Children of the Fatherland: MP conversion game
- Thread starter King of Men
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It is very likely that I'll be needing a sub next week, and possibly also the week after; any volunteers? Things are approaching a rather interesting and delicate cusp in the internal political situation of the Roman Empire, and I would really hate for the AI to mess it up.
I have asked or at least heavily implied that I get saturdays off to "rest my poor little Hobbit feet" so I should be good to go for saturdays again soon.
Session summary 1110-1116
Apart from starting a war with the Fatimid kingdom, which (due to Frosty's diplomacy) for a while teetered on the brink of a much more serious war with Persia, little of interest happened to Antioch this session. Therefore I will put up some pictures of cats to amuse you all.
You may recall David Bagratuni as a minor character in the Antiochene Intrigue: Very conveniently for the ambitions of the Komnenoi, he was declared a bastard and pushed out of the line for the Georgian throne. Now, he is a man grown, and shaped by the knowledge of what could have been his; in his mother's domain at Samos, he plots revenge against all things Komnenos.
His mother, too, yet lives, a Princess in her own right, although widowed. She has taken the lessons of her youth to heart, and now makes sure that her behaviour not only is above reproach, but appears so - even against a propagandist of Arkadios's calibre. Thus her reputation has recovered from his slanders, and she is now known as the perfect feudal lady - wise, pious, and chaste. And if her heart still seethes with the need for revenge against the man who cheated her sons of a Kingdom, nobody knows it but herself.
And what of the son I maneuvered onto the throne of Georgia? Zenobios has, indeed, grown into a man any father could be proud of.
Alas, by the time he inherited, the throne itself was gone, absorbed into the domains of that grim old bandit, Vsevolod Rurikovich:
who has, nonetheless, got his own troubles at the moment. Still, a Dukedom is not to be despised, by any means, and so it's just as well Zenobios is worthy to defend his claim, and Antioch, against the scheming Bagratuni.
As a point of interest, Byzantium in this year 1115 is in its usual state of quasi-meltdown, compounded by the gold and blandishments of the infidel Persians:
but we may hope that, as the young Emperor has now come into his majority, this will soon be repaired:
At any rate he has one loyal (and brave) vassal. I've lost track of how many of these "stab-your-liege?" events I've gotten.
Even so, as noted in my previous AAR, there are limits. Here is the situation when the Emperor finally agreed to a peace in which I became his vassal:
Observe, if you will, that I could at this point have made myself Emperor, since I had a claim to the primary title. However, I had no claim to Byzantion, and "an Emperor who does not hold Rome is only another rebel"; and besides that, I will remain steadfastly loyal.
Finally, a note on another of my sons, Ioannes. Alas, unlike his worthy elder brother Zenobios, Ioannes is a worthless slob. Raping the commoners is one thing, not very nice perhaps - a bit like picking your nose in public, but then again who hasn't got some sort of habit they'd rather keep secret? But to do so in a way which embarrasses me politically is really not on! Even for sons of mine with martial skills!
And then, as if that weren't enough, he breaks his exile and has the infernal gall to demand that I share out Zenobios's patrimony!
Well, really now. I hope his younger brothers won't prove so troublesome; I have plans for them.
Apart from starting a war with the Fatimid kingdom, which (due to Frosty's diplomacy) for a while teetered on the brink of a much more serious war with Persia, little of interest happened to Antioch this session. Therefore I will put up some pictures of cats to amuse you all.
You may recall David Bagratuni as a minor character in the Antiochene Intrigue: Very conveniently for the ambitions of the Komnenoi, he was declared a bastard and pushed out of the line for the Georgian throne. Now, he is a man grown, and shaped by the knowledge of what could have been his; in his mother's domain at Samos, he plots revenge against all things Komnenos.
His mother, too, yet lives, a Princess in her own right, although widowed. She has taken the lessons of her youth to heart, and now makes sure that her behaviour not only is above reproach, but appears so - even against a propagandist of Arkadios's calibre. Thus her reputation has recovered from his slanders, and she is now known as the perfect feudal lady - wise, pious, and chaste. And if her heart still seethes with the need for revenge against the man who cheated her sons of a Kingdom, nobody knows it but herself.
And what of the son I maneuvered onto the throne of Georgia? Zenobios has, indeed, grown into a man any father could be proud of.
Alas, by the time he inherited, the throne itself was gone, absorbed into the domains of that grim old bandit, Vsevolod Rurikovich:
who has, nonetheless, got his own troubles at the moment. Still, a Dukedom is not to be despised, by any means, and so it's just as well Zenobios is worthy to defend his claim, and Antioch, against the scheming Bagratuni.
As a point of interest, Byzantium in this year 1115 is in its usual state of quasi-meltdown, compounded by the gold and blandishments of the infidel Persians:
but we may hope that, as the young Emperor has now come into his majority, this will soon be repaired:
At any rate he has one loyal (and brave) vassal. I've lost track of how many of these "stab-your-liege?" events I've gotten.
Even so, as noted in my previous AAR, there are limits. Here is the situation when the Emperor finally agreed to a peace in which I became his vassal:
Observe, if you will, that I could at this point have made myself Emperor, since I had a claim to the primary title. However, I had no claim to Byzantion, and "an Emperor who does not hold Rome is only another rebel"; and besides that, I will remain steadfastly loyal.
Finally, a note on another of my sons, Ioannes. Alas, unlike his worthy elder brother Zenobios, Ioannes is a worthless slob. Raping the commoners is one thing, not very nice perhaps - a bit like picking your nose in public, but then again who hasn't got some sort of habit they'd rather keep secret? But to do so in a way which embarrasses me politically is really not on! Even for sons of mine with martial skills!
And then, as if that weren't enough, he breaks his exile and has the infernal gall to demand that I share out Zenobios's patrimony!
Well, really now. I hope his younger brothers won't prove so troublesome; I have plans for them.
Treaty of Carcassone
The treaty of Carcassone flowed from three wellsprings: firstly, the unease with which the Saxon and Rus courts had witnessed Toulousian expansionism, which had taken Guillaume IV deep into Germany and the Russias; secondly, the power vacuum in Northern France brought on by the French civil war, which created chaos disruptive to the trade of Toulousian and Saxon alike; thirdly, the desire of Raimond VI to rid Toulouse of extraneous distractions at a time of high peril in the Mediterranean.
The Neustrian Guarantee:
Hereby the Kingdom of Greater Saxony and the Duchy of Toulouse recognise the de Flandre family as the only legitimate dynasty in Neustria and pledge to keep this region free of the ambitions of any foreign dynasty, including their own, by any means the grace of God allows. This guarantee lasting until such time as the de Flandre dynasty commands the full loyalty of the lords of Neustria, and may defend their claims by their own strength. This oath in no way binds the de Flandre dynasty to restrict their claims to Neustria, and any disputes with the von Goldstrand or de Toulouse dynasty outside this region may be legitimately settled on the field of honour.
The Neighbourly Accords With Saxony:
The King of Greater Saxony (U002) and Duke of Toulouse (TOUL) hereby agree to exchange the vassals of Viviers (C223) and Ulm (C252).
In addition, the Duke of Toulouse forgives the Saxon war debt.
The Neighbourly Accords With The Rus:
The counts of Zyriane (C400), Suenik (C671) and Chuvash (C590) shall be transferred from the Duke of Toulouse (TOUL) to the Prince of Kiev (KIEV).
The Bar Tab:
Alcohol consumed during treaty negotiations paid for by Toulouse. (-250 gold to Raimond id = 16971)
Signed on behalf of Duke Raimond VI de Toulouse
(Saxon & Rus signatures here)
fasquardon
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The Toulousian Codex:
Kings:
Guillaume IV:
b. 1040 d. 1102, r. 1061-1102
Kings:
Guillaume IV:
b. 1040 d. 1102, r. 1061-1102
Mouldering crumb of an empire:
In 1061, Toulouse was as it had been for centuries... The strongest County in what had once been known as the Kingdom of Gothia, but was then a province of the Kingdom of the Franks. Nor was being the strongest County in the region as exalted as it sounded. The region was a feudal patchwork wherein most of the power lay in the hands of minor lords who spent most of their time feuding with their neighbours, and who resented the interference of any greater lord, whether King of France or Count of Toulouse. The city of Toulouse itself, after which the County was named, a great centre for trade and one of the four largest cities in Christendom, being one of the few cities not to have been reduced by the fall of the Roman Empire, lay largely beyond the influence of the Counts of Toulouse due to the privileges granted to its ruling council. Once capital of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis, then capital of the Visigothic Empire, then capital of the Dukes and sometime Kings of Aquitaine, by 1061, the city of Toulouse was barely capital of the Counts of Toulouse.
In 1102, Toulouse was the capital of a compact empire. Seat of the Dukes of Toulouse who ruled a domain stretching from Tarragona in the West to Crete in the East. Renowned as home to the finest siege engineers outside Egypt, arbiter of trade in the Mediterranean and as champion of the old traditions of Cenobitic Monks against the new mendicant orders. While history had seen greater empires, Toulouse was again doing its part to shape the larger destiny of Europe.
Between 1061 and 1102, there was Guillaume IV de Toulouse. A man of below average intelligence, middling cunning, and laughable physical prowess who despite a long life managed to become known for little other than devotion to his wives (even though he was suspected to have arranged the murder of his first wife) and rebelliousness. No, Guillaume was not a hero, nor even a great man. But there can be no doubting his importance.
Birth of a Duchy - 1061-1067:
Royal authority in France had been declining for some years, with the exceptionally weak Henry I being followed by his son Philip I, who was only a child when he rose to the throne in 1060. As his mother, Anne, was a Kievan, and spoke poor French, the nobles of the land took it upon themselves to form a regency council (NB: in real history, Anne would serve as an able regent for her son, along with Baldwin V of Flanders, and Philip I would grow into an able king who would begin the restoration of the authority of the French monarch, in this history, there is no Baldwin V and Anne is sidelined). Unsurprisingly, the nobles used this opportunity to entrench themselves, and the young Philip was forced to elevate many of the weaker nobles, in attempt to balance the wolves at his door one against the other, that no one family would grow strong enough to challenge him. While this worked for his lifetime, it would give the ambitious young Guillaume IV the opportunity he needed to begin taming the patchwork of vassals, demesne and allies that made up his base of power. Through naked bullying and canny synthesis of the best of the Visigothic and Frankish legal systems to produce a new code of laws buttressing his power, Guillaume made Toulouse among the most centralized domains in Western Europe.
You don't need to be good, only good enough to get good people:
While Guillaume was in no-wise a notable man himself, he gathered around himself some of the most able people in Europe and managed them with what appears to have been a light touch, content to let each subordinate act according to their best judgment, so long as their energies served Guillaume's ambitions.
A time of opportunity:
No important man may flourish without the circumstances to allow him, and Guillaume's circumstances came with the Investiture Contest in the Holy Roman Empire. What began as a contest of authority between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor had spilled over into open civil war as the Pope declared the rule of Heinrich IV to be illegal, resulting is a series of revolts across Italy and Germany. Into this chaos, slipped Toulouse, promising protection and order to the counts of Italy, while also making war on the cities of Genoa and Venice on blatantly trumped-up claims. With Venice and Genoa in hand, Toulouse also controlled the fleets of those cities, establishing a strangle-hold on the trade of the Western Mediterranean, and even more critically, imposing a favourable tax scheme that more efficiently transferred the wealth of those trade fleets to the Duke's coffers, unlike the wealthier but more truculent traders of Toulouse itself.
The pull toward empire and the shadows of the future:
Once Toulouse controlled Genoa, it needed to take Venice, once it had Genoa and Venice, it needed Sardinia, and once it had those, it needed Crete. So as Toulouse expanded, the ambitions of the Duke expanded with each success, egged on by his new Italian vassals, for in Toulouse the cultured Italians saw a vehicle with which to throw out the much-resented Germans, and reclaim the peninsula for proper (Roman) civilization. And while Guillaume would be very successful at fulfilling these ambitions within his own lifetime, in the ruthless reduction of one obstacle after another, friend and foe alike saw something dark in the new power of Toulouse, and as Guillaume lay on his deathbed, already forces were stirring to try and rip his empire down.
fasquardon
The Toulousian Codex:
1100-1116:
1100-1116:
Due to the special AAR on Guillaume IV, this AAR covers two sessions. 1100-1110 and 1110-1116.
Analysis of the Toulousian situation:
The end of an era, the dawn of a new. Guillaume IV is dead, long live Raimond VI. No longer does Toulouse scrabble for every meager opportunity for expansion, rather she scrabbles for every opportunity to reduce her badboy. Taking advantage of an attack by the Prince of Crete and a rebellion against France by Barcelona, Toulouse gained significant BB from wars in the final years of Guillaume IV. On top of that, some claim grabbing and annexations during the civil war that exploded upon Guillaume IV's death jacked the BB up higher. Long story short, Toulouse came very close to a BB meltdown.
At the same time Toulouse was tottering on the edge of self-annihilation, England launched an attack on Gwynedd. Now my current policy is to help weaker players, and Gwynedd, being England's football of choice since the start of the game, clearly qualified as in need of help. So I DoW England's vassal Aquitaine in the hopes that my larger troop strength will make the AI send troops to deal with me in preference of crushing Gwynedd completely. This kinda works. England sends loads of troops down South, Golle manages to hold the line in Wales. Unfortunately, England manages to siege my Northern provinces faster than I can react, looting, burning and completely killing my manpower.
So at this point, I have two provinces in the region that I can raise adequate troops from to fight the English, my vassals either hate me, are at war with me, or have no troops left, and what do you know, Antioch declares war... Well, I've been expecting a showdown with KoM ever since he claimed my land in his AAR, and the war with England was certainly when I would have attacked me... Unfortunately, I fight the war with KoM like we're using TWBW rules. We aren't. KoM annexes Crete from the vassals I'd given it to (expecting them to be safe for 3 years). I invade with the Venice regiment. KoM kills it. We make a peace treaty that gains me negligible prestige and some BB reduction and temporarily Crete back. KoM re-dows Crete (as per our deal), unfortunately his liege then peaces him out. I still hold Crete, and am left wondering what to do next time he attacks it... KoM is growing fast and still claims Corsica & Sardinia... As war with Antioch is inevitable, a base in Crete is useful for attacking the lion in its den. But would trying to keep Crete be honourable?
My liege (Russia under AI control) peaces England out during the war with KoM. I'm not particularly sad, as this war had already cost me dearly, and Golle was being an ungrateful so-and-so. However, much as Golle's words during the war irked me, we do have a common enemy in England as long as England holds land in Southern France. It's likely that we'll work together again.
Between the civil war, the English war, and the Antiochene war, when France DoWed some of my vassals, I decided my plate was full, and let them take them unopposed. This went on my lengthening list of grievances against France, and Hamelin Capet, and part of the reason I made the peace with KoM that I did (rather than going total war on Antioch's buttocks) is that I wanted to gather my strength and settle things with France. Next session that's exactly what I did. Re-taking my vassals, plus some expansion, and soundly putting Hamelin Capet in his place just before he died. Truly, a triumph in the name of Toulousian honour!
So in 1116, Toulouse is doing OK. I'm not making dramatic progress, but nor am I suffering dramatic setbacks. If I keep this up, I reckon I'm bound to be at least a medium power come EU3.
fasquardon
I will be gone next week. Does anyone want to sub the mightiest empire in the world?
Im also gone propaply. Does anyone want the CRAPPIEST puny little duchy there is???
Eh come on Fasquardon it is not nice to post with Foels´ account.
Since Foels will be gone next week, I shall challenge that title by invading AIed Baghdad.
The Knautschlings - part 5
Death
In this chapter our beloved protagonist Harald Knautschling* will die.
This will end his tale of course, but not the tale I am telling because this is the tale of all Knautschling*s.
But for now let us focus on the events that lead to lovely Harald´s death.
Or rather the events preceding his death since there really was nothing that lead to his death besides his age.
In 1116 Harald controls not only the lands of Denmark but also the lands of Poland.
Now that is a strange occurence you might think and maybe wonder how it came to all of this.
But in thruth Harald does not even know that himself. He gets told by his advisors that the Polish had some kind of
internal issues following up their peasant revolts, which is why the Tilius* family who is ruling over Poland
handed over the lands to Harald until they will get those issues sorted out.
Harald always has the feeling that something about that sounds fishy when he thinks about it, though.
He certainly would not give up the lands of Denmark, no matter what kind of trouble he is facing.
It does not bother him too much though, he is old and weary and decides to give the lands back as soon as a young
Tilius* comes along and claims them, which happens already in late 1116
This is the last thing worth of note in Harald´s life which comes to an end in April 1117.
Reign over the lands of Denmark assumes Asbjörn, son of Torgils who is Harald´s eldest son but unfortunately already dead.
And Asbjörn is not a nice guy, I can tell you that much already. There are rumors at court why Torgils
died so early and Asbjörn´s grief when his grandfather dies also comes to an end quickly enough.
Asbjörn is very ambitious, in fact the assault on the Kingdom of Scandinavia was ordered by him already when Harald was
still lying on his deathbed.
And the assault on the Kingdom of Norway is started less than one year later.
Both the Scandianavians and the Norwegians try to muster defence, but can not raise enough men quickly enough to counter
Asbjörn´s invasion which is led by himself and Miroslav, a Marshal of one of his vassals.
This conquering spree right after his inheritance makes Asbjörn look ruthless which is probably the reason he
sets up three Bishoprics in southern Sweden to appease the pope.
In late 1119 Asbjörn then crowns himself King of Scandinavia and Norway
but is still not content which is why he attacks Scotland right away
Similarly to the Scandinavians and the Norwegians the Scottish can not prepare their defences quickly enough and thus
now answer to Asbjörn as well.
As you have probably noticed by this time Asbjörn´s main motivation is power.
One might think that his lack of children is due to the fact that he has no interest in anything besides politics,
but when you ask Asbjörn´s wife Sigrid she will tell you a different story.
One where Asbjörn has certain problems performing his husbandly duties in the bedroom.
In fact she might even tell you that story when you do not even ask her about it.
Death
In this chapter our beloved protagonist Harald Knautschling* will die.
This will end his tale of course, but not the tale I am telling because this is the tale of all Knautschling*s.
But for now let us focus on the events that lead to lovely Harald´s death.
Or rather the events preceding his death since there really was nothing that lead to his death besides his age.
In 1116 Harald controls not only the lands of Denmark but also the lands of Poland.
Now that is a strange occurence you might think and maybe wonder how it came to all of this.
But in thruth Harald does not even know that himself. He gets told by his advisors that the Polish had some kind of
internal issues following up their peasant revolts, which is why the Tilius* family who is ruling over Poland
handed over the lands to Harald until they will get those issues sorted out.
Harald always has the feeling that something about that sounds fishy when he thinks about it, though.
He certainly would not give up the lands of Denmark, no matter what kind of trouble he is facing.
It does not bother him too much though, he is old and weary and decides to give the lands back as soon as a young
Tilius* comes along and claims them, which happens already in late 1116
This is the last thing worth of note in Harald´s life which comes to an end in April 1117.
Reign over the lands of Denmark assumes Asbjörn, son of Torgils who is Harald´s eldest son but unfortunately already dead.
And Asbjörn is not a nice guy, I can tell you that much already. There are rumors at court why Torgils
died so early and Asbjörn´s grief when his grandfather dies also comes to an end quickly enough.
Asbjörn is very ambitious, in fact the assault on the Kingdom of Scandinavia was ordered by him already when Harald was
still lying on his deathbed.
And the assault on the Kingdom of Norway is started less than one year later.
Both the Scandianavians and the Norwegians try to muster defence, but can not raise enough men quickly enough to counter
Asbjörn´s invasion which is led by himself and Miroslav, a Marshal of one of his vassals.
This conquering spree right after his inheritance makes Asbjörn look ruthless which is probably the reason he
sets up three Bishoprics in southern Sweden to appease the pope.
In late 1119 Asbjörn then crowns himself King of Scandinavia and Norway
but is still not content which is why he attacks Scotland right away
Similarly to the Scandinavians and the Norwegians the Scottish can not prepare their defences quickly enough and thus
now answer to Asbjörn as well.
As you have probably noticed by this time Asbjörn´s main motivation is power.
One might think that his lack of children is due to the fact that he has no interest in anything besides politics,
but when you ask Asbjörn´s wife Sigrid she will tell you a different story.
One where Asbjörn has certain problems performing his husbandly duties in the bedroom.
In fact she might even tell you that story when you do not even ask her about it.
Boo, you conquered the Ynglings! Of course, Rome has no interest in the doings of far northern barbarians; their internal squabblesare of no consequence to the heirs of Cicero, Caesar, and Augustus.
...Nonetheless, I'll get you for that.
For the peanuts: No Roman update this week, as I'm on vacation in France and the AI has, unaccountably, not given me a description of what it did while subbing me. In fact it appears to be hiding.
...Nonetheless, I'll get you for that.
For the peanuts: No Roman update this week, as I'm on vacation in France and the AI has, unaccountably, not given me a description of what it did while subbing me. In fact it appears to be hiding.
Now where are the hordes of immortals/people in who were left without a player spot now that we seem to need subs few per session rate?
Busy with RL making them not be able to play. I should be back for the 28th session if not the 21st!
Gwynnedd, Wales and Britain
- Gwydion is dead; Long live Foulgues! -
It laid there. Gwydion. Or what had been Gwydion. Dôn knew not what it was anymore. A back of skins and bones? A body of once living man? Her son, at sleep... Never again waking up in middle earth?
Dôn fondled his grey hair. Even at his death Gwydion still kept his charisma and posture. He had lived longest from his generation. He had outlived all of his children aside one and saw kings come and be gone from his side. He had looked upon it all and made the human life look little bit about the life of the fairfolk. He had despised death.” Every day would be a right day.” He had smiled. Dôn had just gazed at him. He had known life well but what did he knew about time? For death of her last living child no day would be right.
Dôn had known other humans who had looked death with such oversight. Laughing at it, mocking it…not fearing it. Dôn feared no death. She knew no death. But humans… Fearing it was the thing that separated them from the fair people. Despising it too much at young age was great path to the fairside. Not by one’s own choice, but taken away by those to whom death was mostly a word with four letters.
Gwydion was exactly the type Dôn loved to lure in the woods and take with her to the never ending life in the otherworld. She would have no doubt taken him with her if he wouldn’t have been her son. And even then she wished she have had. Force him to leave this all and be whit her forever.
The Eternity. It drove humans forward. It captured the essence of their faith but still, when offered, they stood by amazed and be taken by the horror of living and living and living the endless life after life after life… they feared it as much as they did fear of death and then found condolence in the thought that after death, an eternal life would await them.
What did they even knew about eternity? About eternal sorrow and yearning? Over those who feared it so much that they decided to take their changes with oblivion instead of remain with those who loved them? Dôn looked at Gwydion. His lips had slight touch of grin still remaining there. Humans were mostly really dump folk. Dôn smiled back at him.
He looked old and wise. His life had been a flick of an eye for Dôn. Her firstborn and now gone. Gwydion had not talked about the fair side in his past years. He had spoke of middle side more…for kings and castles while he had sailed the stormy oceans to bring his army to Ireland or into France. He has spoken about life and family, about Foulgues and Gwynnedd. About Wales and Britain.
Dôn looked at Foulgues. Foulgues looked at somewhere else. In to the roof and perhaps beyond. Dôn could almost see the alliances and war plans changing sides inside his mind. She smiled. Foulgues had not been contacts whit his grandmother that much and probably knew very little of her origins. He was pleasant and complaisant, more of courtier than the warrior his father had been. He would have fit the court of the Elfland Queen just perfectly. Wheter the Queen of Elfland fit into his court, Dôn didn’t know so well. When Foulgues spoke, his tongue was different from his father, but he still spoke about Gwynnedd, Wales and Britain.
Dôn knew little about that speech. But was she not an fairsider whose life was about jesting with mortals?
She tapped him on shoulders and Foulgues raised his gaze and gave a permissive nod. “Do you want me to say how much your father loved you or do you want to know how much he would have wanted to give a throne of king to sit upon?”
Foulgues stared her in a bit of amazement. He certainly didn’t have talked much with fair folk in his life. He began some hasty words of amazement, but Dôn put her finger on his lips.
“Say nothing. Your father has gone from us. You remain, and your sister. You are the children of Dôn.”
“Its…it is a compliment” Foulgues replied after few moments. Dôn didn’t know whether he just stated it or asked whether it was…Dôn didn’t know. Was it good to be her children? Even in descending way?
“For the land Gwydion have left you, I can’t say much. I seldom pass by it. It remains other to me.”
“I understand.”
They both looked somewhere else for awhile. Dôn looked pass the mortal souls into her own side…Foulgues gazed north.
“Something lays in there that trouble you”
Foulgues didn’t answer first. Darkness reigned upon his expressions.
“Whit all my peasants, all my craftsmen, all my noblemen, my friends and my advisors…even with my small sons clad in iron and bearing daggers as swords, I can still field but token army good to tease some robbers and rebels. To contest kings I cannot.”
“Why contest the kings then my son?”
Foulgues looked at Dôn; he was showing desperation that Gwydion had managed to hide so well.
“I’m not the one who contests them. They contest me. They creep into my home and steals away my cattle, drives off my dogs, damps my fire, sleeps my wife and beats my children. And then they say, you can live there in the corner if you remain silent.”
Dôn said nothing. Even for immortal like her, war begun to be distant memory in fair side, something that human’s concept of ancient felt like yesterdays bad dreams. As with death, Dôn knew little from war so she chose not to test humans over it. IF one thing humans mastered aside dying, it was the war.
“How can a duke in Wales fair then in this world of Kings?” Dôn said it more to herself. She still challenged Foulgues, but that was just her nature. Foulgues looked to the North. To the highlands. Then he smiled and looked to the east
“A Duke? In Wales? No my fair lady, I am a prince inside Russia.”
Dôn looked where Foulgues eyes led her and pondered whether the iron strong plea from his gaze could reach the halls of Novgorod.
For reward: Piety.
Treaty of Anhalt
Following his election to the Roman throne (that is the German Rome, not the Roman Rome, the Greek Rome, or any other Rome) in 1117, Raimond VI sought to raise the Empire's flagging prestige and held a council of the greatest lords of Northern Europe, which led to much forgettable speechifying, and a few more memorable territorial compromises.
Between the Roman Empire (GERM) and Greater Saxony (U002), Nevers (C137), Trent (C316) & the Duchy of Burgundy title (BOUG) to the Roman Empire (GERM), Neuchatel (C241), Bern (C244) and Schwyz(C245) to Greater Saxony (U002).
Upper Silesia (C435) from the Roman Empire (GERM) to the Greater Polish Realm (U004)
Between Stordanske Rige (U003) and the Greater Polish Realm (U004), Plock (C529) & Danzig (C368) to Greater Polish Realm (U004), Vestisland (C001), Austisland (C002) and the Duchy of Iceland title (ICEL) to Stordanske Rige (U003).
Between Russia (RUSS) and Neustria (FRAN), Duchy of Gwynedd (GWYN) to Neustria (FRAN).
Alcohol consumed during treaty negotiations paid for by Rome. (-250 gold to Raimond id = 16971)
Signed on behalf of Augustus Raimond VI de Toulouse
fasquardon