Beyond the Pit [Pitboss Diplomacy Game] [Story Thread]

[Pitboss Korea]

Han Gong nervously walked into Gang Jo's quarters. Just days before he had embarassed himself, and his unit, by appearing drunk before the King's top General and the Princess. Gang Jo simply mulled over status reports as Han Gong entered, Gang Jo's mission was not to assume command over Pyongyang, but he surmized that it was necessary. Han Gong was not responsible enough to do it himself, and besides that he wanted something more to do than champerone the Princess.

"Please Han Gong, sit down." Gang Jo said, without raising his eyes from the documents.

"My lord" Han Gong said, bowing to Gang Jo "I apologize for my actions, I normally do not conduct myself in that way. I was celebrating victory, I had no idea about your arrival, please forgive me." Han Gong began.

"I said sit!" Gang Jo said sternly, Han Gong quickly obliged, "Since you have been given control over this army by Shin Sung, who is an underling of mine, I will assume control until I return to Seoul, is this understood?"

"Yes sir." Han Gong replied.

"Now then, I know we are short on men at this point, but I have comissioned a scouting party to scour the outlying terrain for any possible encampments these barbarians could be occupying. According to our friends the Maya there is an Aztec city north in the jungles. We may have won that battle, but we have yet to end this scourge." Gang Jo said, tossing the casualty reports on his desk "I hate to say this, but as of now we have no information on Seoul, we don't know what is happening there."

"What do you mean my lord?"

"Well, we aren't sure that the city survived the attack, we aren't sure our King survived the attack, and we must be prepared for the possibility that we will have to retake it. So what I have done is comissioned the creation and recruitment of more units as well. You will be responsible for training these men." Gang Jo explained.

"Thank you my lord." Han Gong replied.

"You may go," Gang Jo said, as Han Gong got up he remembered something else "Oh yes, if I ever catch you that drunk, in public, in front of your men again, I will have you lashed, do you understand me?"

"Yes sir, of course sir, it shall never occur again."

Seoul...

Their time in the Mayan court was fruitless, and in fact angered the trio of ambassadors greatly. Bae Hyeongyeong considered it a great insult, not only to himself but to his King and their Princess. Subo was quite pleased with the journey; he had spent most of his life in the Jogye monk villiage, and then some in Seoul and neither of this places compared with Tikal. They returned with no response from the Maya, and were fearful of what Wang Geon's reaction would be. Bae for his part was also concerned that the city could have fallen to the Aztecs, they were to be pleasantly surprised...

"Ah, General Bae Hyeongyeong!" Shin Sung said, he ran up to his former commander and hugged him "I am so happy to see you, you should have been here for the fight Bae, it was intense!"

"Well, I see you managed to keep yourself alive, how does the King do?" Bae asked.

"He took a glancing blow to the arm, he still suffered quite an injury" he explained "Where'd you get the monk?" he asked, referring to Subo.

"Oh yes, this is Subo, he was apprentice to Lama Jinul" Bae explained, Shin Sung smiply stared at him "You know, Lama Jinul, Princess Sinjeong's religious advisor."

"Not really, but what word do you bring from the Maya? we have eradicated the Aztec invaders, and we are poised to respond to their assaults." Shin Sung explained "We have our workers moving quickly to shore up our bronze supply, and we are gathering horses, we will show them what Korea is capable of!"

"You've come a long way Shin Sung" Bae said "I must speak to the King, the Maya did not see us. In fact I didn't even get the honor of a written response. I must see Wang Geon at once..."

[Pitboss Korea]

Wang Geon had a slight change in attitude following the victory over the Aztecs. He had a greater appreciation for the people of Seoul, and a great understanding of his own vulernability. Some say this change of heart was due primarily to his loss of troops; his actual power had been diminished and he worried if he flaunted it he might lose it entirely. This was partially true, but either way his attitude would soon change, and the direction of the Korean state would finally come into focus. This however was not in effect quite yet. What was in effect was a newly invigorated Wang Geon. He put his people to work, finishing the monastery he had promised the Lama Jinul and the Princess Sinjeong, it was named "Jogyesa" in honor of the old monk villiage of Jogye which was destroyed by the Aztec armies. Despite losing many workers to the barbarians he began rebuilding the roads, farms and mines surrounding the city of Seoul, and promised to rebuild the villiage of Wonsan. All of these things increased Wang Geon's popularity in Seoul, and he was determined to show his wife what he had done. He gave the family of the deceased general, and Gung Ye loyalist, Bok Jigyeom noble title, he appointed Subo his religious advisor, now he wanted to father a son with his wife Sinjeong. He planned to send for her as soon as he felt the city's defenses were restored.



Outside of Seoul, the Copper Mines...

Bae Hyeongyeong had to travel quite a ways to see King Wang Geon, who was overseeing the reconstruction of Seoul's copper mines. He felt it was necessary to upgrade Korean weapons and armor in order to ensure its defense, and wanted to be there to make sure everything was going smoothly. Wang Geon was perched in a wooden tower built for the overseer of the mine, who was allowed leave to see his family by a much more jovial King. Bae climbed the tower, and joined his King; "My lord!" he said, bowing. "I come to you in great dishonor."

"Please, no need for those pleasantries, I wear a General's garb today. Your beard is becoming a little grey there, I hope the Mayans didn't give you too much stress." he said smiling, it was odd to see Wang Geon in such a mood.

"Well sir, that is the problem, our envoy was ignored. I would have taken stress over such rudeness."

"Do not fret much, their ways are different from ours, we have taken control of our own destiny, if the Mayans will not help us we will have to do it ourselves." Wang Geon replied.

"Please excuse me for saying this my lord, but you seem different," Bae said "It is a good thing, your majesty."

"I feel much better now Bae, I nearly suffered a deathblow at the hands of the Aztecs, a thing like that can change a man's outlook. The people of Seoul are begining to embrace me as their King, I have built the monastery, and I can not wait for my bride to return and see what I have built for her. That Subo shall be my religious advisor and I will embrace the Buddha's teachings."

"Sir, there is something I have been meaning to tell you, about the Princess." Bae said.

"Well what is it?"

"It was Hong Yu, in Sparta sir. As he lay dying he told me that General Gang Jo was in love with her sir, he seemed concerned." Bae explained, Wang Geon's expression changed.

"Hong Yu said this?"

"Yes sir, he did, they were his dying words." Bae said. "Where is Gang Jo?"

"He is in Pyongyang" Wang said, staring at the mine-workers "With Sinjeong..."

Pyongyang...

Sinjeong sat with her daughter Daemok, who was growing older and was now fit to be taught the ways of the court, and of the Buddha. "Very good Daemok, you will be a fantastic Queen one day."

"I will be the Queen mommy?" the little girl asked.

"Yes, your father wants to marry you to a handsome Prince, and together you will rule, but you must always be faithful, and understand to treat your people with love and respect. If you do this they will love and admire you." Sinjeong explained.

General Gang Jo entered the room, "Excuse me, my lady, I have come to speak with you."

"Yes General?" she asked.

"In private, if it is not trouble." Gang Jo replied.

"You may say it in front of my daughter General, she will one day be a Queen you know" she said, smiling down at Daemok "She must know the ways of the court."

"I will be the Queen of Korea Gang Jo!" little Daemok said smiling.

"I am sorry Princess, this is something even the little Empress musn't hear, it is important." Gang Jo said

Sinjeong knew it had something to do with Wang Geon, but she didn't know what, she looked up at Gang Jo and nodded, he left the room; "Daemok, mommy has to speak with the General, you will stay here and continue your study, okay?"

"Where are you going mommy?" the girl asked.

"I will be back before you realize I have gone darling..."

[Pitboss Maya]

Circa 440 BC

Pacal II visits the Koreans

Wang Geon, Mayans have appeared at the gates of Seoul. A group of ten. One of them claims to be Pacal!

Pacal? Here? Present them to me.

The guard left Wang Geon's chambers to retrieve the group of Mayans. Geon wondered to himself if perhaps this was some sort of trick. Why would Pacal travel such a distance with the Aztecs running amok?

Pacal and Nacon entered Geon's chambers, escorted by Korean guards. They were unarmed, and dressed in Mayan warrior garb.

The shorter and less muscular one stepped forward...

Wang Geon, it is good to finally meet you fact to face. I am Pacal the Second of the Mayans. This is Nacon, my War Chief. Our eight escorts are most honored warrior elite. Forgive my humble dress. We saw no reason to attract the attention of the Aztecs with my flashy royal wardrobe.

Why did you take such a great risk traveling in a small party through the brutal jungle with barbarians on the loose?

I received you missive concerning a possible marriage between myself and your daughter. This interests me greatly as it would serve to bring our people closer together. I wanted to see her first, and also wanted to meet the great Wang Geon in person. The jungle that you call brutal is home to us, so that was not a concern. We also have the utmost confidence that we can out run untrained Aztecs if need be.

A smile crept over Wang Geon's face. This was Pacal before him. Only Pacal would know of the missive and it's contents. Pacal also appeared to be a strong and healthy leader which meant strong and healthy children.

Bae Hyeongyeong had visited Tikal not long ago in hopes of gaining an audience with you about not only the proposed marriage, but also this Aztec plague. Why was he not seen?

I instructed my counsel to not reveal to anyone including my own people that I was not in Tikal. I can only assume that following orders they simply made Bae wait for my return, without disclosing the reason.

This make sense. I was concerned that perhaps the Mayan Royal Court had once again grown cold toward our people.

Not at all dear Wang Geon. If anything, the Aztec menace has made me realize that our people must rely on each other for survival. I have faith that the Aztecs will soon be defeated, but there will always be more enemies from other lands.

Pacal, it is indeed a great honor to have you, Cheif Nacon, and your escort here in Seoul. Had I known you were coming, I would have prepared a celebration.

Under normal circumstances I would have given advance notice. However, the risk that a message to that effect would be intercepted by the Aztec was too great. I am sure any accommodations you can muster will be more then suffice.

Guards! Spread the message that King Pacal has arrived in Seoul, and begin the preparations for a grand feast to begin three days from now. Pacal, would you like to meet the Princess?

Very much so.

Then tonight we ride to Pyongyang.

[Pitboss Vikings]

The Enterprise continued its long voyage. As it rounded another small island off the southern coast of Razolia they passed yet another province of the Greeks. The new captain of the ship with the death of Kirk was a young man , one who had been born on the ship, his name was Luke. He changed the orders of the Enterprise such that no one was referred to by rank anymore, it was more a friendly family mission now. So Luke, who had been told of the three provinces of Greece , and hoe they had come to civil war many hundreds of years ago, he knew that the provonce he was passing was one of these orginal three.

Luke also knew from talks with the Greek farmers he met every time the boat touched shore for supplies, that it wasnt far to the lands of people the Greeks called Korea. Luke was awaiting the sight of these people. He had learnt a lot from the Greeks. The history and the legends.

Luke was suprised that no one had settled the islands in the south, he had been told of the island tribe of the Japanese near to Oldonia, and he had expected all islands to have tribes inhabiting them too. But down here in the dark south, the islands were small and barren.

As Luke approached land again, he received another message. The messages were very infrequent now as he travelled further nad further around this large land of Razolia. He knew it was only by the grace of the GREAT ONE that messages still got through.

This message brought both sadness and happy messages. The Prince had died recently in Oldonia. But his heir was now on the throne and had commissioned the greatest amada of boats ever. They had been tasked to find the great land of the west. Spoken of in the old tales from the Great One. Yellcacia. It was here that the Great one foretold of great riches. The new prince had ordered the the leader of his navy Admiral Drake to head west till he found this land.

The message went on to say that, the enterprise was to continue its mission in hope that there was more to Razolia than had already been met. Rumours abounded of lands to the East of Razolia and also to the south beyond the great oceans.

Luke wrote a reply and made it his oath that the Enterprise would not return till the whole of Razolia was mapped and then its mission would be to sail further to the East to find new life.

[Pitboss Korea]

The message came early from Seoul; an envoy of Mayans and Koreans was en route from the capital, among them would be Wang Geon and Pacal. Sinjeong sat and stared forward, nearly emotionless. The news had been broken to her, her daughter who was still very young had been offered to the Mayan King Pacal II. But that is not all that Gang Jo told her, he explanied everything; that he loved her, that he was sent to spy on her, that Wang Geon suspected her motives of treason against him. Worse yet; he was coming back to Pyongyang.

"So he did live." she said referring to Wang Geon.

"He is a great warrior" Gang Jo said "I know, this is difficult to take in, but I couldn't let this happen, I know how much you must hate him, but this is perhaps the best for Daemoke."

"Are you hearing yourself Gang Jo?" she said, as tears began to build in her eyes "These people killed her grandfather, this man took her empire from her, she was to be the Queen of Silla. Now she will be some Mayan's conquest, a whore in exchange for power!"

"You must get a hold of yourself Sinjeong!" Gang Jo said, "He doesn't know anything yet, and Daemoke is far too young to be married, there is still time!"

Sinjeong looked into his eyes "What are you saying Gang Jo? Should we flee? To Greece?"

"No, no, the Greeks will not take us, we will be fugitives. They may even turns us over. No that wouldn't work."

"Then what?"

"I will help you" Gang Jo said, "I will help you kill him."

"...."

"But Sinjeong, you have to understand, if this agreement has already been made for Daemoke, the Mayans may take offense, we may still have to give her over." Gang Jo explained. "If we overthrow Wang Geon the Maya may use this as a pretense to the throne, as a pretense to war."

"Then there must be an heir" Sinjeong said quietly.

On the road to Pyongyang...

Geon and Pacal headed to Pyongyang, the finest litter in all of Korea was made for the great King of the Maya; Wang Geon wanted to impress Pacal, who was used to the wonders that were Tikal. If he was to do it he would have to use ceremony and fanfare. He knew this marriage would cement an alliance with the Maya, and complete his mission when he captured Seoul from Gung Ye centuries ago; the peace necessary to create a powerful and unified Korea.

"This countryside has suffered greatly" Pacal said as he looked at the charred and destroyed farmlands outside "The Aztecs are a savage lot."

"People will do horrendous things for their country my lord" Wang Geon said "They will go to great lengths, but so shall we, and once we are finished here we will crush them underfoot and for ever."

"Yours is a hearty race indeed Wang Geon" Pacal said. "Well deserved of a hearty ruler, such as yourself. So tell me about your Princess Sinjeong."

Wang Geon furrowed his brow "She is stubborn, much like her husband. But she is loyal, and beautiful; possibly the only good thing Gung Ye ever did."

"Yes, Gung Ye." Pacal said.

"So what ever came of him?" Wang Geon asked.

"I'm not entirely certain, father told me he died on the way to Tikal, that is all I know."

Wang Geon smiled "Of course he did..."

[Pitboss America]

The Hovel Report

WASHINGTON RECAPTURED!

The citizens of America are quietly celebrating the recapture of Washington from the barbarians. A vicious battle ensued with not one but two barbarian axemen in the city! Our brave chariot defeated the ruthless barbarians who came out to meet them. After the battle general Grant ordered the strangling survivors to attack the remaining contingent of barbarians hiding in the city and after house to hovel fighting ... the barbians were routed. But success maybe fleeting ... a new troop of spearman have been seen on the horizon marching double time to Washington. Grant has quickly assembled and drafted the remaining men to man the barricades and formed the first all women archers to bolster our defences. All of Amerca awaits the next runner with news from our beseiged capital.

BOSTON Founded

With little fanfare a group of settlers from Washington founded Boston. They are blissfully unaware of goings on in their former capital. Likely for the best because their relatives are likely dead.

[Pitboss Spain]

The Last Rites


José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa was found dead after attacking some barbs.

[Pitboss Korea]

Pyongyang...

Gang Jo rushed to the gates of Pyongyang, he was extremely nervous, and would be until his plot was fulfilled. The city of Pyongyang was not as pleasant as many other cities around the world; the Aztec threat meant two things for it, the first and most obvious was that there were a lot of people due to refugees from the countrysides, the second was that hardly any advanced construction had occured. The denizens of Pyongyang were somewhat simple and warlike (some compare them to the Spartans of Greece), but this was magnified by the fact that they had to focus on building military equipment to repel the Aztecs. Due to this, a grand ceremony was being planned for the arrival of the Mayan King Pacal II.

A guard from the watchtower blew the horn, signaling Wang Geon and his entourage were not far away, Gang Jo began to run; he wanted to replace the gate-guards with more well-dressed soldiers. It was then that he ran directly into a vagrant on the street, "Out of my way buffoon, I am a General of Pyongyang!" he said.

"Who is the true buffoon my friend, the man who calls himself a General but runs like a beheaded c0ck, for all of his men to see? Or the man who is but a drunk vagrant, but HAS a beheaded c0ck, all to himself!" the man said, holding up a chicken with its head chopped off, he was clearly drunk.

Gang Jo turned around "You do not speak to me in this way, I am the chief General to his majesty Wang Geon of Goguryeo." It was then that Gang Jo noticed this man is a monk, or at least was a monk by the looks of things.

"And I am Jigong, chief wine advisor to the Buddha, Siddhartha Gotama," he said, gulping down his wine, spilling it over half of his face.

"Doesn't look like it old man, you're robe is tattered, you are a mess, and you drink wine and eat meat, some buddhist you are!" the General said.

"Ahh my General, even you yourself should know that a mere servant does not always agree with his master, am I wrong about this?" Jigong said, taking another swig.

Gang Jo thought to himself, did this drunken man know more than he thought, or was he simply paranoid about everything now? Is this the way things would be from now on? Would he always be this suspicious? "Well here old man" he said, tossing him a piece of bronze "Buy yourself some new robes."

Jigong caught it as Gang Jo began to run away "THIS WILL FETCH ME SOME FINE WINE GENERAL, I THANK YOU!!!"

Wang Geon's Palace...

Daemoke and Sinjeong awaited the return of Gang Jo, who would bring with him Wang Geon and Pacal II. The mother was nervous as she looked down at her young child, who could not have fully comprehended what was going on. "Why are we dressed up mommy?" the little girl asked.

"Because my little flower" Sinjeong began, as her eyes welled up "Your father is coming, with your Prince."

"But aren't I too little mommy?" the girl said, "What is his name?"

Sinjeong looked down at her daughter, the tears began "His name is Pacal darling."

A guard ran into the room "General Gang Jo, his majesty Wang Geon, and Pacal II of the Maya have arrived!"

The first in the doorway was Gang Jo, he looked nervous and gave Sinjeong a reassuring look, he was followed by Wang Geon, who was busy chattering away at Pacal, who seemed quite disheartening at first glance to Princess Sinjeong. He was in his ceremonial Mayan dress, which included piercings, face paint, and an ornate headdress, to the Koreans this was highly unusual and a bit reminiscent of the Aztecs who attacked their cities. The young girl Daemoke buried her face in her mother's armpit. "I am Pacal II of the Maya" Pacal began "Is this your lovely daughter?" he said to Wang Geon, jokingly referring to Sinjeong.

"Your majesty" Sinjeong said, "I am sorry, the Empress is quite nervous."

It was at this point that the Princess noted Pacal too seemed quite young, his face was not as hard as the one she was forced to marry. "I must admit, I too am nervous" Pacal said.

Sinjeong shook her thoughts, remember Sinjeong these people killed your father! Gang Jo quickly interjected "Her majesty Daemoke has been hard at study, learning the ways of a proper lady of court, Sinjeong has done well teching her."

Wang Geon simply stared at his General, Gang Jo could feel his gaze but was too nervous to look in his direction.

"Daemoke, say hello to Pacal please" Wang Geon said, his daughter took her face from her mother's bosom and looked up at Pacal.

"Hello Daemoke, I have come from far away to meet you, I brought a gift for you," he said, pulling out a small jade necklass "The finest craftsmen in my city made this for you, and here" he said, pulling out a small stuffed cat "This is a jaguar, he is proud and honorable. A symbol of our people."

The little girl nervously took the gifts from Pacal "th-thank you" she said softly.

"Well, King Pacal," Wang Geon began "We shall break the ice, I must admit I have been a bit deceitful in my plans."

"How so Wang Geon?" The Mayan King replied.

"Our trip here is a distraction, back in Seoul a fine feast will be prepared for you in honor of this moment and to fill your belly with fine Korean cuisine before your return to Tikal. But I would like to know your thoughts on this marriage."

Pacal thought a moment "She is quite yet, obviously not able to bear children at this point, but I trust in your word Wang Geon, and this will do well to unify our people. And if she in any close way resembles her mother I shall have myself a beautiful bride." Pacal said smiling.

"Thank you my lord" Sinjeong said.

"Fantastic" Wang Geon turned to Gang Jo "We shall prepare a meal and entertainment for this evening, then in two days we return to Seoul for the real party."

Pacal was escorted out of the building to his own personal quarters, Gang Jo turned to leave but Wang Geon stopped him and whispered "I must speak with you in private, you know what its about..."

EDIT/OOC; Seriously guys? The word C-O-C-K is banned from apolyton? What is this? Kindergarten or smoething?

[Pitboss Vikings]

The Enterprise went further East, sailing around more Greek Citys, it was a large area controlled by the Greeks.

Luke mapped the coastline and more islands. He was lsightly overwhelmed with sheer vastness of their lands. They had a larger area than the Oldonians. And yet, he hadnt seen one Barbarian in al lhis travels. He wondered what the greeks had learnt to quell the barbarians.

Meanwhile the OSS Raz was heading further north. To find what existed up there. The captain was rudely awakened by a messenger, sir new orders, they want you to head WEST not North.


"West" said the captain, "But there is only ocean out there. We wouold never manage that crossing"

[Pitboss Japan]

Empress Rin was glad. Soon her thousand year old project would be completed and her people could change their focus on other things. Kyoto was booming and Kaguya was getting stronger by the day. Her relations with the ninja villages were never better. The only problem she had was the massive groups of barbarians to the north and south. She was not worried though because the barbarians were not moving. They just stood there like they were waiting for something. She hopped that they would hake a city either to the north or south so she could take them for herself and use her settlers to settle the islands around Japan.

Once her project was done she had orders for Kyoto and Kaguya to both start doing what was needed to create an army even bigger then the one before it. After thousands of years of waiting her dream was soon going to be realized. Soon no one would be safe from Japan’s great power and all who cross Japan’s path will burn. Empress Rin will be known around the world as a god and no one would be able to stop her from doing what she pleased.

[Pitboss Russia]

The war goes well Lord Pitr. The Romans in their heavy armor are trudging along, unable to catch our fastmoving chariots, and we've been pillaging and plundering the rich farmlands and villages of Rome.



Wonderful. They really should have built more roads. Continue to destroy their infrastructure, they'll never be able to defeat us if they don't feel safe.

Another thing as well, one of our runners has arrived announcing that Portugal has several near undefended cities in the north. Mikhail Charioteer is a loose cannon to have running around in that area, you know how he is hungry for plunder.

Don't bother to recall him, only an idiot would start another war for us on second front, not even Mikhail is that crazy.

[Pitboss Portugal]

Diplomatic Advisor

My King we have intercepted very disappointing news from the Far East. Seems that our so called Russian friends have been scouting our northern territories and rumors of possible plunders have been discussed in their capital.

Vixur

I can not believe what my ears are hearing. After so much work has been invested in bringing both tribes closer together. I opened borders with the Rus, so our people and theirs can exchange and trade resources.

Diplomatic Advisor

Well there are even more alarming news my King, on a recent trip one of our merchants overheard in a local Russian inn soldiers talking something about.“start another war for us on second front”

Vixur

How did it come to this? Just days ago I received a warm and friendly response from Pitr. Immediately build up our defenses close to the Rus borders. Close our borders with them, recall all Portuguese merchants from their lands. I can not trust a tribe which talks about being a friend and at the same time about plunder and war.

Also

Send diplomats to the Romans in the south; tell them that Russian aggression is threatening us as well. We have to work together to defend ourselves from these people from the East.

[Pitboss Japan]

Many months have passed and barbarian solders keep massing to the north and south. No one has been able to stop them. They have gone from village to village killing and raping everyone who stands in their way. General Iroh studies their movements. So far the barbarians have killed off the smaller clans around the land controlled by Empress Rin. He was confused for why would the barbarians kill everyone and thing in their way exept those in Empress Rin’s territory? And why would Empress Rin want them to be left alone?

[Pitboss Korea]

The Dragon and the Tiger...

For centuries the Koreans and Mayans shared a landmass split by both a mountain and a river. They had shared war, they had shared peace, and they had shared enemies. Now they will share blood. The Koreans had called the Mayans, since ancient times, the "Dragon People" in reference to the serpent gods they worshipped since time immemorial. The history of these tribes has been storied, even in the early light of history. In the early days there was conflict and misunderstanding, followed by truce, and entente, then eventually a border agreement, shared grief over the Aztec scourge, and finally a full blood-pact; the young King of Tikal Pacal the Second would be married to the young Empress whose blood unified the rival Korean city-states of Pyongyang and Seoul. This occurance would be the centerpeice of a policy forged by the warlord Wang Geon, who in the 1600s BCE captured the city of Seoul, deposed its Warlord Gung Ye, took his daughter as a bride, made peace with the Mayas, made peace with the Greeks, established borders with both, and snuffed out the Aztec threat. Many in Seoul hated Wang Geon and saw him as a foreign interloper (the people of Seoul had always been rivals of those from Pyongyang, and Wang Geon epitomized this rivalry), but now there could be little doubt in the merits of his leadership. Despite his Pyongyang origins, he protected Seoul from both the Maya and Aztecs, despite his pagan beliefs he built a monastery in Seoul and named Subo, a Buddhist monk and friend of his Seoul-born wife, his religious advisor, and on top of all this Wang Geon even erected a monument to Gung Ye. If he was loathed by those of Seoul at the time he would be remembered as a great leader of Korea, and the founder of the dynasty that would become the Koryo dynasty. But in 395 BCE that dynasty was yet to be forged, and the establishment of a Mayan-Korean alliance was just begining. Koreans had always represented their nation with the Tiger, and they were now going to unite this animal with the Dragon, the symbol of the Maya...


Seoul; The Capital of Korea...



Wang Geon was well aware that Pacal was quite used to the grandeur that was Tikal, and just as aware that Seoul fell quite short of this grandeur. Colorful decorations were set up all over the city, statues of the Buddha and other Korean symbols were quickly placed all over the town as Korean workers scurried from corner to corner making sure all of the laterns were lit, and everything was in its proper place. Subo, the newly appointed religious advisor to Wang Geon, looked over the streets with a great smile. Finally he would be reunited with his friend Jigong; the two had last been together in the Jogye mountains following the destruction of the Buddhist villiage there. His travels were quite animated after that, he visited Wonsan and witnessed its destruction at the hands of the Aztecs, then travelled with the great General Bae Hyeongyeong to the Mayan capital of Tikal, then back here to Seoul where Wang Geon unveiled the monastery of Jogyesa, named in honor of the fallen villiage of Jogye, "Very good, very good, they shall be here shortly we must line all of the monks here along this road." Subo said to his apprentices, "Make sure their robes are vibrant, we must impress this man Pacal."

General Shin Sung slowly approached, looking at all of the decorations "Fantastic job Subo, you skinheads are pretty creative." he laughed.

"Thank you General" Subo said, with a slight bow "I hope it is sufficient, I never got to thank his majesty for this monastery, I really did not think he would fulfill his promise after Lama Jinul died."

"Well, Wang Geon is a man of his word you know" Shin Sung said "If not for him I wouldn't be General you know."

"Quite obviously." Subo replied.

"I guess it is" Shin Sung said, the large drums began to beat in the distance "Oh my, they're here, I've got to run, good luck to you Subo."

"You too, General..."

The gates opened and the entourage of Pacal was first in and greeted immedeately to the traditional Buddhist chakpop dancers, performing to the pomp'ae music which was favored by Wang Geon. The colors vibrant colors and decorations pleased Wang Geon, who was worried that Subo and Shin Sung (both still virtually unknown to him) may screw things up, "So Pacal, what do you think?"

"Very impressive Wang Geon, the colors remind me of Tikal, of our parrots and our buildings, they are colored just as vibrantly," Pacal said "And your women are not bad either, but they wear far too much clothing" he said chuckling.

"Well, we don't live in a steamy jungle my friend." Wang Geon replied.

The entourage continued, as per tradition the women were in the back of the entourage. Sinjeong would travel without her 'bodyguard' Gang Jo, who was left behind in Pyongyang. Wang Geon did not want to let him know what Bae Hyeongyeong had told him, but did ask him for an update on the Princess. Gang Jo gave him no information, and this angered the King; he knew she was up to something, but he knew his mind wandered, as did Pacal. "Something on your mind, Wang Geon?"

"Oh, I am just wondering what they have prepared for our feast this evening, you know, thinking about my speech."

Pacal hid it well, but he was pleased to see the Korean King so nervous in his presence "Do not fret Wang Geon, I am sure things will go quite splendid" the entourage passed the statue of Gung Ye, "And who might this be?" Pacal asked.

"Oh, that is a statue of Gung Ye, I had it built soon after I took power." Wang Geon replied.

"Something for the wife?" Pacal asked.

"Something for the people." Wang Geon retorted.

"Ah yes, of course, the people" Pacal mused "musn't forget the people."

The group then passed by the Jogyesa monastery; this building and its monks all dressed in their bright orange robes greatly impressed Pacal. "And what is this fine building, it is quite splendid."

"It is the Buddhist monastery, the Jogyesa. Now this was built for my wife" he said "And very timely as well, the Aztecs destroyed the villiage in the Jogye mountians, there is Subo my religious advisor there."

"They all look the same to me, no offense of course." Pacal said.

"I agree, I call them skinheads" he said waving at Subo, Subo smiled and waved back.

"It was the least I could do, I don't personally believe in that Buddhist nonsense, so of course the marriage can occur in a Mayan traditional ceremony."

Pacal smiled "That would certainly please me and my people greatly Wang Geon."

"Sinjeong may not like it, but it is not her decision" Wang Geon said, he was happy to dissapoint her in this way, if what Hong Yu said was true of course...



Pyongyang...

Han Gong barged into Gang Jo's chambers, it was very early in the morning and Gang Jo was awaked by the noise, his guards quickly approached Han Gong "Lietenant Han Gong, why do you wake the General?" one of them said.

"Guards, stand down please, I'm awake" a groggy Gang Jo said, he sat up in his bed "Han Gong, what hour is it?"

"I'm sorry sir, this appears to be important!" he said.

"Ugh" Gang Jo said, rubbing his eyes "What is it?"

"We have word from a scout that a ship is approaching?" Han Gong said.

"A scout? What scout? I didn't comission a scout anywhere." Gang Jo liked to know about everything, and anything he didn't know displeased him, especially with Wang Geon on his case.

"I sent a scout west sir, along the Taebong, they reached the coast and got word from the locals of a foreign ship headed in our direction."

Gang Jo yawned "What kind of ship? Is it Greek? Mayan, what?"

"We don't know sir, they are fair-haired."

"Fair-haired, what does that mean?" Gang Jo asked, getting up from his bed.

"The men have hair like grain sir, it is yellow like the sun, we don't believe they are Greek or for that matter Mayan sir. None of them are known to have hair like this."

"Damn it Han Gong!" Gang Jo said "I'm trying to sleep, I've been through a lot of stress lately and you come barging in here with some important information about hair." Gang Jo said, putting on his clothes.

"I apologize sir" Han Gong said "I thought you'd like to know."

"No no, you've done well. I'm just tired, well are you ready to go?"

"To go where sir?" Han Gong asked.

"To meet these fair-hairs?"

Back in Seoul...

The group had finally reached the palace. They would share a meal of Korea's finest delicacies in the courtyard; grape wine and dishes made of corn, pig, wheat and lamb from the Korean countryside. Dancers again entertained the group before the nobles would amass in the courtyard to hear the official announcement.

This time Daemoke and Sinjeong would accompany the men, so the conversation would have to be a bit more proper and official; "I've always thought the Greeks good people, my General here, Bae Hyeongyeong is well respected by the Spartan King Lacedameon, isnt' that right Bae?" Wang asked.

"Ah yes, I enjoyed my time in Sparta, I learned a lot there. They train their boys from a very young age for warfare, for survival, they even teach them how to steal and murder if necessary" Bae said, sipping his wine.

"Steal and murder?" Pacal asked, "Quite strange."

"Yes, indeed, even the nobility" Wang Geon said.

"Especially the nobility" Bae responded "It sounds worse than it is though, its about survival really."

"I hear they are renowned lovers" Sinjeong interjected, Wang Geon was not pleased with this remark.

"Well, perhaps not the Spartans" Bae explained "That is probably the Athenians you speak of, the Spartans are less liberal, they treat romance as, well, a mechanical art."

"We have always had good relations with the Greeks" Pacal explained "I must admit it has been difficult to know who is in charge over there." he said trying some of the pork, "This is quite astounding food!" Pacal said.

"Bae, tell Pacal about that story you told me, when you first met the Greeks." Wang Geon said.

"Eh, I'm kind of sick of telling it, I was on campaign in the west against the barbarians beyond the Taebong, and we encountered an army of Spartans-" Wang Geon interrupted him.

"And he approached the whole Spartan army, completely naked!" Wang Geon said.

"Well, not completely naked, the story has been exaggerated over the years."

"You were the one?" Pacal asked, he was legitimately intrigued.

"So you've heard of this?" Bae Hyeongyeong asked.

"Its been thrown around among the soldiers, I've heard it, you killed the King's son and he honored you in his palace, as if you were his son, right?" Pacal said, as he finished his meal.

"Well, no, it didn't happen like that. I shot him in the ankle with the arrow and I said he was no Achilles. So they appreciated it." Bae said, taking a much larger swig of his wine, he really didn't like talking about it.

Wang Geon was a little disappointed "Oh Bae is just modest, he is an honorable man. Enough about the Greeks though. Let us speak of our alliance. Obviously our most pressing matter is to destroy the Aztec city, we have an army large enough to take it on our own, but we are aware that it is within your sphere of influence as per our border agreement, so we will not act unless we have your blessing."

"Well, if you are prepared to take it, go ahead. We do not want it, but we would be quite dishonored of you maintained the presence there." Pacal said, as he drank some wine.

"Of course we would not maintain a presence, we would either turn it over to you or raze it to the ground." Wang Geon explained.

"That would suffice." Pacal responded.

"I must interject my lord" Bae said "I would be worried that our defenses would be severely diminished, and we don't know quite yet if there are still Aztec units roaming the countryside, there have been no reports of course, but we hardly held them off here."

Again, Wang Geon was displeased with the way the conversation was going, he was worried this was too much information for Pacal to hear, "And how would you know this Bae? You were not even here!"

Bae realized he had gone too far "Yes your majesty, that is correct," he looked around the courtyard "Look, the nobles have begun to gather. I think its time for the announcement my lord."

"Yes, indeed..." Wang Geon said, staring at Bae.

Moments later...

The nobility of Seoul, Pyongyang, and those that escaped Wonsan in time filled the courtyard of the Palace in Seoul. An event like this had never occured in Korean history; the marriage of one of their royals to a foreign leader, let alone the King of the mighty Mayans. Wang Geon was pleased with the event, now finally he could focus on other issues. He would no longer have to gaze nervously at the Mayan border, wondering what may come at any moment. Daemoke and Pacal were sat at a table, with Wang Geon standing between them. The nobles of Korea knelt on the ground in the courtyard and bowed their heads out of respect. Wang Geon looked around, it was only a couple of years prior that he made a speech here about the demise of Korea, now this was about the future.

"My people!" he began "Many hardships have come to this city and its people, to Korea and its people in recent years. We have fought battle after battle against an unyielding force of Aztec warriors. We have recovered mightily, showing our tenacity and our mettle. Finally our little nation is at peace with itself, and it is timem for it to come to peace with its neighbors, the hearty and mighty Mayans. To symbolize and to ensure this lasting peace our Empress, the beautiful Daemoke of Goguryeo shall take the hand of the glorious King Pacal II of Tikal. This marriage shall be not theirs alone, but a marriage of Korea and the Maya. The Mayans were once our enemies, they became our friends, and now they shall be our cousins. This is a symbol of our loyalty, and our mutual success for future generations to come. To signify this unity my religious advisor Subo shall bless this union, and its official ceremony shall occur in the Mayan tradition in the grand city of Tikal." Sinjeong did not expect this, and was visibly upset that the ceremony would not be a buddhist one "This is a day to rejoice, this is a day of brotherhood, long live King Pacal and his Queen Daemoke!"

[Pitboss Rome]

General Caelius, General Aelius I have called you here to discuss military matters. It seems that the nimble barbarian chariots are looting the country side... we need to focus on the Rus barbarians for the moment, they are the most organized.

"But sir! Our territories in the west and south! There are too few settlers in the region, we find it harder to patrol. "

Caelius is right sir, both our legions are already streched thin! We haven't patroled the borders with the western civilized states in many turns. We must be prepared in case of treachery...

Nonsense, we have good relations with all our neighbors, besides we are strong enough for them to see that it is not wise to antagonize us.

The Portugese are stronger mylord, they may be tempted to size our lands while we are fighting the Easterners.

"I don't think so Aelius, they are concerned by Rus raiding parties just as we are. I am quite confident they will not violate any agreements. Perhaps they could even prove to be valuable allies..."

We need no allies, we have defeated Rus forces in every major confrontation, it simply because of their mobility that they have managed to preserve the main bulk of their forces. We can't build roads fast enough, so we must increase troop density in the east. But, I do understand the need to keep the West safe. Caelius your legion marches East to join the forces already under my direct command, Aelius your troops should take up camp in Rome and recruit new citizens into the legion to replace the losses, try to use the time to train the veteran legionaries in additional skills, afterward head West. You are dismissed gentlemen.

But sir, shouldn't we take this opportunity to sacrifice a bull to Jupiter Victor? We haven't done a proper war-time sacrifice since the confict has begun....

"Indeed, many see this as a bad omen..."

A bad omen is the razing of Mediolaneum. I will not waste half a day attending those dull ceremonies when my troops could be marching East. And if either of you dare to speak without my permission again, I will have your heads on a pike. Leave us now.

The two generals left the tent of the king and did not say a word to each other as they parted ways. Aelius took his fastest horse and only stopped for a brief moment to look at the darkening sky before heading for Rome.

Meanwhile on the other side of the camp, Caelius was uneasily watching the same storm clouds as he gave the loud order: "Men, we march East!"

And so they did.