[boltcutter]

Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been busy with other things.

Update:

Turns 31-37: Restoration. My forces sweep back through and recapture the TC territory. First and Second armies meet up in the TC capital. The Celestials can be beaten with numerous Blade Winds and some sturdy troops to slow them down- perhaps 12 Blade Winds to 10 Celestials. I try my new plan of bringing reinforcements in before needing them.

Shopping: My loyal people buy Temples and Priests- I have almost none of each- and set them to restore Me. I create a new Prophet- much more heavily armored than the last- and bring up some Cavalry. My Smiths build a Crusher [disappointingly poor attack and defense skills] and a batch of Clockwork Horrors.

Two of My Spies discover the extent of Pythium and start spreading sedition- if I cannot directly destroy Pythium yet, I can at least slow them slightly. Another starts trouble in C'Tis.

Turns 37-41: The Two Front War.

I am restored!

My troops finally win a brutal war of attrition, breaking into the Dark Citadel of T'ien Chi and finding almost no resistance (I lost one Cavalryman to the lich's evil spells and perhaps a few footsoldiers to the Citadel's defenses.) I capture the Desert Eye itself and pin the T'ien forces in a single province.

And Caelum attacks. The southern bottleneck works well. I lose the province [26 Prov. Defense] but, of the 160 attackers, 20 are killed and many rout. In a bit of luck, one province up from there [Ulmwards], the local chief built a fortress with no prompting from me. The bottleneck that was taken was immediately next to T'ien Chi, where My army is pinned down in siege. Caelum attempts to continue the attack (towards Tienese territory )but is repulsed in the next province and, after T'ien Chi itself falls, is thrown back from the bottleneck. Unfortunately, I still had my Smiths dispersed and un-bodyguarded to lower the chance of losing some to the Citadel defenses. Two or three are slain, but two sets of Earth Boots are recovered for the next generation to step into.

In the Desert Eye, my new Clockwork Horrors face an unexpected threat before they can finish off the few [less than 10?] Tienese forces- Caelum attacks me [80 Caels vs. a Smith, a couple of heavy infantry, the Clocks and a handful of Province Defense.]

I did not realize that Clockwork Horrors gained 15 Fatigue per turn, every turn. Fortunately, the flying Caelumites surrounded them near-immediately and the Clocks inflicted great damage before getting smashed. Net result: Approximately 25 Caels killed, all my Clocks destroyed, no other casualties and the province is still mine.

I, Myself, created another miraculous bag of wine, and started moving south to the bottleneck with reinforcements. Soon I will step into T'ien Chi and empower Myself back to pre-death levels.

Enemy Status: Caelum has taken noticeable losses in troop strength. They have cast Dark Skies and their leader seems to [based on his Prophet] have significant Death and Air magic strength. C'Tis has a long border with me, and many large armies along it. Jotunheim has two short borders with me, a huge army, and has driven Pangaea near-literally into the ocean. Vanheim, and Pythium are vague future threats- Abysia shall not last long, I think.

Own Status: Outside of TC's resources, I have found another source of Earth gems [I'm up to 7/turn], and a source of Nature gems. I have a few other small supplies, including an embarassment of blood slaves. Gold is available in reasonable quantities- never as much as needed, of course.

Planning: I require more Smiths. Also, having proven that constructed troops are severely limited, I feel that contacting Trolls is my best bet for "advanced" troops. This will be a long and difficult time researching- My Smiths are almost all needed for war and I have only Conjuration 3. [One Smith is probably the equal of 30 Longbowmen right now, offensively.] My Dominion is weak- destroying the last vestiges of the lich lord of T'ien Chi is crucial.

I want to experiment with economic warfare- using Spies to lower Pythium's available gold and the like. Probably too little too late, but perhaps some defections will occur.

I will also be building a few Commanders to place in the border provinces- they will not survive determined attack, but at least my province defense will not be routed by a stray arrow in the first volley [as has happened.]

As far as my enemies: After Caelum [all going well] I must assault C'tis- all my gains in Mictlan and TC could be overrun easily by only a fragment of their strength, and I have only weak defenses in place.