Inland Jungles, Grand Sultanate of Dygracia, March 1899 The man checked his watch. Evening had nearly arrived. Along the tracks, no sign of man, only the trees. The sound of coal in fire. The engine ran with the strength of a leopard; the whistle screamed with the madness of a felled dog. Crimson fireflies danced at the behemoth's head. The jungle blocked out the sun, save for the red rays piercing the thick. A bullet in the crimson sky; the train kept forward. A half-light crescent watched over the cruel knife that cut through her ancient lands. A tower of smoke rolled above the carriage, daring to meet the clouds. The steel leopard ran too fast to pay notice of the songbirds and the blue-frogs, only the verdant wall parading past. The man looked to his table. A dainty set of silver lay against the white cloth. A rich scent danced around him, one to match mother's flowers, the dearest scent. Speech buzzed around him. Empty well-wishes flew above the talk of weighty matters. He paid no mind. Dining ought supersede such matters. White figures carried silver trays adorned with luxury. The man spotted the golden eagles in the corners; ancient agents of justice. Majesty personified; royal watchmen. Violet light poured in on high. The carriage filled with the smell of wine-musk and roasted pork. The man was twice plumper than he'd like and double sober. His wife thought ill of his tastes in the foul nectar, but his wife was leagues off. He would reap the spoils of the night, be they sins or virtue. Wine came around the wood-wheel table. It was the higher-end sort. The variety that sent his peerage into frenzy at the mention. Veritable squealing erupted from every seat and echoed from every face of opulence. False smiles darted around the room as the feast unfolded. Thirteen glasses shot into the carriage air. The man stood to be saluted. Crystals lit with violet light and wine smiled alike with a glimmer toward the man. All at once, a rousing echo of praise and honorifics, each louder than the last, vying for his acceptance. The yell of hyenas to his ears. The eagles seemed to tire alongside the man. All he could manage to each of the pack was a nod. They cackling chorus sat, followed by the man. Matters of state whizzed about the carriage. In his younger days, the man would be fascinated by the mere mention, but in the autumn of his days he sought the pleasures of life where he could; far off from politics. His dentures tore into the pig. The serrated mess was peppered and spiced more than to his taste; the dearest scent dissipated into longing. The wine was bitter, though it did well to dull the senses. The whirl of conversation began to float higher and higher above him until at last it faded from his grasp. His wife had long thought he was nearly senile, but worse he was a drunkard, betrayed by an empty laugh and unwise words.. A vulture pecking at the glories of days far past, wings too heavy with wine and finery to seek new carrion. Sloth and wrath had picked him to the bone. As he remained to feast upon dry pickings, eagles flew past, full scores overtaking him. When the meat was stripped of him, naught but gold and bone remained, washed away in the seas of time. The knife kept through the greenery. The moon took full form, a pearly knife. Smoke bellowed all the same from the burning tower; soot and sky became one. Dark halos weighed upon the man's eyelids. Eagles turned from guardians to specters. Half his mind turned to nightmares, the other half sunk leagues beneath his company. He could at best manage to keep his silence; at worst he'd fall into ramblings and stupor. All the while the dusk rolled onward with the train. Darkness fell upon the thick, even moonlight could not bear to pierce the green sea nor the smoke. The black haunts of the jungle moved ever-closer to the tracks, threatening to consume the steel leopard. The behemoth swam through the narrow. Crimson fireflies turned to pale ones, the only light for days more. Under lamplight the man's mood grew sour and his tongue foul. Degradation spewed from his lips; the most profane words and grievous insults. His wife, his daughters; all that was close to him defiled. If his comrades mocked him, he could not know, so possessed was he by the liquor. By this time the servants poured him watered wine, and if he had a sense left within him he'd surely have flung into madness over it. All the same he continued downward. The moon crawled slowly yet toward her zenith. At last silver shined on the behemoth's back. The moonlight touched the soul of all that she graced, and yet she did not find her way into the carriage. Tempers there burned as the sun did; the eagles kept their scorn. Quiet throughout the jungle. The clamor of the carriage drowned in the stillness of a clear night. Peace and stillness. Inferno. Woe and ruin; the gates of hell unleashed. A blaze. A cry of agony. Ash and rubble. Warped iron, twisted steel. The leopard felled, the mad dog silenced. The knife caught. An eagle flies on forward. The fire burns on, the glass shattered, and yet the eagle looks on; flies on; keeps on. The vulture in the far flung sand; the eagles fly on forward. And all at once the night rages bright and falls back down to silence. The green turns crimson then black evermore; the blood boils onto earth. Peace and stillness. Peace and stillness forevermore. [hider=Technological Improvement Grants] His Divine Valor the Grand Sultan of Dygracia Ozkirk the Goldshield of the Royal House Zajek has decreed that grants from the Dygracian Treasury shall be raised by the Council of Commerce and be compensated by an increase in the almsgiving of the Expeditions (which includes the Falderum Overseas Expedition, the Wulumari Inland Expedition, the Outer Rainlands Inland Expedition, and the Oderean Protectorate), which is currently quite low compared to the core regions. The Lord Expeditionary Commissar shall be charged with the collection of these new alms and their expedient delivery to the Council of Commerce. These duties of implementation of the decree will be given at a rate of four of nine of the coins in question to the Council of Enlightenment for the purpose of increasing popular technological literacy and the establishment of the Civil Research Service to promote the Dygracian civilian technology improvement, and five of the nine parts of coins in question will be given to the Council of Commons for the purpose of subsidizing businesses that employ innovative technologies and evidence themselves to be actively contributing to the technological welfare of the Grand Sultanate, at the discretion of the Vizier of Commons and the Vizier of Commerce with the authority of His Divine Valor the Grand Sultan and the responsibility of reporting to His Excellency the Highlord Regent and the Greater Senate. Specifically, this grant seeks to, among other inventions, secure dominance in the field of the international automobile industry, and investigate military and civil applications of the product. This should hopefully be quite helpful given Dygracia's large oil reserves. [/hider] [hider=Inland Railroad Expansion] In the interest of the maintenance and expansion of Dygracia Major's railroad networks, a sizable portion of the Sovereign Wealth generated by Chromium mining in the inland mountains will be devoted toward purchasing steel from mines in the Tyro-Redanian Empire and the Oslad Empire. In an effort to garner the favor of these two civilizing forces, the Council of Courts and the Council of Commerce in conjunction with a meeting of the Lesser Senate has called for a diplomatic mission to be carried out in coordination with the purchase. Should all go according to plan, the Council of Roads will be authorized with the steel and coin and to develop the rail system of Dygracia major to be among if not thee finest in the world, greatly easing transportation between Dygracia and the Wulumari expedition, and cutting the time needed to export the rich minerals of the area in half. [/hider] [hider=Pact of Nations] The Council of Courts has been authorized by His Divine Valor the Grand Sultan and His Excellency the Highlord Regent to garner the favor of the Osladian Empire and Tyro-Redanian Empire in conjunction with our steel purchase. Our offer shall to establish a pact between the three nations to secure lower tariffs between us all and enter an age of general prosperity. In addition to these terms, the pact would stipulate international patent recognition, freer visas and migration, as well as an agreement to not incite rebellion by the savages in the colonies and expeditions of our nations. Two separate treaties shall be maintained between the two, with the option of adjoining them to forge a Pact of Nations. [/hider] [hider=Serene Empire of Tara State Visit] His Divine Valor the Grand Sultan himself, along with the His Royal Majesty the Lesser Sultan of Serenon and His Royal Majesty the Lesser Sultan of Nymtur, as well as five delegates from the Dygracian Court of Aldermen, will be traveling to the Serene Empire of Tara to seek audience with Her Imperial Majesty the Empress Liliana, Queen of Sairland, Suzerain of the Vershellen Principalities, Matriarch of House Tara, Radiant Duchess of the Royal Marches, Defender of the Empire and the Star in the West, Lady of the Winter Dynasties and Protector of the Cinnamon Isles. His Divine Valor the Grand Sultan himself was taught Tarantese as a child and has high hopes to impress upon Her Imperial Majesty that the Grand Sultanate has utmost respect for the Tarantese culture and lifestyle. If possible, His Divine Valor also wishes to entice her to enter such a Pact of Nations that include the Osladian Empire and the Tyro-Redanian Empire. Above all His Divine Valor will make clear his sincere belief that the Serene Empire of Tara is a civilizing and necessary force in the world and furthermore that a unity of the these civilizing forces is in the best interest of our nations from the perspective of technological advancement. [/hider]