[spoilers]Commodore is Tokugawa of Zulu, or, playing for second place.

[Commodore]

It helps that I am a huge guy, and she's a tiny person. One can hold and burp with one hand. The pictures I just keep accumulating over time, no idea when I picked that one up so long ago.

[Commodore]

From the Letters of Oletembo, to his friend James Yllon, in the summer of the year 1161.

My dear friend James,

I am delighted to have received your letter with the most recent shipment of cumin from your fine stocks. I have indeed seen the new census, and Calvu from the foriegn office has filled me in on the details of their report. Needless to say, it's the same as it was ten years ago; the Zulu aren't ever going to be the richest people in the world. So it goes.



Unfortunately, there is little you or I can do about it. Thanks to Great Spy Barlow's efforts, we aren't the most backward people in the world, but I don't think we're going to be at the forefront of any advances. Certainly, our progress on forming guilds is faster than the Eithopians or Byzantines, but from reports it appears the distant Vikings have their own organized guilds making workshops more efficient throughout the Antipodian Lands.

It must be miserable to be so distant from the capital. Even Slithy Toves being weeks away...I can't imagine. I push time and again for a formalize bureaucracy system here in the capital, but the Riverlords are far too married to their feudal ways. In-the-Wabe is finally becoming a world city, James, it really is. Even those benighted plains eastward are becoming more sophisticated, a non-trivial fraction of your shipment will be traded in the hamlets and villages.



I do understand why we are still avoiding centralization. Even out there on your plantation you're hearing about the complete dog's breakfast they're making of the war out west. News from the Blood Road is coming to me more than half a year out of date as it goes through the Dutch. It's only with the lords paying for their own levies that we can afford half the expenditures we maintain. Mome Raths seems to be sore pressed from all reports, and those cursed Byzantine longbows make it hard to retake 'Ware Jabberwock.

The only branch of the empire's service that has covered itself glory of late seems to be our navy. The brave sailors still interdicting the northern Byzantine ports have won several victories against well-neigh impossible odds. Our own whale-oil imports are steadily increasing, but from my smuggler contacts it seems like the miserable Byzantines have barely any at all. I am certain the Byzantines will be fighting to retake their waters soon.



James, if we are to ever redress the massive imbalance between our nation's fortunes and the greater world's, we must end the Byzantines as a threat once and for all. Continued sapping of their treasury by the Barrow network delays and impoverishes them, but they soon will have the advantages on the field in a pure man-for-man contest. So let us continue the support of the military, by all means.

It is not just the empire's secular fortunes that are at stake though, as you know well brother. From discussions with high officials, it is clear that the government would make Christianity the state religion and make many monasteries of the Apostolic See if it were not so for all manufactories being devoted towards the war. Our poor brothers under the Buddhist lash in 'Ware Jabberwock need rescue, but we also need the time to spread the True Faith to every corner of the empire. Reasonable suspicion of Ethiopia the secular kingdom cannot stop us from embracing her spiritual authority.



Forgive me, I ramble on about world affairs at times. Who would have thought two riverland boys like us would someday be great men of the empire? Seemed about as likely as even getting Eitta to look at us. How are she and the children? You still owe me much for winning that particular little competition. Many of the merchant princes trot their daughters before me now, but there is a dearth of good Christian girls in this Hindu hive. Ah well, such is life, is it not? At least I have fine Aztec wines for solace...the barrel of ale you sent along will be saved until winter, which I sincerely pray will be more mild than than last year.

As ever, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Your friend and brother in Christ,
-Samel Oletembo

[Merovech]

Jeez, Commodore, these are good reports!

[AutomatedTeller]

It helps that I am a huge guy, and she's a tiny person. One can hold and burp with one hand. The pictures I just keep accumulating over time, no idea when I picked that one up so long ago.

This is much funnier if you don't realize you are talking about a baby.

[Commodore]

With the reconquest of the 'Ware Jabberwock and the Dry Plains Holding by the Byzantine First Army, the Zulu Empire entered what is now called the Divided Empire Period. The central empire continued in its normal business, skirmishing over the riverlands with the Byzantines and competing in the world spice market with the Ethiopians. In the holdings along the hot, dry Blood Road, however, new invovations and ways of waging war were being constantly refined.



The protective Zulu had always been known for their archery, but with the advent of machinery and large-scale shipments of Eithopian iron, a new breed of city defender was born, trained as men-at-arms and carrying crossbows.



These city garrison units meant that unless a full army were to move down, the cities of Jubjub Bird and Vorpal Blade were very secure despite the colossal imbalance of power between the Blood Road region and the heavy Byzantine garrisons to the north. A great deal of pride in the region came from how well the Zulu holdings managed to stay any major invasion.



For all that, there was a price in blood for maintaining the region. Gurellia longbowmen constantly were found around the dry hills, and they generally extracted at least their own numbers before being wiped out. A positive result of all this, though, was that Blood Road macemen and crossbowmen were some of the toughest, most experienced soldiers in the Zulu Empire.



In the cold waters north of Byzantium, the constant low-grade naval war continued to sap Byzantine resources, although the logistical distances for the Zulu were finally begining to tell. There was a movement amongst the Zulu admirals to encourage a massive fleet build-up to control the northern waters once and for all, but other priorities had that quest on the back burner for the nonce.



Throughout the central core of the Zulu empire, massive numbers of horsemen were being trained. But these weren't going to be the traditional horse archers.



With the imports of iron, the nobles of the Zulu Empire were now clad in heavy armor and could fight much more effectively with lance charges, ignoring even the devistating first strikes of the famed Byzantine longbowmen.



For the first time in the history of the world, armored knights were apearing on the field of battle. The mission of these tough, hard men was to reunify the empire. They made their mark in blood upon the history of the world.

[Commodore]

Jeez, Commodore, these are good reports!

Thanks Merovich, I'm glad at least someone is reading.

I've been writing sort of just whenever the muse strikes me, but does anyone have any questions? I think I need to do another "world at large" update.

[AutomatedTeller]

Your reports are outstanding, Commodore. Many people are reading. I don't do it every day, but often.

[Gaspar]

Great stuff as always - I'll never have this much fun with a game as long as I keep teaming with old NobleStickinthemudium.

[spacetyrantxenu]

[Mardoc]

I've been writing sort of just whenever the muse strikes me, but does anyone have any questions? I think I need to do another "world at large" update.

What? There's a world outside the TokuZulu empire and its intended conquests?