Grand Theft Civilization

[need my speed]

The establishment of the city of Timidi spurred the Mordorian navy in action - but blinded as they were by their own fury, this was largely ineffective action. The Salvatio III took few casualties, while the Salvatio II was almost entirely wiped out, but both prevailed, and the freshly constructed Salvatio IV would make do as the other two fleets saw to their repairs.



However, the cause of Rome's victory her was only in part because of the Mordorian admirals' incompetence. In larger part, it was because of the Roman admirals' competence, and this drove the Triumvirate to sent additional generals to inspect the training methods of Raven Rock.



Many would journey to Lux Perpetua; missionaries to Romanise - and Christianise, of course - the Mordorian lands, settlers and workers to populate the lands, teachers to educate the oppressed populace, craftsmen and merchants to make use of this new source of money and manpower...



Raven Rock would commission two fleets of galleys to these ends; the Columba I and Columba II (did you know that a 'columba' is a female dove, and a 'columbus' a male dove?). They were not at all meant for military purposes, being optimised for transport capacity and taking on board a crew of healers, teachers, entertainers, and more, instead of soldiers (the Medic promotions, much like the Cargo promotions, now also have a -10% strength malus).



But many battles would still need to be fought before the lands of Mordor could be properly civilised. A small detachment broke off from Rome's main army to head to Cirith Ungol.



And even at home, battles were fought, with the garrison of Martinus Paduei seeking to emulate the famous longbowmen of Amor Sapientiae - with stunning success.



Rome's allies knew their own successes, with both Carolus Magnus and Kundaj V establishing cities to repopulate the lands - especially the latter was reeling from the onslaught of Sauron's forces, offering Rome the opportunity to land in the north and seize Barad-dur, as she had done.



Although 'reeling' was a relative term.



Which Herodotus confirmed; Khand was the second largest civilisation - Rome, of course, was the largest.



Still, Razorbeard's pirates managed to raze one of Khand's cities, just as Mordor's forces were still booking successes against waning New California.



The generals from Roma and Michel Delving arrived in Mare Nostrum, the small town abuzz with workers trying to make the most of the half-frozen lands.



The generals didn't stay there, though; they made their way to Raven Rock to contribute their skills to the war effort.



Just in time for the Columba II to be lowered into the waters, and for the Salvatio III to be fully repaired.



The Columba II and the Samwise crossed paths, as the former headed to Lux Perpetua while the latter's goal was to pick up the macemen that had conquered Daemon Angren.



With the Salvatio III all ready for battle again, the Salvatio IV cautiously sailed southwards - and discovered a powerful Mordorian war fleet lying in wait. The Salvatio IV opted to withdraw northwards for now, so that the Salvatio III may come to its rescue.



The wheat fields of Cirith Ungol were soon occupied, cutting the city off from any outside help by land.

 

[need my speed]

But the main action was near Orodruin, of course. Where Sauron had, apparently, wised up to Rome's espionage activities - and with his eye watching the walls, there was no way for even the best of Rome's agents to sabotage the city's defences... Yet. For some of the Mordorian citizens suspected the end of Sauron's regime was at hand - some of the Mordorian citizens even dared to think of long-forgotten concepts such as 'freedom'. And they might very well be bought to aid Rome.



Regardless, this was nothing good Roman siegecraft couldn't solve.



Soon, enough gaps had appeared in Orodruin's fortifications for Rome's crossbowmen to have some success picking off the odd defender here and there, demoralising the garrison.



Orodruin was garrisoned by some of Mordor's finest soldiers, however; axemen specialising in both flanking attacks and urban warfare, crossbowmen vastly superior to Rome's, war elephants commanded by one of Sauron's most valued generals...



It would make Rome's victory taste even sweeter. But the first victory was scored by Mordor's pirate-lords, as they burned the Salvatio IV and laughed as proud Romans were driven mad by the pain.



Despite this, the Salvatio IV still managed to take out a sizeable part of Mordor's war fleet. The Salvatio III would grimly finish her work.



Though she suffered damage in the process. The engineers and medics of the Colomba sailed up to the Salvatio fleet, joined by the macemen of the Samwise - including those picked up from the ruins of Daemon Angren - in the hopes of offering some sort of resistance to the prowling Mordorian pirates. Raven Rock hastily constructed another fleet of galleasses.



Whereas Mordor hastily assembled her defences; brave Roman pike- and macemen had infiltrated the caverns and tunnels of Cirith Ungol, discovering that gigantic spiders couldn't stand against gigantic iron pikes.



There were casualties of course, but by the time Orodruin fell, Cirith Ungol was an abandoned pile of rubble, old men and children holding spears to ward off the Romans besieging the city. Soon, even the last vestiges of Mordorian life would be removed.



By the time Orodruin fell? Quite. Rome's agents had managed to bribe certain key figures, and when the city garrison commanders spontaneously vanished, Sauron knew his time was up here.



Even as he, presumably, fled with a troupe of war elephants and some of his hand-picked generals, the defences of Orodruin held up surprisingly well, seriously hurting Rome's entire siege corps. Perhaps, if Sauron had stayed, the city might have remained his.



But it was not to be.



Most of the officer corps quickly turned on Sauron, as he had on them, giving Rome valuable information about planned troop movements and the composition and strength of the Mordorian army. The city was kept, to see to the dire state of Rome's siege corps. A coastal fortress was even set up, to the west, to better guard the waters the longbowmen of Amor Sapientiae and Martinus Paduei were so familiar with.



Pikemen sallied forth, seeking to assassinate Sauron.



But if he had been there, then he had quickly escaped. To Minas Morgul, the Romans would later learn; the Tower of Dark Sorcery.



More generals would make the journey to Raven Rock, which was quickly supplanting Antium as Rome's military headquarters. But then, Marcus Antonius hadn't been in Antium for a decade.



Durin of the Dwarves had always had some sympathy for the orcs and goblins of Mordor, seeing in them a corrupted version of his own Dwarven race.



Thanking Rome for liberating all these peoples from the tyranny of Sauron, he offered to supply Rome with bananas.



Other rewards were more implicit; neither Ciryaher, nor Carolus Magnus, nor anyone else, offered their candidacy for the leadership of the Concord of Civilisation, recognising the great service Rome was doing to the world. The wise Saruman eventually took the job of opposition on him, but if it had been possible, he, too, would have been supportive of Rome.



Rome truly was the leader of the free world.

 

[need my speed]

"[...]pro patria mori" , there is no "d".
Otherwise it sounds like "sweet and fitting to bite for your country" ...

... I knew that. Are you saying it isn't sweet and fitting to have a tasty meal three times a day?

But thank you!

 

[need my speed]

Surprisingly many voted for Saruman, however. Especially surprising was Ciryaher's vote - could this be the work of Tommy Vercetti pressuring him?



The ports of Mare Nostrum were rife with activity, as migrants from all over Rome poured into the city, to spread out and found new ones.



Benny had apparently also seen the opportunities this now barren continent offered, controlling at least two cities there. But these cities were not so much built to alleviate the appalling living conditions of everyone living in this war-torn land, no, these cities were built for Benny's top men and other important backers of his regime, granting them unlimited rights to the lands and the people inhabiting them.



The crew of the Ira had seen this first-hand when conducting repairs in Ultra-Luxe; a city where the rich lived in lazy luxury and where the poor worked day and night, slaving away to fund their masters' exorbitant living standards. And a group of Christian missionaries had seen... Something entirely more foreboding.



Was Sauron in the cahoots with Benny? It would make a certain amount of sense, for Tandi's New California had long been a beacon of hope to the oppressed underclass of New Vegas. Sauron's invasion of New California's heartland certainly aided Benny and his henchmen. Longbowmen from Castra Britannia and Castra Sancta were immediately sent out to assess the extent of Mordor's presence.



Meanwhile, the Salvatio III, now the uncontested ruler of the seas, carried out repairs on the open seas, as much as possible, waiting on the arrival of the Salvatio V.



The Salvatio V, which had been built and crewed according to the advice and insights offered by both the influx of new generals and admirals, as well as the reports of the Salvatio III.



In time, they would link up with the main army slowly but surely occupying Mordor's lands. The Mordorian forces, however, were slowly surrounded Barad-dur, attempting to dislodge the Romans who had just gained control of the lands around the city.



It would be a futile attempt, much like how Cirith Ungol's entire populace was pressed into military service as a last resort.



A desperate, futile, wasteful attempt, leaving but empty ruins behind for the Umbaric onlookers to observe.



The Roman army retreated behind the cities' walls, content with taking potshots from the relative safety of their fortifications, knowing they had little chance of engaging all these Mordorian troops in the fields and forests of their own homeland.



There was wisdom, and no cowardice, in such acts. So, too, was it when the Divinus stumbled upon pirates clinging to the rapidly-shrinking jungles nearby Velitrae.



She chose not to engage, leaving that task to the able longbowmen of Velitrae.



As Rome's spies and generals climbed on board of the Columba, they heard mighty cheers coming from the citizens of the nearby town.



The Knights of Neapolis had arrived, a military unit formed of the noblest and most valorous of all of Rome - and of course, these people all lived in Neapolis, the city of Rome's cultured elite. Though having little understanding in the ways of war, and undoubtedly being not at all prepared for the true horrors of war, these men were a stunning sight to behold. Shining armour, intricately crafted and adorned with rubies and emeralds, and the finest horses that could be found in Rome, they would be a morale boost if nothing else.



Others would soon imitate them, giving rise to the combat unit 'knight'; armoured horsemen fearlessly charging into the enemies' ranks for undying glory. The Columba first headed to Mare Nostrum, and would then go south to link up with Rome's fleet. Which had moved in position to counter a small fleet of Mordorian galleasses, just as the Salvatio II had been fully repaired.



The Mordorian captains sniffed at the Roman fleet and quickly headed eastwards, not wanting to risk their lives against obviously superior forces. Alas, the Salvatio II was on their tail.



She swiftly intercepted them, but - again - suffered massive damage in the process.



And so Rome's fleet moved in to cover her.



Rome's main army, though, was still fortified, trying to scavenge a proper siege corps out of the odds and ends that hadn't been destroyed in the siege of Orodruin. Worse, the Mordorian army was fortifying itself in the lands around Barad-dur, and it became harder and harder for Rome's crossbowmen to pick off stragglers.



Out of four engagements, only one saw effective use of Rome's crossbowmen. And they had been wounded, lightly, but enough to put them out of action for the nonce.



Still, the war was going well, as it was for Toni Cipriani; despite losing UNATCO HQ to a determined Illuminati assault, the Liberty armies managed to burn Area 51 and all of its horrifying experiments to the ground, setting back Illuminati 'science' by decades.



Besides, he soon recaptured UNATCO HQ and was sure to sack it thoroughly as well. And as Roman control solidified over Mordorian lands, the Mordorians resorted to slaughtering their own fishermen, accusing them of working with Rome.



They were growing desperate, perhaps because Rome's fleet approached.



Or perhaps because the forests of Orodruin and Barad-dur were quickly converted into siege weapons. Soon, a renewed siege corps would roll out of the gates of Orodruin.



And soon, too, knights would pour into Mordor - and even Sauron's newly adopted creed of Islam, no doubt at the request of Benny, couldn't protect his crossbowmen against the fury of Rome's noble knights.



And as for Benny? His exploitation of the former Enclave lands would soon be put to an end. To this end, Johannes Gutenberg, famous for his printing press and his streamlining of Rome's ever-growing administration and bureaucracy, would leave his office at Cumae and travel to Raven Rock.



But his is a story for another time.

 

[need my speed]

Although manning the walls of Barad-dur had become progressively more hazardous as Mordorian warriors closed in, Rome's galleasses could dart in and out of range with little risk. Their continued harassment of the Mordorian warriors camping on the shores had almost single-handedly relieved Barad-dur from any threat.



Almost - but enough for Rome's macemen to sally forth and break the circumvallation of Mordor's forces.



This allowed the macemen so long aboard the Samwise to finally land in the now scarcely inhabited woodlands. Most of the fleet would sail up to Barad-dur, but the Salvatio V, entirely undamaged, would make for Minas Morgul.



There, she would seek to aid the army that had just marched out of Orodruin's gates. And, hopefully, cut off Sauron's escape route for when the city would inevitably fall.



In the north, galleys continued to ferry troops back and forth, seeking to both transport soldiers to the war down south, and important non-combatants to Raven Rock. Johannes Gutenberg, for example, or generals that recognised the growing importance of Raven Rock for the war effort.



Necessity is the mother of invention, they say, but it was thanks to two wise men, one from Silvarum and one from Serenitas, that the world grew even smaller; they had come there for their rest, gazing at the stars, listening to the critters in the forests, seeking the peaceful silence of the mountaintops... They had struck up a friendship, and could often be found taking a stroll outside or praying in silence in the Alhambra. By chance, they encountered Cicero, with whom they discussed a great many things.



Of the stars, moving ever so slightly, to the frustration of sailors. Of the sun, and of the wandering planets in the sky. The man from Silvarum, Copernicus, posed a seemingly innocent question, one amongst the many other questions they had turned around in their minds; what if the sun didn't move around this planet, but what if this planet moved around the sun?



Soon, Cicero had the priests of the Alhambra and the philosophers of Cumae convinced, and a revolution swept through Rome's harbours. Soon, not only the the sleek and swift caravels could dart through the deep oceans, trusting in their speed to reach safer shores - no, larger galleys could set sail there too, now that the stars held no secrets anymore. Galleons, they would be called.



And they would be faster than galleasses.



They would have to be, were they to successfully curb Mordor's control of the seas south-east of Mare Nostrum.



The city of Viroconium was soon established, though it was unknown whether this was the Latinised name of a smaller settlement of English refugees already existing, whether it was named for the virtuous men living there, or whether it was perhaps a 'true fortress' (this website looks terrible).



Tarentum, too, was founded, after Taras - scouting ahead for the missionaries and other migrants - was beset upon by Mordor's warships. Taras, however, was rescued by nearby dolphins, sent to him by his father Poseidon - and with this divine sign of approval, the city of Tarentum was soon founded in his honour.



Meanwhile, the Crassus, Vergilius, and Antonius, headed back to Rome to pick up knights bound for the front, sprinting past any Mordorian galleasses that might have caught sight of them.



The Knights of Neapolis had by now inspired others, such as the Brothers of Fraternitas.



Or the Philospatha of Cumae; lovers of the sword.



As they waited on their transports to Mordor, eager to go to war, the construction of a massive palace was started in Raven Rock. There, all the generals and civil servants could continue their tireless work to see Mordor vanquished, now all efficiently centralised in one comfortable building.



Though this, understandably, was a massive effort not finished overnight.

 

[need my speed]

As the construction of Versailles progressed bit by bit, more and more officials took up residence in Raven Rock.



Reports flew in of Benny's New Vegas and Edward Sallow's - the self-proclaimed Caesar's - Legion signing a military alliance. Of course, the imposter, pretending that his Legion was the true Rome, would join ranks with Benny's sycophantic and exploitative regime.



Of course, New Vegas was also amicable enough to Sauron's warriors. Diomedes, a mighty Roman warrior, managed to pick off some of the Mordorian archers stationed near Ultra-Luxe. His heroic exploits would lead him to found the city of Brundisium, named so after the natural harbour shaped like a deer's head.



Knights gathered near Libertas to board the Columba, as Umbaric sailors stared in awe at the might of this newfangled galleon.



The Brothers of Fraternitas made their way to the shores as well, and from Christurb, the Crusaders charged forth. Both of these regiments would sail on the Antonius, though, and not the Columba.



In Silvarum, missionaries gathered for a less violent purpose.



The Fortuna, however, was a caravel built for speed, and did not have the necessary supplies to support as large as a missionary crew as the Devotus or Divinus could. As such, instead of seeking to convert an entire civilisation, she chose to help Rome's loyal friend and ally, Ciryaher of Gondor, with establishing a toehold on the western continent.



No, converting a whole civilisation was best left to the Divinus, indeed.



Handsome Jack had seized the holy city of Buddhism from Helga Steele's hands. An oasis of dry desert, these Arid Badlands, amidst lush green lands, the warped nature of Buddhism was clear to see. Preaching a policy of non-violence and pacifism while allying with a genocidal megalomaniac bent on exterminating every non-German human being - warped, indeed.



It fell to Rome to spread the light of Christianity even to this dark corner of the world. But Rome's missionaries rose to the task with zeal and fervour, and in the end, succeeded in at least enlightening part of the populace.



The Inquisitores from Absolvum formed their own unit of knights, intent on cleansing not only their own sins but the sins of all of Rome's enemies.



They wouldn't be in time to purge Minas Morgul, but as Rome's army constructed its circumvallations and prepared its men for siege, the Crusaders and Brothers charged ashore.



With Minas Morgul's fate all but sealed, in the east, things were also progressing well for the forces of the righteous; Saruman had landed his host on the iron-filled wasteland of Dagorlad, bereft of any life and beauty, where he burned the Mordorian stronghold overseeing this grey expanse.



To the north, the archers prowling through the woodlands of Brundisium were finally cut down.



Of course, now that this entire continent was freed of Mordorian influence - aside from spies and courtiers influencing New Vegas - Raven Rock became safer still. And safety had a way of attracting yet more officials.



These armchair strategists, too afraid to risk their own skin, could contribute with their minds, if not their arms. Though, in a twist of fate, they arrived together with perhaps the most warlike and fearless generals ever seen; those hardened by the brutal life Sauron made his minions suffer through.



However, as the walls and towers of Minas Morgul started crumbling apart, Sauron unveiled his worst plot yet...



Hindu preachers, consumed by their desire to strangle Christianity once and for all, driven to madness by the successes of Rome, and having long since surrendered their soul to the dark forces, compelled Tommy Vercetti to go to war against Christianity. Not against Rome, for Rome was too powerful, but Gondor? Gondor was an easy target for what was easily the world's second most powerful civilisation.



Ciryaher had wisely made peace with Mordor - curiously, perhaps knowing, somewhere, deep down, the mistake he was making, Tommy Vercetti hadn't - and had quickly established a warrior caste, but even these measures couldn't prevent Gondor from falling. Gondor would need a strong ally. The strongest. Rome.



And Rome had a large city defence force to call upon, as well as freshly trained knights - if only they could arrive in time.



The knights and spies, so eager to play their part in the war against absolute evil, now found themselves with a whole other part to play. Landing in Fiat Lux, the knights would thunder away to Osgiliath and Cair Andros, while the spies would head deep inside Vice City lands.



One possible solution existed before things escalated.



But even so, Rome knew Vice City needed to be dealt with, one way or another. At the very least, the influence of Sauron-poisoned Hinduism needed to be stopped - just look at the Hindu preachers caught leaving Minas Morgul by Rome's army!

Spoiler :

The situation looked grim for Gondor, the only upshot being that Vice City was unskilled and inexperienced in the ways of war, having always preferred lazy decadence.



Still, Rome couldn't just withdraw from Mordor, certainly not with Khand reeling under offensives launched north and south on its vast borders. The pirates of Razorbeard's Front were cunning, probing for weakness amongst the many border fortifications, and so the populace of Gizar was carried away as slaves.



Rome would just need to accelerate her conquests - starting with Minas Morgul.



The city was razed, for Rome would have no part in the dark sorcery that happened here - who knew, the ruinous powers might even manage to twist Christianity into evil.



Sauron had fled already, and despite Khandic scouts reporting activity on the rivers of Gorgoroth, Rome didn't expect to find Sauron there either. Still, Gorgoroth was Sauron's sole remaining stronghold in the west. As the Artemis macemen secured the hills and the forests for Rome's recovering soldiers, the rest of the army made do with supplies from Lurmsakun as they forced a march on Gorgoroth.



In Rome, the Scutum - Shield - was formed in Mediolanum; knights that would protect, instead of attack.



A dedicated settler programme was also put in motion, to ensure that there would be lasting peace in soon-to-be former Mordor. And finally, field operatives were sent out to harass Vice City's war effort however they could.



But would it be enough? And did Ciryaher, devout Christian as he is, truly put so much stock in the Concord of Civilisation to believe that they could pressure Tommy Vercetti into making peace? Or would he soon call upon Rome, to wage this terrible war on her own continent, in her own heartland? Would all these preparations be enough, for the time being - or would the need arise to investigate the whispers and rumours surrounding the alchemist guild and its explosive powder?

 

[need my speed]

This session of the Concord of Civilisation was perhaps the oddest ever. Ciryaher, wishing Gondor to be perceived as a strong nation easily capable of standing up to Vice City, voted against peace. As did Tommy Vercetti, of course. Eorl was a spiteful man, having long clung to life in his small village as the world eclipsed him - but now he might yet eclipse Ciryaher. Kundaj V cared little for Gondor, but knew that Rome would step in to defend Gondor - and with these two giants waging war on their own continent, Khand might profit either by settling Mordorian lands or by expanding the meagre holdings of Maresh. Handsome Jack, meanwhile, just desired to see the evil of Hinduism brought to ruin, as he himself was attempting to do to Buddhism.



At least for now, Gondor was saved - though Rome would keep raising knights to stand in the defence of Gondor - and Rome's army could march through Mordor without additional pressure.



Rome's army was soon at the gates of Gorgoroth, though it hadn't been an easy march; Mordor's citizens had all been called upon to go to war, no matter that their harvests would spoil and that their children would starve come next winter.



Former citizens and workers of Mordor, now bereft of city and country, were escorted to Orodruin. Though Rome had no interest at all in the inhuman slaughterhouses Mordor used to store its meat in, perhaps the Mordorians could apply their knowhow to Roman smokeries. In a similar manner, Rome was sure Toni Cipriani was using the Illuminati agents and spies - Rome hoped so, at least, for while the Illuminati nation had now been swept aside by the forces of Liberty, it would be disasterous should these agents and spies manage to slip through the cracks, infiltrate Liberty, and take her over from within.



Both Barad-dur and Orodruin would be left with hardly a garrison though, as a force was sent out to scout the port city of Cirith Gorgor; Mordor's navy had to be dealt with somehow, and denying her any good ports would go a long way.



A more clandestine scouting operation was planned by the Officium Frumentarii.



At this time, Leonardo da Vinci, a somewhat eccentric tinkerer, rose to prominence in Roma. Eventually, he would, as many were wont to, make his way to Raven Rock. Roma began to grow a bit concerned of the so-called 'brain drain' towards Raven Rock, and the eastern continents at large, but, as the Triumvirate noted, this was to be expected of an expanding nation, and it would be bad form to treat her new acquisitions as inferior colonies. Indeed, it might even be a good thing, to show that even the most ardent Enclave stronghold could become a powerful city contributing greatly to Rome; had Raven Rock not run the naval campaign almost single-handedly?



Mordor, too, would be integrated within the Republic, becoming an integral and indispensable part of Rome, given time. Time for Roman knights to charge into Gorgoroth, for example.



Of course, Sauron wasn't here either, and the plateaus of Gorgoroth, long since a thorn in the side of both Ostia and Lurmsakun, was reduced to rubble.



These plateaus, however, were now all that was left to the Mordorians, caught between Rome and Khand as they were.



And soon, all that was left to the plateaus were the lifeless bodies of these Mordorians. Most of the Roman army passed through Lurmsakun again, receiving many supplies and trinkets from the joyous Khandic people - as they marched to Carach Angren.



The wounded Romans were sent to Barad-dur, even as they escorted the captured Mordorians to Orodruin.



With the entire west coast of Mordor now under nominal Roman control - practically, it was a lawless wasteland, with all of Mordor built on hierarchy and authority that Rome had now swept away - Rome's forces hurried east. But the garrison from Barad-dur was already east, and there, they faced the monstrous elephaunts of Sauron.



They might be able to resist the common spear, but the iron spikes of Rome were too much to overcome for the lumbering beasts. Cirith Gorgor harboured multiple fleets of galleys and was manned by surprisingly many men - but then, it would have been Mordor's primary port to link up with her holdings to the north-east, so perhaps it wasn't so surprising.



Not only Mordor's fleets prowled the seas though; piracy had returned to the Mare Nostrum, as Rome's galleasses noticed. Luckily, the nearby galleons crushed these pirates by sheer size.



Handsome Jack had established the small village of Three Horns Divide, presumably to counteract this rise in piracy. His galleys and caravels, after all, eagerly traversed Roman waters for trade and exploration.



It would be rather in vain, though, for as Leonardo da Vinci stepped ashore in the port of Mare Nostrum, the first group of officials took up residence in Versailles, now practically finished.



Though the amount of military staff present might seem a bit ridiculous to those used to the barracks of Antium - but times change, and Rome had changed her focus from the training and manpower of Antium to the strategy, tactics, and logistics of Raven Rock. War had become an affair of a far larger scale, requiring planning, espionage, diplomacy, coordinating multiple armies and even naval taskforces to operate in tandem, and more.



From Versailles, the war would be conducted closer to the front, the threat of piracy would be eliminated, and all the destitute refugees left behind as war raged through their lands would be properly integrated within Rome.

 

[need my speed]

The war was quite successfully conducted, with the walls of Cirith Gorgor in sight - with the Roman high command hoping that all these ships would be stuck in port as the city was burned down along with a large part of Mordor's warfleet.



And, though in apparant disorder, Rome's main army had simply been ordered to march as fast as it could, to link up with Saruman's mounted siege corps. A novel sight to the Romans - chariots and horsemen pulling forth catapults and trebuchets - they would come in handy as they besieged Carach Angren, the Iron Jaws of Mordor.



This last point, of integration, was also well underway, with massive galleons shipping immigrants to and fro by the hundreds.



But as said, this required more than martial and muscular men; war had very much become an affair for the intellectual, too, as the Philospathae of Cumae showed, and only studying war at the military academies would be remiss for Rome's future generals; diplomacy, language, engineering, and more, were all relevant skills. Some monasteries offered some of these courses, of course, but they could be expensive, or far away at the other end of the Republic. As such, a nationwide education programme was set up, dividing education in a 'basic' and an 'advanced' part.

The former would be controlled by the state and attended by all Romans from childhood, free of charge, consisting of literacy and numbers and more basic necessities. The latter would be partly funded by the state, provided the institutes adhered to certain requirements concerning testing, duration, admittance, and more. In this way, the quality of education would be streamlined and improved, and all Romans would know which studies were available at which locations, including price, length, courses, and more. This also made it easier for the military to further educate her personnel; a general could now simply be sent to one of the multiple certified engineering studies, and return with a certificate upon completion.

Rome's monasteries would slowly come to be replaced by universities as institutes of learning, that offered courses devoid of the ritualistic and religious trappings of a monastery. Universities were places for studying, not for spiritual enlightenment - though, of course, there was a lot of overlap were one to study, say, theology.



The Devotus and the Fortuna returned to Arretium. The Fortuna would bring the first few Christian missionaries to Mordor, whereas the Devotus would sail all the way to Liberty, to root out any possible Illuminati agents - and, of course, to spread Christianity in the process.



They passed the Divinus, also making its way to Arretium, and soon, also making its way towards Liberty.



Arretium wasn't only the centre of missionary activity, though. With Copernicus' wonderings of how the Earth could be moving around the sun, instead of the reverse, a growing number of people wondered whether they hadn't grossly misinterpreted the ever-growing tenets of Christianity - or, whether some nefarious people had invented tenets purely for their own selfish gain. Christianity had to be studied again, over its entire course of history, to make sure the Christianity held in the hearts of all Romans was actually the right, proper, true Christianity - they had all seen how Hinduism had been warped beyond the point of madness by Sauron, and this couldn't be allowed to happen to Christianity.

As such, all throughout Rome, the educative qualities of monasteries were replicated in less religious settings; in universities. Of course, Arretium housed the magnificent colossus of Helios, the Greek sun god himself, and it was no wonder, then, that these universities flourished here; the Earth, apparently, revolved around the sun - perhaps Helios was the one true god!

As many of these small religious sects arose, so, too, a movement of intellectualism grew, considering what they could know, and how they could find out that what they didn't know. Considering the very nature of knowledge, and of Christianity, and all the ancient philosophy Cumae was so famous for. All had to be considered and reconsidered, debated and discussed, rejected or adapted. This, of course, was a process of generations, and in time, some would even come to wonder about the truth of Christianity. But such radicalism was a consequence of this intellectualism; everything was open to reason, and only be contrasting different reasons could the truth be reached. Even if this reason might invoke divine punishment...



This time, however, the alchemist guild - in cooperation with the soldiers stationed in Mordor, where Sauron had been working on explosives too, as it turned out - incurred no divine punishment. And though initially fearful, Rome soon took her mastery of fire to a whole new level.



Generals eager to make their careers with these new muskets set sail for Raven Rock and quickly spread the rapidly growing knowledge of gunpowder warfare throughout Rome wherever they marched, so that all along the river flowing past Michel Delving, Cumae, and other cities, the excellence of the longbowmen would be reinforced by scores of so-called musketmen. While they couldn't match the quality of the longbow, muskets required a far shorter training, making up for quality by overwhelming quantity - and the shock, of course, of fiery thunder-weapons.



Soon, the entire south of Rome was filled with clouds of gunpowder-smoke. Vice City would stand no chance against these mighty weapons - Gondor would be safe.



The alchemist guild would stick around in Mordor, adding their own - superior - knowledge to Sauron's impressive notes on explosives. It was hoped that explosives, amongst other uses, could help breach a city's walls and, in particular, could be of use in naval warfare.



For despite valiant fighting, the Salvatio III still went under, Mordor's navy slipping away from Cirith Gorgor before she could be sunk. The Salvatio III and her crew would be mourned. Mordor's warriors, on the other hand, would have no brothers in arms alive to mourn for them.



Both the army and the navy withdrew, knowing that the Mordorian galleasses couldn't yet intercept Rome's galleons.



As wounded soldiers streamed into Barad-dur, captured labourers streamed into Orodruin. For now, they would work in the fields, damming the river and constructing watermills.



Three groups of settlers, meanwhile, landed on the western shores of what used to be Mordor.



And Rome's army, too, moved west, with even the Leonum - experts when it comes to traversing rough terrain - catching up to the main army.



Rome's agents, however, continued moving south, into Vice City.



Even into the capital of crime, the city of Vice City herself. The Frumentarii soon gathered that an absolutely massive project was being undertaken here in secret.



Such a project would require hundreds of men to work together - it would be easy to incite violence between the large Christian and Hindu communities.



Though such a revolt wouldn't last long. Certainly not with the Frumentarii needing to flee, fast, before they were pointed to as the culprit of this violence.

 

[need my speed]

Luckily, there were more Frumentarii to call upon; those stationed in Clymenus, keeping track of Vice City's military movements. It hadn't been hard to sneak them in, what with Roman knights and musketmen garrisoning Gondor.



A call for universalism should stop Vice City in its tracks for at least a short amount of time; Vice City's interventionist policies had seen her invade Gondor, and more, justified her ridiculously large military. Should the populace cry out against this, it was hoped that relations between Gondor and Vice City could heal - perhaps even between Rome and Vice City, if these Hindu prophets wouldn't decide to intervene in proper Christian societies - and further, would render the military apparatus of Vice City ineffective as peacekeepers and police officers. An uprising might well cascade forth - if a spark could be lit.



Clymenus, strongly affected by both Roman and Gondorian culture, was just the place where these views could be aired and picked up by others, to spread like wildfire through all of Vice City (little did I know that this wouldn't cause a turn of anarchy ).



Mordor was going through internal turmoil far worse than Vice City, though; in her homeland, Roman and Isengarder armies marched uncontested, and already, the Roman high command planned for the fall of Carach Angren, deciding that they needed at least a few of the migrants arriving on the west coast to relieve the army with rest, medicine, food, other supplies, and proper city walls.



Other migrants were free to settle down and begin exploiting the continent for Rome - begin turning all the wandering bands of refugees and outlaws into citizens Rome could be proud of.



Caesaraugusta was one such city. 'Caesar' was a rather nebulous term referring to the leadership of Rome - the Triumvirate and the Quorum - and, of course, the august Caesar now ruled over Mordor. Caesarea was founded with a similar reasoning.



It was then that Gaius Iulius Civilis contacted Rome. A survivor of the Ira sinking near Vault 15, apparently, hailing from Rome but having taken up arms in defence of the Dutch people of Vault 15.



In time, most of the Dutch had dispersed throughout New California - explaining the current Dutch rebellion near The Hub - seeing nothing but their own deaths in the future. But Gaius Iulius Civilis had stayed, and the Batavii loyal to him had stayed too, and so Mordor was undermined, here, too.



The Batavians now fought for their own freedom as much as they fought for Dutch freedom.









Unfortunately, they had lost the ways of Christianity. Perhaps the Divinus, having just arrived at Arretium, should spread Christianity eastwards, instead of westwards.



Or perhaps, their contact with Rome had exposed them to Sauron as more than mere rabble-rousers... The consequences were sadly lethal.



With yet more generals from the mainland arriving in Raven Rock, it was inevitable for the engineers there, under the watch of Leonardo da Vinci, to perfect the musket. Extensively drilled men would stand in lines and unleash their fury as one, their sound as if hell had opened its gates on the very spot, grime and brimstone rising up in the air has men found themselves to be lacking body parts, brutally torn off by the explosive force of a musket's bullet.



In Mordor, they weren't yet acquainted with the musket. Something none of the Mordorians regretted; they were being slaughtered just fine by conventional weapons, and didn't dare to imagine with these hellish explosives could do.



And indeed, the battered forces of Carach Angren, besieged by both Isengard and Rome, would soon fall.



They did, however, show surprising resilience, taking the lives of the Antonii IX regiment of macemen.



In the end, they even roused the peasant populace to stand against Rome.



The peasants' guerrilla tactics did take the lives of more Romans, but in the end, none could stand against Rome. Especially when the outpost of Vae Victis was established - woe to the conquered! - where many of these same peasants would work for the betterment of Rome.



Refugees began sneaking into Vae Victis; Mordorians, knowing beyond doubt that Sauron had fled to The Hub - had his generals not relocated to there, after letting the peasants of Carach Angren take up arms against Rome as a diversion? - now finally felt safe enough to risk fleeing Ered Lithui. Some begged for peace, for their friends and family still living in Ered Lithui, but others, grim-faced, asked Rome to continue the war, to liberate their friends and family... And yes, if necessary - to kill them, so that the rest of Mordor might be liberated.



The final offensive was launched, to purge any taint of Sauron from this continent, to drive any foul presence of Mordor into the sea. It would be a glorious offensive; for engineers part of the founders of Vae Victis had brought knowledge of gunpowder with them.



They had brought audacious plans straight from the high command in Raven Rock with them. Plans springing from the mind of geniuses such as Leonardo da Vinci. Plans for a mighty bombard.



Even Saruman, wise beyond his years, knowing all there is to know of engineering and smelting, no doubt having known of explosives long before Mordor had, was awed. Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard... And Rome? To stand against the might of Caesar and Saruman - and the Concord of Civilisation?

None, indeed. Most certainly not the pitiful attempts of Benny to sponsor piracy right in the middle of Mare Nostrum - as if he could seize Rome's devout missionaries.



No, they arrived safely in Barad-dur.



And finally, these lands could be properly Romanised. Free of piracy, free of evil. A new and soon to be prosperous part of Rome.



A Rome now reinforced by the rational and objective analysis of knowledge and all other concepts. An educated Rome, where men could wonder about earths and suns without losing their head.



Rome, an example for the whole world to follow.

And look, we have a new forum now! With achievements and likes and things - and a skin I don't like that much, but I suppose more skins will be made in the future.

One thing that is slightly annoying is that it doesn't tell me how many images are in this post... But Ctrl F works for that - 65, apparently. Well, that was before I split this post in three.

 

[need my speed]

Perhaps Rome's bombards wouldn't be needed to drive Mordor's tentacles off the continent; Ered Lithui fell into civil disorder as orc fought orc.



Eventually, Ahmad al-Mansur emerged from the deserts, with a band of orcs and men chafing under the tyranny of Sauron.



He swore alliance to Rome, wishing to fight against Mordor, but he also worried about how the race of Orcs would be treated in all the predominantly human civilisations. Rome had - eventually, and not without trouble - integrated the Hobbits, to be sure, but they were just smaller humans, much like the Dwarven nation to the west. And Saruman's Uruk-hai were predominantly warriors, and indeed, often reduced to warmongering brutes unfit for civil life - hardly a life the orcs under Ahmad's banner desired. As such, he would strive to found Morocco - a clear bastardisation of 'More Orc' - and seek his peace there, hopefully attracting more and more orcs to his banners.








(yes, I reloaded the game, because the description was slightly wrong - compare - and because I had to quit anyway )



With the aid of Morocco, and with Ered Lithui already reduced to ruin by infighting, the Brothers from Fraternitas had little trouble charging through ranks of opposing archers.



Macemen followed shortly behind, and when a handful of Mordorians attempted a final counter-charge with war elephaunts, they bled themselves dry against Roman pikes. Ered Lithui was Rome's.



Ered Lithui was none's. Some few orcs managed to flee with the retreating Mordorian navy, but most submitted themselves to Rome.



However, this navy threatened to overrun Tarentum, in a mad dash to reach the relative safety of Sauron's new domain. Defended by only a single regiment of musketmen, and with Benny craftily seizing all of the northern lands, leaving no corridor to connect Tarentum with Brundisium, it was in a vulnerable position.



Besides, Mordor was done for. Surely, even Sauron, that great evil himself, could spin no further plans of discord?



Especially not if Rome imposed certain harsh terms. The adoption of a democratic system of government, valuing mutual cooperation and peaceful coexistence, for one. For two, handing over the cities of The Hub and Vault 15, so that the Dutch, the Batavians, and the New Californians, may all live out their life in peace. To ensure that these splintered groups would, in fact, live out their life in peace, Rome would oversee the cities for now, integrating all the people as one - Rome did have experience with that, after all.



A third and final demand was the abolition of any naval force, so that Sauron might never threaten the world again. Could Rome enforce that? Dayglow did have two oases and a river...



Of course, these were wholly unfit for the many galleasses of Mordor. As was, perhaps, to be expected, many of these captains would choose a life of piracy over disbanding their fleet and crew - but Rome would deal with them all in time. Bereft of the strength of Mordor, bereft of the ports of New California, all alone on the open sea, they would stand no chance.

Speaking of the ports of - former - New California, the Confucian holy city was now in Rome's hands. Tandi pleaded not to raze the city to the grounds, insisting that Confucianism had only become confounding and confusing under Sauron, had only driven men apart and estranged women with the influence of Mordor. Perhaps that was true, the Triumvirate was willing to concede. For now, then, Rome would focus on educating the liberated masses - and even, hopefully, those who had given their heart to Confucianism.



Even the former Enclave lands would become home to famous universities, and in turn, would come to be the former home of famous officials.



This further drove Rome to excel at war.



But also at peace, at commerce, art - and science. In time, a national university would be established in Arretium, one fit to rival the philosophers of Cumae and the famous university of Sankore.



Down south, in Mordor, much like in New California, the very beginnings of an education system had to be set up; missionary activity would be rife, spreading Christianity and setting up monasteries.



And so, the Mare Nostrum had truly become mare nostrum... Except, that is, for that speck of golden-brown. New Vegas. Could the now landless and lawless Mordorian captains find a new base of operations in Goodsprings, that oh-so-innocent island smack dab in the middle of the Mare Nostrum? And if so... Would Rome have to go to war again?

 

[need my speed]

As peace washed over Rome, so too did peace wash over Khand. Kundaj V, having seen his eastern lands razed, pillaged, and deserted, had a lot of rebuilding to do. As did Rome; soon, captured labourers were set to work as the army marched back west.



And galleons brought in aides, workers, and immigrants by the hundreds - if not thousands.



Missionaries, too, especially after both The Hub and Vault 15 had fallen under the sway of Islam. The Hub in particular was a dangerously violent place full of angry protests and demonstrations.



Vice City was probably more of a threat than Benny's New Vegas, who admittedly liked to flirt with evil and engage in huge gambles, but still... None in their right mind could gamble against Rome? Was Benny's latest war with Castamir, of Umbar, a gamble to get his teeth into Mordor? To seize Tol Glingal?



The semi-autonomous city-state of Palmyra was established to avert this - and to profit from the trade between the Umbaric privateers so often sailing into Khandic ports, and perhaps even from the secretive Brotherhood of Steel, which had established an outpost on the island of Cambridge.



But again, Vice City remained the more pressing threat, having caught on to Rome's espionage efforts, wiping out the fourth recruits of the Frumentarii.



A dedicated effort was made to root out these counter-espionage efforts, as part of a wider campaign to get the people of Vice City to abandon Hinduism's mad drive for chaos. Sauron was done for now, so, who knew, perhaps they would be open to reason... Or to propaganda.



If so, then it would be a long, long process. No matter; keeping track of the military affairs of Vice City near Gondor's border was important enough.



As was keeping track of the remnants of the Mordorian privateers and pirates, as well as those of New Vegas. Ancona would become a trusted port for Roman admirals to combat these threats.



In Liberty, Rome's missionaries frowned at the prevalence of Taoism. But, Toni Cipriani was an ally of Rome, and he and his people had to be respected.



Still, a gentle and friendly approach had always worked well - that is, after all, what Christianity is - and soon, Liberty had a burgeoning Christian community. Even in the Taoist holy city of Portland.



Sauron, alas, hadn't learned much from his previous war; his homeland lost, he now sought to build up a new base of power in the western deserts of Las Venturas. His war of conquest with Tandi's New California had become a war of survival, and with Modoc razed, his capital of Dayglow - glowing green of lethal sorcery - now bordered Angel's Boneyard, where Tandi had taken up residence.



But Rome watched out for her allies, establishing the cities of ar-Rabat and Fas for Ahmad and his orcs.



And even for her former enemies; an orc by the name of Margaret - for there was scarcely a difference between male and female orcs - would become the duke of Parma, an enclave within the Republic merely overseen, not directly administered, by Rome.



Saturnia was also established, after Saturnus threw lightning bolts to celebrate the peace and to cleanse the deserts of Sauron's foul taint.



And near the ruins of Cirith Ungol, Signia was founded - just as Gondor sent her own civilians to live in these lands, escorted by horsemen inspired by Rome's own knights.



As all this went on, Roman engineers and scientists finished thoroughly excavating the ruins left on Mordor. Barad-dur and Orodruin revealed secret rooms hidden behind walls, that unveiled hidden caches of knowledge and lore. With all of - or most of - Sauron's personal notes in hand, breakthroughs were made in the field of chemistry, enabling Roman scientists to analyse the very composition of matter. This greatly improved the efficiency of Rome's farms - at least, those that could now be fertilised with chemicals - and the mechanical and modern mines.



This was also a dangerous course of action, perhaps, for Sauron's wicked magic clearly relied on manipulating these elements invisible to the naked eye - and Rome hàd been punished for pursuing the explosive force of gunpowder. But with Tommy Vercetti whipping up his own force of musket-armed knights - and colonising lands rightfully belonging to Khand - who knew which powers Rome would need?



However, as well as the lands and peoples of Mordor - the few that remained, at least - were integrated within Rome, so bad did things go in former New California. Clearly, Mordorian agents were hell-bent on driving a wedge between the Dutch, the Batavians, the New Californians, and their Roman overseers.



It was time for Christianity to be established, to root out Sauron's agents and hopefully reconcile all the different peoples under the twin banners of Rome and Christianity.



Such an effort would require a proper monument, of course; the twin towers of Rome and Isengard, connected by an arc of triumph and ever-lasting union, to celebrate the liberation of Mordor.



The Arcus Triumphalis, yet another marvel of engineering springing forth from the fingers of Leonardo da Vinci.

 

[need my speed]

Sailors from Three Horn Divide gifted Rome with the bounties of the sea, in appreciation of keeping the Mare Nostrum free from piracy.



This further strengthened ties between Hyperion and Rome, each promising to help each other out when in need.



And also, according to their needs; with the Mare Nostrum having Roman cities on each of her shores, Rome had acquired more fish than she knew what to do with, prompting Hyperion merchants to find better markets for their fish.



Of course, the Mare Nostrum was rich in crabs, too.



Later, Dwarven merchants would come to ask for silks, in return for their generous shipments of bananas. These bananas had previously been given for free, as thanks for Mordor's defeat. Rome agreed.



The war ever so gradually ebbed away, and peace, prosperity, and civilisation took the centerstage. The city of Aquileia was established referencing to the aquiliferi who carried Rome's standards, banners, flags - and eagles, not to forget - into battle.



So too would this city carry the concept of Rome to this continent, and in time, Vault 15 and The Hub would hopefully become proper Roman cities.



Clusium, enclosed - as its name suggests - between mountains and hills, was founded too, completing the restoration of civilisation in former Mordor. That is, when the gaps between the various cities would be populated as more migrants came ashore.



But even as Christianity spread, Toni Cipriani's Taoism found a curious market; Adolf Hitler's Germany. This could drive a wedge between Helga Steele and Adolf Hitler, but neither were to be trusted - for all Rome's spies knew, Illuminati agents living quietly under the thumb of Toni Cipriani had wormed their way into Hitler's council.



Germany, however, was far away. Unlike Vice City, which was even now amassing musketmen, and was rumoured to soon begin fielding them on horses, too. Despite Roman knights flocking to the defence of Gondor, the entirety of Vice City's might could easily squash the few cities Ciryaher held on his home continent.



As such, Vice City at least had to be impeded; the destruction of military facilities such as barracks would be a good first step.



This was the first time the Frumentarii dabbled into more harmful actions than mere propaganda or the assassination of certain wicked preachers; this time, infrastructure was blown up - ostensibly an accident involving Vice City's gunpowder stores - and innocents were harmed. But the ends justified the meaning; in another life, perhaps thousands of Gondorians would have been slaughtered.



Just as thousands of Anywhere citizens and soldiers had been slaughtered by the Vikings plundering the lands, having finally seized total control of Anywhere with the capturing of Omnitron.



Far worse, however, was the fate that befell the citizens of New California; in a lightning strike, entirely uncaring as to how many bodies it would take, Sauron threw his vast armies of minions against the walls of Angel's Boneyard and Junkyard. Eventually, amidst many thousands of Mordorian corpses still loitering the street, the remaining Mordorians marched in victory. New California had been completely wiped out.

 

[need my speed]

This had its effect on Rome, where discontent was brewing between two factions; the Optimates and the Populares. The Optimates argued that Rome should be the best, the optimum, and that in this, Rome had drastically failed. Not only had Sauron escaped Rome's clutches, he now wasn't even confined to the city of Dayglow, having re-established himself on the corpse of New California just like how a vulture feeds on carcasses. Rome had further let the English, the Portuguese, and the Spanish all die out as a people with their own identity, reducing the few that managed to survive to anonymous refugees, instead of members of a proud culture defiant to the last against Enclave oppression. This was taking place right now, too, with the Batavians and the Dutch, the New Californians that now lived within Roman borders, and soon, it would undoubtedly happen with the Moroccans as well. Should Rome not wonder why the Batavii chose independence? Should Rome not uphold its many peoples as an achievement, and not a burden, so long as they caused no trouble (though, there were radical Optimates that even argued in favour of Hobbit independence)?



The Populares pointed to Rome's successes; bringing the light of civilisation to the Enclave and Mordor, bringing the light of Christianity to the farthest corners of the world, bringing like-minded civilisations together in the Concord of Civilisation, and securing peace when Tommy Vercetti let himself be seduced into a war with Gondor. These were but some of Rome's successes, and, admittedly, there had been less-than-perfect outcomes as well, but then, only the Christian God was perfect. Rome wasn't a god amongst men, Rome was one nation, amidst many other nations, as had been enshrined in Rome's universalist values, in the fact that Rome maintained a military all men could voluntarily join, a church that offered room for various beliefs without discrimination, a civilian workforce where rich and poor, Roman nobility and liberated orc, and so many more, all worked together. To change all that, so as to enact the policies the Optimates spoke of, was recipe for disaster; for authoritarianism, militarism, and a slow descent into the very abyss Rome sought to close.



And yet, Rome could do so much more, could be so much better. She could cleanse the taint of New Vegas from the Enclave lands, and truly liberate all the people there, for example. But instead, she chose to rest on her laurels, the Triumvirate coldly calculating where profit was to be found and where there wasn't - and if there wasn't, why, then Rome wouldn't bother, and leave the weak to the uncaring and exploitative hands of the strong. Rome had never bothered to aid Bohemia in her struggles against Mr Dark, Rome had never looked further east or west than her own borders stretched. Indeed, Rome had been content to see vast portions of Khand fall to Sauron and Razorbeard - and even now, Rome was entirely content with Mr Dark's and Tommy Vercetti's colonisation of former Khandic lands. Instead, Rome was amassing her military on the border of Vice City, because those lands were right on Rome's border, because those lands were easier to integrate within the Republic, because that war would be easier to support with supplies and recruits from the homeland - because then Rome would own an entire continent. It would be dressed up as a war for the defence of Gondor, but was the Officium Frumentarii not antagonising Vice City with its terrorist operations in Clymenus, goading Tommy Vercetti into declaring war?



This debate raged back and forth, with each side finding themselves with strange allies. The Populares were spearheaded by the Triumvirate as well as both the higher-class and lower-class citizens. The higher-class had vested interests in Rome, such as their business ventures and their political careers, and as such, they desired measured response and stability, which waging war all over the world would threaten. The lower-class also cared more for their own livelihood than that of others - an entirely human notion, of course - but in this case, the concerns were borne out of survival and poverty. They didn't wish to be subjected to coerced immigration to new lands, nor did they wish to see money that could have been used to support their lives to be spent on foreigners far away. Sauron? He was far away now, let him be there. Hitler? A whole world away, who cares!



The Populares, on the other hand, attracted a wide variety of people; hence the name 'Populares'. They consisted of the middle-class and certain special groups, such as the fundamentalist Christians and the minorities of Rome. They were not as united as the Optimates, but the fervour and zeal they put into their cause made up for that - even though this was directed against their fellow Populares, at times. Some of the fundamentalists, for example, were of the opinion that the Orc couldn't possibly hold to Christianity and to civilisation as a Roman could. Driven by the need for compromise, most of the overtly antagonistic voices stayed silent; it would be enough for these people to exist in relative independence, like the Holy Romans did, and if that aligned perfectly with the desire of the more idealistic Populares, well, the outcome mattered more than the reason behind it. The Optimates, of course, said 'no' to an independent Republic of Orcs.



The Frumentarii, however, were firmly in the camp of the Optimates, and they didn't merely carry out operations on foreign soil. The protection service of Ray Machowski started protecting people a bit too vigorously against known Populares, and were perhaps slightly remiss in protecting the Populares. Further, the Frumentarii carried out hits against the Populares - independently, outside of the Officium, and explicitly not under the orders of anyone connected to the Optimates, of course, claimed various officials when this was brought to light. Besides, they were sympathisers and spies of Vice City, seeking to undermine the Republic.



The city defence force, an initiative started in Antium, leaned overwhelmingly towards supporting the Optimates, as did most of the army. Dissent by the Populares was quelled by suppression of voice, of freedom, and even of life, what with the most important press being owned by the state, and with the actions of the police and the Frumentarii decidedly questionable. This only emboldened the Populares, and spearheaded by the fundamentalists and the increasingly mistreated minorities, more and more city streets became unsafe as peaceful protests turned to violence all throughout Rome. Cicero spoke out loudly against these acts of violence, and though both the Optimates and the Populares could have taken umbrage with that, it was a policeman proclaiming the glory of the Optimates who beat him up for daring to speak out against the rampant violence. With a heavy heart, Cicero too added his voice to the Populares.

In Raven Rock, the situation was no less tense. Gnaeus Pompeius had managed to climb the ranks of Rome's military, after he and Gaius Marius (the latter hired by Crassus specifically for the purpose) proved the use of mounted warfare to Marcus Antonius. Marcus Antonius still remained dismissive towards the idea, and perhaps it was this attitude that caused Rome's knights to lean more towards the side of the Populares - but then, this was entirely logical, as the knights had been formed precisely to protect the weak. This did, however, cause tensions to rise more and more, and eventually, Gnaeus Pompeius and the officers loyal to him abandoned Raven Rock to a nearby bunker hidden in the mountains, which the Enclave had never quite completed. Gaius Marius, however, went in secret to the knights stationed in Gondor; the flight of the Optimates to Epirus and the de facto proclamation of independence there was perhaps the first act of a Roman civil war, and if so, the Optimates would need a military.

Lacking a navy, strategic islands were fortified by the Populares, establishing places such as Pompeii near the abandoned ruins of Morannon.

Pompeii was obviously named after Gnaeus Pompeii, while Mare Mari was named after Gaius Marius; the Sea of Marius.

Gaius Marius began implementing a military tradition amongst the knights. One inspired by the honour and valour of the Principes - though the knights had that in plenty already - but more importantly, one that bound the knights closer together, as brothers in arms, as one unit distinct from the rest of the Roman army.

It also bound them closer to Gaius Marius; he was their man, and maybe, just maybe, they would need to rise for him, against the Roman army. An army guided by the principles of Marcus Antonius, an army chock-full of Antonii, brute macemen caring not whether they crushed the skulls of enemy combatants or helpless civilians, razing and plundering entire cities. The knights hurried back to the nearest Roman city, Circeii, eager to take up the muskets Gaius Marius had acquired for them.

The main Roman army had made camp in Ardea though, and Marcus Antonius was quick to create his own regiments of mounted musketmen. The Brothers and Crusaders that had seen combat in Mordor, as much part of the army as any Antonii was, were the first Roman cuirassiers, recognisable by their breastplate with the A of Antonius on it.

The stage was set for a civil war, though most of Rome hoped peace would last. Should the Populares come into power, they would decide to implement a government more suitable to their desires; one that could bestride the world and protect the weak everywhere. The military would obey certain codes of conduct that would be strongly enforced, so as to make the Princeps of old, full of valour and honour, come back to life in spirit. The noble knights of recent times - convienently already on the side of the Populares, by and large - would be a good image to draw upon.

Universalist values would have to be abandoned, but interventionism need not be taken to the extreme; Rome wouldn't run around declaring war on everyone, but so long as she had a strong enough army, and so long as all would-be evildoers knew Rome would crush them if they stepped out of line, hopefully, the world would improve itself without too much direct intervention.

To implement all these changes, a dictatorship headed by Gnaeus Pompeius, Gaius Marius, and Marcus Tullius Cicero would be put in place. Temporarily, of course, Cicero hastened to add. With the generals, the knights, and the philosophers represented in this overwhelmingly military dictatorship, the necessary changes would hopefully be implemented soon.

Some officials from the military pushed for a stratocracy, but involving the military in all matters of life... That would kill the freedom of Rome. And the Populares, too; none would accept such a proposal.

What they would accept, however, would be the transfer of certain cities. The establishment of an independent Morocco, a place for Orcs to live their lives in freedom.

And, although it was too late to try and separate the English, the Spanish, or the Portuguese from the Romans - let alone the Hobbits - it wasn't too late to return Vault 15 to the Dutch, and to see that The Hub could become the home of the proud Batavii. Aquileia would be retained as a foothold on the continent, and in time, the rebirthed Mordor would be handed over to the surviving New Californians.

All of these would enjoy the strongest of ties with Rome, as would Carolus Magnus and his Holy Rome, though whether this would in effect be a vassalisation was still debated over between Gnaeus Pompeius (yes) and Cicero (no).
Cicero makes a compelling case, in that vassals influence the player's diplomacy with other AI's - perhaps making the would-be vassals exceedingly friendly with Rome through the World Builder might be a better solution. Of course, that is assuming the Populares win the 'civil war' (and if so, it will be a non-violent civil war, so... ) - will they win? You decide!

 

[Noyyau]

Don't you already get a +10 "you gave us our independence" diplo modifier from vassals that you create from "liberating" cities into new vassalized civs?

---

The Populares certainly make a convincing case, from their moral high ground. But will Rome be able to defend its sprawling territories and many cities, not to mention provide for its citizens and keep the economy running, while also interfering in (probably) multiple wars all over the world?
(What's the status of the economy anyway? With so many cities, and on different landmasses, the maintenance costs alone must be insane)

The Optimates on the other hand also aren't the perfect choice, what with their descent into violent oppression of dissent and their haughty attitude towards the rest of the world, "the farther from our borders, the less we care about you".

Is there no great statesman among us Romans, who could find a common ground between the two extremes of the Optimates and Populares, and avoid both the fall into repressive dictatorship but also squandering Roman lives and resources all over the world?

 

[need my speed]

Don't you already get a +10 "you gave us our independence" diplo modifier from vassals that you create from "liberating" cities into new vassalized civs?

Yes, but that happens only if you can liberate them via the F1 menu. However, that way, I am only allowed to liberate cities to Sauron, so I traded my own cities away to Morocco (+4 our trade relations have been fair and forthright). Then I went into the World Builder to add a Dutch and a Batavian Worker, to resurrect those civilisations, so that I could give my cities away to them too.

Well, the only victory that can be achieved is a Conquest one, and it would be fun to actually play that all out, with modern warfare. I did at one point consider sending an army all the way to Germany - I believe Handsome Jack asked me to go to war - but I decided against that. Vice City will be invaded soon, and during or afterwards, I suppose it is time for New Vegas and / or Mordor to fall. But that is quite far into the future, and as such, probably won't happen the way I write it out here.

We are, however, at a time where production will shoot through the roof; Chemistry has already come, adding +1 food to Fertilised Farms (which is huge) and certain production bonuses as well, I have placed my cities in such a way that there's barely any (or simply no) river-tile that can't be Levee'd, and Steam Power will be grabbed with Liberalism:



Steam Power also allows Workers to build Light Industry (for 250 gold, adjusted by certain variables; 307 currently, though I'm pretty sure it was 306 some turns ago, so I'm unsure how this scales), instead of Workshops (which take 100 turns to grow into Light Industry). Then, after some more research, passing through Steel which adds +1 production to Modern Mines, we reach Assembly Line, unlocking Factories and adding +1 production to Light Industry and Heavy Industry (the Workshop upgrades). A bit later, there is Industrialism, which adds +1 food to Lumbermills and +1 production to Heavy Industry. There are railroads - production boosts on certain improvements, there is Biology adding +1 food to Pastures, and there is Medicine adding +1 food to all farms, too.



Of course, getting all these food and production bonuses will take a relatively long time; this game actually has excessively slow tech rates in the later eras, though it's not very noticeable because of all the commerce that flows in. Still, 10+ turns for each of these technologies sounds about right. But already, multiple cities have ran out of useful things to build (the settling of Mordor is almost over, and I let some cities build Theatres for the eventual national wonder, but more and more cities are building Bombards now). I can definitely see myself controlling multiple large armies perfectly capable of waging wars on multiple fronts - such as a war with Vice City and a war with New Vegas or Mordor.

The government proposed by the Populares maximises unit experience, and there is, in a way, a compromise here, for the fundamentalist Christians would like to get rid of the Non-Discriminatory State Church and replace it by Fundamentalism - but they don't (or shouldn't ) have that power, for story purposes (I often think up random things that may or may not be used later, depending on how the story develops; I always meant for Gnaeus Pompeius and Gaius Marius to overthrow the Triumvirate at some point, for example, and these fundamentalist Christians can easily be tied to the Illuminati, which can be tied to Toni Cipriani, and tadaaa, Rome gains a casus belli against him ).

As far as the economy goes:



If one would switch the civics to what was proposed, the result changes to:



Trade decreases quite a bit, as do all the commerce and gold yields of buildings. City maintenance drops, while civic upkeep rises, in approximately equal amounts.

Yes, a "Honour, Glory, Victory day", instead of a... Let me open CIV4GameTextInfos.xml.

"We Love Our Despot Day" (Despotism)
"Oligarch's Day" (Noble Oligarchy, Meritocratic Oligarchy, Technocratic Oligarchy, Plutocratic Oligarchy, Sophocratic Oligarchy)
"Monarch's Day" (Elective Monarchy, Constitutional Monarchy, Absolute Monarchy)
"Voting Day" (Privileged Democracy, Parliamentary Democracy)
"Freedom Day" (Presidential Democracy, Direct Democracy)
"Honour, Glory, Victory Day" (Stratocracy, Military Dictatorship)
"Party Loyalty Day" (Single-Party State)
"Hail Our Dear Leader Day" (Authoritarianism, Totalitarianism)

For fun, I removed the Machu Pichu (+1 gold from specialists) and Spiral Minaret (+1 gold from state religion buildings):



And if I further take away the Church of Nativity:



And though I am unsure if it is because of the new government, it would make sense from a story-perspective for revolutionary sentiment to sweep through the country:



There won't be an actual civil war though (as in, flipping half of Rome to an AI), so it is inevitable for such a great statesman to arise (Cicero, probably, promoting relative peace instead of war against the whole world to the Populares, and promoting the cause of the weak and the oppressed to the Optimates). The Populares wouldn't form an actually oppressive dictatorship - that will come up when Communism is researched - much like how Republican Rome's office of Dictator wasn't too oppressive... But Republican Rome did eventually turn into Imperial Rome, as Rome expanded... Mhm, I haven't even thought of the Empire civic. Possibilities abound!

 

[need my speed]

University - exams, assignments, class - and the fact that the game kept crashing massively delayed this update (check the time stamps on the pictures, in the upper right corner ), and so it will be in the future, I predict. But I am still rather interested in seeing this story to an end, so I do not foresee myself permanently abandoning it. Anyway, without further ado:

As the army of Marcus Antonius assembled itself in Circeii, Gaius Marius outfitted his own army with muskets. At the same time, he instructed Gondor in the chivalry and military tradition that made his knights so powerful. With Gondor tied to Gaius Marius, Marcus Antonius, should he wish to pursue civil war, would be caught between thousands of musket-armed knights, the mighty marble towers and walls of Gondor, and the forces of Vice City where devoutness to Hinduism was almost the sole determinant in assigning generals and commanders.



The Triumvirate wouldn't stoop so low as to cut a deal with Tommy Vercetti - they were Romans first and foremost - and the few skirmishes that erupted between the armies of Gaius Marius and Marcus Antonius proved that the musket-knights might as well be invincible. No man had ever done well in the face of thousands of charging horses, but long pikes of solid steel could at least keep them at a comfortable distance; if one could trust his brothers, standing shoulder to shoulder, to remain standing, most horsemen would impale themselves upon these pikes. But with muskets, weapons that tore through even the strongest armour from range, there was no need to come close and face steel. The army of Marcus Antonius, lacking a similarly ranged component of muskets, was powerless in the face of this adversary; bombards were easily trampled between the minutes it took to fire one, and the handful of crossbowmen and cuirassiers were of limited use against the overwhelming numbers of Gaius Marius.



As the civilising efforts of Mordor stalled, now lacking the military of Marcus Antonius to enforce order and peace, a compromise was reached. It clearly wasn't wise to let Rome's subjects free from underneath the guidance of Roma, as the immediate increase in looting and strife indicated - besides, these small nations would be easy pickings for those like Hitler, making them reliant on Rome to such an extent that they might as well be part of it, as Holy Rome had learned. But Rome could suffer hardship in order to make the world a better place, for the greater good of all civilisation. That was, after all, the code of honour so imprinted upon the souls of all Roman knights and principes.



Reconciliation was a slow process, none the less, but with Cicero mending the seams as best as he could, a second Triumvirate was installed consisting of Gnaeus Pompeius, Gaius Marius, and Cicero. Cicero and Vergilius, having a history together, would oversee the domestic and diplomatic front from Roma, while Gnaeus Pompeius and Marcus Licinius Crassus would oversee the military high command from Raven Rock. Of course, there were discrepancies; Cicero was a man of philosophy and religion, while Vergilius was a man of science who had learned a lot of commerce and trade. Still, they worked together well, relying on each other's strengths to cover their own weaknesses, even sending out a new batch of missionaries with the Devotus to the lands of Liberty.



It was different in the military. In practice, Gnaeus Pompeius - far more experienced in military matters - relayed orders to Marcus Licinius Crassus, who relayed them to his men. A cumbersome process at the best of times, but one that began to work better as time went by. A necessity, for Gaius Marius and Marcus Antonius would take to the field, together with their own armies. And Rome couldn't suffer anything less than perfection, now that she was going to take on her mightiest foe yet; Vice City. The recently constructed Arc de Triomphe would aid in that.



Slowly but surely, the Roman armies trained together, the Roman generals shared strategies and tactics, baggage trains were integrated and logistics were simplified, and soon, Rome's army was better than ever. Nowhere was this more evident than in Raven Rock, where muskets superior to all others were manufactured, and where men were trained to standards higher than anywhere else.



The former Mordorian lands, however, were worse than ever, and at least a small defensive force would need to be stationed here before the war with Vice City could begin. To accommodate this, the island of Sutrium was garrisoned, occupying an important position, commanding the seaways into Barad-dur and Orodruin (through Signia). A proper city came to be built here, as the rebellions throughout Mordor spread to the Moroccan community of Fas.



The decision to prepare a defensive force would prove to be a good one, for Roman spies reported Vice City's military moving northwards, to Rome. Clearly, Tommy Vercetti was preparing for war. He even had managed to replicate the mighty bombards.



With the support of both the Optimates and (at least the tacit support of) the Populares, and with the strong need to redeem themselves, the Frumentarii went about sabotaging Clymenus' potential to serve as a staging area for Vice City soldiers. The barracks, of course, had to be destroyed.



The granary had to be put out of use, be it by stealing or spoiling all the food, so that Vice City's soldiers would starve.



And, of course, Vice City's ice cream companies had to be burned down, important both for morale and for the decidedly shadier activities of feeding unaware citizens with fertility-enhancing drugs (as well as conducting various unethical experiments).



Although the latter was carefully guarded, even there, Rome's spies managed to exfiltrate safely. And even if Tommy Vercetti discovered that Rome was behind these acts, so what? Would he declare war, and bring down the hammer of Rome on all of Vice City?



The lands surrounding Raven Rock had never been thoroughly explored, with the Holy Romans, English, Spanish, and Portuguese, all rising up to the east of Raven Rock. Of course, in time, the coastal city of Mare Nostrum had been established, and Gnaeus Pompeius had created the mountain stronghold of Epirus, but there was a lot of wilderness lying between the two Roman strongholds. In order to prevent would-be threats from making use of this soft underbelly to strike directly at Raven Rock, some of the soldiers were sent out on exploration missions. The Cenomani tribe was one that was contacted relatively soon, and so, the village of Cremona came to fall under Roman influence.



Later, the town of Bononia was founded, to secure the icy shores of the north - as well as oil and marble. In spite of these resources, the town would become known for warm pasta and tasty sauces.



Resources weren't only spent on establishing new cities; lavish gifts were also handed out to existing cities such as Aquileia and Tarentum.



These gifts would at least improve assuage the citizens' concerns in the short term; concerns of how Rome was abandoning them, concerns of New Vegas or Mordor sweeping down upon them, with Roman armies unable to lift a finger in help, as they were recalled to the homeland.



Some, however, saw this as nothing more than bribery and the onset of corruption, and opted to reply with pitchforks and torches. Their very own citizen militia would make do, foregoing Roman steel and Roman training in favour of brotherhood forged in the fires of revolution. And if it wouldn't do, if it would prove not to be enough, then at least they would die fighting for their freedom - their freedom, promised by the Populares, yet apparently, just as soon forgotten.



Clearly, the compromise the Populares had managed to secure wasn't popular at all. Money - of which the treasure was rapidly running out - was rather easy to throw at the eastern territories, but with all that represented Rome hurrying west, these eastern lands simply lacked any kind of attachment to Rome. Sure, they had been liberated from Sauron's tyranny - but what was Rome to them, if not another foreign conqueror? Slightly less oppressive, she may be, but still.



Rome had a few tools at her disposal for dealing with this; campaigns promoting Roman culture, integration, protecting national identities - and yet moulding them so as to fit perfectly within Rome - and all in all, showing them that all these new peoples wouldn't be abandoned, wouldn't be taken for granted, would be listened to, respected, and made to thrive under Rome's benevolent banner. Indeed, the only reason they weren't independent yet was because of looming threats such as Sauron - but why, then, asked the citizens of Fas, was Rome's army heading west, and not east?



Localised revolts took place, but thankfully, full-scale revolution was averted for now. The treasury was ever so slowly refilling, again, profiting from the cultural festivals and theatre plays that cost so much; happy citizens worked harder, awed tourists spent more, and for some, this focus on Roman culture saw them rise to fame.

 

[need my speed]

The Hobbit Dinis soon acquired the title of 'Rei Poeta'; King of Poetry, in Hobbit-Latin. He was held up as the picture perfect of Hobbit integration to the eastern territories, and he was but one of the first that ushered Rome in a golden age of culture... A golden age - or a desperate grasping onto the straws of survival, as a nation now twice on the brink of civil war in mere years.



This did, however, do much to strengthen the cooperation between the Optimates and the Populares in Roma, both not willing to see their beloved Republic fall to pieces by violence. Peaceful secession, on friendly terms, sure, as far as the Populares were concerned, but not this way, never this way. Peace would be a necessity for the time being anyway, what with the treasury being in dire straits. The cuirassiers - a name that had been taken up by all of the musket-knights - now occupied the fields of Circeii, where they could feed of the land, not requiring supply lines to run from Rome to Gondor. The treasury could make good use of the saved coin.



Coin that was not only spent on culture and cohesion, but also on combating piracy and countering Mordor; could Sauron's agents be infiltrating their former homeland to stir up dissent against Rome? Mutina, referring to 'mutiny' (this is historically false; I made this up), was founded to keep watch on the many prowling galleasses.



It wasn't only - nor even majorly - Sauron's agents, if any, though; the Populares on the street cheered on the Moroccans, Batavians, Dutch, New Californians, and more, eager for them to take up arms and carve out an independent nation within Rome. Well, the Frumentarii could arrest them as traitors, once the nation had been turned away from the brink of disaster. The inconspicuously named village of Beneventum - a village of good events - was a slow retreat on the shores for tourists wishing to visit the waters of life. It would come to be home to those Frumentarii who kept watch on New Vegas, east- and southwards, as well as on internal dissent.



They were not, however, prepared for the Iberian refugees - Spanish and Portuguese - who had long dwelt in the forgotten deserts of the south. Neither Vikki Vance nor Ultra-Luxe was close enough to draw these Iberians inside their borders, be it by promises of wealth or threats of arrows. Besides, what little labour there might be found in these empty deserts wouldn't be worth the effort - not to Benny, not to any New Vegan, whose goals were only to maximise their own wealth, as the exploitative thugs they were. Better to stick to the lush greens and blues, and live in comfort there - but New Vegas did still consider this land to be theirs, and when the Iberians pledged their small village of Saguntum to Rome, having heard of her great culture, her wealth, and her force of arms... New Vegas wasn't pleased.



Truly, Rome was surrounded by perils left and right, up and down. With every passing day, it seemed less likely that she would be able to hold on to her eastern territories (indeed, when I launched the game and pressed Enter, this happened - but then, university called, and I had to quit the game without saving... And the next time I pressed Enter, this revolution didn't happen...).



But Rome wouldn't abandon her lands, nor her people, without trying every last thing she could try. It was telling that, even in these times of crisis, Gondor was still garrisoned by Roman muskets, and that Roman workers were improving Gondor's infrastructure - for trade, but mostly, for logistics in wartime.



Nor had Rome recalled all her spies to be stationed eastwards; Frumentarii still brought reports of Vice City's activities to the Triumvirate. Reports of cuirassiers being assembled in the Hindu holy city, of musket and pike regiments combining to counter Rome's own cuirassiers - so-called 'pike and shot' tactics - of castles and barracks and galleons and more being built all throughout the nation.



Closer to home, Prawn Island was rapidly arming mounted soldiers with muskets as well, no doubt having seen the thousands of cuirassiers Gaius Marius had brought to its borders. Clymenus, too, was progressing rapidly, having already rebuilt its walls and ice cream companies. This couldn't last - why would Rome suffer from dissent while Vice City could build up a united front against Rome?



As the Frumentarii went to work stirring up discontent in Vice City - with, of course, new leaders to coordinate all these efforts - reports came in that Gondor was now under threat of Viking raiders, possibly hired by the ruthless Tommy Vercetti. And Rome had no real means of protecting the far-flung islands of Gondor.



However, a great many men - mostly the poor Optimates, attracted to the promised riches of military life - had heeded Rome's cry for help, and had taken up muskets and boarded ships heading eastwards, so that they might defend Rome's interest there, freeing up men to face off against Vice City in the near future.



The military command - slash government - that remained in Barad-dur to oversee the Roman holdings in former Mordor, even managed to raise regiments of native orcs and humans to man the walls, patrol the farms, and guard the borders.



Still, the fires of discontent remained lit and fanned.



In the wider world as well, for the Gondorian coastal city of West-Mark had fallen to the Viking raiders, while both Kundaj V and Toni Cipriani pushed their forces southwards; the former against Ly's Palace, of razorbeard's Front, while the latter had claimed the Oceanian city of Perfect Party, and had even driven Big Brother himself out of Airstrip One. John Maxson, meanwhile, sought to secure the wastelands - or, the technological and cultural artefacts - that lay in the wake of Sauron's brutal invasion.



Vaguely uplifting news reached Rome, as the New Californians and Batavians of The Hub saw how the Brotherhood of Steel treated the families that had remained in the war-torn lands; as curiosities, as malleable shapes and forms, to be moulded into the exact image of the Brotherhood of Steel. There was no room for any other culture, no space for any other identity - indeed, to many, there was no family but the entirety of the Brotherhood of Steel, regardless of blood. Compared to that, Rome was a good shade more benevolent, and a far better alternative. Yet Vault 15, more exposed to the 'freedom' (for the elite - and crushing exploitation for the poor) of New Vegas, and more devoutly Confucian too - remained steadfast.



However, for the moment, it looked as if peace could be restored, and as Toni Cipriani was busy making enemies - and killing enemies - to the south, the Devotus arrived with the very message of peace herself; missionaries come to spread Christianity.



Some stayed behind in the ports of Staunton Island, while others travelled to the docks of Portland Harbor. An expedition to Saint Marks, an inland city inaccessible to ships, took longer - but all would come to know of Christianity in the end.



And yet, the kindness and goodness Christianity prescribed, was so easy to eschew, with unkind acts done for the greater good, with innocents suffering for a higher purpose... The Frumentarii - at least, those assigned to watch over Vice City - had long since grown into an organisation committing acts that would be seen as terrorism if committed by non-state actors. Acts that caused harm, and suffering, loss, and even death, to innocents.



Exposing corruption, bribery, and making a mockery of law enforcement, that was one thing. Staging violent protests and whipping up mobs to take the law into their own hands, that was quite another thing.

 

[need my speed]

The increasingly violent nature of the acts committed by the Frumentarii had its consequences; Vice City grew wary of Rome, and paranoid, and would fight even harder against Rome, should war be declared. After all, how could these two-faced Romans be trusted?



Still, most of Rome attempted to live their lives with honour, and even Vice City could - grudgingly - respect the cuirassiers of Rome. They had to, busy as they were training their own regiments, seeing more and more cuirassiers arrive in Circeii with every passing day. Seeing, one day, Gaius Marius and Marcus Antonius in full combat armour, arriving at their respective armies.



But while Rome would protect Gondor from the south and east, the Vikings cut through the Gondorian waters like a hot knife through butter, pillaging and looting almost unopposed. Rome couldn't afford a war with these Vikings, certainly not one waged alone - but perhaps the entire Concord could stand up for their brothers of the faith.



Not many wished to bother themselves with the Vikings - many were involved in other wars, after all - though as the crew of the Devotus would later report; Handsome Jack's army scored success after success.



So too with Kundaj V, whose warriors had seized the Blue Mountains for Khand. But solidarity was important; if the world saw that to attack one member of the Concord was to attack all members of the Concord, then surely, none would be attacked. Not with Rome coming to their protection - and indeed, some Romans had begun to view the Concord more as a group of vassals pledged to Rome, whom Rome would protect in return for their loyalty, then as a meeting of equals.



It was therefore not surprising that those Romans living farther away from the homeland, felt that Rome had grown astray from her Christian ideals. Roman society had been drastically militarised by the military government and its new policies, and though these policies may have been born from benevolent intentions, the path to hell is paved with the same intentions. More and more, the attitude towards the far-flung holdings that were once Sauron's was one of paternalism. Of how Roman might would keep the quaint subjects of Mordorian, New Californian, Batavian, or Dutch ancestry safe, of how superior Roman men were there to protect the weaker others. No wonder, then, that the moment one fire had died down, rebellion flared up elsewhere. Especially as the Roman army had now set foot ashore in Vault 15.



Rome's turn towards militarism, so as to be better able to protect those who couldn't protect themselves against the giants of the world, had rapidly lead to Romans considering it a privilege to be part of Rome - indeed, how dare those uppity 'colonials' complain that they weren't happy, for without Rome, they'd be under the boot heel of the likes of Sauron. Rome had grown more dismissive of others, and more authoritarian too, and though that was understandable when Rome came to rule over vast swathes of land that needed to be defended and integrated within Rome, it seemed as if these attitudes would stick - that these new lands would forever be seen as existing only because Roman men were there to help them, despite these new lands housing none but Roman men by virtue of being part of Rome.



A multitude of cities clamoured against this 'colonial' mindset, and though they were paid off - again - this rapidly emptied the treasury - again. And, really, that the government in Roma sought to pay off these people spoke volumes in itself, betraying the exact mindset these people were protesting against.



Revolution was contemplated again and again, yet the cries of the people were only met with more and more muskets - and the desperate throwing of gold and coin, bread and circuses, to placate the populace. With little effect.



And so, as Vice City fortified Clymenus with bombards - many of which would end up waiting just outside of the city, facilities for them having been destroyed by the Frumentarii - as Rome stood on the threshold of an Earth-shattering war...



A wave of liberalism swept the country. A force of freedom, propagating less government oversight, especially for the so-called colonies; there was no need for them to chafe under Rome's military, no need for them to be guarded so closely that they felt a prisoner in their own lands, no need at all for them to be treated differently - less - than any other Roman. For they were Romans. And Romans could fall, to be sure - but Romans would stand up again, only stronger for their falling, only rising higher. Let the military government go, let it leave Barad-dur - let men be their own men, in their own power, their lives shaped by their own hands, as the Populares had wished for.



Of course, the Populares had reached a compromise with the Optimates to keep the peace in Rome; the 'colonies' would not be independent, for the argument that they were too weak to stand up to those who would wish to harm them remained true - but that was not because of a lack of character or spirit, nor because of an innate weakness; that was simply a question of land and manpower. Land and manpower, Rome had in abundance, and as for the rest, well, why not see how these peoples would develop their own lands, without the crushing oversight of Roman military administration.



There were two characteristics that made the so-called colonies different from the heartland of Rome. For one, their country had been practically depopulated by war - if not by Sauron's exploitative use of the resources available to him, be they minerals or men - and with less manpower and resources available than they'd wish, they had a great need to work efficiently. To use steam power, and machinery, with which Sauron had toyed, now perfected by the wise Ahmad al-Mansur and his orcs.



The second difference was that they cared less for Christianity, having seen first-hand that Christianity by itself did not inherently make a man a hero, or a soldier a knight; Christianity could be used as a tool for personal benefit, too, or twisted to reach the desired conclusion, or even discarded at will. Perhaps that should have been obvious, but for untold centuries, Rome had made this less and less obvious - until the botching of the aftermath of this 'war of liberation', that is. Many of the Mordorians, Moroccans, Dutch, Batavians, and New Californians agreed on this, and so it was no wonder that they treated religion a bit looser than most Romans. They were faithful enough, mind, and only the most extremist of people spoke of secularism, but it was notable all the same.



And so, the military government packed up and left, and the Triumvirate - technically the Sextumvirate, what with three men of the Optimates and three men of the Populares working together - restored democracy, adjusted here and there to account for developments in philosophy - particularly, liberalism. The so-called colonies, and other far-flung cities, could send representatives to Roma, democratically elected, like in the old days. Sometimes, multiple cities would elect a representative that would represent a province, but this wasn't a true representative democracy, and more of a hodgepodge system installed to keep them at least somewhat tied to Roma. Not very consistent, perhaps, but results had to be delivered quickly in order to stave off revolution, and it worked, which was what mattered.



This actually wasn't necessary, though I have no idea why it suddenly wasn't; all of sudden, this is what the revolution watch showed me, with only The Hub and Vault 15 being worse than 'Warning'. Still, the story writes itself - at least in part - and so, the revolution must go through!

Just before the military government was abolished, a final call was heard throughout Rome; come join the army, come share in the glory! Come fight against the Hindu, the drugs, and the debauchery! Come show all the world that the military isn't here only for personal gain, isn't here only to make Rome powerful and Roman generals rich - come show the world that the military defends the defenceless, liberates the oppressed, and treats all men, be they Gondorian or New Californian, Roman or Batavian, as equals. A message that strove to improve the perception of the military, and partly succeeded in this, for amongst the cuirassiers and bombards heading to the front, one could see citizens with cheaply purchased equipment reminiscent of the footmen of an age before gunpowder, having more skill in healing than in fighting, lacking the very basics of any military training. They would be the Auditores; the hearers, those that heard the call.



A message that, while coming too late to preserve the military government, did go a long way to re-establishing the military as a driver of equality, where man no matter their blood or colour could rise high. To commemorate the renewed liberties, and the reintroduction of democracy, Arretium opened its secular university. It would come to be the home of the liberal school of thought, but then, Arretium had always been Rome's hub of commerce, with trade routes flowing far and wide.



For indeed, next to social liberalism, there was also economical liberalism, seeking to reform the current merchant capitalism into something more modern. With the growth of industry, thanks to steam power, this would happen naturally over time; banks, instead of private backers, would eventually come to finance businesses, and various legal forms of businesses would come to exist - personhood, corporations, shares, and more - as a result, to guarantee the bank's investment as well as possible.



But these were developments for later, naturally evolving from that first light of economical liberalism, lit in Arretium. A light that would flicker, as the southern half of the continent would go under in war, as Vice City ships would try to seize Roman trade.

 

[need my speed]

Steam power revolutionised work all across the Roman Republic. Wood was burnt in massive quantities to heat up water, so as to generate jets of steam of a force far more powerful than water and wind had ever been. With such a force now opened up to exploitation, machines were soon invented to make use of this power in hundreds of different contexts. From the experts who could blow the most beautiful glass, to the textile industry that made clothes into objects of fashion as well as function, all would come to use steam to improve the efficiency of their work tenfold. Levees and dams were built throughout Rome's many rivers, to direct more water into the white-hot chambers that would convert water into steam.



There was, of course, work that didn't profit much from these changes; ships were made of wood, and wood burned easily. Steam power had no place here, for to make a ship sail against the winds and currents by lighting a bonfire under its deck to drive the machinery of steam, that was madness - the possibility of the entire ship burning down was but the first of the many issues. Similarly, religion was spread by word and writ, not by steam. Khand, long an ally of Rome, had barely any presence of Christianity within its borders - but with newly Christianised former Mordor to the north, that wouldn't take long.



Perhaps Christianity could increase Khandic morale as she watched her city of Laorki burn to the ground. But as Hyperion military victories inspired more and more to come fight in the arenas and coliseums, Rome's spies reported that Tommy Vercetti was on the march. Against Gondor.



Rome immediately prepared herself. Thainhall, the centre of authority of the Shire Islands, raised a fleet of galleasses to defend the west coast.



Marcus Antonius readied his army, preparing to strike at both Clymenus and Prawn Island, where Roman spies had already integrated themselves with the defensive force.



Whereas Gaius Marius headed south, threatening a handful of Vice City's cities and the army's entire line of advance towards Gondor.



Meanwhile, in Khand, Christianity tied the country together in the wake of Tommy Vercetti's campaign to both remove the Gondorian thorn from her side and to spread Hinduism by the sword - or the bullet, as was now the case.



Rome needed a force of its own to tie the many millions of Romans together, though, having just set the first step backwards from the edge of a dark and deep abyss; the lightest push could see the whole east descend back into revolt again. The traditions that made Rome Rome, that made up the Princepis and the knights-turned-cuirassiers, had been called into question, and the question hadn't been resolved - and once tradition is questioned, tradition is done for. Two forces combined to question the merits of honour and valour; the philosophy of liberalism that espoused the merits of a free individual, free to pursue his own gain, and the rapid revolution in labour that steam power had spawned. There was much to be gained there for many an individual, much moreso than serving in the military would ever bring one. Almost overnight, the military had become a losing proposition; who needed honour, valour, or glory, when one could have gold, commerce, industry? To be an unsung soldier in one grave out of thousands, or to raise a whole family to such heights that even the famous Crassus had to look upwards?


(I have no idea why this picture doesn't seem to work - you can click on it, and then it works fine, but it doesn't display properly on the forum, for some odd reason...)

This attitude would have devastating consequences, not only on the upcoming war with Vice City, but on the entire Concord of Civilisation, the Christian world at large, and on the very concept of what it meant to be Roman. The solution to this question would primarily be found in two directions, but for now, on the eve of war, a band-aid was needed before more comprehensive reforms could be instituted. The Roman army had long since been a voluntary one, unlike most other armies, but this change had only come about after a man's family and livelihood was secured by the state; equipment and training would be paid for by the state, salary would be dispatched to the family during service - instead of to the soldier in question, if and only if had survived - and the rewards for military service were generally higher than work on a farm or in a mine would yield. But that last point was now decidedly untrue, with the booming business of steam-powered machinery. Rome did what she could to alleviate the massively growing gap between the rich and the poor - which more and more became synonymous with the merchant and the military - but as Rome was built on the freedom of merchant capitalism, to entirely regulate this process and potentially shackle Rome's commerce was a step too far yet.



The economical liberty of Rome attracted both domestic and foreign men of ambition, seeking to make a modest - or outrageously extravagant - profit of the marvels of steam. And perhaps sneak the knowledge they amassed in the process back to their homeland...



Alas, Cornelius Vanderbilt would never reach Vice City, and would never spill even the tiniest of secrets regarding the application of steam. For despite Tommy Vercetti's flinter-thin facade of friendliness...



War was declared, and cuirassiers from Antium rode out to apprehend Vanderbilt.



He would be escorted to Cumae by Paul Gardner Allen, where the latter would go on to make his fortune with steam power, while the former would toil away as little more than a lowly servant. He was, however, given a new name to protect himself (because that's what the game does when one makes named units capturable ).



In the south, the armies of Marcus Antonius and Gaius Marius rode out. The former prepared itself to besiege Clymenus, long having been a thorn in the sides of both Rome and Gondor. The Frumentarii would make this siege an easy affair, having infiltrated the modest town a thousand times over.



The latter army, however, consisted entirely of cuirassiers, from all throughout the heartland of Rome. They had no siege weaponry to carry through the lands, no foot soldiers to slow them down - they had horses, and guns, and that was all they needed. The various cuirassier companies, each skilled in various types of warfare, quickly secured the lands between Gondor and Vice City.



While the Frumentarii did their very best to prevent the local garrison commanders of Vice City from securing their cities.



Prawn Island soon fell, and was razed to the ground much like Clymenus was. Escobar, however, seemed to be somewhat of a hub for Hinduism, and holding it would undoubtedly be a great blow against the Hindu menace's morale.



Of course, these prophets were all summarily executed for whipping the Vice City populace up into warlike fervour against their age-old brothers and sisters in Christianity.



Their brothers and sisters in Christianity, who would bring the faith to the lands of Liberty.



With Clymenus now isolated, left in the not-so-merciful hands of Marcus Antonius, who was comfortably settling in for a short and brutal siege, there was only a lone pikemen regiment threatening Rome and Gondor - but Rome's cuirassiers were all behind rivers, and there was no way plate armoured men could march over bridges without being torn to shreds by fine Roman muskets. The Vice City populace, driven out of their houses as Prawn Island was razed to the ground, was rounded up and would go on to build a proper Roman settlement in the area.



A Scutum regiment of cuirassiers, trained in policing civilians and manning a city's walls, was left behind in Escobar, while the main force under Gaius Marius sped away to the south. For, though no military force had ever been spotted there, Gondor's southern border wasn't quite secure.

... But then the game crashed... And so the whole turn was replayed. Prawn Island and Escobar fell again to Rome, and Starfish Island and Compound again came under the threat of Gaius Marius and his cuirassiers.



Three great generals headed towards Raven Rock as a result, reporting on the first of many battles using gunpowder; bombards and cuirassiers, mostly, but both Vice City and Rome had unmounted musketmen as well.



And indeed, while Gaius Marius trusted in the speed of his cuirassiers, capable of raining down lead upon unsuspecting armies at a moment's notice, disappearing beyond the horizon at the next moment, safe from retaliation, Marcus Antonius preferred to rely on the overwhelming might of his bombards. Clymenus was scarcely left standing - indeed, the Frumentarii present had ran for their lives, hurrying southwards without bringing down the city's defence. But then, cannonballs had brought them down far more permanently than subterfuge could ever hope to achieve.



Thousands of macemen charged the broken carcass of what was once a city, and in the end, nothing but rubble was left, as if the very earth itself had shattered before the might of Roman bombards.



The iron mines of Clymenus had collapsed completely, further condemning hundreds of Vice City civilians to death. Rome was proclaimed to be the most cultured civilisation ever, but surely, those who proclaimed so hadn't seen the wholesale slaughter full-scale gunpowder warfare could inflict.



Most of Marcus Antonius' army headed south-east, to Bayshore Avenue, where they were joined by the first few Auditores - those that had heard the call, the final song of the military government calling upon all whom held honour in their hearts to sign up - and other, more professional soldiers.



Marcus Antonius himself, however, hurried to Escobar, where uncountable cuirassiers were seeing to their wounds and supplies. Escobar was vulnerable, for the surrounding lands had either fallen to lawless banditry or had kept to Vice City in the hope that she might protect them.



This was a vain hope, for although Little Haiti loomed on the horizon, Gaius Marius was making sure Tommy Vercetti couldn't risk leaving the city but the tiniest bit undermanned - for Little Haiti was now threatened from the west as well, and Gondor's southern border had been secured.



Rome, unlike Vice City, could afford to divide her forces, and launched several incursions on the deserts surrounding Bayshore Avenue, picking off labourers and lightly guarded bombards - there certainly was something to be said for the swiftness of cuirassiers, allowing them to strike at will.



In Escobar, captured Vice City civilians managed to escape to the ruins of Prawn Island. There, Nezahualcoyotl and his Hindu prophets, committed the most horrifying acts imaginable to beseech their Hindu devilspawns to come to the aid of Vice City. Bloodletting and human sacrifice were but some of the fates the captured labourers and civilians underwent, before Roman forces who had given chase put an end to the madness. The Hindu prophets were cut down and thrown into the river, and the civilians would be set to work in such brutal conditions that death claimed them soon - but it helped little to banish the memory of these despicable acts, forever haunting the Romans who had seen, and heard, and were now forever condemned to know just how deep the depravity of Hinduism ran.



But then the game crashed again... Is the map just too large, with too many AI's? Well, Rome can certainly resolve the last part - if the game will let her... Perhaps this is a divine command to post a new update - this is, after all, the end of a turn. So be it, then!

 

[need my speed]

The depraved madness of Nezahualcoyotl and his Hindu priests and prophets caused an uproar in worldwide Christian society. The Concord of Civilisation was called upon.



Tommy Vercetti, realising his doom was fast approaching, quickly called off the war with Gondor and prayed for mercy to all his Hindu gods - and according to some, even the Christian God with its many aspects. For even the mighty Vikings were now falling to Hyperion soldiers guided by Christianity. The Vikings, who had single-handedly conquered Claude Speed's civilisation, starting life as but a small uprising, but ending up taking over the entire country like wildfire - if Handsome Jack could project this much power, how much more could Rome project, and indeed, how much more could all of Christianity?



The encampment of Delere - 'to destroy' - was turned into a more permanent fortification, and in time, a proper city. Here, those wounded during the utter and complete destruction of Clymenus would rest and recharge, overlooking the salted rubble that had once been Clymenus. Quod Clymenus deletus est.



The rest of the army marched south, advancing on Bayshore Avenue, following those that were just beyond the desert bordering the city. They would have brought much-needed bombards, but the Frumentarii were already in the city, ready to receive the army.



Little Haiti, on the other hand, wasn't ready to receive the cuirassiers of Gaius Marius.



The city was a bulwark of Hinduism, much like Escobar had been, but whereas the streets of Escobar had been filled with Hindu prophets whipping the populace up into a frenzy bereft of all sanity, Little Haiti had constructed magnific monuments to the Hindu gods. One such monument, Angkor Wat, was immediately appropriated by the Roman administration, dedicating it to Christianity and setting up a temporary office inside. In time, it would come to be a noteworthy monument to Christianity, and it would serve as the beacon from where the chaos of Hinduism would be systematically extinguished.



The way to Ocean Beach was now open, there where Hinduism was first conceived of, back when its most controversial feature was a caste system, back before Sauron corrupted the faith into an orgy of chaos and debauchery. But a pincher strike on Ocean Beach, though possibly thanks to the speed and firepower of the cuirassiers, would only doom the Roman war effort; the populous Little Havana had undoubtedly thousands of civilians to call upon, to arm and march towards Ocean Beach in the blink of an eye, and Fort Baxter was sure to hold a large and powerful army, easily capable of marching behind Roman lines and dooming Gaius Marius and his forces. For now, the Roman army would resupply itself, holding the line here, with Gondor safely at their backs.



All these victories had given cause for celebration in Rome, of course, and Raven Rock was not remiss at all when it came to honouring all the brave soldiers doing their part. That further glorification of the military could only lead to more men enlisting was a very convenient benefit of these heroic epics as well.



At this time, the mighty and influential of the Concord of Civilisation had arrived in Cumae's Apostolic Palace, and although surprisingly many were of the opinion that, now that Gondor was safe, no further action was needed, Rome carried the day.



The fact that Harkuf, a wealthy politician, travelled from Rome to Cumae to disperse part of his fortune into the pockets of those who came to vote on the matters of the Concord, helped too.



Despite the reservations of the Concord - somewhat lessened by the fact that both Hyperion and Rhovanion continued to score one victory after the other - Marcus Antonius began the assault on Bayshore Avenue.



The Frumentarii carried out more assassinations than strictly proper, but then, this was war. And even so, Tommy Vercetti had managed to train skilled squads of musketmen that were set up strategically all throughout the city itself - Rome's shock infantry carrying maces and swords would certainly suffer losses.



But cuirassiers, aided by volleys of crossbowmen, managed to cause enough havoc for the macemen to charge into the city and overrun the hodgepodge fortifications altogether. Soon, Bayshore Avenue burned, and its people with it.



There was a lesson to be learned in this victory, though; it had been the cuirassiers that made the defenders dissolve into chaos - it had been the cuirassiers that enabled the macemen to sack the city. There was, after all, a reason why the military trained men in the art of riding and fighting on horseback, and in the brutal reality of gunpowder warfare, but less so in swordsmanship and archery. More and more generals, instead of flocking to Raven Rock, established their own academies in the cities of Rome, specialising in all the kinds of fighting one could see on horseback.

For every knight - and more recently, cuirassier - has its unique name and promotion line depending on the city it was built in (in total there are currently 60 cuirassiers in the field):

Neapolis Knights: Cover + Combat (9)
Fraternitas Brothers: Cover + Combat (7)
Cumae Philospatha: City Raider + Combat (6)
Antium Cuirassiers: City Raider + Combat (6)
Absolvum Inquisitor: City Raider + Combat (5)
Arpinum Pilum: Pinch + City Raider + Combat (2)
Roma Caput: Pinch + Combat (1)
Libertas Libertine: Pinch + Combat (1)
Christurb Crusader: Combat (7)
Ravenna Corvus: Combat (4)
Silvarum Equites: Drill (5)
Michel Delving Hobbits: Formation + Drill (3)
Serenitas Pacifico: City Raider + Drill (1)
Mediolanum Scutum: City Garrison + Drill (3)

That is to say... Knights? Cuirassiers? No...



Cavalry outfitted with the most advanced gunpowder weaponry in existence; rifles. Muskets were inaccurate and slow to reload, facts that were made use of by lengthening the barrel to such a degree that rows of soldiers behind one another could all fire past each other in volleys, reminiscent of archers. Facts that were made use of by affixing a bayonet to the long barrel of the musket, reminiscent of pikes. This way, musketmen combined the separate strengths of various forces into one deadly combination. And of course, the battlefield would quickly be filled with smoke - pinpoint accuracy hardly mattered in such circumstances.



But Rome's cuirassiers operated at range, harassing opposing forces - ideally, they would have little use for bayonets, and instead, would need all the accuracy they could get. As such, a fortress in Christurb - the Kremlin - was secretly re-purposed to perfecting the musket. The technique of rifling was discovered here, cutting curves into the interior of a musket's barrel so that bullets would spin as they came out, and because of this, fly farther and more accurately than ever before (approximately five times as much, especially in the hands of a trained cavalryman). This did, however, require bullets of special make; not any ball would do, and indeed, it was quickly discovered that a conical instead of a circular bullet would fly faster and pierce through any flesh or bone it found on its path. The Kremlin would need time to manufacture these Minae bullets - meaning both 'pinnacles' and 'threats' - but once they would be delivered to the front... All hell would break lose in Vice City.



The city of Antonium was founded just south of the ruins of Bayshore Avenue, to give Roman soldiers a resting place after trekking through the harsh desert. And also, to store crates of Minae bullets as far as the eye could see - for why would only the cavalry make use of these new rifles? Why not the footmen of his army? The macemen, the pikemen, the crossbowmen, even the musketmen... They would be riflemen, once enough rifles arrived. For now, Marcus Antonius would be content with training his diverse forces into the new ways of an even deadlier kind of warfare.



The conquests of Rome had certainly given Marcus Antonius enough men to rapidly build up his new city into an impenetrable fortress.



This in distinct contrast to the conquests of Vice City... Of which there were none, Vice City's army now trapped in the wilderness north of Imloth Melui, resorting to banditry just to survive until Vice City's navy could give them safe passage home.



Another city would be established by Rome - Cannae, which would forever compete with Delere over telling the most gruesome stories of the war - but as Rome sought to reintroduce proper civilisation to the people of Vice City - in as much as this was possible - Tommy Vercetti restructured his society to practically fetishise the military, and further declared himself to be the entire Hindu pantheon made flesh, ruling as a god over a people driven mad with desire to wield weapons and kill kill kill in the names of their gods and their leader. Utter insanity reigned - the last breaths of a rotting carcass. But Rome and Vice City were not the only ones busy with defining what civilisation meant.



The missionaries of the Devotus, sent to bring Christianity to Liberty, reported many things to Rome. They wondered whether they were not better off heading south. To be sure, the north of Liberty was overwhelmingly Taoist, and there were plenty of places where the people welcomed Christianity - but Oceania lay to the south.



And the missionaries had heard reports that Toni Cipriani, of Liberty, had succeeded in conquering and Oceania, sealing his victory with the capture of the city of Ingsoc, now busy trying to establish a modicum of civilisation for the formerly Oceanic people. And surely, they who had known nothing but the worst of oppression for generations on end, needed the light of Christianity far more.



That wasn't the only thing of note the Devotus would report back to Rome; sailing by Hyperion lands, they noticed Atlas' presence had been reduced to the frozen and irradiated Dahl Headlands. Still, the alliance between Hitler's Germany and Helga Steele's Atlas held, and Hitler had managed to establish a fort - the Frankfurt - on Liberty's shores.



This caused two drastic realignments in the global balance of power. First, Carolus Magnus formed a permanent alliance with Handsome Jack and adopted more interventionist policies. In private, he told the Triumvirate that Hyperion was far enough away for Holy Rome to remain independent, and that such an alliance with Rome would inevitably mean the erosion of any Holy Roman culture or independence, for the two nations were tied too closely together. He cited recent demonstrations in Vienna, where the Holy Roman people had clamoured to join Rome, as an example. And, he finished with a smile, this would forever tie Hyperion to Rome's cause, for Holy Rome would forever follow Rome. The meeting ended on a positive note, all parties realising that the Christian world had been brought closer together in harmony.

But Toni Cipriani's occupation of Oceania had apparently caused the Revolutionary Chairman of Eastasia to grow fearful of Liberty - and indeed, a poet remarked, is it not entirely fitting that a nation by the name of Liberty would be the one to bring freedom to the oppressed continent? Still, Yekaterina Alekseyevna of Russia was willing to assuage his fears by signing a defensive pact - a totalitarian madman who burned his people and preached that the obliteration of oneself was one's highest goal, now had access to the wiles of the Russian Tsarina. She who had already brought down the horselords of Rohan, and she who was undoubtedly responsible for repeatedly stirring up war between the Dwarves of Durin and the Arnorians of Elendil. A move to be wary of, indeed.



Though, of course, there was far more reason to be wary of Rome - for emerging from deep within the forests and mountains of Christurb, emerging from the so-called Red Square, named for the blood that would soon flow... The Kremlin opened its gates, and rifles were now readily available to Rome's armies. War had taken a turn for the worse - for Vice City...



They didn't know it yet, and bravely sought to execute a surprise attack on Roman soil with the half-starved forces trapped north of Imloth Melui. They were soon trapped again, this time on Roman soil.



And half-starved forces don't make for good soldiers - certainly not against what had just been unleashed from the Kremlin...



While writing this, the game crashed four times. Alas.