Re: The Savage Brawl [Round 2: Giant's House]
04-09-2010, 01:52 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.
Konka Rar silently cursed himself. He had lost control of the situation, and he despised that. For better or for worse, they were on the Hand of Silver's terms now. They were fortunate that Hoss was interested in maintaining their alliance, if only for the sake of his curiosity.
Konka Rar hated the thought of allying with a stronger force. Even if they had no intention of turning on you, it meant subordinating yourself to them. That was a position he was never comfortable with.
But it was the position he was in now. He would have to work with it. At least until an opportunity came along to change it...
He held his bony hand to his chin thoughtfully before answering the question. There was no need to make it clear how irritated he was - he could at least maintain the appearance of strength.
"I suppose you could say the pattern in my world is 'two steps forward, one step back'," he began. "It begins when one civilization makes significant advances in either technology or magic, but has no interest in sharing them with outsiders."
He held out his cybernetic arm.
"For example, this arm. I have only had it for a few years, but when I was still alive, there was a city-state where such augmentations were relatively commonplace. They had a nominal alliance with a neighboring kingdom, but wanted little to do with them, and certainly no interest in sharing the technology."
Hoss seemed interested. "And you say this is where the pattern begins. Where does it end, then?"
"In one of two ways. Either the civilization is destroyed, or they vanish entirely, most likely with the aid of their advances, and are often relegated to the realm of mere legend. The city I spoke of falls in the former category." He paused, watching Hoss' reactions carefully. "In either case, of course, their advancements are almost always effectively lost to the rest of the world. Technology and magic steadily improve, but rarely does the world as a whole benefit from singular breakthroughs. It is horribly inefficient, as you might imagine."
Konka Rar silently cursed himself. He had lost control of the situation, and he despised that. For better or for worse, they were on the Hand of Silver's terms now. They were fortunate that Hoss was interested in maintaining their alliance, if only for the sake of his curiosity.
Konka Rar hated the thought of allying with a stronger force. Even if they had no intention of turning on you, it meant subordinating yourself to them. That was a position he was never comfortable with.
But it was the position he was in now. He would have to work with it. At least until an opportunity came along to change it...
He held his bony hand to his chin thoughtfully before answering the question. There was no need to make it clear how irritated he was - he could at least maintain the appearance of strength.
"I suppose you could say the pattern in my world is 'two steps forward, one step back'," he began. "It begins when one civilization makes significant advances in either technology or magic, but has no interest in sharing them with outsiders."
He held out his cybernetic arm.
"For example, this arm. I have only had it for a few years, but when I was still alive, there was a city-state where such augmentations were relatively commonplace. They had a nominal alliance with a neighboring kingdom, but wanted little to do with them, and certainly no interest in sharing the technology."
Hoss seemed interested. "And you say this is where the pattern begins. Where does it end, then?"
"In one of two ways. Either the civilization is destroyed, or they vanish entirely, most likely with the aid of their advances, and are often relegated to the realm of mere legend. The city I spoke of falls in the former category." He paused, watching Hoss' reactions carefully. "In either case, of course, their advancements are almost always effectively lost to the rest of the world. Technology and magic steadily improve, but rarely does the world as a whole benefit from singular breakthroughs. It is horribly inefficient, as you might imagine."
There's no reason for this | Or this | Death is inevitable | You can't challenge fate | The smallest change | I'm overwhelmed
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse