[Story] The rise of Poland

[Aussie_Lurker]

....and into the fire:

Emboldened by their new faith, the people of Krakow redoubled their efforts to rid themselves of the heathens who threatened their borders. In the meantime, those who now frequently went out to sea, to fish or to perform religious rituals, began to notice the patterns formed by the stars at night-& how those stars could assist in navigation. What was particularly noticeable, however, was how the stars seemed to make recognizable shapes. When these matters were discussed with the priests & nobles, they began to wonder if these stars in anyway guided the fates of the people here on Earth, leading to the creation of an entirely new branch of learning that mixed both science & faith.

Battle Royale

To the North-east, battle now raged between the forces of Krakow & the heathen Ice-Barbarians. However, with faith in their hearts, the forces of Krakow were able to destroy the barbarians & raid the encampment for their ill gotten gains.

With a growing military, & ever more battlefield promotions being handed out to the brave soldiers of Krakow, it was no wonder that the military hierarchy began to develop a whole range of traditions to guide the military-before, during & after their time in service. Including a set of military honours & a strict ranking system & chain of command. The military of Krakow City-State felt more ready than ever to face whatever fate threw their way....

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

New Frontiers

Many of the people of Krakow, in spite of their love & reverence for the sea, were beginning to feel increasingly confined within the narrow borders of their city. Their newly found sense of Mysticism also made them desire to move out into new areas of Rodinia.....especially now that the region seemed largely cleared of barbarians.

So it was that a relatively small group of pioneers embarked on a long & still relatively perilous journey to the North-East of the island continent. In large part, this part of the continent was chosen due to the promise of abundant food, more gemstones & wild horses for domestication.

Though not all who set out made it to the end of the journey, the survivors were able to find the settlement of Warsaw in the year 2125 BCE.

Even though these pioneer families now lived a great distance from the ocean, they never lost their faith in the Deities of the Seas & Rivers.

Another frontier that the Polish nation found itself expanding into was into the sea itself. After many abortive attempts, polish fishermen & workers were able to build a ship capable of travelling for long distances, far from shore. These vessels, a mixture of wind powered & oar-powered, were able to expand knowledge of the Rodinian coastline from the Arctic North to the southern deserts.

Yet whilst frontiers were being expanded, on land & sea, new battles were opening up on the North-Western borders of Krakow. Battle was joined anew....

 

[liv]

"death rained from above" literally

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

"death rained from above" literally

LOL. Indeed it did.

Apologies to everyone for the delay of my update, but I have been horribly busy with the last couple of days of work for the year, & fighting a monstrous head-cold. I hope to have something for you later today .

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Is there anybody......out there?

As battle raged on land, Poland's intrepid mariners had confirmed what many had long feared. The Continent of Rodinia was bounded by boundless ice to the north, & open seas to the south, making it an island unto itself. This led many in the Polish Governing classes to question if theirs was the only true civilization in the world. All they had encountered, thus far, were small scattered settlements filled with a relative handful of primitive people-either friendly or, as more often the case, hostile-but no-one to match Poland's achievements.

This was not the only thing to occupy the minds of the Learned Classes, however. Studies of the weapons & armour collected from the bodies of many of their barbarian enemies, finally helped to unlock the secrets of how this alloy-called bronze-was manufactured.

Sadly, sufficient quantities of tin & copper had not yet been found to outfit all their melee troops with armour & weapons made from this alloy. However, prospectors did stumble across another ore that, whilst bearing a superficial resemblance to refined copper, appeared much harder than the latter. The people of Poland believed this was a metal well worth studying in more detail.

The growth of the twin cities of Krakow & Warsaw, along with their sense of shared culture & beliefs, was finally helping to move the people from seeing themselves of isolated City-States, to instead seeing themselves as a single nation.....if not an Empire.

The farmers of Poland had also hit upon a means of keeping their crops watered, even when far from a water source or during the driest of growing seasons.

However, an even greater discovery was yet to be made. It turned out that Poland was *not* as alone in the world as they had first thought. The stout mariners of Poland had braved the southern seas, & discovered an entirely new land mass beyond.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Diplomatic Overtures

The discovery that the Poles were not the only civilized nation in the world sent shock waves through the commoners & the elite alike.....and it made the need for a system of direct communication, preferably written, a necessity.

Potters had long been using a series of symbols, on their pots, to indicate what items were within them. The educated classes had long studied these pots, to ascertain whether it would be able to turn all of these symbols into something that could physically represent all of the words in the Polish language. The meeting with two new civilizations gave added impetus to this goal &, after just a few short years, the Poles had cobbled together a very simple, written language with which to communicate with their "neighbours". Though it would take several more generations to expand on & refine it.

The educated classes & tool-makers had also finally created working prototypes of transportation that could run on wheels. Initially these vehicles were pulled by sheep, however this was deemed impractical & so the recently domesticated horse was used instead.....with much greater success. As with writing, however, it would still take several more generations to truly refine the process.

A Place to Pray in Peace

Whilst Polish forces continued to fight back against the moving front of the barbarian forces to the North, the Priests & Priestesses of the Sea Pantheon increasingly demanded a safe & secluded place to study & pray-far from the dangers of constant conflict. Chieftain Jadwiga IV acceded to the request, & quickly conscripted a labour force to help build such a location to the specifications provided by the religious leaders. It was placed close to the sea, but also in sight of the Holy Mountain, & would serve as an excellent location for considering how-in particular-the discovery of other civilizations impacted on where the Polish people believed they stood within the Cosmos.

For Jadwiga, the exercise in putting together a large enough workforce to create such a large-scale project made her realise the importance of having a permanent, paid work force directly employed by her & her fellow Chiefs. Then, of course, it was merely a question of how such a workforce might be used in future.....

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Fair Trade

The City of Warsaw, though growing nicely, was not growing at a pace that suited the elders of that city, whereas Krakow had an ever increasing surplus of food & building materials. So in the spirit of their growing sense of a Polish Empire, the City of Warsaw sent a trade delegation to Krakow-sending some of their own local goods in exchange for wool, timber, bricks & food-stuffs. This created all kinds of head-aches, though, as the merchants of both cities simply couldn't agree on what constituted a fair trade. The Polish Chiefs got word of this, & decided it was probably high time that they come up with a fixed system of currency, to help mediate the exchange of goods & services.

In the mean-time, the horse herders of Warsaw slowly learned how to train horses to take riders on their backs.....though the ability to finely control these huge beasts was still beyond them.

As the city of Warsaw slowly improved their standard of living, the city of Krakow was booming, with an ever increasing supply of materials coming in from all the mines surrounding the city. With such a large build-up of mine materials, a need for more craftspeople to turn them into goods was becoming ever more evident.

The hardy mariners of Poland continued apace with their ongoing journey around the coastline of this new land-mass they had discovered.....& they were amazed at how many different Nation States.....both City-States, as Poland itself was not long ago, & full fledged Empires-such as Macedon &, most recently, India & Germany. Being isolated, Jadwiga decided it was prudent to befriend as many as these new nations as possible, rather than risk unnecessary antagonisms. With that in mind, she sent delegates-bearing gifts of bread, gems, wool & mutton to all her neighbours.

The fate lies not in our stars.....kind of.....

The Educated classes of Poland had studied the stars for many decades now, determined to ascertain whether or not they could predict the future, or tell them about where they sat within the Cosmos. Yet recent discoveries made by wide-faring Polish Mariners proved much more effective in regards to giving meaning to the stars & their patterns. It was determined that the shape & movement of the stars were extremely useful to mariners when they drifted too far from shore. Combined with what they had discovered via Astrology, the Poles were able to come up with hard & fast rules for how to use the stars for navigation.....& the tools by which the stars could be mapped & understood. Maybe the stars could predict future events after all.....

 

[WillowBrook]

Just came across this. Thanks for the storytelling!

 

[God of Kings]

@Aussie_Lurker

Your story is just a great joy to read. Keep it up.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

@Aussie_Lurker

Your story is just a great joy to read. Keep it up.

Thank you for the kind words. I just hope I can finish it before Rise & Fall comes out .

 

[God of Kings]

The Poles have discovered a very long peninsula from the southeastern part of the southern continent. It sticks out into the ocean like a sore tongue.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

To exploit iron, one must be made of iron......

The nation of Poland had reached an impasse. Though all barbarians on this continent appeared to be defeated, the weapons & armour technology required to best future opponents had plateaued with the creation of bronze. Prospectors had brought back samples of a much hardier & more durable metal, but not nearly enough to discover the secrets of how it could be made into materials for military and domestic use. The only way to efficiently obtain this metal in sufficient quantities would be to build a city dedicated to its extraction. The City Elders of Krakow admitted that this would be a tough call, as it would require the townsfolk to live on a harsh, unforgiving tundra, with little to no opportunity to grow their own produce.

Jadwiga understood what they were saying, but also knew that the Polish people had proven their hardiness by the way in which they'd held off multiple waves of barbarian hordes.....even trekking into the Arctic Wilderness in order to destroy their camps. With this in mind, Jadwiga sought out the veterans of the Tundra Wars, & their families, & offered them a substantial stipend to move north & settle a city close to this new metal, but also close enough to exploit other resources considered key to improving the prosperity of Poland.

The journey was arduous, but the pioneers sent forth were made of the toughest mettle in all of Poland, & they were able to successfully colonize the icy tundra & frigid rivers of Northern Rodinia, & they named that city Wroclaw.

Not long after the founding of Wroclaw, the merchants of Krakow & Warsaw had created a number of coins & paper notes, of various denominations, as a means of facilitating better trade within the empire. This was a handy development, given that the newly founded city was initially unable to provide anything of value in return for the food & materials sent to them from the South-aside from the wages they were being paid for their hard labours.

It's S'Wonderful.....

For many generations, Polish Astrologers & City Elders would frequently climb to the top of the hill that lay upon the road between Krakow & Poland, in order to gaze upon the stars that they long felt shaped the destiny of their people, & which would later help to shape their understanding of Celestial Navigation.

One family of Astrologers in particular, however, seemed to have a very uncanny knack of predicting the future based on what they read from the Stars. After the passing of the first generation of these Prophets, it was decided to build a Great Temple to honour them, & to house any of later generations who held similar prophetic powers. After much hard labour, the grand & wondrous Temple, known as The Oracle, was completed upon that very same hill. The visions of the Prophets was sought after by the most learned & accomplished people-both at home & abroad-& word of its grandeur spread far & wide, thanks to the writings by the Scribes & Elders....

 

[God of Kings]

Not far from Wroclaw's northeastern borders, there's a small forest in the middle of the tundra that grows plants whose leaves can be cured and be burnt to create a soothing sensation. Back then, the Poles did not know about any health issues pertaining to its consumption.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Not far from Wroclaw's northeastern borders, there's a small forest in the middle of the tundra that grows plants whose leaves can be cured and be burnt to create a soothing sensation. Back then, the Poles did not know about any health issues pertaining to its consumption.

Give them time .

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Supreme Executive Power derives from a Mandate from the masses.....not some farcical Aquatic Ceremony.

After more than a millennium of seeing the descendants of Jadwiga as living Gods, & obeying the will of her & her Chieftains without hesitation, the mood amongst the common people was beginning to turn sour. So the Elders of the Three Cities spent many years contemplating the way in which the government could be reformed in such a way as to lessen public discontent. The Elders consulted frequently with the Prophetess, who currently inhabited the Oracle at this time, in order to gain additional insight. What came from these musings was an understanding that a more complex & nuanced system of government was needed, both to reduce discontent & to improve the efficiency of the State. Likewise, it was decided that it was necessary to update the Code of Laws to better allow for a more politically aware population. Indeed, these discussions led to a whole new branch of learning that would persist for many generations to come, taught on Campus-alongside Astrology, Agriculture & Geography.......

The Elite of Poland, however, were not quite ready to give up all of their accumulated power.....so a compromise was reached. Only those from the Aristocracy, the Mercantile Class, the Educated Class & the religious Class could hold political office, but only those who were elected by the Citizens of Poland could actually hold said offices. Citizenship, & thus voting rights, was only conferred to those who were born in Poland, & considered gainfully employed.....whether as craftspeople & miners, farmers on agricultural estates, soldiers, merchants or as teachers within the shrines & campuses. This still left the elite minority in charge of government, as Patricians, but gave the Polish people the illusion of democratic choice. The legal system was also updated so that all Polish Citizens were considered "innocent until proven guilty, & "equal before the law"......at least on paper......and allowed for members of the ordinary citizenry to be chosen to determine the guilt or innocence of their peers. Jadwiga & her descendants were no longer considered living Gods, or even as the Chief of Poland, but was retained as the figurehead leader of her people, known now as The Chief Consul.

The first act of this new Oligarchy was to engage in a program of Urban Renewal in the cities of Krakow & Warsaw, & to place greater emphasis on the seeking of knowledge, both within the religious & scientific spheres.

 

[God of Kings]

The first act of this new Oligarchy was to engage in a program of Urban Renewal in the cities of Krakow & Warsaw, & to place greater emphasis on the seeking of knowledge, both within the religious & scientific spheres.

You forgot Wroclaw, which would also benefit from Urban Planning.

Great story as always.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

You forgot Wroclaw, which would also benefit from Urban Planning.

Great story as always.

I just figured that Wroclaw was a much younger city, so would benefit less from urban renewal .

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Winning Friends & Influencing People......

Chief Consul Jadwiga, figure-head leader of the Timocratic Republic of Poland, differed from her predecessors by being much more "hands on".....particularly in regards to international relations. This was even more important given the fact that discovery of a new Continent had forced Poland out of its Isolationism.

Also unlike her predecessors, Chief Consul Jadwiga was an extremely charismatic figure.....particularly well liked by the lesser Nations, like Geneva & Hattusa, as well as the more well developed Nation-States.

.....and though some of these nation-states were proving increasingly difficult to please, like Macedon (a seemingly war-obsessed nation), Jadwiga was able to make great inroads in forging good relations with a host of newly discovered nations, such as England & Brazil, as well as with previously discovered nations like India.

Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailing on the diplomatic front, as each leader Jadwiga encountered seemed to have fairly strict preconditions for their good will......

Like the sailors that Jadwiga so admired, it was becoming readily apparent to the Chief Consul that she'd need all her skill to navigate these increasingly complex relationships.

 

[Icicle]

Love the story so far.

 

[Aussie_Lurker]

Well you gotta have Faith, Faith, Faith.....

The Republic of Poland was thriving, with the three cities growing larger every year.....even the tundra-locked town of Wroclaw. Much of Poland's success was down to the deep devotion that the people had for the Deities of the Seas & Rivers. This devotion was so strong, in fact, that it was beginning to be noticed abroad.

A particularly spiritual man named Bodhidharma, from the City of Delhi, took particular notice of the Pantheon followed by the Polish People. He was also fascinated by what he had read of the Ethos & Legal Traditions of the Polish Timocracy. So he decided that it was time to make a Pilgrimage to the Holy City of Krakow to discuss these beliefs with the religious & secular leaders of Poland.

What came out of these extensive discussions was Bodhidharma's belief that it was the resilience & strong work ethic of the Polish people, in isolation from the rest of the world, that made them great......& which made their Pantheon the One True Faith. Thus he believed it was time to found a new Religion, based upon that Pantheon, that incorporated self-reliance, resilience & hard work as its core beliefs. Only through that could the Polish people achieve divinity-in this life & the next.

Moreover, Bodhidharma felt that the followers of this new religion should build grand constructions in which to worship, buildings that could almost rival The Oracle in its grandeur. These constructions would dove-tail nicely with the strong work ethic of the Polish people.

So it was, in the 4th Century BCE, that a new religion-known as Eastern Orthodoxy-emerged in the Holy City of Krakow.