The Bal'met event

Synbios

Skye said:

Chord said:

Sycaerunax turns his noble head and, while gazing directly into Bal'met's eyes, scrapes a grand old mansion from the southeastern mountain face with slow, mute defiance.

You don't say no to Sycaerunax. Now buy the <insert item that a dragon would normally advertise> that he's offering or the stalagmite gets it.

Xith

Sohl said:

Chlorochrous embers dance in the air before the dragon's mouth, catching the air aflame as Sycaerunax gathers his power. With a brassy roar that shakes the land, he unleashes a raging column of sickly green flame downward, and booming explosions mix with an angry hiss as the waters vaporize into scalding steam. The harbour instantly devolves into a holocaust of burning ships and charred citizens, the air redolent with the scent of burning flesh.

A dozen orphans, having begged their way onto a ship, have perished in the conflagration.

The philosopher Ikant has perished along with his retinue, burning in the funeral pyre that Ashtan's harbour has become.

At last, the fires die out, leaving only a few buildings at the fringe of the boiling water smoldering.

I totally assumed this would mean the harbour was destroyed and that the Garden was picking off our city harbours to solve the no ship-raid problem. Then log in to find that Dockhand square is perfectly fine and Fire and Spice remains intact. You win this round, Amunet.

Apollodorus

Thaumas said:

The whole gripe about authoritarianism is distinctly post-1945 European and North American worldview implanted into a fantasy world, just as silly as searching for clues to make LoTR an analogy of RL with Mordor as Nazi Germany etc.

It rests on assumption that monarchy in strictest sense (rule of one person, not a hereditary monarchy) is by itself a bad thing because, gosh, where are the human rights in such a society? Our constitutional rights.Haven't they heard of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen? Geez, Enlightenment happened more than 2 centuries ago.

The new Shallam simply must be authoritarian, because not just useless but harmful people who hold their position as dearly as their life should be easily replaced by the will of a god.

Sorry, I don't really disagree with your position on Shallam, but I can't resist the bait of bad history.

Complaints about authoritarianism are not distinctly post-1945 European and North American. Not even remotely. They recur constantly throughout the early-modern period, from the Russian, French, and American Revolutions to the English Civil War, the Dutch Revolt, and beyond. Strong centralised monarchies existed here and there at various places and times, but even in the Middle Ages -- despite stereotypes -- complaints about authoritarianism were incredibly common, from the Magna Carta to the peasant revolts to the republicanism of the city states and the resistance of lower aristocrats to royal overreach. And everyone knows about the hatred the ancient Romans had for kings, not to mention Athenian democracy and their comparable feelings, or the aversion for kings felt by the ancient Jews.

Attempts to assert authoritarianism and attempts to resist or subvert it are not about human rights or any other historically specific ideological construct. They're about power and power struggles, arguably the very building blocks of history. Authoritarianism is not some pre-modern default setting for human societies, especially not authoritarianism that functions exclusively with sacral/ideological justification rather than as a result of reciprocal power relations within the group being ruled. Sacral kingship itself, where it occurred, was essentially a rhetorical device for persuading (with varying success) populations to accept a particular power arrangement, not an uncontested hard fact of the universe. An autocrat who can't be replaced by the governed population is the true historical aberration, only really conceivable with the help of Mhaldor-style hard-coding. And even in such instances in Achaea, even where the Gods are making all the decisions, you know that the opinion of the group as a whole is going to exert a strong influence on who rules and how.

(And I don't know about other countries, but Canada still has "Elizabeth II dei gratia regina" on our money. Queen by the grace of God!)

Mathonwy

lol, Apollodorowned.

Delphinus

I'm likewise surprised that Ashtan's harbour is still functioning. With Shallam gone, Ashtan's going to be the only city with a working port; this seemed like a good way to shore up that inequality.

Asmodron

^

Dragonfire aint what it used to be.

Thaumas

@Apollodorus: I was talking about a specific gripe displayed on this forum by Kresslack - that "authoritarianism = bad" is a truism. Something which goes without saying, because it's so obviously true. Yes, my view on historical developments in politics is provincial (Central European), and therefore inaccurate, but my point that the perception of authoritarianism as fascism (Kresslack's argument) is post 1945 is, I think, still correct.

Kresslack

Having missed this part of the event (again), I read up on it and logged in, rushing to find what I thought would be a wreck of a city harbour and a lot of missing ships. I found everything as I left it, and while that is a bit of relief, it's also a bit surprising. 

Ephram

I'm surprised the harbour still stands normally, after all that. How's the rest of the city look?

Kresslack

Ephram said:

I'm surprised the harbour still stands normally, after all that. How's the rest of the city look?

As far as I can tell, besides a couple of rooms being destroyed (and repaired), nothing has changed. I haven't roamed the whole city, just checked on the harbour, so I can't say for certain.

Ephram

Too bad. Would be nice to see some lasting damage... But this event is still pretty amazing.

Tvistor

A true newbie joined the Naga, so I gave him skullcap and was like "Hush now, enjoy the deathsights."

Delphinus

Tvistor said:

Quality master/slave bonding time.

That's just, I mean I...

No, never mind.

Tvistor

In retrospect, Delphinus is right.

Chryenth

Delphinus said:

I'm likewise surprised that Ashtan's harbour is still functioning. With Shallam gone, Ashtan's going to be the only city with a working port; this seemed like a good way to shore up that inequality.

I see what you did there.

Also very upset that I missed part of the event in my home city. Bah.

Jurixe

A few days ago, a denizen started talking to me about my renovation plans for the city, and I was so excited because it's the first admin response to my projects (and the majority of my projects require admin input of some sort, so I've been waiting a while to put these into action).

Part of that discussion:

Jurixe nods her dark head slightly.

You say in Mhaldorian in a cool, silken voice, "Very pleased to hear that."

You say in Mhaldorian in a cool, silken voice, "The Den of Iniquity, as well?"

Iaeum, a distinguished thrall says, "That will not be addressed at this time."

Iaeum, a distinguished thrall says, "There are other plans."

Jurixe arches her eyebrows slightly.

You say in Mhaldorian in a cool, silken voice, "For the Den?"

Iaeum, a distinguished thrall nods.

You say in Mhaldorian in a cool, silken voice, "How interesting. Very well."

Well I guess now I know what those 'other plans' were >(

On a serious note though, hoping it means I get to do some serious building/we get cool new stuff. Also pit OP.

Tvistor

Hang that thrall for treason.

Hang everyone that isn't me for treason.

Salvar

"As the peals of Divinely impish laughter echoing across the heavens may 
have indicated to you, Lady Pandora is alive and well, having recovered 
quite admirably from the wounds She suffered at the hands of Bal'met's 
dastardly trap. It just goes to show you what a sense of humour can do 
for recovery! "

#badeventdecisionmaking

Sabiru

Ashtan still standing.

#badeventdecisionmaking

Tvistor

Hang Sabiru for treason too.

Asmodron

Ashtan is obviously the family favorite .

2 amazing sieges in 1 day! And it is still intact to boot

Sohl

Daddy loves the rest of you too. Just not as much.

Verias

It's not often I get to say anything truly epic in-game, but this was one of those fun moments, even if only one person got to see it.

Dida tells you: "You can use my grove as a refuge. Get out of there."

You tell Druidess Dida Lighthawk, "This is my city, my home. I will defend it."

Synbios

Asmodron said:

Ashtan is obviously the family favorite .

2 amazing sieges in 1 day! And it is still intact to boot

I'm thinking that part of the advantage is that Ashtan's patron is still alive, which makes defending against the dala'myrr tunnelings a bit more feasible. No malice in saying this, before you guys react 

Aktillum

Shallam being destroyed will be worth it if Deucalion is the badass, fire-breathing, heathen-smashing Divine that Shallam needs, if he actually sticks around and communicates with us tells us what to do.

Grandue

Shallam being destroyed with be worth it only if those Shallam High Clans disappear and the new Shallam is WAY more strict on who gets allowed citizenship. If everyone is let back in it will just be the same exact Shallam, just a new look.

I think the best option for Shallam would be to denounce all hierarchy and authority from the previous leadership and split into smaller, House run sects. Allow a new form of government and a new Codex to be written based on the new outlook on life Shallam has adapted after being completely defeated and having their Divine killed. 

A beaten, war torn, angry, weathered Shallam building a tent city where the sound of maces and rapiers being forged and House leadership yelling at each other about how things should be done fills the air would be bad ass and about 10000000X better than the previous Shallam

Asmodron

Grandue said:

A beaten, war torn, angry, weathered Shallam building a tent city where the sound of maces and rapiers being forged and House leadership yelling at each other about how things should be done fills the air would be bad ass and about 10000000X better than the previous Shallam

This. This is what  I have been saying.

Shallam becomes an angry state that wishes to enact swift righteous justice across the land and the evil that scarred it. They would have an almost pathological culture based on growing in strength to destroy the heathens of the world.

Jiraishin

@Jurixe Tell Iaeum to get the books out of the Temple library. He got out, he can get back in. If he refuses, hang him for treason.

Eld

What is with all these hangings? Don't you guys usually just behead people?

Jiraishin

They started it.

Anyways, we -do- have a gallows.