Thassalokratia- A Carthaginian AAR

[Vasiliyi]

Thassalokratia-A Carthaginian AAR



We have been here for centuries. Ever since we fled our home, we have lived here. Fighting for every inch of land. Straining to survive this harsh world. We have succeeded. We live, we love, we enjoy. Many thanks to our powerful Navy. Thassalokratia is what we wish to achieve one day. And we will, lest our enemies don't achieve it first.......



(This is my second attempt at an AAR. The difficulty is H/M. I don't really keep myself locked into any soft of House rules. Just what feels right. Thanks in advance for reading)

[Vasiliyi]

Chapter 1-Gisco

It was strange. The sun was high, the day was a beautiful one, but
there was sorrow in Gisco's heart. He ran his hand along his steeds neck
and followed it to the tip of the nose. He gave it some oats with his other
hand.

"Today we shall battle my beautiful. Today we shall die too." Gisco whispered
in its ear.

The horse neighed. It was disagreeing with its master. Gisco took a step
back and looked it in the eyes.

"You think we should fight bravely? To the end?" Gisco whispered once more.

The horse made no motion this time. It stood still. Gisco felt a stirring in his
heart. He would fight bravely today. Even though the enemy army was
numberless, and his own barely over a few hundred. He would fight.

Gisco walked with confidence like he never knew he could have. His body
guard was sitting around, some playing dice, others chatting. There seemed
no to be no fear among the ranks.

"Am I the only one who fears to die?" Gisco thought to himself.

"Men, Get ready for battle. We fight today." Gisco said as he looked at his men.

"My lord, the Shofet will bring the army and relieve us. We should wait."
One of the men said to him.

"The Shofet should have been here months ago. Saddle your horses." Gisco replied Calmly.

There was commotion as the bodyguard, one by one started to get up
and put on their armor. It would take half an hour for them to be ready,
but that was ok, the spear men had to take time to assemble as well.

When all was said and done, Gisco sat atop his horse and watched the
spear men walk out of the city.


After that he himself marched out of the city and took up a position near the wall.
He gave a few moments for the horses and the men to rest. He took the time to
get a good look at his enemy.


They numbered in the thousands. Mostly skirmisher cavalry from the nearby villages,
recruited by the Numidian king. They were still a much larger force and there
seemed no way of winning this fight.

Gisco blew his horn and raised his sword! "CHARGE!" He yelled and onward the
cavalry started galloping. He readied his spear and tightened his grip on the
reigns of the horse. As they neared the enemy they started to throw hundreds
of javelins at the body guard.
Behind them, the spearmen, couldn't keep up and were about halfway to the
enemy when the lines clashed.


The battle was a mess, Gisco swung his sword left and right killing a few Numidians.
The armor of the bodyguard was keeping their numbers intact and the battle
seemed equal for a moment.


But then the Numidians flanked them, and routed the spearmen with their javelins.
The sound of horse and men was just unbearable to the young Gisco and he fled
back into the city.The skirmishers chased after him and gave a good volley of
javelins once more.



His fate was sealed. Gisco fell off his horse when a javelin struck him in the
back. He landed on his side, shreeking in pain as he watched his horse gallop
away. He started to cough up blood and his mind lost focus. He looked up at
the sky and the clouds. It was so beautiful....He whispered something that no
one will ever hear and closed his eyes.

[anubis88]

aaaa... awesome... which city was besieged? My bet is Iponne

[NickTheGreek]

Cooooool, nice way to start your AAR. Very dramatic

[Vasiliyi]

You are correct sir, Ippone it was. Thanks for the good words, both of you.

[Roka]

good start, hope you can keep it up

[Dutchhoplite]

Poor Gisco :(

[Rilder]

May this spur the senate into action!

[SwissBarbar]

nice start

[WonkoTheSane]

Since I'm a huge Karthadast fan, I'm really looking forward to this. Keep it up!

[desert]

I ran his hand along his steeds neck and followed it to the tip of the nose.

Woah there.

[anubis88]

You are correct sir,

Heh, i thought he was the general i lost the same way you did when starting my karthadast campaign

[Africanvs]

Great start and nice pictures! My only advice would be to limit the width of your pictures to around 1000 pixels so people don't have to scroll right to read the text. :) I'll be keeping my eye on this one!

[the man with no name]

Good luck dude. Sorry about Gisco. The carthaginians are fun to play.

[Vasiliyi]

Woah there.

Lol, yes. That is fixed. Wow, that was a mistake.

[johnhughthom]

Nice start. I like the penultimate screenshot, looks very chaotic.

[Vasiliyi]

Thank you all for your posts and advice. Chapter coming up either tonight or early tomorow.

[satalexton]

bah, i'm not reading this yet, pm me when ur shacking the romans.

[A Very Super Market]

He'll probably be ransacking the Maks soon after...

[Vasiliyi]

bah, I'm not reading this yet, pm me when ur shacking the romans.
Will do Satalexton.

He'll probably be ransacking the Maks soon after...

Um, I don't know yet. we'll have to see. Macedonia IS richer that Iberia. Pella have a very nice mine which i'm sure a greedy Carthaginian would like to own.

[Maion Maroneios]

Cool dude, count me in as a steady lurker of this AAR

Maion

[Tolg]

Nice, you don't see many AARs that start with a lost battle and the death of a FM.

[Vasiliyi]

Small Addition. The Characters.














The Family tree.

[Vasiliyi]

Hanno



Upon receiving the news of his brother, Hanno, immediately packed his things and
rushed to great city of Kart-Hadast. He got on his personal warship, and sailed towards
the setting sun. With him a few sailors and a couple close friends. When he arrived at
Carthage, he was greeted by many traders and sailors who knew him well. They offered
him a horse to ride to the palace and some food. He refused the food, but took the horse
and galloped through the city. As he reached the entrance to the palace he gave the horse
to a servant and hustled up the stairs.

Hanno, was 27 when he arrived at Kart-Hadast. He felt like he was 18. Full of live and fervor
for his country he was eager to be at this gathering of the council. At the top of the stairs
he was greeted by Mago and some other family.

After embracing each other and being silent for a moment in memory of their loved one they
walked inside to talk business.


In side the great hall there were hundreds of men. Some were chatting, others sitting silently.
When Mago walked into the room most of the men became silent and awaited the meeting to
begin.

Hanno was a bit surprised that they waited for him to start the meeting but nonetheless just
sat next to his brother Carthalo, and father, Mago.

"Thank you all for coming today." Mago began, "As you all know, Kart-Hadast lost a great man
to the Numidians. My son, Gisco, died bravely while fighting those Bastards. Today we must
decide what we must do. The floor is open."

Hamalcar stood up and spoke. "My fellow countrymen. We all grieve for the lost of a loved one,
but we must think clearly. The Numidians INSULT US! They come to our land, destroy our fields,
eat our flocks, and burn down our cities! They must be put into their correct spot! Let us pick a
man who can deliver the head of the king on a platter to us! Let us subjugate Africa and make it
fruitful for us!"


Bomilkar ha'Hamor stood and replied to Hamalcar. "My brother, I must agree with you on avenging
Gisco, but subjugate Africa? That is madness! That would take a decade! And another decade to
make it profitable! Thousands of men would have to die to achieve this. No, Let us take back Ippone
and Kill the king of the Numidians. But that is all."

After Bomilkar spoke there was silence for a few moments in the hall. Everyone knew Hamalcar the
next in line to be voted in for Shofet. Everyone knew that Bomilkar wanted that position. They
rivaled for years, but somehow Hamalcar took the lead and won the people over. Some say it was
because of his handsomeness. Bomilkar scared little children.

Mago stood and spoke this time. "Hanno shall go. He is smart and he has led armies before. This
will give him a chance to really prove..."

"Hanno?!" Hamalcar stood up in dissaprovement.

"Sit down Hamalcar. You disgrace me." Mago said to him calmly.
"This will give Hanno a chance to prove himself. Hanno Stand up."

Hanno stood up. When he heard his father say his name goosebumps ran all over his back. Sweat
appeared everywhere. His heart raced, both with over excitement and fear.

"Do you accept such a demanding ordeal?" Mago asked him.

"I.. I do Father. I will Avenge my brother." Hanno answered.

"You will do more than that. If i must, I agree with Hamalcar about conquering the Numidians. Yes,
it will be costly, but in the long run it will protect us from future raids and provide us with a safe
and secure bread basket."

Hanno heart jumped. Africa? All of it? He would be 40 when he returned home...

"My council members, my family, I will avenge Gisco. I will return victories. I will have scars that I
did not have before." Saying that, Hanno sat down.

A vote was cast on the topic and it came out clear that even though Hanno would lead the army,
he had made some enemies within his own family. That day Hanno was given plans for the Invasion
of Africa, maps, and the reigns to the largest army ever assembled by Carthage.

Before he left on his way the next day, Mago spoke to Hanno.

"My son. I chose you yesterday because you are fresh on the political floor. When I am gone, few men
will be powerful enough to stop ambitious men from ruining us with endless conquest. You must fight this
campaign. Return to Kart-Hadast a hero and an Avenger. I may not be alive then. As you know Hamalcar
will hate you for the rest of his life. He will be a problem for you. Do not be Naive. Now go son."

With that, Hanno and his army marched west towards the setting sun.


The army that Hanno inherited

[SwissBarbar]

This will become a great story, very interesting!

[machinor]

Nice. I always liked Bomilkar "The Ass". He always owned everyone I sent him against.

But how come you have Elite African Pikemen already? Aren't they a reform unit?

[Vasiliyi]

No, you can recruit them in your 4th lvl barracks..

[Vasiliyi]

Ippone

Hanno stared at the walls of Ippone. Here his brother fought and
died bravely. Today he would avenge him. Hate and disgust burned
in his heart. He would kill the man who did this. He gripped his sword,
making sure it was there.


Sending his men at the walls he waited patiently as they broke down the
walls. Today it would only be his cavalry fighting. Revenge will not be
sweet. Revenge would be very painful, and bloody. He knew the enemy
would be tough to fight.

Inside the city there was a few hundred well trained, well equipped Numidian
body guards, all ready to fight to the death. But they didn't have what
burned in Hanno's heart. They were fighting for there lives. He was fighting
for his brothers'. They had already won....


After breaking the walls Hanno marched just his own bodyguard into the
city. Today his sword and spear would get bloody. There was no fear in
his heart. That was for sure. Not today. Behind him stood shame and guilt
if he lost or fled, in front of him, an enemy who was ready to kill.


He blew his horn and there was a mad race to the center of the city,
where the enemy waited. He was the one of the first horses to reach
the enemy, where they were showered with javelins from the enemy.



There was a huge clash between the lightly armed and quick horses of the
Native Africans and the finely bread huge warhorses of the bodyguard.



The Warrior General swung his sword with great ferocity, always looking
for the enemy general. "What a coward he must be." Hanno thought to
himself. He killed a few men when he heard amidst the chaos that the
enemy General has fell of his horse and got trampled. Hanno laughed
really hard. His heart went mad. Blood was everywhere. The battle was
pure chaos.

"Onward my brave men!" Hanno yelled.



All around him men on both sides were dieing. Always staying in
immediate danger Hanno had no time to actually command his men.
They would fight along his side. Near Hanno a horse jumped in fear and
neighed loudly.



Much chaos ensued for a while. The enemies lack of armor did hurt
them badly. They started falling one after another until the last man died.
Hanno got of his horse and asked his men where the enemy General was.
When Hanno looked at him, he realized that he was alive.


The enemy general had blood all over him. His limbs were broken and scratched
and he looked like he was holding on from a single string. One of Hanno's body
guard unsheathed his sword and offered it to Hanno.

"No, I will keep him a live to keep him suffering." Hanno said. "He deserves worse. Bring me my best Surgeons."



Muttines coughed, blooding coming out of his mouth. He whispered something
that was not comprehensible.

Hanno got on his knees and listened to him.

"Do you want to know how he died?" Muttines said, barely able to keep his
eyes open.

Hanno was enraged by the way this man didnt fear him. He spit in his
face and ordered the surgeons to keep him alive.

-------------------

After the chaos of the battle and when things were quite Hanno
re-established order in the city. No citizen was looted or hurt. Hanno
was speaking to the local officials who were in charge when Gisco was
alive when he was urgently called.

"My lord, you must see this." A bodyguard called him. "Its Gisco."

Hanno ran, following the man who called him until he saw it.

Gisco, on the ground, in the fetal position, a javelin in his back. Hanno
moved closer only to realize there were feces everywhere. The enemy had
a good time disgracing this brave man. Hanno fell to his knees and took
Giscos rotting hand. Tears were streaming from his eyes. He let out loud
wail for his brother. He was there until after the setting of the sun.

"My lord, we must go back into the city." Another bodyguard called Hanno.

"Why, I want to stay here, with my brother." Hanno replied.

"Its Muttines lord, he is well and wishes to speak to you."

Hanno looked at the bodyguard. Hate was written all over his face. He got
up and walked back into the city.....

[SwissBarbar]

Can't wait for the next chapter !!!!!!

[the man with no name]

lol u took ur family tree pic before u did the update and so it doesn't display that Gisco had died.