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frostwolf846

Second Lieutenant
18 Badges
Feb 24, 2013
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  • Crusader Kings II: Legacy of Rome
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The tavern had an warm feel, the glowing light from the center fire illuminated the room in a way that made the tavern feel like a second home. The bearded man was sitting by the fire, the one I had awaited the meet to hear the tales of your ancestors. "Buon pomeriggio, proprio in tempo prendete un seggio" he said with a warm smile. I take a seat right besides him. It was quiet, only a few regulars were sitting about, the tavern owner sat near the back playing a game of cards with his cousin. The bearded man offers you a glass of red wine as he immediately jumps into his tale. "September 15th, 1066. That's when the famous council meeting took place...


1066, September 15
Duchess Matilda of Tuscany open the door at exactly 9:00 am on September the 15th. She was only 20, and one of the very few female rulers in the region as well as the last living noble to have carry the name di Canossa. A very diplomatic women, she held a good amount of power holding the title of the largest Duchy in the Italian region. "It's time we start planning" she said "To unite Italy, by the people, for the people". There was no hiding her ambition to rule as the Queen of Italy. She has mentioned it many times before, but today was the first time it was brought up in the council meeting. "You know just as well as me that no other Duchy in the entire region is ready to merge, none want it." Responded Giolio, the chancellor of the Tuscan Duchy. Matilda just turned towards Lothar, the marshal and gently nodded her head. Everyone in the room knew what she meant by it. They stayed in the room for 5 hours that day examining their possible moves and repercussions from their actions. They narrowed their first move between 2 Duchies situated in northern Italy.

The first was Duke Alberto the second of Lombardy. An older man at the age 57, he met Matilda on various occasions concerning the Emperor, and they both shared the same zeal for the christian fate. It was undeniable that if Matilda would choose to attack Alberto, the fight would be really close and good amount of men would be killed on both sides of the battle. He rule over a total of 4 counts with no allies except a barony north of his duchy. The other option was the Duke Berthold, holder of the duchy of Verona and Carinthia. He ruled over 7 counts and had a total of 4 allies scattered across the Holy Roman Empire.


In the end she chose Duke Alberto to be the one where Giolio would be heading to fabricate the necessary papers and claims. Giolio left immediately as soon as the decision was made. Matilda would have loved to send Giolio to Verona instead. Alberto was a fellow Italian, however she knew that to many would die if she chose Berthold. Just as the council meeting was finishing up late in the evening, Bishop Vitale, the Court Chaplain suggested that Matilda should arrange a marriage for herself to secure a heir to the Duchy. She noted that and left into the streets of Firenza with a united Italy the only thing on her mind.

...the old man coughed, then reached into his coat and grabbed a stack of papers. Some seemed ancient, other newly made. "What are those?" I asked. "Maps, documents, all sorts of papers from our past. Some are important, other not" He said searching searching through the stack for a something specific. "Questa qui, here is the map of the Duchy of Verona and Lombardy. In purple, you have Lombardy, light blue Verona, and green the Duchy of Tuscany itself." I nodded silently.


The old man coughed a second time, "Mind getting me another of bottle of this wine per favore, we finished this one an hour ago. I will continue when you get back.

About the AAR

Hello :)
This is my first AAR that I ever attempted. The main AAR is being told to you by an unknown old man as it jumps from the present to the past. Some chapters will last 1 day (like this intro) Others may span years. I will not be reloading so if it end unexpectedly I apologies in advance. I would appreciate advice/criticism, as this is my first AAR. If there is something I should improve please let me know.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the journey to come.
 
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Chapter 2 As Easy As Can Be
I spent the little coins I had on me for another bottle of red wine. Lucky I was that the old man was not picky, or I would not have had enough to buy it. The sun was setting now, and there were many more people in the tavern, some passed by and shook hands with the old man, others simply glanced in his direction. I returned with the bottle and handed it to him, he opened it hastily. "Grazie" he said. He poured us both a glass as he plundered right back into his tale. "It was only a week after that famous council meeting that Matilda decided it was time for a marriage...

1066, September 25
"Matrilinial marriage, no exceptions" said Matilda 4 days ago. The remaining 4 in the council members looked at possible marriages that Matilda would benefit from. It was Spymaster Arnolfo who suggested prince Halsten of Sweden. Eager to get the wedding done she agreed with his suggestion. Now here she lies, just 4 days later married to the Prince of Sweden.


Halsten was the second eldest son of King Stenkil, Which meant he was a contender to the kingdom of Sweden if ever King Stenkil died. However Sweden was far away, and Matilda preferred if he would just stay in Tuscany instead of meddling in the affairs back at home.


1066, October 3
It was bright and early on the crisp autumn day of October 3 when Matilda ordered a military inspection. Marshal Lothar was hard at work the past 2 weeks crunching numbers to calculate the strength and size of the army that Tuscany can field when they would be prepared to go to war. He estimated a total of 6200 able bodied men to be able to fight during the war. This was satisfactory enough for her. Lombardy could perhaps field half those units and would be crushed by her greater numbers.


1066, October 12
"Matilda, so sorry to wake you this early in the morning.." said Marshal Lothar. "...but you told me to wake you if the Emperor would attack France, and they did last night." Matilda got up as quickly as she could and called for a council meeting to see how the war was going to affect Tuscany. Information was very thin, some rumors have it that it was due to border Frictions, others say it was for the province of Gent. However everything calmed down as they assumed that the war would not reach Tuscan lands and besides sending some troops to aid in the war it would not affect Tuscany at all. Regardless on the impact on Tuscany thousands of men would be killed within the weeks to come.


1067, January 28
The council has been thinking of the advantages and disadvantages of a succession law change ever since the Emperor implemented limited crown authority within the Empire on the 15th of January. Matilda was in favor if Ultimogeniture succession, where the youngest child inherits so that Tuscany would always remain in the house di Canossa. On the 28th of January they officially changed the succession law. Some vassals disapproved of the change but it did not destabilize the Duchy and Matilda was happy with the results.

1067, August 5
Besides the war waging out in northern France (which by now was officially known as the de jure war over Gent) Tuscany and it's surrounding Duchies were in peace. However on noon today Matilda just got news from Arnolfo the spymaster that Duke Berthold of Verona just began participating in a war against a Duchy north of Verona. The facts were fuzzy and unclear, so she told Arnolfo to quickly get information on who Berthold was fighting, how many men they raised and how likely they were to win.

2 days later Arnolfo returned with all the information that Matilda seeked. "It isn't his war but rather the war of Count Hermann to install a new leader of the Duchy of Swabia, but none of that is of importance." He said "Rather the most important thing is that we have been able to see him field 1300 men and that they are about to be slaughtered in Swabia" Matilda smiled, maybe her biggest threat wasn't so big after all.


1067, September 15
Matilda looked out her window, like she did every morning. Hoping to see Giolio coming back with necessary papers required to start the war against Lombardy. It was one year since she assigned him the task, and she had not heard one word from him. Hopefully the day would come soon so she can began her unification of Italy. With Lombardy half the size and Verona getting slaughterd by Swabia, claiming those 2 Duchies should be as easy as can be.

...and there was still no word from Giolio" The old man finished. It was dark now and the Tavern was quieting down. The old man began getting up grabbing his back in pain. "Tuscany sure was peaceful" I said, With war waging in northern France and thousands dieing in Swabia, Tuscany was in a pretty good position. "Nothing stays peaceful forever..especially not Tuscany" The old man responded. The center fire was almost out as we approached the exit. "If you care to hear more, tomorrow same time, same place and the wine is on me, buonanotte" the old man said. I said good night and watched him walk into the distance under the night sky.
 
Chapter 3: The Shy Bald Man​
I entered the tavern early evening the very next day, eager to hear the continuation of the stories told by the old man. I spotted the old man immediately, he was on a stool playing cards with an elder German man. He waved his index finger as to indicate hold on and he finished his game of cards. I waited around 5 minutes before the old man joined once more, with a bottle of red wine in his hands. "Right on time" he said "Shall we continue?" I simply nodded, awaiting to be swallowed by the stories once again. "Where was I" the old man pondered while stroking his beard. "Oh right, late 1068...right when the war was coming to a close...

1068, January 4
Marshal Lothar walked into the gardens where Matilda was examining some greener to delivery some important news. "Duchess, I have some news, the war between France and the emperor is over. Heinrich the IV has won." "At what cost?" Matilda responded, eyeing the roses. "12 thousand men perished on both sides" Matilda sighed, knowing that the peace of Tuscany would be ending soon, and that many of her own people might suffer the same fate.

1068, April 24
"He couldn't stay out off war for 4 months" shouted Matilda, enraged of the Kaisers decision to participate in the Hungarian civil war. The empires solders rested for a little more then 3 months before they were called back into battle for a war that wasn't even theirs. The war enthusiasm was very poor across the Holy Roman Empire, men dreaded to be placed back into action, for a cause that wasn't even their own.


1068, July 16
Matilda was having lunch with another noble in the castle when the 4 court members arrived. "Sorry to interrupt you, my Duchess but we have an urgent matter we must discuss". With out saying a word she followed them to the councils meeting room. "Alberto of Lombardy has just launched a war against the Kaiser to claim the empire." As we speak thousands of men loyal to the Kaiser are on the way right now. Fighting will break out within weeks, perhaps it is best to recall Giolio from Lombardy" Matilda refused, there was no way she would recall her chancellor, not when he was so close, not when Lombardy was so weak. "Alberto must be going insane, he will perish once the Kaiser wins the war" Matilda said. They spent the rest of the day piecing the little information they had on the incoming war.


1068, July 20
A little more information was gained earlier this morning. The main participant in the Lombardian war was a man named Mariano, the count of Urbino, who also raised his men to fight for Alberto. Urbino was bordering Tuscany, as was Lombardy. Matilda warned her nobles to be very cautions in the coming months as it would be of no surprise if major battle were fought on Tuscan lands and Matilda wanted to keep damages at a minimum.


1068, August 1 - 1069, March 1
The next 7 months passed by quickly and peacefully in Tuscany. Besides some battles between Lombardy and Holy Roman Empire things were very peaceful. Matilda was getting ever so impatient on the necessary papers to claim Lombardy, as there was still no word from Giolio. The Empire stopped sending aid to the Hungarian civil war as they focused of their own problems in Lombardy. It is unsure how many men were killed in the war already but Lothar estimates close to 4 thousand, 1 third of those lost in France last year.

1069, April 20
A bald man walked up the stairs unarmed into Matilda's castle eager to speak to Matilda. She had no idea who this man is or what he wants, but she agreed to meet him anyway. "Good morning my Duchess, my name is Ubaldo Huebaldi. I reside in Bologna where my brother Count Alberto of Bologna rules." the shy man said. Matilda smiled she knew where this was heading. "I have a strong claim on this county and with very few of your forces, I am sure you can take it. The war would be over in less then a year." Matilda remained silent, listening to what the man had to say. "In exchange for your support over my claim, I will remain loyal to you, and you will have Bolognia added to your Duchy." Matilda hadn't said one word, Ubaldo was awaiting patiently for an answer. Matilda turned to Lothar and said "Get the men ready in 3 weeks we will take Bologna." Ubaldo smiled, turned around and exited the room.


1069, May 2
Some rather intresting news came directly from the Kaiser's messengers early today. The Kaiser has installed an Anti-pope named Innocent II to rule in Ravenna. Things could stir up between the Anti-Pope and the Papacy, with Tuscany right in the center. Matilda decided to ignore this and focused on the upcoming petty war against Bologna.


1069, May 12
Matilda stood in the council meeting, the 4 council members awaited her decision patiently. "Push his claim, today. We are ready. This is nothing compared to Lombardy or Verona and we mustn't drag on this petty war. So lets get this over with" The council member nodded and left the room, preparing to launch the war that very afternoon.

...and so they prepared for their own little petty war" The old man glanced up and stopped talking immediately. "Would you be so kind to wait here just a few moments, there is someone I must speak to. I nodded and watched as he got up and approached a tall Italian man who was waiting at the bar. The more I spoke and listened to the old man the more I wondered who he was and how he acquired all this information. The two men left the Tavern and began speaking in private. With nothing to do I gazed at the center fire, the warm cozy fire.
 
A fire n the peninsula.......I think that Tuscany's arms will soonmake their best but be aware of twists...
 
Chapter 4: Holy Blood​
15 minutes later the old man walked in. As if nothing had happened and walked up to his usual stool by the fire. "Ci scusiamo per l'attesa, shall we continue" Eager to hear the rest I nodded. The old man looked into the fire and shook his head. "The war for Bologna was supposed to be a petty war...little did poor Matilda know what was going to happen....

1069, 12 May
To say Matilda was concerned about the Petty war would be lie. She left full responsibility of the war on the shoulders of Marshal Lothar and Count Ubaldo. A total of 1900 soldiers were raised, commanded by Lothar himself. Lothar estimated the war would last about 1 year and a half and casualties for Tuscany would be less then 400. Ubaldo would fight by Lothars side to claim his brothers land.

1069, 19 May
Berthold officially lost his war against Swabia. How much of an effect it had on Verona was unsure but Matilda and the Council were positive they were weaker now then before the war.

1069, 23 June
Matilda was patiently waiting in the council chambers with the remaining 3 council member for the messenger to deliver the news that the Tuscan soldiers were ready for battle. At one hour past noon, the messenger arrived with the news that 2180 men were about to engage Count Alberto's men. Since Alberto's only had half the soldiers Marshal Lothar expected the battle lasting 2 weeks. It lasted 15 days with Lothars victory. 600 troops from Bologna were slain while the Tuscan losses were much, much less at only 170 men. Lothar gave word that they were commencing the siege.


1069, 15 September
Matilda wasn't surprised when spymaster Arnolfo told her some bad news. "Duchess, yesterday King Bolesaw the Bold of Poland has declared the Anti-Papal war due to the Kaiser installing the Anti-Pope. As we speak thousands of Polish soldiers are taking up arms and they should enter Holy-Roman land within a month at most". Matilda told him to monitor the situation quite carefully in case other countries decide to fight the Kaiser for the same cause.....


...The old man fiddled through his folder of papers looking for just the right one. "Here it is, I thought I lost this one" the old man said smiling as he handed me the rolled paper. I unrolled it asking him what it was. "The Easter Holy-Roman lands. They were fighting it Hungarians civil war, Alberto the seconds's rebellion and now Poland. Look how they were surrounding by enemies. But it wasn't until November 24, where things really started getting out of hand, where Matilda questioned the safety of everyone at Bologna.


1069, November 24
Matilda was in the Sunday mass along with many other nobles listening to the Gospel when spymaster Arnolfo entered quietly and walked gently up to Matilda. He whispered 5 words in her ear: "The Papacy joined the war." Arnolfo turned around and left leaving Matilda to think of the impact of the Pope's men fighting the Kaiser. Here she was listening to Sunday masses while she was at war with the Pope himself. The new Anti-Pope was not popular yet within the Holy-Roman Empire, and the Tuscans favored more the original pope seated in Rome .She wondered how the relations with the peasants would change in the following months. She hoped the Kaiser would be able to sort things out rather quickly.


1070, February 13
Matilda was in a council meeting with the remaining 3 members when she noticed something strange happening outside. When she looked out her window she noticed hundreds of Papal soldiers marching right through her capital. She went outside with her Council members to see what was going on. Her towns people greeting the Papal soldiers with flowers and palm branches. It was hard to imagine that they were our enemy in our current war. Spymaster Arnolfo pulled one of Papal soldiers a side. He must have been no older then 18. Arnolfo was able to squeeze some information out of him. What the young boy told Arnolfo made him pale. Matilda noticed his pale face and asked "What did that boy tell you" Arnolfo looked blankly at her and responded "They are marching to Bologna, to kill the sieging army."


Matilda got on her horse and rode as fast as she could to Bologna with Spymaster Arnolfo and Court Champlain Vitale while the Steward stayed to stay in charge of things while Matilda was away. Lothar's men were outnumbered and many would not be enthusiastic to fight the Pope's own men. She rode for a few hours in pure silence upon arriving to hill top where she had a perfect view of Lothars men besieging the town, but she was to late. The Papacy had arrived mere minutes earlier. None had started fighting yet , both armies just eyed each other. Lothar on one side.......and the Pope himself on the other. Matilda gasped when she saw Pope Alexander himself leading the Papacy's army. Alexander shouted out raising his weapon "With God as my witness, and my brothers on my sides let us crush our enemy. May this be a message to the Kaiser." With that the Papacy's men stormed Lothar's men with weapons raised.


The 2 armies clashed, with Matilda watching in horror on top of the no so distant hill. The Pope hacked away at one of Lothar's men, a boy no older then 20 fell to the ground, he didn't even have the will power to raise his weapon against his own Holy Pope. A 100 of Lothar's men were killed in the first 5 minutes of the battle while The Papacy lost no more then 10. Matilda saw her men being slaughtered in front of her very eyes. She was a horrible Duchess she thought to herself. If she would have been more cautious this wouldn't have happened. Then she saw it, her own Marshal, about to be beheaded by the Pope's firm sword. The Pope raised his weapon on top of Lothar's head and brought it down with the power of God himself. Lothar blocked it, just in time and drove his sword right into the Pope's upper Torso.

It penetrated his heart. The Pope stared directly in Lothar's face, with emotions of anger and regret filling Alexander's dieing face. All went quiet. No more swords bashing on shields, no more yelling, nothing. Just absolute silence. Lothar withdrew his sword from the Popes chest causing the Pope to fall to his knees, blood oozing out of the Pope's open wound. Everyone watched the Pope's last breath. Lothar dropped his weapon and backed up slowly, he couldn't believe what he had done. Matilda covered her mouth to mask the horrifying yell that she let out. Did she yell at the sight of the Pope dead at the feet of her own marshal, or perhaps it was the surreal consequences that will happen once word gets out the Tuscan army ruled by matilda di Canossa kill Pope Alexander. Maybe both. Pope Alexander fell forward with a thick puddle of Holy blood...


... flowing right out of his heart" The old man finished. I was in awe, I couldn't believe what he had just told me. "You mustn't finish here. Please go on" I pleaded with the old man. It was dark out, and I already knew the old man's answer. "Patience, my boy. Tomorrow you will hear the rest of it. Go home for tonight." I looked back at him as walked towards the door. "Will you be leaving too?". "No" he said, "I have business to finish up here in the tavern, buonanotte". I walked outside into the fresh night air and looked back at the dimly light tavern.
 
@mike the knight: So much for a twist, this is a pretty big plot changer right here. :) I hope you are enjoying.

Anyways this was a rather unexpected coarse of events to be honest, glad I caught it in a AAR. Sorry to drag out the Pope's scene but you don't kill a Pope every day :)
 
Amazing! It was certainly a twister ..... I was sure that someting tremendous would happen at Italy especially after the coronation of the Anti Pope but the death of a Pope at battlefiled surpasses me :p
 
Good start! :) There are few narrative AARs going around compared to before, and as an encouragement, I've nominated you as character writer of the week, frostwolf!:) Congrats! Go and bask in the glory and nominate a new writer on sunday.:)
 
@Neoteros: Indeed, I have never seen a Pope killed on the battlefield before, this was a great surprise for me.

@Mike the night: I thought the Anti-Pope wasn't going to be much trouble in Italy at least until after the war on bologna and maybe Lombardy, When Poland declared war things started to become more interesting. When the Papacy joined I was sure things would get out of hand very quickly.

@Nikolai Thank you very much for the Nomination. I'm really happy you are enjoying the AAR.

@Belgiumruler: Thank you for those kind words, I'm glad you are enjoying.
 
Chapter 5: Behind Schedule
The sun refused to shine on this day, nothing but clouds engulfed the town. Every now and again it rained, the local farmers praised the rain as the crops thrived and they made good coin selling the produce. However it was early autumn and most of the crops were already selling at the local market. The rain did nothing but make the streets muddy.

I walked into the Tavern at the same time like always, expecting to see the Old bearded man sitting on his stool or playing cards with the old German man, but he wasn't around. The old German man was and noticed my entry. "He will be here in a few minutes" I nodded and thanked him and went to sit by the fire. Sure enough a few minutes later the old man burst open the door covering his head with his right hand while holding his precious documents in the left. He said his usual greetings, from the owner to the old German man and a few other people I did not recognize before taking a seat right next to me. "Ciao, il tempo è veramente brutto" He said, while warming his hands on the fire. He didn't wait for me to respond before jumping straight back into the tale. "Matilda was a sack of nerves after the death of Alexander...

1070, February 15
Matilda stood in the council meeting in pure silence. Only 3 members remained; the steward, Court Champlain and spymaster. Marshal Lothar hasn't spoken not one word since he drove his sword into the Pope's heart. "Okay so what have we to be worried about? The siege is still on the way and the Papacy retreated with the corpse of Alexander." Matilda said. It was spymaster Arnolofo who brought some sense into her. "What have we to worry about!? With all due respect my Duchess the Papacy gearing is up with many more men to avenge their fallen Pope, there is riots on the streets because people are saying the we planned the death of Alexander, your Marshal is going insane and we haven't heard from Chancellor Gioli in over 8 months. He can be dead for all we know, caught in a battle between Lombardy and the Holy-Roman Empire!" Matilda took a seat. She felt utterly helpless. Marshal Lothar just entered the room which surprised absolutely everyone. He drew his sword and placed it on the table. "Thank you for everything you given me, my Duchess but I cannot remain your marshal" Everyone watched in awe as he turned and walked towards the door. "Where are you going?" Matilda shouted. "To pray" is all they heard echoing down the hallway. That is the last words they ever heard from ex-marshal Lothar.



1070, February 18
For the past 2 days plenty of guards all over the Capital searched for any sign of Lothar, but they found nothing. Matilda was already speaking to the next potential Marshal, mayor Obizzo. He was arrogant and Matilda disliked his very presence, but Tuscany needed a marshal and he was the only one that could have filled that position. He was half as good as Lothar in military skills but he was nothing short of a genius and he was her only option at the Moment. Just as they were speaking the door opened and in walked Chancellor Giolio.

He had a huge scar across his face and his hands were filled with blisters. In his left hand was some papers rolled neatly and tied together. She dismissed [soon to be] marshal Obizzo and spoke for nearly 2 hours with Giolio. "It's not a claim on the Duchy" he said "but on the capital itself. With the war going on a claim on the Duchy was impossible". She asked what happened to him while he was there and what he knew about the war. He spoke of the riots in the streets, the harsh treatment of the peasants and of the loosing battle Alberto was facing. He said the war would be surely done by this year with the Kaiser's victory. Matilda then filled him up with everything that happend in Tuscany while he was away, from the Ubaldo's claims all the way to Alexader's death.



With the absence of a trustworthy marshal ready to lead the troops in Bologna Matilda sent her very own husband to oversee things while the marshal was lacking. There was no way she would let Ubaldo handle things on his own.



1070, May 7
Matilda wrote a very urgent letter to the Kaiser today as scouts from Northern and Southern Tuscany have all sighted heavy forces. In the Lombardian soldiers were threatening to begin sieging Tuscan lands. While in the south the Papacy began moving in once again on Tuscany to avenge their fallen Pope. The kaiser responded a few days later with vague promises of aid. He noted that at that current moment there was 5000 soldiers...

...on the way to Tuscany to help poor Matilda" The old man said. Like usual he searched through his papers for another document to hand to me. "Cazzo!" he shouted. The map was drenched in rain water. The old German sitting not to far let out a cheerful laugh. He handed it to me anyway as I tried to examine what was still visible on the map.



1070, May 10
Good new was brought to Matilda today. Her husband rode back to the Capital for the night to tell Matilda the good news. Bentivogio, the capital of Bologna has fallen, only 200 men were killed during the long siege. Her husband said the war will be over by early September. However with good news comes bad news. Contacts of Spymaster Arnolfo said that they found ex-Marshal Lothar dead in the catacombs under a local Cathedral. A dagger was found in one had and the Holy Bible in the other. He was found with his wrists slit open in a pool of his own blood. Matilda arranged his funeral the very next day.


1070, August 24
The promises of the Kaiser were fulfilled today as 5000 soldiers loyal to the Holy-Roman Empire marched down through Tuscany. They were not greeted with respect or gratitude rather, they were blamed for all the on going troubles in center Europe.


1070, August 27
Matilda's husband returned home late this evenings with joyful news. "The war is over, Ubaldo himself dragged his brother Alberto out into the town square and drew a sword to his neck threatening to kill him if he didn't surrender. Sure enough Ubaldo usurped Bologna and didn't even bother leaving the Provence. Matilda was happy, the petty war was finally over. After not seeing her husband for the last few months they went to their chambers in privacy and sure enough Matilda finally became pregnant.



1070, November 11
I was late afternoon on a cold autumn day when Matilda was told by Marshal Obizzo that Aberto of Lombardy official surrenderd. He was imprisoned that very day and was being transported to the capital of the Holy-Roman Empire. However he made a quick arrangement with one of the Captains of the Kaiser's army that he would exchange 200 gold coins in exchange for his freedom. The foolish captain accepted the offer and Alberto returned back to what ever was left of Lombardy. Needless to say the Captain was demoted and nearly executed when the Kaiser found out.


1071, January 4
After a year of resting Giolio left to Parma to develop more claims while Matilda waited for her armies to rest after the Bologna war. She told him to hurry because the war on Lombardy would start with or without his return.

1071, January 18
On the morning of January 18th Matilda got some really bizarre news from Spy Master Arnolfo. Apparently the Duchy of Verona was usurped by Olderich for some unknown reasons. Arnolfo was tasked on acquiring information on Olderich; his allies, enemies and weaknesses.


1071, April 4
The kaiser withdrew all 5000 men from Tuscan lands completely enraging Matilda. The main battles will take place on the polish border, once Poland is defeated the Papacy will no longer be a threat. the Kaiser wrote. The eastern fronts saw tremendous amounts of casualties on both sides almost rivaling the casualties created in France years ago.


1071, April 8Matilda rocked her newborn baby son in her arms in the early morning of April 8th. "We will name him Gerolamo" she whispered to her husband who was sitting besides her. She thought of the conditions her son was born into. She wanted her heir to be king of Italy, not Duke of a scattered duchy located in south of the Holy-Roman Empire. By this time she should have already controlled Lombardy and should have been moving on Verona. She couldn't wait much longer she had to act, to fulfill her promises made on September 15, 1066. She was dangerously behind schedule. "Arrange a council meeting tomorrow at noon" she told her husband as she caressed her...


...new born son, the heir of Tuscany" I felt a drop hit my head. The old man looked up noticing the roof of the Tavern began to leak. The rain outside was much worse pounding hard on the landscape surrounding the tavern. Some of the regulars looked out the window hoping their house was not suffering the same fate as the Tavern. "When was the last time we had a storm like this" the old man said smiling. The old men to get a bowl to trap the leaking water as I watched the chaotic rainstorm through the foggy window.
 
Hello all,

It appears I am having some difficulties getting the images to present themselves as they once were.To fellow AAR writers what 3rd party image hosting site do you use.I am currently using Image shack and it worked great so far until now. Now it doesn't show my images anymore. :( If you have any advice please let me know. Thanks



(I got chapter 6 finished, once the image problem is resolved I will post it however I am getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow so if I'm not in agonizing pain I will attempt to fix this)
 
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Get your time to recover from tooth removal ;) In other news I use imgur which seems to have endless space for images and its format seems fairly easy for my taste to easily update my sotries
 
Chapter 6: Papal Redemption
"Close the damn door!" The owner of tavern shouted as a middle age couple ran in to gain some shelter from the rain. The old man quickly returned with a used pot and placed it on the floor where the rain was leaking. Everyone in the tavern was doing something to prevent the storm from engulfing the tavern. Some people were holding the door down from the wind, others like the old man tried to patch up leaks. I just watched everything unfold. The owner's daughter, a sweet Italian lady was offering some freshly baked bread to everyone who helped out. The old man continued to help out for the next 10 minutes before returning to his seat desperately out of breath. "The next morning the council meeting had to be delayed because of some unexpected visitors...

1071, April 9
Matilda was waiting for Court Champlain Vitale to arrive at the council meeting. He was unusually late. He entered the room 20 minutes late with 4 unknown visitors. The rest of the council was confused as Vitale began to explain. "My Duchess, I present to you 4 diplomats of varying countries united through Papal affairs" All 4 men greeted Matilda. Vitale continued; "They have very important matters to discuss with you, sorry for bringing them on such sort notice." One of the 4 spoke out asking the 4 diplomats to speak to Matilda alone. Matilda simply nodded. The council members got up and left the room.

"Hello let us introduce ourselves. I am Swietolaw of Poland and come to you with 3 other members of Papal affairs; Krystyn of Poland, Cerdic of England and Archabaud of France. We are here to discuss matters concerning the Papacy. Matilda grew angry "Are you here to curse my family name for Alexanders death?! You know this wasn't my fault or that of my ex-marshal". Swietolaw interrupted "We understand things were out of your hands but it affected the whole world, peasents from France are trying to persuade the king to join Poland's Anti-Papal war and riots in England are at a all time high. However there is a way for you to redeem yourself." Matilda listened to every word spoken by Swietolaw. As you know the Anti-Papal war has caused thousands of death on the eastern front all because the Kaiser decided to install this Anti-Pope. If you were to attack Ravenna you may be able to capture or kill the Anti-Pope."

Matilda was intriged but had a few questions; "What of the Kaiser" Swietolaw knew the answer; "Surround the city preventing any messenger from leaving the bishopric. We will take care of blockading the gulf of Venice." Matilda thought long and hard. "This is your chance to save thousands of lives and redeem yourself for Alexanders death. Matilda agreed. It seems like Lombardy would be delayed once more.

1071, April 24
About 2 weeks after meeting with the Diplomats Matilda was once again ready to raise her banners. Besides the nobility and military no one else knew that war has been declared. Spy master Arnolfo made sure no one would exit or enter the Bishopric area, killing anyone who tries. Marshal Obizzo was in charge of the 3200 men who were ready to storm the Anti-Pope's Bishopric.

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1071, June 9
One of Obizzo's messengers arrived with the news that the Tuscan army had just confronted Innocent's army. Matilda waited patiently for the results.

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1071, June 22
As fast as the battle started it finished, it lasted 13 days before 510 soldiers loyal to the Anti-Pope were slaughtered. The remain 200 fled into the near by region and were hunted down and killed. Not one soldier escaped. Matilda waited for the kaiser's threatening message but it never came. it appears Arnolfo was doing a swell job keeping the messengers inside the Bishopric.

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1071, September 14
The letter from the Kaiser finally arrived, one messenger was able to get through to the Kaiser...

...the old man looked back in his stack of papers for another specific document. I looked outside the window and noticed the ground was almost completely flooded, as the rain kept pounding on the drowning grass. The old man handed me what appeared to a letter. The letter was very old, it's age showing through the wrinkles and tears scattered across the sheet. "The very letter the kaiser sent to Matilda" he said. "How did you get this?" I asked. "I have my ways" He chuckled "Anyways the council all wondered what they were going to do...

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..."Do we call it off?" Vitale asked. "Absolutely not, we can't abandon this now. Tell Marshall Obizzo that I want Innocent alive.

1071, October 28
When Matilda saw marshal Obizzo in the castle she was confused and alarmed. She asked why he wasn't with the men at the siege. "I was injured by some siege equipment. I won't be able to participate for another few months he said limping to his quarters. She assigned her husband once again to take leadership in the siege like he did last year. She was sure he would perform well.

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1071, November 3
On November 3rd Matilda got word that the Bishopric surrendered but there was no sign of the Anti-Pope. He fell back to heavily fortified barony in the province named Cervia. Halsten estimated the war would last another year.

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1072, February 3
The promised help from the Kaiser finally arrived pushing out the Papal forces which have been harassing southern Tuscany for the past few months. She was expecting the soldiers to march right to her and force her to stop the siege on Pope Innocent but that never occurred.

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1072, August 16
Matilda met with multiple scholars in the past 2 weeks. Many spoke to her about her past, others about activities going on around the world. She enjoyed it so much that she took scholarly interest in books. She spent countless hours with Court Champlain Vitale as they examined past Holy scriptures. Matilda thanks the gods for her new found past time.

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1072, October 5
Matilda got some rather bad news from across the Gulf of Venice. There was an outbreak in Typhoid fever. Plenty of people got it it affected regions in the Byzantine Empire, Croatia and southern Hungary. Matilda and the other members of the council prayed that it wouldn't spread to Tuscan lands.

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1072, November 11
Matilda stood there behind MArshal Obizzo when the garisson in Cervia waved the white flag. The war itself was over and Innocent's men laid down their swords admiting defeat. Anti-Pope Innocent was dragged out of the castle by 2 Tuscan soldiers and thrown in the town square. "Wait until the Kaiser hears what you have done" Innocent shouted. "He will behead all of you and your families!" Matilda laughed off the threat and approached him. "Innocent, I want you to relinquish you Anti-Papal tile immediately" Matilda said. "You are delusional" He shouted back. "As you already know Tuscan soldiers have become quite good at killing Popes, do not test me" Matilda responded. "With God as my witness I excommunicate you from the catholic church and sentence you to burn in everlasting hell!" Innocent shouted, unable to control his anger. Matilda just nodded at Obizzo. "Tell God I say hello" Matilda said. Obizzo placed his sword back in preparation to execute Anti-Pope Innocent. This was for all those who died on the Eastern Front. This was for Pope Alexander. This was for ex-Marshal Lothar. Obizzo prepared to strike.

"Stop!" Innocent yelled. "Fine, fine. I relinquish my Anti-Papal title. Please, don't kill me." Matilda smiled. It was finally over, the Anti-Papal war was over, the guilt and pressure was over. Everything was over. They had won. She had earned her Papal redemption...

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...A window shattered near the front of the Tavern causing the Old man and myself to become startled. The owner had lost his battle against the ever so powerful storm and began escorting everyone to the storage cellar where it was safe. "Come, come into cellar everyone now!" I was overjoyed, usually at this time the old man would wrap up his tales, but tonight due to the storm it appeared that I would be able to listen to even more. The old man followed me as I marched down the stairs into the storage cellar, with all his precious document wrapped between his arms and help close to his chest.