Gods of Persia

[Contraband32]

The sun rose over the far off hills, Mactar, Xerses chief advisor and closest friend stared at the new born sun and watched. Not very often he had a chance to do this. Xerses had a empire to run and he needed his advisor. Not that it would matter soon. His empire was shrinking and there was no tricks in the hat that could pull them out of this mess. Mactar hurried to the the goverment chambers where the next council meeting would be taking place shortly, perhaps they could delay the enevitable for a few for months.

Prelude

The fertile peninsula that the persians settled on was perfect. One narrow land entrance was all that linked them to the mainlands of the world. Rich in iron, saltpeter and beasts of burden, the persian civilization expanded and multiplied in numbers. Technology was developed quickly and cities built just as fast, the persians lifes were perfect.

Being too perfect was their first major problem. Barbarian raiders from the uncharted deserts near the edge of the persian lands appeared and invaded. Our posistion had left us complacent and lazy with only minimal defences. Barbarians took some of our outpost cities and killed thousands of innocent people. It took many years to drive them out but at a cost. Cost in repairations were high and the time to restore the persian to their former self was just as bad. At the same time they got an very unexpected visitor.

A roman warrior had walked out of our desert and near one of the cities. Fearing the worst and still weakened the persians did not waste time in attacking the lost wanderer and securing the end of our penisula. It was at this time when we recieved a major advance. Using a mineral found in the hills near the capital we had developed weapons stronger than previously known. We called it Iron after the hills it was found in. The persians upgraded their men into vast armies of swordsmen and secured every known resource of the mineral they knew of, even venturing into roman lands to prevent them from obtaining the precious metal.

Years passed and their monopoly on the iron grew. The persians flung armies out far and wide and securing everything. The romans, the japanese and the americans had no access to iron. Army after army flung itself upon their troops and all failed. Trade was the only option left, they became the greatest power in the world and established a strong navy and military presence. Centuries passed and the respect of these nations got to a point where in which the persian empire and all of its peoples were considered gods. A series of wars against the aggressive Japanese sealed the new reputation after they dared attack an army guarding one of their iron deposits. The persians new invention, fireguns, secured their total domination over the japanese peoples and again there was peace. Their eyes turned to the glory of rome but yearly tributes of gold was more than a good excuse to maintain the peace, besides the new persian republic was much happier farming and inventing than fighting primitives.

Gold poured into the coffers and was spent just as fast on vast construction projects. The cities they had grew in size and the goverment spent gold on building these cities up. It got to the point where Xerses decided to buy a roman town on the border to expand our culture. This was the turning point in the worlds history.

The romans converted the city to the persians control and things were bad from the start. The citizens of the city, completely baffled by their new goverment soon revolted. People left the city to return to their former country, this did not worry Xerses but it should of, somehow the romans smuggled out the knowledge to make our gunpowder and shared it with the american civilization. Within months Roman armies with their new fireguns were on the march and American transports full of the same set off for our northen shores. We had fallen from our pedistal.

Days of viscious fighting in the old roman city left it devastated but in roman control. This had an enormous boost for enemy morale but destroyed the persians confidence in their superiority. They still had a superior army and a better navy but because of their relativly stable posistion of world 'gods' they had only minimal numbers. Roman armies overwhlemed the persians in a matter of years. The persians lost the city guarding the narrow bridge into the penisula. Roman armies poured into the persian lands and American fleets docked at their newly captured city landing thousands of their men. With a sizeable chunk removed from the persian economy Xerses sued for peace, to be ignored but smirking diplomats. The combined armies of the enemy marched towards the capital destroying all in the way, enslaving the persians civilians. The rampage continued up to the point were only the capital was left and this is were the story continues.

Hope is in strange forms

Xerses stood up thumped his table. "Why haven't we deployed our new troops to the front line?" He demanded. Mactar, the only one brave enough to speak calmly explained "Sir our front troops are elite soldiers. We can't put regulars there they'd die in a matter of days." "How do troops become elite then" Xerses responded sarcasticly. A smile crept on to Mactars chipped face. "We hide them in mercenary ship we hired with some of our left over gold, we land them in our old japanese empire and take out their saltpeter colonies there. Being their main source we can buy a few months of salvation while they try to restore saltpeter supply. We smuggle our troops home and they will be ready to fight on our front lines. Killing many birds with one stone, we get elite troops, disrupt production and... a chance to steal information. Xerses, who was getting more and more impatient by the second, suddenly stood up straight and his eyes widened. "Information?" he smiled. "Those new rifles the romans seemed to have develop could be a welcome addition to our troops" spoke another advisor. Xerses looked focused for a mintue but we knew his answer before he even opened his mouth. "Make it happen" he grinned. An walked back to his chambers a new spring in his step. Mactar smiled in his mind. He had not told Xerses about his own fourth objective, one that could earn him a throne of a new persian empire.

Wheels within Wheels

The troops left the city on the pirate craft. Sailing along the coast they spotted only galleons containing American troops. Steering towards roman lands the americans ignored them. The american and romans hadn't been on good terms lately, not since the romans stoped sharing technology. Mactar was onboard, ensuring the success of the mission. They made it to the old japanese coast and set out to the saltpeter mines of the east. They made it to the old site of Edo where the closest mines were located. The colony there was small, but had a strong but obsolete and unexperienced guard. The fight was a quick one and with the element of surprise we took the colony with little resistance. We left the mines intact but planted explosive parcels in the richest veins ensuring when they dig again, the mines would bury them alive. The same thing happened to the other colony despite recent upgrades, they were no match for the ferocity and determination of our troops. The old japanese lands were empty and we boarded the transports home. Our booty, some gold saved from the colonies and even better fireguns better than our own. Arriving home we easily duplicated them and armed our elite soilders. Attacks slowed down and eventually stopped. This gave us the time to send off colonists to our own saltpeter mines abandoned at the start of the invasion. With our new troops guarding them we began immediate production of new infantry. Mactar sat in his offices and smiled. Soon he would be ready to move, soon his settlers will be ready.

Decipt is a dangerous occupation

Xerses wasn't the best of all leaders but we wasn't stupid. He had gotten wind that Mactar had a plan involving transports of a non-military nature. Mactar would be moving colonists somewhere. He had no idea where but he would let Mactar carry on unware he was being observed. The new infantry squad was on the march to our newest colony after an unsuccessful invasion left the defences slightly weakened. The roman offensive had slacked off and now the americans had been advancing into roman lands. This was too good for Xerses. Mactar's manipulative nature was about to be punished and the war which had devastated his precious homeland was drawing to a close. Looking down on his desk he signed the order to send the new cavalry army into to invade roman lands. Perhaps the romans days were near an end but that would be up to the americans.

All gods become obsolete

Mactar had defected that following year, taking his men and the agent Xerses had planted in there with him without his knowing, they had sailed off into the never-seas. His agent had reported that they had discovered a new land and were going to start over. Sending his small, private navy, Xerses commissioned the captain with orders to destroy all deserters. Mactar was soon forgotton and Xerses was free to plan the undermining of the Romans. The americans had begun raids on the romans southern border, Xerses new cavalry units charged relentlessly against the heavily fortified garrison towns on the northern border. The romans had no where to go. The romans experienced exactly what our empire had suffered but this time the phoniex did not rise and the romans last city fell to the savage american troops.

But that was not the end of it. The americans, with technology beyond our wildest dream continued the charge. They weren't interested in peace. They wanted total world domination. Our cavalry was the first to fall, they had numbers and technology. Explorers discovered to invention that the americans used. Railroads. In a matter of years, the enemy had thickly plated hulls on moving vehicles pulled by no horse but an engine inside the machine. We bravely fought but we were no match. Xerses stood and watched the sun rise over the hills and as americans troops burnt the last of his city all Xerses could think of is what happened to Mactar and the lost colony...

Many historians claim it was the persians nature that faled them in the end. They were a trusting and confident nation and felt little need for defences, as proven with the barbarian threat. True that had at one point been considered gods, but being popular bring more enemies and the thieft of gunpowder let those enemies realise their dream of copying the persians rise to power.