The Eternal Exile: A Nation Hopping AAR

[Basileus444]

I've finally caught up with this awesome AAR, so now I have to wait for updates. Sigh.

I really enjoy the concept, and not just because it's different than the usual AAR. Simply as a story, I'm really enjoying it, although I have no idea how you're going to explain the shift in timelines in 1533. Perhaps the detonation of the Water Dragon opened a subspace fissure in the transdimensional planar field allowing a cascade failure of ionized quantum tachyons, which defribillated the temporal strands, causing them to reset to their base settings. Yeah, I watched too much Star Trek as a kid.

My favorite part was the Byzantine section, partly because Byzantium is my favorite EU3 country, and because it was epic. It did a good job of showing the epic last stand of a once glorious empire, now stripped of all her majesty but determined for one last time to make the nations tremble.

I'm looking forward to the Incas. But I do hope that Talena still honors the memory of Zoe, even if she no longer existed, and one day restores her empire to glory.

[4th Dimension]

Perhaps the detonation of the Water Dragon opened a subspace fissure in the transdimensional planar field allowing a cascade failure of ionized quantum tachyons, which defribillated the temporal strands, causing them to reset to their base settings.

In other words magic?

[Dewirix]

There are very interesting parallels to be drawn between the conquest of Peru and Talena's own first-hand experiences at the fall of Constantinople and the death of Zoe. This time she's on the side of the aggressors, which should cause a bit of soul-searching to say the least.

Plus conquering Peru - what would Malurous say?

[Ashantai]

Dragsterz: Thanks! I think Clark will need ALL the help he can get in Poland!
Sather: Thanks, and no problems. Comments and criticism is good always!
Aliasing: Hmm...that's not a bad idea actually! :P
Basileus44: I don't deal too much with the science, since I never did watch Star Trek much. :P Glad you liked it, and especially that you liked the fall of Constantinople! That's probably been one of my favourites to write, and I definitely want to allude to it later.
4th Dimension: "Any sufficiently advanced technology takes on the appearence of magic", prarphrase quote. So yeah...basically magic.
Dewirix: Nice to see you again! I think Malurous will like the outcome....

Chapter 7 – Ambush

29/9/1532

Talena was not fond of gloating, or rather she was but didn’t like to admit it! So as they rode of the interminable mountain terrain she made a point of not gloating as she rode beside Rodrigo. Her face said it all though, and it clearly annoyed and irritated him. She was not only keeping up, but she was handling the terrain and thin air better than many of the Spanish soldiers. This was mostly due to her secret powers of regeneration, but it still made her smug.
After they had marched from Tumbes they had set up the first Spanish settlement on the continent, then kept on. Talena had gone with De Soto and returned with emissaries of the Incan Emperor himself. However, as the small army marched Talena couldn’t help but feel they were being watched.
Talena thought it was madness for less than two hundred soldiers to invade an Empire, yet they were. She hadn’t quite worked out yet if it would work out as it had historically though.
Even more amusingly she knew that most of the others had worked out her gender, or at least guessed. The odd looks she’d gotten hadn’t transferred into anything else yet.
And she was used to campaigns this long. In Persia she had accompanied the Ayatollah on his campaigns from one end of the state to the other and back, and this was little different. Even the armour was bearable, and though it had not been designed for a female wearer it did have the advantage of being sloped out enough to accommodate her.



As another interminable mountain pass loomed before them, this one with large boulders up a steep slope. It was there, quite without warning that they were attacked from. The first Talena knew of it was when something hard, perhaps a sling stone struck her hard in the chest, bouncing away without causing damage.
“There! In the rocks!” cried one of the Spanish. A couple of colourfully dressed figures could be seen taking aim with spears and slings.
“At them!” Rodrigo shouted, drawing his sword and spurring forward.
Talena rode forward as well, her own borrowed sword drawn. She had faced battle a hundred times, had defended a breach and fought her way across the world. A skirmish with Incan soldiers was hardly a terrifying spectacle to her.



Talena and the other Spanish soon found that they had to dismount in order to scale the hill, so they jumped down and charged up the slope. Rodrigo and Talena were in the lead as they scrambled up the rough terrain, more missiles flying down from above. With a cheer they crested the hill and attacked.
The warriors, wearing only padded armour and carrying stone or wooden weapons, were no match for the Spanish soldiers. Steel weapons hacked apart flesh and bone while steel armour was proof against all harm. In less than half a minute four of the warriors were dead, while none of the Spanish had been harmed.
For her part Talena had attacked and killed one of the natives with her blade, and looked up from the carnage to see a last Incan fleeing. A Spaniard had his crossbow out and was tracking the running figure, clearly visible in his red outfit.
“Let him go,” she said lightly.
The man lowered the weapon, and the Incan warrior disappeared among the rocks. He had a strange symbol on his back, Talena noted, painted wood.
She noticed that Rodrigo was looking at her with something akin to shock.
“You believe me now?” she said with a grin. With a rag she cleaned her sword and wiped some blood from her armour.
“Yes…I do.”
“Come on, let’s get back to the column.”

[Boris ze Spider]

She proved them wrong, what happens if a large incan force appears?

[Aliasing]

Someone who should know better than that~
The dog days are over -SMACK-
The Dog days are done -Hack-
Can you hear the horses -Splatter-
'cause here they come! -Thump-

The end

[blsteen]

She proved them wrong, what happens if a large incan force appears?

Destroying the enemy by Shock, Maneuver and Effect

[Basileus444]

So far so good. The Spanish better hope that the Incas don't figure out how to roll boulders down on top of them in ambush. Could Talena survive being squished into a layer of paste about an inch thick?

Is the use of one regiment on the Incas strictly a roleplay thing, or is it actually possible to beat ingame natives with such a small force?

[Dewirix]

It's all a rather small scale affair compared to the massed battles in China. Rodrigo is going to have to be ruthless to take on the Inca, and I'm not sure that will be to Talena's liking.

[Sather]

Well, if I remember correctly the spanish mainly won, because of the internal disorder of the Incan Empire at that time.
The game can't really show that though.

[blsteen]

Well, if I remember correctly the spanish mainly won, because of the internal disorder of the Incan Empire at that time.
The game can't really show that though.

True, the Incan's were the in the midst of a civil war but maybe this is my western bias but I doubt that even if they had beaten off pizzaro that the Spanish would have been unable to subdue them. As it was the Incans didn't just roll over after Pizzaro showed up, but Spanish operations took "on a shoestring" to a new level.

[Sather]

Also true, but it probably would have taken them many more years to do so, but I don't doubt that European (not necessarily spanish) Victory would have been the end of the story.

[Chicken]

I love the "I'm not taking any BS" attitude from Talena. It's hilarious in the right context, and really defines her as a character.

[morningSIDEr]

I'm glad Rodrigo finally conceded defeat and allowed Talena to travel with him as it saves time in the long run, she rarely seems to be beaten after all. Plus I rather think he will greatly require her aid if he is to achieve any success during this expedition. Very good updates and it is also very good to see Talena's combat skills have not lessened.

[Ashantai]

Before I post this, I'll point out that this is the divergence, from where all the other deviations stem...mostly. In reality the Inca Emperor was taken and eventually all Peru fell to the Spanish. But it wouldn't be fun if I just followed history!

Boris: You shall soon find out!
Aliasing: Exactly!
blsteen: Yes, the Spanish took a long time to conquer Peru since they had less help from the natives than in Mexico against the Aztecs.
Basileus44: She would survive. Her bones are unbreakable, more or less, but she wouldn't be conscious. She'd be sort of...comatose until the stone was removed. As for is it possible? Well, I had to REALLY try to lose this. I managed to conquer all the Inca lands with just 6000 troops. With 1000 you have to try not to win, your land tech is so good, and your morale so high.
Dewirix: You're right, she doesn't like unfair fights. As you'll see it becomes a bit more fair....
Sather: Well, we'll find out in this game.
Chicken: Yeah, she doesn't take BS from anyone. She's been around so long after all.
morningSIDEr: Thanks!

Chapter 8 – Breaking Point

16/11/1532

Cajamarca.

That was where they were. Talena had learned the name from the local guides they had to translate. Talena hadn’t told them that she could speak the language of the Inca – that’d be a little too suspicious.

And now here they were. The central plaza was filled with the Incan Emperor’s retainers and followers. Beyond the town were thousands more. The Spanish soldiers were afraid, that much was clear. Yet they looked to their leader, and Pizarro was nothing but calm. As he walked down the column of the tiny army he constantly gave encouragement and reassurance to his soldiers.
Now the Spanish were concealed in the city, hiding in the buildings as the Inca had entered. There was the Emperor carried on a palanquin by bearers, and with his servants and guards about them.
The priest accompanying the army had gone forward. Talena had learned that his name was Vincente de Valverde, a rather grim and humourless man, she thought.
All the pieces were in play, and now the trap was to be sprung.

If Talena was honest with herself she felt rather bad to be part of such an uneven fight. However…she was here now, and there was no way back. She couldn’t question it.
Vincente went forward to greet the Incan Emperor with just a translator. Talena followed the conversation as it was spoken, though the distance made it hard.
The Inca were ordered to submit to the authority of the King of Spain and to convert. Talena was not surprised that they refused. When offered a bible the Emperor tossed it aside, angered by the demands of vassalage.
That was the signal for the Spanish to unleash hell.

From a carefully chosen position the four small cannons opened a terrible crossfire into the packed square. Each of the cannonballs despite being small were at such close range that they tore through a dozen Inca each, spraying blood. Now the Spanish arquebuses blazed, and the cavalry rode from cover, charging into the chaos. Finally the infantry, Pizarro at their head charged right at the Emperor.
Talena could see the plan at once. If they seized the Emperor they could hold him to ransom and overcome the endless legions of the Inca. Spanish steel cleaved through unarmoured warriors, while the ceremonial weapons the Inca carried were no match against the tempered steel armour of the conquistadors.
The Inca, assailed by weapons they could never have imagined, panicked, and only those around the Emperor held their ground. It seemed certain that they would fall and the Incan Empire would fall this day.



Talena was in the square when it happened. Feeling it unfair to fight unarmoured enemies she had used the flat of her blade, and a break had given her the chance to look up.
Pizarro jumped from his horse, and as the Emperor’s bearers were cut down he reached to grab him. A second longer and the conquistador’s incredible audacity would be rewarded. A second longer and Peru was Spanish.
But one man, an Incan rose and stabbed. By luck or design his long bladed obsidian knife pierced under Pizarro’s arm, where there was no armour, and drove in deeply.
Pizarro faltered, choked, and fell to his knees. Talena stood in shock. His attacker was an Incan…a warrior with a red costume and a strange…familiar symbol on his back. It was the man who she had spared in the mountain ambush. She…she had spared him and now he was here!
“Vengeance!” the Spanish cried, and before any order could be imposed one of the conquistadors had hacked the Incan Emperor down, killing him instantly and dropping his body to the ground beside Pizarro.



The effect was instant. The Inca warriors and attendants watching let out a great wail. Such a sound Talena had never heard before as they saw their leader fall dead. She expected them to run…but they didn’t…just the opposite. With no bargaining chip to hold the Inca back, and no Pizarro to lead the Spanish the initiative shifted.
Though they were armed with only meagre weapons, and were unarmoured the Inca suddenly attacked. Though frightened by the horses and guns they rushed forward to avenge their leader, and in this they were lead by an Incan warrior dressed in even brighter colours than his men.
And now the problems became clear for the Spanish. Their guns were lethal, but they were slow to load, and most of them were unsighted by the smoke or their own men. The cavalry was devastating, but once they became bogged down they could be attacked and swarmed!
Talena now found herself having to defend herself against a crazed wave of attackers. She had only seen such a thing only once; as a soldier far in the future she had witnessed the terrible massacre of civilians during a food riot. The people, mad with hunger and fury had charged automatic weapons, and were cut down, but kept on coming, and in the end they had broken the line and killed every soldier, though they had lost ten people for every enemy they killed.
The Spanish recoiled as more and more Inca appeared from the army outside. Horses were stabbed in the face or legs, the riders pulled off and beaten to death with wooden maces. By the bodies of the two leaders the Spanish formed a ring around Pizarro’s body, but one by one they were brought down, though they created a pile of dead around them.



Talena looked around, and there was Rodrigo, shocked. He had been commanding the gunners and crossbowmen, but now looked on appalled.
“Rodrigo, get your men! To their rescue!” she shouted.
For a moment Rodrigo hesitated, but then drew his sword. “Forward! Rescue the Captain-General!”
Some of the anger had faded for the Inca, and they backed off as the small group charged from the rear. Men grabbed Pizarro’s body as they retreated. The Greek captain of the artillery fired one last blast from his cannons and fell back. He only got a few paces though before a sling stone struck the back of his unarmoured head and he fell to the ground.
“Keep going! Fall back!” Rodrigo called.
Talena stood beside him, and the Inca did not pursue. Hundreds of their warriors and attendants littered the square, but they had taken a fearful toll on the Spanish. The Spanish…had lost.

[Aliasing]

Know what this requires us to do? THE TIME WARP!!!

[Boris ze Spider]

Stupid Spaniards, killing the emperor. If only they hadn't, but then again, how much fun would it be you won all the time.

[Razgriz 2K9]

Finally caught up again...

Anyway, I think now that the Incan Emperor is dead, there is nothing stopping them from exacting vengeance on Talena and the Spanish Conquistadors.

[Dewirix]

Nicely worked point of departure! I read the wiki article on the battle of Cajamarca yesterday, so I was nodding along to the events until the man Talena had spared popped up and killed Pizarro.

I have a feeling that with Spain already in possession of Central America the Inca won't be able to hold out long, even if this expedition is overwhelmed.

[blsteen]

Nicely worked point of departure! I read the wiki article on the battle of Cajamarca yesterday, so I was nodding along to the events until the man Talena had spared popped up and killed Pizarro.

I have a feeling that with Spain already in possession of Central America the Inca won't be able to hold out long, even if this expedition is overwhelmed.

Yes, but who knows...
wait Ashanti knows