stJNES5: A New Begining

From: Somalia
To: Siam
You once said that you would give us your caravel technology. Does this offer still stand? If you would give us the technology the Somalian people would immidieatly start to sail the Indian Ocean and we would for sure find a safe trade route to Eastern Asia.

And we would be happy if you teach our Admirals the way of the Siamese Navigation.

GOD can't you two only build colonies on arabia to trade!?

Originally posted by erez87
GOD can't you two only build colonies on arabia to trade!?

Click to expand...

how is this supposed to help us us?

From Siam
To Somalia

We thought we already did? No? Well, we'll give them to you this turn.

We'll try to set up a colony in the land known as Araby for better trade.

Look at the pic

OOC: Erez there are various other solutions... we could just sail nearthe arabian coastline and the nthe route to india, but ....

From: Somalia
To: Siam

We don´t like the idea of stealing the arabians their land.. lets settle the island socotra. Lets share the island 50:50 and let it be the new outpost of trade to asia.

This is Socotra

Aditional Orders:
-Get caravel technology from Siam
-settle one half of Socotra

From Siam
To Somalia

Actually I say we settle the much larger island almost directly between you and India.

OOC: longest.... story... ever.... coming up in a few minutes

Orders
Grow economy by building roads throughout Empire and connect them all to Rome
Continue building Statue of Scipio
Continue the invasion of Serbia, concentrate on capturing the capital and taking as much land as possible.
Have the rest of the Army along with the Pretorian Gaurd continue with the invasion of Assyria. Only go up to the first river line and the Hellenian Ankara southern border line.

Nope!

Japanese Orders

increase economy by farming more and opening up more markets
continue bombarding yellow tribe with navy
continue wonder "Hiroshima Dockyards" +3navy, +4army (turn 2/8)

aaminion Socotra is the only big island in the arabian sea and i guess the island on Jasons map is Socotras. I guess you mean this island.

Siam
In the 1200th year of the new Siamese era

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The Legend of Rama



"Hear ye! Hear ye! All good men of able bodied state in the fair city of Lakong, are ordered by our magnificent king Mongkut LVI, to join the next series of trade cogs sailing to So'ma-lee. Thou are to take four dozen crates of silk, and exchange it for an equal amount in ivory. Then thee are to return the same way thou arrived and give your profit to the Siamese empire"

Rama's heart beated fast as the dozens of men around him started murmuring. They were all as shocked and surprised as he was. Rama was a Malay youth, in the 24th year of his life. By now, the once barbaric Malay spoke Siamese and were virtually indistinguishable from them, save for their slightly darker skin. Like many Malays, Rama grew up in a tiny farming village on the outskirts of Lakong, the capital of Malay province. There his family had been farming for untold generations, living off of the land and occasionally going to the marketplaces of Lakong when the harvest was plentiful enough. This life was not enough for Rama however, who thirsted knowledge and glory. At first he wanted to join the Siamese army in the catapult corps but, considering that his great grandfather had died in the campaigns against the Mekong, his parents were strongly against that. His desire to achieve something beyond the farming life of his ancestors was quenched by this, and he was perfectly content for many long years. Then, when Rama was 18, his father had one of the best harvets of his life, and the first in Rama's mature years. And thus came the faithful decision to take Rama with him on his trip to the marketplace in Lakong.

Rama had never seen such a grand city, and even though Lakong paled in comparison to Bangkok, he thought it was surely the most magnificent in the world. The marketplace was ful of strange characters like people breathing fire, or exotic dancers, or merchants from far reaches of the empire selling their goods. He fell in love with the city, and of the many wonderous things he saw. Most impressive was the art of writing, of which Rama had never heard anything about. He promised he would learn it, and though he only stayed at Lakong a day, he knew he would spend the rest of his life there.

Now, it had been 6 years since Rama had left his home. He had learned writing at the Lakong school of scribes. His tutor was most impressed by his abilities, and one day even revealed to Rama that maybe he would one day serve the emperor himself. But with this new request from Mongkut himself, those plans would have to be put on hold.

Later that week, Rama gathered his most valuable posessions into a bag and left for the dockyard. Carrying the bag behind his back and walking down the cobblestone streets in typical sailor clothing, he couldn't help but think he was seeing Lakong for the last time in his life. Below him at the bottom of the hill were the gates to the port; for the port was walled of by itself and consisted of the docks and a great castle built by the ancient general Lakong himself. He entered the port after announcing himself to the guards, and entered the ship that was to set sail for So'ma-Lee first.

It was a hard journey, and very difficult. Storms were raging and it seemed as if the ship was making no progress. "How far till we are to So'ma-lee?" Rama would ask the veteran captain. But the fellow would only laugh and say "We aren't even at Ceylon yet!". The Captain, Sikut, was an aging man and one of the few in all of Siam who had actually completed the voyage to So'ma-lee. The first leg of the destination was Ceylon, the land of Sinhala where Siamese sailors usually stopped before hading on towards So'ma-lee. After one particularly bad storm, Rama became a legend. The ship had been tattered about and lost it's sense of direction. The men were in panic and a few had even jumped overboard to end their misery. It was there that Rama revealed what he thought was simple knowledge.

"Why do you panic? One needs only to look for the brightest star in the night sky, Polaris, and it will point us North" he explained.
"How do you know this? What witchcraft is this that you speak of? Magical stars that point sailors their way across troubled waters?" screamed Sikut the captain.

The men shouted amongst themselves, forming a circle around the two opponents. Some were loyal to the captain, but many were listening to Rama's dogma with hope.

"I have used it before! When I was young and I got lost in the countryside... the North Star it is called... and it always points North! You can tell where the directions are from it!"
"Liar! Sorcerer! Bringer of evil spirits!"

Within seconds a fight broke out. Unwilling to believe Rama or lose control of the ship, Sikut had pounced on him and tried to stab him with an old cursed dagger from Geystral. The men around them cheered and yelled as the two men fought. Rama was young and strong, but Sikut was devilish and tricky. He spit in the eyes of Rama, and lunged the dagger at Rama's heart. But Rama rolled away just in time and the evil dagger sunk into the planks of the ships deck. Sikut screamed as he tried to pull the dagger out of it's burial ground, but while he did this Rama opened his eyes to see where Sikut was. By stroke of fortune, Sikut was near the very edge of the ship. Half blinded by Sikuts dishonorable tactic, Rama charged and pushed Sikut overboard into the raging sea. The men around him cheered, and all agreed. Rama was the new captain of the ship.

Rama took the cursed dagger into his arm, but as he watched it changed. It now stood before him a great sword, almost half Rama's height and decorated with diamonds and all sorts of precious gems. He turned to his men and promptly said; "now onto So'ma-lee!".

For many weeks they traveled. Food was running short and the mens spirits were down. Then one day, in the early morning, the looker on top of the mast saw branches of wood sailing towards them. "Land," he shouted "Land!". There was much celebration that night, as the men immediatly anchored the ship and went onshore. Rama and his company found a village nearby, of a people of such dark skin that even a Malay looked like he was from Northern China. They were friendly, and in exchange for various trinkets and coins they gave Rama's men food and directions to a nearby stream. Replenished, Rama announced to his men: "Stick with me now, for the people of So'ma-lee are also of dark sking like these men. We are close now, for I believe we're in the continent of So'ma-lee, and the kingdom itself is due North!"



Encouraged by his rational thoughts, the men quickly set sail again, saying goodbye to the natives they had met on the way. They sailed for many months and days, living off of the African fruit, untill they saw a city up ahead. "Mogadishu!" screamed the looker in joy, as the men below him cheered and celebrated once again. The ship docked in the city, and Rama stepped down onto the dock where he was greeted by several armed men. They knew not who these foreigners were, but the elders present in the area recognized the monkey dragon emblem on their flag, and explained they were Siamese, looking to trade. Sattisfied, the guards happily took the Siamese and their 40 crates of silk to the King of Mogadishu, Ismaan Mahamuud. For many days they stayed as guests in his palace. Rama and his sailors taught the So'ma-lee's how to construct the great ships, caravels, for they were much larger and more impressive than theirs. Finally Rama decided it was time to go. King Mahamuud presented them with 40 crates of ivory, and a series of souveniers for Rama, and told them of one last thing he wished the young explorer to do:

"There is an island between our land and the land called Indus that is called Socotra. We have never been to this land, but we have heard that it is very rich and has a friendly coast. I ask that you go there and establish an outpost for our two nations, so that our nations will never have trouble trading amongst each other ever again"

Rama happily accepted the king's challenge and set out to fulfill it. He spent many weeks looking for this island, before he finally found it. His sailors, overjoyed at what Rama had done over the past 12 months, built a town there and named it Rama in his honor. They built a harbor, a wall, some houses, and a little fort to protect it from any savages that could show up. 20 men stayed behind to keep guard over it, while Rama and the rest of the crew returned to Siam. It took them another month, but with the help of the North Star Rama finally saw Lakong again. All had thought he and the crew were dead, and they couldn't believe his story. He was greeeted as a hero, and given one of the largest houses in all of Lakong, and a place in the hearts of all Siamese sailors to come.

--------------------

- Increase army by recruiting peasents to the Military Academy
- Continue working on wonder
- Try to develop system of seafaring by looking at the stars
- Try to set up a trading colony (city) on the island of Socotra
- Teach Somalians how to build caravels

Rama just got a place in "The Lays of Somalia". Nice story!

excellent story mate.

From: Somalia
To: Fennia

Our Roman friends have told us about your nation. We never met anybody of the northern europeans and we would like to set up a luxury trade route with you. We don´t know what you have to offer, but we are sure that you have some interesting things in your nation. Somalia is well known for our ivory and our slaves. Choose what you want.
We have already thought about a trade route: 1. Our ships would bring the luxurys to Roman Egypt. 2. From Alexandria the luxurys would be shiped to Venize or Rome. 3. I guess your Ally Silesia would allow us to move through his lands and then after months of travel, we would finaly arrive in the lands of Fennia.
Rome allowed us to move our Caravans through their territoy and I think if you agree, our trade route would be a great succes.
Do you agree?

Greetings, Emporer Ismaan Mahamuud

Additional Orders II:
-if they agree, set a trade-route with Fennia (luxury)

Persia:

Diplo: Contact the northern "barbarians" and attempt to trade with them. They might not be so barbarous as one thinks.

Orders:
Grow economy by trading with the barbarians if they are friendly, capturing and ransoming them if not.
Begin wonder "Eternal Guards". Effects: +100 UU, +100 army. (I'm guessing time would be about 4 turns, since I could get the same effect from 3 turn's orders.)

No story, sorry...

Silesian Empire

Emperor Wilhelm III sat in his throne in his Breslau palace. He had received bad news, which was also in a way good. While Hun raids seemed to intensify during the first half of the past century, most of them ended up in failure and death for the barbarians and the arrival of the Silesian Army on the eastern frontier, the Huns ran back to their little caves like the cowardly fools they are. While the people regained confidence and were almost euphoric at the success of the Silesian government and military in reducing the number of Hun raids, Wilhelm and the people themselves knew that this was only temporary. To further encourage the Silesians not to give up, Wilhelm called his advisors to him and told them to gather the aristocracy and the rest of the Silesian people in the central square of Breslau, because he would make a speech to those gathered.

The next day, the crowd was massed together in Breslau's central square.

"My people of the Silesian Empire," Wilhelm began speaking so loud that everyone could hear. He was cut off by the sudden applause from everyone gathered. When the applause ended, he began again. "I come to speak to you about the barbaric Huns and the grave threat they pose to Silesia and civilization itself. Currently, our great empire is the only obstacle to the Huns' goals of destroying the western countries and overrunning our beautiful continent. We are the west's buffer from the barbarians. My late grandfather, who miraculously lived to see his 57th birthday (Note: Remember its old times, so I think living for 57 years would be considered a miracle back then, though I'm unsure, but whatever) - the man who was the holder of the crown before me - had stationed the entire Silesian Army on the eastern Silesian border to force back any Hun attacks, and they had succeeded..." The crowd again erupted and this time it took several minutes before they calmed again, and Wilhelm finally finished his sentence: "...for now." The crowd murmured, bewildered by what he meant. Apparently they didn't realize that the 600 brave men on the border would not forever end the Hun threat after all. "We should be happy that today the barbarians are not killing and raping our women and children, but tomorrow they may annihilate us in numbers never ever imagined possible. They seem to be a military society, so it would actually be a surprise to me if they wouldn't have doubled their numbers by next year. They rape our women and impregnate them with their venomous offspring so that these newborns will serve against civilization. For now, they seem to have stopped their unholy breeding, but be sure that they will regain self-confidence and attack us again eventually. Maybe next time, our 600 men won't be numerous or mighty enough to stop their hordes from overrunning the Silesian Empire. We must eliminate the threat PERMANENTLY, not TEMPORARILY, for this is only a temproary solution and soon the problem will resurface again and it may be too hard a problem to overcome. Stationing our troops on the border is a step in the right direction, but we must continue stepping forward until we reach the end of the long road ahead of us - success. This is a culmination of the epic struggle between civilization and barbarism. I tell you, my people, that this is the beginning of the end for the barbarism of the Huns! Soon their unholy rape of Silesia and her people will end!" The people erupted into cheers and began chanting "Wilhelm! Wilhelm! Wilhelm!".

The economy needed to be addressed, too. Silesia has been plunged into such economic chaos that it has not known for a very very long time, if not ever. Though neighboring Rhineland has become a trading partner, it is not enough to solve the economic distress. Portugal has offered trade, and it is an offer that Wilhelm cannot refuse.

Diplo
From Emperor Wilhelm III of Silesia

To Portugal:
We will accept your offer for trade. We look forward to a future partnership with your nation.

To ALL Nations bordering the Hun domains:
We ask you all to rally together with us to eliminate the threat from the barbaric Huns. Let us put aside our rivalries and differences for now. If we stand together as a united force, then we can defeat the Huns and vanquish them. Otherwise they will overrun us all and our wives and children will suffer at the hands of the remorseless barbarians. If you don't want a permanent bond or alliance, then so be it, but unite temporarily, at least long enough to defeat the Huns.

To nations of western Europe:
Offer whatever help you can, because if the eastern European fall, then be sure that you're next on the menu of the bloodthirsty, landhungry Huns.

Orders PM-ed

jason, it was on my orders before the last one, I was assuming you would continue it the same way. It was to continue trade with Sumer with Siamese ships, land in Arabia and then travel to sumer.

ORDERS
Increase army by finding every able-bodied man and enlisting them into the army.
Continue raids on the southern barbarians, the grey pockets of barbarians to increase economy.
Increase education by building more temples and helping more of our people learn our system of writing.
Continue work on the city of Machu Pichu [3/5]



DIPLOMACY

Secret diplomacy:

To Lima and Paracas
From the Inca (secret)

We must destroy the Amazonian threat before they get out of hand, please respond promptly if you accept an alliance against the Amazonians or not.

From Fennia

To Somalia:
We would be glad to have a luxury trade with you, we can offer you the best kind of pine-forest lumber there is, as well as the finest furs.

To Silesia:
Altough we cannot offer military help against the Huns, you have our sympathy for your just war against those evil raiders of the east.

OOC: I'll PM orders tomorrow, now it's 2:20 AM and I'm too tired to think.