QUOIT #1
It is a time of
peace all over Quoit
And that’s just
when things tend to get interesting isn’t it?
How does that curse
go about living in interesting times?
Whenever you have
any situation of quote unquote leadership which exists with unrestrained authority
there will always be others behind him… or her… but not necessarily behind,
maybe in a shadowy storage area somewhere under a smoke rifle factory, planning
and talking outside the gaze of said unrestrained authority.
Or at least they
think it is outside the gaze.
This assembly of
dibley’s, minus one of their number, was gathered for the intention of discussing
the failing mental health of their leader and his insistence on bringing in an
outcast to take part in one of their most holy pilgrimages.
It’s a group of
powerful men in a room that smells heavy of sulfur, gun metal, and linden wood.
And old powerful
men. There is most defiantly the smell of old men.
‘We all know he is already
deep within the insanity and with it we expect mass beheadings, suppression of
views, and a religious purging here or there. That is normal for this time of a
Holy Father’s life...’
‘People would be
sad if a little madness didn’t creep in at this point.’
‘But he is tainting
one of our most sacred pilgrimages by this strangers involvement.’
‘A man who doesn’t
call any place home.’
‘And he is proud of
it.’
‘A rogue.’
‘A nationless man
who prays to no god or empire.’
‘In the past we
have been hands off with the Holy Father’s dealings with this individual but
information gathering, trade talks with barbarians- these are the things a
recluse has a special skill for but whatever he is up to now with this man is
tarnishing something important to all of The Rosary.’
‘But the tradition
of the insanity…’
‘No matter how much
he maybe into the insanity the Holy Father is still clear of thought for now.
This isn’t insanity, this has meaning behind it.’
‘Otherwise he
wouldn’t have even informed the Council.’
‘We are very good
at waiting.
‘Then to the other
side of this we shall wait. Vicar Swiss please have a meeting with this
individual. Try to find out what you can’
‘I shall.’
‘But Vicar Swiss.’
‘Yes.’
‘Don’t do anything
to bring the attention of Vicar Noble please.’
‘As you wish, Vicar
Rosary.’
A person who does
not belong to any land, a man that calls no kingdom or empire home is
considered the saddest form of life on Quoit. With all the kingdoms, nations,
tribes, and armies on this planet if you are not loyal to something you just
can’t be trusted.
And of all the
lands of Quoit the worst place for an individual without a loyalty to walk into,
The Rosary would be that place.
Clatterford End is an
individual. He calls no place home and bows to no king or queen or god. Some
call him a mercenary, others just a nomad with no place in the world. A most unusual
person for fact and he might not have a land he calls home but he does have a
place in the world, a place in the course and tides of Quoit.
What that course might
be he doesn’t even know yet but on this trip he is here to update the High Pope
on the latest news from allied lands.
But he doesn’t plan
to stick around that long past a minute he has to after he collects his coins.
He’s not a fan of
The Rosary.
And you might read
me writing that several more times before this is over.
When setting your
eyes on Clatterford even the sight of him doesn’t fit in anywhere. From boots
made from vampire skins(owning is thought to be in bad taste even in Babylonia),
to a tarnished gold armor decorated with many weird symbols that no one has
been able to identify, a set of Redtail hunting knives, and a helmet with the
face of a Wallachian Mountain Panther. He carries his appearance in a way in
which there is nowhere for him to blend into.
There are a couple
of held stories about Clatterford and his life. One, he was the squire of an Assyrian
Knight during the Great War who grew very angry with the world as a whole after
seeing the death of his teacher and so much other bloodshed so he turned from
all nations and grew into adulthood walking the world.
Another story says
he was a sailor from the unknown side of the world who had sailed his ship solo
through the storm barriers and washed up on the shores of The Empire Of Steam
where he was taken in and schooled in so much knowledge that he developed such
a lust for it he must now walk the world to feed that hunger.
Who knows if any
truth exists within either of those stories and any others.
But they sure sale
a lot of pulpy books in The Empire Of Steam.
One thing which is
true about Clatterford for sure is that he doesn’t hide from anyone.
And another true
thing is that he doesn’t care much for the days when he finds himself within
The Rosary.
Not one of his
favorite places to visit, even if he is being paid very well for his services.
I told you he
doesn’t care for the place.
The Rosary is the oldest
civilization in all of Quoit.
Babylonia would be
the oldest but most of its early history has been lost forever.
Once most of Quoit
was lands that belonged to The Rosary but what was once the largest capital city
in the world is now the only thing left from that ancient part of history
written and not written.
“… written and not
written.” Writing not in the good tonight.
You can’t really blame Clatterford for not
caring for the Rosary. The first time the guy was here he was almost castrated
for telling a Nun if she wasn’t happy fucking an ugly old Archbishop that was
her choice. He was charged with trying to influence a female away from the faith.
He was saved from the cut of a knife by the High Pope who was in need of the services
of someone with his insight and abilities.
Ever since that
first task he has performed odd jobs several times a year for the Rosary High
Council but mainly he deals with the High Pope only.
It’s still the
largest city in the world by the way but one step outside the city is stepping
outside of The Rosary into other lands. It’s a city nation in total and
complete.
The city’s human citizenry
also practices the oldest form of government based on beliefs that are said go
to go back even before recorded history started to be recorded.
Back that far?
Back that far.
Clatterford has no
warm heart for religions which is another thing that outcasts him. He looks at
people of faith the same way as looking at a zombie who hasn’t noticed yet that
bits of him are falling off.
Just a FYI, there
haven’t been any zombies on Quoit for a very long time.
Long enough for
them to become a thing of legend.
The Rosary borders
The Empire Of Steam, The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies, and The Mist Land
Wildlands and those are the places Clatterford spends most of his time. He
heads out to the other lands of Quoit but getting regular work from these
places who have hired him the most in the past keep him nearby.
Mist Land Wildlands?
What was I thinking
there?
Also what is proper
grammar in this instance- The Empire Of Steam or the Empire of Steam or neither
nor combination? I think The Empire Of Steam looks better so I’m going that
way.
The Rosary is a
human society united by their religious beliefs and doctrine and that type of
society tends to get stall after a while and from time to time find themselves
in need of being updated about things outside their walls whether they like
what is going on or not, it’s needed to keep their remaining lands safe and
under their control.
This once great
nation will do anything to keep control of their people, traditions, and
remaining lands.
Even hiring people
such as Clatterford is ok.
If it is done
mainly in secret.
Everything with
governments seems to be ok if kept in secret.
Today is a
celebration of the strength of the social order in The Rosary, even if the
celebration is a delusion of what The Rosary has become from what it once was,
it’s still party time.
All over its
citizens are in celebration, a celebration called Cart Day. From even the
poorest servant to High Council members everyone is wearing their finest robes.
Everyone is baking goods. Families are giving out gifts to their loved ones. Charitable
people are being charitable for a few days out of the year.
And the markets are
filled with business like no other time of the year. Sales, sales, more sales,
limited time offers, and Cart Day exclusives.
There are even a
few expatriates of The Rosary who come back home for a personal pilgrimage of
their own during Cart Day.
Only a few, leaving
The Rosary to call another land your home tends to get you excommunicated.
This celebration is
a combination of devotion, misdirection, administration, and self-indulgence.
Cart Day celebrates
times gone by stories, a few actually true, but it is mainly the day of The
Walks. The Walks is when five young Popes, chosen young virgin bishops, are
sent out to travel all of Quoit in a pilgrimage of destiny.
If one of the Popes
returns he will become the new High Pope.
You may ask- What
if more than one Pope returns?
Do they wrestle?
Song contest maybe?
Well very few Popes
have ever returned is the answer. It’s why most High Popes grow old to be very mongering
serial killerly mad king crazy ruling bastards. It’s called the Holy Insanity.
Clatterford does
have one thing he looks forward to when visiting The Rosary, outside of the
coins he collects for work, and that’s a taste for Rosarian peasant food. His
favorite is a sandwich consisting of aged bread and three different kinds of
dipping sauces and the only place you can get it is underground eateries called
Top Pots.
Those who are poor
are only allowed to eat government supplied food choices making these types of
places few and hard to find. Lucky for him he is the type to know of such
things.
Knowing such things
that others don’t know is one of his philosophies to staying alive.
This particular Top
Pot is located in a hidden room within a metal works factory.
Rosary is the type
of place where there are a lot of things hidden under stuff, in shadows, and
behind faces.
Normally someone
who wears clothes as good as Clatterford, good compared to the poor of The
Rosary, would signal everyone to scatter and run for it. Though he gets
people’s attention entering, everyone also knows him on sight and knows he’s no
fan of this government or any other for that matter.
The place smelled
and the air tasted a bit like the metal works being done outside the room but
the closer you got to the bar the more you smelled the bread and sauces over
the metallic.
There was hardly
anyone eating today. Most people are out preparing or early celebrating Cart
Day. This was fine with Clatterford because he’d much rather eat in as much
isolation as possible before he had to deal with the High Pope and his like.
He sat himself on a
stool on the side of the bar which had two attack directions protected by
walls. Another problem with being an individual and outcast from most places is
that most places don’t care for you just on principle of you being you.
Living his life he
finds a few who want him dead who haven’t even met him.
He’s ok with that.
The eatery keeper
brought Clatterford his food. The one dish is the only thing served there so it
was easy to know what people wanted. He had placed his knives on the bar top along
with his helmet and was ready to start eating when the front and back doors to
the place swung open in a rush and in through them marched several members of
the High Pope’s personal guardsmen, The Noble Guard.
The keeper and the
few other people eating were quickly killed by The Noble Guard.
Not really so
noble.
Several of them gathered
near Clatterford who had barely raised an eye that they were able to notice.
‘You were to come
straight to meet with the High Pope when you entered the city. You were not to
spend time eating pitiable cooking with reduced people.’
Clatterford was
ready to ignore and keep eating when he noticed the head guard, a Cardinal, had
his hand hovering over his sword and the others were holding smoke rifles.
He pushed his food
off the table in frustration.
This is one of
those bits in a story where the writer puts in stuff just to help him remember
and keep track of things.
Or is that just me
who has to do this?
Don’t tell me! I
might get sad at the answer.
Anyways this
section might be a little redundant and not needed with the Appendixes that
follow the story but I like this bit personally.
The Rosary government
is structured into a hierarchy formed from their long history, traditions, and also
in the aim of raising themselves above the normal citizens of the city and the
whole of Quoit for that matter.
Each group or
individual in the government is elected by vote by the station above them.
Except for The High
Pope who is the destiny chosen VESSEL OF GOD O MIGHTY!
Last bit said like
a preacher from deep in the American South.
A High Pope tends
to live to a very old age but also the older they get the more they fall into
the Pope Insanity as history has come to call it.
Some even call it
the Holy Insanity.
They probably bless
The Holy Shit when it’s a good drop.
High Popes average
about 97 years of life but 20 sane ones. Some people have speculated that the
robes of the Pope or the secret sanctified meals he eats contain something that
on one hand expends his life but also on the other hand drives him deeper and
deeper into insanity.
Popes are of course
chosen by the Cart Day pilgrimage.
Everyone on Quoit
knows that.
Everyone also knows
that if a Pope does survive the pilgrimage the old High Pope is retired.
What “retired”
means isn’t something everyone knows.
The High Council Of
The Rosary is made up of senior officials, former Archbishops. When they are
elected to the High Council by The High Pope they are renamed to be Vicars with
part of their name being the station of responsibility. Example: Vicar Sewage.
A position on The
High Council is one for life and that’s why they usually end up poisoned,
knifed, traditionally martyred, and crucified when a new Pope takes over.
So cool there.
Each member of the
High Council is in charge of a different part of the government such as trade,
the courts, sewer systems, the Swiss Guard, the Noble Guard, and exedra excedra.
In total there are twelve members of The High Council.
And one ghost
member that hardly anyone sees, that would be Vicar Rosary who is the head of
the Council.
A very mysterious
in the shadows type.
The Archbishops are
teachers put into their new position of Archieness by vote of The High Council.
Any place of learning no matter the sort is filled with Archbishops who are
charged to teach.
Nuns are the wives
of Archbishops. A Bishop cannot marry until he becomes an Archbishop. Nuns are
charged with learning medical knowledge and treating the sick. After marrying a
Nun must take a pilgrimage of their own to The Empire Of Steam for two years to
study the newest medical treatments and become doctors, before this Nuns are just
students but not Bishops because women are not allowed to be Bishops.
I’ll tell you about
Bishops in a bit.
I’ll tell you more
about Nuns much later.
The Nuns Of The
Rosary are pretty fucking cool.
Cardinals are Noble
Guard Commanders handpicked by the Vicar Noble to lead the protectors and
defenders of The High Pope. They are usually the best of the best of their
group, except when picked more because of their loyalty than their abilities or
picked more because of political power than their abilities or more because of
cock size than… I guess that would have to do with a type of ability.
As mentioned the
Noble Guard is the personal guards of The High Pope. They are an elite group of
guards chosen from the best and most loyal to the High Pope among the Swiss
Guard.
Some think the
Noble Guard have too much power and there are always rumors about them going
around- rumors of secret goals, secret meetings, and secret handshakes.
Deans are Swiss
Guard Commanders handpicked by the Vicar Swiss to enforce laws and fight for
their nation. The Swiss Guard is the army and police of The Rosary government. They
tend to hate and not get along with the Noble Guard because they feel they are
underfunded and underpaid when they have more ground to cover in their duties.
Having the Noble
Guard and The Swiss Guard walking the same paths is sometimes like having a police
force and a military army trying to operate with a smaller private military
group who is actually getting all of the attention and coin and power.
Is that apt? I’ll
try to work on it after the first draft.
Bishops or Low
Bishops as some call them are students.
Damn students.
Lazy students.
Fuck them students.
From there you have
business owners and then the people who work for business or government groups
and organizations.
You could throw
prostitutes all within all of that ranking but that’s true anywhere because
most people like to fuck and will pay with power and coin to do so.
I should start
calling sections I write instead of stuff like Chapters or Appendixes or
Prefaces, I think I should go with Clusterfucks.
One of the southernmost
land areas of civilized Quoit are the Wildlands.
Ok, I might
sometimes call it the Mist Lands and other times the Wildlands and while on
drugs call it the Mist Wildlands.
Just let me have
that one.
The Wildlands are
bordered by the sea and the lands of The Empire Of Steam, The Rosary, and The
Empire Of The Thirteen Armies on its northern border. The Eastern land border
of the Wildlands meets the nation of Wallachia also.
Or something like
that.
Geography was never
my best subject.
Ok, neither was
English, Fuck Off.
I included a map of
all of civilized Quoit at the beginning if you missed it. I’ll do this with
each Quoit story. I mean this is a fantasy story after all and a fantasy story
needs maps like Star Trek needs redshirts.
Star Trek went
downhill a little when they tried to fix that redshirt issue.
There will also be
a more detailed map of The Rosary after the story.
Speaking of maps, the
five young virgin Popes will first head South out from The Rosary to Wallachia
on their walk to obtain a map of Quoit to be used in their further travels.
Some places consider this a antiquated tradition while others follow any news
of it like a sporting event.
For generations the
Wallachians have been the best map makers on the planet. They take great pains
to keep them updated by the changing shape of politics. If you want to find
your way by safe passage or the most interesting route you get a Wallachian
map.
After they get
their maps they will head in four different directions to truly start their walk
in an attempt to come back laudable to be the High Pope. It’s a throwing them
out into the world, forcing them to walk among the good, the kind, and the
cruel to return to the Rosary praiseworthy.
You might ask- Brian
you said there are five young virgin Popes but you just said “four different directions”
did you screw something up?
No, I didn’t screw
something up, at least not there, it’s just one of them almost always dies
traveling to get the maps in Wallachia. Wallachia may not be the most dangerous
place on Quoit but the one thing all of them will learn is that they are not
too many safe places.
Clatterford was
lead by members of the Noble Guard to the High Popes personal worship chambers.
There was about six of them to state the number in fact- three in front leading
and three behind them. They had heard many stories about them and weren’t
taking any chances.
The High Popes
personal worship chambers is also known as his personal living chambers.
Where he sleeps.
A holy place of
rest.
There’s a chamber
pot for pissing and shitting in the room.
Sans any piss or
shit at the moment.
The High Pope was sitting
in the very sparse shitless room in a wooden chair covered in bear skins. It
was all atmospheric for him there sitting by a fire without a robe staring into
the dancing flames.
If I wasn’t clear
enough all his holiness was hanging out for all to see.
Hanging out there
to breathe in the air.
His junk was out.
Clatterford was
slightly unnerved by the way the fire light flickered across the faces of the
Noble Guards stationed motionless all around the chamber. It triggered a memory
of one time when he was camped out with some Dwarfs so near The Maple Maze of
Babylonia that they could hear screams of giving up so clearly in the nights
air he thought he could recognize the voices.
The last time
Clatterford was in The Rosary he noticed the High Pope’s madness was creeping
further into the mind of the man who saved his dick from being a dogs dinner.
And the stories he has heard since that last trip has him of the thought that
things haven’t gotten any better.
He wouldn’t call
his relationship with the High Pope a friendship but he had actually grown to
like the old sod a little. Some have come to call him High Pope The Kind. But
to be completely honest with me trying to not be attacking saying a High Pope
is kind is sort of saying that cow dung over there isn’t as stinking as the dog
poop in the corner.
Clatterford sat
down on an old trunk positioned near the fire. Having walked all the way into
The Rosary from a side trip to the Wardawgs territory he was still pissed he
hadn’t gotten the chance to eat or rest yet.
But not too tired
to forget who he was talking to and let a smart tongue slip despite any
familiarity that had developed between them.
At least he was
trying to behave himself.
He always tries.
‘I am sorry I had
to interrupt your dinning. I’ve made sure a feast is ready for you in your
quarters.’
‘And I’ll eat every
bit in honor of those your guards killed.’
Honestly that’s
Clatterford trying to be diplomatic.
‘They must have
been all caught up in the excitement of our holiday times.’
‘These celebrations
of yours, they seem to get larger with each one.’
‘Tell me Clatterford
End, why do you think that is so?’
Clatterford traced
the shape of his bear with his hand thinking about his next words but with a
grin he let them free, ‘Because they are distractions and you need bigger and
bigger ones.’
‘Always bold,
always wise.’
‘Always stupid for
a truth.’
‘Not so. I appreciate
your truth tongue. Not many give me truth tongue who are in my control.’
‘Control tends to
do that to tongues.’
The High Pope stood
from his chair to warm his hands on the fire and then slowly sat back down, ‘Are
our allies still open to the Walk Pilgrimage?’
‘The tribes of the
Wildlands are as they always have been. They don’t kill all visitors on sight
as a rule but you never know when they might change those rules. As to
Wallachia, well they have taken to testing Redtail waters again. Obviously
living is boring them. Besides that everything is as it has been for a while.’
‘You see normally
this would be the time I would be writing out plans to send five young Popes to
their deaths to keep my station but I’m no longer comfortable in my growing insanity.
Our nation needs new and strong leadership. This peace will not keep forever.
We must find a new High Pope from this group to prepare.’
‘So fix the race but
the other way around from what you normally do.’
‘In a way that’s
what I plan to do. In the past for the most part Popes have been left to their
own measures of finding survival. But I need more than blind chance this time
for someone to come out of it with their life intact. I need something to help
balance the task for them. I need you Clatterford End.’
‘I’m not really the
High Pope type.’
Both men laughed.
The guards remained
silent.
It wasn’t funny.
‘I wish to hire you
to escort them to Wallachia and help them achieve the maps. From there choose
the one you think is the strongest and walk his destiny with him.’
‘That sort of thing
will cost a lot more than any job I’ve done for you in the past.’
‘This is a most
grave need for The Rosary. How does a city section and his pick from the Swiss
Guard ranks sound? You will be given the title of Bishop and a promise that no
one will hinder your activities. Whatever they may be.’
‘I’m sure the Swiss
Vicar would love that. Probably much the whole High Council would probably be
ready to stone me.’
‘Did God select
them?’
‘I get your point.’
‘What of the offer
Clatterford End?’
‘Sounds like a good
offer. A good offer for another man who is not me.’
‘What is your price
then? Name it.’
‘A free day to
explore the ancient archives.’
The High Pope
turned from his chair to look to Clatterford with dancing flames in his eyes,
‘I like you. You are always looking for an advantage others don’t have.’
There are three
great libraries of Quoit called The Great Libraries Of Quoit. These three
depositories of knowledge would make any well worn researcher, any scholar of
data, and any student of the tests wet in their garments.
The first of the
great libraries is located within The Empire Of Steam. To be exact in location it’s
situated on the campus of Telseal University, the public university of the
empire and the largest structure within the whole of the empire.
Which tells you a
lot about The Empire Of Steam without knowing much more going in. The entire
empire is place of scholarship.
The Teseal Library is
the largest library by far in all of Quoit and also the most open. You can
enter its halls without even being a citizen of the empire.
You do need a
library card though.
That says even more
about The Empire Of Steam.
The “anyone can
enter” thing- most libraries require a library card.
The second great
library of Quoit is The Library Of Babylonia.
Which sure as hell isn’t
open to all.
Matter of fact The
Library Of Babylon is only open to members of the Babylonian military. Every
day citizens, even politicians are not allowed into its doors and sure as hell
foreigners aren’t allowed in.
What does that say
about Babylonia? That doesn’t say they are kind of assholes.
But they are.
Having the second
largest military, only second to The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies, Babylonia
is a empire steered, moved, and impassioned by its military so everything is
infused by this military sense of pride including their library.
They do have the
only librarians who are armed at all times.
When they shush
you, you stay shushed.
And then you have The
Ancient Archives Of The Rosary which is one of the most legendary places in all
of Quoit. It’s the type of place where some say- that’s where this legendary
secret or item is kept. It sometimes can be an “out card” for something
conspiracy like or stupid or a- if we had access to that knowledge the world
would be different.”
It’s said to
contain so much ancient knowledge that if used it would put The Empire Of Steam
to shame.
Who knows, don’t
really believe that. The Empire Of Steam is pretty cool.
It has things that
run only on steam.
Thus the name.
Thus the cool.
When The Rosary was
the strongest nation on the planet it hoarded loads of documents and artifacts
from all conquered and destroyed civilizations it had contact with. Without a
wish to learn from others not-of-their-own they have hid these things away from
no other eyes to see or use.
And they guard the
stuff like a kid guarding toys he doesn’t want to play with but doesn’t want to
share either.
Clatterford jumped
at The High Pope’s offer with a quick thought of being able to walk these torch
lit underground chambers. After all the only thing he needed to do was agree to
escort a group of virgins to Wallachia and get a copy of maps and then choose
one out of the lot to keep alive for a walkabout and back.
Well it will be
worth it if he can find what he is looking for.
And what he is
looking for is something pretty special to him. An object none but a few have
ever even heard mention of. He himself just found out about this items possible
existence while in Babylonia doing some mercenary work.
While holding a
torch with one hand he flipped through room after room of books, papers, art,
and artifacts before finding what he was looking for, The Book Of Fragarach, and
he found it under a pile of drawings sketched by an explorer during trips to
The Three Deaths.
He tore out a page
from the book and stuffed it into a pocket area hidden on the inside of his
armors chest plate. The rooms guard slash librarian looked at him like he
wanted to kill him but Clatterford returned his gaze with a smile because he
knows all librarians have been told to not obstruct whatever Clatterford wanted
to do in the archives.
What he wanted to
do right now was a little dance because he was really happy as he walked the
way back out from the archives. He gave a whistle hi as he passed each guard
slash librarian.
He had found what
he was looking for and now he only needed to do some babysitting before he could
take the first step of trying to return home. The babysitting bit might take a
while though. All around and back again in one year is the rules.
Sounds like the
type of story some publishing in The Empire Of Steam would pay a lot of money
for.
I think I’ve
mentioned The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies before but they are a pretty unique
empire as empires go. United territories might be a more precise name but The
Empire Of The Thirteen Armies has more of a snap sound to it, don’t you think?
When the Great War
was raging and burning most of Quoit to ash a group of armies formed an
alliance that was in its formation a threat to the rest of Quoit. The threat
was this conflict ends now or they will move together as one across every
field, every mountain, and every inch of land and claim it as our own.
The thirteen armies
that make up the empire are the armies of thirteen different races of people. Each
race now holds a territory within the empire’s borders as their own but each
also has representatives that sit in the capital city handling trade and in
case a need arises unite all of the armies if something breaks the peace treaty
that was signed by all of Quoit after the Great War.
Most of the rest of
Quoit thinks of them as backwards because their territories aren’t huge cities
but small communities. People (as in mainly humans) have problems with this
empire because very few humans are part of it.
Make no mistake
though the rest of Quoit fears The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies whether their
actions come through speech or action.
I mean any group of
people who have Giants on their side should be listened to and feared.
And not fucked
with.
Do not fuck with
Giants. That’s the lesson for today kids.
Clatterford slept very
well with dreams of his past and was having a nice morning but as servants were
washing his body and feeding him breakfast his nice early start to the day was
interrupted by five young men entering his sleeping chambers.
He would have
laughed at the sight of them standing there all dressed in their Pope Armor and
full of stupidity if he didn’t know most of them would be dead soon.
Ok, he did give a
little chuckle when they first walked in and he caught sight of them.
‘We are The Chosen
Five…’
‘Yes, yes, I know.
I’ll meet you in the banquet hall.’
They stood there
staring.
‘Unless you virgins
wish to help clean my pits and ass you should leave and wait for me.’
After the Popes
left the chamber Clatterford turned to one of the servants, a pretty young boy
with fiery read hair and one eye who was washing his hands and arms, ‘I think
I’m starting to realize what I’ve gotten myself into.’
The servant opened
his mouth to show Clatterford why he couldn’t converse with him. His tongue had
been cut out.
‘I guess I also
need to keep in mind who I’m working for.’
Vicar Swiss was in
his Council chambers cross checking, rechecking, and signing parchments that
would allow his Swiss Guards to bring in a group of heretics for questioning.
On the balcony of
his chambers stood three Swiss guards with two more inside to each side of his
desk. Outside of the door was two more.
People in The
Rosary tend not to like Vicar Swiss very much.
Into the chambers
came one of The Vicar Swiss’s Dean Commanders of the Swiss Guard.
‘Vicar Swiss.’
‘Yes, Dean. What do
you want? I’m very busy.’
‘I have found a
place for your meeting with the outsider. I will head there now on your orders
to personally take care of any possible eyes.’
‘And your spies are
sure he will be heading to the markets at that time?’
‘That’s what was
overheard by one of the servants during his breakfast.’
‘Good, good, go.
And Dean.’
‘Yes Vicar.’
‘Make it a clean
setup.’
‘Yes Vicar.’
There are five
Deans of the Swiss Guard. The one nearest in favor is the Vicar Swiss is Dean Flavor.
Favor and Flavor,
oh, I know I’m going to screw that up in the future.
He was the guy the
Vicar was just talking to. He’s a young guardsman who rose quickly in the ranks
with a dedication and vicious streak in all of movements.
He gained favor
with the Vicar Swiss when a group of anarchists made an attempt on the Vicar’s
life. Dean Flavor who then was an everyday Swiss Guardsmen defended the Vicar
against twelve men with only two axes inside a public bathhouse.
The blood-spattered
brutal proceedings of that day put a focus in the Vicar’s eye when it came to Flavor.
Vicar Swiss put him under one of his top Deans but after uncovering a plot to
slay the Vicar by the then Dean’s Flavor became the most trusted member of the
Swiss Guard and whenever a task needs to be done with total trust and without
worry of anything being held back he is called on.
Now he is on his
way to complete another assignment by his Vicar. He was to secure a place near
the busy markets for a quick secret meeting between the Vicar Swiss and
Clatterford End.
What some may have
seen as an issue if they would have been given this task would be the fact that
only homes are within the markets. The market stalls are placed in front of
homes in a rich tradition that goes by as far as recorded Rosary history.
Dean Flavor finds a
suitable place behind one of the many fabric stalls. This one selling fabrics
said to come from Assyria. The stall is run by a husband and wife who both once
worked in the pig works before earning enough to purchase a market home.
This was very early
in the morning so the markets are closed and the workers fast asleep. When you
own a market stall it’s your life so you work, eat, shit, fuck, and sleep and
that’s it. All within five feet of your stall for the most part.
Flavor didn’t enter
the home through a side door or a mistakenly left open window. He knocked on
the door. This will be the actions of a Dean investigating anti-government
activities.
When the man and
women came to the door Flavor shoved his sword with such force it went through
both of them.
The official report
would read that he was greeted by both barring daggers.
Flavor shoved them
into the home and shut the door behind him. Then he proceeded to slice the
throats of both of them.
The official report
would say they cut their own throats to keep from being captured and
questioned.
Flavor dragged
their bodies into the bedroom and shut the door. His guards would be contacted
to pick them up later.
The official report
would say those two were anti-government fighters with possible ties to Babylonia.
The High Pope
Banquet Hall was busy with servants serving the wishes of the guests of the High
Pope. The hall is actually a long way from the High Pope’s living quarters but
that’s planned out on purpose because if you could have visitors but also keep
them as far away from you as possible without insulting them wouldn’t you do
so?
Plus visitors
sometimes want to kill you when you are a High Pope so there is no sense
letting them sleep within throat slitting reach.
That’s too much
throat slitting talk in a little space.
Too much late night
pizza for the writer.
Clatterford walks
into the banquet hall and makes his way over to a Swiss Guardsman and whispers
something into his ear.
The guard then
gathers two others and they escort all guests and servants out of the hall.
Everyone is cleared out except for the five young Popes and Clatterford who
pulls down the lock supports to seal both doors to the hall.
If this was movie
some of the following would be in a montage sequence.
But it’s not a
movie so words, words, and words.
The Popes stand up
from their table as Clatterford walks into the center of the hall, ‘I want each
of you, one at a time, to introduce yourself and try to attack me. Give it
everything you got or I will make it a whole lot worse on you.’
The Popes look at
each other, a little confused, a little scared. They have heard a lot about
Clatterford End since being told they would be put in his hands for their
pilgrimage.
Ok, they’re a lot
scared.
The first one to
have any courage steps forward. A blonde haired athletic looking young man, ‘I
am named Linus.’
‘Come on then Linus.’
Linus stands staring not knowing what to do. ‘Fuck it Linus.’ Clatterford walks
over and grabs Linus by his blonde hair with his left hand and punches him
three times in the side ribs between his armor platting with his right.
Then as Linus was
hardly standing in a lot of pain Clatterford hip tosses him across a table.
He knocks the young
man out by busting two large drink canisters against each side of his head.
As Linus lays
unconscious he turns back to the other four, ‘Now is there a good understanding
of what I want?’ They head motion a anxious yes.
‘Anacletus.’
A tall bulky muscle
bound young man is taken down after he throws one punch at Clatterford and is
dropped with one punch from Clatterford.
‘Strength is good
kid, knowing how to use it is better. I’ve had my ass kicked by people smaller
than me and whipped people twice my size.”
‘Petrus.’
A hairy bearded one
goes down after nine punches and a head butt.
‘You can at least
take some punishment. You’ll need that skill unless you get smarter. A starter
might be using your tolerance for pain to lay a trap.’
‘Clemens.’
A black young man
with graying hair trades a few blows with Clatterford but after enjoying the
trade off for a bit he finds out he was being led to know he was doing good as
an act and falls quickly when he gives an opening.
‘All of you need to
learn from each other’s mistakes and weaknesses. Pay attention.’
‘Evaristus.’
The shortish, out
of shape, mouthy one gets tossed from one end of the hall to the other before
Clatterford breaks a couple fingers and punches him in the throat to shut him
up.
As the Popes are
trying to help each other in various degrees of injury Clatterford unbolts the
doors. ‘Get some rest, dump the bullshit armor, and meet me in my chambers in
squire clothes tonight.’
The Great War… Maybe
I should just keep saying The Great War and not go into too much detail about
what happen and why?
On second thought, I’m
a writer writer right now. When my skill levels improve I can be a leaver outer
writer.
The Great War was
when all of Quoit fallen into all out world war against the invading forces of
the very ancient race The Spiders. History says this was the first time all of
Quoit had ever been united against a common foe. That may or may not be the
truth but it was a good rallying cry for battling The Spiders who at every turn
seemed to have the mightier forces.
This war had been
raged for decades, even damaging nature cutting the planet in half by two walls
of storms. Stories are told that the other half is Quoit is nothing but
wasteland now, every bit of life wiped from its lands by The Spiders.
Not true by the
way.
It was during the
third decade of the war with The Spiders when a member of the legendary
travelers The 9, one called Oseike arrived on Quoit looking for a friend who in
fact had just left mere decades before.
To The 9 decades
can be minutes.
After seeing the
destruction the war was bringing to this planet and how the future looked for
the people of Quoit going against The Spiders Oseike rallied the nations like
never before. He used every bit of knowledge he had of The Spiders and ways of
fighting them.
But all of Oseike’s
work wasn’t enough. They were losing the war until a group of Warlocks brought
into this realm the vampire. There had never been any vampires on Quoit before.
No one had even heard of them.
At first the
vampires had turned the tide of war in Quoit’s favor. Many natives of Quoit
even volunteered give themselves up to vampirism to further their cause of
defeating The Spiders. My Soul For My World was on posters and on lips all over
Quoit during this time.
But soon the
vampires had overrun a on their heels Spider army and the leaders of Quoit
could see victory for them in the future. Also they could see a coming war with
the very beings they had brought into their world. Their tipping point in the
war was becoming too powerful in numbers.
After the Spiders
had completely left Quoit it was learned that the vampires were readying a plan
to turn on the rest of the planet to establish themselves as the rulers of all.
Oseike having found this out had to act quickly and just as The Spiders had
left he helped destroy most of the vampires on the planet. An act of brutality
and fear so concentrated he left Quoit to never return ashamed of his actions.
Soon after this
point conflict of nations started up again continuing The Great War as a war
first of battling a common enemy, to battling a common too powerful ally, to
battling each other for what’s remaining. This is when The Empire Of The
Thirteen Armies was united.
But all of that is
the clichéd story possibly for another time. I know if I live long enough there
are many stories I want to tell during the period of The Great War.
Clatterford is
walking through the markets. He has to admit to himself it felt sort of good to
knock those Popes down a peg or two. No wonder most of them never return. They
are studs picked out of bad herd stock in nice painted armors and trained by bullshit
Swiss Guards to be feed to a world ready to take their lives in a second.
Even though he
doesn’t care for The Rosary overall, their markets are some of the best on
Quoit. For a nation without much interest and love for anything outside their
borders they have great trade deals in place and allow as much as wanted and
needed outside weapons and other religious beliefs for their markets.
You can find
everything from books from The Empire Of Steam to cooking ware from The Land Of
Arges. Without much work you can pick up Chameleon jewelry, Troll hammers, and
Scarecrow cloaks.
Clatterford was
standing bargaining with a man with a stall of spirits, fruits, and other
services for some apples when he is surrounded by a number of Swiss Guardsmen.
Now they are not enough to force him to do anything but enough for him not to want
to bother with and just follow them when they motion for him to do so.
Anyways the only
person with the pull to have him killed is the High Pope and that’s because
he’s here on the High Pope’s call; so he will let this situation move at its
own course and see what happens.
He’ll get his
apples later.
Clatterford follows
them to a home on the outskirts of the markets. From the looks of it appears to
him to be a pretty new family home but since this seems to be a on the side
sort of meeting out of official sightings it probably also means all the members
of that family who call this home might not be in the best of health.
That’s just how
things work within The Rosary.
Out of the shadows
in the main room of the dwelling stepped a member of the High Council
Clatterford didn’t recognize by name but there was no mistaking those expensive
robes; which were loutish and flawless at the same time.
‘I hear you gave
those young unaffected shits a good bashing.’
‘Well, from a
people who once took part in bullfighting it’s kind of surprising you train
those who might lead you as bullfighters instead as if they are the bulls.’
‘Yes, but the bull
never had a chance of victory no matter what they did.’
‘And so that’s how
you send out these young men.’
‘But not this
year?’ asked the High Council Vicar
Clatterford studies
him to see if his face would give away what he already knew. To anyone outside
the High Pope he was just a tour guide for the young Popes.
‘We on the High
Council know there has to be a reason the High Pope would kick tradition away
and send an independent foreigner out with Popes on their sacred pilgrimage?’
‘I’m just a tour
guide.’
‘Only a tour guide?’
‘As far as you know
yes.’
Clatterford smiled,
turned, and exited the home to finishing his browsing of the market stalls
without much thought to what just happen. From what he has discovered in the
past this is politics as normal with The Rosary.
The five young Popes
still recovering from their beat downs enter Clatterford’s chambers to find him
sitting on the edge of the bed getting head from a male prostitute.
Also sitting,
standing, and lying throughout the living quarters were women and men of
various levels of undress, age, and race.
They smiled seeing
the young Popes. Clatterford leaned back on his bed, ‘You will put yourself in
all kinds of dangers trying for your first fuck or fighting to keep it from
happening. Get it out of your system tonight boys I don’t plan to watch any of
you die grabbing for a taste of taint or dick.’
Within every
structured society or group there are acts of rebellion. Even if the place is
very kind and respectful of all beliefs and life you can still find rebellion.
It’s natural to humans and many other races as much as eating is.
You can see it in
the illegal food eateries in The Rosary or some of the anti-social acts of
youth that I haven’t spoken of that take place among Bishops. Not to mention
the anarchists and anti-government groups that crop up from time to time,
rebellion is all around us.
You can’t see it
clearly in Rosary but within most of those things I talked about you will find
signs of the Nuns Of Rosary.
Told you they were
pretty cool.
For about a decade
the Nuns have run an underground rail road for rebels and the unwanted. Helped
get information to places secure such as prisons and defended groups under
constant attack within their nation.
They are very good
at what they do and a large part of that is doing it in very secret and well
run operations. Very few people outside their rank know of their secrets
missions but one of them is Clatterford End. He learned of it after the
instance that took place when he first visited The Rosary.
Oh, and also on the
down low so to speak while away training to be doctors and nurses they also
train in forms of individual combat in the underground tunnels of The Empire Of
Steam.
Don’t fuck with a
Nun.
I want to make this
clear for future reference- Don’t fuck with a Nun Of The Rosary.
The next day, long
after the prostitutes had left, things had crusted over, and the servants had
cleaned up the night’s corruption, Clatterford lead the Popes down to the Noble
Guardsmen Armory
The Noble Guardsmen
Armory is a large building with a rather homoerotic image of a blacksmith
working with a colleague on its big ass doors.
‘Knowledge is the fair-haired
weapon everyone should desire, lust after, and kill for. We will pick out a
weapon for each of you today from the armory but if you use it as your only
weapon you will not be long for this world.’
Clatterford opened
the doors to the armory and when inside he nodded his head to the blacksmith who
he had spoken with earlier. The blacksmith and his assistants left the place to
Clatterford and the Popes.
On the walls to one
side of the smelting and forming sections were walls, rooms, and racks of
shields, swords, smoke rifle barrows, knifes, axes, and spears. He let them
mill around for a few minutes before snapping them back to reality.
‘Pick a weapon and
I’ll tell you how it can help you survive and how it might just get you killed.
You only get one though so choose carefully. This might be the first real
choice you have had to make in your lives.’
Linus picked out a
sword, Anacletus an axe, Petrus a spear, Clemens a mace, and Evaristus a
carpenters hammer. In turn Clatterford asked them why they choose their weapon.
And he in turn told them how to use the weapon and how this weapon could also
get them killed.
Linus, ‘My adaptive
father told me my blood father was a member of the Noble Guard so I choose the
weapon of the Noble Guardsmen.’
Clatterford, ‘A
sword is a fine weapon and if you are a great swordsmen you can defend yourself
against any other guy with a sword. Just know that swords are no use against
heaver weapons such an axe or big hammer. Always be ready with such quick
thoughts. That’s a lesson for all of you.’
Anacletus, ‘I
picked an axe because it can destroy and create.’
Clatterford, ‘How
poetic of you. And quite accurate also. It fits your strength Anacletus but you
will need to improve your agility and hand to hand or fall as many who fought
with axes have and that’s to the one swing and die short life.’
Petrus, ‘I picked
the spear. I can use it as a staff and also defend myself against swords and
even bow distance is an option.’
Clatterford, ‘Yea,
if you want to throw away your weapon you had better make sure you hit the
target. I’d say use it as a staff mainly until you get your enemy down. Then
use it to put them away.’
Clemens, ‘I like my
mace.’
Clatterford, ‘Kinky.’
Evaristus, ‘I….’
Clatterford, ‘Why a
carpenters hammer?’
Evaristus, ‘My
father was a carpenter. The first High Pope was a carpenter.’
Clatterford, ‘Yep.
Best of luck to you on that choice.’
Before leaving the
armory he also made each one pick out a shield.
Warfare
accessorizing, it is the secret of the shield in combat.
‘Why do you only
carry two knives?’ asked Evaristus as they were walking to a Noble Guardsmen
practice field to practice some hitting and screaming.
Clatterford pulls
out both of his knives as if he needed them out to talk about them. Otherwise
known as leading the viewer in films, ‘These are the only two weapons I’ve
found that I want to live with. I’ll pick up a sword or a mace or a hammer or
another man’s hand to use as a weapon if I need to but to live with a weapon is
akin to who you choose to marry. Fuckings fine but marrying is another story. You
had better hope young Popes you have chosen well today because your religion
says you only get out of marriage by death.’
He put away his blades
and walked away from the Popes who started talking among themselves. He wants
to help them but he’s also messing with them a bit. A large part of his
personality is confusing the order of things.
In two days they
leave for Wallachia but tonight Clatterford is once again in the High Pope’s
private chambers. He wasn’t planning or had been informed ahead of time about
this meeting so he had to leave two prostitutes in his bed wanting and is pretty
weak in his legs from drink preparing for a night of wanting.
The High Pope is in
his bed with Clatterford standing swaying a little by the door. Every so often
the hand from a Noble Guard would reach out from the shadows and steady him a
little. The only light in the room was a small candle by the High Pope’s bed.
‘The protection I
hired for you to give to the strongest of them ends when you return with him to
our city. I fear that is when he will truly need the most protection.’
‘Maybe we’ll run
into a Medusa and he’ll sprout eyes in the back of his head.’
While Clatterford
tries to stay upright talking to the High Pope the young Pope’s are being
herded into a room to meet with a lot of The Rosary’s high ups of government
and high society if there really is much separation between the two.
The day before the main
celebration the Pope’s have to meet and greet with these people to see who will
support them by bestowing upon them a copy of their crest to carry with them.
Not that it means that much to the Pope’s themselves but if they do end up
surviving it might hold favor for the surviving Pope and those who supported
them.
The Popes are
basically being passed around the room so each higher up can shake their hands
and slip them a seal of approval so to speak. For anything else this will probably
be the last really good meal any of them receives for a long time as
Clatterford told them, ‘Try to enjoy the bullshit posturing.’
Everyone knows the
High Pope’s personal favorite. That’s why Petrus has a tattoo of the Pope’s personal
seal on him so not many more putting their eggs in that basic. It’s considered an
insult to offer your seal to the sitting High Pope’s favorite.
That’s really not
much an ego hit to Petrus. He mainly sticks to himself in most situations and
he did the same here before sneaking out early to train in spear fighting with
a member of the Noble Guard who the Pope offered his services to, to help him
learn spear combat.
Several members of
the High Council have offered their seals to Linus. He seems to be the most
popular pick among the higher ups in the government. There have always been
whispers that he was the son of someone very important who died but he ended up
being spared for some reason and then adapted by a good family after a cover up
of his real indemnity. When he was a Bishop he keep getting opportunity after
opportunity that people didn’t believe he had earned. He got out of trouble too
easily. He was treated like the offspring of someone very important and not
just another orphan. The very choice of him for Pope was questionable, never had
an orphaned person been selected before his selection. When he asked his
adaptive family about these questions they always told him they didn’t know. He
has never been able to get the answers he has wanted.
Anacletus gets a
lot of attention from the market owners. He’s a big strong young man with a
work day in day out appeal to him. His easy to get along with anyone deposition
matches but is not contradicted by his size and strength. This is an appeal
that matches their sensibilities. Matches with people who worked hard to get to
each level they have gained in life.
While Clemens is
getting seals from Deans and Cardinals alike because a lot of the Swiss Guard
and Noble Guard come from what once was The Rosary’s then slave military. After
The Great War that changed but those families still keep those connections with
each other.
Evaristus on the
other hand is the only Pope to go without being offered a seal but per
tradition the person with the lowest of offerings will be named the peoples
champion. Peoples champion with a carpenters hammer as his chosen weapon. As
Clatterford would say, ‘Good luck with that.’
Today is the Cart
Day celebration and closing out the parade is the young Popes who are being
pulled by several large horses on a float that looks like a large rose. They won’t
be leaving until tomorrow but today is the citizens send off.
While this is going
on Clatterford is off somewhere putting in some bets on which one he thinks
would have the highest possibility of survival trying to take advantage of the
situation fully.
The five Popes had
been looking forward to this parade but some of the realities Clatterford has
woken them up to are weighing heavy on each of their minds. They are smiling
and waving to the crowds. As the parade comes to stopping points they sign
autographs.
Each one is going
into this for their own reasons. They could have left the city. There have been
chosen Popes we left The Rosary to never return but these five have chosen to
go on this journey. For some it’s about faith; while others it’s about finding
their way in life. For one it’s about trying to gain the power needed for
revenge.
Clatterford watches them pass by having just
exited a bet makers. He only hopes that book contained what he was looking for
because all he sees before him is one pain in the ass moment after the other.
Appendix I: Trade.
Since the peace
treaty was signed after The Great War trade all over Quoit has grown but the
major force for trade is Babylonia.
Trade across Quoit
has been one of the main forces behind the peace all lands have found themselves
in since the Great War and it has helped Babylonia grow back into superpower it
once was.
Babylonia is not
only the main exporter of wood but it’s the machine that turns trade on Quoit.
Smartly early on after the war Babylonia invested in ideas that The Empire Of
Steam has developed during the war. Ideas for better shipping, manufacturing,
and production.
They signed
contracts for exclusive sales rights to many things produced in The Empire Of
The Thirteen Armies territories and sale thousands of good, cheap, and some
downright racist stupid ways of protections against vampires.
And that not even
counting their weapon sales and renting out of their own military in certain
situations. Usually situations that put them at odds with The Land Of Arges.
But all nations on
Quoit are taking part in an upswing in trade since the war ended. Some see it
as the main reason old conflicts haven’t risen once again. Others are starting
to say trade is destroying the identities of nations and they want see the
issue of trade as a threat to them.
All that’s known is
the times of now are a great time for trade but its libel in the future to be
one of the pins that’s pulled to try and ignite old fires and destroy the peace
that so many died for.
Appendix II: Update On The Land Of
Arges/Babylonia Tensions.
While most nations
have seen only peace since the time of The Great War, The Land Of Arges and
Babylonia have been at each other noses since before the ink had even dried on
the treaty papers.
This is mainly
because so many Babylonian citizens volunteered to become vampires to help in
The Great War and when the vampires turned on the rest of Quoit they felt the
betrayal stronger than most other nations.
Babylonia threw the
first punches politically by voting against the vampires being given their own
nation and when The Land Of Arges was granted a homeland that very day
Babylonia transplanted thousands of forests in defense of their neighboring
borders.
To be fair they
weren’t the only nation to do something like this. The Empire Of Steam also
created a border defense in case of vampire attack in its Mayflower Forest.
But though many
nations are untrusting when it comes to vampires and hold racist feelings
stewed from The Great War not many try at every opportunity to hold up the
growth of Arges, to try to vote against civil rights acts in other nations when
it comes to vampires within those borders.
There have been sea
conflicts between Arges and Babylonia and trade is non-existent thus cutting
Arges off from many things because Babylonia controls so much of the trade
machine that moves across Quoit.
Everyone on Quoit
knows it will only take one little act by either side to start a war and
because so many vampires also live within other nations many think that
conflict may also pull all of Quoit into another world war.
Appendix III: Not Mentioned In Story
{Or things I forgot I mentioned}
Maxwell: The
smallest nation in all of Quoit but one that has the eyes of all other nations
upon it. This rich oil and mineral nation is thriving on a time of peace and
building. Located in the Gulf Of Arges between The Land Of Arges and the
western part of Babylonia. The good mining people so far have been protected by
a warning from The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies that a trespass against
Maxwell will be considered an attack on them also.
Gulf Of Arges:
I just mentioned it.
The Ash Forest:
One of the defense forests planted to defend Babylonia from possible vampire
invasion from The Land Of Arges. Located on the western part of Babylonia. Ash
wood is a repellent for vampires. If it touches their skin it burns them.
The Black Thorn
Forest: The second in line of Babylonian forest defenses from aggression
from The Land Of Arges. Black Thorn wood repels vampires much the same as Ash
wood except crafting its hard thorns into weapons can come in very handy in
crafting anti-vampire materials.
The Linden
Forest: The last forest defense is this forest of Linden trees. Linden has
just the same effect on vampires as the first two but this wood is very strong
and most Babylonian military and government structures are crafted from it.
The Simone
Mountains: A western defense for Babylonia against attack from The Land Of
Arges is these mountain ranges. The stones contain ashes from thousands of
burned Rosary holy men from one of the many wars the two nations have fought
against each other. It’s said walking through these mountains will make a
vampires blood begin to boil and its organs cook. The Simone Mountains run
across most of North Western Babylonia.
Cross: A
small island off the coast of Northern Babylonia. This is the legendary
training grounds of the Babylonian Army forces.
Babylon City:
The capital city of Babylonia and one of the oldest areas on Quoit. Right there
with The Rosary. Which one is truly the oldest is a yelling argument and
another reason they went to war once or twice or six or seven times in the
histories of these nations.
The Maple Maze:
A very large maze structure in Babylonia that borders The Empire Of Thirteen
Armies and The Missing Lakes. It has been said that Babylonian leaders scarified
a hundred of their citizens to a warlock to create this supernatural place.
This is another one of the nation’s defenses.
The Missing
Lakes: This water area that borders Babylonia and Assyria is a place of the
missing. Really, you go missing if you enter them. The lakes are a portal to
other realities but the people don’t always come out the other side alive. This
is another left over from The Great War with The Spiders.
Java: One of
the The Three Deaths islands located off the coasts of The Land Of Arges and
The Empire Of Steam. The island is made up of sentiment planet life that
consume living creatures for food. By treaty it is illegal to visit or transport
things to and from Java to or from any nation on fear of the deadly plant life
spreading and possible taking over all of Quoit.
Ka: Another
of The Three Deaths islands. Ka contains the souls of those who died by
cowardice acts of their own. They hunger to take over a new body to try and
lead a better life. Not a nice place to visit.
Hannya: The
last of The Three Deaths islands is ruled by an immortal female warrior called
Bread and her cannibal subjects who kill and eat any visitors on sight. During the
initial invasion by The Spiders during The Great War the only place to drive
The Spiders away to never return at all was Hannya.
The Diamond
Ocean: The western coast ocean body of water got its name because of its
rich deposit of diamonds at very deep depths which is why The Weed sea mer
people are the only ones who can harvest this most in demand minerals.
The Weed:
One of the two sea mer peoples who inhabit the oceans of Quoit. The Weed mainly
harvest diamonds and destroy ships that violate their nation waters.
The Blood Ocean:
This would be the eastern coast body of water. This one obtained its name
because of the Redtail mer people whose skin is said to be red from generations
of so much blood being split in its waters… wait, did I talk about The Blood
Ocean in the story?
I remember thinking
I need to remember do it?
Maybe it was a
different draft of the story?
Gulf Of
Moonlight: The Gulf Of Moonlight, so named after the Mist Lands tribe of
werewolfs The Moonlight Tribe. Located between The Mist Lands and Wallachia.
The Mayflower
Forest: The Mayflower Forest located in the northern most region of The
Empire Of Steam. It’s actually not a forest at all but a series of manmade
mountain regions that serve as traps in case of an invasion by The Land Of Arges.
Man none of these
people trust vampires.
F.Y.I., you
shouldn’t trust vampires.
Elves: Are
an ancient warrior race that have been around longer than most any other race
on Quoit. They have a territory as part of The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies.
Their fierce fighting spirit can only be slightly be matched by their artistic
leanings. The Elves suffered great loses during The Great War insisting always
to be on the frontlines against The Spiders.
Goblins: Are
sneaky little small green bunch who love mischief. They are really good at
gorilla style warfare and one of the most dangerous members of The Empire Of
The Thirteen Armies.
Dwarfs: Despite
many beliefs Dwarfs are not deformed or stunted humans but in fact are a small
race of people who stand firmly on their own ground. They are known for their
intelligence and plotting ways of survival. Dwarfs have more representatives in
other countries than any other race of The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies. That
says a lot about them that the other territories choose them to represent the
whole.
Wizards:
Some people think Wizards and Warlocks are two sides of the same coin with
Wizards being the good guys and Warlocks the baddies. Not true. Though Warlocks
tend to have more powerful magic because they take more risks which don’t
always pay off, Wizards are no more righteous than they are. Wizards though do
have something the others of the Thirteen Armies crave and that’s knowledge of
other worlds and realities.
Fairies: The
smallest members of The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies. Fairies are very
connected to nature and are said to have more ways of healing people than any
other methods used. They keep very much to themselves but being the size of a child’s
pencil eraser you really wouldn’t know them if they were there if they didn’t
wish for you to. Contrary to popular myths they are not naturally good. Fairies
in fact can be very nasty if you get on their wrong side. Their favorite choice
of torture is to bury themselves inside creatures and eat them alive for days.
Screamers: Once
they were Wizards, Witches, or Warlocks who somehow got possessed by a song.
Now they work as travelling musicians but are also very talented assassins.
Also called Banshees by other members of The Empire Of The Thirteen Armies.
Hawks:
Really strange members of The Thirteen Armies because even though they fly and
have giant wings, their wings are not what gifts them with the ability to fly.
That ability seems to come from an ancient curse against their family line.
The Civatateo
Tribe: A tribe of Witches locate in The Wildlands. This tribe of Witches
have gone a long way to train people in the safe use of magic and safe
interactions with nature and the supernatural. Where Warlocks are about using
magic and Wizards are about learning magic, Witches are about understanding its
very nature.
The Karen Tribe:
A Wildlands tribe of Warlocks who have sheltered themselves from the rest of
Quoit because of the damages done to the planet during the time of the Great
War. They are trying to keep the type of knowledge that did that sort of damage
to the world to themselves to keep that magic from ever falling into the wrong
hands again.
The Moonlight
Tribe: This Wildlands tribe of werewolfs are probably the most warrior like
of any of the tribes in this loose alliance. Most werewolves died during The
Great War being used as foot soldiers during many battles with The Spiders.
They held lines like no one else but their people paid a deadly price time
after time.
The Pilgrims Of
Porth: This peaceful monk tribe in the Wildlands area are a order dedicated
to lives of peace and reflection. They garden, they make wine, they write
books- you know the normal monk stuff.
Charmel Royal
Castle: The castle to the Royal Family Of The Vampire Nation Of The Lands
Of Arges. Now that’s a long fucking title. I’m sure not going to say that many
times in the future. The Land Of Arges is long enough. Will probably go with
Arges most of the time.
*Brief Note:
Though many races have gathered in one general location together after the treaties
of The Great War such as vampires in The Lands Of Arges and werewolfs in The
Moonlight Tribe it’s not like they have to do this. Many races have members all
over Quoit but it just became nature that human nations tend to contain mainly
humans and so on. Some have seen this as to why Quoit is seeing peace now but
others think this self imposed segregation is just a pot boiling ready to
explode.
Appendix IV: The Collected And Quoit.
The Collected is
made up of points of reality collected by the ancient race The Twist. They are
one of the first races to come into creation at the beginning of all of existence.
Their motives are
confusing but some have said they collect realities in an attempt to try and
save them from The Spiders Of Time. No one really knows why they do this but
these points of time can only exist in the same universe parallel like writers
working within a shared tightly woven continuity but ignoring it for the most
part while at the same time acting like they are keeping it all together.
Maybe The Twist are
just writers frustrated with canon wank?
*you might ask
yourself- Is he going to do these Appendixes for every Quoit story. Maybe? I
don’t know? It seems like one of the fun things you get to do when writing a
fantasy story.
Next,
THE HIGH HOT MOUNTAINS OF WALLACHIA
(c)System * Publishing
brian c.williams
The book that started it all.
(
It's FREE
The first two Tin Universe Middle Grade books-$1.00,
