The Promised Land

History

Beginning as a dirt cube underground to avoid mobs during the night terrors of session 1, The Promised Land was founded with large aspirations to provide refuge to anyone in need. While several stayed to begin building up this new home, two players focused on helping new players escape Australia and make their way to The Promised Land. One of them was Red, who planted sampling around the coast, so boats could be made; the other was The Ferryman, who traveled back and forth for days to ferry refugees. This how The Promised Land gained its name and its size, and how Red and the Ferryman were nominated as leaders.

Initially the plan was to have a dual leader system, with Red taking the role of diplomacy and speeches and The Ferryman taking the role of communication and management. No election was held but they received widespread support in their new positions, becoming the Mayor and the 2nd in command / Vice Mayor.

(The below image depicts a speech given by Mayor Red during Session 4 at the first version of the Town Square, built by Architect)

The Promised Land began rapid expansion in this peaceful period thanks to their eager acceptance of refugees, although this developed security issues that would be apparent later. They grew their farm out into the ocean to support their rapidly growing population while most guilds began self-organizing. Several projects were undertaken as well, such as upgrading the dirt cube into the Chapel, and creating Town Square and the Tenements. Many personal homes were also began, such as the Library, The Entertainer's Tree house, and a van reminiscent of breaking bad. For safety, Project Lightmode was completed to give a large buffer around The Promised Land where mobs could not spawn.

The Miner's Guild was poorly organized at the beginning, it was a dangerous job due to the nighttime monsters, and did not have the protection needed to gain skill. This caused poor availability of stone and metals early on.

A member that would be known as The First Heretic attempted to organize a coup against Mayor Red, however Red's widespread popular support saw the Heretic receive no support and become the first player designated as "Kill on Sight". In a move for unity, elections were held on Session 6, resulting in Mayor Red becoming President Red, and Vice Mayor Ferryman becoming Vice President Ferryman. However there was no opposition party, and the international community has concerns of unfair election practices. Still, unofficial polling at this time showed near complete support for the leadership.

The Town Square and the Tenements were built with a major structural weakness due to material unavailability, they were built entirely out of wood. Exploiting this, a group of arsonists that would eventually be known as Superbia struck repeatedly. This caused widespread panic, increased distrust, and growing international tensions.

Despite the setback, The Promised Land flourished with culture. The Guilds and leadership hierarchy were more organized, the national banner was created by the Head Healer, and multiple embassies were established by representatives of foreign nations.

Even more projects were undertaken in this time by the Builders Guild. As part of Project Flameproof, The Town Hall (built from the Town Square), the Chapel, and the Tenements were all improved and reinforced with non-flammable materials. The "Walmart Supercenter" item store was created. The Miners Guild struck rich in mountains to the south, allowing guardsmen to wear full sets of diamond armor. The Farmers Guild built a gorgeous home into the cliffside, and they executed Project Ark/Seedbank to store backups of farm animals and seeds to mitigate the possible damage from future raids.

However this era of peace would not last. On Session 8, a series of unfortunate accidents led to the deaths of multiple guardsmen, resetting their skills. Four members of Superia attacked, using exploits from leashing players and combat logging to massacre the entire population of The Promised Land.

Their raid was aided by the confusion between friend and foe, as The Promised Land had open borders to all players not on the ban list, resulting in weak mechanisms to track who was invading. As a result of this attack, The Promised Land completed a census and started to enforce its border.

To further improve security, on Session 10 it began construction of surrounding walls, and the Tower of Babel to secure valuables behind a controlled gate available only to those with authorization.

Economy

The Promised Land is a communist society so there is not trade within the society but rather there are community resources. The class proportion has changed greatly during Trial 0 but has evolved to mostly even distribution across all classes except librarian. Guild leaders that control their respective classes are Mayor appointed, although most arose naturally with support from their Guild.

Government

The Promised Land is a Presidential Republic and has 1 main Leader called "The Mayor" and then has Leaders of guilds under him who control each branch of jobs. There are also 2 Sub Leaders under the mayor that are there for backup if the mayor isn't available. An infographic of the class hierarchy is shown below:

Promised Land Hierarchy

Graphic by @minecatr and @quickandfastman

Notable Persons

Foreign Affairs:

Military:

The Promised Land has a group of guardsmen called 'The Black Guard'. It is lead by 698, and acts as not only the nation's military, but also police system. Other notable members include 904 and 431. The Black Guard always tries to have at least 1 member on at any given time.

Culture:

Promised Land Propaganda

Banner:

The banner of The Promised Land represents a purple sunset against the sea.

It is recreated using a loom as follows:

1. Get an orange banner
2. Add an purple top gradient
3. Add a yellow flower charge
4. Add a yellow roundel (dot in the center)
5. Add a green fess (central horizontal line)
6. Add a light blue per fess inverted (bottom half)

Captured Media

Session 2

The following video is a recording by farmer Squirrel of Mayor Red's speech on Session 4: Specialization MC Event - Speech

The below image shows the expansion of the farms deep off of the coast, giving a view of The Promised Land from the north.

Session 4

The below image depicts an overlook over the coast form the roof of the Chapel. At the bottom, the secondary news board can be seen (primary news board is out of screen). Hidden behind it is the Dunk the Jester game, built by The Entertainer and builder Pumpkin Head.

The below image depicts the second version of the Town Square. The stage and chairs were built previously by Architect, but this shows the beginnings of the developments that builders Crowns and Dwarf would perform on this project. In the far distance, the bridge towards Australia can be seen.

The below image depicts a party on top of the Chapel roof at the end of Session 4. On the right, the first version of the Tenements can be seen.

The below image shows the Monument of Unity between Beach Town and The Promised Land, built by Artchitect. It was intended to be a meeting place for the nations, however the opportunity never came as international tensions caused Beachtown to shut themselves off from the outside world.

Session 6

The following video is a recording by farmer Squirrel of the party at the end of Session 6. It also shows the farm and other farmers, the Farming Estate, the Chapel, the News Wall, Dunk the Jester, the Healing Hut, the (burned) first Tenements, the Town Hall under construction, and the Walmart. This party occurred several times across Trial 0, and this was the only song that was ever played. Video here: session 6 mc specialization event ending

The below two images depicts a party on top of the Chapel roof at the end of Session 6. On the right, the effects of the arson attacks can be seen on the first version of Tenements Past that, the Walmart Supercenter can be seen as it had just been completed.

The below images show the mostly-completed Walmart Supercenter that was built entirely on Session 6. The project was headed by Architect, but the design can be credited to builder Pumpkin Head; builder Dwarf also offered significant support.

The below image is a view of the Builders Hut from the front, built primarily by builder Pumpkin Head.

The below images show the partially-completed Town Hall that existed at the end of Session 6. This project was created by builders Crowns and Dwarf, however Crowns would continue to work on this project going forward, building the roof by herself.

Session 8

The below image shows The Entertainer exploiting the leashing mechanic to kidnap a foreign citizen. The Entertainer proudly dragged Builder 884 around for days, despite the escape attempts.

The below images show the new Tenements, also known as the Slums. These were originally 3 houses built with arson and griefing in mind by builder Dwarf, but were expanded on by 490. In Session 14 despite almost all beds and the rest of the Promised Land being destroyed, the Slums were completely untouched, including several beds hidden in their twisting alleys.

The below image shows the RV constructed previously, but also a tower (of unknown intent) in the background. Note that this was another example of a build upgraded to not use flammable materials because of the arson attacks.

The tower below has a surprising amount of history behind it. Originally, it acted as the home of player 244, known as the 'propaganda guy'. The tower even featured a sign on the front naming it as 'The Propaganda Mill'. Later on however, during a session in which 244 could not play, with the assumption that the tower was abandoned the trial of 'The heretic' was held there. And when they were found guilty, the tower was sealed off with cobblestone to keep the heretic inside. When 244 next logged on he was naturally quite confused having found his home covered in cobblestone. This was the same session where -due to a change to the plugin- tools took up to thirty seconds to break stone. 244 assumed the cobblestone was some sort of griefing so went about removing it. Slowly. When the sealing stone had all been removed it was then that the heretic logged back in and walked out the tower to find 244 standing there confused. 244 killed the heretic on the spot. The heretic was later seen that same session in Madagascar.

The below images show two of the embassies built in The Promised Land, however neither saw much use due to tense international relations that evolved soon after their construction. The Kustlandia Embassy was designed for their diplomat, 123, but he was expelled shortly after for attempting a coup in order to declare war without his peers' approval.

The below image shows the Healers Hut, built by Head Healer 411 over multiple sessions. Let it be noted here that Head Healer 411 is the one who created The Promised Land's banner.

The below video captured by Guard 431 shows the effects of the raid by Superbia on Session 8. This controversial attack took advantage of ambiguity in the rules by combat logging to remove the leads, which were a new feature added that day.

[Link to the event's Discord Server]

Session 9

The image below shows the promise land, likely session 9. It contains multiple buildings such as the heretic tower north west of town hall and the healer stand across from the chapel. Take note that most buildings are made out of non-flammable material. And the tower of babel is not under construction yet.

The lore behind the Core Hanging Tower is not known.

Session 10

The below images show the Tower of Babel under construction. The project was ideated by Inquisition Phoenix, but designed and led by Architect with support from builds Pumpkin Head and Dwarf. It was enabled by the construction of the Quarry by the Farmers Guild, providing several double chests of cobblestone. Despite the chaos in Session 14, its defensive design proved worthy as it was able to successfully repel the invaders.

The below images show the Farming Estate, built into the cliffside by the Farmers Guild. Within it is a twisting maze of brilliant decoration and furniture, being possibly one of the coziest places on the world.

The below images show the (nearly) finished Town Hall as built by builder Crowns. She would go on to barely complete the project before the anarchy of Session 14.

Session 14

The below image shows a bridge constructed by 490 on the eastern shore, stretching towards Beachland and Ducklandia. A trading vessel is also passing through. The ship was constructed recently, but the bridge was an early project.

The below image is a view from the top of the Tower of Babel, but in distance the Second Quarry can be seen. The First Quarry was under two dozen blocks shy of being completed in Session 14, however the rapid advance of God's Barrier wiped out the population of the town and banned reentry, leaving the project technically unfinished.

The Librarian struggled greatly to accomplish all of his goals, which were set back further when the arson attacks burned down the library and clock tower. The below image shows the rebuilt clock tower, this time outlined in nonflammable materials.

The builder of this Pagoda and its intent are unknown, but it is very beautiful.

The below image shows a view of the wall, built by builder Gremlin along the southern barrier. It would have continued construction to encompass The Promised Lands, but lack of time caused this project to end unfinished.

This sign board was built under the Chapel on Session 2, managing to last until the very end somehow. When this was built, the Chapel was the only enclosed building in The Promised Land, the population was around half of the size it would reach, and it operated as a bustling society for the Australian refugees.

This board was created to document all members of The Promised Land, and to share desired nicknames. This saw near zero use going forward, but between its aspirational intent and longevity, this represents The Promised Land quite well.