Sep 17, 2019 2:50 pm
Capital: Macara
Current Territory
Current Population: 69,000
Current Territory
Current Population: 69,000
New Teloch
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Sep 18, 2019 4:49 am
New Teloch
Capital City: Macara
- Minerals
- Precious Metals
- Gemstones
Predominant Races: Human, Undead
Since we're starting from a single province and city, I'd like to roll back the timeline a bit from my starting pitch. The original Teloch is the entire peninsula starting from the isthmus at 0°S 50°W, and is still largely broken up into the warring fiefdoms of the hereditary nobility.
Macara is the epicentre of the Ancestor uprising, which is still in its early stages. The city and its hinterlands have been entirely emancipated, the process of rebuilding is well under way, and the messengers mentioned in the pitch have just started to emerge and travel to other provinces. The living population are still coming to terms with their new situation, so the advances in culture and medicine haven't emerged just yet (but that's the direction I intend to take things).
The Macaran/Neo-Telochian "government" is currently a form of anarcho-syndicalism, as farmers, craftspeople and other trades are in the process of organising into self-regulating professional communities that elect representatives to argue civic policy. This process of self-governance is openly guided by the Eternal Priesthood, along with control over all military resources (zombie hordes).
As a suggestion for down the track when we need to start worrying about food, I'd like to come up with something to account for the fact that most of Teloch's population doesn't need to eat. As a starting point, perhaps they could use Gemstones (used in the magical rituals that animate the dead) to "feed" the provinces instead of Food? That seems relatively fair, just swapping one basic resource for another.
Capital City: Macara
- Minerals
- Precious Metals
- Gemstones
Predominant Races: Human, Undead
Since we're starting from a single province and city, I'd like to roll back the timeline a bit from my starting pitch. The original Teloch is the entire peninsula starting from the isthmus at 0°S 50°W, and is still largely broken up into the warring fiefdoms of the hereditary nobility.
Macara is the epicentre of the Ancestor uprising, which is still in its early stages. The city and its hinterlands have been entirely emancipated, the process of rebuilding is well under way, and the messengers mentioned in the pitch have just started to emerge and travel to other provinces. The living population are still coming to terms with their new situation, so the advances in culture and medicine haven't emerged just yet (but that's the direction I intend to take things).
The Macaran/Neo-Telochian "government" is currently a form of anarcho-syndicalism, as farmers, craftspeople and other trades are in the process of organising into self-regulating professional communities that elect representatives to argue civic policy. This process of self-governance is openly guided by the Eternal Priesthood, along with control over all military resources (zombie hordes).
kadeton sent a note to Falconloft
[ +- ] Original Timeline
The nation of Teloch almost collapsed after the withdrawal of the Empire, as the Telochian nobility squandered the fertile region's wealth on petty wars of dominion, ignoring the plight of their starving peasantry. Uprisings were brutally suppressed as the nobles brought in foreign mercenaries to bolster their armies, only for the troops to leave once the coffers were empty. When tales of a far more sinister threat began to spread from holdings at the edge of the Great Forest, they were dismissed as doomsayer nonsense. When the undead horde emerged from the forest and sacked the city of Macara, the truth could no longer be denied... but the depleted nation was no longer able to mount a defence against this supernatural army of death.
The reports coming back from the warzone were strange, however. Scouts reported that the undead were rebuilding the city's walls and buildings, and even that living people seemed to be working amongst them. Eventually, some of these surviving Macari began to leave the city, travelling across Teloch. Everywhere they went, they spread a message.
"Teloch is dying. The lords are a cancer that is killing our once-proud nation with their greed and cruelty. They must be cut out, so that we can heal. Our ancestors have returned to help us end this tyranny. Honour them, and they will not harm you. Death comes for the nobility, and for them alone."
The reception to this news was mixed. Many of the noble families fled with whatever they could, while others tried to fortify their strongholds and fight. The common folk were fearful of the undead, but as it became clear that there was no duplicity in their message - the shambling hordes would sweep through a holding, killing any who opposed them, but leaving all others in peace - ever more frequently the common soldiers would simply lay down their arms when the undead approached. Unlike the mercenary armies the low people had become resigned to as a constant threat, the undead did not pillage, rape or steal.
One by one, the nobles were systematically purged from Teloch. In the wake of the undead, communities were left suddenly directionless and chaotic, without clear leadership. Into that vacuum stepped the Eternal Priesthood.
Clad in simple grey robes, these men and women summoned and directed the magical forces that animated the undead. They could have been a new caste of tyrants, but bound by secret oaths, they eschewed wealth and temporal power. Instead, they positioned themselves as servant-leaders, helping communities to self-organise and rebuild, and providing tireless undead labour for construction and agriculture.
Over time, life in Teloch reached a new equilibrium. The people came to rely on the undead, who performed most of the simple and menial labour, which in turn gave the living more time and freedom to pursue wealth, leisure, and their passions. The living population is small, but the nation is now comparatively wealthy, and the standard of living is very high. The fertile plains of Teloch grow vastly more produce than the population requires, and it is renowned for the number of dedicated artisans producing all manner of high-quality goods for trade. Its doctors, surgeons and medical facilities are probably the best in the world.
Visitors from other nations are usually unnerved or horrified by undead openly walking around the streets of Teloch's cities. Once that shock has passed, they normally move on to question how, if there are no powerful rulers, anything manages to get done. The locals will usually laugh, shrug, and say "If you want something done, convince people it's worth doing. When enough people agree, it gets done, because people care about seeing it finished. What could be simpler?"
The constant presence of death in Teloch is a reminder that life is short and should be lived fully, but also that everyone is ultimately equal. It is a matter of honour that no matter their status in life, all citizens come to serve their country in death. Telochians are generally direct, exuberant, artistic, respectful, collaborative, and fiercely opposed to hierarchal authority.
The reports coming back from the warzone were strange, however. Scouts reported that the undead were rebuilding the city's walls and buildings, and even that living people seemed to be working amongst them. Eventually, some of these surviving Macari began to leave the city, travelling across Teloch. Everywhere they went, they spread a message.
"Teloch is dying. The lords are a cancer that is killing our once-proud nation with their greed and cruelty. They must be cut out, so that we can heal. Our ancestors have returned to help us end this tyranny. Honour them, and they will not harm you. Death comes for the nobility, and for them alone."
The reception to this news was mixed. Many of the noble families fled with whatever they could, while others tried to fortify their strongholds and fight. The common folk were fearful of the undead, but as it became clear that there was no duplicity in their message - the shambling hordes would sweep through a holding, killing any who opposed them, but leaving all others in peace - ever more frequently the common soldiers would simply lay down their arms when the undead approached. Unlike the mercenary armies the low people had become resigned to as a constant threat, the undead did not pillage, rape or steal.
One by one, the nobles were systematically purged from Teloch. In the wake of the undead, communities were left suddenly directionless and chaotic, without clear leadership. Into that vacuum stepped the Eternal Priesthood.
Clad in simple grey robes, these men and women summoned and directed the magical forces that animated the undead. They could have been a new caste of tyrants, but bound by secret oaths, they eschewed wealth and temporal power. Instead, they positioned themselves as servant-leaders, helping communities to self-organise and rebuild, and providing tireless undead labour for construction and agriculture.
Over time, life in Teloch reached a new equilibrium. The people came to rely on the undead, who performed most of the simple and menial labour, which in turn gave the living more time and freedom to pursue wealth, leisure, and their passions. The living population is small, but the nation is now comparatively wealthy, and the standard of living is very high. The fertile plains of Teloch grow vastly more produce than the population requires, and it is renowned for the number of dedicated artisans producing all manner of high-quality goods for trade. Its doctors, surgeons and medical facilities are probably the best in the world.
Visitors from other nations are usually unnerved or horrified by undead openly walking around the streets of Teloch's cities. Once that shock has passed, they normally move on to question how, if there are no powerful rulers, anything manages to get done. The locals will usually laugh, shrug, and say "If you want something done, convince people it's worth doing. When enough people agree, it gets done, because people care about seeing it finished. What could be simpler?"
The constant presence of death in Teloch is a reminder that life is short and should be lived fully, but also that everyone is ultimately equal. It is a matter of honour that no matter their status in life, all citizens come to serve their country in death. Telochians are generally direct, exuberant, artistic, respectful, collaborative, and fiercely opposed to hierarchal authority.
Last edited September 18, 2019 6:11 am