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India, Part 7
Sometimes a Maharaja Dies Just When You Need Him to.
While Asaraja's letter portrayed a man unafraid of the Palas, privately he was this far away from a panic attack. He calls in all of his alliances to stop the Palas, but the Palas have already won a battle and the Budhids and the Cholas are far away.
While we saw this picture last time, let's take a closer look at it, shall we?
The black arrow is pointing to the allies that Asaraja our enemy has called in. He's called in the Cholas and the Budhids. The Cholas I believe are fighting with my wife, so they won't be much of a threat. The Budhids only have around four to five provinces, so they aren't much of a threat either.
Speaking of the Budhids, they are the nation pointed to by the pink arrow.
The dark purple arrow in the top right corner of the screen is pointing to the high importance notification box. This will tell you if your enemy has called in an ally, so pay attention.
The war box in the center of the screen can be brought up by clicking the warscore circle, which the brown arrow is pointing to.
The other purple arrow is pointing to our list of battles. We've won one victory, but it was a very small one.
The ten-thousand strong army of the Pala Kingdom has crushed the Paramara army and now focuses on sieging Asaraja's provinces.
We've defeated the main army at this point and we just need to wrap up the war by taking province. Our 10-to-1 odds mean that we can assault this castle.
The war ends unceremoniously as the last province is sieged. However, though weakened, the Paramaras still control a significant part of India. But it is one step closer to uniting all of India under one banner.
As wars for entire kingdoms go, that was fairly short and boring. But as the Paramaras have land and vassals outside of the de jure kingdom of Malwas, they still control a fair amount of territory. Of course, we have just gained a lot of their former territory, so they won't be much of a threat.
The reason I used that picture is because I couldn't find the picture of my victory pop-up. If a guy has land outside the subjugated kingdom, all of his personal holdings within the subjugated kingdom will go to you. If all of his holdings are in his kingdom, he'll keep them, as well as his lower titles.
Laks and another boy have a fight over a toy. Naren gives Laks a lesson on kindness.
Sadly, Laks won't get the kind trait from this.
Naren increases the power of the crown. Now no vassals shall be able to fight another.
He further increases it in the subjugated lands of the Chandelas. Now no land shall pass out of the land via inheritance.
Despite his position, Laks has never been one to brag. Naren is quite proud of him for doing so. Meanwhile, Naren's wife calls into a war with another of the Indian kings.
Since Laks is my backup heir, I want him to get as many good traits as possible. Humble is good for Indian rulers, because PIETY. PIETY PIETY PIETY PIETY PIETY. You need it. Go get it.
That war I got into has mostly been won already. I think my wife just wanted me to help finish the job.
Hoping to get rid of the Candravamsa Maharaja, Naren sets up a plot - a plot that the Maharaja's own wife is a part of.
Guys, I'm sorry, I can't actually remember what the plot was for. I'm fairly sure I was going to see if I could push a claim. Or maybe I just didn't like the guy.
Naren's temper is starting to get the better of him and Naren is filled with remorse. However, the epiphany is temporary, but at least Naren doesn't get worse.
Afterwords, a courier runs up to Naren - his wife is at war again.
Despite a 70% chance to get Kind, I don't get it.
Naren celebrates a makeshift Dewali in the middle of his camp. Rebels have risen up in the Kalyani lands, fighting against what they call the tyranny of the Maharani. Tyrant or not, since Naren went to all that trouble putting his wife on the throne, he'll have to keep her on it.
Meanwhile, the defeat of Asaraja's army has led to a civil war in Paramara, as power-hungry nobles see their chance to increase their power.
There are two things to go over in this picture. First, the flavor text for the Diwali is different for Jains than for Buddhists. Second, my wife has pissed enough people off to set off a civil war. It's likely that her -2 warscore is due to not capturing any of their provinces. Rebels gain warscore the longer they have their holdings.
Meanwhile, a secret message is passed into Naren's hands - Timgyadeva will soon be dead.
Timgyadeva is dead before the month ends - but the realm knows who the mastermind is. Fortunately, no one in Pala really cares.
Having foreigners killed isn't that big a deal to your vassals. It is to foreigners.
Seeking to push a relative's claim, Naren plots to have the next king murdered.
I'm pretty sure I was going to get an under aged heir on the throne so I could push a weak claim, now that I think about it.
Jayapala is soon dead.
Laks comes of age. While Naren is disappointed that his son didn't listen to all of his lessons, Laks is still a fine young man.
Laks got Underhanded Rogue, the third best diplomacy education trait. It gives +3 diplomacy, -1 martial, and +5% fertility. At least he didn't Naive Appeaser. Regardless, it looks like Rayan will take the throne when Naren dies.
In what is soon becoming a family tradition, Naren drags another of his kids on his wars. Suvrata is being rather selfish with her toys. Naren corrects her on that.
Suvrata becomes a much more charitable little girl.
Meanwhile another peasant revolt breaks out in Pala.
Even as the two wars end, a more dangerous one arises. One of the deposed members of the Kalyani Chalukyas has gathered a massive army to seize his claim by force. Naren is called in to assist his wife.
Claim hosts are one of the nastiest threats a small kingdom can face. Basically, someone out of the country with a claim on your land will gather up a huge army that will always be just larger than your own. Our wife is very lucky she has us to count on - there's no way she could take on this army alone.
By the way, I believe the limit on how big claim hosts can get is 30,000 men (though someone in the thread might have different data - 30,000 is simply the largest I've seen them and they were attacking a power with well over that number). This is very dangerous to powers that are smaller than that, but the Holy Roman Empire isn't going to be toppled by a disgruntled noble. Of course, the only things that can put a dent in the HRE are the Mongol Hordes. We'll meet them in a much later update. One of the reasons that Ireland is such a good starting place is that relatives stuck on the main land have to move their army by boat - and they can only take some many guys at a time.
Claim host leaders also carry a ton of cash on them, allowing you to replenish your coffers by banishing them, which is useful after you've hired mercenaries to stop them.
Suvrata is proving herself to be a humble little girl. Meanwhile, Naren hires a company of mercenaries to help deal with the prince's armies. The enemy army as a whole can't be beaten, but if the prince gets overconfident, then he may to split up the army. That's when Naren will strike.
First, Suvrata gets Humble.
Second, the black arrow is pointing to my army, which has been reinforced with a mercenary company.
Third, the blue and green arrows are pointing to the claim host armies. Together, they'd be too much, but split up like that and they should be easy pickings.
In an intense battle with one of the claim host armies, Naren is wounded. Later, he falls ill. He does not have long to live.
Naren's wound and illness combined give a malus of -3 health, but his school of Jainism gives him +1 health, for a total of -2.
But the war ends with a victory for the Maharani and Naren celebrates by increasing his authority in Malwas.
In better news, Suvrata is showing herself to be a sociable young girl.
We get Gregarious, of course.
But Naren feels he has one last thing to do. Dying, he calls his son and chosen heir Rayan to his side.
"Rayan, what is the dharma of a king?"
"The dharma of the king is be just and treat all men in his domain fairly."
"What else?"
"The king must temper his justice with kindness, lest it become revenge."
"Good, what else?"
"Though the king must be just and kind, he must not be afraid to meet with force those who would harm his people. He must not shy away from danger or from death. But the king must choose his battles carefully and not throw away his life needlessly."
"There is more."
"The king must work hard and strive for the top. He must control his anger, lest it control him. He must also control his appetite and eat to live, not live to eat. The king must engage with his subjects and meet them face to face. The king must share his wealth with those who have none.
"You are not done."
"The king honors the gods, but he also respects his fellow man."
"One last thing."
"The king does not elevate himself above others, for in the end he is still a man."
"Good. Remember that when you take up my crown. The time may come sooner than you think."
There is a long silence and Rayan says "Thank you, father." It will be the last time the two speak.
I just listed the traits that I feel are must useful for Indian rulers: Kind, Just, Brave, Ambitious, Patient, Diligent, Charitable, Temperate, and Humble. I also noted that you should avoid Zealous, mostly because it prevents you from switching religions. If you already have switched, go get it.
Also, I had Naren switch Jain schools so he could lose his health bonus. He's done all he needs to.
Naren's sufferings end as he departs his body. Rayan ascends to the throne. He will increase the power of the Palas like none of his predecessors have ever done before.
Sometimes a Maharaja dies just when you need him to.
The Man Who Would Be Samrat