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"Hear me, my peace-drunk brethren! You are being led astray by your weak and frail leader Queenchief Nuria. She colludes with the ponies to declaw you, to dull your fangs! Long ago the Kirin struck fear into any country touching the sea! We were rulers of bloodied coin and had respect! but now, now the ponies, the weak cowardly ponies try to take away your culture! They deny us our heritage! Join me! join me and I'll show you the true path to power! Through blood! Carnage and gold! I defeated your 'queen' in single battle... She has failed you and grown soft with her 'peace.' a lapdog for her Equestrian masters! It is time for the Kirin to return to the forefront, through fire and blood!"- The Warlord Ashwrath gave this recuitment speech in the kirin city of Aeros with a retinue of strange uniform looking kirin. Many are worried of the violence to come and are already petitioning Equestria to intervene.
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| Welcome to Multa Saecula. A set of worlds aside from just Equestria itself. Many generations ago, the plane that housed Equestria; Terra, created magical portals to other dimensions. These dimensions are Lux, a land rich with magic, yet constantly under threat from the same. And Tenebris, a dark plane where only the strong and willful survive.
These realms have existed together peacefully so far, commencing in trading, the sharing of culture, and immigration. Though their political views are much different than that of Terra, they find a way to coexist, sometimes reluctantly. Walk into this set of worlds and discover what adventure, romance, or tragedy, awaits you.
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The Dominion of Pingwin
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Topic Started: Sep 28 2017, 09:35 AM (49 Views)
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Phylos Black-Rose
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Sep 28 2017, 09:35 AM
Post #1
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Political Overview It is a rather recent development in history that Pingwin has been able to be called a unified state by any measure. For the past hundred and fifty years, Pingwin has sat on the brink of internal war, and for the past before thousand the nation has been unstable and has lacked a cohesive leadership. Separated by distance and geography from the rest of the world, and the stabilizing effects of Equestrian policies, Pingwin has grown up as a war-ravaged nation of banditry, with its own eclectic culture and unique population. Only bonded together by a shared history of pain and isolation, the people of Pingwin are a hard sort, with little time for foreign frivolities. As for the rest of the world, Pingwin is looked upon as an example of what not to do, in terms of running a nation. The people there may be rural, and it may look like a simpler, pastoral lifestyle, but the simple fact of the matter is that Pingwin is a harsh place, where conflict is the norm and tensions always run high.
Even with the reopening of the borders in the last century, Pingwin has shown a rough attitude towards the world. Equestrian aid and offers of assistance in "catching up" to the wider world have been rebuffed, citing Equestrian intervention as totalitarian and demanding, unshifting to the needs of a nation of shifting borders and personal alliances. On the other hand, trade with some of the other nations has flourished in several Pingwin provinces, especially with Ib'Xian. There are terse, yet somewhat warm relations with the regional markets in the northern regions of Ib'Xian, with strange trinkets, wargear, and exotic meats making their way into the wider world from the capran nation. In return, books and knowledge pass northwards, to a nation seeking to integrate itself into the world on its own terms.
Though word has yet to arrive in the southern countries, Pingwin has recently undergone a little revolution of its own. The provincial leaders have been impressed by an individual named Phylos Black-Rose, who took charge in a time of turmoil, in a Pingwin on the verge of war. He has his own story, but in the end, he was crowned Emperor by a unanimous decision of Pingwin's leadership, a light to lead the way to a new future. Let us hope that he can change what hasn't changed before.
Timeline The Fall of an Empire 1115 - The rise of Zebrica in the far south and the sounds of war cause a surge of revolutionary thoughts in Pingwin, resulting in a few skirmishes between internal factions of the state. This does not devolve to war. 1156 - The death of the current Emperor spells the end for an era though, as Pingwin dissolves into infighting and the state collapses into a loose collection of fiefdoms. From a legal standpoint Pingwin still exists, but its lack of leadership cuts them off from the rest of the world, not that the locals mind.
The Feudal Era 1172 - Fiefdoms begin waging war over resources, as previously cordial alliances collapse. 1242 - The internal borders of Pingwin have stabilized by now, with the last border conflict for a long period ending. There are 15 major fiefdoms splitting the nation, with lesser ones simply hoping to avoid war with their neighbors and acquiescing to whatever they demand. 1303 - The cold war in Equestria revitalizes Pingwin commerce; fiefdoms band together to procure trade deals with rich Equestrian clients. Most fall apart due to the fiefdoms being individually ignored by the larger Equestrian governance, though private entities do engage in trade with them. 1305 - Fiefdoms begin trying to build up economic blocs to maximize their ability to trade with Equestria in favorable terms. 1442 - War breaks out between two of the largest economic blocs; this is the first great Pingwin war and the end result is the destruction of both blocs’ infrastructure and production; over the next several years they collapse and the other blocs become wary of what war promises. 1534 - Pingwin severs economic ties to Equestria. 1535 - Remaining economic blocs fall apart without the existence of Equestrian trade. Fiefdoms return to focusing on self-sufficiency and isolationism.
The Longest Night 1653 - Extant fiefdoms have split into numerous tiny counties as families have grown and split apart. The trend of isolationism has now taken to isolation even from one’s neighbors, it seems. 1775 - Substantive word of the autarches arrives in Pingwin. Some fiefdoms seem tempted to open up to these new creatures, but most double down and begin plans for how to deal with creatures that seem to be able to appear anywhere at any time. 1781 - Isolationist Pingwins destroy caravans set up by others. Trade with Equestria collapses in short order in the open fiefdoms due to the deaths of several Equestrians in the attacks. Civil war is considered yet again, but is not yet come to pass. 1790 - Pingwin’s borders close utterly to outsiders. With no assistance from the natives in transit and the harshness of the territory, no attempts are made to connect the region with the outside world. 1842 - A single Pingwin ambassador arrives in Cowrea; he collects a number of books on a sledge and departs with nary a word as to the condition of his nation. 1843 - The coldest year on record for Pingwin begins. The blizzards make access to the nation utterly impossible, and all the pre-existing paths and ways are lost beneath several feet of snow. Many passes are never to be found again, as excess snow causes avalanches and rockfalls across the region. Several fiefdoms collapse and their land is claimed by others when important regions or farms are covered in more snow than has ever been seen before or since.
The Provincial Era 1847 - Fiefdoms consolidate under a handful of leaders, 11 provinces are formed by powerful warlords and they press against each other at every opportunity. 1848 - New trade routes are forged from Pingwin, Ib’Xian is a key target of much of the trade, but the rising prominence of piracy in the south has earned the attention of some of Pingwin’s leadership, and diplomatic channels open towards Ti. 1923 - The provinces have actually managed to retain their status in spite of a few succession crises ending in 2 falling back into a loose collection of fiefdoms. The others continue to wage the occasional battle here and there to determine dominance; Equestria has refused to reopen trade on a large scale given Pingwin’s unstable history and the particularly warlike bend of its current rulership. 1959 - The most prominent seer in Pingwin’s second-largest province predicts the end of the current era when a mad horse with black blood would unify Pingwin and either lead it to ruin or glory, depending on whether or not he was a kind or a cruel king. She is not taken seriously.
A New Era 1967 - An influx of thestral refuges begins in the face of the rebellions in Tenebris; the dark dusky days of the far north are attractive to the light-sensitive horses. Though they aren't officially endorsed, they still show up and are welcomed. 2000 - The new millenia brings new opportunities and fresh ideas to the fore in the minds of many...and thoughts of how to take charge of it all. 2011 - A mad horse with blood as black as the night appears in Pingwin and begins a personal war against all those who live there and the disunity of their nation. 2019 - Phylos Black-Rose is officially declared Emperor of the Dominion of Pingwin, becoming the first to unify the nation under one banner in nearly a thousand years.
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Phylos Black-Rose
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Oct 2 2017, 06:04 PM
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Cultural Overview
Culturally, the people of Pingwin largely fall into one of two categories, with internal variations thereof, but very few sitting in the middle ground, those that “outsiders” refer to as Traditionalists, and those referred to as Reformists. Irregardless of their side of the coin, ponies native to Pingwin have distinct, thick coats, more resembling a husky’s than a horse’s, and they have a broader diet than their southern cousins.
Traditionalists, who by and large prefer the title of “First Tribes”, are the older of the two groups, of course. They live on the ice floes, a truly nomadic experience that one can only really understand by experiencing it. Out in the cold seas, these ponies slowly drift, never aimlessly, yet never ceasing to move. The ice sheets claimed by tribespeople have the peculiar property of never seeming to melt; sure, parts of the sheet my crack off or fall loose into the sea, and then melt, but some magic possessed by the old tribes seems to hold them together, so long as the tribe itself does. Since keeping the old ways and staying together is at the core of their survival, the tribal societies have well-defined roles for those who make up their populations, which consist primarily of pegasai and caribou. Pegasai, with their wings and peculiar magic, find themselves saddled with all the duties concerning the world beyond the floe. They fly forth to gather supplies from the tundra; in the south that might be wood, in the north, fresh snow and any creatures felled and left to rot. As well, the particulars of the northern pegasai make them ideal fisherponies. Not with rod and bait, but with daredevil divebombs and hooves. The caribou, meanwhile, settle themselves with the internal chores of maintaining the floe. From keeping the icy shelters atop the surface stable to cooking the catches of their brethren, the caribou are central to allowing the pegasai the freedom to roam that they have. On top of this, alongside the minor unicorn populations of the floes, the caribou take on the roles of mystics and sages, compiling the ancestral knowledge of the tribe into their own minds as they grow old, such that they can pass it further to their children. In terms of resources, the tribes depend on the above hunting, scavenging, and fishing for attire, with a penchant for skins and leather amongst the populace. Though more southern ponies might find such things ‘disgusting’, once they’ve had a few days in the local weather, they tend to recognize the flaw in their argument. Homes are similarly built from leather, wood, and bone, for the peculiarities of igloos and other snow homes make them unsuitable for the ice sheets in the long-term. The tribal diet consists largely of tough grasses and waterborne plants gathered by traveling pegasai, supplemented with a hearty supply of fish. Plants are typically paired with fish in some form, forming some kind of wrap or salad generally. The fish itself is generally eaten smoked, slowly cooked over the village’s central hearth, a fire maintained constantly in the middle of the settlement for the purpose of warmth and such food preparation; the hearth is never allowed to go out, and it is one of the small miracles of the tribes’ strange magic, which infuses it with licks of pink throughout. Though the fire itself is not magical, it is symbolic, and is the focus for the magic that keeps the tribe’s ice floe together, as a tribe that can keep a fire burning without end in these conditions is a tribe that is held together well. A tribe that cannot has already collapsed, and has simply not realized it yet. Similarly, when a tribe has grown so large that it must split, a part of the hearth is taken by those who wish to find their own ice floe to call home, and is carefully kept lit until they find the perfect place.
Reformists, hereafter “Hearthfolk”, are a more modern breed of pony. And goat. These ponies have found a life out on the permafrost and the tundra, away from their more oceanic brethren and ancestors. In the snow, they build permanent settlements around active geothermal vents, tapping into the heat of the deep earth. Hearthfolk society centers on a unique set of industries enabled by the geotherms, and many of the older earth ponies of the communities claim to have developed a “feel” for the rare places where a vent can form; it is an open secret that many communities have grown up around unnatural heat vents, crafted by the ponies themselves. These ponies live in homes made of ice-bricks, with floors dug down through the ice and into the dirt below. These living conditions, though nearly subterranean, allow for a certain kind of comfort in the snow, in the sort of conditions that the Tribes could never hope for. A Hearthfolk town is small in area and great in depth; near to the central vent, a large hemisphere of ice bricks stands, hosting a single entrance directed towards the geotherm. This townhouse has room for 3 to 5 families to live within its walls, and the insides reach deep into the earth, past the permafrost and into fresh, unfrozen soil. At this level, channels are dug through the walls, leading to the steam vent, and tunnels are dug between any adjacent homes in the area, connecting the homestead together and spreading the warmth through the community. The insides of these igloos is shockingly hot, and most ponies from the south describe them as practically scalding, like some kind of sauna. The ice above should obviously melt, but like their forebears, the Hearthfolk have a talent for keeping ice unmelted. Secondarily central to the Hearthfolk community is a more practical trade; with all of the digging they do, it is utterly unsurprising that Hearthfolk towns often have a sizable forge; the “hearth” of their moniker. A smithy is important for the landbound ponies, as they must defend themselves from the wild creatures that stalk the tundra: bears, wolves, and at times even deaded starbeasts like ursa minors…and by and large, the Hearthfolk are landbound, mostly earth ponies and ibexes between them. What better defense than metal weapons and armor could one find in the northern expanse. Just like their ancestors, the Hearthfolk maintain a tradition of one town’s forge donating some of its still-hot coals to the foundation of a new village, though their forges are allowed to rest when not in use. Like their nomadic brethren, the Hearthfolk persist on a diet of plant life suffused with fish, but unlike the tribes, Hearthfolk communities generally have a good supply of earth ponies who can eke out some decent plant-life from the earth, making their diets far more vegetable and focused on more than tough grasses. In a similar way, Hearthfolk attire is far more landed and hardy, typically crafted from the skins of the land predators their fear, as opposed to an amalgam of fish skin or seal leather.
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