NationStates Jolt Archive

Shortly, I will be posting a thread to announce my return to the world of NS roleplaying, as I've been informed by a number of parties that I simply [i]must return! Well, now I'm obliging them.

Given the inactivity of my region, and the fact that I almost systematically refuse to depart it , I'm obligated to make a few changes, insofar as the functionality of Arda is concerned. The region will work a bit differently, as compared to most others. The first and most major change will be that I am now considering the vast majority of Arda [everything save for the Isle of Kalessin and Mordor, should Sauron ever choose to return] to be under the control of Emperor Althalon. The circumstances of his victory will be explained in the IC counterpart to this post, but for now I'm just concerning myself with what this means game-wise.

On the pro side of things, this means that the Five Kingdoms will have access to more resources and a substantially increased land area over its previous incarnation. Arda never has had a map, but I've generally considered it to be a fairly large landmass; for some reason I've always pictured it as being a sort of archipelago of three or so near-continent size islands. Althalon's new empire will encompass the entirety of this space, which makes for a nice bit of resources, but on the flip side it will always be easier to get secret agents/terror cells/ninjas/whatever into my nation on account. Previously, I'd held a pretty strict "no spies" RP policy on virtue of my nation's uncommon xenophobia, but I can't pull off a stunt like this and keep that policy the same anymore, what with my borders being much broader than before. It also [obviously] means that any attackers have literally thousands of miles of coastline to choose from when planning massive land assaults [if people still actually do it by sea] and a wider range of tactical and strategic targets are available for smacking around in the event of war. My infrastructure is a lot bigger than it used to be, but understandably more... [i]taxed in a number of areas, particularly in transportation and communication.

My population figure will now reflect the number of [i]human citizens contained within Arda; the number and nature of Morgoth's forces will be explained in more detail within my IC post, but I don't plan on ever having to deal with them as a whole so a concrete number probably isn't going to happen. Morgoth's orcs are largely going to remain plot devices: there will be strongholds here and there within Arda [or, more specifically, the stronghold sector where Utumno and Angband are likely to remain standing] but for the most part Morgoth will be operating from an [at first] undisclosed location, which may be exposed at some point down the road via an especially exhaustive RP.

As is the norm when dealing with Tolkien-based nations, the whereabouts of the palantiri are always hotly contested. Previously, I had claimed possession of the Osgiliath master stone and the Orthanc stone; and to my knowledge Sauron still had the Ithil stone but bartered it away in a rare spate of dumb-assery to the C'Tan shortly before my departure. If possible, I would like to retain my claim on these seeing stones, but if anyone else has since lodged a claim on either of them please contact me so we can sort it out: I dont want there to be dozens of seeing stones floating about the NS universe.

This part is kind of important, as it will deal with how my nation should be addressed ICly and how it should be referred to in your responses to it: "Melkor Unchained" is no longer [well, technically it never was, but especially not anymore]the preferred nomenclature for my nation; instead it should be referred to ICly as the "Five Kingdoms" or "Arda" or "The Novus Imperium" where possible. The latter half of my nation's name ["Melkor Unchained"] can still loosely refer to the loyalist forces which fled Arda upon Alkanphel's return if you want. Any delegate who refers to the Five Kindgoms as "Melkor Unchained" to my dignitaries ICly will be ignored [at best]or treated as well...hostile insofar as the circumstances permit.

Politically, the changes brought about by Althalon's "Novus Imperium" I will leave to be discovered slowly over the course of the following few RPs. I'm willing to restart my career here with a clean slate [that is to say I'm not ignoring anyone I may have before, mainly because I forget who most of you are], and I understand that I can't claim the same kind of sway I had before, since it's been ages since I've roleplayed anything. I'm going to assume a healthy bit of reconstruction has taken place since the rebellion, and my new timeline starts about ten or so years after the fighting has stopped, and Althalon is just beginning to consolidate his power over the region and return to the world of international politics.

The IC thread that will be posted in a matter of seconds will serve as an exposition for anyone who is interested, as Captain Sholto Aldo is brought up to speed about the world around him as he recovers from his coma. I don't have much planned for this thread plot-wise, at least right now. I don't know where this is going yet but it ought to explain a few things. I may get my feet wet elsewhere before everything has been fully explained, so I'll refer readers back here in case they have any questions as this gets filled in later.

I hope it is okay to pose questions here.

1) What of the other nations within Arda? Does this mean that Embrelion Mountain, Stanteria and Environs, Dhurthrak, Wretchengard, and Weyr are now provinces of the Five Kingdoms?
2) Can others join Arda? Would they keep their own nation or do they become a province?

I hope it is okay to pose questions here.

1) What of the other nations within Arda? Does this mean that Embrelion Mountain, Stanteria and Environs, Dhurthrak, Wretchengard, and Weyr are now provinces of the Five Kingdoms?
Weyr I forgot about but from what I've gathered his isn't a particularly imposing nation and I don't think we ever established that it was geographically in the region, as he never was part of the Arda Alliance proper. From what I can remember his admission was done more or less on a whim, with little or no IC explanation that I can remember writing. I suppose I'll contact him to figure out exactly what's going on with his nation, but every week I keep hearing that he's leaving anyway.

Wretchengard, Sauron, and all the old favorites I will more than happliy reinstate when and if they return with a satisfactory amount of regularity. Santeria and Environs/Embrelion Mountain hasn't even interacted with me ICly yet so I've got no idea where he's standing, but ought to shortly on account of my posts here and in the RMB. A lot of this is still in the preliminary stages, but as a starting point I'm assuming I control the entire region and working backwards from that according to who's around and who is going to be taking part in my RPs.

2) Can others join Arda? Would they keep their own nation or do they become a province?
Arda will operate [at least geopolitically] as a self-contained entity: any membership in the region insofar as NS the game is concerned is simply a statement of your diplomatic status in regards to the Five Kingdoms. For example, people wanting a close working relationship can move their nation to Arda [if they wish] and claim to be a "part of the region" in a larger sense, but ICly the term "Arda" should henceforth refer primarily to the Empire rather than the alliance which might arise to surround it. The main reason for this is because I was getting a little embarrased when "Arda" was constantly being mentioned as a "power" in NS with only a handful of active members and numerous questionable allies.

Anyone wanting an actual, physical presence within Arda proper will likely have to lease it in the same manner as one would lease an Embassy.

Heh, and only two hours ago, I was thinking about some of the wars back in the days and wondering whatever happened to that Melkor Unchained guy. Good timing. Glad to see you're back.

Okay, near as I can tell, I need to first get a little bit of info out as to how Embrelion Mountain works, and where it would theoretically fit into this over-arching plan of Arda's. Here goes...

Embrelion Mountain is a nation located far in the east (I usually position it as the furthest eastern nation on a map), existing on a peninsula of land jutting out into the ocean, curving southwestward from its northern attachment point. The northern part of the nation is mountainous, enough so that the mountains are "impassable". Different maps list different borders within the mountains, it is safe to say that the Embrelion government considers the entire range sovereign to the nation, and "strictly regulates" all activity in the area. In truth, no one knows what happens in the mountains except for the mountain trolls that live in the area, which trickle information back to the nation via their southernmost tribes. (Note that the southernmost tribes of mountain trolls are still some of the most northern populace in the nation, until recently.)

Its connection to the main continent is an area of slightly mountainous terrain (more hilly) through which passes the major overland route to Embrelion Mountain. This road passes through the nation of Stanteria and Environs and enters Embrelion Mountain in County Wistron. (recently raised to Duchy and given a far larger area) At the old border stands the Rune Shield, a series of stone pillars set upon the border to act as a repellant for overland invasions. The stones were set in place, activated during a border dispute, and then powered down. In the thirty years since they were placed, the stones have passed into disuse. Graffiti has damaged the usefullness of the stones, and there are doubts as to whether the shield could be powered on anymore.

The central portion of Embrelion Mountain is dominated, geographically, by Embrelion Mountain itself. EM represents the southernmost peak in the northern mountain range and shelters both the Golden Tower and the city of Embrelion Mountain under the cover of its fumes.

There are three major forests in Embrelion Mountain, as well as several major rivers, one of which flows near the Mountain and the City and provides the backbone of the water-based trade routes from its delta in the west.

Cities:
Embrelion Mountain: The capitol city of the nation, also called Embrelion Mountain, consists of: the Temple of ArchSchnitz, the Royal Palace, The Theocratic order of Magi and the Animafuge.

Proxima Embrelion: The city that grew up around the Temple and Palace is the population center in EM, where much of the industry is located. It hosts the airship ports in lieu of the now defunct seaside ports.

Duchy Wistron: There is a perpetual "merchant city" around the family keep in Wistron. As the area is the most likely place for an invasion by a foreign power, local statute forbids building of permanent structures outside of the keep.

The Golden Tower: The base of faith for the nation, The Golden Tower is the supposed dwelling place of ArchSchnitz himself. However, the tower is nearly inaccesible due to the tumultuous nature of the incredibly active volcano whose lee it stands in.

Population: EM is populated mostly by humans, whom are too short-lived to really make their mark on the nation. Many humans are born, live and die as slaves or as fuel for the Animafuge.

Elves: The elves of EM consist of a few hundred high elves and the much more numerous "low elves". Low elves are mortal, with lifespans in the several hundreds of years, unlike their cousins whom can expect to celebrate thousands of birthdays. Duke Wistron is a low elf.

Trolls: The sentient-if-not-quite-bright trolls form a loose coalition with others of their race. They tend to be isolationists, and sign up with the military on a mercenary basis.

Orcs: Unknown in Embrelion Mountain.

Dwarves: Unknown in Embrelion Mountain. A few crossed the border several years back, but due to their lack of tact they spent the last weeks of their lives flayed into slivers, being studied to see if their stature was the result of a disease and whether they were safe to be allowed into the population. They were found to be... fragile.

Dragons: Dragons exist in the land, and are quite populous. They form the bulk of the EM air force, as all other attempts to take to the air are less than satisfactory. (i.e. other methods of flight have too many splats in them)

Golems: Golems are a speciality of the nation, and are given the tasks deemed too hazardous for slaves. They come in several different designations, based on construction of the body and the type of spirit bound to it. Some golems prove too strong for their masters and obtain a personality. These entities are usually content to live their unending lives in the military, but sometimes find work in the private sector.

Animagicum and its influence:

Magi of Embrelion Mountain practice the art of Animagicum with a Thaumaturgical focus. Animagicum centers on the use of "animus" to create real-world effects by reordering the smallest units of energy. This energy is used to create lifeforms to bind to golems, or also used to create radiant energy and any of a multitude of other tasks. Animus may be bound to a physical object to provide an "energy dump" or siphon to give access to a greater amount of animus than a mage would usually be able to tap unaided. (there's a bigger theory in play behind it, but I don't think I'll post it all here.)

Politics: EM is a Deuocracy posing as a Theocracy posing as a Monarchy. There is a king, whom wields all the political power of a three-year-old. He is the target of a multitude of assasination attempts, and no king seems to last more than two years under the crown. The high priest of ArchSchnitz wields the actual power, and issues decrees in the King's name. His edicts come from ArchSchnitz himself, whom sees to it that matters do not become too out of hand in the times between his rare contact with his followers. Rather than continually train new high priests in mental communication, ArchSchnitz simply sees to it that the high priest cannot die. A long life, combined with occasional access to the mind of a being quite beyond him has left the high priest somewhat mad.

ArchSchnitz himself is one of the Forever People (what Tolkein would call a Valar or Maiar). As far as he knows, he is the LAST of this race and has turned his attention to Arda as he felt the last vestiges of Melkor's power. In the land where ArchSchnitz came to being, the Forever People were worshiped as gods, and he was given the title of "Greater God of Magic and Rage". Incidentally, they had a Sauron in their number, whom was "God of Artificing". ArchSchnitz has destroyed many of the "gods" himself and absorbed their animus into his own. His current search for the Forever People is not motivated out of greed for more power, rather it is a quest for peerage. He feels that he has lost touch with what he once was, and as his association with humans works on his psyche he gradually becomes more human-like... a worrisome fact.
Artifacts: Sauron had a rin,g, ArchSchnitz carries a warhammer. Having learned from Sauron's mistake, ArchSchnitz gave his warhammer the property of incredible weight when not touched by his animus.

Sorry this post is so long, but I wanted to get the basic info out so Arda would know where I'm coming from. Now, how to get a common ground for the two mythologies... (Also note: my normal level of writing is MUCH better than this crap.)

Define Irony, I came back and now you as well. Ok this is some sort of freaky

Thanks a mint, EM, that was exactly what I needed to know and in more than satisfying quantity! I'll be in touch with you on the RMB and I'm open to your suggestions, although I fear the New Empire will be neutral to Embrelion Mountain at best and possibly hostile at worst. The main reason for this is likely to center around race relations: the New Empire envisions an Arda "free of taint" which means you'd pretty much have to destroy the trolls [definately the dragons] in order to get on their good side.

Good to have you back, Melkor. Apologies for the lack of respondination. I saw these two threads post early in the morning, but one thing led to another and I only managed to get time to write anything sane and sensible this late in the afternoon.

According to our IRC conversations some months back, Melk, I believe we decided that Weyr had a small coastal colony of sorts on the far eastern end of Arda, mostly in the middle of nowhere. If that's still the case and nothing changed, then I'd rather maintain that patch of land. If it was negotiated away [the easy method] or conquered [the hard methpd], then I'll make the appropriate post in either your A New Beginning thread or in my Lonely Position of Neutral thread, depending on how you want it set up. If that colony never existed in the first place, then I naturally won't post anything at all. In all, I'll go with whatever best suits the plot line.

There was no RP-ed IC reason for Weyr moving into Arda, and the fault for that is mine because I decided that no one would really care about the whys or the hows of setting up shop in Arda, and in terms of IC no one in Weyr really remembers anymore the reasoning for setting up the said colony [assuming it ever existed]. As you have said, I am not, and never really was part of the Arda Alliance proper, so ultimately whatever you decide goes. I'll be on IRC sometime around midnight EST, hopefully.

There is more about the nation that I haven't posted, far northern assets that were seized during a regional conflict, the even more eastern lands that I nabbed from a really annoying nation... stuff like that.

I try to keep my magic level on par with what technology can create and not be too terribly unbalancing. A few ideas I hold in my mind when RPing:

Dragons are about the equivalent of fighter jets. Not quite as fast usually, but much more maneuverable.

Golems are tanks... just tanks without artillery.

Sorcery takes the place of earth moving equipment, machine guns, jet engines, everything.

We have no cars. Instead, fast transit within the nation is accomplished by means of waygates. The rather large structures (80 ft diameter standing circle) provide easy access from one part of the nation to another existing waygate. In battle, one of the first things EM tries to do is construct a waygate, to allow faster troop deployment. Of course, it's also one of the first things we destroy when battle turns against us.

We also conduct "research" into new tech constantly. No one ever seems to spy on me, so anything new I come up with is usually pretty unexpected. As such, I've been accused of god-modding before. Let me assure you that I never simply come up with something and toss it into the game. I mull it over for several days and add it in once I feel EM has had enough time to research the new addition.

About time. I've been waiting for something like this.

The Confederacy of Lost Americans is an utterly enormous nation of well over 6 billion people…

Or at least it was, before the war. Or, even more specifically, before the final three days of the war. The war with the Federation of Sentient Peoples.

As you previously stated, Melkor, Althalon moved to take over the physical rest of Arda once he had consolidated his power, and there would have been no resistance from the shell shocked nation of a few million tattered survivors to his south.

In fact, the only remaining organization in the Confederacy of any size was the Hibbeler University campus at what used to be Stewart City – and only that because it was built underground in the city center after the main portion of the city had been completed for a number of years.

As they had no population, nor any military or economic capacity to offer Althalon in return for him hopefully letting them lie undisturbed for a number of years, they would have offered him what major research universities have the most of: Technology.

Access to technologies, especially space based, that they refused to give to Melkor, as well as technical advisors, while the University itself set up a major reconstruction program for Lost Americans, including a breeding program for its students. College students being what they are, they for the most part took well to the idea.

The University Adminstration became the new government, secretly sending out teams to find other survivors and any surviving equipment that they could. If Arda is going to be post-dated ten years, Hibbeler University would now be a major city – completely underground, with its power plants buried deep enough not to show up on orbital scans.

Some twenty million people live there, half of them approximately nine or ten years old, though, since they were tanked after conception, their aging processes was accelerated, along with memory implants through hypnosis. Physically and mentally, they are all in their mid twenties, disturbingly only a few years younger than their parents. But the twenty million humans are not the only population.

Some thirty million genetically engineered Replicates and approximately fifty million genetically engineered Living Artifacts make up the remainder of the population. While the Replicates are not physically in any way different from the post Apocalypse children, their non-natural conception makes them into second class citizens, the primary difference in their rights being that they do not receive the life lengthening treatments once universally available throughout the Confederacy.

Living Artifacts are a different story all together. Not human, they are more of engineered ‘intelligent’ animals, most bred for a specific task, though others are bred for general tasks. All types of Living Artifacts are referred to as ‘servitors’, though the term technically only applies to those who are generally tasked, such as the kobolds and the chimpers. As such, Living Artifacts have no rights, able to be destroyed on the whim of their own, though it’s usually considered to be a bad idea. They are not exactly cheap, after all.

One thing really binds the Replicates and the natural humans together more than anything else, and that is hatred of the Federation. Both groups hate it for creating the state of affairs in which they find themselves.

Also, there is an intense distrust of intelligent computer systems, which is the primary reason for the creation of the Living Artifacts, as they do many of the things a computer would have or could have done. This stems from the few surviving members of the military that know what happened during the war, how they trusted FleetNet completely and how completely and utterly it failed them.

Geography.

Lost Americans, as I stated earlier, I’ve always assumed to occupy a southern position on the Ardan main landmass, with part of its border against the Five Kingdoms and part against $random_other_ardan_nation. The border with the Five Kingdoms would be low mountains while a huge river separates it from the other nation. Other than three or four major rivers, the Confederacy is mostly burnt plains, glassed grassland, and some now dead forests, though that will begin to recover soon. FSP nuclear weapons are really quite clean.

Technology.

High level, though the industrial base is gone due to the war, though Hibbeler City has some now. Based primarily on Unified Spectral Theory (EM and Gravity are actually one spectrum), the tech allows for high level gravity and electromagnetic manipulation, in a theoretically unlimited manner, particularly in manners which ignore the theory of special relativity.

Goverance.

The Confederacy would be controlled by the University President now, as the senior most person with any sort of authority, especially as he was appointed by the government which went to war with the Federation. Technically, a state of war still exists with the Federation, as the Federation never asked for a surrender, cease fire, or peace treaty, and has apparently assumed the Confederacy to be completely destroyed and no doubt consumed by the Five Kingdoms.

Alright, admittedly, this is only my guess of what might have happened, but it makes sense with what I know. You know where to find me if you want to talk about this.

w00t. I can get on the boards again.

I'm still around, naturally, south and east of Dor Daedoloth, jutting into the sea. We spoke some about Mordor's place in a post-Morgoth Arda, I'll have to get back on IRC to speak with you.

Sauron, you and I need to talk and decide if ArchSchnitz and Sauron are related entities. For instance, if "Forever People" is merely another term for Maiar (or Valar, as the Forever People have four "states of being" that refer to power levels and status), then theoretically ArchSchnitz has business with Sauron. It seems to me that they are similar beings, one way or the other...

He will be especially interested in why your Sauron is named as such, since ArchSchnitz's native timeline had a Sauron that was nothing like Tolkien's Sauron. Also, is your Sauron disembodied as he was in LOTR?

Sauron, you and I need to talk and decide if ArchSchnitz and Sauron are related entities. For instance, if "Forever People" is merely another term for Maiar (or Valar, as the Forever People have four "states of being" that refer to power levels and status), then theoretically ArchSchnitz has business with Sauron. It seems to me that they are similar beings, one way or the other...

He will be especially interested in why your Sauron is named as such, since ArchSchnitz's native timeline had a Sauron that was nothing like Tolkien's Sauron. Also, is your Sauron disembodied as he was in LOTR?

Sauron is no longer disembodied as such, no. I'd definitely agree we have to talk--do you ever get on IRC or MSN?

Lost Americans: Mordor occupies a landmass covering the western south of the Five Kingdoms (bordering Dor Daedoloth, the "sixth kingdom", now under Sauron's nominal control) and jutting eastward into the sea. I guess I should probably be your eastern neighbour, with you occupying the weastern portion of the continent's south.

I haven't been on IRC in... five years. My laptop is banned, at least from Viper.net, for being from a non-secured location... meaning I could be riddled with virii.

I'm never on MSn anymore, because said laptop is packed away and I use to office computer anymore. I am on AIM under the name ArchSchnitz, yadda yadda yadda...

I haven't been on IRC in... five years. My laptop is banned, at least from Viper.net, for being from a non-secured location... meaning I could be riddled with virii.

I'm never on MSn anymore, because said laptop is packed away and I use to office computer anymore. I am on AIM under the name ArchSchnitz, yadda yadda yadda...

Well, I'm decidedly pro Sauron and ArchSchnitz being related entities. Why don't you send me a telegram with some more information with regard to Sauron the Artificer etc.?

Well, other than normally considering Mordor to be filled up with Mountains on all its borders, I have no problem with that. I suppose there could always be mountains on the far side of the river.

Great.

OOC: Will be back to RPing on March 14th - Sauron or Melkor can probably give you the basics on the Empire to any recent additions to Arda who weren't around when I was last active. 'Most powerful sorcerers in the Nationstates Universe' and 'lots of dragons' are two of the more obvious features.

The Empire fills an island (well.. continent, if you're going by size) to the southwest of the main Ardan landmass. It's currently completely enveloped by effectively impenetrable magical mists, until I have the time to RP again.

The Empire also includes a small outpost on Mars, and a giant golden Palace 'the size of Texas' named Orm Embar, which is in a geostationary orbit immediately above Arda.

If anyone wants to contact me on MSN for some pre-return plotting (in the unlikely event that I have the time), telegram me with your addy. Unfortunately, it's the only IM that works through my Uni firewall.

Woo boy, it's a damn good thing that whole "most powerful sorcerors" bit was in quotes, Kallessin... otherwise we'd've had a thaumaturgic throw-down!

Sauron, I'll send the telegram.

As far as placement goes, I will be to the far west in this region, attached to a larger continent that is off of the map. I CAN come up with a map of T'Lor if I really need to. T'Lor is EM's home continent. Stanteria is directly to the west.

Now, in my old region, I RPed out attacking and overthrowing a small nation to my east, across the sea. I would LIKE this to come over in the switch, in that I have overtaken a small portion of the mainland, which was beforehand a small, psychotic nation that just declared war on everyone until Embrelion ended it.

Also, I'm adding in the land north of Embrelion Mountain, which is a contested area around the city of Midgaard and its Pantheistic Temple.
The Temple of Midgaard was the worshipping place of The Forever People, being where their followers gathered enmasse to show reverence. It was also where the Forever People gathered to handle "internal affairs".

*recommends calmly to Kal that he cease refering to Orm Embar as being in 'geostationary orbit' as that really is a specific set of scientific conditions. Recommends instead that Orm Embar just hover over Arda 'by magic'.*

Just a thought.

Actually, it doesn't hover by magic, but that's just a technicality.

Sadly, I scrapped my space program over a year ago. All that's left are a few Bahamuts down in the nation, interbreeding with the dragons like crazy.

To take a vote: Should I go ahead and post the tail-end of my attack on Mattvia with the assumption that Mattvia was on the main landmass of the region?

Note sure--you haven't related much of the conflict to us.

The big reason for that is... because he never responded. I announced the attack and he just stopped doing anything and lapsed into deletion.

Meh. I should post it.

About time. I've been waiting for something like this.

Same here. I just started RPing again after like a 2 year absence.

The big reason for that is... because he never responded. I announced the attack and he just stopped doing anything and lapsed into deletion.

Meh. I should post it.

Agreed.