A Tryst with Destiny

TheNoob said:

Yay, the Coca-Cholas have arrived!

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I'm going to open them up and drink them out

I can't read Bharata and not think of:

When I see Baraka, I can't help but think of Barack.

When I see Barack, I can't help but thinking of Indonesia.

...

CONQUER INDONESIA!

Aah you sly dog you

You shall never take persia! Not so long as i live!!!!

Do not take Persia.Or i'll end you

For twenty years the Greek armies fought under the leadership of Alexander of Mykedon. They fought on the seas, they fought on the land, they fought on hills and plains. They fought with courage, ferocity and barbarity. Wherever the Greek armies went, cities after cities fell to them.

The greeks under Alexander innovated tactics of warfare and battle. Alexander himself became an expert at siegecraft showing his capabilities in the conquest of Anatolia and Babylon. From there his best fighting soldiers ventured East into the lands of Darius III of Persia. Persia had emerged as the most powerful and advanced empire of its time, its first emperor seeking to conquer Babylon, but that conquest failed. Since then, Persia's strength has declined and declined.. and declined.

Like a great tree whose roots have rotted out, the tree of Persia would fall to the hurricane that was Alexander. Darius III had suffered defeat after defeat at alexander's hand from Anatolia to Mesopotamia. The bulk of his forces had been destroyed leaving only the large garrison of Persepolis. This was the last Persian city, and also the greatest.

For near five years, Alexander's men had been laying siege to this city, and for all those years, it withstood the Greek legions. For all that time, Persepolis suffered.

The outlying towns and villages were destroyed, pillaged by Alexander and his men. Every tale that came out of these places spoke of intolerable suffering and horror. In one village of shepherds, the entire village was burned to the ground, its stock of cattle looted by the Greeks, its male population killed by cutting off the limbs and its womenfolk taken as slaves. This was a pattern repeated in every village which supplied food to Persepolis. What Alexander intended for , was to starve out the Persians and force them to do battle with the Greeks. That is where the Greek phalanxes would have the advantage. But for all this, the citizens of Persepolis lived an animal existence. The days grew harder and harder. Darius III then decided that it was perhaps time to end the war.

He sat with his ministers, and among them was Bessus. "For five years we in Persepolis have defended against the Greek hordes. Five years have we suffered to keep our dignity. But even the strongest rocks do break, even the tallest trees do fall. I will not let my people suffer any longer for my intransigence. For this reason, I have called you all for consultation. There are only three choices before us, One is to keep fighting till every last Persian is dead. The other, to seek help from our neighbour Chandragupt Maurya. The third..." Darius took a deep breath before finishing his statement "to submit to the Greeks and accept Alexander as our King and emperor". On the last statement the ministers went pale, but it was only Bessus who jerked up in anger. "I will not allow the soil of Persia to be ravaged by these barbarians from the West !""I am as pained by this decision as you are, but I cannot see my people suffer like this. I will not make this decision without consulting with all of you". One by one the ministers gave their assent and all accepted the third proposal of Emperor Darius, all but Bessus.

Bessus unsheathed his sword. "Persia will not be ruled by cowards. Persians are not cowards. Alexander will rue the day he set sights on conquering Persia. Decide to lick his boots if you will Darius ! I will have no part of your shameful capitulation!" he spit before the emperor and left the palace of Persepolis. "Let Alexander know of our decision, send a messenger to his camp and inform him, that Darius wishes to treat with Alexander". "What of Bessus my lord ?" to that question the emperor only sighed. The ministers were then dismissed.

The next morning, Alexander and Darius met and talked. All the greatest cities of the world had fallen before the Greeks. Among them was Babylon, the jewel of the world. Only Persepolis resisted. The Greek legions had developed a grudging respect for a worthy foe. When Darius and Alexander spoke where the latter was the conqueror and the former the conquered Alexander asks "How does the conquered wish to be treated" to which Darius replied "Treat me as a King treats another king".

Alexander conceded, Darius would be given a sovereign domain over the territories of the Persian empire from the border of Seleukeia Susiana to the west bank of the Southern Indus and from the Persian gulf in the South to the borders of Kamboja, but he would not be free. Seleucus Nikator, a general in alexander's army would be given viceroyalty over Persia. Within the empire of Alexander he would have the Seleucid empire.

With victory now achieved over Persia, Alexander would draw out his final conquest. He looked East at the rising sun, and said "I shall conquer to the lands from where the sun rises". He would lead his armies to the India first moving North to conquer Herat and then East to Takshashila.

Even as the great conqueror drew his plans for conquest, minister Bessus escaped Persepolis in secrecy and travelled North, to the very places that Alexander wished to conquer. There, he would envision the liberation of his people and the ouster of Darius III.

Oh this is going to be good.

Let the bes(sus)t man win!

Bessus is a right prick.

Bessus is a right prick.

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I wouldn't say so.... : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessus

adhiraj.bose said:

Apparently he was IRL if this wiki article is correct : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessus

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Aaah yes, justice

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Now if only I could remember that Sun Tzu quote about the stick bending to the current instead of resisting and breaking.

Don't tell us! The great thing about my Brazil story is that I got you guys to freak out, twice

I haven't told you anything that matters just some mundane details . I just playtested the scenario this afternoon and now I'm playing the actual game.

Oh so you just meant you playtested and it's "possible" to defeat them?