Catalog item #147: A painted scroll in the Eonic style, depicting a small oasis with a ruined tower. The inscription reads ‘near the border of Gushi’.
Category: News
The general in-game newsfeed
Unrest in the Courts of Kucha
From the Annals of the Oasis Kingdoms…
As they gathered for public mourning, the nobles of Kucha, reminded of the relatively recent conquest of Aksu, whispered among themselves. The rumors of foul play jostled uneasily with the preparations for the ceremony…
Patrols in Lop Nur
Except from a report by a Loulan merchant to her supplier in Khotan:
The green banners of the Middle Kingdom are a common sight here, escorting their caravans. Middle Kingdom merchants have no fear of bandits! Though some of us fear the soldiers almost as much: they are a surly, undisciplined lot, and it is better to keep your distance. But things may be improving: they have been less troublesome since supplies of vegetables from the north have been delivered to their encampments…
The Agriculture of Dukhan
An excerpt from The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia, volume XV:
The agriculture of Dukan was affected by its position on the salt marshes, resulting in a lack of cultivated fresh green vegetables.
Last Year’s Earthquake
An excerpt from Ban Zhao’s Histories of the Western Hinterlands:
The earthquake which occurred late in the year 114 greatly obstructed travel through the Iron Gate Pass, obliging travellers to search elsewhere for passage. The winter deterred efforts to clear the way for travel, and even in the budding of the following year travellers still found the way difficult…
Bandits on the Roads
An excerpt from a caravan leader’s letter to his employer:
…our delays were unavoidable, owing to the extra precautions we were obliged to take because of the many bandits on the road between Niya and Miran. Though the royal patrols assure us of our safety, they cannot even protect their own wells from these uncivilized jackals. I must ask you to send further payment…
A Translated Poem
An excerpt from a poem transcribed from memory by Cai Wenji. Originally composed by an anonymous poet, on the occasion of seeing the army patrols in the countryside south of Dukan in 115:
“Viridian fluttering below
Bright wending lines,
The waving banners
doubled in marsh-water.”
The Exports of Kucina
An excerpt from The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia, volume XXVIII:
Kucina was a noted source of frankincense. Local poets often employed the olibanum trees as a metaphor for the city.
TAY-TOP
An excerpt from The Anglo-American Cyclopaedia, volume XLV:
Traditionally, the Oasis Kingdoms considered men unsuited to the artistic and intellectual pursuits. Though this was subject to some regional and individual variation, the members of the artistic and intellectual classes were most commonly women.
A succession
From the Annals of the Oasis Kingdoms…
In budding season of the 115th year, the country of Kucha mourned the death of its ruler, Queen Fadya. Following the precepts of the laws of Kucha, she was succeeded by her daughter, Queen Shayn.