Taldaan
12-02-2005, 14:27
The King of Vermont and all its peoples reclined in the intricately carved wooden seat at the end of the long building. He gave off an air of authority and dormant power. His eyes shone brightly under his black fringe, and his raven hair hung half-way down his neck. His skin was tanned, and scars were prominent on his arms, legacy of the times he had lead his warriors into battle. Those times were gone: as King he had a responsibility not to go into battle. He was a leader of a nation now, not a band of warriors, and his power was now in the sceptre rather than the spear and bow. While he could most likely best any of his guards in combat, he had to pursue statecraft rather than foes. He glanced down at the note in his hand; another report from his tax collectors; then yawned long and loud. His head sunk onto his chest, disturbing the hide-and-wood necklaces that hung there. He had not slept that night, having worked by torchlight, reading the yearly reports from the chieftains of the villages. Each village still operated as they had always done, but they were all totally subservient to the King.
He glanced out of the window, surveying the town that his grandfather had founded the Kingdom from. The workers scurried from building to building carrying baskets of grain, or tools, or whatever they had taken from the storehouse. Guards stood around, or patrolled the streets, watchful for criminals or raiders. Across the beaten path he could see the carpenter’s workshop, and the noise of the saw cut through the air.
A knock at the door snapped him back to the world. The tall, imposing guards levelled their spears. They would die rather than see the King come to harm, and this visitor was a threat to him. The door swung open and a man walked in. He obviously wasn’t a native of Vermont, and over his shoulder he had a great pack bulging with belongings. He carried no weapon, and he wore no shield. He was small and thin, and looked laughably small next to the towering guards who watched his every movement. He spoke in a middle-range voice, his words clear and pleasant to the ear.
“My Lord Tempia, King of Vermont. I come before your mighty presence to ask of you some questions.”
“And what sort of questions would these be?”
Tempia was intrigued, and motioned for his guards to stand aside. The visitor hesitated, then continued.
“My people, who live in a small village slightly sunrisewards of your realm, are curious to know of it. We would like to know how your nation is run. We would like to know of its people and places. We would like to know of its religion and warfare.”
He stopped, aware that he had been talking very fast. But the King seemed to have caught every word.
“Very well. What do you wish to hear of first?”
The visitor seemed shocked that the King had agreed to this, but quickly regained his composure.
“First, could you tell us a little about yourself?”
The King smiled. This shouldn’t be too hard.
“I came to the throne nine cycles ago, after my father was taken by the Red Plague. Before that time I was a warrior, leading my men, fighting bandits and raiders mainly. My mother, I never knew. She died two days after I was born. I was the youngest of three sons, but the other two died by the time I was five cycles, one of fever, the other slain by a wolf. My two sisters live still, and they have dwellings near the river. Since my taking of the throne, I have run the Kingdom in the manner of my father before me, and my grandfather before him.
I have the power of life and death over my peoples, although I most often do not use that power.
As yet, I am unmarried. So far all of the women who have loved me were too ugly, or simply died. Death is far too common in this nation. Although we do all we can; I have even passed laws to prevent people from dropping waste in rivers upstream of drinkers; people die of disease every day.”
He looked shaken. Maybe this wasn’t as easy as he had thought. The short man noticed, but asked his next question anyway.
“How is your nation governed?”
“I would have thought that to be obvious. After all, I am King! I have total power over my nation, but I cannot be everywhere at once. For this reason, each village in my land has a leader, a chief if you will, who runs the affairs of that village. If I don’t like something about the way they are run, I can change it.
In this nation, the law is hard but fair. If you commit a crime, such as theft, or murder, you will have your possessions taken away, or you will be banished, or you will be killed. Minor crimes are punished by beatings or by hard labour for a number of days.”
This was more like it. A question rooted in hard fact. Hopefully the rest would be like this.
“And what of your economic system?”
“Ah. The one laid down at the foundation of the Kingdom. The important thing to remember about this nation is that there is no money or coinage. Food and other essentials are rationed by the week, and distributed. All food harvested is put into a series of central storehouses, and from there it is distributed to all the people equally. If people want to supplement this, they may forage or hunt for food, or cut their own furniture out of wood.
Luxury items are given according to merit. The bravest warriors and the most skilled and dedicated workers are given comforts and finer clothes. They stand out from the other workers, and so the others feel a desire to emulate them.
In our admittedly small relations and trade with other states, we do accept coinage. We then use it to trade with others, or save it for the next time we trade with that nation. Our trade goods are carried by cart.
Our primary exports are crops, fish, hides, and crafted goods, such as furniture and clothes.”
“If I may ask, what is the religious situation in your nation?”
“Fairly disorganised. The priests are few in number, although there is a shrine in every village. The faith surrounds the worship of Maten and Sem, the twin gods who made the world. Maten is god of peace, Sem is god of war. Although this is not were it ends. The natural world is run by them equally, and the cycle of life and death is also their shared domain. Neither is purely good, and neither is purely evil.
Sem, for instance, while he revels in battle, he also encourages the everyday bravery among the people and comforts the loved ones of those who go into battle. He rewards those who are brave, and protects those who are not. His favoured creature is the dog: the wolves who are cunning in battle, but also the domestic dogs that guard the people and are companions to them
Maten looks after everyday life. He is a patron of workers and craftsmen, and has a great love of beauty. He encourages friendship between people, and for this reason is also god of love.
It is believed that the pair created the Earth long ago, and since then have changed bits or added new ones, or in some cases taken them away. It is believed that mankind is younger than the world around him. The two gods were said to have taken bits from all the other animals and combined them. And there were the first men and women. The two gods taught them the basics of life, teaching them how to eat and drink, and generally survive. And then, when they were confident that their students had learned all they needed to be taught, they sent them out across the world.
“Go out into the world, for we have taught you all that you need to know to survive. From now, you must teach yourselves. Go out and prosper.”
That is what the gods said. And so the humans scattered, and settled across the Earth. And the gods still watch, and they are pleased with their creations.”
“Pleased? But what about disease, or mudslides? They kill all of our peoples.”
“That is not because they are displeased with us. The gods simply allow these things to happen”
The short man didn’t look convinced, but he let it drop.
“And what of warfare in your nation?”
“Ah. I was wondering when we would get on to that topic. In Vermont, we have a small standing army. The guards are drawn from this, and the others train in their forts. They are trained well, and fight with spears, hand weapons such as axes and clubs, and bows. Every warrior carries a bow and a spear or hand weapon, the spear being more common. Warriors also sometimes carry wooden shields for protection. Warriors are organised into parties, which are lead by a strong, experienced warrior. Due to their skill at survival, they can stay on patrol almost indefinitely. They have great experience at tracking and scouting. Also, everyone in the nation is trained with spear and bow, although nowhere near as completely. In the event of an attack, they can fight back.
Our warfare is generally against raiders and outlaws. We have never gone to war with another state since the foundation of the Kingdom.”
“Thank you.”
ooc: I have left the man in the room. Anyone who wants to RP him asking another question is welcome to.
Basically I did it this way because I thought it would seem more appropriate to the setting.
He glanced out of the window, surveying the town that his grandfather had founded the Kingdom from. The workers scurried from building to building carrying baskets of grain, or tools, or whatever they had taken from the storehouse. Guards stood around, or patrolled the streets, watchful for criminals or raiders. Across the beaten path he could see the carpenter’s workshop, and the noise of the saw cut through the air.
A knock at the door snapped him back to the world. The tall, imposing guards levelled their spears. They would die rather than see the King come to harm, and this visitor was a threat to him. The door swung open and a man walked in. He obviously wasn’t a native of Vermont, and over his shoulder he had a great pack bulging with belongings. He carried no weapon, and he wore no shield. He was small and thin, and looked laughably small next to the towering guards who watched his every movement. He spoke in a middle-range voice, his words clear and pleasant to the ear.
“My Lord Tempia, King of Vermont. I come before your mighty presence to ask of you some questions.”
“And what sort of questions would these be?”
Tempia was intrigued, and motioned for his guards to stand aside. The visitor hesitated, then continued.
“My people, who live in a small village slightly sunrisewards of your realm, are curious to know of it. We would like to know how your nation is run. We would like to know of its people and places. We would like to know of its religion and warfare.”
He stopped, aware that he had been talking very fast. But the King seemed to have caught every word.
“Very well. What do you wish to hear of first?”
The visitor seemed shocked that the King had agreed to this, but quickly regained his composure.
“First, could you tell us a little about yourself?”
The King smiled. This shouldn’t be too hard.
“I came to the throne nine cycles ago, after my father was taken by the Red Plague. Before that time I was a warrior, leading my men, fighting bandits and raiders mainly. My mother, I never knew. She died two days after I was born. I was the youngest of three sons, but the other two died by the time I was five cycles, one of fever, the other slain by a wolf. My two sisters live still, and they have dwellings near the river. Since my taking of the throne, I have run the Kingdom in the manner of my father before me, and my grandfather before him.
I have the power of life and death over my peoples, although I most often do not use that power.
As yet, I am unmarried. So far all of the women who have loved me were too ugly, or simply died. Death is far too common in this nation. Although we do all we can; I have even passed laws to prevent people from dropping waste in rivers upstream of drinkers; people die of disease every day.”
He looked shaken. Maybe this wasn’t as easy as he had thought. The short man noticed, but asked his next question anyway.
“How is your nation governed?”
“I would have thought that to be obvious. After all, I am King! I have total power over my nation, but I cannot be everywhere at once. For this reason, each village in my land has a leader, a chief if you will, who runs the affairs of that village. If I don’t like something about the way they are run, I can change it.
In this nation, the law is hard but fair. If you commit a crime, such as theft, or murder, you will have your possessions taken away, or you will be banished, or you will be killed. Minor crimes are punished by beatings or by hard labour for a number of days.”
This was more like it. A question rooted in hard fact. Hopefully the rest would be like this.
“And what of your economic system?”
“Ah. The one laid down at the foundation of the Kingdom. The important thing to remember about this nation is that there is no money or coinage. Food and other essentials are rationed by the week, and distributed. All food harvested is put into a series of central storehouses, and from there it is distributed to all the people equally. If people want to supplement this, they may forage or hunt for food, or cut their own furniture out of wood.
Luxury items are given according to merit. The bravest warriors and the most skilled and dedicated workers are given comforts and finer clothes. They stand out from the other workers, and so the others feel a desire to emulate them.
In our admittedly small relations and trade with other states, we do accept coinage. We then use it to trade with others, or save it for the next time we trade with that nation. Our trade goods are carried by cart.
Our primary exports are crops, fish, hides, and crafted goods, such as furniture and clothes.”
“If I may ask, what is the religious situation in your nation?”
“Fairly disorganised. The priests are few in number, although there is a shrine in every village. The faith surrounds the worship of Maten and Sem, the twin gods who made the world. Maten is god of peace, Sem is god of war. Although this is not were it ends. The natural world is run by them equally, and the cycle of life and death is also their shared domain. Neither is purely good, and neither is purely evil.
Sem, for instance, while he revels in battle, he also encourages the everyday bravery among the people and comforts the loved ones of those who go into battle. He rewards those who are brave, and protects those who are not. His favoured creature is the dog: the wolves who are cunning in battle, but also the domestic dogs that guard the people and are companions to them
Maten looks after everyday life. He is a patron of workers and craftsmen, and has a great love of beauty. He encourages friendship between people, and for this reason is also god of love.
It is believed that the pair created the Earth long ago, and since then have changed bits or added new ones, or in some cases taken them away. It is believed that mankind is younger than the world around him. The two gods were said to have taken bits from all the other animals and combined them. And there were the first men and women. The two gods taught them the basics of life, teaching them how to eat and drink, and generally survive. And then, when they were confident that their students had learned all they needed to be taught, they sent them out across the world.
“Go out into the world, for we have taught you all that you need to know to survive. From now, you must teach yourselves. Go out and prosper.”
That is what the gods said. And so the humans scattered, and settled across the Earth. And the gods still watch, and they are pleased with their creations.”
“Pleased? But what about disease, or mudslides? They kill all of our peoples.”
“That is not because they are displeased with us. The gods simply allow these things to happen”
The short man didn’t look convinced, but he let it drop.
“And what of warfare in your nation?”
“Ah. I was wondering when we would get on to that topic. In Vermont, we have a small standing army. The guards are drawn from this, and the others train in their forts. They are trained well, and fight with spears, hand weapons such as axes and clubs, and bows. Every warrior carries a bow and a spear or hand weapon, the spear being more common. Warriors also sometimes carry wooden shields for protection. Warriors are organised into parties, which are lead by a strong, experienced warrior. Due to their skill at survival, they can stay on patrol almost indefinitely. They have great experience at tracking and scouting. Also, everyone in the nation is trained with spear and bow, although nowhere near as completely. In the event of an attack, they can fight back.
Our warfare is generally against raiders and outlaws. We have never gone to war with another state since the foundation of the Kingdom.”
“Thank you.”
ooc: I have left the man in the room. Anyone who wants to RP him asking another question is welcome to.
Basically I did it this way because I thought it would seem more appropriate to the setting.