Goddamit,
@Thor's Twin has me
inspired. I want to know more about this Norse-Germanic culture the he just created, so you get to suffer through the adventures of a young scion of a Marquis who has put together a trade expedition to the fabulously wealthy and exotic Celestial Empire on behalf of the Imperiala Ligan(Imperial League in Swedish). Note, not really a writer, but hey like I said, I got inspired, so blame Thor!
A Steward's Journal
132 Bauchman 3, first of Spring 1
It is done.
I, Konrad Meyer, 4th son to the Margrave of Süßwasserfurt, have obtained a Kings Warrant to conduct trade with foreign nations. Specifically, with the mysterious Celestial Empire, that shadowed land of Spirits and mages. With the funds I have ammased, and with the company I have assembled, plus a few generous "donations" to the Løvenes Orden have Convinced King Bauchman, as well as the Convocation of Princes, that my plan is warranted imperial support. Many trade missions have been launched to this far away Empire since explorers discovered it in 36 Leonhardt, but not many have returned. Those that have, have brought back riches and acclaim aplenty, which is what I need to convince father to make me heir instead of my wastrel brothers.
The candle burns low. I need to make ready for an early start in the morn, as I depart for Steinhaven, the largest port city on the coast of the Kristallmeer. I sail in two months.
132 Bauchman 3, 10th of Spring 1
I have arrived in Steinhaven, and have been hosted by the Margrave Reiner Von Albrecht. After the usual fetes and well mets', I have started assembling the expedition, bolstered by the addition of the Margrave's second cousin and good friend of mine, Klaus Von Griesheim, who holds the title of viscount and is the Margrave's primary craftmage, running the forges and craftwerks of the city. Having trained his latest batch of journeymen to Mastery of the fourth foundation, he has decided it was time to go on an adventure "before I'm all old and calcified", as he says. He has been an invaluable aid in gaining supplies, trade goods, and most importantly, convincing shipmasters to sign onto the expedition.
Meanwhile, I have opened a recruiting office for crew, porters, tailors, and various other sundry personnel needed, as well as the command staff who will be issuing the orders Klaus and I give. I pray to the Goddess for swift success.
132 Bauchman 3, 18th of Spring 1
A Kings Warrant goes a long way in smoothing over problems with merchants and suppliers, shipmen and traders. Trouble was averted after a league of merchants, hearing of the expedition, engaged in shady price practices for their wares. Nothing was provably illegal, but it was threatening to destroy my carefully laid out budget, with some things being 300% more expensive than usual, always with some unverifiable yet plausible excuse. They changed their tune real quick when presented the document and told that impeding an officially sanctioned trade mission was grounds for charges of treason, which carried the penalty of summary execution. It was real mysterious after that how easy it was to buy fresh meats at half the cost as normal, almost as if they were afraid for their lives. Funny that.
Another issue that has come up is the hierarchy of rank among the ship captains, who are a fairly independent lot at the best of times and not used to taking orders from others. This was solved by appointing a fairly intimidating man only known as Higgs the Unstoppable, who is one of the few to have sailed the Todesstraßen and reached the even more mysterious Children of Earth far to south past the barbaric tribes of the Great Desert, as Shipmaster to the Expedition. Few here would dare say he is unqualified, and fewer still would dare question his orders or resolve. I am glad such a man has decided to sign on, as I must confess when it comes to ships I may as well be attempting to fly like the famed tribes of the Clouds.
132 Bauchmann 3, 25th Spring 1
Progress continues apace. More and more supplies and goods fills the warehouse I have rented for the expedition, awaiting loading onto the fleet of merchant ships that have signed on.
Meanwhile, I have begun intensive study of everything that is known of the lands that we intend to set forth for. While even today we know only a barest fraction of what there is to know about the Celestial Empire, what we do know is fascinating. The first thing to know is they are extremely suspicious of outsiders, and mostly consider them barbarians. This is reflected by the fact that nobody who is not a citizen of the Empire has any rights at all, outside of the region bordering on the Kristallmeer known as the Savage Seas-which is the only area that has the authority to trade with outsiders and only then in specially designated trade cities. Any foreigner caught outside of such designated zones is at risk of being summarily captured as a spy. They are especially suspicious of foreign mages, and require such individuals to wear suppression runes at all times. (I've ran across several mentions that a couple of the early expeditions were devastated by mysterious "storms" that arose suddenly after a mage was caught asking too many leading questions.)
Speaking of magic, their entire magical tradition is at times familiar and confounding. Like us, their mages tend to be the rulers and elite of their society, due to the fact that magic preserves the body, and forces out mortality; however, they don't call themselves mages, but "cultivators", and "immortals", due to this effect. And while we conform to the 5 elements of Earth, Wind, Fire, Water, and Aether, The cultivators of the Empire have as many elements as it seems at times as the grains of sand on a beach, though they have a "standard" set of 8 Elements that conform to some description of the human spirit, expressed as Heaven, Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Lake. I must confess the intricacies of them all are somewhat confusing, and these are just the "standard" elements. There are others acknowledged, such as Wood, which seems to be some subset of earth or water, and Metal, which seems to be some variation on Wood, or Fire, to more exotic elements such as Music(yes, Music. I had to double check the translation to be sure, but Music is an an element, apparently), and even Life, and Death. Apparently, if there was an element created for a cultivator's Way, then it ends up acknowledged in some form or another, no matter if it might fit better under a more broader element.
Speaking of Ways, from what we have gathered over the years, a cultivator's Way is something VERY important in their growth. Nobody is sure of the specifics, but once a cultivator reaches the third foundation, they choose the one concept that embodies them the most, and develops a cloak of power similar that to, ironically, a Mage's Mantle, which from then on defines their cultivation as they advance. I find it somewhat interesting on how two different cultures, separated by such distance and time, have developed a similar concept on handling the ever greater power a mage wields as they advance on foundation-given that our own mages bolster their willpower by choosing a concept, and reinforcing it until it becomes the unbreakable iron pillar that supports a mage's ascension. And how fascinating that as a cultivator AND mage grows in power, that concept more and more manifests as an aura of power that influences the world around him!
As for the Spirits of the Divine that they worship, well that's exactly what they are. Grand Spirits and Ancestors that Ascended, and are revered throughout. It is somewhat a strange concept for us who worship only the Goddess, she who is arbiter of the Mortal Elements and Avatar of the Spirit Aether, but not something unthinkable-since we believe the Elemental Spirits are the messengers of the Goddess, it is not an unfathomable leap for one to believe that the Great Spirits rule the heavens, and the Ancestors are the messengers and caretakers to and from the Gods. I must confess, though, this is still vaguely...unsettling. And they are not keen on hearing an outside viewpoint on the matter, as the 15th expedition undertaken in 235 Dahlmann 2 found out the hard way when missionaries from the Lammets Orden caused the entire expedition to be summarily banished.(There was again, a mysterious storm that later destroyed half the expedition on the way back to the League. It is suspected a powerful weather mage is a member of the ruling Duchy of the Savage Seas, but no confirmation can be obtained).
I must cut this short, as I have suddenly realized that the sun is setting, and I have not eaten in hours. While food is less of a concern for a mage, even one as low rank as I, one must still maintain decorum.
132 Bauchmann 3, 12th Spring 2
Things are coming together, as the last of the ships begin loading in preparation of setting sail on high tide in a week. As of late, my research has moved from the customs and ways of the Celestial Empire, and onto the hazards of the voyage in order to better prepare for them. Along with Klaus and Shipmaster Higgs, I have discovered that the hazards of the voyage are relatively few, all told. Other than the sheer length of the journey, which is a distressingly long 6 month voyage with at least 1 month sailing from sight of land in order to cross the Great Northern Bay, the only real hazard is one from the rather piratical nation of the Rote Geraden, inhabiting a chain of islands somwhat north of the Empire. They are ruled by the Krakenkönig, whose power is based on the number of shipmasters who follow him, and the amount of treasure they manage to plunder from their neighbors, and appear to be a rather large thorn in the side of the Celestial Empire. The Empire has a number of patrols to catch raiders as they appear, but as outsiders if we are caught outside of the range of patrols, the Empire's stand is that we're essentially on our own.
Given that armed ships are generally treated no different than raiders, this does present a rather tricky logistical situation, as we cannot be perceived to be threatening the empire or risk being sunk. I have read speculation that they are still a little resentful about the outcome of the battle of Northern Bay in 98 Leonhardt, which was tactically a draw but strategically forced them to acknowledge that we weren't just barbarians, and lead to the current treaty opening trade with us. There was mention of the then Ducal house collapsing in support from the outcome and the current House of Xuan rising in their place, but that is neither here nor there. In any case, we have decided to adopt a strategy of counterboarding any raiders, as there doesn't seem to be any objection to personal arms, simply anything that might point to the ship being a warship.
I just got a knock at the door. It appears Higgs has a few last minute preparations he wants to make me aware of.
132 Bauchmann 3, 19th Spring 2.
I sit here on board the flagship of the Fleet as the sun rises. We set sail in an hour!
Yeah, didn't get anywhere near the Empire just yet, but I just couldn't resist fleshing out the background of the kingdom Thor created. I might continue this in a part 2 detailing the journey and arrival of the trade expedition, but for now I'm tapped out.
