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On page 171 now reading about the starving mob that threatened to storm the Varangian ship in search of grain. Did only RGB notice the picture is from Monty Python? I've actually found a few Monty Python pics that could be added into a more serious AAR.
 
In short, Basil had the opportunity to turn back the tide of feudalization, Manuel didn't.

True, but Basil was constantly at war with someone, and a lot of the time he didn't start the wars, so you can't say it was entirely his fault. Plus, a Megaloprepis with no wars would be kind of like a Manuel with no poison, or a Demetrios without a jug of grappa in his hand and a wench on his lap. It just wouldn't be right. Fact is, the dynatoi are contentious enough during wartime without trying to yank privileges away from them. ESPECIALLY without any cause other than wanting more power for himself. I think they'd have had his head on a pike if he'd tried it, personally, and even if Basil wouldn't realize that, Sophie would have, had he ever considered it.

Thomas I was a right bastard though, I don't much mind if you blame everything on him. :rofl:
 
I wonder how mad Andronikos will be when he finds out Safiya out of all people gave him a child. A very nice bastard line springs into existence though.

I must say I'm glad the Central Asian mongols have been eliminated as they're the ones I dislike the most. Mongols are supposed to be chinese not arabian. :p I do wonder how Alexandros' life will develop though, he's the most interesting roman in the AAR right now IMO.
 
Only got to page 113...but I thought on a lighter note:

If we're gonna follow the Dune theme as many in the Commentariat have brought up in my reading so far:

Manuel <-> Leto II i.e. cowed all the remaining factions, Golden Path (in this schema the order's wrong)
Basil <-> Paul Muah'Dib i.e. great conquerer, mystical visions, and crummy succession planning
Sophie <-> Chani i.e. devoted wife who's skilled with a knife, not a political marriage but a love marriage
Rodrigo <-> Duncan Idaho (yes, a stretch, but he's Basil's best advisor and he keeps coming...back)

...and...

Thomas II <-> St. Alia of the Knife i.e. came into her own in the vaccuum left by Paul, possessed by the voices of her ancestors most notably Baron Vladimir Harkonnen

...who's picture was used for Basilea's father and thus Thomas II's great-great-grandfather!

So guessing Acheron is Thomas I and Memnon is a part of Manuel (whom I saw as a sociopath until he decided to step aside for Basil)
 
This story remains delightful and challenging. The confusion of war is clear and well-done, but it is easily surpassed by the translated negotiations that follow. The intercession of the translator is not cumbersome, as it could have been, and instead maintains the majesty of the interaction, and presents the reader with a physical manifestation of the layered duplicity of the emperors. It's rough in Crusader Kings to extrapolate events beyond the edge of the map, and I understand why you are justifying the Transoxanian expansion as you did, although Kublai ought to grasp that the Roman, once away from the hordes, would be able to renegotiate an agreement conceded under duress. The sword touch was nice, though, and maybe Andronikos can think upon that when considering adhering to his word. This was a nice update to return to for me. Thank you for writing it.
 
This entire story-arc you just finished has to be one of the greatest AAR storylines I have ever read. You capture the emotion perfectly, and i can imagine the scenes as if i were actually there witnessing these events.

And to think that it is just a small part of your great story! I will be filled with excitement waiting for the next installment. Once again, keep up the absolutely stellar work!
 
Just got through page 196, where Frederica and Gabriel hook up after introducing their children to each other. Does Nikephorus, son of Gabriel, remind anyone else of Marvin the Depressed Robot from 'Hitch-hiker's Guide' series. I was laughing out loud at all his terribly glum and morose thoughts on the future.
 
Alright. About to move to page 220, but first I have two things to say.

1. You, BT, and also AlexanderPrimus, have inspired me to finally buy CK. Yes, I know CKII is just a few months away from being released, but I am not a patient man. I've already got a few ideas for an AAR, but need to play around with the game first.

2. I really enjoyed the scene with Andronikos and Roger Bacon while on the hunt. It will be interesting to see how you deal with his skepticism (as opposed to cynicism) as he ages. Questioning God at that age is an exercise we should all go through. Unfortunately most of us didn't have a wise guide through that time. Perhaps Roger will be more than a source of pat answers, and actually challenge the Emperor to engage in some critical thinking.

3. Yes, I said two things, but just felt I needed to add a third. I'm going to Italy in less than a week!!! Woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
1. You, BT, and also AlexanderPrimus, have inspired me to finally buy CK. Yes, I know CKII is just a few months away from being released, but I am not a patient man. I've already got a few ideas for an AAR, but need to play around with the game first.

That's excellent news... and also quite flattering. I'm sure BT will agree that we're glad to have you here in AARland and look forward to seeing your own AAR contributions. I'm also around if you ever want to bounce around ideas.
 
Andronikos should not have made such an outburst, tis not befitting an Emperor. I'm quite impressed with how he has dealt with all these issues so early in his reign and so masterfully too! he now rules from Spain to the deserts of Baluchistan and is indirectly the master of the Caliph of Islam! Megas Komnenos indeed.
 
So Altani is dead now? I wish there would have been an epic fight scene...oh well...she had it coming....

You know, I have a feeling that Andi is going to go the way of Thomas I, a.k.a going down the angry slide and ending up in "I-got-killed-by-my-own-b-a-sword-land". And also awesome Kublai cameo, good to know Andi realizes there are other fish out there just as big as he is.

I love these thoughts you share with us Bagricula, it's refreshing to see another outlook on things from an outsider(as of now, soon you'll be one with us. Mmmuuuuhahaha ;)).

*joins in evil laughter*
 
BT, if an interim is required, I think it would be quite interesting to hear about the non-muslim religious minorities of the roman world. You've covered the arrangements with muslim leaders quite well, and I found that I actualy learned some things (previously, I was unaware of the pact of umar). This could easily be included in a larger set about the general state of the world. Just my two cents.
 
Oh yes that would be nice!

Also it would be fun to hear about the various kingdoms and principalities in northern Europe again. Poland, Germany-Hungary, Sweden, Denmark, Russia and our all-time favorites, the Sortmarkers :)
 
And with the conquest of North Africa, the major Muslim presence there has been pushed south to form a stronger Kingdom of Mali - I wonder how those guys are doing?
 
Heres a 'what if?' for you. What if Demetrios and Hajnal had fallen in love? Michael would not have died the way he did. Perhaps Michael and Niko would have been co-emperors. Perhaps Ioannes would not have died. Demetrios may not have had an affair with Siddiqui (although he may still have done that, knowing his proclivities). Maybe with parents who were not warring with each other, the children would not have grown up all looking to kill one another. Hajnal was a very smart woman. What would the empire look like if she were to put her energies into ruling rather than getting rid of her husband? Of course this may have made for a very boring story.
 
Darbuka88 – I’m pretty sure the end result of your what-if would’ve been a much more stable, stronger Komnenid dynasty… and a far less bloodthirsty/backstabbing story… and yes, the bug has bitten you! Who are you playing first in CK? Italy sounds like an exciting trip—I hope you have fun there!

I’m pretty sure RGB was the only one who commented about the Monty Python mob picture…

KlavoHunter – Mali is undergoing some interesting religious changes, being that it’s cut off from the rest of Islam… but that’s something to come up a little later…

Frrf – I’ve got another world overview planned for when we hit 1300 (that’s when I next have info prepared on everyone… Europe, North Africa and the Middle East that is)…

armoristan – There was the start of an epic fight scene, but it got shelved, mostly because of time constraints. :( Like a lot of interesting parts of this world, there simply wasn’t enough time to write it all out…

Servius Magnus – Andronikos is the first emperor in centuries who can make a claim to be Master of the Known World and have the facts and power to back him up. He’s become an atrocious human being in the process, even if his public image is smiling and victorious. The next question that needs to be asked—can he hold all of it? And can he do what several other powerful emperors could not do—create a stable succession?

Qorten – Thank you! Transoxania was one of the benchmarks I’d known from the very beginning would require some in depth, viable explanation. What happened in game was simply too outlandish. So the planning for that moment actually started way back when I introduced Altani and her father Hulagu. Considering how the real life Polos ( as well as other travelers) brought diplomatic missions as well as offers of alliance to the Mongols, I wondered what would happen if Kublai decided to actually act?

humancalculator – Thank you! Considering the work here in AARland, that’s high praise indeed! The whole scene in my head started with imagining Andronikos meeting his mirror-opposite… that Kublai was just as devious, ruthless, and heartless. Considering Andie’s temper, that led to Kublai being a little more clever than Andie thought, and rubbing it in not-so-subtly. It all unfolded from there. :)

phargle – To be honest, the translator aspect was one of the hardest parts—I wanted that feel of cumbersomeness to be there, but to not interfere with the flow of the text too much. I’m glad you found me on the right side of that thin line! I almost threw in a surprise where Kublai revealed he knew a couple words of Greek to really surprise Andie, but I decided that simply was too much. I’m not so sure the Romans would be able to effectively interfere as much as you think—Persia is a client, yes, but an unwilling one, and Persia’s bulk sits between Konstantinopolis and the Oxus by the most direct route. The more indirect route would go through Sortmark and the Blue Horde—its unlikely they’d ever cooperate with Konstantinopolis without demanding a pound of flesh. Its not completely out of the reach of the Romans, but it’d be just as hard for Konstantinopolis to direct affairs there as Dadu/Khanbalik.

Bagricula – Thanks for the in depth observations. Like the other readers have been saying, it’s a pleasant thing to see how others are seeing the affairs of yore, so to speak! You’re almost right on your guesses about Acheron and Memnon, but as you keep reading, you’ll see who they are.

As for Manuel vs. Basil and the feudalization debate, I agree that Manuel has been unfairly getting some of the blame. Yes, he started the process, but only in short term as bribes to keep the empire from flying apart. Basil kept things going through negligence—he was so busy fighting abroad that he didn’t take care of that problem at home, and the disastrous succession that followed prevented anyone from doing anything about it until now, when under Nikephoros and Andie (the first Komnenoi to rule the entire realm since Basil), it’s had almost a hundred years to become entrenched as the norm, and is nigh unassailable without the risk of a massive uprising/civil war. So these later Komnenoi have had to adapt and build around it (the massive title inflation, etc.).

As for the post-Thomas I writing—Christina’s Regency was one of the weak points in the AAR. I started it with so many plot hooks hanging around I didn’t know what to do, so I instinctually went towards what I did know—what I wanted to do with Thomas II’s reign. The whole Regency went from being a political scene in and of itself to being an explanation of Thomas’ lonely, damaging childhood, and a background as to a) why he heard voices in the first place, b) why, despite being a good person himself, he felt attracted to the voice of Acheron especially, and c) how, despite hearing voices at such a young age, he came to power anyway (the army wanted an army emperor, and dared anyone to say something otherwise).

Vesimir – I doubt he’d be pleased if Safiya gave birth to a kid by him. Firstly, he hates her. Secondly, if that child was a boy he has a better claim to being the ‘super Komnenos’ than even Andronikos—Andronikos united the Edessan and one of the Basil branches of the family… Safiya, descended from Gabriel, would bring the other Basil branch in as well. If his true parentage was known, and he somehow got legitimized…

Kirsch27 – I can imagine Andronikos isn’t used to dealing with people who treat him like he treats others… so his ‘snapping’ at Kublai seemed almost obligatory!

Basil was a brilliant leader of soldiers, but in retrospect, the succession failure alone makes me hesitate to declare him a great emperor. The continuing of the feudal experiment of Manuel just reinforces that. Nikolaios and Manuel both did what they thought was in the best interests of the empire. Basil did too, but like Bagricula has argued, perhaps taking Spain wasn’t the best thing when there was so much rot at home? Even with Spain, though, the true change happened with Basil’s succession—if he’d had a few more years of life, or if he’d clearly designated one of his sons his successor, that son (be in Thomas with Mehtar at his side, unscrupulous David, or a Heraklios who would’ve developed far differently with a few more years tutoring by his dad), probably would’ve started the process of slowly de-feudalizing things (or in Thomas’ case, start a war and use the battle hardened imperial armies to smash the thematakoi of the nobility).

Interestingly enough, when I started writing Heraklios, I had initially envisioned him becoming a ‘second Nikolaios’—a studious, ‘pencil-pushing’ emperor alongside his more rash brother Thomas, and a senior emperor who would’ve guided the state while Thomas II was still in his childhood. That ended because a) the more I wrote Christina, the more I realized she’d manipulate the young man to her ends, b) she’d cast him aside when she was done, and c) Thomas II need to have a true root for all his madness and eccentricities—a messed up, lonely childhood fit his character far better than having a guiding, wiser elder helping him along.

Nikolai – Resistance is futile? Soon he shall be assimilated?

von Sachsen – Implosion is the only real risk for imperial destruction now, though a coalition of enemies arising could definitely break off parts of the empire… arguably that would set the stage for an implosion as well, considering the Komnenoi ‘brand’ is built on victory in war. A defeat, especially a catastrophic defeat, could lead to any other number of ‘relatives’ (by now, almost every noble in the empire can claim some Komnenid blood) deciding they would make a better “ever-victorious’ emperor…

SplendidTuesday - Kublai was fun to write. I needed something to make him memorable, since everything in the chapter led up to his appearance, and he got one shot at it. So, he not-so-quietly put our hated Andronikos in his place, something few people can say they have done. And the baby could be a red herring. I have thrown those out before (The Kaukadenos banner and people’s reactions to it still makes me crack up. I know, I’m an evil/bad AARwriter :) )

Zzzz… – Yup, the ambassador was from Kublai—think of him as the ‘anti-Polo.’ Kublai’s response to the Polos coming to his court was to send a representative of his own west to maintain permanent contact with the other ‘great empire’ in the world.

Leviathan07 – Simply, the story demanded it. :p

In more complex terms, it has happened before, with armies that were even more geographically limited than the Komnenoi—Trajan reached Susa with an army based around the Syrian legions. Both times the Komnenoi marched into Persia (the initial invasion under Thomas II, and Andronikos’ invasion) the local Persian forces were distracted by a Mongol invasion from the opposite direction. Additionally, the Mongols provided an excellent foil for the Komnenoi to stay in Persia. An interesting question is… what happens now, that the threat has subsided? A Muslim Persia is still within living memory for the elders, and while Gabriel et al have been tolerant, able rulers, how would they react to a Muslim resurgence, should one happen?

asd21593 – Oh, Andronikos isn’t evil. He’s ‘good-ness impaired.’ Or ‘fairness-impaired.’ Or ‘selfishness-enhanced!’ :)

Enewald – You might pee your pants when you see what happens in the 14th century then. ;) There is one last ‘new’ Komnenoi kingdom coming as well (yet another one that was in vanilla CK but didn’t make it to DV)…

Archduke – Great-great-great-great grandson, I believe. All Andronikos needs to do is start gardening and sending people to Lesbos…

AlexanderPrimus – Hooray! I’m glad you liked it, and I’m glad some of my recommendations here have led people over to your writing!


Next update is maybe 20% done… last one in the chapter to wrap up a few loose ends. Then we’ll start the next chapter, tentatively titled A Nest of Vipers. In the meantime, my bf asked me which historical people had cameos in the story…I had to sit and think for a bit, so far this is the list I’ve come up with:

Real Life People Appearing/have cameos in the AAR:
Richard the Lionheart (Richard de Normandie in this tale)
Innocent III (the Count that escorted the College of Cardinals out of Rome)
Frederick Barbarossa (Papal guard)
St. Dominic (Thomas II’s tutor)
Roger Bacon (Andronikos’ tutor)
Thomas Aquinas (Metropolitan in Orthodox Church)
Kublai Khan (as himself)
Hulagu Khan (as himself)
Genghis Khan (as himself)
Subodai (as himself)
Isaac Comnenus (Prince, uncle to the Megas)
Ibn-Tamyiyya (Found in Barcelona as child)
Ibn al-Nafis (rabble rouser in Alexandria)
Malik Shah (as himself)
Roger de Lauria (cook who kept Empress Theophano from getting pregnant)

I know there are probably more, I just can’t think of them. Anyone else think of anyone I’ve missed?
 
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I know there are probably more, I just can’t think of them. Anyone else think of anyone I’ve missed?

Well, I think I know of a couple. ;)

Emperor Frederick II (as Frederica von Hohenstaufen, an alternate timeline gender-bender)
Pope Innocent II (the Pope who mollified Manuel at Rome)
Robert the Bruce (as Earl William the Bruce)
William Wallace (as Sir Robert Wallace)
Ariq Böke (as himself)
Arghun Khan (as himself)
the Polos (as themselves)

And don't forget all the ahistorical cameos from here in AARland...

Theodoros and Kosmas (Komnenid cousins, from VILenin)
Rodrigo Jimenez (Basil's friend, from I think Canonized?)
Bernard von Baden (Basil's other friend, from Fulcrumvale)
Knud Knytling (Danish King, from phargle)
Serlo de Hauteville (Alexios' stepfather, from The_Guiscard)
Skjalm Hvide (Sortmark warlord, from Saithis)
Harold Godwinson (great general, from me)
Frederica/Safiya (big trouble, also from me)

And I'm sure there are many more...

Edit: I guess Skjalm, Knud, Harold and Serlo are all technically based on historical people as well... just not always in the right place and time. :p
 
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DISREGARD. Self-correcting.