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loki100

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Remember me?

Well of course you don’t, but you might remember my Grandfather. Made the mistake of sending the wrong manuscript to the publishers. Is that a clue?

He was meant to write the official history, kept a more racy version for the family, managed to publish the racy one. Are you with me yet?

Here’s an odd clue. Its 31 December 1398, at least according to some. He ‘disappeared’ in 565. So how come he’s my grandfather? – that’s something for later. Anyway he died in the year of my birth and I’m 317. Bad year for these parts, he’d managed to get himself conscripted and ended up dead. He might have had the potential for immortality but wasn’t immune to too many arrows and very poor armour.

The current date? … well that’s disputed. There are some quite near here who insist its somewhere in 801, others, especially the more pompous in this city, insist it’s the beginning of the 21st century. Hope you’re keeping up – there maybe more clues.

Well that made Granddad 571 when he died. Family rumour is that when he was up one night writing (and we don’t know if it was the official or unofficial version) he went to the kitchens looking for a drink. Found something fizzy, being prepared by some Armenians – turned out it was part of the search for a philosopher’s stone.

So all the males in the family have this problem. We are probably immortal – unless we encounter too many arrows. So that, plus a bit of learning from Granddad’s mistakes means we tend to avoid two things – too public a position (after all someone notices if the emperor hasn’t died in 500 years), and writing official histories. Did I write emperor? Oh well another clue.

So we do menial jobs, where no one really notices you haven’t died yet, and tend to move around, even swop jobs as me and my 3 brothers don’t look particularly alike. But at least one of us – and it is me, at the moment, in case you hadn’t guessed – keeps up the family tradition of recording our times. The other problem with semi-immortality is you tend to lose much sense of loyalty to a state or a ruler. So one of my 3 brothers is already working with them – you know them, over there – and another is a merchant with a real interest in the legends of immortality. Hyperborea, the Isles of the Blest, that sort of place. The final one is a bit of the black sheep – he became a priest.

Dad disappeared a while back (another family habit), went off with some Venetians eastwards, he didn’t come back but that doesn’t mean much.

Anyway, this is the ongoing secret history of this city, you’re the reader. That’s clear, more soon.
 
Hmm...I think I know who Granddad is. I understand who thinks it's 801. The beginning of the 21st century bit is throwing me. Are you sure they don't think it's 2151?
 
a) Istanbul, a.k.a. Byzantium, a.k.a. Konstantinapolis?
b) Roma?
c) Moskva?
d) Londonium?
e) Edinburgh? ;)

Wait just a minute, weren't you invading Europe & the American Pacific with the RKKA the last time I saw you?! :eek:

Well one is right ... as is the statement ..;)

OOOh a secret

but, to be fair, not a very secret one :cool:

Hmm...I think I know who Granddad is. I understand who thinks it's 801. The beginning of the 21st century bit is throwing me. Are you sure they don't think it's 2151?

I may well have got my 21st and 22nd centuries mixed up here - thought I was doing well with getting 2 calenders aligned :eek:o

Marco Polo? I know he was from Venice and went east. Like, a lot.

nah, dad tagged along looking for stuff to buy and sell ... no interest in grand exploration as such
 
*Count me in*

Enjoyed your HOI3 stuff immensely, this looks like a slightly different style though :)
 
Considering Armenians and the mentions of 801 and 565, Constantinople is the only city around at that point that would fit the bill. In addition, we see Venetians and emperor; Britain only had an Empress, and in the 19th Century, while Russians had Tsars. Ergo, this is a Byzantine AAR with a vague opening.

As for Roma, in both of the dates, it was ruled by a Pope, and in both dates Venice was ruled by the East. With the third brother being a priest, that rules out the priestly city of Rome. I think immortality would also point to historical monarchs, and Byzantium dies out, but the Papal States do not. Ergo, Rome is ruled out. To further solidify my point, Armenians, as Orthodox Christians, are connected to Byzantium and not to the First Rome.
 
*Count me in*

Enjoyed your HOI3 stuff immensely, this looks like a slightly different style though :)

thank you, and yes it should be - its an attempt to marry an AAR with some writing exercises - hopefully ends up more interesting than that sounds :)

Bet 50€ that it's going to be a Scotish AAR


Well ... Scotland is quite a long way away at the moment ... but I'll see if I can incorporate them at some stage

Considering Armenians and the mentions of 801 and 565, Constantinople is the only city around at that point that would fit the bill. In addition, we see Venetians and emperor; Britain only had an Empress, and in the 19th Century, while Russians had Tsars. Ergo, this is a Byzantine AAR with a vague opening.

As for Roma, in both of the dates, it was ruled by a Pope, and in both dates Venice was ruled by the East. With the third brother being a priest, that rules out the priestly city of Rome. I think immortality would also point to historical monarchs, and Byzantium dies out, but the Papal States do not. Ergo, Rome is ruled out. To further solidify my point, Armenians, as Orthodox Christians, are connected to Byzantium and not to the First Rome.

Correct ... also in the latter years of Byzantine rule and the early Crusading period, Armenia had a reputation as a haunt of wizards etc - probably more a reflection of its situation outside of any ones control.

My plan is this is a history of the city, and of who controls it ... so if Byzantium goes down the pan of history, someone else inherits the focus so to speak ...

You are Connor MacLeod.
Edit:No, the clues don't match.

... isn't he the bloke from the Terminator?

Benjamin Breeg?

:confused:
 
New Years Day 1400

Well that was a fairly quiet year. The main events came quite late on. It seems we have a new imperial strategy to regain all the lost lands - sex and spying - well they've tried war and that got us into our current mess so why not.

Seems the plan is to enhance (so to speak) the reputation of the imperial family - they've sent copies of Granddad's old book all around Europe so that they know the imperial family are capable - and of/at what ... , and have identified every dynasty with a slightly dodgy hold on its throne:



The result was we had a busy period in the kitchens, with all the banquets and celebrations:





Even Cyprus, which started out a bit dubious about this enterprise:



gave in ... apparently their version had additional pictures added to aid their imaginations ...



As to the current Emperor, well he's certainly not this family's break out idiot, but not that good either, still at least he (a) has an heir, and (b) has found some sources of advice:



As to the spying bit, well in addition to getting some advice, they've decided to clip the merchant's wings for a while (big brother was instantly grumbling):



So there we are - a few more ships, another cavalry regiment and every available cousin and unmarried relative shipped out to do their bit for the imperial cause, all in a few months.

Now if that was all they were up to it might stay peaceful around here. Unfortunately, the emperor wants to bring Greece back into the fold:



assisted by a feeling he can declare war on whoever he likes:



So I doubt it'll stay quiet. Meantime younger brother - the one with "them, over there" - has written, seems they are having a bad time of it, some non-timourous timurid has invaded and all their vassals are getting a bit frisky. Can't see 1400 passing over as but a footnote in the family annals.

Oh, and as pre-marriage training for all the imperial youngsters, he's ordered a nice new tapestry:

 
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Sort of odd that the Norns are mentioned in an Eastern Orthodox nation.

isn't it kinda odd it's mentioned in any christian, non-scandinavian nation? xD

(this seems rather intriuging btw :b)

well it gives me a plot line for later ... and pagan Roman mythology made a lot of Thule, Hyperborea and similar ideas they inherited from the Greeks, so the underlying knowledge (or legends) was feasibly there - even if at variance to the prevailing orthodoxy (to use a very bad pun)

The ideas, some claim, lay at the heart of Portuguese and Spanish exploration into the unknown - ie that somewhere existed immortals and the source of eternal youth etc ...

So I have one character (currently) lost in Asia, another rattling around the (slowly) expanding boundaries of European knowledge ...
 
The ideas, some claim, lay at the heart of Portuguese and Spanish exploration into the unknown - ie that somewhere existed immortals and the source of eternal youth etc ...

Very true, Christians have always been quite good at re-marketing Pagan ideas, like Easter eggs :rolleyes: Good luck finding your lost brother...