[Loren]

Results of the previously mentioned game:

One turn of recruits usually doesn't take losses against an indie province.

This time I got an initial starting position nowhere near as good for rapid expansion but I had 27 provinces at year's end, anyway despite being at war.

Pangea fell in year 2.
Year 3 saw C'tis and Man gone.
Year 4 was the end of Gath.
Year 5 and Caelum and Utgard were no more.
In Year 6, Patala and T'ien Ch'i meet their doom. They would have fallen in 5 except I had to get rid of their toehold in the water.
I had to spend a fair amount of time repositioning, it was year 8 before Ulm was no more.
At this point I was at peace and used the time to fix a very bad supply situation and get some globals up.
Returning to war, year 10 saw the end of Pythium and Arco.
All that's left is Atlantis and I see no point in bothering. I'm way ahead on dominion (although probably half of the map doesn't have a single candle from anyone) and have Gift of Health, Gift of Nature's Bounty, Wrath of God and Strands of Arcane Power up. All have at least 100 extra gems, they aren't coming down. I could finish it reasonably quickly with Thestis' Blessing.

I used no combat spells, forged no items beyond food & rings. All those globals are from a well-boosted seraph, not the dragons. (And the seraph originally came from my oracle pretender.) The only spells cast by any dragon are site-searching and GORing the Seraph.