Taldaan
19-12-2004, 14:05
Lord Aecheron stood up from his ebony throne, drawing himself up to his full, impressive, height. His pure white hair, the only sign of his immense age, whipped around his face and his deep violet eyes blazed. A long, deadly-looking sword lay across the table in front of him, and next to it was the cooked leg of some unfortunate animal. His scaled armour clanked gently as he walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window at the end of the throne room. From his palace on top of Mount Nightclaw, he could see a large portion of the land he ruled. Down below on the plains, he could see the towns, the barracks, the factories. And it was all his to do with as he saw fit. He smiled, showing needle-sharp teeth. Then, turning around quickly, he walked back across the room and down the long stairs.
He walked purposefully, his leopard-hide cloak swaying behind him. He had slain the beast himself, and it's eyes still carried the furious rage that it had displayed in it's final moments. But there was no time to think about that now. He had other tings on his mind....
One-thousand years ago, he, Lord Aecheron, had reconquered the empire that had been his before his imprisonment deep inside Mount Nightclaw, but then the wrathful momentum of his armies had stopped, their thirst for blood quenched. He was not sure how this had happened: when he had ruled for the first time, his armies had swept across the lands, slaying all that stood in their way: men, women, children, th old and the sick, razing cities to the ground, looting and enslaving at will. All feared Lord Aecheron back then, and many kings and dukes bowed before him rather than face him in battle. And he had always led from the front. He had vanquished countless mighty heros with his daemon-forged blade, slain innumerable men with sorcerous power, rending bodies, minds, and souls apart.
And then after the Imprisonment, it had been the same: the old banners had been unfurled again, and once again Lord Aecheron had been there, leading the glorious slaughter. The rivers had run red with blood and the bodies were burnt in pyres that could be seen for miles around, such was the light produced. And then, finally, the upstart King who had taken Aecheron's land had been put to death, after watching his family and dearest friends slain around him. Then Aecheron's most skillful torturers, the Agoniser Brotherhood, had gone to work on him. It is said that he was tortured for three months, each day more painful than the last, before he had departed from the world screaming soundlessly from a tongueless mouth. It is said by the cabals of sorcerors that his tortured spirit still resides in the dungeons, the wounds plain to see.
But then, after a year of endless battles, and the final recapture of Aecheron's land, the bloodlust had just stopped. Apart from the occasional raid over the borders, Taldaan was dormant, a sleeping dragon. And in time it was forgotten. The world changed around the once-feared land: nations rose and fell like a sleeper's breath, new powers emerged. And no-one cared that Taldaan existed. Aecheron was no longer the thing of nightmares that he had once been, the cities razed by his armies had been rebuilt long ago, and the tales of his exploits had become mere legends, old wives tales passed down but not believed. And it was time to end the long sleep.
Aecheron opened the door of the War and Diplomacy shamber and stepped in. Men who had been half asleep a moment earlier snapped to attention, then bowed low before the Emperor who now stood there. The men of the War and Diplomacy department were not used to work: they had had nothing to do for a few centuries. The staff came and went, and there was the annual report to write, which was very short, but apart from that, nothing. It was amazing that they ahd not been shut down.
Aecheron spoke:
"We have been forgotten for far too long. Nations no longer fear us, nations no longer remember us. Our once-mighty armies languish, their thirst for blood evaporated due to lack of war. They crave it, it is in their blood. It is what they have been bred for, what they have been trained for from birth. But no-one has heard of our nation for the past five-hundred years. And I want you to do something about it."
His eyes flashed, and the men knew that if they did not carry out his orders, there would be hell to pay, and most likely a visit to the Agoniser Brotherhood.
Knowing this, they quickly decided to send out letters. Blood-ink and flesh-paper were quickly produced and a letter was dictated to a faithful scribe.
Greetings to all nations. We are the Empire of Taldaan. You may well have forgotten us, but we are back. We crave for foreign interaction. Please respond. We know almost nothing about the outside world due to our long peroid of isolation.
From the pen of Alberic Kort, Under-scribe, Department of War and Diplomacy, Taldaan
ooc: Some of you may recognise me from the International Incidents forum, and wonder why the left-wing, idealistic, most-definitely-not-evil nation of Taldaan is suddenly evil and bloodthirsty. The answer? This is a different Taldaan. I have one RP nation for II and one for NS, because being good all the time was slightly boring.
He walked purposefully, his leopard-hide cloak swaying behind him. He had slain the beast himself, and it's eyes still carried the furious rage that it had displayed in it's final moments. But there was no time to think about that now. He had other tings on his mind....
One-thousand years ago, he, Lord Aecheron, had reconquered the empire that had been his before his imprisonment deep inside Mount Nightclaw, but then the wrathful momentum of his armies had stopped, their thirst for blood quenched. He was not sure how this had happened: when he had ruled for the first time, his armies had swept across the lands, slaying all that stood in their way: men, women, children, th old and the sick, razing cities to the ground, looting and enslaving at will. All feared Lord Aecheron back then, and many kings and dukes bowed before him rather than face him in battle. And he had always led from the front. He had vanquished countless mighty heros with his daemon-forged blade, slain innumerable men with sorcerous power, rending bodies, minds, and souls apart.
And then after the Imprisonment, it had been the same: the old banners had been unfurled again, and once again Lord Aecheron had been there, leading the glorious slaughter. The rivers had run red with blood and the bodies were burnt in pyres that could be seen for miles around, such was the light produced. And then, finally, the upstart King who had taken Aecheron's land had been put to death, after watching his family and dearest friends slain around him. Then Aecheron's most skillful torturers, the Agoniser Brotherhood, had gone to work on him. It is said that he was tortured for three months, each day more painful than the last, before he had departed from the world screaming soundlessly from a tongueless mouth. It is said by the cabals of sorcerors that his tortured spirit still resides in the dungeons, the wounds plain to see.
But then, after a year of endless battles, and the final recapture of Aecheron's land, the bloodlust had just stopped. Apart from the occasional raid over the borders, Taldaan was dormant, a sleeping dragon. And in time it was forgotten. The world changed around the once-feared land: nations rose and fell like a sleeper's breath, new powers emerged. And no-one cared that Taldaan existed. Aecheron was no longer the thing of nightmares that he had once been, the cities razed by his armies had been rebuilt long ago, and the tales of his exploits had become mere legends, old wives tales passed down but not believed. And it was time to end the long sleep.
Aecheron opened the door of the War and Diplomacy shamber and stepped in. Men who had been half asleep a moment earlier snapped to attention, then bowed low before the Emperor who now stood there. The men of the War and Diplomacy department were not used to work: they had had nothing to do for a few centuries. The staff came and went, and there was the annual report to write, which was very short, but apart from that, nothing. It was amazing that they ahd not been shut down.
Aecheron spoke:
"We have been forgotten for far too long. Nations no longer fear us, nations no longer remember us. Our once-mighty armies languish, their thirst for blood evaporated due to lack of war. They crave it, it is in their blood. It is what they have been bred for, what they have been trained for from birth. But no-one has heard of our nation for the past five-hundred years. And I want you to do something about it."
His eyes flashed, and the men knew that if they did not carry out his orders, there would be hell to pay, and most likely a visit to the Agoniser Brotherhood.
Knowing this, they quickly decided to send out letters. Blood-ink and flesh-paper were quickly produced and a letter was dictated to a faithful scribe.
Greetings to all nations. We are the Empire of Taldaan. You may well have forgotten us, but we are back. We crave for foreign interaction. Please respond. We know almost nothing about the outside world due to our long peroid of isolation.
From the pen of Alberic Kort, Under-scribe, Department of War and Diplomacy, Taldaan
ooc: Some of you may recognise me from the International Incidents forum, and wonder why the left-wing, idealistic, most-definitely-not-evil nation of Taldaan is suddenly evil and bloodthirsty. The answer? This is a different Taldaan. I have one RP nation for II and one for NS, because being good all the time was slightly boring.