The Centinium Empire

I got bored of the civilizations included in the game, so I decided to, like the story Empire in Ashes, make one up. This is the story of the Centinium Empire, based off Egypt, led by Secratarius, based off Hatshepsut. Basically, it's exactly the same thing as Egypt with different names.

Settings:
Map Script: Planet Generator
Version: Warlords 2.0.0 (I'm way too lazy to download 2.13, and I'm running a Mac)
Civs: 7

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Chapter 1: Beginings -

The Raid

Chapter 2: The Settling -

Novus Senty-Yum

Chapter 3: Revenge -

Primoris Explorator Unctum
The Battle of Vetus Senty-Yum
Aftermath

Chapter 4: First Contact -
Teneo Certantibus

That day had started like any other, warm, with a very light breeze. The forests to the south looked foreboding as always. The village of the Senty-yum had been in deep famine for the past year, after the herds of cow the village lived on had moved on. All of the men were too weak to fight or hunt now, and the women too weak to bear children. It was inevitable the tribe would eventually die out, either by starvation or hostile forces.

The Rass-ian tribe thought wiping them off the map would be a public service.

They has been watching the Senty-yum for ages, waiting for this moment. The Senty-yum had constructed a very nice village, something the violent, hunter Rass-ians would never be able to do, and were incredibly weak. It would've been stupid not to attack. Still, their leader, Rass-Arius, was a cunning man. He had waited for three winters to strike, waiting until the depth of the famine to strike. Today was finally the day. The herd of cows would finally return in only a few moons, and the people were dropping like flies.

The Rass-ians came out of the southern trees, much to the surprise of the Senty-yum. They had assumed no tribe would attack such a defensless tribe, if only for honor's sake. Besides, who'd want a town with no food? The natives didn't even have time to get to the nearest blunt object, let alone defend themsleves. The Rass-ians rampaged through the town with no trouble. The men could not fight, and just ran. The Rass-ians took no prisoners, killing all the men they could find, and raping all the women.

After only a few hours, all opposition had been crushed. The Rass-ians had suffered no casualties, while the Senty-yum tribe was reduced to ten men, thirteen women, and twenty-four children. Chief Senty-Entenus was killed in the massacre, as had all his relatives. The remaining men had been the ones that had been so weak they were not worth the energy it took to beat them to death. The tribe was as good as dead.

Hours later, as the remaining tribe members attempted, and failed miserably, to start a fire, a gravely voice came out from the bushes.

"So sad."

The temporary leader, Senty-Septus, picked up a branch, clutched it like a club, and yelled, "Who are you?".

A scraggly man with stringy blond hair, a thick beard, and incredibly pale skin stepped out of the trees, "A tribe of your stature, reduced to a few shivering children. It almost makes you want to cry."

"Who are you," Septus repeated, "and who is your tribe?"

"My name is Secratarius, and I have no tribe. I live off the land, and just... watch."

Septus clutched the branch harder. "What do you mean, watch?"

"I mean I sit back and watch the game of life. It's funny, your tribe used to be the most influential tribe in the known world. But just one famine, and... well, here you are. It's to be expected though, when a tribe is so foolish.."

Septus roared, and bashed the branch into the side of Secratarius's head, drawing a flow of blood, yet, Secratarius didn't even stagger backwards. Instead, he grabbed Septus, threw him on the ground while disarming him.

Secratarius laughed, and said,"Takes a lot more than that to hurt a man like me, kid. As I was saying, it's incredibly foolish to keep moving around. It's so much smarter to stay in one place year-round."

Septus stammered, "B-b-but wouldn't the food source... run out?"

"Not if you're smart about it. Now, would you follow me now, or will I have to make you?"

Septus's eyes widened. "Follow... you?"

Secratarius laughed again. "Did I mention I'm taking control of the tribe? No?"

He jammed the branch into Septus's skull, and yelled to the rest of the Senty-yum tribe, "Now, come with me, kiddies..."

Nice Idea and start!

Here is a tip on description. Grassland tiles are counted as gathered and farmed. Plains are counted as small scale pasturing. A farm is large scale farm.

Keep going!

Thanks!

There will be one more post before the game actually gets started, then things will start to move a lot quicker.

"Come on, we need to leave before sunrise!" Secratarius yelled, much to the surprise of the drowsy tribe.

"We have been traveling for ages... when will we finally settle down, like you promised?", a brave man from the back responded.

"Come here, boy. Why don't you share some of your ideas with us, if you think you know better than me..."

The tribe, now wide awake, shuddered. They all knew this would mean he would create another "example", like he did every few weeks. Mostly the deaths were for minor crimes, such as crossing him or not bringing enough meat (If you cannot feed the tribe willingly, you'll have to feed us unwillingly...). Now people were too afraid to share ideas, even if they had been brilliant.

It had been three winters since the raid, and, surprisingly enough, the tribe was growing. Secratarius re-taught the tribe how to hunt and gather, and starvation was a thing of the past. Yet, people still hated him with a passion. He ruled the tribe with fear, not admiration or cunning. Fear.

The man in the back slowly walked up to Secratarius. "What's your name, boy?", he growled.

"M-my name is t-t-Talu, sir," Talu stammered, obviously terrified.

"Let's hear some of your ideas, if you think you're so much smarter than me,", Secratarius chuckled.

"W-we should stay here... there are animals that m-make good meat to the north-east, and a lake t-that can provide water just over there... we're on a hill that c-can provide protection f-from hostile t-tribes, and there are h-hills in the d-distance that c-could provide good b-building materials in the f-future." Talu explained.

Secratarius considered this for a moment, snapped Talu's neck, and called to the tribe, "We settle here!"


Centinium, circa 4000 BC

(Yes, I know, it's a short update, but it's kinda hard to think of something original for start position.)

CHAPTER 3​

"What do you want?" asked Secratarius, not even looking at the scraggly group of men in front of him.

"Y-your grace, w-we'd like to form a scouting party t-to find m-more information about o-our surroundings... please?" stuttered the leader of the men. The killings had slowed down since Novus Senty-Yum was founding sixteen moons ago, but occasionally, when he was in a bad mood, he'd kill someone with even more gruesome methods. Just a sun ago, he had impaled a man repeatedly for burning down a hut.

The Chief looked up. "Un explorator secui? Perhaps something like that could be useful... especially if these men could fight..." A wicked smile appeared on Secratarius's face. "Yes, you have permission... there are clubs in the armory three huts down. Tell them you have my permission. Now, abeo!"

"Thank you, my leige." The man said, and backed out quickly, the rest following him. They considered it a miracle they were still alive, let alone had permission. They had heard stories of Secratarius routinely ripping men's chests open and removing their hearts at these meetings, which most of the town called Caedes. Most of these stories were false (as were the stories of men bursting into flames after looking into Secratarius's eyes.), but almost all of the people in the settlement believed them. They were based on fact, though. Criminals were dealt with harshly, sometimes having their hearts ripped out or burnt to death. The executions were held in private, and the bodies were strung up outside of the Presertim Tabernus (The cheif's hut).

One key thing about Secratarius had changed since Novus Senty-Yum's founding: he no longer killed for fun. The population had been slowly rising since the raid so long ago, but every person was still precious. He could only afford killing criminals. He enjoyed the executions very much, but they were no longer held every day. Maybe once the population grew he could resume his favorite hobby, but that day was still far off.


The Primoris Explorator Unctum arrived at the top of the hill after a hour long trudge. All ten of them were drenched in sweat, but they could see most of Terrexus (Literally, The Land Surrounding) It had been two years since the meeting, and the men no longer looked like a mob of disorganized kids. They were now hardened warriors, experienced in fighting with animals and, occasionally, tribes threatened by the Senty-Yum.

Secratarius had commanded they had gone due south-east until they got to "it". What "it" was, they didn't know. He had said they would know when they found it. This had made the men doubt their leader's sanity, but, of course, they kept their criticisms to themselves. Now, looking out over the land, they finally knew what "it" was.

"Is that...?" Senatus, the leader of the scouting party whispered. Senatus was the son of Septus, but he had changed his name from his father's when Secratarius spread stories of his cowardice in order to win the tribe's admiration after the murder.

The co-leader, Regulus, responded, "Yeah... Vetus Senty-Yum."


The Rass-Ians had become fat and happy in the years after the raid. The famine lifted soon after the village was captured, and food was plentiful. Hunting was unnecessary, as the herd of cows were slow and trusting. The war-like tribe had no longer needed to make war, as there was enough food for years to come. However, this prosperity came at a price. They had become just as vulnerable and weak as the Senty-Yum were six years ago.

"Sir?" Chief Rass-Arius's page, Spurius, asked the chief.

"Yes, Spurius?" the old man responded. Arius had aged quickly in the last six years, going from a great warrior to an admired government leader. Unlike Secratarius, who ruled by fear, Arius ruled by being trusted and admired. After all, he had won them the village, now named Rasus.

"There were reports of a group of men just outside of the village, in the woods to the north." said Spurius.

Arius considered this, and said, "They're probably just some uncivilized hunters. Leave them be."

"But, sir-" Spurius started.

"Leave them be, Spurius." Arius growled, showing some of his fierceness from his warrior days.

"Yes, sir."

To be continued

Regulus peaked out of the bushes. "It seems safe to attack now, sir."

"No, no, we wait until the middle of the night. We only have ten people, we need the element of surprise," Senatus responded.

Regulus repressed a groan, and said, "If we wait until night, our men will be tired. We should attack now, while they can perform at their best."

"We attack at night. End of discussion," growled Senatus.

"But-"

"We attack at night."

Senatus was far more like his father than he thought, or would like to believe. Even when he was wrong, he would remain completely sure of himself, to the point of endangering his group. He was a great strategist, however, and his leadership had saved the scouts many a time. Because of these successes, he became overconfident and proud.

"Sir, with all due respect, you're wrong. We have been traveling for two winters, and our men have not had a chance to sleep since we spotted the village. We cannot camp, or risk being spotted. Our men would fight best now, but in the dead of night, they would be sloppy and unable to perform their best," Regulus explained.

"We attack at night" Senatus repeated for the third time. He was quickly growing impatient with his second in command.

"Sir, I won't let you endanger the unit."

Senatus grabbed his club in anger, and thrust it in Regulus's face twice. His nose exploded in blood, and was crushed flat by the impact. Regulus tried to scream but no noise would come out.

"Now, will you cross me again?" Senatus asked, staring down into Regulus's face, now covered in blood.

Regulus whimpered softly.

Senatus got up and began to walk up the hill, and yelled down, "I expect you to be ready to attack tonight."

Regulus slowly got to his feet, and just stood there swaying for a moment. Blood continued to pour out of the pit where his nose used to be, but now it began to pour out of his eyes, and a dent in his forehead. His vision began to cloud, and he could no longer feel the immense pain in his head.

Regulus fell back to the ground, dead.


"Sir, sir!" Spurius yelled, running towards Rass-Arius.

"What?" Arius spun around, surprised.

Spurius panted for a moment, and explained, "A body was found on the outskirts of town, sir. His face was completely bashed in. It looks like murder, sir."

"WHAT?!? Has anyone identified him yet?" Arius looked much older in that moment than he had just moments ago. This had been the first murder since the massacre six years ago, and only three people had died of natural causes. Ever since the tribe had moved into the village, they had abandoned the tradition of pushing the elderly and sick off cliffs, and there was no starvation. Occasionally someone caught a disease, but they almost always recovered. There was no longer any need to hunt or fight, and the Rass-Ians no longer had any fighting prowess.

"No, his face had been too mangled for anyone to identify them. But..." Spurius paused.

"What, what?" Arius cried, now frantic.

"Well, he looked... he looked of Senty-Yum decent to me, sir."

Arius's expression instantly hardened.

Arius had had nightmares about this night since the raid. He was a smart man, he knew the Senty-Yum would want revenge for the massacre. And he knew the only suitable revenge for a massacre would be a massacre. It was no longer a fight over the village, but a fight for honor.

"How long until we can effectively defend the city?"

"A few hours. But sir, we don't know if they're even planning on-" Began Spurius, only to be interrupted.

"Just do it."

Arius walked away thinking about how much he needed a day off.


"Where's Regulus?" asked Senatus. The attack was only a few minutes away, and he needed all the help he could get.

"I haven't seen him since you got back from the base of the hill. What happened down there?" responded one of the scouts.

"...Shut up."

The scout did as he was told.

"Okay, men, we're going to continue the assault with or without Regulus. Remember, these barbarians took our homeland from us! Today we get to return the favor!"

The nine men charged down the hillside, clubs and spears in hand. When they arrived at the edge of town, they were surprised to see a perimeter around the village. The scouts were outnumbered at least five to one, and were spotted almost immediately. Most of the defense army began to charge towards the nine men, clubs raised and screaming. "Dammit, Regulus, dammit!", Senatus thought to himself, and prepared to fight.

The forty-seven men that made up the army were untrained and unfit, but had the advantage of numbers and superior weapons, such as sharpened clubs and spears without a bit of rust on them. The men had been expecting a much larger force, and went into the battle confident. It didn't matter if the Senty-Yum were better fighters, they could overwhelm them with shear numbers.

Unfortunately for them, they were wrong.

Each scout was much stronger than the Rass-Ian fighters, able to overpower two or more at a time. The Scouts had encountered the same, or even worse, odds before, and easily killed the majority of the army within fifteen minutes. The rest of the Rass-Ians retreated, thinking that the village would be a more defensible position than the land around the village.

"The village! Now's our chance to take it!" Yelled Senatus, beginning to run towards the village, hs men following him, "Now's our chance for glory!"


"What's the report from the ground?" asked Arius, now holed up in his palace.

"Not good. The defensive army was easily overwhelmed, and the force is charging towards the center of town..." whispered Spurius.

"Dammit!" Yelled Arius, "DAMMIT!"

As soon as Arius finished his little temper-tantrum, Senatus burst throught the palace door.

"Secrartarius sends his regards, sir." Senatus told Arius, and raised his club.

"Wh-" Began Arius, but before he could finish his thought, Senatus's club connected with his face, and all was dark.

Rass-Arius awoke to complete and utter silence. No, not complete. There was a minute groaning, from somewhere above him. Wait, above him? Arius struggled to open his eyes, but they were swollen shut. How could that be? He hadn't gotten in any fights in years. He began to feel around with his hands, attempting to figure out where he was. There was an object above him, weighing about 150 pounds. He felt weak, but he still attempted to lift it. And to his surprise, it was limp and easy to push. Suddenly, he realized that these objects were everywhere around him.

Everything about the night before soon came back to him. He remembered how his forces had lost the battle, how he had been nearly killed by the leader of the Senty-Yum forces. How most, if not all of the tribe he led was killed or enslaved. He nearly cried, right then and there.

No, he could not cry. He still had to figure out where he was and how he got there. He slowly lifted the object above him, eventually pushing it to the side. Sensing light above him, he slowly climbed out of his pit. Arius blindly walked forward, when he hit a wall. Once there, he turned around and struggled to open his eyes again. Without the weight on them, however, he could open his eyes a fraction of an inch. His vision was blurry, but he now knew exactly what he had been buried in.

There were bodies, hundreds of them.


"Sir, sir! The messenger returned today!"

Senatus stood up, excited at the news. "Already? It's only been three moons!"

The scout responded, "Well, apparently the journey's faster when you actually know where you're going. He said that Secratarius commended you on taking the village, and told you to send slaves with the spoils -"

"Yes, he'll be happy with that. 86 pounds of gold! 86!" Senatus interrupted.

"-kill the rest of the slaves, and..."

"Get on with it! Get on with it!" Senatus yelled.

"Well, he said to burn the village to the ground."

"WHAT!?! Did he know what we went through to capture it? I was raised here, dammit! I'd sooner chop my own legs off!"

"It'd probably be best to do what he says, sir. You know what Secratarius can do, sir."

Senatus remembered his own father, whom Secratarius had killed for little else then being temporary leader of his small tribe.

"Yes, I guess... tell the men to set fire to everything..."

"Yes, sir."

Great....

Very good story, but what about all other villages?

I bet Russ-Arius will find some survivors. They will dominate another tribe, and form the Russians...

Crazy huh?

Good, someone got the Rass-Ians - Russian thing going on there. I guess it was kinda obvious, though.

I've only played up to 3580 BC and only one civilization has shown up, and it isn't the Russians. If they do show up, though...

Any constructive criticism or comments are welcome, by the way.