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Thread: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

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  1. #1

    Default The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    The year is AD 365. Julian is dead. The two brothers,Valentinian and Valens have divided the Roman Empire in two parts with Valentinian in the west and Valens in the east. In 365 Procopius, dead Julian's cousin usurps the throne in Constantinople with the support of several legions. Valens is in a difficult position. The Goths have allied themselves to Procopius by invading Moesia. In the east, the Sassanid Empire grows stronger by the day and seems to be preparing an invasion of the undefended province of Syria. Valens is in trouble, he puts everything on the dice and leaves Syria to face Procopius on the far away battlefields of Asia Minor, Thrace, Macedonia, and Greece. His brother cannot help him, with the Franks, Alamanni, The Vandals, and The Quadi attacking him Valentinian may be in an even worse position than his younger brother. Valens is on his own. With no one to help him, and just several Legions and bands of mercenaries that are willing to fight for him, Valens must win back his throne and show to all those unwashed Barbarians, foolish usurpers, and those bearded dress-wearing Persians who are they dealing with!


    This will be my first AAR. I have been thinking about it for a while now. I'm a dedicated SAI player since 2009 and I have been reading all those wonderful AAR's. In school, I have always been the best at writing things so I decided to give this a shot. I will be playing a Valens campaign on Hard campaign difficulty and medium battle difficulty. I have chosen this campaign because by this time,as the title says, the Empire is in deep trouble. For almost two centuries now,the Empire has suffered a series of disasters, defeats,and incompetent emperors who have failed in preserving the Empire. As I am a fan of "What if" scenarios I was thinking, "What if Valens united the Empire under his rule, What if he defeated the Goths at Adrianople?" and so I decided to go with the Valens campaign. I should get to writing now. I hope that you will enjoy the AAR and I hope that I will be able to finish it.

    So help me God and as one wise man named Knonfoda once said (wrote ) : "Let the carnage begin!"

  2. #2

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    CHAPTER I

    Summer 365,Antioch

    Valens smiled as he rode out through the city gates. Two thousand soldiers were following him. He was proud. He was an emperor...

    "Finally I get to leave this city...finally", Valens said to his best friend and the commander of his bodyguards, Gaius Metellus Pictor.
    "Why do you hate this city so much?" Pictor asked.
    "It is disgusting,all the filth,the beggars,the whores in the streets....It is horrible" Valens said thinking of these last few months in the city.
    Gaius wanted to say something but he was interrupted when one of the cavalrymen fell from his horse. He then rode swiftly towards that man to inform him that he has just been assigned a very important duty, to clean the toilets when the army is camping, yes yes,THAT happens when you are clumsy. There is no room for clumsyness in Valens's army.
    He had some of the best soldiers in his army,yet he still wondered will it be enough... Procopius will be a dangerous opponent,there is no doubt. He can only hope...he can only hope.


  3. #3

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Hmmm... It seems that I messed something up with the pictures.. I could use some help with it

  4. #4
    Evalation's Avatar Centenarius
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    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Not a bad start, its a little short, but its not a bad start at all. What I do for my AAR pics is I save them to my photobucket account and then I copy and paste the link into the insert image tab when your creating a post.

    If you need me to be more specific let me know, but keep it up with the AAR. IB:SAI AARS are always interesting.
    "I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion." - Alexander the Great

  5. #5

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Thanks. I know it is short. But I put chapter I there as a sort of an introduction. I wrote a huge Chapter I and then my Intenet crashed and auto save only restored the Title -.-,and so I made a mistake of posting this short chapter. And I could use some more help with the picture thing...I just can't get used to it.

  6. #6

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Chapter II
    And so it begins....


    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Summer 365,outside Nicopolis,Macedonia


    Taurus was thinking that this heat is going to kill him. It was hot like in Hades itself.
    "May the Gods curse that fool Flavius" Taurus said to himself. Flavius was his commander in Dyrrhachium. It was Flavius that sent him on this boring mission. With two cohorts of recruits Taurus was to escort a weapon shipment to Nicopolis to arm the city in case the Usurper tries to take it.
    "Ah finally! Nicopolis!" one soldier shouted as they went over the final hill. Nicopolis was in front of them.
    The men were already talking of drinks and easy women in the city. But something was wrong. Taurus watched the city. Something was wrong,there were barricades in the streets and armed men everywhere.
    "Oh Gods" He whispered to himself as he saw somethig flying towards his men.
    "TAKE COVER!!" He shouted as he saw an enemy ballista shoot a deadly projectile towards them that claimed several lives.
    "ARM YOURSELVES! SPEARS TO THE FRONT. The enemy is coming!" He roared and saw his men quickly forming a line and bracing themselves.
    "Lanceae! Now!" As he said it, two hundred lanceae flew towards the enemy ranks. Luckily, the enemy was poorly equipped and many were slain by the deadly spears.
    "Hold the line! HOLD THE LINE!!" Taurus shouted at his men. He then charged the enemy shouting like a berserker.
    "DIE YOU DOGS! DIE!"
    Several men were slain by him,and just as he was about to kill the last enemy soldier in front of him the soldier turned around and started running towards the town. The enemy was routing.
    "After them! Kill them ALL!"
    The auxiliaries obeyed and they followed the enemy into the town.
    "We don't know how to assault barricades,sir!" One soldier,Marcus was his name, said to Taurus.
    "I don't care if you have to BITE YOUR WAY THROUGH! I GAVE YOU ORDERS, AUXILIARY!!"
    The men heard Taurus swear like mad as he tried to be the first one to reach the barricades. He made it. He bravely jumped on the barricades and moments later, five enemies were lying at his feet. The others followed Taurus and soon, the first barricade was captured.
    "Come on men! COME ON! Just one more!" He shouted and ran towards the next one.
    This time,he wasn't that lucky. As he killed one enemy he saw three others run towards him. It was the last thing he ever saw. They stabbed him until he finally fell. So ended captain Taurus.
    Taurus was dead, but the battle wasn't over yet. That auxiliary by the name of Marcus took command of the forces. Two hours later, a great victory was won.

    One week later,The Imperial palace, Constantinople

    Procopius was standing on the balcony alone,desperate. Ever since he heard that the enemy has taken Nicopolis he couldn't stop thinking what will be of him if Valens captures him. Certaintly not anything good. His legions left Constantinople two days ago marching towards Asia Minor. If Valens wants war,he will get one.

    Procopius was standing there,alone,when his friend Fabius came.
    "Augustus,there is something you need to know." Fabius said,visibly upset.
    "What happened, Fabius?" Procopius asked, suddenly interested in the matter.
    "The enemy,sir, Valens' Gothic mercenaries have besieged Marcianopolis,sir, and after our recent defeats around Thesalonicae, the two cities are left undefended,they WILL fall if we don't do something."
    "So Valens is serious. He wants war. He will GET ONE!" Procopius said,now angry.
    "It has begun my friend, it has begun..." Procopius said as he entered the palace shouting, ordering his slaves to get him his armor and his sword.

    The war has begun.

  7. #7

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Interesting , the commander seem mad when he order the attack, would we be hearing more about this Marcus? seem like an interesting man if he can take control after the commander die.

  8. #8

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Interesting , the commander seem mad when he order the attack, would we be hearing more about this Marcus? seem like an interesting man if he can take control after the commander die.
    Thanks, You will be hearing more of Marcus....you sure will

  9. #9

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Great start valens!

  10. #10

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Chapter III
    The Siege of Thesalonicae



    Outside of Thesalonicae, Victor, the Imperial Magister Equitum and a Caesar sits in his tent, confident after the recent victories. He is right, because he has The Tetria Legion with him. Those men have never routed, and let's hope, for their sake, that they never will.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    The enemy seems desperate. They send an army to attack Victor. That is NOT a good idea.
    The battle is joined.



    Ha! Can they be more foolish? CAN THEY BE MORE FOOLISH?! They send their recruits, armed slaves, against the Veteranii, the men that serve Rome for decades. Using their hastae, the Veteranii are a deadly force and soon, the enemy routs.


    The Imperial limitanei rush in to pursue the enemy. Those swine must be hunted down!

    The enemy General decides that it would be best if he would turn around and run, leaving his men behind.
    OH NO! NO Roman leaves his friends behind, if this traitor can even be called Roman. He SHALL be hunted down!

    And so he is. He is killed by a Sarmatian cavalry Auxiliary, that man shall be rewarded, if he survives the battle.

    Ohh, what's this? Hormisdas II... Ha! The only good Persian is a dead one. We got this bastard! We got him!

    The battle is won. The enemy is crushed.
    Thesalonicae is defensless...

  11. #11

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Chapter IV
    A Fallen Hero
    Marcianopolis, 365 AD

    Ammianus the Goth thinks about his life. Two months ago, his soldiers, mostly Gothic and Hunnic mercenaries, began the siege of Marcianopolis. Ammianus is loyal. He hasn't betrayed Valens. He was offered a position of an officer, a Legatus, if he would join Procopius, but he refused. If his father has taught him anything, it was loyalty. His father has been serving Rome for his entire life, only to be killed by a fellow Goth in a battle. Ammianus joined the army when he was sixteen. He quickly ascended through the ranks and here he is. He is a Legate. His troops may be just mercenaries, but he is a Legate. He is a Roman.
    Suddenly, a soldier walks into his tent.
    "Sir!"
    "What is it?"
    "The enemy, sir, they are coming!"
    "Excellent, soldier, assemble the men. I WANT to see them armed and ready within minutes!"
    "Yes,sir!" The soldier replied and walked out of the tent.
    Ammianus walked out of the tent. It was a misty morning, but a single ray of sunlight was visible through the mist. Ammianus looked up to the sky and whispered just one thing.
    "Let them come."

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 




    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    The enemy is quite confident, they have ordered a frontal attack. Let's hope that Ammianus and his Goths will hold.


    The enemy leader, a man named Phronimius, seems like a person of great importance to the enemy. He MUST be killed.

    The battle is joined. Ammianus personally leads his men. He will be leading a cavalry charge.

    The enemy is engaged. After the initial impact of the cavalry charge, the men of enemy legion, The Septimae Claudia, waver, and then rout.

    The enemy general, Phronimius, closes in slowly, like that he doesn't know that a battle is raging in front of him. We will make him run, we sure will.

    The remaining soldiers of the Septimae Claudia legion are hammered in between our troops and are quickly routed.

    Oh God! No! Ammianus was slain in a fierce fight, but the men say that he took down several traitors with him. He may have not been a Roman, but he sure did die like one, he died with a sword in hand. His sacrifice will not be forgotten. He was a true Roman hero. Seeing their general fall, the Gothic cavalrymen charged the enemy and soon...

    The enemy general, Phronimius, is slain. That dog deserved it. A damnatio memoriae will be issued against him. It sure will...

    A great victory was won. Marcianopolis was captured, and the citizens were properly rewarded for their (dis)loyalty....

    THIS happens to everyone who betrays the Emperor. They shall all be put to the sword and their property will be confiscated in the name of the Emperor.

    The end of Chapter IV

  12. #12

    Icon1 Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Hey Guys. This thread is here for a while now and I don't get almost any feedback. If you read the aar, and you like it (or dislike it) leave a comment. Any comment would be welcomed. I would like to know am I doing it good or do I suck at writing. When I see your comments, it gives me motivation to write. It seems pointless to me to write if no one would read it. As I said, this is my first aar and hopefully not my last one. I'm currently working on Chapter V but real life is holding me back a bit. Making this aar is quite fun. I finally fully enjoy a game when I play it, when I play SAI, I play for one hour at max, just enough to take all the screenshots. It is fun. Well, now I really have nothing else smart to say and I've started saying random things so I will end this post. Remember. If you like (or dislike it), comment. It takes a minute, and it means a lot to me. Cheers!


    -Valens

  13. #13
    McScottish's Avatar The Scribbling Scotsman
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    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Well Valens - if that is your real name - if anything I think that your updates are too damn short. I realise of course that an hour is not really a helluva long time to get stuff, and if you continue to update as frequently as you seem to do then I'd not be surprised. Anywho, there's some fine writing right there and I'm going to rep you for it too. Keep going and do not let yourself be disheartened!

  14. #14

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Quote Originally Posted by McScottish View Post
    Well Valens - if that is your real name - if anything I think that your updates are too damn short. I realise of course that an hour is not really a helluva long time to get stuff, and if you continue to update as frequently as you seem to do then I'd not be surprised. Anywho, there's some fine writing right there and I'm going to rep you for it too. Keep going and do not let yourself be disheartened!
    Thanks a lot McScottish. I'm very glad that you like my writing. I know that my chapters are quite short, but I don't have that much time. I will try to make them longer and I will try to update more frequently. Currently, I have a lot of work to do and I think that Chapter V might wait until the weekend starts. If I will have enough time, I might complete Chapter V today but I'm not so sure. I have started reading your Procopius AAR and it is really nice. Can't wait for new updates.

  15. #15

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Well, I think you've done some good work so far . RL gets in the way a lot of times, so it's cool. Looking forward to the weekend.
    WIP. Watch this space. It'll be epic.

    No, seriously.

  16. #16

    Default Re: The Empire of Iron and Rust ------->An SAI 365 Valens campaign AAR

    Chapter V
    Men of honor, men of war...

    Summer 365, Pergemum

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    "Gaius, what do we know about the enemy commander, I only know that his name is Araxius." Vadomarius asked one of his lieutenants.
    "Well, it seems that old Procopius has appointed Araxius as the Praetorian Prefect in the Oriens, the Praefectus praetorio. That basically makes Araxius his right hand man. We also know that he has most of the enemy army with him. We saw the banners of the Celtae and the Petulantes in their camp. " Gaius replied, happy as always, nothing seemed strong enough to make him sad or depressed. Some men in the camp simply called him "Happy".
    "Oh. That could be a problem. We have the Celtae and the Petulantes in our army as well. They may hesitate to fight the men that they share years of service with. Are there any other enemy forces out there?"
    "Well, other than the two legions, the enemy mostly has militia and maybe some auxiliaries. Nothing we can't handle,sir." Vitellius, also one of the officers, said, confident in the positive outcome of the battle. Everyone knew that he was a rival of Gaius, and therefore, while Gaius wanted a surprise night attack, Vitellius proposed a direct attack on Pergemum in the middle of the day.

    In the middle of the debate, a scout ran into the tent. He quickly saluted and started talking.
    "Sir, there is something you need to know about. We have just discovered that during the night, several enemy cohorts evacuated by boats from Macedonia have landed near the city. They may aid the enemy in the fight. For now, they aren't showing any plans to march towards Pergemum, instead, they have set up a small encampment on the shore."

    "DAMN IT! Those bastards. We have no choice now. Ready or not we must attack. Vitellius, go tell the men to get some sleep now because we attack as soon as the Sun sets. Gaius, you seem to be a capable tactician, now you will have to prove that you are a good soldier as well. You have shown bravery when we were fighting against Rumitalca, but those were recruits, levies. These are legionnaires. You will lead the infantry. Show no mercy. Pergemum must be in our hands by tomorrow morning. Understood?"

    "Yes, sir!" Gaius saluted and left the tent.

    Vadomarius left the tent soon after. He called for the men to assemble in front of him. The men were there, they were looking at him, waiting.
    He took a deep breath, he will give a speech, the men need something to raise their morale, and he will do everything to raise it.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    "GENTLEMEN! Romans! My friends! It is a long night in front of us. You have probably heard the news. It is true. You will be facing the Celtae and the Petulantes Legions. You will be facing your friends, maybe even your relatives. But you will also be facing TRAITORS! Traitors that have betrayed ROME and all that it stands for! They have betrayed YOU! They have betrayed ME! They have betrayed THE EMPEROR! You are veterans! You were there at Mursa, you were there at Ctesiphon, when the brave Julian defeated the Persians, you were there at Samarra, when that same Julian was slain by a Saracen mercenary! YOU WERE THERE and you DIDN'T run, you DIDN'T BETRAY your commander! Those men in that city DON'T have the right to share history with you. THEY DON'T have the right to bear the symbols of the Celtae and the Petulantes on their shields! They DON'T DESERVE THOSE NAMES! GENTLEMEN! Take pride in your history! Pray to whatever Gods you worship, pray for THEIR souls. Because by dawn, NONE of them shall be standing. NONE shall survive this night. Remember this when you go to battle. Take them their HISTORY! Take them PRIDE, their EAGLE! TAKE THEM their NAME! Tonight, you CAN earn the right to bear these names! YOU CAN SHOW that you are BETTER than those traitors! YOU are men of HONOR, MEN OF WAR!! In the end, my friends, I say this... TAKE THEM THEIR LIVES, but take NO PRISONERS!!! ROMA VICTRIX!!!!"


    When he finished, the men were cheering. It seems that they will have no problem fighting the enemy. It seems.... It will be a long night, a very long night.




    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    The enemy on the coast knows nothing of the attack. I'm sure they will be alerted when the battle starts. It will be heard for miles around.

    We commence the attack. Hopefully, those lazy bastards on the beach won't wake up and join their friends. We'll see.

    The battle is joined. It is raining. Well, the men should be able to take some rain. They've been through worse.

    The men of the enemy Celtae legion charge out, followed by several more cohorts. Vitellius orders his cavalry auxiliaries to attack, not caring about their possible losses.



    Arrows and spears fly towards the advancing enemy, inflicting heavy casualties. They don't even have the time to prepare their shields. There is no mercy.

    And then....The impact. The noise is deafening as the enemy tries desperately to break our lines.

    They fail. While retreating towards the town, Vittelius and his cavalry charged, killing most of the enemy and routing the rest. Vitellius proves to be a capable cavalry commander. He shall be rewarded.

    This is strange.... Despite all their losses the enemy seems confident. There is no reason to be. It is most disturbing.

    Well, now I do know the reason. Vitellius proved to be less capable than expected. The entire cavalry force is routing. I'm not sure will Vitellius walk away from this untainted.

    The foolish enemy general, Araxius, charges. Soon he is introduced to the men of the Petulantes legion.... And to their swords.

    Need I say anything more? The men of the Petulantes legion have done their job well. Araxius is now one of the many enemies claimed by our swords.

    Unfortunately, Vadomarius, a capable man, has been too thrilled to hold himself back. Upon hearing the news that Araxius has been slain, he charged. It didn't end well.

    In the end, a victory is won, but only by a small margin. Too many good Romans have died that day. It was a sad day.

    The soldiers, without a commander, are unable to restrain themselves, and almost ten thousand people are butchered by morning.
    So ended the great battle of Pergemum.

    The end of Chapter V

    Once you read the chapter, please let me know would you like me to include Gaius and Vitellius in the story. I already have some plans for the future, but I will only include them if you would like to see it. And please, tell me if you like it.

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