Chaper 8

Poh was bleeding to death as Lira, Jutwaso, and Samasan tried to save him. They tried to call for help, but the chaos of the fight was still going. The crowd knocked Poh to the ground, and trampled over him. Blood leaked out of Poh's mouth, nose, eyes, and ears as he coughed. Samasan and the others watched Poh's body go limp. Jutwaso lunged at the group who started the fight, while Samasan and Lira tried to wake Poh up.

"Don't let him die." Samasan said to Lira.

"I'm trying." Lira responded.

Samasan instinctively takes out chill-berries, and rubs them into Poh's arm wound in a desperate attempt to save him.

"What are you doing?" Lira asks with an irritated voice.

"I'm trying to help stop the bleeding." he responded.

"What bleeding? There's no blood left to stop." She shot back.

Samasan though hurriedly, and took out a sapphire coin from his coin locket. He broke the sapphire into thirteen emerald coins, and one emerald coin into thirteen ruby coins. Samasan held up the ruby coin, and said.

"I'll pay one ruby to whoever ca-"

"Hey, he has big money." Someone in the crowd yelled.

"What the hell are you doing?" Lira chastised Samasan.

Samasan's hand was knocked, and all the different coins flew into the air. The crowd turned their attention to the money. The group that started the fight were able to focus all of their attention on Jutwaso. Lira and Samasan saw the group of people surround her. Jutwaso couldn't fight all five of them at once. She got knocked over the head with a quarter staff, stabbed multiple times, and her lifeless body thrown across the room.

"Fuck!" Samasan yelled.

The people that started the riot fled out of the building, while the patrons were fighting each other for money. Samasan stared at his hands in shock.

*Slap*

"Snap out of it!" Lira yelled at Samasan. "We have to get Poh, and Jutwaso to the church."

Samasan looked back and forth between Poh and Jutwaso, then decided. "Help me pick up Poh, Lira."

Lira went for the arms, and Samasan grabbed the legs.

*Snap*

"Fuck!" Samasan blurted out as Poh's injured arm snapped off.

The chill-berries had froze Poh's arm solid, and now it was broken off.

"This is your fault." Lira accused Samasan.

"I know!" Samasan snapped. "Uh. I- Uh... I will get a priest to come here. Stay here."

Samasan ran out of the building, and called for the city guards for help as he ran towards the church. His lungs burned. His eyes watered. When Samasan saw Waterton guards, they would turn away and ignore Samasan. He saw the church in flames, and kept running.

"This is just a hallucination." Samasan told himself. "It's not real."

The bloated pyramid church collapsed as Samasan reached it. Samasan collapsed onto the ground.

"No. No. No. Damnit all to hell."

His fists pummeled the ground. This was real. Samasan cried out for help.

"Halt!" A voice commanded.

"Oh thank God." Samasan turned around, and was met with a swift punch into the face.

When Samasan came to, he was locked in a cell.

"No. Not possible. This can't be happening." Samasan said in denial while pacing the room.

"Guard. Guard!" Samasan pounded on the wooden door.

No one came. He could hear other voices nearby yelling, and others crying.

"This can't be happening..." Samasan slid down the locked door onto the floor.

There were no windows for daylight where Samasan was locked up. It felt like days had passed. The guards would slide a metal cup of water on a stick through the door, and pour it for Samasan to drink. If he didn't drink it then, Samasan would have to lick the water off the stone floor. There was a pounding at the cell door. Samasan crawled over awaiting the water cup.

"Samasan?" The voice called from the other side.

"Who is it?"

"Wesro. Are you Samasan?"

"Yes." Samasan said weakly.

The door lock was broken off with a pry bar in Wesro's hands. She opened the door and said, "We need to get out of here." While helping to lift Samasan to his feet.

"What's going on?" Samasan asked while walking with his arm over Wesro's shoulder.

"Queen Irida has been killed. The country is in upheaval."

"Good." He commented.

"What?" Wesro had a shocked look.

"I said 'good.'"

Wesro helped Samasan back to the warehouse. The dead bodies of Poh and Jutwaso were laying in the middle of the room. Samasan looked at them in disgust.

"Why would you leave them like this?" He asked.

Samasan knew their death ritual respected burning the dead body. To leave the corpses to rot like this was sacrilege. Samasan grabbed a scroll out of a box. He went over to the bodies, and read the words on the scroll, before tossing it on their corpses. In an instant fire erupted from their bodies.

"What are you doing?" Wesro asked. "We could've brought them back."

Samasan stares at the fire with a cold look. "They are too good for this world."

"Why would you..." She is confused.

Lira comes into the room and screams, "No!"

The bodies of Poh and Jutwaso began to move, and they stood up. Lira had a confused look on her face. The flames burned out, and the two were standing naked.

"Poh?" Lira asked.

Poh looked at her without saying anything.

"Jutwaso?" Lira looked to her.

Jutwaso stared blankly.

"What is this?" Lira asked Samasan.

"Give them time to recover." He answered.

They stood blankly for ten minutes, and then Poh and Jutwaso regained their composure.

"You're alive." Jutwaso said while looking at Poh.

"What happened." Poh looked at where his left arm should be.

"I put chill-berries on your arm to stop the bleeding, but your arm snapped off." Samasan speaks plainly.

"Oh." Poh responds without emotion in his voice.

"I'm going to kill them." Jutwaso stated. "I'm going to kill those bastards."

"It's time to begin our plan." Samasan stated.

"I thought you weren't serious about it." Lira responded.

"I wasn't, but these things won't stop without us intervening." he told her.

Their plan Samasan talked about was overthrowing all established kingdoms, and installing their own form of government. The group thought Samasan was just making drunken talk at the time. They thought this training was for show. A thousand trained men can't stand against an army of tens of thousands in each kingdom. The nobles were fighting for ownership of Irida, while Samasan was planning their demise.

Hundreds of carts sent out beer porridge dyed red to the various villages where trained fighters and apothecaries were stationed. This was their signal to start the conversion. They would speak in passing about a foreign land with a system of government better than a monarchy. Where the peasants had the same rights as nobles, and taxes didn't take everything from them. They spoke of a leader of that nation named Samasan who was exiled by the neighboring kingdoms, because of the monarchs' jealousies.

The villages were told that Samasan had taken refuge in Waterton of Irida. That he was rebuilding the fallen empire, and that it would soon rise from the ashes. They told the villages that it was Samasan who saved them from starvation with the beer porridge, and the one who bought their crops, and the one to clothe them. The serfs were slowly moving to the side of Samasan. The villages in the kingdoms were tired of toiling away for starvation under their monarchs.

Carts full of knives, and wooden staffs for fighting were distributed to all the villages. There were enough for every person to get one of each. The fighters that Lira had trained began to train the villagers in better fighting techniques, and group movements. The peasants were quick to learn, and strong from being able to eat daily. They wanted a better life, and now they were getting the chance to claim it. News about the terrible treatment of the serfs by the nobles and monarchies were regularly distributed to the serfs by word of mouth.

Samasan began to withhold food shipments to villages near major cities, and the stationed fighters in those villages would tell them that the city lords were stealing the food for their armies. Damage to Samasan's shipment of foods and weapons was staged, and the people delivering the food were also injured to sell the story to the people. The mercenaries attacking the carts, and the guards and drivers delivering the goods were unaware that they were working for the same person.

While the fire of revolution was kept stoked, the warehouse was busier than ever. Five thousand people from the slums to the docks and nearby villages were hired to work for Samasan. The nobles didn't have the ability to react to what was going on at the warehouse while they fought each other. Products were being mass produced on production lines, and artisans were beginning work on the next industrial revolution; precision tooling. Samasan was able to procure a pantograph. A tool able to transcribe drawings at a fixed ratio.

Samasan used the pantograph to create the silvi-coin measurement. A silvi-coin being a thirteenth of a centicoin. Samasan created a protractor for measuring degrees using a compass, straight edged silvi-coin ruler, and square. The angles were divided into halves, and Samasan relabeled the circle from three-hundred-sixty degrees to two-hundred-fifty-six degrees. Each degree on Samasan's protractor was a sixty-forth of ninety degrees, or approximately one-point-four degrees.

The redesigned protractor was renamed a gate-tractor after the worlds version of a protractor called a gate, because each degree was like a gate in a fence of the whole circle. The two-hundred-fifty-six degree gate-tractor was quickly accepted by people outside of the warehouse, especially by carpenters. This world's previous version of a protractor called a gate was divided into one-hundred-sixty-nine degrees. It was based on the thirteen stars of the star ring dividing into thirteen sections that was further divided into another thirteen sections for each section.

The gate was a measuring tool used by holy churches, and Samasan's gate-tractor was it's blasphemous rival. A trial was held by the church leaders against Samasan, who didn't attend. They labeled him a disciple of devils, and his gate-tractor a 'devil's gate.' The problem was that only nobles were part of the church. Craftsmen who adopted Samasan's gate-tractor were excluded from the protections of the church already. They had nothing to lose, and gained an easier way of tracking degrees of a circle.

The gate-tractor was necessary in the creation of taps and cutting plates for making mass produced nuts and bolts. Samasan's craftsmen needed the gate-tractor tool for setting thread angles in the taps and cutting plates correctly. Previous nuts and bolts were tediously crafted by hand. These mass produced precision nuts and bolts were necessary in the creation of siege engines with better aiming. Samasan was taking existing ballistae and trebuchets, and giving them the capability to aim more precisely. He hated war and killing, but this world wouldn't go down without a fight.

While the siege engines were being constructed, mules and plows were being sent to villages. Samasan was raising an army, but an army marches on its stomach. He was recruiting villagers. Taking peasants away from farming. Although there was enough canned food to feed fifty-thousand people for a month, better farming methods were necessary to maintain food supplies long term. An army of peasants can't stand against people who can cast magic. This is why Samasan maintained a positive relationship with the wizards' guild, and apothecary guild. He needed people who can fight with magic, and healers to treat the wounded.

The first arrow shot in Waterton happened in the dead of night. A patrolling city guard fell off the city wall. In one strike, thousands of arrows fired simultaneously. Hundreds of city guards were killed without a single loss on Samasan's side. The guards' bodies were thrown into the four rivers. Morning came with the peasant army crowding inside the nobles' district of Waterton. They were throwing oil on the buildings, and setting them alight. The nobles who ran out of their burning homes were killed by wooden staffs and arrows. No one in the homes were spared, regardless of age.

Samasan was sitting on the throne in Waterton Castle by noon. In a show to the people, he smashed the crown under his foot. Irida was dead. The nation of New Irida was born. Lira stood on the right of Samasan's throne, and Poh to the left. Jutwaso was made into an army general, and Wesro was appointed guard captain of the city. Waterton spent the evening in celebration. The news of Waterton's fall was being broadcast to the other nobles in Iridan cities. As the nobles prepared to retaliate, the cities were stormed by peasants backed by wizards and apothecaries.

The Iridan armies were unprepared for an attack on their home land. They were stationed at the border, and reduced in number for recovery in the time of rest. Peasants in denim pants, and quilted shirts rode horses to the armies forts to deliver the news of New Irida's birth. They were given a choice. Bow to emperor Samasan's rule, or face death. The armies' forts were surrounded by thousands of peasants, with ballistae and trebuchets pointed at them. Most forts fell on their knees, while others fell to ruble. The New Iridan war of independence took a week.

In the castle, emperor Samasan was vomiting.

"Are you okay my lord?" Poh asked.

"I told you not to call me that." Samasan responded before retching again.

"New Irida has reached its first age of rest."

"New Irida is built on a pile of corpses." Samasan laments.

"Jutwaso sends news from the front lines, Lord Samasan." Lira enters the thrown room.

"Emperor Samasan, not lord." Samasan corrects her while wiping off his mouth.

"Yes, my Emperor." Lira responds. "The kingdoms of Roz, Quol, and Loar are mobilizing armies at our borders. Jutwaso believes they are preparing to attack New Irida."

Samasan bends over to breath slowly.

"What should we do?" Poh asks.

"We don't have the numbers to fight them directly." Samasan composes himself.

He walks around the room in deep thought. Samasan's mind is heavy with grief. He lets out a deep sigh and speaks, "Lira, inform our spy networks in Roz, Quol, and Loar to begin the erradication attacks."

"Are you sure?" Lira asks.

"I wish there were any other choice." Samasan responds. "Get it done."

As the three nations prepare for war, their crops are burned, and grain storages poisoned. They prepared to attack New Irida, and then they were decimated by other invading neighbors during their famine.

"Why aren't we taking any lands?" Jutwaso asks Samasan.

"Those people are starving, and will blame their invaders." he responds with guilt in his voice.

"We should attack while they're weak." Jutwaso demands.

"We will attack, when we are strong." Samasan responds.

"When will we be strong enough?" Poh asks.

"Emperor Samasan has a plan." Lira answers.

"Yeah..." Samasan tells them.

His unspoken plan is to build the forces and resources of New Irida, and hope for peace. Months pass as New Irida rebuilds itself. Dirt roads between cities become paved to allow faster transport of goods, and mobilization of armies. The New Iridan soldiers were given cork soled leather shoes, with wooden slat bottoms. They become able to walk and run at higher speeds for longer durrations. The New Iridan soldiers became the guards, news runners, and distributors of Samasans nationalized merchant network. Everything Samasan could think of was being done to rush development of his country.

Samasan's merchant claws extended into foreign lands. He could afford to under-price competition, and buy up their losses. Pieces of Samasan's nationalized businesses were auctioned off to citizens. He got rid of the parts he didn't like. Those were anything that delayed progress or cost too much money. The biggest money sinkholes that Samasan kept were the army, and education of citizens. The titles of noble and serf/peasant were banned in New Irida by emperor Samasan. A flat sales tax of ten percent, and annual property tax of one percent was implemented in New Irida.

The property tax went into the coffers, and the sales tax was spent on the economy. Public executions were an uncomfortable sight for Samasan, but his rule was strict against the corrupted. All convicted crimes against the nation of New Irida were met with being sold into slavery to other nations, or death. The punishment of other crimes not against the country were delegated to the will of the local people. The public executions against criminals of the country was based on a lottery. When slave prices were low, executions became more common.

Criminals of a non-working age or ability were the most likely to be selected for the execution lottery. Samasan wanted to build prisons, but he couldn't let his people see him as soft. He did end the executions of criminals' family members not associated to the crimes. Samasan was attending a public execution at the Yipur river in the northern part of Waterton. The criminals with sacks over their faces were all children under the age of ten. The people of Waterton were yelling slurs at the kids. Their crying could be heard under the sacks.

"Today we-" Samasan felt like he couldn't breathe. "Today we continue our fight against criminals of New Irida."

"Kill the little shits." The crowd roared.

Samasan held up his hand to silence the crowd.

"Shut up!" Jutwaso screamed at them.

"A nation is only strong as its people." Samasan began talking to his citizens. "As such, there is no place for the weak, and those who weaken New Irida." Samasan turned to address the children standing at the end of the dock. "May you return to the hole you crawled out of."

The Waterton city guards kicked the children into the Yipur river. Their arms and legs thrashed and splashed as the kids desperately tried to keep above the water. All the while they floated towards the waterfall into the chasm. Their screams were the last thing heard as they fell off the edge. Samasan let out a deep breath, and stomped his golden staff on the ground.

"Let this be a warning to all who wish harm against our fair country." He shouted.

Jutwaso led Samasan back to the carriage. As soon as the door shut, Samasan was keeled over his knees. His face was ghostly pale.

"I can't believe I just did that again." He spoke while staring at the floor. "How many has it been?"

"We've killed three-hundred-seventy-seven criminals in the city." Poh answered.

"People. We've killed people. Their not only criminals. They're people with names." Samasan responded.

"This country has no place for their kind." Jutwaso added in.

"This place is no country while criminals find need to exist." Samasan refuted her.

"New Irida is prospering." Lira told him.

"Our prosperity lies in our people. We can't keep killing them." Samasan's fist hits the door.

Samasan covers his face with his hands in shame, while people outside the carriage cheer for him. He shakes his head and says, "Someday it will be me who is executed."

"Non-sense." Jutwaso says.

"Why would you be killed?" Poh asks.

"He's in one of his moods." Lira tells him.

"When this nation becomes what I dream, I will have to face my crimes." Samasan tells them.

"Crimes?" Poh asks.

Samasan points towards the docks behind himself.

When the carriage reaches the castle, Samasan calls for Wesro.

"Yes my Lo-. Why did you call for me Emperor Samasan?"

"How many?" he asks her.

"Seven of the twenty-two." Wesro tells him.

"Is that all?" Samasan asks while rubbing his temples.

"Yes. Most of them drown, or were smashed against rocks." She says.

"Send them to the forbidden lands." he demands with a heavy heart.

Deep in the desert, past mountainous terrain, lies an oasis with people. This oasis, mountains, and desert are called the forbidden lands of New Irida. No one can travel in these lands, and no one would want to, but Samasan can't stand death. He tries to save the people from execution, and some of them live to be caught in the net under the waterfalls. These people are sent by Wesro's secret army to the forbidden lands. The exiled people are given food every month to keep them from leaving, but some still try. They never make it back to civilization.

A city has formed in the forbidden lands' oasis called Exa. It is self regulating from the nation of New Irida. Less than twenty-thousand people live in Exa. They hold a deep hatred towards Emperor Samasan, and have formed a religion against him. This religion is what regulates the city of Exa. It has been named the true nation of Irida. They worship the former queen Irida as a goddess that was exiled by the evil emperor Samasan. The true nation of Irida believes their queen goddess Irida will return after Samasan is defeated to prove their faith.

New Irida's main exports have become food, and wooden nuts and bolts. New Irida has been importing massive amounts of wood and stone. The food is cheap to make other countries dependent on emperor Samasan, and the wooden nuts and bolts are there to encourage adaptation of the centi-coin measuring system. Because there is no winter, a network of above-ground stone pipes are constructed in Waterton to distribute water. They stand on top of five meter high poles, and lead to most every building in the city.

Samasan has taken to hot baths for relaxing, but sometimes he sees dead people in the water, and freaks out. He is constantly haunted by death. The only way for Samasan to sleep is through chewing on a sleep herb called somna, but he's gotten addicted to it. Samasan has started to chew somna during the day, just to relax.

"How is Fara doing?" Samasan asks Lira.

"The country has adopted the centi-coin system." Lira responds.

"And our businesses there?"

"We've secured twenty percent of its market." She tells him.

"How soon can we double that number?" Samasan asks.

"Five months." Poh tells him.

"Hmmm..." Samasan slips into thought. "I want to annex Fara without a bloody war. New Irida should be able to expand without a great loss of life."

"We have the resources to take Fara by force." Jutwaso complains.

"Emperor Samasan doesn't like death." Poh tells Jutwaso.

"I know." She responds in an annoyed voice.

"Can we talk about something good for once." Samasan spits somna on the floor. "How are the poor doing?"

"They're earning one silver each month per person on average now." Poh states.

"Is it really necessary for peasants to earn so much money?" Jutwaso asks.

"Don't say that word!" Samasan yells at her.

"That's what they are." Jutwaso responds.

"They are our citizens. Not peasants." Samasan speaks with authority.

"They buy half the stuff our warehouses are producing." Poh tells Jutwaso.

"Why do we make so many things, when they become worthless because there's too much?" Jutwaso asks.

"We make more. They buy more." Samasan stuffs more somna in his mouth.

"The stuff would cost more, if we made less." Jutwaso states.

"We need the citizens to desire more than a destitute life." Samasan tells her.

"Thier lives are good enough. You give them more than enough." Jutwaso tells him.

"Emperor Samasan is never satisfied with what the citizens have." Poh tells Jutwaso.

"They are too greedy." Jutwaso complains.

"Are you going to let her speak like that?" Lira questions Samasan.

"She is free to speak her mind." He responds. "When I am no longer the leader of this country..."

"Do not speak of such a day." Jutwaso cuts him off.

"I cannot sit on this throne for eternity." Samasan stands out of his throne.

"The peace talks with Fara are not advancing." Lira tells him.

"Why are we having peace talks with a nation we aren't at war with?" Jutwaso asks.

"I plan on conquering Fara through peace." Samasan tells her.

Samasan knew annexing Fara would quadruple New Irida's size. There were smaller kingdoms connected to New Irida, but Samasan had wide eyes for expanding his empire quickly. King Ref Fara of the Fara nation was a patient person. Fara had gone to war the least amount of times compared to other kingdoms, and it never initiated wars. This is what made Fara most enticing for Samasan. He wanted a nation of peaceful people. It would not take much convincing for the Faran citizens to follow Samasan's doctrines.

New Irida embargoed transport of goods from its own country to the kingdoms of Xaj to the north of Fara, and Piron to the south of Fara. New Irida layed to the east of Fara. Xaj was an expansionist kindom always focused on war. Piron was a sea faring island nation, which focused on ruling the sea of Shadows. The sea of Shadows was constantly shrouded in thick fog. It could only be navigated by following the black rivers of water that criss-crossed through the green ocean waters. Piron and Xaj required the canned foods of New Irida to feed their needs.

Piron needed non-perishable food that could sustain longer sea travels, and Xaj needed to constantly feed their soldiers. Emperor Samasan placed a twenty-five percent tarrif tax on exports to Fara, because Piron and Xaj would buy New Irida's canned foods through Fara. Although Fara was making great profits from the resale of New Iridan foods, it strained their transportation network beyond full capacity. Wagons and Ships were constantly overloaded, and overworked to the point of disrepair.

Although Fara had switched its focus to growing trees for lumber, New Irida was buying out all their stocks, which included future fellings. Fara didn't have any wood to repair wagons and ships, and they were losing money buying back their processed lumber from New Irida. King Ref Fara couldn't place a tariff on Faran goods exporting to New Irida, because Emperor Samasan threatened to embargo Fara if a tariff on New Irida took place. Fara had to much reforested farm land to sustain the nutritional needs of its people by itself.

Xaj and Piron didn't have enough food to feed itself. Sparing any towards Fara was out of the question. King Ref Fara was forced to ask Emperor Samasan for help. An offer was made to Fara, become a vassal nation to New Irida. Fara would pay a five percent sales tax on all transactions to New Irida, and Emperor Samasan would remove the tariff on Faran trade. King Ref Fara was backed into a corner. Submit to Emperor Samasan's rule for great profits, or struggle to survive. The decision was not easy. Xaj threatened war with Fara if they became a vassal to the New Iridan Empire.

During a closed door negotiation with Emperor Samasan, King Ref Fara agreed to become a Vassal nation to New Irida, if they agreed to help them in resulting wars. Samasan agreed on the point that New Irida gets to decide on negotiation tactics, but he also emphasized that Fara would not be left out of gaining benefits. Before the vassalization was publicized and completed, New Irida sent army generals and war resources to Fara. The New Iridan generals began training Faran citizens for war. The training stressed out all parties.

One year of five-hundred days passed, and on new year's day, Fara became a vassal to the New Iridan Empire. The generals from New Irida weren't only sent to prepare for war, but to prepare the Faran citizens to submit to the rule of Emperor Samasan. Great amounts of propaganda about the majisty of Emperor Samasan, and the greatness of the New Iridan Empire was circulated in Fara. Samasan didn't want Fara to feel any regret towards the vassalization. There were a few riots that broke out as a result of vassalizing Fara, but these were found to be started by Xaji nationals.

The instigators were publicly executed by impalement on spike, and left on the border between Fara and Xaj to rot. The order came from Emperor Samasan, but it was Jutwaso's idea. Xaj quickly engaged Fara in war. The New Irida empire backing Fara made the Xaji war a massacre. Emperor Samasan wasn't prepared for King Ref Fara turning against New Irida during the last hour of the war. New Irida was manufacturing more products as war aid for Fara, and then New Irida was invaded by Fara. The border towns closest to Fara fell in New Irida within a week. King Ref Fara tried to claim all of Xaj, and part of the New Irida Empire for Fara.