Forever Future 1.7 PBEM game

[Max_Smirnov]

This post had been commisioned by Daniel, the Celt player. It has his full authorization, and my input had been just to put his wishes into a proper written form.



To anyone whom it might concern.
I'm declaring the waters of Celtic and Èire Seas off limits to any shipping. Any foreign ship, friend or foe, spotted in these waters will be immediately engaged and destroyed on principle, unless granted my explicit permission to pass and keeping strictly to the agreed path and schedule. I have commenced a full scale assault against India, and while not harboring any enmity towards France, Egypt or Japan, I have no patience for any obstructions. The recent war between Egypt and Japan clearly shows the consequences of not setting straight and simple rules. So these are mine: keep out of the way of my armies or become collateral damage.

Signed,
Empress Arturia.

[Max_Smirnov]

It was good to have some sleep in the coal-heated belly of the egyptian flagship, after spending that horrible day in the freezing hell of Kyoto Imperial Palace. Admiral Tuzalomon yawned and climbed the stairs to the deck.

"Your majesty," he immediately bowed, spotting Princess Azuria. She was observing the distant city of Kyoto by the means of a spyglass, another invention that made Egyptians superior to those southern barbarians; they could see them, remaining invisible themselves. There was a slight smile on Azurias lips. He walked over to her. "I wanted to talk to you in the evening but nobody knew where you've been... Um," he straightened himself. "So I have come to an agreement with their Empress. I had an idea that..."

"Yeah, yeah," cut in the princess. "They would stop the developement of their naval technologies in exchange for our protection... Exactly as I have foressen."

"Uh...?" The Admiral was completely taken by surprise.

"Or rather, exactly as that Japanese spy of your advisor was whispering into your ears all the time..."

"U-uh, what spy?" The Admiral suddenly started to sweat, despite the icy breeze. If there was a spy in his staff, the responsibility...

Azuria adjusted her spyglass, and her smile widened. "It seems it worked perfectly. Their invasion fleet had already set sail. Commander!"

"Aye, Madam!" saluted the skipper.

"Signal all the ships to follow my lead! Crews at full battle readiness! Ignite the fires! Full speed ahead!"

Only now Tuzalomon realized that their Morningstars were set in a perfect inverse crescent formation...

"Princess Azuria! What are you... What are you doing?"

The black-haired woman nibly climbed up an observation tower and put the spyglass to her eye again.



"Splendid work, Admiral! Splendid work indeed. Look at them... coming like lambs to the slaugther."

"You.. you're planning to...? But the treaty!"

"Fool! That was the plan all along. I want more speed!" she shouted. "Flamethrowers and ballistas at the ready! Let no one escape! A-ha. Ahahaha. AHAHAHAHA!"

At the last moment, the Japanese captains seemed to understand something was wrong, but haven't the Goddess spoken that the Egyptians were their allies now? Only when the flamethrowers were engaged and rain of burning oil fell on the heads of crowding soldiers and sailors, everything became clear. But it was already too late. The hellish flames were quickly consuming wooden boats, and their hapless occupants. Some ships were simply crushed, ran over by the iron rams of massive Morningstars. Some tried to escape, but were too slow to maneuver under their heavy burden, and fell victim to Egyptian catapults and ballistas. The massacre was horrible in its beauty, and Tuzalomon was in equal part appaled and entralled. Hundreds of screams of people drowning or burning alive, and that horrific Azuria's laugh...



Within two hours, the Japanese invasion fleet ceased to exist, and close to ten thousand soldiers and sailors found eternal peace at the bottom of the Sea of Japan, never to see the shores of Persia they were supposed to conquer. Who managed to escape the Egyptian ships, was quickly finished off by the icy water. Only a handful people made it back to their home shores.

"We have suffered several dozens of casaulties from Japanese arrows and boarding attempts. No damage to the ships!" Reported the ship's captain.

"No losses then," said Azuria with a bored tone. She sighed and hid her spyglass. "Nothing left to see here."

"Aren't you going to bombard Kyoto?" asked Tuzalomon.

"Meh. Just look at these walls. And too much snow for our flame catapults to start any serious fires."

"I still can't believe we have..."

"Set the course eastwards. Nagoya. We're going to assault the merchant routes. Tell our men that 50% of any loot will be divided between the crews. From now on, the Japanese shore is under our blockade. My orders are to engage anything that floats. I wonder what sound makes a fishing boat when you run a Morningstar over it. I've always hated these smelly boats, and I've seen way too many of them during my neverending vacation in Nicosia."



In the course of the following week, Azuria's fleet proceeded eastwards, leaving a bloody trail of sunken merchant ships and fishing boats in its wake.

"This is the fifth ship," said Tuzalomon. "I don't think Japanese merchants will dare to enter these waters anytime soon." His expression was grim, he was fully aware of what was going to happen next.

"You know what to do," said Azuria with a smirk, motioning the Egyptian officers.

Soon, her Morningstar slowly left the scene, leaving the large merchant ship burning, its crew facing choice between staying onboard and being burned to death, or jumping into the icy embraces of the sea and being drowned or killed by the cold instead. The old captain of the ship wouldn't accept such a choice. He threw the last scornful glare at the Egyptian warship and that devil woman who ordered the death of his innocent crew, before grabbing his Wakizashi and kneeling down on the already-smoldering deck.

[Eerion]

The freezing wind danced in the Royal Quarters. The winter was slowly loosening its grip, and sun was bringing more warmth with each passing day. But this warmth never reached the throne. Covered in thin ice, like the larger parts of the floor or walls it was a meaningful display of force ruling these lands.
Yet it never bothered Horo the Wise. She has grown older, a few wrinkles could be seen on her face, but her resistance of frost was the same as in her youth. Her reindeer guards were talking about assimilating the cold. With each passing year, she was becoming more beautiful, as if she was an ice sculpture. Her wrinkles gave her more mature look, which only increased her charm. What every aging women dreamed of, she was a perfect example. She also became more distant from her subordinates. Not strict or cruel, yet one could feel the cold, when talking to her. Was it the atmosphere of frozen halls, or the spells of the Goddess? It is unknown. There was, however, one exception.
Her only daughter. Hanekawa, named after her grandmother and first empress, was about to leave her childhood period of life. Just by having her around, Horo was always happy.


Admiral Tuzalomon has emerged from his cabin, shivering in fear. The frozen lands of Nippon were her worst nightmare. Cold, boring, cold, without anything to burn and cold. He missed scorching down these pathetic Indians in a warmer climate. But orders from Cleopatra were absolute. Japanese had something that threatened the peace of Egypt. And it had to be dealt with. Peacefully.
He glanced at the metropoly of Kyoto. It was so different from his hometown. Made mostly out of wood, the prime building material gave completely different feeling then Thebes.
“Barbarians”, he murmured. “At least they know how to defend.” added, looking at huge city walls – the one of few things actually made from stone.
Tuzalomon marched with his royal guards straight to the palace. He made everyone march quickly in order to shorten the amount of time spent under the siege of the freezing wind. No one complained.


“You’ve got to be fu.cking kidding me” he said, as he entered the Royal Palace. The building, made mostly out of stone, emitted immense cold. What had been absorbed during winter, was slowly being released now. “How the hell is this place even colder? It’s a building! People leave there, right? Give me a torch you fools! Quick, before I drop dead before meeting these ice monsters”, he complained in Egyptian. One of his guards picked a torch from the wall and brought it to him. The Japanese guards, standing at the both sides of a corridor didn’t move an inch. Their eyes, however, monitored every single movement and possible danger.


“Why are they coming?” Hanekawa asked. She was standing next to her mother. Many informations can be learnt through books and teachers, yet great politics have to be witnessed.
“During one of official meetings in Thebes, our ambassador mentioned about naval project. As it completely reforms the idea of sailing, the Cleopatra was afraid it is going to sabotage their sea superiority. And their colossus will turn into just a symbol, what may also destroy their trade influence. So they have sent a princess to make us reconsider our plans.” – Horo has answered. They were both awaiting the guests in a Royal Chamber. Both wearing the ceremonial clothes, to show the might of the Royalty. Also especially for this occasion the strategic maps were brought. The ones that could be revealed to foreigners of course. Small figurines represented ships. And there were way more Russian or Egyptian ones rather than Japanese.
“Why should we? It’s better if we become superior, right? Who cares about some petty dark-skinners?”
“You shouldn’t insult people you do not even know, Hanekawa. I’m going to talk to you later. And your manner teacher too.”
“But...” the kid tried to explain herself.
“Be quiet. Here they come. Behave yourself, at least in front of them.”


Akil walked slightly behind the royal guards. A translator and diplomat dispatched by Cleopatra, he was supposed to teach admiral Tuzalomon about Japanese, and what should he focus on during the negotiations. What he has achieved was barely escaping the beheading two times. The problematic admiral never gave a damn about them or their stupid etiquette. “We are the most advanced nation in the world, they should behave as we do!” he kept on saying.
So he tried to avoid her as much as possible. Until now. Only him and the Tuzalomon were allowed into the royal chamber. The hell was about to be unleashed. And his head detached soon after.


Tuzalomon was pale. Was it because of the cold, or the plans of revolutionary ship wasn’t obvious. He had a grim look, imagining his fleet. And... these plans.
“So you’re trying to say that these sails... these shape can actually exist?” The translation was being done on the spot.
“It does. Some of our people have ships looking similar to this project. But they are but a fish boats. These plans, however, will lead to the creating of the fleet. Swift, strong and superior when it comes to assault or close combat.” Horo responded.
“And your fire” added Hanekawa. Translator looked at her, yet he decided not to translate this sentence.
“And... what is it for?”
“To ensure the safety of Japanese sea, as well as our trade routes”
Egyptian admiral took a deep breath. Cleopatra told him to succeed at all costs. He had to. He also had an idea. Absolutely ****ty, problematic and annoying as hell. The problematic part was, it was the best he could come up with.
“What if we will protect your shores and caravans?” Tuzalomon asked quietly. After a brief moment of hestitation Akil translated the sentence.
Horo was silent, looking first at admiral, then at the diplomat.
“Slaves? Good” Hanekawa murmured while looking at ship plans. The words might have reached her mother’s ears, but only hers.
“If you can protect our shores, than we can think about changing our plans. But it means your fleet on our waters. It requires... discussing such matter through, before I could give you the final answer.


The negotiations lasted until late night. Admiral Tuzalomon, cold, annoyed, angry and with running nose declined invitation to spending night in Royal Palace and returned to his ship. As impolite as it could only be, he knew that spending night in this frozen tomb would kill him. Three times at least.


The morning was chilly. The head of the Hatakeyama Hideru, Hanekawa’s teacher of manners was being assaulted by crows at the city walls. Rest of the city, however, was as peacefull as ever. Even the admiral Tuzalomon didn’t shout or try to behead anyone. Most likely because he caught cold, and refused to leave his cabin. His crew could only hear a random insults toward Japan, Ice and Stone building from time to time.

“So basically, they are going to defend our waters, so we burn down these plans?” Hanekawa asked.
“Yes”
“They are so stupid!” She stopped for a brief moment, checking her mother’s reactions “They are going to such extents only to protect this Colossal statue?”
“It isn’t just a statue. It is a signal of their sea superiority. It guides the sailors from afar, bringing money, fame and latest ship technologies to Thebes. Except this one, of course. Still, it is a very important tool, and no wonder they got scared. The “idea from south” would be deadly for this... wonder.
“And we are going to listen to them? They may be slightly more advanced. But for such reasons we should not let the opportunity to surpass them go away!” The kid has yelled.
“At least your other teachers did not fail me. Your knowledge far exceeds your age” Horo looked proudly at her daughter. “But you still have much to learn. First they are our allies, so we should listen to each other’s requests. Also, this pact lessen our issue when it comes to defending our shores, at least for time being. We do not have to spend all our wealth on producing ships as much as we would have to without Egyptian fleet around. Actually we have benefited from this greatly already.”
“How?” Hanekawa asked.
“Our army should reach the shores of Persia any day. If not Egyptians, the ships would be bound to protecting the Japanese Sea. But now... they are free.”
“I see...” princess made a serious face thinking about it. On such young face it, actually looked cute, but no one dared to laugh or smile. “So basically alliance is about 2 nations exploiting each other?”
Horo looked at her completely surprised. She wasn’t sure if she should take it seriously or not.
“I will explain it to you another time.”

[Max_Smirnov]

That sunny morning of July, Kingdom Year 1788, two young French knights arrived to Luxor, after hearing incredible tales of unmatched selection of goods that could be found in this Egyptian harbour town, situated high on tall cliffs just a few days of sea travel from Nice...

"Welcome, esteemed young French Chevaliers! You have entered Baruch's Emporium, the finest furs in the whole Egypt, and possibly the world!"

"Mon Dieu, you weren't lying, Francois... what's that? That one with spots?"

"Leopard. Fresh from the Southern Kingdom! We have all kinds of hides here! Lion, Tiger, even the legendary Olifant!"

"How is this possible? I was sure France has the best furs in the world..."

"No longer, my friend! Luxor is the Big Deal now. We are receiving caravans from all over the civilized world! Good business! And have you heard about Leonardo's Wokshop?"

"A bit..."

"He comissioned an unfinished Arena building, and is starting some major operations there! I tell you, they're buying *everything*. Good business, my friends! Makes people rich!"

"People like you, I guess?"

"Oh, it's all only thank's to the foresight of Grandpa Baruch, who arrived here several hundreds of years ago and set up the first leather shop..." The shopkeeper pointed at a beautiful, detailed portrait of some old Jewish gentleman. Whoever painted it, was obviously a master at commanding the shadow and perspective.

"Truly, the skills of your painters are unlike we've seen either..."

"Ay Vay! But I don't want to bore you to death! Please, tell me, what kind of hide would be befitting of such fine French Chevaliers as yourselves...?"

[Max_Smirnov]

The siege of Kootanad, Kingdom Year 1712
A report of an Egyptian spy



Impersonating a Celtic soldier, and having first-handedly experienced both their comraderie and iron discipline, I have arrived at the shores of India with the grand Celtic invasion fleet. We landed in the moring, at it was a sight to behold, dozens and dozens of triremes with their bows in the tropical sand, seemingly unending streams of soldiers pouring out of them...

There were no trees to make any sort of siege engines, so the Celts have brought them with themselves, and once they've made it to the hills surrounding Kootanad, they get to work on assembling them.

I made sure to be positioned close to the hill where Empress Arturia camped. For the most of the day, she wasn't leaving her black tent. All there was to do is to watch the Indian town, erected on the opposing hill. I could see some frantic activity on the top of their wall, looks like the attack caught them unprepared. Our sources estimated the defenders to number into a thousand of regular soldiers, plus about five hundred of heavy cavalry, the enforcers of the local Warlord.
Only when the night had fully fallen, the Empress left the tent and made a slight gesture. To the ominous, slow beat of the war-drums, three regiments of Celtic infantry slowly marched towards the walls of Kootanad, carrying ladders and torches, pushing their war engines, eerily silent, and if I were one of the defenders, it would've surely stricken fear into my heart. I was uneasy none the less, in part due to the dark aura emanating from the motionless, unblinking figure of Arturia. She was watching the battlements, and it was like her mere gaze could turn the city to ashes.

Only when the Celts arrived within fifty paces of the city wall, and the first arrows started to drop on their heads, they gave an enormous war cry and sprinted towards the enemy. The battle was joined, and I could see how fierce it was. The Celts assaulted the wall using their siege towers, rams and ladders, but it didn't seem like the Indians have panicked. They were throwing rocks and pouring boiling oil on the heads of the assaulters, pushing the ladders of the wall, crushing people under their own weight. Whereever the Celts managed to make a foothold on the top of the wall, heavily armored Indian elites appeared to fill the gap, and the brave attackers were cut down to the last man. The battle raged for hours, and the Celtic casualties were already mounting into hundreds.

Then the worst possible thing happened. After succesfully eliminating or chasing off the Celtic detachment that was assaulting the main gate, Indians opened it and a few hundred of their elite, plate armored cavalry rode out. It was a massacre. The Celt warriors, crowding haphazardly at the base of the wall, were being cut down by the dozen, then by the hundred, unable to stand up to the charge. A major retreat started, leaving a field strewn with corpses behind. The Indians sounded the retreat as well, their cavalry quickly disappearing behind the gate.

A frienzied messenger appeared before Arturia and her general, carrying all too obvious message. One-third of their army was slaughtered for a negligible gain. The Empress didn't even bat an eyelash. With that emotionless, thoughtful gaze of her, she said quietly:



"Resume the assault. I want everyone."

She raised her sword, the fabled Excalibur, and started to walk towards the Indian battlement all by herself. A great murmur came through the Celtic ranks, but such was the awe and fear of her, than the murmur quickly turned into a great battlecry. Seven thousands of well-disciplined celtic warriors flooded the plain again and the battle resumed with doubled tenacity. This time the Indian defenders, already bloodied, had more on their hands than they were able to handle. Still, they fought like cornered rats, killing four Celts for every one of their own fallen.

Then Arturia with her personal guard approached the main gate. Rocks and arrows were raining at her, killing people to her both sides, but she seemed untouchable. She raised the Excalibur and cried once, and I will hear that inhuman battle-cry for the rest of my days, and charged the gate. And believe me or not, the battered doors splintered under a single strike of the Excalibur.

The river of Celtic warriors flooded into the town. Yet again, the tyrants plate-armored cavalry counter-attacked. But the terrain was much less to their advantage, and with their Empress in black armor leading in person, the Celts fought like savage beasts, pulling the knights off their horses and finishing them off with their swords. That, and Arturia herself was like a maelstrom of destruction, no Indian knight was able to stand up to her, the dark arcs of Excalibur severing the arms, heads, bringing down horses.

On the walls, the situation changed as well. Without the support of the knights, the Indian warriors began to falter, unable to push the Celts off their footholds, and the footholds getting more and more numerous by the minute. Still, the Celtic warriors were paying heavy price. In the savage fight on the walls, the loses started to equal, but inside the city, the warlord's guards still had superior swordsmanship and armor. But there were simply too many Celts now.

I was following Arturia as she made it to the palace of the warlord. Cries and sounds of metal hitting metal, two forces clashed, Celts slowly making progress up the stairs. The Warlord himself challenged Arturia to a fight. He was a giant of a man, wielding a huge halberd. But he was allowed only a single swing at her, which she nimbly sidestepped and then took his head with one powerful strike. As the dawn rose over the burning Kootanad, that head was hanging over the main gate.

Kootanad had fallen, for the first time in history, India lost a city, and the Celtic Empire won a major battle, despite their horrendous losses - out of the ten thousands that arrived, maybe two thousands were in any condition to fight, the rest dead or dying. And I could see Arturia on the southern wall, her cryptic gaze looking at something in the vast distance... perhaps at the invisible capitol of Delhi, where Gandhi himself resided, just a couple hundred of miles from here...

[Max_Smirnov]

Finest green marble from Busiris and stacks upon stacks of parchments, from the floor to the roof. Unlike the rest of the massive building, which was usually bustling with scholars, this particular hall of the Great Library was empty, except for two people: Queen Cleopatra and her advisor. Perhaps the most important one. Instead of her normal robes or plate armor, the Queen was wearing a replica of her old outfit, from the times before proper clothes were invented; for the purpose of 'illustrating our history', as Leonardo put it. Since a mountain of reports required her attention, and she wasn't going to move from this spot for awhile, why not to pose for a painting?



"So bothersome," she murmured.

At least the paper from the top of the stack was encouraging. A letter from Princess Azuria, nonchalantly writing about yet another victory, more Indians burned alive, and how she managed to make improvements to the 'sloppy' design of her Morningstar, and how she improved the discipline by a few well-timed beheadings and floggings. Skipping the details, the Queen couldn't deny that she commanded the most powerful navy in the world, and the crews of her ships were gaining precious battle experience. More importantly, she found a perfect use of that demon of her younger sister. Keeping her in Nicosia, bored and thus desperate, was getting dangerous. Yes, the grandest fleet... The days of that fleet were of course already counted. The world was moving on, naval battles raged on everywhere, everyone wanted to make better and better ships, and sooner or later, it was going to make Morningstars obsolete, especially when other nations catch up to the secret technology that allowed Egyptians unmatched mobility in the seas.

"Enjoy the moment, Azuria, while it lasts..."

Then, reports from the Southern Kingdom... The Lord of Bubastis of course wanted reinforcements. Which was impossible. The north had no soldiers to spare. The Lord of Armant had even grander plans, perhaps because he was in much less danger. He demanded an army to take Jarmy and thus secure a powerful fortress that'd protect half of the Southern Kingdom from any invasion. A powerful fortress indeed, which was the root of the problem. Powerful and chock-full of Indian soldiers. Taking Jarmy would require a huge army, ten thousand strong at least, a dozen or more regiments of assault infantry, not even counting the longbowmen for support. Raising such an army would require a huge effort, and losses would be enormous.

The demands of the Lord of Hawara were a mix of those two. He would like reinforcements, 'just to make sure my position is impregnable', as well as 'doing something about Moradabad', which was yet another Hindu border fortress, practically within an arrow shot from the frontline fortifications.

What's next... the house of law in Luxor was finally established, and the Lord of Luxor had been granted the highest rank of Duke, along with greater responsibilities for the whole area. With the help of Theban-schooled staff, he was already reporting improvements in efficiency in every aspect of his fiefdom.

A revenues report... re-establishment of wine supplies from Bubastis to Thebes and increased fur trade in Luxor are predicted to significantly boost the Kingdom's economy over the coming years... Perhaps as much as a 25% gain in the net income was possible... Still, Egyptian trade was merely a crawl compared to Japanese, not even mentioning the French, who had perhaps as many trade routes and trade centres as the rest of the world combined, annual incomes estimaded at 700 thousand shekels, to Egyptian 150...

And those were just the most important reports... off the top of a huge stack of others. Cleopatra sighed.

"Perhaps we could introduce the new French model to reduce your work load?" Asked Leonardo, stepping away from his canvas.

"The French model? What did that buffoon came up with again?" she said, squinting her eyes and stretching.

"The thing we started in Pergamon, then in Luxor? Local administration? They have taken it to the next level. Local administration collecting the data and processing it on site, then sending to the higher echelon, and in turn, the higher echelon sends it to the capitol. Only the important stuff goes up, the issues are sorted by their scale and urgency, and what can be done without contacting the higher-ups, is done on site. The Lords are dealing just with the really important stuff, leaving the minor things to trained scholars. Bureaucrats. It also seems like Russians have been using similar arrangements since... well, forever. In their own way. Ever heard of Konfucyev and his works?"

"Seems like a plan. Is this what have you been working on all that time?"

"Oh no, just another side project."

"You have been granted enormous funding and resources, and manpower, and unlimited access to this place. The best this world has to offer. And all you can do is coming up with those endless side projects? Like opening the cathedral of arts at the University?" She looked at the canvas again. She didn't see her likeness from here, but she was pretty sure she wasn't going to like it. On all his paintings, she looked like a boy.

"Didn't I provide you with means to mass-produce plate armor and high-quality arms, your Majesty?"

"You did, and that's why I have granted you all these resources. But little it did gave us. Now everyone in the world is doing this. Well, at least everyone who really counts.... How do you even come up with those estimations?" She squinted her eyes at one of the papers.



"Doesn't Empress Arturia count?"

"I guess she does. Devil knows what she is planning. She might have raised an army greater than we predicted. She might be only pretending to want to invade India. She might be insane. I'm not talking to her... And Merlin is just whining all the time. But you've changed the subject. What about your main project... Whatever it might be?"

"I believe I'm actually ready to start it. But I need something. A city."

"What."

"I wouldn't dare to ask for Thebes, your Majesty... how about Pergamon or Luxor then? I'll need a lot of workforce, mills, smithies, workshops, various goods only a big city can offer..."

"Those are the two most important cities in Egypt."

"Exactly. I was starting to feel too constrained here in Thebes. Some fresh air would be a nice change, if you allow, your Majesty."

[Eerion]

The morning was chilly. Not for everyone of course. A mere foreigner is unable to perceive to changes of Japanese seasons. For them it’s land of eternal frost. But for locals...
The Empress was gently sipping her morning tea. Her simple brown clothes contrasted with rich throne she was sitting on. But she enjoyed it that way. For her people she was a goddess, yet loved one. she looked like the subordinates of her, yet the throne reminded them of her superiority.

“Winter is coming” she murmured.
She looked at the huge doors leading to her private balcony. They were always wide open, allowing the cold wind to rule within her chambers.
“I am the ruler of these frozen lands. A snow and ice are my allies, not enemies. I do not fear them, as they do not harm me in any way.” She answered, once asked about it.
Her maids and guards never shared her empathy toward freezing weather, especially wind. Since a massively sickness rate among her guards, she allowed them to wear some furs on duty. Since that time, they became well known as a reindeer guards.
“Cat goddess and reindeer guards. It fits (and sits)” they kept on saying, becoming even more proud of that fact.
Nekomimi Horo, also known as Horo the Wise put aside her cup, and went up on balcony. She was awaiting for the news. The Russian ship was spotted near Edo recently, and she has dispatched one of her longships to dispose of the threat.

It was snowing. The Capitol of Japanese Empire was covered with white cloth. The city has woken up already, and became more and more lively with every passing minute. Except the docks, in the southern outskirts of the town. They have been working days and nights recently. Situation within the region was becoming more and more unstable. Open war between Egypt and Indians, as well as Russian invasion left only Japan without harm. Persians were at peace too right the moment, but after fall of the Persegarde they are busy licking their own wounds. Or waiting for second wave of Indian army.
Horo knit her brows. The sea becomes more and more dangerous. They need a force capable of keeping her enemies away from shores of Japan. Something like Egyptian fiery ships.
“We should shoot them with ice in that case” she said out loud.
“My lady” she has heard the voice behind her back. “The messenger has arrived”
“Let him in” she said without turning away to him. “I need to do something about my habit of thinking out loud” she added to herself.
The grim expression he had while entering the room allowed her to figure out the message before he opened his mouth.
“So we have lost.” Horo said. “Tell me how did it happen”
Boy looked at her in awe. Not only her beauty was astonishing, but the rumors about her foresight ability were actually true!
“I don’t have much time”
“It was a close battle my Goddess. But the luck was on Russians side. They brought a weird tool with themselves. It allowed them put their arrows on fire, and few of them made it to our ship despite the strong wind! We have assaulted them, but didn’t make it”
“You can walk away” She said. Her tone was high, as it was important for peasants to show their inferiority.
The boy turned around to see her once more, just before quitting the room. Guard escorting him kicked him in the knee.
“Don’t get to cocky, boy” he said.

Chosokabe Hare looked at the map.
“We can still intercept them. Based on the report their ship is badly damaged. Crow also is incomplete. We can use this ship – he pointed at small figurine on the map – to catch them before they set their foot on our lands.”
“Then do so. I want them to sleep at the bottom of the sea.” Horo agreed with the plan. The loss was great, but at least they were not out of options. Unlike the eastern shores, where another Russian ship was spotted.
“We can’t do anything, my empress”. These words were painful, as enemies emerged right next to the most important part of the caravan route. The loss is going to be extremely painful. And expensive.
“Send a message to the merchant guilds. Tell them that we shall cover their loss, and we shall reestablish the routes as soon as possible. About the ship... Send the message to the eastern pentagon. Tell them I want heads of the interlopers. Put them on the pikes at the strait. At all costs.”

[Max_Smirnov]

It was another sunny day over Nicosia. All days were sunny over Nicosia, the small, pretty village hugging the idyllic beach, even the impressive mountain to the north, that made the bulk of the island of Cyprus not spoiling the sun regardless of the time of the day. Just another perfect day, thought Princess Azuria. The millionth perfect day in this little paradise at the end of nowhere.

"Hey, Azuria, I'm back," announced a girl that entered the room, one of her very few friends, or fellow oucasts, depending on the point of view. "Bored again?"



"Actually, I was just considering beating my head against the window frame."

"Aw come on. Let's do something!"

"Like what?"

"Um, climb the mountain?"

"We did it like, a hundred times already?"

"Um, than maybe, play a game?"

"I'm always winning, anyways, Lia."

"Let's go to the beach then?", with a hint of desperation now.

"We're going to the ****ing beach every ****ing daaaay! Grrr." But there was no choice, she had to do something. She looked at the window frame again.

Suddenly, there was some commotion at the door.

"Princess! An envoy from Her Majesty is here!"

"Oh?" It took her only a few seconds to regain her composure. "Yeah, let them in. So..." She adressed the envoy, who looked like a young naval officer of some sort. "What does my big sister require of me this time? Had she suddenly remembered she casted me into this tiny splinter of Hell? Things got so boring in Thebes lately? Or maybe, she wishes to abdicate in my favour, a- ha- ha-" Azuria's laugh was cold and devoid of any cheeriness. "Spit it out already, god damn it!" she frowned.

"M-my lady, I-I have this letter..." managed the envoy. The mere fact of being on the same island as Cleopatra's younger sister made even his Captain uneasy for some reason, so he probably shouldn't feel comfortable too. "From h-her Majesty..."

"Aw, give me that," she snatched the letter. For a moment, she was considering burning it, along with that officer, maybe, but she was just too bored to ignore an once-in-century event, like Cleopatra actually wanting anything from her. Well, anything else than sit on her ass in this farthest and most remote corner of the whole Kingdom. "She was probably bored and wrote something just to mock me," said Azuria, as her reptile-like eyes were quickly reading the parchment. Then, she suddenly stopped. "Wait. Is this for real?" she looked at the envoy with a gaze that promised a painful death if a wrong answer was given.

"A-admiral Tuzalomon is awaiting you onbard the Morningstar, o Princess... A-and if I may..." added the envoy, blushing furiously. "I'd advice ag-against g-going there in your current state of u-undress."

Azuria smirked. "Lia, tell my servants to start packing up."

----------------------------

That evening, when Princess Azuria boarded one of three Morningstars, crowding in the tiny Nicosian harbour, she looked like a very different person, radiating an aura of fear and authority. She was wearing a perfect-fit Royal Navy uniform now.

"By the order of Her Majesty, Queen Cleopatra," read Admiral Tuzalomon aloud, "With the day my fleet reaches Nicosia, which is today, 17 June of the Year 1488, Princess Azuria is granted the title of Admiral and the command of the fleet, with the orders to patrol the South Sea..."

"So this means I am your boss now. Allright." Azuria glanced around the impressive ship. "Make sure the flamthrowers are at full capacity and the deck is spotless. The first sailor who is found bumming around is to be publicly beheaded."

"But Princess..."

"Patrol duty, you say... I feel like burning something." she took a deep breath.



Set the course... for the Indian mainland.

[Max_Smirnov]

Turn 125 report, late because of Apolyton's techincal problems, none the less, not thwarted!

A Look at the Changing World
The Middle Ages
Prepared by the Theban University, Kingdom Year 1400 (750 BC)




THE KINGDOM OF EGYPT
After years and years of heavy investment in public works, and millions of shekels being spent from the seemingly inexhaustible royal treasury (so much about all this talk about economic crisis), a dozen of new mines have been dug, and many windmills, foundries and manufactures have been erected. Our production of armaments had skyrocketed, and for a good reason - the whole Southern Kingdom is practically besieged by bloodthirsty Indian hordes. While we're below average in terms of population, the rigorous training, superior armor and weapons, as well as thick walls of our well-manned fortresses (including the interlinked system of citadels around Havara, unprecedented in its scale) should be more than enough to repel any would-be agressor.
Meanwhile, in Thebes, life is much more peaceful. Despite many contenders, our capitol is still the grandest, wealthiest and most enlightened city in the world. The Great Library, which had been gathering scrolls of knowledge for several millenia now and had grown enormously, allows our scholars an unprecedented reach into places and times far away, and continues to spark inspiration into the minds of the numerous students.
In the province, the things do not look so good - Cleopatra's projects have put a heavy strain on the society, and while the sense of an immediate danger had passed, it had been replaced by the general discontent with the Queen who's so unreachable; the public sewer systems and street cleaning corps seem, for some reason, not be enough anymore. There are even wild theories, that, while pursuing the mundane power, we have somehow lost our spirituality. In the provinces blessed with strong and clever Lords, the morale isn't too bad, but in other places, the egyptian common man is less than happy. Here, at the University we can't help but wonder - how can it be so, while the world is undergoing such momentous changes?



A typical Egyptian town, small but modern and heavily defended. In the foreground, a Royal Halberdier, the elite force of the Kingdom, clad in famous Egyptian plate armor.


THE KINGDOM OF FRANCE
After centuries of stable developement, and his recent declaration of The Code of Eight Chivalrous Virtues, King Bonaparte managed to forge France into a perfect Kingdom: strong, enlightened, wealthy, just and peaceful. What may seem strange, the Virtues - Honor, Justice, Compassion, Honesty, Valor, Spirituality, Humility, and finally, Sacrifice - are universally respected by the knighthood, and even the lowly peasants. The Lords rule with Compassion and Justice, the Knights serve with Honor and Valor, not forgetting about the Spirituality, while the common folk understand the need of Humility and Honesty for the betterment of the whole. This unheard-of cultural achievement is, however, only the pinnacle - the French kingdom is something to behold, with well planned and maintained cities (on average, more populous than ours), roads and sea routes. Meanwhile, The University of Paris starts to rival Thebes as a centre of progressive, enlightened thought, their grasp on the esoteric and the mundane is impressive, even if the most radical of Theban thinkers consider the French as overtly traditionalistic and too keen on the mystical.
On the political side, King Bonaparte managed, through skillful diplomacy, to build a fort in the middle of the Celtic Passage that separates us from the Celtic Empire. The channel that was dug there allows ships from the east of France into the wide waters of the Spring and Celtic seas; the move, however, failed to protect Indian merchants travelling to France, as both Celts and ourselves have a strong naval presence there and are on a very bad terms with India.



A French Scholar-Knight, versed in warfare and philosophy, over the backdrop of the Alps.


THE CELTIC EMPIRE
In the ancient times, the land of the Celts was the most populous place in the world, and no other land could match the massed manpower their clergy was able to muster to perpetuate ambitious construction projects (not all of them being reasonable). The price they paid was stagnation, and both those edges were slowly lost, pushing their Civilization to below-average levels. But not even stagnation can last forever, and several centuries ago, the coming of Empress Arturia heralded the change. While not everything is well in the Celtic Empire, and they're still lagging in the scientific advancement pretty badly, there are signs of new times coming.
One of them is, without doubt, their increasing naval presence, in part forced by Indian and Russian piracy. The Empire is building triremes by the dozen, establishing forts on the southern islands (the area of soppy land and shallow water, commonly known as Doggerland), and some people are saying Empress Arturia is planning something big - maybe as big as an all-out war with India.
Then, there is the capitol, Numantia, which more and more resembles Arturia's private palace. With all the wealth concentrated there, and the gladiatorial games held in the local grand Circus, the place is gaining more and more fame with every passing year.



The Celtic Imperial Fleet fights the Indians on the waters of the Celtic Sea, near the shores of Doggerland.


THE HOLY EMPIRE OF NIPPON
Times are changing, and nowhere else it is as visible as in Japan. The Shogunate had fallen, and the nation shifted... the shift looking greater and greater the more you look at it. The mere fact that their new ruler is a woman - for the first time in history - and she titles herself an Empress, wouldn't mean that much in itself, if a more profound change wasn't hidden behind it. The Shoguns were just rulers of a country; the Empress is the voice of the God, guiding, not ruling, her people to some new, yet unknown, heights. The fact is, her vision seems to be on a wholly different level than anything the world had seen before, something grand, looking beyond their immediate borders, who knows - perhaps at the whole world. And this new vigour is felt all across the population, the eagerness and will to break the limitations.
Considering the new Nippon Empire is the most populous country in the world, and that their advancement is quickly closing the once-vast gap that separated them from the leading countries, and that their military is growing at an immense pace, the whole world could shake because of that seemingly-small feud that left the insane Shogun Nekomimi XVIII dead and his sister assuming the throne, then quickly looking for a way for the Japanese to accept her rule. Which was to become a virtual Goddess.



The panorama of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto. In the foreground, a warrior priestess, one of the personal guard to the Empress.


THE WARLORD STATES OF INDIA
The evil Kingdom of India had finally splintered into loose confederation of city-states and provinces, each ruled by a warlord (a tyrant by any other name), and each conducting their own campaign of terror upon the neighbouring lands. Only the fear of the supreme cruelty of Gandhi keeps those warlords from going at each others' throats, at least most of the time. Immeasurable hordes of Indian brigands keep pushing at the border of the Southern Kingdom, and their ships keep marauding across the Celtic Sea (a threat that had been mostly averted by our strong naval presence there), but recently in the Persian Gulf area as well.
While the splintering of India had considerably reduced the threat to our Kingdom - the disparate warlords are unable to conduct a war on a scale like the united India used to, and their troops are of noticeably worse quality - it is still a vast, populous and rich land, and their knowledge of the tools of war is in no way inferior to ours, barring the area of naval warfare. Their recent breakthroughs in the areas of mechanics and manufacturing, fuelled by the war, are not a cause for celebration either.
Currently, India is at war with Egypt and Celts, and their relationships with Persia are strenuous at best. The Russians, the French and the Japanese seem to be neutral to them, with the Indian-Japanese relationships getting warmer lately, which is a source of no small concern in some circles of our ruling class.



An Indian warrior, skilled, fierce and well-armed, during a skirmish in the Himalayas.


PERSIA
When it seemed that the fate of Persia was sealed, a mysterious figure - known only as the 'Prince' - stepped in, and somehow negotiated an armistice with Gandhi in the middle of the great siege of Persepolis. Crazy tales are abound about this man, some say he commands a network of assassins that reaches as far as Delhi, or maybe even Thebes; some even go as far as speculating that splintering of Gandhi's kingdom was due to his careful behind-the-scenes manipulations. With the entire Persia still being in the throes of post-war chaos, fearing another Indian invasion - or maybe, this time, a Japanese one - and the Grand Visier of Persepolis rarely abandoning his palace, this mysterious Prince seems to be the only person with any real power in Persia. One of our scholars managed to actually meet him, only to hear a cryptic sentence: "There will come a day when both Egypt and Japan will be swept away by the sands of time."
As far as the civilization advancement goes, Persia is not hopelessly outmatched, having all the essential tenants of a civilization, but such things like scientific method, engineering or even iron working are beyond them.



The mysterious ‘Prince’


THE REPUBLIC OF ROME
While being so tiny of a state that they're often overlooked on the political mosaic of the world, their country small and military insignificant, the Romans have none the less achieved surprising heights of cultural advancement. They have recently overthrown their King and, by popular decree, enacted a Republic, where the rulers are no longer determined by their bloodline, but rather elected by the people; and the people, called 'citizens', have all equal rights and privileges. This is an experiment without precedence in the annals of history, and their Senate, supposedly seated by the best and the brightest, already started discussing the situation of their newly-born state. And they have much to discuss - the great fire in Rome, which erupted during the turbulent times of change left the city but a shadow of its former self; if that wasn't enough, one of the Russian city-states decided to add Roman lands to their holdings and had conquered Antium, one of the most important Roman cities. Will the Republic be able to survive and cherish its freedoms, or will it be squashed by iron-fisted tyrants, only the time will tell.



The Roman Senate debating over the hostilities with Russia and new civil liberties.


THE OLIGARCHY OF RUSSIA
Centuries have passed, and still not much is known about Russia, most information second- or third-hand, coming from the Japanese spies and pirates who harass the south of Russia, just like the Russians harass the east of the Celtic Empire. Due to the vast distances involved, a real war between Russia and either of those states seems extremely unlikely. In part this is also due how inward the Russians are. The wealth of their city-states had grown beyond all measure, but while still very powerful, they've also become stagnant and decadent, like a dream of greatness that lasts thousands of years, unable to keep pace with the changing real world.



The City-State of Sevastopol and its mysterious ruler. The city is the home to the fabled Court of Sevastopol, where, it is said, no pleasure or pain is unknown, as well as the Great Pyramid (visible in the background).

[Eerion]

Chosokabe Yukki stepped outside of Nagoya Castle. The strong sun reflected in the everlasting snow, making it impossible to look at the scenery without going blind. Or damaging your eyes.
„Do you really have to go dad?”, the Feudal Lord heard a childish voice behind him. He turned away from the landscape at looked back at his son, and the castle behind.
„It won’t take long Hyouden. Don’t be a crybaby” he replied coldly.
„Yes, father”, his kid got serious momentarily. He knew, if his father was serious, so he had to.
Yukki looked at his Royal Guards, and signaled to begin the travel. Shogun asked all Daimyo to arrive. He had to go.

Just before the castle hid behind the hill, Daimyo took a last glimpse of it. Grey stones, among white snow were like a paradise to the eyes.
„Someone have to invent sunglasses really soon” he muttered to himself.



„So you are all probably wondering why I have gathered all of you here today.” Nekomimi XVII said. A great hall was full of Daimyo’s – feudal lords governing the Japanese Shogunate. Most powerful people that live in this country. Except him of course. They were looking at their leader with anticipation.
„The plans set in motion by my Father are progressing smoothly. Soon we should be able to make a move that the world will recognise! Persian armies will fall before our might!”
A murmurs arose between the people. There were rumors saying that the only Nekomimi XVII inherited from his father was his weird side. Rest was as simple as a warrior’s spear. He referred to it pretty often anyway. Also saying things about the Warrior Spirit hitting people in the face.
There was only one issue. With such wielder you can’t be sure which side will hit the face – the tip behind or in front. That was the best comment one could make about the wielder. And he loved to sing. With a voice that was never made for such a thing.
„Dear Lord! Our recent reports said that Romans are besieged by Russians. They were always our loyal allies. Do you really want to abandon them at such important times?”
„I’m Nekomimi and I don’t give a fuuuuuuuuuuuuuck” the Shogun sang. The room instantly went quiet. Whenever it happened, well... one couldn’t say the shlt was getting serious. But weird for sure.
„Russians are mysterious like the dark side of the moon” he continued. And by the way Date. Did you just tried to tell me what to do?
„No my lord” his Daimyo responded hitting ground with his forehead.
„Someone, throw him out of the window. And some arrows afterward. So everyone can actually take a good luck at these fu.cks I gave to this fool”.
Chosokabe Yukki looked first at Shogun then at the Date.
„This is getting ridiculous”, he thought.



„You look really excited today, Hanekawa.”
„You’re surprised? Today finally this retarded brother of mine is going to be disposed of” – the girl responded. As a second kid of previous Shogun, and the only one with common sense she had a sense of duty toward nation her father cared about so much.
„How did he spawned such ******” she wondered sometimes.
„But you know, people won’t accept you as a Shogun. A woman can’t be one. You told everyone that you will consider what to do my lady. Does everything means, you came to a conclusion?” Date Terumune, old war advisor of the previous Shogun asked her. He has forsaken the current ruler, which resulted in an execution order. However respect he has among the soldiers, became a secret shield, which he is using to... straightening the course the country took recently. Nekomimi XVII could think only about parties and conquest. And his shouts about warrior spirit and being a men were as far from being funny as they only could.
„Yes, I did. I promised you, that in order to heal this country I will do everything. even if it means becoming a devil or a goddess. And to be honest I plan on becoming the other.
„Excuse me?” The old general was taken off guard.
„I will claim the throne. Shogun will be no more, and I will become an Empress. A voice of the Gods, which allowed me to win, in order to push Japan toward unimaginable greatness.”
„Do you think people will accept that?”
„Daimyo are reasonable people. They for sure prefer a reasonable women, then retarded and unreasonable man. And peasants... they may rebel at first, but we should manage it. And after some time, it will be considered obvious. Fools will believe in everything they are told if you repeat it enough times.” She answered. Softly, but with a tone that did not allow any objections. Voice of the rulers. „Is everything ready for our assault?” She continued.
„Yes my lady. Whenever you are ready”.

[Solarius Scorch]

Armand de Chéron and The Philosopher Stone

“Well, well, look who's up. Welcome back to the world of living!”

Armand de Chéron groaned as he opened his eyes. He was laying in a simple, but comfortable bed, naked under animal furs that he was covered with. Above him was a ceiling of rough stone, much like in a dungeon. This didn’t exactly bring back nice memories.

Luckily, the person standing above him was not a jailer. It was someone of much greater importance. On the other hand, he could be just as cruel, especially to clumsy apprentices.

“Well, boy? Are you still hurting, or you simply lost all resemblance of manners? Not that you had much before.”

“Master.” Armand blinked a few times, trying to adjust his hurting eyes to the image of his old mentor, a ghostly thin individual known to ordinary folks as Nicolas Flamel, and to the initiated also by several other names. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

“That’s charming”, answered the other dryly. “However, considering the state I found you in, you would be happy to see the Devil himself. What on earth has prompted you to travel across the northern mountains dressed like that? Are you insane?”

Armand recalled being reasonably dressed for winter, even so far up north, but the winter turned up to be pretty unreasonable. “Well… When I heard your workshop was in Rouen, I expected it to be in the city, not so far away in the mountains. I think I travelled for five days through the glaciers. So let me return the question, what on earth has prompted you, master, to move to this God-forgotten wasteland, where night lasts for months?”

“We’ll get to that, son. First, I need to make sure your body is fine, or you will be of no use to me.” Flamel gave him a high-class smirk only a veritable genius, or someone who considers themselves one, could deliver. “Tell me, how do you feel? Can you move your fingers and toes?”

Armand’s hands and feet felt dry as parchment, but he felt no pain. To his relief, they also seemed to respond to his will.

“I think I’ll live…”

“Good. Then stop bumming around and come to dine! You need to gain some weight to endure our work.”

***

A little time later both alchemists, the young (now dressed) and the old, were finishing a simple but refreshing meal that mostly consisted of venison and bread. It had been brought by a local woman, with dark hair and Alpine features; she was rather good-looking, but didn’t say a word to answer Armand’s attempts at a conversation. He wasn’t even sure she understood French.

“So”, said Nicolas Flamel sipping his wine, “you decided to join me after all. I must admit that’s a little surprising. I considered you not the type to abandon luxuries just for pure knowledge.”

“Sir, how can you say that! When I received your letter, I wouldn’t think of not coming here to work with you. I am so honoured, and your reputation -”

“Ah, so it had nothing to do with you falling from the grace of Lord of Toulouse?”

“Absolutely nothing, master!”

Uncharacteristically for him, Flamel burst into laugh. It was dry and a little unsettling, but also seemed almost miraculous.

“All right, all right. We all have our own circumstances.” He emptied his goblet in one gulp. “What matters is that you are here.”

Armand decided to get straight back to his question. “Speaking of circumstances, why have you moved your workshop to this old tower in the midst of frozen hell? Surely you would be more comfortable in Rouen, or indeed any other place in the Kingdom?”

“Well, there are reasons for this. My research is of an, um, delicate nature. Here few people can learn about it and even less could be hurt because of it. It’s hard to find this place and it is well guarded by the Alpines. Also, the King himself agrees with my reasoning.”

“…oh. So it must be something… pretty important.”

Flamel stood up energetically, uncharacteristically for his age. “Come! I will show you my work. From now on, it will be your work too. It is crucial that you understand the stakes here.”

Intrigued, Armand quickly drained his own goblet and followed his former – or new – master back into the dungeons. It was a different wing though, one protected with thaumaturgic signs and a quite ordinary, but very sturdy iron door, and even several mechanical traps laid along its length.

At the end of the main corridor there was an alchemist’s laboratory. To Armand it was quite familiar; after all, his own workshop was modelled after this one. There was an astrolabe, a set of stone tables explaining how elements relate to each other, some glass equipment to work with liquids and gases, many books on religion and philosophy… There was also a transmutation table, filled with devices and ingredients used in the quest of discovery how to turn lead into gold, the greatest mystery of nature, which Armand had almost paid with his head for. Yup, all familiar.

“Look here, my young friend”, said Flamel in a suddenly serious voice. He picked up a marble table laying on the transmutation desk. “Do you recognise this shape?”

“Hmm. It looks like on of those impossible forms you forced me to study back in Paris”, Armand mused. “An eight-sided cube, right?”

“Correct.”

“So… What about it? Why is the King interested in something like this?”

“Because I made him interested in it.”

“But… how?”

“Because I told him it would give our kingdom immeasurable power.”

“What? Why?!”

“Because it’s true.”

Armand could only look at his master quizzically. Was it any other man, hell! any other alchemist, Armand would think they went senile. But surely not Nicolas Flamel, the greatest mind of the era.

The greatest mind of the era nodded with satisfaction. “Yes, I am sure of this. I spent my last decade trying to find a way to improve both matter and soul using a special vessel, an ultra-pure item known as a Philosopher Stone. I’m sure you know all there is to know about it, except this one thing: I actually found it.”

Armand felt his knees weakening, so without asking he sat down. Flamel paid it no attention.

“You see, what is needed is an enormous amount of power. Reaching out into the Cosmos and using its pneuma to transmute a man cannot be achieved through normal means, no matter how pure you are, because it is forbidden by the very laws of nature. With the Stone, however, it becomes possible, because no law is actually broken! Therefore we can do anything, become anything! …well, potentially.”

“And… and you say this form, this eight-sided cube, is the vessel? The Philosopher Stone?”

“Precisely. Because it is impossible, it can sidestep our usual limitations and… well, let’s not get blasphemous here. What matters is that it is vital to the Kingdom to complete it before it’s too late.”

“I see…”

They both fell silent, each of them contemplating the ramifications of what had been said.

“Master Flamel?”

“Yes, Armand?”

“I just remembered the name of this impossible shape.”

Armand’s eyes open wider as he uttered the word.

“It is called the tesseract.”

[Max_Smirnov]

Excerpts from "My Voyage to the Mysterious Land of the Celts" by Herodothep of Thebes, Kingdom Year 1205



April 20th, South Sea
It's been a week since my ship had left Abydos, but it seems the voyage will take longer than expected. I was planning to land in Llandow, but the Celtic captain didn't understand me clearly and laid a course for Llandarcy instead. Surely, both names sound similar (which makes me question Celtic intellect, if you name your cities so similarly, grevious mistakes are bound to happen sooner or later! Like today), but I suspect the captain is kind of dim, or deaf, or both, since I was talking very slowly and clearly in simple Egyptian.
One more thought - why the name South Sea, while it lies to the north of Egypt? I guess that's because the sea north of it is called North Sea, but still, kind of stupid, don't you think?

May 2nd, Llandarcy
Finally, I have landed on the Celtic shores! The captain told me of a city, but what I see here is just a fishing village. Well, I was always suspecting that all that admiration they have for the Celtic Empire back at the University is overblown.
The houses are curious, they're universally made of stone, since the dry Celtic land lacks woods (thankfully, it also lacks Egyptian rains. Half of our months are named after some type of rain). And not of large blocks, like ours, but cleverly stacked small stones of various sizes.
I was told I can reach my next destination, Caerphilly, located in the middle of the Bogerragh Plateau (damned Celtic names, I feel like I was breaking my tongue every time I tried to pronounce them), by the means of Imperial Post Office, that runs regular coach service. How silly of the Celts, to travel across land, instead of sailing in comfort like true gentlemen do.

May 10th, Caerphilly
This town is vast! I doubt it comes close to Pergamon, in terms of population, but I've been riding along rows of those stone houses for hours, passing barns and animal ranches, before I even reached the city proper, which also stretches quite a bit. Well, they don't know how to build multi-storey buildings, that's for sure.
I've also passed as many as three different temples. No doubt the remnants of the pre-Empire times, but they seemed to be attended. I've heard they have temples in every town. How peculiar. That's certainly due to their scientific underdevelopement - or maybe the other way around. We, Egyptians, have just one Temple, in Thebes, and that's more than enough for everybody. But I guess I have to be tolerant of those superstitious people who still live in the age of the myth and legend.
I must also say: Caerphilly is dirty! The detritus is thrown around the whole place, and human and animal excrements flow freely along the streets. Surely, they never heard about our Royal Street-Sweeping Corps or sewer systems. Similarly, people are mostly dirty and wearing rags, but on the other hand, strangely content and friendly, in contrast to the ever-upset Egyptian masses.
The more striking was the contrast when I finally arrived at the laviscious palace of the local Prefect, the ruler of the province and lawman in one person. I've heard such office of similar majesty exists in every major town of the Empire, which seems downright crazy - only Pergamon has a similarly extensive governing compound, and only because of sheer number of ships passing by and citizens living in the city.



View from the Caerphilly to the south, showing the typical highlands landscape with the Cruacha Gorma Range visible in the distance

May 27, Pentraeth
The highlands are gone now, and I have arrived at the northern shores of the Empire, to catch a ship to Narberth and continue my travel to the capitol of Numantia from there. The sheer number of fishing boats of all sizes is dazzling. The Celts are certainly skilled fishermen.
The town itself is a bit smaller than Caerphilly (the local Prefect estimated the population at 15,000, larger than Abydos), and nowhere as dirty, but the everpresent smell of the fish is capable of knocking a man down. I was invited to take a part in a hunt for a great whale.


June 15, Narberth
Still trying to forget about the experiences of whale-hunting, I barely noticed Narberth, but I have noticed how cold it is here. Vast fields of frozen tundra to the north. Vast expanses of dry grass to the south, those infertile steppes cover the whole eastern part of the continent. I was advised to travel under escort, because of the constant threat of Russian pirates (who are sometimes landing on the eastern shores of the Empire) and common ruffians, who are even more of a plague here than in Egypt.



The Northern Lights over the Frozen Sea seen from a hill near Narberth

July 27, Numantia, the Capitol of the Celtic Empire
Finally! It took me over a month to get here, because guess what, the road from Narberth was never finished. You have to get off at some village in the middle of nowhere and continue your travel on foot for over 70 miles, before you get to the outer circle of the forts that surround the Imperial Capitol in a wide radius, where you can find another ride. I understand, security measures, but, come on! This is not civilized. I guess I was expecting too much again.
The Numantia itself... Well, at just over 50,000 thousands of inhabitants, it's tiny compared to Thebes, but surely it's pretty glorious, with tall, imposing walls, heavy military presence, and all the towers and palaces, and public buildings. The whole wealth of the Empire is flowing here. Even the beggars look better than average citizens in the towns I visited previously.
I have arrived at the middle of some festival; surprisingly, they're held quite often, bi-monthly even. A festival, as in gladiatorial games. Oh yes, there's a huge Arena in Numantia, unlike anything you could find in Egypt, where those blood sports are held. Horrible, just horrible - people killing each other for the amusement of the crowds. At least they're volunteers, since the arena games are some degenerate form of ancient celtic rites of passage.
Of course I absolutely had to see those games. For the scientific purposes, of course. And the tickets are free, can you believe that!
There, I was able to see the Empress Arturia herself, in her black armor, presiding over the games. Even from the distance I could feel an unsettling aura, like I was looking at an avatar of Seth in female form. Well, who else than such a scary person could keep in line all those bombastic and wealthy Prefects I have met? She never said a word, just made slight gestures to let the defeated combatant live or die, always going with what the crowds seemed to want. Whatever can be said about the Celts, an Empire held by such a hand and commanding such a powerful and obedient military shouldn't be underestimated, even if their towns are rather smelly.



Empress Arturia presiding over gladiatorial games in Numantia

[Max_Smirnov]

To: Her Royal Majesty, Queen Cleopatra

We need reinforcements!

My scouts report a large Indian army advancing towards our territory. Heavy cavalry had been spotted, along with massed infantry and archers; another, smaller army is following in their footsteps. I can't hope to stand up to such force with one Legion and one regiment of Longbowmen, and the other half of my garrison is deployed around the Pale Mountain to stop Indian skirmishers from flooding deeper into our lands. I can't pull back any soldiers from the Khopesh fort, as they're even more beleaugered than I am. I can't ask the Lord of Armant for help, because, once this Indian army floods through Jarmy (possibly being further reinforced by Jarmy's huge garrison) and into the southern plains, he'll be in asmuch danger as I am. Considering the current armistice between Persia and India, Gandhi is able to throw at us everything he has. I do not need to remind Your Majesty, that my fiefdom is pivotal to the defense of the Southern Kingdom, and if it falls, our entire line will fold like a house of cards.

I have already ordered all able-bodied men to be put into military training, and all the agricultural tools to be reworked into armaments. My best blacksmiths are busy seven days a week making suits of plate armor, with how limited my manpower is, I need to provide my elite retainers with the best protection available. The longbowmen won't hold off such an overwhelming force by themselves, I need lots and lots of footmen to absorb the impact of that damned heavy cavalry!

I plead for consideration and help! There is no place in the South or the North where Egyptian soldiers are needed more than here, and they are needed now!

Signed,
Duke Kopapsis, the lord of Bubastis, March 14, Kingdom Year 1089

[Max_Smirnov]

"Uncle Baruch! What are we going to do, with the French uccupying our holy mountain now?"

"Why are you so excited, boy? The Celts have been occupying it since the dawn of time, and there was never a problem. Not like the place, may the God bless it, is any good to really visit. Who knows, maybe it's a good thing, too? The French are separated from their homeland, many people are going to make money, selling them goods... and... services... If you know what I mean."

"Uncle Baruch!"

"I know, I know. In the bigger picture, it doesn't look so good. I've heard that the French are already hiring workers. They intend to dig out their own channel across the Celtic Passage, so their ships could travel South without any itereference from Pergamon... Or without having to sail all around the Celtia."

"Bah! Channel or not, it's about who controls the waters! And it's Egyptian Queen who has the Morningstar! Have you heard? Just a few weeks ago there was a battle ine the middle of the Celtic Sea! The Morningstar burnt an entire flotilla of Indian longboats!"

"And do you really think the Queen will order that warship from Hell to attack French vessels? She and Bonaparte are close friends, if you know what I mean."

"Uncle!"

"Doesn't matter, boy. Pack up your things. Tomorrow, we're leaving Pergamon."

"What? Where? Why?!"

"To Luxor."

"Luxor? That remote place at the end of the Kingdom? There is nothing there, but stinking furnaces and dirty miners!"

"Not so remote - at least not anymore, once the Egyptians finish that road from there to Oryx, and further, to Karnak. They have it already planned out; my cousin from Thebes, Mosche, told me so. Pergamon is history, boy. What here is to do? Sell grapes to those filthy Theban capitalists and buy back wine they make from it for a huge profit? Nah. Luxor is the future. I trust my nose. They ain't building that road for nothing. Something is afoot, I smell money there, and we'll be there when it materialises. The first might be the last, but the last aren't getting rich boy, the God Himself said so. Or at least I suppose He did, 'cause that's true."

[Max_Smirnov]

A personal diary of some unknown Egyptian lieutnant, circa Kingdom Year 950



We have left the stronghold of Bubasti and the shores of the Black Bay over two months ago, heading inland, into the vast foothills of the Himalaya Mountains. Three full regiments of armed men, with our wives, children and as much equipment as our wagons could carry. Slow, drudging march, valley after valley, always ascending, like we were to climb into the Heavens themselves. Now I can see we were wrong, when the pale shapes of the moutains proper appeared finally in the vast distance. They seem impossible to climb, impossible to pass, impossibly tall and getting even taller further on. Yet we're not alone here; we know of Indian camps in hidden valleys, and we know about a pass, where we were ordered to establish a permanent fort. The lake down there will provide us with food, but this vast and empty land wasn't clearly meant for men to behold. Yet, orders are orders, passed down straight from the Lord Kopapsis, the governor of these lands (on paper, at least; beyond the walls of Bubasti, there isn't much than a few villages and wild beasts to govern). Morale isn't too high, but I guess our remote outpost will serve some grand plans. Who knows, a major war with the Indian barbarians might break out any moment; there are horrendous tales of mass beheadings in the Persian cities of Jarmy and Parsegrade, which they conquered. I can only trust our Kingdom is stronger than Persia. And I can only hope, that, someday, if notmyself, then at least my childern will be able to see the white walls and towers of my hometown, Pergamon, so far away now, past the Black Bay, past the shores of Akhimi, past the blue vastness of the Spring Sea, thousands of miles to the north.