User:General534/Sandbox

It is AD 1295, in the final decade of the 13th century. Much of Eurasia is still ruled by the four Mongol khanates, but their interrelations have been strained by infighting and the death of Kublai last year. The time of the Crusades is over -- Mamluks seized Acre and Tartus in 1291, driving the last crusaders from Asia. But as Marco Polo returns from his travels, Europe remains fascinated with the things of the Orient. As ambitious rulers inherit the opportune slates left by their fathers, the world hears of new names: Mali, king of the Sahel; Majapahit, lord of Nusantara; Castile, defender of the setting sun; Japan, emperor of the rising sun. From the Mongol frontier to the lands beyond the sea, empires are spawning that will soon rival the established powers in wealth and greatness, and carve for themselves a place in the sun.