Chapter 14: Four Years Later
Year 0008, Month I-III: The Imperium
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Day 1: The 8th Year, Spring
Three years had passed since the arrival with this new year being the fourth that the migrant villagers who had transformed Maya from a dying settlement into a thriving community, and the changes were nothing short of miraculous. Standing on the mountain slope overlooking their expanded village, August could scarcely believe the transformation that time, determination, and collective effort had wrought upon their once-desolate home.
The migrants had not merely adapted to village life—they had become the very heart of Maya's renaissance. Ninety-five percent of the planned houses had been completed, their solid construction a testament to the skill of the Stonehammer, Carpenter, and Mason families who had labored tirelessly to create homes worthy of the community's ambitions. The farmlands had expanded successfully to encompass the eastern fields, where the experimental grain crops had flourished beyond their most optimistic projections.
Their livestock populations had experienced what could only be described as an explosion of growth, with breeding programs managed by the Greenfield, Harvest, Meadowbrook, and Tillman families exceeding every expectation. Perhaps most remarkably, the human population had grown from their initial 191 residents to a robust 250 souls—an increase of fifty-nine new children born over the past three years, representing hope for Maya's future embodied in the laughter and energy of the next generation.
The romantic relationships that had been tentatively developing during their arduous journey had deepened and matured alongside the community itself. August and his core team—now young adults approaching their nineteenth birthdays and the traditional age of marriage—had all found love interests among their fellow villagers. The spark between August and Angeline that had been kindled during their travels had grown into something beautiful and steady, built on shared hardships, mutual respect, and a common vision for their community's future.
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Day 1: Physical Transformation of Maya Village
The village that spread before them bore no resemblance to the barren, partially ruined settlement they had known three years ago. Thirteen additional houses now stood in various stages of completion, with one more approaching its halfway point. These substantial structures, built using Sibus's architectural plans that honored Maya's traditional design while incorporating modern improvements, provided comfortable homes for the diverse families who had committed their futures to this remote community.
August's ancestral longhouse remained the spiritual center of their settlement, while the neighboring building had finally found its permanent purpose as a warehouse for their growing trade operations. The designation was both practical and symbolic—evidence that Maya had evolved beyond mere subsistence into genuine economic activity.
The farmlands stretched in neat, productive rows across both the western and eastern fields, where the five experimental grain varieties had not only survived but thrived in Maya's unique forest environment. Each family maintained their own backyard gardens as planned, creating a patchwork of dietary diversity that supplemented their major crop production. Trees had been strategically planted throughout the village in carefully planned arrangements that would provide both beauty and practical benefits as they matured over the coming decades.
Even their transportation infrastructure had been thoughtfully developed, with designated hitching spots for their wagons—though these vehicles had remained unused for the past three years. The challenge of building roads capable of supporting wagon traffic through the dangerous forest to reach civilization remained a monumental undertaking that would require resources and planning beyond their current capabilities.
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Day 1: The Beast Community
The beast members of their community had experienced their own dramatic developments during the intervening years. Kirpy and Rexy had both reached full maturity, while Kirpy's siblings had brought their own mates to establish nests within the village's protective sphere. The result was a spectacular display of aerial courtship and territorial establishment that provided entertainment and wonder for the human residents below.
The sight of aerial battles for dominance playing out in the skies above Maya had become a regular feature of village life, with Aetherwing serving as both referee and wise elder overseeing these contests to ensure they remained competitions rather than deadly conflicts. The great peregrine eagle's presence provided stability and authority that kept the younger generation's natural aggression within acceptable bounds.
Rexy's romantic situation had required more direct management from her bond-partner Erik, whose responsibilities as beast master extended to approving potential mates for his companion. The evening howls of wild Grimfangs calling for Rexy's attention from beyond Aetherwing's protective perimeter had become a regular serenade, though the wild beasts knew better than to venture within the guardian's domain.
Erik's careful selection process had resulted in an approved mate for Rexy, and their partnership had produced a litter of eight pups over the past two years. These juveniles had grown into a proper pack with Rexy as the dominant alpha, creating Maya's first domesticated Grimfang breeding program—a development with potentially significant implications for both security and trade.
Day 1: Agricultural and Livestock Success
The success of Maya's agricultural programs exceeded even the most optimistic projections made by their farming families three years ago. The domestic poultry populations—both Feathered Gryphons and Dust-Cluckers—had exploded from their combined original forty breeding pairs to nearly two hundred birds. These hardy creatures provided not only a steady supply of protein-rich eggs but also meat for special occasions and future trade purposes.
The larger livestock had proven equally successful, with the original ten breeding pairs each of Grizzlepigs, Woolly Aurochs, and Stoneback Caprines expanding to a combined total of one hundred breeding pairs. This dramatic increase in livestock required expansion of their facilities beyond the original village perimeter, creating a bustling agricultural zone and future economic districts that stretched down the hillside below their residential area.
The expertise brought by families like the Meadowbrooks in dairy production, the Tillmans in poultry management, and the Harvests in integrated farming systems had transformed Maya from a subsistence community into one capable of producing significant surpluses for both storage and future trade.
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Day 1: Defensive Improvements and Infrastructure
Perhaps the most impressive developments had been in Maya's defensive capabilities, which now reflected the lessons learned from past tragedies and the realistic assessment of potential future threats. The village had been transformed into a genuinely formidable defensive position that would challenge even professional military forces.
With lands reclaimed in their lower regions through careful clearing of sections of the ancient forest, the new main perimeter wall had been thoroughly expanded, doubling the length of the original to two kilometers. It was also significantly upgraded to an impressive fifteen feet in height with a thickness of five feet, utilizing a sophisticated construction technique that combined stone, wood, and earth fill excavated during house construction. This engineering approach provided strength, durability, and cost-effectiveness while making optimal use of available materials.
The original one-kilometer wall surrounding the hilltop settlement had been upgraded to fifteen feet in height with five feet of thickness, incorporating ramparts that allowed defenders to move quickly along its length. This inner defensive line provided a fallback position in the unlikely event that outer defenses were breached.
The expansion of Maya's defensive perimeter to encompass their agricultural and livestock areas, as well as their economic and industrial zones, required the two-kilometer outer wall with similar construction and upgrades, punctuated by ten guard towers spaced at precise 200-meter intervals. Each tower rose twenty feet above the wall level, providing excellent visibility and fields of fire for the defensive ballistae that had been installed as per the Martin family's security recommendations.
Within the original wall, the watchtowers had been upgraded and expanded, bringing the total to eight towers around the inner perimeter. Positioned on the hilltop, these elevated positions provided commanding views of all approaches to Maya village while serving as communication and coordination points for the defense system.
The gateway improvements represented perhaps the most sophisticated engineering achievement of their construction program. The outer perimeter wall now featured a drawbridge system spanning a seven-foot-deep trench with a five-foot width, creating a water-filled moat supplied by the mountain basin above the village. The engineering required to fill this defensive feature had taken several months, but the result was a formidable obstacle that would force any attackers to approach under direct observation and defensive fire.
Sharpened wooden stakes and serrated yet cured animal bones installed beneath the water surface ensured that anyone attempting to cross would face not only drowning but impalement—a psychological deterrent as effective as its physical protection. While they lacked metal resources for more sophisticated defensive mechanisms, the wooden construction proved both effective and maintainable using local materials and skills.
The old guardhouse at their original perimeter wall had been expanded into proper headquarters for Maya's security teams, while a new guardhouse at the outer perimeter provided coordination for the extended defensive system. These improvements reflected not paranoia but prudent preparation for a community that had already experienced the consequences of inadequate defenses in the past. Taking account of all that had occurred to this village, these improvements would prove more than necessary, especially given the uncertainties of the future. Besides, this was one of the Great Forests of Arkanus, where legends and tales held true to their stories.
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Day 1: Economic Development and Trade Relations
Despite their isolation deep within the Forest of Lonelywood, Maya had successfully established trade relationships that provided both economic prosperity and vital intelligence about the wider world. The trade operations, managed jointly by Marcus and Andy with transportation provided by Bren and Kirpy's aerial capabilities, had proven both profitable and strategically valuable.
Every two months, their trading team made the dangerous journey to the outskirts of Gremory to conduct business with Baron Kirka, who had become their primary distribution partner for the high-quality soap that represented Maya's first major export product. The soap production, managed by Theresa and volunteer mothers from throughout the village, had exceeded all expectations in both quality and market reception.
The storage and transportation challenges had been solved through August's procurement of specialized magical pouches from Admin Magnus—sophisticated storage devices capable of holding up to 1,000 separate item types with 300 stackable identical items per space. While these pouches lacked the emergency communication features of August's personal device, their 300,000-item capacity made large-scale trade operations feasible despite the transportation challenges.
Their initial market strategy had required some adjustment based on social dynamics they had not anticipated. The first batch of soap bars numbering three hundred thousand bars and sold entirely at one local silver coin each, generated six thousand local gold coins in total revenue. It had been well-received by both common folk and nobility. This initial success confirmed both the demand for their product and the viability of long-distance commerce. But complaints from aristocratic customers about sharing products with commoners had forced a strategic pivot.
The revised approach divided their production into two distinct product lines: two hundred thousand bars for common customers at one local silver coin each, and one hundred thousand premium bars for nobility at five local silver coins each. The premium version featured enhanced fragrances and bore the distinctive sigil of Maya's Traveling Mercantile, satisfying aristocratic desires for exclusivity while maximizing profit margins.
Over the course of twenty shipments across thirty-nine months, the results were as follows:
Batch 1 Revenue: 6,000 local gold coins
Batches 2–20 Revenue (19 total): 266,000 local gold coins
Total Revenue:272,000 local gold coins
Equivalent to 5 Imperial Gold Coins and 44 Imperial Silver Coins
The distribution of profits remained consistent across all shipments, based on the agreed allocation of 20% to Marcus and Andy for managing trade operations, 10% as village tax, and 70% to Theresa and the production team of volunteer mothers.
Batch 1 Distribution (6,000 LGC):
Marcus & Andy: 1,200 LG
Village Tax: 600 LG
Production Team: 4,200 LG
Batches 2–20 Distribution (14,000 LGC each):
Marcus & Andy: 2,800 LGC per batch
Village Tax: 1,400 LGC per batch
Production Team: 9,800 LGC per batch
Grand Totals (20 Batches = 272,000 LGC):
Marcus & Andy: 54,400 LGC = 1 IGC, 8 ISC, 40 ICpC
Village Tax: 27,200 LG = 54 IS, 20 ICpC
Production Team: 190,400 LG = 3 IGC, 80 ISC, 40 ICpC
This arrangement ensured that those doing the dangerous trading work were well-compensated, the community received funds for infrastructure development, and the actual producers received the largest share of profits from their labor.
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**IMPERIAL CURRENCY SYSTEM**
These official coins are used and circulated throughout the vast Imperial Realm, representing the standard currency minted and distributed by the prestigious Empire of Elms-Arkanus Treasury. This legitimate currency incorporates unique technological magic imprinted directly into each coin, providing sophisticated authentication methods that can be used to detect counterfeits and ensure authenticity.
**IMPERIAL CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATES:**
- 1 Imperial Orichalcum Coin = 1,000 Imperial Gold Coins
- 1 Imperial Gold Coin = 100 Imperial Silver Coins
- 1 Imperial Silver Coin = 50 Imperial Copper Coins
- 1 Imperial Copper Coin = 10 Local Gold Coins
**LOCAL CURRENCY SYSTEM**
*Local Currencies are circulated within the borders of allied kingdoms and territories, but for official trades with the empire, they must be converted and transactions must use Imperial Coins as the standard.*
**Local Currency Exchange Rates:**
- **1 Local Gold Coin** = 50 Local Silver Coins
- **1 Local Silver Coin** = 150 Local Copper Coins
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Day 1: Intelligence and External Developments
The trade operations served a dual purpose, providing not only economic benefits but also crucial intelligence about political and military developments affecting the broader region. Through Marcus and Andy's regular interactions with merchants, officials, and travelers in Gremory, Maya maintained awareness of events that could potentially affect their isolated community.
The most significant development was the apparent progress toward peace between the Kingdom of Arwen and the Kingdom of Ogind after nearly four years of devastating border warfare. While the conflict had remained largely a stalemate with both sides establishing elaborate defensive lines, the mounting casualties and economic strain had finally created conditions favorable to negotiated settlement.
For Maya, peace in the region would mean improved trade opportunities, reduced risk of military patrols discovering their location, and greater stability for their external economic relationships. However, it could also mean that professional military forces currently engaged in warfare might become available for other assignments—including exploration and control of previously ignored regions like the great forests. Although this would be highly unlikely due to Imperial control over the Great Forests, expansion into these lands remained a contested thought among the leaders of kingdoms that shared borders with them. But even with any approval for expansion, the threat of the beasts remained a greater challenge than the threat of war from the Empire.
However, if it were discovered that a settlement had been built illegally within one of the great forests' inner sanctum, this would not only spark a conflict of eradication from the Empire but also push a narrative from those whose borders lay alongside the great forests, creating an international agenda against the Empire. But would anyone really go to war against the Empire's decrees for a piece of dangerous land? Highly unlikely.
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Day 1: Personal and Community Growth
Master Ben's integration into the community had progressed to the point where he now possessed his own residence—a mage tower constructed specifically to accommodate his needs and provide appropriate space for his research and magical practices. The tower represented both practical accommodation and symbolic recognition of his valuable contributions to Maya's defense and development. He had provided some assistance through the use of his powers, but the architectural design and structural work was left to Sibus and the builder families.
The quarrying operations in the mountains behind the village had been expanded and systematized, providing reliable sources of high-quality stone for ongoing construction projects. The combination of local stone, forest timber, and imported materials—especially nails and tools needed for the village houses and other projects—had been procured and prepared by Marcus and Andy during their trade expeditions, giving Maya's builders access to everything needed for sophisticated construction projects.
As spring slowly returned to Maya village with snow still thick but gradually melting in the year 0008, August stood with his closest companions—Erik, Betty, Bren, Angeline, Adam, and Isabel—on the mountain ridge just above the nesting grounds where Aetherwing's family, including his children who had grown mature enough to raise their own families within the village's twin guardian mountains, had established their aerial domain. From this greater vantage point, they could overlook everything they had built together. The village below bustled with activity as residents prepared for the spring planting season, their movements purposeful and confident in ways that would have been impossible during Maya's darkest days.
The three full years had brought physical growth and maturity to all of them, transforming the once desperate refugees, migrant families, and determined idealists of their earlier days into experienced leaders and skilled practitioners of their respective crafts. They had proven that vision, determination, and collaborative effort could overcome seemingly impossible obstacles.
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Day 1: Looking Towards the Future
As August surveyed the thriving community spread below them, he felt the weight of both achievement and responsibility settling upon his shoulders. Maya had exceeded every expectation they had dared to hold three years ago, but success brought new challenges and greater stakes should anything go wrong.
Their population growth, economic prosperity, and defensive improvements had transformed them from a desperate survival operation into something that external forces might view as worth controlling, conquering, or destroying. The trade relationships that provided prosperity also created vulnerabilities, while their success in the great forest might eventually attract the attention of Imperial authorities who preferred such regions to remain empty and unclaimed.
Yet as he watched the daily life of their community unfolding below—children playing in gardens their parents had planted, craftsmen working on projects that would serve generations, families gathering for meals in homes built with their own hands—August felt a profound sense of pride in what they had accomplished together.
The time had come for the next phase of his personal development. After three years of focusing on community building, infrastructure development, and economic establishment, August felt ready to face the trials that would upgrade his Personal System to the next level. The enhanced capabilities such advancement would provide could prove crucial for protecting and leading the community they had worked so hard to create.
At least those who were in Team One, including Master Ben and Axel, had already reached the pinnacle of the Party System's own level, which mirrored August's own at level 25. So he would have to face the trials of his Personal System soon if he wanted to gain more strength to protect what they had built here.
The dangers of Centuury remained as real as ever, but Maya village had proven that with time, courage, wisdom, and mutual support, even the most daunting challenges could be overcome. Whatever trials lay ahead, they would face them together as a true community bound by shared purpose, common sacrifice, and the unshakeable belief that they were building something worth defending.
As the spring sun climbed higher above the great forest canopy and the sounds of purposeful activity continued to rise from the village below, August knew that their greatest adventures—and greatest tests—still lay ahead. But for the first time since beginning this ambitious undertaking, he felt genuinely confident that Maya village and its people were ready for whatever challenges the future might bring.
The transformation was complete: Maya had evolved from a dying remnant of tragedy into a beacon of hope, prosperity, and human determination deep within one of the world's most dangerous wildernesses. The next chapter of their story was about to begin.