Warning: the life of those who dare deify the heaven is not a peaceful one and the following chapter mentions the thought of suicide and more than one tragedy. If this isn't to your taste you aren't compelled to read.
Life.
A beautiful tapestry of hundreds of different moving parts that work tougher -whether by design or accident- to create and maintain it.
All throughout the universe life blossoms.
From the smallest bacteria to the biggest organism life, in the most ideal Gaia world to the inhospitable ash barren volcano worlds, life finds a way.
And where there is life, eventually, inevitably, intelligence and sapience emergencies.
And with-it civilization.
And it is no static thing, ever evolving alongside its members.
Going from the stone age to iron, to industrialization and then to the stars.
And with every advancement things change.
Ideas evolve and change. New ones emerge, different and yet not.
Morality changes, differences emerge.
And different cultures are born.
But life is also fragile.
And it only takes the smallest of tumbles to snuff out its light.
As a certain Keku just found out.
The Keku are a small avian species standing at one to one and a half meters tall.
Their hollow bones, extremely efficient muscles and the below standard gravity of their tropic planet allows them to use their wings for limited flight.
They prefer to build high and when the terrain allows, prefer to live off the ground.
Their leg claws are deadly weapons, sharp enough to tear through tempered leather. And the claws at the end of their wings are dexterous enough for the use of limited tools with their three appendages.
They are currently on the precipice of advancing to what in another time would be called the renaissance -it would only take them a century or two to get there- and life mostly goes on peacefully -with a few wars here and there-.
But not all is well for those small bird people, as a deadly disease spreads throughout their planet. All who felt it touch, fell within the day. The disease burning their body from within.
All but one.
In a remote village -barely a hundred residents to its name- Shikatu buries his family, -his wife and two children- and weeps because he was cursed to survive when all others died, when his family died.
And all because of a miracle.
Or perhaps, nothing more than an understanding beyond his years.
For when the disease ravaged his body, in the calm acceptance of the end to come and the upcoming reunion with his family in the afterlife, in that state of absolute calm he felt a spark of energy.
An energy of something more, the energy of life unshackled -in time he would come to call it Qi- he could feel it all around himself and in an ironic twist, the disease which even now ravaged his body possessed the greatest level of it.
And in an inspired moment of pure genius, he decided to take it for himself, robbing the disease of its potency.
But also strengthening his body, his muscles became stronger, his talons sharper and his disheveled fathers seemed to shine with new life.
His survival came as a great shock to the villagers and soon enough the rumors of him sacrificing his family to survive the disease forced Shikatu to flee the village of his birth.
The following journey was a harsh one, to have nothing and no one in a world ravaged by disease was not a kind fate. And more than once the temptation to end it all and join his family almost won over reason and will.
But the energy he tapped to had given him unnatural power, more than enough to survive and thrive and he didn't stop there drawing more and more energy to refine his body.
Three years later he stepped further along the path, and instead of using his Qi for simple refinement he started to store and condense it in his heart.
In response, the world itself rose to strike him down and a lightning bolt fell from the heavens to punish him for daring to overcome mortality.
Shikatu feathers and skin were far harder and sturdy than any leather had a right to be.
But in front of the wrath of heaven it was like a wheat stalk in a storm. What meager resistance it could offer washed away by the unending torrent.
In the end, only a husked corpse barley clinging on to life remained.
This would have been the end for any other Keku but not for Shikatu.
He reached into himself, where pure and calm Qi was now stored and spread it throughout his body.
Except, this time instead of pressing it into his cells and purifying his body further, he allowed the Qi to slowly nourish his body with a profonde gentleness and thus the first technique was born.
Shikatu survived but the wrath of heaven was not so easily shed and it took over half a year for him to fully recover and at end a small patch of feathers was permanently blackened as a reminder of heaven wrath.
In time he refined the technique -now called the life of ketku- making it faster, cheaper, stronger and easier to call upon.
He even managed to modify it to heal others as well.
And he didn't stop there.
Seeing the potential of the Qi within himself, Shikatu worked to create new techniques.
His prized jewel -which took five long years of work to create- is the purifying claws technique which could be used to battle the very same disease which claimed his family.
At first it could do nothing more than ease their suffering and extend their time by a meager few hours but after further refinement -which took a further three years- Shikatu managed what none could before him and cured the burning plague.
Unfortunately -or perhaps fortunately- the havens possess a strange sense of humor, as at long last the burning plague, which had raged through Ketku for more than a decade and claimed three fifths of the entire population burned itself out.
Just as Shikatu perfected his technique.
Sinking so much time for a chance to fight the very thing that claimed his family and then seeing that chance snatched from his claws almost destroyed Shikatu -for even forty-year-olds with some measure of divine knowledge aren't above the irrationality of mortality- and lead to him secluding himself from the world in a remote forest.
There he stayed in secluded meditation, deciphering the mysteries of the universe.
Very quickly -relatively at least- Shikatu noticed that he wasn't aging or at least not in a normal fashion.
A hundred fifty years in, he advanced another step upon the path he started.
Condensing a vast amount of Qi into the space above his heart -which he named the dentian- and using his understanding to one of the underlying laws of the world. He erected a grand pillar in his soul.
Once again heaven moved to strike the one who dared defy their decrees and lightning fell from clear sky once more.
This time Shikatu was struck by two purple lightning bolts charged with the power of heaven.
But even though he faced eight times the power of the previous tribulation, the power he had gained from erecting a pillar in his soul allowed him to trivially bat the lighting aside.
But heaven's will would not be denied and where physical solutions would not work, they would strike at his mind.
And so was Shikatu granted visions of his long-lost family. He watched them die again and again to the same disease that he survived. Their bodies withering away all the while accusing him of not saving them of the fate that befall them.
With every repetition, Shikatu got closer and closer to the breaking point.
Just as he was about to break and the tribulation could claim his soul, a young wounded girl wandered into and then collapsed in the small clearing he made his home for the last century.
Seeing someone with an urgent need in front of him -a child no less! - gave Shikatu the strength to break through the illusions of heaven and complete the tribulation.
Naturally the first thing he did after was to heal the girl and take her into his home for rest.
When she awoke, she awoke to a warm and filling meal.
With a meal in front of her to break the ice and calm her nerves, it didn't take shikatu long to get the reason she was running alone and wounded through the forest.
The answer displeased him greatly.
To say that the truth he had to tell her displeased her greatly would be the understatement of the century.
When night fell and at long the tears stopped flowing and the girl -which introduced herself as Kekita- fell asleep on his bed, shikatu carefully sneaked out of his own home to not wake her.
Finding the remains of the caravan was child play when one had supernatural senses.
Finding and then following the bandits' tracks was even easier.
And disposing of the trash was by far the easiest thing Shikatu did that night.
Regretfully, -and expectedly- there were no survivors from the raided caravan.
With her parents gone and the nearest settlements weeks of travel away, with no guarantee they would even take her in and the chances of an orphaned child surviving alone being almost nil. Shikatu decided to raise her as his own.
Their relationship was rocky to start with, with Kekita still grieving for her parents and Shikatu unused to interactions with other Keku-kind.
But like most maladies, time has been the greatest cure, with Shikatu getting over the awkwardness he has in conversing after a century and a half of isolation and with kekita overcoming -but not forgetting- her parents' death enough to start helping around the house and interact with Shikatu without bursting to tears.
For a time -about three years- things continued as they were, with both parties healing from wounds both overt and stubble but something wasn't right, over time Kekita became more and more withdrawn, like she has been after her parents' death, going so far as to skip meals and to stay in her -newly constructed- room for hours at a time.
It didn't take Shikatu long to understand what was wrong. Kekita being a young and developing Keku, needed more social interaction then an old coot like him could provide alone.
The solution to the problem was then obvious. If it is social interaction that she lacks, then she should be allowed to live in a place with other Keku of her age.
But even though the solution was obvious, an isolation of over a century and a half isn't so easily broken.
It took kekita missing enough meals to visibly affect her health for shikatu to act.
Gathering their most valuable things -mostly various mementoes- shikatu moved to a nearby village, masquerading as a traveling doctor.
The results were almost immediate, with Kekita health taking an upward turn, it would take time for all the damage to reverse itself but she was making a great recovery.
Unfortunately, old scars are stronger than often assumed and Shikatu couldn't bear staying around the same place for long. Leaving the village a scant three weeks later.
To put Kekita's mind at ease and not risk a reversal in her condition, as they left her new found friends behind, Shikatu decided to teach her the way of Qi.
Originally, shikatu didn't expect much from her, mostly doing it to sate her curiosity in regards to his strength and vitality and as such, was greatly surprised when Kekita managed not only to sense the Qi around her but to also use it to refine her body, like he did so long ago.
With a new hobby, Kekita condition seemed to stop in its regression and with frequent and varied social contact seemed to all but disappear.
Time passed, Kekita reached adulthood and left for her own journey -from which she would later return with her dentian formed- and Shikatu -now alone- found that where before he couldn't bear to be around others, now the absence of such contact wounded him all the same.
In response to the realization, he decided to take another student.
A young man who wished to study medicine by the name of Tikake.
This young men proved to be a talented doctor and healer absorbing Shitaku knowledge like a sponge.
Unfortunately, this talent didn't transfer to cultivating his Qi and by the time kekita returned -about ten years later- he barely managed to sense ambient Qi.
In time Tikake left to practice what he learned and shikatu, learning that he liked teaching, decided to take another student.
This pattern would repeat itself over the next century, with shikatu wandering the land helping where he could and gathering a small following of students.
Some remained with him after they finished their "education" and some left after they felt they learned enough, it mattered not as shikatu taught all who sought him out.
Soon enough, rumors of a mysterious sage who could right every ill began to spread in the countryside but they stayed nothing but rumors.
At the turn of the century Kekita underwent the next tribulation and raised her pillar.
About a year later shikatu raised his fifth pillar.
Upon doing so he was struck with a vision.
A vision of the future.
This was not the first time such has happened.
But where before it was minor events, like a new student seeking him out, or a new disease popping out in some far away village.
This time it was a warning of the coming apocalypse and in his bones, he knew that the vision he was shown had the possibility of being worse than the disease that set him on this path.
And he knew that this time, there would be no stroke of luck that would save them and that his strength alone -no matter how mighty he was- would not be enough.
Lacking any better idea, shikatu gathered his disciples and traveled the land from court to court; he flew seeking the ears of kings and queens.
Alas he was rebuffed again and again. All he talked too branded him a mad man, even when he showed them his abilities they weren't convinced.
But they did grow jealous and afraid.
It was when he was visiting one of the lowlands kingdoms that it happened. The king of the land, fearing shikatu and his disciple's power, decided to strike at the new found threat to his rule.
He struck at night when shikatu and his disciples were fast asleep. But he didn't understand the true depth of power they wielded and so even outnumbered and caught by surprise they decimated the king's forces with the king himself falling at the battle.
With the king dead and most of the elite soldiers with him, the governor of the city did the sensible thing and surrendered the city to Shikatu control.
Shikatu seeing the opportunity for what it is decided to accept the surrender and crowned himself emperor of the keku people reasoning that if no one would act on his words they would answer to his claws.
But wishing for one last chance for diplomacy to work, he sent messengers to all the kingdoms of the world proclaiming his crowning and inviting them for a confederation to start preparing for the apocalypse to come.
The response was immediate, his proposal was rejected at all turns -one king going so far as to kill the messenger- instead the rulers marshaled their armies and came toughener in a grand alliance to oppose the "oppressor".
Their armies were mighty, numerous and well equipped.
It took Shikatu and his disciples a year to defeat them.
Keku wars placed great importance on speed, both strategic, tactical and combative and none were faster than sihkatu or his disciples who could fly for weeks with little rest, which enhanced muscles could propels them to unmatched velocities and who could cross in a day what for others took a week.
And so, they smashed army after army until all the armies surrendered or were no more.
It has been less than a day since the unification wars ended and there is much to do, the world reels at the cost of a short yet brutal war and not all who surrendered are ready to give up their power and are content to plot in the dark for now.
All the while a distant disaster loom's, predicted to hit anywhere between a century to three form now.
But what disaster did Shiaktu predict?
[] a comet strikes the ground from its impact death spreads in unwavering form, yet it is only the portent for the storm to come.
[] from deep underground they come, gateways to lands of horror and madness, deformed mutated beasts', servants of higher powers unlimited in number, seeking the end of all life.
[] the mechanical laughter of an insane being of untold power, delighting at the find of a new and interesting toy.
Welcome to distant stars were you play as the creator of cultivation on your planet and the absolute ruler (for now) of your civilization.
You job as such is to balance you advance and the advances of your disciples with the need and advance of society at large all the while preparing for the predicted disaster that is going to hit in the next 10-30 turns (each turn being a decade long). You will face many choices and there is no one true answer. Good luck and most importenatly of all try and have fun.
Now in regards to the possible disaster that is on vote (which will last at least a day or two) they are opaque for a reason but rest assured that they are all the same level of world ending apocalypse just in different ways.
[X] from deep underground they come, gateways to lands of horror and madness, deformed mutated beasts', servants of higher powers unlimited in number, seeking the end of all life.
The grand alliance is defeated, its armies lay shattered in the fields.
You have won and now you may begin the long path towered readying your home to the coming apocalypse.
And hope dearly that it was worth the pile of corpses you left behind.
But before you can begin to rule you must make a few far-reaching decisions.
The first is the matter of the grand alliance.
Consisting of the vast majority of the now defunct nation states in the world the grand alliance had many kings and emperors who took up their claws against you.
Many of them died with their armies but some remain and you must decide what to do with them.
As they are far too influential to allow to walk free, you must either imprison them or execute them.
If you were to imprison them, they may still be able to use some of their influence and legitimacy to agitate the nobles but even if they could not someone would decide to use them as figure heads for whatever plot they care for. Of that, you are sure.
But executing them is no perfect solution either. True you will be rid of their influence but already you hear about groups of partisans who refuse to give up the fight, ambushing lone official's or assassinating collaborators and slinking back into the general population.
You are sure that the summary execution of the last few kings left would only intensify their efforts and may yet draw more keku to their cause as you prove yourself a "tyrant".
But you must decide.
[] imprison them. (kings).
[] execute them. (kings).
The second matter also concerns the grand alliance.
The kings and rulers didn't fight alone beneath them were a myriad of titled nobles with their own men and holdings, thankfully most of them ended up surrendering at one point or the other. But some fought with more fervor and longer than others.
And you must decide if you wish for them to retain their titles and lands. Whatever you do you may not revoke the title of most of the nobles, so this will only apply to those who fought the hardest and longest against you.
Which, coincidently, are also those who are most likely to plot against you. and as such depriving them of land and title will weaken and make any plot against you less likely but your new found empire is already finding itself in a shortage of well abled administrators and rulers to manage it all and revoking their titles will leave large swaths of land with no governance.
Of course, letting them retain their titles would make sure that any plot against you would be stronger and also make one more likely to happen.
[] revoke their titles. (noble's).
[] let them keep their titles. (noble's).
The third matter is one of administration.
You are now the emperor of keku kind but aside from ruling you also need to keep pushing ever forward and advance many projects to be ready for when the time comes.
And so aside from the general advisors you'll have you also need to have someone with the authority to manage things as you want them and concern themselves with the day-to-day stuff.
Kekita is going to serve in this role for your disciples, organizing them and searching for new students. As you trust her impeccably and as she recently raised her second pillar there is no one who could challenge her power.
But you must also choose someone to help you rule the vast empire you now lead.
For this position you have three options.
The first one is Keltika, a princess of the now defunct temar kingdom. She has offered herself -with the recommendation of a majority of the remaining nobles- for the role. As a former princess she has great knowledge of etiquette and diplomacy and picking her would reassure her backers and her words would reach the rest. But she is far from a good administrator or even a competent one she would learn in time but you're not sure how much time you have. You would also need to spare the remaining kings as she won't agree to serve without that promise.
The second option is Maktu, one of your oldest students. Being a hundred and fifty years old, Maktu is an experienced Keku furthermore he had a decade of experience working as an accountant and two decades more serving under a noble and helping with the administration of his land's. you are sure that you will not find a better administrator even if you looked for a century but Maktu is also a cultivator and he has made great stride in expanding his dentian and you don't see him stopping any time soon, as such a great deal of time would be used for cultivation which would respectively reduce the grasp he would have on his subordinates and allow certain trends and illicit dealing to fall below his gaze.
The third option is Netik, the governor that started it all, he has experience in governing and a good head on his shoulders so he'll be competent in the role but that is all that could be said for him, on the flip side he also doesn't come with some drawbacks.
[] Keltika, the political choice. (Must choose: imprison them). (steward).
[] Maktu, the experienced choice. (steward).
[] Netik, the bland but sensible choice. (steward).
The fourth and last matter is one of capital.
You need a place that you can rule from, a place that would house all the bureaucrat's and courtiers and all that they need to be able to manage the empire efficiently.
The qualification for being a capital city for the entire world are many and many cities fall short of what you need. Leaving you with a choice of two.
The first candidate is Lenkana, the former capital of Merkanketi one of the largest if not the largest nation from before your ascent. As a former capital of a big empire, most of the needed infrastructure and keku needed to rule are already present and could be expanded with little difficulty, the city is also centrally located -mostly- shortening the distance from the potential capital to all other locations and the benefits of that for managing such a huge empire are self-evident. Unfortunately, this city has a strong and good relation with the recently deceased king giving anyone who wants to plot against you a large local support.
The second candidate is Tenkata, the former capital of the Tokatentu kingdom. This city is located far to the north making it harder to manage the southern territories, it also barely passes the size requirement to house the needed bureaucracy and courtiers to rule the empire and the only reason it's truly considered is the place of power near it. Residing next to this place of power would be helpful to both you and those under you, cultivation.
[] Lenkana. (capital).
[] Tenkata. (capital).
You have no doubt that more issues would pop up in the future but for now this is all you need to decide but you must choose wisely for your choices would have far reaching repercussions.
Alright, we start to get to some of the meat. Like I said before a lot of this quest is going to come as choices that will have a lot of impact and consequence (and even some that don't).
You start with a lot of different domestic problems (I'll get to the character sheet and nation information posts sometime this week) that were created by the creation of the empire (who would have guessed that conquering the world in a year is going to create problems) you can gleam a few from this vary post and your job is basically to manage and solve them while preparing for the crises ahead.
Keep in mind that mono-focusing on one thing may not be the best thing, but it could also be that taking care of a problem could free a lot of resources to use on other things or avert some kind of disaster in the end its up to you to decide what to fucus on and how to spend your efforts and what you're willing to sacrifice to solve something.
Now in regards to the current votes I would caution people to think about them because they are very important for the first section of the game as you weaken and empower different problems.
Because of their importance I'm going to set a moratorium of 2 hours to allow some discussion(even though I don't have a large voter base) and the vote itself is going to be longer.
With that said I hope you enjoyed and if you have any feedback I would love to hear it.
The next few days were a rush to establish as much order as you could while trying to actually organize some sort of bureaucracy.
The first thing you did was execute the kings who remained.
You couldn't say that you respected them as they cared far too much for their power then their duty to their subject's but at least they faced the ax with dignity.
A thing which couldn't be said for the nobles whose titles you've revoked as while some accepted your decision and retired into their mansions while giving up their land's others choose to pick up claws again.
And the second verse was the same as the first.
And now they and their followers' corpses littered the fields joining the rest.
Then it was a rush of orders, of massages and of reorganization.
Trying to get the smallest glimpse of order into the land that changed its rulership so abruptly.
In this time, you also received the oath of fealty from the remaining noble houses.
When all was done and some resemblance of order was achieved you traveled to your new capital.
The journey was short -only three days of flight- as the city you were occupying was close to the chosen capital.
Once there, there was more work to be done.
Claiming the local lord -one who died in the war- mansion as your new palace you started expanding both it and the city to be able to house the large -if tiny for the territory you rule- bureaucracy.
With the help of your students the expansion preceded good time and as the month rolled to a close, most of the initial work was done.
Then came the unending meetings, discussing hundreds of reports about many different topics. From the funds available in a region to the need for good timber for the southern territories.
In this time the last few remaining nobles and local rulers who weren't at the summit when your victory was announced, made their oaths.
And the few who didn't, got a visit from one of your disciples.
In the end, after another month of discussions, suggestions and plans.
A final plan of action was devised to deal with the empire's problems as best as could be done.
After a month's worth of planning the following 7 projects and actions were considered worth heavy investment from the government. You must decide how to prioritize the efforts of the government. (order the folowing options from top to bottem in terms of importance).
[] Mending the broken beak.
The great war and the unifying of the land to one empire has created many problems.
One of them is that organizations once considered sufficient and effective have been rendered ineffective at best and been rendered all but extinct at worst.
You must remake them if you wish to rule effectively.
Currently 3 organizations are shattered, investing the most in this option will restore them all to their previous effectiveness in short order.
Reduced investment would require the choice for which organization to prioritize (done in the mid turn post) and minimal investment would only allow for the stabilizing of the situation and stop the worsening of the problem.
[] Rebel hunting.
The so-called partisans are nothing but up jumped bandits in a so-called rebellion.
But they are clever and know they are no match for us and so they hide in remote locations and in the general population both.
It will take considerable resources to root them out and they aren't likely to stay quiet, much of the resources invested would go to countering their actions.
A maximum investment would allow us to pursue them relentlessly, heavily reducing their ability to act and allowing us to capture and eliminate a significant number.
Reduced investment would reduce the number of groups we could catch and allow the rebels more freedom of action.
A minimal investment is not recommended as the situation is viable to turn to the worst should sufficient resources not be assigned.
[] Competent ruling.
Focusing on the day-to-day decision of the empire and dispatching enough funds to take care of the small problems would ensure -or at least increase the chance- that no new problems or crises arise.
A maximum investment is unnecessary as that amount of resources cannot be efficiently spent on this endeavor and would go to waste.
But a minimal investment is likewise not recommended as it would allow for small problems to grow under your beak and turn into bigger ones in an already unstable time.
[] The unseen rulers.
Fixing the lack of administrators isn't going to be fast.
There are options to stem the wound in the short term and stop further degradation of the problem.
But any true solution would take time to implement and pay off.
A maximum investment is advised even though at a certain point the matter becomes less one of resources and more lack of availability, highly educated and experienced.
A reduced investment would still allow for stemming the wound and might allow some progress on the overall problem.
Minimal investment is heavily unadvised as it would only allow the shortage to grow ever more severe.
[] Ruffled feathers.
Many -if not most- of the nobles are discontent with the new empire they now inhabit, while you cowed some and got rid of those who hate you the most.
They still plot against you.
Unfortunately, you cannot do much to directly stem this problem but by empowering the few who support you and offering some benefits for those who at least lean in your direction would slowly strangle your opposition from both their power and influence.
It is impossible to accurately predict how different levels of investment would actually pan out as depending on certain and unknown factors a lower level of investment might be preferable.
[] An egg nests.
A decade is a long time and many unexpected costs could rack up.
From simple delays and obstacles for projects to exciting opportunities to sudden crises.
Having an egg nest to draw resources from so you won't need to compromise in other more costly way's is a good idea.
And if it isn't used it's quite easy (if fairly inefficient) to assign it to struggling projects.
Maximum investment is unnecessary and would even be harmful as too much funds and influence are saved rather than spent to further your goals.
A minimal investment while not ideal isn't the worst thing (especially with all the other pressing concerns) but it would mean that should delays occur or opportunities arise your ability to capitalize or resolve them without compromising other concerns is minimal.
(OOC: basically, there is a chance for delays to occur with every project pursued, this option nullifies or reduces the severity of a certain amount of them (depending on its prioritization it also gives you options in crises or opportunities that rise in the mid turn).
[] The book of laws.
To effectively rule the empire, you must have a set of rules you and all your subjects follow.
You then must spread the new rules far and wide so both the people and those that rule them know them.
The creation of an entire rule book from scratch -or mostly- is a demanding endeavor as many factors must be carefully considered.
The creation of the first book of laws for the empire is also an opportunity to rid yourself of many old rules that hinder the productivity of the empire for the benefits of the few and the many abuses that were put into law over the many generations.
No matter what, a law book would be created and spread as delaying would create many unknown problems and the more attention and funding it receives the better the laws would be, taking into account more and more situational factors and closing potential loopholes.
Thankfully, determining the actions of your disciples is an easier matter -if one still fraught with many meetings. (2 AP)
[] Recruiting (may be taken twice)- if you wish to have a hope of survival the current number of disciples is pitiful, your disciples would focus on going out and training potential cultivators in order to find new talents and increase their number. Without a way to determine good recruits from bad ones the chances to get good talents is minimal.
[] Documenting places of power- places of power are an anomaly, you have spent very little time actually researching them and so know very little about them aside that the affluent Qi presence can speed your cultivation efforts, sending your disciples to document all the places of power in the world would be a first step toward understanding them. And as a benefit it would allow for outpost for cultivators in high Qi places allowing for faster growth even when they are out on missions.
[] Hunting- the rebels who oppose you and nip at your talons are hidden in one of two ways. They are either hidden within the population or set up in places which are hard to reach and remote which make it hard to find them. your disciples are no better at finding the first then mortals but places that are inconvenient and remote for mortals are rarely that for cultivators. Sending a few to hunt and dispose of the rebels would greatly reduce their strength allowing your government to focus on other things.
[] Research (mutually exclusive with sharing wisdom)- those who sought you out and became your disciples were of a certain type of Keku, those who had curiosity in their hearts and a thirst for knowledge. They are now old Keku and have in their time acquired much experience and knowledge, put them to use with advancing the knowledge base of your empire either teaching their wisdom to others or creating some useful innovation. (OOC: this basically gives you an additional advancement dice)
[] The matter of talent- talent, it is an ephemeral term. To be talented is to be good at something, to have it come easy and it is often something ephemeral and ill defined. Not so for cultivation where by the chance of birth some bodies take to Qi far better than others. It took some time to understand why some hard workers could barely advance in twenty years while others reached the top of the first step in that time. The problem is that there is currently no way to test for this talent which makes finding talents who can advance further harder to almost impossible without first attempting to teach potential recruits. Set your disciples to find a solution so you could more effectively train new cultivators. (if taken at the same time as recruiting it would affect that action).
[] Looking for enlightenment (may be taken twice)- cultivation as a concept is relatively unknown, with all of your knowledge coming from either your or your older disciples' experiments. But your knowledge is lacking and there are many unknowns. Have your disciples try to invite new concepts that either help or push your knowledge of cultivation further. (OOC: you get a cultivation advancement dice which can give you many tasteful things)
[] Push forward (may be taken twice)- your disciples have their own cultivation to pursue and they will do so regardless but giving them more time to do so would allow them to make more progress)
[] Sharing wisdom (mutually exclusive with research)- those who sought you out and became your disciples were of a certain type of Keku, those who had curiosity in their hearts and a thirst for knowledge. They are now old Keku and have in their time acquired much experience and knowledge, having them share their wisdom and help with the burdens of administration would go a long way to help the empire run more smoothly for a time.
The last matter is what you personally would pursue, there are many matters which could use your personal attention but your time is limited so you must choose. (3 personal AP).
[] Push higher- your power alone would not save you or your kind, but more power would certainly be useful so push ahead on this path that you've created oh so long ago.
-[] Ascend- you can feel it, you've reached a point where you can once more reach higher. Push ahead, face the wrath of heaven once more and pray you're ready.
-[] Mediation on the self (may be taken more than once)- the wrath of heaven is powerful and cunning, it will strike at any weakness you show, take a time to know your falling and put your mind at peace to help with the tribulation you will face. (This action will give a big bonus if you take it on the turn, you attempt the tribulation otherwise it would give a small but stackable bonus).
-[] A sixth pillar (0/2 AP to complete)- your instincts tell you that you may still push further in your current step, so take the time to gather the Qi needed to construct a new pillar in your soul. Giving you a new and powerful tool.
-[] Seek insight from the world (choose pillar)(may be taken more than once)- five pillars you've erected in your soul, but they are not just constructs of Qi in each of them there is a Truth of the world. Meditation can draw those truths out but to look within you must look without and seek the inspiration that would advance your understanding and give a new insight for one of your pillars.
[] Glimpse the future- you have a gift, a gift that no other has. It has set you on this path and you must both hone and use it, to see the end of this path. Cast your eyes into the future and the apocalypse to come and attempt to draw any piece of information that might give you an advantage.
-[] Pin down the date- currently you know that the apocalypse will start anywhere between a century to three from now, attempt to pin down when it would actually start so you may better prepare.
-[] The nature of the beast- you know almost nothing about what's to come besides an unending tide of beast's, attempt to understand the coming apocalypse.
-[] The tide- in your vision you saw many types of beast's, small and big, deformed and consisting of perfect form. Attempt to more correctly ascertain what it is that you'll be fighting.
[] The burdens of an emperor- a farmer son of a farmer turned into a sage, you never thought, nor wanted the burden of rule but here you are with a crown upon your head.
-[] Pretty songs- the noble houses -those that remain- plot against you, taking the time to visit the less hostile ones would both keep your power in their minds and may draw a few into your circle.
-[] To rule well- taking the time to listen to your subordinates and subjects as well as taking care of the small problems that arise would free your subordinates from the need to do it. (OOC: basically, the competent ruling action -from the government actions- is considered completed and doesn't need to be taken.)
-[] The wisdom of age- currently a new law book is being written for the empire and while you do spend some time going over it so there won't be any gross mistake, it is mostly written by your subordinates, but you are old and have seen much in your life taking the time to actively help with the creation of the laws would ensure they are far better.
[] The burdens of a teacher- you have come to enjoy teaching, but the very act gives you a certain obligation to those you teach.
-[] To teach the next generations- you're going to need many more cultivators to face the end that comes, and you have taught many to do so again and help train the defenders of the future.
-[] The next step- you have many students pushing for the next step in their journey, take the time to share your wisdom and guide them in surviving the tribulation.
-[] The matter of talent- it is no boast that none knows more then you about cultivation and as such you both have the best chance to create a way to determine talent and the ability to make it better than your disciples could.
Well, here we are, I wanted this to have some more meat in a narrative manner nothing wanted to be written so I decided this was good enough. Some impotent notes, were having a 3 Hour moratorium to both allow discussion and questions. and I encourage you to sake if something isn't understood.
Secondly, the vote is in plane format and should be formatted like so:
[] plan name:
-[] government action -maximum investment
-[] government action- reduced investment.
-[] government action- reduced investment.
-[] government action- reduced investment.
-[] government action- reduced investment.
-[] government action- reduced investment.
-[] government action- minimal investment.
-[] disciples action.
-[] disciples action.
-[] personal action.
-[] personal action.
-[] personal action.
And now, a few words of advice, the description of things is from your character (and his advisers) point of view so it might not be that most accurate or devoid of biases but you can generally trust it.
Secondly, go over the empire and character sheets to see what you're dealing with and think about what you're doing.
And lastly, remember that you don't need to make an effective empire, a nice place to live or to become the strongest but survive the coming apocalypse (well there is what comes after but you should survive first).
To be talented is to be a natural at a certain subject, for it to flow without impendent.
It is an ephemeral and often misunderstood concept.
That can only be found by doing and experiencing the different ways of life.
And yet you must find a way to accurately and measurably judge someone's talent at cultivation.
A way that wouldn't require half of a decade of intense teaching and exercises to show results.
A challenging thing indeed.
The first step along this path is understanding what talent is in regards to cultivation.
And you would say that said talent is comprised of two different characteristics comprehension and affinity.
Between the two comprehension is the easier to test for, as a short test of logic and poetry allows you to find how easy a Keku can comprehend difficult concepts.
Unfortunately, it is also the least important for the first two steps as very little is actually needed to be understood and following the advice of your seniors is more than good enough.
No, comprehension truly comes into its own in the third step, where one needs to understand both himself and the world to advance.
All that to say, that it is affinity that is important for the first two steps and it is affinity that you must find a way to test.
But what is affinity?
In simple terms it is the ease your body can absorb the Qi you draw in.
A high affinity means that you'll purify your body more with every drop of Qi then someone with a lower affinity.
It is also impossible to determine without first stepping down far enough the path that knowing it becomes far less useful.
This is the challenge you must face.
But how?
Well, if the problem is that you don't know the affinity of someone until they are far in the future. You could use your gift to look into the future of any potential recruit and find it.
This idea is discarded as soon as it appears, you are far too busy to go through the thousands of potential recruits and attempt to see their future. No, far, far too busy.
But then the question remains.
How?
Unfortunately, this question will elude you for some time.
Your meditations are unfruitful endeavors.
But in the end, you did find a way and so much more.
It was a normal day; the weather was agreeable and calm.
So, you decided to go on a flight, to spread your wings and take joy in the freedom of the sky.
It was as you were flying above the nearby forest that you saw it.
The forest around Tenkata was a place of power, a locust of Qi where it flowed thickly.
You've known about this place of power since before you've become emperor and have seen this sight hundreds of times since.
But this time, a gentle gust of wind showed it to you in a different way.
Where before you saw a whole, now you saw a small part of it.
The trees below absorbed the heavy and thick Qi of their environment and expelled it right after changed.
A fascinating discovery on its own but when you land to get a better view you find something even better.
The tree you landed on drew in some of the ambient Qi that naturally hugs your body and expelled it as it had all the other Qi that touched its bark.
It wasn't malicious and as it didn't draw from your actual reserves or body it didn't hurt or weaken you.
But it did give you an idea.
When one refines their body, the Qi their body can't accept is expelled to the environment.
You can't sense it because it is done very slowly but that Qi isn't tethered to your body so in theory if something could draw out ambient Qi it could also draw out the Qi that wasn't absorbed by the body.
The first few tests were promising as your test subject did confirm that more Qi was drawn out of their body's -even some that was in the process of being absorbed- the problem was that the amount was still too small to be sensed.
The solution to this problem came in a burst of inspiration as your claws carved a vaguely remembered sigil into the bark of the tree.
This sigil amplified the natural drain of the tree tenfold -at least where the sigil touched- allowing you to sans the amount of Qi someone can't absorb and as such conclude how high their affinity was.
It wasn't a perfect solution as potential recruits still needed a few months to get the breathing patterns right but it was what you had.
All thanks to a sigil that you couldn't recall ever knowing about before…
Results: allows the basic testing of talent, increasing the average talent of potential cultivators and increasing the chance to find outstanding talents, the artificing skill is added as incompetent to the character sheet.
Throughout the decade you have taken many opportunities to gather the Qi needed to construct a sixth pillar.
Frequent meditation sessions have seen you make good progress.
Of course, you already know that you won't finish in this decade as far more energy is required.
But you have reached far enough in the process that you must now decide which concept and law you are going to dedicate this pillar to.
This is an important decision as the concept chosen would see a great improvement and the creation of a pillar will meaningfully increase your strength.
The choice is as endless as the stars in the sky and yet you must choose.
choose the concept that you'll build your next pillar for. You may choose whatever you want but nothing too exotic -like void or time- as you don't have the needed understanding for. If you want some inspiration the character sheet has the five pillars you started with.
[] write in.
"You see it, don't you."
"I do"
"We need to solve this problem, before it becomes worse"
"hmm… how bad is it?"
"About a fifth"
"a fifth? That's not too bad, we can accept such a reduction in power if it allows to train an order of magnitude more cultivators"
"true, but…" your daughter takes a puse to think about her words more. "it's viable to get worse as we teach more, I talked to some of the elders they estimate that we could see as much as half a reduction in power… and I are with them besides there is the other matter to consider"
You take a few moments to consider before answering. "Yes, such a reduction in power would certainly affect their chance to survive their tribulation, if they even get that far".
Which was a troubling thing indeed because you needed higher step cultivator if you wanted to survive what's to come. You throw your senses back down toward the new disciples training below the balcony you and Kekita currently occupy.
"that was my thought as well" your daughter says "And unfortunately we must decide, do we want more cultivators or do we want better ones… thankfully we caught this early enough that we can salvage their foundations if we so decide"
A silver lining at least in this whole mess.
Sigh, the more you do this the more you understand that there must always be a balance between quality and quantity.
"How large of a reduction in new cultivators are we talking about here?" you ask, your claw slowly ruffling the feathers in your chin.
"We'll need to switch to personal teaching. Best case we can train about a tenth of what we could otherwise, worst case about a twentieth"
"So much? Is there no middle option?"
"unfortunately, in this case taking the middle road would see us losing on both counts"
"well, I suppose we should--- "
[] switch the way we teach, we'll teach far less students but they'll be better and more powerful. (Reduces the number of new cultivators you gain form the recruiting action permanently).
[] continue as we did, the loss of power is regrettable but you need numbers. (Reduces the power of step 1 cultivator's and their chance at succeeding in their tribulation).
All right, off we go this is the first post of what I'm calling the mid turn there would be at least another one which would come out later this week.
The vote is going to be open until that post comes out and as its fairly straight forward I don't think I need a moratorium.
I'm of course around for question if you have any.
The sound of shuffling paper rebounded throughout your throne room.
The big, decorated room is empty save for you and Netik, your steward.
Currently, you're reading the reports Netik and his subordinates prepared for you at speeds beyond mortality, absorbing and contemplating the new information in the blink of an eye.
For anyone else it would take hours to sift through all the information, for you it will take less than ten minutes and only because you need to be careful your claws won't rip the paper.
So far, nothing seems out of the ordinary, the reports encompassing everything from the expense for the place cooks to damage assessment for the flood around Netrak far to the south and how it'll affect your budget.
You continue reading in silence for another minute or so, until you reach a particular page.
Your gaze rises from the pepper to look at Netik who up until this point was quietly seating in front of you at the table that was dragged to the throne room for this meeting and the large stacks of reports was currently occupying.
Your rightmost talon is tapping a certain point on the report in front of you.
"I see that you spent the reserves to increase the salary for the administrative teachers, care to share your reasoning?" you ask, handing Netik the report.
Taking it from your hand he takes a moment to read it before replaying.
"As you know, our main effort to increase the number of available administrators was the construction of a central academy and subsidies those who wished and were able to learn, everything was going as expected but just before the academy was finished, we hit a snag"
"Hmm?"
"It seemed that no Keku wished to leave a well-paying and influential job to teach. I decided that increasing the payment would be enough to solve the issue, most of it as an upfront payment. I was right"
"Well, the cost is negligible in the long run, I approve"
With that said you go continue reading the reports but are interrupted "if we are already on this subject, I have a few options I need to pass by you"
You put down the report again and give Netik your full attention.
"The training program for new administrators and bureaucrats is going well. Well, enough to stabilize the situation" he takes a small pause "but that still leaves us with a huge deficit in the manpower needed to administer the empire and something needs to be done"
"I'm assuming you have a few ideas already?" you ask.
"Yes, the first and easiest one is to decentralize, the reason we need such a large amount of bureaucrats is because with the dissolving of all former states you've decided to have a far more centralized empire"
"You think it was a mistake?"
"Your reasoning was sound, being able to more easily tap the resources of the empire to prepare for the coming the crises was the right choice, and if we do decentralize, I expect that in a few decades when the situation stabilizes, we'll centralize again"
"It isn't going to be easy, the only reason I didn't need to murder half of the ruling class to allow it is because I already did so in the war if we decentralize and then later attempt to reverse the decision, we may face heavy unrest"
"Which is why, we should only do this if you judged the price of the other proposals as too high"
The throne room is silent as you take a moment to think before speaking "very well, what other options do we have?".
"Well, the second option is to give some of the land to the nobles".
"The nobles?" you ask.
"yes".
"The same ones who still plot to kill me behind my back?"
Netik winces at the glare you give him but continues non the less "you and I both know that they can't really succeed at that and if we choose wisely, we could get a few to support us for the land we'll give them".
"Hmm… let's table it for now, what's your other proposal?" you ask.
"Well," Netik begins one of his talons scratching his neck feathers "many of your disciples have both the experience and knowledge to be good administrators"
That is an interesting proposal. He isn't wrong, many of your older disciples are around a hundred years old and have picked up many skills in that time. they could certainly serve in that role but in doing so would have less time to use for other pursuits.
Looking at Netik it seems that this was his last proposal and all that remains is for you to decide.
"I think we should ---"
[] give some lands to the nobles increasing their strength but winning a few to our cause.
[] give some of my disciple's land to administrate even though it will take a large amount of their time. (OOC: this means –1 AP in the disciple's section but as you did get enough recruitment for a +1 AP you will remain at 2 AP).
[] decentralize the empire, reducing the total amount or resources we could draw upon but more efficiently managing what we could.
"There is one other matter," Netik says after you reach a decision.
"Yes?" you assent.
"The funding for rebuilding the organizations that were shattered in the war isn't enough to fully rebuild them all, I'm already working on getting the messengers guilds up and running, it'll take some time for them to reestablish their experience but they are on the path of recovery. I need you to decide on which organization to focus next, the one I won't focus on will take more time to fully reestablish itself but we have enough funding to put them on the path to recovery".
"Ah... yes. You should focus on ---".
[] the garrison, were going to need them prepared.
[] the spy's, having eyes on the nobles will be important going forward.
so just some context to this vote, when you reform a shattered organization, it takes them time to fully reestablish their experience and members, and that s is portrayed by the fact that they still give half of their malus for a turn before fully reforming and so next turn the messengers and whichever organization you'll choose above are going to give half their malus before the turn after the malus disappearing.
Now, because enough was invested the organization you didn't choose is also on the path to recovery, they will give their full malus next turn, the turn after will give half of it and then in turn 4 they won't give a malus at all.
The work of an emperor never stops.
Following a long day of meeting and audiencias, from diligent clerks reporting on the many matters of the empire to belligerent nobles you see them all.
The few moments of relaxation used for meditation.
The workload is heavy but your body is strong and aside from supernatural stamina, your need for sleep has been reduced by rising to the third step oh so long ago.
Unfortunately, even in the dead of night your work never ends.
You've retreated to the balcony attached to our chambers to have some peace as you go over the many reports detailing the efforts at compiling the laws of the empire.
A gentle gust of wind brings with it the cold of night, a quick stirring of your Fire pillar and the cold is banished and you can go back to reading.
The bureaucrats assigned for this project are very competent and you barely needed to correct some of the details that were either forgotten, overlooked or misremembered.
But there are a few details that are up to you alone.
The first and biggest one is how much do you want to tax the various provinces.
A high tax rate would increase poverty and unrest as the tax collector would do his best to extract the wealth out of the peasantry and common man.
But it would also give you the resources to do a lot more projects.
On the other hand, a low tax rate would decrease the ability of your government to act but would decrease unrest and might even help the economy but is that worth a lower ability to act and accomplish.
How high should the taxes be? (Choose 1).
[] Very high. Unavailable, as you expect massive revolts and famine to erupt from such a policy.
[] High- more money and more control over the economy means that bigger and better projects can be done faster but would spark a wave of unrest.
[] Medium- the compromise option, not too high but neither too low, this is the option that's been used up till now by both you and most of the previous nation states.
[] Low- reducing the tax rate would make the peasantry happy but wouldn't be healthy for your treasury.
[] Very low. Unavailable as doing so will bankrupt your treasury.
The next law that needs your personal attention is also related to taxes.
But in this case, you need to decide how much you tax the nobles (or more correctly how much you tax their personal holdings and businesses).
It's pointless to point out that any kind of taxes beyond the most symbolic ones would anger them, even if they were paying the same as before.
But even reduced, their personal holdings are large and could very much help your treasury.
There is also an opportunity here should you try to grasp it.
In some kingdoms noble families were given a reduction in their owed tax if their family members served in the army as officers and the like.
You have no need for officers yet but said law could easily be modified to allow service under your cultivator force to count.
The noble families would of course jump on the chance to learn the "secrets" of your success and most would send at least one son.
It would be a trivial thing to ensure that those trained are loyal to you (or at least the empire) over their families and over time as they inherit their holdings you'll have a loyal noble class.
Of course, as nothing is absolute you would have to assume that some would retain their loyalties and some of the nobles could train their own cultivators although you doubt, they would be even half as powerful as those train by you but still something to consider.
How much are you taxing the nobles? (Choose 1).
[] Minimal- the highest you could get without angering them, you'll still get a good amount of silver to your treasury but not much.
[] Reasonable- you'll tax them a reasonable amount, filling your treasury quite nicely but doing so will anger the nobles.
[] Service- you'll offer the nobles the chance to pay their tax in service, slowly training a loyal powerbase in the noble class but you'll still anger them as you need to have high enough taxes to push them to said service.
The next matter is one that would need to be delicately handled lest you'll face another full noble rebellion. You don't think the empire could function if it'll lose four fifths of the remaining administrators and bureaucrats of the empire.
This matter is protection for the commoners, while more than three centuries have passed since you were a normal Keku farmer you still remember that such a life is always at the mercy of the local lord who more often than not could do as they wished.
Writing down some minimal protection for the common Keku will make you beloved by the masses and go a long way to quieting any unrest -up to a point of course- but will also massively piss off the nobles.
If you don't wish to face a rebellion you must give the nobles something, preferably land.
Of course, an errant thought squashed before it could be uttered angers no one.
The common men.
[] minimal protection- write minimal protections to the common Keku, reducing the influence of the nobles and winning the masses to your side but also massively angering the nobles.
[] as it was, so its shell be- table this idea for now and come back to it in a few decades when the situation is as unstable.
The last matter is mostly a formality.
You could grant the title of Tentaku to all cultivators making them all landless nobles. This would have very little practical effect other than slightly increasing the soft powers of cultivators and even though the existing nobles wouldn't like it wouldn't lead to anything.
There is no real reason not to do it. but if you wish to give the common Keku the protection of the law against nobles it would be best to not rub salt on those wounds and do it later.
Do you grant the title of Tentaku to the cultivators under you?
[] yes.
[] no.
I wanted to have this done earlier but it just wasn't having it, anyway as there are a lot of options and they do affect one another at least some, this vote is in a plan format. As always, I'm around for question if you have any.
In your long life you have come to find that time is often subjective.
And so, as you sit in your private chambers going over the reports of the past decade it feels as if it was just yesterday you ascended to your throne.
But a decade has passed and you are now one step closer to the end.
Currently you estimate that the apocalypse will start anywhere between 9-29 decades (turns) from now.
And as your information about the crises is almost nonexistent you cannot estimate how prepared you are for the coming crisis.
And can only hope that the actions in the past decade have pushed you closer to survival.
The first matter is one of law.
With the resources invested and your personal attention to the project you can safely say that the current laws are of excellent quality taking into account regional cultures and problems to reduce friction, increase the harmonization of the empire and make administering it less of a challenge.
The only thing left to do is to spread the book to all corners of the empire. You suspect that it will take some time to make the transition, about 2 decades of it for most of the work to be done.
Your decision to lower the taxes would see the treasury reduced but already you get reports of some celebration's arising in your honor by the common Keku for both this and the granting of protection -however minor- in the eyes of the law.
- Lose "the laws of an empire" modifier and gain the "law reform" modifier for 1 turn and after then replace it with the "Book of laws (excellent)" which starts at half strength and slowly increases to its maximum potential.
- Base economic power decreases to 200 due to low level of taxation.
- Major reduction in unrest and opinion boost with the common Keku.
Law reform.
"A wide scale reform is a chaotic project and it will take some time for people to get used to the new conditions and until they do, their work will suffer."
-30% administrative efficiency, increased chance of random negative events.
Book of laws (excellent).
"The work of yourself and the finest servants of the empire you could have gathered, this set of law's takes into account hundreds of different factors to customize the laws to the local situation and give it some needed adaptability to handle unknown factors which may or may not pop-up"
The second report is about the mending of the organization destroyed or vastly harmed by your conquest.
Things are going well, the messenger guilds are fully reformed and their numbers are increasing, new rest stops have also been constructed to help with the need of swiftly delivering messages and news to all parts of the empire.
Likewise, the garrisons are once again ready to stand in the defense of their home and to help with enforcing the new laws, under the command of loyal officers who fought under you in the unification war.
Recovering the spy rings will take some more time as new spy are needed to be trained wholecloth and new contacts must be found but thankfully such will not require more funding or at least not enough to come across your desk.
- The garrison and messengers shattering penalty is halved and will be completely gone by the end of next turn. Improving administrative efficiency and increasing order and security.
- The spy's will have their penalty halved at the end of next turn and the turn after will end (the penalty will go away in the start turn 4). This requires no further investment.
The next report contains worse tidings.
In the start of the decade, you have sent out hunting parties to root out any all-rebel partisan presence and to foil any action they might attempt.
Unfortunately, even with their attention focused mostly on the latter many small actions of sabotage and assassination have been carried out across the empire disturbing matters and just generally making your life your life difficult.
All culminating in the assassination of Bekbe, one of the more successful and loved governors under you.
Thankfully, many more such attempts have been foiled by the work of the hunting parties sent out.
In brighter news, with the massive reduction in unrest it seems that the rebels are having trouble in finding new recruits for their cause, so even with the relative lack of successes in rooting them out, progress has been made and their numbers are slowly but surely decreasing.
- Minor acts of sabotage and unrest have lowered economic growth, have reduced administrative efficiency and lowered taxing efficiency for the turn.
- The assassination of one of your governors has worsened the "lack of administrators" problem.
- Strength remains the same but support has fallen from very high-low depending on the location to high-non depending on location and an average of low across the provinces.
The next matter is a general report of the empire affairs.
As expected, the lack of Keku with which to rule the empire has dearly hurt any effort to meaningfully attempt at efficient and quick ruling.
But an attempt has been made all the same.
And it seems that the effort has been well placed as several trade disputes have been mediated and stopped from becoming a larger problem.
- The negative event "trade disputes" have been negated by the high funding assigned to rule the empire competently.
Your steward spent much of the decade scraping up any and all suitable Keku into the task of administering the empire.
Your decision to land your disciples and his efforts have somewhat stemmed the wound and supplied much needed labor and oversight to the empire land.
Unfortunately, rebel assassinations and the noble fiasco have wiped most of the gains made leaving you in much of the same position as you started in.
The new academy has also opened its doors and even though it needed all of the treasury reserves to do so, it now trains just barely enough new bureaucrats that the situation is at least not degrading.
- Make good progress on the "lack of administrators" problem... and then have most of it wiped away by events and choices.
- The status of the "lack of administrators" rises to stable- slight degradetion.
Over the years a small amount of funds has been directed towards the treasury to be used should delays or opportunities arise.
Your steward Netik used those funds to avoid delaying the opening of the academy from a lack of teachers.
- Negates delays due to bad roll in the "unseen ruler's" action
Knowing that you'll soon face a noble rebellion, you have devised a plan.
Under the guise of teaching the sons of noble families the secrets of cultivation, you have gathered a large amount of their sons and hairs and confined them to be used as hostages.
Predictably, not long after a rebellion erupted but with little ability to move the peasantry and most nobles refraining for the safety of their family it was crushed swiftly and mercilessly.
At the end another forth of the nobles all lie dead and the three fourth are as pissed at as they could be.
But with their sons and family members held hostage they could do little to openly possess you.
By your action you have prevented a large-scale rebellion and all it had cost you was the hatred of the current generation -and probably the next too- of nobles.
- A good roll has prevented wide scale rebellions due to your choices but you still had to strike down a fourth of the nobles.
- The "lack of administrators" problem is worsened.
- The noble opinion of you is now "hatred" and it will stay that way for at least 5 turn's.
The past decade has seen more than one advancement but alas nothing noteworthy.
- +1 advancement point
The last report is from your daughter.
She has spent the last decade organizing and overseeing the recruiting and training of four hundred and seventy-three new cultivators of the first step. If not for your decision to switch to an apprentice-master style of training she could have probably trained ten times this number.
But at least the quality of their refinement is stable and high, not as high as yours or your direct disciples but good enough.
An interesting note is that with an ability to check for talent and your low number of recruits only the best found are accepted ensuring that they will cultivate faster than their predecessors who didn't care for such things.
In the last decade seventy-nine Keku have attempted to reach the second step, three have succeeded and seventy-six have either died or been crippled.
- A net of 394 new 1st step cultivators.
- A net of 3 new 2nd step cultivators.
You have spent the last decade cultivating in the few free moments you had.
Carefully and diligently gathering the needed Qi to construct a pillar and imbuing in with the concept of teaching.
You are about hallway into your efforts to construct your sixth pillar another decade and it'll be complete.
- +1 progress to the creation of the "sixth pillar" now at (1/2).
Much of your time this decade has been dedicated to working on drafting the new laws of your empire.
A special tree that consumes Qi and a rune amplifying its effect has given you a crude way to check for one's talent.
Allowing you to focus your effort on those with a higher potential.
And with you choosing to reduce the number of disciples trained at once this has only become more important.
You have also discovered a new cultivation discipline (artificing) that holds great promise, waiting only to be grasped.
- See mid turn 1: inspartion.
And so, a decade has passed in but the blink of an eye and the end has inched ever so closer but your work is not yet done.
As there are two new matters to resolve.
First, with the empire now at least stable and on the recovery, it is time to decide what will be your focus for the foreseeable future.
There many ways you can guide the development of the empire from wide sweeping reforms to precise and fast paced developments.
[] Economic focus.
You'll have your empire focus on expanding, more farms, more roads, more cities, more trade, more population, just more of everything.
You'll do your best to ensure that the economic power of the empire grows.
Choosing this focus will open large infrastructure megaprojects to improve the empire.
[] Knowledge focus.
Knowledge will win the day and you'll ensure you have as much of it as you can. Expending the education of the masses and increasing the funding for experiments.
Choosing this focus will open different ways to gain extra advancement dice.
[] Martial focus.
The end comes and when it does you'll meet it with thunder and steel.
Choosing this focus will see you expending both the training and number of your military as well as special reforms.
[] Stabilizing focus.
Although stable and recovering, more could be done to ensure the empire's stability.
Choosing this focus increases the efforts to heal the empire's current woes.
A focus is -as should be obvious- what you're focusing upon, in this case it affects the kind of empire actions you get to do and vote upon, a focus lasts anywhere from 4-6 turns or until its completed.
You do get actions outside of your focus but they would be more uncommon and some actions are unique to certain focuses, for example if you choose the knowledge focus you'll get an action that lets you exchange money to advancement point/dice.
When you finish a focus, you also gain a culture point, we'll get to what they do when you get one but they basically give certain buses and maluses depending on their type and strength.
The next is more of an opportunity than something that must be resolved.
It seems that a significant minority of your disciples have found a love of teaching the new generation and have petitioned to make it their permanent job.
Such an agreement has obvious benefits, mainly the fact that such will lead to specialization and greater experience in teaching and make them better able to train new cultivators, increasing the numbers and quality of new recruits.
Of course, this will fully occupy their time and so you will lose some of the free labor they can provide.
[] Allow the petition. (-1 AP for cultivation actions but gain a passive and growing recruitment of first step cultivators).
[] Reject the petition. (Nothing happens).
Alright so with this we finish the first turn at about 7k words. I would like to hear what people think so far, what's good, what's bad what you think can be improved and how. in general, I would apricate any and all feedback you may have.
The following vote is a regular one so no need for plans and I also don't think I need a moratorium for this (honestly at this point I think that they actually hurt engagement).
I'll update the empire sheet either later today or tomorrow when I have the time. in the mean time feel free to ask me question's and I hope you enjoyed.
Far from the city, deep in the forest there is a house built on a large tree.
It is not the only house built there but it is the biggest.
For this house, houses the council of elders and is located precisely in the middle of the place of power so that those old and powerful Keku would gain the most out of the place and be able to reach heights beyond.
It is here that the council of elders gathers to greet someone that is even older than them.
Here they greet their teacher, Shikatu, it is here that they report their progress on this or that project asking for guidance from their master.
And it is here that they share whatever nugget of wisdom they acquire from their mediations and searching.
And it is here that the three new second steps are weaker than they should be.
And the reason for it.
Techniques.
The first step is a journey of the body, where every small step corresponds to greater strength.
But the second step is a path of the mind for the energy that now sits around the heart of the cultivator is nothing without the will and skill to wield it.
A difficult task for a youngling who can't rely on the wisdom of age and the knowledge of time.
And that is what the new second steps are.
Younglings barely past their fourth decade.
It is here that techniques could help the new second steps.
Regimented ways to make Qi flow in ever more esoteric patterns.
A technique gives in power what it loses in versatility.
And it is power that you need.
Such techniques would also increase the power of the older second steps as they are forced to spend less will and Qi to achieve the same effects with freeform manipulation.
The council of elders have already started to rectify the issue but as they are busy with many other responsibilities it would take time to create a comprehensive technique library.
Once more sitting on your thorn, you listen as your advisers and experts -what few you could scrounge up- list the various projects judged worthy to receive investment and effort by the government. (Order in property level from high to bottom).
[1] education for the masses. (Locked as priority number 1).
Your biggest problem in acquiring the necessary workforce of administrator's bureaucrats, governors, tax collectors and law Keku is the lack of an educated populace, while the academy was a good first step it problem became apparent soon enough.
There just aren't enough Keku with the necessary education and knowledge to be able to reasonably apply and if you wish to solve your shortage of bureaucrats it is this problem you must solve.
And it is no small problem.
After considerable discussions and debates it was decided that the best course of action was to start creating an education system for young Keku, to teach the necessary knowledge to later in life apply for the job you need them for.
This will not be easy.
Evan if you give it your maximum focus you would not even completely finish in the biggest centers of population.
As the nature of this project means that you will not see immediate returns from it, and the vital nature of it, it must be your top priority.
[] research bounties.
In this world there are very few motivators stronger than money and wealth. And of those few none are as easy to direct as it.
And if there is anything the empire isn't lacking is money.
So, use it.
The creation of bunties for useful inventions would spur people to create them at the chance of getting the prize.
Although the more you pay, the more charlatans would try to deceive you.
Investing as much as you can (OCC: this refers to putting the option as number 2 as priority number 1 is locked in) would see you make great strides in technological advancements, how much exactly is difficult to estimate and you can be sure that at this level many would try to deceive your testers to get the prize.
Reduced investment would of course see less progress, with the minimum investment even having the chance of showing none.
But whatever money you spend will likely be spent more efficiently as the number of charlatans would lower.
[] Competent ruling.
Focusing on the day-to-day decision of the empire and dispatching enough funds to take care of the small problems would ensure -or at least increase the chance- that no new problems or crises arise.
A maximum investment is unnecessary as that amount of resources cannot be efficiently spent on this endeavor and would go to waste.
But a minimal investment is likewise not recommended as it would allow for small problems to grow under your beak and turn into bigger ones in an already unstable time.
[] expending the academy (diversity).
The academy you have built in the last decade has been a start, a good start but a start non the least for replenishing the bureaucrats' numbers to a point where you can efficiently rule the empire.
But it isn't enough to do more than tread water as both the expansion of the empire and retiring Keku means that no real progress is made.
The easiest solution is to expand the academy and hopefully with the basic education you are pushing forward you'll have a base deep enough to draw from.
But there is also an opportunity here, while you expand the academy you can also spend funds to diversify its teaching subject and make it into a true university of higher learning and start building a pool of experts in different -and important- fields.
A maximum investment will see you cramming any and all subject's that may be important either now or in the future for the improving of the empire, of course such a wide expansion which draws from the same pool of educated Keku will see less Keku learning to be administrator's but that is a price you can pay.
A lowered investment will see less subjects make the final cut and as such would also lessen the draw of educated Keku to other fields.
And a minimal investment would see little more than medicine -by your personal request- add to the curriculum.
[] Rebel hunting.
In the last decade, many plots of rebel's cells were foiled and stopped.
Unfortunately, not all were stopped in time and many acts of sabotage and assassination were successfully carried out, the biggest one being the assassination of an imperial governor.
With the lowered support the rebel's recruitment is down and so now is the time to root them out stem and branch, of course your agents would still work to foil any nefarious plan they may be up to but this time they will be more focused on actually rooting the rebels out.
As the nature of this operation requires contact with the enemy, it's hard to say how much progress would be made aside from the fact that the more funding and resources directed to it the better.
[] taming the land.
If you wish to truly succeed in staving off the end, you will need resources and a lot of them.
The easiest to acquire and -arguably- the most useful is food.
In your empire there are vast stretches of wilderness, it would take time and resources to tame them but the land is valuable for farming and extra food isn't the only thing you'll get as cotton and other money crops would do well to drive up your tax income.
And the only thing you need to do is pay and ensure enough Keku have the tools and expertise to settle and tend the land.
A maximum investment would see a vast amount of land coming under cultivation which would see a corresponding growth in tax income but isn't recommended for the toll it would take on your empire as thousands of working Keku leave the cities for the attractive opportunity you offer.
A minimal investment is likewise unadvised but more because you're not likely to see any meaningful progress out of it than any inherent danger.
And as such you must strike a balance between investing so much that you may hurt the overall economy while trying to bolster it to investing so little that you make no real progress.
[] An egg nests.
A decade is a long time and many unexpected costs could rack up.
From simple delays and obstacles for projects to exciting opportunities to sudden crises.
Having an egg nest to draw resources from so you won't need to compromise in other more costly way's is a good idea.
And if it isn't used it's quite easy (if fairly inefficient) to assign it to struggling projects.
Maximum investment is unnecessary and would even be harmful as too much funds and influence are saved rather than spent to further your goals.
A minimal investment while not ideal isn't the worst thing (especially with all the other pressing concerns) but it would mean that should delays occur or opportunities arise your ability to capitalize or resolve them without compromising other concerns is minimal.
The last decade saw both the fast expansion of the number of cultivators and also the expansion of their reasonability's (1 AP).
Teachers: it is expected that around 200 new 1st step cultivators would be recruited and trained this decade.
[] Recruiting- if you wish to have a hope of survival the current number of disciples is pitiful, your disciples would focus on going out and training potential cultivators in order to find new talents and increase their number. With a crude but passable way to determine talent you can now weed out the untalented. Increasing the power and quality of your new disciples.
[] Documenting places of power- places of power are an anomaly, you have spent very little time actually researching them and so know very little about them aside that the affluent Qi presence can speed your cultivation efforts, sending your disciples to document all the places of power in the world would be a first step toward understanding them. And as a benefit it would allow for outposts for cultivators in high Qi places allowing for faster growth even when they are out on missions.
[] Hunting- the rebels who oppose you and nip at your talons are hidden in one of two ways. They are either hidden within the population or set up in places which are hard to reach and remote which make it hard to find them. your disciples are no better at finding the first then mortals but places that are inconvenient and remote for mortals are rarely that for cultivators. Sending a few to hunt and dispose of the rebels would greatly reduce their strength allowing your government to focus on other things.
[] Research (mutually exclusive with sharing wisdom)- those who sought you out and became your disciples were of a certain type of Keku, those who had curiosity in their hearts and a thirst for knowledge. They are now old Keku and have in their time acquired much experience and knowledge, put them to use with advancing the knowledge base of your empire either teaching their wisdom to others or creating some useful innovation. (OOC: this basically gives you an additional advancement dice)
[] Looking for enlightenment cultivation as a concept is relatively unknown, with all of your knowledge coming from either your or your older disciples' experiments. But your knowledge is lacking and there are many unknowns. Have your disciples try to invite new concepts that either help or push your knowledge of cultivation further. (OOC: you get a cultivation advancement dice which can give you many tasteful things)
[] Push forward- your disciples have their own cultivation to pursue and they will do so regardless but giving them more time to do so would allow them to make more progress)
[] Sharing wisdom (mutually exclusive with research)- those who sought you out and became your disciples were of a certain type of Keku, those who had curiosity in their hearts and a thirst for knowledge. They are now old Keku and have in their time acquired much experience and knowledge, having them share their wisdom and help with the burdens of administration would go a long way to help the empire run more smoothly for a time.
[] Wandering sages- in the good times, before you foresaw the apocalypse that is to come, the students who sought you out, were scholars at heart and although each had a different purpose for doing so almost all of them had a great thirst for knowledge. It was this knowledge that they passed down to their new students and it was this knowledge that could be used to speed up some of your plans. Sending your cultivators to roam the countryside and teach the populace would at the very least ensure a minimal level of education would be passed down outside major population centers and make the eventual excision of the proposed education system to the countryside easier.
[] The sharp edge of knowledge- after much deliberation and meditation, your older disciples have come to the conclusion that the relative lack of combat techniques is the largest factor in holding back their combat potential. Giving them leave to focus on developing an arsenal of techniques would ensure that they are ready to face whatever may come. Unfortunately, in this case your innate understanding is working against you as you skip whole parts when casting your own techniques making them unsuitable for your general students.
A long decade is awaiting you, there is much to do and not enough time to do it all (3 personal AP).
[] Push higher- your power alone would not save you or your kind, but more power would certainly be useful so push ahead on this path that you've created oh so long ago.
-[] Ascend- you can feel it, you've reached a point where you can once more reach higher. Push ahead, face the wrath of heaven once more and pray you're ready.
-[] Mediation on the self (may be taken more than once)- the wrath of heaven is powerful and cunning, it will strike at any weakness you show, take a time to know your falling and put your mind at peace to help with the tribulation you will face. (This action will give a big bonus if you take it on the turn, you attempt the tribulation otherwise it would give a small but stackable bonus).
-[] A sixth pillar (1/2 AP to complete)- your instincts tell you that you may still push further in your current step, so take the time to gather the Qi needed to construct a new pillar in your soul. Giving you a new and powerful tool.
-[] study (artifice)- a new path opens itself before you, travels down its length and attempts to pry whatever secrets it holds.
-[] Seek insight from the world (choose pillar)(may be taken more than once)- five pillars you've erected in your soul, but they are not just constructs of Qi in each of them there is a Truth of the world. Meditation can draw those truths out but to look within you must look without and seek the inspiration that would advance your understanding and give a new insight for one of your pillars.
[] Glimpse the future- you have a gift, a gift that no other has. It has set you on this path and you must both hone and use it, to see the end of this path. Cast your eyes into the future and the apocalypse to come and attempt to draw any piece of information that might give you an advantage.
-[] Pin down the date- currently you know that the apocalypse will start anywhere between a century to three from now, attempt to pin down when it would actually start so you may better prepare.
-[] The nature of the beast- you know almost nothing about what's to come besides an unending tide of beast's, attempting to understand the coming apocalypse.
-[] The tide- in your vision you saw many types of beast's, small and big, deformed and consisting of perfect form. Attempt to more correctly ascertain what it is that you'll be fighting.
[] The burdens of an emperor- a farmer son of a farmer turned into a sage, you never thought, nor wanted the burden of rule but here you are with a crown upon your head.
-[] To rule well- taking the time to listen to your subordinates and subjects as well as taking care of the small problems that arise would free your subordinates from the need to do it. (OOC: basically, the competent ruling action -from the government actions- is considered completed and doesn't need to be taken.)
[] The burdens of a teacher- you have come to enjoy teaching, but the very act gives you a certain obligation to those you teach.
-[] To teach the next generations- you're going to need many more cultivators to face the end that comes, and you have taught many, do so again and help train the defenders of the future.
-[] The next step- you have many students pushing for the next step in their journey, take the time to share your wisdom and guide them in surviving the tribulation.
Right, here is turn 2, the vote is in plan format and as always, I'm available for questions.
And lucky that you caught it so soon after it happened.
From what you managed to gather it all started when a young Keku -barley in his second decade- by the name of Tark tried to gather a basketful of fruits from a wild grove he knew was on the other side of the valley his village was located at, to mitigate some of the consequences of a bad harvest.
An innocent action born only from the wish to provide for one, loved one's.
The only problem was that in time past the village was part of the Keknktia kingdom while the grove was in the Tatke kingdom, two rival nations which saw common conflict between themselves.
Needless to say, there was little love lost between the two sides.
After a few uneventful trips he encountered a group from a different village.
Who upon seeing him became angered.
For you see the grove wasn't as wild as it seems and the village the group belonged to would occasionally care for it and pluck its offering.
When they learned he was from across the -now defunct- border they beat him half to death.
Going so far as to break his legs.
When this youth managed to return to his home and tell his family what has happened.
His father gathered a few of his friend's, found and killed the one who beat his son so badly -and a few others who defended them-.
In response his village was raided by relatives and friends of those who were killed.
The result of that was a few deaths on both sides, a lot more injuries and a few burnt fields.
In response to the raid, the keku of the village called upon friends and acquaintances in other villages for help in counter raiding the second village.
Thankfully, this is where you intervened and stopped the fighting, at least for now.
A single letter, a single report from the governor about increased tensions that would have otherwise gone unnoticed has brought you here.
Yet even as you caught it early before the situation could escalate any further.
You can see in the faces of the villagers and citizens of the town's you visited.
The harm is already done.
And you could only hope the fire doesn't grow.
Unrest increases, progress is made toward "cultural tensions" problem, effect reduced by personal attention.
As a teacher you are closely aware of how much a good education can change a person.
Knowledge is power after all.
Which is why it is such a shame that education is out of the reach of so many.
Not that you are surprised that this is the status quo.
After all, education and learning are one of the way's the nobles used to keep power over their subjects.
Well, no more.
your agents are already working on plans to change this matter and although it would only be a start, a start is what you need.
But before such plans can start a few matters must be decided.
The first is a matter of funding or more correctly a question of who'll provide said funding.
Early on in this project you've decided to only charge a token sum off those who wish to learn as doing otherwise would be counter to your ambition to bring education to the masses.
But such a policy has a downside, the token payments, while enough to defray some of the costs of maintaining the school and paying the teachers, aren't enough to cover most of the cost.
And that means that someone else must pay.
In this you have two options.
The first and easiest one is to pay yourself.
Your empire can bear the cost fairly easily… for now, the current plans only cover the largest cities and even then, do not plan for full cover, expansions for the proposed system would also come from your pocket and in such a case the burden may prove heavier than what your treasury can bear.
The second one is to make local authorities pay for it.
While they are less affluent than the empire as a whole, the fact each one would only bear a fraction of the total cost combined with the advantage of their local knowledge and connections would make the cost easy to bear even in the face of massive expansion.
Of course, making local authorities pay for it wouldn't endear you to them and might even make a few enemies.
There is a third option.
But you aren't sure of its viability.
You could split the cost between your treasury and local authorities.
Yet such a course of action may have the downsides of both options without any of the upsides.
[] pay out of pocket.
[] ensure local authorities pay for it.
[] split the cost two ways.
The next matter is a matter of culture.
Or more specifically the matter of cultural teaching.
The lands of the empire are vast and filled with many cultures.
Allowing the school to teach about local history and culture would lower unrest as the fear of teaching foreign ways will subside.
But it will also slow the creation of a singular cultural identity for your empire and ensure old grievances are still remembered.
[] allow the teaching of local culture, reducing unrest.
[] disallow the teaching of local culture making progress toward resolving the "cultural tensions" problem and slowly reduce the chance of it firing.
Alright, this is out later then I wanted too but last week was quite busy so I didn't have the time to write. But its out now so on with the show!
We don't need plan voting for this vote as its only two options that don't affect each other too much. As always I'm open to question's so don't be afraid to ask if you have something.
6 months huh? That's a lot of time. I won't bore you with the details of why I didn't update for such a long time but I'm back and hopefully this time I won't stop for half a year.
Vik would be the first to admit he wasn't much of a cultivator.
Only getting to the refined body stage in his late fifties after more than thirty years of cultivation wasn't a great achievement.
Especially not when some of the new students have achieved this stage in less of a decade.
Not that he minded it much normally.
No, Vik knew exactly what his purpose in life was.
It was this exact purpose which got him to meet Shikatu oh so long ago.
The road called out for Vik's soul and he could do nothing but follow it.
Even now he was doing what he loved most, traveling this wild world and seeing many new and exciting things.
The last three years has seen Vik travel from the far north to the far south and anywhere in-between.
All in the search of wondrous sights and -perhaps more importantly- the presence of places of power.
So far Vik has found six.
Each one stranger and more wonderful than the last.
From caves filled with shining gems to swamps filed with deadly wildlife.
Each place of power he encountered was documented in his journal, its properties studied and its location noted for later pursual
Truly, Vik has seen many strange things in the last couple of years.
And yet this may be the strangest of them all.
Far to the south amidst the endless shifting sand of the desert a small oasis could be found.
This oasis was different from its brothers, its water was clearer and more refreshing, the vegetation was healthier and the sun scorching heat seemed to pass over it leaving a refreshing and cool atmosphere.
It was obvious this place was a place of power.
But it wasn't that much different than the dozen or so Vik documented himself.
No, the difference this time was the natives.
It wasn't too weird to see a population center around a place of power, most of the time the benefits of such a place drew ancient tribes to settle around it.
No, the weirdness was in their hostility.
Not too long after he showed up, twenty armed Keku surrounded him.
Even now they glanced at his bound form with caution and restrained hostility.
Now, Vik may not be the best cultivator around, he may not even be an average one but he is still one, and should have had no problem dispatching -or at least escaping- a few mortals.
Except… they weren't mortals.
They were cultivators.
Vik never heard of cultivators not under the leadership of the great teacher.
And yet… here they are.
Small in number they may be but they are cultivators and they represent a threat Vik must report… if he could escape his current predicament that is.
While Vik was lost in his own thought he was escorted through the oasis to a small hut near the small lake of the oasis.
When Vik and his escorts reached the hut Vik was pushed toward the door and told to enter.
As he did so he noticed that none of his escorts moved to follow him as if they worried he could escape.
And when he felt the old Keku seated in the hut he could tell why.
The old Keku sitting next to a freshly heated pot of tea emanated the same pressure as the elders back in the main compound of Vik's order.
The aura of a second step cultivator.
With a motion of his wing the old Keku beaconed Vik to sit next to him.
"Come, we have much to talk about".
You contemplate the latter you've just read.
You've been in the middle of lunch when a courier dashed into your chambers carrying a high priority letter.
In your decade and a half or so of rule you've only received perhaps two letters of high priority, one informing you on the possibility of a minor famine due to mismanagement and the other about the assassination of a governor about a decade back, so you were a tad worried.
But nothing prepared you for this.
To think that there are independent cultivators out there.
Well, no it isn't that surprising, not all whom you taught in the century before becoming the emperor stayed with you so it isn't surprising that they exist.
What is surprising though is that they menged to internalize enough of your teaching to teach it to others.
And to reach such numbers.
The scout reports attached to the latter implies that there are at least two second step cultivators in the oasis they found and close to seventy first steps.
And if you were to trust the words of their leader there were at least four more locations with equal organization's -or sects as they call themselves.
Regardless of the truth of the matter you must decide what to do with this new information, you cannot leave such a force alone.
But there is something to be gained here.
With the latter comes an offer from the sects.
They offer to bend the knee and be sworn into your empire peacefully, paying a token amount of taxes as tribute and be available to call as Keku at wings when the needs arise.
For this they require recognition, rights, certain freedoms and ownership of the lands surrounding their compounds.
Signing this agreement would make them vessels to your empire, owned by it but not part of it.
From a monetary point you won't gain much if anything but from a military perspective you'll gain a third again your cultivator numbers which is a respectable number even if they are undoubtedly weaker on a one-to-one basis.
They would also continue recruiting and expending hastening the total numbers of new cultivators that arise every decade.
Of course, they will also represent a new power block you must listen to and keep happy, as they have enough power to resist in some meaningful manner.
Alternatively, you can not only grant them their request but also grant them rule over the province in which they live.
Doing so will help blunt the lack of clerks and administrators in the empire as well as lower the sects rate of advance, you would lose a small amount of tax but would effectively see more resources as the administrative burden on the empire lowers.
Of course, doing so will grant the sect economic power and influence beyond their small compounds which will increase the power they can bring to bear.
Another option is to simply absorb them, former students of you that they are you are frilly certain that you could convince most of them to rejoin the fold.
Doing so will increase you own cultivators' numbers (although a few will probably disappear) and ensure that any new ones are of the highest quality.
Of course, there is strength in diversity and different organizations could come with different ideas which would otherwise not be found.
[] grant the sect's request. (gain the five sects as a vassal faction)
[] grant the sects request but also appoint them as strewed of the lands around them. (Gain the five sects as a vassal faction. Improve the "lack of administers" problem but lower economic power)
[] absorbed them. (the five sects' faction is dissolved and most of their numbers join you).
Well, you've met your first faction. So now that begs the question of what is a faction.
Basically, think of them as the "other players" as they have their own problems and actions.
And are basically outside powers (although they could be internal) which you must interact with.
Most nations would be considered as faction's.
Day by day.
Week by week.
Year by year.
You have slowly gathered more and more Qi and shaped it into a pillar.
And now two decade since you've begun your sixth pillar is almost complete.
Steeped with the meaning of teaching.
Of passing down your knowledge to the new generation.
There is only one last thing you must do.
And that is to inscribe your own personal understanding of what teaching is and complete the pillar.
Pick your insight.
[] "a teacher's duty is to defend his student's and ensure they can learn in peace" when attempting to defend a student (IE: someone you've taught) reality itself will conspire to see your efforts successful.
[] "teacher to student, there is a heavy bond in this relationship, a bond that passes through generations for what is a teacher student's but students to that teacher, teacher? Gain a connection to all of your students and their students and their students and so forth to the ninth generation, this connection allows you to ascertain their status at time (general level of health and general location) and may allow more with further experimentation.
[] "teaching is nothing but the conveying of concept to another person the pinnacle of teaching is to convey the most with the least amount of word's" your students are better able to comprehending your teachings, gaining a small bonus to their learning and allowing the teaching of advanced concept's without certain requirements.
AN: As it has been some time you can check this threadmark for the description of the action done this turn. Now this end turn doesn't have any votes so the actual turn post should only take a day or two I do hope you'll enjoy and feel free to offer criticism or advice if you have any or just ask question's as I'm always open to them.
With that out of the way I've just got to say that your tribulation rolls were just fucked this turn. Oh also it'll take me a little bit of time to actually edit and update all of the informational (honestly I might just do it tomorrow) so they'll be a bit outdated but tall the information (or most of it) about the changes is already in this update so I don't think it'll matter much.
Another decade has passed and with it the apocalypse is ever closer.
With the help of your divination you estimate that the apocalypse will start anywhere between 11-26 decades (turns) from now.
As your information about the crises is almost nonexistent you cannot estimate how prepared you are for the coming crisis. But the being you saw in your visions does not spell good fortune.
You can only hope that the actions in the past decade have pushed you closer to survival.
The ongoing law reforms have finally reached its end, with both the people of the empire and (perhaps more importantly) the judges and rulers now aware of both their right duties and the things they are prohibited from. Lose modifier ongoing law reform and gain the book of law (excellent) modifier.
It also seems that your part in managing and heading this reform (more like creation) of law has increased your skill at managing large organizations (that and ruling an empire for the last two decades). your management skill has increased to high.
-[X] education for the masses.
Over the past decade's you have both constructed and requited teacher's for more than a dozen school's (by the end of the decade the number of schools opened stood at 47) where hundreds of young Keku learn many foundational subjects from writing and reading to multiplication to philosophy -although to a far lesser extent than the other subject's.
With the right for local culture to be included in the teaching – put in the book of law as part of the basic rights of all Keku- the school's have all been welcomed by the communities they were opened in -surprisingly most of the noble's also welcomed them- in fact your popularity with the common Keku (and your very public endorsement of the school's) seems to have created a great interest in many a parent to have their child's attend such schools.
So much interest that many so-called "private" schools were created to meet the demand adding another thousand or so to the number of young Keku attending a school.
Your biggest problem in the creation of the schools was actually in sourcing enough teachers to manage a 1:60 teacher to student ratio (and there are even some places that have fallen short of that) the situation is so bad that a significant portion of the teachers hired in the last year are Keku who been taught in similar schools who have since then graduated for your university (or the few other that exist).
In total around twenty-five thousand young keku are enrolled in a school with around seven thousand graduating from its three-year curriculum every year.
Many -but not all- of those who graduate then attend university normally with the empire sponsorship.
-the minor universal education system has been added to institutions slowly making progress toward the literate populace modifier and increasing the number of "educated" keku in the empire. It currently has no other bonuses and costs 9 (previously 10 but sponsorships defray some of the cost's) Effective economic power. -[X] expanding the academy (diversity).
The creation of an education system, even as small as it currently is, has massively increased the number of Keku who could apply to the academy.
And with the massive funding the academy received the majority were accepted.
A large part has gone to learn the skills needed for an administrator.
But the vast majority has gone to study the many other subject's the university has now offered.
Over the last decade many a subject were picked to become a part of the classes the university offered. With the academy now offering classes for anything between medicine to poetry.
Over a scant few years many niche field's had their number of experts multiplied several times over.
The benefit of a place where the brightest minds can gather to learn and teach has been proven readily when only a scent few years into the opening of the medicine wing of the university it has published new and more effective medical practices to the treating of serious illnesses, some even unknown to you.
-the imperial university has been added to the notable institution section, it costs 1 effective economic power to mention and adds an advancement dice… which then promptly rolled a minor advancement.
- the problem "lack of administrators" has had its trajectory changed to stable and an estimate of 13 turns until it is solved.
-[X] Rebel hunting.
Following efforts from the last decade and your surging popularity with the masses many a rebel was brought to justice.
It's difficult to know how much rebels are still in operation as they can quite easily sink in the population around them -although many were reported to your agents- but you can quite safely say that progress has been made.
Unfortunately, enough strength remains to have made certain projects difficult. As much of the past decade has been spent by the rebels to burn fields and attempt to choke economic growth. Perhaps the only silver line is that such actions have sapped their support base and occupied them from trying to assassinate too many of your clerks and administrators -that and getting more bodyguards for important positions.
-rebels support reduced to medium-none and trending to very low. Rebel strength is now ???.
- rebels' actions have slowed down economic growth by as much as 40% as many new fields filled with both food and cash crops were burnt to the ground.
-[X] taming the land.
The process of taming new lands for cultivation (the normal kind) is a long and difficult project made all the worse by the constant interference of the rebels.
And it all started so well. But at last.
From the hundreds of new farms that should have been constructed this decade only a few dozen have been completed, not martialing the economic growth that was hoped for.
Thankfully, much of the work hasn't gone totally to waste and with the treasuries covering the losses of many of the new farmers who lost their crops the work was only delayed and with further effort not only should all the farms planned for this stage be open but even more would bring land under cultivation.
-thanks to rebel actions your base economic power has only grown by 6 (this includes natural growth not included in this action).
-fourtenalyy -and with spending the found from your nest egg- the effort has not gone to waste and it would only take minimal investment to make the progress the rebel has disrupted.
-[X] research bounties.
With the active help of the bureaucracy (and your personal attention) many charlatans were caught before claiming a bounty and wasting your money's worth.
Asid from the large number of snake oil sellmans that tried to claim a bounty, many of the bounties posted were claimed. Although there doesn't seem to be anything eye-catching, everything is useful in at least a small way.
-gain an advancement point.
-[X] An egg nest.
Much of the free coin in the treasury has been spent to cover the losses of new farmers to ensure they don't give up on their new land.
And from the reports you received, it seems to have achieved its purpose.
-see taming the land for results.
-[X] Competent ruling.
The last decade has been fairly quiet aside from rebel actions. The bureaucracy is running as smoothly as it can with its current clawpower shortage and there have been very little problems that have arisen.
Most of the focus has been on directing the various funds to the farmer and determining who actually meets the requirements and how much they need.
A lesser focus has been given to overseeing the research grant which has reduced the number of charlatans who managed to claim one.
-no problem in the last decade. Temporary administrative efficiency used this turn.
-[X] cultivators' actions.
--[X] Documenting places of power
The last decade has seen you students range far and wide in search of places of power.
In the process of this search, you re-established contact with some previous students of yours and have granted them their request. Gaining them as vassals.
The search itself has gone well about sixty-seven such centers have been identified and documented. Your agents now have places they can use to further advance their cultivation while they are out on a mission.
Unfortunately, little has been found about the place of power of a whole, your agents mostly focusing on finding them then surveying them thoroughly. But some patterns have emerged nonetheless.
Out of the sixty-seven centers of power sixty-five have been found next to large Keku habitation. It is not yet clear if the center of power was the reason for the inhibition or if the inhabitation is the reason for the center of power.
-sixty-seven centers of power have been identified and may now allow for agents in the field to continue their cultivation at their regular pace.
-contact with the five sects' faction has been established.
-[X] personal actions.
--[X] Push higher
---[X] A sixth pillar (1/2 AP to complete)
With the last piece in place your puller is erected in all of its glory. Supplying you with both strength and Qi.
You feel as if your words are better understood and explaining complicated concepts has become somewhat easier. You feel as if your words can now carry something more.
You do not know what but it bears looking into.
You feel as if your soul could support even more pillar's even, though you can already feel the bonds of this realm pushing you to ascend further.
-gain 6th pillar, the pillar of teaching and its insight.
--[X] Glimpse the future
---[X] Pin down the date
Throughout your long life and all the mysterious and wondrous things you have seen, none you've wondered about more than your ability to cast your vision to the future.
This gift is one you only found a minor use for in your life. It could at best predict something but a day away and even then, with very little details.
That is of course until it showed you the apocalypse to come, the point to which all roads lead, an event so grand so terrible that it sends shockwaves throughout time.
It is this vision that made you take up the crown.
And it is this vision that is insufficient if you wish to survive the coming end.
So here you are, months spent in isolation getting to the right mindset and setting the atmosphere for you to ride the waves of time and slowly find out when the end will come.
Slowly over the decade you've eliminated the roads that come and lead nowhere, timelines lost to the ceaseless march of time.
You have gained a better understanding of the future but you feel that without attaining greater mastery over your gift your only option to further narrow the precise time of the coming end would be to wait for more roads to be lost.
Even managing this much is a worthy achievement.
Were this any other event you wouldn't have been able to even attempt this -in fact it seems that the event casts all others in its shadows- wait…
Shadow's?
Since when did the sea of time have shadows?
You look up.
And your heart freezes in absolute terror.
You cannot move, you cannot speak, you cannot think.
You can only look at the being whose mere size and weight is enough to warp the sea of time around itself and obscure the visions of the future.
And you can see it starting to wake.
Thankfully, before it can wake and squash you like the bug that you are an old friend intervenes.
The wind howls in your chamber, extinguishing the multitude of candles that you have lit and scatters dozens of parchments and scroll throughout
The sudden chaos breaking the hold the creature has on you and throwing your soul back to your body.
An hour passed before your heart returned to its regular beating.
Wh-what have you seen?
-your efforts to narrow down the timeline have given limited results but results nonetheless. (see the top of this post for said results).
-through your divination you have spotted ??? and only through the timely intervention of the wind (you know how one of the insights in your character sheet says the wind will aid your actions from time to time? that wasn't metaphorical the wind will literally come to your aid, and this was probably the best place it could have triggered) did its alert level wasn't raised.
--[X] The burdens of an emperor
---[X] To rule well
The mechanisms of the empire are as time consuming as always but it seems that your personal attention wasn't needed this decade.
At least the experience seemed to have polished your skill at managing the empire.
-No issue which needed your personal attention has arisen this turn but the practice has contributed to your skill increasing. Advancements
Late in the decade the imperial university published several papers and new methods of medical practices. With their effectiveness confirmed and their safety deemed better, the current practices were soon adopted by the medical world (small as it is).
-gain minor notable advance "improved medical practices" which gives a 5% extra economic growth (in the form of population growth and prevention of death), reduces combat casualties and lowers the impact of disease outbreaks and their spread slightly. And an advancement point.
Unfortunately it seems that no other notable advancement has been made in the last decade but time marches ever forward.
- Gain an advancement point (you got 3 total this turn). Cultivator reports.
Without concentrated effort only one hundred and sixty five new first step cultivators have been awakened -which was below expectations- . Training is undergoing and is promising even though no outstanding talents have been found.
In more concerning news, out of the one hundred and three first step cultivator's who've attempted tribulation only two succeeded.
And the one second step -an old student of yours- who's attempted to ascend has died in the attempt.
-a net of 62 new 1st step cultivators.
-a net of 1 new 2nd step cultivator. Faction actions.
The five sects: much of the past decade has been used by the five sects to both recruit new members and to determine their place in your empire. From report's they seem to have taught sixty new first step cultivators.
