A Tale of Fire and Blood

[Bossemanden]

Now to not only make this post a bump, then I´ll ask for a chapter more of this AAR.

[General Tacticus]

Coming in in a few hours

With :

- The Entre Rio "We love our God" reeducational program, with particular focus on traditional religious ceremonies
- The treacherous attacks by Man, following our preemptive retaliatory strike, and in particular their use of Angels of Mass Destruction
- The "Voice of our God" massive research program.

and perhaps more...

[General Tacticus]

The Entre Rios "We Love Our God" Reeducation Program

It had been 3 month since the final defeat. It had been three quiet months. Of course, it was not peace. That would have been unthinkable. No, Mictlan was still at war with four different nations. But Pangea and Marignon where on the other side of an ocean, and not a pressing concern. As for Man and Jotunheim, the other two nations at war with Mictlan, they were bickering in North America and generally leaving Mictlan alone. A vast program of reforms had been started, with most of the southern armies making their way back to the capital, several fortresses in construction, and a few temples and labs planned. Serious thought was been given to a complaint by the priesthood that there was a lack of quality material for proper ceremonies, which accounted for the slow progression of the Mictlan faith in newly captured territories.

At the top of the Most Holy Temple, Tacticus Sanguinus, Quetzalcoatl and Mictlipoctli were discussing the situation, when the majordomo came in. He took three steps, knelt, and bowed his head.

- Yes, what is it ?
- O Most Glorious Lord, the head priest of the Sun, your prophet, wishes to speak with you of an important matter.

The God frowned. This was unprecedented. He had made it very clear, on several occasion, that nobody in his right mind would want to interrupt him and ask to speak with him. There had been several importune nobles, at the start of his reign, that had tried to gain favor by coming in with carefully composed flatteries. He had driven the lesson home, untill they took it to heart, that he did not like to be interrupted frivolously.

- Well, send him in, and let’s see what he wants.

The prophet came in, and kneeled very carefully, like a man who knows he doesn’t dare make a mistake.

- Forgive me, My Lord, but an important event has taken place. Somebody has just put a great burden on every living soul on this disc (the Great God had not yet gotten around to revealing to his followers that the World was, in fact, round. « They are not ready », he had said only Last year to the Feathered Serpent). Everybody is aging at an accelerated rate. Already some of the troops are suffering from various afflictions.
- Everybody, including our enemies ?
- Yes, My Lord.
- Well, then it actually plays in our favor. I do not care if my arrow fodder loses an arm or an eye or two. They’ll still do very well at catching arrows, and I can get some more whenever I want. Plus I have a few undead troops that are immune. Those pretenders out there are going to suffer more. No problem.
- Yes, My Lord.
- But you were right to bring this to me. You may keep your heart.
- Thank you, My Lord.
- Who did this ? I thought Ulm had Ermor squarely on the defensive, and was using Ermor’s pretender for arrow practice ? And Pangea and Abyssia haven’t played with death recently, so who is it ?
- It is Jotunheim, My Lord.
- Jotunheim ? Are you saying they are busy giving afflictions to their expensive, slow to train, very hard to replace giants ?
- Yes, My Lord.

The God looked at Mictlipoctli and Quetzacoatl, and laughed. Mictlipoctli joined in, but Quetzacoatl looked a little worried. The prophet was dismissed, and they prepared to resume their conversation, when for a second time that night, the majordomo entered.

- What is it this time ?
- A runner has just come from Entre Rio, O Great and Powerful God. He says he brings an urgent message.
- Ah, the tedium of running an Empire. Bring him in, and bring me my jade knife while you are at it.
- At once, O Most Unforgiving One.

A young runner was soon introduced. He was dirty, and shaking from both exhaustion and fear. Behind him knelt the majordomo, with the jade knife.

- Forgive me, O God, but I was ordered to report to you as fast as possible.
- Speak.
- O God, a few weeks ago, various trouble makers started spreading vile rumors in your peaceful province of Entre Rios. And one week ago, 3000 people took their belongings and left your domains. The Priest King of Entre Rios sent me at once.
- Left ? Where to ? It will take them months for them to reach my borders.
- O God, there was a Marignon flotilla waiting for them just beyond javelin range, and they boarded the ships and went.

The God considered this a while. This was getting troublesome. Some sort of example would have to be made. With a gesture, he dismissed the runner and the majordomo.

- What do you think ? I can’t have my people just leaving me.
- I think, O My Lord, that you have a public relation problem, said Quetzacoatl.
- What do you mean ?
- People do not properly realize how lucky they are to live under such a wise ruler as yourself, O My Master. They see the taxes and the occasional brigand, but not the stability and the prosperity.
- And how should I change that ?
- Well, I think we should start with the people of Entre Rios, O My King, here are my ideas....

The next morning, the runner was summoned.

- You will take a Divine Proclamation back to Entre Rios. Go see my majordomo, and see that you learn it well, I want not a word changed.
- Yes, O My God.

The runner was so relieved to have kept his heart, that he nearly stumbled on his way out. Only a quick reflex saved him from this unforgivable breach of protocol, and the jade knife.

By Proclamation of the All-Knowing and Allmighty, Tacticus Sanguinus. The dreadful plight of the habitants of Entre Rios has particulary touched Us. To help them recover from the terrible experience they have just had, losing so many loved one to foreign treachery, We therefore order : - The habitants of Entre Rios shall indefinitely be exempted from all taxes to the Church and to the Empire. - Three regiments shall henceforth at all time patrol the province. To make sure they act with all due kindness, the soldiers of these regiments shall be recruited among local people. Three loyal tribal kings have been sent for this purpose. - Each and every child shall have acess to free and mandatory education. A number of priests are been sent for this purpose. They shall tutor the children in history, social responsability, religion, and the importance of abstinence before marriage. - All unmarried people, regardless of wealth or rank, shall be granted the opportunity to serve their God, and the priesthood, in whatever capacity they are most suited for. - A temple and a lab shall be constructed next to the fortress. All funding shall be provided by the Empire. Rejoice, faithfull people, for the days of trouble are at end !

And thus in the following months ten priests (including a high priest of the sun), and three tribal kings, were permanently assigned to Entre Rios, and the devotion of the population increased tremenduously.


[ January 08, 2004, 18:24: Message edited by: General Tacticus ]

[General Tacticus]

Short interlude :

With its armies at Last finishing their trek North, Mictlan is ready and in position. Seeing no reason to wait, Tacticus orders an immediate attack against Man, who at the time controls the Eastern half of North America.
Quetzacoatl will attack across the caribeans, towards Florida, with a force af lamias and banes.
Miclipoctli will take some banes and longdeads and attack North from Teotihuacan, the capital, following the coast.
Various mercenaries and slave armies will attack from Teotihuacan and strike inland, capturing landlocked provinces.
All goes quite well, and Man’s castle in America is in sight.

For those who are counting, this covers turn 40 to 43. Abyssia was destroyed by Machaka on turn 40, and R’lyeh cast Wrath of the Seas, which I ignored, lacking Dispel.

[Bossemanden]

- All unmarried people, regardless of wealth or rank, shall be granted the opportunity to serve their God, and the priesthood, in whatever capacity they are most suited for.

"And what capacity would that be oh Great Eater of Hearts?" "Lord Almighty why do all the teaching priests carry around a red rod that twitches sometimes?"

This is great. Keep it up.
BTW does Burden of Time afflict leaders as well?

[ January 09, 2004, 10:20: Message edited by: Bossemanden ]

[General Tacticus]

Originally posted by Bossemanden:

quote:

---

- All unmarried people, regardless of wealth or rank, shall be granted the opportunity to serve their God, and the priesthood, in whatever capacity they are most suited for.

"And what capacity would that be oh Great Eater of Hearts?"

---

Well, that depends, but remember the article above, about the importance of abstinence before marriage. And what the God and his heroes were discussing at the start of the story. Still, I DO need the occasional loyal, smart but not too smart, talented priest.

This is great. Keep it up.
BTW does Burden of Time afflict leaders as well?

Well, yes. Even Pretenders, as a slightly arrogant Tacticus is about to discover

If you must know the truth, Burden of Time was cast while I was at war (OK, I am always at war ), not sure yet of victory (in the short-term, I have no doubt about my final victory), while my research was going on very slowly, and I had only Enchantment 3 (and that had been an oversight, I meant to stop at 2). I badly needed to research blood a bit to do something useful with it, a lot of my attention was on the battlefields of North America, the rest was used in getting my blood production up from artisanal to industrial level, so I just decided to gamble that my Pretender was immune to old age, and high MR would save him anyway, and he could afford an affliction anyway since he was always at home researcher, casting or forging.

Guess what will shortly happen to him ?

[General Tacticus]

The Voice of our God

It had been a good year so far. Man was busy trading ground for time in North America, and was fast running out of ground. Abyssia had been defeated, probably by Machaka, which means one less false God running around confusing poor hapless peasants. The lamias were doing well, the mercs were as efficient as ever, despite their doubtful devotion to the God, and the slave soldier were providing good entertainment. The God was usually in a good mood these days, and that was the best news of all, as far as the majordomo was concerned. He entered the God’s chamber, carefully following every detail of correct protocol, as always, but more confident than usual.

The God turned toward him. The Divine Jaguar opened his mouth, but only produced an unarticulate groan. The God tried again, without success. It was however clear to the majordomo, from the way the God’s Hand were turning to jaguar paws, that the God was in a very bad mood. The majordomo’s finely homed survival instinct kicked in at full steam, and he bowed very low. His brain slammed into maximum overdrive. This could only be the result of the Burden of Time spell. But the God Himself had previously dismissed it. Don’t bring it up. We’ll need some serious magic there. And clearly blood will be spilt today. Better get some slave up here on the double. Make that two slaves. And two more to clean up afterwards. And two more in reserve, just to be safe. First get out of here.

- Most Powerful God, shall I fetch your chief mages ?

The God nodded. That was enough for the majordomo, who rose and left in the absolute minimum time compatible with protocol, and started running the second he was out of sight. Two slaves were dispatched, with orders to “clean up the mess in the God’s rooms”. Inexperienced ones, they surely would commit some breach of protocol. Then there would be a mess to clean up, so he sent an experienced team of slave to wait near the God’s chambers. Breathless, he entered the chief researcher’s room. That was against protocol, but the emergency was dire.

- Forgive me, My Lord, but a terrible thing has happened. The God has been struck by the Burden of Time spell.

The chief researcher’s face became pale as death.

- You took measures ?
- Two slaves have been sent to His rooms. I have more ready. But He is expecting you.

The chief researcher was already busy making calculations

- This is very bad. But tell me the worse. How was the God affected ?
- He was struck mute.
- Forget worse. This is worsest! Why couldn’t it have been a limp, or an eye ? Let’s run.

The God’s rooms were covered in blood. The God was looking outside his windows. Neither man commented. The chief researcher spoke, a minor breach of protocol in normal times, but waiting for the God to speak first was probably not the best idea right now.

- Most Wrathful God, a young researcher has just found a new way to manipulate magic. If we refine the idea, we could quickly devise a mean to both dispel and reverse the effects of Your enemies’ spells. I humbly beg Your permission to proceed, as well as the permission to use some of the magical gems in Your treasury.

The God did not turn, but made a sign with his paw. This was enough for both men. They knew the signs. After bowing, they left the rooms.

- How quickly can you do it, asked the majordomo ?
- Four moons of research if I draft the priests I have searching for magical sites, and the best of the blood hunters. Quetzacoatl can do the dispel, but I’ll need to train and equip a king priest for the curing spell. That can be done in the meantime. Fortunately, we have enough gems on hand to ensure both spell work the first time.
- Four moons ? The God is not very patient, these will be four very difficult moons…
- Even then, it will take time for the cure to take effect, I fear. But I can do no better.
- This will be a difficult time. Fortunately, the war is going well. Let us both pray there are no bad news in the mean time.

On their way out, the majordomo sent the cleaners. The God's hands were still paws. Better stray on the safe side. Their were always more cleaners.




Well, as you can see, Burden of Time does affect leaders and Pretenders. And the good old Murphy-based RNG that determines Pretenders afflictions is still working as intended : instead of a limp or something that would have affected only combat, I got mute, which divides all magic skills by two. Whereas a combat cyclop would have lost an eye on the first wound (as previous research clearly show). Still, I was lucky, I could have gotten Feebleminded instead...