by Max Barry

Latest Forum Topics

Advertisement

6

DispatchMetaReference

by Skymoot. . 93 reads.

Skymoot To-Do List

To anyone reading this dispatch, it's only my "To-do" list. Feel free to look it over though. Might be something to look forward to!
  • Design a "skymootian" style house. Make sure that there is enough room for the dragon and the human inhabitants.

    • Make sure it's realistic in proportions.

    • No time limit.

    • Be specific, and give good details.

    • The Skymootian Railcar House! - First idea for housing

      • The idea is a combination of these current factors for Skymoot:

        • The poorest 10% of Skymoot make around 80,000 credits a year.

        • Skymoot has extensive railway and shipping networks (transport maps).

        • Skymootian's are fanatical about being ecofriendly.

        • Citizens yearn for the outdoors, exploration, and adventure. These values are supported by Skymootian society.

      • The idea was an inspiration from the show Tiny House Nation on the FYI Channel.

        • The show features families, sometimes up to seven people, living in areas smaller than 400 Sq. Feet. This sounds awesome! Not to mention that Skymoot families value their family members, so it goes along well!

      • Trains could move the railway car homes around in times of danger, massive events, or even for a change of setting.

      • Great for:

        • Railway workers and engineers

        • Cheap living

        • An adventurous lifestyle

        • Farmers for crops (as farmers could hire the railway living people to help on crops anywhere in Skymoot).

        • Environmental Living

      • Additional Videos to help with Train-Car House Idea:

  • The Average Skymootian looks like... ... No seriously what do they look like? Create an image, profile, or otherwise an overview of what the average Skymootian indivudal is like!

    • You might need to pour through the old notebook pages to see what the people might look like or behave.

    • How fat or fit would the average Skymootian be?

    • How tall are they? (Remember from American Population History class? Food and nutrition play as much of a role as environment, activity, and other factors.)

    • Average hair color, eye color, facial features?

    • Favorite outfit of Skymootians?

    • Any other props the Skymootian owns? (Watches, goggles, tools, etc.?)

    • Think on this. Not as simple as it should be!

  • Design a Blimp/Airship transport system for Skymoot. The transport maps came out amazingly! But I only realized now that I didn't add in anything about air travel for the maps like what we wanted. Don't worry! Just make another map for that stuff if you want, or you could just make a factbook about the info instead and just say the city locations.

    • The air transportation should *not* be steampunk in design. Make it sleek instead I think. Sleek, but full of character. If that's possible.

    • Remember, everything needs to be environmentally friendly in one way or in all the ways. Keep this in mind!

    • Maybe create unique flying ships, blimps, aircraft, etc. that are from Skymoot? ... Maybe though. After all that would require industry of some kind to do all of that right?

  • Complete the "Dragon Stones" Constitution of Skymoot, for now we're still technically a "dictatorship" until the constitution is ratified.

    • If it helps, use the NS Stats to shine a light on what the people of Skymoot might value over anything else.

    • The Constitution can be as long or as short as you want it to be, but remember that once it's out there, you're stuck with it.

  • Complete a FactBook on the elusive "Atlanturul". After being impressed with the 'Skymoot Dragon' animal factbook, A friend from TNP has requested that another animal FactBook be made, this time for a unique national animal demon called the "Atlanturul."

    • The species should be a cross between the Glaucus Atlanticus and the Turul

    • The species is a bird of prey

    • Has three pairs of wings, to complement the Glaucus side of the combination.

    • Has scale wings, because demon wanted that.

    • In terms of human relations, the bird should be treated like the birds from the Avatar movie (blue men). Note that this should not be an excuse for plagiarizing. Make it unique!

  • Complete the Zhufbar Surveys - Back when Zhufbar was still around, it had dispatches that really helped to show what the nation was in detail. These surveys would make for excellent world building inspiration!

  • The Skymootian Basket of Luxury - The Wealthy of Skymoot Let's take a detailed look at the wealthy of Skymoot. This "to-do" is mainly a bunch of questions, but the core of this to-do is to answer the big question. What are Skymoot's wealthy like, how do they live, and how do they affect the world around them?

    • How do they dress?

    • What is the favorite pass time of the wealthy?

    • What can the wealthy do that the poor can't?

    • How do the wealthy behave?

    • How is wealth displayed in Skymoot?

    • Is wealth shown off? Bragged about? Valued?

    • What kind of 'toys' do the wealthy have? (fancy cars? big boats? recreation rooms?)

    • Who *exactly* are wealthy in Skymoot? (The government workers? Military Generals? 'Old' wealth aristocrats? CEO's and the "Nouveau riche"?)

    • What kind of reputation do the wealthy have with the poor? With other rich people? The government?

    • What kind of food and drinks do the wealthy eat?

    • Do wealthy people live longer than others? Shorter than others?

    • How influential are the wealthy in Skymoot?

    • What *exactly* is considered wealth in Skymoot? (Money? Possessions? Titles from the government?)

  • Create the great Skymootian Guaridan's Navy What good is freedom if you can't defend it? You need to design some good boats for Skymoot to defend itself with. Wouldn't hurt to also think of some citizen ship designs as well.

    • Every boat design should be environmentally friendly! You can power the boats in any way you want, including just sails. (Idea: Solar Sailers! Solar panels + Sails)

    • Civilians would need boats for trout fishing, transportation, and for tourism industries.

    • Military ships would need to be realistic. Remember that Skymoot can't make any metals for itself, as I write this anyway. So plan with that in mind. Realistic, but creative.

    • A navy ship in Skymoot is abbreviated as SGS [name]. SGS means "Skymoot Guardian's Ship [name]."

    • An addition made on the 4th of August, 2017:

      • While I was with family along my grandparents shore house, I saw this quilt along an armchair. On it was an image of this ship called the Lightship Overfalls. Turns out there was a whole class of vessel called 'lightships'. To summarize them, imagine someone taking a lighthouse and placing it onto a boat hull. Add sails/engines as necessary, and there you go. I spent some time looking into lightships, and maybe they can be of some use to Skymoot?

        • LinkWikipedia on 'LightVessels' - The go-to place for more information on lightboats and lightvessels.

        • LinkThe Lightship Motorfyrskibet Nr. I - The world's largest and best preserved lightship, as claimed by Wikipedia. It's currently at rest as a museum in Esbjerg, Denmark. (P.S. No I don't know how to pronounce that name. Don't bother me to say it haha.)

        • LinkThe Lightvessel Gedser Rev - Another lightship from Denmark, this time stationed in Nyhavn.

        • LinkThe lightship Overfalls - Here's an official website on the ship that I saw from the family get-together. Apparently it's preserved at Lewes, Delaware.

  • The Skymootian Fishing Industry and History Create a decent factbook on the fishing industry of Skymoot. Try to incorporate the fishing history into the main history of Skymoot. Make sure that the information relates to the NS stats accurately.

    • The rough draft and summary of the history

      • In the pre-independence days of Skymoot, fishing was the first main source of food for the colonists. The shipbuilders of Gluwelt, Breby provided basic vessels for the colonists over time, while fish prices steadily grew as more colonists arrived to the islands and as the old world needed more food for it's growing population. The steady price increase continued well past Skymootian independence and into the late 1760's. At it's peak, the fishing industry made 9,655 per hour in 1767 and was a vital source of income for Skymoot.

        The price of fish swung up and down during the colonization wave, as more people needed fish to eat while more fishers began to sell fish. During the two wars between the 1830's and 1850's (The Brazilistan War and The Gends Civil War), the fishing industry had 'one last hurrah' (for lack of a better term). And then the wars ended, with the Skymootian Navy now having a surplus of ships and sailors and nothing to do with them. A massive selloff of ships ensued and sailor layoffs followed. At the same time, fishermen hoping to make it rich bought up the ships and hired the sailors for fishing. This created a massive surplus of fish, more than quadruple the demand of Skymootians and the world market. Within a few short years, the industry went from making 9,209 credits per hour to only 6,581 credits per hour. During 'The Grey Wave' (in which Skymoot went through industrialization) the prices for fish feel even more as Skymootians no longer wanted as much fish as before, flooring the industry to just 5,294 per hour.

        It wasn't until the 1910's that fishing was revolutionized. Researchers created the first 'fish farm' during this time, a place that could birth, grow, and kill off fish like pigs or cows for slaughter. With the proof of concept, and it's inherit cheaper costs to build and operate, fishermen began to 'farm' fish. This allowed them to much more accurately plan out how much fish they would have and when, which helped to stabilize the overall price of fish. Then, in the 1920's, an odd turn of events began to unfold. The people of Vhilm Is., who were once notorious for attacking Skymoot Dragons and for being attacked by them before the wars, began to work with the Skymoot Dragons. The 'Apology' trend took over Vhilm, as the people made sanctuaries, adopted abandoned dragons, and created 'safe spots' for dragons to escape hardships. Now Vhilm Is. had a ton more dragons to feed, which primarily ate fish, and needed more fish to maintain the creations made for the dragons. Throughout the decade, prices for fish shot up by 2,000 per hour.

        Today, prices remain stable and the fishing industry remains successful. With government agencies releasing fish market information to the fishermen, fish farms being able to regulate how much fish they harvest to match the demands, and with many hungry mouths to feed on the islands, the fishing industry of Skymoot remains to this day one of the top 10% biggest fishing industries in the world.

  • Selling Tourism in Skymoot - The details of the biggest income of Skymoot We have some attractions, and we have an amazing amount of tourists coming in! But now we should really intergrade this into the world of Skymoot. This would be great to add for storytelling, and I for one am amazed that we haven't done something about this sooner! What are the details of Skymoot's biggest trade, Tourism?

    • Selling Skymoot's Tourism by the Charm:

      • Make a brochure of Skymoot travel locations

      • Good news: Just about *ANYTHING* can become a tourist stop. But keep in mind what Skymoot can and can't do.

      • Learn to write travel articles.

      • Really sell! If real life players of NS aren't sold on the locations, you're doing it wrong.

    • Selling Skymoot's Tourism by calculated Stats:

      • Make statistics on everything about the tourism industry

      • How do tourists arrive and leave Skymoot?

      • Why do the tourists come?

      • How many tourists become immigrants to Skymoot?

      • How do tourists get hurt on Skymoot? (With so many tourists, some are bound to get hurt in some way. Crime, fire, sickness, anything works here. Keep it real though.)

      • What's the average money spent by a tourist in Skymoot?

      • Average age, sex, time of year traveling, reason for travel, rating of Skymoot's tourism to others, etc. should also be added to this

  • Factbook on the War of Brazilistan, considering how this series of "issues" only happens once per each nation in NS, it should be special to Skymoot's history.

    • Use this for a reference:

      --- March 21st, 2017 (12:52 a.m.) (ISSUE: NOTICE: This is the first "story" issue, which has many other issues that lead from it. Remember to look back at this for future reference!)

      ---Part 1---
      Media outlets have been buzzing about the thousands of children abducted from their remote villages across the exotic nation of Brasilistan, suspected to have been carried out on the order of their own government. Reports are coming in that the abducted children have been sent underground to mine for diamonds, Brasilistan’s most precious resource, but military intelligence suggests that some young Skymootian citizens living there have fallen to the same fate.

      "The Brasilistani government have been pursuing aggressive and provoking policies for years, especially in their attempts to annex their neighbor Marche Noir. Now they're abducting and holding hostage not only their own children, but citizens of other countries!" booms General Alexia Taylor, slamming her fist on the conference table and urgently gesturing to a map on the wall. "We have sat idly by and now it's our people over there waking up in the middle of the night to bombs and soldiers destroying their homes! Leader, we must marshal our forces and intervene with the only language the Brasilistani seem to understand - violence!"

      The military is on a massive recruiting drive in advance of an invasion of Brasilistan.

      ---Part 2---
      (The Story So Far: A troubled country called Brasilistan has abducted Skymootian tourists and sent them to work in diamond mines in appalling conditions. You gathered your advisers and decided the best course of action was war; immediate and violent.)

      This is a grim day in the history of Skymoot. Today, Skymoot goes to war. All eyes are on officials in Skymoot City, waiting with bated breath to learn what form the coming conflict with Brasilistan will take.

      “We must mount a full-scale invasion,” declares General Eve Dragon while jabbing at a map of Brasilistan. “We can land forces here, here, and here; and from there we can march straight on to their capital! It could cost millions of our soldiers’ lives and take years, but short of nuking Brasilistan, this is the only road to victory.”

      Troop transports blacken the sky as the military commences Operation Desert Ocean.

      ---Part 3---
      (The Story So Far: Your government’s response to overtures of aggression from the Brasilistanis has been to march the Skymootian army in and take out the tyrannical and violent government.)

      The “intervention” into Brasilistan has largely been a success, but now the nation has devolved into anarchy with no functioning government. International allies and observers are concerned and have asked that Skymoot clean up the mess it made.

      Foreign Minister Smoochinger sighs before joining in the conversation. “If we colonise Brasilistan then we’ll be doing exactly what its last government did that got us into this mess – sweeping attacks on another peoples’ sovereignty. I agree that we should send in more troops to clean up things, but then we should help them set up a new, stable, and less aggressive government. Admittedly, this will consume large resources in the short term, but think of the public support we’d attain by establishing a new democracy full of freedoms abroad. And the long term benefits of ensuring it’s a government that’s friendly and sympathetic to our aims are pretty enticing too.”

      Nation-building is the new national pastime.

      ---Part 4---
      (The Story So Far: In order to secure Skymoot’s interest in Brasilistan, as well as stabilize the ravaged country, your government has ensured that someone agreeable to Skymoot has been installed as leader.)

      After Skymoot’s hand-picked candidate for leader of Brasilistan was assassinated in broad daylight – and then the next hand-picked successor mysteriously disappearing overnight – it’s becoming clear that propping up a new government that is friendly to Skymoot’s aims is much more difficult than originally imagined.

      Treasury Minister Timothy Legarde chimes in. “We definitely need to get out of the area as soon as possible, but that doesn’t mean we should abandon all interests there. We need to pick a faction we like, show them how generous we can be in selling them some armaments and, ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, we’re not only seeing our interests served in the area, we’re making cash while doing it. Extra bonus is we’re not risking any of our people’s lives. It can’t go wrong!”

      Selling bombs to terrorists has become government policy.

      Read dispatch

    • Since everyone else will eventually get this issue, you need to make it specialized to Skymoot.

    • Make it unique!

  • Halloween Event, Get a head start on the spooks this year by planning ahead for Halloween. If done correctly, this will be great!

    • Write stories with this as a reference:

      Huh! Surprising what ideas can come about when ones listening to music and thinking about their imaginary Skymoot dragons! Never know what the brain might think of. Keep the song in mind with the dragons and the leaders. Put on your weather-proof hat, have a pace, and you just might find you've made a Halloween of horrors that hallows all honors of anonymous atrocities and abominations! ... what? Too much future me? Yeah... I'll work on that. (Considering this is the 2nd time I had to write this. "You're the fool" am I right?)

      ANYWAY! Spin this track future me, and think about everything said, assuming you remember. I hope you do. It'd make for one heck of a Halloween!

      https://youtu.be/ZstsPUKT5CI

      ... "Sensations, of an invasion, start to course right through your veins." + "I am alive, immortalized! You're the creator, you traitor!" + Dragons and humans (oh my!) - plagiarism (seriously, don't copy the song or the ideas of its game. Not cool future me. Not cool.)

      Good luck future me!

      ----signed,
      Past me, as of April 13th, 2017 (at 12:09am)... who has the unfortunate fate of not having the time to plan this idea out further.

      --------------------------------------------

      April 21st, 2017

      Issue came in today: X Marks the Cult?

      Issue: A plot of land, which is simultaneously where the founder of the Order of Violet was allegedly born, where the Tranquility of Yellow claims the Goddess will descend, and where the Cult of Pizza plans to build its temple called The Pizza Church of Pepperoni, has been claimed by all three religions. The three religions’ leaders have cornered you after another ribbon cutting ceremony and have demanded that you settle their conflict.

      ----> Choice 1: “The Dead Ocean Scrolls clearly state that us Violetists are the real owners of this land!” declares the Grand Purplmistress of Violetism as she makes threatening gestures towards you and the other leaders. “We deserve to be able to practice our hum, err, animal sacrifices, so why can’t we go along, take the land, and do it there? No one else is as cra- I mean, unique as we are. The only thing we ask are only a few million Credits to build our temple, and everything else will be taken care of.”

      Choice 2: “Those scrolls are nothing but mistranslated hogwash! All of this area belongs to us!” asserts Her Jaundiceness, the eccentric and indecisive leader of the Tranquility of Yellow. “Those idiotic Violetists and believers in a major religion only care about the majority of people in Skymoot. What about the minority, the ones that believe invisible dragons fly around, and that everyone should pay for, uh, make a personal sacrifice to the great Advertising Billboard? We would freely allow all of them to come in and listen to our completely objective teachings. Now as for the majority... they’ll just be banned from coming. What, you thought we would KILL them? We’re not that crazy...”

      Result (choice 1:) --- Livestock mutilations are on the rise.

      (Since one religion was picked over another in this case, maybe the 2nd religion wants revenge?)

      -----------------------------------

      May 19th, 2017 - Issue came in. And one of the choice said this. I think we got our villain!

      “Ach, good to see you haff made it here in one piece,” says evil doctor Sandra Clark as you wake up strapped to a chair in a secret lab. “As you can see from my brilliant experiments, science has now solved zer problems of zer vorld und ve need nothink else! I propose zat ve do AVAY vith zer teachink of silly thinks like religion und concentrate on zer FACTS! For a start, ve must teach our children where ve came from. Ve shouldn’t be teaching anythink that hasn’t been scientifically proven - er - accounted for, I mean. Igor, release our guest - I haff a monkey to prezent...”

      Read dispatch

      • Three stories in all:

        • The first story to start off the event. (A week before the event.)

        • The second one to show a climax in the event, or otherwise the height of the event (posted on Halloween Day).

        • The final story to wrap up the event after the season has passed. (A few days after the holiday).

      • Make a 'ruined' flag icon of some kind. Creative freedoms permissible.

      • Design a new leader for Skymoot, so the option of removing the old leader is a possibility (but not a guarantee).

  • Create the "Embassy Steam Train Lines" factbook, as this is a rather nice idea!

    • This dispatch should be useful for this To-Do Objective:

      • Just an assorted collection of information to help complete the to-do for making steam train lines for embassies.

          How it started: An issue from NS appeared "Bullet Time":

            (Issue:) Regular traffic congestion within Skymoot’s interstate highways has resulted in a flurry of petitions being sent to you demanding the development of a Maglev bullet train connecting the nation’s major cities. Apparently there was going to be a demonstration outside your front door as well, but the protesters got stuck in traffic.

            (Option:)“Slow down, now. Slow down, all...” says Dave Holst, a villager visiting the capital for the first time. “More railways is a fine thing for all, but why have fancy high speed trains that zoom past all the interesting places on the way? I think you should be building a LOW speed rail, that stops at all the picturesque hamlets and towns, and brings visitors to them. Stop by Little Droppings - that’s my own town, by the way - and I’ll brew you a nice cup of tea.”

            (Result:) Pootling steam trains carry delighted tourists and frustrated businessmen from city to city at a snail's pace.

          Then, on a forum 7 place, one nation suggested that a state visit could be done on the trains, the following correspondence occurred:

            A fireplace like warmth enveloped the area under the uninterrupted rays of sunlight that showed it's beauty to all the palm trees and hillsides of the Vassal Manor. Darrin Fredrick Arkwright Jr. opened the patio doors, letting the sunlight join the meeting table within the foyer. Sitting at the table were the Ministers of Skymoot; Benedict Arnolds of Foreign Affairs, Susy Jacobs of Transportation, and Jax Pire of Tourism. Darrin walks over to Flupa and pets him along the head before walking back to the long table and sitting across from the three minsters.

            "Ministers." Darrin nods with a smile, out of respect. "Thank you for coming on short notice. I know that you are all busy in your respective fields, most notably the two of you Mr. Pire and Mrs. Jacobs. I can only imagine that the construction of the railway lines along Skymoot go well and do not interfere with the Minister of Environmental Protection." Jacobs smiles back. "We are actively keeping him and his secretary party in the know with our designs. He is content with the level of detail you personally are putting into this Mr. Arkwright. He jokes that he might not have a job with you around." Darrin chuckles. "Thank you Mrs. Jacobs."

            Darrin pulls out a letter, decorated with the crest of High Marshal Theodor Lynden Frankenstein of the Medwedian Democratic Federation, and sets it down before the three ministers. "You may read through it if you wish." The minsters read through it as Darrin spins around in his chair, and faces the windows leading out to the patio. He says out loud every word that is on the letter as the ministers read through it.

            "Dear Mr. Arkwright of Skymoot,

            It has come to our attention that you wish to construct vintage transportation by rail around your nation and for it's people. We would be honored if we were allowed a stately visit along these rails and to see the pristine environment for which Skymoot is well known for. We request that you send additional information about the state of luxury wagons, and the potential for a state visit of High Marshal Theodor Lynden Frankenstien. Please write back as urgently as you can.

            Signed,
            SMVP Marshal Frankenhald Bjergsted Olsen
            Vice President, Medwedian Democratic Federation"

            The ministers look to each other as Darrin spins back towards the three of them. "I know you all know why you are here now. Except for you Mr. Arnolds. I have a question for all three of you." Darrin smiles as he finishes his statement. "How possible would it be to have an embassy train going around Skymoot?" Mr. Arnolds smiles. "An... embassy... train. Sir?" Darrin looks to Mr. Arnolds. "Yes, an embassy train. Three different locomotives that run on each of the three main islands, each pulling wagons that represent each foreign nation that we wish to host. The trains loop around the islands, showing the splendor of our fine colony, and allow the foreign statesmen and their companies a chance to see the wonders of Skymoot while conducting international business. Also, while we are at it, can we also construct a few train car barges to transport the state carriages around the islands, as per the requests of the foreign statesmen?" Mr. Arnold nods as Mrs. Jacobs begins. "Well we would need some small tax increase to pay for the upkeep of the wagons, and we would need to make sure that we have a safe place to store them." Darrin nods along. "You have my permission to do as you see it, so long as it is on budget." Mrs. Jacobs nods in agreement as Darrin turns to Mr. Pire. "Mr. Pire, would the nature of the tourism trade allow for this to happen? It would be along the steam train lines being built within your department." Mr. Pire smiles wide. "This is more then ok with our department and what it can handle! Can you imagine the extra prestige we can have by allowing these train rides to take place? We could use it to encourage more tourism around the islands! We are more than ok with this idea Mr. Arkwright."

            Darrin stands, and the ministers mimic his moves. "Excellent. Ministers." He nods again in respect. "Thank you all for the sudden meeting. Let the other departments know of this new idea happening. Oh and Mr. Arnolds. Can you please write a response to Medwedian about what is happening here? If you can, get a blueprint of the wagon and tell them that they can decorate the interior however they see fit, within respectable reasons." Mr. Arnold nods along. "As you wish Mr. Arkwright." The trio of Ministers head out of the foyer, leaving Darrin alone with Flupa.
            Darrin smiles and turns to Flupa. "Well buddy. Hope you like train rides! Sounds like were gonna get on rails with this idea." Flupa shoots Darrin a judging look. "What? ... Ok. Bad pun. I know." He looks to the windows to the patio, observing the scenery outside. "I wonder how many visitors we will get with this. Assuming we can handle them all..."

            ()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

            Happy easter! I wish you and your country the best in celebrating the resurrection of Christ and a delicious easter meal.

            Very good idea for small island countries - embassy trains. It takes 2 to 4 days to circle an island of yours, right? This means that the visiting party lands at the regional airport, then goes to the train station where they are awaited by your ministers and diginaries. Then, several days spent at the dinner table, constantly eating and carrying out the negotiations while enjoying the rural landscape, follow. A good idea would be serving the specialties and accompanying wines of the region the train is currently crossing.

            But now to the topic of safety: His Excellency, the Glorious and Honourable President of the Medwedian Democratic Federation, Theodor Lynden Frankenstein, is a classic totalitarian dictator and very paranoid, which means that he will fear using the public train network. Maybe a terrorist disguised as a locomotive driver will intentionally crash his train into the Embassy Train in a suicide mission? And out of the countless junctions, almost all must have been set to the wrong direction by saboteurs!

            What do you think of constructing a separate rail loop for the Embassy Train, and ONLY for the Embassy Train? Fences and obstacles as well as countless heavily-armed guards will keep the common folk off and the Embassy Train Circuit (good name?) will be completely separated from the rail network of your country, maybe even by means of a separate gauge.

            Of course several wagons should be manned by the guards of the visitor. The Embassy Train Circuit should also come with separate (underground and secret?) stations or at least separate platforms.

            ()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

            Thank you so much for the well wishes for this great Holiday and holy time!

            It's correct to say that it takes 2-4 days to circle an island of Skymoot, and that is by dragon-back or by car. Those are good ideas that you have there, and we will make sure to follow through with them!

            Concerning the requests laid out in the safety section: I regret to say that we cannot go to the extravagant measures of custom gauge tracks, separate track lines, and secretive stations for the embassy lines (Which, admittedly is a nice name but will probably need some more elbow grease to make it sound more original). We cannot carry out these requests due to the delicate nature of... well our nature. The railway lines run like metallic spaghetti all over the islands on the sole purpose of making sure the environment is not damaged by the trains. We do have to deal with dragons after all, and they can get very angry if we hurt their environment. A single one can burn down an entire forest if it chose to, so you can imagine our desire to not anger the dragons by ruining the environment of the mountains, valleys, or forests. If nothing else, they would see it as an unwarranted intrusion into their lives, which is just asking for trouble.

            What we can, and will, do for anyone who uses the embassy lines, is guarantee they will be safe on the train rides. No tourists will be allowed on the trains. Only those who are a part of or work for the embassy lines and the individual wagons will be allowed on board. The steam trains, pulling large carnages weighed down by people, armor, and more, cannot not go too fast. Top speed might be a slow 40-45 mph, about the speed of a Skymoot Dragon. So even if a terrorist of some kind decides to have his way with the train, he can't go much faster than that speed.

            With the railway lines, both embassy and tourist, being controlled by the government completely, we will make sure that no one can interfere with the lines, switches, or signals along the railway. We will send out Skymoot Dragon Calvary to investigate the rails ahead of the train, to make sure that nothing will happen to anyone who uses the lines.

            Going back to the carriages, they will be made as secure as possible. Bullet-proof windows, and bomb resistant metal reinforcement throughout the carriage will protect the occupants from any outside threats. The entrances leading into the cars at railway stations will be guarded by the security detail that every embassy will have with them. Each embassy will have two railway cars, one for the foreign dignitaries and the other for the sole purpose of carrying as much security detail that the guest nation needs. The foreign nations security detail will be guarding the foreign affairs delegates throughout the trip, not Skymoot or private companies. So you can rest assured that no outside hired guard will take a chance on any ones life. Basically, half of the completely armored train would be for the delegates of the foreign nations and the other half made entirely of those nations security details. If any terrorist wanted to hurt anyone on board the trains, they would literally need to deal with multiple armies at one time. And Dragons. They would need to deal with dragons to.

            Rest assured Honorable President of the Medwedian Democratic Federation, Theodor Lynden Frankenstein. You will be safe on these magnificent rides through pristine environments and breath-taking sights.

            Signed,
            Darrin Fredrick Arkwright Jr.
            Leader of Skymoot.

            ()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()

          There is some other assorted references that should help you in figuring out how to write this new fact book idea in.

          • Link"Why are steam locomotives no longer produced?" From Quora. (Great basic info here!)

          • Link"The Impact and Effect of Steam Locomotives" From "The Steam Locomotive" Website (Note: Read "Pollution")

          • Link"Materials Could Capture CO2 and make it useful" From MIT Technology Review

          • Link"Carbon Monoxide Uses" from The Linde Group

          • Link"Fireless Locomotives" - Locomotives that use reservoirs of steam, instead of having a fire onboard. Found from Wikipedia.

          • LinkWorkers on Trains - What it took to run an Iron Horse (Note, does not include repair crews.)

          • LinkMore info on "Fireless Locomotives" - Covers PSI from tanks.

            ---

            August 9th, 2017 - Update: I had this idea for the fireless steam engines, that could allow for smoke stacks to be used.

            What if the smokestack was on the trains as this emergency system. The trains remain fireless, with this large boiler in the center, while along the top could be a secondary, pressurized compartment full of red water/steam. If the train ever has to do an emergency stop, the engineer can pull a lever that releases this large seal within the boiler that leads up to three butterfly valves and the 2nd, red-steam tank. With a 2nd lever pull (to make sure it's an emergency pull and not some new guy screwing around) the butterfly valves release both the boiler's pressure and the red steam through the smoke stack. The train screeches to a halt as crimson red smoke bellows from the smokestack and soars into the sky. From afar, and from fire watchtowers scattered over the islands, people can see the red smoke pillars and learn of the emergency. They can then travel to the nearest train station, warn the station master there, and send some teams out to see what went wrong. Best part, you can have the fireless steam engines look like regular steam locomotives with the smokestack while still being fireless steam engines. Hopefully this was a good idea!

        Read dispatch

    • Design three different embassy railway lines that meet the previously stated information.

      • Each train should have a different personality that ultimately reflects a democratic, communist, or a totalitarianism form of government.

    • Also note, for civilian trains:

      • No train should have cowcatchers.

      • The train station designs need to be fancy, decorated, and cultural. Government subsidies are welcome.

    • No time limit.

    • Idea: Should offer every nation that has international relations with Skymoot two carriages for the embassy lines.

  • Create the "League of Environmental Alliances" factbook The first ever international RP should be documented!

    • Link to the raw information of the event:

      ---Skymoot and Casesia compete over the most mundane of environmental stuff to the point that it's become an international conflict. Also they are in a mutrial enviromental protection alliance.

      THIS JUST IN: Casedia and Skymoot form an alliance, completely block Great Fires of Hellian invasion force with unbroken line of trees being hugged by hippies.

      ---Fujai and Liliarchy have officially joined the alliances!

      --- "The Leauge of Environmental Allainces"

      --- *Kiwi's forces swamp the trees with fire as they chant their nations saying to taunt the LofEA* (LofEA = League of Environmental Alliances)

      --- no war was called, but the Kiki's painted a impromt flag to fly in the faces of the LofEA. As a big "f u"lol

      --- I Got this as an issue the day after all of this RP stuff came in, and I can't help but make this a part of the story!

      March 20th, 2017 --- the "issue": Large forest fires are raging across Skymoot. Tens of thousands of acres have already been burned, houses in rural communities have been destroyed, and the resultant smoke has drifted into Skymoot City, ruining your plans to spend the day tanning.

      “No!” cries former martial arts prodigy and current forest ranger Kayla Harman, while bribing you with a picnic basket that was allegedly taken from a bear. “We just need a bit more money. Not just for fire suppression, but for preventative measures, like creating defensible spaces around homes, thinning out logs and small trees, prescribed fire, and arresting potential arsonists. Fires will be smaller and more manageable and everyone will be happy.”

      Result: The phrase 'spreading like wildfire' is no longer in the public lexicon.

      ---April 23rd, 2017: With approval from Skymoot, Liliarchy, and Casedria; The nation of Williania Imperium has officially joined the LoEA!

      An hour later, Stuffed Stunning has joined the LoEA with a 3/5 approval. New "majority" is now 4/6 with her entry.

      ---June 25th, 2017: Delphinia has joined the LoEA!

      ---June 29th, 2017: nation=dispatches_of_fujai/detail=factbook/id=846839

      Read dispatch

    • Do background research into every nation involved and see who would be involved where with this story.

    • Make it stand out, but be factual as well.

    • Assuming that the International Relations factbook is ready to go, fill in all of the nations involved, and their standings with Skymoot.

  • Create unique locations all over Skymoot As if 37 states and 185 different cities/locations was not enough, you also wanted to give each location something special. It could be an unique history, culture, or perhaps something special was built in or around the location, like New Nolculnub City's 'Virtual Entertainment' theme. In any case, you need to think of something special for all the locations. The following list is a series of ideas that you've had for things that may (or may not) fit into Skymoot. Update this list as things are used or removed.

    • Locations left to fill: 37 states / 184 cities

    • "The 'Magical' Bakery"

      • What if there was a special bakery in Skymoot. A place that bakes goods of all kinds, sizes, tastes, colors... you name it. What if those goods also were nationally recognized as a 'Skymootian Specialty'? Or maybe, what if those baked goods did more than just taste good, like change something or heal a person perhaps.

      • As a disclaimer: I only say 'magical' in this entry for a lack of a better word. I'd rather it not be 'magical' as in wizards and spells kind of magic. It would appear magical by those who don't know how it works. But shouldn't be 'magical'. (Seriously I'm gonna have a hard time explaining the Drakes to readers as it is. Don't need this to complicate it haha.)

    • "The 'Set in Stone' Library"

      • More of a play on words if anything else. This thought came to me from one of my endless rambles about ideas for Skymoot. The title says it all really; a library that has all of it's entries set in stone. Literally. Perhaps it's cultural? Maybe some natives would store their history onto stones like we do with paper? Or maybe it's more of a gimmick and tourist magnet for a town/city. Something to say "Come check us out!" Maybe the stones that store the information are minerals. Crystals, diamonds, precious minerals, etc.

      • August 11th, 2017 addition: Recently I learned about LinkLithography recently from a 'How it's made' show on the Science Channel. It's gotten me thinking about the stone library. What if it wasn't just the library that had things set in stone. What if an entire towns theme was stone? But not mined stone. Stone that was used for printing and for showcasing the town's culture? And where would this stone come from, you may ask? Well the stones could from this massive cliff, where rocks perfect for the artworks, written works, and other printing themes of the town. The cliff itself is not, at first, explainable by science. Science tries to explain it at first, but it can't seem to. The cliff isn't on this fault line. There's no obvious water erosion to cause the rock slides. There's no explosion marks or caves. No mountain ranges. Just a cliff side prone to rock slides. The cause for the rock slides? Well, and this is funny... so the rockslides on this cliff face are caused by Skymoot Dragons who 'dance' on the top, under the stars, in total privacy. Use your imagination. On second thought don't. That's... that's no. No don't do that. But hey, the locals could have a good saying for the rock slides that occur from the same place. "When a rock falls down. A dragon will be born." Or something like that.

  • Create an official Skymootian Language While English and Dutch will be the main languages of Skymoot, it would still be awesome to have an original language of Skymoot. If Tolkien can do it with elves and dwarfs, and Rowling can do it with wizard spells, when why not me and Skymoot's world?

    • Create an alphabet of this language.

    • Create words that...

      • Are as short as possible

      • Carry as much visual imagery as possible

      • The writing and language should be through sounds, not symbols. (Think like the English and dutch languages, and avoid stuff like the Egyptians with hieroglyphics).

      • Think like texting talk, only with words instead of abbreviations. (Maybe "rofl" - rolling on floor laughing - could be "paralysis laughing", which leads to "paralilaughing" or something).

    • "German 'war and peace' words in English, basically."

    • Star Trek: "_____, the walls fell." - Using metaphors as a way of conveying messages.

    • Why make the language this way? Well you got a massive chain of islands, where it's very hard to communicate with people all the time. So when you do get a chance to communicate, you need to share as much info as you can in as little time as possible. Skymootian Language. Get it?

  • Write in the Articles/News This is more for all of those little things about the country that are around or have happened.

    • No time limit.

    • This "To-Do" should stay around all the time, as it's more like a filler for if there is nothing else to do.

    • Internal affairs only.

    • Bassed off of issues, or other ideas with the nation.

    • You can also write these in story format, and those stories might become useful offsite as well! Assuming thats an end goal.

    http://gmworldmap.com --- For a world map generator
    http://zeenews.india.com/science/new-method-converts-tree-leaves-into-electronic-devices-2038001.html --- Dry tree leaves into carbon for electronics?

Skymoot

Edited:

RawReport