History of the World XI - 11 o'clock, one hour before doomsday! [Story Thread]

[dacole]

Slowly as the new faith spread throughout England the english queen came more and more our of her shell. At first the citizens of England only saw her on rare occasions and most business was conducted by Her advisor Walsingham. As time progressed however he was seen less and less and the queen came more into her own.

Cites were founded west of London and the English empire grew apace. Rivaling the portugese as the fastess growing empire in the know world. The portugese were met and befrinded and though there were a few dissagrements as to land use these were soon overcome.

The faith of the keel hauled grew daily and some came to call him the son of neptune the great God of the sea the English had been whorshiping since time immorial. They came to call themselves Nepunians and to wear ship keels around their necks as an offical display of their faith.

In a very public ceremony the English queen officially converted and Nepunianism became the offical religon of the English realm.

As the only unattached virgin queen in the immediate area Elizibith attracted untold amounts of attention from the other Leaders. Touring the capitol of portugal she was amazed at the culture of the city and after being taken to several plays in the capitol she even took to wearing flowers given to her by the Protugese king.

The leader of Washington also sent her gifts and took her to tour his city. Out of the nations that the english had met only Russia was antagonistic.

One day the advisors rushed into the queens room forgetting to bow and come in backwards as was the custom. Even the queens frown could not bring them into line.

"My lady" they stammered. The russians have been spotted brining settelers into the east moving into the lands we expressly forbade them from entering.

The queens frown took on an even deeper turn at this news

"Inform him again of our claim and make sure he understands that it will be backed up. As well see to our troop build up. We can not be seen as weak if it comes to war we will be prepared!"

As you wish my queen. And so the empire began to prepare english archers quickly made new bows and arrows and english metalsmiths began to fashion axes as a response was awaited from the russians.

[LzPrst]

Mother Russia. MockBa. Muscowy.


Boris Bearslayer listened to the English messenger. Then he spoke.

-What do you mean English? What does your Queen claim as hers? And by what right? Any and all land east of Rostov? Even the Barren Wastes? And for what reason? We have heard tales of the riches of English lands, why do you seek to claim the Stormy Lake as well? By what right does she threaten our peaceful wanderers? Can she not discuss politics in a respectful manner? Take these questions back to your ruler. Unless she can offer a valid reason for her misgivings then our people will settle there when there is no more room in our heartland.

We are by no means unreasonable and will hear any cause your people may have for a division of the eastern lands. But I warn you. Do not seek to threaten the Rus.

[Robert]

Session 1: 96 turns
Session 2: 90 turns
Session 3: 63 turns

[Frank Johnson]

Rise of the German Federation

Changes in the German culture came with swifter speed as the years moved on. Germany finally came to an accord with America over its border. However before the plan could proceed, Barbarians inhabiting the American lands had to destroyed. While the Germans were confedant in defense with their many archers, laying siege to the desert fortress of the barbarians would be impossible due to its due resource base of copper. Assistance came from Portugal in the form many volunteers armed as shock troops. These joined with the most experienced German archers to destroy the barbarian's stronghold when they foolishly split their forces. The Portugese returned to their homeland better for their experience, the Germans carted away a small fortune in gold and other loot, and the Americans were free to settle the land.

With tensions calming in Germany, the Warlords of Hamburg setout to build their way past their rivals in Berlin. They created the Great Pyramids of Hamburg. A series of huge stone monuments, each larger than the last. Stone was brought from nearby quaries and serveral forests were fell to make carts and sleds for the massive stones. With this achievement many argued that Hamburg had surpassed Berlin as the center of German culture. Gradually the King of Berlin lost his influence over the German colonies. The first federation of Germany was called in Berlin, and each German state was reconized as independant. Each state cast votes to determine courses of action in stately matters that involved the German people as a whole. It was the first such government the world had known.

Extensive deals were struck with the Portugese who exchanged knowledge German weapons for a highly developed writing system. Trade florished across the open German-Portugese border, trading towns became more common across the German land scape, granaries and cottages appearing where only the mines of old once lay. The German federation had 5 voting states, and three additional areas were on the docket for consideration, but where not signifigant enough to devote voting status to these members. The new form of government was greatly approved upon by the people, who grew in number tremendously.

[deity]

Eon I

The despotic eon of the João I dynasty of Portugal

For thousands of years the Portuguese did settle upon the Rivers Mira and Sado stretching along a Norh South axis. This provided rich agricultural regions to prosper and other as yet un tapped wealth, save the copper mines of Oporto.

João was unfamiliar with the frozen northern seas and it would not be this first eon that the Portuguese would set sail but they did settle two northerly ports, one at the river mouth of Mira where Evora flourished and Lagos further to the East where even more rich deposits of gold were being tapped.

Russia

But it was in the far south where delicate plans unfolded. As agreed with the Russians a band of Portuguese settlers set forth on an expedition to found New Novgorod on the SW coastline. It wa quickly handed ov er to the Russians who became masters of this realm, along with German consent. The Russians allowed the culural advancement of Ciombra to dominate old Novgorod such that destruction of the city itself was deemed unnecessary. Old Novgorod was a pump city to allow the Russians production of workers and settlers. So it was written...

With waves of barbarians bearing down on Russia a strong Axeman brigade was despatched and put under Russian command to assist in the eradication of ethnic tribes and warriors. The Portuguese detested foreign ethinic primitive tribes and it was in their blood to wipe them out.

Original commitments with Russia include a gold and spice resource that has yet to be gifted by the Portuguese but such riches are imminent for Russia.

Germany

Hence, with the Germans another crack force of Portuguese Axemen did stumble upon a barbarian city between America and Germany. But without local knowledge of the politics the Portuguese felt it proper to loan this cracxk force to the Germans to allow them to remedy this situation for it was not known what deals existed between the Germans and Americans regarding the future of this city - was it to be allowed to grow and become part of America or Germany.

Very swiftly the Germans in consultation with the Americans, did destroy the barbarian city, yielding much gold for them and much prestige, good relations and strengthened Axemen that were subsequently returned to Portugal. They were known as the "Rosen Ritters" brigade as named by Germany herself.

João liked this new convention and asked that the Russians do name the Portuguese Axemen brigade with a similar honour when returned (if still alive!)

In line with original commitments the resource of sugar will be gifted to the Germans, since the Russian deal sacrificed this resource for them.

Good relations ensued with Germany.

England

João had a soft spot for Liz, ever since adopting Christianity as the state religion. His Axemen set forth to also assist the English in their time of need and believed she would bestow great honours, even in death, upon these brave Portuguese Axes.

One galley with Axes did land in the northerly sectoir of claimed English lands Eastr of the desert and did capture the barbarian city of Tartar. Much gold was plundered and the city was handed over to English rule. Liz was delighted for many rich resources surrounded this potentialy great city on the northern arctic sea.

The galley continued to circumnavigate the continent.

THEN, the Portuguse discovered the Alphabet, ahead of all other known civilisations...

[deity]

The Alphabet

With the discovery of the alphabet the Portuguese became the centre of world attention with distant civilisations clamouring to understand more of this fascinasting advance. Many did not even understand the art and skill of writing so it was quite amusing to see such interest.

Very quickly deals were done with two of Portugal's neighbours; Germany and England. Negotiations are yet to take place with Russia or America.

With Germany a trade deal was put in place as was a deal drafted with England. Portugal will keep a tally of the balance oif this trade for Portugal was in a science surplus with these two nations but good relations and future trade prospects were more important than balanced trade at this time.

The Dutch announced ahead of anyone elkse that they were keenly interested in the Portuguese technology of the Alphabet. This means a few things.

Firstly, that their espionage ratings wree more heavily favouring information about the Portuguese civilisation.

Secondly that they keenly felt it unreasonable for Portugal to only trade such valuable technologies with her neighbours alone.

Portugal, of course has an eon-long relationship with England and Germany, as well as Russia and this pressure from the Dutch was met with some resistance and discomfort. The Portuguese wants good relations with all known civilisations and deals to promote this are sought from all quarters. The Dutch offerred their future technology of the Monarchy in return for the Alphabet, but they did not as yet have Writing. A loose deal was eventually drafted but not yet finalised:

Alphabet would be deemed to have the value of 150% of its' scientific worth for a future deal. In the mean time the Portuguses sought Masonry in return for Writing, and even there the Portuguese are in credit. Further negotiations are yet to take place and the advise of England and Germany is requested. Russia may also have a view and before any deals are done an emmissary from Russia is invited to visit Lisbon.


João was uneasy about this attention.

On the one hand he craved a continuation of the deft diplomacy that resulted in a steady and safe southerly expansion of Portugal.

On the other hand he was nervous about world-wide repercussions of favouritism. He was also very old now. He was 55 and knew that he was the last in the João I line. Several thoughts were floating around for him. Maybe all known civilisations should be gifted at least Writing and possibly Alphabet if no other trades were possible. This would cetainly maintain a world-wide reputation for Portugal and minimise future espionage attempts because of Portguese goodwill.

Not only was he interested in emmissaries from close friends but any civilisation that has contact with Portugal would also be welcome...

[deity]

America

During this busy time at the close of the first eon the Americans sought negotations on their border with Portugal. Because America and Portugal are separated by a great desert in the West it took some time for this contac t to occur.

João agreed to the Am,erican suggestion that the desert itslef become the natural border between the two great nations.

This was fortold many years before by ancient explorations but none had actually reached America.

A great NW port location was sacrificed by the Portuguese to maintain good relations with America. The settler that was headed to this location where pig, crabs and deer did roam was diverted to a plainer location West of Lisbon and a new city was settled i thee in acxcordanmce with previous German agreements, avoiding outer city overlaps.

[LzPrst]

Muscowy. Rusland. People of the Steppes.


The harsh winds whipped sand and dust in the faces of the wanderers. Eastwards they marched. To settle the city of Omsk. Soon they knew, would follow others. Who would settle Tomsk. And Kursk. The Russians were considered weak and small. Their lands harsh and infertile, their people few of number and backward. Yet the outsider understood little of the ways of the Rus.

On the great plains new settlements grew, closely sparsed to accomodate the evergrowing numbers of the Muscowites. And East they wandered.

During this time Christianity spread in Moscow and the Rus accepted the faith of the keelhauled Sealord re-arisen and resubmerged.




Peter's City. Home of Builders and Scribes.

Meanwhile in the west, Petrograd, had begun a great project. A burial tomb for the finest of the Rus. Slowly and surely a great work was being constructed. Such a wondrous building. Yet as it neared finish a fatal discovery was made. There was GOLD in the stones! Upon realizing this the builders of Petrograd made a fateful decision. Dismantle the entire thing, break the rocks and melt out the precious metals. The treasury of Petrograd was boosted a hundredfold! Yet the great work was reduced to rubble. Such was the fate of Petrograd, no great work would be built there. The gold ore found in the Stone fundament of Petrograd was soon depleted and it's stones once again became mere building blocks.

Yet the greed of Petrograd's builders was not all negative, with the vast cash reserves the learned Rus began working towards a system of establishing an organized and effective system of Writing words with sounds insted of signs. The vast gold reserves helped attract thinkers, philosophers and great minds, and together a Russian Alphabet was created!

Though similarities to the Portugese system of sounds developed few decades earlier existed, the Russian Alphabet was in fact truly unique, its letters were far more elegant and intricate, and it also corresponded far better to the Russian language.



An offer of knowledge to the Ethiopians and the Americans
The scribes at Petrograd began thinking about exporting their great invention to other cultures who lacked a proper system of writing. Perhaps the Ethiopians and Americans would be interested since the Portugese seemed reluctant to share theirs. The Glagolitic Alphabet would be gladly shared as a sign of cooperation and of the great advancement made by the western Rus, for only smallest of compensations.



edited cause I'm a bleedin perfectionist. also renamed my alphabet to Glagolitic. turns out it is the precursor for the modernday Cyrillic alphabet

[Robert]

Thomas Jefferson - The Uniter of the Villages
When Jefferson died James Monroe spoke the following words at his grave:

Here lies Thomas Jefferson
He united the Villages of America
He made peace with the Germans and the English
He built the Great Wall and slayed off the Barbarians
He was our founding father
We honor him
Our Capital will be named Jefferson from now on, into eternity

James Monroe succeeds Jefferson as prime chief of the UVA
James Monroe was the natural successor of Jefferson.
For years he had advised Jefferson. He was a friend of Jefferson. Not to mention that he was a wise man, respected by all villages.

He decided to name the city known as 'Washington' 'Jefferson' from that moment on.
His goal was to rule the United Villages of America in the same spirit as Jefferson had done.

Peace for the United Villages of America
After years of tension with Germany on the south, Jefferson had achieved peace with both neighbours. The desert had become the natural border between Portugal and America, and the old city of Boston had been sacrificed to the Germans in return for the city of New Boston.

The Failure of the Great Pyramids of Jefferson
Jefferson was heading towards the construction location of the Great Pyramids, to witness the final moments of it's construction. For hundreds of years many Americans had been worked on the Pyramids.

Many were suprised to sea that a few minutes for the last stone would be placed on the top, the pyramids had suddenly vanished! Jefferson was burried in money at the same moment, and could barely breath.

Reports came from Germany that the Pyramids apparantly had appeared in their city of Hamburg.
This matter is still under investigation.
Jefferson died hours later after being burried by money.
The money was token by the American Administration and invested in research.

[condor223]

The sound of broken pottery blasted through the palace hallways. The Researcher Blake, the one who had taken control of the Anatolian peoples was led away in shackles while the Great King raged on in embarrassment and anger.

“It is a matter of honor that we let that Vizier destroy our research and send our learned ones off to learn how to make mud pies! We had sacrificed so much to be able to offer alphabet as a diplomatic coup, and the damned fool has changed our research, turning the monkeys loose with our foreign policy while the King was so ill! There is hell to pay for this and it is Blake’s neck that will feel the blade.”

Anatolian pride has been crushed during the illness of the king. The court healer/priests did their best to shorten the illness of the king, but damage has been done. All new relationships will need to be built with Anatolia since the agreement was ignored and now has no research to offer its neighboring tribes. How many generations will there be while grasping with the results of the “mud pie” research of the palace vizier?

It is ironic that Blake rode shackled in the wheeled carriage, that of his invention, as he was taken south as a peace offering to the southern tribes. The Southern neighbors had waited hungrily for the great Anatolian technicians to deliver Alphabet, AS AGREED.

Indeed, the king’s illness could not have been avoided, the great heaviness on the chest, the spinning room, the smothering sensation! All this activity subsided quite slowly while the healers crept through the palace hallways and gardens. Indeed, if the queen was more experienced, or the crown prince was of age, perhaps the Vizier would not have taken Anatolia into such idiotic delays.

Bring his majesty more pottery to throw at the courtiers, lest he have all of our heads!

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

In the Beginning

Below are the stories of the Origins of our Ancestors, passed on to us in the time-honoured Oral Traditions.

Mbuto Abu Seki (Chief Chronicler to Zara Yqob III).

Blessings to you, my children, from the All Mother....

Our oldest stories tell us that the people of Ethiop first arose at the junction of the two Mighty Rivers-the Congo & the Blue Nile-in the heart of the Forest Primeval. Our ancestor's lives were primitive & rude, with homes made from a mixture of river-reeds & dried mud-later reinforced with sandstone from the surrounding hills. Our warriors scoured the land to learn its secrets, & to bring back any wild beasts which crossed their paths, but the men & women of the first settlement spent their days harvesting nuts, fruit, berries & a host of edible roots & fungi.

Our first step forward into a bigger world was when our ancestors were gathering sandstone to reinforce our crude huts. The search for more & better stone revealed many trace metals-materials that our wisest men shaped into crude but effective tools. Tin, Copper & nickel were all shaped into simple daggers, spades, picks & trowels. As our tools improved, we dug deeper for the metal-which was increasingly in demand for other needs-like cooking & storage. Eventually an entire 'industry' was born to extract simple metals from beneath the earth, & these metals in turn made the job of finding & preparing more food much easier. It was on one such food gathering expedition that the lives of the Ethiop people would change forever.....

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

The Vision

Approximately 1 millenia after our people first arose from the reeds of the river junction, our place in the Universe Changed forever-on a date which would be forever be known by our people as 0 AMV (Anno Mater Vision).

It was Alanza Umbarto whose name would become most revered in Ethiopian society. She was a leading Matriarch in the growing town of Aksum, & often went into the dense forests to collect the array of foods which grew wild there. One day, though, she entered the forest & seemingly disappeared. Multiple search parties were organised & the forests were searched for days, then weeks & then months-but still no sign of her could be found. All hope had been lost & Alanza's family were already mourning her passing-as was much of the town. Then, in the midst of their grieving, Alanza walked back into the town completely unlooked for. Though she had been 'living rough' for months, she looked healthier & younger than when she had left. All the Elders & Wisemen-as well as her family-questioned her at length as to where she had been, but she was bemused-as far as she was concerned, it was still the same day as when she left. Then, she told our people of her amazing vision:

"I was out in a well-travelled part of the forest" she said "when I dug into the ground & found the largest & most beautiful fungus I have ever seen. It seemed to almost beg me to eat it, rather than take it back to the town."

"When I bit into the mushroom, it seemed as though the entire forest was plunged into darkness-except for an intensely bright light to the north-toward the hills." "I followed the light until I reached a clearing inhabited by one of every animal known to us, & filled with every plant & flower. At it's heart was a mighty tree larger than any I have ever seen &-at it's foot-was a beautiful Ethiop woman clad in nothing but the sky itself-& a nimbus of pure white light."

"All the animals congregated around this woman, & all the plants & flowers seemed to bend toward her." "She looked at me with piercing brown eyes & said 'I am the All-Mother, & all living things are my children,' 'you-the Ethiop people-are the most precious of my children, & shall always occupy a central place amidst the other inhabitants of this world.'"

"I thought I must be dreaming, & that this vision would disappear any second, but instead this woman-the All Mother-had more words to say. 'Alanza, though the Ethiop are my most precious children, you are not the only things which go upon two legs within this world. One day you shall meet these Others-the Pale Ones- &, though they may appear strange to your eyes, remember that they are my children also'"

"The All-Mother imparted other wisdom upon me, telling me that it is the duty of the Ethiop to go out & bring order to the world around them, & to spread their seed as far as they are able. She also told me that we need not fear the end of life, for we merely return to the world as another one of her amazing children." "Then, all at once the vision ended, & I was back in the place where I had first bitten into the mushroom."

News quickly spread of the Amazing Vision of Alanza Umbarto &-before long-the Cult of the All-Mother became a central tenet of the day to day existence of the Ethiopian people-with Alanza as its first Chief Priestess. We heeded the wise words of the All-Mother, & quickly set about trying to bring order to the world. We sought to tame the wild plants & beasts, as well as how to bring together the various metals we mined to create ever more beautiful & potent combinations. We also sought to send our people out to find new lands in which to settle & thus spread the belief in the All-Mother. It was in our search for these new lands, that our people stumbled upon the long prophesied Pale Ones.....

[The_Aussie_Lurker]

The Pale Ones

It was beyond the Mighty Blue Nile that our people discovered the first of the Pale Ones. Our warriors were scouting out lands in which to settle, but we found only sub-arctic wilderness to the South & bitter Desert to the East. However, at the edge of this desert our people found a most beautiful & malleable of metal-one which shone like the sun itself. As our people sat upon the hill & pondered how best to remove this amazing metal from the stone which encased it, watchmen called out-telling the others of pillars of smoke to the East.

Fearing a forest fire which could destroy our village, our warriors went to seek out the source. As they approached, they saw a collection of houses surrounding a large open area filled with bulb-like flowers. Out of the houses poured people like ourselves, only their skin was as pale as the snow of the southern tundra, & their eyes as blue as the sky.

Our warriors did not know whether to be afraid or to rejoice. After all, these were clearly the Pale Ones of which the legends spoke, but did they know of the All-Mother? Would these strange looking folk be peacemakers or desire our destruction as if we were some kind of wild beasts? Our warriors threw themselves down at the feet of these new people, & cast their weapons upon the ground in an act of supplication. Yet, rather than death, these Pale Strangers welcomed the warriors as long-lost brothers, & took them into the largest building in the town-just beyond the field of flowers.

There, the warriors met the ruler of these people-a man known as Willem Toni. Though the language barrier was initially tough to overcome, it was amazing how many concepts our two people's shared in common-through words. It was soon discovered that these people called themselves 'Der Nederlanders' & that the bulb-like flowers that our warriors had originally seen were known as 'Too-lips'.

In return, our warriors told these Pale Folk of the wonders of the All-Mother, a belief they heartily embraced (having no prior mystical beliefs of their own). One of our warriors remained behind in the Town of 'Hamstardame' &, in return, our warriors took one of their people back to the town of Aksum to learn more about our culture & the Cult of the All-Mother.

As if a floodgate had been opened, our warriors soon came into contact with two other 'tribes' of Pale Skinned peoples. However, as we never found any settlements that we could attribute to them at the time, we just assumed they were wandering savages-like the swarthy savages who occasionally menaced our society. Yet, though these Pale folk-who called themselves the Ainglais & the Rus respectively-were never truly 'friendly' towards the people of Ethiop, they certainly never attacked without cause like the other savages did.

Meanwhile, our mystic task of bringing order to the world continued apace. We tamed the wild cattle & stallions that roamed the many clearings within the forest Primeval. We began to build a mighty stone structure to honour the All-Mother, & to track the movements of her Sisters in the Sky. We also finally found a lush & open plain in which to settle, & there founded the Village of Gondar. Thus was the seed of Ethiop spreading further abroad. Further cultural exchanges were made with the people of 'Nederland', & their belief in the All-Mother grew ever deeper & more complex-far surpassing our own depth of conviction-as we turned ourselves to more Earthly & Pragmatic concerns.

Not all was going our way, however. Our attempts to merge the metals of copper & tin-though initially successful-took a turn for the worse when all the alloys we were creating in the new furnaces were brittle & dull. The furnaces needed to broken down, examined & rebuilt properly before further progress could be made. One of our greatest achievements, however, was still to come....

[dacole]

An English messenger arrived at the Russian court and began to speak.

"In direct violation of English Sovrenity you have settled in our territory. Your city farthest to the east south of the great mountain must be removed. We are glad you have joined us in whorshiping the son of Neptune but this does not mean you can settle in our lands. Either remove the city or be prepared to pay us rent for its continued existence.

Then the messangers voice changed and became more light and airy as he continued. When you get the change you really should see the portugeze capitol and the portugeze king he is amazing. He took me to plays, showed me the wonders of his city and it was marvelous. I have yet to find a man to give myself to but he may be the one. I have however heard stories of the strength and manlnyness of Russian men and I am sure your capitol is also wonderful. Perhaps someday I can see it. Surly you can give me the city as a gift, I would hate for anything to sour our relationship.

As you read the note the sent of Lilacs reaches your nose.

[Robert]

Session 1: 96 turns
Session 2: 90 turns
Session 3: 63 turns
Session 4: 57 turns

Session 4 Facts:
- Started within 20 minutes!
- Started without problems, only LzPrst was a bit later, but could hot-join on the first turn
- Nobody ever dropped from the game
- We never saw the 'vote' screen during the game!
- SOMEBODY finished the Temple of Artemis on the same turn that I would have had it finished..... and I don't konw WHO

In short: best session evah!