RPG: Fountains of Mana

[Toa Levacius Zehvor]

"Stay your water, declare your business" the Captain said, watching the, as he'd later know, Sherdrian boat.

 

IC: Sherdrian Ship, Near Vardal

 

Almost immediately, the people on the ship began rushing as they pulled the ambassador out. Having just been pulled out, she looked no different than the rest of the crew-members until she spoke up, calling to Captain Eumos."

 

"Congratulations on this wonderful day, soldier! Of the city of Tethorus, called Sherdria come to you. I want to talk with their leaders to business interests."

 

OOC: Words ran through Bad Translator to simulate a lack of experience and the fact she's trying to speak on the fly. The original words were -

 

"Greetings to you on this fine day, soldier! I come to you from the city-state of Tethorus, in the nation you know as Sherdria. I wish to speak to your leaders, in the interest of trade."

 

OOC: Lore stuff below.

 

IC: Sherdria, Temple of Magic

 

"Rumor has it that the Lord of Daeroth is getting awfully busy." said Authrasu.

 

"The rumors are no doubt true." was the response from Stestruara. "Though you would know that more than anyone else, wouldn't you?"

 

"Hmmph. I have no more love for that soft-skin than anyone else does." he replied. "It's Matherius who we should put our trust in. The fact that I agree on that with him is merely coincidence... and common sense."

 

"Trusting Matherius is a fools move, and you know it." she said, as she looked around his lab. Small pieces and components for creatures were everywhere, along with a number of dead beasts he had been researching. "Don't you?"

 

"Perhaps." he replied. "But it's what's best for the nation. We may have the power of the Fountain, but the people do not care for us. They care for the gods, and they care for their local priests. But we, the ones meant to rule this nation? Few even know our names. But Lord Matherius... that is a name many have heard."

 

"He has but four decades of life yet if he's lucky. He was a waste of the Fountain, and he is a waste of the public's love. The public who, much like him, have so very little life left to live. And even then, the eastern city-states are mostly apathetic to him."

 

"And to us. Mayrak is in decline because of our movements. They are not happy about it."

 

"None will ever act against us, and you know that. Even if they do, the gods are on our side. Who would dare oppose one with divine power?"

"Many would. Many have. Sherdria today is but a remnant, just as the ruins which dot her landscape are remnants of the even greater civilizations of the past."

 

"A convincing argument. But I am not quite so easy to sway."

 

"You never have been. But at least your head isn't quite as thick as Heatithria, or that... Metothra."

 

"That what Metothra?"

 

"Nothing."

 

"You'd be best off keeping it that way, Authrasu. Otherwise... well, you never know what could happen."

 

"You're threatening me now?"

 

"Of course not. But you're becoming too much like Matherius - you think far too highly of your power. You are merely one of many priests, and while many will follow you, it is far from the majority. And you need every voice you can get.... whatever the cost."

 

"Ah. A bribe, then."

 

"Bribery? No. No priestess should ever stoop so low. No, what I'm proposing is something very different... merely an equal arrangement."

 

"Continue."

 

"Together, our voices can sway enough people to cause some movement. Of course, the defining piece of importance here is the causing of some movement. And like you, I have friends beyond this temple.... though not quite so soft on flesh. And if you're willing to help out my friends for me, then perhaps your friends may also seem some help when it comes to making decisions."

 

"Well then... how could I possibly say no?"

 

"You couldn't. That's the whole point here." Upon saying that, she turned away, heading out of the room. Just before she passed through the doorway, she said, "Send word to your dear friend, Matherius. Find yourself a good favor to do for him... for mine should be coming just tomorrow."

 

-Toa Levacius Zehvor

Edited January 21, 2014 by Toa Levacius Zehvor

[Zhangku]

IC: Captain Eumos sighed as he heard the stilted reply. Foreigners and their lack of understanding of Vardali, the language of the common and intelligent man alike, "Alright, Alright, but you get an armed patrol. Follow my boat to the harbor. There's men already waiting. We saw your boat a few days out."

 

Turning his boat around, with the help of his crewmen, the Captain led them to the Harbor, where several armed men waited, "Time to see the Marchioness, she's been waiting to see you. The Duke's busy, sadly, so he can't see you in person. Ready to come ashore?" he asked, looking back at them.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC

Empress Wu sat upon her golden throne and looked out at the throne room, empty except for her guards. She had sent yet another one of her loyal supporters into the fountain. Part of her was tad disappointed at how easily the bait she had placed out had done its job. The other part of her was waiting for something to go wrong. The court officials were no fools and though Long Feng was busy working upon the roads with his Terracotta men, there was another sorcerer waiting in the wings. She sighed. Politics and assassination she could handle but how she loathed the waiting. She picked up a cup of tea next to her throne and took a sip. Still, she would try to enjoy the relative peace while it lasted.

OOC: Two batches of Terracotta men completed…some time ago. Decreasing road buildtime by another week.

1x Creation mage under construction.

[Constructelf]

IC Regnum Veritatis

"Sir, a group of Jotun managed to slip through our territory and cross into Fillion." Gauis frowned upon hearing this news. The strips of land by the coasts had always been the hardest to secure. "What do you make of this?" Gaius asked the new wizard, Titus. "My Lord, I cannot say for certain," the Neophyte replied. "Hm..."

 

OOC creation mage finished a while ago.

[Silvan Haven]

Fillion

 

IC: The thunder of hooves could be heard for almost a miles in any direction, the flat land and lack of trees allowed noise to carry to amazing distances. It also allowed for unparalleled lines of sight.

 

It was a good thing for some and a very bad thing for others.

 

Thane Harinhold urged his horse as fast as it would go, the plumes of smoke in the sky ahead warning of death and destruction. Behind him a thousand other Thanes were strung along in a shape vaguely resembling an arrowhead. It was hard keeping proper formation when galloping across the hills of Fillion.

Several hours ago a breathless and half dead villager had stumbled in to camp and started rambling incoherently about a pack of Ice Demons that had crossed the border and attacked his village.Harinhold had called the men to arms as soon as he had managed to fish the location of the village from the half dead man. The villager was currently back at camp, being cared to by the camp personnel that followed any group of decent size.

 

The village was a small one, barely fifty people in it. Not many wanted to live so near the border, where the winters were deadly cold and the chances of being attacked by Ice Demons were too high for comfort. Dead bodies lay on the ground and propped against walls, huge rents in them from the claws and teeth of their attackers. One the houses was on fire, the plume of smoke showing up like a beacon in the sky.

There was no sign of the attackers, however there was a fairly plain sign as to where they had gone. On the far side of the collection of building the ground was churned up leading back over the border. With a grim face, Harinhold ordered his men after the beasts.

 

They would not get away from this.

 

 

Co-GM

 

Mythic Mountains (Falcon Lord)

 

The first few weeks of scouting did not go well. The cliffs and forests of the area were not a hospitable place. The rocks could go out from under one's feet without warning and the starng beasts that roamed the land found Human to be a tasty meal.

 

Crown of the World (Zhangku)

 

The groups scouting for materials found several veins that looked to be absolutely massive. It was as if the god of miners and smiths had blessed the land.

 

The scouts looking for passes had less luck. After much hard work and searching, a few small spots were found. However none of them were very good.

 

OOC: If I missed a person please PM me.

 

Xom, your stuff will be dealt with by Humva.

Edited January 27, 2014 by Silvan Haven

[Ehksidian]

OOC: ok i've been putting this off for waay too long.

IC:

The Council was in session, once again arguing over various needs of Ignomia.

"We need to focus on the farms while they are still viable!" one shouted.

"No, that is simply a waste. We must focus on fishing as much as possible, and improve the quality of fishing gear!" Another retorted.

And, as this bickering between ten of the twelve members went, two at side by side, conversing about an idea. They ceased, and one of the two, Algo, stood up.

"Me and Kilta have been speaking, and have come to an agreement on something that must be done: We must explore the northernmost islands, and set up a colony to the north. The colony shall be a boon to us, bringing in even more goods for us to trade with our trade partners, the Badoise. We propose that a small scouting party, composed of twenty well-trained soldiers, be sent to the north to explore a possible site for settlement."

Algo sat down. The other Councilmen looked amongst each other, and nodded. "Yes, this does seem like a good idea."

The others agreed, and so, they assembled a scouting team to head to the northern islands. They were given a small ship to go forth.

OOC: Actions taken:

Small scouting party sent to northern islands in search for possible areas to colonize

[Alex Humva]

IC [@Xom|Dragon]

 

"NO, NO, I THINK THAT'S ALL. GOOD WORK BUILDING THE NATION, BE SURE TO KEEP UP THE SACRIFICES, SUCH THINGS."

 

IC [@Xom|Southern Island]

 

By now a fort had been established, with men manning it even as the odd civilian began to settle around it. Where military men went, those seeking their protection were sure to follow. As the sun rose that fateful morning, the men foraging in the jungle began to hear an ominous pounding. It was rhythmic, definitely footsteps, and by the sound of it, hundreds or thousands of footsteps. The men at the fort saw the approaching mass first, though they could scarcely believe what they were seeing. Not when all the scouts had reported the island was barren, aside for a few barbarian family groups.

 

Approaching the fort was a rank-and-file group of... creatures. Their appearance was vaguely humanoid, with pasty white skin that looked like hardened cartridge, warped around muscles that would occasionally show themselves in the daylight. The faces of this humanoids were covered with all manner of skin tags, little bits of skin hanging off, while their eyes were a deep and decidedly unhealthy looking yellow. They all wore armor, however, shining steel that even the best Jelvakq smiths could not hope to replicate. Some of them rode land sloths, similarly pasty and white as them, and rather than walk on legs this mounts seemed to slither like a snake.

 

Finally they arrived at the fort, the men able to do quick multiplication to find that there were perhaps five thousand of these humanoids present. In a grutal and screeching manner, one of them yelled out something complete unintelligible to the Shial ears, and awaited a response.

 

IC [@Everyone]

 

By now, winter had taken the land of Elorena, with snow beginning to fall even along the relatively warm coasts. This snow was no ordinary snow, however; nations and barbarians alike soon found that the glittering ice had more it besides water. Even the Shial, in their tropical location, received some of this in their rain. The sky was literally raining silver, little beads of the stuff found practically everywhere. Silver inflation was sure to rise, but the nations would profit off of this freak event of nature regardless.

 

OOC

+10 EP to everyone's treasuries. Also, we did technically have a cycle this last week, so while you don't all need to post because not much happened, be sure you keep track of that on your own time. Hoping to quickstart this back up with a major event or two.

[Zhangku]

IC: With the Silver Rain that has come down, there was much rejoicing in the Kingdom, although no one knew at the time it had happened elsewhere. As a result, the people were even more confirmed liking the leadership of Duke Victus Tarr, the ruler of Vardal. As such, they helped funnel the Silver that had been accrued to help fund the Great Vardal Bridge, funneling a good deal of effort into it's construction (10 EP) more added to the costs of making the bridge), and an expansion project to increase irrigation to the areas of the nation that needed it more (10 EP) was instituted.

 

As well, a good deal of resources were sent north to Fort Confluence, where more supplies to battle the River Guardians were sent, as well as prisoners from some of the cities who had done only minor offenses were sent as laborers, swelling the population of the Fort's area to around 14,000 from 13,000 last season. Additionally, a road to Fort Confluence is being constructed to properly get supplies up river without worrying about any guardians that get past the Fort (5 EP), and a wizened man by the name of Thadeus Blowjaw was put into the fountain, to be turned into a wizard (5EP). The remaining funds are kept safe during this time (6 EP), for reserve.

 

OOC: More funds towards the bridge construction, Irrigation expansion in my fertile lands, a new road leading up to Fort Confluence, and a Wizard is made.

[Alex Humva]

IC [@Humva]

 

The arrival of the Silver Snow made the Council particularly aware of their sad money state; the net income of the nation was pitifully low, with military spending at an all time high during an era of peace and prosperity. It was decided with two dissenting votes that the Collective's Guard be significantly downsized, from its current 90,000 to one tenth the size. This would free up the money supply and, with no enemies and minimal barbarian raids, be adequate for the civil defense. In addition, the military and political elite would receive notifications; the time had come for Horran to become a magically-assisted nation. A roster of 25 was drawn up, and they all would absorb the Fountain's mana in turn.

 

OOC

Disbanded 81,000 Collective's Guard back to the fields and started a queue of 25 wizards.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Strategist Alex Humva

[Falcon Lord]

IC:

 

With the coming of the silver rain there were many rumours spreading around the kingdom. Almost everyone, from the lowliest peasant to the Ironlord himself had a theory.

 

After the reports of little success with the scouting, the Ironlord ordered it to continue for the winter. If still nothing was found by spring, things would change.

 

OOC: Continuing scouting in the Mystic Mountains.

[Xomeron]

IC: Southern Fort

 

The commander of the fort was, naturally, quite dumbfounded at the sight that was presented to him at first, but the screeching brought reason back to him. These were no men; goblins, perhaps, or elves. In any case, the fact that they wore armor was proof enough that they were thinking creatures, and thinking creatures could be spoken to, even if the language was as inscrutable and maddening as Jelvakqi. From his vantage point atop the gate, the commander raised his Sling Spear and then lowered it, setting it on the wall in front of him. Even if the gesture wasn't universal, its meaning was unmistakable.

 

IC: Shial

 

The King, after the dragon left his palace, and a mason was called to repair the balcony, decided that what he needed was a cadre of capable, experienced commanders. Over the next few days, what formed in his mind was the War Academy; there, a collection of historians, philosophers, and commanders were to form the first teachers of the Science of War. Aspiring commanders would be taught their craft, and, when not at war, experiment was the rule of the day; students would be encouraged to experiment with clever gambits and ideas. The War Academy was formed in the city of Farikas, in the core of the plains that made up Shial's center.

 

Meanwhile, the Dragon Priests had finally won a right that they had long sought; the access to Mana. Many of them believed that the mystical substance was the same power that gave the Dragon, Mushussu, his power, and were they to become wizards as well, they would be one step closer to understanding divinity. This power had been granted only at the price that they serve the King and his Army with all the magic required of them.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Xomeron

[Silvan Haven]

IC:

 

Fillion

 

To remedy the appalling standards of education in the upper class of the country, the King commissioned the construction of an academy. It would take some time, but the end result would be worth it.

 

OOC: 10 EP to the construction of an academy.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC

The court ministers, under the guidance of the Empress Wu and her close council of advisers made ready for the years stretching ahead them. They had a grand plan, drafted by the Empress and her council, to carry out. The years would be hard; the amount of monies lost would be great. Several stages of the plan were quite delicate in and of themselves and the military would need to be strengthened to ensure the Dominion could stand against any troubles that arose during this time. The plan primarily focused on the expansion of the economy to previously unheard of level, the establishment of great academies under the control of the government, not the direction of private clans of scholars.

To placate the scholarly clans, who held the nation’s future in their hands and who had made so very many sacrifices for the good of the Dominion, the Empress planned to great a few of them the right to become mages and bathe in the scared waters of the pool at the center of the palace courtyard. This was in addition to a number of political allies who would be making the transition as well. If things went well, the Dominion would not only be strong, but the political power of the Empress would be unquestionable in every practical sense. This, of course, was utterly by design. The cunning Empress had no intention of dying to an assassin’s blade.

The Zhao Dominion would grow and expand, it’s armies would swell and the Empress Wu would be there to see all of it.

OOC: Grand plan drafted for the next few years. Information will be PMed to the GM in painful detail once it is complete.

[Velox]

Closed per request of topic starter.

Edited February 12, 2014 by Velox