TotW 205: End of an Era - TIEBREAKER III! PLEASE VOTE!

[Audacia]

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End of an Era



We have a THIRD tiebreaker! Please be sure to vote for what you believe to be the best tale. Once again you have one vote so use it wisely. Hopefully we will finally have a winner!

Submission II

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Plunder. Screams. Havoc.

This is what I remember from that day … a day that brought shame and abhorrence upon those who call themselves Christians. We were deceived into believing they could help us; deceived by our own sovereigns, even though the signs were everywhere – showing that our riches, our lands and most of all – our City was what they most desired.

I am no politician – I am but a humble priest, in service of our Lord, who must have wept at the event that unfolded in his dominion … for God is the true sovereign of this and the next world; but even I knew what would happen after the sack of Iader, which they most ruthlessly conquered at the behest of those people, who now took for themselves the biggest share of our Empire.

Plunder. Screams. Havoc.

The first time our City fell to them, they had captured it to put our previous basileus back on the throne along with his son, but failing to give them what he promised, they devised an infamous plan to end God's kingdom on Earth and divide it among themselves as spoil.
The second time they captured the City, three days and nights of plunder ensued … the Latins didn't hold back – the most sacred places, our most beloved relics – all plundered or destroyed. Even piety – for which they took arms on this sacred campaign – didn't stop their greed and lust for our treasures.
I've heard (from those that witnessed this sacrilege), that even the golden altar inside the Church of Holy Wisdom had been broken and divided among them. The golden carriage from the Hippodrome was taken to Venice and soon a sale of the city's treasures began, as the Latin rulers pawned them to pay their soldiers.

Our Empire had been a corpse upon which the envious reached their hands for the last two centuries … oh, where are the glory days of our sacred Emperors Vasileios and Constantinos? I've heard some people have begged them at their graves in the Church of the Sacred Apostols to rise again and save us from this. Oh, would they only have succeeded …

I have retired shortly after to this monastery on the Holy Mountain to live off my last days in peace and prayer. I have heard rumours of some of our noblemen making a stand against the Latins in Nicaea and Epirus and this makes me feel hope … hope that our state can be salvaged from this ruin we now live in.

But my days are numbered and I fear I will never again see the City in the hands of Romans … I can only find consolation in history, and I am ever more wanting to continue the work of our ancestors. I will write in hope that what I write isn't an end of an era, but a start of a new one … a better one.

brother Anastasios

Submission III

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

It is time. I can see it in their eyes. Their stomachs filled, their thoughts clouded by wine, the cold expelled by the hearth. They are perfectly content. Now they only wait for me to do what I am here for. To them, I only provide entertainment at their banquet with song and story. They tolerate my presence because of that. They rule, yet they are nothing but a shadow of humanity’s former greatness. And of that greatness they want to hear.

Too sweet was the nectar of glory in those long-lost days. Proud-minded and joy-filled did mankind walk upon the Earth. The cities rose up from the surface, like mountains reaching for the cloud-filled heavens. Brilliant as radiant daylight were the signs of civilization and peace. Swift-horsed chariots went to the ends of the world and beyond. It was in paradise that the seed of ruinwas sown.

For no longer did humanity strive for mere perfection. Their desire went beyond that. Having achieved everything a mortal could hope for, they dreamed of breaking the confines of their very nature. Greed and a lust for power marred the nobility of their hearts. Siblings turned against each other. The philosophy of politics degenerated into useless bickering. Riots and factionalism wrought havoc upon everything they had created. Yet they could still have been saved. Until, at last, the final war broke out.

It was beyond imagination. Cities reduced to a scorched flatland in mere moments. Corpses were incinerated until nothing remained. Whoever survived was forced to roam in a lifeless wasteland, scavenging for whatever food could be found. Eventually, the battered survivors managed to settle again and began to rebuild civilization. We regained hope, but we did not regain what and who we lost.

They praise me and my tales. But those tales are meaningless to them. They do not recognize them for what they are. They are my most bitter memories. They are the visions of sorrow and pain which haunt me in my sleep. I am one of last of those who remember, who dwelt upon the Earth when it was clouded with darkness and burnt with unseen fires. I am one of the few who tell an increasingly unheard story. I am among the final people who provide a warning.

For mankind has not learned its lesson. There is no better example than my audience. Noblemen and their retainers are gathered in this hall. They think themselves higher and better than any other. Yet they live of the plunder of their enemies and ignore thescreams of their subjects. They squabble and feud, ignorant of the past and of the world. They are headed for destruction, just as we were.

Our number is declining. Our message is being lost. And I fear for the future, when we won’t be there to warn. Whatever may happen, it is no concern of mine. For my era has already ended.

[IneptCmdr]

Voted... again.

[Rex Anglorvm]

Voted once more

[Cohors_Evocata]

Nope, this has gone on long enough. I give in. You can give the prize to my opponent. I prefer to take another chance and perhaps win in a more decisive way . If my opponent is okay with that, that is. And if it's allowed, of course.

@ my opponent: I'm sorry I cannot adress you directly, but I couldn't find the original thread to find out your username.

[Audacia]

Let's just see what happens with the vote before we award anyone anything.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

We are all destined to vote for the same story over and over.

Here is to a 4th tie-breaker!

[Joseph Simonyi de Vitézvár]

Voted.

[Audacia]

We are all destined to vote for the same story over and over.

Here is to a 4th tie-breaker!

The goal is to get more people to vote than in the previous competition. Which, actually, we have done with the last two votes. Except that each time the same number of new people vote for each submission.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

I know yeah, I'm just kidding.

[Rex Basiliscus]

Nope, this has gone on long enough. I give in. You can give the prize to my opponent. I prefer to take another chance and perhaps win in a more decisive way . If my opponent is okay with that, that is. And if it's allowed, of course.

@ my opponent: I'm sorry I cannot adress you directly, but I couldn't find the original thread to find out your username.

Your opponent is me and I'm sorry but I cannot agree to your forfeit of the tie. I realize it has gone for a long time without being determined the winner, but I honestly don't think it should end the way you propose. I quite like the idea of Shankbot (I think it is his), who suggested giving us both a point each, if this tie isn't decided. I think the votes should decide and not forfeit of my opponent. I hope you can agree with my decision

[Cohors_Evocata]

Your opponent is me and I'm sorry but I cannot agree to your forfeit of the tie. I realize it has gone for a long time without being determined the winner, but I honestly don't think it should end the way you propose. I quite like the idea of Shankbot (I think it is his), who suggested giving us both a point each, if this tie isn't decided. I think the votes should decide and not forfeit of my opponent. I hope you can agree with my decision

Then the battle is on, my good rival!

I hope I haven't been offensive or too much of a whiner. I really doubted whether I should forfeit when I posted that mistake, but now I've regained the confidence to continue this duel of ours. Shankbot's proposal would be a very nice solution in my opinion (if this tiebreaker were to end in another tie), but has there been a precedent for such a measure? Apart from that, I apologise for my mistake and stupid decision and I hope you (and the rest of this forum) are willing to continue this contest.

[Shankbot de Bodemloze]

Hey don't worry about it mate, it was very honourable of you, and not stupid at all.

As far as issuing both of you points it depends on the Local Mods decision but now this tie-breaker is up it will be good to see the results.

[Audacia]

Indeed, no need to apologize. I appreciate your concern for a peaceful resolution. However, there is not to be any peace in the Writers' Study! This is a place of war!

[William the Marshal]

Voted, again. At what point do we just give up and declare a tie?

[Audacia]

I'll speak with the other moderators if this vote does not declare a winner.

[General Retreat]

I just voted, but I was sure I'd cast another vote previously? Not sure if that was a glitch or whether my first choice wasn't counted for some reason.

[Audacia]

I just voted, but I was sure I'd cast another vote previously? Not sure if that was a glitch or whether my first choice wasn't counted for some reason.

You probably voted in the last tiebreaker. Looks like we finally have a winner! I will post the winners' thread later tonight.