Lords of the Earth
Campaign Twenty

Turn 39
Anno Domini 1091 – 1095

Turn 39 Published on Sunday, January 27th, 2002

Turn 40 Orders Due By:     Friday, February 22nd, 2002    8:00 pm CST

    Ack.  Four months to process my second turn in my second stint as L20 GM.  Not a good sign if you're a player.  But be of good cheer, since my duties as Chief of Current Operations is complete, and I have been offered and accepted a position with far less computer face time at work.  Thus I'm able to see my computer when I return home from work and not groan, not even an "ugh".  All twelve of my holiday house guests have returned home, and I can return to the task of GMing my absolutely most favorite campaign.  Please accept my apologies for the delays this turn, know I will endeavor to not let it happen again.  Natch, only time and turns will prove this, so stay tuned.

  One note for writing orders.  If you are going to send international assistance, in the form of pwb construction, governmental assistance, or direct gold loans/gifts,  be certain (1) the recipient knows and (2) the recipient remarks in his orders that he/she accepts such assistance.  Failure to do so will result in such assistance not being accepted or put to proper use, or part or all of funds returning to their source.

  Leader based intel actions:  All leaders (K, H, L, A, and P) can attempt one intel operation each turn.  Those that wish to try perform the Espionage (ES) action.  Players who wish to use this please read 7.2.4.14.

  Intel operations:  Players, you must be specific if you want to ops to have a decent chance at success.  To say "Cause Mutiny and Kill Leader on any army that invades me." is laughable.  You don't know who is going to invade, what language or dialect they're speaking, what uniforms they're wearing, how their camps and watches are set up, etc...  To send a spy or assassin into such an environment is pretty much a guaranteed failure.  Much more likely to succeed if you use a Reveal Fact op to identify and gather intelligence on the target if and when it arrives, a Special Operation to link it to a Cause Mutiny or a Kill Leader.  Then you've got a shot.  Similarly its ludicrous to assign a Battle Assistance op and say "Apply bonus to any battle any of my armies gets in this turn".  A Battle Assistance op targets one army for the entire turn.

GM list discussion items:

1)  Intel Operation gold bonus:  Recent discussions have led some people, myself included, to the conclusion that the current formula for computing this bonus is too low.  Leads players to abandon investments in OB or AB altogether, and leads to truly insane bonus in some ops.  It was [sqrt(GP invested)]/2 rounded up. So 1gp got 1 bonus, 5gp got 2,  17 got 3, 37 got 4, 65gp got 5.  325gp could buy you 10 bonus points for any op!  Made it feasible for large nations to buy 50 or more bonus points for their various ops in a single turn.  Not right.  Shouldn't happen.  So Lords 20 is going to a gold based bonus for intel/assassin/religious ops according to the following table.
 
  Gp   Bonus
10 +1
50 +2
150 +3
300 +4
500 +5
750 +6

2)  Multiple nations played by a single player: This practice is now and will continue be forbidden in Lords 20.  I do allow pseudonyms and anonymous play, as long as I know who the players are.  This permits players to play in Lords 20 to work with people they might not otherwise be able to work with.  If a player has control of two or more nations, please resign from all except one this turn.  This request is a one-time offer.  If a player attempts to deceive me and I discover his/her duplicity, he or she will be invited out of Lords 20 and their moneys refunded.  This is about as politely as I can state this.

ISI Rankings for Turn 39

Troop Conversions
Infantry (200 men = 1 point), Cavalry (200 men = 1 point), Siege Engineers (200 men = 1 point), Field Forts (2 forts = 1 point), Warships (2 ships = 1 point), Transports (2 ships = 1 point).

Lords Twenty Web Resources!

Contacting the GM

    Contacting me with questions, it's best to use email, since I check nearly every day.  I endeavor to reply to all emails sent my way, especially orders so you all know if I get em.

eddieefsic@msn.com
 

    Sending me $ for turns fees or setups, you'll have to use the US Postal Service for mow.  Still don't have PayPal, and frankly I don't trust the guys since they want my credit card number.

Lords 20 c/o Eddie Efsic
1200 Ferrell Dr.
Jacksonville, AR  72076
 
 

Various Fees and Levies
Turns $3.00 per turn.

Rule books available only from Thomas Harlan,  4858 East Second St.,  Tucson  AZ  85711-1207
v5.8.2 Rule book $15.00 (printed , bound, and priority mailed), or free (downloaded PDF file). 

The Orient
Mercenary Troops 56mc, 76mi, 12ms, 19mw
Mercenary QR’s c04, s04, i06, w04
Mercenary Leaders Massamo (M???)

United States of Asia (Yamato)     Onihiko, First Minister of the Diet
Diplomacy:  Hokkaido (f)

Minister Toyota's favorite cities all received funding for new dock space, and new sanitation projects as well.  Hejudo, Awana, Besuboro, and Hagugori expanded as a direct result.  Some said his faculties weren't really all there, with his push for new irrigation ditches in empty Akita grassland, and demanding new dock licenses be issued in already overcrowded Awana, even with the aforementioned expansions ordered.  The cultivation project in Hokkaido was completed, with grand effect on the coming Yamato delegates.

Some major reshuffling of navies started in the spring of 1091, "anti piracy" warships being this transferred to Minister Asoka.  The show of strength was enough to impress the natives of Hokkaido truly, though some argue it was the support work done by both Hiro and Hitachi assisting the diplomatic push.  Buoyed by their success in Hokkaido, the three sailed south towards Okinawa intent on a repeat performance.  Such was not to be.  Ship's stores or gifts from Hokkaido were to blame for all three leaders becoming violently ill, along with several senior ranking naval officers.  Still several weeks from their destination, the then acting fleet commander Amazaki gave orders for the fleet to out in at Edo and seek better health care.  While a few of the younger naval officers pulled through, Asoka, Hiro, and Hitachi all died particularly painful deaths in an Edo medicine home.  Amazaki was getting nice and comfy in his new digs as Fleet Admiral, when he suffered a choking episode at the hands of an uncooperative chicken bone. The gaping hole left in the Yamato leadership was filled by Toyota back in Hei-an.  Maybe he really would outlive everyone like he always said he would.

Captain Yoguchi was promoted to Admiral and given command of 20 of Yamato's most seaworthy ships and sent north in search of the fabled Bering Islands.  Having been gone for over two years, pretty much everyone presumed him lost at sea.  First jubilation was showered upon him and his returning crews, then ostacization and disgrace when it became known he failed in his task to create usable rutters.
 

The Lu'an Chinese Kingdom C.Y. Sen, Regent for His Highness Soon Wa Up, Supreme Monarch of Lu'an
Diplomacy:  Shansi (n/e)

Soon Ho Lee set about strengthening his defenses against the threat of the hordes, blissfully unaware of the dangers to his person and his kingdom from the south.  Diplomats were sent off to Shansi as Lee himself traveled west to Huang in search of allies.  At the same time, the entire mobile army of the Lu'an set off for Ordos under the command of CY Sen to gain tribute and new lands for their Supreme Monarch.

In early April of 1092, Ch'in forces under the command of their kingdom's own heir crossed the Yangtze River and attacked the regional outposts of Hupei, who could put up no resistance whatsoever.  By the end of Autumn, Hupei was securely in the grip of the Chi'in forces.

Naturally, word of the invasion reached Lee's camp in Houma, who was certain his grandest city and capitol would fall to the invaders if they had even a fraction of of the will they had shown in conquering Hupei.  With his own army spread to the four winds, all he could do is begin the long, slow task of reassembling his army.  After that, if his capitol was still standing, he could think about getting it back.

Back outside the walls of Kaifeng, the invading leader Che III issued a proclamation to the capitol's populace.
"I have surrounded your city with an army you cannot hope to match. Our fleet completes the ring and is preventing food from reaching you; you will soon starve as there are many of you inside those walls. Surrender to me and I will spare the city. I seek only the government and your scholars. The Royal Family, treasury, priests and spies will be allowed to live, but will be exiled. You have until the next new moon to decide. I desire no bloodshed, but will attack if you do not surrender your city and the persons demanded."

Absent anything resembling executive authority, or anything resembling a defensive force, the capitol city surrendered to the Chi'in heir.  Hundreds of "demanded persons", the ones who couldn't hide form the rest of the citizenry, were sent out to the Ch'in, and dragged south in chains.  Hopes that the Ch'in would keep their word and leave in peace proved futile, as the Ch'in garrisoned Hupei and Kaifeng before returning south.  Che sent "invitations" to the rest of the Lu'an provinces, to "do homage to the Dragon Throne" and made it clear Ch'in armies would not otherwise protect them from the hordes of the western and northern steppes.  No Lu'an regions accepted his offer, but Ordos threw off any pretense of tribute to Lee.
 

The Ch’in Empire      Che II, Divine Overlord of the Middle-Kingdom, Lord of the River, Son of Heaven
Diplomacy:  Shensi (f)

Suspecting the Lu'an leadership was up to some sneaky business, (since they were nowhere to be found throughout the entire Hupei/Kaifeng affair), Che had his General Tsu Lah and his army of 25,000 light cavalry patrolling the Hopei borders for signs of the Lu'an armed forces.  Rumors came in of Lee gathering forces along the northern Great Wall borders, and finally confirmed reports of the (nearly) entire Lua'n army.  24,000 armored footmen, 16,000 regular infantry, and a company of 3,000 sappers were marching south from Peking to retake their capitol.

The Battle of the North Road occurred on June 14th, 1094, where the aforementioned forces came together in a classic clash the irresistible force and the immovable object.  Lah's cavalry slashed and feinted at the Lu'an forces, but without any barding for their horses they were unable to get anywhere close to Soon Ho Lee or his closest advisors.  10% of the Lu'an infantry were killed by Ch'in arrow and sword, and another 20% injured.  Depite having a quarter of his own forces killed, General Lah managed to push the Lu'an army into full retreat.  Lah's cavalry pursued, and killed off some of the stragglers, including several companies of the wounded.  Both camps spent the rest of the summer regrouping and mending broken bodies.

Che garrisoned both Hopei and Kaifeng and returned his main body of troops back to Ch'in lands, using two squadrons of warships to ensure a peaceful crossing of the Yangtze into Honan.  Lah, for his part, was pretty sure he hadn't seen the last of the Lu'an army.  Reports had been steadily arriving indicating Soon Ho Lee would make another push towards Kaifeng.  Having regrouped in Lu'an, Lee led his footmen through the fields of Bao Ding to approach Hopei from the north.  Lah was, as one might expect, unsurprised.  Lah had hoped to be back home by summer, but there was this matter to attend first. The second meeting of the two armies occurred on May 28th, 1095.  Lee brought his 22,600 armored infantry and 15,200 regulars.  He still had his company of sappers, half expecting the Ch'in to hide behind his not-so-recently own capitol walls.  The Ch'in, for their part, were far too confident in their own abilities and maneuverability to do any such thing.  Had they not sent the walkers running once already?   Lah brought his 19,400 light horse to bear and maneuvered to charge into the unprotected rear of Lee's line, obliterating the Lu'an sappers.  They fought as well as one could expect a siege engineers to, which was to say not well at all.  It took all of about 10 minutes for nearly all of the 3,000 engineers to get butchered.  Fortunately (for the Lu'an), that 10 minutes was enough.  Lah instantly recognized the trap, as most commanders can when a trap is sprung, and formed his companies into wedges to escape.  Over half of the Ch'in horsemen died that day at the point of Lu'an spears, but the remainder escaped with their lives, if not their pride.

Unwilling to leave the Hopei and Kaifeng garrisons to be butchered by Lu'an leadership bent on revenge, Lah assumed those men into his own army, and returned across the Yangtze.  Kaifeng residents hid anything they could of any value, but the Ch'in army managed to do a fair bit of looting before setting off for home on a handful of captured rafts and their own escorting warships.  Chen Ho Lee's return in triumph to his capitol of Kaifeng was met with ecstasy and bitter anger at their king.  At 74 years of age, his triumph was short lived.  Within the month, he died of apparent weariness, and was replaced by his pre-teen son Soon Wa Up on the Lu'an throne.

Che II, furious at his commanders for failing to eliminate the Lu'an leadership and failing to retain control of the prize port of Kaifeng, at least claimed consolation in the addition of Shensi to his realm and swore vengeance on the overachieving Lu'an.  The Middle Kingdom had more uncertainties than ever before, but Che was sure of at least one thing.  The lives of those captured scholars and beaurocrats was about to become very unpleasant.
 

The Kutai Horde      Zoltan II, Kutai Khan
Diplomacy:   Shan Horde Block (a)

Sick of the steady stream of Chinese assassins, Zoltan decided to head west and seek more allies among the steppes.  Prior to leaving Shan, he persuaded one of his allies to merge his much smaller Tuhnwhang horde block with Zoltan's own main body.  His own personal command now numbered just over 60,000 mounted archers.  From Ayaguz, the Khan took his men into Shan and entreated that Khan to join with the glorious Kutai Khan in conquering the civilized world.  He failed to recognize the local customs and courtesies accorded to the Shan, and the message actually came across as "Join us because we are much superior to you and your pitifully weak band of goat riders."  Such an insult couldn't possibly be ignored, so the challenge was issued and accepted in accordance with time-honored tradition.  The 60,000 Kutai cavalry lined up against the 30,000 Shan, and after the first charge the Shan proved their mettle.  Naturally they got worse than they gave, for they were grossly outnumbered.  Regrouping, both Khans met again at the center of the field, where the Shan Khan accepted the superiority of Zoltan's horde and agreed to follow the Kutai Khan.
 

The Mongol Horde Wolf, Kucha KaKhan
Diplomacy:    Liao Horde Khan (n/e)

The Mongols also decided it was time to migrate westward from the plains of Ryatka, and packed their yurts before setting out on the unending path.  Wolf had his son Balkan and most trusted lieutenant Corso do some boasting and telling of tall tales to Wolf's allies, but for the most part they were quite unimpressed.  A pleasant turn of events developed when the Turfan Khan fell from his steed and broke his neck.  Pleasant to Wolf because the Turfan Khan was only 26 years of age and lacking an heir.  Small as it was, the remainder of the Turfan forces pledged their loyalty to the Kucha Wolf.
 

Bacphan Zhuangzu      Fei-Tzu Yensung, Overlord of South China
Diplomacy:  None

The Bacphan emerged from atrophy in a flurry of new construction.  The port city of Janjiang was founded on the coastal province of Lingnan, and cities increased in size in Dai Viet, Kwangtung, and Champa.  New merchant fleets were set to sail in each of those cites along with Xiamen.    It seems the circle of life has death as well as birth.  The city of Vijaya was the unfortunate location of a cholera outbreak, reducing the once powerful port city to a ghost town.

The Celestial Kingdom of the Jade Buddha     Po Po, 6th Incarnation of the Blessed Jade Buddha, Light on the Path to Nirvana, Illuminator of the Human Soul, Thinker of Deep Thoughts, Mayor Shangri-La
Consecration:  None

No instructions received from Shangi-La.

The Pacific Rim and Southeast Asia
Mercenary Troops 13mc, 16mi, 8ms, 29mw
Mercenary Qr.'s c03,s05,i03,w04
Mercenary Leaders Hanoori (M???)

The Glorious Katoomba Imperium     Brendon, Chief He’e Nalu-sen
Diplomacy:  Ayr (f), Tih-Ar-Dha (ea)

Ayr leadership finally acceded to the diplomatic overtures of Katoomba and their representation, Prince Tu'un.  Chief Boran paid some Ayr locals many baskets of shells to build up a port city there, who named it Aran (which translates to "good fortunes").  More than a few, nearly all really, of the Ayr militia resigned their martial duties and took up jobs in the construction.

Boran's youngest lieutenant was sent off to far northern reaches to woo the Tih-Ar-Dha tribes, and managed to get an economic arrangement, acquiring a few long canoes full of fish and oysters in exchange for protection from the recently aggressive Javanese to the west.  News of this new arrangement never found Boran's ears though, as he went into the void late summer of 1092.  Boran was uneventfully replaced on the Nalu Seat by his eldest son Brendon, who proved himself capable, if not remarkably so, in his duties as a ruler.  His own thoughts turned slowly from governmental affairs to family affairs and decided he was overdue to acquire a wife, lest his own legacy be overshadowed by one of his younger brothers.
 

The Javan Federation      Jankraya, President for Life Sirivjavan
Diplomacy:  Jambi (f), Utara (ea)

Jankraya's plans for the domination of the Moluccas was set in motion with the levy of new heavy warships and heavy infantry marines as well.  Off they went in Spring of 1091 for the Moluccan city Jailolo and the rest of the island, intent on converting the entire lot to the Bhuddist faith from their worship of pagan sea gods.  Accomplishing the task, however, proved to be no mean feat, and most likely would have failed utterly had Jankraya placed his trust in the hands of Jarakoni, his most skilled general and newly appointed defense minister.  The whole of Java' military forces landed at the Moluccas island.  Incorporating the regional garrison set there two rains ago, they demolished every shrine and place of worship to the pagan shark, ray, and whale gods they could find.  Local religious leaders were discovered by threat and bribery, and their throats cut and bodies strung in village squares.  It took just under a year for every trace of pagan worship to be wiped clean from the region.

Jarakoni next set his designs on the port city Jailolo and found the going there easier in some ways, harder in others.  The obvious sites of worship were destroyed after only two days, but their religious leadership seemed to have the assistance of all the populace, and only a third of the suspects were ever apprehended.  Clamping the port in a state of martial law, and dragging informants into the streets to beat confessions from them, Jarakoni's assistant Ginshinkon learned the missing religious leadership had, for the most part, escaped the island for parts unknown.

Far closer to the Javan capitol (just across the Malacca Strait), Javan monks in Johor managed to peaceably convert the region from Hindu to Bhuddist.

With great pride and celebration did Jarakoni return to Sirivjaya to report his successes to President Jankraya.  The news did much to warm the old man's heart, and late in 1094 he passed away as all men do.  Well, not quite as all men do, but certainly as many men would wish to, in the company of a bevy of amorous companions.  Such was the ideal opportunity for General Jarakoni.  The resulting election proved a landslide for General Jarakoni, so much so that rumors and accusations began to fly of election fraud and of the stuffing of ballot baskets.  An investigation committee was assembled to determine the truth of such charges, and they eventually declared the election valid. What most Javanese don't know is General Jarakoni had seven of the eleven investigators in his pocket, including the chairman.

His most trusted aide, Ginshinkon, began promoting the concept of Jarakoni as President for Life, and met with initial overwhelming support.  Sure, there were clusters of people spouting things like "rights" and "liberties" and such, but they found themselves labeled rebel or criminal and either gave up their foolish notions or found their way into Sirivjaya's rapidly expanding "correctional system".  Before the end of 1095, Jarakoni was signing all official documents with his new title.  The whole effect was that only one region departed the Federation, the island Hainan with it's newly discovered gold veins and influx of people. From the Mekong Delta to the Yangtze River, mainlanders arrived at Hainan and the local port Yaxian, desiring to find their fortunes and to have nothing to do with the Javan government.

The Avan Empire     His Majesty the Emperor Bob Vinh, Emperor of all Burmese People
Diplomacy:  none

His Majesty Bob Vihn set himself to the task of enlarging his family, and was presented with a new daughter late in 1091.  Subsequent efforts on his and the Empress' part came to naught, until 1093 when the Imperial Physicians declared her "with child" and forecast a third son for the Empire.   Shiva would step in during the early days of July, 1094 and deliver a blow to the Empire.  The Empress took sick from an ill wind and died during the seventh month of her fifth pregnancy.  The boy was lost with his mother.  Bob remarried after the obligatory mourning period of seven weeks and his second wife soon became pregnant by the Emperor.  Shiva stepped in again and took the life of Bob's second wife and child.  Across the Empire, all bemused what the Imperial family could have done to so anger the Destroyer.

Across the realm, the cities of the Avans grew.  New Hope (with its brand new fortress), Pagan (extending it's stone walls to the new perimeter and beefing up its own Imperial Fortress), Honan Phen, Bangkok, and Taurin all grew.

India
Mercenary Troops 46mc, 46mi, 11ms, 21mw
Mercenary QR’s c04, s04, i05, w03
Mercenary Leaders Kanshiva (M???)

Palankala      Daldrum, Guardian of the Ganges, Divine Wrath of Kali
Diplomacy:  None

Daldrum remarkably didn't die.  Like a furry pink bunny, he kept going... and going.  His son and heir Dhala wondered just how long he would have to wait for his father to be gone.  Daldrum's leaders waited for orders which never arrived.  Unfortunate, in large part because of the nation's tremendous potential.
 

The Chola Mandalam      Umashanker, Mandala Chola
Diplomacy:  Karnata (ea), Gangas (t), Manya-Keyta (ne)

Things weren't faring well for the leaders of the Mandala Chola.  Simple instructions, really.  Go to these people here, here, and here.  Convince them what a wonderful group of guys we are.  Get them to join our nation in alliance or fealty.  Turns out simple sometimes doesn't mean easy.  Nareem's brother Umashanker and his friend Siri went of the inland region Gangas to renew the offers of alliance there.  Two years later Siri was found wrong side up in a ditch with a broken neck.  Witnesses claim he was thrown by his horse. Kalanjari was sent off to the Karnata provincial center of Manya-Kheta and worked what charm he had on the town officials.  "Take as long as you have to.", were Nareem's instructions.  Turns out it took the rest of Kalanjari's life.  He drank in excess of thirty cups of wine at a brothel and his heart just stopped.  The Manya-Khetan officials were unimpressed.  "Only thirty?", they mused.  "Hmmm.  Perhaps the Cholans need drinking lessons."  Finally, Ayuleta was dispatched to the Karnata region surrounding Manya-Kheta, and he took Kalanjari's demise poorly.  A close friend he was, and his heart and mind just weren't concentrated on his mission any longer.  After four years of discussions with the provincial leaders (using a bit of gold and and a wagon load of mangoes) he got them to sign an economic treaty, and that complete, took his own life using a tall beam and a short rope.  Umashanker continued his discussions with the Gangans until the summer of 1094, when word reached him of his brother's death at the unripe age of 31.  Nareem's personal guard were helpless as he tripped over his own royal robes and cracked his skull open on the throne room floor.  Some people.  Accepting tribute from the Gangans (for now), Umashanker hightailed it back to Kollam to assume the mantle of rule.

Continuing most of his brother's projects, Umashanker saw the national army reach new heights of strength, and continued funding for a civic  law enforcement group in the capitol city.  The crime rate plummeted immediately, as housebreakers and life takers were caught and tried in record numbers.  As it happened, Umashanker was a much better administrator than Nareem ever was, and Kollam became something resembling a model city for the entire subcontinent.  Those plans in place, Umashanker rebuilt his inner circle, and included two of his little brothers, Haranari and Dar.

Missionaries in Sri Lankans failed to produce any significant numbers of new converts.  Cholans, taken as a whole, didn't think to very much about their own religion.  Not surprisingly, the Sri Lankans didn't think too much of it either.
 

Xanthi Empire of Xanadu      Palpatyn VII, Grand Poobah of the Xanthi Zieterund, Rajah of the Rajputs
Diplomacy: Lahore (f)

The news (or lack thereof) of the horde movements across the northern steppes inflamed the fears of most of Xanth.  Palpatyn formed up his armies, keeping direct command of the vast majority to himself.  Two divisions were placed under the command of his younger brother, and ablest general, Prince Arin.  New roads were paved from Pawar to Dahala, and new field forts sprouted in a couple of the northern Himalayan border provinces.  Both ports Kayal and Kyoko expanded, and huge fleets of merchants began plying the waters of the Ganges from Amchan and Reichan.

Religious naysayers seemed everywhere, and the common masses relegated their religious rites mostly to the trash heaps.  Antiquated and worthless, in the minds of most of Xanth.

The Poobah's son and erstwhile only child Palpatyn VIII reached his fifteenth birthday in the third month of 1095, and assumed a few of the duties of governing.  Erstwhile because the Poobah made a concerted effort ot father another son, and after the death of his first wife, he remarried and witnessed the birth of his second son in 1093. The jury is still out on the heir's abilities, although most agree he possesses considerably less potential than his father.
 

Sultanate of Sind      Sultan Zahim, Mansurashah, Protector of the Indus, Barrier of Allah
Diplomacy:  Peshawar (f)

Almost before the guilds could establish their organizational abilities, the Sind masses began pushing for true freedom.  Freedom to see one's true potential as a function of drive and talent.  This was one of Zahim's personal visions, one that would prove very difficult to achieve.  The caste system of societal place was as firmly entrenched as ever.  Despite the "freedom" of hundreds of thousands of ex-slaves (now labeled "Mersalla" or "those who served"), true freedom was still a dream.

Religious change was also in the winds.  Huge crowds of mersalla protested at mosques and temples from one side of the Sultanate to the other.  What the Imams told them was not what they wanted to hear.  "You are free!", the Imams declared.  "Go and make whatever you can of your lives!"  Definitely not what thousands of underpaid, ostracized, and persecuted want to hear.  Singly, and then in groups, mosques were desecrated, burned, or demolished.  Curiously, the upper classes paid little mind to the end of any religious effect on Sind society.  The practice of actually Shi'a Islam had long been fading anyway.  Pretty much the only really religious people were converting to Sunni Islam, and that definitely included the Sultan.

Fears of the steppe hordes was in the back of most people's minds, but squarely in the front of Sultan Zahim's.  Arrangements were made for unrestricted passage of Xanth and Abbasid armed forces, and new field fortifications were built in Und province.  The Abbasids actually showed up, and helped quell some of the unrest the mersalla were causing.  More than a few of the Abbasids, mostly their commanders, began to think enslaving them again might not be such a bad idea.  "This is precisely the reason,", they argued, "that they are of the lowest caste."

Late in 1093, Zahim developed a nagging chronic twitch in his upper left forehead.  A week later his wives discovered him dead in his chambers, most of his blood having drained through his ears and eyes.  A sight none of them were soon to forget.  His son and heir Naheef, until now off in Peshawar (with every other Sind leader), was busy convincing the city managers there to join the Sultanate fully.  Naheem arrived back in Mansura in grand fashion, assumed his father's place and titles, and named his own son Purha heir.

The Middle East
Mercenary Troops 15mc, 8mi, 14ms, 22mw
Mercenary QR’s c02, s03, i05, w04
Mercenary Leaders  None

Imam Al Muslim      Abdul, Siadat Kuran, "The Sustainer"
Consecration: None

The construction of new holy sites was put on temporary hold, while Abdul pressed the issues of converting new people to Sunni.  The irreverence of the Sind for their Shiite sect of Islam was an great opportunity, one Abdul wasn't about to waste.  He sent an Imam from Mecca, Jafar, to Edrosia in order to convert the nation through their Sultan.  Jafar succeeded at convincing about two thirds of the Sind homeland and capitol to Sunni, making it pretty much the only recognizable religion in practice.

Sunni zealots could be found pretty much all over southwest Asia and the Med.  Crete is now nearly half  Sunni Islam, and Cypriots in record numbers started praying to Allah for guidance.  Cyprus in particular seemed a powder keg ready to explode, with about one fifth Roman Catholic, and the remaining equally split between Orthodox Christian and Sunni Islam.
 

The Shahdom of Merv      Abd Allah Beg, Shah of Bactria
Diplomacy:  None

Seemingly unaware of the threat of the hordes wandering around Asia, the Shah went about his daily routine.  Interruptions were tolerated only in case of affairs of his military, and of those only with respect to the replacement of his horsemen injured during training exercises.  His commanders had little nerve to inform the Shah there were no exercises in progress, or planned for that matter.
 

The Abbasid Caliphate      Hakem Mu'hammid Al'rahi, Kaliphat Rasul Allah
Diplomacy: Persia (f)

A flurry of construction was underway across the Caliphate.  Isfahan was a new city founded in Ahvaz on the terminal of the royal road, and eight other cities expanded.  Basra, Antioch (now Antakya), Kirkuk, Kamizak, Bushehr, Hamadan, Kraznovia, and Raja (now nearly equal in sprawl to the capitol Baghdad.  Too, Ramallah on Crete was resurrected from the ashes of the cholera epidemic, which leveled it half a decade past.

Members of Hakem's immediate family and his relations were assigned royal duties, not the least of which was to name his younger brother Muqtafi heir to the throne.  This Muqtafi took quite seriously, and set about fathering a family of his own.  Fate had other ideas.  Muqtafis wife, the Rumelian princess Hurem Sonya died giving birth to what would have been Muqtafi's son, and took the child with her into the void.  Remarrying a proper Arabic wife, one without Sonya's ridiculous notions of equality and heretical private habits, Muqtafi continued trying to sire an heir of his own.  After five years and four dead wives, most of the court and not a few of the Caliphate's citizens spoke in quiet whispers about Christian curses, and about Muqtafi's fitness as heir.

The threat of the hordes was firmly entrenched in the concerned mind of Hakem and his senior military advisors.  While some generals and diplomats kept a keen eye out for the Kutai and Mongols, Hakem ordered Prince Beas Abdul to Mansura in support of the Sind conversion from Shi'a to Sunni Islam.  Beas acquired 10,000 heavy horse from his Caliph, and boarded shiny new cargo ships built on the Abadan coasts near Basra.  Arriving in Mansura in June of 1091, they accepted orders from the Sultan to quell the increasing number of mersalla riots at local mosques.  Such activity was becoming rather routine, and Beas took personal command of one such police action on the 12th of April, 1092.  A stone, hurled by an unidentified assailant (presumably one of the mersalla crowd) struck Beas in the temple and felled him instantly.  Lacking contrary guidance, the Abbasid heavy horsemen slaughtered 370 ex-slaves and locked the Sind capitol down under martial law.  Not the desired effect, if one happens to be the Sultan of Sind, but it was nonetheless better than having all the mosques in Edrosia burned.  The trick would be to get such control by one's own hand, rather than at the hands of the Abbasids.  After much deliberation, Sultan Zahim asked the Abbasid sub commanders to return home with their cavalry and allow the Sind to sort out their own internal conflicts, which they agreed to do.  Lacking a general's command, it took 6 months, but in the end all except a  handful of Abbasid horsemen reboarded their vessels and returned to Basra.

Hakem also accepted the assistance of the Muslim Imam in the form of 200 clerks and scribes to write and send the Caliph's orders to the far reaches of the Caliphate.  One of the two generals hired by the Imam was actually given command of Abbasid national troops.  Had his orders been to do anything besides move those footmen back to the capitol, things stood a fair chance of getting seriously dicey.  Fortunately, nearly all of them wanted nothing more than to return to Baghdad.    Baghdad, glorious Baghdad had absolutely *everything* a man could ever desire.  Only a fool or a hermit wouldn't want to return to the city of a thousand minarets.  Exactly, to the letter, what the Abbasid garrison in Heraclea were thinking.  And as if Hakem had read their minds, transport arrived in the form of the  Royal Mediterranean fleet under the command of Lord Abu Hanifa.  He ordered them aboard, and sailed away from the cursed Greeks and their infidel ways.  Heraclea immediately revolted and declared themselves a free city once more.
 

The Fatamid Empire of Egypt      Lazuul, Guardian of the Holy Places, Emperor of Egypt.
Diplomacy:  None

Lazuul the Great did very little. Greatly.
Eastern Europe
Mercenary Troops 17mc, 16mi, 11ms, 11mw
Mercenary QR’s i03, c04, s03, w04
Mercenary Leaders None

The Patriarchate of Constantinople     Miklos, Ecumenical Patriarch of The Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Eastern Church
Diplomacy:  None

Some kind of peace had to made with the Muslim Primate, if any chance at all was to be had to save the Orthodox Church.  Faithful Christians were being persecuted and occasionally lynched.  Sunni mullahs seemed everywhere, converting nearly half of Cyprus and Crete to Islam.  Miklos' personal guard were being picked off singly and in small groups, by unknown groups or persons.  A peace had to be reached.

So, in 1092, Miklos decided to travel to Mecca and speak with Abdul, "the Sustainer".  The trip was relatively easy, get on a boat, pay them to sail for Mecca.
 

Rumelian Rus Sultanate   Osman Kutuzov, Sultan of Rumelia, Varangian Czar, Ghazi, Caesar
Diplomacy:  Diplomacy is for wonks.

Intent on setting internal affairs in order, Osman put bids on the market for mercenary thugs to come and show these Greeks who was really in charge around here.  "Free city, ha!", were his exact words with regard to Heraclea and the Abbasid departure.  The huge harvests of the last couple years had made for lots and lots of babies, now growing into their young adult lives.  Just the kind of people Osman needed for settling some of the more recalcitrant regions in his demesne.   A huge influx of these youth found work and lives in Constantinople City, newly declared capitol of Osman's reign.  More were led through Bithnia and Paphlagonia (remember this) into the intrinsically hostile regions of Lydia and Phrygia.  The locals certainly couldn't have liked it, and just as certainly couldn't have done a thing about it.  These colonists had the backing of the Rumelian national army, along with almost 10,000 mercenaries (remember this), led by "Caesar" Osman himself.  He liked the title, it seems, and began signing all official documents with "Sultan Osman Kutozov, Caesar".

His colonies secure, Osman and his son led their own 6,000 men and the mercenaries into Galatia, and then Psidia.  Early in 1093 reports began arriving from Bithnia and its port Iznik, and from Pahlagonia and its port Trebizond.  An epidemic was beginning there of headache, nausea, vomiting, aching joints, and a general feeling of ill health.  Within the week the same symptoms were all spreading throughout Osman's own armies.  No doubt, plague. The mercenaries it seemed, brought fleas with them and the fleas brought the bacillus Yersinia Pestis. The results were swift and lethal.  Those infected, generally died after about 4 days, and they included a third of the port Trebizond.  Iznik got it much worse.  It was vacant as Ramallah had been 6 years earlier.  Of course the mercenary captains refused blame for the epidemic, and demanded recompense for their men killed by the plague.  This Osman in turn refused and the mercenaries picked up their swords and left the god-forsaken, plague infested subcontinent.  After the plague had run its course, the effects were tallied and sent to Constantinople.  Iznik, gone.  Bithnia, one quarter gone.  Trebizond, one third gone.  Paphlagonia, two fifths gone.

Back in the new capitol, Osman had offered two of his leaders an opportunity to excel.  "Count all the people in my realm.", he had said.  Osman actually didn't expect them to do it all personally, he gave them 200 clerks and scribes, and a big chunk of cash money to pay for it all.  These two Osman entrusted were not really excellent at the task, but after four years and all the gold spent, they came up with a figure and told their "Caesar" he ruled over three and a half  million people, not counting the epidemic provinces of Paphlagonia and Bithnia.  Also in the capitol, Osman's 10 year old son began writing the "Tenets of Islam" to teach the Russians and the Greeks just what Islam was and why it was such a strong religion.  He understood more than a little of the concepts, but screwed up badly on the notion of "Jihad".  Not that it mattered much since only 17 copies were made, mostly for the royal court, who as it happens were almost the only people around who could actually read.

All that was left to do was put the Heracleans back in their proper place and Osman had just the guy in mind to do it.  In their exuberance at the departure of the Abbasids, the city council of Heraclea somehow ignored the fact that 1,600 Rumelian soldiers were still housed in the city proper.  Bad planning on the part of the Greeks, because three days of their independence proclamation, the entire council was rounded up and thrown in the deepest cells in the Heraclean dungeons.  "Free city?", laughed Osman.  "Yes, indeed, free for me!"  No one really got the joke, but they all laughed anyway.  He was Caesar, no?

Kingdom of Russia      Ivan III, the Wanderer, King of Russia
Diplomacy:  None

No orders received.  King Ivan's little sister Ivana (who was young enough to be his own daughter) died in the forest just outside Moskva, her party assaulted by a pack of wolves the size of small bears.  Not pretty.  Much boohooing all around the Kingdom, cuz she was a real hottie.

The Polish Kingdom      Marko II Brodzinski, King of Poland
Diplomacy:  Austria (t)

Slavery was alive and well in slavic lands, at least those run by the wise King Marko.  The national army used them in Marko's main host, mostly for the most menial and degrading jobs.  Prince Heinrich transferred over 1,500 new slaves into King Marko's host and went east into the badlands in search of even newer ones.  He met with fair success, though probably not nearly as much as he'd hoped for.  Cities grew across the realm, Stuttgart, Praha, Danzig, and a new port city Strassbourg Am Metz on the Rhine.  Not to be confused with the French port Strassburg.  Big chunks of gold went into cultivation projects in Galich, completing that work, and a new road was started from the capitol toward Lodz.

The ever present concern over the Kin horde was still on the minds of Marko's generals, such that new walls were put up around Stuttgart and Praha.  Something at least to stand behind should the Ogadai get any funny ideas about riding back into Europe.  The big news in Kauyavia, however, was Bram's smashing success in occupying the Pechneg region and converting them at sword point to the Catholic faith.  Now Polish merchant would have direct access to the Black Sea and the seemingly limitless markets of the Mediterranean.

In the spring of 1092 on the Pomern coast, religious extremists began haranguing in markets and village squares over the inability or unwillingness of the Church to provide for the needs of the Poles.  Sure, Justinius had sent King Marko a troop of clerks to count taxes, but how did that help the Poles?  After two months of spouting off, real action cam e in the form of the looting of a Catholic abbey in Pomern, and the burning of the three Catholic churches within the port city Gdansk.  The prime instigator, one Martin Baciewicz set himself up as the spiritual leader of the Church of the True Christ.

Marko's son and heir Bram kept his word to himself to avoid Galichan women, and married into an Austrian noble's family, getting tribute from the region along with a token dowry.  His decision proved wise, and he and his bride produced a bouncing baby boy in August, 1093.
 

The Kin Horde      Timur, Khan of Kin
Diplomacy:  Kuban Horde Block (a)

Patzinak was a nice place, really.  Lots of game, wide open plains.  Big sky country.  The Kuban Khan saw things generally right along the same lines as Ogadai, and they quickly became pretty good  friends.  Some plotting and scheming about all the loot and women they might carry off into the night got their minds spinning almost too fast for either of them to handle.  Just need a few more horse, thought Ogadai.  So he sent of the Wudan Khan, then his most trusted ally, to persuade the Scythians into joining the fun with the Kin.  Madness, thought Ogadai's son Timur.  Why send good horsemen after bad?  Four years later, no Scythians, no Wudan.  "Pfah!", scoffed the Kin Khan. "The Kuban have four times the numbers the Wudan ever had, and better drinkers besides!"

Better drinkers than Ogadai as well, it would seem.  In 1094, Ogadai died in his sleep after a long night of liver abuse, so Timur claimed the Khan's yurt as his own.  He was only 14 years old at the time, but the Kuban Khan supported him, so that was that.

Western Europe
Mercenary Troops 21mc, 12mi, 6ms, 13mw
Mercenary QR’s c0, s03, i05, w06
Mercenary Leaders Jean Luc du Mar (M???)
(with 13mw)

Denmark      Zoltan, Imperator Danmark
Diplomacy:  Norway (f)

The seeds of discontent were spread fairly well all over the Imperial Palace, Prince Zoltan coveting his father's place for more than two decades.  The old man seemed immortal.  With whispers in back rooms, and smiles in the throne room, all seemed peaceful.  But that peace came crashing down on the 5th of July, 1095, when the entire palace was up in arms with shouts of "Intruders!" and "Assassins! Protect the Emperor!"

The guards outside Altan's chambers had been brutally cut down and the Emperor chopped into small pieces.  Fortunately Zoltan lived through the episode, remarkably clean of any marks.  His own guards had killed three would-be assassins outside his chambers, and disarmed another before that one leapt out a window.  Sixty feet down that rogue landed in the moat, which happened to be about 15 feet shallower than around most of the palace.  The water (sludge) did little to break his fall, and the guards pulled a broken, bloody wreck from the moat.  To their shock and dismay, it was the Prince Gregor, or used to be anyway.  The only person who didn't seem shocked was Zoltan, who had larger affairs on his mind, like how how to be an Emperor.

Zoltan got busy late that year arranging the marriage of his sister (Marie, his third of eleven sisters) to Graveg, the Duke of Norway.  Which made Graveg now the Prince of Norway.  Convenient, that.  Zoltan's own efforts to produce more children were without success.  Rumours said his wife had gone barren after she gave birth to Zoltan's two daughters two decades past. Funds were arranged for a counting of the Imperial citizenry, but no one volunteered for the actual task of counting them, and the task remained undone.  Perhaps everyone was too busy seeing the construction of dozens of field fortifications around the homeland, anticipating the arrival one horde or another like everyone else.
 

The Lombard Kingdom of Italy      Luigi Orsini, Rex Sognari
Diplomacy:  Rome (ea)

Discontent crowded into Luigi's mind, displacing most everything else.  Why should the King of Italy be satisfied with only nine children?  Settling in his comfy throne and passing new budgets for the expansion of both the army and navy, Luigi spent his evenings and most afternoons trying to sire more children.  He may have been the only one surprised at the Queen's inability to become pregnant again.   Calabria, Turin and Gerace expanded, where the newest of the Royal Lombard Fleet set sail into the Ionian Sea.

Admiral Rodrigo Cataloni and Maximo Gallindo both took great pride in these heavy warships, floating platforms for the naval marines.  Too bad they would prove unable to cope with the latest threat. Admiral Gallindo loved his marine corps though, and showed his affection by dressing in their signal uniform, sea plate mail.  Impervious to even the most heavy handed cutlass stroke, it proved powerless against Admiral Gallindo's own clumsiness.  While on sea patrol, strutting aboard the heavy warship Cantania, the Admiral tripped over his own cape, fell overboard, and sunk like a granite millstone.  A funeral ceremony was held the following day, minus of course his corpse.  Rodrigo Cataloni had little time for remorse, however, since his orders were clear.  Sweep the Ionian and Adriatic Seas for invading or raiding Islamic naval forces.  What he discovered in the Ionian Sea was, he thought, just so.  Certainly not Christian forces, strange looking men in strange looking boats.  Pirates perhaps, but pirates then with very unorthodox methods of sail.  Ships small as his own light warships, but with far greater speed and battle tactics suitable only for speeds he could never have imagined.  And they dealt damage too, perhaps as strong as Rodrigo's own heavy warships. The main Lombard fleet, consisting of heavy warships (including the newest of the line), were powerless to block, or even close to striking range of the raiders.  But, Admiral Cataloni did possess over 50 light warships to less than two dozen of the foreigners.  After sinking a fat dozen of the raider's vessels, the remainder sailed west in search of easier prey.

The Roman Catholic Papacy      Justinus, Il Papa, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ
Consecration:  None

The Pope sat in his vestments, passing time by performing the sacraments.
 

Kingdom of Turquis Ottoman III,  King of Turquis, Champion of the True Faith, Lord of the Franks
Diplomacy:  None

In his own emancipation proclamation, King Ottoman II also declared slavery to be against the will of God.  Unwilling to have the economy collapse and the landed (read slave owning) nobility rise up a nd throw him forcibly from his nice house, he simply bought the slaves.  Yes, all of them.  Like a few other places in the world now, the slaves of France were free.  Free to be members of the new lowest caste, get (or keep the same) jobs with miserable pay and live in the most squalid of circumstances.  A step up from slavery?  Perhaps.  Prince Charles stood at his father-in-law's right hand as Ottoman dispensed justice and worked the court to fulfill his vision of France.  He probably learned a few things too, such as effective and ineffective methods of eliminating opposition.  In order to replenish the treasury after the emancipation business, Ottoman accepted Papal assistance in the form of the Bishop of France, John Pierre.  Unremarkable in most ways, he did manage to effect the construction of a road from the capitol to the Normandy coastal port Caen.
 

The Island Khanate of Khitan Qasar, Thunder Lord, Khagan of the Khitan
Diplomacy: None

Grotesque quantities of grain flowed into London, the bounty of harvests far exceeding the requirements of Qasar's three and a half million people.  The road project in Sussex was the prime benefactor, as labor camps became moving villages.  The south of Anglia wasn't the only area enjoying the fruits of record harvest, though.  York expanded, nearly rivaling the size of London, though with far less appeal.  Crime at an atrocious rate, open sewage flowed in the streets, no, not like London at all.
 

Ummayad Caliphate Al Cordoba      Khufu, Caliph al Cordoba, Infidel’s Bane
Diplomacy:  Asturias (f)

In order to bring a peaceful conversion of the masses of Catalonia to the most righteous worship of Allah and the forms of Islam, Khufu dispatched his most trusted friend Rogelio to the region.  Such and undertaking would require charisma, style, and grace.  Rogelio had grace, but little style and no charisma to speak of.  After five years, the percentage of Muslims in the region rose from one on four to one in three.  Something, though most certainly not as many as Khufu expected or hoped for.  The feared religious quarrels never materialized, even when two of the country Christian parishes burned to the ground.  Islamic extremists were captured by the Caliph's men, and put to death by stoning.  Very unpleasant, but it had the desired effect.  The Christians had the protection of the Caliph, even as did the Muslims.

A diplomatic gang was sent to Asturias, Prince Hafez, Minister Abulla, and a handful of their more nefarious associates.  They bought along Khufu's eldest daughter, Yasmeen, and married her into the Emir of Asturias' family.  At the Emir's death a year and a half later, Yasmeen's husband, the new Emir, swore allegiance to Khufu.

Afriqa
Mercenary Troops 6mc, 22mi, 5ms, 14mw
Mercenary QR’s c04, s03, i04, w03
Mercenary Leaders None

The Algerian Caliphate      His Royal Majesty, Hasan Asad, "Zaban Nogreh", Lord of the Rif, Lion of Morocco, Sword of the Prophet
Diplomacy:  Idjil (c), Chelliff (n/e), Gefara (ea)

The wisest leader in Algerian recorded history, according to his scribes anyway, set his mind to expanding and enlarging his own realm.  Diplomats were relegated the task of convincing Hasan's neighbors of His Royal Majesty's wisdom.  A postal road was laid down between the port cities Jamaa and Mahidia, and three new cities were founded.  Tunis in Kabilya, Fezzan in Chelliff, and Gizeh just to the north of the mountains bordering the Great Erg Desert.  Not your typical garden spot.

The Caliph's heir, Lord Hasan Ben-Lauden developed a coughing spell in Idjil, and went meet his maker and answer for his life's actions.  Hasan's second son, Prince Arnor, was thus assigned the title of heir apparent should anything untoward happen to the Caliph.  Not that foul play had much of a chance of affecting Hasan, with his crack squad of loyal bodyguards.
 

The Songhai Herdsmen      Onwardi, Chieftain of the Herds
Diplomacy:  Khalem (nt), Senegal (ea), Bani (nt), Boure (t)

Onwardi got tight down to business, making changes in the trade contracts within and external to his lands.  Trade with the Tchad began traveling primarily between Gao and Tillaberi on the Niger River, greatly improving the profit margins of the merchant classes in both nations. Onwardi's diplomats also worked their charm in previous neutral border regions, where perhaps the largest obstacle was those tribes' adherence to their pagan gods. The heir of the Songhai got himself a wife in the proceedings in Senegal.   The massive cultivation project was completed in Garou.
 

The Kingdom of Tchad      Ogbonnaya, King of the Dead, Omar Kanembu
Diplomacy:  Kano (nt)

New merchants flocked to Tillaberi, anxious to put upriver and trade in Songhai's massive gold markets, or souks.  Arranging the affairs of his own family, S'Bala called his eldest son Ogbonnaya to the office of heir and his second son Ara Ketu into government service as Prince Ketu.  Within the year, S'Bala died of unknown causes, but not unknown effect.  The man was a complete buffoon, and how he could sire someone like Ogbonnaya was beyond the ken of, well, nearly everyone.  Tillaberi expanded, opening dock space for Tchad and Songhai merchant river boats.  Ogbonnaya's first order of business was to assign resources to complete the cultivation project  in Daza, just westward of the homeland and capitol.

Kingdom of Nigeria      M'Bala, King of Benin, Darkknife
Diplomacy:  None

Nigeria really needs a player.  I'm gonna have to start spending this nation's resources, cuz he just has too much saved.  And I'm not gonna let you vultures swoop down and empty his treasury of god knows how many turns of saved gold.

Kingdom of Angola      Chalom, Wise Leader and All-Around Nice Guy
Diplomacy:  None

Ditto here.
 

Great Zimbabwe  Hakkawendo, Shaka Zulu
Diplomacy:  Kilwa (f), Bassa (fa)

In a remarkable exchange, Hakkawendo sent Kika and his son Kika to Kilwa and make nice.  They were really nice.  (From uncontrolled to friendly in one roll. Bam!)  New merchants tried to backtrack the Sind fleets to their lands, but fell short of supplies and had to return home lest they be forced to land at hostile desert shores of East Afriqa.  What they needed were better ships to make the journey in less time.  Until then, the profit margin was much better trading items within the South Afriqan nation or with the Cape Kingdom to the west.  Recently converted to Islam, Hakkawendo got the assistance of the Imamate and used it to good effect, counting the taxes.

Nikkawendo, Hakkawendo's little brother was named heir to the Zimbabwe nation, but he did little of note.  Stayed secluded for he most part in the palace, reading texts on ancient history.  Mostly in Arabic, true, but there were a couple written in Xhosa and Zulu which intrigued him to no end.  Worn and dog-eared in dozens of places, Nikkawendo had his face buried in one or another for months at a time.

Borwaham in Phalborwa expanded, and Hakkawendo allocated funds to complete the royal road from the capitol Harare to Luska.
 

The Divine Cape Kingdom     The All-Knowing, All-Seeing !Xiva, God-King of the Cape
Diplomacy:  Umtata (nt)

Few things went on this far south.  Capetown and Nolloth both expanded, and !Xiva had some little 'uns.  Three in all, and all three boys.  "My three sons...", he extolled.  Incessantly.  "My three sons this", and "My three sons that".  Pretty much everybody got tired of his endless stories of his children's antics and episodes, most especially !Xiva's wives.  Fortunately for the God-King, what wives thought was of little consequence.  Nobody ever listened to them anyway.
 

The Americas
Mercenary Troops 24mi, 10ms, 75mw
Mercenary QR’s s04, i05, w04
Mercenary Leaders  None

The Iroquois Nation      Queen Yellow Day, Prime Chief of the Council
Diplomacy:  Kolomoki (fa)

Wooden forts began popping up all over the Iroquois Nation, the various tribes preparing defenses against some imaginary enemy.  The royal road from Chatot to Kolomoki was completed, and a new port fortress was erected on the shores of Lake Erie in Yamasee.  A brand new squadron of six battleships was put in there on Lake Erie, quite an eye-opening experience for those who saw them gliding across the waters, nearly as fast as racing canoes with their trained teams of rowers.

Queen Yellow Day made her mind up to have a child, and it was so.  Her son was born healthy and happy.  Mother and child are doing fine, thanks.

The Sonoma Kingdom      Winter Eagle, King of Sonoma
Diplomacy:  None

WInter Eagle passed across the Great Sea to live with his ancestors.  His son Wind Dancer took up the duties of King, and did little.

The Aztec Empire  Running Llama, God-Emperor, Divine Ruler of Mexico
Diplomacy:  None

The Aztecs must surely have accepted the Anasazi apology just a few rains past, because they took no hostile action against the northern aggressors.  Actually, they took no significant actions at all.

Anasazi Republic      Gaagii, Chief Executive of the High Desert
Diplomacy:   None

Gaagi also did nothing of note.  Except sleep a lot, especially after the midday meal.

The Andean Incan Empire Pachamac, Emperor of the Heavens
Diplomacy:  Cuna (nt)

The call for colonists went far and wide across the lands of the Inca, and free land was a great recruiting incentive.  First tens, then hundreds of thousands of colonists began the arduous trek into the Andes to their new homes.  Seemingly overnight, the regions of Choco and Maku became thriving frontier lands.  Opportunities were great, and the law enforcement wasn't.  Families grew big, and fast, largely to hold spears and swords in the defense of homes or honor.  Within a year "Chocomaku" became a household word throughout the Empire and beyond, meaning "viscously loyal, even to death".

Esmerelda expanded, making new room for the dozens of merchant fleets eager to make some real money in the Aztec markets.  Only recently were they able to make the trip that far north.

Pachamac aged more, and true to his word, he outlived his own son, who died at the ripe old age of 66.  At eighty and five years, Pachamac could have passed for as little as, oh, eighty.  Feisty, that one, and not easy to trick. One of his favorite games was to feign sleep (which he did and awful lot), and then catch his ministers and aides napping in the royal chambers.  "WAKE UP, YOU LAZY SLUGGARDS!  GET TO WORK!"  Shocked to wakefulness, they always had that stupid look on their faces, and then ran around desperate for something constructive to do in proof of their usefulness.  Pachamac would quietly giggle to himself for hours each time he pulled it off.

Quiro Mapuche      Amriko, the Chosen
Diplomacy:  None

Amriko went about his business as a young ruler ought, spending his hard earned taxes, by and large for the great welfare of his people.  The royal road, fully funded already, finally got the manpower required to finish the project from Quiroci to Bariloc.  Seeking a family of his own, Amriko located a suitable wife and began the long, arduous, backbreaking task of fathering children.  Work, work, work.  Morning, noon, and night, he and his wife bent to the task of creating a family.  After almost two years of effort, the court physicians declared the Chosen's wife to be with child.  They were wrong.  She didn't swell, so back to the grindstone.  "No rest for the weary.", Amriko often lamented.  "Back to work I go.... sigh."  It must have taken great strength of will to maintain his facade, because the moment he was out of sight of his advisors, he usually ran full tilt to the bedchambers.

On the rare occasions when he actually was sitting on his seat... of power, that is, he occasionally tried to delude his advisors he was sleeping.  He'd heard about this really funny trick the Incan Emperor got to pull over on his council.  Amriko's own council hemmed and hawed whenever Amriko tried this, aware of his cleverness every time he peeked.  So he'd usually fake a yawn, stretch his arms and legs out as far as he could, stand up and walk a few circles.  "Well, I guess I'd better get back to work...", he often remarked.
 

ISI Rankings for Turn 39: Anno Domini 1091 – 1095