A visitor from another time-line will initially be surprised to see that some areas have progressed faster than others, relative to his home time-line. Other areas have diverged completely.
A visitor from Azytwaznt: Steampunk Era will soon notice that there are far more non-Humans here than the history they know would suggest. Obviously, this isn't the same time-line at all.
Another difference is than majic is more common here. After all, sometimes a sword just isn't enough, when the foe may be a dragon.
Northern Europe is blossoming, a Scandinavia loosely united under the King of Danemark. Vikings sail west to Vineland to trade, raid, and colonize, while to the east, as Varangians, they do pretty much the same thing, but under the cloud of the Mongol advance.
For Southern Europe, from the squabbling petty states of northern Iberia, through the courts of the great princes of France, and the city-states of Italy, this is the Age of Chivalry, where the Court of Love vies with Avarice to influence the minds and hands of Human and non-Human alike. At least in theory.
Europe is still mostly forest and waste, peppered with small villages and small towns. There are very few real cities other than Mediterranean ports and old Pavian (Roman-equivalent; SEE Azytwaznt Classical Era) towns. Most other "cities" are really just over-grown castle-towns. Even the city-states of Itally, although brilliant centers of full-blown Renaissance glory, are small. Even here, a mere score of miles away the Dark Ages linger in the mountains and forests
Non-Humans are fading, but yet control at good 10% Europe. Majic is likewise fading.
The darker moors and woods, the inaccessible clefts and mountains, harbor strange beasts and weathered stonework older than the race of Man. Not all the ruddy stains in those crumbling tomb-temples are old.
The Atlantic Coast
Aggression along the Atlantic coast has been somewhat reduced, or rather displaced, as energies are diverted to colonizing the New World. The great princes of the British Isles and of states from Frisia to Galacia vie for footholds where the Vikings, with their hundred-year lead, have not yet colonized.
British Isles:
Briton is still 90% forested; a good 20% is not really under any law.
The British Isles is completely claimed by the Norse. Viking immigration has peaked, as more are sailing onward to North America than are a-viking down through Western Europe.
The Kingdom of Alba includes all but the north of England. William the Conqueror crossed the Channel before Harold III Hardrada, king of the Danes, and Tostig, Earl of Northumbria, landed at Stamford. Harold, king of England, succeeded in ousting William of Normandy. After a series of fierce battles, the "Accord of the Two Harolds" was reached, making the Kingdom of Alba a tributary of the Norse High King, the king of Danemark. By the Accord, Norse south of the Danelaw are under Alban law.
The Danelaw, under direct rule from Danemark)
The historic Danelaw included Northumbria, the Five Burroughs (Lincoln, Nottingham, Derby, Leicester, and Stamford), East Anglia and the south-east Midlands.
By the Accord of the Two Harolds, it has shifted a bit, and follows watersheds rather than rivers. The southern border includes non-contingent East Anglia, then run along the watershed inland from between the mouths of the Witham and Welland rivers, west from The Wash along the ridge midway between Nottingham and Leicester, Derby and Birmingham, and, upon reaching the Pennies, turns north up the watershed to a point between Bradford and Manchester, where it runs down to the sea at Fromby Point.
The north edge of the Danelaw follows Hadrian's Wall, although it does include the north shore of Tynemouth.
The Gaelic kingdoms of Wales and Ireland (Ulster, Munster, Connaught, Leinster and, north of Leinster, Meath, where the High King sits at Tara), and Caladonia (comprised of Pictland in the north, the Scots-Irish kingdoms of Dalriada (Argyle) and Ionia and British Strathclyd) all have Norse settlements about their coasts.
Norse Jarls (petty kings) include Dublin, Waterford, Cork and Limerick in Ireland.
In many areas, matters have settled enough that most battles today find Gael and Norse on both sides. This was facilitated by a difference in land preference; the Norse, using ox-drawn wheeled plows with moldboards, can turn over the rich but heavy earth the river bottoms, while the Gael cultivate higher, drier land. Strangers in a new land, the Norse initially kept to their towns, walled first with stockade fencing, then with stone. Today, intermarriage is becoming more common in some places.
While the Alban tribute is a heavy burden, Alba, as a subject of the Norse Empire, has begun colonizing Vineland under her overlord's protection. The Danes are pleased to have their New World holdings enriched with new subjects, and these new lands make a fine place for second sons of the nobility to establish new states, or for poor folk to carve out a rich farm in a new world.
As a bonus, Viking raids in Alba have diminished until they are no more intense than the usual feuds and clan wars.
Most of Briton beyond the main port towns remains a half-wild land, where an appeal to chivalry is more effective than an appeal to law. It is safest to stay home and in one's overlord's good graces. Away from the cities, the local lords, whether British, Gael, or Norse, is generally a law unto himself.
The position of women has been rather improved by Norse overlordship. While a wife is indeed her husband property, she now has the right of divorce, and a freewoman with a strong character can be the equal of any man. Warrioresses have claim to old Celtic traditions of inheritance.
Gaul
The great princes of Gaul didn't see the need to pay suzerainty to the petty king of Ile de France; most of the major states are either kingdoms or sovereign Grand Duchies.
Arles: County, vassal to K. of Burgundy
Briton: Gaelic Kingdom
Burgundy, Grand Duchy, capital Dijon
Burgundy, County, capital Dole (same as Franche-Compte)
Lyonnaise, Kingdom, capital Lyon
Montpelier: Barony, owned by Toulouse
Narbonne: viscount, vassal to Toulouse, a significant port
Toulouse: County
(St.) Tropez: Free City
Marseille: Free City
The towns accessible from the Atlantic coast are generally strong-walled, as Viking incursions have only lately evolved from raiders to traders. Now, many ports are becoming wealthy as their harbors welcome traders.
Privateers sail from here to raid the holdings of Cadiz and the Norse, both in Europe and in Vineland.
A few progressive princes have launched colonial campaigns in vineland.
Aquitaine (Aquitaine Trans-Gargonne) is a sovereign Elvyn realm.
Mediterranean Coast
The Mediterranean coast of Gaul has more in common with northern Italy than it does with norther Gaul.
The courts of the greatest nobles emulate the sophistication of the Renaissance Italian city-states, but most are fully caught up in the High Age of Chivalry. There are still a few dragons to be slain, and plenty of maidens in need of rescue.
There are far more backwater petty lords who are barely creeping out of the Dark Ages.
Lawless wilds and wastes, forests and mountains are not too far from even the most civilized places.
The call has been issued to help Byzantium fend off the Mongol hordes.
Toulon is a Moorish state. (Based on the historical Saracen holding of Fraxinetum from 890 to 973) The Moors briefly held the whole coast, from Iberia to Nice. When the King of Burgundy ousted them from France, a contingent was stranded here and has remained ever since. The Admiral is nominally a subject of Cordova, but remains neutral in all local politic.
Italy
The city-states of Italy have been swept up by the Renaissance. New arts and new sciences herald a new age. This is a turbulent time.
Not so long ago, the peninsula was comprised of a dozen large states. The aristocratic families' wealth came from owning the richest agricultural land in their state, with the rulers' pockets further enriched through taxes. The hinterlands were practically ignored. The law did not hold beyond the lands that generated taxes. The Great Houses feuded over land claims. Such battles between aristocrats were of little concern to the rulers, as long as the taxes came in. Most of the Great Houses owned land in several states, acquired through marriage or conquest.
Then came the Renaissance. The new economy is based upon trade and invention, on processing finished goods, on harnessing the very winds and waters to labor. Small mountain villages discovered their wealth of wind and water power just as a new breed of merchants began to develop new routs over land and across seas. New-style ships carried greater cargos faster, quickly creating great wealth in here-to minor ports. New style wagons, far easier for draught-beasts to pull, allowed trade to flourish in previously isolated areas. Industries were revolutionized, yielding far superior products with higher profit margins.
The Merchant-Princes arose. As once-insignificant villages blossomed into booming centers of commerce, the old ruling families sought to retain control. Town walls went up, and old power structures went down.
The old states, for the most part, were spectacularly shattered. At one point, it was estimated that the Italian peninsula has some two hundred "free cities."
Becoming secure in their new relationships to those old ruling families that were surviving, the young states began to compete with each other. Unequal rates of growth soon lead to the stronger becoming yet stronger by feeding on their weaker cousins. Some were reduced to vassals, others absorbed outright.
The Italian countryside has not kept pace with the towns. The more inaccessible, generally poorer areas are still in the Dark Ages. Some places are so rugged and beast-haunted as to be uninhabited.
Pavia, once capital to one of the world's great empires, is now a blasted, ghost-haunted ruin. The unspeakable powers from the Alps, that intelligence not merely monstrous but alien, of a nature whose very comprehension is disease, punished the pride of Pavia.
For half a thousand years, Pavia's ruins have been unapproachable by mortals. Now, the barriers seem not so impermeable. Perhaps now some intrepid souls may dare to explore, to learn how Pavia, once the heart of Europe, was so brutally extinguished.
Venice, Pisa, and Genoa vie for naval supremacy, and have divided the Mediterranean among them. Other naval powers, all relatively minor, include Toulon (a close ally of Cadiz), Marseille, Arles, and Barcelona. Cadiz is a major naval power, but is more interested in the Atlantic trade. To the east, Byzantium has impressive military vessels, but is not a major commercial naval power.
Naples
The Kingdom of Naples is lagging behind northern Italy. The rulers have seen the changes in the north and, while the wealth the new ways bring is tempting, the upheaval is not. Naples is dedicated to defending the old ways.
Corsica
The Saracen lords are vassals of the Emir of Toloun. Genoa and Pisa have already made attempts at taking Corsica.
Sardinia
Sardinia is a battleground. Genoa and Pisa have secured toeholds, but are already as likely to fight each other than the Saracen lords, who are Toulon, Cadiz, and Sicily.
The population is a mixture of indigenous tribes folk, Phoenician, Carthaginian, Greek, and Pavian peoples. They do not trust each other enough to make a native state a realistic possibility.
Sicily
Palermo, capital of the Sultan of what many say is the most beautiful island in the Mediterranean, is one of the most brilliant cities in the Mediterranean. The kings of Sicily have successfully blended the mix heritage of their island. Sicily has known several waves of colonization. The largest cultural groups are indigenous tribes folk, Phoenician, Greek, Pavian, and Saracen. All are represented in the Court at Palermo. The Sultan is popular enough that he is able to raise native troops to help when there is yet another war with Naples. Less trustworthy native troops he sends to Tunisia, to both aid and contain his vassal Emirate.
Today, Palermo is a center of "Saracen renaissance" culture. The Sultan is the foremost sponsor, and has been greatly enriched by it. Sicily has pioneered the capping and piping of natural steam vents, both for factories and for domestic use. The use of natural gas, piped directly from the source, is likewise being explored. The economy focuses on sea products, rich agriculture, and sulfur and other volcano products. Finely crafted objects, both art and more utilitarian, are both exported and imported.
The Sultan has ordered controlled harvest of the island's forests, the restoration and spread of terracing for agriculture, and other policies to both conserve and exploit the island's natural resources.
Iberian Peninsula
Northern Iberia
The northern half of Iberia is divided into twenty or thirty squabbling petty states. European, Moorish, Human and non-Human, anyone with sufficient ambition has a chance here. Alliances shift constantly. Who is overlord of which other states is a confused and rather flexible matter. Gifts may be interpreted as tribute, or aid as ownership. With poor communications, the region is becoming more backward. The old Carthaginian, Pavian (Roman), and Moorish architectural triumphs are becoming ruins.
The threat of annexation by Cadiz bring can bring some semblance of stability here.
The call to aid Byzantium in defending Europe from the Mongol is a fine chivalrous ideal, and is proving a useful valve to reduce pressures in Iberia.
The northern border of Iberia alone is divided by eight states; Galicia, Asturias, Old Castile, Basque Bilbao, Navarre (Pamplona), Aragon, Catalonia, and Barcelona.
States here are likely to be allied with French or Italian states, and follow their fashions and politics as best they can. The wealth of Cadiz is tempting, but dangerous.
Ports are important trade centers. Harboring of pirates is a lucrative temptation but can result in devastating reprisals.
Southern Iberia: the Sultanate of Cadiz
Cadiz is, without doubt, the most splendid city of Europe. Abd ar-Rahman rules a resplendent Moorish state from this glittering port, central to a state encompassing half of Iberia and the even larger area of Morocco, as well as trade posts in West Africa and colonies in "Brazil" (the Americas.)
Cadiz may not be as large as Byzantium or Cairo, but the grandeur of their palaces is fading, while Cadiz shines ever brighter.
Cadiz watches the advance of the Mongols carefully.
Cadiz rules north through the Tajo basin, upriver just past the great fortress-city of Toledo. The west is anchored by three major subject states, Granada, Mercia, and Valencia.
The sultanate encompasses the southern third of the peninsula and an even greater area in Morocco. A mosaic of twenty or thirty petty states, mixed Moorish, European, and non-human, squabbles to the north.
Elite Moorish cavalry may be mounted on swift ostrich-like lizards from the Sahara.
Also from the Sahara come mysterious reptilian traders, robed and veiled against prying eyes. These Skath are wary of Humans, for Humans often mistake Skath for Ophidians.
Morocco forms the larger part of the brilliant Sultanate of Cadiz, and is enriched by trade with West Africa and Brazil.
Between Morocco and Tunisia, the situation is confused. Almost every town seems sovereign, although several pay tribute to Cadiz or Genoa or Pisa.
Tunesia, an Emirate, is a vassal of the Sultan of Sicily.
The Emir of Tripolitania pays tribute to no-one.
Cyrene is a Byzantine possession.
The petty Emirs of North Africa have little control beyond their cities; only a fraction of the tithe owed by the Barbary Coast pirates makes its way to the treasuries of the local beys (governors.)
Inland, the pastures become ever sparser, until the land becomes trackless waste, the Sahara sands broken by mountains of old, weathered stone. The Sahara laps about innumerable ruins, specters from a time when this was well-watered plain.
Aegypt
Aegypt is a subject-state of the Black Horde of the Mongol Empire. The Sultan, relieved of military matters, devotes his energy to culture. Cairo is becoming a great center of learning and the arts, but its glory is dusty, borrowed from the past, as the Mongol overlords require heavy taxes and tribute. There is an edge of desperation to Cairo's social life, of a need to blossom while on all sides the Mongols strip Aegypt of her wealth.
The Mamluke slave-soldier tradition is strong. They serve throughout the Mongol Empire, and bring home young recruits who they adopt and train as the next generation of Mamluke slave-soldiers.
This is similar to the Classical Greek tradition, and is encouraged by Mongol overlords pleased at such a fine supply of dedicated slave-soldiers. To encourage the tradition, the Mamluke are no longer permitted to marry or to live outside their compounds. Their military unit is their only family, their trainees their only children. They live in communal barracks complexes. Some sleep in dormitories, some have privet "cells."
Sahara and the South
The depths of the Sea of Sand have more dangers than just heat and parching. In the stony mountains breaking the sands lurk the remnants of races older than Man, races better adapted. While the Skath, a lightly-build desert lizard people, may be honorable traders, the Ophidian Serpent-People are not.
Mali
This is the height of the Mali Empire, with its renowned cavalry based in Timbuktu.
West Africa
Benin and Dahome vie for leadership of the Forest Kingdoms of West Africa. Pressure from Mali keeps their competition from becoming destructive.
Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe is an empire based on islands of agriculture in a sea of pasture. The stone-walled villages have been united by an emperor not shy to import foreign technology.
Zanzibar
Two tribes, the Hadimu and Tumbatu, form the core of this powerful Black state. Zanzibar rules several nearby islands from which are harvested foodstuffs and some spices. The real wealth, however, comes from Zanzibar's dominance of trade along the East African coast.
The tribal rulers, the Mwenyi Mkuu of the Hadimu and the Sheha of the Tumbatu, have, over several centuries, developed in to complimentary High Priests who advise the king. The royal line started with the intermarrying of the two tribe's ruling families, and has since formed a tradition of marrying mainland royal lines, to gain influence in their trading region.
There is a string of coastal trade-towns from Mozambique to Mogadishu.
Ethiopia
This is the highest plateau of Ethiopian civilization, with an empire spreading from the Red Sea to the Nile and down the Juba River almost to the Indian Ocean.
Major exports include gold and ivory, wild beasts and slaves, precious stones and rare herbs.
Enjoying her splendid isolation, Ethiopia is nonetheless aware of the intent of the Mongols to rule the world. Ethiopian gold finances a network of agents who foster destabilizing elements throughout the
Most of Eurasia is under the rule of the Mongol Empire. To the north are the forests of the taiga and, yet further north, the tundra.
The Taiga comprise about quarter of the world's total forests. They are principally of spruce and pine, with birch and aspen in the lower, wetter areas. Here be dragons, as well as mammoths and wooly rhinos. The tribes here seem primitive, but their mystics have kept them free from Mongol or other invaders. Curiously, many local monsters seem to have a stronger taste for foreign flesh than native.
The title Khan means prince or king. Genghis Khan means world-king, or emperor, a title first used by Temujin, "the blacksmith" known simply as Genhis. Khagan, a contraction of Khagan, meaning king-of-kings or Great Khan, are also titles commonly used to refer to the Mongol emperor.
The central government of the Great Khan rules only "The Middle Kingdom" directly. The "Four Corners of the Earth" are under the authority Il-khans. There remains some conflict over whether the Il-Khan, leader of each horde, should be chosen internally by the khans of that horde or whether the Khagan should select his choice from among the local khans.
The Great Khan has been aggressive in developing a stable bureaucracy, based at his palace-city of Xanadu. While Chinese influence dominates, elements have been drawn from the administrations of nations all across the empire. Officials trained at Xanadu are now widely distributed.
The very maneuvering by which the Great Khans keep the empire united has resulted in a greater degree of civil autonomy for many of the subject states. As long as tribute for the treasury and levies for the military flow to the capital, it pleases the Great Khan that the native peoples should be indulged in the privilege of enjoying their traditional governance. Puppet rulers also make good, disposable scapegoats.
The Great Khan uses several techniques to keep the hordes in line while still strong enough to prevent natives from being tempted to foolishness, such as rebellion. He regularly issues challenges, prodding the hordes to compete with one another. These challenges usually result in the hordes expending their energy in a way that benefits the Empire.
How Imperial policy is carried out in the areas ruled by the hordes varies.
The Middle Kingdom
The Great Khan liked the Chinese term and adopted it for his personal domain. From the Ryukyu Islands washed by the Sea of Dawn to the parched lands leading up to the Ural River, he rules either directly through Imperial governors or permits the mediation of the traditional native governments of subject states, guided by Imperial advisors and protected by Imperial generals.
Imperial Provinces
Imperial provinces, those parts of the Mongol Empire ruled directly by the Great Khan's own Golden Horde, rather than one of the other four hordes or by a native subject government, generally have governments with split authority. These authorities are to work together, but are independently appointed by the Imperial court.
Governor: issues laws. The Governor has the authority to make or change any law, as long as it does not conflict with the will of the Great Khan. He is appointed to encourage the security of the Empire and increase the Imperial treasury. Traditionally, this was done by terrifying the people into submission and looting them into powerless poverty, but current policy is to encourage the economy to make the people glad of Imperial rule and prosperous enough to bear a continuous, gradually increasing tax burden. How the population and the leaders react to their treatment affects what sot of governor the Imperial Court appoints.
War Lord: oversees military affairs for the province. His actions are independent of the Governor. He is to observe the Governor and support him, but also to observe local affairs independently and to communicate regularly with the Imperial Court.
Judge: handles matters of justice between subjects, but not between subjects and the governor. Imperial judgeships are permanent personal appointments of the Great Khan. They are to travel about the empire dispensing justice on his behalf.
Subject States
"Advisors," appointed by the Khagan if in Golden Horde territory or by an Il-khan if in one of the four lesser hordes' lands, guide subject native rulers, that they may not accidentally offend the Emperor. Military affairs are under the command of an Imperial general, who considers but is not under the authority of, the Imperial advisor and native authorities. Such generals use a mixed force of Imperial troops and levies of Mongol and Native contingents. Levies are often traded between areas, so garrisons will be unlikely to side with locals in the case of any "foolishness." As long as Imperial interests, such as trade and tribute and the Imperial "pony express" and caravansary systems, are not impeded, the Emperor's representatives may see little need to interfere with petty local internal civil affairs.
The founding Great Khan, Temujin, the first Genghis Khan, sought to rule by terrifying the conquered population. The current Great Khan, Kublai, a great grandson of Temujun, agrees that it is good that the locals have no hope of rebelling, but thinks it even better if they also have no reason to rebel.
The current Khagan has also discontinued the policy of eliminating the "parasite class." The Mongol reputation for bloodiness came, in part, from a habit of executing much of the local aristocracy, both to quash any challenge to Mongol power and eradicate those who, in Mongol eyes, produced nothing while consuming resources better directed to the Mongols' treasuries.
Kublai has declared a policy of consolidation, but would not shy from an opportunity to expand further. Military action, after all, is a proven way to divert potential internal competition.
The Great Khan has continued the policy of exiling entire towns when there is rebellion. The old town may be sacked and leveled as a warning, or it may be presented intact as a reward to those more loyal. If there was open rebellion, the entire population is to be executed. If the people surrendered and turned over the malcontents to Mongol justice, they may be granted the great clemency of relocation to a distant location where, as an isolated minority, are rendered harmless.
The Five Hordes
Beyond the Middle Kingdom, the authority of the Great Khan over the other Hordes has steadily increased. The Khagan's own horde is the Golden.
The Middle Kingdom: The Golden Horde
The Khagan's own Golden Horde holds territories from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Ryukyu Islands in the east, from the northern edge of the Punjab in the south to the utter north
Southern border: From the Caspian Sea port of Gorgan along the Kun-e Binalud Mountain range (about 50 miles south of the modern Iranian border) to Mashad, along the Safid Kuh range to Changcharan (from the north-east corner of modern Afghanistan 200 miles east into central Afghanistan, then south-southeast, dividing modern Ghwor and Oruzgan territories in half, then south-southeast between modern Ghazni and Zabol territories) then turns south, passing west of Lake Ab-I-istada, then runs south-southeast to the Indus River (at the modern border between the Sind and Punjab states.)
China has been divided into three sections. The northeast is in the domain of the Blue Horde, the south east is in the domain of the Crimson Horde, and the center has been retained for direct rule by the Golden Horde.
The eastern border of Golden Horde territories starts at Lake Baikal, from which it extends, in theory, north to the edge of the world. From Lake Baikal, the border with the Blue Sky Horde's domains runs southeast up the lower Orhon Gol river (as far as the modern Russian-Mongolia border) then up the ridge to the Hentiyn Nuruu Mountains. The waters flowing east into the upper tributaries of the Amur River are Blue Horde lands.
Karakorum (just south-east of modern Ulaanbaatar), the capital of the first Genghiz Khan, Temujin, is the hands of the Great Khan of the Golden Horde. Almost abandoned, Karakorum comes to life each mid-summer, as a ceremonial site celebrating Temujin and the founding of the Mongol Empire.
From the mountains, the border runs south-southeast to the northeast crook of the Hwang Ho, the Yellow River. Bautou is in Golden Horde land, facing the Blue Horde's town of Hohhot.
The border follows the river to the sea, but along the old bed, going east-southeast from Kaifeng through Xuzhou, south of the Shantung peninsula province.
The border continues across the sea, dividing the Blue Horde territory of Japan from the Golden Horde territories of the Kingdom of the Ryukyu Islands and Formosa. In theory the Golden Horde's rule extends indefinitely out to sea.
The southern border divides the territories of the Golden Horde from those of the Crimson Horde, which rules southern China and Southeast Asia. The border follows the natural watershed of the Wuyi Shan and Nan Ling mountains. Further west, the Yangtze basin and Tibet, Kashmir and the Punjab (roughly following the Jhelum River to the Indus) are Holden Horde territory.
On the Indus River, the Golden Horde territories meet the lands of the Black Horde (at the modern Sind and Punjab border.) The border runs up the mountains to central Afghanistan, then west-northwest along the natural mountain border to the Caspian Sea.
North East: the Blue Horde
Destined to one day rule all the lands under the wide skies, the decedents of __ have sky-blue as their colour. Blue is also the colour of the seas over which the Blue Horde's mighty fleets sail, conquering islands and distant shores
The Blue Horde holds sway over the eastern Mongol homelands, from Lake Baikal south to the Hwang Ho River, following the river's old rout to the sea south of the Shantung Peninsula. The Golden Horde owns the Ryukyu Islands, but the Blue Horde owns Japan and all the lands and seas north and east, to the edge of the world. They have mapped and laid claim to (at least in theory) the whole of the Sea of Okhotsk.
The winter capital is Khanbalik (Peking), but the summer capital is a series of camp-cities in the steppe to the north. This is meant to keep the Mongols in touch with their homeland and strong.
The encampment sites have developed into strange ghost-cities, each filled only for a few weeks each summer. The rest of the year, there is only a skeleton population, to safeguard and maintain all the pavilions and furniture and other materials stowed in extensive underground vaults for safekeeping. The walls and some buildings are normal for the region, but other buildings are just frames, or just wall, or even just platforms, waiting to be transformed by tent-coverings. Some are utilitarian and plain, but many are quite elaborate and fanciful, in imitation of the Khagan's similar tent-city mobile summer capital.
Japan
As with other parts of this alternative history, I have taken certain liberties in order to be able to present as wide a range of adventuring opportunities as possible. In Japan, I have used a successful Mongol invasion as a tool to produce changes resulting in the flowering of parallels to several distinct phases of historical Japanese culture. Naturally, their simultaneous occurrence means that these cultural developments can only be reminiscent of, and are not meant to be exact duplicates of, the phases of Japanese culture that actually spanned several centuries. The kind reader may mentally append all references to specific cultural artifacts with an "-esque."
The Mongol Conquest of Japan
After the Golden Horde of the Great Khan accepted the fealty of the Kingdom of the Ryukyu Islands, word reached Japan that he had given Ogatai, Il-Khan of the Blue Horde, permission to annex Japan. When word that the vast Mongol fleet was loading in preparation to sail, Japanese forces gathered at Hakozaki (in modern Fukoaka city,) facing the Mongol ports in Korea. The Shinto priests raised a Divine Wind, the Kamikaze, to destroy the Mongol fleet. Only a pitiful remnant was left of the mighty Mongol fleet, only some wreckage and a few dozen Chinese and Korean levies whom it was a mercy to slay.
Made jubilant by their success, the Japanese generals declaimed a week of celebration. All had anticipated beaches littered with corpses. Instead, they were soon littered with drunken samurai.
Ever wily, certain Japanese daimyo were not shy about using this turn of events to their advantage. It is not clear who struck the first blow, but the celebration soon changed to a multi-sided bloodbath, the "Battle of Fukoaka." Some say that, in the service of their factious daimyo, the samurai slew as many of each other as ever the Mongols might have.
The Japanese celebration, and the bloody maneuvering which followed, were a grave mistake. The Mongol invaders had been crafty enough to plot this very thing, and had sent only a small decoy fleet. The real Mongol fleet, several hundreds of ships leaded with Mongol horsemen and their mounts, Chinese and Korean levies, landed only after the Japanese had cut down their own numbers.
It is believed Mongol agents inspired the bloodbath, and spurred it on when the battle flagged, sabotaging any attempts at truce.
A week later, when the real Mongol fleet did arrive, the resistance force had already been greatly diminished. Declaring his intent to "Restore the Tenno ("Heavenly King, or Japanese Emperor), Ogatai crushed the remaining Japanese forces in Kyushu and sailed on up the Inland Sea to Osaka. Within three weeks of sailing from Korea, Ogatai had Kyoto and the Japanese Imperial court surrounded.
Ogatai sent a negotiator in to speak with the Japanese Tenno ("Heavenly King") ___. The following dawn brought the announcement of festivities to celebrate the awarding of the title Shogun, supreme general, to Taga Khan, third son of Ogatai. Before Ogatai left, he arranged for two other Shoguns to be appointed, dividing the administration of Japan into three regions, East, Central, and North.
Oagatai understood full well that Shogun was a singular, unique title. This was his first step towards making the three regions increasingly distinctive, permanently separating them and so reducing the possibility of coordinated resistance to Mongol rule. It is also likely that he didn't trust his third son with all of Japan without some precautions.
The three regions have completely separate administrations and report to the Il-Khan on the mainland independently. Every possibly step is being taken to separate the regions. Of the several writing systems in use, each has been assigned one, and it is now forbidden to use or teach the system of a different regin.
Today, when one of the three Shoguns needs to be replaced, the Il-khan of the Blue Horde sends his "recommended candidates" to the Tenno to select from. On one occasion, the Il-khan has suggested that it might please the Tenno to have a particular Shogun executed. This was more likely the result of machinations in the Mongol court at Khanbalik (Peking) than of the Shogun's handling of office.
The Mongols keep a very close eye on the Imperial Court, and especially the Imperial bloodline. There are already two "escaped Tenno," rival claimants to the Heavenly Throne who denounce the Mongol puppet in Kyoto - and each other. One lurks in the West while the other, more legitimate rival has fled overseas to set up a new state in the Philippines after a failed uprising in the East region.
The current Tenno has been given three Mongol princesses in marriage, in a simultaneous wedding ceremony. Some speculate that the Mongols hope eventually to split the Japanese Imperial line, and set up a separate puppet Tenno in each region.
Japan: The North
Northern Japan is rather rugged, wild country, resembling an earlier, more chaotic period of Japanese history. It produces far less wealth than the other two regions. As the Mongol Shogun eliminates entire villages when they rebel, much of the land has returned to forest. Ruins abound.
The people here are quite open of their dislike of Mongol overlordship. The Shogun has ordered entire clans exterminated, but still controls only a fraction of the land, as much through bankrolling the more opportunistic daimyo as by occupying the larger towns. The Shogun's men travel by ship, dominating the coast. The native Japanese have destroyed most all the roads, making overland travel extremely difficult.
The "Escaped Tenno of the East," claimant to the Heavenly Throne is hiding out here somewhere. When he can count on enough support, he will rise to free his lands of the Mongol overlords and overthrow his rival, the puppet Tenno in Kyoto. His plans are somewhat complicated by the competing claims of the more legitimate claimant, the "Escaped Tenno of the West," who strives to set up a new state in the Philippines.
Inland towns, isolated daimyo, and fortress-temples defy the Shogun openly.
Rumor suggests that some, looking for power to hold the Shogun at bay, have turned to darker ways. Sorcery can be a very slippery slope.
The Shogun of the East might consider recognizing the Tenno of the East, further splitting Japan's regions, if only he could catch him.
Japan: The Central Region
The Tenno ("Heavenly King"), his three Mongol wives, and the Imperial Court, sponsored and protected by their Mongol Shogun, celebrate the extravagant Momoyama, or "Age of Gold." Those daimyo who please the Shogun are welcome to attempt to compete in this orgy of splendor.
Reluctant daimyo find their fortunes greatly reduced. Many once-powerful clans have made a virtue of less, turning to a reverence of austerity. Even for those who have retained some wealth, the "Aesthetic of Sabi" ("seer" or "plain") may be an expression of distaste for the extravagant Imperial court - and their Mongol overlords.
The Shogun are transforming the samurai into a class of bureaucrats. They are becoming a tool of, rather than a threat to, the Mongol administration.
Samurai who continue the warrior tradition may be incorporated into the Mongol forces, either in Japan or, perhaps more safely, sent to serve as a levy on the mainland.
Many samurai choose instead to either head to the wilderness of the north, perhaps to join the "Escaped Tenno of the North," or sail south to the Philippines, where the possibly more legitimate "Escaped Tenno of the South" is establishing a new state.
Japan: The Eastern region
East Japan, with its trade-ties to the mainland, has long been the commercial center of the islands. As much as many may hate their foreign overlords, the new fortunes being generated by the Mongols' fostering of trade throughout their empire, even as far as Poland and Aegypt, has made the Mongols many allies, however reluctant.
The culture here is colourful and boisterous, reminiscent of the Tokugawa period, abet at an earlier level of technology. The Samurai are becoming bureaucrats, dependant upon the state for support, living in almost Sabi-like asceticism, their remaining treasure being their pride and dignity, nobility and honor. Many are resentful of the rising merchant class, theoretically so far below them in social scale. Many Samurai are becoming more dedicated to duty and form and are falling out of touch with the outside world.
The island-wide "Kyushu Uprising" was orchestrated by the very able "Escaped Tenno of the East," claimant to the Heavenly Throne. The Mongol almost welcomed the Uprising, as it revealed which daimyo would rebel. The Uprising was soon crushed.
The Tenno of the East fled, first to Okinawa and then on to the Philippines. Many Japanese have followed him.
Wako Pirates
The Waco, Japanese pirates, have long been the scourge of the coasts. Now, some are cultivating a Robinhood-like repute, claiming to strike against the Mongols.
Ryukyu Islands
The Kingdom of Ryukyu Islands is a vassal of the Golden Horde.
The Philippines
The Sung Emperor suffered a terrible defeat under the sword of Genghis Khan, losing the whole of the north.. Seeing that there was little to stop the Mongols from a devastating conquest of his remaining empire, the Southern Sung Emperor negotiated an arrangement by which he surrendered his empire, which became the base of the Crimson Horde, in return for a peaceful to retreat with his court to internal exile on Formosa. Any Chinese who wished were to be permitted to join him there, their wealth intact.
The Mongols accepted his terms, as it let them take the rest of China intact, bureaucracy and military included, without the loss of a single warrior, and strike with lightning-swift surprise against Annam and the northern Thai kingdom of Nan Chao.
As more and more Chinese and wealth moved to Formosa, it became a plum to sweet for the Mongols to resist. Anticipating this, the Sung Emperor shipped everything he could to a new and further retreat. The Sung court moved to ____ (Manila), and extend an open invitation to all other Chinese who are dissatisfied with Mongol rule to join them in the newly established Hakka Empire.
The utter lack of native organization has made possible a rapid Chinese take over all the more accessible and richest land. Continual difficulties with native peoples have lead to the importation of labor from the mainland; pirates find a ready market here for slaves from many lands.
To protect their families from Mongol reprisal, many Chinese families claim that members who have left for the Hakka Empire have been seized by pirates, and may even stage a mock-raid. The Mongol governors may be perfectly happy to let dissatisfied people leave. They will send a fleet to annex this new empire when it has grown fat.
There are three forces opposing Chinese domination of the archipelago. One is the native tribes, some of which are becoming more organized. The second is a wave of Indonesian colonization spreading from the Sulu Sea, headed by the raja of Jolo. The third is a steady stream of Japanese, similarly dissatisfied with Mongol rule in their homeland.
Few of Japanese in the Philippines have been content to join the Chinese. Rather, they strive to establish a competing state under the leadership of the Escaped Tenno of the South, or rather, under his most capable general.
South East: the Crimson Horde
Red is the colour of blood, the colour of victory and power, the colour of strength and passions. The Crimson Horde was given the lands of the Southern Sung emperor, in return for the emperor's "internal exile" to Formosa, wealth and dignity intact. (SEE "The Philippines" for the outcome of that move.)
The Crimson Horde has been given the world from the Pearl River basin southward and eastward to the ends of the world. It includes Fuchow province, mainland of Formosa, Annam, and has driven a Great Road through its subjects, the Thai kingdom of Nan Chao, with its capital at Dao, and the Burmese Empire of Pagan, to the fabled golden gates of India.
South West: the Black Horde
The lands of the Horde of the South West, decedents of Il Khan Hulagu, lie beyond the Kara Kum (the Black Desert), which gives the Black Horde its name. Black is the colour of resourcefulness and might.
The Black Horde is also called the Persian Horde.
Gazan Khan made of Tabriz a magnificent capital. On the cross-roads of caravan routes to Aegypt and Russia, the Byzantine Empire and India, many-towered Tabriz overlooks Lake Urmia (Rezaiyah.)
The eastern border runs from the Caspian Sea lagoon of Bandar-e Torkeman to Emarud, to Nashpur to Herat to Qandahar to Quetta to the Indus River, and thence down to the Arabian Sea.
The western border with the Byzantine Empire is formed by the Empire of Trebizond, the Kingdom of Vasparkan (Armenia,) and a few minor emirates.
North West: The Silver (or White) Horde
The lands west of the Ural Mountains and Ural River and north of the Caucasus Mountains are the domain of the Horde of the Northwest, the Silver Horde. This happens to be synonymous with Europe, but that is strictly co-incidental.
The Great Khan issued a formal challenge to the Silver and Black Hordes to see which can seize the Byzantine Empire. Some question whether such a conquest might make either horde too powerful for the Great Khan to keep leashed, and wonder whether he might not himself be behind the delays which have permitted the Byzantine Empire to remain unconquered.
Xanadu, the Winter Capital
The Great Khan Ugudei, grandfather of the current Great Khan Kublai, ordered a new capital built at Urumchi. From this caravan center halfway between his ports of Korea and Armenia he was better able to control the eastern and western wings of the empire. Today, the Imperial Court resides in the winter-capital palace-city of Xanadu, a fantastical structure built up the slopes and about the peak of Mount Xanadu, overlooking Urumchi.
Xanadu is, simply put, the most fabulous place on earth. Here are gathered the wonders of half the world. There are some two hundred embassies within the walls of Xanadu, representatives of nations both subject to the Empire and from beyond. Caravans of tribute regularly bring yet more wonders, as each nation seeks to gain the favor of the Rainbow Throne.
During the summer, the capital occupies a series of tent-cities as it moves across the ansestral Mongol homelands. Originally fairly spartan affairs, the tent cities are now fully developed sites, abet not with very many normal buildings. Most of the year there are only platforms, or tent frames, or just walls. During all but the few weeks they are in use, the tents and pavillions, furnatures and other suplies are kept safe in underground vaults. A minimal perminent staff guards and maintains a whole city's worth of materials out on the steppe.
Today, even the Kurultai (Imperial diet, where all the great leaders, or their representatives meet) is no longer just for Mongols. It has become a multi-cameral system, with councils of "internal ambassadors," military leaders, and so on.
For a taste of the flavor of Xanadu and life in the equally fabulous traveling tent city, read Michael Moorcock's Gloriana. As with any self-respecting fantastic palace city, parts of Xanadu recall House Absolute, of Gene Wolf's Book of the New Sun (v. 1 is Shadow of the Torturer.) The romantic intrigues in the most fabulous setting of Xanadu are similar, but there is more danger, and a more calculating Emperor.
Kublai has several sons, but none is as intelligent and sensitive, nor as brilliant and ruthless in military prowess, as his third daughter. Can a woman succeed to the Rainbow Throne? She seems to think so.
The Khagan has ordered that the libraries of the world be scoured to find the greatest lessons of past empires. His projects focus on improving communications; the finest of engineers are brought here, kidnapped if necessary, to draft plans for roads and bridges, tunnels and signal towers. A series of government-mandated caravansaries are being constructed at regular intervals to facilitate his "Pony Express" riders.
Panda Khan
From a lost land between Tibet and Central Asia, a young Panda is about to set out and explore the world. Read Panda Khan for details.
The old Pavian (Azytwaznt's equivalent of there Romans; SEE Azy Classical Era) outposts have had quite an impact on the New World, rendering it both more bountiful and better defended that is was in the real world. as have the Viking invasions of the past two hundred years.
Viking exploration began rather earlier, and was pursued more vigorously, here than in the real world. In part, this was due to the continuing non-human presence in Scandinavia, which caused the Humans to feel the cramp of population pressure rather earlier.
The "Golden Key," however, was a relic looted by Varangian ("Ost Vikerlings") mercenaries in Byzantium. A plaque of mysterious style and craftsmanship, the Key is pure gold, set with a large, almost clear emerald and several lesser emeralds and turquoise. It is, in fact, a Mayan artifact, brought back to Europe by a Roman expedition. The relic was brought to Danmark, by Snorri Olafson, son of Olaf Gunderson. Snorri continued on to Iceland, where his father, in search of more land and to escape from his neighbors, had moved.
In Iceland, the mystic Erica Half-Hand correctly interpreted the cryptic Roman graffito on the back as a set of directions. The large, clear emerald turned out to be a "Sun-Stone;" when set on a sun-staff, the artifact can be used to determine latitude, even on cloudy days.
Using the Key, Snorri and his companions made several voyages of exploration, founding colonies from Nova Scotia to Virginia, and up to St. Laurence to Montreal. Longer voyages revealed the Great Lakes and then the great civilizations of the Gulf of Mexico.
Today, these first-wave colonies are a couple of centuries old. When Sandinavia has been united, the colonies grow quickly, but when the periodic internal wars within Scandinavia bleed over to the colonies sponsored by various regions, the colonists soon built fortifications as mighty as any in the old country.
Fully half the European population are actually non-Scandinavians, brought over either as slave labor or as craftsmen.
As a result, these first-wave colonies feel very much like Dark Ages northern Europe, complete with a century or two of older buildings. There are also a number of "Lost Colonies" and other ruins.
Later colonies include a few Hudson's Bay and Baffin Island trade posts, a well-developed Great Lakes basin region, and colonies strung down the coast (and up rivers) all along the Atlantic seaboard and into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
Still, even in the most heavily Europeanized areas, one need not go far to find settlements of the Native "Koppar-volk."
Vineland Natives
The "Koppar-volk" are so-called from both their rich complexions and from their familiarity with the metal. Trade from Mexico, greatly stimulated by the Pavians has resulted in several technological advances.
Native technology is essentially early Bronze Age. Agricultural advances lead to population increases, which stimulated advances in weaponry, which in turn resulted in the development of defensive architecture. In addition to the Mesoamerican influences, certain technological and artistic styles hint at past Celtic contact as well Pavian.
Native defensive architecture is derived from their traditional circular stockades and Celtic hill forts. Wooden stockade walls, twenty foot and taller, are still used to back megalithic ring-walls. Some fortified sites have developed into towns, while others, especially more ritual sites, are used only intermittently.
Crypto-Celts
The first wave of Celts came to these shores over a thousand years ago, when native British who would not submit to the Pavian yoke sailed across the Western Sea in search of the legendary sunset lands.
Few in number, they, with their technologies, arts, and rich story-telling tradition, were welcomed by the Native peoples.
A century later, Pavian explorers followed.
The Pavian Empire brought Celtic workers to its New World colonies. When the Empire abandoned the New World, many of these Celts moved up into the Appalachian mountains to escape raids by Caribbean / Mesoamerican pirates (rather like native Vikings.) There they found that earlier Celtic, their numbers re-enforced by runaway slaves, fleeing the Pavian colonies, had already established a loose network of villages.
When, a few hundred years later, Scandinavian colonies also began to import Celtic labor, a new wave of runaways discovered a whole string of Celtic settlements in the mountains.
The valleys may be narrow, but the bottomland is rich for farming. Timber and water-power are plentiful, and there are mineral resources to be mined. (At least as long as Those Who Dwell Below are not disturbed.)
Viking settlements from Nova Scotia through the Great Lakes basin recall Europe of an earlier century.
Central America
Brazil (South America)
Following the lead of the Vikings to the north, Cordova sent scouts west. They explored from northern Brazil to Panama. There they found ancient old Carthaginian cities, half buried but still inhabited. Some are being revived as Cordovan colonies, while others are ghost-towns. Rumor speaks of a secret, hidden states further inland.
Earlier technological advances have lead to a much earlier - and stronger - Incan Empire.