TerraNES: The Civil Experiment

Yes, and take the top spot from me. GAH!

This post for the update. The next one will tell you guys that it's been posted.

A spoiler:
All Valyria is aflame,
Greatest burnt sacrifice of time!
And Cytria will see the same;
The beauty of which is sublime!
 
The wind blew into the sails as the ship glided across the Red Sea coastal water. Aswan lay far behind. Soon the ship would turn toward the Red Sea nation of Sana. Jafar sat upon the boat's front, looking far into the distance. The sun baked bright in the cloudless sky. Jafar worked for Negus, the coffe baron and ran trade to Sana with his partner Nesib. Nesib walked out from the storage area where the coffe was stored.

Nesib: The coffe is fine, the rain did not dampen it one bit.
Jafar: Good. What is your take on this food boiling thing?
Nesib: Rediculous. Kalub was a paranoid fool, and the port authority are to cowardly to do anything.
Jafar: Well it gave us work, so some good came of it.
Nesib: It ruined the Nile wheat trade. Now local farms are overstocked. The smallest food shortage and half the nation will probably starve.
Jafar: Good thing we are claiming Nile farmland.
Nesib: Still, the Nile wheat trade was important. Now its gone, for all practical purposes.
Jafar: Turn the ship! We are heading to Sana
The rowers responded instantly.
Jafar: And what would you do if the plague got here? I saw it in Mesopotamia before they closed the route. It is terrible, I would rather not remember that.
Nesib took several steps back, putting a meter between him and Jafar. He had known of Jafar being in Mesopotamia previously, but it still unnerved him that Jafar had seen the plague and the death it brought several years ago to the ports of the South Euphrates.
Nesib: Jump ship and head south. I can pilot a ship as well as anyone and they would have work for me.
Jafar: Well lets hope that does not happen.
 
New Joining post now that the old kingdom ended.

Babylon/erez87
Color: Red
Location: Babylon (shown on map)
Background: Aramaya has nearly full control over the entirety of Mesopotamia. As Ortoon collapsed and their influence faded away some small city states wished to join Aramaya, others the Hyak and fewer more wished to rule themselves. The city of Babylon is one of this new states, quickly sending diplomats to Aramaya begging for mercy and peace in return for trade and tribute... The New Kings of Babylon have big plans.

from Babylon:
to Aramaya:
Oh Great Kings of the east! Your power amazes me. Will you accept tribute in return for our continued survival as a free state?

to Hyak:
Great god king from the west. Will you trade with us?
 

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Time to rewrite nearly 3000 words for Mesopotamia. :sigh:

EDIT: Not as bad as could have been possible. I'll wait until I finish everything else before checking on what happens here.
You should VM Stockholme.

From Hyak
Indeed. Why not?

Nooo Don't rewrite. Just have my single city await Aramaya's decision. Everything else will probably fall between Hyak and Aramaya.
What's VM?
 
I want to apologize for not getting the update done tonight. I'm breaking a long line of tradition here.

:(

I got India and Mesopotamia done, and I'm mucking through Egypt and the Levant right now. I still need Zeletdude's and MJM's Orders and/or Guidelines or MjM will be kicked. Should I post the update now and see whether I can get the other half done, or should I save it for tomorrow.
 
For once, my vote is progress... post it.
 
Update 7
Falling Cities and Rising Crisies
350 Years into the Bronze Age (2700-2650 B.C.)



An image burned into consciousness-from the Fall of Curgash, to the Raid of Toras Ziril; From the Rape of Genua to the Conquest of Lyr; From the Immolation of Enkoni to the Burning of Troy. This is a time of the death of cities.

Across the world, cities fall to conquest. Whether by the weapons of rivals or of rebels, whether by the people of refugees or migrants, whether by the powers of disease or chance, people are slayed, cities are burned, and the bright civilizations of the early bronze age dimmed into coals in the dirt.

Their conquerors cared not for the destruction they wrought. From the Settlers of Katan, to the Egyptian Guards; from the Zealots of Valyria to the Migrants of Macedon, they do not see culture lost for eternity. They see a treasure house of loot and wealth; they see a center for rival production; they see a chance to strike back. Let the fires burn on the cities of the old. Let the ashes warn all.

A Faithful Cleric said:
All Valyria is aflame,
Greatest burnt sacrifice of time!
And Cytria will see the same;
The beauty of which is sublime!

Other than this, we see the unification of the Siruns; we see the unification of the Phoenician; we see the unification of the Nubian and we see the unification of Daretokiman. As the heart of the flame crumbles, the edges shine with ever greater intensity.

The flames of the old will be a spark compared to the light of the new.


India

The Plague affected India deeply. As the old lands of Dakinsa and Patni slowly fall apart, their component parts began fighting and feuding against each other. In Dakinsa, it was mostly assassinations, perhaps a blood fued or two; but on the Ganges it was all out war.

The Rajs of Dakinsa are weakened by the Plague. Rajpaylai were not appointed during the plague, so local strong men took power in various provinces. When Dakinsa reinstated power, their Rajs have to give concessions what are essentially warlords. Slowly, the central authority weakened. Although the army was better trained, only about a third is directly loyal to the Raj.

A Zirilist Monk said:
I’ve heard that Time is but cycles of what is and what ought to be; and so the Raj takes power from the Rajpayla, and so the Rajpaylai takes power from the Raj; and so empires rise and fall, as they have for centuries before and centuries since.

The Raj itself remains united…for now. The Baluxis and the Paxuns remained loyal to the position of Raj and although power is spread out more, the Raj still has a relatively tight hold on his tax collectors.
(NPC: 1 EP to Xiraz, 1EP to Bronze, 1EP for 10 more Curraghs, 6EP Banked)

The Gujarati Confederacy slowly centralized and formed their own Rajdom, giving them greater confidence in their Raj. They are still allied with Dakinsa and are influenced by their stronger neighbor, but maintained their independence and controlled more of the trade with the Hormuni states.
(+1 Confidence +1 Trade)​

Meanwhile, Daretokimas rose in the north when Daretoki reunified the Daretokiman peoples with by protecting them from the wrath of the Vanassi Kingdom. This, however, destroyed the Ganges trade which was only tenuously held during the last hundred years. Their increased stability might make up for the economic turmoil they are facing. Vanassi still fought to reunite her kingdom, but gain only minor victories on either side. However, they did participate in seizing lands of those who “betrayed” the old Patni Empire. Meanwhile, the Yetahorsehockyes continued to colonize the fertile banks of the river, focusing more on agriculture then warfare. However, they have met some resistance from peoples who never were in the old Patni Empire, and who maintained their ancient independence with the fishing spear…
(-2 Trade +2 Domestic +Confidence:Daretokimas)
(-1 Trade +2 Banked:Vanassi Kingdom)
(-1 Trade:Yetahorsehockye Confederacy)


Middle East

In a century after the Plague, Aramya rebuilt itself stronger than ever before, and put her advantages in full use against her enemies. Her borders were secured, and expanded- indeed, “her” is appropriate both for tradition as well for her leadership. As Aramya enters a new age of expansion, once again the Exalted State seems like it could do no wrong.

A Zirilist Monk said:
Although their names are lost forever, their spirit will forever walk among that of the King of Fear, the High-Browed King, and even the Timid King in defining an era… Their strength and their ability far outstripped the possibilities of simple mortals, and prove their divine descendents…The Efficacy Queen, their Greatest General, and The Magistrate Queen, their best diplomat.

The Plague decimated the Royal Family; after Autumn died, his immediate successors died from a secondary wave of the plague, and further succession was unclear. This was when their wives, names stricken from history by their descendents, took over the government with a mixture of scheming and necessity. Learning well the skills of rule from their husbands, and sheltered from the plague in their palaces, they, together, ruled unopposed for nearly three decades, and their descendents dominate for another four.

When asked about the Exaltation, most would say that Autumn gave the seed of their new government, Rubric was the Father, and that his wife, the Magistrate Queen, was the Mother. During her rule, she put the theory of government into practice. The Government’s control reached deep into society, and all the powerful classes were made implicit within its structure. The Military is paid from the government and fights for the government. The Priests are themselves mayors, receive government pay along with their tithes, and are trained as priests within the government structure. The greatest change is the organization of workers.

First, this Queen organized Guilds to control the cleanup after the plague. The population, weakened as they were, agreed. Soon, smithies are churning out shovels and plows, potters are making bricks and daub, and gangs of workers cleared out the rubble in the streets and tore down, or renovated, empty buildings. However, this effort was still to slow for her, and she turned toward a new source of energy; slaves. Although she will soon have a large supply, at first she sent a guild of slavers to find and enslave criminals and, especially, orphans. Indeed, she was so successful at turning her “Exalted Program”, branding it after Nir Aram, into an respectable system and providing a decent environment that, as a result, it became a custom that a Middle Class family- after sending their second son to the army, and the third to the priest hood- will send their fourth to slavery and let him work his way free, like Nir Aram of legend. This greatly increased her control over the economy, as well as the labor force that is directly commanded by the Exaltation state.

A Zirilist Monk said:
A curious institution as arose in the so-called Exalted State, with eerie similarities to that of the Cytrians to the north of the wasted lands. I’ve been told that there are ranks of slaves, from criminal, to orphans, and even voluntarily sent. It is the third of which is most interesting, and which I attribute as a result from the plague. The mysterious Queens of Aramya doted their children, and saw the orphans they adopted into slavery as their own (even while working them, they taught them). With such an environment of nurture, hard work, and punishment, why wouldn’t a middle class family send their excess children to prove their bloodline under the gentle yoke of slavery?

While the Magistrate Queen delved into the deeper theory and realities of Rubric’s Exaltation, the Efficacy Queen delved into the military aspect of the Military-Bureaucracy. Alongside her knowledge in brutal combat, she studied much the tactics of chariot warfare and the logistics of campaign, as well as battlefield politics. Under her care, “Justice, Character, Discipline, Exaltation” became a motto of the Aramyan army, which she will soon unleash upon her enemies.

Her first campaigns were led to stop Zatruns from penetrating further into Aramya while she builds up here forces and courts the wild Paruhorsehockyes. A decade into her rule, the army was ready and the Paruhorsehockyes were marching. While the Zatruns assembled another army, the Ox Charioteers quickly surrounded Stoclassis and charged the main avenues while the Aramyan Spearmen, anchored by the Paruhorsehockye militia and supported by their archers, fought their way to the center of town. While it was each Zatrun and Paruhorsehockye for themselves, the Aramyans have organized the barbaric archers well, and their arrows bit into any cluster of enemies which might have formed. At the end of a day of bloody combat, the disheartened Zatrun warriors surrendered to the Aramyans and were placed into slavery, while those who still resisted were butchered mercilessly by the vengeful Paruhorsehockyes. After the battle, each warrior was given three female Zatrun slaves as a pension for when they retire.


The Campaigns against the Zatruns

The barbarian center of Zatrun itself was still strong in the mountains, and the Zargotites defended the passes leading to and from the mountain fortress. With half their warriors killed, they were silent for a generation until they felt strong enough to strike again. This time, they met experienced spearmen, and sturdy archers which slaughtered them at a pass under the town. This army (small, due to the ongoing Hyak War) followed this decisive victory by taking Zatrun and razing it to the ground.

And so ends the chapter of the Zatrun barbarians… There is a power vacumn in the Zargos Mountains.
(-1 Spearmen (1.5), +2 Spearmen (1.5) Experience, +3 Parush Archers (1.5), +2 Parush Archers (3) +2 Zatrun Loot/Parush Resources:Aramya)

Meanwhile, diplomacy was reaching a feverish pitch with the Hyak Empire. Diplomacy has gone well with their Military-Theocracy concerning Ortun, but Aramya has no qualms whatsoever in renging their terms on the partition of those cities. At first, they followed their agreement, and Levean south of Ortun was annexed by Aramya by cheers and festivitics. However, Official Clerics of the Council of Viziers were soon seen across the river from Ortun, and Aramyan influences was still expanding in the region. Hyak panicked and sent an army claim their half before they defected to Aramya, a dozen years after the Purging of Zatrun. When the Ortuni cities asked for Aramyan Protected, the Queens sent the first Ultimatum in history: Leave Levea. When the Hyakkite High Priest sundered the clay tablet, they sent the first declaration of war in history; “Let the superior race win, Leveans against Hyakkans. Let the superior gods rule, Tarias against Kitab.”

While the Hyakkites prepared a larger army, the Aramyans secured the Ortuni cities and readied their actions. Ortun was reurbanized, and their ancient walls rebuilt to their former glory, and their fleet moved into the Ortuni Canal to blook the Hyakkite navy. Thus started the War of Mesopotamian Supremacy.

Forces on the Eve of War.
The Hyak Empire: 2 Spearmen (3), 6 Spearmen (1.5), 6 Archers (1.5), 25 Curragh (0.5) + 8 Tarian Warriors (1)
Total of 16400(22) Men, and 25(12.5) Ships
The Exaltation of Aramya: 4 Spearmen (3), 12 Ox Chariots (3), 4 Archers (1.5), 2 Archers (3) 3 Curragh (1), 22 Curragh (0.5) +, 4 Parush Militia (.75), 6 Ortuni Militia (.75)
Total of 17400 Men(67.5) and 25(14) Ships

Both the Hyak Empire and the Aramya Exaltation raised many substantive forces: 8000 religious warriors for Hyak and 10000 militia of various kinds by Aramya; at the start of the war Aramya has a substantial advantage in military quality, while their professional army is smaller due to both the need of defending their homeland as well as focusing on a force of Ox Charioteers.


Much as been preserved of the legends of the Hyakkite war, often stylized as a war between a rebellious war god Tarias and his allies against the rest of the Kitabalist Pantheon. Instead of recounting what I heard, I would prefer to copy this manuscript describing the main characters on the Aramyan Army
An Aramyan Legendarium said:
The bald man Utar, a solitary and taciturn individual, was a fine fieldsman. He was a strict, but fair, and because he was modest yet fierce, he was revered among his soldiers. Utar had a compulsive habit as well, he checked the weapons, checked the soldiers, checked the beds and the horizon. He was constantly looking for something, perhaps a flaw, perhaps a reason, maybe just a glimmer of truth inside a kingdom of authoritarianism. He never revealed anything even to his wife, whom he remained totally faithful to during the war, setting yet another example, for the men to follow. Utar made one demand, however, which was he be fed as if in peace time. Good meals were sent to him, and this itself showed his elite superiority, and created reverence among the men, whom adored him, rather than any form of envy. In battle, he liked to stylize himself after the so called King of Fear, staring into the eyes of his enemies menacingly. His soldiers followed him, attempting the very same stare, the whole regiment he commanded followed him to the letter, and he followed the queens and the cabinet to the letter.
The Descendant was a regular one, much like his father, and his father’s father, and so forth, he embodied the old ideals of warfare for the practicality of conquest, not the vision of glory. His regiment was the most brutal of them all, he fought on the fields among the spearmen, and subsequently his regiment made up for low kill counts with their terrifying murderous nature. They didn’t do it for fun, or for morals, they did it because it was in their nature to demoralize the enemy, and eliminate their soldiers until the bodies stacked like buildings.
The most decadent, a man that would be remembered in stories as a narcissist, womanizer, rapist and caricature of selfish behaviour, Kaliope the charioteer commanded with swaggering style. His long hair moved in the wind, he looked like a god from his soldier’s point of view, although his arrogance did not make his soldiers worship him, rather, they tolerated him. The disorganized nature of chariot fighting meant the soldiers were often far enough away to not be so bothered by Kaliope’s nature. The man was not nitrous, he was privileged, he had no wives, he encouraged men to take in the rewards of battle, women, as their right. He did nothing bad to the morale or strategy, but his mind always wandered from the battlefields to the bedrooms and race tracks, where he could be adored by all.
The Queen rode into battle on ox chariot, wearing simple clothing, male clothing, and having a fine spearman by her side. She drove the chariot, using precision to take her companion fighter to the enemy. She wasn’t commanding as the Magistrate Queen was, however she was quick, swift, and very, very, loud. This was enough, and the other commanders together with her made for a competent and confident commanding cabal.
We can see how the Aramyan people stylize their heroes- enough to seem superhuman, or even divine, but with enough humanity to make them seem real.
My records show that both Utar and Descendent commanded nearly two thousand spearmen and three thousand Ortuni Militiamen, while the Queen and Kaliope commanded the great Oxen-Chariots of Aramya. Meanwhile, Tasar and ]

The Efficacy Queen, seeing the large army fortified at Duma feinted towards Tobe, and launched an attack on Aka. Although she easily pushed back the Hyak Military in a series of battles, her Ox Charioteers were unable to crack the hastly defenses the Hyaks placed. Unwilling to commit her expensive and mobile force to a siege, she withdrew, but not before Tasar’s archers and the navy destroyed the Hyak Fleet in a running battle between the two armies’ crossing points.


(Hyak: -9 Curraghs (0.5), +2 Experience
-2 Spearmen(1.5), -1 Archer (1.5), -1 Tarian Warrior, +1 Archer experience)
(Aramya: -1 Curragh (1), -4 Curragh (0.5), +3 Curragh (0.5) experience, +1 Curragh (1) experience
-1 Ox Chariots, -2 Ortuni Militiamen, +1 Ortuni Spearmen (1.5))

With this advantage, the Efficacy Queen sent her navy to prevent an Hyak Crossing while her own army crossed and marched to Curgash. In a massive battle lasting a week, the militarized city was captured by Utar and the High Priest of Tarias was put into captivity until he surrenders. The Aramyans want the Hyaks to surrender land and cities, and as of yet he refused.

After a long forced march and much grumbling, the Hyak Army managed to reach Curgash and met Kaliope in open battle. Without support of the rest of the army, the man plunged into the Hyak Army. He managed to cut through their lines three times and delayed their counter attack of Curgash (where the Ox Chariots would become nigh-useless), but at devastating casualties for both sides. Nearly three hundred chariots were destroyed in the battle, for an exchange of time and over (NINE!) two thousand casualties on the Hyak side.

A Zirilist Monk said:
These legends not only talked about dozens of battles, but also of the character of the people fighting them. Look upon the High Priest of Tarias, who was silent upon capture until the Fall of Curgash. Then, watching from the rain-kissed hills as the thunderclouds avoided the fires of his beloved city, he wept. And he surrendered. And so Hyak is no more.

With their position in Curgash saved only by Kaliope’s action, the Aramyan Council agreed. The civilian population of Curgash were sent away, and the city was torn down, its walls sundered, and its soil salted. If they cannot hold the city, they can ruin it for their enemies.

After the fall of Curgash, the High Priest was ready to talk. Even then, a series of running battles led by the Descendent’s Rearguard slowly crushed the Imperial Army, as rebellions begun to cripple their war machine.


(Hyaks: -1 Archer (3), -1 Spearmen (3), -2 Spearmen (1.5) -3 Tarian Warriors -1 Urban)
(Aramya: -3 Ox chariots -1 Spearmen (3), -1 Ortuni Militiamen -1 Archer (1.5) +1 Loot)

Aramya was given Aka and Duma, and all the Hitherland while new enemies rose against Hyak.

Rebellions already crippled the Akan and Duman citizens before the concession, and were even worse to the north where Forman Siria and Mosul Siria united to invade the failing state. With all confidence lost the army deserted and the people returned to endemic warfare. As Siria unites after the Liberation of Hya and Merion, the land of the Hyaks return to a state of petty warlordism.
(-Hyak+Sirian Empire)​

For the Hormuni States, Aramyan and Dakinsan intervention produced a myriad of effects. While Hormun simply gave the tithes like last time, Xiras refused. When Aramya declareded that all goods from east of Hormun can only be allowed to enter if they do not go to Xiras, Dakinsa declared that all goods west of Xiras can only be allowed to enter if they do not go to Hormun. Although this has decreased trade somewhat, the volume of trade increased overall due to the constant switching merchants go through.

Now, we move past the Middle East, and look upon the tumultuous fall of Anorian power, the rise of pirates, and all the consequences that entails…

Part 2
Part 3
Epilogue.
 
OOC: Egypt collapsed:eek:. I should have read those stories before posting my own!


IC: When people learned of the collapse of Egypt to the plague panic spread instantly. Goods that had great prices in Egypt such as ivory suddenly fell in price as a 100 year old bubble burst. Panic spread as merchants tried to get rid of goods that had markets only in Egypt. The plague sparked fears as the Nile trade route was hastily shut down. The result was mass protest, as this was one of the main arteries of trade for Axum. The route was reopened and the port authority of the newly built Nile Port resigned over the matter. The trade chaos soon gave way to fear. The plague was no longer a far away shadow. It was here, on the Nile, on a great trade route. A man was burned, for the locals feared he had the disease. Panic spread. A man claimed that he had a cure for all disease. He soon became rich. The next day most of the city was sick at home and the man was nowhere to be found. Life soon resumed as normal, as the government looked to see what would come from the ruins of Egypt.


To Ruins of Egypt: What happened? Is everyone ok? Do you need disaster aid?
 
Hey Terrance! You are updating the wrong map! That's not last turn map but two turns ago!
 
No he's not? That's last turn's map. I can tell cause pixels.
 
It's because when I updated the last map, I forgot to save my "base" file with the layers before saving as the "update" file, which lost the layers. Don't worry, I'm keeping it all in.

Its a Union of Phoenicia forged against the Pirates, and Damascus, when all of them (including Byblos' puppet government) joined under Tyre's predominant economic control in a loose confederacy. Think Delian League pre-Athenian interventions. Think low confidence until other people invade.
 
Is the rest of the update planned for tonight Terrance?
 
I wrote the intro for Italy during school, and I finished writing the intro for Egypt. I'm thinking I get Egypt/Levant and Italy done, and let the players who get NPCed stew for tomorrow This means Osisimied, Aegean (sorry TerrisH) and China.

I will link all these updates to the first post of the update. Wish me luck.
 
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