I was falling down a deep hole, a hole that didn’t seem to have a bottom! When I finally came to a stop, it felt as if years had gone by. I opened my eyes after I came to a stop to see an elderly man in royal clothes sitting on a throne. He had his hands on his forehead and he seemed to be crying.
Me: Err, who are you?
The man looked at me, startled.
The Man: Guards!!! Guards!!
No one came in the room. The man collapsed on the floor.
I went over to him and found a glass of water nearby. I sprinkled some water on him. He seemed to regain consciousness.
The Man: Who… who are you? How did you come here? What is that you are wearing? What… what are you going to do to me? Did the king of Orissa send you to kill me?
Me: What? King of Orissa? When did Orissa get a king? Orissa is a mere state in my country. And I didn’t come to kill you! I don’t even know what I am doing here.
The Man: Tell me who you are!
Me: I am Samrat. I was reading about Vijayanagar empire and fell asleep. I thought I was having a dream where I was falling for a long time. I woke up and here I am.
The Man: I… I am the Raja of Vijaynagar. Devaraya Sangama. You can call me “Raja” although, I am not sure for how long I will be able to keep the title.
Me: Raja of Vijaynagar? What the hell! What year is this?
Raja: Why? This is 1444!
Me: What??
Then I realized what had happened. I had been transported back to 1444! 600 years back! Then a sickening feeling came to me. Does this mean I am not going to have high speed internet? Ugh… just my luck! Couldn’t I have been transported into the FUTURE? I bet they have ultra speed internet in the future. But why 1444? And why me? What am I supposed to do?
Just then I was blinded by a light that seemed to come from nowhere. I saw three men standing in front of me. They looked majestic, godlike even. The Raja seemed to have collapsed again. Before I could move to help him, one of the men started talking to me.
Man 1: Good morning Samrat! Did you have a nice sleep?
Me: Yes, but I seem to have lost track of time.
Man 1: It’s OK. You are here for a reason. I am Krishna, the god of Diplomacy. This here with long mustache is Yama, the god of Justice and Administration. And I have Indra, the god of War and Military on my other side.
Me: Nice to meet you. This seems highly unconventional. You don’t show yourself quite often. In fact, many people think you don’t exist. How do I know you are not phonies?
Krishna: You just have to trust us, like many other people have. Are you not wondering why we are here? In fact, are you not wondering why “you” are here?
Me: I AM wondering that. I am also wondering how I can get back to 2013 or at least how I can get high speed internet.
Krishna: All in good time, Samrat. Well, the reason you are here is that you are going to save the Vijayanagar Empire.
Me: But that’s impossible! Vijaynagar empire is going to fall. Not in 1444, but 100 years from now, the Muslim Sultanates are going to band together and eradicate the empire by subterfuge.
Yama: We are gods, we know that. We want you to stop them from doing exactly that. You have at least 100 years.
Me: You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t live that long.
Krishna (smilingly): We can give you that boon.
Me (looking interested): Can you really? I don’t believe that. Also why can’t you save the empire yourself? You can be at multiple places at one time right?
Indra (sheepishly): Actually, we can’t. We can time travel though. (He seemed to be pleased by that).
Me: Fine! Even if I agree, I have no idea how to rule a state. Plus this Raja looked like he won’t remain in this world for long.
Krishna: You will be able to guide his heirs when they take the throne. Also, don’t worry about your ability to rule. Along with the ability to live for 600 years, each one of us will grant you another boon. I will give you the boon to conduct diplomacy and increase your diplomatic prowess by thousand fold.
Indra: I will grant you a boon to command Vijayanagar armies and increase your military prowess by thousand fold.
Yama: And I, Yama, will grant you a boon to allow you insight on Vijayanagar administration and increase your Administrative prowess by a thousand fold.
Krishna: But remember…
Me: There’s always a catch, isn’t it?
Krishna (smiling): Yes, there is. Remember that your abilities are still governed by the Higher Almighty’s set rules. For Him, this is a game. Hail Paradox Almighty!
With that they disappeared.
The raja seemed to have regained consciousness by now. He was staring at me; his eyes imploring.
Me: C’mon Raja. We have work to do.
Notes:
1. I have played Vijayanagar before with historical nations off. It is not a very difficult start. I made some changes from the previous play through.
2. One of the changes was playing as ironman. I like the changes Paradox has made to make sure you think a lot before making your decisions. I learned a lot from my previous starts. I did play EU 3 a little at a friend’s place, but that was a long time ago.
3. I do like the constraints you start with when you are playing Vijayanagar. You are in Indian tech group which makes your tech 50% more costlier than western group. However, I think the MP penalty of -1 for the tech is a little excessive. But it does add a bit of a challenge.
4. Lastly, I am not a warmonger. Although I will be warring a lot, I don’t think I will shoot for a world conquest. But hopefully you will enjoy the AAR.
Me: Err, who are you?
The man looked at me, startled.
The Man: Guards!!! Guards!!
No one came in the room. The man collapsed on the floor.
I went over to him and found a glass of water nearby. I sprinkled some water on him. He seemed to regain consciousness.
The Man: Who… who are you? How did you come here? What is that you are wearing? What… what are you going to do to me? Did the king of Orissa send you to kill me?
Me: What? King of Orissa? When did Orissa get a king? Orissa is a mere state in my country. And I didn’t come to kill you! I don’t even know what I am doing here.
The Man: Tell me who you are!
Me: I am Samrat. I was reading about Vijayanagar empire and fell asleep. I thought I was having a dream where I was falling for a long time. I woke up and here I am.
The Man: I… I am the Raja of Vijaynagar. Devaraya Sangama. You can call me “Raja” although, I am not sure for how long I will be able to keep the title.
Me: Raja of Vijaynagar? What the hell! What year is this?
Raja: Why? This is 1444!
Me: What??
Then I realized what had happened. I had been transported back to 1444! 600 years back! Then a sickening feeling came to me. Does this mean I am not going to have high speed internet? Ugh… just my luck! Couldn’t I have been transported into the FUTURE? I bet they have ultra speed internet in the future. But why 1444? And why me? What am I supposed to do?
Just then I was blinded by a light that seemed to come from nowhere. I saw three men standing in front of me. They looked majestic, godlike even. The Raja seemed to have collapsed again. Before I could move to help him, one of the men started talking to me.
Man 1: Good morning Samrat! Did you have a nice sleep?
Me: Yes, but I seem to have lost track of time.
Man 1: It’s OK. You are here for a reason. I am Krishna, the god of Diplomacy. This here with long mustache is Yama, the god of Justice and Administration. And I have Indra, the god of War and Military on my other side.
Me: Nice to meet you. This seems highly unconventional. You don’t show yourself quite often. In fact, many people think you don’t exist. How do I know you are not phonies?
Krishna: You just have to trust us, like many other people have. Are you not wondering why we are here? In fact, are you not wondering why “you” are here?
Me: I AM wondering that. I am also wondering how I can get back to 2013 or at least how I can get high speed internet.
Krishna: All in good time, Samrat. Well, the reason you are here is that you are going to save the Vijayanagar Empire.
Me: But that’s impossible! Vijaynagar empire is going to fall. Not in 1444, but 100 years from now, the Muslim Sultanates are going to band together and eradicate the empire by subterfuge.
Yama: We are gods, we know that. We want you to stop them from doing exactly that. You have at least 100 years.
Me: You’ve got to be kidding me. I can’t live that long.
Krishna (smilingly): We can give you that boon.
Me (looking interested): Can you really? I don’t believe that. Also why can’t you save the empire yourself? You can be at multiple places at one time right?
Indra (sheepishly): Actually, we can’t. We can time travel though. (He seemed to be pleased by that).
Me: Fine! Even if I agree, I have no idea how to rule a state. Plus this Raja looked like he won’t remain in this world for long.
Krishna: You will be able to guide his heirs when they take the throne. Also, don’t worry about your ability to rule. Along with the ability to live for 600 years, each one of us will grant you another boon. I will give you the boon to conduct diplomacy and increase your diplomatic prowess by thousand fold.
Indra: I will grant you a boon to command Vijayanagar armies and increase your military prowess by thousand fold.
Yama: And I, Yama, will grant you a boon to allow you insight on Vijayanagar administration and increase your Administrative prowess by a thousand fold.
Krishna: But remember…
Me: There’s always a catch, isn’t it?
Krishna (smiling): Yes, there is. Remember that your abilities are still governed by the Higher Almighty’s set rules. For Him, this is a game. Hail Paradox Almighty!
With that they disappeared.
The raja seemed to have regained consciousness by now. He was staring at me; his eyes imploring.
Me: C’mon Raja. We have work to do.
Notes:
1. I have played Vijayanagar before with historical nations off. It is not a very difficult start. I made some changes from the previous play through.
2. One of the changes was playing as ironman. I like the changes Paradox has made to make sure you think a lot before making your decisions. I learned a lot from my previous starts. I did play EU 3 a little at a friend’s place, but that was a long time ago.
3. I do like the constraints you start with when you are playing Vijayanagar. You are in Indian tech group which makes your tech 50% more costlier than western group. However, I think the MP penalty of -1 for the tech is a little excessive. But it does add a bit of a challenge.
4. Lastly, I am not a warmonger. Although I will be warring a lot, I don’t think I will shoot for a world conquest. But hopefully you will enjoy the AAR.
