WEEK 1

[strangerpeople]

WEEK 1

[The train wouldn't stop. Not until very early the next morning. The few who might have been awake would be able to exit the train, entering the cool twilight of the dawn. The star is dark, and few stars can be seen in the sky as a cold breeze begins to blow from the mountain beyond. You can see some chunks of rock floating idly nearby, far away from the station that it won't hit trains, but near enough that one can see they are larger than the train they just disembarked.

Lastly, laid out in front of them, the first port of call: Menahoven. The mountain: The Throat of the World.

But which world? Who knows. Not any of yours. Maybe it doesn't matter. Not when you are so far from home. Not when you have no way to get off this rock without the aid of the trains-and they will not let you pass.

It looks like you're stuck here until the Conductor decides to leave. In the meantime, everyone will need to get comfortable.


There are fifteen strangers left in this place.]

Comments

[eternaldivide]

So neither country has a "divine" figure anymore, so to speak.

If he's just a figurehead does the emperor truly have any power at all? Or does the prime minister and diet have all the power. What about ... those below them.

[biddentodance]

No practical power - emperor's duties are ceremonial. Prime minister and the cabinet are the executive branch of government, diet's the legislative. Diet selects the prime minister, who's appointed to office by the emperor. Prime minister chooses his cabinet. Members of the diet are elected by the populace. Also a supreme Court for the judicial branch, independent from the legislative and executive. Smaller local segments of the government to handle matters for different prefectures, cities, and so on.

[Did.....did you get all that?]

[eternaldivide]

[ .... well he's not completely confused but wow this is a lot to take in all at once. ]

It's ah ... quite different than from what I know. But if I have it right it's not just one person who governs everyone. There's the emperor with only ceremonial duties, and yet no power. Those who have power are these branches of government that you had described. Excutive, judicial, and legislative, correct?

And the people are the ones who bring these branches to power? Or well ... some of them. So it's not just blood that matters.

[biddentodance]

Yeah. Executive is the people who do things, make big decisions. Sort of like a king, except without the absolute authority. Legislative is for coming up with laws and policies. Judicial keeps things fair and holds the other branches accountable.

Blood's only for the emperor. The rest, one way or another are chosen by the people. Can't say it's perfect, but it's not bad.

[eternaldivide]

So ... between the three branches it's mostly equal. No one has more power over the other?

[ that certainly does sound better than what he knows ... ]

... Although it's not perfect it must be nice for those to have a chance to change the country without being of royal blood.

[biddentodance]

In theory, yeah. Executive branch gets a lot of attention and credit, but legislative is where most of the governing happens.

Guess so... Never really thought about it.

[eternaldivide]

Well, even if it's just in theory, as long as it works enough in practice you don't need just one person governing all.

Hm ... I guess it's not something you really think much about if the country has been led like that for a long time.

[biddentodance]

Flip side is, with so many people involved, change can be slow.

Yeah.... At least for the last fifty years. Also not old enough to vote yet, so I don't really need to.

[eternaldivide]

Well .. even if it's just person ruling change doesn't always happen when you wish it to.

[ guess that's just ... something that doesn't change does it ]

How old does one have to be to vote?

[biddentodance]

...yeah.

In Japan, twenty. Other countries it's different. Think it's eighteen in America.

[eternaldivide]

America ... is that another country? How many countries are there? Do they all have the same kind of leadership as Japan?

[biddentodance]

Yeah, it is. Around....two hundred or so? Maybe more? And nah. Think a lot of them do, and most don't have just a king or something anymore, but not all of them are like this.

[eternaldivide]

That is .... a lot of countries.

[ so many more than he expected ]

To be honest I'm finding it hard to imagine.

[biddentodance]

Well, all over the world. Lot of different people and cultures.

[eternaldivide]

Your world sounds ... unique.

[ it's the best way he can put it really. he looks back at the pyramid ]

But from what I've learned where we are from each have their own uniqueness to them.

[biddentodance]

Is it? Never really thought it was...

[But then, he's never had cause to.]

What's yours like?

[eternaldivide]

Before I came here I didn't think much of my world either.

[ ... ]

The world is split into two Kingdoms. [ which he's assumes are like the countries Minato has been speaking of?] There's the royal Capital of each Kingdom, where the King lives, and then scattered around the two Kingdoms are villages. The villages each have their own government, but they still must adhere to the laws of the kingdom and obey the King himself.

[biddentodance]

So medieval-ish. Only two countries... Must be huge.

[eternaldivide]

[ Mithos simply nods at that. Fantasy, medieval, whatever they want to call him or his world ]

Both spanned over multiple continents, each taking over half of the world. There was only one location where neither Kingdom ruled.

[biddentodance]

....A no man's land.

[It's hard to imagine nations that large, without being empires. That is, without being smaller countries that answer to the same greater one. But then, with how villages were described, maybe that is the case.]

[eternaldivide]

You could say that. It's where the source of energy that gave the world life was. It was considered a sacred ground to both kingdoms and was considered neutral ground.

[biddentodance]

Makes sense...

[Wait a second.]

Where it "was"?

[eternaldivide]

[ ... ah ]

War and Magitechnology consumed massive amounts of the world's energy. After a thousand years a peace treaty ended the war but ... the tree that was the source had already withered.

[biddentodance]

An ecological crisis...?

[That sounds. Well, that's the closest he can come up with.]

Seems....stupid, for two countries to be at war, when they're the only two countries.

[eternaldivide]

Mhm. Without the tree there's not enough energy for the world to sustain itself.

It all happened because of the development of magitechnology and human's lust for power. During the war they used powerful weapons which only hurt the source of mana further.

That's why ... we had to put an end to it. Even if it was too late for the tree.