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Part 15: Superstar Kalyanachandra
There is a riot in the streets of Cairo. An old imam stands in front of a large crowd.
"I implore you, my children," he says, "Do not be complacent! Do not think that the end of the Fatimids is the end of our troubles! Still the widows and the outcast are oppressed! Still the holy cities are being defiled! We must change our ways if we are to survive! For soon the land will be washed with blood and all the world shall burn! The fields shall lie fallow and-"
"That's enough of that" says one of the town guards.
"Ha! Do you think that by silencing me, you will escape the wrath to come? You can only hide for so long!"
The crowd gets louder and the guard strikes the old man. "I said that's enough of that! Come on, let's get this man to a cell."
Boos and jeers echo from the crowd. It takes the arrival of the army to settle the riot, but before the day is over 73 people are dead.
Far away, in the empire of Pala, Kalyana sits on his throne. It's been 2 years since Kalyana became a man and he is already Samrat. He is a far cry from his illustrious father, possessing no great intellect or strong body. Almost a cripple, the only reason he was chosen for the throne was not for something he had done, but what his mother had done. Yet this is the man who will create the Tripartite Crown.
Kalyana is a bit of a step down from Laks. He only has three traits: Just, Diligent, and Honest. To be fair, Just and Diligent are very good traits, but Honest, as I've stated before, is a bit of a mixed bag.
Wanting to start his reign on a high note, Kalyana holds the Festival of Lights.
The Diwali is always a good way to pass the time. Better than Tiger Hunts, at least.
For this feast, he decides to get the most expensive gift money can buy for his wife.
Falling in love with our wife will give us a fertility boost and we've plenty of money anyways. Note that the cost scales with your income.
A few months later he sends the Spice Marines on a reconnaissance mission. The Solankis need to be dealt with and once they're gone only the Soomras and the Sri Lankans will stand in his way.
Sometimes I look through my pictures and I wonder why I took them. I put this in the update regardless because I'd like you to get a good picture of our victims future friends before I crush them beneath my feet bake them cookies.
The ability to lead in war is an important skill for any ruler.
To be honest, at this point Martial isn't that important for Kalyana since I have so many troops to begin with. Working on Intrigue would be better.
Some Buddhist monks show up in the villages. Kalyana takes the time to learn from them.
Another peasant revolt pops up. The Spice Marines crush it with ease.
Peasant revolts do scale with the size of your realm, but they'll always be tiny.
Years ago, the subjugation of kingdoms would have been a momentous event. But now Kalyana feels he's going through the motions with this.
With this, I'll be able to form the Empire of Rajastan, by far the largest of the three empires in India.
The new king is a bit worried about his safety, but he decides to trust his friends to keep him safe.
Honestly, Paranoid wouldn't be a bad choice here.
One can fight against the storm for only so long and the Solanki Maharaja capitulates.
On New Year's Day, Kalyana hears a tale of a vast army of horseman that wages wars against the East. He chuckles to himself. After all, what could a bunch of barbarians do to threaten the civilized world?
Oh Kalyana, you have no idea.
While setting up a marriage for one of his relatives, Kalyana hears news that his son Laks is slow to talk. This isn't good, especially on top of his weak constitution.
Yep, Laks has the Weak trait. Weak is the opposite of Strong and subtracts -1 martial and health, gives -5% fertility and subtracts -10 vassal opinion and attraction. He's not going to be the next heir.
Kalyana advises that they should let Laks take his time. This pays off and Laks is a hardworking young boy.
You're still benched Laks.
An elephant goes on a rampage in one of the villages. Kalyana decides to violate Ahimsa and have the elephant killed.
It's a Pyrrhic victory.
Kalyana hears the story of a great warrior traveling through the land. He can't help but think he has heard this before.
Far away in the Khiva, a sentry is woken up to the sound of a great rumbling. Off in the distance he sees an army, larger than anything the civilized world has seen. The army comes to claim. It comes to conquer. It comes to slay. The Mongols have arrived.
Welp, Khiva is boned. But don't worry. We are perfectly safe. I have never seen the Mongols go after any de jure Indian kingdoms. As long as we stay in India, we can wait out the storm.
A writer, fleeing from the wrath of the Horde, arrives in Laksmanavati. Where he came from is unknown, but Kalyana's translators say it was "something awful". The young man offers to write down the history of the Palas for a fee. Kalyana has plenty of money to spare, so he hires the young man.
If we went for the second option, we'd save some money but we'd get a massive opinion malus from our dynasty members in court. They want to be remembered by history.
The Mongols are conquering Khiva at a rate faster than any other known empire.
The Ilkhanate, the first of the Mongol hordes to appear, will always go for the Eastern Muslims kingdoms and Khiva is first on the list. Cumania won't even have time to react.
One of the crazy old men in Laksmanavati acts like, well, a crazy old man. Kalyana decides it wouldn't hurt to be nice to him.
Kalyana is completely baffled. Wasn't this the man that trained his grandfather and his grandfather's grandfather. How old is this man anyways. Regardless, he learns much from him.
It turns out this event chain can remove the Weak trait from your character. Huh.
Kalyana decides to take another of his sons under his wing. Hopefully this one will turn out well.
Later, Kalyana receives a letter from his neighbor. It reads:
"Dear Most High Samrat,
I can't thank you enough for showing this old man some kindness. Ever since my wife died, I've been alone in this house. I've taken out my anger and loneliness on everyone around me. I won't bother you and anyone else again.
Sincerely,
Ram."
Speaking of roses and plants, Kalyana decides to work on his garden some.
More stewardship is always good.
On his way home, Kalyana comes across a fistfight. His guards step forward, but Kalyana tells them to let him deal with it.
Historical reenactment of what happens next.
You have to watch it. Click on the link. Do it. You won't regret it.
What follows is an asskicking of unbelievable proportions. Men are sent flying comically through the air as they try to take down the emperor.
I've only seen a few scenes involving Superstar Rajini Kanth, but I've already concluded that he is the greatest action movie actor ever. By the way, he's huge in India. Or so I understand.
After this, no one disputes the Emperor's fighting ability.
In the wake of this, Kalyana creates the second part of the Tripartite Crown.
Remember, one of the requirements for becoming Samrat Chakravartin is holding all three Indian Emperor titles.
The lands of western India are his by right.
Next time: The Flail of God