The Celestial Bureaucracy

hoplitejoe said:

Personally I could only call it short in comparison to Tycho's story

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What are you implying hoplitejoe?

Members of the Civ4 S&T Group saw the Work-In-Progress
of this character but I found a little time to finish it, finally.
I may update this later as with the Kohaku sketch.

This is Vermillion Waters; one of the natives encountered in the New World.

So yeah, this is what she looks like, Elder Methyl,
since you seemed to really like that part of the story.



Enjoy!

And now more speculation:

-In VtM, the Vampires are actually descendants of Cain (or Caine). That story might not be followed here, but I'd allege some demonic origin for the Vamps here as well (stories love irony).

- The Vamps are going to get the opportunity to hit the CB hard, and make them pay for their sucess.

- We're going to see the CB do some morally dubious things, just to remind us how grey the morality is.

- Rajat's going to be disillusioned. Hard (this could also have something to do with the first speculation).

You make me feel bad about my drawing, TD.
Extremely good pic tho!

You are good at drawing

Apologies, Dawn - I haven't been keeping up with your story as of late. I jumped back in for the last few updates you posted (very high quality, by the way) - but the reason I'm posting is to ask a question - is your research rate solely from the sheer quantity of cities you own, or are you running large amounts of specialists, as well? And how are you keeping money up? Wealth building + courthouses?

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=11058992&postcount=318

See this post.

Dailiang was my science city.

Hereditary Rule + Caste System + food-heavy map = gobs of GPs that fuel my research.
Money came from a Conquest Economy, but mostly due to the generous resources on this map.
So, to answer your question, sheer number of cities + courthouses + land of plenty + conquest.
It's a little hard to remember though, this game was played on Noble difficulty two years ago,
And trying to compartmentalize and remember my thought process while playing back then (I'm a solid Monarch player now) is difficult.

Ah, all right, thanks. I've always wondered how you researched so fast - that clears things up. The map DOES look like a wet dream for anyone who runs specialist economies.

That. City. Is. Beautiful.

A S.O.S. distress signal was received from Agent Xuanzang.
Contact was lost at approximately 23:00.
The playback only repeats this message:
"*h**o*o*s on t**se *s**n*s! Send **c*up **mediat**!!!"


I'm Working Hard For You.




The Vajra elephant cavalry collapsed into the dust as Tiger Vanguard troops fired continuous volleys of arrows into the walls of towering beasts. Taking advantage of the cover provided by the dead pachiderms, the Vajra crossbowmen huddled behind their lifeless husks. Merciless volleys of arrows now returned from the across the elephant wall and into the Tiger Vanguard formations. With blatant disregard to their own personal safety, their steady march broke out into an all-out sprint, in an attempt to close the gap between themselves and the enemy. As the Republican crossbow models possessed a slower rate of fire, they could not thin out the charging infantry in time and suddenly found themselves engaging in desperate hand to hand combat atop the bodies of fallen elephants.

Xia Chen surveyed the situation from his hastily put together camp on the hilltops not too far away. "Elephant cavalry?" he thought to himself. His reports from the other day only indicated that there only militia and poorly-armed townsmen on the western bank of the Mahadani. Gloved hands rolled up the report as the general's face turned back to the perimeters of the battlefield. The Tiger Vanguard at the forefront of the battle lines had annihilated the first waves of Vajra soldiers and commandeered the elephant cover for their own.

A report soon came in that indicated that Xia Chen's forces were engaging with an army under the command of one General Varun. Nothing was said about the size or composition of the enemy; for all he knew, there could still be more elephant cavalry in reserve that he did not know about. Xia Chen had to think hard about the current situation. It was believed that he had decisively crippled the Vajra war effort at Madras and that the Republic could only levy militia at best. That was why he had split his invasion army in two, with the larger force directed to sweep across the northern states of Vajra and the smaller one poised to strike at Varanasi. Now faced with this predicament and plagued with limited visibility, he had no choice but to stay in his camp, twiddling his thumbs and waiting for his scouts to return.

General Nagaraja smiled as he waited in the pass with his horsemen. He had convened with General Varun of Varanasi several weeks prior to develop a stratagem that would put an end to Xia Chen's unbroken string of successes. First, they had fed the Chinese general on false intelligence, making it so that Vajra appeared to be completely defenseless after the debacle that had occurred at Madras. That was just to lull him into a false sense of security. The imposing general and his cadre of horsemen was going to be a nasty surprise for the Chinese prince; but the one that Varun had in store for him was much worse.His spotter eyed a small group of Chinese infantry that had wandered up the northern pass. Their insignias indicated that they were scouts. Now that wouldn't do at all. General Nagaraja and his horse cavalry descended upon the shocked scouting party like a flock of hungry swallows. Vainly, they planted their halberds into the ground at the base of the pass and dug in but it only stopped the first wave. They were soon trampled to death as the bulk of cavalry rammed through, spears raised high in triumph. As the broken Tiger Vanguard gazed skyward with their dying eyes, they could see Vajra engineers hauling torsion catapults & counterweight trebuchets overhead onto the high ground.

Meanwhile, on the flatlands, the Tiger Vanguard continued to fire at the oncoming wave of soldiers, but they didn't seem to stop, even as the sharpshooters were certain that they had struck the silhouettes in the midst. However, nobody could really be sure, given the intensity of the dust bowl that made confirmation impossible. An officer at the fore-front aimed carefully at the silhouette of a Vajra lieutenant and squeezed the trigger. The arrow landed squarely into the face of the figure but it continued to advance, to the horror of the officer. Soon, the man had closed the distance but curiously enough, he did not attack. Raising a hand into the air, the officer gave the command to stop firing and ran out of cover into the sandstorm to take a look at the man. Upon approach, the officer tripped over something and fell. Before him was a wooden statue of a man riddled with crossbow bolts, tied to a goat that was bleating out madly having just been tripped over. Scrambling away, the officer felt a gripping terror overwhelm him as more statues rolled up through the dust, each pulled by a bleating goat. It was a distraction.

At the instant that the rest of the line realized that they had been firing at a wall of wooden men the whole time, they were bombarded with a bevy of projectiles. The officers quickly ordered every man to take cover, and while they sustained little damage, their hands were completely tied up. While the front lines had been distracted firing at the wooden men, General Varun had led his forces along the coast and swung through some side passages behind enemy lines. General Varun had now successfully bypassed the bulk of the Chinese army with thirty-thousand infantry under the cover of the dust bowl. His massive force split into thirds, with one locking down the perimeter of the bombardment zone, another third taking Xia Chen's reserves by surprise and the last third led by Varun himself charging up the slopes of the main camp.



In the camp, practically all personnel were in a rush to help pack up all the sensitive documents and supply carts out. Xia Chen, at the first sign of danger ordered a fighting retreat, but it was not known how many divisions received the order; the reserves and the forces bogged down on the frontline were being massacred systematically by the combined forces of General Nagaraja's cavalry and General Varun's infantry. Hand to hand fighting was already breaking out all over the camp and the situation was growing dire.
The vastly martial prince held the line with his men, hacking and slashing away at the throng of oncoming Vajra troops. Two foolhardy soldiers lunged towards him from the flank, attempting to catch him unaware. Even in a desperate situation as this, Xia Chen was still sharp as a needle when it came to thinking on his feet. Leaping atop the first man's spear, he beheaded the first man as he flourished his jian, subsequently flipping into the air and slicing the next man in two before he landed. From out of the dust came General Varun himself, katars unsheathed and ready to draw blood. He had caught the prince unaware and soon slammed into his armored body. The katar pierced through Xia Chen's armor and wounded his side, causing him to spurt out blood from his mouth. Several Chinese soldiers who had just finished off their own adversaries saw this and sprung into action. The men tackled Varun off of their commander and made sure he was able to escape. They were disposed of in an instant as Varun pushed them off of him and stabbed them while they still laid on the ground but they had at least bought Xia Chen enough time to escape.

Even during the retreat, the battle slogged on for hours as retreating companies in the rear fought vainly to buy the other troops more time to ford the river. The supply wagons were given top priority as the baggage troops hastily disassembled the wheels from the wagon carts and pushed them into the river. Varun and Nagaraja did not pursue; they took the time to crush any last pockets of resistance and hunt down the stragglers. In two hours, all the remaining troops had successfully crossed the Mahadani onto the eastern bank of the river. Only a little less than six thousand of his formerly twenty thousand strong troop remained; nervously holed up on the low-lying hills, watching and waiting for the Republican advance. The rest of the men lay inside the caves behind them, groaning and moaning for the attention of overworked physicians and nurses. Xia Chen groaned as the few surviving physicians wrapped up his katar wound. But more painful than his bleeding wound was the wracking guilt of having led his men into disaster. Surrounding him was a small group of men who were still capable, if not a little shaken, guarding him with incredible loyalty.



He felt undeserving of their loyalty. It brought tears to his eyes as they watched him.
The looks in their eyes indicated that they didn't blame him for the debacle and that they'd stay with him to recovery. Xia Chen tried to mouth an apology but even the physician stopped him from speaking.
They didn't want to hear it. They were going to fight their way through. They watched him until he fell asleep and then regrouped outside to set up makeshift fortifications by the cave sides.

At dawn's approach, they waited atop the hills for the impending Vajra assault, having not slept due to being on edge. The morning was dry but clear with the dust storms having blown over to the west. This was all the better for the Republican forces; they wanted to see their glorious victory with their own eyes. The Vajra war drums could be heard as they advanced across the Mahadani River with little opposition on the part of the Chinese to stop them. Few trebuchets had been recovered and they were doing little to stop the massive thirty plus thousand strong force from fording the river.

Engagement commenced as the desperate defenders threw their all against the oncoming waves of Vajra foot soldiers.
They died by the droves but strategy didn't matter as much at this point;
eventually, the Chinese would run out of arrows. And when they did, the slaughter would begin.

Reports were soon coming in though that a mysterious new army had emerged on the adjacent hilltops.
Their black armor indicated that they were Chinese hostiles but curiously, they carrying strange long weapons that neither general had seen before. They had spear-points at the ends of the barrels but as stabbing weapons, they looked...flimsy. General Varun squinted. "Enemy reinforcements? And what are those weapons they're carrying?" "Are those bo staffs? Heh." General Nagaraja scoffed. "Never mind about them, they'll be gone fairly soon when I'm done with them," he boasted as he spurred his stallion into action.

The cavalry General led the charge at the helm of his cavalry, expecting an easy victory.

The charging cavalry was mowed down as a veritable wall of bullets tore through ligaments and organs without discrimination. Nagaraja himself was the first to die, shot through the head and flung off of his terrified mount. Horses plummeted to the ground and forcibly dismounted their riders as they suffered the bulk of the onslaught. Shocked at the awesome power of such weapons, the riders re-oriented themselves for a second before they attempted to continue with their uphill charge. The row of riflemen that were down on one knee opened fire, sending these men tumbling down the hill and into stampeding hooves of their comrades. By this time, the standing row had finished reloading and took readied to fire at the next wave of cavalry braving up the hillside, thinking there was an opening somewhere.

There was no opening.

Hundreds of Vajra horsemen died in a furious hail of bullets as they failed to bridge the gap.
The riflemen began to descend steadily from the slope as they casually reloaded their gunpowder cartridges.
General Varun was demanding to be informed of the current situation when an explosion decimated half a squadron right before his eyes. He was still adjusting to the ringing in his ears when he looked at where his men used to be. Severed limbs and body parts covered the blood-red ground before him, with many of the survivors sprawled on the ground, crying out for help. Despite this, he demanded for the charge to continue. Reports were starting to flood in from every division that they were experiencing massive casualties and that many of them could go no further. General Varun was infuriated; Who was responsible for this?!



Morale was rising on the Chinese side with the arrival of mysterious soldiers who seemed to be on their side. A lone warrior clad in black armor strode towards the defensive lines as the Tiger Vanguard crossbowmen hunched over fallen logs and rocks firing at the encroaching Vajra moving up the hills under the cover of their shields. She bore the Xia insignia on her armor which indicated that she was not to be touched and as soon as it became apparent to most troops, they concentrated their fire away from her to let her pass through.

A soldier stood at the mouth of the cave nearby and hailed her.
"This is Lady Mi. How fares the battle and what of my husband?"
"Not well! The battle yesterday was a complete massacre,
in which General Xia Chen sustained a grave wound. He is still resting in the caves as we speak,"
She suppressed her personal emotions and remained professional, looking straight into the man's eyes.
"As long as he remains incapacitated, all of you are under my command. I want every able-bodied man to follow me and support my columns in a flanking maneuver,"
"Yes, Ma'am!"

General Varun braved ahead in the face of the cannon fire obstacle course, with a great scowl draped over his face. He had just inflicted the worst Imperial defeat in history and here he was now, being deprived of his triumph. This would not stand. He yelled at his men to keep them advancing even though the casualties were starting to become atrocious. A nearby explosion kicked up great pieces of earth and dust onto his armor, causing him to cough profusely. When the dust cleared, his eyes focused on the mass of black that rapidly advanced on his position. They were being led by one woman. General Varun recognized those symbols on her lamellar plate. She was an Imperial relative. She was the one responsible for this reversal of fortune. She was the one who deprived him of his victory. She was the one who had to die-

Barely acknowledging his presence, Lady Mi pointed her repeater in his general direction and fired, nailing him straight in the heart. He fell to the soft earth as his vitals ceased to function. With both of their Generals dead, the survivors broke out into an all out retreat, trying to regroup back at Varanasi. All along the way, Chinese cannon fire and sharpshooting sniped out and incapacitated scores of retreating soldiers. Those who didn't retreat and laid down their arms were made prisoner and watched over as they kneeled on the ground at gunpoint.

As the last retreating soldier was shot in the back, dead in the water, the Battle of Mahadani ended.
It was to be the costliest battle for both sides in the Sino-Vajra War.



Worship of the Celestial Bureaucracy continues to grow in Oceania, as the polytheistic religion spreads to outlying regions of the kingdom.

whoa, what's with all the Judaism?
Nothing against Jews, but I just realized...

Bad luck with that hut.
Is that Mali with a stack in India?

hoplitejoe said:

Bad luck with that hut.
Is that Mali with a stack in India?

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Not exactly a stack : there are only 6 units.

Didn't say of doom

hoplitejoe said:

Didn't say of doom

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Yes, in that case you are right.

I wonder how long they took to get there...

A S.O.S. distress signal was received from Agent Xuanzang.
Contact was lost at approximately 23:00.
The playback only repeats this message:
"*h**o*o*s on t**se *s**n*s! Send **c*up **mediat**!!!"

Click to expand...

I love this bit. Very clever way of incorporating losing the settler into the update.

Very nice Dawn, very good update.

Let's see what happens with that first bit, shall we?

Civ'ed said:

whoa, what's with all the Judaism?
Nothing against Jews, but I just realized...

Click to expand...

In an earlier post, TD said something about Israel getting an extra technology on the Giant Earth Map.

Elder Methyl said:

In an earlier post, TD said something about Israel getting an extra technology on the Giant Earth Map.

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No, no.

That was Duke of Britain, and he mentioned that he disliked whenever he played GEM, Israel would always found a religion (usually Judaism) and spread it to everyone. He then said that the next time he played, he would remove a tech from Israel.

I don't mind as much; sometimes it's Spain founding the entire Old World faith,
but I really liked it in this game because it gave me a story to work with in regards to the huge geo-conspiracy blocs I have in the story.

Celestial Bureaucracy = Taoist
Elohim = Judeo-Christian
Garou = Muslim

I probably should get around to reading this someday. Otherwise it will keep building, making it longer and making me put it off, then making me want to read it in an unending cycle