Author Topic: Kabyl's Stuff and Things  (Read 364 times)

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Offline Haywire

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Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« on: August 19, 2017, 12:20:10 pm »
I spend 99.99% of my time bored with whatever it is I'm doing at the time. Because of this I spend most of my time thinking and daydreaming, so I have a few arc and story ideas that I've come up with in the process. I'mma dump them here if that's okay, so I can have a place to keep them and possibly further develop them into something that could maybe be run/written someday.

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Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #1 on: August 20, 2017, 12:36:43 am »
I’m bad with titles so I’ll just call this one… iunno…

Bingle Bang: The Quest for Dang

Special Snote: Everything I plan does not take into consideration firearms nor modern technology. I usually try to keep it close to show canon if it can be helped.

A bare bones summary and very light description of what I'd have in mind:

Not too long ago I spent way too much time thinking about characters and junk that, in a perfect world, would be used in a series of fan fic stories if I didn’t procrastinate like crazy. Each I find could be converted to a forum arc with some work. One would be a prequal taking place after Nightmare Moon but before the Mane 6 are born. I thought it would be fun to screw around with the time period before the Elements and flesh out what could have happened in that time.

This would be during a time where - without the elements - serious threats obviously would have been dealt with by special teams, knights, the military, guards and blah blah. Could be a chance to make a character where you can have them establish some lore for the past and be referenced or met by current characters later on in their life should you wish to have an aged veteran appear somewhere down the line. They could be a jumping off point for further stories involving them, experienced characters that could provide adventures of their own for current ones, a grumpy old codger, hublablubahblub.

This particular story would be relatively grand in scale but, considering the time period and the fact that characters participating would more or less be created specifically for this, relatively self-contained and focused. There would be a big bad, battles, arc NPCs, the works, but the fact that we know the world ends up the way it does means strong encouragement of deciding how these characters that would be made for it end up towards the end. Since this would involve war, it would be a chance to make a character with how they end up being the focus as opposed to just being a regular character you would want to have participate in everything. Maybe you want to make a war hero that dies on the battlefield? Maybe they did something neat and earned themselves a statue in the Canterlot Castle gardens. Or maybe you can play someone who’s actions were vital but went unsung and only those that survive would be able to share their story.

Drama and junk.

The main bad guy would be a sort of hybrid character that would be difficult to explain as he would have reality warping abilities. Nothing terribly game breaking but enough to keep fighting him a very difficult thing to plan and pull off due to his ability to change immediate surroundings to a certain degree and influence perception. Some details on him would be immediately available to royalty due to them being royalty or whatever, and behind him would be his own faction, but beyond that RP would be needed to learn more.

Starting of this would most likely be the main bad appearing somewhere and working to build strength while the good guys catch wind, try to locate and prevent his actions. Chances are they’d not succeed to make room for the escalating conflict, but mehbe can cut it short, or at least effect the way things role out later down the road, if actions are smart and just dang ass perfect.

This story would I imagine be about Teen in rating but possibly upgraded to Mature if we wanted it to be more serious and what not. I would love to have planned moments and ideas collaborated with others to include to spice up the story, but the usual RP improv would still be the norm.

Well, this killed a half hour or so. :P

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #2 on: August 25, 2017, 10:16:19 am »
Boom Zoom: The Tomb of Doom

This idea is probably the most fleshed out of all of mine due to it having started as an arc idea for the previous forums then was rewritten to act as a standalone fan fiction that I’ve written a couple of chapters for already. It wouldn’t take much for it to be changed back into an arc for others to participate in.

This story begins with a mystery involving the sudden appearances of wild and dangerous animals and creatures within several different cities in Equestria, presumably via magic as reports claim that they literally just appear out of thin air. The mayors of each are gathered to discuss what’s going on and devise a plan on how to anticipate the next occurrence as well as try to discover who’s responsible. Your characters would either be assigned to investigate should they be the type to be given orders from the crown or would be caught up in what’s happening due to having chosen to attend a festival being held in one of the two target locations deemed the most likely to be attacked. From there shenanigans would ensue.

This story has what I like to think of as three major stages with increasing challenges and higher stakes the further along you go (duh), each area having its own characters, enemies and such that you would meet and need to deal with before learning more and moving on to the next to try and keep things fresh. The locations would be varied and not take place in one single town either, so expect some variety.

I know, like, two of you may already know what happens in this story due to me having talked about it before, but even so you could still participate and maybe even help write it if you have any cool ideas you think would add to it. :P

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2017, 03:03:51 am »
Arc "pitch" if anyone is interested. This is for Boom Zoom: The Tomb of Doom. I remind that this would not include modern technology military or otherwise and would operate off of show canon only where magic is basically the driving force of everything.


PART 1


---

This heat sucked. Normally the summers of Equestria were merciful to its capitol but this year the season simply wasn’t having it. The trees did not move; they did not sway nor bend as the mellow breeze so commonly felt through-out the mountain side city of Canterlot had been nowhere to be found for weeks. If not for the occasional trembling twig or shaking leaf one would be fooled into thinking the parks of the city were a work of still life art. Pretty, but frozen and not easy to enjoy under the oppressive radiating heat infesting the still air. It didn’t do many favors for the populace that the city happened to have its own lake and waterfall running almost its entire length either - just outside of the walls mind you - making things wet and sticky for everyone without the free time to take a dip.

You know what isn’t fun to wear when everything when the heavens are set to broil? Armor. Especially a set you’re required to wear for the entire day, much like the required dress of the Royal Guard posted around the city. It was interesting how quickly many of the guards had broken into their own little factions while under the oppression of Celestia’s sun. The guards out in the market square roasting in the oven that was a heavily populated area envied the ones on the walls since they occasionally felt the air move. The ones on the walls hated the ones inside the castle, what with their shade and cold stone walls and junk. And the ones in the castle? They hated their lives since they were the ones that had to listen to everyone complaining about the heat, but also because the “cold stone walls” did nothing for the sweat they had dripping from their brows. However, there were a few who found themselves hating their lives just that little bit more than the others as they’d fallen victim to a unicorn that had been walking through the castle and been very displeased by what he’d seen. A unicorn who demanded perfection from all he came across and didn’t hesitate to say so. A unicorn whom two guardsmen wondered if anyone would miss as he berated them for every little thing.

“Straighten up. No slouching pony is going to wear that uniform and get away with it on my watch.”

This unicorn was an elderly pony, one with wrinkles and a grayed yet disciplined mane kept carefully cut to set an example.

“You’re glistening. Wipe yourselves down else a dignitary will slip on the puddles you’re leaving and use the accident for leverage.”

His silvery coat was doing better than his mane but was not immune to the age he’d experienced. It was fading a bit in color, but it’s base color was still obvious enough.

“Why can’t I see myself in your armor? You call this polished? You somehow guard the castle of our illustrious leaders and expect visitors to be impressed by a smudgy breastplate? This isn’t a nightclub, kiddo, and you aren’t some shady bouncer kicking out rowdy patrons after they vomit on your hooves. Clean yourself up!”
His voice was raspy in that way only age could make it. Well, age and a lifetime of yelling at others.

“Don’t you roll your eyes! Such disrespect! From a guardsman! I should have you stripped of your responsibilities and forced to clean latrines on the frontier! Or better yet, teleport you to the bottom of the ocean with a fresh set of gills and see how that plays out!”

This unicorn’s name was Gleam. “Head Instructor Gleam” he would be quick to correct. He didn’t deal with unruly and sometimes unstable unicorn colts and fillies day to day to be referred to like any old pony. He had no authority over the guard - not anymore at least - but that hadn’t stopped him from laying into the two posted outside a set of massive and beautifully carved doors leading into one of the castle’s meeting halls. Believe it or not, it wasn’t even because of the heat that was making the guards next to him consider crimes against his property as this was just common behavior from him. A hair out of place, a horse shoe left rusty, a spear that did not stab to his exact standards, any of these examples and more were enough to incur his wrath and force one to suffer through a session of lectures and “back in my days”.

“Your mane is supposed to be trimmed in a perfect yet subtle curve, colt,” Gleam scolded, jabbing a hoof at the plume of the guard to the door’s left, “This wavy irregular crap is why no one takes you seriously anymore. How can we say this is Equestria’s elite when you look like you just rolled out of bed?

“And you!” his attention creaked towards the pony to the right, “You’re off center. Tilted! One of your shoes isn’t even with the rest. With a glance, I’d think a stiff wind could blow you over and I’m not an assassin waiting for just the right time to fall on one of the countless targets that frequent these halls. Get that fixed by tomorrow, and you better believe me when I say that I WILL come check to see if it was done. I know your face now. You can’t escape.”

If everything these guards had done to help others in their lives could be repaid with one act, they’d settle for two individual pony sized meteors landing on them right about now. One wicked away some sweat from his forehead with a quick flick of magic, Gleam opening his mouth to object in some way when the holiest of sounds rang out through the hall.

The doors opened. A shifting of heavy wood and mild woosh of moving air displaced by the weight.

The guards nearly wept with joy as a yellow earth pony stepped out.

“Head Instructor Gleam?’ she asked to which Gleam nodded impatiently, “Thank you for coming. The mayors have all arrived and are ready for you.”

“It’s about time,” Gleam grumbled, “any longer and I’d have been forced to reform the royal guard into a proper legion the sisters could be proud of.”

He shook his head and trotted forward past the doors. The guard he’d most recently criticized, now believing himself free of the unicorn and lacking in witnesses, looked to his counterpart and conjured an illusion of a rope with which he pretended to hang himself.

“… You call that a noose!?” Gleams voice rang from beyond the doors, “I wouldn’t hang my worst enemy with that!” The doors shut with a slam, almost to punctuate Gleams sheer disapproval of the guard’s existence. The guard to the left chuckled while the one on the right dropped the illusion and groaned.

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2017, 03:09:43 am »
PART 2

---


“That was a conspiracy to run my name through the mud and you know it!” a mare angrily exclaimed as Gleam entered the meeting hall.

Things were already lively in here. Gleam took note of and recognized the ponies waiting for him to arrive while the yellow pony that let him in wandered off towards a corner of the room. There were six on the other side of those magnificent doors he’d passed just moments before. All were standing around a large table with plenty of space between them with the only exception Gleam could see being one fully equipped unicorn that seemed to be serving as a silent bodyguard for another. None of the rest were willing to get near any of the others for fear of them somehow smelling a secret, and their personal bubbles – as far as they were concerned – encompassed half of the country. A large and no doubt expensive rug was laid out beneath the wide circular table before them and light shone in from one of the many carefully organized windows spaced between several larger windows that held stained glass. Celestia help anyone who spilled a drink in here.

“Never once did I even visit that dust swept hole in the ground let alone sell Cautious any lewd photos of anyone! I would never bring myself so low as to partake in such frivolous and degenerate activities just to strike at you,” the mare continued, a smirk creeping across her face, “besides, I’d never drop myself so low as to make them suffer seeing such pictures in the first place. None should live with the memory of having such a horrid thing burned into their memory.”

Gleam recognized the voice before he’d even looked in the mare’s direction. Diligence, an orange Pegasus mare that was probably guilty of whatever she was being accused of. She had a reputation for digging up dirt and seeding rumors amongst the various governors, mayors and so forth across Equestria. Gleam had no patience for such things and was always annoyed when having to deal with her. She had this look about her that always made it feel like she knew something about you that you’d rather she didn’t, some creepy sensation that something private was about to be made public should she feel so inclined. Worst part was how much she enjoyed it.

“How dare you imply that my mother is not a sight to behold!” a stallion shouted back from across the table, pausing for a second before catching himself and stuttering with, “Y-y-you know what I mean!”

That was Merger, a light blue earth pony that thought shaving parts of his head would become a popular fashion trend. He was an idiot, pure and simple, and Diligence was playing him like a fiddle. Not once would he pause to think before speaking and Gleam considered him a worthy subject for someone to do a character study. He wouldn’t do it, but it would be worth having someone try to figure out how Merger managed to get to his position without being stamped out early on in his career.

“Oh, they’re going to have a field day with that one,” another pony chimed in, this time a unicorn of a dark green hue, “you sure you don’t want to try that sentence again?”

Gleam needed a second to place this one’s name. Dark green unicorn… He didn’t think he’d met him before but he’d had to deal with most of Equestria’s leaders at some point or another so he was sure he’d at least heard his name onc-

“Go to Hell, Matrix,” Merger yelled, solving the mystery, “just skip the line and tell them I sent you!”

Matrix only laughed while the fourth pony at the table - another Pegasus of a mild yellow - rubbed the bridge of her snout with a hoof.

“I could have been organizing a banquet today,” she complained, “This is not how I wanted this weekend to go…”
Vision? Gleam, thought her name had something to do with vision. Or seeing. Something like that. It was probably Vision. Either way, he was growing impatient with this nonsense as he neared the table. This constant fighting and fanning of rivalries between the mayors of the various cities and their respective territories only ever tired Gleam. It was just so very petty how they’d invent rumors and conspiracies to throw mud and argue for hours over nothing. Politics was never something Gleam thought on fondly. He’d and understood it’s importance of course, but the ones involved always came off as… well… they came off as these kinds of people.

“That’s enough!” the fifth and final pony, a sizable dark red stallion of the unicorn race, slammed his hoof into the table in a show of anger, “Diligence, stop drumming up drama! Merger, drop it! Matrix, shut up and Visionary, stop complaining!” Visionary! That’s what it was. Gleam didn’t think it suited her.

“This isn’t what we’re here for and there’s far more important matters to attend to than you two trying to screw each other over! Put it on ice and focus for Celestia’s sake!” This stallion was named Lion Heart and Gleam was rather familiar with him, though it wasn’t for reasons that Lion would appreciate. He was an example of governance that had yet to embarrass himself in some easy to avoid way. Scandals involving guard captains, embezzlement, altered documents and even rumors of smuggling had plagued all the other mayors present, but not Lion Heart. Somehow, he’d avoided the drama, and according to the higher ups he was an example to strive towards. Gleam had yet to be impressed.

“Now, maybe if we’re done seeing who can p*iss further and on who’s face, we can focus?” Lion Heart finished before noticing Gleam.

“Head Instructor,” Lion nodded, Gleam did not, “Thank you for coming. I understand it was short notice and I’d like to apologize for that right away before we get into things.”

“Last I checked both Luna and Celestia were both still breathing,” Gleam growled and took a seat near the table away from the rest of the ponies for fear that he’d slap one of them the next time they spoke and rack up another favor on behalf of the country, “so unless the Elements have been kidnapped or turned into gelatinous cubes I don’t see why you needed to drag me away from my duties to witness you all bicker like school aged colts and fillies. I see enough of that already.”

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2017, 03:10:29 am »
PART 3

---


He noticed only now that the table had a map scrolled across it of Equestria’s western countryside. There were several points marked with flags and a few notes had been scribbled and laid out over spots that Gleam could only assume were points of someone’s interest.

“Trust me,” Lion continued, shooting Merger a brief glare to keep him from speaking out of turn, “I wouldn’t ask you to abandon your students if the situation weren’t dire. We need your help.”

Lion glanced back at the sixth pony present, a unicorn fully equipped in armor that had yet to say a word amd seemed to be serving as both bodyguard and assistant to Lion. The unicorn’s horn lit up with a glow of magic as he levitated a scroll over to Gleam.

“We seem to be under attack,” Lion claimed while Gleam rolled the scroll out in front him, “over the last few months there have been several occurrences of unusual and sudden appearances of various kinds of wildlife.”

“Animals have been showing up seemingly out of nowhere,” Diligence spoke up, Gleam listening as he scanned the contents of the scroll, frowning the further into it he got, “So far we’ve counted four separate occasions, and they’ve been increasing in severi-”

“It started in Greenswill,” the voice of Merger, cutting off Diligence in another display of short term petty self fulfilment, “some… animals materialized out of thin air. The guard looked into it but found no evidence of any criminal activity.”

“That’s your city, isn’t it?” Gleam asked without looking up from his scroll, “what was the variety. Of wildlife, I mean.”

“… It doesn’t matter-”

“Bunnies!” Diligence interrupted, pausing only to catch her breath after a fit of laughter, “his market was flooded with bunny rabbits and it was the silliest thing anyone ever-“

“Yes! They were bunny rabbits!” Merger retook control of the conversation, speaking loud enough to drown out Diligence whom had refused to stop laughing over the nature of his crisis, “Rabbits appeared at noon in the center of the market square during the height of business hours, or so the patrons had reported. None of my guards had seen it happen, but according to witnesses the rabbits just suddenly appeared out of nowhere like they had teleported into the area with no warning. Like I said, I had my guards look into it but they found nothing beyond a few traces of magic. We’d assumed it was a prank some up and coming mage had played on us for laughs and disregarded it as such.”

“Then a pack of dogs appeared in Noble’s market,” Visionary adopted the narrative, Gleam halfway through the scroll that detailed what he was being told though done so with more magical technicality and insight,

“They showed up at noon during a grand opening for a new restaurant. Most were run off by the guards that were watching over the event but some managed to get a few bites in on the attending ponies before being scared off. We still get the occasional report of feral hounds harassing people after dark. I would have chalked it up as a prank similarly to how Merger had done so with his… uh… ‘bunny situation’,” another fit of laughter from Diligence, “but ours was different. When we investigated, I got reports from my guards that detailed how some of the dogs appeared to be… Inside the walls of the buildings around the market. Half of the dogs were melded into the building while the other half were, well… you know. This made us assume someone had used magic to teleport the dogs but had been off target.”

The conversation stalled long enough for Diligence to catch her breath, Gleam finishing the scroll and setting it aside and impatiently clearing his throat. Diligence paid no mind.

“Hahaha! Aha! Ah… Hah… Oh… Okay… So… After they dealt with their dumb harmless nonsense,” Diligence finally managed to form words, much to the chagrin of Merger and Visionary, “I was hit with timber wolves.”

Diligence’s voice dropped to a sudden grave tone that Gleam hadn’t expected from the previously laughing mare.

“They appeared closer to Perticity’s castle than in Greenswill and Noble, I might add, managed to do more damage than their stupid bunnies and dogs. Several ponies were mauled before my guards were able to get things under control, so maybe you two should stop friggin complain about the inconvenience of having mild woodland creatures show up to momentarily interrupt otherwise normal events!”

Merger and Visionary went on to start shouting some pointless defense that Gleam didn’t care about. He ignored the brewing argument while he went over in his head what the scroll had informed him one more time.
Several occurrences of seemingly random teleportation that involved animals of increasing threat classifications. First bunnies, then dogs and timber wolves. The report mentioned manticores coming next which Gleam assumed one of the mayors present would go into detail over soon enough, but he rolled the idea around regardless in hopes of ideas coming to him before this train wreck of a briefing was through.

“Stop!” Lion again attempted to regain control of the conversation, his tone making it clear that his tolerance of these ponies and their rivalries was wearing extremely thin, “Your people are being attacked by wild animals and monsters from the Everfree, and you think this the time to argue and fight amongst ourselves? Reign it in! This is serious!” Lion took a second to let loose another sigh and shake his head at the others.

“My city was next,” He turned his attention to Gleam, shooting the others quick stabbing glances as he spoke to keep them quiet, “and I think it’s fair to say that mine was the worst. Gleam, I noticed you rolled up the scroll I gave you, so I assume you read about the manticores? They hit Corona, right in the center of my castle’s square, and they did quite a bit of damage before my Cortoza were able to put them down.”

Ah, yes, the Cortoza. Gleam almost rolled his eyes at the mention of Lion Heart’s pet project. A corps of battle mages intended to outperform and possibly replace the royal guard? He’d found the idea amusing a few decades ago when he’d had the honor of helping to found its original incarnation, but now it seemed like a rather desperate attempt to impress the royal sisters and make a name for himself. He didn’t bother hiding his distaste for Lion’s mentioning of the Cortoza as he never felt a need to and thought Lion’s defending of the resurrection of his retired corps to be sad.

“They took control of the situation,” Lion continued with emphasis placed on the Cortoza’s efforts, “after putting them down and calming the civilians they cleaned up the mess. Immediately after I set them to investigate the situation I contacted the others here and learned of their experiences.”

“what did Captain Willows find?” Gleam asked, speaking for the first time in what he felt was forever.

“Willows wasn’t consult-“

“What did Captain Willows find?” Gleam repeated, his tone demanding in his desire to know what the captain of Corona’s guard had discovered.

“Willows. Was. Not. Consulted,” Lion repeated with a blunt stop and start cadence, “My Cortoza were assigned to investigate the phenomena and found little to go on.”

“You’re toy soldiers failed to pick up on any leads then?” Gleam chuckled, directing his attention to the table in front of him as Lion huffed from his corner, “I’m shocked. Truly. What’s this all about then? This map has markers over several towns and cities that none of you mentioned. What’s their significance?”

“We’ve been trying to discern a pattern,” Visionary spoke up to explain, “There’s no concrete rhythm to the appearances that we’ve been able to decipher, but we’ve noted several possible targets that might be hit next according to the locations that have already fell victim to these attacks.”

“Attacks!?” Diligence nearly fell over, clutching at her sides as she howled with laughter, “’Attacks’ she says! Dogs and bunnies! Ahahahaha!”

“… These are the most likely targets according to our estimations,” Visionary tried to ignore the raucous cackling of Diligence, “We can’t tell for sure where it might happen next, of course, but we’re pretty confident that it will be in one of these two locations.”

“Berylsburg,” Gleam named off one of the marked locations, a sizable city some distance away. He shot Matrix a glance at the mention as he realized why the pony had been present this whole time.

“And… what is that… Weaver? Why is Weaver marked on here?”

“Weaver is going to be holding a festival within the next few days,” Matrix mentioned while scrutinizing his left hoof’s most recent manicure, “Some locally run square dance or whatever they do out in the boonies. Lion think’s that might make it a target but I don’t get why. It’s just some backwater where everyone sleeps all day, I think.”

“It’s the nap capitol of the world, actually,” Diligence tapped near Weaver’s position on the map and whispered as if letting everyone in on a secret, “They make blankets.”

“Every attack has happened either in a center of a congregation of ponies or near the cities administration,” Lion stepped in again, “and a festival falls in line with the former. However, I agree that it’s an unlikely target. Berylsburg is a much stronger candidate what with its upcoming gem exchange.”

“Yeah,” Matrix, “we get tons of tourism this time of year since a bunch of collectors show up and show off their rare gems. It does wonders for the economy, I tell you what. Those nerds love to flaunt their shiny rocks.”
Gleam looked over the map and weighed the options. He’d heard of Weaver but never been there personally. The festival coming up was unknown to him, and as such he could only assume it was more of a local event than Berylsburg’s well known gem exchange that reliably attracted thousands of ponies every year. As a “nerd” – according to Matrix at least – he found himself in agreement with the arrogant mayor. Especially when considering that, in this heatwave, most of the exchange would probably be taking place indoors to get out of the sun. More concentrated targets. More potential for damage.

There was, however, one question that had been bothering Gleam ever since he’d received that scroll from Lion Heart.

“Why haven’t you told the royal sisters?” Gleam was blunt, staring Lion in the eye as he asked this.

Lion was hesitant to answer, but Diligence started to snicker as had become common behavior for her when it came to the other mayors’ missteps.

“Well?” she asked halfway through a breath, “Why haven’t you told the princess? Please, enlighten us.”

Lion avoided eye contact with the others. He glanced back at his bodyguard, Gleam only now noticing the insignia on the guards’ armor and scoffing while Lion turned back to finally answer.

“The Cortoza can handle this,” He claimed, the other mayors either groaning or chuckling at the idea, “All they need is to be told where to go and we can stop it. One lead and this problem is solved.”

“You want me to trust your toy soldiers with what could potentially be a burgeoning crisis?” Gleam’s words cut like a knife, Lion flinching slightly while the other mayors only took pleasure in it, “Have you gone insane?

This needs to be brought to Celestia or Luna immediately.”

“No!” Lion pleaded, Diligence cackling away in the background, “Gleam, I know you don’t think much of me, but I implore you, give my Cortoza this chance! I’ve already gone through the trouble to organize this meeting, Corona is far closer to both of the next potential targets than Canterlot and I have a number of prepped teams on stand-by just waiting for me to say the word-”

“Sorry, you’re going to have to repeat that,” Gleam said after loudly shushing Lion down, “You’ll have to forgive me, I’m getting up there in years so it’s getting a tad difficult to be sure, but it sounded like the words that just came out of your mouth weren’t: ‘Yes, Head Instructor, I apologize for being a selfish child that values his project over the security of my people and will alert both Celestia and Luna immediately’. Am I wrong? Someone correct me because I swear it sounded like something completely different!”

Lion was silent then straightened himself out and looked Gleam in the eye.

“I’ve done my research, Head Instructor. I know about the Cortoza. Their past, their history, what they did and what they were capable of. I also know that you’ve doubted my reincarnation of the corps since its inception. But please, just give them a chance. I have overseen their training, taken great pains to ensure that they are the best of the best, all so I can prove that their corps not only is needed but has a place in today’s military that none can deny.

“I grew up with stories of what you and your friends managed to do,” Lion continued, his gaze dropping to the floor beneath him, “My library is one of the few to still have surviving evidence of these events. Gigatrax, The Cloven March, Surmount…”

Lion sighed, the stallion sitting down where he was and focusing on the map in front of him as he ran a hoof across his forehead to wipe away a few beads of sweat.

“I know that the Cortoza are exactly what we need in this day and age. All they need is one opportunity to prove themselves. This is that opportunity, I‘m sure of it.”

There was silence.

Then Matrix spoke up.

“I say let it blow up in his face,” Diligence loved this idea and expressed it in a way that I’m sure you can assume, “I mean, his joke of a guard reformation guided by a selfish desire to be at the head is primed to become a hilarious disaster already. Why not go full throttle?”

Lion glared daggers at Matrix while Merger contributed with:

“I honestly don’t care either way. Whatever shows up will be an issue for you all to deal with anyway so I don’t really give a flying fudge what you decide. I don’t even know why I’m here. Did I mention that my city only had to deal with a sudden explosion in it’s rabbit population? Can I leave now? I don’t think I’m really relevant to this discussion.”

“Sit down!” Lion barked, bringing Merger’s butt back to the ground.

“So long as someone looks into it, I’m happy,” Visionary sounded urgently, “Just so long as maybe it happens right now? We’ve spent all this time talking but we’ve decide on almost nothing. Can we get a move on?”

The group looked in Diligence’s direction but were left with no insight as she just slapped on a smirk and shrugged.

Gleam passed his gaze between each of the ponies. He gave each a full scan before moving on, focusing on the eyes and body language before moving on to the next. Eventually he reached Lion and narrowed his own watery gray eyes. After a few seconds, he looked back down at the map scrawled out in front of him.

“… I’ll see what I can do to send a few guards over to Berylsburg,” Gleam assured the congregation after heaving a deep breath, “I can call in some favors and pull some people. They can show up under cover and keep an eye on things. If anything suspicious comes up they can send word to Corona then Canterlot and we can decide what to do from there.

“but know this, Lion,” Gleam growled, leaning over the table and appearing somehow larger than he had before, “If these wannabes that you’ve scrounged together fail to provide results, they’re finished. I will personally come to Corona and fire each pony one by one and turn their little headquarters into a bakery.”

Lion didn’t flinch, but Gleam felt he’d gotten the message.

“What of Weaver?” Visionary asked, thrusting a hoof in the town’s respective position on the map.

Gleam backed off the table and looked towards Weaver on the map. After some thought, he waved a dismissive hoof at the town.

“I know a couple of ponies that can look into Weaver...”


---


Characters would either be attending the festival at Weaver or would be assigned to investigate depending on who they are. This opening may be tweaked depending on if the arc starts in a manner that would require it.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2017, 03:13:02 am by Haywire »

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2018, 12:44:00 pm »
TL;DR: Updating the canon of the forum is ultimately meaningless because most people here don't follow it anyway. Easy example is all the modern warfare stuff that would remain regardless. Also, I'm going to be posting ideas I've been having regarding other countries and races in the world that may or may not be important to my arc and any stories I am at the helm of in the future. I am NOT forcing others to accept any of it as overall canon for the forum unless it's good enough to be. I just want to share ideas and going in depth about the details of a race or country is fun for me.

--

As I've mentioned before, when I get bored I think about ideas and stuff for stories and settings. So over the last couple months I've been brainstorming ideas regarding world building for the places outside of Equestria that I think would be neat and flesh out the world. I mention this because starting two or three weeks ago I began writing things down to get these ideas on paper so I could share them with everyone both for fun and to help the forum understand where I come from when it comes to things like the arc that is being run. These posts would include descriptions of races - both seen in the series and ones I think could reasonably exist - their countries, leadership, culture, politics and opinions of each other. Basically I will be overthinking the setting of a show intended for small children as everyone on the internet with nothing else to do should.

Now there are two reasons why I bring this up. One is the fact that talks have begun regarding updating this forum's official canon to that of the movie and such which I wanted this post to contain my opinion on, and the other is so I can very clearly state that I am NOT trying to force these ideas as canon onto anyone's character or stories. However! When it comes to stories I myself am writing, such as the arc or characters I come up with, this world building is what I will most likely be referring to for backstory and noteworthy details when discussing the world in character. I do my best not to contradict the official canon, and I will happily work to fix any mistakes that are pointed out. Other than that I expect nothing to be official outside my own little plot lines unless somehow everyone else likes it enough to make it so.

Continuing from that thought and moving on to discussing the update - and assuming that my opinion carries any weight after I explain where I'm coming from - I find the process of doing so to be easy and ultimately inconsequential. The reason I say this is because even if you do update the canon it's not really going to change much when it comes to how we all operate outside of it already. This forum doesn't hug what's been established all that closely and as I was recently skimming through the factions and character bio's I found that there is a decent focus on military groups and modern technological weaponry and devices. Now I'm not going to sit here and pretend that it's impossible for there to be any kind of military force in the series since we've seen magic used offensively and I think the movie's inciting event is that of an invading hostile force - not to mention one of the countries I've been world building practices mandatory military service - but I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that this force didn't role up in tanks with AR-15s and helicopter support. Pretty sure that isn't canon and more likely than not would punch some pretty big plot holes as to how the kid friendly story of a group of friends saving the day wasn't riddled with bullets and left to bleed out.

I really don't want to sound like a jerk, but I can't really think of a better term than "cherry-picking" when it comes to fan forum's in general and what they decide to keep from the official material and what they just ignore. Someone else mentioned the idea of only accepting pieces of the movie's canon into the forum which falls in line with this but at the same time I don't really see any other way of doing it because that's whats going to happen regardless of if you take just the races, one location or the whole package. This is because once its in it will start being sliced up with the things that people liked - and are conveniently not in the way of headcanon - being kept front and center while stuff that raises questions gets shoved aside. This is what fanfiction does.

I haven't seen the movie. I've read reviews, listened to critiques, watched clips, heard bits of the music, seen some of the new characters and locations and gone through the synopsis. I know what happens in it, and  overall it comes off as a weak film to me that I'm happy to have not spent any money on. I also haven't watched the 6th season, or the 5th, I don't remember the slog I went through with the fourth and I didn't like half of the third. Assuming you're still reading after that I'll continue. I'm the kind of person who thinks things would have been far better if both Twilight and Cadence had remained or simply been unicorns from the start. To be dramatic, the show's world would have been better off, and I know people's usual argument is to not take it so seriously and that its just a cartoon but I don't look at media as mindless colors and shapes that you're supposed to just appreciate for existing.

Allow me a moment to vent about this a bit.

The Secret of NIMH - not the second one - is my favorite go to example for entertainment intended for younger audiences that I, as an adult, watched and found to be quite enjoyable as it wasn't contradictory nonsense at every turn, had a consistent story to follow, was beautiful to watch and even got dark in some parts that probably would have been spooky for kids. Now that was a movie, so it had one single story to tell from start to finish with nothing in the way of it whereas this is a show that releases multiple stories per season and is required to try and keep fresh ideas coming. One could argue that its far more difficult to stay consistent when trying to come up with new episodes every season, but I argue that its just as easy. Every episode is there to be reviewed and fact checked which leaves no room for "accidental" contradictions. Sometimes it feels like the people writing the episodes haven't even watched the rest of the show which if I were magically in charge I would force my writers to do before ever letting them pen a single idea for an official continuation of the series. The only reason it's gotten as bad as it has is because of so many people meddling with the show for the sole purpose of slapping their name onto and being associated with something that was wildly popular a few years ago.

Back in MY day: the Main 6 had story arcs and life goals, the alicorns were royalty/demigods/gods, the unicorns casted magic, the pegasi controlled the weather and the earth ponies worked to supply the superior races with the bounty of their fields! (Disclaimer: Applejack is my favorite.) Now alicorns are just made - I wonder what trials and lessons Cadence supposedly went through to become one - presumably from unicorns, further cementing their place as the master race and I wont get super into the Mane 6 but it feels like they're just given everything they ever wanted now with no sense of responsibility or commitment to it.

Because of all of this I fell out of love of watching anything new for the series a long time ago. I do, however, still quite enjoy the first couple seasons and I think the setting itself, while cutesy and silly, can be a lot of fun and a good base for writing fantasy adventures. If I didn't I wouldn't be checking the forum every day to see if anyone's posted so I can start working out the details for the next step in the arc's thread. But, I think its clear that the canon of the show hasn't been important to forum's, or even really itself, in a long time. Were it actually an issue we'd be seeing a lot more swords and spells with simple or one off gag examples of technology - except for stages I guess? It seems music is given multiple examples of modern mix tables, microphones and sound set ups? - and a lot less oorah soldiering, advanced computers and weaponry with a lack of horror towards death even though the ponies of Equestria seem mostly peaceful and harmless. I've made it obvious in the past that I would personally prefer the former since its closer to what the show was when it was starting out but that's another - irrelevant at this point in time - discussion about canon entirely as it would revolve around how much change to the official stuff is reasonable.

Anyway, that's my two cents. I know I haven't been here as long as everyone else and that most of the stuff I pointed out has been around since the beginning of the forum, but that's how I feel when it comes to the question over updating the forum's canon. That being that it probably wouldn't change much anyway. I sort rambled a lot in this like I always do so I wouldn't blame anyone for seeing the wall of text and noping the hell away from it. I just wanted to make it clear that I wanted to be honest not mean and that this isn't me ranting, just trying to explain how I see the show, where I was with it, my reason why and the topic of incorporating the canon.

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Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2018, 02:11:59 am »
To show that I am in no way innocent when it comes to never breaking from canon, I'mma throw up a piece of the world building I've been brewing out of boredom the last few weeks. Again, I am not forcing this to be canon and wont be forcing it into stories or arcs outside of my own. I just think its fun to share ideas.

THE GRIFFON KINGDOM

 CULTURE– 
 
Griffon culture is strict, harsh and cold but ultimately fair as it merely expects the best from each of its citizens. The average griffon’s personality often reflects their homeland in that they are difficult to learn and work around but is something you can come to appreciate and rely on once you’ve gotten used to it. Their often blunt and critical observations and interactions can easily come off as the behavior of a bully and overall negative person to the uninitiated which has given them a reputation across the world for being callous and difficult to please.

In the Griffon Kingdom all citizens native to the country are provided with a full education up until they reach adulthood where each take part in mandatory military service. While in the service each are given ample opportunity and encouragement to choose what jobs best suit their talents and interests so long as it ultimately is a benefit to the Kingdom. Training and some higher education is provided on the Kingdom’s dime while serving but once an individual reaches the end of their service they are given a simple choice to either remain in the service or strike out using everything they’d learned to build a new life.

Once outside of the service the Kingdom no longer holds their hand. Everyone is expected to either sink or swim with little sympathy being paid to those who fail as everyone is left on equal footing when starting out. Handouts from the crown are unheard of and there are few government programs in place to assist people struggling beyond providing basic necessities to keep them alive. The only exception to this way of life comes in the form of the Eagles whom are known to help where they think it necessary to maintain a fair environment for all.

While seen as harsh when viewing it from the outside, the Griffons of the Kingdom view it as a lifelong trial by fire. Shared service and mutual struggle within this meritocracy encourages competition which each Griffon relishes while encouraging each other to rise above as they wish for only the worthiest of rivals and friends to test themselves against. The average Griffon expects the best from the rest and strives to meet this expectation themselves whether it be in solo endeavors or working as a team. Those who reach great heights are idolized as heroes who came from nothing, easy shining examples of this being the Eagles who watch over the Kingdom and earn adoration from the rest of the populace.

Griffons often share a strong sense of brotherhood with the rest of their people forged through similar experiences growing up. This combined with their near constant rivalries encourages a respect that few of them take for granted. When engaged in friendly pastimes its easy for a group of griffons to quickly warm to each other and soon be chatting as if they’d known each other for years. Sports are a celebrated part of Griffon life as it feeds into their competitive spirits perfectly. Athletes are common subjects for conversation with an extra praise being paid to wrestlers and boxers as individual showings of strength and skill are widely approved of.

Music among the griffons has a heavy emphasis on heavy or fast beats to move to. Whatever can get the blood pumping is popular among most of the Kingdom’s citizens with more calming music being viewed as boring and for children being put to bed. Musicians are a common choice for younger griffons planning out their lives as their claws allow for the use of most known instruments that don’t outright require magic to play. Several genres and sub-genres of music have been innovated over the last few generations especially with unique vocals and kicked up tempos catching on with the youth of today. The elderly describe it as screechy noise with the dancing that often accompanies it being a “wild flailing that will probably get someone hurt.”

Aside from music, art amongst the griffons usually includes pieces described as “spontaneous” by critics of their homeland. Their claws allow for above average “real” sculpting and paintings often incorporating high varieties of colors. Splatters and erratic strokes decorate the more prized examples of painted Griffon works while the most revered sculpture from the Kingdom is a statue depicting their lost deity Aeolus that is currently and proudly displayed in the foyer of the Griffon Royal Palace.

POLITICS -

MERITOCRACY - The Griffon Kingdom operates off a meritocracy for most positions of power in both government and civilian life. Family connections and wealth mean little when it comes to who is selected for each job and corruption is surprisingly low due to the vigilance of the Eagles. A griffon’s skills and talent is what gets them places in the Kingdom, and each are expected to give every effort their all as should they fail to live up to expectations they will be quickly replaced with someone who can.

ELECTED MONARCH - The Kingdom itself is ruled by an elected monarch upon the current leader’s death, inability to continue ruling or ejection from the throne should the Eagles deem it necessary. A worthy monarch is granted all the powers and privileges as to be expected for any ruler of a major power once elected and is responsible for the management of the state. Currently the Kingdom is ruled by Ol’ Wren, a veteran of several campaigns within The Basin whom was able to take and hold the Crescent’s Shan Fortress for three days and survive an encounter with the Orchid before having his forces driven off.

The elections that led to Wren’s office were held shortly after the inevitable white peace that followed a few months later, the previous griffon Queen suffering from a fatal heart attack a week after signing the treaty and fueling a slew of conspiracy theories as a result. The results were near unanimous as was to be expected considering the fresh anti-Crescent sentiment amongst the populace and the candidate’s feats made against them. Popular then and now, Wren boasts the near universal support of the Eagles and the people. With his stances on their neighbors, confidence in dealing with the crescent and intent on taming the mountains to the north, Wren is viewed as a capable leader who is expected to lead his country to an era of prosperity.

EAGLES - The Eagles are an elite class of citizens who have been recognized as examples of what every griffon should strive to be. To become an Eagle one must either show extreme physical talent, high intelligence and a strong potential for leadership while serving out their mandatory years in the military or later achieve a multitude of great achievements that puts them head and shoulders above their peers. Upon being recruited, aspirants are granted specialized training and higher education – if lacking -  to prepare them for their roles and responsibilities in society.

An Eagle is expected to be everything that a Griffon can be in the Kingdom and is expected to be prepared for and useful in every situation. In peace they are mentors and enforce the law while watching the throne and keeping the Ravens and Elected Monarch in check. In court they are both judge and jury and can carry out sentences as they see fit with only another eagle having the ability to step in should they deem it necessary. In war they are commanders and elite commandos that can potentially change the tide of a battle both on the front line and beyond it.

Eagles carry similar influence to that of the Elected Monarch and are the sole owners of the privilege to eject the monarch from their throne should they prove to be either a danger to the country or too incompetent to rule. This privilege comes at the price of removing their ability to vote and disqualifies them from the election themselves. No one Eagle commands the rest, but respect is important to them and it isn’t uncommon for unofficial leaders to rise amongst them based on merit and experience.

RAVENS - In the Kingdom, the Ravens are the strange and shadowy figures in the corners of the bar and hunched in cloaks over the armrest of the throne whispering in the Elected Monarch’s ear. Acting as spies and saboteurs, the Ravens are the dirty secret of the Kingdom that they claim don’t even exist. Many a coup have been foiled before being able to even take root thanks to these dark figures constantly watching for signs of trouble. Several engagements with the Crescent have been either negated or won thanks to the unsung work that these griffons carry out. The Ravens monitor all, including the Eagles and the Elected Monarch, their one loyalty supposedly being to the throne itself and the country it is at the head of.

DIPLOMACY -

TRADE – Within the canyons that form the majority of their homeland the Kingdom has established a number of mines that dig into the sides of cliff faces and crevices where they’ve tapped into several rich veins of silver, Iron, and numerous deposits of common crystals and minerals such as quartz, calcite and feldspar. Silver is obviously valued the world over for it’s beauty, but the common crystals of their lands are no slouches when it comes to pulling their economic weight. Jewelers are always in need of such things to work their craft and the Mamlakat Khunfisa’ are always offering high sums for the minerals they consider “quaint” to craft special jewelry for their pharaoh.

Aside from the mines, the Griffon Kingdom has unique access to the ancient Greatwood Trees around which they often center their towns and cities. Made from a special type of greatwood possessing unusual properties of regeneration and strong elemental resistances, this lumber forms the materials used to craft special armors worn by the Eagles and is in high demand by the Equestrians as their qualities prove quite valuable to the countries expansion south. The Mamlakat Khunfisa and Saddle Arabian royalty and nobility prove to be in consistent demand for the lumber as well as the former uses it to craft fresh litters for their pharaoh and the latter value it’s heat resistance to help shade markets and palace grounds from the desert sun. The regenerative properties of the Greatwood Trees allow for this to be an ever-renewable resource so long as the griffons harvesting it remain responsible and take care to not over do it.

The final major export of the Kingdom is that of swords and metal armors. The griffon’s supply of raw iron, strong military and near constant threat of conflict with the Crescent Empire often leads them to forge a large stockpile of weapons and armor that they end up not using. A history of conflict has lead to rather advanced techniques in weapon smithing amongst the griffons and while the rank and file examples are usually sold in bulk when their trade partners require it the more prestigious swords and suits of armor forged by masters often fetch high prices in auctions.

EQUESTRIAN ALLIES – The Equestrians are one of the Kingdom’s nearest neighbors, Equestria being just across the sea off the Kingdom’s west coast, and they have been recognized as an official ally of each monarch to take the throne for the last century. Relations between the two powers are usually cordial with at least one dignitary belonging to each maintaining a permanent residence within their capitol cities to keep contact strong. Interests are often mutual with a heavy focus on trade, the sea between the two being a major asset for both as it acts as a stage for multiple high value routes both between the two and towards the south to the Caravaneers port city of Shilling. Beyond trade the Griffons usually prefer to solve their own problems - as their culture expects of them - and are reluctant to drag Equestria into their affairs unless in dire need.

CRESCENT RIVALS - While friendly towards the Equestrian’s, the same can’t be said when it comes to the Crescent and their empire whom share a border with the Griffons to the East and constantly battle over the ownership of The Basin located there. Hostile relations are frustratingly common between the Griffons and the Crescent’s emperor Tanxin Zhu with everything from near constant espionage and sabotage to armed conflict breaking out every other decade. Both are openly intolerant of the other with each viewing the opposite side as something to eventually conquer. Trade is banned with the Crescent resulting in the reliance on the Griffon’s sea trade with the Equestrian’s to the west and the Caravaneers of the south.

WARM TO THE CARAVANEERS - The Kingdom appreciates the Caravaneers of Sidon as they act as valuable assets in moving goods both to and from the southern powers. The Crescent Empire’s proximity to the Kingdom makes travel south difficult to manage for the griffons, but this is not the case for the Caravaneers and they regularly carry the burden of bringing money to the Kingdom from the south for a price the Griffons are happy to pay.

WARY OF THE ARABIANS – The notorious Cabals of the Saddle Arabians leaves the Griffon Kingdom on their guard whenever dealing with them. The idea of not being able to trust the words of ambassadors supposedly sent on behalf of the sultans is something the Griffons find unsettling in deeper ways than the obvious. To them, loyalty Is important, and to play to loosely with the concept is to lower yourself to a level unbefitting of a power carrying the amount of influence that the Arabians do in their lands. Still, the Arabians are a consistent customer when it comes to the griffon’s greatwood and have yet to come short in paying up, so relations remain.

BEETLE BUDDIES – The Mamlakat Khunfisa’ is ignored by the common griffon, but those in charge understand the worth in maintaining relations. The Khunfisa’s pharaoh is a huge fan of not only their common stones but also the greatwood that forms the backbone of the griffon’s trade. Not only are they always in demand, but the Khunfisa are so small that ordering anything other than tiny shipments would be a threat to their pharaoh’s ego as leaving it out in the open would allow thieves and bandits the opportunity to swoop in and steal it away. As such the orders are always fitting to their size but not their prices as each order is specially made and handsomely compensated by the pharaoh’s personal agents themselves.

DEITY -

Celestia and Luna manipulate the celestial bodies, Tanxin Zhu plays with the earth as if he were an artist with clay, the Mamlakat Khunfisa and Kiroho Tribes claim a bond with the spirits and undeath, experts suspect the Ouroboros of the Wildland Serpientes possesses a power we have yet to understand, and the Arabians have their poor Djinni who remains ever frustrated with their meddling.

For the griffons, none of them could compare to the mighty Aeolus, progenitor of their people, planter of the Greatwoods and master of the winds. Their first king who trekked to the north with unknown intent and was lost to them, Aeolus is the example to which each monarch and Eagle is compared so that the griffon people could hope to have something even remotely nearing his greatness until he someday returns home to reclaim his throne and lead them forever after.

The Griffons claim a connection to the winds that whip through their canyons and test their resolve daily. Difficult for them but near impossible for others without the right conditioning, the winds explain the strength of the average griffon’s wings and their common skill in flight as they happily carry out their day to day routines under even the most violent of storms and hazardous gusts. Common belief among the griffons is that each gust within their homeland is sent to them directly via the will of Aeolus himself from wherever he is now to keep his people strong. While most are skeptical, they do find it odd that the winds of the Kingdom tend to take on some strange behaviors whenever the Crescent manage to breach their border, easing up on the griffon forces and blasting away at the Terracotta of Zhu as if angered by their trespass.

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2018, 12:09:43 am »
More. Same as before. Not canon unless people think its neat.

THE CRESCENT EMPIRE

GEOGRAPHY

  The Empire enjoys a large variety to their surroundings with everything from snowy mountains in the north to the edges of the deserts to the south. In the east they reach nearly up to the coast while the west is buffered with a great basin that divides the land between themselves and their griffon neighbors. The Empire’s sole city of Yú is found in the great plains at the heart of their territory.

CULTURE

The Crescent Empire is decadent and rich. The natives, a breed of unicorns who’s horns curve unlike those of the average Equestrian variety, are pampered and cared for by an army of clay terracotta servants in exchange for a constant taxation of their magical energy. While crippling the average crescent when it comes to casting any advanced magic, the exchange leaves them cared for when it comes to most needs purely for remaining a citizen and partaking in The Tax. The average crescent needs not even work and is supplied with an allowance that makes it easy for them to each pursue whatever entertainment or hobbies they desire. The above average Crescent are recruited by the Emperor to become Craftsmen, Overseers and Commanders each of whom are exempt from the Tax in exchange for their service.

With little else to do but pursue their dreams and make use of a readily available, free and high-quality education available to them, Crescent unicorns often become incredible experts in their fields of study or masters of their chosen crafts. Unfortunately, their easy lives and dedication to their ruler heavily discourages emigration or travel and usually leads to these experts remaining within and working solely for the Empire.

How can the Empire afford to pay for the lives of an entire population? The goods crafted within it’s city walls are of unmatched quality and extremely exotic design. Everything from their art to their exported rugs and pots are highly sought after by the richest collectors and nobility the world ever. Each piece fetches exorbitant prices to prey on the wallets and egos of those hoping to show it off as a display of wealth and power, and with most of the Empire’s menial labor being handled by mindless servants that require minimal maintenance and no fuel, all this money is used to fund the Crescent’s lifestyle. Going further, most shops are also run by terracotta and are government owned as a result, meaning the money spent goes right back to the Empire’s treasury which is then sent back out to the people in the next grant of allowance.

Entertainment within the Empire’s singular city of Yú is the envy of the world. Ancient awe-inspiring theatres, opera houses, symphonies practiced to perfection, stadiums for live practice battles between Commanders, and prestigious art galleries filled with one of a kind masterpiece. Even taking a simple walk through the streets of Yú can consume an entire day as the city’s size, aesthetic, and blocks teeming with attractions can feel like an adventure to explore as there is always something new to experience and enjoy.

Life is easy for the Crescent and is often made easy for most unicorns or otherwise magically adept foreigners immigrating to the Empire, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the races. If you can’t cast magic and do not possess something that can be siphoned via The Tax to feed the Emperor, you are treated worse than dirt. The allowance afforded to the crescent is absent for the magic handicapped races with each being forced to accept the only work available to them.

Mining, logging, farming, cleaning, building, retail and soldiering are all handled by the clay terracotta headed by a qualified Overseer or Commander. Factories however are still very necessary for creating the terracotta themselves that protect and care for the crescent, and while an Overseer and his team of Craftsmen are required to run each location and weave the needed spells to make them function, the pieces needed to build them are simply mundane materials that still require manufacturing and assembly. As such this is where the lesser races are relegated with some sequestered slums often being built nearby to prevent them from making appearances in the better parts of the city and dirty up the Crescent’s image of perfection. The question of why this isn’t merely handled by yet more terracotta is often shrugged off by Zhu and his court with the simple response of this being the lesser races way of earning their place in their great empire.

POLITICS

IMMORTAL EMPEROR – The Empire is forever ruled by an immortal and powerful dragon known as Tānxīn Zhu whom feeds off his people’s magical energies through The Tax and uses it to fuel and continuously grow his own strength. Serpentine and wingless, Zhu does not resemble the dragons that come to most people’s minds, instead possessing a more mystical aura as opposed to their powerful and frightening presence.

Tānxīn Zhu is a master of the element of earth - being born from and swimming through it long before he ever learned to fly - and is the one who invented the magic that goes into fueling the Empire’s clay soldiers. Zhu is the sole being capable of creating terracotta servants in mere minutes from nothing more than dirt while those made by the Craftsmen in the Empire’s factories require more tempering and time. Zhu is also the one to have sculpted the great palace guardians that protect his home as the effort and power required to do so is nearly impossible for anyone else to expend or achieve.

Zhu is massive in size, intimidating in person, sickeningly greedy, and incredibly arrogant, but even still his people nearly worship him like the god he claims to be. He can sometimes be seen flying over and observing his domain much to the delight of the Crescent with such nights being celebrated with impromptu feasts and parties springing up on very short notice. Most of the time however he keeps himself hidden away in his opulent palace where he invites those he finds interesting, consults his court and plots against his neighbors.

THE COURT – Zhu’s Court is a group of advisors composed of five leading masters arising from his government workers and the Orchid. These masters are as follows: Apprentice Chuízi, Taskmaster Biānzi, Yìngbì of Trade, Steel Laojiàng, and Qiánxíng the Shaded.

Apprentice Chuízi is named such due to his direct tutelage beneath the emperor himself when it comes to practicing the magics that go into crafting the terracotta. While called an apprentice, Chuízi is in fact a master unrivaled by the rest of the Crescent in his field and is kept by the emperor to help develop new techniques and prototypes as well as work on updating current designs in pursuit of perfection. Chuízi earned his apprenticeship when word started getting around that his experiments and personal projects had started to show results including but not limited to the increasing of terracotta multitasking and problem-solving skills without direct supervision by a respectable 2%.

Taskmaster Biānzi is responsible for the management of the Overseers through-out the empire. Each factory, farm, congregation of servants and labor camp is run by an Overseer and the Taskmaster is one of the most experienced of the bunch chosen based on, of all things, the submission of an application which is reviewed by Zhu should he require a replacement. Biānzi was chosen due to his managerial skills and respectable experience and performance when working in “The Block” – a cluster of factories dedicated towards replacing high end security and soldier terracotta models during times of conflict.

Yìngbì of Trade is the one the Caravaneers of Sidon deal with whenever they enter Crescent territory. As one could assume, the Empire’s trading with other countries is overseen by Yìngbì, but she is also responsible for managing the populations allowances and acting as the lead accountant of the Empire’s treasury. Yìngbì’s position is one of extreme danger and is often one that is viewed as a curse by anyone made to accept it. To be responsible for managing the wallet of the Emperor is to have everything you do be under never ending scrutiny and live in constant worry that even the smallest discrepancy could lead to extreme consequences. This position is given to the few that the Emperor feels he can trust, though this quickly changes once these individuals are in office.

Steel Laojiàng trains the Empire’s Commanders and is the Emperor’s war advisor whenever the Griffons start to get out of line. Laojiàng has spent most of his life occupying The Basin in the Empire’s western territory and was a major reason why the last few engagements with the Griffons has led to resounding victories. His candidacy for a seat in Zhu’s court was never in question and when Laojiàng began to grow too old to easily travel through The Basin’s demanding terrain he reluctantly accepted Zhu’s invitation. Whenever not running drills, one of both Laojiàng and Zhu’s favorite pastimes is to get together and discuss hypothetical scenarios and plan contingencies for the next time they need to deal with one of their neighbors.

Qiánxíng the Shaded inherited his place as his family has for generations. He makes sure the palace grounds have sufficient shade in the summer. It is strictly illegal to ask for details.

THE ORCHID – The Orchid is ageless, powerful, and Zhu’s greatest asset. Serving as the Emperor’s right hand, The Orchid has been his agent for numerous centuries, his eternal youth being a gift from Zhu and fueled by a portion of The Tax as a showing of his appreciation. Vigilant when not needed, frighteningly effective when deployed, The Orchid carries out the will of Zhu with every fiber of his being as his loyalty is unshakeable and skill immense.

For the Crescent he is a living legend whose feats are taught about in schools, but for the Crescent’s main rival the Griffons he is a nightmare that has troubled them for a very long time. The Orchid is the second most powerful Commander of the Terracotta under Zhu himself and when under his direct control they increase their effectiveness by a staggeringly large margin. Even alone he is capable of turning a tide when engaged with the griffons as his mastery of himself and the Crescent’s weaponry is all encompassing and perfect, his abilities beyond the scope of most other combatants.

When not given a task to perform, The Orchid does nothing but train and act as a personal bodyguard to the Emperor.

DIPLOMACY

TRADE – The Empire imports almost no raw materials as they have access to most things they could ever need and instead treats itself to the luxury goods of the neighboring powers with the strong exception of the Griffons due to trade between the two being strictly banned. Exports from the Empire mirror this as they are well known for their expensive but beautiful furniture, wines, tea, instruments, art and so on. Simply put, if you aren’t rich and looking to show it, you have no business buying Crescent goods.

NEEDS NO ONE – The Empire has no need of allies as their terracotta armies are large, inexpensive, easy to replace and quite effective when under the guide of a competent Commander. Standing forces require little maintenance and no fuel making upkeep incredibly easy and cheap and defensive fortresses through out the land are built to last and are for all intents and purposes immune to a long term siege. On top of this the large amount of land and varied geography leads the Crescent to be almost entirely self sufficient as they are capable of producing most things a country needs to exist with absolutely no need for outside help. This all means that co-operative relations with other powers would only prove to be a drain on the Empire’s time and resources and Zhu has little interest in bothering with helping anyone other than his himself.

GRIFFON RIVALS – Zhu is very old and has never been a friend of the Griffons. Their culture is a near antithesis of his Empire’s own and as a result makes their presence something that Zhu finds annoying at best and angering at worst. The Crescent’s population despises the griffons and believes them to be dirty, poor and uncivilized with popular opinion being a casual call for them to be driven off the continent and into the sea entirely so that the Empire can take ownership of their lands. The borders of the empire are strictly closed to the Griffons as this makes things more difficult for their rivals in the area of trade and travel southwards, this pleasing Zhu greatly and being a permanent decree.

TOLERANT OF THE CARAVANEERS – The Caravaneers serve a purpose for the Crescent and as such are allowed to do business unimpeded within Crescent lands. Moving the Crescent’s high value goods around the powers is a respected role amongst the Court and helps to feed extra money into the Empire to further bloat their wealth. Because of their usefulness, a special force of terracotta under a Commander meets each Caravan at the border of the Empire’s lands on set dates to escort the Caravaneers through their lands, monitor their behavior and provide protection up until they leave.

HE HATES SAND – The south has little to fear when it comes to the Emperor’s greedy desire to expand his domain. Saddle Arabia and the Kiroho Federation of Tribe’s territories are home to several deserts that takes up large swaths of land which acts as a deterrent to the Empire as the hassle of invading would be too slow and difficult to risk leaving themselves open to a bothersome invasion of Griffons. Sand is hard for the current incarnation of terracotta to traverse and the trouble they’d have making it through the deserts that the native forces have adapted to would only lead to a few embarrassing failures that Zhu simply cannot allow. As for the Mamlakat Khunfisa’, their borders encompass such a tiny blip on the map that the Emperor has absolutely no interest in wasting his time taking it from them.

TERRACOTTA

The backbone of the Empire without which it could not operate in its current form, the terracotta are vitally important to the day to day life of Yú City and the defense of the Empire itself. Made from clay and then infused with special magics to bring them to life, each soldier, servant, laborer and guard is capable only of following simple commands and carrying out a basic purpose unless supervised by a capable Commmander or Overseer. When under supervision the effectiveness of each terracotta in performing their tasks increases based on their supervisor’s own aptitude which also effects how many terracotta they can control.

For example, a terracotta soldier left to guard one of the many outposts within The Basin can only perform a simple guard duty protocol that recognizes none Crescent intruders and then moves them to engage with the skill of a green recruit. However, a commander’s presence allows them to receive and understand orders similarly to regular soldiers with their skill scaling accordingly. Someone like Steel Laojiàng or The Orchid can command legions of terracotta at a time with each individual possessing the skill of a seasoned veteran.  This same scaling applies to every type of terracotta with the numbers delegated to manual labor and servitude falling under the guide of the Overseers.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2018, 11:34:00 pm by Haywire »

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #9 on: March 25, 2018, 11:15:07 pm »
ayyyyyyyy

THE CARAVANEERS OF SIDON

BARREN HOMELAND – The homeland of the caravaneers is a stretch of land comprised almost entirely of harsh and sandy deserts. Natural resources within their official territory are extremely scarce with what little is readily available – usually found near the coast and its city of Shilling - being difficult to harvest due to the common sand storms and shifting dunes burying attempts to reach them.
 
CULTURE/TRADE – Life as a camel of Sidon is one of constant travel and a careful understanding of money. Each newborn native to Sidon is brought into the world either on the road under one of the country’s caravans, as part of the Exchange’s ever relocating trading posts and rest stops within the shifting deserts, or as a resident of the camel’s port city of Shilling.

Due to special accords recognized by the different powers, those born into a caravan need not stress over citizenship as each caravan acts as a sort of mobile piece of Sidon territory so long as they keep to the routes. Once born, they are under the protection and responsibility of each caravan’s master who serve as both a boss of business to the members and a sort of governor who is charged with the well being of each. The master must keep an accurate census of his people, a clear record of their travels, provide necessities to ensure survival including fare wages, see to the employment of qualified camels dedicated to providing a basic education to the young and so on. In exchange for this protection and assistance expectant parents sign into an agreement for themselves and their child to become indentured servants until the child comes of age with refusal leading to being expelled from the caravan to not slow them down.

If born under the families of the Exchange young camels are assigned an allegiance and become a part of the crews that roll through the deserts setting up and tearing down the trading posts that act as artificial oases for the caravans. There tents are raised and services provided to allow passing caravans the opportunity to trade their goods amongst their own people for necessities and hard currency with what’s sold being sent back to Shilling to be prepped for the families perusal or shipped off in Sidon’s sea trade. Due to the nature of the desert these posts don’t stand in one place for long, regularly being torn down to be set up somewhere else depending on the weather and any incoming sandstorms. Those who manage the posts are experts in being able to read the desert and the spots used to establish the posts are often rotated to establish consistency. Caravans hoping to find a post are expected to be led by an experienced enough master to find one, but even if the opposite is the case the camel’s natural ability to last longer without food and water than most other races often buys them enough time to figure things out.

Shilling behaves like most cities in the world and is the central hub when it comes to the importation of goods from the surrounding countries. Here the families of the Exchange center their power while paying tribute to Azurfa Zinariya. Seaward trade is carried out by a pieced together collection of ships not native to Sidon due to the camels preferring to simply purchase their vessels from others. Similarly, to walk the streets of the city or enter a home of a well-off camel would feel like entering a mish mash of different cultures due to the bits and pieces bought from around the world used to decorate them. Griffon greatwood tables decorated with Khunfisa’ statuettes and Crescent wine bottles placed over an Arabian rug is a combination commonly found in affluent households. Production of goods by the camels themselves is exceedingly rare and often of low quality as the skills to create such things themselves are not usually taught to nor pursued by their people.

On the road the most important skill taught to every camel is the art of haggling as this has been a vital part of their culture since the earliest pieces of their recorded history. Back then, before they’d established their routes and relations with their neighbors, what little they could scrounge together from their homeland was traded amongst themselves extremely carefully with the need to learn negotiating skills and the appraisal of somethings worth being vital to ensure their individual survival. Today it’s the backbone of their entire nation with each camel being expected to represent their country accordingly.

Outsiders are treated to the “hump”, a slang term used by Griffons and Saddle Arabians to refer to both the obvious physical features of the traders and the Caravaneer’s tendency to always try to come off as friendly to ease your defenses. For the uninitiated it is a highly effective strategy as the behavior is well practiced and easy for the average caravaneer to tailor to everyone’s personality. For those wary of such a ploy they find little comfort in it as its still difficult to undercut or trick a camel and their sense of economic value. Still, dealing with the Carvaneers has become unavoidable at this point in time due to the different powers coming to rely on them for some reason or another. This does not mean they are disliked however as most caravans are usually well received when they roll into town.

Entertainment for the camels of Sidon is limited due to their nomadic nature. Most camels within the caravans entertain themselves and others through the regaling of travel tales and stories that they’ve picked up on the road. Songs are often sung to help pass the time and simple easy to carry instruments are sometimes carried to help break up the monotony. Art is not made in the same ways as the rest of the world as wasting the space to transport the materials and stopping to take the time to carve a statue or paint a picture is unheard of. Every wasted minute is a drain on a caravan’s coffers, and no responsible master would ever put his caravan in jeopardy long enough to entertain such a fancy. Instead, to make up for this, camels often decorate themselves by shaving their fur to depict complicated images that often times tell a story or keeps track of their own personal travels. All of this also helps to provide conversation starters which are always useful to someone in their trade.

Amongst themselves camels often deal with rivalries and loyalties regarding either the families of the Exchange or their individual caravan masters. All camels rely on the success of these to determine their own wealth and value within Sidon society and treat those not of their own franchise as competition in most aspects of everyday life. Intense bidding wars over the smallest of things and shouted over the crowded market of Shilling is an everyday occurrence and bribery is such a common means of negotiating differences that its almost legal in Sidon lands. To gain influence in Sidon one must possess the coin to back it up and they are willing to do most anything to achieve it with the purchasing of high earning caravans being the ultimate means by which one can rise to power and ultimately name themselves Lords and possibly even the Sarkin Tafiyar.

POLITICS

LORD – In Shilling there resides a unique Caravan Lord whom holds sway over the rest. Often incorrectly referred to by foreigners as simply their singular Lord, when in truth there are many, the actual official title for such a prestigious position is that of the Sarkin Tafiyar and they are often the owner of most of the best performing caravans Sidon has to offer. Adopting this title requires the purchasing of the Arziki Caravan, one of Sidon’s oldest and most expensive which holds significant meaning to the camels of the land, from the current Sarkin leading to their demotion from office and the new Lord’s rise. The wealth required to do this is immense and its been common in the past for the office to be juggled between multiple Lords whom jump at the opportunity to take it but then find themselves bankrupt and replaced shortly after. Eventually one comes along with the sense to have their finances in order before falling to their own ambition and the reign of these worthy camels are often long and lead to lasting dynasties as the ownership of the Arziki caravan remains hereditary until sold.

The perks of the Sarkin Tafiyar position are many with the most important being influence over the Syndicate, tribute from the Exchange, permanent luxurious residence within Shilling and a lack of need to deal with traveling themselves beyond the occasional visit to the ruling powers of the surrounding countries to discuss opportunities.

The current Sarkin Tafiyar of Sidon is Azurfa Zinariya, a second-generation inheritor of the Arziki and the complicated network of caravans built and purchased by his now deceased father Asali Ubangiji. Groomed to take over, Azurfa is no push over when it comes to business and has responsibly maintained his dynasty’s superiority within Sidon for decades. When foreign powers hope to alter or strike new deals of any serious consequence, Azurfa is the one it must be approved by. Similarly, any substantial offers sent beyond Sidon’s borders are penned by Azurfa or one of his representatives.

THE SYNDICATE – The Syndicate refers to an organization formed to ensure that the caravans of Sidon operate with the best interests of their country and fellow masters in mind. Each master of every caravan is required to become a member with attempts to avoid this leading to steep penalties and a green light for the rest to not have to treat them fairly. The primary goals of the Syndicate are to ensure fair prices across every caravan, discourage the manipulation of foreign customers to foster favoritism, prevent meddling amongst each other that could potentially harm Sidon’s overall profit and to enforce each Master’s responsibility to his employees and indentured servants.

The Syndicate is technically led by the Sarkin Tafiyar, who himself is a member and subject to its rules, but it is usually managed by the Caravan Lords beneath him. It is totally acceptable for a Lord to own several of the lesser caravans operating within the Syndicate so long as they adhere to its rules.

THE EXCHANGE – While the caravans are out dealing with the surrounding countries and making a profit someone needs to stay back to hold down the fort and make sure they have a place to return to. Named after their primary service offered at the trading posts throughout Sidon, The Exchange is a collection of families who run Shilling and own and operate the posts that dot the deserts. Collecting tariffs, buying goods and selling resources to returning caravans, maintaining the sea trade to the west and keeping the infrastructure of Shilling intact all fall within the realm of the families within which is their own little hierarchy. At the top are the Jagora, Gina and Motsie families who run and collect tariffs from most of the trading posts, keep Shilling standing and manage the ports respectively. Beneath them are the Talakawa, Isasshen, Iafiya, Manta and Kyau families whom perform the same duties as the three above but in lesser ways with most efforts often needing to be run past them before any headway can be made. Even further down the totem pole are numerous families who are more or less irrelevant and replaceable as their compared wealth to those above is insignificant and ability to do much of worth equally as unlikely.

The Exchange mostly governs themselves, but they do adhere to paying tribute to the Sarkin Tafiyar on a regular basis with how much each family pays being calculated based on their net worth. Reasons for why include the fact that the Sarkin Tafiyar owns most of the best performing caravans Sidon has to offer and as a result brings in a huge chunk of the country’s profit. On top of this the Sarkin Tafiyar is rich enough to basically take over the sea trade from the Exchange should he feel the need to. The Exchange have had to fight with overly greedy Sarakuna in the past with this usually leading to a rotation of inept hopefuls taking the title and have decided long ago that the tribute, and its pacifying of the Sarkin Tafiyar, is a much better deal in the long run.

DIPLOMACY

MORE TRADE – Diplomacy for the Caravaneers is usually simple and straightforward. You let them do their business and they’ll help you make money. True neutrality is the norm and the camels have no interest when it comes to taking sides in any conflict as there would be no sense in dividing their routes. Each caravan acts as a mobile piece of Sidon territory and are therefore neutral zones so long as they keep to their routes. All sides prefer to avoid interfering with their travels for fear that they themselves would suffer for it in the form of steeper prices and less business.

With their society built around materialist values, it should come as no surprise that the camels have established themselves as well respected and valued assets to the surrounding powers. Whether it be bypassing the Griffon-Crescent trade ban, helping to distribute water through Saddle Arabia, or merely securing the great Khunfisa’ Pharaoh’s next delivery of rare Kiroho spices the Caravaneers deliver and are well compensated for it.

Despite their skills the Caravaneers have always struggled to implant themselves into the Kiroho Federation of Tribes’ the same way they have with the rest of their neighbors. The Kiroho are far less materialistic than the other races and therefore are lacking in the idea of trading with the rest, instead preferring to trade amongst themselves and be as self-sufficient as possible.

UNTOUCHABLE –  The Caravaneers were patient and smart when establishing their routes, their ability to make long steady treks on limited resources and talents for appraisal being put to good use through their history to install themselves into the societies of their neighbors. Today the surrounding powers rely on them a great deal to maintain their economies – the only major exception being the Kiroho Federation of Tribes - and as a result consider the security of the caravans to be of high priority. While each caravan keeps on staff several camel guards the other races tend to be far more capable when it comes to fending off threats resulting in the common rotation of hired guards and escorts depending on where the Caravaneers find themselves at the time.

In the Griffon Kingdom mercenaries are readily available to be brought along for a price. The Crescent Empire and Saddle Arabian’s both assign special military escorts in the form of a Commander and their unit of Terracotta for the former and a team of janissaries sent on behalf of the individual sultanates within the latter. When in the lands of the Mamlakat Khunfisa’, the pharaoh needs only approve of their presence for most trouble to be avoided, though some Arabian bandits occasionally attempt to follow and harass the caravans before being made to regret it by the tiny kingdom’s population.

The Kiroho Federation are unique however in that they’re tolerance of the caravans but lack of need for them leads to a mixed bag of security that often shifts depending on the political climate. At times the camels find themselves accepted by most of the tribes and have little to fear, but there are occasions where a freshly discovered changeling hive or rising tensions between tribes can cause paranoia and distrust to a point of deflecting the caravans entirely. Regardless, at least one member of the Wawindaji Tribe follows each caravans’ activities while in Kiroho lands – and whether they know it or not - to ensure that they are indeed Caravaneers and not up to any trouble.

To attack, rob, hinder or slow down the caravans is to commit severe crimes against both the country of Sidon and their current hosts leading to serious consequences for the guilty.

LACK OF GOD – Unlike the rest of the races surrounding them, the camels of Sidon do not believe themselves to have any sort of patron deity or god unique to them. In fact, most camels don’t believe that the rest of the countries do either. While careful to respect the views of their customers and keep relations warm, for them Celestia and Luna are simply powerful spellcasters who have found a way to reach out to the celestial bodies, Zhu is an ancient dragon who has had plenty of time to figure out how to manipulate the earth, and Aeolus is merely a myth. **** materialists, the Caravaneers consider themselves to be a realistic and practical people who have no time to entertain the idea of divinity or higher powers watching over them when there’s real work to be done.

Whether or not the camels are right about their lack of a deity or are simply ignorant is unknown.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2018, 11:21:29 pm by Haywire »

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2018, 11:33:04 am »
A lot going on in this one. Need to split it into two posts.

Part 1/2

SADDLE ARABIA

GEOGRAPHY – To travel through Saddle Arabia is to take a risk that you had better be prepared for as much of their territory is blanketed with wind blasted sand and scorching heat. There is very little shelter from the elements in between the cities that have managed to be established and the oases around which small settlements have sprung, meaning coverings, water and keeping to the routes is vital to surviving any journey.

CULTURE/THE HARB ‘ABADIA – Saddle Arabia is a very dangerous place for those who don’t know the culture and how to survive it day by day. Arabia is a constantly shifting land, not because of the sands, but instead because of the politics and the magic that is constantly at play. Within the deserts are two opposing forces that engage in an eternal battle for control over a series of magical vortexes scattered through-out the deserts. Known as Ma’an wells, but nicknamed “Soulwells” by foreigners, these extreme concentrations of magical energies carry direct influence over the desert’s conditions and the way of life for the Saddle Arabians depending on who is in control at the time.

On one side of the conflict are an infinite number of magical demons called Jinns that spawn from the power of an entity known as Alsumu, a DJinni that is as ancient as the desert itself. A being composed mostly of magic, Alsumu once ruled the lands of Saddle Arabia and its people but was eventually reduced to his current state through work done by numerous powers of the time. Today he is kept contained under the deserts and is prevented from returning through the work of Nazir.

Nazir acts as the other side of the conflict as he is one of the few capable of handling the responsibility. Like Alsumu, Nazir is a DJinni but is unfortunately not nearly his equal and as a result can only work to keep Alsumu’s influence from washing over the deserts and preventing him from gaining ownership of the Soulwells.

This conflict is known as the Harb ‘Abadia and depending on which side is winning it leads to two separate states by which the Saddle Arabians are forced to live. The Waqt Alzalam is the more common state where the Jinns have majority control over the Soulwells and cast a shadow over the lands that makes life far more difficult for its citizens. The Waqt Aldaw’ is the rarer state where Nazir has wrestled away control of enough of the Soulwells to allow the oases to flourish and give the people a time of peace and comfort.

WAQT ALZALAM – A Waqt Alzalam is sadly considered the “normal” state by which most of life Is lived for the Arabians. During these times citizens are forced to seek shelter within the cities that act as safe havens but at the same time struggle to provide for the large number of civilians that flock to hide behind the walls. This overcrowding leads to increases in crime, a strain on food and water, and the frequent exiling of troublemakers.

Navigating the markets while avoiding pickpockets, understanding the varying authority of the guards, and sniffing out enough work to pay for a meal is a constant struggle that forces the average Arabian to get smart early in life if they hope to be anything other than a beggar. Luxury is something strictly reserved for the elite that can afford it with even something as basic as water often being very strictly rationed to the everyday citizen and its common to see the poor in large numbers sharing abodes as room within the shelter of the cities is limited.

The desert is a harsh and unfeeling teacher but its also one of the best in the world as these challenges lead to the common Arabian possessing a respectable intelligence, resourcefulness and willpower when it comes to survival. Thievery is a skill developed early for many children of the poor while the middle class often are born into their jobs and are apprenticed or educated by their parents to keep the occupation within the family. To find a job that wasn’t inherited is to strike gold within the cities of the sultanates as there is always an overabundance of people clambering for them with government work sometimes being fought over in the streets once announced.

The upper class isn’t guaranteed an easy go of it either, regardless of which Waqt is in effect, as the cloak and dagger politics of the land can often spell the end for entire families among the elite. The numerous Cabals and shadow organizations that infest the political landscape of Saddle Arabia makes every move on the part of the sultans a calculated one. Every dirty trick in the book is used by the politicians of Arabia, with more than a few being patented by the Cabals as this stage serves as their testing grounds. Kidnapping, blackmail, poisoning water reserves, double dealing with the leaders of foreign powers, nothing is off limits for those that run Arabia.

While sounding bad, those in the city are in fact lucky as those born outside of city walls or are unable to be allowed inside when a Waqt Alzalam is imminent can have even more trouble. Outside the walls and the protection of the guards that patrol them, the Arabians scraping together a living must learn how to defend themselves and deal with the ever-looming threats of Sakin Alsahra’s bandits, the Jinns of Alsumu and the numerous natural hazards of the desert itself. While simple tribute can sometimes be enough to prevent the bandits from raiding, there is little these Arabians have that can interest the Jinns and as such rely quite heavily on the help of Nazir to keep them at bay. Unfortunately, even one such as he can’t be everywhere at once and its not unheard of for there to be an occupation of multiple settlements once a Waqt Alzalam begins and the oases start to whither and dry. These occupations on good days most often include abuses such as bullying of the populace, vandalizing of structures and the destroying of supplies.

WAQT ALDAW’ – Life in Saddle Arabia hardly sounds worth trying when taking into consideration all of the obstacles trying to tear its people down, but there is a saving grace that keeps its people from abandoning it all together. The Waqt Aldaw’, the greatest gift Nazir can give to the Arabians and the main reason why they claim him to be their ruler despite his protests, is a time where the Djinni protecting Saddle Arabia manages to win enough victories over the Jinns to take ownership of the majority of the Soulwells. Under his influence they swell with beneficial life promoting energies that causes the oases across the desert to flourish and explode with life, stretching their borders outwards and gifting the people with bountiful food and flowing waters.

With the threat of the Jinns temporarily removed and the conditions of the desert improved enough to allow for regular patrols of Janissaries and city guards to keep Sakin Alsahra and his bandits at bay, the citizens previously crammed into the cities are allowed the freedom to head back out and rebuild their smaller settlements across the lands. The easing of the cities crowding also allows for the permanent residents of the cities to relax and stretch back out, providing a window for them to enjoy a higher standard of living and go back to focusing on their lives without needing to trip over beggars and watch for thieves.

The Waqt Aldaw’ also allows the Arabians freedom enough to study the Soulwells. While not magically potent themselves, the Arabians work on the Soulwells have allowed them to make leaps and bounds in the fields of magical containment, altering and release. Today the Arabians are considered experts in enchantment, inscription, and the sealing away of magical energies and beings, all of which being put to near constant use in their efforts against the Jinns.

During a Waqt Aldaw’ the Jinns retreat back to their lairs for shelter and to regain their strength in order to strike back outwards and bring about the next Waqt Alzalam in the name of Alsumu.

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2018, 11:35:08 am »
Part 2/2

POLITICS

SULTANATES – The deserts of Saddle Arabia fall under the rule of several sultans whom each recognize Nazir as their overall ruler, despite his denial of the responsibility. While in charge, usually their influence is limited to their home cities and the immediate surroundings as they act as the beacons of civilization and safety when the lands are under the shadow of a Waqt Alzalam. Of these sultanates three are of significant note.

The city of Salama under the rule of Zaeim is found near the western border of Arabia and is often the first to receive the Caravaneers of Sidon when they enter the lands. Their location and first pick of the oncoming traders allows them to be better off than most of the other sultanates and water is less of a concern as the Caravaneers often bring large amounts as part of the first steps taken in their routine for distribution across Arabia. Zaeim and his people are usually involved in dealing with the traders and handling relations between Arabia, the Carvaneers, and the Griffon Kingdom. By all accounts he’s a reasonable and intelligent leader who handles himself with honor, naturally making him an enemy of the Cabals and a rarity among the Arabian elite.

Yarshud is a much better example of the political standard the typical Arabian in power holds themselves to. Based in Mawaa and located in the deep desert of the south, Yarshud is burdened with the never-ending struggle of managing the needs of his people while pursuing his own agendas. Scandals are common regarding Yarshud and his currently favored Cabal, his dealings with Sakin Alsahra’ also being painfully obvious but carefully denied and kept clean enough to prevent outright proving. Further, his attempts to manipulate and dig his way into the Kiroho to the south plays a major role in the Federation’s low opinion of the Arabians. Even so, Yarshud has done his fair share of work in ensuring that he remain safe in his position and is a problem that the other sultans can’t currently solve for fear of enraging the Cabals.

Almasnin governs his swath of desert from the city of Himayatan in the East and is more of an in-between when compared to Yarshud and Zaeim. While not as respectable as Zaeim, Almasnin is far more trustworthy than Yarshud as the Cabals are actively impeded within Himayatan and Almasnin’s janissaries are among the most dedicated in their duty to deliver water to the surrounding settlements. While worthy of some measure of respect, Almasnin suffers when it comes to diplomacy and is usually regarded as weak by his contemporaries as his rolling over to please the tiny Khunfisa’ Pharoahs is something regarded as a joke despite Almasnin understanding the necessity. The most controversial piece of trivia currently revolving around Almasnin is that he is receptive to the culture and ideals of the Crescent Empire to the north of his territory, the information having yet to be strictly proving but succeeding in drawing the attention of the Jade Conspirators whom have worked tirelessly to secure their influence within Himayatan.

CABALS – The Cabals are a collection of small political groups each pursuing their own agendas and attempts at changing life within Saddle Arabia for what they deem to be the better. There are almost too many to count and members often include the most powerful people in the country both in business and politics. It is not uncommon for the sultans of Arabia to discreetly endorse whichever cabal is currently in line with their own pursuits, though the laws of the land prevent any from outright naming themselves as affiliated with them for fear of exile or worse.

There are many cabals in Arabia but some are more influential - or at the very least currently active - than the rest. The most striking examples the people are aware of at this time are the Jade Conspirators, Sorrel Initiative, Tagetes Revisionists, Arcane Dominion, and Blue Royalists.

The Jade Conspirators hold the most influence in the East and are believed to be based within Himayatan despite the city guard’s efforts to root them out. Their beliefs are that Saddle Arabia would be far better off if they were to abandon the sultans and denounce Nazir, instead turning control of the deserts over to Tānxīn Zhu and his Crescent Empire. The way they see it is that his mastery over the element of Earth would eventually allow him to terraform the deserts into a permanently habitable land despite the influence of the Soulwells which would be turned over to Zhu to satisfy The Tax in place of the Arabian’s lack of magical capabilities. When asked about the Jade Conspirators, Zhu always denies involvement in the south but does so with an amused grin and there have been multiple unverified reports of someone coming close to the description of The Orchid within Arabian lands over the years.

The Sorrel Initiative is composed of radical militarists who believe that the Arabian population is doomed to eventually die out should they remain in the deserts. The Waqt Aldaw’ for them are never long enough to justify the hardships endured in the times between and so the Sorrel are constantly pushing for the sultans to unite and enact a hostile push southward in an effort to annex the Kiroho Federation’s lands. This, combined with Yarshud’s handling of relations between the Arabians and the Kiroho, obviously has caused a great amount of tension to arise between the two powers and it is rare for Arabians to be allowed entry into their lands for fear that they are in fact Sorrel Initiative spies.

The Tagetes Revisionists are more the enemies of the Caravaneers of Sidon than anyone else. Believing that the reliance on the camels to help transport water across their lands to be inefficient and a way for the Caravaneers to influence them, the Revisionists are aware of and push for economical shifts towards the promotion and endorsing of a foreign company based in Equestria. Offering better equipped and funded security to best protect routes as well as larger shipments of water from the start carried by state of the art wagons specially designed to traverse the conditions of the deserts the deal seems too good to be true for those not in the know. The flip side of the coin though is in the small print which outlines that the company would be allowed a hefty amount of influence when it comes to Arabian imports and exports as well as opening the door to the possibility of a monopoly over trade being established country wide. Regardless, the Tagetes Revisionists believe this to be a price well worth paying should it create more jobs for those living under a Waqt Alzalam and solve their water problems once and for all.

The Arcane Dominion is officially recognized by the Arabian government as a terrorist organization and are treated accordingly. The Arcanists work towards using the Arabians’ understanding of the soulwells to seal Nazir away within a bottle or similar container with the intent of forever binding him to the vessel. Reasons as to why are vague and range from the idea that they could then use his magics to grant themselves wealth and power to their true purpose being a cult in worship of Alsumu who hope to see his reign return. Considered enemies of the state and reviled by most of the citizenry, the Dominion are bent on achieving a goal most consider to be suicide and any whispers regarding their activities are treated extremely seriously all throughout Saddle Arabia.

Polarizing the Arcane Dominion are the Blue Royalists who view Nazir as their one and only ruler. Pushing for a full monarchy to be adopted and to name Nazir as their all powerful king, the Royalists are often considered a nuisance that often graffiti and vandalize public property while refusing to acknowledge the authority of either the sultans or their guards. While mostly harmless, and even supported by a decent chunk of the population, there have been a few exceptions where the Royalists have caused serious damage or harm to government property and personnel, these attacks being justified as the beginnings of a revolution that will tear down their failing leaders and make way for Nazir to take over in totality. Nazir openly disapproves of the Royalists and firmly discourages the people from being convinced that he has any right to rule over them.

BANDIT KING – The cities of Saddle Arabia have their fair share of problems, but they also have a ruling body and a force of guards to keep those inside relatively safe. The laws are strict but necessary when under a Waqt Alzalam and the most common punishment for the more serious crimes is the exiling of the guilty party from the city so as to not have to worry about spending any resources on them during a potentially lengthy prison sentence.

Outside of the walls the criminals are given a simple canteen of water and told to get lost before being left to their own devices when it comes to survival. While difficult, surviving in the deserts is not impossible and some of these exiles manage to reach one of the smaller settlements who then often accept them in order to improve their numbers against the Jinns. Most are accosted by roaming bandits before they can make it to safety and find themselves robbed of what little they had before being left to cook under the sun, but some are lucky enough to be discovered by a certain brand of bandit that offer them a simple but tempting choice.

Keep walking and take your chances out on the dunes or come with them and pledge an oath to do whatever it takes to survive.

Sakin Alsahra’ was once a Sultan ruling from a smaller city in the center of Saddle Arabia called Maladh. During his time, he hoarded resources for himself, sold out his own patrols to bandits to get a cut of the profits and made more than a few shady deals with a multitude of Cabals to rake in as much money and power as he could. For years he avoided suspicion, but after pushing his luck one too many times and crossing one of the more vindictive Cabals at the time all of this was brought to light and Sakin found himself swept up in a swift and merciless tornado of retribution on the part of the other sultans he’d screwed over during his reign. Sentenced to be exiled, Sakin’s punishment was unique in that he was first kept in a cell to dry out and starve for several days before being roughed up, stripped of everything and then kicked out of his own city. Outside he was shouted and sneered at from the walls as he started his walk towards the sands to die.

Lucky for him though, the bandits he’d dealt with before found him and remembered the deals they’d made. While they intended to simply leave him be since he didn’t have anything for them to take anyway, Sakin was able to convince them of a raid they could pull over Maladh to claim his hoard of supplies that surely would be fought over by the other sultans for quite some time. Skeptical but giving into greed, the bandits agreed and Sakin would go on to make good on his word, using his knowledge of the city and taking advantage of the guards weakened state after his dealings to lead the band in an attack on the small city, retrieving the goods promised plus extra and setting fire to a large section of the markets on their way out for good measure. Outside the bandits prepared to double cross Sakin and take the supplies for themselves but were dissuaded by his promise that he could do the same to Maladh’s neighbors, something he proved several times over in the months to come.

Today Sakin Alsahra’ rules the deserts during a Waqt Alzalam. Most of the smaller settlements are at the mercy of his bandits whenever the guards and janissaries are required to watch over the cities and Caravaneers and its widely believed that the majority of Sultans across Arabia pay a regular tribute to discourage his bands from causing trouble. The wealth he’s managed to accrue has attracted the attention of most of the independent bands as well leading them to take up his banner, and at one point he was even powerful enough to take a Soulwell from the Jinns in a daring gamble that was soon put to a stop by Nazir.

Today Sakin remains one of the most powerful people in Arabia with some of the most experienced and merciless warriors and criminals the country has on offer under his command.

DIPLOMACY

TRADE – Trade in Saddle Arabia flourishes during a Waqt Aldaw’ but is hampered by the Jinns and bandits when under a Waqt Alzalam. Normally the Arabians try to trade away their rugs, pottery and their excess of enchanted vellums in exchange for water, food and equipment.

The Caravaneers are relied upon to help with bringing in and distributing water amongst the cities and settlements of Arabia to the point where each sultanate is responsible for supplying at least one janissary to help escort each caravan that enters the desert. These janissaries are specially trained soldiers that are meant to abandon their individual biases and political beliefs in the spirit of providing the most important resource to all Arabians, but – true to Arabian politics - it’s not uncommon for the Cabals to meddle with and influence these special guards into affecting the routes and amounts of water rationed out at each stop.

An expensive but valued import for the Arabians is that of the Griffon Kingdom’s Greatwood as its heat resistant properties helps a great deal in shading the cities from the harsh sun.

SHIFTY LOYALTIES – The Cabals keeps the Arabians from ever being united in any one philosophy at a time. With a reputation of being shifty and manipulative, the cleverness of the average Arabian can often cause them trouble in a diplomatic setting as most meetings are regarded with tentative trust and taken with many grains of salt. Foreign dignitaries are well aware of the Cabals and Sultans tendency to double speak and backstab and as such are trained to treat everything said to them as if it were a lie until proven. This is a serious detriment for the Arabians whenever someone honest like Zaeim attempts to reach out or strike a fair deal and its also led to Saddle Arabia being short on allies and burdened with rivals and tensions.

DEPENDANT ON THE CARAVANEERS – As mentioned, the Caravaneers are vital to the distributing of water across Saddle Arabia. Sakin Alsahra’ and his bandits view each caravan as a juicy target overloaded with supplies ripe for the plucking and so cooperation amongst the sultans is required to ensure their safety and mutual benefit. Jannissaries from each sultanate are provided to act as a special escort for each caravan traveling through the deserts, and should the bandits or Jinns manage a serious blow against even one the repercussions could potentially be felt nation wide.

DJINNI – Saddle Arabia boasts the presence of two very powerful beings. These are the Djinni and both are polarizing forces that have entered into an eternal struggle to take ownership over several potent vortexes of magical energies found scattered throughout the deserts.

Nazir is a benevolent being composed mostly of magical energy but capable of maintaining a physical body which he can shapeshift to most anything at a whim though he normally prefers the body of a mildly glowing blue Arabian wearing simple bracelets and a pendant of varying appearance. Being made of magic himself, Nazir is an extremely capable spell caster and is considered one of the most powerful and knowledgeable casters on the planet. Unfortunately for arcane enthusiasts he has never shown any interest in sharing this knowledge or taking on students as his concerns and efforts revolve around only two things: keep Alsumu contained and prevent the Arabians from dying of thirst or destroying themselves. Because of his work, he is unofficially recognized as the king to which all the Sultans must serve even though he finds himself constantly denying any right to rule. Despite his protests he is still treated like a king but is therefore also conspired against by some Cabals and sultans with coups intended to “overthrow” him occasionally leading to his inability to prevent the loss of Soulwells in the past.

Alsumu is the second Djinni residing beneath the sands of Saddle Arabia. Imprisoned there long ago through a team effort between some of the more powerful beings to exist at the time, Alsumu was Arabia’s original ruler and holds true to the belief that the lands rightfully belong to him. During his time he was a cruel and malicious ruler who played with his subjects for his own amusement and even now he causes trouble for them as he is the source of the Jinns that trouble the country and constantly work towards reinstating his shadow over its people. Like Nazir, Alsumu was capable of shifting his physical appearance to whatever he wished but most surviving images depict him as an imposingly large and red Arabian lavishly decorated with fine jewelry and possessing a wild and chaotic mane that lashed out against those nearby. Whether this was accurate or merely artistic embellishment is unclear.
« Last Edit: April 03, 2018, 11:40:26 am by Haywire »

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #12 on: May 16, 2018, 02:15:09 pm »
A quick note on Changelings: According to this little thing I wrote up the Changelings are still intended to be treated as an antagonistic race of parasites like they were originally portrayed back in the day. I understand that may or may not be the case any more or that they're at least more friendly now, I don't know for sure since I haven't watched anything involving them since the finale they debuted in, but for the sake of not contradicting canon we can just say that the changelings in the Kiroho jungles are either led by antagonistic Queens or do not consider any alternatives due to their history as enemies and refusal to treat each other as anything else.

THE KIROHO FEDERATION OF TRIBES

CULTURE – The Kiroho are Zebras occupying the southern lands beyond Saddle Arabia’s influence. The people there are very spiritual and great reverence is paid to the dead on a daily basis. This is made extraordinarily easy for them as they can literally speak to the departed with it being so well understood that several spirits from each major branch of tribes keeps a permanent slot within the Roho Tribunal and helps advise the Federation on many important matters. The concept of ghosts being common enough not to warrant concern, let alone helping to govern, is a difficult one for most outsiders to grasp and proof of these practices is scarce thanks to xenophobia. Most of what is known to the other countries comes as second-hand information spread by the Caravaneers as they travel back from their visits.

What’s easier to accept is the more mundane aspects of daily life within the Federation. Most tribes are independent enough to have their own unique flavors when compared to the rest, but there are commonalities amongst them. These include their near universal valuing of the tribe as a single large family unit, each usually being led by a number of elders, and religious ceremonies being held every other day to calm the dead.

Community is strong amongst each of the tribes with a sort of “home team” attitude being ingrained into their people early on in life. Most meals are eaten and shared amongst their fellow tribesmen at set times and entertainment is almost exclusively a group concept that leads to games of sport, dance and song being the primary means of passing the off hours. Competitions between tribes are also common and used to encourage exercise, training, loyalty to one’s tribe and act as a harmless outlet for rivalries and disagreements between members of the Federation.

Art is simple for the Kiroho. The time and focus needed to complete complicated pieces in the form of subtle portraits and masterful sculptures requires too much time spent isolated for most Zebras to find it worth the effort, instead opting to make quick paintings across the sides of homes, on pieces of cloth and sections of wood usually as group efforts and projects where many tribe members take part. Each tribe has their own “flag” with which they adorn their warriors and fly over their territory and is often designed via community and changes depending on the tribes leadership, current standings, mood, goals and opinions.

POLITICS

SHIRIKISHO – The Kiroho Federation – or ‘Shirikisho’ in their native language - is a large collection of Zebra tribes found south of Saddle Arabia that united after a long history of turmoil. Rivlaries, distrust, paranoia, Changelings and the confused and desperate ghosts of the time roaming the lands led to countless small conflicts and a reluctance to co-operate up until each tribe found themselves struggling to survive. At their lowest they were brought back through the guidance of the most spiritual of their kind, the Mtakatifu tribes, and were instilled with a strong faith ever after. Cooperation with the dead is now common place and viewed as vital to the Federations unity.

Each tribe is still independent within the Federation when it comes to managing their own lands and conflict still occasionally crops up between the members, but hostile acts taken against one must first be reviewed and determined as just by the Council lest they fall out of favor with the Roho Tribunal and risk expulsion.  In exchange for the Federation’s protection and assistance in ensuring their survival, each member is expected to chip in if needed, pay a tribute to the Wawindaji tribes to support their efforts and are required to muster in defense of the Federation’s homeland should anything come along to threaten it.

COUNCIL – The Council is the primary means by which the Federation coordinates its members and convenes to discuss matters that concern every member. If ever a member falls out of favor with the Federation or an outside power attempts to interfere in their work the Council is the final word on how the Kiroho will respond and has the full authority to declare war on their enemies then call on the obligation of every member to participate. From there only the Tribunal has the potential to veto the decisions made by the Council, though this is something they are usually reluctant to consider.

ROHO TRIBUNAL – The Tribunal is an odd part of Federation governance as it is the only known office in the world believed to be run by ghosts of the long dead. To take the word of the Caravaneers, the Roho Tribunal are three seats occupied by spirits representing the three major branches of the Kiroho Tribes and working to serve as advisors to the living Council. While usually having the ability to sway the opinion of the Council on most matters, the Tribunal usually wish to limit their involvement in matters to simple advisory roles as they believe that the concerns of the living should ultimately be theirs to handle.

The current Mtakatifu representative is Kiongozi and he is by far the eldest of the three members of the Tribunal. Living as a high-ranking member of the Mtakatifu’s religious sanctuary - Makao Takatifu – Kiongozi served as a recurring representative for the Mtakatifu on the Council during the early years of the Federation and served well in leading the now defunct Wraith Regiment of the newly formed Federation’s defensive forces against those who refused to join and resisted the unification. It was only natural that he be assigned a spot within the Tribunal in death and his return was celebrated as a boon for the Federation as a whole. Unfortunately, his age is stretching him thin when it comes to maintaining his presence in the world and he is now expecting to fade within the next few years.

From the Dawa there is Pombe, a villain of the past now curiously in a place of leadership. Originally a Brewer of fair renown and skill, Pombe launched himself into legend when he developed a series of new recipes involving wild plants of the western jungles leading to breakthroughs in his craft. Unfortunately, his craft was poisons and he became the most dangerous Zebra of his time that the Kiroho had the trouble of dealing with leading to a series of deaths and manufactured diseases. Of the three current members of the Tribunal, Pombe is the only one to have been executed by the people he is now helping to advise, and while reviled for his actions in life his knowledge regarding the brewing of potions and his experience in getting samples of his deadliest batches into the most secure of locations makes him an invaluable source of knowledge for his tribes, even if they do need to strictly vet every recipe and piece of brewing advice he gives them.

The Wawindaji aren’t too keen in worrying about their reps within the Tribunal or the Council, but the current one is a decent choice if flawed. Muuaji was a Jungle Warden in life who, like Pombe, spent a portion of it in poor public opinion after a bad call led to the unjust purging of a Mtakatifu border camp. Unlike Pombe however, she was allowed a chance to redeem herself with which she not only succeeded but simultaneously lost her life taking. Venturing back into the jungle, she survived for several years acting as a Kifo Seeker and countered Changeling efforts to harass the Kiroho with bold infiltrations of their hives. She died while attempting to assassinate a queen that planned to erode trust between the Dawa and Wawindaji tribes through a series of abductions and impersonations. The wound the queen suffered delayed the plans long enough for the Jungle Wardens to follow up on evidence provided by Muuaji and prepare for the Changling’s plan leading to a resounding defeat for the queen and a strengthening of relations between the two tribes. Most don’t know the story behind Muuaji, but the Wawindaji take care to remember their Kifo Seekers and know the history of their Tribunal representative.

DAWA TRIBES – The Dawa are the Brewers of the Kiroho. While most in the world have a fair understanding of alchemy and do it well, the Dawa have their own unique brand of potion making that they prefer to call “Brewing” and this carries deep ties to the religious practices of the Kiroho people. Medicine-zebras and witch doctors, the Dawa provide the Mtakatifu with religiously significant potions and mixtures for their gatherings and spirit rituals, brew cures for the various troubles that plague the average Zebra, and work to assist the Wawindaji’s efforts by cooking up ability enhancing concoctions that can allow for incredible displays of physical prowess.

When it comes to their own, the average Dawa Brewer is viewed as a sort of mad chemist by the Caravaneers and as a volatile flask rattling drunk by the rest of the Kiroho. In a good way. Sort of. Most of what they brew is made with the intention of improving lives and to ensure the intended affects they must test everything on themselves first before giving it to anyone else. This leads to the reputation of some… odd character traits being common amongst them as they work out the kinks in their recipes. Should ever the Council demand they create something more harmful however, the Brewers are plenty capable of cooking up some trippy and devastating concoctions.

MTAKATIFU TRIBES – The religious leaders of the Kiroho and the heart of the Federation, the Mtakatifu often accept roles as leaders and guides to the rest of the Zebras of the tribes and are the ones responsible for the original formation of the Federation. Their unique understandings of the spirits of their people and the strange connection they have with their homeland allows the Mtakatifu to be the most in tune with the ghosts that occupy their home and naturally places them in a position of authority on the subject granting them heavy influence over the rest of the tribes. Still, this influence is believed to be responsibly managed as the Mtakatifu view themselves as righteous advocates for good out to promote cooperation and unity amongst the tribes to ensure they mutually prosper. It is wondered by the visiting Caravaneers if their idea of unity and strong xenophobia towards non-Kiroho suggests that they mean to oppose everything else, and the much more materialistic Camels of Sidon consider the general attitude and tones of the Mtakatifu when preaching their beliefs to be a little too fierce for their liking.

While in the past the Mtakatifu commanded Wraith Regiments – forces of ghosts that terrorized their enemies – today their priests have retired the now frowned upon practice of riling up the dead to be used as weapons for the living. Instead, the Mtakatifu have developed hexes and curses capable of punishing the guilty, debilitating enemies of the Federation and crippling their effectiveness to allow the more martial of their forces an upper hand.

WAWINDAJI TRIBES – The Wawindaji are aloof loners amongst the Kiroho tribes even despite being one of the three major branches. This is not done because they despise or are repulsed by the others but instead it is done out of necessity as their work requires that they retain a healthy suspicion of all others outside of their own tribes. Located both inside and around the borders of the jungles to the west, the Wawindaji are the Kiroho tasked with keeping the Changeling hives of the jungles in check as well as rooting out their influence throughout Kiroho lands through the hunting of suspected changeling imposters and the production and distribution of various masks, fetishes, paints and talismans imbued with energies intended to disrupt and detect Changeling magic.

When it comes to Changelings the Wawindaji are surprisingly merciful. While they may have had a long history of flat out exterminating any trace of Changelings found outside of the jungles in the past, today most efforts to remove them from Kiroho villages leads to capture, branding to hinder their ability to disguise themselves in the future, and release back into the jungles they came from. Now-a-days the Changelings are viewed as victims of their own nature and the Wawindaji reserve the harshest of punishments for those found guilty of serious harm to the Kiroho people.

Wawindaji Jungle Wardens make up the best individual warriors of the Kiroho, their Purifier Agents are trained to be excellent in investigating and rooting out foreign influence, and their Kifo Seekers are the most effective scouts in the Federation with at least one shadowing the Caravaneers of Sidon whenever they are allowed to operate within the Kiroho’s territory.

While each tribe of Wawindaji are potent in their effectiveness, they are few. To ensure that each Wawindaji is familiar with all others, their numbers are limited to only a handful of tribes who keep close watch over each other to ensure their purity.

DIPLOMACY

SELF SUFFICIENT – Rivaling the Crescent Empire and Equestria in sheer border range, the Kiroho find themselves being entirely self-sufficient. The diversity in their geography, cooperation between Federation members and their suspicion of others leads them to have everything they need to create everything they want, and they lack a desire to trade with outsiders for fear that it may leave them vulnerable to treachery. The Caravaneers are the only ones permitted to perform foreign trade within Kiroho territory and usually it is limited to certain stretches of time or to heavily monitored routes. Kiroho spices are the most sought-after export of the Federation, its unique flavors and scents and its sparse circulation fetching high prices abroad.

SLOW TO TRUST – The common Kiroho Zebra views their own tribe as family, other tribes as healthy rivals and allies when needed and anything else as a potential danger that encourages their xenophobia and borderline paranoia when dealing with a foreign power. Raised to watch for imposters and spies from the Changeling hives in the jungles of the West, to earn a Kiroho Zebra’s trust is quite the achievement that only few can lay claim to. It’s nothing personal, but anyone not native to the Federation’s territory and wearing the stripes are not welcome, this being something the Arabians know all too well and the Caravaneers put up with every trip.


SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE – Kiroho beliefs tell of a Great Spirit that watches over them and their lands with the desire to see them unified under common belief, worship, respect for the dead and spiritual purity. The ghosts of the lands and the Kiroho’s ability to communicate with them cement these religious views as fact for the Zebras the country over, and arguments against such things are viewed as lunacy due to the proof the priests have at their disposal of existence after death. Curiously though, this has not been observed within the Jungles of the west nor have any Zebra immigrants and travelers ever noticed such spiritual activities – at least not to this extent - outside of Federation territory.

For the spirits within Kiroho lands there has been plenty of time for them to be studied and many attempts have been made to understand their nature. What is agreed upon so far is that after one dies there is a period of time – usually a generation or two worth of years - where they are lost to the world, somehow unable to return or manifest into anything tangible enough to be detected by the living. Years after death the spirit may return, though some are lost forever and are assumed to skip over this visit back to the world and instead move directly on to whatever comes next. Should they return they are given only a window of time to be focused and contacted by the Mtakatifu Priests before fading again, but if contacted they regain enough of their senses to be capable of speech and interacting with others to varying extents. This begins their visit back in the world and can last for decades (centuries if the spirit is from the Mtakatifu Tribe) before they eventually near their limit and fade away to meet whatever comes next for them.

When asked about death and what comes after, the ghosts are oddly unanimous in their vague method of answering. The best most can get out of them is a claim that it “isn’t so simple to explain”, or that whatever is suggested “doesn’t work like that.” Frustratingly enough no one has ever been given a straight enough answer to do anything other than theorize.

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #13 on: May 16, 2018, 08:26:13 pm »
Ayyyyyyyyy finally got off my ass and finished the eastern kingdoms I had planned so far.

THE MAMLAKAT KHUNFISA’

CULTURE – The Mamlakat Khunfisa is the smallest Kingdom of the powers across the sea and are found to the East of Saddle Arabia, taking up only a tiny portion of the map in comparison to it’s neighbors and being very easy to miss or dismiss by those ignorant of their relevance. Populated primarily by dung beetles with some different species mixed in, their borders may be small, but their population is massive with millions of beetles living within their cities and spread out across their country.

Within the cities of the Kingdom the worry for space is irrelevant and complaints kept to a minimum. The Beetles, while fully intelligent and capable of communication and complex ideas, understand their inherited purpose within their homeland and see no use in complaining over tight spaces as their small bodies, dedication and insectoid nature eliminates their need for personal space. A common site within major Mamlakat Khunfisa’ cities, especially in their capitol of Alhayat Alqadima found above the Necropolis, is that of entire rivers of Beetles coursing through their streets and swarming over their objectives to erect monuments and carve large statues in record times through cooperation.

Every day for a Beetle of the kingdom is considered a gift to be repaid via endless glorious servitude to the current Pharoah and therefore frivolous luxuries and unproductive fancies are considered heresy – a squandering of their gift – and is never afforded to the common masses. If a beetle isn’t building, carving, gathering or praying then they are undeserving of kindness and are soon found by the Priesthood to either be corrected and shown the error of their ways or have their shells harvested early to be used in the decorating of the nearest temple. Because of this strict adherence to labor, entertainment is found in dutiful prayer and a job well done rather than shows or games.

Despite their lack of games and luxury, art is still a major part of the Kingdom’s culture and is considered a holy practice as most pieces depict either the Pharoah’s or the Dalil Muqadas Malak. Decoration of cities and temples is important to the Kingdom and each one is often a breath-taking testament to detail and lavish quality. Entire pyramids or buildings be made of solid gold – a sacred material for the Kingdom - and decorated with thousands of different colored shells harvested from the deceased. Some argue Alhayat Alqadima even puts the Jade City to shame, or at least that it would were it not for the masses of insects and what serves as their primary source of food tainting it according to their non-Beetle sensibilities.

Most non-sentient herbivore species are welcomed within the Kingdom’s lands and are allowed to roam freely under Pharoah’s protection for obvious reasons.

POLITICS

PHAROAH – The Mamlakat Khunfisa is forever ruled over by an ever-continuing succession of Scarab Beetle Pharoahs whom are believed to share a direct lineage to their god Malak. Currently the Kingdom is ruled by Mubarak XXXVIII but this is expected to only last a few more months before his son, Mubarak XXXIX, takes the throne for the rest of his life, this estimated to be around 2-3 months depending on his father’s passing. Like with all the Beetles of the Kingdom, the Pharoah’s lifespan is fleeting but this is not intended to be a quick life of achievements and contributions till death but instead one of rest and easy going. While the common Beetle may not be allowed the luxuries life has to offer, Pharoah expects, and often demands, to be treated to a life of nothing but as this is only a passing vacation before their true work within the Necropolis is meant to begin.

Whenever a Pharoah is nearing their death, they are brought to the Priesthood’s headquarters in Alhayat Alqadima to be prepared for their next lives. Under the Priesthood’s care they are subjected to physical dissections, rearrangements of internal organs, sewing, chipping of the shell and a series of magic rituals before they are ready to return as one of the immortal residents of the Necropolis. Once ready (and quite dead) they are brought via procession to the largest pyramid the Kingdom has ever constructed – reaching a staggering height (for a Beetle) of about 2 stories – where the final rights are performed to bring the pharaoh back from their death. Afterwards there is a ceremony where the newly risen pharaoh accepts their responsibilities to forever serve Malak and then retreats into the pyramid to presumably enter the labyrinth of tunnels and passageways leading them deep underground. Eventually they find their way to the Necropolis and reunite with the Pharoahs that preceded them.

From here all that can be known by outsiders is pure speculation but from what’s been learned from the Priesthood its believed that the Pharoahs are amassing themselves either to focus their eternal worship to Malak and their efforts in moving the world through the cosmos or to wait for some kind of signal or sign that would prompt further action.

KAHUNUT ALJUERAN ALDHAHABII – Also known as The Priesthood of the Golden Scarab and usually referred to simply as The Priesthood, those who have pledged themselves in leading the worship of Malak in their communities are highly respected and semi-revered within the Kingdom. Responsibilities for the Priesthood include the harvesting of shells from the dead, the organizing of workers in temple and pyramid construction, the leading of the Beetles in spell casting, ensuring all Beetles know the joys of work and understand the sin in idleness, and, of course, the preparations that go into readying of a pharaoh for their service within the Necropolis.

DEATH IS EASY – Within the Mamlakat Khunfisa’ lives are short, and death is not feared. The average Beetle life expectancy is less than a year due to their biology – most being lucky if they manage to even reach half of one before passing – and the occurrence of work place accidents is common with their small bodies being very easy to crush and damage under the gold and stone they build with. As such death is not mourned and instead is accepted as a very fast approaching inevitability. So easy going they are to the idea of dying that every Beetle’s shell is harvested by the Priesthood upon their passing so as to be used in the decorating of their temples, all for the glory of Pharoah and Malak.

DIPLOMACY

UNTAPPED RESOURCES/GOLD – The Mamlakat Khunfisa is very small, but so are its people, meaning that its use of the natural resources found within its borders is slow and measured. Copper, desert gemstones, basalt, aromatic plants used to make perfumes, and materials used in producing cosmetics are plentiful there making it a treasure trove for those brave enough to risk stealing from the Kingdom. Gold is dangerously common within their territory and is valued as a sacred material that mirrors the golden shell of Malak, but also draws in the attention of neighbors and thieves. Since the Beetles draw on it so carefully, a single mine discovered in their Kingdom can last literally for thousands of years before being exhausted which causes this to be a mouth watering target that ahs proving too tempting to resist for some in the past.

Those who try to indulge in their desires to raid Khunfisa’ territory quickly realize how big of a mistake they have made however as most resources are monitored by the Beetles and the punishment for foreign thieves is severe. Malak have mercy on those who dare go for the highest value target in the form of the Khunfisa’s gold as so much as touching the material without the express permission of Pharoah or the direct supervision of the Priesthood is considered the most heinous of crimes and leads to the cruelest punishment they can resort to.

Exclusively reserved for non-beetles and meant as a warning to others, the mines can usually be found guarded by mummified foreigners devoid of rational minds and free will. While the sacred rituals of mummification are a blessing reserved for the Pharoahs and acts as an opportunity to serve forever within the Necropolis, this is a very different form of mummification that leaves the victim a husk of their former selves doomed to forever defend the very thing they tried to take in the hopes that someday Malak may forgive them for their transgression.

There is no negotiating with the Khunfisa’ once someone is found guilty of this crime regardless of the power of those attempting it. Pharoah’s word is law and his wrath is on behalf of Malak herself.

TRADE – Trade is done with the Mamlakat Khunfisa’ via the Caravaneers of Sidon and the shared border with the Saddle Arabians to the West. While the common Beetle of the Khunfisa is denied the concept of luxury and the fancy imports from the surrounding countries, Pharoah expects nothing less and frequently orders large shipments – small for everyone else involved – of various exotic goods from around the world. In exchange he usually gifts the courier’s bringing him his luxury with a large array of samples from their plentiful resources or, should Pharoah be especially pleased with the exchange, samples of the Khunfisa’s sacred gold, either in simple bar form or that of small statuettes depending on request. If taken as statuettes the exchange is usually heavily in favor of the foreign party as the detail and craftsmanship that goes into their creation is unmatched anywhere else in the world. The Beetles and their tiny tools are capable of a level of precision unheard of elsewhere, and each statuette usually sells for exponentially more than its already respectable worth as gold.

SMALL BUT MIGHTY – Its easy for most to laugh when asked if they believed the tiny Mamlakat Khunfisa’ and its Beetle populace are anything other than a mild threat to any true full-sized army. These people know not what they say as I suggest the Beetles may very well be one of if not potentially the most powerful country in the East that we should be thankful are satisfied with what they have. It’s not uncommon to hear of the Sultans of Saddle Arabia bowing to the demands of the Beetles or to catch wind of Tānxīn Zhu recalling a deployment of Terracotta soldiers inching a little too far South-East so as to avoid the headache of dealing with the Khunfisa’. While mistaken as skittish weakness, the wisdom in these actions is obvious to those who truly understand what the Kingdom is capable of.

Imagine fighting a swarm of insects that outnumber you a thousand to one and are fully capable of scattering, burrowing and hiding in the smallest of places should things not go their way only to reemerge seemingly from nowhere and in complete silence further down the line in full strength. Picture having a near undetectable force of small saboteurs infest and destroy entire fields of crops or infiltrate the most secure of locations to spy on or harm the most important people you have.

Every Beetle is capable of casting magic, and while its considered pitiful when they are alone trying to cast miniscule flashes of flames or wisps of wind, when in a congregation of hundreds of thousands of their brethren and led by the Priesthood their abilities multiply beyond anything a singular mage could hope to achieve anywhere else.

The Arabians learned this the hard way long ago when an ambitious Sultan by the name of Tumuh grew hungry for gold and led a campaign into Beetle lands after capturing and cackling over the perceived weakness of a Beetle agent. Going straight for the capitol with plans to seize the Pharoah and force a quick surrender, he found himself immediately being forced to flee under the assault of boulder sized fireballs and erupting earth brought about by the massive population of Alhayat Alqadima and the core of the Priesthood of the Golden Scarab working together to put on a display of magical power that few believed was even possible and reduced his invasion to shambles. For numerous years that followed the Arabians were tormented by failed crops and lingering threats of assassination that strained their already difficult survival within the deserts with relief only coming after a meeting was made between the Pharoah of the time and Nazir himself that managed to smooth things over and cease hostilities.

The lesson learned by Tumuh was simple: One Beetle may be weak and easy to destroy, but the Mamlakat Khunfisa’s people are legion and should not be taken lightly.

THE NECROPOLIS AND THE DALIL MUQADAS – Beneath the Mamlakat Khunfisa’s capitol city of Alhayat Alqadima lies, at an unknown depth, the Necropolis. The Kingdom’s city of the dead occupied by the numerous pharaohs of the past now mummified and locked in eternal worship of their god swells with the induction of every new Pharoah and has accepted new citizens since the earliest recordings of Mamlakat Khunfisa’ history. Considering the lifespan of the average Pharoah and the age of the country, its believed that the population must today nearly equate that of it’s living citizens, yet even to this day what exactly they are doing down there remains a general mystery to outsiders. The most accepted theories include either a focusing of their worship similarly to the Beetle’s ability to combine their magical power and a possible waiting for a sign to be sent from their god Malak.

Malak is the god of the Mamlakat Khunfisa’s people. Referred to frequently as the Dalil Muqadas in the texts of the Priesthood, the general description of Malak is that of a female scarab beetle possessing a shell made entirely out of solid gold. As the teachings go, Malak is a being that operates on a cosmic level similarly to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria. However, while the Royal Sisters manipulate and tend to the sun and moon, Malak is believed to be the one trusted with rolling the planet itself down along a course that it travels through the universe where the sun and moon either revolve around the planet or are being dragged along with it in the wake of Malak’s efforts, presumably to some end goal or destination. Without Malak the Beetles of the Mamlakat Khunfisa’ believe that the world would stop dead in its tracks and trap everyone in one place for all eternity, denying them the end to their journey and whatever awaits them there.

Offline Haywire

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Re: Kabyl's Stuff and Things
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2019, 02:14:05 am »
Plot for the arc that never finished.

So what was supposed to happen was:

Tartarus was being occupied by a mercenary force that gained entry after a few unicorns like those in Weaver infiltrated an incoming rotation sent to relieve some of the boys. They sabotaged junk enough to open the doors and cause the real guards to retreat down to the third level (high value but otherwise mundane prisoners). You’d have figured things out – aside from it being obvious I felt – through clues such as no supplies, discarded personal effects, the files and information in the archives being picked through without care etc.

After the characters figured it out you’d have been forced to retreat down like the guards had since the mercenaries would have turned the battery of turrets and stuff at the entrance against you. There you’d have met the real warden (guy upstairs is the second in command of the mercs) who would have recognized Charybdis to in fact be someone named Scylla who is known in the Griffon Empire to be a terrorist. Blah blah relevance WAAAAAY down the line but would have probably been a brief discussion here given more pressing matters.

Once given a full explanation of how the prison got dingle danged youd have been told that communications could be made through some devices on the second level. Hopes would be low though since that level got royally crunched by the unicorns when they broke everything since cutting comms would obviously be one of the first things they’d go for. You would have had the option to take the second level anyway but wouldn’t have been able to get any word out. You WOULD have gotten food and supplies for the remaining guards though since they’d basically been starving down on the third level with nothing but the stuff they had on them when **** went down. Ultimately you would need to go further down to solve things.

Charybdis, now just going by Scylla since the secret would be out, would be familiar with these mercenaries, as would anyone with extensive knowledge of such groups. She’d be able to fill everyone in if need be as you go down to try and find out both where they’re leader was and what they were up to.

On your way downstairs youd have dealt with a few prisoners and things released by the mercs on the condition they act as extra muscle in exchange for freedom. These included: A large golem of stone and metal, some serpent people with spook magic, and an accidentally released magical pox infecting the fifth or sixth level. There also would have been a satyr with weird powers that blew off the mercs after getting released and was just kind of doing whatever he wanted.

Reaching… I don’t remember… the seventh level? Something like that. You’d have found the boss of this little area. The unicorns that sabotaged the prison would be at work disarming a bunch of magic runes and **** keeping a sarcophagus contained in a woo woo magic bubble so arcane wow. With them would be the second in command – he’d have gone down soon after you got chased lower to catch up with the boss – and the guy in charge. He’d have been a minotaur for funsies and hefting a big ol’ axe and a full suit of armor with crystals and **** to make it fancy and magikarp. Strategy there would have been removing the crystals – conveniently floating just off the surface of what they’re set into – to weaken him enough to either knock him out or trap him in one of the vacant cells around the level.

Way I saw the encounter going was either the group spreading out even amongst the unicorns, lieutenant and boss or people focusing on certain areas. The unicorns would mostly ignore you all to focus on the cell with the lieutenant using his chain and sickle to distract and keep you back while boss played the major threat in trying to make you all notably less lively. If, for whatever reason, you tried to ignore the minotaur entirely then Scylla would have managed to deal with him alone since she’d had to in the past. She’d have just been pissed afterwards and junk.

Notable detail here would have been the boss’ axe crystal allowing him to cut through magical barriers, this being show when Mana Burn would have tried to just contain him right away. Scylla would keep this crystal through sleight of hand after he was beaten since it would probably come in handy against all these dang ass unicorns and their superior race’s magic.

Anyway, you’d fail to stop them from releasing what’s in the sarcophagus. Damn, twice? You’re not super great at this are you? That’s fine, there’s always next time. Anyway, there’s a unicorn in it cause of course there is. The remaining unicorns help him through another portal cause that’s their gimmick in this arc. They’d keep the mercenary lieutenant with them too, so he’d escape with ‘em while the boss stays behind all beaten and stuff. The characters, the warden or Scylla would force him to call of the rest of the mercs who would just bail since they’d think they didn’t stand a chance if he lost to you guys and your shiny stat blocks. The satyr I mentioned earlier would make a brief appearance and would be livid that the unicorn actually got out as theres a chance he’d have actually gotten around to helping you guys if he’d learned more about what they were doing. He escapes by the way.

You guys – or Thunder if no one thinks to – would most likely ask the obvious question of “who was in the sarcophagus?”

Cutting backwards in time a little while we’d have some story with Gleam going to Corona to investigate things. He’d have grown suspicious of Lion Hearts handling of the investigation after his visit from the person claiming to be sent by him to update Gleam. While in Corona he’d have met with the captain of their guard. Willows woulda been her name. I remember that because she’d have been important for a while if things had gone how I’d hoped. Anywho, in Corona he’d eventually have reason to be poking around the castle and Heart would have been noticeably uncomfortable with his presence and confused if his agent is mentioned at all.

Punchline is hes arrested like seconds before a portal opens and drops off the unicorn from Tartarus. Gleam would know who it was and said the name “Kash” just before we cut back to the crew at Tartarus.

Jump forward a few hours from the fight and the guards are running their protocols to contain the prisons lower levels while you guys are getting first aid or otherwise resting near the top. The real warden would promise that the repairs on the communications device would take only a few days to fix and that so long as they have the gate under control nothing should be able to escape before help can be called. A team is also immediately dispatched to Weaver to secure the cyclops.

Returning to the question of who the unicorn was youd be given a file with limited information. Basically all you’d have learned is that he was in Tartarus to serve a life sentence for “international crime” and that his abilities can “affect peoples loyalties”. Basically he mess with peoples egg salads but they don’t want to outright say it. Frustratingly vaguebut at least slightly helpful you’d be left with asking about how the unicorns got into the prison and would learn here – if you hadn’t already by then – that the group they’d arrived with were sent from Corona.

Oh. The no. What have we but betrayal to look back on. Kinda, sorta, meh and humbug.

You’d make plans to go to Corona from here since going to Canterlot would take too long and waiting for help would also take too long. The file, while vague, would at least make a point of mentioning that if the prisoner escaped that time would be of the essence in containing him lest things get serious all quick like givin the egg salads and his messing of them.

Point is you’d go to Corona or I’d turn this car around.

“But wait!” says Scylla, “I might have a mcguffin to help with mind control! Trust me - the terrorist - and follow me to a remote location where no one can hear you scream.”

You’d better do it, cause she knows some things you don’t, mainly where this mcguffin is and why you’d need it cause its actually real. Mostly.

Following her – I WILL turn this car around – you come to a shack on the way to Corona. Scylla has a secret here in the form of another god dang horn pony named Cada whom is intended to be kind of creepy. She… Let’s just say she was intended to be the most important character I’d have ever written here on this forum- or anything pony related I guess - and leave it there for now cause she’d take up the rest of this post.

You spend time there and would be offered a deal to help. You get what you need to deal with Kash, she knows who he is, and you, or more specifically anyone with the authority, promise her one afternoon of unsupervised access to Corona Castle’s library. The car keeps going whether or not you take this deal but it would change how things rolled at Corona since taking it provides you with a journal written by someone involved with Kash’ original imprisonment. Included with this journal would have been a **** load of backstory and some hastily jotted down notes near the end that, through study, can be translated to a sort of defensive spell intended to keep someone’s mind from being tampered with. Mana Burn would be capable of using this spell along with anyone of noteworthy magical aptitude. The rest of you… hmph… “people” are just going to have to be careful. And try not to scuff the horns they’re more valuable than your lives.

If asked, Scylla claims that she will be fine and the group doesn’t need to worry about her when it comes to getting brain boggled.

Mewving on, I’d never decided on if I wanted to actually put this in but I considered a short cutaway where Captan Willows of Corona is escaping her own guards as they are being converted over to same side as the Cortoza whom are revealed to be totally loyal to Kash. Sprinkled in would also be scenes of Kash and Gleam talking as they have a long history and it would allow people to get some character from him even if it was out of character.

Once you get to Corona you would have found the city in lockdown and the weather would finally be breaking into some rain. How thematically convenient! Civilians are being kept from leaving through the gates and anyone trying to fly would be either tackled or shot down then captured. Getting in would obviously be a challenge but help comes in the form of Minos.

Remember Minos? No, I’m not letting that idea go, I swear I could have done something with them and you can’t convince me otherwise. They’d have in some way or another gotten into contact with you guys outside of Corona with an offer to help smuggle you inside. Scylla would be against trusting them and would remind you all of her theories from the beginning with her still kind of convinced this is all their fault.

Minos would explain: Yes, they are to blame! But only to a point, and they aren’t happy with how things are going down.

See, they were hired way back by Lion Heart to acquire some journals for him to add to his collection of Tartarus relevant items. These journals were penned by Kash himself before he was imprisoned and were enchanted in a way that would compel someone to want to seek him out and return them. Originally this was legit just his way of not wanting people to run off with his personal writings or to just get them returned if he forgot them somewhere, but overtime the magic went off and his imprisonment meant he couldn’t be reached. This caused the enchantments to go from simple compulsion to return a lost item to a growing obsession that eventually took over Lion Hearts gray matter. Kash was also related to the original Cortoza – the connection that Gleam shared with him – and this obsession eventually caused Lion Heart to reform the group and make the journals required reading. Bingo bango cult-a-made-o.

Now, Minos don’t **** with no spookums from Tartarus, so none of their agents read the journals for fear they might learn something they didn’t want to know, but they were more than happy to let some other idiot do it if they paid them first. This means they didn’t now about any of that but they did know about how they were hired to get information about the guard rotations and such in Tartarus. Normally they don’t do anything if it means tampering with Tartarus’ security since they also live on this planet and having things kill it would be lame, but they were offered a LOT of money to do this and couldn’t refuse. They could, however, give a very stern warning using their tough guy voices telling Lion Heart that he better not, like for serious don’t(Im not even kidding – I mean come on - ), do anything to jeopardize Tartarus beyond level 4 (moderate magical threats).

So he did.

Minos is trying to fix things in a way that doesn’t get them killed and needs you guys in the city to do it. They’ve been smuggling supplies in to assist the remaining free guards, including Willows, and keep them going. Why don’t they leave? Because they’re all that’s stopping the turned guards from steamrolling over the civilians and getting this whole processing step of Kash’ plan done in a few hours. They’re refusing to leave out of loyalty to their oaths to protect the people and Minos thinks they are a bunch of goobers because of it though they appreciate how they’re slowing them down.

Why don’t you guys go get help while they work on things here? If you don’t get back in time youll find the city “normal”. If you prove it isn’t normal then you suddenly have a CITY full of people willing to die to protect Kash. Ever try to cut through mobs of civilians to reach the main baddie? Your arm gets tired.

I WILL TURN THIS CAR AROUND!

So how come if Minos knew about how this stuff was getting bad and wanted to stop it they didn’t just go tell the royal guards? Or heck the regular guards in corona?