Anabasis Pyrrhou - An Epeirote AAR

[Hax]

On the Anabasis Pyrrhou

An Epeiros AAR

Book I - Pyrrhos

Chapter I - On Pella and Demetrias
Chapter II - A Thracian Thermopylae?
Chapter III - A Gateway to the East
Chapter IV - Of the Athenians
Chapter V - Over the Sea?


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Book II - Ptolemaios

Chapter I - Kimmerika
Chapter II - Sikilia
Chapter III - On the Karkhedoi
Chapter IV - Megale Hellas


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Book I - ΠΥΡΡΟΣ

"What does it feel like?"

"What do you mean?"

"War. How is it like?"

"War is nothing of what you read of in books. There is no glory in ending another man's life. What counts is the idea for what you fight for."

Chapter I - Of Pella and Demetrias

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In the 504th year after the first Olympiad, Pyrrhos, the King of Epiros, had laid siege to the city of Pella. With Pyrrhos came over 5,000 Galatikoi mercenaries, feared since the sacking of the Delphinion. Also came 5000 phalangites from Illyria and 2500 foot-companions from Epiros proper. A special contigement was made out of 360 elephants from India, a gift from the King of Syria.

The battle started on a clear spring morning, as the soft leaves were flattened by the huge grey feet of the enormous elephants. As the sun rose to the sky, the elephants had crushed the pallisade that was erected in Alkyoneus' haste to defend the capital of the Makedones. Directly afterwards, the blonde Galatikoi rushed in, their swords glistening in the morning sun. Encountering very little resistance in the outer quarters of the city, they quickly secured what was left of the gates and the Elephantes were sent in.

The grey beasts towered over what little men remained, and those who did threw off their arms and ran. Those who could not hide fast enough were thrown against buildings or crushed by the grey feet of the elephants.



Alkyoneus too met his doom there. He was caught by one of the ivory tusks which pierced straight through his linothorax.



With the death of the King's son, the garrison quickly surrendered, and although Pyrrhos had now annexed the former capital of the Makedones, Pella was never truly a battle. It was a mere show of defense, which cost the life of Alkyoneus, son of Antigonos, and many of his men.



.

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Pyrrhos spent little time enjoying his victory, as the Makedones could still launch a counterattack from Thessalia. Some have argued that Pyrrhos' haste was due to the fact that his mother was a Thessalian, and that he still felt some passion for the region and their fine horses, but it has been most widely accepted that he wished to remove any possible threat.

Quickly pacifying the region, he set south before summer arrived, taking with him all of his soldiers, save a small contingent of javelineers, armed with knives to keep the peace.

Even before autumn arrived, they had met Pyrrhos' son Helenos less than 30 miles from Demetrias, who had taken with him a number of no smaller than 6820 Illyrians, of which counted 2,000 horsemen and 4820 spear-armed infantry, which counted to a total of 22,290 men, not counting the bodyguard of Pyrrhos and Helenos.

As they had halted for that day, they laid siege to Demetrias on the next, blocking all trade to and from the city. They were forced to wait for another two weeks, however, for the 1,600 hoplites from Ambrakia, clad in the traditional Hellenic fashion.

Two days after the hoplites and their consorts arrived, they began the attack.



Pyrrhos aligned his elephants in front, followed by the Illyrian spearmen, after which came the Galatikoi. The line was ended by the phalangitai and the Illyrian cavalry and the personal bodyguard of Pyrrhos himself.



As soon as the walls were battered down, the Illyrians rushed in, securing the outer part of the city. They were quickly followed by the blond-haired Galatians and their shortswords. It was at that moment that the first Makedonian retaliation came, as the Agrianian axe-bearers and the phalangites clashed with the Illyrians. Knowing that the Agrianians were fearsome warriors, Pyrrhos sent in the hoplites to hold the situation until the Elephantes could arrive. As the elephants took down the walls behind the phalangites, they were able to turn the tide of the battle.





Within mere seconds, they had cut a bloody swathe through the Agrianians and Makedonians, throwing them into walls and crushing them, causing a chain rout which proved disastrous for the garrison of the city.



As the battle in the outer quarters turned in the Epirote favour, the Galatians had been pinned down in the streets by Kalos, second son of Antigonos Argeades.



As Kalos himself died in the streets, panic began to grow in the Makedonian hearts. Most of them threw down their weapons and were either cut down by the Galatians or crushed by the Elephantes.





The Galatians and Illyrians had now proceeded into the heart of the city, causing chaos and bloodshed where they went, until the streets overflowed with blood. It were the Elephantes, though, who came to the center of the city first, encountering the elite Thessalian cavalry. Nimble yet strong, they cut down more than 30 Elephantes before they were eventually defeated.



Demetrias is what Pella should have been, as it was at Demetrias that the Argeades were thrown down, not at Pella. In the hearts of the Thessalians, Demetrias would never be forgotten, as in total more than 20,000 men died.

''Run, friend, run, tis Pyrrhos on the Thessalian plain

With bloodshed awide ended Antigonos' reign"







Even though the poem speaks bad of Pyrrhos, he treated the Demetrian citizens with respect, paying for the damage done by the Galatians personally.

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Next: Chapter II - A Thracian Thermopylae?

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Not bad Hax, not bad at all.

[johnhughthom]

Not bad Hax, not bad at all.

Understatement alert.

Excellent start Hax, I had toyed with the idea of an Epirote AAR before going with my Roman one so it's nice to see this. I'm expecting great things.

[Aemilius Paulus]

Understatement alert.

Amen!

Nice to see an Epeiros AAR. I don't remember ever finding an Epeirote AAR that lasted for more than one page, and I have looked at just about all of the AARs ever posted in this section of the EB forum. Hope this one lasts.

[gamegeek2]

I chose to do Of Mail and Men (version 1.1) over an Epeirote AAR. Glad to see my role was filled by someone as capable as you, Hax. (I just hope you can manage this AND AtB work)

[PriestLizard]

Yeah
Great to see an epirote AAR! Even though its sad that now both of my ideas for upcoming AARs of mine (AS,Epeirus) are assigned ( ) I wish you the best for this. I will follow this one closely

[hrrypttrbst]

Good AAR!!
Keep it up.

[Hax]

Thanks for all your replies! Way more than I had expected.

@Olaf Blackeyes: Thanks!

@johnhughtom: Thanks for reading. I'll be on the lookout for your Romani AAR as well

@Aemilius Paulus: If you go way back into the old pages, you can find my "Age of Aiakides" AAR. It's not really that long, but I had a nice empire back then. Thanks for reading!

@gamegeek: Sure thing. AtB goes first, eh!

@PriestLizard: You could try and start an Epeirote AAR of your own, and take the Alexandrian route. I plan on going west a bit first, taking revenge for Beneventum and Asculum ;)


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Chapter II - A Thracian Thermopylae?

As soon as Demetrias had been pacified, Pyrrhos turned his eyes north. As the King-in-Exile Antigonos was fighting over the Peloponnese with the Alliance of Sparte and Athenai, there was no immediate threat to Thessalia. It was also during this time that a distress call came from the city of Taras, which had long been allied to Pyrrhos.



The Romaioi, regrouping after their defeats at Beneventon and Askulon had laid siege to the main city of Kalabria. As Pyrrhos was unable to raise a fleet in time, he denied the plea for help and regrouped his army at Demetrias. From Ambrakia came 2,500 more Helleno-Illyrian phalangitai, and Demetrias delivered 1,600 classic hoplites. Also came with him an elite regiment of Kretan mercenaries.

Before the year was out, all was prepared, and spies had been sent to the town of Tylis.





Finally, as the 505th year after the first Olympiad came to end, Pyrrhos had already crossed into Southern Thracia, past the villages of the Agrianians and Bisaltans.



They camped there for the remainder of the winter and marched on when the snows melted and the mountain passes opened. Before the apple-trees blossomed, however, they had reached Tylis.



During that time, news finally came from Taras once again. The Romans had attacked the city in the third month of their siege and taken the city for their own, renaming it "Tarentum".





Meanwhile, in Epeiros proper, the cult of Askleipios had grown, which lead to the investment in Askleipieia, where the diseased could be treated for their illnesses.



After less than a year of siege, the Thracians attacked Pyrrhos on the plains before the city.



The Thracian army consisted mostly out of the many tribes that inhabited the area of Dardanoia, though there were some Hellenic hoplites with them as well.



As the Thracians came nearer, Pyrrhos aligned his youngest Galatians soldiers on the left of his Phalangitai, with the more experienced ones to the back.



Before long, the Thracians clashed with the Galatian mercenaries, their warcries filling the air.



Battle progressed slowly, as none of either side managed to get a clear advantage over the other.



The first true change came when the Thracian falx-bearers entered battle, their curved blades cutting through the undefended flesh of the Galatians. Seeing this imminent danger, Pyrrhos threw in the Galatian reserves. These were more reliable men, more in number and more experienced.



Battle progressed further. The Thracians, though surrounded, were relentless and slew many of the younger Galatians, causing growing panic between the ranks of the mercenaries. And the worst had yet even to come.



At that time, the older Galatians had been attacked in the rear by a band of Thracian spear-armed footmen, not at all that different from the classic Hellenic phalanx. Fortunately, Pyrrhos did anticipate this move by Drigiza, the Thracian warleader. The Illyrian cavalry circled around the now open flanks, and crushed the Thracians. At the same time, Pyrrhos charged the Thracian peltasts headon, crushing most in his way;



The barbarians were followed into the streets of Tylis, cut down mercilessly by the light and agile Illyrian cavalry.



Among those who were cut down while fleeing was Drigiza himself. His horse was cut down beneath him and his skull was shattered by the fall.



The last that remained standing were the Hellenic hoplites. Eventually they too, fled, and in their haste to get back to the city, they were crushed on the pikes of the Illyrian phalangites;



In the end, Serdike was conquered, but the loss of more than 5,000 men, together with the loss of some of Pyrrhos' most trusted Galatians made the victory somewhat less sweet than it could have been. The remaining 300 Thracians were enslaved and sent to Pella, Ambrakia and Epidamnos.







And thus came an end to the siege of Serdike, which Pyrrhos would later name in his annals "The Thracian Thermopylae". Whether it was truly comparable to the slaughter the Spartans created in Thessalia is doubtful, but to Pyrrhos, it counted as such.


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Next: Chapter III - A Gateway to the East

[PriestLizard]

Nice update - some sweet screenshots you have there!!
I'm curious how your AAR will develop once Pyrrhos is dead... thats when epeirote AARs get interesting... I guess. Untill then, I hope you will lead Pyrrhos to the glory and fame he deserves and did not receive in reality.

[Hax]

Yeah, I plan on at least conquering all of Hellas with him and Syrakousai perhaps.

I just saw I copied one picture twice. Editing!

[NickTheGreek]

Hax is back with the Epirotes then eh? Cool, i look forward to reading more of your exploits

[hrrypttrbst]

Good chapter
I wonder what you will do with the Romans now they have slaughterd your allies in Italia.

[Hax]

NickTheGreek: Thanks for reading. I hope you'll also enjoy the next chapters.

hrrypttrbst: Hehe, well; Pyrrhos is already growing pretty old, and he might not even live long enough to make the Romans suffer for the conquest of Taras. However, his son Ptolemaios is also quite promising...

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Chapter III - The Gateway to the East

As Serdike had been conquered, Pyrrhos set his eyes east. The rest of Thrace still had to be subjugated, and he had been quite impressed by the fierceness that the Thracians had shown. He once again assembled his armies and marched away from the city, leaving only a small garrison to deal with any dissendent citizens;



The air grew colder as the army marched on, with summer turning into autumn, colouring the leaves a golden-brown. It was during this time that the army was in no short supply, as the area was rich with appletrees, which were just getting ripe.



Before the winter snows came, however, they had reached Tylis, starting their siege.



The city of Tylis had been raided by Galatians from far-away lands not too long ago, and they had left their mark. Their leader, Virssuccios, alledgedly was among those who pillaged the Deliphinion, and he led an army of Thraco-Galatians. It was from here that Pyrrhos sent several embassies towards the north, calling out for mercenaries, to which several replied. There came 1,000 Hippotoxotai, or horse-archers, from the far northern steppes, old Skythians who had been driven from their homeland when the Sakae came.



Without any warning, the Galatians came out after a year, their warchants ringing through the air and the sound of swords being brandished sending chills down Pyrrhos' men. Their fear was unnecessary, however, as they were undermanned and malnourished. They threw themselves against Pyrrhos' phalangitai without managing to make any true progress.





From the flanks came Virssuccios himself, riding with his blond-haired Gauls into battle. Pyrrhos rode around the flanks with his Molossian spear-bearers and crashed into Virssuccios men.



They were quickly joined by the Thessalian hoplites, who cut down the large Gallic steeds with their ferocious spears.



It was at this moment that the battle turned into Pyrrhos' favour, as the Gauls steadily tired, losing their resolve to fight. The final turning point came when Virssuccios himself was pulled off his horse and stabbed multiple times, causing any Gaul in sight to turn tail and flee. It was at this moment that the horse-archers of Skythia proved their second worth. As they had spent all of their arrows, their nimble and light steeds caught the fleeing Galatian horsemen, making sure they did not escape. They pursued them all the way into the city, where the remaining 300 surrendered.



And thus, Tylis, too, had been captured.



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The fall of Tylis was a double victory for Pyrrhos. Not only did he gain a rich town, but also was his reputation among the Hellenes of the world improved, seeing that he destroyed a ferocious Galatian warleader, who had disgraced the Delphinion.



Pyrrhos did not stay to enjoy his victory, as is his way. Immediately after pacifying the region, he assembled the armies again and marched on, this time to the rich port-city of Byzantion. Byzantion was critical for trade in the Pontos Euxeinos, as he who controlled the Golden Horn controlled the grain-trade from Krimea to the city of Athenai.

As he laid siege to Byzantion, news came from his son, Ptolemaios in Demetrias. Several armies of the Hellenic Alliance had been spotted near the borders of Thessalia. Even though they did not cross the border, Ptolemaios thought it wise to raise his defenses.





At around the same time, a Epirote diplomat spoke with an embassie from the Seleukid Kings in the Asia. Seeing that further fighting was no longer needed, they both agreed to a ceasefire.





Even further, they agreed that trade would be in the interest of both of the Kingdoms, and thus a trade agreement was signed.





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As all proceeded good and well, the siege of Byzantion was drawing to a close. Aidesios, the local tyrant of Byzantion, aligned his soldiers on one cold spring morning, and thus the battle for Byzantion began.



Aidesios army consisted mostly out of Hellenic soldiers, mingled with some local Thracians.



Pyrrhos himself had not been quiet either. Forced to leave some of his troops to keep the peace in Tylis, he had sought out the aid of several thousand Thracian and Galatian mercenaries.



Having fairly little time to organize the lines, Pyrrhos ordered his phalangites to stand in the center, with their flanks backed by the Thracians and Galatians. Before he could overlook any more of the battle, the Byzantian
hoplites were upon his lines.





As the hoplites clashed with the blond-haired Galatians, Pyrrhos had already sent his Illyrian cavalry round the flanks. Brandishing their long spears, they sent the Taurantian steeds forwards, crashing into the hoplites' flanks, crushing most of them under the hooves of the light horses.



Pyrrhos' own cavalry had in the meantime annihilated the remainder of Aidesios' bodyguard, causing a massive rout amongst Aidesios' army.



As in Tylis, the remaining forces were chased into the city, and the gateway to the East was secured.



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Next: Chapter IV - Of the Athenians

[hrrypttrbst]

Good battles
And the name of the next chapter makes me thinking. A new war?

[Olaf Blackeyes]

:gives high appluase to Hax:
KEEP this up, its a great read.

[johnhughthom]

You have some really good accounts of your battles Hax, something I always struggle with. Enjoying it so far.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

Very nice read Hax. Except that you chose the wrong side obviously.

[Hax]

Wrong side, pssh.

Pyrrhos is the only true heir to Megás Alexandros! It is in the Epeirote blood!

[PriestLizard]

Pyrrhos FTW! I hope he can start a great legancy in your AAR!

[Obelics]

that capitan Vissuccius name is so...

btw what happened to Pirro? he decided to consolidate his dominion in the mainland than go adventuring for l'outre-mer?

[Hax]

@Priestlizard: Thanks for reading! Pyrrhos will have quite some trouble in securing all of Hellas, though.

@Obelics: At the moment, he's still in Greece, dealing with this troublesome little state Sparta and the Aitolian league in Thermon.

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Chapter IV - On the Athenians

With the capture of Byzantion, Pyrrhos dreams of a united Hellas came closer to vision. He installed one of the local tyrants as the ruler and left, this time for home.

However, peace had not yet come. With the death of Chremonides, who had always been on good terms with the Epeirotes (especially concerning their Macedonian politics), the Athenian council of Nobles came together and elected Doros, son of Chremonides, as their leader. Doros was not as pro-Epirote as his father had been, and one of his first actions was to send an army into Thessalia.





Due to a quick scheme made up by Ptolemaios and some of his trusted diplomats, the Athenian commander was placated by a "gift" of gold.



When Pyrrhos heard of the Athenian betrayel, he marched his armies past Pella and south into Thessalia, where he spoke briefly with his son concerning the Athenian movements. Since Antigonos came to power in Makedonia, the Athenians had been in an alliance with the Spartans and Rhodians. Knowing how the Spartans might send an army past the Isthmus, Pyrrhos ordered a small contingement, made up primarily of phalangites and archers to defend the passes. And thus, the siege of Athenai began.



Due to the blockade of the Isthmos, the Spartan allies were unable to send reinforcements of any kind to Athenai, neither by land nor by sea, as the Argead fleet was still in Hellene waters. As the siege progressed, the Athenian garrison ran out of supplies soon enough and Doros was forced to leave the city and meet Pyrrhos in the field. The elites of Doros marched out first, meeting Pyrrhos' pikemen on the steep hills of Attike



Almost all of the remaining garrison was either worn out by disease and hunger, and those that did still live were soon picked off by Pyrrhos' archers, leaving only Doros and his bodyguard to confront Pyrrhos. He himself did not last long and was crushed on a pike by an Illyrian known only as "Xenophon". His name would later be recorded in one of the books kept in the library of Athenai.

With the death of Doros, and the last true connection to the Spartans lost, the city surrendered.





As Athenai fell, Antigonos and his sons had been poisoned, effectively ending the Argead dynasty, and to avoid any further danger to the city, Korinthos and the Achaian League joined Pyrrhos.

At this time, Hellas had been nearly united, save for the Aitolians situated in Thermon and the Spartans in Lakedaimon, and as Pyrrhos victories' grew, so did his army; as it now measured over 27,500 men. Amongst them were over 5,000 Hellenic-Illyrian pikemen from Epidamnos and Ambrakia, and 750 Pezhetairoi from Chaonia, who had been with Pyrrhos since the beginning of the union at Pella. Also came 1,800 Thessalian horsemen with strong steeds, and 2,000 prodromoi or fore-runners from Makedonia. Then there were the 2,000 Cretan mercenaries with their well-crafted bows and sharp arrows, and 750 hippo-toxotai from Scythia, present since Tylis. And at the last were the feared Thracians with their falxes and javelins, marching silently at the end of the row.



Pyrrhos halted at Delphi, making sacrifices to Apollo before marching on. They camped there for over two weeks and left on one of the many winter-mornings as the snow was glistening in the rising sun.





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Next: Chapter V - Over the Sea?

[Aemilius Paulus]

Yea! An update!!!

Keep up the good work - you're almost past the one page, which happens to be the moment of crisis for most AARs!

[NickTheGreek]

Good update Hax and I'm liking the army you built Pyrrhus, it looks tasty

[johnhughthom]

Next: Chapter V - Over the Sea?

East or west? The Epirotes get new units with the vanilla Marians don't they? May be an idea to leave Italy alone for a while. Great AAR so far.

[machinor]

No the Epirotes do not get any reforms. That's the reason why Italy is never safe from me when I'm playing Epeiros.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Id say go go Carthage or Egypt.

[Maion Maroneios]

Excellent, truly excellent Hax! I just read everything through, after my week-long absense from the fora to enjoy my vacations Good to see an Epeiros AAR and hope it will continue for us to see the "Arche Apeirou" or "Megale Apeiros" in the future

Maion

[Hax]

@johnhughthom: Actually, the Ptolemaioi have been targeted so much by other players, I've decided something else! Thanks for reading!

@Olaf: Yesss, Karkhedon is indeed evil. You'll see what happens! Thanks for reading ^_^

@Maion: Glad you liked it! I'm hoping to create an empire that would make Alexandros proud, if you know what I mean. Whether it's east or west, I'll just see where the wind takes me!

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Chapter V - Over the Sea?

Years passed as the Aitolian garrison withered. After almost three years, the Aitolian council decided (against the will of the military leaders) to surrender the city to Pyrrhos, hoping that he would not raise an arm against the inhabitants. Even though Pyrrhos did not touch any of the city's inhabitants, the Aitolian council had been formally disbanded, effectively ending the Aitolian League.



At this time, Hellas prospered as it had not done since the death of Kassandros Antipatros. The entire Kingdom was now in a period of wealth and prosperity, which would later be known as the start of "the First Epirote Golden Age". From the Makedonian plains of Pella to the hills of Dodona and Epiros, money was flowing like the waters of the Neilos in autumn, allowing the many cities to increase their standard of living;



It was also this that allowed larger ports and markets, suited for trade;





Remarkebly, the wealth of the many mines of Thraikia and Makedonia was not only used for cultural and economical growth, but also for the maintaining of larger military forces and armouries.



It was at this same time that several Syracusan ships came from Sikilia, telling how the Phoenician traders had built an empire which exceeded even the Epirotes and the Ptolemaic and Seleukide dynasty.



As Pyrrhos was growing old now, he no longer had the strength to go to Sikilia himself. Knowing that his former general, Hieron was still in power, he sent another young man who had risen to a promising position amongst the Epirotes. His name was Pergamos Poitneonios, of whom we shall speak of more later.

Studying under Pyrrhos' son, Alexandros, Pergamos had learned the ways of trading and speaking excellently, which made him well-loved amongst the Hellenes of Ambrakia. He had quickly raised an army, which consisted out of some 5,000 Illyrian phalangites from Ambrakia, 3,200 thorakitai, a relatively new invention. Armed with a thureos and armed with shorter spears than the phalangitai, they were disciplined and well-armed. Then there were the 4,000 psiloi, made up evenly from slingers and Cretan mercenaries. Pergamos' personal bodyguard consisted out of his 750 man-strong somatophylakai and 2,000 noblemen from Makedonia, known as the Loncophoroi in the Greek tongue. The fore-runners, or Prodromoi, made up another 2,000 men. And finally, the pride of Epiros, there were 360 Elephantes from India, a personal gift by Antiochos I, for his proven loyalties.





As the ships were loaded, Pyrrhos bid his last farewell to Pergamos, and sending a note to his son Ptolemaios, who was still in Thermon to pacify the region, he laid down on his bed in Ambrakia. And as the sun started to drop behind the horizon and the ships sailed into the evening red, Pyrrhos, King of the Epirotes, Hegemon of the Aitolian League, and Lord of the Korinthians breathed his last breath.

So ended the reign of Pyrrhos.



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Next: Chapter VI - On Karkhedon

[Olaf Blackeyes]

NUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!! Pyrrhos CANNOT DIE!!!!!!!!! At least not like a weak woman! He must die a heros death!
(is sad)

BTW great chapter.

[Centurio Nixalsverdrus]

I like the style of your AAR very much.

Though I must say that "360 Elephants" seems like the typical exxageration of our contemporary historians.