In 10AD Khmer had expanded peacefully to 14 cities (+ settler on the way) and was climbing up the tech tree towards cuirassiers with the help of some repre-scientists. Vicky and Alex were preparing for war, most civs were in happy buddhist block except for Peter and Wang Kon who had their own religions. More information about the early game can be found from the first spoiler thread.
Soon after 10AD Alex got bored and DoWed Wang Kon. Some turns later also Peter was paid to war against the Koreans. As Peter and Wang Kon were separated by Khmer deserts, there was no actual fighting between these two. Alex made some poor assaults against Korean border cities but gained nothing in the process. Alex and Wang Kon made peace after some fighting but the phony war between Russia and Korea kept going for centuries.
Meanwhile, Vicky went back to normal state from WHEOOHRN mode and peaceful Sury-man could breathe a little easier. Saladin the Coward peace-vassaled to Vicky and everybody was happily teching towards the superior military power of cuirassiers, some faster than others.
Taj Mahal was completed in 475AD for some 15 turns of joy and happiness (MoM was finished a bit earlier despite acquiring Calendar via trade quite late)... Or so the loyal citizens of Khmer thought when they admired the shiny marble wonder pictured in postcards all over the country. Little did they know about what had happened just 15 years ago... With the help of some Wise Men (first had taught Philosophy, second Metal Casting, third Education, fourth Compass and fifth Liberalism) the leaders of Khmer had managed to get their hands on the mystic knowledge of Liberalism a little earlier, in 460AD. This instantly revealed them the secrets of Cuirassier Training - the way to the ultimate military power capable of crushing everything from archers to longbowmen with ease. The blood lust of Sury-man took over, so the whole Khmer nation was turned into one huge military factory soon after printing those postcards. Streets everywhere were filled with the blood of whipped citizens as the joy and happiness of the Golden Age turned into decades of slavery - a thing rarely seen to happen during the first steps of a Golden Age of any nation.
While building up the military, Sury-man began to ponder what to do with the cuirassier armies under his command. He didn't want to interfere with the phony war still raging between Koreans and Russians, and he also didn't want to anger the mighty old lady of the north, Victoria (especially with her sidekick Saladin the Coward around). Thus, the options left were Zara & his jungle pack, the Americans, and Alex of the West. America was the only nation without common border with the glorious Khmer so they could be saved for later. Regarding Zara and Alex, the choice was so hard that Sury-man decided to leave it to a good old coin flip. Unfortunately, the coin ended up sideways and Sury-man had to start preparing two fronts - on the opposite sides of Khmer.
In 550AD, the mighty cuirassier army of Khmer crossed Ethiopian border. Resistance was futile and cities one after another fell easily to the hands of glorious Sury-man. 30 years later in 580AD time had come to open another front, this time in the west. Alex, together with Peter, was still missing advanced defenses in the form of longbowmen so Greek cities were guarded by mere archers, axemen and swordsmen - nothing that could harm twice promoted cuirassiers. Everything seemed to go smoothly, until unexpected alliances were formed right after the Khmer forces entered Greek. The wicked witch of north decided to take the suffering Ethiopians under her protection, so in 595AD Sury-man found himself fighting wars simultaneously in 4 fronts, against Zara, Alex, Vicky and Saladin. After initial shock, he took a good view of northern fronts just to find out that English armies of macemen and elephants were marching towards Khmer border cities. "Well, now we don't need to flip coins again!" he was heard growling. Sury-man was also informed about the possibility of peace negotiations with the Greek but what would the citizens of Khmer have thought about a glorious leader retreating from a battle he had just started... He couldn't risk losing his reputation among his people so he decided to keep offences going in Ethiopian and Greek lands, no matter what. Northern Khmer cities had to be saved from the English and Arabian hordes but luckily there was some time before English macemen could reach Khmer cities. Once again, slavery was Sury-man's solution to this urgent problem and the blood of innocent Khmer citizens filled the streets.
The people of Khmer were so efficient that it didn't take long to gather up notable cuirassier armies also against Vicky and Saladin. This turned the tides and suddenly Sury-man found himself fighting offensive wars also in two new fronts. While wars raged, the glorious leader of Khmer noticed some unusually talented warriors in the ranks. He taught them the ancient art of super-healing and sent these medics to different fronts to help troops advance faster.
Last Greek city was taken under Khmer control in 790AD and armies there started to prepare an assault to Korean lands. Wang Kon and Peter had ended their "war" and Korean armies in eastern Korea were getting uneasy from centuries of almost-warring, so a pre-emptive strike in near future would be well justified. Or so Sury-man tried to convince himself. Saladin the Coward joined Alex in the gates of hell some years later in 820AD, Zara was sent there in 850AD and the merry bunch was complete when the wicked witch of north saw her last winter in 900AD.
In 890AD, 10 years before the fall of England, the western cuirassier division of Khmer, veterans from Hellenic and Arabian wars, crossed Korean borders. They had been given orders to locate and decapitate Korean leader Wang Kon, and bring his head back with them. That head would be a perfect bribe for Peter later... or distraction... Sury-man hadn't quite decided it yet. Korean armies were reinforced with elite longbowmen and they had also acquired some mystical technology to make their spears sharper and more efficient but numbers were on Khmer side. Despite some casualties, Khmer armies were able to complete their mission in 990AD, just to hear that their glorious leader Sury-man had decided to save Peter. Puny Russians hadn't even figured out how to sharpen arrows yet, and Sury-man didn't want to have any business with such underdeveloped people. After all, backwardness could be contagious.
To avoid boredom, Sury-man commanded his eastern cuirassier division to attack against the American pikemen in 920AD. Or to be more exact, some pikemen. Most troops Lincoln had were still rather weak with their axes and swords. Just before Khmer armies could reach the gates of Washington, Sury-man had a vision in his dreams. In the vision, he was given a name "Sury-man the Dominator" - the omnipotent ruler of the whole known world. Such a title sounded very appealing except for one thing. Sury-man still didn't want to have anything to do with the backwards Russians. Nevertheless, the vision was so strong that Sury-man decided to stop warring with Lincoln and head back to Yasodharapura for the ceremonies. Glorious ceremonies were held in the capital in 1010AD and people all over Khmer rejoiced in their leader's success. Or not actually everybody... some elder people still kept telling stories about how the red streets of Khmer cities gained their color...