Trade was commonplace, already at this point in time, all across the sea. Common wares traded were pottery, ivory, silver and saffron used for monuments, buildings and objects of religious importance. Also common was copper ingots, wine, incense and olives; wares that criss-crossed the sea in a makeshift network of early galley-like boats, propelled by oars. Tin was not yet extracted on a widespread level and bronze was thus relatively uncommon, leading to the predominance of copper as the favoured metal of choice. In absence of tin, smiths made use of arsenic to produce early arsenical bronze that, while effective, was highly sought-after and rare.
As a result of its opportune peninsular position, Eskeragal quickly came to take part in this burgeoning trade. With ships built of the cedar trees that natively grew in the Greatwater Valley, Ekseragal and several other settlements became avid participants and were known to clash several times over control of this trade. Although no formalized currency was present yet, a system of inter-royal gift-giving was becoming commonplace and slowly creating a more interconnected world, although it would be long before this truly transformed into anything but local chieftains demonstrating their wealth and power through gifts. Smaller trades happened too, of course, these took the form of exchanges of goods, with no particular currency involved. There was significant risk involved with this; piracy and banditry were frequent challenges both.
Despite these challenges, however, Eskeragal grew significantly in this period, something which later archaeology supports. What is present is an enormous expansion of the material culture of Eskeragal, which would imply a massive expansion of both production and wealth alike. This is primarily evident in the higher-quality pottery and greater prevalence of so-called "palace tombs", where small mausoleum-like palaces were built to put dead chieftains to rest. However, it also manifests in the significantly higher amount of monumental architecture that archaeologists have been able to recover from this period. Especially notable during this period is the construction of the…
[ ] ...Royal irrigation channels: Built by the chieftain Zaharal IV, the royal irrigation channels were a system of perennial irrigation to ensure good harvests. Irrigation works had been used since the early days in Eskeragal, but this was the first recorded example of large-scale central planning for the sake of the developing settlement. In the famously fertile Greatwater Valley, this system increased the bounty of the harvest enormously and made Eskeragal one of the greatest producers in terms of agriculture, during this period only overshadowed by the settlements of the Tower-Builders further inlands. (+1 Centralization, +1 Sedentism. Can be expanded later).
[ ] …Eskeragal palace-complex: Built by the chieftain Zaharal IV, the Eskeragal palace-complex was a vast building complex that constituted the administrative, religious and economic centre of Eskeragal. While the chieftain had always resided apart from the majority of the populace, the palace-complex was a major step on the path to a more centralized and urbanized Eskeragal. Housing not only the chieftain himself, but also his family, a chamber for the onenamekene to meet and much more, the Eskeragal palace-complex, early as it was, would remain as the largest and most notable example of monumental architecture among the People on the coast. (+1 Centralization, +1 Urbanization. Can be expanded later).
[ ] ...Harbour of Zaharal: Built by the eponymous chieftain Zaharal IV, the harbour of Zaharal is considered by modern scholars to be one of the first artificial harbours built in this region. Built large to contain the growing fleet of ships that would make port and depart from Eskeragal, the harbour of Zaharal was at the time a marvel of engineering. The construction of the harbour led to a smaller dependence on agriculture and far greater economic pull, leading to a steady migration from the largely rural population surrounding Eskeragal, journeying into the city and staying near it far more regularly than had previously been the case. Therefore the harbour is sometimes credited with a large part of the founding of Eskeragal as a proper state. (+1 Urbanization, +1 Sedentism. Can be expanded later).
As the power and influence of Eskeragal grew over the region, so did enmity with neighbouring states. Conflicts were naturally rife in a system without any significant international norms, and the poor treatment and worse discipline of soldiers at the time meant that plunder and pillaging was rife when war became reality. This was to be expected, of course, and was even encouraged at the time, as the successful sack of a settlement could reinvigorate the loyalty of doubting soldiers to their chieftain. When loyalty was fundamentally based on the allegiance of clans and kin-groups, not to the chieftain but to the onenamekene who owed him fealty, a clever chieftain was one who let his soldiers plunder as they pleased. Otherwise, he might find them quickly made a tool in the conflicts of the onenamekene, rather than his own.
Armies were small, as population sizes were modest and what passed for warfare among most of these proto-states was often closer to glorified raiding. Most of the emerging states could simply not afford to wage extended campaigns, nor could they afford to lose too many in war, thus natural pressure kept armies small, mostly unprofessional and generally inexperienced. However, despite these unoptimal conditions for warfare, it was still a common occurrence. Both the People and their neighbours lived in strictly honorbound and often patriarchal societies, and the goal of diplomacy was more often than not, not to strike a common accord but to cow an enemy into becoming more or less a feudatory ally or at least staying out of the affairs of a particular settlement, conflict or region.
While the coast and highlands remained fairly disunited, the Tower-Builders who resided in the valley were a different matter. It began with a series of campaigns by the chieftain Haf-lem II of the settlement of Hoxma, which subjugated its neighbours. Over the decades, Hoxma grew significantly, becoming more and more urbanized, to the point that scholars usually agree on referring to it as the first "proper" city of the Greatwater Valley. The burgeoning kingdom of Hoxma would, in the next two decades, incorporate enough settlements and territory, that it came to reach the coast as a result of its territorial ambitions. Here, the first battle which involved Eskeragal, the Battle of Namzen is recorded. As part of a coalition, Eskeragal fought…
[ ] ...With Hoxma: The chieftain of Eskeragal and the king of Hoxma had become blood-brothers and exchanged daughters in marriage, therefore Eskeragal joined the war on the side of Hoxma. At the Battle of Namzen, the army of Askozal III of Eskeragal intervened in a battle between the armies of Hoxma and Uraskomek against a coalition consisting of the settlements Askomekane, Axtezab, Gishmabel and the Metal-Workers. In this battle, Eskeragal sought to…
- [ ] Break the enemy: Contributing with a surprising charge, the army of Eskeragal attempted to break the morale of the coalition army and make them to rout. (Very risky decision, but can have great rewards for Eskeragal.)
- [ ] Support Hoxma: Relieving the Hoxman army from the brunt of the attack, letting it regroup to focus on a new charge, the army of Eskeragal sought to weather the storm. (Easier to accomplish, but likely to result in lower gains for Eskeragal.)
- [ ] Write-in: Describe a strategy in no more detail than a few lines. Assume that the riskier the strategy, the potentially bigger the reward is for Eskeragal. Playing it safe does not win the most pitched battles of the ancient world.
[ ] ...Against Hoxma: Having previously made a sacred compact with the chieftain of Askomekane, Ekseragal joined the war in a coalition that consisted of Askomekane, Eskeragal, Axtezab, Gishmabel, several smaller settlements and a tribe of Metal-Workers against Hoxma and Uraskomek. At the battle of Namzen, the army of Askozal III of Eskeragal intervened after a slow march, where Eskeragal sought to...
- [ ] Fortify Namzen: Repulsing the armies of Hoxma, the forces of Eskeragal attempted to secure and fortify the town of Namzen, in which the battle took place. (Easy to accomplish, will result in comparatively low gains for Eskeragal.)
- [ ] Rout Hoxma: The army of Eskeragal sought to totally break the army of Hoxma, through flanking and an aggressive approach, seeking to end the war decisively at Namzen. (Risky, but if successful could totally break the rising Hoxman power and benefit Eskeragal.)
- [ ] Write-in: Describe a strategy in no more detail than a few lines. Assume that the riskier the strategy, the potentially bigger the reward is for Eskeragal. Playing it safe does not win the most pitched battles of the ancient world.
However, there was more happening in Eskeragal than simply participating in battles. Eskeragal itself was changing, as is the nature of any lasting polity given time. Over time, the temples of Eskeragal had come to merge with the slowly emerging state, leading to a complete lack of division between these two spheres. This was to be expected in any premodern polity of course, as there was no dichotomy of secularism against religion at all, but in Eskeragal this was especially pronounced. As a result, the scribes of Eskeragal, who had previously used a primitive system of notation to mark down exchanges of goods, had also become the keepers of faith and tradition.
As influence from further inlands met with the native traditions of Eskeragal, a writing system slowly developed out of this early notation system, slowly giving birth to a developed if somewhat young system of symbols used to represent more and more advanced concepts. And with rising literacy comes a literate class, with an interest in not only writing down exchanges and transactions, but stories, narratives, rituals and more. This literate class expanded over time, using clay tablets, as they had always done, to mark down ever more complicated ideas. The first writings of Eskeragal were simply more detailed transaction records, temple procedures and lists of chieftains, but as time passed, this would evolve into far more complex concepts. This eventually culminated in the writing of…
[ ] ...The Storm King Cycle: Containing the earliest known reference to the myths of Eskeragal, the Storm King Cycle is a later name for this text. The text itself is an epic poem, concerning the exploits of the Storm King, a divine figure worshipped in Eskeragal as the crown prince of heaven and chief warrior against barbarian gods. This epic covers the story of the Storm King's subdual of the dragon-filled ocean on the behest of his father, his exile to the earth, his founding of Eskeragal and his driving out of the barbarian gods of the Dye-Makers, which allowed Eskeragal to triumph, as well as his return to heaven at the end.
[ ] ...The Hundred Rituals: Containing what is now believed to be a compilation of every significant ritual in the early religious life of Eskeragal, the Hundred Rituals is the name by which later texts refer to this. This text is believed to have been written by the priestess Minvez, who is the earliest named figure in the literary history of Eskeragal. It contains instructions on how to perform the rituals of the temple to which she was attached, as well as granting a rare look into the secret royal rituals that were said to be vital to the continuity of the chiefdom of Eskeragal, through the sacred marriage of Minvez to the chief Herimel I.
[ ] ...The Tablet of Words: An early dictionary, containing a description of the dialects of the significant settlements on the coast, as well as many clay tablets full of nothing but words and their equivalents in Eskeragal's language. While most of the tablets would later be lost, the parts that remain describe the languages of Hoxma, Askomekane, Eskeragal, Uraskomek and a few other settlements. While not a significant focus, several tablets also focus on grammatical analysis of the Eskerag language itself, leading to a hypothesis that some of the tablets were used as educational aides by scribes.
MD:
This update introduces a new set of rules, namely stats. Unlike other civilization quests, the purpose of these stats is not prescriptive, in the sense of providing formalized rules for how Eskeragal interacts with other civilizations, but descriptive. This means that they are supposed to be understood as describing the internal coherence, urbanization and similar traits of the civilization. They are rated from zero to ten and are as following:
Urbanization: Measuring the degree to which the population of Eskeragal live predominantly urbane lives. Low urbanization represents a primarily rural populace that live outside the settlement and only occasionally visit it, while high urbanization represents a population that largely lives inside the city and make their livelihoods there.
Centralization: Measuring the degree of how many valid sources of power there are in Eskeragal. Low centralization represents a pluricentric system with no single centre of power and a weak state, whereas high centralization represents a monocentric system where power is concentrated in the hands of a single source or very few, combined with a strong state.
Sedentism: Measuring the degree to which the People of Eskeragal are permanently settled or primarily nomadic. Low sedentism represents a primarily nomadic people and a very low permanently settled population in Eskeragal proper, while high sedentism implies a permanently settled population, that will not simply leave for better pastures given the chance.
In addition, there is also a character sheet now, on which you can see Eskeragal and near-lying settlements. For every point gained in in Urbanization, Centralization or Sedentism, Eskeragal will gain one point of Coadunation with one of those settlements, beginning with the closest. When that reaches its limit, the settlement merges with Eskeragal completely and Eskeragal grows, giving it a free point of Coadunation with another settlement. When Eskeragal has at least five points in every category or seven points in one, it will be considered a proper city, rather than a settlement.
In addition, there are rudimentary rules for battles. These are very rudimentary at this point in time, although they will be elaborated on in the second and third phase. They involve rolling a bunch of 10-sided dice and winning will let you impose a consequence on someone, whereas losing will let someone impose a consequence on you. Battle functions loosely by rolling a dice pool of ten-sided dice. Good luck in the battle is determined by rolling high, whereas good strategy is determined by getting several matching dice.
