Episode 17: Chaos on the Cylinder – S4

Hello everybody! My name is U/QuantumBotany, and I am a long time enjoyer of the CBR, Osage fan, and most of the time a lurker. I apologize for this episode’s delay, and thank you all for your patience. Without further ado, lets get into the episode

I seriously don’t know how Noongar is doing this well / how Palawa is messing this up. Can Noongar still win?

Wahgi once again showing off their competence at declaring wars, not executing them. I really appreciate this series, Thank you OrangeChrisy!

Thank you very much to our generous patrons. Without them, the show could not run.

Coiot: Thank you to Semiconscious who became a newest subscriber last week, and thus updates our graphic. Also, everyone may have noticed the new Ko-Fi button on the lower-right of the website; there is now a quick and easy way to donate to keep the show going. If been on the fence or have never checked it out, give us a look.

BORA BORA!!!!! They are looking really strong coming off of last episode. Can they successfully push on two fronts and Bora Bora their way into the top 10? Probably not this episode but we can dream!

For this first slide, we see that Bora Bora has Bora Bulldozed over the Wahgi city of Tolu, leaving it with a Still-Impressive 12 population. This, however, is likely only the first blow in what is sure to be a heavy-hitting naval slugfest- Wahgi is mobilizing its forces on the left side of the slide, and will likely meet Bora Bora in the sea beyond Tolu. Buckle up!

A shot of the Ikko-Ikki core. Despite allowing Pueblo and Goguryeo to settle on Honshu, Ikko-Ikki has done decently for themselves. Their only hope for long term relevancy lies in joining a coalition against one of their strong neighbors. The Shang war is not going well, so what will it be?

KyzylOrda is the focal point of the Kazan-Latvian war. Though the small, formerly Kazakh outpost is surrounded by Kazani land forces, the presence of the Latvian White Sea Fleet has allowed them to maintain a foothold in the still-standing harbor district. KyzylOrda would be the first coastal city of the historically landlocked Kazani state, and retaining the area would allow for the first Kazani Navy.

Sierra Leonese forces surround Marrakech, though the city has a good chance of repelling the advance, due to its geographic position. Flanked by the Atlas mountains to the south, only a strategic 1 tile pass allows an avenue of attack from that direction. No matter the outcome, the battle of Marrakech is likely to be attritional. Rabat, on the other hand, is under a naval assault that, barring further developments, seems bound to succeed in at least flipping the city. Even now, refugees flee from the outer provinces in what remains of the Alaouite Empire, tearing at the economic, social, and political fabric of the state. Due to the allocation of all military resources to the frontlines, the central government in Meknes is struggling to maintain order in the interior.

The list of nations declaring war on the Harappan League grows, with Shang and Singapore issuing admittedly irrelevant war declarations. With the loss of Mehrgarh and Dholavira, The Harappan League is vulnerable from almost every direction. Only their Great Wall serves as a deterrent against their opportunistic neighbors.

The Finns live in the shadow of their two relatively massive neighbors. Their diplomatic corps must constantly hedge against the interests of Latvia and the Sami, and have thus far been relatively successful. Their position, however, is on a knife’s edge. It would only take a moment for the calculus in Riga or Mausjaure to shift, and for the Finns to go from useful buffer state to potential new conquest.

After a long and bloody campaign over the Pyrenees, the Visigothic colors now once again hang over Asturica. This is a landmark achievement for the Visigoths, who now have broken out of their geographic prison. For those in Dijon, however, the capture represents a disaster only rivalled by the capture of Beaune by Bavaria. Burgundy has lost control of its southern flank, and now likely fears further incursions into its interior.

In a shocking twist, The Ecuadorians have signed a separate peace with Tiwanaku, allowing Lukurmata to remain in Tiwanaku hands. This is a major blow for the other members of the Triple (now double) alliance, Bora Bora and New Holland, and it is unclear how much progress New Holland can make on their own.

We can see in the center of the screen that Asturica has flipped back to Burgundy, but it remains to be seen who will keep the city in the end. More emphasized in this slide is the English Chevauchée, a Knight replacement that is slightly weaker, but can pillage with no movement penalty, and reduces production in nearby enemy cities. These will likely come in handy in England’s next war with Burgundy. On the sidebar, we see that one civ declaring war on Harappa is relevant, being Bukhara.

As it turns out, due to citadel constructions, Balkh is in a very weak position to resist a Harappan siege. Time will tell how it will progress.

A massive Faroese Army marches on Kayahsuto’ke, but has yet to damage the city. Observers on the sub are baffled as to how the Faroes, a undisputed top two civ, has failed to make any decent progress against the Seneca.

The Selkups, along with a number of useless cobelligerents, make peace with Kazakhstan, who survives, albeit in a highly reduced state. The Battle of Kyzylorda continues, with no immediate end in sight.

Mahnovia’s progress towards Latvia appears to have stalled, but a larger force is moving on the Royal Hungarian city of Kassa. They have a non-zero chance of capturing it, It seems. Further north, a large belt of pillaged land marks the previous frontline of the 18 billionth Makhno-Latvian war.

A Comprehensive view of England’s core, showing that despite their poor early settling, the the island kingdom has done relatively well for themselves. Given the omnipresent carpet of Faroese force to the North, it would be smart for England to continue focusing its efforts southwards. Carlos Slim, an IRL Mexican Business Magnate, prepares to cross the English Channel in search of new investment opportunities in England’s continental holdings.

The Faroe Islands, recently having discovered Compass, has sent their fleet of Grindadraps, their unique workboat replacement, into the atlantic ocean in search of new sources of fish and marine mammals. The north Atlantic on this cylinder is already extremely overfished, leading to an accelerating seaborne wave of emigration from overexploited and overpopulated Faroese cities. The Faroese Diaspora has formed communities in many cities already, both boosting the local economies of states like Visigothia, Taino, Florida, New Holland, Sierra Leone and the Alaouites.

A view of the recently-settled Hawaiian archipelago, where Ikko-Ikki has managed to stake a claim to one of many islands. Pueblo control over the archipelago, however, continues to tighten, and it seems likely that in the future these two pacific powers will come into conflict.

Singapore declares war on Vijayanagara! While this may initially seem relevant, the presence of an extensive Siamese maritime exclusion zone will likely slow this war down to a trickle.

With a concentrated spearhead of swordsmen, an Alaouite counterattack has retaken Tangier! Alaouite power in the region is difficult to dislodge, and it might be in the best interest of Sierra leone to retake Tangier, and peace out to regenerate their forces.

Patioan Bora Borans, as far as archeology can determine, are the original inhabitants of the Pampas region of South America, having split off from insular Bora Borans some time in the distant past. However, to the current people of the cylinder, this migration is nothing but a legend. With their recent conquest of the Rio Grandese capital and the strategic city of Caçapava Do Sul, they have carved themselves out a small empire in association with, but not subordinated to, the Insular Bora Boran state. There is a large movement in Insular Bora Bora to “reintegrate” the wayward peoples of the Pampas, but that will remain impossible until the destruction of Tiwanaku. The war of the triple alliance (more accurately the quadruple alliance) seems unlikely to dismantle Tiwanaku to that extent.

Another explosion rocks the city of Thanh Hoa. The Zheng Fleet, fresh off of its meticulous conquest of the Maguindanao islands, seeks to sever the Dai Viet state in twain by capturing the coastal city. In the north, Zheng Tie Ren, their amphibious Pikeman replacement with a plethora of combat and speed bonuses, begin a slow and steady advance towards the cities of Hai Phong and Thang Long. Zheng has seen a notable spike in relevance in the past century, and their conquest of Maguindanao, when combined with their largely symbolic victory over Shang, leads many international observers to think that this war against Dai Viet will be different. Only time will tell….

While Bora Bora’s western forces have been severely depleted after the capter of Tolu, the Wahgi are moving a massive armada towards the city of Poutoru. With Bora Bora engaged on two fronts, Wahgi has the opportunity to knock its pacific rival down a peg or two with a swift and decisive campaign. This Armada is being led by George Dewey, an IRL american Admiral who oversaw the Philipine campaign in the Spanish-American War.

Skirmishes continue on the one-tile Khoshut-Vijayanagara border. This war is mostly a matter of prestige, and it is likely that if it ever escalated to a wider front, it would end promptly.

Another boom, followed by an extended crashing sound, can be heard by the residents of Thanh Hoa. The Zheng Fleet, having handily obliterated the coastal forts of the city, now unloads a large force that quickly overwhelms the city’s defenses, and begins razing the logistical hub to the ground. While Tran Thanh Tong has already announced a counterattack to retake the city, drawing forces away from the northern front will further weaken Dai Viet’s position. The longer Thanh Hoa remains in Zheng hands, the more damning this war will be for Tran Thanh Tong.

Böri Shad, IRL a 7th century Turkic general, now sits in the luxurious military tent typical of one of Shang’s famously opulent and overbloated military bureaucracy. Shang’s military might had once been great, but a succession of defeats at the hands of their neighbors has reduced their territories and strategic position drastically. Anybody with an amount of sense would blame Shang’s defeats in these wars on armchair generals like Böri Shad, who seldom visit the front and are only in their current positions via their pedigree, not their skill in warmaking. Shang’s future is contingent on them being able to cast off this entrenched generation of military decision-makers.

Further to the West in Dawenkou, another General, Sun Tzu, of IRL Art of War fame, sits in his office in the Governor-General building. He, unlike the incompetent Bori Shad, is invested in the future of Shang, and seeks to write a theorybook on warfare that will be used to educate the next generation of generals.

Despite Eswatini’s irrelevance on the continent, they have a sizable presence in the Western Indian Ocean. Horatio Nelson, IRL a admiral in the British navy in the Napoleonic Wars, oversees the construction of a brand new naval base in recently-captured Zahran.

Just north of the Strait of Taiwan, Zheng He, IRL a Ming dynasty voyager, diplomat, and merchant, is placed in charge of a newly formed flotilla, likely to be soon shipped off to Thanh Hoa.

A Pair of New Dutch Carracks sail away from the frozen shores of Antarctica, having confirmed that the Rio Grandese presence on the barren peninsula has been eradicated. The site they leave behind, having very recently been a cold but crowded endpoint for refugees fleeing the Falkland and South Georgian islands, now rests as demolished buildings and forgotten rubble. The name of the former settlement, known to babylonian observers, is now lost to time- the New Dutch hadn’t bothered establishing communications with the outpost, and had no maps that included it.

A group of Faroese emigrées arrives bedraggledly within sight of Rabat, known to them as a potential site for resettlement on the West African coast. Rabat, however, was not as prosperous as it had been described to them in the halls of some Greenlandic mead hall. Having run out of provisions, the Faroese were forced to resort to plunder, and with their superior ships and a good amount of surprise, rob what was left of the hollowed-out shell of Rabat of its last riches, and set the town ablaze. The Faroese Diaspora does not always come in peace.

Zheng Military engineers, in their practiced and methodical way of war, construct a citadel overlooking the Dai Viet capital of Thang Long, and settle in for the long siege. Things are starting to look very bad for Tran Thanh Tong.

Omo, in the minds of many Insular Bora Borans, represents only the first stepping stone on the way to the unification of the two Boras. In reality, their hold on the port is tenuous. Naval forces have been unwisely allocated to the south, and it looks as though Bora Bora’s momentum is starting to wane.

Rome’s army and navy, coming off of the Mamluk War, are wholly unprepared to engage in the type of warfare that the Gyor offensive has devolved into. Where the Mamluk war had involved calibrated, mobile attacks and counterattacks, the rough terrain of the adriatic coast has made it difficult to advance even a single tile. While Rome’s forces are superior, it is likely that their style of war will have to adapt to achieve success in the Gyor offensive.

In the small hamlet of Sisimiut, Paco Rabanne, IRL a Spanish fashion designer, ponders the epic landscape before him. The Thule have an incredibly strong standing in North America. While their southern neighbors the Yellowknives are a tough nut, a much easier prospect of conquest lies a short trip across the Bering Strait, where the Nivkh lie placidly.

Ishtar pushes through the crowded streets of Torshavn, away from the inland city center towards the coastal slums, where miles upon miles of docks and boardwalk shanty towns have been constructed to house the burgeoning population of the Faroese Capital. She has news, not big news, but news nonetheless. According to her contacts, the government in Torshavn is planning some kind of military action against Eswatini, to her knowledge some small state in Africa. While this rumor may not be true, she has a responsibility to report each and every one of her findings to the sub. She is one of very few spies, or as they call themselves “sanctioned reporters” allowed to leave the sub and interact with the cylinder. She can’t cut any corners, or else lose the right to get out of that boring tin can wallowing in Antarctica.

Upon reaching the end of the docks she can finally get a good signal for her transmitter, and is surprised to find that she has received a new assignment. She is to travel to Kazan, the capital of the up and coming empire of the same name. Thankfully, she also receives a schedule for a package to arrive (Via Airdrop, far beyond the technology of the locals) containing massive amounts of money to cover the travel expenses, and a few of the comforts of the sub, like her favorite snack, Salt and Vinegar almonds.

Bavaria, engaging in a questionable act of perfidy, has taken the time that their peace deal with Burgundy allowed to consolidate their hold over Beaune and rebuild their forces, and has reinvaded Burgundy! Rome also joins in this time, though it is unlikely they will be able to commit much.

Dai Viet Retakes Thanh Hoa! This may not hold for long, however, the Zheng Navy is no smaller than we last saw it.

To the East, in Zheng Luzon, Utuabzu, IRL the seventh sage of ancient Sumerian religion, but in the cylinder, a Ikko-Ikki Great Prophet, makes landfall. He is in a strange land, and nobody save him knows where he will end up.

Pressed by increasingly desperate news from the front and domestic anarchy, Ismail ibn Sharif has decided to end the Atlas War with a negotiated settlement, ceding not only Tangier, which was saved from utter annihilation by the wayward Faroese only by a hair’s width, but also the port city of Rabat! Freetown rejoices, while Ismail ibn Sharif is left to pick up the pieces in his much-reduced civilization.

Pajchiri, Tiwanaku’s northernmost city and bustling hub of commerce, is on the brink of capture by New Dutch forces. Capitulating the city would make for enough of a victory that New Holland would be able to back out of the costly war, but it is possible that the Dutchmen seek even further gains…

Damietta, a, or perhaps the, Mamluk city on the arid Red Sea coast, has seen relative prosperity for nearly its entire history. The capture of Cairo to the Romans was in fact a boon for the city, in the perspectives of some. They no longer had to pay taxes to the perpetually indebted mamluk government, and were no longer constrained by international import tariffs imposed by Cairo. Damietta was now free to conduct its quiet textile, gold, and incense trades by its lonesome. That is, until the Romans decided that Damietta, despite its isolation, would be a perfect port through which to conduct Indian Ocean trade. Now the charming and quaint city by the sea may have new trouble.

The Kazan-Latvian war rages on. Kazani troops approach Valmiera, but the fate of the city is yet to be decided. To the North, Kazan’s occupation of KyzylOrda has failed, and the Latvians have recaptured the harbor town.

The Thule, despite being in a powerful position, are not the preeminent power in the western half of the North American Continent. That would be the expansive Pueblo Empire, which has succeeded in strongarming the Thule into giving up Inujivik, along with the whole of Vancouver Island. How the strategic calculus between them allowed for this, nobody knows, but now Pueblo have an even stronger hold on the Pacific.

Here, deep within the jungles of Kongo we can see the Pombo, the Ndongo unique Knight that has no terrain movement penalty in Jungles, and does not require horses. This will greatly help in conquering in any direction, and Ndongo needs to do it fast. Their size advantage over their neighbors isn’t growing and they may need to make a play for continued relevance soon.

Pajchiri Falls! Tiwanaku troops advance for a counterattack, but it seems unlikely that the city will remain in their hands. New Holland has elected to raze the city, and given that they have -13 unhappiness, will likely continue to do so. Victory?

Damietta has repelled the first wave of Romans, and relative tranquility returns to the city. Damietta is a small island of peace in a big, hostile world. We, as CBR viewers, know it won’t last forever. But the people of Damietta believe nonetheless.

A view of the expansive Singaporean Domain. They have many neighbors, none of them easy targets. They will need to pursue a beneficial coalition against one of their neighbors, lest they become a target themselves in this ruthless and active part of the cylinder.

Through a deal with the Mongols, Goguryeo marches its forces west towards the Arctic holdings of the Selkups. Whether this trans-Siberian expedition will find any success is unknown, but it goes to show that the Goguryeo are not to be trifled with as the number 1 (2? Power rankings havent come out yet) power.

Behold, the realm of the Nivkh. A solidly mid-tier civ stuck between high tiers, this poor state has few future prospects.

“Asturica holds!” Shouts the Burgundian field marshal in charge of the city’s defense. The vastly superior Visigothic force has been repeatedly thwarted by the forces of geography, and their presence on the far side of the Pyrenees remains tenuous.

The natural barriers that separate the Palawa and the Noongar have thus far made it very difficult for either side to gain an upper hand. This observation, however, does not display the true reality of the situation. The Palawa, with their extensive network of Melanesian cities, has a much greater population and potential for long term growth than the Noongar. It is likely, barring any large coalitions, that if the Noongar fail to make meaningful headway in this war, they will be unable to win any future war due to the tech advantage Palawa is slowly accumulating.

Despite their massive local concentration of forces around Kayahsuto’ke, the Faroese military has failed to make any meaningful advance on the city. Meanwhile, a ragtag army put together by the Seneca begins to lay another siege to Sandur, which, without reinforcement, will fall.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, IRL a French painter and artist of the late 19th century, finishes his magnum opus upon returning from the Pyreneen front. Turning his easel around, he shows his patron a triptych depicting the futility and tragedy of war. His work, though appreciated by his landed audience, is not taken to heart by the Visigothic leadership, who continue the brutal meatgrinder of a war.

The Wahgi Armada, having reached a truly brobdingnagian size, descends upon the lilliputian Poutoru and captures it. The Wahgi have the potential to bring this war much further, as Bora Bora fails to put up meaningful resistance.

Over in Pampan Bora Bora, the story is very different. The 4 city core is being valiantly defended, but lacks the force necessary to engage in offensive operations against Tiwanaku.

The War between Latvia and the Makhnovia-Kazan Alliance continues, with Jelgava becoming the focal point of significant fighting. It is possible that the city may fall in the coming turns, but it is contingent on whether or not Kazan and Makhnovia can coordinate their forces. This does not seem to be happening.

Ishtar, only just having gotten situated in Kazan, receives another assignment to travel to Mexico city. While she was beginning to grow weary of travel, she had never been to Mexico, and was quite curious. The Central American empire was powerful, that was certain, but it is unfortunately located within a geographic prison, with few land-based routes of expansion.

Back to the White Sea region, we can see that Kazani forces have once again captured the town of KyzylOrda, though the Latvian White Sea Fleet seems poised to recapture it. Further West a group of Kazani riders launch a probing (suicide) attack outside the city of Valmiera.

The Roman army and navy batters Gyor, which has dropped down to just over half health. Gyor may fall to Rome, which, if they can hold the city, may allow Rome a new direction of expansion into the Balkans. Time will tell.

Shang and Ikko-Ikki clash over what is IRL Jiangsu Province. Little will likely come of this, save for a few pillaged tiles and a fistful of dead units.

With the Wahgi Armada inching closer, the Great King Puni of Bora Bora has lost his appetite for war. Not only was Tolu, the island city Bora Bora seized in the beginning of the war, returned to Wahgi, but the Wahgi annexation of Poutoru was formalized. Wahgi comes out of the war with an additional city; this is a small victory, but a victory nonetheless, and shows that the Wahgi are more than capable of defending their massive maritime empire.

Another blow dealt to Bora Bora on their eastern flank. Omo has fallen back to the Tiwanaku. Bora Bora, now that the Wahgi war is over, should redouble their efforts in taking and retaining the city. Having a foothold on the south american continent (on the right SIDE of the continent) would make their future prospects in the region much better.

To Bora Bora’s South, Tiwanaku founds the city of Pachacamac on an open 1-tile island. Given that the civs are still at war, this city is nothing but free food.

Arius, the founder of the Christian sect of Arianism (interesting stuff, look it up), strolls about his villa in the Sami countryside, pondering on how best to spread his faith of Noaidevuohta, and, more importantly, how to pronounce its name.

The first projectiles begin to hit the walls of Kassa. If Makhno is able to capture this city, he will have secured a much better western flank, and a much easier-to-defend border. On the front lines assisting with the offensive is Coco Chanel, IRL a French fashion designer and founder of Chanel. On the cylinder, she is interested in the uniforms of the Makhnovian army, and designed them. Fashionable indeed.

In the Amazon jungle, Lauri Kovalainen, IRL a Finnish-American fur trade investor, crosses the border from his native New Netherlands into Ecuadorian territory. Lauri seeks to establish a closer economic relationship with the Ecuadorians.

Oof. In a brilliant show of tact and diplomacy, the Khoshuts have given up Shigatse, sparing their Tibetan statelet from what was sure to be a fatal and final war against Siam. Sarcasm aside, seriously??? Not very gucci, Gushi Khan

A new slew (Slough?) of civs declare war on the Seneca. None of these are relevant, however. In other news, the Faroese assault on Kayahsuto’ke continues to flounder, as does the Seneca assault on Sandur. “Why is this happening?” Says every international observer with even a speck of sense.

The Jiangsu front grinds on, with Sargon, IRL of Akkad, in the CBR of Ikko-Ikki, Making landfall in China. With the balance of active forces on the front beginning to shift in Ikko-Ikki’s favor, maybe they will be able to turn the tide.

Kazan’s armies continue to fling themselves uselessly against Latvia, with no sign of coordination in sight. Here we can see the Kazani UU: Darughar conscript, a slightly weaker longswordsman without the Iron requirement, and can attack twice in a turn as long as they are next to another Darughar Conscript. Very powerful, and very spammable

Bora Bora backs out of their war against Tiwanaku, retaining Omo, but opting to raze it. Bora Bora won this war handily, and while their gains weren’t sweeping, they have all but blocked Tiwanaku out of the Pacific, and successfully protected Pampan Bora Bora.

Another major war ends, with Trondur I Gotu wisely backing out of his war with the Seneca. No cities ended up changing hands. If I were controlling the Faroes, I would focus on fixing my happiness issues, and then go after Thule, and pick off their isolated Northeastern colonies of Pituffik, Kinngait, and whatever the ones to the Northwest of the slide are. Having these cities would allow the Faroes to make further incursions south much easier, what with not having to maneuver around them.

The Selkups and Goguryeo make peace, saving the Mongols the trouble of having to deal with the Goguryeo army eating all their food in their northern lands.

The Maguindanao, or what is left of them, make peace with the Zheng, sparing them from complete elimination. This last worker may wander the cylinder forevermore, only being able to fathom what might have been if they hadn’t spent so much money on wonders.

Pawhuska has been carefully watching the Faroese-Seneca war, no doubt. With it having ended, The Osage have decided it is time to strike, and issues a war declaration to be delivered to Cornplanter’s desk. This war, if the Osage are successful in cracking Nundawao, has the potential to catapult Osage into relevance. As the #1 Osage fan, I am hopeful.

Many war declarations fill the sidebar, none of which are relevant, save for perhaps Sami/Kazan. Here we can see a good shot of Sami’s core. Despite their impressive stats, The Sami’s empire is disarticulated, low in population, and isolated. It would take a windfall of a war against the Finns to improve their long-term chances.

Here we can see a map of global religions. Sami’s religion, despite their middling position, is seeing uncontested growth throughout Europe and the Western Arctic. It has even started to spread into the Archipelagic portions of the Faroe Islands, which is interesting, given that Faroese America is already largely converted to Seneca’s religion. I wonder if this explains the Faroese army’s reluctance to invade Kayahsuto’ke? To the south, the Mogadishu religion (Islam?) has spread all through the eastern half of Africa, and has started to even creep into Qarmatian lands. Pueblo’s religion has locked down the Western half of North America handily, and Goguryeo’s has overtaken much of Northeast Asia.

A view of Dzungaria. Despite frequent frontier wars, the Dzungar aristocracy focuses much of its efforts on the development of its wealthiest and most populous province: Tarim. Protected on all sides by some of the largest and most impassable mountain ranges in the cylinder, Tarim has not seen war since the ancient conquest of Gyangtse from Khoshut settlers in antiquity. The province is referred to by its locals as “The Eye” due to its shape, and the regional capital and largest city in all of Dzungaria, Tarbagatai, as “The Pupil.” Extensive and complex irrigation networks and canals bring water from the alpine glaciers of the periphery into the interior, making what was a harsh desert once into a garden.

The fields of Omo shall lie fallow, until another takes its place. Bora Bora successfully burns Omo to the ground, leaving a razed ruin in its place. The land will likely be resettled, but it will never be the same.

The political map of the cylinder. Osage, Kazan, and Selkups look especially large from this view.

A population growth map. All the cylinder appears to be growing at a fast pace, with the notable exception of the frontrunners, Faroes and Goguryeo, along with Sami (more damning evidence for their stagnation), and the Alaouites, who are all but out of the game. The Selkups and Tiwanaku, too, have stagnated, almost certainly due to the significant wars they just completed.

Happiness! This is a very similar map to the previous, but shows that despite Tiwanaku and Selkups being Happy, they are failing to grow. Goguryeo and Faroes need to make significant changes if they are to keep up their momentum this game.

A map of all the civs that are at peace (much easier to explain than the ones who are at war). England, Bora Bora,  Selkups, Mongolia, Ecuador, and Taino are currently enjoying the fruits of peace.

Bavarian hordes batter the walls of Dijon, with many in Burgundy fearing the imminent collapse of their civilization. To their southern flank, the Visigoths still fail to take Asturica. If Dijon falls, Bavaria could potentially advance south to Nancy, which, if captured, would eliminate their largest strategic weak point: the isolated city of Ingolstadt. No doubt that this is the eventual goal of Ludwig.

How The Turn Tables. Bukhara can still win! This is a horrible piece of bordergore that I hope is erased very soon. On the Left, Kazan still vies to escape its geographic constriction by throwing all it has at KyzylOrda.

William Adams, IRL the first Englishman to reach Japan, but on the cylinder, a Swazi merchant, prepares to depart for Madagascar, to increase economic ties between the small nations of Southeast Africa, and hopefully foster mutual prosperity between Eswatini, Rozvi, and Mogadishu. Though the potential economic group, dubbed MER, has yet to be formalized, he dreams of eventually expanding it to the small and developing economies of Damietta and Qarmatia. Sadly, these three civs combined cannot hope to match the might of Ndongo or Saba Dmt.

As a political motion to unite the Southeast African Civs, the three decide to declare a safe war against a common enemy: the treacherous Kazan. Kazan, in the other hemisphere, pretends not to hear.

After a long and bloody campaign, Rome finally captures Gyor. The city will be difficult to retake for the Hungarians, given the mountains to the north. On the right of the screen, we can see that Pontus now has Carracks. If Rome wants to dominate the Mediterranean, they need to catch up in naval tech.

Florida, in support of its ally Seneca, declare war on the Osage. This poses a problem for the Osage, as defending against itinerant incursions from Florida will hurt their chances of being able to make gains in this war. Oh well.

A beautiful vista of all four Crow cities. In the middle of them is Alexander Macmillian, IRL a Scottish 19th century Publisher. In the world of the CBR however, he is starting a nascent bookmaking industry in the lands of the Crow, hoping to project enough cultural relevance to Crow’s neighbors to deter them from simply absorbing the small plains nation.

Ishtar lets out a bemused “huh” at her new intelligence report as she is seated at her new favorite cafe at her new post. She flags a waiter, and orders a mocha, a local specialty in Mexico that she has come to enjoy. Apparently, Emperor Maximillian of Mexico has designs on the caribbean possessions of the New Dutch. She supposes it makes sense, but She can’t help but wonder why he does not attack the Taino? Their high population cities would be hard won, but Mexico’s military superiority would surely win out. Right?

Despite the best efforts of the Dai Viet government, panic has begun to spread throughout the country. Long thought to be thoroughly protected by their geography and tenacious military, Dai Viet civilians are unused to war ever coming this close to home. Tens of thousands now pour out of Thang Long, a security risk that has only hastened the city’s fall to Zheng’s relentless and professional military. Zheng gunboats, having crawled up the Red River delta, have torn the city’s defenses to bits. The capture and occupation of Thanh Hoa to the south prevents any reinforcement from that direction. The city seems all but lost. Only a miracle could save it now.

“God Damnit” muttered Ishtar as she read through her weekly briefing. “Another redeployment!? And to the middle of nowhere no less!!!! I just got settled!” She screamed out into the crowded street; Most people ignored her as just another madwoman, and the few who did notice her outburst only hurried on past. She had been reassigned to Astana, the former capital of Kazakhstan. A city she only knew as having been all but destroyed in the Kazakh Coalition war. “Work is work, I guess” She thought as she hurried back to her apartment to gather her things. She would need to make it to Valladolid, the nearest pacific port, to catch a ship to Goguryeo. She would then need to travel by caravan, ideally through Dzungaria (She had always wanted to visit Tarim), all the way into Selkup lands. She had at least half a year of travel in front of her.

Here we can see a screenshot of some of the spies that are operating throughout the cylinder. Though none of them are as well supported and trained as our beloved Ishtar, there are some interesting cases. The Dai Viet are spying on Zheng, not that it will do them much good, and Rome and Bavaria are spying on one another.

Wow. Only one of these is relevant. Goguryeo spying on Ikko-Ikki should be scary for Ikko-Ikki. It is very clear who would win if the two civs ever came to blows.

Here we can see that Kazan is spying on Latvia, and that Kazakhstan are spying on The Selkups. The rest is just Civ AI noise.

Rome is spying on Sierra Leone. Could their next target be SL’s Mediterranean cities? Rome fans can hope so. Saba is Spying on Mogadishu, which would be an excellent target for them.

Here we see that Siam is spying on Singapore. A war between these two would be huge. We can only hope!

The Alaouites spy on Sierra Leone, undoubtedly probing for information on when they will finally get put out of their miserable state. The Crow spy on Osage; could they have designs on Osage land?

Many relevant spy dyads on this slide (Spyads?). The Ikko-Ikki spy on Goguryeo, the Khoshuts spy on Siam, Damietta spies on Rome, and the Noongar spy on Palawa.

No relevant info here. Hopefully Noongar can mitigate Palawa’s tech advantage with its spies, though that feels unlikely

The Seneca spy on the Faroe Islands. Smart. The Sami spy on Bavaria, when really they should be spying on the Faroes too.

The Wahgi, in the wake of their win against Bora Bora, have begun to spy on them to further their current advantage. The Thule spy on the Yellowknives, though this isn’t surprising. Tiwanaku also spy on Bora Bora.

And finally, Zheng spy on the Ikko-Ikki. Their next target perhaps?

Ecuador joins a growing list of civs declaring war against the Osage. While they can shrug most of these declarations off, they should be very worried that Pueblo will join the coalition. In that case, it would probably be game over for Osage

Kazan and Latvia make peace, with KyzylOrda remaining in Kazani hands. HUGE news for Kazan fans, as this will allow them to build a small navy in the White Sea for their next war against the perfidious Latvians.

The Alaouites manage to make peace with a number of their neighbors, including the Faroes, who apparently have been raiding off the coast of Meknes. We can also see a brutally placed citadel by the Visigoths, driving a wedge in the heart of the remaining Alaouite domain. Due to the mountain, there is no longer a traversable land border between the two cities. If Kenema’s borders grow in just the right way, this could be permanent.

Amid the Chaos of the Noongar-Palawa War, a religious  revelation is revealed in the holy city of Nipaluna. The war grinds on, with neither side gaining an advantage, while scores die in the unending fields of the outback.

On the other side of the Pacific, in the embattled city of Pajchiri, another prophet is born. Nostradamus, IRL a French catholic who wrote alleged prophecies, but on the cylinder, just a 15 year old boy, breaks down in the town square raving, screaming, and clawing at his chest. After many minutes of his breakdown he had gathered a small crowd. He told the people of Pajchiri that they were saved, and that the city, regardless of the odds, would not fall. He would later be canonized by the state church of Tiwanaku as a prophet.

Back to Australia, we get a look at the beliefs added to Palawa’s religion, Tjukurpa. The text is cut off, and I can’t find any resources online that explain this belief, so I hope somebody can explain it in the comments of the post or something.

Yinxu is in resistance for 55 turns. Looking at Shang’s UA, which allows them to murder their own citizens to spawn luxury goods, sending the city into resistance for an amount of turns based on the number of luxuries shang has already, I would say that Shang’s AI is definitely shooting itself in the foot pretty hard. Though they had a great start, Shang seem unlikely to make it into late game.

Hearing of the cries of the prophet Nostradamus in the city of Pajchiri, New Holland leads a small squad of elite troops into the city to dispose of him. This operation, despite its riskiness, goes off without a hitch, and they manage to take the Prophet out of the city alive. With a swordsman on the gates of the red-health city, will the prophecy truly be fulfilled?

Latvia has done well for themselves, and, having made peace with Kazan, seem to be handily repelling Makhnovian advances. Latvia’s forces are depleted, however, so it is difficult to see them launching any major offensives any time soon. They would do well to make peace.

In the wake of New Holland’s destructive campaign against Rio Grande, bands of Tehuelche, desperate for even an ounce of additional space from their cold and crowded homeland, make landfall on some of the coldest places on the cylinder. This would be their new home, and they set up their dug-in bungalows into the hard earth, only paying cursory attention to the ruins they shared their space with.

And here is the last slide of the part! Wahgi appears to have given Palawa military access, allowing them to attack from a brand new angle in Kimberley. Mulka seems likely to fall in the immediate term, but who knows how far Palawa can exploit this opening! This has been QuantumBotany, a perennial contributor to the CBRX and full-time enjoyer, and I hope all of you have a wonderful week! Go Osage!