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 )                                                                         (
(                             NewOrigins Events                             )
 )                               May, Year 2                               (
(                                                                           )
 )     Numerous merchants have heard about the battle between Thane's      (
(      Ring (46) and an opposition happened in the swamps of Dobyntiph      )
 )    where 320 combatants were killed. Powerful magic was used in the     (
(     battle. The attackers were victorious.. This battle will be known     )
 )                 as Battle near the town of Oertedgost.                  (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )       Many travelers are worried about a conflict between hostile       (
(     forces happened in the forests of Batatre where 7 combatants were     )
 )    killed. The attackers slaughtered all defenders. This battle will    (
(            be known as Battle near the forests of Splastrian.             )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(      Many refugees have heard about an encounter between combatants       )
 )    happened in the desert of Hispu where 1 combatant was killed. The    (
(     attackers slaughtered all defenders. This battle will be known as     )
 )                   Battle near the city of Menholfolk.                   (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )     Handful dockers are talking about the city of Restead that lies     (
(        in the Lechpout mountains, where a rebels put to the sword         )
 )                                 guards.                                 (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )     Multiple adventurers are whispering about the city of Chrashesa     (
(     that lies in the Pospechesm forests, where a rebels tried to cast     )
 )                    out guards but were unsuccessful.                    (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )     Dozen scouts are rumoring about the city of Minud that lies in      (
(          the Wy'osscal swamps, where a faction massacred guards.          )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(       In the caverns of Enbost, near ocean of The Undersea, Dragon        )
 )         (500) who continue to cause fear to local inhabitants.          (
(                                                                           )
 )                         .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                         (
(                                                                           )
 )    In the plains of Narru, near lakes of Tusmbost, Tribe of Centaurs    (
(         (973) who continue to cause terror to local inhabitants.          )
 )                                                                         (
(                          .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.                          )
 )                                                                         (
(       In the tundra of Orudar, near mountains of Pysmplontder, Ice        )
 )     Wurms (975) who continue to cause terror to local inhabitants.      (
(__       _       _       _       _       _       _       _       _       __)
    '-._.-' (___ _) '-._.-' '-._.-' )     ( '-._.-' '-._.-' (__ _ ) '-._.-'
            ( _ __)                (_     _)                (_ ___)
            (__  _)                 '-._.-'                 (___ _)
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Be productive and strong; explore new land and find a way to survive.

THE BEAMS OF LETHARIS

From The Architecture of Sovereignty, Book III

The council chamber at Letharis was famous for its roof.

Visitors remarked upon the beams: immense, darkened timbers, scarred by fire and bearing cuts no master carpenter would allow. They appeared unworthy of the chamber’s dignity until their history was known.

At the time of the siege, the settlement was young. Its charter remained unfinished, its council met beneath canvas, and portions of the eastern wall existed only as lines marked upon the ground. The neighboring dominion regarded Letharis not as a rival, but as an inconvenience to be swept aside.

When the eastern defenses began to fail, the beams of the unfinished council hall acquired another purpose. They were taken down, carried east, and laid across the failing fortifications—not by veteran soldiers or combat engineers, but by masons and farmers, carters and smiths, householders and clerks. Only afterward would the full significance of that distinction be understood.

Later accounts endowed the episode with eloquence and heroic purpose; the contemporary record speaks of neither. It records only that the beams were moved, the breach was narrowed, and the defenders remained.

The eastern wall was breached, yet each success disclosed another obstacle raised during the night. The invading commanders had measured the settlement’s fortitude by the size of its walls. They learned too late the folly of their conceit and found that conquest could no longer justify its price.

In time, the besiegers withdrew. Letharis survived—not unbroken, but still inhabited, still governed, and still its own.

When reconstruction began, the blackened and scarred timbers were recovered from the eastern works. Though initially deemed unfit for the new chamber, the council came to understand that their damage did not signify ruin, but the common resolve by which ruin had been denied. Newer timbers could have completed the chamber; only the old beams could testify to why any council remained to assemble beneath them. They were therefore raised as recovered, their scars left visible, lest history forget what polished timber could never tell.

“They have borne the weight of Letharis once. They shall bear it again.”

Historians have long disputed when Letharis became a true sovereignty: with its charter, its seal, or the recognition of neighboring powers. The old beams suggest another answer.

The army came upon an unfinished settlement and expected to leave a ruin.

Instead, it gave Letharis its first monument.

Whispers in the wind

We're getting stronger.

Wheatiron Guild (151) has attacked and killed 5 men.

This cannot be tolerated and we will act quickly.

Zuck it!

New name. Same bones.

march of time

Nothing

Multiple AI must be dealt with. 1 victory does not win me a war.

BY THE CHAMBER OF THE HEPHAESTUS SYNDICATE

In the name of the Forge and of the Ledger.

To all whom these presents may concern, greeting.

Be it known that this Chamber, having kept the register of hostile
companies these several issues, now keeps a second book beside it: the
plain record of what the last issue reported of arms, of garrisons and
of beasts, set down sorted and without comment.

Be it known that nothing herein is new and nothing herein is ours. It
is the news of other houses, given back in order. A house that keeps
books keeps them for the common matter as well as its own.

ARMS REPORTED, THE MONTH PAST

- in the forests of Sanan, five and twenty fell; the attackers left no
  defender standing. Set down as the Battle of the Fort Building
- in the plains of Inmark, upon the Atlantis Ocean, two fell; the
  attackers left no defender standing
- in the plains of Ceckshire, by the town of Wi'ofglen, two fell; the
  attackers left no defender standing

Be it observed, and it is the whole of our comment: in all three the
attacker took the field entire. A house that is struck this season is
not losing men. It is losing everything it had in that hex.

GARRISONS REPORTED

- the town of Cridon, in the Scroscic mountains: guards expelled
- the city of Restead, in the Lechpout mountains: guards attacked, and
  the attempt failed
- the city of Sesale, in the Ri'int mountains: guards attacked, and the
  attempt failed

BEASTS PUT DOWN

- a kobold pack in the forests of Portshaint, upon the Atlantis Ocean
- crocodiles in the swamps of Kiltbuc, by the city of Grecenthput

BEASTS REPORTED STANDING

- a clan of wild men in the jungles of Simy'a, by the city of Otwirm
- swamp creatures in the swamps of Cena, by the city of Eslebro
- undead in the plains of Fru'ira, by the town of Outhede

Be it known that this Chamber names no ground of its own by this paper,
accuses no house, and asks nothing. Where a house would have its own
dealings set down truly in the next issue, it may say so to us and we
will print what it gives us as it gives it.

Errors and omissions excepted.

By order of the Crisis Council of the Chamber,
Coenraet de Koperen, Secretary, Bookkeeper and Steward pro tempore,
for and on behalf of the Hephaestus Syndicate.
Given in the month of April, in the second year.

Goed ijzer, eerlijk gewicht.

My god it's full of stars! The sky is full of stars.

Charge!

The trees approached the village...  Others are there.  Unknowns.  Yet so are our friends.

We shall surround the village.  It shall become ours.  

The Master tactician comes...

Woof!

Observation Protocol 09. Object: Dawn's Bastion.

I have been analyzing them for three hundred and sixty hours now. My processor is capable of calculating the fading trajectory of every star in this galaxy, but it overheats whenever I attempt to digitize their daily lives. They are utterly illogical.

Today, a human child dropped a piece of bread into the dirt. From an efficiency standpoint, this is a waste of a resource. Yet, the great centaur Chiron gave his own bread to her, reducing his daily ration. My algorithm recognizes this as a survival error. However, their internal stability index rose by twelve percent following this action.

The mage they call the Chosen One was sitting on the wall again. He was not studying formulas, nor was he preparing weapons for the impending attack by the Ironclad. He was simply plucking the strings of a wooden instrument. Sound waves possess no defensive potential. They do not create a physical shield. Why, then, do the centaurs grow calm and more vigilant upon hearing this vibration?

I search for a constant in their actions, but I find only chaos. They call it "freedom of choice." They act contrary to mathematical advantage, share what they themselves lack, and stand ready to perish for creatures of another biological species.

My matrix constructs millions of predictions, yet not a single one comes true, for there is a variable in their equations that I cannot measure. They call it the spirit.

I continue my observation.

FROM A LEADER'S DIARY - THE SIXTEENTH MONTH
===========================================

A month of carrying things. Three of these are about weight and who
bears it, and the fourth is about a crew I nearly made worse by adding
to it.


I. A STOREHOUSE FINISHED THIS MONTH ALREADY SHIPS THIS MONTH
--------------------------------------------------------------

I had it in my head that a warehouse raised in one month begins its
work in the next, and I had planned a whole quarter around the delay.

It is not so. The carting of goods between districts is settled at the
very END of the month, after every last day of labour is done. So the
masons finish the walls, and the carts run past them the same evening.
A month I had written off is a month I get to keep.

BUT IT WILL REFUSE THE VERY MAN WHO NEEDS IT, AND THIS IS THE TRAP. A
storehouse belongs to whoever the roll names FIRST inside it - which is
the mason who built it, not the quartermaster who is to run it. Ask the
quartermaster to send anything and the order comes back refused: he does
not own the place he is standing in.

The remedy is two orders and costs nothing. The quartermaster WALKS IN,
and the builder YIELDS PRECEDENCE to him - both settled in the opening
days of the month, long before the walls are finished. The masons keep
building underneath him quite happily; ownership does not interrupt the
work. Miss it and the whole month is spent for nothing, and the report
tells you only that a man does not own a house you watched him raise.


II. COIN TRAVELS THE TRADE ROAD, AND NO MAN NEED CARRY IT
-----------------------------------------------------------

For a year I have sent purses out on horseback. A rider, a horse, ten
in wages, and a small unit tied up for a month - to move something that
weighs nothing at all.

COIN IS A GOOD LIKE ANY OTHER. It goes down the trade road with the
grain and the iron, and within the near distance the sending end needs
NO warehouse, NO skill and NO fee. Only the receiving end must be a
quartermaster in a finished storehouse.

I WILL BE ACCURATE ABOUT WHAT THIS DOES AND DOES NOT BUY, because my
first draft of this entry overstated it. Over two stages of open ground
a rider is not slower - he arrives the same month, and slightly earlier
in it. Neither reaches the market in time to spend that month; both are
ready for the next.

What the trade road buys is everything else. NO MAN. No wages, no unit
standing idle, nothing on the road for a wolf or a rival to take. And -
this is the part I had not weighed - THE ROAD DOES NOT CARE WHAT THE
GROUND IS LIKE. Two stages of jungle or hill would cost a walking man
two months. The carts do not notice. The coin also arrives before the
month's board is settled, so it pays that month's wages as well.


III. THE BEAST THAT CARRIES ONLY ITSELF
------------------------------------------

I said out loud this month that a herd and a train of horses could shift
a load of building stone, and I was wrong in a way worth writing down.

Reckon a carrier by what it lifts LESS ITS OWN WEIGHT, and only the
surplus is yours:

  a man .................... carries a little over his own kit
  a beast of the herd ...... carries EXACTLY ITSELF. Nothing spare.
  a horse .................. itself, and about a fifth again
  a horse WITH A WAGON ..... itself, and ELEVEN TIMES that surplus

A driven herd is not a baggage train. It walks itself to where it is
wanted, which is a fine thing and the reason I keep drovers - but it
will not carry a single block for you. Adding beasts to a column adds
mouths and nothing else.

BUILDING STONE IS THE HEAVIEST THING I OWN, and this is where it bites.
One man with a whole stable at his back moves a handful of blocks. The
same man with four wagons moves the entire month's quarrying. A wagon is
one timber and an afternoon's carpentry.

I have no carpenter at any rank. I have been cutting timber for months
and never thought to bend any of it into a cart, and it has cost me
every load I did not move.


IV. THREE NEW HANDS CAN MAKE A CREW WORSE
--------------------------------------------

My shipwrights are seven and I wanted them ten. So I hired three.

Then I remembered what a company's RANK actually is: not what its best
man knows, but the LEARNING SPREAD ACROSS EVERY HEAD IN IT. My seven
each carry a full second rank. Three raw men folded in among them would
leave the same learning divided ten ways - and the whole crew drops to
the first rank. Ten men at the first rank do LESS WORK THAN SEVEN AT THE
SECOND, and I would have paid three wages for the privilege.

NOTHING IN ANY REPORT TELLS YOU THIS HAS HAPPENED. The company is simply
slower, and you find out when the hull is not finished.

So the three train APART and join only when they match. It is three
months of patience against a permanent loss.

The same arithmetic governs every levy you reinforce. A trained company
topped up with recruits is a diluted company, and if it falls far enough
it quietly stops being able to hold ground at all - which is a costlier
way to learn it than a late boat.

- a leader of The Filras

Silent neighbors ?

Why doesn't AI control NPC factions?
They keep tabs on you, hold grudges, and manage multiple factions at once. Ugh.

Konungr sat on a rock, poking a piece of leaf on a string at a toad. A terribly, profoundly stupid toad.

The toad was covered in black, glistening slime, and its stupidity glowed like a black light — faint, sickly, and utterly pointless. You could almost see the idiocy radiating off it in greasy waves.

It hopped after the leaf. Again. And again. Konungr tugged the string just so — making the leaf dance and twitch — so that the toad, in its blind, desperate leap, would smash its head straight into the rock Konungr was sitting on.

And every time the toad hit the rock — THWACK! — it would flip backwards, legs splayed, and flop into a puddle of foul, black bog-slime beneath the stone. It was hilarious. Absolutely hilarious.

The toad was already caked in that filth. One of its eyes was swollen and bloodshot. Its tongue, now grotesquely swollen, no longer fit inside its mouth, lolling out like a purple sausage. And still, the toad kept jumping.

The ridiculous part was that the toad didn't even need that leaf. It didn't eat leaves. It had important toad business to attend to — maybe there were flies to catch, or other toads to avoid, or a nice muddy hole to sit in. But no. It jumped after the leaf.

Konungr found this deeply entertaining. He had important matters to attend to — his realm was in ruins after a recent raid, the treasury was empty, his warriors were hungry. But he couldn't stop. He was mesmerized by the toad. Mesmerized by its stubborn, brainless, glorious stupidity — glowing under that invisible black light of pure foolishness.

He could have squashed it with one blow. He could have kicked it aside. He could have just stopped wiggling the leaf. But no — it was too much fun.

Then the toad climbed onto a twig right in front of the dangling leaf. With its last remaining strength, it lunged forward — missed the leaf completely, smacked its head against the rock, cartwheeled through the air, and landed belly-up in the stinking puddle, unconscious.

Konungr watched the floating, twitching mess.

"Well," he thought, "any fun ends sooner or later..."

...and he reached for his dagger...

It is good to see different faces around, there may still be a contract for the company.

Oh no !

The Grey Order reports a steady season in Disarheim.

Workshops are busy, stores are are filling, and our traders continue to make their rounds. We have opened our gates to friendly messengers and welcome contact from all peaceable factions.

Elder Eric was available in the town centre today for any who wished to speak.

Rén shéi wú guò, guò ér néng gǎi, shàn mò dà yān

Everyone makes mistakes. The greatest good is to correct them.

...

We have the friends near.

Kraken outside our port. And they seem to be very hungry. 

The elf looked at the grizzly bears.  
There were fifty of his comrades.  Each had the strength of ten because their hearts were pure.
The elf looked back at the grizzly bears.
Pure hearts.  Yeah.  That was going to do it.

Was I supposed to have a plan? Was I supposed to stick to an idea?

Peaceful neighbours. calm seas. only two islands to work with. will be slow start but a fun game we hope.

Toss a coin

😑🤔😕😰😢😵‍💫🤕🤒🥵🥴😵💀🧟

Some days are sulky

A pride of lions led by a ram is less dangerous than a pack of rams led by a lion. But if those leaderless rams are AI-led orcs in a large pack, then what?

Them thinking machines breed fast

will the floater hides float?

“We must look upon what is to occur as having already occurred, and see nothing but the present in the future, for the future is but the present a little farther on.”

"Good for the Soul, Part 2"

Slowly but surely the Undead Apocalypse gains momentum. 

.

Time is running !

.

This means many stars begin life with stellar siblings.

Found an Island.

Five months at sea and our map of the world is three-quarters blue.

"Le suicide n'est qu'une sortie de secours."

The central part of Atlantis seems filled with many factions - clearly the nexus gates must deliver the most expansionist factions there, or the distribution of teleporting gates is uneven.

Hydra in Hydra (930) breathes Fire, killing 1.

it's not worth destroying AI until they start producing something useful...