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Chapter Four: The Despised 1491-1502 Toref Citadel, Countess' Chambers, 1484 The young mistress scratched her claws across the paper, and growled in frustration. Erela didn't offer any reaction, except to offer the Gnoll child another piece to work on. She had never had children of her own, had barely even interacted with a Human child besides those who were already broken by their enslavement. Perhaps that included herself as well. And now she was being asked to teach Lyhz' daughter to read and write. If nothing else it was a sign of things changing. Erela had now served three generations of the Salt-Blade line, but the child in front of her would be the first to be literate. They were sat opposite each other, on a desk plated with gold from mines below. The whole room was filled with treasures, gifts from the Countess-Priestess to her daughter. Even the paper was of the highest quality, freshly raided from ships sailing between Bulwar and Cannor. "I don't need to learn letters," the child snapped, "that's your job." "I won't be around forever, young mistress," Erela said. She was getting old, past her fiftieth year. Her body was weaker, and her hair was greying. Even with decent treatment, for a slave, the decades of restrictions wore on her deeply. "Then I'll get another Scribe!" the child declared, pointing out the window with her claws in the vague direction of the lands of Busilar. It wasn't much use arguing with an angry Gnollish child. Even at six years old, she was as large as a young teenage Human and could probably overpower Erela without even using her claws. Erela remembered the first time she had seen Lyhz's litter, coated with blood as one of the young pups devoured the others. From birth they were monsters, so Erela had been working hard to induct a little bit of civilised behaviour into them. She could not take all the credit, the simple pressures of Cannorian advancement were forcing the Gnolls to adapt, but the Salt-Blades had been a key part of that. She considered how best to appeal to the child in front of her. "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Erela asked. "A mighty pirate!" the child replied without hesitation. She had been raised on stories of her grandmother's exploits. "Imagine you are the captain," Erela said, "a great pirate, with many victories. The crew loves you. Now, you have taken a map to hidden treasure from a ship of weaklings." The child nodded along enthusiastically, eyes glittering like jewel-ringed pits. "Your Scribe tells you what is written on the map, and you sail to seize the treasure. You arrive, and there is nothing. The Scribe lied, and escaped with the real treasure." "Traitor!" the child cried, her fur rising in anger, "have them flogged and flayed!" "Whether you catch the liar or not, your crew is upset that you didn't realise sooner. One day, they throw you overboard and replace you with a Gnoll who can read." "I'd kill them all first!" the child said, seething. She leaned forward, claws dug into the desk leaving deep dents in the gold. Erela stepped away to pull a large piece of parchment from a corner of the room and spread it out across the desk. One of the stolen Elven maps. The girl's demeanour changed instantly, and she began poring over it, marvelling at the intricately detailed coastlines, ocean currents, and trade winds. "Now imagine that you can read the words," Erela said, running her finger over the western islands, still shrouded in mysterious fog but marked with descriptions of ancient ruins and vulnerable colonies, "and your crew is around you, listening to you, not to one of your slaves." Finally, the child seemed to have a breakthrough as she stared at the map. She pointed out the largest word on the map, hanging high over the western edge. "What does this say?" she asked. "That says 'Aelantir'," Erela replied, "it's where the Elves are trying to return to. A land of secrets and treasure." "Ael-an-tir," the child said, sounding out the syllables as she read them from the parchment. Her eyes drifted to the eastern side of the map and she pointed at the island off the coast of Lorent. "Something-ael?" She paused. "Ven-ael!" Erela smiled at the child before her. Not quite right, but she had the spirit now. "I think you will be a mighty pirate indeed, Mykx," Erela said. Excerpts from the journal of Lyhz, Countess of Toref, Priestess of Kentryn  Our enthusiasm is dropping, and the demonic fire in our veins is quieting. I took the liberty of beseeching our patrons for a different invocation. With increasing interest in the lands to the west, I want all eyes on their ship movements. Through Kentryn I can see through their sight and find the information I seek.  We have turned to extracting more out of the Humans we already control. A new tributary system has been put in place, which gives the Humans a more stable schedule for their delivery of money and sacrifices Monstrous nations get a unique age ability. I haven't tried it before, so let's see how it works.  The first shipments arrived shortly afterwards, coming with a long note from the Humans. I couldn't read it, so I dismissed it and looked over what we had received. We could have earned lot more just by conquering and razing a single city on the Divenhal. This wouldn't sustain us. We needed to keep pushing against Cannor, or else find somewhere else to plunder. What. Well, this is the development version so you can't expect everything to be perfect.  Construction has finished on four more ships to match the Salt-Tower. Yeena's let Mykx serve on one of them, not as a captain yet - she's too young, but as the chief navigator. Mykx has an incredible affinity for maps and charting course and seems at home on the water. She reminds me of Mother, but with a lot less cynicism.  Via has passed into Xhazob's hands, slain by a great beast he was hunting in the Desha mountains. The towering, tusked, creature was sacrificed in his honour at the ascension ceremony of Little Via. Or Viakkoc XIII, as he demanded we always refer to him. He doesn't like pet names, and he doesn't like the power his father's advisors wielded. We of the Kult were dismissed, and then Viakkoc set the nobility into a contest of strength for his favour. Many of the younger, stronger, noble Gnolls were aligned with Viakkoc and suddenly Via's closest allies were mostly dead or literally under someone's boots.  It's lucky then that Viakkoc is more interested is drinking and celebrating with his friends than actually exerting power beyond Kokerrat. The rest of the Corsair Kingdom is watching carefully to see if he will continue his malevolent power grab, oppress his fellow Gnolls any further, or settle into a more reasonable Gnollish rule.  Our pirates have continued their campaign against the Elven fleets heading westwards, and charted out much of the island chain that is currently being settled by both Elven and Human colonists. The land seems abandoned, empty, which means that it is ripe for exploitation. Some of the other Kult members have suggested that this is a demonic gift, a place for Gnolls to seize and use our innate strength to dominate the lesser races that attempt to settle there.  We have also been raiding southwards, and stole some maps showing what is happening south of the Salahadesi Desert. I don't know enough of the politics, beyond our Gnollish brethren on the south edge of the desert, to tell if anything notable is happening. This is the western half of the Sarhal region added in the new update. As said in-character, I don't really know enough to tell if anything interesting has happened yet.  Viakkoc climbed out of his endless party to order an invasion of Ekha, which had withdrawn their tribute after the war against the Humans. The flow of gold and sacrifices would continue, but it left us back where we started, rather than advanced our power any further.  The last remnants of Deshak were also cleaned up. They had been forced to pay tribute to our allies, but had participated in the last war and thus lost that protection. Finally, all Humans from the western coast to the mouth of the Mother's Sorrow were under our heel. However, this was not anything more than consolidation. There were no movements from the Corsair King's court to expand the fleet, push any further into Cannor, or oppose Elizna for dominance of Kheterata.  Another concern was backsliding in our young institutions. The Kult ought to be the only organisation running sacrifices, but Viakkoc was happy to let small groups of Gnolls organise their own and undermine our authority.  Meanwhile, the Emperor organised another coalition against us. It was smaller in size, but facing the Emperor and his allies would still be devastating without Via at the head of our armies and real hellfury backing us. I could feel the lethargy in our army, the dull contentment to terrorize the populations within our borders, rather than try to achieve anything more. There are demons who feed off of that, like Myznr, so perhaps we've drawn their attention instead of that of wrath-masters like Kzryl. This wouldn't be too bad to fight actually, except for the fact that I can't attack it without bringing in Wex as Emperor, and their much more dangerous ally Lorent.  The tension between the Kult, the Corsair King, the various nobles both for and against him, the fleet, and the slave population, threatens to boil over into outright civil war. I am not afraid. I have allies in the fleet, and a citadel to myself, but I worry for Mykx. If Viakkoc decides to purge the fleet, she could be in danger.  Rumours spread to Toref of piracy against Ekha, our tributary who are supposed to be rewarded by protection. Initially I was concerned, if the fleet had lost the ability to guard our own coasts. Then a ship sailed into the cavern harbour and started unloading stolen treasure and sacrifices from Ekha. Mykx bounded onshore and eagerly explained that some of the fleet was secretly taking tribute and turning it against Viakkoc. It struck me, that our fleet was fulfilling the directive of our demonic masters, where our supposed Corsair King had failed. Mykx had been promoted to captain of one of our carracks, and was one of Admiral Yeena's closest advisors.  The night after Mykx set sail again, I was beset by the strongest visitation that I'd ever felt. It was not Kentryn, but Xhazob himself, and he spoke of futures not yet born. An icy empress ruling over a vast reborn empire, a land beset by devouring plants, dark bloody creatures seizing control of an empire, a whole continent rended as spirits poured out of broken temples. And finally, the world's oceans ruled by a bloody queen sat in a monumental citadel at the centre of a circular sea. As I awoke and looked out over the rising sun from my room in the highest tower of my citadel, I wondered what to make of the visions.  The Isles of Tef were devastated by our conquest. It's taken most of my life for the population to accept their place and understand their duty to work for us. We have conscripted Dwarven engineers to produce our first proper cannons, designed for Gnollish use rather than stolen from Humans.  The news of the western lands is now spreading rapidly throughout Cannor. Vast fleets are being assembled, not just by the Elves but also Humans and even Dwarves. They seek the riches of the lost continent, while Viakkoc contents himself with the lands he holds. Yeena and Mykx intend to continue mapping out the trade routes, regardless of what he wants, and start reaving the treasure fleets.  Another raid into Busilar has been launched, despite the impending conflict. Our armies, thirsty for blood and competing for glory, obliterated the Busilari army and began to spread through the countryside in a wave of violence. Without an enemy to fight, Gnolls have been killing each other for the spoils almost as much as the local population, and I fear that when they return that will spread through the rest of the kingdom.  The Gnolls that we liberated from Busilar in the last war have joined us in our conquest. At least some of the Cannorian Gnolls understand their roots, unlike the 'Dovesworn' cowards who fled to the Empire. They have mostly avoided our forces, fearing that we will fall on them in mindless bloodshed as we have amongst ourselves. I offered a sacrifice to Kentryn in name of their success, perhaps they can push deeper into Human lands than we can without triggering the wrath of the Emperor.  We took our fill of wealth and sacrifices, seized control of a coastal fort and left the rest of the nation for our fellow Gnolls to ravage. Human control over Businor is slipping rapidly, especially if the Hill Gnolls are able to seize more of the land.  The latest western expedition returned with the most impressive stolen maps so far. The fastest vessel of the fleet had arrived and delivered a vast chart of a massive circular sea, as though an explosion had ripped open a hole in the land and scattered the remnants as islands. Shortly after the ship returned, a squadron of galleys appeared and set up a blockade of the golden citadel. When I sent Kazz out to investigate, his head was returned by catapult. Viakkoc had finally come to deal with those who opposed him. In return, I dropped several of my staff slaves off the fortress walls, as an offering to Kentryn to raise a storm and strike down the fleets of the coward king.  The storm came, but not in the form of weather. Five carracks swung around the headland, unleashing furious cannon fire against the loyalist galleys. In return, the galleys used their significant oar power to turn and charge straight in. Rammed at full speed, one of the carracks tipped over and ran aground on the rocks, while the others were engaged in vicious boarding actions, Gnoll against Gnoll. I was left to watch and offer regular sacrifices to the victory of our fleet. When the fighting had subsided, Viakkoc's forces, with half their number of galleys sunk, fled. I rushed down the docks to meet whoever was in command, but halfway down I felt a whisper at the back of my mind. Looking back towards the sea, I saw the four carracks turn back to the west. On the Salt-Tower, I saw the shape of Mykx perched atop the aft castle, one paw raised towards me. She was abandoning us, just as the civil war was starting, abandoning me? No, no she wasn't.  This was what we had been preparing for all along, whether we knew it or not. A nation for pirates, by pirates, not a pale imitation created by the land-bound. Whatever comes next in the Corsair Kingdom, that is for me and my allies to face. However, unless we can end the line of the Scourge-of-all-seas for good, they will surely despise Mykx and her crew until the end of the world. Living her best life, at the cost of being despised by countless Gnolls left behind.  Of course, who knows how many Gnolls will be inspired by her actions and follow her. If we do lose this civil war, we might still be able to follow her across the ocean and join her. Some may wish to join simply for the blood and plunder. Others might seek the wealth the demons have hidden for us amongst the ruins. Whatever the case, she will not lack for volunteers.  If something had happened to Yeena, whether in that last battle or during the last exploratory voyage, I am sure that Mykx will have risen the occasion and taken command. I can imagine her now, Admiral, commander of a fleet of Gnolls lost in a new land. She might even be the one I saw in my vision, queen of the oceans atop a throne of bones. Her grandmother would be proud, I am proud. A new chapter is dawning on the world, where Xhazob and his host will reach out and touch every corner of every ocean. I wish her luck, and demonic supremacy. To be continued… Vote The founding happened even sooner than I expected. It has as MTTH of 30 years after 1500, so getting it just two years in very lucky. Now we have to decide what we are doing with our National Ideas. The first idea is locked in (it's Exploration), but the second and soon third idea slots will be open to decide the future of Mykx' nation. The only restriction is that we cannot take three diplo ideas in a row, so in the event two diplo ideas win the vote, the next highest adm or mil idea will be selected. Administrative Expansion – This land is empty and ripe for our exploitation. We should seize as much as possible to serve as the basis for our new nation. Religious – Xhazob has guided us here, and we must give proper tribute to him and his host. Economic – We cannot live on plunder alone. New ideas to organise our slave-based economy need to be discovered. Diplomatic Espionage – Our spies and assassins will be feared across the Ruined Sea Influence – The Cannorian colonial ventures are weak and vulnerable. We can strike quickly and start building up a tributary network that will direct all their wealth unto us. Maritime – These are new seas, and we must make sure our sailors are trained to explore, expand, exploit and exterminate across them. Military Mercenary – We barely have enough warriors to man our ships. We must rely on hired mercenaries to take the fight to the shore and inland. (New to 1.35!) Naval – Our ships must be strong, our fleets must be unbeatable. Otherwise, we are doomed. Quality – Sea or land, Gnolls are unmatched warriors. All Aelantir will see our strength. Vote below by clicking on the image. Vote for two options.  Voting for this and the three previous votes will close in 72 hours. The next chapter will be next weekend.
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Jun 18, 2023 13:54
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Not specific to this thread's run, but I'm curious at trying the public fork/beta since I have no idea when they'll make a 1.35 compatible version. How the heck do I get it running? Doesn't seem like Steam likes to recognize any mods installed that aren't workshop related. Wanting to explore some of the other factions I've never really tried.
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Jun 18, 2023 15:39
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Votes Religious and Naval, from my previous Mykx run I strongly recommend those as you will have some serious unrest to deal with during the game and thus tolerance of true faith works wonders for it and buffing up your Navy WILL be a priority for when you start beefing with Lorent's gigantic armada.
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Jun 18, 2023 17:36
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Sybot posted:The night after Mykx set sail again, I was beset by the strongest visitation that I'd ever felt. It was not Kentryn, but Xhazob himself, and he spoke of futures not yet born. An icy empress ruling over a vast reborn empire, a land beset by devouring plants, dark bloody creatures seizing control of an empire, a whole continent rended as spirits poured out of broken temples. And finally, the world's oceans ruled by a bloody queen sat in a monumental citadel at the centre of a circular sea. As I awoke and looked out over the rising sun from my room in the highest tower of my citadel, I wondered what to make of the visions. Gosh, those sound familiar. I wonder if, in worlds other than this, some of those futures came to pass. In order, these are Venail (which becomes Aelnar, an elven ethnostate), Newshire (which turns Escann into a breeding ground for the Plants vs Zombies flora), Asheniande (which takes over the Empire of Anbennar with vampiric diplomacy) and Azjakuma (which through shenanigans causes the continent of Haless to suffer a disaster not yet implemented in the mod called The Rending) My votes are going to go to Espionage and Naval. Naval because Plutonis' reasoning makes sense (we're an island nation, for Xhazob's sake) and Economic because those bonuses from Colonist and Pioneer Rush only amount to 6 crowns a month, and we are going to need an economy at some point.
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Jun 18, 2023 17:52
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Lateinshowing posted:Not specific to this thread's run, but I'm curious at trying the public fork/beta since I have no idea when they'll make a 1.35 compatible version. How the heck do I get it running? Doesn't seem like Steam likes to recognize any mods installed that aren't workshop related. Haven't tried Anbennar's beta branch, but the mod folder to put non-steam mods in should be in "Documents\Paradox Interactive\Europa Universalis IV\mod" If you have trouble with Paradox's own launcher, could use a third-party mod manager, like Irony.
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Jun 18, 2023 18:03
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went Naval and Religious not for any mechanics-related reasons but because demon-worshipping gnoll caravel-fortresses is an idea that tickles my brain in all the best ways
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Jun 18, 2023 20:30
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also i don't recommend expansion because the colonist tags actually fills up the continent really early and we already have 2 colonists from exploration and the buff (although the center of trade expansion idea might be slightly useful for an endgame mission)
Plutonis fucked around with this message at 20:41 on Jun 18, 2023 |
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Jun 18, 2023 20:37
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seriously I just can't escape the mental image of the gnolls inventing Ironclads and the dawning horror of the elves when they realize that the smoke coming out of those funnels ain't from burning coal
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Jun 18, 2023 21:17
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Unless something I'm not familiar with about the mod makes naval ideas more appealing or we really need to bump up our naval forcelimit in this situation, I'd suggest quality ideas instead as they make both land and sea troops stronger. There's no getting around having a decent army even if your navy is the best, and if we end up with a ton of naval related bonuses from being a pirate republic already, getting an entire idea group which also focuses on having a better navy might be redundant.
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Jun 18, 2023 22:07
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Lateinshowing posted:Not specific to this thread's run, but I'm curious at trying the public fork/beta since I have no idea when they'll make a 1.35 compatible version. How the heck do I get it running? Doesn't seem like Steam likes to recognize any mods installed that aren't workshop related. An installation guide can be found here. I haven't tried out a mod manager before, just checking the code out into the Documents/.../mod folder worked for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi6Tiw2xTXU
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Jun 18, 2023 23:10
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RabidWeasel posted:Unless something I'm not familiar with about the mod makes naval ideas more appealing or we really need to bump up our naval forcelimit in this situation, I'd suggest quality ideas instead as they make both land and sea troops stronger. There's no getting around having a decent army even if your navy is the best, and if we end up with a ton of naval related bonuses from being a pirate republic already, getting an entire idea group which also focuses on having a better navy might be redundant. Yeah I voted Quality for that reason, along with Expansion for faster settling
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Jun 18, 2023 23:27
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RabidWeasel posted:Unless something I'm not familiar with about the mod makes naval ideas more appealing or we really need to bump up our naval forcelimit in this situation, I'd suggest quality ideas instead as they make both land and sea troops stronger. There's no getting around having a decent army even if your navy is the best, and if we end up with a ton of naval related bonuses from being a pirate republic already, getting an entire idea group which also focuses on having a better navy might be redundant. Honestly true. We do have a shitload of naval bonii already but don't get much for land other than Invocation of Chains...
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Jun 19, 2023 02:16
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Voted expansion/influence, definitely encourage expansion for BIG EMPIRE but agnostic on the rest.
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Jun 19, 2023 03:24
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RabidWeasel posted:Unless something I'm not familiar with about the mod makes naval ideas more appealing or we really need to bump up our naval forcelimit in this situation, I'd suggest quality ideas instead as they make both land and sea troops stronger. There's no getting around having a decent army even if your navy is the best, and if we end up with a ton of naval related bonuses from being a pirate republic already, getting an entire idea group which also focuses on having a better navy might be redundant. There are some good naval bonuses from pirate republic government reforms, but they'll take a while to reach and don't nearly add up to what a full commitment to Naval ideas would offer for actually winning naval battles. I think it's better to view those reforms as an eventual offset to the gnoll racial military penalty for water; -10% ship durability and +10% fire damage received by default aren't trivial penalties, and while we can get a good chunk of naval morale, some heavy ship combat ability, and admiral fire pips/more naval tradition out of pirate republic, everything else related to navies for the government actually mostly concerns forcelimit, ship cost/maintenance, and ship capture chance. All three of which are baked in pretty much at the start. The problem and point here is that any big opponent like Lorent -- or heaven forbid, a strong Gnomish Hierarchy -- which may end up taking Naval ideas could easily outfight Mykx on the water, even as Mykx eventually comes to field a navy several times the size of anyone else's and replaces losses pretty much for free. It's kind of parallel to the classic situation of Britain in vanilla EU4 where it can outfight any other nation on the water unless that nation takes Naval ideas and Britain doesn't, in which case the dynamic reverses and Britain has to go and clown on them by land instead. (Never really an issue in SP, but a very different story in MP and a potential issue here for a few different reasons.) So taking Quality to fight somewhat better on both land and sea isn't as straightforward as it may seem. You're right that having a decent army will always be relevant, and Quality Gnolls at this stage of the game will crush everything on land. Also Naval can always just be taken later if one of the other big colonial powers takes the group, if we're being meta about how the choices presented here will always be available for the player to go back for and take at some point. But there does exist a risk that neglecting Naval ideas will eventually drop the group as an option entirely in the narrative and screw the nation over later.
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Jun 19, 2023 17:37
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on a different note, I'd really endorse Influence ideas. Pirate republics are actually rather not good at conquering and holding a ton of land as they have a very large governing cost penalty, so orienting more towards vassals becomes a lot more appealing. But, also, the concept of getting a bunch of tributaries (normally only available to Eastern religions/tech groups in vanilla) as a new world pirate is pretty unique and interesting. Enslave kings and nations under the heel of a glittering core. Expansion ideas are a trap, but taking a trap option could still have interesting consequences.
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Jun 19, 2023 17:52
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Hiveminded posted:There are some good naval bonuses from pirate republic government reforms, but they'll take a while to reach and don't nearly add up to what a full commitment to Naval ideas would offer for actually winning naval battles. I think it's better to view those reforms as an eventual offset to the gnoll racial military penalty for water; -10% ship durability and +10% fire damage received by default aren't trivial penalties, and while we can get a good chunk of naval morale, some heavy ship combat ability, and admiral fire pips/more naval tradition out of pirate republic, everything else related to navies for the government actually mostly concerns forcelimit, ship cost/maintenance, and ship capture chance. All three of which are baked in pretty much at the start. I'd forgotten about the racial penalties, that is significant enough that a stronger naval focus isn't unwarranted. I guess some races probably also get naval bonuses so even more reason to take naval ideas.
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Jun 19, 2023 18:26
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Fire damage isn’t a big problem *yet*, and Quality neatly patches the durability malus while also offering naval morale and a reduction to naval attrition. In addition to it being a really great idea group for land troops. There will be plenty of time to get Naval later. It’s worth noting (IIRC and as long as they didn’t change it) Exploration already gives a boost to our naval force limits. Numbers are more likely to be a concern (boat-wise) in the near-term, as we’re still small. Lastly, you *can* abandon an idea group, which might be a good idea for us down the line.
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Jun 19, 2023 21:47
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Vote Results Legal Code  This was a closely-run thing, but in the end Harsh Captaincy won out. However, I will make one concession to Communal Responsiblity in the upcoming decisions as it came a very close second. Slavery and Contracts  Both these votes were a clear win for using slaves and prisoners for labour in the colonies. Idea Groups  Naval and Expansion have won the vote, which means that combined with the above vote we will be focusing on colonising and building up the fleet as much as possible during these early years. To respond to all the debate about trap choices, I am open to having a later vote on swapping out Exploration and/or Expansion for a different idea group. There are definitely some aspects of those idea groups that are already useless by the fact we are in a colonial region, and once the land is filled out they will be almost completely superfluous.
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Jun 21, 2023 11:20
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Chapter Five: Smother the Competition 1502-1511 The carrack Salt-Tower, approaching Ilzin Mykx, 1506 Bird calls filled the air, alongside the creak of wood and billowing of sails. Flock of gulls circled the flagship as it executed a turn around the spit of sand that marked the entrance to the harbour. Occasionally one bird was bold enough to dive in and try to find purchase on the outer hull, where it could peck and tear at the mass of salt-battered fur and flesh that had been strapped to the bow. The former mutineer was long-dead and would be taken down once the ship unloaded, but would remain until then as a demonstration to anyone present at port. Atop the bow, Mykx eyed the gulls hungrily. Would it be cannibalism by proxy if she managed to catch one? Probably. But she was eager for fresh meat, after weeks at sea with only salted jerky and stale bread. In the busy sea lanes of the Divenhal she could have lived off of the flesh of her kills, but shipping was still sparse in the Ruined Sea. Their only success this time was raiding an explorer's camp on the coast of the mainland, with the inhabitants having fled inland and abandoned their treasures as the black flag of Mykx approached. She looked away from the birds and at the glittering prize held between her claws. Of course, there was plenty of other plunder after stripping the camp bare, but this she had reserved for herself. A simple circular lens, with a frame of gold and silver interwoven like threads. When she looked through it, the image shifted back and forth in ways she couldn't quite grasp. She had seen magical spyglasses before, carried by Cannorian navigators, but something about this one was different. "Forzzra is sated with our bounty, and has delivered us safely," Therkez said. The Kult priest sat on the anchor, propped up against the side of the deck. He was decked out in the captured finery of the noblemen explorers who had fled in the face of demonic piracy. "Her belly must be tiny," Mykx said. She turned the lens on Therkez, and his image glowed green, with strange characters circling him. Even she couldn't read them, and so she gave up and pocketed it. "Once things really begin, I'm going to stuff her until she bursts." "Demonic greed will grow as the seas under our power do so," Therkez said. "So, what I said got to you," Mykx said. "It is as you say, our brilliant admiral," Therkez said. He held out his arms and bowed his head in a display of supplication. "The oceans are greedy, envious, wrathful. Our patrons dwell in them as they do in all things, if not more." "It was my mother's idea," Mykx said, turning back to look at their destination. "I'm going to take it one step further." Ahead of them, the Grand Harbour of Ilzin Mykx glittered in the sunlight. Built onto a point where sandy beach began to transition into rocky headland, the harbour had grown from nothing to a bustling port unlike any that Mykx had visited in the past. The whole port was made out of wood, the inland jungles having been completely clear-cut. Dozens of docks jutted over the beach and far out into the water, where two of the other carracks were stationed along with several barques, while ramshackle ramps off the headland led to where the fleet of cogs were moored, packed tightly together. Gantry cranes were constantly disassembled and reassembled by slave crews, loading and unloading the docked vessels. It was a testament to Gnollish determination that even when starting from nothing but the ships under their feet and the slaves in their holds, they had built something that worked. Sure, whenever Xhazob sent a storm their way many of the structures collapsed but they were built back stronger. Work was constant, and focused solely on devoting the island to piracy. Just back from the bustling docks, several large wooden structures reached for the sky. When Admiral Yeena had been killed and the fleet set sail for the west, the four surviving captains had agreed that the next admiral would be elected from among them rather than by bloodline or by contest. Now they each presented their case for their election with the vast towers of plunder they had assembled for themselves. Gold trophies hung from wooden beams, gems glittered in piles just outside of the reach of thieving hands, and slave cells were put on open display to show off their greatest hauls. The cells were empty by this point. Between sacrifices and overwork, most of the slaves that they had brought with them were dead, and there were very few sources in the empty unpopulated islands of the Ruined Sea. Rumour had it that would change soon enough, however, and Mykx intended to be ready. The ship rocked as it cut through an especially large wave and a jolt of excitement shot through her. "The Humans plough the land, the Dwarves dig into the earth, they say the Elves had cities that flew in the sky," she said, continuing her thoughts, "but none rule the ocean, until now. The seas belong to Xhazob, to his chosen, us, and most of all they belong to me. I will map every corner of this world, and make the landlubbers pay their tax of blood and treasure for daring to sail upon it." Excerpts from the journal of Mykx, Chief Admiral of the Republic of Mykx  We have arrived, after months at sea, battered and beaten by all the tests that Xhazob can throw at us. These islands are empty, but rich in wood and metal, perfect to found a haven. After landfall in a natural harbour on 'Ilzin Mykx', I immediately set out Captain Ygzaath with our three most sturdy ships to begin charting out the region. Much as I write in this journal by my own hand, I will see to it that the winds and waves of this sea are known to us, and not second-hand from a collection of pompous Elves.  While the slaves are at work, I have coordinated with the other captains to make my election as Chief Admiral official. Our nation is lost in the ocean, and like a captain is absolute tyrant of their vessel, I am the tyrant of the nation. Power lies in my hands and the hands of my successors, but we are all at the mercy of Xhazob and the other demons who lurk in the ocean deeps. We vowed together to never consort with landlubbers and carve our names into their nightmares.  The other captains are not the only ones I should be wary of. The mass of sailors underneath us could tear us apart if they worked together, and the smugglers who are more interested in trading illicit goods than honest plundering could, one day, wield vast wealth. Squashing them would be satisfying, but I could also use them to keep the captains from getting too many ideas. Pirate republics use faction mechanics. We will see one more faction added to this balance soon. The original plan for Mykx was to add Colonialists and Drug Barons as separate factions too, but it seems like that was dropped at some point.  There is a long path ahead of us, to turn this collection of ships and wooden shacks into a true nation The first step, as with any plan is to draw up a map and decide where to set your heading.  The early days were spent drawing up the official code of laws for my captains to follow. The articles of punishment were appropriately brutal, to ensure the tightest discipline among the crews. Lashings for minor disobedience or mistakes, keelhauling or bowstrapping for mutiny, cowardice, or thievery from the captain's stash. Gnolls understand violence best of all, and the whole crew will see the results of their failure carved into their flesh. As per Harsh Captaincy, we take the most brutal option. The entire right-hand line of the mission tree has us spend Republican Tradition and Government Reform to build up a picture of our legal code.  On the other hand, those who showed their courage and viciousness would be rewarded. Losing a limb or eye in battle will mean a greater share of the treasure, and whether they want to spend that on a peg-leg and eyepatch or retire to a role on shore is their decision. A carrot-and-stick approach, I think Scribe called it. My lash at their back, and gold awaiting them ahead. In the one concession to Communal Responsibility, the crew will come together to pay compensation to those injured in the line of duty.  Some of our plunder has been very interesting. Strong green-skinned slaves have been captured along with their Human and Elven masters. They claim to have once been mighty warriors, but seeing them defeated and enslaved by such weaklings makes me doubt that. Still, they make good labourers and it is fun to watch them take out their frustrations on their former owners in the slave cells. Lore-wise, the majority of orc slaves come from Escann as the remnants of the Greentide are cleaned out by the emerging adventurer nations. There might be something to say about this based on what I've seen emerging from the TI in Cannor, but we'll come back to that when we get to a State of the World update.  Ilzin Mykx has proven to be to a perfect haven for our ships, as we have repaired most of the damage of the long ocean crossing and stand ready to send our fleets out to ravage the seas around us. We need more. More ships, more docks. This island sits at the centre of the sea, and I want it to sit at the centre of the world.  The other captains all look up to me after I took charge in the battle against Viakkoc. As they should. I have great plans and my only fear is that Xhazob takes my soul before I have done half of what I want to do. As we wait in harbour for opportunity to present itself, I have been teaching them how to read maps and navigate these strange waters. I am half tempted to set up some kind of school for it as well, so it isn't just reliant on word-of-mouth. We start with the first three ideas of Exploration already unlocked, and hence our first national idea.  More Gnolls arrived recently, their boats falling apart underneath them without someone like me at the head of their escape. Viakkoc XIII won the civil war, with most of his enemies escaping into exile in the hills above Busilar. He has vowed to pursue them, even if it means slaughtering even more of his fellow Gnolls. I know that if I had stayed we would have won, or at least been able to forge a new nation based out of Toref, but that would have trapped us between the angry Humans and an angry monster of a king. Starting here, with fresh blood to spill, was the right decision, and those we left behind were the sacrifice that saw to our success.  A blood-red comet lit up the night's sky, sending many of the more superstitious types cowering in fear. I stood atop my ship and stared it down until it passed the horizon. If Xhazob's whims are that I be struck down, I will face him, not cower below decks. The day after it passed, we received word that Captain Ygzaath had died mysteriously after returning from shore in the mostly uninhabited lands to the south. Her sister Zheh has taken command of the exploration efforts, but it makes me wonder just what had happened on shore.  Many Gnolls are eager to start settling the other islands around us, and I agree to it despite it costing us sailors for the fleet and slaves for the construction works on Ilzin Mykx. Plunder is still very thin on the ground in these waters, so securing the islands and some of the strange crops that the Handchewer sisters have discovered, as well as the relic-laden ruins that hide within the jungles, will give us another source of income to fall back on.  Our explorers have seen increasing traffic around the Ruined Isles. Humans and, to my surprise, Dwarves, have settled islands nearby. For the first time since we arrived, the Scourge Fleet will be prepared for war. These islands are ours, their treasure are ours, and those settlers are ours as well.  Gnolls are a violent lot, with constant bickering for pride and position. At sea the crew needs to be united in purpose, or we will be swallowed up by the waves. So, I have written in the legal code that Gnolls may settle their quarrels on the shore and never at sea, punished by the lash or death, depending on whether it was just a brawl or a murder. This will lead to more dead, but it will also winnow out the weak, so I have no issue leaving a few crew members rotting on the beaches. I took 'duels only on land' as the Harsh option, with the idea being the Captain is saying 'take it off my ship'.  The grand harbour has been completed. Or, the basis for it has been, anyway. The natural harbour has been turned into a base that rivals the Human and Copper Dwarf dockyards back across the ocean, no matter how rickety it looks. Already stones and bricks are being laid to replace rotting wood, and I can foresee the entire island being given over to support the Scourge Fleet as it grows ever larger.  'Trading Company' they say, but they have arrived in greater force than we have. They are settling the islands of The Bend, to our west and all the soldiers in the world haven't stopped my reavers from seizing their shipping as they cross the seas that I rule. We can starve them out, and strike when they are weaker.  The dwarves are stout, but fewer in number. I have decided that this is where we will strike first. As they lie to the east, it will be easier for them to receive reinforcements and the longer we wait the deeper they will dig into the earth. Even when raiding them, we found ourselves unable to plunder more than the outer docks as anything deeper was heavily fortified.  Walking through the haphazard walkways of Ilzin Mykx, I could hear the crews in good spirits, drinking and singing shanties. I am not so high-and-mighty that I would decline to join in, and we celebrated our impending victory long into the night with wine and blood flowing freely over the wooden structures and into the bay. An enjoyable sacrifice to earn dark fortune.  Of course, I still had to work through my hangover, sorting out contract requests from across our growing lands. After getting a headache working through the legalese regarding prisoner labour rights, I gave up and rubber-stamped indefinite transfer of ownership from the prisons to the colonies. We can always use more slaves. The colonialists get their labour force as per the vote. I want to say that while most of these choices don't have a 'right' answer, in this case this is absolutely the correct choice. The other two modifiers are so weak as to be meaningless.  Our first election took place as the Scourge Fleet readied to sail against Asraport, it being the first time in a while that all the captains were present. The mass of Gnolls filled the docks, the tottering wooden buildings above them, and the beach. I stood at the stern of the Salt-Tower and called out for a vote by voice. The assembled crowd roared my name. The other candidates, the captains of the other carracks, called out the same and were only met with a quiet chorus of cheers. But there were cheers. Their influence is growing. I can't ravage the coasts and keep a personal eye on them at the same time, so I need to make sure my loyalists are positioned everywhere before the captains get any ideas.  We drove the dwarves into their ports without any trouble. These were not the famed Copper Dwarves of Ovdal Tűngr, but Silver Dwarves from the Empire who hadn't set foot on a boat until a few years ago. One of their ships was seized and the crew flayed and sacrificed to the sea one at a time until they revealed the secrets of the Dwarven defences. Their reward for cooperation was mere slavery, instead of death.  Having been led to a secret landing spot, we unloaded in peace and seized the colony under construction, before attacking Traveller's Rest from the land. Caught by surprise, the Dwarves broke in short order and most of their number were captured alive before they could flee into their fortifications.  During the battle some of our more vicious warriors made a name for themselves by flaying the enemy in the midst of the battle and wearing their parts and entrails as decoration as they charged into the next row of enemies. It's a bit too much for me, but I can appreciate the effort and enjoyed the look on the defender's faces as waves of our warriors charged them while clad in the skin of their freshly-slain comrades.  With the conquest of these islands, we have control of the Calamity Pass, one of the main shipping lanes around the island of Endralliande, and an excellent position to dominant the eastern half of the Ruined Sea. And, most importantly, one of our potential rivals for this sea has been devoured in the litter.  Asraport burned, and every last dwarf on the island was taken as a slave. While the flayers were eager to offer them up as sacrifices to Xhazob, I felt that more hands were needed across our territory. The constructions the dwarves had assembled even in their short time in the Ruined Sea were impressive, and I wanted them to apply that knowledge to Ilzin Mykx. As per the vote, the dwarves go to the mines. All options give us that modifier to construction, so there isn't really a bad choice here.  Finally, the Cannorians have arrived in force. Multiple settlements have appeared in the region they call Trollsbay, and shipping is increasing across my seas. Once we have finished securing the islands and preventing any more claims from the lawful landlubbers, they will learn the price of living on this side of the ocean.  One of our vessels carrying slaves and plunder from Asraport was raided by one of the other captains. The Xhazob-damned traitor took slaves and gold that were rightfully mine, and departed to establish their own petty pirate kingdom somewhere on the island to the south of Asraport. If I had a moment I would hunt them down personally, but I have a war to mount against the Cannorian thieves who have settled in the western islands. I have sacrificed a dozen slaves and asked Kzryl to deliver wrath unto them, until I can do so myself.  Each captain can take as much of the plunder as they would like, and deal with any crew members who might complain, as they would like. In the same way, as Chief Admiral I have the ultimate right to anything seized by a ship flying my flag. I need to come up with a way to ensure that I am not stolen from by my own people any more. As per Harsh Captaincy, the captain gets whatever they want.  The Humans were numerous, but not able to stand up against the savagery of our warriors. Pouring forth from our ships, we overran the defences in the largest settlement and forced them to hide on one of their underdeveloped islands. There, without any farms or livestock, they eventually weakened enough that we could take them on directly and capture them all.  Anything and everything was torn from them and sent out to our growing settlements, including the people themselves. The more hands that are doing the dull work of tilling the soil, the more Gnolls I can bring into the fleet. With the land freed from its exploiters, Gnollish colonists have moved onto the islands and begun preparing facilities for the Scourge Fleet to project across the western Ruined Sea. As per the vote, the humans go to the fields. Unlike the dwarves we don't get a special bonus.  As we returned from The Bend, we seized a ship of Humans that were attempting to pass right under the nose of my fleets. They fought to the death rather than be enslaved, a futile gesture but more courageous than the average cowardly Human. Those we did many to capture eventually broke under our lashes and revealed that an adventurer from Bulwar was planning to settle near Trollsbay. With this information, we were able to get the jump on his fleet and use their resources to establish a base on the largest island in the chain, while he was forced to land on the smaller islands to the south. Soon, his impudence will be his death. Weird little bug here. I had started a colony on the large island, but it instantly finished. I think there must be a weird interaction with the event that spawns Saamirses.  His arrival is just one of many, and we cannot hope to eradicate all of our competitors. The Trollsbay settlers are divided but incredibly numerous, a collection of adventurers from Lencenor have overrun the Elven colonial efforts, and national colonial projects are starting to be established. Our early steps have earned us a head start, but the others are racing to catch up. I look forward to the challenge. To be continued…
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Jun 25, 2023 11:50
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Very fun start for this new nation! I began to play Anbennar because of this thread, but haven't messed around in Aelantir much because of most of the Cannorian MTs being a bit old, apparently, so I'm looking forward to more of this. And by the by, your prose for the little intro segments has been great. Makes me want to read a full Anbennar novel.
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Jun 26, 2023 13:52
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So... are we becomign a colonial power, or are we just going to raid the colonies for sacrifices? And maybe slaves and stuff.
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Jun 26, 2023 17:48
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Have you considered we could be doing both?
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Jun 27, 2023 00:12
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- Make colonies with slaves to grow cash crops - Raid other colonies to get slaves to grow crops and reduce trade competition - Profit!
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Jun 27, 2023 02:10
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CommissarMega posted:So... are we becomign a colonial power, or are we just going to raid the colonies for sacrifices? SIGSEGV posted:Have you considered we could be doing both? The question has been answered. Since the thread voted for Expansion we will be doing more than we would have otherwise, but colonising was always on the cards while getting funded by the treasure fleets of the colonial nations. RubricMarine posted:Very fun start for this new nation! I began to play Anbennar because of this thread, but haven't messed around in Aelantir much because of most of the Cannorian MTs being a bit old, apparently, so I'm looking forward to more of this. Thank you! I wanted to try something a bit different for this one and I'm glad readers are enjoying it.
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Jun 28, 2023 21:16
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I was worried when it seemed clear that the pirate gnolls were going to win that things wouldn't really be all that evil, I mean haha, pirates are practically a meme, there's a whole day to say "Arr mateys" and poo poo! But no, you're doing really unsettlingly well at showing how loving awful these gnolls are, like drat. GunnerJ fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Jun 28, 2023 |
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Jun 28, 2023 21:23
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Chapter Six: New World Kult 1511-1522 Graxxar Temple inner chambers, 1513 Solid, flawless white stone sealed the entrance to the chamber, which had sat untouched for over a thousand years. No plant dared grow against it, no animal dared approach. Silence had reigned inside the chamber for so long, that when the first thud resounded through it, the air itself trembled. One, and then another, and another thud came from the door until a steady rhythm of impacts shook the structure. Then, suddenly, change. The surface of the door cracked, split and the metal of a pickaxe head breached the surface. From behind it came shouts, followed by hoots and whoops. The thudding redoubled, and soon the door was crumbling from dozens of pickaxes breaching it. As the last of the stone hit the floor, cautious footsteps entered the room. Angry orders barked from beyond the threshold, and the group began to speed up. A team of Dwarves spread out across the room, acting as living trap-detectors as they tested the floor and walls of the chamber. There hadn't been any such traps in this complex, but they had been encountered occasionally in other, smaller ruins. The Dwarves weren't collared, for there wasn't really anywhere to run. The island would soon be swarming with Gnolls. The chamber itself was a massive ring, with stepped terraces around the edge all facing a large circular open space in the centre. Despite the roof of the chamber being opened to the sky, there was no sign of the white stone floor or gold etchings that covered the pillars around it being weather-worn at all. Once the chamber was secure, the Gnollish slavedrivers entered and began corralling up their charges. There were more doors to breach, and more rooms to search. This chamber was to be left for the leadership. "It's so pure!" Dhy cackled as she bounded inside, her long priestly robes trailing behind her, and stood at the edge of the central circle. "Hydyn will be pleased. Let's start defiling it now." Therkez was more interesting in the gold that had been sunken into the walls and pillars. He ran claws across the stone, sending a screech through the room that stiffened everyone's fur, and pulled away without a flake of gold having been torn off. "We should work out how to strip out the treasure first," he said. The room by itself was more likely valuable than several treasure ships, and probably hundreds of times more than the stolen jewellery that adorned him. "Not yet," Mykx said. She strode past the both of them and stood in the centre of the chamber, peering up through the open ceiling at the cloudy sky. A few drops of rain fell, but splattered against a clear, intangible dome that hung above the roof a hundred feet up. Mykx took a knife from her belt and flung it at the ceiling. It passed straight through at the peak of its flight, then came back down and clattered against the top of the dome. "Ah," Dhy said with a gasp, "the Elven gods think to guard this place." "I know what you're thinking," Mykx said, pointing a second knife at Dhy, "but I'm not going to let you tear our whatever magic they left behind. I have a better idea, isn't that right?" She was addressing the third priest that had joined her in the expedition. Rri hobbled forward on his staff, passed by Dhy who was giving him a sharp stare and clenching her claws, and approached Mykx. He was a young Gnoll, his body twisted by some infernal blessing that had only made him more vicious and cunning. His staff, just as gnarled as he was, was topped by a jagged blade that had torn out the heart of many a cocky challenger. "Hmm," he said. He tapped his staff twice against the polished stone under his feet, and a burst of green fire engulfed him for a moment. He patted down wherever his fur had caught alight and watched the embers of the fire ascend up and past the barrier, where they were snuffed out by the rain. "What better way to desecrate this place than to make it the greatest temple to Xhazob in the world," he said. He pointed his staff at Dhy, who growled and backed off onto the terraces. "We will bring our hoards here, rather than take this gold for our hoards," he said, pointing at Therkez. The gold-covered priest snorted and returned to evaluating the room's ornaments. "And you," he said, turning to Mykx, "are going to win us the slaves that we will burn here." "Those are my slaves first," Mykx said. She squared up against Rri, tall and straight compared to his short and crooked. "Xhazob will get his share only after I have taken for the fleet and the fields." "He will not be waiting forever. The settlers are already building further inland. Your petty coastal raids are missing out on ever more blood with each yar." Rri said. He smacked his staff against the floor once, but before he could do it again Mykx grabbed it, digging her claws into the wood. "Do not speak for the demons, or question my plans" she growled, "know your place. The Scourge Fleet is supreme on my seas. The Kult is only a conduit for demonic power." "Is the power going to your head, Admiral?" Rri asked. His arm flexed, moving with more power than it ought to, and the staff tipped forward until the edge of the blade rested against her collar. "Didn't you say the demons of the ocean ought to be respected? Our advice is all that is keeping you from a watery grave." She bared her teeth in a grin, and the pair of them stood there for a moment, their bodies and wills equally matched. The other two priests watched on, ready for a sudden upending in the hierarchy of the republic. Mykx twisted her head, the blade scraping away fur and skin on her neck and undersnout until she was able to catch it in her teeth and yank it from its bindings. She spat blood and blade onto the floor and kicked Rri away from her. He stumbled back, but caught himself on his staff without much trouble. "I'll take it into consideration, priest," she said. She raised her paws to the room around them. "Now, how big a pyre do you think will fit in there?" Excerpts from the journal of Mykx, Chief Admiral of the Republic of Mykx  Very rarely do you find non-Gnolls who are willing to stand up to us from their cages. They almost always fall to their master's whip, even if they have a good point. Occasionally though, they show enough will that they earn some of our respect, and a higher position amongst the slaves. Szura was a merchant's wife taken when we raided Saamir's fleets before they could land, but despite her soft upbringing she has flourished under Xhazob's eye and clawed her way up to a position of treasurer amongst one of our smuggler crews. I have authorised the captain to use her as a proxy to trade some of the cash crops our slaves are producing with the Cannorians. I will not complain about a little more money.  Not least because expanding so many colonies at once is expensive work. Gnolls are not used to building, and whenever they make a mistake that throwing more slaves at can't fix, my treasury has to bail them out.  War remains the easiest task. The warriors live and die at my command, and would follow me to the depths of the ocean if I willed it. My rival captains can only flee, and dare not challenge me directly.  A different rising challenge is the Xhazobkult. As my population grows and more immigrants arrive fleeing the persecution of Viakkoc the infrastructure of the Kult grows with them. I have sent Therkez to represent my interests among the Kult, and he has informed me of several promising priests capable of wielding demonic power, who are now in the middle of sorting out a hierarchy amongst themselves. I ought to take more of an interest, lest they unite and form a bloc of their own.  With connections to the Cannorian smugglers, we have managed to begin securing a proper supply of Orcish slaves. For the most part they are sent to our plantations and mines, but I cannot help but divert a few for sacrificial purposes. They have so much meat on them, so much to offer up. This is a regular event now that we have signed up to the Orc slave trade. Over time, our provinces will fill up with Orcs. We are more than capable of handling a few extra slaves, but the other partaking colonies might see some consequences from this.  Zheh has mapped out the channels leading to the west, and confirmed that there is nothing but ocean beyond. Securing the will be another high priority. If we can hold the entirety of the passageway from east to west, no trade will be able to pass us by without the extraction of a bloody toll.  Our colonists on Graxxar have found an impressive ancient structure untouched by nature, paw, or demon. They have returned with offerings of trinkets, and I immediately sold them on to smugglers hungry to feed the Cannorian thirst for such things. Word of this structure is spreading quickly, and the Kult is insisting that I fund a deeper exploration. My own curiosity is driving me to agree. Everything else we, not to mention the desperate Human and Elven explorers, have encountered has been a ruin, but this is something completely different. Perhaps it was left untouched as a gift for us, by whichever of our patrons struck down the Precusors.  The character of my islands is shifting as settlers pour in. Plantations are spreading across the islands, producing cash crops much desired by the Cannorians. It is amusing to see them traded by our Human proxies, then immediately plundered and put them up for sale again, but I foresee friction between the Scourge Fleet and the Colonialists over it. Whole towns are springing up filled with Gnolls who've never tasted the blood of an enemy on the battlefield. My pressgangs are working hard to bring them into an honest life. Leave the dull landlubber work for the slaves, our true calling is on the sea.  As the volume of traffic increases along the northern rim of the Ruined Sea, I have scoured the charts to locate safe havens for our privateers in between each raid. Each new raid sees more damage to our vessels and more injured and dead sailors as the enemy try to match our might. If the Humans have had the misfortune of settling those islands before us, then I'm sure they continue to work on them, just with a collar around their necks.  Such a fate has already befallen Saamir's foolish anti-slavery expedition. I gave specific orders that he be captured alive, and while he bit off his own tongue in an effort to die free, a little dose of hellfire from that wretched priest, Rri, cauterized the wound and ensured he would forever regret that act of defiance. The rest of his people, those who survived the sack of his meagre settlement, were put to work in the fields.  Our team of Dwarves was able to breach the inner sanctum of the structure, a vast chamber opened to the air and yet shielded from the rain by some magic. After a pleasant conversation with the most prominent members of the Kult, I decided that we had not offered Xhazob and his kin appropriate recompense for all the fertile hunting grounds they have provided for us. The structure will become the centrepiece of the Kult in Aelantir, a fearsome pyre forever burning at the very centre of the crater carved out by demonic wrath.  The Kult continues to expand outside of the temple as well, integrating the cults that have sprung up among the crews and the masters. My fellow captains have the same concerns that I do, and we are walking a careful balance to continue to assert our authority without raising the wrath of the common sailor drunk on blood and faith.  Strict and harsh discipline is the key. They need to fear their captains as they do the ocean or the demons. We will mould them into the perfect sailors, cooperative and professional while at sea, bloodthirsty and vicious when they set foot on the land. Our ships will be the safe haven from the excesses of the Kult. At this point we are almost guaranteed 100% Naval Tradition at all times. Once Naval ideas start adding pips, our admirals are going to be monsters.  The newest arrivals tell of the growing power of Gnollakaz. Neither the Elves occupying the feline heartland, nor the band of religious zealots and perverts pushing westwards have been able to defeat them, and Gnollish hordes have spread as far south as the southern coast. Excellent work on their part, perhaps in future they can be the army to our fleet.  With work completed on Graxxar, the Kult has become an entrenched part of my nation. At the very least, their leadership are all in one place if I need to oppose them. It would be a shame to raze the temple though, as it is a marvel of Gnollish might. We have torn down the doors that relied on magic to be opened, desecrated Elven murals and inscriptions and filled the corridors with conquered treasures and the vile scriptures of our patrons. The Xhazobkult is the fourth faction that we will have to balance. More on them later.  The fleet is also growing in strength, as we have finished rebuilding the dockyards on the islands that we conquered. Staffed with the slaves who once freely worked them, the reach of our ships grows ever further.  Deep inland to the north, the Elves have discovered a long-lost chamber that supposedly leads to other worlds. It is too far for any hope of conquest, but it does make me wonder. Can we sail between worlds as we sail on the ocean? Does Xhazob lurk in the shadows between the stars? I will not live to see it, but perhaps one day my descendants will shed blood beyond the borders of the world.  Finally, the code of laws is completed, for the time being. With so many new regulations, it was necessary to assign political officers on each vessel to ensure compliance from the captains. Keeping them well-paid enough to avoid bribery costs a tenth of the naval budget by itself, but having eyes on each vessel to keep an eye on both my rival captains and the growing power of the Kult is invaluable.  More colonists continue to arrive, drawn in by the promise of land, abundant slaves, and easy plunder. They bring with them wealth that they secreted away from the tyrants of the east, and an enthusiasm that keeps them going without too much required oversight. The islands will soon be firmly under Gnollish ownership.  One of the other captains is flouting my laws, plundering vessels under our protection rackets, hitting smugglers allied with us, and even stealing treasure from other members of the fleet. I will allow it in this case, as he is very effective and serves as an excellent reminder of just how vicious we can get if they try to directly oppose us.  It certainly hasn't interrupted our profits. As the Trollsbay settlers get comfortable, the volume of trade increases and our take along with it. Of course, that means the volume of pirate hunters also increases but the Scourge Fleet remains unmatched and more than capable of blasting them to splinters.  To ensure we stay unmatched into perpetuity, we need more docks, more shipyards, more harbours. The price of that endeavour will be great, but here are plenty of slaves and gold to be found to fund the effort.  The finishing touches to Graxxar Temple have been completed. A pyre, ever burning, shielded from the rain and elements by the Precursor's own magic while completing the final desecration of the structure. The Kult is eager to begin the ignition ceremony, after which a steady stream of fuel and sacrifices will see the demonic horde fed for all eternity. I will be participating, of course. To not show my face would be admitting I was afraid of the Kult. Being able to sacrifice whenever we want also means that we no longer need to risk losing development when we run the edict to build a pyre.  Morning was not a pleasant experience. I awoke in a pile of bodies, some alive and some not, with my head pounding from a combination blood and rum hangover. It had been a night of revelry in front of the pyre, one that I would repeat again if I got the chance, but the comedown is always the worst part. The pyre was still burning when I woke up, though not as brightly as it had been at night, and I found Rri standing in front of it. Dozens of Gnolls were prostrated at his feet, their bodies warped and mutilated in the same way his was by the demonic power that had flowed through us that night. I could see the smug look on his face. He thinks he's won, but I am still the Chief Admiral, and I still have the Scourge Fleet at my back. Getting the Kult in power gives us a few bonuses. Sadly, the missionary bonuses aren't very useful without Religious ideas because the Xhazobkult has a very hard time converting non-Gnolls (for obvious reasons) but at least the Religious Unity makes up for that.  Later, he offered to put additional priests on our vessels in order to infuse our cannons with the flames of the pits. I declined. If we ever truly need such a power, I will call upon Xhazob and Kzryl myself. I'm not sure exactly how this gets activated, but I'm sure that events or the mission tree will help as we progress. As it says, it should only be used in dire circumstances considering how expensive in Demonic Power it is.  Instead, I ordered them to call upon the Invocation of Gold so that our privateers would be able to use the demonic sense of greed to discover which vessels held the greatest hauls of wealth. Getting the funds to build up the Scourge Fleet even further was my top priority.  Despite the Kult's machinations, the sailors, the colonists, the smuggling traders, they are all happy with the direction of the nation. Wealth is flowing, land is being tamed by hordes of slaves, and the fleet have even gotten used to having my observers on board. By my absolute will, the republic has been forged into something great, and as long as I live, I will not let it be consumed by mindless zealotry.  We have reaved a path across Noruin, from the Bloodgroves to Trollsbay. The resistance is getting steeper with each passing year, and I have had a close call more than once as I participate in the raiding parties. Once more we are planning to strike at the settlements on Trollsbay. Supposedly they have received shipments of new cannons from Cannor, and I would love to have those mounted on my flagship. First though, I need to charge into those same cannons myself, and the quiet whispers at the back of my mind give me some pause. The Kult does not have a monopoly on access to Xhazob. I will sacrifice a slave in the morning and wear their blood as protection. Even if that is not enough, I know the republic will endure. Excerpts from the sermon of Rri 'the twisted', Priest of Kentryn, made at the funeral of Chief Admiral Mykx  Mykx was blessed with pride, was a wielder of wrath, and held a greater greed for wealth and lust for power than any Gnoll since we crawled from the Pits. We are here, in this sea granted to us by Xhazob thanks to her works. Her mother was a priestess, who taught her great respect for the demonic host and the Kult. Her treasure built the great inextinguishable pyre that stands before you! I call upon our slavedrivers to have a grand pyre ship built so that she may joined Xhazob through the ocean, which she loved and respected in equal measure. Keeping a good record of two updates per narrator. They sure die quickly, but that is a Gnoll's lot in life.  But her great work cannot be allowed to halt here! We have established near unopposed control over these islands and these seas, but the land to the north is steadily filling with weak and soft settlers who think themselves safe just because they settled away from the coast. I call upon the crowd, make me Chief Admiral and I will strike at them directly. Our flayers will ravage Noruin, raze it to the ground, and return all the survivors to the Everpyre to feed the endless hunger of Xhazob and his host!  There will be those who think us mad. The Captains hoard their loot, the Smugglers consort with heathens to siphon away our funds, the Colonialists waste money building homes rather than tearing them down. Their enthusiasm may wain, but the nightmare that Mykx intended to visit upon the pitiful creatures of Aelantir will persist, no matter how many challengers might rise from within and without. All will feel the steel of the Demonic Republic of Mykx! It is a coincidence that the economic buffs we got at the start expired at the same time Mykx did, but narratively appropriate. To be continued… Vote The Captains are not happy that the Kult has taken power. They are debating amongst themselves whether a coup is in order, and whether allowing the rabble to have a vote in selecting the Chief Admiral was the correct idea at all. Surely for Gnolls the mightiest commander should be the one to take power; winning the title through blood and struggle rather than words and manipulation. On the other hand, if Rri is successful then great wealth and power awaits. They could give him a chance to rebuild the economy with the blood and gold of the Cannorian settlers, improve his skills in leadership, and demonstrate his triumphs at the next election. What is their decision? (In game terms, this is referring to the next government reform tier. That same tier includes War Against the World, but it is explicitly disabled for Gnolls so is not an option, and I have modded the mod to remove one other option from that tier for reasons I will get into when they are relevant.) Pirate Queen – Rulers are selected from recruited admirals, with stats based on the admiral's skill. They rule for life and do not require re-election, but are stuck with the stats they start with. The Captains gain another boost in influence in the government. Elected Admiral – Rulers are selected from the four factions. They start with low stats but can build them up over the course of their reign. (aka Status Quo) Vote below by clicking on the image. Voting will last 48 hours.
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Jun 28, 2023 21:25
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Pirate Queens would synergize well with our near-permanent 100% Naval Tradition and boosts to admiral skill from Naval ideas. We'll already be breeding godlike admirals, might as well recruit them to be godlike rulers, too! Also we're already going down the autocratic, fist-of-terror route, a blood-drenched pirate queen just fits.
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Jun 28, 2023 23:12
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I think Mykx also gets Rep Tradition through raiding somehow from what I remember so that offsets the fact that it will tank due to that reform.
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Jun 29, 2023 01:02
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A bloody, rum-soaked crown for our pirate queen.
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Jun 29, 2023 02:36
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Hanging on by the skin of our teeth at the edge of the world we cannot afford to have petty leadership squabbles over and over again. We should elect a Pirate Queen upon the death of the previous one, to guide us as she sees fit, for good or ill.
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Jun 29, 2023 02:50
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it is, it is a glorious thing To be a Pirate Queen
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Jun 29, 2023 19:54
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Ah yeah OP, Hellfire bonuses also only activate when a war involving you start and you get an event prompting whether you want to get the bonii or not. So it's good so you aren't bleeding demonic power against weakling colonies but definitely something you'll want to use when fighting against naval juggernauts.
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Jun 29, 2023 20:46
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Out of curiosity, does it refresh when another power enters the war?
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Jun 29, 2023 20:55
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Plutonis posted:Ah yeah OP, Hellfire bonuses also only activate when a war involving you start and you get an event prompting whether you want to get the bonii or not. So it's good so you aren't bleeding demonic power against weakling colonies but definitely something you'll want to use when fighting against naval juggernauts. That makes sense, I'm sure we'll see some of that very soon. I'm calling the poll a little early, because the outcome was pretty much as expected.  We will soon see a Pirate Queen
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Jun 30, 2023 15:05
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Chapter Seven: Knives In and Knives Out 1522-1536 A caravel, somewhere in Trollsbay, 1522 Wood creaked and metal clanked, deafening in the otherwise silent room where the conspirators gathered. At any other time, these three would be at one another's throats, and at any moment they very well might be. If that happened, the six handpicked guards, two from each of them, would join in the fray and the cabin interior would be bathed in blood. They had all been waiting for their moment, for Mykx to make a mistake and leave her position vacant, at which point the knives could be revealed and the victor ascend the throne of bones. But that had all been undercut by an overambitious priest who had filled the pliant voters with demonic fervour and had them carry him to the top. Izz 'the Defiler', admiral of the Fleet of Ruin, the core privateer force that Mykx assembled, was the first to speak. She lifted an accusing claw at one of the other captains, her collection of ears, fingers and deliberately broken golden trinkets dangling from her arm. "You have the cannons," she said, "sail for Graxxar, level the fort and raze that temple to the ground. We should never have left an Elf-temple standing." Opposite her, Szonith 'the Dead', admiral of the Scourge Fleet, the main battlefleet of the republic, replied with an empty stare. Both her good eye, as black as a pit, and the vacant eye socket on the other side of her face, scarred by fire to the point that it looked skeletal, looked upon Izz with disdain. "There will be a mutiny," Szonith said, "if Xhazob doesn't strike us down himself." "Let them try," Izz hissed, "let him try too. I've cursed his name more than called upon it, and I still live. Are you scared you'll get burned again?" "My fear was stripped away along with my flesh," Szonith said, as she leaned forward onto the table separating them, "but my sense was not. The republic will be torn apart." Izz was about to snap back, when an armour-plated fist smashed onto the table, causing the wood to let out a loud crack as though it was on the verge of shattering. The third member of their group, Uho 'the Punisher', admiral of the Raiders of Noruin, was covered in trinkets as well, but unlike Izz who was adorned with pieces torn from her victims and torn from their treasure hoards, Uho wore a collection of Precursor artefacts including glowing magical items of unknown provenance and ancient armour that had been beaten and warped to fit the Gnollish frame. "It'll be torn apart either way," Uho said, "Rri will feed every piece of gold and flesh into the bottomless demonic gullet, and we will stagnate and get overtaken by the Cannorians." "Why do you care?" Izz spat, "go back to hunting Elf-treasure." "She has a point," Szonith said, "we cannot allow him to rule unopposed, but attacking now at the height of his popularity will have the same effect in the end." "We need a plan," Uho said, "if we make it appear we are too busy positioning against each other to oppose him, we can drag resources away from the Kult and into the Fleet in the name of our conflict." Izz cackled, "I'm not giving you ladies an inch, if that's what you're hoping." "Naturally," Szonith cut in, "that will make it more believable." "When his support wanes, we draw our knives, strike him down, and ascend," Uho said. She reached up and pulled a couple of small stone orbs from a bandolier she had strapped over her shoulder. The other two eyed the stones carefully as she set them down on the table. As the ship rocked, they rolled across the uneven surface and each approached their owner, as though guided there. Izz didn't respond, instead glaring at it as if expecting it to be trapped, but Szonith picked hers up and held it up to her one good eye. As she stared, a series of scratchy letters appeared on the surface. For a moment, she imagined that being the signal for it to detonate and blind her completely, but that drew out no terror. In a noisy, blood-scented battlefield, one did not need eyes to fight. "What is this?" Izz asked. Uho was holding a stone up, carefully scratching letters onto the surface with her claws. "We can communicate without needing pigeons or couriers," she said. And, it went unsaid, without Rri knowing. They could coordinate their fake, or perhaps not so fake, conflict in secret. Izz snatched hers up and found an empty pouch on her crowded assembly of liberated body parts to store it. "So long as there's no chitchat," she said, "if either of you tries to get friendly, I'll reply with my friendliest assassin." "Is it agreed?" Szonith asked, "we will strike when the opportunity is right?" Uho nodded, and Izz followed after an overly long pause, though it was clear she was only going along because she was outvoted. The three Gnolls stood and stared each other down, before slowly filing out of the cabin. No doubt all three of them were planning to backstab the others the moment the priest was out of the way. There would be blood on the path to the throne, but only the demons knew whose bloody fingers would grip the crown. Excerpts from the journal of Szonith 'the Dead', Captain of the Carrack Thunderer, Admiral of the Scourge Fleet  Our pact has been made, as loose and spiteful as it may be. Between us we can rule the waters of the Ruined Sea, while Rri hides on land despite claiming the title of 'Chief Admiral'. I know that he denounced us in his grand speech at Mykx's funeral, and he is right, we are siphoning off the funds that we previously freely offered to her. He is no Mykx, and does not have our respect. Undermining his income is just the first step to bringing him down without needing to slaughter an army of zealots first.  The priest is busy consolidating the republic, revoking the autonomy of the outlying islands and incorporating the local priesthoods into the Kult. The wealth of the islands is outside of the Fleet's ability to intercept, unless we start actively raiding our own people. He is making his own moves, reducing his reliance on us.  For the first time, we have been called upon to attack the mainland in force for more sacrifices. The settlers have learned to hide their treasures and their people away from the coast, but their wealth still relies on shipping goods out of the bay. I will take this chance to seize the islands of the bay, giving us a way to establish an official toll for the traders of the region.  Kult priests arrived recently to curse our cannons with burning hellfire. I threw them back onto their boats and sent them home. It is a simple point of pride even if we were not at odds with them. The Scourge Fleet is the greatest force in Aelantir, and I refuse to owe Xhazob any favours.  While I am covering the invasion of the Seven Stone Trolls, Izz has had a chance to score her own victories. She captured two more carracks from the settler fleets and added them to her fleet, with their new status inaugurated with the blood of their former crews. If we come to blows, I am not certain I can stand against her. My own preparations must be accelerated.  The flayers that have made it ashore to the mainland have reported a strange state of affairs. The settlements have already been pillaged and splattered with blood, and the only survivors are some sort of demonic thrall who fight with as much mindless fury as a Gnoll in the heat of battle. Strange, Human-like, figures appear to be directing them from a distance but disappear into a cloud of vermin before we can capture them. I don't know why vampires are here. This isn't a colonial nation of Corvuria or another nation with vampires that I'm aware of.  We have set up a port on the western end of the large island of Endralliande, taking one of the natural harbours for ourselves rather than letting it fall into the hands of the settlers coming westwards. Nearby, another group that fancy themselves reavers have settled, and there have been frequent insults traded by raiding parties going in both directions. I think the local garrison might just enjoy the sport.  Between Izz and myself, the fleets of Trollsbay have been devastated, their coastal towns have been stripped bare, and shipments of slaves from the inland settlements are departing to Ilzin Mykx and Graxxar, after we have taken a cut for ourselves. The masses are being made aware that it is the Fleet, not the Kult, that does the real work, and the pendulum is starting to swing in our direction again.  The next election has come around far too quickly. We are still fighting in Trollsbay, leaving Rri and the Kult free to do whatever it takes to secure votes. It is no matter; the Fleet will come out of this war stronger than ever. We will get another opportunity.  Izz moves quickly. Her forces have seized Isobelin Island, a heavily fortified rock overlooking the harbour used by the mainland settlers. My agents are already among her crew, but open warfare is not on the cards until Rri is dealt with.  In any case, she is dealing with trouble among the new slave population that should keep her occupied for a while. Her fleet is made of independently-minded pirate captains who do not want to spare the manpower to patrol the land. The rigorously drilled marines of the Scourge Fleet would not let such pitiful creatures so easily escape from them.  The Seven Stone Trolls, the islands guarding the entrance to Trollsbay, are mine. I also secured a ten-year protection arrangement with the Cannorians, so I can let the tribute flow in while keeping Izz from seizing any for herself. Perhaps I should spend it on a fortress on the largest 'troll' to match Izz' on the opposite side of the bay. The sacrifices were sent back to Graxxar to be burned, and Rri put on a mighty display of hellfire that no doubt swung more minds back to his side. With the war over, we can begin more active resistance against him.  One of the more prominent Kult priests promised to raise a smaller copy of the Everpyre on the island of Verten. We secured support from the local Colonialists, who did not want their slaves pulled from the fields to build and burn in a monument to arrogance, and blockaded the port until the Kult withdrew.  Resistance is springing up elsewhere as well, as the buccaneers of Jercel, tired of the additional taxes the Kult had forced upon them, rose up and destroyed several shipments of tea that would have earned a pretty penny to the central government. Similar minor mutinies seem to be springing up around the smaller trade and smuggler fleets, but our three core fleets are run with enough of an iron fist that such ideas have no chance to take hold.  We have new orders, probably to keep us away from causing problems for the Kult around the Ruined Sea. The Deranne Trade Company has done a lot of business with our smugglers, but their usefulness has passed and their islands would be better suited as bases for the Scourge Fleet. Their allies in Trollsbay are too far away to support them and will just be another source of plunder.  Uho has been busy scouring Aelantir for wealth and treasures that might aid us in our campaign. She has the smallest fleet of the three of us by far, so it is no wonder she is looking for a gift from the slain Elves of the past rather than fighting to claim territory. Her latest message was an odd one though, claiming to have found some very delicious birds, thick with rich fat, in an otherwise frozen ocean.  We have noticed increased tensions between the Cannorian settlers, and after extracting information from prisoners it seems there is significant religious tension brewing in their homeland. Something about their gods going to war. Perhaps this new war goddess can seize control of their pantheon, as Xhazob did with the demonic host, and turn them towards the path of dominance and blood.  We waited too long. Rri sailed out personally to deal with one of the many mutinies against his taxes and slave appropriation policies, and during the middle of a brawl with unruly sailors a Gnoll armed with a stolen Cannorian pistol shot him dead. Already the Buccaneers have proclaimed Kricirr as the new Chief Admiral and he is demanding that we finish up our invasion and return to Ilzin Mykx to answer to the sailor-led order. Izz is not responding to me, so I do not know if she intends to go rogue or not.  As we have swept up DTC territory, our most unusual annexation has been the Forlorn Isle, which covers access to both the summer passageway around the north of the continent, and the mysterious frozen wasteland north of Sornicande. The wind is chill is this region, almost pleasant against the phantom pain in the scorched flesh of my face.  The DTC itself fell without too much trouble. Its people have been enslaved as usual, but the Everpyre burns only softly. Most of the slaves have been redirected by the new Chief Admiral to our colonial ventures and shipyards instead. Now I need to return to Ilzin Mykx, and see if he intends to eliminate a rival or foolishly trust in me.  I was ready to fight to the death, but Kricirr was a calm and reasonable Gnoll. That will be his undoing. Izz has not responded to summons, so he has deployed my Scourge Fleet to guard against a possible rebellion. In the meantime, apparently word of our deeds has spread to Cannor, and Mykx has become feared as the greatest nation in Aelantir. I am sure she would be proud that her name has reached so far.  Uho returned as instructed shortly after I did. She has reported on the current state of things across the continent, and offered several unusual trinkets to our new Chief Admiral. I am not sure which of them are traps, and she has been tight-muzzled on the subject. Her discoveries include a large native empire in the north-east, gnomish and goblin settlers in the south-west, and a guild of explorers arriving on a large island to our south-west, hunting for Precursor artefacts. She has already set sail again, seeking to pillage those explorers of everything they have discovered.  Kricirr is a soft touch. He has allowed several human communities to buy their way out of slavery and develop empty land within our borders. On the one paw, it will start giving the slaves ideas. On the other, it will be an obvious destination for any escaped slaves, so perhaps leaving them alive and sending through regular patrols might earn me a few extra bodies for my cause.  At least he is also investing in the Fleet. With a massive expansion of infrastructure we will be able to support raids across the whole of Aelantir. He also intends to use these new shipyards to assemble a fleet of his own, to match the Scourge and Ruin Fleets, lead not by strong captains but by such foolish ideas as 'democracy' and 'crew solidarity'. I have made contact with Izz, and have confirmed that he will not live to see such ideas take sail.  He also seems to want to make legitimate traders out of us. Markets, trading companies, banks. All these things are being established at our most prominent harbours. The Smugglers being undercut by this are not happy and have contacted me with some information. A certain something has been discovered in the jungles of our territory. Something that could elevate me to the throne.  I wait just outside Ilzin Myxk, knowing that Izz approaches. The crews of the Scourge Fleet have been given democracy, so Kricirr thinks we are on his side. He does not know that my crews are too well drilled to fall for such weakness. They unanimously re-elected me as their admiral, and when I give the order, they will do as I say, for they fear my lash more than they desire freedom. The harbour itself is almost unrecognizable from what it was when I first arrived alongside Mykx as a simple captain. Docks extend around the entirety of the bay, and stone structures have replaced the rickety wood that was once there. Simple barriers have been placed around the entrance, forming a chokepoint that any attacker will have to navigate. There are far more merchant vessels than vessels of war at the moment, as Kricirr has encouraged, but that will change soon enough.  Izz arrived, and the Scourge Fleet parted to let her enter. I wish I could have the expression Kricirr wore when faced with a real pirate queen. After devouring him, and making brutal examples of some of his democratic councillors, Izz declared that there would be no more elections and that she would take the title of 'Grand Admiral'. Only the greatest warriors of the seas, like Mykx herself, would rule Mykx' Republic. I offered my congratulations, from the safety of my flagship. She knows, that I know, that she knows that a rival such as myself cannot be tolerated. As per the vote, Mykx will now be ruled by a Pirate Queen, not by election. The new ruler will be selected from our admirals, with their leader stats translating to ruler stats. This combos very well with our naval tradition bonuses.  Her first proclamations have gone out, and reaffirmed to all the peoples of Mykx that we are a Fleet above all else, a Scourge. The purpose of traders and settlers is to feed into our dominance of the oceans. She has also distributed a handbook on boarding actions, apparently rubbing my nose in all of the successful captures she led during the war in Trollsbay. I am not one to rise to such bait, but it will come back to her in the end.  She intends to hold a feast to celebrate her ascension and make further announcements on the future of the republic. The only issue is that the national treasury is dry after all of Kricirr's spending. So of course, there is only one thing to be done.  I was sent to take the wealth of Sornicande. Perhaps she hoped I would die in battle here, but she is not so lucky. I took some of the wealth for myself and passed it over to the Smugglers for their secret, and gave the rest to Izz to plan her party.  It has been a day of festivities so far. On Ilzin Mykx, Izz officially proclaimed the Grand Republic, before setting sail to Graxxar where she will secure the loyalty of the Kult and hold a massive burning of all the captives we took during the raid on Sornicande. I have no choice but to attend in person, but under these circumstances, in the light and chaos of a demonic pyre, I rate my chances of surviving any assassination attempts highly. As we sailed, representatives of the Smugglers presented Izz, myself, and the other captains with the product of years of careful work in the jungles. Demon's Blood, distilled from a plant that has been infused with the demonic energy that obliterated the Precursor empire. When we reach Graxxar, we will dive into depths of blood and foul energies that have not been seen since the last great Xhaz. For the first time in years, my heart beats with excitement.  The long, fiery, night is over. At my request, and payment, several batches of the Demon's Blood were manufactured to have ten times the potency. In the chaos of the celebration, Izz did not care what she was ingesting. For a moment it appeared she would ascend to Xhazobine as she climbed the walls of the central chamber of Graxxar Temple, flames licking her body and the freshly severed heads of Humans, Dwarves and Gnolls alike dangling from her belt. Her eyes locked on me, and in the grip of the drug myself I could only see her as Kyzryl's wrath embodied about to descend and snuff out my pitiful plots. Then her heart gave out, and she fell into the pile of writhing and bleeding bodies surrounding the pyre, from which she never rose again. As dawn broke, the survivors of the party gathered around me. I rose as Grand Admiral Szonith, without any other rivals for the title. Uho avoided the celebration, with her forces still exploring and reaving around South Aelantir, but I think she prefers that over challenging me. Perhaps she is onto something. Demon's Blood was just the beginning, there is far more for us to find and exploit in this vast new world. To be continued…
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Jul 3, 2023 09:50
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Marlliande are secret vampire southern aristocrats. Big on orc slavery and cotton farming, very much not good guys.
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Jul 3, 2023 10:09
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Chapter Eight: An Army at Sea 1536-1552 Vanbury Guild outpost, Southpoint, Vanburia, 1538 Artur stood atop the stockade, looking out over the steep cliffs, down onto the pure white beach and out to the crisp blue sea beyond. Vanburia was beautiful, but a paradise it was not. Hot, sticky air rolled out of the jungle beyond their outpost, insects constantly bit at every bit of uncovered skin, and several men had perished at the hands of animals and plants that wielded poisons even the most well-versed medic could not identify. Still, this was where he would make his fortune. He was being paid an incredible amount, by the standards of a young man from Esmaria, to guard some would-be archaeologists as they searched for the ruins of the Precursors and bartered with the survivors of the Day of Ashen Skies for what relics they still held. He had not met a Ruinborn Elf yet, but he was working at getting a posting on the next expedition to the southern cities. They were supposed to be a match for any city in Cannor, and while he doubted the Ruinborn would really be capable of that, they would be filled with artefacts that would fetch a pretty price back home. What frustrated him was that the expedition may not sail. Gnollish black flags had been increasingly in the seas over the past few months, and there was talk of blockading the entrance to Steelbay until they were confident they could face the Scourge Fleet head on. "Artur!" a tall Half-Elf cried, clambering up the steps to the top of the stockade. He almost collapsed as he leaned against the tip of the stockade, catching his breath while staring out to sea. Artur looked at him, the grip on his arquebus tightening. "What's going on, Taelar?" he asked. "Message from Ricardsport," he breathed, "Gnolls hit the docks." Artur's mouth hung open. The ships they had seen had been a few caravels passing back and forth, nowhere near enough to assault the headquarters of the Vanbury Guild directly. That could only mean that the Scourge Fleet had already arrived at Vanburia in full force. Down below, the rest of the garrison was readying themselves for battle. Taelar continued to peer to the distance, his eyes glittering with some kind of divination. "There!" he said, pointing. Artur directed his spyglass out at where he had pointed, just in time to catch black sails emerging from below the horizon. It quickly became clear that none of the vessels were carracks or other sorts of large vessel, but a collection of smaller, more rickety transports. From the briefings, they could carry maybe a hundred Gnoll warriors between them. That meant they had a chance. Ever since their arrival the soldiers of the Vanbury Guild had been drilled to fight Gnolls. It made sense, Mykx had terrorized the waters for decades before they'd arrived and her fleet showed no sign of slowing down even after her death. The key was formation and discipline. Gnolls were savage and brutal, and would slaughter them in a melee, so if they could hold together then they could keep them at pikes-length and let the creatures mindlessly wear themselves down. It would take a few days for the Gnolls to unload and prepare to assault the stockade, time during which the defenders could cause attrition through taking potshots at them and forcing them to hide in the hostile jungle. Worst case, they could- "No, no, no," Taelar cut into Artur's train of thought. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't been paying attention to the sea. The Gnoll vessels were approaching, but they weren't intending to beach and unload. They were coming straight for the cliffs, which weren't covered by the stockade. They were assaulting right now. "To the cliffs!" Artur called out, startling the men assembling below him. As they readied themselves, Taelar reached out and a bolt of lightning zipped from his fingertips. In the blazing sunlight, the sail of one of the Gnoll barges caught alight, but the mass of brown fur swarming the deck took the sail down, stamped out the flames, and had a patch sewn in within minutes. Taelar was shaking, and his next shot went wide. He was not the strongest mage, considering where he had been assigned. Before he knew it, dozens of grappling hooks shot out and latched onto the cliff at the base of the stockade wall, and Gnollish claws gripped at the cliff edge. Artur stamped and kicked, sending many Gnolls down into the water, but the edges of the cliff were treacherous and just as many men, unprepared for such a daring assault, plummeted along with them. Soon, some were ashore and the air was filled with the sounds of death and the smell of blood. "Ready formation!" the outpost captain called out, the signal for Artur, Taelar, and anyone else not currently fighting for their life to fall back to the centre of the outpost. There, with practised precision, they arrayed themselves into a pike-and-gun formation, with the walls and buildings of the outpost guarding their flanks. Artur took up his pike and stared at the mass of Gnolls that was now assembling at the edge of the cliff, the flesh of the last defenders now filling the jaws of the gruesome creatures. Something was different. Instead of charging, the Gnolls prowled. There were two distinct ranks, the first carefully advancing, finding cover wherever they could and baiting out shots from the terrified gunners behind Artur, while the second waited behind, watching and staring. Then the first rank finally charged. Artur's ears thumped in his head, deafening him, as a mass of fur flesh collided with the pike wall. After what could have been seconds or minutes, the Gnolls retreated with many dead and most of the rest bearing wounds. But Artur could hear the exhaustion in his breath and the breath of those around him. The second rank advanced, almost as though they were a proper military unit. They were better armed and armoured than the first, wearing thick leathers with plate armour strapped over it, and carrying a variety of weapons no doubt stolen from Cannorian ships that they had plundered. It wouldn't be enough to break them, so long as their formation held. One of the Gnolls, the largest, hefted something in their arms. It was a monstrosity of a weapon, like several small cannons strapped together. It took a moment for Artur, staring into the darkness of the barrel, to register what it was, and then realise what was about to happen. A second later, he and the men around him were blasted off their feet. He didn't even feel any pain as he landed in the thick, churned mud and within a few slow blinks he could feel himself sinking as dozens of heavy furred feet stomped over him in their mad dash for blood. As his thoughts sank away, he realized that they weren't just savages. They were savages transformed into real soldiers. Excerpts from the journal of Szonith 'the Dead', Grand Admiral of Mykx  I have inherited a mess. The fleet commanders, the common crew, and the Kult are all at each other's throats and we suffer for it. Many Gnolls are abandoning the Scourge Fleet altogether to settle down in the countless isolated colonies we have across the Ruined Sea. If I am to pull everything back together, I must reforge the Scourge Fleet into a proper fighting force that any Gnoll would be eager to join.  We are not mindless raiders roaming across the plains and deserts of Sarhal. We are warriors of the ocean, the greatest naval fighting force in the world, and we must adapt to our new environment. There is still a place for delicious savagery. In the boarding of an enemy vessel, or breaching the walls of a settlement, we can shatter their hope with an invocation of demonic fury. Faced with a line of pikes and guns, or a squadron of carracks forming a battle line, we cannot simply throw ourselves to our deaths. Reforming our military gives us permanent access to units with fire damage, for the cost of tanking our tradition temporarily.  We should be capable of more advanced tactics that simply running into the fray. Before she died, Tluukt was famous for her ravagers holding back their bloodlust until the critical moment in the battle, and then joining in to finally break the enemy. This is example we should look towards. The right application of terror and devastation, applied with all the cunning and foresight that Xhazob grants us. That said, fire damage is still not yet that relevant, so we are sticking with the high-shock option at the moment.  I have been looking for foes to test our new military against, Uho approached me with a suggestion to investigate the Vanbury Guild, who have settled a large island that dominates the straits between the Ruined Sea and the Torn Sea. She has been seeing increasing activity each time she passes by during her expeditions along the southern Aelantir coast. Now is the time to strike, before they dig themselves too deeply.  After toying with a few other ideas for our military, I settled on assembling a force dedicated to fighting at sea and striking quickly against the shore from boats. Separating the crew from the warriors means that their training can be intensely focused on their differing roles. It will be a dangerous role, being the first clambering aboard an enemy vessel or out bounding out of the shallows against a gun line, but Gnolls will always jump at the chance for blood. Marines I find are very rarely useful, but as Mykx will be doing a lot of island-hopping and contested landings, they do have their place.  As activity increases in Aelantir, we find we are not the only ones seeking plunder from the juicy targets that surround us. Often times we simply slaughter everyone who attempts to cut in on our seas, but recently a squadron of Human pirates have offered to cut us in, in exchange for being allowed to ply their tactics on the periphery of our territory. For now, I have allowed it. Perhaps these Humans can show their mettle, and if not, then the Scourge Fleet will shatter them.  The Kult has been delving into the power of Demon's Blood, despite the limited supply. This has caused no end of incidents, such as mass-visitations consuming the minds of entire towns, hellfire accidentally being called down on our own ships, and a lot of dead priests. If it keeps them focused on something other than affairs of the republic, then I will let them have their fun.  I personally sailed the Scourge Fleet into Steel Bay to take a look at this guild. I have to admire their industriousness, building a port that can rival Ilzin Mykx in a far shorter time period. That means there is all the more plunder in there. I signalled the start of the invasion with a volley against their dockyards, but there were enough fortifications that I decided against a direct assault. I had something else in mind.  We landed on the southern tip of the island, brushed aside their meagre defences, and secured a port to disembark our war hyenas and artillery within a matter of days. Already my marines have proven their value in this vast, island filled, sea that we dwell in.  Uho has completed her mapping of South Aelantir, and with is has brought news of new targets to reave. The far south-west of the continent is filled with Elves and their cities that have survived the centuries. Most notable are massive cities shielded by strange magics on the western island, filled with wealth and power that has been accumulating since the Precursors were struck down. While Vanburia falls, I have dispatched the Scourge Fleet to test my might against such a target.  We ravaged our way across the northern tip of their island, but found the towns and villages strangely empty. Soon, we were able to capture some peasants in the middle of abandoning their homes who made it clear that we were not what they were fleeing from. A few days later, the wind turned and a choking demonic gale blew across our fleet. It filled my mouth with the taste of metal, and anyone who spent too long outside wasted away. I had to sacrifice the lives of many slaves and crew to get the Fleet to shelter until the wind died down. Raiding this region will require a proper safe harbour. The massive blue-ish desert is a radioactive wasteland that regularly blows fallout over the area, hence the shielded cities. In-game it doesn't actually affect fleets, I think most of the effects are limited to provinces.  Returning from those blighted waters, I was gifted with the most intense vision that Xhazob has ever seen fit to grant me. Confined to quarters, I writhed in my bunk while I clawed at my fur, pulling off lumps of fur and trying to scratch at the incessant prickling sensation that covered my body. In my delirium, Xhazob spoke to me. He spoke of chains wrapped around the world, chains that were filled with fiery blood that spilt onto the land and left devastation in its wake. Chains that would be hauled by us, by the Scourge Fleet, in his name.  The battle for Vanburia was over by the time the Scourge Fleet returned. The Humans had been no match for us, and we have begun ransacking their archives and torturing out information from their guild leaders on what sort of treasures they had discovered in their time here.  As I continue to convalesce from my visitation, couriers continue to bring in reports from across the nation. We are growing ever larger, spanning thousands of miles and countless settlements and ships. Even with government observers stationed on the ships there is no way to prevent cunning and greedy Gnolls from finding ways to steal pieces of treasure here and there or find ways to pay off other officials. Admiral Tegil is in command while I am in Vanburia, and I am concerned about what she may be plotting. This will need my full attention once I return. Corruption is a major problem, as we have several stacking modifiers that increase it and conquering territory only makes it worse. I'll have to start paying it down in earnest once colony fever dies down.  Before departing back to Ilzin Mykx, Uho approached me with maps showing routes across the vast ocean to the west, bypassing a vast storm-bound continent and arriving in Haless. She wanted to take her fleet and complete a circumnavigation of the globe, returning to Wanderer's Gate on the eastern side of the republic laden with treasures from every corner of Halann. With my vision in mind, I gave her permission.  Upon returning, I reassigned Tegil from the Fleet to a teaching role. It will give her access to the next generation of sailors, but it drastically cuts her power in the meantime. My sickness has still not yet fully abated, so I will not take too many risks.  My stone, the one Uho gave me as part of our conspiracy twenty years ago, lit up one day. I had long since relegated it to my hoard, so it was a long time before I noticed, but its message was one that I could do nothing about. Uho gave an account of her fleet being dragged into the storm-wall barrier that surrounded the mysterious continent she had charted. She and few survivors were making for Haless, but I doubted that they would make it, or if they did that they would be particularly welcome. Though she was a rival, I always admired her drive. I will dedicate my next few sacrifices to her memory, and confiscate the artefacts she left behind for the good of the republic. Oops. I had already charted a clear line of tiles from east to west, but apparently the fleet decided to sail straight through the Terra Incognito instead.  Vanburia is the most distant island of significant size that we have tried to rule yet. If a slave rebellion were to occur, our response would be months away. Luckily, there are no end of collaborators who wish are happy to corral the rest of their people in exchange for merely the power it offers over them. Such is the way of 'nobility'.  The number of slave ships bringing Orcish slaves continues to increase, but the tales they tell are shifting. They are not despondent and defeated, but determined and angry. The slaves say they were taken prisoner on the frontlines of the great Corintide, only to be sold into slavery rather than ransomed or executed. Whatever their story, they are too strong-willed and so I ordered them to be sold right back to the Cannorians we plundered them from.  The Smugglers continue to provide significant supplies of Cannorian weapons, and the warriors have been training to integrate them into their battle tactics. They have found the most success by sawing-off the front of hand cannons and strapping several of them together. The barrels together deliver a blast as powerful as a cannon, but in the hands of a frontline warrior. A Human would be too pitifully weak to wield a weapon like this, but for a Gnoll it is perfect.  With Vanburia mostly pacified through the actions of collaborators and the dockyards of Ricardsport built up to the point that they can support the Scourge Fleet, we are ready begin operations on the western coast of Aelantir. We will need to secure safe harbours in the south against the deadly wind, and the journey to the lands of Eordand in the far north-west are needs stopping points. The next step will be to secure islands in these regions so that the true plundering can begin.  My reforms are seeing results. We have launched a new campaign against Trollsbay, and once again the marines are proving themselves invaluable. I can confidently say that we have an army at sea, one inextricably tied to the Scourge Fleet instead of a rabble that merely uses it for transportation. I would like to have time to continue and phase out the army entirely in favour of the marines, as well as establish an official academy for our captains, but with the progression of my illness I fear my soul will soon be cast into the Pits.  I have left a legacy of eager, well-trained, sailors and marine warriors loyal to their captain and the legacy of Mykx. The concerns of the start of my rule have passed, and the Scourge Fleet is stronger than ever, ranging freely over almost all of the continent. I cannot fulfil the dream of chains wrapping the world, but I have taken a step towards it.  The latest extortion campaign came to a close with the Trollsbay settlers paying their tithe of gold and blood. Many of the slaves were brought directly back to Ilzin Mykx to further develop the island and build the facilities for the naval academy, while the money has been put aside to support the Smuggler's efforts to refine the creation of Demon's Blood. Supplies remain limited and expensive, and they have said they have big plans for once they can enter mass-production.  My time is spent writing out training manuals, for there is little else that I can do from my bed. Every lesson we have learned from the moment Mykx set sail across the vast ocean to now, half a century of knowledge, all distilled into the information a sailor needs to dominate the waves and terrorize the land.  I have also been reading pamphlets stolen from the holds of vessel arriving in Aelantir, speaking of the mighty and merciful Corin. For a war goddess, she is far too soft-hearted, but I can understand why the Cannorians seek justification for their own bloodlust. They are too weak to acknowledge what war truly is. I know that my soul will burn brightly in Xhazob's maw and fuel the demonic war machine, crushing everything with the weight of its hull. Excerpts from the journal of Xokir, Demon's Blood researcher  When Tegil took over after 'the Dead' finally actually died, we all immediately went to ground. The last transfer of power was a bloody mess, and we wanted no part of that mess. It was a shock when Tegil walked into our scurry-holes and opened negotiations. The bosses had been talking to her even while she was stuck teaching pups and preparing to back her claim. Carefully she had removed her rivals while under Szonith's nose, and now she sought the Smugglers with a proposal. One day, one day I will have a ruler who survives more than two updates.  She would build new factories across the territory the fiercer captains conquered, giving us more places to trade in our illicits with the Cannorians and the natives. We have so much stuff we can't even move, so opening that up was a no-brainer for us.  She even went so far as to give a group of the bosses a place in her government. Now, they are sneaky guys so I don't know if she knows what she's getting herself into, but even a chump like me can see her goal. The Cannorians won't officially recognize us, but they sure as the Pits want our goods. And one item in particular. Originally this was on the same tier as Pirate King. If you pick any of the other Tier 7 reforms it will force you to pick this as your Tier 6 reform, which doesn't make much sense to me so I moved it to Tier 7, not to mention the idea of a Pirate Queen was more fun and fit well with what had previously been voted for. If one of the other options had won the initial Legal Code vote, I might have kept this on Tier 6 as intended.  I'd been bashing my snout against a proper mix for Demon's Blood, and she was willing to open up the coffers for us. Not just whatever pittance 'the Dead' had set aside for us, but more cash than I'd ever seen before. With gold in hand, we had access to anything the markets could provide and soon me and my researchers had refined the mixture to near perfection. Only problem is, we have driven the plant to its death across our islands. We've got to go further afield.  To the south there's foul swamps, where the scouts say the plants grow in even larger quantities. There are strange mutant Elves living there, probably no good to eat at all. The Cannorians lurk at the entrance, so we've been told the marines will be going in as soon as possible, and we'll be right behind them. I might just dig into my personal supply for this, rather than spend a day in the Leechdens while sober. To be continued… Coming up next, a state of the world interlude.
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Jul 6, 2023 20:46
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Hell yes, gnoll-sized pepperboxes 
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Jul 6, 2023 22:01
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Feels weird to see an all admin/diplomacy pirate queen, but it is drug empire time so...
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Jul 7, 2023 07:41
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habituallyred posted:Feels weird to see an all admin/diplomacy pirate queen, but it is drug empire time so... Bigger boats, better boats, more boats.
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Jul 7, 2023 08:34
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