NationStates Jolt Archive


History of The Underground City

The Underground City
06-05-2004, 14:35
OOC: This is my attempt to provide a complete history of The Underground City, up to now. I've have copied & pasted it below, but the proper version is on the regional website http://www.freewebs.com/thenewgalaxy
Note - the version in this thread will not be updated, but the version on the website will.

IC:

Long before The Underground City was created, the world of Niogoul-Maeromirpli was ruled over by the YlimNeicna, a family of Velfodnerset daemons - a variety famous for their great physical strength and endurance, but often also adept at magic. The rule of Niogoul-Maeromirpli was passed down the generations until it fell into the hands of AdlavTsedur. It was originally intended to go into his brother's line, but his brother was slain before he had produced any offspring, so AdlavTsedur took over.


AdlavTsedur was a greatly incompetent ruler. He did not so much rule the planet as raid its settlements to keep anyone but him and his supporters from gaining any wealth. He also made raids to other worlds, collecting worthless trinkets and slaves to put to work.


At some time during his reign, AdlavTsedur had two sons, the mother of whom is unknown. AdlavTsedur considered Dorusceronis and his brother, Atanracnad a nuisance. He did his best to keep them from interfering with his activities, and harshly punished any disobedience. In order to give them a distraction, he allowed them to visit the YlimNeicna family library, somewhere he never went himself, due to poor literacy skills and a general disinterest in all matters intellectual.


From that time on, the boys rarely left the library. Dorusceronis was fascinated by books on politics and military strategy, while Atanracnad preferred economics and geography. They also took a keen interest in magic, something their father never practised, calling on his servants on the rare occasion he wanted any spells invoked. Using the teleportation spells he found, Atanracnad visited many other worlds without the knowledge of anyone but his brother.


In the library, the daemon brothers, now four millenia in age, read about how Niogoul-Maeromirpli had once been a great power, and how the YlimNeicna had been a highly-respected family amongst daemons. Sickened to see their heritage go to waste under their father's regime, they decided to make a change. They would overthrow their father's regime. To achieve this, they would need soldiers, warriors willing to fight by their side. The Niogoul-Maeromirplin tribes, while equally desirous of an end to AdlavTsedur's rule, would be ill-equipped for fighting, both in terms of ability and armourment. The brothers would have to search off-world.


Atanracnad took the role of 'talent-scout' for their army, while Dorusceronis remained in Niogoul-Maeromirpli to plan the revolution. On his journeys, Atanracnad was wandering around a primitive world. The human populace while suitably warlike, were too physically weak to fight against their father's daemon raiders, and their technology did little to compensate for it. The most commonly used weapon was the spear, and armour was rarely employed. Atanracnad was almost ready to leave, when he heard the sounds of war. He had heard this often before, but there was something different this time. Something he couldn't quite determine. So, he quickly ran towards the battle. What he saw surprised him greatly. One on side was a normal human army, like so many he had seen many times before. This army, was however, being ravenously torn apart by a legion of walking corpses. Leading these undead creatures were a band of men, riding on horseback. They too, were no longer of the living, but they were far from dead. The spark of cognition was still within them, and their flesh showed no signs of decomposing. Atanracnad realised, to his amazement, that these humans had no only discovered the art of necromancy, but become very good at it as well.


The battle was over quickly, and the necromantic warlords looked set to move on toward the city their opposition had evidently been defending. Atanracnad ran over to greet these Death Knights. Upon seeing him, the warlords were gripped by fear for the first time in over two-hundred years. Atanracnad reassured them, informing them of the revolution planned on Niogoul-Maeromirpli, and promising them great rewards upon completion. Bored by the lack of challenge posed by human armies, the warlords' leader, Thintaedkran Anrusnya decided to take Atanracnad up on his offer. They took a portal to Niogoul-Maeromirpli immediately.


The Death Knights were a great asset in the revolution. As well as their ability to command great undead armies, they were also highly skilled warriors. Wielding magical weapons they had crafted themselves, the Death Knights cut down many of AdlavTsedur's soldiers. So useful had they been, that Dorusceronis, now proclaiming himself the Supreme Dictator, appointed each of the Death Knights as lords, who would command the armies of Niogoul-Maeromirpli in times of war.


Knowing how easily they had defeated AdlavTsedur's spread-out forces, Dorusceronis and Atanracnad agreed that Niogoul-Maeromirpli was too easy to attack. To compensate for this, they ordered the construction of a great underground fortress. The fortress was not merely a military installation, but an entire city. The Underground City.


The YlimNeicna brothers concentrated their efforts on building The Underground City, and ignored surface-world activity. The Underground City was built on a capitalist economy, as opposed to AdlavTsedurs slavery. Traders from other worlds, attracted by the low taxes, began to immigrate. While most of these were daemons, The Underground City was also popular amongst vampires, who found the idea of permanent night very appealing.


Over the next six millenia, The Underground City was very successful. Now highly adept at daemonic magics, had constructed a magical barrier around the world that prevented unauthorised creation of portals to prevent invaders from entering. Traders would, of course, still be able to travel freely.


The Underground City suffered no hostile activity from other nations until the invasion by LuceEterna (http://www.freewebs.com/thenewgalaxy/luceeterna.html). The LuceEternan forces, led by the emperor Michael Trent, had bypassed the barrier, using the magic of a daemon nicknamed "Destruction's King". Unknown to the people of LuceEterna, Destruction's King was Michael Trent's master. The aim of the invasion was to seize an two important artifacts belonging to Destruction's King, which the YlimNeicna family had gained possession of generations ago. Just as Michael Trent was being defeated, Destruction's King appeared in the room where the fighting had taken place. Instead of handing over the artifacts, Michael used them against his former master, killing him, and absorbing his power. Michael Trent then disappeared to an unknown location, having no further interest in The Underground City, or his former nation of LuceEterna.


Note: see "The Seer" RP (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2705633#2705633)


A great help in the reclamation of The Underground City was the recruitment of a sixteen-year-old human boy with psionic powers. Atanracnad had sought him out due to an ancient YlimNeicna text having prophecised his birth.


Since then, The Underground City has concentrated on rebuilding, and has made sure to employ further measures against unauthorised teleportation into the City.