Of Destiny and Duty: A Galatian AAR

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Hey guys! I've been a long-time AAR fan (that's how I got onto the .org) and now I've started my own.

Hey guys! I have always found the AARs in the TW community to be incredibly well done, and I've been inspired to write my own.

This story begins quite differently from what you'd expect. You will see that immediately. I think and hope that you will find it a refreshingly new concept.

However, if you find it confusing at first, you should check out the end of this post, which I trust will give you a greater understanding of my narrative's theme and scope.

Whether you prefer lots of text or lots of screenshots, I hope that this AAR will please you. Not at the same time, of course. However, if you read on, you will find that the AAR contains a lot more storyline in more recent chapters, and thus fewer screenshots. Naturally, there will be more screenshots as there is more action in the story.

Enjoy!


Thanks to:

Ghaust the Moor, for our brainstorming we did for our AARs.

Maion Maroneios, for help with Greek.

Centurion1, for all the encouragement.

Swissbarbar, for his AAR that converted me to EB.

Chirurgeon, whose AAR inspired me to write this one.

And of course SEGA and CA for the TotalWar series, and the EB team for their phenominal mod.

Thanks guys!

Now, for those of you who are scratching your heads, and wondering, this is a GALATIAN AAR?

To begin, this AAR began in my mind as a PONTIC AAR! How could that be? Well...

When I read a story, it is important to me that it feels realistic. And, when I write, I want you, the reader, to feel like this really could have happened. When you read the account of John, and later the account of a young Galatian, I want you to feel like you are in the museum reading something that really happened.

But, if that is the goal, it doesn't make any sense just to pop up with a story about Pontus. I mean, who finds an ancient manuscript detailing the history of Pontus in their back yard?

So I felt that just starting with Pontus would be much too abrupt. Now, a Crusaders Diary; that isn't too far-fetched. A lot of medieval documents survive today. After all, they've gone through a lot less than an ancient Pontic diary.

Thus, the Crusader's story is actually a vehicle to present the history of Pontus. It gives the Pontic story greater depth, context, and authenticity.

But that still doesn't explain the "Galatian" part. This shouldn't be as foreign as the coexistence of Crusaders and Pontics, so I'll be brief.

My other goal in writing is to be unique. I don't want another cut-and-dried account of a RTW campaign. The way I figure, if you want that, you can play it yourself.

But a story about a Galatian; that is something new. And how I weave the stories together, you will see as you read on.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Of Destiny and Duty; A Galatian AAR

Chapter l - Shock

Constantinople, 1453 AD




Flames flickered around me. I felt suspended in time, as a spectator to the events unfolding about me. Indeed, it was some time before I could bring to recollection where I was; why I was there.

“Get up, get up you fool!” cried Godwin, my friend of many years. “Come, John, before those ravaging murderers put out your eyes!”

It all came back to me in a moment’s time. I shook myself into consciousness. I felt so weak, so drained in mind and body. But now I started to remember.



It seems like so long ago; just a few years, but it feels like decades. The Pope had called yet another crusade; the fate of Byzantium hung in the balance. Truth be told, however, this came as no surprise. The emperor in Constantinople reigned over a mere shell; a shadow of what had been. The old city had not the striking dominance that had once asserted control over the eastern half of the Mediterranean. Generations of corruption and greed had done their work; it was only a matter of time before the Turks, those heathens, came as God’s own instrument of punishment upon the unfaithful. Now we will feel His long-withheld wrath.



Despite the hopelessness of the times, it was my duty to come to the defense of the old city, if for nothing else than the preservation of the memory of better days. So we came, Godwin and I, to fulfill our sacred duty to God and country.



Yes, we came, and then our enemies, those Turks; they, too, had a mission. Their father’s fathers had fought over the Holy Land. Now they came, seeking vengeance for the blood spilt by our swords. They will not rest until Constantinople, shell that it was, kneels before them in servitude.

So we fought. We fought endless hours, countless days. It seemed that the struggle would never end. The old city had the greatest walls in all Christendom, and for all their efforts and courage in battle, the enemy could not secure them.





Instead, they waited. They surrounded our city and waited with eager dreams of the pillage and loot that would follow. But occasionally they would bombard the city with their great cannons and scale the walls yet again to test us, to see if our resolve had weakened.



And it was on such a day that I stood at the gate, ready to beat the enemy back yet again. I ran back and forth, admonishing the men to keep up the fight. And then, then it happened. I was thrown, as by the hand of the Almighty Himself, through the air. I felt that I had been lifted up and tossed as a child tosses a toy. And then everything became black, black as the night…

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Chapter ll - Crusader's Duty

“Get up, get up you fool! Come, John, before those ravaging murderers put out your eyes!”

Yes, now I remembered it all. Godwin told me later that the Turks had shot one of their massive cannon at the gateway. Our men were so severely stricken with surprise that the enemy was able to gain the gateway. We had seen these great cannon smash at the walls, but never had the Turks fired it directly at us in such a way.



Godwin helped me up, as I was in a dazed state from the blast, and helped me toward the secondary line of defense. There I lied down, and gathered my wits about me.



The Turks charged into our line, but being as we were in the streets, far behind the walls, the enemy’s missiles could not reach us in support of the attack, and the fight slowed as battered troops from both sides drifted away from the action. The Turks were forced to abandon their hard-fought gains at the gateway, and returned to their positions surrounding the city.

I was taken to a large building in the inner city. There, I was taken care of. I had no serious injury, only need of rest. So after my release, I trudged back to the barracks on the northern end of the city, near the middle portion of the wall.

Godwin welcomed me back so joyfully that one would think we had been parted for a lifetime. Godwin and I had been fast friends since we had fought together in France under King Henry VI of England.



He was a powerful lord in Scotland, and I a wealthy landowner in England. We had some trade dealings off and on, but we truly became acquainted during a campaign against Charles VII of France. As our hap was, we fought side by side, and came to know each other well.



I recall though, that Godwin, proud Scot that he was, refused to have anything to do with me at first. Indeed, at times he was more a danger than a help to me on the battlefield. Sometimes he amused himself by jostling me about with that great sword of his. His favored weapon was a great two-handed sword, a sword he told me he had taken as loot in Europe. Godwin was certainly built to carry the massive blade.

Indeed, he was a large man, a man of stern, sharp features, in stark contrast to my frame, as I am strongly built, but a good deal shorter than he. Godwin took pleasure in knocking me about. Usually I bore his mockery well enough, but after a time, I felt I could stand it no longer.

So one day in camp, as he seemed set to push me by the hilt of his sword, I turned and stopped his hand. Of course, he could not pass over such an affront in the sight of the other men, so he struck a blow at me. Being smaller, I easily avoided his blows, but still he struck again and again. So I dove straight into Godwin’s legs, toppling him over. My stout build was perfect for wrestling, so I was not at all afraid to engage him. A grand scuffle ensued, and presently we grasped at each other’s throats and arms, trying to overpower the other while breaking his hold at the same time.

And at this effort we struggled, some said, for a good hour or two. Neither of us was willing to give up.

Then, to my great surprise and confusion, a great bellowing laugh escaped his lips. Indeed, I was quite confused at his demeanor. So we ceased the struggle for a moment; he laughed all the while.

Finally, Godwin looked me square in the eye, still beaming broadly, and exclaimed, “By Jove! Never have I met a man who could match me either with sword or in a hand-to-hand fight! Indeed, I have misjudged you, my friend. I should be glad to fight alongside a hardened fighter such as you any day! You have determination as well as courage, and for that I respect you, though you are an Englishman.”

From that time, we were fast friends, seeing each other through many a battle, facing our destinies together. We campaigned together in France, Ireland, and in the Holy Land. We swore to each other that we would both leave a battle alive, or die together.

So together, as always, we had set out for the defense of Constantinople, and this time it seemed that would indeed die together.

[Ghaust the Moor]

YAYYYYYY!!!!!!! I love it!!!!

I think it is really cool so far. I like the narrative format.
Please, accept my humble balloon

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Wow! You're fast! I didn't even have time to PM you.

I most gratefully accept the great honor of your balloon.

Sorry about the img's in Chapter I. They are too big. I thought I told it to do 800x600... well anyways I will fix it ASAP!

[Vasiliyi]

Very nice Ariovistus, rest assured I will be reading this. I loved the scene where they wrestled for two hours before they gave up. Reminds me of a friend of mine.

[Maion Maroneios]

Here:

Maion

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Very nice Ariovistus, rest assured I will be reading this. I loved the scene where they wrestled for two hours before they gave up. Reminds me of a friend of mine.

Thanks! Yeah, I liked the wrestling scene. I was hoping it would come across as believable. Glad to see that it has. I'm sure you know the feeling; you see flaws in your writing, but often nobody notices; it's just because you've been working on it so long you know all the details.

Here:

Maion

OOOH! Thanks! 'Grats on your 1,000,000 balloon count btw.

Wow. Want balloons? Start an AAR. And tell a bunch of people about it so they'll balloon you before you even get started.

Oh, hey, just for the record everybody:

Anybody from Turkey, please don't be offended. The author seems to have something against the Turks.

Nothing against Turks at all, I just wanted to write from my character's perspective, which would be to consider them heathen etc.

Anyways, I just thought I'd mention it for the record.

Chapter 3 coming tomorrow. I've written about 5 1/2 chapters. Lotsa fun.

[Reality=Chaos]

This looks interesting... I'm looking forward to see how this meshes with the EB time

[NickTheGreek]

Glory to Constantinople! Glory to the Romans! ()

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Chapter lll - Patrol

It was months since that action at the gateway, when I came into possession of my great prize, my manuscript. It was so astonishing, how it came into my hands, but... I shall tell you of that later.

We had seen many more fights since then. I continued to survive, but what of that? I survived only to see men die around me; knowing that perhaps my time is not today, but maybe tomorrow, maybe the next day. What hope was there against so many, and with no place to hide?




Nevertheless, there was nothing to be gained by surrender. We would be killed anyway, or our eyes put out. All, that is, except the few of us who are important enough to fetch a good price in ransom. So we continued to fight, and to die, as was our duty. At least we are accorded an honorable death in battle, rather than death as slaves and cowards. However, I see now that I was destined to greater things than a violent end in the doomed defense of Constantinople. I shall tell you how it happened, how I met with this destiny.



The Turks seemed to attack about once in each week. Soon we discovered that these attacks were more than probes to find out our strength. Indeed, the rogues would send spies into the city with each attack. They would enter with the other soldiers, hide out inside the city during the fight, and then masquerade as a citizen. These spies would sometimes scout our positions and then leave the city during the next attack. Other times, their tasks were even more nefarious. Some of them found out grain storages throughout the city, and burned them. Others attempted to poison our water wells. Most of these attempts had been thwarted, but those that succeeded caused significant damage.

Not only did the spies’ work cause a strain on us, but we were also forced to spread ourselves out, patrolling the streets and guarding important food stores. It was another drain on our already exhausted troops; a drain that we could not sustain for long.

Nonetheless, we had to be ever wary of these spies. On a given day, I was instructed to take a detachment of men-at-arms and patrol the perimeter of the city. It would be a long day.

Godwin offered to come with me. “A tiny man like you shouldn’t lead a patrol by himself,” he said with a mischievous grin. So, taking ten fresh men, we set out on our patrol, starting with the north end of the city. Alert as we were, we were not ready for the events of the coming hours.

[Reality=Chaos]

OOOOOh the plot thickens... I love your writing style and I can't wait to see how we will get to galatians in EB though I think you gave some clues

subscribed

[Ariovistus Maximus]

OK, I have a couple questions:

1. You'll notice that my cropped pics show up black where I cropped them. How do I fix this? I'm using ImageShack, and I don't see any option to crop it from there. I guess I could run it all through Adobe... Anyways, if somebody can help I'd appreciate it. I've got a nice header pic for Chapter I that I can't put up because the cropping makes it look sloppy.

2. About the AAR: how do you like the chapter lengths so far? I think they're shorter than average, and maybe a bit pic-heavy.

If you like lots of text, don't worry though, this is because of the way I divide the AAR into chapters, not because of a lack of material. It is already nice and long.

Anyways please leave your oppinion on chapter lengths!

This looks interesting... I'm looking forward to see how this meshes with the EB time

Thanks! It's coming up in a couple chapters. Don't worry; no time-travel, holes in the space-time continuum, or stuff like that.

Actually, I'm kinda impatient to move ahead, so I'll post another chapter tonight. It'll be a nice long one.

Glory to Constantinople! Glory to the Romans!

Unfortunately for Constantinople, this is a semi-historical AAR. The year 1453 was not picked at random.

Plus, your going to get some serious heat from the Romoiektonoi (sp?).

Ye shall see...

OOOOOh the plot thickens... I love your writing style and I can't wait to see how we will get to galatians in EB though I think you gave some clues

subscribed

Bwhahahahaaaa!!! Actually, that's why I didn't post 2 chapters at once. I thought I'd let you steam over that cliffhanger for a while.

Thanks! I think you will like how it changes to EB.

[Reality=Chaos]

Anyways please leave your oppinion on chapter lengths!
with your writing style I prefer longer ones. It reads smoothly and sucks you into another world, only to be cruelly ousted from there only too soon


Actually, I'm kinda impatient to move ahead, so I'll post another chapter tonight. It'll be a nice long one.

YAY

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Anyways please leave your oppinion on chapter lengths!
with your writing style I prefer longer ones. It reads smoothly and sucks you into another world, only to be cruelly ousted from there only too soon


Actually, I'm kinda impatient to move ahead, so I'll post another chapter tonight. It'll be a nice long one.

YAY

Long chapters it is then. I appreciate your enthusiasm!

I'll try and rig the chapters to make them longer. I kinda divide them so that the chapter ends as I move on to another setting or idea. Like chapter 3, it helps create suspense.

But I think I can still do it and make the chapters longer. But the changes might not be noticible for a while - I've already written quite a ways ahead.

[Reality=Chaos]

But I think I can still do it and make the chapters longer. But the changes might not be noticible for a while - I've already written quite a ways ahead. *quote*


I don't mind the whole 1453 thing is also very intruiging... Damn I must seem like some excitable puppy

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Chapter IV - Ambush!

We had been marching for hours. We covered the north, east, and south sides of the city; but an hour or two more, and we would be able to rest our aching joints. We had been on the march for hours, patrolling the streets adjacent the walls. Other detachments were tasked with canvassing the interior of the city.



By now the men were complaining of aches and pains, wishing the task over. After all, we not only had to march through the city, but we had to investigate even the slightest movement that we saw. This took a prodigiously great deal of time and effort. All civilians (mostly women and children, as the men had been pressed into service) were ordered to stay in their homes, not to stir out for anything. So we knew that anyone prowling the streets was up to no good.

As we trudged through yet another street, I had the strangest feeling. I felt affixed by someone’s gaze, as though a pair of eyes was set on me, perhaps from a house along the street. I ordered a halt. After looking around, I saw nothing else, but decided to move down that street to investigate further.

We moved into the next street, heading toward the center of the city. Just as we were about to turn around, I heard a shrill, bone-chilling yell. Suddenly, about 15 men sprang from the rubble of what had been just another empty street.



Each man knew his task. It would be every man for himself, each picking out an opponent and rushing towards him. The enemy had an advantage for the few moments that we stood stock-still, shocked at meeting so many of the enemy, and at the end of a long day.

One man had a crossbow ready to fire. He sent the bolt straight into the back of one of my men. He sank to his knees. No sooner had he fallen than a swift young Turkish boy plunged a knife into him.



Another carried a javelin, which he launched toward me. I bent down behind my shield. I reeled as the javelin rammed into the shield and punctured it, stopping only a hand’s breadth from my face. I had no time to work the shaft out of my shield; I cast it aside.

One man came screaming towards me, his scimitar raised above his head and ready to strike. I ran him through with my trusty sword. For a moment my eyes fixed upon his. He had a shocked look on his face; shocked, yet confident of his reward for death in battle against the infidel. I almost envied him.



But another man was right behind him. Everything seemed to slow down; each second seemed like hours. In a split second I realized I could not draw my sword out from the first man in time.

My mind whirled through a million thoughts all at once. Is this the end? Well, why not? It might as well be today, rather than tomorrow. I saw my own dear wife, my children, scenes from my childhood pass before my eyes. What a strange thing to think in the midst of battle, and so far away.

Then I saw my deliverance: a knife girded in the belt of the man I had run through. In a flash I grabbed it from his belt. At the same time I pushed him back onto the second man charging me. This gave me a few seconds to collect my self.

I dove onto the man and slid the knife into his throat. He became limp; his eyes took on a glassy effect and stared into the sky. I slowly came to my feet. Suddenly, I felt very warm; I glanced down.



I noticed a dark red stain on my waistcoat; one of the men must have managed to thrust home. I shoved it out of my mind; it didn’t look serious and there would be time to deal with it later.

I looked round until I found Godwin. He was in fine shape, hefting his massive sword through the air. Three Turks surrounded him, almost as wolves surround a buck, watching for an opportunity to strike.

But they were kept at bay. One man lying still on the ground bore evidence that they had best not come too close to Godwin’s whirling blade.



I retrieved my own sword and set out to Godwin’s assistance. I had taken only a few steps when I was bowled over; another Turk jumped me. My sword was thrown out of my hand, and I lay flat on my back. I saw the enemy’s knife plunge toward my chest. I reached out to stop him as the blade snaked toward me. I succeeded only in forcing his hand over a few inches; the knife ran into my left shoulder, missing my heart just by a few inches.

The Turk yanked out his dagger and prepared for another strike. I managed to free my right arm and smashed my fist into his jaw. He was partially knocked off me. I dove onto him and hit him again.

He regained his strength and swung hard with his knife. I jumped back, and the knife slashed my arm. He knocked me back onto the ground and prepared to strike the final blow. I hadn’t the strength to overcome his superior position.

But then he just sat still, and slumped over. I couldn’t understand; then I saw that one of my men had come to my rescue. He had dealt a severe blow to my opponent’s neck, killing him.

I shoved the dead man off and looked around again. I saw two more dead men at Godwin’s feet; he had finished them. One’s head was displaced a few feet from his body. I was never more glad to have Godwin with me than that day.

I looked around me. Seven of my men were dead along with the entire Turkish group. Then I looked at Godwin; he was kneeling over, not moving. I ran to see what was wrong. I could see that he was badly hurt. Then, behind me, I saw Godwin’s third assailant making a run for it. Filled with rage at the sight of my wounded companion, I chased after him. He ran into the ruins of an old monastery. I followed him in, and sent my men around the side to make sure he would not escape through the fallen portions of the building’s walls.



I moved farther into the building. I could hear my target looking frantically for a place to hide or a way of escape. I kept walking.

Suddenly I heard a crash. The old floors of the building must have given way. They were especially weak from being hit by missiles from Turkish cannon and trebuchets. I ran toward the sound. Then the floor gave way to my weight as well. I tumbled into the lower level of the building. I found myself in a small room surrounded by a number of scrolls. I sat there for a moment, dazed.

The face of one of my men appeared above me. They had rushed into the building upon hearing the noise. They told me that the Turkish soldier had been crushed by rubble, which buried him when he fell.

My men sent for a rope to bring me out of my little prison. While I was down there, I lay down to catch my breath and looked around at the contents of the room. One scroll in particular caught my eye. It seemed older than the rest, and had been carefully stored in a large clay jar. It had apparently been knocked out when I fell.

It read, “Μοιρας και Καθηκοντος: Ανθρωποι και Χρονικα της Αρχης Ποντου.” I had received a little training in Greek; it seemed to read something akin to, “Of Destiny and Duty; the People and Times of the Pontic Empire.”

But I had to go; I needed to see how my good friend Godwin was faring. I needed to see to my men. Nevertheless, that old manuscript stayed in my mind; I wanted very much to look it over. Perhaps I would have time to study it. Perhaps, if I ever escaped from the living torment that was Constantinople. I thought, at least, that it might be a comfort to me in my final hours.

[Reality=Chaos]

[Vasiliyi]

Glory to Constantinople! Glory to the Romans! ()

Careful Nick. Loyalties to the sons of the she-wolf is not an honorable thing.


On a lighter note, this is wonderful Ariovistus, I like how you connected it to EB in the end. I look forward to more. Dont tire yourself out though, wouldnt want this to die from you getting to exhausted to write.

[Ghaust the Moor]

Man, you are fast. I wish I could write so may chapters in such a short period of time. I lose focus and have to take breaks all the time.

Loving it by the way. I liked how you said seven of your men were dead, but about twelve were dead in the picture,

[NickTheGreek]

Careful Nick. Loyalties to the sons of the she-wolf is not an honorable thing.

And what would a carthaginian know of loyalty?

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Careful Nick. Loyalties to the sons of the she-wolf is not an honorable thing.


On a lighter note, this is wonderful Ariovistus, I like how you connected it to EB in the end. I look forward to more. Dont tire yourself out though, wouldnt want this to die from you getting to exhausted to write.

Let him liiiiivvve!

Glad you like it, Vasiliyi! Your AAR has taught me some lessons on plot progression as well.

Don't worry; I'm having tons of fun. So far anyways. I'm not going to be posting double chapters often though. Just wanted to get into the EB part so you know where on earth I'm going with this story, and why it's in the RTW section.

Man, you are fast. I wish I could write so may chapters in such a short period of time. I lose focus and have to take breaks all the time.

Loving it by the way. I liked how you said seven of your men were dead, but about twelve were dead in the picture,

Thanks! The reason I banged it out so fast is because the story has been festering in my mind for months. First, it started out as a Pontic AAR because there weren't many of those (and I'm not aware of any that are finished).

Then I wanted to make it different from all the rest, so I came up with the Galatian storyline which you will see later. THEN I wanted to make it even MORE different, and I thought it would be cool if the story was discovered by someone thousands of years later. And the crusader was the most logical move.

So I've just been itching to get this story off my fingertips. And I actually started writing a couple weeks ago. However, since I've had lots of time, I've made some significant changes that add a lot of depth to the story, or at least I hope so.

Plus, as you can see by my rediculously long responses, I tend to ramble, which (if it is controlled) can help me in my writing by giving increased detail.

12 dead guys? You're good! I didn't even notice that. It was on tiny unit scale though; there just wasn't much I could do. oh well. You get the idea though. There were dead guys.

AH, WAIT!!! The extra guys were wounded!!! HaHA!

They just hadn't gotten up yet.

[Vasiliyi]

Hope that link I sent you helped out with your screenshots.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Chapter V - Memories

Spring; a beautiful time of year. I was so glad to be back with my dear family. Truly it was like Heaven Itself to see them. It seemed like lifetimes since I had left my own dear home in England to join the Holy Crusade. I pray that I will not be tested to weather another such trial.

I want only to see my wife, my children. How they have grown since I saw them last! I feel that they do not know me. They act almost as though I am a stranger. Ah, but no matter; they are young, and I will have plenty of time with them now.

I had thought that my business was so important. Money, money, always had to look out for the money! What madness! What a fool I was. Now I know that my own dear little ones and my wonderful wife are what is most important. And this only after nearly having been lost to them in that terrible place. In that awful city…”

I jolted upright in my cot. Blast. Another dream. Why am I tormented so, I wondered many times. To be so close to my family only to be ripped away from them… oh it was becoming too much. Always it took me some time to remember where I was; that I was still in Constantinople. Still waiting to die.

And then I remembered the fight; yes, the skirmish the day before with the Turks near the western wall. My aches and pains reminded me well. But we had carried the day, same as the day before.

Godwin was in bad shape; he had multiple wounds, some of which were quite deep. We carried him as carefully as we could to the center of the city, where a local surgeon examined his wounds. The surgeon announced that none of his wounds were mortal, but that if infection set in he would certainly die. Thus, Godwin must be able to rest and be left alone to heal. The surgeon gave Godwin an herbal solution to aid in the healing process.

Whilst I waited for news of my friend, the surgeon looked me over as well. My own wounds were not too serious, he told me that I must avoid excessive movement to keep the wound from opening. So I was laid up in a cot along with Godwin for at least a few weeks. I hoped I might at least be able to fight as a man when the final hour of the old city drew nigh; I hoped I would not die as an invalid, slaughtered in his cot.

However, there was nothing I could do to speed my recovery, so I laid down to rest.

But I could not rest. I thought of my men, fighting without me. How I longed to be with them! To help them, to strengthen them; to bolster their courage. But I could not.

If I could not engage myself with activity of muscle and limb, I thought, at least I could spend time in activity of mind. I thought again of that fascinating old manuscript, that history of Pontus. I sent some men out to the old monastery that had been the seen of the previous day’s fight, and had them bring the manuscript to me.

And so, with the document propped up in front of me, I began the slow, arduous task of translation.

The People and the Times of the Pontic Empire…



Photo Credits:

1. http://www.deq.state.va.us

2. www.herstmonceux-castle.com

3. www.burningcross.net

[Ghaust the Moor]

Oooooo, the plot thickens...a bored homesick crusader, a mysterious manuscript, and a brief knowledge in greek...intresting...

Cool, nice update. Man I wish I could have your stamina...

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Oooooo, the plot thickens...a bored homesick crusader, a mysterious manuscript, and a brief knowledge in greek...intresting...

Cool, nice update. Man I wish I could have your stamina...

Hehe, yes now you can see how they tie in! Now I have to make sure that I don't get ahead of myself. Naturally I want to tie the story together, use forshadowing, etc. But it's working out so far.

Remember, though, that this idea entered my head like 6 months ago, and I've been writing for several weeks. So I've had lotsa time. I don't have to work real hard to post the daily chapter.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

Chapter VI
Μοιρας και Καθηκοντος; Ανθρωποι και Χρονικα της Αρχης Ποντου:

Galatia, 300 B.C.

Timothsenes was his name. He had gained great wealth and fame as a captain in Antigonus’ army. He had seen as much as any man in his day: wild Illyrians in Northern Greece, Scythian riders on the steppes, and fierce mountain tribesmen of the East. He had seen palaces in Persia, great fortresses in Macedon, and even the Great Pyramids in Egypt. He had fought for his people and his homeland, serving according to his duty and higher. He had seen rulers come and go, as they all do. But he stayed on, giving loyal service both to his commander and his subordinates. Although he could have risen to great power and influence, he chose to remain among the men with whom he had served for so many years.



But time passed, and his age overcame him; he could no longer fight with his men. He settled down in Galatia with his wife, Aderyn. This was her home, and Timothsenes wanted most of all that she should be happy after years of living in an army camp, following him on campaign.

Galatia was now independent of its Hellenistic rulers; the land was too rough, the people to wild and independent to be subjected to any foreign people. After about 60 years of foreign rule, the province was changing to how things had been. It was once again a Gallic region, ruled by natives as their father’s fathers had ruled it.



Timosthenes was permitted to settle in the land of the Tolistobgogii, a tribe of western Galatia, and was a respected man in the tribe. He was treated as an equal, because his wife was a native Galatian. They lived there happily, and had two sons, Kyros and Artan. They were aged only one year apart.

Timothsenes insisted that if they were to live in the land of her people, his older son, Kyros, must be brought up as a Greek. He was proud of his heritage and his people, and did not want this to be lost from his family.

Therefore, when Kyros was 12, Timothsenes took his son to Athens, where he himself had grown up. He was determined that his son be a Greek, and be brought up accordingly. And Timothsenes had enough money and influence to ensure that his son received the very best.



Kyros was to be enrolled in a prominent academy in Athens for six years. He would be brought up under the best scholars the city had to offer, some of the brightest men of their day. Timothsenes was proud of his people and heritage, and he wanted to share that pride with his son.

So Kyros would receive all that men could give him, to prepare him for whatever destiny awaited. He was well suited to the work that lay ahead, for he was a quiet, studious boy.

His brother, Artan, was brought up as his Celtic ancestors. In contrast to his older brother, Artan was an energetic boy; sometimes too energetic. He was strong and fit, and an avid outdoorsman.

Would fate lead them on a road of greatness together, or would they not be content with their different lots in life and be torn apart? Only time could tell.

Picture Credits:

1. www.gamespot.com

2. www.webshots.com

3. www.photos.jibble.org

[Ariovistus Maximus]

OK, I will try to help you keep track of where we are from now on.

The story will shift between John the Englishman and Kyros the Galatian every now and then.

And yes, that RTW img is from gamespot, for the record. I just don't have time to start up all that stuff to get one screenshot.

I might replace it later though with one of my own. Just wanted to specify, and yes all the other TW screenshots are mine.

[Ghaust the Moor]

YAY!!! GO GALATIA!!!!!

sorry. Nice update. I love it already.
I love the awsome Gamespot pic, but it is a little reduced in quality due to the random iberian mercanaries.

[Ariovistus Maximus]

YAY!!! GO GALATIA!!!!!

sorry. Nice update. I love it already.
I love the awsome Gamespot pic, but it is a little reduced in quality due to the random iberian mercanaries.

Yah.



I want SOOO much just to let out the whole story now. All of it I've written, that is. But then of course there would be longer gaps between updates. Man, I'm suffering from as much suspense as you are!

Anyways, we are approaching a section that will have relatively few screenshots, so I hope you all like storyline and plot progression.

There are still a couple of screen-heavy chapters though.

And then I will actually launch into a real campaign... I think you will like it.

Before I do that, though, I have to install EB for BI and get the FD-mod.

I really don't feel like uninstalling and re-installing EB though. I had to fight with it for quite a while to make it work in the first place.

I dunno. Maybe I'll forgo the pleasure of the enhanced AI I would get with BI. Hmmm...

Has anybody used the BI installer??? Does it work????????