Author Topic: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan  (Read 1964 times)

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Offline Lijiang

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A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« on: April 23, 2021, 10:53:26 AM »

To:- The Sultan of Waddan

It has been brought to our attention that your nation is one which has been able to offer supplies of rare earth metals. As our nation is in the process of attempting to create larger scale industries it will be likely that in the future we will be in need of such materials. As such I would like to either visit your nation or host Waddanites in the Majestic Empire. I hope that by meeting face to face we can ascertain whether such materials can be made available to my people and if so find a mutually agreeable deal that both our nations may benefit from.

I hope that you will be able to agree to this meeting.

Best Regards

Dragon-Emperor Tielin II

Offline Wadden

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2021, 09:38:27 AM »

To:- His Imperial Majesty Dragon-Emperor Tielin II

Our nation has a vast array of resources we would be happy to share with nations of Mundus if the correct deal that is beneficial to both parties can be reached. As such I am eager to welcome you to Sabhā at your convenience and would, if the date suits, like to invite you to come during our traditional market period which lasts for the next 10 days here. It is a unique experience within our nation and one I hope to share with yourself.

Blessings to you

Sultan Yahya

Offline Lijiang

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #2 on: May 02, 2021, 02:12:21 PM »
The Dragon-Emperor had been pleased with the outcome of talks with Royal Seleucid and knew the Seleucid and Waddan royals had shared a close friendship. Tielin II was therefore hopeful that this would lead to some successful talks between himself and the Sultan. He was aware that perhaps the nations had a similarity in the fact that they were trying to both make up for lost time.  The Dragon-Emperor was accompanied by his wife Dragon-Empress Jing. It was going to be a rather unique visit for the Dragon-Emperor. His first outside Ardia and to a nation they knew little about other than the fact it was a brand new airport. He didn't know exactly what to expect in terms of what Waddan could offer but he was keen to to find out once they had arrived. He and his wife departed the aircraft side by side and headed to meet the welcoming commitee

Offline Wadden

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2021, 01:08:25 PM »
Sultan Yahya was in his early 80's and standing around waiting for an airplane to land on a hot summers day was not his idea of how he wanted to spend his time. He had therefore ordered a small podium to be made with four posts and a fabric roof above him. It provided him a degree of comfort and the assembled household staff behind kept him supplied with iced water. He sat comfortably on an ornate wooden throne until the aircraft had touched down and come to a halt. He pushed himself up off the arm rests of the throne and walked down to where the Lijiangian delegation would arrive. The Sultan was still steady on his feet despite his age and extended two hands towards Tielin encasing his hands within his own. "Dragon-Emperor, welcome to the land of the Unified Tribes. I am Yahya and it is my honour to be your host." He then placed a hand on his chest and bowed to the Dragon-Empress. "I am at your service" He escorted the pair to a waiting car. It was perhaps not how he would have liked things. He would have prefered to us horse or even camel but that was not practical as of where the airport sat.

The drive into Sabhā was uneventful except for the poorly made roads. Once they reached the old ancient walls things changed as the small city, probably a town in most people's eyes, was full of people. It was an annual market and various tribes had arrived and were selling their wares. Mostly it was selling dried foods, spices and fruits gathered from the pockets of land that was fertile around the nation. There were large amounts of fabrics being sold, leather goods, horse equipment, even a few stalls selling falcons and eagles. "Once a year the people come in from the desert and sell and trade their goods. Once the period is done they head back into the sands and then the city shrinks to just a few thousand people." At a pre-determined point a group of men dressed in a bright red traditional attire and with a variety of rifles slung over their shoulder stopped and gathered around the car opening the doors and bowing respectfully. Clearly these men were members of the Sultan's guard and they pushed a curious crowd back to form a bubble around the guests and the Sultan. The Sultan made his way to a large open area where fences had been erected and a series of pens existed full of bleeting animals. "Please take a seat"

Three large comfortable looking seats had been placed on a podium near the centre of one side of the makeshift arena. That side was clear of any others while around the rest was a throng of bodies watching. A young boy dressed like the soldiers arrived and offered minted tea to each, Jing first then Tielin and then finally the Sultan. "Today they are auctioning off livestock" the Sultan explained as he sipped the tea under the shade of the awning erected above them. "Please tell me about how you are adapting to life as an Emperor...I am sorry, Dragon-Emperor." The Sultan kept glancing between his guests and the activity in the arena. Every now and again he would raise a hand as to bid on something but at such a low price he was easily beaten. It was customary the Sultan would bid upon the produce of certain individuals as a way of showing his approval for them however the low price rather than being insulting was designed to allow people to buy products they could brag were "fit for a King".

As he listened to his guests he raised his hand to bid but signalled with his fingers at the same time, he had made an opening bid on a pair of six month old horses and it was a sizeable bid. The crowd knew therefore the Sultan wanted these and as such no-one else bid and 30 seconds later the bidding was closed and the same boy who had brought the drinks hurried into the centre of the arena and exchanged a leather bag of coins for the reigns of the horses. He hurried back towards the Sultan, "Dragon-Emperor, Dragon Empress. I do not know whether your nation enjoy horses but here they are a vital part of our lives. I hope that you will accept these pair as a gift." He stood and went to inspect them more closely however he was confident his staff would have already done so. "Very nice." He said as he checked the legs. He'd owned hundreds of horses in his life and he actually wondered whether he'd have been better keeping these. "Do you ride?" He asked them not sure if such a past time was popular there. "I know you have in mind to acquire certain things from us while you are here . What exactly can we help you find?"

Offline Lijiang

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #4 on: May 31, 2021, 11:14:47 PM »
The Majestic Empire prided itself on calmness and good order. Everyone and everything in its place. This manner had allowed the Empire to survive largely intact even with the long period of traditional mourning. Contrast that to what seemed to be the openness and hectic-ness of the Sultan's capital it took Tielin and his wife Jing by surprise. Despite being circled by the Sultan's bodyguards Tielin still felt rather nervous and placed a protective arm around his wife who willingly walked even closer to her husband. Tielin was thankful when they arrived at the seating area and even then kept hold of his wife's hand. When the Sultan purchased the horses and gave them to the Imperial Couple Tielin was rather impressed with his hosts hospitality. "Our nation grew out of what is essentially two groups who lived in the South of our nation in Gāodì. The first were people happy to dwell in cities and towns, working the land around them. The other were people who lived on the high plains and raised livestock. The two people's lived a beneficial symbotic relationship, the nomads supplying the towns and cities with meat and various trade goods they'd acquire, meanwhile the towns and cities provided other neccessities. It was then that the First Emperor Ah Hsu drew upon the best foot soldiers and archers from the towns and the best horseman to forge an army that swept North. It was off this relationship the Empire finally formed. Today the people of Gāodì and the other Southern Provinces still take great pride in horsemanship, meanwhile sadly my home Province of Baoshan  is a land of high peaks and valleys, home to our highest mountain and therefore horses are less part of our lifestyle. Like most nobles me and my wife can ride, however I think its been a good two years since I last rode."

"A year for me." Jing added. "I am very grateful for the gift. Perhaps when we have returned home they will reignite a love for riding" she added.

It was time to get down to business. "I have two reasons for asking to meet you." Tielin began as he turned in his seat to face the Sultan directly. "The first is to broaden my experiences of Mundus. I thankfully meet King Heydar of Royal Seleucid, we got along well and I am pleased to say we found many great ways to help each others homelands. I hope that the Midaranye success we had then can be replicated here. The second reason is that if I am correct you are a nation with an abundance of rare metals and one such being either uranium and plutonium. My nation is one that has a rather good opportunity before us. As we hope to modernise we can set ourselves up to jump the best part of a century of technological development. We have a chance to set up an electric production network based on cleaner energies like nuclear power. I had hoped to follow this agenda through the Mundus Atomic Energy Agency but the nature of global liberal elites being the way they are they would rather play politics with such a body than focus on its true nature. As such we need to look outside the box, we have ideas about pursuing the technology however we would first need the materials. As such it is my hope we can find some way of finding the things we need. Do you think this is a possibility?"

Offline Wadden

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #5 on: June 05, 2021, 12:17:11 PM »
The Sultan was a little out of his depth with some of the scientific ideas being discussed. He was obviously aware that these certain metals could be used in a manner to produce vast amounts of energy. He was also aware that some parts of the nation contained these "Magic rocks" and so if they could make the nation some money then he would be more than happy to let them be dug out. "I suspect you are perhaps in more need of this approach than us. With hours of beautiful sunshine each day I think when our population out strips our energy production the sunlight will be our answer. Now in regards to the raw materials you speak of I suspect somewhere in our desert we have them. We would, for the right price, be happy to share them. The problem becomes two fold. The first is that to access this materials we would need to consult the tribes where the material is located, they ultimately will have the final say in whether you can dig for them. The second is man-power. Our nation does not have a large fixed population such as yours, many of our people are nomadic herders and unskilled in mining work. We could however utilise the slaves from one of the tribes which still practices it and this will help you greatly. What needs to be seen though is what you can offer in return for these materials?" 

Offline Lijiang

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #6 on: June 05, 2021, 10:51:50 PM »
Jing and Tielin exchanged a few glances at each other. The mention of slaves was a bit of an issue. The Majestic Empire had at one time permitted slavery but at some point in the 17th Century the then Dragon-Emperor had insisted all people must be able to farm their own land to show their worthiness to the two Dragons. As such all slaves had been freed and instead paid rent on their land in the form of undertaking service to the Dragon-Emperor. This service was either on the land of some appointed noble, by serving the military or by giving over a portion of their harvest to the crown. It meant no one, at least to Tielin's knowledge was a slave. He suspected that in some of the remote villages the practice of holding people and forcing them to work on farms may still exist but the country was vast, the villages remote and at times law and order was difficult to maintain across the Empire. Largely though the nations version of the feudal system ensured everyone knew their role in society and communities ensured good order was kept amongst themselves. Tielin did not want to go back upon the word of one of his historic predecessors and beside the Dragon-Priestess had not revoked the belief that slavery was not in the mind of the divine pair of Dragons. "I must first stress the fact that our faith several hundred years ago passed a decree that slaves must be freed. As a result I can not and will not buy anything produced from the labour of slaves. I would be seen as being disloyal to the Divine Pair if that was the case and that can't be allowed. Is it possible to make such arrangements?" Tielin hoped the talks would now not be stalled before really getting going.

"As for what we can offer in return that depends on what you require. We have an arrangement with Royal Seleucid to ensure they are well supplied with food produce. We can obviously offer a trade in this regards. Likewise we have an abundance of non-rare metals, iron ore, bauxite and the like. If they would be of interest then we could do something there. There is always the option of us just parting with cash and paying you outright for them." Trade of good for goods was a rather old system by modern Mundus standards but back home in Lijiang it was still common for a farmer of rice to trade with a farmer of silk for their goods. Internationally though Tielin believed cash would probably be King. 

Offline Wadden

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2021, 06:18:58 PM »
The Sultan was the leader of a nation that had no single dominant faith. While most tribes were follows of what anthropologists would call "folk faiths" they were tied together by the belief in some way of Nakrar and Attah, the father and mother goddesses. There were though tribes who followed Islam, some who were Manist and some who were follows of Anahitaism. Religion had been a major cause of conflict between the tribes in the past and even more recently the murder of the two Anahitaist priestesses had set alarm bells ringing across the nation. He therefore knew all too well the need to walk the tightrope of keeping those with faith in check. "I can appreciate you having to adhere by your faith and its rules. I am sure that we can find some tribes with the materials you require as out of the 24 tribes only one allows slavery, that is the Humaydah tribe which follow the Manist faith. That means you have 23 other chances to find the minerals you are looking for." The Sultan motioned for one of the many attendents to come and approach him. The man leaned down to the Sultan who spoke into his ear.

"Yes Your Majesty" the man bowed and backed away until a few steps away. He then turned and hurried away.

"Now as for payment I would be happy to accept goods as payment. My intention is once we identify a tribe that has what you require then we shall impose upon them the materials as part of their annual payments to me. At present we collect payment in livestock, produce, goods such as wool and even for some tribes dates. Historically we as a nation have sold these off when needed to release funds but as we trade seldom outside Waddan it is rarely the case that we need much. As such we have been able to live off the precious metals we have found and gemstones, much like our Seleucid friends. Now though we must diversify. We shall remove the demand for livestock from a tribe and instead demand the rare metals you require. We shall then sell it to you. I would accept food stucks we do not have ourselves, it would help us prepare for the next food emergency like the ones the Seleucid experienced. I would also accept timber, coal, refined metals, things of this nature. I think we will experience in the coming years younger people wishing to have what they are seeing in Royal Seleucid and other Midaranye nations and the capital here will grow, we must prepare for that. So perhaps rare metals for usable materials?"

The man the Sultan had whispered to reappeared and was carrying a huge book. It looked hundreds upon hundreds of pages thick and the man placed it with a heavy thud on the table infront of the Sultan. He inched himself forward to open up the book. The page was blank but the Sultan flicked back a few pages. "This is our Book of Tribes. It records all of the lands owned by the tribes for eternity, but it also maps where the tribes nomadic routes are and when they must move on. It gives us the basis to ensure disputes over resources such as land and water for animals don't begin. We have begun recording the distribution of various raw materials too." With an almost encylopedic knowledge of the book the Sultan flicked back and forth between pages. After some deliberation the Sultan closed the book seemingly satisfied. "Go bring me Chief Rashid Ajam" the Sultan motioned to a seating area along one side that a group of men were sat watching the auction from. The Sultan's man bowed and hurried down and could be seen chatting with the man.

Soon the duo were on their way up. "My Sultan" A man seemingly in his middle years with a wild black beard bowed with a hand on his heart. "The Dragon-Emperor and Empress I am honoured to be in your prescence." He bowed once more but it was noticable he bowed slightly less low to the guests. "What duty may I do for you Your Majesty" Rashid addressed the Sultan.

"Rashid I am making some changes to your nations tribute. This year I will be requiring you to undertake some mining. Our guest here is in need of some minerals we have but he does not. As such we will not be needing your wool, your camels or your goats this year, we will though require shipments of metals we shall give you a list of." Rashid nodded his understanding. He was confident that he could get things going with mining pretty easily. They had explored it as a means when rumour had come that Tamora was buying metals from the Manist tribe. Great caravans of people followed the herds and he knew a good 1/3 of them were not really needed. He knew there was potential and now was a good time. This could be a good boost for the tribe.

"As always my Sultan we shall do our best." Rashid bowed, "Dragon-Emperor I shall do all within my power to get you what you need when you need it. If you send my representative here in the capital a list we shall begin fulfilling it as soon as our nations geologists point us in the correct direction." The Sultan thanked him and motioned for the Chief to rejoin his colleagues.

"So do we have an arrangement?" The Sultan asked.

Offline Lijiang

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2021, 09:46:01 PM »
Tielin wondered just how many copies of that book existed. Despite their culture going back thousands of years even the civil service of the Majestic Empire had embraced the wonders of computing and the Dragon-Emperor hoped that should such a document exist back home then it would have been on some disc rather than a book thicker than any he'd seen in his life. He watched as the tribal chief came over and noticed the difference between two bows but he knew had the event been in the Majestic Empire it would have gone down the same way and so he clearly was not going to make a big deal out of it. The outcome of Rashid's journey over was positive for Tielin and he felt a sense of relief that the issue of slavery wouldn't come up.

"Your Majesty I am thrilled we've been able to reach a conclusion that is helpful for us both. We will make a list of the various materials we have of interest to you and from that list you will be free to make selections of what you need in return for the materials we have requested. I think though we could now seize on an oppurtunity for other matters. For example if we are to have this trade agreement on this matter it would make sense for each of us to have a representative. I would therefore like to invite you to send a married couple of noble birth to Lijiang to act as ambassadors. This would grant them access to the Imperial Palace and the Golden Enclave with minimal need for further arrangements. Its the easiest way to get in touch with our Ministers and our civil servants who will be managing this from our end. I would also see them as your ambassador to the Majestic Empire. If possible I'd like to place a noble from Lijiang within your nation in someway if possible. It will help us also identify other matters of co-operation moving forward. Would this be of interest?"

Offline Wadden

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2021, 09:26:49 PM »
"A Golden Enclave?" The Sultan asked, he had heard of the place but it was just a name. "Before I can agree to such a posting then I'd need to know more about it. I am though interested. We can agree though that some kind of representative exchange would be a good idea but I am unsure over whether it would be a married couple, especially as so many of our tribes practice polygomy, it would therefore be hard to find someone able to take the position who does not have multiple wives. I would not wish to split a family up and I am sure that is something you can appreciate."

Offline Lijiang

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #10 on: June 19, 2021, 10:58:35 PM »
Dragon-Empress Jing leaned forward so that she could be the one to address the Sultan on the matter of the Golden Enclave. "At the beginning of the Empire it was determined that the Dragon-Emperor would be the father of the nation and the Dragon-Empress would be the mother. As such the Mother's role was to create a haven of peace and serenity in which the father and the family could thrive and in many cases it is the Mother who imposes the will of the family. The problem was there was no place within the Empire that this could happen and so as a result the Golden Enclave was established. It is now a place where the Dragon-Emperor has to focus on nothing but his family and his own happiness. This leaves me in a position to ensure all things run smoothly there. I make the laws, I ensure all noble daughters and sons living in the Enclave are raised correctly and I try and make it a pleasant place for visiting guests. As such it is a place many ambassadors from monarchies choose to live and even our own ministers reside there which is why it is the perfect place for your own emissaries."

Tielin allowed his wife to finish before adding his own comments. " Within the Majestic Empire it is only me who is allowed to practice polygamy. The custom comes from attempts to create a large imperial family without some of the issues of inbreeding many monarchies have experienced such as Parbhani. Now with that said we recognise marriages from outside the nation within the Enclave, unless of course my darling wife makes a change, which I suspect she won't." The smile Jing gave acted as a kind of confirmation that this would not change. "As such if you sent for example a man with four wives as emissary they would all receive respects due to being married to a noble, however the emissary wouldn't be able to take wife number five while within the Empire but nothing would prevent him for example flying home to Waddan, marrying and bringing his new bride back with him. I hope therefore this means you'll approve the exchange and therefore our arrangement?"

Offline Wadden

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #11 on: June 28, 2021, 10:18:41 PM »
The Sultan believed that the answer was a satisfactory one. The Golden Enclave sounded intriguing but he wouldn't dare allow a woman to have the authority to overule him and so he did think the arrangement was a little silly. As he would be highly unlikely to ever visit the place it wouldn't be his problem. His advanced age and all the traditions of leaving Waddan had made him resigned to the fact that he wouldn't really bother visiting nations as far a field as Lijiang. That though wouldn't stop him sending other leaders from his nation that way. He could already think of a few tribes who had decent young son's of tribal leaders. He could send them, win favour with a tribe and dangle the carrot of several other arrangements being reached elsewhere across Mundus making sure other tribes had a chance to feel special.

"Your arrangement is a very sneaky loophole" the Sultan smiled. "I can accept this offer and I believe we have a deal." The Sultan stood and things in the arena around them stopped. The Sultan motioned for Tielin to stand, "In Waddan all business deals need a witness, I think we have several thousand here today." The Sultan turned to the people assembled. "I am asking each of you to witness a contract between myself and the honourable Dragon-Emperor of Lijiang. The people of Waddan and the people of Lijiang shall be friends. We shall provide them with metals and in return they shall provide us with a significant amount of food resources. Never again will the people of Waddan struggle to provide sustinance. I have determed that out of these supplies brought into my lands it will shared equally among the tribes according to size with each tribe getting a fair share for each member of their tribe. In the coming days we shall meet with each tribe and make arrangements to either store the food on their behalf or ship it to them. You here today have all witnessed this." The Sultan offered a hand to Tielin. A public handshake would be enough to seal the deal in a very legal sense in Waddan but he suspected the Lijiangian would prefer some pen and paper arrangement.

Offline Lijiang

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Re: A communication to the Sultan of Waddan
« Reply #12 on: June 28, 2021, 10:57:46 PM »
Tielin would of course have his envoys first job be to have the Sultan sign an official document. A copy of which would be stored in the huge library on the ground of the Palace of the Two Dragons back home. He suspected the nomadic nature of the Waddanites would mean paper copies were a luxury and that therefore makes the little ceremony quiet sensible. Tielin stood and waited for the Sultan to finish speaking. "I am thrilled to have experienced famed Waddan hospitality and experienced your cultures. I am confident that in the years to come this arrangement that I am excited to conclude will leave both nations in a stronger place. Today I have not only placed my own nation a step further down a path I have in mind for it but I hope I have made a new friend in the process." Tielin shook the sultan's hand and could feel a tingle of excitement about the future.