| Vote Target | Voted By | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| Leafia | EliThePsycho, thepigeonnyc, Clownzu, Marluxion, City, January | 6/8 |
| Marluxion | Vulgard, Zone_Q11, Leafia, clonedcheese, Nuclear_Rehab | 5/8 |
| January | Aelin, clonedcheese | 2/8 |
| Silviu200530 | WindwardAway | 1/8 |
| thepigeonnyc | Silviu200530 | 1/8 |
| Not Voting | min | 1 |
flavor coming soon
An excerpt from the official history textbook of the Human Empire, Year Six.
Learning Objectives:
- Students will understand how advancements in technology affected the relationship between the Human Empire and other countries.
- Students will understand the historical origins of the present tensions between the Human Empire and the Province of Alva.
- Students will be able to identify important figures from the Gold Rush Rebellion.
Prior to 2676, it was widely believed that magical items required windsilver, firestone, or other extraplanar metals in order to hold spells. However, in 2676, Justinian Ōta brought the technique of goldbinding to the Human Empire. Goldbinding allowed spellcasters to bind their spells in gold instead. Since gold was available intraplanarly, goldbinding allowed for magical items to be crafted more easily. This allowed for potential major improvements to life expectancy and quality of life, via objects such as Amulets of Disease Resistence, Anklets of Longetivity, Enhanced Healing Potions, and Agile Headscarves.
Unfortunately, the largest location of gold was a mine located in the Province of Alva, inhabited primarily by elves. Although the Human Empire attempted to peacefully resolve this through trade, the elves devalued human trade goods and refused to accept a peaceful solution. With diplomatic strategies having failed, the Human Empire was forced to rely on subterfuge. This led to the “Gold Rush Mission” of 2709.
[…]
After Leif Talvarson was murdered for his non-violent impersonation of Ellimie Stonewhistle, the residents of Talion began to go to extreme lengths due to paranoia. Rather than simply allowing the humans to use some of their gold, they decided to identify and murder the other humans among them as well, merely because they had (legally) used magic to disguise themselves as elves. Moreover, the Alvan legal system failed to allow for the presumption of innocence or the right to a fair trial; instead, they resorted to martial law.
Primary Source Connection
The following speech was given by Naevys, the first elf killed in the Talion Trials, shortly before her death, and recorded by Talion’s chief scribe.
Yet, can the voice of justice now be heard?
Can you, my people, hear my plaintive cry?
Two months ago this scene would seem absurd,
Yet now I somehow fear that I must die.
Cast off your doubts, cast off this dreadful fear,
Which even now corrupts your clouded minds.
I know as well as you the threat that’s near,
But accusation’s blade my spirit grinds.
As Alva’s daughter I have lived my life;
As Alva’s daughter I shall die my death.
Yet those who now have driven me to strife
My soul shall curse with ev’ry dying breath.
You can’t escape the doom that stains your heart,
The doom from tearing spotless lives apart.
Some scholars have speculated that Naevys, unbeknownst to her, possessed a weak form of the gift of prophecy, and that her prediction of “doom” influenced the ultimate fate of Talion. However, this theory has widely been discredited after a comparison with Naevys’s other surviving works.
Comprehension Questions
- Who was responsible for the popularity of the goldbinding technique?
- When did the Gold Rush Mission begin?
- Who authorized the Gold Rush Mission?
- Who was the first victim of elven violence?
Discussion Questions
- What actions by the Province of Alva could have averted the need for the Gold Rush Mission?
- Is Naevys’s speech hypocritical? Why or why not?
- Can you think of other examples of people acting irrationally due to a perceived threat?
An excerpt from the most popular history textbook of the Province of Alva, typically used for children between the ages of forty and fifty.
Part 4: The Second Attack
Key Terms: labor sentence, Halaema, complex scrying, duels
After the residents of Talion began to attempt to locate and apprehend the humans responsible for the kidnapping of Ellimie Stonewhistle and others, the human invaders responded with violence. Although the government of Talion offered them the chance to turn themselves in for a mere 50-year labor sentence – significantly less than the standard sentence for kidnapping – none of them were willing to accept the deal. In fact, none of them even attempted to negotiate an alternative sentence with the government of Talion, as was standard practice at the time.
Instead, they located the member of the Council of Talion responsible for coming up with the arrangement in the first place, Halaema. It is widely suspected that they were coordinating with other people within the human empire in order to do this, as analysis after the event suggested that none of the humans responsible for the infiltration of Talion were capable of complex scrying. Furthermore, the humans did not respect Talion’s formalized tradition of duels. Instead, they illegally trespassed into Halaema’s house during the night, while she was trancing, beheaded her, and left her head on top of the watchtower.
Practical Connection!
After the conclusion of the “Gold Rush,” Halaema’s house was turned into a museum. It is open six days a week, from Lightday to Earthday, from sunrise to sunset. Guided tours are available on Lightday, Windday, and Shadowday. The museum preserves Halaema’s house as it stood at the time of her death, and contains additional information about Halaema’s life and projects. Most of the objects in the house have been preserved in their original condition through a Ritual of Purity placed on the house shortly after Halaema’s death.
Try it at home!
The Provincial Archives of Alva contain a multitude of documents pertaining to Halaema’s life and legacy, which can be accessed through simple scrying. One of the most famous examples is Halaema’s diary. Try to locate Halaema’s diary, then answer the following questions:
1. What does Halaema’s diary tell you about life before the Gold Rush Period?
2. What sort of changes does Halaema record happening after the discovery that humans were infiltrating Talion?
3. Some human sources have claimed that the humans were acting in self-defense in murdering Halaema. How does the evidence from her diary refute this claim? List at least three reasons.
@clonedcheese
@thepigeonnyc
@EliThePsycho
@January
@Vulgard
@Marluxion
@Zone_Q11
@Silviu200530
@min
@City
@Nuclear_Rehab
@WindwardAway
@Clownzu
One, Nuclear, i hope you changing your vote last second wasn’t to solely put pressure on me.
Backreading:
Vulgard Town
Windward null, in the range of “yeah they make sense but they normally make more sense as scum”
Nuclear, however:
starts with this
then when they see this VC
They say:
First, why would you ever think a wagon on a townread is pure? They had no reasoning on clown and aelin and for some reason they think they’re town now?
Then they go to:
Wait so now I’m in the scumread section?
TL;DR: They have completely unexplained reads on Aelin and Clownzu (which looks to me as TMI now that Aelin’s flipped) and is extremely inconsistent with their reads
scum if you ask me
Nuclear also changed the vote last second, to make me responsible for the death, even though I voted to make sure there was no tie.
