Eternal Glory: Creating a Fantasy Empire in 55 Votes

@AKuz Prose isn't coming, but this is going to be relevant next turn, so infodump it is.

The Last Words of a Dead Civilization

The following ancient transcript was recovered from a deep underground bunker roughly 150 years before the Iridescent Era. Several parts of the transcript have become indecipherable due to the passage of time.

Date: [INDECIPHERABLE]

[INDECIPHERABLE] leave behind this message, so that future generations of our people - if they have managed to escape - will know the tragedy that happened here, This is the end of days for [INDECIPHERABLE] . It was not long ago that our city stood as a beacon of power and knowledge, unrivaled in both science and magic above all others. The reason for our great rise was that we had discovered a magical entrance leading us to an ancient labyrinthine city filled with both great dangers and wonders alike. Through great sacrifice, we were able to plunder [INDECIPHERABLE] for years until fate cruelly ripped the entrance from our grasp.

The [INDECIPHERABLE], a wondrous place of arcane might, gifted us with resources beyond imagination. With these newfound powers at our disposal, we dreamed of establishing dominion over the entire continent. [INDECIPHERABLE] blessed by the gods, we set about conquering the other races, experimenting on their flesh to create more efficient slaves that would allow us to fulfill our dreams of utter supremacy.

But alas, our grand plans were shattered. It all began when our troops stumbled one day upon a village of strange magical beings with pointy hats and pointy ears with a love for singing. We decided to capture these beings for experimentation and slaughtered all those who resisted. We thought that they did not pose a serious threat, that they were weak and simple minded. How wrong we were. [INDECIPHERABLE] started a massive slave uprising in the city, the likes of which we had never seen before. After days of brutal fighting in the streets, we were able to massacre the rebels, but not before they released [INDECIPHERABLE] as a last act of spite. These vicious intelligent wasps, which we had created to bring suffering to our enemies, proved to be our ultimate undoing.

The swarm descended upon our city like an unyielding storm and [INDECIPHERABLE]. Our remaining troops, already exhausted and bloodied by the rebellion, soon fell to their relentless onslaught. Now my civilization burns, consumed by the very creatures we once sought to control.

As I sit here waiting to die, I am haunted by a chilling fear. Our most brilliant minds had been working on a way to summon an entrance back to the [INDECIPHERABLE], believing it to be a source of endless power. I pray that they were not close to success, for I dread the day when the wasps might stumble upon our lost research and summon an entrance for themselves.

What then? Will they unleash even greater devastation upon the world? Will they claim the relics and artifacts for their own, ascending to a level of power that surpasses even our former glory?

Excerpts on the Nature of Shining Idols

Spring begins with fire in the sky. Stars seem to fall from their places in the heavens, leaving their homes for the first time on record, some glow bright with strange colors, while others move, dancing between their compatriots with joy and reckless abandon. Each constellation takes part, from Sezat The Oasis to Eknil The Mite, all dancing across the night sky.

From these joyous spirits flows a gift to the Wormen and other peoples of the land, an endless stream of light and color, painting the night sky in every shade and hue. Across the long desert, each and every Segment takes in these great sights, celebrating alongside those higher beings with much wine and revelry. At the culmination of this wondrous occasion, Ro The Great Ring, birthplace of all stars, begins to shine with endless starlight, bathing the world in newfound life and vigor.

In the wake of this great revitalization many of the Stargazers and Glassblowers of the Mélange begin to view the stars in a new light, for surely the newfound life the constellations shared with the world that fateful spring was intended to be used for the betterment of all of the Mélange. How this was to be done took years to discern, but after untold hours of struggle the first design for a Shining Idol was finally created.

~ TunTonToc, recounting the beginning of the Iridescent Era

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When creating a Vessel one must remember that the Constellations, for all the good they do, have no love for us offspring of Men The Auspicious. It is not that they have hate, for what being so great would deign to hate one so small as us? No, though they do not hate, for the Constellations care only for what they shed their light upon. One may think of each star as a painter, one using only their favored hue to apply to the canvas, they work with exquisite detail on their muse, and, if given a chance, paint over everything else. It is only thanks to their bickering that the world is as it is, for if Sezat The Oasis had their way all the world would drown, while Besmur The Sandstorm would never let us see the sun.

This has been the basis of our craft for all of living memory, yet the conflagration of that fateful spring brings things into question, for if the Constellations were so uncaring why had they given us such a gift? For months I pondered this question, listening at the subtle whispers of my Vessels of captured starlight, until at last I came to an answer. The Stars wish to learn, learn of how we live, how the sands feel, how the frogs hop, and how the water flows. To truly understand the workings of the world, beyond their singular muses, and to learn and see through new eyes.

This brings us to my proposal, for with this revelation I believe we must break with the tradition of each Glassblower working separately from one another, for the project I envision will require more than one Wormen to complete. I call all Glassblower of this Mélange to meet with me so that we may discuss the creation of a new sort of Vessel, a Shining Idol, a new way to teach the Stars about the world.

~ An excerpt from BelChiMur The Glasswater's call for the creation of the first Shining Idol

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First the consideration of the heavens. Where is Koltel The Battle in relation to Besmur The Sandstorm? At what positions are the great moons, Nuk The Days and Shi The Desert? Is the comet Shel The Drought passing behind Ro The Great Ring? These and a thousand other questions must be asked.

Second the gathering of materials. Purchase Obsidian and Starglass from the Well-Fishers. Hematite and Lapis powder may be found with the merchants from the Deep Queendom to the south. Copper and Zink are gifts to us, from those avian bands to the north. Those hairy fools to the west provide the shining scales of an interesting species of fish. You provide your strength and your forge, and the desert provides as much glass as you can melt.

Third the shape must be considered. A bulb there, to house the light before it shifts down. Strands connect this area to the other allowing an easy trip between. Distend this portion to slow the flow down the frond and allow more space to breathe. Construct this portion from glass stained red, and this part with class stained yellow. Refract this into that and that into this and more endless tweaks till everyone is Sure it has just the right shape, just the right contours, just the right form to house the strength of a Star.

Fourth we must draw the starlight into it. Some dance by the fire, filled with excitement and movement and life. Others chant beneath a palm frond, singing tales of MoRySho, who climbed into the sky and danced upon the stars. Others carry jugs of water, wine, and other, stranger things, pouring them at specific times into large pots, or simply letting them flow into the sand. Each Star only cares for certain things, and each ritual is fit only for a single recipient. The specifics of what must be done are often debated upon for hours or days before they are finally decided.

Fifth, once the light has flowed into it's new home a caretaker must be chosen, for though the strength of this grand Idol is great in it's focus, it's structure is still glass, and thus must be cared for each day. The polishing of the surface, the sealing of small fractures, and the warding off of any birds that would make it their nest are but a few of the many things a Shining Idol's caretaker must keep in mind.

Finally, after all else is done, the Starlight within the Idol begins to understand. That much strength bound within one place? It is inevitable that a mind would emerge, and it is inevitable that this new being, this Split from the star of it's creation, must be tended to by it's caretaker, and told the ways of the world in which it now resides.

If all is done correctly then this Shining Idol, reflective of the star of it's birth, will share it's strength with it's caretaker, it's Mélange, and Wormen as a whole. In return it's caretaker and the people of the Mélange will teach it of their ways, coming to it with their worries and their concerns, their joys and their comforts. In this way a portion of the Constellation learns, and when it's Vessel is finally broken the light within will flow upwards, back to it's progenitor, and tell it of one small portion of the world, and of the people living in it.

~ An abridged guide the construction and care of a Shining Idol. Written by BelChiMurShi The GlassWater