The ships off the shores of Canaan belonged to a group known as the Reynolds Expedition. The Expedition had been founded by Bradley Reynolds, a former construction foreman, and his family after Bradley's fall from power in Globe. Reynolds attracted various outcasts, dissents, mercenaries, former police officers and soldiers together with an incredibly ambitious plan, one that outstripped even the Sanford Expedition in terms of ambition. They were going to conquer Egypt. Control of the Nile would give them control of some of the most fertile farmlands in the region and an empire's worth of people.
The Reynold's family realized such a plan presented several hurdles, the biggest of which was simply getting enough men and material across the Mediterranean. Even with modern weapons, invading Egypt would require an army of hundreds to accomplish. He had only a few dozen men and women and barely enough ships to ferry them and their weapons. For them to have any chance of conquering Egypt they needed a base of operation closer to Egypt, a place that would act as both a rallying point for further recruits and a stronghold for weapons and other supplies. For the religiously mind Reynolds family, the Levant seemed a perfect choice for their starting conquest. Reynolds envisioned himself liberating the Holy Land from pagans, rallying an army of the faith and then marching on Egypt, rebuilding America and it's values along the banks of the Nile. While Reynolds expected some resistance in the initial invasion, he was fairly certain that the natives of the region could be rallied to his cause with effort. Telling his subordinates that the Hebrews would naturally want to ally with fellow people of the book rather than serve a Pagan Pharaoh in distant Egypt. Few in the Expedition saw any reason to dissent. There was a critical flaw in the Expedition's reasoning though, the Hebrew people they thought would greet them as liberators didn't exist.
What Reynolds had invaded was the land of Canaan. The various Canaanite tribes that populated the Region were vassals of the Hyksos Pharaohs. And while they were a Semitic speaking people, they were far different from the Hebrews the Expedition expected. They were a polytheistic culture, their main deity the bull god "El". Communication proved difficult and the Americans found little in the way of support from the locals. The Canaanites had far more in common with their Hyksos overlords then these strange invaders. The only support the Reynolds were able to find was from the Habiru, a social class full of outlaws, mercenaries, criminals and escaped slaves. The Habiru had long existed on the fringes of society and saw these Americans as an opportunity to make a better life for themselves. But even the Habiru's aid was limited, most simply avoided the Uptimers when they could.
The Expedition quickly took over a few villages and towns, including Jerusalem (known to the locals as Rusalim) but rapidly found themselves growing frustrated, a dark and bitter mood filled them. They had visions of themselves liberating the Holy Land, acting as stewards of the region for the faithful, uplifting the Hebrew people. Instead they found a strange land full of strange pagans who wanted nothing to do with them, their only allies criminals and exiles.
Bradley Reynolds had never quite mentally recovered from the dark days after the Event, he was proven breakdowns and often spent hours alone in his tent, staring silently at the walls. These breakdowns and long silence became more and more common the longer they were in Canaan until one day he emerged from his tent, tears pouring down his cheeks and a manic look in his eyes. He announced to the others in the expedition that he had come to a revelation. That the locals were the biblical Canaanites, their god nothing more than a golden calf. He then declared that they would become the true Israelites, spreading their faith by word and bullet. Some were hesitant but the majority had become converted to Reynolds particular brand of extremism. What followed was weeks of violence as the Expedition tried to forcibly convert the population of Canaan. Massacring entire villages, destroying dozens of shrines and Idols to the Canaanites bull god. the local chiefs resisted as best they could but found themselves almost powerless against Pre-Event rifles.
The Egyptian response was slow. Sending an army that far north with Thebes still in rebellion was a risky proposition and the Pharaoh was uneasy against sending his armies against forces, even a small one, armed with rifles. But he knew the Expedition had to be dealt with, the people of Canaan were kin to the Hyksos and allowing the Americans to establish any sort of state so close to his Kingdom would be a disaster. Khyan marched into the Levant with an army of six thousand warriors. The first stages of the War for Canaan were almost trivial for the Egyptians. The expedition had become scattered, divided into small groups of Uptimers leading local conscripts and converts. Some of these groups scattered or surrendered at the first sight of the Egyptian armies. Others fought fanatically to the death, refusing to even consider surrender. Eventually word reached Reynolds of the approaching army and he quickly railed his towards Rusalim, determined to turn the city into a fortress upon which the Egyptian army would break. Bradley would not live to see the Egyptian army as he was assassinated two days before they arrived, his throat cut by a nurse named Juliet Sablin who had become horrified by Reynold's actions, Juliet fled the city before anyone realized what had occurred.
The death of Bradley Reynolds only served to Strengthen the Expedition's resolve. They believed the Egyptians would break upon the walls of Rusalim, their primitive armies no match for their rifles and explosive. Unknown to the Expedition, the Egyptians had come armed with two of their newest weapons, mortars and cannons.
The battle of Rusalim was among the most biggest defeats ever inflicted upon an Uptimer army by a Downtimer force. Many in the Expedition broke at the first sound of cannon fire. The Egyptians would take few prisoners, those who did not flee would fight with a fanatical determination. Despite the victory, the Pharaoh found himself frustrated by the battle. The cannons and mortars had proven effective,but largely only for their effect on morale. Few shots actually hit their target. The men using them needed more training and he needed a solid doctrine on how to make the best use of them. And while it had been a victory, the Expedition had killed far more of his men then he had expected. The Americans were able to engage them at an incredibly long distance and had proven quite adapt at picking of charioteers. If he ever found himself engaging a better organized and larger Uptime force, he would be in trouble.
The Pharaoh kept all of these concerns private, boasting loudly of his victory upon his return to the capital. Ordering the creation of numerous works of art depicting his grand victory, including a large obelisk that was to stand in front of the main entrance to the Royal palace. Much to his frustration though, this war did not increase his popularity among the local Egyptian nobility. To a good deal of them these was just a foreign ruler supporting his foreign allies. Distrust of the Teigens skyrocketed as well, how could they be trusted if everywhere Americans went they massacred the local population. The Teigens themselves had been left utterly horrified by the news of what happened in Canaan, dismayed that the people they once called neighbors could do such horrific things.
Khyan grew frustrated. He was a god given flesh, chosen by Ra himself to lead the Egyptian people and yet despite that and the victories he had brought them they still dismissed him and his dynasty as nothing more than foreign invaders. Khyan knew if he was going to cement his rule and secure his dynasty's legacy he needed to assert his control over the Nile once and for all, he needed to conquer Thebes.
/
Special thanks to @EBR for providing some incredibly useful info on Canaan.
Thebes (Also known as Waset) was ruled by the Sixteenth Dynasty, native Theban Kings who's rule had often been troubled by plagues and unrest. Their territory was limited, sometimes ruling little more than Thebes itself. By 9 A.E they had extended their rule somewhat, ruling a small chunk of the Nile from the town of Huw in the North to the Temple-City of Edfu in the South. By all accounts they were a weak and unremarkable dynasty, their only strength against the Hyksos was the city of Thebes itself. With a population of some 70,000 souls, the city of Thebes was the second most populated city in the world, It's size only surpassed by Uruk (Tucson by this point had long since been reduced to a fraction of it's pre-Event Population).For much of the Middle Kingdom, Thebes had served as the capital of Egypt and was still an important cult center with access to important mineral resources and southern trade routes.
At the time of the Event the Sixteenth Dynasty and Fifteenth had something of an intermittent Status Quo, with the two dynasties roughly sharing the Nile with periods of low-level conflict from time to time. Niether dynasty having the strength to risk a full invasion. Khayan had originally be content with this situation, ignoring his counterpart, Bebiankh, in favor of expanding trade to the North. But the muted reaction to his victory in Canaan and knowledge of how little effect his dynasty would have had originally convinced him that more drastic action needed to be taken. For the Hyksos to remain they had to be the ones to unify Upper and Lower Egypt, for that to happen he needed Thebes.
Conquering the City would not be easy. The Nile proving both a blessing and a curse for the Hyksos. As it greatly reduced the burden on logistics and made transporting Khyan's troops far easier, it also made it all but impossible for him to hide his troop movements, Thebes would know he was coming from almost the moment he began his march south. Additionally his now prized cannons would require special transport ships built for them.
He did have some distinct advantages though, besides the cannons he was able to field a new weapon introduced by Jared Alston and the Hyksos smiths who now worked alongside him, the Crossbow. Alston had redeveloped the crossbow before the Reynolds expedition but had been unable to produce enough for military use before the Pharoah marched for Canaan. Alston realized it would impractical to arm the entire Egyptian army with any sort of Firearm and their supply of black powder was still on the small side, though growing quickly. Crossbows he figured would provide a considerable boost in strength, enough to deter any more expeditions.
Crossbows held numerous advantages over Egyptian bows, the biggest of which was it's ease of use. Archers took years of training and conditioning, Crossbows took months, weeks if he was pushed. The ease of use allowed Khayan to field a larger army. Fielding some 20,000 soldiers for his march towards Thebes.
The Battles of Huw and Thebes would be resounding victories for the Hyksos. Despite being well prepared for the invasion, the Thebians were still almost completely caught off guard by the Hyksos Crossbows and massed artillery barrages. The Thebans would suffer some 12,000 casualties in the two battles. Bebiankh would kill himself to avoid capture, with the rest of his dynasty surrendering to Khayan. The priests of Karnak, among the most vocal critics of the Hyksos, were forced to prostrate themselves before the Pharaoh and affirm that he was chosen by Ra and Seth. Minor resistance would remain but by 9 A.E the Hyksos had effectively complete control of both Upper and Lower Egypt. For the first time in nearly a century, there was only one Pharaoh on the Nile.
For Khayan this was his moment of triumph, achieving in months something he once thought would have been all but impossible. His new weapons and tools allowed him strength he had never dreamed of, crop yields that seemed almost magical and greater control of the Nile than any Pharaoh had ever dared. He remained in Thebes for half a year, securing his rule over the city while considering possible additional conquests. Kerma (Located in Pre-Event Sudan) was rich in resources such as gold, cattle, incense and ivory. With his new found military strength conquering the Kerma would be a relatively simple affair. And yet Khayan worried about drawing his attention to the far south. He doubted he was done with American invasions and the Hyksos position was far less secure than he would have liked.
Eventually Khayan was forced to return to Avaris, though not because of a military matter like he had expected. His return home would for more personal reasons.
The Politics of Love
Khayan had kept his son and heir, Yanassi, near the Teigen family for a number of years at this point. Having them educate him on the English language, math, engineering and other skills Khayan thought would be useful for a future Pharaoh. Khayan did not want the Crown Prince to be Americanized by any means, but he wished to ensure his heir was well prepared for this new world the arrival of Tucson had created. Yanassi had only been seventeen years old when the Event occured, Khayan This meant Yanassi was near the Teigen family almost every week, often for hours a day. Human nature being what it was, this eventually lead to the Crown Prince and the Teigen daughter, Heather, falling in love. The affair quickly became known to the Pharaoh, who allowed it, even encouraging it as a means of ensuring the Teigen's loyalty.
For a time simply maintaining a semi-secret romantic relationship was fine for both of them. But when Heather became pregnant, Yanassi asked her to become one of his royal concubines as a way of ensuring the child was seen as his. Heather had come to understand that marriage for Yanssai had a rather different standard that what she was familiar with but concubine was not a label she was prepared to accept, for her their where only two options, their relationship remaining as is or her becoming his primary wife. Yanssai, out of both love and a belief that this would have political advantages, agreed to marry her. His family had strong objections.
Traditionally the crown prince was suppose to marry within the family, either their sister, a niece, aunt or a 'double-niece' (A niece born of their brother and sister). Yanassai's sister had died a few years before, leaving Yanassai to pretty much wait until one of his relatives came of age. Khayan had wanted to uphold this tradition as a way of appeasing the priesthoods but with Thebes now conquered, he had mulled over breaking tradition and marrying his son to one of the noble families of the city as a way of securing his control over upper Egypt. Yanassai marrying Heather would not only ruin this plan but it also risk offending those nobles and priests who still loathed the Americans serving the Pharaoh, and giving the Americans far more power and influence then he had ever intended. Khayan did not want an heir who saw themselves as an American nor did he American culture to influence the Hyksos more than it already had. The Teigens were useful, he had Khayan had even made them and Alston minor nobility, but he did not want their traditions and values to become the traditions and values of Egypt.
The Teigens for their part also objected to the marriage as well, largely because they realized the political mess the marriage would create and urged their daughter to find another way. But Yanassai was insistent, arguing that the Americans must had Divine Blood in them. Their city clearly must have been brought here by some divine power, and American aid was now set to make Egypt one of the strongest powers in the known world. This argument did find some traction among the priesthoods, particularly those devoted to Horus who saw the Event as possibly his work. The Egyptian priesthood had been divided on the Event and the Americans in general. Most condemned the Event and the Americans as agents of disorder and chaos, but that view was starting to change, particularly with Khayan's victory in Thebes. While things were chaotic outside of Egypt, the same could hardly be said for their Kingdom. If anything they had increased stability with their aid in reunifying the Kingdom. They had weakened many of their rivals such as the Hittites and yet lacked the strength to truly hurt Egypt. A few priests even gave tacit support to the Marriage, agreeing with Yanssai's assessment. Others began to denounce Yanssai's words as heresy. Into this growing crisis stepped Prince Apepi, the Pharaoh's brother
In the original Uptime history, Apepi was able to have Yanassai killed shortly after his brother's death and became the next Pharaoh, pushing the Hyksos to their greatest height, even briefly conquering Thebes, only for the Hyksos to become overextended and completely collapse less than fifteen years after his death. Thankfully for Apepi these facts were completely unknown to Khayan, himself or anyone else in Egypt. Still, Apepi was a man of ambition, long having dismissed his nephew as a soft hearted fool. Hoping to to position self as the voice of reason when this eventually blew into a full blown crisis. Apepi began to argue that while Yanassai may have had a point, his actions were rash and foolish, threatening the stability. Apepi overstepped his bounds when he mentioned to Khayan that Yanassai might have to face the consequences of his actions, something Khayan immediately picked up on as unsubtle grab for power. Not long after an attempt was made on Heather's life. The attempt only left Heather with a minor wound but Khayan was enraged as her baby, his grandchild of royal blood, had been put in danger. A number of court priests and palace officials blamed Apepi. The Pharaoh was skeptical of his brother being that bold but his actions had been rather suspicious. Exiling him would only give the Americans a means of justifying another invasion so he placed Apepi under house arrest, forbidden from leaving the Royal Palace in Avaris for the rest of his life. Khayan allowed Yanassai to take Heather as a secondary wife, provided he marry a Theban noble woman and move to Thebes to oversee the region. Yanassai agreed, with Heather giving birth to healthy baby girl named Nitocris.
With Egypt united and his domestic issues resolved. Khayan began to notice a change in the opinions of the local Egyptian nobility. His spies no longer reported them speaking of him in such hateful terms. He began to feel the respect he had long sought. It was the dawn of a new kingdom, and the Egyptians were grudgingly beginning to accept that.
As Khayan began making plans for an invasion of Kerma, his attention was again pulled away. This time by problems to the North. Cyprus had stopped delivering copper and bronze due to chaos caused by Americans and there were whispers on the wind, rumors of another Expedition, this one headed towards Egypt.
/
And yes the stuff with Heather is a bit of a take on Kathryn Hollard in Island in the Sea of Time, albeit under vastly different circumstances.
Cyprus had been important to Egypt since the Old Kingdom, the island supplying them and much of the Mediterranean with Copper, which was vital to Bronze production. The Island had long been dominated, though not fully controlled, by the Kingdom of Alashiya. Trade between Alashiya and the Hyksos was more or less the same as it had been for previous dynasties, Alashiya sends ships full of Copper and Bronze and in exchange Egypt sent them ships full of Ivory and Silver. Sometimes Alashiya demanded more Ivory, sometimes the Egyptians were able to send less silver, but the trade had been largely consistent for centuries regardless of the ruling dynasty. This regularity of trade was part of why Egypt largely ignored Alashiya in the decade following the Event, so long as the copper kept coming in, Egypt had little reason to concern itself with the affairs of Cyprus. So when the Copper trade suddenly stopped in 12 A.E the Pharaoh was caught completely off guard. He quickly sent an envoy to the island to make contact with the King of Alashiya and restored trade. Khayan expected the worst and his expectations proved fairly close to reality. Multiple expeditions had hit the island, and Alashiya been destroyed, divided among various American factions. This was problematic, Khayan did not want American states so close to Egypt but he didn't want to risk his military in a naval invasion, a defeat in Cyprus could leave him open to invasion. Ultimately Khayan's first priority was resumption of the Copper trade, while Egypt had become aware of iron and even steel production, it would still be years, decades even before either saw widespread use. Bronze production was still vital to Egypt both economically and militarily, even more so in fact due to how Bronze was used in the production of cannons and crossbows. The Americans could be tolerated as long as they resumed the copper trade.
Khayan sent another envoy, this one fluent in English and protected by half a dozen royal guards. His goal was simple, learn more about the new situation in Cyprus and get the trade open again. A month later two of the guards returned, bloodied and bruised, with the head of his envoy in a box. The group had been ambushed on the road the former capital of Alashiya by American bandits. To make matters worse, when they arrived at the Capital, they discovered the new rulers had no interest in searching for the bandits, and even less in resuming the copper trade.
Other factions controlled parts of Cyprus but the one holding the former capital, The Provisional Republic of America, had the best access to the Island's copper mines. And they had wronged Khayan, they had disrepected him and murdered his envoy. That slight could not go unanswered.
Luckily for Khayan the envoy had managed to get a good grasp of the situation within the Provisional Republic. None of the states on Cyprus were stable, Americans fighting other Americans as they dealt with an increasingly unhappy native Cypriot population. But the Provisional Republic had an additional problem, refugees from Crete and Greece. Minoan nobles had fled to Cyprus after Wilson's conquest, joined a few years later by Mycenaean nobility that fled the numerous expeditions that hit Greece. These nobles and their servants were a small group but experience had left them very embittered towards the Americans and extremely determined to not lose another home to them.
Khayan had his agents approach these nobles and arranged a deal. The nobles would do what they could to hamper the Republic's armed forces in preparation for the Egyptian invasion. Once the provisional Republic was dealt with, Egypt would install one of the Mycenae nobles as the new King of Alashiya and in exchange the nobles would ensure the copper trade resumed. The Pharaoh made it clear that this was going to be a limited conflict, he didn't want to risk becoming bogged down against a foe still armed with uptime weapons, he realized how worse things could have gone for him in Canaan if he had fought a better prepared enemy.
The invasion went smoothly at first, most of the resistance they faced was poorly trained conscripts with blackpowder weapons and crossbows. Then the Egyptians reached the town of Alassa along the southern coast. The defenders there had dug in, turning the battle into a meatgrinder for both sides. Once Alassa was taken though, resistance collapsed. Khayan faced almost no resistance as he marched towards the capital. As he entered it quickly became apparent why. The capital was basically abandoned by the Americans. According to spies loyal to the Mycenaeans, they had fled by boat. Khayan had hoped they were simply fleeing back to Anatolia. The truth of the matter soon became apparent as the Egyptian fleet was burned at dock, trapping Khayan and the army on Cyprus
The Norvell Expedition
Captain William Norvell was the man responsible for the Burning of the Egyptian fleet, he was also the one who ordered the murder of the envoy. Intentionally provoking the Pharoah into a war on Cyprus in hopes of claiming perhaps the ultimate prize, Egypt itself.
Captain Norvell had been a pilot in the Airforce before the Event, flying one of Davis–Monthan's famous A-10s. Norvell had taken part in the Mutiny at Davis-Monthan but unlike many of his fellow pilots he had flown south instead of west, following a passenger plane loaded with some of the Base's ground staff and their families. They would land near what would become the city of New Washington. Captain Norvell became a major part of the city's militia in it's early days but never felt comfortable in his position. The downgrade from air force pilot to guarding a collecting of rough cut cabins and trucks converted into home took a heavy toll on him mentally. He bemoaned how far his countrymen had fallen. When he heard some of his fellow militia members talking about heading to Cyprus he joined on, largely out of desire to get away from new Washington more than anything else. He hadn't expected much from Cyprus and what he saw did little to impress him. But conversations with locals lead to him realizing the state of Egypt. An advanced centralized state that reaped a great bounty from the Nile River. Norvell began to dream of restoring America, rebuilding the country he had once served along the banks of the Nile. He knew conquering it would be hard but the Cypriots told him of how hated the Hyksos were among the native Egyptians. He hoped he could play that his advantage. He was able to convince the entire Provisional Republic's leadership and armed forces to go along with his plan, as they had come to be increasingly unhappy with the chunk of Cyprus they held. Once the pieces where in place he ordered a halt to all trade to Egypt.
Once the fleet was burned, he moved forward with the next phase of his plane. The fleet would sail to the Nile Delta, there they would make contact with one of the Egyptian traders Norvell had secretly befriended. once they arrived they would spark a revolt against the Hyksos, using the chaos caused by the revolt to take the capital of Avaris and several other cities in the Delta. Using them as a beachhead to encourage other Americans to move to Egypt. Building up enough of a population to make a greater conquest feasible. Ideally they would eventually take both lower and upper Egypt, using the Egypt infrastructure (and people) to build a true American republic. It would still be a far cry from what he had known, but it would be an improvement.
The Norvell Expedition was soon struck with two major problems. The first was despite the Hyksos's unpopularity, hatred towards them had waned with the conquest of Thebes. And however much the native Egyptians hated the Hyksos, they had come to despise Americans far more. The spark they tried to set sizzled out, and they found themselves surrounded by an angry citizenry. Norvell had control of a few villages along the coast but even that was tentative. Thankfully he had a backup plan. Despite leaving he had more than a few Friends still left in New Washington. People who would be willing to send men and arms to help out, for the right price. Norvell sent word back to New Washington, as long as reinforcements could reach them soon, the situation could still be salvaged.
It's here where the Expedition encountered it's second and fatal problem. Minoan ships patrolling not far off the coast of Egypt intercepted the reinforcements, taking their guns and forcing the ships back home. Anax Rachel had heard of the Norvell Expedition and was determined to prevent what happened in Greece from repeating itself in Egypt. She feared the threat an American Egypt might pose to her own Kingdom.
The outnumbered and out of supply Expedition was quickly defeated by the returning Egyptians, Though Captain Norvell escaped his army's destruction. The now Mycenaean-lead Kingdom of Alashiya, along with two of the American Cypriot states, restarted the copper trade. The Minoan Kingdom using their help with Expedition to secure more trade agreements with the Egyptians.
Egypt in 20 A.E
Since the Norvell Expedition, Egypt has experienced two other attempted invasions, though these were smaller and even more easily dealt with. Besides that the tale of Egypt since then has been one quiet prosperity. The grain stores are larger than they've ever been, new monuments and temples are built yearly, and the docks are filled with trade ships. While the threat of invasions didn't disrupt the Kingdom too much they did force Khayan to postpone his plans for expanding his Kingdom. The hatred for the Hyksos has not fully faded but it has been reduced, particularly among the younger generations. From all outward appearances it would seem the future looks bright indeed for the Fifteenth Dynasty and it does for the most part. There's just one issue. The great Pharaoh Khayan is dead, taking by illness towards the beginning of the year. And his son Yanassai has made clear to the royal court that Heather will soon be elevated to the status of primary wife. What this means for the future of Egypt is unclear but even Yanassai knows this action will not pass without controversy. He hopes that the actions of his father will allow him to weather this without too much difficulty and push forward with his father's southern ambitions.
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Stress of the recent outbreak made this rather hard to write so hopefully it's still good. Hopefully the update on Cyprus won't take as long.
"I've done such terrible things, things I can never atone for. But at least here, on Cyprus I have a chance to do some good for the world." -Nurse Juliet Sablin
"Everyone wants this island unified, problem is everyone wants to be the one to unify it, even me. Whoever wins could build something really special here, assuming there's anything left when all is said and done." - Chairman Kishon Call
An Island Divided
Pre-Event Cyprus was an urbanized, mercantile society much like the Minoans. Largely focused on trade With Egypt, the Hittites and other regional powers, though Cypriot ships reached as far west as Sicily and even France occasionally, though competition with the Minoans limited such ventures. Much of the Island was dominated by the kingdom of Alashiya with the rest of the island, mainly the eastern parts, divided among various city-states. The copper trade and metallurgical production dominated most of the Island's economy though the island also had a notable prestige goods industry. While not as prosperous as the Minoans, the island of Cyprus little lacked for wealth before the Event.
The first Tucsonians arrived on Cyprus less than a month after the Event, an extended family using a stolen yacht to flee the violence that now gripped Tucson and the area surrounding it. The family was soon followed by others. Some traveling in similarly large groups, some came completely alone. The first wave never saw large numbers of Tucsonians reach the island, the city wasn't on the coast and inexperienced sailors were more likely to drift out to sea then reach Cyprus, particularly if they were using a Downtime boat. Many of the Uptimers had come with only a limited amount of weapons and ammo and were rather easily appeased with the promise of food and shelter. So at first things were relatively peaceful after the Event. The Uptime Americans becoming a fixture in many royal courts. Then the trade started to slow down.
First it was trade with western Anatolia. Merchants would sail to regular ports only to find some towns destroyed and abandoned, others populated by hostile strangers.Then trade with the Hitties dried up. The economy began to suffer. Requests for aid were sent to Egypt and other nearby powers but they were ignored and Alashiya lacked the strength to try and force them. Opinion began to turn against the Americans but at that point most of them had made themselves too useful to the various kings and lords of the island. Almost ever group had contributed something to their new sponsors, even if it was simple as navigational charts and their boats. Leaving the elites very unwilling to do anything to the Americans.
Then came the Nobles of Crete. Former princes, once powerful merchants and their servants fleeing Anax Rachel and her new Regime. The Conquest sent shockwaves through the courts of Cyprus. Not because of what Rachel created. Not only where the Minoans now united behind one leader, which posed a threat to Cyprus's trade, but Rachel had taken the island through naval power. Alashiya had thought itself protect by the wine-dark sea it called it's fortress. The Uptime ships they had seen impressed them but they didn't seem suited for combat. News of cannons and mortars changed that perception, Alashiya was vulnerable. The later Mycenaean nobles only furthered the Island's fears.
But even still the Island's nobility was divided. After all who better to provide protection against these Americans then their own countrymen? While those nobles who had lost valuable trade with Crete, the Hittites and Wilusa had firmly turned against the Americans, many of those focused on the Egyptian trade routes were still solidly in favor of the Americans. So when the King of Alashiya issued a royal decree calling for the culling of all Americans on the Island, many powerful nobles refused. Sparking a civil war.
It was into this conflict the Second Wave arrived. Had Alashiya been prepared, had they at least been united, they might have stood a chance. The forces that arrived were disorganized in the extreme. Nominally most of those who arrived on Cyprus where under the leadership of Captain William Norvell or Corporal Anneline Thompson, formerly of the National Guard, but in truth the Expedition, if it could even really be called that, was barely more than a ship born horde that had been lured to Cyprus by the promise of wealth and power.
The resulting war was chaos, both sides fighting themselves as much as they fought each other. But the Americans had rifles, grenades and cannons, while Alashiya was just beginning to experiment with gunpowder. Alashiya was outmatched and soon the kingdom crumbled.
Norvell began to focus on his plans for Egypt while the other factions fought over the rest of the Island. Chaos held much of the island in it's grip until the Egyptian Intervention.
Since Khayan's invasion things have been held in an uneasy peace. The Americans too divided to band together but weary enough of Alashiya and the Egyptians to avoid going to war again. Most have refocused their efforts on rebuilding the island's trade and mining industries.
Four powers dominate the island as of 20 A.E; let's take a look at them.
West: A Kingdom Reborn
The Modern Kingdom of Alashiya is a very different beast compared to the old Cypriot kingdom. Egyptians soldiers patrol the streets while Minoans guide it's ships, all the while a Mycenean King rules from it's main palace. Nominally a vassal of the Hyksos, Egypt largely stays out of affairs as long as the Copper flows and the Kingdom doesn't do anything stupid. Alashiya is a kingdom united in resentment, the Myceneans and Minoans both bemoaning their lost homelands. Most aware they will never be able to return though more than a few still dream of reconquering their lost homelands. This unity is somewhat fragile though. The average Mycenean views the Minoans as a group of soft skinned traders. While the average Minoan sees the Mycenaeans as little more than glory hungry brutes. The differences in their religious pantheons have also caused some trouble. Never the less, King Eruthros does his best to keep the peace between the two groups and the native populace.
Most of the Kingdom's wealth is focused on defense, Mainly rebuilding the cities of western Cyprus into improved versions of the old fortress-palaces of their old homeland. Hoping stone walls will make up for their outdated armies.
North: A Changing Light.
The Emergency Pima Government was founded with the intentions of being a broadly Christian "Theocratic-Democracy". A state that kept to the Old America's republican values but placed Christian values at the forefront. These largely amounted to little more than talking points as the nation is led by a collection of priests and ministers (both properly ordained and self-declared) from various sects, with elections being delayed until enough the native population was properly "Civilized" to be made part of the voting population. But as many of the older priests have died, the Council's power has waned more and more, replaced by other powers within the state.
When the borders were more or less finalized, the EPG found itself with a half dozen doctors, about as many nurses and some medical students. This soon became a boon for the EPG as the island found itself gripped by several outbreaks in the years following the Egyptian intervention. And the EPG was able to make some very lucrative deals by selling out the services of their doctors.
The doctors based themselves out of the town of Enkomi, a former capital of Alashiya until they relocated to the western coast a century before. The doctors soon began hiring guards to protect themselves against both bandits and kidnappers. Eventually the doctors transformed themselves into a more formalized organization, The Order of the Lost Lantern. The organization would expand, eventually reaching beyond the island itself but that's a topic for another time. But within EPG their influence would grow as the council began to age and depended on them more and more. Now the Order holds almost as much powers as the Council itself. They've used this power to somewhat secularize the country. The EPG is still a christian nation but the destruction of Cypriot temples and icons has stopped for now.
The EPG uses much of it's mineral wealth to fund the Order, recruiting and training more doctors while sending expeditions to Tucson in the hunt of knowledge and aging medical equipment. Most of the nation's small military is focused on the west as Alashiya is the only power on Cyprus that does not allow the Order to operate within it's borders.
South: A Doubtful Refuge
Nina Arrabal had suffered a lot since the Event because of who she is. Most of her family and her girlfriend had been killed in the early days by a group specifically targeting Hispanics to rob. She had nearly been killed in the city of Globe for her sexual orientation. She had traveled to Cyprus looking for a fresh start. When the EPG announced it's plans for a Theocratic-Democracy and Corporal Thompson began using distinctly right-wing rhetoric she feared she would soon be on someone's list of targets. She had come prepared, having built up a small network of allies since she first joined signed up with Thompson. She used this network of allies to take over the city of Dromolaxia and much of the surrounding countryside.
Since then Nina has ruled as a dictator in all but name over the Free Republic of Cyprus. There had been plans for elections but they were canceled when her one of possible rivals made noises about how they found the native Cypriot religion barbaric. Realizing that most of the other factions have oppressed the Cypriot population or where trying to change their cultural. Seeing the potential opportunity presented she ordered her men to ensure that the Cypriot temples where to remain unharmed and all effort was to be made to repair the docks and resume trade. This tactic worked well, causing the small nation's population to swell as people fled the EPG. Since those early days, Arrabal's rule has proven rather tumultuous as her dreams of a socially free nation has clashed with the desires of the native Cypriots and her own personal biases. Nearly losing some of her biggest supports after the she tried to kick out some of the order's doctors on fears they were there to convert the Cypriot population. Arrabal has heard of what became of the leadership of other nations that started out idealistically, and what became of them in the end, how they ended up betraying their own ideals. She has no desire to become another New Pueblo. She desires her Republic to truly be free one day. She just has no idea how to achieve that. This frustration has led to a work hard, play hard attitude. Throwing herself into managing mines and working out trade deals for days on end before spending hours drinking and partying.
Economically the Free Republic is focused on trade and mining but has tried to diversify away from copper; exporting Marble, Gypsum, and other minerals. Arrabal has also done a lot to encourage artists of all stripes as part of a renewed luxury goods industry. Some of the Free Republic have taken to piracy, something Arrabal has tried and failed to stamp out.
Militarily the Free Republic's strength is roughly on par with the EPG but they lack the level of training and discipline the Order has been able to instill. If it comes down to a military conflict, Arrabal has little hope of winning. Which is why she's determined to make sure the fight for Cyprus remains a largely peaceful affair.
East: A Dream Unrealized.
Corporal Anneline Thompson had come to Cyprus with dreams. Realizing the resources and shipbuilding potential the island had, she had visions of using it as the foundation of a New Republic, using the island to conquer what was left of the Hitties and the Sanford Expedition in hopes of building a new United States. She had thought Captain Norvell shared her goals. As the invasion of Cyprus pressed on it quickly became clear to Thompson that she both misunderstood Captain Norvell's goals and vastly overestimated her ability to organize and control people. After Norvell's failed invasion of Egypt had killed most of the men she brought with her, she fled east, forced to ally with former gang leader named Kishon Call. Together the now Chairman Call and General Thompson where able to rally a small force together and take over the Karpas Peninsula, forging the American State. The American State Claims to be a Right Wing Country dedicated to traditional American values, this largely rhetoric used to justify acts against the native populace and purges of internal dissents.
The American State quickly realized why it had been easy to take over the peninsula. the Region was underdeveloped and thinly populated, it's economy based on agriculture and fishing with only a small amount of copper mining. Realizing the disadvantage they now found themselves in, Thompson turned to something she had long hoped to avoid. Using what was left of her small fleet together with the native Cypriot ships she quickly turned to raiding every nearby country from the Hittites to the Free Republic. Only avoiding the Egyptians and Alashiya, fearing retribution. The turn to piracy has worked, allowing the American State to maintain it's disproportionately large military at the coast of being one of the most loathed countries in the region. As age begins to take it's toll on her General Thompson has turned desperate out of a mix of fear and self-loathing, desperate to figure out someway to end this stalemate without being crushed flat. Desperate to see the American State become the Republic she had dreamed of instead of the pirate haven it had become. With the death of the Pharaoh Khayan she wonders if this is her best and last chance to achieve her dream. Call has so far resisted her calls for an invasion of EPG, waiting to see if Egypt is distracted enough for them to gamble on an invasion.
For now, a bitter and uncertain peace holds on Cyprus.
"First it was the machines, X-Rays and Life Support stopped working within the first day. Then it was the antibiotics and blood tests, then the morphine, then the regular pain meds. Then I started losing things I didn't even think it was possible to lose, we haven't seen synthetic bandages in two years. We've been able to make replacements with local materials but it's not enough. I've seen whole families die from things I would have once been able to treat effortlessly. And yet to the locals I seem like a miracle worker. I guess it's all a matter of perspective."
- Dr Elizabeth Brooks, Order of the Lost Lantern
"You know how hard it is to make someone who has no real knowledge of biology to accept germ theory without a working microscope? I spent half the night screaming at the priestess to get them to understand that the doctors are not in fact witches, charlatans or insane. We need to inscribe it on a monument somewhere, wash your freaking hands people!"
- Queen Jessica Kilpatrick-Wilson
Medicine in the New Old World
Medicine suffered greatly from the Event. Most of the advanced equipment was rendered useless as soon as the power shut off for good, numerous medicines expired soon after as refrigeration began to fail. Hospitals had emergency power but those only lasted for a brief time and the hospitals quickly became overwhelmed with desperate and confused people looking for help they hospitals could not provide. Most Tucson Hospitals are claimed by various factions, some even using them as a base, most just using it as a source for unique scrap and materials.
Doctors, Nurses, Med Students, and even in a few desperate cases; veterinarians, had a slightly higher than average survival rating during the dark days surrounding the Event. As groups fleeing Tucson came to realize that those medically trained were vital in dealing with injuries and diseases that had become rampant among the Refugees. The doctor's efforts were hampered by an ever dwindling supply of medicine, bandages and even simple tools. Further hampering efforts was a general unfamiliarity with the surrounding plant life, limiting the use of even primitive treatments.
As the years progressed doctors found themselves in a deeply frustrating situation. The knowledge of medicine was still there but they lacked the means to really make use of it. As all but the most basic of medicines (such as using Willow bark as aspirin) were now impossible to manufacture, as even simple things like cotton were now out of reach. Many turned to methods not far removed from an Apothecary in the middle ages. A small few abandoned the practice, too depressed by seeing people die from normally easily treatable conditions to continue. Most medical professionals who found themselves in the western parts of Anatolia, tended to simply open up a practice in whatever town or settlement they found themselves in, treating people as best they can.
For those who traveled further away from Tucson, practicing medicine became even more complicated as they dealt with downtimers. Most doctors, particularly those in Greece and those formerly belonging to the Hittites found themselves clashing with priests, midwives, and shamans who regularly had control over healing and tending to the sick. To most downtimers, illness was just as much a spiritual aliment as it was physical one. Many healers found themselves threatened by these doctors and their strange treatments. Further complicating matters were the medical advice these doctors and even regular uptimers were giving out, mainly the importance of washing their hands and the focus on cleanliness. Germ theory was completely alien to downtimers and to most it sounded like nonsense or some strange foreign belief. Some places were slow to adapt to the Uptimer medicine at first, sometimes lashing out violently against it. This changed slowly overtime as people came realize the effects it had. While the uptime doctors bemoaned how many people they lost, the downtimers were impressed by how many they saved.
Outside of western Anatolia, doctors were somewhat rarer. Only a few signed up for the Sanford Expedition and those that remain are fiercely protected by Sanford, Maddox and the other rulers in the former Hittite Empire. The Minoan Kingdom was basically lacking in any trained medical personal until Anax Rachel's pregnancy lead to the Kingdom hiring several doctors and nurses.
One exception to this was Cyprus
The Order of the Lost Lantern
The Emergency Pima Government included a number of people from St Mary's and Saint Joseph's Hospitals, mostly the non-medical staff, clerks and sanitation workers who had been swayed by coworkers and friends to sail to Cyprus, but a number of Doctors as well. This lead to Cyprus having a fairly large ratio of doctors compared to the rest of the Uptime population. This proved rather helpful after a number of outbreaks hit the island but also proved problematic as the doctors soon found themselves with a target on their back
The American State first kidnapped and enslaved medical personal out of desperation, as they lacked enough medically trained people to deal with a cholera outbreak. This act of desperation soon turned into something much worse as the American state soon began kidnapping medical personal and selling them to other uptime factions, particularly in Greece.
After a half dozen doctors were either killed or enslaved, those remaining realized action was needed. They hired bodyguards to protect them from slavers and misguided locals. These guards put a stop to the enslavement and forced the American state to actually hire doctors. The doctors and the bodyguards soon realized they should be far more proactive, protecting others beyond Cyprus.
The Order of the Lost Lantern was founded in an empty grain silo just outside the EPG's capital by a group of doctors, nurses and their protectors. The goal was two fold. To ensure doctors and nurses were protected and the medical knowledge served. For this to become possible they became far less altruistic in the EPG, using their importance to demand a decent amount of wealth, this wealth was used to fund to scavenging expeditions towards tucson to reclaim medical textbooks and equipment that was still functional. This economic power soon translated into political power as the aging leadership of the EPG found itself needing the Order more and more. The Order soon began to expand outside Cyprus, setting up offices and schools from Troy to Hattusa. Becoming one of the first extra-national organizations formed since the Event. This has not gone without controversy, with the Minoan Kingdom banning them after one of their own doctors accused the order of theft.
The order is generally decentralized. With a council of three, a doctor, a nurse and a lantern guard, managing things on Cyprus. Similar councils run the larger schools outside of Cyprus. Though the years have caused the organization to become formalized. the lantern guards have gone from little more than hired thugs to a organized security force, medical training now follows a set curriculum instead of just simple apprenticeship with a doctor or nurse.
In recent years a number of states have lobbied complaints at the Order, accusing them of trying to pressure independent doctors into joining and hording a disproportionately large number of the surviving medical textbooks for their own use. Never the less the Order has made itself vital to numerous nations across the Mediterranean.
The Future
While few worry about it just yet, a number of doctors have retired or died in the twenty years following the event. While there still plenty of Pre-Event doctors around, sooner or later the medical professional will left in the hands of those who were little more than students at the time of the Event, and eventually it will be in the hands of those born after the Event. And while almost every nation has some sort of medical education in place (From schools to singular doctors in remote villages teaching their children), there is concern over how much medical knowledge will be lost. How much will future generations have to relearn in the decades to come?
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The Lost Lantern was something I have planned before recent events but being largely confined got me thinking about medicine in general. Hope this was interesting.
"It wasn't just cars and planes we lost, it was horses. The horses these days are too damn small to do field work or even be properly ridden. We're forced to use chariots to get any sort of use out of them." -President Martin Nielsen, United States of America (Globe)
"These Americans constantly focus on what they lost, not appreciating what they still have. The compass, the sextant, their navigational charts. Just one of these would have made me the wealthiest king in the land before they arrived." -Plouteus; Merchant, Free Republic of Cyprus
The world since the Event has become a lot larger for most Americans. Many have never left the first village they arrived in after fleeing Tucson, and among those who have traveled, an overwhelming majority have never traveled beyond the Eastern Mediterranean. With only a few dozen people settling in Italy. A few Minoan, American and even Egyptian ships have sailed beyond Gibraltar but not much further. Though there are always rumors of some person or family sailing to England, France or even to America in a desperate bid to get home. The reason for this relatively lack of travel is due to the general collapse of uptime transportation since the Event. Gasoline has long since expired, and most cars are little more than rusting hulks. And yet, as in most situations, the former Residents of Tucson have found a way to adapt to their new reality.
Land
Almost everyone who had a car or could 'acquire' one quickly enough at the time of the Event used it to try to flee the city. The roads quickly became clogged with traffic, and even those that left more often than not where abandoned in the unfamiliar forests that partially surrounded the city. Quite a few did escape though. These vehicles (Largely trucks, jeeps and other vehicles suited for off-road travel) would often form the backbone of the armies of the First Wave. Serving as both a weapon's platform and a psychological weapon in it's own right against a Bronze Age population that had little understanding of the massive and absurdly fast metal monsters. Most of these would eventually be scrapped for parts and/or converted into ad-hoc buildings as fuel began to run out. A small few though remain functional, their engines converted to run on methanol and other alternative sources of fuel. These few surviving vehicles have almost all been converted to technicals, a type of improvised military vehicle. Mounting crude armor (if any) and armed with weapons typically taken from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Only a few factions still field these and those that do don't have very many, with the United States (New Washington) having the most at eight. Every technical is unique and is used a little differently by each faction who owns them. With New Washington using them as fast attack vehicles, able to quickly respond to bandit attacks and raids by it's neighbors, while King Marion has his heavily armored, using them as the tip of the spear in any assault, with one kept in reserve as his personal 'chariot'. Most think they can keep these vehicles running for another few decades but each surviving vehicle is borderline irreplaceable, with more advanced replacement parts becoming harder and harder to find.
One of the smaller scale shocks for many Americans when they encountered the Bronze Age world was the horse, mainly how small they were. The horses of 1600 B.C.E were domesticated but they were smaller and weaker than the ones Americans were familiar with. Making them almost entirely unsuited for transporting heavy goods or even riding. Their uses largely being limited to Chariots and livestock. A few Uptime horses did survive the Event, these horses have almost entirely been used to breed with their downtime counterparts. Their owners hoping to create a viable population of work and warhorses. So far these efforts have been of limited success.
Chariots themselves have seen some use, largely removed from combat as most American factions find them too vulnerable to weapons fire and unsuitable as a weapons platform. the Hyksos, having basically invented chariot use in warfare, still use them but their role has become much more limited, largely reserved for commanders trying to control a large army.
Most long distance land travel these days is done by oxen-pulled carts. While uptime knowledge has allowed for numerous innovations to both the yoke and the carts themselves, these carts are still generally quite slow. Despite this a few factions, most notably the United States (Globe) and The People's Union have attempted to weaponize them. Creating armored war wagons that serve as a protected and mobile firing platforms, these war wagons are not too far removed from the war wagons that would have been used in the Hussite Wars. These wagons have proven of mixed effectiveness, being largely effective against less developed factions but their slow speed and large size making them vulnerable to heavy weapons fire and explosives.
Sea
For a landlocked city whose river had been almost entirely dry for decades, Tucson had a high number of Boats. These were fishing boats and personal yachts, most of them were not particularly large as they were limited by the fact they had to be towed by a car or truck. During the chaotic days after the Event, a small few were taken out of Tucson by more farsighted individuals who feared they would have to sail to find somewhere with enough food. A few more were taken in return trips to the city, but for the most part these small boats were left to rot on their trailers or were taken for parts and scrap. Those boats that were taken would see limited use (mainly during the invasions of Greece, Crete and Cyprus) as transports and combat vessels, but their small size and general construction has limited their effectiveness as a weapon of war. With most surviving examples being reserved for either personal use or transportation, both in trade and in smuggling.
The real innovation brought by the uptimers to nautical travels was knowledge and tools. The compass revolutionized the various sea trade routes of the Eastern Mediterranean almost overnight, with tools like the sextant, backstaff, maps and even a few navigational charts further helping things, though most of those would require some adjustment to deal with changes such as different positions of various stars. These tools made sea travel faster and much much safer. The Americans soon combined these with other innovations, such as improved rigging for sails, improved storage methods and better ship building methods. While these early improvements were relatively minor they provided a massive boon to the Mediterranean trade network as they allowed for ships that were faster, could haul more, and were more durable in rough weather. The Minoans benefited strongly from these new tools and innovations. Combined with Anax Rachel's more centralized control over Minoan traders, this lead to a great deal of wealth flowing in the Aegean as the Minoans traded with Americans, Egyptians, Sicily and North Africa. The wealth gained from this improved trade was soon invested into bigger ships. At first focusing on trade ships, the Minoans and other nations soon began preparing for much more ambitious plans such as warships. Plans for various medieval and early modern ships were recovered from the University library and other sources but simply having those plans did not translate into having the knowledge or ability to build these ships. For starters almost every dock in the region would require expansion and renovation to build and maintain this new breed of ships. And the lack of ship building among the Americans proved rather problematic, resulting in many false starts and failed designs. In one famous case a New Washington ship toppled over and sank moments after launch, having been far too top heavy. The Minoans, having a long history of ship building, adapted relatively quickly to these new designers. Launching their first major warship around 11 A.E. a twenty gun, single deck frigate named Tyche's Axe, after a minor local deity that would have gone on to become the Greek goddess of fortune and a daughter of Aphrodite, eventually becoming the Roman goddess Fortuna.
As tensions in the Aegean increased, numerous factions began to invest in warships. As the Minoans were an island power who were deeply dependent on trade for the economy, they became determined to ensure they maintained an edge on their rivals. Their naval doctrine became focused on two kinds of ships. Smaller, faster frigates and galleys designed for both blockade running and hunting down pirates and smugglers. And larger, two to three deck vessels designed for defending the islands and fighting larger battles.
Egypt has also placed a focus on it's navy after the destruction of it's old fleet in the Cyprus intervention. Focusing much more on smaller galley designs, reserving larger designs for cargo and troop transport.
In more recent years, the Minoans have begun experimenting with pushing beyond the age of sail. Launching a paddle ship, The Pride of Knossos, in 19 A.E. Though it and it's sister ships have been regulated to non-combat duties and the Minoans have so far been cautious about pursuing widespread adoption of any steamships at the moment, largely out of concern the amount of materials required for each ship would, at the moment at least, outweigh any edge they gave them in combat.
Air
Shortly following the Event, the skies above Tucson become filled with aircraft for several hours as the aftermath of the Mutiny at Davis-Monthan saw pilots both civilian and military abandon the city, using everything from airliners to A-10s to escape. Since then not much as flown save for birds and some insects. Most of those planes long since scrapped or converted into housing. Those aircraft that remained in Tucson became a prized target for scavengers. as Aviation fuel has long since decayed into uselessness, it will likely be centuries before jets fly again.
But that does not mean there is nothing man made in the air.
New Washington along with the Republic of Rome and Baja Arizona have begun experimenting with hot air balloons, even drawing up plans for blimps and even zeppelins for use in warfare and trade. Concerns over fuel and practicality have kept these plans on the drawing board. though the balloons have proved useful for scouting.
a few surviving Pre-Event drones have been used for recon, scouting and occasionally limited spying by various factions.
As for manned powered flight, those prop-driven planes that remained in Tucson were one of the first targets hit by scavengers, and most were too complex to even consider maintaining. Most people had written off powered flight as something effectively lost to this generation, most but not all.
The Morley siblings were almost too young to remember Tucson before the Event, but one memory did stick resoundingly with both of them, the flight to the city from their home in Memphis. of being above the clouds and seeing the tops of mountains. Both were determined to experience that once again. Dany Morley became an engineer, using the money she made from maintaining generators to fund small trips to Tucson to gather parts, plans and books. She and her brother Kevan began building a plane in their parent's shed. They faced numerous setbacks and redesigns but eventually it paid off. On March 5th, 20 A.E, a small single engine plane was spotted wobbly flying near New Washington. The small, Cessna inspired plane never came close to the heights the siblings had hoped to reach, Kevan had been forced to land the plane within minutes of take off due to issues with the wings, and as many quickly pointed out, the engine was entirely pre-Event and is still impossible to replicate. But the siblings had achieved their dream, mankind was flying again, if only for a short time.
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The Mutiny is something I will cover in it's own update someday. I did a fair amount of research so hopefully everything here is at least somewhat plausible, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
"Never underestimate a flag. In the hands of the right person, those simple bits of cloth can push men to do great and terrible things."
- Elicia Baxter, 'The World Since the Event'
Since WW2 and particularly since the early 2000s, the United States of America was a nation that was very enthusiastic about it's flags. Proudly waving the stars and stripes and other flags from their homes, businesses and even occasionally cars to a degree that some outside observers found troubling. Since the Event the tradition has endured, with many using it as a way to better define their new nations.
Flags since the Event
In the Early days after the Event, flying the American flag (or any flag for that matter) proved a relatively easy way for people to cement their claims on the villages they had taken. A flag flying from some makeshift pole was a good indication to anyone traveling near by that the village had already been claimed and thus wasn't worth the effort to try and take. Stealing food from bronze age villages was a lot less risky than stealing food from people armed with guns and explosives.
Many of the smaller villagers still fly the Stars and Stripes, or occasionally the state of Arizona's flag, in part out of some lingering patriotism or nationalism but also as a way of telling traveling merchants that this village was at least controlled by Americans (and thus would be more profitable to visit).
As larger states started to form the larger political entities quickly ran into an issue, many of them were using the same flag. Staking a claim could become rather complicated if all the factions fighting over the land had the same exact flag. More than a few fights were caused by this. This led to many factions modifying the Stars and Stripes to some degree. The Republic of Greece takes great pride in the intentionally patchwork design of their flag. The Emergency Safety Commission has replaced the 50 stars with one large one (unintentionally remaking the flag of Liberia), while The People's Union has replaced the Stripes with a solid red. The Emergency Council flies the flag unmodified but upside down, a Pre-Event signal of the country being in distress; while the Republic of Troy flies a black and white variant of the flag with a blue line running across the middle. The New Tucson Republic has replaced the stars in their flag with the city's seal. Sparta has a similar modification with the stars and blue field behind them replaced with a golden Lambda (The symbol of pre-event Sparta) upon a red field. Notably factions such as New Washington and Trebizond specifically have not modified their flags in anyway as a way of reinforcing their claims that they're legitimate successors to the old US government.
Other pre-Event American flags and symbols have been adopted by various factions. Globe uses the Gadsden flag, a flag favored by the Libertarian right, as their national flag. The Arizona National Guard still flies the old state flag while Wildcat Country flies a variant where the star in the center has been replaced with the A from the University of Arizona. The Progress Republic of New California flies the California state flag. Even non-national or state flags have been taken and used by various factions. The American Empire flies a modified version of the Coast Guard Flag while the State of Rome proudly flies the flag of the US Air Force. While the Neo-Nazis of Athens use many of the same hateful banners they waved before the Event. The Free Republic of Cyprus uses a modified version of the LGBT pride flag that has the blue field of 50 stars from the American flag in the upper left corner.
The use of these symbols has led to some outrage and even hostility among the various factions, as many argue the others are claiming symbols they have no right to, almost always ignoring the fact that their faction has done more or less the same thing. And two factions claiming the same flag has led to full on conflict, such as the conflicts between Thrace and the Republic of Rome as both consider themselves the true legacy of the US Air Force.
A couple of factions have even developed flags wholesale as a way of distancing themselves from the US or it's legacy. The most notable example of this being the Minoan Kingdom who flies a blue, white and green vertical tricolor flag with a double headed axe in the center. They also make heavy use of a purple royal banner, marked with a symbol of Aphrodite Aeria, a Crown over a Sword and Rifle. The Hyksos have even began making limited use of flags, their merchant ships flying a simple solid yellow banner as way of identifying themselves to trading partners and warning off possible pirates. Most downtime factions haven't yet adopted a flag, seeing it as a waste of dyes. But some, particularly the Mycenaeans, have began to see it's merits. And wonder if a proper flag would give the various surviving city states something to unite behind.
For the most part factions have depended upon old flags and fabric collected from Tucson by hired scavengers and sponsored salvage operations. But time and the elements have taken their toll, with many flags becoming faded and battered by the elements. And with stockpiles of pre-Event fabric now largely being prioritized for clothing and medical use, for many communities it has simply become impractical to use Tucson as a source for flags. And with dyes, particularly blue, being hard to import and incredibly costly, many communities now find themselves facing a choice on how to handle this going forward. Many, such as the Minoans and People's Union have considered redesigning their flags to use cheaper and easier to find dye colors, other communities have taken to painting their flag on the sides of buildings, while most smaller communities have taking to limiting when they fly their flags, saving them for calmer parts of the year or even just special events. These are mostly temporary solutions and many villages now fly tattered and washed out flags, fading echos of the country they lost.
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So this wasn't an update I had originally planned but I saw a truck driving past work the other day with a giant flag on a pole in it's bed. That's when I remembered that my country is kind of freaking weird with flags and I figured I should explain how that developed in this. Hopefully this was interesting.
"Mycenae needed a hero. But they didn't have Ajax, or Odysseus, or any of those other legends Homer invented. They just had me, and my black powder. Personally I think I've done more for these people than those legends ever did." -Fredrick Chard
"I both love and hate these Americans in equal measure. One must wonder how great and terrible the future is to produce people like this" -Anax Electryon
The Kingdom of Mycenae is one of the rare states to have survived an American invasion. It is the only Mycenaean city to have never been conquered, though others have been formed by refugees or propped up by American successor states. Despite its survival, the proud kingdom finds itself in a very unfavorable position, surrounded on all sides by Americans, and with the seas choked by the Minoans and the People's Union. Nevertheless the Kingdom survives, helped by former Americans looking for profit and glory
The City Before The Event
Uptime Archaeological studies suggest that Mycenae had been occupied since the Neolithic period, although this consisted of little more than a small collection of farming villages until roughly 1800 BCE when the first major shaft graves appeared. By 1600 BCE- generally considered the start of the Mycenaean culture- Mycenae had become a major power in the region, but the city still only partially resembled the one known to uptime archaeologists.
The version of Mycenae when the Americans arrived was smaller than the one known to Uptime history, its stacked stone walls were shorter and less extensive, and most of the city actually lay outside of the walls. Its version of the Lion's Gate consisted of only a single stone lion's head above the main entrance- in OTL this would have been eventually shattered and lost to history*. The city Inside the walls was relatively cramped, with work space for artisans, guard stations for warriors, apartments for the elites and the Anax's Megaron (a kind of great hall that was used for both religious and royal functions).
Economically the city was largely focused on the importation of raw goods such as ivory and exporting finished goods such as jewelry to Crete and other places across the Aegean. Gold working was particularly prized. Culturally the city was highly stratified, with the elites of society being buried in shaft graves full of rich grave goods. Mycenaen culture had a strong martial focus, and individual heroics were particularly favored. The Anax was both an important military and religious leader whose victories were seen as sign of the gods' favor.
At the time of the Event, the city's area of influence was extensive but hard to map, with the number of villages that owed it fealty sometimes changing on a yearly basis due to low level conflicts with other cities.
The Event and the Chard Siblings
Like many outside of Anatolia, the people of Mycenae first saw the Event as nothing more than a strange light show on the horizon. Weeks later traders came in with reports of strange people wielding foul magics, ravaging the countryside. The Anax dismissed their tales at first as nothing more nonsense told by sailors who had taken to drinking seawater... then more merchants and travelers came in telling similar stories. Soon the Anax understood he was dealing with something unprecedented, but thankfully it was far away. If it meant anything for his city it meant a change in trade or someone would hire his warriors for a new war.
Then Knossos fell, and news of the invasion and the woman calling herself King caused a panic in Mycenae. The Anax feared the worst would soon befall his kingdom. What could bronze spears do against these metal sticks that spat divine (or diabolic) fire? For the first time in his entire life the Anax felt powerless. Then one day, just over a year and a half after the Event, two Americans walked up to the gates of the city carrying with them a number of guns. After some confusion caused by a complete lack of communication, the two eventually were able to get across that they'd come here to help the kingdom. Against the advice of the court and even his sons, the Anax invited them into the Megaron.
In time the siblings were able to introduce themselves as Diana and Fredrick Chard
The Chard siblings- a home improvement store manager and a university professor respectively- had originally been part of Rachel Wilson's Expedition. Rachel had accepted her former teacher's help easily enough, but they were both quickly thrown out after Fredrick made the mistake of trying to pressure his one time student into giving him command of the adventure.
This rejection did not deter either sibling for very long, and they quickly got to work formulating their own plan. They soon realized that conquering anything would require a considerable amount of time, effort, and risk, not to mention people. On the other hand aiding one of the existing nations would carry with it a lot less risk and effort, and still get them the benefits of living a life of luxury (well as much luxury as this time period could manage at least). The two hatched a plan and started buying, scavenging, and stealing everything from guns and black powder to bronze tools left behind by the Anatolian natives. When they felt ready the siblings left, using a stolen boat with a few downtimer ships- loaded down with supplies- tied to it. Their trip was slow and cautious but they eventually wound up near an abandoned fishing village in Greece. From there the two pretty much just followed major paths until they came to Mycenae.
Establishing actual communication was tricky, but once a working translation was made Fredrick sprang into action. True, he was a American Southwest Archaeologist by education, but he knew a bit about the Mycenaeans. He heaped praise upon the Anax, telling him how his city would be considered the Apex of this civilization, and how his death mask would be known thousands of years from now (in fact the Mask of Agamemnon would have been made for the Anax's son, Electryon, though Fredrick had no way of knowing this). In between praising the Anax and his city Fredrick also did his best to make it clear how much danger the Anax was in, recalling numerous tales of the brutal conquest of various towns and cities. He also claimed that he knew for a fact that some of his former countrymen where planning to conqueror the Anax's city. This wasn't strictly true- Fredrick had no knowledge of any specific plans- but he figured sooner or later someone would come for the city. He promised that his sister could rebuild the walls to be five times as strong and that his weapons would kill any foe who would threaten the city.
His price was steep however, he demanded two manors be built, one for each sibling, with enough land, servants and luxury goods to ensure that the Chards would never wanted for anything ever again. Neither of them had come here out of goodwill towards the Mycenaean. This was their means of securing a safe and easy life for themselves, and they wanted all the Mycenaeans could give them.
At first the Anax was against this, disturbed that two strange foreigners would dare ask him for so much. Electryon even suggested that they be tossed out of the city. Then Diana demonstrated the power of one of their rifles, completely piercing a shield and armor in two shots. This terrified the warriors of the city. All their strength, all their might, was shown to be completely useless in a matter of moments. The Anax gave in, agreeing to all of Fredrick's demands on the condition he protect the city.
The siblings went to work immediately.
Due to their limited supply of weapons and materials, the duo pushed for all efforts to be focused on Mycenae itself. The plan was for any enemy to be broken at the city walls, with the thought that any conquests they made could be dealt with afterwards. Diana mobilized the populace to expand and improve the city's walls in both length and height. Meanwhile, Fredrick got to work on setting up a forge. As an amateur blacksmith, with a some experience gunsmithing (illegal modifications of his own gun collection mostly) and a small collection of books on relevant topics acquired since the Event, he had a foundation to build off of. But Frederick knew what a daunting task he faced. First he created a number of crossbows with bronze-tipped bolts- this was to boost his limited supply of firearms. Then he embarked on a much more ambitious project; a cannon. He hard heard tales of Wilson's victory in Knossos and he knew a cannon would be a game changer. The first one was a molten failure that wasted precious scrap, the second caught his forge on fire, the third was smaller than he wanted but it appeared functional. He couldn't risk testing it due to a very limited supply of black powder and a fear of it malfunctioning, but Frederick lied to the Anax and swore he knew it was ready for use. The cannon was mounted on the new walls as a source of hope for the Anax and the warriors and a source of anxiety for Fredrick.
The War with Sparta
News of the Spartan invasion reached Myceane barely three months after the Chard siblings arrived. The Spartans were almost everything the Chards had described; ruthless invaders spreading across the countryside like wildfire, sacking and enslaving every village and city they came across. The tales of Spartan atrocities horrified Myceane, and some of the warriors demanded they fight these thugs on the battlefield. Indeed, Electryon barely prevented the warriors from marching out of the city to their certain deaths.
The stress of this situation caused the Anax to have a stroke, leaving him nearly invalid, and his son took control of the city.
Mere weeks after their arrival news came that the Spartans were only a few days march away from Myceane. The walls weren't finished and Fredrick only had a few dozen crossbows ready. But it would have to do.
In theory the Myceane defense was quite impressive when the Spartans arrived. A dozen men with guns lined the walls accompanied by dozens more with crossbows, and a cannon guarded the main gate. The walls themselves had been made taller and thicker.
But the reality was less favorable than it appeared, most of the guns only had a few rounds, the cannon was untested and only had two loads worth of gunpowder, and it was unclear if the wall could even handle it firing. This was largely a bluffing game- the Chards needed Raymond Lang and the so called Spartans to blink before they pressed the attack.
As the Spartans approached the city, Fredrick set his sister out to negotiate. He might have been a smooth talker, but he knew his sister had more of a spine. She would not yield to Lang.
Unfortunately Lang and Diana Chard's negotiations quickly dissolved into a screaming match, with both sides accusing the other being the worst kind of human being. Raymond threatened to level the city, Diana claimed he would be bled dry in the attempt. The Spartans opted to put the city under siege for two weeks, but the bluff worked and they never attacked.
As Myceane breathed a sigh of relief news came of a Minoan invasion of New Sparta, of men and women in green uniforms putting most of the southern part of Peloponnesus under siege. Fredrick and Electryon both watched with hungry eyes, realizing how strained and overextended the Spartans where. They knew Mycenae would be hard pressed to take any major villages, but they could make things miserable for the Spartans, maybe even push them to the point of collapse. The warriors were sent out to raid the countryside, stealing crops, attacking vulnerable patrols, arming rebels and doing everything they could to weaken Sparta's holds on the lands near Myceane. For a time things seemed to be going great, and Fredrick started filling Electryon's head with visions of a Mycenaean state stretching all the way to Aeolia (Modern day Thessaly). Then came news from the north of a new army of invaders, this one with swastikas on it's banners.
Sparta was not the only American faction with it's eyes on Myceane.
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*The Lion's Gate in Myceane was actually built after 1600 BCE but I mistakenly made reference to it earlier so I'm supposing that it likely wasn't the first Lion symbol to adorn that gate.
The War with Athens
The news coming out of Athens was alarming for Prince Electryon and the nobles of the city. An army of men clad in leather and chains, many of them covered in tattoos, had taken over Athens and was pushing towards the city. The few that escaped their grasp told wild tales of the horrors these men inflicted. Even compared to the Spartans, this New America seemed untamed and cruel beyond measure.
If the nobles were alarmed, Fredrick Chard was terrified. images of a horde of Neo-Nazi bikers haunted his dreams for days. The Spartans had seemed like a bad joke to him, but he had heard stories of what some Neo-Nazi biker gangs had done during the days after the Event. Massacring entire groups, enslaving women and children, dragging men behind the bikes as the drove across the rocky ground. And that was just the tamer stuff. If this 'New America' took Mycenae, it be a massacre and he would probably suffer greatly before they killed him. Chard spent the next few days working from sun up to sun down trying to get as many crossbows and bolts made as he could before the bikers arrived. At one point even collapsing at the forge from exhaustion.
New America came to Mycenae with an army that was barely more than an organized mob. With various warbands of both Uptimers and native Athenians assaulting the walls with little coordination. This made repealing the early attacks easy. But then the attacks slowed down, the enemy retreating to hide behind a nearby mountain.
Then, almost a week later they pushed the attack, a mob of hundreds approaching the city. At the center of the mob was a wagon. The wagon was pulled by four oxen, covered in scrap armor and was bristling with guns.
The Bikers and Athenians hurled crude explosives made of glass or clay at the walls while the wagon parked itself in front of the walls, firing upon the wall's defenders while sharpshooters hidden in the woods took aim at anyone armed with a gun.
Panicked, Chard ordered the cannon to open fire. The first shot missed it's target, though it's cannon ball killed and injured several of the bikers. The next shot hit it's target dead on. Smashing through one of the portholes on the wagon, killing everyone inside. Unknown to Mycenae at the time, one of the men inside was the leader of this attack force. The destruction of the wagon, combined with the loss of their main general and a dangerously low amount of ammo and explosives send the Nazis into a panic, causing a mass retreat. They had inflicted a blood toll on Myceane, killing hundreds through explosives and small arms fire in a very short amount of time, but the city remained out of their hands.
Chard was said to have collapsed at the sight of the retreating bikers. It was only then he noticed the large bulge near the front of his cannon. The weapon had been improperly made and one more shot would have caused it explode. But it didn't matter now. They had won.
Diana and Fredrick Chard were paraded around the city as heroes, honored by the Anax and his son as saviors of the city twice over.
Chard and the Three Principles
With New America in full retreat and Spartans, dealing with local revolts and a full scale civil war. Myceane went to work security the loyalty (through either promises of protection or force) of as many villages as they could. The Spartans proved hard to press back but Mycenae was able to push New America back all the way past the holy village of Isthmia. Using the narrow land bridge of Corinth as bottleneck to keep the Neo-Nazis contained. Mycenae found itself surrounded but it had proven it was strong enough to deal with it's neighbors.
With things beginning to normalize, The Anax went to work fullfilling his end of the deal made with the Chard siblings. Ordering the construction of two large manors built not far from the city. This would prove to be the last act of the aging Anex. Dying the day after ground was broken. the new Anax, Electryon promised both of them he would honor the agreement made by his father.
For Diana, this was basically the limit of her ambitions. She had gotten everything she wanted. While she didn't withdraw from public life, taking an active role in the construction of both her and her brother's new manors, and making repeated efforts to teach the local children baseball. She did take a far less active role in politics, only coming to court when summoned by the Anax. She had gotten all she wanted and saw no need to press for more. After a year she even took a husband, one of the laborers who helped build her manor. She even adopted his young son as her own.
Fredrick however wasn't content to spend the rest of his days simply enjoying the relative luxury of his new home. He had grown ambitious, and all the praise he had earned in the days following the battles of Myceane had given him a great deal of confidence. He had saved the city, but he was now convinced he could do so much more for it.
At first he started with simple suggestions. Like founding various schools to help teach the next generation everything from English to how to run the forge so he had someone who could take over after he was gone. Or improved dock designs to improve trade with the outside world.
At first, the Anax welcomed these suggestions. Electryon realized Fredrick was a vain egotistical man who was grabbing for power but he had proven his usefulness and his ideas seemed sound. For a time he even enjoyed his presence at court. The two talking for hours on everything from military reforms to novels Fredrick had introduced to the royal court.
This friendship only lasted a few years as Fredrick's ambition and pride began to grow. In his eyes he was singled handedly responsible for saving the city. And to make matters worse for the Anax, people believed him.
While many did give credit to the Anax, his warriors, and the gods for their victory. Many of the elite within the city gave credit to Fredrick's weapons for turning back the hordes. While he wasn't a warrior, to many he had a warrior's spirit. While many of the more traditionally minded nobles within the city hated how cowardly his weapons where, it was hard for even them to deny their effectiveness.
As Fredrick's ambition and influence grew. He began to suggest bigger reforms. Such as a complete shake up of the military and a set tax code. Electryon took what he thought worked and did what he could to ignore the rest while keeping Fredrick. But it wasn't enough
Fredrick began planning for a grand overhaul. A reformation that would turn the kingdom of Mycenae into a proper nation state. At the center of this overhaul was what he called the Three Principles of the Mycenaean People, Based (loosely) on the reforms of Sun Yat-sen, one of the major leaders of uptime China, the Three Principles (Or the Chard Doctrine as some of his supporters called it) were Civic Nationalism, Governance and Welfare.
Fredrick wanted to use these principles to do away with the quasi-feudal structure of Mycenae's rule over the surrounding towns and villages and permanently tie them all to one state. use new schools to give the next generation loyalty to not just their families and homes, but to an actual nation.
The real sticking point was his proposed government reforms. Chard had no intention of any sort of coup (The Anax was aware of this, the main reason he had not risked killing Fredrick) or creating a democratic state but he did want a more robust government that had an illusion of involved from the people. To accomplish this he proposed a formal council be appointed to lead the towns instead of just the town elders or whatever headman or under-king ruled there. He also proposed a full time advisory council to the Anax to help run affairs in Mycenae.
The Anax saw these councils as a threat to his power. Fredrick had a considerable amount of influence but he had bitten off more than he could chew, as his lacked the strength to force the Anax to even consider turning the Three Principles into policy. But Fredrick had just enough power that the Anax couldn't completely ignore them. The Three principles controversy would haunt the court for years as the Anax and his supporters waged political war with Fredrick and his supporters.
Finally the Anax saw a way to end the debate. But it was risky. Victory would get Fredrick out of his hair but defeat might leave him a virtual puppet of the man. It came down to a matter of trade.
Trade and Reunions
Mycenae had a problem since the Minoans failed invasion of Sparta, trade. The Minoans had been doing their best to strangle trade with Greece in an effort to weaken it for future invasions. To further complicate things, since their failed invasion, the Bikers in New America had taken to piracy and smuggling to strengthen their economy. With Mycenaean ships being a common target for slave raids. This largely limited Myceane's to trade with Arcadia, the People's Union and to a limited extent, tribes in Italy. There was some limited trade with the Minoans but these were most independent, small time traders with limited (and expensive) goods.
Myceane's economy was export based and while Fredrick's reforms had done much to limit the damage, they were still hurting. They needed trade with the east restored to normal levels. They lacked the trees to make a navy strong enough to content with Athens, which left them with one real option. Restore trade with Crete.
Electryon gave Fredrick Chard a task. Go to Knossos and restore trade. If he was able to manage that, the Anax would agree to the bulk of his reforms. He failed, he would have to drop the Three Principles.
Despite his sister urging him to turn down the challenge, Fredrick accepted eagerly. Believing this would be his crowning achievement.
He set sail in the summer of 15 A.E. Arriving in Knossos a week later. After some negotiations at the docks he was able to negotiate a chance to meet with Anax Rachel, his old student.
A few of those gathered at the time would describe the meeting between the two as symbolic of the era. As Fredrick had stubbornly maintained his old attire. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a polio shirt, faded and patched in places but otherwise looking like he had just arrived from 2019. Meanwhile Rachel Wilson was dressed in her modified version of Minoan royal attire. Her legs hidden by a massive dress, strings of pearls decorating her hair.
Fredrick had hoped his past tensions with his former students wouldn't overshadow the negotiations, and to his surprise, they didn't. While Wilson was no fan of Chard still, in truth she barely even remembered that they had departed on bad terms. That changed little though. While some in Knossos wanted to expand trade with Mycenae. The profit wouldn't be big enough to risk disrupting the Anax's plans. Rachel refused his terms, as did every trader and noble he talked to.
Fredrick left Knossos in utter defeat. His rise to power and glory had ended in a single week of desperate negotiations. His ego was shattered and broken. When he returned to Mycenae he gave his report to Electryon and retreated to his Manor, becoming a recluse for months.
This was actually a problem for the Anax. He had come to dislike Fredrick and was glad to see him humbled, but he was still useful. After letting him sulk for a few months, the Anax invited him back to the court, on the condition he remember his place. Fredrick accepted. His pride recovering somewhat after a while. He was still incredibly rich after all
Electryon would end up implementing a small number of Fredrick's proposed reforms. Particularly those focused on schools. The idea of Mycenaean nation identity did have it's appeal after all.
Mycenae in 20 A.E
Mycenae today is a nation of walls. Both those it built and those imposed by it's situation. almost every town of note, particularly those near the borders, are heavily fortified, their guards equipped with the bulk of the Kingdom's limited supply of guns and cannons. The Anax has taken numerous steps to ensure no more invasions will reach the walls of his city. No one will conquer Mycenae as long as he lives.
The reverse is also true. Due to the limited access to Tucson and trade in general, Mycenae doesn't have the economic strength or technology to consider any serious military efforts against it's neighbors. It's stockpile of firearms and cannons remains limited, though the crossbow has in many ways become the main weapon of their army. Though traditions still balk at it and it's ability to let the common people kill great warriors.
Efforts have been made to combat the pirates and slavers of New America but this efforts have been of only limited success. To trade with Mycenae these days means either a long trip to their Northern shores or a risky journey to their southern ports. Few consider it worth the effort, largely forcing the city to depend on overland trade for the time being
The Chard Siblings aren't the only Americans in the city, they are by far the richest. Their combined wealth eclipsing that of the Anax. While they don't hold the same amount of power and influence they did in their early days, they do still enjoy a fair degree of popularity among the people of Mycenae. Diana in particular has become a beloved figure, particularly among the children and laborers.
Mycenae hasn't prospered since the Event like the Hyksos in Egypt, but they haven't suffered like the Hittites either. For better or worse, they have simply endured the chaos of the past twenty years. And for their Anax, that is enough.
"Survival in those days required many things, luck, preparation, allies, knowledge, but above all else, adaptation. For many it was not defeat that killed them, but their failure to learn from said defeat." - Elicia Baxter, 'The World Since the Event'
"Athenian Nazis. I hate Athenian Nazis." -Overheard on the streets of Troy.
New America (Athens) began as a state determined to conquer Greece and forge a nation based on white nationalist ideas of an American state. However a series of defeat quickly saw them surrounded on all sides by enemies. Realizing it's desperate situation, the leadership adapted. Turning Athens and the surrounding countryside into a giant smuggler's den, ferrying cargo between Mycenean Greece and Anatolia despite the Minoan embargo. Giving them a complex relationship with the rest of the Mediterranean as they are both loathed and used by numerous states and statelets.
Brutal Beginnings.
The core of New America (Athens) was formed from numerous biker gangs that had been within Tucson at the time of the Event. Elements of groups such as the Hell's Angels, Sadistic Souls, Sons of Silence, and others with names too crude to repeat. These Outlaw motorcycle gangs were often dominated by Neo-Nazis and other far right elements.
In the days following the Event, many gangs and other hate groups took advantage of the chaos to settle old grudges, or finally enact their long held plans for racial violence. Raiding, terrorizing and murdering across Tucson and the surrounding countryside. Scenes of leather clad men flying the Nazi banner from the back of their motorcycle while they chased down defenseless families were not uncommon. They were thankfully short lived as most of the gangs had become too overconfident for their own good and quickly ran through their supplies of ammo and gas. And as those who remained in Tucson itself became more and more heavily armed, these various gangs were forced to retreat into Anatolia. Their motorcycles abandoned, stripped for parts or simply left to rust.
For a time they were able to live well, raiding other survivor groups for food, weapons and even slaves. But as the less armed survivor groups began to either be wiped out or merge with more heavily armed groups, these biker gangs and other Neo-Nazi groups quickly found their fortunes rapidly reversing as they found themselves a common victim of raids and other attacks as other survivors found this more palatable then simply raiding a group of desperate families.
Realizing how desperate their situation was become, a number of biker gangs, neo nazi groups, and escape prison gangs got together and formed one united group, The Chosen Few. Despite the name the group had no relationship with the one-percenter pre-Event gang of the same name.
The group quickly became dominated by four men. Dariel Patrick, Iker Burks, John Saunders, and Kendall Patel. The four had known each other before the event. Patel having spend time in prison with Saunders and Burks, while being life long friends with Patrick. The Four quickly came to believe that the Event was there chance create a new nation, one based on their own strange combination of neo-paganism, Nazi ideology and American values.
For time this amounted to little more than words and proclamations. After enslaving and taken over a village along the Aegean coast, The Chosen Few didn't do much for years. Shunned and hated by most other survivor communities, only those who where desperate or had no where else to ever joined or traded with them. Even still there good fishing and reputation as a haven for criminals did allow their ranks to swell by the dozens. Despite those numbers, the ruling Tetrarchy found themselves unsure of their long term plans as they realized it would be impossible to expand where they were now without survivors attacking them.
After years of simply surviving on the coast, things finally changed when word reached the village of the invasion of Crete and various plans for the invasion of Greece. At first the ruling Tetrarchy was divided, as Patel and Patrick were skeptical of the idea. As they were unsure of the Mycenaean ethnicity and didn't think they had the resources required for any 'needed' ethnic cleansing and enslavement. Eventually though the other two convinced them this was the best chance of enacting their dream.
Using a combination of downtime, homemade, and stolen boats; the Chosen Few set off for Athens in Early 4 A.E
The Arrival in Athens
Bronze Age Athens was largely lost to Uptime history, it's ruins buried beneath those of the Classical period. Thus even the most informed uptime conqueror would have had little knowledge of what to except.
Athens (Not what the locals called the city before the Event but by 20 A.E, Athens had replaced it's pre-Event name for most even among the locals) was a minor power in 1600 BCE. The Acropolis was the fortified residence of it's King and warrior nobility. Though even by the standards of early Mycenean Greece the walls and Megaron were primitive and unimpressive. Athens main strength was that of it's nearby ports in what would have become Piraeus. These ports allowed for easy trade with the various city-states of Crete, Anatolia, and even Egypt.
The Chosen Few's arrival upon Athen's shores was almost expected by it's Anax . In contrast to most of his contemporaries, he did nothing to resist them when their boats were spotted. Even having a honor guard greet them. The Anax knew from the tales of what happened to Knossos and other cities. The Anax hoped that if he cooperated his people would be spared and he would be allowed to stay in power.
The people who arrived were not what the Anax had expected, with many of them were still clad in leather and covered in tattoos. Some covered in so many that to the Mycenaeans they seemed more mythical monsters then men.
The Chosen Few were surprised but overjoyed to find their arrival meet with supplication instead of defiance. The group quickly took control of the Acropolis, forcing the Anax to surrender to them formally but largely leaving the people to their own devices for the moment. The four rulers, particularly Patel and Burks, Quickly become enthralled by the Mycenean's warrior culture. Viewing it as a 'pure' culture, uncorrupted by what they saw as classical Greece's weakness (Philosophy and Democracy mainly). The four leaders became convinced that the Myceneans could help them usher in a new, 'pure' America.
The four convinced the Anax that they could create an empire that span the entire Mycenaean world and put him, his nobles and the priests to work getting the people of Athens prepared for a glorious conquest.
The issue the four had was keeping their own people in line until then. The four had come to power through brutal displays of power mixed with backroom deals and bargains. Their hold on The Chosen Few was not absolute. And the group of former bikers, convicts and gang members was becoming increasingly rowdy. Assaults, thefts and murders, particularly towards the native Mycenaeans became more and more common common. The four knew that if the people of Athens turned hostile towards them, any dreams of a New America would die. After a few particularly violent nights of partying. The four managed to beat enough heads in to keep control. The four reached an understanding with the Anax. If they kept the peace, the Myceneans would look the other way if a few daughters were assaulted, and a few sons simply never returned.
On July 4th, 4 A.E, New America was declared in a joint ceremony by the four leaders and the Anax. An American flag flown over the Acropolis, the stars replaced by a swastika. This declaration in truth changed very little. The day to day running of Athens remained the same and few outside of the city have ever acknowledged it's name. Most referring to simply as Athens or some insulting nickname like the Bronze Reich.
New America lacked much in the way of firearms knowledge so their weaponry was largely limited to Pre-Event guns and a few crossbows. But they were able to create a number of explosives and arm and armor a wagon, The Oxen-Panzer as they called it.
After months of filling the Myceaneans and their own men up with visions of conquest and glory, Patel set off at the head of his vast but wild army, heading towards Mycenae with a smile upon his lips, convinced this was the beginning of his glorious destiny.
He would never return.
Defeat, Encirclement, and Adaptation.
The attack on Myceane was a disaster. Killing Patel, many of their more experienced warriors (Both American and Athenian) and perhaps most damaging of all, consuming a great deal of their remaining stockpile of weapons and ammo.
A follow up push to the north proved equally disastrous as they ran into the still forming People's Union. Despite the Union's population having their own struggles with the native population and less experience with firearms, New America found itself frequently running out of ammo, allowing the Union's militias to make quick work of them. John Saunders would be killed by a sniper's bullet during the retreat back south.
The two remaining members of the original four, Burks and Patrick, quickly entered into a Triumvirate power sharing agreement with the Anax of Athens, largely to avoid a possible coup by the Mycenaeans of the city. still the situation was bleak. With Mycenae to the west and the People's Union to the north, New America was completely boxed in.
Their ammo was near gone, forcing Burks to make the painful and risky decision to confiscate the weapons of all except his most trusted lieutenants. Only exhaustion and support from the Anax preventing his actions from sparking a full riot.
While a small, crude forge had been set up, New America was completely lacking in black powder and general knowledge of gunmaking. They could make crossbows, but little else.
Burks, Patrick and the Anax feared an attack from their neighbors and begin looking into a return expedition to gather supplies and information, but they quickly ran into another problem, the Minoans.
Anax Rachel had originally envisioned her conquest of Crete being a stepping stone to a much grander conquest of Mycenaean Greece, but struggles with the Spartans had quickly put a stop to that, though she and the Minoan leadership were slow to give up on the idea. And the idea of any of the factions on the mainland of Greece becoming powerful was concerning. So Minoans enacted a de-facto blockade over much of the mainland. Ensuring the only trade that could happen was controlled by them, refusing or sinking any ship from a faction they didn't like.
While the primitive nature of ships at the time did limit the effectiveness, the Minoans already standing Thalassocracy made it pretty easy to implement. Minoan trade was hampered some, but they made it for with new trade routes to the survivor states along the coast of Anatolia.
After the first few ships they sent out where turned away. Burks hit upon idea. If they were struggling, so was everyone else in Greece. And while Greece wanted a great deal from Tucson, surely there was plenty Greece could offer those who stayed in Anatolia. Things like crops, metal, livestock, and as Burks later discovered, slaves.
Slavery since the Event
Slavery began very quickly after the Event, with armed groups of survivors forcing other, less armed, groups of survivors to do work for them in the days following the Event. This quickly became eclipsed by the far more common act of uptime Tucsonians enslaving downtime natives.
Early slavery often amounted to starved and desperate survivors ordering locals to collect the harvest at gun point. Abuses were rampant during the early days, with many of the uptimers taking advantage of their newfound power over people they considered to be little more than savages. Many others were simply shot after the first harvest, as the uptimers couldn't or simply didn't want to share their food.
Over time, most states as they were taking shape quickly outlawed slavery as disgust with the practice began to grow. For some this was an honest attempt at integration, for others this amounted to little more to a change of paint with their situation remaining functional identical. Even in those states and organizations that were honest in their intention to free the natives of Anatolia, many individuals and organizations kept many natives in chains.
There were a number of reasons for this but the two biggest were farming and mining. While much of the knowledge for those two vital occupations had survived, the tech had not. There were no combine harvesters, there were no industrial mines, there were just sickles and shovels. Farming in particular had become a grueling, backbreaking affair that wrecked havoc on the bodies of farmers. For the people of 1600 BCE this was nothing new but for most Americans it was one of the most drastic changes caused by the Event. For many the prospect seemed like little more than working one's self to death just for a bit of bread. People were desperate to get away from farming, entire expedition's (Such as Rachel Wilson's) had been sparked by people's fear of the idea of being a farmer for the rest of their life. For many people the solution seemed obvious, get the locals to do the job for them, after all they were used to it. Slave farms appeared in almost every country formed since the event, from a couple of enslaved farm hands to massive farms worked by hundreds of slaves in places like Hattusa, Globe and Troy. These farms would frequently see slave revolts and mass escapes due to harsh conditions, with the various factions unable to chase after these slaves without sparking all out war with their neighbors.
This need for slaves created a market that Athens was all to happy to supply.
Athens: The Smuggler's Den
Smuggling operations began small. Athenian boats with mixed crews running a route between Sparta and the Arizona National Guard. Supplying Sparta with scrap and weapons while sending food back to the starving national guard. Taking a small cut of scrap and black powder. Food shortages along the Anatolian gave them a larger market as desperation made people willing to overlook who was bringing them their food and livestock. Slavery began entering the mix when a few Spartans asked an Athenian smuggling ship to help them deal with a group of particularly unruly helots. The Spartans just wanted them dead. The Athenians had other ideas, selling the helots to a struggling farming venture near new Washington. In exchange the venture agreed to help them build a cannon and some small arms. Afterwards, Burks ordered the smugglers to begin making slaves a regular part of their operations. Most smugglers simply kidnapped people from other countries such as Arcadia and the People's Union. A few others have established regular deals with the Spartans to help them 'offload' helots, while a few simply take them from the local population of Athens, either kidnapping them or simply buying them off their (often desperate) families.
News of Athen's involvement in the slave trade became well known around the Mediterranean and most governments were quick to condemn them in public, but that did little to slow operations. In truth slaves made up only part of their operations. Their most common source of revenue was scrap from Tucson. Though the other nations of occupying Greece would never admit it, sometimes Athens was the best way to get anything more advanced then iron and black powder.
Profits from smuggling would allow Athens to build itself up, in particular it gave New America the means to begin rearming themselves. While black powder muskets and bronze cannons were a step down from the firearms of the old world, they did allow New America to properly defend itself, ensuring that Mycenae or the People's Union would have a tough time trying to conquer them.
Once the extent of smuggling became clear the Minoans stepped up their operations. Creating an undeclared war between the Minoan Kingdom and Athenian Smugglers. This war sparked an arms race in naval design as the two powers built stronger and faster boats, trying to outrun and overpower each other.
Smuggler's life became one of of high risks and high reward. Life on board vessels was brutal, particularly for those who focused on slaves. Even regular trips run the risk of being sunk by Minoan vessels or hung as pirates by less friendly Anatolian nations.
While smuggling had made the men and women of The Chosen Few wealthy by post Event standards, it had also pretty much dashed any dreams of New America forging any sort of empire, as almost all of Athen's limited military strength is focused on the smugglers and defense of Athens itself. The smugglers themselves are staunchly against any aggressive wars in Greece itself as that would disrupt establish routes. Burks in particular has made efforts to reign in the Smugglers but the early laxity shown them combined with the vital part they play in the Athenian economy has made it all but impossible for any of the three ruling leaders of Athens to properly control them.
The aging Burks and Patrick have come to terms with the fact that unless something drastic changes, Athens and the land surrounding it is all their New America will ever be.
A Realm Divided
For the average Mycenaean, Athens of 20 A.E is not all that different from what it was a generation earlier. The Roads are better, the the walls are higher, the priests preach a bit differently and the warrior caste is a bit more violent than before. But for most Athenians, as long as they don't cross paths with an Americans; their lives, for better or worse, are much the same as they had been in the city for generations.
Most Americans and those of American descent have involved themselves in the smuggling business or the military. Making themselves rich or shaping the warriors of the city to their brutal ways. Both basically free to do what they want provide they don't cross certain lines, in which case they're dealt with, sometimes privately, sometimes incredibly publicly.
There is a growing sense of frustration among the non-smugglers, who have grown bored with brutalizing peasants and fighting of border raids. Many call for renewed conquest if only so they can have one last good fight, only to be overruled time and again.
Burks, Patrick and the Anax keep the peace, but they're getting older and weaker. Many wonder if they have the strength to fight off a challenge to their authority, and what will happen if they don't.
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Author's Note: Apologies for taking so long between updates, again. I'm back at school now and that seems like when I'm most motivated to write this so hopefully more updates will come quicker.
