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STORY: Saga of the Great Underground Empire

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  • #31
    As Dusk sets over the capital of Frobozz, people start to gather for the nights festivities. With the passing of Ixnay the seconds, the throne of the GUE is again up for grabs. The new leader would be announced tonight. He would be the winner of a free-for-all combat, in which any man of the realm could participate. There were hundreds of contestants this year, and now their only way out was death. There would be no mercy for the throne of the GUE. Only the strongest, and the smartest could survive this trial, that was the person to lead.

    As the last rays of sun glistened off the top of the Temple of Frobozz, the gongs were sounded, and the battle was joined. At first the onlookers could barely make heads or tails of the battle, so many warriors were there. Men anywhere from sixteen to eighty could be seen on the field. The lords and wealthy people were there, towering above their opponents, on the horses that only they could afford. Here and there the face and shape of a woman could be made out amongst the throng of men. The night grew long, and the battle slower. Many were already slain, their corpses strewn across the plaza providing additional obstacles for the remaining opponents. Oftentimes now a mortally wounded warrior could be seen using his dying effort to slay their opponent who was to weak to save themselves. A lot of good men were lost that night, but at this time the nation wanted the best there was.

    At last, as dawn approached, and the torches were burning low, the only survivors were eyeing each other carefully. There were three of them. One, Ixnay’s son Yanix stood proudly, but tired. His Armour was heavily damaged, and was almost falling off his body. One other, a female by the name of Mercade, although it was impossible to tell she was a female from all the grime of battle upon her. She knelt at one point of the triangle the three formed. And the last was Zorkk the Third. Somehow his horse had survived the night without serious harm, and Zorkk himself still seemed as fresh as the night before. The tension in the air was thick, the people had perked up again, watching quietly, as the future of their nation would be decided soon.

    With a quick wink at Mercade, Yanix gave a fierce warcry, and charged Zorkk, quickly followed by her. Zorkk stood staring, unmoving, watching these two come at him. The crowd held it’s breathe, when they were within a few meters of him Zorkk nimbly manouevered his horse out of their way, and they charged past. Now clearly outnumbered, he decided it was time to change the odds. Charging at the pair, Zorkk leaped off at the last second, and his horse veered away. Yanix, unprepared for the move quickly lost his head from Zorkk’s sword. The expression of surprise still on his face as it hit the ground. As for Mercade, she quickly assumed a defensive position and prepared herself.

    Zorkk was totally taken with this woman. Still young, he had not taken a wife. No one had met his qualifications yet. But here was a women he thought could make him happy. Someone with the same dreams and ambitions as him, someone he could share himself with. Unknown to him, Mercade was thinking the same thing, but she also thought about the law, which stated that only one could survive, without which she thought she might be able to seduce this man. For what seemed like an eternity those two stood there, watching each other, try to see what each other was thinking. The sun was now fully in the sky, and the stench of the battle was quickly clearing the area of spectators, their weak stomachs not up to the smell.

    At long last, Zorkk could stand the waiting no longer. “lady Mercade” he said “I will not kill you, for I believe I fell in love with you, while the sun rose at your back”. Unabashed now that he had spoken, he quickly continued “There you stood, surrounded by light, like an angel come to save me from this night.” At this point Zorkk knelt down on one knee, and spread his arms wide. “Lady Mercade” he announced in his loudest voice “Will you marry me?”. At this a great gasp came from the crowd. Quickly followed by a cacophony of yeses & no’s. The people that were left were very excited now. They certinaly hadn’t seen this coming the night before. All old bets were called off now and new was offered. Will she say yes or no? Odds were in favor of a “no” answer, as most thought this stone cold woman could not be swayed by the words of a man.

    “Lord Zorkk” said Mercade loudly, “why is it that you flatter me with words at the end of this long night? I fear I am not an angel come down to save you, but was a demon from hell, bent upon killing all before me.” At this statement the people who bet on a no answer stated to rub their hands gleefully, and were anticipating the killing stroke.
    “BUT, I fell in love with you as the sun rose and I saw the full sight of you. There’s something in your eye’s that tells me it’s right” announced Mercade

    At this the crowd gave a great cheer!

    “YES” she shouted “I will marry you!” and she quickly ran forward to be embraced by Zorkk.

    And so began the reign of Zorkk & Mercade. The plaza was quickly cleaned up, and a great wedding planned. By noon everything was ready, and the ceremony began, and off to rule together they went.

    Seeing that there were still gaps in their Kingdom, the duo assigned production of a new settler to colonize some more land in the south, to try and head of further Zulu expansion. They also asked the town of Xaxon to hurry it’s temple, so it would be complete next year. Appraising the military situation, it seemed they needed to learn more about the English and surrounding lands.

    In 440 our first Immortal unit was finished training, and we quickly sent them on their way to battle in the south. Zorkk & Mercade were adament about expelling the Zulu’s from their Island nation. They also purchased contact with a new civilization, the Aztecs. Who, when contacted were unwilling to trade on any reasonable terms. It seemed our military might needs some work. Also corruption was starting to become a problem with some of the cities down south, so it was determined that Zimora would be the perfect place for their forbidden palace, and work there was shifted. Appraisal of the financial books indicated it was noticed that money was being lost hand over fist. Taxes were increased across the nation.

    In the next few years the citizens of Farnvar held an uprising, very unhappy their temple was not yet complete. When asked by the mayor for help, he was advised to offer the people some entertainment. Hopefully they would get back to work soon. All the new military being trained was on it’s way south, and our current forces were waiting for some backup before advancing on New Ishandhlwana.

    The Zulu’s must have decided to try to break our siege, and sent out some bowmen. Our forces got them all as soon as they were out from under the protection of the city. Reinforcements, which now counted a new weapon the “catapult”, would be there soon and then we could finally rid our land of the Zulu’s.

    In 490 the ruling couple, Zorkk & Mercade, made a tour to all the cities & towns in the GUE. On this tour many projects were hurried to their completions, unfortunately at the loss of many of our people. Our current research was onto a new form of government called “the republic”. It supposedly had something to do about rule by the a majority of the people?? Zorkk & Mercade were mystified. Anything that would help the GUE grow would be useful. It was obvious that they were one of the bottom feeders in the world power struggle, and that needed to be changed.



    When the spring of 510 rolled around, the Zulu city of New Ishandhlwana found the GUE forces on it’s front doorstep. With their Advisors our Lord & Lady decided to push ahead and attack, the reinforcements were close enough, and a new city was close to being founded, to help secure the iron deposits under our control. Another group of settlers were bound for the second set of spices, as we figured we would soon need more commodities to trade.



    Later on that year, the Zulus landed an expeditionary force of horsemen on our shores near Yidnich. A little concerned upon hearing the news, Zorkk ordered some immortals to the town to help defend, our catapult was also near the site, and would hopefully help contain the Zulu forces. The very next season, with only 1 loss, our forces captured the Zulu town of New Ishandhlawana, and a temple was ordered to be constructed.

    In the next year, The glorious GUE Immortal had it’s first encounter. A very close battle indeed. After catching up to the Zulu horsement, the Immortals attacked, and the tide of battle went one way, then the other, until only a few were left, but those few were immortal! Our advisors informed us that we had now entered into a great golden age. There was rejoincing across the land.

    After much consultation, and discussion (and bedroom fighting) Zorkk & Mercade finally agreed that they had to take the last Zulu town on their continent. All forces on their way south were so informed, and it was thought that soon our island would be our own again. Along with this, the people, and culture of the GUE had improved so much, our borders increased by themselves in many of our areas. The Zulus were defiantly a thorn in our side though. Their culture was pushing ours down south, and we had some fears about the stability of the area. We thought there would be enough military forces there to hold New Ulundi, if only we could get in the city. Protected by one of their elite units, our forces were a little daunted. Our Archers down there lost the first few battles, but have managed to soften the enemy up, so our reports say, it should only be a matter of time.

    In 590 we discovered the secret of The Republic, which we weren’t quite ready for yet. A shame really, because our golden age could use it… If only we could capture New Ulundi. Kazarog was founded also, give us access to more spices. The Zulus, fearful of our approaching catapult we figure, called us up, and wanted to talk. Deciding to give no quarter, we refused to even see their messenger, and send him back to face his punishment. The Bombardment of New Ulundi then began in 610, the catapult crew unfortunately seem to need some practice. Things still works out when we capture New Ulundi, and then called up Shaka, only to discover he wasn’t interested in our peace terms yet. It’s good our galley’s were on their way to transport some troops over. Those Zulu’s need to be taught a lesson.



    We bickered with Shaka to try to work out better peace terms, but he’s still unwilling to give us what we want. After discovering currency in 630, we send our ambassador to Queen E, and asked her what she wanted for polytheism… she asked for spices, we asked for some work about another race, the Iroquois, and the French , and offered 28 gold. We shook hands and everyone was happy! Better yet, once our ambassador returned with the information on polytheism, our scientists immediately discovered that one god was better than many, and monotheism became ours. Theology would be next. Oh happy Golden days, let’s see what the French and Iroquois are like…

    The Iroquois were polite, but not willing to trade with us, the French on the other hand seemed more than happy to trade us contact with the Americans and Germans PLUS Feudalism for one of our spices. We figured this was a great deal and agreed right away. Unfortunatly, with those two nations we were not able to come to any terms about trading their world maps… guess it will have to wait for now.

    As we go into retirement, we leave the GUE well on it’s way to catching up. One of the new galleys has discovered what seems to be another uninhabited island to the east, and we can hopefully colonize it one day. Our military is as follows:

    11 Immortals
    2 Catapults
    19 Spearmen
    1 Pikeman (just trained in 640)
    9 Archers
    1 Warrior





    Zorkk
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    • #32
      Hey Guys, it's my turn is due tonite, but I'm working late on a project at work. If it's OK, I'll post it tomorrow, if not, skip me this time around.

      Thanks.

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      • #33
        excerpted from the Encyclopedia Undergroundica

        The reign of HawaiiFive-O the Third of His Name, also known as the Weak, was blessedly short.

        When he arose to the throne after the passing of the joint rulers Mercade and Zorkk the Third, the GUE was embroiled in a war with the Zulu Empire.

        At first his reign seemed promising, as he was able to talk Shaka of the Zulus into both peace and the secrets of Monarchy for only 40 pieces of gold.

        With the GUE at peace, he spent his time building up the infrastructure of the GUE. Unfortunately for him, HawaiiFive-O the Weak left too much power in the hands of the city governors. Gradually, the Governors grew more powerful and began to wonder if the Despot was really necessary?

        The final straw came when a new English city was established in the Spice fields to the south of Ista. The Governors demanded action from the central government, to wage war against the English pigs which defiled our sacred continent by their mere presence. HawaiiFive-O the Weak, inexplicably, took no action and offered only the lame excuse that he didn't want to break the trade agreement Zorkk the Third had entered into with the English.



        The Governors, enraged by his inaction and armed with the new concept of Republic, overthrew the government. HawaiiFive-O was killed, thrown from the roof of the Imperial Palace. The GUE was plunged into 70 years of internal strife. All Public works came to a standstill as three factions fought for control- the Monarchists, Republicans, and the "Bring Back the Despots".

        Finally, in the year 800 AD, the Republic of the GUE was established. Each of the new cities would send a representative to the great Council Building of Frobozz. The eldest representative, Steve McGarrett of Ruatha was appointed Prime Minister of the new Republic.



        His first order of business was to demand the removal of all English colonists from our continent. Elizabeth foolishly refused. Unbeknownst to her, McGarrett had ordered GUE strike forces to surround the English cities of Leicester, Carlisle, and Gloucester. After her refusal, the command went out- Wipe Out the English Pigs!



        All three strikes were successful. Two of the English cities were burned to the ground by over anxious GUE troops. Gloucester was captured intact. Steve McGarrett personally led the charge into the gates of Leicester. He did not survive the wounds he suffered during the battle.

        With his passing, Pisthetaerus III was elected Prime Minister of the GUE Republic.
        Attached Files
        Last edited by HawaiiFive-O; December 13, 2001, 16:07.

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        • #34
          The Man that succeeded Hawaii-Five-o the weak was not a general or man of military. This would have seemed prudent considering the ongoing war with England at the time of succession. No, the man who effectively took control was a senator from Paraudra who received his title Pisthetaerus III. Now Pisthetaerus knew that he was not adept at leading an army, and he stayed in Frobozz as the action continued south. Thus it was that Steve Mcgarrett’s successor, Steve McQueen, continued to harass the English. The English were foolish enough to attempt to colonize another city on GUE soil. It was quickly destroyed by nearby forces. But this was not enough for Steve McQueen, he deemed that an invasion of English home soil was necessary to put the English in their place.

          A galley was called up and proceeded to ship immortals to a mountain next to the town of Exeter. When he felt that conditions were in his favor, sixty thousand immortals descended the mountainside and took the town. There were some resisters of course, but they would soon be starved into submission. General McQueen continued to transport more troops over and started moving inlands. However, he saw a nearby city named Newcastle that had at least a hundred thousand troops coming to take back Exeter. Several divisions of immortals were slaughtered without so much as a single English casualty in the jungles of Exeter.

          Soon the general found himself on the defensive side off the war. Exeter was under siege by a huge army with the latest piked units. A quick counterattack by what immortals were available were able to almost half the army size. But the general knew that reinforcements were not to arrive that season and he sued for peace with the English. He was able to get some gold and their maps and the city of Leicester. It is a reported anecdote that when the general reported to Pisthetaerus III, told him of the handover of Leicester. Pisthetaerus III asked where it was and the general replied, “I do not know, and I’m sure that they do not know they belong to us let alone who we even are.” It was discovered that Leicester is somewhere to the other side of the Zulu empire.

          It was now time for Pisthetaerus to take the stage and lead the nation. He ordered that the rich continent to our east be colonized as quickly as possible before any other nation would be able to. Before his demise three cities were founded and a settle had just landed to create a fourth. (Another settler was in a galley with orders to sail around the northern part of the island and settle in the rich wheat fields) This island had many barbarians and several units of immortals were currently serving active duty there.

          Pisthetaerus III realized that his empire was lagging behind in others. We attempted to write books on war but that failed. The cathedral we were making in Frobozz was a nice cathedral but nothing great. It was now that Pisthetaerus III would earn his name—the diplomat. He wanted to get music theory before all the effort on the Sistine chapel were wasted, so he attempted to get it. But the other civilizations would not get it. There is a joke that during negotiations he became so frustrated that he offered Bismarck every single GUE city and he was still refused!

          In his quest of being a diplomat Pisthetaerus III ended up running a large deficit for a couple of years. He had boosted science up in an attempt to get music theory faster. He was desperate to get it. Two catapult divisions had to be disbanded in order to pay for this deficit. Much gold was spent in obtaining various things from other civs, particularly maps. He payed a pretty price sometimes, whoring away the printing press for a world map and 30 gold to one empire. He traded every extra spice we had, then went and got us more and traded them!

          Other problems in his reign were constant unhappiness in the larger cities, several times major cities revolted halting progress on important works. The forbidden palace production was stopped because he deemed its location not to be good, but he never designated a new spot for it (technically, New Ulishwanda is building it, but Ixnay may want to wait and build it on the new island)

          In the end, he died in his sleep from nightmares of his nation being overrun by all the other nations. He feared that we are a weak nation, and he may be right. Hopefully, our new leader Ixnay III can bring raise us up as his predecessor hoped.


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          • #35
            Ixnay III took over the republic of the GUE and was faced with the prospect of leading a nation that was lagging behind the rest of the world. He was determined to rise above the the other nations and lead his country to greatness. He quickly settled a new cityu on the eastern island but was told that the English had founded a city in the heart of the GUE. "No matter, we shall simply cut them off and deprive tehm of all contact with their nation," Ixnay assured his advisors, "and they shall most certainly yearn to be with us eventually." So, work was focused on bulilding up the nations cultural infrastructure and on colonizing the eastern island. Unfortunately, it looked like the other nations had their sights set on the eastern island as well, as England founded 2 cities, the Zulu founded 1, and France 1 on the island. However, most of the island was still controlled by the GUE. Ixnay received grim news one day that the Zulus had completed the grand cathedral planned by Ixnay's predecessor. Dismayed, Ixnay changed production to a workshop where great inventors could design newer, cheaper military gear. Using gold that he had been stockpiling, Ixnay hurried the production of temples in several of his cities. Eventually, GUE alchemists discovered the secrets of gunpowder. Much to Ixnay's pleasure, several deposits of saltpeter were discovered in his borders, so he could defend his cities without having to go to war. In 1240 AD, the uneventful reign of Ixnay III ended tragically in an accident involving croquet and a ham sandwich.
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