Empire in Ashes

World of Our Ancestors: The Criscan Confederation

It is commonly known that the various tribes of Crisca had begun to arrive in the region now called Alaren Crisca* ("Criscan Heartland") around 4,700 BC. The tribes warred with each other constantly, and society in Alaren Crisca did not progress for many years.

Around 4,000 BC, the city of Criscopolis was founded on the silver shores of Lake Crisco. According to popular Pagan Criscan legend, the city was founded by Arae I, a heroine who reigned as first Lady of the Criscans, and whom unified the tribes though diplomacy and a skirmish against the rebellious Sirian tribe. The legend goes on to state that Criscopolis thrives under Arae I for 1,000 years, and she died only after the last tribes had been conquered and the Criscans unified forever...

Excavations of Alaren Crisca in 1923, 1944, 1979, and 2010 revealled the existance of around 7-10 distinct settlements, and corpses dating from 4,700 BC to 3,500 BC exist in the area. After World War Three left Criscopolis in ruin, a grand excavation in 2028 revealled that the Old Imperial Palace was simply an expansion of a primitive, but very large meeting house that was built from stone around 4,000 BC. A female skeleton from the realitively same time was found, and the ancient Criscan symbol for a mother was carved in stone next to her. (The symbol consists of a woman with her arms enclosed as if to embrace her children, in this case, the Criscans). Arae is the Ancient Criscan word for mother.

Historians now believe that Criscopolis had been formed by a confederation of 6 or so tribes, large enough to populate the whole of the city with 1,000 people. Independent settlements were maintained withing reasonable distance of Criscopolis, one for each tribe.

What has been known for many years was that by 2,800 BC, Crisca was a confederacy of 5 Criscan groups. The Alaren, the Lian, the Opoli, the Stohr, and the Inderaci. Each tribe had a large town as a capital, and the central capital was Criscopolis, controlled by the Lian. The Confederation expanded rapidly, and at its height, the city of Sun Crisc had been founded on the shores of Lake Crisco and brought great power to the Criscans.

The Confederacy was ruled by a Lady or Lord, who was taken from the ruling family of whatever faction deemed to be most powerful. This was almost exclusively the Lian as they controlled Criscopolis and its wealth. The Confederacy council consisted of the Lady or Lord, and the leaders from each other tribe, in addition to the Elder from each village, and the mayors of any towns that existed.

According to records, in 2,345 BC, the Alaren, whom were the most powerful next to the Lian, rallied together the Stohr and some of the Inderaci to take Criscopolis and overthrow the Lian ruler, Lady Irena. Irena was alarmed and brought all those who didn't side with the Alaren to her camp, and they garissoned Criscopolis. In addition, they sent an expedition to Sun Crisc, to take it back if it had fallen and reinforce it if it had not.

We have few details from the battle, other then the words of one of the Three Bards (three famous poets from Criscan history considered to have been some of the finest examples of those devoted to the arts**, the famous poet Luein***. All we know for sure is that the Alaren were defeated, and when they tried to retreat to Sun Crisc, they lost many in trying to scale its walls, and were forced out of the city. The Alaren surrendered to Irena, expecting the Confederacy to return to normal, except with the Alaren and Stohr being stripped of much power.

Irena was, thankfully, cunning, wise, and ambitious. She knew the Confederacy of Crisca needed change to grow and expand, and she seized the oppurtunity. With the Alaren and Stohr crushed, and the Inderaci weakened badly, she announced her ascension as "Eraetae ei Crisca" (Empress of Crisca), and disbanded the Confederation.

This was the beginning of the Criscan monarchy, and Irena I also began the Lian dynasty, which would hold rule for many many years. With the efficiency of the Imperium, Crisca rapidly grew from a small kingdom to a vast empire, and by time Jeelai Christ had been born, Crisca was the most powerful nation in West Drin...and soon, the world...

* Alaren Crisca is also the name given to the pre-monarchy era in Criscan history.

** These three poets are Luein, Orator Novas, and Charis Hamaren (Kar-iss Hamh-arr-enn).

*** Leuin was born in 2,368 BC, and died when he was 42, at the age of 2,326 BC.
 
Hey farae nice story, what map settings was this game u played on? Size, map type, settings and number of Ai civs if you would. Id like to be able to raise an empire around a sea or lake too
 
OwenShadd2006 said:
Hey farae nice story, what map settings was this game u played on? Size, map type, settings and number of Ai civs if you would. Id like to be able to raise an empire around a sea or lake too

This was the "Planet" scenario, I guess it was designed to look like a planet and not 6 shapeless blocks.
 
Lara Terani shuffled through the pages of the tome, "Cilios Tymes en Crisca Impera" (Civic Changes in the Criscan Empire). Aha! She found the section on the Interregnum! Reading through, she learned the needed information for her class tomorrow.

Chapter 14: Southern and Northern Government During the Interregnum

The civic choices of Tarken Racracou and Erin de Fastaya for their governments were both interesting and unsuprising. For South Crisca, the land was well developed but the populace was centered in Sun Crisc, and Terra. As Terra was independent, and Ean Crisc was half controlled by Tarken and half by Erin, South Crisca suffered to have only one major center of production, though Sun Crisc was a mighty citadel indeed. For these reasons, Tarken focused on founding new cities and utilizing the power of Sun Crisc.

North Crisca was quite undeveloped. and Nor Crisc, though rich in resources, was unconnected to Crisca at large. Pyropolis had only just been rebuilt under order from Erin, ironic as it was the city he razed. Erin needed a system to help develop his nation, for he knew that if he could reconnect with the northern French peoples, and utilize the vast resources of Nor Crisc, the civil war was all but his.

Both Erin and Tarken were fervently religious people. I do not say devout, as their actions have stripped them of any sense of true morality. As religious differences and fanatical overzeal had thus divided Crisca, they united its daughter states. North and South Crisca both had strong Theocracies...


Hearing footsteps, Lara slammed the tome shut. Crud! She didn't want a professor seeing her studying at midnight! She turned, stricken white with fear, and saw Professor Zear, the professor who taught the subject she was studying for.

Zear looked at the shut tome and smiled. "So Lara, studying up a bit eh? You should pay attention to my lectures so you can get some sleep and not keel over in exhaustion!" Zear was old, his long hair was void of color, white as snow. He slowly stepped to the tome and opened it to chapter 14.

He focused on Lara. "Well Lara, the tome does not specify what paticular classes of civics were used for labor, economy, or legal sectors. It only hints. Tell me, what civic did Tarken use for legal, and why?"

Lara thought on this. "She must have set up a bueracracy, as they help capital cities, and massive metropolises like Sun Crisc would benefit greatly. And the South was well developed for the most part."

Zear nodded in approval. "Correct. Tarken enacted the same bueracracies the Empire had then used for well over 250 years. It proved to greatly increase Sun Crisc's potential, and kept Raetan on its feet. Now, what legal did Erin enact?"

Lara knew all of the Twenty-Five Basic Civic Classifications, and she knew that law in Neindar had been strict...so...

"Vassalage. He must have done it to improve his armies, almost all efforts in Neindar were to fuel the war."

"Once more, correct! Neindar was all about war, which is why many believe that it could have morphed into an empire that spanned all of West Drin! Now, what were the labor civics?"

Lara knew this easily. "Raetan used the Caste System, as it allowed Sun Crisc to flourish and grow and improve easily, and it made Sun Crisc the greatest city in the Empire until Criscopolis was finally restored. Neindar used Serfdom, as it helped the development of Neindar as a whole. Neindar was undeveloped, and spent much domestic effort in building roads and pastures and mines and farms."

"Lara, you have done all correct! In fact, I see no need for an essay tomorrow, you have summed it all up! Good girl!"

As he turned away, Lara need one more answer. "Sir? Why does the book always refer to Raetan as South Crisca and Neindar as North Crisca? In fact...a lot of books do that, especially old texts from the centuries just after the Interregnum..."

His expression was grave. "The names Neindar and Raetan were no coincidence. Neindar means "holy empire" and Raetan means "born free". They both signified that the two rulers wished not to restore Crisca under their sick visions and become supreme Emperor or Empress of Crisca, but to create a new nation all together. They wished the idea of Crisca dead. Forever. There was no reunification, to the devout followers of Tarken and Erin, victory in the civil war was not reunification, it was conquest. It was expansion. Those who followed the Interregnum despised Tarken and Erin so for nearly shattering the Criscan people forever. So, they referred to Raetan and Neindar, not as their given names, but as North and South Crisca. Some scholars even refused to recognize that they were independent nations, and simply referred to them as "the lands controlled by...". That tome was penned by Reanne Lian herself, and believe me, the Empress shared the view of Tarken and Erin being evil."

Before he turned away, he said one more thing. "Rather, the question should be as to why every history has not named the nations North and South Crisa. Think on that matter for Philosophy on Thursday."

Lara was left in the dark library, pondering the Interregnum and its endless bloodshed...
 
Indepent settlements were maintained withing reasonable distance of Criscopolis, one for each tribe

Unless Webster is wrong, Indepent is not a word.

If I may sugest, don't use smilies in the middle of text like you did in the last part. It just doesn't work in a story.

Nonetheless, it is very well written, and it ceartinly is interesting. Do you have a map showing exactly how North and South Crisca was divided?

XD Even though they aren't that similar, I am reminded constantly of the Crusader's taking of Constantinople from the Byzantines.

Anyway, keep the updates coming... I like updates.
 
Minoan said:
Unless Webster is wrong, Indepent is not a word.

If I may sugest, don't use smilies in the middle of text like you did in the last part. It just doesn't work in a story.

Nonetheless, it is very well written, and it ceartinly is interesting. Do you have a map showing exactly how North and South Crisca was divided?

XD Even though they aren't that similar, I am reminded constantly of the Crusader's taking of Constantinople from the Byzantines.

Anyway, keep the updates coming... I like updates.

I am a HORRIBLE speller, in the fact that while I could spell a word correctly if I typed slowly, I type too fast and never spell right. Thank you for pointing out my error. :)

I shall make a map now. For the time being, I shall show the city division, in text.

Criscopolis: Destroyed. Ruins are in Raetan.
Ean Crisc: Currently divided between Neindar and Raetan, street fighting in the city is continuing.
Nor Crisc: Neindar. Is not connected to civilized Crisca, and the river trade route has collapsed with the fall of Criscopolis.
Was Crisc: Raetan. Is isolated totally from Crisca. Raetan workers are currently working to reconnect the city.
Sun Crisc: Imperial Capital of Raetan
Indigo: Formerly north of Was Crisc. Destroyed by Raetan. Ruins are occupied by Neindaren patrols.
Pyropolis: Destroyed by Neindar. Ruins are just near the Neindar-France border.
Pyropolis (rebuilt): Isolated from Neindar, but is under Neindaren control.
Selia: Imperial Capital of Neindar.
Dystopolis: Under control of Neindar

EDIT: Map is up.



Sadly, I am too lazy to use a proper Paint program and make it look nicer, but I swear, I will update the map and make it look nice. :)

This also reminded me of the fall of Constantinople in 1204 to the Fourth (right one?) Crusade. I used to play Medieval: Total War a lot, as the Byzantines *favorite faction*and retake the city...but in 1205, not 60 years later. :king:
 
Farae said:
This also reminded me of the fall of Constantinople in 1204 to the Fourth (right one?) Crusade. I used to play Medieval: Total War a lot, as the Byzantines *favorite faction*and retake the city...but in 1205, not 60 years later. :king:

I do hope you made an immmidate grab for Asia Minor! XD

Anyways, when do you plan on updating again? A week or so from now?

Oh and by the way... I can't recognize the flag of your empire, what civ are you useing as the Criscan Empire? The Arabs?
 
Yes, I was hesitant to do so as the Criscans in my mind are a more European/Roman/Byzantine culture, but the Arabs were the only Spiritual and Philsophical nation...

Actually, I did go for Asia Minor. I defeated the Turks *who occupied most of it* and then took back Greece and the Balkans. After that, I advanced south and took Egypt and I saved the game after that. It was a little "Restore the Empire" run, and after I took Crete and Cyprus, and then took Georgia...the *Byzantine* Empire was restored. :king:

I will probably update sooner then that...I am working on the next update now actually, I am simply wondering how to work out the war and Caesar's demand for marriage. For the most part, I am looking through the earlier posts and trying to straighten out all the inconsistency.
 
Take Italy too! Raveana was very Byzantine in culture.

I am also wondering how you did the Roman civil war. It looks like you made your own cities and such, but did you make one of them your capital? Wouldn't that hurt your economy in your actual game?
 
Worldbuilder.

This game was a save file from 760 AD of a game I played as the Criscans and won via Space Race. I deleted Neapolis, which was to Rome's east, and then made Adrianople and Byzantium from Criscan cities and then made the war from there. I had the palace relocated to Byzantium to give it a capital appearance.

:crazyeye: I wish I had been able to settle those regions. But hey, I did culturally take Pisae, Cumae, and Ravenna *which was due South of Crisca, the Ravenna on the island never existed. In fact, that whole island where Ravenna is now was created with Worldbuilder.*
 
Lord Minoan said:
Take Italy too! Raveana was very Byzantine in culture.

In my other Byzantine file, I started in the Early Middle Ages and at that point the Empire was still thriving. I destroyed the Turks and took their lands, then moved North, bribed every province above the Black Sea, then finished off the Russians with my huge empire built on bribery, then I conquered Poland and Hungary. So all of Eastern Europe was mine. I had started with Naples, so I invaded Malta with my Cretan navy, then attacked the Papacy in central Italy and conquered all of Italy. But then the Papacy rebelled after like...15 years, and I had to cede Rome to them. But the rest of Italy was mine. :king:
 
February 2nd, AD 2134

Dear Sinn,

I hope you are faring well, with the stress of the Alpha Centauri project on your shoulders. I am writing about the history you asked me to pen down.

Many have ignorant ideas of the Interregnum. From small ones in Crisca that "detail" of the holiness of one of the leaders (varying on the region you are in), to worldwide ones that think of it as inconsequential, to horrifying ignorance displayed in foreign nations that ruin the rich historical interest of the period. So, I have urgently decided to pen this simply written, quite small book which a child could read. I hope that this will dispel ancient myths that should have died with Tarken and Erin.

Here is my latest exerept from the history, which I have dubbed,
Empire in Ashes.

-With Great Regard
Gorhai Nain


After the skirmishes in the Alaren forests, Neindar was desperate to get its economy up and its forces trained. Tarken was well aware of Neindar's underdevelopment, and she moved to choke the nation and then complete her conquest. Erin was crafty, however. Using the iron supplies in Nor Crisc, Nor Crisc was able to send forth a small number of iron equipped spearmen. These spearmen were few in number, but hardy and powerful.

Tarken sent forth a deadly force into Neindar. Horse archers. Well trained horse archers. They gallopped across the roads to Neindar, but were paused at the crossroads to Nor Crisc.



Their orders were to advance to Nor Crisc and take the city, and if not, disrupt all efforts to connect it to Neindar. Erin's desperate order for spearmen paid off however...the horse archers briefly skirmished against the spearmen from Nor Crisc to see if they could break, but the skirmish turned into a rout for the Raetan forces. The Raetan horse archers instead attacked the axemen defending the road to Dystopolis and broke through, with heavy casualties.

Tarken was furious. Those horse archers would have been critical in mopping up the forces in Neindar, and they had even failed to disrupt the construction of the Desert Road to Nor Crisc! Nevertheless, the invasion of Neindar went forward.

Her navies were not yet complete, the loss of the experimental Aristiari was now revealled to be a blow on a large scale. Control of Lake Crisco was essential in the war effort. But Tarken was successful in getting a large army to besiege Dystopolis.

Erin was getting very desperate. Dystopolis was only a short distance from the capital of Selia. Who knows what horrors Tarken would unleash on the Christian holy city? Erin quickly navigated around the siege with his galleys and landed a force of longbowmen in Dystopolis. On the walls of Dystopolis, the fate of Neindar would be set...



From Lake Crisco and the gap to it that Erin held onto, supplies were constantly shipped to Dystopolis. The walls of the city were high and mighty, and Tarken's catapults were taking a long time to weaken the city's defenses. Constant backsided raids from the surrounding forests demoralized Tarken's forces. Finally, realizing that she could not take the city, Tarken ordered her weakened forces home.

The Men of the Iron Axe, however, ravaged Neindaren settlements...

Raes Oran said:
Rape, murder, barbarism, all of it flourished under the brief rule of the Raetan invaders! My sister...was dragged from her home and raped and killed...her head was taken by an axemen who proudly has it stuck on the shaft of his axe..my mother died fighting an angry axemen who wanted her body. She stabbed him in the heart and then took his heavy axe and swung it in vain at the Raetan dogs, though she killed three of them. They never raped her...only killed her. In fear!

One of their priests was making furious gestures at the axemen, and when I noticed that a makeshift gallow had been set up, I was fearing my end. But the axemen who murdered my mother and sister were hung instead. It is this event that kept me...nay, all of our village and the villages beyond, it kept us from being consumed by the hatred that had so corrupted the zealots that ran our nation, and now our religion. To this day I know not whether the soliders defied a religous doctrine or an order from Raetan, but I shall believe both, and with them I shall continue to guard against hate.

This was a quote from Raes Oron (Rye Or-ahn), a famous Christian scholar whom has contributed to much of my works. Raes was famed for not only his histories, but his efforts to unite the populace after reunification. He denounced the hatred generated by Tarken and Erin, and constantly advocated Crisca Novocar Tolraer (Criscan Toleration of Allfaith *or All Religions*).

The Men of the Iron Axe were set upon by a group of longbowmen while the Raetan forces attempted to retreat back to their kingdom. The Men were mostly slaughtered, though 1/4 their company survived and they would be reformed after Tarken arrived home once more.

In Rome, Reanne vehemently denied Caesar's demands for marriage, but she was allowed to remain in court. About 10 weeks after her denial of the offer, and a month since Tarken's defeat in the north, Tarken's long ago dispatched army finally arrived at Pisae. They besieged and took the city, and Rome was now at war.



The Roman court was in shock. Their armies were not in shape for war, this was thanks to the civil unrest and racial tension between Eastern and Western Romans. Caesar knew Rome was in dire trouble, but Reanne knew that if Tarken took Rome she would take Northern Crisca not long after.

Reanne mustered up volunteers from the Roman army, and from the citizens, and immediately led them to Pisae. Fighting a colossal battle against the invaders, she finally took the city and captured the few survivors.



Upon calming the Pisaeans, she assumed control of the city. Theodora III in Rome supported the move, claiming to Caesar:

Theodora III said:
Whom better to run an unrested city then an ally? Why weaken Rome with the rumblings of the Pisaean stomachs and their grumbligs of discontent?

In truth, Theodora was desperate to weaken the power of the Western Roman rulers, and she knew Reanne was a skilled and deft administrator. Perhaps, many mused, Reanne could shape up Pisae and make it a benefit to the Roman Empire.


Pisae Under Reanne

Tarken had formerly been poised to weaken Rome and destroy Neindar, but now invasion of Neindar was impossible and her attack on Rome had failed. But Neindar and Rome were both weak as well. With no sign of the end of this bloody and ever expanding war, the people wept and they sorrowed at their misfortune of being born in this era...

* This part of the Interregnum would lead to its continuation. Never again would one of the warring nations come so close to total victory...at least not so early. The failure of Tarken to take Dystopolis and her failure to take Pisae have dubbed this sequence, "Tarken's Two Defeats" by historians. Many historians argue that it is "Tarken's Three Defeats", for also she failed to disrupt the road to Nor Crisc.

Many of Tarken's sympathizers** called this period, "Tarken's Tragic Defeats".

** Tarken and Erin both had numerous groups of support for several centuries after their demise. The last official support group was a group called "Mentallia Erin Oro" which means "The Living Memories of Erin". They disbanded in 1352, and the last of their former members died in 1376.
 
With Rome at war and Crisca in ashes, the only nation not horribly damaged by the Interregnum was France…or not.

France was an unstable land. Forged from the union of formerly warring tribes in the age of Clovis I, religious customs differed, the groups spoke French in different dialects, and what’s more, a Parisian king sat on the throne, causing resentment among the Orleans dwellers especially.

When Crisca fell apart, France suffered a devastating economic blow. Forced to abandon almost all construction projects, France’s growth ceased. As time flowed on, it had to cut back research money even more. King Ichol II was desperate to stop the worsening situation, and he instated harsh government rule over France in an effort to cut costs.

In response to France being transformed into an early version of a police state, the cities of Orleans and Port Brest met in secret to plan revolt. Thus, in the year 783 AD, *about 7 months since the Battle of Pisae*, the two cities rebelled and forced the royal armies from their new lands.

King Ichol II was furious, and he ordered the destruction of Orleans. Selling off many prominent buildings (Christian churches, Buddhist and Hindu temples, libraries, etc) he quickly raised a mighty army. He ordered an assault on Port Brest, and the rebels shook in fear of the hordes they faced.

But Ichol’s forces would not tread on rebel soil. Just then, the town of Tours was sacked and razed by northern barbarians called the Burgundi, its treasures carted off to their villages. Reluctantly, Ichol declared ceasefire with the rebels and marshaled his armies to crush the savages.





Sadly, the conscripts of the French army could not face down the seasoned and battle hardened warriors of the Burgundi. The French were routed outside Paris, and Ichol died in battle. Paris was seized by the Burgundi, and many of its citizens died in the battle.

Burguni forces also attacked Port Brest, but the brilliant French general, Vordei Alemanni, surprised their troops and crushed them, thus ensuring survival for the rebel French. Meanwhile, the rest of France fell, and only Arc and Rheims survived outside of rebel territory.



Another thing died with France. Erin lost hope of instant victory over Tarken if he connected to France. While trade with the free cities, or even with the new Burgundi empire, would help Neindar, it would not be the divine intervention he needed. All he could hope for was Nor Crisc’s resources to be enough…

* While you may see the French defeat as an insult against them, I had no intention of such. It wasn't until I finished typing that I realized it could be viewed in such a way.
 
Top Bottom