Update 20- 600 BCE
When you fight the undead, nowhere is safe.
-Anonymous Indus General
Elgovia has declared its support for the horde of Khemri, claiming that their might is the only way to defeat other threats appearing all around the world. Elgovia has attempted to harness the power of geothermal vents, but has been unsuccessful so far. The magi involved insist that only a little more patience is required.
Hyperborea has put a massive effort into completing their project, The Way. It has created a whole new universe, and most Hyperboreans have fled into it, bringing their land with them. People have left all over the Empire, and much land around Na-Uzuldorum has been brought into the way. Many frightened Iroquois have also left.
To their relief, the island of Rhodes reappeared, in the center of the space created by The Way.
As their people flee to a far safer place, the Hyperboreans can now focus entirely on warfare. They sent down a massive force into Khuba, and wiped out the Illyrians there. They exploded the portal on the other side, causing minor damage.
The Illyrian colony in South America attacked the Avalonians, who immediately sought the aid of Hyperborea.
Hyperborea initiated a blockade, and landed their forces. While the portal demons summoned by the Illyrian defenders put up a vicious fight, they were defeated, and their portal destroyed.
(-1 thousand Illyrian infantry)
Avalon has established its new capital at Sandago on Haiti.
A terrible disease is spreading over the fields of Ur. All life is withering, save that in the capital. The Horde of Khemri, under the leadership of mighty Nagash, made great advances, successfully crossing the Euphrates and reaching the Tigris.
At the same time, half of the undead horde arrived in the Indus from under the Arabian sea. The Indus was quite unprepared for this sudden attack. They were unable to put up much resistance at first, for their Firelords were nearly all fighting on the Urrian front. Undead were running rampant over the Indus coasts before the first phoenixes returned. Many zombies were incinerated, but they made up for it by killing and reanimating Indus civilians. Also, many phoenixes were extinguished or corrupted by liches.
The Indus could do no more than contain the undead, for recalling forces from Ur would destroy their hopes of a victory on that front. So the zombies in the Indus currently exist in a quarantined zone.
It is very fortunate that the Indus kept as many forces in Mesopotamia as they did. It cannot be argued that Ur would have fallen completely if it hadn't been for their assistance.
For the Urrians had let the undead take the lands between the Tigris and Euphrates.
It was a trap.
Urrian magi high in the Caucasus created massive rainstorms and thaws, drastically flooding the Tigris and Euphrates. While the floods were not as large as had been hoped, they served well enough. For when the waters had reached their highest level, Indus magi cast the same spell they had cast upon the Nile. The Tigris and Euphrates were transformed into molten rivers of fire, destroying any zombie who attempted to pass. Unfortunately, they didn't forsee a problem this would cause. The capital city was now completely isolated.
Illyrian forces, who had previously been acting in the shadow of Khemri, now had a chance to prove their worth. Using their deadly new Ether Lords, Illyria sucked the city of Ur dry of magic and at last overran its bold defenders. Ur was utterly destroyed when its walls facing the Euphrates were broken by the invaders and fiery lava purged the city.
Worse still, the undead hordes have nearly reached the area where the spell of fire is being cast by Indus magi. Once they are destroyed, the Mesopotamian rivers will return to their normal state and the undead horde will continue onwards.
(-20 Phoenixes, -2 thousand Indus infantry, -100 000 Indus population, -3 thousand Urrian infantry, -40 Urrian magi, -300 000 Urrian population, -1 loyalty, -1 Urrian Trade Center, +50 thousand Zombies (net))
Azathoth's Shadow has finally broken up, leaving a twisted Italy behind. Illyria was quick to reclaim it.
While Khemri was invading Indus and Ur, most of the Illyrian army was split into two groups: Cold Army and Death Army.
Cold army launched a surprise attack into Germania. The increasingly paranoid and xenophobic Germanians were more than ready to push off an Illyrian attack. Which they would have, if it hadn't been for a timely attack against them.
Baltica, a former Germanian province, had been secretly harbouring Germanian rebels for centuries. It revealed its true colours in an attack against Germania, retaking the southeast, the home of the rebellion. It then demanded that Mordred leave Germania forever, and that control of the nation would be given to them.
Naturally, Mordred refused. And as his armies marched upon Baltica, Illyria struck over the now-unprotected Danube. Mordred turned around his forces to cut off the Illyrian incursion in the bud, then Baltica attacked. Surrounded by two powerful forces, the Germanian army was routed and Mordred was taken captive. Whether he ends up in Baltican hands or Illyrian hands, his fate will be very unpleasant.
Once the Germanian army was gone, it was a simple matter to travel over the country and declare it to be under Illyrian or Baltican control.
Death army at first besieged the city of Bosporu, which fell quickly due to the near-complete lack of supplies reaching it from the rest of the nation. From there, 3/4 of the army traveled south to take the city of Ur (see above) while the other 1/4 moved began invading northern Ur.
(-Germania, -2 thousand Illyrian infantry, -20 possessed warriors, -1 thousand Baltican infantry)
A second wave of invaders from the Immortal Kingdom arrived to attack Khemri, consisting primarily of Ethereal Cavalry. A few of the first to arrive were sucked into the soul vortex (where they, unfortunately for Illyria, simply dissipated), but the rest remained safe from traps. The Ethereal cavalry began launching raids against the undead in Arabia with great success, until Illyrian ether lords joined the zombies. The Ether lords absorb magic, and to an ethereal being of pure magic, this is fatal. The Ethereal cavalry have been forced to attack in less blatant and thus less efficient ways ever since this.
(-80 Ethereal cavalry, -20 Ether lords, -50 thousand Zombies)
The Vol'Kiss, who had been silently watching the conflict, have come in with a bang. They sent a large force of soldiers and magi to Arabia and attempted to destroy it (and unwittingly destroyed many ethereal cavalry). Nonetheless, the beleagured nations of the living were grateful for their new ally.
Until the Vol'Kiss turned on them.
With another force equal in strength to the Arabian expedition, the Vol'Kiss landed at the mouth of the Ganges and attempted to burn and sink the entire subcontinent. The Indus were practically powerless to stop the powerful Vol'Kiss force as it destroyed a great tract of their eastern lands.
Then, a third force was sent southwards, presumably to melt the southern icecap. The spells had barely begun when the penguins intervened and did what they did last time someone tried to drown the world by melting the icecap. Destroy them. The armies of Ross and Bikk wiped out the Vol'Kiss force, and captured the two Antarctic Vol'Kiss cities. Antarctica is now an almost exclusively penguin domain.
(-5 thousand Vol'Kiss infantry, -1 thousand Vol'Kiss archers, -50 Volcanists, -20 Ethereal Cavalry, -50 thousand zombies, -50 thousand Indus population, -2 thousand Ross Penguins, -10 Kelliks)
Surprisingly little has happened with the elder gods. But the sudden loss of contact with OTL Baffin island and the total disappearance of its inhabitants are a grim warning- and perhaps a hint of things yet to come.
Note to those who didn't get their orders in: Don't worry, I'll bank all your spending points. You didn't have long to send in your orders, so I'll forgive you this week.