The Chronicles Of Imhotep

[HawaiiFive-O]

My name is Imhotep, and I am the Chief Advisor and confidant of the Eternal Queen, Cleopatra, Blessed of Osiris and Ruler of the Nile. Though time does not touch either myself or the Queen, it weighs heavily upon our people, the Children of the Nile. Our historians have recently pressed me for a recounting of the stories of our past and despite the numerous tasks and duties that fill my days, I have agreed.

I shall not talk of the early years of our nation. Suffice to say that our people flourished from our early beginnings farming the Nile's rich lands, spreading out across our continent, bringing civilization to a rough land.

Let us talk instead of the first great challenge to our nation. I speak of- the First Latin War.

But first, a little history I need to pass on for the story to make sense.

The Romans occupied the far half of our continent. I had always been certain to be friendly with the only neighbors to share our landmass. There was brief tension after initial contact as we rushed to secure the rich gem mines of the Asyut Jungle from the encroaching Roman settlers. A string of frontier towns, Asyut, Pithom, and Busiris secured the border for the Everlasting Queen, and we settled down to the business of building up our infrastructure.

It was with great dismay that we discovered no sources of iron or horses within our borders, though our nation stretched from the Roman lands in the East, to the subcontinent of Kyushu we shared with the Japanese and Rus across the Western sea. Not even the Queen's resort island of Mendes contained so much as a scrap of iron. As we were a peaceful people, I determined at the time that we would make do without these resources and trade for them. Horses were secured from the Chinese in return for the secrets of Monarchy, and we built as many War Chariots as we could while the horses arrived. Oddly enough, our horse trainers never could figure out how to breed the horses...

But I digress. With our Chariots as a strategic reserve, I garrisoned our cities with Spearman and Archers and hoped for the best.

Time went on. Our people continued to advance in science and culture. Temples were erected in all cities, dedicated to Osiris, or Horus, or Bast- whichever god the city was patron to. Marketplaces, Harbors, Cathedrals- Egyptian cities boasted them all. Several Rus cities, lured by the peace and prosperity of Egypt, overthrew their oppressors and joined us. We welcomed them with open arms, as truly all the peoples of earth are Children of the Nile.

The Romans, meanwhile, were making nuisances of themselves. They constantly probed our border, testing our resolve to defend ourselves. Caesar would call upon the Undying Queen, and make the most ridiculous demands (though truth be told I believe he was quite smitten with our beautiful Queen and sought these audiences merely to gaze upon her). I did my best to blunt the Roman advances, but it was clear that eventually we'd face the Romans in open conflict for the supremacy of our continent.

What wasn't clear was how quickly things would come to a head.

Already lacking Iron and Horses, our economy took another hit when our Sages discovered both Gunpowder and the utter lack of any Saltpeter within Egypt. Frantically scanning mineral reports from across the globe, my eyes fell upon the Libyan desert, just across the border in the Roman Empire. There were two deposits near the Roman desert town of Ravenna. My eyes drifted a little further south, deeper into Roman territory. There was an Iron deposit in the hills above the Roman port city of Antium. The beginnings of a plan was formulating in my mind...

Dealing with the Queen is mildly frustrating most of the time, and incredibly frustrating the rest of the time. She leaves the day-to-day minutiae of running the state to me, and is content to soak up the adoration of the people for a job (MY job) well done. One never knows what mood she’ll be in at any given time. I love her dearly though, she has been the one constant in my life for over 5000 years. We are both Blessed of Osiris, granted immortal life on this world. I could never leave her side, even though she drives me crazy most days.

I set it up perfectly, if I must say so myself. In honor of the Queen’s 5650th birthday, I arranged for a spectacular display of Russian fireworks in the skies over Thebes. The Queen was enthralled by the show, demanding that I supply fireworks for all future celebrations. Our exchange:

Queen Cleopatra: (awestruck) Those, what do you call them, fire-works? Are absolutely beautiful. We simply must make use of them more often.

Me: (much hand wringing) But, my Grace, the cost of these Russian fireworks is astronomical! I of course spared no expense for your birthday, but a steady supply of fireworks would bankrupt us!

Queen Cleopatra: (petulantly) Why can’t we make our own? Our scientists are the most advanced in the world…

Me: (ruefully shaking my head) My Queen, we lack a basic ingredient necessary for the manufacture of fireworks- Saltpeter, and the cost to acquire it would surely bankrupt the treasury.

Queen Cleopatra: (stomping her foot) I command you to secure Saltpeter resources so I can have fireworks whenever I want!

Me: (thoughtfully rubbing my chin) Well, there ARE sources of Saltpeter right across the border with the Romans. Our generals feel a quick strike would secure the desert for Egypt. The Romans would never expect us to attack, as we’ve attempted to appease them for centuries.

Queen Cleopatra: (alarmed) War? Imhotep, we are a peace-loving people! Are you sure this is the best way?

Me: (straightening up) My Queen, the war will be short and decisive. We don’t seek the subjugation of all of Rome, merely the capture of a couple of frontier towns. We’ll also show the Romans that the Egyptians will not be bullied, perhaps they’ll cease their incessant demands upon our nation.

Queen Cleopatra: (sighs) Try not to kill Caesar, OK? He’s kind of cute…

Thus started the First Latin War, the one our Queen likes to call the Great Fireworks War when she’s in a good mood, and Imhotep’s Great Blunder when she wants to tweak my nose.

[HawaiiFive-O]

The plan was a simple one.

The capture of Ravenna was essential to secure Saltpeter for Egypt and the Queen’s fireworks.

The capture of Antium was necessary to both deny the Romans Iron for their Legions, and to finally provide Egypt with a supply of Iron.

Brundisium lay along the coast athwart the road to Antium, and parallel to Ravenna. Our generals felt it’s capture would be vital to end Roman influence in the area.

Palmyra was another possible target, though since it lacked any strategic value, it wasn’t deemed a priority. It might be useful as a bargaining chip with the Romans, however.

Our navy was to sail along the coast of the Roman Empire, and drop off 4 battalions of Spearmen. This expeditionary force was to fortify themselves in the Iron bearing hills above Antium, preventing the Romans from building more Legions during the war.

Our main force was to strike across the Libyan desert, catch Ravenna unawares, turn south to capture Brundisium, and then sweep into Antium before the Romans knew what had hit them.

Yes, it seemed simple enough.

Several years were spent in preparation. All of our Archer battalions were upgraded with the new Longbows and deployed to the front. 15 Catapult companies were commissioned and rolled into position. All the War Chariots moved to the provincial capital of Asyut, and all spareable Spearman battalions left home for the front lines as well.

Knowing we’d be fighting at a technological disadvantage- our Bronze to their Iron, we sought numeric superiority, while frantically checking on Roman scientific progress. If they were to acquire Gunpowder and fortify their positions with Musketmen before we started our campaign, all would be lost.

+++ FIRST BLOOD +++
The initial campaign started exactly as we had predicted. The Romans were caught off guard by the sudden appearance of Egyptian army units within their borders. Rather than attack us immediately, we were able to advance two seasons deep into their territory before open hostilities commenced. The Spearman Expeditionary Force (SEF) destroyed all roads to the Iron mines and dug in for the inevitable Roman assaults upon their position. We were at the gates of Ravenna before any significant Roman opposition arrived, and after a season of catapult bombardment we destroyed the town walls. Though fighting was fierce, our Longbowmen were able to clear the town of the vaunted Roman Legions and Ravenna was ours. Leaving a garrison force behind, we turned towards Brundisium.

+++ROMAN RIPOSTE+++
The Romans fought back savagely, luring our forces into ill-advised attacks that left wounded battalions uncovered and easily destroyed by Roman counterattacks. In addition, our bronze wielding Spearmen might as well have been fighting with dinner knives, as the Roman Legions continually proved that Bronze is no match for Iron. Our casualties were heavy, but we had expected that and a seemingly never ending line of new Spearman recruits were streaming in from our heartland. Then, as our weary forces reached the outskirts of Brundisium, disaster struck. Our forces were overextended and the Roman Legions fell upon our main attack force, wiping out our three defending Spearmen battalions and then proceeded to carve up 4 of the 5 Longbowmen companies that comprised our main strike force. Demoralized, we fell back to Ravenna, using our War Chariots to screen our gutted assault force. The Romans had suffered grievous losses as well, and they did not immediately press the attack to regain their city.

+++DIPLOMATIC DISASTER+++
It was at this point I was shocked to receive reports from scouts in the field that the Romans were somehow fielding Musketmen! The treacherous Russians had not only gifted the Romans the secrets of Gunpowder, they were turning a tidy profit selling Saltpeter to them as well. Catherine of Rus refused my offer of a Military Alliance as well, and began naval maneuvers off our Western coast. I could feel my tidy little war beginning to spin out of my control. At home several Egyptian cities were rioting, most notably the converted Roman colonies along our eastern seaboard. I ordered more tax income diverted to luxuries, in an attempt to take the populace's minds off an increasingly expensive war.

+++TOTAL WAR+++
I put out the command to all cities to stop building anything other than a military unit of some kind. All Western port cities began turning out galleys- if the Russians wanted to attack we’d have a warm welcome waiting for them. I ordered two companies of workers to get roads into the Saltpeter rich areas we’d captured so far from the Romans. Once the road was complete I emptied the coffers and upgraded all Spearmen at the front to Musketmen. Osiris answered my prayers and a heretofore unknown deposit of Iron was discovered in our territory on Kyushu! Our remaining stone age Warrior units were swiftly upgraded to Swordsmen as well. We began our press to Brundisium again. This time the superior defensive firepower of the Musket served our forces well, and we drew up next to the city and proceeded to shell it with every large rock our soldiers could haul to our catapults. In the interim, our SEF had been completely wiped out, and our navy shuttled a group of two Musketmen down to the Antium Iron mines. These two Musketmen, Elite by the time relief forces reached their positions, repeatedly turned back Roman assaults upon their trenches. I credit the Roman units these brave soldiers tied up with buying us enough time to finish our work at Brundisium. Our progress through Roman lands was slow, however, as it seemingly took forever to roll the cumbersome catapults into position. Attacking entrenched Musketmen without prior artillery bombardment was deemed insane, however, so our advance was impeded by our need to match speed with the catapults. Meanwhile, our populace back home grew increasingly discontent with my promised "lightning quick" war.

+++ROMANS WON’T QUIT+++
With both Brundisium and Ravenna controlled by our forces, I took stock of the situation. Though we no longer needed the Antium Iron mines, our surprise attack had assuredly earned us Rome’s enmity for all time. I decided it was better to face a weak enemy than a strong one. With that in mind, I ordered the screening forces near Asyut to move against Palmyra, and our main attacking force, reinforced from the sea, moved down the coast to Antium. I will give the Romans credit, they did not quit. Repeatedly they threw themselves against our armies, causing great casualties to our forces. But our weight of numbers was bearing them down, and the industrial might of Egypt was making itself felt. Then, on the verge of taking Antium, disaster almost befell our forces again, as Roman Knights appeared for the first time, cutting down many of our screening War Chariots, and capturing one Catapult bombardment group.

The War was in the balance. How did the Romans get the Horses to get Knights? The answer lay with the Russians, again. I was beginning to really hate Catherine. And I had no idea who was supplying them with Iron. Mao of the Chinese, perhaps.

As I sat in my office scowling, pondering this latest development, Queen Cleopatra the Eternal swept into the room, all smiles.

Queen Cleopatra: (smiling) Why the glum face, my dear Imhotep?

Me: (deep frown) The Romans fight like the legions of Anubis himself. Now they are deploying Knights in large numbers against our forces.

Queen Cleopatra: (blithely) Knights? Did we not learn the secrets of Chivalry years ago? Send our own Knights to sweep them from the field.

Me: (gritting my teeth) My Queen, please remember that we still haven’t figured out how to get the damn Horses to breed. We have no Horses with which to outfit our Knights with.

Queen Cleopatra: (bored) Then trade for some Horses.

Me: (exasperated) Were that it would be so easy. The only nation offering Horses is England, and they are asking for the secrets of Gunpowder and Chemistry in return!

Queen Cleopatra: (coolly) Make the deal, Imhotep. I tire of this war, and I tire of your sour attitude while you conduct it. Finish it, and go back to being nice to me. I am your Queen, don’t forget that.

+++END GAME+++
With the addition of Knights to our army, our forces crushed Roman resistance near the town of Antium. In addition, General Ramses personally led an ill-advised assault on the town of Palmyra, capturing it against all odds. Indeed, I could have ended the war at this point on Egypt’s terms, but needing to salvage something from the wreckage of this war, I ordered the formation of an Army under Ramses’ banner. A couple of inconsequential battles with the Army later (that were played up as grand victories for the press back home- indeed a Heroic Epic was commissioned in the city of Pi-Ramesses dedicated to Ramses), I brought Caesar in for peace discussions. Reparations were secured and the borders finalized. Peace returned to Egypt.

[HawaiiFive-O]

The ensuing years saw the Egyptians grow into world power. With sizeable amounts of military hardware remaining from our war with the Romans, other world leaders became much more respectful of Egypt’s borders. With the addition of 4 cities, a second capital was built at Asyut, to administer our Roman holdings.

On Kyushu, the last Russian city joined the glorious Egyptian civilization. Now only we and the Japanese shared this windswept and tundra ridden continent.

The Middle Ages were a time of great innovation for the Egyptian people, as a great trading house was established at Memphis (Adam Smith’s), a great playwright made his presence known at Edfu (Shakespeare’s Theatre), and a daring explorer became renowned for the first circumnavigation of the world, starting from Thebes (Magellan’s Expedition). We narrowly missed securing the services of the brilliant Leonardo DaVinci, who wound up setting up shop in Nagasaki, but consoled ourselves with the construction of the Theban Military Academy instead.

We grew rich too, trading with all nations our gems, wines, iron, and saltpeter. And the Queen had fireworks, too, every weekend.

With the discovery of Magnetism, we set about creating a blue water navy, to ensure Egyptian safety from enemies abroad. For the Romans never forgot the humiliation at our hands. They grew ever closer with the Russians. Catherine perhaps begrudged our cultural assimilation of 4 of her cities. In addition, France got into bed with the Romans and Russians, signing a Mutual Protection Pact with both.

Alarmed that we might be soon surrounded by hostile nations, I took swift action. The Japanese were pleased to sign a Mutual Protection Pact with Egypt. As they shared the same continent as Russia, they would be my counterbalance against the hated Catherine. England, sharing land with the French, I wooed next. Elizabeth was happy to ally herself with me, as I started shipments of Coal to England in return for Horses to outfit my Cavalry. Thus the Triple Entente was formed.

As the Industrial Age dawned, our cities set about creating Hospitals and Factories. Our workers worked feverishly upon a pan-continental rail line. All was quiet, and then I got a summons from the Queen.

[HawaiiFive-O]

I had been reviewing our scientists’ progress on the Theory of Evolution, when news of the summons reached me.

I was surprised, as the Queen had gone through a little bit of a religious revival lately, spending much of her time with the Priests of Osiris at the Cathedral of Thebes. Of course, when you are over 5700 years old and living proof of the Gods’ existence, you are always welcome with the priesthood. I was fine with it as it meant less of her capricious demands upon me.

I headed immediately to the Cathedral, to see what my Queen needed of me. When I entered the darkened sanctum, lit only by guttering light of a brazier in the far corner, I was taken aback.

Here was my Queen, eyes blazing, a glow of almost maniacal fervor about her. Still beautiful, though, even if she did insist upon wearing that ridiculous yellow bonnet.

Uh-oh, I thought to myself, this can’t be good.

Queen Cleopatra: (impatient) Imhotep! I’m glad you are here.

Me: (meekly) I came as quickly as I could, your Grace.

Queen Cleopatra: (rushed) Of that I don’t doubt. I must tell you of my dream…

Me: (puzzled) Your dream?

Queen Cleopatra: (far away) ...I had a dream. In my dream, a red rat danced upon the fruited banks of the Nile, eating the cream of the land. In my dream, a golden cobra came out of the river, set upon the rat and ate it. The cobra grew fat upon the rat, and the Children of the Nile rejoiced.

Me: (still puzzled) Uh… OK. What do you think it means?

Queen Cleopatra: (angry) What does it mean? Imhotep, open your eyes!

And with that she stepped away from a map of the world that covered the far wall. After peering at it for a couple of seconds, it began to dawn on me. If you squinted, and smoked a lot of whatever the Queen had been smoking- yes! Our part of the continent DID sort of look like a snake, with the Romans dangling from the mouth of the snake.

Me: (looking quizzically at the Queen) You mean to wage war upon the Romans again?

Queen Cleopatra: (annoyed) No, of course not. I mean for YOU to wage war upon the Romans again. Do not finish until the Red Rat is no more! Do you hear me, Imhotep? Finish the Red Rat!

I had my orders (and my misgivings). The Romans were technologically inferior. We had the advantage in men and firepower. Our allies should keep the Russians and French busy. Armed with our experience from the First Latin War, our armed forces should be able to smash what little resistance the Romans could offer.

Why then was I so troubled by this turn of events?

Regardless, I bowed low to my Queen, and strode out of the room, my cape billowing behind me, my shadow like Death upon the map.

[HawaiiFive-O]

[Out Of Character]
OK, that should catch you up on my game so far. It's the start of the Second Latin War, I'll keep notes and post the results.

Any questions, comments?
[/Out Of Character]

[Beowolf]

That was.... amazing. Very well written!

[uXs567]

Yeah that was great. Could you post some screenshots though, as I have a hard time visualizing how the continents and countries are setup ?

Other than that, it's great ! Please continue soon ! :-)

uXs

[jdd2007]

i like it! if anatolia has heeded advice, i might vote this as the Story of the week

[Iceius]

Omg! Gw ffs!

That's about all I have to say

Please post the rest of the story real soon!

[HawaiiFive-O]

I've never posted a screenshot before, but here goes.

Here are our new Roman holdings. Note the Saltpeter north of Ravenna. Also, if you squint at the world map and smoke a lot of whatever the Queen was smoking, you too will see the Golden Cobra of Egypt poised to swallow the Red Rat of Rome.

[HawaiiFive-O]

Oops. That didn't work. Anyone know how to attach a screenshot?

[vovan]

Well, one way is to do this:

[img]http://www.mydomain.com/myimage.jpg[/img]
If you do not have an image available from the Web, then there is a field and a button near the bottom of the new message page:
It says

Attach file:
Maximum size: 500000 bytes
field "browse" button
Valid file extensions: gif jpg png txt zip bmp jpeg slc net sav scn hot rar wav

Well, you could click "browse" and choose the file you want to attach. Note the size limitation, though.

[Footie Mad]

This was awesome, like reading a good book.

[HawaiiFive-O]

Thanks everyone for the kind words.

As far as the screenies go, I chopped them down to ~200Kb, and they still won't post. I wonder if the site has disabled it temporarily due to bandwidth considerations. None of our avatars are displaying either.

Regardless, I'm continuing with the game and will post the results of the Second Latin War soon.

Sorry about the lack of screenies.

[HawaiiFive-O]

It was not War, it was Slaughter.
- General Cheops, Commander 1st Army, 2nd Roman Campaign

My first acts of the Second Latin War was to open the pursestrings of the treasury and pay for all of our Catapult companies to be outfitted with the new Cannons, as well as replacing all of the Muskets in our Army with Rifles.

Our new transcontinental rail line was not yet complete, so I ordered all of our forces in the eastern arm of the empire down to the Roman border. Our forces to the west, in the great cities of Thebes, Memphis, and Heliopolis would remain as reserves, in case of French or Russian attacks upon our shores.

I did not wait for any new military units to be constructed. My Queen was in no mood to pause, and if news of her dream were to reach Caesar, any hope at surprise would be lost.

+++THE CAMPAIGN+++
Forces under General Ramses fought their way down the eastern edge of the Roman coastline, while forces under General Nasser struck along the western edge, pointed at Rome. Simultaneously, amphibious landings were conducted on the islands of Caesaraugusta, Caesarea, and Jerusalem. Roman cities fell in rapid succession, as our Cavalry sliced through Roman opposition like a hot knife through warm butter. Our rate of advance soon left our artillery behind, but the success rate of Cavalry assaults made this moot.

It is a grim thing to be caught behind a technological shift, as the Romans found out. Their Knights fought with honor, but honor is no shield against Rifles. The Flower of Rome shed its blood defending their homeland, but it was for not. In 13 quick seasons, the Roman Empire was no more.

Indeed, the only tension in the war was the race to conquer the last Roman city of Syracuse, which we won, beating out the Japanese barely.

Tragically, Rome's allies abandoned them in its hour of need. Neither the Russians nor the French lifted a finger as we absorbed the former free Roman state.

With our butcher's work done, we set about rebuilding the shattered Roman cities.

The Queen Cobra had her Rat for Dinner. I wondered what was next.

[HawaiiFive-O]

With the absorption of the Roman Empire, Egypt was now the world's preeminent power.

As our Factories, Police Stations, and Hospitals came on line, I devoted more and more of our industrial capacity to the production of Wealth, which I used to hurry improvements in the conquered Roman territories. The sooner these cities were brought up to speed, the more powerful Egypt would be.

Our armed forces were divided into reserves at the cities of Heliopolis, Thebes, Asyut, and Veii. 3 Fleets were formed at the great port cities of Buto, Lisht, and Caesaraugusta.

It was a time of peace and prosperity for Egypt. The concept of Universal Suffrage was first discussed at Thebes, and then spread rapidly throughout the world. A highly controversial Theory of Evolution was espoused in Memphis. And the mighty Aswan Dam was built along the river Nile.

Diplomatically, Egypt was secure. England and Japan remained allies, though the Japanese were not as congenial as I would have liked. Elizabeth of England and the Queen became fast friends, and took turns visiting each other for "tea and crumpets", whatever the hell a crumpet is.

Yes, it was a golden time. And then England declared war on India, dragging the industrial might of Egypt into the fray.

[Footie Mad]

Get going on the next part! As I said earlier your story is like a good book and you know how grumpy one can get if you have to put that good book down

[Gatekeeper]

HawaiiFive-O:

You most certainly get into your games. Just remember that you *really* are HFO, not Imhotep, once the game is finished, OK? We wouldn't want to lose you to some competing alternate reality.

Good story so far. Keep it up.

CYBERAmazon

[Herder]

I agree, excellent read! Lets hear more.

[Grundel]

This story would be a good canidate for story of the week

[HawaiiFive-O]

When news of the English declaration of war on the Indians reached me at my offices in Thebes, my first inclination was to sit this war out.

Our nation had just emerged not 10 years before from the carnage of the Second Latin War. We were still in the process of assimilating our Roman holdings, not to mention the facts that the Indians were both half way across the globe from us and nonthreatening trading partners.

The Eternal Queen would have none of my talk of neutrality. Her friendship with Elizabeth blinded her to the geopolitical subtleties of the situation, and she insisted we assist England in the conflict.

Resigned, I sat down with our generals to decide upon a course of action. I knew our Mutual Protection Pact with England was up in 6 years time, I wanted a short and decisive campaign with a modest goal. Something that would minimize our casualties (and involvement), while showing good faith to our allies in England. India was already embroiled in a vicious land war with the Chinese, the English Isles were in no immediate danger from the Indians.

The island of Ceylon was the answer. It had three Indian colony cities on it, and it was within two seasons sail of the port city of El-Armana, on the western tip of our continent.

+++PREPARATIONS FOR WAR+++
I ordered the Fifth Fleet to begin preparing for an invasion of Ceylon. All Anubis class Galleons from the Fourth Fleet were temporarily assigned to the Fifth, and moved to El-Armana. Third Fleet left their home port at Mendes and sailed to augment the Fourth Fleet at Kyushu. Our new Jackal class Ironclads were tasked to provide gunnery support for the invasion force and were moved into position with the Fifth Fleet.

Eight full galleons sailed from El-Armana, escorted by 10 Sinai class Frigates and 4 Jackals. The fleet staged just beyond visual range of the southernmost colony, New Calcutta. We would launch the invasion on the morrow.

+++THE BATTLE FOR CEYLON+++
Under cover of an early morning fog, the Jackals slipped in to the Gulf of Ceylon and shattered the morning calm with the thunder of cannonfire. Our Sinais blockaded all approaches to New Lahore and New Calcutta, raining deadly fire upon the inhabitants of those two unfortunate cities. Our troops disembarked in good order upon the isthmus between New Lahore and New Calcutta, our new Artillery pieces ready to add their strength to the naval bombardment. The First Army, under the command of General Ramses, would lead the charge into New Calcutta. Ramses was a traditionalist, and he employed the last three remaining Knights in our army. They were known as the Queensguard. The Second Army, an all cavalry unit led by General Nasser, was tasked to seize New Lahore, preferably with the Harbor intact. To that end, our bombardment of New Lahore was lighter than that of New Calcutta. The Second Army knew that would mean stauncher Indian resistance, but they welcomed the opportunity to prove their worth upon the field of battle.

A follow up force, Task Force 41 from the Fourth Fleet, 4 Anubis galleons and 2 escorting Sinais, left El-Armana to augment our forces on Ceylon, fully laden with fresh troops.

+++THE BATTLE OF THE CEYLON SEA+++
I remember clearly that I was congratulating myself on a brilliantly orchestrated plan. Our forces were performing admirably, and I had every reason to believe Ceylon would be ours in a few months. It had a Coal field that I was already mentally shopping around amongst the other nations, when my reverie- and my laissez-faire attitude to this war was ended by a single sheet of paper that crossed my desk.

It was a telegraph from Fifth Fleet HQ.

It was short, but no less horrifying for it’s brevity.

TF41 ATTACKED BY RUSSIAN FORCES…STOP…BOTH ESCORTING FRIGATES DESTROYED…STOP…ALL GALLEONS LOST…STOP…RESCUE OPERATIONS FOR TRANSPORTED INFANTRY UNITS UNDERWAY…STOP…NO SURVIVORS REPORTED…STOP

[HawaiiFive-O]

+++WORLD WAR ONE BEGINS+++
Later that day Catherine of Rus would have the gall to formally declare war. Russia and France joined India’s side, arrayed against the forces of Egypt, China, Japan, and England.

For myself, I cursed my decision to not provide TF41 with a Jackal for escort, though who could have known that 10 Russian Stoli Frigates would swoop down on our convoy with bloodlust in their hearts? With the Russians a peaceful friendly trading partner no less?

Two things were clear- Catherine bore us ill dating back to the Latin Wars, and that Russia had betrayed me for the last time. I vowed that this war would not end until the Egyptian flag flew high over Moscow.

With steel in my heart, I called upon my allies.

Egypt would be the arsenal of victory. To the Chinese we gifted shipments of Rubber. To the Japanese, Saltpeter. Coal to the English. None of the other leaders would ever accuse me of being a pushover at the bargaining table, but this time, with the memory of the destruction of Task Force 41 burning in my mind, I literally gave it away.

If the Russians and their cowardly allies wanted a war, we would give them a war.

The developed Western cities of Egypt converted from the production of Wealth to production of all things military. Soon Infantry, Artillery, Cavalry and more rolled off the assembly lines, ready to strike fear into the hearts of our enemies.

I called upon our Espionage experts in the city of Asyut to plant spies in the capitals of our enemies. Amazingly, we were completely unsuccessful. Shrugging it off to bad luck, I ordered them to try again in three seasons time.

Catherine had awoken a sleeping giant. To this day I wish I knew if she was as scared as she should have been. I doubt it…

+++THE CAPTURE OF CEYLON+++
French/Russian entry into the War had no bearing upon our forces in Ceylon. I ordered the assaults to begin. The Indian troops, demoralized after heavy bombardment, put up little resistance. Both New Lahore and New Calcutta fell within days, New Delhi took only as long as it took to move Cavalry battalions within range. I was pleased to note that the Second Army was able to capture New Lahore with the Harbor intact. Turning over the securing of the countryside to 3 capable governors, I ordered the fleet re-provisioned for the strike across the Yellow Sea at the Russian Homelands.

+++HOMELAND HAPPENINGS+++
The work of our physicians culminated in the concept of Battlefield Medicine, which I hoped would serve us well in the coming battle for Russia.
The Third Army was formed in Thebes, and deployed to El-Armana for transport to Russia. With the formation of a third army, I decided to concentrate our Command and Control in a central organization called the Pentagon in Pi-Ramesses. Once completed, my generals assured me they’d be able to stuff our armies with a fourth unit, making them even more powerful.

Global Warming went from a nuisance to a hazard, turning Forest into Tundra (wouldn’t that be Global Cooling?), and Plains into Desert. The increasing population of Egyptian cities pushed the limits of our ecosphere, and soon I had teams of Workers roaming the landscape cleaning up the mess.

In an astonishing turn of diplomatic events, England and France allied and declared war on the Japanese. I tensed up, fearing that my pacts with England and Japan would draw me into open warfare with one of my allies, but the call to arms never came. World War One was becoming increasingly muddled…

+++THE QUEEN GETS INVOLVED+++
How I do love the Eternal Queen, Cleopatra.

For some reason, she is incredibly titillated by the name “Privateers”. Something about the word “Privateers” will send her into a fit of blushing and giggling. I keep trying to tell her that it’s not a dirty word, just a word to describe mercenaries that prey upon other nation’s shipping without flying Egypt’s flag. But no, she’ll just blush furiously and look away.

For the rest of the War I had to constantly look over our cities’ build orders, because the Eternal Queen kept issuing commands that more “Privateers” be built. Even after I sat her down and explained that "Privateers" are hopelessly outdated and we should concentrate our Industrial might on the construction of Jackal class Ironclads. Even after I pointed out that a "Privateer" unit didn't have the firepower to take out three old ladies in a rowboat. Even after the latest and greatest Scarab class Destroyers finished sea trials.

(sigh)

How I do love the Eternal Queen, Cleopatra…

[HawaiiFive-O]

+++INVASION: RUSSIA+++
Our generals selected Odessa as our beachhead on the Russian continent. After two seasons of naval bombardment, the Russian commanders surrendered the city for no loss to our troops. Our Artillery companies began a relentless bombardment of Tbilisi, as our Cavalry moved into position.

Elizabeth cancelled the Mutual Protection Pact she had with our fair nation. It was in our best interests to let it expire as well, I knew once our pact with the Japanese expired as well we could sue for peace with the Indians and concentrate on blowing the Russians to hell.

The Russians launched a surprise invasion of Kyushu, but were utterly defeated by our garrison forces. This was the only battle fought on Egyptian lands the entire War.

+++THE WAR GRINDS ON+++
Tbilisi fell to our forces within a season. Japanese forces broke through the bottleneck at Astrakhan and poured onto the broad Russian steppes. Seeing that Russian resistance was faltering, I ordered that more reckless assaults be conducted, lest we lose some plum Russian cities to our marauding allies the Japanese.

Our scientists discovered the secret of Combustion. Soon, “automobiles” begin to add to the pollution in our cities. If it were not for this War, I’d care more about the ecological disaster ensuing around me. Our top secret research into a new class of armored, heavily armed naval vessels culminated in the sleek and deadly Scarab class Destroyer. All coastal cities switched to the production of this new warship.

We trained our Artillery upon the Russian fortress city of St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg was the key to the Russian heartlands, here lay the great Spice fields and Horse Ranches of the Rus. I vowed it would be Egypt’s. I ordered the First, Second, and Third Armies to prepare for an assault.

+++DIPLOMATIC MANEUVERINGS+++
At last our Mutual Protection Pact with Japan ended. If Shogun Tokunaga was surprised at my decision to end our arrangement, he did not show it.

Freed of our encumbering alliances, I made peace with the Indians in return for what little they had in their treasury. I made a status quo peace with France, and soon imported French silks once again appeared in Marketplaces throughout Egypt.

Russia was in our crosshairs, and nothing would distract me from exacting revenge for TF41.

Japan and India signed a peace treaty.

+++THE FALL OF ST. PETERSBURG+++
While Russia and Japan fought a pitched battle for control of Minsk, our capture of St. Petersburg meant the end of English extortion for Horses. I immediately split our forces and sent half against Smolensk (and her Spice fields), and half against the Rus capital of Moscow. I hoped to capture Catherine and bring her to trial for war crimes.

+++CATHERINE SQUEALS FOR MERCY+++
As our forces began the shelling of Moscow and Smolensk, the first Russian diplomatic overture of the war was delivered by special envoy. In flowery speech Catherine extolled the virtue and beauty of our Everlasting Queen, and beseeched her mercy. Unfortunately for Catherine, she wasn’t dealing with Cleopatra, she was dealing with me, Imhotep, also blessed of Osiris and downright pissed off.

No deal, I told the Russian envoy.

+++RUSSIA DISMEMBERED+++
Minsk fell to our victorious armies. Our scouting cavalry forces reported that Russia is a polluted mess, and I made a note that any captured Russian Workers should be put immediately to work cleaning up the piles of ugly orange pollution that amounted to the Russian landscape.

The Pentagon in Pi-Ramesses was completed, and our armies in Russia, now numbering four, were augmented with an additional Cavalry battalion apiece.

+++THE LEVELLING OF MOSCOW+++
For centuries, Moscow lay beneath the great Causcasus mountain range, peacefully nestled in their shadows. War had never touched her fair walls, until the crisp October morning Egyptian artillery trained their muzzles of death upon her.

Three long seasons our artillery smashed into the city. Long after our military analysts felt it necessary, our artillery pounded the denizens of Moscow. When finally we relented and sent the Second Army in to secure the city, over half of the population had been killed, and every civic building of note, save the ancient Aqueduct, had been destroyed.

Thus was Egypt’s vengeance visited upon Moscow.

+++JAPAN BEATS US TO THE PUNCH+++
A different story unfolded around Smolensk. The Japanese, perhaps mindful of how we beat them to the capture of the last Roman city of Syracuse, rushed the city with a human wave of Cavalry. They suffered far more casualties than the Egyptians would have deemed acceptable, but they did succeed in taking Smolensk, along with the Spice fields.

Russian resistance was fast fading. The last remaining Russian units remained holed up in their cities and no longer did they sortie against our forces in the field. Catherine had escaped our siege of Moscow, and was now attempting to make a stand at Sverdlovsk, on the northern coast.

Our forces closed in. Japanese focus strayed, as English and French naval forces harried the Japanese up and down the devastated Russian coastline.

+++CATHERINE ESCAPES+++
Despite the capture of Sverdlovsk and Riga, Catherine escaped the Egyptian net cast around her. The city of Minsk revolted from our benevolent rule, and Catherine was reported to be within the city.

Though we recaptured the city within a fortnight, Catherine was nowhere to be found.

How could this be? Minsk was the last Rus city, was it not? I called our Espionage experts in from Asyut for an explanation.

I was shocked to discover that there was yet another Russian city, founded just last year upon the Indian continent.

I took stock of the situation. The war had lasted over 20 years. War exhaustion was just beginning to show in the Egyptian economy. Just last week the Chinese and Japanese had declared war on England and France, so now it was China against India, China + Japan vs. England + France, Japan + Egypt vs. Russia.

Russia was a shattered nation, no longer a threat to Egypt. And now they were 6 seasons sail away.

Balanced against this was the fact that a free Russian city might inspire our conquered Russian cities to revolt against Egypt.

Nevertheless, I decided to sue for peace. If we could convince the downtrodden Russian peasantry to willingly foreswear Catherine’s regime and swear allegiance to the Eternal Queen, I would have a lasting and satisfactory victory.

Catherine was all too eager to end hostilities between our two nations.

I made sure that Tokunaga knew exactly where the last Rus city lay.

Peace once again returned to Egypt, though the world surrounding her was in flames.

[SirOsis]

Excellent story. It made me want to get back to my game as well as possibly write something of my campaigns!

[dnassman]

Outstanding story. Its pretty obvious that you have the story contest victory in the bag.

[Barfus]

excellent story Hawaii. It makes me giddy to finally write my games story. I just hope I can do it with as much finesse and not appear to be plagiarizing. *ahem* My Emperor Publius Martius Verus sends his best wishes to Imhotep and his Sovereign Queen Cleopatra.

keep up the good work

[HawaiiFive-O]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement!

I'm on the home stretch with this game. Just so you know, I play with Diplo and Spaceship victory off.

Diplo because I think it's cheap.

Spaceship because, as my goal in all Civ-style games is to build up a glorious empire with completely infrastructurely built out cities and then savagely lay about my former allies with a big stick, I just hate Spaceship Victory as it let's my victims get away from me.

Pity the poor AI. I'm almost ready to take on the world...

[Gatekeeper]

HF-O:

You have a knack for building stories around the Civ III strategy game. Good job and keep up the excellent work. I am fairly certain you will receive some "official" recognition for this eventually.

CYBERAmazon

[pg]

very nicely written, your story is better than most books i read(since they are usually too slow). i really like the bervity, and character you portray. firaxis should use it for advertising!

btw, i have to agree about the diplomatic victory. it's much to easy to win with that. just give in to all demands and stay alive and you'll win when the un is built. anyhow, the story rocks, best one i've read so far!

[Herder]

I too like to play with diplomatic and space race victory off. Diplomatic is just cheesy and space race is too easy and morally defunct.

Anyway, good work on the narrative again.