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Thread: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

  1. #101
    Primicerius
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    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Great update, and personally, I like the style of 31. It may take longer to generate comments, but that's only because its more substantial. But you also can leave more time in between updates because they are longer, and can feel free to vary between the two, depending on your time constraints.



  2. #102

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Thanks. I guess I'll just decide spontanously just as before.

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

  3. #103

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Chapter 32: The Leap

    A moderate breeze has arisen and refreshes the wearied men. It is the cold season, but in these latitudes this doesn't change much. Antiochos has reverted to his accustomed attire as a soldier, chosen for practical reasons. The men he is leading don't need a glamorous appearance to believe in their king's divinity, they have seen him striking upon his foes, like an Avatar of the dreadful Ares, hardly ever wounded, despite him always seeking the midst of the fighting.
    With no obvious reason the Basileus stops his steed and dismounts. He stoops down to take a handful of sand and watches it run through his fingers, just like the two years that have passed since he defeated his brother at the shore of the Tigris.

    These years have been quiet years, but the king has been busy. His son was proclaimed as Basileus too, because Antiochos knew in the near future it would be almost impossible for him to rule the empire alone and his son needed the authority to silence opposition, an authority that now was fed from the divinity of their blood.
    Antiochos himself used the years to form an army, smaller than those he commanded before, but professional to the last man. As always it would rest on a phalanx of Pezhetairoi, among them the Argyraspides, the silver shields, the senior part of the Pezhetairoi. Those soldiers who have distinguished themselves most in the past campaigns were assigned to an elite corps, consisting of three elements: the Thorakitai Agematos Basilikou, heavily armored assault infantry, the Hypaspistai, royal guards fighting in the fashion of hoplites and the Peltastai Makedonikoi, light troops in the prime of their physical strength.
    From Galatia hails a band of Tindanotae, fierce warriors, who fear no enemy and are now loyal to the seleucid kings. Antiochos' ranged troops are composed of cretan archers, who are famed for their skill all over the hellenic world.
    The cavalry consists of Prodromoi, fast and skilled light cavalry, Lonchophoroi, cavalrymen well protected by their Aspis shields and of course the Hetairoi who are riding as bodyguards of their king.
    Adding to this do asian elephants which are descendant from those that Seleukos acquired from Sandrakottos of Maurya and trained by indian Mahouts.
    Now it is Antiochos' sixteenth reigning year, the sixty third year of the Seleucid Era and the beast, thirsting to take revenge, takes its leap.

    Antiochos straightens up, with closed eyes deeply inhaling the air, and it comes with an almost physical realization: The soil beneath his feet belongs to the land of the Pharaohs, the ancient land of Aigyptos.
    Last edited by Lysimachos; January 17, 2009 at 06:53 AM.

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

  4. #104
    Primicerius
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    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Good setup. Now onto the Ptolemy-killing.



  5. #105

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Chapter 33: The Boar


    Beneath a baldachin, that is protecting from the sun, sits a huge man. The nakedness of his upper body reveals bulging muscles under the tanned skin. He is wearing trousers and a massive golden torque lies around his neck.
    Demophon is comfortably resting on his chair, the light blue eyes closed, while a nubian slave woman shaves the dark blonde hair off his skull.
    Unlike the seleucid kings who lead their armies themselves to prove their worthiness, Ptolemaios Philadelphos prefers to trust professional generals, experienced soldiers.
    Demophon is one of them. It is, of course, not the name he was born with, but it has proven useful in his business to bear a name in the language of those whose silver coins he was paid.
    He is a Galates, a descendant of one of the celtic tribes that invaded Greece and Asia Mikra not long ago. He came to Aigyptos with his father, who has been allured by the prospect of the fair sums that the Ptolemaioi pay their mercenaries.
    However, his father did not find his happiness in Egypt and soon died of a fever, so it was up to the only son to support his mother and sisters. So he, barely a man, took up a greek name and his father's sword. Demophon fought with the ptolemaic army and excelled in several battles against the Kyrenaioi and was rewarded with a Kleros near Paraitonion. From then he was known to his hellenic masters as Demophon Paraitonios, while his name amongst his galatian brethren simply is "The Boar".
    In the following years he served in several campaigns against Kyrenaioi and Nubaioi and was trusted with increasing responsibilities. Now Demophon is assigned a challenging and very reputable task: The defense of Aigyptos.


    Another man enters the cooling shade under the baldachin. He is a Galates like Demophon and uses their celtic language to address him. "Commander." The Boar squints, trying to recognize the man. "What is it?" - "They are approaching on the route you anticipated."
    The dark skinned slave finishes the shave and rubs a scented oil on her master's scalp.
    "How many?" - "About twice as many as our soldiers, well equipped, with elephants. They are much closer than our reinforcements, commander."
    Demophon reaches out for the slave girl and pulls her on his lap. "We don't wait for the reinforcements. We'll give them a short welcome fight, show them we have no fear and test their resolve. In the long run we have the greater reserves and with constant attacks we will weaken their will to fight, until there is the opportunity to break the army in a capital battle. Tomorrow morning we will leave the camp."

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

  6. #106
    Primicerius
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    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    I like the point of view change. Almost makes the AI sound smart.



  7. #107

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Quote Originally Posted by Scutarii View Post
    I like the point of view change. Almost makes the AI sound smart.
    That was part of the idea Also - so much I can reveal now - I fought several battles against this particular general, so I decided it could be a nice touch to give him a personality.
    The battles are almost exclusively auto-resolved, so their progress is up to me anyway...

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

  8. #108

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Hey, check it out on the .Org! You've been nominated for RTW AAR of the Year.
    Son of PW

  9. #109

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Wow, I didn't even know there is something like that! I reckon no one was responsible to tell me.:hmmm:

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

  10. #110

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Well now you know. Here's the link.
    Son of PW

  11. #111

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    I am still on the second page, the amount of work You've put into this is amazing!
    Your writing style and grammar are much better than some native english speaking people I've met over the course of years!
    But screenshots every once in a while wouldn't be much of a problem to any machine. I have just recently joined the AAR community too, and I am completely submerged into this wretched time eating sub-group of the TWC forum!
    One tip I could give You tho. I will assume You are writing this text into the .txt or similar format, and pasting it into posts once they are done?
    Well, the tip is: It is really hard to keep focus on the amassed lines in some of the posts, a majority of them. It wouldn't be unwise to cut the post's by ratio of 2/3...
    or even by 1/2...It would let people rush through the post, and then look for more if they are eager to read on in the same charge, or leave it for tomorrow.

    Whatever Your decision is, +rep from me.

    And to throw a glance on the AAR of my own. It follows the young Hannibal and his early days at this moment!
    Keep up the quaking work!

    EDIT: as for screenshots. start a custom battle with only a few units in it. it should reduce the strain on your machine and allow You to catch nice screenies of Your own faction and the foe's!

  12. #112

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Quote Originally Posted by Theodotos I View Post
    Well now you know. Here's the link.
    Thank you for nominating me Oh, look, it seems like you've been nominated, too!

    Quote Originally Posted by Sunbird Alkibijad View Post
    I am still on the second page, the amount of work You've put into this is amazing!
    Your writing style and grammar are much better than some native english speaking people I've met over the course of years!
    But screenshots every once in a while wouldn't be much of a problem to any machine. I have just recently joined the AAR community too, and I am completely submerged into this wretched time eating sub-group of the TWC forum!
    One tip I could give You tho. I will assume You are writing this text into the .txt or similar format, and pasting it into posts once they are done?
    Well, the tip is: It is really hard to keep focus on the amassed lines in some of the posts, a majority of them. It wouldn't be unwise to cut the post's by ratio of 2/3...
    or even by 1/2...It would let people rush through the post, and then look for more if they are eager to read on in the same charge, or leave it for tomorrow.

    Whatever Your decision is, +rep from me.

    And to throw a glance on the AAR of my own. It follows the young Hannibal and his early days at this moment!
    Keep up the quaking work!

    EDIT: as for screenshots. start a custom battle with only a few units in it. it should reduce the strain on your machine and allow You to catch nice screenies of Your own faction and the foe's!
    First of all: Thanks for your comment and your advice.

    Battle screenshot: The problem is, the graphics are not properly displayed. The soldiers often show up only as a dark blot on the ground, which is nothing I'd like to show. In one of the earlier chapters I actually have a battle screenshot where you can see what I'm talking about.
    I hope I'll be able get a higher quality PC in the course of the year so perhaps I'll belatedly add some screenshots to freshen up the thing.

    Format/Text: I'm writing in .odt from openoffice.org. I'm not sure at the moment what amassed lines you are talking about (have to check), but sometimes it is intentional. In the first chapter for example when describing the battle I tried to make it less comfortable to read, with incomplete sentences etc for the effect. Nonetheless I will have another look where it might not be intended, later.

    Writing/Grammar: I especially thank you for this, as it often is not easy for me to decide how exactly to put the sentences. I use dictionaries and thesauri a lot, but they don't help much in regard to grammar. I also noticed I switch between american english and british english and I hope it's not too obvious I just can't decide...

    I wish you good luck and stamina in the AAR community and I'll certainly have a closer look on Hannibal.
    Last edited by Lysimachos; January 20, 2009 at 07:32 AM.

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

  13. #113

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    I didn't mean that the lines are massed or anything. I was simply referring to the effect that reading a post sometimes has. God forbid You scroll the page by accident and try finding where You were before that calamity occurred heehe...

    As for brit/amer english, don't even bother thinking about it. Those buggers themselves wouldn't know much about the difference(I've already donned the anti-flame suit by now, HAHA!) between those two groups either...

    As for dark blots...Is your anti-alliasing on? If it is, that might be the problem, switch it off. Second thing You can try is, get FRAPS or any other screen capture software, they are usually almost non-existant in regard to the memory demands. I hope You like my AAR too!

  14. #114
    SonOfAlexander's Avatar I want his bass!
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    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Stunnign pictures... It never ceases to amaze me that people like you are not authors. This would be such a good book (well, you know what i mean... ) You, sir, are an excellence!

    But i still won't give you a +rep
    Please come see the BAARC
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  15. #115

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Quote Originally Posted by Sunbird Alkibijad View Post
    I didn't mean that the lines are massed or anything. I was simply referring to the effect that reading a post sometimes has. God forbid You scroll the page by accident and try finding where You were before that calamity occurred heehe...

    As for brit/amer english, don't even bother thinking about it. Those buggers themselves wouldn't know much about the difference(I've already donned the anti-flame suit by now, HAHA!) between those two groups either...

    As for dark blots...Is your anti-alliasing on? If it is, that might be the problem, switch it off. Second thing You can try is, get FRAPS or any other screen capture software, they are usually almost non-existant in regard to the memory demands. I hope You like my AAR too!
    I'm quite sure I have anti-aliasing disabled, but I'll check. Anyway, it is a notebook with a not too advanced graphics chip, so I'm used to blaming it on the hardware.

    Quote Originally Posted by SonOfAlexander View Post
    Stunnign pictures... It never ceases to amaze me that people like you are not authors. This would be such a good book (well, you know what i mean... ) You, sir, are an excellence!

    But i still won't give you a +rep
    I see

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

  16. #116

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Quote Originally Posted by Lysimachos View Post
    Thank you for nominating me Oh, look, it seems like you've been nominated, too!
    Strange how that happens. . . Thanks, man. I'll see you at the voting.
    Son of PW

  17. #117

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Chapter 34: Tusks

    The air still bears the pleasing chill of the night, the sun doesn't yet show above the horizon to the east, but the sky already lightens up. Down in the basin, protected from the sharp desert winds, the camp of the syrian army is about to awaken.
    Neolaos dozily rubs his eyes. The coming morning marks the end of another uneventful watch and soon would be time for the changing of the guard. Neolaos looks up to the top of the ridge in the west, where the morning's sunlight will first hit the ground, before slowly descending into the basin.
    There, a bright spot appears on the slope and starts growing. Reflections flash up along the ridge. The startled guard blinks and it takes a moment for his perceptions to go through his dozy mind.
    "Alarm!" Neolaos, suddenly fully awake, shouts at the top of his voice. "Alarm!"

    The Boar has come to show the might of his tusks. Demophon's soldiers are positioned along the ridge, utilizing the high ground to which only a narrow natural ramp leads up between steep acclivities. The basin, which has been useful against the sandstorm, now serves as a trap.



    The galatian commander's men fiercely fight at the bottleneck, where their enemy's greater numbers count for nothing, while the seleucid Taxiarchoi try to bring order to the ranks of their regiments.
    The king's adjutant is galloping back to the center of the camp, where his master awaits him. "Basileus! It is futile, we can't advance a single foot. They will be able to hold the ramp for ever this way!"
    Antiochos Theos grimly nods. "So let's see what brute force we have left."

    Among the noise of the fighting, of clashing iron and bronze, of crying and shouting, a new sound is mixing, the powerful trumpeting of the majestic indian beasts, Antiochos' elephant corps. They are fearsome animals, larger than the ones that dwell in Aithiopia and at the eritrean coast and mounted with archers who rain death from above. The mere sight of their charge brings disorder into the enemy's ranks and the pure brutal force of their weight ploughs deep gaps through the ptolemaic formation. Into these gaps Antiochos sends his Peltastai Makedonike and his own Galatai, the Tindanotae, who show the foe their disdain by fighting naked. With furious anger they charge into the chaos left by the elephants, irresistibly carving their way through Demophon's terrified men, for whom the day had began so promising. Soon the line finally breaks and Antiochos' heavy infantry sweeps away the remaining resistance.



    The galatian Boar has proven to be a dangerous adversary, able to spot opportunities and willing to take risks in order to utilize them, but for today the longer tusks of the seleucid king's indian elephants remained victorious.

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

  18. #118
    Primicerius
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    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Yay, he's back. Great as usual.



  19. #119
    Hesus de bodemloze's Avatar The Gaul
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    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Keep em coming man.
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  20. #120

    Default Re: [EB AAR] The Legacy of Megas Alexandros

    Chapter 35: A Chain of Gold





    The Golden Jackal's howl sounds in the night. A chilly breeze blows from the Hyrkanian - or Caspian - Sea. The carnivore strides the sleeping land, restless and alone. This little creature, despite struggling for its bare existence day by day and night by night, must seem most enviable for another restless and solitary mind, awake under the hyrkanian sky. Its only ambition is to live and to stay alive in the blood of his offspring, the only sorrows it has to bear are its own, the only rules and codes it has to obey are the capacity of its legs and fangs.
    The restless and envious mind belongs to a young man, sitting atop a large rock. The man is looking down to the shy and playful dance of the waves, adorned by a magical sparkle of reflected moonlight, and the glimmer of thousands of thousands stars on the clear and indefinite sky, a spectacle so simple and unsophisticated, yet so unfathomably beautiful that its mere sight might make the unguarded man's heart forget to beat, a spell that has to be conceived and cast by an entity of higher virtue and imagination.
    But still, this invaluable gift of nature fails to attract the young man's attention, fails to lift his spirits, fails to spark the inspiration, the exaltation which leads people to think the unimaginable and achieve the impossible. Perhaps, in this very moment on the face of earth there is no being with a greater opportunity to experience the divine touch in the simplest things in nature, to feel the freedom to do anything, but still he feels imprisoned, chained to a certain destiny, an inevitable fate, chained with an artful and golden, but firm and heavy chain.
    While his mind is traveling through the deepest depths of his emotions, his fingers subconsciously wander along the hem of his Chiton, where they find a small rip in the cloth, an unsteadiness in the garment's flow, the sensation of which allures the finger tips to run along the edge, again and again, unintentionally unraveling threads of the expensive fabric.
    The young man's conscience does not perceive this, does not waste effort on what his fingers do, but bathes in the painful solitude of his fortune, enduring the cold grasp which firmly, relentlessly closes around his chest, squeezing his lungs, allowing only a dolorously straining breathing.
    A deep sigh heaves from his breast. Is this really what he is supposed to be? Is it not his place to be with his family, with his wife and son? But no longer is this his decision to make, a stronger mind that doesn't tolerate contradiction has made this to be his place, made him, who suffers under his own destiny's weight, a wielder of destiny himself, a king beside the king, a general, a leader, leading men, who can resist his word just as little as he can resist his father's, leading them - to what?
    The stars' glow and the night's innocent beauty slowly fade away, as the canopy goes pale and grey, bearing the signs of yet another day. A day, when the soldiers again will look up to him and await his decisions, trusting in his judgment, more than he himself ever could.
    Seleukos Kallinikos, joined king of the Arche Seleukeia, slides down from the silent and lonesome rock, which in its intimacy with solitude has been like a sympathetic companion in this late spring night. He feels the cold gravel under his bare feet, sharp edges carving tiny cuts in the skin that is used to be protected by soles of the softest and finest leather in the east. The slight pain which is itching in his feet while slowly walking upwards the rocky beach is an anchor, fixed somewhere in reality, a rope which he gratefully takes to pull himself at least a small way out of the gloom - not of the dying night, but inside his mind. Slowly follows step after step, each one accompanied by a bite from the solidly real gravel, each one carrying him closer to the camp and closer to awareness, each one a small victory for the sense of responsibility, acceptance of the inevitable, hardly won against the desperate cravings of every fiber in his body.
    "Who is there?" A barking voice ruptures the barrier build up around his conscience, only a small breach, just enough to make him notice and decide to ignore.
    In the moment of cognition the guard gasps and goes down on his knee. "Basileus!" Kallinikos cringes, when the cold grip around his heart closes again, inflicting a sting of pain. A free Hellen on his knee - for him! It was hard enough to accustom to the men abasing themselves in front of his father, paying Proskynesis to the king after his victory over Sarpedon Prodotis - Sarpedon the Traitor - but for himself? Oh, now he was called a king too, still - how could he possibly find himself worthy of this salute?

    Read my AARs:
    The Legacy of Megas Alexandros (Europa Barbarorum as Arche Seleukeia)
    The Prodigal Son (Shogun 2 as Mori)
    * * *
    You like a good reading? Then check out the homepage of our fellow TWC-member Theodotos I at www.stephenwrites.com!

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