Acta Diurna · The Daily Chronicle of the Forum

Vengeance Unquenched: The Ceaseless War Between Carthage (Kowalski) and Rome (Базослав)

Reports brought by grain merchants docking at the harbor reveal that the enduring vendetta between Carthage (Kowalski) and Rome (Базослав) flared afresh this season, with frontier pickets skirmishing without respite. Old treaties lie forgotten while fresh battlements are thrown up along the riverbanks. The quarrel spilled over into Roma and Sicilia, where villages were burned. The sellers of laurel wreaths report an excellent season, and have not yet decided for whom they are rooting. The Rhodian shipowners met in their guildhall and voted to keep their vessels in port until the quarrel cooled.

Paramount Realm: Carthage (Kowalski) Takes the Lead in the Imperial Race

With 11 cities in its ledger, Carthage (Kowalski) has established itself as the leading power of the age, 7 strongholds shy of total victory. Its armies are well-provisioned and its frontiers heavily fortified against potential coalitions. Wax tablets carried by the imperial post confirm that envoys from lesser states throng the waiting halls. Whether the subjugated citizens will greet their conquerors with garlands or poisoned wine remains to be seen.

A Season of Conquest: Carthage (Kowalski) Adds 2 Provinces

According to couriers riding hard from the frontier, the realm of Carthage (Kowalski) has registered an astonishing gain of 2 strongholds during the year's hostilities. Such rapid growth has altered calculations in every neighboring palace. 'The omens were good, the roads were dry and the enemy was careless,' noted a camp prefect, ticking them off on his fingers. Sculptors of the forum are said to be carving all new statues with detachable heads, to save time later.

Disaster in the Field: Rome (Базослав) Loses 2 Strongholds

Pigeons loosed from the lighthouse at Pharos carry word that the holdings of Rome (Базослав) have suffered a brutal contraction, shedding 2 strongholds under relentless enemy pressure. Frontier commands have been restructured in an attempt to halt the collapse. 'Send for the Sibylline books; there may be something about this,' urged a worried pontiff. Stone carvers in the capital are already growing weary of chiseling new names upon conquered boundary stones.

The Trumpet Sounds in Carthage (Kowalski): New Armies Assembled

Dispatches delivered by mounted messengers report that the war treasuries of Carthage (Kowalski) have funded the muster of 2 fresh formations. Citizens lined the sacred way to watch the recruits march past the temple of Mars with polished shields. 'I have sold lamps to both sides and I intend to go on doing so,' declared an oil merchant. It is generally agreed that the only undeniable victors of the campaign are the vultures wheeling above the battlefield.

Imperial Muster: Egypt (Tim4egg) Enrolls 2 Fresh Units

War trumpets echoed across the drill fields of Egypt (Tim4egg) as magistrates inspected 2 newly raised cohorts. Smiths have worked through the nights hammering greaves and spear-points for the marching columns. Crowds in Egypt chanted praises to the legions, decking public colonnades with flowers and palm fronds. 'The sea-lanes and provincial revenues now answer to Egypt,' proclaimed an ambitious harbor prefect.

A War Without End: Egypt (Tim4egg) and Persia (Эльф ушастый) Lock Horns

The town crier of the lower market, hoarse since dawn, cries that the bitter clash of arms between Egypt (Tim4egg) and Persia (Эльф ушастый) shows no sign of cooling, driven by grievances that neither senate can forgive. The feud has now lasted 4 winters. Fortune-tellers at the crossroads are doing excellent trade; they predict victory for everybody, in turn. The agora buzzed with animated debates as philosophers and travelers dissected the strategic shift.

The Bitter Struggle: Egypt (Tim4egg) and Greece (Luis Rodriguez) Fight on with Undiminished Fury

Customs officers at the harbor chain, questioning every captain, have learned that the mutual enmity between Egypt (Tim4egg) and Greece (Luis Rodriguez) has hardened into permanent defiance, defying every diplomatic entreaty. Both realms have converted their border farmsteads into armed watchtowers. The same armies met again at Cilician Strait and Crete, with no better manners. Foreign magistrates convened emergency councils, weighing how best to navigate the altered balance. 'Whoever commands the citadel, the caravans must still pay the crossing toll,' muttered a pragmatic ferryman.

Silver arrives from the new holdings of Carthage (Kowalski): 2 more centres in the books, 11 centres altogether. Greece (Luis Rodriguez) grows by 1 garrisoned city and boasts 7 cities in all. A bleak ledger for Persia (Эльф ушастый), falling to 5 strongholds following the loss of 1. Tax-gatherers of Rome (Базослав) return with lighter bags, for 2 provinces have been lost; 3 remain.

The agora is abuzz with the rumor that Persia and Egypt have drafted a secret pact of friendship upon a waxed tablet in a seaside villa.

Hailstones the size of walnuts hammered the tiled roofs of the camp town, and the horse-lines stampeded.

THE PUBLIC BATHS of the lower quarter announce their grand reopening after pipe repairs. Pure mountain water, heated caldarium, fragrant oils.