Futuristic The Infinity Between (Closed for Tarmagon and _Sargotha_)

[Tarmagon]

Ryan's guts had slowly turned to lead as Deicinta recounted the history of her realms government. He shouldn't really have been surprised, considering the checkered history of government on Earth, but still... As she recounted the rise of the charismatic warlord to King, and his intransigence to anything that could possibly be a challenge to his personal power, he felt his heart sink. A King with 'advisors' was a fancy name for a dictator with toadies in his mind.

"My people went through a period of similar government," he said honestly, meeting the serpentess' eyes directly. "And as we looked back on our history, we called that period the 'Dark Ages'. My planet has had kings, warlords, conquerors, dictators, presidents... the list is nigh on endless. All of them worked, at least for a time. We even had a period of theocratic rule, but that was, unsuccessful. Currently we have a form of republic. Each of our... regions, I suppose is the best way to put it, chooses a representative by general election. It is the responsibility of that representative to carry the opinions and worries of their region to the Assembly, which is made up of representatives from all the regions of our world. If the representatives cannot agree by majority upon an issue, they may request the services of an Adjudicator. The Adjudicators are law masters who have foresworn all ties to their homelands in the pursuit of equality under the law for all. Their decisions are made upon the benefits and fairness of an action to all parties concerned, and while never making everyone happy, they are respected and their words, while not law, carry the force of law. No one has ever asked for the services of an Adjudicator and not respected their decision. Generally, people try to work things out without resorting to the Assembly or Adjudicators. While we have a Speaker for the Assembly, he or she is chosen at random from all representatives, and rotates regularly. The Speaker has no power save to enforce the rules of conduct in the chamber."

Ryan knew that there was a general groundswell of opinion to bring back the post of President, albeit with limited powers, to give the planet a single person to rally behind. He wasn't certain it was a good or bad idea. Idly he wondered if he'd ever see the results of the debate that was certainly going on in the Assembly, then shook his head.

"Our system works because of our ability for everyone to communicate," he said. "There is no chance for votes to be miscounted, and should a representative go against the will of his or her region, they will be removed immediately and replaced. There were times in our past where charismatic war leaders rose to power, and a few, very few, of them actually were beneficial for the people being governed. Unfortunately, the skills and tactics that make a good general do not always translate well to being a good steward of a people. If it is not a secret, how large an area answers to your King? What amount of their labor are the people required to send to the King? Do the warriors answer to their home villages, or to the King?"

_Sargotha_ (Hmm. Not giving Ryan the warm and fuzzies here. Maybe he'll be lucky and the capital is a looong way away.)

 

[_Sargotha_]

Deicinta looked to the human that sat in company with her and he explained that his people had endured the same kind of ruler as her people now did, along with other variants to a single ruler. The serpent magic wielder continued to sit before him and expressed interest to his retelling of his own world's history and it sounded like a fair method of ruling the people. There was not one voice for all, though there were groups of people that had a single voice to share their opinions...kind of like to how they had a mammal come express concerns to their village. She imagined that maybe, these 'regions' were kind of like that just on a bigger amount of people to make them up. The mention of an 'Adjudicator' seemed like an odd placement among the government roles that he had already mentioned and explained, she finds it hard to imagine someone of that purpose being of use. She tilted her head in an expression that showed she gave the role thought but yet was unsure if it could really work to when a leader of one region was supposed to take care of their people.

The question of how large of people answered to the King is an easy one to answer and she smiles a little before responding, "He rules many lands and sends one of his Generals out from time to time as to keep in touch with all parts of them." In knowing that the human did not know any of their landmarks or villages that were on the outskirts of the towns, to which in turn were more densely packed in as they grew closer to the castle walls, she retrieves a rolled-up scroll with her magic ability without any difficulty. "This may help you better understand.", she waves her fingers in a manner to make the bow release before willing the parchment to unroll itself in whole, "This is the whole map of the kingdom."

What Ryan witnessed was the village of Vipres that he was residing in and a small glow to indicate where they were, she smiles before continuing to explain. "Every inch of measurement represents one mile in distance.", now it would become revealed to the human of why war had been so easily escalated to. For as lush as the planet, he had landed on seemed to be, it was small by comparison to the Earth he knew, or the kingdom had not expanded far during the current ruler's reign. There seemed to be a few miles from the village to the nearest town and beyond that was a more densely packed 'city', with the Castle at the center from all sides of the kingdom. There were three large lakes to share within the kingdom and a few streams spread in-between them, mountains to the north. There were marked towers of precious water near to the castle for easy defense and yet, it was a clear vulnerability to the people that depended on it.

His next question makes her frown a little, "I suppose the amount of work that is required depends on the task.", she gives this question another moment or two of thought before adding, "If it is hard labor then both Casters and those who are fit to work are summoned. If it is farming work that is needed, then most of the townsfolk do so themselves and if it is gathering labor then the villages are responsible." She smiles a little more as she remembers to when the Casters of her village had been called, "Naturally, if there are many wounded then that is kind of where we are most needed and if absolutely required, then we are called forth to defend from invaders."

"Warriors answer to their own villages, the soldiers of the King's army answer to their Generals...to which who answer to our ruler.", it was not a perfect system but there was some room for communication between the King and his people.

Tarmagon [I apologize this took so long for responding, I didn't want to rush this out and be like, 'Dafuq was that?' later on.]

 

[Tarmagon]

"My apologies," Ryan said, for clearly the serpentess had misunderstood his question about taxation. "Perhaps my wording of my question was unclear. Should a farm produce say, 100 baskets of grain, how many would the King claim as his own? I seek to understand your, my worlds word is 'tax' system, and with that, your monetary system. Do you use money, or are goods exchanged through barter?"

Ryan only raised one eyebrow at the appearance of the scroll and its responses to Deicinta's gestures. He did file that little talent away for consideration however. If she could summon things to her hand, could she send them away as well? Ryan couldn't fully suppress a shudder as he considered the effects of a piece of wood, or even a handful of dirt, suddenly teleported directly into someone's body. The results could range from irritating to instantly lethal. He certainly didn't want to give Deicinta new ideas, especially if she hadn't thought of them herself, but he really, really wanted to know if the local 'talent' had been fully weaponized. He hoped not.

Turning his attention to the contents of the self-unrolling scroll, Ryan noted their current position, as well as performing a quick estimate of the size of the 'kingdom'. A few miles inward to another village, larger, and then a couple more to a much more densely populated area dominated by a central area labelled 'Castle'. Hmm. Call it five miles...no, make that seven to the seat of government. Approximately the same on the opposite side. That would make the entire 'kingdom' about, 154 square miles. That was on the low end for a medieval style kingdom. In fact, that was about the area controlled by a count, not a king.

"If it is not restricted information, how many folk live within your boundaries?" Ryan asked. "It would seem that one could easily traverse the entirety of the kingdom in but a day. On my world, a region such as this would support around five thousand or so, based on the apparent area and resources. More concentrated in the city, with farms spread out in rings around them."

_Sargotha_ (It would seem to be a smallish kingdom, at least if it follows medieval averages from Earth)

 

[_Sargotha_]

As Ryan apologized for something, she tilts her head in response before he explains to what he was apologizing for, and she nods her head a little to show that she understood. The example he gives is easy to understand and she is able to give an answer to when his last question for this section came, "Ten of the baskets would be claimed for his own and five would be placed in an underground cellar for storage.", in the event of another drought, an emergency storage of resources had been prepared for all of the people to share. No one wanted to go through another war, lives had been lost and it had created hardships all around to those that had participated directly. As the question of how the people paid for goods is asked and he explains to how it would refer to his world's own way of doing things, she smiles again before nodding her head, "We trade among each other as it satisfies both parties and there is no question of payment...although the King fancies things that are shiny or of beauty he can admire."

When the human questions to how many of their people lived in the kingdom, she did not know the exact answer but within their own village she was certain of how many there were. "I don't know for sure, but I know that there are a few dozen of my people living within this village...if that helps any.", her shoulders shrug a little before he comments on how the kingdom could be travelled within a day's time. She had never tried the feat herself and hadn't heard of anyone doing or attempting to either, as most stayed in their 'own world' so to speak. "I suppose you could, if you were really bored or were training up to be a land messenger.", she giggles a little before adding, "Though, it's much faster and easier to simply send a magic scroll with the message in it.", the map scroll is rolled up again before she ties the string with an almost reverse motion of her fingers. Another scroll is pulled over to her and she unrolls this one with the same motion of her fingers as the first one before it is made to face the human, "This, is the Kingdom of Fangar...I've only been there a couple of times."

The Kingdom of Fangar is slightly larger than that of the Vipres' own and it doesn't share the same layout as the reptilian. It seemed there were large walls surrounding the whole boundary and its militia was stationed along the walls, the villages positioned behind them. A section of earth seemed to rise upward and was positioned behind the villages, this area was for the townspeople that lived there and yet another section of earth rose above that with shops. Lastly, the wealthy and royals were positioned at the highest region and were at the center of everything, with the boundaries taking on the appearance of an open maw baring its fangs. "They are on an island that is a long journey from noon to sunset from us.", while the people had not been completely rude to her...they were still not keen on having a Vipre on their land.

Tarmagon [Yes, let's go with the kingdom being on the smallish side. XD I should have referenced numbers for going with the medieval style of rule.]

 

[Tarmagon]

"Well, your talent certainly makes for ease of communication," Ryan said. "Though I imagine that you must have some idea or image of where you wish for your message to go."

Ryan was unsurprised that there were other territories about. After determining the small size of the kingdom Deicinta inhabited, there was no way that they were the dominant force over any large area. It did beg a question though.

"You said during the war for resources, you took the mammals." he said. "When the drought was over, did you retain their lands? I have to ask, is this really 'your' kingdom, or is it what you usurped from those weaker than yourselves?"

Ryan noted the appearance of the other kingdom, though while larger it was still little more than a county, and wondered at the amount of labor required to encompass the entire territory in walls. That was nearly fifty miles of wall, and... well, they did have the 'gift' so maybe it wasn't so bad.

"As far as walking across your kingdom," he said. "Our unenhanced soldiers can easily manage fourteen miles a day with their complete kits. An enhanced human, travelling without much more than the basics for survival, can nearly triple that distance. How many hours do you count from noon until sunset? That will give me an idea of the distance to, what did you call it? Oh, yes. Fangar."

_Sargotha_ Entire household is Covid positive, so sorry for the long delay. It hasn't been fun.

 

[_Sargotha_]

The serpentine sorceress nods her head in agreement that her skills in magic made sending messages easier than by word of a person or through mail. However, there was a caveat to that handiness, and he had already pointed it out, "You would be correct in presuming that I need to know something of the land or have an idea of where it is located, in order for my skill of teleporting a message to another city is required." She smiles a little as to show that she did appreciate his basic understanding that magic required knowledge of locations, not just saying where something was desired to be.

When Ryan asks about the outcome of the war that had happened but a couple years ago, more so to what happened to the lands and resources of the mammalian species, she lets a sigh out. She had to figure that this question would come eventually, and the human was very much on direct approach to when it came in dealing with people, he did not know nor could trust...yet. "The kingdom is ours, as long as the King deems it so but yes, the lands that were conquered have remained in the Vipres' hold since the end of the war.", she pauses a moment before adding, "A war that has only been over for a couple of years now, so things are not entirely 'back to normal' as it were."

The question of how long it would take to reach Fangar is given thought before she answers, "A transportation spell would make the journey but a few seconds. However, that would also require a Castar such as myself to go accompanied with you, if you wished to visit, as well as having permission from the ruler there to come." Fangar's ruler did not appreciate unexpected guests, particularly those of the scaled skin and had magic gifts.

"I would count eight hours, from noon to sunset but if the seas are rough, you could not arrive until the moon is high in the skies.", she frowns some at the memory of some of their sailors not even returning home from their intended journey to Fangar, "Or not arrive at all, without a guide to the waters I would not advise travelling them." She was prepared to send a letter to Fangar as to request permission to visit with a guest, as she had a couple of petals off of a flower as an 'anchor'. Of course, this is also something that she asked for permission from the ruler for as to not make it look like she was hoarding anything of their land and thus cause him to act against her people.

Tarmagon After my second round with COVID, I am surprised that my family hasn't gotten it...or, if they have, they're not showing symptoms.

 

[Tarmagon]

Ryan's suspicions about the inherent limitations of, well, he supposed he would have to just think of it as 'teleportation' were confirmed by Deicinta's words. Even if the object was skipping over the intervening distance, the source and destination had to be properly identified. He shuddered to think what a micro-nuke could do if it was delivered by 'teleportation'.

"Can another 'gifted' individual prevent your actions?" he asked, then suddenly paled. He glanced at his gear, secured behind the security mesh, but still plainly visible. Could she? "And... can you call objects you can see to you?"

The information that the war was only a couple of years in the past rather surprised Ryan. He would have expected that an occupied territory would still be restive after so short a time, but he supposed if the victory had been overwhelming enough... as well as the victor's habit of allowing malcontents to leave unmolested. He still didn't understand, but this wasn't his world.

Deicinta's comment about moving people with her teleport surprised him again. Maybe he shouldn't have been though, since she hadn't mentioned an upper limit to her abilities.

"You can move yourself and others like you can a scroll?" he asked, then considered his words carefully. "Isn't that, risky? It would seem that unless your... 'landing zone' was kept perfectly clean and clear at all times, the chance that you could appear inside something, or with something inside you, would be rather high. And I doubt that it would be, survivable."

Ryan pondered the answer to time, and the sailing time to the island where the other kingdom resided. Eight hours, assume eight knots in good weather... convert and multiply.

"It seems that the island is around seventy-five miles offshore," he said. "This assumes eight hours of travel at what would be a comfortable sailing speed on my world. What kind and size of vessel do you normally use?"

_Sargotha_ (So many questions... and here's hoping you feel better, Been there, done that.)