World Progression 2022 Period 1

Discussion in 'Progression Events' started by MonMarty, Nov 29, 2021.

  1. MonMarty

    MonMarty Thotdodger Staff Member Server Owner

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2012
    Messages:
    4,674
    Likes Received:
    4,958
    This Thread will record all submitted Progressions as they are processed. Deadline for Period 1 is 5th of December, Midnight London Time. Submissions will be posted as replies until the Deadline is reached.
     
    • Winner Winner x 2
    • Powerful Powerful x 1
  2. MonMarty

    MonMarty Thotdodger Staff Member Server Owner

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2012
    Messages:
    4,674
    Likes Received:
    4,958
    Garth Rodsvar’s Mirnoye Expedition @BeashSlap @HydraLana
    • On board Yngvarr’s ship, the group travels to the land presumably called Mirnoye, having waited for the calendar date, the one day in which the Maelstrom around Mirnoye ceases, in an attempt to make contact and learn from the locals. Attempts to land where there were no statues facing the ocean failed, as the entire island was surrounded by them, so eventually the group just decides to brave it, as this would be their last attempt to break into Mirnoye proper.
    • As per last time, the locals shadowed their approach, but seemed less hostile inclined this time than last time ((some visual information will from this point onwards be retconned from last time to allow for better connection to other lore, so take information from this post as canon)). The locals appeared extremely unnerving, being easily three to four feet taller than the Ailor who came to visit them, and having completely expressionless faces. Their skin was pale as porcelain, and their eyes a solid milky blue without a clear pupil and iris. On their skin were geometrical lines in what looked like tattoos, and there was some familiarity with Velheim tattoos, but too different to call them Velheim. They all dressed in the same strange outfit, a fabric appeared to have been made out of tiny tooth-pick sized metal shards tightly layered on top of each other, cascading all the way from their shoulders to the ground like a full robe, though as they moved, their robes simply appeared to float across the ground, there was no leg locomotion visible underneath their clothes. The leader held up a large staff with an egg-shaped end at the top. It was hard to tell if they were mutated Ailor, or indeed an entirely new Race.
    • Serafim attempted to communicate with them, however all attempts in languages she knew failed. The presumption had always been made that the Mirnoye had some relation to the Velheim or Vladno people, but this seemed to be completely wrong, as they spoke a strange syllable based language that had nothing to do with any known languages. What the group presumed was the leader with his large staff struck the rear end of the staff on the ground, causing the top piece to unfold and produce a number of metallic clicking noises. As the group spoke, the device seemed to imitate what they were saying, before it started producing whole sentences and could speak to them, though it used very few words.
    • The staff told them the Allfather had declared there should be no more killing, but that they should not take this as an open invitation to go where they were not invited. In the interest of preventing Regalia from sending more expeditions, they warned that this visit would be permitted, but under the strictest oversight. Gifts were attempted to be exchanged, but that resulted in some curious cultural oppositions. The locals seemed disgusted by the potatoes and juniper berries, and the statue defences on the coastline went so far as to incinerate the pigs, rabbits, cats and dog the moment the group let go of them as gifts for the locals, who seemed equally revolted by the presence of these critters.
    • Elise Thomas made a number of sketches and drawings of the things she saw. Notably: The blue tinted grass. They were warned not to tread on it, though Garth ventured too close to it as they moved, discovering that it was in fact not grass, but razorsharp thin blades of metal that were so thin they could dance and move in the wind in the same way normal grass would. One of Garth’s boots was badly lacerated. She also drew what the Ailor called Mirnoye Ablast, but the locals referred to as Barrat. The locals indicated it was in fact not an abandoned city, but the house of the Allfather, and that entry was strictly forbidden, and that it was even more forbidden for visitors to go even anywhere near it. She finally also made some sketches of the statues and rock piles they met along the way, all perfectly hewn blocks of stone with metal wrappings and wires running across them.
    • Frejnir tried to show interest in the food. The locals did not understand the question, instead replying that the Allfaher nourishes. They seemed generally revolted by the idea of eating, such as the visitors did when they were having lunch. There were in fact no domestic animals on the island. There seemed to be horses, but on closer inspection they were large granite constructs held together by metal wires and blue lights, which the locals also used as mounts.
    • Humaira attempted to learn of their metallurgy. The locals did not understand the question, for “how could one craft something out of anything that exists all around. Do you craft out of air? Out of your own body? Do you craft out of thought?” There seemed to be some sort of cultural misunderstanding, but they also showed no signs of actually owning anything that could craft metallic objects, despite the abundance of metal in the environment.
    • Elise and Antoinette found nothing to look into Horticulture wise. Every plant they encountered was the same: Metallic, blue-tinted. Not even seemingly alive.
    • ((glowing rock stuff was backwards retconned because it doesn’t fit into lore anymore)).
    • The locals did not permit the group to take anything, and after several hours of touring what was essentially the same dead and empty gray landscape, the group decided to leave to catch the boat out of the Maelstrom. They made the following final observations:
    • All assumptions about Mirnoye were completely wrong, it wasn’t entirely sure whether the locals were even Ailor, let alone Vladno or Velheim related. They would not speak much about the Allfather besides the fact that they seemed to both worship it as a single god, and a living being inside a massive temple that was shaped like a massive organ instrument. There were very few children like the locals, but if anything they also similarly looked unsettling, just smaller version of the adults with the same dull expressionless face and drab gray metallic clothing. Everything was either blue or gray and depressing colored, the whole land was constantly cast in dark shadows and clouds, and no sunlight or warmth could be felt anywhere. The locals made it very clear they were not interested in dialogue, trade, or any of the trappings of the world outside of it, and that cultural differences between their people’s were so profound that there was nothing the Regalians could offer that the Allfather did not already provide. Further inquiries into the Allfather resulted in vague statements such as “The Allfather once had a wife of flesh”, and “The Allfather came as an outcast like us”, before essentially saying that the Ailor would not understand. When pressed to point out their homeland on a map, they disregarded the map as “whispers of the sea”, giving a vague indication that they considered it either heretical or inaccurate and refused to interact further.
    • The group eventually left, this time not being zapped out of the water, but also taking nothing back with them besides these stories, and having no more domestic animals on board because they all got lightning zapped into nothingness.
    • This Storyline has now Ended, at least within the scope of Mirnoye itself as Mirnoye is covered in the Maelstrom again. Information held within can still apply to other areas.
    Contacting the Elladorian Warfront @Lutowski
    • Medea, Silver, Cyran, Eletha and Calibur ventured to Ellador on mission from the Defense Minister to try and establish more clear communication with Regalian campaigns in Ellador.
    • The group eventually linked up with Prince Raymond and Princess Aliandre’s army far up in the north. The officers were slow to trust the newcomers, but when they spoke of Arahael, the annoyance on Aliandre’s face was palpable, and she permitted them to enter, presuming that no sane enemy of Regalia would tolerate working with or knowing of Arahael and not wanting to get rid of him as quickly as possible.
    • The group was sent to work on some scouting missions, but the whole conflict proved very difficult. The Isldar were very good at countering being scouted, them being in fact the race that had perfected hit and run tactics and remaining unseen. Attempts to scout with Wyverns resulted in nothing but blizzards and fog banks blanketing valleys, making any movement difficult to make out.
    • Upon approaching the Dorkarthi front, Medea increasingly started hearing whispers that spoke paranoia and violent thoughts to her. Beyond a certain frontline, the group decided to turn back because Medea would go into longer states of catatonic unresponsiveness, a symptom that could not easily be explained by anyone.
    • The group returned to Regalia eventually, having completed their scouting missions for the Army.

    Sorvaar and Fuvrattaam Anthropology Investigation @Birdsfoot_Violet
    • Argo, Bae’an’ha, Bennet, Saren, and Rennyn travel to the isles previously inhabited by the Sorvaar and Fuvrattaam people. They pick up a few pieces of pottery and make some sketches of their crude homes and living conditions. Scouting out the island revealed that actually, a small pocket of the Sorvaar had survived in a small grove of thick bushes. Unfortunately because the group accidentally stumbled into them (and they were already in the process of starving), the last remaining Sorvaar died out, putting the race properly extinct. The group did however manage to record a few words out of the vocabulary of a language that was now also extinct.
    • This Storyline has now ended.
    White Dragon Under Regalia Mystery Investigation @Birdsfoot_Violet
    • Abigail, Harlow, Anya, Cecil and Imara ventured into the sewers to try and find some guides who might know more about venturing to the 7th descent of the layers of subterranean cities underneath Regalia. After asking around, the group eventually came to the conclusion that venturing down without an Arken to guide them like the last group did, would practically be impossible. Even just venturing beyond the 3rd layer, infested with rabid Vampires and mutated monsters, there was no telling what was in the lower parts. The group returned home with that information.
    Terre di Fuoco Vulcano Etna Visit @Birdsfoot_Violet
    • Maelstrom, Rue, Ashvarya, Alba, Laurel visiedt the volcanoes in Terre di Fuoco, Vultaro-Montania. They saw some Volcanos. One even erupted while they were there. Maelstrom sat in it while it erupted, and Ashenvarya stopedd Maelstrom from having a close encounter with terminal velocity and the ground. Neat.
    • This Storyline has now ended.
    Investigating the Lights in Silverwind @Mollymock
    • Talisin, Alson, Therris, Drulailmon, Listariance visited Silverwind on Therris’s boat to hone in on the location of the lights alluded to during the last visit.
    • Upon venturing closer, the group would find that the forest was eerily quiet, as no animals could be heard, and the locals did not venture into the forests out of fear of never returning. When night fell, the group encountered their first lights, which turned out to be large tendrils of some kind strung between the trees. These tendrils hung from the trees, and has small bioluminescent parts in them that lit up in the darkness, drawing in small critters who had been hiding in the underbrush during the day.
    • The group witnessed one such squirrel being attracted and snatched up by the tendril, which rapidly pulled it in a particular direction from which the other tendrils seemed to come. The group ventured deeper into the forest, attempting to follow the squirrel that was struggling with to break free from the tendril.
    • They could however not reach the actual source, as a large barrier stood between them and a strange valley beyond.
    • Alarmingly to them: there seemed to be some sort of palisade beyond the natural barrier of brambles, manned by unmistakable Regalian soldiers. The group decided to return home to reconsider their options, as whatever was hidden there, was guarded by Regalian soldiers, and the locals weren’t even aware of their presence on the island.
     
    • Winner Winner x 8
    • Like Like x 1
    • Powerful Powerful x 1
  3. MonMarty

    MonMarty Thotdodger Staff Member Server Owner

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2012
    Messages:
    4,674
    Likes Received:
    4,958
    Archaeology in Lokkenland @AtticCat
    • Hera, Szaralaszotl, Carmen, Sarrapu, Howland travel to Lokkenland in search for Archeological dig sites particularly in Huidehuide.
    • The group does not find any real archeology. The problem with Lokkeland is that it is some of the most traversed regions of Anglia, also some of the most densely populated where very little nature remains. Forests were felled for trade ships and fields were ploughed for acres of agriculture. What little ruins once existed were dismantled, their stones re-used to make houses for the locals. Aside from a few so called Hunnebedden (old Velheim burial mounds), the group finds nothing, and is mostly redirected to try and engage in archeology in Bancroft/Deceres lands, since they control the lands that still have majority Dragon Worship populations and untouched nature that could still hide forgotten ruins.
    • This Story has ended in Lokkenland, but can continue elsewhere.
    Meet with the Iron Duke @BillyTheScruffy
    • House Howlester pays 1 Wealth token to the Alms Ministry and House Cadieux each.
    • Rodderick Genevieve and Lyall travel to the court at Lampeport to meet with the Iron Duke, bringing with them gifts.
    • The party brings with traditional Dressolini gifts, while also wearing Duttino Dresolini fashion, and giving it as gifts. The choice to wear Duttino fashion wasn't necessarily a bad one, but a bit of an awkward one, because as the group would find, the whole Lampeport court wore Imperial fashion, including the Iron Duke himself. Still, he seemed pleased with the gift of clothes, as apparantlly the Iron Duke had become a fan of collecting expensive fabrics. The usage of Stoor Root at the court draws some eyebrows, particularly from the Vultragon Supremoclast, however the Iron Duke seems to enjoy feeding the Stoor Root foods to his excessively large Ceardian Bloodhounds, and is generally in a good mood.
    • Rodderick and Genevieve's attempts to learn of the Iron Duke's airship survey, which he seems all too happy to share in boast and brag. The Iron Duke in no uncertain terms says he lied to the Assembly and that the purpose of the airship survey was to make a detailed map of all armories, barracks, mobilization centers and defensive locations as well as castles owned by all the other Noble Families, he just dressed it up as a geological survey for cartographic reasons. He remarks further that he always considered the Assembly as a borderline treasonous organization that frequently flaunted the authority of the Emperor (to whom he is a great fanatic localist, since the Emperor pulled him as an orphan off the streets of Ithania and gave him his father's title.), and that he was doing it as a means of securing the stability of the Empire by having the necessary means to rapidly destroy any dissent against the Emperor. He afterwards remarks however that since the Iron peace has been made permanent now, that this military information is largely redundant, so upon the request of the Emperor he burned most of it except a few military maps of bordering regions like Girobalda, Vixhall and Lorenthaus in case the local rulers "misbehaved towards the Dressolini people". He eventually agrees to simply publish the more up to date river maps and coastal maps for public use, and says he has no issue with others seeing them.
    • On a closing note, Lyall attempts to mingle with the guards. The guards however largely ignored her, the brick tank Blackmarks that they were, resulting in some awkward attempts from Lyall to strike up conversation with motionless towering brutes.
    • House Howlester is billed 1 Wealth Token for this trip, paying for all the gifts (the Bill is not paid in this order, and must be paid seperately, or refuse to be paid).
    • This Story has now ended.
    Exploring the Northeastern Coast of Fendarfelle @Annie_Short
    • Tujia, Aksel, Alek, Osiris and Godrun travel to Northeastern Fendarfelle to survey the coast for potential colony locations, while also mapping other points of interest.
    • Fendarfelle seems generally suitable for colonization, the climate is temperate and the green areas seem very lush, with vast river deltas and green plains, though mostly lacking mountains. The prospectors indicate that the land is probably useful for sustaining agriculture, but that the land is probably very poor in mineral and rare earth resources. Most problematic of all, is that the continent is very wild in fauna, and based on information from the Ithanian colonies, also infested with all manner of Deathling monstrosities that frequently attack colonies.
    • The group maps out a few Altalar ruins, but choose not to venture into any of them or explore them too deeply at risk of encountering Deathlings that are no doubt inside.
    • The group returns to Regalia. (keep in mind, the system has yet to decide whether to incorporate colonialism into the conquest game, try to hold off on trying to do too much colonial stuff until that is settled upon).
     
    • Winner Winner x 2
    • Powerful Powerful x 1
    • Agree Agree x 1
  4. MonMarty

    MonMarty Thotdodger Staff Member Server Owner

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2012
    Messages:
    4,674
    Likes Received:
    4,958
    Castley travels to Milat @Nathan
    • Theopold, Morgan, Samuel, Avis and Hullinera travel to the Milat duchy to the south of the Carrhen continent to meet with the Duke of Milat.
    • The party comes bearing gifts, and attempts to speak with the Duke, who despite reservations, agrees to meet with them. The Duke remarks it is unusual for Regalia to send unsanctioned diplomats to the shores of such faraway places, and remarks that Castley should remain realistic in what to expect from an unofficially state-sanctioned visit to a foreign entity, in that the Duke of Milat will not sign any agreements that are not bilaterally verified. But he is willing to entertain them otherwise.
    • Casltey's attempt to establish relations between the Duchy of Oxenfurd and the Milat Duchy as such fall largely on deaf ears, because the Milat Duke thinks that Castley does not have the authority to establish diplomatic connections outside of the approval of the Foreign Ministry of Regalia, and in large, the Milat Duchy is a sovereign territory, while the Oxenfurd Duchy is not, meaning that whatever Castley does through the scope of politics would always have to be approved by a third party in the Regalian government who was absent at these discussions.
    • Insinuations that the Milat Duchy would be well defended against foreign invasions for aligning with Regalia result in a somewhat comedic response from the duke of Milat, who remarks that the Marshal cabinet couldn't even control the war front to their direct south, let alone defend a nation even further away from Regalia that is already more than well protected against invasions with careful political balancing of neighboring states.
    • Milat further indicates it has no interest in trading with Regalia as it is literally thousands of miles away from itself, and that it hasn't met a Regalian diplomat in over twenty years, so the idea that Regalia has any power in the region is largely dismissed as comedic.
    • The Duke regales about how Milat has a storied history as a tie-in point of the regional powers and largely plays a game of political stand-off with them, acting as independent mediator but also as supply for all of them when they inevitably go to war as they so often do, but Milat has never been attacked itself, because it chooses to make itself not much of a target. The group eventually returns home.
    • 1 Wealth token was billed for the gifts and automatically paid by the order's specifications.
     
    • Winner Winner x 2
  5. MonMarty

    MonMarty Thotdodger Staff Member Server Owner

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2012
    Messages:
    4,674
    Likes Received:
    4,958
    Wulfmacht Domestic Plan @kdeeks
    • House Wulfmacht makes precursory investigations into the costs of building a cross-Calemberg highway to connect Ostmeer with Westmeer (Calemberg and Alexanderburgh). The bureaucrats end up calculating the presumed cost of the project, and ballpark it around 100 Wealth Tokens. The Bureaucrats make a lot of remarks along the edges of the report however: an attempt to undercut the trade flow from the Shoenn and the Calderliga Union will likely result in wilful sabotage, or economic ruin before the project is even complete. House Wulfmacht can expect to bear the full force of finances and subterfuge agents from Basta to Pack Isle, as Casterly, Faure, Delmotte, Cadieux, Peirgarten all stand to lose from this project being completed, with possibly Sorenvik as well since the majority of their indirect commerce would have to go through Wulfmacht lands.
    • House Wulfmacht also attempts to establish a first: Noble House Secret Service. The Bureaucrats however remark that Secret Services are fairly novel, and that most locals will have no idea how to behave like a Secret Service, unless House Wulfmacht finds someone from the Regalian Government or the Imperial Secret Service to help them set it up.
    Viduggla State Interactions @HydraLana
    • House Viduggla pays 2 Finance Tokens to the Finance Ministry.
    • House Viduggla pays 2 Finance Tokens to a variety of food resellers and stocks up a large quantity of food supplies in their lands.
    Faure Analysis @onearmsquid
    • ((First part of the order is bounced. I cannot process a desire to be evaluated by the people when the family is still so new. Need more source data through IC interactions on the server, watching Faure interact at events and court proceedings etc.))
    • House Faure sends 1 Finance Token to the Alms Ministry as a donation.
    Assisting Shattel Farms @seoulmate
    • House Peirgarten searches the areas most affected by the blight to determine what the damage was since them being cut off from their homeland during the Vampire Crisis. The farmers have however mostly recovered, the Fyrd storage approaches from the Anglians were largely a success, and what harvests the locals could not process onto the food market were instead re-invested by the bureaucrats into alcoholic beverages, making use of partly fermenting fruit to make cider-alikes and the like. The farms in Shattel have essentially recovered, and are in no further need of assistance.
    House Sorenvik Money @AlphaInsomnia
    • House Sorenvik sends 2 Finance Tokens to the Alms Ministry.
    Breizh Investigation @NebulaePrimo
    • Viviwynne, Claudane, Aldane and Lynmard travel the lenght of Kintyr, attempting to find any scrap of information about Dragons and their departure from Kintyr, or at least within the legends provided by the locals.
    • Their travels unearth very little. It turns out that the Unionist clergy have been very successful at scrubbing away references to Dragons from Weard legends and lore, and continue to be obstinate when House Gwentyr approach. Even though House Gwentyr owns and controls the land these Celeries stand on, the Celates make it very obvious that they answer only to the Emperor and Everwatcher, and are none too pleased about House Gwentyr looking into pre-Unionist religious elements.
    • What little they do find despite the obstinacy of the religious factions, are legends in reference to the Dragon Masaal of the so called "Heart". The legend is found in an ancient book belonging to House Astanyr, who are a small Knightly house in Coltyr. Their dusty tomes tell of the Dragon Masaal who lived among the Breizh people and lifted them up from barbarism to civilization, or at least some more controlled and elegant form of neighbor warfare than just clubbing each other to death over mud huts. It is said that Masaal also created the first Weard, though this is obviously contested by the court Celate of House Astanyr.
    • The legend's end is unclear, but there is a belief that the Dragon went west to Anglia, and from there-on disappeared after leaving the Weard to guide the people in Kintyr. There is a prophecy in House Astanyr that proclaims that when "Small men guide the fate of nations, that the Call will return to the sky, and Masaal shall walk among the people once more and gather upon him the legions of Weard to do his bidding and pay their dues to the source of all blessings."
    • The group returns home, and is billed 1 Finance Token for this expeditions that is immediately paid.
     
    • Powerful Powerful x 2
  6. MonMarty

    MonMarty Thotdodger Staff Member Server Owner

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2012
    Messages:
    4,674
    Likes Received:
    4,958
    Valadian Velheim First Contact @MrsCripple
    • Sivrid, Kaya, Anathema, Jocelyn and Eerikur travel to Valadia and attempt to make contact with any Sunnan Velheim tribe. They eventually make contact with the Markaar tribe, which seems bitterly embroiled in a war against the Varkaar and Mutvarrd tribes just across the jungle, remarking however there were dozens of tribes all roughly equal in strength competing over resources and "property". They arrive with god effigies of the 6 gods, and what they presume are good depictions of the other 2 also. The locals however seem disinterested in these effigies, misunderstanding them to be toys. It would seem the Sunnan Velheim do not have effigies of their gods, and further investigation leads to the conclusion that the Sunnan actually tattoo their gods on their backs, and that prayer on the ground, kneeling and the face touching the floor, is a form of worship. This also led to the interesting cultural notion, that the Sunnan never attack anyone from behind, because that is "where the gods live". They find a few Sunnan who have tattoos of the Flesh and Metal gods, remarking that they are indeed worshiped there.
    • The Sunnan remark they don’t understand the question about Bod and Malmrid being outcast, the very question sounds strange to them “how does one outcast a god”. Their departure from Zenith seems to have occurred before whatever religious schism occured in the Velheim people.
    • The Sunnan seem mostly amused about stories of Drixagh. They do not make it clear why, there are a couple of words Sivrid fails to translate, likely words that became new words in their lands. The Markaar tribe point at the map a couple of times and remark that Drixagh is “so small” while all the other land is “so big”, remarking that the Velheim there must not be very good warriors. As time passes, the Sunnan seem less and less impressed or interested with their distant kin.
    • The concept of tax is discussed, but the Sunnan don’t seem to understand it. They seem to have an economy based on might makes right, and they share what they are willing to, and take what is not shared freely or fail trying. The Sunnan also don’t seem to understand what an Emperor is, and seem to misunderstand that Emperor means god instead of upper ruler. The idea of feudal hierarchy seems alien to them, they only acknowledge their chief, and the lord above the chief is their gods.
    • Anathema remarks that the Sunnan town is filled with Demonic totems, literally all over the place. The Sunnan remark that the Demon Totems dry the air of what they refer to as Demonic energies, but it is inherently unclear if this means magic. Anathema as a mage is unable to detect any magical energies anywhere, and the topic of magic when brought up to the Sunnan seems to cause discomfort. They remark that they kill tainted births, which seems to imply Mages, but is not disclosed further upon.
    • The group succeeds in not transmitting any diseases, though von Duerr remarks that even if they carried diseases with them, the Sunnan would likely be highly resistant to them. Not only do the Sunnan Velheim look much bigger and stronger than the normal averages for Velheim, he reasoned that their existence in a swampy jungle land likely exposes them to constant disease risk, and if any Sunnan were to reach adulthood, they would have a great resistance to disease.
    • The Sunnan don’t have a written language, so recording any real legend or history seems very difficult. The Sunnan themselves also don’t seem to keep too many records. Some of the older members of the tribe remark that there was a time of the old sages, but that this time has progressively passed and left only rotten stones, because life demanded it. No clarity was given on what this meant.
    • The topic of the Demon totems came back up again, and one of the Sunnan showed the group to what looked like a ritualistic arena. As a means of showcasing their martial prowess, two of the Sunnan displayed the ritual act of the duel, during which something interesting occurred. The two duelists used the Demon Totems on each side of the arena, which released a vapor of a kind, or a smoke that they inhaled. As soon as they inhaled the smoke, a manner of mutations occurred in them, one of them turned more wolf-like with red eyes and large claws, and the other’s skin turned into black scales and he grew a long tail. The two battled savagely in the ring until the more wolf-like defeated the black scaled one, and snapped its neck. When the ritual was over, a group of women with their faces covered with reeds ran to the dead Sunnan and started lamenting the song of death, eerily similar to the Velheim Valsung, but instead of guiding the dead, it seemed to bring the deceased Sunnan back to life, who then seemed boisterous and rowdy, before embracing the other more wolf-like Sunnan in congratulations. The two of them returned back to normal mere moments later leaving the dualling arena, and the covered women were sort of just left in the arena, sitting on the dirt floor.
    • It was remarked within the group that the events that had unfolded just now pointed at something even more obvious now: The tribe was mostly men. There were barely any women or children visible, and where they were, they quickly scuttled away or kept in the shadows. This came to a head when the group was about to leave, and the Sunnan seemed to get annoyed that the women of the group were leaving. It turns out that the Sunnan gender norms and society is extremely patriarchal, to the point of reducing women to property, and they thought that Jocelyn and Eerikur came to them with women as offering for safe passage, as if their custom. The situation was about to turn into violence, however the situation was interrupted by the Mutvarrd tribe attacking the Markaar camp, which caused general confusion and chaos. The Markaar quickly sallied forth, some of them smelling the vapors of the Demon Totems and transforming into half-men and half-beast creatures, before descending on the enemies, who had equally part-taken in this strange practice.
    • The group decided not to push their luck, and depart. The group was billed 1 Finance Token for the expedition, but this Token is not yet taken from the bank and can be settled by anyone.
     
  7. MonMarty

    MonMarty Thotdodger Staff Member Server Owner

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2012
    Messages:
    4,674
    Likes Received:
    4,958
    Alms Engineering Efforts @MrsCripple
    • The Alms Ministry issues a request to invent a more efficient charcoal kiln. The bureaucrats and financial speculators indicate they don't really have a clue on how to go about this since the Alms Ministry is not an engineering school, and indicate that attempts to invent something that affects the near monopoly-by-circumstance on coal production from Vultaro is likely to have some consequences for the political credit of the Alms Ministry in Vultaro and Montania, albeit regions where the Alms Ministry has barely any activities due to the relative standard of living in these areas.
    • The Alms Ministry also investigates the viability of the Alms Ministry footing the bill to kick talented children into higher education such as Knightly Orders, and Academic and Artistic academies. The bureaucrats however note that these schools are usually prohibitively expensive, to the tune of costing (a wealth token) per child usually, and that some aristocratic houses nearly bankrupt themselves just to put a single child through knight school, for example. Education in the Empire bar for the most basic of nationalistic and literacy campaigns are excessively expensive since none of it is regulated or subsidized, meaning that education is effectively a privilege for the wealthy. Not even to speak on the matter of these higher education places being ill disposed towards the impoverished classes, with notably Knight Orders snubbing the idea of taking on the poor classes due to their unruly and unsophisticated nature, stating they have a basic bar for behavioral conduct and eloquence to even consider an application.
    Pays the BILL @BillyTheScruffy
    • House Howlester pays the 1 wealth token bill for the festivities and gifts to House Lampero.
    Exploring the Altalar Ruins in Fendarfelle @Annie_Short
    • Tujia Nordhjem, assisted by Saana, Luey'nnaeli, Cieli and Gehrman travel to some of the Altalar ruins that were mapped out previously in Fendarfelle. While the assumption of Deathlings was made prior, none are found on this particular trip, and the group is able to make camp safely inside one of the ruins. Attempts to discover deeper meaning and connection to the ruins fail to uncover anything interesting. The ruins, as they turn out, are just from earlier attempts to colonize the landmass by the Allorn Altalar, which were abandoned for whatever reason before the Cataclysm, the group reasons, as there is no real reference to the Wildering or Cataclysm events and the ruins look old enough. On some of the interiors, the group find some remarkably well preserved Allorn era murals depicting Altalar landing on Fendarfelle and establishing the first colonies but beyond that nothing of interest remains. The departure from Fendarfelle seemed to be orderly with not even pottery left behind, merely the stonework of the buildings with all things loose stripped to the bone. Even with Empath Sense there is nothing to really pick up, but due to lacking historical records, it is likely that the group would never know why the Allorn abandoned their colonies here in such an orderly fashion unless they had access to records from inside the Allorn Empire.
    Archaeology in Door-Inner @AtticCat
    • Hera van Hal joined by Zaraloszotl, Carmen, Howland and Sarrapu explore archeological opportunities in the ex-Deceres lands, now governed by the Piekman family who stepped in, in the absense of the prior Duke's family.
    • Szaralaszotl and Hera explore books, which indicate some interesting points:
        • The County of Tempelmuur has an odd shape for a reason: it is mostly shaped around some ancient and massive fortifications of overgrown rock in the shape of a wall stretching across the landmass. This fortification breaks off into the Twyntyr Mountains in Kintyr, before continuing again as the Verremuur bordering Clannadh Alba. These ruins are so massive and old, they are suspected to predate Ailor and even Altalar civilizations, hewn in such strange shapes of interlocking geometry that defies that era's capabilities of stone cutting. What purpose the walls served is unclear from historical records since it was mostly guess work, and archeologists found it very difficult to excavate them without angering the locals who hold superstitions on the walls.
      • Sarrapu attempts to discover information from the locals, however despite strong diplomatic skill, Sarrapu's tusks work against them, as Anglia is an extremely homogenous land where an Eronidas stands out immediately. Some amicable locals warn them of the local cult that does not like people asking questions about the Dragon Ruins, before closing up and saying nothing more.
      • Howland and Carmen note that they do perpetually have the feeling like they are being followed or watched, from their peripheral view, but whenever they look there is no-one there.
      • Eventually the bustle of activity by the group does result in a local Alderman approaching them, remarking that just because the land is no longer under the control of a Duke, does not mean House Piekman won't push for a High Trial against House von Schwarzkrau and van Hal for grave-robbing and cultural heritage theft if they are seen snooping around the old walls (in reference to the ruins).
    • With all the information gathered, the group eventually returns home.
    Contacting the Elladorian Warfront @Lutowski
    • Medea joined by Silver, Cyran, Eletha and Calibur return to the Elladorian front to perform some more investigations. Their attempts to explore Udilin's Foot uncover nothing. The valley looks the same as it always has, with centuries old Dwarven machines rusting and breaking up in the open air. Attempts to scout into the Shivanaar caverns however are decided against, the Shiva Caverns Isldar are intensely hostile to outsiders and the area was heavily militarized, the group choosing caution. The western Url still are on the side of the Kades, though the group is not as united as it might have first been implied. There are many Throngs of Url on Ellador and Jorrhildr, and while the largest Throngs assisted the Kade army, many smaller Throngs are ignoring the ongoing conflict and just living out their best lives in the areas not touched by conflict.
    Temple Repair @NebulaePrimo
    • Viviwynne Guentyr apologizes to the Unionist priests in their lands, offering to pay for restoring temples and shrines. The Clergy are eager to accept her apology, but rather than accepting the money, say that her efforts are better spent attempting to restore some of the civil rights and power position lost by the Unionist Celates in government and the State, instead of giving them pittance of money to rebuild some buildings which they would have diminished rights over. They essentially indicate that they would prefer if Viviwynne joined up with Abelhard Petrou in restoring political credit of the holy men in the capital.
    Investigating Gang Activity and Corruption in Daenshore @soggytoenails
    • Some of this information is liable to change soon, as a Daendroque culture rewrite is underway that does some really serious changes in their culture and Daen as a whole. When that update is out, please send in a new progression order with requests on fact-checking anything that was stated here to see if it is still lore compliant. Some of it will already use new lore as a template.
    • Ana Cervantez, assisted by Fenric, Merrick, Mihaela and Srak, travel to Daenshore to investigate the complex nature of political and criminal corruption. They tackle several different social classes:
      • The Cortes, the ultra-rich and ruling classes. The Cortes prove difficult to pierce, and corruption among them seems mostly top down, where they avoid paying taxes to the Regalian State as much as they can, and enforce decentralization of state authority.
      • The Obreros, entrepreneurs and skilled labor. The Obreros seem to be the most clean out of all of the social classes, primarily concerned about making profits and less to do with politics. Much like the Cortes they try to avoid paying taxes, but do so only by proxy of benefiting from the business generated by the Cortes.
      • The Jornaleros, the day-laborers and workers. The Jornaleros are the ones mostly suffering under the corruption, but they too pay into it through the breakdown of law enforcement of the courts and the regalian garrisons. They actively engage in breaking out criminals, and making the work of Regalian sent judges and assessors harder by hiding people and financial data.
      • The Afanadores, the untouchables and outcasts. The Afanadores do not engage in corruption, but are the most crime riddled, with nearly every Afanadores working for some kind of Pandilla or another. Notably, they also constitute the Balizas de Fuego (informant circles) for the Pandillas and as such are hard to really investigate, as they are investigating the group just as hard back.
      • The Eronidas minority. The Eronidas themselves do not seem interested in the social levels of Daen society, and mostly just exist to be paid for mercenary work, which seems booming. Nearly all the Eronidas in the area are hired to some sort of Pandilla (housing community of Haciendas) as guards or enforcers of law to bolster the Soldadas de Libertad (local militia). They have no real role in politics.
      • The Altalar minority. The Altalar themselves do not seem overtly corrupt, if anything, they exist in a microcosm of their own, away from the Daen people in racial districts or walled settlements usually outside of the cities. There is minimal interaction between the state and these Altalar besides economic activities as they own some of the plantations. There is an implication of pseudo-slavery of Ailor, particularly the Afanadores, on their plantations, but it is very hard to investigate as the Altalar are very defensive about who walks on their lands.
    • All in all, Daen corruption runs deep and far, in every level of society through a complex network of social inter-relations. At the very head is always the Viscount of Costa Daen, but it is reasoned that even removing a single arm in this social network will just strengthen the others.
    Investigating the Lights in Stormwind @Mollymock
    • Therris, Listeriance, Talisin, Drulailmon and Hyzzop return to Silverwind to continue their investigation of the lights in Silverwind (Stormwind is from World of Warcraft!). Hyzzop manages to sneak up to the checkpoint and knock out the guards with alchemy, allowing the group more casual exploration of the checkpoint only. Upon reaching up on the checkpoint, it is clear that there are further protections put in place. Whatever these guards were protecting or keeping behind walls, they really did not want anyone finding out what it was. They toss some of the unconscious bodies onto the tendrils to see what would happen, however the tendrils seem to ignore the regalians. They seem to get more rattled and active when any member of the group reaches closer to them however, choosing not to try and find out what would happen if one of them touched or got too close. Talisin, being an Exist Mage, can now unmistakeably feel a strong Exist magical presence both in the roots and deeper into the area that the Regalian soldiers were keeping closed up, however the group chose not to investigate beyond the checkpoint as was agreed upon prior. Before departing, Therris finds a set of Regalian orders. These reveal the following facts:
      • The Guards were told to report and treat every person approaching as a hostile, and imprison them, before delivering them to the Black Hand to be shipped back to Regalian and interrogated in Krakenburgh.
      • The Guards were told that they could never go into the lowest part of the valley, and that only those wearing the ivory seal could go beyond the final of the three walls.
      • The Guards were given good wages, far better wages than average Regalian soldiers.
      • All orders bore the personal seal of the Emperor, and all documents lacked the usual government stamps. This implied heavily that whatever this installation is, it is guarded on the personal orders of the Emperor of Regalia, and around the Regalian State which probably doesn't even know of its existence.
      • A final command is notable nearly everywhere: "Defend the inner sanctum, let none breach it with your life. Your family will be taken care of".
    • The group eventually leaves, before the guards wake up, but they reason that this first excursion will probably result in tightened security next time around.
     
    • Powerful Powerful x 2
    • Thank You! Thank You! x 1
    • Winner Winner x 1

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice