Leviathan07 – You’re right, this AAR isn’t the top in views, or even close when it comes to longevity (I think Gotterdammerung has me beat by a longshot, and there’s quite a few others, especially if one counts hiatuses). It’s weird though—I can remember being amazed at passing 50,000 views. I didn’t think anyone would be that interested in my story.
The Balkans are poor, but defensible, especially considering how distracted the Hohenfrankens are in Germany (and northern Italy, now that the chaos is spreading). Anatolia is richer, but anyone coming from Anatolia has the simple problem of the Marmara… Andronikos doesn’t have much of a fleet left after Agrigento, but the dynatoi have little to none. Look for some crash shipbuilding in the near future…
humancalculator – There’s a laundry list of longer ones, both in terms of views and in numbers of posts (I think canonized’s
What If Spain Never Conquered the World? in EU3 has over 7,500 posts, for example)… and 4chan? Oh Lord, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for that invading our lovely little Paradox-land! :rofl:
As for Timur and the plague, it’ll hit hard, but Timur’s lands aren’t as urbanized as the empire in this timeline… he’s got the urban core of Transoxania, but he’s also go many nomadic hordes under his command. The plague will hit hard, but there won’t be as much urban squalor adding to the death toll outside his cities. The Empire, especially half million plus population Konstantinopolis, is in for a catastrophic awakening…
cezar87 – I think it’s doubtful it will ever reach that mark, at least any time soon, considering the story is winding down!
BraidsMAmma – There was a point, long long ago, where I paid close attention to the number of views I had. I think that mentality disappeared about…oh…three years ago.
My main goal right now is to crank out the last five or ten history book updates before the magical date of CK2’s release!
And oh, that old Mongol mess! I had a huge story planned in my head, complete with desperate battles and an empire pushed to the brink… sadly the Mongols in that game wouldn’t cooperate… much like they wouldn’t in the Rome AARisen game. So the second time around, I simply took what tidbits the game gave me, and wrote what
should’ve happened (the Neapolis campaign, Genghis and Thomas briefly going hand to hand, etc.). I think the second try worked just a tad better! Lol
Bagricula - A Patriarch-Basilieos? I smell all sorts of Dune-esque problems with that situation! Lol. Right now BraidsMAmma has sent me pdfs of the first 12 chapters. Beyond that, the story exists in no less than 47 word files on my computers (I learned my lesson, they’re on both now!). If Braids or anyone wants to continue the pdf process, after the story is finished I will post links to the pdfs so that everyone can have access.
armoristan – It’s been a bit, but better late than never! I’m not sure what kind of arrangement really could be made between the two—Timur, through his mother, is descended from the Persian line, and as far as he’s concerned, Eirene has stolen his rightful crown. Timur’s marriage also gained him the allegiance of the Blue Horde, and a toehold in the other surrounding Hordes as well, so simply divesting himself of his present wife to marry Eirene (if she were ever willing) would be dicey. Who knows, however… impossible deals have been made before in this AAR.
Tommy4ever – Wow! Another blast from the past! Thank you for that
very high praise, especially considering the width and depth of the talent that writes in all the forums of AARland. It’s my hope that these last few wrap up updates will do the rest of the story justice, and bring this world to its rightful conclusion in 1399…
Mr. Capiatlist – I’m surprised that old thing is still searchable.
4th Dimension – All while leading the loyal Imperial Marines against the forces of the evil Ork?
Well, Persia is definitely stronger in this timeline than OTL. However, the rest of the world is either decidedly fractured, or under his thumb. As for the plague, it could definitely put a halt to his operations for a few years, but wars always resume. Assuming he lives through it, and assuming he administratively can regain a toehold after the demographic abyss, he could start campaigning again in five or ten years, also depending on how hard it hits his rivals and/or how well they recover from it… the plague only paused the Hundred Years War, for example… it didn’t stop it.
FrozenWall – Of all the people in the Komnenid Empire, I’m pretty sure Guillaume d’Ockham wants the crown the
least! And he’d need a great deal of tutoring in military command… his last foray into the field led to his conversion due to a near-death experience!
asd21593 – The first of the history-books deals with Timur almost exclusively… and a bit of what happened in Konstantinopolis too…
SplendidTuesday – Hmmm… also a lot less barechested, ripping-out-tongue with teeth action.
It’s a fair comparison, except Timur’s realm (and his forces) are far more hodgepodge than what Khal Drogo would deal with…. Timur I daresay has a far more deft ability with the more…subtle… arts of ruling. He did inherit the Blue Horde after a rapid slew of mysterious deaths among the Khan’s royal family…
Vesimir – The missing header was intentional actually. Usually the header signifies someone is in control, or a small group of people are vying for control. The last narrative update is also the first in which there is no group I can narrow down to a header, for as you will see, things splinter only more after the narrative ends…
Lord Strange – That, ironically, would make him more Khal Drogo-like! As for the Komnenoi dying off, unfortunately they are akin to rabbits at this point, all over the place and breeding faster than even they can kill each other. Guillaume would have literally thousands of claimants with at least a drop of Komnenid blood ahead of him (unless, he, too, is Komnenos… there’s a dun dun DUN if there was one!)
On a side note, while writing this I almost typed Komnenoid. I like that word. I think I might use it more in replies.
wolfcity – I wish I had more time for the narrative (I wanted to finish it because I know once CK2 comes out, I will be playing it, not writing lol), because Petros would have been fascinating. I think once everything is all said and done, I’ll do a final wrap up with how I had intended to narratively write up the final few generations, if anyone is interested…
JackTheRipper21 – I never decided what finally happened to Theodoros in the timeline canonically… I was batting around the idea that the last he was heard from he was in Mali, an educated official and ex-sellsword who spent his days trying to convince people that yes, he looked like the man on the gold
solidi that floated down that way… who knows!
Hannibal X – Parts of the Balkans… mostly Thrace. Most of your analysis is spot on… without a strong Konstantinopolis, the Crimea is gone—either lost to the Danes or gone independent under Danish pressure. There are Komnenoi up that way, it’ll be interesting to see if they declare their own realm. Egypt, should she awaken and decide it’s time to strike out, would be formidable. Carthage/Sicily is ridiculously overexposed—it’s the chief reason why Zenobios abandoned his father’s treaty with Konstantinopolis after the loss of the fleet… Alexios is closer, Alexios has a navy, so he sees his hopes for future scheming there…
RGB – Especially a large army with recruits and rats from plague stricken areas moving west en masse…
Avernite – Well, the Council arguably fell apart in spite of Guillaume. I simply couldn’t see how the Council could stay united after the big question that’d dominated its mind for the past few years—what to do about Andronikos—was, in their minds dealt with. The question of who to replace Andronikos seemed like something that would seep into the already existing cracks and finally form a breach. Guillaume for his part wanted to form a united bloc of both Petros supporters and Anastasios supporters, but compromise is rarely heard when everyone’s blood is up…
Zzzzz… – Timur has claims on the following, for the record.
Faraud/Transoxania – male descent from his father
Blue Horde – declared Khan, blood claim through wife
Chagatai – declared Khan, blood claim via wife
Persia – blood claim through his mother as soon as Shahanshah Ioannis dies
The Roman Empire – blood claim through his grandfather Mikail, who was son of Konstantinos of Italy, and heir to the combined Leonid (Leo, brother of Basil III), and Thomasine (through Nikolaios, brother of Thomas II) claims to the Throne of Caesars.
The Mongol Empire – blood claim through his father through his paternal grandmother to the title Khagan…
WelshDude –Everyone knows who is going to win. Death. Death always wins in civil wars!
Nikolai – Thank you for coming along for the ride. It’s been an honor writing for you all, and I’d like to thank
you (and all the old grognards) for sticking with this story for so long… as well as for all your input, comments, praise and advice! *salutes*