New Civilizations Rome ( IC, OPEN)

[Imperial Idaho]

Magis Opera, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire

James quickly raised his Winchester and pointed it at the man and said "Correct, and I was gifted it, though not by one of the Praetorian". James quickly looked at one of the blueprints on the wall, it was of a rifle, though not a bolt-action one. "I would like for you to replicate my rifle, and then call the emperor, I have things to discuss with him."

[Republic of the Cristo]

Magis Opera, Rome, 102 A.D.

( What kind of Winchester do you have?)

" And why should I do what a stranger who broke into workshop and points a zarotan at me tells me to do?"

[Imperial Idaho]

Magis Opera, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire

"I am not your enemy, the zarotan, as you call it, I am pointing at you is unlike those you already have. If everything goes well than the Empire will benefit." James said to the man, who was pointing a crude machine gun at him. James pulled back the bolt of the .243, and caught the bullet, and quickly placed it back in. "I ask again, can you replicate my zarotan and call the emperor?"

[Republic of the Cristo]

Hector dropped his sights down from the sights, but he did not take his finger off of the trigger. " I can replicate it. But first, I need to know who you are, and where you got it from. You did not make it yourself."

[The Assorted Saharan Outposts]

A few months before Luna had made the crazy choice to go back in time, she had a dream on one of the few nights she was able to get some sleep. What was in that dream, you may ask? Well, it was nothing more than an Empire of the Caribbean, but it wasn't just any Empire. Instead of this Empire being some kind of European culture, such as French or English or Spanish, this was a native, Taino empire, ranging from Haiti to Cuba and even Puerto Rico. In this dream empire, the Taino lived peacefully with no fears or anything of the like. They practiced their Vodou religion and were not prosecuted.

When she woke up the next day, Luna seemed to go into an incredibly manic phase due to the dream. She knew what she had to do! She needed to go back in time! The only problem was she didn't know anything about the Caribbean, but she could learn! Oh, she could certainly learn! So, with a new type of energy that she could only receive in a manic state, she had jumped out of bed, picked up her best. The French girl could not help but be excited for her chance to change history forever! But first, she needed to be prepared. Many days of learning Taino and reading up on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, which only added on to her previous knowledge of the area, mostly consisting of Vodou and other religious things of the like, would hopefully pay off on her journey.

Of course, little ol' Luna Marina couldn't be expected to convince people to follow her without some encouragement, right? Of course not! When she was little, her father had taught her how to shoot a gun, just in case she'd actually ever need it. Luckily, that day has come, and she quickly had pulled out her Caracal pistol her father had given her, which until now had just been collecting dust in her closet. She hadn't used a gun in a long while, but she had still remembered the basics; pull the trigger and it shoots people. That's all she needed to know, right? Yeah, she could figure out the rest later, probably.

Another thing that got her through everything was friends in high places. She had two friends in the government and she was able to ask them for access to where they keep the time machine. They were surprisingly okay with it once she stated it was all for research purposes. Maybe they were glad she was finally doing something productive with her life, and oh boy was she going to do something productive! Luna had gotten her access card and, after a few months, had decided that the time was right. She brought a few things with her: her gun; a few magazines of fifteen bullets; and a survival guide of sorts, which guaranteed ways to make efficient tools and shelters out of things found in nature. That journal was going to be one of the most important things for her mission back in time! She couldn't lose it!

She walked into the government facility and towards where they kept the time machine, flashing her access card to anyone who gave her suspicious looked. Well, who wouldn't look at her oddly. Her clothes made her look like she was going out to some Victorian-era ball, or that she was trying out for a more classy, genderbent version of The Penguin from Batman, that was also likely. All she needed was a stainless white umbrella and she could fit the bill. Anyways, she soon made it to the time machine and smiled widely. She looked at the controls and scanned through all of the buttons. Let's see...

1-0-2 That would be a long enough time to build a Caribbean Empire. If she learned how to build some nice canoes, which the guide should tell her how to do, hopefully, then she should be able to reach every island in the Caribbean if she's lucky enough. Her heart began to beat rapidly and wildly as she set some coordinates. That should be on the coast of Haiti, if not then maybe it was one of those Hispaniola satellite islands. That would be nice as well. So, she then stepped into the time machine and smile a bit wider. She pressed the start button and instantly the machine had started itself up.

It was such an odd feeling, time travel was. Luna couldn't place all of the things that began to happen. She felt like the whole world was spinning much faster than it normally should, but at the same time a tingling sensation spread throughout her body, like everything had became numb, the circulation being cut out from all of her body parts. This went throught the whole time the machine did what it was made to do. The spinning only got faster, and faster, and eventually everything went black.

Grass. That was the first thing that Luna felt as she woke up. She was lying on grass. She was probably going to get her nice, pure white clothes wet, but oh well. The time machine seemed to work, and that was what made her really happy. She slowly stood up and looked around, and what she was met with took her breath away.

What she was met with was a beautiful landscape, with many trees and vegetation growing, with obviously very little to no signs of human intervention at all, and animals ran around carefree, some of them were of the likes that she's never seen before. Wherever she landed, for she still had no clue where she was, it was obviously a very beautiful place. Luna wasn't much of an environmentalist, but she was sure she was going to preserve this place once she got the chance. There was no way she was going to let this kind of stuff go to waste.

Luna was quick to draw her attention away to something else, though. Blame that on the ADHD, I suppose. Anyways, she quickly checked her pockets for all of the things she had wanted to bring with her. Gun; bullets, and her journal. Everything was right where it should be, which caused Luna to smile even more. Great, she still had everything. Now it was time to look for the people. Even though she still had no idea where she was, she was going to explore this wonderful land. To the east, she could actually spot water, so there might be a settlement there, since it was most likely that someone would be near the water rather than inland, unless there was a river. inland. Speaking of rivers, didn't the journal say something about making axes with rocks found by rivers? She'd have to check that out later. Judging by the faint sound of rushing water she heard, there was probably a river nearby as well. So, with a smile on her face, the girl turned and headed to the coast, pulling her gun out as she did; unaware of what might jump out at her.

When she made it to the coast, she only saw a few houses, maybe about ten or twelve. A few people were in the middle of the settlement, so she had quickly walked over towards the, yelling out a few greeting in Taino as she did. That certainly got their attention, and the Native Caribbeans (Luna was sure she was in the Caribbeans, at least, or else her coordinates were out of whack) looked to the girl before taking a step back from her, having never seen someone that was quite like her.

"Hello! Can any of you tell me where I am?" Luna asked. She only knew basic Taino language, and she was hoping that these people would be able to teach her a bit more, or that she could teach them how to speak French. That'd be preferable, as she'd rather speak her native tongue rather than a language she only knew the basics of.

One of them, the male of the group, as one other was female and the other two kids, stepped forward and spoke. "You are in Cabcayeque." The man had answered.

"And where is that?" Luna asked. She had no time to waste! Sure, she had a long time until 2100, but she didn't want to waste any time! An empire wasn't going to build itself! Rome wasn't built in a day, the best things take time to make, yada yada yada, blah blah blah, saying she didn't care about that all meant the same thing. Languages were funny.

"An island off of the coast of Ayiti." The Taino responded, still rather weary of this person. Everything about them was different, and that didn't seem like a good thing. She did speak her language, though, which made him curious, wanting to know more about this mysterious woman.

Off the coast of Haiti?! Yes! She did it! She was exactly where she wanted to be! ...Well, she almost was, at least. She was off by a bit, but at least she landed somewhere near Hispaniola! "That's great! Okay, so, I need you guys to follow my orders, okay?" She asked with an innocent looking smile and a tilt of her head.

The Taino frowned and stared at the woman. "Why would we need to follow your orders?" He asked. "We have no reason to, do we?" It certainly wouldn't seem like they did. She didn't give them very good reasons.

"Uh...because I am Juracan! God of storms!" She said as she pulled out her gun. "Here, listen, thunder!" She aimed the gun into the air and pulled the trigger. A loud gunshot that would probably be blocked by the surrounding trees were sent out of the gun, causing the Taino to jump back in shock.

"You are Juracan?" Asked the male Taino in shock. That couldn't be right, could it? He was skeptical, he must admit, but he didn't want to take any chances and have a storm or hurricane hit the island. "What...what is it that you want from us?"

"I am so glad you asked!" Luna asked as she put the gun back into her pocket. She then looked around. "Is there a river nearby? I need you all to get some rocks and some sturdy sticks, alright? The sturdier the better. I'll help you look. okay? Okay!" She clapped her hands and the male Taino, which Luna could only guess was the man of this family, talked to the female and the two kids before walking off in a specific direction, telling Luna to follow behind him, which she did.

"You are really Juracan?" The Taino asked again in disbelief as he led her to a small river stream. He needed to find rocks? What would the God of Storms want with rocks? Another thing would be why would a god take on the form of a woman, but the Gods worked in mysterious ways, didn't they?

"Oh, yeah, totally." Luna commented as she rolled up the sleeves of her fancy white suit and then thrusted her hand into the water. She moved it around a bit and found a few rocks that were to her liking. She pulled out about three of them before looking at the Taino once more, who was sitting next to the river. "How many men do you have in your little town?" She asked.

"Only about twenty, if you count the children." He commented before he then started to look for some rocks, mostly looking for ones that would look similar to the ones Luna had found. He didn't know what other rocks he should be looking for, really. "Why do you ask?"

"Have you chopped down a tree before?" She asked as she pulled out a few more rocks from the river and stacked them up before shoving her hand back into the water. "Because I'm giving you tools so you can chop down a tree. They're called axes, if you've never used them before. These ones I'm making for you shoud be a bit better than any ones you may have already used." Or at least she hoped so, or else this was all for nothing.

"Why would we want to chop down any more trees?" Asked the man as he found a few good rocks and stacking them up. "We have enough houses for everyone in the village."

"Yes, but once you make more of them babies you're going to need more houses." Luna said before looking at the rocks they had all collected. That should be enough, right? Luna dried her arm off by shaking it in the wind before pulling out her survival guide journal. Stone axe, stone axe... "I'll be back!" She then ran off towards one of the smaller, younger trees before yanking a piece of it off of the tree, along with some bark that she'd need for later. Luna smiled and then rushed back over to all of her supplies. She then began to do whatever the journal told her to do.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" The Taino asked as he watched her with curiosity. It was interesting to see how she was doing all of this.

"Of course I do! ...I think." She said before going back to fiddling with her project. After what felt like an hour, but could have been more, she had managed to make the axe that would hopefully stand up against some of the trees in the area. Luna smiled and looked at the Taino. "Did you get that? You have to learn how to do this, because we're going to be making a lot more of these." This was it. This was a start of her empire.

...Maybe not an Empire, but it's the start of something.

[Imperial Idaho]

"I am Coloniam, Vulcan himself gifted me this rifle. I want to use his gift to benefit the Empire, and the people of it." James replied, doing the same in lowering the rifle but still pointing it at the man with his finger on the trigger. "May I ask, what is your name?"

[Republic of the Cristo]

Caledonia, Path to Caledonii tribe, 103 A.D.

5 days. That is how long it took General Maximus and General Cainus to defeat the Damnonii tribe. In the first battle against the warlord Picagullious, Maximus insisted that his Army of Fire be placed at the forefront of the army. As Picagullious and his army charged in a single massive line ( as was the Caledonian manner of fighting), the Army of Fire opened up with a hail of bullets. The Damnonii immedieantly stopped in their tracks at the sound of the thunderous rifles cracking all around them. Then, as they saw their surrounding comrades fall around them, they soon made a hasty retreat. General Cainus did not even get to see a single charge from his own army before the Army of Fire laid waste to over 300 of 's men.

They rested a two days before taking on the Hill fort which Picagullious had retreated to. At first, Cainus's army had used siege engines in attempting to take down the wooden walls, but to no avail. Maximus ordered his own army to position itself around the hill fort; out of arrow range, but within shooting range. The next three hours was the Army of Fire shooting or suppressing anyone whom dared look over the wall. As the Army of Fire kept the walls devoid of defenders, Cainus's army moved in with ladders unopposed. Once the legionnaires hopped over the walls however, the fighting was brutal. it would be 7 hours of stress and uncertainty between Maximus and Cainus before the doors of the hillfort opened up, to reveal a slaughter on the inside. It was found that over 100 legionnaires had been killed, while 600 of the Damnonii, including Picagullious, had died in the fighting. The remaining Damnonii surrendered to Maximus and Cainus once they entered the fortress.

After the bodies of the Roman soldiers were burned, the barbarians buried, and Cainus handing over 50 denarii to Maximus, their army moved northward. They had sent a raven to Tullius and Gabi, to begin their attack on the Venicones, as they had dealt with the Damnonii. 500 soldiers were left behind in the hill fort. They would serve as the local garrison, until a governor could be appointed.

Maximus and Cainus walked in the very front of their armies now, up the hilly and cold hillside in the center of the north lands. Although spring time only 50 miles south, winter still held it's icy grips in the highlands. This hill, was one of only hundreds already climbed, and hundreds more they will have to climb. The two generals were happy that they had packed extra supplies, because the only food present in these icy hills was covered in fur and had teeth. It was reported that bears would sneak into soldier's tents when they were away and steal food and pelts, as well as other materials. A few of the more adventurous members of Cainus's army would try and hunt the creatures, but the Army of Fire had been forbidden to use their bullets for unnecessary purposes. The two armies marched north, towards the Central positioned Caledoni tribe. They were not the ones in control of Caledonia, but it appears that they were it's original inhabitants, so they named it after themselves. Within the week, The two armies will have made it past the foothills and would be immedieantly greeted by the Caledoni war bands.

Tullius and Gabi were moving up the eastern coast, burning and looting every Taxexali village they came by. The Taxexali were, as the Venicones were, fishing people, whose true strength lied in the sea, and so were no match for the Roman legions.


Imperrnship, Miwok nation, 103 A.D.

WIP

[Republic of the Cristo]

"I am Coloniam, Vulcan himself gifted me this rifle. I want to use his gift to benefit the Empire, and the people of it." James replied, doing the same in lowering the rifle but still pointing it at the man with his finger on the trigger. "May I ask, what is your name?"

" Hecoter. Hector of Mario, mind of the Divine-Emperor. May I see that Zarotan?"

[Imperial Idaho]

"Alright Hector nice to meet you, not that I don't trust you I will only give you my zarotan if you set down your's, and I hope you don't mind my friend joining us." Before waiting for a response James whistled and Libertas ran into the room and stood next to him.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Hector stared down at the wolf, and breathed out loudly. He set down the FF8 before reaching his hands out for Coloniam's zarotan.

[Imperial Idaho]

James handed Hector his rifle, and asked for the emperor to be called to discuss.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Hector took the rifle in hand and looked it up and down. He placed it to his shoulder and looked down it's sights. " He's a... busy. I don't know if you have noticed, but there was... is a lot of fighting on the streets. He is currently at his palace right now, healing from his wounds. I suspect he will be able to meet you within a few days... once he has all of this mess sorted out. You a, have come at quiet a turbulent time in Rome. Now!" He said as he placed the rifle down on the table, " lets see how this one works!"

[Republic of the Cristo]

Rome, Plaza of Neptune, 103 A.D.


A throne had been set up at one end of the square. This square was near the very center of Rome, which was it had been chosen by Puerignis. He sat atop his throne, with a series of bandages across the left side of his face. He held a dark expression as he looked at the three men standing chained in the very center of the plaza. The three men were disgraced Captain Adrian Cornelius, former consul Marvic, whom now possessed numerous cuts and bruises, and augur Commodus. Commodus had been figured out after legionaires had violently tortured and interrogated Marvic to give up the names of those whom had participated in the coup.

Behind the men were three 9 foot all iron coffins. " These men, Disgraced Captain Adrian Cornelius," A crier read out from a scroll to the literal thousands in attendance. " former consul Marivc, and former augur Commodus, have been charged with conspiracy against the Divine-Emperor Puerignis, treason against the empire, murder," As the crier read through the list of crimes, Puerignis's stare only grew darker and darker at those three men. Marvic began to cry slightly, while Commodus prayed. Adrian stood tall, trying to show a warrior's bravery before death. " corruption of public office, and abuse of public power, have been sentenced to die by way Kestering. May the gods have mercy on you three." Guards began to push the three into their respective coffins. They did not try to fight, as they knew it was inevitable. Once they had been fully place into their respective coffins, the lids to those coffins were closed, never to be opened again. Ladders were placed on the sides of the iron coffins, and men climbed up the whole 9 feet. In their hands as a pot. Once they reached the tops of the coffins they placed the pots in holes at the tops of the coffins. They tipped the pots forward into the holes, and liquid tin could be seen emptying from them. As the tin was poured into the coffins, horrifying, blood curdling, hellish screams could be heard from inside the coffins. The crowd began surge back from the horrifying and chilling cries of the men inside the coffins. Puerignis continued to stare.

Once the executions were over, the coffins were planted into the concrete foundations of the plaza, forever a part of the city, and forever a reminder of treason against his holiness... their titan.

Imperial Throne room, Rome, 103 A.D.

Tyrannius opened the door carefully. He had been present at the executions of the conspirators, a few hours later, he had been called to the imperial palace. As he opened up the door, he was shocked to find that the throne room was, except for himself and Puerignis sitting on his throne, empty. " Enter." Puerignis said this quietly, but the silence of the room made it easy to hear. Tyrannius shut the doors behind him and walked forward towards the throne, where he subsequently bowed before his titan. " General Tyrannius of Latiea." Puerignis said his name low and slowly, clearly still recovering from the injuries during battle, but also noticeably more disturbed. " Where were you, when you heard of the coup against me?" Tyrannius was still bowing when he was asked this. " I... I was in my barracks your holiness. When I had heard that senate was moving to arrest you, I knew that I had to stop them. I organized every cohort in the city I could and made for a counter attack, your holiness." Silence.

" Why?"

Tyrannius continued bowing, " Because you are divine! It is the task of the mortal to serve the eternal, your holiness!" For the longest time, silence. Then, " Raise, General Tyrannius." Tyrannius slowly rose as he was commanded. " You, have shown loyalty and skill beyond that of any mortal I have yet met. That, is why I have a special task for you." Tyrannius puffed out his chest and raised his chin. " Anything! I would climb Olympus and march through Tarturas at your command!"

" Such events like this coup, if this empire is to survive, must never happen again. I am, as of today, establishing an order; one that will keep the security of this empire. This order, will have access to unlimited supplies, be immune from all laws, and have control over conscription of absolutely any individual it desires into it's ranks. It's mission, will be to hunt down and suppress any and all dissenters; to search, monitor, and destroy rebel leadership and strong points; to root out corruption in every level of society; to hunt down and eliminate those whom would dare question my divinity; and most importantly of all... to hunt down other supernatural beings." Tyrannius looked up at Puerignis with a confused stare. " I know, you were wondering as to the reason why I brought that Samantha women to Rome. She was not a lunatic, she was, supernatural. Not divine, like myself, but from my plane of existence. The weapon she had with here, was divine technology. Many more beings from my world will be coming here, looking to take power for themselves. It is up to you, to hunt them down, take what every technology you find from them, and to kill them. Do you understand the task I have laid out to you?" Tyrannius gave the Roman salute to Puerignis, " Your holiness!"

" Then I dub thee, Tyrannius of Latiea, Lord High General of the Order of the Son! Your first task, hunt down every single member of senate. Have them executed, on the streets; enslave their families; burn their homes to the ground. Go, Lord High General. Fulfill this task!"

[G-Tech Corporation]

Chamber of the Progenitor, Sojouner's Repose, Slopes of the Himalayas, Indian Subcontinent
15th of April, 101 AD

The man looked at another man, a man to be. Now the tube was opaque, a nutrient bath of amino acids and fabricated organic molecules, but in time it would begin to clear as the vessel formed. Winthrop found the opportunity somewhat exhilarating, but turned away with a conscious force of will. Indulging his sentimentality was a luxury the sojourner could ill afford as his plans progressed apace.

He walked away, the bright sunlight embracing his uplifted face as the man out of time enjoyed the gathering summer heat. Looking down from the balustrade he took in the expanding sight of three boreholes descending in to the earth, his sources of power for the future. Already the mining machines had descended more than five hundred meters in to the rock and stone of the mountains, immense conveyor belts bearing the mineral wealth upwards to the expanding complex of smelters and fabricators.

Winthrop's awareness fled for a moment then, the mind of a man linked to the mind of a machine taking over. Ten thousand metric tons of iron ore every day, a hundred and nine drones output in the last twenty four hours, an industrial base accelerating. Above the abode of the mind that spanned infinity, hefty constructors put the finishing touches on a larger annihilation matrix, a generator to breed the antineutrinos required to fuel many of the edifices that the desires of their master mandated.

Elsewhere, the invisible mind watched as Malleus administered the rite of the living water to over two dozen new inductees. They were coming from farther away now, villages that no servitor or Winthrop had ever visited, the word of the wonders of Ferrous Manus spread mouth to mouth. Men and women of note they were, and peasants, people from all walks of society.

And that suited Winthrop just fine, his Servitor hand smiling in unison with his unseen master as the acolytes drank of the nannite laced spring water. Their cups dissolved as their bodies shook and their infirmities were healed. One was missing a hand, another had the Black Death, and a third was blind, but as they lay in their convulsions their ailments were healed. Each awoke only slowly, then vomited in turn up a thick black bile. Theologically Malleus explained it as the impurities being removed from their frail mortal bodies, but in truth the blood and cellular detritus carried the modified Lazarus nannies. They were taken back from the cured inductees ready to be recycled for the use of other religious members, conserving the rare metals and elements that are involved in the naniotic fabrication process.

But today was not to be an average day. The priest of Ferrous Manus found his ritual interrupted as a worshipper from the village of Ascent came running in to the antechamber, babbling about some great enemy. It took a few minutes to calm him down and get a coherent story out of the swarthy man, but what he said made the faces of the acolytes drain of blood.

The Kuanga were attacking, incensed by stories of folk abandoning the traditional gods.

Winthrop chuckled.

[Heidelski]

Henry pulled out his weapon. Since you are Kommander of Rhodes. I don't need samantha. I can use you. You should trust because I am your last chance of protecting Rhodes. He pulled out the IPAD and scrolled through to a fort. He showed ot to Alexander. "How would you like this?"

Alexander stopped and stared at the device, unsure of what it was. It was like something Samantha would teach him how to use. He could almost hear her speak now. This is future technology. Your simple mind wouldn't be able to handle it. Well, she would be righ Alexander had no clue how this thing worked. He saw the fort on the screen and tilted his head before looking at the man. "Are you referring to the fort or the device? I'd be fine with either, to be honest. I don't know this is, but it looks impressive."

I was refering to the fort! I can build these with automated cannons if you give me three months and lots of manpower along with the supplies of Rhodes. I can also build some Karbiners if you want nd mabye a few pieces of artillery. You will have to hold off the romans for around 5 months though.

[The Holy Dominion of Inesea]

City of Hartford
Bamakan League
Bamako-Timbukto Region, West Africa
Arrival+42 Months

It had been over three years since Hartford was founded and three and a half since James Buchail landed in West Africa. Hartford had grown greatly, achieving the status of city in three short years. Twelve Mande tribes, three Sousse tribes, three Maneh tribes, and a dozen clans from Garamantia, Bedoua, Goa, Kunam, and other West African locales had settled in the region. Countless others made either their winter or summer home within the walls and towers of Hartford now. The population was a steady 40,000 and growth had leveled out and stabilized. Five other settlements had been established in the surrounding lands, usually on vital metal or in fertile growing zones. The ample copper in the mines and biomass along the river allowed the Constructor to manufacture miles of Fluoropolymers and copper wire, which were buried between the settlements. James trained a cadre of intelligent young men in the operation of the telephone and radio. Both devices were fairly easy to manufacture, in fact James made the first radio by hand. After calming them down about disembodied voices, the men were fairly proficient in the use of the devices. He made sure each settlement had one telephone and one radio plus spares. Of greatest concern were radio crystals, but he stressed the importance of caring for those.

The settlement of Rocky Hill, named such for obvious reasons, was host to perhaps the greatest achievement of non-Constructor engineering. All the waste in the town, from human and animal, was collected and transported to the field south of the town. There, a Nitrary was built. Massive pens were filled with ash and waste and urine, covered and and left to effluoence. The Niter was collected sent into the town itself. The so-called Rocky Hill where the town was actually contained large amounts of sulfer. This was mined by the inhabitants. Loggers from the town over, along the Niger River itself, brought charcoal into the town. A sidenote, coppicing was practicied in strict effect. The once-pastoral now-farmer and racnhers understood the concept well, as it was similar to the concept of rotating grazing fields. Using information from the Reader, the formula for gunpowder was disseminated and production had been going for some time now. The gunpowder was shipped to Hartford proper.

Another sidenote, perhaps it is time to explain the politcs of the Bamakan League. The League contained the six settlements, several permanent caravans, and eight transhumanist clans. Four other transhumanist clans were essentially in the League, but for some reasons or another had stayed independent. James Buchail reigned supreme as the God-Blessed. He preffered the title of General Secretariat, but to the common man in the League, he was no less than Divine. The settlements of the League each had a ruliing Soviet headed by a Comissioner appointed by James. These were all men from the original fifty. The Soviets were composed by the tribal leaders of whatever clans or tribes settled in a city. At the moment Buchail exercized absolute direct authority, as he held the hearts and minds of the people.

The economy of the League was rapidly transistion from pastoral and raching to agriculture and mining and cratfing. Mines popped up all over the lands and irrigation canals and wells brought water to the Sahel from the Niger. The infrastructure created early on had helped lead to three consecutive massive and growing harvests. In addition, the herds were growing as well. Unusual for the region was the fact that slavery was abolished. Instead, slaves were bought en masse and freed and apprenticed out. Gold, Iron, and Copper were extracted from the earth by the hands of man while the nanites of the original constructor pulled our REMs and more precious and rare ones. Using forges and learned techniques as well as molds and lathes and mills that were centuries ahead of the times, metalworkers created impressive works of art and armor and weapons. On the roofs of the buildings, blue photovoltaic cells, created from the silicone in the sands around, powered the few machines there were. For now, there was low production and demands, but in the coming two years, plans for streetlights were made.

The Bamakan Regiment, as the army was called, was armed with rifles akin to those of the OTTL American Civil War. They were lever-action Spencer Repeaters, drawn from the Reader as a reliably advanced design. The wood finish was created by carpenters while the newer Constructor and older Constructor took turns creating the metal bodies. Another design, based on the Hall Rifles, was taught to three promising young craftsmen. They manually made dozens of the rifles, and in turn were teaching the craft to others. All in all, some 500 rifles had been made and another 250 bodies were awaiting stocks. The Regiment was trained in the use of the rifles as well as in traditional spear work. They were armored in a leather-metal mix, well suited to the heat of the desert. If they ever went north, heavier plate was availible. Bayonets were provided of course. In addition, a primitive arsenal cranked out munnitions.

One area where there was less than desirable progress was education. To combat this, James scrapped plans to teach English and instead ported the Latin alphabet to suit Mande and transliterated what he could. He devoted three weeks to teaching twenty gifted scholars and clerics in language and maths. Then he gave them stencilographs from the reader of basic writing and sent them out to teach the others. It was a poor system, but for know the crafts of the League didn't require much in the way of literary knowledge.

Rome 103 AD

Jamanga Trubic was one of the original freed slaves of Hartford. He was a Bedouin from Garamantia, sold by his family and eventualy he had found himself freed by James. As a slave, he had learned the languages of the Great Sea, including Coptic and Latin. That knowledge made him uniquely important to Buchail. After the first and second caravans left for Morocco and Libya and returned laden with essential goods and wares, it was decided a trip to Rome itself was to be sent. The Great Caravan of 103, as it was called, consisted of not only League traders, but also many of those in the surrouding areas. Four months ago, some 1,500 camels and about half many traders and guards left from Hartford. In Roman North Africa, most of the traders made huge profits selling off their goods and products. Knowledge of the advanced metalworking of Hartford had spread liek wildfire, and particularly the armor was in great demand. As most of the caravan turned back, Trubic purchased six ships to carry his men and goods to Rome. He had with him a dozen merchants and traders and secretaries and 2 dozen guards. These men wore ornamented armor, steel plate inlaid with gold and silver. The joints were mail and the men's helms were bronze. The armor was far lighter than it should have been, being of a superior nanite steel. However, for the Mande warriors, it provided just enoguh warmth to brave the colder climates. The men also all carried a Hall Rifle, as James did not want the most advanced weapons to fall to Rome.

The company had purchased lodgings in the city, using some of the vast amounts of gold they brought. Trubic then submitted a request for an audience with the Emperor as Buchail had requested he do. Buchail had given him a list of things to do in Rome, of which one was to see if the Emperor was like Buchail. God-Blessed? Whatever that meant.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Bamakan League, 103 A.D.

Excessive usage and wear has finally run the constructor bots down, to the point of total corruption. They are now useless.

Rome, Senator's home, 103 A.D.

The senator paced furiously about his house. He had been in a constant state of fear, stress, and anxiety for the last two weeks. As he paced the marble floors of his inner city home he wrung his hands furiously. Marvic had told him that in exchange for his vote, that he would endorse him in the next vote for consul. The senator was not so foolish as to deny the vote, yet he had felt even as he voted yes for the impeachment that this decision was some how wrong. After The senator had heard that the coup failed and that Marvic and two other men had been arrested, he nearly had a heart attack. He had been present at the Kestering of the three conspirators... and he knew it was only a matter of time before he to was hunted down.

As he paced up and down the floor, he had not noticed his wife come up from behind and wrap her arms around his shoulders. " Dear, you must stop worrying. You will die before you reach 50." The senator chuckled, " My darling, that is what I am worried about. Say, how was your day. Maybe that will get my mind off of my worries." His wife smiled at the opportunity. " Well, first I and Dianna went down to-"

" Madam, sir, there is- off" A servant girl had approached the two and had tried to quietly announce the presence of soldiers, but was pushed past by one of them. They were legionnaires. At least 8 of them were present in his home. While two of the legionnaires grabbed him by the arms and held him tightly, the other 6 legionnaires began to spread out throughout the rest of the house. A man appeared from the shadows; he wore a long black tunic with a red sash running down from his right shoulder and wrapping around his waste. He held all the menace of a starring serpent. He approached the senator, " Senator Martin Aurelius, for your crimes of treason against the Divine-Emperor and his Empire, you have been sentenced to death. The sentence shall be carried out immediately." The two guards began to push the senator forward across the floor and towards the door. " You- you can't do this, I am a senator, a citizen of-" He stopped when he heard the screams of his daughter Dianna. " LET HER GO YOU BASTARDS! LET-HER-GO!" The senator writhed and wretched against his guards, but he was getting old, and the legionnaires were young and fit. They had drug him outside now, where a coach had been set up in front of his luxuries home. He was placed on his knees. He watched as 4 other legionnaires brought out of the home his wife and daughter. They Legionnaires pushed and shoved them into the back of the coach. He looked up at the black clad man, who was standing directly in front of him " Please, I will give you anything you want, just let my family go. PLEASE!" A crowd had gathered outside of the senators home now, watching the entire scene. " Your family will be sold into slavery, and your servants will be massacred."

A legionnaire, unforeseen by the senator because he was behind him, spoke to the black clad man. " Sir, the servants are all either dead or have fled. Shall we commence with the burning?" The black clad man looked up at the legionnaire. " Yes, burn it to the ground." The man looked back down at the senator, then to one of the legionnaires holding him down. That soldier pulled his gladius from his belt and brought the point down straight through the back of the senator. The senator gasped. The soldier pulled the blade out of his back. The senator exhaled, before collapsing on the pavement. The smell of smoke could be smelt from the outside.

The coach, the soldiers, and the commander in the Order of the Son, had left about an hour ago. The inside of the home was turning into a charred mess. On the steps to the home was the senator, now with his white robes bloodied red. Around his neck was a plank reading, " Treason".


Imperial Throne room, Rome, 103 A.D.

Puerignis read the proposal for an audience from the African merchants. Usually, he would deny them, but he was exceptionally interested in these men. He had heard reports of them possessing zarotans of a kind never before seen. As far as Puerignis knew, it was only the Army of fire, and now his personal guard, whom possessed zarotans of any kind. He suspected the worst. He invited them to his throne room, and to come immediately.

[The Holy Dominion of Inesea]

Rome

Jamanga Trubic entered the Imperial Throne Room, flanked by six guards and four porters bearing a chest. He noted that the Praetorians bore weapons akin to the rifle he carried, albeit a far more primitive form. His guards, in gold inlaid steel, seemed to compete with the Praetorians for extravagance and wealth of form and armor, though a dozen bandits in Tuare could attribute to the lethality of both the rifles the men bore and the men themselves. All bowed to the Emperor, and as the porters set the chest down and opened it, Trubic spoke to the Emperor in Latin.

"Your Excellency, Emperor of Rome, my name is Jamanga Trubic, a merchant and representative of the Bamakan League far to the south. I come bearing a gift from my homeland. *Chest is opened and in it is gold and salt ingots, as well as finely worked metal pieces including an ornate sword* These are gifts from the Bamakan League for your Imperial Majesty from the God-Blessed James Buchail, General-Secretary of our League. We wish for a beneficial relation with the Empire of Rome. Also, the God-Blessed wished me to relay this message to you, 'E=MC Squared'. I have not the wisdom to decipher his words, but another Divine as yourself must see their wisdom."

[The Olog-Hai]

Aryeh replied. "Yes, yes it indeed does. But, it leaves me with another questions, rabbi. What if there were two paths from this point on? What if G-d would decide based on what we did now, what we do to deserve his favor. Whether we were worthy of not for the better path? Whether we would choose action now or later? What would we do then?"

Abraham pursed his lips, " What ever we believed G-d wanted us to do. What are you getting at?"

'What I am getting at," Aryeh replied, "is that I don't even come from this time. I come from down the line of one of those paths. A prophet from my time sent me back here with a few gifts. He told me that I should use these to change a few certain events, which would switch what path we would travel down. G-d had wished us to travel down one path, but we had traveled down another in my time, which the prophet was commanded to change."

[Russian people of america]

Roman brutality continued on with the killing of many youth's. 40 crosses now littered the road all with a Thracian rebel or sympathizer attached to them. Of course some of the papers had found there way's onto the city walls, even being viewed by numerous citizens. The killings prompted several different thing's from the citizens of Appolonia. For one several of Peirous supporter's were scared into either leaving the growing movement or going into hiding, offering only monetary support for the group. However the killings also prompted further growth for the groups. People were becoming sick of the mistreatment and death of their friends, neighbors, children, husbands and sons. The Romans had succeeded in creating a gap between themselves and the local's, one peirous would aim to exploit. It's also worth noting that several different auxiliary had deserted their post, fleeing with their family's out of the city. In turn Peirous had began to organize his resistance. He'd gathered the locals who had been at the rally, and they had brought several friends and family as well. Not only that but he could note the arrival of many who had never been to the rally, and several who weren't even from Apollonia. He'd led them to the forest, giving another rally in which he had covered several issues, including the Roman's crucifixions. He would have to plan one of two thing's, either a revolt or a war. A revolt could work, but if it failed he'd likely end up dead with his new resistance smashed. That left the option for war, he'd have to force the Romans out by force. He had a ragtag group of Thracian nationalist, with old weapons and few with any real training. Still, he needed to find a way to arm and train this group of his, whom he had taken to calling the Thracian Revolutionary Front. He felt it was a fitting name. He and his group had of course moved from that old bridge, moving instead to the nearby forest where he knew the Romans would be less likely to march. The encampment had only just been created when Peirous settled down to rest, unaware of the trouble in the city.

Tereus's House

Lucius crawled from his bed at the sound of knocking. Who would disturb them this late at night? He was awfully tired and had already fallen into a bad mood as a result of the knocking. His wife lay asleep in her bed unaware of the present threat, assuming their was one. Lucius glanced into his children's room as he walked, though his oldest Tereus had fled into the woods after some nationalist wackjob he was glad that the other two, his other son and daughter had chosen to remain in Apollonia, despite Tereus's begging. He opened the door warily, surprised to see legionnaires outside his door. He knew better than to speak to Romans, better to let them speak to you first.

[Cuprum]

In 102, Tridra Pungtsen, king of Tibet, overthrew the prince of Tsang establishing the regime known as Ganden Phodrang. The new king killed Tsang and his entire family. They also viciously destroyed a small force in the Battle of the Salween River which the Emperor of the Ming dynasty had sent to clear traditional trade routes. In response, an expedition sent by the Emperor, together with Tibetan forces under Polhané Sönam Topgyé of Tsang and Kangchennas, the governor of Western Tibet, expelled the usurpers from Tibet in 103. This began the Ming rule of Tibet.

He sent an army of 30,000 led by Nian Gengyao to quell a Tibetan uprising in Qinghai on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Due to geography, the Ming army (although superior in numbers) was at first unable to engage their more mobile enemy. Eventually, they met the Tibetans and defeated them. This campaign cost the treasury at least 2 million silver taels. Later, he sent a small army of 10,000 to fight the Dzungars.

In march Dawachi and a Khoit-Oirat prince called Amursana competed for the title of Khan of the Dzungars. Amursana suffered several defeats at the hands of Dawachi abd was thus forced to flee with his small army to the protection of the Ming imperial court. The Emperor pledged his to support Amursana, who recognized Ming authority; among those who supported Amursana and the Chinese were the Khoja brothers Burhān al-Dīn and Khwāja-i Jahān. The Emperor sent the Manchu general Zhaohui, who was aided by Amursana, Burhān al-Dīn and Khwāja-i Jahān, to lead a campaign against the Dzungars. After several skirmishes and small scale battles along the Ili River, the Ming army led by Zhaohui approached Ili and forced Dawachi to surrender. The Emperor appointed Amursana as the Prince of Tibet and one of four equal Princes– much to the displeasure of Amursana, who wanted to be the King of the Dzungars.

Amursana now rallied the majority of the remaining Oirats to rebel against Chinese authority. General Zhaohui defeated the Dzungars in two battles: the Battle of Oroi-Jalatu and the Battle of Khurungui. In the first battle, Zhaohui attacked Amursana's camp at night; Amursana was able to fight on until Zhaohui received enough reinforcements to drive him away. Between the battles of Oroi-Jalatu and Khurungui, the Chinese under Prince Cabdan-jab defeated Amursana at the Battle of Khorgos. At Mount Khurungui, Zhaohui defeated Amursana in a night attack on his camp after crossing a river and drove him back. To commemorate Zhaohui's two victories, The Emperor had the Puning Temple of Chengde constructed, home to the world's tallest wooden sculpture of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and hence its alternate name, the 'Big Buddha Temple'.

Afterwards, Huojisi of Turfan submitted to the Ming Empire. After all of these battles, Amursana fled to Russia, where he died while Chingünjav fled north to Darkhad but was captured at Wang Tolgoi and executed in Beijing.

[G-Tech Corporation]

Village of Ascent, Himalayan River Valley, Indian Subcontinent
17th of April, 101 AD

Through the still cool air of the pre-dawn hours the hooded figure walked, offering polite greetings to the women drawing water at the community well that it passed. They half-bowed back, recognizing the simple gray cloak that Malleus wore to keep away the chill of the early morning, a gesture which the priest of the Maker returned in due course, as was proper. Striding along on legs which would pass for a man if one did not know his true nature, the wise face of the Servitor bore his hallmark grin and flashing white teeth under a weathered face that seemed to many to be laden with the knowledge of the years. Ascent was a humble little down, he reflected as he strode along her small dirt paths, but from the humblest of things could come great beginnings. After all, the most powerful religion of the old world, Christianity, came from a baby that was born in a stinking stable. It smiled, as the guiding hand of Winthrop-Who-Watched nudged the man-machine to seat itself near the morning cookfires, where children played.

Here the village was almost deserted, and fear of a sort hung in the air. Where normally cries of laughter and pleasure would have been coming from the lips of children at play, now their little faces looked at him with trepidation; not fear of his appearance, for he was well known in the village as a holy man of the almighty. No, their fear was for their families, their fathers and mothers. Most of the boys and girls that sat around the cookfires were not old enough to understand what an attack from another tribe meant, but they had picked up on the dread and worry of their elders. Men too old to hold spears and women too weak to heft axes were the only people remaining here within the flimsy wooden walls of the village of Ascent; the hundred or so of age for war, mothers and fathers, had already marched out with the coming of first light, to see how the Kuangan savages might be beaten back.

One little girl approached the sitting priest, and stuck her thumb in her mouth, obviously mustering up the courage to speak. One of the wise old women made as if to pick her up and carry her back to her bowl of porridge, clucking sounds coming from her as she reproved the dark-haired child, but Malleus waved her off. He smiled encouragingly at the little woman, interested to hear what troubled her mind; the voice that guided him remembered a saying that often wisdom came from the mouth of babes. Technically this little human wasn't an infant, but the Servitor's understanding of the issue meant that even this child could qualify for the proverbial wisdom.

"Sir Malleus, why does God let the bad men come to hurt mother and father?" Ah, it had spoken, and with a theological question at that. The young ones of this village, despite their lack of education, did not lack from intellect. The priest of Iron looked down at the child while he noticed the others of the cookfire leaning in to hear his answer, so he spent a few moments composing what he thought was a good response while assuming an expression of serious consideration.

"Child, our lord of Steel allows bad things to happen so that men might know him better, might choose him for the right reasons. Ferrus would not have any of his creations come to him out of fear, or simple logic, but out of faith and love. But faith and love cannot exist without doubt and hatred, just as you would not know the light of the dawn if there was no night."

The creature pursed its lips, and seemed to accept the answer partly, but it spoke again. "So Lord Ferrus won't let anything bad happen to my father?"

Fields of the East, Near Village of Ascent, Slopes of the Himalayas, Indian Subcontinent

Through the low trees and the tall grasses the warriors of Ascent trudged, spears, scythes, hoes, axes, really any weapon they could come by in hand. A hundred men and women with arms had the village elders rallied all told, and they were a dodgy lot, some having seen too many winters, or too few. But they would fight for their homes as fierce as any tiger, and that was all that could be asked of them. Under their dark brows many had fear in their eyes, for it was said the warriors of Kuangan warriors ate those they captured alive, and had nearly three times as many spears as the humble farmers had been able to rally.

Indeed, their worst fears were soon confirmed, for across the plains in front of them soon keen-eyed hunters made out the forms of loping red-painted Kuang fighters. Their hair was shaggy and wild in the eyes of the simple agrarians, for the Kuang came out of the west, from a more nomadic pastoral heritage that herded the mufflon. Their war chiefs were five, decorated in the horns of the creature to give them an otherworldly profile, calling on the strength of the charging ram for their ferocious attacks and status in their tribes. Even as the old leaders of the village of Ascent called out to steady their hearts, some at the rear of the formation of farmboys and peasants began to think if leaving now might not be a better idea. No man could fight three to one and live to tell the tale. If they ran now, perhaps they could save themselves, get their families out of the village and flee.

But a voice from behind them spoke, as deep as the deepest canyons, with the rumble of an avalanche and the power of the mountain.

"Stand fast, children of the Ascent, for this day your god has given your enemies over for destruction."

Men gaped in awe as the figure passed through their ranks, twice as tall as any man, gleaming like the bones of the mountains gilded in fresh fallen snow. It was Aglarond, the firstborn of the Agaladrim, and no weapon it bore save its fists, and the sigil of the cog upon its chest. Women and husbands fell back before it, making way for the immense being's passage, their eyes showing wide and mouths agape at the power displayed by the lord of Steel. Aglarond stode forth, an avatar of destruction, man rendered in fine features upon a massive scale. His chest was muscled to perfect, and great wings with pinions of iron sprouted from his shoulders, the angelic being stomping forward to confront the onrushing Kuang hordes. It spoke, and the savages trembled, for its very speech shook the leaves on the trees and caused the blood in one's marrow to vibrate. No man of the Ascent could understand its tongue, for it spoke the language of the Kuang, but anon a single war chief stood out from the band of hundreds, and shook his spear at the avatar of the Lord of Steel.

It laughed, a sound of merriment that gave men heart, and the chief howled a challenge as he raced forward against it with spear and hide shield. The chief was a tall man, nearly giant size to the eyes of the farmer folk, but with a single flex of the Agaladrim's mighty arms he was thrown back broken, head over heels over many cubits to where his warriors waited. His spear was shriven in two at attempting to strike the divine being, and at first it seemed to the men of the Ascent that the contest of strength would be over, that the Kuang would realize the strength of their gods was not enough to overcome Ferrus, that they would return to their homes. But quickly the Kuang warriors began to beat their spears upon their shields, voicing their ragged war-cries, advancing on the mighty angel.

Aglarond was unfazed. As the farmers looked on, it waded in to the horde, laying about with fist and wing. With a gesture of its hands fire as red as the coals of a forge spouted, consuming men whole as their screams beat at the ears of the folk of the village, and with every swing of its arms as long as a man's body new warriors flew about like chaff in the breeze, their broken bodies sailing to crash against trees or plough deep furrows in the grasses, so great was their downfall. Forward the warriors of Kuang rushed, every man's eyes white with the blood-rage and rolled up in his head, but their spears and swords were as the fists of a child beating against the forest giant, and many times did the men of Ascent mark weapons breaking upon the silver skin of the avatar. Hither and thither the construct waded, hands sparkling crimson in the gathering dawn, and anon the men of Kuang were broken, fleeing this way and that hoping to escape the mighty avenger's wrath.

But indeed, as the angel of death had first spoken, today their god had given their enemies over to destruction.

[Republic of the Cristo]

Rome

Jamanga Trubic entered the Imperial Throne Room, flanked by six guards and four porters bearing a chest. He noted that the Praetorians bore weapons akin to the rifle he carried, albeit a far more primitive form. His guards, in gold inlaid steel, seemed to compete with the Praetorians for extravagance and wealth of form and armor, though a dozen bandits in Tuare could attribute to the lethality of both the rifles the men bore and the men themselves. All bowed to the Emperor, and as the porters set the chest down and opened it, Trubic spoke to the Emperor in Latin.

"Your Excellency, Emperor of Rome, my name is Jamanga Trubic, a merchant and representative of the Bamakan League far to the south. I come bearing a gift from my homeland. *Chest is opened and in it is gold and salt ingots, as well as finely worked metal pieces including an ornate sword* These are gifts from the Bamakan League for your Imperial Majesty from the God-Blessed James Buchail, General-Secretary of our League. We wish for a beneficial relation with the Empire of Rome. Also, the God-Blessed wished me to relay this message to you, 'E=MC Squared'. I have not the wisdom to decipher his words, but another Divine as yourself must see their wisdom."

Puerignis has appreciated the gifts, but when he heard uttered the famous equation, all his fears had been confirmed. " Indeed, I do. Tell me, Jamanga, what is this ruler of yours like? What has he done for this league of yours?"

[Polar Svalbard]

Outside of Constantinople, 103 C.E

Vaz, with his belly semi-full started his trek along the path to the little village, hopefully someone could tell him where he was. The Sun was beating down but his armor kept him cool. Pushing onwards he reached the village limits and strode in. The blacksmith at the front of the village got up from where he was and grabbed his axe near him. He spoke in Greek, getting closer, "What brings you here warrior? I have not seen anyone with armor and weapons like yours."

Vaz looked at him and started to speak Greek, at least school had taught him something, "I'm just a wayward traveller. Where am I? What city is over there?" He pointed in the city's direction. "Also is there anywhere I could find work with my... Skills, I have no money."

The blacksmith sized him up, "You are near the city of Constantinople traveller. If you wish they have a colesium there, you can sign up and make money, even a name for yourself. What is it by the way, I'm Thrikes."

"Vaz, short for Vasily. I know not a Greek name but I have come a long way. Thank you, I'll be going." Vaz waved his goodbye and then left. Walking for two hours he finnaly arrived. He looked forward to killing and winning money.

[The Holy Dominion of Inesea]

Rome

"He has done much for the League. In fact, the God-Blessed made the League. He arrived in our lands from the Heavens three or so years ago. He has brought with him knowledge from the divine realms. He has made wells that draw water from the deep earth and turned desert into farmlands. He has given us these rifles, armor, and much more. We have devices that allow us to talk instantly between towns. Mills, forges, lathes, and foundries have been created by his will, making the finest of arts. The Regiment has rifles like these that can fire 20 to 25 rounds every minute. Canals bring water from the Great River to wet our fields. The God-Blessed has given us a whole new life. "