The civic fires of Greece (karashc) have been quenched for the last time as its final redoubt surrendered to encirclement. Foreign garrisons now occupy the forum where free citizens once assembled to decree laws. Patricians in Greece shuttered their villas, mourning the steep erosion of the realm's hard-won dominions. 'Defeat is a stern teacher, but only the wise survive to heed its lessons,' noted an exiled general.
A freedman of the archive, copying the day's reports, notes that the legions of Egypt (ПРОТИВНИК СОСАТБ) have brought 16 strongholds under imperial obedience, leaving only 2 provinces between their standard and universal triumph. Magistrates in neighboring lands can do little but muster every remaining cohort for a final defense. 'The omens were good, the roads were dry and the enemy was careless,' noted a camp prefect, ticking them off on his fingers. 'Empires rise like the summer tide and recede like the winter ebb,' noted a visiting philosopher in the agora.
In a textbook tactical maneuver, Egypt (ПРОТИВНИК СОСАТБ) dislodged the vanguard of Carthage (Эльф ушастый) from Ionian Sea, driving them from their fortified ditch into open country. Cavalry patrols pursued the fleeing remnants until dusk. Smoke from the campfires at Messenian Sea had been noticed, though few understood its meaning. Trumpets and bronze cymbals echoed through the streets of Egypt as magistrates declared a festival of thanksgiving. 'The surgeons say it was a clean victory, with few wounds to sew,' reported a physician attending the wounded.
With an increase of 3 strongholds to its credit, Egypt (ПРОТИВНИК СОСАТБ) has emerged as the clear victor of the campaigning season. Captured war-gear was paraded before cheering crowds in a grand display of imperial majesty. 'My son stood in the first rank and writes that the enemy never found their courage,' said a sail-maker of Egypt. Citizens across Egypt thronged the sacred way, singing hymns of triumph to the gods of war.
Surveyors measuring the roads along the frontier report that an alarming retreat has forced Greece (karashc) to yield 5 cities to encroaching adversaries. Panic has begun to spread through commercial quarters as grain supplies dwindle and taxes soar to cover the disaster. The bakers of Greece found their ovens cold at dawn, for no one had the heart to light them. A scribe in the chancery was heard to remark that the gods have been very consistent in their silence.
Columns of Carthage (Эльф ушастый) withdrew in bitter frustration from Macedonia after their supported storming attempt was bloodily turned back by Greece (karashc). The defenders repair their parapets in high spirits, confident in their unyielding strength. Crowds in the plazas of Carthage listened in stunned disbelief as heralds delivered the dire proclamation. 'The gods love a swift hand, and Greece has been swift,' observed a priest of Mars.
Trust proved fatal for Greece (karashc) in Macedonia, where advancing columns of Egypt (ПРОТИВНИК СОСАТБ) dropped their masks and attacked their former confederates. Confusion reigned in the camp as officers struggled to comprehend the foul turn of fortune. Blood has also been spilled at Miletus this year. The statues of the founders in Greece were draped in grey cloth, as in a time of plague. 'The spear decides what the assembly debates, but hunger outlasts both,' noted a cynical market overseer.
Pledges of brotherhood were cast into the dust when legions of Egypt (ПРОТИВНИК СОСАТБ) turned their swords upon unsuspecting garrisons of Rome (MonsterSerg) in Sinope. The betrayal was executed with ruthless precision before the defenders could sound an alarm. The elders of Rome donned robes of mourning and ordered the city gates barred against impending assault. Local tavern keepers remark that advancing cohorts and retreating phalanxes possessed an identical thirst for untaxed vintage.
Carthage (Эльф ушастый) grows by 2 garrisoned cities and boasts 15 cities in all. Tax rolls of Egypt (ПРОТИВНИК СОСАТБ) lengthen by 3 towns, bringing the total to 16 holdings. Empty granaries and shuttered counting-houses in Greece (karashc): down 5 strongholds, to 0 strongholds.
Observers of court intrigue note that ambassadors of Persia and Egypt poured libations together at the festival while their armies advanced.
Hailstones the size of walnuts hammered the tiled roofs of the camp town, and the horse-lines stampeded.
GAMES IN THE CIRCUS: Three days of chariot races and veteran beast-hunts declared to honor the victory. Free bread distributed at the gates.
| Power | Centres | ± |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt (ПРОТИВНИК СОСАТБ) | 16 | +3 |
| Carthage (Эльф ушастый) | 15 | +2 |
| Rome (MonsterSerg) | 2 | 0 |
| Persia (unagimaki) | 1 | 0 |
| Greece (karashc) | 0 | -5 |