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Welcome to L27, I am your GM for L27; my name is Chet S. My Lords GM address is: Lords27gm@throneworld.com for orders and L27 stuff, and my L27 paypal address is: Chetb5@snet.net
Turn fee is still $5.00, * but if you pay by credit card though paypal please include $0.25 cents per turn payment to cover the Paypal credit card fee. * Also I do not accept any personal checks as my bank charges me a $20 fee for any bounced checks that I deposit...(Money orders & certified checks are ok.)
Any nation that reaches a -$10.00 balance without making an arrangement with me will not be processed.
I have policy of no switching nations if your balance is in the red, until that negative balance is paid and you must also pay for one turn ahead so your in the black.
Please use this Order form if it runs on your computer: L27_Excel_orders_template.xls
If you do not have Microsoft Excel, there is a free version of Office called OpenOffice that will open, edit and save Excel file at: http://www.openoffice.org/
Do not put new or old projects in the builds section of the above Order form; they only go in the new or old projects section, and do not delete any part of the order form that you are not using, just leave the unused sections blank and do not add any page-breaks either.
* Make sure your e-mail address is right in your orders, that is the address the program will send your stat sheet to.
* Troops builds: If your leader is in the region already, don't build troops for the garrison and then have him pick them up, just build troops for him.
* Mercenaries: Remember that you MUST specify a city where you are hiring the Mercs. Failure to do this will result in no Mercs and the money being lost. Also, mercenaries may not be hired for more than one turn at a time. This may change when the Years per Turn reduces sufficiently enough for a contract to carry over to multiple turns. PLEASE put where you are hiring any mercenaries AND how many you are trying to hire AND how much you are willing to pay per point of troops in your builds section on the order form. PLEASE put this information in the notes section at the end of your builds. Otherwise you will not get the mercenaries and the GPs bid on them will be lost.
* For Public works (PWB) builds, please state whether its for a region or city in your builds section. (Like "Region of Kashmir", "City of Atlantis".
* Claimed Regions and Cities: These regions and cities will be noted by a dot in your color, not a full color shading of the region.
* TRANSFERS: A lot of orders don't state if the transfer was spent, or saved, or even received, so starting in T39, all gold transfers will go into gold savings and all agro transfers will into reserves and the receiving nation will not be able to spend or convert them until next turn after (the agro will still help against famine). BTW gold or agro transfers will not be refused by receiving nation unless you state in your orders that you do not accept gifts from so and so, or from anybody.
Lords 27 now uses Rules: 5.10.0 and this game uses HOT - Hands Off Trade
From now on, leaders by their self do not need to have ships to travel across water (unless they are exploring).
Rule & Admin Actions: Only the King, Regent, Heir, Primate, Archbishop, Grandmaster, or Master may conduct a Rule action. Only an Heir, Prince, Master, Archbishop, Bishop or Lieutenant may conduct an Admin action.
Only Kings & Queens, and Heirs can have children (HC). Having Children: A leader (Kings & Queens, and Heirs) conducting either Rule, Defend (not React), or Admin in the Capital or Homeland region may also perform Have Children actions at the same time. I'm assuming he's not working 24 hours a day on Administrating! Also, please let me know for how many actions your King, Queen, Heir, etc, is having. Unless, it's not specified, I'll assume the HC action is being done for the entire turn. Finally, if the individual doing the HC is female, there is a chance that they may die in childbirth...
Leader assistance: If a leader is assisting another, please make a note of this in the assisted leader's orders, * and a tip for you: large armies with only one leader are hard for them to handle and if the single leader is killed, they will fall apart.
* Keep track of action points & total action points for your leaders, (& if you build troops for leaders please state in the builds section for which leader A#01, etc), otherwise your leader might end up doing nothing.
* AP reminder: please remember that it is the slowest unit of a given force that determines which unit modifiers apply towards determining APs/year. So if your army of light, elite cavalry includes even one heavy infantry unit, the footsloggers are slowing everyone down. Also if a leader has a combat rating of four or less, he has a -1 AP per year modifier when he is with any type of troops.
Unnamed leaders: suffer a -1 to their action points per year and Kings without names will be named by me if you don't, also unnamed cities do not get built, also leaders need to keep track of their AP expenditure in their orders or run an excellent chance that they will do nothing the entire turn, and need to have the leader number along with the name, i.e. L01 for King, L02 for Heir, etc (same as the stat sheet)...
Allied Leaders: the following are the rules concerning allied leaders. Any troops attached to an allied leader may not be detached for any purpose. They stay with the allied leader at all times. Allied leader units may not be demobilized, although they will go away if the player decides to reduce the control level of the allied region or if the allied leader dies and is not replaced. Players may build or assign additional units to the allied army but such units become part of the allied army and may not be taken back.
* Loaning troops: Loaned troops must be accompanied by one of their own leaders and the troops stay with that leader, if you give troops away then they are divided by two so the receiving nation only gets half of what you send them (and no you can not give away leaders.)
Leaders as Espionage Points: If you're using a leader for an espionage operation or bonus point, they must be located in the region or city where the operation is occurring. If the op is a spectacular failure, there is a chance that any leader assigned to the operation may be caught or killed, which can be embarrassing.
HORDE RULING: Hordes are to be played by a single player (or maybe played by an Americans player if no other can be found).
Certain builds take an entire turn to perform (although for clerical reasons are usually done at the same time as the rest of the builds). These are: City Construction (both new and additional levels), all Megalithic Construction Projects, Colonies, and * Fortresses. (What this means is that you may not take advantage of a given build of this type on the turn that it is constructed. For example: you may not base MSPs or build PWBs at the increased city capacities until the turn after the construction is done. Similarly, PWBs may not be built in excess of a region's old terrain type the turn it becomes cultivated or colonized to a higher GPv. Please plan accordingly.)
Demobilizing Units: you cannot demobilize units and rebuild them elsewhere on the same turn. This is not allowed as per rule 5.4.6 indicates. However, unlike the rules, I will allow demobilized units to be rebuilt elsewhere on the turn following their demobilization or later. The NFP simply go into your saved NFP slot.
Regional Cultivation is now a base level one project, but I will be using the megalithic construct cost multiples on table 6-2.
Empty ( / ) regions need at least one troop to garrison them if you want to claim them and you can't DP them as there is nobody home.
* Diplomacy on Pacified & Pacified Tributary: Diplomacy can be conducted on these regions with the success number being added to the Years from Conquest (YfC) number on your stat sheet. It is still a long process.
Colonization: Any region that is cultivated or has been cultivated and is less than 2 GPV can be increased in value up to 2 GPV for the cost of 15 GP and 15 NFP per GPV of increase. Any named island can be colonized to 1 GPV.
Homeland colonization: any tech 6 nation can colonize their homeland to level 3 GPV, assuming its cultivated (and already 2 GPV) for a cost of 20 NFP and 20 GP. Any tech 9 nation can colonize their homeland to level 4 GPV, assuming it's cultivated (and already 3 GPV) for a cost of 25 NFP and 25 GP.
Exploration: With the following exceptions, all nations have knowledge of sea zones only within trade range of them, unless they have the rudders listed on their stat sheet, and all European nations have knowledge of all sea zones that border Europe (Mediterranean and Atlantic).
Rudders cannot be sold or shared the same turn that they are explored and discovered; word of and maps of the rudders need to make it back home.
* In L27 Mercs are listed by religion, and they prefer to be hired by their own religion (and will chose theirs over yours if different), so if your a tolerant religion (See chart on L27 site) then you can hire them, but if you're a hostile religion then forget about hiring them...
* Exact Tithe: A Primate needs to have an Influence in the country where the EXT operation is taking place. If you do, you can exact a tithe % equal to or less than the influence value. So if a primate had a two influence in a nation, the primate player could attempt to exact a one or two percent tithe. This makes establishing influence extremely important. The maximum influence a primate can have in a given country cannot exceed the latter's RS.
* Loot Religious Site: It is the same as a loot region action, were half of the loot must be given to the troops, or if you don't give half, it might cause mutiny.
* NOTE: Sea zones marked on the map with an "H" are hostile, and you will lose ships and maybe leaders if you try to pass through them, regions with "HS" are hostile to you DPing them.
Mercenaries:
| Religion | Troops |
|---|---|
| Shinto | 28i, 12c, 10s, 10w |
| Mahayana | 16i, 58c, 5s, 5w |
| Therevada | 17i, 48c, 5s, 5w |
| Hindu | 12i, 9c, 4s, 8w, 6t |
The shogun perhaps had cause to regret funding his universities. The imperial army deployed in the streets of the capital Edo as thousands of students protested the Samurai invasion of China. With Nareshi in command, the demonstrators were quickly dispersed, but no trace was found of their apparent leader, Zu-Wang, a poetry student and a reputed brawler. Meanwhile, in the fragranced gardens of the palace compound, Nareshi's son and successor furled his brow over the affairs of state and rejoiced to hear of Lord Arogoro's successful exploration of the waterways to Truk. His father turned 73 in 690. His time would come soon.
Shinto missionaries were sent to Marianas, Luzon and Mantap. They were mildly successful and those in Mantap weathered the Korean invasion uneventfully.
General Yuchiro ordered the erections of field forts across the conquered province of Tsainan. The ruins of Morrischan were quarried and work began on a mighty fortress. But the attackers struck before it was completed: See "The War vs. the Samurai (866-687)".
In Japan, Grandmaster Bodi, who was building up the Samurai's network of temples and offices, received word of the failed Chinese campaign in stride. "The sacrifice has revitalized the Samurai," he said. "Without death there is no honor." His disciples in Shimane took the news less well and dropped their status. Meanwhile, missionaries sent to Mantap returned with mixed news. The Shinto faith had encountered little resistance, but neither had the Koreans.
Primate Deng Chou Plat led the expansion of his holdings, founding in abbey in Hopei and crossing the Huang Ho into Shengtung to set up a church. Sadly his work there was never completed. A falling roof beam crushed his chest, and the primate never recovered. Ch'Dong Den replaced him in 690. Missionaries continued in their conversion of Lu'an. The primacy's wisest were sent to sort through the accounts of the Black Dragon and Honan, and Bishop Junren Wei took 40,000 men and placed himself under the command of the Black Dragon Empire's General Li Dao (See "The War vs. the Samurai" and "The Hsiung'Nu Campaign").
The Order was rocked by a series of deaths. In 689, Grandmaster Shang Xiu collapsed in the yards of his Shensi oratory. His successor, Cai Ying, suffered a fatal riding accident the next year. The new Grandmaster Quin Zhan was notified of his unexpected ascension to the helm in Bao Ding as he looked over the newly conquered stretch of the Great Wall. (See "The War vs. The Samurai" and "The Hsiung'Nu Campaign"). The third to die was Qt Tsung, the newly appointed head of the garrison in Pienching, who went into convulsions shortly after sundown one night, leaving the army uncommanded. A dog which had crept into his tent and finished the dead man's soup was later found dead, its lips twisted over its teeth in a painful grimace.
King Gui-Jin Tri had reason to be proud. His son and heir, Gang Hong-Rip, took his military skills from the castle courtyard to the fields of battle, proving that what had astounded his tutors was even more devastating at the head of an army. His force of 12,000 infantrymen and cavalry conquered Mantap, Suifenhe and Sikhote with ease, and left few lying on the field of battle. The campaign's most trying moment, the prince later quipped, came upon his victorious return to Kaiching when cheering crowds so filled the streets that the royal procession was halted deep into the night.
A new port city was built in Ashan, and the construction of a fleet of heavy transports kept the shipyards of Kaiching humming.
Primate Le-Thu did nothing but twiddle his thumbs.
No orders.
Emperor Hu Song cast a wizened, wary eye over the events to the north. Twenty-five thousand cavalrymen were recruited in Hupei, and Hu's son, Hu Tii, was put in command of the imperial army. Security was tightened on the royal road leading from Funiu, and a new stretch paralleling the Yangtze was built from Chang'ling to Tii'Fawn. Bishop Kang Chou, a portly, but able commander, was given command of the navy. The emperor meant to reorganize the empire's defenses, but the leader in charge, Chou Sang, was getting too frail to travel. A long journey in 687 was followed by a short, fatal sickness and the orders were never carried out. On a cold spring morning in 690, Hu Song was found pallid and barely breathing in his chambers. His last act was to call his son and bless the new emperor.
A system of dykes and canals ensured fresh water year around for the people of Szechwan, and the chieftain of Guizhou pledged his services in times of war. Missionaries sent to Fukien met with the leaders there to great success.
Emperor Lui II hurried home from Shengtung to preside over his son's burial. Worries of a proper succession were put to rest when his new marriage to a 17-year-old beauty with sorrowful eyes yielded three children, two of them boys. He ordered the construction of a new fortress surrounded by a small town in Huang and the extension of its royal road to Tuan in Ordos. More importantly, with a peace struck with the Imperial Realm of Honan, the empire's armies were free to focus on the Shinto interlopers and the pagans to the north (see "The War vs. the Samurai" and "The Hsiung'Nu Campaign").
It was with clenched guts and gritted teeth that the long-time enemies, the Empire of the Black Dragon and the Imperial Realm of Honan, signed the treaties that would make them allies. The seafaring Samurai had ripped into a piece of the Chinese coast, and the common enemy brought a halt to their long war.
In the spring of 686, Liu Zhaohang, the 15-year-old heir to the Honan throne, led 30,000 horsemen across the Grand Canal and into the fortified maw of Tsianan. The Samurai had been busy. Fourteen thousand men had dug in and 35 field forts speckled the lands. In the ruins of Morrischan rose the foundation of a mighty fort. In a decision the poets would later attribute to the impulses of youth, the young prince led the charge. When the armies of Honan were beaten back, they left half their strength in the fields and rice paddies. The Samurai had suffered 4,000 casualties. During that day of bloodstained tunics and screaming horses, the Shaolin army, led by Master Qui Zhan, slipped behind the prince's ranks and into Honan.
The next wave came in the fall. An allied army of 70,000 soldiers and horsemen commanded by the able Lord Li Dao of the Black Dragon Empire joined with 15,000 mercenaries and 37,000 troops from the Mahayana Buddhist army. Twenty heavy Mahayana warships moved in offshore. But the Samurai had shipped in reinforcements -- 10,000 Shinto mercenaries in 120 warships and 50 transports. General Yuchiro, bitter after two attempts on his life, had his men dig in with their backs to the sea. The second battle was fiercer than the first. At the end of ten terrible days, half the combatants on both sides had fallen and a pink hue spread through the glistening rice paddies.
It took the combined armies of four forces to drive out the invaders. Honan's 15,000 cavalry and 10,000 heavily-armed, mounted Shaolin monks joined the Black Dragon and Buddhist armies. The attackers tore through the remaining 21 field forts and drove the last 10,000 samurai into their uncompleted fortress. Outnumbered and without hope of victory, the defenders fought only for honor. They held out long enough for their generals to board their ships and escape. The retreat was slowed as Lord Akira, a renown painter, was consumed by fever and couldn't walk. Three times the heavy surf washed over his stretcher and knocked over its bearers. On the third, he never surfaced.
As the sails of the samurai were slinking from view, Liu Zhaohang broke off the armies of Honan from the combined forces and headed south into Kiangsu, where he found that Brother Shu Yung-Shu of the Shaolin temple had led the peasantry in rebellion against the light Japanese garrison. Violence continued as Japanese temples were burnt and those who had bent to the Shinto religion were beaten and sometimes killed. The young prince accepted Kiangsu's renewed pledges and continued into Anhui to take over the largely undefended region. He rode back into Honan in 690 with only with one third of the men he had ridden off with. Dark lines of sorrow underscored the young man's eyes.
Meanwhile, the rest of the forces moved into Shangtung where the Shaolin transferred control to the Black Dragon Empire. In 688, the army gathered on the banks of Huang Ho and prepared to move into Yen. On the other side, seventeen thousand defenders loyal to the Hsiung'Nu Khan were led by General-Prince Liao Xi-Ju who had faced the Shaolin and their allies before. The General-Prince spread his troops along the Huang Ho and harried the larger host as it tried to cross. Finally, Lord Li Dao of the Black Dragon Empire ordered a retreat and regrouped his armies in Hopei.
With no river to defend them, the Hsiung'Nu armies fared worse. The attackers burst into Yen like a storm, crashing upon the defenders so quickly that the general's tents were overrun and Liao Xi-Ju trampled. But the battle was costly. Arrows struck Lord Li Dao in the shoulder and Lord Wu, Li Dao's second in command, in the throat. Lord Li Dao paused his armies just long enough to bandage his wound and send his friend's body home. The conquests of Lu'an and Bao Ding were bloody and vengeful. The two campaigns had cost the Black Dragon Empire 50,000 dead and Li Dao the use of his left arm, but it had extended the boundaries of the empire to the Great Wall and to the sea.
A peace was struck, and for the first time in three generations, the imperial army of the realm was arrayed not against the Empire of the Black Dragon, but with them. Emperor Xi'an Zang oversaw the defense of his homeland and entrusted the offensive in the hands of his heir and son, Liu Zhaohang, a 15-year-old without a hair on his face made leader of 30,000 horsemen. (see "The War vs. the Samurai"). Both commanded with heavy hearts. The empress, a source of strength to the father and comfort to the son, succumbed to a painful, wasting illness at the age of 42.
Bandits strike the region of Bandao, carry off their loot and disappear into the night.
Open for a player.
Kanata Khan emerged with his tribe and troops from the northern wilds at Yenisey. Leaving his boy-heir in command of the women, children and 5,000 soldiers, the Khan crossed the mountains to Turkestan. That great horde, mesmerized by Kanata's visions of plunder and empire, pledged their allegiance and the entire fierce and loathsome bunch returned to Yenisey to plot and party. Meanwhile, Kanata tasked his lieutenant, Nian, to seek the backing of the Black Dragon Empire in Zhu Zhou. The gruff, yellow-toothed mongrel of man made a poor showing at the imperial court. His demands for "tribute," as it was translated, never made it past the third secretary to the minister of state.
Emperor Skanda presided over the expansion of eight of the empire's cities, and a series of trading centers and minor roadways were established to help get goods to market. Lord Chandra oversaw the upgrading of the docks in a small fisherman's village in Utara. In return, the region pledged its assistance in times of war. Emissaries from Sirivijaya also visited Sulawesi and Moluccas, and cultivation began in Timor and Moluccas.
Tri Jayaavarman, heir to the Kingdom's throne, was on a hunting trip two days from the capital when his wife went into labor. As he hurried home, the news washed over him in waves. Her waters had broken. The baby had turned in the womb. The labor was unusually bloody. The child refused to come out. The mother was near exhaustion. An hour from the palace, a courier met him with the news that a son was born, his second. He was just outside his chambers when he heard his wife had died. It is said he refused to see the child and returned to the hunt.
Elsewhere, the news was largely good. Flowers were scarce after Jayaavarman's brother, Tri Ramavarman, came of age in a splendid ceremony. Three cities spread their boundaries, and the new port city of Champura in Siam was linked to the capital with a royal road. Another 5,000 horsemen were recruited for the King's army, and missionaries in Kayah found fertile minds among the Buddhists. Outside the capital, however, families of colonists headed for Aanx established a makeshift camp. The official in charge had quarreled with the captain of the docks, and their ships were grounded for maintenance.
Mercenaries:
| Religion | Troops |
|---|---|
| Hindu | 24i, 20c, 18s, 5w |
| Sunni Islam | 5c, 5xc, 3i, 3i |
Primate Davananda slept few successive nights under the same roof as he scurried through western India extending the Temple's influence. Bishop Dasaratha set up an abbey in Gaur then traveled to Palas where he hoped to begin construction on a cathedral. Arriving late at night after a journey that had taxed his heart, he never saw the dawn. Archbishop Ghose ran into harder luck when he was arrested in Pegu, trying to establish a church. When the 82-year-old priest died after three years in a unventilated cell, his jailers found that he had fused to the wooden floor. No explanation was given for his arrest.
Meanwhile, a fleet of elite warships was built in Banavasi, and a high-level delegation including two bishops and an archbishop set sail with a large gold shipment for Great Zimbabwe. The fleet left two clerics behind and returned to Banavasi. Another large sum was sent to The Hindu Kingdom of Afriqan. Missionaries completed the conversion of Nepal and Sikkim.
Grandmaster Sahie, his eye firmly on the future, directed his order to expand its universities and infrastructure. But it was a future he would never see. In a late fall day in 689, the Grandmaster took to his bed complaining of a pain in his head and a tightness in his throat. The next morning, he was dead.
By coincidence, death struck the same day on the horn of Africa, where Brother Jung's sudden collapse scuttled plans for an order house in Arami. Master Jumang buried Jung in courtyard of the Berbera Preceptory and hurried home to head the order. Master Lootiu left in the opposite direction. He was last seen trekking barefoot into the deserts of Somalia, from whence came rumors of some lost ancient knowledge.
Emperor Ilore, healthy and virile at the age of 39, had little love for Nashima, his second wife. The dull-witted shrew had been a comfort after the Nasik plague of 681 stole his first and only true love, the Persian princess Sephia. But Ilore had wed Nashima only when she became heavy with a child that the mystics predicted would be a boy. Thus, when after a trying labor, Nashima bore a stillborn daughter and then breathed her last, few tears dripped at the imperial court. And even fewer gasps were heard when, just a month later, he married a third time, to a hefty-hipped noblewoman from second-tier family who bore him in quick succession an heir (seven months after the funeral), a second son and two twin daughters.
Other deaths were harder to bear. In 688, Prince Randir, the emperor's brother-in-law, in Satava on a state visit, broke his neck during a tiger hunt that had been organized in his honor. Shortly afterwards, Bishop Traj of Kali, fell from the third story balcony of a Satava hostel. Some whispered that the notorious gossiper had been pushed. A distraught Lord Parinda, also in Satava, got so caught up in the protocol for shipping the bodies home that he neglected his diplomatic mission. Traj's replacement, a pup of 18-years, made a dashing first appearance at court the next year.
Meanwhile, a system of local roads enhanced communication throughout the empire and a royal road was begun between Gujerat and Jats. Six cities expanded, some of them swollen by refugees from a fire that destroyed half of the city Tanjore in Chola before burning out.
In east Africa, missionaries met with varying degrees of success, with only the desert region of Galla completely embracing Hinduism. A large shipment of gold shipment of Gold was sent to the Hindu Kingdom of Afriqan to help buttress their faith. A new wave of colonists carved out holdings in Kimbu in southeastern Africa, and an alliance was established with the new colony.
Though the emperor was still young in years, the ruinous campaign in Pegu had wised him up to the fickle fortunes of the warrior. Eight fortresses were erected across the lands, and it was a rare vista in Maghada that did not contain a field fort capping a lonesome hill. Lord Baghera took command of the eastern army's 27,000 troops and stationed himself in Gtsang where a new fortress now watches over the royal road. Lord Maghatti marched west to Somantha with enough funds to secure the city's alliance and enough troops to defend it. In the north, an elite force of 10,000 horsemen gathered in Sahis. To protect the souls of the faithful, Emperor Hupta poured funding into the empire's network of temples.
Despite his preparations, the fates conspired to strike the emperor with sorrow. In 686, his wife gave birth to a stillborn son. The next year, a second pregnancy ended in tragedy. Neither the mother nor the child survived. Following a hasty marriage, his 18-year-old bride gave birth to daughter who gave out a single scream and then breathed no more. The following year, another pregnancy: the emperor stepped into the birthing chambers with a stutter in his heart. His wife was asleep, and the nurse held a sleeping baby boy.
The caliph's wife delivered a pair of twin boys and then declared she was finished. The exhausted 45-year-old mother handed over responsibility for the Caliph's SEVEN children, and spent the rest of her few remaining days composing verse. Meanwhile, colonists settling Tarim and Tangut found the houses of the enslaved still standing. Perhaps it was the emirate's violent past that made the suspicions of the leaders of Tien Shan harder to thaw than that region's mighty glaciers. To the east, the brash Lord Ya'qub took 6,000 horsemen and journeyed to Khalkan where his furtive glances at the local sheikh's daughter turned a potential ally into a blood-enemy. His retinue was forced to close ranks and hustle the young man out to Beshbalik. In the caliph's court, tales of Ya'qub's misadventures briefly displaced the buzz of an attempt on a high-placed foreigner's life, foiled only because the victim could not be located.
Mercenaries:
| Religion | Troops |
|---|---|
| Coptic | 20i, 25c, 10s, 6w |
| Zoroastrian | Jabq M6A9; 16i, 42c, 5s, 8w |
Emperor Moltke again gave his full attention to reproducing. The 60-year-old took as his wife a 21-year-old noblewoman "rescued" from Kashmir. The union quickly yielded a boy, but it was not enough for a usurper obsessed with his royal line. Fruitless attempt followed attempt, and Moltke died trying on the morning of the coming-of-age ceremony of his first son, and thus the new emperor. The 15-year-old emperor, whose brother Qapagan joined him in the palace the next year, presided over an otherwise uneventful period.
Missionaries in Balkash were treated courteously, but their presentation of their ideas was so bad they actually lost followers. The city of Axanja increased in size and - despite the rather bumbling efforts of Lord Axander - strengthened its ties with the empire. In Ferghana, a crack team of heavy horsemen swore their allegiance to Lord Mochai, an ally of the new emperor.
Shah Ahmorad kept awaiting and a hoping for some inspiration from a higher authority to strike him.
Open for a player.
Bishop Tarsis rallied the straggling army that had fled from Mecca. Regrouping 6,000 elite horsemen in Tihamat, the bishop marched on the Parsee Zoroastrian church in Petra, threw out the rebel deacon and installed his own. The church's agents were also busy in the west, striking at the spies and assassins of the Eastern Roman Empire and the Order of St. Georgios. Meanwhile, missionaries in the region of Asia found an enthusiastic following, and the teachings of Zoroaster reached the shores of the Aegean.
In the east, Patriarch Docan led the top clergy in the establishment of monasteries and churches, with little success. A great deal of funds were poured into infrastructure, and a royal road extension was built from Media to Zagros. The cultivation of Shirvan was completed and that of Neyriz begun.
Five years of tremendously harsh winters in Anatolia and a massive spring thaw turned the normally minor Tigris and Euphrates rivers into violent inundations. The waters leapt their banks, washed out roads and flooded farms. Any grain that didn't rot in the fields was requisitioned for the war in the west (see "The Second Romano-Zoroastrian War"), and the flail of famine fell upon the countryside. Merchants discovered that the Euphrates was navigable. All but the heaviest of ships could reach the cities of Shapurbad, Ashur, & Nippur.
Xerxes pulled at his white beard, and ordered autonomy for several of the empire's eastern territories. Twelve thousand Zoroastrian mercenaries were recruited and sent to join the western campaigns, and funds flowed from the Persian treasury to the Goths'. Missionaries found fertile minds among the Muslims of the Jabal Shammar, but only persecution and violence in Al'Riadyh. In 689, Xerxes took to his bed and rose no more. The new emperor, ShahanShah Daryush took the Persian mantle at the age of 77, and succumbed the next year to a terrible fever, brought on, many said, by the shocking news of revolt of half his army in Greece. On his passing, Lord Vahram assumed the title, and declared that his brother Vazdegerd would succeed him.
The Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire was a worried man. His father and grandfather before him had ruled in constant fear. They had raised armies and constructed fortresses. But now with the dreaded assault crashing towards the house of his ancestors, Emperor Ortaheus felt like a man in a wooden house who has learned that fires have sprung out at the front and back door.
The emperor gathered his advisors in Constantinople. He would join Prince Nicodromus in the defense of the capital. Lord Tratoric would take half the imperial army to hold the western front at Macedon, where Grandmaster Mildos of the order of St. Georgios would join them with the order's armies. Perhaps there would be need for the Greek Fire. Masters Pericles and Chrysostom would command the St. Georgios navy and hold off an assault by sea.
The news that reached them was grim. Lord Jamaspa of the Zoroastrian order of the Farohars had dug on the far side of the Dardannelles, where armies of the Persian Prince Frothgar were storming the fortress in Hellespontus. During the celebrations, which lasted deep into the night, Lord Omar, second in command of the Persian forces, disappeared on the way to his tent, in which were waiting a collection of Greek beauties. A Farohar sentry later reported having seen two men dumping a man-sized bundle into a flat-bottomed skiff. The cry was sent out, but the rowers slipped into the gloom.
An enraged Prince Frothgar turned upon the famed monasteries of Hellespontus, and a black smoke was seen rising from the mountains where the ancient wonders had stood since shortly after the time of Christ. The golden Shield of St. Stefanos was discovered behind a frescoed brick wall, melted down and split among the troops. In 687, the Persian Lord Cyrus arrived from Athenos to blockade the port of Nicea. The city fell before the year's end, and Frothgar set the wintering army loose upon the churches. In Constantinople, the emperor wept to hear that the purple banner of St. Antony, that standard of Christ, had been used by the Zoroastrian troops to lie upon with the whores of Nicea, whom they paid with gold tesserae chiseled from mosaics of the Madonna.
In 688, came the fall of Phrygia and the looting of its holy sites. News of the death of Persian Emperor Xerxes arrived as Frothgar led his troops in an assault on the unwalled city of Perga. The abbot of Perga was dragged by from his chambers by his beard and made to drop a glob of bloody spittle on the cross of St. Constantine, before his battered body and those of 17 monks were dumped to foul the abbey's well. When in 690, the victorious Persian prince led his armies to winter in the fields of Phrygia, his gaze fell upon the Roman fortress and its cowering garrison -- Emperor Ortaheus's last Anatolian holding.
Meanwhile, a new enemy struck from the north. A Goth horde let by King Ivan himself marched deep into Thrace. On clear days smoke from the attackers' fires could be seen from the walls of Constantinople. Fortunately for the Romans, the Goth king's 12,000 cavalry failed to overcome the region's 33 forts, and the invaders retreated with a smattering of loot and only half their original numbers.
In the west, the news was direr. The Persian fleet sailed into Athenos at the end of 686 with the mercenary general Jabq and his host of 12,000 Zoroastrian soldiers. The Persian Lord Balash, a famed horseman in a nation of famed horsemen, stepped off the boat quite green begging to rest before joining the Persian Prince Hormizd in planning their offensive. He never returned. Armed men fell upon his light bodyguard on their way and Balash was spirited away.
In response, Hormizd pushed with his troops and mercenaries across the mountains into Thessaly where he tore into the handful of field forts. During their looting of the region's churches and monasteries, the Persians spotted a 2,000-strong company of elite cavalry from the order of St. Georgios, but the smaller, faster force refused to engage and slipped back into Macedon. The fortress city of Pherae fell the next year, with the Persian navy blockading the port, and the victorious Zoroastrian army avenging their 2,000 lost souls on the city's ancient holy sites.
News of the death of the Persian Emperor Xerxes filled Prince Hormizd with a deep sorrow displaced only by the hatred of his second cousin, the new ShahanShah Daryush. While the new emperor had been enjoying the splendors of Mesopotamia, Hormizd had been campaigning for the empire. It would shame his faithful warriors to squander their sacrifice on the pasty-skinned pretender in Mesopotamia. Asked for his pledges of loyalty, Hormizd instead gathered twenty noblemen of Pherae, one for every 100 of fallen Persian soldiers, and ordered that their heads be chopped off, placed in a box and sent back to the capital. Then gathering their families, he selected from them their finest, a strong-jawed daughter of the captain of the guard, and declared her his queen and himself king of new Kingdom of Hellas, with Athenos as its capital. A new force had risen on the Mediterranean. As evening fell on the last day in 690, the setting sun tinged that most bloody of waters a deep, shimmering red.
Grandmaster Ardarmard continued to oversee the defense of Mesopotamia, and though no armies threatened, flooding rivers ripped through the countryside. While leading the evacuation of a hamlet near Cstesiphon, the grandmaster was swept into the raging Euphrates. Master Arshya took over the troops and scoured the banks of the torrent. After a month without success, Arshya claimed control of the order and turned his forces against the students who were rising up in the capital, led by a fiery lawyer named Magnus who preached that the famine and flooding were signs of doom for the Zoroastrian forces in Anatolia.
Despite the raging battles in the west, the servants of the Immortals focused their spending on a series of minor improvements across the countryside. A good-sized investment boosted the coffers of the university, and missionaries to Vasi brought the church to the pagans of Vasi. Spies returned from Constantinople downcast and unsuccessful, and Brother Jamaspa lent his support to the Persian efforts. (See "The Second Romano-Zoroastrian War (681-)").
Emperor Durwart kept to his chambers, still suffering from the battle wound to his ego and pride.
Open for a player.
Sultan Ghalib spent his nights staring at the pinholes in the curtain of the night's sky.
No orders.
Open for a player.
Patriarch Raouf spent his time in seclusion praying to see the light, while many worshipers bemoan his lack of direction and wish for a return to better days.
Open for Player!
Mercenaries:
| Religion | Troops |
|---|---|
| Arian | 5i, 5c, 5s, 5w |
| Coptic | 5i, 5c, 5s, 5w |
| Pirates | M456, 35hw, 10hew, 5w, 20i |
A volcano explodes to life in the Med, and Island of Vulcan is formed in 688. Many tidal waves, some 20' tall devastate many of the region's shores and it rains destruction upon all ports on the regions bordering the Ionian Sea and Lybia Sea.
To the aging empress, ruling Egypt reminded her more and more of the mares she used to tame in her youth. Just when you think you're in for a smooth ride, the bucking begins. Large shipments of gold were sent to Kanem and the Western Roman Empire, and huge funds were poured into strengthening the empire's infrastructure. The empress' oldest son and heir, Sarabis gathered to him his lieutenants and marched to war [See "The Coptic Wars (686-)"].
Then in 688, the northern skies turned red and dark. For weeks, the streets of Alexandria ran with black sooty rain, and huge ash-covered waves tore at the Egyptian coast. The Vulcan Volcano had erupted, and a new, craggy, steaming island formed on the Mediterranean. For the next two years, the summers were wintry, and the winters were hot. Thick clouds swept in from the seas to dissolve over in the African highlands. The Blue and White Niles flooded, and were found to be navigable to all but the heaviest of ships.
In the west, Lord Lobis's demands that Ad'Diffiah and Tripolitania pay tribute to the empire were met with steely stares and bared steel. The Empress's messengers would no longer be welcome in these hard parts. Lobis, fearing death if he stayed and perhaps worse when he returned to the capital, fled to Libya. He was last seen seeking passage to a northern, quieter place.
The Sicilian Kingdom was on a war footing when the invaders arrived. After a failed assassination of King Sarantini II in Palermo, soldiers chased down the would-be killer. A pouch at his waist held coins stamped with the face of the Western Roman Emperor, Honorius.
In the spring of 686, the sails of 360 Theban ships were seen off shore. Thirty-six thousand horsemen made a quick landfall under the able command of (Grand) Master Maximus. His companion, the Elder Brother Cassius, turned pale at what lay before them: 40 field forts stretched out across the hills of Sicily. But Maximus gripped his shoulder with a steady hand. "Don't worry, Brother Cassius," said the great general. "In the morning I will show you what we will do." The morning instead proved unfortunate. During a dawn excursion to scout his opponent's defenses, Maximus and his bodyguard stumbled into an ambush. His men were killed, and the Master taken away in chains.
On hearing the news, Cassius ran to his horse, and the army formed ranks behind him. Three charges were made against the forts. As the Theban's turned from the third, the armies of the Sicilian King Sarantino II and his heir Giovanni counterattacked, pushing like a spear into the Theban flanks. The panicked horsemen retreated to the beach to regroup, and Cassius, fearing another blow would shatter his legion, ordered the men to the ships. The fleet loaded up and set sail to Calabria, leaving several of their number burning on the beach.
The Thebans wintered in Calabria, where Cassius tried to convince the young Roman Prince Claudiuss II to join him on another assault. But Claudius argued he would lose too many men crossing the ferry point. His orders were to cross only after the Thebans secured the other side. A frustrated Cassius organized his forces, loaded his ships and set sail for a second assault in Sicily. This time, without the Master to guide them, the Thebans had difficulty making landfall. The Sicilians blocked their every attempt, and the invaders were again turned back, with ships burning on the beach.
Cassius spent the following winter bemoaning his master's fate, until one night Maximus appeared to him in a dream, sketching out how the Thebans were to land to take the Sicilians unaware. The plan worked. The Elder Brother unloaded his ships, assembled his ranks and struck. The stunned Sicilians were slow to rally and the battle seemed to be going the Theban's way until a roaring wave churned into the Sicilian coast, ripping the Theban fleet into splinters, carrying even a few of the ships hundreds of feet inland. Discouraged and demoralized, Cassius and his men retreated to the ferries at Calabria, where the Roman Prince Claudius II, who had lost 4,000 of his own troops when the waves struck, organized Calabria's shattered fleets of fishermen and merchants to help in the Theban evacuation.
Cassius brought his remaining men to Latium, and one day in 689, he was found hanging from the rafters of his chambers. The note said that as he had failed his master, and couldn't live with the dishonor. His troops remained leaderless in Latium.
In 687, the Egyptian empress' oldest son, Sarabis, wintered with his men in Tripolitania, carefully planning a spring offensive with the military genius, Marakesh. The assault unfolded as planned in 688, with the mobile Egyptian force sealing off the 20 field forts one-by-one until all were destroyed. But even the best minds, can't plan for everything, and the Egyptians were taken completely by surprise. As they garrisoned Gefara, the weather turned suddenly violent. Winds felled huge trees, and crashing foam leapt the shores and tore into the Egyptian encampment. When the skies finally cleared, and the waters calmed, 5,000 soldiers were lost. The prince had barely survived by clinging to a fisherman's boat.
After a winter of mourning and burial, the Egyptian host was ready to strike. In 689, the Egyptians moved into Tunisia where 80 field forts and the armies of the Vandal Emperor Garvin and Prince Joachim were waiting. The battles raged for days. And by the time the exhausted Egyptians fell back to Gefara, 28,000 of their number lay dead. The victorious Vandals didn't feel very victorious. Of their 20,000 men, only 5,000 remained, and Emperor Garvin led his limping army into the gates of Carthage.
The Theban Legions reinforced the Egyptians, wintering in Gefara as they planned their next strike, and the two prepared their attack. This time the way lay clearer of defenders, but the region still remained littered with the remains of the dead. The combined forces made quick work of the remaining field forts, but when they moved to lay siege to Carthage they found the defenders much better prepared. Again and again, the attackers rushed the walls. But as winters set it at the end of 690, the Vandals had suffered only minor losses. The Egyptians were down 9,000 men. The Thebans had lost 7,000. Carthage's walls and its citadel were still standing.
In Egypt, Master Maximius and Elder Brother Cassius, loaded 36,000 men and their horses on a fleet of 360 warships and transports and set their sails for the island of Sicily. But some mix up had assigned the siege engineers he had planned to bring to the land offensive [See "The Coptic Wars (686-)" in the Egypt section].
The passage was difficult. The sea was rough even when the skies were clear, and winds rose, fell and swung without warning. Midway through their journey, where the Gulf of Cyprus yields to the Ionian, the sea seemed to be boiling.
Brothers Exuperius and Brother Florentius were a bit slower to mobilize, leading their 38,000 troops, including the Emperor's siege engineers, into Vandal lands a full year after the Egyptian army had set out [See "The Coptic Wars (686-)" in the Egypt section]. One night, as they camped in a long string along the Tropolitanian coast, a fierce storm sprung out of a clear night and raging waters swept through the camps. Seven thousand men were lost, many drowned tangled in their bedrolls.
In all the confusion, Elder Brother Gereon was forgotten and received no orders. Thinking he had fallen out of favor, he turned to drink. After a particularly bad binge in Latium, he caught a fever and died at the age of 42
Death plucked at the aged in the Church's upper echelons as a food shortage effected the lower. Patriarch Tyburcy ordered an expansion of the University at Alexandria, and large shipments of gold were said to be shipped to the Empire of Kanem and to the Theban Legion. Scattered missionaries met with varied, but usually little, success. By the end of 688, the white-bearded patriarch was noted to have difficulty concentrating on church matters. Many audiences digressed into reminiscences of his Theban youth. With the passing months, the 81-year-old's body followed his mind's decline and before the end of the following year, he was dead. His passing followed the loss of Archbishop Trinantos who at 61 proved too frail for the rough waters of the Ionian, and that of the Archbishop Polydectes, also 61, who took ill in Tuscany where he had been charged with founding a monastery. With all the elders in their graves, the church turned to the services of the silver-tongued Bishop Cyril, who at 35 became the youngest grandmaster in several centuries.
To the shock and consternation of the royal court, the young, modern-thinking emperor declared that he would be followed by his even younger and more-modern thinking wife. The two spent much of the five years ruling together, he passing on to her what he had learned at his father's knee, and it was the rare decision that he did not make without consulting her first. Together they ordered the widening of several roads and spent a good deal of funds strengthening the tools of statecraft and training the army's horsemen. Sharing duties did little to cool their ardor, however, and at the end of 688 she bore him a son.
The emperor also took time to travel to Gezira with a carriage of gifts for the local gentry. When the region pledged to support the empire, the emperor ordered that it be immediately prepared for cultivation. Prince Gondar in Dongola and Lord Berhanu in the city of Amurto used similar methods to similar success. Lord Ras Dashan led a new corps of 2,000 heavy infantry to garrison the city of Afarsa in Djibuti, before traveling to Walaga, where his translation of the Book of Psalms found an enthusiastic patron in the local chief.
King Bhagadatta ordered the defenses of his fledgling nation strengthened. The fortress in Berbera was built up along with the walls of three cities, and a few field forts were built in Brava and Nyasa. About a dozen new elite heavy warships could be seen carrying out exercises along the coast. Funds poured in from the kingdom's Indian patrons, and a series of minor improvements were made in the realm's market roads. After visits by Lord Barwabarh and Bishop Manish Parikh to Arami and Ras Hafun, the two regions signed pacts of alliance with the kingdom. When fever carried off Lord Bhujangahan at age 78, the garrison in Mombassa was left leaderless. The lord's death drew little notice, however, coming as it did just days before a difficult childbirth took the life of Queen Sunita. The child, a son, died too, as had a daughter the year before. She had earlier borne the king a son. By 690 the Kingdom had expanded into an empire and King Bhagadatta was re-crowned Emperor, but not enough food was produced to feed the much larger nation resulting in a famine striking the countryside.
Chief Zimba, Spear of Destiny, left his heir in Zimbabwe to defend the capital and led a mass of tribesmen into Barotse and Lozi to colonize the empty regions, then continued into Lunda, where the local chiefs agreed to grant the Zimbabweans safe passage, he also claimed Chokwe. The cultivation of Rozwi was completed and funds were spent untangling the chiefdom's network of command. Chief Igwo was able to convince the people of Matopos to tie their fates to the chiefdom's, but Lord Hosmer, who had crossed the mountains into the Vaal, had little luck. But then again, with his tendency to mumble and his apparent inability to make eye contact, he had seemed to many a strange choice for the assignment.
The decrepit Grandmaster Bantu kept pacing his war-room, so depressed that there was no war to make, that he jumped from his third story window.
No Orders.
The emperor's armies continued their long-standing tradition of readiness. A small investment was made in the royal university, and the irrigation system was strengthened in Songhai. At the royal court, a fashionable greeting began making the rounds: "How's the day?" "Vigilance, brother, vigilance. How's the night?" "Wakefulness, brother, wakefulness." In the coup-prone capital, Nemo's inner circle held a collective breath. The emperor's son Djibuti would soon come of age. With luck the line would continue. In late 688 came news that missionaries who were secretly working in the Terhazza oasis had been discovered. Their punishment was to be buried alive.
King Cyrill ordered some construction begun.
New player for T39...(Did builds only orders for T38)
The streets of Casablanca swirled with incense as news of the discovery of the Holy Grail drew pilgrims from across the Vandal kingdom and abroad. Processions of the faith-fevered swelled the normally quiet city, and news of a near-fatal attack on of Patriarch Ralston by a man wearing a Coptic cross caused riots and the lynching of several "Coptic-looking" merchants. Rumors that the holy man's wounds had healed overnight joined the whispers that the 54-year-old priest had not aged a day since his discovery of the Grail.
A few heavy warships were built in Carthage, and missionaries at the Terhazza Oasis uncovered secret Coptic preaching. Sardinia was cultivated and a network of market roads was built in Algeria. Two of the church's bishops were in Carthage when the Coptics struck [See "The Coptic Wars (686-)" in the Egypt section].
The aging Grandmaster Bseleric preside over the order throughout the Coptic war, he stood ready to defend Carthage with his troops and did so courageously when the attack upon the great city came in the summer of 690, together with the Vandals he helped keep the Coptic dogs at bay..
New construction consisted of about 20 heavy warships of the newest design built at the Carthage docks for the Order's navy, for the order was always ready for war, and yet for peace some public works in Alegeria were improved.
The port Citadel of Tripoli was overlooked by Coptic's forces, yet destruction still rained down upon it, the fortress was damaged and city itself destroyed by the tidal wave from the Vulcan Volcano, its harbor was left filled with floating bodies, its surviving garrison took shelter in the Citadel, Brother Tehonas was in command, he had followed his orders dutifully to administrate in Tripoli, even although his troops plea to and begged him to react to the Coptic invasion of Gefara.
Brother Tehonas looked about in shock at the tidal wave's destruction; his garrison had suffered the dreadful loss of about 1,500 troops from the tidal wave strike.
Master Eusebius and Master Secundus two middle-agers who worked well together, and together they were quite successful in founding a new estate for the Order in Morocco. At the same time as the intrepid Brother Paul took a sea voyage from Tunisia to Arguin. Besides looking quite green from seasickness upon his arrival, he did get them to acknowledge the Order's claim to the region. Another leader a Brother Iskander only in his mid twenties, yet placed in command of the Order's navy was ordered to patrol in bay of Tunis and he encountered no enemy fleets while on patrol, but upon his return to Carthage, he was startled to find it under siege by the Coptics, and further surprised that his way in to port not blocked by a blockade. His arrival bolstered the Vandal and Knight defender's moral in the defense of Carthage and helped the city and citadel withstand the Coptic onslaught. [See "The Coptic Wars (686-)" in the Egypt section].
Taken completely by surprise by Coptic invasion. Emperor Garvin had been a man of a peace rule until 688, when word reached him in Carthage that the Coptics had invaded Gefara, he then took command all of Kingdom's troops in Carthage and with Prince Joachim rushed to defend Tunisia and man its field forts.
Before the treacherous attack by the Egyptians, Emperor Garvin was already quite puzzled, he kept wondering why the Sicily King Sarantion II didn't keep his end of the bargain as he paced his throneroom, Why didn't the Sicily King didn't bring his daughter Rosa who was promised to him as his new wife (Emperor Garvin was so looking forward to shagging his new wife)? As for the Emperor's end of the bargain he had his lovely daughter Anna already to go with the Sicilian King to marry the Sicilian Heir back in Sicily. Troubled he dispatched a few messengers to Sicily to inquire the cause of the delay, buy none returned; little did he know that the Sicilian King had his own troubles.
The peaceful minded empire only built a few public works for Algeria, Merrakesh, and Zind, blissfully unaware of the upcoming attack. But they were in the path of more violence, as destruction rained down on the port city of Maltese, its citadel was damaged and city itself destroyed by the tidal wave from the Vulcan Volcano, its harbor was left filled with floating bodies.
The Baron of Casablanca out of the blue, offers to increase his allegiance and goes from feudal Ally to Ally, rumors spread throughout the empire that he had drank from the Holy Grail, and followers were flocking to him, increasing the ranks of his army.
[See The Coptic Wars (686-) in Egypt section, for the war's details]
Mercenaries:
| Religion | Troops |
|---|---|
| United Orthodox | Waldo M476, 15i, 15c, 10s, Phistronomus M523 |
| Coptic Christian | 10i, 10c, 5s, 5w |
King Konrad governed as well as he had in many a year, work was done on public works in both Sviria and Latvia that was long overdue. Sadly his old wife Brunhilda died in 686 at age 59, but his beautiful young new wife, she barely into her twenties made him quickly forget his old wife's passing. The new wife had one son, but alas misfortune brought about her death during the birthing of her second son, a double tragedy as the child followed her to the grave, the heartbroken old King passed away at age 63, a couple weeks following the funereal, the deaths having caused him to lose the will to live.
Koneric the heir, who is also the king's younger brother went to get Veposkava, and Vologda to rejoin the kingdom, he journeyed with Lord Stager who was a brilliant general, but an avenge diplomat along with Lord Gundo to assist him. Gloating about his success upon his return to Dvinisk, he heard about his brother's death, Koneric was soon crowned king and at his coronation he made his nephew Mundberht, one of Konrad's sons his heir to honor his brother's memory.
Prince Meinrad a middle-aging, overweight, toadstool of a man went on a slave raid with little over 3,000 of the kingdom's best light cavalry, but he was more comfortable with a book in a library than on a battlefield, so it wasn't surprising that he reported back with very few slaves.
The mighty pot-bellied King Ivan spent more than a couple of days counting the gold payment from Persia, joyfully like a little boy counting candy in a candy shop. He then saddled up about 12,000 mixed cavalry with Lord Dimitri as his second in command; they rode off for some merrymaking and looting in Thrace. [See Second Romano-Zoroastrian War (681-) in Sassanid Empire of Persia section for war details.] On the way home to his kingdom, and just within sight of Muscovy his horse was spooked by something and unfortunately the mighty King was thrown from his horse and killed.
Ambition filled the heart of Heir Alaric as he ruled in his father's absence and he liked ruling so much that he decided after a couple of years that the poor King Ivan would not be returning to the throne, he proclaimed himself king only a year before King Ivan's convenient accident. When Alaric wasn't ruling he kept his wife occupied with producing four children in five years, providing him with three boys and a girl.
King Ivan's wife Minnalinda dies in 687 after eating some tainted soup at age 39, on the back roads and alleys many were heard to say that Alaric barely mourned the lost of his dear mother.
New construction consisted of expanding the city of New Seville, some public works for Kirov, along with a few field forts in Muscovy. New troops some light cavalry (1,600) were trained for the King's army and joined his on his adventure into the south.
Khan Asparukh and his people was settling in just nicely, the palace was starting to look like home.
But for some slightly graying, King Jon Wilshire was still fit and robustly worked hard to made this new start for his people to succeed, that said, he also worked hard with his middle-aged wife to add to the royal family, and they added they did: three girls and a boy to the royal family that had already four kids from before, afterward his wife became so tried at age 52, that she said "that's enough, no more, no more" and off she went to a nunnery to retire to some peace and quiet.
The Kingdom invested a little more into expanding its government and this was accomplished it by adding another level of red tape, elsewhere the region of Bohemia blossom into a cultivated state with many farms replacing its wilderness.
King Jon Wilshire kept his leaders busy and on the move poking around here and there, looking, always looking for something in Bohemia, Prague and even Bochnia. Back in the palace it was said that when the news finally reached the old King, about the slaughter in Bavaria, there were more than a few tears in his sad eyes and he never once smiled again to the end of his days.
With some anticipation young Lord Alois who had had just turn eighteen, left on his first diplomatic mission on his own to Silesia, were he was to try and get the region to ally closer with Bohemia, it turned out that he nothing to worry about for he soon had them eating out of his hand.
Zoroastrian | Civilized | Tech 5
King Hormizd
Diplomacy: Attica [P], city of Athenos [P], Epirus [PT], Thessaly [P], city of
Pherae [P]
Formed by DF of Persia, a rebelling leader and his rebelling troops, Prince Hormizd proclaimed himself King of Hellas, although at this point Hellas is nothing but a rebel providence of Persia.
A stern Emperor Ortaheus stood ready to defend Constantinople with Prince Nicodromus by his side, along with a determined army to command. But many in the royal court were filled with discontent upon hearing that Emperor loaned half of his army along with old Lord Tratoric to the St.Georgios Grandmaster Miklos. How could he in such a perilous time with the Persian army across the way in Hellespontus, how could he do such a thing? The Emperor's curt reply to his court was that the ERE would not stand if it didn't help the Grandmaster defend his Order Fortress in Macedon. Still many were left shaking their heads about how the Grandmaster talked the middle-aged Emperor into financing the construction of quite a few field forts in Macedon on top of providing him with troops.
[See Second Romano-Zoroastrian War (681-) in Sassanid Empire of Persia section for war details.]
Patriarch John sat and did nothing, with drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, scholars foretell the end of the church unless some action is taken.
No orders and Open for a player for T39.
Grandmaster Miklos hurriedly left Constantinople with his troops and half the ERE army, he had the ERE Emperor's full support and promise of aid. As he rushed home to defend his Order Fortress in Macedon, he only hoped it still stood against the Greek's enemies. Once there after the relief to find it still standing, he ordered the fortress's walls raised higher in preparation for war, as more field forts were built by the Order itself in Macedon, in addition to the new ERE forts being put in place.
While Vulcan "God of Fire" raised his mighty head in the Med, Thanatos "God of Death" walked among the St. Georgios Order's leaders. As an amazing number, six of it's eight leaders passed death's gates to meet Hades keeper of the underworld. Most surprising was that all died of old age or accidents, and none from the war. The only two survivors: Master Pericles (commander of the order's navy) became the next Grandmaster of Greek Fire in Constantinople, even though he was already a strong military mind, but with the addition of the secrets of Greek Fire it seems that he has become almost the stuff of military legend. Whereas Brother Hector only inherited a master's robe and merely assumed command of the Order's army in Macedon after Miklos's passing in 689.
[See Second Romano-Zoroastrian War (681-) in Sassanid Empire of Persia section for war details.]
Mercenaries:
| Religion | Troops |
|---|---|
| Arian Christian | 15i, 5c, 5s, 5w |
| Celtic Christian | 10i, 10c, 10s, 5w |
Alistar, Mark of Ispan paced back and forth muttering to himself that things were too quiet, much too quiet.
No orders.
King Barnard just stared at the empty walls of his royal chambers.
No orders.
King Ragnar returned to the capital to take hold of the reins of government and he ruled with an iron hand. His kingdom invested a large amount of gold to new improvements in the government offices that paid dividends right away, and even causing the kingdom's infrastructure increased too.
The Heir Hans Ragnarson, along with Lord Otto Fairhair gathered up some troops and journeyed to Holland, there they stood ready to respond to any threats from within or from without the kingdom.
Caesar Julius Agricola II ruled wisely. He had improvements made to the public works for both Powys and Brabant. Surprisingly he gave all of his empire's leaders a very long holiday, by giving them no orders at all. One leader a Lord Antonius promptly got drunk and stayed drunk and died in 689 at age 60 by falling off the docks of London and drowning. Another a Bishop Calius Magnor died in 690, I could say of boredom, but he had lived to the ripe old age of 84, and died in his sleep. A new bishop was sent by the church to replace him.
King Sarantino II did trade adjustments until the war started. Due to the unprovoked attacks by the Theban Legion, he more than once regretted never getting to see his plans and dreams fulfill, for he never had a chance to bring his lovely daughter Rosa to Carthage to get married as promised to Vandal Emperor Garvin, or the chance to pick up the exotically beautiful Vandal Princess Anna to bring home as a bride for his heir.
The King commanded the defense of the region of Sicily with his troops from the attacks by the Theban Legion, alone until Prince Nunzio di Sarantino joined him at the tender young age 15 in 690. [See "The Coptic Wars (686-)" in the Egypt section]
Lord Anthony de Palermo was lost at sea while exploring the way to Azores Islands (Opps, maybe because the arrow is pointing in the wrong direction) and while Sicily received some rudders from the Vandals but they were certainly not to the Azores. Whereas Prince Giovanni Di Sarantino [age 24] was promoted to heir and sent on a diplomatic mission Baelerics, and Palma to help with the transfer into the kingdom and he was able to get Palma to ally. Of course gold was paid to the Vandals for Baelerics, and Palma. Gold too was spent on some new public works improvements for region of Sicily, that King Sarantino II in hindsight had wished gone to expand the military.
Emperor Honorius ever ready and vigilant with his army in Latium, and confidently he permitted his son and heir Maximus to rule in his stead. Maximus ordered an increase in funding to improve the Empire's road and trail network and its universities, the miltary was not neglected with 8,000 infantry and 80 warships added to Latium's defenses, and improvement were made to city of Dijon sewage canals so that that the summer palace didn't smell so bad. A young Prince Thodosius was given control of the navy, while a younger Prince Claudius II was sent south with 20,000 mixed troops to help with the siege of Palermo, once the Theban Legion took the region of Sicily, but disaster struck in the form of a tidal wave and that was never to be. Elsewhere help with the infrastructure was expected from the Coptic Church, but for some reason it never materialized.
[See "The Coptic Wars (686-)" in the Egypt section].
Emperor Temukin with Lord Vigorix once again departed the region of Ulania with his army on a campaign, this time to once and for all deal with the petty Orthodox Church revolts in Bavaria. This time his stopover would be much worse than war for the Orthodox people of Bavaria, for his army surrounded the region and started killing every man, woman and child, the region revolted against this slaughter, but nobody came to its aid. Nobody was spared, nobody surrived, and the countryside was spattered in blood, afterward colonists from Ulania were ushered in to their new bloody homes on a new road that was started from Austria. Finding Lord Vigorix dead in 690 without a mark on him was the only thing that marred Emperor Temukin's smug satisfaction of his grim campaign's conclusion.
Back in the capital smoke rose from the university, the fire was quickly put out, but not before 20% of the rare books were destroyed, and the cause of the fire strangely could not be found. As a middle-aged Lord Leotrin died in 687 in Apulia out riding with its Baron during a break in the talks, when his horse suffered a wardrobe malfunction to its saddle causing it to fall off, along with Lord Leotrin, leaving the lord dead with a broken neck. Prince Kurga only sixteen at the time was unable, and not experienced enough to continue with the talks.
Many within the church hierarchy wonder why after all the effort to convert the Teutons that no effort was made to built some new Celtic Church sites in the new Celtic Christian lands. It was unlikely that Patriarch Oscar heard any of these mutterings as he was away founding a new monastery in Brabant and a new cathedral in Flanders. The rest of the church leaders, five in number had been in Livonia to help with converting the Teutons; each now had separate missions in Western Europe, and each took separate local transports down the Dvina River into the Baltic Sea, but it seemed like there was something dark and sinister waiting for them there in the Baltic as three out of the five church leaders never made it out of the Baltic alive...
The church supervised the expansion of the city holy city of Iona in Man and even built a church in Man itself, while trade was initiated with Ispan and Alamanni. As for the two survivors of the Baltic Sea voyage, they went on their way to establish a few new church sites within Europe.
King Thor Iversson spent his days and nights in his sleeping chambers behind locked doors hiding from the cold.
No orders.
Mercenaries:
| Religion | Troops |
|---|---|
| North Amerind | 2i, 2xi, 2s |
| Pelegian Christian | 4i, 3xi, 2c, 1s, 5w, 5t |
| South Amerind | 1i, 1xi, 1s |
| Pirates | M849, 5w, 5xw, 5t, 5i |
Chief Wild Eagle led his nation capably the whole time. The Chief along with Running Wolf (his son and heir) started off with a joint wedding ceremony in 686, and they with their new wives soon began to propagate the royal family nursery with plenty of babies' cries like it was a competition; for the Heir's wife had two kids, a boy and a girl, while the Chief's older wife outdid her with three, two boys and a girl.
Within the kingdom, the region of Dakota was cultivated, and the cultivation of Ponca was started. The fishing fleet in Oahe was also increased in size, as there was a real fear of famine in the near future. On a beautiful spring day in 686, a young religious leader by the name of Wilderness Voices appeared in the region of Dakota and attracted quite a few followers with his unique way of teaching.
King Barrett spent endless amounts of time on endless and pointless tasks.
No orders.
Chief Bounding Wolf's hands on approach for governing prove quite effective, although he was getting on in the years. He took great joy in having his oldest son and heir Running Moose help with administering to the Federation, however he was sadden by the lost of Running Moose's new wife and first child during childbirth in the winter of 686. Death continued its walk among his leaders as Watchful Stag died in 687 from the spotted fever, leaving the Adena garrison uncommanded, and the old and gray Climbing Fox fell into a deep sleep he never awoke from after returning with unsuccessfully from the talks in Taposa.
Instructions were sent to have Kaskinapo cultivated, and it was competed in five years. Also Shawnee was colonized, and cultivation was started there. At the same time as some improvements were made in the region of Erie, and a few field forts added to Michigamea's defense. Trade was started with the newly formed nation of the Iroquois People.
Chief Greystag governed without any troubles, his young Heir Eaglewing was sent with a tribe to settle the empty lands of Mohawk. At the same time Leader Owego went and claimed Wenro, leaving a garrison there. In good time trade was started with the Mississippi Federation with many new styles of colored beads to be passed among the people. In addition the region of Cayuga was cultivated to provide more food for this growing nation.
A new prince was promoted at 15 winters, but many say he is so weak and sickly, that he should have been left in the woods at birth.
Avoiding the fury of the earth's fire, Patriarch Fynbar found a cathedral and then moved on to Zapotec and its city of Mitla to establish a pair of churches, just missing the creation of a new volcano in Popoluca that somehow miraculously spared the new cathedral he had just founded there.
The city of Ayoel and the region of Huave respond well to Pelegian Christian missionaries with both gaining fresh converters for the church. The middle-aged Archbishop Garrack ap Dubhan in Yokuts was able to lower the heathen's religious convictions with years of preaching. Even as Bishop Allyn ap Rhys did his own preaching in Ayoel, a stop on his way to founding a abbey in New Glasgow.
Emperor Gareth ruled and surprised many of his leaders by giving control of the whole Albion fleet to a young naval protégé named Taranis and him only a lad of sixteen years old. This left his heir Gareth II (nearly twice the age of Taranis) as second in command of the fleet, much to his embarrassment. Whilst Young Prince Tristan was gaining a reputation for a silver tongue in the royal court, as he talked Lenca into closer relations with the empire during his journey to Chichen Itza.
A small investment was made in the naval forces to improve them, and some public works were built in Mata. The city of Anza and the region of Boruca responded well to missionaries, but unfortunately Anza was then destroyed by the new Volcano's eruption. Contact was made with the Iroquois People and trade was started with some interesting beadwork.
Chief Hatawin oversaw his regime, even though he was a little past middle-age, he married a young squaw of twenty-one winters who provided him with three children, two boys and a girl. During his reign a very small investment was made in the university, a good amount of public works got built in Hohokam, two roads were started and finished while a third one that was started years ago was finally completed, and elsewhere Okmulgee was colonized. On the diplomatic front, it took three Yokut's most diplomatic leaders almost five years to get the region of Tiwa to finally allied with the federation.
King Pryzaka ruled, had children and then became Emperor; his was one of two American kingdoms to join the empires establishment. The Emperor celebrated by taking a new wife of eighteen summers whom then blessed him with five children (3 boys / 2 girls), unfortunately the fifth died soon after her birth unable to continue breathing.
Leader John Makaza died in 688 at age 65 of an unnatural dead, a death by a spear thrust in the back while he was in Huave, rumors naturally blamed the "Old Ones". That rumored consequence came about from actions performed two years earlier, during which a campaign had started against the "Old Ones" in the Valley of Mexico, Leader Simon Zukapata toured the regions denouncing "the old ways" that are the foundation of the "Old Ones". He stressed to the common people that the "the old ways" mean a return to SLAVERY for most of them, slavery to a society of religious bloodletting and human sacrifice! As this was going on, Leader Peter Mahakii was quietly investigating the Valley of Mexico, looking for some signs of the "Old Ones" cult throughout the area and he then reported back to his Emperor his findings. On top of that a new volcano exploded in the region of Popoluca in 690, destroying the small city of Anza, and devastating the region, it too was blamed on the "Old Ones".
King Juan Valdez proclaimed himself Emperor, around the same time trade started with the Albion Empire; talk in the palace was that he wanted to impress the white men. The new Emperor as well order a small investment to be made in the empires infrastructure, along with small improvements to the infantry, siege, and warship capabilities.
Juan Valdez II reached age 15 in 688, old enough to take his place along side his father as his heir. He had been worried a couple years earlier when his sister Sallie Mac had married the Chimu Ally, it would be the Ally would become new heir, but to his relief the Ally was only made a prince. The young heir also missed his instructor the Leader Americano who left on a mission to colonize Choco, and was sadden by the death of another Leader named Mocha who passed away at age 62 after successfully exploring the Angamos Sea; alas the sea voyage was too much for his old bones.
Chief Icaru watched and ruled over his fledging nation, while his Heir and eldest son Tovaro administered to it needs. Tovaro also administered to his wife's needs and was awarded with a boy and girl, but misfortune caused the third child to be stillborn. Leader Raya left Mekaranoti with a tribe and colonized Tirimcuru as Mekaranoti itself was colonized to a larger population by yet another tribe.
Copyright © 2004 Lords 27
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