Twin Stars

[Pinchak]

This yarn is based on real events taking place in a CIV4 pbem multiplayer game. As the game progresses so will the story. Please do not respond to this thread until the story is finished. It will be updated on a weekly basis. Thanks for reading!

[Pinchak]

Twin Stars - The Great Hope of the Mayan People

Our story starts in the year 725 BC, in the city of Tikal, capital of the Maya.

Pinchak, the ruler of the Maya sits with Eb, the city's chief medicine man, atop a Mayan pyramid. They pass a pipe between themselves with the tropical sun setting in the distance, and in doing so, slowly escape themselfs and this world.

Pinchak: Tulum is now in the hands of the Neko people. I handed it over rather then see the entire Mayan people who live there killed.

Eb: I know you have mixed feelings about that decision. It was a good one I feel. The Neko are great riders of horses, and there were thousands of their riders outside Tulum. Our warriors may have been able to hold them off for awhile, but in the end everyone would have been killed.

Pinchak: That is what I tell myself. The leader of the Neko has even agreed to exchange goods and knowledge for the peaceful end to the siege. Not a bad deal for us. Tikal is a crowed city however. We must expand our empire.

Eb (takes a long draw on the pipe): Indeed we must expand, but where? Our relations with the Greeks north of Tikal has been stressful at best since we tried taking their citys many moons ago. The sea is to our south, and although there is room for a city across the sea, it will no doubt come under attack from the Russians and Ottomans who live there. The west is our only option. Even west however will be contested in the future by the Americans and Russians.

Pinchak: The world is too small. We are sure to find enemies wherever we settle our next city. Without the shiny stones to make better weapons we are doomed. Our arrows and clubs are not match for horses, swords, spears, and axes.

Eb: (reloads the pipe, this time with only Diviners Mint) We must consult the Gods, they will know what to do...

*Eb lights the pipe and inhales deeply, then passes it to Pinchak who smokes it as well. They lay back on the warm sandstone blocks of the pyramid and gaze up at the clear, moonless night sky. The Gods come quickly, and share a common vision with the king and the medicine man.*

THE VISION: Both men find themselves in a great marble palace, with many people around them moving in groups of two or three and stopping every so many feet to examine various objects and scenes behind invisible walls. Everyone is dressed in colorful clothes, many of the men wear blue cloth that fits close to the legs. The clothing of these people fits well, much better then Pinchak or Eb are used to. Pinchak looks down and sees he is in a tight fitting gray outfit, with a bright red piece of cloth extending from his neck. Eb is wearing a similar outfit, except his is as black as night, and his neck cloth a much more vivid blue then the jungle dyes could ever produce.

The men approach one of the "exibits" and see frozen horses, with frozen spearmen riding on top. The spearmen are wearing clothing familiar to Pinchak and Eb, animal skins and dull colored cloth. Their boots are dark and dirty leather, a stark contrast to the lily white short boots that many of the people observing these exhibits wear. Pinchak and Eb look at the plaque below the frozen soldiers and read the words "Neko Immortals at the siege of Tulum - 725 BC."

The King and Eb move on to the next exhibit, behind an invisible wall they see their own monument... Stonehenge. It is much smaller then the structure Pinchak's grandfather had erected long ago. A bright flash emits from a little box one of the onlookers has held to his face. The king and Eb move on to the next exhibit.

What they see next is shocking. It is a miniature version of Tikal, but there are no miniature people. Puzzled by this, the men look to the plaque. It reads, "Tikal, the Mayan civilization capital, abandoned - 500 BC."

Both men stand with their jaws dropped. A booming voice speaks from nowhere, "The museum will be closing in 15 min. Thank you for visiting the Smithsonian museum of natural history."

The marble walls and oddly dressed people fade from view and two men find themselves in another time and place.

They arrive high in the sky, as if birds soaring on the breeze. Below they see Tikal, this time with the normal crowds of people milling around in the streets, but moving very fast, as if time is accelerated. Day and night come and go very quickly, in a matter of minutes. During one of the night sequences, Venus falls from the sky and lands in the bay outside Tikal creating a giant splash of water. When the water settles, there sits a galley, magnificently built and much larger then the trade galley that was used to transport people and goods from Tikal to Tulum.

Many people board the Galley, and it starts heading out of the bay. The day and night sequences speed up, as does the galley. It follows the coastline for many months, stopping periodically so the men may hunt for food. The two men are viewing this from high above, and the landscape is breathtaking. The galley leaves the tropics eventually, and heads into lands of which neither man has ever seen. Trees with needles for leaves, and very short grass cover the land instead of lush jungle and swamp. Further and further the galley travels, always staying within sight of the coast. The needle trees and grass eventually give way to barren, rocky ground. The temperature is much lower here, and the men shiver as they watch the galley head into a cold wasteland. The rocky ground turns to white powder, strange white bears and little black and white flightless birds are the only inhabitants to be seen.

For many months the galley sails along the coast of this icy desert. The men stop to hunt the flightless birds, and a weird creature with very short arms and no legs. Several times the ship is caught in storms.

After many moons have passed, the boat leaves the icy coast to visit a rocky island. The island is not impressive, but acts as a stepping stone to a more habitable island. That island in turn acts as another stepping stone to a large landmass. This landmass is virgin, no sign of man having been here. The rivers are wild, fast moving, and full of fish. The wilderness is vast, and home to a healthy population of woodland creatures. The people in the galley get out; only about a third of them remain alive. They kiss the ground and hold their hands up to the sky in thanks.

The day and night sequence speeds up yet again, this time reaching almost unreasonable acceleration. A day goes by in a half second. The men slowly rise higher in the sky then pervious, and for the first time realize how vast this new world truely is. As the years fly by in minutes, they see the original colony grow into a city, then expand into many cities.

[Pinchak]

The King and Eb abrubtly slam back into their earth bound bodys. The millions of stars snap back into their proper place in the sky.

Eb: The Gods have shown us what we must do, and what will happen if we do not act.

Pinchak: Indeed, the vision has confirmed my greatest fear. Without new land to settle, the Mayan people will not survive. We must begin work on the boat at once.

Eb: The new world awaits, but where? I remember when the boat was traveling along the coast toward the cold white land, the sun was rising to our left and setting to our right. This means we must follow the coast to the south.

Pinchak: Sun rising to the left? No, no, it was clearly rising to our right and setting to the left. We want to go north along the coast.

Eb: I remember it rising to the left. Do you think perhaps we were persented with two different visions? That would be very odd. The Gods generally do not offer conflicting advice. I am however in my last years in this world and my memory is not what it used to be. Perhaps you are right, the vision directed us north.

Pinchak: Now I am having doubts. Their is only one way to be sure, we shall build two boats. One will go north and one south.

Eb: Two boats your leadership? That also means two groups of settlers. Our workshops are already streched to the limit producing weapons. Can we afford to undertake this journey now?

Pinchak: We must. The Gods have shown us the answer and we must heed it. For the future of the Mayan people we must heed it.

[Paddy]

good man

thanks

[Pinchak]

Yeah, I was actually eliminated in that game, and the galley around the poles loophole on a terra map doesn't work... so the story sort of fell by the wayside.

I might pick it up again if i find myself with some spare time and in the writing mood.

[DarkCloud]

...spare time?
~DC.