Awakening - A Sauromatae AAR

[gamegeek2]

Awakening
A Sauromatae AAR

Introduction

As the tired old boat approached the shore, Ariobarzan awoke to the calls of various birds, a welcome noise after days at sea. The helmsman, weary of steering through the night, breathed a sigh of relief as he steered the vessel towards a small fishing village.

Upon reaching the shore, he quickly stepped upon the shore, smelling fresh fish. The sailors made to ask him for payment, but he had left his cargo on the ship - clearly he'd be coming back. So they, too, went ashore, eager for fresh food. The generous villagers were happy to oblige, and the weary travelers gave them something precious few on the weary steppe - coin.

Having had his fill, Ariobarzan walked back to the boat. He picked up his cargo and left the sailors their payment, and sought out for something he knew would be abundant in these lands: horses.

Walking through the streets, he noticed a man wearing finer clothes than the rest of the town. He seemed to be a man of some nobility, as he carried a sword at his side as well. Such men were known to own many horses, and Ario figured such a man might be able to trust him with some animals.

So he inquired in Greek, "Noble sir, might you have some fine beasts which could bear me to the Gava of the Aursa? I come to bring a certain Babai his fine suit of armour, from the pioneers of kataphraktos armour themselves, the Parnoi.

"Well, Fortune smiles upon you, my fellow traveler. I seek the man myself, bearing message from the the King himself. Now that we are fed, come, let us drive on, and take in the majesty that is the vast, unending steppe."

[Hax]

SO THIS IS WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING INSTEAD OF WORKING ON ATB >:| >:| >:|


Seriously though, I like it. Haven't seen that much Nomad AARs around. Go go go!

[gamegeek2]

Inspired by others, sorry - I've also had a fair amount of free time on my hands recently, to play EB, etc.

[Unintended BM]

Good work, I like it.

[MarcusAureliusAntoninus]

Interesting start. I'll be watching to see where this goes.

[johnhughthom]

Looking good gamegeek, glad I prodded you into this!

[Roka]

good start, i'll be following this

[vartan]

You have my support! Glad to see a Sarmatian AAR. =]

[gamegeek2]

Chapter I: Broadening the Horizon

Abeakos strode out of his tent, in full battle regalia. Age may have been getting to the old man, but he was far from ready to leave this world. There was still life left in that old weary body, before he was ready to settle down for the last time. Life enough for one last campaign.

He walked up to his horse, and one of his trusted companions helped him into the saddle.

"Give me the horn," he said.

Spakaya handed him the horn, and Abeakos blew a clear note, resounding throughout the camp like a wolf's howl.

With that, the warriors began to assmeble - a mighty force of 6,000 men from throughout the confederacy. The warriors saddled up and rode off towards the trading village of Tanais and the great water beyond.

When they came to the town, they found that the enemy was already awake and ready for the assault. It was a battle, then. And as such, Abeakos felt it proper to say a few words:

"Today, a red sun has dawned. Today, the Sword calls us to battle. Today, there is a spark in our eyes, and fear in those of our enemies, for today they face Sauromata!

Let there fire of life be in your fingers and soul, as you release your taut bowstring this day, and your arrows will find their mark!"

With that, a roar went up from the men, and the kettle-drums began to beat out the rhythm of battle.

The riders went forward, and the firing began. The twang of bowstrings could be heard throughout the ranks of horsemen as they approached the town.

And whenever the militia tried to approach them, the horsemen would flee, while continuing to pepper them with arrows, so that they left a trail of dead wherever they went.

It was not until they engaged the foe's horsemen that casualties began to ensue.

The battle continued in skirmishes throughout the settlement.

And the day ended with shouts of "Victory!"

Hundreds of miles to the northeast, another Sauroma sought to pull a repeat - to bring the Ilirkian and Ugric tribes under the dragon-banner. These were settled folks who knew how to mine, extracting valuable metals from the mountains north of the Yaik, near which their settlement lay.

He came upon the town mid-afternoon, and he and his men set upon it.

First to engage the host was a contingent of nobles, well armed and armoured, with scale for both themselves and their mounts. They courageously stood through the arrow-fire, returning shot for shot, and bringing down many Sauromata warriors.

Horsemen traded fire across the battlefield.

Groups of militiamen occasionally accompanied them, but were met with devastating volleys, inflicting mass casualties, though not as severe as the horsemens', due to a large shield well-suited to stopping arrows.

"It will forever amaze me," thought Babai, "what arrows can do."

[gamegeek2]

Sorry for the short update. I may have to do more short updates and less long ones, to accomodate school as well as work on AtB and EB2.

I hope you guys don't mind

[Vasiliyi]

Finally a Sauromatae aar. Ill be sure to follow this. Short updates are fine, EB2 is way more important.

[vartan]

Finally a Sauromatae aar. Ill be sure to follow this. Short updates are fine, EB2 is way more important.

What does EBII have to do with this AAR? and it is good that there's a new Sauromatae AAR.

[Roka]

glad to see i'm not the only one who uses phalanx mod

[athanaric]

What does EBII have to do with this AAR? and it is good that there's a new Sauromatae AAR.

Because gamegeek is supposed to work on EB II, as a team member. However, I'm glad he took the time for a Sauromatae AAR, so I can benefit from his experiences.

[gamegeek2]

Because gamegeek is supposed to work on EB II, as a team member. However, I'm glad he took the time for a Sauromatae AAR, so I can benefit from his experiences.

QFT

[the man with no name]

I haven't seen a sarmatian AAR in a while. I'll be sure to follow this. Good luck!

[Cute Wolf]

Wow... a really nice Sauromatae AAR!!!

[NickTheGreek]

I'm gonna enjoy this immensely

[gamegeek2]

Begun writing the 2nd chapter.

[gamegeek2]

Chapter II (Part I)
Go West, Young Man

With the directive of the Council of Tribesmen being to seize the lands of the Budinai, Thissakata, and Skuta, Alouthagos began assembling an army of warriors to take with him on his raid of the Balto-Slavic tribes to the west.

These were a proud people, who fielded fierce infantrymen as well as local nomadic horsemen.

His army was small, but they were a proud band of nomadic brothers, and all mounted - an inestimable advantage on the open steppe.

The battle opened with skirmishes between the horsemen on either side. The twang of bowstrings filled the air as arrows whizzed and thudded, either into the ground or into the man right next to you.

Valiant Skuda nobles pursued our own through the trees, arrows picking off few of the heavily armoured men.

Their efforts were rewarded, and they caught the elusive noblemen and began a vicious melee, in which they fared well. From far off, arrows continued to rain into their back, but they were undeterred. Soon enough, our armoured horsemen were forced to flee.

Meanwhile, archers from within the settlement perimeter began to engage, exchanging fire with Sauromata horsemen.

Skuda horsemen successfully drove off some warriors, but they failed to rout a more prepared group of horsemen.

Budinai warriors continued to venture out, but only met taunting arrow-fire.

But as Alouthagos' army ran out of arrows, he led his retinue forward and plowed into a group of unwary spearmen with a devastating charge, slaughtering them a sending them fleeing for the town square.

He did the same thing to another group of unprepared footmen, with similar results.

He then rested his men a while, and surveyed the battlefield.

Everywhere one looked, a dead man lay waiting for your eyes to fall upon him.

Seeing that little resistance remained, he moved all-in, heading for the center of the town with his bodyguard.

A surprise met him at the top of the hill. The Skuda nobles had returned!

The Budinic warlord brought his archers into the fight, but to no avail.

Soon enough, he lay dead, and the long and bloody day was over.

They laid him to rest beneath the tree where he fell, and placed a stone upon the mound:

Here lies Respendial, Kraljas of the Budinai
He fell here, defending his people
May he be preserved, and his spirit guide his people
Wherever they tread upon this earth.

[gamegeek2]

A short update, but it was a long and brutal battle, and I had the day off thanks to some snow.

[Cute Wolf]

Nice update pal!

[NickTheGreek]

I agree, roll on chapter II part II

[Hax]

Go go go go!

Yessss I love it!

[johnhughthom]

Must have been a brutal slog to lose so many men, those nomad city assaults can be costly. Nice update, keep it up!

[Horatius Flaccus]

Great!

[gamegeek2]

Yeah, it was brutal and costly, but well worth it - I need to create a stable economy to finance armies. Building mines in Uspe will doubtlessly help me in this endeavor.

I intend to go ahead and play through such waiting for finances.

[gamegeek2]

Chapter II
Part II

From far and wide, the greatest nobles of the land gathered, to be outfitted with fine arms and armour by the king himself, for from the sea-trade he had assembled many fine suits of scale, and generously distributed these among the wealthy nobles and retainers.

While the old man wished to stay at his seaside abode at the end of the Tanais River, along Lake Maiotis, the various youthful and energetic royal family members, along with Alouthagos, were eager to join in the expedition. Chief among these was Babai, of great fame in the North, and alongside him were Madasakka and Zantikos, both of whom had not yet reached the age of 20.

Madasakka was the king's protege. Hailing from the fierce Rauxsa-alanna tribes, he married into the royal family and moved to Tanais, where he was educated in the Hellenic arts of mathematics and philosophy, which he became quite fond of. Yet at the same time, he remained a skilled and fierce commander of horsemen, like his fellow northern tribesmen.

Zanticos was an energetic, youthful member of the royal family. While he was still learning, he was, like his father, skilled in the nomadic arts of horsemanship and foraging. Unlike most steppe men, he enjoyed the various alcoholic drinks of the Hellenes, and eagerly bought them.

Together, these four men brought with them a total of over 2,000 heavy horsemen, along with 6,000 horse archers. From the lands of the Budinai and Sirakata came footsoldiers, 5,600 in all, for the purposes of both guarding the camp and taking the famed walls of the southern cities...

[gamegeek2]

Short, but I thought some foreshadowing was in order.

[vartan]

Short, but I thought some foreshadowing was in order.

So you will be attacking the rebel army? Where to next?