Well, some interesting things happened in this update, but you’ll have to read to find them out.
Chapter III: The “Glory Days” of the Celtic Navy
510 BC- The crew of the CDS Entremont (G-01) stood at the side of the ship. They were watching two armies square off with strange weapons. An army of around 1200 Iroquois, armed with spiky balls and long spears charged up a hill against some 600 Aztecs armed with swords. At first the battle went poorly for the Aztecs, who lost a couple hundred men in about 10 minutes. But then the momentum shifted as the Iroquois grew tired. Eventually, all of the Iroquois using the ball weapons were killed and the remaining Iroquois long-spearmen fled back to their territory.
When news of the combat reached Entremont, King Brennus was shocked. Not because the two foreign armies were fighting, but because of the type of weapons. Soon, names were invented for these weapons: the spiky balls were called maces, and the long spears were pikes.
450 BC- The Celts and Egyptians had not met since the Treaty of Delhi, but after a long debate with his advisors Brennus agreed to see an Egyptian emissary for the purpose of trade. When he came in he quickly made an offer, “We would like to offer you knowledge of a system of government called a republic in exchange for 460 gold.”
Despite the many good things that Brennus had heard about this government type, he feared that it would only worsen the already stressed ties between the main Celtic tribes. So he replied, “No thanks, we’re fine with Despotism for now. However, we are interested in building an embassy in your capital.”
“Capital? We don’t have a capital,” replied the emissary, “all we have is a ship. And even it’s not that big.”
“No capital,” thought Brennus, “that means that if we sink this ship of the Egyptians’, they’ll finally be destroyed.”
The emissary figured from this silence that he was no longer a wanted presence, and left Brennus to his advisers.
430 BC- Ever since the fall of the Egyptian homeland, the Nile River had been a barrier to the Celtic people and military. Because of this problem Brennus had ordered his scientists to find a way to negate this problem. The solution was engineering. With this truly amazing discovery came the knowledge of how to make bridges. Not the flimsy wooden bridges that were found in the gardens of the Japanese to the south, but concrete structures that could span the Nile River. As construction of these bridges was completed, Brennus gave his science adviser orders to look into the secrets of Monotheism.
410 BC- The excitement of the Celtic people that had lasted for 500 years was finally coming to an end. As the excitement calmed several cities fell into unrest. Riots broke out as tribes attacked other tribes, it would be 20 years before they would see peace again.
370 BC- Gandhi had ruled over the peaceful Indian people for many years, and only once had he been on the brink of war. It was long ago that he and Brennus of the Celts had signed a peace treaty. But the treaty expired that day and Gandhi hoped to see Celtic diplomats, not warriors, at his gates. Several hours later, Brennus and his advisors appeared at the gates to the city. “Bring them to me,” Gandhi ordered his servants.
“Greeting Gandhi,” Brennus said, “long time, no see.”
“I presume you plan on continuing your peace with us.” Gandhi said.
“We do. But only under one condition. You must give us knowledge of Monotheism.”
“Very well, that can be arranged. Is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”
“Not at this time. Good bye Gandhi.”
“Farewell Brennus.”
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Hiawatha had heard news of the Celts and Indians peace treaty, and was disturbed when he was contacted by Brennus’ diplomats.
We will renew peace with you for 36 gold and one gold every 20 years until this agreement expires,” the diplomats said.
Hiawatha thought of his military status as he contemplated the deal. He was fairly certain that his forces in Salamanca could hold out against the Celts for several years, but his Arabian citizens wouldn’t stand a chance against the full might of the Celtic army. Also, it would be likely that the Celts would be likely that the Celts would try to bring the Carthaginians into the war, and if they did, his armies would be facing along three-fronted war.
Finally he made up his mind and said, “My domestic adviser will hate me for this, but I will accept your offer.”
Little did he know that the main Celtic army was hundreds of miles away in Central Africa.
310 BC- The crew of the CDS Entremont were among the finest in the Celtic Navy. For many years they had sailed the waters of the Carthaginian Empire. Their continuing mission: to seek out new life, new civilizations, to boldly go where no Celt had gone before. This day was to mark the first “discovery” of a “new civilization”.
Captain Barcangetorix of the Entremont stood at the bow of his vessel, constantly scanning the horizon. Earlier that day, a crewman had reported seeing green sails in the distance. The captain was skeptical about this sighting, because no civilization on his map used green as one of their colors. “Perhaps the crewman was wrong,” the captain thought, “maybe it was just a new type of Carthaginian warship. Only time will tell.”
Several hours later a ship using a green sail became visible. It wasn’t a warship or a galley, but simply a luxury boat. As the vessel drew closer it became apparent that nobility was aboard. Finally, the ships were even, and Barcangetorix ordered a plank be lowered so that the foreigners could board.
Soon, a man walked across the plank and said, “Greetings, my name is Alexander. I am ruler of the Greeks, shall we do trade?”
After a lengthy discussion it was decided that trade would not be possible because of the Greeks lack of gold. As he left Alexander said, “You might want to head north, because your ship is in our territory.”
When the Greeks had moved away from the Entremont, Captain Barcangetorix ordered a northeastern heading, towards a rumored Carthaginian Island.
A week after the meeting of the Greeks, the Entremont neared the shores of a Carthaginian island. This was no normal island, however. On the island there was a towering volcano, and at the bottom of that volcano was the Carthaginian colony. “What stupidity,” thought the crew of the Entremont, several of whom were direct descendants of a Celtic spearman division that had fled for their lives when Mt. Beli Mawr began spewing hot lava from its mouth. “Oh well,” thought the captain, “they’ll have to learn the hard way.”
270 BC – The CDS Lugdunum (G-03) was not the first Celtic ship to be ordered to cross the great Western Ocean. The Alesia had been given the same mission nearly 700 years ago, but it never returned. Thus, the crew was nervous about their future as they journeyed farther from land. But under the command of Captain Magach, the commanders of the fleet feared very little.
But just a few days after losing sight of land a storm struck. At first it was a little wind and rain, but it increased so that after an hour, huge waves battered the puny ship. Captain Magach felt fear for the first time. His heart pounded his ribs just as the waves smashed his oars against the sides of the Lugdunum. But then, just when Magach had gotten over his fear, a huge wave rose and smashed down upon the ship, smashing the mast down upon several sailors. Without its mast the Lugdunum was at the mercy of the sea, and the sea showed none. Within hours all that remained of the once proud ship were matches.
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Brennus was just sitting down for his afternoon meal when Vercingetorix, his military adviser, came running into Brennus’ throne room. “My lord,” he gasped, “the Iroquois have moved a division of 800 iron-clad horsemen into our territory.”
Immediately, Brennus realized that his current garrison would be no match for the Iroquois invaders. “Very well then Vercingetorix, order the armies to break camp and head north. Also, pull our workers back to safety, and send reinforcements from Thebes.
With those orders given, all that Brennus could do was wait.
250 BC – While sailing along the coastline of the Carthaginians, it became apparent to the crew of the CDS Entremont that the cultural style was changing in appearance. Eventually they came upon a city that wasn’t Carthaginian at all. It was inhabited by a people named the French. The French were as advanced as the Carthaginians, but far weaker. It was wondered by many of the crew, how such a great book on military strategy could be written by such a weak people.
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The people of Gergovia had feared the division of Iroquois knights for several years, but finally they were moving away. Some Celtic scouts followed them to the coast of the Arabian Gulf and watched as the Iroquois butchered a force of 600 Aztec Jaguar Warriors and continued south. The threat from the Iroquois had ended, for now.
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Soon after learning of the end of the Iroquois threat in Arabia, Brennus was informed of an Egyptian emissary at the gates. As the emissary was lead into the palace, Brennus realized that the peace treaty with Egypt expired that year and prepared to hear the Egyptian’s begging.
But when the Egyptian came in, he did not beg. In fact, he acted as though he was Brennus' superior. According to eh emissary, Cleopatra would not pay tribute to Brennus as part of the peace treaty.
“Do you realize that you are so close to destruction that a hole in one boat would annihilate your civilization? There will be no peace in our time!” Brennus shouted. “Send this man on his way, but if he nears any of our cities, bring me his head on a platter!”
The Egyptian ran from the palace as fast as his legs could carry him, to deliver the news to Cleopatra. Once again, the Celts and Egyptians were at war.
230 BC – The CDS Alesia (G-02A) wasn’t the first ship to bear its name. Many years before the commissioning of the present vessel, another Alesia had been lost at sea. Hopefully, this ship would have better luck.
As the Alesia sailed onward it became apparent to the crew that they were no longer in the waters of the Aztecs, but rather of a people called the English. At the moment, they were looking for a city so that first contact could be made.
Finally, after weeks of searching, clusters of huts could be seen dotting the coast. When the crew of Alesia drew near the city they were greeted by a woman who called herself Queen Elizabeth of the English. The only agreement that was reached between the captain and the Queen was that the English and Celts would not go to war at that time.
After the meeting with the Queen, the crew of the Alesia sailed southwest out of the North Sea.
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At the same time the sailors on board the Entremont were meeting their own new civilization. This new civilization was called the Sumerians. They were an unadvanced people whose only boats were things called curraghs. However, their leader was very kind and did acknowledge the Celtic superiority upon first contact. After the meeting, Barcangetorix ordered his vessel northwards.
After several weeks of sailing the rough waters to the west that were long considered impassible, the CDS Camulodunum (G-04) entered a section of water that was sailable to the somewhat flimsy galley. These waters were found to be the property of a civilization called the Scandinavians, who were not advanced compared to the Celts, but were at about the level of the Japanese. But without much interaction between the crew of the Camulodunum and the Vikings, as the Scandinavians were also called, no trade took place. Instead, they simply agreed that they wouldn’t kill each other.
IBT – While patrolling the waters west of the English, the Alesia catches sight of the final Egyptian ship sailing by the British Isles. This came as a complete shock to me, as they were sailing towards my empire.
210 BC – Excitement reigned on board the CDS Alesia as they set off towards where the captain had predicted the Egyptians would be. Several days later, a mast baring the colors of the Egyptians was sighted on the horizon. The oarsmen doubled their pace, but the Egyptian ship remained just out of reach.
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As the Camulodunum sailed through the uncharted waters of the far west it ran into some interesting people. These people were called Zulu and Dutch, and were not very advanced. According to the scientist onboard, they were somewhat short of the Middle Ages. But both of them were so poor that no trades could be agreed upon and the Camulodunum moved north.
IBT – The crew of the Alesia had been pursuing the Egyptians for several days. Suddenly, the Egyptian ship turned around and began rowing towards the Celts. This came as a surprise to the captain, after all, why would they risk their civilization simply to destroy a single boat? The move also caught the drum-beaters by surprise. Soon their beats became unsynchronized and the Celtic ship began to turn at odd angles. Meanwhile the Egyptians bombarded them with arrows, adding to the chaos. But the Celts would not go down without a fight and began firing off fire-arrows at the Egyptians. The fires caused by the arrows soon damaged both ships incredibly severely, but then the mast of the Alesia snapped in two. Soon the Celts began abandoning ship and swimming for land as the Alesia slipped beneath the waves.
170 BC – The crew of the CDS Entremont had not seen anyone, other than Sumerians, for several years. But as they neared another city, though it looked Sumerian, it was not Sumerian. These people were called Hittites; they were advanced, yet extremely weak. Captain Barcangetorix took advantage of this weakness and demanded knowledge of Theology, a band of slaves, and the entire Hittite treasury of 3 gold. In exchange the Hittites received peace. The Entremont then continued its journey north.
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When Gandhi learned that Celtic diplomats from their embassy in Delhi wished to speak with him about trades, he was immediately interested. The Celts were, by far, the wealthiest people on the map. He granted the Celtic request for an audience expecting to be offered gold. Instead, the diplomats made an interesting proposal. They wanted a right of passage agreement with Gandhi in addition to knowledge of Feudalism, but would also throw in information about Theology. Gandhi was a religious man and was perplexed by the idea of Theology and accepted the trade without hesitation.
Within a week of the agreement’s signing there came reports of Celtic forces moving through Indian territory and building up on the Japanese border. But Gandhi was not interested in that, instead he spent most of his time reading the latest book on the history of Vishnu’s Avataras.
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Having traded away knowledge of Theology to the Indians, Brennus ordered his diplomats to go to the Aztecs next.
Montezuma was intrigued. Several Celtic diplomats had offered information on Theology in exchange for the ideas of the Republic and his entire treasury. This, Montezuma thought, was a good deal. After all, his entire treasury was only 5 gold large. And so he responded, “We will gladly take the offer of the generous Celtic people.”
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Cleopatra was worried. Her remaining vessel was nearly destroyed and she couldn’t risk any more combat with the Celts, otherwise her ship would be destroyed. So when a Celtic diplomat asked to discuss terms of peace through diplomatic channels, she was overjoyed. The terms were simple and acceptable: peace from the Celts for Chivalry, the Egyptian treasury, and a tribute of 4 gold every 20 years. Peace was made with the Celts yet again and the Second Celtic-Egyptian War ended.
150 BC- I receive a disturbing message.
Huh. That wasn’t expected. I never received any notification that anyone declared war on them. So, this is my hypothesis: Because of my peace treaty the Egyptians were bankrupted and couldn’t afford to keep their galley.
I know that this has holes in it, so any ideas might be interesting.
130 BC- More civilizations are discovered: the Chinese (near the Kamchatka Peninsula), the Byzantines (in Mexico), and the Persians (in the Eastern United States). An interesting note is that the second Persian city that I see is Zimbabwe. Looks like Darius has had some dealings with Shaka, not like I care.
So, some interesting things DID happen. Any advice, comments, or questions?
. Yes, there is war, but with Egypt. A few things about the set will be posted in the spoiler box...
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But anyway, taking Japan sounds like a good Idea.
the Egyptians have been destroyed!
