Succession Game V: The Empire of Ra

[Immortal Wombat]

I know this ocean-link isn't necessary, as they are alredy joined, its as good a site as any, and would reduce movement time from North to South.

[hexagonian]

David isn't an Egyptian name, it's Hebrew....

[Immortal Wombat]

Yeah...His parents were hippies

[Locutus]

Website updated with IW's story and pics...

[Gazablanca]

And after the last Apolyton's death,
Gazablanca III,Apolyton XI
takes over(formerly known as Gaza the White,but with much more suntanned skin)

3380 BC

Spearman built in Abydos.

3360 BC

Surprised that Memphis has no big fields to laze about in summer,Gazablanca builds a farm the river.

3340 BC

The Javelin Cavalry roaming the north meets up with a nomad of the Celt empire,who says that the Celt leader,Cunobelin,is not one to be trifled with.....Gazablanca,upon hearing this,wonders why the hell anyone would want to be covered in a mixture of custard,jelly and cream anyway,and decides right off that the Celts are rather cuckoo.....
For the Celt's insolence,the Javelin Cavalry boots the nomad with all his might back to whence the cheeky one came from.However,before this,an exchange of maps is decided with the Celts anyway,which is refused by them,which was met by the mighty boot up the arse as described before.
In the meantime,the barb slinger army returns to try to mock the Memphis inhabitants.

3320 BC

Nomad built in Heliopolis:destination is the coastline south of this city.Some regiments of the army of Ra are assigned to protect it until the army of Ptah is met up with.A Ziggurat is started in Heliopolis.

3300/3280 BC

Nothing much happens.

3260 BC

Army of Ptah rendezvoused with Nomad.This group then travels south.Meanwhile,Tanis begins production on jurisprudence,which will help our empire keep crime down and also raise a great leader.

3240/3220/3200 BC

Nothing much happens again,apart from troop movements.Gazablanca amuses himself by trying to build a beer-urn mountain to rival the pyramids....

3180 BC

The Javelin Cavalier discovers an Arabian city called Samarkand,and an angry size ten stack of Arabian military giving chase.The Cavelier hotfoots it as fast as possible.....

3160 BC

Abydos starts building Ziggurat.

3140 BC

Bad News!!!!A plague has struck in all our cities,knocking each city's population down by a point.Gazablanca curses loudly and for a long period,inventing new swear words at the same time.
There is some good news though....a new city has been founded,called Bubastis.The Army of Ra will defend it until such time as the city has enough soldiers to defend itself.

3120 BC

Cavalier continues northwards resolutely

3100 BC

Heliopolis starts a riot!!This is probably due to the effects of the plague.An entertainer takes a farmer's place and brings the spirits up in Heliopolis.Gazablanca writes in his log book a reminder to convert the entertainer back into a farmer when the city is happy enough.
After all this excitement,Gazablanca dies after a frenzied drinking and swearing session.......his heart gives up.However,he dies happy knowing that the Egyptian empire is finally expanding.

[Locutus]

Website has been updated with Gaz's story and pic...

[Gazablanca]

Since there is no sign of Assur's transcript of his story,and the 72 hour deadline has passed,I will be sending on the save game file onto Ed as soon as possible.

[Locutus]

Yeah, I already contacted Assur but I haven't heard anything yet. Send the file to Ed when you can. Ed, I want to give Assur until tomorrow to respond. If you don't hear from me or Assur today, feel free to play your turn tomorrow (or later...).

[Locutus]

Gaz/Ed,
I haven't heard anything from Assur. If you haven't done so already, please send/play the game ASAP, thanks...

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by Locutus
Gaz/Ed,
I haven't heard anything from Assur. If you haven't done so already, please send/play the game ASAP, thanks...

Got it. Will play tonight.

[Hermann the Lombard]

The Stela of Her-mann III, Apolyton XII

Out of a haze of blue air and alcohol fumes emerges the new Apolyton of Egypt. Is it Assur reborn? No, all those of that lineage have gone on an extended “vacation trip” to Arabia. Rather, it is a long-lost heir to the fifth Apolyton, Her-mann I, called “The Coracle Dreamer” or “Got Rock in His Head.”

3080 BC

Her-mann III steps to the balcony of the Palace of the Apolyton and receives the traditional greeting from the people of Heliopolis: a hail of stones and oaths from rioters in the street. From this day forward the Apolyton is never again seen without a helmet. From this evolve the elaborate headdresses of the Apolytons of Egypt. The late Gazablanca III had quelled the rioters, but the entertainer either went on break or died in the plague. A new entertainer takes the stage, and the wrath of the mob subsides.

The new Apolyton finds a Ziggurat on the verge of completion in Heliopolis, but the city elders claim that to build this is folly, as “there are no wise men in the city. Is there no better use for our efforts than to further mere Science? A Bazaar, perhaps?” Her-mann examines the records of the city and discovers that the city is contributing nothing to the coffers of the Empire of Ra; in fact, the city is using a bar of gold each year, twenty over the last period of the third Gazablanca’s reign. A shrine? That might appease the rioters. Oh, but it appears that the Ziggurat is complete; the rioters merely prevented its dedication. [Can’t move it down the queue; can’t move anything up to the top of the queue.]

Ptah escorts a nomad east from Bubastis, with visions of spice and of expansion in mind. A chariot scouts ahead to prevent ambush.

3060 BC

The much-delayed Ziggurat of Heliopolis is dedicated to the new Apolyton, the entertainer retires, and with that the wise men of the city emerge from hiding. The effort is justified after all! The city begins to assemble a Labor Recruitment Team.

The northern Javelin Cavalry is christened The Eyes of Horus, and enters the territory of Japan. They discover a vile Yamato press gang, but these are not the Claws of Horus, so the cavalry attempts to maneuver around the Yamato.

3040 BC

The Yamato press gang presses their luck, and the Eyes of Horus ride them down. Riding on, they they see the city of Osaka on the horizon. The Bazaar of Memphis is completed, but stubbornly remains in the queue. The priests murmur that the gods are angry at the continuing omission of the ritual of /reloadslic. A brief display by The Blood Runners silences the murmuring, and new priests are brought to fill the vacancies. The Army of Ra sets forth from Heliopolis to clear the way for the nomads coming from Bubastis.

3020 BC

Not a good year for diplomacy: the Celts have gone to war with the Arabians, who in turn have gone to war with the Yamato. Well, we don’t much like the Arabians, ourselves!

3000 BC

Our sages reveal the secret of Jurisprudence! Her-mann recalls his great ancestor’s unrequited dream of mighty coracles bobbing across the seas, but then he recalls the fate of his great ancestor. He orders the sages to reveal how to have a horse pull a wheeled platform. He figures that if they can pull this off, they can find something useful to do with these contraptions.

2985 BC

A mystery! Memphis has built a Bazaar, for the third consecutive period. It seems that the workers of the city are afraid to move on; perhaps they have separation anxiety. Her-mann orders a few heads separated from shoulders. Enough of this Bazaar already! In the east, Ptah meets Ra and together they bring the nomads onto the Spice Isthmus.

2970-2955 BC

Nothing of significance happens (no news is good news?) as the chariot scouts ahead of the combined armies.

2940 BC

The Spice City of Meidum is founded, and commences trying to raise a troop of javelin cavalry. This will be a long process for a new city. The charioteers ride east as far as the legendary Great Wheatfield, then turn back toward Meidum. The Army of Ra is returning to Heliopolis.

The Surveyors of the Apolyton trace a route for a road to link Heliopolis and Meidum, as Memphis and Tanis are linked in the west. When complete, the two cities can support each other against threats. Her-mann speaks to his people: “The Arabs declared war on Egypt during the reign of Her-mann I, two thousand four hundred years ago. Sooner or later the Arabian armies will find us! Someday, one of their commanders will stop to ask for directions!”

2925 BC

The first regiment of warriors is commissioned in Bubastis. The new army is christened “Bast,” at least until the prophesied return of the Guardian of the Sacred Language. A band of barbarian warriors approaches Memphis from the east.

2910 BC

The Great Eastern Road is complete! The Army of Ra returns along it and enters Heliopolis in triumph. (The triumph was apparently in not getting lost, even though they refused to ask for directions. “Only Arabs ask for directions,” they scoff.)

2895 BC

A new troop joins The Blood Runners in Memphis, and they ride out to cleanse the Nile Valley of the stain of barbarian intrusion. The great river runs red, and not with Egyptian blood.

2880 BC

Showing persistent inability to learn, yet another barbarian warrior band approaches Memphis and the Nile. Barbarian blood is sent running once more…though one troop of cavalry is getting the worse for wear.

2865 BC

Farms are laid out to supply more food to the young cities of Bubastis and Meidum. Far to the north, the Eyes of Horus spy a force of Arabian archers, possibly approaching the Yamato lands. Good! Let them die there!

2850 BC

No, they died right here; the Arabians are swept away by an enormous barbarian horde, the largest ever seen! The Eyes of Horus can count four slingers and a spearband, but that is only half of this Dread Horde. A Yamato hoplite appears as well; let THEM deal with the horde!

The new labor recruitment team starts east toward our “friends” in Arabia. News arrives: the Yamato have gone to war with the Celts. It’s a regular love feast over there!

Her-mann III, Apolyton XII faces a momentous decision: should the Empire of Ra pursue The Code of Hammurabi? If so, what city has the best chance to succeed? Memphis and Heliopolis would vie for the honor (and are too far apart to fight over it). The sages advise keeping the effort a secret as long as possible, lest foreigners become jealous. Memphis appears to be producing more javelin cavalry, and Heliopolis is ostensibly preparing the first Prophet of Ptah. The Apolyton is troubled. A great storm rises; an omen? Her-mann mounts the Ziggurat of Memphis, to be as close to the gods as possible. Swept by the rain, he holds his helmet high overhead, and calls upon the gods to give him guidance!

They give him lightning.

It seems that Her-mann made an ash of himself.

[Hermann the Lombard]

The East of the Empire of Ra, 2850 BC

[Locutus]

Okay, I played my turn (since I assume Oerdin still can't play - but I'll gladly replay if he reports in soon) and will post a story later. As African history buff, I tried not to b*tch too much about the IMNSHO fairly poor quality of the city list but I must object to the name 'Meidum'...

There's no such thing as an ancient Egyptian city of Meidum. There's a modern town whose anglicized(sp?) name is Meidum but it's a rather insignificant little town. The only reason Meidum is famous is because of a somewhat unusual pyramid that has been found in it's vicitinity. I might include it on an Egyptian city list myself somewhere but not amonst the first 50 cities and certainly not before very important cities like Thebes, Elepantine, This, Busiris or Pi-Ramesses (among others).

Unless there are objections, I propose we rename that city. I already renamed it Aphroditopolis aka Tep-ihet (but that change can always be reversed of course) as that was a nearby city of some importance: it was the capital of the nome on the other side of the Nile - I wanted to use the capital of the nome in which the Meidum pyramid itself was located but that's already the next city on the list: Faiyum (aka Crocodilopolis - I built the city and renamed it Crocodilopolis as it's more consistent with the rest of the list (all Greek names) and because it's a much cooler name ). It would be nicer to rename it to This or Coptos or something but I'm sure that whoever made the Egyptian city list had *some* kind of logic behind his choices (although I don't see it) and I didn't want to screw things up too much...

[Hermann the Lombard]

If Oerdin *can* play then I owe him a BIG apology.

Assumptions again...

I support renaming cities to more appropriate names, and defer to you, O Noble Locutus, as the Guardian of History and of the Sacred Language.

[Locutus]

Sorry, I've been very busy IRL lately, exams and stuff. But here is finally the story of Locutus IV, Apolyton XIII. I hope to be able to update the website(s) tomorrow, but I'm still busy so no promises...

---

After Her-mann's remains have been buried according to the rituals of Ptah, Locutus is chosen as the new leader of Kemet in 2850 BC. His first act is to send out surveyors to all corners of the empire and report to he the state of the empire. Locutus is shocked when he hears the report of the surveyors that went to Meidum. What infidels dishonoured this holy city of the goddess Hathor (by our Byzantine friends curiously enough called Aphrodite) by giving it an Arab name?! He immediately orders the entire city counsel to be executed as Arab traitors and spies and, to strengthen our friendship with the Byzantines, has the city renamed Aphroditopolis (Per-Hathor in the Holy Language). He also reorganises the army: the army of Ptah defending Aphroditopolis is renamed the army of Hathor, the City Guard of Memphis is renamed army of Ptah and changes in the composition of various armies are made. Locutus is pleased to see that no changes to the army of Bast (in name or otherwise) are needed.

Next, Locutus IV gives 100 Gold to the Celts to strenghten diplomatic ties, orders his counsel of wise men to forget about their past efforts and focus on a concept called 'Drama', this principle shall one day inspire our soldiers and increase their morale on the battlefield, as well as entertain the civilian population. Locutus also sees that there are still plenty of empty forests, mountains and grasslands south of the empire waiting to be settled, so he orders Bubastis (Per-Bastet in the Sacred Language) to start working on a Nomad. Also, he wants to be remembered as a Great Builder and therefore orders the city of Memphis to build the Temple of Solomon and Code of Hammurabi in Heliopolis. The Temple of Solomon in particular creates a lot of resistance from the local population: how dares the great Apolyton to challenge the greatness of the holiest of holy temples of the empire, the temple of Ra by building such an inferior temple? But Locutus assures his people that they should trust him, he will not disappoint them. Disgruntled the mob accepts the decision of their leader.

2835 BC: Maps with the Byzantines and Celts are exchanged. In spite a of a generous gift of 100 Gold, the Celts refuse to sign a no-tresspassing treaty.

In 2820 BC, a Nomad is built in Tanis, Javelin Cavarlymen are now being trained.

2805 BC: Locutus is bored and has a summer palace built in Aphroditopolis, the city of the goddess of love, dance and alcohol. He spends most of his time making 'sacrifices' to the goddess. In the rest of the empire, all is quiet.

2790 BC: A Ziggurat is built in Abydos. In the presence of the 13th Apolyton, an eleborate ceremony is held in the city to dedicate the shrine to Osiris. After that, Locutus orders the formation of Javelin Cavalry and heads back to Bubastis for many 'sacrifices'...

In 2775 BC 100 Gold is given to the Celts once again and the Eye of Horus walks into a foul Barbarian trap. The brave soldiers are surrounded by 6 Barbarian armies.

2760 BC: In spite of inflicting heavy casualties to the vicious Barbarians, the Eye of Horus is destroyed.

2745 BC: Locutus organises horse races to entertain his population but spends most of his time in Per-Bastet himself.

2730 BC The many sacrifices to our gods are paying off: the gods shake the earth near the Yamoto city of Odawara and cause a lot of death and destruction. Barbarian Hoplites are spotted outside Memphis, the nearby Nomads are worried and sacrifice to Ptah to ensure that his holy army protecting them will not fail. The army of Ptah and the Blood-runners of Memphis are lining up for attack.

In 2715 BC yet more Barbarian Hoplites are seen near Memphis. Meanwhile, the Nomads feel the need to protect themselves further against this Barbarian threat and at the first suitable location found the city of Crocodilopolis and form a garrison to protect themselves. The city is named She-resy in the Holy Language and declared the city of Sobek, it's defenders the army of Sobek. The production of a Slinger is started while one Cavarly regiment remains to defend the city while the rest moves out of the city to attack the Barbarians. The Bloodrunners from Memphis attack the Hoplites outside the city and much Barbarian blood flows.

Meanwhile, the wise men of Locutus have figured out a way to entertain the population through Drama. When Locutus hears of this, he instructs Memphis to disband its work on the temple of Solomon and switch to the terrain on which the newly discovered Olympics will be held, reusing the foundation of the temple for this project. The citizens of the city are relieved and grateful that Locutus had the vision to foresee this event. Meanwhile, public works are being saved up for the construction of mines around the city. The wise men of Egypt now work on a way to store food longer by creating so called 'Granaries'.

2600 BC: the Blood Runners defeat the remaining Barbarian Hoplites. Aphroditopolis builds Cavalry, now starts on a Slinger. Unfortunately Locutus has been so busy 'sacrificing' alcohol to Hathor that, while leading the new Cavalry regiment in a training exercise, he falls of his horse and dies.