Pharao's Log, 1354 ADA
After the stunning success of our new gunpowder weaponry my generals urged me to greatly expand this branch of our military. Of course I gladly obliged. More DAKKA!
I received reports of another plague striking my lands, starting in the region of former Ethiopia. But it turns out I'm such a splendid ruler that the effects of this supposed mass extinction are barely noticable given how well supplied my populace is with plentiful and varied foodstuffs. Even after I cut their butter rations to instead make more guns!
Pharao's Log, 1357 ADA
Other places are taking it less well I hear, including the upstart Turks. Who even managed to lose once mighty Babylon to the sorry remains of the Caliphate who seemingly can't decide whether they're Abbasid or Rashidun.
Oh come on, I thought I was done with those pesky camelfreaks once and for all!
Pharao's Log, 1372 ADA
On their way home my troops decided on a further test of their new weaponry by using some desert-dwelling sorry remains of the former Ethiopian kingdom as target practice. Well, whatever. Literally nobody cares.
Pharao's Log, 1375 ADA
But it paid off and my generals proudly reported our musket troops are now far better trained than before. Specifically, they excel in combating other gunpowder troops. Uh, okay. Did they hand out muskets to the men, women and children of Hobya before starting their target practice? My generals suddenly became very quiet. They knew it would displease me mightily if things happened that way.
They knew I damn well would have wanted to watch the spectacle!
Pharao's Log, 1378 ADA
Meanwhile some explorers in painstaking research managaged to recover the mostly burned remains of some religious texts found in the ruins of Sana'a and proudly presented me their results. Poor fools, they shouldn't have bothered.
Pharao's Log, 1387 ADA
The whore of Babylon is at it again. But at least the name stays mostly the same, unlike with Jerusalem-Arru-something-Alhowdoyoupronouncequds.
Turkey meanwhile is taking more of the former Arab land but wisely decided to settle further east instead of challenging the fishing grounds of Aksum like Sana'a did. I guess the ruins left behind by my bombards were a suitable warning!
Pharao's Log, 1390 ADA
Oh COME ON!
____________________________________________
VROOP VROOP VROOP...
The blue box gently materialized on well-worn stone, once slick with the blood of human sacrifice but now in disrepair with wild weeds and ferns sprouting from the cracks running through it in a complex pattern. The door slid open and a tall figure clad in a brown coat strode out, his face beaming with childlike excitement.
At last, the Doctor entered the scene.
"Next stop, the discovery of America", he announced to the empty air behind him where usually a companion, usually young, British and smoking hot, followed. But no such person was with him now. It wasn't that long since he lost Rose and it would be a while longer until he could connect with another person again. But still, his need to deliver exposition, ramble and appear oh so smart didn't subside and thus instead he talked to the empty air. It is a period of time in the Doctor's history rarely talked about because it is rather sad.
Also, quite a bit creepy.
"You're gonna love this one, it's a great time full of wonder, exploration and excitement. Well, except for the slavery part. Couple wars and other assorted cruelties. Bit of genocide too, less than could have been if only because various diseases were faster." A rueful look came over his face, but it quickly faded to be replaced by his former enthusiasm, though perhaps a bit less honest than before. "Still, an exciting time!"
He spread his arms wide and took a deep breath, relishing the unmarred fresh air mixed with the fragrants of sea and jungle. But then his excitement was once again supplanted, this time by puzzlement.
"Wait a second..."
Alert eyes roamed over his surroundings. Where a bustling civilization should be he only saw empty streets and collapsed structures, a once great city turned a withered garden. The Chichen Itza, a timeless monument to the ingenuity of the Mesoamerican people, stood abandoned and halfcomplete, now plundered like a quarry to use its plentiful pieces of cut stone to supply other structures, the few buildings still showing signs of inhabitation. Thick layers of salt glistened on the seaward walls, where the breeeze and waves blew a steady spray of water in. Whatever caused this downfall, it happened a long time ago.
It was a hall of the dead.
"It can't be..." The Doctor hurried back inside the TARDIS, checking its readings. "1402? That's almost a hundred years too early. Why did you bring me here?" A gentle hum was his only answer. He couldn't make sense of the data provided by his instruments. It was IMPOSSIBLE.
"How, how could this... Who..." Then at last his eyes fell on the horizon, beheld a fleet of sleek three-mast vessels about to make landfall and the flag flying at their top.
Abdju especially is a monster, look at dose stats on the cities screen. And the number of wonders is quite something too(just noticed the image got deleted, weird).
