The Emperor
There once was a land that had been laid to waste. Because of harmony's disruption, mistrust and base hate of others the world had been driven to destruction. Terrible things happened, and left the survivors struggling in a terrible situation. Without a strong and fair government the scattered groups were commanded by any brutish thug that could beat more of them than any other and make them afraid. Food was scarce, medical care and education were almost non-existent, and violence was as common as bad water and dangerous animals, who were no longer kept in check by constables and guards.
In the midst of the hardship and privation there came a pony who had somehow missed the whole disaster. He still had thoughts from the time before, the time of peace and plenty. He remembered what the old world had been like and was practically offended by what it had been brought to. He retained the vision of the past and sought to impose it on the misery of the present.
The road was uneasy. There was so much violence and hate, and so little to draw folk together. There were still divisions between pony races, to say nothing of the various sentient species. No new hybrids had been made since the disaster, for in this world, while there had been no beings like the Princesses, hybrids could come about. They emerged in a purely natural fashion thanks to the working of magic in the world.
The time-lost pony had but a single advantage over the vile and violent brutes that commanded the starving and fearful masses: his mind. He was a cunning and crafty being, and his earth pony body made him appear harmless and inoffensive. In the waste unicorns and pegasi were thought far superior thanks to their horns or wings and the things which they could do. Earth ponies were regarded as near-worthless and of no real threat.
He used all negatives to his advantage and turned positives against those threats which polluted the world he could still see in his mind's eye. When a band of criminals attempted to rob him he turned their hidden jealousies and avarice against their leader and made them weak enough that he could largely destroy them himself. Those few who remained were loyal to him, because he had outmaneuvered them skillfully. He did this more times, for there were many bands of roving criminals who had not even a slight inclination to settle and produce a stable society. They thrived, until the cunning stallion chastised them with guile, and organized those willing to obey him into something far more like the constables and guards he remembered.
The next moves were unimportant. Territories came under his control through judicious use of cunning trickery, hard force and subtle manipulation of the common citizens against their cruel rulers. He made stone soup of the ravaged lands, each separate group subtly convinced to work towards a goal they could never achieve to reach a goal that benefited all. 'Just a little bit more,' whispered into attentive ears repaired houses, purified water, wrote books and planted crops. Everything relied on a central position, from where directions could be given and the lands secured. An old fortified structure became the heart of growing and developing lands.
The new establishment was not a principality, nor a kingdom, but rather an imperium. While the temptation was to name it after the old nation that had stood there, that had been brushed away by the destruction. For that reason it was known only as Imperium Terra Nova, Empire of the New World. The title was most appropriate. The cunning earth pony was crowned as Emperor, with no dissent. It was hard to argue with a pony that put food into bellies and roofs over heads.
The capital city grew up and large around the Imperial Palace, very much the way the Crystal Empire's central city did. Six wide avenues departed from the palace to stretch into the distance. The six had been named, in significant fashion, Via Comitas, Via Liberalitas, Via Fidelitas, Via Probitas, Via Hilaritas and Via Amicitiae. They represented harmony, and an unspoken promise that wherever they led would come the promised peace and plenty of the emperor.
Whenever a new land came under the hoof of the emperor there passed almost an exchange, teachers, engineers, doctors and farmers from the central region going out to train and build, while numerous citizens from the new land were brought to the capital city for education and introduction to the new culture of the empire, for the difference could be jarring.
Thus it was that a stranger, freed from under the control of a madmare, found himself wandering through the imperial capital, staring at the clean buildings, paved roads and abundant electrothaumatic devices. He was trotting through a crowd, seemingly gathered for some festival, given the charge of excitement that permeated the area. Decorations were evident but as he had lived his life in misery and squalor the stranger didn't know special decorations from simple design touches.
“You seem lost, friend,” The stranger turned to see a stallion speaking to him, a bright blue unicorn with a pale blue mane. A smile rested on the stallion's face. “You must have come from the new territory at the current end of the Via Fidelitas. I had heard that the new arrivals had come at last, and on such a wonderful day! You have arrived at the day of the Festival of Hilaritas!”
“Hilaritas?” The new arrival asked, quirking a brow.
“Jollity, an overall happiness,” The local stallion said, “I forget that things are bleak beyond our walls. Many apologies. I am Aquarius, one of the natives of our glorious Emperor's land. This festival is meant to connect us to the lost ways, the Elementas Concordias, the great elements that once brought peace. When they were lost, disaster followed. Now the Emperor would have it that they never be forgotten again.”
The stranger looked around at the scene and up at the face of the palace, which had numerous screens on them displaying the Emperor's standard. The magical screens occasionally displayed symbols representing the weather conditions, from around the empire, along with writing saying the same things in greater detail. “I am... not certain what to think. In my village we had our own ruler. I cannot imagine it will be much different here. There was the same violence and destruction.”
“I very much doubt it. I would suppose his highness' Milites preserved the lives of all those who did not fight back of their own will, used numerous spies to assess actual feelings in the region and carefully swept in with great speed and efficiency to end the battle as fast as possible,” Aquarius said.
“Yes... it is true...” The stranger said, with a bit of reluctance. “But still... he is only another ruler. Another iron hoof under which we must live. See how he shuffles me from my home to this strange land?”
“Did you have a particular skill back in your home?” Aquarius asked.
“I was the local apothecary and physician, though I hid the skill from the prior rulers,” The stranger confessed.
“You have been brought here, and will be directed later to a training program to formalize education in that capability, and you may then return later to serve as a doctor in your village, likely to be grown and organized into a small town by the time you return,” Aquarius said.
“I know that the Emperor has undertaken terrible things. He destroyed ponies for daring to defy him. I heard from travelers that he was getting rid of heroines and heroes that were trying to travel and study the waste and help when they found terrible things,” The stranger said, quietly, seeming to fear retribution.
“He did it. And we all cheered,” Aquarius said, suddenly stern. “You did not hear the other side. The waste-walkers played all sides for their own benefit, not for the benefit of all, and their ends were to sustain the waste, not erase it. Most were intent on leaving a way to be famous. And that is besides the ones who did not care when they wiped entire towns out of existence...” The unicorn shook his head and smiled. “His highness reported all things he did with the secret warriors, laid out all the facts and the consequences, and asked that we vote on his fate. He gave us his life and we gave it back. He wanted only to keep the waste free from those that would continue the squalor and misery for the sake of their own arrogance.”
“I mistrust him still...” The stranger muttered, head suddenly snapping up as cheerful music began to pour out of all speakers placed all around the area, the magical screens suddenly displaying a balcony, covered in concealing cloth, with a small group of robed ponies to the side. The ponies all began to sing, many of the ponies in the square singing the same song.
“The song of Hilaritas!” Aquarius shouted, to be heard over the singing around them. “When it reaches the climax his highness will emerge from behind his curtains and sing for us, then he will smile, and we all will smile!”
“He is but another tyrant!” The stranger cried, though not as loud as Aquarius. “He commands when you smile! Does he also say when you will eat or sleep?”
“I understand, you who come from lands commanded by dictators and tyrants do not understand the way of his highness!” Aquarius shouted, pulling the new arrival aside, so they could speak without as much interruption from the jubilant singing.
“How different could it be? All rulers are the same, they all command and we all must obey,” The stranger said.
“You could not be more wrong. Here it is exactly the opposite. His highness has on his personal crest a promise. 'I serve they I rule, I rule they I serve.' He has used all his talents, all his skills, risked life and limb and his own future that we might have these wonders, might have back the world we lost. He asks for our trust, and nothing else, because he gave us reasons. He promised food and gave us food. He promised us peace and gave us peace. He promised us medicine, houses, roads, energy, education, cleanliness... we live better than our old overlords could have ever imagined, with things they could never have obtained warring and destroying. He put together a land and expected nothing of us but our best. We owe him our utmost. But we feel this debt because in every case what he has promised us he has delivered. This is the real truth of it all. Why we smile when he smiles,” Aquarius said, face beaming with joy.
“Tell me this truth, that makes you smile,” The stranger said.
“Because of all that has come before, because of what we have now... it is not at all like the tyrants and iron-hoofed leaders you know. When the time has come, we do not smile because he commands that we smile. We smile because he does. And if he smiles, there must be something to smile about,” Aquarius said, returning to the gathering and starting to join in the song.
The stranger stepped out slowly, watching the screen as the curtains parted, to reveal the Emperor. He stood bare, not wrapped in rare materials like some ruler; he was slim and gracile, not fattened from stolen rations like some; he was smiling with an easy and real joy, unlike the dark and mirthless monsters that held power with force. He sang, and he was honest. He called everypony to smile, he wanted them to be happy, and he called his subjects his friends.
The dam broke within the stranger's heart. Moving from wasteland privation to wondrous plenty, beneath the loving concern of a ruler that actually cared, that wanted prosperity for all, rather than power for himself. With tears pouring from his eyes, and a smile on his face, the new citizen cried, “All hail the Emperor! All hail the Emperor!”
Special bonus: The Pledge of the Emperor
Oh yes, I have made this land
A place of light and dream,
And doing so I give you life
As such you've never seen.
From water clean to glowing light,
Good roofs and bellies filled,
I only ask you for your best,
Mines cut and farmlands tilled.
I rule and serve, and this I swear,
to do both ever wise,
To be forever worthy of
The love that's in your eyes.
For though I am the ruler grand,
I know that this is true:
This land would be a barren waste
If it were not for you.
I know the land has beast and brute
And both can conjure fear-
But you who dwell beneath my hoof,
I'll hold you safe and dear;
Your lives I hold as precious and
I ever will be true
I keep and guard and feed and love
Each and all of you.
Remember when the land's at peace
And hardship far away
A little harm and selfishness
Can go awry some day,
That chaos reigns when idle minds
Forget and go to war.
This land of peace my gift to you,
Your friend the Emperor!
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What games are you playing? GTA is not heroic, ever, at all and never attempts to be. For Fallout I only know the proper games, not this fancy new Bethesda stuff, but you could find a way out of anything. Elder Scrolls, see above, I don't do Bethesda.
I guess I'm in the minority apparently, I play the mostly good guy trying to help out. I'll manipulate things to suit me best sure, but I try to get the most positive result, not unlike your emporer here.
On a tangent, look up Planescape: Torment if you've never heard if it.
2785009
I used to be big on AD&D and especially loved Planescape. I had heard of it but my computers always sucked too much for most computer games, except for the slower and less technologically involved adventure and puzzle games. It's why I was always a console fellow.
My point was something that Robot Chicken also made fun of. They noted the freedom of the game and noted most folks use it to just slaughter and be completely stupid. I remember one night in the dorm hall common room one of the guys was playing Skyrim and taking great joy in completely depopulating Whiterun, complaining that the child characters are invincible. And the programmers added tasks for trophies/achievements that require crappy stuff, like the whole quest chain for the Dark Brotherhood and to a lesser degree the quest chain for the Thieves' Guild. I haven't played much Fallout but judging by every damn Fallout story ever there seems to be one real person in the world and then a collection of meat sacks filled with a gallon of blood and lootable resources.
Besides being a snarky little git, thist story was to nod and wink at the identity of the Emperor. I even left out a question and answer section akin to induction into a mystery religion. "Who would serve best as ruler over you? A general, a religious idealogue, a politician, a businesspony or a scoundrel? The scoundrel. He will have the tactical wisdom of the general, the high oratory of the idealogue, the craft of the politician and the cunning resource management of the businesspony. All with a hard, practical mind to move forward."
2785903
That's basically what I play, I hate not being a jack of all trades. Pick an RPG or hybrid RPG where you can be you (aka you have control over the personality) and I can tell you how I took the every-path with a nice guy attitude.
2785903
"judging by every damn Fallout story ever there seems to be one real person in the world and then a collection of meat sacks filled with a gallon of blood and lootable resources."
That pretty much sums up Fallout PERIOD.
2790289
I would totally play a game that allowed me to be a good guy all the way and fix the world as much as the programming allows.
2791315
Go for older Bioware games and the like. The new stuff is very bad at letting you do what you want.
2791315
I wanted to add, look for games with hard morality systems, they tend to punish you for being a dick.
2794524
Would Dragon Age be in that category? Or the original Fable?
2795940
No and no. Dragon Age has some choice, but being a 21st century Bioware game, it's still heavily on rails. I was still able to be as nice as I could, but it's very dark no matter what. Fable is marginally better, but when the best weapon in the game requires you to be both a huge bastard and a saint in turn, there isn't a lot of consequence to be found.
Older Bioware games like Baldur's Gate let you roam around a lot more and being evil SERIOUSLY hampers your ability to do anything in civilization. Arcanum is pretty good on that front as well. Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines similarly works like this as attacking civilians and cops gets you noticed, and when you are supposed to be a secret, your betters will make you a secret if they have to.
Edit: When I say on rails, it's not only the questing structure, but what you can do. You don't really have the opportunity to be hated.
2796797
I remember the original Vampire game. A bit railed and Diablo-esqe. I wondered about the sequel. Guess I need to look into it.
2797890
It's not a sequel per se, very different game. It's actually the first game released to have ever used the Source engine, coming out a month before Half-Life 2.