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Part 13: Appeasing the Demon
While Laks is betrothed to a daughter of the Maharaja of Chola, she is not of age yet. But Laks will need heirs and so he sends his officials to find the finest women in the kingdom to be his concubines.
This is another advantage of concubines - if your betrothed is too young, you still get access to heirs. My priority in finding concubines is this:
1. Genius
2. Quick
3. Strong
4. Attractive
I'm going to pull the same trick I pulled with the Kalyanis - press my wife's claim (she is the Maharaja's daughter, after all) after I force a regency.
Laks feels he should start his reign on a high note and hold the Diwali.
Unfortunately, a pack of monkeys decide to spoil the mood. Laks makes a mental note to increase the offerings to Hanuman. Clearly Laks has done something to piss him off.
This is mostly a flavor event, but flavor is always good.
Next time, Laks is going to put up some window guards.
I believe the monkey event causes a small prestige hit, but we gain tons of prestige just by taking an afternoon nap, so it's no biggie.
To increase his health, Laks joins the nudist monks.
Remember, Digambara Jainism gives you +1 health.
Not every man is happy with the Palas' reign. There are many factions in the empire, but they are too divided to be a threat.
This is the factions screen. As your empire gets larger, more and more factions will appear. However, as most factions are centered around kingdoms, very few of them will get off the ground. However, everyone can join the Independence faction, which is by the far the most likely to go off.
It seems every day the heathens are gathering in strength. More and more holy orders are called. But the Jains have only the Bulls of Rishabha to protect them.
The Bulls of Rishabha are the Jain holy order. Because Jains have no holy wars, they can only be called up for defense. That said, they're pretty tough.
The might of the Shia is not enough to overcome the forces of the Byzantine Empire. It seems the Byzantines truly are the power of the Near East.
CKII doesn't model decline very well and usually the Byzantines will just walk over anyone unfortunate enough to get in their way.
Laks has a war of his own to deal with, and one of his allies calls him in to help put down a rebellion.
Laks receives a letter from his marshal detailing some military breakthroughs in Goa.
When you send your marshal to research military tech in a province, this has a chance of occurring. There's also a chance of your marshal being wounded.
Just when Laks thinks he can rest after the war, he receives an urgent message from one of his governors. The message is hastily written and there is something about "shrieking demons" and "a gate to Hell". When Laks arrives, it turns out to be worse than he expected.
This is a pretty old event chain. What I like about it is that you can interpret as a literal gate to hell or it's just medieval superstition trying to describe a geological event.
Between this and the monkeys, it seems his dad was right about appeasing the gods.
The province where this takes place has a revolt risk attached to it. It's recommended you seal this as soon as possible.
An unearthly cacophony comes from the gate and Laks knows he must seal this before it's too late.
Whatever demon has ripped open the gate must be appeased if the gate is to be closed.
It seems like the Indians have less options to close the gate than the Christians.
Laks had to pull some money out of the treasury to buy some cows, but he doesn't have many options.
Whatever demon is holding open the gate is satisfied and the gate is closed. Laks, panting, says "Next time just ask, asshole!" The priests of the empire are a little miffed he appeased the demon instead of banishing it, but everyone's a little appreciative of Laks.
I love that we get -1 opinion malus from the priests. That's absolutely nothing. -10 would be noticeable, but there's really no point in having -1.
After making many offerings to the gods, Laks receives a letter from one of his courtiers. The letter claims that one of his subjects is a traitor, but Laks is smart enough to see a set-up when it's put in front of him.
Tejpal of Solanki is relaxing in his palace when a messenger bursts in with a letter. The letter reads:
"Dear Tejpal,
I'm coming to take Punjab off your hands. My ancestors would have asked that you hand it over, but we know what's going to happen. You're going to stubbornly hold to your kingdom while I pry it out of your clenched fists. Thanks for subjugating the Budhids for me.
Sincerely,
Lakshmichandra"
One of the Spice Marine commanders takes Laks under his wing and helps him to improve his horsemanship.
This is part of the "Improve Martial" ambition.
Laks is now a fine commander.
The gate of hell has changed something in Laks. He must not only become a master of the physical world, but of the spiritual as well. And to gain spiritual power, he must first gain power over himself.
How about we look at our monarch?
He has 24 diplomacy, 8 martial, 13 (+5 from closing the gate to hell) stewardship, 12 intrigue, and 12 learning. It seems he's also managed to lose and gain some traits. He has Charitable, Just, Kind, Deceitful, and Patient. All in all, pretty good.
Laks learns much on the field of battle, becoming that better of a commander.
He fights on the front lines, battling side by side with the warriors of the Spice Marines. His bravery will be sung for generations.
With Brave, Laks has 10 martial.
Like every war before, the Palas win.
Eventually, you'll reach a point where you can roll over anyone in India. I don't think I called up my vassal levies for this.
Laks gets word of another claimant.
Said claimant dies before the year is over.
Iracaticci, Laks' betrothed, finally comes of age. To put it lightly, Iracaticci is not what you would call a great beauty. But Laks is a smart man, and he knows what makes her attractive is not her face, but her family. Specifically, her family's claim. However, as long as her daddy lives, she cannot press it.
Ira has the Ugly trait, which is the opposite of Attractive. This could be a problem for our heir if she passes it down.
Oddly enough, Daddy has an unfortunate accident soon after the wedding.
"Honey, I'm getting you a present!"
"What is it?"
"Daddy's kingdom!"
"Oh Laks!"
What starts off as a nickname by his wife soon spreads to his entire empire. Laks is known as the Demonbane, the Sword of Pala, and the Conqueror of Punjab, but now he is known as "the Great".
Next Time: Days Of Weariness and Ill