Flavor Pack Guides

Watching over a bucolic valley in Afghanistan are two towering Bamian Buddha statues. No matter your faith, marvel at these wonders of creation as you carve for yourself a kingdom in this part of the Silk Road.

The Oxus River traditionally demarcates the frontier between Iran and the steppes. Now, you can traverse up and down the so-called "Mad River," and gaze upon a land of ancient faiths, ancient citadels, and ancient learning.

Travel to the Pamir and Hindu Kush Mountains,  a diverse potpourri of cultures and religions. Here is a land of pristine blue skies, valleys of endless grass, and rugged, ancient, snow-capped peaks. 

Find yourself in Siberia, inhabited by dissipate tribes who hunt and herd reindeer to eke out a living in the cold and desolate climate, and where the harshness of the taiga has a way of carving a person down to their true self. 

The Silk Road. From khans to merchants to slave girls and monks, it is a tapestry of the best and worst of humanity, and situated in the very center of the Silk Road is none other than the legendary Tarim Basin.

The turquoise waters of Lake Qinghai and the rugged Kunlun mountains beckon to you.  Centuries ago, the Tuyuhun settled here to control the SIlk Road and breed the famed Qinghaicong horses.

Land on the shores of Chios, the birthplace of Homer, the legendary poet who composed the Iliad and the Odyssey, and for centuries the world’s chief producer of mastic, a substance said to be worth its weight in gold. 

Since antiquity, Lesbos has been home to the cultured and the eloquent. Yet this is a chaotic times, where constant violence is the norm. Can you protect the Mediterranean and bring prosperity to this ancient isle?

Since antiquity, legendary fortifications have protected the island of Rhodes, home of the Colossus. Can you continue Rhodes’ legacy and defend it like your predecessors or will you fall in defeat, under the shadow of the Colossus?

West of the Nile River are several oases, used since ancient times as stopping points for trade. Most famous among them is Siwa, which once housed the Oracle of Amun that honored Alexander the Great as Pharaoh. 

The Nile is the heart of Egypt, the land its body, and the people its blood. The clear waters of the precious Nile teem with life, as it has since the day of the Pharaohs. As long as the Nile remains, so shall Egypt endure.

The last Middle Eastern pagans were the cosmopolitan denizens of the city of Harran. Confused with the Sabians in the Quran, they practiced their faith - a curious mix of Semitic and Hellenic beliefs - into the medieval period. 

The fertile plains and hills of Khuzestan was once the breadbasket of old empires, like that of Elam, the Achaemenids, and the Sassanids. Do you have what it takes to maintain this region's vibrant economy and culture?

Sail to the azure seas of the medieval Indian Ocean -  a world of economic opportunity, and great conflict. In the middle of it all is the small, unassuming island of Socotra, which has been the stuff of legends for centuries. 

The inhabitants of Yazd are famed for their piety, and the arid hills of south central Iran are home to dedicated Zoroastrians, fanatical Kharijites, and resourceful Muslim warlords - who shall prevail in the end? 

The mountains and valleys of Kurdistan are a hotbed of ancient faiths and heterodox sects, including the Yazidis and Yarsanis. In these rugged highlands, which religion will guide you to a brighter future?

Before Mansa Musa and the Lion King Sundiata Keita, West Africa was already home to ancient civilizations like the city of Jenne, founded by the Bozo people, who Sundiata himself would dub the “Masters of the River.” 

The forests and marshes of the Niger Delta are home to ancient cities, like Ile-Ife, whose rulers are said to be descended from the very gods. Will you be a worthy heir to Oduduwa and the other sacred rulers you descend from? 

Oh brave adventurer! Journey across the harsh and desolate Eastern Desert of Egypt, and arrive on the shores of the Red Sea: find your way to the abundance of wealth that others here might have ignored. 

The highlands of southern Ethiopia are viewed by others as the fringe of civilization. Yet it is home to many vibrant peoples and faiths: can you defend them against outside aggression, and bring them the prosperity they deserve?

For generations, your people, famed for the indigo-dyed veils worn by their men, have wandered the vast Sahara desert. How will you help them find a new homeland in these uncertain times?

Aachen, the city of Charlemagne, is now yours to rule. His name, his legacy, and his legends are everywhere here. Can you fill in the shoes left by the great Carolus Magnus, defender of Christendom and grandfather of Europe?

Travel to Brittany where dwell the proud and pious Celtic peoples known as the Bretons. Demonstrate your faith in a multitude of ways,  and discover the ancient, mythical sites associated with Arthurian legend.

A duchy born from a struggle that determined the fate of nations, Normandy is the cradle of the Norman people, who came as squabbling, plundering adventurers, and transformed into cosmopolitan, God-fearing aristocrats.

Are you going to Scarborough Fair? Now you can go there as well as the forests and vales of Yorkshire. A land of commerce, a land of faith, Yorkshire survives through the trials and tribulations of different rulers. 

There is much history in the rugged lands of Galicia. Some of it more violent, some of it more cultured. Will you go a path of war, peace, or somewhere in between, as you travel the Way of Saint James?

Granada is more than just distant memories of the Alhambra idealized by many for centuries. As you and other kings and emirs determine the Fate of Iberia, can you build Granada to be a bastion of faith, trade, and grandeur?

At the world’s edge lies the Canary Islands, the fabled Fortunate Isles of ancient myth, where the Guanche have lived for generations. Will you unify these tribes, or conquer them to exploit the islands’ resources? 

Sardinia is a paradox: an island at the center of the Mediterranean, yet it has always been on the periphery.  As a judicati, or judge, of the island, where will you orient Sardinia in your quest to keep it safe and prosperous? 

Beautiful Sicily is a paradox: it is the center of the Mediterranean, yet it is also a frontier that straddles three worlds: Islam, Byzantium, and the Latin West. Will you tame these wild lands, or will they remain an eternal frontier?

Walk along the lush valleys of Moroccan rivers like the Sus and Ziz, where cities like Sijilmasa facilitate immense trade between West Africa and the Maghreb. Will you prosper as the gatekeeper of the door of the Sahara?