TheSovereignGrave

The New Empires

Whelp, I got my second post up. And in case there's any confusion, an 'Estron' is just what the Hanarth refer to anyone from the Eastern continent as. It's sort of a catch-all term.

The New Empires

The Golden Citadel, Ulzschath, Hanartha

The throne room of the Golden Citadel was a grand and spacious room, a long hall of polished marble leading towards the throne of Hanartha. The throne itself was gigantic, a massive golden chair so high that the front of it had short flight of stairs. And on top of that, it was located atop a round dais. It is said that when a ruler is seated on his throne even giants should look up to him, and it was obvious that those who had built the throne took that to heart. Napizzi wasn't too fond of it, since it was a pain to climb up onto and he always worried about falling. Not only would it be an embarrassment, but he didn't want to break his neck; that would be a rather ignoble end to his life and his reign.

But Napizzi put those thoughts from his mind, gazing out over the throne room from the regal perch. Currently it was occupied by a fairly sizable crowd, and he could name every one of those assembled. They were, after all, family. He could see his mother and sisters and their children, aunts and uncles, and all manner of relatives. He even spied the short and wrinkled form of his great great uncle, who was pushing 2 centuries. And there, off to the sides and practically hidden in the shadows, was his son Suthra.

It had been several days since their talk, and news had spread of Xisuki's invitation. It was, after all, nearly impossible to stop gossip and rumour. But that wasn't the only news buzzing around the Citadel; an invitation had arrived from the Estron kingdom of Manram to a festival celebrating their ruler's birthday. The Citadel was abuzz with news of the two festivals, and which one the Grand Prince would be attending. And today was the day that Napizzi would officially announce his decision, though he'd known which he'd been attending from the very beginning.

"Attention!" he shouted from atop his throne, getting the attention of all those assembled. A moment before they had all been chatting and talking amongst themselves, with the exception of Suthra, but now all were silent before the Grand Prince.

"As I am sure you are all aware, the Governor Xisuki of the Bhanil Coast has invited me a festival celebrating the birth of his first nieces. Truly a momentous occasion for an esteemed individual such as himself," Napizzi called out, "But, as I am sure you are all equally aware, I have received an invitation from the Estron Mundir Kazidu, King of Manram, inviting me to a festival celebrating the anniversary of his birth."

Napizzi paused for a moment, though it was unnecessary as everyone there, bar some of the more elderly family members whose minds were what they used to be, already knew of the information. "I have decided, that as Grand Prince of Hanartha to attend Xisuki's celebration," he announced, and then waited for their reactions.

The crowd waited for a long moment, making sure that the Grand Prince was not going to speak again, before all began shouting their opinions at Napizzi, doing their best to be heard. First were those who disagreed with his decision, but those who agreed quickly raised their voices in defense of Napizzi's decision. From where he was sitting, Napizzi could see them all though he wasn't sure whether most agreed with his decision or not. Not that it mattered of course, he was Grand Prince and would do as he willed.

"Do you not think Manram's King will not take this as an insult?" someone yelled, though Napizzi could not tell who, "One cannot just ignore another ruler!"

"Silence!" Napizzi yelled, and the effect was almost immediate. The throng of family members stopped their arguments and looked back to the Grand Prince.

"I did not say that I plan on ignoring Manram's King, but I will not be making a personal appearance," Napizzi said, "Instead, I will send others in my place. Others whom I trust will adequately represent Hanartha in the court of this Estron King."

Then Napizzi looked to where his son was sitting, still away from the rest of his family, "Suthra, step forward."

Suthra went pale at his father's words; they hadn't talked about this, they hadn't discussed this. This was not good at all, and Suthra could already see family members giving him dirty looks, but he did as his father asked and strode forward until he was standing in front of the dais holding his father's throne.

"Yes, fa-" Suthra began, before his words were broken by a short fit of coughing, "Yes, father?"

"Among the Estrons, sons and daughters are viewed more highly than nieces or nephews," Napizzi said, "And so, I task you with representing me at this festival. Do you accept?"

Suthra wanted to say no, he didn't want this responsibility thrust upon him, but he didn't feel like he had much of a choice. Not here in public, where it could be viewed as an insult, even by the people who didn't want him to take on the responsibility; he thought it rather hypocritical in truth. "Yes, father," he said, "I will do my best to bring honour to Hanartha in the court of this King."

"Good, now Alurar and Asurar, you come forward too," Napizzi said, and a pair of Hanarth made their way to where Suthra was standing. The two were identical twins, and were actually Napizzi's nephews, though unlike most Hanarth they had bright red hair and dark blue eyes, "I wish for you two to travel with Suthra, and act as Hanartha's representatives all well."

"Of course, Uncle," the twins said in unison, before grinning at Suthra. And it wasn't a malicious grin, these two were one of the few who didn't have any qualms about Suthra's presence. Most others either viewed it as a break with a tradition or saw Suthra as a possible threat to their political power. The twins didn't care about that particular tradition, and they made it no secret that they didn't desire the throne.

Then Napizzi waved the trio away with his hand, Suthra returning to his place away from the other family members though this time both Alurar and Asurar followed him. "Now, the Golden Citadel and Ulzschath require someone to rule them in my stead whilst I am away," Napizzi said, "As the capital and seat of my power, this is a tremendous honour and responsibility. Uthros, step forward."

From the group of people strode a young Hanarth, his hair cut short and a cocky grin on his face, "Uncle?"

"I would bestow this honour upon you in my absence," Napizzi said, "Do you accept this honour? And the responsibilities it entails?"

"Of course Uncle," Uthros said, the grin never once leaving his face.

Napizzi nodded, "Good, we shall have the official ceremony tomorrow before I leave." Then he gestured for Uthros to return to his place, before continuing, "That is all the important business for now. You are all dismissed."

Napizzi sat patiently while his family members made their way to one of the many doors along the side of the throne room. Everything had gone well, aside from the dirty looks Suthra was still receiving. Then he heard Uthros's voice, above the chatter of the rest.

"Better luck next time whoreson," he said, "I guess being Uncle's son doesn't get you everything."

Napizzi narrowed his eyes at Uthros, who he could see taunting his son. His son didn't reply, but Alurar and Asurar did. Presumably to defend Suthra; Napizzi had always liked those two boys. Uthros was a completely different story. The young man still had the same smug grin on his face, but then he saw people staring behind him. And his grin fell from his face as he saw Napizzi approaching, anger burning in his eyes.

"What did you call my son?" Napizzi demanded.

"What? I didn't-" Uthros began, but was cut off as Napizzi's hand slapped the boy so suddenly and so hard that he stumbled backwards.

"I heard you," Napizzi growled, "Now what did you call my son?"

"A, a whoreson," Uthros said, his cocky demeanour completely gone as a bright red hand print began to appear on the side of his face.

"Are you saying I am a whore, boy?"

"Wh-what? No, of course not," Uthros stammered.

"Then you are calling Suthra's mother a whore."

"B-but, she was."

This time Uthros fell to the ground as Napizzi punched him right in his face. He laid on the ground, sputtering as blood began to trickle from his nose and lip when Napizzi laid a foot on his nephew's chest. "Learn when to hold your tongue," Napizzi snarled, pushing his foot down harder onto his chest, "Do you understand me?"

"Y-yes," Uthros managed to sputter.

Napizzi didn't say a word as he lifted his foot off Uthros. Then he looked around at the people assembled, searching for someone. "Elotian, come here," he said, and another of the hanarth came forward, this one with long brown hair and a short beard to match. Though not as tall as his Uncle, he had his large build.

"Yes, Grand Prince?" he asked, ignoring his cousin on the ground.

"I have changed my mind, I want you to take care of the Citadel and city while I am gone," Napizzi said, "So prepare for the official ceremony tomorrow."

"Of course," Elotian replied.

"You can't do that!" Uthros yelled desperately as he managed to stand up, "I am your heir! The responsibility is mine!"

Napizzi took a step towards Uthros, which made the boy flinch backwards, though he made no move to hit him again. "Your mother may be my eldest sister, but Elotian is my eldest nephew," Napizzi said coldly, "I have yet to choose an heir, so it would be in your best interest not to get a hold of yourself. Understood?"

Uthros mumbled something quietly, to which Napizzi responded by bellowing at him, "Do you understand?"

The Grand Prince's sudden yelling surprised Uthros, and he fell backwards on the ground again before looking up at his Uncle and saying, "Yes."

Napizzi didn't even deem it necessary to respond to that, instead walking over to Suthra and the twins. "Come on then, you three need to prepare, right?" he said, putting an arm around Suthra's shoulder, "You have quite the journey ahead of you." He left Uthros sitting lying on the ground as he left the throne room, and in fact seemed to forget about him completely before he turned and gestured to him, "And somebody find someone to clean that up!"

The New Empires

In case anyone was curious, I'm going to respond to Peace Keeper's invitation in my next post. And Feigling, I do have one question. Would a bird be able to make it from Torin to Manram? They're kinda far away.

The New Empires

Well, I got my first post up. It, uh, it kinda dragged on for longer than I thought it would. I was going to have a second scene in there, but I don't like having posts that are too extremely long.

The New Empires

The Golden Citadel, Ulzschath, Hanartha

The Golden Citadel of Ulzschath was a massive and grand fortress of soaring towers and thick walls located at the edge of Hanartha's capital of Ulzschath, its walls built right up against the sea. Much like the city itself, construction of the palace had been started by Uradal Alugal, Hanartha's first Grand Prince, but his successors had added to it over the centuries. According to legend, the original keep had been coated entirely in sheets of gold, thus the name. However, even if that was true the gold had been long peeled away, as even among the long-lived Hanarth none alive remembered the Golden Citadel as being anything but stone. And deep within the Citadel, within the original keep itself, stood a small garden. It was a small windowless room with only a single entrance hidden away in the corner of the keep, but it was completely open to the sky and plenty of the sun's rays found there way into the small room. The colours of the garden formed a stark contrast to the walls around it; the deep green of the grass and the beautiful red and blues and yellows of the many flowers it held against the dark grey and white of the stone walls. And in its center was a small Faceless Pillar, the four-sided and featureless pillars that denoted a place of worship to Hanartha's Nameless Gods. This garden had been constructed centuries ago by a Grand Prince who preferred to worship alone and with nature, rather than in the Golden Citadel's cathedral-like main temple. These days it was still technically used as a temple, though there was only a single curator who tended to it and laid out offerings to the Nameless Gods. But mostly it was used by Napizzi Alar, the current Grand Prince of Hanartha, as a place to go when he needed peace and quiet. Or, such as now, when he wanted to have a private conversation.

The Grand Prince entered the garden alongside his son Suthra, the pair chatting as they walked. Though the pair was father and son, one could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Napizzi was a tall and broad-shouldered man with not a strand of hair on the top of his head, but his face dominated by a long, black, braided beard in addition to a nose that was both wide and long and a thick brow. Suthra, on the other hand, had the prodigious height of his father but nothing else; he was incredibly thin, and his face was soft and feminine with the only hairs on his body belonging to the thick black hair that fell to his waist. However, he also had something of a gaunt look to him, like someone whose body was beginning to waste away from disease, which indeed it was as he had been chronically ill from birth. It was why he had to stop for a moment as his body was wracked with a fit of coughing.

"Suthra!" Napizzi said with alarm, he started towards his son, but was stopped when Suthra lifted up his hand and shook his head.

"Father, father, I am fine," Suthra said once the coughing had subsided, "This nothing new; I have been coughing like that for years."

"It is not usually that bad," Napizzi replied, before shaking his head, "But it is your body. You know far more about it then I."

Then the Grand Prince sat down on the grass, before patting the ground next to him and smiling, "Come on then, sit!"

Suthra smiled back at his father and slowly lowered himself to the ground, "So father, what brings us here today?"

"What, I am not allowed to just have a conversation with my son?" Napizzi said with a grin.

Suthra just sighed and shook his head, "Father, I may be young but I am not stupid. If you just wanted to talk, you would have just found me and started talking. This is a place for private conversations."

Napizzi sighed in response, but then shrugged and smiled, "True enough, and you are a smart man. It is not anything major, I just wanted you to be the first to know. I plan on announcing it to everyone else in a day or two."

Suthra tilted his head curiously, "Really? What is it?"

"You know Governor Xisuki, correct?"

"Of course," Suthra said, though he wasn't able to entirely hide the fact that he was not overly fond of the man. Xisuki was the Governor that Napizzi had put in charge of Hanartha's western coastline. Xisuki was also an incredibly large man; not large in the manner of Napizzi but morbidly obese. Suthra's recollections of Xisuki were mostly of jiggling fat and the smell of sweat mixed perfume.

"Oh, do not say it like that," Napizzi said, obviously displeased with his son's reaction, "Xisuki is a good man, and my friend."

"I know that," Suthra said, ashamed of himself, "I'm sorry."

Napizzi just looked at his son for a moment before grinning and patting him on the back, "It is fine. You do not know him the way I do."

"That is probably true," Suthra said, smiling back at his father, "So what about him anyway?"

"Oh, yeah! One of his sisters just gave birth to a set of triplets. All of them daughters," Napizzi said, "You may not know this, but those are the first daughters any of his sisters have had."

Suthra nodded his head, since among the Hanarth bloodlines were traced via the female line daughters were important. The birth of these daughters meant Xisuki's family would continue, though Suthra had no idea why his father would want to tell him this in private. And he voiced that confusion, "So what did you have to bring me here to tell me?"

"Well, Xisuki is holding a feast to celebrate, unsurprising since the man loves feasting, and he has invited me," Napizzi said, "And I intend to accept the invitation."

Suthra was silent for a moment as he processed the information, "It is not that far away, so you will not be gone long."

"Most likely not, though Xisuki will want me to stay as long as I can to catch up," Napizzi said, "Which, I have to admit, is an entertaining prospect."

"So why is this so important?" Suthra asked, not entirely understanding.

"Because I would like you to run the castle and city while I'm gone," Napizzi said matter-of-factually.

Suthra simply stared at his father for a long moment as his brain tried to process what had just been said. His father, the Grand Prince, wanted him to watch over and govern both the Golden Citadel and Ulzschath. It was a shock, to say the least. "I... I can't do that," Suthra managed to stammer out.

"Why not?" Napizzi asked.

"Because it is not my place, father," Suthra said, standing up, "I am only your son, my mother was just one of the commonfolk. I am the same, I am not part of your House, I-"

"Suthra," Napizzi said sternly, standing up as well, "I took you into my household and raised you as a part of my family when your mother died. You are as much royalty as I am."

Suthra groaned in irritation, "No, I'm not. You may think so, but you are the only one in this city who does!"

"I am Grand Prince of Hanartha and what I think is all that matters," Napizzi said darkly, the words coming out sounding like a threat to anyone who would disagree with him.

"I am sorry father, but I cannot do it," Suthra said, "Let Amenmes or Ennutuar handle it. Or even Alurar or Asurar; they are all your nephews. They may be your heirs, they could use the experience. Not me."

Napizzi just stared at his son sadly. He thought he had been doing Suthra a favour by taking him in when his mother had died, she had been a commoner like Suthra said. But Napizzi's sisters and their children had never looked kindly on Suthra's presence in the Golden Citadel, since his mother had just been a commoner. They didn't like the way Napizzi seemed to dote on his son and not his nephews; he knew that some probably felt threatened by it. Felt like he was grooming Suthra as his heir. He wasn't of course, since he knew there'd be no way anyone would ever accept it. But Suthra's mother had been the only lover Napizzi ever took, and Suthra himself was all he had left of her.

Napizzi put a hand on his son's shoulder. "You're right, of course. You see these things far more clearly than me," he said, smiling sadly, "I'll have Anemnes handle it while I'm gone."

Suthra put his hand over his father's, smiling as he did so. "It is alright, I know you just want to help. But you've already given me far more than I'd ever ask for," he said, before hugging his father tightly. The pair stood there hugging one another for a long moment, before they heard a sound at the door. When they looked over, they saw another elf dressed in a simple brown rob and holding what appeared to be a small bowl of guts, staring at them. "Oh, s-sorry, I-I was just here to give th-the offering," he said, showing them the bowl, "I-I can just come back l-later."

"No, it's fine. We were just done," Suthra said, letting go of his father.

After a moment Napizzi nodded in agreement, "We would hate to keep you from your duties, curator. The size of this shrine does not make it any less important than any other."

And with that the two departed the garden, leaving the curator rather confused. But he simply shrugged and got to work making the offering to the Nameless Gods and checking to be sure that the garden was in proper condition.

The New Empires

Good news, I finally figured out what to put in my first. So, I'll definitely get a post up tomorrow since I know what I'm going to be writing about.

The New Empires

Peace Keeper said
The problem isn't names in general, but rather how they behave within their given regions. Problem is, most certainly, the fact that Japanese like culture is far too different from the one which I use. The largest problem is probably the fact that culture spreads beyond nation lines, as well.

My culture is pretty different from its surrounding cultures as well. They worship nameless Gods, trace ancestry matrilinearly, and have no concept of marriage for example. In your case, it could possibly be explained that the Japanese-esque culture's ancestors and your culture's ancestors originated in different regions and thus don't share common roots.

The New Empires

I don't think the culture is really that big of a deal. I mean, the Hanarth have names like Napizzi, Uthros, Elotian, Suthra, etc. while both Frisstreek and Marmon people use names like Russell, Henri, Henry, Gregory, and Sara. And it's not like there's a sort of unifying factors among the myriad societies.

The New Empires

Sorry for not posting today, I've been having a bit of writer's block and most Sundays I spend the days hanging out with my friends, and so don't really get a chance to post.

The New Empires

...Has anyone said that in their nations that slavery is forbidden? I may have just missed that part, but gorgen's sheet outright says so. Considering the comparative era one would expect slavery to exist in a nation; places like Adjutor Insula being the obvious exception.

And anyway, sorry for not yet making an IC post. I've been having trouble actually figuring out what to post. But I'll get one up today.