u/Useful-Option8963

The point of this concept is to make it so that larger powers, while they would generally hold the advantage, would be less prone to snowballing than other factions would be. As you guessed from the title, this is accomplished by making manpower a key resource in being able to actually annex the territory. This will also hopefully wind up making it so that the AI is less prone to just annexing nations into extinction, making for more interesting gameplay.

This is both historically accurate and makes sense for the gameplay, now I will let you imagine how this concept will work depending on how big a faction is.

LANDLESS RABBLE/MIGRATORY HORDES: This will not affect them whatsover.

CITY-STATES: This is cruel, single territory factions will not be harmed whatsoever by this, and are supposed to benefit from this

LOCAL POWERS: These are the entities who are supposed to benefit from this, making it so that if they fight well enough against bigger factions, they will be able to preserve more if not all of their territory even though they lose the war.

REGIONAL POWERS: The first true debuff to annexation occurs here, Regional Powers, once the peace treaty screen is reached, will only be able to annex territory per 100 manpower that they have left (final number undecided), however, annexation will not cost any actual manpower. For Regional Powers, it will simply look at the amount of manpower you have and limit the number of territories you can eat based on that. This will also make barracks and training camps more important as an expansionist power, while a player should have no problem with this, this will slow the Rome of any regional power attempting to become the European Juggernaut.

MAJOR POWERS: Now for these guys, the manpower requirement will actually cost manpower in order to annex territories, 100 per territory. This will not be crippling, considering how most major powers are pretty good on manpower production, often getting 500 a month, but this will incentivize making subjects, I hope.

GREAT POWERS: The manpower requirement will be increased to 500, if you think this is harsh, seriously, as a great power, you are NEVER running out of people to fight for you, it is one of your biggest advantages.

SPECIAL RULES

1: Wars between 2 regional powers will not need manpower in order to annex territory, in wars like these, the regional powers are usually the final boss of each other before they increase their territory rank. Wars such as these usually find both evenly matched and therefore having a manpower cost apply in this circumstance would result in the losing power not really being knocked down from their defeat, and the victor not really being able to benefit.

2: Wars of Imperial Conquest and Civil Wars are also exempt from any manpower costs entirely and would operate as normal.

We only have two appearances from the dude, the trial of Dirtdog Slim, and the Damnation of the Four Thieves. I want to see him get into more shenanigens, punishing the most evil of evildoers in the most twisted and unhinged way imaginable. Perhaps a crossover episode covering the "Tararasq Jerky," "Maze The Lady of Pain," or the "Goblin Centipede" we never see get achieved in Season 1, or perhaps somehow spinning all 3 into a single episode. Perhaps the Chaotic Good Barbarian used the Lady of Pain to make Infinite Tarasq Jerky and the Tarasq mazed the lady of pain because she couldn't finish that creature off, with the Wizard King loaning his magical services to the Chaotic Good Barbarian for a day because he was bored, lol.

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Memory transcription subject: Slanek, Hartekmoulite Hero

Date: August 26, 2497 Anno Domini

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“Well if none of us saw any leaders, then where did Aspik go? And WHY is the Supreme Matriarch dead?! We wanted her alive, Princess Tarva is going to demand an explanation, and I’m not going to approach her without one!” Dosekmeln started raising his voice at the Exile Warlord.

“It is as I said, she had been stabbed once in the heart with no sign of struggle, the same as her guards!”

Solgalick’s spine, I really exerted myself yesterday, I reflected on the aching pain as I massaged my calves. I had never been so exhausted in my entire life, I can barely bring myself to move!

I was relaxing in the hilltop sanctuary, from which you were able to see the entirety of the southern wall. An obvious place to lead a battle.

After the violence ended, everyone hadn’t spent themselves in the rout gathered the corpses of the enemy, and our own. Every Gonimite was gathered into massive piles five Venlil heights tall. As we worked, though, birds and beasts descended upon the scene, reaving a feast from the meat of the enemy. A surprise guest had also shown their faces, multiple Spitbrowsers, the very same massive beast that the leather in my armor was made from, plodded in.

The supposed herbivorous creatures, who were normally solitary, all joined the feast of cursed flesh. Gonimite bones were crushed by their teeth as easily as they did the nuts and roots that they so favored, the work took until the following twilight, and in the morning, a meeting of the most important figures in all three armies was convened in the Gonimite Sanctuary outside the walls.

Confusing though, was the fact that the Supreme Matriarch was found here with some of her bodyguards dead from the same cause, one single, precise stab into each of their hearts. But Aspik was still missing, and this mystery was causing tensions to rise, especially with the announcement by the augurs upon the discovery of this place to not change the environment in any way. Even Annan’s warriors were eager to tear down the unholy symbols and decorations of this place, and everyone grumbled when they were put back up.

Good news came when Harrik woke up earlier this morning, my General is still alive, though as he sat in the center of the glade he looked far more worn and weary than I’ve ever seen him. Whatever the demons did to him, it was harsh.

“How long will it be until your… augurs are ready?” Annan asked. “We put this place as close to how it was when we found it, and none of us want to be here for any longer than we have to be!”

“The Augurs will be ready when they’re ready,” Dosekmeln patiently answered. “Divining signs, even to determine something that already happened, requires time.”

“Or… the Humans have intervened in our history… again,” Harrik spoke up all eyes being drawn to him. “They may have… spirited Aspik and his closest followers away… before justice could reach them…”

I felt a distinct and sharp sense of unease wash over me. Though it was hardly a ludicrous idea, the thought of Human intervention was practically unheard of, the only two instances of Humans intervening was them discovering our ancestors on the shattered ruins of Primmoul and transplanting us to Valonga, and then them sealing us within the Enclosement. And ever since our ancestors awoke, naked within the Enclosed lands no Human has been seen ever since.

“Humans?” Annan asked incredulously. “I apologize if my words are out of line, but Humans don’t exist. They’re just another lie told by our priests for… for what reason, I don’t know.”

That’s a good way to look at it, who among us has ever seen a Human? They’re basically a myth.

“No… no…” Harrik refuted, struggling to speak the words. “The Humans are real… they built the Enclosement and imprisoned us within… no one else… could have raised those towers…”

“Human intervention…” Dosekmeln whispered. “The Humans are a race of incomprehensible mystery, knowledge, and secrets. It would certainly explain how the Gonimites could build those machines when they don’t even have writing, let alone a measuring system!”

The thought made me sick to my stomach and made my head whirl, the Humans intervening on behalf of Gonim? Giving aid to the most backwards and savage Venlil on Valonga?

“Why, out of all within the Enclosement, would they give weapons to the ones who have made it their life’s mission to kill every other member of their kind?” I couldn’t help but speak out.

“Why did the Humans give us Valonga, only to imprison us within the Enclosement when the first pivotal moment of our history on this world took place?” Dosekmeln asked charitably. “Why imprison us, when the ruins of Primmoul would have done a much better job of containing us? Why save us if they were going to cage us then never show up again? The Humans’ actions have always been beyond our comprehension, no Venlil has ever spoken with a Human aside from Hartek himself.”

I felt my heart stop, Hartek, THE King Hartek, actually spoke with the Humans?!

“Hartek spoke with them?” I asked, shocked, my tone desperately wanting for whatever secrets have been so tantalizingly hinted at! And this news caused quite the uproar as well, “What did they tell him? How did he respond?”

“Ha… you hold your cup… too loosely, Dosekmeln… ha ha ha…” Harrik laughed at Dosekmeln’s expense, an actual light expression on his face despite his fatigue.

Dosekmeln’s ears drooped, knowing that he made a blunder, a look of regret soon came upon his face.

“I wish I could say what transpired in the days when Hartek treated with them, but with the sacking of Sinsodam when Gonim took the city, they burned down our capital’s library, and every record within was destroyed, included what history we had written down beforehand. All of that knowledge, all of our history… a crime against Venlil civilization.”

“What was in this… library, you speak of?” Annan asked, eager.

“It was where the last of our memories and knowledge from Primmoul was kept and safeguarded, those who survived from the Old World’s destruction long enough to be sealed within the Enclosement transcribed what knowledge they had preserved from the height of Venlil greatness… Gonim may desire to recreate Primmoul on Valonga, but they were the ones to kill the last vestiges of it. The irony of it all is quite hurtful.”

“Hurtful indeed!” Fanalk whispered, wincing. “I heard that the Great Library of Sinsodam had a great collection of these things called recipes, ways to cook food to make it taste better. I would kill to get my hands on a tablet with such secret knowledge.”

“Yeah, but I heard that there was quite a lot of evil stuff in there, too,” Sepek whispered. “Crimes were jotted down and remembered for the sake of avoiding them.”

“You’re more right on that than you’d ever know…” Veep whispered. “When I was young, the elders would whisper stories of what happened to our ancestors on Primmoul in the darkest nights.”

“Like what?” Wageln asked, eager, but anxious.

“Deeds that you may spend the rest of your lives trying to forget…” Veep sighed. “The only one I’m going to tell them to would be my own son, and when he reaches ten years ask him.”

Suddenly, something shifted in the crowd of the delegation, whispers were being exchanged. I would’ve risen from where I was seated on the floor, but one of Annan’s Commanders approached me, a Warlord who was missing an ear and an eye, his head and back covered in white cloth of some kind.

“The Augur is here, please be silent!” Commander Headwrap said before walking away, it was only a couple minutes’ wait until he arrived.

The Holy Ven was ancient, so ancient that he needed a stick to slowly walk forward, and needed an aid to help him walk up the hill. He wore a green blindfold over his eyes and his own garb covered a pelt that was white and gray, although with his age I’m surprised that there was any color left in his fur.

He approached the part of the sanctuary where the bodies of Toma and her dead bodyguards lied, flying insects were already buzzing around, the blood pooled out onto the stone floor. At first I feared the frail elder would trip and fall on the remains, but he stopped, and held out the hand that had his walking stick for his attendant to take. He reached into a bag and pulled out herbs of some sort, bundled in string, and began chewing on them. He spread his arms and began chanting with his faint voice, he was so quiet that I couldn’t understand what he was saying.

With shaky legs, he carried on this ritual for several minutes, until he fell suddenly. One of Annan’s Commanders reached forward, trying to help, but he was stopped by someone else, who shook his head, and they resumed watching.

The Augur knelt down, gently dipping his fingers, first in the puddle of dried blood, then the wound in Supreme Martiarch Toma’s back. I saw his posture change as his fingertips made contact, then when he felt her hands, his expression grew concerned, though he audibly gasped when he touched her open, lifeless eyes. He then moved on, stepping around Toma’s body and moving on to the guards.

Upon first touch, the Augur froze like before, then touching the wounds, hands, and then eyes of the deceased guards. But when he touched the hand of one of the dead guards, he reached into it and scooped out from it fur… fur that was so clearly differently colored from that guard’s. He clasped the mystery fur in both hands and began meditating, whispering almost muted prayers once more.

My patience began reaching its end! How much longer is this going to take? He’s already been ten minutes!

Finally, the Augur fell silent, dropping the fur onto the ancient stone floor, before removing his blindfold. Without fail, his aide rushed forward and helped pick him up, giving his staff back.

“Thank you,” he uttered, the first comprehensible words I heard from him. He approached the leaders of this gathering.

“What did… you see?” Harrik asked.

“I saw everything clearly, but the details are… confusing,” The Augur said, the entire room leaning forward to hear his response.

“Supreme Matriarch Toma was murdered, stabbed in the back with a knife, a swift, strong, and precise blow, however, she was previously facing someone, only to suddenly turn and run away.”

“Betrayal, I knew it!” Annan whispered in vindication.

“And that explains the bodies of those guards,” Dosekmeln observed. “They tried to defend her.”

“No, none of her guards intervened,” The Augur clarified. “There were many guards, the Supreme Matriarch had been surrounded by at least a hundred Gonimite Warriors picked to defend her, and was accompanied by her daughter.”

“Her daughter?” Harrik asked.

“After her mother’s assassination, the daughter, Kehi, tried to flee, but the guards closest to her grabbed her, and held her down. This was when the guards died, Kehi was rescued undefiled, one of them still had a fistful of the fur from her ears.”

And yet, despite the Supreme Matriarch’s death, only five guards are dead and none of them defended her? I noted with concern, something isn’t adding up… there’s another clue in this, but what?

“But that’s not the strangest part of the tale,” The Augur said. “The killer of the Supreme Matriarch was a Gonimite Noble wearing bronze.”

“Aspik…” Dosekmeln whispered. “So, he killed the Supreme Matriarch in order to seize power for himself!”

“Was there any sign… of Human intervention?” Harrik asked.

“None, my lords,” the Augur humbly stated. “But there was one oddity I noticed with Toma’s eyes, Aspik was not with the horde when these Gonimites reached Stonecage, nor was he present when Stonecage’s exiles united with his army!”

“What?” Wageln whispered as the Augur’s words caused debate to arise from amongst the entire delegation. “That’s absurd!”

“Why wouldn’t Aspik be present to lead his army?” “He was gone? How long was he gone for?” “Where in the Enclosement was he even?” “This isn't real…” “That would mean that Toma would have to command in his stead!” “I heard all sorts of rumors about Toma, if they’re true and she’s as big an idiot as they claim, then Aspik would definitely wanted her dead for flaming up such an important battle.”

“So he arrived just to kill Toma, and left?” Annan said, shaking his head.

“This is most troublesome…” Dosekmeln said, pinching the bridge of his snout, before turning to me. “Would my lord Slanek be so inclined as to offer us insight?”

I straightened up in surprise at being requested, but then again, this probably shouldn’t be so surprising, I probably already had important clues to finding the answer. I rose from the ground and walked over to the trio of the greatest leaders present. I turned to the Augur, he wasn’t a descendant of Hartek, so I would’ve stood heads and shoulders over him even during his prime, but his age had rendered his stature even smaller.

I kneeled down so that I could face him, and when his eyes beheld me, he gasped in amazement.

“The rumors… they were true?” He asked me. “Are you truly… him?”

“Yes,” I gently confirmed. “I am the Bronzepelt.”

Strangely, this caused no reaction in the Exiles, even before I was exiled, it was whispered in fear, even though no one knew who the Bronzepelt was, there wasn’t a Gonimite alive, current or former, who didn’t know the name.

Perhaps this was a sign of how these Venlil have cast aside their heritage, that they have removed themselves so far from the Gonimites that they have no fear of he who would’ve been their prophesied destroyer.

“May I… read your hand?” The Augur asked.

I simply nodded, and held out my right palm, allowing him to tread his fingers across it.

“Hmmm,” he pondered, eyes closed. “Oh… oh… you have lived a life of suffering, of fear and the anguish of terrible crimes that have gone unpunished.”

Ummm, what does that have to do with his visions?

“Yet you also capable of deeds as terrible as they can be virtuous,” he said, letting go of my hand. “If there is one counsel I can give you in these dark times, it is that you must exercise patience if you are to prevail. The burning desire for vengeance, if it is allowed to control you, will be your undoing.”

I stared at him, “We will see. Did you see anything else? Any symbols, or sigils, that were on Aspik? Anything that stood out?”

The Augur’s expression turned thoughtful. “Yes, yes there was. It was an emblem carved into an emerald, far more massive than any I had seen before.”

“Then depict it for us, please,” Dosekmeln asked as one of his messenger maids gave him a sheet of bark, with a small vessel filled with paint.

The Augur dipped his finger into the ink and began to inscribe upon it the symbol that he saw, his finger moving slowly, carefully, but dexterously, delicately applying just the right amount to replicate what he saw.

When he was done, we leaned forward to get a closer look at the emblem.

At first, I recognized the symbol of Gon, but then that of three other spirits, Hoon was there also, but the other two, I didn’t know or had forgotten.

But I knew of this symbol, I had been taught it very very early on… the memory will come to me, but it’s just beyond my reach at the moment!

“Certainly a priestly sigil,” Annan spoke quietly. “We can recognize their marks, but we can’t pick out a head as to its meaning, none of the Gonimite’s higher classes had ever been Bloodcasted, for fairly obvious reasons, so what this symbol could mean is beyond me.”

“I recognize it from somewhere,” I said, staring at it intently. “But its meaning escapes me.”

“Well,” Dosekmeln complained. “It’s not as if the previous hegemons of the Enclosement have vanioshed in a puff of smoke, Aspik had to have fled somewhere!”

Previous hegemon… previous ruler? Overthrown ruler!

“Wait! I have it!” I said excitedly as I recognized the emblem at last. I heard my mother’s head in my voice at the same time as I began to explain.

“That emblem is The Blessing of Sovereignty, comprised of the combined marks of Four of the Spirits, Gon the Supreme Guide, Hoon the Destroyer, Mubba the Weaver of Fate and Pathfinder, and Hetah’Sihh the Giver and Depriver!

Whosoever possesses this emblem can only acquire it by the blessing of the Spirits, and once you have it, it mandates that you become the new leader of Gonim, and the previous ruler is to be killed. However, those who ask for it and are found unworthy by the Spirits are deprived of their lives by Hoon.”

“Only four times was the Blessing of Sovereignty granted within the Temple of Fate,” I finished.

At this information, the Exiles all got an astonished look upon their faces as shock rippled throughout the crowd.

“Aspik was given the Blessing of Sovereignty?” Annan fearfully asked. “Impossible! The spirits have never chosen a male to lead anything besides the armies and their own houses, never ever!

“But doesn’t it fit? It would explain his absence,” Dosekmeln added. “He was at this hidden temple, gaining the approval of the dark forces to bless his rise to power.”

“And there’s something else, too,” the Augur spoke up. “In Toma’s dying memories, she overheard Aspik, he said that the Spirits of Gon gave their blessing to rule however he wished, and he’s going to make himself a King!”

“A Gonimite King?” Dosekmeln whispered. “Gonim changing their Supreme Matriarch every five years was a considerable weakness we exploited. If Aspik is styling himself after most rulers, then that means he’s very likely intent on reforming Gonim from the ground up.”

“Why did Gonim change their leaders every five years?” I asked. “I never understood why they did that.”

“Why was Gonim… the way it was for any reason?” Harrik said, eyes closed. “They’re dedicated to clinging to Primmoul’s ways at all costs… or rather, what they thought Primmoul was like… Rule by Herd was one of the most… important tenets of the Old World… the fact that Aspik was accepted despite proclaiming… his intent to abolish the last vestiges of Rule by… Herd… means that Gonim is finally… willing to adapt to reality…”

“He’s right,” Dosekmeln stated. “We’ve both pushed ourselves to the absolute limit, and the fact that we’ve shaken the hubris from them means that we’ve got them cornered. If we don’t finish them now, they’ll come at us even worse than before! The nine armies marching across the Enclosement? We are the last, beyond those already on the field, there is no one else who can be spared to fight.”

“They’ve always been desperate!” Annan spoke up as if illuminated by an epiphany. “All this time, and you didn’t think about it! Gonim is desperate to ensure their own supremacy. But that doesn’t explain where Aspik and his followers fled to, or where they pulled that huge fire spewer out from!”

Harrik’s eyes suddenly opened wide, the color in them was orange, replaced by bloodshot.

“The Mountain of Sorcery!” He uttered, and at that announcement, the whole room went quiet as I felt an inexplicably cold wind wash over the sanctuary.

“The Mountain of Sorcery… exists?” Annan asked.

“Many believed it exists, but only as a secret buried somewhere in the lands of Gonim,” Dosekmeln stated. “Harrik, what are you saying?”

“I am… certain of it…” Harrik stated, out of breath. “Stonecage is a strange city, isolated from all but… surrounded by wilds… yet it’s one of their larger cities… Capital is just to the East… and… no villages… in the valley south of…”

“No villages?” Dosekmeln asked, his eyes growing contemplative as he danced with Harrik’s words, before his eyes opened wide. “You’re saying that the Sorcerer’s Mount is here? Within Stonecage’s area?!”

“That traitor Sentinel! Was he always on watch in that area?” I added in.

Dosekmeln’s eyes darkened with the implication, “Yes, he was… I reserved watch posts for Warriors too crippled to fight on the field! He would’ve seen Aspik coming, he often held the night watch alone!”

And in a few short minutes, the prisoner was brought before us, the Traitor Road Levy who had ensured that the denizens of Stonecage, as well as the Supreme Matriarch and her personal guards, escaped and joined forces with Aspik’s army… and now we may learn of yet another treachery.

To his credit, the traitor didn’t make a noise as he was brought forth before us. The Hartekmoulite Warrior threw him onto the stone floor before us, and what a pitiful sight he was to behold.

He had been stripped of every possession, every armor and accessory, every weapon. For the crime of killing his Bandsven, who he had shared food, drink, and many a vigil with, he had been whipped mercilessly, and he had been dealt the same fate as every Gonimite who we had enslaved. The fur of his waist had been removed, his tail chopped off, and to finalize the humiliation, he had been forced to wear a diaper, just like the captive Gonimites he threw his lot in with.

“EH!” He made a hurt sound as he landed on the floor.

“You!” Dosekmeln demanded, his voice taking on a sharpness I had never heard in him before. “Rise!”

The Traitor Slave did as he was ordered, pushing his body off the floor, and standing up to face the General. Though he was not a descendant of Hartek, his captivity had left his spirit broken and body bent in fear, his diaper though was clearly fresh.

“You…” Dosekmeln judged. “You think you’re clever, yet time and again, we outwit you, we prevail on the field against you because you are proud, treacherous, ill-disciplined, and stupid. How? How could you do this? For how long did your allegiance lie with Gonim?”

“I… I sick… bad terrible sick…” the Slave said, voice broken. “When sick hear voices… voices said turn from Solgalick… submit to spirits… harm Hartek’s descendants, they say sick stops… I submit… sick stop… repay favor… repay kindness…”

My stomach turned as their contents threatened to spew forth from my mouth, I felt the hot tingling burning in my neck as I shook my head. This is what happens when a Demon attacks someone? Do they whisper in the heads of everyone?

“Disgusting creature,” Dosekmeln drew his sword and pointed it at the traitor. “Consider well, take a look upon yourself, wretched, herdless, tail-less, and now forever nameless by my decree. You will labor, eat, drink, and sleep forever followed by the touch of your own excrement!”

At this information, the slave shrunk in fear and shame, placing his hands over his face.

“But I know that the exodus of Stonecage was not the only Gonimite movement that you kept hidden. What more did you see?”

The slave started weeping, and sunk to his knees.

“I know you saw everything!” Dosekmeln stated. “Have you forgotten who controls your destiny? If you keep your silence, then I will see to it that you are sent to a quarry, maybe you’ll faint one too many times under the punishing sun? Maybe a stone will crush you? Or maybe you’ll slip and fall? Your suffering will surely one day end, but rest assured, Our beloved departed King Parkum has assured that the conditions for our industries are quite safe, so safe that your end will come in, oh, ten, twenty years at most!”

The Venlil only wept louder… he’s not acting like a Venlil in the…

“Wait, hold on,” I spoke up, raising my hand, drawing the attention of the leaders.

“You interrupt General Dosekmeln!” Annan accused. “Remember your manners, pup!”

“M-may I speak with him?” I asked, taken aback at Annan’s stern accusation.

“Whatever you wish to say, speak it decisively,” Dosekmeln gave his blessing, waving his hand.

“Thank you, my lord,” I said, bowing my head slightly before I turned to the pitiful sight.

What a wretched creature, how could this person be considered a Venlil? I observed. This fiend was nothing like the Venlil who I discovered in the outpost not even two days prior.

“Can you tell me your name?” I asked the traitor. “Who are you?”

“M-my… my…” The pitiful thing mewled out, rocking back and forth, still covering his face and eyes.

“My, my my my! MY! M-”

“Answer me one question clearly…” I interrupted, ignoring the sudden freakout. “When you accepted the offer to serve the Spirits, did the Demon ever leave your body?”

Once more, I felt the room shift as the implication hit.

“Call an exorcist!” Harrik whispered urgently, and a Messenger Maid sprinted away as fast as she could.

-oool, ah, ah ah AH AH AH AHH!” The Venlil in front of me began screaming frantically, shaking as he held his face in his hands.

I slowly reached my hand for the spear behind my back.

He suddenly shot up, spread his arms, and let loose a bloodcurdling scream that shouldn’t be able to come out of a Venlil’s throat.

“EeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” The traitor rushed forward, everything left in his eyes gone!

I swiped my spear at him, and pressed the pole against his throat. Yet he didn’t stop!

Forced to back away or be toppled by the sheer force behind the charge, the Possessed grabbed my spear! I struggled to keep him from tearing my weapon free from my grip. His hand disappeared, I didn’t realize where until too late.

“AAAaaahhh!” I screamed in agony as I let go of the spear, the wave of horror, humiliation, and pain far greater than any I had felt before as I realized an enemy hand had bypassed my tabard and attacked my seed pouch.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!” The Possessed screamed as it thrusted my weapon at me, I barely managed to grab the pole. I fell to my knees.

Gripping it as tight as I could, the speartip began sliding closer towards me as other Venlil began charging at him.

“Hold him down!” “He’s possessed!” “He means to kill us all!”

“Gah!” One Venlil flew away, blood pouring from his snout at an elbow jab from the Possessed.

Using what leverage I had, I kicked at the Possessed’s chest with all my strength, and he barely budged!

“AAAAHHH! RAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaAAAAAAaaaahhhh!”

Again, and again I kicked and kicked and kicked against its naked Venlil chest, desperate for some sort of advantage.

Just as suddenly as the crowding began, a hand covered in segmented bronze joined in, grabbing the possessed by the throat, causing a choking sound to emanate out. Mercifully, the Possessed let go of the spear in order to claw at my rescuer’s arm, allowing me to reclaim it and back away.

“Stand down everyone, I shall handle this cretin,” Dosekmeln cooly ordered as I backed away, the aching waves of pain emanating from between my legs.

“Slanek!” A nearby Magi called as she rushed to me. “I need to work quickly! Lift your tunic!”

I grabbed the hem of the leather garb and lifted, turning away to watch the fight while the Magi worked to heal my… delicate parts. And the first time seeing a Noble Hartekmoulite fight was truly something to behold, yes, this will distract me from the horrible sensation.

Dosekmeln threw the Possessed to the ground so hard he bounced slightly!

“HOOOOOAAAAAAAA!” The Venlil got up and charged at Dosekmeln.

He backhanded the Possessed, but the Possessed caught it, no sooner did he catch it did Dosekmeln’s paw find itself in his opponent’s stomach. The traitor gasped and staggered backward from the kick.

“Let’s prove why I am better than you!” Dosekmeln said right before the Possessed cried and charged again!

He backhanded once more, but the Possessed sidestepped it. The General was ready for that, too. His upper body became a blur as he rammed his bronze-helmed head into his snout. The Possessed reached for the General’s seemingly exposed ears, but the cursed traitor was backhanded, falling to the ground.

“AAAAHHH! AAHH! AH! AAAAAHHH!” The Possessed rose once more, only to get kicked under the chin, throwing him to his back.

“WUUUUH? RRAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”

Dosekmeln sprinted up, knelt on the Possessed’s chest, and began whaling on his face. The demon-host traitor tried deflecting but for every move he made, Dosekmeln was so fast he both countered it and landed another heavy blow by the time the Possessed could move again.

Somehow, the Possessed grabbed both of Dosekmeln’s arms, but only pushed himself out from beneath him. The Noble General stumbled as the Possessed lunged for his eyes.

Dosekmeln’s superior reach prevailed; A bronze covered fist shot forward and crushed the Possessed’s throat, staggering him.

When he rose, again Dosekmeln backhanded the Possessed into the stone floor.

The Possessed crawled towards him on all fours, mouth open, Dosekmeln fainted with one foot but then kicked with another, sending the Venlil to his feet, he charged, only to be backhanded to the ground yet again.

“YAAAAAAA!”

He rushed forward, and right as the Possessed leapt up to bite him. Again, Dosekmeln side-stepped, but this time he leapt with a grace of foot one would expect from a Messenger Maid!

Suddenly, the descendant of Hartek was behind the Possessed. He reached forward and restrained his arms by locking his elbows, and just as quickly, he shot his legs forward and bent the knees back, hooking the traitor’s legs and pressing his back tightly against his own chest.

Then he pulled, snapping all legs and arms out of their place!

“AAAAAAAAYYYAAAAAAHHHHHH!” The Possessed still screamed at the top of its lungs when Dosekmeln rose and let him go. But rather than wait for the immobilized Venlil to land, he backhanded him, causing his snout to smash into the stone floor.

Now properly immobilized, Dosekmeln kneeled on his waist and began whaling on the Venlil with his bronze covered fists, the blows landed on the sides of his head, neck, chest, with incredible force.

“HUURR! HURRAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGH!”

The Possessed’s face was slammed into the stone floor, once, twice, thrice, again and again until bones started crunching.

“AH AAAAHHH!”

The screaming and struggling continued, but so did the brutality, as orange blood started appearing on the Possessed’s fur and the stone floor, the fingers of one of Dosekmeln’s hands grasped a nipple and twisted until it started bleeding.

“AAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

Again and again, Dosekmeln beat the possessed, his brutal bronze battering hands started coming faster, the speed intensifying in both velocity and bloodshed as bones started breaking. The traitor’s cries dropped in intensity, until…

“Stop! Please! No more! We beg you! No more! Have mercy on us!” The voice that came out of the traitor’s mouth was that of a Venlil again.

And like that, the fight was over, the traitor’s sobbing resumed as normal, the only difference was that he had been beaten bloody and broken, and Dosekmeln this time was not going to grant any benefit of the doubt and keep him immobilized.

“What in Yodavv’s womb?” Annan whispered, completely horrified. As a matter of fact, as I looked upon the delegation, I saw that while everyone was weary, the Exiles had been legitimately disturbed by what they saw, quite a few were shaking, and many of them looked like they were about to turn tail and flee.

“No! Don’t stop! Keep hitting him!” I cried out desperately. “That fight is the only thing that distracts me from the pain!”

This outburst of mine elicited humor in most, and both Dosekmeln and Annan looked to scold me. But both laughter and disapproval died the moment they saw the damage being repaired.

“By the name of the Lord of All Light, Solgalick! Stay your hands!” The Exorcist called out as he arrived on the scene, his voice a clarion call over the entirety of the gathering, and dead silence returned. Dosekmeln released the Possessed, however, when he tried to wipe his snout with his paw, instead he lightlysmacked himself with his gauntlet.

“Oh dear…” Dosekmeln muttered as he beheld his gauntlets, which had become so crumpled from him punching the traitor that he couldn’t move his digits. “It seems one of the rare downsides of my divine heritage has reared its ugly head.”

“Your God is nothing! Your words mean nothing! Your light is nothing more than a cruel sun that lies to all who stare at at!” The hateful thing spat.

But the Priest threw salt upon the creature, causing him to shriek once more.

*“By the name of the Lord of All Light! Your disorder shall begone from this Venlil!” The Exorcist spoke again, causing the Possessed to writhe and squirm away.

“If you banish us, insipid fool… then Lekoneln and this body dies!”

“You can do no such thing. You shall not kill my son, you shall not kill your host.” The Exorcist spoke with otherworldly confidence. “By Solgalick’s holy name and power, you are cast out from this body, never to return!”

Silence once more covered the sanctuary as the Possessed became completely still.

“U-uuuuuuuuhhh, what?” The Traitor slave groaned as he rose up. “What happened? Where am I?”

“Do you… know… where you are…?” Harrik asked.

“H-Hartekmoulite Generals?” The Venlil asked in astonishment and confusion. “I shouldn’t be here, I’m- I feel ill.”

Then he froze as he realized something, and then looked behind.

“M-m-my tail! Where’s my tail?! And why am I wearing this… this… no. No no NO! I… I remember everything!” He cried out, falling to his knees in anguish. “That wasn’t a dream?! It really did… oh Eyes of the Kameppa! What have I done?!

And against all odds, I found myself questioning everything I had seen prior to this. All this time, a Demon had manipulated this Venlil, controlling him, influencing him, puppeting him for who knows how many years?

“You’re free now,” the Exorcist said, walking forward, speaking in a comforting voice. “Whatever haze your mind was in-”

“That doesn’t wash those crimes away!” The former Possessed said. “I knew what I was going to do, that thing told me before I accepted! I betrayed my hometown, I killed my Band, I betrayed Zelesay, I had turned against everything I- Oh, OH!”

Suddenly he bent over, holding his stomach as his eyes grew pale, and he started trembling, and blood, too dark to be Venlil blood, started dripping from his nose. And suddenly, a horrid stench invaded the entire congregation, causing Hartek’s descendants to gag and wretch, whilst Annan and his own forces were bewildered.

“What… what’s happen-OH!”

“The Bearer of Disease never kept its word,” the Exorcist stated. “It didn’t stop giving you pestilence, it only gave your body what it needed to look and function normally without anyone noricing. And now with its presence gone, that pestilence is manifesting.”

“But you said I wouldn’t, die!” He gasped as his belly started swelling, and he grit his teeth as fetid blood began leaking from every orifice.

“Normally, you wouldn’t, this is happening because that demon was inside you for years and years.”

“I… I’m going to die,” he whispered, his voice filled with despair. “I’m condemned to the underworld for all eternity for what I’ve done!”

“But… if there is one good thing I can do… th-then, I will answer your question,” his words began to sound gargley as fluid began filling his body, and he uncontrollably urinated and defecated.

“Twenty days before Stonecage was taken, I spotted a trio of Venlil, I knew they were Gonimites, one of them was Aspik. They walked inside of a glade, there is a shrine, and between the two pillars, a secret doorway. And in there, you will find the stairs, stairs to the Mountain of Sorcery, where the evil Venlil, and demons, rule…”

“Please,” he sputtered out, his insides completely filled with fluid. “I beg of you… avenge us… avenge us all…”

He tried uttering out more, but at that point, everything became nonsense.

Dosekmeln nodded to a figure, and out I saw walk Nod, the same Zelesayite that I had caught, and stopped him from, whipping his slaves to death. He carried a large bronze axe with a massive head.

Nod walked up to the Venlil traitor, a bloated, fetid thing that no longer resembled our own kind, and swung down. All at once, a foul smell and a shower of pus came forth, and then afterward, the Magi burnt the betrayer to a crisp, and when the fire started, Annan’s men started adding more and more fuel to it, both magical and physical, until the blaze consumed the whole of the sanctuary.

“There,” the Magi said, finally removing herself from the situation. We were outside the sanctuary, the entire grove was being burnt to a crisp. “You lost much blood, but it’s all back to the way it’s supposed to be.”

I stood up, tired, woozy, and felt myself under there. And she was right! It’s all there! All intact! Even if it stings!

“Oh, thank you,” I said, my voice weak.

“But right now?” Annan asked. “Both of our forces still haven’t rested up to their full strength! If we invade the Mountain of Sorcery alone, much less as tired as we all are, then it’ll be suicide! We need to wait for some of the other armies to come to Stonecage!”

“Not invade…” Harrik clarified, and my attention turned towards him for the first time since my injury. “Send a chosen few… infiltrate… and then… destroy… the hour is… now!”

“But to do it so soon?” Dosekmeln stated, concern in his voice for the old General. “Must our warriors do such a thing, now? It’s clear that only those who aren’t descendants of Hartek can sneak in, one look and they’d be torn apart! And those Venlil with the right body shape are still tired, we should at least wait until dawn.”

“NO!” Harrik shouted, suddenly impassioned. “Tonight! It has to be tonight that we send them in! We can! We must! If we-”

Suddenly, Harrik bent over and was overcome with a profuse coughing fit, and his attendants rushed over to him.

“General! Don’t strain yourself!” One Magi said, going over him with healing magic as Harrik looked at his hand with concern.

“We cannot allow them to escape…” Harrik said, out of breath and shaking, and yet we were all captivated. “Every Gonimite on that mountain must die. The ghosts of all of our friends and kin, the memory of those we cherish whisper in our ears, begging us to avenge them. Those who are waiting for us to bring justice to the Enclosement… count on us… we’re… running… out… of time…”

Harrik looked over to me, his eyes exhausted, but the fires of determination were still burning within.

“Slanek the Bronzepelt,” he pointed a shaking finger at me. “Lead the infiltration… of the Mountain of Sorcery. This… is… why… you… were… chosen.”

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Rule 1: No plagues, chemicals are allowed, but diseases and viruses are prohibited.

Rule 2: So long as it can be used by Yeerk Infantry, anything else goes. It could be a drone, it could be a gun, it could be a trap, it could even be a living biological creature that you bred with your biosciences to hunt and kill Andalites so that anti-Andalite specialists could infest them.

Rule 3: The Yeerks will not betray you, and you will not betray the Yeerks.

Hey, it's me, the author of Enclosement. So, I suppose I should be making this update.

For starters, I have not had an opportunity to attempt to recover the files for my Deceit of the Herd story that I had in the works, so that story remains in development Hell, basically.

As for Enclosement, the news is far better, I have successfully preserved all of the story, and have been working on it off and on, attempting to get back into the groove of writing it. For those who don't know, Enclosement is a Bronze Age Fantasy tale following Slanek as he fights both for vengeance against those who wronged him, and to secure his place in the world of Valonga during one of the greatest times of upheaval and destruction to be suffered within the lands enclosed by the mysterious Humans.

And when my computer was incapacitated back in August, this story too had been put to an indefinite hiatus. The only thing Enclosement related that I had posted was a newly revamped prologue that was far better connected to the events that take place in the story, and provided appropriate context for what was happening.

And now, Chapters 10 and 11 have been completed. It's rolling forward again.

Expect Chapter 10 to be posted this coming Thursday.

EDIT: Read the series from start to its most recent chapter right here.

HISTORY: When Joshua stormed Caanan after the 40 years spent wandering Sinai, he took the hill country for the Israelites to dwell within, it was this land, that was reportedly filled with Nephilim, whose blood was tainted, an ultimate desecration of the image of God, that the Hebrews eradicated, and everywhere else the population was driven out. But Jebus was the final Caananite stronghold, the Phoenician thorn in Israel's side that so often convinced them to turn away from their God. But it was only upon David's rise that Jebus was conquered and renamed Jerusalem, so it only holds that if the original Phoenicians took back the city, that its original name be reinstated.

ADDENDUM (CLARIFICATION): First, I never explicitly claimed that the inhabitants of the Hill Country, that Joshua exterminated, were giants, I said that it was reported that they were giants. Secondly, before you try to claim that what I speak of didn't happen, there is archeological evidence for the Hebrew's sojourn in Egypt (they were called the Hyksos, and has completely taken over the administration of the country prior to their enslavement, a Semitic style Royal Tomb was found in the Delta, believed to have been Joseph's, and there are historical accounts of the native Egyptians revolting against the Hyksos/Hebrew administration and defeating them militarily), their wandering in Sinai (they were explicitly named by an Egyptian Pharaoh in 1400 BS who carved a hitlist of his enemies on a Temple Pillar), Joshua's conquest (archeologists have unearthed letters sent by the kings of the cities that Joshua had taken, begging Pharaoh for aid, and discovered that Jericho's walls fell outward), and that despite their king being defeated by Joshua, the Jedubites maintained control of their fortress city until David took it and made it the capital of Israel. To deny that Joshua's conquest didn't happen, or claim that the Israelites were a splinter group of the Caananites, is as historically illiterate as believing that Troy and Assyria didn't exist. There is archeological evidence for all three.

R5: It just makes sense for the Phoenicians to rename their city to its original name upon reconquering it, you know. But if Jerusalem is already renamed to Jebus upon the Phoenicians regaining control of it, then please disregard this post. I haven't played the Phoenicians, yet.

For me, it would have to be the Sarissa Lancers, those guys are just absolutely DELICIOUS at eliminating enemy cavalry and routing units.

By far the WORST example of this is the Lifeforce Potion! Prismite sells for 1 gold! 1 for a whole fish! That's some great money right there! So naturally, what would you expect the Lifeforce Potion, which it's made from, to sell, given the labor and resources you poured into making it? 1.50 Gold? 2 Gold?

2 silver.

The Lifeforce Potion is TWO, SILVER!

And in terms of the price disparity, the thrown potions are the worst! Princess Fish and Stinkfish sell for 20 silver, and the resultant potions sell for 40... copper!

At least with the Luck Potions, the prices actually scale with the labor poured in to mix the ingredients together, but it should be the same for every other potion, also!

Please, Re:Logic, I humbly ask for this change to be made so that I can recover my Goblin Tax by radically increasing the supply of potions across the entire world.

EDIT: I know this is an oversight, and I have proof! The luck potions and all of their ingredients were introduced back in Journey's End, and the resultant product is worth more than their components with the exception of the White Pearl, as demonstrated here!

https://preview.redd.it/306e0d2jws7h1.png?width=440&format=png&auto=webp&s=99acb87f5fcf66f4a322ee3e1ccaa83fc73b6265

https://preview.redd.it/dnvnvb2jws7h1.png?width=367&format=png&auto=webp&s=b7ae3e9acb6268c7c953a5f0a78882c502151279

The Yeerk Homeworld: This planet is barren, almost devoid of life, little of note or importance exists on this planet, by all accounts, it looks like the place just suffered a mass extinction event on the level of The Great Dying that occurred during the Permian, if not worse!

But I have a theory: Given the Yeerk propensity to turn planets into barren wastelands, what if the Yeerk Homeworld wasn't like this naturally... but rather, was something that the Yeerks did themselves as a consequence of biology based psychology?

Let me preface this by speculating as to what the Yeerk Homeworld's biosphere was like before they "terraformed" it. I believe that the Yeerk Homeworld was largely dry grassland, a forested desert, essentially, the majority of the water on the planet was in the biosphere, with pretty shallow oceans with extremely low content.

Yeerks in this time, had it ROUGH, dwelling in the shallow pools deep inland that could disappear as fast as they filled up due to animals drinking them. With this context, the ability to infest other creatures arose not as a reproductive strategy but as a defense mechanism, with the ancient Yeerks infesting any animal that tried to have a drink, and using the host body to drive away or kill all intruders that want to take a drink. At the end period of these infestations, they would return to the pool to feed and share information with the rest of the Pool, so long as they didn't get predated upon, and the Yeerks began to strategize.

As their intelligence increased, they figured out how to restrain their hosts so that they could be reinfested. The animals, of course, don't drink anything, so they always die of dehydration, up until they found a new species, the Gedd, that didn't need liquid water, and could sustain itself off the water in the food it eats. These creatures the Yeerks valued as hosts, and started domesticating and breeding them, they screwed up the Gedd's limbs, breeding them until one became longer than the other, hobbling them so that they stop being able to resist when infested. Eventually, these Gedd Host Yeerks began to send out scouts, and conquered other Yeerk Pools, spreading.

But in their environment, there was one danger that every Yeerk feared, a predator they reviled even worse than the Vanarxes that pull them from the skulls of their hosts. Yeerk society was built from the ground up in order to mitigate the risk of this hated predator, a thing that no single host could stop, one so ravenous that it singlehandedly destroys Pools, killing thousands of Yeerks within a matter of hours.

Fire.

There didn't need to be something within the chemical compositions of the plants of the Yeerk Homeworld to make them burn exceptionally hot, the only thing that was needed for an apocalyptic forest fire was for a drought to become severe and long enough for one it occur.

And when the Yeerks, with their whole society, psychology, and even biology built around literally combating the disappearance of their pools, realized that the plants drank the water, too, the extermination of their biosphere became only a matter of time. And the primitive Yeerks, when they declared war on fire, smothered the ground after the blazes so that the plantswould never again be able to grow.

The Yeerks declared war on fire, and won, the homeworld was reduced to a barren wasteland, and the Yeerks didn't even care that their world was dead, the fire was gone, they were now free to expand the range of their pools however they like, eventually even converting the seas. The only lifeforms that survived were either those that were too tough or crafty for the parasites to wipe out, or were useful for the Yeerks or their hosts, the Gedds.

The Yeerks killed their world, it is a dying, eroding wasteland of near, soon to be total, extinction. But whilst the population of Gedds decreased, and the Vanarxes probably increased in population out of control, these two were considered trifling problems.

At least, those two factors were problems, until a certain benefactor came down from the stars and started offering them resources for free.

EDIT: Well, it seems I summoned the Hate Platoon with this one.

Just text, inside boxes, above portraits in their own boxes. All connected by lines.

I think there are some of you who have heard of Absolute Batman, that is, a run of Batman where the Bat is jacked like Bane on Venom, and the threats he faces in the comic are scuffed beyond belief! Like, Absolute Batman is... well, an absolute Unit, yet his rogues were upscaled similarly to be scourges upon Humanity! Absolute Killer Croc, Joker, etc.

So what would the threats the Animorphs go up against be like in an Absolutized run of the universe? And how would the Animorphs need to be altered in order to be able to stack up to it?

For whatever cause, no matter the version of Proton I use that can run the base game with no problems, whenever I activate the Invictus mod, the game just always crashes.

I am a player of this game, and back in January I switched to Linux, and ever since I could not for the life of me figure out how to play the game as it was meant to be played!

Please! I beg you! What do I need to do in order to run Imperator with mods? Is the problem that I just haven't found the right setup for it? Or is it some horrible design philosophy on the trash tier new laptop that I bought to replace my broken computer until I can get my desktop back up and running? Please, just tell me!

When the Greeks came to the shores of Gaul, they had brought with them their own grapes with which to make wine, and the Celts loved the fruit of their vineyards, so much so that the Massalians selling wine to the Gauls was a major source of trade wealth for them. This history of Greek wine was so important that it contributed to the area becoming one of the oldest and most major wine regions of the whole world.

So as you can see, it doesn't make that much sense that Massalia produces Stone, instead of Wine.

Also, now that I think on it, there should be a decision for Wine producing territories in the historical wine regions, like "Wine of Massalia" like the "Cinnabar of Singidon" or "Cedar of Olbe" where the other resources production can be increased significantly once a certain conditions are reached. Except call it "Vineyards of Massalia."

Until next time!

Cersei Lannister was certainly one of if not THE worst possible Queens in the entire series. It was ultimately her who is responsible for the majority of the strife that happened in the series/ Cirsei aborted every baby that was actually Robert's, and keeping the ones who were by her incestuous lover, Jaime, thereby ending the new royal line by ensuring that NONE of the heirs were legitimate.

If Robert sniffed this out early enough, like oh say, 2 years into their marriage, and he executed Cersei for being an asshole, then how would this change the story, from Robert's selection of a new Queen immediately after the execution afterward?

I mean, this is certainly possible, right? We've been bemoaning the fact that AI armies are a pack of lobotomized yahoos since forever, and this problem becomes worse with subjects. While we don't control their armies, with this functionality, if you're an overlord or even just a war leader, then you should be able to alter the objectives of your subject's armies to give some modicum of control!

This would at least mitigate the worst aspects of subjects, which is them going Leeroy Jenkins and committing suicide because the AI cannot see allied armies, only their enemy's and their own.

Like, say, hypothetically, that you played as the Sennones and founded a great Celtic Kingdom in Italia, then I would like to think that some of the names of the early kings of the dynasty would be given to future heirs, like say Brennus III conquers Greece.

The way that territory is organized in the game, is that there are territories, with each one being part of a single province. And multiple provinces make up a region, Italia, Magna Graecia, Illyria, Aquitania, etc, and as we all know, armies are all raised by region, they all flow into the regional capital, and form a big singular army.

But what if, instead of Italia, Rome raised armies in Latium, Campania, and Aeternum? One army for every province, each with the 2,000 man lower limit and run by their own governor, how do you guys think campaigns running with such a mod would work?

Forgive me if I'm overstepping with this or being arrogant, but I mean, the Mamertines were on the closest tip of Sicily to the Italian Peninsula, Messana, while they were Oscan, I don't think that the Mamertines specifically would be this far North when they migrated south.

Location wise, it would make far more sense for the Umbrians to be recruitable there than the Mamertines, the Umbrians were North of Latin territory and directly East of the Etruscans, so it would make sense that they would be in the area? I think that attaching them to Ariminium and Arretium would be the way to go since they're in between those two settlements?

That aside, I think it's sad that there's no Umbrian AoR unit because while they are known for coming into conflict with both Romans and Etruscans, they have no representation at all in the grand campaign.

If the Akarnanians, Chaonians, Messapians, and native Italians being given representation in Epirus' own faction roster, then wouldn't it be fair for the Umbrians to be thrown a bone, here?