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[GrafZeppelin]

I am interested about the nation in the upper-left corner of the map. It's odd how in WorldGen, there is a point where they stop expanding because they reach their maximum population in one or two sites.

EDIT: Also, going year by year to see how Entities expand can help you decide what point to look at in their history: I remember one time I had a civilization that stayed in one pocket of the map, until the great-great-grandson of the founder ended up a ruthless expansionist, and in twenty years the empire doubled size.

[SirPenguin]

(Mini)Thread 4 - Crewedices

They wanted us to fight. To take up arms, invade the goblin lands. Were they fools, or did they truly expect us to win wars with old men and widows?



(etc. etc. etc. - pages of these notifications)


We are a town of 25 now. Years back were we double that number, triple it. Then the goblins came and stole our young...and they never stopped. Our town of Crewedices knows nothing of the laughter of children or of the innocence of childhood. We are but old farmers and fishermen standing between the forces of darkness and our capital. Worst of all, the most terrible and haunting thing, is that the goblin's armies are not made up of goblins. The kidnappers and ambushers are humans, descendants of our stolen young. They know not their father's face, or their grandfather's. They seek only to kidnap, to plunder, to terrorize their former homes..

We sought any help we could. Many years ago the dwarf Rigoth Razorgroups killed a great foe that had besieged our nation...the cyclops, Eti Flierprides.



(etc. etc.)

He had terrorized us for centuries, and his death brought a momentary peace before the goblins came. The dwarf was a foreigner, a queer fellow, but claimed the dwarves had a mighty army. We sent a messenger pigeon with word of our plight 5 years ago. We heard no word since.

They wanted us to fight. "Fight, or you will all die," they told us. We now tell them, "Then we shall die."



(Mini)Thread 5 - The Carnal Kingdom

"My dear Emoth, I have great news for you.





The goblins have gained much ground in the Nation of Bridles. They say Crewedice is but a husk of its former garrison. 25 men, mostly the elderly. They should fall soon."

"My lady Jasro,





I have told you how I loathe it when you call them goblins. Their diplomats are human, their armies are human. Only their priests are goblins. It is the dawning of a new age, and they are our allies."

"Indeed, they are, Emoth, but I do wonder about them."

"Stop your wondering. My lady, we've been without wars for hundreds of centuries. We have not gained our land through armies and force. We gain them with our wits, our legendary...tongues." Emoth flicked her own tongue in demonstration.

"I know our nation's silver tongues, Emoth, as well as I know your own. Keep in your mouth." She smiled at her. "Yes, I am sure our king has a good sense of character and an even shrewder sense of diplomacy and negotiation. If he trusts these Scorpions than all of the Carnal Kingdom must trust them. But still, is it right to go against our fellow man? My suspicions..."

"...will be swept away by a glass of wine in my apartment. Come. Drink away your troubles. We are lucky, here in the north. Surely you've heard of the southern troubles in Erithumar? Of Uristoshur? The Nation of Bridles would be smart to lay down their swords and join our kingdom...else they serve similar fates. But we should not wish them to be smart! Let them fight their wars so we may continue to supply our allies. Wars are profitable, Jasro. Remember that."

"Profitable...yes. For us. Not them."

"Precisely why are not involved. Enough talk! Let us go back before it gets dark."




I find it insane that Crewedice was never the site of a battle. Not one! They had their entire population stolen out from under them. Given a few more decades and they would have fallen like a dried up twig in the wind. But how about that dwarf, Razorgroups? His home of Craftstown is literally hundred of miles away, southwest of the Kingdom of Fishes. What could he have possibly been doing so far north?

And yes, the Carnal Kingdom never once warred with the goblins, nor did the goblins kidnap from them. I can only assume they were allied together. The Carnal Kingdoms seemed keen on trade, building several bridges to improve trade routes. I figured they would know of the activities going on in the south.

I say it's time we leave these nations and move southwards.

Where to?

a). Let's go to Craftstown, the mountain halls of that hunter. Have they been in any wars? Were they beset by legendary beasts, which spurred Razorgroups to hunt them down with a vengenace?
b). Erithumar, the ruins of an ancient Dwarven group. If you're looking for war and battle, look no further. Between hydras, cyclops, and elves...these guys had plenty to contend with. They waged a war with the elves that lasted decades.
c). Uristoshur, another destroyed mountain home. These dwarves found 180 years of peace, save for the occasional megabeast plundering. Then in 181 they found war, and in the span of 6 years...they were annihilated. How did this happen?
d). Other

[Haspen]

I vote for Craftstown + history of Razorgroups the Dwarf, also maybe his family (if he have any important people there, yeah).

[GrafZeppelin]

I vote Craftstown.

[Donkringel]

C. Destroyed Mountainhome sounds intriguing, and a bit unlike what we've seen so far.

[darkflagrance]

I'd actually like to take a look at the Kingdom of Fishes at some point.

Otherwise, I'd like to look at one of the destroyed mountainhomes - Craftstown has the better history, but it might be nice to know why Uristoshar fell, if that could be swiftly addressed.

Edit: I meant Erithumar, not Craftstown...not that it would have made a difference...

[SirPenguin]

Again, I'll do a bit of both. Craftstown has a pretty boring history - despite being smack dab in the middle of a dozen nations, they never had any disputes. Judging by the name of their town I suppose we can consider them traders. Uristoshar (I just realized it has the name "Urist" in it) is actually a good deal more interesting from a battle perspective. Craftstown will be a mini-thread, Uristoshar will be a full story.

(Mini)Thread 6 - Craftstown (circa 693)


"...Atis? Are you sure it was her?" The dwarf sounded incredulous, raising one bushy eyebrow and shaking his head. "She's an engineer, not a warrior!"

"Sure as the rock beneath my feet, Urist. My granda saw it himself. Says Atis killed them with her bare hands," his friend responded, nodding furiously as if to counteract the first dwarf's head shaking. The entire tavern was talking about Atis and the death of the last cyclops.

"But...her?" asked Urist, still confused and doubting the story. "She's no hunter or soldier, she knows not how to handle an axe or hammer! She creates little mechanical trinkets and sells them at the fair! Worst of all she...she's a nobody!" Indeed, Atis was one of the few dwarves without a heritage, with neither a past...





...nor a present,





having no parents, husband, or children to call her own. At the age of 12 she had decided to become an engineer, and remained unnoticed and unregarded for 14 years.

"Aye, a nobody, but she is our champion today, Urist. For how many years has Championrain besieged us? Hundreds, my granda says. Perhaps longer! And now he lays dead at the hands of our ancestorless engineer. Championrain was the last, they said. The only remaining beast this side of the Kingdom of Fishes."





Urist hailed a barkeep and ordered "something strong" before sitting back down. He had always been taught that heroes and champions were the ones that bested wild beasts, not ancestorless mechanics. How could someone without worth steal glory out from under Craftstown's own champions? The idea was offensive to him.

"Regardless," continued the other dwarf, "do you know what she said after they had discovered her? 'You are a hero', they had told her, 'you are our champion! All hail Atis!' She had shook her head then, said it wasn't anything, and went back to her workshop, claiming she 'had some mechanisms that needed making'. Can you believe that?"

Urist could not, and he got up a second time, asking for a drink even stronger than the first.




I'll have the 2nd story up later on today, and from there we can see where else we can go. Atis was an interesting girl, if only because of how uninteresting she was. Championrain was the last megabeast to ever attack Craftstown. Atis remained an engineer for over 100 more years. In 808, when she was of the ripe age of 141, she decided she wanted to relive the glory of her younger years and set out to wander the wilds. At this point all the megabeasts of the world were dead, and she later died in 836 of old age without ever doing anything else of note.

[SirPenguin]

So this ended up being the longest story so far. I usually pride myself is being able to edit a story down to a digestible length, but there was a LOT of shit going on in this story that had to be told for everything to make sense.


Thread 7 - Uristoshar, aka Daggercircles (circa 186)


Litast slugged his way the murky waters, battleaxe held high above the kneedeep swamp water. The axe itself was caked in mud and gunk, the handle still spattered with dried blood where Litast had neglected to clean it. It had seen many battles these last 5 years.

"Onul," he said as he made his way to their campsite in the swamps. "I'm back with my report. They number more than 50, perhaps 60. The demon leads his host...Onul, they have brought the slaves again."

Onul grunted at the news as he stared out into the swamplands. "How many slaves?"

"I counted 3, maybe 4 dwarves total. Garbed in goblin armor and weaponry. I did not recognize any faces."

"Aye, you wouldn't, there were but children when they were taken from us. Litast, fetch me my hammer. We make war in the Lessended Swamps once more. I will not let them reach Uristoshar unmolested."

Litast did as he was told, but he doubted the wisdom of his commander. Uristoshar, Daggercircles in the common tongue, was but an empty hole in the ground now. He, Onul, and two others were the only survivors of the war they had called the Savage Conflict, one they waged against the goblins. Before the war Daggercircles had known nothing but peace, and their population had numbered over 50. Now they were down to four tired old men hoping to hold out against the full goblin army.

He returned with the hammer, and the four of them marched back into the swamp where Litast had come from. Litast had urged Onul to return to Daggercicles, to barricade the great doors and wait for help, but Onul would have none of it. He wanted to take the fight into the swamps.

Onul gave the orders to march, and the four of them went forward, the clanking of their armor drowned out by the sounds of their feet splashing through the water. Litast made his way to his commander, hoping to convince him to retreat. "Onul...is this wise?"

Onul snorted. "Wise? We are four beards against a host of 60 goblins and dwarves and demons. No, this is not wise. But there is a reason Uristoshar was built here a hundred years ago. It's a strong, fortified position in the mountains. The only way in is via the Lessened Swamp, and that is exactly where we will fight our enemy."





"Yes, I know this. But there is no defensive cover here. We fight in the open, and we have lost so many in these waters. Daggercircles has a drawbridge, and high walls, and supplies enough to last us a generation. We can wait for help."

"I will not have goblins laying siege to our city, Litast! Be done with your protesting. We fight like our fathers, our ancestors! We take the battle to them, on our own terms! We will break their host and force their retreat. We are dwarves, we do not hide from our enemy! These swamps have protected us for gener-" Suddenly an arrow shot out of the reeds from an unknown enemy and tore out Onul's throat as he spoke. Blood gushed out of the wound and down his chest, disappearing into the muddy water. Onul choked out a few unintelligible words before collapsing face first into the swamp water.





Erith and Degel, the remaining two dwarven soldiers, made ready to charge their invisible enemy before Litast stopped them, realizing this was his chance to take the fight to the city. "Soldiers, to me!" Litast barked, "Retreat! Back to Daggercircles!"

The three dwarves fled across the swamps as a storm of arrows descended upon them. Degel caught two of the black jagged arrows in his back. He coughed out a spray of blood and cried for help, but Erith and Litast ignored him as they continued to run for the safety of the mountainhome.





They soon spotted a group of goblins and dwarves attempting to outflank them. They stood between them and Daggercircles, blocking their escape. Litast roared and charged his enemies, swinging his axe at the nearest foe, a dwarf. The dwarf dodged skillfully and lunged with his dual daggers. The weapons clanged uselessly against Litast's plate armor, allowing him to able to get in another strike, catching the dwarf in the foot with his axe - the dwarf howled in pain. Litast swung his head wildly looking for Erith, spotting him a few feet back fighting 3 goblins.

The other dwarf noticed Litast was distracted and lunged a second time, aiming for the opening inbetween Litast's armor. Steel pierced flesh and Litast screamed in pain and surprise. Blood trickled down his armor as he stumbled a few steps back, weakly holding his ax before he collapsed helplessly into the brown and green water.





Erith, thinking the battle was lost, broke free of his own enemies and ran off into the swamps, perhaps thinking he could lose them in the deeper waters. The goblins and dwarves chased after him, firing arrows and curses at him as he ran.

Litast flailed uselessly in the water until he gained his footing in the uneven mud. He staggered to his feet, wheezing; blood speckled his lips and stained his beard. He had no idea how he was alive, but realized the enemy had left him alone as they chased after Erith. Seizing the opportunity, he ran to Daggercircle's main drawbridge, clenching his chest in pain. He looked over his shoulder and spotted the enemy gaining on him. Behind them, off in the distance, was a floating dwarf corpse that had no less than a dozen arrows potruding out of it.





Grunting in pain and frustration, Litast pushed his body until every joint, every ligament, every fiber of his body screamed out in white hot agony. He limped across the wooden drawbridge and stumbled into gatehouse, grabbing onto a lever to stop himself from falling. This in turn activated the mechanisms that raised the drawbridge, sealing himself off from the remaining forces. He blacked out on the cold stone floor.


---


For seven months Litast hid inside Daggercircles. He had set up a bed where they had stored their food and drink so that he could eat and drink without having to stop his bedrest. Aside from the bandages on his chest he felt well enough, though he knew he wouldn't be able to truly fight without first seeking medical attention.

But what could he do? Daggercircles was empty save for him and a few rodents. The hallways were dark, the torches long ago extinguished. Litast had only bothered to keep a few of the rooms lit, and he feared what ghosts may haunt the empty halls. Perhaps Onul himself would come to haunt him, angry at his retreat.

Still, Latist had felt his decision to flee was the right one. For 7 months he held the fort without ever facing his enemy. The drawbridge prevented entry, and he knew his enemy lacked any siege weapons. He figured they would eventually have fall back; surely they could not think a single dwarf hiding under the mountains was worth it.

One night Litast woke from his bed screaming. He had been having a nightmare, though the details were quickly fading. He rubbed his eyes roughly, then began searching for that mug of ale he had left by his bed. It was then he noticed the demon.





"No...no!" he protested weakly, reaching for his axe. Cursing, he remembered his axe was long gone, discarded in battle 7 months back. Was it still under the swamp water, accumulating rust?

"Quiet," the demon growled. He smiled them - a malicious, horrible smile - and his eyes glowed like burning embers. "Nako, take care of him."

A man Litast hadn't noticed emerged from the shadows. Litast wildly searched for a weapon until he spotted an empty stein he had left discarded by the bed. He swung it wildly at the man, hitting him in the face. Nako crumpled onto the ground, grasping his eye in pain and confusion.





"Some fight left in this one. Good." The demon continued to smile at him as he approached the bed. Litast attempted to swing the mug again but the demon caught his arm, twisting it harshly. Litast felt himself being yanked cruelly out of bed, the demon holding him up by the arm. He kicked feebly in the air, begging to be spared. "Come. I have need of you."

The demon dragged Litast screaming through the dark halls of Daggercircles. Suddenly Litast was blinded by a strong light and realized he was outside; the sun made him want to vomit. Behind him he noticed the drawbridge was gone: a pile of smoldering cinders laid on the ground in front of entrance.

The demon brought him to his feet and gave him a light shove. In front of him stood an entire army of goblins, dwarves, and men. Some of the soldiers were laughing at him, others, mostly the dwarves, looked at him with what he thought was pity.

"This dwarf attempted to escape my wrath. He has failed. He will now serve me, as you all serve if you fail me. Let him be a lesson."

Litast screamed as the demon raked claws against his face. The claws dug deep wounds like trenches, and in an instant Litast was stricken blind as both eyes were torn out. His jaw was ripped off at the hinge, hanging sickeningly to one side; his attempts at crying for mercy were turned into a pitiful gurgling. He felt a sharp pain in his back as the demon sunk his claws into his spine before ripping it out. Litast was flung forward and died before he the ground.





"Destroy the fortress."




In this interest of saving post space, I'll keep this brief. Man, it's not unusual for a single character to hold a town or fort for many years, but this is the first I saw deteriorate so rapidly. In 6 years they had lost 95% of their garrison. Litast was a mere guard with no kills to his name.

It's late, so we'll figure out the next thread tomorrow.

[LASD]

Oh wow, this is really cool. I'll be sure to follow this closely.

I wonder if Nako Waningmenaces had an interesting life.

[Haspen]

The narrative part about the last years of Uristoshar blew my mind.

If the conflict was long (I mean, spanning at least 20-30 years), we could search through it for some Tholtig-esque dwarves.

That or maybe Kingdom of Fishes... certainly that superpower must had interesting history with it's neighbours.

[SirPenguin]

War was sudden and entirely unprovoked for poor Daggercircles. They had close to 200 years of peace, then in the span of 6 years they had their number whittled away to a paltry 4...then 1.

Glad you guys liked it, at least.

Anywho, here are the choices as I see them, though feel free to choose something else if it sounds more interesting

a) The demon that killed Litast went unnamed...this was because Litast probably wouldn't have known it. However, surely a demon has to have an interesting story, right? Did the war end there, or did the demon lead his armies elsewhere? How many kills does he have under his belt?

b) The Kingdom of Fishes...we don't know much about them. They bordered the city of Craftstown, which would serve as our "thread" to connect the story to them. They're a huge meganation. No doubt they've been in wars and trade with many civilizations...do you see them as the good guys uniting the world or the bad guys trying to take it over?

c) Nako Waningmenaces was a human fighting for the demon. I looked into his story a bit and found out a rather interesting tidbit about his life and the place he lived. Indeed, his thread seems to be a complex one...I don't want to give too much away, but he also sees only one battle his entire life (the one with Litast)...and there seems to be a reason for that.

d) Other


edit: after looking at the demon, I gotta say Nako has the more interesting story

[LASD]

Unsurprisingly, I go with C and Nako, namesake of the first character examined in the web.

[GrafZeppelin]

Demons rarely have interesting stories. They tend to always be along the lines of either a) they went to war and died in the first battle or b) they didn't go to war and they just ate goblins for fun

The interesting demons are the ones who hold out their own fortress on their own for 20+ years!

[darkflagrance]

Although I'd like to see the Kingdom of Fishes eventually, I bet there'll be enough connecting threads later that it can be returned to. Since you hint Nako had an interesting life, I'll go for it.

[SirPenguin]

A bit of retconning is in order, due to my own stupidity. Onul Rayboat, the dwarven commander of that last story, and Nako, the thread this story follows, are both females. I had assumed them to be males before checking their historical figure logs...oops!


Thread 8 - Nako Waningmenaces (circa 268)

Onul approached the large, black door timidly. Humans guarded it, and they regarded her with suspicion and thinly veiled disgust. They saw her priestess robes - that of the Comunion of Forests - and realized her purpose. They let her through.





The room inside was dark, the air musty and stale. In the corner by a large fireplace was a wide bed covered in blankets and furs. In it was Nako Waningmenaces, leader of the Roasted Seducer, ruler of Puzzlewicked. Her skin was pulled tight around her cheeks, her arms no thicker than the bone underneath. One eye was a striking blue, but the other was milky white.





"The Lord of Feasts and Agriculture, Meban Deermists, welcomes you into His arms, my ladyship," began the priestess, "He uses me as a veseel, and allows me t-"

"Quiet, quiet...I know the old sayings and verses. I am a worshiper of your god," Nako interrupted, waving a frail hand in the air. "Yes, me, a human, worshipping a dwarven god. I suppose it's something about this place that inspires to follow the old gods."

"With all due respect, my lady, this is no mountainhome. This is a dark tower...she reaches into the sky, not the earth. Most worship the demon."

"Aye, you are right. But do you see any goblins? Any demons? No, not here. Elsewhere in our nation, such as in Burialseduced, those creatures call home. But Puzzlewicked was founded by a dwarf, and we've only ever housed humans and dwarves here.

I called you here for a reason, priestess, but I'm afraid it has nothing to do with your religion. Do you remember anything of your sister?"

The priestess blinked, confused at the sudden change of subject. "Aye, my lady, I did. Kulet Knifepant, she called herself. We were both kidnapped from Daggercircles around the same time, though they never let us see each other when growing up. We lost touch many years ago. I hear she died in the war."





"Yes, she did. We went to that war together, back when the demon lead our nation to conquer your old home of Daggercircles. It was a brave thing she did, fighting against her former home, her former people."

Onul remained quiet. She had little to say on the subject of her former home.

"In 184 she happened upon the dwarven commander during a raid, a female by the name of Onul Rayboat. Yes, you and your sister's killer shared a first name. Kulet fought hard, managed to rip out one of Onul's eyes, but unfortunately fell in the battlefield.

Two years later we killed Onul in the very swamps your sister died in. She had her throat torn out by a bolt. Only one other dwarf survived that fight, and a year later he too fell, though not before he did this to me with an empty mug." Neko pointed to her left eye which was clouded over. "It was then we burned Daggercircles to the ground, and that same year I became leader of Puzzlewicked. Do you know why I was made leader?"

Onul paused, thinking it over. Why is she telling me all of this, she wondered, shifting nervously in her seat. She suspected something was amiss, that she was stepping into a trap. She fingered the dagger she kept hidden in robes. "No, I do not why," she finally admitted, meeting the gaze of Nako's one remaining eye.

"Nor do I, hah! I am no goblin, no dwarf. My appointment to power was the first time a human was ever put in charge over our people. I had no business being on the throne, and yet the demon willed it upon me. I didn't want this position, nor did I need it...yet here I am. My people have flourished under my rule. Your people have not."

Onul's hand moved closer to the hilt of her dagger. Whatever was coming, whatever true purpose Nako had brought her here for, she suspected it was coming soon. She had to be ready...she refused to die here.

"I began worshipping your god shortly after the war...and it was then I learned that everything is so connected. Fate drives us onward, there is no other word for it! I cannot deny the signs as mere coincidences. A dwarf sharing your name kills your sister soon after she tore out her enemy's eye, an enemy that defended the home you two were kidnapped from. Two years later my own eye was struck blind by a soldier that was under Onul's command Daggercircles. I cannot deny these things!"

Nako suddenly sat up straight in bed, and Onul was horrified to see she suddenly didn't look like she was on her deathbed, but rather was vibrant, alive, her one eye glimmering madly. Onul hurridly jumped out of the chair and drew her dagger, backing up a few paces and brandishing it in front of her.

"You misunderstand, you fool. I do not wish to kill you!" Nako reached into the drawer by the bedside and withdraw a rolled up document. She tossed it at Onul's feet. Onul slowly reached down and grabbed it, unfurling it with one hand and read the document.

"You...you're making me leader?"

Nako laughed. "I cannot tell which you find worse! This news, or your previous thought that I was trying to kill you. Yes, I am decreeing that upon my death...you become leader of this tower."

"But...but why? I am no soldier, no guard, no ruler! I'm a priest!"

"Were you listening to nothing I said before? I was no ruler either, yet fate decreed me to become on, as it decrees you! We are connected. Our god, your name, the fate of my eye! This is Deermist speaking through me, trying to tell me. I can feel it! Your race is dying out in these mountains...you know what I say to be true. Goblins and humans rule these lands...and the Kingdom of Fishes marches ever closer as the days go by. There needs to be a dwarf on this throne...I cannot tell you why with my mind or my mouth...but my heart wills it to be."




Nako died a short while later, and Onul did indeed become leader. Nako was right in that Onul's race was dying out, and putting her in a position of powered allowed the dwarven race to hold on a little bit longer. Unfortuntately, Onul's death in 300 marked an end to all dwarven leaders in Puzzlewicked. Oddly enough, around the same time as that the dwarven high priest of Onul's former religion died and was replaced by a human. Since that day that religion - the worship of a dwarven god - never had a single dwarf in its ranks. They were entirely made up and lead by humans.

I picked Nako at first because her rise to power was so unexpected. The last leader was a dwarf, and Nako only had one kill to her name. She had no noteworthy parents. After I learned of the strange connection Nako had with his eventual descendent, I figured there must be a story in there somewhere. I also love how Nako's descendant's sister ripped out the eye of the dwarven commander we just talked about in the last story - I love connections like that.

Anyways, no choice this time around. I think it's time we head into the Kingdom of Fishes. I imagine that is also where we'll end this project...I imagine I only have a few more stories in me before I get bored of this.