The Last Crusade

[Iron Templar]

Exile

This quest is being migrated to QQ as a result of it being Yeeted from SB by Illiterate savages who apparently neither understand history, nor what words actually mean. Alas for them, and their efforts I possess more brainpower than your average ketamine infused squirrel and saved all of the quest on a separate document before they blocked my access to my own thread which they locked.
So for a little while I will be reposting the turns, with some touch ups and spelling corrections. That will likely take a little while as I want to make it look nice, rather than a one to one rip. Especially as I wasn't very familiar with the Formatting of SB when I started. So, without further ado.

It is the 30th Millenium.

It is a time of legend.

Old Night is ending, and Terra burns to greet the dawn.

For five thousand years the cradle of Mankind has been entombed. Warp storms sealed the stars. The empires of the Dark Age of Technology collapsed into ash, rust, and atomic fire. Cities became ruins, picked over by carrion bands eking a meager existence. Oceans boiled or froze. The gene-stock of humanity twisted under rad-winds, chem-rain, and the unchecked horrors of forgotten laboratories. What remains is a patchwork, its mythic past only dimly recalled.

Mighty tyrants battle for the right to rule a single, ruined world.

From the Panpacific wastes to the steppes of Ursh, from the scattered sanctuaries of Yndonesia to the fortress-realms of Albia and Franc, from the jungles of Hy Brasil to the sparse highlands of Hispania, banners rise and fall with the season. Armies, raiders, relic-engines, and half-understood atomics grind one another into the dust of dying lands. Priests of rusted machines bargain with spirits they no longer understand. Psychic warlords open doors that should have stayed shut. There is no peace on Terra, only endless war.

Each names himself master of Mankind by his own proclamation, and conqueror by the might of their vast hosts: gene-bulked conscripts, tribal raiders, relic-engines, and warriors birthed in storm and vault, some with the strength of a hundred men. By fist, banner, and the gleam of half-understood artifice they seek to bind Terra — and whatever lies beyond the dying vox. Despite all their strength, it is barely enough to seize an edge in this age of techno-barbarism.

Will humanity be led into a new age of supremacy under the reign of one among them, or slink back into fire and ash, doomed to a cycle of never-ending war?

To be a man in such times is to be the surviving heir of an already fallen kingdom. To fight, kill, and die on the battlefields that shall determine the future of the galaxy.

Forget the stars. They are a distant and false memory. Forget the promise of the Golden Age, for its machines are tombs and its sciences are naught but horrors to fear or use. This is Terra at the end of Old Night: a world of warlords, relics, and doomed causes. There is no unity, or peace save what is purchased in fire.

These are the tales of those years — when one world was forced to become the throne of a species, and the Unification Wars decided whether Mankind would crawl back into the dark of endless night, or rise once more with the break of dawn.

 

[Iron Templar]

Begin Again.​

"See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers." – Isaiah 43:19​

It is the Year of our Lord 29,550. The 30th Millennium, and it is a time of sorrow, and pain. A group of Jesuits and survivors of the collapse of the Human Federation have gathered in the ruins of Humanity's cradle amidst the warring technobarbarian states. From all across Terra during this time of strife. The people cry out for a savior, some indeed believe it is the end of days. Your people are not one of these, for you were told two things about the apocalypse in revelations. The first being a series of signs of which only a bare handful may apply. The second, is that the lord said the people would not know of the end times, and to not worry about them, but instead to seek first the Kingdom of God.

In this time there are those who look back to the past to the Federation, and the Golden age of technology. There are those that look back at this time with reverence, and worship, and longing for that time to return. They do not remember the horrors, the faults, or the cracks in the very foundation. Then there are those who look back on such a time, and have naught but disdain and fear, who shun that past, and believe it would better be forgotten. Perhaps there is more wisdom in this than the other, but ignorance is a poor shield, and forgetting the past also means forgetting the lessons it taught.

Your people remember the past clearer than most. Catholicism is at its heart a scholastic faith, and part of that comes with a desire to know how everything in Creation works, and understand it as completely as is humanly possible. Part of that includes history, which your people have studiously kept records of throughout old night. May this knowledge bring clarity and inform your actions in the future.

It has been nearly five thousand years since the fall. Since Terra burned, and the galaxy was set ablaze, and then cast into darkness. Since the Federation collapsed, Xeno's turned on their once allies. Now your order has gathered, and a decision has been made. You will no longer merely attempt to preserve and hide. The time has come at last, the destruction and chaos has begun to abate, and what word you have managed to get from across the world tells you that things are at last beginning to stabilize. It is predicted by the monks that in the coming centuries there will rise warlords who will have both the strength, and capability to attempt to unite Terra once more. The worst of strategic weapons have been used, and the people rendered resistant as a result of having to contend with them for so long. The time is now coming where humanity will begin to regain its strength rather than lose or merely conserve it.

That is why it is vital that your people act. You remember the past, and you know something about what is out there. Be it one of the many violent and ruthless alien life that would see mankind enslaved, dead, or far worse. The human, yet self-destructive hand of the Technocrats, Ethnarchs, and ideologs of your own race; or the dark works of the devil no doubt working industriously between cackling at the state of God's children. Regardless you have a responsibility to God and man. To make sure that neither the old-world order which led to such devastation, nor the dark dreams of tyrants come to fruition. It is time once more to go on crusade. Perhaps it shall be our last, but we know what the alternative is, and would rather try and fail than surrender to the end. Now is the time to reunite Christendom and reclaim our birthright.

Deus Vult!
—

Your order has survived for a very long time. The church is humanity's oldest organization. It has outlived men, dynasties, countries, worlds, and species. It has been hunted and persecuted for much of that time. It has had to endure political intrigue, heresies, and subversive elements. The church has not always succeeded, and indeed it has failed in the past, it is human. However, it has endured it all, and it has thus far found its way back to the path, no matter the trouble or tribulation.

As you are the monks charged with ensuring the history is properly chronicled. We shall begin with the most basic of questions. "Where?" As in where was the orders base of operations that would be the start of the mission?

[ ] The Iberian Plateau; Once the home and heart of the great Spanish and Portuguese empires. Though different in language and temperament these two great empires would both keep to the faith and do great work to spread the word of the lord across the world. The records kept by the Spanish Empire were some of the most highly detailed in history to the point many scholars found the prospect of actually reading them rather daunting. Between the Spanish and the Portuguese. There was a time when the two nations' brothers within the church had divided the world between them through the Treaties of Tordesillas and Zaragoza, bounding the two Empire's spheres of influence along a meridian and antimeridian line.

The Iberian Plateau, although technically a part of the wider technobarbarian state of Europa, the plateau's raised position, and harsh terrain makes it naturally defensible from those of the lowlands. Which includes broader Europa should they prove an enemy of the church. The city of Madrid was the capital of the old Spanish empire, despite its central location it is not presently the regional capital of Iberia, for that honor goes to the lesser hive city of Cordesh. Which serves as a semi itinerant court of Don Luis Ramon, who serves as the regional governor for Europa.

However, it is likely given the long traditions of the people, and the suffocating nature of the Federation Remnants that the people will largely be receptive to you, baring perhaps the people of the Saragorn Enclave who little is known about, aside from the fact their people are mostly from the Barcelona region which historically have been about as reasonable, as they have been successful.

Your order is based in the Monasterio de El Escorial. Or simply El Escorial. It is one of the historical residences of the king of Spain. Built sometime between 1563 and 1584. As a former royal site. It has the functions of a monastery, basilica, royal palace, library, university, hospital, and school. Its austere location is in close proximity to the City of Madrid. The monastery also contains one of the largest reliquaries in Christendom (at least on Terra). The library contains over 40,000 volumes, including many important illuminated manuscripts. As well as a digital library in which monks saw to preserve the knowledge within hard drives and physical books.

[ ] Hymalazia; The Hymalazia, also known as the Himalayas are the tallest mountain range on the planet, even with a few terrain altering thermo-nuclear explosions. There are many places, temples, and bases could be made in this region, and surely with such natural defenses, and storied history of temple fortresses able to project power downwards. Surely nothing could go wrong in this location. (This is here for humor.)

 

[Iron Templar]

Making preparations like its the first Crusade​

"Blessed are the meek*, for they will inherit the earth" - Matthew 5:5 (Beatitudes)
​

The Iberian Plateau, aka Hispania. This is your home region for this operation. It is a region that is controlled albeit somewhat loosely by the Federation Remnant of Europa. However, the vast sand desert of the mediterranean basin, and the naturally rough terrain of the Iberian plateau makes regular communications, and news from the Europan capital in Ru'Mova, both rare, and often incomplete.

As a result of this distance, and the hazards and problems coordinating efforts into this region. This means the management and governance of this region has been delegated to Don Luis Ramon, a warlord who as his honorific suggests styles himself as a classical Spanish lord. As such he is a military aristocrat in his form. Some may uncharitably suggest that this is mere delusion on his part, but in effect it does lend him an air of civility, and gentlemanly conduct which can be rare in these harsh times. From what you know about Ramon, he is a man who is decisive, and is quick to make use of his sword, but does not seem to inherently be belligerent. (at least relative to what you would expect). The only strangeness surrounding his appointment as governor was that the Europan government insisted that he could not be appointed to the role unless he was elected by the people of the plateau. Since the Don was the man with the largest and best organized military on the plateau, the people who bothered to crawl out of the woodwork to vote; Voted for him. Either because he seemed most apparently able to protect them, or for the fact they didn't seem to have any other clear alternatives. One Spanish man quite literally remarked "who else would we vote for?"

Despite his appointment/election, neither he nor Europa as a state has the whole of Iberia under their control. Even excluding the neighboring Enclave of Saragorn. It is more accurate to say that the land they claim as theirs is within their sphere of influence instead. Firm National borders are difficult to maintain to say the least, and direct control typically only extends as far as the range of a man's rifle in these times. As such there are numerous bands of survivors, gangs, and ethnic groups that all have their own thing going on in the region, but it is without question that the largest, and most powerful man in the region is Don Ramon, and this was true even before Europa appointed him as governor of the region. Only now, he at least on paper has access to further support and reinforcements from the wider Europan state.

The lesser hive city of Cordesh is the regional capital of the plateau, and serves as the base for Don Luis Ramon's operations, it is also where his semi-itinerant court can most regularly be found. It is not as big of a city as Madrid, at least in size. It is however the city that has been properly secured, and at least in part brought online water purifiers, and waste recycling. Which has allowed it to sustain a large population, and support his troops in the field around this region, and serve as industrial support. Outside of this he maintains military outposts along the border of the plateau, with patrols around these regions to watch carefully for raiders, or potential invasions.

Our position is just outside the Hive city of Madrid at the monastery of El Escorial, Though calling Madrid a city is perhaps a stretch. The very reason it is not the regional capital of the plateau is that the city is largely a ruin. It is divided amongst dozens if not hundreds of rival gangs who fight over the scraps, and the city is massively depopulated from its height during the Federation. Indeed even a millennium ago the city was far more populated than it is now. Make no mistake though. The city contains not only valuable salvage, but if its facilities could be restored, and the city taken in earnest it could be a vital resource for future ventures.

There are two other major groups in the region whom your order has some information on the first is the Saragorn Enclave, which is set up in the area of the Saragorn city, but their territory also extends to the plateau region of Barcelona. They have largely kept to themselves, but they have dispatched their agents, and small raiding parties to collect known, or suspected psykers, and have been known to pay out bounties to people who will give psyker's up. Something that has driven several such people into the arms of your brothers and sisters at least for a time to shelter them from these hunters. What they want with these psykers is unknown, but they seem to prefer taking them alive. The why however has eluded your order to this point.
The Second group is a large gang based out of the settlement of Portu to the west in the northern part of the Spanish province of Portugal. There is a gang known merely as the chuleta de cerdo (The Pork Chops), they are known for their sand skimmers, a device that is peculiar, it seems to be an ordinary sand crawler, and yet somehow they are able to get incredible speeds out of these devices. How they are able to do this is unknown, and they are careful to not use them at their full speeds while observed, but the distances they cover happen far too fast. Leading others to conclude that they are capable of much greater speeds. However no one has been able to replicate this. The chuleta de cerdo are best known for their piracy, and raiding. They are also known for having a vendetta against Europa for reasons we can't be entirely sure of, but it probably has something to do with the Federation turning their ancestral homeland into an economic zone, and then folding it into the Spanish economic zone later on, and a number of other unsavory things which have left a cultural memory of bad feels.

GM Note: This game will alternate between Policy turns, and Strategic turns. During policy turns you will determine your overall goals, projects, laws, civics, etc. Strategic turns will be when you decide things like… Sending expeditions, military actions, diplomats, etc, etc. Policy naturally comes first.

How the Policy Turn works.
So the way this is going to work, is for parts of this quest I will have you lovely gentlemen, and ladies deciding policy. I will then make the rolls in accordance to the difficulty, kind of policy, and outcome, etc, etc. There is no technical limit to how many policies you can attempt to implement, but some of these are clearly going to require more, or less time, and effort to implement. The more policies you try to push through at the same time the harder it will be for them to succeed and the higher the likelihood they will just fail. So it would be best for you to limit your policy choices to either a few things which are important, or things that could be achieved with minimal effort, and time.
In short, don't overextend yourselves, or you will be disappointed, and I will be treating this like real world policy implementation which means. While good policies will generally do better, and bad policies will generally do worse. It is also possible for a good policy to be implemented poorly, or have trouble due to unforeseen events. Just as it is possible for bad policy to succeed in spite of itself for external reasons, or perhaps exceptional individuals carrying them out. You will thus have to watch to see how these policies pan out over time.

What are these Policies?
I am glad you asked, disembodied voice that is definitely not a sign of early onset psychosis. The policies I have listed here are a combination of policies that would be readily thought up by the members of the church, and the survivors. This does not represent all of the options. You can even suggest more options for policies, just keep it brief. If it is something that would be considered or suggested by a member of the faction it will if nothing else be added to the list for the next policy turn. Though I will mention if the policy will be reviewed by the factions within the church, and they will react accordingly.

Deciding Policy.

• Conducting a Census
  • [ ] Church Censor: (Actually a fairly traditional way of doing it. As is the church keeps detailed genealogies for their local region, and often fills outs paperwork for marriages, births and deaths. Who better to keep the Census?)
  • [ ] Census Department: (Or we could create a department more dedicated to keeping the census. It would mean they are theoretically specialized for such a task, but it would seem like their would be limited work for them.)
  • Intervals
    • [ ] Adhoch basis (The Census will be conducted whenever we feel it would be a good idea.)
    • [ ] 5 Year Census (The same system the Romans Utilized. It allows for very good information)
    • [ ] 10 Year Census (Nearly all modern states use this system. It allows the government to keep a fairly good bead on tendencies, and general trajectories)
    • [ ] 15 Year Census (Also known as a generational census. It basically puts a focus on long-term trends rather than changes over a short period.)
• Communications:
  • [ ] Courier: (Snail mail, but unlike all the others it allows the delivery of documents and packages from point A to point B. It is dangerous especially in these days, but sometimes its the only way to get something from one place to another)
  • [ ] Voxcaster (using good old fashion radios it allows you to send a signal within a certain range. Generally a fairly short one as the amount of radiation, interference, and dust make this form of communication extremely difficult over long distances. Large and powerful Radios will be required for any meaningful communication more than a few miles. At least until the situation improves)
  • [ ] Wire (The most reliable way to cut through interference is to have a hard line to whatever it is you're trying to reach. At least so long as the wire itself isn't cut.)
• Educational Policy(While your monks, and priests are still receiving the full comprehensive education. The same can not be said for everyone else)
  • [ ] Catholic Schools (reopening the old schools to allow kids who are not already preoccupied with other work and activities for their family)
  • [ ] Literary Schools (While opening a general academy or university is impractical, as is trying to educate every person, and survivor. We can focus on teaching people how to read and write, and this would provide a gateway to general improvement, both in their overall capability and they may even use this ability to learn additional skills by reading books, and manuals)
• Foreign Policy:
  • [ ] Missionaries: (As was the time of old, we can send out Missionaries to establish missions, spread the good word, reunite with our fellow brothers and sisters of Christ. Through these efforts we can even begin to establish relations with others and gain some information about what is occurring.)
  • [ ] Diplomats: (Brothers can be dispatched to make contact with, and establish relations with the other polities. This establishes basic level of information, and can help us to know who is out there, and their perspective. )
  • [ ] Spies: (We could send out scouts to seek, and find locations, people, and places of importance with the express purpose of gathering intelligence which can hopefully be meaningfully acted upon. This would be far from anything truly clandestine, but honestly most of spywork has historically been about this more than anything else.)
• Governmental Policy
  • [ ] Direct Theocracy (There is a historical president for the Church directly governing its own territory. We could decide for the kingdom to be not only in spirit but exist on the material as well.) (In the modern day the church is actually still like this; it's just mostly managing property like an international organization rather than territory.)
  • [ ] The Holy Roman Empire. (The HRE was an ancient state that was often misunderstood by many within popular fiction. Regardless it was an empire that lasted a millenia, and did so in a time before fast communications and travel. It could be used as an effective model that would both respect compatible local cultures and customs, and provide a strong sense of unity from which could easily be expanded and built upon.)
  • [ ] Federated Christian Republic. (Inspired by the old Swiss cantons, and italian city-republics. Organizations like this do require immense amounts of basic education, and a semi homogeneous culture. Without those they tend to become either paralyzed or tear themselves apart. Still if the groundwork is laid we could make use of it.)
• Psyker Policy
  • [ ] Approve and Allow all Psykers (Yeah, lets just allow all Psykers in and accept them with open arms. It should be fine.)
  • [ ] Church Sanctioning of Psykers (Psykers who meet certain criteria of the church can receive official sanctioning.)
  • [ ] Ban all Psykers from Reliquaries and libraries. (Given psykers occasional instability making them stand outside of the range of church relics and books might be wise.)
  • [ ] General Ban of Psykers: (While we are not going to cast them out of society for something they simply cannot help. We cannot encourage the use of psykery, and must strictly enforce our laws against those who act out with their usage of them.)
  • [ ] Drive Them Out! (Generally not a very popular policy among the catholics though it is one the people who are deeply afraid of psykers could get behind. The church however, has never historically been a fan of burning witches, and has broadly stood against it in nearly all instances. Oftentimes the church acted as a higher authority that would prevent these atrocities from happening. As such driving them out is not a popular decision within the church.)
• Law Enforcement:
  • [ ] Night Watchmen (Instead of a formal police force, pulling from Anglo Saxon common law. Wary of creating a standing police force, the Anglo Saxons incorporated a tradition known as the Vigilante. Whereby volunteers would watch for crime, and enforce good order. Whenever the vigilantes proved inadequate in the face of rampant crime. The citizens would band together, and enforce the law upon the lawless.)
  • [ ] Sheriff's office (A formal office of law enforcement is established on local levels by which a small force of Sheriffs and deputies will combat crime, and maintain order. Similar to the night watchmen system the sheriffs have the ability to enlist the help of volunteers on a case by case basis to deal with larger problems)
  • [ ] Police Department: (Local police departments can be established to formally assemble a professional police force, this force would typically be drawn from people who live in the region.)
  • [ ] Federal Department: (A centralized police force that would answer directly to the The central authority)
  • [ ] Military Police: (Given the hard times, you could opt to just straight up have the military police the public and enforce the law. Provided they are actual MPs for the military they may incidentally be less belligerent as a result of being used to dealing with armed, military aged men on the regular.)
• Military & Warfare
  • [ ] Organize a Militia: (We could organize those armed among the faithful, and introduce training and drill to create a force that is better able to defend ourselves from raiders, and warlord armies. This could lay the foundation for a levy force which can be pulled from in future.)
  • [ ] Recruit Temple Guard: (Our defense has mostly been carried out by our own priests, and monks who have elected to become skilled with weapons much like Saint Peter)
  • [ ] Scavenging Arsenals: (The devastation unleashed upon Terra was great, a deluge of fire that engulfed the world. Consequently it means that a great many arsenals and caches were never found, or kept track of. We have in our possession records of these old armories. It perhaps could be worth checking out to see if anything of use could be found there.)
• General Strategy
  • [ ] Fortress Monastery First: (Focus of Fortifying El Escorial and the Immediate Madrid area before outwards expansion. In this way we shall build a castle from which the faithful can shelter, and provide legitimacy by providing protection to the people)
  • [ ] Missionary Expansion: (Aggressive, and nominally peaceful outreach, send small teams of Jesuit missionaries plus escorts to the districts of Madrid, nearby settlements, and even Cordesh)
  • [ ] La Reconquista Nueva: (The Iberian Plateau already contains a great number of people who would be sympathetic to our cause, and has historically been a bastion of faith. Securing the Iberian Plateau for Christ would grant both a clear purpose, and an excellent base of operations to jump off from.)
• Organizing the Faithful
  • [ ] Sword Brothers: (Charitable organizations tasked with security where needed in return for modest fees)
  • [ ] Order of St. Isidore (St. Isidore, aka Isidore the Laborer or farmer. Who was in fact born right here near Madrid. In honor of this saint we can establish an order dedicated to working the land, restoring it both for use in agriculture, and for the nature that existed before the fall… Of the Federation, not the garden.)
  • [ ] House of Healing: (The church has a long and proud heritage of healing the sick, and the wounded. Running many missions to cure illness, and perform lifesaving surgery. Organizing some of our brothers, and those survivors of adequate skill, and ability to learn. Such medicine and skill would doubtless be useful, and save many lives.)
• Logistical Concerns(We need to consider how we could restore sensible logistics for long term operations. As of right now we are dependent on what individual people can move by hand and the occasional vehicle which has been either kept in working order, or restored.)
  • [ ] Beast & Porter Networks (Through use of Mules, and other draft animals, and human porters. We can establish a system of cheap, low-tech, and rather resilient transport. At the cost of it being very slow and low capacity)
  • [ ] Tunnel and Road Restoration. (Many of the old roads have been destroyed or otherwise have fallen into disrepair. If we could organize people into labor brigades, and using old maps we can work to restore old roads, or lay new ones. Though new roads will have to be compacted dirt, or maybe gravel if we are feeling expensive.)
  • [ ] Vehicle Recovery & Workshop Priority (Dedicate significant resources to locating, repairing, and restoring Pre Old Night trucks, Half tracks, and light grav-sleds)
• Resource Concerns
  • [ ] The Tithe (It was a custom for the church during the medieval times to collect a tithe, The word tithe comes from the Anglo-Saxon word teotha meaning "a tenth." The church could implement such a thing. Not for money obviously as their isn't really a reliable currency but for goods or services. Such resources could be used to restore, rebuild, and further the church's goal of a reunited Christendom. Our holy brothers will be inclined to refuse tithe collections from those who cannot afford it.)
  • [ ] Freshwater Wells (The lack of reliable access to water has led many to fight over the hive cities to make use of their water reclamation systems, and waste recycling. We could survey the land for aquifer locations, and good places to dig wells and establish filters for nasty particulates and radiation. Bringing clean water to those out in the countryside, and wasteland.)
  • [ ] Scrap & Reuse (There exist a great many wrecks, and ruins which will never be recoverable. These systems could be stripped of their useful components, and recycled for their base parts for our effort. Scrap metal can be melted down, and reforged. It is a tedious process, but it does have the advantage of making use of the wreckage and ruins of the old world to build a new one.)
• Manufacturing.
  • [ ] Workshop Economy: (It is what it says on the tin. We already have brothers, and survivors who make things as a hobby. They could be employed to construct things on a more regular basis.)
  • [ ] Salvage & Refurbishment: (Assemble Salvage teams, and have those with the required skills in restoration to search the wreckage and junk piles for useful items that can be restored to working order.)
  • [ ] Manufactorum Restoration: (Within the city of Madrid there is a Manufactorum complex which could be restored, and if properly crewed could produce a great many things. That said, it will require a lot of resources, and skilled personnel, such as the monks.)

Factions: While not relevant right now. As you expand, and make contact with more members of the church, and make decisions. You will encounter, add, and create new factions within your order. These people will nominally generally agree on basic principles at least most of them will, but they may have disagreements about how this whole matter should be handled.

* Leaving this here because I know that no one will bother to look it up. Meekness in the Bible, and indeed in ancient times in general carries a different meaning to the popular concept. Meekness translates to those who are strong, but show restraint. It also includes being strong enough to be gentle. Those who are dangerous, and have self-control. Something a lot of the primarchs could have taken some wisdom on.

Spoiler: The Players Plan

This was what the players voted for in the last game for reference.

Player Plan Choice:

[X] Plan Meek, Indeed
-[X][Census Policy] Church Censor
-[X][Education Policy] Catholic Schools
-[X][Law Enforcement] Night Watchmen
-[X][Military and Warfare] Temple Guard
-[X][General Policy] La Reconquista Nueva
-[X][Organizing the Faithful] Sword Brothers
-[X][Organizing the Faithful] Order of St. Isidore
-[X][Organizing the Faithful] House of Healing
-[X][Resource Concerns] Freshwater Wells
-[X][Manufacturing] Workshop Economy

 

[TheLastKrork]

Glad we got this continuing here, libshit mods on SB didn't like the truth.

Either way I wonder the kind of following here you shall acquire.

 

[Iron Templar]

The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth​

"Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love, and the future to His providence." - Saint Augustine
​

The council of sworn brothers met, and discussed that which must be done, and it was here that one of our brothers spoke, and reminded us of our task. We have chosen to act yes, but this is no excuse to act without restraint. As it is said it is the meek who shall inherit the earth, and we should be in no rush to draw our swords when words will suffice.

The council sat and discussed and the orders would be given out over the coming weeks. As the toil of men began to slowly and inexorably put to good order. The first was a matter of intent. La Reconquista Nueva, that was our purpose on a strategic level, and that is what we would carry out. The road would no doubt be difficult, but a journey of a million miles begins with a single step. Through God all things are possible.

The year of our Lord 29,551 Anno Domini

Church Censor
After the council concluded, a church Censor was needed to be found, and so your brothers did the obvious thing… They asked if anyone was interested, and your brother Alanso Godfrey was the one who answered. He had always been one amongst your brothers to take special care to keep track of things as precisely as was possible, and as effectively as he could. As such he began organizing with a few other brothers, and initiates on how the census could be undertaken. Immediately, he threw two things out. The First was there being a scheduled time for when the Census ought to be conducted; It wasn't that he didn't see utility in this, it was simply that at this stage it would be more trouble than it was worth. As it is this information would be of limited use to the order, and when the order needs that information. It can ask him and his censor office to collect it. He did express openness to the prospect of it being changed to a more regular time later, but for now he saw it as best to conduct the census on an ad hoc basis.

The second thing he threw out was attempting any sort of in-depth census gathering methods such as going door to door, or asking everyone to assemble for it. At least as of right now. The church has no real authority on this matter as far as the people are concerned, and it could be a great risk for both our brothers, the people, and ourselves. So instead Brother Alanso settled on a method that would be as efficient as possible. The first thing we would do when conducting a census was to use the information already at our disposal. Checking records of births, deaths, and medical records. The only information the census would be concerned with was if they were alive, and what family they had. The second thing they would do for the Fathers (Priests), and later the bishops. To speak with the members of their congregation when the census was called. This will be done in a natural and friendly manner, and can further be gathered when our brothers ask questions about relevant details such as how much water needs to be sent, and for how many families.

All of these methods of conventional information gathering serve to ensure that the census office itself is only staffed by Brother Alanso, and a handful of assistants. He has taken great pains to ensure that there will be no need for an extensive bureaucracy to conduct this matter at all. When it is time to conduct a census. The duty shall be dispersed over to the many hands of people who would have to gather normal information which would reveal the census numbers anyway. Alanso, and his assistants; can simply take some time to cross reference the information and compile the results. Saving time, and significantly reducing the burden of labor, and time. And when Alanso and his assistant are not required to do this task. They shall simply do other work for the church.

Catholic Schools
The origins of Catholic education go back nearly 30 millennia. With the early church leaders placing a strong emphasis on the instillment of faith and reason. From the establishment of cathedral schools in the Middle Ages, and even the rise of prestigious catholic universities like the University of Paris and Oxford. Such institutions played a central role in preserving and advancing knowledge throughout Europe, and the rest of Christendom.

The response from within the church was one of great enthusiasm. As many members of the church who held great interest in teaching, and doing it well. While the number of students attending the classes was beyond any and all expectations as many people allowed their children to attend the classes. Simply on the basis that it would keep them out of trouble, and the church offered some food for the kids. While your sworn brothers set about establishing a comprehensive curriculum which would educate the students not just in reading, writing, and mathematics - but also in history, logic, and moral virtue. Another core educational principle was the study of theology, and philosophy. With the overall end goal meant to create persons who were well rounded, and capable of critical thinking via strong logic, and reasoning; with good moral fundamentals that would create strong, intelligent, and moral individuals.

The Initial student body had exceeded all expectations as the class sizes were swiftly found to be filled, and indeed overflowing in some cases leading to their brothers having to organize times to fit all of their students in, and conscript some of our sworn brothers from their duties to see it done until the organization could be completed. Initially the parents of these children were willing to let their children attend on the basis that it would keep them out of trouble (and the church did offer to feed them at least a meal while they were there which eased the burden on them). However after a few weeks of schooling, and their children returning to them chattering about all that they had learned. The parents began to think it would not just be a good way to ease the burden on their household, but be genuinely useful to their progeny.

This had led to a pleasantly surprising occurrence where the parents and other local adults responsible for such children would arrive, and sit in on these classes. Some would be upfront in that they were curious as to what their children were learning as they were amazed at what they had learned. While others would in their pride and embarrassment make up some excuse for them being there. Your brother made sure to make them feel welcome, and helped them understand there is no shame in wanting to learn. No matter one's age. This older student body however would naturally be far more intermittent in their showings as they were often busy surviving in these lands, and made sure to bring whatever they could donate to the schools even if it was only their time and labor they could provide.

While it will take years yet to manifest the long term results from the establishment of the schools. It goes without saying that it has been a massive success. The brothers and sisters of the church said quite simply "We set our hands to good works, and the lord has blessed our efforts. May our hands never falter, and may his blessings never cease."

Night Watchmen
The establishment of Good order is the key to a safe, and productive society. For this to be so. Crime must be punished, and the law must be enforced. These are simple things that man has learned, and has unfortunately been forced to relearn many times throughout history. Among your brothers policing the grounds is easy enough. Your brothers largely self police, and already had an informal watch system set up. Setting it up for the wider communities however would be another matter, but one that would be assisted by the great success of the Catholic schools.

With many of the more upstanding, and conservative members of the local communities gathering at the schools. It was actually a small matter to organize a watchmen group. They easily understood that they need to watch out for their children, and many of them had long been of the opinion that something needed to be done about the criminals and their activities in their communities. They merely needed to be spurred to action, and having been galvanized by the fact that there were so many in their community that felt the same. So they were swiftly organized to make sure their communities, and most importantly their kids would have someone watching out for them.

There was some initial roughness, especially with several local screwheads, and more importantly wandering screwheads far too used to getting what they wanted when they threated, cajoled, or straight up resorted to violence. However a few instances of community led corporal punishment sessions, and the hanging of a few notorious murderers. After learning that their actions would indeed have consequences, the number of criminals in the region has seen a steep drop in activity. At least out in the countryside.

Temple Guard
Guarding the Temple was something that up until now had largely been done by your sworn brothers who had trained with the weapons they carried where and whenever possible. The establishment of the temple guard would allow your brothers to be more at ease, and able to focus more on other matters. However what should happen in theory is not expressly the same as reality.

The Temple Guard are not bad. At least in terms of what one might expect from guards. They stand guard where asked, they will escort brothers where they need to, and Brother John was able to get them to practice their accuracy and rifle drills at least somewhat regularly. Where the Temple guard fail is at an understanding of tactics, and larger organization. As it currently stands they are essentially a bunch of individual warriors with their weapons who act more or less on their own initiative, but are inexperienced. Or in some cases they have leaders among the guard who lead by personal charisma and sense rather than any kind of formal understanding or knowledge base.

All of that said. The Temple guard did not find any shortage of recruits from among the survivors, as many were willing to work for reliable access to room and board. Doing their shifts protecting priests, and the temple in between the odd jobs they did in their day to day. And your Temple guard does at least have a solid technical understanding of their equipment, and actually knows how to read and use their sight apertures properly.

La Reconquista Nueva
All great matters begin foremost with a declaration of intent, and the declaration of La Reconquista Nueva was one that your people rallied around. Your brothers, and sisters within the church and the survivors; Would soon hear about the mission you put forth, and your order would find understanding from these people. As they could see and understand the vision the church was working towards in their minds, and throughout the halls the words of a reunited Hispania were spoken, and discussed with seriousness as many would work to figure out how and where this should be achieved. This has earned the unshakable commitment from the people in your region.

It has even led to people from the countryside hearing of your order, and sending word of their support, and inviting members of the church to come out and speak to their people of the iberian countryside. In one case a community more than 130 miles north in a town known as Burgos, there were people who had sent for a new priest to man the cathedral of Maria de Burgos. For they wished to hear the words of the church that had once held such strongholds in this land that are still standing even now in this destroyed wasteland of a world.

The latter was a sentiment that was expressed by a number of the countrymen, it seems that they have a dim recollection of the catholic church's presence in the region, and have noticed that many of the monasteries, churches, and cathedrals are still present and intact. Some have taken this to mean that the church's "strongholds" were built better, or were more wisely placed to have been built so long ago, and still be standing now. There is obviously some survivorship bias going on here, and it is something your brothers will be sure to correct, but they do admire the spirit of the people, and were glad to see the people responding so warmly to them.

The creation of new holy orders.

Sword Brothers
The Sword brothers order is one that was vexed by two problems from the start. The first was the same as the temple guard, and in that way it was much the same, but far more of a problem as your sword brothers are meant to go out and assist the people as a charitable organization, and will do so on a request for modest fees. Provided they think it's a good cause. This matter is most vexing, perhaps it would behoove us to try and locate someone who has a great interest in historical military tactics, and organization such that they might be able to help organize these matters better.

The Second problem they run into is a manpower shortage, between the temple guard, and the numerous other projects there simply isn't enough to go around, and this has left the sword brothers a far smaller order for the moment than they would like. Still there is a sense of confidence from the brothers who believe they can get themselves properly established in time.

Order of St. Isidore
The Order of St. Isidore was an order which had little issue getting established and oragnized over the course of the year. They even received an influx of volunteers from the locals who held old portraits, and likenesses of the saint. Some of these people had some rather heretical beliefs that St. Isidore was God, or a god. Your brothers were able to squash this problem largely with just some conversation, and discussions of the historical texts which the people were largely unaware of as it was largely half remembered from what their lineage passed down by word of mouth. Though mistaken, their spirits were pure, and as was their intent. So an influx of farmers would join your brothers in the order of St. Isidore, and begin discussing the multitude of ways that the land could perhaps be restored once more to its pre-destruction state.

The first matters that they discussed were the restoration of the land, and how it might be worked to deal with contaminants on the surface, and how to expand soil to reclaim the dusty, and sandy areas that made up most of the land. The farmers pool their knowledge with your brothers and their knowledge of ecosystems, and natural cycles. They would begin simply with relatively small areas in and around the temple, and in nearby settlements, as well as a highland region nearby where a series of trees and bushes had kept a section of topsoil in place through it all. They went about working, and cleaning the dirt, and fertilizing it with manure, irrigating it with some of the limited water sources, and rain collectors, and now all that is left to do is wait, and monitor the experiment, and perhaps come up with some others they can test to see what would be the most effective. The order is off to a good start.

House of Healing
The house of healing, while not as successful as the order of St. Isidore, has perhaps become one of the most beloved of the orders you have produced. The sisters, and brothers who make up the healers of the sick swiftly become near universally beloved, and the fact they offer such healing as an act of charity which requests only that those that receive their care will attempt to return such kindness in whatever way they can.

The brothers and sisters of the house walk through the streets of even the hive city of Madrid mostly without fear, for none of the gangs however violent, or cruel; Would dare to fire upon them, and risk both loss of access to such medical care and the swift and violent retribution of their fellows as it has become an unspoken code that the hands of mercy are not to be harmed. In one instance an old brother of yours needed to pass through an area with an ongoing firefight. He shouted at them that he needed to cross, and both sides at once ceased their firing. After the old man crossed between them to get to the building where his patient could be found. He let the gangs know he had crossed, and shortly after he went inside they went back to shooting at each other.

Some of your doctors have even been invited to the homes of gangsters both big and small, and have even been able to go to these places, and have even been able to go there without getting shot at most of the time.

The house of healing has had a knock on effect. As doctors had always been a prized skill for their healing capability in this rather brutal world. While this skill saved them from death at least so long as others knew they possessed it. It did not save them from enslavement, and in fact often encouraged it. Thus many who possess medical skills, have flocked to your order to join it as a member so that they might enjoy the protections your order seems to have gotten as a consequence.

Freshwater Wells
Despite the manpower shortages, and the relatively few brothers, and indeed even local survivors that could assist in the location of freshwater wells. Brother William of Old Albia, decided that even though he was working with the sword brothers, and educating the children, and working with the order of St. Isidore. That he definitely has some more time where he can work. He just needs to cut out some non-essential sleeping hours.

He and his brothers have managed to locate several aquifers. These had been running dry many thousands of years ago, but when the hive cities' waste reclamation system went into effect most of the old wells which supplied water to those not located in the dense urban hives were shut down. This was a horrible travesty to the people who lived out in the countryside, and a terrible injustice. However one benefit for you was that you found that they were in fact filled with water. Of the five that were found in your area two of them were too contaminated for what filters you could devise. Two others were contaminated, but you could devise a series of old-fashioned filters which would filter the water through layers of sand, gravel, and then charcoal to create purified water. An ancient method, but one that was used even in modern waste water treatments.

The final well however proved to be both in the perfect location for one of the wasteland restoration project, and the water happens to be pure. And so your brothers will focus on developing a well pump here first that can supply your needs, and that of the communities around you.


Workshop Economy
The workshop developments however… Did not happen, and likely will not happen anytime soon as the people are too busy with many other projects, and until that changes. There are simply not enough hands to go around for this.

Strategic Turn:

(Alright so this is the first of several strategic turns we shall be doing before we do another policy turn. During this time you may see results from your policies, you can decide what strategic actions your people will be taking. If any at all. You naturally can use your various organizations, and groups you have established to send them out to do certain tasks. Some tasks they will perform automatically as it is a matter of policy, but you can specifically tell them to go do something should you wish to. Even if you don't have an organization or policy. For instance, you didn't pick missionaries, or scouts, but if you want to you can as a part of your strategic actions send some people out to do those things. There will naturally be some pluses and minuses to that.

Strategic turns are also when you will be interacting with the actions of other nations, organizations, and assorted individuals.)

The work continues for much of the year, and no major crisis, nor boon befalls your people at least as far as they are aware.

Strategic Actions: (Remember these are options, you don't have to do these, and can always suggest your own.)

• [ ] Do Nothing (Always an option, it can be prudent especially when you have a lot of things going on.)

The Census Office:

• [ ] Conduct a Census (If you feel the information would be useful you can have Alanso collect the census data such as it is, and he can get back to you with that information)

The House of Healing:

• [ ] Send a mission of Doctors to (Write in where)

The Temple Guard: (The Temple Guard unless busy with other matters will automatically accompany your other church members to dangerous locations. If lots of tasks are being done you should mention which ones you want to get priority.)

• [ ] Recruitment Drive
• [ ] Set up a garrison of some of the local communities
• [ ] Deploy the Temple Guard (To Where)

The Sword Brothers: (The Sword Brothers will be taking contracts, or providing protection to people as a charity, and will presumably do that unless you tell them otherwise.)

• [ ] Recruitment Drive
• [ ] Contract the Sword Brothers (To whom?)
• [ ] Deploy the Sword Brothers (To where?)

Or

• [ ] Write in your own actions

(Your plan was very sensible, and did fairly well. I was somewhat at a loss for strategic actions this turn, but with future turns there should be more options especially as things get more established. The following strategic turns will go pretty fast. To be clear I will be somewhat flexible with the Turn lengths. At this early stage 1 year turns is sensible. Because this is an early stage. There will come a time where long turns will happen simply because theirs is not going to be as much that will require your attention, and things will need to develop for that economy of action to return to your faction.)

Spoiler: The Players Plan

Players Choice:
Erratics Plan
[X] Conduct a Census
[X] Send a Mission of Doctors to Madrid
-[X] See if we can come to an arrangement with the gangs and the locals about the establishment of a Hospital within the confines of the Hive City
[X] Set up a garrison of some of the local communities
[X] Contract the Sword Brothers
-[X] Deploy the Sword Brothers with the Madrid Mission to ensure they safely reach their destination and make base./If Gangs allow free passage the Sword Brothers will abstain.

 

[Ryan Lozano]

Hello

 

[Iron Templar]

Lunatics and Rational Gangers​

"For you were called for freedom, brothers. However, do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love." - Galatians 5:13
​

The year of our Lord 29,552 Anno Domini
Brother Francisco sat on the escarpment overlooking the settlements, and the crops of the people. He saw fields of dust, sand, and rust. Channels of water had been dug alongside the fields to irrigate; within the fields the first crops had just barely begun to sprout. The water did not flow endlessly as that would be a waste of water, and until more wells were dug it could not be shared among all, least not for the crops. People of course, especially children, and the sick got first priority on that. The sky was grey this morning, and clouds of dust that seemed to hold no rain reigned overhead.

'It is as if the sky itself reflects the mood that befalls the people in these times' He thought to himself. He himself was not one given to depression, or profound sorrow. Francisco had always believed that while the situation itself is often out of one's control. The one thing a man can have mastery over is how he reacts to it, and so he greeted each day as well as he could. Some days this meant optimism, and others it meant grim determination to face the challenges of the day.

His rifle was an old one that had been put back into service back during the war with the machines. However, its design was far more ancient. He learned from his history that it was based primarily on the Spanish Mauser. Indeed there was from everything he could tell from his research into the weapon; Very little difference between them. Save for the fact that his was equipped with a 6x scope, and rechambered options, and according to his great grandfather at one time the furniture had been a polymer before his grandfather had replaced it with wood from a tree which had saved his life.

As the sun rose, he stood. He had rested enough. He dusted off his habit, and pulled his hood securely over his head, and continued to reconnoiter the ridge. He and a handful of his brothers had been sent to provide something akin to a garrison in these far towns. Though this was difficult, not because they were unwilling or because the townsfolk were opposed to it. No, their issue had been one of manpower. The Sword Brothers and the Guard only numbered so many. The Sword brothers only numbered half a thousand brothers for right now. The Temple Guard was different, they numbered thousands, but with another couple thousand that were permanent members, while the rest were far more irregular. Truthfully, the issue was one of weapons, and bare logistics. The church didn't exactly have an endless stockpile of weapons, and definitely not enough to equip all of them. So many of them simply used whatever weapon they brought with them. This was only a small issue for the sword brothers; many of them had taken part in protecting their brothers even before the founding of their order, and naturally already possessed weapons that were either passed down, traded, found, or in a few cases made by their own hands.

This issue weighed on him somewhat, but there was little Brother Fransico could do himself on this matter. He was always more of a fighter than a maker of weapons. Though he supposed if push came to shove he could give it a try… 'No' he thought. The idea of subjecting anyone other than himself to what makeshift weapons he cobbled together was not appealing. If he would have to, he would have to make them worthy of other hands than his own. For now he shall leave it to God, and so he prayed on that hill with his Rosary in hand to the Father that he might deliver them through this trying time, and aid them going forward. He finished his prayer and continued with his patrol. Only to stumble, and tumble his way into a hole in the ground.

"Ohhh!" he let out, while internally cursing his lack of attentiveness. He stopped himself from his head slamming into the rocks or anything too damaging, but could not avoid a mouthful of dust and sand that entered his mouth unbidden during his yelp. He spat out the dirt, and rose to his feet looking around the hole he found himself in. Looking around. His eyes settled upon the concrete structure that was against the wall on the other side from the entrance he fell down into. It was the entrance to a bunker, or otherwise underground complex of some sort. Fransico looked up to the sky, and said "My God you work fast! Vaya con Dios!" and he went swiftly to tell his brothers of what he had found.

Bunker Discovered. When the brothers on patrol inspected the facility they learned through its inspection that it was an armory for the Matacán Air Base, a Federation military base formerly. It was never strictly speaking top line, but then again what is, these days. It is a fortuitous find. It seems from reference to the station list the Federation had a battalion of men stationed here ready for deployment from this base when given a notice. As such they naturally only have equipment for about half of the men that were stationed here. Much to the confusion of some monks, and survivors who were searching through the armory. As to them it seems baffling. What seemed more baffling was the equipment which seemed horribly antiquated. In total there are about 4-500 rifles chambered in an intermediary cartridge (The number is uncertain because many of these need to be cared for and restored before they can serve). There are 7 LMGs, the "Heavy Stubber" as it is called in popular nomenclature, or the Browning M1919 LMG as your brothers from the gun culture informed you. Additional support weapons include 5x 60 mm Mortars, 3x 81mm Mortars, and 3x Heavy Plasma weapons which are listed as light-mid AT weapons. Other equipment includes flakweave uniforms, and carapace chestplates, and helmets. Now the only question that remains is to whom these weapons should be given?

Census Results.
The Census is carried out by brother Alanso Godfrey, and his aides at your request. It takes some time for the information to be gathered but overall he was able to get what he believes with a high degree of confidence to be accurate results. For your own order it should be accurate without question unless someone joined the order in between then and now, or if someone passed naturally.

Your Order: 14,238 Priests, 16,453 Brothers, 12,103 Sisters, 57 Permanent Deacons
Populace: 326,800 The bulk of this being around our monastery, and in the surrounding settlements around.
Sword Brothers: 658 Brothers
Temple Guard: 2,000 permanent members, 10,000 irregulars.

He has taken care to gather this information from reliable sources, and has been conservative in areas where there is high traffic from people passing through the region frequently.


Mission to Madrid
The travel to Madrid was in all honesty rather terrible. The truck, and wagons had gotten stuck more than a few times along the way. Though according to the eldest among them apparently the traffic back before the fall was far worse than any of them could imagine. So perhaps it was better this way despite the destruction, and lack of infrastructure. The expedition was intended to go along the route of the old A-6 Highway, which would have brought you to the north west of Madrid, but much like before. Your expedition was diverted by a group of raiders. Who upon hearing of your expedition's intent to set up a hospital in the city. Told you to kick rocks.

Your brothers and sisters arrived with the supplies, and met with the gangers who graciously accepted your offer to set up a hospital in the area. A few of them tried at least briefly to get you to set it up in their areas, but after some back and forth the majority of them would offer to help the Mission locate areas that they could set up the hospital in the area. Several of the larger gang lords separately came to the hospital to pay their respects, and let you know how you can get ahold of them in case anyone causes you any trouble.

Your order's mission here however, has revealed some new information as a result of arriving and speaking to the locals. You have learned that the hive city is far from the monolith that you might have expected. Nor have you made contact with the whole of the hive city. You are instead located in the Greater Moncloa-Aravaca district which is most familiar with you with the other districts perhaps having some passing awareness of you if any at all. Each district from what you have learned has their own gangs, and various ranges of reasonability to insanity depending. While some of these gangs the church and your brother can work with. It quickly becomes apparent if there were any doubts that some of these gangs have differences which are irreconcilable, and no doubt you will have to deal with them one way or the other.

Your Sword Brothers
"Oh good you brought guards with you. Yeah we thought you were possibly a bunch of crazy yet helpful wizards before when we saw you with your robes, and so few of you with guards before." - Ganger

Your sword brothers were briefly met with some wariness from the locals who thought you… might have some ulterior motives for this. However after you made it clear it was for guarding the people, and medicine before it arrived, and you only intended to leave a small guard. The people understood quickly, and realized your intent. They have even offered to send some of their own people to assist you in protecting your medicine from the desperate, the drug addicts, and the insane.

Garrison Troubles
"We do these things not because they are easy, but because we thought they would be easy."

Setting up the garrisons was not a failure or anything of the sort, but it did encounter difficulties that will take time and other methods to ease. The large issue is currently you're looking after a fairly large area, but you don't have as many men to patrol or garrison these regions as you would prefer, nor is it clear to your brothers where the best places to put garrisons would be.

As it stands right now your patrols are infrequent, and not in the best places, but they are there. The locals do greatly appreciate that fact, and appreciate what it is you're trying to do.

This action did lead to one notable gunfight (many more less noteworthy ones) where a small group of your brothers engaged a group of raiders of no less than two scores of men. The shoot out between your forces was long and protracted, and your men were backed up by some of the local watchmen, and some of your own brothers. The fight was not one of tactical brilliance, or anything special. It was just a straight up gunfight. However, despite being engaged for multiple hours, and outnumbered more than 3 to 1 not a single man among your forces was injured. Something… that didn't make any sense to your men so they investigated what had occurred to cause this to transpire.

Some of your men wondered if it was perhaps a miracle, but the priest, and monk-brothers insisted they investigate before drawing conclusions. It was then that they inspected one of the rifles of the enemy raiders, and noticed that its sight aperture was placed all the way up. Upon interrogating one of the survivors. It was discovered that the raiders had moved the sight apertures to their maximum setting. Because they believed that it controlled the power of the weapon, and so they wanted the maximum power out of their guns.

The men refused to speak with the prisoners for the next 48 hours after this conversation, and filed their reports with a big "Why?!?" at the end of it.

The Council responded thusly; 'We have read these reports, and the council is deliberating on the matter to determine, what if anything should change.'

Strategic Turn:

(Reminder these are options, you don't have to do these)
[x] Plan Name (Let's do plan names for this one so the votes alot cleaner)
[ ] Do Nothing (Always an option, it can be prudent especially when you have a lot of things going on.)

Sword Brothers:
[ ] Long distance Caravansaries: (Multiple contracts seem promising. And this will also bring our Order into contact with people further abroad, a valuable source of information.)
[ ] Threats of Extortion: (Multiple Mayors throughout the Central Meseta have reached out to us, requesting assistance with certain unsavory parties. They wish us to bring an end to their extortion through shows of force, and have offered compensation. Perform a show of force which may see various parties reconsider their current exploitative relationships with these communities)

[ ] Establish a Master of Arms (how would you want to do this, and what are your qualifications)
[ ] Arms Workshops (By contracting people who already make ammunition, and to a lesser extent firearms. We can essentially post munitions contracts. Setting the standards we would like fulfilled, and then pay them for meeting those requirements.)

Order of St. Isidore: Land restoration is an attractive prospect for many who have never known food security in their lives
[ ] Establish a Seed Vault (There are many crops and herbs which were historically grown throughout Iberia. A Seed Vault would aid in our efforts, though some plants have no doubt become scarce or even extinct.)
[ ] Offer bounties for plants, and knowledge (for various plant types and people who are knowledgeable in their herbs.)

The House of Healing:
[ ] Medical apprenticeships (The house of healing can offer medical apprenticeships, even teaching those who don't strictly speaking want to become a part of the order, but still want to learn how to save lives.)
[ ] Affiliation (grant a sort of affiliate status to fellow physicians and medical practitioners, that we may grant legitimacy to each other's efforts.)
[ ] Soap Works, soap distribution (The brothers and sisters can task some with a larger scale making of soap for distribution to increase sanitation.)
[ ] Health and safety courses (Most people could easily live more healthy and safer lives if only they had the knowledge to do so. We could teach them.)

War:
[ ] Attempt to Recruit a Military Expert (It's very important you describe how you intend to go about this, and your criteria for one)
[ ] Give out the Equipment (Who is getting the equipment, Sword Brothers, Temple Guard, Both, Neither, the Watchmen?)

Hive City Madrid/Moncloa-Aravaca District:
- [ ] Explore Northern Districts
- [ ] Explore the Central Districts
- [ ] Explore the South Districts
- [ ] Look for access to the Madrid Underhive
- [ ] Look for spire access to the upper levels
There are a fairly large number of gangs even within this district. The most notable are listed below.
- [ ] Contact the Trench Scaves (You know that they frequent some of the more unstable ruined parts of the hive, and are seen scavenging for whatever of value they can find.)
- [ ] Contact the Iron Mongers (You know they are one of two large gangs that control a sizable amount of iron slag which they mine. Little beyond that is known beyond their animosity with the Metal Heads)
- [ ] Contact the Cup Bearers (You are aware that the cup bearers have a majority control of water in this district)
- [ ] Contact the Commons (They have a fully established settlement within the district, and act more like an independent settlement than a gang. They have been among the most open with you.)
- [ ] Contact the Metal Heads (You know they are the other of the two large gangs that control a sizable amount of Iron mines, and Slag deposits which they make use of. Little is known beyond their animosity with the Iron mongers)
- [ ] Contact the Brews Brothers (You only know them by reputation. Specifically that the relabeled bottles of alcohol in the area has their name printed on it… It's not very good, but it makes the rounds here.)

Or
[ ] Write in your own actions

Spoiler: The Players Plan

Players Chose:
X] Plan Iron Sharpens Iron
-[X] Long distance Caravansaries
-[X] Threats of Extortion
-[X] Establish a Master of Arms
--[X] Qualifications: Good eye for detail, charismatic, and someone with their own vision for how the Sword Brothers may carry out their mission to the best of their ability.
-[X] Arms Workshops
-[X] Affiliation
-[X] Attempt to Recruit a Military Expert
--[X] Put the word out within the Order that we're looking for someone scholarly and well-read about Warfare, and that our members are to look for good candidates during their travels.
-[X] Give out the Equipment
--[X] To the Sword Brothers

 

[Iron Templar]

Hello

Click to shrink...

Greetings

 

[RandomDragon]

Hello

Click to shrink...

welcome to the game, the QM is just posting the turns that have happened because SB were little shits.
just a few more turns before we can get things rolling again.

 

[Iron Templar]

A Warrior Tradition​

"As iron sharpens iron, so man sharpens his fellow man." - Proverbs 27:17
​

The Council Chamber El Escorial
A man of middle age stands before you all. He has come down from the mountain of Abantos; first he leads you in your opening prayer, and then he addresses you directly.

"My Brothers, and Sisters in Christ. I am glad you could gather here on such short notice. For those of you who do not know me. I am John Paulus, and I am the Auxiliary Bishop of El Escorial. The direct aide to Bishop Gregorio Rosa, and the high administrator. Which is why I have gathered you all here today."

He takes a brief moment to survey the room before retrieving a letter with the bishop's seal on it. "Now onto business, first let me start by applauding the wisdom of this council as to the matter of its final decision as of our last meeting. It is the opinion of the bishop, and myself that this course of action is a wise one, and it heartens me greatly that your decision was so."

He then takes a deep breath, and you see several emotions cross his face, and his jaw setting with frustration. "However, my brothers I must say that the other matter of discussion must be addressed, and more than that. It must be made clear just how poorly this matter was being taken. We had received reports from one of our aides, and he was greatly disturbed by the other policy goals previously discussed, and as it stands I had to assuage the commander of the temple guard that we were not going through with such a plan,"

He allows the words to settle for a moment. "I shall tarry no longer in this explanation and instead cut to the heart of this matter. The policy goal that was being discussed here was a great source of frustration, and discontent for all who heard it. Starting chiefly with the matter of the master of arms. The requirements that were discussed for the master at arms within the chamber. They were needlessly bureaucratic in nature, and utterly superfluous at that. A requirement for 15 years of combat experience? So that would be everyone over the age of 15 then? As I cannot fathom that it meant service in a more professional military as no one that we know of would apply. The next requirement is another age requirement. That the person to be hired be over the age of 40 years old. This requirement is entirely arbitrary, and it is deeply insulting to anyone who presents the abilities we would desire in a master at arms. My brothers this would breed naught but resentment, and confusion from the others. What shall we tell all of those who meet the requirements and all around can agree they would fulfill the job, and do it well? Do you suppose for an instance that they, or those around them will take 'we are sorry but you are not old enough for you are 24, 27, or perhaps even 39,' in good grace, were this to be taken to the letter? Perish any thoughts of it being taken well. It would be taken as arbitrary, insulting, and unjust; and they would be right to take it as such!" He says voice firm, and harsh, but not a shout.

"The other two requirements bleed into the second point that was made apparent by their writ. That the Master at arms not be an invalid, and that he be willing to teach. Requirements which would have been implicit to anyone being given the position. Indeed it would be the default assumption unless told otherwise for some reason that borders on some convoluted scheme. This tone is condescending to say the least, and it permeates some of the other points of policy that were proposed. Many of them include anecdotes of things that would have been done anyway. Which I am sure was merely some members of this council attempting to be Thorough, but simply resulted in coming off as condescending. Again I am heartened that this council ultimately did not decide to go forward with this, and that wisdom prevailed, but I tell those council members who did propose this. Please have faith in your brothers, and your people. They can in fact be trusted, please offer them this amount of grace at least."

"Now before we can draw this matter to a close. I must finally share the thoughts of our Temple Guard commander, who heard of your plans to divide the weapons and equipment recovered from the armory. I shall read his words aloud. But for sake of time I shall skip the formal parts" He takes out a letter with a seal which has been broken. 'I write this letter to you now, in the hopes that my fears have been unfounded, and should they be true that you shall be able to address this matter in a direct manner. It has come to my attention that the council is currently discussing how the equipment should be given out, and that the discussion has turned to the equipment being split between my force (Temple Guard), and the Sword Brothers.'

'This is a matter I find deeply concerning, as it strikes me as being noncommittal on the part of the council, but more importantly I believe this flies against where our efforts should be focused. I believe with my wholeheartedness that all of the equipment should be given in its entirety to the Sword Brothers, and not my own force. It is not that I feel that my force is more than equipped, or any such matter. It is simple. We are tasked with standing guard and protecting our brethren, and the order at large, but we have small arms enough to carry out this task. The Sword Brothers, however, are committed to actions which require them to actively engage enemy threats, and go abroad into parts unknown. I would much rather the sword brothers be properly equipped and given all the kit within the bunker. If anything were to be spared for us. It should be some of the LMGs, while the rest of the equipment can go to our sword brothers, and only after they have been properly armed and equipped should there be any remains of those arms should they be considered to be given unto us,' end quote."

The Auxiliary Bishop finishes, "I of course assured the commander that this was not your decision, and he was most glad to hear this. In the end I applaud this council as to its wisdom, and know that the intent of those brothers who sought to pursue this end, was not lost on me. I addressed you with this critique so that you may be better informed, and so we can continue to make informed decisions into the future for the glory of God, and the good of Christendom."

"With that my brothers. Let us depart for today, and continue our service. Amen"

The year of our Lord 29,553 Anno Domini

At a minor caravansary in Toledo, while travelling along the N401 - the main North-South route from Madrid to Cordesh - your brothers encountered a friendly face. A brother of the Church. He wore a white habit, and hat. Wrapped around his hands he held the rosary, and tucked under his arm he held a pump-action shotgun. He smiled at the sight of our brothers, and greeted them in ecclesiastical Latin;

"Credo in unum Deum" (I believe in one God).

"Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere noblis" (Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us).

"My fellow brothers in Christ, it is good to see you. I had heard that a group of my brethren were active to the North, but I had only hearsay, and thought it best to see for myself. Come, I shall break bread with you, and share with you some wine. Then we can talk."

Your brother introduces himself as Father Miloslav, though the name given on his baptism is in honor of Saint Micheal. By his habit, and manner you recognize him as a member of the Dominican Order. Who to lay men are more famous for their more uncommonly worn black cappas which earned them the nickname 'Black Friars'. They are an order that places a strong focus on the use of logic and reason to understand the natural world, and speak to the rational souls of man. Saint Dominic, is the patron saint of Astronomers and natural scientists. 'As we bring Christ's message to the whole universe, we pray that St. Dominic is with us and he guides our mission for the greater honor and glory of God.'

Members of their order were well known for their service in the various inquisitions that the church had called to deal with heresies both accidental, and purposeful. As well as with false conversions during the Iberian Reconquista from those who sought to undermine the Christians' efforts. Their reputation in this is overwhelmingly good, minus one notable exception (which shall not be mentioned here as it's a story unto itself).

In modern millennia the order was perhaps most famous for being at the forefront of interstellar exploration and cartography, creating some of the most detailed and thorough astrographic charts in all of humanity. At least until the Federation subjected them to censure, and passed laws to increasingly prevent them from being able to do so. Citing that 'such matters should be the sole province of the state, and best left out of the hands of churches.' Such was the way of the Federation.

Father Miloslav convened with your brothers, and passed on what information he knew. He was glad to hear of our efforts so far, and was happy to aid the Church, and he said he would happily convey this message back south with him when he returns to the convent he is staying with in Iberia. As for what he knows. He was able to inform you of the goings-on South, and a bit of what he knows about Europa.

The first thing he is able to tell you about is that Don Luis and the bulk of his forces have been concentrated mostly in Andalusia to the South. As he is presently watching the Nordafrik Conclaves, Miloslav deduces that he is preparing for a possible raid or attack from Nordafrika, or at least one of the larger polities of the area. He is unsure how long this will go on for, but for the immediate future at least the Don is focused on these matters.

As for Europa, Father Miloslav had traveled several years before across the Mediterranean dust bowl. He traveled from the ancient territory of Croatia where his home convent is located. He was one of several brothers who have been attempting to establish something akin to a reconnection with other brothers and sisters of the church. He was forced to avoid the soldiers of Europa, and its officials. As Europa views itself as a successor state of the Federation. While their personal feelings towards our order remain unknown. They remain a bureaucratic state, with a strange set of priorities that appear opaque to outsiders. As it currently stands they appear to be a nation that elects their leaders, but those leaders aren't really in charge? Or are they? That is the question, and it's one that even father Miloslav has had great difficulty parsing. As it stands Europa is a contradiction at least by all appearances, and we would be wise to be wary of them for now. We don't know if they share the Federation's opposition to our order.

Equipment
The first order of business before anything else was the handling of equipment. The arms from the bunker are given out and distributed to the sword brothers in good order. Who receives the equipment with humility, and immediately begins setting about training with the equipment, and understanding its maintenance and quirks as soon as they are able to do so. The Armor especially is greatly appreciated.

Long Distance Caravansaries
The protection offered by the sword brothers is greatly appreciated. The modest fees charged are paid only partially at first, but in full upon completion oftentimes with a bonus when the brothers had to defend against armed assailants. The presence of the Sword Brothers initially does very little to actually deter attacks from raiders, gangers, and brigands. However what the brothers lacked in fearsome looks. They more than made up for with their decisive action. As the Sword Brothers did not hesitate in the slightest when engaging these hostile actors, and did so with extreme prejudice. The marksmanship of the Order proves to be a shining bit of mastery for all who witness it. As many ambushes, and assaults swiftly have their positions reversed. When the brothers while under fire, calmly, and deliberately fire well aimed and careful shots which render their attackers of interest only to historians, and carrions.

Indeed by the end of the month the number of caravan attacks on those accompanied by the Sword Brothers drops steeply. Until only the insane mutants, drug addled thugs, and the desperate are willing to try. During this time Brother Cristopher Herrera distinguished himself as both a highly skilled fighter, a capable leader of men, and a devout man of faith. During one such battle typical of these escorts, Brother Herrera mounted a horse from the caravan, and with three horses and half a dozen brothers he outmaneuvered the enemy force, and engaged them from a flank. Seizing the rocky escarpment sword in hand, and utilizing its position to pick off the enemy, breaking them through violence of action.

The Caravans were then brought back to the caravansaries, Inns run by our associates, and protected by our brothers. As natural minor centers of trade these stops result in an influx of trade goods and resources to flow through the interior as more become willing to risk the old roads. Especially as many of the caravans are willing to purchase our surplus of food and water in exchange for the goods they carry with them ranging from tools, machine parts, and some useful salvage.

Appearances Can Kill.
While the Sword Brothers have still not had much success in the deterrence department, as the brothers do not look like much (at least compared to all of the other mad max lunatics one can find in this broken world), what they lack in fearsome looks; they have more than made up for by simply killing the would be extortionists until they decide they have better things to do than die out here in the desert.

There were half a dozen major encounters along with twice that in more minor conflicts. Many settlements and leagues were protected from extortion through force of arms. These operations were carried out throughout the Meseta Central, against many raiders, and many gangs both great and small. The most notable of these was the siege of Cañaveral. It was here that Brother Cristopher Herrera had executed a masterful defense. He and 40 of his brothers engaged in a 13 day siege opposing a force of over 300 raiders. Brother Herrera helped the locals prepare in case it turned to violence. When it became clear that the raiders would indeed attack, either to seize by force of arms the goods which they desired or to make an example of the town, his first order of defense was to go on the offensive.

Taking a small squad of brothers he attacked their camp in a daring night raid. Assisted by the moonlight as it was from the smoke filled sky, he and his brothers assaulted their camp during the witching hour killing several dozen of the enemy before setting fire to some of their tents, and ammunition. Before seizing some of the raiders' own horses, and making off with them. As Brother Cristopher and a few of his squadmates were familiar with horse riding. They made off before the enemy could regroup and counterattack. The enemy attempted to pursue them, but brother Cristopher had already planned for that by having another squad of brothers set up on a nearby hill. With his own squad stopping and taking position. Forming an L-shaped ambush which allowed them to catch the enemy in a crossfire, inflicting a great many casualties which forced them to pull back. This allowed for the brothers to return to the village in good order after having sufficiently deterred the enemy from pursuing them.

The next several days would be a series of long hours of low intensity engagements in which a handful of forces mostly that of the enemy would exchange fire at the village with the sword brothers. Who would respond with careful well aimed fire that while not always accurate was close enough to shake the confidence and aim of the raiders. The low intensity engagements would very suddenly give way to hour or more of high intensity gun fights with mortars launching explosives, and machine guns firing until their barrels glowed cherry red from the heat.

On the seventh day the raiders got bold, and attempted an overwhelming attack. This attack nearly broke the defenders, but the line held regardless and moral and discipline were high for our brothers. Their unshakable determination prevented the locals from giving way to panic and caused many of the more tepid of them to join ranks with our brothers in the defense of the town. It was during this attack that Brother Cristopher decided the best defense was a good offense. He led a counterattack on horseback with his brothers towards the machinegun position of the raiders. Using the cover of buildings and brush on the approach they fired their pistols, and cut down rifles on the final approach before drawing swords, coming down upon the raiders at the position before they could react properly. Brother Cristopher seized the enemy machinegun positions and used their guns to provide a withering fire upon the main advancement of the enemy raiders, killing two scores of them before the others broke and ran.

He then fought a brief melee against some of the light raiders who moved down from the cliff to retake the position, and gain vengeance for their fallen fellows. Brother Cristopher slew 9 men by blade and bare hand before he and his brothers dropped explosives into the enemy equipment before disengaging on horseback. Despite the apparent risks of the maneuver this engagement was accomplished without the loss of a single brother. Though it did cost the lives of three of the horses.

The Siege continued another six days, but it would end with little fanfare. The raiders had stayed for too long, and called a truce to collect their dead and depart. Brother Cristopher was more than willing to agree, but he made them leave the swords and guns of their fallen. For the dead have no need of them. This too was agreed to at least for the most part.

Brother Cristopher however, was regarded as a hero, and for this and many other efforts he applied his martial skills. He has earned the epithet 'The Second Sword of Christ.'

Result: Sword Brothers Hero; Cristopher Herrera 'The Second Sword of Christ'

Master at Arms, Driller of Men, Master of Cats.
In the search for a master-at-arms to take the position, Father Jorge León proved to be the best suited. A man in the twilight of his twenties, he is a man of great discipline, patience, and firm temperament. He has been going around establishing proper training regimes for all of his brothers. The focus on marksmanship has been kept and exemplified, but he has also made sure that his brothers are properly maintaining their bodies, in addition to their minds. Frequently assigning them texts to read in addition to training regimes.

It is his personal belief that a warrior's mind is just as important to train as any other muscle. In between conditioning, training, and drills ranging from rifle drills, bayonet training (for those they have access to), swordsmanship, and whatever else he can think of. The reading material he assigns ranges from operation manuals, to survival guides for out in the desert. Along with a small journal that he has been compiling of the various types of equipment that he has encountered in his travels and what he knows of their operation. So that should his brothers encounter this equipment they will know how to make use of it, or at least prevent unsafe activities with it.

He has even managed to train the newest and most important member of the Sword Brothers, a black and white cat by the name of Brother Simon. Who attends training every morning, and fervently hunts the enemy that seeks to intrude upon our sanctuary. He has no less than 72 confirmed kills, and for his valor and dutiful nature in hunting rodents of all kinds he has been commissioned as a Lieutenant, and all initiates and privates are required to salute him as he passes. In the Lieutenant's fair nature and grace, he has even afforded that privates need not wait for him to salute them back when he is on the hunt. But he does make the effort when he is not. When at the training yards Brother Simon will sit at attention next to Father Jorge León and set a sterling example for his brothers.

A Lone Gunsmith
The problem you have run into the most has reared its ugly head. That being a labor shortage. In short you are at present able to only get one gunsmith on permanent retainer more or less, with a handful of others who are considerably more unreliable. This unreliability however does not stem from laziness or even a severe case of ADHD. It's just that many of these people are working a great many jobs, and while the Church's efforts have indeed borne fruit (Literally in one case a fantastic strawberry patch is being cared for by a local farmer who still had seeds for the old plants.) There are still a great many things that need to be done in any given day, and most of the labor is being taken up by those activities.

However, you do have a Gunsmith of good quality who is taking orders from the church and putting out the results as fast as he is able without cutting corners. Between him and the immediate maintenance of the brothers this will likely allow us to maintain our equipment considerably better, and even output some small arms of local construction.

Healing hands
The efforts of the church to offer affiliation status have been a success so far. While preference is granted to those who seek to join the order quite naturally. The fact the church does not require it has incidentally managed to make even more doctors come forward to gain affiliate status. The house of healing offers training, information, and most importantly discernment. More than a few of these so-called doctors have had to be turned away as they both do not know what they are talking about, and are too egotistical to learn how to do so properly. It is this final act which lends ultimate legitimacy to the effort. As what you reject is often just as important as what you are willing to accept. Fairly soon within the immediate vicinity of the church and throughout the nearby districts of Madrid. Anyone who does not have affiliation with the house of healing is becoming increasingly shunned by the local populace.

Incidentally this has also led to a decrease in illness and maltreatment in the region.

Nathan Clark
Your order puts out word within the order that you are looking for someone who is scholarly and well-read about warfare. While there was some discussion amongst your brothers about who would best suit this situation. Brother Cristopher Herrera encountered a strange man of Albian complexion while traversing the AP6 - the main highway from Madrid to the Northwest of the country. They had just stopped at a major caravansary and, upon inquiry, learned that he was a Merican of all things. He had crossed the two Atlan seas and stayed for a time in the Queendom of Ur-Atlan. He took to traveling due to his love of history. As he had read about the many wars fought over in the European continent. In particular one of the first wars his nation had ever fought against the ancient barbary corsairs. He desired to see some of these places and went out as is the Merican tradition to explore, trade, and fight.

After some extensive conversations with our brothers he was found to be of amicable personality, and well-read. Having extensively read about a number of topics. Ranging from military history, to economics, and political science. He speaks Spanish albeit of a Merican dialect rather than the Castilian dialects you are more familiar with. However, he does speak ecclesiastical Latin to some degree as he is in fact a Catholic who was baptised and given the eucharist; it seems the Church survives even across the Atlan. He is a son of a Merican Thane, and has been well educated, in addition to his personal autodidactic tendencies. After some back and forth. Brother Herrera put forth the offer to hire him as the Order's Military advisor. Something he graciously accepted after some clarifying questions about pay and accommodations.

After he arrived within the walls of El Escorial, Nathan Clark primarily began learning about what we had done already, and said it would be some time before he had anything extensive to give us on what could be done with the military. But for the meantime he was able to share some basic tactics, and drills that should be fairly universal regardless of whatever doctrine and strategy that we chose to employ. In the meantime he seeks to make no assumptions, and figure out how we do things here, what we have access to, and what doctrine and strategy would be best going forward.

General Overview
Overall the lands which fall under the influence of the church are doing fairly well all this considered. Your brothers have dug two major freshwater wells, and are well on the way to making their third. This has not only given a reliable irrigation to feed the crops and livestock, but also a surplus source of drinking water. The crops are, despite a rough start in the first year, doing fairly well since the church's efforts began. The following two years of harvests have seen bumper crops which have given a surplus. For some this is the first year in their lives that they have not had to go hungry. The efforts of the order of St. Isidore have resulted in the creation of barley fields, and the beginnings of grasslands where only packed dirt, sand, and cursed earth once dwelt. Already some are eagerly planning the breadworks that are now almost practical.

The most persistent problem the church has been facing as of late has been the labor shortage. It is not for lack of work ethic or anything of the sort. It is simply the natural labor constraints, and time required for any task to get done is very labor intensive since we do not have access to more advanced methods which would reduce the time required. Brother Alanso Godfrey has rather cynically remarked that should the church maintain its current efforts regarding water, food, and protection. Then 'this labor shortage should resolve itself in the next 15 to 20 years'. Something which earned a chuckle out of the elder members of the order, and looks of confusion or censure from the young servers.

Militarily, you have what is a rather delicate situation. What some would incorrectly call your borders is permeable, as it naturally would be given you are not a state. However, the Garrisons of the Temple Guard and their positions around churches, important settlements, along with the work of the Sword Brothers; As of right now Is insufficient to protect the people from raiders, and gangs that can easily slip through the few and far between areas of direct protection your people provide. As it currently stands, the effectiveness of the Sword Brothers has created an air of capability which is deterring the efforts of such gangs. However, if we seek to ensure the protection of the people we will likely need to do more, and simply expanding the temple guard, or Sword Brothers does not appear to be a viable option, at least at this time, and depending on our economy possibly never.

Strategic Turn:

[x] Plan Name (Lets do plan names for this one so the votes alot cleaner)
[ ] Do Nothing (Always an option, it can be prudent especially when you have a lot of things going on.)

Sword Brothers:
[ ] Threats of Extortion, Continued: (Continue our protection of the towns and settlements located throughout the Central Meseta, and respond to those new mayors who have come forward asking for our help. Failure to do so at this time might lead to the raiders coming down on the settlements for revenge at this early hour.)
[ ] Arms Workshops, Continued (By contracting people from further afield through our trade contacts, who already make ammunition, and to a lesser extent firearms. We can expand upon the current system to make up the current shortfall, and bring in others from further out or contract those in more distant settlements.)

Order of St. Isidore: Land restoration is an attractive prospect for many who have never known food security in their lives
[ ] Establish a Seed Vault (There are many crops and herbs which were historically grown throughout Iberia. A Seed Vault would aid in our efforts, though some plants have no doubt become scarce or even extinct.)
[ ] Offer bounties for plants, and knowledge (for various plant types and people who are knowledgeable in their herbs.)

The House of Healing:
[ ] Medical apprenticeships (The house of healing can offer medical apprenticeships, even teaching those who don't strictly speaking want to become a part of the order, but still want to learn how to save lives.)
[ ] Soap Works, soap distribution (The brothers and sisters can task some with a larger scale making of soap for distribution to increase sanitation.)
[ ] Health and safety courses (Most people could easily live more healthy and safer lives if only they had the knowledge to do so. We could teach them.)

War:
[ ] Aggressively Assault Raiders (We could attempt to take a proactive solution to the raider problem. By finding, seeking out and destroying these raiders, and the communities which support their efforts. Many of them are located in the mountains, near or in caves, or otherwise in strategic positions from which they raid the lowlands.)
[ ] Scout Raider positions (Send out scouts to learn about the details and dispositions of the various raider factions.)

Trade.
[ ] Gather information from Caravans (Merchants are a wealth of information. We could ply these traders at the Carvanaseries and see what they know about the raiders that exist around our region, and see what shakes loose.)
[ ] Trade for (Insert Good/s Here)
[ ] Purchase a Caravan (You can entice a more well off caravan to come to your lands despite the fact it likely won't be profitable for them. Your people can purchase a great many things they need, and in return you can offer goods and or services such as those of the Sword Brothers as payment.)

Diplomacy.
[ ] Attempt to Contact some of the nearby Raiders (we could easily attempt to reach out to some of the nearby or major raiders in the region, and try to negotiate with them.)
[ ] Formally declare war on these lawbreakers (While being an effort of moral grandstanding, and somewhat pompous. This would include a challenge to battle. In which we can invite the enemy to face us on a field of battle. Bypassing the need to defend our territory, by getting them to show up to an arranged fight, their full might against our own.)

Hive City Madrid/Moncloa-Aravaca District:
- [ ] Explore Northern Districts
- [ ] Explore the Central Districts
- [ ] Explore the South Districts
- [ ] Look for access to the Madrid Underhive
- [ ] Look for spire access to the upper levels
There are a fairly large number of gangs even within this district. The most notable are listed below.
- [ ] Contact the Trench Scaves (You know that they frequent some of the more unstable ruined parts of the hive, and are seen scavenging for whatever of value they can find.)
- [ ] Contact the Iron Mongers (You know they are one of two large gangs that control a sizable amount of iron slag which they mine. Little beyond that is known beyond their animosity with the Metal Heads)
- [ ] Contact the Cup Bearers (You are aware that the cup bearers have a majority control of water in this district)
- [ ] Contact the Commons (They have a fully established settlement within the district, and act more like an independent settlement than a gang. They have been among the most open with you.)
- [ ] Contact the Metal Heads (You know they are the other of the two large gangs that control a sizable amount of Iron mines, and Slag deposits which they make use of. Little is known beyond their animosity with the Iron mongers)
- [ ] Contact the Brews Brothers (You only know them by reputation. Specifically that the relabeled bottles of alcohol in the area have their name printed on it… It's not very good, but it make the rounds here.)

Or
[ ] Write in your own actions

Spoiler: The Players Plan

[X] Plan: Supporting Locals & Washing Hands
[X] Threats of Extortion, Continued
[X] Offer bounties for plants, and knowledge
[X] Health and safety courses
[X] Gather information from Caravans
[X] Contact the Cup Bearers

 

[Ryan Lozano]

Ok now we plan

 

[Iron Templar]

Ok now we plan

Click to shrink...

I will put the vote up when the last turn is posted. The main reason this is taking so long is because I want to bring my initial posts to have some better formatting and correct for some spelling and grammar mistakes which passed me by. The other reason is that my work schedule has been murderous on me recently. So please bare with me.

 

[Iron Templar]

Clean Hands​

"Yet the righteous shall hold to his way, and he who has clean hands will increase in strength." - Book of Job 17:9
​

Toxic Dust Storm
On the day of the summer solstice came a lone Skimmer; a ramshackle grav-speeder, its pilot driving it as quickly as it could carry him, and nearly was shot by several of the Temple Guard and local nightwatchmen. The Skimmer was screaming, words barely intelligible over the sound of the grav-speeder's loud diesel turbine engine - something about a storm. He was forced to veer off away from the outlying settlement, intent on not stopping for anything. Soon thereafter, dry lightning streaked across a clear sky, and from atop Mount Abantos the massive dust storm was spied approaching from west-southwest by one of the monks. Stretching into the sky, reaching the clouds themselves, it was a broiling mass of dust, metal, and static discharges illuminating a foreboding mass, revealing its shape and vastness.

Warning bells sang and couriers ran, making ready for the oncoming dark that had come across the Atlan at great speed and now coursed the highland interior. But the call was not yet to make shelter. Instead, the people moved swiftly to cover the fields and gardens, to bring in the livestock, and to shelter everything that might not survive the storm. The youth and the elderly were sheltered wherever was sturdy and close, many shepherded directly under the aegis of El Escorial and its expansive, sturdy structure. With precious few hours to work, and much to preserve, many labored until the very last moment. The Sierra de Guadarrama would shield all but the most outlying settlements to the Southeast from the worst of it.

The storm washed over the land; a wind gauge measured speeds over 80 miles (128 km) per hour before it was ripped straight from the roof of the fortress. The monastery was sealed up as swiftly as possible, and those caught out within the storm felt the sting of sand and dust brushing past. Those who were unfortunate enough to breathe without proper respirators found their lungs burned from the toxins within the very air while lightning cracked and thundered, noise and sound nearly deafened by the howling wind, metal and sand. One of several lightning rods failed, and the storm threatened to set fire to crops, fields, and trees, but it was a small mercy that the storm's very intensity would often put out these very same fires through harsh wind, and clouds of sand and dust.

The storm would run through the night and into the afternoon of the next day before subsiding, intermittently resuming over the next few days with far lesser intensity than the one first experienced by your people. The next week is filled with labor to repair all the damage done by the storm, and it takes the next few months to catch back up on the necessary work needed to run everything. In the end the dead who were caught out in the storm were found, and indeed still being found as late as a month after the event. They were given a proper burial, and last rites. One such group which was swallowed whole by this storm was a whole caravan which was between settlements when it happened. The very storm itself seemed to swallow them up. They simply didn't arrive, and the only trace of them that was left was a few of the vehicles, and corpses of pack animals they had with them that were found sticking out of the dust and wreckage. You're not sure what happened exactly, only that they are all gone, and likely could not find shelter before they were swallowed by the storm.

All things considered, your people and the communities associated with you weathered the storm as well as could be expected. There was damage, there were crops lost, and many things like drains and ditches had to be rebuilt, and people who needed healing… or to be buried. It could have been a lot worse, and it has given some ideas to your brothers for things that you could pursue in future to prepare for such disasters.

The year of our Lord 29,554 Anno Domini

Once Bitten, Twice Shy.
Many of the raiders and gangs have come to their senses, or at least have determined to go after other targets. Or perhaps the mere reduction of raiders in the area has made the general pickings far less slim as a result. Whatever the matter, in many cases following threats of extortion, upon learning that the Sword Brothers are ready to take arms against them, the raiders simply do not bother. However this does not mean all of them have, as larger raiders who are more organized still plan and execute their attacks to either take what they want, or make examples of settlements that have contracted your Sword Brothers.

At the city of Segovia, aiding a civil battalion's worth of their own city guard, did 2 full companies of Sword Brothers do battle with some 3000 warriors of the Cobra Tribe who advanced from the old SG-20 directly East. The Cobra Tribe was equipped with a great variety of handweapons, primarily spears, but also including good quality swords, body armor of various grades of protection and quality, and also very many sidearms and throwing weapons. A third of them also bore firearms of dubious quality, with the odd smattering of antique energy weapons in poor condition.

Originally an old Roman settlement, Segovia stands on a narrow limestone ridge, bounded by the Eresma and Clamores Rivers along the Sierra de Guadarrama. The City has old walls, having been tested and repaired over the many, many years since its founding. Much more expansive during the time of the Federation, it has since retracted to the most defensible terrain, its outer walls and districts basically razed. Segovia is surrounded by steep slopes and broken ground, twin ravines formed by the Eresma and Clamores, and it is on this stretch that the city sits, making any approach awkward and restricted. The western approach is crowned by the Alcázar, an ancient fortress and residence of the Spanish Kings, with commanding sightlines from its position atop a moated rocky promontory. Little wonder then that the Cobra Tribe did not approach from the West.

The terrain opens up greatly on the Castilian Plateau, rocky terrain and ravines giving way to open fields and long stretches of road in various states of disrepair, including the ancient Camino de Santiago. But in the summer season, the dirt is dry and stony, difficult to work with hand tools. To siege the city, an attacker would have to carefully choose their fighting positions lest they find themselves struggling to dig while under withering long-range fire from the heights. Segovia would be easy to isolate under normal circumstances, its contact with the outside world cut off by a determined investment. But the Cobra Tribe must make good on its threats, and is emboldened by past experience; they have crushed offending cities before.

The Cobra Tribe raiders emerged with the dawn, having already traded fire in the night with our scouts. They marched in uneven intervals, followed by carts and a small number of vehicles. They began to disperse and close distance, finding what cover they could on the open ground while exchanging fire with the defenders atop the heights. Sandbags and other barriers were placed, but the trenches lagged in the hard ground. LMG teams from the wall disrupted the approach and were only gradually suppressed as the amount of fire from the attacking force became threatening. Breaching teams emerged and attempted to scale the walls, but they were deterred and seen off with many losses on the attacker's part. Though the attackers had the weight of numbers, such a hasty assault was never going to succeed, and it looked as though the battle would be decided, albeit slowly, in the defenders' favor.

But it was then that the cunning of the enemy was revealed, their attack not as haphazard as first appeared. The constant fighting and repeated assaults had been a distraction, as they rapidly deployed howitzers from a pair of trucks. Fire fell upon Segovia, pounding the walls and destroying some of the homes within, though not all at once for the first gun fired minutes before the others were finished emplacing; all the while the Cobras massed for their true assault. It came quickly, as their artillery made several breaches in the walls, and these were attacked in force, slowed only by the expert marksmanship of the Sword Brothers. Emerging from the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption and of Saint Fructus came a half company of Temple Guard, previously held in reserve, to plug the gaps and assist the locals before they could be overwhelmed. Harsh fighting occurred in the narrow streets of Segovia, with many falling.

It was then that Brother Herrera, who had been organizing the defense alongside his brothers in the Temple Guard and the Captain of the Segovian Civil Battalion, had found his opening when a brother came to inform him of an approaching threat from the west. He smiled, and gathered his brothers to his side to tell them the plan, and to have patience as haste would make waste. To those on the ground this was a confusing stance, and even the Cobra Tribe seemed confused by the apparent lack of response as they engaged in their strategy, but it soon became clear as the brothers emerged from the Cathedral with new equipment in hand. While the enemy host suddenly became concerned with a rapidly approaching and large cloud of dust and storm that was sweeping towards them. It had been blocked from sight by the mountains and the terrain, but it was upon them now. The storm swept over the settlement with dust, sand, and metal filling the air.

It was then that Brother Herrera placed on his goggles, and respirator, and with his brothers they sallied out of the very breaches created by their foes, and swiftly slew many of those enemies who were at the breach, and put many to confused flight, but Brother Herrera guided by instruments and his own internal sense of direction charged forth with his brothers, and came upon the site of the enemy field guns where he and his brothers swiftly slew their operators, and set their guns to destruction before retreating back within the walls before the Cobra Tribe could properly respond. Their guns going silent amidst the storm had been a terrible blow to the morale of the Cobra Tribe, and after several hours of extreme weather and low visibility fighting the enemy would retreat to shelter away from the storm. Their prize was denied to them, thwarted because of the storm. The casualties among our own were low, with the Segovian Civil Battalion suffering the bulk of it.

Nathan Clark, acting in his role as military advisor, noted that the enemy's actions appear to be an imperfect attempt at fire and maneuver warfare. That said, its execution while not perfect shows that the enemy is capable, and had it been done to full effect and capability it could have been much more threatening if not for the intervention of the Dust Storm, which Brother Herrera seized the opportunity and took great risk, and these ultimately paid off in our favor. It is an important lesson both in drill, practice, and in Clark's opinion, a stark reminder that even a good plan executed well can be thrown off by factors outside of one's control, and we should be mindful of this. Brother Herrera's defense, in his opinion, would have still been successful without the storm - something later scholars will dispute, and argue over relentlessly - but the casualties for the city and our brothers would have been greater. Though he thinks the city would have suffered the worst of it because of the artillery.

An Isadorian's Guide of Plants
Offering to put out bounties for plants and knowledge proved to be a good boon. While there were many who approached with either common plants or useless mule plants, there were still a considerable number who approached with plants that the order could only find records of, and some yet were able to discuss properties that these plants have which they could test and confirm that were not commonly known on the records we had.

Overall, the bounty system has already proved useful just on the basis of the number of plants that have been recovered and added to the garden. Many of which will be useful in the Isidore land edification as it has come to be called.

Health, Safety, and Darwin Awards
Your order has taken painstaking attempts to teach people of the basics of health and safety so they can learn to lead better lives. Most people take this knowledge in stride, many noting correlations with their own observations of life. Such as people who are generally cleaner, or physically active outside of labor being healthier and less prone to sickness.

Others however have chosen to test this, and not in a manner we can find admirable. The Church holds that there are no stupid questions… However, there are stupid people. Many of these people chose to test these health and safety tips by doing precisely the opposite of what we instruct. This has had disastrous consequences for their health… and lives. The upshot of this is that through the Darwin Awards of a few idiots it has done wonders to instruct everyone else as to what not to do. With Brother Alanso Godfrey noting that 'Sometimes unfortunately pain is the best teacher. At the very least with their last acts they have done a service to mankind. May the next ones accomplish this without killing themselves with their foolishness.'

A Lack of Information.
The gathering of information from the Caravans turns up bust. Most caravans you talk to are from far away (relatively), and the Caravan that did have some information that would have been useful to you… Unfortunately disappeared during the massive storm that swept through while between settlements. Unfortunate, but unavoidable at least for now.

Modest Business Arrangements
The Cup Bearers are far from your typical gangers. They have created a system of control over major water purification, and collection plants, and have used this massive control over water in the district to charge modest fees in exchange for water. The gang in question is a fairly mercantile one. They do business, and that naturally involves firefights, but they would prefer talking to shooting.

The initial meeting goes rather well, as we learn that the Cup Bearers have further connections to a sister gang in the Central Districts. It turns out they are one of the big supporters of the Commons and their settlement within the district. Their Leader, Andro Lopez, has readily received your correspondence. He has noted your efforts in the city, and even a bit outside of it as well. He is really curious about this 'Jesus guy', and has expressed interest in you sending a priest over to tell him about it.

He would not be a fan of you infringing on his control of water in the district, but as you have not done anything of that sort he has been amicable. Beyond that he has a strong dislike of drugs for personal reasons. This has brought him into conflict with the Iron Mongers on more than a few occasions. There was apparently a large gang in the district known as the Fiends, and him and his boys put them to death over their drug trade. He apparently strung up their leader on a metal wheel in the district market, and forcibly pumped every drug imaginable into the man, but not enough to make him overdose. He then carefully kept him alive over the next several days on just drugs before the man finally died of dehydration. Aside from that rather grisly story he seems generally soft spoken, and laid back. Aside from water, his boys make their pay from food they produce from irrigation, along with selling their services to act as de facto pest control. Which is something they would do anyway, but see no reason to not get paid for it in the process.

Overall your people make a good first impression, and they look forward to talking more with you in the future.

General Overview
The general strategy of the church is making good general progress on nearly all fronts. The last of the three freshwater wells has been dug, and the brothers are searching for additional sites which could be made into effective wells to find fresh water, and irrigation to many others. Harvests have been decent despite the dust storm, and previous surpluses mean that our people will not be going hungry; The same can not be said for the rest of Iberia as many people suffer a shortage of food this year around the plateau.

The Dust Storm has occurred during the summer solstice, in the early months. While the territories under our influence behind the Sistema Central weathered it quite well. Those settlements to the west over the mountains were more directly exposed. In their case they were often forced to replant their crops for the year. Something that would mean a late harvest for the year, possibly as late as December in some cases. This placed considerable risks for any areas that are affected by an early, or harsh winter and would likely lose the replanted harvest in addition to the early one. While those within our influence have access to food surpluses from our previous policies, and good relations we have attempted to foster.

Which leads us back to the aforementioned food shortage for the rest of the plateau. While some of a more cynical mindset might say that this is not our concern, and others of a more idealistic bent might bring up the human cost, and the need to look out for our fellow man - Both points having some merits to go with their pitfalls - The reality of this situation is that we can look to history as our guide, and that shows that when people go hungry it increases the likelihood of food riots, and general violence. We can likely expect an uptick in raiding and warfare in the region as a result, unless there are some unknown factors at play. We have garnered something of a reputation within the regions we protect, and this may ward off such attacks from affecting us, but we must remain on guard.

Despite, or somehow because of the actions we have taken in the Meseta Central. Our motives, and broader purpose appear to be utterly unknown (opaque) to those outside of our direct interactions, or influence. It appears as though through either a combination of circumstances, fortune, misaction, and possibly providence; That we are all but unknown to the various significant local, and regional entities that inhabit our shared space. It is an open question to the church as to if or how we might want to correct this, or if we should try and use it to our advantage somehow.

However, with the people we have been directly interacting with. Our reputation has grown substantially in the eyes of those we have been engaged with. The people view us as a very masculine, and loving group. Who will be quite generous, fair, and fully willing to accelerate the 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust' fate that awaits all men; Should they deserve it. Our abilities as marksmen and martial prowess are becoming well known and admired, by friend and foe alike. Some among both the raiders and the gangers have been inspired by our martial example, and likely seek to emulate us; while others have come seeking to enlist with us, and hear about this Lord of hosts that we follow. Though we cannot promise every battle will be a victory, the record has been excellent so far, and that is enough.

Of final note is our church's influence which as of this moment extends as far north as Valladolid, as far southwest as Cañaveral, as far south as Toledo, and Ocaña. While our influence within the hive of Madrid is limited to the Greater Moncloa-Aravaca district at this time. This more or less is our region of influence. We are better liked by the rural countryfolk, than the Urbanfolk, but even they view us in a very good light. As we are unlike any other. The countryfolk having been of a more rebellious nature. More often remember the church, and do so fondly. With many people having come from the countryside to receive both Baptisms, and the Eucharist. Even among the gangs of Madrid there are some who have elected to abandon their violent ways to tend gardens, or distribute alms, or look after the flock in their own way, having been inspired by our example.

Strategic Turn:

[x] Plan Name (Let's do plan names for this one so the votes a lot cleaner)
[ ] Do Nothing (Always an option, it can be prudent especially when you have a lot of things going on.)

Sword Brothers:
[ ] Threats of Extortion, Continued: (Continue our protection of the towns and settlements located throughout the Central Meseta, and respond to those new mayors who have come forward asking for our help. Failure to do so at this time might lead to the raiders coming down on the settlements for revenge at this early hour.)
[ ] Arms Workshops, Continued (By contracting people from further afield through our trade contacts, who already make ammunition, and to a lesser extent firearms. We can expand upon the current system to make up the current shortfall, and bring in others from further out or contract those in more distant settlements.)
[ ] Promote Brother Cristopher Herrera (Brother Herrera has served with excellence these past few years. Why not promote him to the Rank of Knight Commander to recognize his achievements.)
[ ] Military Attache [Nathan Clark] (Nathan Clark has requested to go with the Sword Brothers and look into establishing an experimental unit to test new ideas that could progress our martial ability.)
[ ] Prisoners of War (We have some prisoners from the battle at Segovia, there seems to be a general degree of confusion from the Cobras about who we actually are. With some of them expressing that they think we are another gang, or raider group in the region. Many of them have questions)
- [ ] Do we want to answer those questions? (Do we want to correct them on this or do we want to lean into it, or do we want to not tell them anything at all)
- [ ] Do we want to let them go? (Show them mercy or allow them to spread some word, or message we give them)
- [ ] If not, what do we want to do with them? (We do need to decide what we shall do with these prisoners.)

[ ] Foreign Warriors: (There is some question of how these volunteers from Madrid and the various Tribes should be organized. They have a different culture and are rougher folk, more prone to violence and insubordination, and challenges of honor.)
-[ ] Turn them away. (We are not so desperate for swords that we would welcome the troubles they bring into the service least tolerant of them.)
-[ ] Create a new formation. (Though some might meet the standards required of the Sword Brothers, and would be willing to become Monks, the rest of them should form their own Companies and serve in a different fashion.)
-[ ] Integrate them into the Temple Guard. (There is no shortage of places or people that more sheepdogs would not be welcome.)


Order of St. Isidore: Land restoration is an attractive prospect for many who have never known food security in their lives
[ ] Establish a Seed Vault (There are many crops and herbs which were historically grown throughout Iberia. A Seed Vault would aid in our efforts, though some plants have no doubt become scarce or even extinct.)
[ ] Expand the Monastery Herb Gardens (The Monasteries already possess gardens that are used for the creation of medicine, but the quantity is rather limited as we never needed so much. It might be wise to expand these Herb Gardens, we can even include some of the recently found plants)

The House of Healing:
[ ] Medical apprenticeships (The house of healing can offer medical apprenticeships, even teaching those who don't strictly speaking want to become a part of the order, but still want to learn how to save lives.)
[ ] Soap Works, soap distribution (The brothers and sisters can task some with a larger scale making of soap for distribution to increase sanitation.)

Father Miloslav: There is time this year for him to undertake one of the following missions.
[ ] Contact the Dominicans in Spain (We can dispatch Father Miloslav to establish contact with the known, or high confidence locations the Dominican Order would be located in the region, and establish contact with them. Their order would surely be a boon to us.)
OR
[ ] Expedition to Cordesh (Father Miloslav could lead a group of your people to the hive city of Cordesh, and see what awaits us there. Such a mission would likely be covert in nature.)

War:
[ ] Aggressively Assault Raiders (We could attempt to take a proactive solution to the raider problem. By finding, seeking out and destroying these raiders, and the communities which support their efforts. Many of them are located in the mountains, near or in caves, or otherwise in strategic positions from which they raid the lowlands.)
[ ] Retaliate Against the Cobra Tribe (Although nominally there isn't much bad blood between us and the Cobra Tribe, we could decide to take their offense personally)
[ ] Limited Reprisals (A company or two can harass the Cobra Tribe, encouraging them not to return to trouble us in the future)
[ ] Full Force (Taking advantage of their weakness, we shall seek the Tribe's destruction in its entirety and to make an example of them, deterring others from such conduct)
[ ] Scout Raider positions (Send out scouts to learn about the details and dispositions of the various raider factions.)

Trade:
[ ] Gather information from Caravans (Merchants are a wealth of information. We could ply these traders at the Carvanaseries and see what they know about the raiders that exist around our region, and see what shakes loose.)
[ ] Trade for (Insert Good/s Here)
[ ] Trade for Horses (Nathan Clark has recommended that since horses have been used to great effect by the Sword Brothers, it could be wise to procure some from traders, and local farmers to select them for traits that would be useful to us in a military capacity.)
[ ] Purchase a Caravan (You can entice a more well off caravan to come to your lands despite the fact it likely won't be profitable for them. Your people can purchase a great many things they need, and in return you can offer goods and or services such as those of the Sword Brothers as payment.)

Diplomacy:
[ ] Attempt to Contact some of the nearby Raiders (we could easily attempt to reach out to some of the nearby or major raiders in the region, and try to negotiate with them.)
[ ] Contact the Cobra Tribe (The Cobra Tribe represents one of the larger nearby tribes. We could perhaps attempt to open up talks with them. Perhaps see if there is a peaceful resolution to this.)
[ ] Formally declare war on these lawbreakers (While being an effort of Moral Grandstanding, and somewhat pompous. This would include a challenge to battle. In which we can invite the enemy to face us on a field of battle. Bypassing the need to defend our territory, by getting them to show up to an arranged fight, their full might against our own. Note: The recent battle in Segovia shows this may be riskier than originally envisioned.)
[ ] Contract Suppliers in Segovia (With the crucial support of our brothers in the battle of Segovia, we could see about deepening our ties with the historic city to our North. As a notable center of production, they would likely give us favorable rates supplying us with vital goods)
[ ] Works of Charity (In the wake of the Dust Storm, many need help throughout the Plateau, and as the saying goes, many hands make light work. Already volunteers are going forth to aid our neighbors, but we could choose to back this effort to some degree.
-[ ] Whom shall we aid? And to what extent? (Write in)
[ ] Food Aid (Many in the Church believe it is hateful to allow others to starve while we have plenty. As such, it would be both moral and good for our reputation to help where we can.)
-[ ] What we can spare (It would not be prudent to leave ourselves at risk in our haste.)
-[ ] Strategic Deployment (We shall try to identify which regions would be of highest concern, or of most use to gain better terms with and share this food in a more circumspect manner.)
-[ ] Empty the Stockpiles (It is precisely now before the next harvest that the most lives are at risk.)


Hive City Madrid/Moncloa-Aravaca District:
- [ ] Explore Northern Districts
- [ ] Explore the Central Districts
- [ ] Explore the South Districts
- [ ] Look for access to the Madrid Underhive
- [ ] Look for spire access to the upper levels
There are a fairly large number of gangs even within this district. The most notable are listed below.
- [ ] Contact the Trench Scaves (You know that they frequent some of the more unstable ruined parts of the hive, and are seen scavenging for whatever of value they can find.)
- [ ] Contact the Iron Mongers (You know they are one of two large gangs that control a sizable amount of iron slag which they mine. Little beyond that is known beyond their animosity with the Metal Heads)
- [ ] Contact the The Commons (They have a fully established settlement within the district, and act more like an independent settlement than a gang. They have been among the most open with you.)
- [ ] Contact the Metal Heads (You know they are the other of the two large gangs that control a sizable amount of Iron mines, and Slag deposits which they make use of. Little is known beyond their animosity of the Iron mongers)
- [ ] Contact the Brews Brothers (You only know them by reputation. Specifically that the relabeled bottles of alcohol in the area has their name printed on it… Its not very good, but it make the rounds here.)

Cup Bearers:
- [ ] Send a Priest (Andro Lopez, has expressed interest in the Lord, and the Catholic faith. It would be our duty as good Christians to spread the good word to him.)
- Other possible actions would include engaging in diplomacy with him, trade offers, agreements, or simply asking him for either favors or information. Or offering things to him. The sky's the limit.

Or
[ ] Write in your own actions

(Policy turn is coming up next year)

Spoiler: The Players Plan

Player Choice:
X] Plan: Grace of God Given (GGG Snakes)
[X] Threats of Extortion, Continued
[X] Promote Brother Cristopher Herrera (Brother Herrera has served with excellence these past few years. Why not promote him to the Rank of Knight Commander to recognize his achievements.)
[X] Prisoners of War: A handful of prisoners are free to return to the Cobra Tribe, bearing word that the remainder are available to be ransomed. The rest will be offered indefinite imprisonment or bondsman status, wherein they shall labor for 7 years under fair treatment and eventually released. We will answer questions and share them with the gospel. Should they attempt to escape they will be run down and killed.
[X] Foreign Warriors:
-[X] Create a new formation.
[X] Food Aid
-[X] What we can spare
- X] Send a Priest (Andro Lopez)

 

[Aaronkinhfk]

Why did you get Ban from SpaceBattles?

 

[RandomDragon]

Why did you get Ban from SpaceBattles?

Click to shrink...

because the mods their can't handle history. Or any Christianity that isnt the feel-good bit, but hard truths.

 

[Iron Templar]

Why did you get Ban from SpaceBattles?

Click to shrink...

That is excellent question.

The answer is they had decided that history is apologias for genocide.

They further are illiterate savages who do not know the meaning of words as such they confused
Sectarian violence for Genocide, The perpetrator with the victim, they also conflated the people and their historical reasonings for their actions for justifications for killing each other... Which might have had some water. If it wasn't for the fact that in the context of what they referenced. They didn't kill each other, they asked the people in question to either convert, leave, or suffer the consequences which in this case was imprisonment. So even in that last one they still could get their definitions right.

Overall, they took historical events I talked about as bigotry. The only example they could come up with from my entire quest, was the Cathars, which is the only accusation they had any citation for, and it was still stupid.

This ended with the Super Mod, telling me that he "wasn't a 12 year old" and that "He knew what subtext and framing is." To which I can confirm that he is not a 12 year old. A 12 year old would have either understood it better, or moved from lack of interest. As for him being able to understand subtext, I cannot say; but he definitely doesn't understand regular text.

 

[Iron Templar]

Matters of Imperium​

"Imperium - Noun. Meaning authority, command, dominion or power. In the Aeneid Jupiter promises the Romans 'Imperium sine fine,' power without end."
​

Don Luis Ramon's Office - Circa 29,555
Don Luis sat at his desk, sheets of papyrus imported from Gyptus lay before him, and he scratched with deliberate speed at the parchment. His letters would go out as soon as he was finished: more orders for his men. Within his desk lay the makings of several books, writing being one of his hobbies. The Don stopped scribbling for a brief moment to rest; grabbing his pipe, he carefully measured and filled it with his own personal supply of tobacco. He let the smoke fill his mouth before exhaling, letting a stream of it snake upwards towards the ceiling of his office.

His office was decorated primarily with finely cut, polished stone, and some wood furnishings. He could easily afford more expensive materials such as silver, gold, or even palladium. But the objects that decorated his office were not chosen for their expense, or for how desired they were among others.

Sitting upon his mantle was an amber case that held within an artificial heart - an ancient design, but one of the first that could remain within the human body for years at a time. In the center of the mantle, to the case's right, was a handmade double-action revolver that he and his father had constructed together, relatively austere save for the fine wooden finish. At the end of the mantle was a clockwork automaton maiden that, when wound with its key, would dance and sing. However, among all these artifacts the ones which were among his more treasured were a series of miniatures that lay on a table in neat formations. His soldiers of pewter and lead stood there organized by unit in neat rows; they were among his most prized, save for the sentimental value of the revolver which carried the memories of the time he spent with his father.

The door to his study opened, and in marched a soldier wearing the uniform of one of his picked men. His man saluted, saying "Don Ramon, Sir," in an even voice, and Luis returned his salute. "Go ahead."

The soldier nodded. "My Don, there is someone here to see you. It is an envoy from Europa. They are… demanding to speak with you. They said it was a matter of 'great importance.'" The emphasis he placed on great importance indicated to Luis that the soldier did not believe it was as such. The Don could hardly disagree on this front, having anticipated this visit for some time.

He blew a smoke ring up in the air away from his man and watched it dissipate - he considered briefly just making the envoy wait for him to be done - but in the end he merely shrugged. "It can't be helped," he said mostly to himself. "Very well, send him in, I better hear for myself what is of such great importance." It was better that he heard them out, sometimes even when it was truly nothing he still learned something of actual import. So it may yet be worthwhile, even if it was probably just going to be the envoy telling him things he already knew.

The soldier nodded and bowed slightly before escorting the envoy inside. The envoy was a man of gaunt features and an aquiline nose, his eyes were dark, and seemed to be used to looking down at other men. Though he at least had the self-respect to not do so with the Don. "Governor…" he began.

"Don." He corrected the envoy at once, who seemed to stagger for a moment before recomposing himself. "Don Louis Ramon, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." The Don's eye twitched at the mispronunciation of his given name, but having already corrected the envoy once mere moments ago, graciously gestured for him to go on. "I am the Europan Minister to Cordesh, just recently arrived from Ru'mova. I have been dispatched by the central administration. I have been sent here to discuss a matter more dire." It was curious that he would not invoke the Emperor's authority.

The Minister continued, "A criminal insurgency has begun forming. Already they have begun to entrench themselves among the ignorant and regressive peoples that have not yet been reached by our own institutions. Exploiting their lack, this organization has engaged in widespread coercion, banditry, indoctrination, and has been growing rapidly in recent years. Bands of armed men patrol the old roads, charging fees and slaughtering those who refuse. Worse yet, they've been rounding up the young and spreading lies to whoever will listen."

"Ah, yes," the Don nodded, "I have been aware of these men. You speak of those of Andalus, yes I am aware of them, and their barbaric ways. A close eye, I have kept upon them." And he had kept an eye on them due to the concern they presented to his southern border. The Minister, however, looked perplexed at this mention, his brow furrowed. Ramon could not help but view the man like some strange simulacrum of human life, in part because of his manner of speech. He wondered if the metal men who had fought their ancestors were like him. For he was tripped up by the Don's assertion like a machine whose task had been interrupted.

The man's jaw finally moved after a moment that felt far longer than it had any right. "No, my Don. I am speaking of the agitants located in the interior. Those who could resist them cannot, dependent as they are on this insurgency's control over vital water and food supplies. Not even medical practitioners are unmolested, forced to comply with this cult's rules or be tortured and made examples of. Europa grows concerned that they are at the nexus of a growing coalition of predatory actors, as gangers, barbarians, and terrorists all flock to their banners." The envoy finished, his flustered look replaced with one of indignation, winding himself up with increasing vigor.

The Don sat at his desk, this time his brow was the one that was furrowed. "Are you talking about the men who look like wizards, and have been digging wells?" He knew they also had some men under arms, but he didn't vocalize that part. The Minister gave a dismissive look, and waved off his question entirely. "That is just the thin end of the wedge by which they seek to undermine us. It starts with simple matters, but already they have begun their corrosive work. They commit themselves to these acts, and do things that should rightfully only be the purview of the state. Their dangerous propaganda and false news they spread is but one aspect which makes them so insidious. You must make them your top priority."

Ramon was… confused honestly. "Si, Si. I will add them to the list." He placated the man. The Minister however was not having it. "D-di.. Don, my instructions from Europa were very clear. You must make them your highest priority," the Minister said with urgency, and as firmly as a man of his station could. He blew out some smoke from his pipe. "Si, and so you have. I mean to do so… eventually."

"Eventually?!?" his opposite again looked flustered and indignant at this. The Don merely shook his head. "Si, eventually. Because frankly there are more pressing concerns to the South. Raiders who have been probing the borders who must be dealt with first and foremost. So unless you have an army or two spare beneath those sleeves I am afraid it will have to wait." He cut the Minister off before he could interject. "Unless of course you mean to say you will take position on the frontlines of Gibraltar or guard the Medi chasm while I deal with this 'criminal insurgency' as you put it?"

The Minister's face went pale at the thought of this responsibility. "Then when do you plan to deal with them?" In reply, Ramon let out another puff of smoke. "It will be handled in the fullness of time, Señor." But privately he thought, 'We shall reevaluate this when matters have settled in the South.'

Hard Targets
It is a surprisingly boring year for the brothers militant. More contracts are taken and made. Mostly with those who have already hired us in the past, and a few new ones. The brothers largely spend their time arriving and standing by, after which nothing happens - at least most of the time. While other battles and skirmishes are going on around the plateau, for the most part the raiders and gangers have largely decided to go after softer targets. At least for now.

Brother Herrera is promoted to Knight Commander
There was a simple ceremony held for Brother Herrera, who has been made knight commander. His fellow brothers were happy to celebrate his achievement, and give him a round of applause, and more than a few playful punches. The brothers broke out the bread, and wine amongst them, and enjoyed a modest festivity which they shared with the people of El Escorial.

Bondsman, and Ransom
A handful of prisoners were freed to return to the Cobra Tribe, bearing the word that the rest are available for ransom. The Cobra tribe sent a response, and shortly thereafter a formal meeting was scheduled.

Our conversation with the Cobra tribe was straightforward and naturally quite short. They negotiated for the return of about a third of the prisoners, the rest for one reason or another they did not. The rest of the prisoners are taken as bondsmen, and organized into labor units. It was explained to them what could be expected of them, how long they would be here for, and what kind of treatment they could expect. So it was done.

Prodigal Sons
The influx of warriors, from the raiders, gangers, and local fighters has grown to a substantial degree. The Sword Brothers represent the main monastic order of warriors who go abroad, and the Temple Guard represent the protectors and garrison forces. It was determined it would not be best for either of these formations to be the ultimate receivers of these new volunteers. Instead it was decided that while training would be handled by the Sword Brothers and Temple Guard, these converts would have their own formation and units.

The first units were ready after several months of training, covering the basics and getting them to understand the standards they would be held to. This went over well enough as the promise of a meaningful life was strong even if it would not be easy. The formation quite naturally is a light infantry formation, and they are equipped much like our Temple Guard - with whatever they can get their hands on or had on hand to begin with. The new formation's unofficial name initially ranged from 'new unit,' 'foreign legion,' 'the converts,' but the name that was ultimately settled on by the men who joined it after listening to the priests was 'The Prodigal Sons.' In honor of the Biblical parable in the Gospel of Luke.

The priests and the Word of God have had a profound influence upon these men, teaching them many enduring lessons: that the Lord said, If a man does not have a sword, let him sell his cloak and buy one; that a man ought to bear two swords, one against secular powers and another against spiritual powers; and that the Christian warrior fights not out of hatred for his enemy, but out of love for his fellow man. It is this masculine love that has inspired these men to train diligently, honing their craft with enthusiasm and more importantly, with discipline. Before the year is over they stand before the Sword Brothers to be tested, and they are not found wanting.

Much Food, many problems
We elected to spare what food we could to the people to try and make up for the shortfall to prevent some of the worst case scenarios. Unfortunately our lack of relevant information as to who needs what food and in what amount prevents this from being truly effective, and in a few instances our aid unfortunately ends up abetting the violence that followed. However, it is not all bad news. Some of our aid did help, and overall this has been a good move in regards to public relations if nothing else. We shall want to amend our efforts going forward, hopefully with more information than this time.

Clothbearers, and Cupbearers
Father Emmanuel Cráter arrived in the western district of Hive Madrid to speak with Andro Lopez; he hopes that we will both further good relations with him, and that we might teach Señor Lopez of the path of Christ. The Padre reports that the overall first impression we made was tremendously positive. He had initially believed that we were wizards of some kind, or that we at least thought we were. He now knows you are priests. He was positively elated to find that Father Emmanuel is a well-learned man, and knowledgeable on many interesting subjects and philosophy.

This has also netted you more information about Andro Lopez himself, and the Cupbearers. They were once part of a larger gang located in the central and upper spires which commanded several different important resources. Several decades back they were pushed out of the upper spires by another gang whose name he can't recall as he was not really a part of the underbosses, or captains at the time. The end result was they were more or less cut off. They could communicate, and occasionally travel to each other, but they were otherwise so far apart that they became separate sister gangs de facto, and later de jure. He is also able to say that the underhive has some of the worst gangs in the entire hive city. All those down there are the ones that were pushed down there by all the other gangs. He wouldn't recommend anyone go down there personally as it's a place he's unwilling to go even with a gun and his boys.

When the subject of personal beliefs was brought up, Andro expressed that he had undergone a journey over the course of his life. He had when he was a child been brought up by the spirituality of his wannabe Brujah of a mother. However, he had never held it as true faith. Despite growing up with what he now regards as numerous blessings, a deep and abiding cynicism had calcified over him like armor. For a long time he cared only for what benefited him and made him feel good in the moment. Among these he admitted that he had done drugs, more and fouler things than most would ever see in their lives. He remained this way for over a decade. He had believed that there was truly no such thing as good or evil, only what was best for you - meaning him.

All of this changed on one fateful day when he and his boys did some work for money for another gang of weirdos that had called themselves the Sybarites. They had gathered some materials and compounds for them which they used to produce some of the finest drugs, ranging from combat stimulants and adrenal enhancers to recreational drugs that would enhance sensation and relax the mind. They had even been hired to escort some customers and introduce it to some folks for a cut of the pie. After one job, he felt compelled - for reasons that to this day are beyond him - to check out what was in the back of the warehouse. His curiosity, or perhaps subconscious, led him to discover a sight that horrified him.

He found the drugs they were making, and he found that they were using people to make it. They would get them hooked on the drugs and compounds. They would pay them or gather materials for them, until eventually they couldn't anymore. Then they would continue to expose them to more drugs in bizarre rituals which remind him of his Brujah mother's work only far more foul. They would give the drugs, and extract compounds from them, and when they finally died they processed their bodies into yet more compounds and chemicals. This was not the worst of it for in their lab he had found that they had even taken women whom they were harvesting newborns from. Which they would then use to process them into medicines and special drugs that were 'top of the line'.

Andro was horrified, and when he told this story he was back there again with the same haunted eyes at what he witnessed. He and his boys freed those that could be saved, found and burned every single last one of the Sybarites that he and his boys could find, and put their entire compound to the torch, and since that day neither he nor any of his boys have even so much as thought of touching a needle, or pill again. 'I do not know for sure if good exists, hermano, but ever since that day… I know evil exists. I have seen its face, and I knew in that moment no matter what. I would never be like that. I cannot. I will not! Those… Things must die, be burnt out every branch and root.'

Father Emmanuel Cráter asked Señor Lopez if he was alright with him sharing this story with the council. To which he responded 'I don't care!', but he could tell that he clearly did.

(Author's Note: Will have an overview. After policy is decided)

Policy Summary:

• Under Brother Alanso Godfrey, the Census Office is baseline competent extremely timely with all requests, efficient in its use of manpower, and effective at its position while also being as unintrusive as possible.
• The Catholic Schools, have been an overwhelming success. The classrooms are overfull, and many of the students who have been there for longer have taken to assisting the teaching staff to help teach their fellow students. There are marked increases in literacy rates, and consequently the rumor mill has gotten more reliable as people are learning to ask more discerning questions, and think about what they are told in a critical manner. We suspect we are only just seeing the beginning of what this endeavor can truly accomplish. This is good as Truth and discovery are at the heart of our faith.
• The Night Watchmen have been successful in mitigating the majority of crime, and have so far proven more than enough for the surrounding countryside, and small settlements. This has done a lot of work to restore law and order.
• La Reconquista Nueva, has been taken to with enthusiasm. The Church has been able to return and take over many of the things we had done for people in the past, and we are restoring Christendom one community at a time with our efforts. By providing medical aid we have helped heal the sick, and broken, by our efforts in the lands we have helped to heal the land, and by extension the people; and our Sword Brothers, and Temple Guard have helped to protect the innocent, and bring about good order.
• Freshwater Wells, have brought fresh, clean drinking water that has been a boon to both people and crops. This has saved many lives, and improved the lives of many others, while also helping our efforts to restore the land.
• Workshop Economy, The one policy which did not perform very well was our workshops. However, it must be stressed this perhaps has more to do with the lack of general manpower, than anything to do with the policy itself, and even with its poor performance we have noticed marginal improvement as we have seen marginal increases in available manpower.

Deciding Policy.

• Conducting a Census
  • [A] Church Censor:
    • [A] Ad hoc basis
• Communications:
  • [ ] Courier: (Snail mail, but unlike all the others it allows the delivery of documents and packages from point A to point B. It is dangerous especially in these days, but sometimes its the only way to get something from one place to another)
  • [ ] Voxcaster (using good old-fashion radios it allows you to send a signal within a certain range. Generally a fairly short one as the amount of radiation, interference, and dust makes this form of communication extremely difficult over long distances. Large and powerful Radios will be required for any meaningful communication more than a few miles. At least until the situation improves)
  • [ ] Wire (The most reliable way to cut through interference is to have a hard line to whatever it is you're trying to reach. At least so long as the wire itself isn't cut.)
• Educational Policy(While your monks, and priests are still receiving the full comprehensive education. The same can not be said for everyone else)
  • [A] Catholic Schools
    • [ ] Trade Courses (As our schools are doing quite well already, what if we added some trade schools as possible courses people could pursue. Those capable in the trade get to have assistance from a group of interested young people who once they possess some knowledge and skill, ease the workload for him. While those wanting to attend will attain experience in a trade that will doubtless serve them well.)
  • [ ] Literary Schools (While we do have a good education system founded. We can open a separate series of schools to focus on teaching people how to read and write, and this would provide a gateway to general improvement, both in their overall capability and they may even use this ability to learn additional skills by reading books, and manuals)
• Foreign Policy:
  • [ ] Missionaries: (As was the time of old, we can send out Missionaries to establish missions, spread the good word, reunite with our fellow brothers and sisters of Christ. Through these efforts we can even begin to establish relations with others and gain some information about what is occurring.)
  • [ ] Diplomats: (Brothers can be dispatched to make contact with/establish relations with the other polities. This establishes basic level of information, and can help us to know who is out there, and their perspective. )
  • [ ] Spies: (We could send out scouts to seek, and find locations, people, and places of importance with the express purpose of gathering intelligence which can hopefully be meaningfully acted upon. This would be far from anything truly clandestine, but honestly most of spywork has historically been about this more than anything else.)
• Governmental Policy
  • [ ] Direct Theocracy (There is a historical president for the Church directly governing its own territory. We could decide for the kingdom to be not only in spirit but exist on the material as well.) (In the modern day the church is actually still like this; it's just mostly managing property like an international organization rather than territory.)
  • [ ] The Holy Roman Empire. (The HRE was an ancient state that was often misunderstood by many within popular fiction. Regardless it was an empire that lasted a millenia, and did so in a time before fast communications and travel. It could be used as an effective model that would both respect compatible local cultures and customs, and provide a strong sense of unity from which could easily be expanded and built upon.)
  • [ ] Federated Christian Republic. (Inspired by the old Swiss cantons, and Italian city-republics. Organizations like this do require immense amounts of basic education, and a semi homogeneous culture. Without those they tend to become either paralyzed or tear themselves apart. Still if the groundwork is laid we could make use of it.)
• Psyker Policy (We have not had any significant encounters with psykers within our sphere of influence as of yet. We are well aware they exist however.)
  • [ ] Approve and Allow all Psykers (Yeah, lets just allow all Psykers in and accept them with open arms. It should be fine.)
  • [ ] Church Sanctioning of Psykers (Psykers who meet certain criteria of the church can receive official sanctioning.)
  • [ ] Ban all Psykers from Reliquaries and libraries. (Given psykers occasional instability making them stand outside of the range of church relics and books might be wise.)
  • [ ] General Ban of Psykers: (While we are not going to cast them out of society for something they simply cannot help. We cannot encourage the use of psykery, and must strictly enforce our laws against those who act out with their usage of them.)
  • [ ] Drive Them Out! (Generally not a very popular policy among the Catholics though it is one the people who are deeply afraid of psykers could get behind. The church however, has never historically been a fan of burning witches, and has broadly stood against it in nearly all instances. Oftentimes the church acted as a higher authority that would prevent these atrocities from happening. As such driving them out is not a popular decision within the church.)
• Law Enforcement:
  • [A] Nightwatchmen:
  • [ ] Sheriff's office (A formal office of law enforcement is established on local levels by which a small force of Sheriffs and deputies will combat crime, and maintain order. Similar to the night watchmen system the sheriffs have the ability to enlist the help of volunteers on a case by case basis to deal with larger problems)
  • [ ] Police Department: (Local police departments can be established to formally assemble a professional police force, this force would typically be drawn from people who live in the region.)
  • [ ] Federal Department: (A centralized police force that would answer directly to the The central authority)
  • [ ] Military Police: (Given the hard times, you could opt to just straight up have the military police the public and enforce the law. Provided they are actual MPs for the military they may incidentally be less belligerent as a result of being used to dealing with armed, military aged men on the regular.)
• Military & Warfare
  • [A] Temple Guard
  • [ ] Organize a Militia: (We could organize those armed of the faithful, and introduce training and drill to create a force that is better able to defend ourselves from raiders, and warlord armies. This could lay the foundation for a levy force which can be pulled from in future. Mr Clark, advises that this be done, and he believes he thinks this system could be invested in along the lines of the Fyrd system, as such he strongly recommends it. This will unlock a whole series of decisions to determine how this system might come into being.)
  • [ ] Scavenging Arsenals: (The devastation unleashed upon Terra was great, a deluge of fire that engulfed the world. Consequently it means that a great many arsenals and caches were never found, or kept track of. We have in our possession records of these old armories. It perhaps could be worth checking out to see if anything of use could be found there.)
  • [ ] Raise the Banners: (While our men don't have any official uniforms beyond what colors and decorations they tend to favor. We could take the time to create official banners for the Sword Brothers, Temple Guard, and Prodigal Sons. That way they are easy to identify, and it can raise the morale of the men)
• General Strategy
  • [A] La Reconquista Nueva:
  • [ ] Fortress Monastery First: (Focus on Fortifying El Escorial and the Immediate Madrid area before outwards expansion. In this way we shall build a castle from which the faithful can shelter, and provide legitimacy by providing protection to the people)
  • [ ] Missionary Expansion: (Aggressive, and nominally peaceful outreach, send small teams of Jesuit missionaries plus escorts to the districts of madrid, nearby settlements, and even Cordesh)
• Organizing the Faithful
  • [A] Sword Brothers
  • [A] Order of St. Isidore
  • [A] House of Healing
• Calling an Inquisition
  • [ ] Investigate Señor Lopez's story (His story of a group of Malefactors who are potentially engaging in some kind of witchcraft is rather concerning. We should investigate to see if there is any truth to this matter. Besides, even if there isn't any actual witchcraft. They sound pretty contemptible and we should deal with it regardless. For the purposes of this we should call an inquisition to investigate the matter thoroughly and take action.)
• Logistical Concerns(We need to consider how we could restore sensible logistics for long term operations. As of right now we are dependent on what individual people can move by hand and the occasional vehicle which has been either kept in working order, or restored.)
  • [ ] Beast & Porter Networks (Through use of Mules, and other draft animals, and human porters. We can establish a system of cheap, low-tech, and rather resilient transport. At the cost of it being very slow and low capacity)
  • [ ] Tunnel and Road Restoration. (Many of the old roads have been destroyed or otherwise have fallen into disrepair. If we could organize people into labor brigades, and using old maps we can work to restore old roads, or lay new ones. Though new roads will have to be compacted dirt, or maybe gravel if we are feeling expensive.)
  • [ ] Vehicle Recovery & Workshop Priority (Dedicate significant resources to locating, repairing, and restoring Pre Old Night trucks, Half tracks, and light grav-sleds)
• Resource Concerns
  • [A] Freshwater Wells
  • [ ] The Tithe (It was a custom for the church during the medieval times to collect a tithe, The word tithe comes from the Anglo-Saxon word teotha meaning "a tenth." The church could implement such a thing. Not for money obviously as their isn't really a reliable currency but for goods or services. Such resources could be used to restore, rebuild, and further the church's goal of a reunited christendom. Our holy brothers will be inclined to refuse tithe collections from those who cannot afford it.)
  • [ ] Scrap & Reuse (There exist a great many wrecks, and ruins which will never be recoverable. These systems could be stripped of their useful components, and recycled for their base parts for our effort. Scrap metal can be melted down, and reforged. It is a tedious process, but it does have the advantage of making use of the wreckage and ruins of the old world to build a new one.)
• Manufacturing.
  • [A] Workshop Economy:(While it ran into severe labor shortages and failed as a result it will remain an active policy unless you decide to remove it..)
    • [ ] Conscript Acolytes (There are children who come to serve as acolytes of the church either out of desire to know more about the faith, or because they get into too much trouble on their own, and their parents thought we would be a better influence upon them. We could conscript some of them to assist the brothers to free up manpower?)
  • [ ] Occupational Licensing (We can set standards for competence and moral conduct for various professions. While we do not have the authority to restrict or punish those who do not meet those standards we can reward those that do with some signal boosting, and perhaps a seal of approval from the church as to their ability and moral character)
  • [ ] Rivermill Forges: (With the new wells and increase in irrigation from them. The rivers present a new possibility, as we can make use of the natural flow of the river to process metal in a blacksmiths forges, by implementing these we can get a stable and steady supply of simple and moderately complex metal goods. Ranging from nails, and tools, to metal weapons and armor.)
  • [ ] Textile Mills: (Using similar principles we could create classical style textile mills that could allow for greater processing of clothes for both regular people, and for possible uniforms, or cloth protection.)
  • [ ] Salvage & Refurbishment: (Assemble Salvage teams, and have those with the required skills in restoration to search the wreckage and junk piles for useful items that can be restored to working order.)
  • [ ] Manufactorum Restoration: (Within the city of Madrid there is a Manufactorum complex which could be restored, and if properly crewed could produce a great many things. That said, it will require a lot of resources, and skilled personnel, such as the monks. It is notably, not within the district we are presently operating.)
• Weather.
  • [ ] Weather Radar Stations: (The ensuing duststorm inspired the monks and nuns who have an interest in creating and maintaining weather stations by which we could track changes in atmosphere, and detect oncoming weather, and prepare for it well in advance especially in the case of extreme weather.)
• Territory.
  • [ ] Reclaim nearby Monasteries (We could establish/reestablish our hold over monasteries in our region. Many such as Monasterio Santa María, Santo Tomás, Santa María de la Vid, and many others. Are within reach for us to go out and reclaim, and use them as a base for our operations.)
  • [ ] Fortified Churches (We can put our efforts towards building fortified churches which can serve as both a place of prayer, a base for our warriors, and as a place that people can seek shelter in events of invasion, raids, and slaughter. Be it from men or other horrors. These churches would be based upon the precedent set by churches used as such in Transylvania against the Ottoman empire, and in Iberia against the Berbers)
  • [ ] Offer Church Administration (There are a number of settlements that we have remarkably good rapport with who are struggling for a number of reasons. As we appear to be rather successful at least as of right now. We could offer our services to administer these settlements, and dictate policy on an individual basis.)

(Will be following up with strategic turn options after you have chosen your policies.)

Matters of Imperium, Strategic Turn
(Spain won the World Cup, this is surely a good omen for the last crusade.)

The Mountain Man comes down.
Though the brothers and sisters of the church council have managed to come to an agreement by a slim vote. The runner had already been sent to summon the Bishop to come down from the mountain to give his verdict and hear of any new developments that might have occurred; as he quite naturally has been informed of the discussions of this council. As a result he has made his way down, and when a runner informed him of the result he seemed to express pleasure that the matter was settled, but he would be attending the meeting anyway as… Well he had already climbed down the mountain.

Bishop Gregorio Rosa, is an older Spanish man who by all appearances is in his mid to late fifties, and whose hair, and beard are a mixture of silver, and white. Upon his head he wears a finely sewn Mitre, a tall, pointed headdress with two crowns joined by a band; embroidered with golden thread that Gregorio personally had sewn upon it. Upon his body he wears his Vestments; The alb, a long white robe symbolizing purity, and the chasuble a sleeveless outer vestment which is embroidered and richly adorned with decorations, and at this time of year is Green with gold thread for the spring time. Around his neck hangs his stole, a narrow strip of fabric. Which is white, and embroidered with the Cross of Saint James, red mountain roses, and yellow mustard flowers (In honor of Pelayo). Around his neck is a large pectoral cross, and in his hands he holds a Crosier, which is made of wood with the crook being a fine stainless steel. Upon his hand he wears a simple ring which is unadorned save for some writing which reads "Prove omnia; tenetis quod est bonum."

As he enters the building carrying a lance which he uses to perform the Salto del Pastor (Sheperd's Leap), a tradition from the Canary mountains dating back to when Terra's oceans were so tall that they were known as islands instead of the Atlan mountains they are known as today. A practice which he uses to scale up and down the mountain in his way. He arrives at the council room table. The Deacon announcing his presence to you all. The Bishop removed his Mitre, revealing beneath it a purple Zucchetto which was painstakingly maintained due to the short supply of purple dye. His eyes are grey, and carry both deep sorrow, and a joyful look within their deep wells which have seen more in their time than some could even dream. At his side beneath his vestments some among the council could make out the shape of a gas cylinder, and radiators, which was certainly attached to the Bishop's personal arm.

He raised his hands to signal the council his intent, and the room fell silent at once. "Brothers, Sisters of the church, and Laity. I thank you all for coming. I heard on the way that you had come to a decision about our church's policy going forward, and I wished to express my approval of you all. For your level heads and even temperament. I have read about both proposals which you have discussed, and say that I think both are good. That said my favor falls upon us reclaiming monasteries, and sending out our missionaries, and diplomats as we have done since our founding day. We should act, and do so now. Should we overstep we can adjust after the fact. That is not to say I do not see the merit in a bit more restraint, but as of right now. Our chief limitation has been manpower in the skilled labor department, and already our actions have taken us farther afield than I think many of us could have imagined.†"

He gestures for his aide to come over, and John Paulus dutifully approaches holding a series of documents, including several tubes. Which Gregorio grabs, and opens he unfurls these maps to show what many brothers recognize to be maps of the night sky. "I have been watching the sky through my telescope on Mt. Abantos, and from it I have been making new maps of the actual stars, and painstakingly distinguishing them from the ships, and artificial satellites that make up the busy spatial traffic of Sol, I can safely say that up in the space above is no less chaotic than what we have here on the ground. Whether that is for good or ill only time will tell, but that's not why I bring this up."

"Through my sky watches I have noticed movements not just of the real, but of the formless Immaterium, I speak to you of the warp, and the storms brought about by it which in tandem with mankind's war with the machines, and the Xeno members of the Federation who turned their weapons upon our species. All of this led to the isolation of mankind across the galaxy, and the end of interstellar travel as we know it. So it has been called 'Old Night'. Which is why I speak to you of this now. I have been comparing the appearance of the Immaterium; Its warp storms, Squalls, and how they have manifested within real space. At least as far as I can see them. Their turbulent nature is growing, and I suspect they will continue to grow for a while longer. Possibly centuries as is their way. It is my suspicion based on past reports, and accounts left by our brothers who traveled the stars long passed from this world. That these growing warp storms will build to a crescendo, and then at last rapidly dissipate in turn. Much like a great storm which bleeds away the humidity within the air. When that does happen… The galaxy will open up again. This is something we must prepare for, for I see no reason to expect the rest of the galaxy to be any better than what we have here on Terra and Sol. Long has the Devil, and the wicked; be they Men, or Xeno had time to do their work. The state of the world (Galaxy in this context) and this crisis spanning near five millennia across will not have engendered peace and understanding. So we must be ready."

"To this end I have watched this council make many decisions to prepare for this future. I inform you now of what I have come to know, and to assist with what I can. These star charts I have provided will allow our commanders to study and know the night sky as it is. As we travel further afield such methods of navigation will become increasingly necessary. In addition, I shall add my own humble expertise in the creation of small arms to the efforts of this church to manufacture a steady supply of swords in my own capacity." Many nodded at this, for it was known that His Excellency Gregorio Rosa, was an enthusiast of firearms, and was one of the gunsmiths within the order.

"We have embarked on this great mission. It is a task that is greater than us all, and it shall no doubt pass from our hands into the hands of our descendants, as the hands of our forebears passed it down to us. For our aim is no less than the restoration of Christendom, and Humanity; For the good of all, and the greater glory of God. We shall preserve what remains, we shall restore that which is good, commit to memory that which was wicked, and build a future where the suffering that we have all gone through; has been turned to good works. It will not be easy, there will be many who oppose us. Be they Technobarbarian warlords, unscrupulous Technocrats, or even great men like Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire, Or Jonathan Archer of the Federation; For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. That which opposes us, and will come to oppose us will be great, and its powers many. It is my belief that we shall succeed, and I will tell you why. We shall succeed because we must, because we have stood against terrible odds before. Name it and it has been done to us, persecution, enslavement, genocide, betrayal, and much more. All of that and after nearly 30,000 years, we are still here. We haven't given up the fight, even when it seemed hopeless. Even when the dark threatened to close in around us. When the galaxy burned; the hour of wolves and shattered shields. When all bonds of fellowship were forsaken, and all embraced the mistress of their own lusts. In that hour when this very earth we tread upon was lit with the fires of a million dirty stars, and horrors were unleashed that should have never been conceived much less used. During that darkest of times. We kept the light burning, and now we shall raise it up. It does not matter how long it takes, or how harrowing the path. We shall not fear, for the Lord is with us. We shall be strong and courageous as we have been called for. This may be the moment we were made for. The fire we keep, it will ask for sweat, it will ask for blood, and one day I know it will ask for my body. I only pray that I have the strength in me to throw myself on the pyre so the light can keep burning for another day. For our children, for our homes, and for the Glory of God! Amen!"
Strategic Turn:
[x] Plan Name (Let's do plan names for this one so the votes a lot cleaner)
[ ] Do Nothing (Always an option, it can be prudent especially when you have a lot of things going on.)

Sword Brothers:
[ ] Arms Workshops, Continued (By contracting people from further afield through our trade contacts, who already make ammunition, and to a lesser extent firearms. We can expand upon the current system to make up the current shortfall, and bring in others from further out or contract those in more distant settlements.)
[ ] Promote Brother Cristopher Herrera (Brother Herrera has served with excellence these past few years. Why not promote him to the Rank of Knight Commander to recognize his achievements.)
[ ] Military Attache [Nathan Clark] (Nathan Clark has requested to go with the Sword Brothers and look into establishing an experimental unit to test new ideas that could progress our martial ability.)

Prodigal Sons:
[ ] Attach them to the Sword Brothers ()
[ ] Attach them to the Temple Guard ()
[ ] Patrol our Territory (We have a decent amount of territory, and a lot of it is rough terrain, and could use some more bodies to patrol and keep things relatively safe.)
[ ] Write In (There is a lot of possibilities)

Order of St. Isidore: Land restoration is an attractive prospect for many who have never known food security in their lives
[ ] Establish a Seed Vault (There are many crops and herbs which were historically grown throughout Iberia. A Seed Vault would aid in our efforts, though some plants have no doubt become scarce or even extinct.)
[ ] Expand the Monastery Herb Gardens (The Monasteries already possess gardens that are used for the creation of medicine, but the quantity is rather limited as we never needed so much. It might be wise to expand these Herb Gardens, we can even include some of the recently found plants)

The House of Healing:
[ ] Medical apprenticeships (The house of healing can offer medical apprenticeships, even teaching those who don't strictly speaking want to become a part of the order, but still want to learn how to save lives.)
[ ] Soap Works, soap distribution (The brothers and sisters can task some with a larger scale making of soap for distribution to increase sanitation.)

Jesuit Missionaries: (The difference between a missionary and a diplomat is often a matter of overarching goal)
Dispatch Missionaries:
- [ ] Missionaries to Cordesh (The city of Cordesh, or Cordoba as it was once known, Is a long and storied history. Not to mention the current capital of the Governor of Don Ramon. We could be heading into the Lions Den, then again we are catholic. Martyrdom is kind of expected, and let us not forget Daniel too walked into the Lion's Den. So let us be aware, and unafraid)
- [ ] Missionaries to Portu (In the Spanish province of Portugal, There is a people who may yet remember that they were once a great people who ruled over land and sea. Perhaps these chuleta de cerdo (Pork Chops), are remnants of these people. We cannot offer them back their language, but we can offer them the God of their forefathers, and perhaps some of their history.)
- [ ] Missionaries to Saragorn (While more recent history the region of Barcelona, and the City of Saragorn has been checkered at best. Barcelona, was once an important part of Iberia, and featured one of the only great urban militias that the Spanish Crown could call upon, and it is home to the Sagrada Família Basilica. Perhaps if brought back into the faith they can be great once more, and many souls can be saved.)
- [ ] Missionaries to the Cobra Tribe (We could send Missionaries to the Cobra Tribe and try to convert them to being brothers and sisters of Christ. Though it might be wiser to wait for some of the bondsmen to be released.)

Jesuit Diplomats:
Dispatch Diplomats: (Dispatching Diplomats is the first step, be sure to specify what it is that you want them to do. Otherwise it will be left to their own discretion and they will mostly focus on just being a go between.)
- [ ] Diplomats to Cordesh (The city of Cordesh, aka Cordoba. Is the capital of the Iberian governorship on behalf of Europa. It would probably be prudent to send our people there to establish who we are, and why we are here. As well as discover whatever we can about the Don. and Europa.)
- [ ] Diplomats to Saragorn (We don't know much about them. Perhaps it's time we changed that.)
- [ ] Diplomats to Portu (We don't know for certain that they are another entity or polity, but it might be worth it to send some diplomats to establish some relations, and get to know the locals.)
- [ ] Diplomats to the Cobra Tribe (We could establish a more formal dialogue with the Cobra Tribe they do appear to be large and rather organized compared to many others.)
- [ ] Diplomats to Local Settlements (There are many settlements, regions, and tribes of the wasteland that we could take the time establishing a rapport with more formally.)

Military Police: (There will also be a name change next time)
Coming Soon.

Organizing a Militia:
Coming Soon.

Inquisition:
Coming Soon.

Weather Radar Stations:
[ ] Set up a weather Radar on Mt Abantos.

Monastery Reclamation:
Coming Soon

Father Miloslav: There is time this year for him to undertake one of the following missions.
[ ] Contact the Dominicans in Spain (We can dispatch Father Miloslav to establish contact with the known, or high confidence locations the Dominican Order would be located in the region, and establish contact with them. Their order would surely be a boon to us.)
OR
[ ] Expedition to Cordesh (Father Miloslav could lead a group of your people to the hive city of Cordesh, and see what awaits us there. Such a mission would likely be covert in nature.)

War:
[ ] Aggressively Assault Raiders (We could attempt to take a proactive solution to the raider problem. By finding, seeking out and destroying these raiders, and the communities which support their efforts. Many of them are located in the mountains, near or in caves, or otherwise in strategic positions from which they raid the lowlands.)
[ ] Scout Raider positions (Send out scouts to learn about the details and dispositions of the various raider factions.)

Trade:
[ ] Gather information from Caravans (Merchants are a wealth of information. We could ply these traders at the Carvanaseries and see what they know about the raiders that exist around our region, and see what shakes loose.)
[ ] Trade for (Insert Good/s Here)
[ ] Trade for Horses (Nathan Clark has recommended that since horses have been used to great effect by the Sword Brothers, it could be wise to procure some from traders, and local farmers to select them for traits that would be useful to us in a military capacity.)
[ ] Purchase a Caravan (You can entice a more well off caravan to come to your lands despite the fact it likely won't be profitable for them. Your people can purchase a great many things they need, and in return you can offer goods and or services such as those of the Sword Brothers as payment.)

Diplomacy:
[ ] Attempt to Contact some of the nearby Raiders (we could easily attempt to reach out to some of the nearby or major raiders in the region, and try to negotiate with them.)
[ ] Contact the Cobra Tribe (The Cobra Tribe represents one of the larger nearby tribes. We could perhaps attempt to open up talks with them. Perhaps see if there is a peaceful resolution to this.)
[ ] Formally declare war on these lawbreakers (While being an effort of Moral Grandstanding, and somewhat pompous. This would include a challenge to battle. In which we can invite the enemy to face us on a field of battle. Bypassing the need to defend our territory, by getting them to show up to an arranged fight, their full might against our own. Note: The recent battle in Segovia shows this may be riskier than originally envisioned.)
[ ] Contract Suppliers in Segovia (With the crucial support of our brothers in the battle of Segovia, we could see about deepening our ties with the historic city to our North. As a notable center of production, they would likely give us favorable rates supplying us with vital goods)

Hive City Madrid/Moncloa-Aravaca District:
- [ ] Explore Northern Districts
- [ ] Explore the Central Districts
- [ ] Explore the South Districts
- [ ] Look for access to the Madrid Underhive
- [ ] Look for spire access to the upper levels
There are a fairly large number of gangs even within this district. The most notable are listed below.
- [ ] Contact the Trench Scaves (You know that they frequent some of the more unstable ruined parts of the hive, and are seen scavenging for whatever of value they can find.)
- [ ] Contact the Iron Mongers (You know they are one of two large gangs that control a sizable amount of iron slag which they mine. Little beyond that is known beyond their animosity with the Metal Heads. Recently suffered a large loss against the Ragged Carrion's)
- [N/A] Contact the Commons (Wiped out,)
- [ ] Contact The Ragged Carrion's. (You know they are an up and coming gang that got into a big fight with the Iron Mongers, and wiped out the Commons, and have established their known presence in their settlement.)
- [ ] Contact the Metal Heads (You know they are the other of the two large gangs that control a sizable amount of Iron mines, and Slag deposits which they make use of. Little is known beyond their animosity with the Iron mongers)
- [ ] Contact the Brews Brothers (You only know them by reputation. Specifically that the relabeled bottles of alcohol in the area has their name printed on it… It's not very good, but it makes the rounds here.)

Cup Bearers:

Or
[ ] Write in your own actions

† Yeah, you guys have essentially Bannerlorded your way to a positive relationship, and success margin over the course of the last 5 years. By running around doing side quests, killing bandits, and overall being good dudes. I honestly did not expect such progress, but that's part of the fun of being the DM/QM for this.

Spoiler: The Players Policy Plan

Players Plan
[] Plan Prepare Meat in the Summer
-[][Communications] Couriers
-[][Education Policy] Trade Courses
-[][Foreign Policy] Missionaries
-[][Foreign Policy] Diplomats
-[][Law Enforcement] Military Police (More US Marshal Style)
-[][Military and Warfare] Organizing a Militia
-[][Military and Warfare] Raise the Banners
-[][Calling an Inquisition] Investigate Señor Lopez' Story
-[][Weather] Weather Radar Stations
-[][Territory] Reclaim Nearby Monasteries
-[][Territory] Offer Church Administration

Plan: Go With God
[] Arms Workshops, Continued
[] Patrol our Territory
[] Expand the Monastery Herb Gardens
[] Medical apprenticeships
[] Missionaries to Cordesh
[] Diplomats to Cordesh
[] Contact the Dominicans in Spain
[] Scout Raider positions
[] Gather information from Caravans
[] Purchase a Caravan

 

[Ryan Lozano]

Is it time to vote now

 

[Books Change]

Is it time to vote now

Click to shrink...

The gm is almost caught up to what they had on the old site, I think they only need to do one or two more to be fully caught up

 

[Iron Templar]

Had to fix the last threadmark. I made a mistake and thought Matters of Imperium was a two parter it was the next one.

It has been fixed.

 

[Ryan Lozano]

Had to fix the last threadmark. I made a mistake and thought Matters of Imperium was a two parter it was the next one.

It has been fixed.

Click to shrink...

So is it ok to vote now

 

[Iron Templar]

Prepare in Summer​

"Four things are among the smallest on the earth, and yet they are exceedingly wise:

the ants, a species without strength, yet they gather their food in the summer;

the rock-badgers, a species without power, yet they make their home in the rocks;

the locusts, a species without a king, yet they all march forth in formation;

the lizards, a species you can catch in your hands, yet they are found in the palaces of kings."

- Proverbs 30:24-28
​

The Marshal
Such an action had not been taken in the long history of the Church, even the various inquisitions almost exclusively worked in partnership with secular authorities save for what times they were asked otherwise. Outside of this the church's experience has usually been with small groups of officers that patrolled and kept order in the Holy See's, and a few other places. To create such an Order, would require the utmost care.

Many things became the topic of discussion. From what these men would be called, at first it was suggested by some; that these men could be called Judges, named after the biblical judges chosen by God to lead the Tribes of Israel, and a more modern interpretation based on the Ancient medieval law position. This was dismissed as in the case of the former it was seen as perhaps being too hubristic; In the latter case it was seen as potentially confusing as the title judge was used for presiding over a court in our own legal disputes. There was some brief discussion about styling them off of the Federation's Urban Enforcers, and selecting for similar qualities. Ultimately, the church decided after much discussion to chiefly select for two qualities above all others. The first was that these men were in possession of a keen mind, capable of discernment, and perceptive nature. The second quality, of greater importance; That they be good men capable of doing what is right. As for their name, they settle on an old law enforcement title of Marshal. As one of their authorities will be that should they require assistance they can call upon other officers of the law to assist them in their efforts. They shall bring the law wherever it is needed.

At El Escorial, the first ceremony to swear in the first Marshals was taking place. With Bishop Gregorio Rosa presiding over the ceremony. "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
"Amen."

Brother Alanso steps forward at this moment. "Your Excellency, I present to you these men; Ferrando, Marçal, and Sabastian. Each of them are men of proven character, and sound judgement - Chosen to serve as honored marshals. Would you do the honor of giving them their oaths, and your blessing?"

The Bishop nodded to him, and Brother Alanso stepped back. He looked to the men who stood before him. "Ferrando, Marçal, Sabastian, you have been called. Do you accept this charge freely, for the service of God and the protection of the people entrusted to your care?"

All of them answered "I do."

"Then let us begin. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I, the Bishop of El Escorial, leader of the diocese of Madrid. By the power vested in me by my office, and by what blessings the Lord has seen fit to grant me.
I charge you to be strong and courageous.
To be without fear, and undaunted by challenges ahead of you.
May you honor the Lord our God with your actions.
May your arms and cloak shield and protect the innocent.
May your hand be strong, and bring mercy to the innocent.
May your steps harry the wicked to the ends of the earth.
May their lives be short and fearful of your pursuit.
May your reach be long, and bring Justice to the wicked.
May your mind be keen, and eyes pierce through all illusion.
May your judgement be sound, and true."

"You are a Marshal, Keeper and enforcer of the Just laws of men, and the higher laws of God. The Lord of Hosts, The Alpha and the Omega. You shall fight for good order, and justice, and remember well that just as you fight for God. So do you answer to God."

"Are you prepared to accept such a responsibility?"

All of them answer "We are."

The bishop nods and anoints each of their heads with oil, making the sign of the cross on their foreheads. "Now rise, and swear your oaths."A bible and rosary is brought forth for each one by the acolytes. The first one was Ferrando.

"I, Ferrando Martín, do solemnly swear before Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that I will faithfully discharge the duties of Marshal.
I will uphold the just laws of this land and the higher law of God.
I will track the wicked and damned, bringing evil men to justice.
I will shield the innocent, the weak, and the peaceful from harm.
I will act with integrity, courage, and discernment, never abusing the authority entrusted to me.
I place myself under the protection of St. Michael the Archangel, defender against the powers of darkness.
So help me God."

The other two then swear their oaths. Then each of them is handed a Rosary with a Saint Michael medal attached to it, and with it the Bishop leads them in prayer to Saint Micheal.

Sancte Michael Archangele,
defende nos in proelio;
contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium.
Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur:
tuque, Princeps militiae caelestis,
Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,
qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo,
divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen.

Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

After the prayer concludes, the Bishop declares, "With that, I have one more gift for each of you." The Altar servers went back to the Tabernacle, and reemerged mere moments later holding wooden boxes in hand. The bishop took one of the boxes, and the servers took their place at his sides, and together they opened them. Within each of the boxes was a handmade, and finely crafted revolver of a large caliber. The metal was finely wrought, but blackened for its own protection and to cut down on potential shine that might give away its wielder. The metal was engraved with beautiful imagery of the Cross, and of Saint Micheal the Archangel. The grips were wooden, but formed to contour to the hand for comfort while shooting, and the wood burning had the image of the Archangel Michael on one side, and that of the Virgin Mary on the other side. There was no doubt in the minds of any of the men here. This gun was a hand cannon, and one could make no mistake about that. Along the gun was an inscription. The Inscription on the gun read as follows:

"Blessed be the Lord, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle;" - Psalm 144:1

"The weapon is of my own make, based on the revolvers of the late 2nd millennium. The design has largely been unchanged for tens of thousands of years. It is a double action revolver, chambered in .44 caliber cartridges, I had initially designed it to handle a custom .500 cartridge of my own make, but I changed it out with .44 caliber by the end since its ammunition is far more plentiful. Regardless, it should be capable of taking overpressure rounds without any real issue; it was meant for sterner ammunition than this. These bullets, however, you should do your best to save for when they are needed. They are adamantine armored penetrators, and though I have not had the opportunity to test it in the field, by what testing I have done, they should be capable of penetrating the heaviest armor men wear out there in the wasteland."

The three men stood there for a moment taking in the appearance of the weapons, before gingerly taking them into their possession with a bow of their heads. "Gracias, your Excellency. We shall not let you down. I swear it."

Gregorio Rosa gave them a knowing smile at this before speaking. "I know you will not. Go forth now, vaya con Dios."

With that, the first rite of initiation for the Marshals had completed, and the first three would begin their work, their nueva imposición.

The year of our Lord 29,556 Anno Domini

Courier Service
The assembly of a courier service within the church is a relatively simple task. As it stands some of this service was performed already on an ad hoc basis. So the difference was more the familiarization of routes and ways that one can travel, at least while on foot. Many of the couriers have already taken the effort required to gather transportation when available whether by motorcycle, motorcarriage, or horse, and donkey. It is important that the couriers are able to travel swiftly and safely to their destination. In this regard the lack of vehicles favors us, as central Iberia is rough terrain, and in many places traveling by foot can be faster than by any vehicle. Regardless, it remains a dangerous job, and will require capable men to do it. For within our territory things are relatively safe, and so long as one is armed they may walk safely. However, in this time territory is kept by force, and the grace of God; to borrow a technobarbarian expression, 'Borders are defined by the reach of a man and his rifle, and fear of consequences.'

New Courses, Same School
The introduction of the Trades is met with enthusiasm by the students, and though not universal, there are more than enough students for the purposes of it. If there is any downside to this addition, it is that the opening of these new classes - which are seen by many as 'practical, and worthwhile' - has brought in yet more students from the fields who previously had dismissed our education as fanciful, or impractical (the latter adjective uttered as if condemning a criminal). As a result the school is overfull once again, but this is a good problem to have, and one our brothers are already at work attempting to solve it.

Spiritual Offensive!
The Jesuit priests are thrilled to hear that the church has elected to let them return to their duties at last. As the church militant✝ (which is to say the church here on the material), or church pilgrim as it is also known, they are greatly enthused to go forth as soldiers of Christ, to combat against the devil, and sin. To save the souls of men, and 'struggle against the rulers, against the powers, against the worldly forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.' As such many are brushing up on their already existing preparations to travel wherever they may be called upon to go and spread the word of God.

Secular Diplomacy!
The request for them to participate in diplomacy is… completely unsurprising to the Jesuits. This has been a long time coming, and rather expected; after all the difference between a missionary and a diplomat is really just a matter of order of priorities. Regardless, the order is used to having to deal with warlords, brigands, or even truly barbaric and unreasonable men like bureaucrats. As such they stand ready to go where the church needs them, and do the work required of a diplomat.

Marshals
The creation of a military police unit was not met with much opposition. These are dangerous times, and sometimes you don't need someone to keep the peace as much as hunt, and put down the most dangerous of criminals. The Marshals fall into the latter camp, but they are far from being a blunt instrument. While the Marshals can (at least in theory) be armed with whatever equipment, arms, and armor that they require to deal with the situation, that is where their similarities to the historical Federation arbiters end. The Marshals are meant to track, investigate, and enforce the law and good order. The Marshals are able to do these jobs to the utmost effectiveness in part because they have the jurisdictional authority to pursue their quarry anywhere and everywhere. While this means little right now as our territory is far from vast, this will become increasingly important as our territory grows. Ideally such an organization will become of such high esteem that people will want them to do their good work.

While there was some debate about what we should select for such an organization, it was decided; that such men will naturally have to be in positions of high authority; that they need to be good men above all else; that they must also be capable of all that duty might demand of them. With that being said, the highest requirement must be their moral character and virtue.

The first three Marshals were selected, and by the end of the year that number had grown to twelve, each of them men of good character and with a strong sense of justice. Their efforts have already shown more promise than could have been expected. They hunted and destroyed a group of slavers operating outside one of the major towns aligned with us, they engaged a camp of brigands and highwaymen who were robbing the local caravans and driving off to other regions before anyone could meaningfully catch them, and Marshal Marçal was personally involved in the dogged pursuit of a woman responsible for the brutal murder of at least 3 mothers and their children, and the attempted murder of at least one more which he was able to interrupt when he tracked them as far as Guadalajara. While she was able to play the part of an innocent victim for a time to allow her escape from the settlement, Marshal Marçal was not deterred by this, and managed to avoid the swift retribution of the local fighters thanks to the mother whose life he had saved. He continued his pursuit out into the desert where he finally put the murderer to justice. A gunfight between them went on for some time as they exchanged shots from afar between the desert and the rocks. Ultimately she met her end at the barrel of his revolver.

Militas, Fyrds, and Huestes
Hostis is a Latin word meaning an enemy army. In time, the definition sufficiently broadened to refer to any army, proliferating throughout the many languages of Europa in numerous forms, commonly rendered as ost, host, or the more familiar hueste. Certain Latin expressions, such as hostis humani generis (enemy of the human race), remain in use. For much of early human history the default state was closer to war than to peace, and as such many methods have been developed by various cultures to answer the problems presented to them, one of the most common being how to deal with huestes of small to intermediate size intent to raid or plunder, or failing that preventing them from departing with their gains at little cost.

Nathan Clark, the scholar that he is, is naturally more familiar with the maritime Albish context and proposed a solution familiar to him. The general levy and administrative divisions of Old Albia were certainly effective at increasing the friction a hostile force would encounter invading their island realm of the distant past; naval travel naturally restricted to what degree a hostile force could equip and prepare themselves to fight - particularly the difficulty in transporting horses and land vehicles - without competing with the cargo they wished to return home with.

Iberia is different. At times alternating between hostile frontier country, peripheral hinterlands, and a sheltered metropolitan powerhouse, nevertheless the denizens of these lands had to contend with substantially harsher terrain than most Europan locales. To protect it fully, one would have to control it fully, warding both the northern passes and the southern approaches, and this has only gotten harder with time. Without plentiful navigable rivers, the land obtained a municipal and marginal character in places that were paradoxically vital to control, and relatively unproductive agriculturally speaking, especially without substantive irrigation works.

The Kings and Caliphs of old developed competing military models here, and the one which ultimately triumphed was one which remained beholden to the people and accommodated their circumstances. Though it took the better part of a millennium, they were able to erode the martial order which swept aside the Visigoths and repeatedly brought in foreigners to fight for them whenever the old grew inconvenient, and who collectively punished their subjects whenever they provoked an uprising. Just leadership requires reciprocation of obligation, and that is something which the Spanish Kings understood well.

Under the Iberian military model, each municipality was granted a small administrative zone extending into the surrounding countryside and bargained directly with the King to determine what they were capable of providing to him in times of war and peace. These urban militias, or milicias concejil, were responsible for local security and contributing to defensive operations as well as offensive campaigns, and were organized around households. Depending on their wealth and circumstances, the consejos would specialize into contributing anything from javelinmen, either mounted or dismounted, to heavy horsemen or even crossbowmen. They could even organize their own raids, cavalgadas, to weaken neighbors and increase their own wealth. For obvious reasons cavalry excelled.

This call to arms was not callous and the fueros listed valid reasons and considerations in answer depending on if the war was offensive or defensive in nature, including reasons as simple as family emergency. Regardless, the huestes of this ancient time were composite semi-professional forces✝✝ (in practice they could be very professional, as part of the contract was how far a muster could be expected to march - the longer the distance, the greater the incentive to drill regularly) which would organize around the standing regiments and companies of the Crown, with strong incentives to drill and train of their own volition in order to not be unprepared for the inevitable and frequent conflicts to come.

In our own holdings, the Fyrd Model might be possible, but to expand our military network without a corresponding expansion of our formal control will require us to negotiate and come to arrangements with the people of Iberia, and as such the more flexible model lends itself well to practical arrangements which can change over time. In many ways it is not so different from negotiating a conditional military alliance, just more tedious. Either model will allow us to have some idea of what kind of troops these urban centers will be able to provide us before we actually have to call them up, even if the numbers in question will quite naturally vary - something which Nathan Clark is adamant will be a distinct advantage in planning.

The Banners Fly High
The work to create the banners, and coat of arms for our military order in the Sword Brothers, and the Temple Guard is something that takes a good deal of time in earnest. The banners need to be recognisable, they need the proper amount of Christian symbolism, and they need to be sufficiently detailed to make sure that copying them is not an easy task - while still being mass reproducible by loom and hand. The Sword Brothers' banner was one which took inspiration from the Livonian Brothers of the Sword. A Red sword and cross, on a white background, and golden thread decorations to make it stand out. It's relatively simple work, but it is time consuming and very easy to get details wrong if you don't know the pattern of the weave. Overall this design was the one that was reached easiest. For the Temple Guard, their banners will be made on a case by case basis to represent the church they are stationed and assigned to. As these banners typically do not move all that much they are considerably more detailed, and are more akin to tapestries depicting Jesus, the Virgin Mary, Saints, or such images

Inquisition
From the earliest days of the church, Inquisitions have always been a serious, and necessary matter. Though they have undergone some changes from their humble origins before becoming what they are today. In the earliest days of the church after the crucifixion, many informal investigations and councils were held by the learned men of the church. This tradition quite naturally comes from its basis in Jewish tradition. The early inquisitions were councils conducted by the early church fathers, and early theologians wrote extensively about the heresies they had to combat, and this even appears within the letters of St. Paul. In this early period the councils, and writings were there to combat people who expressed teachings that went against the gospels handed down by the apostles.

Without such action the early Christian faith would have been mired in confusion with many false teachings brought up next to the truth, and at best would have had trouble being taken seriously by the Romans, and various peoples of the empire; At worst the faith might have been led astray and co-opted by something wholly different than what the Lord intended. A key example would be Gnosticism which was one of the heresies that plagued the early church, in which it held that all of material reality was evil, and only the spiritual was good, and that God was either an evil demiurge keeping us all trapped here, or a malicious incompetent, and only by the end of life, and the destruction of the material could we ascend back to this spiritual existence. Suffice to say a rather heretical, and evil belief. There was a later denomination with the same originating conception, but with a different execution under a group known as the Cathars.

These early disorganized inquisitions typically handled matters through correction, and guidance. If that did not work they handled such heresies with denunciation, and then if the problem persisted

they would be expelled from the communities. Priests and church leaders were subject to flogging and imprisonment. And while not the subject of inquisition, St. Nicholas is well known within catholic circles as having slapped (punched in some accounts) the heretic Arius at the council of Nicaea over his heretical views that Jesus did not have divine nature, and was not God made flesh on this earth (which shall not be broached in full at this time). The Arianism heresy being another that was defeated in big part by his efforts and the efforts of the other theologians and church fathers.

As Christianity spread and became the faith of the Roman Empire, encompassing the whole Mediterranean basin, a sea in this time, and proto-Europan Kingdoms. It became the single unifying culture, and fundamental principle by which all men of the population, secular authorities, and the clergy all recognized. By the time of the Middle Ages Inquisitions had developed in a more organized manner into Ecclesial investigations. They were investigations and trials conducted by local bishops and members of religious orders to deal with growing local heresies. The vast, overwhelming majority of these were just simple misunderstandings that were often resolved with a short amicable conversation and comparison of a few notes, as the people committing the heresies were often not doing so intentionally.

However, as time marched on and the number of people looking to the church for guidance grew, yet more heresies abounded; more organized methods were required. This led to the development of new Inquisitorial Courts. Judges in such courts were given stricter requirements: unimpeachable reputation, distinguished wisdom and virtue, and a mastery of theology. As such the Inquisitors were some of the most highly respected and educated men of their time. These developments were a revolutionary advancement in ideas like due process and evidence gathering. They were used from that point onward, from the Industrial Era, the Atomic Age, the Early Space Age, and even into the Early Federation - though they would later make a mockery of it, using it to prosecute political undesirables, before replacing the judicial system with AI, who did that job for them faster… Until the war with the machines.

Inquisitions were a judicial process that sought to investigate, and gain confession and conversion. Their goal was to secure repentance for heretical views, and to stop heretics from engaging in such acts. If the person was innocent and this was a big misunderstanding the inquisition would naturally just clear their name, and probably chew out whoever called them over here for such matters. Only if the guilty persisted in their heretical views were they then handed over to the secular authorities along with whatever findings the inquisition had. The civil authorities would then decide the verdict and punishment.

The first large, and organized, Inquisition came about in 1184 AD in France in response to the Catharist Heresy. Blending Gnosticism and a bit of Manichaeism, it was, for all intents and purposes, its own completely separate religion. It taught that matter was evil, and held the belief that there were two gods: The "good" God of the New Testament, and the 'evil' God of the Old Testament. Believing the material world was evil, they engaged in ritualistic suicide, rejected procreation, and refused to take oaths. This meant in practice that they opposed all authority of the time, making them both a moral, and political, danger for both the church and secular authorities. The church's initial response was one of persuasion through dialogue. Pope Innocent III sent a number of papal legates, and even sent Diego of Osma - his canon - and the future Saint Dominic to work at the conversion of the Cathars in 1206. Debates were held at Verfeil, Pamiers, and Montréal.

Diego de Acebo was later ordered by the Pope to return to his diocese wherein he would die in December of 1207. This left Saint Dominic to continue his mission alone. He debated the Cathars with sound logic, reason, and conviction. The Cathars' resistance to his conversion led him to believe that only preachers who displayed real sanctity, humility, and asceticism could win over and convince them. His conviction would lead to the establishment of the Dominican Order in 1216. The order was to live up to this conviction. In his own words:

"Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth."

However, to Saint Dominic's own dismay, he only managed to convert a minority among the Cathars. This should not be taken as a mark against him as Dominic has made only one error in his assessment, that being his belief that the Cathars actually cared about the accusations they made towards the church, frequently indicting them for not being ascetic enough to dismiss them out of hand. While some of them most certainly did, it's important to note that the Cathars believed that the Church, and by extension all kingdoms, to be agents working on behalf of the Demiurge. It is honestly more of a monumental miracle that he was able to convert and convince as many people as he did, as the Cathars had little actual interest in peaceful dialogue - especially after they saw that the Church was either stalemating them or winning, however slightly.

The Cathars proved this as, the entire time, they continued to engage in violent and openly rebellious acts, even going so far as to assassinate a papal diplomat, Pierre de Castelnau. When Pope Innocent III heard of this, he finally relented on his favored position of peaceful dialogue. He called upon French leaders to launch a crusade to defeat Catharism once and for all. The Albigensian Crusade was thus called, and while it did succeed in breaking Catharism's grip on the region once and for all, it was also far more bloody and chaotic than the Pope had wanted with thousands of innocent people caught in the crossfire. After this, the church had decided that Inquisitions had to become even more organized, less dependent on secular power. They also needed to stop heresy pre-emptively before it could grow out of control and become another fiasco like this had become. The newly created Franciscan and Dominican Orders would take a leading role in these future Inquisitions.

In 1542 the Roman Inquisition was conducted, by far the most professional of the inquisitions to this point. While part of their focus was to counter the ongoing Protestant Reformation, its primary focus was actually cracking down on problems within the Church. The inquisition was highly motivated to rid the Church of abuses which fueled its critics, and corrupt Catholic clergy was a popular target of this inquisition. As the primary focus of the inquisition was most often of members of the Clergy rather than the Laity. priestly misconduct was considered a more grievous matter due to their position.

Perhaps the most famous Inquisition was the Spanish Inquisition in 1478, which began as a state institution as they had been having problems with Jews and Muslims who had converted to Christianity, but had secretly continued practising their religion. These people were divided into two groups, the first being the 'Conversos', Iberian Jews who were under suspicion of not truly converting. As such the inquisition was to take special care with them, which in this case is not a euphemism. The second group, the 'Moriscos,' were former muslims who had been forcibly converted to Christianity after the uprising of Granada circa 1499, in which they were given the choice by the monarchy to convert, or be deported from the country.♱ The kings believed that since the muslims had risen up citing their religion for why they fought them, if they convert and become christians then we could all be good neighbors. Many of them chose to convert, but this, to the chagrin of the Spanish Kings, did not put an end to this. For the Muslims had a practice known as 'Taqiyya', by which pragmatically a muslim may lie and convert to another religion so long as in their heart they remain Muslim.

The Inquisitions fell out of favor by the time of the Early Space Age. While there was consideration for calling an inquisition upon the discovery of warp travel, which allowed the reconnection of the human race with each other at speeds that didn't make it a multigenerational effort, the disputes and heresies of that era were largely settled with ecumenical councils instead.

Our modern Inquisition will be here chiefly to live up to its namesake; to investigate and inquire about these matters most grave; to seek, and find the truth whatever it may be; to present their findings for us to make a final decision. It is our hope that such matters of potential sorcery and evil shall be handled effectively, thoroughly, and with the care that they are due. The matter may have been dealt with by the hands of Señor Lopez, but regardless we must do our due diligence to make certain that it is done, and how much Señor Lopez has told us is true.

Weather Radar Stations
The creation of a weather radar - or meteorological auspex depending on one's preference - is, from a hardware standpoint, relatively simple. Sister Abigail has shown a knack for the production of a working prototype. From a technical standpoint all that is required for a weather radar is an antenna, a receiver, a cogitator, and a steady supply of power (In this case a large battery). That is all that is required for the hardware side of this matter.

The harder part is the software, which has proven the most difficult of the two processes. While we have access to old coding books and dedicated software manuals, there is a lack of ready-made code or coding tools that are often referenced in these ancient tomes. This is of little surprise to those who know their history; it was the initiative of the Federation and their preference that machines, not men, should be responsible for all the necessary parts of life, with the electronic arts being consigned to them also. These were stored in data repositories, often referred to colloquially as STCs despite that being something else entirely. The bulk of this information was lost during the machine war, dying along with the Federation.

Sister Abigail was able to produce some software through trial and error, having secured a workspace to perform some tests from El Escorial, and would like authorization for a team to take the prototype up Mount Abantos to provide us with usable meteorological data.

Reclaiming Monasteries, Reclaiming Complications
The Church has begun preparing for the reclamation of Catholic monasteries. As such to start off with a modest four monasteries were selected to be investigated first, each one within our area of influence and operations.

• Monastery of Santa Maria de El Paular, an abandoned Carthusian monastery in the town of Rascafría in the valley of Lozoya just below the Sierra de Guadarrama - separated from our current sphere of influence due to its location on the other side. Its present state and occupancy is entirely unknown, as no contact has been had with it in living memory.

• Royal Monastery of Santo Tomás, is a Gothic style monastery in the city of Ávila, founded as a Dominican convent to honor Saint Thomas Aquinas. It is also the burial place of Prince John of Asturias for whom his parents - Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand - commissioned the monastery. Its location in the city of Ávila puts it practically in the middle of our sphere of influence. We would have to discuss the matter of its repossession with the Alcalde of Ávila, a powerful individual due to his Presidency of El Pacto, a league of cities along the A55-66. Our efforts to help his people deal with the raider gangs and our charity of food have ingratiated us to him. He may be amicable to coming to an arrangement.

• Monastery of Santa María del Parral, was a monastery of the Order of Saint Jerome located just outside the Northern walls of Segovia across the Eresma River, and that location is what makes it a strong complication. The Monastery is presently occupied by the Segovian town guard - mostly as they thought demolishing the monastery would be a profound waste - inasmuch as leaving the structure for potential attackers to take over during a siege would be undesirable. So they have occupied it. We have proven ourselves as capable warriors and honorable allies, but unfortunately the former reputation might make them all the more reluctant to allow us to reclaim the monastery.

• Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes, is an Isabelline style Franciscan monastery in the settlement of Toledo in Castile-La Mancha. It was built by the Spanish Kings to commemorate the victory in a battle fought in Toro in 1476 which solidified the union of the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. The site of its construction was a further effort of genius on the part of the monarchs as Toledo was the ancient capital of the Visigoth kingdom, and its construction was a symbolical reconstruction by Isabella and Ferdinand, restoring the lost unity of Spain. Toledo is normally quite friendly. However, it appears it has recently been occupied by a group of 'technobarbarian savages whose lack of manners is exceeded only by their lack of hygiene' according to a visitor to El Escorial. Aside from that the only further complication there is that Toledo is a main route by road, and a bridge used by the Governor of Iberia's forces, and occasionally even Europan armies when they can be bothered. Don Ramon had the bridge rebuilt following a destructive campaign years prior.

Ultimately we await the council's decision as to how we wish to go about reclaiming these four monasteries before going forward.There are more locations unmentioned as they are located deeper inside the Hive City of Madrid, and are quite naturally out of reach at the moment.

Clerical Administrators.
The hardest part of offering Church administration to the various municipalities and leagues is making the offer in a way that doesn't come off as condescending, or conniving. Ultimately, the brothers of the church just decided to be earnest and forthright.

Stating plainly our intent to improve the lives of the people, reunify the people with God, and to offer any help we can, this direct offer was met with surprising warmth, and no small amount of incredulity/disbelief. While many refused for one reason or another, they didn't take it as an insult, and seemed merely confused by this offer.
Others would greet it warmly, some others saying 'no thank you', but many villages and a handful of towns would take up the offer. They considered the balance, as they were struggling, and determined that having the support of a larger entity such as the Church seemed like it was at least worth a shot. Most surprising was that the City of Valladolid would, upon hearing of this, send a representative to El Escorial to personally request Church assistance in taking over governance of their city and demesne for some time. Their Alcalde has fallen ill, and the houses of Valladolid cannot agree on who should be in charge next. With dangers afoot outside their walls, they have agreed that if nothing else, someone should be in charge of their city until they figure out who should be in charge, or… until the Alcalde's son comes of age to take over.

Arms Workshops have arms and legs
Like a sleeping limb, the attempts to wake this have taken a great deal of time, but it is finally beginning to pay off. Though systemic instruction in the Trades has only just begun, they have already provided a good deal of help during their classes along with the assistance of the apprentices of the gunsmiths within our territory. This, along with several of our other efforts such as the Order of St. Isadore's digging of wells and agricultural renovation, has freed up a lot more man hours for the gunsmiths to ply their trade instead of having to split their attention between their trade and labor that merely needs to be done. Despite our efforts so far, life is still incredibly labor intensive. It is not uncommon that many if not all must work even through the sabbath, but at least the work load is lessening, and in time perhaps people will once again be allowed a day off at least once a week.

Now we have a dozen or so gunsmiths, about five of which are our brothers within the Church and the others are men of quality. Right now the Gunsmiths will be catching up on a lot of work orders, probably until the end of the year, but that's what happens when repair and replacement is allowed to back up. With any luck however, the Bishop seems confident that we should be able to get domestic production of firearms for our Men at Arms in a year or so's time.

Prodigal Sons… and Fortuna's patrol.
The Prodigal Sons, having been formed up, receive their orders to go on patrols. At first everything was great. The patrols are easy enough, it is territory we have patrolled before. Overall it shouldn't be too much of an issue… Yet for some reason that's not what happened as one evening the patrol resulted in a firefight. That itself is not unusual, there have been many firefights over the years, many of them going until both sides were out of ammo and unwilling to approach the other for fear that they had some ammo in reserve, or better equipment or fortitude for CQC, commonly resulting in both sides simply coming to the mutual and independent conclusion of 'I am going home.' While on the other extreme we have had firefights that have gone hilariously one sided in our own favor, and a minority in which the opposite had occurred. Such is the way of small-scale skirmishing that is most unlike large battles.

Whereas with large battles the casualties suffered can merely result in small amounts of casualties or at least small percentages in the worst case, skirmishes tend towards extremes; a skirmish can end with practically nothing really happening, with one side brutally slaughtered at the hands of the other, or mutually slaughtered to a man or nearly so.

This battle is not like that at all. It starts as a firefight, and swiftly escalates into something else because of another event that was only partially related. In short, an accident had occurred. While on patrol a dust storm swept in near the mountains. It wasn't bad enough to stop so the troops elected to keep going. The result was that they took a wrong turn and ended up going down a different pass where they stumbled upon a group of raiders, and… From there the reports are extremely unclear what happened, if anyone really knows, but a firefight ensued, and that rapidly escalated into something much, much bigger.

The good news is that we finally know where the raiders attacking the caravans on N-110 route from Ávila to Lisbon were coming from. The bad news is we have started a small war with a tribe of raiders that are holed up in the Sierra de Gredos. Regardless, in very short order the Prodigal Sons were involved with a much greater threat than they had anticipated, as not only did the tribe have fairly significant numbers, at least hundreds if not thousands of fighters, but they also has seem to possess a heavier equipment such as rocket launchers and some Heavy Stubbers.

The battle was unexpected by both parties, and the Prodigal Sons were forced to pull back in a moving firefight that lasted the next 37 hours. In tactical terms this battle was a stalemate, or perhaps a minor loss. In strategic terms however, the Prodigal Sons were only able to retreat thanks in large part due to the efforts of Sword Brothers and Temple Guard who came to their aid to provide support. They naturally had to pull back; the mountains were not exactly our territory, but it is the opinion of Señor Clark, Brother Herrera, and the men of the Prodigal Sons that the raiders will absolutely not let this go, and we should expect a counterattack almost immediately. Despite it all, the performance of the men was good.

(Note: A response to this in the plan would be treated as happening this year, but I don't see a reason to slow down the turn for this. Unless you would rather not act.)

Monastic Gardens.
The expansion of the Herb Gardens came with some requirements. The Fountains needed to be expanded, and channels created for water to travel through the soil so that the plants could be watered on days where the rain was lacking. The herbs needed to be planted in greater quantities. Plants like sage - an antiseptic and antibiotic, Cayenne - which improves digestion, reduces inflammation, boosts immunity, and can help detox the body, Along with many others such as Echinacea, Garlic, Lavender, Aloe vera, and Valerian.

The one that the brothers are most proud of is the expansion of the orange trees in the orchards. Which in addition to being an excellent source of vitamin C are a wonderful treat, good for preventing scurvy, too, which is regrettably relevant in modern times due to rampant malnutrition. The oranges can also be used once they have decayed and covered with mold, processed and purged of impurities to create a powerful antibiotic known as penicillin.

The expansion of the Herb Gardens has been a wonderful boon in many respects. It should be more than enough for the purposes of our people right now in addition to the backstock of herbs we have already harvested and stored. The brothers who rotate through caring for the gardens have taken it upon themselves to collect seeds and store them in separate packages for our brothers when we reclaim some of the monasteries so they may start their own gardens.

Apprenticeship, No thank you.
The reaction to our offer of medical apprenticeships to those who don't necessarily want to join our order has been met with… Well a shockingly low amount of interest, so much so that many of our brothers and sisters decided to investigate why this is. Our answer actually came from one of our new brothers who joined the order sometime after we started offering a place and shelter for doctors and those of medical experience. Brother Rafael was able to reveal at least what he believes might be the reason. His statement has been included here with this report for sake of accuracy.

"The reason, near as I can fathom it, is the same reason I elected to join the order at least initially. Though I have come around to believing in the true Lord, and God. I didn't join the order out of a sense of religious calling. Take no insult from this. I don't regret it, and would hope I would have done it had the situation been different. You're all good people, and trying to heal the sick and injured is all I ever wanted to do. The reason that I joined initially was at least in large part, the fact that your order was asking, legitimately asking, and offered a protection by that association with your order. Understand this, out in the wasteland a doctor is of incredible value and anyone possessing the mental faculties or senses to tell someone is a doctor will avoid killing or harming them if they can help it. However, they also see doctors as a resource, that they are human does not play any part in it. Those not of your faith don't seem to hold that a human being has any kind of dignity worth mentioning. So my guess as to why medical apprenticeships aren't very popular is simple. They all know that if they do try to learn it… You don't ultimately have authority over this city, and they will be snatched and forced to work as a doctor, or ripper for one of the many violent gangs within the hive city of Madrid. In that case if you're not sure about joining your order… Ignorance is probably better. God knows it would have saved me some pain in my younger years."

• Brother Rafael, Dr. Healing hands, Madrid Hive

Foreign doctors and new arrivals to Madrid even seem to be going out of their way to avoid our order. We will keep the apprenticeships open for the year, and if anyone asks we will take them on, but it seems the offer has been rejected. If brother Rafael is correct, it's likely we will not see anyone who wants to join until the situation changes within the Hive city.


End of Part 1 (Vote, will come with part 2)

✝ The Church is divided into three parts in Catholic Tradition. The Church Militant, which consists of Christians on Earth who struggle as soldiers of Christ against sin, the devil. The Church Penitent, which in the theology of certain churches, Catholicism being among them, represents the Christians currently in Purgatory undergoing purification of their sins. Finally the Church Triumphant, which represents those in Heaven. (Naturally one is expected to be a member of at least two of these XD)

✝✝ I honestly seriously debated using the word Semi-profesional. Because I often see it used as some sort of middle point between militias and professional forces, and that's just not accurate. Semi-professional forces means everyone who can be called up for military service who's not a professional soldier. This includes National Guard, Auxiliary/reserve forces, and militias. So basically… everyone except for random people with guns who decide to show up because they felt like it. Anyway, I just wanted to clarify so someone doesn't start thinking that semi-professional means better than a militia. A militia is also a semi-professional force.

♱ The reason they had been forcibly converted had to do with wars with the Muslim Caliphates further south, and its own topic that will be touched on later. The extremely short version is, they had been allowed to practice their faith openly and legally, but when muslim armies came either as rebels in uprising or from caliphates. The Iberian muslims not only joined in but turned on and over their neighbors who they had previously been acting as good neighbors and friends with not weeks before. These events happening repeatedly led to the Spanish kings abrogating their previous status which allowed them to practice their faith openly and legally. They were given the choice to either stay and accept baptism, leave and accept exile but they could keep their religion, and be allowed safe passage, or they could choose to not convert to stay, and suffer the consequences, usually imprisonment, and enslavement rather than death. The Jewish population was caught up in this. Because despite the atrocities they themselves had suffered under, the Iberian Jewish communities openly allied and worked with them in exchange for better treatment while under the status of a Dhimmis. Their apparent collaboration with islamic conquerors for their own reasons had soured their relationship with the Christians who had at this point been fighting a nearly 800 year war against the muslims

 

[Iron Templar]

Prepare in Summer Part 2​

"It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." — J.R.R. Tolkien

​

Flag of the Ramon familia

Mission to Cordesh
Cordesh, historically known as the city of Córdoba. The city has a long and storied history, originally a Roman colony (Possibly a Carthaginian colony before that) information from that time is sparse save that we know it became the capital of Baetica (Roman Hispania Province), and a Roman philosopher, and his family came from there. It was a Roman colony for hundreds of years before being taken over by the Visigothic kingdom of which we know very little about it during that time because of its next conquerors, the Muslims 200 years later. In 711 AD. Arab and Berber armies invaded the Iberian Plateau, known then as Hispania✝, and a peninsula as the sea levels were much higher. Córdoba became the capital of the Umayyad Dynasty, and under their rule the city did become opulently wealthy for a time as the riches of their Jihad. Riches born of plunder, Jizya from Infidels✝✝, and of course beautiful women. Caliph Al-Walid in Damascus was delighted by the great plunder "the resources of all the people of Spain . . . its riches and the beauty of its young girls." Under the rule of the Umayyads, who particularly valued blonde or red haired Franc or Galician women as sexual slaves. Which were harder to acquire from the better fortified Rhomania☦. al-Andalus became a center for the trade and distribution of slaves.

Cordoba was by design a slave emporium, and it grew wealthy off that reputation. The women were dressed in transparent cloth with a color coded system based on the skin tone of the slave girl. Though that was something they were more than willing to offer as well. The Merchants would apply special ointments to slaves of darker complexion to whiten their skin tone, brunettes would have their hair placed in a solution for four hours to make their hair appear blonde ('golden'); ointments were placed upon the face and body of black slaves to make them 'prettier'. The merchants of the time were aware of the popular conception (Within Al-Andalus) that the European infidels were portrayed as promiscuous by nature - slavers played up this fantasy in order to facilitate sales. The merchants would instruct them to behave in a coquettish manner with old men and boldly with the timid men among the potential buyers to make them crazy with desire.♱

Though the sale of female slaves for sexual purposes was most common (They did serve as domestic servants, but that was secondary to their primary purpose) Male slaves were also in high demand for three chief roles; male children particularly those renown for their beauty or intelligence were castrated and became eunuchs to serve within the harems. Those who seemed strong were raised in the barracks to be slave warriors. And, finally, as the sexual playthings of the powerful and wealthy, such was the case of Abd al-Rahman III's "love" for the Christian Martyr and Saint, Pelagius (aka Pelayo), who was only 13 years old when he was tortured for 6 hours and finally beheaded for refusing the Caliph's advances.

The price of a slave depended on his or her race, sex, age, and abilities. White slaves, especially blonde ones, were the most prized. In the year 912, during the height of the Islamic Golden Age of the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, the price for a male black slave was 200 dirhems [coins] of silver. A black girl from Nubia went for 300 dinars of gold. A white girl without education cost 1,000 dinars of gold. One with singing abilities cost 14,000 Dinars. In Abd al-Rahman III's court there were 3,750 slaves, his harem had 6,300 women, and his army included 13,750 slave warriors.

The Martyrs of Cordoba
While traveling to Muslim-ruled Cordoba, Spain, in 850 AD, Perfectus, a well-educated monk, was stopped by Muslims he knew and apparently trusted. They asked him what the Christians thought about Christ and Muhammad. He told them that they would likely be upset by his answer. They assured him to be at ease and speak freely, promising that they would not share his response with others.

After citing Jesus's warnings against false prophets, Prefectus said that is how Christians saw Muhammad. The group said their goodbyes and went their way.

Days later, when the same Muslims saw Perfectus in a crowded marketplace, they loudly cried out that he had cursed Muhammed. He was arrested and thrown in a dungeon. He was then ordered to recant and convert to Islam or face death: Perfectus defiantly reaffirmed Christ's divinity and Muhamad's imposture, resulting in his public beheading. (Death for whoever "blasphemes" against Muhammad is fueled by many hadiths, including "If anyone insults [Muhammad], then any Muslim who hears him must kill him immediately, without any need to refer to the imam or the sultan.")

Months later, another Christian named Isaac, a 24-year-old who had abandoned a lucrative position and withdrawn into a monastery, returned to Cordoba and, knowing full well the consequences, declared Muhammad a false prophet. Isaac was beheaded and his corpse hung upside down from Cordoba's gates. Something however had resonated, for more Christians followed suit.

Some were dhimmis, others muladi (formerly Christian families that had nominally converted to Islam to avoid sporadic persecution or to improve their social status, while internalizing their Christian faith.) Reveling in the unburdening of their souls, while knowing the consequence of doing so, they now publicly confessed the divinity of Christ and its corollary, the fraudulence of Muhammad. Paul of Alvarus, a contemporary, described them as tormented souls "who were holding the Christian faith only in secret, but finally brought out into the open what they had concealed."

In the end, some 50 Christians were imprisoned, tortured, commanded to recant their blasphemies and convert or return to Islam, often with flattering words and enticing rewards. They all refused and were finally executed, often sadistically. One nun was hurled into a cauldron of molten lead; one elderly monk was whipped to death; a young soldier was impaled; and two sisters accused of apostatizing to Christianity were arrested, offered numerous inducements to return to Islam, and finally beheaded when they persisted in their refusal.

Saint Eulogius of Córdoba, one of the Martyrs of Cordoba the second to last to die during the near decade of this event. His works are not limited to this event, but as it transpired, he took it upon himself to continue his work promoting and defending the Christian faith and assisting the

persecuted. Until eventually, Saint Eulogius of Córdoba was imprisoned for providing shelter to Saint Leocritia of Córdoba, who was a Christian convert from Islam (as Apostasy is punishable by death in Islam.). Despite being imprisoned, Eulogius boldly seized the opportunity to preach the Gospel in court, even in front of the Muslim Caliph's counsel. Eulogius' fearless proclamation of the Gospel ultimately led to his martyrdom. On 11th March 859, he was scourged and beheaded in Córdoba, Spain. The same scourging and beheading would befall St. Leocritia four days later on 15th March. (He also took the time while he was in prison to record everything as I guess just because you are going to die doesn't mean you can't give up your scholastic habits. People will want to read this) (He's was right). Those were the 48 Martyrs of Córdoba, but they were far from the only ones Abd al-Rahman III was responsible for the slaying or maiming of many women who displeased him, but also of young boys as well whom he took as sex slaves.

Cordoba would be freed by the efforts of Ferdinand III of Castile - Saint Ferdinand and a hundred of his knights, whose story deserves its own telling at a later time, as the Reconquista is a story spanning over 8 centuries of warfare, from mustard seed to all of the Spanish kingdoms. Suffice to say for now that the King had arrived in time to rescue the Christians under threat and liberate the city. He had his men go to the great mosque of Córdoba, which Abd al-Rahman I built in the eighth century - after demolishing and cannibalizing the materials of Saint Vincent's, the sixth century Visigothic church. The Archbishop of Toledo was called to cleanse the site sprinkling with holy water and salt. Ferdinand found the bells of Saint James Matamoros and had them carried back to their shrine in Santiago. The King thought it only right that the Muslims have done unto them what they had done to others. He had them carry the bells on their backs much like they had Christian captives carry it to adorn their great mosque as a trophy of war, having them return the bells to their rightful place.

Cordoba history does not end there, as its history is long, but of most note to us for the purposes of its historical significance, and cultural impact came during the time of the federation. When Cordoba would first be established as a significant hive city within Spain, dubbed the Spanish Federal Economic Zone by the federation. This was the result of the federation wanting to transfer political dissidents, and criminals from the SFEZ into space for shipment out of the system. Queen Maria of Spain, utilizing what influence the Spanish monarchs had left, and pulling on the heritage sites that the Federation still recognized at this time. Was able to refuse them from setting up such a processing center and spaceport for such a purpose in SFEZ initially. However, the Federation would ultimately utilize her same legal defenses against her. They declared the city of Cordoba to be a special heritage site in need of direct management from the Federal bureaucracy located on Terra. They would then build the facilities and spaceport necessary for the transfer of prisoners off-world, and often to Xeno's powers who were members or associates of the Federation, and so it was that Cordoba would serve that age old purpose yet again.

This falling out with the Queen of Spain would be a contributing factor in the federations later decision to change the official name of the region to the Iberian Federal Economic Zone. The resulting influx of investment and development would see Cordoba develop into a lesser hive city that was well on its way to greater status. It might have even exceeded Madrid had it not been for the quiet revolt that had been brewing prior to the War Against the Machine. As it was and remains still. It is the second largest city in all of Hispania, and it profited greatly from such efforts. It is however unclear if the name Cordesh was a result of such developments, or if this was simply a change that has transpired during these rather cataclysmic past millenia.

The more recent history is fairly chaotic, long, and somewhat repetitive, but the short of it is that Cordesh was taken over by a Warlord, and his son. The Warlord died a scant few years after capturing the lesser hive city and using it as his base of operations. This Warlord was the great grandfather of Don Luis Ramon. The skyline was tall, but it was taller than it is currently. As many of the upper spires had been deconstructed over the centuries to cannibalize its materials. The hive was encircled by an adamantine curtain wall that originally was used to encircle the core of the old city. Its shape contoured to the land in a misshapen circle. Colorful paintings of art of various quality, and color spotted its way through the city. Ranging from the hands of a painter to the hands of an aspiring art butcher with a paint can and a lack of sense. Many buildings hung colorful cloth from their walls to resemble banners, and provide color and style to the city or in some cases cover up bad artwork. During the old night it had contracted until such a point that all of the city had been contained within its walls. Now that it is under a stable and successive warlords in the form of the Don Ramon's the situation has stabilized and a series of minor settlements have popped up around the hive city serving as waypoints for the input of goods, and supplies for the city. Which itself produces a series of industrial goods within it. However these minor settlements are but the palest of shadows of what used to be a sprawling urban scape that once dominated the surrounding region. Of course enough nukes were dropped on the city (and Atomics after the nukes ran out) to see to the gradual ruination of the surrounding metropolis. The destruction of all of those early days leaves much of a mystery that we can only begin to piece together with the benefits of hindsight. The core hive city of course survived without any real issue, It owed its survival to the defensive systems that were either built into the hive from the beginning, or possibly installed around the time of the war with the machine. The Void shield protected the hivecity and the people within it. However, it could not protect them from themselves. The city's food and water ran out as it was overpopulated for what the system was designed to handle and remain self-sufficient.

This hive has been through the worst of it, but it has benefited from the efforts of the Don Ramon's, the city houses somewhere between 16 - 24 million people. While crime is still present throughout the city, the stiff arm of the city enforcers, and the occasional assistance of the Don's own men. Who are quite recognizable as they are uniformed, and well dressed. Wearing Deep Crimson coats, and jackets over black or dark-grey underlayers. Gold braids, collar tabs, and sleeve markings seem to denote their rank. With many wearing a crimson sash or shoulder-cloth as a sign of their direct service to the Governor. They are armored in carapace, and act as heavy infantry; armed with rifles in one hand, and a substantial quantity of power spears, or halberds. These men are referred to as the Tercios Centrales. When a particularly bloody riot was about to break out from a gang murder. Our

brothers witnessed two ranks of these men enter in the streets and form a line of spears, and guns. They swiftly put down three gang members including the murderer, while advancing in step to force the crowd back away from the scene until the Enforcers could arrive to arrest the perpetrators. Our initial inspection from our brothers finds these men efficient in their action, disciplined, and well drilled. Needing little communication to know what to do next.

Cordesh, is a civilized hive city. Brutal, but civilized. The people are able to walk most of the streets without fear, and only requiring basic armaments to see to their safety should an altercation start, and such armaments for personal protection are permitted within the city by its civilians either by intentional policy, or more cynically by it being impossible, to enforce. The end result from what our missionaries can glean is that this in addition to the brutal reprisal that can follow. Lends itself to an overall cooling effect of overall crime and hostilities. As when any given altercation can end in a bloody violent outcome results in those involved considering whether it is worth it to escalate this event. They still do more often than anyone would like, but the brief pause for thought has reduced this end result.

The effect of our missionaries has been a surprising one. As many of the citizens have found the word of God to be a welcome change from the many other religions, and cults that have crossed into the city. They were pleased to hear the words of God, and took heart that we preach words of strength, courage, and love. Where many others preached of madness, blood, war, and despair. Or the maddening worship of works of artifice that can bring terrible destruction such as the cult of atom. However, while many of the people of the city have found our presence most agreeable, this reception has not been universal. In particular we have been receiving a very frosty reception from the merchant corporaziones of Europa's Italic Plateau. With many of them refusing to give us business, much to the confusion of their own workers. We have had similar responses from the Europan functionaries which can be found along with the more intellectual types of the city. Among the people however, we are as of yet well received both by people who remember dimly the God of the forebears, and we have even found some purchase among those in the city who were skeptical of many of the faiths, and cults that have come to Cordesh. As they did not find our missionaries wanting for conversation and were surprised, pleasantly so that we would actually answer questions with answers that were not cryptic occult symbolism, strange numerology, or cryptic prophecies of doom.

Bureaucrats vs Diplomats
The Efforts of our brothers to engage in diplomacy however, was stymied at every turn by the Europan functionaries and bureaucrats who refused to allow us to meet with Don Ramon at every turn. They would neither allow us to approach the buildings of civil state, nor do they seem to have made any effort to pass on our messages, and with some of them making what appeared to be veiled threats to the safety of our diplomats and missionaries should we remain. Our missionaries were returning from one such encounter with a Europan Minister who rebuked our efforts once more. When we were approached by some of the Don's Tercios, including what presumably was an officer of some sort, but had removed all braids, or pins of rank. He did not remove his helmet but he spoke to our missionaries, and his voice and eyes seemed sincere.

"Buenos tardes señor's, it is lucky that I have caught you here." He said, though it was obvious that luck had nothing to do with it.

"Buenas tardes" we responded.

"I could not help but notice the commotion that has been caused by your involvement shall we say with the Minister, Señor Stefan. He is a… smart man I am sure, but he has made the folly of many a smart man."

"Oh, what folly would that be?"

"He has overstepped his position, he has neither the authority nor the right to seek us out after you and your fellows, or to determine who has a right to see our Don. I have come to set this right, first you need not fear any threat of reprisal from those of us loyal to our Don on behalf of the Europans, and we shall endeavor to see their own guardsmen do not commit to anything of the sort, but I advise you be on your guard it is a big city… and another folly of smart men is to make grave mistakes when they think they know best."

"Does this mean you have come to bring us for an audience with the Don?"

He sighs, and shrugs almost regretfully. "Alas though I would love to, I cannot. The truth of the matter is as simple as this. I shall tell you for those whom this information would be useful consider you their enemy already. The Don is not presently within the Capital, and possibly will not be for some time. He is to the south dealing with raiders, and possibly warbands that might come from some of the Nordaftik Conclaves. He will return when matters there have settled. I shall ensure that the Don is informed of your arrival here when he returns, or if you feel it is of such great importance. Perhaps some of your fighting men could be of use should it turn to active war with some of the Conclaves."

After that exchange, we parted on good terms. We gave them a benediction, and they wished us to stay safe and enjoy our stay in their Don's great city.

The Order of Preachers
Father Miloslav is successfully able to make contact with the Dominican Order in Spain. Leading a small expedition to the settlement of Caleruega. The Dominicans there were happy to greet us, once they knew who we were they welcomed our Brothers, and were glad for it. The Abbot is looking forward to speaking with the Bishop of our church and to share information, and see how we can go forward.

For now though they have informed us that to their knowledge though it is out of date there are several other Dominican monasteries and sites that are active on the plateau. Including but not limited to the Convent of San Domingos de Bonaval, in Santiago and Convento de Santo Domingo, in València. He also made mention of the Real Monastery of Santo Tomás, however last we had heard that was in the possession of the Alcalde of Ávila, and we had not received word of any Dominicans. The abbot was sorry to hear about this, but said if we can reclaim it he will gladly assemble some volunteers to restore the Monastery.

For now the Dominicans are outside of our sphere of influence and even communication will be hard because there is a considerable amount of terrain to cross and it must be done by hand as of right now. However as a sign of gratitude by the Abbot. He informs us that he will be bringing a collection of knowledge. Manuals, literary works, and even cogitator file copies that his order has been able to preserve as a gift to the mother church of Spain.

The Scouting of the Scouts!
During the scouting operations, preliminary work was being done. The reality on the ground changed so much that the whole operation had to be called off as the raiders marched to war, and many of our scouts had to be recalled from the field. Many of whom were chased off by the raiders from the mountains mentioned previously. Some of our scouts were forced to retreat into unknown territory. It is unclear what has happened to them at this time. They are still MIA.

Bad News, and Good intelligence
The Bad news is that the information we have received would have been considerably more useful before our encounters with the raiders. The good news is that we have gained information as to the nature of our raider foes. They are called Los Devoradores de Pasos, they have been a raider tribe which has been operating out of the Sierra de Gredos. They have been known to operate in and around that region, but from what the caravans can tell us; their reach extends as far south as lake Embalse de Valdecañas. However, their primary home base, or bases, are located in the mountains. According to rumor they live in mountain settlements that they call Sietch's

Note:
"We should get someone to see what that term means. It seems like its in reference to something." - Father Emmanuel

"It's from an ancient piece of Merican media, genre of Science Fiction known as Dune… It is potentially mildly concerning that they knew to make the reference. Especially if they know enough to consider themselves the Fremen in this setting." - Nathan Clark

"I have heard of it, I will grow concerned if they somehow made giant sandworms in the caves. We have enough issues without desert-forming aquaphobes with gigantism." - Father Miloslav

Estimates as to their exact size is extremely difficult, we know from others that they have been both capable of holding a grip on a fairly large region of highways given the terrain, and they have engaged in various tribal/raider wars with other groups. Some estimates put them at as low as 800 - 1,200 fighters. While higher estimates place them around a Division of 8,000+ fighters. Based on what information we can gather we can probably assume an effective troop mobilization around 2,000 - 3,000 fighters as a good estimate. As we can assume they will likely not be able to mobilize all of their forces for logistical realities. The same ones that for instance prevents us from deploying all of the swords at our disposal from the Sword brothers, to the Temple Guard. Beyond this the only detail we have about their social side of things, is that it's quite likely that their treatment of women is not what we would consider Christian, but that is unfortunately hardly unique in the wasteland.

Buying Goods. Caravan
The Caravan is able to be purchased, and brought down from the Kingdom of Oxitania, which is located in what has historically been known as south western Franc. The caravan was paid for with the surplus of wages we have made from our many contracts, and the guard we are able to send out to provide them from the border onwards is able to reduce the cost significantly. The reputation of our brothers was able to dissuade many attackers. Our skill with arms either dissuaded the rest, or commuted their time spent on this earth. While a great many things happened on the journey to El Escorial, and all the stops on the way. Nothing occurred which was particularly noteworthy in this case. Which we possibly owe to the fact such a caravan is not a normal occurrence. Many watchers from various leagues, raiders, and gangs did come to witness its passing, but otherwise did not interfere after they saw it did not appear to have any immediate effect on their own person.

The influx of goods, and materials not easily (or at all) found has been a great boon to our communities, and to ourselves. Many replacement parts were acquired for generators, electronics, and other mechanisms which we cannot easily replace, and that we can have some difficulty salvaging and refining. This has incidentally been a great boon for our gunsmithing industry as we were able to acquire a great many machines, and presses for the production of guns and firearms. It seems those merchants are aware of what sells well to their customers. While tools and materials were the chief purchase. We were also able to get a hold of some books and novels. Mostly of a recreational, and cultural nature, but also a technical manual for a moisture collector. The people who sold it could not find a way to produce it themselves. It's quite likely we won't have any better luck, but it could be useful later if nothing else. Knowledge should be preserved. The Caravan stays for a few weeks, and then departs back on its journey back to its homeland. Our brothers providing some protection on their journey back to their kingdom.

Strategic Turn:

[x] Plan Name (Lets do plan names for this one so the votes alot cleaner)
[ ] Do Nothing (Always an option, it can be prudent especially when you have a lot of things going on.)

Arms Production:
[ ] Rifle Design: (As it stands we do not have any single standard rifle in service to our church. The largest singular quantity of rifles are either Mausers, Hunting rifles, and the Beretta M22 FAR's which we found in the old armory for the Matacán Air Base. While our troops have been making do with whatever they can find, purchase, or loot. It will probably be best if we produce some kind of basic rifle which we can arm our troops, and support logistically.)
- [ ] Find Weapon Designs (There have been many weapons designed, and templated. Either those made by AI CAD programs, or those produced more recently by the multitude of tribes formed in the wake of Old Night. Its more a matter of finding them.)
- [ ] Existing Weapons Designs (There are weapon designs that already exist, and are manufactured domestically, and nearby gunsmiths. We could always ask around, and draw up a contract.)
- [ ] Design a New Weapon (It could be worthwhile to produce our own pattern of firearm. It would stimulate a domestic industry, and we can ensure the design is both unique to our military and those we chose to lend, or perhaps even sell. Both adding a level of operational security, and potentially producing something more suitable for our purposes.)

Sword Brothers:
[ ] Military Attache [Nathan Clark] (Nathan Clark has requested to go with the Sword Brothers and look into establishing an experimental unit to test new ideas that could progress our martial ability.)
[ ] Recruitment Drive
[ ] Contract the Sword Brothers (To who?)

The Temple Guard: (The Temple Guard unless busy with other matters will automatically accompany your other church members to dangerous locations. If lots of tasks are being done you should mention which ones you want to get priority.)
[ ] Recruitment Drive


Prodigal Sons:
[x] Engaged with the Los Devoradores

Order of St. Isidore: Land restoration is an attractive prospect for many who have never known food security in their lives
[ ] Establish a Seed Vault (There are many crops and herbs which were historically grown throughout Iberia. A Seed Vault would aid in our efforts, though some plants have no doubt become scarce or even extinct.)
[ ] Farmers Festival (Organize a festival for the many farmers of the rural region around El Escorial, and many other nearby villages. Encourage farmers to bring produce, and market their goods, and the order can use this opportunity to organize the farmers as a community to share secrets, and tips for farming, and improve both sense of community, and hopefully general agriculture.)

The House of Healing:
[ ] Soap Works, soap distribution (The brothers and sisters can task some with a larger scale making of soap for distribution to increase sanitation.)
[ ] Cybernetics Specialist (Our medical expertise is thus far without peer. However, more specialized medical expertise regarding cybernetic replacements is something of a more specialized skill set that while it overlaps a great deal. Requires its own expertise. It's time we started engendering that skill set.)

Jesuit Missionaries: (The difference between a missionary and a diplomat is often a matter of overarching goal)
Dispatch Missionaries:
- [ ] Missionaries to Portu (In the Spanish province of Portugal, There is a people who may yet remember that they were once a great people who ruled over land and sea. Perhaps these chuleta de cerdo (Pork Chops), are remnants of these people. We cannot offer them back their language, but we can offer them the God of their forefathers, and perhaps some of their history.)
- [ ] Missionaries to Saragorn (While in more recent history the region of Barcelona, and the City of Saragorn has been checkered at best. Barcelona, was once an important part of Iberia, and featured one of the only great urban militias that the Spanish Crown could call upon, and it is home to the Sagrada Família Basilica. Perhaps if brought back into the faith they can be great once more, and many souls can be saved.)
- [ ] Missionaries to the Cobra Tribe (We could send Missionaries to the Cobra Tribe and try to convert them to being brothers and sisters of Christ. Though it might be wiser to wait for some of the bondsmen to be released.)
- [ ] Missionaries to the Los Devoradores (While we don't know where they are precisely, and we are actively fighting them… We could try to send Missionaries…)

Active Missions:
- [X] Cordesh Mission; Status Green. Preaching the good word, and establishing a temporary church.

Jesuit Diplomats:
Dispatch Diplomats: (Dispatching Diplomats is the first step, be sure to specify what it is that you want them to do. Otherwise it will be left to their own discretion and they will mostly focus on just being a go between.)
- [ ] Diplomats to Saragorn (We don't know much about them. Perhaps its time we changed that.)
- [ ] Diplomats to Portu (We don't know for certain that they are another entity or polity, but it might be worth it to send some diplomats to establish some relations, and get to know the locals.)
- [ ] Diplomats to the Cobra Tribe (We could establish a more formal dialogue with the Cobra Tribe they do appear to be large and rather organized compared to many others.)
- [ ] Diplomats to Local Settlements (There are many settlements, regions, and tribes of the wasteland that we could take the time to establish a rapport with more formally.)

Active Diplomacy:
- [X] Cordesh Diplomatic Party. Status, Green. Awaiting to make contact, or further orders.

Michael's Marshals:
- [ ] Accompany the Inquisitors (The Madrid Hive city is a dangerous place… Well more dangerous than the wasteland, and should the investigation come to violence it would be best to have an experienced gun on standby. The Marshal could also assist with the investigation.)

Organizing a Militia:
- [ ] Organize the San Lorenzo de El Escorial Militia (El Escorial is located within a settlement known as San Lorenzo. Much of our)

Inquisition:
- [ ] Investigate Senor Lopez's Story (Senor Lopez's story is concerning to say the least, we should see if he is willing to talk more about it, and proceed with the investigation from there)

Weather Radar Stations:
- [ ] Set up a weather radar on Mt Abantos.

Monastery Reclamation: (Description of each of these is earlier in the quest.)
- [ ] Monastery of Santa Maria de El Paular
- [ ] Royal Monastery of Santo Tomás
- [ ] Monastery of Santa María del Parral
- [ ] Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes

War:
[ ] Aggressively Assault Raiders (We could attempt to take a proactive solution to the raider problem. By finding, seeking out and destroying these raiders, and the communities which support their efforts. Many of them are located in the mountains, near or in caves, or otherwise in strategic positions from which they raid the lowlands.)
[ ] Scout Raider positions (Send out scouts to learn about the details and dispositions of the various raider factions.)

Conflict with Los Devoradores de Pasos:
[ ] General Strategy (What kind of Strategy do you wish to employ for this war.)
- [ ] Stronghold Defense (Pull back our forces to nearby settlements and strongholds, and engage the enemy there.)
- [ ] Interdiction (Pull our forces back from the mountains along territory we care about, respond and engage the enemy where and when they show their faces.)
- [ ] Siege and Investiture (surround their territory in total make a ring of guns and swords around their lands and keep them contained, laying siege to the enemy.)
- [ ] Search, Suppress, Destroy (Attack them, send our men forward over their hills and mountains. Locate their sietch's, and lay siege to them.)
Deploy Forces: (We can elect what forces we shall deploy to this conflict zone. This does not represent deploying garrison troops, only units that can be mobilized. Any units that are not deployed will be kept in reserve to respond to threats.)
[ ] Deploy Sword Brothers (Dispatch the Sword Brothers to fight them, they are as of current our Premier fighting force)
[ ] Deploy Temple Guard (We can call up some of the Temple Guard, though no more than half of present forces for deployment.)
[ ] Deploy Militia (We can, presuming we organize the militia levy at home. Deploy them to the fight here.)
[ ] Withdraw the Prodigal Sons. (We can pull the Prodigal sons out of the region.)
[ ] Find and Hire a Rival Mountain Band (Rather than fight them directly we can see about finding another raider group or mountain band that we could hire to fight as our proxy.)

Trade:
[ ] Gather information from Caravans (Merchants are a wealth of information. We could ply these traders at the Carvanaseries and see what they know about the raiders that exist around our region, and see what shakes loose.)
[ ] Trade for (Insert Good/s Here; The Caravan will count as present so abnormal items are more likely to be present.)
[ ] Trade for Horses (Nathan Clark has recommended that since horses have been used to great effect by the Sword Brothers, it could be wise to procure some from traders, and local farmers to select them for traits that would be useful to us in a military capacity.)
[ ] Purchase a Caravan (You can entice a more well off caravan to come to your lands despite the fact it likely won't be profitable for them. Your people can purchase a great many things they need, and in return you can offer goods and or services such as those of the Sword Brothers as payment.)

Diplomacy:
[ ] Attempt to Contact some of the nearby Raiders (we could easily attempt to reach out to some of the nearby or major raiders in the region, and try to negotiate with them.)
[ ] Contact the Cobra Tribe (The Cobra Tribe represents one of the larger nearby tribes. We could perhaps attempt to open up talks with them. Perhaps see if there is a peaceful resolution to this.)
[ ] Formally declare war on these lawbreakers (While being an effort of Moral Grandstanding, and somewhat pompous. This would include a challenge to battle. In which we can invite the enemy to face us on a field of battle. Bypassing the need to defend our territory, by getting them to show up to an arranged fight, their full might against our own. Note: The recent battle in Segovia shows this may be riskier than originally envisioned.)
[ ] Contract Suppliers in Segovia (With the crucial support of our brothers in the battle of Segovia, we could see about deepening our ties with the historic city to our North. As a notable center of production, they would likely give us favorable rates supplying us with vital goods)

Hive City Madrid/Moncloa-Aravaca District:
- [ ] Explore Northern Districts
- [ ] Explore the Central Districts
- [ ] Explore the South Districts
- [ ] Look for access to the Madrid Underhive
- [ ] Look for spire access to the upper levels
There are a fairly large number of gangs even within this district. The most notable are listed below.
- [ ] Contact the Trench Scaves (You know that they frequent some of the more unstable ruined parts of the hive, and are seen scavenging for whatever of value they can find.)
- [ ] Contact the Iron Mongers (You know they are one of two large gangs that control a sizable amount of iron slag which they mine. Little beyond that is known beyond their animosity with the Metal Heads. suffered a large loss against the Ragged Carrion's a year back)
- [ ] Contact The Ragged Carrion's. (You know they are an up in coming gang that got into a big fight with the Iron Mongers, and wiped out the Commons, and have been established in the settlement for over a year now.)
- [ ] Contact the Metal Heads (You know they are the other of the two large gangs that control a sizable amount of Iron mines, and Slag deposits which they make use of. Despite their animosity with the Ironmongers they appear to have not taken advantage of their recent predicament.)
- [ ] Contact the Brews Brothers (You only know them by reputation. Specifically that the relabeled bottles of alcohol in the area has their name printed on it… Its not very good, but it make the rounds here.)

Cup Bearers: (The Cup bearers have been enjoying the contact with our church so far. They are presently trying to come to an arrangement with the Ragged Carion's, but it appears to be a hedge rather than a full commitment.)
- [ ] Buy Info (We can purchase information from the cup bearers about some of the surrounding districts of Madrid. While said information will likely be out of date in many areas it will be more than we currently possess.)

Or
[ ] Write in your own actions


✝ Early history of the Muslim conquest of Spain, and their own chronicles refer to it the same as the Spanish and Jewish Chronicles namely as Hispania, Spain, Span, or such in their own versions of their languages. Early coins dating back to the first half of the eighth century from the caliphate on one side would say Alandalus, and on the other side say SPAN (short for Spannia) as time went on there was an effort from Muslim historians, poets, and intellectuals in general, who were economically dependent on the Muslim rulers, to call the conquered land al-Andalus and praise it as an earthly paradise. This tactic is a well-known colonialist maneuver; change the name of occupied territory to reinforce the authority of the conqueror.

✝✝ Jizya (Tribute), by which a non-believer among the people of the book [Christians and Jews] (Though they pragmatically included the Hindu after they tired of killing tens of millions of them) pay tribute in exchange for their lives. The word appears in Koran 9:29: "Fight those among the People of the Book [Christians and Jews] who do not believe in Allah nor the Last Day, nor forbid what Allah and his Messenger have forbidden, nor embrace the religion of truth [Islam], until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued."
In the Hadith, Muhammand calls upon Muslims to demand jizya of non-Muslims: "If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay jizya, seek Allah's help and fight them."
Those that paid the jizya became Dhimmis [subjugated non-Muslim Christians and Jews] Muslim jurists came to view a repressive and humiliating aspect of Dhimma. Dhimmis were required to pay the jizya publicly, in broad daylight, with hands turned palm upward, and to receive a smart smack on the forehead or the nape of the neck from the collection officer. Some of the jurists mandated a number of other humiliating rituals at the time of jizya payment, including that the presiding Muslim official slap, choke, and in some cases pull the beard of the paying dhimmi, who might even be required to approach the official on all fours, in bestial fashion.


☦ Rhomania, aka the Eastern Roman Empire, not to be confused with the country of Romania which took their name after the Eastern Romans who would have had their name like this Basileía tōn Rhōmaíōn.

♱ To their credit such as we can give it. It seems at least some of these hapless women did their job well. Due to Cordoba's status as a slave epicenter - practically every Muslim emir was born to a pale concubine.

(Author's Note: When I was reading some of these passages about how women were traded in the slave market of Cordoba, and their treatment I um… Well you know how every man has a dark side, an inner demon… When I read this, I felt my inner demon visibly recoil and go 'what the fuck?!?!')

Spoiler: The Players Plan

Krork's Plan
Arms Production:
- [X] Rifle Design:
-- [x] Find Weapon Designs
-- [x] Existing Weapons Designs

Sword Brothers:
- [x] Military Attache [Nathan Clark] (Nathan Clark has requested to go with the Sword Brothers and look into establishing an experimental unit to test new ideas that could progress our martial ability.)

The Temple Guard:- [x] Recruitment Drive

Order of St. Isidore: - [x] Farmers Festival

The House of Healing: [x] Soap Works, soap distribution

Jesuit Missionaries: (The difference between a missionary and a diplomat is often a matter of overarching goal)
Dispatch Missionaries:
- [x] Missionaries to Portu
- [x] Missionaries to Los Devoradores

Active Missions: - [X] Cordesh Mission; Status Green. Preaching the good word, and establishing a temporary church.

Jesuit Diplomats:
- [x] Diplomats to Portu (We don't know for certain that they are another entity or polity, but it might be worth it to send some diplomats to establish some relations, and get to know the locals.)
- [x] Diplomats to Local Settlements (There are many settlements, regions, and tribes of the wasteland that we could take the time to establish a rapport with more formally.)

Active Diplomacy:
- [X] Cordesh Diplomatic Party. Status, Green. Awaiting to make contact, or further orders.

Micheals Marshal's: - [x] Accompany the Inquisitors
Organizing a Militia: - [x] Organize the San Lorenzo de El Escorial Militia (El Escorial is located within a settlement known as San Lorenzo. Much of our)

Inquisition:
- [x] Investigate Senor Lopez's Story (Senor Lopez's story is concerning to say the least, we should see if he is willing to talk more about it, and proceed with the investigation from there)

Weather Radar Stations:
- [x] Set up a weather radar on Mt Abantos. (Autosuccess)

Trade:
[x] Gather information from Caravans (Autofail, information not specified?)
[x] Trade for (Insert Good/s Here; The Caravan will count as present so abnormal items are more likely to be present.)
[x] Trade for Horses (Nathan Clark has recommended that since horses have been used to great effect by the Sword Brothers, it could be wise to procure some from traders, and local farmers to select them for traits that would be useful to us in a military capacity.)
[x] Purchase a Caravan(we are buying their service to move goods to where the fighting is occurring with their wagons and pack trains)

Diplomacy:
[x] Attempt to Contact some of the nearby Raiders
[x] Contract Suppliers in Segovia (With the crucial support of our brothers in the battle of Segovia, we could see about deepening our ties with the historic city to our North. As a notable center of production, they would likely give us favorable rates supplying us with vital goods)
Hive City Madrid/Moncloa-Aravaca District:- [x] Look for spire access to the upper levels
Cup Bearers: - [x] Buy Info

 

[Iron Templar]

Alright, that should be all the posts from the old Forum. I will finish up the results from the last plan. Post that, and then it will be time to vote and continue the quest.

I thank you all for your patience.

 

[RandomDragon]

oh boy here we go!

 

[Ryan Lozano]

Yes finally although you might want to move the quest to the NSFW one for more voters because the SFW one lacks them alot

 

[Broodlord]

Mission to Cordesh

Click to shrink...

Inquisition

Click to shrink...

So, I'm guessing that it was these two sections in particular that got the ire of the SB mods, if only because they are the only stuff that looks vaguely political enough, if you squint, that you could theoretically ding the story for some reason and even though I haven't had problems with them, I have heard enough about other people having problems that it wouldn't surprise me.

Granted, I can't say that I'm at all familiar with the history of those time periods beyond the fundamental basics, but nothing said here sounds really off and makes sense when I think about the time periods and the rough idea of the world.