My friends! Gather 'round the fire and prepare to hear an epic tale that spans the entirety of human history! I'm in the middle of chronicling my progress in Civ V's Gods & Kings expansion, with a new entry every Wednesday. Last week, I started a new game as Sweden. This week, my Swedish civilization marches into the Middle Ages as the most technologically advanced nation in the world. But threats to the glorious empire wait around every corner... so read on to see legends unfold!




The War of Three Banners

The fifth century is off to a pretty good start. My economy is doing great, but my Happiness is close to going negative. I start researching Physics so I can build the Norte Dame wonder, which will give me a big bonus to Happiness and Faith.

430 A.D.: The first mint is constructed in Stockholm, printing coins bearing the visage of the first High King of Sweden.

490 A.D.: Denmark requests a gift of luxury resources from Sweden. They happily accept, having much to spare.

I made a similar deal like this with Austria. It might seem like charity, but as you'll recall, I get Great Person points for every civ I declare friendship with, so I'm investing in keeping the Danes on good terms.

550 A.D.: The progressive Swedish government presses their monarch to sign the Book of Sovereignty. It puts into effect a system of collective rule, giving more power to Lord-Governors on the local level and taking power away from the High King. Rebels in favor of a strong monarch are quickly put down by the combined might of the lords of the West, the Vale, and the Storm. The short, one-sided conflict comes to be known as the War of Three Banners.

This policy gives me a free settler, and lets me train settlers faster. It also completes the Liberty policy tree, which grants me a free Great Person. I choose a Great Scientist.

And no, Civ doesn't have a rebellion mechanic. But it adds flavor to the narrative to imply struggles within my borders, so I've given myself permission to do so.

565 A.D.: A Swedish Great Scientist founds the Academy of Stockholm.

Great Scientists can be expended for a one-time, huge boost to Science, or they can build an Academy that gives you ongoing Science. The latter is clearly the better long-term option, especially this early in the game.




Turmoil in the Stormlands and the rise of Awesomeness

610 A.D.: Uppsala, long the unofficial capital of the Northern Stormlands, grows into a full city. Located on the Bay of Storms east of Sigtuna, a road immediately begins construction to link it to the other great cities of Sweden. The divide between Northern Stormlanders, under Swedish rule, and Southern Stormlanders, under Danish rule, grows more pronounced. The Stormlands enter a period of feudal war between lords supporting Sweden, those supporting Denmark, and those supporting Stormlander independence. Both the Swedish and Danish nobility discreetly support the combatants, but neither side goes as far as to openly declare war or send their own men to the front.

670 A.D.: Islam is founded somewhere across the sea.

Yikes, what is that? Four religions? Five? Only seven can be founded per game, so I'm running out of time.

715 A.D.: Swedish scientists at the Academy of Stockholm observe and catalog the laws of physics.

Aww yeah, in your face, Newton! What are we, like, 900 years ahead of the curve here? Next I turn my tech path toward Education, so I can start making research agreements with some of the less-enlightened people of the world.

775 A.D.: Germany founds Judaism, and immediately declares holy war on Austria. The same year, a Great Prophet begins preaching of Awesome things in Stockholm...

WOW, right under the wire! My new religion, Awesomeness, ended up being the seventh of seven possible world religions. If I'd waited any longer, I would have had to watch helplessly as missionaries from other civs spread their faiths, with nothing I could really do about it. Now I can train Missionaries to convert others to the ways of Awesomeness, and eventually, Inquisitors to burn any less-than-Awesome heretics from my lands.

Since I am last, I get last pick of the available founder beliefs. I choose Tithing, which will give me gold for every follower of Awesomeness in the world, and Religious Community, which gives me a production bonus. Wouldn't have been my first choices, but not too bad for the bottom of the barrel.



A Celtic cold war

835 A.D.: Large Celtic warbands are spotted on the border near Uppsala. The High King dispatches forces there to defend, knowing that the warring Stormland lords cannot hold the border while civil war continues between them.

For the duration of this entire game, the Celts have kind of been that creepy neighbor who you see coming and going, but who doesn't talk to anyone, and no one really knows what he does for a living. They were the first to found a religion, but they haven't made any attempts to spread it. They move their troops around near the Swedish and Danish borders, but they've never declared war. They kind of have a whole subcontinent to themselves up there, and no one really has any idea what goes on in it. Luckily, they don't seem to have any units that match my tech level, so any invasion would be quickly thwarted.

860 A.D.: The First German Crusade ends, dashed against the walls of mighty Vienna. Still standing as the largest and most glorious city on the continent, it becomes known as The Unbreakable City.

890 A.D.: With the threat of Celtic raiders still looming, a Swedish Great General takes up residence at Uppsala and builds the Storm Wall to keep the city safe.

Meanwhile, Sweden's economy struggles.

960 A.D.: Sweden's regional Lord-Governors implement a system of Civil Service, offsetting much of the economic downturn of the late 9th and early 10th Centuries.

This gives a nice boost to all of my farms that have access to fresh water, which includes all of the ones built along the Snowrun River in the Stockholm Valley.



All hail the Awesome Pope!

1000 A.D.: The High Middle Ages dawn as the massive Cathedral of Awesomeness is completed in Stockholm, creating a rallying point and symbol of unity for followers of the quickly-spreading faith.

Completing Notre Dame gives me huge Happiness and Faith bonuses, which will allow me to begin settling even more cities. I want to expand as much as possible before the Renaissance hits, so I can churn out huge numbers of my unique units and bring about an era of military supremacy.

1030 A.D.: The Second German Crusade against Austria, the third major conflict between the two nations, begins. Nobody is surprised.

1060 A.D.: Swedish Lord-Governors begin to encourage commerce between cities, ending the 170-year period of financial instability for Sweden and making it a dominant economic power on the continent in just a few short years.

I had planned to pick up the Patronage policy tree and start courting city-states at this point, but the fact that my economy was still in the red despite my best efforts made Commerce the clear best choice. This represents a major change in strategy... I may look at going for a Science victory rather than a Diplomatic one. The map is a pretty big factor. I've noticed that Continents Plus puts almost all of the city-states on their own little islands, making it very impractical to befriend them in the early game. And even when you do find them, you need a pretty dominant navy (or a massive, massive treasury) to hang onto them.

1070 A.D.: Construction is completed on a massive palace for the first Awesomeness Pope to live in. He brings new perspectives and insights into the faith.

My wonder count climbs! I built the Hagia Sophia, which gives me a free Great Prophet. Your second Great Prophet enhances your existing religion, adding new beliefs and, thus, new bonuses. Again, I don't have much to pick from being the latest comer to the world religion arena. I pick up Choral Music, which gives me extra culture from temples, and Religious Texts, which causes my religion to spread faster (a bonus that doubles when I research the printing press.)

Germany issues a public denouncement of Greece. Later in the year, Denmark pledges to aid Austria, whose walls are currently beset by German crusaders. The Swedes elect not to send troops, but issue a denouncement of Germany for their continued aggression.

I'll be honest, I get denounced a lot in Civ... but for some reason it never occurred to me to denounce offensively until now. What this will basically do is make it less likely for the other AI leaders who like me to make any sort of agreements with Germany. It also ruins our chances of ever becoming friends pretty blatantly, but I'm not so worried about that.

Germany denounces Sweden in turn. As if that means anything to anyone.



We don't need no education... but it helps, I will give you that

1120 A.D.: Sweden becomes the first nation to develop a formal education system. It is led mostly by monks of Awesomeness, who later that year begin traveling across Sweden to spread the Awesome word to the outlying Westerland and Stormland domains.

Since I'm getting tithes from every follower, I don't want to wait around for Awesomeness to spread on its own. I'll start with my own cities, then move on to Denmark and Austria. Converting Vienna, still the largest city in the world by population, would be a huge coup. In the meantime, I'm turning my tech path toward guilds to supplement my huge religious income with additional secular income.

1150 A.D.: The first Swedish war fleet is launched from Helsinki.

Naval units haven't been much of a priority in this game so far, but it would be just a little too easy for the Celts to raid my coast as-is. And besides, before we know it, we'll start making contact with whatever civs lie across the ocean.

Awesomeness becomes the majority religion in bustling Sigtuna (second only to Vienna in terms of population) and in Uppsala, where most of the Northern Stormlander lords have adopted it. Long in danger of falling to Celtic Christianity, the Awesome Pope expresses his pleasure that they have chosen the true, Swedish religion. The Westerlands remain largely unswayed by the Church of Awesome.

1190 A.D.: Nine Great Guilds rise to power in the Stockholm Valley, and are granted large freedoms to manage coin and trade by the Lord Governors. Sweden's economy booms, and the royal treasuries overflow with more gold than anyone knows what to do with.

1220 A.D.: The burgeoning Swedish navy wipes out a troublesome band of corsairs off the coast of Austria.

The University of Sigtuna becomes the first institution of its kind in the known world.



War brews in the Age of Discovery

1225 A.D.: The Danes and the Swedes enter into a research agreement.

I was waiting for this very turn for Denmark to have enough gold to make this work, and they beat me to the proposal. Essentially, we both pay a large sum of gold (which poofs into nothingness) and get a huge, mutual science bonus after several turns have passed. Since I'm currently pretty rich, I'm going to try to make as many of these agreements as I can.

1260 A.D.: A professor at the University of Sigtuna invents the compass. Swedish ships use the new device to travel the seas in ways never before possible. A Swedish Golden Age begins.

My economy was already booming. Now, the money coming in is INSANE. I start buying buildings that will increase my production capabilities in every city, and head straight for Astronomy, which will let me cross ocean tiles. In terms of the historical Norsemen, I'm already about 250 years behind in discovering the New World.

1290 A.D.: Greece seeks allies to put down the warmongering German zealots, whose crusaders continue to harass Austria. Sweden agrees, provided they are given time to prepare.

Amazingly, I made it 5300 years without ever being at war with a major power. Granted, calling Germany a "major power" at this point is fairly generous. They've made some impressive comebacks over the centuries, but against the superpower that is Greece, they have just shy of a prayer. Especially with how many troops they've lost trying to take Vienna.

1300 A.D.: The unofficial start of the Late Middle Ages and the Swedish Age of Discovery. Aided by compasses, Swedish longships will encounter the island city-states of Ragusa, Rio De Janeiro, Venice, Florence, Jerusalem, and Monaco before their Golden Age ends in 1325.

By this time, Awesomeness has also become the majority religion all across Sweden, and even among some of the Southern Stormlander lords living under Danish rule.

Summer, 1345 A.D.: The Continental Alliance of Sweden, Denmark, Greece, and Austria declare war on Germany. Only the Celts remain, as ever, neutral.

Shortly thereafter, students at the University of Sigtuna develop telescopes and pioneer Astronomy, launching Sweden into the Renaissance.



Renaissance Men

I'm the first to get here, and my lead in total technologies has grown. Sweden is the academic center of the world, which is just the way I like it. I start research on the Printing Press, which will speed the spread of Awesomeness.

Winter, 1345 A.D.: Swedish troops and siege weaponry head South through the treacherous passes of the Snowruns for German-held Salzburg. It is the first time in history that Swedish troops have marched on foreign soil.

The Guildmasters of Sigtuna work with the Swedish Lord-Governors to establish a spy network, setting their sights on the German capital of Hamburg.

The Celtic Chronicle ended before spies really became relevant, so this is my first time really trying the ins-and-outs of Gods & Kings' new espionage mechanic. Spies are not units you move around on a board, but rather a separate window where you can deploy them to any city you've discovered. Putting them in your own cities orders them to guard against foreign spies. Putting them in city-states will increase your influence with that city-state. Stationing them in a foreign city, as I've opted to, allows them to steal technology and intercept AI attack plans.

1360 A.D.: Turku is founded South of Birka, in the sparsely-settled coastal woodlands between Sweden and Austria. The Swedish government offers incentives for settlers in the new territory, and many flock to claim them.

1360 A.D.: Swedish spies report that Germany has nothing of value to steal technologically (surprise surprise), but they do uncover plans to attack the Celts. The Swedes elect to share this information with the enigmatic woodsmen, hoping to bring them into the Continental Alliance. The network delivers the information, then immediately sets up in the Celtic capital of Edinburgh to learn what they can of the long poorly-understood civilization.

The spy network uncovers their Danish counterparts, who have already been in Edinburgh for some time. The two groups elect to work together, and discover that the Celts are, indeed, planning to invade the Northern Stormlands.



The Siege of Salzburg

1380 A.D.: A second town on the Southern frontier, Linköping, is founded to help bridge Turku and the rest of Sweden. Austria grows wary of the new Swedish land claims, arguing that Austrian traders and trappers had occupied those woods for decades.

Summer, 1390 A.D.: Swedish advances in machinery allow them to begin fielding crossbows. The first units trained to use the innovative weapons are those guarding the Northern Stormlands from the threat of Celtic raids.

Swedish forces meet up with Austrian and Danish camps already besieging Salzburg. The generals of the three nations begin outlining plans to overwhelm the German defenses and end the war with minimal losses.

Winter, 1390 A.D.: Awesomeness becomes the majority religion in Turku and the surrounding frontier settlements.

Gathering that they have learned all they can, the Swedish spy network leaves Edinburgh and returns to Stockholm, setting up to prevent the actions of foreign spies in the capital.

Austria unexpectedly signs a peace treaty with Germany and pulls their troops from Salzburg. The remaining attackers are left baffled, but continue the siege along with Greek allies freshly arrived from the South.

1395 A.D.: Greece declares war on the Celts, somewhat unexpectedly. Sweden, having committed much of its strength to fighting Germany, does not follow suit.

Well, I didn't see that coming. It's good for me in any case, though. Whatever plans the Celts had to attack me are now likely done for, as they'll have to contend with the overwhelming might of Greece.



Peace and justice for all

1410 A.D.: Word comes from across the sea that an empire has fallen.

Tired of hearing "word from across the sea," and wanting to cross the sea themselves, the Swedish navy is revolutionized with the introduction of ocean-worthy caravels. Fast, durable, and armed with cutting-edge gunpowder cannons, they set Sweden up as the world's dominant nautical power.

1415 A.D.: Germany offers a large ransom for peace with the Continental Alliance. Sweden’s share, alone, includes all the nation’s remaining gold, an annual tribute to the Swedish crown, and the surrender of resources including spices, cotton, and iron. The Alliance accepts, and Swedish forces withdraw from Salzburg.

Later that year, the Celts offer a declaration of friendship. Despite their being at war with the Greeks, the Swedes accept, hoping to end the conflict and strengthen the Continental Alliance. Austria makes a similar declaration soon after.

Just when it seemed like things were going to settle down again, we've created a stark divide. Greece is not going to be happy with me, nor with the Austrians, for declaring friendship with a civ they are at war with. Germany is almost a non-player at this point, which leaves myself, Austria, Denmark, and the Celts. Greece is way ahead of all of us on an individual level, but I do have a decisive tech lead, and I doubt they could break us if we all stood together.

1425 A.D.: Greece gives into pressure from Austria and Sweden, making peace with the Celts. The Celts take the opportunity to immediately declare war on Germany, sending forces to Salzburg to aid the Danes (who never accepted Germany's peace offering and have still been besieging the city.)

The Swedes found a Chivalric Order of Awesomeness. Under the new code of chivalry, they sign mutual defensive accords with the kings of Denmark and Austria. Greece is excluded from the accord for as long as they continue to oppose accepting the Celts into the Continental Alliance.

Chivalry would allow me to build Knights... except that I still don't have Horses. This whole continent is almost bereft of them. Denmark and Greece each have some, but neither seem willing to trade for them. At least it allows me to set up Defensive Pacts, which will come in handy.

1430 A.D.: Germany successfully sues for peace with the Celts and the Danes.

Later in the year, the Greeks finally declare friendship with the Celts, cementing the five-way Continental Alliance. At the Council of the Five Kings, defensive pacts are agreed upon between all five nations. It is the end of an era of war.



Greek scientific revolution

1440 A.D.: The Greeks and the Celts enter into a research agreement.

Well, they sure patched up that whole war and strife thing quickly. I have to be careful of other civs making research agreements I'm not involved in, as it could lose me my tech lead. And I can't afford to lose that against Greece, since it's currently the only thing I'm beating them at.

1450 A.D.: The city-state of Monaco pledges fealty to Sweden, in awe of their technological advances.

1460 A.D.: A revolution in Germany deposes the religious aristocracy. The new government exchanges embassies with Sweden, and talks begin on possibly bringing them into the Continental Alliance.

Later that year, a Great Prophet of Awesomeness is born in Stockholm. He will go on to begin converting the Danes to awesomeness.

1470 A.D.: Greece and Austria sign a research agreement.

Okay, this is EXACTLY what I don't want happening. Now Greece will get double the benefits, while each of their research partners will only benefit from one agreement. And I'm benefiting from nothing, having recently emptied my treasuries to invest in science-generating universities for my outlying cities. Conflict with Greece is seeming more and more inevitable if I want any hope of winning this game.

A trade road to Linköping is finally established, linking the Southern frontier to the rest of Sweden.



A whole New World

1485 A.D.: Swedish monks invent the printing press, mainly so they don't have to hand-copy so many freaking manuscripts any more. The Holy Texts of Awesomeness begin to be mass-produced and spread across the land.

The rate at which my religion will spread without me having to do anything now far surpasses any other world religion. This will bring a steady stream of new believers and, more importantly, new tithers. The next order of business is researching gunpowder. My navy already has cannons, but the so-named tech allows me to begin replacing my melee infantry with musketmen.

1490 A.D.: The Great Prophet makes Awesomeness the majority religion in bustling Aarhus, Denmark.

Far across the sea, Swedish explorers come ashore in the New World, encountering the indigenous Romans. They are an advanced society, and followers of Hinduism.

Well, I beat Columbus by two years and missed the real-world Norsemen by almost 500. Still, I am the first Western nation to get here. So that's something.

1495 A.D.: A group of Roman diplomats sets sail on a Swedish ship to establish an embassy in Stockholm. A similar embassy is established in Rome, marking the first formal diplomatic exchange between the West and the East.

1500 A.D.: Swedish scouts liberate a group of captured Austrian settlers that had been captured by forest brigands. The Austrians express their gratitude.

I'm hoping this will start to patch things up with Austria, who still are less than thrilled with me settling cities on their borders.

Awesomeness becomes the majority religion in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.




The rise of reason

1525 A.D.: Sweden and Denmark agree to an open borders treaty, allowing free travel between the Northern and Southern Stormlands.

1535 A.D.: Rationalist thinking takes hold across Sweden, as the entire nation dedicates itself to scientific pursuits.

I've picked up Rationalism, in addition to Commerce, and am totally eschewing Patronage. At this point, a Science victory is looking much, much more viable than Diplomatic. So screw the U.N., we're gonna build spaceships!

1540 A.D.: Missionaries begin spreading Awesomeness to the German capital of Hamburg, which also happens to be the holy city for Judaism. The Germans aren't especially excited about this.

Summer, 1545 A.D.: A Great Scientist in Stockholm heads out for the Westerlands.




I, spy

Winter, 1545 A.D.: Germany denounces the Swedes for their proselytizing. As with all of Germany's denunciations, there are few who actually care.

1550 A.D.: The Great Scientist founds the Academy of Birka.

Academies take up a tile, and at this point I'm using pretty much all of the ones around my first few cities. Birka, in the heart of the Westerlands, is surrounded by Tundra, though. There isn't much you can do with tundra tiles other than build trading posts, so it's the ideal location to plop down Great Person buildings.

1555 A.D.: The Swedes invent smooth-bore infantry firearms, and begin equipping their forces with them immediately. The designs are almost immediately stolen, however, by a spy of unknown origin.

The probability of stealing a technology is based on how much Science a city is producing. I currently have two major cities producing a ton of science -- Stockholm and Sigtuna -- and only one spy to defend. You can't build new spies, either. Every civ gets one on the turn that the first civ enters a new era. I guess it'll be fairly easy to figure out who the culprit is, as they should be the only other civ besides me with musketmen.

Elsewhere, a rigged election in Monaco leads to them withdrawing their support of Sweden.

Man, I am getting demolished in the espionage game here. The trouble is that spies only level up when they succeed at something, and none of mine have yet.

In other news, some civ I haven't met yet beat me to building the Tower of Pisa, which I believe marks the 3rd wonder this game I've had to cancel. I'm turning my tech path toward Chemistry, which will improve my production in all cities and hopefully keep that from happening again.

1560 A.D.: Sweden and Greece sign a research agreement.

I'm uneasy at this, since I don't really want to help Greece get more technologies. But everyone else is too poor at the moment, and it's better they make an agreement with me than anyone else.




The Austrian Inquisition

1585 A.D.: The now majority-Awesomenist Denmark renews war on Germany after hearing of a German inquisition against followers of Awesomeness in Hamburg.

Inquisitors are a Faith unit that remove religions other than the one you founded from your cities. Germany has been using them pretty aggressively to counter my missionaries.

A Swedish Great Prophet preaches his last sermon in the world metropolis of Vienna, and it quickly becomes majority Awesomenist. Massive tithes begin rolling in to the Swedish Church of Awesomeness from the teeming Viennese.

The Austrian Confucian upper class is displeased by this turn of events.

1595 A.D.: The Swedes and the Celts sign an open borders treaty, which would have been unthinkable 100 years ago.

The Austrian nobility denounce Sweden and the Church of Awesomeness, causing a rift in the Continental Alliance.

1610 A.D.: The Viennese institute an inquisition of their own, ridding Vienna of Awesomeness. Missionaries are immediately sent from Sweden to win it back.

1620 A.D.: Scholars at the Academy of Birka master chemistry, leading to huge advances in both the civilian and military sectors.

I can now build cannons, the first gunpowder siege weapons that become available. If a religious war breaks out with Austria, I'm fairly confident I could capture Vienna without much fuss. I'm going for Fertilizer next, which will improve all of my farms that don't have access to fresh water.




The Alliance fractures

1640 A.D.: A new wave of missionaries brings about the Second Awesome Awakening in Vienna, returning it to a majority-Awesomenist city.

To the East, Denmark declares war on Germany, led by a Great General.

1650 A.D.: Salzburg, an originally Austrian city held by Germany for centuries, is captured by the Danes. Germany is once again reduced to its capital of Hamburg.

1655 A.D.: The Danes drop out of the Continental Alliance, citing Austria's grievances with Sweden.

Not. Good. The Danes have a pretty strong military right now, and if they allied with Austria against me, I would be at war with two of the three civs directly bordering me.




Time again to take the field

1660 A.D.: The Celtic royalty, seeking plunder, declares war on Germany and marches for Hamburg. Later that year, they sign simultaneous research agreements with Greece and Austria.

My blood pressure goes up a little with every one of these agreements that happens without my involvement. At least in the case of the Celts, they're so far behind me that it shouldn't matter.

The secrets of machinery are stolen from Sweden by a spy later identified as Greek.

Um... OK. That's annoying, but I already have cannons and muskets, so I'm not super worried about Greece getting crossbows, finally. I'm going to tell Greece to stop spying on me, which will hurt our relations, but also make the rest of the world wary of them if they get caught doing it again. I'm pleased to see that my spy network, though it has yet to stop any spies, is now at least competent enough to identify who is stealing from me.

1680 A.D.: Having failed to capture Hamburg, the Celts ask for aid in a war against Austria. Knowing this would likely erupt into a continental war that would pit them against the Danes as well, the Lord-Governors of Sweden are split. Ultimately, pressure from the Church of Awesomeness leads them to vote in favor of the war, in retribution for the inquisitions against the faithful of Vienna. The Swedes tell the Celts to give them time to prepare.

In preparation for the war, the shiny, new cannons of the Swedish 1st Artillery are rolled out in Sigtuna.

1702 A.D.: The Swedes perfect new techniques for fertilizing crops, marking the beginning of the Swedish Industrial Revolution.

First into a new era for the second time in a row! My tech lead is steadily growing wider. Compared to the Celtic Chronicle, things are just going amazingly well. I'm super rich, my people are mostly happy, and my military is far more advanced than any other on the planet. Tumultuous times are ahead, however: I've pledged to go to war with Austria, and their Danish allies will surely be provoked as well. Only time will tell if Swedish cannons can pierce the Unbreakable City. So check back next week, when the sound of guns will echo across the continent!

James ‘Lycerius’ Moore played a single game of Civilization II off and on for ten years, extending far into a dystopian future that he described as “a hellish nightmare of suffering and devastation”. The story caught fire, spreading from reddit to the specialist games press and national media before returning to reddit as /r/theeternalwar, where fans trade fiction, music, and art.

Last week, I spoke to James about his experience of the game, the rationale behind playing the same campaign for a decade, and what it’s like to have your cool gaming anecdote capture the imaginations of so many people. You can check out our previous coverage of The Eternal War here.

You said in your initial reddit post that the campaign is about ten years old?

Yeah.

Do you know exactly...?

It’s about nine and a half, something like that.

Presumably there must have come a point when you decided that you were just going to keep on going. How did that come about?

Well, I’d played the game far into the future, and there were some issues and I was just curious to see how long I could keep going. There’s this misconception that I’ve played the game non-stop for ten years, that’s not the case - I play it often, but over the years it’s every other day or so.

I play lots of games, do lots of other things, but this game - it just kinda kept going and going. I noticed that, over time, nations were swallowing up other nations and there were these environmental factors and it was just really fascinating to muse on where it was all going. I just wanted to see what the eventual endgame would be. It was for my own edification, I never imagined that so many people would take interest in it.

Was there something specific about the way this campaign went that allowed you to get into the kind of situation you got into?

I imagine that you could start up any Civ II game and do this. The thing is, Civ II was a little bit more balanced than the other games, and you’re able to prolong and enjoy the world around you a little bit more, and in a little bit more detail - for example later games don’t really have global warming. Well, they do, but it’s maybe a single tile that’ll turn to desert instead of four.

In Civ II, things like that had enormous consequences. All of the coasts would flood and farming would be useless, and it happened over and over again - it happened two or three times before I started questioning, well, what would it be like if this kept going on? Eventually all the world’s land - the mountains and tundra - became flooded swampland. It was really neat.


Image: m00nnsplit's 'Celtania Archives' newspaper.

You found yourself in a fascinating situation at the end.

It was just morbid curiosity, you know, and I think that’s why it was so popular with all these other organisations. I think people in general have this morbid curiosity about the world and where it’s going, and I think they saw this and just kind of latched on. You know, it’s by no means an accurate simulation of world affairs or anything like that, it’s just a game roughly based on such things, but I think it really captured a lot of people’s imaginations.

You ended up in a situation with the three superstates, and people immediately said “oh, it's 1984” - this Eternal War thing. How much of that basically came from the mechanics of Civ II?

Oh, almost all of it. As time goes on, in most Civ games - well, Civ II and Civ V, now, that I’ve noticed - over time, throughout history, larger countries will envelop smaller countries until there are a few remaining superpowers. That seems to be a pattern in Civ II and Civ V in my experience, so the longer you play the more likely that outcome is going to be. Whether or not that’s part of the game design - whether they had that in mind, I cannot say - but it’d be pretty neat if that was their intention.

You said that it only maps onto real politics to a very limited extent - but it really has captured people’s imaginations because they see, for example, the story you told about having to shut down democracy. That’s interesting in and of itself. Am I right in saying that the AI factions are both theocracies?

Yeah, I believe so - a fundamentalist type of government.

Would that have been a more practical decision for you as well, that you didn’t take for other reasons?

Some people had argued that that might be the best way to go, but the person that was able to complete it in 58 years was able to do so with the communist government. In fact, the communist government worked out very well for them.

What was the key in the end, to beating it?

A mixture of units - for example, the Howitzer unit. I was primarily throwing tanks at the situation, and people who had a bit more tactical depth as far as the game is concerned were able to amass armies that my economy... well, I was concerned about saving but they just spent the entire treasury on one big push and rebuilt from there.

It’s not a particularly optimistic message, is it?

Yeah, precisely. It really wasn’t my intention to conquer the world, necessarily, but it appeared that this was the only way that peace was going to be a realistic option. There was a glitch I believe when playing on newer operating systems that the AI became much more aggressive and I believe that was what was causing my issue with the Vikings. Because of that it seemed like the only possible solution was total conquest. Were I able to vent that then I would.


Image: GildedDuke's Civ V Eternal War scenario.

The reaction to it has clearly been way and beyond what you were expecting.

No kidding!

What was that like?

It blew my mind. It was only on reddit for two or three hours before I was getting all these calls, seeing it online - it was incredible, absolutely incredible.

People have really taken to it, creatively. Solving the puzzle is one thing - thinking “how do we fix this” - but the fiction and the art, what’s that been like?

It’s a very strange sort of vindication. I’ve been playing this game for ten years. This game was very important to me personally - it had this nostalgic, sentimental value because I’d been playing it for so long. I’d been playing this one game of Civ II since I was in high school and it just grew on me. I had this narrative in my mind about how this world went and I was really content for the longest time just seeing where went. Then to have this happen, to have so many people show interest in something I had so much value and so much time invested in - it just felt really good. It was a really good experience.

Have you played any of the Civ V scenarios people are putting together?

I have not yet. I’ve seen two so far, and I do plan to play them. That in its own right is also great, that someone will do something like that.


You said that you had your own sense of what that world was like.

Yeah, after a certain amount of years of playing this it, I was just like, “wow... I had to do away with democracy”. There were so many things that happened, I couldn’t help it.

Did you document it as you were going, or was it just in your head?

It was just in my head. It was like, well, yeah I’ll return to this cool game I’ve been playing for a while. I just kept on playing, I suppose, and I thought it was pretty neat and I’d share it with reddit - and wow, the response was incredible.

Do you feel like it belongs to that subreddit community now, or are you tempted to do something else with it yourself?

I’m really not sure, but I put it on reddit and people have created art out of it - that’s incredible, and it’s the community’s at that point.

When I play Civ, my civilisations are always modelled after how I would like the world to be. But I’ve also got friends who play these games mathematically. They’re not worried about the connotations of turning to fundamentalism, say.

I’m on the opposite end of that spectrum, I would argue.

In what regard - that you play mathematically?

No, I play... romantically, I suppose.

How much do you feel like you had to break down that romantic approach to Civ to keep surviving beyond a certain point?

I think that, in its own right, was somewhat romantic. The democracy that I’d strived for was becoming a liability and the best course of action was to switch to a communist state. My ultimate intention was to restore democracy when the war was won, but that was romantic and adds to the narrative of the whole thing. Tragically so.


Image: 'Neo-Viking Spec Op', by Gauntes

Turn-based grand strategy is having a bit of a resurgence at the moment. Civ V: Gods and Kings is doing very well, Endless Space is doing very well - do you think there’s untapped potential for narrative in that genre, given your experience?

I would certainly argue that there hasn’t been enough attention in grand strategy games, or at least the ones I’ve played - Civ, GalCiv. I haven’t played Endless Space, that’s the new one, isn’t it?

Yeah. They’ve got an interesting approach to narrative, where their factions are really asymmetrical. You can be regular space dudes, but you can also be omniscient amoeba people that can see the entire map the entire time.

Interesting!

Your Civ story reached the point it got to because of the hard balance of the game. Would imbalance ultimately break that, or does it create better stories?

I think it can go both ways, depending on your interpretation of it - for example, in Civ IV I played as the Holy Roman Empire, built the Apostolic Palace in my capital, was the Pope, was able to set policies to have different Christian countries vote on it. That was great, because I was playing the role of the Vatican and that was a wonderful game, I really enjoyed it even though I was probably the weakest militarily. Because of my influence in the dominant religion I was able to be quite successful. I think that’s a great example of imbalance working in my favour. I think Civ IV was really great for that.

When I’m talking about balance I’m talking about the mathematical balance of Civ II, where empires were so enormous at that stage of the game where each country has at least fifty cities and taking three or four cities is nothing. In Civ V, if you take three or four cities you’ve likely destroyed the enemy empire.

Is game design something you’re interested in taking further?

I’d love to take it further, certainly. It’s an art form, and ultimately that’s where my interests lie. My day job is as an insurance agent - dare to dream, right? So yeah I’d love to take it further, see what comes along.

You mentioned the roleplaying element of playing as the Holy Roly Empire in that Civ IV game...

Yeah, it was incredible. I have an enormous love of history - I’m an enormous history buff. Of course the Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, nor Roman - but you could play as the Vatican in Civ IV and that was as close as I came.

That drive to - not recreate history, necessarily, but to re-enact certain parts of it - do you find that makes the experience more satisfying, to have certain elements that you know you’re doing ‘right’?

Yeah, absolutely. You’re following these historical tropes that seem to play out over the course of human history. When you see them repeated in the game, there’s a wonderful sense of accomplishment.


Image: infectedmanz's 'Celtania Propaganda'.

Do you think there’s anything developers could be doing to encourage that kind of creative engagement? It seems to be the thing that creates all the best stories.

Absolutely. In fact, I think there’s a lot they can do. I’ve really enjoyed what they’ve done with Civ V in bringing back religion and espionage. If they pursued that further, and implemented internal politics - I remember in GalCiv II, if you were a democracy you had to choose a political party, and there would be an element of internal politics which was incredible. Civ II had something like, if you took over the enemy capital there was a chance their nation could fracture into two opposing factions. There was also an interesting element like that in Civ IV where if you founded cities on another continent you could grant them independence and they’d become a colony - a vassal - of your empire. That was beautiful. If they reintroduced those elements - things like vassalship, colonisation - a little bit more complexity, perhaps, when it comes to running your empire.

I understand that they’re focused on conflict and making warfare as interesting as possible but things like inflation, interest rates once you’ve built a central bank - I can understand why that might put off some more casual players, I understand that completely, but I think it should be an option. You should be able to increase the complexity of the game.

I guess the deeper and more technical mechanical aspects of these games, despite sounding really dry, really enhance the game’s potential narrative depth.

I think it really does. There’s also things on the other end of the spectrum. Perhaps the game could write its own history. The war between Egypt and Arabia in, say, 1770AD - that could be recorded somewhere in the game for you to review, for it to somehow affect relations or policy in the future just as diplomacy between the West and the Middle East today is still marred by the Crusades - a thousand years later! I think that’d be really interesting. Keeping track, every game of Civ having its own timeline, it’s own story tell - just as real history has.

This kind of story is great for Civ and Firaxis. You can expect developers to be thinking, “how do we get this to happen, how do we get a guy to drop a story on to reddit that just blows up interest in the game.” The key to that seems to be including storytelling within the game itself - so it doesn’t need to be something that people only share on blogs and reddit. Making it something that the game keeps track of.

Yeah, exactly that. And if you go to civfanatics.com there are people who have done this before, who have written stories based on individual games. If the game itself did that, and rewarded you for doing so, for creating this real history - I think it’d be incredible. The storytelling potential is just totally untapped in that regard.

Many thanks to James for his time, and a tip of the hat to the /r/theeternalwar community for their excellent work.

Gather 'round the fire of time and prepare to hear an epic tale that spans the entirety of human history! Well, a millennium of it. Every Wednesday, I've been chronicling the progress of my Celtic civilization in Civ 5's new Gods & Kings expansion. In Part 2, the Celtic Republic was formed, and brought holy war to the lands of England in the name of PC Elitism. Now, with the Celts and the English united under the growing religion, the Middle Ages dawn in a rare state: peace.

Missed Part 1? Read how it all began.



So much for peace in the Middle Ages
Things are looking up from when I entered the Classical Era. I'm not at war, my economy is turning a reasonable surplus, and I have one of the larger land empires on the map. My situation is far from ideal, though. I'm still quite a bit behind in tech, being the last of the five civs on this continent to enter the Medieval Age. If the pace of my scientific advancement doesn't pick up, I'll be the last one with gun powder. That doesn't tend to end well (see any history book ever).

Beyond our shores, rival religions are popping up that I'll have to deal with. My missionaries continue to spread PC Elitism, and I also have access to a new unit called an Inquisitor that can remove other religions from my cities. I turn my tech path toward Theology to make sure I don't lose my religious lead.

520 A.D.: PC Elitism becomes the majority religion in Stockholm, capital of Sweden, making it the first city outside the Celtic Republic to accept the faith.

The Swedes have been my strongest allies for a while now, and this will improve relations even further. Over time, the religion will spread to other Swedish cities connected to their capital by roads.

535 A.D.: The Celtic Republic and Germany exchange embassies. Later that year, the Germans found Confucianism.

You may recall that I haven't been on great terms with Germany lately. Until recently, they were denouncing me for "settling lands they claim to be theirs." Whatever. I thought allowing them to build an embassy might patch things up. Plus, getting my own embassy in Berlin reveals its location to me on the map.

Then they had to go and found a rival religion, being the first civ on this continent to do so. That is almost assured to offset the diplomatic progress we made, and then some. In keeping with the theme, I've nicknamed the German religion "Xboxism."

560 A.D.: Germany and their Russian allies denounce Sweden.

Things are about to get messy. Sweden and Germany share a very close border. They've already been to war twice since the game started, and that was before they had religious conflict escalating their disputes. Sweden's cities are quickly adopting PC Elitism, while Germany is pushing its new Xboxism forcefully. I may have to step in if a German crusade targets my fellow believers and my closest ally.



Escalation
580 A.D.: France and the Celtic Republic sign an open borders pact, allowing eager PC Elitist missionaries to begin preaching to the French.

Later that year, word arrives that Hinduism has been founded across the sea.

Unless I've lost count, that brings us up to five major world religions. Hinduism, which I've nicknamed "Zyngalam" after the casual/Facebook game developer, as well as Christianity (Nintendoism) and Buddhism (Sonyism) are still separated from this continent by impassible ocean tiles that can only be crossed when someone researches more advanced naval technology. Still, being a coastal nation, I must be ready to contend with them.

Sweden and France declare joint war against Russia, beginning the Great Southern War.

625 A.D.: London, long the most staunchly English city in the Republic, becomes the last to accept PC Elitism as its majority faith.

670 A.D.: While their French and Swedish allies are tied up fighting Russia, the Germans declare open war on the Celtic Republic, with Russia quickly following suit. The Great Southern War escalates into a continent-wide conflict over land, country, and faith. The King and the Celtic Senate elect not to press the attack, and begin preparing to defend against German invasion.

Germany is on the east coast of the continent, over a dozen turns away, and they have to either cross through allied Sweden (which would be taken as a declaration of war), or the barbarian-infested, inhospitable tundra to the North to reach me. I should have plenty of time to build and station forces to fend off an attack.

I'm not even worried about Russia; they've been fighting the Swedes and French 2-on-1 for several turns, and would have to break through the French lines to get anywhere near me.



The calm before dem Sturm
685 A.D.: Missionaries from Dublin set out to convert the French to PC Elitism.

Bogged down fighting Russia, both France and Sweden refuse the Celtic call for aid against Germany. As ravens deliver the grim news to all of the men along the eastern front, they look down from the city walls, knowing they are alone.

This comes as an unpleasant surprise. I had thought for sure that at least Sweden would declare war on Germany, considering declaring war on Germany has been one of the hallmarks of Swedish culture for hundreds of years. They also have a much more vested interest in doing so, considering the shared border and the fact that Germany is starting to push its new religion on their PC Elitist people.

715 A.D.: Word comes from across the sea that an unknown empire has fallen.

I won't know who it is for a while, but with my conquest of England, that means only 10 civs remain. You can win a Domination victory by being the last civ in possession of your original capital, but that isn't my aim this time around.

An oracle emerges in Edinburgh, claiming to bring visions of the future from the holy PC. After hearing her council, the Celts establish a warrior elite social class.

My second wonder, The Oracle, gives me one free social policy. I choose Military Caste, which increases my happiness in any city where I have a unit garissoned. Which is... basically all of them at the moment, considering the Germans could be on my doorstep any turn now.

760 A.D.: After the arrival of Celtic missionaries, PC Elitism quickly becomes the majority religion in Paris, and begins spreading to other French cities.



Dark clouds gather
805 A.D.: Celtic scouts capture a group of German civilians near the border and send them southward into serfhood.

I did a little bit of eyebrow-raising here. For some reason, Germany just marched a group of defenseless workers right up to my border. They are much slower and have a smaller vision range than cheaply-built Scouts, so I don't know why they'd be using them as spies.

The Celts encounter the city-state of Brussels, North of London. Many waffles are had!

I've met my first City-State, which are independent countries that can't expand or conquer new territory. Fostering good relations with them will allow me to make them trading partners, and gain their aid in wars. Unfortunately, I don't have the gold right now to build influence with them.

820 A.D.: France, having been at peace with the Celts for almost 2000 years, publicly denounces their former allies. As PC Elitism spreads through France, the upper class grows concerned that it may lead to the same fate befalling them as did the English monarchy in the 3rd Century.

And just like that, the power balance shifts again. The French are still fighting the Russians, who have also declared war on me. The fact that we have a shared enemy means open conflict is unlikely for now. It's still a cause for concern, however.

850 A.D.: A massive German horde is spotted outside London, led by two Great Generals. The Celts send one of their own finest generals and a battalion of seasoned Picts North up the road to meet them.

Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa. When the Germans moved into my vision range, I literally lost my breath. Their army is GIGANTIC. They have more troops in this one formation than I could match, even if I brought up all of my forces from the home cities in the South. I expected them to maybe throw a few men my way before being turned back and asking for peace. I was not prepared for this onslaught at all.

To make matters worse, they are made up mostly of the Landsknecht, a German unique unit that is more effective than the Pikeman it replaces, and is higher in tech than any melee troops I currently possess.

I've never lost a major war in Civ this far into a game before. This is looking like it could break my streak.



The Battle of Nottingham
860 A.D.: The bulk of the German forces veer South, going around the Celtic defenders bound for London and heading toward Nottingham. Seeing the signal fires, the Celtic general turns his troops back the way they came as swiftly as possible to defend the city.

880 A.D.: Nottingham burns. Every available troop is sent up the Dublin Road to relieve the siege.

Unrest grows as the cities of the Celtic South are left to local militias.

Remember that policy I took that gave me happiness for every city with a garrison? Yeah, well, pulling all of my troops to meet the Germans has caused my Happiness to take a plunge.

890 A.D.: Nottingham falls to German forces, becoming the first Celtic city ever to be captured.

This is not good. I've gone entire games of Civ without ever losing a city, so it's a pretty big deal. And since Nottingham lies at a crossroads, the Germans have also broken my trade routes and supply lines to York and London.

900 A.D.: Intense fighting at the River Nottingham leads to heavy German and Celtic losses. Their blood is carried out to sea, leading to the day after the battle becoming known as the Morning of the Red Tide.

Word finally reaches the French and Swedes of the horrors visited upon their fellow PC Elitists. They declare war on Germany.

It's about time. Apparently one of my cities needed to be sacked before they decided this was pressing enough for them to bother. The tide may be turning, but I'm still in a lot of trouble. France and Sweden are each over 10 turns from Nottingham, and the Germans could reach York or London in only two.

That same year, the Celtic town of Truro is founded West of Cardiff.

At this point, I'm preparing to lose all of my English holdings to the Germans. If that happens, I'll need to replace my lost infrastructure by founding new cities and trade routes.



Battle rages on
920 A.D.: All the remaining Celtic forces between Nottingham and York are wiped out at the Battle of Grey Hill. York prepares for the invaders while the elite Republic Rangers try to hit the German lines from behind.

In case you missed an earlier installment, the Republic Rangers are a group of elite archers I've had since the first few turns of the game, and have been continually upgrading as new tech becomes available. So far, they've participated in every major battle I've seen, and are still going strong.

To the South, a Great Merchant arises out of the guilds of Edinburgh. He builds Celtica's first Customs House, bringing unprecedented wealth to the city.

This will provide a great, ongoing boost to my economy. In the mean time, I'm turning my tech path toward Education. This will allow me to make research agreements with other nations, which is the fastest way to seize a technological lead.

930 A.D.: Word arrives that Islam has been founded across the sea.

That makes six of the seven possible world religions that have been founded, and I nickname this one "iOSism." Considering four of these are on another continent, I almost wish I could peek over and see what kind of a holy mess they're in right now.

German forces land from the sea near Cardiff, leaving the Republic Rangers surrounded. They barely escape with their lives.

This ranks as the most tense moment of the game so far. I was not expecting a coastal attack from the West, and was only a few hitpoints away from losing my most experienced and emotionally significant military unit. Luckily, their guile and knowledge of the Celtic woodlands allowed them to fall back to Cardiff in one piece.

As the German siege of York begins, Swedish forces capture Berlin far to the East. With their capital taken, the possibility of German reinforcements is dashed. They remain determined, however, to keep pressing the attack from occupied Nottingham with two Great Generals and a bloodied, but still dangerous, army.

I wish I could breathe a sigh of relief now, but the war is far from over. If I lose York, it's unlikely I'll be getting either city back any time soon. That would leave London isolated, my trade routes still broken, and a bastion of German power and troop production right in the middle of my lands.

Not to mention the fact that I'm still being denounced by the French, who are no doubt aware that almost my entire army has been destroyed fighting the German invasion.

950 A.D.: The Celtic town of Nantes is founded South of Dublin.



Last stand of the Picts
960 A.D.: France and Germany sign a peace treaty, as do Sweden and Russia. Sweden remains at war with Germany, as does France with Russia, but it's clear that the 400-year, continent-spanning war is winding down.

The Great Prophet Rayman founds Ubiism in Paris, weakening PC Elitism's hold on the French people.

The in-game name of the religion they founded is Judaism, but since they're French and I'm running out of names of PC competitors, I gave it a nickname based on French publisher Ubisoft. No matter what I call it, it spells trouble. My relations with France were decaying even before they had their own major religion competing with mine.

On the bright side, only seven major religions can be founded in a given game. This means that I should have an easy time keeping the Swedes firm adherents of PC Elitism, which will preserve our alliance going forward.

970 A.D.: With Celtic siege weapons from London firing at the Germans from across the Bay of York, the York city guard hold off and route the advancing German army against all odds. As the German general flees, a cheer goes up from the walls. The Battle of York will go down as the turning point in the German Invasion, with what remains of the attacking forces pushed back to occupied Nottingham.

990 A.D. A ship carrying one of two German Great Generals is sunk by siege weapon fire in the Bay of York. The remaining leader of the invasion remains holed up in Nottingham with only a handful of men left under his command.

Back in Edinburgh, the Queen of the Celts gathers a new army from the recently-settled countryside. The German Invasion has made it abundantly clear that it is the end of an era for the Celtic military. Their old weapons and tactics were completely undone by the might of a large, contemporary force. The Picts, the fierce core of the Celtic armies for centuries, are simply no longer effective in large-scale warfare.

But their legend is not ready to draw to a close yet. The Woad March will be called one last time, as the remaining Picts advance to retake Nottingham like they did in days of old. It is likely that few will survive, but all will be remembered until the end of time.

I always hate when I get to the point that my civ's unique units have been out-teched, but if I'm going to defend myself from here on, it's time to say goodbye to my painted tribal warriors and start building the shining-armored knights and footmen this era is known for. At least I can give them a proper, glorious send-off in retaking my lost city from the crippled Germans.



Attacked from all sides
1110 A.D.: As the last Woad March liberates occupied Nottingham, a vast, Russian army crosses the Celtic border from the South. French troops wait to the East of the Russian lines, but do not make any moves to engage.

Well, crap. Apparently I was wrong not to fear the Russians. Having sent about a third of my army up North, they have me very outnmubered—but we are fighting on my home turf, near my most defensible, early-game cities. I honestly have no idea what the French are doing. They could be here to help either side. The fact that they let the Russian army get this far is not a good sign.

1120 A.D.: The Russian army is nearly exterminated by Celtic troops with a superior knowledge of the terrain, and quick supply lines to the capital. Russia signs a peace treaty almost immediately.

The same year, French troops turn on the Celts and beseige Nantes, having waited all this time for the Russians to wear down the defenders. Lead by the Duke of Orleans, the Orleanian Invasion brings the greatest threat the Celts have ever faced to their doorstep.

If I was outnumbered in the conflict with the Russians, this situation requires a new word. The French army rivals the size of the Russian force and the German horde that attacked me in the 8th century combined. I'll be honest with you: this may be game over. I might be able to hold onto Celtic Britain, but if I lose all of my developed cities in the Celtic heartland, my chances of achieving any of Civ's victory conditions before the time limit of 2050 A.D. are out the window.

The skies are grey with clouds and the smoke of French camp fires, but the rain does not come. It is a grim day. Blackbirds circle the skies above the forests and meadows, waiting to descend on the fallen...



CELTICAAAAAAAAA!!!
1140 A.D.: With the Picts streaming out of the woods like ghosts and arrows raining down from the walls of Edinburgh and Dublin, the astounding might of the French army is dashed like so much surf against mossy, kilt-wearing rocks. The queen who commanded the defense becomes known as Queen Alesia the Indomitable, and the day of the French retreat is declared Celtica Day. Many retreating French troops are cut off by carefully-positioned Celtic ambushes, and do not leave Republic soil.

You know those moments in gaming when you just pull something off that totally shouldn't have been possible? That just happened to me. It's impossible to convey the emotions of several tense turns of meticulously-calculated maneuvering, and the utter joy of finally watching the French retreat. I had no business winning this. Even on my home soil, I was outnumbered at least two-to-one, out-teched, weakened from fighting off the Russians, and mostly unprepared.

What I've essentially pulled off is defeating the largest professional army on the continent with a bunch of shirtless guys with pointy sticks. It wasn't easy, by any means, and I had to spend whole minutes each turn thinking ahead, anticipating French movements, and doing as much damage as I could to priority targets. I've lost Nantes, but they won't hold it for long.

1150 A.D.: The Republic Rangers, having held Dublin almost single-handedly, pepper the retreating French with arrows and wipe out most of what remains of their invasion force. The survivors fall back to occupied Nantes.

1190 A.D.: Nantes is retaken. This represents the height of the Celtic Empire, with the homeland and Celtic Britain being whole for the first time since the German Invasions. And yet, all good things...



Decline

Over the next 200 years, the Celts would face continuing poverty, outstripped even further by the technological advances of larger nations. Tensions rose as the Pictish senators called for a march on Paris in retribution for the Orleanian incursions, but the crown would not stand for it.

By the 14th Century, Sweden and France had ceased fighting each other long enough to turn their sights on Celtica. The French still coveted the fertile, Celtic lands on their borders, and an increasingly corrupt Swedish crown sought new conquest, heedless of any justification.

In 1370, the Swedes invaded Celtica and burned Dublin, her second oldest and largest city, to the ground. Though Edinburgh would hold fast and the Swedes would be repelled, the Republic never recovered from the loss. The homeland and Celtic Britain became increasingly fractured, and while the Republic would hold together for some time after, it had missed its chance at becoming a major world power.

With a heavy heart, I had to call it on this game. The Swedes randomly declaring war on me was the straw that broke the tattooed forest warrior's back. What I did to make the AI hate me so much, I couldn't say. But on top of being far behind in tech and economy thanks to putting too many eggs in the religion basket, the constant invasions wore me down to a state of just barely surviving.

Did I hold my capital and my empire? Yes. But by the mid-1400s, it was pretty clear that all of Civ's victory conditions were pretty firmly out of my reach. This was the first time I had lost a game of Civ that progressed this far. Usually I get wiped out super early, or dominate utterly. However, this was not a total wash...

Despite this, the Celtic religion of PC Elitism remained the world's leading major religion, holding majority sway even in the mighty Swedish capital of Stockholm. It would eventually spread across the seas to dominate all who heard its teachings. When the PC was finally invented some time in the 19th Century, the loyal Elitists rose up in celebration that the Promised Platform had arrived at last.

And never forgotten were the brave Celts who held their homeland time and time again against superior foes, so that the word of the PC could survive and spread and flourish across borders and oceans. All was good...



New beginnings

So, let's be honest. This game ended pretty prematurely, and while I was able to add some narrative balm to it, what you guys really deserve is to see a chronicle that spans all the eras... not just the first three. Luckily, I didn't allow myself to be discouraged. If I could not succeed in this world, then onto the next!

Starting next Wednesday, we shall turn in our plaid and our shamrocks for pungent fish and legendary facial hair. The tome is closed on the Celtic Chronicle... let the Swedish Saga begin!