[Story] Immortal Cultural Pericles

RaidandTrade

Prince
Joined
Oct 26, 2013
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310
Rolled a random continents on immortal with random leader and ended up with Pericles. As I was getting used to the idea of my new identity I figured cultural or religious would be the play - my recent personas (Teddy and Monty) have been a bit more bloodthirsty.

Imagine my surprise when I wound up with a sweet start surrounded by three stone and two mountains AND collected a boost for astrology on turn 3. Stonehenge anyone?

Barbarians attacked while my people dragged rocks around and many a brave warrior gave his life but Athens endured. At one point I thought this entry would be much shorter as Athens tipped into the red but slingers became archers and the hoards were pincushioned. Perhaps the spirits of Teddy and Monty live on?

Expansion was slow. The cliffs of Dover are a short hop from Athens and there's some salt to the north with Preslav and some mountains as a northern border. Corinth and Argos respectively. To the east of Argos, some iron and a hard to reach future campus location surrounded on five sides by majestic mountains.

My faith was building nicely and some new neighbours met me - I did not scout as well as I should have. Trajan, vermin that he is, settles a random patch of coastline across the desert from Athens and denounces me for having small lands and then has the gaul to send an Apostle to spread heresy throughout my lands. He promised not to when I called him out on it but then did it again. Enough was enough and my declaration of war followed.

Cumae swiftly joined the lands of Greece. During the conflict I captured some slaves I sent south-west of Athens to rich farming lands to settle Olympia and discovered that the field I thought was rice was in fact sugar! Oh how my people rejoiced. Argos is ecstatic and the luxuries flow!

But war has its price. A rather large muscular fellow - Gilgamesh I think he goes by - denounced me as a warmonger and has a number of other unknown reasons to hate me. Elizabeth can’t decide whether she likes me or hates me and is constantly flipping back and forth between calling me bankrupt or wealthy. Thankfully Scythia - whose lands I haven’t seen - seems content to send missionaries. She’s promised to stop spreading her lies but persists. My Apostles sent them packing and put her wretched lies to rest. Eastern Orthodoxy, the true word, spreads once more.

Adjacent Industrial Zones surrounded by mines are up and running, spreading their benefits to all by Cumae. (No hard feelings). Commerce is improving, coming out of the red for the first time in a while.

Act II was an act of friendships and broken promises. With fervent prayer, the empire was a bastion of faith. More neighbours came to meet us and sample our culture at our acropolis(es?). Germany, China and eventually Russia revealed themselves. Through trade we became fast friends and eventual allies with Germany. Despite our friendship, our religious differences were always just under the surface. They sent their apostles in waves after numerous promises not to do so. We saw them off and rooted out the disease left behind.

Germany's Catholicism conquered all but the Roman Hindu and our own Eastern Orthodoxy. It proved to be a distraction from our cultural ambitions as we saw China producing wonders and works aplenty.

Ruhr valley and our industrial zones helped us recover and the Eiffel Tower and Hermitage proved their worth helping with two national parks and more space for great works. Alas we didn't attract any great musicians and our broadcast centres stayed eerily silent. But our faith did entice the last great writer and artist the world ever saw away from the Chinese and our archaeologists recovered priceless artefacts sufficient for three museums.

Russia seemed not to be content with the earth they helped created but our agents kept them in check and advanced our own scientific ambitions. We did not pursue space. Instead we built a nuclear arsenal and fleet of bombers to carry swift death should the world not see things our way.

But no red button in this incarnation.

Suddenly, after 400 turns, it was over. As if overnight a cut scene arose declaring that the world, including China, had conceded to our unsurpassable culture and beauty.
 
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