I plan to make an Aztec AAR as I'm quite fond of the culture of MesoAmerica at the period.
But being more of a cavalry nut, fighting an all-infantry faction will be a totally new experience.
The settings will be Kingdoms America expansion, Hard campaign/Very Hard battles, with no particular rules except not to use game-breaking exploits such as merchant forts, and so on...
I hope I will be able to make some choices guided by the story rather than out of need and expect that I will we able to survive more than a few turns...
That's where we Mexica live, a country of fertile valleys and barren high plateaus with Tenochtitlan, our capital, the Heart of the One World, city of the lakes and leader of the Triple Alliance which our neighbors call the Aztec...
Our land reaches east and west to boundless oceans, north is an arid desert rumoured to be inhabited by a fierce people, south are jungles, land of the Maya, once great and now decadent empire...
Let me introduce myself : I am Tlatli, scribe newly-appointed to our Uey-Tlatoani, our Revered Speaker, the Leader of our People...
When I say newly-appointed, it is because our former Leader Axayacatl has recently died and following custom, my master asked to be sacrificed on the altar of Tonatiu the Sun God, to continue his service to his Lord...
So it is I, his apprentice who will now record the history of our great nation, and will follow in the footsteps of Uey-Tlatoani Moctezuma...
The death of our Leader was a glorious one and pleasing to the Gods as he died in sacrifice to Huitzilopochtli, Our War God, fighting the despised Texcalans...(OOC : Tlaxcala was the name given to them by Spaniards, it translates as tortilla in nahuatl, the aztec language :laugh4: )
Those times are dark times for us Mexica : the death of our leader is just another of the dark omens divined by the priests...
The Gods are hungry and have let us know by making us suffer through the Hard Times, six years of bitter winters and scorching summers... Those hardships have rekindled old feuds between the peoples of the One World and started the war between us Mexica and the Texcala, our eastern neighbors, forever our rivals...
Word has also reached our lands of white men riding deers and fear is in the hearts of the lesser people that an army of skeletons is being raised by the Gods to sate their appetites in blood...
I fervently hope that the wars to come will bring many xochimique, prisoners to be sacrificed to our numerous Gods to put an end to our doomed existence...
Here is the tale of the reign of Uey-Tlatoani Moctezuma, Revered Speaker of the Mexica Nation...
10-12-2007, 14:27
Ferret
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
Good start! I had a feeling you'd write an AAR after all those story like letters you sent me. Looking forward to the pics :)
10-12-2007, 16:44
Benandorf
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
Good start. I will be watching with great interest.
10-13-2007, 17:22
_Tristan_
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
THE CAST OF CHARACTERS
Let me first introduce our Lords and Governors...
MOCTEZUMA, "The Wrathful Lord", Uey-Tlatoani of the Mexica-Azteca Nation
In 1521
https://i231.photobucket.com/albums/...T1MocteBio.jpg It is now ten years that we live under the benevolent rule of Moctezuma, true to his name only on the battlefield... Following the Hard Times, he has put great effort in reconquering the cities that had rebelled from our rule, due to the slackening of our power... now the empire stands almost as great as it once was and only a few town remain rebellious and will soon be brought back in the fold...
Faced with the threat of the Texcalan and the incursion of the Spaniards in our lands, Moctezuma has taken some steps both towards our people and the foreigners that make him a merciless leader. His regular meetings with some disreputable members of our society do nothing to alleviate this reputation. Of late, one new advisor is always standing around our Lord, saying nothing, doing nothing but seemingly never losing a word of what is said.
Through his developing of our quimichime network of spies, Moctezuma is sometimes called the Watcher. Not a single event on our lands and abroad happens without him knowing of it almost instantly, or at least as fast as our swift-runners can reach him.
His wrathful temper is now the stuff of legend as the Texcalan can bear witness. It is to their honor (however few as they may have) that they still stand defiant.
Prince CUITLAHUAC, "Speaker of Filth", Heir to the throne
Brother to our Leader and ever jealous of his power, this man cannot be trusted as far as he can be seen... Many schemes to attent to Moctezuma's life should have been traced to this man, if the would-be assassins had not taken their lives before interrogation... Perhaps, he will mend his ways with time... Hopefully he is as hateful of our enemies as he is of his brother...
Away from the court and its intrigues, and with the will to demonstrate to his brother how better than him he is, Cuitlahuac has become a fearsome warrior. It seems that the wrath that lives in him has been turned to our enemies, but he is still as jealous of Moctezuma as before.
Cuitlahuac’s mind is still poisoned by the jealousy he feels for his brother. He has been heard to curse the Gods for having him be born two years later than Moctezuma.
Cuitlahuac' son, is a fine counterpoint to his father. Having been raised at court, he considers Moctezuma, more his true father than his uncle... He shows great promise for such a young man as War Leader... Only time will tell...
True to the promise that was seen in him, Cuauhtemoc defeated the Texcalans laying siege to Tenochtitlan, gaining some scars in the battle and ingratiating himself to our Lord.
Well aware of the tension between his father and uncle, Cuauhtemoc has seen fit to stand apart from their quarrels. Some say that he is too much reserved and should speak his mind…
War Leader CHIMALPAHIN, "Medicine Shield", adopted in 1523 by Moctezuma,
Chosen by Moctezuma to spite the Speaking Council that was looking to have him adopt one of their numbers, he proved to be an asset in organizing Tenochtitlan during the siege that hoefully didn’t last due to Cuauhtemoc’s intervention. The steps he had to take during that siege have him seen as a mean leader by the townsfolk.
His adoption in our Emperor’s family has brought out the worse in that man, who lets his life be rules by his extravagant tastes. Sensing the change and angry with himself to have been fooled by this man, Moctezuma has banished him from Tenochtitlan and given the task of developing the backwater and border region of Tolocan, much to his regret.
War Leader AMACUI-XOLOTL, "Paper-Bird", adopted in 1524 by Cuauhtemoc
Since his adoption by Cuauhtemoc, Xolotl has always been seen around Moctezuma, playing counterpoint to our Lord harshness and being seen as someone easy to talk to. It even seems like he has begun to change our Lord’s temper, making him see the limits between being harsh and being unfair, and helping him distinguish between friends and foes.
War Leader XILOTZIN, "Lord Maize", adopted in 1525 by Moctezuma
He has proven his worth in battle fighting alongside our Prince near Cholollan. He came highly recommended by the Prince. Our Emperor was no fool in considering that he might be a spy for Cuitlahuac but thought that it would be a gesture that would please his brother and end the brotherly feud. He is known for having multiple affairs with married and unmarried women, and some say men even.
Little by little, this man is showing his true nature. He is heard more and more grumbling about his lot in life, all the while spending the riches his ancestors struggled to make theirs, and only to afford his extravagant tastes in jewels and attire.
War Leader ITZQUEMITL, "Obsidian Cloak", adopted in 1525 by Moctezuma
The bravery and cunning this man has shown in ridding the Tochpan countryside of its bandit plague did not go unnoticed by Moctezuma who saw in him a man of valour.
Although still young, this man has almost seen as much action as some of our cuachique veterans and bears the scars to prove it. Something tells me that should he live long, he will be one of the greatest generals to serve our Uey-Tlatoani.
War Leader TOCHTLI, “Rabbit”, adopted in 1526 by Moctezuma
Already a veteran of many campaign with our Lord before his adoption, Tochtli, giving the lie to his fluffy namesake, is not kind and gentle and is not to be fooled with, whether on a field of battle or in everyday life. His only weakness resides in the tlachtli ball game, of which he can be considered an addict, betting large sums of money on the outcome of games. Until now, luck is with him (or might it be that his fellow players know better than to have him lose ?)
10-13-2007, 17:37
_Tristan_
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
THE TALE OF THE MEXICA NATION
Turn 1 : AD 1521, year Three-House of the Aztec Calendar
From the hard times past, we Mexica have expanded far and wide from the original cities of the Triple Alliance and it is now time to consolidate our empire and restore it to its splendor.
Great works have been commissioned by our Revered Speaker, essentially to favor commerce, the lifeblood of the state... Pathways are worked into roads and marketplaces are built in most towns.
Aware of the jealous frame of mind of his brother, Moctezuma has seen fit to send him away to lay siege to the rebel city of Cholollan, to bring it once again into the fold and thus deny our Texcala enemies new territories to conquer.
Our prince has been graced with the birth of a baby boy, but Cuitlahuac hasn't not be able to greet him to the light of the Sun, maintaining the siege of Cholollan and supervising the building of siege equipment.
Keeping his brother away from his new born son on strict orders, Moctezuma is now a bit more feared by courtiers and peasants alike who consider him as a mean leader... I know that it is not out of meanness but out of necessity that he acted so.
Our Revered Speaker is still unmarried and without child and the Elder's Council is afraid that Cuitlahuac will inherit his brother's throne. So they have presented a young noble to be adopted but without success. Our Lord has confided in me that he would better choose his heir than have him chosen by wily old men, whose intentions are unknown.
The coming of the white men is no more a mere rumor as they have been sighted. No contact has been made yet but from first sight account they seem to be men even if they seem to have strange ways of clothing and wear much hair on their faces. Some still think that they are demons from Mictlan, the Underworld, but I for myself have a theory that they might be some kind of white civilized monkeys.
The massing of Texcala forces at the northeast borders of their realm smells of an attack on our lands, so, Moctezuma, in is wisdom, to try and lure them has asked Cuauhtemoc to leave the city almost undefended and hide in the jungles east to take them in the back should they besiege the city.
We've heard that the strange white men are thought in Texcala to be the armies of Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, returning to lead the Texcalan armies to victory. This does not bode well for us...
Our spies have invaded the neighboring city of Tolocan, in preparation for a future siege. It is the last of our old cities with Cholollan to remain renegade.
Turn 3 : AD 1523, year Five-Reed : The coming of the white men
Contact has been made with the white men. They are neither demons nor monkeys but strange white men. They have strange ways of clothing, grow hair on their faces and stink as a Mictlan pit. Our Lord is a man of open ways and he has made sure that they were received regally, not sure yet that they might not be the Gods' own emissaries. From the account we received from our emissary, they were greatly impressed bu our riches and have offered us to open trade routes. They seem to have a lust for gold and soon after merchants have been seen entering our lands. They have paid only a token sum of gold to get our good graces and even that seemed to hurt them.
It seems that they believe in only one God, and we ache for them as that God must not be very watchful of his followers. We, at least, with the multitude of our Gods are sure that at least one of them is always watching over us.
The town of Huaxtepec has become so crowded with people that it needs to expand and Our Lord has asked his engineers to enlarge. It will now become a large town, not to rival Tenochtitlan but still...
The Elders are wary of the warmongering Texcalans and have requested of Our Lord to send some troops to reinforce the city of Tochpan. They have promised that they would offer to train new soldiers and dedicate some money to the temples. Our Lord is considering the proposition.
Worried by the plans of the Council to impose the choosing of an heir to the throne, Our Lord Moctezuma has adopted a worthy young man and asked him to take over the running of the city of Tenochtitlan as he himself will go and siege Tololan with his army. The man is called Chimalpahin, "Medecine Shield" and should prove to be a worthy addition to our Lord’s family.
In the same time, Prince Cuitlahuac assaults the walls of the city of Cholollan.
The Siege of Cholollan, rebel town
Prince Cuitlahuac positions his men and prepares to lead the assault. Most men are massed at the front gate of the city, but a third of them have been sent to the east wall to lure some of the defenders to that same wall, weakening the walls around the gates. A single unit of spearmen has been sent west with ladders to assault the walls opposite to the gates.
The rebel commander sends his Eagle Knights to repel our first assault on the walls but they are routed when blocked in the tower stairs between our own Eagle and Jaguar Knights.
Turn 4 : AD 1524, year Six-Flint : The Texcala Wars
For longer than even the most learned of our priests can remember, we Mexica have been at war with the Texcala. Mostly it was a war of skirmishes and border raids, for slaves and xochimique, the sacrificial victims central to our worship... We knew they had always wanted to expand southwards and we thwarted their plans on taking Cholollan...
News have reached us that the Texcala have sworn friendship to the white newcomers, still thinking of them as the armies of Quetzalcoatl returned.
Emboldened by their alliance with the white men, the Texcala have launched a full scale assault on our lands, sieging not only one but three of our cities, including our capital at Tenochtitlan and the newly-occupied Cholollan.
The news reached Prince Cuitlahuac as he was heading east to see those strange white men with his own eyes. He speeded onwards toward Tehuacan to bring relief to the besieged garrison.
He orders that a skull rack be built from the skulls of the sacrificed Texcala, for all to see and remember the power of the Mexica, 1000 men are put to death for the honor of our Lord.
Our archers are the first out of the city and start letting fly their arrows into the massed ranks of the Texcalans.
To counter us, the Texcalans send their spear throwers at our archers only to be met by our Eagle Knights on the hill just outside the gates of the town.
Our other army, coming from the opposite side of the field from our Prince, is charged with taking the enemy line in the back and kill any routers they encounter.
Cuitlahuac is blessed and cursed at the same time : his wife has given birth to a baby girl but once again, war keeps him away from seeing his newborn child.
Chimalpahin, ruler of Tenochtitlan in absence of our Revered Speaker, recruits an overseer to help him manage the rationing of food and water to endure the siege, should it last. The strict measures he is forced to take have him seen as a mean leader. https://i231.photobucket.com/albums/.../T4Annonce.jpg
Around Tenochtitlan, Cuauhtemoc gets out of his hiding place in the mountains and swoops down as his eagle namesake on the unsuspecting Texcala besieging our capital city. Still unmarried also, Cuauhtemoc has adopted the young noble Amacui-Xolotl "Paper Bird" who breached the siege of Tenochtitlan to bring him the news of that assault. The daring that man showed on this day is rewarded by great honor as one day, he might be heir to the position of Uey-Tlatoani.
Cuauhtemoc’s army meets the Texcalans on the road leading to our capital of Tenochtitlan. Hoping to take us unaware, the Texacalans hid themselves in some woods but our scouts spotted them.
Reinforcements have reached us also as Chimalpahin, governor of Tenochtitlan reaches us just before Cuauhtemoc newly-adopted son Amacui-Xolotl.
Our war leader has spotted a defensible position in a hill on our left flank and orders his men to run to the top of that hill, hoping that the Texcalans will remain in the woods out of fear...
Once the hill is ours, the archers are ordered to go down it to kill as many of our long-time enemies as possible and possibly lure them out of hiding...
That plan works and our archers retreat before the Texcalan charge.
At the same time, Chimalpahin and Amacui-Xolotl have led their men on the left flank of the Texcalans and diverted some of their men from the main battle line.
A first wave of spearthrowers reaches them when the first charge is called on our archers at the base of the hill...
That second wave get the same treatment and among the killed stood the enemy captain whose last sight will be the faraway rout of his men down that fateful hill.
Very few men were lost in defending Tenochtitlan and the Texcala prisoners are sacrificed to Tonatiu on the Temple of the Sun in Tenochtitlan. The remainder of their army goes back to Texcala to lick their wounds.
Cuauhtemoc proves worthy of the trust put in him and basks in the glory of our Emperor appreciation.
Taking profit of our difficulties, some bandits have taken up position on the road between Tenochtitlan and Tochpan. Our men cannot be diverted from their mission to reinforce Tochpan but will come back soon to deal with them.
Our Revered Speaker Moctezuma rushes on to Tolocan, hoping to siege it before a large force of Tarascans reaches it. He confided in me that he hopes that the spies we sent earlier have found a way to gain us access to the city, enabling us to bring relief to Tenochtitlan as soon as possible.
Moctezuma reaches Tolocan ahead of the Tarascans and as soon as we are in sight of the city, a secret message by way of flags is sent us by our spies to make known to us the fact that the gatekeepers have been bought and will open he gates as we approach.
We reach the rebellious town as the sun begins to set over the mountains to the west...
Prayers have been made by the priests to Tlaloc, God of rain, so that he opens the gates of the clouds and pours his bountiful waters on the town ahead of us, with the promise of many lives to be sacrificed on his altar.
The rain would nullify any advantage the numerous archers spotted by our spies in the town garrison could give those men.
Our prayers have been answered... Tlaloc must be present on the battlefield as the violence of the rainstorm unleashed on the town must be proof... So dark are the clouds over the heads of our warriors that this end of day looks like it is night already...
Seeing that their gatekeepers are opening the gates to our advancing men, the garrison abandons its stations and moves to make a last stand on the town plaza. https://i231.photobucket.com/albums/...teWithdraw.jpg
Our men give chase and reach them at one of the plaza main avenues. The melee is fierce...
Our Uey-Tlatoani is victorious and sacrifices the prisoners on the city temple altar of Tlaloc before leaving for Tenochtitlan to defend it from the Texcala. Riches from the town coffers are sent to our capital of Tenochtitlan.
Our victorious men around Tenochtitlan disperse in the countryside to root out any Texcala agents and hoping to lure a large army behind the Texcala border.
Our Prince goes in hiding around Cholollan, leaving only a few of his men near the city to try and lure a second large Texcala army in attacking Cholollan anew.
A large army of white men is seen approaching the mountain range east of Tehuacan, with men riding on strange animals like oversized dogs that they call caballo. We do not know what to make of them... Are they gods or men ? Are they Quetzalcoatl returned ? What we know from eyewitnesses is that some of them seem to be half human only, the lower half of their bodies seemingly being those of hornless deers. They also carry along with them some kind of large tube, as big as a tree trunk on wheels, and nobody has been able to guess the use of such an unwieldy thing... However, all of them are wearing an armor of a strange metal, much less shiny than silver and bearing weapon of seemingly that same metal...
Such an army could only mean one thing : they have come to conquer and wage war to the One-World. My Lord has ordered steps taken against the white men that we now see for what they are : enemies of the Mexica. However, should they be gods he has wisely decided from fighting them directly...
Thus, it has been decided to see if they are men or Gods... And what better way to decide than seeing if they can bleed...
First, the forked-tongue emissary that extorted trade rights from us is removed from this earth, with his throat sliced... Much blood was spilt...
Then, one of the greedy merchants leaves in his wake. Those men are only interested in our gold so my Lord saw fitting to have him dropped into a vat of molten gold and his statue carried to the border of the lands occupied by those false Gods as a warning.
For, surely, they are not Gods... Maybe they are the ancient Tolteca come back from wherever they went before we Mexica colonized the One World... If so, they would want it back and we must get ready for a fight...
It seems to me that in future years all eyes will be turned to the east, not to watch the rising of Tonatiu, our Sun God, as he spills his glorious light on our lands, but in wariness of another threat coming form there… If we ever win the war against our long-time enemies the Texcalans, I fear that the void they will leave will quickly be filled by the white men…
11-10-2007, 18:48
_Tristan_
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
Turn 5 : AD 1525, year Seven-House : The Texcala Wars continued
As expected the Texcalan have attacked us both in Tenochtitlan and Cholollan. Our men have withdrawn baiting them into the trap waiting for them.
Our Prince comes upon the Texcalan army led by one Temilotecatl in a wooded area of the country around Cholollan. Those cowards had been hiding in the cover of the trees so our Leader orders a feigned retreat to entice them out of their hiding place.
As soon as they begin to move, Cuitlahuac orders his archers to stop, face the Texcalan and fire at will while the remainder of our troops reorganize a bit further on.
He then orders the Arrow Knights with the support of Spear throwers to form a second curtain of defence to protect the eventual retreat of the archers…
The men of the garrison of Cholollan, one company of Jaguar Knights with some supporting archers, join the battle on our left flank, notably drawing some enemy Cuahchique from the main fight.
Temilotecatl, his Texcalan opponent chooses to flee and is chased into the far off lands occupied by his new allies, the white men who call themselves “Spaniards”. He is the shame of the One World and Moctezuma has ordered that steps be taken to have him sent to Mictlan, the Underworld.
The men sent to pursue the cowardly Texcalan have stumbled upon a settlement of those Spaniards, which they call VeraCruz. It seems to be manned by a powerful garrison.
Our Emperor, still unmarried, and sensing that the troubled times ahead of us will require that his descendance be assured, has once again adopted a man of worth. This one goes by the name of Xilotzin “Lord Maize” and has proven his worth in battle fighting alongside our Prince near Cholollan. He came highly recommended by the Prince. Our Emperor was no fool in considering that he might be a spy for Cuitlahuac but thought that it would be a gesture that would please his brother and end the brotherly feud.
Another of the gold-robbing white men was taken out... Our gold is a gift of the Gods to embellish our temples and Our Lord Speaker will not allow it to fall into the hands of such greedy foreigners.
Around Tenochtitlan, our Lord Moctezuma gathers the forces scattered in the country to deal with the invading Texcalans, but having had to wait on reinforcement he cannot reach them in time to do battle. Surely the might of our Lord’s army will send them running to their filthy homes...
A menace was taken out in the person of a Tarascan emissary that tried to meet up with the Texcalan army that our Lord tried to engage. Surely, our taking Tolocan right under their noses did not go well with the Tarascans and they surely want to play the anvil to the Texcalan hammer.
One captain Itzquemitl, a Jaguar Knight, was assigned the task of bringing relief to the garrison of Tochpan as requested by the Speaking Council. His mission was successful and funds have been granted by the Elders so that some veterans have been called back into service fielding two new companies of Cuahchique. Emboldened by this favourable turn of events, Captain Itzquemitl took upon himself to rid the Tochpan countryside of the bandits lurking on the trade route to Tenochtitlan.
Captain Itzquemitl has devised a stratagem to bring the brigands out of hiding… He has disguised his men as a train of pochtecatl, merchants… The train engages on the south road from Tochpan to Tenochtitlan and soon enough the trap works and an ambush is spotted…
All pretense is then dropped and the battle is joined…
Our men quickly gain the summit of a low hill overlooking the road, leaving the bandits no time to organize themselves.
Such bravery and cunning as has been shown by Itzquemitl “Obsidian Cloak” did not go unnoticed by Moctezuma and he is both made a noble and adopted by our wifeless and childless Emperor.
Turn 6 : AD 1526, year Eight-Rabbit : Incursion in Texcala lands
The Speaking Council, furthering its goals of reuniting what were once our lands, has asked of our Lord to retake the city of Tototepec on the southern coast. It is a long term goal, that city not being of any real military or financial value.
Our Lord has taken that mission into account but the time is not yet ripe for it, more pressing matters occupy Moctezuma, such as the Texcalan.
Speaking of whom, the invading army of Texcala near Tenochtitlan, as we surmised, was so afraid of our Lord’s approach that most of them deserted and that the rest have turned bandit and have begun to ravage the countryside. https://i231.photobucket.com/albums/...MocteRebel.jpg
Moctezuma leads his men against those villains and their flight back to their homelands give him an excuse to enter Texcala lands. They begin to taste their own medicine as those “bandits” run loose in their fellow countrymen lands.
A small border force is all there is to stop him from crossing into our long-time enemy’s lands but on seeing our force cross the mountain pass separating our lands from theirs, they run back to their city, simply delaying our men from reaching their capital.
Our still unmarried Revered Speaker Moctezuma has adopted still another young man to ascertain his heritage. This man is aptly-named Tochtli “Rabbit”, a good omen as we are in the year named so and he came to the notice to our Lord for having given chase to the fleeing Texcalan Temilotecatl, who ran before him like his fluffy namesake.
He has been appointed tecutli (governor) of Tenochtitlan, in the absence of our Lord, who has taken into his own hands the war against the Texcalans.
His first act as governor is to give orders for the enlargement of the great ball court of tlachtli, our God-worshipping ball game, of which he is known to be a staunch supporter. To enable such a major build, funds and men had to be diverted from the worksite of the major palace commissioned by our Lord. While it might be presumptuous of him, the palace will not be of use to our Lord for some time.
The honorless and shameless Texcalan Temilotecatl has found shelter with the Spaniards, the new found allies of his people in their relentless wars against us Mexica. But on our Lord’s decree, that man is not fit to be let alive and shame all the people of the One World with his cowardice.
So, sold as a slave to the household of the Spaniard giving shelter to the man, one of our executioners reached him while he was at his most defenceless, in his sleep, bound him to his bed and ripped his still-beating heart from his body and burnt it in the room hearth, denying him any hope of an afterlife. The killer avoided notice on his leaving the household and is now still roaming the Spaniards lands, in search of a new prey.
To the west, the Tarascan power is stirring. One of their armies has been sighted by one of our quimichime, our mice, our spies, laying siege to the free city of Tecoman. This gives credit to the campaign on Tototepec requested by the Council, to deny the Tarascans an eastward expansion that would threaten our southernmost provinces.
More importantly, while on a foray to establish a network of watchtowers, the newly-adopted lord Xilotzin has witnessed the invasion of our lands by a large force of Tarascans. Those men are headed directly for Tollan…
In the east, our emissary has finally reached the ancient and decadent Mayas. Those people were once the greatest power in the One World but having reached the peak of their culture, they started a slow but steady decline into oblivion. However, with the coming of the white men new threat, Moctezuma has confided in me that he would try to create an alliance of all the people of the One World to defeat the white men. They have agreed to trade their maps with ours and to reopen the trade lanes that the Hard Times broke. But, for the once, perhaps wary of our power and still unsure about the godliness of the white men, they have turned down our offer of alliance.
To the northwest, the same offer is made to the Chichimeca, the Dog People. Although a barbarian people and barely worth of our notice in other times, our Lord policies require that all people of the One World join in the war against the white men. Once again, surely wary of our power, the Chichimeca have agreed to re-open the trade lanes between our lands and exchange their maps with ours, with gold for us in the bargain, but will not hear of an alliance. We had hoped they would accept and help us threaten the Tarascans into immobility if not submission.
With the Texcala standing between us and the white men, some of lands to the south could be threatened by the Spaniards. So, Prince Cuitlahuac, who changed from a threat to the throne into a praiseworthy war leader, is sent south to watch our borders and prepare our men to repel any invasion.
The Spaniards are spreading their new faith in the lands they hold. They have destroyed the Gods’ images in the temples in those lands that have surrendered to them and replaced them by giant wooden crosses and statues of a virgin woman. They teach of there being only one God and convert the people in masses. Our chief priests are very much upset by this turn of event and have requested of our Lord that some of their numbers be allowed to go to those lands and maintain the worship of our Gods. Moctezuma, a very devout leader, has granted their wish and a procession of priests has been sent from the southern provinces through the mountains to reach the province of VeraCruz, formerly known to us as Tzempoalan.
Turn 7 : AD 1527, year Nine-Reed : The Invasion of Texcala
Consistent with our policy of hindering the spreading of the white men’s faith, one of their priests has been snuffed out. His spreading of lies is over.
Moctezuma has made up his mind about the Texcalans, their presence on our doorstep has been tolerated long enough. He will himself lead the siege on their capital city, but before some roaming Texcalan armies have to be taken care of, to prevent our being taken in the back.
First, Moctezuma orders the leader of the Cholollan garrison to deal with the southern most and smaller army arounf Texcala. That mission is quickly accomplished. The few remaining men find refuge in their capital city, raising the number of defenders but the number of men to feed as well.
Moctezuma himself wishes to engage the army that tried to prevent his crossing into the Texcalan lands, but once again, having had to wait for men to be retrained, he is not able to bring them to battle.
In preparation for the upcoming siege, some of our men have entered Texcala and have informed us of the extent of the defences of the town. Let’s hope that they will be able to gain us access in the town unhindered.
Our emissaries have met in Chichimeca lands with one of their counterpart from the Apaches… They are a people who live in the desert wastes to the north of the One World, and while almost as barbaric as the Chichimeca, they give a feeling of much grandeur and ferocity. They have accepted to strike with us the same bargain that we struck with the Chichimeca, to establish trade lanes between our lands and exchange our maps, giving us gold in the bargain. Seeing no threat in the coming of the white men, nor in any of their neighbouring people, they also have refused our offer of alliance.
It seems that the Tarascans on our lands were simply passing through as they seem to be headed towards the rebel town of Cuahtemoc. Itzquemitl is given another mission of importance : to take Cuahtemoc before the Tarascans, as his benefactor did before him in Tolocan. He sets north as soon as the orders reach him with few men, expecting some more to reach him while he besieges the city.
It seems that his mission will be tougher than what was expected of him as one of our priests sent north to spread the word of Tonatiu has discovered a newly disembarked force of Spaniards. If they head south from there they will come upon Cuahtemoc.
Our quimichime has reached the army of the Spaniard Cortes and having succeeded in being hired as a cook and porter, he has been able to number the men. It seems that seeing our strength, Cortes has decided to deal with independent people first and is now heading for the city of Tochtlan.
On reaching our southernmost city of Tecuantepec, Prince Cuitlahuac undertakes works to extend the city boundaries. This will drive some of our people to that town thus enabling us to train better warriors to eventually fend off any attacks by the white men. Cuitlahuac is now as far from his brother as he can be and still be in our lands. Some among us fear that he will try and carve a new kingdom for himself.
Turn 8 : AD 1528, year Ten-Flint : the siege of Texcala
Another priest of the Spaniards’ Gods has been sent to meet his Creator. This one was in residence in the city of Coatzalcoalcos, which the invaders have made into their capital city in Cem-Anahuac.
Cuitlahuac has gone as far as our border with the Spanish lands to set up a network of watchtowers, to give us warning of any hostile intent on their part. From what he has been able to see with his own eyes, there are much more numerous than what we had thought them to be. He even went as far as the bridge over the river separating our lands from those Spanish-held provinces taunting the Spanish Commander Augusto Ferrandes, but to no avail. This man is leading a fearsome army but he must have some orders not to cross into our lands.
Around Texcala, the bandits that ravaged the countryside of their former lands have been dealt with by the army that tried to stop our Lord Moctezuma from crossing the mountain pass. Leaving them no respite after that fratricide combat, Moctezuma attacks them, and seeing no chance of victory they withdraw. This leaves the city completely undefended from the outside.
They are driven by our pursuit in entering the region of Cholollan where so many of their brethren have already fallen to our obsidian swords and arrows, until the moment when they are driven to the wall and forced to face an honourable death.
We catch up with the retreating Texcalans as they try to lose us into some woods, but this is our land and each stone, each tree is so familiar to us that it is unfeasible.
Seeing this, they turn to face us.
Our Lord in his full battle-regalia gives us a heartening speech about the need to put an end to the lies and trespasses of the Texcalans.
Moctezuma organizes our army in two lines with our archers marching to the front to rain death on the Texcalans. He then gives command of the right flank to Cuauhtemoc and the left to his son Amacui-Xolotl, himself remaining in the centre with his own bodyguard and only two units of veterans.
Taking profit of a small hill at the edge of the woods, our archers take up a staggered formation where the uppermost units will cover the retreat of those farther down the hill, should the Texcalans decide to charge.
The fight begins when some Texcalans archers come out of the woods and an archery duel begins. Not a single one of their arrows reach our men will they are decimated.
While our spies have made known to us several ways of gaining access to the town and bringing a swift surrender, our Lord decides that the Texcalans have to suffer for the enmity they showed toward us all these years. The siege will be maintained. It will certainly be a long and difficult siege as the city has large food stores and many warriors to defend it.
Our main forces being diverted to the north of our lands, a band of brigands has set up camp near the bridge crossing the river between Tixtla and Huaxtepec. They have establish a toll for any person wishing to cross.
The years to come will be the years that will see our end or that of our arch-enemies the Texcalans.
11-24-2007, 03:21
Caius
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
I don't have M2:TW, but this is an impressive work, but some pictures arent showed up.
11-24-2007, 14:49
_Tristan_
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
Thanks for the kind words...
As to pictures, it might be due to the sheer number of them... I have been forced to take some away as their is a limit per post (50 I think)...
Otherwise, it might be some broken links so let me know which one(s) (here or by PM) and I would replace them...
I am around turn 30 at the moment with a lot going on so expect to see as many pics in the future
11-30-2007, 17:43
_Tristan_
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
Turn 9-10 : AD 1529-1530, year Eleven-House - Twelve-Rabbit : The beginning of Texcala’s end
With no armies in the field, the last remaining warriors of Texcala are those defending its capital city, now under siege… Our Lord Moctezuma wishes that those defiant Texcalans suffer, and thus our besieging army prepares for a protracted siege.
Now only an intervention by the Spaniards could bring relief to the Texcalans.
Such help may be on its way as the Spanish army spotted in the northern reaches is now heading south towards the village of Cuahtemoc…
…where our men under Itzquemitl and the Tarascans are converging in a wild race. Our men are the first in view of the town and make preparations for attacking, as such a small community doesn’t have any walls to protect themselves. Let’s hope the approaching white men will deter the Tarascans from engaging us, as Itzquemitl has only a token force with him.
Knowing that they won’t be able to stand a fully prepared assault, the inhabitants of Cuahtemoc sally out but Itzquemitl is a worthy warrior and commander and scores another victory. The few riches held by those fishermen are seized by Iztquemitl for the improvement of the town.
Let’s hope the approaching white men will deter the Tarascans from engaging us, as Itzquemitl has only a token force with him.
The Spanish threat seems to be everywhere as some of our scouts have discovered a powerful army of those white men on the southernmost border of our realm, the largest ever seen…
Knowledge of our show of force at Texcala has spread far and wide in the One World and our neighbours are lavishing us with gifts of gold, hoping that we will turn our eyes and our swords from their own lands, but they still refuse to ally with us.
Among all the brutality that our world has to offer at the present, our Lord Moctezuma has finally found the one ounce of beauty that lacked in his world. He has finally met his heart expectancy in the last place he would have searched… Soon after the beginning of the siege of Texcala, the young Texcalan noblewoman Xiloxoch “Little Sister” came out of Texcala asking an audience with our Lord. She offered herself to serve as a slave to our Lord if only he would abandon his plans and leave Texcala free. Awed both by her bravery and her beauty, Moctezuma refused her offer but made one of his own :for her to become what no woman until now had been, his consort, his queen. However, he made sure that she understood that whatever her decision the siege would go as planned. She refused the offer of our Lord and got back to Texcala. The next days were heart-wrenching for Moctezuma, undecided as to what to do, having found the love of his life among his worst enemies and fearing now for his life. Until, one day, Xiloxoch was thrown out of the gates of Texcala, having suffered so much infamy at the hands of her own people that she could barely breath. Moctezuma himself braved the arrows of the Texcalan archers to bring her to safety and hear the tale of how she had been mistreated for having dared make that offer of peace. Moctezuma entered a fearsome rage on hearing her tale and vowed that only with the death of every able-bodied Texcalan would our war come to an end. Xiloxoch, resentful of her mistreatment by her people, and slowly falling in love with Moctezuma through his kind attentions, finally gave in and accepted the offer of marriage of our Lord. To spite the Texcalan, that marriage was celebrated within sight of the besieged city walls. It is certainly the last time the Texcalans will have an occasion to witness such celebrations.
Not wishing to engage yet in a full-fledged war with the white men, Moctezuma has chosen to wage a war of shadows on them. That war will be waged on two fronts : from the top, by removing all Spanish leaders and dignitaries with temictiani, assassins, and from the bottom, by bringing the conquered people to insurrection and to lead them to overthrow the Spanish rule and exchange it for our own, at sword’s point if necessary. This will be done through arson of the religious and military buildings of the invaders, showing to the cowed populace that the alien gods are no protection and thir military might is a sham. Our main advantage in that dirty kind of war is that the Spaniards “can’t tell one damn Indios from another”, as they so often complain, allowing our agents to move among them undetected by pretending to someone else, someone as innocuous as a slave or a prostitute, and to strike when they have their guard down. So arson and assassination will from now rule the Spanish lands.
The war is also a war for the Gods, as the white men try to spread their faith called Crixtanoyotl in the lands they have conquered and destroy the temples of our own Gods in the process. Our priests are busy establishing hidden temples in those Spanish-controlled lands for every single one the Spaniards destroy, thus maintaining our ancestral faith in Tonatiu, the Sun God. From what I have gathered from our few priests returning from the lands of the white men, that Crixtanoyotl faith is not much different from our own as I simply believed before. They have a multitude of gods which they seem to call santos, and use the names of those minor gods to name towns, temples… Moreover, however advanced the weapons of those white men seem to be, I believe they can’t even count above three. Indeed when we believed that they worshipped only one God, it seems that they really worship a four-part “trinity” consisting of that God, his God-ling born from a virgin mother, that Mother and an Espiritu Santo, or Holy Spirit.
But even the priests are not protected from the whims of the Gods, as one of them is struck down by tlaloque spirits in a powerful storm in the northern lands.
Turn 11 to 13 : AD 1531 to 1533 : The Shadow War and the endless siege of Texcala
The next years have been almost uneventful in our lands. Prosperity seems to settle as our nation has grown back to the size it was before the Harsh Times that the Gods imposed on us.
True to his reputation, our Lord has sent spies far and wide and they have met a large force of that northern tribe that call themselves Apaches. They are a nomadic and barbarian people, following the herds that they hunt for food. But they are also ferocious warriors, wont to take the scalp of their enemies and wearing them on their belts as trophies.
However, like the crouching jaguar, ready to pounce on its unsuspecting victim, we prepare for the war that is to come between us Mexica and the Spanish white men. Thus, our agents in those foreign lands go on spreading a dissident speech and destroying and killing, disappearing soon after in the general populace, never to be caught.
All the while, our priests maintain the faith in our ancestral Gods, so much so that even the converts to the Crixtanoyotl faith revert to their old beliefs. Half the population in the VeraCruz region are now followers of Tonatiu.
At Cuahtemoc, the Tarascans who tried to take the town before our own men are so ashamed that they cannot bear to go back to their homelands and have turned to banditry.
We are not the only one to resist the Spanish onslaught. The free city of Potonchan, once part of the mighty Maya empire, has pushed back the assault of the Spanish and remains free to this day.
The Mayas, seeing the Spanish threat nearing their land, are gifting us large sums of gold, in the hope that we will accept to attack the Spanish, but those sums are slowly dwindling as they see that our help cannot be bought.
Some have decided to deal differently with the Spanish threat. The double-crossing Chichimeca, while gifting us gold to lull us into being less vigilant, have tried to strike a deal with the Spaniards. . However far from our own the Chichimeca lands be, they could have created a new front on our western borders. Only the timely intervention of one of our men prevented that meeting to occur. That emissary will now only be meeting his ancestors
Moreover, the Spanish threat on our lands is not so much in the regions bordering on the Mayan lands as in the army sighted near Cuahtemoc. Our men lost track of the progress of that army only to find that it had hopefully bypassed Cuahtemoc, which was not properly garrisoned to withstand them, and was hiding further south in the jungles. Now, it becomes clear why they bypassed such a charcoal-lump of a town to get to the glowing diamonds that are our mainland cities. Let’s hope we will be able to stop them from crossing the mountain range giving out into our lush lands…
But mainly, these years are also those of the siege of Texcala, unrelenting and uneventful. Some times, our Lord has almost ordered his men to assault the city to bring at an end the suffering of the defenders and to relieve our warriors from the boredom settling among the ranks. It is only due to the pleading of his wife Xiloxoch that such orders never crossed his lips as she does not want to see a merciful end to the suffering of her tormentors. So the siege still goes on…
12-12-2007, 03:27
Lt. Pinard
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
Time to beat down those disease spreading spainards!
12-12-2007, 17:23
_Tristan_
Re: Mexica Sunrise : An Aztec AAR
Turn 14 : AD 1534, year Three-Rabbit
Our war of shadows goes on in the Spanish lands… One more of their generals ends up dead at the hands of one of our killers. While our other men continue to sabotage the churches and garrison quarters of the Spaniards, creating mayhem in Spanish-held territories.
Faced with the possible threat of a Spanish attack on Cuahtemoc, Itzquemitl makes a sortie with the newly-appointed governor of the town Xilotzin to deal with the turned-bandits Texcalans, before they can be enroled by the Spanish.
In the lands far to the west, word has reached us that the Tarascans are trying to gain new lands for themselves and are laying siege to the independent city of Ocotlan.
Having been warned by our quichime inside Texcala of the preparations of its defenders for a sally, Moctezuma made sure that our men were alert and ready at all time. So, according to plan, when the Texcalan start pouring out of the gates,…
It does not take long to the Texcalan commander to consider what he has to do and to order his men to charge our line of archer, which quickly retreats.
The remnants of the army try to regain the safety of the city walls but our men are pursuing closely and even catch up with the Emperor’s son in his flight, bringing him down.
A vast hoard of gold is discovered in the city’s vaults, which Moctezuma has immediately transferred in the coffers of Tenochtitlan, while our men’s anger is given free rein on the remaining inhabitants of the town. Those few who survived the mistreatment by our warriors were put to death on temple altars, thus eradicating Texcalans from the One World.
In the midst of the celebrations of this glorious victory, Cuauhtemoc announces his wish to marry a young noble by the name of Tecuelhuatzin and is granted his wish by Moctezuma.
However the celebrations are a bit marred by the news that a small force of Spaniards has been spotted near Tecuantepec making a reconnaissance of our forces in the area. We had left a small force of men, mainly peasants to guard the bridge crossing into the Spaniards lands with instructions to destroy it should they try to cross, but they were overwhelmed and forced to retreat to Tecuantepec. Hopefully, Prince Cuitlahuac will be able to deal with that new threat.
… and those same celebrations are not yet finished as Chimalpahin has requested and obtained the right to marry a young noble by the name of Tepin, “Older Sister”.
In the wake of the victory, Moctezuma has ordered that two of our towns have there walls strengthened and enlarged to accept the flow of populace still fleeing from Tlaxcala, seeking shelter in our lands.
Rumours are starting to spread in the One World of the tyrannical mind of Moctezuma, instilling fear in the spirit of the other peoples surrounding our lands.
Our fears that the Tarascans might turn their eyes eastwards appear to have been just that, as the Tarascans have come to us with offerings of gold on learning of the defeat of the Texcalans.
The fierce Apaches have agreed to share their knowledge of the northern reaches of the One World with us for a small sum of gold. Moctezuma told me of how he is sure we could ally with this people however barbaric they may seem.
Moctezuma has some plans about that army… It shall never leave that plain again…
Turn 17-19, AD 1537-1539 : the Conquest Aftermath
The Spaniards are trapped… Moctezuma has ordered his men to block all mountain passes leading in or out of the plain of Texcala, himself cutting all avenues of retreat towards the main Spanish settlements…
It may even be a favour we did them seeing how hell seems to have broken loose in the town of Veracruz… Agitation by our agents and the preaching of our priests have turned the town into a boiling cauldron…
The only followers of Crixtanoyotl left are the Spaniards… All the population have gone back to our old gods, either in secret or in full view of the Spanish soldiers… Soon our Gods will be fed Spanish hearts, I’ve heard Moctezuma foretelling…
However the rioting in the town is short lived as the Spaniards have released some pressure on the people, lowering taxes, slowing their depredations, even allowing religious festivals to be attended.
Watchtowers are being established at the farthest reaches of our Empire to warn us of our enemies advance… West, Chimalpahin oversees the building at the Tarascan borders, getting notice of a large Tarascan force….
… while Prince Cuitlahuac does the same in the south and is witness of the planned assault of the Spaniards on the free and well defended town of Xelaju, once part of the Mayan Empire…
… but the lure of gold in those parts have turned some of those Spaniards into freebooters, freeing them of any bonds to their former masters and turning them to banditry and looting.
Proof is that another large Spanish army has been spotted just having landed on these northern shores. It is led by one Carlos Macia and combines a full complement of troops with one of those tubes on wheels that we have not yet guessed of what use they could be… Maybe they are some kind of religious icons, the Spaniards never seem to venture anywhere without one of those… If the description I’ve got from our quichime is anything like what it really looks like, then it must truly be the most hideous idol ever revered by anyone…
On minor noble in our lands, disgruntled of having been overlooked for promotion in our armies, has turned rebel and is now cutting all trade between Mictlan and Tecuantepec… The name of the town of Mictlan derives from the legend that the gates of Mictlan, our Underworld, are to be found near the town… I don’t know the truth of that legend and prefer not to know but from seeing the look on the face of Moctezuma when he learnt the news of that rebellion, I think that Miahuaxochitl of Otumba will soon discover that the Underworld is waiting for him…
In the south our men are gathering to lead an assault on Tototepec, the last of our former colonies to be brought back into the fold. This mission had been assigned some years ago by the Speaking Council but the fight against the Texcalans, kept us from making that city rebellious inhabitants see that they had to be assimilated into our Empire.
