evonannoredars
King
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2024
- Messages
- 616
Unfortunately I didn't make any saves until turn 110 so this is all going to be screenshots from late in the game - I'll try to remember to save more in the next eras lol.
This game is a mountains-themed game, with Pachacuti leading the Inka and (hopefully) Nepal. Since there are no antiquity mountain civs yet, I went with the khmer - Pachacuti is themed around specialists also, so I thought the Khmer would be good for a rapid growth start to support a specialist-heavy strategy.
The Khmer people originated from a luxurious but flat piece of land, surrounded entirely to the north, east and west by ocean and by mountains to the south - land later re-settled, but I'm getting ahead of myself. It was these mountains that drew the attention of the first Khmer tribespeople, seeking to establish themselves in a place where they would thrive under the ward of mountain peaks.
And this they did, founding Yasodharapura in a vegetated valley they would come to fill with their own mountains, painted in blues, whites and reds. The heart of the empire was a place of prosperity, but prosperity brings mouths to feed. The flat, fertile lands and reefs with fish aplenty to the north had not been forgotten, and two small towns - Jayendranagari in the fields and Isanapura by the mouth of the Hondo river - were settled here, willingly supporting the city that protected the mountain pass, ensuring their safety from land invasion.
Up the Hondo river was a village, named Kerma by it's original people. Like the Khmer, they had founded their settlement in an area surrounded by mountains and the two peoples found friendship through this - and perhaps their similar names. At first they were mere vassals to the Khmer empire, providing lapis lazuli that was mined from their mountains and as blue as the majestic Hondo, but eventually they became a part of the empire proper - although they never became entirely subsumed into the Khmer identity, building a peculiar amphitheatre that was round instead of the traditional Khmer square design.
The Khmer heartland was one of enduring peace - the southern Egyptians and northern Aksumites that sought to plunder and pillage were rebuffed with ease; shot at by archers while trying to get through the mountain passes, shot at approaching from the sea, shot at crossing the Hondo and shot at crossing the southern Kveri. Specialists flocked to work under Pachacuti's guidance, where the fertile mountain soils satisfied the hunger of every home and the beautiful mountain views settled the work stress of every specialist.
That is not to say the Khmer did not set their sights on territories beyond the protection of their mountains - the allure of silver and fertile plains attracted the mining and farming towns of Lingapura and Phimai respectively.
This did not allieviate the rapid growth of the capital however, and soon room for specialists became crowded. Pachacuti looked to the teachings of a prominent local Khmer religious figure, Jayavarman VII, and built the most splendid mountain-temple yet: Angkor Wat. Situated on the outskirts of the city, it provided the people with a place to rest, exist in a state where they fared well - the city entered it's golden era as establishments, allieviated of physical and spiritual stress, could afford to employ more people.
Indeed, as scientific, cultural and economic prosperity boomed, the rest of the world was being shaken by waves of discontent - waves rebuffed by the solid foundations of the mountains. The only destruction the Khmer faced was from the violent Rangitoto volcano, beside her peaceful sister Popo, but the Khmer had mastered control of the rivers and found they could benefit from the enrichment of soil by volcanoes in the same way they could of floods.
But nothing stays the same forever, although rebellion never found home in the Khmer mountains, subtler ideas of change took root. The Khmer Empire had established dominance over the river valleys, but it was time to look upwards...
This game is a mountains-themed game, with Pachacuti leading the Inka and (hopefully) Nepal. Since there are no antiquity mountain civs yet, I went with the khmer - Pachacuti is themed around specialists also, so I thought the Khmer would be good for a rapid growth start to support a specialist-heavy strategy.
The Khmer people originated from a luxurious but flat piece of land, surrounded entirely to the north, east and west by ocean and by mountains to the south - land later re-settled, but I'm getting ahead of myself. It was these mountains that drew the attention of the first Khmer tribespeople, seeking to establish themselves in a place where they would thrive under the ward of mountain peaks.
And this they did, founding Yasodharapura in a vegetated valley they would come to fill with their own mountains, painted in blues, whites and reds. The heart of the empire was a place of prosperity, but prosperity brings mouths to feed. The flat, fertile lands and reefs with fish aplenty to the north had not been forgotten, and two small towns - Jayendranagari in the fields and Isanapura by the mouth of the Hondo river - were settled here, willingly supporting the city that protected the mountain pass, ensuring their safety from land invasion.
Up the Hondo river was a village, named Kerma by it's original people. Like the Khmer, they had founded their settlement in an area surrounded by mountains and the two peoples found friendship through this - and perhaps their similar names. At first they were mere vassals to the Khmer empire, providing lapis lazuli that was mined from their mountains and as blue as the majestic Hondo, but eventually they became a part of the empire proper - although they never became entirely subsumed into the Khmer identity, building a peculiar amphitheatre that was round instead of the traditional Khmer square design.
The Khmer heartland was one of enduring peace - the southern Egyptians and northern Aksumites that sought to plunder and pillage were rebuffed with ease; shot at by archers while trying to get through the mountain passes, shot at approaching from the sea, shot at crossing the Hondo and shot at crossing the southern Kveri. Specialists flocked to work under Pachacuti's guidance, where the fertile mountain soils satisfied the hunger of every home and the beautiful mountain views settled the work stress of every specialist.
That is not to say the Khmer did not set their sights on territories beyond the protection of their mountains - the allure of silver and fertile plains attracted the mining and farming towns of Lingapura and Phimai respectively.
This did not allieviate the rapid growth of the capital however, and soon room for specialists became crowded. Pachacuti looked to the teachings of a prominent local Khmer religious figure, Jayavarman VII, and built the most splendid mountain-temple yet: Angkor Wat. Situated on the outskirts of the city, it provided the people with a place to rest, exist in a state where they fared well - the city entered it's golden era as establishments, allieviated of physical and spiritual stress, could afford to employ more people.
Indeed, as scientific, cultural and economic prosperity boomed, the rest of the world was being shaken by waves of discontent - waves rebuffed by the solid foundations of the mountains. The only destruction the Khmer faced was from the violent Rangitoto volcano, beside her peaceful sister Popo, but the Khmer had mastered control of the rivers and found they could benefit from the enrichment of soil by volcanoes in the same way they could of floods.
But nothing stays the same forever, although rebellion never found home in the Khmer mountains, subtler ideas of change took root. The Khmer Empire had established dominance over the river valleys, but it was time to look upwards...
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