Flight of Dragons - The Deeds of the Kings of the Sauromatae

[Aaldaemon]

The Flight of Dragons - The Deeds of the Kings of the Sauromatae



STELA I – The Deeds of Abeakos, Dragon King, Lord of the Horizons.

Part I: The Dragon Awakens


My name is Abeakos. Remember that name, for I am the Khashaya, King of the men and women of the Dragon. When I was but a boy, my father took me to the lands of the Yavanas, so I could see the foolishness of men grown fat on grain and wine. It was there I learnt to write, and this I hold the only good thing to come from the lands of city dwellers, for one day when I will be gone to ride with my ancestors, my words will remain written in stone, and all will know of the great deeds of the people of the Dragon.

When I was a boy I heard the tales the Yavanas tell about us. They know nothing but falsehoods, yet they pretend to worship reason and treasure knowledge. Wine-soaked fools. One day they shall all be crushed, their cities dust in the wind, for a true man is not a creature of stone and water, but a being of earth and wind, spreading the fire of the Dragon wherever he goes.

Know then that in the year of the Serpent Moon (272BCE) I ordered the Dragon banners to march south to Tanais, and there we scourged the land with fire.



The men of Tanais came to fight us with spears and shield and we drowned them in a sea of arrows. We made countless mounds of their dead and sent their flesh to the Fire god in a great offering. We took their women for our own, sent their young into slavery and slaughtered their old and sick, for the War God despises the weak, and they are good for nothing but to feed the fires of sacrifice.



While Tanais burned in the south, my son Babai scorched the lands to the north. The tribes of Dahyu Yugra could not oppose our wrath, and they submitted meekly to the favored of the War God after their warriors were culled in battle. Let them know their place as slaves to the will of the Khashaya.




A strong King never rests, so we did not tarry in Tanais. The banners flew westwards to Gelonus, and there we came upon the men of that place carrying death on the winter winds. Their hearts froze stricken by terror and we gave them to the fires.



Let the women of weaklings cry their songs of despair as they see the bodies of their husbands burned by the breath of Dragons. Hear their lament and laugh, for the War God sees your strength and is pleased. Despise weakness in all things, and give nothing but death to your enemies. Let the Dragon banners fly forever!

[Aaldaemon]

It's been years since I wrote an AAR, (long time ago I wrote some AARs for Paradox games under a different name, so no I never wrote a TW AAR before) so I got the urge to write one tonight as I was starting my next long term game, with a faction I have never played before - the Sauromatae.

So far the plan is to keep this AAR simple, I have the tendency to ramble and write too much, so I did my best to keep it short and to the point. If you liked this style and there is interest in this tale, I will continue it as my game evolves... the Dragon banners will fly regardless.

EDIT: This is a late, late edit to warn newcomers to this AAR that this information is outdated - this AAR is going other places than those I originally intended. You will see this if you keep reading it.

THE MOTHER OF ALL EDITS: FOR NEWCOMERS TO THE AAR: THIS AAR EVOLVED INTO A CONVOLUTED STORY COMES FIRST AAR SO BE WARNED, THE ORIGINAL UPDATES MIGHT NOT ENTIRELY REFLECT FUTURE PARTS, AS THIS AAR WILL FEATURE BOTH SCREENSHOT HEAVY CHAPTERS AND WALLS OF STORYLINE TEXT.

[Hax]

This will be great, a Sauromatae AAR.

I will certainly follow this. By the way, have you got plans to form a Steppe Empire or do you wish to invade the Seleukid lands (or perhaps migrate to Germania or something)

[Aaldaemon]

The plan is to scorch the world under the breath of Dragons... or at least try. As I've just begun my first game ever with the Sauromatae I'm not quite sure where the winds will take me, but so far I think the plan is to go West and show the Getai they can not steal my precious dragon banners and get away with it... They MUST BURN.

I like to roleplay my kings, so while dear old Abeakos is an aging Genghiz Khan wannabe, I'm not so sure the next king will follow the same route... we shall see...

[Reality=Chaos]

The plan is to scorch the world under the breath of Dragons... or at least try. As I've just begun my first game ever with the Sauromatae I'm not quite sure where the winds will take me, but so far I think the plan is to go West and show the Getai they can not steal my precious dragon banners and get away with it... They MUST BURN.

I like to roleplay my kings, so while dear old Abeakos is an aging Genghiz Khan wannabe, I'm not so sure the next king will follow the same route... we shall see...

I've not seen a sauromatae AAR before. This looks promising, maybe an occasional time update would help though? just a suggestion.... Now go on cover the world in horse archers and burn all those who oppose you...

[Aaldaemon]

Time update? What do you mean? If you mean showing the game year and such, know that all this happened during the first year (the year of the Serpent Moon (TM)), and yes I'm going to make sure I give more information on what happens when in the future. And now it's time to go to bed since it's 2:18am over here. :)

[Reality=Chaos]

Yeah that's what I meant... Thanks for responding... sleep well

[Happy balroae]

good look with your AAR the sauromatae are one of my favorite factions but watch out for rebels if your playing on VH campaign difficulty. They can be deadly if your settlements dont have walls

[Aaldaemon]

I'm playing on medium, because I actually want to have FUN expanding... and I'm more interested in roleplaying my kings and relaxing(ya right my last battle had adrenaline pumping me to Valhalla) rather than having heart attacks every turn and being annoyed by the AI factions madness. My first game in 1.1 was a Ptolemaic game on VH and at some point it became pure masochism... I really do not like the way VH works in RTW, they need to rethink their AI/difficulty for Empire for sure, imo at the moment VH is not at all "a fun difficult challenge" it's just a way to make things harder and more boring. A game on medium with some house rules seems more fun to my weary brain.

Update coming soon... as the story of the Kings continues.

[Aaldaemon]

Part II: The Westward Flight



Men say that in the far west the Ocean drinks the Sun. This I do not believe and I shall see with my own eyes. So in the year of the Broken Serpent (271BCE) we marched from Gelonus, westwards towards the dying Sun. A host of warriors followed in my wake, strong men of the Dragon riding after their Kshahaya as is the lot of warriors. Follow me they did, and we reached the lands of the Neurije.

Messengers came from the men of that land to offer us land and water. We speared the weaklings and sent them to the War God. Never trust a silver tongued messenger, for behind that tongue is poison. Sweet words are the forerunners of deceit. Trust in your horse and your bow arm and trust in your enemy. A man who comes against you with iron and bow is an honest man. Those men who would kneel before you will as soon stab you in the back, therefore a wise king will slaughter them all and rid the world of their treachery.



So we marched to the greatest settlement of the silver tongued Neurije and there met their warriors in the truest of greetings: battle. The fools did not offer much of a greeting to be sure. How can one chase dragons encumbered by spears and shields? They found out that arrows are greater than spears, and death came to those who turned their backs to the dragon banners. When arrows ran out the Dragons flew, and we gave them a taste of bitter iron. They could not stand against the fiery breaths of our mounts and we ground them into dust under the hooves of horses. No man can stand his ground and win against the fury of the men of the Dragon.



After our great victory we took our time to rid the Neurije of any thoughts of defiance, and gave them a taste of true fear. Once their wills were broken the banners flew once more, this time northward to the lands of the Seliun.



There we came upon their walls of their great town of Seliun-Pilis and we sent the banners forward to provoke their anger. Only a coward hides behind walls, and the men of Seliun were no cowards. Seeing that they outnumbered us greatly, they summoned up their courage and came out to meet us fairly on the field of the War God. But war is never fair, and a coward may live where a brave man will die.



The banners scattered like the wind, and the fools of Seliun chased them as the death song of arrows withered them into nothingness. Again, we ran out of arrows, but the War God guided our lance points, charge after charge, and we broke the men of Pilis, and then the bloodlust came as the sun set.





The year was that of the Burning Sun Serpent (268BCE), and the lands of the Seliun burned too like the sun above. The Seliun paid the price of defiance in blood, and we made Seliun a desert and called it peace.

The Dragon Banners flew.

[Africanvs]

Nicely written. I like the war-like attitude of your leader, a true Khanish fellow. Looking great so far, I'll be following this one, especially since I've never played out a campaign with a horse archer based army.

[Aaldaemon]

The Lord of the Horizons thanks you for your kind words. He'll make sure to show all future Khans how it's done. (If he does not die of old age )
Great Dragon Kings should live at least to 80, you hear me RTW engine, you hear me???

Horse archer armies are the ultimate "eradicate an enemy army with minimal losses" type of armies so I love them, although I used to be an infantry lover, and using an infantry army is much more relaxing. The micromanagement of horse archery and repetitive charging can border on the insane, but hey I love my casualty figures. Plus the Sarmatian bodyguards are my new favorite EB unit... they're the tank/howitzer superdeathmachines of the ancient world... and they regenerate? Might try a full bodyguard army in the future.

Speaking of units... where is a good place to recruit some infantry for assaulting heavily defended cities in the future? I have to check if I get those Scordisci heavies... somehow I don't see myself taking great cities with only horse archers.

[Frodge]

Barstanae are awesome assaulters, but they die like flies to arrow fire so get lots of them.
That said i don't know if sauromatae can recruit them.

[Vorian]

Very nice AAR you have the right atmosphere. Usually AARs for these factions tend to be boring since most people no nothing about them.

[Aaldaemon]

Hmmm, if all else fails I think I can recruit classical hoplites. I'm pretty sure I can recruit Bosphoran heavy archers... so couple those with hoplites and my heavy horse archers and I'll have a truly invincible army.

======================================================
And thank you for the praise Vorian, I'm a big fan of atmosphere/attitude. Initially I was thinking to write this AAR as if it was the text on kingly stelae, but I'm obviously not sticking to that plan. This will tell the story of the Kings of the Sauromatae, through their perspective, and maybe that of others, if I get consumed by this enough.

[Aaldaemon]

Part III: The Shattered Goddess

A dragon can not rest for long. The fires of his heart must be fed with the blood of his enemies. We had made Seliun a desert, our fires consuming that land and feeding the joy of our hearts, but the dragon banners must always fly, so they did.

To the South lay the lands of the Bastarnae, the mixed blood dogs. It is said among my people that it is easier to grow wings and fly, than to find a man among the Bastarnae who knows the name of his own true father, so we went South to make sure the next generations of that land know their fathers, all good men of the Dragon.



The year was that of the Blood Reaver (265 BCE). Those men among the Bastarnae who would fight us died with arrows in their backs, or with spears through their bellies, those who chose the coward’s path died screaming as sacrifice to the Fire God. We saw them burn to the chorus of lamentations of their women and laughed, for soon those women would change the tune of their screams and breed us true men of the Dragon. Thus, the lands of the Bastarnae were purged of their tainted tribes, and the Dragons looked for new horizons.



To the South and to the East lay the city of the Yavanas called Olbia. Long ago the Yavanas came here from a distant polis they call Miletus to trade with the Scythians, and they made the land at the mouths of the river Hypanis their own. This I had learnt long ago when I was but a boy among the Yavanas, and I did not forget, for a man should always learn all that he can about his enemies. Know your enemy, look in his eyes and seek his heart. See the strings that make his heart beat, so you can cut them better. A king must know how to cut the strings of the hearts of nations, so his knowledge of his enemies must exceed that of all others. So a king must know all… know or die.

The Yavanas of Olbia believed in trade. A false goddess. The truest god of men’s hearts is War, and no other. The Scythians had made them grow fat on grain, fish and slaves, while the men of Olbia had paid them a pittance in goods made in their distant southern lands. This I set about to change. I would teach the men of Olbia the trade of blood, the blood of warriors as sacrifice for victory. I would cut the strings of their heart, end their trade, and bring them to their knees.

So I ended their trade, ravaged their land, then came to their walls and called them out to meet us in battle to exchange the goods of blood. The cowards hid behind their walls and gave no answer but the silence of their fear. They would not come. Our insults fell on death ears, and so when words failed it was the time for deeds.



My son Alouthagos brought as many Yavanas as he could find within sight of the walls and had them trampled under the hooves of his horses, one after another, but the cowards in Olbia did nothing but mutter curses, threatening us with the revenge of the gods.

The gods do not do the work of men, I told them. Come and fight us, if you believe in the help of your gods, I taunted them. But the men of Olbia had little faith, so they did not come.

We showed them then what cowardice buys those who would trade in it. We took the trampled bodies of their fellow Yavanas, cut them to pieces and fed them to the dogs.

See these dogs? I asked them. They will eat better than you, for we shall keep them fed with the bodies of Yavanas, while you will starve behind your walls, for we shall teach you that our dogs are better than your men, for they do not trade to become rich and fat, but they know their place as servants to the men of the Dragon.

So the dogs were well fed as the Yavanas starved. Months passed and the cowards of Olbia would trade for their life, they would offer us slaves and tribute and riches and wine, but all we did was feed them to the dogs. There was to be no more trade, only war. There would be no more Yavana lies, only the truths of steel. Trade proved to be a false goddess, drowned by the verity of war. The year was that of the Wind of Fire (259 BCE)and the city died a slow death, for the War God was with us then, and forever.

At the very end the Yavanas found their courage, and the remainder of their fighting men came out to meet us. Half starved weaklings envying the lot of dogs. We trampled them under the hooves of our horses then came upon their starving city like countless packs of dogs of war. We fed on our bloodlust as our hounds fed on their flesh.



We came to the most beloved temple of the men of Olbia, the temple of Demeter. There I had the statue of the goddess shattered, and the temple burned to the ground, while I showed the remaining Yavanas the impotence of their gods.

See? I asked them. The Dragon fears no gods of weaklings. The Yavanas that still possessed a scrap of courage cursed us in response, while those without offered tearful prayers for mercy.

I shall send you to your gods so that you can better deliver your curses and prayers to them, I said, as my men came upon them and rid the world of their whimpers.

Olbia knew the truths of war, and all that remained of the old city of the Yavanas were the pieces of the statue of the shattered goddess. I ordered those left where they fell, so that men can always see a god shattered by the men of the Dragon.

[Aaldaemon]

During the previous installment I sort of ran out of screenshots, so it looks like it's a bit more text heavy and lighter on the images... I will be adding some screens if I find some.
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I have to say that the Olbians truly annoyed me, because I could not get them to come out and fight... they took the siege on the chin and prefered to wait till the very last to come out and fight... and I did not want to fight them inside the city... so I lost a lot of time sitting before their walls while my poor Abeakos got older and older... I nearly thought he would die before he took the city. But it was not to be, the gods favored the Dragon and he lived to take the city. I hope he does not die before I take the Crimea though... I just dread clicking the end turn button.

[Africanvs]

We saw them burn to the chorus of lamentations of their women and laughed, for soon those women would change the tune of their screams and breed us true men of the Dragon.

Nice!! Reminds me of Conan the Barbarian!

Mongol General: Conan, what is best in life?

Conan: To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

These guys are truly uncomprimising and on the war path. Seems they want nothing but endless blood. I can't help but see this ending in disaster, but not before they leave a path of bodies behind them. Enjoying this AAR.

[Aaldaemon]

Nice!! Reminds me of Conan the Barbarian!

Mongol General: Conan, what is best in life?

Conan: To crush your enemies, to see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

These guys are truly uncomprimising and on the war path. Seems they want nothing but endless blood. I can't help but see this ending in disaster, but not before they leave a path of bodies behind them. Enjoying this AAR.

You have keen eyes Africanvs. I was going to use that Conan quote later, as "wisdom of our ancestors" or something. I was always a big fan of the lamentations of women and crushing your enemies.

And what is disaster, when one has saddled the world and lived the life of a man of the Dragon, crushing his enemies and taking their women for his own? Surely, just a meeting with an approving War God.

Conan might also be the Death of this AAR, since AoC launched my EB game time has almost gone the way of the Olbians. Took me a while to tear myself from Hyboria to write this chapter.

[Vorian]

In the future when and if you conquer Hellas and start settling you could have a real dispute between the Old Way and the New.

(I might go too fast or I am just inspired by MAA, I don;t know :D)

[Aaldaemon]

In the future when and if you conquer Hellas and start settling you could have a real dispute between the Old Way and the New.

(I might go too fast or I am just inspired by MAA, I don;t know :D)

We shall see. I actually have a grand storyline in mind already... Given people won't be bored and I'll find the will to write it all, it might be an interesting tale.
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I have a question, what do people prefer, more story or more screenshots? I'm curious.

[Aaldaemon]

Ok no feedback :( Guess I'll just do it myyyyyyy waaaaaaaaaaay. Update coming later today, maybe a bit different style from the previous one.

[The General]

The Flight of Dragons - The Deeds of the Kings of the Sauromatae

I do love the way that unit looks.

Also, I likes the AAR - keep on goin', and fly that dragon banner high!

(Also, the name of the thread reminds of a song... But that's beside the point.)



(Edited part in italics.)

[Aaldaemon]

I do love the way that unit looks.

Also, I likes the AAR - keep on goin', and fly that dragon banner high!

(Also, the name of the dread reminds of a song... But that's beside the point.)

Aye, the Aeldary Aembaltae (by the War God I love them so much I can now spell that name from memory haha) are the beautiful angels of death.

And thank you for following this AAR, next update is coming in a couple of hours or so(a few RL issues keep sidetracking me), and it will feature the Aeldary Aembaltae quite a lot.

[Aaldaemon]

Part IV: The Battle of Chersonesos 257BCE



The wooded hills were swarmed by shadows. The forest murmurs as men and horses shift and whisper. A rider comes, a specter mounting a black horse, his shadow melting in the gloom. The guards allow him to pass through, for he is expected.

The rider trots up a high hill, where men assemble. The rider looks around, then at a sign, dismounts and kneels. Before him stands a tall man, clad in silver scale. The man is old, but strong, white hair a simple crown upon his brow. He wears no gold, or jewels, but a silken cloak, a dragon roaring on its back. His only ornaments in truth, are naught but a sword, and the crescent moon hilted dagger of his kind.

The old man frowns, then his words come:

Speak, what news from the North?

The black clad man lowers his head, and answers:

My King, the Tauri move. Their prince Rauxsaspa comes.

The old man nods, his face a mask of ancient lines.

They took their time…but now they come. How many warriors does the princeling bring?

A great host my King. We are outnumbered,the kneeling man replies.

The King smiles, the Dragons stirring in his heart.

Outnumbered you say? By what, hopeless children and old fools?

My King, Rauxsaspa brings many spears, bowmen, riders… their nobles come as well, the prince has brought them all…

The King’s smile widens, his eyes sharp swords to tear the darkness.

Brought them all he has? The fool. He pauses, then turns to his nobles at his back.

You should know then my brothers, that the Yavanas come from the South as well. That fool Kallipos brings them to the slaughter.

The nobles murmur, their cloaks shift. They dare not speak. A man gathers his courage. His words are tinged with worry:

They come, my King? Should we take the banners East to slip away?

The King laughs now, the Dragon roaring mirth under the stars.

Aye, they come… with spears, and bow, and horse and lance. They come, why wouldn’t they? They are many, we are but a few. They know full well, the princeling Rauxsaspa is approaching from the North, a great host trailing in his wake, so here they come, to catch us in a trap of sharpened iron.

How can they know? We stand between them as we speak! None of their messengers can pass without our knowledge!The noble asks, the tinge of fear eating at his words.

Because I told them so, you fool, the King answers, his voice low, his eyes that of the Serpent in the night. Why do you think we waited here on these hills so long? You think I want us to grow roots and branches sprout?


Alas, it takes time for messengers and spies to do their shady work. Alone the Scythian prince and the Yavana fool are naught but cowardly worms... but bring the two of them together and they will muster enough courage to come to die on our spears.



The King laughs again, his nobles shift uneasy as he speaks:

The greatest trap of all is when the hunter dresses as the pray, and brings the would be hunter, pray in truth to die the death of fools. They think us pray, but we are ever hunters, men, and now they come to us to listen to our dirge of arrows. Rejoice now men, for a great song starts, a song of war, a song of spears, a song of lament and despair, the song of dragons.

You know this tune well men, so wait for morning and then sing! Scatter the banners, like the dragon on the winds, and let them come to meet their doom. Send the Aorsi on the left, the nobles form the center, the swift horse on the right… then spread the wings, embrace our pray, and welcome it to our waiting belly.

Horses are brought, the King mounts first, the nobles in his wake. His sword is raised, and his great roar is heard:

Forward now men! The dawn comes swiftly, and Death hungers! Let us begin the singing now in earnest! Let our bows start the song of Dragons!

The woods erupt. The men cheer.

Abeakos! Abeakos King! The bellows of men come, as the gloom lifts.

His cloak a blur, the dragon on his back aloft.

The Dragon! The Dragon flies! They shout, as the Serpent rises on the winds.



The Sun is up, the banners scatter. Before them and behind them the spears come.



Forward they come, towards their pray, the waiting hunters.



The Dragon song begins with but an arrow, as iron wings of death fly to their marks of flesh.



The Scythian prince, spear in his hand hears his death chant in the winds. He can do naught but meet it boldly, his fate to feel the fiery breath of dragons.



The Yavanas chase naught but death, as the pale rider spears them in the back, for Death is everywhere, with no refuge to be found.



The last of the spears rally, as the serpent circles, tongue ready for the bite.



The spears break under the breath of fire, as the King comes to claim the spoils of blood.



The Dragons fly, as coils of steel entwine with gusts of passing souls.
The Dragon rides! The Dragon flies! The chant is sung, and so death comes.

[General Appo]

Beautiful, I like your style.

[Aaldaemon]

Beautiful, I like your style.

Thank you. I tried to do this a bit differently - I abandoned first person and used a different narrative style, no longer entirely the words of the king, but inspired by him still - Abeakos might be a butcher, but he's also "Philosophically Inclined" and an "Epic Poet"... truly a King of legend, the Dragon made flesh.

[Lysimachos]

Beautiful, I like your style.

Yes, this chapter is a promising one. Hope to see more like this.

[Aaldaemon]

Yes, this chapter is a promising one. Hope to see more like this.

I hope to keep this up too... but it's a tough battle... on one side the Dragon beckons, while on the other Crom calls on me to crush my enemies and hear the lamentations of their women... but if people like it and there's interest in the tale, I'll try to keep it up.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Sort of looks like Abeakos from behind in truth.

[Reality=Chaos]

Please don't stop this AAR... I love it.. you're new writing style makes it even better...