After a decade or so of holding back the Doom Blobs of Egypt and Pergamon, the floodgates finally broke and the Bactrian Empire came to an end. Frenzied 20-stacks rampaged through my interior. Oh, yes, there were still victories - the utter destruction of the pride of Egypt, the elite Ptah's Justice, outside the very gates of Baktra. The slaughter inflicted by the Ares' Wrath horse archer corps in many battles. Desperate defences against Cypriot sieges of... that one port city.
But hunger and poverty killed me slowly. My last armies did what they could to delay the inevitable, but with the enemy closing in from every direction and attrition halving their numbers, it was hopeless.
Finally, they faced the might of Pergamon in a last stand that will be remembered for generations; the Battle of the Crossing. Each general was hardened by years of constant war (as in, I'd never seen some of these commander abilities before!). Each man was a bloody veteran. And so they stood, holding the river crossing against the never-ending tide, pikes at the ready, lighter infantry plugging the gaps, eagle-eyed slingers raining death from behind; the cavalry corps striking hard behind enemy lines, taking hundreds with them to Hades. Elephants rampaged through the enemy ranks, and no man feared death nor dishonor.
And in the end, it was not enough. The Generals, the final heroes of Bactria, died in last, desperate charges after the river line broke, screaming their defiance into the faces of their conquerors. It is said that General Cheron, the last of them to die, ripped off his own breastplate before charging into the enemy pikes so they could, at last, pierce the heart of Bactria.
Now foreign boots march on Bactrian soil and defile her people. No inch of land remains that has not been soaked in blood by the brave sons of Bactria in her defence. The Enemy has paid a dear price for their conquest. Let no man, woman or child forget Bactria, for she died with honor!
Rome 2: Total War. The decision to see this to the end even after defeat became inevitable was a good one. Ave Bactria!