Turbo Roleplay (Revisited)

[White Fang]

Epsilon smiles broadly whilst perusing the latest batch of reports from the various provinces and far corner of his empire, as well as the those of the other empires scattered across the continent, gently sipping the finest tea to be found in any charted locations, imported from the islands far to the east. "When will they understand," he muses aloud to himself, "that their great armies and dominating ways mean nothing in the face of commerce and the contentment of one's people." Indeed, the refined emporer himself holds no army whatsoever (rather, a very small militant police type of organization, sufficent for keeping order and staving off roving bands of barbarians, but not at all suited for defending against an organized assault), but his empire is well known to all as the most powerful to be found. He is a kind, benevolant ruler who gives his people the prosperity they wanted, and they, in turn, produce the prosperity that *he* wants--all things considered, a very good working relationship. He even gives them opportunities to voice their wishes about the governing of the empire, beasts elected by the general populace making up a very complex system of command within the provinces he held, and even directly underneath him in the command of the entire empire. At the end of the day, he still holds the final say, but it gives the people some feeling of control over the less important matters, which in turn increases their productivity. Very nice, all in all.

Finishing both the tea and his perusal of the reports, the Stoat files the papers away, then pulls down an extremely lavish book, still smiling. It's not the original, of course, but everything from that original has been copied down perfectly, multiple scribes checking and re-checking and re-re-checking, then even checking once more for good measure. It is a book that has been passed down through the ages, received by his great-great grandfather, the self-named Alpha Dash, from his tutor, a great and wise wolf from a very powerful lineage, the last Redan Dash to leave his mark upon history. Within the book is the collective experiences and thoughts of emporers spanning nigh a millenium, and Epsilon attributes his success almost wholely to what he learned therein (along with what his father taught him directly, of course). He thumbs carefully through it for a few minutes, enjoying the feel of the sheer raw power and knowledge in his hands, then gently replaces it upon the bookshelf.

Smiling, he exits the massive office to start the morning's work, proud and confident in what he has built, yet simultaneously a gentleman among vermin. Who says that his race cannot rise above its base nature?

[Gen. Volkov]

Volkov grinds his teeth as he views the situation on the map of the continent. Epsilon, though not wealthy in land or troops, is still far and away the most powerful warlord on that map. He knows how it is being done, and thinks to himself that the rules of this world are very strange indeed. That a single resource should give so much power is just mind boggling. In days of old, it has always been troops and the ability to pay mercenaries to fight in one's armies that has been the power in this world. He has not tried to gain power in this world in a long time, and is having trouble adjusting to the new paradigm. He does not wish to simply copy Epsilon's tactics, but is having trouble seeing another viable way. But finally he decides to begin a new course of action, one different from what Epsilon is doing, and perhaps challenge his power that way. If only he could have gathered more land to his empire in his most recent round of attacks, things might be going a bit differently, but those around him have already suffered greatly from the depredations of other warlords, and not much land can be taken from their empires before it becomes impossible to attack them any longer.

He finally ceases his meditations, sighs, and turns from the map. The young stoat issues his orders to his commanders and watches his new plan take shape across his lands. He prays to the various gods of this world that it meets some measure of success.