Against All Odds: The Struggles of the Noyyau

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The most elite Noyyau Axemen approached their next victim, the bloodlust having fully taken control. Their mission against the Latvians already forgotten, they could only see the next fight and the riches they would plunder.

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The remaining Noyyau interdiction troops cautiosly approached the Latvian border, following the tracks of their unfortunate companions. However, after a clash with a Latvian patrol, they decided to establish positions somewhat farther away, in completely wild territory. At least this way the Latvians would not be able to use their own roads for sudden attacks.
The last surviving expert woodsmen were tasked with contant patrols near the Latvian border.

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Back at home, the King emanated several resettling edicts, to ease the problem of constantly growing city population. To make it not feel like complete subjugation, basic housing was cheaply built and provided to the migrants in the countryside.

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If anyone had cared to notice, the Czech grew increasingly terrorized of those few burly Noyyau warriors with big axes.
No one cared.

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Despite more pressing needs, the King insisted upon building a glorious city gate for Noyyau, dedicated to Ishtar, the protector spirit of Noyyau herds. Apart from the stated intent of making the Noyyau Kingdom known in the whole world, its true purpose was to extort higher tolls from anyone entering or leaving the city.

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Checking reports of foreigners spotted in the forests close to Ringhio, the local garrison ambushed and enslaved some savage tribesmen. They soon learned that there was an entire village of them, somewhere nearby.

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Inciting each other, the Noyyau Axemen's murderous spree continued without pause.

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Forest scouts up north spotted large numbers of Latvian Archers roaming their territory. The Noyyau prayed to the forest spirits to keep them hidden.

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House Spirictum's request for a world map made the King realize the need to constantly scout our surroundings, so a few teams were recruited and dispatched to survey the world beyond our borders.
Exploring the great desert, they found out that people could live even in such harsh environments.

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Another Latvial raiding vessel made its way to Noyyau waters, unsurprisingly catching the Noyyau sailors by surprise and sinking their ship. With the swiftness that comes from practice, the Robertians quickly built another Galley and sent it to its fate.
Surprisingly, this time the fishing vessels managed to escape in time and survive. Maybe there was some hope after all.

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The culling continued, and the Noyyau Axemen reached the Czech capital of Bratislava.

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Masonry techniques developed for the massive Ishtar Gate endeavour were adapted to more practical purposes, like road paving and permanent bridge building, and even art.

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Before moving to pillage Bratislava itself, the Axemen of Doom (as they began calling themselves) decided to exerminate anyone foolish enough to not seek refuge in the city.

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While the Axemen were enjoying their carnage, the wandering Explorer discovered a sizeable Czech army, probably headed to Fiamma.
As soon as the news reached Noyyau, the King ordered all available troops to converge to Fiamma, and to train replacements for them in their former garrisons.

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Before the King's order could reach them, however, a group of bored Archers stationed in Fiamma decided to make some money on the side by capturing some Sand People slaves. Unfortunately, the savages proved to be more than a match for them.

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Even the troops pillaging Iran were recalled to fight the Czech invasion. The Iranians tried to take advantage of their retreat, but the Noyyau were not easy prey.

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Having found a favorable location, the Explorer kept watch on the Czech host. To their surprise, they seemed to be engaging in minor skirmishes with the locals, instead of marching towards Noyyau territory.

House Caterpillar demands that these wars be ended. We must focus only on building all troops we can so that we can take the cities and end these damn skirmishes. We're going to get our asses handed to us if we aren't careful. We were lucky the Czechs have as much sense as the sand people.

OTOH House Spirictum support continuing all these wars so our troops can keep practicing. The enemy must fear us. Peace should only be an option against the truly strong ones. The rest shall perish

I do not condone any continuation of these wars and warn that they will be the death of us if we are not careful.

I had gotten a bit of "one more turn" syndrome, so now I have enough screenshots for two more updates (since the forum has a 30 image limit per post).
Surprisingly, both of your wishes will be respected! (Sort of...)

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The Czech population dwindled rapidly.

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The Rather Annoyed Robertians became rather scared when, on the way to scatter the Latvian fishing fleets in retaliation for their latest incursion, the crew spotted large numbers of Latvian soldiers training with bows bigger than they had ever seen.

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The Explorers wondered why the Czech did not move, Turn after Turn. Had they no contact with their homeland at all? Did they think that trading arrows with some barbarians was the best use of their time?

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The Noyyau troops requested by the King gathered in Fiamma, awaiting the enemy any day now. Tales of the Battle of Robertia quickly spread among the troops, fueling both paranoia and excitement.

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In an ironic twist of fate, Bratislava's slaves revolted against their Czech masters just as the Noyyau Axemen of Doom were approaching. Those poor sods thought they'd be freed by the invaders.
Their mistake was soon corrected.

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The northern patrols spotted Latvian trappers cautiosly returning to their hunting grounds. Unfortunately, nothing could be done about them, as the Noyyau were keenly aware that, as soon as they set foot in Latvian territory, they'd be overwhelmed.

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The Axemen of Doom followed the coast, reaching the last remaining Czech city.

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Tired of waiting, the troops gathered in Fiamma clamored for some action. The King allowed them to leave the city and go look for the Czech host, reportedly still pointlessly skirmishing with the local tribesmen.

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In the North, the Noyyau interdiction strategy was tested for the first time, as a Latvian settling expedition made its way through the forests. A cohort of Swordsmen, who had been training all this time to engage archers in the dense forest, went forward to intercept the Latvians.
Through either blind luck or favor of the spirits, they managed to return unscathed after having massacred an entire formation of Latvian Longbowmen.
Surprisingly, the sudden attack made the Latvians retreat, confirming that all the effort had not been in vain.

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It was raining, the day the Czech civilization died.

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The razing of Brno put the end to the Czech civilization's unfortunate history. Their would-be invasion force was still somewhere in the woods, fighting barbarians, but they were hardly enough to restart a civilization, especially given the lack of women in their numbers.

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And that's how you eliminate a civilization with two units.

Noyyau tinkerers finally managed to build functioning Catapults, blaming the lack of working foreign specimens as the reason for the delay.

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After the destruction of Brno, the Axemen realized they had no idea where they actually were. By chance, the met with one of the King's Explorer teams, who gave them directions to return to Noyyau territory without having to retrace their steps or cross the desert.
On the way, some barbarians just happened to be in wrong place at the wrong time. The Axemen surely would not let such an opportunity be wasted.

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While the bulk of the Noyyau forces was looking for the last Czech, the Iranians approached the Noyyau borders. Did they somehow know about the current lack of Noyyau defenders in the area? Or did they simply suspect it after the retreat of the Noyyau pillagers from their lands?

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To not give the Iranians the idea that no Noyyau troops were in the area, the King ordered the Iranian Javelineer to be quickly eliminated, also to prevent their taking control of the southern fort. Meanwhile, even more recruitment was ordered in Noyyau and Robertia, in case the Iranians decided to invade with more than scouting parties.

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The arrival of the Noyyau roused the Czech from their apathy, and they attacked without regard for their survival. Maybe they somehow received news of the extermination of their whole country, and attacked out of desperation.
It hardly mattered, as they were all exterminated. It was the first bloodbath for many of the troops.
Unfortunately there was no time to rest, as they were ordered to immediately return home, with the threat of an Iranian invasion looming.

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King Cid Raynor, the first of his name, sat on his throne, in the Royal Palace in Noyyau. He was an old man, and the decades of rule had taken their toll on his body. His wish for that day had been to be left alone to rest, but the messenger from Fiamma had news too important to be kept waiting.
He was a young man, barely in his twenties, nervous eyes darting from the King to his guards and back.
“Speak.” said wearily the monarch, with a brief hand gesture.
“My King! I have several news for you, some good and some bad.”
“Start with the better things, then.”
“Yes, my lord. The Iranian Catapult and attending troops that seemed to be about to cross the Grappa Mountain pass have actually moved away, so Fiamma is safe, for now.”
“That is indeed good news. Still, tell the locals to form some militia groups, we need more troops anyway. What else is going on?”
“Our Spearmen that had intercepted those Iranians Javelineers in the south have not returned to Fiamma. Local farmers reported having seen them fighting Iranian Catapults and Javelineers, but no one has seen them since. They have probably been killed by the invaders, my King.”
“A pity, those were good men, and we can hardly afford to take losses. That is all I presume?”
“Uh... no, my liege, there is something else.”
“Well, speak then!”
“The Iranians, my lord... they seem to have developed Longbows, like the Latvians.”

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The Woodsmen were confused. Were the Latvians messing with them?
Twice they had seen the approaching settling expedition, and twice they had returned to the camp, warning to prepare to engage. And twice no Latvian had approached, having instead returned to wherever they had come from. Why were they doing this?
Still, the Woodsmen were quite glad that the Latvians had not mustered another massive invasion...

Great update.

House Spirictum believes that we should start thinking on expanding our borders east, to claim all that land we left empty because of the Czech Slaughter Liberation. Forts to control the desert between both fertile lands could be a good way to cover that huge desert between the 2 seas without creating much expenses for founding new cities.

Also, an expedition to the north is desireable, to see when the land finally give way to the sea or the ice.

House Caterpillar agrees that we need to colonize the lands we liberated.

I'll soon enter this story with my side-story. First thing first, I'd like you to build a worker where you want. That's where my charachter will start his road to glory.

Spirictum said:

Great update.

House Spirictum believes that we should start thinking on expanding our borders east, to claim all that land we left empty because of the Czech Slaughter Liberation. Forts to control the desert between both fertile lands could be a good way to cover that huge desert between the 2 seas without creating much expenses for founding new cities.

Also, an expedition to the north is desireable, to see when the land finally give way to the sea or the ice.

Click to expand...

CaterpillarKing said:

House Caterpillar agrees that we need to colonize the lands we liberated.

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The King agrees with both Houses, it is time we expanded into the territory we have fought for.
As for the exploration to the north, an Explorer team has been sent beyond the lands of the Czech and the Spanish, but the way is long, and we have not received any news yet.

Manuss said:

I'll soon enter this story with my side-story. First thing first, I'd like you to build a worker where you want. That's where my character will start his road to glory.

Click to expand...

Where would you like your Worker to be sent? Or anything specific that it should build?
For your side story you might also want to consider that, except for the 1st worker built in the Ancient era, all the others we have have been captured!
So "your" worker will be the first ethnic Noyyau, free (not slave) worker team assembled in a very long time (a few generations at least).

Mmmh, I should probably just add my charachter to one of the existing workers. Is there any worker doing nothing in a city?

Still reading the story, still loving it

Manuss said:

Mmmh, I should probably just add my charachter to one of the existing workers. Is there any worker doing nothing in a city?

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A worker? Doing nothing? Heresy!

All our workers are doing something, somewhere. They could be building or improving a road, building an improvement for a city, or building a fort to claim more territory and resources, and also block other civilizations from expanding there.

I can make a new Worker for you, no problem there (only it will happen after the next update, as that has already been played). You can choose how to name the unit, where to send it... whatever you wish. Maybe as the bosses of a group of slave workers? Only you know what you have in mind for your own side story.

OR, you can get one of the existing ones, your choice. There are the 1st Worker Squad (Noyyau), our first and only self-built worker, and then several Barbarian, Iranian, Czech, and a few more nationalities I need to check to be sure.

At the end of the next update, I can make you a list of all the workers and their location-duty-nationality, if you wish.

Pliped said:

Still reading the story, still loving it

Click to expand...

Thanks!

Manuss said:

Is there any worker doing nothing in a city?

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Noyyau said:

A worker? Doing nothing? Heresy!

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1st Rule of Deities: You shall never have anything idle. Anything at all.


Congratulations Noyyau, I admit I wasn't expecting such a nice approach against the Deity AI in your game, I thought you were more lighthearted, but it seems you know the way to war pretty well. We should play a MP sometime.

Worth asking anyway.

Spirictum said:

1st Rule of Deities: You shall never have anything idle. Anything at all.


Congratulations Noyyau, I admit I wasn't expecting such a nice approach against the Deity AI in your game, I thought you were more lighthearted, but it seems you know the way to war pretty well. We should play a MP sometime.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

You're quite an expert in knowing (and abusing ) Civ's rules, so that's high praise!
I'm more of an excessive force user, makes things simpler.

I'd like an MP game! Sadly the S&T MP game died barely as it began.

Along with Civ, I grew up with fast paced RTSs like Starcraft and Age of Empires, and they taught me that when you're against an AI that has game economy bonuses (resources, research, build times or whatever else), you must constantly disrupt them, and take them out as soon as possible, or you will be overwhelmed later.

Another lesson is that anything you build MUST be put to use, or else it's been a waste of resources and time, that should have been spent on something else more useful at that moment.

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The Noyyau had not been in the western forests for a long time. When one of the Explorer teams returned to those distant places, they discovered that the Picts had taken most of the place for themselves.

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Following the Explorers' directions, the Axemen of Doom finally approached Noyyau territory, in time to help with the possible Iranian invasion. On the way, they eliminated the last Czech war machines.

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Indeed, the Iranians crossed the border again, and the Noyyau troops managed to occupy the Southern Fort just in time. The forced marches left the troops tired and unable to recover from the recent fighting with the Czech.
Despite their condition, the Noyyau knew that, against Catapults, the best defense was a pre-emptive offense, the Latvians and the recent defeat of the Spearmen a harsh lesson to remember.

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Having lost their south-eastern contingent (from the Noyyau point of view), the Iranians moved to threaten again the Grappa mountain pass. Archer militia from Fiamma joined the Axemen of Doom, but their effectiveness was quite limited, the Axemen more than able to deal with the Iranians on their own.

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Local workers were ordered to pause their tasks to quickly upgrade the regional roads, allowing for faster troop movement and the timely response to Iranian forays along the front.

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Meanwhile, the ancient traditions of caste and power division were being written as law, establishing unquestionable duties and rights for the various strata of society.

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The Explorers sent to the far north reached what they deemed to be the end of the world: beyond the last frozen forests lay only a vast expanse of creaking ice. When they witnessed a massive slab of ice be lifted and crushed like a twig, they unanimously decided to head back to safer lands.

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The Battle of the Grappa Mountain pass stopped yet another Iranian attempt to approach Fiamma.

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The Northern Fort was finally completed, establishing the Noyyau claim for the territory. The Latvian settling expedition was initially confused, but finally accepted to bring a Noyyau envoy to their King. Surprisingly, King Magnus accepted a peace offer, even paying the Noyyau to finally leave them alone.
However, as soon as one threat was finally resolved, another immediately appeared: it seemed that the Spanish had the intention to fill the void left by the recently departed Czech.

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In the south, Cid Raynor's Warriors scouted the new Iranian settlement, and rejoiced when they saw it was lightly defended.
Thus began the Invasion of Iran.

Esteemed members of the High Caste, the King calls for your presence, as the time to take vital decisions is once again upon us!

The first, immediate need is to decide what to do with the Spanish settling expedition.

One option is to declare war on them and enslave any survivors, using our troops from the interdiction group. We have nothing to fear from the Latvians for the next several turns.

Another possibility is to Claim Territory with our units (now that there are tiles owned by us in the area), hoping to block whatever tile was their destination. This is what our units are currently doing, but the tiles will become ours only on the next turn, and it might be too late by then.

A Settler group is being assembled in Robertia, but they won't be ready to depart before 2 turns at least, with another 2 turns to reach a suitable location for a settlement in the area.

The second question is a spiritual one: what religion should we pursue?

Currently, only Taoism is present in our cities. If we were to convert to Taoism, we would be able to give our units the Waidan promotion, which gives a straight +20% bonus, even to Siege units. It's a very good religious promotion.
However, we do not control Tao's holy city, indeed we do not even know who founded the religion and where.
Tao's wonder is not too exciting. +10% great general emergence pales to the bonuses we already have (+100% from Imperialistic trait alone), +1 population in all cities is nice but the wonder comes too late to be that effective.


The next option is Hinduism.
This is the religion the Iranians have founded, so we can simply capture the holy city. However, the Hindu promotion Holy Trinity is not particularly useful: the extra 25% xp is nice but not that necessary, the river attack penalty can be avoided by proper maneuvering, and extra healing in friendly lands is quite pointless.
The Hindu wonder, however, is quite a booster for the Hindu religious buildings. Unfortunately, this wonder is also quite far away along the tech tree.


Our third option is Shinto. It has a very good promotion, Purity: not only it allows healing while moving, it also gives one extra first strike and a bonus 10% healing in enemy territory, which is where our units will be injured most of the time.
The wonder is also useful, albeit not for its main effect of +1, +1 from all our owned water tiles (almost all our cities will be coastal, but they'll mostly work land tiles), rather for that last line: +1 for each Shinto Temple and Monastery! That's +2 for every city, basically.
We have a good chance at founding Shinto, as we only need to research Civil Service. It is queued after Vassalage and Feudalism, because I'd like to change civics as soon as possible, but we can set Civil Service as a priority if you think it best.
Remember also that Limited Religions is On, meaning that each civilization can found a new religion only if they do not already control one holy city, that's why the later religions are still up for grabs.
This also means that we must postpone the conquest of the Hindu holy city if we want to found our own religion first. It's a nice coincidence that it is the furthest Iranian city from our borders.


Finally, if we're unlucky and lose Shinto to someone, we could try and beeline to either Asatru or Christianity. Both are good religions for warmongers, but the way to them is really long.
Something to dream about is to have both religions spread in the Kingdom, having a golden age, and being able to give units both Berserk and Crusader...


The third question is political. We should start paying more attention to the rest of the world beyond our immediate vicinity. Despite having explored little of the world, we have somehow made contact with several civilizations, some of them quite large compared to us.
We could establish Embassies with the Picts, our expansive neighbours to the west, as we probably won't be going to war against them any time soon, and there are a few barbarian cities as buffer between us, which we could raze to settle our own towns when needed. We won't open borders with them, however, to avoid the risk of them colonizing where they shouldn't, namely in the east.
It might also be a good idea to establish Embassies with the largest civs that aren't on our continent, just to start accumulating some positive attitude.

The pictures aren't working for me