Pax Elohim (Fall from Heaven II: Shadow)

[EverNoob]

By popular demand I've picked the Elohim for this story. I'm loosely going for an Altar victory, but it's not set in stone and might change depending on the situation. For starters I'm gonna try to found Empyrean first, then Order.

Map: Terra
Size: Large
Climate: Temperate
Sealevel: Low
Era: Ancient
Speed: Normal
World Wrap: Cylindrical
Difficulty: Immortal

All other settings normal.

The thing about the Terra map is that the Infernals can become powerful if they spawn on the empty continent.

There are 10 civs in total. I'll be playing Einion Logos. All other civs are random, except for the Sheaim under Tebryn Arbandi.

​

The pedia entry of the Elohim isn't complete. The Elohim also have another UU which is the Monk, and 2 other unique buildings: the Chancel of Guardians and the Reliquary.

Pax Elohim​

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 - The Lost Shrines
Chapter 2 - Rising Tensions
Chapter 3 - Tebryn's Folly
Chapter 4 - The Clan's Gambit
Chapter 5 - The Dawn in Faeryl's Heart
Chapter 6 - Shining Light of the Empyrean
Chapter 7 - Passing the Torch
Chapter 8 - Fall of the Hippus Empire
Chapter 9 - Broken Compact
Chapter 10 - The Winter War​

 

[Ozbenno]

Nice!

What patch are you on?

 

[Rex rgis of Ter]

Looking forward to it!
What difficulty are you playing? If it's less than immortal the Empyrean will be easy to get, as none of the AIs care about getting it.

 

[EverNoob]

Oh I forgot to include difficulty level. I'm playing on immortal as usual, and using 0.31 patch c.

 

[EverNoob]

Chapter 1 - The Lost Shrines

Year 0-55



Her Majesty Ethne the White, Queen of the Elohim nation,
and Lord Einion Logos, Head of the Order of Elohim​

[size=+1]They were both sitting in Queen Ethne's private study at the palace, as they did every morning, discussing and planning the everyday affairs of the nation over a cup of tea. Today Lord Einion had brought with him a dusty map of Erebus, no doubt dating back from the Age of Magic.

- "As you can see, Your Majesty, the Pyre of the Seraphic lies far to the north of the Abbey. Far to the east is the Pool of Tears and the Tomb of Sucellus. According to records from the Age of Magic, it took at least two weeks of travel to reach those shrines, on horseback and with roads. In this present Age, on foot, it would no doubt take months."

Spoiler Ancient map of the shrines :

​

Spoiler Elohim map :

​

The Towering Desert gets its name from a pair of Ancient Towers in the center of the desert. The Mystic Forest is so named because of a magical aura that permeates the forest. The aura originates from a Mana Node deep in the forest.

- Ethne stared at the map thoughtfully. "Since the ice has melted our scouts have been venturing farther into the wild. It appears the thaw has brought with it a surge in wildlife and monsters. The wilds are as dangerous as ever. Lord Logos, I believe a journey to the shrines would be much too dangerous".

Spoiler Scout reports :

​

- "I concur, Your Majesty. Though I live only for the day that we regain our lost shrines, sacrificing precious lives to achieve it is unacceptable. We have already waited thousands of years, we can wait a little longer."

- "Since we're both in agreement the matter is settled then. Now, Lord Logos, let us discuss the current diplomatic situation. The trade negotiations with the Kuriotates went exceedingly well. Cardith Lorda is wise and rules his people well, he would make a most trustworthy ally. But I'm worried how our new treaty will affect our relations with the other nations."

- "Pay no heed to the others, my Queen. Your assessment of Cardith Lorda bears the truth. Of the other rulers I hear only wicked things. Auric believes himself a god and has somehow tricked the Illians into worshiping him. From Hannah I sense an evil taint, though I cannot determine its exact nature. Jonas prides himself in being more civilized than his brethren, but he shares their barbaric love of violence and death. And Tebryn reeks of necromancy, from him I fear the worst. My Queen, nothing we do will ever earn the respect of these dark ones, the best we can hope for is to be left in peace. The Kuriotates and the Elohim are in the same situation, if we become allies the others will think twice before making any aggressive move toward us. Cardith Lorda understands this as well.

Spoiler Diplomatic summary :

​

[/SIZE]

 

[EverNoob]

Spoiler Turn details :

Year 0



The Elohim automatically know the location of all unique features on the map. To the north is the Pyre of the Seraphic, to the east is the Pool of Tears and the Tomb of Sucellus. The map is zoomed out at maximum so the distance is pretty far.



The Elohim start on Pacifism, switching to Nationhood now since early expansion on Pacifism is tough.

Year 1 - Cahir Abbey



Built Cahir Abbey on the border of a forest and a desert, near flood plains. The health bonus from forests should compensate for the sickness from flood plains.

First tech will be Mysticism for God King and Elder Councils.

Year 3 - Our scout found the secrets of Exploration from a tribal village!

Year 4 - There's a few Barrows in the area, clearing them out.

Year 5 - Auric Ulvin of the Illians



We encountered Illian scouts west of Cahir Abbey.

Year 16 - Our scouts got killed by lions.

Year 28

Researched Mysticism, now going for Agriculture.



Switching to God King and Religion.

Year 34 - Completed Elder Council in Cahir Abbey, now training Settlers.

Year 39 - Hannah the Irin of the Lanun



We just met Hannah and she's already annoyed toward us. Lanun land is located northeast of Cahir Abbey.

Year 41 - Jonas Endain of the Clan



We don't know where Clan lands are located. I included the score ranking for the civs too, though this early in the game it doesn't matter much.

Year 42 - Tebryn Arbandi of the Sheaim



We meet our evil counterpart.

Researched Agriculture, now going for Education. I plan to cottage early.

Year 48 - Cardith Lorda of the Kuriotates



Finally! A potential ally.

Year 55 - Signed an Open Borders agreetment with the Kuriotates.

 

[tiberion02]

Goodie, another EverNoob story! Love them every time.

 

[Gooblah]

Cool. I must admit, you caught me off guard with the skipping of the settling and shooting straight to the leaders.

The font works for the Elohim, I guess. Do they garner some special benefit by getting all the shrines? Also, the huge STR 7 (+2 Death) barbarian over the Tomb of Sucellus..How do you get rid of him? I didn't notice the Tomb in my latest game, and settled. Evermore is unprotected, and I'm scared.

 

[EverNoob]

Thanks for the encouragements guys

Cool. I must admit, you caught me off guard with the skipping of the settling and shooting straight to the leaders.

...Do they garner some special benefit by getting all the shrines? Also, the huge STR 7 (+2 Death) barbarian over the Tomb of Sucellus..How do you get rid of him?

Maybe I should've started with some lore on the Elohim. Here I'm assuming that Cahir Abbey has been around since the Age of Magic. The Elohim retreated to the Abbey during the Age of Ice. So there was no settling per se.

There's no benefits from getting all the shrines, just benefits from each individual shrine. I think you're talking about Barbatos the Lich guarding the Broken Sepulcher. That's the counterpart of the Tomb of Sucellus. The Tomb provides +1 happiness and Life mana, the Sepulcher gives you the Staff of Souls (from defeating the lich) and Death Mana.

 

[Gooblah]

Oh yeah! You're right. God, that guy is totally evil. He slaughtered 4 scouts and a Warrior! So much wasted production...

 

[EverNoob]

Chapter 2 - Rising Tensions

Year 58-147
​

He always disliked negotiations with the Sheaim emissaries. The stench of death always followed them, as surely they were all Adepts of Necromancy. This one was particularly unpleasant. His voice was soft, sibilant, and although he uttered words of respect and deference it did nothing to conceal his obvious contempt of the Elohim.

"O mosst wise Lord Logosss. My masster the mighty Tebryn Arbandi sends his regardsss. However...he iss dissturbed that you continue to trade with our enemy, the Kuriotatesss. Furthermore, I am greatly inssulted that I, an official emissssary of the great Tebryn Arbandi, am not allowed an audience with the Queen. I hear that Cardith Lorda's ambasssador meetss with the Queen hersself."

Einion Logos hid his annoyance. Having a necromancer in the same room as the Queen was out of the question, the emissary was fully aware of that. "I speak for the Queen herself, as she is away on matters of state at the moment. But you may rest assured that whatever you tell me goes directly to the Queen. Also you may reassure your master that we, and the Kuriotates, wish no harm to the Sheaim. As a matter of fact, we would gladly trade with the Sheaim as well. Your emnity is misplaced as we could all benefit from trade".

It was the opening the emissary had been waiting for. "That is mosst generouss of you Lord Logoss. But you know my master caresss little for earthly concernsss. As such he hasss no interest in commerce. Secretsss are so much more preciousss".

Predictable as the sunrise. So that was the emissary's real mission. Tebryn wanted the guarded secrets of the Elohim, as everyone always did. Such inquiries invariably ended in pointless deaths. Sighing inwardly Einion asked "What secret does your master seek? Before you answer, know that we have guarded our secrets since the Age of Dragons, longer than any civilization has lasted. And we will continue to guard those secrets long after the Sheaim are nothing but dust".

If the emissary noticed the note of caution he did not show it. "It isss but a little thing really, a smidgeon of a sssecret. My master allowsss you to name any price for it, he only wantsss the location of the Godslayer".

"Well on this subject I can tell you the truth. We don't know where it is so there is no secret to reveal." It really was the truth, but he knew the emissary would not believe him. "If I may ask, why does your master seek the Godslayer? Last I heard, Mulcarn was the last god to set foot on Erebus. With his death the gods no longer walk the land".

"I do not presssume to question of the will of my master. I am only his humble ssservant. But I beg you to reconsssider the request. My master ssso dislikes to be refused."

Einion was tired of this. He knew no amount of words would placate Tebryn. This issue would inevitably have to be settled with spears, resulting in more futile deaths. "I've already given you my answer. If your master doesn't like it, he can ask our legion of Horsemen himself".

____________________​

Einion Logos was in a good mood today. He was sitting comfortably in his chambers at the Abbey, going through the weekly reports on the new settlements. Glens of Killybegs was developping in peace, despite being so near the Sheaim border. The horse breeders at Inishbofin continued to successfully repel barbarian raids. The Horseman contingent at Slane had managed to clear out the Barrow nearby. All was going well. Still, he had not forgotten Tebryn's threats from years ago, and had doubled the garrison at Glens of Killybegs awhile go.

Spoiler New settlements :

​

The Queen had recently negotiated trade agreements with the Illians and the Svartalfar. The Elohim cannot let their guard down, but it certainly was a step in the right direction. Still, she ordered a deeper investigation of Faeryl Viconia. It was curious that the elven Winter Court continued rule even though the long winter was over. Apparently Arendel Phaedra, Queen of the Summer Court, had accidentally fallen out a window to her death. The great question was how such a thing could have happened. Einion was about to reflect further on this when he was interrupted.

"Lord Logos! Lord Logos!!" One of his scouts burst into his chambers, sweating and out of breath. "A Sheaim army has crossed the border and is marching straight for Glens of Killybegs!"

​

Spoiler Diplomatic situation :

​

 

[EverNoob]

Spoiler Turn details :

Year 58 - Glens of Killybegs



We build the settlement of Glens of Killybegs near the Sheaim. The idea is to cut off their expansion.

Year 63 - Built Pagan Temple in Cahir Abbey and assigned a Priest specialist.

Yeat 69

Done researching Education, now going for Animal Husbandry. If there are Horses nearby then we'll go for early Horsemen. The Defender trait works well with mounted units (+10% withdrawal rate even outside cultural borders).



Switching to Apprenticeship and Agriculture.

Year 76 - Orthus, the Barbarian King, has appeared in a distant land.

Year 81



Mag Tuireadh, the Great Prophet, has appeared at Cahir Abbey. Settling him as a Great Specialist in Cahir Abbey since it'll synergize well with God King. The extra gold and production will help early expansion.

Begun building cottages.

Year 88

Done researching Animal Husbandry.



There are Horses in the tundras south of Cahir Abbey. The next settlement will be built there. There's also Horses on the western edge of the Towering Desert, but it's too far.

Since we're going to have Horses, now researching Horseback Riding. Building Scouts now so we can upgrade them directly to Horsemen later.

Year 91 - Jonas Endains is demanding that we stop trading with the Kuriotates.

Year 92 - Alexis of the Calabim



That makes alot of evil civs around. Looks like Cardith Lorda and I will really need to stick together. Included a score ranking of the civs.



Diplomatic Summary.

Year 95 - Faeryl Viconia of the Svartalfar



Yet another evil race. With this many evil civs around a strong military is NOT an option.

Tebryn Arbandi is demanding that we stop trading with the Kuriotates.

Year 96 - Inishbofin



The settlement of Inishbofin is built near the Horses south of Cahir Abbey.

Year 97-98 - Barbarian Raids

Barbarians are entering our lands, mobilizing our Warriors to intecept them before they can pillage the countryside.

Year 106 - Tebryn Arbandi is insisting again that we stop trading with the Kuriotates. Will have to watch out for him.

Year 107 - Done researching Horseback Riding, now going for Writing to open up Trade.

Year 115 - Signed an Open Borders agreement with Auric Ulvin.

Year 116 - Slane



We build the settlement of Slane near the flood plains north of Cahir Abbey. There's a Barrow nearby, going to clear it once we have Horsemen.

Year 126 - Done researching Writing, now going for Trade.

Year 128 - Signed an Open Border agreement with Faeryl Viconia.

Year 131 - The Altar

The Great Prophet Aengus Saone appeared at Cahir Abbey. Used him to build the Altar of Luonnotar (I) in Cahir Abbey. This allows us to assign 2 Priest specialists (Pagan Temple + Altar)without even a religion yet. The plan is to time the next Great Prophet with the founding of the Empyrean.

Building a road leading to Kuriotates land to open trade routes.

Year 140

Researched Trade, now going for Philosophy.

Traded techs with Cardith Lorda: Our Mysticism for his Crafting.



We've upgraded our Scouts to Horsemen. The majority of the Horsemen will be stationed at Glens of Killybegs since that is the most vulnerable city.

Year 145



Cleared out the Barrow near Slane.

Year 147 - Tebryn's Folly



Tebryn Arbandi has declared war on us without provocation!

 

[stp]

As good as ever. By the way, don't forget to update your signature.

 

[Nonobots]

I think there is another unique feature south east at least I think I see a dot on the mini map.

Edit: no wait it was dust on my monitor...

 

[EverNoob]

I think there is another unique feature south east at least I think I see a dot on the mini map.

Edit: no wait it was dust on my monitor...

omg you're actually right! There's the Maelstrom in the southeast corner of the minimap! In addition to the dust on your monitor

 

[EverNoob]

Chapter 3 - Tebryn's Folly

Year 147-165

Excerpt from "Essentials of Centaur Warfare"
by Gilcrass the Centaur​

In the following section of our chapter, we analyze the war between the Sheaim and our friends the Elohim during the years 147-165 of Rebirth. As is well known, the Elohim prevailed over the Sheaim within a short amount of time, relying chiefly on calvalry forces. This case study will serve to illustrate many principles of cavalry warfare applicable to centaur warfare.

Early Phase

In the early phase of the war, the Elohim adopted a defensive posture toward the Sheaim. There were two major Sheaim incursions into Elohim lands. The first incursion consisted of a mixed force of Skeletons and Scouts, and the second was more varied, consisting of Warriors, Adepts, Skeletons and Scouts. The Sheaim's goal was to capture Glens of Killybegs.

The way in which the Elohim defeated the Sheaim illustrates the principles of using calvalry as a defensive force. Contrary to other types of military units, cavalry cannot be used to defend a fortified position. Therefore one must attack preemptively when the enemy is vulnerable. In the case where the enemy has superior forces, cavalry's exceptional mobility permits hit-and-run tactics. Thereby weakening the enemy and preventing him from mounting an effective offensive.

​

Sheaim Skeletons were especially effective in close combat, as they did not tire or lose morale. However their slowness was easily exploited by the Elohim Horsemen. Horsemen would attack and withdraw before Skeletons had time to form an effective counterattack.​

Counterattack Phase

After successfully defeating the bulk of the Sheaim's army. The Elohim switched to an offensive posture. This illustrates how cavalry's high mobility allows a quick reversal from defence to offence. At the Battle of Graelingvig, the Sheaim held a heavily fortified hilltop position. The Elohim used hit-and-run tactics to wear down the entrenched Warriors before committing to a full-scale attack.

​

The victory at Graelingvig left the Sheaim lands wide open for Elohim Horsemen to roam their territory with impunity. Again, the Horsemen's high mobility allowed the Elohim to reach the Sheaim capital, Galveholm, before Tebryn Arbandi could mount an effective defence. When the Elohim forces arrived at the gates of Galveholm, the Sheaim army was still recovering from earlier skirmishes and had not been allowed the time to recruit and reorganize to reach full fighting capacity yet. As a result the Sheaim were defeated with very few Elohim casualties.

​

Conclusion of the War

Having lost their major production center, the Sheaim were unable to replenish their army. In order to end the war sooner, the Elohim quickly converged on Tongurstad and captured the city. This ensured that the Sheaim would not pose a threat in the future. Having lost three cities in such a short amount of time, Tebryn Arbandi was forced to yield. As a form of war reparation, he was forced to reveal his Knowledge of the Ether to Einion Logos.​

Spoiler Elohim lands after the war :

As I have shown, the Elohim Horsemen's swiftness allowed Einion Logos to outmaneuver Tebryn Arbandi at every turn, and attack the Sheaim when and where they were most vulnerable. Elohim casualties were low for two reasons: the use of hit-and-run tactics to avoid pitched melee battles and an early conclusion to the war through speed.

​

 

[EverNoob]

Spoiler Turn details :

Year 147



Tebryn's first wave consists of 1 Skeleton and 3 Scouts (attacking cities with scouts???). We have 3 Horsemen and 2 Warriors at Glens of Killybegs. Since we have the superior force, we attack them. The goal isn't to kill all the invaders, but to destroy the Skeleton and a couple of Scouts.



Managed to seriouly weaken the Skeleton and kill all 3 Scouts. We can pursue the Skeleton next turn.

Faeryl Viconia is demanding we give them the secrets of Writing. Her beauty matches her uncanny sense of timing...Since we can't afford to piss her off right now we've yielded to her demand.

Year 148 - Garryvoe



Built the settlement of Garryvoe on the southern edge of the Towering Desert.

Our Horseman killed the Skeleton. Once our troops are completely healed and reinforcements arrive, we'll attempt a counterattack at the nearby Sheaim settlement of Graelingvig.

Year 152 - Done researching Philosophy, now going for Way of the Wise.

Year 154



Tebryn's second wave consists of 1 Skeleton, 1 Adept, 1 Warrior, and 3 Scouts. There's also a 2nd Skeleton hanging back. By now we have 5 Horsemen and 3 Warriors at Glens of Killybegs. Once again we attack the invaders preemptively.



The second wave is eliminated. I don't know why he's attacking with Scouts for.

Year 156 - Sending out our counterattack force (4 Horsemen + 2 Warriors) toward the Sheaim settlement of Graelingvig.

Year 157 - Battle of Graelingvig



The settlement is on a hill and defended by 3 Warriors. One of the defending Warriors has Guerilla I, the other 2 have Combat I.



Since Graelingvig only had 1 population, it is automatically razed.

Year 159 - We've probably defeated the bulk of Tebryn's forces, he's now huddling in his cities. We're using this opportunity to pillage his improvements, especially cottages.

Year 160

Done researching Way of the Wise, now going for Honor. Empyrean here we come! Curiously not a single religion has been founded yet.

I can't remember who I traded techs to (I played this yesterday), but I think I traded Philosophy to Cardith for Mining and Masonry, and to Auric for Cartography and Fishing.

Now that we have Masonry, we've begun building a Marble Quarry near Inishbofin.

Year 162 - Battle of Galveholm



Our forces arrive at the Sheaim capital, Galveholm. It is defended by 1 injured Warrior, 1 Skeleton and 1 injured Scout. There's another Sheaim city to the north, Tongurstad. That one is defended by 2 Warriors.



Galveholm contains the Catacomb Libralus! Next is the city of Tongurstad.

Year 164-165 - Battle of Tongurstad



We easily capture Tongurstad. It was only defended by 2 Warriors.

I suspect Tebryn only has 1 city left, plus I don't want to acquire too many cities far from the capital because of maintenance cost. Therefore I'm signing a peace treaty and asking for war reparations. The terms of the peace treaty is that Tebryn gives us his World Map and Knowledge of the Ether.





The Sheaim's new capital, Grottiburg, is located just southeast of Galveholm.



There is Incense near the Svartalfar border at Tongurstad. Will make sure to build plenty of culture producing buildings there to keep it in our borders.

Spoiler World Map :

According to Tebryn's World Map, the Sheaim have a second city on the other side of Lanun territory, Sludgehome. Alexis controls the Pyre of the Seraphic and Faeryl Viconia controls both the Pool of Tears and the Tomb of Sucellus. Also, there are 2 additional civs we haven't met yet: the Sidar and the Hippus.

We trade Fishing, Way of the Wise and our World Map to Cardith Lorda for his knowledge of Construction.

Spoiler Map of Annexation :

Planning to build a new settlement on or near the ruins of Graelingvig to claim the nearby Cotton and Gold.

 

[Ozbenno]

Great write up. Tebryn yearned for oblivion just a bit too much I think!

 

[TheJopa]

I love this, keep up!

 

[EverNoob]

Chapter 4 - The Clan's Gambit

Year 166-176


​

Ragh fed his wolf, as he did every night. He always made sure to feed it, ever since it ate his friend Thork last summer. The boss got mad and had beat Ragh till he promised never to let it happen again. But that's not why Ragh fed his wolf regularly. It's because Ragh didn't have a lot of friends. At the moment his boss was talking, saying their orders were to raid the Elohim town of Slane. Ragh wasn't too happy about the whole idea, but he didn't say anything and just kept feeding his wolf. He didn't want to get the boss mad.

"Ummm boss? I hear dat Elohim kill 'em Sheaim skullitons, dey gotta be plenty strong..." Muk was interrupted by the boss' fist in his face. Ragh shook his head. Muk was a new Wolf Rider, maybe Ragh should've warned him to keep quiet when the boss gave orders.

"Skullitons got notin' in da head, dey stoopid! Dat why Elohim kill 'em!" The boss shot back. It was true skeletons had empty heads, Ragh thought. But skeletons never talked, so Ragh wasn't sure they were stupid. Maybe they're smart enough to know talking makes the boss mad. But then he realized Ogres were pretty stupid ,yet very dangerous. Therefore the boss had to be wrong, you could be stupid and strong. Ragh was particularly proud of this realization. Thork always said that Ragh was the smartest Goblin he ever met. Poor Thork.

​

The next day they rode through the Elohim border and were in sight of Slane within a few hours. It was located next to a river, surrounded by vast plains stretching as far as Ragh could see. He paused for a moment to take in the view. The first thing he noticed was how clean it was, there were no piles of ogre dung, no rotting bodies, just fresh grassland.

Soon he saw a cloud of dust in the town's direction. It seemed to be moving toward them, very fast. As the cloud got closer Ragh could make out big humans, riding tall horses, wielding long spears. Ragh started to feel very small. Suddenly his wolf mount didn't seem so ferocious anymore.

​

"Attack!!!" His boss screamed out and charged toward the Elohim Horsemen. Being the boss he had the honour of going first into every battle. An honour he didn't enjoy for long because he was the first to be speared. In a heartbeat the Elohim were upon them. Disorganized and frightened by the sudden death of their boss, Ragh's group was getting slaughtered.

​

Ragh turned his wolf around and rode away as fast as he could.