I'm glad that Glest been resurrected and I do hope that there will be expansions for it. I just checked it and I like it.
If anybody is interested in Glest, I have written a backstory of it that you can use. I posted it before, but it got deleted during the new fourms and I never bothered to repost it. I shall post the stories by portion, so that it will be easier to read.
If you wish to use this...you can, but credit me for the inspiration.
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Deep rests Science in the Mind
as Magic deep in the Heart;
Those on which the Will is strong,
Those will reign on Their behalf.
Science was a fairly new doctrine, compared to the creation of Magic at the dawn of time. At the dawn of time, the followers of Magic played important roles in the creation of ancient societies and nations. Although Magic has a dangerously high rate of failure of higher-level spells, and the many failures of low-level spells, Mages could have changed the weather for the benefit of the caster, might have controlled the use of fire, and might of even summon monsters with the whim of their hand, however, there is evidence of this all myths and legends. While Magic received much attention, Technology also played its role in the rising of Man. While Magic brought the rain for farming, Technology invented the plow. While Magic blessed hunters with enhanced eyesight and speed, Technology blessed hunters with spears and camouflage. While Magic use senses to see where to go, Science use the stars to see where they are. Magicians are rare, and most tribes would be lucky to be blessed with more than 35 magicians during its lifetime, so Technology was relied on usually. Even when magicians existed, Technology still assisted when the Mages failed, which is very often. Technology and Science are very similar, however, Science wasn't developed until the rise of the city-state of Spari.
This was because Technology is a firm believer of Magic. Technology involves creation of new machinery, and inventions. In fact, Technology not only supported Magic, but believed Magic is actually integral to Technology. Several supporters of Technology tried to learn Magic, with some extent of success. Technology was very moderate, and believed in the current ideas at the time. However, Science is different from Technology. Science is a doctrine that tried not only to improve buildings and machines, but also to improve on ideas. A few Scientists was born in these early villages controlled jointly by Magic and Technology. However, their endless questioning and strange beliefs caused them to be lynched and murdered. They were cursed to be madmen, and were brutally suppressed by the elite and the peasantry.
Spari is different from other city-states formed during its period. Unlike most nations, which were either kingdoms or priestdoms, it was a Republic, where people elect their leaders. In the beginning of the Republic's history, Mages and Wise Men ran for election, but soon, Mages were banished from the city-state, sometimes even killed. It is still unclear why Spari did this. Perhaps it was jealousy, hatred, or worse. According to recently revealed documents, in the Spari Year 50, the last Archmage was put to death, and all elements of Magic was removed from Spari. The residents of Spari was very brave and must have been motivated by something terrible, like a bad mage, to eliminate all the magicians, both good and bad.
It is likely that Spari is the first place where Science prospered. This is because Spari had a tolerant attitude on all ideas, good and bad. Spari was originally just a settlement built by outlaw Scientists who fled nearby city-states. Some of these outlaw Scientists belivied in such radical ideas that even their own comrades were appaled: The Sun was at the center of the Solar System, not the Earth, there are no such things as Gods, a mystical force called Gravity is what keeps everything from flying…Still, all of these Scientists were allowed to speak their views. They wanted this to happen because even the moderate of the Scientists were considered radical by their city-states in which they left, and they didn’t want to lynch anybody.
These Scientists-in-exile created a City Council to rule over their settlement, seeing it dangerous and scary to actually appoint a King. Soon, many people started to flee to this safe sanctuary and the Council expanded its territory. In the Spari Year 25, the Council officially became a Republic, with two consuls, the Tribal Legislative Body, and the Senate. Philosophers reasoned on why the Earth was made, and was thought to question everything and everyone. The first Scientists of Spari did not just focus themselves on ideas. They also built outstanding new inventions such as schools and libraries and laid the foundations of Medicine and Algebra. Yet, it was the strange ideas is what made While a variety of views were shared in Spari, most people were very nationalist, and believed in the density of Spari's dominance and greatness.
It is no surprise that Spari started to take over Sairai, an important region in Glest. It was located in the middle of Glest, and it was central to most trade routes. In the beginning of Spari’s quest for glory, several city-states around Spari revolted against their kings and priests, allying with Spari. Spari, at first, allowed for these city-states to join as citizens in Spari. Many people love the ideas of a republic, and idealized Spari. However, Spari became corrupt with glory and arrogantly limited citizenship and raised taxes. At the highest extent of Spari's rule, most of Sairai and parts of other regions of Glest was ruled by Spari, and yet, only a few who lived in lands owned by Spari were citizens in Spari, and only a few of those citizens could vote in Spari. However, not many of them vote because of the high poll taxes, and that some elections were tampered with. Nevertheless, at the height of its glory, Spari became a major power in Glest, allowing for the once radical ideas of Science to spread to all parts of Glest, and allowing for these radical ideas to slowly become accepted norms.
There was much resistance to Spari's dominance, and rebellions were very common indeed. Spari's military was vastly spread apart, and republican debates that served well in the past proved itself to be obsolete and even deadly. (One debate over a bill to distribute land equally caused a riot that killed about 50 people and injured 260.) Only the rise of Juial Maio, a wily exile and warrior, saved Spari from sudden destruction. Juial destroyed the useless Republic in its entirety in the Spari Year 512, and turned Spari into a monarchy. Most people in the city of Spari and the people that lived in the lands occupied by Juial supported this new regime, as Juial cared about liberty and the poor more than the Republicans ever could. It must be noted that Juial and his descendants were magicians.
Spari wasn't saved from its eventual destruction by Juial. Instead of a rapid decline like those of past empires that existed before Spari, Spari was destined to slowly lose power in Glest, surrendering it to warlords and barbarians one acre at a time. It is important to note also that the rise of Juial paved the way of organization of magicians into 'schools'. These schools lived all around Glest, but these magicians rejected to see the peasantry or the poor. They only intended to meet the rich and powerful, so they can secure power. This is why people soon forgot that magicians was once friendly towards them, and only know the magician who pushed the beggar on the street, or gave that beggar the evil eye.
Scientists became the friends of the peasantry. They also courted favor with the friends in high places too, but scientists supported the masses if rulers and the people came in conflict. Scientists gave their last pence to the beggar, and sometimes dressed as the common folk, just to see how they live. These Scientists advanced their field so much that they knew everything, expect Magic. It not that Scientists know how Magic works. It is the 'WHY' that bothered them. Why did Magic was invented? Why did Magicians exist? There were suggestions that magic wasn't real, and that was accepted, for a while. It was obvious magic was real. No, the suggestion they accepted was that they were unnatural. They were conflicting with nature, battling against the forces of nature. Therefore, siding with nature, Scientists vow to destroy mages. While the regular Scientist pray for the poor, he curses at the magicians.
Personally, after compiling this essay after a long while, we believe that the reason that Scientists hated Magicians so much is that Juial, a magician, destroyed the Republic. The Republic championed Science and Technology. Juial, however, after declaring himself King, restricted Scientists, fearing that Science has grown too powerful, and maybe because of revenge of the banishment of all magicians in the Spari Year 50. Several of these Scientists were die-hard Republicans and wanted self-rule back. All of the Scientists placed the blame of the destruction of the Republic on Juial, and claimed once all the magicians are gone, then the Republic will come back. These Scientists have forgotten that there were much flaws in the Republic, instead idealizing the Republic to such an extent that they never thought farther than the Republic.
Of course, Scientists needed the help of the royalty and the barbarians who ruled Glest. It was hard persuading these people, but after a long while, these people decided to ally with the Scientists. The magicians were too powerful in their eyes, and they were a bit suspicious on the part of the peasantry. Plus, the estates of the Magicians were ripe for plucking, and a little extra cash wouldn't hurt.
Finally, Scientists needed to overthrow the King of Spari. The current king, the Archmage Shandalar, was old and fragile, and the military was tired of his crazy speeches and lavish palaces. Now, Spari was a pale shadow of its former glory. It is only a collection of slums and thieves, thrown together. It was ripe for a revolution.
Scientists took cheer on the "Repression", which occurred in the Spari Year 1000. This was a great and sudden movement with its main goal the destruction of magic everywhere. It started with the murder of a young peasant boy by a bad Magician, which was really a Scientist in disguise. This minor event snowballed into the greatest purge ever in history. Schools were burnt. Magicians were lynched. Properties were confiscated. Most Magicians, including the last King of Spari, Shandalar, have fled into the four corners of Glest, and the "Repression" was considered finished by the Spari Year 1005. The Republic was reformed, and the Scientists took pride. The revolution has finished, and now the Scientists can start on rebuilding Spari's republic, and soon dream of one day when they will conquer Sairai, nay, the whole Glest!
Yet, the magicians were down, but not out. Indeed, several magicians were protected by some barons and dukes, who believed that securing their alliance will further their own goals. Some people genuinely believed the Magicians were attacked wrongly, and hated Science. There were loyalists to the last King Shandalar. Plus, some people in Spari were disillusioned by the failures of the Republic to root out corruption and bring the nation of Spari back to power. The "Counter-Repression" has begun. All areas of Glest is now under this conflict, between the Magicians and the Scientists, for dominance of Spari and the world.
Today, it is the first of the new year, the Spari Year 1010. It has been 1010 years after our Founding Fathers laid foot on the city that is now called Spari, and convened the first Council meeting. There is nothing to celebrate however. We must now conclude, it is now daylight, and we must ascend back to our garrison duties. Our city is under siege by terrible enemies. We really don't care if there are magicians or scientists. These two civilizations need each other, and without each other, they wouldn't exist. We wouldn't exist. Why don't these people live in peace?
But, no, they can't. They will never live in peace. They will continue fighting, and leave me and thousands of other peasants to fear for their lives and suffer for their useless feud.
