Well, my first try at a civ3 story. Please be kind :D I originally started this on Apolyton, but i liked this site better.

Prince Henry, lord of Portugal,looked down on the tiny new city of Lisbon from his just completed "palace". Well, more like a large house. Anyway...
The land of his fledgling empire was excellent. To the southwest and southeast lay golden fields of wheat, rustling slightly in the sea breeze that almost always buffeted this land. Off the southeastern docks, small fishing boats trolled the rich fisheries that supplied his dinner. Finally, on the very edge of the Southern grasslands, lay the forest through which his father, King Franko, had led his people to the very spot the palace now stood, and proclaimed it the city of Lisbon.
Of course, the declaration was a little rash, and it took a few months before the settlement was completed. A week before the groundbreaking of the palace, King Franco died after catching pnumonia in a rainstorm. His wife, Queen Cady, could not rule without a husbund, and so Henry was made ruler. He still refused to be called king, insisting still on the title of Prince. A knock on the door disrupted his train of thought.
It was Charles de Levonsa, military advisor to the crown: "Milord, I have the report our troop of warriors sent back, detailing the lay of the land. I also have an emmissiary from a King Hammurabi, who is the ruler of a poor little town called Babylon.
"Send in the emmisiary, please."
A little while later, a small, wizened man with pale skin entered, almost tripping over his rediculously long robe. "I greet you on behalf of Hammurabi, the soverign lord of the Universe. We implore you tiny fishing village to join our glorious civilization, for your own benifit. We offer you this beautiful bone ax as a sign of your submission to our culture. We......
"Mighty Portugal will not except any foreigner as her lord and master. Out with You!"
It was not but one moon cycle later that Henry marched and his army of archers and warriors crested the hills to the north of Babylon and froze in shock. Not only was Babylon not anything special, but even Franko, the tiny village Henry founded at the Island's southern chokepoint to block the Babylonian army should they try to march on Lisbon, was twice babylon's size.
Henry really dind't like war, but Portugal was a small island, and two civilizations wouldn't fit on it. Babylon would be easy to take, and the Portugese weren't afraid of attack. The geography was advantagous if defense was necessary. South of lisbon was an isthmus, beyond which were plains, followed by a small desert and still more grassland, and finally the southern isthmus. South of this was the part of the island called Babylonia, half of which was plains fo weat and, closer to the southern ice cap, tundra.
*an. sorry about the long discriptions, lost all my screenshots. Just imagine the island like a center area about three citylengths long, connected by 1sq wide grasslands to n. and s. portions, which each was about half the size.

A few years later, his uncle, who was now Henry's only living relative, but had been wounded by a Babylonianrevealed a secret to him on his deathbed. Henry's family, the Portugalians, had at his birth, held a special ceremony headed by a high priest. It, incredibly, was sucessful, and Henry was endowed with the gift of immortality.
"But take heed Henrique! Should you be delivered a mortal blow, or poisoned, or become unfit in the eyes of the gods, you will die. Henry, remember...remember....remem-" Uncle was cut off as he slipped into the darkness. Henry was unconsolable. He vowed to conquer Babylon. Then, turn his sights to the rest of the world. It would take 6050 years, but he would lead his people to greatness!

A few years later, Portugal bacame a real kingdom, not a motly band of villages. Instead, she now claimed all of the island of Portugal as her soverign lands. After Babylon was quickly crushed, a sister city grew up slightly to the west. Also, three other excellent cities were founded between Lisbon and Franko. Her curraghs and galleys plied the seas, and trade with the newly found continent of Rome prospered. Contact was also made with a more distant island that was home to two countries, Germany and Azteca. The german high king Bismark deeply despised the more civilized lands, and his relations with Henry were frosty at best. Worried that they may someday become full blown enemies, Henry made sure he was in good favor with the Aztec court should he need their aid against Germany someday. In the meanwhile however, Rome slowly became hostile. As they concentrated on large road networks, their scientific research fell behind. Although the Portugese had recently discovered Iron working, their land was resource pour. It was decided that the only other known source of Iron must be secured. The portugese slowly built up a large army of archers and galleys. The other nations, too busy trying desperately for that most important of skills, boatbuilding, that is so necessary for living on a island dotted world, which only the Portugese knew at the time, never noticed the growing threat from the south. That was all about to change one cold winter's night when the first fires of the 1st Roman war began to stir.

cool carry on

Promising story. Go on, possibly with less spelling mistakes :)

Luna Carvasus wept with joy as the Portugese archers climbed to the top of the temple of Zeus and tore down the golden statue of Ceaser that adorned it. For far, far too long her people had suffered under the clumsy, despotic ruling family that had brought her homeland so much greif. Now, after the arrogant emperor Ceasar ix had provoked the friendly, liberal republic only a few miles across the ocean they had finally given up regular relations and gone to war. Pisae, only a three days sail from Lisbon, had been beseiged for only four days when it fell, partially because of the Portugese offensive and, much more importantly, the acts of the citizens themselves, who either went AWOL from the militia or stayed indoors, refusing to help the defenders. By the time Pisae was incorperated into Greater Portugal it had few inhabitants, the majority having already fled for the peacefully established Portugese city of Cape Sugar, a two day ride west along the beautiful coastline of southern Roma.
Luna's happiness soon turned to elation when she recognized a particular liberator, a man of no more than 27 with flowing black hair, piercing hazel eyes and a slightly churlish smile. Joseph turned around to meet eyes with the woman he had seen only once before, three long years ago
Luna had risen out of the mist like a sea spirit, stumbling up the beach to the fort that rose above the otherwise flat landscape of the northern end of the island of Portugal, a fort high enough that Roma could be seen on a clear day. But this was not of of those days. Today people around the Portugal-Roma straits area were practically blinded by a fog that was thick enoigh that even many leagues away in Lisbon the light in the Great Lighthouse was barely wtrong enogh to guide ships but a quater leauge out from the harbor.
When the poorly manned Roman galley that was supposed to bring Luna to her arranged marriage in Veii to the Governor's son, fifteen years her senior, ran aground she desperately hung on to a plank of wood as the waves carried the rest of her companions out to sea. Just as she was about to slip off into the watery depths a pair of strong arms pulled her up and deposited her on the beach. She say a flick of a tail into the ocean as she drifted into unconciousness, only a minute before Joseph found her ther and took her to safety.

cool i hope you have more

Luna woke up several hours later in the warm, snug cottage that Joseph was living in while Fort Lisbon was completed. He was a humble man, but proud to have been assigned to what would be Portugal's first defense in case of a northern invasion. This was to be the last of the buildings built for "Project Mason", a system of three forts protecting the capital and the islands two chokepoints. Joseph turned around to see Luna staring bleary eyed at him
"Oh, wonderful, you've woken up. You gave me quite a scare when you washed up on the beach. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Joseph Dalages, 2nd Sagres brigade. Are you okay?"
Luna pointed to her throat, signing she had lost her voice. Luckily, all Portugese soldiers had basic medical training (Which, by the way, still put them ahead of full fleged physicians working in the rest of the world). A few minutes later, Luna was nursing a stone mug filled with Melocrana, a medicinal drink of tea leaves, wildflowers and honey that was familiar to any Portugese child who had ever had a cold or strep throat.
A few days and many mugs of the sweet drink later Luna had regained her health and, since the next ship for Roma left in over two weeks and Joseph was on leave (an unheard of concept to the militaristic Romans), he insisted on taking her to see Portugal. She laughed for the first time in many years chasing Joseph through the fields of wheat and flowers, cried from the beauty of one of Portugal's most famous plays (The Death of King Franko) and looked out in awe at the view from the top of the Pharos of Lisbon, whose very existence had given Portugal the world's most capable Navy.
Naturally, like so many other similar stories, the two fell in love and were married in Joseph's family home in Sagres. Joseph offered to go to Roma with her to find her family, for at that time a woman still needed at least one of her parent's blessing to have a marriage made legal. Instead, however, Luna went alone after after rumor started to spread about the war, for the Roman government would kill all civiliians of "enemy" descent during a conflict. Luna wasn't afraid. She was one of the few Romans who ever went to Portugal despite its proximity with her homeland.
It took two weeks in a stagecoach to reach her hometown of Antium from Cape Sugar, for there were many stops and only Men were allowed to ride horses in Roman territory. Her parents, who had been persecuted by the govenment (persecutions included forcing their daughter on that ill fated galley to marry the Governor's son in Veii) for suggesting a more democratic Roman way of life, wholeheartedly accepted the marriage and, when made aware of the brewing war, packed up all their possesions and started the journey to Cape Sugar. Their plan was ruined when the war began and the border was closed off. They decided to stay in Pisae, knowing it would eventually be in the hands of the Portugese Republic. They did not have long to wait.
Thus ends the first part of the Portugese history "the story of Joseph and Luna", which quickly became the greatest book of classical Portugese liteature. The second part, coming soon, is called "The discovery of Buena Fortuana" and plays a pivotal role in the war