Lords of the Earth Campaign One An Age of Air and Steam Turn 211 Anno Domini 1751 - 1752

Turn 212 Orders Due By May 24^th, 2002

All Notes, Clarifications and Announcements have been moved into their own Notes document, as have the Industrial Supplement rules. You must read them! Do so now!

http://www.throneworld.com/lords/lote01/l1_notes.html

http://www.throneworld.com/lords/lote01/lote_is_1_3_0.html

Mercenaries	Minimum bid listed in [x].
Condotierri	5i, 2a [1gp each]
Captains	Saigo Tsugumichi (M968) [5gp] Bantag Yen (MB77) [10gp]
To hire, please contact…	Pacific Mercenary and Trust Corporation
Quality Ratings	i15 w15 s18 c12 a12 z3

Tokugawa Japan(Shinto, Tokushima on Shikoku)

Kii Yoshimune, Shogun of All Nippon, Daimyo of Manila, King of the Phillipines, The Sea-Spear, Monster-Slayer.

DiplomacyKagoshima in Nagasaki(t)

Thanks to an unexpectedly bountiful rice harvest (could the skies be clearing the slightest bit above Japan?), Yoshimune undertook a vigorous slate of projects… work began on a series of huge shipyards in Tokushima, while the farmlands of Kwanto sprouted more enormous wooden sheds and hydrogen separation plants. A trade-town, Omikami, was built on Palau, while the abandoned city of Dorzen on Sakalin once more hosted human inhabitants and Edo itself expanded again.

Ferried by the fleet, and protected by an enormous number of troops, waves of settlers returned to Amur and began clearing new growth and snow from the farms and lumbering operations abandoned with the onset of the Ice. Even further north, an arrangement was reached with Aeronautical Research & Fabrication - wherein control of Dzungur Coast was returned to the Company until such time as they could reconstitute the city of Drakenroost to normal operation.

Pacific Mercenary & Trust (Shinto, Kryztn on Luzon)

Juchen Agoi, President and Executive officer

DiplomacyOkisaka in Penong(bo)

Agoi's ships traveled hither and yon, carrying cargoes vast distances. Otherwise, however, things were very quiet - bucolic even - in the humid, jungly islands.

The Pure Realm(Buddhist, Fusan in Silla)

Great Master Wan Ho, Abbot of the Wing Kung Temple of the Greater Vehicle of the Message of the Bodhisattva

DiplomacyHunan(ca)

Missionary work continued at a frenetic pace on the Indian frontier, with Arakan converting to Buddhist. Massive efforts continued in Gaur and Assam as well. Elsewhere, things did not go so well - an effort to establish a Great Temple in Kwangsi failed miserably. Gho Han, the monk in charge of the project, was just not up to the burden of dealing with such an immense undertaking.

For his part, Wan Ho was too busy meddling in the affairs of the Ming succession to pay much attention to his usual paperwork.

The Manchu Mongol Empire(Buddhist, Harbin in Shangtu)

The Dread Lord Manchu Zao Ma, King of Kings, the God-Personified, The Eternally Victorious and Divine Emperor of the Middle Kingdom, the Celestial Emperor, Smiter of the Barbarians, The Bulwark of Civilization, The Son of Heaven, MostFavored of Bodisvatta, The Supreme Master of the Universe Before Whose Feet the Craven Ming Grovel, The Son of Heaven, the Divine Light of Wisdom, Gurkhan of Khitai, Lord of the Tribes, Beloved of his People

DiplomacyWudan(f), Ulan-Ude in Henyitin(ea)

The Emperor grew old and his years upon the earth were surely drawing to a close. Yet, determined to not go softly into the good night - he decided have one last huzzah before passing into the Western Paradise: so Chi'en-lung decided to lead his mighty army north into battle against the Ice Tribes of Henyitin and liberate the oppressed people of Ulan-Ude!

With a great flourish of banners, trumpets and the tramp of sixty-thousand boots upon the Northern Road; the Emperor marched up into Henyitin and drove the scattered, starveling Ice tribesmen (so greatly reduced now their circumpolar empire had collapsed) before him as the wheat bends before the wind.

There was scattered fighting, but against the massed muskets and cannon of the Manchu the locals could not stand. They loped off to the north, dire wolves with flea-bit tails between their legs. Ch'ien-lung entered Ulan-Ude in triumph, the liberator. Sadly, he died within months of capturing the city, overcome by a palsy.

His last act, as Emperor and Sun-Lord, was to visit the blasted, still-barren field where the Judeans had spent so much blood in an attempt to bring the Frost Wolf to heel at the height of the Ice War. In a grim homage to the sacrifice of his Catholic allies, the Dread Lord Ch'ien-lung had all superfluous prisoners executed on the spot of that horrendous Sunlander defeat. The symbolism was clear - the Sunlanders did not sacrifice so many tens of thousands of lives on that spot so that Ice vermin might continue to pollute the land (not to say the whole of the Earth) with their presence.

Now the death of the old Emperor left general Chu Lum Lau in command of the mighty host and prince Yung-Cheng across the mountains in Kerait. Chu Lum Lau - no more base or ambitious a man had ever held such a high rank - immediately secured the loyalty of his second-in-command, Ching Zao Ma, raised his own banner as Emperor of the Manchu and marched south into Kerait.

Prince Yung-Cheng, though possessed of an army of his own, could not match the numbers of the rebel, so he fled back towards Shangtu while his spies attempted to end Chu Lum Lau's rebellion with poison or a knife. They failed. By the summer of '52, the rebellious generals besieged Harbin, now strongly held by prince Yung-Chen and his ally Shen Tun.

The Manchu capital (massively fortified with the help of the Judeans during the Ice War) proved a formidable obstacle for the rebels… enough so that Chu Lum Lau (no fool in military matters) realized his army was not strong enough to dig out the 16,000 Loyalists. Discouraged and disgruntled, he retired to Shenyang in Liaotung to plot and scheme.

Knowing the realm was now poised on the brink of a brutal and fruitless civil war, prince Yung-Cheng now approached his kindly old uncle Wu and acquired a very substantial amount of gold. This was entrusted to the unswervingly loyal Shen Tun, who snuck off south to see if the Imperial Army could be stolen back from the usurper. Shen Tun's arrival in Shenyang found the city in confusion, for Chu Lum Lau and Ching Zao Ma had fallen out with one another over the failure to capture Harbin. Shen plunged into the fray, and after a blizzard of plots, counter-plots, murders, kidnappings, stolen gold, lost gold, bribery and open bidding for the loyalties of the regimental commanders, the winner was… Ching Zao Ma!

Unexpectedly, the old general handily disposed of both rivals and won the affection of the Imperial regiments. He now marched north again to Harbin, where he struck his banners and begged the prince Yung Cheng for forgiveness. After some dickering over terms of the 'amnesty' for the troops, Yung Cheng agreed to make Zao Ma 'Lord General of the Armies' and to forgive all.

Zao Ma entered Harbin with a hundred men, to lay his neck under the prince's sword of state. Sadly, the young prince had forgotten the old and wily often lie, cheat and deceive. Zao Ma's entrance into the palace grounds was the sign of his partisans in the city to rise up. The old general himself rushed the prince and struck him down. Within the day, Zao Ma was Emperor of the Manchu.

Princess Mi'an found herself widowed and then wed again, her two sons by Yung-Cheng 'adopted' by Zao Ma as his own. The general found it more suitable to adopt his 'father's reign name than try and secure a new dynasty for himself.

The Kingdom of Prester John(Maclan in Tuhnwhang)

Megan Corrigan, Khagan of Karakocho, The White Goddess, Wolf-Sister of the Altai

DiplomacyNone

Queen Megan minded her own knitting and advises you to do the same.

The Divine Kingdom of Judah(Pienching in Honan)

Yui-Yen Ben-Yair, The Hand of God, Champion of the Hosts of Christ, Celestial Emperor, huey tlaotani

DiplomacyNo Effect

Missionary work continued in El'Khudz; while a pervasive set of language programs continued to cause ire and consternation among the children of Kin and Ordos.

Having been informed by a coterie of cringing clerks that the Divine Kingdom's trade receipts had suffered due to the Burning Sea wrecking the overseas trade network, the quarrelsome old Emperor dispatched General Vicana and a fleet to secure a new watering station and entrepot down in the Javan seas. The island of Belitung was chosen, sitting conveniently amid the Riouw Sea and within reasonable merchant travel of the north Chinese ports.

That Belitung was occupied by a squalid series of huts housing malaria and disease-wracked Ming soldiers was of no importance. The Ming troopers woke one morning to the rumble of the sunrise run on a Judean frigate and scrambled out of their bamboo and thatch long houses to see the first Judean engineers wade ashore. The garrison was taken away the same day and dropped off on Palawan (another hard-duty station amid the fetid southern waters, where later they were picked up by a passing Ming squadron and hauled off to the Andaman Islands - no better a locale!). The Judeans then built a strongly fortified trade station called Phuket, o'er which loomed a bastion studded with guns and revetments.

MingChinese Empire(Wuhan in Hupei)

Ming-ta NImma, Empress of China, Hammer of the Barbarians, The Redeemer, Divine Daughter of Heaven

DiplomacyLaos(ea), Gouangxi warlord set another ambassador on fire…, Miao-Ling(t)

Despite the Emperor's obsession with the flight of his wife and aunts, the ministers at the Ming court (while keeping their heads low, hands clean and out of sight of the 'brazen dragon') were very, very busy. The cities of Luang (in Fujian), Hong Tseng (in Kwangtung), Kwangchou (in KWangsi), Onikowan (in Lingnan) and Hanoi (in Annam) all expanded. A small fleet of ships modeled after the latest Judean designs was built and dispatched north to Holy Fusan under the command of Wen Foo. Gold and grain and technical advisors were dispatched north, east and south to aid the allies of Great Ming.

Diverse provinces were fortified and work continued on the road between Lingtung and Kienchou. In the far south, the Duke of Lingsi (under severe pressure from the Emperor) closed the Hainan Island ferry to all but the most essential commerce (that is, the mail). A messenger was sent across to the Javan garrison, bearing a formal complaint from the Duke regarding the behavior of Javan soldiers on leave, as well as the over flights of Ming territory by Javan airships dropping leaflets, buckets of household waste, thousands of frogs, three-headed dog puppets and other 'miscellaneous debris.' The Duke (remarkably, a rather stable and sane fellow) did not invade the island, as Hongzhi had demanded, but rather replied to Wuhan that he was 'unable to secure sufficient transport to make an effective crossing of the strait.'

Very far to the north, Master Li and his army (still being carted about by the PM&T fleet) headed south to Holy Fusan and an unexpected date with destiny…

Meanwhile, in the Holy City…

N- Is there news from home?

Y- Unfortunately, yes. Our brother last week had a noble lord from Kweichou provence lashed and then imprisoned. He told a joke at court that implied Hongzhi's bastard might not really be his.

N- The lordling was foolish -

Y- But that is not all. He was so incensed by the Javan airfleet and their escapades of last year that he instructed the Lord of Lingsi to invade Hainan and conquer the island.

N- Gods! Are we at war again?

Y- Fortunately, no. The Minister of Barbarian Affairs stood up in open court and called Hongzhi a fool to try such a thing.

N- Is he imprisoned, too?

Y- Hongzhi was so shocked that General Wen Foo was able to hustle him out of the audience chamber before anything rash could be done. The Minister was encouraged to make a diplomatic visit to the Japanese. The last news has Hongzhi determined to flay him and his entire family alive when he returns but cooler heads have managed to prevent him from declaring the intent publicly for now.

N- Who is this minister? It seems I should know him.

Y- He is the third son of the previous Lord of Chiennan. His wife is Judean and is somewhat distantly related to the Judean crown. Nimma? Are you ill?

N- Yanma… This cannot continue. Soon he will have all the major lords at his throat. And he may have us at war with Java or even the Judeans. I'm going to send that letter.

YG- Wait! What happens to me? I don't get to be Empress anymore?

Y- Shh! It isn't as if you even like him. We'll find you a much better husband.

N- With a much bigger - ouch! You hit me!

And so the Three Blossoms penned a letter to Master Li, who they had last heard was busy in the north, fighting the Ice Tribes:

Dearest Master Li,

It has been many years since you left Wuhan. Yanma and I have followed your travels with avid interest. We recall with great fondness the time that you gave to us. The many stories of mighty events in the distant north and at sea. There was much uncertainty in the Empire and even more uncertainty over our fate and yours was a voice of great calm. We have tried always to follow your example of bravery.

We know why you did not return to Wuhan after Georgia's fall. How could you with the great Kin Wah's blood still fresh on our brother's hands? Your return could have meant only one of two things - either your death at Hongzhi's treacherous hands or a firestorm throughout the Empire. Your road to the north must be lonely. We wonder whether you hear the tales of woe from Wuhan. Our brother is not a good Emperor. He is too suspicious of those around him. His paranoia leads him into error. The people fear him.

The Empire desperately needs a steady hand. Once you steadied two very small princesses. Since then you have stayed away and with good reason. But the Empire needs you now like never before. You will find us in Holy Fusan, where we await your coming that we may discuss what must be in more detail. The Divine Blood of Heaven flows in our veins even as it does in Hongzhi's. We fear what is to come and often we question whether we have the strength to do our duty. But after the sacrifices of our father and his father before him - how can we turn aside?

~ Princess Nimma

At the same time, they petitioned the Grand Master of the Pure Realm for his assistance in saving their people from destruction at the hands of the evil Hongzhi:

Master Wan Ho,

For many months now we have sat by your knee and learned great wisdom. Before coming here we studied long at Wudan Mountain and learned another kind of wisdom. The time comes for us to become women of action again. The people of Ming China are dear to you. Theirs has been a harsh road for lo' these many years. And even now the perils are many. The Empire must have a strong hand to guide it in the coming years. You have heard all of the same news as we. You know in your heart that Hongzhi should not be Emperor. His heart is treacherous and he will lead the Empire into dangerous waters. Though we fear to take action we cannot stand by and watch. Ours is the same divine right as Hongzhi's. We have seen women of strength in other lands rule just as capably as any man. We have seen women lead their armies into battle with a fierceness that could not be turned aside. With all the humility that I can muster for such a statement, I say to you - we are more fit to rule than Hongzhi and the Empire will suffer for it if his rule continues.

Master Li returns soon to the south. He will bring his army here to Fusan where we will discuss these matters. We beseech you to sit with us. Give us your wisdom. And if you deem our cause just - we beseech you to make the journey with us to Wuhan so that the people may see that we are blessed by Heaven.

Your humble guests, Princess Nimma and Yanma

To their plea, he replied:

Your Highnesses,

The people of Ming are indeed dear to me. I thought long and hard on what you have written. It is not an easy thing to ponder, what you are considering. I will sit with you and Master Li when he arrives. I too am concerned that Ming does not have a strong hand at the tiller, but it is a dangerous precedent to set, to overthrow one's sovereign. I will take the intervening time to consult those priests and monks that have worked with the young emperor to see what judgement they have of him, to see if my suspicions have stronger basis then an old man's troubled fears at stories and rumors. If I am convinced of the justness of your cause, I will go with you to Wuhan. The strength of the Ming is one of the mighty pillars that upholds the Buddhist way, and I would be negligent to let it weaken in such perilous times.

Master Wan Ho

Within three months, Master Li arrived at Fusan with a mighty fleet and a battle-hardened army. The rather greener Wan Foo also arrived from the south, having barely survived a transit across the treacherous waters of the Burning Sea. Both Ming generals (and their lieutenants, making in total four Lords of the Realm) were invited to attend the Grand Master. All four men were stunned to find the Three Blossoms in attendance as well.

Their consternation became outrage and fury when Nimma put to them the princess' plan to overthrow Hongzhi and place themselves upon the throne of Ming. Master Li, Wei Goen and Hoo Kok all shouted - rather rashly - "No! No woman will ever sit on the Throne of Heaven! An abomination against the gods!"

Only Wen Foo held his tongue, watching nervously as Pure Realm monks crept out of the darkness in the audience hall.

"Our blood is as royal as our brothers," Yanma declared, rising from her royal seat, eyes flashing. "What matters if we are female? Will you follow us and save our people?"

"Again, no!" Master Li turned to leave, then stopped - shock still - to see a great number of armed monks arrayed against him. On his simple, wooden seat, Wan Ho shook his head slowly.

"Sometimes," the old monk said, "the tide of fate runs too fast for mortal men to escape." One bushy white eyebrow raised.

A hundred shao-lin monks leapt upon the three generals and within moments Li, Wei Goen and Hoo Kok were overcome and bound in cunning ropes. The two princesses looked to Wen Foo.

"I will help you," the general said, "to save our people from a tyrant - but I warn you, the gods will be displeased by this…"

Ignoring the putative anger of the gods, the Three Blossoms, Wen Foo and Master Wan Ho then set out with the combined Ming / PM&T / Pure Realm fleet for the south. Determined to reach Wuhan with all speed, Yanma and Nimma decided that - like Wen Foo - they would strike directly through the Burning Sea and so come upon the Emperor by surprise and with great speed.

Unfortunately the gods were angry, or at least nature turned against the two fleets. While the Pure Realm ships managed to slip through unharmed, enormous waterspouts and a terrible storm overtook the Three Blossoms and the PM&T fleet. After three days of raging winds, the remains of the fleet gathered off the coast of Taiping, having lost more than a third of their number. Among the dead - crushed by falling spars or swept overboard - were princess Yanma and general Wen Foo.

Undaunted, Nimma and the regathered fleet sailed up the Yangtze, passing through the mists and fumes of the Desolation, and landed at Wuhan. There, the princess rushed to enter the city and take her brother by surprise… and succeeded. Hongzhi had been up late plotting and planning how to torture and torment his 'aunts' and missing wife… he slept late and woke to find heavily-armed Realm monks dragging him from his bed.

Nimma was waiting in the throne room of the palace:

Nimma's address to Hongzhi:

Hongzhi, ours is a proud heritage. Our father, Ying Kwon, and his father before him, Ying Jujen, were mighty emperors. Their rule was firm and fair. Much was asked of the people - but the people gave of themselves eagerly for they loved the emperor and they could see that even as they sacrificed so did their rulers. They were loved so well that even in death the people remained loyal. Sun Ye, Qing Yongzheng, Kin Wah - all men of honor and dedication who remembered their loyalty to our fathers and gave it to you.

And when all had fallen except for General Kin Wah and when he at last came to the capital to bend his knee to you and received the accolades he deserved for helping to best the Javans and for saving the empire from starvation after the Blow - in your treachery you struck him down to bleed out his life on these very steps. By this action you reveal your heart to be weak. The people do not trust you. They fear what you will do when next adversity strikes. The Empire balances precariously on the brink of disaster because none know whether their loyalty to you will be rewarded or punished. And all of this you brought upon us. You had only to demonstrate the fair and gracious rule of our fathers and the road would have lay open to a new age of plenty. But you were too weak. You are a bad Emperor, Hongzhi. And you do not deserve to remain Emperor.

You will renounce your throne and make me Empress of the Empire. We shall do the duty that you could not. We will rule. And We will provide a new line of Emperor's who will be strong. You will return with Master Wan Ho to Holy Fusan where you will become a monk and seek to improve your heart and your mind. You will take a new name and you will be a Son of Heaven no more. You will be rendered unable to produce children so that your base instincts do not lead you to contemplate further treachery against the Empire.

Master Li, please take my brother into custody and see that he does indeed accompany Master Wan Ho when he sets sail. Summon the Imperial Court. There is much work to be done!

And so it was that princess Nimma became Empress of the Ming, and the loathsome Hongzhi was dragged away in chains (and, as fate would conspire) did not even live to find solace in a monk's cell in distant Silla. Wan Ho had the young man strangled once he was aboard ship. The monk was not pleased to take such an action, but the pursuit of power was an illusion which had broken many men. Wan stood over the body, pale eyes filled with remorse.

"Another turn on the wheel for you, my lad. Another turn."

Mercenaries	Minimum bid listed in [x].
Condotierri	30c 30i 10a 5s [1gp each]
Captains	Gemish Huorn (M956) [5gp]
To hire, please contact…	None
Quality Ratings	i15 w17 s20 c11 a12 z5

The Thai Empire(Angkor Wat in Khemer)

Ayutthaya Blajakay "Red Hand", Emperor of the Thai, Lord of Khemer

Diplomacy No Effect (the citizens of Hafez threw stones and cursed the Thai lord visiting them)

Having little patience for either the 'old order' or for the agreements struck by fallen kings, the Red Hand dispatched two new armies (and a fleet) to the north-west to run roughshod over the collapsing rubble of the Yasarid state. At the same time, he marched his own armies about, rooting out "Hindu sympathizers and spies", of which there were apparently quite a number… some of these miscreants managed to creep into the palace where young Emperor Kheharaja was being held and poisoned and strangled the lad. A sad end to a once-great dynasty. Far to the east, the city of Medan on the Marianas was rebuilt by Khemer settlers.

Back in the north-west territories; one Khemer army marched into Samatata and crouched there, daring the natives to rebel, while two more (under the command of the able Taqajaya and the unctuous Tak-sim) plowed into Assam, where they slapped around the Moslem rajah and stormed Leakai. Locked in mortal combat with the Hussites as they were, the Yasarid princes were unable to help their ally.

Hosogawa Borneo(Kozoronden in Sabah)

Hosogawa Suenaga, Daimyo of Kozoronden

Diplomacy None

While his workmen busied themselves with building framing sheds and liftgas separation plants in the hills above Kozoronden, the young daimyo Suenaga dispatched the fleet and the army and a specially trained force of 'jungle fighters' to Tengah province on the southern side of the island. "These tribesmen displease me!" He declared in a surly tone.

This time the Tengai - ferocious as they were - could not stand up to the hammering guns of the Hosogawan frigates prowling the coast, or the mountain guns of the army, or even the slippery, black-masked 'jungle fighters.' Investigations were also made into some kind of a public funds scandal in Huangor.

Java (Sunda in Pajajaran)

Pedregon, Great Kahuna of Java, Emperor of the Maori, the Sea Spear

Diplomacy None

Having gathered their strength for some time (what with being distracted by slapping the silly Ming around), the Javans decided to flex their muscles a little. Pedregon sent fleets into the Bay of Bengal to search merchant shipping for 'cultic' influences - and found, lo! That both the AEIC and PM&T ships were carrying all varieties of covert cargos - both odd statuettes, banned books, prohibited-for-export gamelans and monster hides. Many ships were seized and none returned to their owning companies.

Massive investments were made in the provinces of Pilbarra, Flores, Sakalava, Sulawesi and the town of Port Kolos. Further, nearly every city in the kingdom had its fortifications refurbished and brought up to date, with shiny new guns and all the modern conveniences.

Only the unexpected deaths ("due to cultic meddling!") of the war heroes Hr'ee and N'dret, as well as the long-respected Raj of Mikuran, spoiled the general festivities. The Kahuna, to honor their memories, doubled the size of the Monster Island Pageant at the Sunda Fairegrounds. Nearly sixty thousand people attended, and there were (as some distant short people were wont to say) "rivers of drink and mountains of food."

The Supreme Primacy of Oro(Fukuzawa in Irith)

Horoku ne Muuta, High Priest of the Shark

Diplomacy Golonarda in Wewak(ch), Sorong in Irian(ch)

The efforts of the Oro Priests were stymied by the unexpected death of the middle-aged Mola ne Wooka (who suffered a seizure while negotiating with representatives of the temples in Hosogawan lands), Tars Tarkas (found dead in Pocara, slumped over a table filled with monastery plans) and Thuvan Dinh (who choked to death on a spiny eel soon after securing the allegiance of the faithful in Sorong). In all, a sky cloudy with bad omens…

The Borang Bakufu(Sakuma in Borang)

Izuryama Jemmu, Daimyo of Borang, Lord of the North, Emperor of Austral

Diplomacy Waroona/Gezu La(f), Okisaka in Penong(f)

Imported Chinese and Bornese rice managed to forestall widespread famine in the Austral cities, allowing the Emperor to indulge in land-clearing and forced-settlement projects in Windoorah. Substantial investments were made in the national merchant marine and a tentative arrangement over temple tithes was struck with the Shark Priests.

Nanhai Wang'guo(Rabaul on Bismarck)

Sugawara Te Anu, Daimyo of the Southern Seas

Diplomacy None

Things were very quiet and peaceful in the southern seas (even the Maori were staying at home, digging taro roots), though there were rumors of some kind of outbreak of 'madness' in Honolulu. Apparently a volcanic eruption had opened some kind of gas vent which gave everyone visions and palpitations for several weeks. Eventually the earth shifted again and the whole business quieted down and was soon forgotten.

The Maori Imperium(Joetsura on Te Ika A Maui)

Tinopai Great Tooth, Lord of the Fleet, Emperor of the Maori, Blessed of Oro, The Big Kahuna

Diplomacy None

Though untroubled by volcanism, the Maori were hard pressed to even find a Taro root, much less dig one up. Life was poor, hard and disheartening down at the bottom of the world.

Mercenaries	Minimum bid listed in [x].
Condotierri	5hc, 10c, 10i, 10a [2gp each]
Captains	Rajah of Vijashuram (M836) [5gp] Eon of Axum (MB45) [20gp]
To hire, please contact…	None
Quality Ratings	i16 w20 s17 c11 a13

Hussite Mercenaries	Minimum bid listed in [x].
The Hussite Legion	10ec, 10i, 10c, 10a [1.5 gp each], based at Constantinople.
Captains	Ludovico Sfortza (M834) [5gp]
To hire, please contact…	Albanian East India Company
Quality Ratings	c12 i15 a14 w17 s20

Shi'a Imamat(Yathrib in Kosala)

Rhemini, Ayatollah of the Shi'a, Voice of Allah

DiplomacyNone

The Imam cowered in Yathrib, sweating as he read the dispatches from the Middle East and craning an ear for the rumble of Hussite artillery - which he expected at any moment… some of the mullahs begged him to send support to the Lion of Bundelkhand, but Rhemini was too craven to even lift a finger to help the 'Savior of Islam.'

Yasarid India(Yathrib in Kosala)

Abdullah Al-Din, "The Unlucky", Shah of India, Prince of Amon S-l

Diplomacy None

Despite the repeated drubbings administered to the Moslems by the Southern League and the continued captivity of Abdullah in the loathsome fortress of Amon Hen, Princess Tihana refused to admit defeat or surrender. Conscripting every man and boy she could lay hands on, another Yasarid army was raised. Once more, the services of Eon of Axum were obtained and (now in command) the Afriqan prince (accompanied by Tihana and General Thabit) led this army south into Vengi to drive back the Hussite dogs once and for all!

Yathrib, perched among the mountains of Kosala, was gripped by a creeping, omnipresent fear… men - some of noble birth - were being found dead in their beds, or struck down in their gardens. A vicious, silent war was underway - overshadowed by the thunder of guns and politics all 'round - and it was taking a terrible toll. The passage of a Persian fleet along the coast did little to raise the spirits of the Moslems in India - the Persians were notorious for their disinterest in matters on the sub-continent.

Though still imprisoned in the Southern League citadel of Amon Hen, Shah Abdullah managed to get a tattered, bloodstained letter smuggled out to his confederates in Moslem lands. This missive was then widely dispersed, to anyone who could hear or read:

"The Hussites say we are rude and that if we play nice they will allow us to stay in India, albeit as a smaller nation. Thai Khemer breaks a treaty before the ink dries on the paper. These Godless heathens must be taught a lesson. Our brothers in Chandallas have decided to flee from their homes to live, but I wonder what would have happened if Allah did the same when confronted by the Zoroastrians in Persia? Would we know the Koran if we took the easy path and retreated? I wish them luck, but I think what they are doing is wrong. Should any Yassarid wish to leave with them, you have my blessing, if any of honorable men of Chandallas wish to stay, we welcome you with open arms and I pledge myself and my nation to fight with and support you.

To the Southern League: Rebel dogs, you shall be taught to obey your master, and sit when commanded. Your string of good luck victories end, and soon you will be punished. It was not good fortune or destiny that you, as a nation, were created. It was a mistake, an oversight, and will be corrected soon enough.

To Arnor: While your words in private inspire my ire and bile, We have signed a peace agreement with you. As long as you honor it and keep your nose out of Yassarid Internal affairs (read Southern League), We will keep the treaty, because we have honor, unlike those of the Hussite church. We, the Faithful Followers of the True Religion, are true to our word.

In regards to the AEIC and any other Hussite who is lurking around India. Keep your nose out of my lands and we will leave you alone. Please take note that the peace agreement between Arnor and Yassarid states that the lands the rebel's knows as the Southern League are mine. Should we find you helping them we will respond accordingly. You have no place here. Go home to your masters and beg for scraps at their table.

Persia: Brothers how nice it must be to be able to sit at home and ignore our pleas for help. Was it not 50 to 75 years ago when you where the only Moslem nation? Now you have brothers who follow Allah as you do, though perhaps you have forgotten the brotherhood that is taught to us in our Holy Teachings? How can you let the Danes steer you away from what you know is right? For all Moslems in the world I hope you get a spine and learn that you can stand up and show other Moslems that there is no reason to fear the heathens, be they Hussite or Pure Realm."

Abdullah, Shah of India

Soon after the message escaped, so did the shah (along with his boon companion Jahwahar Dahallan) but a slippery slope soon tripped up the fugitive king and he was recaptured by the Leaguers and their hunting dogs. Dahallan, however, escaped and eventually made his way to Yasarid lands.

The Southern League(Amon Hen in Karnata)

Anton Fulk, Baron of Satava, King of the South

Diplomacy None to speak of

With several Yasarid cities still besieged, the lords of the League began bickering with one another over doling out the loot and plunder seized from the Moslem lands. After several grandiose plans were suggested (none of which could be supported by the funds at hand), the baron of Satava, Georg Fulk, lost his temper and took a direct hand in setting the budget and deciding what was to be done.

The other lords complained and Fulk told them they were "pie-mouthed ninnies" and "Yasarid lap-dogs". A scuffle broke out and Fulk broke William of Nasik's rather sizable nose. The Nasiki lord - grown rather hot in the disputation - repudiated his alliance with the League. Among other things, this caused the Nasiki levies in Chola to return home. The other effect was to force Fulk's hand - he declared himself "King of the South" and forced the other lords to pay him homage.

All of these shenanigans were lent considerable momentum by the rapid approach of the Yasarid army under Eon of Axum, who was racing to raise the siege of Chabaz in Vengi. As it happened, the League had managed to acquire some mercenaries and Fulk (commanding the siege of the port) was reinforced by Robert of Kakatiya just as the Moslems arrived to give battle.

At Samalkot, the Moslems put 10,000 men into the field against 11,000 Hussite Satavans, Kakatiyans and a rowdy gang of Afghan mercenaries. Though Fulk had an implicit trust in the superiority of the Hussite cavalry and batteries against the lightly armed Yasarids, his tactical position was poor (with enemies on either side) and the speed of Prince Eon's advance took him by surprise. In fact, with their flank turned by an unexpected sortie from the city, the League army broke and ran, scattering from the field in disarray. Georg Fulk - so recently crowned - was thrown from his horse and killed. His son, Anton, and Baron Robert fell back into Madurai to join Duke Tancred and regroup.

The Yasarids, morale soaring after their victory, plowed into Madurai in pursuit and immediately collided with the reinforced League army at Ongole. Again, though Tancred was no mean commander, Eon managed to outmaneuver the Hussites and drove them from the field. But this time, his Moslem army took a severe pounding from the Christian guns. Three months later, when Tancred once more advanced north, Eon was forced to abandon Madurai and fall back into Vengi.

When the campaigning season began in '52; Tancred, Anton and Robert - with their somewhat battered, yet intact, army in tow - moved cautiously along the coast towards Chabaz. Meantime, in the Moslem camp, there was a furious argument underway between princess Tihana and the mercenary captain Eon. The Axumite saw the condition of his men and knew they couldn't take another battering like Ongole. The princess was equally determined to fight her way into Karnata, storm Amon Hen and rescue her brother.

At length, with the Hussites bearing down on them, Tihana caved - convinced both by Eon and the recently escaped Jahwahar Dahallan - and the Yasarid forces withdrew into Kalinga and the cover of the fortifications there.

Tancred, now looking upon the walls of Chabaz for the first time, decided to ignore the Moslems cowering to the north and turned his guns instead upon the city. By the end of '52, the port had fallen, yielding a rich prize of merchantmen to the Hussites.

Amid all the other excitement, a squadron of Carthaginian warships and transports arrived on the coast of Chera in November of '51. Met by Southern League representatives, the Afriqans immediately began building a settlement, Calicut, on the junction of the Gulf of Mannar and the Malabar Sea. As part of the arrangement, some twenty modern sail-driven warships (ships of the line and frigates) were placed under Southern League flag.

Emirate of the Chandellas

Kuhman Singh, prince of Bundelkhand, Lion of the North

Diplomacy None

Having put the veritable fear of Allah into the Hussite scum, Kuhman Singh was cautiously pleased to accept an embassy from Von Hessen. After some tense negotiations a kind of peace descended on the Gangetic plain. In return for paying the Chandellas a staggering tribute, Singh agreed to abandon the province of Rajput to the Christians. The Moslem citizens of Kaunaj were packed off down the highway to live in shacks and tent cities around Bundelkhand and Bihar. In this way they escaped the hanging noose, the cross and the saber of the Hussites.

Though everyone expected treachery and deceit, all sides abided by the truce and there were no massacres. Not yet, at least. The League and the Yasarids seemed to be doing a fine job of keeping the flames of Hussite/Moslem animosity hot.

The Realm of Arnor(Schwarzkastel in Edrosia)

Peregrin von Hessen, Rajah of India, Duke of Delhi, Grand-Duke of Aballach, Prince of the Black Tower

Diplomacy Vatsa(f) / Kalanjara(a)

Trusting to his lieutenants to either handle the peaceful transfer of Rajput from the Chandellan 'darkies' or to the martial prowess of the Afghan mercenaries he had hired, Peregrin betook himself south to Gwalior-fort and (after considerable dickering) secured wives for himself (Sarah von Buwald, Duchess of Gwalior) and his son Christian (Lady Devapati of Kalanjara). The Duke's marriage was nearly spoilt, however, by an attack by thuggee in the pay of the southern Moslems. Luckily, Peregrin's guards were growing very, very skilled in keeping him alive.

Many fortifications were built across the northern border, though. Missionary work also continued in the Ajmer, though there were neither Moslems nor Hindus left there. With much fanfare, the Hussite Legion (under the disputative co-command of Princess Margaret of the Frankish Commonwealth and Ludovico Sfortza, not-so-ably assisted by Knight-Commander Grizlowski of the Taborites) arrived in Schwarzkastel in late '51, but found nothing to do but drink, eat, wench and generally enjoy themselves in the warm weather. They were also drafted (since war had not broken out with the Chandellas) to work guard duty on the steadily rising airship sheds and factories the Albanians were building in and around the port of Shcwarzcastel.

A minor scandal was averted when the (rather mummified) body of Princess Arwen was returned by, um, whoever had made off with it.

Shahdom of Afghanistan(Kabul in Afghanistan)

Ahmad Durani, Shah of the Afghans, Lord of Kabul

Diplomacy None

Willing to take Hussite gold to smack around some lowlanders, the entire Afghan army trooped down the Khyber Pass and along the Grand Trunk Road to Rajput. There was, however, no battle against the Chandellas, which caused a great deal of grumbling and complaining among the Pashtun troops. They had been looking forward to an epic smash'em'up against the vaunted 'Lion of Bundelkhand'. Instead, they spent '51 and '52 eyeing the silverware and counting the fat herds of the Arnor farmlands.

Kingdom of the Kushans (Astakana in Kush)

Bujayapendra, Blessed of Vishnu, prince of Astakana

DiplomacyKhotan(ea)

The Kushans were peaceable and quiet. Minding their own business. Not indulging in any foreign adventures, not meddling, not going against dharma. Nossir.

The Noble House of Tewfik(Al'Harkam in Carmania)

Tewfik Saul, Purveyor a fine set of mares to keep your stallion happy

Diplomacy Ufra in Gurgan(bo), Rangoon in Pegu(bo), Singapore(bo), Tarsus in Cilicia(ma)

Captain Busir, finding considerable success among the thriving mercantile concerns of Thai, was killed in a scuffle with some Albanian sailors - he took an icepick right between the ribs and coughed his life out in the mud of a Rangoon alley. Tensions also rose in the Mediterranean ports, where the Householders were beginning to move into markets previously the sole custody of the Albanians.

The Safavid Persian Empire(Semnan in Khurasan)

Abbas, the Great Vizier, regent for…

Safi Bahram, Khan of Khans, Shahanshah of Persia, Prince of Bukhara, Caliph of the East

DiplomacyBeirut in Lebanon(f)

Shah Nusayr devoted enormous efforts to rebuilding the lands between the two rivers which had been so devastated by the war against the Daemon Sultan. Unfortunately, due to rampant corruption on the part of the regional governors and their agents, most of the money dribbled away into the sand. Nusayr, enraged, ordered the Grand Imam onto the carpet to account for this scandal. Unfortunately, when guardsmen arrived at Bal'ami's abode, the minister was dead - a suicide. Greatly disgruntled, Nusayr launched a wide-ranging anti-corruption probe into his own government.

This did not prove wise, for the normally canny shah angered many loyal men now placed under suspicion - and one of them decided to protect his own honor by raising his hand against the shah. A brawl followed in the Imperial Offices and when the pushtigbahn separated everyone (smashing more than one noble face with a mailed fist) shah Nusayr was choking on the floor, a flensing knife in his gut. Though rushed to the doctors immediately, no one could keep the young Emperor alive. Nusayr died at the age of thirty-one, leaving no heir of his body, only a fourteen-year-old brother, Bahram, and a conniving sister, Fatima.

A 'silken brawl' immediately erupted in the halls of power in Semnan. Lord Abbas, the satrap of Bactria, aligned himself with Fatima, marrying her, and attempted to push aside Hasan al-Sundar (the only other noble of repute in the city). Indeed, al-Sundar did not live out the month, dying of a peculiar wasting disease. With Fatima at his side, Abbas now declared himself regent for the youthful Bahram (who was now placed in 'protective' custody).

This did not sit well with General Mahmud in Kuwait, who immediately marched north to succor the 'captive prince'. At the same time, Bahram Suren (a gruff northerner, notably loyal to the dead Nusayr) also proclaimed his support for prince Bahram at Bukhara and marched south with his own army.

The sole other general with any power, Al'Qadir (who had most recently successfully mismanaged massive irrigation projects in Hahmar and Abadan) declared no support for either party, though he did march south into Abadan to seize control of the port of Basra.

Suren was the most immediate threat to Abbas' regency, so the Great Vizier led the Imperial army north into Kophat Dagh and surprised the northern general as he was approaching Merv. Outnumbered by no less than four-to-one, Suren's attempt to rescue the prince was doomed. The loyal general was seized and hung, his men disbanded and some taken into the ranks of Abbas' army. Now the Great Vizier turned south again.

Mahmud, meanwhile, had reached Shir Kuh and stopped, taking refuge among the many fortifications in the province. He was in constant correspondence with Al'Qadir (who was now in Ahvaz, having rousted out the governors of Kuwait and Abadan and replaced them with his own men), seeking the support of the Army of Mesopotamia. As the Great Vizier marched south through the wasteland of Kvor, Mahmud realized his only chance of survival (now trapped between two pretenders) was to throw in his lot with Al'Qadir.

As a result, when Abbas and the Imperial Host swarmed over the mountains, they immediately clashed with the Mesopotamians and Mahmud's loyalists at Kurheh. Abbas commanded 41,000 men against Al'Qadir and Mahmud's 28,000. The Great Vizier faced a formidable defense, well-entrenched and fortified… but he did not shy from battle, not with his airships quartering the sky and the earth shaking with the tramp of his host.

Sadly for Abbas' dreams of empire, his furious assault on Al'Qadir's prepared position shattered in a debacle of staggering proportions. His airships were unable to penetrate the wall of rockets and anti-airship fire thrown up the Mesopotamian veterans and his infantry abjectly failed to break through the fixed defenses. Worst, the Vizier was badly wounded by a stray artillery shell.

His army staggered back through the desert of Kvor, a pale-faced Abbas' carried in a litter on the back of four white stallions. The Vizier did live to reach Rayy, however, and immediately set about regrouping his battered army. Down south, meantime, Al'Qadir and Mahmud fell to bickering once more - a long drawn out affair which ended in the late fall of '52 with Mahmud suffering fatal steel indigestion and Al'Qadir declaring himself Shah of Iran. This did not prevent Mesopotamia from revolting from Al'Qadir's control (borne up on a rising tide of Karidjite fervor).

Abbas, meantime, had returned to Semnan to ensure his control of prince Bahram, the fickle Fatima and the Imperial government. His failed campaign in the south did not convince many of his suitability to rule - Bactria, Bokhara, Frunze, Gurgan, Ahvaz in Palas, Singapore and Uzbek revolted.

The Shahdom of Iran(Al-Wan in Zagros)

Al'Qadir, Shah of Iran, Light of the Aryans, "The Stalwart"

Diplomacy None

The Iranians control Hahmar (Nasiryah), Kuwait (Kuwait City), Abadan (Basra), Ahvaz (Shankar), Fars (Abas), Media (Hamadan), Zagros (Al-Wan), Persia (Tehran), Khvor, Shir-Kuh (Kerman), Kuh-laleh-zar, Mand (Cem), Bandar (Ormuz), and Carmania (Al-Harkam). Subir Al-Jawzi, who had led the fleet on a surveying trip into Indian waters, accepted Al'Qadir's rule when he returned to Al'Harkam at the end of '52.

The Islamic Union(Ar-Raqqah in Mosul)

Ali Adin, Sultan of Ar-Raqqah, Prince of Mosul

Diplomacy Lebanon(a), Palmyra/Homs(t), Syria/Damascus(t), Aleppo(ea), Mesopotamia/Baghdad(f)

While the agents of various foreign 'powers' made stealthy visits to Ar-Raqqah, providing the Union with desperately needed gold, guns and other supplies (including a rumored, but rarely seen airship of advanced design), Muayaia was basking in the adulation of cheering, frenzied crowds in the Lebanon. The brilliantly charismatic Arab leader had resolved to seize destiny and restore the unity and glory of Islam. With the weight of history bearing down upon him, the chieftain went before the assembled imams of the Karidjites and said:

Leaders of the Kharadjite faith; thank you for embracing me on my visit to Lebanon. I came seeking information on your intentions and fearing the worst and I am elated to see all of you brimming with faith and supportive of my leadership and the Islamic Union. I have talked to many leaders of the world about the Kharadjite faith. I have stressed to all of them the importance of non-interference in the affairs of the Arab peoples, I only hope they have listened. I hear the Kharadjite message and I make it my own, Arab peoples shall be free from persecution and religious intolerance and oppression by outsiders will be met with open hostility. Now let us carry the banners through out the countryside and spread the word to all Arabs that the time for unification is now!

Muyaiya's adoption of the 'restored Islam' of the Karidjite mullahs sent shockwave through the Middle East. Now the grass-roots fanaticism of the Levantine tribes was a state religion and the Union pressed all their citizens to adopt the 'pure vision' of the Karidjite seers. The effect was electrifying - even as Muayaia rode back to Ar-Raqqah with his army in tow, and hundreds of thousands of the faithful lining the highway up through Damascus and Homs - the fire of revolution leapt ahead of him, speeding through the towns and villages of Mosul, Arbiliq, Mesopotamia and even into the Kurdish highlands.

By the time Muayaia reached Ar-Raqqah, the mujhadeen were already assembling, walking or riding in out of the desert, trooping down from the hills, feet still muddy from the fields of the Land between the Two Rivers… once home, Muayaia attended his son Ali's coming-of-age party and proclaimed the boy his heir. Then he spoke to a vast gathering of the chieftains, ministers and potentates of his fledgling state:

People of the Islamic Union I have gathered you hear today to discuss with you the affairs of the church, state and the Arab peoples. I will begin with the State. For five years now I have worked to make the peoples of the former Georgia join with our nation and considering the elaborateness of this process it has actually been going very well. We also have had no interference from those in regions beyond our borders thanks to continued support from some good neighbors. Let me openly state that though the Persians have long been the enemies of Arabia I have spent a huge amount of time working on resolving issues between their country and ours. It appears with many thanks to the Tauregs of Diyala that I have finally broken through the tough outer shell of the Persians and gained some respect in their court.

Lord Hassan of Diyala; those who are here thank you for showing a stout heart in the face of potential disaster, I will long be indebted to you. Respect and affection are two different things but the Persians have relinquished their claim to Diyala and they did not request the money back that they had sent the IU for the province. I have also exchanged many letters with leaders in the Christian lands. Do not let this disturb you - I know you despise their very existence. Fear not, I recognize that to show weakness to a Christian nation is to invite oppression. The message I sent was one of caution to them. I told them that it would be wise to be very careful when dealing with the Arabs as we will not tolerate being oppressed or persecuted. Such actions will be met with Violence.

This leads me to the Karidjite teachers. The Shia and Sunni imams stood idle and allowed Rashid to have his way with nearly all of the Arab population. This is an absolute tragedy and not one that need ever be repeated again. I have embraced the teachings of the Karidjite judges in hopes that the Islamic faith I love can be brought back to the people the Shia and the Sunni clergy have been ignoring or neglecting for far to long. The Karidjite's want to give faith back to the people. They do not want to see Moslem lands ruled over by Christians. They seek to rid the lands of the lingering stench of Rashid. It is the same things every Moslem should want and it is what I want. Please embrace the Karidjites as brothers and local Shia and Sunni Mullahs please consider the word the Karidjites carry for it is powerful.

Lastly I will talk in general terms about the path before us. The Islamic Union was not founded with evil intent. I do not seek to conquer and oppress those who are different as that would make the Islamic Union no better than anyone who would do that to us, the Faithful. Do not think my stance weak though good people of the Union. I absolutely will not stand for the oppression and persecution of Muslims anywhere. This kind of activity has been going on for far to long as it must stop…. NOW! I will not stand by and watch my brothers loose their lands to settlers from other lands, be poorly treated, beaten down and abused by those who hold power in lands were Muslims live. This is wrong and poor treatment will never be right. This is my message to you here today, and to all my Muslim Brothers. The Islamic Union is here for all Moslems be they the brothers of Tiamat or the Capadocians, all Muslims are my brothers not just some. Embrace the Union and embrace the Kharadjite faith!

Thunderous cheers drowned out the last of Muayaia's words and he was carried on the backs of his men into the palace. Word came only days later of the convulsion in Persia - news which was met with cheers by many of the Arab chieftains - and then, even better, an embassy came from Baghdad, where the city fathers pledged their fealty to the Union and a restored Arab state in the fertile crescent.

Though this was his moment of greatest victory; Muayaia did not have time to savor the feeling. He fell ill and died in early '52 - no doctor could discern what ailed him, or why his skin turned such a leprous gray color - leaving his son Ali the master of a burgeoning state, electric with religious fervor.

The Hermit Kingdom of Khirgiz(Sarai in Saksiny)

Malank the Cruel, King of the Khirgizites, Slave of the Wind Lord

Diplomacy None

The Khirgizites were sullen and posted more troops on the Volga to keep the scum dog-boys out of their yard. Unfortunately, a huge number of hostile visitors were about to cross the river…

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Aeronautical Research & Fabrication(Rostov in Levedia)

Jessica Orozco, Captain of the West
Solyom Pasternak, Captain of the East

DiplomacyKherson in Polovotsy(ma), Cerkes in Abasigia(ma), Trebizond in Pontus(ma), Otoni in Cari(mf), Zaragoza in Caete(mf)

As Lady Jessica was currently in Rostov, she made use of her time to test out a new squadron of 'fast' airships which had recently completed their fittings in the aerodrome. With the six zeppelins she established a new speed record in making a circuit of the south Russian ports, then foraying across the mountains of Anatolia to Tarsus in Cilicia (where her arrival was greeted with gunfire and very, very hostile natives - who were already riled up by the appearance of a Swedish steamship squadron off the cost.)

The Norsktrad engineers laboring in the factories and yards of Rostov were vastly cheered when a shipload of rum, sherry, port and tequila arrived from home. "At last! Something civilized to drink - no more of this kumis, sake and vodka!" Soon after that delivery, a Papal fleet showed up with a whole mass of Templar Knights, who then felt honor-bound to match the Norsk bottle for bottle (in the glory of God, of course).

Back in Rostov, Captain Arpada had gathered nearly every man in the Company who could hoist a rifle and sling a bandolier. Nearly 14,000 soldiers were mustered to join the Imperial Swedish Army in a punitive campaign across the Volga to destroy the last remnants of the Khirgizite Ice tribes.

Principate of Kiev(Kiev²)

Anna Kournos, Queen-Regent for…

Boris, Prince of Kiev, Master of the Holy Rivers

DiplomacyNone

Exhausted from their previous efforts, the Russians stayed home, kept the wooly dogs warm and slept in. Surprisingly (for such strange looking men and ships had never been seen in on the river before) a number of Aztec merchants reached Kiev and soon did a bustling trade in gold, feathered cloaks, skis and other accoutrements.

Unexpected trouble flared up in distant Alfold, requiring the swift intervention of Count Vasilyko and his Mountain Regiment, who had been training in Banat. Baron Rhakovski of Alfold - while chasing some 'brigands' - defeated a force of mercenary Polish cavalry and (much to his great surprise) captured both Wilhelm of Lausatia (husband of Duchess Frieda) and Mikhail Dobryio, exiled King of Wallachia (last seen drinking too much in Naples). Apparently these two malcontents (and the notorious 'Laughing Boys') had been attempting to raise the old Wallachian provinces in revolt against the Queen-Regent. A terrible scandal!

Peoples Republic of Baklovakia(Komarno in Slovakia)

Wysowski, First Citizen, Protector of the Workers and Peasants

Diplomacy None

Pork was disbursed - pre-barreled and pre-pickled - to the towns of Ostrava and Smyslovgrad, as well as the provincial boyars of Slovakia. An attempt to convince the People's Mounted Ox-Throwing Hussars to become infantrymen failed miserably - not only did the lancers refused to give up their beloved horses, but whichever Senator had been in charge of the financial planning for this particular five-and-a-quarter-year plan had made a terrible hash of it… on the other hand, work on a super-secret "ox catapult" began in the high Carpathians.

Albanian engineers visited Komarno while surveying the path of a proposed highway (no, not a hyperspace bypass) from Danish Austria to the capital of the Republic. They drank heavily and were heartily glad they'd left Thessaloniki while they could.

Lieutenant-Colonel Piqard - tasked by the Senate to get out of town with his damnable "tea, hot" fetish traveled all over Carpathia, Moravia and Slovakia. In a remote part of Moravia he did come upon a half-abandoned town called Stegiocavar, wherein an odd, ancient obelisk stood. Doubtless of Roman manufacture, Piqard had the hoary monument dug up and dragged (in an ox-cart, of course) back to Komarno, where it now stands in the public square as a symbol of the triumph of science over superstition.

Reporting from the Komarno Aerodrome…

Ladies and Gentlemen, here we are at the site of the duel between the AEIC and ARF. The zeppelins are casting off, dumping water to gain height. A number of the coachmen holding the hawsers are soaked. What a jocular scene.

There's a stiff wind blowing in from the north east, and there were doubts earlier today as to whether conditions would permit the contest.

One of the AEIC delegation has been testing the wind strength using a kite. ARF have complained to the stewards, but they have ruled that this is not against the rules. However, it has given the AEIC an advantage, they are turning into the wind, using it to aid the climb. Their engines are revving up to full power. Meanwhile the ARF airship has commenced its maneuver across the field; they are now pointing into the breeze, and their engines are burning kerosene at an incredible rate. The propellers are buzzing. This ship has a considerable turn of speed.

Both craft are using the wind - you can see why these magnificent vessels are named as air *ships*. The spectacle is amazing. Several painters from the Danish and Swedish courts are in attendance to record the duel for posterity. They are sketching furiously.

The airships are ascending to the agreed height, though the stewards are having some difficulty in assessing when the 'ten paces' are complete. The airships are turning, a beautiful sight, though the increasing gusts are hindering their maneuver. The ARF ship seems to have a distinct advantage. Despite the wind, the sound of the engines is coming down to us distinctly.

The stewards have dropped their flags. First shot to the AEIC! The ARF follow only a second later. Both miss. The crowd are astonished; ladies faint. Oh the excitement!

Another exchange of fire. The wind sheer must be having an effect. The sky is turning darker. The stewards are conferring - are they going to call a halt? No, no, the duel continues.

More firing. Oh no! One shot has gone astray. Fortunately no one of importance was in the pastries tent...

The two airships are closing. Do they intend to grapple and board? Surely not. I can distinctly see members of the crews. They are carrying rifles or pistols.

Small arms fire is raking the command gondolas. Not exactly sporting but they are both doing it. The two airships are so close they are almost touching!

What's this? The kite, flown by the AEIC officer on the ground, a Mr. Benjamin Franklin, has become entangled with one of the engine struts.

ZZZZzzzzzzzcrack! Boooooom! Whooosh!

Oh my God. Lightning. Oh what an awful scene. Hundreds of cubic feet of hydrogen, burning blue! Both airships are in flames... Falling. The iron ribs visible beneath the peeling burning skin of the hulls.

It looks like a draw.

Are there any survivors? Yes, the crews looking somewhat singed have survived. The captains seem to be engaged in exchanging harsh words and now they are throwing punches. The Ambassador from Britain looks most distressed. I say, sir! That isn't in the Queensbury Rules! Now they have wrestled each other to the ground and are flailing about in the mud. The ballast water tanks left the earth quite wet.

They are being pulled apart by their officers.

Fortunately, there has been no loss of life, save for a few Baklovakian senators who were conducting undisclosed espionage activities in the pastries tent.

But it looks like the stewards will be asking Mr. Franklin about why there was a key on his kite.

Albanian East India Company(Thessaloniki in Macedon)

Nikolas Argir, Senior Partner in the AEIC

Diplomacy Paris in Ile de France(ci), Alexandria in Egypt(ci), Takari in Colon(mf)

Greatly angered by certain news items in far eastern newspapers (the Java Star, in particular), the Senior Partners issued a short, blunt directive to all captains, junior-partners and staff:

A note to all Company captains and crews: All AEIC ships, captains, and crews are hereby prohibited from transporting contraband items, i.e. like those discovered on AEIC flagged vessels in Javan waters. All cargoes thoroughout the aeic system will hereby be undergoing random searches for said items: captains and crews that allow smuggling to occur on aeic flagged vessels will be fined. further investigations will be undertaken forthwith and a board on inquiry begun. ~ Nicolas Argir, CEO, AEIC

Despite some disreputable business, the Company continued to blaze ahead full-steam on dozens of projects, some as grandiose as the launch of another fully-equipped Zeppelin Hotel, the Bithnia, which survived a long, hazardous and frequently terrifying maiden voyage from Thessaloniki via Egypt and the Red Sea to Schwarzcastel in India, then back again.

Excerpt from the Foreign Dispatch section of the Thessalonika Star~ The AEIC "Bithnia" of the Albanian Airline will depart at noon on January 11th, 1751, from the Bithnian aerodrome, near the recent excavations at the ancient city of Troy. Her initial flight will take her down through the Red Sea, up to the Arnori capital of Schwarzcastel, through the Persian Gulf up to Baghdad, then back to Thessaloniki via a high altitude overflight of the Sword of Allah's nation.

"Bithnia" is one of Albanian Airlines zeppelin hotel models, top-notch all around. A guest list for this beginning voyage includes: Captain Karl von Landsberg und Ansdorf and his wife Frau Erika von Landsberg und Ansdorf. The Captain is very friendly, speaks very good Danish and will constantly be complaining about those damn, Kievians. His wife is as fun loving, and is extremely intelligent, she is one of the few people in Europe today to have read Professor Issac Newton's, "Dynamics of an Asteroid".

Victor Hatherly and Major McGrath, (retired, English Army) have been assigned the second cabin.

Mr. Hans Delbrueke and his daughter, Miss Elena Delbruke, occupy the third cabin. They will be found in the observation lounge watching as the earth slips away below. Mr. Delbruke is from Holland, and the owner of a plantation in Edrosia. He is returning there, having collected his daughter from the Swiss finishing school where she has just completed her education. Both of them are tall and good looking prople, though a scar on Delbruke's face lends him a sinister air.

Colonel Teddy Sanders and his Indian man-servant Tin'ta have the fourth cabin. They can be found in the bar, the Colonel swapping stories with Captain von Landsberg. The Colonel is a commander for the Southern League. He is returning to India after an extended medical leave in Thessaloniki, occasioned by wounds received during fighting against the Yasarids. He is a soldier's soldier, hearty and warm. Tin'ta is tall for an native Indian, and is the Colonel's constant companion.

Mr. John Patterson and his wife, Dr. Anne Patterson have the fifth cabin. Mr. Patterson will be in the billiards room, Dr. Patterson in the gallery. Mr. Patterson is a sales engineer for the AEIC subsidiary Analytical Computators, going to set up an office in Schwarzcastel. He will quite critical of the design of the 80-88, the latest model from Norskstrad Machines, a chief competitor. He will explain at great length how the machines of his company are much easier to use, and due to their ratchet mechanism(rat for short) which allows for programming to be done much more efficiently then anything produced by that other Lisbonian Company. He is a bit of billiards hustler and will gladly take money from anyone foolish enough to play for cash. Dr. Patterson is a biologist and is happily looking forward to doing work on the lifecycle of a new tree species recently discovered in India, liftwood--it has unique qualities.

A Lord Herring, of the Frankish court, shares the sixth cabin with Lt. Douglas Fitzallen, the officer in charge of a draft of Copenhagen troops in steerage bound for Rajput. Fitzallen will follow around Lord Herring after they meet. In fact, the real Fitzallen is dead and the man taking his place is, in fact, that notorious Baklovakian Senator Zippy of the Starnub District. Senator Zippy is on a fact finding mission to discover other "pastry" recipes, etc.

The seventh cabin is occupied by Lord Arthur St. Simon and his wife, Lady Felicity St. Simon. The pair will often be found in the observation lounge. The Lord and Lady are ostensibly on Holiday, the trip is seen as second honeymoon. In fact, he is working on behalf of the Royal Libyan court looking for investment possibilities in the Middle East, Ethiopia, and friends that may promote the King's claim to the Danish Crown, a long shot, but heh.

The eighth cabin is home to Captain Michael "Stinky" Smyth and Captain Harold "Pongo" Jones, Arnori officers bound for reassignment after leave in Europe. They will be in the bar. They are both upper class chuckleheads, olds friends of Lord Herring, and can be counted on to follow him in whatever juvenile nonsense or pranks he thinks up. i.e. wheelchair races, indoor cricket, stink bombs, and amateur theatricals, these two will go along with anything, especially if it involves betting.

Cabin nine contains Mr. James P. Lan and his wife Sarah, Mrs. Lan's lady companion, Miss Judith Carruthers and the family servant Miss Jones occupy cabin ten. Mr. Lan will be found in the billiards room, while Ms. Carruthers will be in the observation lounge and gallery. Mrs. Lan (who is an invalid) and Miss Jones will remain Lan's cabin. Mr. Lan is the owner of a chemical wholesale firm in Augostina; he tells anyone who asks that he is taking his wife to India for the Cure, of an illness that she has had for about 10 years. In fact, he plans to murder his wife and marry Miss Jones at some point in the future. Miss Carruthers is a typical maiden aunt in her late fifties; Miss Jones is a blond looker, and does not seem very bright.

Work continued on submarine, steamship and airship yards in and around Thessaloniki. Amongst other things, the Amusement Park at Naxos was completed and the last touches made to the Holy Cross monument which perched on the top of Mount Naxophilon. Another two steam-powered cruise ships were put into service by Albanian Cruiselines - the Iliad and the Odyssey. Neither exploded on their shake-down voyages, which everyone accounted a great success. Too, the Company put to sea the first workable 'submersion ship', called the Atlantis, which was immediately put to the test by making a dive of no less than two hundred feet into the waters of Santorini. Only four crewmen asphyxiated before the submersible could surface.

Considerable Company investment continued to be made in Bithnia, though the Emir of that province continued to refuse any diplomatic overtures and to pocket much of the money himself (or use it to buy more guns and artillery from certain Russian merchants).

A quiet summer night in northern Greece was broken by the sudden, bright flare of an explosion. In the towering column of smoke which then billowed up over the offices of the Albanian East India Company, some townsfolk - roused from their beds or the inns by the rumbling noise - saw a sleek dark shape vanish into the ebon sky. Fires roared up among the Company buildings, and hundreds of workers rushed to man the pumps and douse the flames sweeping through the offices. Cruelly, whoever had set the blast had prepared for such a response. As the company clerks swarmed to form a bucket brigade, a stunning series of explosions ripped through their ranks, littering the streets with the dead.

Outside of the city, in the suburbs where the senior managers enjoyed pleasant country estates, other attacks left dozens dead in the fields or their own homes. Despite the immediate response of the city militia and the Imperial Army, none of the perpetrators were caught, though certain evidence was seized. Nikolas was heartsick, reading the rolls of the dead - twas as if the heart had been torn out of the Honorable Company…

The Swedish Empire of Russia(Riga in Latvia)

Solomon, King of Sweden, Tsar of the All the Russias
Dame Ilyena Lydia Mironoff, Crown Regent and Altkansler

Diplomacy Smolensk(fa)

With something like peace descending on the ice-bound forests of Russia and Scandinavia, the northerners turned their attention to an old-standing pastime: Elections! With the Krycek government putting an inordinate number of militia into the streets to 'keep order', the usual shenanigans of the various political factions were kept to a minimum. Also, a close watch was kept out for 'Baklovakian Troublemakers.' The parties are the far left People's Liberation Party (yes, those dread socialists), mid-left Jan Birchers, the mid-right Union for Prosperity (business and farm), the far-right Royalists and Papists, and the wacky-right Flat Earth party. A heightened concern for economic issues boosted the stock of the business lobby - occasional brushes with famine tend to do that. An initial attempt to form a government by the Unionists working with the Royalists failed to lure any Papists, who loathed the Royalists to a man. The Jan Birchers then attempted to bring in the Papists and the PLP, which also failed. At last, most of the Jan Birchers and most of the Unionists formed a national unity government, with the reform-minded Dame Ilyena Lydia Mironoff named to the post of Altkansler of the Realm.

Naming a woman to the post a stampede of backbenchers from the Unity Government to the opposition, but the remainder for Mironoff remained above 54%, and she was sworn in by the Tsar. Solomon's support, in fact, helped to retain for her a majority, despite his mild personal distaste seeing a woman in this post - the Emperor was mainly interested in bringing stability to the nation.

Following the swearing in of the new government, the Minister of Finance and the head of the Bank of the Uppsala Exchequer (BUX) were sacked because they forgot to increment the due dates on the latest batch of Public Progress and Prosperity Bonds. An investigation by a committee of the Imperial Senate turned up no indication of corruption.

Mironoff bemoaned the loss of Georgia and assured the Papists that more missionaries were being sent along to keep the misguided southerners from sliding into cultism from Islam. This was in almost direct opposition to statements made by Emperor Solomon, who - upon his return to Riga, now being rebuilt and once more swarming with well-tanned citizens - assured everyone that it was not Imperial policy to convert residents or citizens at gun-point, even if they were following some sullen splinter of Islam or Protestantism.

The Atlantic Fleet remained very busy shuttling shiploads of refugees up from Inner Afrika to Malmo and Riga. General Dottski, who had done such good service in Russia, died in Riga at the age of 69. Many of his soldiers were pensioned off to new settlements in Levedia, in the far south. General Zeldovitch was dispatched to Smolensk, where he negotiated (rather gingerly) with the well-armed and reputedly savage natives for a bride to grace the bed of Prince David Torrson (who was very wisely away in the Mediterranean, sailing about on warm, blue waters). Zeldovitch did manage to gain the nominal allegiance of the tribesmen there, but he was not sure the prince would be pleased with a bride dressed in skins, adorned with tattooed crosses on every inch of her body or teeth filed to points.

The very same David, meantime, had arrived off the coast of Cilicia aboard HMS Stevastopol (a fine, steam-powered cruiser) at the head of a squadron of nearly seventy ships (most of them wind-driven colliers) and 3,000 Royal Marines. His elder brother, the Prince Royal Dagmar, commanded the fleet. Sweden had come to claim its spoils from the Ar-Raqqah Conference. The bey of Tarsus, however, was not interested in turning his city over to some white-eyed devils (even if their steam gunboats were loitering offshore, or their airships were clattering around overhead). He refused to accede to Dagmar's demands and fired several rockets at the airship Fjordane.

As a result, the Imperial Marines stormed ashore under a blaze of cannon-fire from the steam cruisers and the Royal Airforce began dropping napathene bombs into the town. A force of ARF airships which had been hanging about also joined in, resulting in the bey being killed and his town milita slaughtered. Most of the buildings in and around the harbor were also destroyed and much of the town set afire. Royal Engineers moved ashore and, helpfully, put out the conflagration. ARF aerotroopers were soon evident on the streets of Tarsus, serving as police.

Sweden had not finished flexing it's military might, however, for the Altmarsk Maksutov (assisted by a plethora of sub-commanders) had marched the Army of the East through ARF-held lands and (reinforced by Arpada Orozco's mercenary battalions) launched a full-scale invasion of the Khirgiz lands beyond the Volga.

Figure 1. Khirgizites fleeing the Swedish Air Corps

14,000 Swedish troops, supported by more than thirty airships and another 14,000 ARF soldiers, crossed the river into ARF-held Urkel. Under Maksutov's aggressive command, the combined army then swept down into Saksiny… and encountered no resistance. There were no Khirgizite armies in evidence, barely any local authority. They found ragged tax collectors and overworked local magistrates. In fact, only the city of Sarai posed an obstacle, which did not last long under aerial bombardment. ARF troops garrisoned the conquered lands and rehabilitated the local hetmen and clan chiefs. Catholic priests were a vigorous and constant presence. A suspicious number of Hussite preachers were found in Khazar and Urkel and placed under 'protective' custody while the military operation was underway.

In all, an entirely anticlimactic expedition against the terrors of the Ice…

The Grand Duchy of Poland(Warsaw in Poland)

Frieda Leczinski, Duchess of Poland

DiplomacyNone

Aside from raising a fresh regiment of heavy foot, the Duchess concentrated on cleaning up certain business matters and urging the Ducal Engineering Corps to complete the railroad to Berlin. As it happened, the rail line into Kauyavia was completed, and track courses surveyed from Berlin to Pomern in Stralsund and Kassel in Thuringia. Everyone expected regular train service to begin from Warsaw to Berlin within two years. Missionary work continued in Little Poland as well.

Not to be outdone by their Kievian rivals, the Poles welcomed the arrival of Aztec merchant ships (the first in generations) at Stralsund and Sopot. A brisk trade in pulque, tequila and cacao developed; leading to public rowdiness. Worse, in Sopot, a group of Jesuits arrived and began construction work on a sprawling, modern school called the Christian Academy of the Archangels and St. John the Divine. A gray-bearded old church father supervised the construction, dealing deftly with the outraged local authorities and producing (at every turn) the proper documents, fees and settlements. Everyone agreed the Academy was a beautiful structure, showing a particular architectural elegance and logic which captivated the mind of the onlooker. Better (thought the parents of every child in the city), the Catholics promised free tuition and schooling of the highest caliber to all students (Hussite, Catholic or Orthodox) who passed the entrance examinations.

Determined to root out even the appearance of cultic infestation, Polish troops under the command of General Tobiasz descended upon Stralsund and seized the Wolfden & Cane manager Jason Cane, along with his confederates, business records and rather paltry funds. The Frenchman was taken into government custody and whisked off to Warsaw for questioning.

Frieda was greatly, greatly displeased to learn her drunken husband had gotten himself thrown into a Kievian jail and charged with fomenting rebellion and unrest against a sovereign nation.

The Knights of Tabor(Mount Tabor in Bohemia)

Otto von Metz, Voice of Huss, Grand Master of the Order of the Knights of Mount Tabor

DiplomacyUlm in Swabia(ch), Champagne(ch), Nivernais/Metz(ch), Ile De France(ch), Vermandois(ch), Sopot in Danzig(ch), Krakow in Bochnia(ch)

Shielded behind the might of Denmark (even though the Empire had fallen on hard times), the Taborites were very, very busy… particularly in southern England, where their priesthood was vigorously proselytizing throughout Cornwall and Wessex.

United Kingdoms of Great Britain(Kingston in Northumbria)

Oliver V Cromwell, King of England, Scotland and Wales

DiplomacyNone

A few shipments of moldy grain, moth-eaten furs and pinecones were received from the Iroquois in North Amerika. So empty were the markets of the English cities, however, that even such a paltry donation was gratefully accepted. Russian wheat also came from the ARF, which meant - combined with an unexpectedly good harvest (and wine and olives imported from Spain) - the citizens of gloomy old England could eat again. Which was a cause of great relief for King Oliver, who was still grappling with a steadily rising state of religious tension in the southern provinces. The English Catholic Church - ignoring the protests of the Jesuits and the Papacy - made many accommodations to mollify the Hussite community.

Though these concessions angered many and satisfied few, the general level of incipient religious violence in the south declined. The learned doctors of the Jesuit Order, rather than inciting pro-Catholic mobs to violence, now deployed themselves on the street corners as well, meeting the Hussite preachers with logic and reasoned disputation rather than threats and violence. In Wessex, in particular, both the Jesuits and the Franciscans were out in force, shifting the religious allegiance of that province back to the Church of Rome.

The famine in the countryside, meantime, had driven many to seek refuge in the cities - resulting in London and Kingston expanding. Cromwell kept a close eye on these matters however, ensuring the massive ring of fortifications around each metropolis was maintained and expanded. Massive capital investment in the fishing industry also occurred, as everyone tried to park their pounds in something with a safe return.

Charles Stuart, the teenage son of the Prince of Wales, was killed in a riding accident, much to the anguished dismay of his mother, Mary of Modena and his father.

The Society of Jesus(London in Sussex)

Gustavus Grayhame, Vicar-General of the Society of Jesus

DiplomacyNone

Determined not to lose England to the Hussite by sloth, the Society assigned the noted Italian Jesuit Merry del Val to gain the friendship of the Prince of Wales, James Stuart. If they could not keep the Hussites out of England, then at least they would win back their minds… also to this end, the Society began to distribute a tract entitled "De Rerum Novarum" which urged Catholic employers to pay their workers a living wage and provide sanitary and humane industrial conditions.

Aside from these philosophical counters, the Vicar-General himself undertook a stupendously daring mission to Poland, a veritable hotbed of the Hussite faith. (See Poland).

The Frankish Commonwealth(Paris in Il' De France)

Jacques du Maine, Archon of the Commonwealth

Diplomacy None

The situation in Paris remained tense, as the Archon refused to travel without an enormous corps of bodyguards and servants. This interfered with his attempts to sire more children on his rather exhausted wife Angelique. His son Louis had no better luck, the boy's wife taking sick in the fetid stink of Tangiers and dying in '51.

Albanian engineers began work on a surfaced highway from Paris through the countryside to Metz in Nivernais. Almost immediately there were enormous cost-overruns and everyone complained about the noise. Calais expanded, in an example of a successful co-project between the Albanians and the Commonwealth. Work continued as well on the highway between Tours and Brest, but it too is not yet complete.

The notorious Jason Cane (formerly a partner of Wolfden & Cane) was removed from his cell in Paris and sent under heavy guard to Brest, where a squadron of Commonwealth ships was waiting to escort him to an 'undisclosed location.' Through some oversight, however, Cane escaped from his escort and was then killed in a gun battle with mysterious 'black priests' in Nivernais. Danish troops, arriving on the scene, was aghast at the number of bullet holes in the church pews and the general slaughter.

Figure 2. The Arrest of Jason Cane

the village of Stenay, in Lorraine

He heard the noise again, breaking the nocturnal silence of the church. The watchman paused in the shadow of the side-door, wondering if he dared walk along the nave towards the sound of metal scraping on stone. He warily shuttered his lantern and reached with one hand towards the comforting weight of the old pistol in his pocket.

Only dim moonlight filtered through the high narrow windows. Once he had heard they had been artfully fashioned with pieces of stained glass to form pictures of the saints of the Catholics. But these, like the other decadent decorations had been striped away when the cleansing flame of the Hussite Church had broken the hold of the Papacy from the lands of Lorraine. Somehow the old building had survived the centuries, though here and there its walls bore the pockmarks of bullets dating to the unlamented fall of the Divine Kingdom of Israel over thirty years ago.

It was cold, and his own breath steamed from his nostrils. He started at the sound of voices from behind the altar. Briefly he wondered if he should hurry away to the doorway, and summon aid against whoever might violate a House of God in the night. Instead, curiosity overcame him, and he quietly edged towards the cover of a pillar, peering around its circumference.

Two figures were laboring at a nondescript piece of the floor, one apparently standing on a stairway leading down to an unsuspected crypt. He reverently lifted something up to his fellow, who was garbed in a dark cloak, the hood raised to hide his features.

"De sancta Dagoberto martye prose," whispered the one below, his words echoing strangely, as the pale moonlight glimmered on the whiteness of the thing he held. The watchman caught his breath, recognizing it for a skull set within a tarnished reliquary. He listened to their words, growing increasingly bemused. Who were they? Tomb robbers? Thieves? Cultists of the most diabolical sort?

"The fragments of the Katharai from the shrine of the Black Virgin at Montserrat did not lie, then, ja?" replied the hooded figure, reverently taking the receptacle holding the skull and carefully placing it into a small wooden case. "She has favored us: Saint Dagobert is regained unto the fold."

"It is said the saint preserved these lands from Viking raids," the other said, climbing out of the pit.

"Danes, who sacked and pillaged Rome herself, then built a temple to their one-eyed abomination on the ruins of the Kurikon." The muffled voice sounded old and tired.

"The same, mon ami." The younger man knelt to work the stone back over the entrance of the vault with a crowbar. It slid back into its place with a sudden reverberating thud. "Godless men."

"And now they would have all mankind submit to their false genealogy, yielding to their God-Emperor and Oupire, as once the Egyptians bowed down before Pharaoh..." The hooded man locked the box and slipped the ornate silver key into his robes. "Quicquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi," he continued, sadly shaking his head as his fellow chuckled softly. "We know their plans do we not? And like Simon Magus, now he has his Helen, out of the Danish Tyre. But the true graal itself, which is not the Sang Raal of the shaven ones, is hidden from them."

"Some few of the Prieur' de Sion in Europe have been seduced by the blandishments and lies of the heretics. But my Nautonnier will be pleased by our success this night."

"And the Fraternitas Sancti Leonis shall rejoice."

The watchman hissed, realizing that he did not merely witness desecration, but surely the work of Catholics. He turned to run for the entrance and abruptly stopped, the cold metal barrel of a gun pressing into the soft tissue of his cheek just below his eye. Only the three golden rose buttons on the black cuff drew his attention away from the muzzle. Without moving he tried to look towards the man holding the weapon, but could see nothing within the cowl.

"Slowly, friend, no sudden movements, if you please," declared his captor as he efficiently disarmed him of the pistol from his pocket. "Now, down on the floor, face down."

He quickly complied, gently setting the lantern on the ground, wondering if the last thing he would hear would be the retort of the gun. The three men were speaking together in a language he thought might be Spanish or Italian.

"Stay there, old man," the one standing above him said at last, nudging him with the toe of his boot. "If you wish to live."

The shivering watchman nodded, the icy chill of the stone piercing through his forehead. The footsteps receded and he heard the heavy wooden door open and close. He waited a very long time before raising the alarm.

Wolfden & Cane Holdings, LtdN

With the death of Jason Cane and the arrest of Harrison Wolfden by the Polish authorities - and the seizure of all remaining W&C assets, properties and sincecures - the Company died an agonizing, yet swift, death.

The Danish Empire(Thessalonika in Macedon)

Gregor "Black Georg" Dushan, Prince of Serbia, King of the Greeks, Emperor of the Danes, Protector of Italy, Mjolnir-na-Midgaard, Rex Germanicus, Pendragon of the Isles

DiplomacyCopenhagen in Denmark(ea), Holstein(f), Hannover in Saxony(a), Hainaut(t)

The city of Thessalonika expanded (when parts of the merchant district were not being burned down) and a new citadel rose on the headland covering the approach to the harbor. An enormous effort also began to build a railroad line up from Macedonia to Ochridia in Serbia.

The Catholic bishop Chung, imprisoned by the Imperial garrison in Croatia, found many converts to Catholicism among fellow prisoners in the jails. He was, indeed, a perfect example of piety and godliness, even under such horrific conditions.

At the direction of the Emperor (who was still busy trying to stitch the German provinces back to the fabric of the Empire), Admiral Schlechter (and some Taborite fathers) attempted to seize the city of Marseilles by surprise attack from the sea. With their lead elements disguised as visiting sailors, the main fleet attacked Catholic-ruled Marseilles in the summer of '51, supported by no less than ten steam-powered cruisers. Disastrously, the surprise landing failed (the Marseilles garrison being on alert due to Spanish finagling) and repelled the initial assault with heavy losses to the Danes.

Furious at losing a third of his force on the walls of the city, Schlechter ordered a second attack, this time after a sustained bombardment by the fleet. Again the Danes fumbled the assault, but the defenders were in equally poor shape, with the city on fire and their walls in rubble. This time Schlechter (who had moved his command post on-shore) was wounded by a sniper and command fell to the Taborite reverend Lombardy. The attack failed, driven off with heavy casualties.

Lombardy also elected to continue the assault (now into acres of burned out buildings and rubble) and again the Danish attack ground to halt and was then thrown back by the ferocity of the Catholic defense. "These Frenchmen have the spirit of lions," Lombardy croaked, nearly overcome by cordite and the smell of rotting bodies, as he was carried back (wounded) from the trenchlines. Now, at last, the Danish fleet withdrew to Genoa, a friendly port, and well equipped with hospitals. Nearly ten thousand Imperial troops had been lost in the disastrous campaign.

A fervor of controversy erupted in scientific and literary circles in Thessaloniki with the Danish-language publication of a seminal work by the German theorist Max Weber - "The Catholic Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism." This work underscored the Catholic role in industrialization, and revealed the reasons why Catholic nations, such as Sud Afriqa, Sweden, Great Britain, the Norsktrad, and others, lead the way in industry, while Hussite nations struggle to keep up (with, until recently, the exception of Denmark, which the author credited with a crypto-Catholic mindset), and those following the 'agrarian' Lencolar faith languished as a distant third. The work underscored the importance of the 'Protestant' movement within Catholicism, patronized by such men as the founder of the Cromwell dynasty, the Catholic tendency toward representative government, typified by Sweden but now also by Republican Spain, and upon the Catholic emphasis on works as opposed to Hussite fatalism and the Lencolar scorn for profit.

N"rsktrad(St. George-the-Defender in Morroco)

Jorge Delgado, M"klarev"lde of the Nordic Trading Company

DiplomacyCaligari on Sardinia(bo), Ayoel in Atakapa(mf)

Old Johannes, grumpy between bouts of interviewing prisoners in the dungeons under the Company House, drafted another letter to the Commandante Largo. To whit:

To Excelentisimo Senor Don Largo Cabellero, President of the Republic of Spain:

Excellency,

The management of the Norsktrad has recently become most concerned regarding certain allegations published in a number of foreign broadsheets. As you are no doubt aware, reports have been circulating disclosing a collusion between the Imperial House of Cortez and the minions and servitors of the Ice. We earnestly hope that these stories are untrue, and that the authorities of the Republic will oversee a complete and thorough investigation.

Furthermore, we look forward to the publication of the Constitution of the Republic, and now that the dark days of war are receding, the initiation of a democratic parliament. The ancient Senate of the Republic of Rome and the Norse tradition of the Thing stand as suitable models for your consideration. After the tumult of war, the citizens of Spain deserve to enjoy the opportunities provided by their commerce and industry, protected by the statutes of the Law.

To soothe the fears of the nobility, the franchise might be limited only to those satisfying a criteria of landed property or income of a set value. In time, as the benefits of education and wealth spread throughout the populace, the qualifications might be reduced. It may be beneficial to have an Upper and Lower House, much as the Norsktrad has the two tiers of the Council of Electors and the Affarsmannen. In this case, the Upper House might consist of the aristocracy and senior Bishops and Cardinals of the Church as well as representatives of other Faiths, whilst the Lower House would be drawn from the burgeoning middle class: the men and women of the professions, business, and manufacturing.

Spain needs must step out from the shadows and horrors attendant to the Seventeenth Century and more recent history.

The Norsktrad has no wish to interfere in the internal politics of the Republic, or any other State. However, we are resident in Spain, and would wish to see the country move forward from the troubled past into a better future.

Yours respectfully,

Johannes Teugen

M"klarevalde of the Norsktrad

The Company offices remained very tense. A queer, waiting air was upon the city, and no one felt at ease. Dogs whined at all hours of the day and flights of birds could be seen over the rooftops winging their way out of the metropolis in all directions… despite this, however, there were no attacks on Company personnel, no assassins in the dark, no sudden blasts of flame on crowded streets. Instead everyone's nerves were stretched to the breaking point. And the weather grew steadily hotter by the day.

Far to the north, As the desolate coast of Ice ravaged Norway receded, Captain Jorge Delgado recalled the lines written on that same shore centuries past, the Sibyl's Prophecy :

In anger smites the warder of earth,

Forth from their homes must all men flee;

Nine paces fares the son of Fjorgyn,

And, slain by the serpent, fearless he sinks.

The sun turns black, earth sinks in the sea,

The hot stars down from heaven are whirled;

Fierce grows the steam and the life-feeding flame,

Till fire leaps high about heaven itself.

"A prophecy of the pagan idolators," he wondered. "Of their future, and our past I hope. Or do more world-killing dragons await us in the Outer Darkness?" Little did Delgado know what horrors awaited him upon his homecoming…

By queer chance, many of the Company captains returned with their various squadrons to Lisbon just in time to render desperately needed aid to their fellows.

The Republic of Spain(Lisbon in Portugal)

Largo Cabellero, Commandant of the Imperial Guard

DiplomacyOld Castille(t)

The usual flood of refugees, foreigners and landless men thronging the docks of Lisbon were enlivened (in '52) by the arrival of a veritable circus of Indian splendor… the five-year-old maharaja Yasar of Yasarid and his sister, the rani Nimaya, had come to visit glorious Europe.

Lisbon, All-Saint's Day, November 1^st, 1752

There was no warning, only the half-felt sensation of blistering autumn heat commpressing, pressed by a massive, invisible hand. Throughout the city, the cathedrals were crowded with throngs of people attending morning mass. In each darkened nave, the voices of the priests faltered as the churchbells began to ring with an odd, wavering sound.

In 1752, Lisbon was one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Conquered by Moors in 1056, it was kept under Moorish influence until the fall of the Caliphate of Spain. This may be seen in the design of the streets in the quarters surrounding St. George Castle and extending as far as Rossio, the central part of the city. The Rosario, or main square, was the commercial center of Lisbon. The Estatus Palace, situated to the north, was where illustrious visitors to the Republic were lodged. On the east side stood Saint Dominic Church and the All Saint's Royal Hospital, with its magnificent fa‡ade. On top of the hill, an ancient royal residence was situated. To the west, the church and its Convent were among the most magnificent buildings in Lisbon. Other famous buildings near the city center include the Cathedral, St. Paul's Church, St. Nicholas' Church, and St. Roch's Church.

The architecture of the city was complemented by that of the suburbs, including a majestic aqueduct constructed by in 1731, the Jeronimus Church, and the Tower of Belem. With an estimated population of 275,000, Lisbon was one of the largest cities in Europe.

An enormous earthquake began at 9:30am, deep under the Atlantic Ocean, in the abyssal depths 200 kilometers WSW of Cape St. Vincent. The total duration of shock lasted ten minutes and was comprised of three distinct jolts.

Effects from the earthquake were far reaching, though the focus of the following devastation was worst in Portugal, particularly in Lisbon. Severe shaking was felt in North Africa and there was heavy loss of life in St. George the Defender and Graasland. Moderate damage was done in Algiers and in southwest Spain. Shaking was also felt in France, Switzerland, and Northern Italy.

The oscillation of suspended objects at great distances from the epicenter indicate an enormous area of perceptibility. The observation of seiches as far away as Finland, suggest a magnitude approaching 9.0. Precursory phenomena were reported, including turbid waters in Portugal and Spain, falling water levels in wells throughout Spain, and a decrease in water flow in springs and fountains.

In the North African interior, the towns of Meknes, Fez, and Marrakesh, and the coastal towns of Asilah, Larache, Rabat, and Agadir suffered extensive damage in the quake. Mosques, synagogues, churches, and many other buildings collapsed in Meknes, where numerous casualties were reported. The convent, church, and Hospital de S. Francisco collapsed completely.

In Lisbon, the convulsion of the earth smashed nearly three-quarters of the buildings in the city to rubble. The streets buckled and shattered, while church-towers toppled into squares jammed with screaming, running citizens. The water mains ruptured, turning the lower districts into a muddy morass and leaving the hilltop districts without a single drop.

Soon after the earthquake, several fires broke out, mostly started by cooking fires and candles. Some of them were rapidly extinguished, especially in the densely populated areas. But many inhabitants fled from their homes and left fires burning. Narrow streets full of fallen debris prevented access to the fire sites. The public squares filled with people and their rescued belongings, but as the fire approached, these squares were abandoned, and the fire swelled tp catastrophic proportions. Looters setting fire to some ransacked houses caused the belief that the fire had a criminal origin. The flames raged for five days.

All of the downtown area, from St. Paul's quarter to St. Roch, and from Carmo and Trindade to the Rossio square area to the Castle and Alfama quarters burned, along with the Ribeira, Rua Nova, and Rossio quarters. Remolares, Barrio Alto, Limoeiro, and Alfama, were partially burned.

Several buildings which had suffered little damage due to the earthquake were destroyed by the fire. The Royal Palace and the Opera House were totally gutted by the flames. The Patriarchal suffered relatively little damage in the earthquake, and religious services continued there during the afternoon, but the church was evacuated as the fire approached. Later the building was completely burned out.

Immediately after the earthquake, many inhabitants of Lisbon looked for safety on the sea by boarding ships moored on the river and in the recently complete Great Harbor. But about thirty minutes after the quake, a huge wave roared up out of the western ocean and swamped the area near Bugie Tower on the mouth of the Tagus. The area between Junqueria and Alcantara in the western part of the city was the most heavily damaged by the wave and the Great Harbor mole itself collapsed. Further destruction occurred upstream. The Cais de Pedra at Rerreiro do Paco and part of the nearby custom house were flattened.

A total of three waves struck the shore, each dragging people and debris out to sea and leaving exposed large stretches of the river bottom. In front of the Terreiro do Paco, the maximum height of the waves was estimated at 6 meters. Boats overcrowded with refugees capsized and sank. In the town of Cascais, some 30 kilometers west of Lisbon, the waves wrecked several boats and when the water withdrew, large stretches of sea bottom were left uncovered. In coastal areas such as Peniche, situated about 80 kilometers north of Lisbon, many people were killed by the tsunami. In Setubal, 30 kilometers south of Lisbon, the water reached the first floor of buildings.

The destruction was greatest in Algarve, southern Portugal, where the tsunami dismantled some coastal fortresses and, in the lower levels, razed houses. In some places the waves crested at more than 30 meters. Almost all the coastal towns and villages of the Algarve were heavily damaged, except Faro, which was protected by sandy banks. In Lagos, the waves reached the top of the city walls. For the coastal regions, the destructive effects of the tsunami were more disastrous than those of the earthquake.

In southwestern Spain, the tsunami caused damage to Cadiz and Huelva, and the waves penetrated the Guadalquivir River, reaching Seville. At Gibraltar, the sea rose suddenly by about two meters. In Ceuta the tsunami was strong, but in the Mediterranean Sea, it decreased rapidly. On the other hand, it caused great damage and casualties to the western coast of Morocco, from Tangiers, where the waves reached the walled fortifications of the town, to Agadir, where the waters passed over the walls, killing many.

The tsunami reached, with less intensity, the coast of France, Great Britain, Ireland, Belgium and Holland. In Madeira and in the Azores islands damage was extensive and many ships were in danger of being wrecked.

The tsunami crossed the Atlantic Ocean, reaching the Antilles in the afternoon. Reports from Antigua, Martinique, and Barbados note that the sea first rose more than a meter, followed by large waves. Casualties, however, were minimal.

Figure 3. The Great Lisbon Earthquake

Not so in Lisbon. By day's end, between the conflagration of the fires and those crushed under collapsing buildings, nearly thirty thousand people had died. Among them were Johannes Teugen, the maklarevalde of the Norsktrad, and his lieutenants Goram Thule and Njal Gurni. Among the Spaniards, prince Jose Tordesillas was the only notable who happened to be in the city - and he was slain in the collapse of the Cathedral of Cathedral. So to perished the scions of the Yasarid Indian royal house. The city itself was nearly leveled, and with it, the vast assemblage of industry which the Spanish and Norsk had been so laboriously constructing.

In the aftermath, the new Norsk maklarevalde (Delgado) commanded an evacuation of all surviving Company staff, tools, equipment and ships (though the tsunami had wrecked at least two steam cruisers slated for delivery to the Spanish government) to St. Georges in Morroco.

The Duchy of the Isles(Valetia on Malta)

Neya al'Raschid, Empress of the Isles, Emir of Archimedea, Duchess of Sicily and Sardinia

Diplomacy Skarfaste on Rhodes(a), Epirus(ea)

Things were blessedly quiet in the Isles. Aside from troubled seas due to the earthquake, there were no troubles to plague the simple lives of the fishermen. The cities of Valetia, Valma and Caligari all expanded. A beautiful public park and Roman-style amphitheatre was added to the capital. Missionary work began among the Orthodox believers in the mountains of Epirus and in the town of Groza.

Figure 4. The Port of Valetia

The Church of Rome(Vatican City in Rome, Latium)

Clement XII, Pater Patrias, Pope of the Roman Church, The Vicar of Christ, The Successor To Peter, The Keeper of the Keys, The Servant of the Servants of God, Patriarch of Azteca, Soldier of Light

Diplomacy Rostov in Levedia(ch)

The actual rate of disbursement to greedy Catholic kings went down, which pleased Clement greatly. "I'm not a purse," he grumbled, shuffling about the Vatican and peering in shadowy corners for spies. "Not made of gold, no…"

Missionary work to counter the rising influence of the Lencolar Church (now in very poor favor due to their meddling in the Church Council) and the Hussites proceded on a global scale. The dogged old warrior-monk Paolo Georganta was at last sent off to contemplate the glory of god in a monastery at Sochi on the coast of the Black Sea. A Papal fleet also visited Rostov, where Cardinal Cardenas visited a variety of ARF facilities and let his hussars exercise their horses after a long sea voyage.

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The Emirate of Carthage(Augostina in Tunisia)

Hamilcar Barca, Emir of Augostina, Sultan of Tunisia

Diplomacy None apparent

The citizens of Augostina rejoiced as the Emir, his son Isketerol (second of that name) at his side, christened the first pair of Carthaginian steam-driven warships - the Prince of Algiers and the Pride of Oran (both products of the Thessalonika yards). Further, Hamilcar and his son remained aboard while the two ships (escorted by several zeppelins) made their maiden voyage (under Carthaginian colors, anyway) to Alexandria. The Emir then toured the pyramids, visited all the important sites and generally conducted an impromptu Royal Tour.

Nador, Alexandria, Al-Rhemish, New Oran and Augostina all expanded a level as tribal peoples, Polish emigrants and other 'overseas Hussites' flooded into the cities in search of jobs, warm weather, cheap housing and cheaper Vastmarki wine. The Lencolar citizens of St. Gustavus in Ghebel-Garib, pressured by ever-increasing government and church pressure, became Hussite.

A scholarly riot at the Alexandria Library of the Arts and Sciences was broken up by the town militia, who hauled off a variety of free-thinkers, Communards, Lullites, Catholic apostates and other heretics to the hoosgow. Some Alexandrians blamed the influx of Albanian money - though most of that had gone to refurbishing the Library in the Bruchion and mucking out the sewers.

An Albanian squadron of two ships-of-the-line and four frigates operating in the Red Sea put in at St. Gustavus to have their hulls careened and to take on fresh water and citrus.

Governor Yusuf sailed off to the east with many ships, including many settlers and technicians of various kinds. Much, much later some of the merchants who had accompanied Yusuf returned to the Emirate and began selling a wide variety of gorgeously-colored and patterned Indian cottons.

Christian Emirate of Libya(Sayyida Ifni in Idjil)

Skikda, Emir of Egypt and Lybia, Emperor of Denmark

Diplomacy None

Despite plaguing the Danish regency for money, Skikda received not so much as a copper sou. Disconsolate, he betook himself to the Azores where he personally supervised the eviction of those remaining Italian and French Catholics still grubbing in the volcanic soil and sweating under the Hussite lash. They were replaced by a throng of the Emir's adherents, making the island province Hussite.

The Principate of Vastmark(Chihuahua City in Takrur)

William Casimir, Stadholder of Takrur, Prince of Vastmark

Diplomacy Senegal(negotiations continue), St. Laurent in Camopi(ea)

The Stadholder returned to the capital (from his endless perambulations among the Senegalese townships) to meet with representatives of the Sisters of the Rose and to issue an Edict:

The Edict of Minden, AD 1751

Following the recent Conclave of the Church, and the worthy efforts of the Pope to encourage dialogue between adherents to the Church and the Lencolar Faith, The Stadholder has elected to follow this example, and invite discourse with the Sisters of the Rose in the hope that misunderstandings between our two peoples can be avoided in the future.

In the tumult that followed the birth of Vastmark some years ago, most of the people who chose to defect from the Mixtec nation retained their Roman Catholic beliefs. However, not all did so. The people of Minden in Ghana elected to abandon the Faith as set out in Papal Doctrine and adopt the ways of the Lencolar faith. Since then, their existence has been an uncomfortable one, as Vastmarki law has prevented access to clergy of their faith to minister to them.

In recognition of the peace that has held in West Afriqa for many years now, Vastmark has resolved to overturn years of mistrust, and has written to the Sisters offering the hand of friendship.

The people of Minden will no longer be forbidden access to the leaders of the faith, and the Sisters of the Rose now have leave to establish a presence in Minden to better minister to their followers.

This access is not, however, unfettered; for the years have not passed that all of the people of Vastmark can forget the suffering inflicted upon them by adherents of the Lencolar faith. The Sisters may only establish a limited presence in Minden, and may not use that presence to increase their influence - either secular or religious - in any part of Vastmark outside Minden. Only ordained servants of the Order and their administrative support may enter Vastmarki territory, and naturally the presence of military units on behalf of the Order will invite a swift and harsh response.

Vastmark is gratified that the Sisters of the Rose understand and have accepted these conditions in good grace. It is sincerely hoped that this initiative will open the door to further discourse, and ultimately friendship between the adherents of Catholicism and their Lencolar neighbors in West Afriqa.

As it happened, William was also on hand to share his son Jason's grief at the death of the princess Tara von Saxe-Coburg. The father urged the son to remarry as soon as possible, but the middle-aged Jason was rather distraught and refused. Eichstatt in Galam expanded and the Prince's Own Air Corps made some maiden flights over Chihuahua City (and did not crash into anything) in their new, Spanish-built, zeppelins.

The Mali Ax Empire(Ax Mixtlan in Mixe)

Nine-Jaguar, ne-Axamaloa na-Tochul, King of the Mixtecs, Lord of the Niger, Captain of the Firestorm Banner, True Emperor of the Aztecs, Emperor of Mali, DarkLord of Africa

DiplomacyNo Effect

The Dark Lord continued to cling to life, showing no sign of slowing down (or trusting his sons with even the smallest scrap of responsibility or power). Prince Tenoch disappointed his father by failing to begat any more sons… and princess Luwa contracted some kind of fever and died. A cavalcade of Swedish 'visitors' continued to swelter, sweat and die of tropical diseases at the University of Accra, but they seemed to be toughening up a bit.

A Lencolar sister engaged the Catholic priesthood in Xiucaxl in a lively series of debates in '51, though her attempt to establish a local rectory failed and very few adherents joined the Sisterhood. Onogui in Teke, however, became Lencolar. At the Emperor's direction, a huge number of fishing boats were put to work on the rivers and coastal seas of the realm, hoping to offset the generally poor harvests plaguing everyone. The dim, thin-seeming sun had yet to brighten, even in Afriqa.

A more serious matter devolved in the south, where territorial disputes between the Mixtecs and the Republic of Sud Afriqa led to a trade embargo on the part of the Empire on trade with the southerners. Further, Captain N!dgato - who had been commanding a squadron on the Ovambo coast - received orders to evacuate the trade towns of Ax Mixcoatl and Ax Eyahue. To this end he sailed to Uige and attempted to force the settlers there onto his ships at gunpoint. The pochtecas working there responded violently and a riot spiraled into an open battle between N!dgato's marines and the civilians. N!dgato himself was killed while attempting to rally his men and the squadron withdrew to Ax Eyahue down the coast.

Two-Crow arrived a few months later and took command of the Mixtec forces in the area. After taking some care with the settlers at Eyahue, he sailed back north, avoiding the now-hostile guns of Mixcoatl.

The Republic of Ethiopia(Soba in Funj)

Fredik, President-For-Life of Ethiopia

Diplomacy None

Plagued - like many nations - by failing harvests, queer weather and general collapse in the agricultural sector, President Fredrik ignored the wailing cries and prayers of the common people. While what food supplies were available flowed under military guard to Soba, the citizens of Mt'Suia, Gozer and Addis-Adaba perished in droves. In fact, the ancient FIRE capital of Addis became an essentially deserted ghost town. A far cry from its days of glory so long ago…

Late in '52, a Sud Afriqan fleet arrived at Mt'Suia in Adulis and - to make matters even worse - unloaded a huge mob of Axumite refugees who had been booted out of the jungles and scrub of Madagascar. The Afriqans, having done their duty, then sailed away; leaving the Axumites to starve and beg along with the rest of the Ethiopian citizens… a grim and lingering death for them all…

At much the same time, a great deal of Indian wheat, corn and pickled beef arrived via Albanian shipping at Gozer, where it sat, under guard by the government, while the Axumites were eating grass and dirt in their fetid camps outside Mt'Suia.

The Maasai Kingdom(Mbeya in Kimbu)

Sogobu the Cripple, King of the Maasai, Emperor of Ethiopia

Diplomacy No Effect

As the Royal granaries were bulging with southern corn, Sogobu went against all prevailing notions of proper Imperial planning and expanded the cities of Boma, Kisanjani, Mahala and Luba - including public parks, baths and cart turn-lanes. Work also progressed, mostly at the enormously expanded university, on implementing all of the agreements, procedures and recommendations of the Lisbon Accords. Very circumspect missionary work also continued in the Muslim hotbed of the Kongo. Everyone was cautiously pleased the region had not revolted.

Republic of South Afriqa(Great Zimbabwe in Rozwi)

Izinduna, Protector of the Senate and the Republic

Diplomacy No noticeable effect

Railroad construction proceeded apace, with the Republican Corps of Engineers laboring to clear right of way from Matabele to Hwange, while the government-sponsored Sud Afriqan Rail (in association with the Construction and Works branch of the Honorable Afriqa Company) completed a spur line from Darian in Matopos through Banhine and down to the coast at Iusalem in Karanga. A first class passenger could now choke on cinders and sulfur-smoke while being rattled and jarred for twenty-six hours to make a speedy transit from the great port to the capital.

The first rail switching yard in the world was built at Darian, whose white-washed buildings were steadily darkening with soot from passing trains. Missionary work by the ever-more aggressive Afriqan Catholic Church continued in Bandundu, Kasai, Mauritus and Omote. In cooperation with the HAC, a modern, planned, trade-city named Hacseeto was built on the Xhosan coast. Throughout the whole central plains, a number of agricultural innovations (steam powered tractors and wells for one) allowed a substantial expansion of the amount of land under cultivation.

M'Beron, the elderly president of the Republic, having served for thirty years, and having rebuilt a nation once riven by civil war, announced in '51 he would be stepping down to retire. Elections were called for the spring of '52, which resulted (after a somewhat confused campaign - no one had ever considered electing the president before) in the triumph of a brash young Bantu candidate named Izinduna. He took the 'Lion Throne' in the winter of '52 and prepared to lead the Republic to even greater glory in the future. Unfortunately, his first crisis was already at hand - the Mixtecs had embargoed trade with Afriqa and their naval squadrons were vigorously patrolling the West Afriqan sealanes…

Before his departure, however, M'Beron took the time to promulgate an edict setting the bounds of those lands under the sway, protection and influence of the Republic:

The M'beron Doctrine

The Republic has suffered a pair of incidents in recent years that have resulted from foreign incursions into RSA territory. The first incident was a hostile invasion of Madagascar by Ethiopian rebels that required our nation to go to war to recover our territory. These rebels misled Maasai officials into believing the Republic approved their move to Madagascar when in fact we had made no decision on their request. The second incident was far less catastrophic. A trade city was constructed in the virtually uninhabited western region of Ovambo after Mali merchants were led to believe by the handful of locals that the Republic had no claims to the region. Other superior trade arrangements have since been developed that will make the trade city unnecessary, and thus the settlers are expected to be repatriated shortly.

In both cases third parties, rather than this government, were consulted regarding longstanding RSA territorial claims. In an effort to forestall any further incidents of this kind this government wishes to issue a more formal declaration of our territorial claims in Afriqa and the Indian Ocean.

The RSA considers its sovereign territory at this time to include:

• Allregions on the Afriqan mainland south of the Congo River, from the Atlantic ocean in the west to the Maasai border in the east. The New French city of Leutetia is permitted in the region of Herero since the city predates the 2^ndRepublic and New France has otherwise not interfered in the affairs of the Republic.
• Allregions of Madagascar, excepting Sakalava which is recognized as Javan.
• Numerous islands and island chains in the Indian Ocean including, but not limited to, the Comoros, the Seychelles, Mauritius, Zanzibar, and Socotra.
• The enclave of Arungtane in the Khemer region of Kedah.

These claims apply, particularly on the mainland and in Madagascar, whether or not the included regions are populated and whether or not the included regions have a current association with this government.

We consider the territory of Yaralone and the city of Karratha, in Western Australia, to be held by the Republic on behalf of and with the permission of the Borang Bakufu.

The Republic expects other nations to respect our territorial integrity with the same forthrightness that they would expect us to respect theirs, and should expect us to defend ours as they would defend theirs.

M'Beron

President of the Senate

Protector of the Republic

And while the politicians speechified on the mainland, on Madagascar lord Mbeki (commanding the fleet) and General Gmar rooted around in all the controlled provinces, flushing out Axumite stragglers and offering them a 'free ticket' back home to Ethiopian lands. Many thousands, sick of the jungle and falling prey to all manner of diseases and parasites, flooded aboard the fleet for the long journey back north.

While Mbeki was playing cruise director, Gmar and his veterans slapped around the few remaining Hindu tribesmen in Ikopa and Ihozi, demanding tribute and putting up street signs.

The Honorable AfriqaCompany(Iusalem in Karanga)

Numeke Tikumbay, President, Master of the Southern House

Diplomacy Brehmen in Gambia(ma), Chamonix in Charrua(ma), Abas in Fars(mf), Qatar(ma), Rangoon in Pegu(ma), Okisaka in Penong(ma)

While the Company worked feverishly to fulfill a huge number of contracts - at home and abroad - Kaiune himself paid a visit to the domains of the Vastmark, where he contracted some kind of spotted fever and then died in '52, coughing his lungs out in a Brehmeni latrine. His son Numeke did not learn of this for quite some time, as he was gadding about in South Amerika. While the business of opening the enormous market of Great France went slowly, business in the Persian Gulf and points east went well.

Joseph Gotombo and Gabriel Naeem, sadly, were killed in Nur-Ahan on the Somali Sea when their packet boat was attacked by pirates and both were murdered along with the crew.

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"Slumber, watcher, till the spheres,
Six and twenty thousand years
Have revolv'd, and I return
To the spot where now I burn.
Other stars anon shall rise
To the axis of the skies;
Stars that soothe and stars that bless
With a sweet forgetfulness:
Only when my round is o'er
Shall the past disturb thy door."

Kingdom of Tzompanctli(Tzompantlan in Tutchone)

Tizoc, Baron of H-kar-on-the-Plain-of-Bones

Diplomacy Azaton in Kayak(a)

Their meager kingdom reinforced by in an infusion of Aztec and Lencolar gold, the Northerners expanded the cities of Tzompantlan (old H-kar) and Oculinco (in Kaska). With some help from the Sisters, a shining new university was endowed and set specifically to the (very relevant) task of understanding the Ice and all its dreadful effects. Furs, dried fish and whale blubber was sent to the Aztec Empire in tribute.

A large number of Sisterhood nuns and monks arrived in Kayak, where they set about helping the poor and preaching the word of the Revelation of Tepeyac and the unity of the Mother and the Child.

The Nisei Republic(Usonomiya in Yokuts)

Kiyotaka Kuroda, Commander of the Armies of the Republic, Protector of the Emperor of All Japan, daitoryo of the Diet

DiplomacyNone

With the Daitoryo and his staff entirely involved in strategic planning for some global war which only they believed would occur, the Diet took matters into its own hands and saw to the restoration of the cities, provinces and roads of the Republic. The cities of Kanazawa (in Lemhi) and Betai (in Potlach) were resettled, and the abandoned provinces of Potlach, Nicolua and Kalispel recovered. Massive improvements were also made in Nez Perce, Yahuskin and certain government bonds retired. The foresight of the Forestry and Rural Lands service in not sending all possible exports of grain, rice and wheat off to Aztec was proven when a shift in rainfall left the southern "cradle" languishing in a terrible drought.

The High Kingdom of Colorado(Three Crosses in Navajo)

Fredrik Grosse, King of the Ute, High King of Colorado

Diplomacy Jumano/Anhuac(t)

While the king closeted himself in Three Crosses with some "internal matters", and mysterious wagon-trains crawled along the main highways under heavy guard, Admiral Cannell was busy in the Carribean, showing the flag off Kasar and the coast of Colon. After a brief 'friendship' visit to the Nisei settlement at Takari, Cannell and his troops essayed to raid, pillage and subdue the natives of the Colonese forests. Unfortunately for his dreams of glory, Cannell and his columns of infantry wandered aimlessly, found nothing but abandoned huts, and suffered hideously in the tropical heat. The natives attacked by night or surprise, disease ravaged the Coloradan troops and eventually (near dead from malaria) Cannell was forced to withdraw. His return to Corpus Christi was not triumphant.

A vigorous series of raids and arrests were made throughout the Kingdom as the King attempted to stamp out the last of the so-called "infestation" which had lately troubled his councils. A great deal of salt beef, lumber and other raw goods were sent to the Aztecs.

The Ghostdancers(Fushige in Missouri)

Teoclote Azurama, Prince of Fushige, War-Captain of the Ghost People

Diplomacy None specifically

Though peace prevailed on the icy, wind-swept northern plains, Teoclote remained as harsh a warlord as ever. Civil unrest among the youth of Fushige (occasioned by the distribution of some inflammatory leaflets samizdat from a certain Green Book) was vigorously suppressed by the Horse Brothers. To the west, control of the province of Teton was reduced to the most minimal levels (the Nisei were expected to send an army to secure Teton, Okoboji and Dakota, but they did not.)

Arapaho Texas[Shawnee Protectorate](Ayoel in Atakapa)

Kegemai Arroweye, Chieftain of the Arapaho, Liegeman of the Stormdragon

Diplomacy None

While his soldiers battled a series of fires in Ayoel, Arroweye presided over a realm at peace. Efforts began to implement the Lisbon Accords, though the chiefs in charge of the project immediately appropriated the gold and clerks who were supposed to be conducting a census… Prince Speardancer sired another son and Arroweye considered his concubines. A Ghost Dancer army was allowed to visit Kansa and escort away any of the local people who might wish to move north of the river. A considerable number did, though not all.

Closer to home, the Arapaho province of Caddo became Lencolar, which was rather unsettling to Arroweye, though he was pleased to see the hold of the paganistic Buddhists broken there.

The Shawnee Empire(Cahokia in Michigamea)

Valeria Stormdragon, Queen of the Shawnee, Empress of the Iroquois

Diplomacy Taino(t)

"We have allowed the Sisterhood of the Rose to remain in our lands, even though they are not of the Faith. Yet, what do they do? They cause trouble and mischief at the Catholic Council." Valeria looked down upon her ministers from the Throne of Gold with a serenely indomitable expression. "Remove them from Our lands, but do not kill or steal from them. Pack them up and escort them to the border."

Sparked by Shawnee missionary efforts among the Ghostdancer population of Infni in Quapaw (and the mismanagement of the new governor, Rainwalker), a series of religious riots threatened to throw the Catholics out of the city. Unfortunately for the Ghost Dancers, lord-consort Running Bear and Nakos Iron Hand intervened with four thousand Imperial Guardsmen, six thousand hussars and plenty of cannon. The streets of the city were running red with blood before he was done and the insurrection was crushed (though Rainwalker had been strung up on a lamp-post before then). Given that the Bear had just thrown the Sisters of the Rose out of Cahokia and Michigamea at spear and saber-point, he was quickly gaining a fierce Catholic reputation.

Lord Farspear set out to deliver the Empress' respects to prince Lucas of the Iroquois with the 2^ndDragoons and 4^thHussars in tow. Similarly, lord Satewyea took the fleet south to the Aztec-held island of Taino, where (in an odd arrangement) the rural portions of the island were now placed under Shawnee administration while the city of Kusan remained in Aztec hands.

Kingdom of the Iroquois[Shawnee Protectorate] (New Canarsie in Mohawk)

Canassatego, King of the Iroquois Nation, Regent for…

Lucas II Stormdragon, Lord of the East.

DiplomacyPowhattan(a)

The Regent led a sizable army north from Catawba, making a formal procession through the provinces of Chowan, Powhattan and Delaware. After ensconcing the young Emperor in Mohawk, an effort was made to settled pensioned-off soldiers and other persons in Iroquois (making the province a 1w5). Settlement in Mohawk also increased the region to 2 GPv. Missionary work resumed in the wild, troubled mountains of Appalach and Sesquehanna and - for a wonder - found some success among the cannibal tribes and snake-worshippers.

The Order of The Flowering Sun(Tenochtitl n)

Chikietl, Master of the Order, Shield of the Sun against the Ten Thousand Enemies

DiplomacyZapotec(oo), Tula in Otomi(oh), Nahuatl(oh)

The Tlahulli continued to grapple with internal matters - they still needed too much support from the Empire to keep the books balanced and their adherents fed - and the various lords of the order continued to labor in the provinces, seeking more status, more lands, more wealth.

Aztec Viceroyalty of Zacateca(Gorea in Zacatec)

Ilhuicaimina, Viceroy of the North

DiplomacyNone

The common people of Zacateca watched in slowly growing wonder and amazement as the endless streams of wagons and mule-trains continued to clog the roads leading into Gorea and the valleys there around. Under the watchful eye of the Viceroy's soldiers, a truly vast amount of preserved grain, food and necessary items were accumulating in the remote province. In particular, a series of mighty grain silos were beginning to rise against the horizon. And, for the mob, bread was cheap and plentiful.

Unfortunately, the Viceroy was distributing spoiled rye to the bakeries ("why let it go to waste? If it cannot be stored, it can be eaten.") and there were unforeseen side-effects… within six months, a massive outbreak of "holy fire" swept Gorea and the villages nearby, causing miscarriages, insanity, visions, horrible burning sensations in the extremities - every kind of torment and plague. The Zacatecans rioted, burning most of the town to the ground. The Viceroy Ahuitzotol was killed, dragged from his carriage by a maddened crowd, and Lord Ilhuicaimina was forced to restore order by force of arms.

The Aztec Empire of Mexico(Sion in Huave)

Tr konel "The Victorious", Emperor of Mexico, Warrior of Christ, Protector of the Faith, Smiter of the Infidel, Conqueror of the Incans, Rex Britannicus

DiplomacyMitla in Zapotec(f), Achi(f), Cuna(fa)

The voracious hunger of the Empire for agricultural products continued, with shiploads by the job lot coming in from the Ghost Dancers, the Knights of Saint John, Bolivia, Colorado and Great France. Unfortunately for the tablet counters in Sion, the Nisei Republic did not send anything at all, claiming some paltry famine of their own. In turn, large sums of cash were disbursed, and some outright grants bestowed upon the Knights of the Flowering Sun and the Tzompanctli.

Otherwise, the Legions redeployed to their usual duty stations after mopping up in Valdivia and Qito.

The Sisters of the Rose(New Jerusalem in Quiche)

Kelly Davias, Holy Mother of the Lencolar Christian Order

Diplomacy Maya(ca), Valdivia/Qito(ch), De La Roche in Niete(ch), Totonac(ca)

Despite the rising tension between the Catholic clergy and the Sisterhood, Davias and her frugal, hard-working minions continued to tend to the poor, succor the helpless, heal the sick and otherwise do their good works. Missionary work continued apace in Choco, Chimu, Kayak, Asante and Caddo. A school and a hospital were build in war-ravaged Qito.

Mercenaries	Minimum bid listed in [x].
Condotierri	25i, 16c, 11a, 1ea, 1hei [1gp each]
Captains	Joseph d'Sackville (M977) [5gp]
To hire, please contact…	None
Quality Ratings	i15 w17 s18 c12 a12

The Kingdom of Caquetio(New Hiquito in Caquetio)

Pardane Viceno, "The Bold", King of Caquetio

Diplomacy Ponta Grossa in Cumangoto(fa)

The expedition to the far south having concluded in an "inconclusive victory", Pardane summoned Lord Eron and his surviving troops home from Bolivia. While waiting for the "war hero" to return to the welcoming arms of his countrymen, the King took a squadron of freshly-built airships on a tour around the upland provinces. In Guahibo and Tres Lagoas the King brought food to the locals, passed out gifts, posed for quick sketches with school-children and pressed the flesh.

Afterwards, he ventured into the vast darkness of the jungle, spending several months tramping around Yanomamo. While there, some of the local guides took him to a massive, unimaginably ancient city nearly consumed by the jungle, where (at Pardane's behest) his soldiers uncovered and removed a magnificent fresco from a time-lost temple:

Figure 5. Fresco discovered in abandoned Incan city

The next year the king returned to more civilized climes (such as Ponta Grossa in Cumangoto), where he awarded Lord Eron the ducal right to the city (which conveniently meant the old failure was off the payroll and out of the circles of power in New Hiquito).

The Principate of Bolivia(Trischka in Karanga)

Ramon Mascate, Prince of Bolivia, Duke of Trishka

DiplomacyNone

While Ramon stayed home, tending to the affairs of state (and holding a gala celebration for the coming of age of his son Rodrigo, who was proclaimed heir to the state at the brash age of sixteen), Fernando de Vasquez and the mercenary captain Sackville once more sortied south across the mountains into the territories of Great France, intending to raid, pillage and loot to their heart's content…

The Knights of Saint John(New Granada in Acroa)

Humphrey of Toron, Regent for…

Eluterio Gafard de Masa, Grand-Master of the Knights of Saint John

Diplomacy None

Still grappling with severe political problems in Acroa, regent Humphrey did manage (by grace of the Afriqan and Aztec bankers) to keep the Knights afloat. He even managed to muster up a new army to fight the damnable Frenchmen. This force (accompanied by every mercenary the Regent could lay hands on) was placed under the command of Eduardo Garrido and sent south to recapture Arana and the coastal littoral so recently lost.

A veritable troupe of Franciscans arrived in Shucuru to drive out the Lencolar heresy which had taken root there.

At the same time, Humphrey's agents were hard at work in Great France, and the fleet (and another army) under the command of Manuel Bernarda attacked the French outpost of Gueren.

Great France(Versailles in Calchaqui)

Francois de'Saone, Emperor of France, Prince of Varres, Lord of the South, Smiter of the Heretic

Diplomacy Arana(ea)/Montes Claros(t)

Like everyone else in the Amerikas, the merchants of Great France made a tidy profit shipping surplus agro off to the Aztec Empire - which happened to help pay for the various wars and schemes of the Emperor of France. And Francois needed the money, as the normally rickety structure of his sprawling empire was being stressed just by the effort of crushing Bolivian and Knightly armies!

Letters of permission were granted to the Honorable Afriqa Company and the Aeronautical Research and Fabrication companies to operate in ports and towns throughout Great France. The Afriqans responded by opening an office in Chamonix on the Rio de la Plata. And an aerosquadron of ARF zeppelins cruised along the Brasilian coast - ARF offices in Zaragoza and Otoni were visited and upgraded. "Now," Francois wrote to Solyom Pasternak, who commanded the squadron, "where are my zeppelins?"

Still, the old southern bear was not idly provoked (not under such a vigorous young Emperor) and fresh armies were raised to deal with the threat of the Bolivians, while those forces in the east were shuffled about and diplomatic overtures made to the newly independent Aranans - the Emperor did need a wife…

Back in the Imperial capital of Calchaqui, the Knight Quico de Valle managed to escape (with the help of a bribe or few, and the connivance of Knightly agents in the city) from prison, but sadly died on the road back to New Granada, thrown from his horse.

In Gueren, lord Pierre (who was about to set out for Cari to recover a stranded army of hussars) was murdered by agents of the Knights of St. John. This presaged a more general attack by land and sea upon the port of Salamanca. As it happened, two separate battles resulted - one on land, and one at sea.

On land, the Granadan captain Seme de Rada led 10,000 Knights against Captain Hasird and a motely force of 6,000-odd men defending a variety of camps, redoubts and fortified villages. A rather brutal campaign followed, with De Rada failing to break through the rural defenses to get at the city. Indeed, the complete lack of artillery on his part proved particularly deadly and he left most of his army captive, scattered or dead in the wake of his failure. Hasird - no great captain - had the shakes afterwards.

At sea, Bernarda's squadron of 90-odd old-style galleons made a foray down the coast, caught sight of Tcholon's massive armada (nearly three hundred warships of all sizes and types), then fled back north to hide in Cuaiba-port and report "storms" and "poor weather" to the regent.

Inland, the Knight-Commander Garrido had taken to the field in '51 but had not attacked south, while he waited for news from Gueren and "other friends." He received no good news, though reports of a mutiny among the French hussars stranded in Cari did eventually percolate to the north. In '52, having learned of the failure of De Rada and Bernarda, Garrido launched an exploratory attack into Arana.

This did not promise to be a good idea. Countess Angelique of Arana had just made herself Empress of Great France the year previous, and her kinsmen in Montes Claros and the rural baronies were eager to prove their loyalty to Emperor Francois. Further, Garridos' delay in mounting his attack had allowed General De Bussy to arrive from Varres with fresh troops (and let the Emperor spend some time with his wife and the matters of state while the well-regarded De Bussy took to the field).

Garrido's 17,000 Knights collided with De Bussy and his 27,000 Imperials at Pitangui in June of '52. Despite a huge disparity in firepower, Garrido's clever use of old-fashioned artillery spotting balloons managed to eke him out a tactical victory in the face of possible annihilation. Stunned and disordered, the Imperials fell back into Tupi. Unfortunately for Garrido, his army had suffered very heavily in the lopsided exchange.

Within two months, both generals had regrouped their forces and De Bussy slammed north with his full strength. Making good use of his more nimble army, Garrido managed to avoid battle and retreated into Acroa. Now, to the surprise of the Knights, the Imperial army ceased its pursuit and was content to secure Arana once more. So things stood at the end of '52, with Garrido and his mauled, but defiant, army in New Granada, waiting for De Bussy to resume his attack.

Back in the west, '51 had seen the Bolivian raiders swarm down out of the Andes into Omaguaca, wreaking havoc with trade and commerce and the various farmsteads there. The French had, however, deployed a fresh cavalry army to the area - under the able command of the Comte de Tulliers and Baron Atayama - and a see-saw battle of raid and counter-raid ensued between the two mobile forces. As it happened, while the Bolivians were unable to really wreak tremendous havoc, neither could Atayama's gouchos catch them. In '52, faced with mounting Imperial pressure, Sackville and De Vasquez retired back over the mountains into Quillaca. As in the east, the Imperial armies did not pursue.

Extracts from the Treatise on the Heathen Superstitions that today live among the inhabitants of Europe

There exists a cult, created in honor of a Catholic martyr, Ramon Lull. The society is called the "Lullite Cult." In this modern 18^thcentury, the Lullites are focused upon the infiltration of centers of learning. Always keen logicians and capable mathematicians, Lullites have found a welcome haven in the diverse laboratories and manufacturies of the military-industrial world. They continue in their goals of building a "godly" machine that will compile and verify the truths of the Catholic Church. Many cult members stockpile their salaries to further the building of these automata; others carry small slide rules to aid in their understanding of the Calculus. The Lullites have been implicated in the recent Libyan civil war, and are believed to have sided with Carthage only out of long standing spite for the descendents of the Sayyida. All national governments should be warned that investments in the observation of nature, in universities, and even the construction of flying machines ultimately risk spreading Lullite national influence. Such actions risk the potential subversion of their countries by Lullite technologicians. The history of the cult is based in the religious wars of North Africa.

"Doctor Illuminatus", philosopher, poet, and theologian, b. at Valma in Balearics, between 1407 and 1421; d. at Tunisia, 29 June, 1490. Probably a courtier at the court of the Grand-Duke of Aragon (Iberia) until thirty years of age, he then became a hermit and afterwards a tertiary of a Catholic order of militants. From that time onwards he seemed to be inspired with extraordinary zeal for the conversion of the Mohammedan world. To this end he advocated the study of Oriental languages and the refutation of Arabian philosophy, especially that of Averroes. He founded a school for the members of his community in Majorca, where special attention was given to Arabic and Chaldean. Later he taught in Paris.

About 1456 he went to Tunis, preached to the Berbers, disputed with them in philosophy, and after another brief sojourn in Paris, returned to the East as a missionary. After undergoing many hardships and privations he traveled to the Azores in 1466 for the purpose of laying before the Catholic Council his plans for the conversion of the newly formed Lybian Emirate.

Again in 1490 he set out for Tunis, where he was stoned to death by the Lybians. During this time the Lybians were Shi'ite Muslims. By 1510 Papal missionaries, working in no small part from Lull's carefully laid plans, succeeded in converting the heir to the Libyan throne, Mehemen Al-Kwarzhir, to the Catholic religion. A brief civil war followed between father and son in 1513 which left the father dead and the Christians in control of the nation. Ramon Lull, although martyred, was widely credited for the sewing the seeds of this religious conversion. A fervent group of followers to Lull's teachings developed in North Africa. Over the following century and a half Lull's followers, known as Lullites, spread widely throughout Catholic Lybia.

Troubles first began for the newly formed Lullite mystics once Hussite missionaries began to canvas the country. When sentiments turned decisively against the Catholics, the Lullites were forced underground by the Emiress Sayyida in a series of purges. The Catholic Church was finally shown to the borders in 1650 at the command of the Emiress. Despite the efforts of Sayyida to expunge the society, the Lullites thrived. They developed their own rationalistic vision of Christianity, and spread its teachings through 'thought circles' spread throughout North Africa.

The Papal authorities recognized the dangerous consequences which follow from the breaking down of the distinction between natural and supernatural truth. As a consequence they also persecute the Lullite cult. Consequently, in spite of his praiseworthy zeal and his crown of martyrdom, Ramon has not been canonized. All known reproductions of the Ars Generalis Ultima have been destroyed. His rationalistic mysticism was formally condemned by Pius III in 1526 and again by Clement X, his successor. When directly questioned about the existence of Lull and Lullites, Catholic authorities believe silence is the best policy.

The Lullites, always strong believers in the unity between the Catholic religion and scientific knowledge, began developing logical machines as pedagogical tools. These mechanical contrivances showed subjects and predicates of theological propositions arranged in circles, squares, triangles, and other geometrical figures. By moving a lever, turning a crank, or causing a wheel to revolve, the propositions would arrange themselves in the affirmative or negative and thus prove themselves to be true. This device the Lullites called the Ars Generalis Ultima. To the description and explanation of the Ars Generalis Ultima the Lullites have devoted their most important works. Many of these works are written in Chaldean; this was a language beloved of Lull, and it is not easily translated by national authorities.

Aztec Empire of Mexico	Tenochtitlan Teocali	2,026	40%
Chan Mongol Empire	Uncle Wu's	589	40%
Free Republic of Ethiopia	Funj Gold Reserves	761	40%
Kingdom of Maasai	M'Beya House of Credit	1,193	20%
The Nisei Republic	New Yedo Matsuma Bank	750	40%
Republic of Spain	Aztlan Mercantile Credit	269	25%
The Republic of Spain	Banque du Galway	755	40%
Swedish-Russia	BUX	766	40%
Ayuthia Thai Empire	Angkor Fat Bank	23	40%
Kingdom of Java	Sunny Sunda Savings	907	40%

(end of p:\lords\lords01\l1_t211.doc)