A New Age for the Incan People

[maddox]

Kachi, I thank you for the wisdom you brought to me.  I'll send out the message.   The loreseekers who are reachable will get the message. "Bring Sapa Inca mechanical Condor Wings".

One of the court chasqui starts delegating the order. 

HALT, this order goes out in quipu, or vocal. Not in writing.

[maddox]

Acua, the Inca need an ambassadar to China. 

I wish to have a venerable lorekeeper to head that delegation. Listen to my reasoning. 

Our Japanese friends are persona non grata in China. We are the great unknown. I wish to establish our bona fides and good intentions with the Chinese.  Even if the Chinese view themself as our overlords. Maybe they are the chosen ones by Inti. On the other hand... we don't have wars raging. They do.

Manko in Rome is a succesfull Inca trader ganing status with the nobles by his accomplisments.  The starting of the Manaus Protectorate, the steel deals with the Roman beauty.

Loreseeker Puriq settling down at last in Aztec lands. That is already interesting.

Envoy Cateq, with his family in Choco's trying to establish good communication with the Vilnius Confederation. The nobles influence, the first son of Hunu Kuraka Viraq.

Ambassadar Yma, our eyecatching beauty, doesn't need any more explanation. The Shogunate is her playfield.  Unfortunatly, it seems the Japanese don't want to play her game to her satisfaction.

Parthia, Chualpi is managing that by telegraph, but it is not ideal. 

Byzantines. We have a few loreseekers who can send their impressions by telegraph, costing like blood on the sacrifical stones at Machu Pichu. We do expect an ambassadar from them, but the last we heard , arrival at the Roman enclave on the estuary of the Mother river is imminent

Iberia.  Still an enigma. The few reports from the Loreseekers are actualy bland. Stories of a country with industrious people, but no big issues.

So, the big task of dealing with the huge land of China is in your hands. 

Yes Sapa Inca. I will make it so.

[maddox]

Edited to address Player Nation concern.

Mid 1913, Somewhere in Europe

It took Loreseeker Quilla* some time, but at last, she found her target.   
A sultry, strongly accented exotic voice wispers from behind him : "Mijnheer  can I have a moment of your time?".

Anthony, standing in the que at the local grocery store is startled,  turns around. And sees a young woman , blandly dressed in local clothes, but her voice suites the vision he sees. Any red blooded male would pay tribute. 

Yes skaistums³. I do have a moment for you. How can I be of service?


I know this is uncommon, but let me introduce myself. I'm loreseeker Quilla. I would like to talk you in a more serene environment. In the que of a grocery store, it's not very conductive for succesfull trade agreements.

I would be delighted Loreseeker Quilla. Would a coffee and a Pfannkuchen in the right setting conductive for the proposal?

That sounds delightfull Mijnheer    (thinking, hmmm, nice, exotic young man, and I'm still, officialy untill I return, Sipa)


  young, unmarried in a strange environment, still searching his path in life, recently moved from the small town to the outskirts of a big city.
Starting an aircraft factory isn't that easy in the rather conservative nation. And at home, even impossible. Ships and coal are the Family ideology, anything else is just waste of money.

*


³ skaistums= Latvian for beauty.

[The Rock Doctor]

I have an expectation that I will be consulted on stories taking place within my lands or involving my people.

Unless this has been moderator-approved, I request that the post above be deleted.

[maddox]

(OOC, won't delete the tidbit. But will make it go away.)

A few days later. 

A bedraggled Quilla is looking over the railing of a frighter,  sailing from Hamburg, into the North Sea.

The dishonnor she suffered, the indignity. First she gets robbed, her lugage and gold stolen from the small hotel, and when she did file a complaint on advice of Anthony, the police did hand her over to "Higher authorities".  The day long interogation ended with her on this ship, back to home. She also was warned never to return in any lands the Vilnius Confederation claims. The penalty for spying is rather severe, but as a token to her youth she was send back in disgrace. 


2 weeks later. A chasqui brings a tube to the desk of Premier Chualpi.

" Urgent message from ambassador Cateq, Premier"

Reading the message  words rolling around in his brain, spies, next time, less leniency, harsh.

He starts writing another message. Loreseekers traveling in the Vilnius Confederacy are urged to more discretion. 

[maddox]

Cuzco,  Sapa Inca Palace.

Cápac, The world is getting stranger and more complicated by the day. Our loreseekers are hunted and expelled. Our natural borders besieged, friendly contacts over the world dissapearing. Fellow suntravelers betraying Inti, turning to other gods, or like the Mayans, no god whatsoever.

On the other hand, it seems we have friends in strange places.  Puriq reports good interaction with the strangely converted sunfollowers, now prasing Inti in the name of Allah. It is becoming clear that the lost loreseekers weren't sacrificed.  Some were killed, yes, others traveled on and disappeared somewere else. I propose to cultivate this contact. At least we have a common history.

The Imperial Roman Republic and the counterpart, the Byzantines. Both are rather friendly to us. And their origins far away.

And of course, the Great Middle Kingdom. The center of the Earth, the pillar of the heavens.
The story Ambassador Kogoro had about it.
The Japanese ambassador in Beijing was summoned to the Emperors court , and on arrival was forced to kowtow , as the Emperor is the Emperor of Emperors,  Lord of all kings, ruler next to Inti.


Yes Chualpi, it is amusing. The idea that somebody has to crawl over the ground to prove that his leader is worth that kind of idiocy. I prefer a honorable salute, or a well meant respectful gesture. Even a honest polite aknowledgment of the hierarchy.

It seems we'll have to send a delegation to my Imperial overlord. And the tribute vassals owe the Imperial Heavenly Maqt'a Emperor.  I'll ask the Lorekeepers what kind of tribute will yield us the best results. 

I do have another tidbit of information concerning the Middle Kingdom. They are sending an ambassadar to the heartland of the Vilnius Confederacy, I wonder if that ambassadar will demand their leaders to kowtow for him or her. If not, we know that even the Middle Kingdom acknowledges real power.

[maddox]

A portside bar in Lima. The back room.

A lorekeeper believing he's icognito adresses a dozen Loreseekers.

People, it's not common that Loreseekers flock together to listen to a machu Lorekeeper. But I did send out the call, and you are the ones responding. That means you want to know what's up.

Sapa Inca requested the Lorekeepers to find out what the Chinese emperor needs, or at least what he wishes, or something he doesn't have already. We scored our books and quipu. It seems the Chinese have everything.
And it is compounded by a completely different series of related languages spoken in China. We're searching people that can speak and write Chinese, and have a language common with anyone of you willing to take on this task.


A barrage of questions assault the poor Lorekeeper, untill one of the Loreseekers gestures, and the questions stop as if a switch is flipped.

Lorekeeper, this won't get us anywere. Can you grant us a hour to get organised?

Fellow seekers, groups of 3 , compile the questions you have. You have 45 minutes.  Wine is on me.
But no pain in the roots of the hair tomorrow drinking.

[maddox]

In the middle of the Amazonian Jungle. Where 100 years ago, the Green hell demons roamed, the Shuar headhunters, the ghosts in the foliage.

It is 1913. A modern army training camp.

The people gathered at the central place.
Not conscripts, but selected soldiers, from any clan, tribe or profession. Chosen by their Kuraka's. Most by Panchaca², but some by Hunu³.
Basic army training. Meaning, here is the uniform, here are the weapons and kit. And an introduction course on how to use them properly. Some endurance training by marching topo after topo. Some even have tasted something resembling combat with the non complying tribes on the edges of the Inca territory.

But now, the Pachak Kamayuq* is giving them an introductionary speech like none has experienced before. It's a combination as if a despair-driven father is trying to give his children well meant guidance, and an enraged mother beating a thieving brat into submission. Spiced with wordchoices that are more at home in the real raunchy parts of Lima Harbor district.

In short, the select few that were send here, learn soon enough what the idea is. To become a Green Hell Demon , to protect the glory of Inti in the steaming jungles.
How to fight thousands to a standstill, without being seen. How to live of the land, and live well. How to become a superior soldier, with every tool and skill available.

This scenario is repeating in quite a few places. Even Manaus is rumored as a location.


² Panchaca Kuraka , can mean headman of a village, or the tax collector of a neighborhood in a city.
³ Hunu Kuraka. Minister, senator, head of an industrial conglomerate, or all of the above rolled into 1. The tier of gouvernement reporting solely to Sapa Inca.
* Pachak Kamayuq, centurion, leader of a 100.

[maddox]

1913 HY02.
Lima, a converted freighter brings a strange load.  250 Japanese agricultural experts and their families. 

An agreement between the Inca and the Japanese gouvernments is seeing the dawn of day.

2 Agricultural stations in the north , recently cleared out jungles in the Valley of Virgins* (along the upper reaches of the Cauca river), already manned with Inca tax-workers eagerly awaiting their foreign brethren.

The third station is a real gem of experimentation.  Limarí river, being dammed nearby the Irpa point will be the water supply of the desert fertilisation project.

[maddox]

Sapa Inca, we come to you with the lore to defend our coast with mobile fortresses.  We did prepare ourselfs, and have set up a animated movie showing the workings of the plan we worked on.

The whole setup is arranged around the largest guns the Inca bronzeworkers can cast and machine. Combined with the best munitions we can device, no ship with an higher speed can withstand the might of these weapons,





To be continued.

[maddox]

Iquitos,  end June 1914.

Honored Hunu Kuraka Asiri,   I have the disturbing information that yet again, 2 barges with supplies for Manaus were found , plundered and torched. The real bad news is that those were loaded with military supplies.

How can that be? Ain't those transports army transports with weapons and troops to defend themselfs?
No Hunu Kuraka Asiri, the army doesn't have enough barges to convey all the goods.  These were commercial barges leased for the purpose. Normaly those would have been accompanied with an army barge, but alas, not in this case.

In Inti's name, who could do such a thing? I thought the tribes in that part of the jungle were small and very primitive, how can those take on modern metal ships?
Our Shuar trackers are trying to find a clue to this.
The Tokoyrikoq investigating the burned out barges did report that they have found damage consistent with modern weapons. 

How far from Manaus was this? 
Not far actualy.  Only a day downstream.

Downstream?  You told me that the supplies were for Manaus. Why would barges go further then?
That, honored Hunu Kuraka, is a very good question.

[maddox]

(Interesting times)

Lima, port.

One of the many freighters in port unloaded a lot of crates.
"Agricultural equipment", stenciled all over in Inca and Japanese.

And that attracts the attention of unsavory people. In this case, not your avarage criminal in search for a quick buck. Not a lot to gain from lugging heavy stuff that isn't in demand. No, it's the fact the crates arrived marked in those 2 languages.

The one evening they are unloaded, at least 3 "unauthorised" people took a look into them. 

Of course, one of them was a bored loreseeker. And after he reported his findings, he was directed to Cuzco. Not something done on a whim.

And then, the crates got loaded on a train, to Iquitos.

[maddox]

(Interesting times.)

Cuzco, Sapa Inca palace.

Hunu Kuraka Asiri, I summoned you to discus our friends at the end of the river.  I wish them to stay our friends at that location for the time being. On the other hand, We also acknowledge the new powers , and our inability at the moment to deal with those as we always did in the past.   You're the one at the borders of our Royal Waterway, with specific wants and needs.  Those needs ands and wants coincide with the wishes of Inti. So I'll grant you the power of Apuskin Rantin (general of a army).

I'm honored great Sapa Inca. But I think if we send in an army, the Romans will see it as an invasion, not as a support. And the Aztecs will see it as the practices of a maggot.  Feasting on a festering wound.  I would keep the current neutrality untill the unpleasantness in the Carribean is over.  But yes, assembing an army to be ready and burn out a blemish on our Inti given realm is very prudent.  I'll prepare a communication with our involved ambassadors.  Puriq and Yma. And not forgetting Manko. 

I await that communication. But don't use the word blemish. It's seen as undiplomatic

[maddox]

(Interesting times.)

Cuszo, Inca palace, royal compound.
Chualpi, I could use some sanity right now. The Caicos war is interfering with Inti's gift to the Inca.  Suddenly our Japanese friends rule over a fair bit of this continent, our Roman friends embroiled in a war with others we see as friends, even potential allies, the Aztec.  And there is jack-shit we can do without opening a BIG can of worms. Combine that with the worrysome lore from our new suyu and the loss of military supplies.  I know our lorekeepers gave you the full story of what we know. But can you make anything from this, with or without Inti's wisdom? 

Capac, the thing I learned about this is that our old way of war is gone, evaporated. Those new friends or even non friends wage war on a completely different level. Gone are the days of armies of a few 1000 fierce warriors that aim to overawe a few 100 men.  Actualy, the only analogy I found is in the writings of the Roman Machiavelli. Very insightfull, that Roman.
But now, Thousands of tons of steel and  lifetimes of manhours in mobile fortresses , trainloads of bullets,  bargeloads of supplies all combine to kill the enemy on a scale even the most modern abattoir can't even contemplate to equal.
I did talk to Kachi, and his view is straightforward. We need the best trained, best armed and flexible army under Inti's sun. I agree, and I know, you do so to.
But we'll also need better trained bureaucrats. The way we do it now, village elders, in most cases retired Chasqui, ain't really trained.  Nobles , forming the upper tiers of bureaucracy, do have the training if their parents didn't neglect that. But they are accustomed to think in numbers, not people. 

But my advice for now, neutrality.
We need to learn more, we need to direct our people into providing the means to our Inti given goal. Not mere status quo and gentle living, like in the last 300 years. The world did change to much.  And to get our realm ready, we need time. Not temporary alliances, albeit those do help. 

I see your reasoning Chualpi. I hope a few hours on the sun throne will seal the train of toughts into a sure track. Lets make arrangements for that.

[maddox]

Lake Titicaca.

New combined weapons testbase Yma. 

Great commander Kachi. I can show you our new Unu Wiruti*. 
This weapon, embraced by our naval awqaq° for 10 years now is even more impressive than the Inti shined older versions.


Unfortunatly, all our tests with the few Antaka² we have were unsuccesfull. The Unu Wiruti are just to heavy.  Some tests along the coast were a tad more promising. We don't know yet why.
But a theory is being tested.  Pity we can't have the Kuyuchina³ of the Antaka chew kuka.

On the other hand, the Tiwrun build program had an offshoot. Our Japanese friends provided knowledge invaluable on their Tiwrun, but one of our more pragmatic lorekeepers had an idea that could help a lot.
Lo and behold, and look upon our Samanna.  (pointing towards a small raft with a non smoking chimney floating in the lake, painted an obnoxious orange.
His other hand pushing a golden button on the desk next to him)

9 trails appear in the lake surface for a few seconds.  One just disappears. 2 end in huge geysers.  6 seem to track right to a mock up ship. 3 trails start to diverge and get chaotic.  And ending up in more geysers way before the obvious target is reached.   2 keep on tracking. Hitting the stationary target, only 1 explodes. The huge explosion obliterating the target. maybe a mock up, but a well build, sturdy one. 
The other one nothing, a dud. 
But the last one.   That is now circling at low speed, back to the place of origine...


Oh, that is a new development. Sorry brother of Inti, but it seems our tests need some follow up.    


In the time this test ellipses, the 4 men in their Samanna hear and feel the premature detonations. And they know, untill number 9 does, they are in danger. 




*Unu Wiruti = Water Javelin. Torpedo. Current version tested is simular to the Austrian Hungarian 450mm L5h
° warriors
²Antaka , aircraft. The Inca purchased Roman aircraft and hired operators to use them and get the technology understood.
³Kuyuchina , engine.
Samanna, squid