Conquest of a New World

[Greystone]

Falconer

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Ravenwood smiles thinly "I suppose you could say that, though i serve one more powerful than I"

She pauses and looks him over "We have been sent to colonize these islands" she gestures out the window "I have no care for the continent for that is not my charter. I believe that a... peace could be good for both of our groups"

[Eldan]

Maya, The Highest Nation, State of Heaven and Earth, The Center of All, Empire between the Continents

The high emperor, son of the sky and the storm, ruler of all, stood on the high balcony, looking out over his subjects.
The low emperor, son of the earth and his mother, servant of the state, sat on the ground before his people.
"True Ancestors of the Spirit People! It has come to pass that strangers from the beyond the waters that border the world have reached these lands! The seers say that they are dark spirits from beyond the walls of smoke and fire, bent on destruction of all the spirits hold sacred.""
"Citizens. Strangers have come to our lands, and we do not know their motives. We should be careful, they could be conquerors."
"The High Spirits and the Gods have spoken through me. As more of us ascend to the Higher Planes, the number of our warriors shrink as the numbers of the enlightened grow. With the Transcendent Legion on our side, we shall wipe them from this earth and ascend to Pure Existence!"
"The Maya Empire is not what it was. Our ranks grow thinner every year as more of us die and fewer children are born... Our legions are few in number, and only the spirits have kept us save from the aztec so far. We do not know if we can stand against these strangers, if they come to conquer."

[Thatguyoverther]

Iroquois League

Aztecs

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After much discussion and debate the Iroquois Counsel has decided to tentatively accept your offer. We will stop our braves from assaulting you if you reciprocate. We will have to consider deeply any more involved cooperation between out peoples.

Umbria

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The Iroquois have no love for your mad despot of a emperor. Most braves would sooner kill a Umbrian than look at him. There are more than a few warriors that have had kin slain at your hands, and some that have vowed their lives to your destruction. Reigning in our tribes from aggression will take a substantial amount of effort, are you willing to offer any compensation for a cessation of hostilities?

[Adlan]

Aztecs

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Many times have our raiding party's warred upon your soil, and many times, your slavers have taken captives and slaughtered our people. You ask for recompense, and yet offer none. There shall be no peace bought with our booty, unless we recive rightful compensation for the damage you have brought unto us. If you truly seek peace and forgiveness, you would see the rightness of this. Are these calls for a truce mearly your latest attempt to claw some more blood for your 'gods'. Speak and deal with a straight tounge and there can be peace, but every Commanche knows that an Aztec does not want peace, and all the confederacy knows of your practices.
Peace can come, but not on your unjust terms.
-White Eagle, Speaker for the Commanche, Voice of the Great Plains.

Umbria

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To the Ruler of all he choose to Rule, keeper of the property he can hold, master of his slaves, Emperor of Umbria.
There has been a Long War between our peoples. And you offer to call peace, to defeat some newcommers, who's faces have not been seen in all the plains or lands and borders we share. The Confederacy agree's to the truce, and cessation of raids and warfare against you. But, the borders of your mightyness's lands shall still be patrolled, and none of your forces shall be permitted. A Truce Holds untill such times as you break it.
- Red Cloud. Warchief of the Eastern Border, Voice of the Great Plains

Iroquois League

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Greetings, from the Great Chief and all the Tribes of the Great Plains, to the Iroquois league. We have received messages from both the Aztec and the Umbria concerning newcommers to our shores and we belive they were also directed unto you, asking for peace and truces. With some of our forces serving alongside yours in the north, it is in our interest to know your plans, and actions, weather you would have our warriors aid you in wars against them, or would wish us to honour a truce you broker. The Aztec demand from us goods, and the Umbria that we serve their emperor and slay any newcommers to our land, breaking the laws of hospitality. Peace is always to be desired, especially when the buffalo grow thin and the grass sparse.
We would know your thoughts, and tell you ours.
We have accepted a peace with the Umbria, but we will not cease our vigilance over the border, and we will not obey their mad emperor's demands. If they launch so much as one brave against us, we will resume our quarrel. We would also have peace with the Aztec, if we can accomplish this without starving our own.
In all friendship and peace
- Great Chief Wild Eyes

[Moody the Wise]

Journal of Richard von Metternich

Day 1
Made landfall today. New world much colder than the old - glad I brought my best furs. The men aren't much for thinking, but good at following orders, strong as bulls. Under Engineering Corps guidance, they should have rudimentary shelter established by nightfall.

Day 2
Met first natives today. They are a curious people. With a little Germanisation, they should prove decent subjects.

Day 3
Ambassador of Black Elk tribe violated *our* cultural customs. Head returned in basket. Native warriors en route, will attack overnight. We'll be waiting.

Day 4
Adult male population of Black Elk tribe: 0. Their women and children will make loyal Imperials soon.

Day 5
Neighboring tribes answered our calls, met in New Salzbourg. Agreed to join 'Austrian Confederacy'. It begins.

[This version of events presumes a bit, but in the interest of time, I'm posting it. If either action fails, which I don't anticipate, I'll change it. The scale of each success is also of course variable at the GM's discretion - the Black Elk Tribe could be 6 guys with a club, and the neighboring tribes could be, in Maldiem's words, "a dude, a teepee, and a quadraplegic bear." I do expect a small scale here, although hopefully I'll get more than ComaBear.]

To the Iriquois Confederacy (and ONLY the IC, please!)

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Greetings from New Salzbourg,

Some of the tribes we have spoken to have mentioned your confederacy, and some even claim to belong to it. We would be interested in entertaining some of your ambassadors here in our camp.

Richard von Metternich,
Leader, Austrian Confederacy

[Maldiem]

The Founding of New Amsterdam

Willem jumped from the airship.

He watched as the ocean off the new continent rushed up to meet him, teal and teeming with life, as it was Summer in the Southern Hemisphere, a stark contrast to the dreary, overcrowded winter the Half Moon had left in Amsterdam only three weeks before.

When he could make out each white cap on the waves clearly, he pressed the button on his chest that activated the bulky Stoompak he was wearing, a wonder of modern technology, which wrapped him head to toe in leatherlike, alchemically pliable steel. The jets on the back roared to life, tapping the energy source at the heart of the setup, and he saw black spots at the center of his vision as the engines accelerated him laterally. When his vision cleared, he steered the setup with flaps mounted under his arms and smaller thrust. He flew over the site he planned for New Amsterdam, skimming only a handful of meters over the trees, and looping in a wide circle over the river mouth and the surrounding estuary. He spotted a column of smoke out in the forest, and turned his Stoompak toward it, noting that he still had about a half hour of charge left in the pack.

The Stoompak roared over the pristine deciduous forest, a lush and inviting sight in contrast to the dense, overgrown jungle in the Tropics to the north, as deer, elk, and all manner of birds took flight in response to the light and the noise of the Essence contraption. He covered the thirty or so miles in ten minutes, and was soon landing at a run in a clearing in the center of a native tribe. He deactivated the thrust, and the "wings" (Dutch scientists don't yet understand lift, so they're simply horizontal strips of Essence steel) folded back to give his arms freedom to move.

He nods to the flabbergasted crowds, gives a elegant, gentlemanly bow, and plants a collapsible VS flag in the center of the clearing. He then removes a small bag of Essence enhanced trinkets, which the expedition has in copious amounts as trading favors, places them on the ground, and leaves a map copied from his original mapping expedition, showing the natives exactly where New Amsterdam will be. He then waves, activates the pack, sprints to the edge of the clearing, and takes off once again.

Later

The city was taking shape. They'd already moored the four military airships, the Half Moon, the North Wind, the Krakatoa, and the Unquenchable, that had escorted the civilian fleet to the central keep, and the transports that had brought the settlers were already on their way back to the VS for their second load.

Steam and Fire powered machinery was busily constructing precise, cookie-cutter housing quarters from local stone that Automatic miners were busily extracting from a nearby quarry. They had already begun construction of a fishing fleet from local wood, and the newly-cleared area was being tilled and planted with fast-growing crops, to ensure that the colony can feed itself when their stores of food have run out.

Willem had dispatched diplomats, this time traveling by land on bipedal, lightly-armed all-terrain walkers, to accommodate their load of trade goods. The diplomats had orders to ensure the natives of their peaceful intent, get a basic knowledge of what they had to offer, and direct them to New Amsterdam for further trading.

When diplomats and traders arrived from the native tribes, VS diplomats made sure to give them a tour of all the most impressive achievements of the city. They also try and talk the leaders of the tribes into a loose trade and mutual defense treaty with New Amsterdam, making sure to show off the power (but hide the limited numbers) of Free State Marines, who are equipped with Stoompaks similar to Willem's, except that they also boast a large (.44 cal-ish) essence-powered firearm that uses a belt-fed mechanism to achieve automatic, albeit slowly automatic, fire.

@Eldan

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I hope I didn't go too overboard with the Steampunkiness, but I figure if whatever it is that China has in Mana can let them fly, a 4 in Essence with a 3 in tech to back it up should be able to replicate the feat. I have two actions here:

1st: Diplomacy: Set up friendly trading relations with the natives. Secondarily, set up a defense treaty with them, using the impressiveness of New Amsterdam and Dutch military technology to make them think its a good idea. 3 + 1 synergy from Essence -1 for two actions +0 from roll: 3

2nd: Living: Build New Amsterdam into a self-sustaining, high-tech enclave in the fertile mouth of the Hudson River (Rio de la plata). We are, of course, leveraging our understanding of Essence technology to do this. Spending a Fate point to tap either my Industrialists aspect or my "The Devil S***s Dutchmen" aspect, I'm not sure which applies more. 2 + 1 synergy from Essence -1 for two actions + 2 for tapping an Aspect - 2 from roll: 2

[AlistairThorne]

Umbria


Iroquois League

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To the heathens of the Iroquois League,

The fact I do not have you executed for your insults should be sufficient compensation.

God-Emperor of Umbria

Great Plains Confederacy

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To the honourable heathens of the Great Plains Confederacy,

That is all acceptable to the God-Emperor. We have no interest in your lands at this time, or entering them for that matter, so there is no need for such patrols. However, if such patrols make you happy by all means. We, of course, will continue to patrol as well to avoid our citizens feeling 'threatened' by such patrols near their homes.

You are safe enough in the Plains but the newcomers do pose a threat.

God-Emperor of Umbria

[Thatguyoverther]

Iroquois League

Great Plains Confederacy

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It is good to have brothers in arms in these dark times. Don't concern yourself overly much with the welfare of Spotted Tail and his braves. They are our guests and we would never ask them to do something that would damage the reputation of their tribes.

We have made peace with the Aztecs for now. Only the Great Spirit knows how long such a peace will last. The Aztecs are a blood thirsty people but not entirely untrustworthy. I think, given time, the peace may become permanent.

We are currently in talks with the Emperor of Umbria. A peace treaty may soon be negotiated, but it will be tenuous at best. The Emperor is a disreputable violent creature, and it won't be long before his belligerence is focused in our direction once more. We will make peace, but the Iroquois wont hesitate to break that peace if it looks like there is a chance to remove the "God Emperor" from our lands forever.

We are only now making contact with the strangers. The League hopes that these foreigners will come in peace, and we would be more than happy to accept them as guests in this land. Should they by their actions violate the rules of hospitality we will have to reevaluate our relationship.

Your Brothers

Kanawida and the Iroquois Counsel

Umbira

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Your words do you no service. We will consider them at the next counsel meeting and deliver a decision then.

May the Great Spirit grant you good hunting.

Austrian Confederacy

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Chief Richard von Metternich

Those men spoke the truth. It seems that your settlement has been founded on the edge of Iroquois territory. We would be more than happy to send representatives to your camp. The Great Spirit willing we will be able to come to some formal agreement between our two peoples.

Kanawida, First Among Equals, Iroquois League

[Moody the Wise]

Iriquois League

[I'm not posting this in a spoiler, because it would be a shame if only one player got to see the roleplay. At the end, the actual diplomacy will be spoilered.]

[I'm assuming for the sake of expediency that the representatives are sent, even though technically you just told me you'd be glad to send them]

New Salzbourg welcomes the Iriquois diplomats with a good deal of pomp and circumstance. Several guards meet them at the edge of camp and escort them to the main yard. Tall soldiers clad in blue uniforms with plumed helmets that lent them an even greater apparent height march in formation around the yard with precise military discipline. They all carry guns whose meager appearances do no justice to the fearsome Essence power contained within. A Zeppelin flies overhead and what appear to be small moving huts surround the camp.

The diplomats are escorted past these displays into a large pavilion tent at the far end of camp. Inside the tent, there are lavish tapestries hung all around, a high table at one end and a banquet laid out at the other. To one side, a military band plays Strauss's Tales From the Vienna Woods. A variety of officers - and the few women at camp, mostly officers' wives - waltz around the middle of the tent. The diplomats are allowed a moment to take it all in before one of their escorts signals the band to stop playing and loudly announces: "The ambassadors from the Iriquois League!" They are lead to the high table, where Richard von Metternich sits prepared to get down to business ...

@IC

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"Honored ambassador, welcome to my court. I am Richard von Metternich, High Chief of my people." At this, some of the soldiers grimace ever so slightly. When Richard stares daggers at them, the expression leaves their faces. "I come to offer our protection to the divided peoples of this world. We have already shown several of the local peoples the benefits of our beneficence." He gestures to the assembled crowd, and on closer inspection some of them do appear to be natives dressed up in Imperial garb. "After the Black Elk tribe refused our generosity, many of the locals saw the benefit in our protection. Speaking of protection, let's get right down to it. Many of the tribes of your Eastern lands are far from the protections of your power and near to the dangers of the wild and other natives to the South. These tribes would be much better served by our protection. Would you not agree?"

@Taguacipa

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The representative is detained and questioned by Austrian guards when he arrives. Eventually, he is allowed to stand before Metternich. After hearing the man's speech, Metternich considers for a moment before speaking. "It would seem as though you have nothing to offer us. You say we will never meet your master. He is but a shadow, then, to us, and we have no fondness of dealing with shadows. If your master wishes to deal with us, let him (IC, I don't know Taguacipa is female) show his face. Until then, I bid you good day, sir."

[Eldan]

Turn 2

Julio was standing in the presence of the Holy Cross. Took logical approach, bashed his head in with a censer. José appeared shocked... had his head as well. Others are making pile of skulls beneath cross. Two dozen in last week. Making good progress. God is pleased.

-Last fragment of the log of the spanish expedition. No other remains were found

As more and more colonists are arriving on the new continent from all sides, the reactions of the native people range from apathy to outright panic: a minor spider spirit on the southern continent declares the coming end of the world: to appease him, his tribe, a mere two-hundred people, declare war on all their neighbours and are defeated without much resistance. Alliances are declared as well: the red snake and raven tribes of the territories to the north of the iroquois league make peace for the first time in written history, ending a blood feud that has been going on for nearly a thousand years in one form or the other.
There is, all in all, an uneasy suspense hanging over the entire new world: no wars have broken out, but all powers, small and large, are only waiting for the first outbreak...

[Freshmeat]

The Conclave (turn two)

Hurac the Elder made his way up the mountain trail in silence, his mind almost completely detached from his body, as he contemplated the task Emperor Odokai had charged him with. As a result of the actions undertaken by council delegates in all provinces, the floods that had recently plagued the territories of the Conclave had been sufficiently dealt with and vacated settlements were now being repopulated. Roads and bridges were being rebuilt, better than before, and a team of experts were working on the many ways in which the damage of potential future floods could be lessened or altogether prevented. The threat of famine, too, had been adequately averted for now. In essence, the Conclave was recovering and all measures were undertaken to ensure the safety and prosperity of all its citizens.

Hurac the Elder figured that it was perhaps because of these problems that the Emperor had been so uncharacteristically late in responding to the arrival of new colonists throughout all known territories to the north and south. Undoubtedly these colonists came from the lands to the east and west, as the maps of Columbus’ ill-fated expedition had clearly indicated. While Hurac didn’t know when the Conclave had salvaged or bought these documents, or how long they had been in the Conclave’s possession, he was convinced that those extra tidbits of knowledge might help them to better understand the culture and motives of these newcomers. Early reports suggested none of the colonists spoke Spanish, but until such a time as they could learn the tongue of these people, it would have to do as some sort of lingua franca.

Even though he ascended the mountainous territory with surprising swiftness for someone of his age, Hurac was still dressed rather formally. Long, colourful robes and distinctive jewelry marked him as someone of high status. Despite the harsh terrain, the old man did not show any sign of weariness, as he thoroughly believed that a strong mind could compensate for any physical limitation. Because of this, he had been the Emperor’s chosen candidate to undergo the long and arduous journey through the Andes Mountains. Soon he would reach the colonists that had made landfall there...

To Babbage Hold:

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Hurac the Elder introduces himself as a representative of the Conclave (which he claims is situated in the rainforests to the north) and bids the scientists of the Babbage Institute welcome to these lands. He would like to know what the BIETT’s immediate goals are and if they would be interested in either trading supplies and/or signing a treaty of non-aggression between the BIETT and the Conclave.

The wiry old man’s cold, taxing eyes take everything he sees in, yet his expression remains immutable. It’s clear that although Hurac the Elder is very articulate and reasonably diplomatic, he is a man who hopes for the best but is used to preparing for the worst.

***

Meanwhile, on a small boat many miles to the southeast:

To Amaru Atoc, the idea of contacting these colonists seemed strange, but High Priest Hacuat, speaking on behalf of Emperor Odokai, had convinced her of its necessity. He had told her that ignoring the colonists could be interpreted as a sign of disrespect and that it would be far wiser to go out and meet these new people rather than wait for other groups to whisper lies about the Conclave into their ears. Hacuat had also told her that Emperor Odokai, unlike the Maya, in fact had a soft spot for these colonists in that they were not prejudiced and spiteful like so many of their neighbours, even if the vast majority of them came solely to conquer. Amaru could hardly imagine Emperor Odokai having a soft spot for anyone. Not that anyone ever listened to her, but she considered Odokai downright paranoid, if not completely insane, regardless of how much the Conclave had prospered under his leadership.
When she had asked the council what to do with the colonists to the north they had heard about, the only response was that they were of no concern to the Conclave for the time being.

As the leader of the Amazon warriors of the Conclave, all of that still made a certain degree of sense to Amaru. Not that she was much for politics or other affairs of state. The only reason she had been sent along on this diplomatic mission was to keep her companion Hurac the Younger in check. Hurac himself was just like his father, albeit far more mistrustful and impatient. Amaru considered him a poor choice to send to the Dutch but Hacuat and the Emperor seemed confident that he’d be able to handle things adequately. Only time would tell, Amaru figured.
The warrior maiden squinted her eyes as she looked at the horizon. Up ahead in the distance she could see the high-tech settlement of the colonists...

To de Vrije Staat:

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The pair introduce themselves a representatives of the Conclave, which they claim is situated in the rainforests to the north. They bid the scientists of de Vrije Staat welcome to these lands and would like to know what the immediate goals of the VS entail. They suggest to sign a treaty of non-aggression between de Vrije Staat and the Conclave and ask if the colonists would be interested in conducting trade.

Hurac the Younger makes an impression of nervosity, extreme wariness and a hint of arrogance and impatience. Still, he seems to do his best to come across as friendly and tactful. Amaru Atoc remains silent but remains vigilant and watchful, never letting down her guard for even one second. Based on the messengers that have been sent, it is clear that the Conclave sees the benefits of cooperation, but that little is needed to rouse their suspicion or provoke their ire.

[Moody the Wise]

New Salzbourg

Metternich stands on the dock of the bay, watching the ships roll in. He thinks with a mixture of relief and a certain disappointment that the Emperor has not forgotten about his expedition. No matter. One day, this will all be mine.

A well-dressed man steps off the ship and bows - perhaps not as deeply as Metternich would have liked. "Captain Haas, reporting to my command, your excellency." "Greetings, and welcome to New Salzbourg. What news from the Empire, Captain?"

Over the course of the walk back to the Pavilion and a long cup of tea, the two men brought each other up to speed. The Emperor is courting a new alliance with the Scandinavians and Dutch, and wishes Metternich to find their camps and open lines of communications. He has sent updated maps giving the best approximations of their landing sites. He has also sent over several of the new Essence-powered Rapid Air Transports to facilitate this, given that the Zeppelin is built for destructive power rather than long-distance transport. Not to mention that it would disgrace a Zeppelin to be put to such pedestrian uses.

Diplomacy towards Scands and Dutch to be added at a later time

[Thatguyoverther]

New Salzbourg

The Iroquois Diplomats are almost dumbfounded by the sheer alienness of New Salzbourg. Every tiny part of the proceedings is met with intense interest. Braves gesture and chatter to one another at the height of the soldier's plumes and the almost mechanical nature of their marching. The procession halts unceremoniously at the sight of the massive Zeppelin. Even the more senior chiefs of the delegation gape in wonder at the mind bending sight of the bizarre flying mountain.

The party is visibly relieved to enter the Pavilion and escape the view of the Zeppelin. The party approaches the high table. The braves stand remain standing while the chiefs sit some can hardly contain their excitement while others seem almost shell shocked from the sheer novelty of New Salzbourg.

New Salzbourg

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The Iroquois Ambassador, a wizened old shaman, nods at von Metternich words. "If you will wait but one moment, before continuing. Tradition dictates that we bring some sort of peace offering." He gestures to several of the braves, who are carrying parcels. "Furs from the farthest reaches of the Iroquois League. Tobacco the breath of the Great Spirit. And finally gold from the rivers of our land."

He waits as the braves present each of the gifts in turn. "I also wish to express the condolences of Kanawida, he is just now returning from an expedition to the home of the Northmen, and was unable to come."

He pauses once more before continuing. "We have heard of your... dealings with the Black Fox tribe. I am not alone in feeling distress over the matter. Surely a peaceful resolution was achievable? Is it not said that first the hand must be open before it is made into a fist?"

"That being said, I am confused about what exactly you mean by protection. It could just as easily be said that your people are far from your seat of power, surrounded by hostile tribes and the dangers of the wild. Prehaps it is us who should be offering our protection?"

"That also being said, if protection is our goal, wouldn't everyone's safety be better provided for if we we're to offer one another mutual protection?"

[Moody the Wise]

Iriquois League

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"The Black Elk incident was truly unfortunate. While you have been model guests in our home, the Black Elk dignitaries did not present themselves so graciously. They would not eat our food, would not dance to our music, and when given the opportunity to speak, rattled off nothing but insults. They vowed to return in the night to scalp our men and ravage our women and children. Let us not speak further of those savages."

"Let us not kid ourselves. Your warriors are brave and they fight well, we will not contest that. But you have thousands of miles of long, thin border to protect, and here at the Eastern reaches of it, your power is far less than our own. If you wish a demonstration of the military applications of our technology, we can arrange for one outside. All I ask is, in light of our superior capacity to protect the people of this area, a shift in administration of certain of your Eastern tribes. I am not above making this offer directly to their chiefs and seeing what conclusions they reach, but I would rather it be sanctioned from above. It's just that your empire is too large to administer effectively from your seat of power, and we would like to offer to take over some of those duties for you."

"If it would make you more comfortable with the concept, we would be willing to consider more formal relations between our governments. We could allow Iriquois to serve here at court, and we could send a delegation as a great tribe to the meeting halls of your league. We would be like any other great tribe of your people, masters and protectors over their weaker brethren."

[Maldiem]

((OOC: Spending a fate point, making a declaration. Pending Eldan's approval))
Declaration

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Understanding of essence technology is gained only through years of intensive study at renown universities, of which there are only a small number in Europe and none anywhere else, under the direct, vigilant direction of an expert. Even a kidnapped master alchemist would be unable to teach his captors the secrets without a world-class laboratory.

Further, because of the already intense clandestine turf wars over this technology in Europe, the machines and automatons that are capable of making other Essence technologies have a number of quite effective booby traps and fail-safes built in, such that those attempting to reverse engineer them end up destroying the machines at best, and killing themselves in a spectacular way at worst. As such, it is nearly impossible to steal the secrets behind Essence technology. This is also the reason why large, solvent nations in Asia and Africa (excepting Japan) have not as of yet gained the capability to produce Essence artifacts.

This does not preclude native civilizations from obtaining the capability to make Essence technology, they can still gain points in it through character development (as Eldan described in the rules). This represents sending students to Europe for instruction, or buying (or obtaining through teaching, or any other willing transfer) the manufacturing technology from European colonists.

Brussels, Flanders, VS military Airship Factory

The crowd of students, mounted on Essence-powered disks, floated by the airborne scaffold. The scaffold had long since been imbued with powerful Air essences so the valuable land it sat on could be redeveloped into housing, so the view was pretty breathtaking. The huge cityscape stretched out below them, while drones and workers lurched around the shipyard, plumes of steam curling from their various and sundry exhaust ports.

The instructor, a grizzled, older man, whose lower half had been replaced with an Essence powered lifter that allowed him to float around after a gruesome factory accident, glared at the class through an adjustable telescope-monocle. "Who can tell me why it costs ten times as much to make a military airship, instead of a trade airship?"

A student, wind whipping her hair around her face, answered after an uncomfortable silence, "Is it because we make the hull out of Alchemical Steel?"

The professor shook his head, "The Omnistaal does cost more, but it cannot account for the difference."

A second student answered, "It must be the weapons. They're bristling with them." Again, he the professor rebuked him. The class was silent.

Finally, the old airship builder grunted with dissatisfaction. "Its the Helium. We use Air-imbued hydrogen in civilian airships, because it is much easier to obtain; an elementary bit of alchemy to separate from common ocean water. But if you put hydrogen into the Vlotterzakken of a military ship, one blast, and KABOOM" he slammed his monocle onto his metal pelvis, the class recoiling in surprise, "Our airships are superior, and they cost more to reflect this fact, because we and few others possess the acumen to distill helium, a gas just as naturally light as hyrdogen, but with none of its hazards, from the ether. Now get out of my sight and read your texts, or I'll bring my combat add-ons tomorrow."

Ledger Purchased at Auction Following Dutch East India Company Bankruptcy

Cash Crops, Their Origin, Alchemical Uses, and Ideal Climate

-Coffee: This simple bean is believed to have originated in Africa, something in the vicinity of Ethiopia. The Italians maintained a monopoly on this good following their defeat of the Arabs, until the VOC began production in Indonesia. It grows best in well-watered, warm climates. Coffee lends itself well to Water alchemy, and can be refined by a skilled alchemist into a healing draught. It is incredibly valuable in Europe.

Cotton: A very useful plant, found in Asia and parts of Arabia, that is made into very high-quality clothing, and a number of industrial products. Cotton is best grown with lots of water, and can be induced to grow in temperate climate. Cotton can be used in both Earth and Air alchemical devices.

Bananas: A highly popular food item, found originally in Indochina. Not useful as an alchemical product, but grows well anywhere warm and well watered.

Oranges: Another popular food item from Indochina, this fruit can ward off scurvy in sailors and airship crews, and has become something of a delicacy in Europe due to its scarcity. This crop needs a lot of sunlight, water, and warm climate.

New Amsterdam

Willem looked at the piles of paper on his desk with scorn. His scouts, and their essence locators, had had very little luck in the vicinity of New Amsterdam. The soil was fertile, and food was plentiful, but without raw materials, New Amsterdam couldn't possibly become the sprawling industrial jewel he'd envisioned. They'd already planted the seeds the expedition had brought with them, and the first harvest had already come in. He pulled out his old VOC administrative guidebook, and began to review what it had to say on the economics of colonies. As he read, he began to work, drawing up a plan for the city to solve its little problem.

The model he came up with is simple; New Amsterdam can and would produce huge amounts of valuable crops, with its ample water supply and large tracts of easily arable land, and it would trade these to Europe in exchange for currency (good solid Dutch Gilders, of course), and then use the money to purchase Essence materials and both technological and Essence manufacturing devices to ship back to New Amsterdam. They would use the raw materials (and native labor, which he was in the process of negotiating) to make finished goods, which they would trade to the natives in exchange for goods not available in Europe for further export. The result of this cycle is an increasingly rich colony with a gradually larger industrial base.

Looking at the finished product in the yellow light of an essence lantern, Willem grunted with satisfaction. He resolved to put it into effect in the morning.

@Eldan

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Action 1: Set up trading relations with the VS proper, and other European nations willing to cooperate on this. The basic trade cycle is thus:
New Amsterdam produces coffee, cotton, bananas, and oranges, ships them to Europe for money. We then use the money to buy Essence materials and manufacturing equipment, and ship it back to New Amsterdam. We use the raw materials and factories to make Essence goods, use what we need, and trade the rest to the natives. We then ship back Native goods and more crops, repeat ad nauseum.

Resources Action, Synergy from Diplomacy: 2, +1 from Synergy - 1 from two actions, -2 from the spiteful little dice, spending a fate point to tap the "Industrialists" aspect for a +2, making the result a 3.

Free State diplomats are out in force again, as the new factories and fields require more labor. The diplomats and traders offer some of the natives closer to the city jobs working on New Amsterdam's fields, in exchange for relatively fair wages consisting of regular meals and trade goods. They also try and introduce the Gilder into circulation among the natives, to avoid doing everything on the barter system.

@Eldan

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Action 2:
Convince natives to work on fields for fair pay, move closer to the city. Introduce the Gilder as currency.

Diplomacy action: 3 -1 from two actions, -2 from the stupid stupid roll, result of 0. Going to go ahead and burn through another fate point, tapping my "Melting Pot" aspect, to make the roll a 2.

Fate points remaining: 1

@Kemmotar

The emissary from Taguacipa is greeted in the same fashion as most other important natives were greeted, by sanctioned VS diplomats. Since there is no indication of the relative power of Taguacipa (excepting the better-fed and clothed messenger), the diplomats greet them graciously, and offer the same deal they offered all the natives: trade and coexistence.

[puppyavenger]

Turn one

Prince Johan was troubled by the seemingly ceaseless raiding his subject were suffering form the natives. It seemed that as soon as they made landfall and set up a camp, they seemed to be attacking for the fun of it more then anything else.

Bringing himself to the situation at hand, he addressed the planners and architects they had brought with them. Now as I'm sure you're aware, we need some fortifications and living space for everyone, and quickly. So I want you to start work on a fortified harbor at the River mouth. We can;t go huddling in tents surrounded by sharpened sticks forever anyway.

after finishing going over the plans, he gathered the household guard and board them onto one of the more heavily-armed ships. "If the colonists can't fight off the native raids, we'll just have to go and have a talk with their leaders."

[LongVin]

Kingdom of Italy

Nuovo Verona

The attack hadn't come yet and it appeared that the presence of the fleet scared off any native savagery. This however was not good enough, the natives were still there and they would eventually defy the rule of the Kingdom. It was time for them be crushed.

Rallying his troops, Captain Rizzo organizes a regiment of 80 infantry and 20 cavalrymen together to march on the Native village and put an end to their heretical savagery. With the Italians bolt action guns and horsemen they should make short work of the villagers. Those who are not killed will then be sent to work to help in the construction of the town.

"Forward!" Came the command and the regiment was oon on the march.

OOC: Now, I need to roll my army score on a d3 minus 2 correct?

[Cpt. Soup]

The great Empire of Japan has set it's feet upon the shores of the new world.

The Modern fleets of Japan touch alien shores some short weeks after their departure. From their battleships, whole Brigades of Imperial soldiers march forth to claim these lands on behalf of the Heavenly Emperor. Hand picked members of the Imperial Shogunate command the bristling host of soldiers. Alone side the army arrives another power that is privileged to hold the Emperor's ear, a joint force commissioned by the Empire's Zaibatsu, Corporate leaders of Japan. engineers, laborers were recruited in large numbers alongside more then enough mercenaries to police them.

Several tent cities are raised some distance from the shores they arrived upon. In the short weeks since their arrival, the Corporate section busies itself determining the value of the surrounding region and potential as a new colony, while the army scouts outlying regions and sends up recon balloons to assesses threats.

[Maldiem]

@The Conclave

The delegation from the Conclave is given a warm reception, especially after some of the locals identify them as coming from one of the fabled places where men can do magic and talk to gods. The Alchemists, in particular, are interested in getting to know more about these techniques, and offer to take the delegation back to their home via Airship (so they can meet these mages and prophets), instead of the long, long march back to the forest.

The diplomats mention (and their claim is reinforced by the newly-planted fields and factories) that the VS's goal in establishing New Amsterdam is to increase in prosperity and facilitate contact between their two cultures. They heartily agree to a trade and nonaggression treaty.

South Equatorial Atlantic Ocean, 1 week ago
((I think the music is appropriate))

James Perry sat at the nexus of an oily, steaming tangle of cables, supports, and wires, while raw essence and molten iron gushed through transparent pipes all around him. He was spread-eagled vertically, his arms and legs posed like a macabre version of Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, the eerie orange glow of the Essence that powered the ship giving his shining silver Luchtmarine uniform a hellish pallor. Clever use of mirrors and snakelike passages through the ship allowed him to have "windows" in all directions around the dreadnought, giving him incredible awareness of the situation despite his eyepatch. The smallest motions of his limbs and fingers gave him delicate control of the flying wonder's every move. James Perry sat literally and figuratively at the heart of the ship, commander and bridge crew all in one, while his officers attended to other duties, and tried to sleep through the storm.

It isn't like the storm mattered to the flying Dreadnought The Final Argument of Kings. At 200 meters long, 30 meters high, and 30 meters wide, with a pre-Alchemy and Helium weight of about 60,000 kg, it was going to take a lot more than this puny little tropical storm to make Perry think about going around it. The Dreadnought plowed on, heedless of the screaming wind and battering rain, as an assistant on the catwalk nearby read a report from the New World.

"Sir, Hudson sent this report by semaphore right before we entered the storm and lost contact with the Concordat of Worms. It reads:

All seems to be going according to plan here; the natives, while a bit primitive, seem to be basically friendly. We've begun to cultivate the crops we brought with us, and should make this expedition profitable within the first harvest or two; a resounding success. I am concerned, though, with some of the rumors we've been hearing from the natives about people to the North and West. They say they can do magic and talk to gods, which is ridiculous, or course, but some of the things we've been receiving in trade seem to indicate that either someone on this continent has a basic understanding of Alchemy, or there is some other technique at work.

As you may know, the Secretaresse van Oorlog has vested a great deal of authority in me with regard to our new colony. It is with this authority that I hereby order The Final Argument of Kings, and her escorts, the Brandschip Concordat of Worms and the Transport Union of Utrecht to report for duty in the New World."

Perry grinned. He hadn't seen any action since his last tour in the Indian ocean, and that was just trouncing some uppity Arabian privateers who thought they could take down The Final Argument of Kings with some secondhand cannons from half a century ago. He could do with some exploring.

Anyone on the wrong end of that exploring? Well, they were in trouble. The Final Argument of Kings sported two 45 cm gun batteries, three guns per battery, amidships on the side, such that both batteries can hit anything directly ahead or behind of the dreadnought, to the side the gun is on, or directly below it. It also bristled with smaller guns, ranging in size from 5 cm essence-flak weapons designed to pick off lone attackers in Stoompaks, to 30 cm guns designed to cover the blind spots of the main batteries. The Union of Utrecht, an armed transport, had taken on a battalion of Free State marines in Rotterdam, and the Concordat of Worms, called a "flying war crime" by the more dovish of the legislature, was a fire ship; capable of raining pitch, oil, and quicklime on those unlucky enough to be below it, the liquids alchemically enhanced to burn infernally hot for days.

New Amsterdam, Present

Willem stood on top of New Amsterdam's keep, a telescope to his eye so he could examine the loading and unloading of the newly-arrived squadron. He hoped he would never have to use the ships' terrible power, but felt better for having the option to call in the Luchtmarine. "Si vis pacem, para bellum" he says, to no one in particular.

@Eldan:

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Spending my new point on Army, as represented by the three flying piles of ouch described above.

[Adlan]

The Great Plains Confederacy
Turn 2

It had been a hard season for the people of the plains, And a movement arose amoung the tribes. Those on the west had long used the High mountains, wood, game, stone, and now ores for smelting they took from them. But they were only seasonal.

But, among the Tribes, amongst warriors returning from their war party's, and finding the herd still small, and the game scarce, they looked to the mountains with a new light, and sent word to their comrades, and their comrades familey's.

A Spontanious movement arose, so fast that it was underway when word of it reached the two lodges and there would have been little that could be done to prevent it. So, like any sensible leadership, they argued, and discussed, and argued, and then approved.

Like the cities that had begun forming a few generations before,, tribes from all across the great plains were forging together. New bands, new tribes. They took tools, and seed and livestock, but not much. Mostly they took extra mouths, and found new sources of food.

Initially, they are simply self sufficient, but they have already found more resources, fertile valley's, rich mountain woodlands, and the ores for many metals.

Eldan:

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Claiming the rocky mountains, as I mentiond in PM. This should alliviate the stress on the existing rsources of the confderacy, so I'm spending my Attribte point on Living standard.
What would my action roll be for my collanisation action?

[Thatguyoverther]

Umbira

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We have just made our first contact with these strangers. And already they seem intent on taking away our land. We see now the wisdom in the emperor's plan. We will ensure that the borders remain peaceful, provide of course that you do the same.

New Salzbourg

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The shamans face becomes blank and hard to read. He talks in hushed tones with some of the other ambassadors.

"Perhaps you would be willing to show us that display you offered earlier."

Open invitation to all colonial Factions (Except New Salzbourg)

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We of the Iroquois League are interested in cultivating a relationship with the foreigners from beyond the sea. We have set aside a portions of land on both coasts for settlements. We would be happy to give you a portion of land in exchange for a trade agreement and peace treaty.

[Moody the Wise]

Iriquois Confederacy (I'm not going to bother with spoilers, since everyone's going to know pretty soon)

Metternich looks at the small party of natives before him, in awe of their audacity. "Shackle them. Admiral Plum, prepare the Zeppelin fleet for takeoff. These men want a show, and we would be rude hosts if we did not comply."

@Eldan

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The shackles being applied to the Iriquois gentlemen are Austrian Shackles of Tranquility. They are imbued with the water essence, and use the calming and purifying powers of the essence to inhibit the body's ability to react violently.

While the fleet is readied, Metternich takes a brisk walk around camp, checking that all of the defenses are in place and functioning properly. The camp will be in a state of full military readiness until the expedition returns, and likely even longer than that. He passes the newly constructed production houses where even now the civilian corps is hard at work reproducing the material culture of the Fatherland. [@Eldan: Putting my new attribute point into Industrial Infrastructure]

Once everything is in order, Metternich takes his place at the helm of the fleet's flagship Zeppelin, the Mozart. The fleet sails out of New Salzbourg and heads to the South and West, making for the heart of Iriquois territory. Whenever a minor tribe's village is flown over, a note is dropped informing the tribe to look to the Southwest and watch as the corrupted Iriquois aristocracy, who refused to yield its power over the smaller tribes, is defeated and humiliated, and their people become free again to choose their masters.

[Further description of the inevitably ensuing carnage to follow pending GM ruling on impact of the action]

[Thatguyoverther]

As soon as news of the betrayal becomes known the message of New Salzbourg's betrayal is spread throughout the League by drum, warning vilages in the Zeppelins path to evacuate.

The messages also tell the scattered settlements of the League to prepare for a war.

Great Plains Confederacy

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It seems that at least one of these groups of strangers is indeed belligerent. We would appreciate if you would join us in our elimination of this threat to our peoples.

If you cannot send an army we would appreciate if you would allow Spotted Tail and his braves to join us in what Great Spirit willing will be a short war.

Umbria

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We apologize for sending another missive so soon after the first. It seems that the Emperor was even more correct in his assertion about the natures of the strangers than we believed

We would like to ask for your help removing one of these cancerous legions from our land. In exchange your men are more than welcome to keep whatever strange creations they come across on the bodies of the enemies.

Edit:

@ Eldan: Putting the point in Military to represent the addition of Spotted Tail's braves and the Northmen to the Iroquois Leagues military might.

[Moody the Wise]

To all Colonial Factions:

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Greetings, your excellencies,

I am Richard von Metternich, commander of the Austrian Empire's expeditionary force here in the New World. Within mere weeks of our landing, we have already had war declared upon us by the Iriquois Confederacy. They call us invaders and reject the gifts of our modern civilization, preferring to lord over their primitive peoples in a darkness worse than our own Medieval times. They may whisper kind words in your ears for fear of the power you wield, but know that if they go on unchecked, it will merely be a matter of time before you, too, are driven from this continent. We must stand together and oppose the natives whenever they seek to do us harm.

To Umbria

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Greetings, God-Emperor of Umbria,

We have heard tell from the weak tribes of the North of the existence of real men in the lands to the South. Surely you, too, must despise weakness when you see it, and it must disgust you to live in such proximity to the Iriquois, hiding behind their 'confederacy,' lacking even the strength to truly rule themselves.

In your wisdom I trust you can see through the lies that the others spread, that we are foreign invaders and must be repelled at all cost. In truth, we are no worse than any of your centuries-old enemies, and in many cases rather much better.

Between our two great empires, we could wipe the Iriquois from the map with a ferocious swiftness, bringing the people of this world under our wings. We both have much to gain in such a scenario.

Or you could choose to protect the weak ways of the Iriquois, and from it gain nothing but the satisfaction of having allowed the weak and unworthy to live one more day.

Richard von Metternich,
Emperor of New Austria

[Adlan]

Great Plains Confederacy

When word reaches the Confederacy, of the betrayal of their allies, there is great consternation. Not over what to do, but over the fact that Umbria, their enemies, might have been speaking the truth.

The Course of Action was clear to every Chieftain, every medicine man and every brave.

Iroquois League

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Brothers. The Great Plains stands with you. These strangers have broken the laws of hospitality and peace. Spotted Tail and all his braves are at their freedom to fight the invaders in co-operation with you. Knowing spotted tail, he would have done so, no matter how the tribes spoke, he is a man of honour.
We shall begin amassing our forces, ready to support you, should you need it. The Medicine Men have been speaking of great magic.
We are with you
-Great Chief Wild Eye's.

Eldan, that Guy over there.

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As Eldan suggested, the Iroquois League should now benefit from the aspect 'Confederacy Riders'. Giving them a Bonus when they use them for communication, fighting, scouting and such.

[WhiteKnight777]

Grand Cathay

The people of Cathay had been busy.

Near the cleared plain where the bountiful harvest of celestial rice had been harvested, another sort of clearing had been set up. Piles of unworked stone and fresh-cut timber had been assembled within a vast circle. The Radiant Blossom and her entourage of lesser sages had spent day and night describing a vast circle, and Gao Fen Li, the High Bureaucromancer and Chief Priest of the Celestial Host had spent those same days and nights with his own assemblage of priests and savants setting up a multitude of shrines to the various divinities. This strange soil was proving difficult for the gods of Grand Cathay - the native spirits and godlings resisted with the ferocity of tigers. But the inexorable and righteous potency of Cathay's superior divinities had succeeded in setting up a local Spirit Court. Soon, new gods would grow to bless this land and help transform it into the wondrous paradise that Huang Rho knew it was destined to be.

Standing in assembly with him just outside the borders of the grand circle were some of Cathay's own divinities - here, in this strange new world, they were hazy and insubstantial as morning mist on the Imperial River. They could not yet hold solid form, only project their images using what little power they could spare - but still, they were an imposing sight. Chief among them was The Unimpeachable Lady of Heavenly Design, High Chancellor of the Bureau of Architecture and the Goddess of Cities. Her blessings would be vital in the forthcoming endeavor. She smiled at Huang Rho, her insubstantial hair the color of a southern sunset, and lips like coral. He felt his heart stir in his breast and the hair one the back of his neck stand. Even insubstantial as this, Cathay's gods were an awe-inspiring sight, and a reminder of why they were destined to rule this new land.

In the middle of the circle, the last laborers were depositing the last loads of raw material. As they left the circle, the crowd behind Huang Rho stirred and parted with uneasy looks as the Conclave of Shadows moved through their midst.

Even Huang Rho had to admit a slight prickle of fear when he looked upon the Conclave. Robed in their namesake color, they were a fearsome sight - and the knowledge of their duties made them seem all the more imposing. The Black Conclave were the spirit-hunters of Cathay. Individuals born with the ability to sense and hunt creatures of the spirit world and naturally disruptive of the flows of Chi, they were tasked with dealing with rogue gods, spirits, and demons... and, in times of war, with the assasination and capture of foreign spirit-creatures. This was the duty they now performed - in cages of blackened jade they brought forth the spirits of this land - strange, unwholesome things in the shape of strange beasts and hideously masked men and women. It was good that they would soon be replaced by more familiar and friendly spirits, seeded by the prayers of Cathay.

Cao Xia and Gao Fen Li stepped forward with their acolytes as a hush fell over the cloud. Cao Xia eyed the leader of the Conclave - her own twin sister, Cao Min. The look that passed between the two was utterly inscrutable, and they said nothing. Gao Fen Li began to chant, intoning a prayer skyward as his hands gestured dramatically - despite the fact that some of the objects of his prayer were standing only a few feet away.

"Hear us, oh gods of Grand Cathay. Hear us from across the wide and distant sea, hear us from this strange new land whence we are come, with your names on our lips. Hear us, as we ask for your benediction as we raise in your honor the first true city this barbaric land shall see. And hear us, as we sing your praises and go forth to spread your glory across this untamed wilderness. Bless our arms, our backs, our hearts and our minds, that we should bring the light of your reign with us as we illuminate the darkness!"

He finished with another grand, sweeping gesture as Cao Xia and Cao Min stepped forward. The two of them intertwined their left hands as they began to gesture with their right, and Cao Xia nodded to Huang Rho. The young prince stepped forward, an obsidian dagger in his hand. With it, he cut open his palm and let seven drops of blood fall into the circle, which had been filled with some strange green powder. With each drop, the powder smoked and took on a greater degree of luminescence.

"By the Blood of Heaven do I consecrate this new city. By the blood of my fathers do I make this land our own. By the will of Heaven, I declare this place, The Imperial Landing, as the capital of this new prefecture of the Grand Empire of Cathay!"

As Huang Rho had been speaking, the twins had been working a magic of their own. In their black jade cages, the foreign spirits writhed and died in agony, their essential forces drained away. Out of the twin's hands this power flowed, surrounding the vast circle in a coruscating, howling vortex. The gods of Cathay began their part, shaping this spiritual energy into something useful. Raw stone and wood began to fly, working itself into shapes. Whole building assembled themselves in the space of minutes as the people looked on, awed. Pagodas and houses rose towards heaven, streets were born from the raw earth as Cathay made its mark upon this new land.

The process lasted only a few hours - and when it was done, a city stood, new and gleaming and somehow strange, despite the familiar shapes of its buildings. The gods had vanished as soon as the working was done, their reserves exhausted by the labor.

Huang Rho entered the city, followed by his retinue and the rest of the people. Already ministers were lining civilians and soldiers up, assigning homes. There was much left to do - the city would not hold all the force, and many would have to make do with camps. Proper palaces and temples would take longer to build, given the geomantic exactitude which such edifices required to function properly in channeling the chi of a city. But the Imperial Landing was here - a visible symbol of Cathay's dominion, and its walls were thick and strong. Here Huang Rho would begin to carve out his legacy, and the legacy of all who would come after him.

[Maldiem]

On the Physics of Alchemy, Excerpt, from Dr. Felix Gerhard, PhD., AlD., M.D.'s address to the Dutch Academy of Sciences, 1830
((Link is mood music))

"When Isaac Newton, amongst many of his contemporaries, first proposed the Theory of the Luminiferous Ether, he was, in effect, positing a system that would entirely replace our understanding of the physical universe up to that point. Indeed, what followed was a period of intense neglect of the arts that had advanced European civilization to that level of affluence, and though the unlocking of Essence technology lead to a world of new wonders, we let many of the more mundane innovations of that period fall by the wayside.

This has lasted into the 19th century, and it wasn't until Karl Mohr, a humble refugee from the wars in Prussia, first examined the energetics of an Essence engine that we got a glimpse of what is truly going on. Mohr observed that though an essence engine could run for years before the energy and essence in the mixture of elemental materials inside the engine were exhausted, the time that this took, and that the work that this engine could do before running down, was proportional to the amount and quality of materials placed there in the first place. Something of a common sense observation, but the insight he drew from this was the mark of his genius-- he set forth not just to catalog which materials lasted for how long under which conditions, as so many had done before him, but to actually understand what about those materials gave them this mysterious power.

Mohr developed, over years of intensive experimentation that I was fortunate enough to witness in its final stages, a model for the relationship between elemental energy and the properties of the items that possess this energy. From this list of properties, I have been able to deduce a fundamental relationship between alchemical energy of all four types, and the fundamental physical forces; kinetic energy, potential energy, and chemical energy, that non-alchemical scientists have so strenuously investigated over the past century"

*Dr. Gerhard inserts an image crystal into the Essence projector, showing the four formulas that every Alchemist now commits to memory before even interviewing to join the academy*

"As you can see from the formulas, and the evidence that I have presented to you in painstaking detail in the publication you all received prior to the presentation, not only are these forces related, but I believe they are fundamentally the same. That is, energy is essence, and essence is energy; furthermore, they can be converted and used interchangeably"

*The transcript ends, with a small note: "cacophony from the onlookers", as the various bigwigs of the scientific world argue about the presentation*

Fire Essence, Applications, And Relationship to the Physical Forces, Third Addition, Copyright 1873 (current edition)

Chapter 9, The Magnetic Essence Induction Engine, or Why Airships are Big

As you should know by now from our examination of Gerhard's Theory of Unified Ether in Chapter 2 of this text, Heat, Motion, and Electrical energy can be readily converted into fire essence with the activation of a simple device, such as any of those found in modern Essence motors, through the formula:

*Gerhard's equation*

This is useful for a variety of applications, but there is a problem; it is difficult to store any of those forces for long periods of time, as they dissipate into the surroundings as entropy, as described by Carnot in 1865. Our engineers have come up with an innovative solution to this conundrum, and you may already be familiar with it as the Magnetic Essence Induction Engine, which is arguably the single invention that makes our modern lifestyle achievable.

The heart of a MEIE is essentially a large amount of molten iron, which is used because of Iron's high latent fire essence, magnetic properties, and specific heat. The iron is then fed into a series of plaster or clay tubes, enhanced via the Earth Essence to improve their already good insulating properties and raise their melting point, and the whole system is set in motion with carefully engineered motors in a countercurrent exchange, such that what small amount of heat that does diffuse will tend to diffuse toward the center of the system. This yields by itself a system that will leak heat in only extremely small amounts over very small periods of time, and was called at the time a Molten Iron Storage Core (MISC). This was the state of the art until 10 years ago; it remains the storage option of choice in devices too small to house a MEIE.

At that time, a young Serbian immigrant to the VS, Nikoli Tesla, noticed that when a MISC was mounted in a military Luchtschip as a power source, it tended to build up an electrical charge. Furthermore, the amount of this charge was proportional to the amount of time since the MISC had been grounded, and the distance that the airship had traveled in that time. Tesla pored over the literature, and shut himself in the lab a week, before emerging with a hypothesis. It is a well established fact that a magnetic object, when moving through a magnetic field, can produce an electrical current. Tesla posited that the typical MISC was, because it contained a moving magnetic fluid, essentially a very large electromagnet. When the huge amount of moving molten iron interacted with the Earth's natural magnetic flux, an electrical current was produced in the fluid, that could not go to ground because of the ceramic insulators.

It wasn't long before Tesla developed the MEIE that we know today; an engine that "harvests" energy from the Earth's magnetic field by magnetic induction, and then converts this energy into more heat and motion to drive the reactor, and Fire essence energy to drive the devices that make modern life what it is. An interesting note about the MEIE, is that it becomes more efficient as it gets larger; this is why larger airships, such as those in the Dreadnought class and larger, will only need to recharge their storage core if they exhaust huge amounts of energy in a battle; the MEIE is more than capable of replenishing their essence reserves following typical activity. Indeed, one of the reasons these airships are so highly favored is that they can act as a sort of "fuel tanker" to recharge smaller airships in their squadron, or Stoompaks stored on board.

Note: Because of intense debate on the subject, and an advertising campaign launched by the Edison Essence Company, Essence grids in the VS now run almost entirely on Direct Induction engines rather than Tesla's Alternating Induction engines, despite the fact that in this author's opinion Alternating Induction is far superior.

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The more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?

I've been reading up on the state of 19th century science, and they were actually pretty advanced. Throwing in Essence actually makes me think they'd be capable of a lot of things that we aren't capable of IRL 2009. I'll try to keep it in a non-game-breaking range, but I figured I'd share my take on how things would have worked out.

New Amsterdam

Godfried Ludo, chief diplomat to the Hudson expedition, watched as the porters finished loading the last of the supplies onto the light cruiser Krakatoa. He examined his orders, which detailed his mission; contact as many local empires as possible in the next year, and extract peace treaties and trade relationships, while keeping an eye out for trade goods that the Dutch could replicate, most especially cash crops.

All Native Factions

Assuming Ludo isn't killed by a native faction earlier on his route, the Krakatoa flies into your territory, though they do so as peaceably as possible, the VS flag prominently displayed. Ludo attempts to make contact with the locals, via an interpreter he brought along from the locals that have become semi-integrated into the settlements around New Amsterdam.

[AlistairThorne]

Iroquois League

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To the Honourable Heathens of the Iroquois League,

We have no intention of bringing you into our domain through military force at this time. As we said, these 'foreigners' must be removed from our lands. We may parley with them initially, to ascertain the extent of their unique technologies so that we might acquire that any that may prove useful.

As for direct intervention on our part, you will have to provide us with more information. You are not the only ones to encounter these foreigners and we are unsure which cancer is causing you difficulties. We are honouring our truce and our spies have been recalled from your territory, after all.

Signed,
The God-Emperor of Umbria, Ruler of All He Chooses To Rule

Emperor of New Austria

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Greetings Foreign Heathen, perhaps an honourable one, perhaps not,

We see no reason to bring some of the Iroquois under our dominion only to be crushed in turn by foreign heathens. As a token of good will, we demand you hand over examples of all your military equipment. Once we have examined it, and have assessed its capabilities. Only then would we consider aligning ourselves with you against our neighbours.

We could crush them at any time, on our own, after all. We have not seen good cause to do so. There are many Heathens in this world. The order we convert them to the One True Faith is ultimately irrelevant to the God-Emperor.

Signed,
The God-Emperor of Umbria, Ruler of All He Chooses To Rule

[Thatguyoverther]

Iroquois League

Doing battle with the airships flying out of New Salzbourg has had an impact on the tribes of the League. While it's easy to flee into the safety of the woods well before the lumbering airships even come into view, striking back has proven harder.

The Counsel recognizes the importance of closing the technological gap. Using the mining techniques of their southern compatriots, the tribes or the League start harvesting iron and making steel in large quantities for the first time. Throughout the League there is a push towards invention and innovation. The Iroquois start fashioning the first ballistas, in the hopes of some day being able to bring down one of the flying behemoths. ((Putting a point into technology.))

The Counsel continues to debate how best to eliminate the foreign invaders. Ideas vary from a frontal assault to bizarre ideas like sending sickness infected blankets or convincing the mentally inferior enemy to trade the land back in exchange for beads and baubles. While the Counsel debates many of the tribes in the immediate area take matters into their own hands.

The tribes begin their own small scale war on New Salzbourg. They use every tactic short of an actual assault. Poisoning fresh water supplies, sneaking up to the walls and firing into the camp in the night, attacking and over running fishing vessels. Whenever a party leaves the camp for any reason they are assaulted if they are few and number and harried if the tribes don't have enough braves to kill them outright. All the braves scream a new battle cry

VS

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We would be more than happy to host an envoy from your great nation. I think we may have access to goods you will be interested in.

Umbria

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Given our pass history we would ask for the same in the Esteemed Emperor's place.

Enclosed is a transcript of all the interactions between the League and the New Austrians, along with a description of all the technologies they have so far displayed, the location of New Salzbourg, and the layout of the base as far as the League's spies can discover. ((Feel free to open any spoilers from them labeled to the Iroquois League.))

[B]

Edit: Waiting to see what the consequences of the attack are.

[Falconer]

Greystone

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"We feel that such would be appropriate. Our neighbors are troublesome, to say the least. Perhaps we can help each other. You can grant a few of these technological wonders here to us, and we will assist you in your explorations. Is this acceptable?"

OoC: More to come.