TEATRC tribute & universe expansion

D'Sparil said:

Zalera sat on the bench inside his tent. He took his helmet off. He could still smell the blood, the flesh and the excrement, the usual smells of a battlefield. He had gained a new scar. A swadian boy had managed to stab him with a pitchfork on his left leg. The doctors used herbs and alcohol to neutralize the bacteria, and then proceeded to close the wound. Zalera didn't even move. He had a fixed smirk on his face. After the doctors were done, they retired from the tent as fast as they could.
Zalera called his standard bearer. He had seen who had wounded him. He could identify the boy. Not many villagers remained alive. The village itself was destroyed, and the brigadiers were taking whatever supplies they could.
In silence.
The standard bearer identified the boy that had wounded his lord, and drew his sword, ready to execute him.
But the Second Deva raised his hand.
Zalera smiled as the left side of his face contracted, making him look like the devil itself.
"What's your name?" he asked. The boy was crying, but he managed to answer "C..C..Conrad...".
The left cheek of Zalera contacted once again, as he smirked.
"Bring him to my tent". Those were Zalera's words.
Once inside he ordered all the guards to leave. The standard bearer looked at him. "My lord, what..."
"LEAVE!"

"Yes my Lord..."

"Conrad, isn't it... take out your clothes..."
"Wh.... What...?"
"Take out your clothes... and kneel..."

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I always like these looks into the deva's lives. Although, Zalera definitely doesn't seem like the nicest guy. I wonder what's going to happen to the poor kid afterward.

He gives the boy candies.

Like Japanese during WW2. You should be better dead than be captured by them.

A really awewsome faction would be one that uses da vinci tanks and stuff like that it would be clockwork punk
if you are wondering what a da vinci tank is look at this pic http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/images/tank_image1.jpg

zollum said:

A really awewsome faction would be one that uses da vinci tanks and stuff like that it would be clockwork punk
if you are wondering what a da vinci tank is look at this pic http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/images/tank_image1.jpg

Click to expand...

...

This post is even worth responding to.

That was what I was talking about on Steam about the RP Tib. Swadian Pie Tanks supported by Ironclad Battle Wagons.

uuhm I thought this was the lore thread.. The faction that is most technologiccaly advanced is G-P. So perhaps this should be brought to a G-P discussion thread

GP technologically advance? Nay nay..

End of branching topic.

I'm working on a piece about Swadian Battle Wagon developments.

The Highlands are believed to been settled between 300-100 years before the foundation of Ellis Empire by refugees from somewhere around the Abdera Valley and Swadian heartland. The Cymbrish were first people to settle the land surrounding the gulf, and the gulf got it's name from them; Gulf of Cymbru. They formed small fishing communities, which were the foundation for the future villages and towns.
The Cymbrish have since then formed a number of petty kingdoms and are constantly waging war against each other, the clans of the Highlands and the Nords. 100 years after Cymbrish more people came from east. Groups of proto-Swadians settled in the Highlands with their sheep herds.
The Highlanders, as they are known, form clans consisting of several families. The arrival of the clans forced the Cymbrish to move closer to the windblown coast from the green hills of the highlands. They have tried to reclaim the “Lost Lands” (as they call them) from the Clans many times without any greater success. For centuries after the harvest the men of Cymbru and Clans have painted themselves blue, sharpened their swords, spears and axes and marched to fight against each other for land.
But during the 10th century more men came to the Highlands, this time from the cold northern side of the Obello Sea.
Eyewitness-reports claim that 28 dragons came from the sea accompanied by a thunderstorm,
the Nords had arrived to the Calradia.
Æskill Sigurdsson and his son Thorin with 700 men, women and children landed near the border of Swadia and conquered a port town as their base. They named the town Æskillsdalen. They quickly took control of the northern coast of Cymbru as the armies of Cymbru and Highlands were fighting each other south of Din Carnedd. When the word reached them, Nords had already subdued the small garrisons of hill forts and settlements in the northern Cymbru. Thorin captured one of the biggest towns on the east coast and renamed it after himself.
By the first half of the 10th
century Nords had secured two safe ports as bases for their raider- and trade ships. With the years the Nords have blended with natives of their realm.

(( NOTE:  This story is not mine, it is a story that was first narrated at the time of the Crusades, I only modified it to fit the eatrc universe ))

From the Memoirs of Faysal, commander of the Riders

A maiden's ingenuity saves the day

'The Padishah bestowed upon my father as fief a village which my father used to frequent. That village was infested with vagabonds who carried on highway robbery and whom my father endeavored to please for fear of them and for profiting a little from what they seized. As we were one day sitting in their village, there came a young Alp tribe Gunduz man mounted on a horse, and with him a mule carrying a maiden riding on the saddlebags.

He alighted, assisted the maiden to dismount and said, "O young men, help me put down the saddlebag." We came and put down the bag with him and lo! it was full of gold denars and jewelry. He sat down with the maiden and ate something. Then he said, "Help me lift the saddlebag." We lifted it up with him. Then he said to us, "Where is the road to Ozalp?" My father said to him, "Here is the road (pointing it out with his hand), but there are on the road sixty vagabonds from whom I fear for thy safety." The man pooh-poohed my father, saying, "I fear the vagabonds!"

My father left him and went to the vagabonds and told them the story of the man and what he carried. The vagabonds set off to intercept him on the way. When he saw them, he pulled out his bow, put in it an arrow and bent it, desiring to shoot them. The string gave way. The vagabonds rushed at him and he fled away. So they took the mule and the maiden, together with the saddlebag. The maiden said, "O young men, by God, dishonor me not. Rather let me buy myself and the mule also for a necklace of gems, which is with the Alp and the value of which is five hundred denars. Then take ye the saddlebag and all that is in it." "We accept," they replied. She said, "Send with me someone from among you so that I may speak with the Alp and take the necklace."

Accordingly they sent with her someone to guard her until she came near the Alp man and said to him, "I have bought myself and the mule for the necklace which is in the leg of thy left boot, thy shoe. Deliver it to me." "All right," said he. Presently he went aside, took off his boot and lo! there was in it a bowstring, which he immediately fixed on his bow and turned back on them. They kept on fighting him while he was killing one after the other until he had killed forty-three men of their number.

Looking around, he unexpectedly saw my father among the vagabonds who survived. So he said, "Thou too among them! Dost thou desire that I should give thee thy share of arrows?" "No," replied my father. "Take them," said the Alp, "these seventeen who survive, lead them to the magistrate of the city to hang them." In the meantime, those seventeen had stood staring with fear and put down their arms. The Alp drove his mule with all that was on it and continued his march. Thus God (exalted is he!) sent through him upon the vagabonds a calamity and great wrath.'"

What's the original story?

Thus God (exalted is he!) sent through him upon the vagabonds a calamity and great wrath.

I love how that line sounds, for some reason.

I know, it's interesting to see how a translation of a story can still preserve the power of a sentence.

You can read about the original translated book in which this story takes place here
The original storyline is exactly the same. I only modified the names.

Nice story, Bunduqdari.

Anyway, would anyone be interested in a lore piece on the use of battle wagons and their development?

Thanks, a quick one here then, since you'd been dying to see battlewagons:


Inventor Ulrich's master plan

Ulrich had been trying to convince the Emperor not to execute him. Quick thinking made him come up with a plan to live
just a little longer. The man was crazy enough to accept when Ulrich proposed him, just before the execution, that he could use his wits for the good of Swadia. The Emperor was aware that this man was smart. Somehow being aware of his insanity, he disliked smart people. That's why the executioner's axe was hanging above his neck in the dungeon.
Ulrich had been charged for treason because he invented a device with which one could drain a flooded field or small lake "with the power of the gusts".

"Go on" Sigismund said, acting as if he was interested. "Well, your Majesty, I know a way to have the upper hand against the volleys of arrows and bullets of our enemies.." Sigismund's eyes were wide open, indicating something was happening up there. ".. and at the same time, to shower them with our own weapons and transport our troops near to their defenses" When he had finished speaking, he looked up to the Emperor, to see what he was thinking.
He was enjoying a glass of wine, apparently having lost his anger over Ulrich, whom he accused of trying to cause drought in Swadia.

"You seem sure of yourself. Very well then, gather your fellow smart-asses and think of something to bring me victory. You may join Graf von Fulburg-Magdeburg's lot. You have four weeks to show me your machine of war. If I am not pleased, I will make sure someone pays" Sigismund said.

So it was that Ulrich, a  student from the University of Ulm, came to join a dedicated group of engineers to design a machine of war like no battlefield had witnessed. At least, that was the idea. Perhaps out of fear for their Emperor, did his professors lend him a hand at the design of it. Ulrich sleeplessly awaited a eureka-moment in his work and for the Graf to recognize his skills. Now, in fall 1501, the situation looked very dire for engineers in general.




And how rude of us, Don Doggy. You have a nice "piece of ****" there. No need to be too humble . I can't tell you whether this fits, tough, mainly because I don't know about the "official" Highlands lore(if there's any). But heh heh, Proto-Swadians...

I was thinking of after that, with the Swadians deciding to reject them after using them for a year due to mechanical and monetary problems and anyway, I've done two paragraphs, and it fits. But the author wouldn't be Ulrich, but another. Graf von Fulburg-Magdeburg, to be precise, Swadian General and Engineer.

Great, I slightly edited my story to place Ulrich under the command of the Graf.

Bunduqdari said:

And how rude of us, Don Doggy. You have a nice "piece of ****" there. No need to be too humble . I can't tell you whether this fits, tough, mainly because I don't know about the "official" Highlands lore(if there's any). But heh heh, Proto-Swadians...

Click to expand...

I didn't come up with anything else, so I went with proto-Swadians as they weren't Swadians yet but Swadd-barbarians.

To His Royal Highness Sigismund Augustus, Holy Swadian Emperor and to the Most Honourable Council of Nobles.

On The Use of Battle Wagons And the Halting of Their Development.

I must urge the continuation of development upon the Battle Wagons, designed and invented by the Ulm Inventor and Engineer Ulrich in my Engineers. We have released a prototype and a Mark I model, and these have seen battle, in accordance with the will of the Emperor and wish for funds to continue our research and development of these weapons of war.

As the Colonel of the Royal Engineers, Master of Engineering at the Ulm University and as commander of the 3rd Ulm Division I believe that these may be used to great effect against the enemy and the discontinuation of their development may cause us dearly. The enemy will not expect the appearance of Battle Wagons and so may flee. These shall slow the enemy; it has happened to us in the Böhemenian Wars. This is to be expected as their deployment against our enemies has been rare. New spring technology allows us to enhance these vehicles so that when they arrive upon the field our most brave troops may leave the wagon with little discomfort and valorously vanquish the foe. The new technology also allows us to place more troops within these battle implements and so carry more troops to the field.

However, this may cause the enemy to realise their use and therefore target these wagons with their mighty artillery, yet wagon formations are mobile enough to avoid the fire of the Aurora Cannon. As we are on the defensive, these would be excellent in providing firing positions for our firelock-men upon the eventuality of an ambush or an assault by a force primarily of cavalry, especially mounted archers. These may also prove useful against the infantry of the Sarranids; no doubt the strong oak planking will server to provide a shield for our landsknechts inside against their many bowmen.

I propose that we develop the idea armoured battle wagons further with the intention of supporting our infantry while laying down heavy firepower from our musketeers. We have seen the Böhmenians pour arrows upon us in their own wagons before; surely we should do the same, but with more advanced technology. These will, of course, act better in fortifications but may be better suited to assault. It may be a wise idea to use these to barricade passes, notably the Unuzduq Pass to the south of the Margravate of Marienburg.
Ideally I propose a military alliance with either Murond or our brothers in the Imperial State, and to gain access to their technology to improve our Battle Wagons further. The ability to use more advanced tempered steel plating, strong and thick yet light, would be greatly appreciated, as would Haelmarian Breech-loaders, like the Bofors 40mm. However, we have continued development of the Battle Wagon despite this lack of funds and technology and have completed the following prototypes (including the Mark I) with great effort:

Mark I: Standard Battle Wagon design. 6-horse drawn.
Mark II: Standard Battle Wagon with new springs and horse protection.
Mark III: Mark II Battle Wagon with steel wheels and a larger calibre cannon.
Mark IV: Mark III Battle Wagon with additional armour.  12 horse drawn.
Mark IV Mobile Artillery: Standard Mark IV Battle Wagon but with the Wagon transformed into either a mobile Mortar position or a mobile Howitzer position.

Mark IV Command Post: Very heavily armoured Mark IV, 20 horse drawn with excellent springs and an observation turret for commanders. Can be deployed with detachable steel supports and the Firing Gallery has been cleared for a map room. Two heavy-calibre repeating rifles have been added as additional protection.
As shown, we have designed Battle Wagons for all purposes, yet we lack a Battle Wagon that is truly self-moving and fully protected against everything the enemy can throw at us. Gunther-Piedmont and Murond Air Compression Technology may provide us with the ability to propel these beasts by themselves, as currently the horses are very exposed towards troops and their weapons. We dearly need advanced steel technology so I beseech Your Majesty or the Most Honourable Council to fund our research on it, which would hamper the construction of these Battle Wagons, or to assign funds to the Ironmongers and Blacksmiths Guilds to research it or to acquire the technology from one of the more technologically advanced nations we are not at war with. Once again, we require funds to acquire weaponry and resources to continue the construction of these weapons. I hope your decision benefits the most glorious Holy Swadian Empire,

Holy ROMAN Empire, Venitius? Tsk, tsk.