Heaven On Earth: Part One

Saint canonized, Patron Of Roman Catholics and Spaniards, First Saint Of AARLand!

The Glorification Of canonized!​

First off, lets congratulate canonized on becoming a saint of AARLand! And on to the interview:

1. First off, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself:

As you all know I am descended from the most Christian Emperors of the Noble Nation of Germany , the most Catholic Kings of Spain , the Archdukes of Austria and the Dukes of Burgundy , all of whom remained UNTIL DEATH faithful sons of the Roman Church and have always been defenders of the Catholic faith . Har har har , joking aside , just the usual English Lit major going to Franciscan University in Steubenville though I hail from Orange County , California .

2. Why did you choose the name “canonized”?

It was actually my third choice . My first choice I won’t name , the second choice was Armitage which is my casual nom de guerre but since both the first and second choices were taken I chose canonized . The name itself was given to me by an ex-lover of sorts back in the sordid days of youth . They were more technologically savvy than I was and so decided to give me an AIM screen name that would be unique but fit my personality and voila .

3. How long have you been on the forums? What drove you here to the forums?

I’ve been here since October of 06 although I did stop in every once in a while before a few years back for multiplayer EU2 games . I came to the forums for EU3 tips and what not .

4. How long have you been playing Paradox games? What was your first experience with them?

I used to play Starcraft a whole lot back in the day and one of my SCBW buddies told me about Europa Universalis II when it was coming out . I was at the mall one day and saw it in the store and thought “Meh … I’ll give it a try” and was hooked on it ever since . Then I bought Vicky and CK and HOI2DD etc etc etc .

5. How long have you been writing in AARLand?

Since February of 07 . I still consider myself to be somewhat of a new writer even though I guess I’m not really anymore , haha .

6. Your Timelines AAR is fantastic and a true epic, what inspired you to create such a great AAR?

Thank you ! Inspiration for it partly was naturally from the EU3 game that I structured part of it on . The dynamicism of EU3 helped . Actually , to be honest , it was also more due to EU2 Multiplayer back in the day . I thought of how players are not monarchs in the paradox games but that in fact the spirit of the nation survives for centuries so I wanted to try and see if I could write about that in a way . Hence why the Silent Rooms exist in the story . I also was always fond of imagining what the world would look like if things had been different so that’s why there’s a modern day aspect to the tale as well . I guess I can’t say there was one single inspiration , a lot of my friends inspired characters and events . Things I watch inspire episodes I write . I was writing something a few years prior to Timelines that had similar figures in it and that helped to inspire it too .

7. Do you have any favorite parts of Timelines?

Hmm . That’s a tough one for me . I tend to like my inside jokes and Easter eggs the most as a guilty pleasure haha . Most of my fans know that I have a terrible memory so it’s hard to remember such a long tale sometimes . Some of the more surprising twists in the story are my favourites such as with you know who – wink - .

8. What characters or events did you enjoy writing about the most?

I actually do enjoy writing a lot of Rodrigo/Tom interplay . Those two seem to take a lot of thought for me . Although I enjoy the whole Season I cast , I also have a partiality for the failings and incompleteness of the Season II cast ; the hero that is conflicted , the soldier that is injured , the girl that can make mistakes , the cardinal who isn’t invincible . The contrast in Season I and Season II I’ve enjoyed writing and Season III would be an even greater contrast . It goes to my theme that as time progresses from that point of ‘high’ness , the greater the Earth pulls one down . The more we descend as we are descendants .

9. Who are your influences when it comes to AAR writing?

Mostly my friends although other authors have given me certain pieces of inspiration . Mettermrck , for example , a good friend he helped give me an idea just the other day . Talking with English Patriot on MSN a lot helps to flesh out hilarious and clever ideas . I like watching shows like Trick and Deitantei Conan to give me some inspiration . Reading for classes helps a lot especially having recently re-read Dante’s Divine Comedy over again .

10. Can you give any AAR writing advice to anyone who might look to you as an influence?

The attitude of writing is a choice . For many individuals , writing is a pleasurable hobby . As a hobby , however , it means that if it suddenly becomes un-fun , you’ll end up stumbling and not wanting to go on . Feelings we cannot change , we cannot help , we cannot control . Attitude , however , we can . If you love your AAR , that love is not a feeling , it is an attitude and you will stick by her . When I think of my AAR and of the times when I’ve sometimes felt low , I always remember that it is my choice to go on despite the pain . To that end , here’s a little video to help you understand how one should feel towards their AAR: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU

11. Finally, why do you think everyone loves Panzerkardinal so much?!

Haha , the Panzerkardinal is a unique kind of image . You don’t normally see princes of the Church wearing armor worthy of a tank and single handedly stopping galleons with the thrust of his javelin , but there you have it haha . He’s a no nonsense character who was probably more fit for the battlefield than as an elector for the Pope . I think , too , it was that one episode we had when we looked into his past that we gained a bit more perspective on his character and I think that’s one of the reasons for his endurance .

Once again, lets congratulate canonized for being the first Orthodox saint of AARLand!

Romanos IV : I


Emperor Romanos IV will forever be known for the Emperor that held the Roman line at Manzikert. However, that amazing feat was accomplished at the beginning of his reign. He still had many problems to deal with. The first and foremost of these problems were the Wallachians. They had been raiding Roman frontier towns for many years and the population of Roman Bulgaria was in peril, they scared, poor, and angry.

Finally, Romanos IV decided something needed to be done and invaded Wallachia with over 25,000 in the fall of 1073. Divided into four groups, the armies marched into Wallachia, at first unopposed. All the forces the Wallachians could muster retreated back to their castles.


Nevertheless, Romanos IV was able to corner the Wallachians with two armies. Near the town of Bacau, the two Roman armies stopped to rest. With no army or defenses, the townspeople of Bacau were forced to give their services to the Emperor and his army. However, as the sun set on Bacau, the Roman scouts sighted a Wallachian army nearing the town, presumably for the same reason as the Romans did, resources.

So the Romans made the first move and moved out of the town and into the snow-covered hills outside the town. Slowly, the rather large Wallachian army came into view, marching towards Bacau in a thin line. However, it was clear than the Bacau townspeople were loyal to their land, so instead of keeping quiet, they rang their bells and shouted to the Wallachian force that the Romans were in the area. Immediately, the Wallachians tried to put their forces into battle positions. However, they were not prepared to do so and the messages fumbled, giving time for the Roman infantry to smash into the Wallachian side.


The Roman infantry completely crushed the Wallachian side, they were spread much too thin and they were too unprepared, so they were almost completely destroyed. Then as the Wallachians were at their weakest, Emperor Romanos IV personally lead a cavalry charge into the very best of the Wallachian troops. The Wallachian men at arms were stunned just as much as the rest of the army, and they were crushed as well. The cataphract cavalry of the Romans cut clean through the Wallachian lines and turned around many times for more charges.

Finally, when the Wallachian army was almost all dead, Emperor Romanos IV turned his cavalry towards the Bacau citizens, who gave the Roman plan away. Their warnings had cost the Romans many men and Romanos IV deemed it was time for them to pay. So he led a massive charge at the townspeople themselves. In blind fury, he decimated the population of the town and sent over half of the citizens into Roman lands as slaves. Little did the Romans know at the time, but the Battle of Bacau would be very important to the war, as the force that was destroyed at Bacau was over half the entire Wallachian forces, not to mention that much of the Wallachian nobility was killed in the battle.

300th Post!!!

Fulcrumvale said:

It's good to see sombody still playing Medieval Total War I.

Click to expand...

MTW I? That's 2!

300th post!!! This is by far my most successful membership on any forum! Heres to the best forum ever!

Once again: how is the mood music working for everyone?



comments appreciated,
asd

Ii


After the devastating defeat of the Wallachians at Bacau near the end of 1073, the war was basically over for the Wallachians. They had nearly no army left to fight with. Half of their entire forces had been slaughtered at Bacau, and almost all their rich noblemen were dead as well. So, they hastened their retreat and fled to the mountain castles of Transylvania.

For the next year and a half, Emperor Romanos IV and his men sieged each castle, and one by one they fell. The mountain castles weren’t a proper castle in our eyes, but rather, they were small forts on top of mountains and hills. So each “castle” was quite easy to capture, and each was indeed captured within a reasonable amount of time. Also, the Wallachians were so divided into each of their many castles that each group of Pecheneg troops was easy to destroy by the much larger Roman army. Finally, the last Wallachian castle fell in mid-1075 and the entire land of the Pechenegs was annexed into the Roman Empire. In 1076, Romanos IV also ordered small excursions into the Caucasus and some parts of Serbia, easily gaining them with large Roman armies.

Then, Romanos IV made his biggest contribution to the people of the Empire. He proclaimed a new empire altogether. In 1077, he proclaimed a new empire that he called the “Orthodox Empire.” In his speech to the people of Constantinople, he said that they “should put all identities in a second place to the true one, no Greeks, no Russians, no Bulgarians, no Serbs! Only one identity must be made, ethnicity is second to our common faith! Our identity is as people of God, Christians…Orthodox Christians! I hereby proclaim the Orthodox Empire!” Furthermore, he said that the goal of the Empire would be to unite all Orthodox peoples, no matter where they were and who they were, all Orthodox people must be under one banner, one empire.

This amazing speech forever changed the Empire and the World. From that point on, all Emperors would strive to unite the Orthodox. But Romanos IV was not the Emperor that would unite the Orthodox. In 1080, he went on a hunting trip to Empire-owned Serbia. The independent Serbs, outside the Empire, ambushed the small Imperial hunting party and killed the great Emperor. Romanos IV was dead!


Emperor Romanos IV was one of the best Emperors in Roman history. His influence would be shown throughout history. From his famous victory at Manzikert, to his defeat of the Wallachian Pechenegs, to his proclamation of the Orthodox Empire, he had truly lived an amazing life. He was succeeded by his stepson Michael VII.

Just stopping by to let everyone know that an explanation for the gain of a little bit of Serbia and the Caucasus is missing from the update. I'll write it as soon as I get time, don't worry, its nothing major.



Thanks for reading, comments appreciated,
asd