As people evolution, so do their knowledge and customs. In some points of the planet, it is already known that the relative movements of the Sun and the Moon around Gaia are periodic and can be used to measure time, while somewhere else barter is being abandoned in favor of using pieces of precious metals that can be easily kept within one's person. All around the world, civilization makes its way in-between people that reject it, proving that knowledge is indeed a very powerful force for those who know how to use it. Thus, we enter the three-hundred-and-fifty anniversary of the birth of civilizations.
Africa
In the south-eastern coast of the African continent, the nation of
Brundagana keeps expanding and doing their best to make themselves the most powerful nation in the world. Using their strongest warriors, they have launched attacks against the Zulus, striking along the undefined border in 4 different points, and driving the Zulus back towards the west. It's within this time that a storyteller, bent on trying to keep his memories about his best stories, devises a way to put those on a wooden plank using a set of drawings to make up the words. The system would then slowly reach the whole country after the storyteller showed it in a state-sponsored school. The Adragana settlers would also show people how to take care of animals after some strange birds were taken into the homes of several people and fed to get more foodstuffs from them, as a ship takes a group of warriors towards the north to take control of an island off the African coast. (Animal Husbandry, Writing (+3 EC), expansion, +4% Tribal Gods)
The peoples of
Damietta, cut off from expansion towards the east due to the treaty done with the Babylonian Empire, set out towards the west with a vengeance, bent on taking over the northern coast of Africa before anyone else does. Using a group of Oar-Ships, they take many settlers and some warriors towards the west through the Mediterranean Sea, settling several hundreds of kilometres from their homelands and building up many towns in a few years as more people arrive. Based on their lance-propellers, the best army engineers are starting to develop a new weapon that doesn't rely so much in the strength of the soldier, and a bronze statue is starting to be built in the port of the capital of Damietta, which is hoped to attract more traders and thus improve the quantity and quality of products reaching the country. It's also, through this trade, that the Babylonian sages teach their Damiettan counterparts the art of writing and of time measurement, while the former learn about the extraction and use of copper and tin. (Calendar, Writing (+4 EC), Archery (2/12), Colossus wonder started, expansion, +3% Saharan Pantheon Gods, +2% Babylonian Paganism)
The temple of adoration of the god of Sun, Achamán, is finished in the
Guanche Canary Islands, attracting many pilgrims as it slowly becomes the religious centre of the nation. Travel to and from the islands is easier now thanks to the invention of the Navy engineers, who have developed a new type of ship that is impulsed by wind instead of rows, making it faster and slightly more reliable. Expansion attempts in the Iberian peninsula work out really well, with the best soldiers taking over several small towns that would soon swell with new settlers from the North African territories, where several fights against natives have taken the life of several soldiers, but also taken much land for the Guanche nation. (Sailing, Temple of Achamán project finished (+2% Achamán Worship/turn, +1 Culture/turn), expansion, +3% Achamán Worship)
Asia
Slowly becoming the scientific and economic powerhouse of the Mediterranean and probably the world, the
Babylonian Empire has cut out many deals with their neighbours, sharing technological advances with them in exchange of money and other technologies, which has resulted in a dramatical advance of the resources available to them and lots of gold and silver making their way into the Treasury. The Empire, not knowing what to do with so much money, has decided to install a new feature to trade: it was before done through barter, with people exchanging products; now, people use gold and silver beads to buy and sell products that now have a fixed price instead of being decided between the two doing the trade. A great expansion also kicks off, aided by the Caravanserai that have been placed in several points along the desert, next to the oasis in the zone. However, similar attempts into Africa meet with failure as a dhow fleet sinks, leaving several settlers abandoned in an island in the middle of the sea. (Lance-Propeller, Bronze Working, Pottery, Currency (+4 EC, Currency Bonus (+2 EC or +3 Project EC for 15 turns),
enters Iron Age, expansion, -1 Dhow, +3% Babylonian Paganism, +1% Hellenic Polytheism, +1% Saharan Pantheon Gods)
Like a lion attacking a weaker prey, the
Koopa Kingdom keeps launching pirate attacks against its neighbours the Shanjuó. As the pirates attack the coasts of Shanjuó, the army expands the influence of the Kingdom in the continent and in the ocean. Sakhalin and Okinawa finally fell down, and the Nipponese Army, with the newly trained Chain Chomps, managed to occupy many lands for their emperor and lord in the mainland, with the Korean Peninsula being currently under their control and expansion attempts launched along the coast towards the north. It's within the newly conquered lands that a strange substance, soft to the touch but hard when melted and mixed with tin, is discovered and used to start making new weapons, although so far nothing has come into the army. (Bronze Melting, expansion, +3% Playerism)
Not many news from
Shanjuó arise. Few reactions to the pirate attacks save for those of the locals, who run away from the coast in fear, leaving their jobs in the coast behind, and making their lives different as they have to take charge of their life inland. This has lead to an upsurge of the following of the religion of Survivalism as more people want to learn how to survive on their own. (Money banked, expansion, +6% Survivalism)
The soldiers of
Singodia, launching a hard attack against the Indian barbarians, have managed to drive them towards the south, thanks mainly to their powerful Happy Whistling Mounted Clubmen, whose tiger mounts drive through the best Indian troops, causing carnage wherever they attack. Terrified, many soldiers of the Indian side surrender themselves and their lands to the Singodians. Meanwhile, the Central Plains are witness to the creation of a series of big farms where great quantities of foodstuffs are grown and collected, and several islands are occupied by the recently created Navy, that takes several people between the mainland and the islands. (Expansion, Great Agricultural Works project finished (+2 EC), -1 Warrior, +4% Fertility Cult)
Europe
Contact with other nations has improved enormously the situation of the
Gaulic Confederation, after several years of isolation that were broken by the Milanese traders. Not only has this helped the nation economically, but it has also allowed them to contact several far-reaching nations, among them the Babylonians, who have exchanged their knowledge of the art of writing and measuring time in exchange of the large-reaching weapons the Gauls have to offer. It's also a time where the Gauls really open up, with trade coming from several countries that enrich the nation and its tribes. (Calendar, Writing (+4 EC),
enters Bronze Age, Kirti's Legacy project worked on, Cultural Acceptance project finished (+1% Ancestor and Personality Cult, -1% Celtic Polytheism per turn), +3% Ancestor and Personality Cult, +1% Animism, +2% Celtic Polytheism, open trade with Rome, Hellenia and Babylonia)
The unrest within the nation of
Idyll is growing up, as the army doesn't do anything worthwhile and the economy suffers from the lack of use of the money for good. Times will surely become hard unless something is done to make the lazying soldiers snap and wake up. (Money banked, -1% Militarism)
In the
Kingdom of Hellenium, the death of King Pericles after many years of lazy govern has brought little mourning but much work as they try to catch up with the other nations. Trade with the Babylonian Empire helps with this, as their eastern neighbours sell them the knowledge of writing and of measurement of time at a very good price, while the stone-workers and builders of the nation develop a better system to build houses and palaces through the use of mortar to keep the stones in their places. Trade with several nations brings much gold into the coffers of the Treasury, while the northern barbarians are driven back thanks to a huge impulse from the army. (Calendar, Masonry, Writing, (+6 EC),
enters Bronze Age, expansion, +1 Army Quality, +2% Hellenic Polytheism, +1% Babylonian Paganism, +1% Roman Paganism, open trade with Gaul and Babylonia)
The
Kingdom of Rome, imitating their friendly Hellenian neighbours, go forward with their plans to take over many lands in the Mediterranean, with a lucky shot in the Balkans as some warriors manage to reach a no man's land which they manage to take control of. Meanwhile, the Navy brings the feared Legions into the island of Sicily, crushing the barbarians living there and taking control of it, save for the zone the Hellenian had already settled in. Also, the islands of Corsica and Sardinia are taken over easily as they were uninhabited, and many people, fed up with the life in Rome and the surrounding lands, happily navigate and claim the newly incorporated lands of the Kingdom of Rome. The Babylonian generosity also reaches the Romans, as they are able to learn the art of time measurement and writing at a price the sages think would have been much bigger had the Romans had to learn about it for themselves. Also, some Roman traders, after seeing the Hellenian army use a weapon that shoots arrows at long distances, manage to copy it and bring it to the Roman High Command, who immediately tasks several artisans to make enough copies of this lance propeller for the army. (Lance-Propeller, Calendar, Writing (+4 EC),
enters Bronze Age, expansion, +2% Roman Paganism, +1% Animism, +1% Hellenic Polytheism, open trade with Babylonia and Gaul)
In the north of the Italian Peninsula, the
United Tribes of Milan do a lot of hard work to make sure that their pre-eminence in the continent stays uncontested. After sharing the knowledge of pot-making with the Babylonians and receiving in exchange the teachings of time measurement, several builders are impulsed into inventing a way to make buildings more secure from possible accidents. It's also a time of great enjoyment as the Code of King Etius is finally set into stone, literally, as a giant slab of stone is set next to the palace and the courts so that people will know the law and make sure not to break it. Expansion attempts in the Iberian peninsula are successful as the last resisting Iberians are swept down, but similar attempts on the Balkans do not work as expected, as Romans manage to reach the place before the Milanese do. (Calendar, Masonry (+4 EC), expansion, +3% Animism, +1% Roman Paganism, +1% Ancestor and Personality Cult, open trade with Babylonian Empire)
North America
The arrival of a new Leader to the government of the
Britannian Republic has brought much concerted efforts in the creation of the Oracle of Mai, even stronger than those done before. According to the original plans, construction is at the middle point, but there is still much to be done, specially in the interior of the Oracle, where some living arrangements must be made for those who will work in there, the future Pythias, giving advice and maybe something in regards to the future as well. In an effort to drive barbarians out of vital territories, the Republican Guard has launched an attack against them, surprising the northern barbarians and conquering their former lands, while some of the civilized tribes of the West accept peaceful entrance in the Republic as long as they and their lands are respected and undisturbed, which the government has accepted. (Oracle wonder worked on, expansion, +4% Shara)
Several years after contact with the Serian nation, the
Nootka are starting to recover from the cultural shock of the encounter and are applying themselves to do their best to stay equal or superior to their neighbours. After having finished their channelling project, they are now thriving to achieve a technological level superior to that of the Seri so that, should war come between their nations, at least they are better prepared than them. Some people visiting the great monument to the spirits in the Seri country, after doing the visit along several years, realised that, every certain days, the sun would always shine through one exact set of stones. Bringing this knowledge to the sages, they immediately realised that it was indeed proof that time is cyclic and, using that knowledge, they managed to calculate that every 365 days, the sun would always dawn from the same position. (Calendar (+2 EC), expansion, +3% Sun and Moon Worship, +1% Spiritualism)
In a great move towards the east, with the objective of expanding their holdings, the
Seri have launched a colonising expedition driven to take over as much land as possible before their northern neighbours, the Nootka, do the same. While their only ships guard against a possible invasion of the nation a fruitless effort, since the Nootka aren't even trying to get near the Seri lands, as they pride themselves in honouring every treaty their army is sent in all directions to conquer much land, with the settlers flowing behind them and building towns every tens of kilometres in order to make internal trade easier. Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Socaaix, the new training grounds of the army, specially built for the soldiers to keep them away from any distraction. This also helps concentrate all the resources needed for the soldiers, thus reducing the money spent on them by the chiefs. (Lance-Propeller, Seri Proving Grounds project finished (+1 Army Quality, -1 Upkeep), -1 Warrior, +3% Spiritualism, +1% Sun and Moon Worship)
Oceania
The sea-faring people of
Sarawak will find now that travelling between islands is easier thanks to the new invention of sails, that impulse ships faster than oars alone can. The Sarawak make the most of this situation, with the ships taking soldiers and settlers to a new, undiscovered land that is much bigger than an island. Naming it Loirderehlaee, they bring many people into the new lands in order to occupy it as quickly as possible and give them a possible edge against any threat that might be a menace to their God-Emperor. It's also within this time that many soldiers that had been thought lost in the last campaign came back, reporting that the island of Loirqeste has been completely conquered for the God-Emperor, although this great victory was brought only through the death of many soldiers that gave their lives for what they thought was worthy to do. The death toll of the Loirqeste campaign will make the priests start to research a way to improve the weapons and the defences of the soldiers. (Sailing, Bronze Melting (3.5/10), -2 Warriors, expansion, +3% Worship of the God-Emperor)
South America
In South America's north, the
Chibchan expand their influence through violent means in order to bring their religion to the pagans in the east. Their Eagle Warriors bring death everywhere they step, and many terrified natives either surrender or die under their obsidian axes, while several warriors die, normally due to sneak attacks or illness. A new weapon, that is called to substitute the slings, has been created in the temples of Chiriqui, and it is hoped that they will be able to introduce it to new soldiers soon. Also, in the palace of the Priest-President, several priests have seen that the sun illuminates one point only once every three-hundred-and-sixty-five days, which is enough to make them see that a periodic event would be very important, not to mention a big help in pointing out when have the seeds to be planted or the harvest to start. (Lance-Propeller, Calendar (+2 EC), -1 Eagle Warrior, expansion, +4% Aztec Gods)
The people of the
Inca Empire do not seem to be tired of working hard in order to make their nation the most powerful in Gaia. After finishing the construction of the Incan road system connecting all points of the Empire, they are now creating a series of special training stables where llamas may be brought to start becoming the bloodthirsty animals that the fearful Quechas ride when coming into battle. However, this time is not only a time of war, but also a time for reflection and peace, as the sages in Cuzco have created something that will allow them to send messages from town to town without fear of the messenger forgetting any important thing. The northward drive also brings into attention the fact that storing foodstuffs is difficult when inland, which makes people start to search around for methods to, at least, keep food easily stored. (Writing (+2 EC), Pottery (5/10), Terror Llama Training Stables project started (+1 Army Quality when fighting within own borders, 0/6), expansion, +3% Inti)
SPECIAL INTEREST NEWS
Pirates of the Sea of China, III
Again, the Koopa pirates have attacked the coasts of Shanjuó, without mercy or conscience for the lives of those people they attack while they pillage and rape everything and everyone they find in their way, which isn't much thanks to the fact that many people ran away towards the coast when they saw the ships arriving. The coastal fortresses couldn't do much to keep the plague of soldiers that landed in the beaches, save for attracting them and keep them away from weaker objectives. Part of the treasury had already been moved, but there was still enough for the pirates to take and bring to their King. (Koopa Kingdom: +4 Treasury. Shanjuó: -3 Treasury, -1 EC from pillaging)
I Condottieri... or whatever they call themselves now
In Babylonia, the upsurge of people that will do anything for money has taken the general populace by surprise. There are even rumors that, somewhere in Asia, a group of retired soldiers has banded up, ready to offer their services to the highest bidder, although they will also accept small works from people that can't do said works on their own. (Mercenary Groups allowed in Asia)
MAP:
FINIS (for now)
@Everyone: I know, it's been 24 hours since the deadline, I'm very sorry, but several things stopped me from posting sooner (among them going to see a very good-looking friend playing women's volleyball... ahhh...). I hope that the next update will come sooner.
@bestshot9: post away your merc company stats. You have 5 EC to arm it, with a technology equal to Babylonia's minus the Iron Age techs (if anyone has any problem with this, tell me)
Also, adviced by someone who shall remain nameless in order to prevent his premature death, I'm going to change the updating thing a bit, so that the orders come faster:
DEADLINE IS NEXT MONDAY 6TH APRIL AT 7 PM GMT+1 (1 PM EST). UPDATE WILL BE POSTED ON THURSDAY. ORDERS MAY COME LATER THAN THE STABLISHED DEADLINE, BUT THEY WILL SUFFER "PROBLEMS" DERIVED FROM THEIR LATENESS.
Don't make me actually enforce this. I know that you must be angry with me for making so many changes to the rules, but remember that, although I might have posted 8 updates already, I'm by no means an expert in modding a NES (although I'm liking the challenge it presents).