OOC Info OOC: Pride's Place

[Kaleidoscope]

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OOC

Well, hello there!

Welcome, welcome, one and all. This is the OOC for the city! You can post questions, introductions, insults, and whatever else floats your boat.

As the city is in it's re-development stage, you can also post here to ask questions about that process, if you should so wish. I'm happy to talk about it, and I'm really looking forward to opening this city back up again. Let fun and adventures ensue!

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[Khida]

I just want to say it's great to see Ahnatep getting redeveloped! I'm looking forward to being able to do flashbacks again.

[Languish]

Jumping on the hype train. I'm super excited to see the Ekytol region getting some love, and I'm glad it's in such good hands.

◇◇Languish◇◇

[Sayana]

Hey Kal =)

I'm excited that Ahnatep is being developed. Bit of a delayed response here but I'd love to see what you come up with. I'm also really happy that the fundamentals of Ahnatep/Eypharian culture will remain the same (or at least similar). I love the various themes like pride, power, and slavery but I can see those happening without needing an Egyptian feel per se.

I have lots of ideas that I would be totally willing to share. I'm tempted to volunteer to help, but not unless I'm sure I can finish whatever project it is (since sometimes I have trouble finishing things I have ideas for). So not now, but maybe sometime in the future.

But as for ideas... Let me know. I envision things like a giant aqueduct to replace the lost 6-armed river; selective breeding of grains using their theories on genetics; ancient architecture standing beside new market stalls; and buried remains of the other great cities in the Eypharians' reign before the Valterrian. Plus a dhani nest nearby for the sneks I can pump out plenty of other ideas too, to use or toss if you need some spark.

[Sayana]

Below are some ideas for architecture that avoid the classic pyramids of Egypt. Byzantine / Constantinople / Istanbul: Palace or Hagia Sophia : City Wall : Carthage: Harbor : Babylon: Hanging Gardens : Upper Class Life : Ancient Roman influence: (This sort of building might have been partially in ruins while people of the medieval era were setting up shop and mixing the old with new) Trajans Market :

[Kaleidoscope]

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The Concept

-Here's a little (slightly edited) excerpt of the concept I planned. In the coming days I will add the beginnings of a linkmap. At this stage, I'm very interested in knowing what people's opinions are on names. Ahnatep needs to be changed, as does Pressorah. Should this just be a simple OOC thing, or should there be an IC reason for this change? Let me know what you think.

A city based upon stagnation and also a desire for change, where the old elites and ruling bodies are keen to preserve and maintain the pre-Valterrian bloodline, city, and mentality. Whereas newer blood and outside influences wish to take the city to a different place, promoting change and even outright vandalism of the old architecture as a symbol of their protest against the stagnation of a city and it's people.

Ahnatep is the physical representation of the Eypharian desire to maintain the past and to preserve their own power. There are three main concepts that underpin the city. The first is the concept of embracing the history of the city. Many other cities in Mizahar are interested in learning and knowledge of the past, but Ahnatep wishes to literally build the city in the ruined remains of the destroyed one. The Eypharian obsession with their race's past is reflected into an obsession with everything else about their origins. The city revolves around a central location which was the only surviving landmark: the Gold Watchtower and a government building. The rest of the city was, on emergence after the Valterrian, a completely ruined city, which the Eypharians are now restoring as exactly as they can. This is a hundreds year old project still ongoing, with it's associated problems and triumphs.

The second concept is that of absolute beauty, achieved through mastery. Ahnatep is primarily a city of Eypharians, and is considered founded by them. The pride of this race is ingrained into society. Beauty is achieved through gaining the most knowledge in a subject, whether that be art, music, dance, pottery, sewing, building etc. A stupid person would not be considered beautiful- ignorance is ugly. Beauty is celebrated with festivals to showcase the lords and ladies wealth and status, and encouraged from childhood with the prominence of the personal tutors.

Finally, the third concept is that of tension. Too broad a concept, you think? Ahnatep is a city of many types of tension: continued symbiosis with the Dhani, relationships between the rich and the poor (with a huge class divide), relationships between Eypharians and other races, resistance from those that don't want to rebuild Ahnatep entirely but instead prefer being more independent from their past. Not to mention the tensions of simply surviving in such a harsh desert, even despite being on the coast and alongside a river. As such, tension is a large factor of city life. But the hardness of simply living is enlivened by the extravagant culture and explosive competitiveness that makes Ahnatep thrive.

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[Sayana]

Thoughts about Names: So to reiterate some discussion from chat, I really like the idea of having some IC reason for the change in name. To me, it acknowledges the ideas of past storytellers and PCs of the past while also giving real meaning behind changing the names. Also, as a community we say "yes we messed up a little" but also show how we are correcting it and making it better. Those are just my humble thoughts on the matter. I really like the idea of a civil war. I was going to suggest it happening shortly after the Djed storm of Spring 512 (and as a result of it), however after looking through past threads, it is clear that people have played and threaded up until Spring 513. Maybe the civil war broke out as a delayed result of the Djed storm? Sometimes people can hold things together despite destruction but something else might trigger the 'last straw'. Maybe something happened to the Pressorah? Or just enough weakness was seen for people to break faith (or someone to rise up)? Also, I was thinking of the word "Alazaar" for the new ruler's name. "Ala" is Nader Conach for "up, above, sky, heavens, that which is unreachable" which has a nice ring for a ruler/leader. My only minor qualm is that it might be similar to the Russian Czar - particularly in pronunciation. Genetics - Eypharian Mutants: Rosela brought up interesting ideas about Eypharians and their genetics, and also the very real possibility of mutants. These may not be dramatically obscene deformities, but enough of something that would make such 'mutants' undesirable. Of course, the Eypharian culture would try to mitigate against breeding mutants but undoubtedly they would pop up. How does the Eypharian society deal with people born as mutants? Do they become slaves? Are they they just the lowest rung in society? Are they killed as infants? Are they exiled to the desert? And if they survive, what happens to them? (do they live in Hai?) Just a few questions and some food for thought. Speaking of food.... do they become food for the Dhani? (morbid thoughts... but an interesting symbiosis of the two races if such were to occur)

[Kaleidoscope]

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Thank you very much for your insights Sayana! It's appreciated, as always.

Now, the first issue. I have been putting a lot of thought into this, as it's quite a pivotal point that would affect the rest of my write up. There are a few good and bad points for a civil war, in my opinion, which I'll outline below.
Negative:

1. Having a civil war in 513 AV would mean that it would be relatively far-fetched to have another one... if the storyteller should so wish. By this, I mean that having such a large plot in the not so distant past would be overshadowing any plot that might want to follow down similar themes of unrest. I'm not saying that there shouldn't be any large plots in the city's past, but that one so recent would be a kind of dampener on the future.
2. Even with a civil war, I cannot realistically mesh the old system, of Pressorah etc, with a re-write of a lot of major functions of the city. For instance, the new system of leadership that I have planned wouldn't exactly mesh. I wrote out a story, trying to reason this out, but with every sentence I wrote I found it more and more difficult to be able to mesh the old Ahnatep into the new city. It felt like too much of a brutal wrench.
3. 513 AV would not give enough time to the city for it to stabilise into the new system, and as such it wouldn't give the people time to adjust. This would lead to blurry lines in both an IC and OOC sense, which I would ideally like to avoid. If there are still some people calling the leaders Pressorahs and the city Ahnatep then it would be confusing for new players and even returnee players.

Positive:

1. However, a civil war in the past would still be a good idea! I would like to incorporate the old system in somewhere, as a relic of the past, and one way of doing this would be to demolish the Pressor(ah)s some years before the Valterrian, introducing the new system, and allowing it to develop into today's leadership.
2. A civil war is definitely an interesting plot point, and even if it happened a long time in the past, because of the nature of the city it might still be able to be explored through archaeology.

So, that's my viewpoint. I hope that makes sense, and feel free to argue discuss with me these points.

However, I really like the name, and I will probably use this or something quite similar if that's okay by you!

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As for genetics and mutants: this is definitely something to think about. As most Eypharians in the city are proudful and intensely aware of the possibilities of genetics and their own bodies, it would make sense to me that mutants would be cast out. I initially thought of slaves, but then straight away countered that. Why would an Eypharian want a slave which is a reminder of weakness?

That doesn't necessarily mean they'd just get killed outright, although the idea of them being fed to the Dhani does sound morbidly interesting. I would suspect most parents would kill them in infancy, and I'll definitely be sure to include this in the city write-up, thanks for pointing it out!

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There was one last thing that I wanted to say, and that is an IMPORTANT NOTICE: The city will invariably be called Ahnatep or Kaiphen throughout anything I write. I'm waiting until I get the name, 'Kaiphen', approved and then I will edit all the Ahnatep's floating around to be correct. In the meantime, please just remember that.

Thanksss,
~Kal

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[Yisanareysin]

!!!!

FLASHBACK TIME

Might Eypharians study children with mutations, to see if there's some cause or way to prevent it?

I'm vaguely imagining a single orphanage/laboratory for children with birth defects.

Alternatively, it's entirely possibly that it just doesn't happen. Not officially. People just sometimes.... miscarry. Right at the last moment. Terribly tragic.

Everyone knows, of course, but no one acknowledges that an eypharian child could be born anything less than perfect.

[Kaleidoscope]

Hmm, I'm liking the suggestions! I will definitely keep these in mind.

Maybe all of these things could happen... some families can't bear the shame, and 'miscarry' aka murderise their child to keep bloodlines pure. Others might give their child to some laboratory to study. Others might abandon them in the desert, not feeling able to do what they consider needs to be done. All of them knowing the secret code of the Eypharians, not to suffer a 'broken child' to exist. This could probably lead to an interesting plot, too.

Anyway, I wanted to introduce you all to Kaiphen's new leader. Meet Alazar Mertana, slaver queen of the Eypharians, and respected owner of Ruiqan Trade.

With straight black hair, caramel soft skin, and vicious blue eyes, Mertana exudes confidence and style. Believing she was destined to be the queen always helped, but a natural aptitude for commanding loyalty and respect did wonders for her reputation. With a successful slaving business and with booming trade with her company, Mertana became Alazar at 33. Generally respected by nobles, and hated or feared by those who are most vulnerable, she serves as a cold and constant reminder of Kaiphen's inequalities, and there have already been two attempts on her life.
Despite this, Alazar Mertana Soltza remains strong, and in her life has developed Kaiphen's trade, allowing the city to grow wealthy. The extra money hasn't been wasted, and she has re-invested it into the docks, the Architects, and the Academy, to whom she is indebted to for protecting her life.

This is obviously a rough draft, but I'm working on the Alazars (leaders) and the Vanes, the council that supports the reigning monarch, and decides upon new ones. Hope you can all bear with me.
~Kal