Main | Newsfaxes

GM NOTES TURN 10

If something happens you do not understand email me I keep very good turn-by-turn notes and I can probably tell you why something happened. 

Turn Sheets to you:  Please check your stat sheets when you get them rather than at the last minute.  Yes I realize they should be perfect but sometimes it doesn’t happen that way.   If you check ahead of time it give time for things to get fixed rather than being in a rush.

SE’s and Hordes:   Be warned …… They can start popping now.   I will say this about both, I do not expect that I will have an overly active Horde world, things seem to be active without there being one Horde active at all times.  I am not inclined to have freaky SE’s but historical ones yes.  I will set SE goals be warned. 

Don’t Forget  (I know this is hard to get used to) You can contact NPN’s and they just might be helpful.  NPN’s like making deals especially when it nets them money.    

Islands & Colonization and Building Cities:  You must colonize an island to zero before building a city on it.  This represents the very basic regional infrastructure necessary to assist the city in functioning.

1040 - 1044:  Death of the Great Empires

Mercenary Pool: 

If a leader is listed you must hire the leader and his troops, leaders minimum is 5GP plus the minimum of .5gp for regular and 1gp for elite troops unit. 

Africa:

Tomba Jungle tribe is bursting at the seams and may very soon seek to escape the poverty and high humidity of the jungle regions they dominate.

Shia:  Jerusalem +1 CL

The Shia keep doing what they have been doing improving the size of Jerusalem.  The Shia population within the city of Jerusalem is about 60%.  There have been no problems though and for that everyone is thankful.

Egypt:  Construction of the Great Library complete, +1CL Alexandria

The Great Library of Alexandria is complete and all Islamic nations are invited to join in the festivities of the opening in 1050.   The primary concern of the blossoming Fatimid regime is to keep the Empire intact and the king is doing a fine job of that.  The military is very strong, the economy continues to grow and the people seem to be happy.  Levant is suddenly abuzz with activity, as the Fatimid King has decided to take interest in what the Shia church is doing there.  Many heavily armored troops are sent to Jerusalem to make sure nothing bad happens.  News came to the court of the marriage of the Caliph of Algeria’s daughter to the heir of the Moroccan throne.  There was the tone of concern in the messengers voice when the correspondence was delivered.  The Algerians are Sunni and there have long been concerns over the relations between Sunni Algeria and Shia Egypt.

Ghana: 

The Lands of Ghana remain peaceful but the King continues to expand his military and build defenses.  It is very important to be prepared in these tumultuous times.   

Morocco:   Road to Oran, Fez +1CL

The road to Oran was completed.  Fez was now connected to both the sea and the ocean.   Their economy also continues to improve.  In an additional important note the heir to the Moroccan throne Selik married the daughter of the Caliph of Algeria, which links these to regimes.   No one is sure what the ramifications will be time will only tell. 

Sunni Church: 

Huge amounts of expansion throughout Cordoba.

Algeria:   Bone – Port City Cheliff

Peaceful growth continues, some defensive structures erected.

Tunisia:  +1CL Mahida

Continuing to develop both defensively and economically.  

Hausa:  PLAGUE!

Nearly the entire royal family and all of the national leaders perished in a nasty outbreak of the plague.  The capital also suffered greatly as social services in the capital were marginal at best.  It was a tragedy of large proportions.  If there was a bright side to be found here a Prince survived and his two young nephews did as well so the royal family was still intact.

Kanem:  Daza Cultivated

Lots of people sitting around so Daza was cultivated.

Zagwe:    Port City of Omdurman built in Alwa, Ethiopia SFA

Mera II was every bit as effective as her mother when it came to running a country.  Mera ordered that all resources be devoted to securing the Highlands for Zagwe.  She did not have expectations of the lands merging with hers but Mera II did believe that if presented with the right inducement that becoming a vassal would certainly be a possibility.  With Solomon in charge just about anything was a possibility.  Solomon and a whole entourage of Zagwean leadership traveled to Dedre in the province of Shoa to meet with the leadership of that realm.  The Ethiopians had rarely been hostile to the people of Zagwe but they had also not been terribly close either.  Solomon, Aldlan, Azmera and Kidanu all participated in this effort.  The Ethiopians liked the plan presented to them in principle but had a couple of concerns so messages were sent back to Soba and the queen signed off on the sticking points in the negotiations and then the agreement was struck.  Ethiopia joined with Zagwe as a vassal.

Coptics: 

The Archbishop finally passed on after a very long and glorious life serving God and bringing religion to the heathens.   Probably the two greatest accomplishments of the church under Mitsoutakis’s reign were stopping a civil war from spreading when the Zagwe government collapsed and the spreading of the church throughout the region of the southern Nile.  The Coptic Church since its dismemberment by the Moslems had not been organized and viable, Mitsoutakis changed all of that and for that the Coptic world can be thankful.  Probably the crowning moment though was the foundation of New Alexandria.  Alexandria the one time Holy City for the Coptic religion was now just a fading yet bitter memory, possibly the establishment of New Alexandria can wash away the disappointment of the past. 

Ethiopia: 

Became a Vassal of Zagwe

Kilwa: Malindi +1CL

Durning the exploration of the Olduvai Gorge Kilwa explorers discovered some diamond deposits.  This caused a great influx of settlers into Malindi as it was the closest city to the discovery.  In the Capital the Heir, Nikkwendo, managed to convert some of the Sunni locals to paganism.  There were some discussions on whether Paganism was actually becoming an organized religion or not.  On a separate note the people of Zanzibar were granted semi-autonomy, which made it so the Kilwa now had another trade partner and that was a good thing. 

Island Kingdom of Zanzibar:

Celebrations of independence occurred as this nation became an entity separate from Ceylon.  Though they would be tithe payers this new independence was welcome.  The Lord of Zanzibar sailed off south and discovered the fledgling kingdom of Betisismarka.

Island Kingdom of Betisismarka: 

Hey look we exist!  Betisismarka has actually has existed for a little while now but no one had found it yet. 

Zimbabwe:  Bassa (F)

The people of Zimbabwe mourn the passing of their King. For many years he was a King that could be respected, and despite his ways was born of a bloodline with vision. He was a leader of his warriors who could drink, hunt and eat with the best of his men. He had raised two young bulls to protect his herd. They loved their Prince Kimbuson, may he be a good King, he had convinced the Matopos to join the Kingdom and now the spices and pelts from the South so rarely seen before had begun to arrive in quantities. 

 The continued expansion of grazing and cropping lands allowed almost everyone to own a few cattle; no longer did you have to be a chief of a tribe to own an Ibex pelt. Mgwengo & the Sky Mother truly seem to be smiling upon the Kingdom.

 As the herds continue to expand many spoke of how much easier it was to have a little more than their fathers and grand-fathers; whilst the same fathers and grand-fathers worried and were heard to complain about how their children born of the Kings or local kraals were becoming soft and eating more of grains and fruits than meat and mead, how they never showed proper respect, not like in the old days when they were lads – they had respected their elders; how the young had it so good and not hard like it used to be, when the Lion prides were bigger and more common. No work ethic anymore, lazing around reading books at that “University” what good would “Engineers” ever do the Kingdom? Sure they had worked out how to make an easy path to Bassa, but so what – who wanted to go to Bassa anyway. What had Bassa ever done for the Kingdom? Just more mouths to feed and they speak funny over there. As for Matopos; well, nice looking lass the King had bought back, maybe a thing or two worth keeping and they were helping protect the merchants getting into the Zulu city called “muck muck” or some silly name; OK they were bringing back that nice spice that makes the meat a bit more interesting; but they still speak funny there. Definitely no work or killing ethic in the kids of today.

Kimbuson paid proper homage to his father and then got to work perpetuating his father’s vision.  Steady investment into the nation will continue to make the Kingdom of Zimbabwe a growing nation.  

Zulu Nation:  Sharik CL +1

Very quiet in the lands of the Zulu as they mind their own business.

Europe: All Hail Pietro Emperor of Italy!

Queen Elizabeth of Germany declared her Empire should be split in two.  Pietro would rule over the Southern HRE, Kingdom of Italy, and Elizabeth would rule over the Northern HRE, Kingdom of Germany and territories.  The split now gave control of all of Italy but Apulia, held by Carinthia, to Pietro II.  Pietro would now be responsible for the activities of the HRE in the Meditertanean and Elizabeth and her successors would be responsible for the lands of the north.  There has been some talk about a marriage between the two houses to seal this arrangement but nothing is yet forthcoming.  The Pope will have to formally give his blessing to this arrangement as well.

Pope found Dead!  Pope Gregory was found dead in a common area of the Vatican early the morning of September 4, 1046.  Gregory was old and so his death is not a terrible surprise since he had seen seventy Easters come and go but there were some suspicious circumstances involved and a further investigation may be warranted.  The interim administrators sent a letter to the Queen of Germany asking her to send William Von Ryan down to investigate.

Bolgars:  Ural’s Gem built

The Seljuk’s referred to the Bolgar capital as the Ural’s gem because of its valuable trade goods.  With all the influx of slaves and stolen goods the Bolgar King built a city in remembrance of the many years the Seljuk’s spent in the country. 

Kiev:  Sudzal (T), Cuman (NE), Belarus (T), Murom (T)

The death toll on the male heirs in Kiev is getting pretty brutal.  Vlad II died in a duel in Sudzal over some Boyars daughter.  Apparently the Pagan chieftain Grudznik led the Kostroma barbarians and he had little liking for the Rus and less liking for the Orthodox religion.  Bishop Gerard was killed in a squabble with locals of the virtues of the Orthodox religion in Kostoma.  Yaroslav running out of sons elevated two of his daughters to offices of importance.  Katrina and Serena were immediately sent off to the savage lands of Murom were the somehow managed to get them to agree to a tributary arrangement.  Overall there was a great deal of diplomacy conducted and some of it was beneficial.  The end of the cycle saw Yaroslav celebrate his 71^st birthday with his children and family members.

Novgorod:   Port City of Vitsyebsk

The Kingdom of Novgorod continues to add cities to its nation.  This devotion to urbanization it is hoped will eventually pay off as more people move into and around the cities and start supporting thriving communities.

Galica:  CL +1 Galich

The Path to a cultivated province is loaded with difficulty so the cities in the lands of Galich continue to grow in size.

Celtic Church:  

The Patriarch rested due to the strains put on him because of the Welsh/English War.

England:  Gwynned and Caernaveron (F), Dyffed (PT), Cornwall (PT)

The English embraced the caste society with vigor as they subjugated the Homeland and capital of the Welsh.  Athelstan once again proved that he was not to be trusted as he subjugated the Welsh of the countryside even though they had not resisted his occupation.  It was a very black day for Wales as many in the home province were turned into serfs for the landed gentry.  Many fled to Lancashire and Dyffed to get away from the English oppression.  

Athelstan had one more problem to resolve before he could rest.  He had to crush Lord Hastings on the fields of Cornwall.  This held a great deal of importance, Athelstan’s eldest son needed to be avenged, Wales needed to be crushed and Hastings who had lead the uprising in Mercia was a traitor to the king and had to be stopped.  Thandleton and his 2000 marines occupied Gwynned and made sure that the populace was appropriately subdued while Athelstan headed south

Alfred heir to the throne of England moved out of Sussex with a contingent of newly conscripted troops and into Wessex.  Much to his surprise shortly after his arrival a large contingent of mercenaries passed through Wessex heading south into Cornwall.  Apparently the Welsh had hired a contingent of nearly 4000 mixed mercenaries to aid them in their battle against Athelstan.  Alfred decided to let the army pass as opposed to fighting them since they were not headed to Sussex.  Alfred waited for his father to arrive, which happened not long after the mercenary force passed through.

Athelstan picked up some extra troops from his son and headed into Cornwall toward the end of 1045.

Early 1046 Hastings had gathered his host in the Blackdown Hills east of Tiverton.  The supply train was kept in Tiverton a few strong points had been built in the pass that ran from Tiverton to Wellington through the Blackdown Hills.  Hastings and Glen Finnan held the Mercenary forces in the center along with some Welsh Infantry.  The light troops held the flanks on the hills.   The Mercenary Cavalry was somewhere.  Hastings had around 6000 men and 3 fortified positions. 

Athelstan had a pretty good idea what was going on but there were little options for him to avoid the prepared defender.  He did have the numbers and the engineers to remove the troublesome defensive positions.    Eighty-six hundred men were under Athelstan command with Solomon Kane as his second.  Solomon while not remotely capable of guiding troops was quite the morale booster and that is what Athelstan needed, someone to rally troops that might be fleeing the field. 

May 6^th 1046:  Battle of Tiverton (battles always get named after the nearest city) 

Athelstan cavalry was dying to see some action.  Sitting outside of Welsh cities and doing nothing was more of an annoyance than any horseman could stand.  Athelstan decided to let them have their day.  Dawn broke and the armies rolled out, the Cavalry loaded up in the center raring to go.  The Welsh and the Mercenaries braced for impact on the other side of the field.  Athelstan had his infantry line up behind the cavalry so once the melee began, if the mercs and the Welsh did not break, the footmen could fill the holes.   CHARGE!   On they came the Welsh and Mercenary missile complement on the flanking hills peppered them something terrible as they roared down the gap, the Infantry defenders planted their spears and assorted other pole arms and prepared for the worst.   It was a horrible impact as the infantry lines buckled under the sheer weight of 3200 Heavy and Light Lancers, Athelstan had not sent in the royal guard.    The mercenaries and the Welsh infantry did not disintegrate under the pressure though.  Hastings exhorted his men to fight the good fight and he threw in every swordsman he had and the line held.  Shortly there after the English cavalry withdrew badly bloodied. 

Athelstan was unrelenting, his foot soldiers waded into the action they had also received some harrying fire on approach but they gave as good as they got.  The 600 Tower Guard Swordsmen and 2000 regular swordsmen hit the now tired and beat up Welsh and mercenary infantry head on.  Hastings ordered in his cavalry reserve to try to cut in on the English infantries flanks and he moved his light horse out in the open to act as a screening force in case the English cavalry recovered.   Now the English regulars were a bit confused, they were wavering a bit and Athelstan knew it so he threw in his 400 Knights to smash his enemy into little pieces.  It was very scary for everyone involved but more so for the Welsh and their allies.  The knights collided with the Mercenary cavalry and shattered them then they entered the ground fray.  This at times could be dangerous for knights but the Royal Guard fared well and by nightfall the Welsh were withdrawing down past Tiverton and toward Cornwall proper.

Athelstan victory was not a smashing success but it would have to do.  The Welsh screened themselves fairly well so the English had little luck on pursuit.  Cavalry didn’t operate well in the wilderness regions so this was not a big surprise. 

In July Athelstan’s pursuit of the Welsh ended in Penzance.   The remaining Welsh and Mercenaries surrendered the English rebels though not great in number had blended into the countryside as had some of their Welsh counterparts once they reached Cornwall.  Hastings and the Welsh prince had fled.  The Welsh Prince went across the bay to Dyffed it is uncertain were Hastings ended up, though rumor has it he grabbed a fishing vessel and fled to France.  Athelstan allowed the Mercenaries to return to Europe and the Welsh got carted off somewhere.      

Athelstan continued his subjugation of Wales by conquering the last bastion of Welshdom in 1047, Dyffed.  The important people of Wales had pulled out and there was a small exodus of Welsh people in fishing boats and other watercraft to Ireland.  The French arrived in Lancashire and pick up every dog, cat, pig, cow and Welshman and cart them off to Poitou where they were resettled.  The locals were not terribly upset about this because the Welsh actually brought money to pay for their resettlement and that made everyone happy.

Athelstan placed garrisons in various places and then returned home to his wife; he barely remembered what she looked like after nearly 15 years of being away from London.  The people in London were very happy to see their conquering hero return home, Athelstan the Conqueror!

Wales:

Huge amount of unrest in the province with Welshmen in them as the English ousted the Welsh from their former capital and homeland.  This was an insult that would make the Welsh fight that much harder to resist the English in the remaining provinces.              

Ireland: Trondheim (Claim)

Waiting with baited breath for something bad to happen, nothing did.  Economic development was in vogue as the Irish economy was strengthened yet again.  One of the Ryn boys, Patrick was sent to Trondhiem to persuade them to like the Irish.  He overcame their primitive language and their foul manners enough to lay claim to their lands.  It was regrettable that no gifts were sent, Patrick was sure he would have made more progress had he just brought gifts. 

Norway:  Adger (A), Iceland (T)

The Queen kept up the diplomatic pressure on Adger and Iceland.  Heir Elric Ingasen was able to manipulate the locals in Adger once the crotchety Thor Adgerson died of old age.  In Iceland Jaga Halsen had some nominal success; they agreed to pay tribute to their Nordic brothers.  Jaga did relay a message to the Queen from the Icelandic Locals.

Queen of Norway, Inga

If you would like to further relations with our land we cannot to strongly suggest that you build a small port town on the island.  Both Iceland and Norway would benefit from such and activity.

Respectfully,

Sven Laugersen

Troops were positioned in the country to throw off any potential intrusion but none came.  At the end of 1049 the good Queen Inga died from the flu or complications there of.  Inga really was a good queen even if she did betray her father at a young age so that she could gain control of all of Sweden and Norway for herself, and her husband of course.  Her rise to power did assist in the death of Denmark, and the rise of a fairly powerful Scandinavian state that should be strong for many years to come.  Elric took the throne unopposed.

Scotland:  Edinburg +1 CL, Port City Aberdeen in the Highlands

At 78 Harwulf the Ravager sailed off into the sunset on a burning longship and some of his most prized possessions.  Harwulf was a force to be reckoned with in his days.  A cast of a losing faction in a war with Denmark, which lead to the Danes short-lived control over Norway.  Harwulf gathered his men and settled in the lands no one wanted.  The Isles north of Scotland.  Eventually the Orkney Vikings as they became called would begin closing ranks with the Scots so the could fend of Danish encroachment.  Harwulf oversaw the expansion of trade all the way to the lands of Byzantium and beyond.  On the exploration front the seas to far northern Russia are known to the Scots/Orkney.  In the closing years of his life the full intergration of the Orkney and Scot societies completed decades of work.

Harwulf hatched an ingenious plan before his departure from the lands of the living.  He sent Sven and Olaf on the very long journey to the lands of Greece.  They landed in Athens but rather than initiating trade they immediately began a diplomatic assault on the region.  They soon found out the region was still very loyal to the King of the Greeks and in fact had rejoined his kingdom as soon as the Greek kings troops had landed.  Disheartened Sven and Olaf decided that if they couldn’t steal the province away that they would at least set up some trade.  Trade with Serbia, Greece and Trebizond were all established.  Now all the Scots have to do is expand the port city of Glencoe and everyone will be happy.

Poland:   Pomerania (EA)

King Krzystof died of old age in 1050.  The God fearing Krzystof would be renown for the founding of Lithuania first and foremost.  He would be well regarded for his handling of relations with the Rus; where war was narrowly averted, as well as maintaining tight relations with Poland’s Catholic brothers to the south, Hungary, and west, HRE.  Securing the vassalship of the Baltic Trade Coalition was a feather in Kryzstof’s cap as well that might someday prove to be quite a boon. 

Marek conducted diplomacy in Pomerainia and was somewhat successful, certainly better than last cycle.  Krzystof “the Younger” managed to produce two healthy children.  It was quite a pleasure to have the next in the royal line in the house.  Lastly missionary work continued and was completed in Danzig.  

Pagan Kingdom of Lithuania: 

They wait patiently and worship their pagan gods.  The praise the King of the Poles, Krzystof, and celebrate their nations creation every December.

Baltic Trade Coalition:  Visby +1CL

Visby grew and some of the infrastructure issues in the city of Visby were also addressed.  There was much tension in the land as many of the lands magistrates were suggesting that being separate from Poland would be more beneficial to the Kingdom.  Nothing came of this though.

HRE: 

Lots of Troops, Defensive positions and economic development.  Preparations made for the possibility of a horde intrussion or moves by other enemies of the German Empire.

Henrietta and Constance were shipped off to the nunnery, Henrietta shall never emerge but Constance immediately moves up through the ranks to attain some level of importance.  Matilda the eldest of Elizabeth’s children joined the ranks of the Witchhunters.

Von Ryan was sent to Italy to assist in the Papal situation “see Pope”

In 1049 Von Ryan returned from Italy and was immediately rushed to Bavaria were there was some sort of disturbance.  Looks like much of next cycle will be spent in this area, as it seems that the astute Conrad discovered some oddities in the city of Salzburg that might need to be looked into.

Fredrik of Lorraine dies in 1049 at the age of fifty.  A good life with lots of children was his legacy.  His wife ruled the kingdom for the most part but he commanded great armies and that was a great pleasure for Fredrik.  He will long be known as Fredrik the Unifier as it was his marriage to Elizabeth that brought the powerful realm of Lorraine into the fold fully for Germany.

Carinthia: 

Much better off than a turn ago the Carinthians are thankful the Tuscan ruler and her majesty has allowed them the bounty of Apulia.  Troops are handed off to the appropriate German dignitary that visits.  Primarily the Apulians sit and wait.  They are radically better off economically but some things just take time so they wait patiently for their economy to reach effective levels.

Bohemia:

Continued economic improvement.  The 82-year-old Charles of Moravia died leaving a legacy of strong support for the Ducal power in Bohemia.  Charles departure made diplomacy between Bavaria and Bohemia possible, Charles had no love for the Bavarians and thus had always been an obstacle to closer relations.

Bavaria:  +1CL Salzburg, RR Norgau to Bavaria

The Duke of Bavaria continues to improve the welfare of his nation.  The Duke traveled to Bohemia to discuss the topic of relations between the two states.  What came of these discussions is unknown but a political marriage was one of the results.  The daughter of the Duke of Bohemia is to be married to the son of the Duke of Bavaria in a glorious wedding in the upcoming cycle.

Tuscany: 

Organizing his holdings and distributing garrisons was Pietro’s primary activity.  Nothing else really happened.  Pietro did have preparations in place in case something bad happened but nothing did.  Pietro did promote his daughter Athena and sent her to Naples to do a little studying at the University there.  She was well versed in the city by the time she returned home.

Mercenary League:  Purchased Sardinia, +1CL Porto Buliceli, Port City Carales in Sardinia

The mercenary league was saddened to see the wars of oppression……errr unification were coming to an end.  What was a poor mercenary to do?  Well first thing they did was expand their realm ever so slightly by adding Sardinia.  They then built another Port City, this one on the island of Sardinia.  They then increased the size of  Porto Buliceli.  All this expansion exhausted essentially the accumulated manpower that the Mercenary League had.  Large investment in urban development in Sardinia along with diplomacy, helped pull Sardinia fully into the fold for the Mercenary League.

Aquitaine:  “See France”

Gascony:  Gascony cultivated

Gerard and his brother die in this cycle but the family is strong and Gerard II’s son takes over and promotes his younger twin brothers to positions of responsibility.  The big news was the completed cultivation of Gascony.  This caused quite a stir among the populous.  This was a very important feat for a small country to cultivate their home province and Gascony now could reap a much greater reward from their home province.

Portuguese Commander known only as the Salamancan Lord turned up in the countryside of Catalonia.  Apparently there has been a disturbance, in a coastal village that is predominantly Muslim, when the local constables moved into clean up the problem the Salamancan Lord was captured.  The 76-year-old Salamancan Lord apparently had gotten into a dispute with some locals over religious or political issues and a very large brawl ensued.  The Salamanca lord was being held in custody until Lord Gerard could decide what to do; he died shortly after his arrest.

France:  Paris & Rouen +1 CL, Fortress constructed in Lyonnais

King Henri dies very early in 1045.  His life racked with personal tragedies he still held France together and carried on his fathers legacy though he will never probably receive the credit or respect he deserves due to being overshadowed by the powerful Robert of Normandy after his fathers death.  The disappearance of Henri’s first wife while well into pregnancy was and still is a great mystery.  His marriage to Anne of Aquitaine, noble Aquitaine family not a direct member of Henri of the Kingdom of Aquitaine’s family, was always scrutinized because no one, except the GM, knew what happened to his first wife.  He never managed to sire a son, which may have been a blessing because Henri’s father had promised Robert of Normandy’s son the throne when Normandy joined France.  Henri through all of this did not shirk his responsibilities to defending his kingdom or improving the livelihoods of the nobility and that is a credit to him.

Robert II King of France and Duke of Normandy assumed the throne on a bitter February morning shortly after Henri was laid to rest.  The Bishop of Lyon preformed the ceremony in the Cathedral of Paris to anoint Robert the II as King.  Shortly thereafter the king started issuing orders.  He sent his son Michael along with the Bishop of Lyon and the politically capable Francois to Anjou.   Arrangements had already been made for a political marriage and so it was matter of making the most of this event politically.  Robert wanted the lands of Aquitaine to become part of his and if he only had to contend with Henri of Aquitaine that would have happened.  Unfortunately a couple of things happened that derailed this event from becoming as fruitful as it could have been.  Henri’s daughter Martinique did not warm to Michael as well as everyone had hoped.  Michael while a brilliant speaker had a tendency toward yesterday’s fashions and couldn’t dance very well either, he was not overly physical either.  The other problem was the lords from the southern three provinces.  They seemed to enjoy their bit of freedom out from under the French crowns yolk and were not eager to jump back into bed with the new king who was a Norman.  It should be noted that Henri Duke of Aquitaine is very supportive of greatly improved relations with France he just has some dissenters in his court.  Through all of the turmoil that occurs over the years between 1045 and 1049 an agreement is struck and the wedding bells ring and the Bishop of Lyon presides over the ceremony and everyone is happy.  Even the bride seems to have gotten used to the idea of marrying the possible future King of France.

Outside of the comings and goings in Aquitaine, Robert II like his predecessors continued along the balanced growth path.  A good amount of effort continued to be devoted to the defense of the realm but the development of the economy was also considered a priority as well. 

Leon:  Santiago +1CL

Continued work on Santiago as it is rebuilt and improved.  King Francis dies of old age in his late 60’s.  Francis II takes control of the throne and kingdom supported by his uncle Thomas.  No one questions Thomas’s suthority and so there are no issues.  The Kingdom of Leon is prospering with the peace in Spain and there is hope in Leon that this time of peace will be perpetuated for many more years to come. 

Cordoba: 

Huge amount of Economic Development

Hungary: 

The Hungarian royal family prides it self on it roots to the tribes of the past.  Nowhere is this more apparent than when you look at the stable of children that they possess.  The King, Andrew, and the heir, Stephen II, both added 4 children this cycle and there is close to 10 kids in the family ranging from early 30’s to 1.  Any European nation who has a surplus prince might call on the Hungarian court.  The only other news of note was the addition of many Knights to the army newly graduating from the Knight school in Pecs.  

Serbia:  Thessaly (P), Port City of Split built in Thessaly

Many paths out of Serbia were started in hopes of giving the better control of his domain.  The intervening mountains were playing havoc with the lines of communications in the winter months and some resolution had to be found, postal roads seemed to be it.

Dragomir and Sker moved against the forces of Constantine in Thessaly and caught them by surprise as they sat in encampments wondering what to do.   Constantine, known in some circles as being a poor military leader, apparently was poorly prepared for the onslaught and his forces were decimated and he fled.  Rumors circulated some months later that his personal bodyguard had killed him, which would have been very Romanesque.  Lord Sker also died in the fighting but Dragomir took over the Serbian Army of Greece with out any problems and maintained the peace while the city of Split was constructed in Thessaly. 

Prince Mikhail and the venerable Draz escorted Princess Anna Sylvia to Constantinople for the royal wedding that would seal the two kingdoms together, assuming that the pair had children and one of those children assumed the throne of course.  It was thought there would be a very glorious ceremony with much pomp and circumstance.  Anna and her escorts were disappointed by the lack of luster involved in the event.  The Serbs were pleased regardless of the lack of staging the Serbs were very pleased that they had put themselves in position to be the darling of the Balkans no usurping the Serbs who had recently managed to secure Valentin’s favor.

In the rest of the country there was nothing-special going on.  Those nasty Catholics had sated their hunger on the Kingdom of Naples so it was not likely there would be any trouble out of them for a while.  Least that was Gortan was hoping since all the turmoil in the Byzantine Empire was very stressful.

Montenegro:   Malta (F)

Montenegro pleased that they were not going to have to fight the Greeks ran diplomatic actions Malta this cycle and was very successful.  Money, women and lots of sweat lead to the result the Montenegrins were hoping to see.  King Voislav declared this a great victory and immediately poured a bunch of troops and money into the province.  The Maltese were very happy they had decided to join the Kingdom of Montenegro once the cash started rolling in.

R.C. Pope:  MN Venice

Besides the obvious trauma in the Europe Section of the Newsfax the Papacy suffered another setback in Naples as well.  Emanuel LaCoursiere fresh off the establishing of a church in Porto Buliceli journeyed to Naples where he had grand plans.  His eye were set on the Piazza del Plebiscito this “cathedral” was very Pagan in design with it’s Iconic columns but it was also very Roman and it would be quite a feather in LaCousiere’s hat if he could secure it.  He approached the task with nervous confidence and as he made his pitch to the religious authorities of Naples the saw his fear.  They decided they were going to have nothing to do with the handing over of Orthodox properties to the emissary of evil, which would be the Pope in this case.  Emanuel got chased out of town.  Carl of Poland was in Naples attempting to sway folks to the Catholic way of life and while he was not overly successful, language was a problem; he didn’t get chased out of town.

On other fronts small facilities were built in various locations and Missionary works were conducted throughout Italy.  Oh and some bratty German kids showed up to take up religious duties they were relegated to menial tasks.

William Von Ryan arrived in 1047 several months after the Pope’s death.   William’s trip was not without incident.  It took a good deal of convincing to persuade the some of the Kingdom of Italy’s Lords and Magistrates that they still had to allow HRE troops into the country.  Six hundred black caped fighters with longswords and short bows probably wouldn’t be a threat to national security though so after some haggling Von Ryan and his troops were allowed to pass.

Arrived in Rome October 1047 on a sunny fall day, I see why father said he wished he had born in Italy it is very nice even in the fall.  After conferring with several dignitaries and getting settled in work was begun on the problem at hand.  I ordered my men to circulate around the city and see if they could find out anything, there were some language issues of course but my men knew how to navigate around such problems in a pinch.  After some initial investigating of the location of the Pope’s death and the residue from his drinking cup and the pot of tea he had been served from.  The pot was pretty foul so that was just disposed of. 

November 1047:  Should have brought my boys and wife down to Italy they would have enjoyed it.  I will send for them because I suspect I will be here for a little while.

 December, January  & February 1047 Some rest and relaxation.

March 1047:  Many interviews have been conducted over the winter notes taken and a great deal of research has been done.  You would be amazed at the things that can be found in the secret libraries of the Vatican. 

April 1047:  Finally some progress.  It seems like there is an element within the Papacy that would like there to be an absolute division between the Orthodox and Catholic followings.  Pope Gregory because he was really too old to travel had been investigating this.  It appears he had been a little too successful.  I have not been able to find the ringleader of the dissenters though.  If father were here he would have these monks and bishops cowering.    

May 1047:  It appears that a father Santipolo had something to do with the events that transpired.  He has been carted off to the dungeon for some torture.  Hopefully we will be able to get something out of him

June 1047:  After a month of torturing people I have determined that there was no “cultic’ activity.  It appears that a group of bishops got together and were trying to work behind the scenes to get the Pope to excommunicate the Patriarch in Constantinople.  There seems to be a concern among the religious faithful about the fact that many consider the churches of Constantinople and Rome as to be essentially the same.  It is painfully obvious that one of the Bishops here probably Santipolo killed Gregory because Pope Gregory found out about the group and would not agree to support them.   With my work done I am going to do a little more research before returning to Germany.   “See Germany”

Branist:  

The Branist expanded in areas they were very strong in, Northern Italy and Southern France.   They also continued to improve the infrastructure of their Holy City, Provence.  The positive activities of the Branist in the south of France were gaining them a great deal of prominence among the French people.  The French in Gascony, Aquitaine and the former Burgundian provinces were really warming to the idea of having the Branist around.    After some consultations with the King of France the venerable Bran Jacobson announced that no troops would be allowed to enter the lands of Provence except French troops.   All violators will be met with force.  While the French King had hoped for a little more comprehensive protection of his lands at least he could now rest easy knowing nothing harmful would probably happen to his major trade port in the south.

Greece:   Cyprus (F)

In a masterstroke action the Greeks sent just about everyone to Cyprus on a diplomatic junket and it worked.  Faistos is still pacified but with the outbreak of peace in the “Empire” the Cypriots in the countryside saw the virtue of the Greek message and decided to join in the prosperous relationship with them.  The Greek King traveled with troops to Athens, Attica and Morea.  He ran into a fine pair of Scottish gentlemen on his travels and assured them that they could be expecting fine Greek product arriving in Glencoe by the end of the cycle.  The Greeks decided not to press any claims to other traditional Greek territories and the even forgave the Montenegrins for Rhodes after some financial compensation was said to be forthcoming from the small kingdom. 

Patriarch:   

The Bulgarians did not want to vacate the lands of Macedonia.  They had longed as a nation for access to the Aegean and now they had it.  Unfortunately the Byzantines were greedy pigs and had to have it for “strategic” purposes and so a fight was brewing.  The Patriarch of Constantinople, having already seen the repercussions of the wars and other activities on his church, stepped in wisely and averted this conflict.  A great offer was made to the Bulgarians and they wisely accepted.  The first phase of this offer bore fruit immediately as the Patriarch made sure the province of Dobruja was cultivated.  In other parts of the Orthodox sphere of influence a great many public works were built to aid the constituents that might be feeling somewhat betrayed by last cycles actions recover.  The Patriarch explained his actions quite simply as he was doing what he though was best for his people and the religion.  How many actually bought this explanation it is hard to say but no one caused any trouble so it is safe to say the dark cloud may have at least lifted somewhat.

Tithing was established to all the Orthodox microstates that had sprung up and that went well.  The Archbishop of Kiev and the Rus ruler are in need of a conference to discuss tithing on Vassals.  The Patriarch is not currently reaping any benefit from the vassal states because they pay their tithe to the Ruler of the realm.

Many of the old men of the church perished of old age or bouts with disease during this cycle so yet another batch of new blood filled the ranks.  Michael, brother to Emperor Jovian, became the Patriarch winning his battle against the fanatical orthodox faction that was running the church.  The Bulgars sent a Prince with enough ability to be useful to the Patriarch so after some training and education he was added to the rolls of the clergy. 

In the Crimea the Patriarch had sent his missionaries, he was determined to snuff out the heretics immediately.  Arriving in Kherson the Acolytes of the Hagia Sofia set up shop.  These men had instructions to rid the province of the foulness of this heretical outburst at all cost.  The leader of the separatist movement was a man named Simeon who had grown disillusioned with the aggressive practices of the church and decided his people in the Crimea could no longer tolerate such things.  Several nights after arriving the Acolytes of H.S. fell on Simeon’s home with a vengeance and burned it to the ground with Simeon and his family inside.  No one would have heard of the atrocity had not Paul of Kherson not just left the Simeon residence only 10 minutes before the attack.  He watched in horror as the attack took place.  He rushed back to Kherson and reported the action to the authorities.  On the following day most of the Acolytes were rounded up and hung in public for the savage act they had carried out.  Paul and the people of the Crimea as a whole jelled because of this series of events and Paul decided that spreading the word was the only way to carry on Simeon’s name so he did just that carrying the flaming banner of discontent on to Taman and Pontus.  

Byzantines:   Port City in Cilicia – Tarsus, Port city in Isauria – Attalia

In a disappointingly drab ceremony that lacked all the trappings of a royal wedding Jovian married Serbian princess Anna Sylvia.  The couple after the ceremony did at least enjoy each other’s company.  In 1049 due to complications of childbirth Anna died but she did give birth to a son who survived.

Men were dispatched through out the country to mend the fences broken by the recent period of strife.  Macedonia and Thessalonika willingly rejoined the Empire.  Galatia and Sinope were liberated from their independence and reincorporated back into the Empire as well.  Troops were dispatched to Aleppo to shore up the defenses there.  Six thousand mixed cavalry arrived and the people of the province were relieved that something was being done.  Valentinian loyalist caused some unrest in Nikaia but they were quickly supressed.

Middle East:  METEOR STRIKE!  Across the sky in 1049 a comet flew

Omen? Portent of things to come?  No one is certain but they people of the middle east got very up close and personal with this particular rock as it fell to earth as opposed to passing by it.  This caused quite a calamity in Ghazi, Edrosia, Samarkhand, Chorasmia Shiraz and they Buhwayid lands.  Everyone had a differing opinion on the importance of the event the Ghazi king proclaimed that it indicated the Ghazi would be the next great Arab kingdom. The Buhwayid’s for the most part thought it signaled an end to the reign of their current king.  The Persians believed it indicated that they needed to put an end to their religious divisions.

Horde on the move, the Seljuks rolled through Chorasmia and into The Ghazi lands this cycle.  

Buhwayids: City of An Nasiriyah in Hahmar

Everything was very quiet in the lands of the Buhwayids.  The Armies regrouped and everyone just waited for the horde to show up.  Money was sent to both Persia and Azerbajian as agreed by the Buhwayid king for their assistance.  The army stood ready to act.  Sunni religious leaders have started complaining about what they perceive as an undermining of their authority in the country by the king and some subversive elements. 

The Buhwayid King and his advisors monitored the Horde for as long as they could but their scouts and informants lost track of the horde as it headed into some desert regions and so the Buhwayid king sat and waited.  Sadly he could not assist his Ghazi brother when the Horde ran into the Northern Ghazi provinces.

Persia: 

City of Nishapur was constructed in Khurasan.   The Persians also finished securing the Persian plateau when the got the Shadad to agree to a nominal treaty.  Some economic investment but also they bolstered their military incase the Horde came their way.  The all of the sudden in 1049 this BIG FREAKING ROCK fell from the sky.   Fortunately this portent from God landed in the newly incorporated Shadad province so no great horrible calamity ended the Persian Empire.

Azerbaijan:

Defensive installations are placed in Georgia and there is an economic build up throughout the country.   A large army was moved into Georgia so that they could defend the region from possible interference from Pontus or a returning Horde, not that they would have stood much chance against the horde.  

Yemen:  Zabid +1CL, Himyar (F), Zufar (H)

Big efforts were put into diplomacy in the region.  Akem returned to Himyar with a new assortment of gifts and this seems to have done the trick as Himyar agreed to become part of Greater Yemen.  Hakim was sent to Zufar to accomplish the same feat but the results were very different.  

Hakim arrived in Zufar with a nice load of trinkets which he was certain would wow the local leaders.  He sat with the locals shared their food drank their water and tried to discuss things in a diplomatic method.  The problem was that no matter how hard he tried he was just not cut out for the diplomatic life apparently.  The final straw was when Hakim started making unwanted advances on the Zufar clan leaders only daughter.  Needless to say Hakim barely made it out of the province alive.  Zufar retaliated by raiding Hadramut, they claimed they were actually only trying to get the foul Hakim, that is the subject of some debate of course.  The Sultan reacted to this incursion with his army but the Zufar raiders had returned to their lands before Ahmed arrived.

Conversion was started on the Somali and that seemed to go well.  Zabid grew in size and there was a great deal of rural improvements added to Danakil as both sides of the Red Sea continue to prosper. 

Ghazi:  Fortress Transoxnia well for a little while at least.

The lands of the Ghazi continue to remain prepared for the possibility of an invasion by the Seljuk Horde.  Troops are added to the rolls but this is nothing unusual in the lands of the Ghazi.  Overtures again were issued to the Edrosians but with the Horde activity and the death of the Edrosian King everyone was a bit preoccupied.  “See Seljuks”

Edrosia:  Mansura +1CL

The lands of Edrosia mourned the loss of their venerable King (sorry Sam I told you incorrectly).  Endrosia blossomed under the Kings excellent reign.  A fabulous road had been built into the interior, cities and villages dotted the countryside, and the economy was flourishing.    The new King of Edrosia following in the footsteps of his father ushered in an educational boom as the educators of the realm received many grants and the people of the lands benefited greatly.

Chorasmia:  City of Salik’s Hold and Bukhara built

Throwing caution to the wind the Kingdom of Chorasmia built two cities.  There is no shortage of manpower in these lands and so the king put his people to work.  At the ripe age of 86 the savior of Chorasmia, Salik the Defender died in his sleep.  Salik’s very capable grandson Ul’halik assumed his grandfathers responsibilities.  The Shah also passed this cycle and his son who was given Salik’s name in honor of the great military leader took the throne.  A very large horde passed through the lands.

Samarkhand:  Frunze (EA), Avar (T)   

Prince Padaratan dies in 1047.  His brother Padatu and sister in law were the proud parents of not one, not two, not three but FOUR daughters in four successive years.  In 1049 Padatu’s wife died during her pregnancy.  The King of Samarkhand, Padawan ordered a good amount of diplomacy be done but was dealt a good deal of harm by the death of prominent nobility in the realm.  This included the Frunze Lord, which caused the province to decline in status slightly.  Huge improvements in the economic value of Ferghana.

Seljuks:

Slowed somewhat by a siege train and tribals the horde headed into the lands of Chorasmia.  The Khan had some difficulty quelling the desire of some to not pillage the lands but Chorasmia had very long and friendly relations with the Turks and they had a decent army and good defenses.  The pickings in the Ghazi lands would be easier.

South they went to Kophat Dagh there was no opposition so they looted what little there was in the region and enslaved the population Merv was attacked as well.  The siege train of the Seljuks was very large and they wasted little time taking their whacks at Merv’s walls.  While not overly efficient Merv had no leader in place and thus the city buckled under the weight of the 10000 Siege Engineers.  The city was looted, the population enslaved and then burned.  Toghrid then took his vast host into Transoxnia……now here was wealth and a Ghazi army.  The Ghazi rolled out a well balanced army of 18K King Wadi had erected his defenses around a mountain pass to make it so that he would not be cut off from the homeland.  The Horde rolled in and swarmed over everything then got around to facing Wadi.  60K worth of mostly horse archers charged forward loosed huge volleys of arrows the literally blacked out the sky then rolled back so the next large group could follow.  Wadi quickly saw that he had little chance of doing much harm to the well lead horde so he withdrew into the mountains completely, there the Horde horse would be VERY ineffective.  The Seljuks did not follow.  The lands of Transoxnia were looted and enslaved as was Lumunica and the fortress under construction.  Everything was carted off.

Torghid was very pleased and so were his men as the returned to the steppe.

India: 

Tibet:  

The lands were very quiet this cycle as the border between the Bengals and the Tibetans remains vigilantly watched but nothing of importance happens.

Lamanist Tibet:  Maldives Colonized

The Lamanist continue to spread in a controlled manner.  Very large investments were made in Ceylon and Tibet in support of those governments.  The Maldives were also colonized with the hard work of the Lamanist Monks.  What the Lamanist intend to do with the Maldives is anyone’s guess.  The Lamanist Grand Lama insisted this action was done in support of the Ceylonese government.

Punjab: 

The leadership structure of Punjab completely dissolved as all the generals and the King and Heir all died this cycle.  This left only one ruler so there was no one to dispute the throne with.  Punjab continued down the path they had been on for many years.  They just waited to see if the Horde would show up and built troops.  The horde did show up in the Ghazi lands but that was a Ghazi problem not theirs so the new king ignored the horde. 

Shiva Church of Kashmir: 

Continued growth in the lands of Punjab.

Kucha:  Quor +1 CL, Tien Shan (F)

Manichaeans:   CA Kashgar

Continued heavy investment into the Kuchan economy.

Brahmin Hindu Church:

The Lamdu crisis was very upsetting so the Brahmins sat idle while thy tried to figure out what to do.

Paramara Princes: Port City of Sikar in Chitor, Avanti (C)

Remarkably the Avanti didn’t revolt again when the Paramara put a large diplomatic effort forth.  The Avanti actually listened enough for Mridul to claim the territory again.  The King and his loyal servants not carrying out diplomatic actions in Avanti busied themselves with the army.  Tensions appear to be rising in some areas of India and the Paramara were not going to be caught unaware.

Bengal:  Jaunpor (F), Bihar +1CL

HUGE amounts of defensive installations were built throughout the lands; estimates are that nearly 50 Field Fortifications were constructed but that number seems so absurd it probably isn’t true.  All the rest of the efforts were put into making Jaunpor friendly, this was a success.   In a bit of startling news the some inspired merchants came up with a way of rigging their ships so they could sail into the wind better.  The Bengal Government not being ones to ignore such things seized upon the innovation and implemented it in their navy.  (The Bengals are the random event kings as they seem to have one nearly every turn for some reason)

Kashmir: 

A royal road was started between the lands of Kush; it would probably be a very long time till it was completed.  Both cities grew as well.

W. Chalukya:  Banavasi +1CL

Defensive structures were built in the western territory and walls were built around the city.  Some economic development was carried out as well.

Chola:   Tanjore +1CL & Fortified, Oman (T)

The Cholans seem very content to continue building up their defenses; all Cholan cities are fortified now.   Some economic investments were made as well and the cultivation project in the Gangas continues on schedule.  The population in the Gangas is getting very excited about the prospect of the realm being cultivated.  Things are going so well in the Cholan lands that even the hateful people of Oman have agreed to a nominal relationship with the Cholans.  There were of course conditions.

Sri Lanka: 

The King, Siberut, was concerned about two things, economic development and the protection of his lands.  He did a fine job of taking care of both.  No one bothered the lands of Ceylon and that was probably wise.   After killing his first wife the Kings second wife of the cycle bore him two daughters.  Siberut decided the Zanzibar was really far away from his homeland and so he decided to turn it into a Feudal State so he would not have to worry as much about maintaining that far away land.  The Lamanist Colonization was a small concern to Siberut and his advisors but he was sure that the Lamanist had no intention of being landholders and so there was no reason to sweat the little things especially when the Lamanist had made a very large investment in his nations infrastructure this cycle.

Kalachuri: Chela (F), Kalinga (NE)

The king, like most kings in India, sat in the capital ready to defend his country should anyone chose to violate his space, no one did.  Many Mercenaries were hired in support of the king as well.  Much more investments into the postal roads projects continued, someday they lands would be well connected with one another.  Chela was pulled back into the fold completely by the good works of Mahatmas and Harshad but in the court of the Kalingan Raj they wanted nothing to do with closer relations.  Telugh reported back to the king that some financial inducements and the promise of a city might make the diplomatic effort go a lot smoother no word on what the Raj thinks of this though.

Uttar Pradesh:  Jihjhoti (PT)

Apparently the Paramara Princes decided that the province of Jihjhoti was jut too much trouble so they cut it free and left it to the Raj of Uttar Pradesh.  The Raj was not playing around; he sent pretty much everything he had into the province across the river and into Jihjhoti.  Twelve Thousand men of all makes and models rolled into the province.  The Uttar Pradesh forces were opposed by only 2800 mixed light and medium infantry with bad tempers and sharp swords.  The defenders had a very good leader as well but in the end all of that did not matter as they were overwhelmed by the skilled forces of Uttar Pradesh.  The commander of the operation General Ushnisin died during this campaign but the province and city were completely subduded.

S.E.Asia & the South Pacific: 

Burma:  +1 CL Rangoon, Akyab, Songkhla, Thon Buri rebuilt

Before leaving for Samata to take care of business the king ordered many upgrades of urban areas throughout the country.  The Lands of Burma were becoming remarkably prosperous and the people were happy.  King Krung, Prince Yezagyo both traveled to Samatata and closed out the negotiations with the locals there.  They were receptive to the Burmese message now that the Lamanist had converted the masses (or those that mattered at least) to the Lamanist religion. 

Khmer:  Angkor Wat +1CL

The King stayed home to rule the lands and his son Jayavarman VII traveled to the province of Champa.  The Khemer had a quandary on what approach to take with the newly conquered lands.  Traditions said enslave the enemies of the empire.  The Vishnu Primate had cautioned on the side of patience.  The lands of the Champa had seen glorious victories and traumatic defeats in the last 50 years and so it was very hard to say how they would feel toward the Khmer.   Discussions began in earnest a wife was secured from Sri Viencene family.  Apparently the line was not all killed off when the usurper took over.  This was quite a coup for Jayavarman VII and huge progress was made toward pulling this region into the fold.

Vishnu of SE Asia:   Cochin Colonized, CA in Srivajaya, MN in Sundra

Urban improvements for the followers of Vishnu and continued good growth for the religion.

Malay Confederation:  

Prince Zardoz and his drinking companion Kumar journeyed to the mysterious port cities on the island of Borneo and returned though they were not talking too much about their trip.

The king got really drunk loaded his fleet full of men and hard liquor and headed north to the lands of vast riches “?” Running low on food not long after departing the scallywags landed in the completely unremarkable province of Fukien, they had bad tasting Rice Wine and no money to speak of, this was quite disheartening but at least some food was picked up so that Azwar and company could journey further north, that is however when they ran into a whole bunch of trouble.  About the time the Maylay fleet, 30 ships with excellent crews got near Hangzhou they saw their welcoming committee.  Admiral Kagsi and his 60 ship armada showed up.  Now fortunately it was only a short time past breakfast and so Azwar was still pretty sober, when he saw those ships heading in his direction and turned the fleet around and headed for home.  Happy they would live to fight another day the crew celebrated wildly, after the Kagsi’s fleet was well out of sight of course.  Azwar returned home with little in the way of booty and he was sad, till of course he remembered that it was good to be the king because he could do whatever he liked!

Java: New City Morhaven on Timor, +1CL Sunda and Golden Gate

The crown Jewel of Java, Sunda, is now one of the largest cities in Asia.   The Javans devoted themselves to economic development because it seemed to be the thing to do.   The people were happy the lands were prospering and trade goods were coming in from nearly all of Asia.

Australia: 

The Royal family continued the grand plan for Australian world domination.  The cultivation of Ayr began.  In Eha Rana the continued enhancement of the rural lands made them more and more profitable.  Though some longed for the sea most knew that the greatness of Australia would be owed to the land.  New Zealander Merchants continued to visit and bring carved fish bone products, shell crafts and some exotic fruits.

In 1049 the tribes Grand Shaman gathered his followers, medicine men of the villages in the provinces of Australia.  He told them of his tale.

“ I was walking on the beach early one evening and singing the “Shark Song” and paying homage to the Great Shark by tossing cut up fish into the water.  Suddenly a very large Great White Shark at least 50’ in length swam up on the shore in front of me and turned to face me.  I sat down before him and we began to converse.

G. Shark                 Why is your tribute so sparse?

G Shaman                It is all I have

G Shark                  Why should the Shark protect your people if they would have him starve

G Shaman                We have no vessels for gathering a suitable harvest for you

G Shark                  Of this I am aware, your people abandon the waves

G Shaman               We have a great many resources on land our men feel that the land produces a great bounty and the risk is much less than it is on the temperamental seas.

G Shark                  Have I not been good to your people?

G Shaman               You have always been generous and shared your bounty

G Shark                  Then why do you let the flock stray?

G Shaman               I have devoted nearly 70 years to the Great Shark but I have obviously become blind to your needs this is very regrettable I offer my self in sacrifice if it would appease the great shark.

G Shark                  No you are far too bony to appease me.  I want you to gather your followers and I want you to redevote yourselves to the Shark.  Then I want you to tell Hetman Rourke to build you five large vessels.  The vessels are to be adorned with images of the Great Shark on them and with these vessels the Shark priest will collect the seas bounty.  The Great Shark and his children will feed on the carcasses of the fish you cast back into the sea.

G Shaman               It shall be as you ask.  I will also construct buildings in your honor so the people do not forget you when I am gone.

With that the Great Shark crawled back into the ocean and swam out to the great sea wall.

Go forth into the villages and construct the shrines and pray to the Great Shark.  Temple of the Shark was founded.

Shark Cult:  (HC) MacKay, (CA) Tih-ar-dha

“See Australia”

Aotearoa/New Zealand:  Tonga (T)

High Chief Akuhata fresh of “his” diplomatic victory on the southern island decided to travel north along the route mapped out by first explorer Kahu, the king in fact traveled with the first explorer to Tonga.  The Chief stayed in Tonga and attempted to sway the local Tonga chieftain that the Aotearoan way of life was a good one and that the Tongans would be well served if they joined with Aotearoa.  Gift were also given to the Tongan Chief and this seemed to aid in the efforts.  When the king arrived back from his long sea journey he was pleased to hear he was a grandfather to a healthy baby boy.   Finally in 1049 Kahu arrived successful from his very rough sea journey.  He was ill and died shortly after his return home but he brought one final prize for the kingdom.

Asia: 

War in Chekaing continues!  Hsia launch and assault on the SID.

Lots of rumbling on the Steppe especially in the far north where it appears both the Mongol and Tartar tribes are growing strong.  The Ulanni foot tribes are also getting a bit restless.

Bandit Kingdoms of Hunan: 

Very quite in the bandit kingdoms.

Shanan – Zhou: 

The Zhou Emperor decided to test the strength of the peace treaty that had been established in China.  Zhou troops as part of a brokered peace were supposed to vacate the province of Chekaing but rather than doing so in an honorable fashion the Zhou decided that looting the province and then destroying it utterly would be a good idea.  This caused the Jaingnan army to sally forth from the capital and try to save the homeland.

The Zhou had 9600 Cavalry in province and mostly battle hardened busy looting the province.  Kison Wa busied himself with putting down the revolting citizenry.  Of course with the Jaingnan army rolling out of the city the rural population got some support.  The Zhou where fairly well prepared for the Jaingnan and in a relatively uneventful battle the Jaingnan were routed back behind the safe walls of Hangzhou.   The province was destroyed as much as it could be and the

Zhenx then pulled out of Chekiang, then went to Taiping were he also removed the troops and defenses.  He then returned home in time to assume the throne from his very ill father.  Emperor Zhenzu would long be remembered as the breaker of the Bandits and the Jaingnan.  It was very unlikely that they would ever obtain power now.

Jaingnan: 

The Zhou attempted to destroy the home province of the Jaingnan so the Jaingnan army sallied forth to try to stop the Zhou.

Sung Imperial Domains: 

The Sung added a good number of fortifications to their home province and added a good amount of public infrastructure to the city of Chaingnan.  Facility wise the Sung expanded up not out much as they were hoping to establish a strong core of facilities.

Clan Iiachi:  Fujian (NT), GanZhou (FA)

The Jaingnan gifted the province of Fujian to the Iiachi early in the cycle and the Iiachi immediately set about building a port that would allow them trade with Korea and other Northern Chinese lands.  This was quite a coup for the Iiachi.   The king’s heir, Ho-fu died tragically and Sei-fu became the heir.   Bishop Hanghow visited Ganzhou to repair the damage done by the elder statesman and admiral last cycle.  He was successful in upgrading their status to a feudal one.  The Bishop may have done more harm than good though because it appears that he aligned himself with a somewhat notorious warlord and though he has very strong connections to the region there is some question and how controllable he will be.  Lastly the very old Admiral Torhunga was sent out exploring with two tubs and he never returned.

Buddhist Primacy: MN in Hunan, Hupei, Anhui, Chaingning, Nanchao & Kwanchou

Lots of building of facilities went on in China as the Buddhist Primacy thought he had brought piece to the lands.  Missionaries were sent to the steppe to convert more of the barbarians to the true religion of Buddhism.  Chou Ding IV was snapped back to reality when he heard of the goings on in Anhui and Chekaing.  Chou had made an announcement on the repercussions of an outbreak of conflict in China now his word would be put to the test.

Nanchao:  Shar Ruberri +1CL, Tz’uk’ an (NT)

Tonkin was nearly wiped out as severe storms battered the coastal areas of this region.  High waters inundated many parts of the cities wiping out many homes and killing a great many people who tried but did not succeed in making it to higher ground.  It was a busy period for Han, for all the right reasons. Between the "Family Growth' sessions with his wives and ruling the nation, Han was engaged in a creating a small mountain of correspondence with the majority of the surrounding nation's leaders. Peace and trade were the main themes, although the Nanchao court was rife with rumors over what the Zhou would do in the upcoming cycle.  The Public Works program continued to improve conditions for the nation's rural population, and the city of Shar Ruberri was expanded to house more of the urban population.  As a precaution against future uncertainties, some static defenses were constructed and nearly 2000 troops were called to arm for regional defense.  Finally, having proved his resilience (and sheer dumb luck), Mista Ones was recalled from his diplomatic mission in the middle of the Asian Steppe to assist Go Ku’s diplomatic mission amongst the Zukanese.  Choung met a poor fate trying to swim the treacherous Mekong.  Choung’s replacement traveled to the Laos and recovered Choung’s body so it could be returned to the capital.  Son Wa also was victimized at a very young age, he had never been particularly healthy and when the severe winter hit became ill and never recovered.

Hsi Hsia: Anhui (P)

Proclamation of King Kuluki:

“I, Kuluki Khan of the His-Hsia, declare that we shall not tolerate the existence of the Sung Religious Order. They are a plague, drawing taxation and support from within the realms of rightful kings, and yet they return not loyalty. I shall slay all Sung wherever I may find them and urge my Buddhist brethren to follow suit.”

No telling whether anyone else cares about what the Hsi-Hsia think but the Hsia came in quantity, nearly 40 thousand horsemen most with barding and armored riders carrying heavy lances.  They arrived in 1047, April.  They immediately launched and attack on the provincial defen0ders.  There were a huge amount of field fortifications in Anhui and this cause the Hsia a great deal of grief it also helped cover the withdrawal of the Sung troops into the capital.  The Hsia eventually cleared all of the regional defense after a somewhat length and bloody ordeal, which cost the Hsia all their infantry and siege engineers.  Suluki and Xun Shang stared and the fortified city of Anhui.  They weighed the options and decided that without engineers that the task would just be too daunting the walls were nearly 100 feet high.  So they settled in and made camp.  Messages were sent back to the Great Khan of the Hsia explaining the situation.  Then the two warriors with their huge cavalry army that was still almost completely intact waited.   

Liao:  Kaifeng (T), City of Zhongdu in Baoding

The Liao continue to work toward consolidating their lands.  The primary focus was Honan province.  Bishop of Liao-Tung and Lau Tse did some good work here.  The Liao Emperors Daughter Qara was married off to a notable Honan magistrate her older sister Charini was married off to an aged Wiseman of Kaifeng.  Commander Chengaley who had been a loyal servant of the Emperor and had assisted in bring down the foul Chan Cao died in 1047; he will be sorely missed in the lands of the Liao.

Korea:   Mantap (EA), Port City of Wonsan in Anshan, Fortress Suifenhe

More cause for celebration in Korea.  The frontier with the barbarians was now secure.  Not only was a small fortress built on the frontier to stop raids but numerous field fortifications were placed at strategic points in the province of Suifenhe as well.  Now that the frontier was secure the people of Korea began to migrate a bit further north.  The once serene fishing village of Wonsan suddenly became a bustling little metropolis as merchants and farmers alike settled in this little community. 

Tragedy struck the country in 1048 as the Illustrious Mokchong died of old age.  Fortunately the children were on good terms and so the transition was peaceful.  Mokchong “the Great” was accredited with a great many things that promoted the Korean way of life.  Securing a piece of the former Sung realm was thought to be a sign of greatness, even if the action was merely diplomatic.  Building the substantial defensive positions in the north made the people who were often victimized by the Jurchen and the Manchu’s very happy.  The colonization and fortifying of Cheju Do as well as building the important naval facility there gave the Koreans the preeminent position in the Korean Sea.  The Korean peoples as a whole had profited greatly from the wisdom and strong rulership of Mokchong he will be sorely missed.

Japan: 

Rested

Shinto: 

Getting close to maxing out all their facilities in Japan.  Good sized investment in the Holy City.