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  • The Empire of Talianna

    Hello. Firt of all, I registered recently and think that Apolyton is a great site. I just wrote the first chapter of a story and I would like to get some feedback. Sonce this is my first story ever, I would like to get some tips. Please post your questions, comments, and suggestions. Here we go!

    Chaper I: Ill news:

    Shadimar was at his desk reading his domestic report when Gerlich, his military advisor, burst through his office doors. His face was ghostly white, and he looked as if he had seen his wife die before his eyes. “Sire!” he said, “It’s finally happened! The Mongols have declared war on us!”
    “Funny,” replied the king of Talianna, “I thought that they would have led a surprise attack against us, the way they did last time, instead of formally declaring war...” He sighed. “Well, there is no point in pretending we didn’t see this coming. Squire, tell the stable boy to ready my horse, and send a runner to Persopolis requesting immediate action against the Mongols.” The son of the second most powerful Duke in Talianna scuttled off to deliver his message. “I hope the Persians are still willing to honor our old alliance, for we are going to need help if we plan on waging war with the strongest-…no…second strongest nation in the world.”
    “My lord, you seem a bit unconcerned about this war. It has the potential to destroy our whole nation!”
    “Well Lothar, as I said before, we knew this war was coming. I’ve thought about it, and we have no alternatives. Ever since our great crusades into Europe, the Kahn has become more and more disdainful of our nation. France and Russia were Mongolia’s greatest allies, you know. When we claimed Europe as our own, the Mongol’s list of allies thinned down to that pathetic little island nation of Japon…Japhan…whatever it is. Those little people are obsessed with their stories about ‘The New World’ and how wonderful it is. They even claim to be allies with a nation of ‘Aztecs’. Crazy talk, if you ask me…well, I’m wandering away from the subject…where was I?”
    “You were talking about our relations with Mongolia, your honor.”
    “Lothar, we aren’t in public, you can call me by name.”
    “Yes, my lord.”
    “Lothar…”
    “I’m sorry Shad, I…it’s just…we haven’t had time to talk in a while, in private, I mean, and I’m used to calling you by title. We haven’t had a good long talk since the days when we used to sneak out at night and pull pranks on the townsfolk.”
    “Ah, the good old days…I miss those carefree times, when our only enemy was France. You know, it seemed like the French were too far away to bother us back then. How wrong we were. When my father, King Nolan, may he rest in peace, was assassinated by those fanatical dogs, and I ascended to the throne at the tender age of eighteen, I made some unwise choices. If it weren’t for Persia…I’m wandering off again, aren’t I? Anyway, my point is that this war was predicable and destined to occur. The fate of Talianna rests upon a knife edge. If I don’t drive out the Mongols, for I’m sure they will come, and take the fight to their lands, we are doomed. There can be only one survivor of this war, and I will personally see to it that the Empire of Talianna is that survivor.” With that, King Shadimar left his private study and headed to the stables. He needed to personally deliver the message to Knight-General Jevin that war would soon engulf the known world in fire and chaos. The world was about to change…drastically. If he made one bad decision, the fate of the Western realm would be sealed.
    If I only had a brain...

  • #2
    Hi Nylan-Nolan,

    Welcome to Apolyton and the civ3 stories section

    Its always good to see new blood arrive and try their hand at posting a story. I have seen you post in a few other threads recently.

    Dont worry too much about meeting any grade or standard, we are all learning to be better writers here and certainly we all appreciate the time and effort that you have made to share with us your first story.

    One piece of advice I would give you straight off is to space your work out more, many people find it difficult to follow the stories here if the text is all bunched together.

    I will let you get more done before I comment any further, and I look forward to seeing where you go with this. Nice opener though, keep up the good work
    A proud member of the "Apolyton Story Writers Guild".There are many great stories at the Civ 3 stories forum, do yourself a favour and visit the forum. Lose yourself in one of many epic tales and be inspired to write yourself, as I was.

    Comment


    • #3
      Thanks for the advice, Chrisius. I will space out my next chapter. It should be ready soon.

      P.S. Iv'e been a CFC member for about a month now, and that's where I heard about Apolyton. Great site!
      If I only had a brain...

      Comment


      • #4
        It looks quite promising.

        Yes, very promising.
        Read Blessed be the Peacemakers | Read Political Freedom | Read Pax Germania: A Story of Redemption | Read Unrelated Matters | Read Stains of Blood and Ash | Read Ripper: A Glimpse into the Life of Gen. Jack Sterling | Read Deutschland Erwachte! | Read The Best Friend | Read A Mothers Day Poem | Read Deliver us From Evil | Read The Promised Land

        Comment


        • #5
          Nylon man,

          This is more riveting than a rivet! A true wingdinger of a story.

          May the empire of taliban rule forever!
          Here is an interesting scenario to check out. The Vietnam war is cool.

          Comment


          • #6
            Okay, here is chapter two. I (personnaly) don't think that it's as good as chapterI but I suppost that's opinionative.

            Chapter 2: The War Acadamy
            As he rode into the Great War Academy of the city of Talianna, Shadimar realized that Knight-General Jevin must have already heard the news. Weapons were being readied, and companies were forming up in the main courtyard. As the King passed, men turned and saluted, and then immediately went back to working without a second glance. A stable boy took his horse and led it to the stables while Shadimar continued on foot.

            There are a few things that must be understood about customs in Talianna. Because the king spends so much time with the public, many townspeople know him personally. Colby was no exception. He was a cadet at the academy and a good friend of Jevin. “Shadimar!” the fifteen year old archery cadet exclaimed as he ran towards his royal highness. “Have you heard the news?”

            “Yes” came the answer as the King turned the corner. “I came to talk with Jevin. I have plans him about way to end the war quickly, I hope.”

            “You won’t find him in his study. He’s down in the armory sorting through all the old weapons. We seem to be running short as of late.”

            “No doubt thanks to you. You are the worst shot this side of Daar.”

            “Well yeah…but I’m getting better!”

            “That’s a comfort. I’m amazed that you haven’t skewered anyone yet. Are you sure that you don’t want to be a swordsman?”

            “No way, I just don’t want to have to get that close to anyone. Too risky.”

            “Not nearly as risky as putting you in the back of an archery squad. You might take out the whole regiment. Ah, here we are.”

            Shadimar pulled open the door to the armory and stepped inside. “Wow Jevin, you really need to clean this place up. There’s dust and grime everywhere.”

            “I know.” Answered a voice from the next room. “We haven’t had to fight a war in a long time, thank the light.”

            “Well, we do now.” Shadimar said as he joined Jevin in the adjacent room. He was putting weapons in barrels while the younger cadets carried the weapons out of the armory to some unknown destination. “I see that you have heard the ill news, for why else would your men be sharpening weapons and reporting to the main courtyard for orders?”
            “Oh shoot! I forgot about that. I need to go change out of these work rags and into my uniform for the formal report of war.” With that, Jevin hurried out of the armory. Shadimar heard his footsteps grow faint, then get louder again.” A much less panicked Jevin stuck his head through the doorway. “Um...your highness…was there something you wanted to tell me? I know you wouldn’t just come here to tell me that we were at war. Besides, I sent the messenger to the Palace.”

            “I wanted to talk to you about the war strategy we are going to use against the Mongols.”

            “Oh right. Would your Excellency mind if that wait until the declaration of war is announced? I mean, even though everyone already knows, by royal decree, as you know all too well, I still have to tell the cadets. I’m late as it is.”

            “I don’t mind,” replied Shadimar. “I’ll be in your office when you finish.”

            “Thank you, my Lord. May the light bless you with a long life and reign.”

            “I don’t think that a long reign is really a blessing…more like a curse…but anyway, no thanks needed. I will be in your office.”

            With that, The King of Talianna mounted the steps to the tallest tower of the War Academy, while Knight-General Jevin of the Armies of the Kingdom headed to the main courtyard to tell the good citizens of his beloved country that it was going to war.

            P.S. Thanks to Skilord, Scratch, and Chrisus for the advice and compliments. Please feel free to advise my on anything.
            If I only had a brain...

            Comment


            • #7
              Alright, I'll give you some advice.

              Dialouge is good, and you don't do a bad job with it (That comes with mileage, so just keep practicing it and you figure it out for yourself) but you need more descriptions with it and more frequent references to the speaker.

              The way you have it right now its easy to loose track of who's speaking, just add in a little more "said Jevin" and then describe his actions as he says whatever he says. That'll help you out a lot.

              It's good, It is good.

              Keep it up.
              Read Blessed be the Peacemakers | Read Political Freedom | Read Pax Germania: A Story of Redemption | Read Unrelated Matters | Read Stains of Blood and Ash | Read Ripper: A Glimpse into the Life of Gen. Jack Sterling | Read Deutschland Erwachte! | Read The Best Friend | Read A Mothers Day Poem | Read Deliver us From Evil | Read The Promised Land

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks man, I'll keep that in mind. After the story is finished I will go back and edit everything. After that i'll post a final version here and maybe on CFC. Thanks again.
                If I only had a brain...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Shadimar, eh?
                  Is he also a wizard?
                  And Colby, only a cadet this time?
                  The Mountain Sage of the Swiss Alps

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I see I have found a fellow Renashai. I'm bad at making up names, so I collected some from other books (They will be changed if this is ever published, which I doubt.)

                    I suppose I should give you guys a little geography info about the game I played that this is based on. World map, normal starting positions, I started in Greece, because my civ was Greece with a different name. (Talianna, obviously.) That should keep you from getting confused.

                    P.S. I just joined the writing guild!
                    If I only had a brain...

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Okay, here is chapter three. It's short, but it has a good ending.

                      Chapter three: Discoveries

                      “Curses!” Shadimar exclaimed as he paced his throne room floor. “A thousand curses! How could Xerxies do this to me? In our hour of greatest need, Persia has not only refused to aid us against Mongolia, they have taken sides with our enemy! They shall pay for this act of betrayal!”

                      Lothar watched the King thunder up and down the royal carpet. Shadimar was red in the face, and was in the worst mood he had ever been in since…ever. He watched the stockily built King pace back and forth. His leathers swayed from side to side as he thunder around the room. “Wow, Shad sure looks different when he gets mad.” He thought to himself as he studied the royal features. Sweat was now dripping off the King’s slightly bulbous nose. His high cheekbones and set jaw, made him look arrogant. Even more so when he was infuriated. Shadimar’s deep blue eyes seemed to burn with the wildfires of Africa. Never had Lothar ever seen his King look so dangerous.

                      “You know,” the he said, “The Mongols probably had this planned the whole time. That would explain the absence of a sneak attack.”

                      “Of course!” the King replied, “Because if they had attacked us, Persia would have come to our aid! They had to declare war formally so that they would have tome to bribe the Persians before bloodshed!”

                      “That could be it, sire…so…what are we going to do about it?” queried Lothar.

                      “Simple,” Shadimar began, “Our forces in the North will sweep down upon the Mongol/Persian border. While that happens, we shall strike Persia hard on its western front (the border they share with us), and push straight for Persopolis. After we finish with Persia-”

                      Just then Ryba walked in. She was the Scientific Advisor to the King. “Sire!” she said, “Our Sooth Sayers have discovered Gunpowder! And as if that weren’t enough, we discovered saltpeter, a vital ingredient, in three places on our territory that already have roads!”

                      “That’s perfect!” Shadimar exclaimed as he ran over and hugged Ryba. Not only was she his science advisor, she was his consort. “Lothar,” he said as he turned to his old friend, “Call in our attack force near the Persian border. We need to equip them with guns, so that we may show Xerxies and the Kahn that we are a force to be reckoned with!” He chuckled gleefully. “Thank the Light, we are saved from an awful fate.”

                      A squire walked in and whispered something in Lothar’s ear. “Not just yet, my friend and King, the Mongols have arrived.”
                      If I only had a brain...

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        One more note:

                        not so much 'as he' vary the verb tense (while keeping it consistent) i.e.: Shadmir exclaimed, running over to hug Ryba.

                        Looks good, though. You're already getting a lot better, It took me several stories before I started to be decent at this whole thing.
                        Read Blessed be the Peacemakers | Read Political Freedom | Read Pax Germania: A Story of Redemption | Read Unrelated Matters | Read Stains of Blood and Ash | Read Ripper: A Glimpse into the Life of Gen. Jack Sterling | Read Deutschland Erwachte! | Read The Best Friend | Read A Mothers Day Poem | Read Deliver us From Evil | Read The Promised Land

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Thanks. I learn fast. I'll keep that advice in mind, critique!

                          (Just kidding)
                          If I only had a brain...

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Nice stuff this Nylan, keep it coming.

                            You asked for advice on anything ?

                            Well never eat yellow snow,
                            A proud member of the "Apolyton Story Writers Guild".There are many great stories at the Civ 3 stories forum, do yourself a favour and visit the forum. Lose yourself in one of many epic tales and be inspired to write yourself, as I was.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Hehe, I'll keep that in mind.
                              If I only had a brain...

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