Jotunn Draugr

Time's a Changing - a Steampunk NRP set in a Psuedo-Earth

The Palace of Heaven, Diarjing City

The afternoon was bright, with rays of sunlight trickling through breaks in the clouds. Assembled in the royal courtyard, of the Palace of Heaven, stood thousands of soldiers, servants, dignitaries, and reputable land-owners. As the Emperor stepped forward through the main gate, they all fell to their knees, with their heads resting on the cool ground. The Emperor stepped calmly, down a path through the middle of the subservient crowd, his massive golden robe flowing in the soft breeze. Behind him marched a line of one hundred armed guards. Each held a bayoneted musket to their chest, with the tip pointing to the sky. Slowly, the Emperor made his way to the royal staircase at the other end of the courtyard, where he began his climb. Once at the top, he spun around to face his subjects. A mighty drum sounded, alerting the crowd that it was time to turn around. They all rose, turned about on the spot, and took a new kneeling position, facing the Emperor.

Gazing down, at the endless sea of colours, Ji paused. A salty breeze drifted in from the ocean, and he took a moment to savour it. He then slid one manicured hand into his robe, extracting a tightly rolled piece of parchment. He handed it to his royal orator, a man known as "the Voice of Prosperity". This tall, imposing figure unraveled the document, and examined it. In a great, booming voice, he began to read it aloud.

"Loyal subjects of the Emperor, his holiness, slayer of evil, spirit of the brave, protector of our nation, highest of high, greatest of great, strongest and wisest of all! Today is to be a day of victorious celebration! Your Emperor has returned from the Province of Prosperity, with tidings of hope! Our nation, wealthy and powerful, will soon receive wealth beyond imagination! Your Emperor has blessed the mines, blessed the factories, and blessed the farmers. He has declared that this shall be a year of prosperity, as was often seen before the Island Devils stole our capital! He has granted a blessing to mothers, that children born this year will be strong. Soon, the Emperor proclaims, in his infinite wisdom and foresight, we will observe the Islands of Evil, home of the thieving and murderous Island Devils, as it sinks into the sea!"

At this, the crowd cheered with a great ferocity. Satisfied that his speech was having the desire effect, Ji raised a single hand, demanding the immediate silence of his subjects. When they immediately obeyed, he granted them a single nod of acknowledgement. They listened for more, readying their bodies and minds for the blessings and predictions of the Emperor.

"Your Emperor, descendant of the immortal line of Jin, blessed by Heaven, has seen the future. Soon, the ancient kingdom of Han will be restored, greater than ever before. Your Emperor sees your hard labour, your devoutness, and he promises a paradise on Earth, for the subjects of Da Nanguo, for the subjects of Great Han. When the Island Devils drown, the dark energy they release into the world will die with them. Crops will grow better than ever before! The air will be fresh, as it has not been in generations! No longer, will the workers of this nation know hunger! No longer will we know pain! When the Devils no longer steal our money, steal our food, steal our spiritual energy, our bowls will overflow!"

The speaker again paused, and the Emperor gave a mild gesture to his audience, giving them permission to cheer once again. Again, after a moment of roaring applause, he silenced them.

"So says the Emperor himself, endless glory ringing through his name, that today is the day of work. Today is the day of toil. Today is the day of unrest! Today is the day we serve our nation, with all our body and spirit, so that tomorrow we may relax, and live in endless luxury. When you work, when you write, when you fight, do so with every strand of your being! Do so with the entirety of your spirit! Do so, because the harder you work now, the greater will be your reward, when the Emperor reclaims the stolen wealth of the Island Devils! Now go, and earn the Emperors blessing! Show your neighbours, show your friends, show your family that you will be the one to receive the greatest blessing!"

One final time, the crowd cheered. On and on it went, till the sound rang in Ji's ears. Eventually, the cheering died down, and the people were dismissed. Ji made his way into the palace, up the steps to his throne, and slumped down for a rest.

No such luck, however, he was greeted by dignitary after dignitary. Some wanted money for an invention or a real estate development. Some wanted a ship for an exploratory voyage. Some came with their daughters, dolled up in excessive layers of makeup, hoping to become the Emperor's father-in-law. Some wanted a blessing for their village. Those were Ji's favourite, because it was quick, easy, and inspired a great deal of thanks and praise from the dignitary. It made him happy, to know the crown was still loved by so many of the people.

Time passed, and the sun began to set. All visitors were dismissed, and the Emperor's servants assembled to bathe him and change his clothes. As they began scrubbing and dousing him with warm water, his mind wandered. Surely, if Da Nanguo was to reach its fullest potential, it wouldn't be enough to overthrow the Islanders. What about their neighbour to the north? Bordering world powers never have healthy relationships. Besides, it would be a fine excuse to profit from the technological advancement of Lancia, the grandfather nation of blue-coal technology. That was it.

"Scribe!", he summoned.

To Lancia

Mighty Kaiser,

I am writing to you with regard to our mutual neighbour. My sources inform me that the nation of Muskva seeks expansion into the territories of the continental West. This would be at the loss of the nations around you, if not Lancia itself. I propose an economic and military pact between our two nations, so that together we may enforce the peace and prosperity of blue coal industry, and not be thrown into the primitive ages by the savage, jealous countries around us. To this end, I am willing to meet personally, at a neutral location, to discuss the potential implications of this union. I believe that, together, we can form a power greater than the world has ever known. Surely, this is an admirable goal.

To this end, I am willing to meet personally in Develt, or otherwise continue through convoys and diplomats. Either way, let us mobilize, to preserve and expand our great nations.

With the highest regards,
Supreme Emperor Jin Ji,
Ruler of the Celestial Empire of Da Nanguo

Justice League: Futures End

I'm here. Ready and waiting.

Just start posting and see who shows up.

Time's a Changing - a Steampunk NRP set in a Psuedo-Earth

<Snipped quote by Jotunn Draugr>

Yes I am aware.
No I simply refuse to vote in elections.
And only sometimes.

@MrFoxNews

Alrighty then



Edit: No offence meant, btw. Just a bit of venting.

Time's a Changing - a Steampunk NRP set in a Psuedo-Earth

This week is a bit busy for me, just like the past couple of weeks.

I'll see if I can manage something sooner or later, but don't expect anything.

@Malphaestus

All good. Thanks for the update.

American Dream: A Shattered Union

West Koniginsberg, Northern Manitoba, Gottesland

Laying on the dirt floor of the crawlspace, James awoke. His head pounding, and his body stiff, he raised his head and looked around. Light crept in, from the floorboards above. To his left, he saw a uniformed revolutionary, with a well-trimmed beard and a joyful expression on his face.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, General", the man chuckled softly. "With how much blood you lost, we were worried."

James shifted around, and let out a low groan of severe discomfort. "What... what's the situation? Is the enemy still present?"

The man's expression grew grim. "Yes sir, they're patrolling the streets right now, rounding up our boys."

"Shit", James growled. "What about Victoria? Do they have her?"

"Sir, we're stuck in this house. We have no way of knowing what the situation is."

Letting out a grunt, James sank back to the floor. Remembering the attack, he raised one hand to his face feel the damage. His fingers rested on a firm bandage wrap, that encased his left eye. He winced, at the pain the pressure caused.

"How many men do we have here?", he wondered.

"Including you, sir, just three.", the man responded. "Although, I saw some of the others make it indoors. Don't know if any of them have been found."

"So where's our third man?"

"Up top", the man answered, giving the floorboards a light tap with is knuckles. "He's in civilian clothes, keeping the place occupied to reduce suspicion. This place is residential, after all."

"Well done", James commented. "Not much we can do for now, but wait these bastards out. Give it a day. Then, I'd like our civilian friend to go out and locate someone with medical training. I'll need proper treatment, before this gets infected. If our lady has been captured, I can't rescue her if I'm dead."

"Yes sir", the radical said, calmly.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

East Koniginsberg, Northern Manitoba, Gottesland

The Gottesland soldiers came marching down the street in orderly lines, with the appearance of a Victorian military parade. Each wore a dim metal helmet, suspiciously resembling a welding mask. It was an intimidating sight to behold.

Victoria gazed at her approaching adversaries through the gap between the cellar doors.

"If only we had armour like that", she murmured to herself, thinking out loud. "Maybe these fascists wouldn't have made it so far."

The soldiers, slowly and rhythmically, surrounded the city hall and readied their rifles. Once the building was surrounded on all sides, a four-man squadron was sent inside. They slammed through the front doors, and thundered through the building. Every closed door was knocked off its hinges, and every closet and cabinet was ripped apart. Eventually, they made their way to the back of the building, to the mayor's office. Smashing through the door, they were immediately met with gunfire, as Victoria's guards retaliated from the corners of the room. One soldier fell to the ground, dead, but the others quickly stormed in and dispatched the rebels.

Following the crackle of gunshots, Victoria heard the the three bodies strike the floor. First, the clang of the iron-clad soldier, then the muffled thumps of the two guards. A moment later, the rustling and slamming of the search resumed. The soldiers were determined to find the rebellion's leader. Anticipating a long wait, Victoria recoiled from the cellar's entrance, and began looking around for something edible.

However, as she did this, the crash of shattered wood rang behind her, and she suddenly found herself being grabbed from behind by a couple brutish Gottesland soldiers. Restraining her arms, they forcefully dragged her out of the cellar, into the blinding sunlight above. Her vision slowly returning to her, her sharp blue eyes rested upon a soldier sporting a series of medals and stripes. Removing his helmet, the officer unabashedly looked her up and down.

"And here she is!", he proclaimed, provoking several soldiers to cheer and jeer, victoriously.

Victoria responded with an insolent sneer, as her captors lifted her up by the arms, displaying her to the crowd like a trophy. This certainly wasn't a favourable position to be in.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Richmond, Metro Vancouver, British Columbia

Clad in baggy, faded radiation suits, two scavengers clamoured through the rubble-filled swamp. Overhead, partially-demolished concrete towers cast ominous shadows over them. The sickly-coloured, cloudy water was up to their knees. Even at night, and through their masks, the two men could see well enough by moonlight.

"Wie fühlen Sie sich?", one of the scavengers inquired, in a concerned tone, glancing over his shoulder to his partner.

"Nicht gut", the other responded, wearily.

Onward they trekked, their treasure-laden backpacks rattling with each step.

This was, by far, Gottesland's furthest scavenging expedition. Legends were whispered among the locals, about the unimaginable wealth of Great Vancouver, hidden deep in the radioactive ruins. The scavengers knew, that if they ever made it back home, they'd be welcomed as heroes. The first scavenger smiled to himself, beneath his plastic mask, at the idea.

Suddenly, a series of rocks tumbled down from on of the nearby towers. Several stories up, the two men heard frantic scuttling. They weren't alone...

Strange whispers echoed through the ruins. The scavengers strained their ears, attempting to comprehend it.

"Dah-jiah-yao, nee-men-gay-woah-men-nee-de... tsaoh!", the distant creatures ranted, in lispy gibberish.

Then they saw them, swinging from pieces of rebar, scuttling along the mounds of shattered concrete. Hideously deformed, completely naked, their eyes shining brightly in the moonlight. The whispering grew louder, into a cacophony of aggressive hisses.

"Woah-hueh-dah-soo-nee-jah-nah-dah-ren!"

Time's a Changing - a Steampunk NRP set in a Psuedo-Earth

I'm back. I'll see if I can post soon if this remains active.

@MrFoxNews

You know what helps an RP to remain active? Posting. And soon!

Do you refuse to vote in elections, unless voter turnout is already high?
Do you only talk to someone when they're already having a conversation with someone else?

Time's a Changing - a Steampunk NRP set in a Psuedo-Earth

<Snipped quote by Malphaestus>

It is still kinda of odd, I at least like to take the Switzerland area sot he map does not look bad.

@duck55223

You could always just work the weird map into the story. Maybe France occupied it, and you have to reclaim it through war or diplomacy.

Time's a Changing - a Steampunk NRP set in a Psuedo-Earth

Okay, here.

Time's a Changing - a Steampunk NRP set in a Psuedo-Earth

<Snipped quote by Jotunn Draugr>

Accidental double post but could you go ahead and fill in the purple area that was on the previous map, put Eisenkreis over it, and NPC it? I kind of have history based around that.

@duck55223

Sure, was wondering why that unclaimed purple blob was there ;)

<Snipped quote by Jotunn Draugr>

Woah there mang, you forgot my colony in Brazil

@Nerevarine

Ahhh jeeez... Okay, one second guys.

Time's a Changing - a Steampunk NRP set in a Psuedo-Earth

Alright, here's the new map. @duck55223, if you would be so kind as to update your OP.