Since they moved to Anihuni the Ongin had been forced to buy papyrus paper from Old Onginia, which meant that the product was scarce and more expensive and sometimes even out of reach for some of the least wealthy. This became an issue for the people of the Parihuni, who didn't benefit from trade as other people did and were in constant need of paper due to the bureaucratic and militaristic nature of the frontier region. This was the case of a group of bureaucrats in the town of Taraoneru who, lacking the means to get paper, where forced to write on the reverse of animal skins that would have otherwise served for clothing such as boots. To their surprise the ink caught on rather well, and they set to perfectionate their invention. After a while they realised that the best method was to let the hides soak for a day, dehair them and then letting them stretch while they cut the remaining hair with a knife and gave them the desired thickness. This new system would come to be really popular throughout Nalari, as it was way cheaper than imported papyrus and the material would come to be known as Taranegera [Parchment], after the town it was originally invented in.

Meanwhile, another invention came from Old Onginia. This was the drawloom a Hashas invention that had become widely used throughout the lands of the Southern Ongin due to the occupation of that area by the hated people. Its spread was slow, as the Ongin in the area were more busy raiding and fighting off the invaders than trading and diffusing their knowledge, but the merits of this new machine could not be denied and, centuries later, they crossed from Mammudy to Hewaladi and from there spread throughout the kingdom of the Northern Ongin.

The victory over Republican forces in the south brought the Nalarite Empire and Bakku closer together. This helped the information and technological exchange between both countries and people and besides becoming closer culturally the Nilawi was introduced to overshot water wheels, a boost to Ongin industry.

During the war Ongin sailors and fleet commanders were amazed to discover aftcastles, which gave a height and visibility advantage while also increasing cargo space. The benefits of this design could not be ignored and the model was swiftly copied by Ongin ship builders. The secrets of hydraulic cement were also revealed to the Ongin with the greater influx of Tao architects due to the dynastic union between the two peoples.

Another introduction, albeit more influential short term and dating from the post Al-Nusra government and the fall of the Launa Clan, was minting. The price of a Nalarite Rinu was based on that of a kilogram of weed, as it was one of the realm’s largest exports.

Meanwhile, thureos had slowly replaced the ancient Ongin aspis in all military fields and, as time went on, the design slowly changed to become more rectangular and fitting for shield walls. And so it was that, by the time of the Parihuni War, in which the Launa were defeated and ousted by the Gengi Clan, the shield used by infantry was no longer a thureos but a scutum. Likewise, the classical Sava helmet that the Ongin had been using since time immemorial had been slightly changed, becoming a Gallic helmet. [I don’t know how to explain the latter, the designs are really similar. If anything Gallic helmets seem to have greater ear and nape protection, perhaps.]

In the uneasy and relative peace that settled during the Launa-AlNusra many alchemists left aside their more warlike experiments to concentrate on studying the world. While they did not discover anything of importance they did notice that the Radeti had a very interesting idea of how everything worked and behaved and, realising its parallels with traditional Ongin beliefs on the elements, preached the wonders of Aristotelian physics to their fellow Nalarites.

With Mammudi back under Ongin rule butter, which was common in Old Onginia, became commonplace in the north and became a key ingredient in Ongin cuisine.

Alchemists trying to transmutate metals and improve the process that separated silver from lead discovered that melting the ore at really high temperatures in oxidising environments [thanks wikipedia]. Cupellation

If the Peasant Rebellions and the Gengi War had taught the Ongin anything that was that walls were too easily approached by enemy siege weapons. In order to prevent this from happening Ongin architects and military engineers worked on slopes on the walls’ base to prevent them from getting close. These glacis, whose origin was purely militaristic, would later be included in civil Ongin architecture, the Imperial Palace being an example of its usage.

Originals: Parchment, Scutum, Gallic Helmet, Cuppelation, Glacis

Steals: Drawloom (Hashas), Overshot Wheels (Tao), Mint (Tao), Aftcastle (Tao), Aristotelian Physics (Radeti), Butter (Hashas), Hydraulic Cement (Tao)

Techs