Succession Game V: The Empire of Ra

[Gazablanca]

Account of Gazablanca Apolyton VII

Following the disappearance of Wombat to the South Pole(where it is rumoured giant flesh eating cats live),a young lad called Gazablanca takes up the challenge of ruling Egypt.His first task is to secure his hold on the throne by giving Hammurabi some duties far away near Arabia.......to guard the chokepoint which is the proposed site of the new city........

The first twenty years of Gaza's reign were quite ordinary,with only troop movements and building plans to concern him.In 1310 BC however,new research into upgrading the military(called Mobile Tactics)is undertaken,and various cities undertake work into new buildings.

In 1300 BC,the coracle has sighted land at the South Pole...just a shame it is tundra and not suitable land for building.The point of land sighted has a name.....now called Wombat's Landing,in honour of the previous Apolyton.Meanwhile,a mounted cavalry investigates great plains of grassland near the Roman Empire.

In 1280 BC,a hoplite regiment is being recruited in Crocodilopolis,as security against a 2 stack barbarian army lurking just outside the city.Meanwhile,the nomad and escorts steadily travel west towards the chokepoint....

Around 1260 BC,an embassy is established with the Yamato....we may need this diplomatic centre in years to come,as the Yamato don't like us very much at the moment......

In 1250 BC,Gazablanca feels his strength ebbing away as the end of his life approaches....then comes the news that yet again a plague has struck in all of our cities.Saddened by the loss of so many of our nation's people,the grief and shock finally finishes him off.It will now be left to the next Apolyton to site the chokepoint city:a venerable leader of a high ranking family based in Heliopolis called Hermann..........

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
In 1490?

Well, since noone else is obviously gonna get closer, I guess I'll count that one...
To be precise, it's the following section:

[...]Hammurabi came very close to losing his life. Hammurabi was the first one up the ladders onto the wall of the city of the Celts, and then he jumped down into the town with only two of his guards behind him. Before the rest of the Egyptians could catch up and save him, Hammurabi had taken an arrow in the ribs and had been knocked dizzy by a club. He was unconscious when they carried him away, and he fainted when the doctors cut out the arrow. Rumors spread that Hammurabi was dead.

It's supposed to be quite a famous passage from "Alexander", by Plutarch...

[Immortal Wombat]

Uncultured, us lot.

[Hermann the Lombard]

The Stela of Her-mann VII, Apolyton XXV of the Empire of Ra

[Archaeologist’s Note: The size of this monument is surprising, and the richness of its decoration even more so, for an apparently unimportant ruler with an uneventful reign.]

1250 BC: The new Apolyton bids a sad farewell to the Twenty-Fourth Apolyton, and examining the build queues, proclaims the late ruler “Gazablanca the Builder.” Privately, the new ruler grumbles, “’Venerable’ indeed! Who was HE to call ME old? Must have something to do with that garotting four centuries ago. Some families have long memories!” Then it’s off to the temple for the Ceremony of Reloadslic.

In this year the Empire of Ra launches its first Bireme. Her-mann (of a nautically-inclined family) marks the historic occasion, but gives credit to Gazablanca. Well if he was the Builder, then Her-mann shall be the Improver, and trading posts are placed outside Memphis and Tanis. To further improve the Empire, he orders Fertility Programs in Heliopolis and Aphroditopolis (the latter particularly appropriate). Selflessly, the Apolyton will lead the Fertility Programs, giving His all to the Glory of Ra!

Chariots from Abydos discover a barbarian slinger entrenched on the Great Wombat Road. This insult to the marsupial’s memory shall not go unavenged! The javelin cavalry from Sais (renamed Offler’s Arrow) ride swiftly west to trap the intruders.

1240 BC: A great moment in our history: the Wise Men discover the secret of Mobile Tactics! Now two paths beckon the Wise: Architecture and Philosophy. Which to choose? Her-mann orders the pursuit of Philosophy for lofty goals…like building Barracks, a true philosophical enterprise!

Another great moment, as the Dream of Locutus V is realized: the city of Asyut is founded at the narrowest point of the isthmus, on the very border of Arabia, even pushing that border back. A canal is promptly dug to link the two seas, and the Apolyton orders a celebration. The palace pastry chef produces new confections in honor of the occasion; he calls them Necho Wafers.

The Celtic Gods may be less than pleased; a Force 1 earthquake strikes Armagh. (“Force 1? And they call themselves Gods? Hah!” – famous last words). More of the fruit of Gazablanca’s reign come to ripeness: a Bazaar in Heliopolis and a Shrine in Armagh (best to honor the Gods of Egypt after dissing the Gods of Gaul!) Six cities are restive, on the verge of riot, perhaps upset by what some hear as blasphemy.

Offler’s Arrow makes short work of the barbarians. An Arabian Bireme appears off Abydos, but our (only) Bireme remains at the pier.

A scribe brings papyrus to the Apolyton and proudly displays his inky craft: “With the discovery of the secrest of making bronze, we now have the means to expand or empire through conquest and trade. We have entered the Classical Age.” Two typos and “news” of an ancient advance? The scribe is tortured with quills under the fingernails, then drowned in a vat of ink.

1230 BC: The city of Memphis surpasses 100,000 population! A Forge is ready in Cardiff, already the most productive city in the Empire.

1220 BC: Offler’s Arrow traps a barbarian force on the South Road. Bubastis reaches 70,000 population. That Arab Bireme appears again, this time off Heliopolis.

1210 BC: The cornered barbarians entrench and await their fate, and Offler’s Arrow brings doom upon them. However, the mounted archers of the barbarians do great harm to Offler’s chariots before being overcome. (“We need some of these potent riders ourselves!” Her-mann makes changes to some build queues.) The Shrine of Ptah is ready in Memphis. A barbarian slavemaster appears in the forests north of Tanis. Abydos grows to 90,000 and more of the resources of land and sea become available to the great port.

The Coracle of Wombat arrives in Asyut and picks up javelin cavalry to further explore the wasteland across the southern sea. Our Diplomat explores the Yamato road net, with some thoughts about the “In Different Circumstances” plan drawn up in the reign of Wombat (also known as the Mute Plan). Even farther north, the javelin cavalry boards the legendary Great Old Coracle to explore the world’s northernmost peninsula.

1200 BC: Another Forge is ready, this time in Carmarthen, and a Granary opens its doors in Sais, the Wheat Port. Travelers report that the Byzantines have gone to war with the Arabians. Perhaps our friendship with the Byzantines will give us the pretext… Never mind! This is a time of peace! A biding time of peace.

1190 BC: Sobek dispatches the barbarian slavemaster. The Great Fleet returns in triumph to Abydos and is joined by the “new” Bireme. Asyut grows to 20,000.

1180 BC: Wombat’s Coracle drops off the cavalry in some seaside ruins, where the hapless horsemen are ambushed by fearsome warriors called Hypaspists. They may sound like a speech impediment, but they are too much for the cavalry! Forges are ready in Bubastis and Kells. Crocodilopolis grows to 60,000.

1170 BC: The first native Mounted Archers of the Empire of Ra join the Army of Nun and Hannibal’s Second in Cardiff; our army in Gaul is now concentrated at the center of the province. Tanis reaches 90,000.

1160 BC: The Forge in Thebes is now ready. This is the Fifth Forge of the reign of Her-mann VII, and so the Twenty-Fifth Apolyton becomes known as Her-mann the Forger. That’s why. Really.

1150 BC: The Fertility Programs of Her-mann the Forger bear fruit once again: Thebes and Sais grow to 70,000, Heliopolis and Aphroditopolis grow to 90,000, and Carmarthen grows to 100,000. Exhausted and spent by the sweat and toil of leading these programs, the selfless Her-mann collapses and expires after a reign of only one hundred years, youthful to the end (you hear that, Gazablanca?)

Is it an ominous sign that the mysterious Arabian Bireme appears yet again, this time off Kells? A new leader must be found to interpret the Signs and Portents!

[No pictures this time; really nothing much to show!]

-- HtL

[Gazablanca]

Originally posted by Hermann the Lombard

Exhausted and spent by the sweat and toil of leading these programs, the selfless Her-mann collapses and expires after a reign of only one hundred years, youthful to the end (you hear that, Gazablanca?)

I hear you....you old fart!!!!!!!

[Hermann the Lombard]

I was just thinking--despite the senility--that we had a stroke of luck that the Celts only had four cities. If we had taken a fifth city, wouldn't we have tripped the frenzy code?

[Locutus]

Hey guys,
I'm currently having the worst ISP problems I've ever had. I've called my ISP helpdesk a dozen times and they keep saying my cables or my PCs are broken while I keep telling them 5 sets of cables and 2 PCs can't all break down at exactly the same time, especially not since they work fine when I test them. So we're kind of in a deadlock there; I can only hope the problem will be resolved before Christmas...

Anyway, this combined with the fact that my exams start tomorrow (and because of that I don't work or go to uni or some other place where they might have Internet) means that I have pretty much zero time or means to access Apolyton. However, I did receive a savegame from Hermann for Succession Game V just before my connection went down (yes, that was almost a week ago), which also reminded me I still had a game open for Succession Game VI Anyway, in between studying I managed to finish both games and I'm borrowing the neighbour's PC for a few minutes so I'm attaching the savegames here (no Internet, no email...). No elaborate stories this time, the above should explain why not

---

1150 BC
Wages decreased so more Commerce to Science.
Rush-bought Shrine in Asyut.
Although the Arab village of Asyut was burned to the ground and all evidence of its existance destroyed before an Egyptian city was founded on the same location, Locutus VI decides that this is not enough and renames the city Lykopolis (Sauty in the Holy Script), to remove any reference to the previous occupants.
[note: who's idea was it to build tile imps in the outer ring of Memphis? Surely everyone knows that that is very inefficient for a size 10 city if there's still room in the first ring? Especially since one of them negates the effect of a trade good and Farms were built on Plains, were Pastures are twice as effective...]

1140 BC
Lykopolis riots and builds a Shrine at the same time ()
Although far removed from any kind of water, Cardiff starts production of the Lighthouse of Alexandria
Aphroditopolis finishes Bazaar, starts Apothecary

1130 BC
Romans start Spartan Philosophy
Romans and Yamato have gone to war
Tanis builds Bazaar and starts Apothecary
PHilosophy discovered, Cosmology started
Memphis finished Forge, starts Apothecary

1120 BC
Mine built near Cardiff

1110 BC
Mounted Archer built in Carthamen, now building Chariot
Armargh builds Mounted Archer, starts Ziggurat
Heliopolis builds Slavemaster, starts Apothecary
Embassy establish in Roman Empire

1100 BC
Sais builds Mounted Archer, now building Shrine
Mine built outside Cardiff
Barbarian Chariot spotted entrenched on mountain in between Egyptian guards on eastern edge of empire, near Sais (how the hell did he get there without anyone spotting him?), Slavemaster from Heliopolis moves in for the capture

1090 BC
Kells builds a Mounted Archer, starts Theatre
Yamato start Spartan Philosophy
Established Embassy with Byzantine Empire
Traded Mobile Tactics for Republic with the Byzantines
Buying Architecture from Byzantines failed
Gave Byzantines 200 Gold
Bubastis builds Mounted Archer, starts Apothecary
Barbarian Charioteer in the east moves towards our Chariots, even further east

1080 BC
Barbarian Chariot attacks our Chariot. Doesn't do any significant damage but the Slavemaster wasn't there in time to capture the slaves
Barb Chariot spotted outside Memphis, Sobek moves in

1070 BC
Cosmology discovered, Hippocratic School started
Exchanged Architecture for Cosmology with the Byzantines
Romans went to war with the Arabs
Abydos finishes Apothecary, starts Shrine
Barbarian Mounted Archer spotted outside Armargh, Hammurabi's 2nd Guard moves in: 2 more Barbs discovered just outside LOS of cities
Barbarian Chariot north of Memphis defeated by Sobek

1060
Hammurabi's 2nd Guard defeats 2 Barbarian Mounted Archers, exactly 0 damage
Diplomat finds a LOT of Etruscan and Roman troops around Byzantine Trapezus, I wonder how long that city will remain Byzantine...
Carthamen builds Chariot, starts Apothecary
Barbarian Hoplite outside Armargh defeated by Hammurabi's 2nd Guard
Farm built in Memphis

[Locutus]

Forgot the savegame...

[Immortal Wombat]

Ouch! I think despite the displeasure that ISP problems can cause, they may be a message from Ra to tell you not to visit 'Poly until the exams are over

[Locutus]

If it is, it's not working. In spite of the helpdesk of my ISP claiming again and again that the cable modem could not possibly be broken, I decided to give the thing a thorough check and whaddayaknow: after disconnecting and restoring the power supply and reattaching all cables, all problems disappeared

[Immortal Wombat]

Hooray. I think?

[Locutus]

Yeah, I guess that's a hooray

That's the last time I called my ISP helpdesk though, stupid morons...

[Immortal Wombat]

This site needs a sister site from the other end of the phoneline?

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by Locutus
after disconnecting and restoring the power supply and reattaching all cables, all problems disappeared

That's the advice I'm getting from my ISP, except that I have a perfectly-good (brand-new) DSL connection, it just won't connect to the ISP's email server.

[Immortal Wombat]

Herein lies the biography of the Apolyton Chancellor Wombat II of the Egyptian Federation of City States.

1040BC: Wombat's first act as chancellor...is to eat a dorito. But after that, he orders the borders secured against "all the barbarians in the world, and those odd red wearing blokes too."

1030BC: Our foreign ambassador abroad moves westward towards Etruria.

1020BC: Thebes builds a Ziggurat, Aphroditopolis builds
an Apothecary, Crocodilopolis builds a Forge. Wombat declares that under his rule, Egyptian science will catch up with that of our peaceful neighbours since our long war has ended. All three cities are ordered to begin building academies.

1010BC: Egyptian wisemen discover Hypocratic School. At least, thats what 11 of them said. The 12th one, named Hypocrates, claimed the invention for himself, and suggested that all the other wisemen wasted government money drinking, and going to strip-clubs. He unexpectedly died just before the hearing, so the truth will never be known, but a replacement was found, and Wombat ordered the discovery of a government to be known as Oligarchy - coined to mean "Government that can handle 20 cities."

1000BC: Memphis starts Lighhouse of Alexandria. Our ships will be able to sail with haste across the map. A fitting millennium monument. A Watchtower is also built in the south to scare away barbarians. Its great! Our diplomat established a diplomatic embassy in Etruria. Tanis builds an apothecary and joins the "Wombat Academiatisation Project"

990BC: Abydos builds a shrine, Heliopolis builds an Apothecary. Both begin academies.

980BC: Wombat cuts his toenails in every city in the Egyptian Federation of City States.

970BC: Kells builts a theatre. Go on, guess what it begins.

960BC: We accept a request to leave Roman territory. Its not going to happen, because we're sailing our diplomat south to the last remaining civ, but we might get through before they get too irritated.

950BC: Bubastis builds an Apothecary, and yes, begins an academy. In the later half of the year, Wombat goes on another toe-cutting tour of Egypt, and, upon reaching Kells, the final city in the tour is assasinated by a far-left fanatic religious nut-job who had strict beliefs with regards to toe-nail cutting.

The election date is set...

[Immortal Wombat]

[Locutus]

Originally posted by Immortal Wombat
This site needs a sister site from the other end of the phoneline?

Well, if the 'right' side of the line consists of highschool kids who know nothing about PCs and who can't do much more than follow a fixed procedure (I semi-jokingly told them "I can't get online, I seem to have been downgraded to a simplex connection", they answered "simwhat?" (simplex is network jargon for one-way, a pretty elementary term when working for an ISP)), yeah, I guess such a site would indeed be needed. 'Helpdesk stupidities'

Hermann,
Right... If your Internet works fine and only the email gives you problems, it should never be a hardware problem, unless it the email server itself. Sounds like your ISP's helpdesk is just as 'professional' as mine...

[Gazablanca]

Transcript of Gazablanca Apolyton of the Egyptian Federation of City States

....Gazablanca romps home in the elections,after using a bit of skulduggery to secure the leader's chair.Being the largest brewer in Egypt,Gaza refuses to supply every city with beer unless he is elected as leader.As expected from the thirsty nation,capitulation swiftly follows...........


940 BC
Routine orders are sent to ships...otherwise,nothing else happens.

930 BC
Gazablanca notices Memphis and Cardiff are building the same wonder,the Lighthouse of Alexandria...obviously an accidental oversight by a previous Apolyton.He changes Memphis's queue to Aristotle's Lyceum,another wonder that will give us a science boost in each city in our empire.

920 BC
Gazablanca enacts a change in government to Oligarchy to enable us to build more cities.Anarchy rules for the moment,as citizens go mad and boxfulls of toenail clippings which were lying around in Memphis's city streets for some reason.Reports from around the country are the same,and the air is thick with the stench of burning toenails
Barracks are also being researched to enable us to build and train better troops.

910 - 890 BC
Nothing much happens.

880 BC
Oligarchy is now our government...and Gazablanca starts building a nomad unit in Sais to build another city somewhere nearby.Meanwhile,a size 3 Japanese Army has moved over the border into our territory near Armagh.Hammurabi's 2nd Guard is prepared for battle.A withdrawal request is sent to the Japanese,which is rejected.....this could mean trouble.

870 BC

Unbelievable!After years of peace,the small army of the Japanese attacked our Hammurabi's 2nd Guard and was absolutely decimated,with only 1 regiment from our army being destroyed.This unprovoked attack has spurred Gazablanca into building more troops,especially powerful Elephant Warriors.

860 BC
The Great Fleet is mobilised in Abydos,ready to patrol the Japanese waters or transport our troops.....more Elephant Warriors are queued up in cities

850 BC
Our first Elephant Warrior is built in Kells and is immediately given orders to reinforce Hammurabi's 2nd Guard.Meanwhile,an embassy is founded in Tunis,an Arabian city.

840 BC
Gazablanca dies at an advanced age due to the stresses and strains of war.The red-hot mantle of Leader of the Oligarchy passes to his War Minister,Hermann the Lombard.........

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by Locutus
Hermann,
Right... If your Internet works fine and only the email gives you problems, it should never be a hardware problem, unless it the email server itself. Sounds like your ISP's helpdesk is just as 'professional' as mine...

Yes indeed, but it is time for me to give credit where credit is due. Once I had enough time to wait for a human to come on the phone line, the verizon help desk came through like champs. The message warned me that the waiting time was about ten minutes, and in fact my call was answered in less than ten minutes. The guy who answered was knowledgeable and polite and talked me through solutions, first to the connectivity problem and then to being able to send and receive from my non-verizon email.

I assume that this particular techie will either be promoted or will lateral to a better-paying position.

Meanwhile...

840 BC
Gazablanca dies at an advanced age due to the stresses and strains of war.The red-hot mantle of Leader of the Oligarchy passes to his War Minister,Hermann the Lombard.........

Dammit, Gazablanca, don't stand so close to the toenail bonfires! (Dousing the mantle...)

[Locutus]

Hey guys,
We're still playing with only 4 guys and it's not exactly helping punctuality (remember that 72h rule? ). Mapfi asked me if he could join a Succession Game so I offered him to serve as replacement for this game. Assuming we can get Cradle v1.2 to run on his system, I would like him to serve as replacement for Oerdin (i.e. he will play after Hermann and before me), is that okay with you guys?

[Hermann the Lombard]

Great! We can use some new blood! I'll make the 72-hour limit this time, and I'll watch to see whether to send the file to Mapfi or to Locutus. I just hope Mapfi can handle the smell from the toenail bonfires. They're as hard to snuff out as rubber tire fires!

[Immortal Wombat]

Yeah, the more the merrier.

[Gazablanca]

Fresh blood.....yep,OK by me

[Locutus]

Okay, mapfi's game is working on Cradle v1.2, so Hermann, send your game on to him when you're done (I will email you his email address)

[mapfi]

Ok, hi guys and thanks for letting me in.

Well, I wonder if those toenail fires will still be burning when I get the game. I'm already thinking of a story...

[Hermann the Lombard]

Originally posted by mapfi
Ok, hi guys and thanks for letting me in.

Well, I wonder if those toenail fires will still be burning when I get the game. I'm already thinking of a story...

Welcome aboard! < c o u g h > Yes, they'll still be burning. < h a c k > I think we need water bombers to dump slurry on them. < c h o k e >

[Hermann the Lombard]

[I should have put my questions here in the first place. My apologies to the lurkers and kibitzers.]

I sent an email to the team to basically say, "If we take a Yamato city (now that they attacked us without provocation) we'll trigger the AI Frenzy code. Should we go for it?"

I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear that everyone who responded said "ATTACK!" Gazablanca put it well:

I would say yes,take a Yamato city and unleash hell due to the AI frenzy code!!!!Probably best to build up our forces first though(especially Elephant Warriors).

This game is getting very interesting

My response:

G.M.

Well, we're not the Chinese, so "interesting" is a good thing!

Question: why Oligarchy instead of Republic? Here we are building a dozen academies and Aristotle's Lyceum, but we're in a govt with 60% science instead of 80% science. I'm inclined to expend the existing elephant warriors against the Yamato city, then start the switch to Republic. I guess that's what succession games are all about: differences in style!

Meanwhile, I seem to have tripped over a bug. I didn't make the mistake of trading for Barracks and losing the upgrade because of *that* bug. I know about that one. I traded for Composite Bow, and now I can't build Composite Archers. I thought that might be because I didn't have Barracks yet, but once I "discovered" Barracks I still couldn't build C.Archers. Composite Bow is on our list of techs, but it's now available for research, and it's now in yellow on the tech tree. I guess there are two lists. Hexagonian says that no one has reported this problem before. BTW, the other tech I traded for appears in green on the tech tree, so the system "knows" I have that one.

Question to the team: should I back up and trade for something else rather than wasting a successful tech trade? ("The bastards sold us a bill of goods! They took our knowledge and gave us a phony description of how to make better weapons!") I will run a quick test to see if we can build Composite Archers if we now research the tech on our own.

-- Ed

p.s. I might need an extra 24 hours because of this bug and because I didn't have the tools to open the .rar archive that Gaz originally sent me.

p.p.s. Hexagonian hasn't received reports of such a bug before, and Locutus hasn't heard of it either.

[Gazablanca]

Welcome to the team mapfi......

[Hermann the Lombard]

The Record of Her-mann VIII, Apolyton XXIX of the Oligarchy of Ra

[Archaeologist’s Note: This is the translation of inscriptions found on an unusual burial structure from the Oligarchy Period. The tomb is extremely low and very wide, and contained a sarcophagus that can only be described as flat and round. The remains inside were those of a male, relatively young (for an Egyptian ruler of the Classical Era), and best characterized simply as “there wasn’t an unbroken bone in his body.”]

840 BC: War Minister Her-mann promptly drops the red-hot mantle and quenches the glowing metal in a vat of beer. The brewers are horrified, but the distillers are delighted. A new spirit (ahem) animates the people of the Oligarchy as Her-mann takes the Title and (cooling) Mantle of Leadership. The new Ruler vows to punish the Yamato for their unprovoked attack on the Sacred Soil (and Guardsmen) of North Egypt (or “The Province Formerly Known as Gaul”). Depleted Javelin Cavalry from Hammurabi’s 2nd Guard advance to reconnoiter the road between Kamakura and Nagaoka. As a diversion, the Great Old Coracle lands the Oldest Javelin Cavalry near Edo.

Her-mann follows the well-oiled path of his ancestors and creates new roads. He orders a new military road to link Armagh to the Yamato frontier, and another from Kells south to The Point of Arrival (in anticipation of reinforcements from the Homeland). He orders another military road from Sais to the edge of the glacier and yet another south through the hills between Aphroditopolis and Sais. Yes, that frontier has always been quiet…too quiet! The Oligarchs complain about the construction costs.

The Apolyton orders a wondrous change: Cardiff abandons its landlocked Lighthouse and switches to constructing Aristotle’s Lyceum, and Memphis abandons the Lyceum in favor of the Lighthouse (which at least will stand on a riverbank). The Oligarchs do not like change, and complain about these orders. Her-mann fumes.

830 BC: The Road to Kamakura is a busy place! Yamato horsemen and hypaspists move west from Nagaoka, Arabian horsemen and mounted archers move northeast past Kamakura. The detached javelin cavalry of the 2nd Guard tries to delay the Yamato reinforcements. The Edo Probe attracts a mounted archer, and our cavalry swiftly takes ship. Aphroditopolis completes their Academy and starts training elephants. Egypt trades the secret of Oligarchy to Byzantium in return for knowledge of Masonry. The Oligarchs complain about the loss of the secret. Her-mann’s face begins to turn as red as the Mantle of Leadership.

820 BC: The blood of the brave javelin cavalry runs beneath the hooves of the Yamato horsemen, but vengeance in the form of the 2nd Guard is swift and deadly. Her-mann renames the Guard to Ra-Harakhte, “Horus of the Two Horizons,” in honor of the Father of the Gods and the great warlord Horus, proclaiming: “We shall follow them to victory across the northern horizon!” This is an alternate to following Hammurabi, still cooling his heels in Lykopolis. The Oligarchs praise the old general, possibly just to annoy Her-mann.

Elephant Warriors are ready in Armagh, and the remnants of a chariot regiment are disbanded there for retraining on elephants. The Academy of Heliopolis is ready. Gold bars are shipped to Rome to prime the tech trade pump, or so Her-mann hopes. On the home front, the Apolyton orders scientists mobilized across the land to speed the research into Barracks. Wags jeer that this “research” seems to consist mostly of sitting around, belching, complaining, and drinking. Soon these wags have no tongues to wag.

810 BC: Ra-Harakhte smashes hypaspists on the Kamakura road, isolating that city. A small Yamato army of archers maneuvers north of the road, screened by hypaspists. The Arabians declare war on the Etruscans, unfortunately diverting them from bothering the Yamato. The Academy of Tanis opens, and elephants are trained there. (Someone should explain to them that academies normally train human students.) The scientists return to normal work, satisfied that they have demonstrated the proper functioning of Barracks.

800 BC: And Lo! The Secrets of Barracks are revealed. (Yuck.) “Eighty years ago I kudent spell hypaspist, now I R one!” In honor of the discovery, Ra-Harakhte (henceforth RAH) destroys the Yamato archers (one mounted, two foot). Have we been lured out of position, north of the road? Two chariots of RAH are promoted, one festooned with MANY Yamato arrows. Nomads are ready in Sais, and construction begins on—what else?—an Academy.

790 BC: A single troop of Yamato horsemen rides out of Kamakura and attacks two squadrons of Egyptian chariots. One squadron is destroyed before the horsemen are overcome. Prisoners are “persuaded” to reveal that ten other units still garrison the city. [The number 11 flashed as the horsemen left the city.] Elephant Warriors are ready in Carmarthen and Armagh; both cities start academies amid Oligarchic grumbling (“Don’t you know there’s a war on?”) 500 gold bars go to Arabia in the hopes of facilitating a trade for Composite Bows, and the Oligarchs howl. Her-mann smiles for a change.

780 BC: The First Elephant Corps (three units) joins RAH on the Kamakura Road. The Second Elephant Corps crosses the Yamato border. A steady stream of reinforcements flows via The Great Fleet from Abydos to The Point of Arrival, and then west along the road to Armagh. Barbarian archers (no doubt in the pay of the Yamato) appear to threaten this flow just east of Armagh. Elephant Warriors are ready in Heliopolis and Aphroditopolis, and move toward Abydos as the Third Elephant Corps.

Her-mann’s dreams of archery fade as Arabia refuses to trade the secret of Composite Bows. Rome refuses to trade Aqueducts for Republic (the bloody imperialists!)

770 BC: Aristotle’s Lyceum opens in Cardiff! The persistent natives promptly resume trying to build the Landlocked Lighthouse, but are ordered to build an academy to complement the Lyceum. Another academy opens in Abydos. Chariots and mounted archers dispose of the barbarian archers. Elephant Warriors are ready in Tanis (probably the last slow units we will build for some time). Her-mann gives our map to Arabia in a last-ditch attempt to induce a trade of technology.

760 BC: RAH boldly assaults Nagaoka, and then boldly turns and runs like a troop of stripe-tailed apes. [Defenders: 2 mounted archers, 2 chariots, 1 hoplite, 1 spearman, 1 archer, 2 slavers, +46, +50%. No, they weren’t all in Kamakura after all!] In happier news, Amarna the Dye Port is founded, Bubastis opens their Academy, and Lykopolis completes a Wall (and begins a granary). The Arabians and Etruscans adamantly refuse to trade techs. The Oligarchs are complaining about Her-mann’s technology strategy.

750 BC: New Javelin Cavalry are ready in Aphroditopolis, Carmarthen, Armagh, and Kells. All will soon be equipped with Horse Armor (at 650 gold each, which will make them as powerful as Elephant Warriors but three times faster). Academy construction is resumed in the three North Egyptian cities. Two regiments of Yamato horsemen ride up to taunt RAH, perhaps to try to lure them away from road, lifting the isolation of Kamakura.

In Abydos, the Commander of the Third Elephant Corps (who shall remain nameless) discovers that his bulky mounts will NOT be shipped to the Yamato front. It seems that the pachyderms go mad on shipboard, a Very Bad Thing in a coracle! The Commander becomes headless, and back in Memphis the elephants from Tanis are put to work on the Lighthouse Project.

The Oligarchs raise an outcry about the waste of elephants (as the workers complain about elephant waste). Her-mann’s temper snaps. “Elephants, schmelephants! The Oligarchs must go!” Throwing caution—and the Mantle of Leadership—to the winds, Her-mann rushes into the street to proclaim a Republic! Unfortunately at that moment the commandeered elephants are rushing past the Palace. They needed a spatula to scrape up the remains.

[Gazablanca]

Originally posted by Hermann the Lombard
Throwing caution—and the Mantle of Leadership—to the winds, Her-mann rushes into the street to proclaim a Republic! Unfortunately at that moment the commandeered elephants are rushing past the Palace. They needed a spatula to scrape up the remains.

Well-written and humorous story,HtL

I think that has been the best Apolyton Leader death so far.......