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Guess Albrecht is planning a Manuel like end for himself, teaching Andi some tricks the hard way. Only doubt Andi will be as forgiving as Basil was...
 
Guess Albrecht is planning a Manuel like end for himself, teaching Andi some tricks the hard way. Only doubt Andi will be as forgiving as Basil was...
One big difference there: Basil got to marry Sophie.

Out of curiosity, where is Cecilia being exiled to? If she's still in the Empire, albiet out of the capitol, she could yet have a great many more years as a key player, especially if she can return to court after Albrecht's death. Something tells me that Safiya's marriage to Andi will be less-than-happy, which would leave a pretty big opening for an old flame...
 
Certainly an interesting twist of events. I seem to find myself torn on this one. While I like that Albrecht has guided the ship of state for nearly a half-century and without him Rhomaion would have fallen under the intrigues and complots of the various forces both inside and out, I am a sucker for a happy ending and wish nothing more than for Andie to be married to Cecilia and not Safiya. Speaking of which, she frightens me slightly. She has a wreckless abandon and cocksure attitude that will only end up in the painful demise she deserves. I mean, the girl was stealing from her mother and shouting her literally to her death and yet somehow it was all Frederica's fault. Just from that little snipet I have my suspicions that we will see a full blown narcissist before we know it. At any rate, another spot on update, BT, keep it up!

~Hawk
 
Hawkeye1489 - Safiya has the disadvantage that she's been raised with stories of what her mother could have had, and how she got as far as she did, without any real motherly advice. Gabriel cared for his daughter, but he wasn't exactly the model paragon of a father himself. As for her shouting at Frederica, there was ALOT of pent up frustration that exploded there...

Enewald - As alot of people have found out over the decades...

Fulcrumvale - She's being exiled out of the capital city, but she's still within the confines of the Empire itself. Likely she'll end up in Thessalonike or some other major city close by.

FlyingDutchie - Albrecht is in his 60s, he knows one way or another, the writing is on the wall, and his end is coming sooner rather than later. Maybe this has made him not as cautious as he used to be regarding his plots, maybe it means he's slipping? We'll have to find out!

Vesimir - I picked that pic simply because the dress looks so similar to one Freddie wore when she was first trying to capture the heart of the hapless Thomas. :) And yes, I'm using Octavian as Andronikos for right now...

Leviathan07 - In all fairness to Safiya, we saw her venting her frustrations at a mother who never cared for her... for all we know, she could be a truly kind and loving wife to the man that eventually nabs her. The chances aren't likely, but they are there...

cezar87 - What personality disorder would that be, out of curiosity? I've tried to give some of the characters in the story so far real personality disorders, so it'd be interesting to do some note comparing! :)

humancalculator - And getting caught doing that would mean probable immediate war with Persia. Normally the Empire could tackle Persia with ease, but with Spain, Africa, and Sortmark as distractions...

armoristan - We'll have an update on him soon enough... he's still kicking ineffectually. :)

RGB - When your blood has the legitimate right to rule most of the Known World, its a deadly serious business...

AlexanderPrimus - When are things not a mess for an empire this convoluted and huge? :rofl:

FrozenWall - True, but then again, Albrecht wasn't necessarily trying to educate those he had to best in plotting earlier. Albie still sees Andronikos as the future--he's hoping he can steer the boy in the direction he thinks is right before its too late... even if it means angering his charge.

asd21593 - That'd be the obvious place for Andie to strike. Does Andie lash out like that, or are there more people at play than just Albie and Andie?

I've got some scribbles done on the next update, but nothing solid yet. It'll probably be up by this weekend, if not sooner. Though, just to be mean, I will reveal the following: There is a character you have already met. Down the line, I think this could be considered a...um... apt theme for him (No, I won't outright use it, but once you see him in action, you'll see why it could fit if I went the cliche route). Which character is it? It's a male. That's all I'm saying for now. Happy guessing!
 
The imperial march? Thomas the Fourth, who else?

Nay, Thomas the Third! Returned from his supposed tomb! The march aptly captures the feelings of the court at his appearance :D
 
humancalculator - And getting caught doing that would mean probable immediate war with Persia. Normally the Empire could tackle Persia with ease, but with Spain, Africa, and Sortmark as distractions...

Well, such an event would cause either one of two things.

1. Andie fulfills the prophesy of bringing the empire to ruin.

2. Great commanders and rulers tend to show up during tribulation. This could allow either Andie to rise up and prove his greatness or someone else that hasn't been revealed yet to show his own.
 
Well, such an event would cause either one of two things.

1. Andie fulfills the prophesy of bringing the empire to ruin.

2. Great commanders and rulers tend to show up during tribulation. This could allow either Andie to rise up and prove his greatness or someone else that hasn't been revealed yet to show his own.

Remember, Andie is Andie the first.
 
Remember, Andie is Andie the first.

This makes me beleive my second idea will come to fruition sooner rather than later.
 
A female with the Imperial March theme would be quite...fascinating. I demand you rewrite everything based solely on that!

:rofl:
 
The Imperial March as theme? I guess that would be most suited for a ruthless conqueror. My guess would be the Angelos-boy. He is both on the path of becoming a military commander and can be quite hostile. Another contender could be Nikephoros the Persian IMO.
 
Could be the Seljuk Sultan strikes back?
 
A female with the Imperial March theme would be quite...fascinating. I demand you rewrite everything based solely on that!

:rofl:
Rewriting everything isn't even necessary. Remember that teaser we had a really long time ago of a Romano-Persian queen after the splintering of the Empire?

Or it could wind up being a Mongol--perhaps the new Khan of the Nestorian Khagnate?
 
I think the Komnenids need a good shaking up, they've become so engrossed in their own scheaming that nothing else matters to them. Thats why I hope its the theme of some "dark horse". A general who rides to the rescue of the empire, he dosnt even have to be a Komnenid he could be some provincial tough guy who takes charge when everyone else is running around like headless chicken. Someone in the best traditions of Aetius, Bonifacius and Ricimer.
 
Well BT, she seems to be in the right situation to have Histrionic Personality Disorder.

One of the key features of HPD is attention seeking behaviour. Since one of her parents has practically ignored her throughout her childhood she probably has the unconscious motivation to try to compensate (or more likely overcompensate). Another key feature is seeking attention through sexual seductiveness. Given the sexually charged environment she grew up in and her (more than :p) above average physical appearance it would be easy for her to consider that as the best means of becoming the centre of attention.

As for other features of HPD I don't really know. Too little has been revealed about her for anything more than wild guesses. But like I said, I'm going to watch her closely :).

As for the teaser, hmm. Nikephoros of Persia? He's the military man in that line of Komnenids. Once the marriage to Safiya takes place it would bring those two lines closer together and could lead to a campaign somewhere, ma (though I couldn't imagine what could be worth conquering on the CK map at this point :p). Maybe Spain getting steam-rolled by one of the Strategoi? Or "The Mongol Empire Strikes back"? We haven't heard anything from Altani and her husband for a while now. Hard to say really.
 
Am I the only one feeling this.. tension... It's like, Rhomanion is about to be eaten alive by enemies both internal and external.

General_BT, this might be asking too much, but in which is the Empire going to enter the big decline (The one that later on leads to the successor states.)? If not decade, than which half of a century? :p
 
The Empire's doing just fine, no worries here! Just have to beat those ever-pesky Spanish, those troublesome Half-Danes, that unholy Persian house, those African windbags and that Italian schemer, and everything's a-okay! Oh, and the guy who's been holding this thing together is going senile, and just made his teenage emperor step-son VERY angry, his estranged son is still sitting around in his little castle in Istria doing and planning god knows what, and the other (secret)son is a master assassin probably out assassinating people like he does from time to time, which makes people angry. And to top it all off, his unwilling bride is plotting with some other guy from Germany and we're not really sure what exactly was agreed upon in that back alley.


I'm sure everything will turn out fine, Albrecht will die peacefully at the age of two-hundred and four, all the rebel armies will lay down their arms and join hands with the imperial forces in a great big circle, and Andronikos Megas will lead us to a new age of prosperity and tranquility, that will last a thousand years.
 
I'm glad you are this positive Kirsch! It helps us others keep the bad thoughts away.:D