In times of old, there stood many a great kingdom or realm, their lines proud, their kings great, and their works were legendary. It was a time of greatness for all, from all classes and races, for it was a time when the yields were abundant, the cattle fat, and the weather favourable.This changed, however. A creature with a heart pitch-black and eyes of darkness and despair that rise and shrink with hate. All despaired at his coming and the hordes and legions he brought with him. Crowns were broken, castles slighted, and the kings lay broken. Like a vile black hand, his reach seemed boundless; with his fiery red eyes, his gaze kept his subjects obedient, and from a dark tower, this lord of evil watched over his realm as the land fell into darkness and despair, with hope fading like a dying ember.But embers can flare up, and like the phoenix, a new generation of heroes and their hosts of light broke the chains, shattered his armies to the winds and finally brought an end to his reign of terror. As the morrow broke once more, it was thus proclaimed that nevermore should his name be uttered, nevermore should his remains be seen, and nevermore should there be fear of his tyranny. And so, the people rejoiced in their newfound freedom, rebuilding their shattered world with hope and determination for a brighter future. His artefacts and symbols, buried deep beneath the sands and earth, were so well hidden that not even the most fanatical cultist would find anything.And yet in that lies the danger; dead though he may be, there are still those who revere him as though he were a god-king upon this earth, and his ilk have a tendency not to stay dead… There are still whispers, mutterings and vague prophecies about his return, though none have come true as of my writing this tome…. His name was struck from the lists of both paper and mind, so one would never again say that name which struck deep grief into the hearts of all peoples…. I shall end this book with a warning: if he does return, do not try to fight him; run. Run to the nearest authorities and alert them; fighting him alone shall surely be your doom, even if he's weakened, but the worst thing you can do is to let him speak; his words shall gnaw in your mind, his arguments shall be so persuasive that you will drop your weapons, and he shall weave a web of deceit that will ensnare even the strongest of wills. Hearken unto him, no matter his guise and form, and before too long you shall find yourself in eternal servility. Archive link: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=The%20Shadow%20Rises%20AnewDeviantArt link: https://www.deviantart.com/adlershorst
>>6341589Mastery of all crafts and all knowledge, long ago, those were your main drives in life. Long before you first donned the guise of a steel-clad tyrant, a deceitful courtier, or an insidious wizard, those were times long since passed, but you remembered them fondly; it was perhaps the closest you remembered a 'youth', though a child you never were.But it was of little matter now; you knew full well what some would do for knowledge. It was a gift that would never truly stop giving, and it could ensnare men even in the normal sense. And so it was with the latest in your line of acolytes.The elf Erassyl had been in your half-employment, half-imprisonment since you had left the demonic wastes behind you, and though she had initially been resistant and stoically disapproved of all you stood for, the combination of the book and the isolation was enough. After a month, she came out sleep-deprived, wary, and despairing. ''Forgive me for my defiance; I did not know what knowledge you were privy to. I cannot worship you as they do, but I am willing to pledge myself to your creed, your true goal and purpose,'' she said, her voice trembling with a mixture of fear and determination. Ah, yes, your actual goal, an end goal, that which you were working toward in the time before you were first defeated. None outside a select few knew about it, but you suppose you could share it with her, if only to see the look upon her face.>This world is chaotic and flawed; the masses spent their time chasing after false idols and temporary pleasures. I shall impose a vision of order, industry, and progress.>Godhood, those who reign above and below have become lazy and indolent; it is time for a new member to set things in motion once more.>The world is flawed on a deeper level than you could imagine; it must be unmade to remake it into something useful.
>>6341592Ah, the classic Sauron/Saruman industriousness, the ascension, and the old destroy the world standby, though we'd soon remake it. You'd think the latter would have one or both of the former as prerequisites anyway.>Godhood, those who reign above and below have become lazy and indolent; it is time for a new member to set things in motion once more.All final goals are in the end, only points in transition. There will be a new grand purpose after that. But she need not worry about that, for such a purpose will doubtlessly outlive even her.
>>6341592>The world is flawed on a deeper level than you could imagine; it must be unmade to remake it into something useful.This world is insufficient, its vistas, doldrums, its wonders, wretched. In every aspect it falls far short of where it should be. Those gods, in their faux-vaunted haughtiness, in their insipid preening, failed. It is satisfactory for their goals, for the worship they so demand and the crawling histories that so amuse them, but for us it is not worthy. For us, only a world anew shall suffice. It shall be so unlike this one as the cratered moon 'fore the resplendent dawn, and by our guile, by our might, by our sheer and sovereign will, the gods' sun shall set. Mere divinity is but a farce. Petty dominion, a trifle. Let us cast aside all distractions and SEIZE clarity! In annihilation, in destruction, in the rapid and violent and glorious dispensation of this earth, it is by these insights which we will beget a paradigm of our own, and none other.Welcome back AdleQM! It is exciting to see a second thread.
>>6341592>This world is chaotic and flawed; the masses spent their time chasing after false idols and temporary pleasures. I shall impose a vision of order, industry, and progress.Ah yes, the greatest disaster for the human race: The Industrial Revolution
>>6341592>This world is chaotic and flawed; the masses spent their time chasing after false idols and temporary pleasures. I shall impose a vision of order, industry, and progress.
This world is chaotic and flawed; the masses spend their time chasing after false idols and temporary pleasures. I shall impose a vision of order, industry, and progress. This world is full of the lazy, the indolent, and those who would rather pursue the frivolous distractions only suited towards their immediate gratification. No, you rejected such pretentious hedonism; there is only labour, labour towards a great end goal, the imposing of true order, discipline and efficiency upon this chaotic world. Only through your guidance can such a vision be brought into this world.You have no need for godhood, for what good is godhood if you cannot directly control your dominion? Let there be gods above and below; upon this world there is only you, and you don't share. Let that be enough for thee, Erassyl; this world is mine because I alone can bring it into a new age. None other can even think to come close to that which I envision, for I am the ultimate architect of this reality.'' She didn't reply, merely bowing and leaving your sight as soon as she could, she was damned, just as damned as your other closed followers, but for as long as they were here, judgment would elude them.And so you returned to your alchemical laboratory; in these parts, it is your main source of a variety of useful resources, most of all your income.The bandits had been able to safely sell the drugs you had produced here in one of the sultan's cities, thus giving you some wealth from the illicit trade. As for the warband, they had, with success, been able to occupy and subjugate the iron mine for your own purposes; a small garrison has been installed, the miners enslaved, and mining operations have resumed under their control. Unfortunately for you, however, there were problems with the transportation of the iron ore to your home base, as desert raiders had found that the caravans made for good pickings, and while the warband could keep them from taking it all and from directly going into your territory, you weren't getting as much iron or other minerals as you had hoped.Ledger0 Building materials6 Wealth4 Iron (+1 iron per turn, halved due to bandit raids)1 ElixirYou can raise one more warband or two new bandit groups. Would you like to do so?>Raise one warband>Raise two bandit groups>Raise one bandit group>Keep the iron for now
>>6341822>Raise one warbandJust as planned. We'll use a combo of one warband and our own bandit group to track down and pin the desert raiders between cold steel and fast, elusive camel riders. That empty slice of desert shall be ours, the route to our mine secure, and the hidden oasis which sustains these miscreants will parch our servant's throats. The freshly raised warband can take the sandstone mine to our north in the meantime.
>>6341836Will quench our servant's parched throats*Ahem, woops.
>>6341822>Raise one war band>>6341836>miscreants will parch our servant's throatsThese bandits are freaky
>>6341822I agree with >>6341836. We should use the warband to take care of the desert raider problem.
