NationStates Jolt Archive

ooc disclaimer and rules:

Map is here http://www.smurof.com/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=267

It is crap. It was done on paint. Enough said.

Ardia is a newly discovered continent that is abundent with natural resources but its seaborn approaches and airways are ravaged by almost daily storms. This means that no large scale settlements can be made initially, due to the logistical problems of a large colony. The normal number is, say, around five million. Therefore:

Rule Number One You must make a puppet to be your colony. As everyone will be starting with the same population, it will avoid any OMG I PWNZ J00 crap, and will add a sense of equality in the rp. Call your colony what you will, as long as we all know who your real nation is. Also, there is the added bonus of you not having to rp in the normal style of your nation, so if you wanted you could be evil for a change...

Rule Number Two Due to squillions of reasons, contact between Ardia and the outside world is impossible. Therefore, no nation can be held to account for their colonys actions. See, this is fun!

Rule Number Three Obey the above.

Name your colonies what you will, if enough people are intrested I will update the map constantly.

IC puppet post coming in a minute...

ooc: and here it is!

ic: The voyage had been aduas, a full half of the orignial party had perished on the crossing. The new land of Ardia awaited, and the Momanguise dissident stalinist group had taken the oppurtunity to leap at a state of their own. Subsidised by the state, this motely collection would form the new state of Ankera, named after their long dead leader.

As the small fleet of commandered civilian vessels limped into the first natural harbour they could find. Though they did not know it, this was the site of Ankera, Ardias first Stalinist state.

Tag

Map updated

News reached the nation of Vistadin, and Parliament immediately approved a fleet of passenger ships and supply ships to aid in the founding of this new colony. "The colony shall be named New Vistadin,"proclaimed the settlers.

Okay, make a puppet and I'll put you on the map.

[OOC]: Is this Modern-Tech only I take it?

An officer marched into the King's office, throwing a file onto the King's desk.
"Sir, a new continent has been found. Shall we send colonist's?"
"Yes, officer. Send 5 million for starters. Send also enought materials to build a nice, warm colony for us" the King replied, opening the file. The officer marched out, closing the door.

Ships were loaded and sent ahead towards the more north-eastern parts of Ardia where the colony of Ardian Achleonia shall be built.

Secret IC:Past Jason a member of the Trinity, the ruling body in Dracun. Has decided it best to colonize the new continent for his own personel reasons. He had not told the other two Trinity members that contact with the outside world and had convinced them to go on a goodwill journey with the expidedition being sent out. Meanwhile when they reach the continent his loyal soilders would kill the other two and Jason would take control of Dracun as Supreme Emperor.

Present(IC): The small fleet set out for the new continent under command of the two oblivious Trinity members. They would arrive and create a colony for Dracun and name it New Sparta.

The Teawan vessels found a suitable spot to land. It almost looked like the old state of Italy...like a heel sticking out into the sea..

News reached Dolphinholme, the Teawan capital in a flash.

We name the new colony, Neuston.

OOC: 5 million is WWAAYY too many for a first-wave colonization, but I'll go along with it.

IC:

"Sir, our massive fleet which has been dispatched with 5,000,000 colonists somehow on board for no apparent reason has seen some land."

"Excellent, begin colonization. Unload the 5,000,000 random colonists who somehow managed to fit onto this fleet for some reason."

"Yes, sir. Right away, sir."

All of the many tens of thousands of ships required streamed into a natural port somehow and began to unload colonists. By the time everyone was off the ships, the colony had been going for a few months and small town had already been consturcted, along with a fort guarding the path into the town.

"Yes, I've just realised that some random storm has appeared that will only let us go in, but not out, of this colony."

"Hmm... I suspected as much. Tell our 5,000,000 random colonists that a random storm means they cant go back to Praetonia which they left on our unnaturally huge fleet for no apparent reason."

"Yes, sir."

OOC: I want the other end of the bit that Mom's on. ANd in case you havent guessed, Im Praetonia.

Nice one, I'll mapetise you all in a minute.

P.S Don't forget to make puppets and move them to the region of 'Ardia'

The water, still active from the storm that just struck the shore, washed pieces of iron and wooden crates to the shore. 500 large iron ships anchored into a large lagoon and started to load the smaller boats to get ashore. Already two motorboats searched for the wooden crates along the shores.

Transport boats hit the shores and opened hatches, starting to unload equipment and colonists all along the lagoon shores

OOC: Mormanguise my colony name: The Colony of Vas Urbs, the beginning post may seem rushed but thats because I am in a hurry :)

IC:

Word had been heard in the Guilds of a new continent, which had been discovered. Immediatly seeing the potential of such a colony and the solution of the population increases in Vas Urbs in the last two decades, Guildlord Stra'coth ordered several districts to be forcibly moved to a new colony named after the Capital city of the Guilds, Vas Urbs (a total of 4.5 million civilians). He immediatly appointed a Claw Master and Mighty Talon to act as Security heads there, A military head and colony governor was attached in the form of War Commadore Crokus Drajuis and preparations for a formation of a small vaguely independent colony were founded, based upon a local Guild Council, which was subservient to the similar council in the Guilds homeland.

The new land was to be secured and garrisoned by the 87th and 88th Legions (100,000 troops) with the 16th Air Legion providing aerial support.

The first wave of Guild troops parachuted in slightly in land in an area close to the coast line after the locations had been ascertained by agents of The Talon. Airfields were blown and perimeters secured as Guild troops, began flying in to begin the task of clearing the area for civilian inhabitation. This process was to take a few weeks.

Losses during this time, in aircraft and personel were running higher than had been expected due to the dangerous aerial approachs... approximately 40 'Doombringer' Heavy Transport's had been lost and a no less than 73 airliners filled with immigrants. Thousands of Guilders had been lost thus far, but still the Guilds continued their forced emigration.

After a few more weeks of losses and toil later, all was about complete... when the last flight of Doombringers pulled out bound back to their mountain airfields...

Suddenly all communciation with Vas Urbs was lost... and could not be restored... the colonists were suddenly on their own in a new city, without the Guilds to support them, they would have to fend for themselves.

OOC: I thought it was a nice pretext.... sorry if it was a bit rushed. Also, allows me lots of future leway :D

Please note, I will RP as my main identity in this (unless you really don't want me too), but there is currently no links between Vas Urbs and the Guilds due to the impossability of communication.

The Grand Duke watched his city build up. The lagoon was confronted by a mountain, and the city was being carved into the mountain and built into the woods for safety reasons The Ardian core of currently 1,000,000 soldiers, which 500,000 are differently ranked officers, is equipped by machine guns and land rovers, not too many panzer tanks and a few helicopters transported inside one of the ships. The grand duke watched from his palace inside the mountain as a helicopter rose from the forest, holding a rope and a large amount of lumber on it. The helicopter headed towards the mountain slowly, and decended a bit, so the lumber could be detached. The helicopter rose a bit higher now with no rope, and headed towards the incomplete palace's 89% ready landing hangars. The ehelicopter was right besides the mountain, as a storm hit again. Land rovers speeded the civilians to the mountain caverns, and the helicopter speeded. As the helicopter was just entering the hangar, a lightning struck, and the helicopter went down, burning. The colony had been too busy for informing Achleonia anything, and so didn't know they were all alone, which was a good thing for the motivation of the workers. The grand duke wanted to inform the motherland after the city was finished

Soon, the first city of Gesa had rised near the ocean. A small port lay unused because of the bad weather. Most of the settlers now sheltered in their wooden houses, talking about exploring the hills nearby for raw minerals and such.

John Fitzenroy looked down at the papers in front of him, and sighed deeply. More congestion problems, more overcrowding, more influx of citizens and immigrants. It was all very well for Falastur to be so accomodating, but his Province of Savalna contained some of the most desirable locations for new citizens, and as such it was suffering under the heavy burden of overcrowding and lack of space. He put his head in his hands, and sighed. What could he do?

Turning for a respite from the papers, he looked at the flat-screen monitor of his computer, which was relaying a ticker of all the most important and newest events on the international stage. Nothing to speak much of was happening. Considering opening a game of solitaire, he moved his mouse cursor from the top left of the screen, and his eye caught on a sentence scrolling across the screen.

"Although officially unconfirmed as of yet, pictures of a new continent, never before seen by human eyes, have been released to public view"

John forgot his game, instantly flicking the cursor to the ticker, opening the full report. Skimming the text, he caught one passage of particular interest.

Satellite photographs of the new continent were released today, despite no official broadcast on the continent by the Government responsible. The area is reportedly a communications dead-spot, with weather conditions and geographical circumstances rendering any kind of communication with the area virtually impossible, although some reports say that communications within the continent are possible. The area has already been explored by several nations, which are reportedly moving to colonise the area, but much land remains free, and the area represents prime real estate for those wishing to take advantage of it.

John's eyes lit up. It was perfect. As if a gift from Heaven, the new land could answer all of his congestion problems, and make him the acclaimed father of the newest Falastur colony. So communications were impossible by technological means....they could still send supply ships to check up on the place, every now and then.

Setting to work immediately, he planned it all out. A Province-wide advertisement for new land and opportunities. A competition to win a free trip out there, plus free land. Contracts for building companies, for services, etc etc. Cartographers, entrepreneurs, a local government. Transportation for around 5 million people. 5 million was only a small amount of the total population of his Province, but its effect would be huge and very welcome. Within a day, it was all planned. Now for the various parts of the expedition to assemble, and his name would go down in the record books.

OOC: Making the colony now. It will be called "New Savalna", unless the unlikely event that that name is already taken happens to occur....

TAG, IC post coming later.

Real Nation is: Al-Imvadjah

Settlers from the nation of Vistadin have founded New Vistadin on the continent of Ardia. We wish it be put somewhere on the east coast.

The 5,000,000 random colonists were packed into a single, huge, city. It sprawled across the landscape like some horde of locus, except that it was surrounded by thick, high mud walls which protected it from the worst of the bad weather. During the day allocated scavengers would hurry out into the surrounding countryside to forage enough food for the colony to survive the next day on.

The only building made from anything other than mudbrick or wood was the governor's palace. It was fashioned from a colonyship which had been disassembled, brought ashore and then pain-stakingly reassembled in the centre of the city. The Governor was the same Admiral who had order the disembarckassion (sp?) of the random colonists, and his house/ship was surrounded by city guards.

The guards also patrolled the top of the mud-brick walls at night. Some of them carried XM8s and Gladius IOCWs which had been scavenged from the ships, but there weren't enough to go around and it was obvious that the ammunition they had would be spent in a year or two, even if no actual attack came. The guards wore thick dark purple tunics with a small band of gold on the right sleeve.

Occasionally the wall would be punctuated by a large tower. These were solid mud-brick, with a semi-covered top housing one of the ships' 6" guns. These were the only real hope for a defender of this city, but the Praetonians had made best use of what they had.

An aqueduct had been built in the Roman style. It carried enough fresh water down from a spring on a nearby hill to support the city and all of its occupants. This was done on gravity alone, although the system was not perfect. Sometimes the water supply would stop, and the citizens would ahve to resort to using wells dug at intervals around the city, or, for a brief amount of time, rely on the water tanks buried deep under the city which were filled with spare water from the aqueduct.

Also, this system kept the mud walls wet. Through a series of pipes (also functioning as re-enforcement), the mud would be able to absorb bullets and even light shells into its soft form rather than simply shattering. The city looked like a veritable fortress, but inside it had bigger problems than could be at first sight seen...

(This is Dracun New sparta got taken already)

The colonists arrived and instantly began using the surrounding materials to build defenses and a few important buildings. Everyone else was forced to find their own material and build their own homes. Within a few weeks the City of Spayrta(Spare-ta) had been erected and now stood with wooden walls and mud towers and bunkers with a steady supply of water to keep the defenses wet. The govenors palace had been erected quickly and was the most heavily defended area of Spayrta. The Spayrta militia was created and was currently in the makes of creating spears. Professions were given out not their desicsion. Hunters, farmers and all of the colonial era type jobs were given out.

The Elite guard, had killed of the two trinity members quickly and silently. They had said that the two had come under the flu and could not recover due to limited medical supplies. Jason 'puppet' named John Masorio had been handpicked as the govenor. He now prepared Jason pre-arranged plan for complete domination of the continent...no matter what the cost

(OOC: John conquest won't happen for a long time not until everyone is set up and has a well developed colony first want to make thing fair;))

((OOC: Dracun is right. As I eluded to in my post, no one has any decent raw materials aside from the ships they came in and they certainly dont have the infrastructure to manufacture weapons beyond bows and arrows, spears etc. This is going to be an ancient in modern world RP, IMO.))

Rain poured down on the colony, slowly ending. The grand duke sat on a wooden throne in a short hall. The colonists had spotted a river going right next to the mountain, and a power plant should be made there, so they could work at night too. The main batteries that kept the caverns lit were draining up slowly. The Grand duke was worried about these constant storms delaying his plans. Two helicopters were lost, the building was delayed and the abtteries were draining even too fast for this building speed

((OOC: Dracun is right. As I eluded to in my post, no one has any decent raw materials aside from the ships they came in and they certainly dont have the infrastructure to manufacture weapons beyond bows and arrows, spears etc. This is going to be an ancient in modern world RP, IMO.))

OOC: Bar the ammunition supplies we came with but they will be exhausted pretty quick... i've got one my air legions but again unless I can come up with fuel I am not going to be doing much, plus I can't imagine I am going to find much missles, cannon ammunition wise on Ardia :D

So yes it might well end up being that after one or two intial conflicts we use bows & arrows, spears and swords etc (sort of fortunate my Claw/Talon have some crossbows etc (I liked the idea of having no standard equipment for my agents as well as the usual stuff and its paid off in a way).

Fun though :D

It had been a long trawl, but they had made it. After a rough sea crossing to the area, all the roughly 5 million colonists had disembarked, had spread out over an area of around 200 sq. miles, and had settled down to a new life.

While many had chosen to take land away from the main settlements, creating small farming communities with plentiful land, the majority of the colonists had established a city which had formed the hub of the colony. However, after choosing their places of residence, the realities of the journey struck home. While companies had been drafted in to establish a decent civilisation on Ardia, the rush to colonise had left the expedition drastically under-equipped. The resources on the transport ships had been enough to create a water network feeding water pumps and wells, it had built a couple of thousand brick houses and public buildings, it had established other such systems, but it wasn't nearly enough. Still, many of the citizens had endured many hardships and poverty, and basic tools such as saws and shovels were plentiful at least. The architects and construction workers were slowly working their way around the community, drawing up designs for log and mud houses - even some underground homes - and showing the populace how to make them, while allocating lots on the great grass plain which would become the city of Teramir, creating residential zones and personal lots, giving the slowly evolving city a sense of order and structure. The people had a true sense of community. Those able to work united with their new neighbours to build houses, those who had finished all the buildings in the area made dirt roads and put up fences made of various natural resources. Every evening, thousands would climb to the top of a plateau overlooking Teramir to watch the sun set over the huge expanse which every day looked more and more like a city.

After little more than a fortnight after arriving, the city was almost complete. Thanks to the forward planning of its Governor, James Valran, a mud wall was arising around it, with great wooden gates at each compass point. The streets and the city walls began to be patrolled by a group dubbed the Teramir Guard, although crime was virtually non-existent. They were increasingly seen sporting bows carved from the great oaks of the nearby forest, and knives crafted from cutlery and other sturdy potential weapons. Flags created by a few enterprising citizens were flown over the gates, over the Governor's Residence and the City Senate, and increasingly over the top of loyal citizen's houses. Although much of the city had taken a backstep by several centuries, life seemed good for the citizens.

OOC: If there's any space left, my colony is probably going to branch out with numerous towns and villages being established further and further from Teramir. But if there is no room for that, don't worry, it can afford to expand into the local area.

ooc: Map updated peeps. Please kick me if anything is wrong.

It's saying that "Sorry, some required files are missing, if you intended to view a topic, it's possible that it's been moved or deleted. Please go back and try again."

Could you repaste the URL please??

ooc: Map updated peeps. Please kick me if anything is wrong.

*proverbial kick*

Comes up against a password.

Just out of curiosity, how big is this continent?

BT, the map is here:

http://www.smurof.com/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=267

(ah i see I will edit my post when I have the time and what does Dracun is Right mean?)

Does it work now?

The main city was ready. The mountain was covered into a full city, and only a few buildings made from wood and stone were outside. Some farms were also holding on. A stone wall slowly rose around the main colony, studded by wood deep inside it. Slowly, the grand duke sent land rovers even further to explore the other nations locations. Even a helicopter hovered over the land rovers every time. The grand duke went to the radio command and tried to get connection to the motherland, but got nothing. He cursed loudly. Only the day after that, the colonists were gathered to know about the current position of the connections. The power plant was ready and got the city powered up

OOC: Does the colony have radio linkage to the helicopters or other colonies for example?

ooc: Yeah, if you want.

ic: The city of New Yerevan had arisen seemingly overnight. Row after row of crude logcabins spanned the five square miles set aside for the city. A skeleton military forces, consisting of five hundred men with Kalashnikovs and two ancient MiG15s protecting the new city. Actually, the rifle men were the elites of this new army, the rest having to deal with quite literally sticks and stones.

James Valran looked out over his colony. It was a beautiful sight. The primitive houses gave the city a natural feel. A feeling of being part of the environment, as opposed to the opposite to it. Yet he couldn't shake off the feeling that it wasn't enough. The people were learning to live in a pre-industrial land surprisingly well, partly as a result of the historians and rural experts sent on the trip either by coincidence or as part of the integration of the citizens into their new lives. The people were learning to feed themselves from the farms and the animals roaming the countryside, as well as from the plants. But was it enough? There had to be more out there. What, with the immense size of Teramir due to its complete lack of high-rise buildings, and with the amount of farms consuming the rest of the colony, he knew he would need more land and more resources. Planning the expansion, he began giving orders to some of his orderlies, and set about ordering the enlargement of New Savalna.

Corundum Corporation. One of the most powerful in the Commonwealth. At its founding twenty years ago, Granzi had just begun to emerge as a wealthy state. The influx of money into the pockets of citizens, and their willingness to spend liberally on luxury goods, provided the ideal climate for Corundum to grow. As a newcomer to the cutthroat business world, CC managed to topple well-known industry giants in a series of business stratagems through the careful guidance of founder Jeramia Swanson.

The company survived the slump of 1998, and the collapse of rival Nerow Conglomerate in allegations of fraudulent wrongdoing. Every time, Swanson brought Corundum through the crisis. Every time he has persevered in hard work and careful planning. Now he wasn't sure. At the age of seventy-two, Jeramia's health was rapidly failing. Three years ago he had forsaken the post of executive chairman and since then, had been laying the groundwork for a linage of successors.

Things began to fall apart soon after. Rising star Chief Officer Renold had died under mysterious circumstances in a car accident two years ago. The Vice President of Finance was arrested five weeks later under charges of investment malpractice. Shares in the corporation plummeted that year, and although Swanson himself had escaped suspicion, the threat of total war with Jaxusism loomed on the horizon.

With the discovery of a new continent, he saw a gleam of hope. Initial reports suggested the isolation of a possible colony, interference would be minimal. Pledging the remaining assets of Corundum to a venture, Jeramia prepared an advertising blitz across the country to attract potential colonists. Over the protestations of his senior advisors, he moved to transfer the entire workforce of CC to the project.

Working nights and weekends, his well-being took a turn for the worse. Even as the launch of transports drew near, Swanson was confined to bed, his body wracked with contortions. A full three days before the convoy was to set sail, Jeramia died. He was laid to rest near his family on a hilltop overlooking Granzi City. By then, the colonists had already left.

OOC: Would you like me to make a more detailed map?

ooc: If you would, yes please.

After much meditation and prayer the Empress of Reknown decided to send colonists to the new continent. “The All has shown us mercy and much patience, if it decides to reveal this new piece of land it would be disrespectful to set up a colony in its Honor.”

A group of her more pious citizens along with several religious leaders boarded ships to make the brave journey to this new land.

Ooc: if it is possible to have my colony on the island shaped like a boot about the peninsula shaped like a boot that would be really great. And it will be called Neoreknown. Thanks.

OOC: Map of Ardia (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v297/Granzi/80022fe0.gif)

I'd like to continue RPing with Granzi, but my colony will be named Terronus.

Ardia

The convoy had been lashed by gales since it had left Granzi. Rain fell almost daily, dampening the transports and the enthusiasm of the would-be colonists. Not a few were having second thoughts. Aboard the bridge of the TN Jeramia after the late CEO, a chaotic jumble prevailed. Stormy weather was interfering with GPS navigation, and radar was reduced to a pitiful fourteen nautical miles. Utterly lost and confused, the scattered elements of the group were blown straight passed the isles guarding entrance to the inner sea.

Almost a week later, the zigzagging convoy made landfall on a sandy shore. A thick forest stretched where the narrow strip of beach ended. A provisional damage assessment revealed major problems. Several transports had been separated during the storm, and were unaccounted for. Almost half of the remainder were taking on water, and there was a medley of broken portholes, snapped masts, and wet supplies. A landing party gingerly stepped ashore, and claimed the surrounding land for the Commonwealth of Granzi, and named the territory Terronus.

The serious work then began.

Sarzonia would like to claim the land between Ardia Praetoniatum and Ankera.

A few weeks after the contact with the homeland had been lost and the Colonists and Legions were on their own, it was realised by Crokus Darjuis that he would have a problem, since he would have no ammunition or fuel supplies for his aircraft or his troops. Thus, he decided to ration ammunition and begin construction of a large earth and stone fortress, on large and craggy hill just outside the main settlement, which had it's earth and stone walls already. Because of the shortage of fuel, tanks were stripped of their lower halves and their bodies used in the construction of the fortification allowing Crokus to use their firepower (but with limited ammunition) and gain additional resources at the same time. The Aircraft were disassembled to provide raw materials to the troops, missles were slightly reworked so that fuse could be lit to launch them from the walls of towns etc. Crokus has also ordered some of the forest to be cut down for building materials, hulls for boats and for firewood.

The settlement had sprung up well, growing rapidly in size and even now several smaller agricultural villages and market towns had begun to spring up. The former Guilders were beginning to relearn to the techniques used by their ancient ancestors... already sources of iron and sodium had been discovered, and old contact weapons of war were being made to replace the soldiers guns. The ammunition wouldn't last more than a year and they needed to conserve it as best they could.

Some miles away the 87th Legion was pushing forward to claim more territory for the colony with a few thousand civilians in train behind it, with some detaching themselves occasionally to found new settlements... many of legionnaires were reflecting that this was indeed a different time for them... they knew all too well ammunition and fuel were rare & precious... but still they knew they needed to expand.

Vas Urbs was taking shape...

A penal settlement. These three words quickly came up in the minds of the conservative thinktanks. They immediatly began envisioning empty prisons, a nosedive of the nation's crime rates and a re-election of President Sharif.

After publicing this novel idea, both positive and negative reactions followed, lengthy public debates commenced and the Senate was anxious to vote on the issue and at first just prepared to dismiss it. Their own seats were at stake, if the public would suddenly shift opinions and would crusify the Senators responsible for indirectly sentencing "our" criminals to death. After all, they weren't for sure going survive the inhospatible lands of Ardia?

However, the Conservatives fiercely battled the Green Party on this issue and eventually were able to let a motion pass through. Al-Sabir would colonialize Ardia, to serve as the main penal settlement. The potential colony was immediatly dubbed "New Socotra" by most felons, named after the the island of Socotra, which was the most infamous penal settlements, where conditions were inhumanly harsh and hundreds, if not thousands of criminals died participating in mandatory labour programs.

Three million thugs, felons, rapers, murderers, swindlers and dealers, together with thousands of guards and other supporting personnel, shipped in the harbour city of Aden, where a fourteen week journey awaited them...

A bead of sweat rolled down Valran's temple, onto his cheek, and eventually off his chin to fall on the floor. He hardly noticed it, nor the other lines of sweat breaking out on his face and the back of his neck. In front of him, the two citizens who had come to him looking for a resolution of their land dispute over farmland several hundred miles away looked up to him, puzzled and despairing expressions adorning their faces. He noticed how one of them had taken to the growing trend to wear the locally-made smocks and pantaloons that resembled Medieval European peasants' clothing. His mind searched for anything to muse about, rather than this court case. The mens' lawyers similarly stared at him, with looks much more of boredom and contempt for the man who could not choose a course of action for this case. The citizens in the court stared on with ranged looks, all waiting for a verdict. Oh, how he wished that it wasn't in his mandate as Governor to preside over legal matters.

Taking several audible gulps from his glass of water, he licked his lips, breathed out loudly, scratched his head, and began to speak.

"The land in question will be divided in half, between these two men."

Instantaneously, whispers filled the room, as the people within it either mouthed congratulations for a wise decision, or murmured insults at the man who had cast the lame verdict. Pencils scratched on the requisitioned paper as the officials noted the result of the case. Ink within New Savalna had long since been used up, and all blank paper had been confiscated by the Government for use in important documentation. One man came up to him, shaking his hand and thanking him, before retreating. That man is most likely the one in the wrong. I've just awarded him a good amount of someone else's land, and there's nothing I can do about it now. Valran slumped in his chair, before downing the rest of his water, and then promptly left the court room through the back exit into the court office, flanked by his officials.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned on the wall, let out a long and withdrawn sigh, and turned to one of the three officials - Mark Schulter, one of his leading members of the local Senate.

"Making that decision was like trying to guess how much straw there is in a haystack....one you've never seen on the other side of the world...."

"There is a lot of pressure to making such decisions, Sir. I don't envy your position."

"I envy yours, though. How am I supposed to know who's right? Both of them were probably lying through their teeth, urged ever onward by their lawyers."

"Quite. The legal system is horrid, in its way. But think of a country with no legal system. It would be anarchy."

"I've been thinking, Schulter. This colony is too big for me to preside over all of its quarrels. Thankfully there are few at the moment, but soon there's bound to be hundreds of cases every day, and I can't manage that. I certainly can't be expected to know what's right for the whole of this colony when we are down in the very south, and its borders are as far up north as any of us have been. We need locals, trusted locals, who can make these decisions for me, based on the fact that they know these men and their land, and I don't."

"You're suggesting appointing local courts?"

"More than courts. Local governments. We have the councils for the settlements, but they are largely self-appointed, and all they do is report issues to the Senate. What we need is to have bodies of men and women who can make decisions of their own. Yes, they should settle legal matters, but they should make other decisions too, like what to spend our limited money on, whether to expand outwards, how many citizens are in the local Guard unit, what to do if natives appear, stuff like that. I'm a Governor. I should be deciding what's right for the colony as a whole, not for each little bit of it."

Another of the officials, a lesser member of the Senate who had listened to the conversation, turned to Valran.

"It's an interesting plan, Sir. And it certainly has its merits. But what of power struggles within the local councils? And what of abuses? The level of autonomy you suggest poses problems if its members are driven by power...."

"You're right, as always, Adam. My response to that is that I think that trusted citizens, citizens of note, and those whom we all know we can trust, should be appointed to head the councils. They will keep the councils in line. Once they know their areas, they may appoint their own councillors, to further reduce the in-fighting, and to remove those unworthy of such an honour. In return, they also are given a place as a Senator, where they can present any of the more important grievances to me. Any of the grievances that I do actually want to hear of...."

Schulter rejoined the conversation.

"Sir, if I may be so bold, that sounds a little like a feudal style of Government."

Valran thought, then smiled. Yes, it does sound like a feudal Government. That's quite an interesting point. I could give those chosen the title of Duke. Perhaps, if they feel so inclined, they could subdivide further still. Local Baronial councils. Intriguing. And at the top of the pile, the Monarch. The Emperor of Falastur. But seeing as he isn't here, then ruling in his stead, Governor James Valran. Or better still.....Prince James. Prince James the First, even. Very interesting. Very, very interesting. I will make it so. The citizens are fanatically loyal to their Emperor, they are even fanatically loyal to me, their appointed Governor, despite the fact that barely any knew me before we arrived. How can they fail to be loyal to a Prince, and his Nobility. After all, Falastur was built and still is built on its Nobility.....

OOC: Granzi, that is not acceptable. If you would look at previous posts, the Ardian Achleonia was based next to a mountain in the North-Eastern parts of the continent. It just can't jump from North-East to South-west

OOC: Granzi, that is not acceptable. If you would look at previous posts, the Ardian Achleonia was based next to a mountain in the North-Eastern parts of the continent. It just can't jump from North-East to South-west

OOC:

Does it really matter where you are in all seriousness?

OOC: Yup, I'm the man of principals, and principals are not to be broken

IC: Thr Grand Duke watched the power generators and batteries fill up. The caverns were being carved for a more larger city all the time, and the wooden part was getting larger also. The walls would be have to expand soon. Scouts had reported of another colony not too far from Ardian Achleonia. This was going better than it would've seemed at the start

OOC: Granzi, that is not acceptable. If you would look at previous posts, the Ardian Achleonia was based next to a mountain in the North-Eastern parts of the continent. It just can't jump from North-East to South-west

OOC: I somehow forgot to add you to the map. I'll edit it when I get home. The SW colony belongs to Praetonia, BTW. To eveyone else, I'll keep the map updated when I can, including expansions. Please make the expansions as clear as possible, and realistic.

An elongated strip of land slowly emerged on the horizon. As the hundreds of cargo vessels slowly made their way past treacherous northern sandbanks, the thick forests, the snowy mountains, the narrow creeks and the pristine beaches seemed like Paradise to the millions of convicted criminals ready to start a new life there.

Governor Darius bin Walid hopped off the small inflatable dinghy and set foot on the Ardian soil, firmly planting an Al-Sabirian flag into the sand, claiming the reasonable chunk of the northern coast for Al-Sabir.

OOC: New Map (http://photobucket.com/albums/v297/Granzi/?action=view&current=cb1ed016.gif)
More detail, Ardian Achleonia, I added you. Al-Sabir, where exactly did you land?

OOC:

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Either it's me, or that picture is private as well as the account....

OOC: Granzi, just to let you know I have one of my Legions expanding moving West of the mountain range (I indicated I was expanding in my last post). I am Vas Urbs, for reference my main settlement is named: Unta, it is located in the foothills of the high ground on the southernmost area of my bit. Thanks :D. Will post later ICly later.

OOC: On the northern coast, between two existing colonies.

IC: A labyrinth of interconnected alleys and lanes crossed right through the primitive slums that had been constructed with the intention to become the capital of the new colony, swarming with activity. Simple tools as axes, hammers, pickaxes, chisels and saws were available in abundance and compulsory working schemes were quickly set up by the Governor.

A massive stone fortress had arisen not far from the town and it was intended to become the Governor's new residence. It had been erected with significant use of primitive mortar, already being produced after the find of several kinds of useful clay in river banks.

A small, but well-maintained fleet of Landrovers, equipped with roofmounted machineguns and grenade launchers, proved invaluable services as patrol platforms, but fuel was scarce, so aggressive expansion was not yet part of the plans.

Small farms were erected in layers around the capital, providing a constant flow of fruit and vegetables for the colonists, as the soil seemed extremely fertile.

Fishermen had already built small wooden ships and fishing nets and were already adapting their techniques to the enviroment.

OOC: New Map (http://photobucket.com/albums/v297/Granzi/?action=view&current=cb1ed016.gif)
More detail, Ardian Achleonia, I added you. Al-Sabir, where exactly did you land?[OOC: The link leads you to your login for Photobucket.]

A helicopter flew over British Taewa, a large, green icon on the side indicating it's the property of the Achleonian military. It had no weaponry, except a small machine gun on the bottom. The helicopter flew over some houses. "AA-Air control, this is Alpha-2. I have visual on some housing"
"Roger that, Alpha-2. Can you find an area suitable for landing? Shall we send a land rover to assist on investigation?"
"Negative, AA-Air control. I will start landing near the houses. I will send a report in about 30 minutes. Stand by, over and out"
"Roger, Alpha-2. Over and out"
The pilot landed near the housing and jumped off from the two-seated cockpit, He watched around, taking his helmet off and loading his SOCOM-pistol. He watched around for any signs of humans around. He was very careful.

The alarms sounded off all over Neuston colony.

25 Liberty Navy gunners ran over to the helicopter and surrounded it. They looked strangely eerie with their helmets and rebreathers. They surrounded the helicopter, holding their Steyr AUG rifles in a defensive position.

They waited.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v297/Granzi/a3e9b0e2.gif

Terronus

Within days of landfall, the settlement began to show signs of more permanence. Thousands of pre-fab shelters had been assembled in orderly rows along the shoreline. Transports and cargo vessels crowded the harbor, the colonists rapidly working to unload the tons of supplies and equipment. Having the foresight to bring along a full construction brigade, the rudimentary outlines of a city were marked off and large obstructions removed.

Timber for building was easily obtained from the nearby forests. A thick abundance of red clay discovered lining a stream bank several miles was brought back to the site. Analysis done in a makeshift building found the clay suitable for brick making. Several large kilns built a distance away from the harbor churned out several tens of thousands of bricks a day, providing the first employment to the new colony. Plots of housing began to sprout to form neighborhoods, and by the end of that month, the capital was christened. Coritha.

Work continued to be done. Work on the Governor's Hall began at one end of the town square. Several liquid tons of refined oil was pumped into storage reservoir from special tanker vessels. Each drop was carefully hoarded and used only to fuel heavy equipment and military vehicles. A civilian militia was formed to supplement the professional army. Armed with standard issue rifles brought by Corundum Corporation funds, an expedition was formed to explore the area further and clear the way for satellite towns.

Vas Urbs, was beginning to become a hub of trade in the area, the merchantile representives, which had come from the Guilds had rather efficently & effectively set up copycat Guilds in the area and money & goods were being trading in ever increasing quantities. Vas Urbs citizens had discovered additional sources of iron ore, sodium, zinc and even trace amounts of crude oil had been found in the off-shore locale of Unta. The large citidel, which had been under construction for some time now was nearing it's second stage of completition, since it now had it's keep built into the rockface and it's first curtain wall with large ominous black interlinking towers placed tactically around, so as to give a large scale crossfire in any event of conflict.

The Claw had begun operating from it, not in perhaps their more usual manifestation as the pseudo-police force, but as the Guild of Assassins they once had been. But these assasins were at the beck and call of Vas Urbs' ruler, Crokus Darujis, so they effectively did the same as their namesakes in the Guilds. Meanwhile, the Talon operating under the similar auspices as they did anywhere in or out of the Guilder homelands. They began to looking into recruiting new Talon, set up home a smaller fortress they had had constructed some miles out of Unta in the depths of the forest. They began the laborious task of recruiting spy networks and finding out if any other creatures lived on these islands.

Also, rumour was passing through the corridors of power that the two leaders of these universally feared organisations were in fact lovers, but one thing was known for certain. That Sorry (Master of the Talon in Vas Urbs (former Guilder Mightly Talon) and Cutter (Master of the Claw in Vas Urbs (former Guilder Clawmaster) were in fact lovers, this rumour wasn't new. It was in fact widely known in Claw/Talon circles to be true, they had met each others an assignment when they on an assignment near the edge of Guilder territory and had been close lovers ever since.

Meanwhile, the 87th continued it's push north-west and the 88th began to march north west on the other side of the mountain range (OOC: Note Granzi), creating small settlements as they went. The men, who had once been members of the 14th Air Legion, were begun to be trained as a navy in new wooden boats, which had been constructed by the Guild of Carpenters, with a lot of trial and error involved.

Vas Urbs was becomming a little empire in it's own right, this did not suprise Crokus but he was beginning to consider declaring himself King of Vas Urbs, such was his personal ambition, but he needs those two lovers and the legions on his side, if he were to do any such thing... he would have to work at that... the Guilds had long been the power in the Government and even after Lord Stra'coth had forced his power upon them, they still chomped at the bit...

The pilot smirked of the quickness of the colonials. He dropped his pistol to the ground and raised his hands. "I am Sergeant Mikel Gallahar from the 1st airbatallion of the Grand Duchy Ardian Achleonia. I come here in peace, and want to get our two colonies connected" he shouted, turning to see all the rifles.

A small, damaged satellite antenna rolled on a cavern edge in the mountain. The researchers hadn't gotten it to work in the whole time the city was being built, and the resources were running low for the fixing of it, as the city had to expand

The Sun beat down on the crowd as they cheered their Prince. James waved to them from a balcony on his mansion-turned-Palace, his tailored outfit reminiscent of the clothes of European Kings of the 19th Century betraying his devotion to his self-appointed role. Almost 25,000 people stood in the great courtyard in front of the Palace, most wearing the increasingly popular Medieval smocks and pantaloons. Taking another breath, and adjusting his newly-forged crown, Prince James I continued.

"And what do I promise you, in my role as your sub-Monarch? I promise you everything I can. I have ordered the creation of several facilities to take advantage of the mud-bricks now in mass-production. Our society maybe technologically behind, but we will evolve. More and more houses are being connected to the water supplies, and though our supplies of non-porous materials are dwindling, I promise that this will lead us to great achievements and to things never before even dreamed of. We are developing resources such as horse-drawn ploughs for the farming communities, to adapt to our fuel-less environs. We are upgrading our defenses. In a week, our great nation will be able to boast a full army styled on those of the glorious Medieval period, an army of 10,000 which will keep us safe."

There were periodic cheers as Prince James I called out the various improvements he promised. Gradually the speech rose to a climax.

"And what do I ask of you, the citizens? I ask only this: That you pay your taxes, that you abide by the laws of your land, that you serve your country, and that you make New Savalna every bit the internationally acclaimed paradise, as Falastur is!"

A roar of agreement and applause emanated from the crowd.

"And how can you render such service to your nation? There are many ways. But at the forefront of them all at this moment is making New Savalna great on this continent. How do we do that? Expansion. We need to fill every corner of this land with our farms, our villages and our cities. This is such a task that any of you can do. Your names will forever be noted in the annals of history for taking part in this momentous task. I call on anyone and everyone who wishes to be remembered to join an expansion party, and become immortal! The chance to name your own towns and cities. To rule them, even, by my mandate, or to be elected to the Baronial Councils in the new Duchies. Positions of power, influence, wealth. The possibilities are endless!"

The speech had reached its climaxed. Gently tailing it off, Prince James I gave one last wave to the crowd, and disappeared into his Palace. Instantly, the city was ablaze with talk. While many dreamed of leaving to join the expeditions, few actually could, although nearly 25,000 men, women and children signed themselves up. Within a week, the group would be broken down into several parties to colonise to the North of New Savalna, and one to colonise the islands to the South of the colony. It would expend the last of the stored fuel on board the Colony Ships that had taken the first settlers to New Savalna, but gradually shipwrights were establishing themselves, and already home-made galleons had mapped some of the nearby land. The future looked glorious to Prince James, and to all of his people.

The pilot smirked of the quickness of the colonials. He dropped his pistol to the ground and raised his hands. "I am Sergeant Mikel Gallahar from the 1st airbatallion of the Grand Duchy Ardian Achleonia. I come here in peace, and want to get our two colonies connected" he shouted, turning to see all the rifles.

A small, damaged satellite antenna rolled on a cavern edge in the mountain. The researchers hadn't gotten it to work in the whole time the city was being built, and the resources were running low for the fixing of it, as the city had to expand

The Navy infantry stepped closer to the helicopter and the pilot.
"Michael Gallahar, this is the Liberty Navy. You are now in British controlled territory. Thank you for dropping your weapons. Please allow us to dock your helicopter at the nearby port."
The Navy Sergeant gestured towards the pilot. "You may come with us and visit our right honourable governor."

OOC: Granzi, the name of my colony is "New Socotra", could you change that in your map?

The Navy infantry stepped closer to the helicopter and the pilot.
"Michael Gallahar, this is the Liberty Navy. You are now in British controlled territory. Thank you for dropping your weapons. Please allow us to dock your helicopter at the nearby port."
The Navy Sergeant gestured towards the pilot. "You may come with us and visit our right honourable governor."

The pilot nodded, and slowly crouched. He took the pistol from the pipe, and walked to the helicopter. He dropped the pistol into his bag and turned, everything done slowly. "Allright. I'm ready" the pilot said and walked to the sergeant. "Maybe I can now stop doing everything in slow-motion?" he said, smiling. He had always pissed sergeants and other military officers off by his constant jokes and sarcasm.

"That's enough, smartass. We don't take no shit from foreigners here." The sergeant said. "Keep walking."

The group of men came to an unimportant looking building.

"This is where we leave you. Walk in, and ask for a guy name Gosham. He'll receive you. Thanks for visiting. Your helicopter is being refueled."

Vas Urbs continued it's expansion north west on it's land mass.... creating the foundations of new settlements as they went. The legions continued marching in that direction, they had come across little in the way of opposition thus far, a few pathetic tribes of pre-historic humans/apes had been either slaughtered or sent back to Vas Urbs for the Gladitorial arenas, dissection and for experiments by the Vas Urbain representives of the Guild's of Chemical Production and Biological Warfare, they had lost access to the homelands huge stocks of chemical/biological weapons and they had only the specialist material afforded them before contact was lost. Crokus wanted to be able to ultize the massive Guild knowledge in those areas to be provide additional weapons in the defence of the fortresses he had order the creation of.

The 14th Air Legion had been renamed 'The Guild Navy', and they were getting on with their boats better than they had been before, fortunatly the sea sickness was wearing off and there had only been a few drownings in the compulsory swimming lessons and crash navy courses... the boats that had been constructed were of similar design to some old wrecks the Guild had once found on a dryed up lake. They were sleak ships numbering about 40 at the moment with a crew compliment of 250 men each, very suited to the Guild preference for mass anti-personnel firepower, they were being equipped with freshly made balistas and catapults, as well the facility/material for the creation of a crude form of flamethrower, which used a substance known only as 'Greek Fire'... similar to Napalm... but much cruder....

Towns were growing rapidly as was the Vas Urbian population, where land was at an absolute premium. There were a lot of merchants now involved in clearing land for agriculture and lots of villages had sprung up to farm the land...

A large series of fortifications had started to be constructed around the edges of the Vas Urbain Empire, these like the starter forticiation were made of earth and stone, with convergence points and crossfire's built into the defence systems. These were also well supplied with new catapaults and balista's. These were expensive, but Crokus realised they might be nessacary if he was going to break permantly from the Guilds and create his own Imperial empire in co-operation with Sorry and Cutter.

"I'll just laught at your foreigner face if we ever get to defeat this colony..." the pilot muttered really quietly and walked to the door. He walked straight in, and walked to the first person he saw. "I'm looking for someone called Gosham" he said and watched around himself.

In the meantime, the AA-radar control watched the spots in the short-range radar's screen. Most of the spots were dark green on the light green background, showing even the smallest armed patrols, yellow spots showed buildings around the mountain, and light blue ones showed civilians outside the main city. Another screen showed the air traffic, which wasn't really that heavy because of the really large lack of helicopters, but still one showed over a civilian and military group, sent to build a town to the South-west edge of borders

"What is your business, pilot?" The receptionist said.

The pilot smirked. "I'm here from the Ardian Achleonia, and some Liberty navy soldiers said that this Gosham dude would receive me, so don't f*** around"

Bump, we still carrying this on people?