Lords of the Earth

Campaign Nineteen

Turn 39

Anno Domini 1091 - 1095

 

Turn 39 Orders Due By      Friday, December 5th, 2003

 

A

nnouncements

 

Below are my Email and Regular mail addresses:

 

4858 East 2nd Street

Tucson, AZ 85711

Email: ancaric@throneworld.com

 

Payment: When paying via Paypal, please send all funds to this account:

 

lords19pmts@throneworld.com

 

        If sending checks by mail to Tucson, go ahead and fill them out to me.  Note: as a rule of thumb, I prefer to receive payment through the Throneworld account.  However, this is a preference, not a diktat, if you can’t access the account, or if paying by Paypal just makes you antsy in general (or it’s just darn inconvenient) go ahead and send a check.

        Warning: if your account falls into arrears for any amount your position will be declared open unless you make concrete arrangements with me to pay your balance.  (By “concrete” I mean, I’ll have x amount to you on or before y date).  Please don’t fall behind, I really don’t like being the heavy and I daresay you won’t like it either.  What follows is…

 

A Handy Guide to Determine Your Ref’s Attitude Towards You if You are in Arrears

If you run up a negative account balance it can be difficult to determine the level of emotion the referee may have towards you.  What follow is a convenient guide to let you know exactly where you stand.

 

-$5.00 or Less: hey, it happens.  Please pay your balance as soon as possible.

 

-$5.00 -- -$10.00: c’mon, it’s not like this game is really expensive.  Please pay your balance.  Your kids will thank you for it someday.

 

-$15.00 or More: Urge to kill rising!

 

Modifiers: people who try to make arrangements with me regarding payment (or partial payment) will generally get a favorable hearing.  Generally, players who exceed two turns of debt without keeping me apprised of their situation will be dropped and word will be sent out to the other campaigns warning the refs of the offending player’s deadbeat proclivities.  Players who run up a negative balance and then drop w/o repayment, will have their names sent out to other referees as mentioned above and will have massive karmic debt for being a scoundrel and lout.

 

Lords Two

 

As many of you know, I am also running Lords 2.  To this end, processing this campaign will be affected.   Although the date listed above is the due date for next turn’s orders, it may not automatically lead to processing the turn starting that weekend, especially if I am hip-deep in processing the other game.

 

Rules Stuff

 

        As mentioned above, I’m going to try to keep alterations to the rules to a minimum (a double “yeah, sure” regarding my chances).  Here are some things to keep in mind:

 

1)      There are no censuses. Change: well okay, I guess there are.

2)      “Hands Off Trade” is in effect and the ships on various trade routes will be deleted in a couple of turns (unless they’re warships on anti-piracy work).  Change: okay, players may now rearrange MSP among existing (not newly initiated) trade routes by having their King (only) perform the Intervene in Merchant Affairs (IMA) action.  This costs six AP and can only be conducted by the ruler of the nation.  Ship units will still be deleted as they are converted to MSP when placed on the route and may only be converted back into heavy transport units at a cost of 4MSP and 5gps per unit.

3)      Cities and regions are separate areas for all purposes.

4)      Leaders are now numbered consecutively on the stat sheet.

5)      A couple of countries (mostly non-player) that were Seafaring or Barbarian have become civilized.

6)      I’ve reformatted the Megaliths section in accordance with the latest version of the STATS program.

7)      Player’s are encouraged to name their leaders and heirs, in some cases I have named some individuals, feel free to change these.

8)      Allied Leaders: looking over some of the player-less countries, I’ve noticed a large percentage of troops under allied leaders, doubtless in an attempt to reduce support costs.  While I don’t want to disallow this practice, I will be making loyalty checks for any such “augmented” forces from here on out.  Failure indicates that feckless ally decides to carve a kingdom out of your Empire.  The chances of this increase if there are few non-allied troops about.  So don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.

9)      Female Leaders: while I don’t want to disallow them totally, the Dark Ages were a pretty male dominated time.  Consequently, a female Royalty member may only become Queen, Empress, Regent or Heir if they have a Charisma of AT LEAST 10.   A Princess will only become an active leader if her Charisma is at least 8 (eight) or greater.  Any Charisma statute less than this will result in no generation (although you can still marry them off).  Any existing Female Rulers, Heirs, Princesses may remain.   The only exception to this is if the sole available heir is a princess, in which case she becomes ruler regardless of Charisma (and the subsequent DF check gets an big bad negative modifier as the local nobility resents the presence of a female giving orders and intruding on their bailiwick).

10)   The Homeland Income Multiple: this will decrease to x1.5 on t38 and to one on t40.  If you didn’t get your doubled homeland income this turn, simply calculate it and put it in your orders with a note reminding me what it is.

 

 

Map Discrepancies

Some discrepancies between the maps and the Stats program have cropped up:

1)      Sukkur and Punjab are Shi’a.

2)      Mon is a wilderness region.

The map has been corrected.

 

As a general rule, in discrepancies of this kind, the stats take precedence over the map.

 

Japan & the Pacific Rim

 

The Empire of Japan

Kondo Nobunaga, Daimyo of Yamato.

Diplomacy    Saga: Yamato: +2, Taira +4.  Net Gain: Taira +2 (see below)

        The latest round of stupidity, er, hostilities, began with an ocean raid by Admiral Ozawa into Nigata in an attempt to draw the Taira forces away from the border. Ozawa and his lads had a fine old time pillaging a few shekels from the impoverished inhabitants.  Matsuoka was not to be baited, however, and stayed put, surviving an assassination attempt in the interim.  Thus he was on hand to meet Kondo’s invading armies yet again.  Over 36,000 Imperial troops ran smack into the fortified 28,000 defenders and were severely trounced.  The Taira pursuit was even more brutal, with thousands of Nobunaga Ashigaru being cut down as they tried to flee.  Worse was to follow as Matsuoka had no intention of letting his opponent off the hook so easily...

 

The Taira Bakufu

Taira Matsuoka, Daimyo of Kwanto.

Diplomacy    Saga (nt)

        Striking while the Iron was hot, Taira augmented his pursuit by turning it into a full-scale raid into Imperial territory.  The hapless inhabitants of Achi were subjected to rapine and pillage and the region was quickly denuded of cash and other valuables.  Poor Kondo could only look on helplessly, while he tried to regroup his forces, still scattered from their defeat.  Worse news came from the south, where the Taira admiral, Ishi was operating.  Having sailed to Saga and out-debated his Imperial counterpart, Ishi then set out and landed a force of troops on Shikoku, occupying it for the Bakufu.  Needless to say, Kondo is not happy about these events.

 

The Moluccas Seahold

Ahuna, Regent for...

Gatumao II, Lord of the Spice Islands

Diplomacy    Sulawesi (f)

        Gatumao was killed by a shark while swimming offshore.  His brother Ahuna, stepped in as regent to run things until Gatumao’s heir (and namesake) was old enough to assume power on his own.  At sea, Admiral Kibroku continued to hit up the locals for what little gold they had, ravaging the Philippines, Northern Borneo and Tawain before retuning to their Molluccan lair.

 

The Maree Tribes of Australia

Nardu, Prince of Maree

Diplomacy    None

        Having consolidated his hold on the coast.  Nardu sent masses of settlers west, over the mountains, into Paramata, which was settled to a (1/5) region.  Closer to home, cultivation projects in Ayr and Geelong were completed and a Royal Road link was built between Naree and Goolbura.  All in all, life is good.

 

The Arikat of Maaori

Kamut, King of the Southern Islands

Diplomacy    Tonga (a)

        Throwing off decades of lassitude, Kamut embarked on a massive cultivation project on the South Island:  Hokitika, Otago, and Taranika were all put under the plow.  Maori diplomatic overtures to the Tonganese also bore fruit.

 

China

 

The Goreyo Kingdom

Kim On Rhee, Prince of Koguryo

Diplomacy    Anshan (t)

        Kim Rhee continued to work on his Kingdom:  Silla was cultivated, and diplomatic work among the northerners continues apace.

 

The Kingdom of Shan’si

Tsu Ma Chen, King of Shan’si, Watcher of the Northern Marches.e

Diplomacy    None

        Okay, I’ve folded a bunch of proto-states into a Kingdom in Northern China.  It will need a player.  The Shan’si control: Shan’si, Yun, Huang, Liao-Tung, Bao Ding and Lu’an (plus the appropriate cities).

 

The Kingdom of the Yangtze

Cao Jian, King of Huipei

Diplomacy    Chinling (f)

        Continuing the Empires urban expansion, Cao Dai ordered the construction of a new city, Yanling, in Homua.  The rise of the Shan’si in the north was greeted with guarded enthusiasm, as the northerners were someone else to trade with, and more importantly, an important buffer between the Middle Kingdom and the northern Barbarians.  Aside from these events and some local diplomacy, things were pretty quiet on the Yangtze.  Finally, Cao Dao died at the end of 1095 after a short illness.  His son and heir, Cao Jian succeeded him without undue incident

 

The Kingdom of Kwangsi

Chu Lai, Prince of Kwangsi

Diplomacy    Kwangtung (nt)

        Chu Lai continued to oversee various cultivation projects throughout his kingdom: Lingnan going under the plow this time.

 

Southeast Asia

 

The Kingdom of Champa

Bao Dai I, King of Champa, Lord of Vijaya

Diplomacy None

        Bao Dai continued to consolidate control over his spear-won Kingdom, new colonies of nice, loyal, Khemer speaking Hindics were settled in Nan Chao and Mison, driving the Viet and South Chinese Buddhists inhabitants into the depths of a caste system.

 

The Kingdom of Kambuja

Ieng Neou, Regent for...

Chulalongkorn, Deveraja of the Kambuja

Diplomacy    Phan Rang (ea)

        Norodom died while in the midst of diplomatic negotiations in Phan Rang.  His lieutenant, General Monkut, was in the process of subjugating the Malays of Johor when news of the death of the Deveraja reached him.  Monkut was about to return to to Angor to take up the office of Regent when, he too, died.  Thus the responsibilities of Regent fell on the General’s replacement, Ieng Neou, who now has to run the dump with no help until the Royal Heir gets to an age when he can do things beside drool and piddle on himself.

 

The Kingdom of Ava

Shambramaba I, King of Ava

Diplomacy    Burma (f)

        Shambramaba was concerned about reports of Hindu missionaries running about in Mon, frightening the local children and generally being an (ineffective) nuisance.  The Rajah of Nadavaria continues to reject Avan diplomatic overtures, telling the silly Buddhists to bug off.

 

India & Central Asia

 

The Kingdom of Maghada

Prashant, Raja of Bengal

Diplomacy    Tamralipti, in Palas (nt)

        Prashant conducted a census of his realm in order to tax it more efficiently and the cities of Karimgani and Patna  expanded a level.  Maghadan diplomatic activity suffered a setback when the leader sent to woo the Nadavarians died before reaching his destination.  Diplomacy in Tamralipti garnered better results, but not by much.

 

The Kingdom of Chola

Rhama, King of Chola, Lord of Tanjore

Diplomacy    Chera (a), Pandya (f)

        Rhama continued his diplomatic endeavors among the southern Rajputates.

 

The Sultanate of Punjab

Mustafa, Sultan of Punjab, Lord of Afghanistan

Diplomacy    No effect

        Concerned about living in the shadow of his colossal neighbor to the east, Mustafa built more troops and kept a wary eye out...

 

The Pratihara Empire of Kaunaj

Sachetan, Emperor of India

Diplomacy    Indore, in Avanti (f)

        Mustafa was well served by his caution: for Sachetan had decided to deal with his Muslim neighbors through force of arms.  Justifying his unprovoked aggression with the usual lies about innocent missionaries being persecuted, the Emperor massed over 62,000 troops and stormed into Und, demanding that the locals submit and pay tribute. After their submission was received and Peshwar fell after a short siege, Sachetan left a small garrison and marched on into Punjab.

        Unfortunately, just because the locals had agreed to submit doesn’t mean that they’re telling the truth.  Sachetan had scarcely left when the locals rose up and massacred the garrison.  Cursing an string of epithets, Sachetan backtracked, brutally smashed all local resistance and emplaced a stronger garrison to keep order.

        The subsequent march south was characterized by such actions, as the Emperor was obliged to detach stronger garrisons to maintain order, so great was the hatred for the locals for him.

        By late 1095, the Imperial armies had arrived in Edrosia and were before the walls of Mandvi, which was swarming with Punjabi defenders (over 39,000 strong) and under an absolutely ineffective blockade by Sachetan’s son, Prince Rajanda (sorry guys, three warship units does not a blockade make).  In a hurry to wrap up this seriously mismanaged campaign, the Emperor ordered an assault against the city walls.  It was repulsed with some loss, including General Pala, shot through the head by a ballista bolt.  Chagrined, Sachetan pulled back into Sind to review his options.  Mustafa for his part, sent out both emissaries to the petty sultanates to the west, asking for help and also had a note delivered to Sachetan promising peace and trade in return for the withdrawal of all Rajputate troops from the Sultanate.

 

The Emirate of Samarkhand

Hamid, Emir of Samarkhnad

Diplomacy    None

        No Orders.

 

The Khazar Khanate

Bulan II, Kagan of Khazar and Saksiny

Diplomacy    Kuban (c)

         Bulan continued to be the terror of his immediate neighbors, sending armies to subjugate the Bolgar and Torki. In other events, several thousand colonists were sent into the wildernesses of Kirov to take advantage of the fur trade, open trade with the Muscovites, and settle the place to a (0/2) region.  Many of the Tamanite slaves seized last turn were put to work cultivating the steppe lands in Patzinak.  A new port, Tamatarha was built on the Taman coast, allowing trade with the Byzantines.  Finally Bulan ordered a census in order to determine how many people were living in fear of his power.

 

The Near East

 

The Hamadid Emirate

Omar Ibn Batutta, Emir of Damascus.

Diplomacy    Jordan (ea)

        Omar, desiring more trade revenue for his realm, ordered the construction of a new port, Beirut, around the Maysaf fortress, on the Lebanese coast.  This certainly gave the Emir what he wanted as trade was now opened up with various new partners as far away as Nubia.  The Emir was tickled at the thought of all the filthy lucre flowing into the Emirate’s coffers.  In other news, construction began on a new series of postal road links between Damascus and other parts of the Emirate.

 

The Buwayid Emirates

Ali, Emir of Emirs, Protector of the Caliph.

Diplomacy    No effect

        Buwayid fortunes were mixed.  On the positive side (at least from his perspective), Ali marched into Media at the head of 35,000 troops and smashed the locals into submission.  The city of Hamadan next capitulated after a short siege.  On the negative side of the ledger, the flunky assigned to conduct a census of the realm botched the job badly and died shortly afterwards (some wags say of fright at the thought of what the Emir would do to him when he found out).  Finally, an emissary to Zagros met with a distinctly chilly reception.

 

Eastern Europe

 

The Eastern Roman Empire

Cleon of Sparta, regent for…

Constantine Pophryogenitus, Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire

Diplomacy    Cyprus (c)

        Cleon continued to rule in the Emperor’s name, raising another city on the southern Anatolian coast (Tarsus, in Cilicia) and expanding the city of Alexandretta.  Trade began with the pagan Khazars and a great many troops were moved throughout the Empire.  Byzantine diplomacy was sadly disappointing and the Pechneg remain resistant to all sorts of religious blandishments.

 

The Principality of Muscovy

Igor Bratislav, Boyar of Muscovy

Diplomacy    Kiev (f)

        Deciding to combine force with persuasion, Igor led the army into Tver and sent diplomats to Kiev.  Both operations were successful as the Tver were crushed and the Kievians agreed to join the Muscovite state.

 

The Principality of Kiev

Ivan I, Boyar of Kiev

Diplomacy    None

        Absorbed by Muscovy (although Polotsk went independent).

 

The High Republic of Hellreiger

Lore II, King of Poland

Diplomacy    None

        No Orders, Lore died and was duly succeeded.

 

The Duchy of Estonia

Villem Viikberg, Duke of Estonia

Diplomacy    Daugava (c)

        The Royal Road between Tallinn and Riga was completed (and a fine road it is too, only turning into a muddy bog when it really rains).  Another group of colonists were settled on Saarema, raising it to a (1/4) region.  Finally, some diplomatic efforts were made south of the Dvina.

 

Western Europe

 

The Duchy of Bohemia

Sabastian Govner I, Duke of Bohemia

Diplomacy    Slovenia (ea), Swabia (a)

        Life was pretty quiet among the Czechs.  A new port city, Trieste, was built in Slovenia.  Note: Everybody, please name your cities when you build them.

 

The Vernonian Empire

Julius Caesar Germanicus, Emperor of Italy

Diplomacy    No Effect

        Julius invested funds in the construction of a bigger navy and named his brother, Gaius, his heir and successor.  He than sired a son four years later, which promises to make things interesting when old Julius passes on...

        In other events, new fortresses were built in Sardinian and Illyria and the fortress in Verona was increased in size.  Veronan diplomatic efforts on Valetta continue to be ineffective due to Egyptian obduracy.  An attempt to spread Veronan influence on the Dalmatian coast was cut short by the death of the diplomat in question.

 

Le Royaume de France

Phillip Capet, King of the Franks

Diplomacy:   Maine (f), Normandy (ea), Avranches, in Normandy (ea), Brittany (t)

        Phillip ordered the construction of yet another road link, this one was between Nivernais and Burgundy.  A new city, Nevers, was also built in the former region.  The Capetan Diplomatic Traveling Road Show was busy as usual, as can be seen from the above results.

 

The El Reino De Navarre

Sancho, King of Navarre

Diplomacy    Aragon (f), Zaragoza, in Aragon (a), Lisbon, in Portugal (t), New Castille (f), Vyonnes, in New Castille (f), Falmouth, in Cornwall (f)

        The Spaniards were very busy (as was their wont).  Sancho’s diplomats went to and fro, spreading the good word about what a great Kingdom Navarre was and what a great guy Sancho was.  Such opinions were lost on the Muslim populations of Salamanca and Portugal however, as they found themselves overrun by thousands of Iberian settlers and forced into secondary status.  News of these events did not go over very well among the other Muslims on the peninsula and both Murcia and the city of Madiera (in Granada) stopped paying tribute as a result.  Finally, the cities of Arles and Tortosa grew a level.

 

Northern Europe

 

The Kingdom of the Svear

Olav, King of the Swedes

Diplomacy    Stockholm, in Halland (f)

        Olav ordered a census to be conducted in order to determine how many Swedes, well, lived in Svear.  The city of Oslo, in Hordaland was rebuilt (and named properly).  Diplomatic overtures (including an offer of Royal marraige) by Olav to the Jarl of Skane were rejected.  Seems the latter didn’t really approve of Olav’s pagan proclivities (being Catholic and all that).  No way was he going to hand over one of his daughters to an Odin worshipping bumpkin.

 

The Norse Kingdom of Iceland

Snorri Rjikson, regent for...

Bjorn Haraldson, King of the Norse

Diplomacy    Shetlands (f)

        Harald died in early 1092 of some flux or other.  Admiral Rjikson was appointed to rule until the late King’s son came of age.  The new regent conducted a census of his island realm and ordered the construction of a port fortress on the Shetland Islands, which were also the focus of the Kingdom’s diplomatic efforts.

 

North Afriqa

 

El Zirid Emirat Al Mahidya

Mohammad ibn Hanno, Emir of Tunisia

Diplomacy Idjil (f)

        Having saved a great deal of money up over the past few years, Mohammad spent the whole shebang on a massive urban expansion party and sockwash.  Panormus, Mahidia, Fez, Leptis Parva, Utica, and Malaca all increased in size and were kitted out with rebuilt walls as well (lest any of the Emirate’s scummy neighbors get any ideas).

 

Al Fatamid Caliphate Al Qaira

Mohammad ibn Ibrihim, Fatamid Caliph of Egypt

Diplomacy    No effect

        No Orders

 

West Afriqa

 

The Dia Kingdom of Songhai

Maracatu, King of Songhai and Hausa

Diplomacy None

        Those who expected another round of debauchery from the Songhai king were surprised to see him busily at work gathering troops.  Finally, having massed over 40,000 of them, he marched into Oyo and marched south...

 

The Twifo-Heman Nation [DEAD]

Chitambo, King of Akan, Lord of Benin

Diplomacy Not really relevant

        Chitambo was pretty much minding his own business when Maracatu’s attack struck.  Taken by surprise, he managed to fall back on Akan City with his army of roughly 30,000 warriors and hunker down behind the mud brick walls of the town.  Sadly this proved inadequate protection and the city was stormed and taken.  Chitambo and his son were killed in the fighting and the rest of the Royal family massacred.  Maracatu then justified his unprovoked aggression (from the smoking remains of his opponent’s palace surrounded by the impaled bodies of his enemies) by stating that a mysterious god named Elohim had come to him in a vision; told him to wage war against the “idolatrous” Twifo and to worship him and him alone.

        Well so much for this being a relatively quick turn to process...

        Maracatu’s conversion to his new God did not go over well, to say the least.  Had his decision been made at home after consulting with the other elites of his Kingdom, it might have gone over fairly well (or at least been tolerated as an eccentricity).  However, the King announced his conversion after invading and slaughtering an enemy for idolatry, and this at the end of a ten-year reign of debauchery within his “Golden House”.  The religious and political elites (not unreasonably) felt that they were dealing with a madman.

        Consequently, the Songhai Kingdom imploded.  In Timbuctu, Prince Ajayi, repudiated his older brother’s rule, swearing to respect the traditional gods, and ordering the Golden House to be destroyed.  Beyond the core regions of the Kingdom, the regions of Ghana and Nupe, broke away, forming independent Kingdoms of their own.  In the newly conquered lands to the south, regional revolts broke out and Maracatu was only able to re-conquer Akan and Togo before turn end.  Yoruba and Ife went on to form a new Twifo state.  The only bright spot in all of this was (for Maracatu at any rate) was the fact that the army with him in the south stayed loyal.  Now with only that to depend on, the King has a long and messy task before him.

 

The Kingdom of Timbuctu

Ajayi, True King of the Songhai

Diplomacy None

        Ajayi’s realm consists of Songhai, Segu and Sudan.

 

The Kingdom of Ghana

Mugabwe, Lord of Kumi-Saleh

Diplomacy None

        The Ghanans control Ghana, Khalem and Senegal.

 

The Kingdom of Nupe

Surinama, King of Nupe and Oyo

Diplomacy None

        Surinama controls Nupe, Oyo, Hausa and Gorouol.

 

The Kingdom of Ife

Chitambo II, Lord of Ife and Yoruba

Diplomacy None

        The Ifens control Ife and Yoruba.

 

The Kingdom of Kanem-Bornu

Susiseko, King of Kanem and Bornu

Diplomacy None

        O.K., in a fit of masochism, I have activated this proto-nation, thus condemning myself to the processing of yet another NPC state.  Help relieve my drudgery and find someone to play it!

 

The Kingdom of Benin

Abrija, King of Benin

Diplomacy None

See K-B above for similar info.

 

East Afriqa

 

The Makuria Kingdom of Nubia

Akencheres, King of Nubia

Diplomacy    Kassala (t)

        Nubian results were decidedly mixed.  A diplomatic trip to mend fences with the locals in Kassala was successful.  On the other hand an attempt to enslave the locals of Aswan was a comic failure as the horse-riding locals simply ran away from General Nilesuntzu and his infantrymen.  Note: C’mon guys, stop doing these things.  Not only are the Bedouin more mobile than you guys, even if you did successfully raid or enslave them, the number of gold and/or nfp garnered would be so small as to be not worth the candle.  They’re desert regions for crying out loud.

 

South Afriqa

 

The Bakongo Kingdom

Namodu II, King of Bakongo

Diplomacy Vili (f)

        Continued to mind his own business.

 

The Kingdom of Rozwi

Seko, Regent for...

Shaka II, King of Rozwi, Lord of Zimbabwe

Diplomacy None

        Shaka was in fine form, ordering the construction of a new port city, Xai-Xai, in Gorongo and marching into Shona at the head of over 9,000 troops to offer a diplomatic marraige to the chief there.  When the latter proved less than enthusiastic, Shaka attacked, conquered the place and enslaved the population, who were then put to work preparing the region for cultivation.  Shaka then brought in several thousand of his own people to settle the region back to its own level.  Such clever use of resources amused the King so much that he burst a blood vessel and died, still giggling while the blood flowed freely from his mouth, nose and ears.  Fortunately, one of Shaka’s lieutenants, Seko was available to act as regent until the late King’s son came of age.

 

North America

 

The Tlingit People

Blue Hair, Chief of the Tlingit, Lord of the Far North.

Diplomacy None

        Things in the Great White North remain Great White Quiet.  A new port city, Laich-Kwil-Tach arose on the coasts of Kwakiutl, while the capital, Ahwahee, grew to a level four port.

 

California

Obsidian Coyote, Ruler of California

Diplomacy None

        Obsidian Coyote continued to send expeditions into the frozen north, this time, accompanied by warriors.  The latest attempt, returned intact but still no closer to fathoming (no pun intended) a route through the icy wastes.

 

The Anasazi Nation

Manchuk, Chief of the Anasazi, Lord of the Chaco

Diplomacy None

        Manchuk ordered a census taken of the inhabitants of his nation.  The Anasazi were also quite busy away down south.  The war chief, Dances with Prairie Dogs marched into Tahue at the head of some 9,000-odd warriors and enslaved the locals, carting them back north at spear-point.  Also active was chief Happy Owl, who decided to go boating on the Sea of Montezuma and the Santa Maria Sea and get an idea of how to get around those watery parts.

 

The Mississippian Empire

Arrowhead, regent for…

Leaping Crane, The Great Beaver of the Snake

Diplomacy None

        Work on the Great Northern Highway continued, with a new link being built between Illinois and Kickapoo.  Meanwhile, to the south, Kaskinapo was re-colonized to a (1/6) region.

 

The Natchez Confederacy

Flying Knife, Great Sun of the Natchez

Diplomacy None

        Thing’s started off peaceably enough in the Confederacy as Soaring Eagle ordered the cultivation of Karankawa.  However, upon the Great Sun’s death two years later, things got a bit sticky.  Well okay, they got downright nasty.  One of Soaring Eagle’s new prot‚g‚s, Flying Knife, agreed to act as regent until the late Great Sun’s heir, Bright Crescent, came of age.  Instead, the regent promptly murdered the heir and his brother, Dancing Sunset and all of Soaring Eagle’s retainers and flunkies and declared himself Great Sun instead.  A similar fate befell chief Double Snake when he returned from his successful expedition of Chesapeake Bay in late 1095.  Thus the old ruling house was bloodily purged and a new one set up in its place.  Overall public reaction was one of indifference.

 

Mesoamerica

 

The Toltec Hegemony of Chichen Itza

Itzamna, Grand Hegemon of the Maya

Diplomacy Tres Zapotes, in Totonac (f), Huexotla (f)

        Itzamna ploughed the past decade’s accumulated savings into public works throughout the Empire and pretty much minded his own business.

 

The Arawak of the Islands

Awcom, Lord of the Islands

Diplomacy    Ciguayo (f), Port-au-Prince, on Ciguayo (f)

        Canom died after a long and productive reign.  His son and successor kicked off his rule by a diplomatic offensive among the Haitians and expanding Ballanquilla a level.

 

The Chibchan Kingdom

Cilan, King of the Chibchan

Diplomacy None

        Things were pretty quiet here as well, although Chaquito was colonized to a (1/4) region.

 

South America

 

The Kingdom of Paraiba

Panbi, King of Paraiba

Diplomacy None

        Panbi’s Kingdom was also quiet.  Shoco and Gueren were put under cultivation however.

 

The Mighty Incan Empire

Orozco, Emperor of the Incas

Diplomacy Chanchan, in Moche (f), Maranga, in Chavin (f)

        Mayta Capac continued to send waves of colonists over the Andes to settle god-forsaken tracts of jungle.  In this case, Cuilino was settled by hundreds of lamenting citizens to a (1/6) region.   Further south, the settlers in Huanco began to clear land and burn off undergrowth in preparation of cultivting their wretched piece of the Amazon basin.  Finally, Mayta Capac died in late 1094 and was succeeded without incident.

 

The Duchy of Shokleng

Nati, Duke of Shokleng

Diplomacy None

        The newly colonized region of Heta was put under cultivation.

 

The Mapuche Nation

Obsidian III, King of the Mapuche

Diplomacy None

        Cultivation of Guenakan was completed.  The newly cultivated lands were then flooded with additional settlers, raising the region to a (2/5) and (hopefully) easing fears of a famine that had been stalking the Kingdom for some time now.