This is Rome AARisen. You should follow the heart of the Empire, Constantinople, no matter what. If I understand you correctly, that's what we're asked about, no?
Rome AARisen - a Byzantine AAR
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I have just finished reading this, started last week and did it on and off but slowed more as I got to this end. Nik was a favourite and Manuel did pretty well too in my books and I'm a bit of a softie for the honourable type so Basil is pretty high in my books too. I have to say I'd much rather he just set aside one of his smaller sons and pour all his goodness into him and set him as Emperor, then die. His wife and Mehtar will take out the idiots left behind, clearing off any claimants and setting said golden boy into a nigh untouchable position. Then once playing the roles they were set in life, die because I'm not a fan of either of them.
Also if you do not update soon, I shall walk to your house through snow, rain and whatever else your mailmen happen to say they continue on through, bare foot until I reach your house and then I shall proceed to thump you in the head with a spoon until you release it. It is too good to withhold from the public without punishment.
Also if you do not update soon, I shall walk to your house through snow, rain and whatever else your mailmen happen to say they continue on through, bare foot until I reach your house and then I shall proceed to thump you in the head with a spoon until you release it. It is too good to withhold from the public without punishment.
Perhaps you could focus mostly on one (the one in Konstantinopilos) but keep tabs on all of the others—or would that involve far too much work?
Fulcrumvale said:
I imagine that once BT gets to that point, most of the international politicking is going to be between Byzantine successor states, so I think we'll be seeing plenty of the other empires.
It's Sortmark that I'm really excited about, anyway.
I'd love to follow a the story of a successor state that is more distant from the former Imperial core. If we follow the Constantinopolitan or Thracian state then it would either be a long, agonizing history of how internal troubles kept them limited and how they didn't quite get off their feet, or it would be a super-rapid restoration of Imperial unity, with a putrid taste of "been there, done that".
No I think it would be much more interesting to follow for example the Persian successor state (it will be a Byzantine state, right??), or the one in Mauretania. Their focus would be outward, away from the Imperial core, and it would leave a lot of room for the story to go into as of yet unexplored territory. Of course we would want to hear from now and then how the core is doing, but it would be more like a story from a part of the family that you haven't seen in a long time. The really exciting stuff would be happening on the periphery of Europe.
Mauretanian outposts along the African coast, in the Atlantic, in Brazil? The wars of the Cordoban exarchate with its rival states in Spain and Aquitania? I wanna hear it!
Oh by the way if you re-do the reformation, then please add at least a few orthodox schismata as well. It's been almost 200 years now since the last controversy, the Orthodox church is due for another empire-wrecking theological dispute that is totally incomprehensible for anyone without at least the education of a scholarly theologian.
No I think it would be much more interesting to follow for example the Persian successor state (it will be a Byzantine state, right??), or the one in Mauretania. Their focus would be outward, away from the Imperial core, and it would leave a lot of room for the story to go into as of yet unexplored territory. Of course we would want to hear from now and then how the core is doing, but it would be more like a story from a part of the family that you haven't seen in a long time. The really exciting stuff would be happening on the periphery of Europe.
Mauretanian outposts along the African coast, in the Atlantic, in Brazil? The wars of the Cordoban exarchate with its rival states in Spain and Aquitania? I wanna hear it!
Oh by the way if you re-do the reformation, then please add at least a few orthodox schismata as well. It's been almost 200 years now since the last controversy, the Orthodox church is due for another empire-wrecking theological dispute that is totally incomprehensible for anyone without at least the education of a scholarly theologian.
Thankyou for the spoilers General_BT! This has given those of us with an interest in the EUIII future some ideas on what could be happening.
Anyway, in regards to what we have learnt, I would say that "All Empires Rise and Fall." For the Byzantine Empire? It's had it's second rise but it could very well have it's second fall and I have a feeling the Mongols will have a good part to play in that. Even still, the spirit of Constantinople, just like the spirit of Rome, still lives on in the rest of the world.
Hence, why not attempt to unite Spain and go forth and conquer the New World in the name of God and the Orthodox Church? Would be fun to 'unite' Iberia (perhaps a united Reconquista?) and taking on those Aztecs/Mayas.
Or you could perhaps play England and see if you can break away from France and try to create a new French British Empire in the world?
At best, though, I'm thinking of you following a Europe bent on colonising the New World under the spirit of the Byzantine Empire. If you play Constantinople or Thrace, yes you could go for the New World but I'd feel, like in reality, both states would be far more interested in maintaining a hold in the Hellenic and Mediterranean world.
So really, it's what kind of game do you fancy? You could even play multiple nations and help weave the world's timeline! So perhaps an Orthodoxy Spain to attempt to restablish the Romans back in the Med!
Really, it's your choice but whatever decision you do decide to make, we'll be ready.
Anyway, in regards to what we have learnt, I would say that "All Empires Rise and Fall." For the Byzantine Empire? It's had it's second rise but it could very well have it's second fall and I have a feeling the Mongols will have a good part to play in that. Even still, the spirit of Constantinople, just like the spirit of Rome, still lives on in the rest of the world.
Hence, why not attempt to unite Spain and go forth and conquer the New World in the name of God and the Orthodox Church? Would be fun to 'unite' Iberia (perhaps a united Reconquista?) and taking on those Aztecs/Mayas.
Or you could perhaps play England and see if you can break away from France and try to create a new French British Empire in the world?
At best, though, I'm thinking of you following a Europe bent on colonising the New World under the spirit of the Byzantine Empire. If you play Constantinople or Thrace, yes you could go for the New World but I'd feel, like in reality, both states would be far more interested in maintaining a hold in the Hellenic and Mediterranean world.
So really, it's what kind of game do you fancy? You could even play multiple nations and help weave the world's timeline! So perhaps an Orthodoxy Spain to attempt to restablish the Romans back in the Med!
Really, it's your choice but whatever decision you do decide to make, we'll be ready.
I would like to hear the story of the Roman Egypt, its relationships with Ethiopia and its drive through 'the heart of darkness' in search of heathen souls to save/enslave.
Laur
Laur
*straightens kalansuwa, goes into proskenysis*
Peace and mercy, happiness and glory from Google be with you, high and mighty Chronicler of the Romaioi. Wealth and health and longevity from the Internet, peacemaking and good author. May justice and great peace rise in your thread, most peaceful and generous AAR writer.
Now that the formalities are out of the way...
Longtime reader, first time poster. Loving your story, I've been reading for the last two months and only just caught up to the current page because I didn't want it to be over (which, of course, it isn't, but you know what I mean). You've inspired me to dust the cobwebs off my CK copy and take close to a thousand screenshots (and counting) of a Komnenoi game which I'll probably never write up because I'm lazy. But still, I was inspired.
I'd rather wait on voting for a nation until I know the history and cast of characters for each. I think it's your characters and plotting ("plotting" being here defined as the storylines you wind into and around the gameplay, not outline of the gamplay itself) that are the real strengths of your AAR, and I'd hate to see interesting characters or storylines (or machiavellian crises that drown whole regions in seas of blood) get suddenly dropped just because they were in the wrong area when the switch to IN was made.
A few minor nitpicks: the masculine adjective for "great" is megas, not megos, and I think the standard greek word for king with a status below that of Basileus was Rex or Regas (source). Also, I've come across a few references to the Emperor as vice regent of Christ, but never as vice gerent, which I think was a title of the Caliph (although not "of Christ" of course).
Go forth and scribble! I shall read on and try to actually comment occasionally!
Peace and mercy, happiness and glory from Google be with you, high and mighty Chronicler of the Romaioi. Wealth and health and longevity from the Internet, peacemaking and good author. May justice and great peace rise in your thread, most peaceful and generous AAR writer.
Now that the formalities are out of the way...
Longtime reader, first time poster. Loving your story, I've been reading for the last two months and only just caught up to the current page because I didn't want it to be over (which, of course, it isn't, but you know what I mean). You've inspired me to dust the cobwebs off my CK copy and take close to a thousand screenshots (and counting) of a Komnenoi game which I'll probably never write up because I'm lazy. But still, I was inspired.
I'd rather wait on voting for a nation until I know the history and cast of characters for each. I think it's your characters and plotting ("plotting" being here defined as the storylines you wind into and around the gameplay, not outline of the gamplay itself) that are the real strengths of your AAR, and I'd hate to see interesting characters or storylines (or machiavellian crises that drown whole regions in seas of blood) get suddenly dropped just because they were in the wrong area when the switch to IN was made.
A few minor nitpicks: the masculine adjective for "great" is megas, not megos, and I think the standard greek word for king with a status below that of Basileus was Rex or Regas (source). Also, I've come across a few references to the Emperor as vice regent of Christ, but never as vice gerent, which I think was a title of the Caliph (although not "of Christ" of course).
Go forth and scribble! I shall read on and try to actually comment occasionally!
Follow the path that will result in the most postings of hot mongol women.
By the way, congratulations, matey. You won a close and spirited contest. Keep up the good work!
By the way, congratulations, matey. You won a close and spirited contest. Keep up the good work!
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I say, take the Mauretanan or the Spanish one, so it won't be a 'been there, done that' thing.
Of course, you'l have to reclaim Constantinople sooner or later.
Of course, you'l have to reclaim Constantinople sooner or later.
Okay...caught up to page nine, all excited, thinking for some reason that I only had six pages to go before I was officially caught up.
I was very, very, very wrong.
Gotten to the point where the emperor is marching to Baghdad, the empress has murdered the emperor's mother, and the two children (...Nicholai and Matthew? I am bad with names) are about to meet the Normans.
I freaking love the Normans.
Almost as much as I love the whole story.
So quit writing it already! ;c)
I was very, very, very wrong.
Gotten to the point where the emperor is marching to Baghdad, the empress has murdered the emperor's mother, and the two children (...Nicholai and Matthew? I am bad with names) are about to meet the Normans.
I freaking love the Normans.
Almost as much as I love the whole story.
So quit writing it already! ;c)
i want to know which countries are byzantine before i decide, but either a re-roman italy or a byzantine france would be just swell
I wholeheartedly agree!phargle said:
Tough I would also be inclined towards keeping the center of things in Constantinople. But if you have Byzantine Italy state, then seeing the city of Rome trying to regain it's old place as the empires center might be interesting.
Actinguy: Trust me, it's a lot better when you still have catching to do. After you catch up you'll have to wait for updates just like everyone else. Imagine that horrible fate!
First, I would like to thank everyone that voted in the ACAs! Your support means alot to me! If you haven't already, go ahead and take a look at this month's AARlander for all the ACA results, as well as all the interesting and insightful articles as usual!
And to answer everyone's question - yes, there's an update today!
DarthJF - I asked everyone because I'd personally be split - the center has all the nostalgia, but undoubtedly the fringes are going to be the popping places as time goes on. We've got a lot of time left before the EU3 part, so there's plenty of time to decide...
Servius Magnus - There are alot of them... I don't want to spoil anyone, but there will be plenty to choose from
Actinguy -LOL, Nikolaios and Michael. Glad to hear you're still enjoying things... as I look back, my writing way back then looks sketchy compared to later on... and if you like the intrigue there, wait till you see Manuel Komnenos in action!
canonized - Thank you, and congratulations on your wins as well! No surprise there... but then again, a story like Timelines is bound to do well!
English Patriot - Hey, congratulations on I, Silvagensus! To my readers, if you haven't taken a look at EP's magnum opus , or you get tired of waiting for an update here, head over there and enjoy yourself... both narratively and visually its a feast!
Cyreidel - The Spanish options look interesting precisely because they'll have access to the New World, and could, maybe, but the final impetus that pulls the post-Byzantine world's eyes away from the Mediterranean and to the broader world...
phargle - You would definitely be in favor of eastern options then, like Persia, and its probable perennial struggles with the Timurids and other Mongol successor states... and no, she's no Mongol
Antoku - Welcome to the AAR! Hmm... as for the Greek in this AAR, its horrendous! lol I don't know any Greek, and I don't have enough time to teach myself much (since I'm brushing up on Russian and French for my grad work), so half of it comes from internet translators, and half of it from me making things up (like Megos versus Megas). Thanks for pointing that out... Demetrios Megas will not be correctly referenced!
Glad to hear I inspired you to pick up CK - there's an old old Byzantine AAR that inspired me to the do the same back in the day, and ultimately led to this story (The Paleologi, or something like that). It hasn't been updated in years, but its narrative was good, and what I aspire to (but don't achieve yet).
Laur - A Romanized Egypt with provinces in Ethiopia is a personal favorite of mine... it's primed to explore the Indian Ocean and set up its own trade links, with all sorts of interesting implications for way way down the line... such as rulers of mixed descent, etc etc...
Ksim3000 - I've thought about the multiple nations route... it'd be the easiest to weave in alot of what people want. And the surviving Latin states would definitely be interesting too... Sortmark especially.
Leviathan07 - The two new Christian religious groups are Orthodox schismata... I'm also thinking of adding a third as well. If you've got MSN Messenger or AIM, I'm trying to find some names for them and flesh them out... hit me up!
AlexanderPrimus - Exactly... there's going to be alot of inter-empire politicking, especially when everyone and their uncle considers themself the "one true Roman Emperor..."
Fulcrumvale - Hmm... I've thought about that as well... doing a history book style of five year increments, attempting to follow as many people as possible. I'm not sure how that'd work practically, but I'm willing to explore the idea...
Avalanchemike - Hey, welcome to the AAR also! Hmmm... for David, Manuel and Thomas, its likely too late for Basil to sit them down and explain to them the good aspects of honor and chivalry... Heraklios is still a child though, you can certainly expect that Basil is doing that to his fourth son. Perhaps it isn't too late yet? And please don't thump me on the head - the update is below! hehehe
Nikolai - Yeah, Constantinople would have that great nostalgic feel to it... watching as Emperors go by, remaining eternally the same as the world rapidly changes around them. It'd be interesting to see how an Emperor, surrounded by 6th century ceremonies, court etiquette and expectations lives in an 18th century world...
Alfred Packer - Long time no post! Yes, they'd definitely have a huge grudge... and it'd make a compelling story if they manage to cow those successor states into line, starting the Fifth Empire (I've already imagined the timeline of how historians will see the Komnenid Empire, etc...
First Empire - old Roman Principate
Second Empire - Roman Dominate
Third Empire - Eastern Empire until Komnenids
Fourth Empire - Komnenid Empire
Fifth Empire - ?
Enewald - No, she's not a Mongol. She's Hellenized, she's a Komnenoi, and arguably, she single handedly administers the deathblow to the Fourth Empire...
January 8th, 1188
Mehtar Lainez sighed uneasily as he sat in his chair – a noise from fear, as much as from weariness. The afternoon’s setting sun bathed him in a warm light, yet the Master of Spies for the Exarchate of Tarraconensis still shivered with a slight chill. He closed his eyes, and tried to brush the memory of what had happened twenty hours before from his mind – but it wasn’t easy to erase.
“How is he?” Ioannis Kaparalis, Domestikos for the Exarchate of Tarraconensis asked quietly. He was a vapid man, in Mehtar’s eyes, but he’d been Thomas’ most faithful cavalry commander during the northern campaign.
“How do you think?” Logothetes Konstantinos Anastarikos grumbled. Another man Mehtar considered vapid. A good money counter – with few skills beyond making sure budget’s stayed in the black. “His wife brutally murdered on the day he returns from Cordoba?”
Mehtar gritted his teeth, but said nothing, instead shuffing several parchments in front of himself. He’d planned things so carefully, only to have them go so wrong…
“Bloody hell,” Kaparalis shook his head. “There’ll be hell to pay. Is it true what they said?”
“I heard someone beat her to a bloody pulp.”
Mehtar focused all of his mind and willpower to not grimace. How things turned out were not as he’d intended. It was supposed to be a quick death, a clean death – he’d painstakingly planned out every aspect of it. He’d use corridors he was sure only he knew about, sneak into her bedroom as she slept, and smother her with a pillow. Yet it’d all gone awry…
“I saw it,” Anastarikos added. “Took a candelabra and broke every bone in her body. Maidservants heard a strange noise, but that’s it.”
Mehtar winced – she’d been awake when he’d entered the room. He still remembered her eyes – wide, paralyzed by fear at the apparition in the dark. His moment of indecision – she’d struggle if he smothered her, she’d scratch him. He’d have to explain those. Then her hand reaching for a dirk near her bedside, and his rage and anger at her trying to fight back, trying to resist, trying to take his Thomas away…
“Damned frightening,” the domestikos murmured. “That the mistress of this exarchate could be murdered in the middle of the night in such a brutal manner…”
Mehtar didn’t remember the act itself – just standing there, looking at that bloody, broken body, blood seeping into the sheets, the heavy iron candelabra in his hand, blood dripping everywhere…
Mehtar had gotten himself into a fine mess… a fine mess indeed…
“Here he comes!” one of the attendants in the hallway outside the council chambers hissed, and immediately all three men present rose stiffly.
Mehtar had expected to see a storm cloud, but nothing could prepare him for the howling tempest that stormed into the meeting room. The Exarch fairly exploded into the room, clad in white robes that draped a shuddering form. At once, Thomas Komnenos looked haggard, weary, excited and furious – clearly Thomas had been told of his wife’s death as soon as he arrived at the palace. Dark rings circled his blood-shot eyes, red from tears, and Mehtar could see his jaw trembling from how tightly he clenched his teeth. No one said a word – there was nothing that could be said – and Thomas did not oblige any greeting. Instead, he abruptly yanked his chair back, hovered above it for a moment, before shoving it over on its side. The light of the setting sun fittingly cast him in shadow… an image that made everyone in the room recoil ever so slightly…
“Kaparalis,” he said quietly.
The domestikos looked up uncertainly, fidgeting – even without the news of Sophia’s brutal murder, the exarch would have been in a murderous mood. By all accounts, the Council in Cordoba had been a disaster. Exarch Enguerrand had demanded that Thrakesios hand over the port of Cadiz to Lusitania on pain of war, a call that David had backed with the threat of Mauretanian force. The hyperexarch had sided with Baetica, which caused Mauretania and Lusitania to storm out of the meeting.
Then Thomas had attempted his own powerplay, pressing the hyperexarch for the rights to Pamplona, but the Jimenez man had proven far tougher than Thomas had expected – he held firm, long enough that both David and Enguerrand got wind of the demand and returned to the table to undercut the Lord of Tarraconensis. It’d been an unmitigated disaster for Thomas – all four of the other exarchs had joined cause against him, and forced him to cede sections of Navarre to the hyperexarch as punishment.
Silence hung in the air for a moment, before the Exarch spoke again.
“How soon can we muster a fleet to sail our forces to Basiliopolis?” Thomas asked quietly, his jaw trembling.
“Um… pardon, Highness?” Karapalis said slowly, a slight tremble in his voice. An audible gasp went around the room. Yes, David had outmaneuvered Thomas in Cordoba. But surely…
“I want his head on a pike,” Thomas said slowly, deliberately, annunciating each and every syllable. Slowly, his voice rose from that deadly, quiet calm into a full, thunderous rage. “I want his mouth stuffed with the shit from my stables! I want his eyes plucked out and tossed into the sea! I want his tongue cut out and served to me in a stew!”
“Who has so offended you, Highness?” the Logothetes asked quietly. Mehtar watched Kaukadenos’ eyes – he was clearly stalling for time, hoping… “Surely Your Highness doesn’t believe that your own brother had anything…”
“David did it,” Thomas said quietly, his eyes wet and shimmering. He slammed his hands into the table. “David did it! He stole Navarre from me! Then he stole my wife from me! And I want him dead!”
“Highness! Why would your own brother kill your wife?” Logothetes Anastarikos asked. Why David would side with Jimenez to take Navarre was apparent.
Mehtar watched as Thomas’ nostrils flared, the sure sign that his friend was about to explode. Mehtar’s mouth hung open, he wanted to tell his friend the truth – that he’d killed the sorceress, to free him from her power. That they could now be together, free from interference!
But as Thomas lashed out at his own logothetes, hurling a goblet at the man and yelling and snarling more than a rabid dog, Mehtar’s heart sank. He’d never be able to tell Thomas. His friend wouldn’t understand, he clearly wouldn’t – even in death, the witch had him under her spell. He grieved for her, raged for her – her magic had even blinded him to the fact he was now free…
Mehtar’s mind flashed back to the bloody scene – the candelabra laying on the floor, covered in blood and gore, Sophia’s bloody body, battered beyond recognition, blood staining all of her sheets and the floor. His footprints – oh god, the footprints that led to the secret passage…
Mehtar shuddered. It was only a matter of time. Another goblet sailed through the air, over Anastarikos’ now cowering form. If Thomas looked, and looked hard – he’d surely see…
“…I know he did it! And any man who tries to tell me otherwise has accepted David’s coin!” the Exarch snarled, a deadly finger pointing towards the domestikos and Anastarikos.
“Thomas,” Mehtar heard himself say. He was surprised at how shaky his own voice sounded. “I have evidence.”
Those tear-stained eyes flashed towards Mehtar, rage, anger boiling within their shimmering depths.
“Evidence?”
Mehtar could feel the eyes of both Anastarikos and Karapalis boring in on him, their fear palpable even though he didn’t look at them.
Part of Mehtar Lainez couldn’t believe he’d said those words – patent lies. Yet something needed to be done. He’d been sloppy – given time, he knew the evidence would point back to him. Better to head off an investigation at the pass – or better yet, take it over, and pin it on someone else. And who better than the Imperial sibling, the man who Thomas hated, the man who’d embarrassed Mehtar himself?
“Of David’s involvement,” Mehtar said after a suitably long second and a half. “Kasparalis and Anastarikos, I have all confidence, have always remained your humble servants.” A quick glance in their direction – their eyes were wide, Anastarikos barely peeking above the edge of the table. They would be in his debt.
“What evidence?” Thomas said, his voice dropping precipitously as he crumpled into his seat.
Mehtar had thought hard on this moment, ever since he’d left the secret passages for the baths, deserted all those hours ago. Scrubbing off blood and gore did wonders for his mind’s power of concentration.
So Mehtar spoke – bits of circumstantial evidence here, a shifty glance there, all the fruit of fifteen minutes of trying to scrub a murder off of his body and out of his mind. To anyone with Mehtar’s caliber of mind, the proposed plot would seem flimsy, whimsical even, but to an enraged Thomas, goaded, angered and hurt, it all made perfect, damning sense. Of course David’s coin was involved, and of course David thought removing Sophia would cut links between his brother and the Megos Domestikos. Of course it was a part of his brother’s devious, cunning plot to remove Thomas completely from the succession…
Yet as Mehtar spoke, saving his skin, his mind reached another, just as important problem he had not considered – what to do about David.
“The armies?” Thomas rumbled after Mehtar’s explanation was finished. By Thomas’ eyes, it was apparent what the exarch wanted to do – take to the field, and run David through the eye with his lance.
Yet Mehtar knew all to well how a battlefield meeting would turn out – Thomas would charge valiantly, and die valiantly, against one of David’s stratagems – if matters even reached the battlefield at all.
And Mehtar couldn’t bear to lose Thomas – not on account of a lie. So as Thomas quizzed his domestikos on the plans for a surprise assault on Basiliopolis, Mehtar’s brain worked, examining possibilities, situations, the next time David would leave himself exceedingly vulnerable.
“There is… another way,” he heard himself say slowly.
“Oh?”
Mehtar recognized that tone – it was the tone Thomas had immediately before he exploded into a raging inferno that someone had suggested an idea other than his. A deft, delicate touch was required, and Mehtar knew his man. He had a few seconds before Thomas erupted into a fury – he used them wisely. Suggesting David had more strategic prowess than Thomas would be… unwise. So Mehtar quickly approached the problem from a different angle.
“War would be unwise, Thomas,” Mehtar said in measured tones. “Would you ascend to the throne with everyone knowing your brother’s blood was on your hands? Also, marching to war against your brother would undoubtedly get your lord father involved – and he would be most displeased,” Mehtar understated. The Emperor might be in Konstantinopolis, he might have taken to drink over the actions of his sons, but Basil III Komnenos was still the most feared warrior alive. If he decided to support one son over the other, Mehtar had little doubt who it would be. “While we could defeat David, would you wish to face your father’s fury?”
Mehtar knew his charge – Thomas’ enraged eyes quickly dimmed. Thomas was a bully, and above all, jointly worshipped and feared his father.
“What would you suggest?” Thomas’ tone was still rumbling, but Mehtar knew the explosion had been stifled. What puffs of anger were coming out now were show for everyone else present. “We walk into Basiliopolis and kick him in the shins?”
“No,” Mehtar smiled and shook his head. “I would ask you to leave him to me, Thomas. I can solve this problem… quietly. We won’t have to use armies, involve your lord father, or even anyone knowing it was you.” A smile. Mehtar read Thomas’ face, and saw a downcast look of disappointment.
“Very well, Mehtar,” Thomas sighed. “No word of this must leave this room, on pain of death. I have only one requirement for this whole operation, Mehtar.”
“Milord?”
“David… must… die. A life for a life.”
And to answer everyone's question - yes, there's an update today!
DarthJF - I asked everyone because I'd personally be split - the center has all the nostalgia, but undoubtedly the fringes are going to be the popping places as time goes on. We've got a lot of time left before the EU3 part, so there's plenty of time to decide...
Servius Magnus - There are alot of them... I don't want to spoil anyone, but there will be plenty to choose from
Actinguy -LOL, Nikolaios and Michael.
Glad to hear you're still enjoying things... as I look back, my writing way back then looks sketchy compared to later on... and if you like the intrigue there, wait till you see Manuel Komnenos in action!canonized - Thank you, and congratulations on your wins as well! No surprise there... but then again, a story like Timelines is bound to do well!
English Patriot - Hey, congratulations on I, Silvagensus! To my readers, if you haven't taken a look at EP's magnum opus , or you get tired of waiting for an update here, head over there and enjoy yourself... both narratively and visually its a feast!
Cyreidel - The Spanish options look interesting precisely because they'll have access to the New World, and could, maybe, but the final impetus that pulls the post-Byzantine world's eyes away from the Mediterranean and to the broader world...
phargle - You would definitely be in favor of eastern options then, like Persia, and its probable perennial struggles with the Timurids and other Mongol successor states... and no, she's no Mongol
Antoku - Welcome to the AAR! Hmm... as for the Greek in this AAR, its horrendous! lol I don't know any Greek, and I don't have enough time to teach myself much (since I'm brushing up on Russian and French for my grad work), so half of it comes from internet translators, and half of it from me making things up (like Megos versus Megas). Thanks for pointing that out... Demetrios Megas will not be correctly referenced!
Glad to hear I inspired you to pick up CK - there's an old old Byzantine AAR that inspired me to the do the same back in the day, and ultimately led to this story (The Paleologi, or something like that). It hasn't been updated in years, but its narrative was good, and what I aspire to (but don't achieve yet).
Laur - A Romanized Egypt with provinces in Ethiopia is a personal favorite of mine... it's primed to explore the Indian Ocean and set up its own trade links, with all sorts of interesting implications for way way down the line... such as rulers of mixed descent, etc etc...
Ksim3000 - I've thought about the multiple nations route... it'd be the easiest to weave in alot of what people want. And the surviving Latin states would definitely be interesting too... Sortmark especially.
Leviathan07 - The two new Christian religious groups are Orthodox schismata... I'm also thinking of adding a third as well. If you've got MSN Messenger or AIM, I'm trying to find some names for them and flesh them out... hit me up!
AlexanderPrimus - Exactly... there's going to be alot of inter-empire politicking, especially when everyone and their uncle considers themself the "one true Roman Emperor..."
Fulcrumvale - Hmm... I've thought about that as well... doing a history book style of five year increments, attempting to follow as many people as possible. I'm not sure how that'd work practically, but I'm willing to explore the idea...
Avalanchemike - Hey, welcome to the AAR also! Hmmm... for David, Manuel and Thomas, its likely too late for Basil to sit them down and explain to them the good aspects of honor and chivalry... Heraklios is still a child though, you can certainly expect that Basil is doing that to his fourth son. Perhaps it isn't too late yet? And please don't thump me on the head - the update is below! hehehe
Nikolai - Yeah, Constantinople would have that great nostalgic feel to it... watching as Emperors go by, remaining eternally the same as the world rapidly changes around them. It'd be interesting to see how an Emperor, surrounded by 6th century ceremonies, court etiquette and expectations lives in an 18th century world...
Alfred Packer - Long time no post! Yes, they'd definitely have a huge grudge... and it'd make a compelling story if they manage to cow those successor states into line, starting the Fifth Empire (I've already imagined the timeline of how historians will see the Komnenid Empire, etc...
First Empire - old Roman Principate
Second Empire - Roman Dominate
Third Empire - Eastern Empire until Komnenids
Fourth Empire - Komnenid Empire
Fifth Empire - ?
Enewald - No, she's not a Mongol. She's Hellenized, she's a Komnenoi, and arguably, she single handedly administers the deathblow to the Fourth Empire...
January 8th, 1188
Mehtar Lainez sighed uneasily as he sat in his chair – a noise from fear, as much as from weariness. The afternoon’s setting sun bathed him in a warm light, yet the Master of Spies for the Exarchate of Tarraconensis still shivered with a slight chill. He closed his eyes, and tried to brush the memory of what had happened twenty hours before from his mind – but it wasn’t easy to erase.
“How is he?” Ioannis Kaparalis, Domestikos for the Exarchate of Tarraconensis asked quietly. He was a vapid man, in Mehtar’s eyes, but he’d been Thomas’ most faithful cavalry commander during the northern campaign.
“How do you think?” Logothetes Konstantinos Anastarikos grumbled. Another man Mehtar considered vapid. A good money counter – with few skills beyond making sure budget’s stayed in the black. “His wife brutally murdered on the day he returns from Cordoba?”
Mehtar gritted his teeth, but said nothing, instead shuffing several parchments in front of himself. He’d planned things so carefully, only to have them go so wrong…
“Bloody hell,” Kaparalis shook his head. “There’ll be hell to pay. Is it true what they said?”
“I heard someone beat her to a bloody pulp.”
Mehtar focused all of his mind and willpower to not grimace. How things turned out were not as he’d intended. It was supposed to be a quick death, a clean death – he’d painstakingly planned out every aspect of it. He’d use corridors he was sure only he knew about, sneak into her bedroom as she slept, and smother her with a pillow. Yet it’d all gone awry…
“I saw it,” Anastarikos added. “Took a candelabra and broke every bone in her body. Maidservants heard a strange noise, but that’s it.”
Mehtar winced – she’d been awake when he’d entered the room. He still remembered her eyes – wide, paralyzed by fear at the apparition in the dark. His moment of indecision – she’d struggle if he smothered her, she’d scratch him. He’d have to explain those. Then her hand reaching for a dirk near her bedside, and his rage and anger at her trying to fight back, trying to resist, trying to take his Thomas away…
“Damned frightening,” the domestikos murmured. “That the mistress of this exarchate could be murdered in the middle of the night in such a brutal manner…”
Mehtar didn’t remember the act itself – just standing there, looking at that bloody, broken body, blood seeping into the sheets, the heavy iron candelabra in his hand, blood dripping everywhere…
Mehtar had gotten himself into a fine mess… a fine mess indeed…
“Here he comes!” one of the attendants in the hallway outside the council chambers hissed, and immediately all three men present rose stiffly.
Mehtar had expected to see a storm cloud, but nothing could prepare him for the howling tempest that stormed into the meeting room. The Exarch fairly exploded into the room, clad in white robes that draped a shuddering form. At once, Thomas Komnenos looked haggard, weary, excited and furious – clearly Thomas had been told of his wife’s death as soon as he arrived at the palace. Dark rings circled his blood-shot eyes, red from tears, and Mehtar could see his jaw trembling from how tightly he clenched his teeth. No one said a word – there was nothing that could be said – and Thomas did not oblige any greeting. Instead, he abruptly yanked his chair back, hovered above it for a moment, before shoving it over on its side. The light of the setting sun fittingly cast him in shadow… an image that made everyone in the room recoil ever so slightly…
“Kaparalis,” he said quietly.
The domestikos looked up uncertainly, fidgeting – even without the news of Sophia’s brutal murder, the exarch would have been in a murderous mood. By all accounts, the Council in Cordoba had been a disaster. Exarch Enguerrand had demanded that Thrakesios hand over the port of Cadiz to Lusitania on pain of war, a call that David had backed with the threat of Mauretanian force. The hyperexarch had sided with Baetica, which caused Mauretania and Lusitania to storm out of the meeting.
Then Thomas had attempted his own powerplay, pressing the hyperexarch for the rights to Pamplona, but the Jimenez man had proven far tougher than Thomas had expected – he held firm, long enough that both David and Enguerrand got wind of the demand and returned to the table to undercut the Lord of Tarraconensis. It’d been an unmitigated disaster for Thomas – all four of the other exarchs had joined cause against him, and forced him to cede sections of Navarre to the hyperexarch as punishment.
Silence hung in the air for a moment, before the Exarch spoke again.
“How soon can we muster a fleet to sail our forces to Basiliopolis?” Thomas asked quietly, his jaw trembling.
“Um… pardon, Highness?” Karapalis said slowly, a slight tremble in his voice. An audible gasp went around the room. Yes, David had outmaneuvered Thomas in Cordoba. But surely…
“I want his head on a pike,” Thomas said slowly, deliberately, annunciating each and every syllable. Slowly, his voice rose from that deadly, quiet calm into a full, thunderous rage. “I want his mouth stuffed with the shit from my stables! I want his eyes plucked out and tossed into the sea! I want his tongue cut out and served to me in a stew!”
“Who has so offended you, Highness?” the Logothetes asked quietly. Mehtar watched Kaukadenos’ eyes – he was clearly stalling for time, hoping… “Surely Your Highness doesn’t believe that your own brother had anything…”
“David did it,” Thomas said quietly, his eyes wet and shimmering. He slammed his hands into the table. “David did it! He stole Navarre from me! Then he stole my wife from me! And I want him dead!”
“Highness! Why would your own brother kill your wife?” Logothetes Anastarikos asked. Why David would side with Jimenez to take Navarre was apparent.
Mehtar watched as Thomas’ nostrils flared, the sure sign that his friend was about to explode. Mehtar’s mouth hung open, he wanted to tell his friend the truth – that he’d killed the sorceress, to free him from her power. That they could now be together, free from interference!
But as Thomas lashed out at his own logothetes, hurling a goblet at the man and yelling and snarling more than a rabid dog, Mehtar’s heart sank. He’d never be able to tell Thomas. His friend wouldn’t understand, he clearly wouldn’t – even in death, the witch had him under her spell. He grieved for her, raged for her – her magic had even blinded him to the fact he was now free…
Mehtar’s mind flashed back to the bloody scene – the candelabra laying on the floor, covered in blood and gore, Sophia’s bloody body, battered beyond recognition, blood staining all of her sheets and the floor. His footprints – oh god, the footprints that led to the secret passage…
Mehtar shuddered. It was only a matter of time. Another goblet sailed through the air, over Anastarikos’ now cowering form. If Thomas looked, and looked hard – he’d surely see…
“…I know he did it! And any man who tries to tell me otherwise has accepted David’s coin!” the Exarch snarled, a deadly finger pointing towards the domestikos and Anastarikos.
“Thomas,” Mehtar heard himself say. He was surprised at how shaky his own voice sounded. “I have evidence.”
Those tear-stained eyes flashed towards Mehtar, rage, anger boiling within their shimmering depths.
“Evidence?”
Mehtar could feel the eyes of both Anastarikos and Karapalis boring in on him, their fear palpable even though he didn’t look at them.
Part of Mehtar Lainez couldn’t believe he’d said those words – patent lies. Yet something needed to be done. He’d been sloppy – given time, he knew the evidence would point back to him. Better to head off an investigation at the pass – or better yet, take it over, and pin it on someone else. And who better than the Imperial sibling, the man who Thomas hated, the man who’d embarrassed Mehtar himself?
“Of David’s involvement,” Mehtar said after a suitably long second and a half. “Kasparalis and Anastarikos, I have all confidence, have always remained your humble servants.” A quick glance in their direction – their eyes were wide, Anastarikos barely peeking above the edge of the table. They would be in his debt.
“What evidence?” Thomas said, his voice dropping precipitously as he crumpled into his seat.
Mehtar had thought hard on this moment, ever since he’d left the secret passages for the baths, deserted all those hours ago. Scrubbing off blood and gore did wonders for his mind’s power of concentration.
So Mehtar spoke – bits of circumstantial evidence here, a shifty glance there, all the fruit of fifteen minutes of trying to scrub a murder off of his body and out of his mind. To anyone with Mehtar’s caliber of mind, the proposed plot would seem flimsy, whimsical even, but to an enraged Thomas, goaded, angered and hurt, it all made perfect, damning sense. Of course David’s coin was involved, and of course David thought removing Sophia would cut links between his brother and the Megos Domestikos. Of course it was a part of his brother’s devious, cunning plot to remove Thomas completely from the succession…
Yet as Mehtar spoke, saving his skin, his mind reached another, just as important problem he had not considered – what to do about David.
“The armies?” Thomas rumbled after Mehtar’s explanation was finished. By Thomas’ eyes, it was apparent what the exarch wanted to do – take to the field, and run David through the eye with his lance.
Yet Mehtar knew all to well how a battlefield meeting would turn out – Thomas would charge valiantly, and die valiantly, against one of David’s stratagems – if matters even reached the battlefield at all.
And Mehtar couldn’t bear to lose Thomas – not on account of a lie. So as Thomas quizzed his domestikos on the plans for a surprise assault on Basiliopolis, Mehtar’s brain worked, examining possibilities, situations, the next time David would leave himself exceedingly vulnerable.
“There is… another way,” he heard himself say slowly.
“Oh?”
Mehtar recognized that tone – it was the tone Thomas had immediately before he exploded into a raging inferno that someone had suggested an idea other than his. A deft, delicate touch was required, and Mehtar knew his man. He had a few seconds before Thomas erupted into a fury – he used them wisely. Suggesting David had more strategic prowess than Thomas would be… unwise. So Mehtar quickly approached the problem from a different angle.
“War would be unwise, Thomas,” Mehtar said in measured tones. “Would you ascend to the throne with everyone knowing your brother’s blood was on your hands? Also, marching to war against your brother would undoubtedly get your lord father involved – and he would be most displeased,” Mehtar understated. The Emperor might be in Konstantinopolis, he might have taken to drink over the actions of his sons, but Basil III Komnenos was still the most feared warrior alive. If he decided to support one son over the other, Mehtar had little doubt who it would be. “While we could defeat David, would you wish to face your father’s fury?”
Mehtar knew his charge – Thomas’ enraged eyes quickly dimmed. Thomas was a bully, and above all, jointly worshipped and feared his father.
“What would you suggest?” Thomas’ tone was still rumbling, but Mehtar knew the explosion had been stifled. What puffs of anger were coming out now were show for everyone else present. “We walk into Basiliopolis and kick him in the shins?”
“No,” Mehtar smiled and shook his head. “I would ask you to leave him to me, Thomas. I can solve this problem… quietly. We won’t have to use armies, involve your lord father, or even anyone knowing it was you.” A smile. Mehtar read Thomas’ face, and saw a downcast look of disappointment.
“Very well, Mehtar,” Thomas sighed. “No word of this must leave this room, on pain of death. I have only one requirement for this whole operation, Mehtar.”
“Milord?”
“David… must… die. A life for a life.”
==========*==========
The alternative if Mehtar fails…
The alternative if Mehtar fails…
Yeah. But what I'd envisioned, would be something like this:
The old empire has fallen, Byzantium is a mere shadow of herself. The core, as you say, would probably have frozen solid in old etiquette and dreams of grandeur of old. But so have many empires before it. Many of them has during history tried a revitalization. Most of them started too late. Think OTL's Ottoman Empire during the 1800s: Struggling with internal decline and a sorrounding world that changes rapidly in disfavour of itself. The OE did change. But it did it too late, too little. Part because it had much trouble from inner reactionaries. Part because the rest of the world just didn't let it be. The predators circled around and pressed it too hard, hindering development. I don't know if you've studied the history of the modern Middle East. If you have, you probably know what I have in mind. If not, I recommend you read some, on Wikipedia f.ex. I think you will get some interesting ideas for your story, if you choose to go that road.
As for the last update... Methar won't succeed, I'm sure. He has shown himself to be sloppy and loosing it, and even though he might fool a gullible person like Thomas, he still have to face the ace of spies; the hyperexharch. His skills, which is good, but not as good as Jimenez I think, is, paired with his mental state, far from good enough.
Interesting that Enguerrand would go as far as to threaten war to gain Cadiz. A bluff to be sure, which our hero Rodrigo Jimenez stood firm against, but I wonder just how "legal" is it to have an inter-exarch war that he can even dare threaten that in the first place? The Empire might have feudalized since the time of Manuel, but I don't think war between two provinces are going to be tolerated when the central government is as strong as it is with a legend for an emperor and a government firmly under his loyal empress.
Heck, even in game terms, where stats mean more than in real life, a better spymaster might have increased the chance of a successful assassination, but that doesn't guarantee success either.
And the moment David heard of Sophia's death, he'll prepare himself. He might not know who did it, but he'll know who Thomas will *think* did it.
Plus, how will the hyperexarch react?
Well, on intrigue score alone Mehtar has it over Rodrigo (24 > 17, if I remember correctly); but General_BT has shown that pure stats alone don't always equal victory.Nikolai said:
Heck, even in game terms, where stats mean more than in real life, a better spymaster might have increased the chance of a successful assassination, but that doesn't guarantee success either.
And the moment David heard of Sophia's death, he'll prepare himself. He might not know who did it, but he'll know who Thomas will *think* did it.
Plus, how will the hyperexarch react?
Mehetar’s nuts. He’s gone. He’s lost it. When his idea of an untraceable assassination is for HE HIMSLEF to waltz into his master’s bedroom and smother his wife with a pillow, it’s all too apparent that he stands no chance of assassinating someone as wily and devious as David—and this doesn’t even begin to account for the presence of Rodrigo in Iberia. Rodrigo is likely to call for the presence of Basil and the tagmata the moment he hears of the assassination attempt, and there’s no way that Thomas can face down Basil and win. He and Mehtar are doomed.