I think I'm pretty firmly in PBs camp. And the end game seems to be coming. I'm feeling that its becoming less likely that the game will last long enough to get the tower of mastery completed, but I'm going to give it my best shot anyway!
PB has just absolutely devastated Iskender. To the point where I'm just feeling bad for the guy. Apparently it was the result of Iskender wishing to stay neutral, and PB not being willing to let that stand.
He isn't dead yet, but things are looking pretty dire. He gave me Air mana for a for free when it became apparent his demise was looming, but our trade connection was cut after just a turn. I've talked to him about him possibly quickly teching Infernal Pact, and making a fresh go of things as Hyborem (He'd discussed doing this before, starting up in perhaps 20T) but it appears that would be impractical.
Anyway. I'm sad that Iskender has been taken down. I think he played a pretty good game, all things considered. His economy started bleak when he took over, but for a long time it was easily the second strongest around. I was hoping we could work together in the long term, but sadly it wasn't to be.
I will say then that I think he was foolish to pass up the offer that PB says he gave him. As I understand it, PB was offering to conquer Bob and give Iskender all of the cities in return for a little cooperation. That sounds like a blindingly good deal to me.
The relationship between PB and myself is now an MDP, backed up by a lot of trade links. I think the big conflict between PB and Bob is brewing as Bob trains vampires and acquires vassals, and PB eliminates potential complications (myself diplomatically, Iskender militarily). My little army of mages are sweating a bit.
Here is the official pact between the Illians and the Kuriotates.
Quote:We, the undersigned, do hereby declare:
That on this day, the 21st of the glorious season of the Centaur, the great nation of the Kuriotates and the almost as great nation of the Illians have entered into an agreement to provide mutual defense, protection and succour.
It follows that:
Should either nation be threatened by the spectres of war, their combined militaries will act as one to repel invaders, with the inevitable crushing victory being followed by a campaign to lessen or remove the potential for future invasions.
It is acknowledged that the primary aim of this pact is to combat the ever-spreading taint of the Calabim in the South, and any calls for defense by either party in this regard will be heeded and responded to in an sincere and expedient fashion.
Although not within the scope of this contract, external threats originating from other parties will be considered on a case by case basis, with the option to provide assistance implied but not obligatory.
Not merely limited to situations where one party is declared upon, this document will also encompass deployments where a declaration is felt necessary or timely to prevent or pre-empt first strikes.
Given the Illian history of blatant and dastardly warmongering, the gentle Kuriotates have stipulated a clause here requiring a declaration on the Calabim or one of their vassals to be, at a minimum, discussed prior to taking said action.
<<the text rolls on and on, clearly the author is enjoying himself>>
It is considered a given of this accord that neither party will declare war on each other for the duration, nor provide assistance in any form to an outside faction with this aim.
The duration of this Military Defense Pact shall be 50 turns inclusive, beginning sunrise on the 170th turning of the world, ending sunset on the 220th.
Finally, it is to be noted that this agreement should be viewed as extraordinary in the histories of both parties.
If by the end of it the threat is considered over, then allowing this covenant to lapse will not be viewed as a decrease in Kurio-Illian relations, particularly in light of their 170 turns of peaceful and paperless coexistence.
With the grace and benevolence of our Boy-King and yes, I suppose Auric also, we will both be around to discuss any extension.
If the above is in accordance with your expectations, please sign your name in the space below.
If unable to read and write, a simple âXâ will suffice.
Supreme Boy-King of the Kuriotates:
Pocketbeetle
Chief Advisor to Auric, Totalitarian Ruler of the Illians:
[COLOR="Cyan"]
SELRAHC[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Plum"]
(Please note for each day you delay signing this document, one slave shall be freed from the Jingle Bells mines.)[/COLOR]
(Please note, the recent addition of earth adepts to mining operations has enabled us to dig deeper and further than any expedition before. The men who leave the mines are haunted haggard creatures, ranting about things man was not meant to know and infected with hideous diseases that have no remedy beyond death. As such we feel that liberated slaves from Jingle Bell mines would fit right in with the all new, all gibbering Kuriotate empire, and have in fact sent a delegation of the dozen worst of them to deliver this reply. Fnord.)
So I'm in on PB's side and I'm in deep. 50t to deal with the threat of the Vampires is his estimation. I think that's a correct one. But 50t is nowhere near enough to even build all the sub towers, let alone get Strength of Will completed and get to work on the horrendously expensive tower of mastery. I'm also going to have to get my empire one hell of a lot more militarized than it is right now. I've got some plans.
I'll actually try and get an Illian Holiday Spectacular report together to get you all updated on the state of the empire. It should be up either tomorrow or the day after.
Hey, now that you're firmly on the Kuriotates side, and you've admitted yourself you won't be able to finish the Tower of Mastery on time, how do you plan on winning the game?
I'm going to keep working on the tower. There is always the chance that the vampire campaigns will get bogged down into long term conflict. If not... well I'll be hoping to have a fairly formidable military machine in place by the end of this war. PB has practically maxed out his production capacities. I've barely gotten started. By the end of the vampire wars I should have much higher production potential. I'm hoping that will let me wage a defensive military campaign until unlocking Archmages, then wage a magic backed attacking campaign.
A pipe dream I've got in mind is to actually go for Auric Ascended. He would certainly be a decisive military edge. The only trouble being that I'm fairly sure I could get the tower before I could get Auric.
My chances of winning aren't terribly realistic right now. I might suffer heavy damage in the vampire campaigns, losing vital cities. I might not have enough military left after them to compete with PB's forces. In order to have a good chance I need to leave these impending wars with almost all of the subtowers built, and with an empire that is dramatically stronger militarily than it is at the moment. There aren't high chances of that, but I'll be looking to seize every opportunity I can take.
My opportunities for winning outside the tower are bleak though. Illians are bad at culture, and I've not set up for it. I doubt I'll be able to turn the tide militarily enough to consider a domination or conquest win. Luonnotar or Religious victory is just impossible. Mastery is my only shot.
Hey guys, sorry for no Christmas update yet. Been over at my mum's in Portugal and been distracted. I promise I'll get you all updated soon in a fairly major way, so you can all start saying how silly all my decisions are again . I've just been trying to operate a sober play/update schedule since August and that hasn't really tallied with my trip! Um... soon... Before new year and the turn hiatus ends at least.
In the last days before the great wars unfold I think I'd like to tell you the tale of the Illians as I've imagined them. If you want some more pictures of graphs or cities, I'll be back tomorrow.
In keeping with Christmastime, I'm going to tell you three tales. The first is the story of the Empire's past. The very early history of the Illians. Why did I have bloodpets at the start instead of a warrior and a scout? Why did I suddenly go to war with those damn dirty Svarts?
Authored by, the late I.R. Glass of the Illian Magistry of Law, an approved version was heavily reedited and released by his secretary following his trial and execution.
An Abridged History of Auric Ulvin, the Winter King: Unapproved Edition Wrote:After the cataclysms of the age of ice, the Illians were a people in crisis. Our leaders were capable enough, but alone were unable to cope with the loss of their god, their power and their purpose. It was only with the coming of Auric that the Empire was reborn. We all owe him our lives, but there is little that is understood about his life. I hope to make his history clear, so that we can pay him more fitting tribute.
The early history of Auric is obscure, and even the highest ranking members of the government only met him after his visit to the Frigus. Through a series of meetings I have managed to piece together some few details of his life before that fateful day.
Auric's parents were not Illians, but were members of the Amurite empire that defeated us. To many within the empire that thought would be sacrilege.. our greatest enemies spawning our saviour? As for myself I have always found the thought amusing. The arrogant and delusional magicians wove their own doom in more ways than one.
The Amurite empire shattered into pieces after the cataclysm, and the disappearance of Kylorin. Auric's parents survived and gave birth to their little boy. They shielded him through the terrors, and Amurite society was initially far less affected than the Illian so his early childhood was a lot less traumatic than it could have been. The trouble for the Amurites was that they had ignored an ancient and terrible evil that lurked within their ruling classes.
The origins of vampires are unknown, but I have always suspected that it was the doing of those twisted and depraved sorcerors attempting to save themselves. What happened in the aftermath of the cataclysm was that the vampires arose, taking power and establishing themselves as an aristocracy of blood. Some managed to escape. The Hippus are theorized to have originated when ancient bandit clans merged with those fleeing the vampires, and spent many years attempting to rescue others. The Kuriotates were supposed to have been rescued from thralldom by a child blessed with the power of the sun. These are all rumours and hearsay however and are not a fit subject for historical concern.
What matters to us is the effects on young Auric. He was a prodigy, a genius in more ways than one. As such he was soon picked out of the litter of the breeding pits and brought into a vampire household. There the young Auric was groomed for power, to one day join the ranks of the vampiric aristocracy. One can only imagine the nightmare for the world if that had been the fate of our lord and master, his noble soul degraded by the vampires to the state of a gutter rat.
Fate chose to intervene however. A great tide swept through the vampiric society, and many of its most noble houses were broken. The scattered and decadent lords were merged into a clan, and then an empire. This was undertaken apparently by a humble human named Decius, although whether he remained a mortal is unclear. The patrons of Auric were swept up and ripped asunder in the revolution and he was forced as a young man to flee "Calabim" lands with only his two faithful retainers for companionship.
The months that followed I was unable to catalogue, and his two retainers, although they were forever famed in Illian folklore as great explorers, left distressingly little historical data on the period. I have pieced together accounts of the destruction of a minor orc fire cult, the assassination of a wandering insane clown and the unchaining of a frosted figure, these events seem to bear the hallmarks of our lord's years in the wilderness however, and dispatched agents to study these events further.
What is certain is that it was in this time that he first heard the call of Mulcarn. That he was first chosen to be the new god of winter. It must have been a marvellous beautiful moment. Perfect clarity and knowledge of purpose that few of us can hope to parallel. It left him wanting to find Letum Frigus.
The tale of what happened on the day he arrived is well told. Many of our older citizens (and politicians, as they never stop harping on about) were there. They all saw, and we all know, the glorious visage of the lord of Ice, finally reunited with his people. We all know the tales of the first colony and how he tirelessly built night by silent night many of the foundations of our empire, and the civic structures that we still honour.
I am not interested in going over that same well tread and wearied ground again. What I will note however, is that even in this time we could see the seeds of the fate that would befall him. His cheeriness and life would sometimes give over to intense depression. His projects were what kept him going, and without them he would sit motionless for hours on end.
It was the attack at the peace conference that really spelled despair for Auric however. He had been his usual self, in the midst of training the great priests, busily building and working for the conference. We had just met what were theorized to be the only major empires of Erebus, and with the exception of the Orcs all were willing to join us in the hall of peace that we were building to discuss the future of the world.
We all know of the cowardly attack that took place at that conference. Of the way the Svartalfar assassins nearly killed Auric. For every drop of blood he spilled, we killed a hundred elves. His disciples tore out of the palace, howling for the assassins (although it might be impolitic to mention that their prodigious healing skills might have been needed in tending to the weakened Auric.)
The Svartalfar government took no responsibility, stating that it was a rogue group of summer court fanatics who were responsible, offering to execute the ringleaders. But we knew the truth. The Summer court had been a political thorn for the Svarties for countless years, and they would certainly have arranged the operation as an excuse to off their political rivals while denying any wrongdoing. The deaths of Amelanchier the "Ringleader", and his two female accomplices was of no consolation to us. The conference had been ruined. The Illians saw no future in peace.
The effect was more devastating than we could have dared to imagine though. While the priests were away, Aurics state of mind took a turn for the worse. Too injured to engage in physical activity he had no recourse but his paperwork. He wrote many things but he also spent longer and longer in a depressed state.
Even after he healed, he was a changed man. And one day, he retreated to the throne room, asked not to be disturbed, and sat down. There he sits to this day. In an eternal stasis. Since then our government has been run by simpering fools, hoping to echo even a tenth of his glory while being too weak to follow his examples.
They've spent their time building pretty toys to coax him back to interest. A shiny palace, a pathetic card tournament. Not being content with that, they sought to pry into his very mind! Echoing the sins of the sorcerors of the Amurites our "wise leaders" have built towers and trained seers to seek out the mind of Auric.
I am doubtful that any of this will work. The weight of godhood is too much for the mortal body to bear. I believe that I have seen the solution that these fools are too blind to know. In writing this book and as a high magister of the law arcana I have seen many strange sites. I know that the Ether works in mysterious ways. If the flesh is too weak to bear godhood then we must liberate our lord from the flesh. We must work to honour him by allowing him to access his godly powers, and remove those weak incompetent fools who dither and piss away our greatness. I leave these words that others may follow my example if I fail. I will carry out my scheme tonight.
NB. It is believed Mr Glass died in the Jingle Bell mines less than a month after writing this. Rumours of his use in a biological warfare attack on the Kuriotates are unsubstantiated.
With the past accounted for and a look into the character of the Winter King who I labour for, let us look at the Empire's present.. as a hero of yore acquaints himself with the technologies of the new age of magic. Sometimes I like to have a bit of a rationale for the anarchy that sweeps an empire during a civics change...
An Interview with General Sleet
broadcast on the news segment of "Ice in Our Times", the premier information show on the Illian Orb Service, created for Illians by Illians under the auspices of the Magistry of Enchantment.
Transcript of proceedings Wrote:General Sleet: Welcome dear. You do an old man a service with your pleasure. Can I offer you a drink before we get underway? I've got some fine Kuriotate imported liqueur? Or some Dwarven Firewater? I've got some of the new Illian stuff too, but I wouldn't wish that swill on anybody...
Interviewer: No thank you sir, I think we should get the interview underway. In fact the filming has already begun.
S: Already begun you say? Oh my. I see. The little blinking thingummy. Never had those in my day.. some of the things those chaps in the Tower are coming up with boggle the mind, why I remember when they were still building that and old Junk Heap Ollie would steal their bricks and replace them wi-
I: Ahem. Perhaps we should begin.
S: Oh yes. Of course. No need to be so formal lass.You weren't so formal when I first met you, back when you were running from Hippus bandits on the southern marches, and you needed a dashing older gentleman to come to your rescue.
I: *Blushes*
S: But by all means girl, lets get started. Never thought you'd get into the news business... scribblers we used to call them back before the orbs became so widespread. Always getting things wrong too until we brought in the new law spheres and gave some people a good mind cle-
I: IT might be-
S: Oh? Hum.
I: It might be helpful to tell some of our viewers who exactly you are and what your accomplishments have been, just to show that they should be taking some of your most recent proclamations seriously. You've become quit a controversial figure in recent times.
S: Not much to tell really. I joined up as a soldier back when all you needed was a strong arm and a cool head. Back when we were all that stood between the empire and an orcs cookpot.
I: Oh come now general, don't be so modest.
S: Nothing modest about it. Bloody good calling it was back then. I remember fighting that bugger Orthus even now. You can still see the scars. Used to give me a dashing edge. Nowadays they just make me look undignified I'm told. Hrumph.
I: But your advance through the ranks is legendary. Your role is second only to the Priests in commanding the military.
S: Oh yes. Had an unexpected talent for the paperwork, and just happened to be dashing and heroic enough to act as the figurehead. Not that I could have done a worse job than that halfwit Braeden. Hear hes been sent packing to some backwater city governance these days. Military is better off without him.
I: So what are your views on the military in the modern day?
S: Oh we're still as underfunded and understaffed as we've always been. The elder councils are always off haring after the latest secret project that will revolutionize warfare forever.
I: Speaking of which, you've had some fairly forthright views of the recent magic revolution sweeping through the military.
S: Yes. I think they're getting ready to do away with us honest soldiers.
I: Could you explain?
S: Oh don't get me wrong. The mages can generate some impressive results. I remember gawping in shock the first time I saw mistress Jadis really let lose on that prisoners revolt. She could pick an entire city to pieces, blasting them with bolts from the heaven. Almost enough to make a man collapse on knees and pray to Auric for mercy. But they've been systematically sapping the rest of the military to fund it. We've been demoted to glorified county militia status. Barely trusted to deal with the local bandits and orcs. I think an army that forgets the strength of a strong arm and a bronze axe is asking for trouble.
I: Very interesting General.. and your service with the priests? Was that the same sort of issue? It's been remarked that the start of the decline of the military was when the priests moved from clerical to military affairs.
S: I'll not hear anything bad said against the priests.
I: Oh no.. I di-
S: Each one of Riuros, Dummanios and Anangatios has saved my life on dozens of occasions. Without them there would be no Illian empire. I know it has become fashionable to blame them for our problems, but they have done what they can. Every step of the way.
I: Of course. Well on the issue of the priests, let us get to the statements that brought us here today. People have been decrying you as a doomsayer, what would your response to that be?
S: I'd prefer to think of myself as a realist. We all know the war is coming. Saying that we have a good chance of losing isn't treachery. It's realism. If all know the stakes, maybe we can do more to win.
I: But why is our chance to lose bad? You said yourself that the strength of the mages and the priests is awe inspiring.
S: But our opposition is equally formidable. And our allies... the venerable centaurs... sometimes I wonder if they're a bigger threat than the leeches. Have you seen the nonsense they're talking? Equality and Freedom? All while serving that juvenile delinquent they call an emperor like he is Auric come again. And the insane gods they serve? How can we trust an ally like that?
I: And these are the statements that have made you a pariah among the diplomatic circle. Surely you can see how inflammatory it is for a public official to be saying things like this?
S: Diplomats. Idiots to a man. Driven by the need for peace. They don't understand war at all.
I: General!
S: If I appear blunt, it is because I understand the ultimate stakes. Serving with the priests has given me a wonderfully uncluttered view of our ultimate fate.
I: Which is?
S: We're all going to hell.
I: *Appears stunned*
S: Since Mulcarn died, our souls go unclaimed. They find their way to his winter wonderland unaided, but while there they mingle with the damned souls who were once our eternal servants. The demons catch our dead, and drag them to the deeper levels. There is nothing we can do to stop this. Any man, woman or child who dies will go to hell.
I: My-
S: The only thing we can do is make sure that their torment is not forever. By fighting for Auric. By raising him to be the new God of Winter. We must give our all for this goal, or eternal damnation is our only reward. Despite the rhetoric, he hasn't ascended yet. In understanding this, we know that we play for greater stakes than all the other empires. We must win. We have no other option. Victory is-
>Image is abruptly cut<
>Etheric static<
Program changes to "Cats... In the Snow"
NB: This interview was broadcast live across the empire, and was followed by widespread rioting. In the long run though it was believed that it increased public readiness for war.
Finally I'll tell a tale of the end. The big happy ending for the Illian people and some tales of despair as well. What would a tower of Divination actually do? To wrap it all into a bow and complete this thematic Christmas Carol.. here is the tale of an Illian future.
The final thoughts of Adept Drift, a low scoring graduate from the Mage Guild in Twelve Days.
Quote:I labour as an apprentice scrivener. Writing, all day, every day. The things that I write are prophecies, but they aren't mine. They don't even come true. But still I write them. Hour after hour. Week after week.
I wish I could have studied harder. Gotten a job as one of the testers of application magic downstairs. Been an orb-boy. Maybe even been one of the real elite and assigned an army post. But no... bottom of the class. Charted low in magical aptitude. Assigned a post at the crappest job in the tower. Just so I don't go and taint the etherless with my forbidden knowledge or some such.
Listen to them... droning on and on like its written in their minds in fire.
"The spectres of the damned will walk the earth. The soulless devourers will consume all. The world will know the tempters embrace. The darkness will be forever."
That's a weird one. Sounds like bad news for somebody... Probably more bullshit.
If only Adept Fall hadn't had such an enchanting smile, maybe I wouldn't have wasted second year pining over her and gotten on with some real work.
"The Dragon will fly again. The earth shall know his embrace. The light of the world will be restored. Just as it was in the age of Dragons. An eternal golden age."
You know even being an interpreter of this crap wouldn't have been so bad. At least I wouldn't have to look at them. They really freak me out. I heard how they got them. In the experiments to build the tower.. they needed human subjects to test some theories. The subjects were released, but when they had kids they were collected and tested.
And then some of them were taken. And these little kids grew up. Blind, hairless. Their eyes glow with this sort of freaky inner fire. And I can't help looking at it sometimes and it shows me my soul... and.. I can't look. But we keep them chained up here. And they babble on about stuff, but I swear most of it is just mad ramblings. I hate being stuck here. I hate it so much. But I can't help looking at their eyes... and I see why they think we should be listening.
Hey.. is that one standing up?
"The snow will fall. The earth will be reborn in a field of white. The great tower will arise. There will be a great war, but the snow will emerge. And then a greater war will begin. The gods.. the demons.. the entirety of reality will be consumed. The new ice god will not be content until the entirety of reality knows his mastery. The Illians will be victorious. Auric will Ascend."
Oh my god.. it's looking at me and I feel... so...
NB. These thoughts were ripped from the lifeless form of Adept Drift, when his body was discovered at the bottom of the tower by trained mind mages. Their meaning is still being debated, and some interpreters point to the disconnected and contradictory prophecies as a sign that they should be discounted.
And that wraps up this triad of tales. I'll be getting back to the actual thread reporting soon, but I hope this is at least a little interesting. I've had this sort of thing in the back of my head at least for the entire game so I'm certainly glad I've actually finally gotten around to writing some of it down.
...so does this mean you are going for Auric Ascended?
Played in: PBEM 4 [Formerly Jowy's Peter of Egypt] | PBEM 10 [Napoleon of the Dutch] | PBEM 11 [Shaka of France] | EitB XVI [Valledia of the Amurites] | PB7 [Darius of Rome] | Diplomacy 3 [Austria-Hungary] | PBEMm/o vs AutomatedTeller
Hey Selrahc, thanks for sharing the 3 tales. I found them to be quite interesting and enjoyable.
I've got a few questions in response to Auric's Ascension (I'm not familiar with everything involved with it).
I understand when Auric ascends a godslayer will be created to counter him. When that happens does the game alert the Illian player to which civilization or unit receives the godslayer?
Can the Illian player kill and capture the godslayer for themselves? Would Auric be pretty much invincible if you can destroy or capture the godslayer?
About how far from being able to complete the rituals to Auric's ascension are you at this point?
Thanks again, and I'll be looking forward to seeing the wraith of the winter god subjugate all the non-believers of this game.
. I've just been trying to operate a sober play/update schedule since August and that hasn't really tallied with my trip! 
Um... soon... Before new year and the turn hiatus ends at least.
