Turn 3:
4 Babies are born this turn.
Military:
Ashamed about his warriors' lackluster performance during the recent battle you commander is training with a will. (Pick 1)
Form up your military forces: While far too small to be called a true army, it is never the less necessary to organize your meagre military forces into a single cohesive whole so you aren't working at crossends. [LOCKED IN] Finishes this turn.; Reward: Your forces actually approach something resembling competence in group undertakings, the size of your military is expanded; Chance of Success: 80%
[90 -
Success]
Numerous new recruits have filled the ranks of your forces, trained to perfection by the surprising fervour and dedication of their instructors, learning how to cast magic quickly and effectively in battle conditions. When to cast defensive magics and when to simply dodge, the ability to dodge in the first place and the most common weakpoints of the foes you face these days.
That is not all however, as Naz'jan also organizes his forces into a formal military command structure ensuring that it functions as a gleaming well-oiled machine of destruction, every part knowing its place and duties ensuring the maximum amount of effort can be expended in the most efficient manner possible to ensure the greatest possible harm dealt to your foes.
Naz'jan does note however that he'd prefer to wait until your population has grown significantly before expanding your military again, as you simply do not have the population to support a larger army. He suggests focusing on quality over quantity for now, further improving your warriors to the keenest edge of absolute murder.
Result: 80 New Warriors; Improved Military Effectiveness.
Sentries and Patrols: Who knows what lurks within the darkness of the Deeps. Best to keep a constant a lookout to prevent your people from being picked off by the predators of the abyss. Time: 1 Turn; Reward: No population loss to hungry gribblies. Chance of Success: ??
[24 -
Failure]
Sadly with so many of your soldiers assigned to training the unexpectedly high number of new recruits, only token sentries and patrols could be posted. They manage to keep out most of the vermin, but three of your Naga still lose their lives to the dangers of the Abyss.
Shamed by his failure, Naz has vowed to ensure this does not happen again, permanently assigning a quarter of his new forces to establish a very tight security cordon around your throngs of civilians.
Result: -3 Naga; Sentries and Patrols action no longer needs to be taken(means that you do not get a extra military action due to finishing "Form Up Military Forces" though), quarter of your warriors are assigned to protection duty.
Stewardship
Vashj has grown a bit gaunt over the years, refusing to eat too much while people starve to death around her, seeing it as the result of her failures.(Pick 1)
Grand palace: You require a palace. You require a palace now. One worthy of your magnificence. Who cares if the Naga are worse than unskilled labourers, they've all you got and they better get on building one right now. [LOCKED IN] Time: 3 More Turns; Reward: Somewhat shoddily constructed palace Chance of Success: 80%
[10 -
Failure]
Sadly one of your architects discovered a critical flaw in the initial design of the palace, meaning that large sections have to be rebuilt to avoid disaster. This means that no further progress is made this turn.
Result: 3 More Turns to completion
You suppose they need to eat: It might be wise to secure some sort of food source for your Naga. Fish perhaps? This could take some work. Time: 2 Turns; Reward: Primitive fish farms constructed, your people have a somewhat steady food supply; Chance of success: 65%
I can taste the essence of your soul... it is sweet...
[85 -
Success]
Tightly woven nets of kelp enclose large spaces, usually on spires higher above the rest of the sea floor, chosen for their high amount of currents. Breeding stock are retrieved from fishtraps and captured live by the hunters, and placed within the seed-farms. Feeding on plankton carried by the water, supplemented by seaweeds. Work proceeds exceedingly smoothly, and now it is simply a matter of time to build up your fish stock to sustainable levels. Guards are posted to prevent opportunistic predators from robbing your farms.
Result: Work goes well on fish farms.
Learning
Zar'jira is settling into her new duties and reports that she can now handle a larger workload. (Pick 2)
What is this fleshy covering: By flesh are we made one. Zar'jia wishes to perform an indepth examination on the changes undergone by the bodies of the naga. Who knows what secrets she might uncover. Time: 2 Turns; Reward: Knowledge of Naga Physiology, ??? Chance of Success: 70%
[22 -
Failure]
Sadly her initial forays into dissection of the cadavers leftover from the Lurker battle made her completely baffled. The internal construction of the naga seems to differ wildly from that of their elven forebears in ways both subtle and blatant. She had made no progress as of yet, deciding not to waste the rest of her cadavers yet and is instead familiarizing herself with the bizarre physiologists of various species of deep sea animals instead, hoping that this will help her in future attempts.
Result: Fleshy Covering will have a slightly higher chance of success
Liver of Shark and Tentacle of Squid: Alchemy is currently near impossible for practice for you people, for two main reasons. The first is the very nature of your environment. Alchemy involves among other things the stirring and mixture of liquids, a difficult thing to do if your surroundings consist of omnipresent water. The other is that all the known recipes consist mostly of materials completely unavailable to you at the moment. Zar'jira believes she may have solutions to both these problems, and better yet may have an idea as to the makings of a potion to regenerate your nerves. Time: 1 Year; Reward: Potion of Regeneration(You gain one more personal action this turn, does not stack with Vile Rejuvenation), unlocks further alchemy research. Success Chance: 70%
[90 -
Success]
Zar'jira seems to take perverse pleasure in adapting the principles and fundamentals of alchemy to handle your current situation. Her favoured staple are octopuses, whose regenerative properties are well known. Tentacles, brains, eyes, mixed with the organs of other fish in compressed orbs of force, slowly cooked or flash-fryed by magic. The results are various foul smelling sludges and goos useful only as poison.
But she perseveres, finally experimenting with the various whale bodyparts acquired all those years ago, preserved by magical deepfreezing. Though she says the quality has unfortunately degraded with time, they still make for potent reagents. Various types of kelp and generous infusions of naga blood are mixed in as she searches for the perfect recipe.
Finally she ends up with a product she is pleased with, though still foul smelling and pulsing disconcertingly. She then forcefeeds it to a wounded soldier who had been "volunteered" by Naz'jan. The concoction is eventually announced a success, and she offers the fruits of her labours to you for your own consumption.
The stuff tastes just as bad as it smells, but you force it down. Your body
burns with pain as your nerves are forcibly regrown, feeling and motion returning you in a agony-laced awakening. It is all you can do to maintain your dignity and not give in to the sensations flowing through you. Still, you cannot help but be somewhat pleased with your subordinate, who had saved you from boredom.
Result: Regeneration Sludge(Requires Whale and rare Octopus parts as well as an uncommon type of seaweed); 1 more personal action this turn; further alchemy research unlocked; food preservation advancement?
Intrigue:
Sira'kess was slightly distracted when you conversed with her, focusing on growing her network of fish. She claimed that with each fished linked she could feel her self becoming something greater, the network growing, another interlocked piece added to an ever more complicated puzzle. (LOCKED IN)
The fish know all the secrets. They know the cold. They know the dark: What if we could subjugate fish, turning them into our eyes and ears? Sira'kess believes it is possible and has in fact already devised a method to begin carrying it out. She awaits only your permission before she starts setting up your aquatic spy network. No secrets will be able to be kept from you. [LOCKED IN] Finishes this turn; Reward: A fishy spy network; Chance of Success: 85%
[58 -
Success?]
Sira's network grows and grows, while she herself continues to become more distant from the people around her, interacting less and less often with others as she focuses on the fish. This disturbing trend continues until disaster finally strikes. It happened as suddenly as lightning, one moment Sira appeared relatively fine, the next she was surrounded by a glowing corona of violet power, her skin and eyes bleached white by the energies she had attempted to harness. The fool.
She continuously mutters in strange and incomprehensible tongues, burning the ears of those who try and listen, and seems entirely oblivious to outside stimuli. She appears completely submerged in the world of the fish.
Fortunately however, the rare handful of mentalists under your command have been able to impinge on her mind directly and through it access the network she has built up, though her thoughts themselves give headaches if you attempt to read them. Though your artificers claim that with the proper resources they could craft a much less makeshift solution.
The current method leaves you especially uneasy considering that these self-same mentalists are the ones you have assigned to guard your dreams. You worry what additional effect accessing Sira may have on them.
Result: Fishy Intelligence. Mysterious Mutterings.
Personal:
(Pick two)
*buzz*
The Personal Touch: You suppose even the best of your underlings will sometimes flounder if you do not give them a helping hand. Personally oversee one of your projects this turn, giving it a +20 bonus.
See "Perhaps the Moon can Help"
Scry the Area: Though your tools are sadly lacking you could probably throw together a primitive scrying pool somehow to get a overview of the area. Chance of success: 75%
[40 -
Success]
On the cliffedge overlooking the great rift, you form a massive stone basin from the ground. In the end, water had simply proven to not be a viable medium for scrying and you were forced to make a small cut on yourself. Your blood, unusually heavy and dense, slowly it drifts down into the basin in twisting streamers of violet, connecting you to the bowl. As it begins to fill you send your power flowing along those selfsame streamers, making the surface of the pool smooth, the surface taking on a mirror-like sheen.
You stare deeply into your blood, images from your surroundings appearing before you as you slowly piece together the geography of the region. The depths of the Rift itself smolders slightly with the traces of power gone or sleeping. Something blocks you from peering to deep within it however. You will probably have to send physical scouts if you wish to learn its secrets. The power itself however is intimately familiar to you, carrying the signature of the Well of Eternity. It would seem obvious then that the rift is the remnant of that once great wellspring of arcane power, all that remains after the cursed meddling of Malfurion caused the entire thing to explode, and apparently sunk a decent chunk of the continent into the ocean if your surroundings are anything to go by.
Sadly the fish spies available to you are unable to penetrate very deep into the rift, dying from the crushing pressures present after little less than a thousand metres.
You continue with your scrying, scouting out the surrounding region. Here and there you spot the rare ruin, all that remains of once great Zin-Azshari, perhaps something of value can be retrieved from the detritus.
A respectable distance away you spot a large collection of those delicious lobster creatures, antennae swaying in the water as the congregate on a area full of piled rocks, ensconced within a massive coral reef, hiding the area from prying eyes. Their nests maybe? You'll have to send a hunting party there soon enough now you have discovered the nexus of their population.
In the opposite direction, you notice a large area of volcanic vents and fissures. They release large amounts boiling water, which several strange serpentine creatures appear to be feeding on, from within stony pillars that encase their bodies. Several caves also appear to have formed from the large amounts of volcanic activity, though you struggle to properly focus within them.
You slowly but surely widen the area of your investigations, until eventually you hit a metaphorical wall. Rather than having reached the limits of your scrying range, you seem to have run into magical interference of some sort. The water churns wildly and as you you explore the limits of the wall you discover that it forms a large circle, apparently centered on the rift, firmly trapping you within.
It is impossible to peer through this frothy barrier, visibility limited by the restless water. Some sort of magical after-effect of the explosion of the Well of Eternity perhaps? Worrisome, but a problem for later you suppose. While you are sure there is more things of note hidden here and there, your cursory inspection has failed to notice them.
Your scrying complete for now, you turn your attention to the pool of blood. Leaving something like this lying around is an unacceptable risk, so with a momentary expenditure of will you set alight a spark within it. Multi-colored flames spring up from the pool, burning even the surrounding water. Finally all the blood is gone, leaving only the fire at the bottom of the basin, which you extinguish.
Glam, Glim, Glamour: Your magical charms combined with your innate charisma allowed to you to enthrall an entire nation of millions to your whims. They have since been disrupted by the Sundering and associated events, but if you were to re-establish them...
Large Bonus to Personal Diplomacy
Words of power reverberate through the water, causing your vision to blur slightly as the water around you vibrates. Carefully you construct the highly complex webs of power that had cloaked you previously, capable of even subduing Demon Lords of the Burning Legion to your will. Without the abundant energies of the Well of Eternity to draw on however, the strength of your magics is unfortunately less than it was before, but it is still a very formidable set of glamours. Even so, their effect is slightly less than it should have been. You suspect some quirk of the new Naga physiology of your followers may have lessened the impact and effectiveness of your magic slightly.
Piety:
(Pick 1)
Perhaps the Moon can help?: As much as it galls you to even think of admitting it, the priestesses of Elune do have a few small, rather unimpressive, powers at their command. While that moonbitch is in no way comparable to your own greatness, and though you are loathe to even admit it, some help with these troublesome dreams of yours would be nice right about now. And as grating as it may be, dreams would most certainly fall under the domain of the Moon. Perhaps you could scour your Naga for those particularly faithful to the moon... "goddess" and begin to revive her worship? Time: 2 Turns; Reward: Elune Worship Revived; Chance of Success: 15%
[65+20=85 -
Success]
Mind filled with reluctance, you consider how to approach this matter. It must be handled with delicacy and care, that goes without saying. The first, and most important step, is most certainly acquiring the proper personnel for the task at hand. Your most trusted servants swim about your titanic face, engaged in conversation, your ears straining to hear their chatter while you whisper to avoid deafening them. You begin to probe them about those among your ranks who had been particularly devoted to the Moon Goddess.
They are surprised by the direction of the conversation, but do their best to hide it, and truth be told you nearly missed the changes in their puny facial expressions and body language. Nevertheless the discussion continues, and it is eventually Vashj who suggests the Lady Valishj as a possible candidate.
You vaguely remember her, one of your handmaidens, she had fallen a bit out of favour due to the devotions to Elune she performed daily, a flare of jealously causing you to have her attend duties outside your presence, fortunately never the wiser as to why. You burn with indignation at the recollection though you do your best to conceal it in turn, how dare she serve two masters? Ever since that...
Tyrande had chosen Elune over your service you'd been a bit sore about this type of issue. Still, needs must and you try to suppress these feelings for now.
Fortunately she remained unaware of why she fell out of favour, you having realized long ago that it would be wise to keep your disdain for Elune worship a secret. Valishj seems a good starting choice, as Vashj further informs you she is even initiated in the lesser mysteries of the Sisterhood of Elune, having begun the initiation process before you took her as one of your handmaidens.
The mages had found the Temple of Elune that had once resided in Zin-Ashari, miraculously intact at the bottom of the seafloor. Valishj is exuberant.
The Sunken Temple.
Fervent Prayers.
Offerings.
Silence.
Perseverance.
Elune is not responding, despite Valishj's diligent performance of the rituals and daily prayers. Nevertheless she continues. I have permitted her to induct a few neophytes of her own, though a half-trained priestess is not the best teacher.
It goes unheard.
Even the persistent Valishj is beginning to despair, it has been five years already, all her efforts fruitless. I have been in a fey frame of thinking lately. I awake each morning with my perception of the world every so slightly skewed. Every so often I catch myself thinking in a language I do not know, and do not wish to. I fear that despite all my efforts I am slowly losing my battle against the Whispers, losing myself.
This I cannot abide.
Fiercely clutching your identity of self, perhaps helped on by the strange moods that grip you every now and then, you have come to watch Valishj perform her rituals. So deep in the ocean, we can only guess at the time, the moon never visible. She has had to substitute and improvise, doing her best to compensate for the lacking components. The strange snakelike bodies of my children, unsuited to performing the dances of praise to the Moon.
You speak to Elune, in your heart. Rather than another of your one-sided rants at someone who refuses to respond however, this time, this one time only, you offer an actual earnest supplication to the White Lady. Almost Immediately your ego rejects your actions. You feel nauseous. Azshara bows before no one!
And then, a flicker. The water in the temple takes on a silvery sheen. It lasts only a precious few seconds. Yet Valishj is ecstatic. Apparently we have managed to once more gain the attention of Elune, the gaze of the great moon piercing even the miles of water to peer down upon us. You feel your skin crawl at the thought.
Reward: Contact with Elune established. Revival of the Cult of the Moon is possible. Priestesses of Elune will now gain their holy powers once more.
Diplomacy:
Xis complimented you on your caging of the predator that had been picking off people one by one, and awaits your orders. He has also been keeping you company for the months of your convalescence which played a major part in you not snapping and killing everything in sight. (Pick 1)
Hearts and Minds: While your opinion of your people regarding you is good, it can be much better. Go out there and capture their hearts and minds irrevocably. Time: 2 Years; Reward: Large Opinion Boost; Success Chance: 60%
[33+15(Glamour)=48 - Success]
Your method is simple, yet effective. Working alongside your Naga, you help restructure the palace, catch vast swarms of fish for their fish farms, and occasionally oversee the training of your warriors. In short you get involved in their lives and work beside them.
The shock of having their lofty queen dirty her hands with common work mixes with adoration at her efforts to help them to form a heady concoction.
And during all this your glamour works its subtle magic. It takes a few months, but you notice the slight change in the expressions of your followers. Just a shade more positive. But a shade is more than enough. You are confident that your position in their hearts has been irreversibly cemented.
Result: General Opinion improved to "Venerated"
((Author's note: Finally done!
*Glances at diplomacy action* Well mostly anyway.
For, currently vaguely defined, reasons the naga cannot go to the surface of the water yet in service of the story. I'm still working on why.
Mumble mumble maelstorm mumble mumble old gods mumble mumble natural magical phenomena mumble mumble piranhas ))
