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| Tales of the Celestial Empire; Civ2 AAR / fanfic | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jun 8 2008, 09:21 PM (759 Views) | |
| Specialist290 | Jun 8 2008, 09:21 PM Post #1 |
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Admin-type Guy
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Helpful Index of Story Posts --XX. Introduction / Settings (this post) --01. The Two Brothers, Part I (4000 BC) --02. The Two Brothers, Part II (4000 BC - 3860 BC) All right, I realized that I haven't really been on this forum much lately. I think the biggest problem in that regard is that I haven't really had something to focus my attention on here, some project that's caught my interest. I've tried to work on a couple of RPGs, but let's just say my GMing fires aren't burning at the moment. Therefore, I've decided to start this little project, partly to give me something to focus on, partly to kill time, and partly because I enjoy telling stories. The game is Civilization II. The stories will be brief vignettes from a game that I've been playing off-and-on for about a few months or so and that I've been taking notes on (in the form of a fairly simple timeline). I'll write it in narrative form, so you won't have to have played the game in order to follow along, but experienced Civ2 players (such as myself and TP) should be able to tell what's going on in the background. I may or may not include screenshots; that largely depends on where the story goes and how much you guys enjoy it. I'll try to copy the style of old myths, legends, and other folktales in my writing, so it shouldn't be too difficult to read and enjoy. There may also be a little tongue-in-cheek humor, but I'm not going to guarantee that it'll all be funny. The Celestial Empire itself is largely based on a mishmash of Chinese and Japanese culture and probably won't be exactly true to either, but hopefully that won't ruin the reader's enjoyment. For the curious, the game is played w/ these settings: World Size:Large Land Mass:Normal Land FormArchipelago Climate:Arid Temperature:Temperate Age:4 Billion Years DifficultyPrince Civs:7 Barbarians:Raging Hordes Custom Rules:None Gender:Male Civilization:Celestians (custom Chinese) Adjective:Celestial Leader:Feng First chapter to follow shortly! Edited by Specialist290, Jun 9 2008, 03:21 PM.
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| Specialist290 | Jun 8 2008, 10:33 PM Post #2 |
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Admin-type Guy
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I. The Two Brothers, Part I (4000 BC) Once upon a time, in the era when the Great Will spoke often to mortals; when heroes and great warriors of song and story roamed the earth freely, slaying monsters and collecting great big heaps of gold and other treasure; when the Four Heavenly Kings walked the earth, slaying mighty Demon Princes and bestowing blessings upon the sons of man... Once upon a time, there lived two brothers, Feng Hsin and Feng Lang. Both Feng Hsin and Feng Lang were simple nomad herders, following the whims of the flocks of sheep, goats, and other assorted domestic animals of all shapes, sizes, and smells (especially smells) as they in turn followed the waxing and waning of the seasons and the flowering of the grasses of the great windswept plains. The life of a nomad herder was a hard one: There was little food save what could be obtained from one's flock or from foraging, their few possessions were whatever they could carry on their backs or those of their pack animals, disease and famine spread quickly, and of course while following the herds one constantly had to watch his step (for unlike humans, the sheep, goats, and other assorted domestic animals were not thoughtful enough to dig nice little holes in the ground away from their living spaces). Nevertheless the two brothers, Feng Hsin and Feng Lang, were content, for they knew no other life aside from that of a nomad herder. Now Feng Hsin and Feng Lang, despite being nomad herders, were quite different in their personalities. Feng Hsin was the more spirited of the two; he was truly at home on the windswept plains; he was as strong as ten men, capable of throwing a spear from sunrise to sunset, and fast enough to race the wild horses of the plains and win (on a good day). He was far and away regarded as the strongest and bravest man among the assembled tribes of the plains, and as such he often led them against the wild barbarians from the northern forests and the eastern hills. Feng Lang, on the other hand, was the more thoughtful; he often sat and watched the herds for hours on end, listening to their bleatings and other such noises until he could immediately tell a well-fed lamb from a starving goat by sound alone. He knew all the best watering holes and pasture fields on the plains, and he knew where to dig in the summer when all the watering holes ran dry. For these reasons he was regarded as the wisest man on the plains, and many others came to him from their farthest reaches to seek his counsel. One day, the two brothers were out tending their flocks (although it's more likely that Feng Lang was doing most of the tending while Feng Hsin was goofing off and wrestling some wild boar or something), a miraculous light shone from the heavens, and the Great Will Itself descended from the clouds in human form. It turned to the two brothers and spoke: "Hear now, O mortals, the decree of the Great Will of the Cosmos: Today it is decreed that you, Feng Hsin and Feng Lang, have been favored by me to receive the Mandate of Heaven, and you and your descendants shall become the rulers of All That Is Under Heaven. To properly fulfill your destinies, you must unite the tribes of the windswept plains and found a great and mighty city. Only when you have completed this task shall you truly receive the Mandate of Heaven and the favor of the Four Heavenly Kings." The two brothers stood their for a moment, dumbstruck by the awesome presence of the Great Will. Then Feng Hsin rose his hand. "Yes, O Feng Hsin, Favored Son of Heaven?" the Great Will said. "O Great Will," Feng Hsin replied, "we are but two humble nomadic herders, with no cunning tongues or great stores of riches. Who shall believe us when we say that we have been graced by Your mandate?" The Great Will reached into its robes and pulled out two items, one a great green emerald and the other a slender silver horn. Both of them shone with a magnificent divine light. "These shall be tokens of my blessing, that you may persuade the unbelievers and silence those who would doubt your words." Then Feng Lang, in his turn, raised his hand. "Yes, O Feng Lang, Light of Celestial Wisdom?" the Great Will said. "Your gifts are truly generous," replied Feng Lang, "but once we have gathered the people and gained their trust, where will we know to found our city?" The Great Will answered, "In three days hence you shall receive a sign from me which will guide you in your path." Then It ascended towards the heavens in a brilliant column of light. But Feng Hsin still had doubts in his heart, so he spoke up and said, "Excuse me, Great Will?" The Great Will paused in its ascent and answered, "Yes, O Feng Hsin, Favored Son of Heaven?" Feng Hsin then asked, "What, exactly, is a city?" Then the Great Will sighed, for it was tired of answering questions. Then It remembered that, while It knew all things and saw all things, It was dealing with mere mortals capable of neither, and therefore that It must be patient with them. "A city," It answered, "is a great mass of people who live in one spot all together and work toward a common goal." There were a great many more questions the brothers wished to ask, such as "Why should they all live together when there is so much open space on the grassy plains?", "How can we live in and rule over a city when all we've known are the herds and pastures?", and, of course, "What about all the sheep, goats, and other domestic animals?", but the Great Will left at that moment as suddenly as it appeared. The brothers, Feng Hsin and Feng Lang, knew not what they should do next, so they called it a day and slept, hoping that everything would become clearer the next day after a good night's rest. Part 2 to follow tomorrow (hopefully)! |
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| Chuck Norris | Jun 8 2008, 10:46 PM Post #3 |
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The Chuck
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*claps* Nice work sp, i really like it, nice way to start off a story. Keep it up
Edited by Chuck Norris, Jun 8 2008, 10:47 PM.
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| Specialist290 | Jun 8 2008, 10:55 PM Post #4 |
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Admin-type Guy
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Thanks! I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.
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| Specialist290 | Jun 9 2008, 03:19 PM Post #5 |
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Admin-type Guy
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The Two Brothers, Part II (4000 BC - 3860 BC) That night, Feng Hsin had a dream. In his dream he saw an eagle building its nest in the shadow of a great standing stone. Upon awakening, he pondered the dream and realized that this must be the sign he had been promised; he was to build his city in the shadow of the great mountain Hao Hai, the great peak that towered over the windswept plains. Feng Lang also had a dream. In it he stood facing the sunset, with both legs in rain puddles separated by a furrow of dirt. He too believed that this was the promised sign, that he was destined to build the city on a neck of land between two seas far to the west. The next day the two brothers called together all the other nomad herders of the windswept plains. A vast multitude assembled, for while there were few nomad herders on the windswept plains, they of course could not let their herds of sheep, goats, and other domestic animals out of their sight lest they be hunted by hungry predators. All of these animals created quite a ruckus, and it was a perilous time indeed for those walking without shoes. Now when all the men of the plains were assembled together, the two brothers, Feng Hsin and Feng Lang, led them to a spot close by enough for them to keep one eye on the flocks while far away enough that they could speak without having to yell themselves hoarse. Then they recounted their tale of how the Great Will had descended from the heavens to bestow Its favors upon them and showed the people the gifts they had received as proof. The crowds marveled at these tokens and concluded that they above all people were the most blessed. From this they took the name of the "People of Heaven," or the "Celestials," by which name we are still known today. Then Feng Hsin continued, saying, "But that is not all, for that very night I was given a sign in the form of a dream!" And he recounted the dream he had received. But Feng Lang was vexed and answered, "Not so, O brother Feng Hsin, for I too have received a sign!" And he in his turn told of his dream. Now at this Feng Hsin grew angry and called his brother a liar. Feng Lang responded by calling his brother an even greater liar. Feng Hsin then accused his brother of being an even greater liar than old Hu the Catcher of Fish and reminded him that he had not yet returned the shovel he had borrowed. Feng Lang then said that his brother's lies were multiplied by an infinite number and that he had been given that shovel as a gift, and therefore why should he have to return it? At this Feng Hsin's wrath waxed great, and he punched his brother Feng Lang in the nose. This should have ended the argument, but Feng Lang was wise and clever, and that night he short-sheeted Feng Hsin's bedroll. The next day the argument had spread even amongst the other nomad herders. Heated words were exchanged, blows were traded, and even sheep, goats, and other domestic animals were being stolen from their proper flocks. The brothers then saw how their petty bickering had brought about this chaos and despaired. Feng Lang spoke, "Alas! See, O Feng Hsin my brother, what has become of our foolish feud! I fear that this fight will tear apart the windswept plains and destroy us all in bloodshed, and what of our destiny then?" Feng Hsin answered, "Indeed, O Feng Lang my brother, I now regret my haste, but whatever can we do to end this foolishness?" Then Feng Lang the Wise said to his brother, "I have an idea; since we cannot agree on where to found our city, then I shall take those who will follow me to the west, and you shall take those who follow you to the south. The first to find the spot promised in his dream shall become the ruler of all our people." Feng Hsin shrugged and said, "Fine with me." Then the two brothers gathered the people together and announced their plans. The people pondered over their words and then agreed, in the interests of peace, to split into two groups. The people gathered their flocks of sheep, goats, and other domestic animals and separated, one group under Feng Hsin heading south, and the other group under Feng Lang heading west. Later that day the Great Will descended to earth in a pillar of light and hammered a sign with an arrow pointing east into the ground. Then It waited for the two brothers, Feng Hsin and Feng Lang, to show up so they could see the sign. After a long, long wait, the Great Will finally gave up and ascended once again, thinking that if they couldn't be bothered to listen, then they could figure it out the hard way on their own. Feng Hsin and Feng Lang each spent twenty long years in the wilderness, searching for the spot revealed to them in their dreams. At the end of those twenty years Feng Hsin came to the foot of a great mountain that towered over the windswept plains. This, he thought, [/i] must be the great mountain Hao Hai, the mountain of the dream![/i] He then founded the city of Huanzhe (meaning "The Place Where the Heavens, the Earth, and the Sea Meet) at its foot, along the coast of what we know now to be the Inland Sea. Once the construction of the city was complete the Four Heavenly Kings descended from the sky, each holding the corner of a great golden palace. They then gathered before Feng Hsin and presented him with a golden scepter. At this all the people acclaimed him as Emperor of the Celestial Empire and Ruler of All That Is Under Heaven, before returning to more practical issues such as where exactly to put the sheep, goats, and other domestic animals. Feng Lang, meanwhile, searched and searched, pressing ever westward but finding no signs of his promised land. In his spare time, however, he devised an Alphabet for the Celestial language, which he claimed was inspired in another dream in which he heard the same song being repeated over and over again by an unknown voice. Feng Lang then grew old and died without finding the site for his city, but he left behind several descendants, and his final words were instructions telling his sons not to give up the search. For years and years the descendants of Feng Lang continued to wander the wilderness, following the setting sun. Finally they came to a spot where the land lay between the Inland Sea and the Great World Ocean; there they founded their city Langdao, which can be translated as "Feng Lang's City Is Better Than Yours." To this day, the cities of Huangzhe and Langdao remain rivals of one another in excellence among all the cities of the Empire. When two travelers meet on the road from Huangzhe to Langdao, each will boast of the merits of their city and denigrate the other, and often will a heated argument turn into a test of strength and will. Yet, as both are citizens of the Celestial Empire, never will such a contest become so fierce that, at the end, the loser will not buy the winner a drink afterward at the nearest inn. Here ends the Tale of the Two Brothers. |
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| Chuck Norris | Jun 14 2008, 12:41 AM Post #6 |
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The Chuck
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Nice, i loved it. |
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I'll try not to keep you waiting too long.

10:51 AM Jul 11