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PostPosted: March 27th, 2016, 5:30 pm 
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Triggered by a question about the origins of the name serfs, scholars from a distant society of the Minervans have some history to share:

Once upon a time, all land was collectively owned. The only "property owner" was the Emperor, who inherited the land from an ancient and mysterious global empire that perished many cycles long in the past. Bringing what is left of technology and civilization following the great peril, they founded the Mercurian Empire. Everyone in the Empire worked for the Emperor, and as such, everyone was a serf. No one knew or seen the Emperor, as s/he was protected by a mysterious faction called the Cabal (now long gone).

The Empire began on a small island called Mercury Isle (the namesake of the Empire). Slowly, intrepid explorers expanded to nearby lands in the Old World, and founded many trading factions. Thoth became a dominant power, although still owned by the Emperor. But here is where history was shaken.

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Mercury Isle at its height. Some more pictures. Keep in mind, in the earliest days of the Empire, all (players)/settlers played on this one island. Some of the biggest projects were coordinated there. (LORE OFF: also, in the early days, we had 'starter chests' of resources, but this was ended within a few generations, although remnants of those starter chests can still be found in the old world). The old world's earliest days were benefited from ancient technologies from the superpower era that had long since been lost. (Lore off again, in the starter chests were high durability gold tools. You will see these in various early screenshots).

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The mighty tree in the background was built over generations, and was called Temple Oak. For the same reason the descendants of Atryl are fascinated with large flora, so were the early Mercurians.

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The tall-ish building (for the standards of the old era) was the Seat of the Empire, and the Emperor was said to live in there (although rarely seen out in public). The ships signify the importance of trade and communal projects at that time, with this port being the main port of the Empire. note, the ship on the right was a historically preserved ship. It is said to be the first ship in the history of the modern Empire, arriving from unknown lands following the ancient calamity spoke of above. Whether it is the original ship, or a recreation, is unknown to historians.

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The ports were kept clean by an army of irongolems apparently. Note, this town had a serious over-population problem, which became a major issue generations later (leading to its downfall).

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An old frontier, called Fort Minerva (where the later Kingdom got its name, although the history is a bit more complicated than that).

One group of players who called themselves the Bone People were indigenous to the land before the Mercurians arrived. Uncivilized and simple, they were assimilated by a group of Mercurians and renamed themselves the Hotonotochi. Half-indigenous, half-Mercurian, they had distinct practices separate from the Imperial culture. As such, one of their practices included mass-slaughter of wild animals. At this time, animals did not breed very effectively (perhaps due to environmental factors). (Lore off: in minecraft didn't respawn animals, they could only breed or 'spawn' in a vicinity of others.. so if you wiped an area out of cows, they would be gone). The Hotonotochi took great pride in this slaughter/hunting practice, but it offended other settlers from Mercury Isle.

Given all land is given legitimacy by the Emperor, it was decreed by the commonwealth of peoples that cows would be protected (this decision was made by a sort of parliament that represented the Emperor, but was more or less collectivist/democratic). The people passed a law demanding that only cows could be killed within limits and licenses were issued. This infuriated the Bone People (the other name for the Hotonotochi). They declared war against the Empire, the Commonwealth of peoples.

It was a bloody war at first, for the Hotonotochi were crafty at guerilla tactics. It lasted almost a full mercannum, and because it was the first major war in the young civilization's history, there were no rules of war. Many buildings were destroyed. Unable to make any headway, the Chief of the Bone People called for a truce. The Regent of the time, who was essentially the Prime Minister, came with some of the Commonwealth's most influential chiefs. The Bone Chief stood atop a hill just north of a town called Kanaan in west Thoth, then untouched lands that were ceremonial to the Bone People. The truce was set.

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Kanaan at the height of the Commonwealth era, built entirely by settlers and traders (all collectively serfs).

However, entirely by fate and accident, something strange took place. The Regent was walking towards the hill, but stopped just shy of it to speak (Lore off, he stopped to type). This surprised the Bone Chief, who was not at all intending to discuss peace. He had hoped the Regent and the Chiefs with him would walk atop the hill, which was actually a layer of dirt hiding a mountain of TnT. The Bone Chief panicked, knowing his suicide-mission was poorly timed. He blew himself to pieces, while only two of the Chiefs perished. The Regent received severe damage, and was wounded. This created true chaos.

The Commonwealth urged total war against the Hotonotochi (Bone People). Their traditional lands were torched to the ground in an effort to find the resisting Chiefs. The son of the suicidal Chief united the tribes, while hiding beneath one of their ceremonial forests in the north part of the Old World (actually, incidentally where the old Imperial City was built). The Hotonotochi requested civility, and asked for an honourable fight the following morning. The Commonwealth armies, including the Regent, awaited in the nearby plains at night. But the Chief broke his promise. Instead of waiting for morning, he snuck into the encampment and assassinated two chiefs and the Regent. The Commonwealth was furious, and declared no more reservation. They stormed the fortress under ground with sincere passion, willing to lose who ever it took to break in. The Hotonotochi rebels were defeated, and the Bone Chief was killed in battle.

The following day, emotions were high, and uncertainty was in the air. Everyone knew the remaining Hotonotochi would wage endless war over their so called 'rights', they simply demanded the right to kill animals as they always had, and refused to recognize the Commonwealth decrees (and refused to recognize democracy). It was democracy/collectivization against autonomy and sovereignty.

So the Emperor made one of his rare public announcements (only a few exist in our entire public record). He declared the Commonwealth null-and-void. To avoid war, he recognized what later academics call "Organic Law". The Hotonotochi were rounded up out of the entire Old World, and escorted to the untapped south lands. They were given sovereignty and borders, and the old commonwealth administrative borders were reverted into crowns. The new Bone Chief quickly crowned himself King, and the Emperor recognized it. But in return, he was only allowed to practice his authority over sovereign lands in the South. This created the first non-communal rank in the Empire, and the first property/sovereignty.

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The first kingdom crest in the Cycle of the Owl, Hotonotochi. Ironically, despite fighting against communal ownership and fighting for sovereignty, within their own land they enforced strict communal (almost communist) ownership under the Bone Chiefs.

But this opened pandoras box. Immediately, influential leaders throughout the now-defunct Commonwealth used their alliances and authority to press for crowns of their own. The first were young Valyrians (Perth and Valtoros) who organized settlers and requested authority over untapped lands in the North West. The Emperor agreed, creating the second Kingdom. Worried about the loss of influence, and about the dangers of war this sovereignty under the authority of the Emperor could create, the Emperor sought to empower his Prime Minister, the Regent, who was up until then one of equal rank to all in all forms except ceremonial. The Regent was made king of the new Kingdom of Minerva (a name given to it from the administrative colony-lands in the west), and merged it with the administration called Mercuria. So birthed the third Kingdom. The Regent retained his role as Prime Minister in the process.

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The beginnings of a collective capital from the then Capital Valyria. This was the first non-conflict spawned kingdom. You can see an early reflection of their worship of creepers.

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Before the nether, this is how long-distant travel was made safe. Some of these later evolved into country-wide rails and aquaducts.

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A sight you will never see. Before Valtoros' Bogtown exploded with industrial activity, these quiet borderlands between Valtoros and Minerva housed an early temple built to promote shared cultural exchanges. Again, you can also see the last of the 'starter tools' before they disappeared.

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Half of Hotonotochi industrialized quickly, while the other half lived in squalor. It was an interesting place. Even in their capital, pictured here, the workers lived in the under-sewers while the rich lived in lavish mineral penthouses. Their so-called (on paper) communitarianism was oddly rigid in its class structure in practice. They also quickly commercialized many of their state-owned businesses.

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While Minerva and Hotonotochi had a long-standing rivalry and several wars between them, they also had this peculiar bordertown called Charesalem which showcased rare cooperation. The temple was the Bone Church, which evolved from tribalism, and the industry was Minervan. They shared this location because of the deep cavern that was found in it. It was said it was formed by the Hotonotochi who stockpiled great reserves of tnt and tested them in facilities like this one. This was a contested border back when border contestation (called Claims Wars) were legal, but after signing a treaty, things were pacified.

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A rare painting of the Bone Chief and the Regent after one of their treaties.

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Another bordertown between the two, with the great and industrial Hotonotochi city. This bordertown was unexpected annexed by the Bone People which led to a minor clash.

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The new political reality within a few years of the war. The Kingdom of Minerva (by fusing Mercuria into it) had not yet taken place. You can also see a young new freehold in the north called Xin.

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Here is the capital of Xin.

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Also, here you can see the beginning of what later became the capital of Minerva. It was originally a stopping point (as all travel was by boat in the early days) along a canal through the main peninsula.

Within a short mercannum, the entire political system underwent severe transformations. From this war and instability came a new system which attracted settlers. (Lore off, this new system made recruiting players far more attractive). New settlers came in droves, but the system could not accommodate dozens of new kingdoms. Older and established powers, who proved themselves with dedication to the traditions of the Empire, the Emperor, and allied with existing powers, were given crowns over time. But to get there, settlers had to work hard. New settlers were still under the old system, Serfs of the Emperor himself, with no special rank beyond their communal power. Serf was not derogatory in the old days, because everyone was a serf before this war. But the Emperor could not manage this vastly growing Empire, so some serfs were transferred to being under Kings instead of the Emperor himself. The Kings were under the Emperor, and Serfs were under the Kings. Once a serf had proven themselves, they were given the authority to settle new lands called Freeholds. And so birthed the first Freehold Lords.

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The Empire a few generations after the founding of the Kingdoms (Kingdom of Hotonotochi, Valtoros/Perth (which split from the sole-kingdom of Valyria), and Minerva.) West Demurgia, and old vestiges of the Commonwealth lands (Thoth for instance). Note: it was in the plains of North Minerva that most of the fighting against the Hotonotochi took place.

A bit more territorial evolution:

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(With this one, the red lines showcased the very first netherlines. We had never ventured to the nether up to this date. Although if you look closely, you will see black dotted lines, which signified massive railways that were built before the nether).

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Here was the earliest nether infrastructure, between the capital of the Empire (Mercury Isle) and Minerva. This was called something like Nether Pigman Safari, and was used for early grinding.

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The Imperial Project was built during this expansion, and was funded using earlier industrial cobble-generators (before they were outlawed). If you ever travel to the Imperial Project in the Old World, you will see remnants of large factories built to accommodate this. Here you can also see early sand and wood factories that were built as well. A mighty communal effort this city was.

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In the background you can see some forests. It was there that the ancient war against the Bone People ended.

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Late into its construction, here is the Imperial Project well under way. The stone-factory and sand-factory (and the old gold ancient tools) came in handy.

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Similarly, the sand generators worked for gravel too, again, before they were outlawed.

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Emerald Bay, capital of the upstart West Demurgia (which began as a pirate-den)

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I have no idea the back story to this one. Like today, the religions of the past were diverse.

So now we had four ranks. Serfs (communal equals, men among men); Freehold Lords who had proven themselves and were given control over new young settlements outside the rule of a King; Kings, who had the authority of true sovereignty; and the Emperor, who all were under (although he remained a quiet and largely symbolic figure, purely to legitimize order and international affairs).

This new system lasted something like several hundred years, until another war broke out between an alliance of Freehold Lords against the Kings and the Emperor's authority. See, the Kings retained control over the Parliament, and some of the Freehold Lords considered this unfair. They waged terrorism attacks, bombing infrastructure and assassinating leaders. The Regent at the time, King of Minerva, was accused of having too much sway over civil disputes (incidentally between the then young Gimpy I and an aggressively expanding neighbour), so the Regent took a leave of absence from affairs for a few mercannum. In the interim, terrorism continued to spread and instability was rampant.

The Kings organized a series of secret meetings aiming to bring stability to the system. It was recognized this system had many merits, for it encouraged settlement and sovereignty, but in the old system Freehold Lords were allowed to freely compete (sometimes violently) with neighbours to "prove their boundaries and establish kingdoms". This violent system was beginning to strain imperial politics. The Regent was asked to return, and shortly later the Emperor made his biggest and final appearance.

One of the most controversial events in the history of the Empire, the Emperor banished many Freehold Lords (and supporting serfs) in a hastily thrown together court, and some were executed. The King of West Demurgia (now Kabranth) and the King of Perth personally took control over the execution progress. Given the atmosphere of uncertainty and instability, this became a turning point for many. The Emperor allowed the executions, and they were barbaric. Serfs and Lords who were spared were forced to listen to the indicted to be burned alive, while the Emperor began dismantling the Freehold system.

All of the kings gave unanimous approval to this, although most later regretted the extent of it. In their eyes though, it was a necessary move to rid the world of the violent settlers the old system attracted. A tradeoff was created. New ranks were created that gave great new powers to lower levels. Counts were given sovereignty over small lands, subject to basic limits, and Dukes above them. In a later constitution, Dukes were given veto rights against the Kings, while Kings retained the rights of parliament and justice. This was the beginning of the Cycle of the Dragon. Destablized by the troubles, most Kings set out to rebuild a new land. King Scrios I, descendant of King Nao of Perth, was distraught with his role in the executions, so he traveled far and wide. He returned, telling of a new land, vast in size and wealth. The Kings, the newly created Dukes and Counts, and most of the serfs created large colonization fleets. Sons, daughters, wives, and husbands from each of the Kingdoms sent their brightest and strongest, hoping to rebuild a new hope.

So, the New World was settled from this past. A constitution was created, and a far more peaceful system was solidified. This new system lasted unchanged to this day, although following the economic calamity that the New Kingdom of Minerva created, some stagnation seems to be around still. I, representative of the old order of this Kingdom, hopes to make up for that with a great rebuilding of the archives, to preserve tradition so past lessons are not lost.

And this, friends, is the origins of the title Serf, and all of the other titles.

Given most of these events are hundreds of years old, surely our archives are faulty, so I encourage others to correct or add nuance to these mistakes where they are required.


Last edited by The Regent on March 27th, 2016, 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: March 27th, 2016, 5:32 pm 
King

Joined: February 24th, 2016, 8:29 pm
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Edit: holy poop, this site doesn't resize pictures? I have the old CSS if you guys want to implement it?


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PostPosted: March 27th, 2016, 5:33 pm 
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These are awesome! Thank you for the posts :)

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PostPosted: March 27th, 2016, 7:29 pm 
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Joined: May 30th, 2015, 6:01 pm
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Awesome to hear all of this old lore!

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PostPosted: March 27th, 2016, 10:19 pm 
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This is the greatest post that has ever been made in the history of Hermertia.

I love you.

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PostPosted: March 27th, 2016, 10:21 pm 
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Lol, Sam wheres my love..

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It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door, You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to." -Bilbo Baggins

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PostPosted: March 27th, 2016, 10:27 pm 
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King

Joined: May 30th, 2015, 5:52 pm
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Amazing tales from the past; this is so much the kind of weaving of history, lore, and gameplay that forms the bedrock of this server, and, unfortunately, much of what we lost with the old Library. I'm in agreement with Sam in regards to my appreciation for this post; happy to see you back Regent :)

On the Library note, I lack the php knowledge but am available in any capacity to help out with sorting, I dunno :) Always happy to help as soon as we get the capability Looks pointedly at Atryl

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PostPosted: March 28th, 2016, 1:35 am 
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Joined: May 30th, 2015, 1:05 am
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Incredible post. I was hooked reading it even though I've heard the tales many times before. We should definitely point newcomers to this post if they want to learn a bit more about our history. I may have to go dredging through my historical photographs and do a post of my own!

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PostPosted: March 28th, 2016, 1:42 am 
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Or even better, point newcomers to a well-stocked library of lore ;)

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PostPosted: March 28th, 2016, 10:04 am 
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Joined: August 9th, 2015, 12:19 am
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As a relatively new serf, I find this kind of history and lore fascinating. I look forward to seeing more of the servers past

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