Update 14 - 900 BCE
An empire will crumble,
Order will cease.
And the unknown will be known,
And will descend upon the holy land
Like vultures and beasts of fury and disorder.
They will devour nations,
And will rage for an Age,
They will command great forces, and all will succumb.
-A prophecy of the Great One Zoroaster of Persia
In Afghanistan, all order suddenly collapses. A rivalry amongst the different clan leaders in the Confederacys high council has totally torn the nation apart. Supposedly, issues in that tragic council meeting that were prominent were the increasing Zoroastrian influences in the west, Yuhah influences in the east, and the dilemma of how to maintain traditional Pashtun custom with these encroaching belief systems.
Kabul is essentially the only place where actual order remains, where the Durrani clan reigns on its own, though their rule does not expand much outside the city.
Thus, Afghanistan is no more a unified country.
In the west, a powerful new clan, however, emerges. Its a highly militaristic clan called the Afridi, which really isnt that new they just never participated in the High Council because they were considered by the Council-clans as unworthy. In no time they subdue the nearby warring clans and, in an unanticipated move, swarm across the Persian border. The Persian army has been overwhelmed and half of the Zoroastrian motherland is under Afridi occupation. Persepolis is within the sights of the Afridi tribesmen.
PERSIA: -500 Archers, 250 Horsemen, 500 Spearmen
The situation in Austria deteriorates rapidly. Austrias economic system collapses due to the huge financial losses incurred from the looting that took place during Roman Terror, and from the many disturbances within and without the Austrian capital of Vienna.
Marred by Israels close alliance with Rome, the Austrian Israelites that came to the country with the Kohanes have been victims of occasional attacks by the angry Austrian population. Most of these attacks have occurred in the countryside, prompting a huge influx of Austrian Israelites and Austrian Jews into an enraged Vienna. Leaders of the Austrian Judaic community have condemned the Romans for their barbarous looting and pillaging, and have echoed Israels calls for Rome to make some kind of reparation payment to compensate for Austrian losses. The spread of Judaism has been hindered, thus, in the Austrian Empire.
Meanwhile, the Habsburgs have gained the loyalty of most Army officers, and with their assistance have initiated a palace coup, forcing the Babenberg Emperor to relinquish the crown to the Habsburg patriarch, Otto. The Babenbergs have been expelled from the capital, and are rumored to have fled to Brandenburg, though this is unconfirmed they may have been murdered by the angry peasant mobs.
AUSTRIA: Government becomes Despotism; -2 Economy levels
Northern Dalmatian rebels get a temporary reprieve from the Roman repression, and regain some ground in their uprising. They have managed to build a fortress city, called Zagreb, and are now operating from there with an organized administration, with a Senate being called into session. As the Zagreb Republic is officially established, many more collaborators are subsequently killed by the Republicans. Many Southern Dalmatians flee across the border into the new Republic. Having heard from their parents and grandparents first-hand accounts of the Byzantine repression of the Southern insurrection, these new arrivals will figure strongly in the Zagreb Senates decision whether or not to pursue the reunification of all Dalmatia.
CREATION OF ZAGREB OUT OF REBELLING ROMAN NORTHERN DALMATIA (borders are not certain yet).
BYZANTIUM: -1,000 people
Dalmatians in the Israelite part of their former country are happier than ever. Living conditions have risen again and the city Dubrovnik has been rebuilt from the damage inflicted during the war. On almost a daily basis, Israelite Dalmatia receives people from Byzantine Dalmatia.
ISRAEL: +1,000 people
BYZANTIUM: -1,000 people
Israelite Kohanes continue to fan out across the known world. They have now arrived to Nubia, Fez, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Songhai. There was quite a bit of converts, now making up 7% of their populations, except for Songhai, where only 3% converted.
Israel has suffered some setbacks in their anti-Portuguese campaign. After new regiments of Spearmen arrived in Cagliari, with some Kohanes and civilians tagging along to convert and settle, the Portuguese population of the city reacted very violently. The Sardinians mobbed the Israelite reinforcements and the settlers and killed about 50 Spearmen and all 300 Kohanes and settlers that arrived on the civilian ships. Throughout the rest of the island, the news spread of the reinforcements and Sardinians, peasant and lord alike, rose in resistance, killing more Israelite soldiers everywhere.
The arrival of Irish fleets also spells trouble for the Israelite occupation. Naval battles have engaged, and the Irish fleet, far more numerous and much more experienced, devastated many Israelite ships.
Also, an attempt to trick the Portuguese in Barcelona harbor into believing Roman trade ships were there was dramatically unsuccessful: the Portuguese found out the plan for the trickery from spies and messengers from Sardinia and a contingent of Portuguese ships ripped the false-trade-vessels to shreds. The whole coasts of Portugal were also bolstered in defense and naval production has increased for Portugal.
The Balearics are not yet rebelling, but they, as Sardinia, are now effectively guarded by Irish ships, so sending reinforcements to those troops that are trying to re-establish Israelite rule will be difficult.
ISRAEL: -150 Spearmen, -100 Swordsmen, -100 Archers, -266 Galleys, -300 Triremes
PORTUGAL: -25 Triremes
EIRE: -50 Triremes, -15 Galleys
Anti-Jewish feelings are now sanctioned by the Irish government as well, with the ban on practice of Judaism. The ban technically has no effect, because there are no Jews in any part of the Irish empire.
Due to distance of the Kenyan land and cities which prevents stable and very effective communication, Israelite expansion in Africa is halted temporarily.
Anti-Nihonese forces manage to re-capture the Philippine Islands, and Malaysians are also successful in occupying the rest of Nihons southern island empire.
Rebellious Okinawans, however, have made it impossible for the allied forces to pull out for an assault on the Nihonese Islands, however. Sabotage was widespread and several Malaysian ships were sunk in port.
An assault and blockade on Shikoku was horribly unsuccessful. Nihonese ships, though less-advanced and less in number, have had more experience due to centuries of constant naval war games and exercises, and thus were able to repel the Malaysian invasion swiftly.
Korea, meanwhile, has succumbed to the Nihonese blockade. The two countries have united into one, and Nihon has inherited part of Koreas fleets as well.
Beijing remains firmly opposed to Nihon, and has made a statement of it by joining into a union with Shanghai.
Raids have ended on Fuzhou and Shanghai ports, as their navies have bolstered defenses of their coasts.
NIHON: -200 Spearmen; -50 Galleys, -40 Triremes; absorption of Korea and half of its military stats
VIETNAM: -150 Spearmen
MALAYSIA: -100 Archers, -100 Swordsmen
SHANGHAI: -100 Spearmen; absorption of Beijing and half of its military stats
FUZHOU: -150 Spearmen
Mumbai has been occupied completely by the Travancore armies. The invaders were able to use the road built between Travancore and Mumbai to their advantage and went straight for the capital, which fell after several weeks resistance. The fall of their capital demoralized the remnants of the Mumbai Army and conquering the rest of the empire was simple.
TRAVANCORE: -300 Swordsmen, -100 Archers
The traditionalist rebellion was short-lived. The Aztec imperial army made quick work of destroying the few militias the rebels had and restored order to the border provinces. Traditionalist temples were immediately converted to Quetzalist places of worship, statues of other deities torn down as many traditionalist worshippers wept.
Though order is restored, noone in the southern provinces trusts in the Emperor anymore. Secret worship of the old gods is widespread, according to many rumors, and people openly spit on the converted temples.
AZTEC EMPIRE: -1 Confidence
As a gesture of friendship, the Caribbeans give the Aztecs 1 spending point.
Another barbaric tribe has awakened, in eastern Europe. Its the Bulgars, who have been ostensibly living peacefully in Muscovy and Kiev and have by now become 50% of each population and significant portions of the armies. Most of Muscovy is taken by the Bulgars and all of Kiev has also been taken over, the two Slavic armies having been absolutely no match for the mass-surprise-attack of the seemingly-dormant Bulgar population.
Taking advantage, Sinimustvalge Karjal, after literally an entire millennium of passivity, has invaded the weakened Muscovy and has retaken Karjalgrad and has even occupied the Muscovite capital, holding the Muscovite Emperor hostage.
Could there be a deal working between the Bulgars and the Karjalians?
MUSCOVY: -1,000 Spearmen, -950 Swordsmen
KIEV: Loss of all independence
SINIMUSTVALGE KARJAL: -300 Spearmen
In the Maori and Papua Commonwealths, people have been agitating increasingly for union with Australia. And now, the time has come when the Senates have decided to put forth the crucial vote on whether they should join or not.
Results of this Senatorial vote:
Maoriland: 85% pro-union
Papua: 70% pro-union
If Australia agrees, looks like it will gain both of the countries that it founded.
Story Bonuses
ISRAEL: +2 Education points
EIRE: +1 Confidence
MALAYSIA: +1 Confidence
CARIBBEAN EMPIRE: +1 Economy level
NPC Diplomacy
From Maori and Papua
To Australia:
Our Senate and people wish to unite with you. Will you agree?
From Balticum
To Sinimustvalge Karjal:
You collaborate with barbarians? The gods will smite you!
From Balticum, Slovakia, Silesia, Crimea
To Brandenburg:
We must all join our forces against this menace. Muscovy is almost gone, and Kiev is no longer independent. Were all next!
From Austria
To Rome:
We want to maintain peace with you. But this peace will not last long unless you give us reparations payments to make up for all the damage and death you caused upon withdrawal.
From Zagreb Republic
To Israel and Byzantium:
If you leave us alone and allow our formation to continue, we will not seek to liberate your Dalmatian populations. Our issue is with Rome, not you.
OOC
You can now also build Catapults.
1 spending point will get you 50 Catapults.
Reason I didnt include them earlier with the other units is because I didnt want people to say they got, for instance, 1,000 Catapults right off the bat.
Catapults, as you know, are siege weapons. Not really much good for anything else. For now, you cannot disassemble them and move them faster that way you have to take them whole, which means that without roads, it may take a while for your catapults to get to the battlegrounds.
OK so I got about halfway done doing the NPCs max-military stats, and I realized that its just too much damn calculating. And its too tedious. And its, most of all, time-consuming. With school looming already tomorrow, I realize I will not have the time or patience to do all that stuff. Its more realistic, I think, that the population of a country affects somehow how many troops it can have, but I just wont be able to put it into practice.
So the limit rule is out, and with it, the significance of the population numbers.

Sorry, everyone, for this edit of the rule edit. But it was either change the rule again, or close the NES altogether, and Im not ready to give up on it, since it doesnt seem to be dying.
That having been said, I got all orders, and I think I carried them all out the right way (on both map and stats).
Update on Saturday