Post by plaustrumimperialist on Aug 8, 2016 0:19:53 GMT -5
The following is translated from Quuzj'mit. The first passage is a tale spoken by a Bren-so chieftain. The second is an excerpt from the Zjau-yl Historical Records concerning the colony Port of New Bren-so.
"I was summoned to a tribal meeting with the other chieftains, at the request of Ko-loyam [the chieftain of a smaller tribe]. My head brushed against the top of the meeting tent, and I wondered whether I had grown or whether the tent-maker responsible was to blame. I sat down with the other chieftains of the village, and Ko-loyam began to speak. 'Brethren, I have called you today on this most urgent matter. Our people are dying. I and the most intelligent among my clan have calculated that, at the rate that we grow taller, we will not be able to feed ourselves. I have ordered celibacy for my people, but it will not be enough. At best, it kills our tribe later to preserve our tribe now. Thus, I must humble myself and ask for your assistance. The sea has killed us.'
One by one, we shook our heads. Life was hard for us as well. The innermost [most powerful] of our tribes told us that his tribe was experiencing the same, though he had chosen to keep the matter secret.
'We must fight the Zjaum! They sit in their palaces with giant storehouses of food! We are dead anyway!' said a chief.
'There are too many of them; perhaps they could give us a small portion out of charity.' said another.
'We were their enemy not too long ago. It is too late. We fought them once; we can fight them again!'
And so this arguing went between the two, for a long time. As we Bren-so often do, most of us were silent and let the argument take its course, until all the debaters were winded from shouting.
'I must beg the council's attention,' said one of the more powerful chieftains. 'Word has reached me of a distant land across the sea- Imeria. The lands are bountiful, it rains in the sky, and, brethren, the sea is kind. The fish are good to eat, and the people there can have three, perhaps even four children in a single family!'
There were murmurs amongst the people at this revelation, but the aggressive chief spoke up. 'There is no "kind" sea. Don't delude yourselves. Our people cannot magically make more food; we must take from the Zjaum!'
At this point I stood up, bumping my head against the ceiling. 'I will lead this expedition, if we decide to leave for this "Imeria." There is no boat to take me there, nor do we have supplies to support ourselves once we land. If you cannot supply food, could you spare tools and weaponry?'
A wise chieftain spoke. "We must ask the Zjau-yl for the resources, claim that this land is theirs; claim that we can master the sea. Otherwise, we have left ourselves to die.'
The aggressive chieftain stormed out of the meeting tent, but the ones who remained agreed on this meeting. We sounded the Horn of Concordance, and I left to prepare for my journey."
"Day 20, Month 5, Year 2541:
Today at the court, a horde of four Bren-so chieftains appeared to the Zjau-yl. Their tall figures were both a fearsome and a loathsome sight for the more civilized members of the court, especially the Gu-cum people. One chieftain approached the king, addressed herself as 'Ozj-okoya, the Powerful and Wise.' At this, the king asked her a simple mathematics question, specifically twelve plus eight [the Zjau-yl numeral system is base-twenty, so this is the practical equivalent of 3+7]. She fumbled at this answer, taking a considerable time to answer this question. While she did eventually answer the question correctly, the king had proved his wit and her lack thereof to the court.
"Ozj-okoya, the Provenly Foolish, asked the king for the tools and supplies necessary for building a seaworthy vessel, sending a number of people across the sea past Vondexa to the Imerian Continent, and establishing a new colony. The king questioned her ability to build a ship, her ability to sail such a ship, and her ability to return such an investment, as she has had no experience in accomplishing any of the three tasks. She agreed, but stated that her people produced nothing for the Sovereignty now but could potentially become productive in Imeria. The king conceded the point but emphasized the size of the investment necessary, including the cost of hiring a foreign shipmaster. She stalled, giving time for an advisor of the king to whisper in his ear. At this, the king wished for the records to be a direct transcript.
King Zjompoi I: 'Would you swear an oath of loyalty to your king?'
Ozj-okoya, the Provenly Foolish: 'Without hesitation. [kneels] We and our future-colony are at your disposal and mercy, always and now.'
King Zjompoi I: 'Sir Chieftain [pointing to one to the right of Ozj-okoya], come hither. [whispers in ear]'
Unnamed Chieftain: 'Never, my king! This must be- oh, the traitor! This is not our doing; he has gone against the will of the Bren-so.'
King Zjompoi I: 'It must be recorded that, were this gift not given now, it could never be gifted at all. I believe that your people have little intelligence or skill beyond that of fishing and the fashioning of reed pipes, but I believe you are good of heart, gentle, hard-working, reasonable, and, above all, trustable. [stands] Lady Chieftain Ozj-okoya, this gift is given freely. Your colony, should you be both trustworthy and successful, will be the property of the Sovereignty. Nothing is expected if this project should go ill. Personally, I still doubt your ability, but never again shall anyone doubt the generosity of the King. All hail the Sovereignty. End transcript."
"This news caused the giantess chieftain Ozj-okoya to step forward and embrace the king, causing the king's bodyguards to rush forth and the court to murmur in disgust. The king did not appreciate the gesture and asked for the Bren-so company to leave. The group left in embarrassment. Nothing else of import happened from this point to the end of the day.
"Day 21, Month 5, Year 2541:
"A party of Bren-so attempted to steal food from the palace granary. The Zjau-yl had known of this beforehand; reports say that the giant raiders were riddled with tomahawks before they could touch the granary. There were no Zjau-yl casualties, but all Bren-so insurgents were killed or captured. Those captured who were not significantly injured were allowed to travel with Ozj-okoya or face execution. Eighteen Bren-so agreed to join the colony ship, and 43 chose execution. This event crippled the relations between the Bren-so and the other factions of the court."
"I was summoned to a tribal meeting with the other chieftains, at the request of Ko-loyam [the chieftain of a smaller tribe]. My head brushed against the top of the meeting tent, and I wondered whether I had grown or whether the tent-maker responsible was to blame. I sat down with the other chieftains of the village, and Ko-loyam began to speak. 'Brethren, I have called you today on this most urgent matter. Our people are dying. I and the most intelligent among my clan have calculated that, at the rate that we grow taller, we will not be able to feed ourselves. I have ordered celibacy for my people, but it will not be enough. At best, it kills our tribe later to preserve our tribe now. Thus, I must humble myself and ask for your assistance. The sea has killed us.'
One by one, we shook our heads. Life was hard for us as well. The innermost [most powerful] of our tribes told us that his tribe was experiencing the same, though he had chosen to keep the matter secret.
'We must fight the Zjaum! They sit in their palaces with giant storehouses of food! We are dead anyway!' said a chief.
'There are too many of them; perhaps they could give us a small portion out of charity.' said another.
'We were their enemy not too long ago. It is too late. We fought them once; we can fight them again!'
And so this arguing went between the two, for a long time. As we Bren-so often do, most of us were silent and let the argument take its course, until all the debaters were winded from shouting.
'I must beg the council's attention,' said one of the more powerful chieftains. 'Word has reached me of a distant land across the sea- Imeria. The lands are bountiful, it rains in the sky, and, brethren, the sea is kind. The fish are good to eat, and the people there can have three, perhaps even four children in a single family!'
There were murmurs amongst the people at this revelation, but the aggressive chief spoke up. 'There is no "kind" sea. Don't delude yourselves. Our people cannot magically make more food; we must take from the Zjaum!'
At this point I stood up, bumping my head against the ceiling. 'I will lead this expedition, if we decide to leave for this "Imeria." There is no boat to take me there, nor do we have supplies to support ourselves once we land. If you cannot supply food, could you spare tools and weaponry?'
A wise chieftain spoke. "We must ask the Zjau-yl for the resources, claim that this land is theirs; claim that we can master the sea. Otherwise, we have left ourselves to die.'
The aggressive chieftain stormed out of the meeting tent, but the ones who remained agreed on this meeting. We sounded the Horn of Concordance, and I left to prepare for my journey."
"Day 20, Month 5, Year 2541:
Today at the court, a horde of four Bren-so chieftains appeared to the Zjau-yl. Their tall figures were both a fearsome and a loathsome sight for the more civilized members of the court, especially the Gu-cum people. One chieftain approached the king, addressed herself as 'Ozj-okoya, the Powerful and Wise.' At this, the king asked her a simple mathematics question, specifically twelve plus eight [the Zjau-yl numeral system is base-twenty, so this is the practical equivalent of 3+7]. She fumbled at this answer, taking a considerable time to answer this question. While she did eventually answer the question correctly, the king had proved his wit and her lack thereof to the court.
"Ozj-okoya, the Provenly Foolish, asked the king for the tools and supplies necessary for building a seaworthy vessel, sending a number of people across the sea past Vondexa to the Imerian Continent, and establishing a new colony. The king questioned her ability to build a ship, her ability to sail such a ship, and her ability to return such an investment, as she has had no experience in accomplishing any of the three tasks. She agreed, but stated that her people produced nothing for the Sovereignty now but could potentially become productive in Imeria. The king conceded the point but emphasized the size of the investment necessary, including the cost of hiring a foreign shipmaster. She stalled, giving time for an advisor of the king to whisper in his ear. At this, the king wished for the records to be a direct transcript.
King Zjompoi I: 'Would you swear an oath of loyalty to your king?'
Ozj-okoya, the Provenly Foolish: 'Without hesitation. [kneels] We and our future-colony are at your disposal and mercy, always and now.'
King Zjompoi I: 'Sir Chieftain [pointing to one to the right of Ozj-okoya], come hither. [whispers in ear]'
Unnamed Chieftain: 'Never, my king! This must be- oh, the traitor! This is not our doing; he has gone against the will of the Bren-so.'
King Zjompoi I: 'It must be recorded that, were this gift not given now, it could never be gifted at all. I believe that your people have little intelligence or skill beyond that of fishing and the fashioning of reed pipes, but I believe you are good of heart, gentle, hard-working, reasonable, and, above all, trustable. [stands] Lady Chieftain Ozj-okoya, this gift is given freely. Your colony, should you be both trustworthy and successful, will be the property of the Sovereignty. Nothing is expected if this project should go ill. Personally, I still doubt your ability, but never again shall anyone doubt the generosity of the King. All hail the Sovereignty. End transcript."
"This news caused the giantess chieftain Ozj-okoya to step forward and embrace the king, causing the king's bodyguards to rush forth and the court to murmur in disgust. The king did not appreciate the gesture and asked for the Bren-so company to leave. The group left in embarrassment. Nothing else of import happened from this point to the end of the day.
"Day 21, Month 5, Year 2541:
"A party of Bren-so attempted to steal food from the palace granary. The Zjau-yl had known of this beforehand; reports say that the giant raiders were riddled with tomahawks before they could touch the granary. There were no Zjau-yl casualties, but all Bren-so insurgents were killed or captured. Those captured who were not significantly injured were allowed to travel with Ozj-okoya or face execution. Eighteen Bren-so agreed to join the colony ship, and 43 chose execution. This event crippled the relations between the Bren-so and the other factions of the court."