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Here is the start of the history book of Apolytonia. I ask, nay, beg that the moderators make this one sticky!
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THE ANNALES OF APOLYTONIA
Sometime, long forgotten, far in the past, mankind was born. Since the conception of this race of men, this single animal, among all others, has survived, flourished, and indeed, has triumphed. Though at first, man must have been up against incalculable odds, he has overcome these obstacles, and built cities. Overtime from cities there came kingdoms, and from kingdoms came empires. From empires there came civilizations. A city, indeed, a kingdom is not hard at all to find, but a civilization, this is different. A civilization is a people that have transcended the normal bounds of humanity. From making clubs out of flint, he makes swords out of iron, from drinking out of a stone bowl, to drinking out of a glass vessel; this is how civilization improves. And yet, civilization is more than moving up from stone to glass, it is leaving an indelible mark on humanity, creating words, thoughts, and matter, the likes of which are outstanding, and worth preservation. A civilization, like, say the Apolytonians, has done all this, but a barbarian kingdom like the Huns, for example, has not. Of course, we prideful Apolytonians, mindful of our great and worldly empire and civilization must remember above all things our past. We must also remember that we were once also barbarians like the vanished Huns, or the conquered Americans. It would serve us all now to create a lasting memory in words of the collected deeds and thoughts of the early Apolytonians, from their humble beginnings in the darkness of the jungle to the globe spanning empire of the present, and this is what I, Gaius Publius History Guy, have started the work of doing.
The legends of the beginnings of our race are many, and profuse. Such mythological characters as King Ming, the troll-smiter, have many different tales written of them, such as the voyage across the seas of King Ming to find the ‘infallible banana’, which was believed to hold the secrets of eternal life. Unfortunately, much of that tale is now lost to history, a sad testament of the need to preserve our past. Exactly where our peoples began as a kingdom is unknown as well. Apparently, it was in a far-away place called Egypt that the primitive men began to become civilized. Legends tell us of a once mighty kingdom, ruled over by the House of Pharaohs. No enemy, but one, could defeat the mighty Egyptians. Only small pieces of history from this dark period remain, including a tablet, carried from the forgotten city of Heliopolis, destroyed by the one nameless barbarian who conquered, but also fell to the avenging Egyptians, who fled the destroyed kingdom as nomads. The tablet shows a king preparing to smite a small individual with a huge, down turned mouth. Perhaps this is an image of King Ming, the troll-smiter. Other events have been recorded, but most are mythological. Two names of leaders still exist as well: Cleopatra, the final queen of Egypt, and Tutankamun. Exactly what they did is a mystery.
The nomads packed their bags in a hurry, leaving the burned out ruins of a once glorious past to the ravages of time. Treks down to the south, over seas, rivers, and mountains, have been recorded as a series of tales known as the Bananii, ‘the Wisdoms’, but most of them are probably concoctions of the ancient mind, and are filled with mythical creatures, and a menagerie of gods. One part, though, proven to be accurate, is the part written about a war against enemy barbarian tribes, deep in the heart of the jungle where our own civilization evolved. Evidence of this hundred-year fight has actually been discovered. According to the legends, the king of these nomads, in desperation, consulted a prophet, asking whether they should abandon the move south. The prophet responded that the king should push onward, and that if he did, he would not only defeat the enemy, but found the city that would become the capital of a mighty civilization, that would one day come to dominate the entire world.
The king then asked the prophet, “Where, O Prophet, will I build this city?” The prophet scratched his huge beard, pondered the question, and responded, “You shall build at a spot where you see a mighty fish shooting up sea-spray to your right, and a huge gathering of bananas to your left.” Apparently, this is what was discovered in the year 3950 BC. The sighting was remarkable, as to the left of the nomads was a jungle, and from a tall banana tree there hung a large clump of bananas, a symbol of wisdom to the ancient Apolytonians, and on the right there was the shore-line to the great sea. Sure enough, off shore a bit was a huge whale, coming up to the surface for air, and spouting out spray. Immediately, construction began on the city of Apolyton. Before the city was completed, however, the king died, leaving no heir, and so the great minds of the city gathered together and created a new form of government, that which is by the people, and for the people: democracy.
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THE ANNALES OF APOLYTONIA
Sometime, long forgotten, far in the past, mankind was born. Since the conception of this race of men, this single animal, among all others, has survived, flourished, and indeed, has triumphed. Though at first, man must have been up against incalculable odds, he has overcome these obstacles, and built cities. Overtime from cities there came kingdoms, and from kingdoms came empires. From empires there came civilizations. A city, indeed, a kingdom is not hard at all to find, but a civilization, this is different. A civilization is a people that have transcended the normal bounds of humanity. From making clubs out of flint, he makes swords out of iron, from drinking out of a stone bowl, to drinking out of a glass vessel; this is how civilization improves. And yet, civilization is more than moving up from stone to glass, it is leaving an indelible mark on humanity, creating words, thoughts, and matter, the likes of which are outstanding, and worth preservation. A civilization, like, say the Apolytonians, has done all this, but a barbarian kingdom like the Huns, for example, has not. Of course, we prideful Apolytonians, mindful of our great and worldly empire and civilization must remember above all things our past. We must also remember that we were once also barbarians like the vanished Huns, or the conquered Americans. It would serve us all now to create a lasting memory in words of the collected deeds and thoughts of the early Apolytonians, from their humble beginnings in the darkness of the jungle to the globe spanning empire of the present, and this is what I, Gaius Publius History Guy, have started the work of doing.
The legends of the beginnings of our race are many, and profuse. Such mythological characters as King Ming, the troll-smiter, have many different tales written of them, such as the voyage across the seas of King Ming to find the ‘infallible banana’, which was believed to hold the secrets of eternal life. Unfortunately, much of that tale is now lost to history, a sad testament of the need to preserve our past. Exactly where our peoples began as a kingdom is unknown as well. Apparently, it was in a far-away place called Egypt that the primitive men began to become civilized. Legends tell us of a once mighty kingdom, ruled over by the House of Pharaohs. No enemy, but one, could defeat the mighty Egyptians. Only small pieces of history from this dark period remain, including a tablet, carried from the forgotten city of Heliopolis, destroyed by the one nameless barbarian who conquered, but also fell to the avenging Egyptians, who fled the destroyed kingdom as nomads. The tablet shows a king preparing to smite a small individual with a huge, down turned mouth. Perhaps this is an image of King Ming, the troll-smiter. Other events have been recorded, but most are mythological. Two names of leaders still exist as well: Cleopatra, the final queen of Egypt, and Tutankamun. Exactly what they did is a mystery.
The nomads packed their bags in a hurry, leaving the burned out ruins of a once glorious past to the ravages of time. Treks down to the south, over seas, rivers, and mountains, have been recorded as a series of tales known as the Bananii, ‘the Wisdoms’, but most of them are probably concoctions of the ancient mind, and are filled with mythical creatures, and a menagerie of gods. One part, though, proven to be accurate, is the part written about a war against enemy barbarian tribes, deep in the heart of the jungle where our own civilization evolved. Evidence of this hundred-year fight has actually been discovered. According to the legends, the king of these nomads, in desperation, consulted a prophet, asking whether they should abandon the move south. The prophet responded that the king should push onward, and that if he did, he would not only defeat the enemy, but found the city that would become the capital of a mighty civilization, that would one day come to dominate the entire world.
The king then asked the prophet, “Where, O Prophet, will I build this city?” The prophet scratched his huge beard, pondered the question, and responded, “You shall build at a spot where you see a mighty fish shooting up sea-spray to your right, and a huge gathering of bananas to your left.” Apparently, this is what was discovered in the year 3950 BC. The sighting was remarkable, as to the left of the nomads was a jungle, and from a tall banana tree there hung a large clump of bananas, a symbol of wisdom to the ancient Apolytonians, and on the right there was the shore-line to the great sea. Sure enough, off shore a bit was a huge whale, coming up to the surface for air, and spouting out spray. Immediately, construction began on the city of Apolyton. Before the city was completed, however, the king died, leaving no heir, and so the great minds of the city gathered together and created a new form of government, that which is by the people, and for the people: democracy.
Great job!
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