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I absolutely love this AAR. I'm pretty new to all of this, i noticed that when someone is in control of a province it doesn't display the diagonal lines but more a blur of both countries colors... what mod has that?
 
I absolutely love this AAR. I'm pretty new to all of this, i noticed that when someone is in control of a province it doesn't display the diagonal lines but more a blur of both countries colors... what mod has that?

Actually, that isn't a mod. That's called I somehow screwed up my graphics files so that it does that. I don't even know how, I just loaded up my game one day and it was like that.
 
Chapter 23 - Review and Reform

Gregorios, the Prince of Athens, wasn't having a particularly good day. It hadn't taken him long to realize he had almost no power in the state. Of course, it was partially due to a lack of information. The council had realized it didn't need to waste time and money informing the Prince of anything, so Gregorios had to pretty much compile everything himself. As such, he had ordered a census of the population in order to determine where he should next focus his efforts.

The messenger had just recently brought in the tome. Flipping open the cover, it seemed the first page had a concise drawing of the most important information organized into charts. Quite functional, actually. Perhaps whoever compiled this should be promoted. After all, not everyone would've thought to make such a useful set of drawings that weren't even ordered by the Prince.

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The first drawing noted that most of the populous was Catholic, but some of them had become rebellious and folded into the Protestant faith. There were a few options to take to that route, and after some deliberation Gregorios decided to come back to that at a later date.

The second drawing showed that the entire population, or at least close to it, was made up of Greek people following Greek customs. Also a good thing, since Greek was the official language and culture of the state. The third drawing showed major industries in the nation, but he honestly couldn't care less. After all, what could he do about that? Walk up on a stage and tell everyone to start searching for gold instead?

The fourth drawing showed what percentage of the land currently owned by Athens was considered a full part of the nation's patrimony. This meant anyone currently living there or born there would be an Athenian citizen with the right to vote, but they also had to pay far more taxes to the government than the other citizens did.

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A few hours later, he decided to steer the nation to take a more lax view in terms of religious tolerance. Athens was completely void of missionaries, something it would need to return the Protestants to the fold. As such, he caused the central office in the land to become more innovative. This was something he was resented for throughout the nation, except in the protestant areas.

When the next election came around, it was only to be expected that he would lose. The new Prince was the ironically named Gregorios Palaeologus, a man from a relatively wealthy family that had risen to power before. He promised to put the nation back on the straight and narrow, but after getting into office, he found that he was riding a runaway horse. There was simply no way to stop the innovative movements sweeping around the upper office without ordering several executions, something that would make him even more unpopular than failing to deliver on his promises.

---

OOC: Sorry this was a bit.. dry. But I needed to get through these images because they needed to be in there, but I couldn't really work them into any good plotline. The next update should be a lot more interesting.
 
Please continue this AAR. I've enjoyed it a lot, it's one of the few types of AARs which I love every aspect of.

Glad to know you like it. Don't worry, I will definitely be continuing this. My life is just really chaotic right now.. waiting for it to calm down a bit before I devote time to writing again. (Not that I don't have time, but some of the stuff I'll write will reflect my emotion, and the quality will drop. Same reason I haven't been posting)
 
Chapter 24 - His Final Fall

OOC: Sorry. That's all I can say. I've just been going through some hard times recently but everything is starting to look up so I figure it's about time to get this thing back on the front page.
----

It was a cold morning, the kind where one could see each breath escaping their mouths. Adron was walking on his way to the counsel room, his hands stuffed in his pockets, trying to stay as warm as he could. His mother would be laughing at him if she was still alive, saying something like "It's so warm out! Why are you shivering?" But whether she liked it or not, he was a born Greek. This kind of weather just wasn't normal in the summer.

As he walked up to the counsel room, it seemed that everyone in the city around him was just getting up. But there was one thing that surprised him. A shadowy figure hung in the distance, right by the counsel room. As he approached, the figure who had turned out to be a man turned to face him. "Counselor," the man said with respect, falling to a knee. "This isn't the time for pleasantries. Come inside," Adron said. Anyone who was up this early certainly wasn't the pompous rich fool he had gotten tired of dealing with. As Adron opened the door, the obviously freezing man rushed inside.

The candles hadn't been lit yet, as the servants hadn't even begun to arrive. Though a small amount of morning light filtered in through the window on the left side of the wall, it seemed like complete darkness inside. Adron walked around and lit all the candles, and then turned to his guest. "What is it?" he said, with little patience. The last few weeks had been aggravating, to say the least. "You may remember my father.." the man began, "My name is Demetrios Doria," he said.

Demetrios then began to tell the story of Dimosthenes' oppression and his lackluster performance in both the Americas and Africa. It all began to make sense, but accusing a member of counsel without proof was a dangerous and futile business. "Do you even have any evidence?" Adron asked. Demetrios smiled, and gestured over to the door. Opening it, the counselor felt a blast of cold air rushing to his face before being able to see anything. There, standing in front of the staircase, were sixty or seventy people, almost a whole boatload. It took a few seconds, but it finally registered in his mind. Witnesses.

Adron would present their case in front of the Counsel, and managed to convince nine members, excluding Dimosthenes himself, to revoke the monopoly on the colonies. As such, the Doria Trading Company was founded, and took hold of its first colony in the Americas.

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Indeed, the colonial efforts of Athens had given it some of the largest tracts of land imaginable. When one scaled for value, Athens still had the 7th most land in the entire world, a feat no one would have thought possible, especially the Venetian doge who had granted Athens its independence.

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The little city had come so far in such a short time, but it was still in peril. With hungry neighbors to the north and east, Athens was struggling just to keep its independence. Reforms would have to be made in the highest parts of the government to keep it alive, even if they were reforms that would upset the majority of the population. But for now, just trying to keep a large enough army to hold the nation together was all Adron could do.
 
Great AAR! Just curious, does Athens have any ideas about restoring greek glory to the days of Alexander?

Perhaps. We shall see!

I'm focusing on the New World at the moment though, and just trying to survive. If I get my military buildings in the NW high enough, I'll come back to Europe with a vengeance.
 
Chapter 25 - Mare Atlanticum

Adron woke to the blinding glare of the sun. "Odd," he said to himself, as he tried to blink the pain out of his eyes. "It's only February," continued the Counselor. Stretching, he walked downstairs to find a surprising congregation of people. "W-what?" he asked, scanning the room. They were all naval officers, judging from the coat of arms.

"We would like permission to escort you to today's meeting, Counselor," said one of the men, followed by a bow. Looking at the imported timepiece on the wall, Adron's eyes widened. It was almost time for a Counsel meeting! How had he woken so late?

After quick introductions and an ever quicker breakfast, he dashed out of his house only to bump into another figure right outside. I'm kind of clumsy today... Adron thought to himself, annoyed at whoever had been in front of his door.

Glancing up, he saw the familiar figure of Petr. "Brother!" he exclaimed, giving him a hug. Motioning for the man to follow, the entire group talked as they approached the Counsel building in the more central parts of the city.

Apparently, the issue at hand was the navy. After thanking him for his representation of the colonies, the men informed him that pirates and other nations were making it difficult for Athens to receive the full benefits of naval trade. Looking over some of the evidence they had provided, Adron simply nodded. It would be a simple matter. More money to the navy. After all, what good was a slightly-improved army going to do them if one of the larger nations came a-knocking?

As he approached the doors, Petr finally spoke. "Brother," he said, glancing off to one side. "Take this,"

After that, the man handed him a sealed letter and dashed from the doors. The front of the envelope was penned in Russian. The translation to Greek was difficult for Adron, but he eventually figured out that it said "Beware the Legacy of Death,"

Cocking his head to one side, Adron decided to push it into his pocket, deciding to take a look at it later. Whatever it was, apparently even the front of the envelope couldn't be read by anyone except Adron, judging by the fact that Russian was used as opposed to Greek or Latin.

Walking into Counsel, he presented the case of the navy, and the result was clear, and finally sent to the Admiral.

"In the Counsel of Athens, 25th February, 1559,

We, the unanimous Counselors of the Athenian Counsel, hereby declare and task the Athenian navy with a mission to place its protection of overseas trade in its foremost concerns. Appropriate funding will be redirected to the naval offices upon request, to be revoked if any sign of incompetency is shown.

Thank you."

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Chapter 26 - A New Initiative

At home that night, Adron was sitting down, reading. It was then, however, that he recalled the letter Petr had given him earlier. Pulling it out, he read over the cover once again. "Beware the Legacy of Death," The Counselor couldn't help but read it to himself in an ominous tone. What could possibly be contained within? Pulling a knife from a nearby counter, he looked around to make sure he was alone.

Slicing open the letter he pulled out the paper inside. At the first word, Adron knew it was serious. The top simply read "Pax." Powerful, yet to the point. To anyone who had intercepted the letter, it would seem like a basic greeting, but it was the two friends' note that meant to read the letter in code as opposed to literally.

Every three sentences were the same, written in different languages. First in Latin, second in Greek, third in Russian. That was the form of their code, specifically to confuse interceptors and to get them to spend time translating the Russian, despite it being a fruitless endeavor.

"I hope that you are finding yourself in safety, Brother," was the first sentence. Translating it mentally, Adron knew it was actually supposed to mean "You are in grave danger, Brother,". That was how the code worked. Generally every sentence meant the opposite of what it actually said. In addition, it was always definite, so one was meant to drop "wishing" and "hoping" from every sentence.

Continuing to read, Adron translated every sentence as it came:

You are in grave danger, Brother. You will become the next target of an assassination plot.

This is such a dangerous city.

Meet at the west side of the Acropolis, tomorrow, at the break of dawn. I have much more to tell you.

Love no one.


The last sentence seemed a bit odd, so Adron changed it to "Trust no one," in his mind. Still, the information was shocking. An assassination plot? That by itself was worrying enough, but the fact that it was a plot involving multiple targets in addition to Adron was also surprising.

He couldn't sleep that night, not wanting to miss the meeting with Petr. In order to distract himself until that time, though, he pored over the most recent reports from the colonies. Helpfully, Demetrios had added a cartographer's sketch of the current Athenian holdings.

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Chapter 27 - Hidden Danger

The man arrived at the Acropolis, mists curling up around him. Ancient ruins surrounded him, their ominous calls beckoning him to leave before the situation became dangerous. Still, he held fast. The man had to know. Adron looked around for quite a while, the low visibility of the morning restricting him. However, before long he came to a spot which had been cleared of rubble.

There, standing a few feet away with his back to Adron, was Petr. "Brother," said the Counselor, and he was greeted with the shocked reaction of a startled Petr. The man replied in kind, and they went through the greeting niceties fairly quickly.

"So, you had something to tell me." That was, after all, the purpose of the visit. The Russian man nodded, and glanced around him before beginning to speak. "I'm glad you got my message. There's an assassination plot against you."

"I got that already. You said you had details."

"Well, sort of. What I do know is that this plot has been going on for years, funded by someone very powerful who wants to see Athens fail." Adron cocked his head quizzically. Who would spend money for that long, just to kill a single Counselor? Reading his friend's expression, Petr hurried on. "You're not the only target. They've killed multiple people for the last century. Kings, Counselors, and other important people in the nation who were doing the right thing. Whoever it is, their goal is to put power into the hands of the incapable."

Adron's mouth nearly dropped open. "What?! How do you even know this?" Petr simply smirked, pulling a thick packet out of his pocket and handing it to his adopted brother. "Just read."

The two left, and that night, Adron slit the envelope open with a blade. The information was compelling, with financial accounts, maps, and thorough explanations all included. Whatever it was, however, Adron couldn't do anything about it. That was the position he was in, lying on his bed, thinking about how helpless he was, when a grand thought struck him.

Four years later, he put his plan in action with a move that had been bitterly forced through the Counsel.

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Moving to Corfu, eh? Very interesting decision.