Parni

The campaign brief

"Being assailed by the Romans, also, in three wars, under the conduct of the greatest generals, and at the most flourishing period of the republic, the Parthians alone, of all nations, were not only a match for them, but came off victorious." – Justin

We are the Parni. Our tribe has dwelled on the coast of the Daryā-i Xazar as long as humans can remember. We have seen the rise of the Assyrian and the Babylonian Empire, the coming of the Median Empire and the conquest of the Achaemenid Empire. We have witnessed the campaigns of dozens of usurpers and that of Alexander, the divine boy from the West. All of them have vanished into the shadows of history long since, but the Parni are still there.

The Gods have given us strength and the ability to ride the horse like no other people on Earth. The Nisaian horses are superior to all of their fellow races, and we have become their masters. From the back of the horse, we fire our arrows into those who are foolish enough to dare to cross into our lands. Over the decades and centuries, many a mighty military man has come from beyond the Zagros mountains, but none have succeeded. None of them was able to destroy the tribe of the Parni, and we are still here to watch the world around us.

Our sacred native land we must defend, but the neighbouring tribes in the North and the East have to be watched carefully, despite being tied to us by the bond of common blood. From the South, the foreigners have brought to us the doctrine of Ahura Mazda, the superior God who has created the Geti. Now we have been illuminated and worship fire, the strongest and most divine of the elements. The Gods will show us wisdom, and we will carry the Farahavar into battle. What lies ahead for us, the Parni, and our Chorasmian brothers? Will we destroy each other in war, or will we migrate to another place? In the South we can find the wealthy and mighty Empire of the Macedonians, who might not pay too much attention to this region they see as remote. This can be a chance for us, the Parni, to rise to glory. We have survived many a war, and now Ahura Mazda will lead us and show us the way to the truth and the wisdom of the Geti!