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Rome AARisen - a Byzantine AAR

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Looks like the boy got burned by his on fire, that should teach him to tangle with the big boys. My money would be on old man Albrecht. No way that a man of his ability would let a vague Prussian near the Emperor without knowing what he's capable of. That being said, my guess is that Albie only wishes to teach the boy a lesson to stop messing with him.

But then agai, my guesses are usually very wrong :D.
 
I have a feeling that that kid will be Alexander II, or maybe his kid.
 
I doubt Albrecht would risk Andi's life like that just to teach him a lesson. He's spent years ensuring a smooth succession and he wouldn't risk the Emperor's life while he has no heirs.

I think Konstantinos is the most likely suspect. With Andi dead he would have the strongest claim outside of the Persian Komnenids. With just enough political support he could pull it off.
 
Well.

Now I'm glad. With Andronikos dead, Gabriel will have no problems in taking EVERYTHING east of Constantinople and Egypt for himself. And that's the exact thing he should do. Establish Thomas the Idiot on the throne. Then, make yourself the most powerfull entity in the empire. The emperor himself a puppet of yours.

And why he shouldn't take the throne? Simple. Constantinople is the worst thing that can happen to a man. And this here update is a good example. The Lion branch is properly working, all of them in an alliance of sorts. Andronikos and Co. are simply falling apart. Andronikos ordered the same thing someone who wants to get rid of him ordered. Pshaw. Anyways, as I was saying, if Gabriel can see that Constantinople won't give him anything good, and will spare him of much of the intrigue, he would seriously rise up in my wiev. He would go no. 1 placing Manuel at no. 2 . There. I've said it.;)

And if he would go as far, as making Albrecht his ally... Well, that would make him a genius. Albrecht would have a madman on the throne and would be free to rule the empire. Well, Constantinople and the west. And that would make him a pure genius.
 
Vesimir said:
Well.
And why he shouldn't take the throne? Simple. Constantinople is the worst thing that can happen to a man. And this here update is a good example. The Lion branch is properly working, all of them in an alliance of sorts. Andronikos and Co. are simply falling apart.
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In those days people did not think in such terms, they rather went by Cesare Borgia's motto - "aut Caesar, aut nihil" (either Emperor or nothing).
 
Hi everyone!

First, I’d like to take a moment and remind all of you that its once again time for the AARland Choice Awards, where you can show your support for your favorite authors and their works! Turnout hasn’t been stellar so far, so please, GO VOTE! Even getting votes in the awards thread means a lot to many writers here on the forums, and any AAR started before July 1st is eligible.

Just a reminder: Rome AARisen has retired from the ACAs I’d like to thank those of you who wish to vote for my story, but it’s won its share of accolades. It’s time other stories, new writers, get their time in the spotlight. :)

Secondly, RGB showed me interesting little program that lets you input text, and by some algorithm (probably a simple comparison of noun-verb-pronoun, etc. placement in the sentences) offers a famous writer you are comparable to. It’s a neat little thing, even though it turns out some weird results. So I input random text from parts of RA, and this is what it came up with:

Chapter One (very first post) - Leo Tolstoy
Chapter Two – (Malik Shah discovering Roman involvement) – David Foster Wallace
Chapter Three – (The Charge at Mount Tabor) – Ernest Hemingway
Chapter Four – (Nikolaios rescuing Demetrios from the Cuman) – Kurt Vonnegut
Chapter Five (Battle of Nineveh) – James Joyce
Chapter Six (Manuel’s infamous self-poisoning scene) - Dan Brown
Chapter Seven (Rimini talking to the German emperor) – Oscar Wilde
Chapter Eight (Sulieman’s introduction) – Dan Brown
Chapter Nine (Manuel massacring Zeno & followers) – William Gibson
Chapter Ten (Menorca) – Jonathan Swift
Chapter Eleven (Basil’s Death) - James Joyce
Chapter Twelve (Sack of Rome) – Leo Tolstoy
Chapter Thirteen (Messina) – Charles Dickens
Chapter Fourteen (Neapolis) – Daniel Defoe
Chapter Fifteen – (Mehtar’s Death) – J.K. Rowling
Chapter Sixteen (Thomas II’s Death) – H.P. Lovecraft
Chapter Seventeen (Bardas’ assassination) – Neil Gaiman
Chapter Eighteen (Albrecht mets Patriarch Thomas and Thomas Aquinas) – Kurt Vonnegut
Chapter Nineteen (Thomas III getting walled up) – Jonathan Swift
Chapter Twenty (Sack of Barcelona) – James Joyce

Leo Tolstoy—that makes sense, the story is long and I am verbose. Some of the others though? J.K. Rowling for Mehtar’s death, H.P. Lovecraft for Thomas II’s death? o_O I’m curious to see what other writer’s AARs are according to this little program!

Enewald – I’m sure its most men’s dreams to poison themselves on their wedding night? o_O

Laur – At the very least, that seems to be the way of thinking among most of the Komnenoi. Nikolaios was the only clear exception who was sane. Thomas III wanted no part of the purple either, but undiagnosed Aspberger’s/borderline autism were a factor in that.

Vesimir – Gabriel has changed indeed if he forsakes his obsession since his father’s death and consents to rule in the background. If he decided to become the primary emperor, its likely his sons would defer to him—even if they wanted the crown, they would not have long to wait… Gabby is 48 already, while Nikephoros is 32 and Alexandros 30. A bigger question is what exactly does Nikephoros et al have planned that will make the elites cry out for Gabriel instead of Thomas IV?

cezar87 – Konstantinos is definitely a suspect—he has a strong claim and the finances to pull a stunt like this. However, there are other people with the resources and guile to do this, as well as motive. Almost any of the Komnenids, in fact—the Egyptians have a claim that goes back to Emperor Manuel, the Mauretanians have a claim as good as Andronikos’, back to Emperor Basil, and these all don’t take into account the Gabrieline claim to the throne. This isn’t counting other dynatoi that could have done it at the behest of someone else, or for their own gain too—the Angelids are amazingly powerful, as are the Laskarids. Demetrios Scolari is daughter of Zoe Komnenos and thus grandson of Thomas II… the list goes on, discounting other foreign influences as well. Part of the next chapter will be various people trying to discover who this “fifth column” is, and why they did what they did…

And yes, Vishly knows how to make a getaway, and we hadn’t had a triple agent yet. I thought it’d be fun. :)

Sudaxe – He might be dead, he might be in a coma. Regardless, all we know for sure right now is that Andronikos is down for the count.

4th Dimension – A lot will depend on what the Persian Komnenids decide for their naming system—if they enumerate Alexandros even though he was a clear junior to his brother Nikephoros, the child (should he ascend to the throne) would indeed be Alexandros II. Should they skip him, he’d only be Alexandros I…

And Andronikos succeeded in poisoning himself. Just more than he’d planned! lol

FlyingDutchie – Haha, that’d be a harsh lesson indeed, and one that Andie likely would never forget. It’d probably mean Albrecht’s demise sooner rather than later, but if the old man thinks that result is inevitable, he might do this as a parting “learning shot” of sorts…

TC Pilot – Just for you, Bataczes is going to get “some more facetime” next chapter. :)

KlavoHunter – He’s only sixteen, not enough time to go full bonzo yet! ;)

Deamon – For some reason I read that like Scooby-Doo’s “uh oh” :XD

Zzzzz… – Welcome tot the thread! You’re actually pretty far along—that was back whent here were multiple posts a page sometimes. :) Who has been your favorite character so far? And I love your location… I think spiritually that’s my location as well! XD

humancalculator – I actually read up on belladonna before writing this, and several of the chemicals in the plant act as a hallucinogen when ingested. From there I fell back on a creative mind and some advice and wrote it up. The part that puzzled me was, despite everyone knowing the plant was poisonous, someone way back when decided to dab some on their eye and found out it makes your pupils dialate!

asd21593 – Alexandros and Nikephoros have gotten along with each other so far, what makes you think the house of cards would tumble once they reach Konstantinopolis?

RGB – Which story do you thin Vishly will turn up in next? ;) And Gabby didn’t pull a Theoden—the author found a movie that had a younger Patrick McGoohan that looks closer to Gabriel’s age. :p

Mcy1000 – Vishly knows his work inside and out. Eleutherios might compare to him, but other than that we haven’t had a character to match him since Mehtar maybe.

Drake Rlugia – See! Someone that likes Safiya for something more than her looks! :) She’s been immensely fun to write as well. I was hoping that the final scene would be jarring, especially in comparison to the first—the Gabrielids cooperating, while Konstantinopolis poisonings are about. It’s a good dichotomy.
 
I really agree with RGB here: compared with the ongoing insanity in Konstantinopolis, the Persian Komnenids seem positively normal. Even their marital troubles are almost pedestrian.

...So, naturally, Gabriel wants nothing more than to reconquer the land where quadruple-crossing cupbearers are an old and unremarkable phenomenon. Someone has his priorities in order.
 
General_BT said:
humancalculator – I actually read up on belladonna before writing this, and several of the chemicals in the plant act as a hallucinogen when ingested. From there I fell back on a creative mind and some advice and wrote it up. The part that puzzled me was, despite everyone knowing the plant was poisonous, someone way back when decided to dab some on their eye and found out it makes your pupils dialate!
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Maybe part of their hallucination was to put whatever they were holding into their eye. :p
 
No Tolkien. :p Oscar Wilde gives you extra points though. ;) Fairly sure you'll move to Mario Puzzo after we get to EU.

I on the other hand don't believe in that thing because it's demons work. And not because it compared one of my best updates to the work (Ha!) of Dan Brown. Actually it compared most of my works to that of Dan Brown. My first update on the other hand, the one dealing with Lincoln, is so psycho it could've been writen by Lewis Caroll aka. Alice in Wonderland. So I am in fact, getting worse as time goes unlike I thought... :p Also, the falconry narrative at the beginning of the Agincourt update is alike to Ian Flemmings. ;)
 
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I don't think he's dead, but he might be. If this was a normal story, then the MAIN CHARACTERS CAN'T DIE rule would go into effect, and we would know that this is just a suspense thing, to see what happens. But fortunately, this is NOT a normal story, and crazy stuff happens, and there is no main character to be immortal in the first place.

Puking up blood doesn't sound fantastic, but I've done it a few times, and survived, so that's not much to go on. Vishly seemed unsure as to the outcome, and rather indifferent, suggesting he did not necessarily put a lethal dose of anything in his grappa.

Also, belladonna poisoning is actually not necessarily fatal, as long as his doctors realize what has happened, or at least a general idea that he has been poisoned, they would likely give him charcoal, or if they know it was belladonna poisoning specifically, (which I believe Andronikos intends.) they may administer opium, either of which would likely save his life.

But I do not believe Belladonna causes bloody vomit, or bleeding from the mouth. So another factor is whatever ELSE Vishly put in his drink. Also, the world going black could be blindness, not death, or even coma/fainting/passing out, which could either be temporary or permanent.

Additionally, I would like to add that belladonna is a particularly dangerous thing to be administering to yourself with alcohol, as the effects can be quite similar, so in the event of an excessive dose, he wouldn't be able to realize what happened, especially when drunk and delirious from nightshade.

However, the kid's got balls, and I think if he survives this, he'll come out in a stronger position politically, (just the fact he survived being poisoned is a testament to the Emperor's constitution and fortitude.) and he might just have his casus belli in the event he wants to make the first strike against Gabriel et al without seeming like a warmonger, since he seems to be intent on pinning Safiya with the poisoning. (It'll soon be said that Gabriel the Excommunicate lecher sent his incestuous bastard whore's[/of a] daughter to poison the Vice-Gerent of Christ himself, and that he did it FOR SATAN!!!)

Albrecht's already going to be in a tough position after that massacre he 'ordered', if HE has any connection to this, or if Andronikos makes him look complicit, he might just be in a coffin soon.
 
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Vesimir said:
No Tolkien. :p Oscar Wilde gives you extra points though. ;) Fairly sure you'll move to Mario Puzzo after we get to EU.

I on the other hand don't believe in that thing because it's demons work. And not because it compared one of my best updates to the work (Ha!) of Dan Brown. Actually it compared most of my works to that of Dan Brown. My first update on the other hand, the one dealing with Lincoln, is so psycho it could've been writen by Lewis Caroll aka. Alice in Wonderland. So I am in fact, getting worse as time goes unlike I thought... :p Also, the falconry narrative at the beginning of the Agincourt update is alike to Ian Flemmings. ;)
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Hehe, it's an interesting thing, that little site.

It compared the first chapter of Æthellan (imho some of my best work) to the style of James Joyce. I don't know how I feel about that. On the one hand, Joyce seems to be especially popular with English teacher-types and other literary folk. On the other hand, well, Joyce seems to be especially popular with English teacher-types and other literary folk.

And besides, I found his Ulysses frightfully uninteresting.

But good on you, BT, for getting such a myriad of classic authors out of your story! :D
 
Kirsch27 said:
Puking up blood doesn't sound fantastic, but I've done it a few times, and survived, so that's not much to go on. Vishly seemed unsure as to the outcome, and rather indifferent, suggesting he did not necessarily put a lethal dose of anything in his grappa.
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I almost forgot i have also. It wasn't crimson, but i couldn't see why someone might be able to survive puking up crimson blood. Also, maybe he ate something very very bright red?

Just saying, but it seems that there are enough openings in the plot for him to survive, that i think he will. :)
 
Thanks for sharing this website with the rest of us BT, it's quite fascinating! As for the last chapter:

The love Andronikos bears for that banished Cecillia runt is a bit too strong for him to make reasonable decisions, I'm afraid. He seemed quite emotional about her in his thoughts, much more than a Komnenid Emperor should allow himself to be. Also, I believe BT failed to mention a tiny earthquake on Lesbos; after this poisoning fiasco, one of the monks there is surely turning violently in his grave. Andronikos disappointed me deeply, for a man I only recently believed could possibly fit the web-plotting shoes of the Gardener. Heck, right now I'm rooting for Gabriel. I'm positively giddy about the next chapter of the story, which seems to be all about The Return Of The King.
 
No one can fill his shoes. Ever! :p But Andi could come close if he survives. For the moment he is just a teenager that has to deal with both the stormy emotions of his age and the treacherous political landscape of Konstantinopolis. Considering that, he's done an excellent job. And to be honest, comparing Cecilia to Safiya I could understand why he would feel so strongly for a girl that would actually respect him, not just see him as the top prize among many. Plus, from a practical point of view, it would be better if he had a wife that was an ally, not one that would be as treacherous (if not more) as the Dynatoi.
 
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