[center][h1]"The Long Road Home"[/h1]
[h3](Closed to ItIsJustMe and Princess Peril)[/h3]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/xTOv9YR.jpg?1[/img][/center]

[Hider=Map Details]
I am still working on this. I got interrupted. 
[hider=A Clarification]
[list]
[*]I did not create this map but instead "borrowed" it from the internet. 
[*]Originally, the black triangles signified mountain peaks, but in our story they represent towns.
[*]Additionally, the yellow terrain surrounding the black triangles originally indicated highlands, whereas in our story they represent areas of higher rural population density (farms, ranches, etc.)
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[hider=Legend (Colored Symbols)]
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[*]Stars: capitals (large walled cities) of the sovereign nations of the same color (white, blue, red, green).
[*]Dots: other walled cities (ruled by the capitals of the same color).
[*]Triangles: towns (most also walled) which are generally but not always ruled by the nearest capital city.
[*]Grey circle (Un, on the Island of Tella-Un): a religious site holy to all nations. It is the only active volcano known to exist; a 10 mile wide, 3,000 foot deep crater filled with roiling lava.
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[Hider=Republic of Yalla]
[List]
[*]It is the southernmost of the sovereign lands.
[*]It was once the greatest and most powerful nation. Now, however:
[list]
[*]It has the smallest population of the 4 sovereign nations at just over 25,000.
[*]It has the least wealth in resources and smallest treasury.
[*]And it has the smallest armed forces: 200 cavalry, 1,000 skilled warriors, 2,000 potential conscripts, and 200 sailors/marines on 5 warships.  
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[*]Government:
[list]
[*]It is ruled by a Prime Minister, who is selected by a Council of Lords.
[*]Each of the Lords rules his city or town. 
[*]The Prime Minister of the Republic of Yalla also serves as Lord Mayor of the capital city, Yalla.
[*]While the Prime Minister has the historical right to call upon his Lords to provide armed forces in the time of conflict, recent history has shown that the Lords do essentially what they like. 
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[*]The Republic of Yalla currently includes:
[list]
[*]The Capital City of Yalla (pop. 5,000)
[*]The City of Marcan (pop. 4,000) on the Island of Tella-Un.
[*]The City of Sutla (pop. 3,000) on the Island of Sufi in the inland Sea of Yalla.
[*]The City of Savat (pop. 2,000) on the island of Sevu in the inland Sea of Vint.
[*]And the Cities of Rlawell and Abad (pops. 1,000 each) in the southern reaches of the Fenwater, which itself is northwest of the inland seas.
[*]Four towns (black triangles; pops. 200-600) to the southwest of the Capital City.
[*]Dozens of small-to-medium sized villages (pops. 50-200) that are [i]not[/i] indicated on the map.
[*]As well as most of the lands surrounding these cities.  (Yalla does [i]not[/i] have solitary control over the inland seas surrounding its island cities, however. That control is in the hands of [i]usually[/i] friendly Vint.) 
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[*]The Republic of Yalla historically included far greater land and water territories, including but not limited to:
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[*]The City of Tiala (pop. 3,000), over which Vint took control 20 years BRP (before role play) to ease Yalla's debt problems.
[*]The City of Tut (pop. 3,000), conquered by the Frenkish Empire 5 years BRP.
[*]5 of the 9 towns (black triangles) it formerly controlled.
[hider=Explanation]
[list]
[*]The town just to the north of Tut was captured by the Frenkish Empire 5 years ago during its Tut campaign.
[*]The two eastern towns nearest Tiala [i]defected[/i] to Vint shortly after Tut fell to the Frenkish Empire, fearing that Yalla could not defend them if they, too, were attacked. (Yalla did not put up a fight to keep these towns as the forces simply weren't available.)
[*]And the westernmost town on the far side of the Kokalla River elected to join the Meretheni Federation 2 years ago and is now occupied and protected by troops from that nation. (Again, Yalla did not put up a fight to keep these towns.)
[*]While the Republic of Yalla considers the Frenkish Empire an enemy, it considers Vint and the Meretheni Federation friends.
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[*]The coastline and coastal waters from the mouth of the Kokalla River to the Eastern Blight, nearly all of which is now controlled by other nations.
[hider=Explanation]
[list]
[*]The Republic of Yalla sent its navy to the Eastern Blight during the war over Tut, where it was soundly defeated.
[*]Yalla lost control of The Dead Coast (named such because no long term communities ever survived there).
[*]Vint -- a naval [i]super power[/i] that uses the Kokalla river to access the outer seas -- protects the southern coasts from further Frenkish expansion.
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[Hider=Meretheni Federation]
[List]
[*]It is the westernmost and largest of the sovereign lands, stretching from Frost Bay in the north to the mouth of the Kokalla River in the south.
[*]It has the greatest population, currently at over 100,000 and growing 10% year after year.
[*]It is simultaneously rich and poor:
[list]
[*]It has the greatest per capita wealth, the lowest level of poverty, and -- at nearly 25% -- the highest literacy rate of all the sovereign nations.
[*]However, it has a modest treasury due to the generosity of its Ruling Class to its Middle and Under Classes.
[*]Its arable lands make it the most agriculturally productive of the sovereign nations; it exports half of what it grows each year.
[*]It lacks ores and minerals, however, importing them primarily from the Frenkish Empire.
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[*]Its standing and standby military is relatively large:
[list]
[*]While its standing army is the second largest -- the Frenkish Empire's standing army is the largest -- it had the [i]largest[/i] available conscription army by far, with more registered and trained military members than the other sovereign nations [i]combined[/i].
[*]It has the second largest navy after that of Vint.
[*]During time of peace, the standing army is engaged in civil works projects while the navy supplements the merchant and fishing fleets in their work.  
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[*]Government:
[list]
[*]It is the most democratic of the sovereign states.
[*]It is ruled over by a Bicameral Council of Elected Ministers:
[hider=The House of the People]
[list]
[*]Each population center (cities, towns, villages) elects 1 Minister for each of its 500 residents (free men, women, and children).  
[*]Villages and towns with less than 500 residents must combine their populations for the purpose of elections.
[*]The House of the People meets 2 times a year (just prior to the planting season and just after the main harvest) to discuss and vote on issues brought before it by its Ministers.
[*]Motions passed by the supermajority of 60% are forwarded to the House of the Lords.
[*]While all free men, women, and children are included in the census population, only free males who are property owners or registered with the Army/Navy as active personnel, veterans of war, or willing and trained conscripts can vote.
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[/hider]
[hider=The House of the Lords]
[list]
[*]Each Nobleman or Noblewoman is also a Minister to the House of Lords.
[*]The House of the Lords meets one fortnight after the House of the People concludes its own work.
[*]It discusses and votes on Motions sent to it from that [i]lower[/i] House.
[*]Motions that are passed take effect as determined within the motion's text.
[*]Motions that fail are returned to a Resolution Committee of Ministers of the House of the People.
[*]These Committee Ministers are chosen by their House's membership to stay behind while the majority of the men return to their individual communities to return to their work.
[*]If 80% of the Committee Ministers vote to override the Motion declined by the House of Lords, the Motion becomes law.
[*]Becoming a Noble is a matter of inheriting the role or being elevated from the [i]masses[/i] by the House of Lords itself, a process which doesn't happen often; it happens even less often for [i]Ladies[/i]. 
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[hider=Meretheni Federation Communities and Territory]
[list]
[*]Population over 100,000 and growing 10% annually.
[*]The Capital City of Forthala (pop. 20,000)
[*]The City of Lotha (pop. 12,000), Kinth (pop. 11,000), Morbeth (pop. 9,000), Tothan (pop. 7,000), and Lux (pop. 6,000).
[*]Eight towns (black triangles; pops. 400-1000), including the town northwest of the mouth of the Kokalla River which used to belong to the Republic of Yalla.
[*]And more than 150 small villages (fishing villages on the coast, farming villages on The Great Steppe, and logging villages in the forests) ranging from (pops. 50-400) that are [i]not[/i] indicated on the map.

[*]The coastline and coastal waters from the mouth of the Kokalla River in the south to the Frost Bay in the north are Meretheni territorial waters.
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She'd been called [url=https://i.imgur.com/T65GHIC.jpg?1]Melody[/url] for as long as she could remember, most of her 20 winters of life. It wasn't her true name; she didn't know her true name and those who [i]did[/i] had been sworn to keep it from her less they lose their heads.

They wouldn't have been the first to lose their heads in her presence, of course; as she looked down upon the now burning village from where her horse stood still as a statue on a nearby hillock, Melody was sure heads had rolled this very day. She hadn't meant things to go this way, of course. She'd sent an envoy down to the small community shortly after sunrise to peacefully request food and shelter, only to watch as the man and his four escorts were taken down by arrows loosed from multiple directions.

Melody couldn't know what had led to the attack: misunderstanding, language barrier, fear on the villagers' part that their visitors were not as peaceful as they seemed. Whatever the reason, the attack had to be answered.  It was, of course, by fire arrows, cavalry, and foot warriors. In the end, as their homes burned behind them, the two dozen survivors of the attack found themselves herded away from the inferno, forced to squat in the mud of a recent rain, and surrounded by their captors.

The ankles of the males were shackled with chains, the women by rope; the children were left unsecured. Once the survivors were trussed up, most of Melody's force set about collecting the stock animals, harvested crops, and other valuable resources. 

It wasn't only men serving Melody; her [i]Clan[/i] was not simply an invading horde of blood thirty adult male warriors but was in fact an ever-traveling community that included men, women, and children of all ages, much like the village they'd just destroyed.

By now, those on the hillock had descended and dismounted near the collected captives. Melody found there was an almost equal number of men, women, and children. The men were mostly elderly, infirmed, or injured; as expected, the majority of the fighting aged men had engaged with the attackers and been killed. 

Many of the women were of childbearing age; many of those had children clinging to them for safety and reassurance; and, Melody was happy to see, many of the rest could easily be considered young and beautiful. These women would fetch a pretty price at the slave market in Yalla.

"[i]Kapiten![/i]" 

One of the nearby men who was directing other men's actions heard Melody's call. He sent his subordinates off to continue with their pillaging and hurried to her, pressing his fisted hand to his chest in salute before responding, "[i]Yes[/i], m'lady."

"We will make camp here for the day to give the men rest," she told him. She looked to the hostages, then directed, "Kill a bullock and put two of these men to preparing it for the fire pit. Select six women to slaughter the chickens, ducks, geese."

"All of them, m'lady?" he asked.

"All of them," she instructed. "Easier to transport dead, cooked birds than live one, wouldn't you agree, Kapiten?" 

"Yes, m'lady," he answered, nodding his head respectfully.

"Look for rabbit hutches," she continued, again looking into the crowd of survivors. "If the cages can be transported..."

Her voice trailed off as her gaze met the gaze of a most incredible looking young woman sitting near the middle of the group. The Captain, thinking he was intended to complete his Lady's request filled in, "We will load them on the carts, m'lady. If they aren't, we'll add them to the fire."

When Melody only continued to stare at the other woman in silence, the Captain asked politely, "Will that be all, m'lady?"

"No," she said softly. After another moment of simply staring at the woman with a slightly awed expression, Melody ordered, "Ensure my tent is erected first."

"Of course, m'lady--"

"And heat some water for my bath."

"Yes, m'lady, of course," he continued his acknowledgments. He looked toward the hillock over which the road to the village passed to see the procession of women, children, and carts nearing now that the fighting was over. "Your Ladies are nearly here to--"

"Bring [i]her[/i] to my tent," Melody cut in.  The Captain followed his Lady's gaze to the young beauty sitting in the mud. Melody turned to leave, as if no further orders were needed, adding only, "Remove her bindings and put her to work hauling water and building the fire."

"M'lady...?" the Captain said, looking for clarification; the woman in question had just seen her village destroyed and more than half of its inhabitants -- including most of the men and possibly her husband, father, and/or brothers -- killed in the process, and yet Melody wanted her unbound to enable service? "Are you sure about this?"

Melody stopped, looked to the Captain, then to the young woman, and -- ensuring that the latter could hear her -- said, "Ensure she knows that if she becomes any sort of a fuss ... I will kill all the children."

The Captain was a tad bit surprised by this as well, yet he gave her a respectful head nod and fist to the chest again and said, "[i]Yes[/i], m'lady."

And with that done, Melody headed off into the midst of the conflagration as if she had no fear of its flames causing her any harm at all.