Lords of the Earth

Campaign Twenty-Four
Age of the Crusades

Turn 24

Anno Domini 1121 – 1125

 

 

Turn 25 Orders Due By  Friday, January 5^th, 2001

 

Announcements

¨      Leader Numbers: Use the Leader Numbers printed on your stat sheet. Doing otherwise caused GM confusion and annoyance. This is not a good thing.

¨      Build Charts: At the bottom of your stat sheet is a build chart – this is the correct, up-to-date chart for this campaign and replaces the Build Chart in the rulebook.

¨      Non-Played Nation Changes: We’re going to be keeping the NPN system, with two main changes: First, there will be four levels of control: Influenced (no tribute provided), Tributary (25% tribute provided), Allied (50% tribute), Free State (75% tribute) and Incorporated (100% tribute, and the NPN is folded into your realm). Second, when an NPN king dies, a roll will be made to see if the level of control degrades.

 

Control	Tribute	You get…	You can…
Influenced	0%	--	--
Tributary	25%	Gold	--
Allied	50%	Gold, stat sheet	Issue orders to their leaders.
Free State	75%	Gold, stat sheet	Build and invest with their GP and NFP, issue orders to their leaders.
Incorporated	100%	Regions and armies are added to your stat sheet.	NPN becomes part of your nation.

 

¨      King Auto Admin: This feature has been TURNED OFF. Your King and/or Heir must now explicitly Rule / Administer to govern your realm.

¨      Flags and Royal Portraits: Any nation submitting a GIF or JPG picture of their national flag or banner (no more than 80 pixels wide) and their ruling monarch (100 pixels wide), will get a +1 bonus to all Leader efforts. The flags go on the web-site, the leader pictures in the newsfax.

¨      Leader Names: If you have an unnamed leader attempt an action, he gets an automatic –1 modifier. So name your leaders, eh?

¨      Tithes: Any GP that you receive from a tithe (either because you are a primate, or because you have a tributary ally), is automatically included in your Saved Gold each turn. So don’t be adding it in again…

¨      Order Formats: Please use one of the standard forms if at all possible. If plain text (or email) is used, please summarize all expenditures in the builds and investments sections.

¨      Intel Operations: Please specify the target clearly on intelligence operations: for example, CI can be used to defend vs. a specific area of your nation (Government, Intel, Religious, Army, etc.) Many operations failed this turn for lack of specific targets. If you place a “floating” CR operation to cover “any possible leader revolt”, there’s a moderate negative modifier for non-specific target, if he’s then outside your CCR, there’s more negative modifier.

¨      Operating Bases: Action range is traced in Action points from a “controlled region”. For open nation purposes, a “controlled region” has a status of pt, p, or t or higher. For Primacies, this is a region with an Abbey religious site or higher.

¨      Holy Wars: In the recent update to the GM’s Handbook, we changed how religious troops (Crusaders) are generated. Basically, if a Holy War is successfully called, then a target number of Crusaders is calculated (based on your nations’ religious strength and city/regional GP production). The nation afflicted with supporting a Crusade then has to produce that number of national troop points to go on the crusade. If the nation does produce that number of troops, then some additional “religious” troops join them from the common population. If the nation does not send that number of troops to fight, then the religious army appears anyway, but its strength is ripped right out of national NFP production, which (frankly) will put it into negatives for 2-3 turns.

¨      MSP Basing: The MSP Basing Formula has been changed a little:

 

MSP Capacity = City GPv × 20 × TaxMultiple

 

This is the big change. Please note that this means that T and PT cities only give you half of their capacity, and NT not at all.

¨      New Religious Primacy status: The new first status that a Primate gains in an area or city is a Church (ch), acquired through the Establish Church (ec) action.

 

Table 0‑1. Religious Authority Control Statuses

 

¨      Merchant Shipping Conversions: When bringing MSP out of a route into ships, you must convert it in groups of 4 MSP, which become 1 HT, while paying 4 GP.

¨      Hiring Mercenaries: Note that mercenaries must be hired at a City within the Regional area that they form the mercenary pool of. If a group of mercenaries move out of their Regional area into another, they may be hired at the location they ended the previous turn.

¨      Warships as MSP: If you allocate Warship units to be MSP on a trade route (as opposed to their being anti-piracy patrols), they become MSP in number equal to the warships Cargo and can only be withdrawn from the route as Heavy Transports (see above).

¨      Opening Trade Routes: If you do not provide me with all of the trade route information (your base port, the other nation’s name and base port, the distance, the MSP assigned) I will not open the route.

¨      Official Map Changes: The region of Carmania (southern Iran) is Hostile Desert, not Wilderness. The southern edge of the Celtic Sea is moved up to the tip of Cornwall, making the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay adjacent. The Asiatic province of Kur, on the Amur river, is Kurshin instead. The Burmese-area province of Shan is now Wuliang, instead. The sea zone border between the Tyrhennian Sea and Gulf of Lyons should not line up with the mountains between Liguria and Provence, instead it should be in Liguria province, which makes Genoa on both the Tyrhennian Sea and the Gulf of Lyons. The sea zone border between Aegean Sea and Mare Negri should be at Constantinople, which is on both zones.

¨      Regional Mercenaries: Each region will have a maximum number of units that can be hired from each main type, all mercenaries are regular (no elite or inexperienced). Each region will have a QR for each main troop type. It will be possible to hire the Mercenaries from turn to turn. It is possible to counter-bid the Mercenaries to leave their employ and join another employer or even sit idle. The total number of regional mercenaries that can be hired are below each regional header.

 

Nomenclature

 

Turns are currently five (5) years long. Base tax rate is 100%

 

Infantry (200 men = 1 point), Cavalry (200 men = 1 point), Siege Engineers (200 men = 1 point), Warships (2 ships = 1 point), Transports (2 ships = 1 point).

 

Lords 24 Web Resources!

 

The Lords Twenty-Four homepage is at:

 

www.throneworld.com/lords/lote24/index.html

 

All of the on-line resources, including mailing lists and web-sites, for Lords of the Earth are summarized on this page:

 

www.throneworld.com/lords/players/resources.html

 

You can subscribe to the Lords 24 mailing list by pointing your web-browser at:

 

http://www.egroups.com/group/Lords24

 

…and following the instructions on that page.

 

Contacting the GM Team

 

Thomas Harlan, Colin Dunnigan

4858 East Second Street

Tucson AZ 85711-1207

lords24@throneworld.com

 

Various Fees and Levies

 

Turns	$3.00 per turn.
Maps	Available on-line at the Lords 24 website.
LOTE 5.7.2 Rulebook	Printed ~ $10.00 (Local) or $15.00 (Mailed in US), $18.00 (mailed overseas). Emailed as PDF ~ $5.00

 

 

The Ju-Chen Khanate

Wa-Yen A-kut-ta, Khan of the Ju-Chen, Favored of the Thunderbolt

Diplomacy    Parhae(f), Tumet(f)

        Invited in by the Middle Sung, who had dispatched many embassies and letters, the Ju-Chen stormed south, sweeping through Lu’an like a plague. After being supplied by the Middle Sung governor of Chengde with food, women, grain and fodder, the Ju-Chen armies split into two. One force, under A-ku-ta raided into Bao Ding. The other, commanded by Ma-Chan-Yen, struck into Yen. Both raids were immediately opposed both by Dragon Sung garrisons, and new forces come up from the south. (see Dragon Sung)

        Wu-ki-mai, meanwhile, had traveled over the mountains into Tumet to speak with the khans there. He was accompanied by the kagan of Harbin, which was good, because the prince took sick in ’22 and died in ’23 of a fever.

 

The Goryeo Kingdom

Go Yun Zun, King of the Chaosen

Diplomacy    Mudan(nt)

        Still keeping a wary eye on the Ju-Chen, even though the northern barbarians had veered off to play in China, the Goreyo built a new port city, Po-Yang, in Mantap and bolstered the defenses of the northern frontier. The king’s wife died, attempting to bear him a son, leaving him without heir or bride.

 

Kiyowara Principate

Kiyowara Motosuke, Lord of the North, the “victorious”

Diplomacy    None

        Abiding by the precept that a good defense required a vigorous strike against the throat of the enemy, Motosuke (his veteran, but small, army reinforced by thousands of fresh samurai) lunged south into Aichi province. At the same time, he offered a very princely sum for the services of various ronin. However, the pockets of the Fujiwara were deeper and they gained the contracts instead.

 

Fujiwara Japan

Fujiwara Torashima, Shogun of the Isles, Protector of the Emperor

Diplomacy    None

        The Shogun was more than a little upset with prince Sankin, yet who else would lead the struggle to destroy the rebels in the north? With the blessing of the Emperor (who needed Fujiwara grain), Torashima secured the services of every ronin in the islands, coupled them with a huge new force of his own samurai to reinforce Sankin, who was encamped at Harima in Aichi.

        At the same time, carpenters and stonemasons were furiously at work, throwing up walls (or repairing old ones) around Harima (in Aichi) and Heian (in Yamato). Everyone expected the war to spill over into the south.

        While the Shogun was getting out of bed, mustering the new troops together, and marching over the mountains into Aichi – the campaign was already violently underway. Motosuke was not the kind of fellow who slept in, so his attack had stormed down into Aichi before the Shogun could reinforce Sankin. The Fujiwara general took the field, heartened by the huge numbers of mercenaries under his command.

        Then things got sticky. Kiyowara agents were already in contact with the ronin captains – and now they offered to match the Fujiwara contract if the ronin would just leave. A bout of bid and counter-bid followed, with the Kiyowara scoring a coup: of the 15,000-odd ronin, all took the money and ran save for 5,800 heavy horse. Sankin had to pay heavily, even to keep those…[1] The prince was also approached, and offered large sums to simply “go home”, but – after a personal struggle – managed to resist. But by then, his army was in a pitched battle with the Kiyowara forces (now reinforced by some of the ronin!).

        At the battle of Yoshida, the Kiyowara managed to field 12,000 samurai (both mounted and foot) against Sankin’s 10,800 Fujiwara (mostly ronin, but some clan troops who had survived the previous debacle in the Kwanto). Despite a vigorous effort, the Fujiwara were beaten in a straight-up fight on the plains near Harima city. Sankin, having lost more than half of his troops, fell back into the city.

        Shogun Torashima arrived with 6,000 samurai and 2,000 engineers, expecting to find Sankin in possession of the province. Motosuke immediately moved against the royal forces. Sankin sortied desperately, trying to link up with his master. Helped immeasurably by his light horse, Motosuke was able to find and attack Torashima at Okazaka Chapel, while the Shogun was watering his horses.

        Surprised, the Shogun’s army was smashed and scattered. Torashima himself barely escaped alive, fleeing back over the mountains into Yamato with only 1,800 of his glorious samurai. Motosuke then turned on Sankin, who had rushed out with his small (yet doughty) army. By great good luck, Sankin managed to get his outnumbered army back inside Harima city before the exhausted Kiyowara could catch up with him.

        Torashima, meantime, had trudged back to Heian in a foul mood. Unfortunately, he found the city surrounded by burning fields – a small Kiyowara army under the command of the young rascal Takanori had crept in over the mountains from Toyama. Furious, Torashima gave chase and (to his surprise, as well as Takanori’s) caught the raiders on the northern shore of Lake Biwa. A fierce melee followed, and the Shogun showed his valor by charging heedlessly into the midst of the Kiyowara. A stray blow took him from the saddle and knocked him out cold.

        Bereft of the Shogun – and thinking him dead – the Fujiwara fell into confusion and fear. Half their number of Kiyowara thrashed them soundly, and the southern knights feld into Heian city to hide behind the Emperor’s skirts. Takanori, now learning his father had been victorious in Aichi, settled in outside the Imperial Capital, feasting on looted sake, rice and the Emperor’s beef.

        Takanori, who woke up after the battle was over, managed to sneak back into Heian two months later, after living as a wood-cutter in the forest. He was disconsolate – all his plans were in ruin! The Kiyowara pup mocked him daily from outside the walls… then a letter arrived by courier from Harima. The elderly Sankin had caught a cold in the winter of ’22 and died. Lord Kido was in command of the fleet and garrison there, and though he felt confident he could hold the town, he wasn’t going to venture outside to test the Kiyowara blades.

        So things stood at the end of ’25, save for one thing… the Bhuddist trouble in the south had not ended with the conversion of Kagoshima province. Indeed, the Kyushu daimyo were feeling restive indeed. Saga province was the next to become Bhuddist, and they paid even less attention to words coming from a besieged capital.

 

Tenno-no-Nihon

Tenno Toba, Emperor of Nippon, Blessed of Ameratsu

Diplomacy    Toyama(ch), Yamato(ch), Shimane(ch), Kagoshima in Saga(ch)

        Roused from the sleep of centuries by the continuing troubles in the north, where the Abe fought on against the southern lords, and this spreading trouble in the south, where foul Bhuddists crept across the land, the Emperor himself decided to take an active hand in the matters of the land. So he delved into the Imperial treasury and bribed the Fujiwara for grain, and set out to restore the shrines and temples, and (just by the way) to draw all of the communities of Shinto monks throughout the land under his sway.

        Prince Sotoku’s attempt to travel up the Tokaido into the Kwanto failed, as he turned back due to the wars raging in that land. It was too dangerous for him to continue on without an escort. If only some brave samurai would serve the Emperor rather than these fractious daimyo!

 

 

 

Northern Sung (Dragon)

Xing Yan, True Emperor of the Sung

Diplomacy    None

        Grappling with serious money problems, famine and expected invasion from the south, Xing Yan abandoned all pretense in keeping up the newly built fortifications along the northern border, or the roads. He also ceased all support for the various Bhuddist temples. With the few coins thus gathered, he built an array of new fortifications around the twin capitals of Hopei and Honan. His son, Gao Zong, was sent south to raid into the lands of the Middle Sung, while lord Wu-Zen went east. Lu Pei Wei and Li San were dispatched to the north, both to oversee the defense along the steppe, and to secure the Middle Sung enclave of Lu’an.

        Then everything collapsed into anarchy and ruin as Sung invaded from the south, Po Hai from the west and the Ju-Chen from the north!

        A-ku-ta’s foray into Bao Ding did not go well – he found the province crawling with Dragon troops and well-placed fortifications. After a great deal of chasing about, he retired over the mountains to Kin, and then to Tumet to join his son. The raid into Yen was a worse fiasco! The Ju-Chen collided with a Dragon army on its way to conquer Lu’an, were forced to fight a pitched battle, took the worse of it, and also fled.

        The general Lu Pei Wei, having driven off the barbarian rabble, now advanced on Lu’an, where he found Dzou Fun, the Sung governor, unprepared to deal with an invasion from the south. The Middle Sung troops gave a good account of themselves, however, before Dzou Fun was besieged in Chengde. Lu Pei Wei came prepared for a siege however, and soon the port was shrouded with smoke, catapults and ballista banging away at the … nonexistent walls. Poor Dzou Fun was captured and strung up like a Christmas ham. Lu Pei Wei installed a garrison, then headed back south.

        Go Zong’s invasion of the south came to an abrupt end when he was murdered while preparing to set out from the old Imperial capital. His father, Xing We, was forced to take command of the Dragon army at Pienching and abandoned the planned foray into Anhui. Which was all for the good, as the Imperials soon stormed into Honan province, looking for some payback… (see Southern Sung)

        With the disaster at Honan consuming the southern Sung armies, a Dragon army under the command of Wu-Zen overran the backcountry provinces of Tangchou, Funiu, and Shentung.

 

Western Sung (Po Hai)

Song Chou Lin, “The Grim”, Lord of the Middle Lands

Diplomacy    Kansu(a)

        Chou Lin had watched and waited, biding his time, building up his army, sharpening his spears… now his son Wu Wei was at last a man, and declared the prince of the West. Now, with a feral grin, he prepared to involve himself in the ruinous civil war down in the lowlands…

        By nature a conservative man, Chou sent his cousin Chou Ho with an army of 14,000 men to capture the Dragon province of Yun. At the same time, another army of 17,000 men marched into Houma. “That will look nice on the map,” though Chou Lin, and he smiled.

        The land of Yun, as it happened, was defended by a small Dragon army (and, of course, many forts) under the command of prince Li San, who had previously driven off a Ju-Chen raid. Unfortunately the Western army came prepared to wrinkle badgers out of their holes… Li San’s army was severely stomped, he was killed and the city of Ta’Tung captured by Chou Ho.

        Further south, Lu Tzin Wai’s main army plowed through Houma (undefended) and into Hopei. After skirmishing with the Dragon garrison and forts, Lu learned from merchants the Dragon armies were occupied in the north (with the conquest of Lu’an) and the south (with the great battle at Pienching). So, he set about reducing the defenses of Kaifeng. This was complete by the end of ’21.

        In ’22, the Dragon armies stormed into Hopei from north and south, intending to recapture their capital and drive out the Western invaders. A massive battle took place north of Kaifeng, at Qing Feng, between Lu’s 16,000 Westerners and Xing’s 23,000 Dragon knights. Despite being trapped between two converging armies, Lu stunned the Dragon armies with a sharp victory. The Dragon armies reeled back, recovering behind a screen of light horse. Lu, who had been planning on withdrawing into Houma, decided to stick around.

        In ’23, desperate to restore their sundered realm, Xing attacked again. This time, despite being outnumbered, he managed to maul the Westerners at Peng Chih and drive Lu back into Houma. Exhausted, the Dragon armies stopped, content to hold their capital. The Westerners were also pleased, having seized their initial goals.

 

Southern Sung (previously Imperial)

Song Gaozong, Prince of Kang, Celestial Emperor of the Middle Kingdom

Diplomacy    None

        For their part, the Imperials were busily fortifying everything in sight, too, particularly the province of Anhui, where they guessed the next battle would be fought. Hasty walls were built around Chang’ling and Chiangning. The Emperor also declared a new capital at Chang’ling in Hupei, far from the barbarians and the Dragon. The agents of smoke and shadow were also dispatched to bring trouble upon the Dragon.

        While events in the north hinged on fate and the bravery of men, Wei did receive good news from the south, where a treaty had been struck with the Annam, gaining the Emperor a noble wife and a peaceful border.

        Despite the delightful prospect of a blushing bride at home, Wei and his warlord, prince Tzan Xu, had martial deeds to do! Their army rebuilt, and reinforced with many mercenaries, the Imperials invaded Honan province, striking to recapture the old Imperial capital from the rebels. In the battle of the two Emperors, Wei fielded 13,000 men (including a flotilla of river boats armed with giant crossbows) against Xing’s 16,000. Ensconced among a network of fortifications, and blessed with battle-hardened veterans and deadly scouting, Xing smashed the Imperial attack decisively. Both Wei and prince Tzan Xu were slain on the field, and their army routed.

        Legend says that not one man of that army returned to the south alive, and who could say, for so many brave men lay dead upon the field even the victors wept to see the list of fallen. Xing’s reprieve from war was short-lived, however, as word now reached him from the west that Chou the Grim had launched an invasion of Dragon lands.

        Princess T’an Hua of Annam arrived in Chiangling in ’23 to find the city in mourning, her putative husband dead and everything in disarray. The princess, a practical sort, announced “find me a new husband, someone brave, with a head on his shoulders, and let’s get on with this. You girls! Clean up this mess. Send for the great lords and the priests!” In this way, the Southern Sung dynasty was created, as the young lord Gaozong (a cousin of the dead Emperor Wei) soon arrived in the city, seeking an Imperial appointment. He got it, and more than that besides!

 

The Greater Vehicle (formerly Tibet)

Chandragumra, Dalai Lama of Lhasa, Light of the World

Diplomacy    None

        With great, year-long ceremonies and massed prayer, Chandragumra invested the entire might of his nation in consecrating the city of Lhasa as a holy place. Attended by thousands of pilgrims, the lord of the Tibetians twisted enough arms for the priests and potentates to proclaim him the incarnation of the Dalai Lama, and the voice of the Bodhisattva upon the earth. Emissaries from many southern, Buddhist, nations attended the ceremonies and approved.

        Despite this, efforts to convert the Hindus in Gtsang failed.

 

 

The Treaty of Kweichou

 

In Order to foster Peace within the Greater East Asian sphere, and bolster our Friend and Ally the Rightful Emperor of All China, the Da-Wang of Annam humbly submits the following Treaty of Friendship to the successor to his old and respected friend, Song Zho Min, the great Song Bun Wei.  We offer our eldest daughter, the lovely T’an Hua, the flower of Annam, as a candidate for Number One Wife, to further join our nations.

 

Provision One:  The Borders of the Empires

The Great Middle Kingdom is acknowledged as Lord and Liege of all unallied regions, save the provinces of Kwangtung, Fujian, Fukien, the City of Fuzhou, and the Island of Hainan.  To these regions Annam humbly lays claim, for the mutual benefit of our respected nations.  All other regions bordering Annam are acknowledged to be beneath the suzerainty of the Middle Kingdom.

 

In addition, Annam here and now cedes the rich province of Kweichou to the Celestial Emperor, to enjoy his wise and benevolent rule.

 

Provision Two:  Military and Economic Alliance

Annam will undertake to expand trade and linkage with the great Middle Kingdom, with fleets of merchant vessels and newly laid roads.  Our fleets will not deign to surpass those of the Middle Kingdom (we will never exceed the MSP allotted by Imperial Sung).

 

If military aid is requested of us, we will respond with whatever force is we can muster and still see to the defense of our own lands.  These are not to fall below the mustering of 5000, nor exceed 10,000, men and chariots.  If more aid is requested, the troop count may exceed the allotted ceiling.

 

We request that if we are attacked by enemies, and the Sung are not otherwise engaged, that they may provide aid in an equal level.  Neither nation will request aid if the other is already under the duress of assault or siege.

 

So speaketh the Da-Wang on this day

 

Sealed with the Great Chop of the T’an Emperors of Annam

 

Imperial Response to the Treaty of Kweichou

 

Peace and Prosperity, being part of the teachings of the Enlightened One, are also the goals of the Imperial Sung we accept this treaty with the T’an Emperors of Annam by taking T’an Hua as a wife and accepting the gracious gift of the Kweichou province.

 

In response to the first provision, we shall note that the unallied regions claimed by the Imperial Sung are Chiennan, Ghangde, Miao Ling, Ling Tung, Nan Ling, Kienchou, Ganzhou, Kiangsi, the Isle of Taiwan and all cities contained therein, so that there will be no confusion for later generations.

 

We accept the second provision without clarification or exception.

So speaketh the Song Bun Wei on this day

 

Sealed with the Great Chop of the Sung Emperors of China

 

The Dai Kingdom of Annam

T'an Minh, Da-Wang ti Annam

Diplomacy    Failed! So sad…

        Pleased to see his daughter T’an Hoa setting things aright in Sung lands, Minh also signed the “great treaty”, ensuring peace in his domains. His two boys, Lung and Bao, came of age – the rascals! – and he set them to work. “No slacking!” He shouted at them as they lolled about, chatting up the serving girls. Everyone in the Dai kingdom would work!

        Korat was cultivated as part of a massive land-clearing project. Dozens of new rice paddies were built in Annam, and the Mison border was fortified. General Tranh delivered the princess to the new Sung capital at Chang’ling, tsked to see the populace in such a mad panic, then returned home. The province of Kweichou was turned over to Southern Sung administration as T’an Hoa’s dowry.

 

The Kambujadesa Empire

Suryavarman II, Devarajah – God-king of the Khmer

Diplomacy    Vijaya in Champa(t)

        By the grace of the gods, a possibility of war with Annam was set aside, and the Kambujadesa became signatories to the “great treaty” with Annam and Sung. This pleased Suryavarman, who ordered the expansion of the cities of Angor and Feranga. During this time, foresters hunting eight-prong deer in the jungles of Siam stumbled upon the awesome (could they be pre-human?) ruins of ancient Kulin. Many travelers then made their way to look upon the ruins, for at the center of Kulin loomed an enormous statue of the Bodhisattva, striking down the demons of Mara and the underworld. Plus there was the very naughty “hall of temptations.”

The God-Empire of Sirivijaya

Ginandjar, Blessed of the Bohdisattva, The Builder

Diplomacy    Jambi(f)

        The god-king made a journey to Jambi province, where he overawed the locals with his ten thousand chanting monks. They gladly agreed to be ruled directly by the divine one. Otherwise, the land was at peace.

 

The Kingdom of Thaton

Anawratha, Lord of the Mon

Diplomacy    Failed

        “Bah!,” proclaimed Anawratha, “I am tired of all this peace and prosperity! I seek glory and victory in war!” So inspired, the lord of the Mon raised a fleet and an army, and hired a huge band of Indonesian mercenaries. Someone was going to get thumped, by the Bhudda’s gonads!

        Anawratha’s great army and fleet moved south, reaching it’s full size of 20,000 men upon arrival in Kadaram. The rebellious city, which had long resisted Thaton aggression, was ordered to surrender. The citizens, blockaded at sea, and besieged by land, were forced to obey. Their freedom lost, they begged for life. Anawratha, after executing several thousand leading citizens, granted the rest their pitiful existence. Then the pogrom against the Hindu’s began, and thousands more were slaughtered before the survivors accepted the beneficent grace of the Bodhisattva.

        The lord of Mon then returned home on his flagship, Kwanyin, while general Lan Xang crushed the tribes of Johor and heaped the dead in great pits in the course of converting that land to Buddhism as well. Hindu temples, in particular, were razed to the ground and the land salted. Nothing would live where the old gods once held sway.

 

 

The Pala of Bengal

Rubapala II, Lord of the Pala, prince of Tamralipti

Diplomacy    None

        The fabulously wealthy Pala celebrated the ascension of young Rubapala with six months of games, banquets and temple rites. The boy king then endowed the scholars of his capital with lavish bequests, while also expanding the canals, waterworks, granaries and levies of Nadavaria and Gaur. Bengal was the wonder of the world, outshining even the monstrous Pratihara realm for opulence and power.

 

Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj

Kavali, Emperor of the North

Diplomacy    Paramara Gujari(absorbed)

        Though he looked upon the Pala with envy and not a little avarice, Kavali took consolation in his sprawling domain, and the fealty of the various kings who bowed before him. A new port city, Patna, was built in Chandela, with a powerful fortress looming over the harbor. Huge efforts were undertaken in Uttar Pradesh at flood control and agriculture, making that land one of the richest on earth. Gold was sent to the Pala, and a great deal of grain to the Saffarids.

        Deciding to take a hand in the matter of Gujerat himself, Kavali departed Kaunaj with an enormous train of servants, maids, advisors and bodyguards. At his urging, accompanied by healthy bribes to the lord of the Paramara, and overawed by the might of the Pratihara, the Gujari king Samavasima became a direct vassal of the Rajput and his realm was placed under Pratihara rule.

        While the Paramara nobility found this pleasing (they all got richer), the common people, the laborers and the students in Dhara did not agree! Furious with the fecklessness of their king, they rose up violently against the “Pratihara jackals!”

        Brutal street battles resulted, as Kavali (finding himself the only commander with wit about him) crushed the student’s uprising with a collection of Paramara knights and Pratihara “mercenaries.” The streets of Dhara ran red with blood, but the Emperor – despite taking a wound – expunged the insurrection.

 

Kalachuri Kingdom of Tripuri

Ajayapala the Weak, King of Kings, Lord of Ramagiri

Diplomacy    None

        Beggared by the huge tribute demanded by the Pratihara, Ajayapala was barely able to support his household and the various governors and garrisons depending on him. He chafed against the yoke of the Rajputs, but he did not dare move against Kevali. The ghosts of Dhara haunted him, making him wake with night sweats, screaming… he dreamed of Tripuri in flames, streets choked with the dead.

 

Western Chalukya Kingdom

Mularaja, Lord of Anahillapura

Diplomacy    Allied with Paramara Avanti, Karnata(ea), Manyakheta in Karnata(t)

        Munja of the Avanti, urged on by his wife Rania (the daughter of Mularaja of the Chalukya) marched his army into the devastation of Nasik to help those who still lived. Grain and gold flowed into the wreckage, allowing the Chalukya to stagger back from the brink.

        Mularaja, now heirless, listened to his daughter and proclaimed Munja his heir. Together, they worked to save those still living – but starving and homeless – in the wasteland.

 

Sad Drivida Kingdom of Ceylon

Vijayabahu, Lord of the Tamil and the Nadu

Diplomacy    None

        The sun was hot on the beaches of Tamil Nadu. The king was tired and he slept, though his servants took pains to cover him with a shade, lest he get a sunburn.

 

 

The Ghaznavid Sultanat

Mahmud (II) al Dala, Lord of the Punjab

Diplomacy    Ghazni(t), Und/Peshawar(f)

        Yamin betook himself into the southern mountains, eager to smooth over fractious relations with the Ghazni. He succeded, getting them to pay him tribute, but then fell ill on the road back to Kabul and died in ’24. His son, Mahmud, became sultan at the age of nineteen. Lord Hassan, who had been plotting against the young prince, was dragged into the courtyard and beheaded. The body was left for three days.

        Spurred on by this trenchant example of his sultan’s displeasure, general Ahmat led seven thousand men against the bandits of Balkh (who had proclaimed undying enmity last turn). After a two year campaign, Ahmat managed to bring the brigands to heel, and executed the lot.

 

        “While Muslim brothers are fighting and dying in infidel lands, these Lords of Balkh repay kind words and request for aid with a declaration of war!  Accordingly, these men are now dispatched to Allah --  he will judge the worthiness of their actions.   Let the good people of Balkh know that the Ghaznavids harbour them no ill-feeling.  We wish for nothing but peace between all Muslim brothers everywhere.   To show our good faith that this conflict can be left behind, I hereby declare that Balkh should be returned to its own rule.”  -- Mahmud al Dala, lord of the Punjab.

 

        After posting his master’s words, Ahmat left the province, marching his now-hardened warriors down into the Punjab plains. There were Hindus to kill! The princes of Sukkur, who had been thinking they were hot stuff, quailed before the latest Ghaznavid attack. Despite their war-elephants, they were crushed in open battle at Purchuram and their lands fell under the sway of the Moslems. This time the imams had their way, and Sukkur became a Moslem province.

 

The Saffarids of Baluchistan

Rasul ibn Leys, Shah of Baluchistan, Governor of Khorasania

Diplomacy    Failed

        "Loyal Subjects, It gives us great pleasure to announce the conclusion of the Treaty of Jats.  By this, the King of Kaunaj agrees to give our people 100 units of agriculture! There will be no empty bellies for many years! Also, he has given us his firm commitment that his kingdom shall not expand into Muslim land. The threat of Hindu expansion has been significantly reduced. And what did we give up to get this? Let us tell you. First, the arid Hindu desert of Jats, which has been a burden on our kingdom for years, and which recently rejected the words of the Prophet. Good riddance! Also, we gave up the right to colonize the island of Kutch, which we did not want and were not taking. Almost nothing! This windfall shall be used to improve the lives of the people of our realm. Rejoice on this day. Hamdil'allah!” ~ Rasul ibn Leys, Shah of the Saffarids

        Aside from selling sand to the Pratihara, the Saffarids raised a new city, Hamala, in Sind (to better serve new trade with the Ghaznavids), and built a variety of fortresses throughout Bauluch, Siahan and Edrosia. Travelers in Carmania also reported finding a strange, abandoned city, filled with white pillars and old, crumbling buildings. However, it was so far from the beaten track, and in such a desolate area, that no one ever went to see the wonders therein.

        Accompanied by Sabah ibn Rashid, the Shah betook himself, with only a few companions, to sail around the Arabian coast and to Mecca, where he walked from the shore to the black stone, roundabout, and then home again. Rasan found a warm welcome in the tents of emir Yarik of Yemen, and stimulating conversation with Ibn Turmart, a holy man from the far west. By these means, Rasan took the “haj”, as a true Muslim. This would prove to be unexpectedly popular…

        The shah returned home, welcomed by his wife and family, but then took ill and died. Mournfully, his son, Rasul ibn Leys became shah.

 

The Karakhanate of Ilig

Jasmine, Bughra-Khan, Queen of the Ilig

Diplomacy    Khwarzim(tributary)

        Jasmine stayed home with her husband, eventually giving birth to a daughter. This kept her from invading anyone, though her agents were busy in the lands around her realm. Lord Ahmad-Raman, traveling in Otarsh, was killed by a lion which leapt upon him from a thicket.

 

Shahdom of Khwarzim

Mustapha, Khazarim-shah

Diplomacy    Tributary to Ilig, Maracanda in Turkmen(f)

        Takash ignored the efforts of the Ilig emissaries, leaving such things to his son, and spent four years in the desert of Khazakh, overseeing the construction of a metaled (hard-surfaced) road from Khiva in Khwarzim to the port of Ahmad on the Caspian. A truly monumental undertaking. The shah died only weeks after the roadway was complete. His son, Mustapha, became shah and married Lia of Maracanda. A son was born the next year.

 

The Turki

Jebe, Great Khan of the Turki and the Polovotsy, Lord of the Steppe

Diplomacy    Chorasmia(ea), Kama Bulgar(t)

        The Turki were content to ride the plains of their homeland, to build some fish traps by the rivers, and to hunt among the great herds. Khan Jamuqa died, leaving no heirs. General Jebe seized power in a bloodless coup. The Kaman khan also died, and his people turned away from Jebe’s rule.

 

The Yasi

Tzoemir Khan, Destroyer of the Khazars, Stormblade

Diplomacy    Abasigia(ea), Urkel(f)

        On his way to Kuban, the khan Tzelgu fell down beside the road and died of a seizure. His son Tzoemir was proclaimed khan of the Yasi, though he was away in the south, waging war upon the Rawwadid. Efforts to woo the citizens of Tabar to follow the Stormblade failed, as the Moslems didn’t feel like taking orders from pagan infidels.

        However, Tzoemir had gathered an enormous host of men, and then struck out of the north like the lightning – sweeping through Shirvan, Kurdistan, El Burz, Persia (where they crushed the local diquans) and then to Zagros (also crushed). Tzoemir returned to Persia, where he set up a temporary capital. His second in command, An’lus’han returned north to Georgia.

        Unfortunately, this left Tzoemir very far away from his tribesmen, who were wont to get into trouble if left to their own devices… shockingly, no one revolted.

 

Ar Rawwadid Emirat at Tabriz

Mikai’l Alueddin, yabghu of the Rawadid

Diplomacy    None

        For his part, having stabbed the dragon in the ass, Mika’il and his men scampered up into the hills of Azerbaijan and dug in, expecting to be head-high in very angry nomads at any moment. The news of gold being discovered in Kurdistan brought some hope to the yabghu, and the birth of his first son brought more. The Yasi advance into the Persian heartland was sort of sickening… though they did not garrison Kurdistan, Shirvan or El Burz, merely looting the provinces.

 

 

The ‘Abasi Kalifate

Mustarshid, Judge of Judges, the True Kalif

Diplomacy    Antioch(ca), Mansura(ch), Memphis in Faiyum(ch)

        The Judge of Judges continued to work tirelessly in support of the faithful. His efforts to expand his influence among the great lord of the Buyid and Fatamid houses failed, however. The Fatamids also refused to pay the tithe for the poor. They were very suspicious of the Kalifate. Alms were sent west, to succor the starving and bereft Almoravids. Direct Kalifate control over mosques in Carhae and Edessa was abandoned.

        Muktafi, setting out on the road to Jerusalem, fell ill and died. His companions returned to Baghdad, disheartened by this bad sign. Only in the fearless work of Omar, did the ‘Abasi find some glad tidings. Despite repeated attacks by Egyptian mobs, and efforts by the local imams to have him killed, Omar succeeded in gaining the allegiance of some mosques along the Nile.

 

The Buwayid Emirates

Jord’na ibn Buyid, Emir of Baghdad

Diplomacy    None

        Sullenly, the Buyids remained home, repairing the waterworks along the Tigris and Euphrates. Jord’na celebrated, at last, the birth of a son. It was hot and sticky.

 

The Hatamid Emirat

Rukh al-Din, Sultan of Damascus

Diplomacy    None

        Unlike their neighbors, the Hatamids were quite busy, and the Sultan welcomed the ‘Abasi to his realm. Indeed, there was a flowering of Muslim culture and faith all through the Levantine coast. Prince Abu’Addin was named heir, in the event of Rukh’s demise.

 

Hayrenik’un Armeniam

Hayrenik Mecatun Hieriea, Lord of the First Men

Diplomacy    Failed

        The Armenians sold some grain to the Yasi. Mizizios died, and his cousin Hieriea became the Hayrenik of the people. The mountains were pretty, though, and the birds still flew south in the spring. Caw!

The Rum Khanate of Turkiye

Malikshah, Khan of the Seljuq Turks

Diplomacy    None

        Malik moseyed down the Aegean coast into Cilicia, where the last of the People were settled as lords and captains among the Greeks, making the province Roman Catholic (at least nominally…) The khan’s son Suleiman came of age, and was given a horse, a lance, a bow. He swore to conquer the world. His father thought that was a fine idea.

 

Oriental Roman Empire

Basil III Bolgarophilos, Avtokrator of the Romans

Diplomacy    Paphlagonia/Sinope(t)

        Merchants were dispatched to trade with the Yasi through the Roman port of Bosphorus. Those that returned reported the barbarians were mired in some reckless war in the far south, against the Moslems. This brought a smile to Basil’s face, and he wondered if there were any way he could help… A number of Catholic priests were dispatched to the Crimea, to no avail. The Orthodox clergy remained adamantly resistant to this “unification” of the faiths. Basil, in fact, was forced to pay the Roman tithe out of his own pocket.

 

 

Al Fatimid Caliphat al Qaira

Badr al’Jamali, “The Spider”, Sultan of Egypt, Calif of the West

Diplomacy    Ghebel-Garib(nt)

        The wealth and vigor of the Spider’s regime continued unabated – the cities of Mount Sinai, Memphis, Al’Qairah, and El’Uqsor all expanded. A huge stone bridge was built across the Nile, between Egypt and Mansura, at old Heliopolis (on the foundations of an ancient Roman bridge). Considerable works were also raised in Petra, across the Red Sea. Supplies were left for the Almoravids as well, for those religious pilgrims were suffering in the desert (sniff!)

        The Fatami religious authorities continued to resist any attempt by the ‘Abasi to bring the Egyptian clergy into their orbit. Efforts to increase ‘Abasi influence were sharply rejected. Their attempts to drive out Omar “the Sword” failed, however, for that giant of a man was with God in his faith.

        Further missionary work on Crete led to violent rioting and an outbreak of anti-Moslem violence. Thousands of the faithful were slaughtered and the island revolted from Fatamid control. Abu’dal barely escaped with his life and the fleet, returning to Alexandria with the bad news.

 

The Yemeni Rassid Imamat

Yarik ur’Adal, Emir of Yemen, Guardian of the Holy Places

Diplomacy    Madina(a)

        Yarik, by dint of making the haji to Mecca, managed to convince the sheikh of Madina to ally with him. The Emir was only one of many famous personages to visit the Ka’ba during this time. Moslem leaders from east and west broke fast in Yarik’s tent, and he was acclaimed as a gracious host.

 

Ar Rassid Imamat as Sa'na

Abu Jahal, “the Jackal”, Imam of the Beni Makhzum

Diplomacy    Berbera(ea), Ras Hafun(fa), Somali(nt)

        Finally supplied with some dhows, Jahal sent captain Faisal off to plunder the black Africans, while he toured the coast of the Horn. To his great surprise, he met a warm welcome in many villages. Naharen’s efforts in Adal did not fare so well, but sometimes the great lord gives, and sometimes he takes away.

 

The Adal Emirat of Ifat

Achmed ibn Uba'id, Emir of Emporyion Ifat

Diplomacy    Harar(t)

        Uba’id, showing no signs of slowing down, continued to expand his settlements in Zeila, as well as securing the tribute of the highland tribes of Harar. The Sa’na prince moped around the court again.

 

The Makuria Kingdom of Dongola

Eonus, Negusa-Negast of the Makuria

Diplomacy    Adulis(a)

        Desiring to open his realm to foreign merchants, Raphael issued an edict founding a town, Kurman, on the Adulis coast. Within weeks of this endeavor beginning, the Negusa-negast was ambushed and killed while hunting in Nubia. The assassins were not caught, fading into the hills like ghosts. Messengers were dispatched to find the prince Eonus, who had been poking about in old tombs by the Nile. The prince, grief-stricken, rushed back to Omdurman to preside at his father’s funeral.

        Amid all the other troubles, Moslem preachers began to appear in Suakin, attempting to convert the Coptic faithful to the way of Allah. There was violence, and many were killed on both sides. An investigation by the authorities found the body of a Fatamid captain among the dead. How strange…

        Bad news also filtered up out of the south, where lord Erezuma (commanding an army in Sennar province) suffered a heart attack and expired at the beginning of ’21. Only Frumentius, overseeing the construction of Kumran, had success in his efforts. Though the prince of Sennar did raid the southern jungles for slaves.

 

The Almohad Kaliphat

Mohammed ibn Tumart, Imam of Imams, The Revealed

Diplomacy    Kordofan(a)

        Abandoning Kerkoure, the Almoravids stormed east, for Turmart had been seized by a holy vision. His life, he thought, was fading. Soon he might die, and all without having completed the haji to Mecca. So it was that his great host and armies swept into the Nile valley, through Kordofan, Alwa and Kassala to the sea at Suakin. In doing so, they tore a huge gap in the Dongolan realm, but the mujhadeen cared not for the protests of the dry land farmers!

        Turmart lived to reach the sea, and to cross into Madina by a hired boat. There, he felt a great weight lift from him, and spent many days in the tents of emir Yarik, speaking with a man from the east, the shah Rasan. When this was done, and Turmart had circled the Ka’ba and prayed, he returned to Suakin to find his people waiting, in all their multitudes.

 

 

 

The Western Roman Empire

Christophoros Augustus, Rex Bulgaris, Duke of Illyricum, Emperor of the Romans

Diplomacy    Failed

        Much like his brother emperor in Constantinople, Christophoros sent priests to Thessaly in an attempt to bring that province into the Catholic rite. The monks were driven out with sticks and stones by angry mobs. Better luck was had with building some merchantmen to ply the Aegean waters. Christophoros was also stymied in the matter of begetting a son (or even a daughter), despite lengthy efforts. Whew! A niggling suspicion began to crept into the Emperor’s thoughts – perhaps Empress Mariana was barren…

        Efforts to secure an alliance in Slovenia also failed, even with the sharp-tongued princess Zoë dangled as marriage bait. In fact, the only success of any measure was princess Euthemia’s work in Thessaly (she was not to be dissuaded by rioting mobs or thrown stones), where the provincial clergy were swayed, by her, to be more accommodating to the western rite.

 

The Varangian Rus of Kiev

Alexsandr II, Prince of Kiev, Lord of the Rus and the Varig

Diplomacy    Seversk(a), Tver(fa)

        After many years of lolling about in the forest, eating venison and bragging about how many children they had sired, the Rus decided to flex their mighty thews and show those barbarians in the north how things were done! Actual wooden house privies were built in Chernigov and Smolensk, while the cities of Kiev and Vitebisk expanded. A new city, Moscow, was built in Muscovy. Traders and merchants were dispatched to the south, looking for warm air and sunshine to bring back.

        Svearish traders began to visit Vitebisk on the Dvina, bearing their northern goods – mostly excellent iron from the mountains of Kopparborg.

        The otherwise uncouth, unwashed and unfriendly citizens of Pereyaslavl became Eastern Orthodox. Young Alexandra was married off to the boyar of Seversk, gaining her father an ally. Prince Dmirtri was also married off, gaining a young wife (heh heh!) from Tver. He (a confirmed, elderly batchelor) hoped he could survive the experience, since Lana seemed a little wild for his taste. On the other hand, he started wearing shoes and combing his beard, so that was an improvement.

 

The Ests

Valthan Christoslayer, King of the Estonians and Sons of Rurik

Diplomacy    None

        Though they could not match the enormous efforts being shown by the southern Rus, the Balts did manage to cobble together a town, Moltha, in Novgorod, on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. The king remained lost in grief for his dead son, but Queen Magda managed to cajole him into the sauna for some vigorous steaming and birch-branch whipping.

        Twins – Cimir and Freya – were born eight months later. Then Valthan felt renewed, rejuvenated! Aye, it was a glorious thing to be a son of Rurik and master of the north!

 

The Kingdom of Lithuania and Poland

Mikuil Pialowik, King of the Lithuanians and the Poles, Defensor Christianum

Diplomacy    None

        All throughout the land, knights and their attendants mustered, then rode to Warsaw to attend the king. As it happened, nearly all of the great lords so summoned, found themselves at first a funeral – for the great Jiagello, who had raised Lithuania and Poland up from barbarism – and then the coronation of Mikuil, the new king of the Poles and the Lithuanians.

 

 

Kingdom of Svear

Erik Lughassen, Christian King of Scandia

Diplomacy    Skanet in Skåne(ea)

        Bustling industry marked the Scandians, for the city of Uppsala in Uppsala expanded a level, and work began on the massive Eriksdomen – a combined cathedral and ossuary for the bones of the Svearish kings. It promised to be quite magnificent. Many longships fitted to carry cargo were built, and Svearish merchants set to sea, following the wave-road blazed by their more warlike brothers.

        Vigorous efforts continued in the Norse court, where Thorvald and Bjorn were attempting to convince the Red King to accept both Christianity, and a closer alliance with the Svear. Unfortunately, the Norwegians were not interested in either.

 

The Norwegians

Bjarne Hejarsson, “The Red”, King of the Norwegians

Diplomacy    None

        Disgusted by the Svearish failure to provide him with either a bride or further opportunity for raiding, Bjarne mustered an even larger force of longships, all crowded with pagan warriors, eager for loot, slaughter and captives. Ignoring the efforts of the Svearish lords to make him “take the cup” he set sail from Hordavil on the long fjord in ’21, determined to pillage and plunder across all the wide seas.

 

Jarldom of Orkeneyjar

Bjorn Youngblood, vikingrik na orkneyjar

Diplomacy    None

        Fueled by a thriving mercantile trade, as well as stolen Moslem gold, the city of Kirkval expanded again. Svearish traders visited the bustling metropolis, carrying amber, lumber, iron ingots, gold, slaves from Rus, and Greek coins and clothes. Old king Haragar, who had spent so many years preaching among the steadings of Trondheim, finally achieved his goal – converting that province to Catholicism – and then he died. He was carried home in a funeral ship and all mourned him. His grandson, Bjorn Torvaldson, became vikingrik.

        Ivar took another voyage to the south, where he collected a fat tribute from the Umayyad princes, lest the wrath of the northman fall upon them again.

 

 

The Commonwealth of Iceland

Olaf Longnose, Jarl of the New Islands

Diplomacy    No Effect

        Much like their cousins in Orkney, the Icelanders had tired of these troublesome raids on the Musselmen (who seemed, frankly, to be honorable and brave sorts). So, Olaf turned his drakenships to more fruitful tasks – like trade, and fishing. The plague-ridden city of Thorsavn on the Faeroes was rebuilt and resettled. In honor of his new, Irish, bride Deidre, Olaf accepted Catholicism and proclaimed that all men and women within his lands should do the same. Iceland and Faeroes became Catholic.

        The royal couple were soon graced with a son, Biyarki, and they made a return visit to Clonfert to visit Diedre’s parents and have the child baptized.

 

The Tuath Kingdom of Thomond

Dermond ard-Brien, High King of Eire

Diplomacy    Connaught(t), Armagh in Ulster(f)

        Dermond saw to some improvements in his capital, which was still very small (no metropolis like Kirkval or London), but it served. He entertained his sister and her Icelandic husband, and was pleased to hold his nephew in his arms. His loyal retainers traveled the Green Isle, working tirelessly to bind the fractious lords of the Dannan to his banner.

 

Saxon Kingdom of England

Robert Godwin, King of the Britons

Diplomacy    Dyffed(a), Caer Myrddin(ea)

        King Robert was no fool – work continued on fortifying Mercia. Everyone expected this new efflorescence of Viking activity to eventually turn on England, as it had always done before. The Britons, therefore, were surprised to have Svearish longships land at Berwick under flag of truce and trade. Did the hairy barbarians from the north even understand how to exchange goods – not under the blade of an axe?

        In London, the king also sought a wife, which brought him into disagreement with his previous regent, his uncle, John the Black. Despite lacking the connections, patronage and friends of his powerful uncle, Robert managed to – by clever manipulation of the court nobles – divest John of the fleet (of which Aethelstan of Wells became admiral) and to deny a marriage to John’s niece Marget. Instead, Robert married Siobhan ap Halle, a Welsh noblewoman from Dyffed. It might not have been love, but did bring Robert a powerful ally against his uncle.

 

 

Das Deutches Konigsreich

Alexander the Grumpy, King of the Germans, Emperor of the West

Diplomacy    Denmark(ea), Meissen(ea)

        Pestered by Papal embassies, and intrigued against on all sides, Alexander whined that “no one loved him.” Indeed, since his sons were a conniving, lax, corrupt bunch – it seemed so. Even noble lords such as the Baron of Danzig struggled with their own problems, and were divorced from the body of the kingdom itself. Baron Jurgen, the commander of the Friesland garrison, died in early ’21. Alexander was forced to remove his sons from any apparatus of the government, though this increased the burden upon himself.

        Bochnia (and Krakow) simply stopped paying any kind of tribute or taxes in ’22. The dukes of Denmark and Meissen began to go their own way, refusing to accept Alexander’s appointments for bishops or tax collectors. On top of this, the Norwegians attacked the cities along the North Sea coast in ’22, destroying Kiel and savaging the countryside. Prince Ferdinand, vacationing in Utrecht, immediately set out to drive off the Vikings.

        Bjarne the Red’s fleet swept along the coast of Friesland next, and Ferdinand attempted to force a battle outside Bremen. Bjarne laughed at him, his forces darting away on their ships, and striking against Utrecht before the prince could march his army back to Holland. The Flemish city was set alight, the churches and houses looted, and a number of German warships in harbor captured by the Norse.

        Ferdinand, quite beside himself with rage, marched an exhausted army into Utrecht weeks later. Bjarne’s raiders were already gone, striking up the Rhine at Frankfurt. Again, the Germans were unable to stop the Vikings from sacking the city. Bjarne, his longships laden to the gunnels with loot and slaves, slipped away into the cold northern mist. The German prince was nearly apoplectic, particularly when his father sent him a letter chastising Ferdinand for failing to protect his “flock.”

 

Duchy of Bohemia

Sviatoplus, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of Prague

Diplomacy    None

        Aided by the Papacy, a considerable number of new farms were built in Bohemia, land cleared and new grain mills established. Young prince Lothair came of age and was proclaimed Sviatoplus’ heir. Even – rather shocking for the peaceful Bohemians – a muster of knights was commanded and sent off to the west, to fight for the Duke of Burgundy.

 

Le Royaume de Bourgogne

Hugh the Second, Duke of Burgundy, The Prisoner King

Diplomacy    Languedoc(t)

        While Hugh languished in his own prison, in Bergone, watching his son grow up pale and famished, the loyal baron Gilbert had rallied the Burgundian nobles in Marseilles in the south. Encouraged by the Papal emissary Fulk of Chartre (not the same man as the Fulk who is regent for Henry of Normandy), Gilbert intended to drive the Lombards from Provence and reclaim his master’s domain. Of course, he also expected the peace of God to prevail, driven by the Pontiff’s efforts to resolve the situation. So, at the head of a large force of Burgundian knights (previously on their way to the war against the Moslems in Spain) he left Marseilles, heading for Provence (see Lombardy.)

Le Duche de Normandie

Fulk, Regent for Henry, Duke of Normandy, King of the Western Franks

Diplomacy    None

        The Normans, however, had absolutely no intention of setting things aright – they ruled Burgundy now! In fact, Guy Berenger in Bergone immediately looted the city, paying especial attention to the Church, so he could pay his troops. Back in Cherbourg, the Regent listened politely to various Papal nuncios, and read all the Pope’s letters. Then he flatly refused to abide by these “treaties” and this “peace of God.”

        A letter was sent to Guy, commanding him to reinforce his army, and then conquer the Burgundian lords still holding out in Hainaut. While Guy marched back to Paris (with Duke Hugh and his son in tow), the Bohemians entered Burgundy – proclaiming the province restored to Burgundian rule. Guy immediately marched out again, determined to drive out these impudent Germans.

        The Bohemians were a little puzzled why the Norman garrison refused to leave Bergone, but they rounded up the westerners and sent them off to Nivernais. The garrison, then, encountered Guy on the road and everyone marched back – blood in their eye, 10,000 strong – to clash with Baron Vitim[2] and his 4,000-odd knights at Vesoul on the Saone River. Everyone expected the battle to be a crushing Norman victory, but the Bohemian knights proved more than a match, man for man, for any three or four Normans. Indeed, after two days of furious melee, the Bohemians were defeated, but the Norman chivalry had been annihilated. Only the Norman foot, as doughty a band of men as ever formed the shield wall, saved the day. Vitim, St. Michael bless him, perished with the last of his knights in a gallant charge into the mass of the enemy. Even the Norman axe-men wept to see such a brave chevalier fall.

        With this German incursion repelled, Guy turned north and attacked Hainaut. Again he faced a stubborn enemy (the duke of Hainaut was no friend of the French!), and spent ’23 and ’24 campaigning before reducing the local castles. Aachen was then besieged, and held out until almost the end of ’25.

        In ’24, the situation in Burgundy was in upheaval again, as Pope Urban arrived from the south with a huge “Holy Army”, announcing he would punish Fulk and the boy Henry for their treason in the eyes of God! (see the Papal States)

        The bull of excommunication arrived in Cherbourg and baron Fulk – so pointedly mentioned – turned to his own council of bishops and prelates. “Do you abide by this… this Roman drivel?” He asked them, voice scathing. “The Pope claims himself a temporal lord – to keep a king from a king’s business? He allies himself with Burgundy and the Moslems! Will you have these lies spread among the people?”

        “Nay!” Shouted the bishops as one. As ’25 passed, it became very clear to Urban (still encamped at Bergone) that his effort to divide the Norman clergy and people from Fulk and his great lords had failed. Even young Duke Henry, still not quite of age, was vocal in support of the regent. All France tensed, for now these matters would be settled on the field of war, by sword, steel and bow.

 

Le Comte de Poitou

Robert de Giscard, Count of Gascony and Orleans

Diplomacy    Orleans(f), Aquitaine(t), Limousin(t)

        Robert grumbled and complained – all his money was going to fill the coffers of the Norman king! He had nothing left for himself… As any noble must do in such straits, he decided to take from someone else’s mouth to feed his own. Those two fumblekins Charles and Phillipe were sent off to find Robert a new wife, which they did – Anna of Orleans, and the Count led his liege-knights in a tour of Limousin and Aquitaine (since the Burgundians were rather busy…) and forced both of those barons to pay him homage and tribute.

        A Roman cleric, Gian Mazini, traveling in southern Gascony on his way to the port town of Bordeaux was killed by outlaw knights, who robbed him and his companions, then murdered the priest and left his body of for the dogs.

 

Lombard Kingdom of Italy

Geowolf of Vinicenza, King of the Lombards

Diplomacy    None

        The Lombard king, encamped in Provence with his army, marched north as soon as the winter of ’21 passed into memory. He had failed to secure various mercenary contracts, but he was undaunted. First he went to Lyonnais where he installed a new garrison, then he swung west into the Massif Centrale, attempting to invade the Burgundian domain of Auvergne. However, while still marching through the mountains, he learned the Burgundians under Guibert of Rossilion had invaded Provence behind him.

        Amid all the other strife and unrest of rampaging armies, the great cathedral in Lyon was destroyed, and the monks and priests there slaughtered. Those witnesses who survived told conflicting tales – some thought Vikings had raided down from the Rhine, others thought Moorish pirates had sailed up the Rhone, still more thought Norman knights (dressed as Moors) had committed the atrocities.

        Geowulf, after conferring with his captains, turned back south to find and destroy Guibert’s army. As a result, the two armies clashed in northern Provence, near Mende in the late summer of ’21. The Lombard army numbered five thousand men, the Burgundians seven thousand. A confused melee followed, punctuated by ineffective cavalry charges on each side. Guibert’s superior valor and moderate grasp of tactics turned the day, ending with the Lombards being driven from the field. As in the fight at Vesoul, the numerically superior Burgundians were shocked by the fighting prowess of the Lombards. Only numbers and Guibert’s able command had given them victory.

        Geowulf fell back over the mountains into Savoy, where his kinsmen had previously overthrown Norman rule. Guibert and the Burgundians did not pursue, though they did then liberate Cannes and Lyonnais. By this time, the Host of God had arrived from Italy and Guibert joined Urban’s army. Together, they all advanced into Burgundy itself. (see Papal States)

        The return of Geowulf to Italy was met by cheering crowds, even though he cam in defeat. Word soon reached him at Cavalleri of revolt in Lombardy, where his agent Carlo had been stirring up trouble. Heartened by this, Geowulf marched to support the rebels. The Normans, meanwhile, were entirely distracted by the death of Joespi and the resulting power struggle to replace him. Lombardy and Vinicenza were liberated in ’23, and Verona and Venice in ’25. By luck and daring, Geowulf’s realm was restored to him.

 

The Papal States

Urban II, bishop of Rome, vicar of Jesus Christ, successor of the prince of the apostles, supreme pontiff of the universal Church, primate of Italy, archbishop and metropolitan of the Roman province, sovereign of the Papal States, servant of the servants of God

Diplomacy    Poland(ch), Constantinople(ch), Clonfert in Munster(ch), Lothian(ab), Pomern(ch)

        Urban had labored unceasingly to try and repair the divisions among the Catholic nations in the west. Despite prayer, arm-twisting and many negotiations his efforts failed. But the Normans had not taken the full measure of the Bishop. He was a pious man, true, and of the cloth. But he was also formidable and he would not see the West brought down in ruin, not when the Moslems pressed close on all sides.

        So Urban set out, at the head of a powerful army drawn from the Churches estates in Italy and from pious men all over Europe. An army of clerics, true, but one skilled in war… Ignoring the Lombard rebellions, Urban marched north and by spring of ’22 he reached Burgundy (now joined by Guibert’s Burgundians).

        The Norman garrison was driven off (and many killed), and Guibert’s troops entered Bergone in victory. Urban summoned all those, low and high, who were in the vicinity and led a lengthy mass and prayer. Then he spoke to the multitude:

 

“I was shocked upon hearing the news of the perfidious Normans. I realized the alliance of a few years past between Normandy and Burgundy and blessed by the Church had been nothing more than an elaborate ruse by the Regent of Normandy, Baron Fulk. Normandy has even received the benefit of learned members of the Curia to assist in the administration of their realm. Despite all this Burgundy now lies fractured and in ruins. How could I have been so gullible? How could the Normans take their sacred oaths so lightly? How could a nation who was so keen for a bull of excommunication to be wielded against other transgressors now flout the authority of Mother Church? The Regent Fulk no longer deserves communion with Mother Church. I have taken up my quill and personally written a Bull of Excommunication, completing it with the words “…thereby dissolving all feudal and filial ties and bonds, between the Baron Fulk and subjects both great and small. No uprising shall be condemned.  No refusal to obey punished. The Baron Fulk has put himself beyond the benefit of Christianity, shall be denied justice and may freely be slain without stain to the soul of any good Christian, with the blessing of everlasting life for the faithful man and eternal damnation for the Baron. I hope, the Pontiff concluded, that the young King or other nobleman would step up and provide better leadership in the stead of the current Regent.” ~ Urban II, at Bergone, 1124 AD.

 

        Riders were dispatched to all the lords of France, carrying these words and copies of the edict. Then Urban waited, considering what would happen next. During this time, as so many Church fathers had gathered, and so many lay lords, the Pope also undertook a more far reaching discussion of policy:

 

“The Pope took time to invite those who had voiced concerns about Papal policies to speak with him. Dressing as a humble parish priest his holiness met and listened carefully to the concerns of the collection of clergy and religious. Once they had finished there were tears in the Pope’s eyes. He begged their and God’s forgiveness for his obsession with things temporal and undertook to ensure that the Love of Christ Jesus was brought to more of his faithful. He first determined to cut the tithe, which the clergy had suggested was bearing down heavily on the poor. He then commanded that the wealth of the Church should start to be shared and ordered public works to be built outside of Rome and finally he drew up plans to reinvigorate church building plans, with construction throughout Europe.” ~ An extract from the Papal Chronicles by Bishop Sergio Andretti.

 

Norman Principality of Salerno

Dominic de Cagnano, Duke of Naples, King of the Italians

Diplomacy    None

        Duke Josepi, mustering his forces in Leghorn, and well supplied with Papal gold, hired a large number of German, French and Slovenian mercenaries for a new campaign against the Lombards in southern France. Unfortunately, one of them was an assassin, who struck him down on the steps of the Caserta palace as he was leaving a church service. His men seized the miscreant, finding him to be a Swiss, apparently in the pay of the Norman regent Fulk. The fatal dagger bore the crest of the house of Lombardy.

        Only a few months before, a large party of clerics from Rome had arrived in Napoli, and set their hand to helping Josepi’s government deal with the sprawling extent of the realm. Now the Papal embassy found itself trying to deal with a dynastic crisis – while the north of Italy erupted in revolt. The Norman lords Ricci of Ansa and Dominic of Cagnano suddenly found themselves at swords’ point over the remains of Josepi’s Italian empire.

        The matter was almost instantly settled, in the brutal and efficient manner of the Normans. Dominic (who had previously commanded the fleet) stormed Ricci’s estate outside Naples with two thousand marines. Everyone within the dwellings were killed, including Ricci, spitted like a boar on a spike. The next two years occupied Dominic with the extermination of Ricci’s relatives, as well as Josepi’s bastard son, Humphrey.

        By ’23, Dominic was master of the south. In the meantime, however, the north had been lost, as well as Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily and the Duchy of Spoleto. In ’24, Dominic sailed to Leghorn, took command of the large force of Norman knights still encamped there. After securing the loyalty of the Tuscan and Ligurian garrisons, he returned to the south. He would deal with Spoleto in time – Josepi had left things in a terrible shambles.

 

El Reino de Leon y Navarre

Sancho V, King of Leon, King of Navarra

Diplomacy    Romagna/Bologna (f)

        Leaving his son, Sancho V, in command of Santiago de Compostela and the remains of the kingdom, the elder Sancho marched east with all of the men under his command. He was determined to drive the Moslems back, but he needed help to do that. Help that could come from France, if he could reach the Pope, or another friendly power. He and his army moved swiftly, passing through Asturias where the Basques joined his forces, eager for a fight, and then Navarre, where many of the local lads followed along.

        At the same time, captain Ricardo de Vaques had taken the Leonese fleet to sea, and had raided along the coast of Portugal. In doing so, he observed a great army of Moslems marching north to attack Galacia. Swiftly, the Leonese fleet returned to Santiago de Compostela. Without Sancho the Old’s army, there was no way to hold the city, so Ricardo and young Sancho evacuated everyone they could and fled to sea.

 

Norman Spain

Tancred, Baron of Castellon

Diplomacy   

        Tancred beat snow from his cloak, stepping in out of the Spanish winter. Ciudad Leon was cold, with the storms roaring down out of the barrancas. He wore a grim expression, as old and battered as his armor. A man lay dying on a bed of straw and blankets – Ebelard, a cousin from Brittany, who had lately led a strong force of Norman knights fighting for Tancred in his glorious campaign (now mired in mud and snow) to reclaim Spain for Christ. The Baron knelt, seeing the light dying in Ebelard’s eyes. “Cousin…”

        “My men are yours now,” coughed the black-bearded northman. “Drive the Moslems like the devil himself…” When the snows cleared, Tancred did not waste any time. Gathering his small force, plus the garrisons of Leon and Old Castille[3], he marched south into Salamanca. A small Akramid force of horsemen was driven off, and the Normans looted everything in sight. They then abandoned the raid, for news had reached Tancred of an Akramid attack on the holy shrines at Santiago de Compostela.

        Rushing north-west, they reached the plains south of the city and encountered a large Akramid army of some 12,000 men. For some reason, the Moslems had paused short of the city (having encountered no opposition, and young Sancho having fled already with the Shroud of Stars and his family). Tancred, fearless, attacked the Moslems in their camps. The Akramids were surprised, giving a great shout of fear and fell about in disarray. By days’ end, the Akramids were streaming back south into Portugal.

        Tancred entered Santiago de Compostela as a victorious liberator a week later. “Thus,” he proclaimed to the assembled citizens, “the swords of Valencia restore Christianity to Galacia and protect the sacred places from the befoulment of the Moslem barbarians! Valencia brings God’s strength to the city!” The cheers were bolstered by the crews of a small Valencian fleet of merchantmen recently arrived in the city.

        Some months later and several hundred miles away, Tancred’s son Hugert married Tessa Alverado de Malle, a noblewoman of Old Castille.

 

The Akramid Sultanat

Achmed, Sultan of Granada

Diplomacy    New Castille(f)

        While the Sultan remained in his palace in Seville, his armies suffered another pair of reverses in the north. Salamanca was lost, Galacia gained and then lost. Achmed summoned his general Mustafa back to the capital, where the shame-faced fellow was given a severe talking to. At the same time, prince Mohamar was entrusted with a new wife, Fatmia of New Castille, and some serious banqueting was undertaken by the army and the nobility.

        When they had recovered, Mustafa was sent to the north-east to help the Umayyads with their problems in Catalonia. For a wonder, the northmen did not pillage the coasts, or raid for slaves.

 

Ummayad Sultanat al Oran

Muawiya, Sultan of the West, Emir of Oran and Mahidia

Diplomacy    Cheliff(un), Al’Hauts(f)

        Holding his nose so that the stench of the unwashed barbarians did not offend, Muawiya loaded crates of gold onto a Viking longship moored on the docks of Santa Maria in Catalonia. The red-bearded northmen smiled, cast a covetous glance around the rich city, then sailed away to the north again. So did the Sultan pay the danegeld to keep the wolf from his door.

        A well-meaning gesture by prince Mohamar to return the body of the emir of Cheliff to his family, and to seek a wife from their daughters became a complete fiasco. The girl was insulted, her brothers enraged, and the prince was forced to beat a hasty retreat, dodging arrows and screaming tribesmen with long, nasty, sharp scimitars.

        An effort to distribute food to the need, that they might love the Sultan even more, failed miserably when all of the food was stolen, or sold at very low prices to the rich, driving up costs for the poor. Another maneuver of Muawiya’s – to marry his sister Ziyana off to the emir of Al’Hauts was successful – she was married, the emir’s province became part of the family estates, then he (being somewhat elderly) had a heart attack and his lands, troops and gold became the Sultans. Ziyana got a villa by the seaside in recompense.

        Back in Catalonia… Muawyia oversaw the construction of many castles, and waited for the Akramids to show up. Instead, he was suddenly assailed by King Sancho of Navarre, thousands of very angry Basques and Spanish, as well as a popular revolt in the city of Santa Maria and the countryside. Everything went from pretty nice to a chaos of battle, smoke and fire in only days.

        The whole thing collided in a field outside of Santa Maria, not far from the burning, ruined abbey of Saint Benet de Bages. Despite being entirely outclassed by the Moslems (who had powerful garrisons, and better troops), Sancho’s native skill, a big helping of luck and the fanatical religious fervor of his troops carried the day. Muawiya fled the field with his cavalry, and Sancho reduced the various castles. Santa Maria was reclaimed. The citizens were delirious with joy! Christ was triumphant!

        Then Mustapha showed up with the Akramid army, as well as a shame-faced Muawiya. The Akramids caught the Navarese in the open, flanked them with swift-racing cavalry, then shattered their center with a charge of heavy knights. Sancho perished, falling among the heaped bodies of his comrades, hewn down by the Muslim lancers. The Christian revolt was crushed under an iron-shod heel. The kingdom of Leon y Navarre seemed to have perished, for Aragon revolted, restoring its emir, and the basques of Asturias became independent.

 

 

The Soninke Kingdom of Koumbi

Kaya Maghau, ghāna of Koumbi, Chief of the Mandé

Diplomacy    Boure(ea)

        The ghāna was displeased. The city of Segu was dusty and dry, and far from the river where the merchants came from glorious Ibo. Mustering his army, therefore, he ordered everyone out of their homes, tore down the city and then marched the citizens (who were wailing and weeping and generally bitching) to a point on the upper Niger where boats could come. Then the city was rebuilt, though it was now called Juffure.

        The prince and his boon companion Muchacho were dispatched to the jungles of Boure to make nice with the locals. Though their mission was a success, prince Kaya had to immediately return to the capital as his father had been bit in half by a crocodile down by the river.

 

The Dia Kingdom of Songhay

Pakezu, dia Songhay

Diplomacy    None

        The women of Songhay continued to grieve for the missing prince Son Baru, though he remained languishing in captivity among the Almoravids. This sad state of affairs was made markedly worse by the death of Kossoi at the beginning of ’21. In the absence of any heir to the throne, the popular General Pakezu became dia of the Songhay. There was much rejoicing. The new dia vowed to continue the restoration of the devastation inflicted by the Moslems.

        He also told the Ibo embassy they could get out of town.

 

The Yoruban Onium of Ibo

Abwanze, High King of the Yoruba

Diplomacy    Akan(f), Zaria in Hausa(nt)

        Buoyed by their successes in dominating the Bini Usama, the Ibo embarked on a massive series of projects to secure their power over the lower Niger valley. An enormous bridge was built across the Niger between Nupe and Oyo, while a postal road was hacked through the fields and woods from Zaria in Hausa to the north, through Nupe and Oyo, to Ibo town in Ife in the south. Abwanze was very pleased.

        The High King was a little peeved the Dia Songhay had turned their backs on him, but everything was going to well elsewhere he didn’t complain too much. Instead, he paid a visit to the Akan chiefs, who agreed to be his loyal slaves. Lord Imba was bitten by a poisonous snake at the banquet, which gave everyone a good laugh. Imba was unable to dispute the humor of the situation, as he was dead.

        Similarly, the prince of Zaria died (trampled by a water buffalo) and his home city became displeased with the Ibo.

 

The Bini Kingdom of Usama

M’blane, chief of the Bini, prince of Usama

Diplomacy    None

        “Where is my son!” The old king shouted at his guardsmen. “Where are Oto and Moto, my chieftains!” The guards scurried out, afraid. M’blane was getting on in years and becoming a little strange. The matter of the Ibo tribute weighed heavily on the king. Oto and Moto soon arrived, and tried to explain to the king that his son was dead, and his grandson lived in the Ibo capital, a prince of that great realm. This did not please M’blane and both captains were soon lacking their heads.

        The Usama king then ordered many spearmen mustered to protect him, and remained in his palace, brooding. He also lavished many gifts upon his concubine Tiyane. Even the news of a strange red tide washing up on the shore of Benin did not roust him from his isolation.

 

 

The Bakongo Kingdom

Niken Joi, King of the Kongo, Lord of Great Kongo

Diplomacy    Matadi(ea), Mbundu(t)

        Far from the eyes of any other realm, the Bakongo had a little squabble among the chiefs, ending in the death of Chikuma and the elevation of his rival, Niken, to the throne of spears.

 

The Luba Empire of Malawi

The Big Man, King of Luba, Lord of the Bone Chair, Master of all that he can see (as long as he doesn't stand on too high a hill)

Diplomacy    Makura(nt), Nyasa(f)

        Eager to see more land cleared for yam, banana and bean cultivation the Big Man ordered many of his guardsmen to return to their home villages. Little Man was sent into Nyasa province, seeking to gain possession of those lands. He did, though he also got the shock of his life… a fleet of Arab dhows (who were these white men?) ravaged the coasts of Mombassa, Kilwa, Nyasa and Makura – taking slaves, gold, ivory, anything of value. The Little Man managed to drive off the raiders in Nyasa, but the other provinces suffered.

 

The Mwene-Mutapa Empire

Chakama, Lord of Great Mutapa

Diplomacy    Saan(nt), Great Zimbabwe in Matopos(ea), Transkei(f), Rozwi(f)

        Mourning bells rang in the great city, and blessings were summoned from the great gods by the priests and by the people. A daughter had been born to the lord Chakama, but his wife – the powerful M’Peya – had died in the process. The king was secretly relieved, for he had been a little frightened of her. Prince Chakran, who had barely received his spear of manhood, found himself wed to a lithe lass of Transkei, securing that province for the Empire. The wedding lasted six days and nights, leaving entire regiments wasted by honey beer.

        The plague ravaged port of Manekweni in Karanga was cautiously resettled, but no one got really sick.

 

North and Central America

 

TzinTzunTzan

Opochtli, Huey Tlaotani

Diplomacy    Tarascan(a), Tributary to Zapotec

        The Huey Tlaotani remained in his capital, agonizing over the continuing failure of the crops. Famine gripped the citizens, reducing them to walking skeletons. His only hope lay in the highland valleys of Tarascan – where lord Copil had finally struck a firm alliance, stymieing the efforts of the Zapotecs.

 

Zapotec Kingdom of Mitla

Ahuazhantzin, Sky-Wheel-Speaker

Diplomacy    Tarascan(reduced to nt), TzinTzunTzan(Tributary)

        However, Opochtli soon received a vistor – a quite unexpected one – the young prince Huehueotzin of Zapotec, accompanied by a host of jaguar knights and many bearers, all laden with ground maize, dried bananas and other foods suitable for transport.

        “Great king,” cried the young man, stepping into the sacred precincts of TzinTzunTzan, “your people cry out for food. Here is food! You need allies, friends – here I stand. All I ask is a daughter from your house, to be my wife.”

        Opochtli looked upon the young warrior and found him quite pleasing and well-spoken, particularly in these desperate straits. The prince from the south was even more popular among the people, for his bread filled their bellies, and his words gave them hope. Opochtli agreed to send tribute – when there was some, and his daughter – to Mitla.

 

The Triple Alliance (Méxica)

Eight Deer, King of the Tiacopan, Lord of Texcoco and Tula

Diplomacy    Tepanec(f), Texcoco in Huexotla(t), Otomi(t)/Tula(t)

        The orderly business of expanding the flower-gardens on the Texcoco shore was interrupted by news from the city that old King Tzompan had, at last, died. His son, Acamapichtli then ruled for three years, before he too died. This left the matter of the priesthood in something of a muddle, but the vigorous lord Eight Deer resolved these matters by murdering the other priests and claiming the high seat for himself. Fortified by their blood, the new King dispatched his emissaries to all lands thereabout. In this way the alliance of the two cities became the alliance of the Three, and something of the old Mexica glory was reclaimed.

 

 

Chichen Itze

Chumatzl, Priest King of the Maya

Diplomacy    Tikal in Quiche(ea)

        Some strange doings were afoot down in the lowland jungle… old King Quachotl set out with his guardsmen for Tikal, hoping to convince the lords of that city to join his realm before he (the king) died. Only a few miles from Tikal, however, he suffered a heart attack by the side of the road and perished. His wife, Nime, then ordered his men to return to Chichen Itze. Upon their arrival, Nime accused the young princess Amita (the wife of Quachotl’s younger brother, Chumatzl) of poisoning the Priest King. A scuffle followed, Amita got a flint dagger in the gut, then Chumatzl strangled Nime in revenge.

        Word got around that the young hottie Amita had been keeping Quachotl warm at night. Chumatzl, not wanting to be made the goat, suppressed that rumor hard – and buried it with the boy-prince Bonkapetl, Nime’s son. By the time the dust settled, Chumatzl was king. Soon afterwards, prince Litduh of Quiche managed to get the king a new wife, Saiia, from the Tikalese.

        When the prince arrived in Chichen Itze with the princess, Chumatzl was quite pleased – the fool had managed to do something right! Unfortunately, Litduh choked to death on a mango peel during the wedding. Chumatzl was sad for about a minute, then appropriated the prince’s lands for his own.

 

The Inca Coast

 

The Kingdom of Quito

Pocomoc II, Moon Prince of Valdivia

Diplomacy    Guayami(t)/Chiriqui(t)

        “Lo, the sun darkened as the prince ascended the steps of the Sun-King’s Temple. He looked up in awe, as did the populace of the city. There, in the midday sky, the sun died, consumed by the disk of the triumphant moon. Eaten away, even as the mad priest Xipe had foretold and commanded. The city was filled with a wild, unrestrained frenzy. Men – simple men, made of clay – could command the universe to bow to their whim. The steps of the temple guttered with blood, and the moon – their champion, the moon! – was victorious over the sun.” ~ The Chronicle of Quito.

        In this way, the lords and peasants of Valdivia and the city of Quito became the adherents of the moon cult, which was viewed by the rest of the Sun-worshipping southern people as abhorrent. Fired with religious frenzy, Pocomoc dispatched a fleet of great canoes north, to find the source of the pochteca traders and their brilliant feathers and jade. The brave warrior Nomozon did not find the source of the jade, but he did find a thriving settlement in Guayami and a bride, U Yema, for the moon-prince.

 

The Chimu Kingdom of Chanchan

Viracocha, The Young Sun

Diplomacy    Ataura(c)

        Under the wise and beneficent rule of the Young Sun, the Chimu were industrious and pious. Many more trading canoes were built, along with some barges to carry heavy goods along the coast. A city, Capac, was built on the Chimu shore.

        News from the north, carried by men trading in silver and copper ingots, disturbed the councils of the Young Sun. How could any pious man deny the inherent truth of the Lord Sun? Perhaps the Quitans were devils, not men at all. In any case, Viracocha decided to see for himself. He marched north with a powerful army and his sister, Ana, to see if peace between the two realms could be sealed by marriage. He also brought many gifts of maize, potatoes, reeds and gold.

        Unfortunately, the Quitans were infused with the terrible fervor of their new god, and the mad priest Xipe spoke out against the southerners. A tense situation developed, and Viracohca marched his army away. There was no battle, but the air was heavy with portents of violence.

        Other Chimu missions to various highland tribes met with poor success as well. The Incans, in particular, were very warlike, and cast stones and spears at the lord Varna-Voche, driving him away from their valley. Viracocha was troubled … all the lands around him seemed inhabited by savages and wild-men worshipping foul gods. Perhaps the world would have to be cleansed with fire and spear?

 

Tiwanaku

Dehol the Fambly, Lord of the City of Seven Walls

Diplomacy    Moquequa(ea)

        Anxious to extend the reach of his realm to the sea, Cuparnu marched down out of the hills into Moquequa, supported by general Xhojin. The Lord of the City made quite an impression on the lowlanders, but fell ill and died after three years by the sea. Xhojin returned with the corpse, and found prince Dehol celebrating the birth of his second son, Cupatar.

        The prince, after becoming Lord, was faced with an unexpected crisis as the students at the Great Temple rioted, burning down most of the buildings and holding a “love in”. The Lord’s knights crushed their “revolt” and restored order.

 

 

ISI Listing for Lords of the Earth, Campaign 24, Turn 24

#	Nation Name		MSI	ESI	Player Name		Phone Number		TV	EMail Address
1		Pratihara Kingdom of Kaunaj	152.1	2		Peter Morzinski		01-419-693-7096	25.6	nagabhata@yahoo.com
2		Al Fatimid Caliphat al Qaira	120.4	3		Steve Bochenski		None	22.3	sboche@mindspring.com
3		Southern Sung Empire	105.4	1		Ken Ditto		None	15.5	shadowkitsune@earthlink.net
4		The Kingdom of Thaton	95.2	8		Mark Saint Cyr		None	17.8	miklosalanna@aol.com
5		The Karakhanate of Ilig	92.8	7		Don Deutsch		01-507-645-2479	11.9	DDeutsch@rmgmpls.com
6		Western Sung Empire	92.0	5		Jamus Thayn			9.4	noonie@blight.com
7		The Pala of Bengal	90.9	4		(Ed Ames)		None	3.8	ed-ames@texas.net
8		The Buwayid Emirates	91.4	11		Stephen Hogie			7.7	shogie@deltanet.com
9		The Varangian Rus of Kiev	89.9	28		Sara Felix		None	6.4	sfelix@austin.rr.com
10		The Yoruban Onium of Ibo	86.6	9		Lorne Colmar			13.8	lorne@lcolmar.freeserve.co.uk
11		The Hatamid Emirat	85.0	33		Ryan Powers		01-906-483-2232	5.3	rjpowers@mtu.edu
12		Das Deutches Konigsreich	78.7	23		Open For A Player!		None	6.9	None
13		The Akramid Caliphate	73.8	24		Bruce Anderson			5.4	cmlandr@juno.com
14		Le Duche de Normandie	74.2	26		(Leslie Dodd)		None	11.9	lesliesdodd@aol.com
15		Oriental Roman Empire	71.1	19		Rick Ludowese			9.1	RickLud@aol.com
16		Kiyowara Principate	70.2	14		(Dan Martin)			3.0	danielm@theriver.com
17		Saxon Kingdom of England	69.4	12		Dave Salter		01-703-912-6076	6.4	SalterDJ@aol.com
18		The Dai Kingdom of Annam	65.0	18		John Kuo			7.7	jkuo@spss.com
19		Dragon Sung Empire	64.5	6		(Jeff Smith)		None	11.0	illmorian@snet.net
20		The Rum Khanate of Turkiye	64.1	32		Allen Pitt			3.4	allenpit@optonline.net
21		The Saffarids of Baluchistan	63.6	22		Hugh Thompson		None	6.5	kwatro@hotmail.com
22		Sad Drivida Kingdom of Ceylon	64.0	13		Don Van Tassel II		01-413-528-0117	9.0	Donv@bcn.net
23		The Kambujadesa Empire	61.4	17		Julian Page		61262851767