N3S I: Empires Ablaze

UPDATE III
The Spreading Flame
(990 BCE-980 BCE)

A sense of melancholy suppressed the people of Beijing in Yan as the Rebellion of the Zhou Princelings entered its second decade. Rumor on the streets and in the markets had it that the Wei armies were marching on the walls of Beijing, and would be there any day now. A panic rapidly spread across the city as people grabbed what they could and fled, hampering efforts to get the young and old evacuated by the government (though they did manage it eventually).

The panic only intensified with the declaration of an emergency by the government, though a larger military garrison moved into the city pacified the troublemakers after a while. As the people began to leave in a more orderly fashion, the defenders prepared the city for a long siege–they stripped the countryside of wood for miles around, took all available stones, and lastly, spread rushes on the ground outside the city for an unknown reason.

The Wei armies arrived in full force within a few days: 3,000 highly trained and battle-hardened men that had been through the meat grinder that was the frontline around Chang’an. Fully expecting an ambush, their commander was somewhat surprised when none occurred, but duly set up siege lines around the city nonetheless. A few women were discovered trying to sneak out of the city–supposedly the princess and her servants, but this story was met with much doubt from the beginning and the ploy did not work.

The siege thus began, and went on for several weeks, as the summer approached and the days became steadily hotter and more humid. Then, on one particularly dry day, the Yan forces took to the walls for no apparent reason, raising suspicion in the Wei forces at once, who drew up to face an attack in case the Yan would attempt to sally from the fortress. Instead, the besieged loosed hundreds of fire arrows outward, onto the rushes they had spread earlier, lighting them aflame.

A great column of smoke rose into the air all around the city, but when the wind began to blow from the north, the city itself was encased in the black soot, along with the besieger’s southern lines.

Unfortunately for the Yan, this opened up the field of vision of the Wei directly to the north, so they were able to intercept and destroy the attempted flanking effort by the steppe forces that had been levied at the last moment. Conversely, however, it meant the southern flank attack was a complete surprise, taking the besieger’s drawn up armies in the rear and shattering them. Combined with a sally from the city at the last minute, the siege of Beijing was broken and the Yan victorious.

Flush with success, and gaining new forces due to their Xiongnu allies joining the fray, the Yan marched from victory to victory, penetrating deep into Wei, whose capital is nearly under siege. The forces of Zhou, not needing to fight against the Wei themselves, were free to crush the forces of Zhao. Within a year, then, the Rebellion of the Princelings was almost over.

As the economy of northern China slowly recovers from the battles that had been waged across it, the use of iron working was imported from further west and spread throughout the society, propelling the Zhou and its vassals into the Iron Age.

There are still some problems, however–the rapid reoccupation of Beijing has led to many looters taking valuables from still-abandoned businesses and homes, leaving many families penniless as they return to the city. And the question of what to do with the defeated–especially since Zhou is now wary of powerful vassals and thus hesitant to let Yan and Lu grow too powerful–is still very uncertain.

(Yan: -1,500 men, +Iron Age; Wei: -3,000 men; Zhao: -2,000 men; Zhou: -1,500 men)

Southern China, by contrast (lacking as it was in a gigantic, bloody war), was relatively quiet. The Tong continued expansion on land and overseas. The conquest of Taiwan was, although behind schedule, beginning to come to a grinding close, as the tribes of the interior are slowly isolated and destroyed after their united force was shattered in pitched battle.

Work on the Dongpo Academy continues, with the quiet school growing larger and more prominent every day. Already, the effects are seen, with several scholars taking the iron (that has been heretofore imported from the western lands), and discovering the best ways to work with it, which has led to the Tong advancing to the Early Iron Age. Rumors of even greater achievements being on the horizon has greatly heartened the people.

In the Mekong River Valley, though, a new nation that may at some point trouble the Tong has risen–Vientiane. Currently these Viets are quite peaceable, acting mostly as a conduit through which trade (and ambassadors) can travel between the Tong themselves and the Kingdom of the Mons on the other side of the region. Already goods are being exchanged, though the overland route leaves much to be desired, with terrible roads and myriad terrains.

(Tong: -500 men, +Iron Age, +Confidence, even though that stat doesn’t actually exist, +Contact between Tong and Mons)

The Mons, who through the aforementioned Vientiane have gained contact and trade of sorts with the Tong, are doing quite well for their own part. The Iron Age was gained later in the decade, as the art of working with iron spread from the faraway Harappans into the Ganges Valley, where it quickly was passed through trade to the Irrawaddy.

Aided by their new technological innovations, the Mons expanded considerably as well, absorbing many of the lesser Mon kingdoms, mostly through diplomacy, though travel and communications with the eastern, newly gained parts of the county are very patchy (though should improved due to the heightened infrastructure improvements that have been made by the Mons in recent years). The iron technology has led to much superior ships as well (as iron is much more efficient at planing wood), and this meant that the trade route with the Palas was established and flourishing by the end of the decade.

However, even the new Iron Age technology was stretched to the brink by the ambitious Mon king, who attempted several more expansion efforts–a campaign against the Malays was rather difficult due to the terrains involved; advisors suggest that the Mon king try again in a few years, as the recent improvements in infrastructure should soon spread down to this newly conquered region.

Meanwhile, the Mon fleet was sent on a long and dangerous voyage south through the Sea of the Mons, landing on the faraway island of Sumatra and establishing a trading post. Trade links were difficult to establish, however, and regular trade routes linked up at the expense of several ships who sank in storms and off uncharted coasts.

At the same time, though, the Mons’ civilizing influence in the region has caused another state to rise–Singapore, located on an island at the very tip of the long Malay Peninsula. If the Mons could use this as a base, then they would control the sea lanes all around the Peninsula itself (allowing for much better expansion), and potentially finding a sea route to improve trade with the distant Tong. The question, of course, is how to “persuade” the Singaporeans to give them landing rights (or, of course, the city itself).

(Mons: -500 men, -5 ships, +Iron Age)

The muddy-brown waters of the Indus River were, for once, quiet. The banks that had so often overflown and wrecked havoc on the Harappans and Mohenjo-Darans alike were tamed (at least, their southern portions were) by the Flood Walls built by the illustrious Dhiren Avanindra. Dhiren did not stop there, of course. He continued to build a series of public works, which, to the common person were known collectively as the Great Projects of Dhiren Avaninda.

Dhiren’s Mohenjo-Daro was not content with domestic affairs, however. His aggressive leadership served to spur the Indus Valley nation to even greater heights, as they pushed forwards on land and sea–perhaps a bit too far forward...

The voyages to Arabia had been made for several years now, of course, and the waters were fairly well charted. Dhiren went a step further, however, and ordered his navy and army to secure a trade outpost in Oman for Mohenjo-Daro to administrate directly, and also the far off island of Socrata. While both of the objectives were completed, it was at the cost of several ships that sunk in the perilous voyages, and though they have secured new bases from which to explore, Mohenjo-Daro is quite overstretched with these new territories to hold on to.

Further expansion efforts were made in Gujarat, and in the Dravidian lands further south along the subcontinent’s coast, however, this was too far for many Mohenjo-Darans, who were quite beleaguered, and under constant attack from the natives–part of the land was secured, but much of it remained independent, or was absorbed into the growing new state of Malwa.

At the same time, Dhiren planned a rather more bloody way of expansion–his troops sailed up the Indus River, while more advanced overland. Their objective was Multan, the city-state which was much weaker than Mohenjo-Daro or Harappa, and which they felt was rather likely to fall without too much trouble.

However, they found when they arrived that Multan had already negotiated and completed a deal with Harappa that united the two nations under one banner. The local commander took the initiative into his own hands, however, and attacked nonetheless. The forces of Mohenjo-Daro stormed through the streets, their archers hopping from rooftop to rooftop to fire down on enemies from above while their spearmen below swept the streets clean.

While the tight formations of the spearmen made them easy prey for the archers of Harappa, there were too few Harappans in the area, and they were not alerted sufficiently–the Harappan city fell almost as easily as Dhiren could have wished.

However, now the question comes wether to chastise or reward the commander, for he has started a war to the death in the Indus River Valley.

(Mohenjo-Daro: -500 men, -5 ships; Harappa: -1,500 men)

Half a continent away from the attack on Beijing, another city was also under great threat from an enemy. The setting was almost similar: a city on plains, on the edge of the steppes. But behind the walls of the city, the flag of the Makravi, not the Yan, flew.

The city was defended by a decent garrison of the famed Majestic Defenders, and their horse archer compatriots, but their numbers paled before the vast host that the Scythians could bring to bear on them: something like 3,000 men against 10,000. And the force of 10,000 was howling for blood.

And so it was that the people inside the city itself were terrified by the prospect of a siege, and many hoarded their possessions underground or in locked cellars and prepared to abandon the city. But the king of the Makravi was no so easily cowed. He gathered up his armies, for one last, final, hopeless offensive, and sent word to what barbarians he was on cordial terms with: Scythians at the gates. Come with all your strength.

Frightened by the prospect of the Scythians growing by these kinds of leaps and bounds, the Kushans, Sakas, and Aryans all came to aid the Makravi with their own armies.

And so it was that on the day of the battle, 10,000 Scythian horse archers faced a combined army of over 15,000. The Scythians were not afraid; their initial attack had been outnumbered, too. They launched forward on the offensive, harassing and charging the allied force. But the Makravi king bravely gathered up his horse and led a magnificent charge into the central lines of the Scythian force. They plowed into the ranks of horse archers, decimating them, and the king cut down the Scythian warlord, his sword plunging into the skull of the hated enemy.

The Scythians, seeing their leader fall, beat a hasty retreat, and let the allied armies advance. Soon word came that the successor of the warlord was offering peace terms.

With the Scythians, at least for now, driven back from Makravi territory, the trade routes are once again safe, and the silk of China and spice of India are once again exchanged for the glass and amber of the west. With the trade comes news of other cultures: of the mighty Persian empire, king of kings, of the Indus River Valley being consumed in war, of the restoration of the Zhou. Some tales are exaggerated, but the news is welcome, and the Makravi turn once again outwards to the world.

Along with news, of course, came traders bearing gifts. One in particular, a man named Korshad, a Persian merchant and blacksmith, settled in the capital and began to work iron for the people of the nation. From him, the trade spread, and soon, the Makravi had advanced once again into the Iron Age.

(Makravi: -1,000 men, +Iron Age)

The Persians, for their part, don’t go any particular conquering spree for now. They seem to be content with what they have, consolidating and building up their strained infrastructure, and introducing a reformed administration to help unload the burden from the Emperor’s shoulders. Other than that, they do little, simply biding their time, though they hear of many a brutal war elsewhere...

(Persia: +roads)

One of these wars, fought in the Mesopotamian Valley, sees the city state of Kish fight the similar state of Uruk. Both of these states were religious brothers (Zoroastrians), and both were quite powerful in their own right. But the King of Kish, Mashda, declared himself Emperor of Mesopotamia, and launched on the same day he announced himself thus a surprise attack which shattered the Uruk military forces, driving all the way to the city and subduing it after a quick assault.

While the Uruk soldiers who deserted to the army of Kish are not quite enough to regain the amount of troops they had before the war, Kish is now by far the most powerful of the Sumerian states, and is officially at war with the port of Ur.

(Kish: -2,000 men, +1,000 men; Uruk: -nation)

In the meantime, Egypt’s populace are in rebellion over the corruption and ill results that the nation has had in recent days. Taking up arms, they tied down many of the nation’s soldiers even as the Nubians invaded from the south and the Libyans from the west. Together these factors combined to fell the dynasty, and the Egyptian kingdom with it...

...Only to have it start right back up again. King Arqamani of the Nubians was no fool, and he realized that if he latched on to the coattails of the Egyptian legacy, he could make himself even greater than he ever could in Nubia, and so he did. Proclaiming himself Emperor of Egypt, he assumed all the offices and rights of the Pharaohs, along with the recognition as a divine entity that the title conferred.

Determined to create a greater empire, it would seem that Arqamani is one of those ambitious men in the world who might actually achieve some of their goals: a mighty empire that spans the length of the Nile.

(Egypt: -nation, +nation, +Nubians)

In the mountains of the Caucasus, Armenia quietly watches the events of the world go by... Until the events of the world start happening in Armenia. Not only did the new nation of Albania form right on their doorstep (a worrying development for a man who wanted to become leader of all the Caucasus), but a more sinister series of events has taken place.

Indeed, the heirs of the king have died. By themselves, these would not be unusual–each one was very much like a natural death of some illness or other. However, the fact that they occurred all at the same time!... This event has led the Armenian populace to believe that either some nation has designs on their territory, or, more likely, the gods themselves have turned against the fledgling nation.

Furthermore, the death of three of the most powerful men in Armenia (all potential heirs to the king) has led to the rebellion of the various families of those heirs (none of which, thankfully, have more heirs to bring into the mess)–all this meaning that several armies hostile to the established government in Armenia are roaming the landscape!

(Armenia: -500 men)

Though of course somewhat troubled by their ally’s difficulties in Armenia, the Assyrians knew that the primary foe that they would be facing at this time was the mighty Hittite Empire, which, up until now, had not even missed a beat in their steady conquest of the Middle East.

However, the Assyrians reversed that trend, defeating the Hittites in skirmishes and even a few minor battles with ease, as they pushed them back across the Euphrates. Combined with the Canaanites, who they were, for all intents and purposes allied with, the Assyrians seemingly could do no wrong. As it happened, however, the Hittites were busy elsewhere–otherwise the massive gains the Assyrians and company had made would have not been nearly as easy as they in fact were.

A major blow came when, for unknown reasons (at least, up until then), the Minoans cut off trade with Canaan. The sudden halting of the incense trade massively damaged the Canaanite economy, meaning that they could not support any more soldiers than they were already–and the forces that they were already supporting decreased drastically as many men, disillusioned with the whole business for some reason after they stopped receiving food, deserted.

All in all, the Hittite war is not going nearly as well as it could be.

(Assyria: +1,000 men, -500 levies; Hittites: -2,000 men; Canaan: -2,500 men)

On the other side of Anatolia, the reason for the Hittite’s lack of advances against the Assyrians and Canaanites is instantly obvious: the walls of Halicarnassus are suddenly witness to newly developed Hittite ballistae being rolled up and fired into them.

Apparently, the Hittites, lacking an alliance agreement with Byzantium that might have changed the face of the war, agreed to an alliance with the Thracians instead, having the barbarians withdraw from their territory in return for military aid from the Hittites. It was this massive amount of soldiers pouring into the Halicarnassian countryside which proved an immense amount of concern for the Athenians, who had been intending to relieve the Thracian siege of the city.

Undaunted, the Athenian commander went ahead and shuttled in supplies anyway, and then landed his troops. In conjunction with the defenders of Halicarnassus, the superior trained and organized Athenian Hypaspistai sallied forth and broke the Hittite siege, though the bloody battle resulted for many casualties for the Athenians and their allies.

In the end, the Halicarnassians managed to regain the rest of their own territory with the help of the Athenians, but the deadly Hittite ballistae were not harmed at all (though the Athenians, observing them, did manage to learn how they functioned), and the exhausted troops did not dare penetrate into Hittite or Thracian territory...

(Athens: -500 Hypaspistai; Halicarnassus: -2,500 men; Thracians: -2,000 men; Hittites: -500 men, -100 Hittite chariots)

...While for their part, the Hittites did not particularly care about the Athenian relief of Halicarnassus, as they had other fish to fry. Specifically, they attacked the nation of Phrygia in conjunction with the Thracian forces, shattering the Hellenic nation, as they had not been expecting a flank attack by the Hittites. The capital fell easily, and the land was partitioned between the Hittites and Thracians.

Then, they continued onward. The Hittites used their ballistae to another round of success, terrorizing the people of the Byzantine city of Nicomedia. The destruction of the city’s defenses in such a short time was a wake-up call to the rest of the world from the Hittites–you’re next.

Which wasn’t strictly true, because the Byzantine capital was next. The Hittites built a bridge of boats to cross the Bosporus, and thus, were once again able to use their siege equipment against the walls of the Byzantines. Having not yet built their walls to face such siege equipment, the city fell all too easily, the soldiers demoralized, they fell easy prey to the Thracian attack (though it should be noted that the demoralization of the defenders played more of a role in the fall of the city than actual destruction of the walls by the Hittites).

And in return, the Hittites gave the land to the Thracians, who founded their own, powerful, though none too organized kingdom on the straits with its capital at Dapyxopolis (as the Greeks called it thus: Dapyx (the Thracian king)’s city). The kingdom is not very organized, but it certainly does have the potential to become a major power.

(Hittites: -500 men; Thracians: -1,000 men; Byzantium: -nation; Phrygia: -nation)

As the Hittites went on their spree of conquest, the Athenians, besides sending their expedition to Halicarnassus, were obviously occupied at home. Joining forces with the Argives, they formed a mighty army of hoplites, the likes of which had never been seen before on the globe. Defeating the Dorians and Thessalians alike, they pressed northward.

Argos subdued the Achaeans, who had been threatening to join the war on the Dorian side, while the Athenians smashed Thessaly rather easily. Both of them, however, suffered extensive casualties–somehow the Achaeans and Thessalians were exceptionally well armed for barbarian tribes, with the latest in iron technology. No one quite knows how or when this occurred, but it certainly is quite suspicious... Or was, before something rather important happened which is covered below.

In any case, the Athenians met a slight stumbling block on their advance northward: the Doric state of Macedon, which seems to be quite hostile to the Athenians still. As if to make matters worse, it would seem as though Macedon, Greater Thracia, and the Hittites, and even more, are all aligned! But I am getting ahead of myself.

The Agrives, for their part, met the new nation of Epirus, another Doric state, however, composed of those who wanted no part, and took no part, in the Grecian War. They, in fact, seem rather cordial to the Athenians (see below).

(Athens: -500 men; Argos: -3,000 men; Dorians: -5,000 men)

While all this was happening, the Athenians suddenly received something which could be considered a present. Of sorts.

A Minoan military ship, on one of its regular patrols, was caught in one of the famous Eastern Mediterranean storms which terrorize sailors of all kinds. In and of itself, this kind of loss happens all the time, and is almost always instantly replaced by spare ships in the naval yards of the Minoans. However, this time, it did not go as smoothly as that.

The Minoan ship was shipwrecked–of the coast of Euboea. And on Euboea, they were captured by the Athenian militia. And a search of the persons involved revealed rather incriminating writings.

Hastily relayed back to their command, the Athenian Archon suddenly realized the truth of matters–a terrible truth that might well destroy the Athenian democracy. The Minoans had been behind the Grecian war–they had given the Dorians and Thessalians the iron weapons that had made them confident enough to attack the Athenians in such a devastating fashion. It was the aid of Minoa that had caused so much pain for Athens.

Scarcely wasting time, Athens declared war on Minoa.

The problem for Athens, of course, was the fact that they were nearly surrounded. Macedon, Greater Thracia, the Hittites, and Minoa were all part of this alliance. To face them, Athens had herself, Argos, and Halicarnassus, all exhausted by the war so far. Things could get much, much worse than they are already...

(Aegean: +international incident)

While their treachery has been uncovered, Minoa manages to prosper nonetheless, taking considerable revenue from trade that has been diverted from Athens in light of the war occurring there. In truth, they have also received a considerable amount of new income, from the Scythian trade route, which the Thracians have finally let pass, with little or no toll. The immense profits are already boosting their economy.

They have also gained by convincing several Athenian-aligned Aegean islands to join them, instead, leading to them receiving a few more ships...

(Minoa: +5 ships)

Meanwhile, the Scythians go on the offensive against the Sauromatae. Their main force came into contact with them almost immediately, with both sides suffering significant casualties. Back and forth the great steppe powers raged in their war.

However, the Scythians, cunning as they were, also sent out a force in the rather less densely populated parts of the steppe, wheeling about and striking the Sauromatae in the rear. With this mighty blow, they shattered the Sauromatae, and annexed the nation shortly thereafter, taking over a mighty new empire, though it is large enough to make it a bother to administrate.

With their quick war done, the Scythians set about to consolidating their hold on their new, enlarged empire. While this would not quite have been so easy a while ago, new income brought in through trade with the Minoans has led to a considerable increase of liquid assets with which to douse the flames of rebellion in gold. Also, the Minoans have exported their iron working technology to Scythia, propelling it into (guess what?) iron age.

Regardless of these new developments, even after only a few years without a declared war, the lords are getting restless, especially those in the newly conquered lands of the Sauromatae. They wish to go forth and plunder more–that, at least, is the consensus–and this would greatly help to settle the Sauromatae into their new life as Scythian citizens. Perhaps a war in the service, of, say, their new trading partner would not be out of order...

(Scythia: -1,000 men, -300 Scythian Cavalry, +Iron Age; Sauromatae: -nation)

In the meantime, the Dacian King sets about improving the overall welfare of the people in his little nation, which, fortunately, is nowhere near good enough to make people abandon their barbarian roots, so fears of the populace growing “soft” are most likely completely unfounded. Furthermore, expansion has been undertaken, though not without the expense of a few Dacians losing their lives...

More pertinent to the nation, a large population of Cimmerians on their northeastern frontier has been exterminated, and the Scythian nomads who are currently there are rather menacing...

(Dacia: -500 men)

Along with the general spirit of expansionism (and conflict) that the world seems to be in at this point, the nation of Utica, not wanting to be left out, expands along the coastline to give a direct land connection between Tripoli and Utica itself. Relatively few lives were lost on the desert excursion.

In fact, far more troubling is the fact that Berber raids on the nation have, if anything, intensified–the Berbers seem to be fleeing some great evil in the Sahara, desperately attacking to ensure they have some land for their own survival.

Rumors of the Imouhar and the mighty armies they possess are now flying around Utica, as the terrors of the south come marching north.

(Utica: -500 men)

The bountiful farms and opulent towns of Italy have gradually, over many years, been coming under a single rule: Umbria’s. Now, with a decade behind them since the conquest of their primary rival, Rome, Umbria has found it easier than ever to put the rest of Italia under their rule. The first target of this new wave of expansion is the city states of Etrusca.

Peaceful and rather unsuspecting of a concentrated military effort against them at this period in time, the Etruscans fell rather easily to the onslaught of Umbria, who lost very few soldiers in the war, and, rapidly consolidating their gains, look to put southern Italy under their control as well. Of course, southern Italian expansionism would bring them into conflict with Minoa...

(Umbria: -500 men)

War everywhere in the world seems to be inflating to monstrous proportions–people in even the tiniest corner of the civilized world have heard news on their farm that some far off nation is devastating another, with fire and blood spreading freely throughout the lands. For the most part, this is actually rather true, and a bleak picture of the world is entirely fitting, at least, in terms of the wars that are being fought.

However, all wars must come to an end, and it is that which is happening in Iberia, or so it would seem. The capital of the Chiss, Csaplar, was firmly under the yoke of Tartessian occupation, and had been for over a decade now. The people, tired as they were of the constant fighting, rebellions, uprisings, and other such annoying ventures, had more or less simply given up fighting. Without the support of the populace, in fact, it would seem that the Chiss are doomed to lose their homelands, forever.

In an attempt to reverse this tide, the Chiss attempted several landings on the southern Iberian shore. The landings were achieved with some measure of surprise, as they had managed to draw off the Tartessian navy for a time with their quick, fast Chiss Craft, however, the Chiss forces on land were utterly crushed by the waiting Tartessian garrison.

Tartessos might have been in trouble on its other front, as the barbarians that were assigned to garrison the river against Killik invasion greatly resented the insult, and performed the guard duty poorly, at best. However, but for a few half-hearted attempts at crossing the river, there was very little that the Killiks managed this time around; the Tartessians were victorious.

Indeed, as it is, Tartessos has been recognized by most of the rest of the world as now the rightful owner of the former Chiss lands, though the Chiss of course are still fighting on, determined to reclaim their homeland.

(Tartessos: -500 men, -10 ships; Csilla: -1,000 men, -5 ships)

The Cantabri have also done their part in bringing civilization (i.e. sweat, tears, and blood) to the myriad corners of the earth.

In conjunction with the Catalans, they have overrun the Iberian barbarians that have been plaguing their Euskara lands. This has led to an increase in happiness in those areas, of course, and it has also increased confidence all over the Federation at the ability of the nation to handle threats like these easily.

Of course, some of the Euskara were indeed displaced by the war, and so they, along with other emigres from various parts of the Federation, have colonized the Aquitaine region under the Cantabri banner relatively easily; there was no opposition from the local Celtic tribes, who were eager to put themselves under a prosperous nation, as their main alternative, the Gauls, have been having some difficulty (see below).

The Gallaeci, unfortunately, declined the offer to join the Confederation–the Killiks do not seem so much of a threat anymore, and the Federation, increasingly oriented to the North, does not seem like a viable option at this point. Or at least, that’s what they claim...

Meanwhile, further north, Cantabri settlers have established several trading posts in the south of Britain, trading the goods of the south for... the goods of the north. Nothing particularly surprising there, though what the Cantabri also bring, of course, is civilization. And civilization, while rather suspected by the Celts at this point, is slowly have its influence on them, though the full effect will take several decades to show some fruit.

In other news, the Cantabri used their access at Gaelic ports to sail further up the Frisian coast than ever before–and finally made contact with a far off village, at which they are beginning to trade–and quite a profitable trade it is, especially if they can keep it up. The long distances are taking their toll on the navy, of course.

(Cantabri: -500 men, -5 ships)

For the Gauls part, the King mostly has the populace do very little. They do expand somewhat–and in a rather irritating backlash, the Allemannii and Celts whose lands they are expanding into are quite unhappy about the whole business, especially with the Saxons pouring into their lands and increasing population pressures. It looks very much as though some sort of war will pop up, with the Gauls on one side, and the barbarians on the other.

(Gauls: -500 men)

The Teutons continue their expansion with a lightning strike against the Saxons. Fire and bronze reign supreme as the enemy armies are decimated and their villages raped–but the war doesn’t go exactly to plan, as the Jutes are able to gain a considerable portion of the conquered lands. On the other hand, the Teutons once again have confirmed the fact that they are by far the greatest of the Germanic nations.

The Jutes, for their part, have founded their own kingdom on the lands of Jutland and Holstein, creating a new potential competitor for the Teutons, though thus far they are on fairly cordial terms, since they recently cooperated in war. Of course, the Saxons had recently cooperated with the Teutons, too, and this makes the Jutes much more mistrustful of the Teutons than it would be otherwise.

The Teutons also nearly bloodlessly absorb the last vestiges of the Vandals west of the Vistula River.

(Teutons: -500 men)

As we conclude our voyage around the world once again, the dusty deserts of the mountainside Chavin civilization once again bustle with activity. The people have come in a great mass to the capital of Chan Chan, lining the unpaved streets, forming a multitude of souls to watch the crowning of one Hapulea, prince of the Chavin, and now, Emperor of the Chavin.

Heartened by the pomp and ceremony involved in the coronation, the Chavin follow their leader’s orders with a new fervor and effort, leading even further expansion as the Empire of the Chavin grows and grows on the coasts of Peru...

(Chavin: -500 men)


Diplomacy

To: Makravi
From: Scythian Warlord

We offer you peace at current borders.

To: Persia
From: Kish

We ask that you recognize us, the Kingdom of Kish, as the Empire of Mesopotamia, on equal footing with the Empire of Persia, and offer you a non aggression pact.

To: Assyria
From: Kish

We ask that you recognize us, the Kingdom of Kish, as the Empire of Mesopotamia, on equal footing with the Empire of Assyria, and offer you an alliance against the evil Hittite barbarians.

To: Assyria
From: Armenia

This is a desperate time for our people–I offer to make my will that the kingdom of Armenia shall be inherited by your future king, if you will aid us in destroying these rebels.

To: Athens
From: Epirus

We would be willing to join your alliance if you were to promise us a considerable portion of their lands (perhaps from just beyond Pella on westward) in return, and if you open trade with us.

To: Minoa
From: Greater Thracia, Hittites, Macedon

Brothers, let us make it official. Let the world tremble in fear at the might of the Minoan alliance!

To: Minoa
From: Egypt

I have heard of this “Minoan alliance” that seems to be creating itself to face the Canaanites, among others; we are interested in destroying Canaan, as well as trading with you. We would like to join this “alliance”, if it indeed exists.


OOC:

Many nations have had their color altered for the map’s sake.

PEOPLE YOU CANNOT GROW ECONOMY BY SAYING SO! There must be a darn good reason, and if there’s a good reason, I’ll usually grow it anyway. Wubba, you lucked out on this one, because you happened to set up better trade links this turn.

Note that the numbers in parentheses are different depending on the stat. In military training, these numbers mean the amount of eco points you must spend to get to the next training level. However, in the education/infrastructure/quality of life stats, these stand for the amount of eco points you must spend each turn to maintain it (otherwise the level will drop). You MUST factor these maintenance points into your spending, otherwise it’s a pain in the neck for me. And you really don’t want updates to be delayed any more so, do you?

Note that siege weaponry in the form of ballistae is now available to all those in the Western Mediterranean region up to the Persian Empire and all the way over to Utica. Thank the independent Minoan entrepreneur who built one.

Of course, by converse, the walls of this area are even now being strengthened to render these much less effective than they were in the update. And even if you use them against non-strengthened walls, the ballistae aren’t terribly effective against solid wall–they were wonderful as terror weapons, but not so much now that the world has grown used to them.

And I don’t really know if anyone besides my group of fanatics who for some reason stick with my NESes through thick and thin are still in this NES, so it would be nice to know if people were still in it. I would of course promise to update more frequently, and I do.

I had four hours of sleep last night, and so the last part of the update is lacking in the certain “NKness”. Much apologies.


Quick Links:

First Page

Map of the world...

The ... indicating that there will be something after this.

Hopefully I cram this in before someone decides to post. This is a religious map of the world. I think the religious groups associated with their respective colors should be evident from the stats.

And that's all. Hope you enjoy it. And stay in the NES.

Stats l'updated. Please let me know of any mistakes. And let me know if I should keep this open.

I now wish I would have stayed as the king of the berbers

Always opportunity to rejoin. Of course, uniting the Berbers would be an interesting feat right now...

North King said:

Always opportunity to rejoin. Of course, uniting the Berbers would be an interesting feat right now...

Click to expand...

I'm not up to it either.To many other nations in other NES'es ot take care of.

Well isn't this a pleasent suprise! A very nice update...now lets see if I can remember what my cunning plans were .

Yay! Nice update King of the North!

Though I'm further north, so I find the title somewhat presumptuous...



Good update. Crazy happenings everywhere, and I'm an island of peace. I'll have to change that.

*sends hatemail* I hate you north king I'm joking of course

The gods decidedly do not frown on a rejoin, alex.

I asked you to NPC me for the turn! And see how you betray my trust, I'm soo hurt...

Great update, and very unexpected. You make me so happy, Rey del Norte.

One criticism, though this is more of the NES in general than of the update in particular, is that it is becoming evident that it will be nearly impossible to develop due to extremely low economies and maintenance on practically everything. It would helpful to moving things along if either maintenance were reduced or everyone's economy doubled or even tripled. Maintenance is something that has been introduced in a lot of NESes of late, but usually along with something like the 3-city system or ECs that dramatically increase the number economy points available to each nation. Of course, this is just my opinion, and you don't have to listen to it.

alex994 said:

I asked you to NPC me for the turn! And see how you betray my trust, I'm soo hurt...

Click to expand...

Oh. Well, being NPCed with 1,000 men and surrounded by hordes of barbarians hasn't proven to be much of a strategy, has it?

Cuivienen said:

One criticism, though this is more of the NES in general than of the update in particular, is that it is becoming evident that it will be nearly impossible to develop due to extremely low economies and maintenance on practically everything. It would helpful to moving things along if either maintenance were reduced or everyone's economy doubled or even tripled. Maintenance is something that has been introduced in a lot of NESes of late, but usually along with something like the 3-city system or ECs that dramatically increase the number economy points available to each nation. Of course, this is just my opinion, and you don't have to listen to it.

Click to expand...

You do have a point. However, perhaps low stats is not such a bad thing after all--it gives us somewhere to go with our nations. Okay, that was rather cheezy, but what I mean is that I don't particularly want to cultivate uber-nations in the first few turns. We're only three updates into the NES (though it seems much longer), and not everyone is a superpower.

In any case, incomes will rise, though maintainence is decidedly higher the higher you go up, so do be wary.

All I can say is, be patient, and good things will happen. Several nations, for example, have a vast amount of unrealized economic potential that even a single trade voyage will push them up an eco point (the Tong happens to be one of those). More run of the mill nations will just take what they can get in due time. But we are going to see more powerful nations, yes, eventually.

Awesome update. I'm still hre and I'll continue for some while.

Wow, Iberia is a big mess.

From Tartessos
To Killik

Let us end this war. We are willing to negotiate and agree to a possible cease fire.

OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! AN UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I shall now read it in detail, though a quick skim made me very happy...

Cool update. If Dacia increased their quality of life, shouldn't the number rating be more than zero?

TO: Minoa
FROM: The Demarchy of Athens

Either Minoa pays us 3,000 Drachma (3 EP) in compensation for our losses incurred in this conflict, or we shall continue our war, and indeed, smash, your insolent nation - a nation which has sought, through foul arrogance, to manipulate the world towards its own devices. The Minoan state has proved a thorn in the side of Greece for far too long, and if it does not pay us in compensation, it shall find itself cast off from the Aegean as the barbarians for which you truly are.

TO: Argos, Halincarnassus
FROM: The Demarchy of Athens

We ask that you aid us in this war against the Minoans, should they seek to not do the noble thing.