Elder's Valley

Twelve horses came riding into the valley. Their flags were that of The Phoenix State, carrying a rather high appearance. They were sent here to find someone they needed to talk to about alliances and such.

When the group came across some people, they decided to speak out, "We come from the land known as The Phoenix State. We are seeking your leaders from discussions. If anyone could show us the way, we will return the favor with four quarter ounce silver pieces."

The soldier who spoke pulled out four silver pieces with double Phoenix engravings and dropped it into the boys hands, "Thank you for the information. Amun Ra will bless you more for your quick desire to help us."

The group would move forward. They absorbed what was going on until they reached their destination.

"Havador! We are here on behalf of The Phoenix State to talk with you. I'd like to release my men so they can relax, as I find it safe here, so we can talk in private." The ambassador spoke calmly to Havador.

"Alright men, find something to do. One of you go with the boy and help prepare the food." He spoke the men.

The men would depart, going no further than a yell away. They would find work to help someone with, taking off their armor to the under clothes beneath the armor. They wanted to make a subliminal message that every person would talk about; that even the high soldiers of The Phoenix State wasn't afraid to work.

"So, to begin with, what are your plans for the future of your lands? Keeping life as it is? Or do you see your land becoming a mighty stand point in this world? Give me an idea of what you see for the future so that I can better understand your culture a little better." The State Representative spoke and questioned.

"At one point, we had the same issue. Eventually, the right person came around. Now our tribes remain true to their practices, evolving naturally. This is due to the protection The Phoenix State offered. Now we are all united, Capitol Cities and Tribes.." The State Representative spoke calmly.

As Havador thought of his history, the State Rep would also. His thoughts were far worse, as their land had suffered and persevered through the many wars of the Overworld. Somehow they seemed to find themself in the worst sistuations, as refugees of other lands flooded to them all while having to defend their own from themselves and enemies. The blood that stained his thoughts on how their land would find its way to unity. This was something they never wanted anybody to have to suffer through again.

With those thoughts, he spoke, "Our purpose is to ensure, freedom, safety, and that no being has to surrender their way of life. In recent times, we have found that we need to make choices that could prevent catastrophic events from occuring...This is why we are here. We want to ensure those around us can prosper and continue with their way of life. Simply put, what you are worried about, we have ways of preventing."

Keeping track of the water mapping was easy enough, and with the western zoom from where they stood, he put where they came in at. As he watched the water, he was thinking of his response for a moment. What he would say was simple.

"My personal land... we go back to the near beginning of The Phoenix State, when it first rose. At one point in this world, when all creatures intermingled. Then darkness swept across the land, filling peoples hearts with pain and despair, tricking them into doing their bidding. The Chieftain at that time was Valheecius, one of the Six Horsemen. The other five of the Six Horsemen turned on Valheecius. When his body was killed and his soul sealed away, chaos broke out in what is known as the Gate of the Valheecius Desert. A giant red storm filled our skies the moment Valheecius passed, poisoning the air and assisting in the chaos.

All the tribes began to go to war. We turned on our brothers. The evil that touched this land stained our desert red with blood. Tribes dissipated in the snap of a finger. For hundreds of years, this bloodshed continued. Then a few tribes in the land inside the ring of the Gate of the Valheecius Desert reached out to a few tribes within the Gate. Their hearts were pure and the desires grand and honest. After they turned their tribes around, creating prosperous lands, they went on a campaign.

This campaign was blessed by the Six Faces and Amun Ra. These warriors and tribes made themselves known as The Phoenix State. It took many years to accomplish their goal, but they had cleansed the lands the best they could. All they asked for was loyalty to The Phoenix State.

When we agreed, my tribe literally boomed within one week. Their military protected our tribe, outnumbering any tribe that would threaten us. They brought in an education system and modern health systems. They trained our warriors to their standard, investing into us so that we could defend ourselves. They literally rescued us from a pit that there was no end... Without them, it would have been a matter of days till my tribe would be slaughtered. So by committing our tribe to their efforts and accepting their help, we are now an independent tribe and have the large trade plaza in the Gate of the Valheecius Desert.

My tribe is true to their roots, allowing only necessary advancements for their well being of their people. The Capitol Cities do the work, we just produce and supply them. With a population of about 1.7 million people, it takes a lot of goods to keep them going. Gold has a low value to them, as their is an abundance of it throughout our lands, which means they spend it frivolously. My tribe sells the gold to outsiders at a much much higher value, which was one reason why we pulled out of the pit so quickly.

So far it's worked out. Our tribe is part of the State, we are healthy and safe, and one of the largest armed forces in the known Overworld. We have the ability to be free and do this for other lands, hence why we are here."

During the bad times of his talking, his face saddened. During the good times he smiled. What his ancestors agreed to then is the only reason his stood now.

"As my tribe never really had many valuable minerals, we had clay pottery and the ability to sell anything we got our hands on, opening the ability to host large amounts of trade between outside lands. That's what we had to offer outside of loyalty." He spoke, noting that they had to fully unite, subliminally a full unity of the lands, in which he would add more to later.

"Of course, we still fly our flag and the Brown Hawk Tribe stands independently. We govern ourselves, and as long as we aren't fighting and our over all well being is good, The Phoenix State keeps out. The Phoenix State works for the tribes, acting as a united force to defend them all from any harm. In a sense, our State seems to be on the verge of forming into a union of states.

If this union of states, which would be my tribe, your tribe, and any other tribe,occurred, we would all be equals. Instead of simply being tribes, on a higher social level, we would be deemed the states. Life would continue as it is, and a governing body would be elected by the states. Of course i'm not a politician, simply a representative, so I have no idea how it all works, I just know what is discussed. The Phoenix State doesn't keep secrets at what they would like to do, but without the tribes agreeing, they can't.

In a sense, annexation is a strong, but keep in mind, what came with it. I much prefer to look at this as your land becoming a state and aligning with multiple other states for the betterment and well being of your state. This is a decision that is not only for the people of now, but for children now and the future." Pjui Pjui spoke with a fascination for The Phoenix State and what it could do, hoping to pass this positive energy on in his speaking.

A brief pause came the man brought the Draconic Graveyard into view, "First we'd like to excavate the skeletal remains. Of course we would pay you a significant amount for this. One of the tribes build dragon based armors and weapons. It seems to be a profitable field of work, hunting dragons and crafting them into beauty. From there... I'd say they'd send a few druids to remove the magical remains left from the dragons and turn it back over to you for farming. The way most look at gold is the way the Black Lion Tribe looks at dead dragons; economic security."

"We'll send it to Phoenix, our Capitol for Religion and Magic. I believe they will have the best beings fit to study these bones and 'elemental diffusion'. If we can figure out what it is and what can be done with it, it could be a major breakthrough to help understand and diversify the dragons of then and those of now. Who knows, maybe it's the key to immortality... I don't, but it would be nice." He spoke, staring off excited and ending with a chuckle.

He'd then get a more serious tone, "As I do not like to refer to religion, there is a magic in our religion that is unlike any other. In the after life, you enter the heavens. Each god, deity, or whatever you call them, has it's own abilities. Much like our world, but reliant on our world. Our faith determines their power and existence.

When we die, we go to the heaven or the hell of our belief. The older the god is and the more believers it has, the stronger it is. At a certain point, these beings are able to do post-conversions. This means those in the afterlife who still contain freewill are able to serve whom they please.

The cursed blessing of the Phoenix is great. If this being you speak of could hear your prayers to seek the Phoenix, and we pray to the Phoenix to seek them out, maybe it could happen.

Or another option is finding something of theirs that was worn or used by them that had contact with their skin. We then find a Phoenix Dove and let it burn to an ash with the bird. When the Phoenix Dove rises from the ash, so does the person. Again though, this is decided by a joint decision by the Phoenix and Amun Ra.

We don't revive the dead. If it is to happen, it is a decision and work of the gods. It takes sincere devotion for either of these. I personally am not into religion, I like history and travelling. When I die, I want to remain in the heavens in eternal peace.

You think about it and don't say anything to me. I don't like to bring up religion and magic like that in first conversations and I really don't want to discuss much more of it on my behalf because I do not want to say something that wasn't true because of my lack of knowledge on it.

On to the non-aggression pact, that's fine. They're working somewhere around here, helping the people however they can, even if it's digging holes and shoveling animal manure from the stalls. We won't harm anyone unless our life is in danger, in which all means to restrain them will be taken."

Pjui-Pjui would begin to move his hand out over the ground. It would shake for a second and wall of dirt would appear. It stood 6' by 6', but was only four inches thick. With it, a map would appear on it. With this being a spell of knowledge, this map was kept updated like a computer as it was a spell created by the TPS that allows the TPS to basically update the files for this magical map and keep precise location.

On it was the various features with a vast desert land known as The Phoenix State and the Land Tiller's Tribe. Raised where mountains were, cracks for trenches, and various minerals in the ground to diversify the lands and features. It was very precise.

Pjui-Pjui would point to a spot on the map, "This is where I grew up. The safe space between a tar pit and a volcanic wasteland. Both of which are hidden now, their numbers dwindling. Their evil has plunged them into extinction. They are a prime example of what happens to tyrant tribes, they eventually turn on themselves. I think they're possessed to be honest, but the Druids say their possession is beyond their magic, as if they are in hell before their death.

My tribe is very safe and successful now. The rest of this map is our lands and their locations. As you can see, you are on our eastern border, which is your west. South of the TPS is the Free Plains, which I did not know existed till now, so we both learned something new. I guess this is the location of where our ambassadors and representatives will meet. To the TPS north is Drumbar, Darkhive, and a frozen sea. The lines extending out are trade routes that extend into lands beyond what we see now."

Moving his fingers in a typing like motion, the map would zoom out. It had many voids. It did reveal the Kingdom of Medan and Ivelius. Ivelius seemed to have a seal over it. This seal was used to mark enemy territory.

"What we see now is the main lands of the known Overworld. The land to the far south with the seal is what we stand against. They are the reason we stand for what we do. Religious warmongers is what they are." He spoke easily, pointing out the various spots on the map as he did, "Figured we'd go over this now rather than later."

The ambassadors returned from their expedition declaring their meeting with Lord Zaltos a success. The Phoenix State was free to begin building, and exchange in knowledge and resources was to begin.

The natives were also shocked to learn that trilobites still existed in the world, and the Zaltos held sway over life and death to an extent. This might have important ramifications later on, but for now everyone seemed happy. A great feast was held in honor of the alliance, with Pjui-Pjui a guest of honor.

Raynor would be informed of all this shortly. But Ying-Na and Jun would not be privy to this knowledge until some time later.