belongs to the tribes, and the magistrates are just tribesmen to whom this authority is delegated.

Political consolidation into the Alliance did not destroy this tribal autonomy as such, but it did bring about some important changes. The Alliance is a loose tribal confederacy, mostly for purposes of foreign policy, commerce and military coordination. The Alliance Moot is formed by specially elected representatives from all the tribes. They elect the High Warlord, a supreme official with an unusual amount of power, invested in him by all tribes. While he could not interfere in the internal affairs of tribes, he is the permanent supreme commander of the Shining Legion - an intertribal army (although still organised along tribal lines) used to fight foreign threats. He is also the Knights' supreme representative, uniquely empowered to deal with foreign diplomats and traders (at least those who do not already have a guest status with one of the tribes). Membership in the Shining Legion is prestigious, as are the tournaments that the High Warlord organises. Still, he is ultimately replaceable and answerable to the Alliance Moot.

Valer religion is perhaps surprisingly disorganised. Household worship, normally conducted by the oldest/wisest/most knowledgeable woman in the household, is the order of the day both for Knights and for Workers, though there are lesser ritual practices that can be available to younger women or even men. Private mystical practices - as well as mystery cults - can be quite popular, mostly among the latter. Last but not least, shamanism is a very prominent religious practice - from the village shaman who mediates between the community and the land's spirits, to High Shaman Cadegar, whose influence at the Alliance Moot has ceased many a dispute and frustrated many an outsider (note that his title reflects his political influence and special status, but not any formal authority over other shamans). Shamans are mostly male, though their actual gender status can be in doubt (from an outsider's perspective - a Valer knows that a shaman is a shaman, and leaves it at that). They combine the traditional Mernt planet worship and the idiosyncratic ancestor worship of the Valers into one organic tradition, and are greatly respected by most.
 
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To: Knights of the Vale
From: Hankish Republic

We are interested to know if you will sell food to the Hankish settlements on Hearthfire. If you are willing, at what price would you sell said food?
 
I'll make mah loan decisions today.
 
Working on first orders.

Could someone explain how housing costs scale, and also what the difference between "e" and "refined e" is please?
 
Nintz said:
Working on first orders.

Could someone explain how housing costs scale, and also what the difference between "e" and "refined e" is please?
Click to expand...

e is how much you pay for something, unless you have that thing refined (i.e. you've researched into improving it), in which case you pay the refined e cost.
 
My army stats are still weird. Specter's attacks, defenses, and initiative should be the same as Phantom's. Rest looks fine.
 
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