Epic Age VII - Fin
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Offer tribute (-5 Prestige, -10 Wealth, keeps King of the Hill, chance of +1 Stability)
When it came down to it, the offer of exchanging tribute for keeping their land and people and stopping the fighting was not terribly controversial. There were many who were passionate and angry at the prospect of rewarding those who had killed so many of their best and brightest, but ultimately the objective of the war was to get the Khemetri to back off, and if this did it, then this did it. Even if they were as treacherous as the Highlanders, it would give the People at least a generation to weep their tears and recover from their losses.
Thus it was that the People gathered together the greatest diplomatic mission in their history, loading up a fleet of longships with all the finest goods they have to offer. Sailing them down the River Hat, they were then hauled across the passes and into Gulvalley, where they set sail down the River Gul, into Khemetri territory. At the end of the River Gul lay a great sea, one said to be endless, and they sailed along the coast south, hopping from town to town until they reached the mouth of another great river and sailed inward.
What a land they beheld! Endless leagues of desert on either side of what was perhaps the greatest river in the world, but every last scrap of fertile land upon the banks of the river was either under cultivation or housed a great city. None perhaps as great as even Redshore, but as they sailed for days on end in the endless water road, the diplomats of the People knew that even though they had their own great works back home, the Khemetri were at least their peers and both sides could have simply kept throwing bodies at each other and made little headway past their respective colonies. Especially since they both had river or sea access from their core territories but the territory in between was rugged hills with only a few controllable passes, which meant that both would have been hard pressed to strike the core territories of the other. At best they would have been able to peel of a colony or two or humiliate the opposition, but actually bringing them to their knees would have been nearly impossible.
And then the mountains came into view. At first the sailors and diplomats could not believe their eyes, but sitting upon a stony plateau in the midst of the great city that was the capital of the Khemetri there were a trio of dazzling white triangles, each of their tips blazing like beacons under the hot southern sun. Clearly made by the hands of man, the mind faintly boggled at the sheer scale of the monstrously huge things. They looked more like the creations of gods than men, and with the royal palace complex sitting in the shadow of these works, it was easy to see how kings might think that they could take on any foe with little effort.
The diplomats were lead into a massive complex - part palace, part temple, part small city - where they were lead into buildings of smoothly cut and polished sandstone and limestone covered in carvings, no doubt telling the deeds of past kings and gods. Stone pillars taller than trees reached for the heavens - indeed, in one part of the complex this was almost literal, for the roof was black painted plaster with gemstones pressed into the ceiling in the positions of the great stars in the sky - and the pure scale of it all left the delegates of the People feeling very, very small. Finally they arrived at an enormous courtyard of white stone pillars and tiles surrounding a pool of clear water, that through some architectural magic seemed to sustain a bubble of cool air in the ferocious desert heat. Courtiers in fine white linens and cotton watched in interest, while the way forward was flanked by rows of hard faced warriors in gleaming bronze. Sitting upon a massive throne of stone decorated in blue gemstones and surrounded by servants and exotic animals was the King of the Khemetri.
Lord Djebipt, Master of All, the Sun Made Flesh, He Who Makes the Waters Flow.
Reshemhetari.
Through translators the groups greeted each other, and the young prince turned king was saddened to say that his father had passed away unexpectedly shortly after he had arrived home with the news of the negotiated truce, but that this also made his acceptance of their tribute all the simpler. For one, he required no convincing that they had earned their place in attendance in his court. While not superior to the Khemetri, the People were to be acknowledged of as peers and, if they would have it, brothers as well. While his own children were not yet of age to marry, the king had many sisters who would make a fine wife or concubine for the king of the People.
What then followed was something of an explanation of the People's politics, much to the obvious confusion of everyone in attendance, before Reshemhetari answered rather candidly -and was translated with some confusion-, "I have many sisters, but I shall work to ensure the issue is compensated for as well as possible for the next generation."
From the happy looks on a few noble's faces, it was suspected that a few families were about to get a female voice very close to the ear of the king
It seemed that when told that there was no single royal family for the Khemtri king to marry into, the obvious solution was to marry into all of the People's noble families. The diplomats suspected incoming shenanigans that would be popularized by pottery artists and playwrights lacking in dignity. In any case, as the tribute was piled up for the king, they all noticed the way that one of his eyes was twitching slightly. While they were all pretty obviously amazed by the works of his people, for the man who had commanded one half of the Battle of Bloodvalley to see his former enemies piling up several hundred ox-weights of silver, salt, dye, tin, glass jars with mercury, and a few sets of gilded scale - militarily inconsequential but an obvious show of wealth and prestige - and he knew that if he sailed north he would find a kingdom that was peer to his own.
At the banquet in the evening, the king came up to the delegates from the People and asked if perhaps the commander at the Battle of Bloodvalley was among those present in the delegation. When informed that she was not, the king paused in contemplation before he said something that his translator had to ask if he actually wanted passed along. After confirming it so, the translator passed along the statement, "I am frightened, but aroused."
Legacy Gained
Kings Do Not Kneel (Three): Gain +1 Martial every phase during a Take the Crown or Great Power war
Gain +2 Diplo -> Overflows to +2 Culture
Far away, not knowing the developments his diplomats were getting up to, King Desdydyn was sitting with Yenyna, quietly observing her. While he felt distinctly bad for her, it was impossible to say that her affliction had not been of tremendous good for the kingdom. There were even a few who were whispering that perhaps they should see to breeding her like a sacred cow or war horse. The idea repelled Desdydyn, a man who had grown up surrounded by similar people to the Dragon General and who knew how damaging trying to impose things upon those who had suffered spiritual damage of some sort could be. However, there was a fascinated flicker within him that disgusted him of the fact that it would be absolutely fascinating to see if her spiritual skills could be passed down to her children. Although, he suspected that what the poor girl really needed was someone who could be her companion and truly understand her. That sort of search could be... interesting, to say the least. The kingdom owed her a significant debt though, so it might be worth it.
Especially if, as the guilty part of his mind kept whispering to him, they found a nice man she could understand and their babies had some of her genius.
Heroic Mystic King looking over a spiritually damaged Genius Martial, what might that do?
[] [Mystic] Study her condition only slightly
[] [Mystic] Get assistance from a temple (-1 Mystic)
[] [Mystic] Search the entire kingdom for someone who might understand her and put her at ease (-1 Mystic, -1 Econ, -1 Wealth, -1 Culture)
The Trials of an Age are ending, but the cauldron still boils with the spark of genius. Pick another hero
[] [Hero] The next heir was forged in this war (Guaranteed Heroic heir in the next main turn)
[] [Hero] The smiths working overtime produced a prodigy (Heroic to Genius level artisan)
[] [Hero] The battlefield created a peerless medic (Heroic to Genius level medical mystic)
[] [Hero] One of the negotiators truly shone among the Khemetri (Heroic to Genius level diplomat)
[] [Hero] Organizing all of this was hell, but one clerk refused to buckle (Heroic to Genius level administrator)
AN: Incidentally, guess what the Khemetri used this turn's hero bonus on?
Beyond those concerns, there was also a question about reconstruction efforts. Gulvalley had been utterly ravaged, and while supplies were being directed in, the governor was rather desperate for further assistance, and was willing to surrender a number of rights in order to get that. Many clerks also noted that between the Trelli colony and the Khemetri colony, Gulvalley was going to be rather limited in how much it could expand anyway. Revoking its charter as a colony and integrating it as a province proper could solve a number of problems. Then again, the concentrated forces of the Stallions could be reworked across the territory of the People, replenishing the depleted ranks of warriors of the People. They could potentially also tap some of the warriors in the colonies in a mass resettlement.
Reorganize provinces?
[] [Prov] Integrate Gulvalley (-4 Diplo, +3 Econ, +8 Econ Expansion, +2 Mysticism, +3 Culture, +1 Tech, new core province)
[] [Prov] Integrate Stallions (-6 Diplo, +5 Econ, +5 Econ Expansion, +8 Mysticism, +4 Culture, +2 Tech, +10 Martial, new core province)
[] [Prov] Draw on Provinces (-4 Diplo, -8 Econ Expansion, transfers a total of 8 Martial and 8 Econ from periphery states into the core)
[] [Prov] Rebuild Army first (Main Raise Army)
[] [Prov] Leave the situation be for the moment
Then there was the question of what to do with all of the economic activity that had been freed up recently, and where to direct expansion. The paying out of the Khemetri and the final pay for the Trelli mercenaries before they had left back for their home after being reduced to about a third of their original strength had left coffers throughout the kingdom on the low side, and many patricians were rather annoyed about that. There were definite grumblings about improving that situation, although for quite a few patricians it wasn't just about the money. There was a push for Redshore to receive extra funds for completing the aqueduct they were working on, with another patrician group looking for getting the experts after to work on a site in Redhills where they wanted the aqueduct for both irrigation purposes and to drive mills for the iron mines in the region. The blacksmiths were also apparently starting to cook up something and needed both the iron mines and the mills in close proximity to each other.
However, there was also some commentary about how the People had suffered so much in the last war because they had not been to war for some time and had thus not gone to battle with the best. While war was obviously bad and they shouldn't pick fights just to stay in shape, there was some suggestion that if perhaps the trained more extensively, maybe had some fake wars, maybe that would help keep them in top fighting shape? And with all of the fresh veterans available right now, perhaps they could make these games the best they could be?
Pick a Reaction Project
[] [React] Build more aqueducts (-2 & -3 Econ to complete aqueducts in Redshore and Redhills)
[] [React] Main Build Glassworks
[] [React] Main Expand Econ
[] [React] Main Expand Snail Cultivation
[] [React] Main Expand Vineyard
[] [React] Main Plant Poppies
[] [React] Megaproject - The Games
-[] [React] Kick Megaproject
Pick Two Passive Policies (Infrastructure x1 + Defence x1 already active
[] [Policy] Agriculture (+1 Econ and -1 Econ Expansion/turn)
[] [Policy] Diplomacy (+1 Diplo/turn)
[] [Policy] Trade (+1 Wealth/turn)
[] [Policy] Armament (+1 Martial/turn)
[] [Policy] Patronage (+1 Culture/turn)
[] [Policy] Mysticism (+1 Mysticism/turn)
[] [Policy] Industry (+1 Tech/turn)
[] [Policy] City Support (2 True Cities have their maintenance paid for each turn)
[] [Policy] Expansion (So long as there is land to expand into, +1 Econ Expansion/turn, reduces threshold to produce new provinces the longer active)
[] [Policy] Innovation (Extra innovation roll each turn)
[] [Policy] Infrastructure (+1 Free Progress to an infrastructure project (Aqueduct, governor's palace, saltern, etc.)/turn) x1
[] [Policy] Defence (+1 significant walls/turn) x1
[] [Policy] Special: Forestry (+1 Sustainable Forest and -1 Econ Expansion/2 turns)
[] [Policy] Special: Vassal Support (+1 Subordinate while active, increases Loyalty while active at less than full subordinates)
Pick a bonus for retaining King of the Hill in a Great Power War
[] [Bonus] Gain a random value slot
[] [Bonus] Upgrade a random value
[] [Bonus] Free Main Proclaim Glory
[] [Bonus] Free Main Build Theatre
[] [Bonus] At least two technology upgrades (exploding rolls)
When it came down to it, the offer of exchanging tribute for keeping their land and people and stopping the fighting was not terribly controversial. There were many who were passionate and angry at the prospect of rewarding those who had killed so many of their best and brightest, but ultimately the objective of the war was to get the Khemetri to back off, and if this did it, then this did it. Even if they were as treacherous as the Highlanders, it would give the People at least a generation to weep their tears and recover from their losses.
Thus it was that the People gathered together the greatest diplomatic mission in their history, loading up a fleet of longships with all the finest goods they have to offer. Sailing them down the River Hat, they were then hauled across the passes and into Gulvalley, where they set sail down the River Gul, into Khemetri territory. At the end of the River Gul lay a great sea, one said to be endless, and they sailed along the coast south, hopping from town to town until they reached the mouth of another great river and sailed inward.
What a land they beheld! Endless leagues of desert on either side of what was perhaps the greatest river in the world, but every last scrap of fertile land upon the banks of the river was either under cultivation or housed a great city. None perhaps as great as even Redshore, but as they sailed for days on end in the endless water road, the diplomats of the People knew that even though they had their own great works back home, the Khemetri were at least their peers and both sides could have simply kept throwing bodies at each other and made little headway past their respective colonies. Especially since they both had river or sea access from their core territories but the territory in between was rugged hills with only a few controllable passes, which meant that both would have been hard pressed to strike the core territories of the other. At best they would have been able to peel of a colony or two or humiliate the opposition, but actually bringing them to their knees would have been nearly impossible.
And then the mountains came into view. At first the sailors and diplomats could not believe their eyes, but sitting upon a stony plateau in the midst of the great city that was the capital of the Khemetri there were a trio of dazzling white triangles, each of their tips blazing like beacons under the hot southern sun. Clearly made by the hands of man, the mind faintly boggled at the sheer scale of the monstrously huge things. They looked more like the creations of gods than men, and with the royal palace complex sitting in the shadow of these works, it was easy to see how kings might think that they could take on any foe with little effort.
The diplomats were lead into a massive complex - part palace, part temple, part small city - where they were lead into buildings of smoothly cut and polished sandstone and limestone covered in carvings, no doubt telling the deeds of past kings and gods. Stone pillars taller than trees reached for the heavens - indeed, in one part of the complex this was almost literal, for the roof was black painted plaster with gemstones pressed into the ceiling in the positions of the great stars in the sky - and the pure scale of it all left the delegates of the People feeling very, very small. Finally they arrived at an enormous courtyard of white stone pillars and tiles surrounding a pool of clear water, that through some architectural magic seemed to sustain a bubble of cool air in the ferocious desert heat. Courtiers in fine white linens and cotton watched in interest, while the way forward was flanked by rows of hard faced warriors in gleaming bronze. Sitting upon a massive throne of stone decorated in blue gemstones and surrounded by servants and exotic animals was the King of the Khemetri.
Lord Djebipt, Master of All, the Sun Made Flesh, He Who Makes the Waters Flow.
Reshemhetari.
Through translators the groups greeted each other, and the young prince turned king was saddened to say that his father had passed away unexpectedly shortly after he had arrived home with the news of the negotiated truce, but that this also made his acceptance of their tribute all the simpler. For one, he required no convincing that they had earned their place in attendance in his court. While not superior to the Khemetri, the People were to be acknowledged of as peers and, if they would have it, brothers as well. While his own children were not yet of age to marry, the king had many sisters who would make a fine wife or concubine for the king of the People.
What then followed was something of an explanation of the People's politics, much to the obvious confusion of everyone in attendance, before Reshemhetari answered rather candidly -and was translated with some confusion-, "I have many sisters, but I shall work to ensure the issue is compensated for as well as possible for the next generation."
From the happy looks on a few noble's faces, it was suspected that a few families were about to get a female voice very close to the ear of the king
It seemed that when told that there was no single royal family for the Khemtri king to marry into, the obvious solution was to marry into all of the People's noble families. The diplomats suspected incoming shenanigans that would be popularized by pottery artists and playwrights lacking in dignity. In any case, as the tribute was piled up for the king, they all noticed the way that one of his eyes was twitching slightly. While they were all pretty obviously amazed by the works of his people, for the man who had commanded one half of the Battle of Bloodvalley to see his former enemies piling up several hundred ox-weights of silver, salt, dye, tin, glass jars with mercury, and a few sets of gilded scale - militarily inconsequential but an obvious show of wealth and prestige - and he knew that if he sailed north he would find a kingdom that was peer to his own.
At the banquet in the evening, the king came up to the delegates from the People and asked if perhaps the commander at the Battle of Bloodvalley was among those present in the delegation. When informed that she was not, the king paused in contemplation before he said something that his translator had to ask if he actually wanted passed along. After confirming it so, the translator passed along the statement, "I am frightened, but aroused."
Legacy Gained
Kings Do Not Kneel (Three): Gain +1 Martial every phase during a Take the Crown or Great Power war
Gain +2 Diplo -> Overflows to +2 Culture
Far away, not knowing the developments his diplomats were getting up to, King Desdydyn was sitting with Yenyna, quietly observing her. While he felt distinctly bad for her, it was impossible to say that her affliction had not been of tremendous good for the kingdom. There were even a few who were whispering that perhaps they should see to breeding her like a sacred cow or war horse. The idea repelled Desdydyn, a man who had grown up surrounded by similar people to the Dragon General and who knew how damaging trying to impose things upon those who had suffered spiritual damage of some sort could be. However, there was a fascinated flicker within him that disgusted him of the fact that it would be absolutely fascinating to see if her spiritual skills could be passed down to her children. Although, he suspected that what the poor girl really needed was someone who could be her companion and truly understand her. That sort of search could be... interesting, to say the least. The kingdom owed her a significant debt though, so it might be worth it.
Especially if, as the guilty part of his mind kept whispering to him, they found a nice man she could understand and their babies had some of her genius.
Heroic Mystic King looking over a spiritually damaged Genius Martial, what might that do?
[] [Mystic] Study her condition only slightly
[] [Mystic] Get assistance from a temple (-1 Mystic)
[] [Mystic] Search the entire kingdom for someone who might understand her and put her at ease (-1 Mystic, -1 Econ, -1 Wealth, -1 Culture)
The Trials of an Age are ending, but the cauldron still boils with the spark of genius. Pick another hero
[] [Hero] The next heir was forged in this war (Guaranteed Heroic heir in the next main turn)
[] [Hero] The smiths working overtime produced a prodigy (Heroic to Genius level artisan)
[] [Hero] The battlefield created a peerless medic (Heroic to Genius level medical mystic)
[] [Hero] One of the negotiators truly shone among the Khemetri (Heroic to Genius level diplomat)
[] [Hero] Organizing all of this was hell, but one clerk refused to buckle (Heroic to Genius level administrator)
AN: Incidentally, guess what the Khemetri used this turn's hero bonus on?
Beyond those concerns, there was also a question about reconstruction efforts. Gulvalley had been utterly ravaged, and while supplies were being directed in, the governor was rather desperate for further assistance, and was willing to surrender a number of rights in order to get that. Many clerks also noted that between the Trelli colony and the Khemetri colony, Gulvalley was going to be rather limited in how much it could expand anyway. Revoking its charter as a colony and integrating it as a province proper could solve a number of problems. Then again, the concentrated forces of the Stallions could be reworked across the territory of the People, replenishing the depleted ranks of warriors of the People. They could potentially also tap some of the warriors in the colonies in a mass resettlement.
Reorganize provinces?
[] [Prov] Integrate Gulvalley (-4 Diplo, +3 Econ, +8 Econ Expansion, +2 Mysticism, +3 Culture, +1 Tech, new core province)
[] [Prov] Integrate Stallions (-6 Diplo, +5 Econ, +5 Econ Expansion, +8 Mysticism, +4 Culture, +2 Tech, +10 Martial, new core province)
[] [Prov] Draw on Provinces (-4 Diplo, -8 Econ Expansion, transfers a total of 8 Martial and 8 Econ from periphery states into the core)
[] [Prov] Rebuild Army first (Main Raise Army)
[] [Prov] Leave the situation be for the moment
Then there was the question of what to do with all of the economic activity that had been freed up recently, and where to direct expansion. The paying out of the Khemetri and the final pay for the Trelli mercenaries before they had left back for their home after being reduced to about a third of their original strength had left coffers throughout the kingdom on the low side, and many patricians were rather annoyed about that. There were definite grumblings about improving that situation, although for quite a few patricians it wasn't just about the money. There was a push for Redshore to receive extra funds for completing the aqueduct they were working on, with another patrician group looking for getting the experts after to work on a site in Redhills where they wanted the aqueduct for both irrigation purposes and to drive mills for the iron mines in the region. The blacksmiths were also apparently starting to cook up something and needed both the iron mines and the mills in close proximity to each other.
However, there was also some commentary about how the People had suffered so much in the last war because they had not been to war for some time and had thus not gone to battle with the best. While war was obviously bad and they shouldn't pick fights just to stay in shape, there was some suggestion that if perhaps the trained more extensively, maybe had some fake wars, maybe that would help keep them in top fighting shape? And with all of the fresh veterans available right now, perhaps they could make these games the best they could be?
Pick a Reaction Project
[] [React] Build more aqueducts (-2 & -3 Econ to complete aqueducts in Redshore and Redhills)
[] [React] Main Build Glassworks
[] [React] Main Expand Econ
[] [React] Main Expand Snail Cultivation
[] [React] Main Expand Vineyard
[] [React] Main Plant Poppies
[] [React] Megaproject - The Games
-[] [React] Kick Megaproject
Pick Two Passive Policies (Infrastructure x1 + Defence x1 already active
[] [Policy] Agriculture (+1 Econ and -1 Econ Expansion/turn)
[] [Policy] Diplomacy (+1 Diplo/turn)
[] [Policy] Trade (+1 Wealth/turn)
[] [Policy] Armament (+1 Martial/turn)
[] [Policy] Patronage (+1 Culture/turn)
[] [Policy] Mysticism (+1 Mysticism/turn)
[] [Policy] Industry (+1 Tech/turn)
[] [Policy] City Support (2 True Cities have their maintenance paid for each turn)
[] [Policy] Expansion (So long as there is land to expand into, +1 Econ Expansion/turn, reduces threshold to produce new provinces the longer active)
[] [Policy] Innovation (Extra innovation roll each turn)
[] [Policy] Infrastructure (+1 Free Progress to an infrastructure project (Aqueduct, governor's palace, saltern, etc.)/turn) x1
[] [Policy] Defence (+1 significant walls/turn) x1
[] [Policy] Special: Forestry (+1 Sustainable Forest and -1 Econ Expansion/2 turns)
[] [Policy] Special: Vassal Support (+1 Subordinate while active, increases Loyalty while active at less than full subordinates)
Pick a bonus for retaining King of the Hill in a Great Power War
[] [Bonus] Gain a random value slot
[] [Bonus] Upgrade a random value
[] [Bonus] Free Main Proclaim Glory
[] [Bonus] Free Main Build Theatre
[] [Bonus] At least two technology upgrades (exploding rolls)
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