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Beleaguered?!

Friedrich de Toulouse - The Emperor to his son Dietrich said:
Since dawn of of the time the every Men is in peril. People say the first step of your life emerging from your mothers womb is the most traumatic in your life because no care can compensate feeling of safeguard and security gone and replaced by rough touch of this world.


Immense waters wash our shore, waves taller than any Man with power unceasing and unstoppable, but its anger can be bent and exploited for the good of Mankind. A drop of water in your palm doesnt seem so horrifying.

Vast forests cover this land full of uncertainity and danger, strong in their unity and sense of invulnerability, but take just one branch of them down and you have both wounded their certainty and gained a tool to press further. Extend your hand and pick it up.

Everyone walks on the same ground, but only ones who can seperate rocks from dirt can build castles just the few who can extract ore from the soil can craft weapons.


So it was and so it is now. HRE is surrounded by nations, some seem neutral, a few are chance allies, but there is no safe border, no holdout in which wheather the storm in times of trouble. Only in strenght can we find our salvation in divison of our enemies our unity, only expansion can keep our lands safe.

The times has changed, methods of survival stay the same.

Heinrich lowered the letter and contemplated, boyish arrogance radiated from it like you would assume it would from somone rising to throne of the Emperor in his lifetime from a position of a mere duke. Still he had risen high, but was succeeding Fall mark of incompetence of his successors or was it due to flaws in his design. Was it the only way for Holy Roman Empire? Was unrelenting drive for expansion the correct way when one misstep, slight misconduct of diplomacy worth times of chaos and setback for decades or even centuries?
He knew he wasnt the man for this. No he wasnt modest or anything, he was The Emperor of Romans, Reconqueror of Italy and Rome, Saviour of Christendom. He was a great man, but he was a man of reason and caution.

For ages de Toulousens passed to their children message of wisdom - to learn from their ancestors, mimic their success, avoid their mistakes. To keep an open mind. in the eyes of the court every single faithful member of the Dynasty was a giant among men, second only to the Emperor, Descendant of royal blood, but in the privy circle of family you should be able to discern good from great.

Was his predescessor a mere landgrabber exploiting brilliantly times of disarray to the full extent or a man whose principles are fundamental to the very existence oh his country. My country..

He was a man of caution, thats why he had given up largest parts of his conquest to France, Bavaria, Croatia and even to Bulgaria itself whom he took it from. Maybe that was foolishness or a sign of cowardice, many in the court certainly tought so, but that was his way.
So be it, he decided, Ill keep to my principles to the very last. My son shall receive his letter, but no guidelines of mine, he is the a prodigy after all, a smarter kid than I was at the time, a lot more ambitious, a Toulousen, he will have to find his own way.
Will he be as successful is entirely up to him. When his time comes...
 
CURTAINS

Dôn sighed from relief. She was back at the mortal side, safe inside the Porvoo Castle, locked herself for a brief moment that she needed just for herself – then she would only gather her up into all her regal posture and meet Prince Reko.

Years had passed since Dôn had last time visited successfully in the mortal side. Things had gone well and bad… like always with humans. Such controlled chaos as it always was – human life. Reko had first married his own niece, and gave birth to a son that barely could speak, hardly understood human language but could crush a man’s head between his two giant size palms if he wanted so.
And he was the first born, Tuokki… the heir to the throne.

Dôn sighed from disbelieve. They also whispered about some boy of Dôn’s in the Torzhok’s county, one of Guigues grandsons… hunchback
Dôn hardly could believe her luck. Always when she was absent, her offspring went away marrying each others. There must become stop to this…But Dôn’s thoughts were interrupted by Reko himself…
Reko, and probably all of his children, twelve-thirteen of them following behind with their pleas, comments, babble and overall noise that almost veiled Reko into a ignorant silence where he could just smile to others helplessly and say: “sorry I cannot hear you…”

“Ah, Prince Reko, finally…”
“WHAT?”
“I said Prince Reko…”
“IT IS USELESS, I CANNOT HEAR YOU…”

Dôn smiled, gazed down to the children, mostly little boys from both side of the age of 10, with one valiant little girl trying to get her attention behind all the hassle…
It was good flock. Many great mans to the dynasty…and most importantly, they were all Finns now. A little grief passed Dôn mind when she remembered all the green pastures and hills of the Wales…Perhaps it aid the dark tones to her voice when begun to speak…perhaps it just opened the door of all those emotions so long kept aside…

“Prince Reko, scion of Gwydion. I have a word with you….alone!”

And the children all become silent and gazed Dôn with little bit frightened eyes all wide open. Dôn was pleased that her voice still bore some regal elf land power in its notes… Reko gave no better appearance…the birds fell from their flight, the sun turned dark and all the peasants ran to their hideaways in the woods.
Fair enough, perhaps she bit overdid it, but she got his attention at least.

“My lady. Off course, a gentleman never keeps a Queen waiting…”
And he showed Dôn to enter a room from the corridor where he followed …and despite Dôn’s wishes, the flock of children followed…but this time they all tried to hide behind their father’s cloak when Dôn marched by in her black dress and wild look in her eyes…
…and Dôn was almost sure that she dressed in white this morning before she came here.
Magic…she always overdid it when she got exited.

“So my lady, you wanted to speak with me?”
“Yes. Prince Reko, I…” and Dôn interrupted herself with looking at the children who tried to hide– if it was anymore possible to for so many to hide behind one man’s back.
“Hus little ones, go play with the…mmm…mmm…curtains! Yeas go climb there with the tapestry. Try to find out who can climb highest and fastest…”
And the children flew away with screams and shrieks of excitement and Dôn just gazed Reko with amusement and disbelieve in her eyes. Few of the older boys where already halfway in the wall tearing the precious tapestry – quite possibly brought here from Wales themselves – down from the wall.
“You must be regarded a really wonderful father by all your piers?”
“Yes well…heh, yeah…”

“So. The Mongols. Quite frankly they do frighten me a bit.”
“Really? I mean, my lady, you bear such strength and strong will that…”
“I’ve talked with the old Chudian shaman some time ago, and he remembered…from his dreams…he had seen dreams of the Asian hordes…he spoke with terror and fear mingling his postures of hate…”
“Gollevainen? Funny you mentioned him and the Mongols as….HEY! No tearing from hairs! And Mikko! Put that club down. NOW! ... As…as I was saying….hmmm…Gollevainen. Yeas. I send him as my herald with my marshal to fight with my Grassland’s regiment aside with the Rurikovich army. I am waiting him home any time now, as the stories tell about great victories from the south.”

Dôn pondered his words. It was Gollevainen himself, so many years ago once she had first came to this land that had told him about the future so vividly and clearly…lot better than any druid or shaman could do. Dôn had many times sworn to take better look at him and his origins when she would meet him again, but always something else came by.

Somebody fell from the curtains. There was lot of crying and accusations and Reko shouted something between the children’s ratings …but to Dôn it felt like he was just delegating the responsibility to the older kids to deal the issue. He was bit distant in his pose. Somewhat absent-minded…
“That was expensive curtain that the boys torn down.” Dôn just marked.
“mmm…yeas” Dôn said.
“A dirty rag with silly images.” Said Gollevainen and both Dôn and Reko turned to look at him. He had appeared from almost nowhere just when they were talking and thinking about him. He again gave that dreadfully teasing wink in his eyes. Dôn grinned at him.

“Ah my ever helpful servant! What have you brought with me from the great campaigns!”
“Gold… “
“Ah, well that’s nice. How much gold?”
Gollevainen didn’t answer first, but scanned the whole room with slow turn of head, before he said:
“Well we build new castle so that we don’t have to cover these walls with rags anymore.”
 
30vnhaw.png
 
you have to be more aware during the session...Im sure rest of us remember that big horned wing-dude quite well...mmm...or not ;)
 
you have to be more aware during the session...Im sure rest of us remember that big horned wing-dude quite well...mmm...or not ;)

Of course you remember it. It's obviously Russian!
 
With the amount of information coming out of Russia these days, who's to say there arnt horned daemons running around? There seemed to be some cerfuffle around the lower volga, gave the Fatimids ruling there quite a scare I'm told...
 
A treacherous crusade is called against the peaceful moslems! Barbarians and civilized barbarians from every corner of the known world decend upon us!

All the isles are lost!
As is the Syrian coast!
And Iraq!
And Alexandria and Jerusalem!

*Que KoM fanboi gloating* :p
 
A treacherous crusade is called against the peaceful moslems! Barbarians and civilized barbarians from every corner of the known world decend upon us!

All the isles are lost!
As is the Syrian coast!
And Iraq!
And Alexandria and Jerusalem!

*Que KoM fanboi gloating* :p

gloat...:p
 
Denmark, Germany, Persia, and I believe France all DOW Egypt. KoM gains Byzantion.

For now.

It was Denmark, Germany, Persia and Byzantine. Michael jumped in in his awesome fashion just to get Alexandria (Crusade target). Spain decide to remain neutral (and was rewarded with 3 provinces of HRE + kingdom title), Croatia attacked Byzantine, but was beaten.
 
Michael jumped in in his awesome fashion just to get Alexandria (Crusade target).
It´s not my fault the crusaders needed one and a half year to travel to the holy land. ;)
Anyway I am proud to announce that the Kingdom of Jerusalem is now free and ruling these lands independently on behalf of all catholic countries.
 
Croatia didn't just attack for attacking's sake. I was called in to help an ally in a war. Then you all DOW'd him and forced him out leaving me all alone.

Poor choice of allies. Frosty could have demanded Komneid peace with Croatia.

Is there a way to convert from Catholicism?

Send your heir to court of another religion so he can grant demense and convert him.