"La nostra terra" -An Italian AAR

@Mike the knight: Yes and in reality it wasn't even a rebellion, he just became duke and took 2 Tuscan provinces with him.

@blklizard: Yes it is, in ck2 it's not the council but a single individual. In this AAR it was Arnolfo the spymaster but for the sake of the AAR I just mentioned that it was the whole council that would be the reagent. Basically a regency makes an unstable real even less stable because weak claims can be pushed. Also if I'm not mistakes some stats are a little but I may be wrong on that. Another effect it has is that you are unable to plot, so that's another disadvantage.

@TheDeaconBosco: Yes it does, no doubt the road ahead may be a bloody one for that matter, the other narrative was originally meant to do no more then introduce the story of Tuscany but it has blossomed to far more then just that. The other narrative takes place somewhere in Italy between 1250 and 1450. However information will come drop by drop and its connection will be seen much later down the line. I really hope you enjoy.

As always, any criticism and suggestions are much appreciated. Chapter 12 will be posted later on tonight. I hope you enjoy

Chapter 12: Funerals A plenty​

"Once they barged down the door to the Tavern, nothing could prevent the inevitable battle, we fought hard to keep them at bay. While that happened many of the....tavern regulars entered a tunnel that was placed in the cellar allowing us to escape without being noticed. 4 men died to allow safe passage for the rest of us." The old man finished. I was curious as to why he handed me the documents if there was an escape tunnel in the cellar and upon asking him he responded saying "I couldn't risk it, if they knew of the tunnel we would have lost those documents, and you are much quicker then the rest of us so you were the document carrier" he said. That was all the old man said about the Tavern before continuing his tales...

1085, August 28
With Gerolamo not old enough to lead troops into the battle the full wieght of the war was rested upon Uberto's shoulders. He lead an army of 4000 men to the capital of the Duchy of Savoy. Many were wondering what was the Casus Beli of the war. Bonifazio had used a loop hole in the feudal system to dishonor his promise of keeping Gerolamo as his leige. With that 2 provinces. Savoy and one of the 2 islands in the Mediterranean went along with and it was Uberto's job to win back the island that Bonifazio had took.

1085, October 31
Gerolamo and the council members got horrible news from Court Champlain Vitale today. He was in the Mediterranean trying to convert the peasants along with 120 other Missionaries from Tuscany when the unthinkable happened. A mob rose up against the conversion, led by a peasant who was yelling about their Sunni beliefs. The mob attacked the missionaries with whatever weapon they could get their hands on. By the end of the day 48 missionaries were killed and Vitale himself was wounded in the chaos.


1085, November 1
Gerolamo got word that Uberto's men had made contact with the soldiers from Savoy. The battle did not last long as the Tuscan army was superior in numbers and tactics. By the end of the week every single soldier fighting under Bonifazio's banner was killed. Only one survived.


The survivors name was Georg, a German low ranking officer in Bonifazio's army. He was brought back to an outpost located in Bresca and was interrogated to give information about Duchy of Savoy. He didn't give much information but he gave all he knew. According to his word Bonifazio had called in an ally. It was only a count and Uberto wasn't worried. Georg was transported back to the capital where he would rot in dungeons.


1085, December 4
Gerolamo got a rather interesting letter from the Kaiser late this afternoon. "The Kaiser wants me to send my sister Caracossa to be tutored with one of the Kaiser's vassal so that she would be brought up as a proper German Catholic." Gerolamo read out loud to the council members laughing. He denied his request immediately. Instead Caracossa would be tutored once again by Eadwine, who has done a formidable job tutoring Gerolamo.


1086, January - 1087, March
The year passed like any other. Eadwine was sent back to Verona to continue his work on the crafted claims. Vitale, despite his horrific experience in the Mediterranean stayed in region to continue to try to convert the populace even thought he was short 48 missionaries. Uberto had successfully seized Savoy's capital, losing a little under 500 men in total in the progress. They continued to siege other holdings in the province while a separate army led by Gerolamo's father would began the siege in the Mediterranean. The war would be ending within the next few months.

1087, April 4
Gerolamo was busy speaking to the 2 representatives of the "Sindaci Unite della Toscana" about slowly increasing taxes back to their normal state when Eadwine walked in. Eadwine was the only Anglo-Saxon in all of Tuscany, and they were rarely seen in the Holy-Roman Empire at all. His son who was once sick had healed and Eadwine had grown to love his job as the chancellor of Tuscany. Eadwine approached Gerolamo and slipped a paper into his front pocket, and left. As he was leaving Gerolamo shouted "What on earth is this?!" Eadwine turned around in the doorway smiling, "A claim on Verona" before disappearing in the hallway.


1087, April 6
Gerolamo was speaking to a diplomat from Castille about a potentail marrige when a soldier enterd the room. He was quite shy and was reluctant to interupt the conversation the Duke was having. Gerolamo noticed his presence and asked him to come forth. "My Duke, some rather important news from Monteferro...

The garrison inside a holding in the capital of Savoy had just surrenders 3 days ago, and the Tuscan army made their usual sweep of the city in search of anything relevant to their war. Ubertho was walking down one of the major streets along side with another officer in the Tuscan army. "What do you think of the kid Gerolamo, think he will be a good Duke?" the officer asked. "Only time will tell, I just hope he isn't as kind as his mother, kindness if the cause of the fall of empires" Ubertho responded. The officer turned to Ubertho "But there is limits, what we did in the Mediterranean crossed the line. I haven't had a goods night sleep since." Just as Ubertho was about to respond a peasant walked up to two soldiers and with a dagger stabbed Ubertho repeatedly in the neck. The officer tackled the peasant to the ground and killed him on the spot. However the damage was done, Ubertho would not survive from his injuries. He died a few hours later.​

"They are transporting his body back to the capital for a proper burial" the soldier said. Gerolamo simply nodded and thanked the soldier before continuing his conversation with his Castillian diplomats.


1087, April 6
"It's in your hands now" Eadwine said to Gerolamo in the council meeting. "The regency of Tuscany is over, it's now under your rule". Gerolamo became quite skilled in Diplomacy, however his other skills are slightly lacking. There were many things that had to be addressed that day.


The first order of business was to hire a new marshal. Oberto of Parma was a good candidate but he was wounded in the recent war and it was only a temporary solution. Gerolamo would have to think of a better solution for a new marshal. Uberto may have been cruel but he was good at what he did and his skills would be missed.


The second thing that was done that day was to arrange a marriage between Gerolamo and Princess Sancha of Castille. However due to Sancha being only 14 years old he would have to wait a few years before the marriage could officially take place. This would secure an alliance between Tuscany and Castille, and it was a good alliance to have. If ever Gerolamo would be interested in conducting some holy wars in Spain Castille would be able to help. Gerolamo could not have been happier.

1087, May 1
The war had come to a conclusion, with Gerolamo the winner. He claimed back his province in the Mediterranean however his province Savoy was lost for good. Regardless, Gerolamo kept Bonifazio in the back of his mind at all times. If ever an opportunity to do harm to him would arise, Gerolamo would claim it.



1087, July 28
The council was still getting used to the death of Uberto. The new marshal was a little over average and he was wounded. Leading forces would be quite a struggle for Oberto. However if the death of one council member was not bad enough, the bad news came that a second member had died. Court Champlain Vitale was found dead in the morning of the 25th. He died in his sleep, the most peaceful death a man could want. Gerolamo cursed his bad luck, Vitale was one of the remaining original counclers from 1066. Arnolfo the spymaster was now the only one remaining. This was another tragedy that Gerolamo would have to face.


1087, August 19
On the evening of the 19th a ball was thrown for all the nobility in Tuscany. Many important people were invited along with a lot of pretty women. Gerolamo, knowing his wedding was still years away, could not resist his temptations. The rest of that night, is history.


1087, August 25
Gerolamo was inspecting some scholarly books when Arnolfo burst in. "Gerolamo follow fast!". The spymaster quickly turned and ran out the castle with Gerolamo running right behind him. "What is the meaning of this?!" Gerolamo shouted as they ran down the city streets. He noticed some Tuscan guards, and then realized they were in pursuit of a small group of people. Gerolamo wondered what they could be. Thieves? Assassins? His curiosity would soon be satisfied. One talented guard was able to tackle one of the runners to the ground with Arnolfo and Gerolamo a few seconds behind him. "Caught one!" the guard yelled. Finally Gerolamo asked Arnolfo, why they were in pursuit of these men.

"These men were in the process of fabricating claims against you" Arnolfo responded, while the remainder of the guards continued their pursuit. Gerolamo walked up to the runner and asked. "Who are you and who do you work for". Some peasants heard the commotion and looked out their windows, other formed a small group around Gerolamo. The runner shouted, "It's to late, it has already been done" Gerolamo took a dagger from the soldiers pouch and brought it to the runner's neck. "Who are you, and who do you work for" he repeated. "My name is Gampo Alliachi, I work for the chancellor of the province Orvieto run by Giacopo" the runner said looking straight into Gerolamo's eyes. "A little count, against all of Tuscany, miserably pathetic" Gerolamo responded as he withdrew the knife calmly. A small count was nothing against Tuscany. As Gerolamo turned to walk away he looked back at the runner, "And who is the liege of this man Giacopo?" The runner got up with a big smile on his face. "The Papacy".


...the old man stopped there, looking outside as the sun began to settle behind the trees, a whole day has gone by. This time however the old man had no where to go. This was no longer the tavern. The old man smiled. "I assume you want me to continue?" he said. I nodded. "Fine" the old man said gazing at the sunset. "I will go on but tomorrow you must to me a favor". "Sure, no problem. What is it you need me to do?" I replied. The old man began to explain.

Chapter 13: The Fall Of Genoa​

"I just need you to deliver something to Parelo at his bakery, with all the chaos in the past week it has been hard to keep things organised." I agreed, how hard can it be delivering something to a baker. It was a full moon outside and Faust had pulled up a chair to hear the old man's tales as well. Faust was maybe in his late sixties and appeared to be quite wise but not very social. Clearly he was good friends with the old man. The old poured all three of us a shot of grappa before continuing his story...

1088, May 6
Upon hearing the news Gerolamo took a horse and along with 40 of his best fighters he rode down to Rome. It took what seemed like eternity to arrive but Gerolamo would not have it any other way. He arrived at the gates of the castle mid afternoon the following day. The guards were very curious about his arrival and questioned Gerolamo vigorously. "I am Gerolamo of house di Canossa, Duke of Tuscany. I demand to speak with Pope Silverius immediately!" The guards were confused at his intention but they agreed and escorted Gerolamo up to meet Pope Silverius. "What brings you here today?" Silverious asked while sitting on his throne looking down at Gerolamo.

"One of your vassals has been caught attempting to fabricate fake claims on my provinces"
"You know I have no control of their ambitions"
"Then I have no control of mine either, so I apologize in advance if 7000 soldiers march up to your castle and behead you."
"Is this a threat? I can excommunicate you here and now for those words!"
"Please do, as you know we have gotten quite good at killing Popes. Test me, and I will bite."

The Pope remained silent for a good minute examining Gerolamo. "I give you my assurance that the claim will never be pressed" the Pope said. "Now get the hell out of my sight"

1088, August 13
To the south of Tuscany is newly formed kingdom of Sicily. The kingdom wasn't as powerful as the other Kingdoms, it faces religious tension between Orthodox and Catholics as well as some Sunni provinces within it's realm. I would take a while before Sicily would be as powerful as the average kingdom.


1088, August 14
"So what do you say?" Gerolamo's father, Price Halsten asked Gerolamo. They were on the balcony in private and Gerolamo's father made him a proposition that could not be refused. Halsten was a pretender to the kingdom of Sweden, second in the line of succession with Gerolamo's Uncle, Erik being the heir to the kingdom. Gerolamo's father made a proposition that by killing his uncle, Halsten would inherit Sweden and Gerolamo would be the heir to it. Spreading the house di Canasso to the Scandinavian kingdoms. Gerolamo was skeptical, he had a lot on his hands here in Tuscany, he could only imagine the difficulty with ruling a far away kingdom. However he would agree and ordered Arnolfo to get him some information about the state in Sweden and if such a plot was possible.


1088, September 2
Arnolfo returned with some rather bad news. Erik of Sweden was well liked and protected, few hated him and many have all ready set in stone that he would be the heir to Sweden. Halsten could only hope that he would die of natural causes. Regardless Arnolfo was almost sure Sweden would be engulfed in a succession crisis once the current king died.

1088, October 2
Gerolamo and Sancha were married to day. The marriage was huge for both Castille and Tuscany. A huge feast took place in Tuscany with ever noble invited to it. It was easily the biggest feast since Matilda's death.

1088, September 28
Bonifazio would not leave Tuscany alone, even after betraying his oath and fighting a war, Bonifazio still was not done. Today Arnolfo discovered a plot where Bonifazio would want to install a new ruler in the Duchy of Ferrara owned by Gerolamo. Upon hearing the news Gerolamo tasked Arnolfo with sending a message to Bonifazio once and for all. It was Bonifazio's cousins marriage in 2 weeks and Arnolfo decided that then would be a good time.

Bonifazio looked at himself in the mirror, fixing his attire before descending. On the way he met with a few other nobles who were there for the ceremony, they chatted a while before it was time for every to take their seats in the chapel. Everyone waited for his cousin to arrive, 2 minutes late turned to 4 and 4 to 8. Bonifzaio knew his cousin was not that type and decided he would check on him, perhaps he needed help. Upon reaching his cousins chamber Bonifazio noticed the door slightly open. He opened it gently to find his cousin with his throat slit in pool of blood slumped on the floor. On the mirror someone wrote in blood "Watch where you step" . He knew the cause of this madness.
​

1089, December 17
The emperor was always busy with various things, however today he granted the title of Seneschal of the Holy-Roman Empire to Gerolamo due to his battles in the Mediterranean which helped expand the borders of the Holy-Roman empire. A massive feast was thrown for Gerolamo in the capital, all paid for by the Kaiser. Gerolamo grew to enjoy the Kaiser's presence as they drank wine and exchanged tales.


1090, Feburary 3
The steward of Tuscany died this morning in the same manner as Vitale. He was found dead in his chambers. Gerolamo discovered his death when he did not arrive at the council meeting. He was replaced by Lazzaro, a good friend of Arnolfo. Arnolfo has been serving the council since 1066, the last member alive since then.


1090, June 29
There was a council meeting this morning and all were present except the Court Champlain who was in the Mediterranean attempting to convert the populace. They were talking of way to claim additional provinces when Marshal Oberto came up with a plan. "My Lord, I have inherited a claim against the province of Genoa, perhaps if you were to push the claim we can claim Genoa quite easily. In exchange I will remain loyal to you like I always have." Gerolamo was skeptical. "Genoa has a lot of men and money, they can hire about every mercenary in all of Europe to fight against us, then what? Also I doubt they would surrender easily, Genoa being their only province they will defend it to tooth and nail" Oberto was not worried. "My lord, Genoa is currently at war with France, quite a gruesome war as well. They lost a lot of money and men, if we do declare war we can with within a month" Gerolamo looked at Oberto, "No war was ever won in one month, do not be naive. I will have to think about it"

Rumor got out about the potential war against Genoa, and diplomats from both Pisa and Venice arrived with gifts and kind words. Nothing would be better for the other republics then the annihilation of Genoa. The other Republics would thrive more then ever. A special diplomat from Pisa said. "If you win this war, Genoa would cease to exist, it would be like wiping them off the map." Serene Doge Oberto of Genoa wrote a letter explaining that if Gerolamo would not push the claim, he would give him 200 golden pieces. The entire fate of a republic was laid in the hands of Gerolamo. "Raise the levies" Gerolamo said to Oberto as they walked down a hallway. "Tomorrow we declare war". On 17th of July war was declared.


1090, July 17
Gerolamo would lead the army of Tuscany with Oberto as his right hand man. They marched to Genoa with 4000 men and were faced with 800 tired men. They were tired of the war with France and badly battered. The battle lasted 4 days. By the end, all 800 men were dead, only 100 Tuscan soldiers were lost.

1090, October 3
Gerolamo and the Tuscan army marched to Genoa's capital and began to place their sieging weapons when Gerolamo ordered everything to stop. He stood on a few crates and began to speak. "The capital is filled with nothing but tired soldiers, women and children. We will not wait months to siege this city, we will not waste time! Tonight we charge in, find the Doge and win the war!" The men cheered, they wouldn't have it any other way.

That night 4000 Tuscan troopes stormed the city. After hours of intense fighting they made their way to the town square where they found the Serene Doge of Genoa, limping up the stairs to his home. A stray arrow had struck his left leg. Gerolamo approached him. "Surrender now, and all will end" It did not take much persuasion as the Serene Doge knew a lost battle when he saw one. He surrendered that night. It took 2 months for Tuscany to annihilate a republic, something that was never done before. For decades people form all across Europe will talk about the...


...swift fall of Genoa" the old man finished, his eyes about to shut. It was early in the morning and I could not believe how late it was. Faust had fallen asleep on the chair and began to snore. "I'm off to bed, rest here for the night" the old man said. I did not want to be a burden but I may have fallen asleep on the way home if I would have chose to left. I lay myself on the couch and said goodnight to the old man. "Buonanotte" he said as he walked to his room.

@Mike the knight: The republic was not that evil rather it was weak and in the way of Tuscan expansion .

@Asantshene: Really glad you are enjoying the AAR. My mother tongue is a splice between English and Italian, however now it is predominately English. I'm from Tuscany myself which sparked this AAR. I apologize for the mistakes and errors in my writing. The thing is, for every 20 minutes of game play there is easily 1.5 to 2 hours of writing. Notice how we are on chapter 13 yet haven't even reached 30 years in this AAR. Regardless I'm glad to have you on board.

The next chapter will be released tonight.

Chapter 14: Rightfully Ours​

I woke up at the break of dawn, still tired from last night. Faust was still slumped on the chair and the old man was still in his room. I was hesitant to move, it was not my home and I did not want to intrude so I laid on the sofa waiting for someone to awake. I examined the house, it was made of wood and had a warm cozy feel. There were some portraits of landscapes and the fireplace was surprisingly clean. The old man walked in 20 minutes later. "Slept well?" he asked. I nodded. The old man looked outside, "I have some time to kill this morning, but at noon I must depart. I will be back in 3 days". "Alright, I said and when do you want me to make the delivery?" I asked the old man. He simply said "Deliver it at sundown today". He approached Faust and shook him, waking him up abruptly. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" he asked Faust. Faust looked blankly at the old man before remembering. He quickly got up, packed his things and left, screaming goodbye as he jogged out the front door. The old man walked to the fireplace and began to fill it with logs. "The nobility of Genoa did not mind the change in hands...

1090, October 4
The peasants and nobility of Genoa did not mind the swift fall of their province. In fact, they preferred it compared to long sieges where diseases and famines kill off plenty of the population. 2 weeks after the siege everything resumed as normal in Genoa. Half of the nobility flocked to the Serene Doge and left with him when the war was lost. The other half stayed in Genoa and were quite cooperative with Gerolamo and the Tuscan army. Among the most cooperative were members of House Fieschi.

House Fieschi
A very rich House, most of the members lived in Genoa for all their lives. They disliked the Serene Doge greatly, due to their house being humiliated several times. Some members also held claims to lands near by Genoa such as Salluzo. The entire house was very cooperative with Tuscan army throughout the war. They even held public speeches that preached good about Tuscany and persuaded other high ranking nobility to side with the Tuscans during the war. Some say house Fieschi was one of the major reason Genoa fell so quickly.


1090, December 22
A letter from the Mediterranean arrived today from Court Champlain Callisto. Gerolamo opened it, he prayed for the best but prepared for the worst. The last letter from the Mediterranean came with news that Court Champlain Vitale had died, and the one before that about the death of 42 missionaries. However this time it was nothing but good news, One of the provinces had been completely converted to the catholic fate, and Callisto was moving to the second province to do the same. Religious tension in the 2 provinces were finally coming to a close.


1091, March 18
Arnolfo knocked on the door to Gerolamo's chambers "My lord, some important news." he said. Gerolamo opened the door to let him in. Arnolfo began to speak with a wide smile on his face. "Bonifazio is dead." Arnolfo said simply before explaining the details. Tuscany was not the only Duchy that Bonifazio had wronged. In his short life he also began meddling in the affairs with a French Duchy. They did not act kindly to his intrusion and ordered him killed. He was assassinated 2 days ago, someone slipped poison into his drink at one of his feasts. His son Orlando inherited the Duchy, making it extremely unstable.


1091, April 16
Gerolamo was in a council meeting when steward Lazzaro introduced Gerado of house Fieschi to Gerolamo. "I have heard about your struggles with Bonifazio, a horrible man. I have a weak claim on the province of Salluzo which you lost when Bonifazio rose to power, and now that he is dead and his young son is now the Duke it is the best time to press it." Gerado said. If it was a member of another house asking the exact same thing Gerolamo would have rejected the proposition in fear of the same treason happening again. However House Fieschi had helped him so much already. He knew he can trust him. Marshal Oberto was ordered to prepare the armies for the swift victory over Orlando of Susa.

1091, May 10
On May 10 Tuscany officially declared war on the Duchy of Susa. Gerolamo would lead the troops to battle, however Marshal Oberto would resume leadership after the battle was won to besiege the remaining holdings. The total count of the the Tuscan troops participating in the war was a little over 4500, a number that Gerolamo and the council was very proud of.

1091, September 17
1000 soldiers from the Duchy of Susa defended the county of Salluzo. The Tuscan army met them in the battlefield with greater numbers and better skilled soldiers. The battle lasted 1 week before Susa's army fled into the nearby province. Out of 1000 participants there was an estimate of 50 to 100 survivors. After the battle Gerolamo left full control of the remainder of the war to Marshal Oberto while he returned to the capital to continue governing over Tuscany.

1091, October 21
"Your a fool if you choose not to seize this opportunity!" Arnolfo said. Eadwine shouted back "They are no longer a threat to Tuscany, especially once the war is over! We will not forge the throne of Italy with the death of innocent young boys!". Lazzaro inserted himself into the argument; "That boy is far from innocent." Gerolamo grew tired of the argument and shouted above all the other voices "Enough!". The council was arguing about the opportunity to assassinate Orlando, son of Bonifazio of Susa. He was the last male of Bonifazio's house and killing him would make the house grow extinct within the next generation. However Susa lost a lot of power and was no longer a threat. Killing the young boy Orlando would not benefit Tuscany one bit besides sealing the fate of Bonifazio's house. "We do not kill him." Gerolamo said ending the discussion. He was not a cold blooded killer, and like his mother he had a good conscious.


1091, December - 1092, June
During the next 7 months the Tuscan army besieged various holdings within the the Duchy of Susa. In Tuscany things ruled as usual. However the Kaiser was beginning to notice the rapid increase in the size of Tuscany. Meanwhile the Holy-Roman empire was launching itself into a war against Denmark but rumor has it that France would soon join in. Lately the Kaiser had lost many wars, the soldiers of the Holy-Roman Empire did not fancy going to war yet another time.

1092, June 2
Today the Duchy of Susa surrendered, and Tuscany regained the province that was rightfully theirs. House Fieschi now had some land within the Tuscan border. A total of 400 Tuscan soldiers died in the war, and one member from the House Fieschi was wounded in battle. Gerolamo had one member from House Fieschi placed as an officer in the army, another would work with in Arnolfo's spy network while yet another worked as a diplomat for Tuscany. It was no denying that House di Canossa and House Fieschi grew real close in the last year.


1092, June 3
The Duke of Verona died today and he left the Kaiser as the heir to the Duchy and the provinces within. Many knew the Duke of Verona had a rather extremely personal relationship with the Kaiser. It was not a surprise that the Kaiser was chosen as it's heir.


Things in Tuscany grew rather intense. The council fought yet another time about the claim on Verona and if it should have been pushed sooner. Gerolamo noticed more and more fights within the council. As fights grew more intense the council grew far less productive. Gerolamo had a speech with the council stating that the next member who instigates a fight would be fired from the council immediately. This helped things to slightly calm down.


1092, July 6
Gerolamo could hear the fighting between his wife Sancha and Spymaster Arnolfo from across the castle. They fought daily about the most trivial things. Today Lady Sancha approached Gerolamo with a very outrageous plea. "Get that annoying old man off the damn council" she said to Gerolamo while they were taking a stroll across the gardens. Gerolamo turned to her in disgust; "If you think I'm going to fire the longest serving member of my council because he annoys you then you have gone mad my dear" Lady Sancha was not pleased with his decision one bit.


1092, August 11
The Kaiser has lost control of yet another war. Today France joined Denmark in the war against the Holy-Roman Empire and Poland had already sided with the Scandinavian King. This meant the Kaiser would have to fight on 3 fronts. Thousands of soldiers that were loyal to the Kaiser have dropped their weapons and returned home against the orders of their officers. Due to different beliefs about the war, the Kaiser fired half of his council. The Holy-Roman Empire has never been so unstable.


1092, August 18
Gerolamo was quite nervous about his lack of children at the current moment. If things would go south and Gerolamo were to die for what ever reason then his sister would inherit the Duchy of Tuscany. However Gerolamo wanted children of his own to be the heir of his Duchy. 1 week later his worries dissolved as he found out that his wife was pregnant.


1092, November 12
Gerolamo was stunned to see Court Champlain Callisto walking in from the front door of the castle on the early afternoon of a cold fall day. "Why have you returned from the Mediterranean?" Gerolamo asked confusingly while he starred at Callisto. "My work in the Mediterranean is complete, both provinces are fully Catholic My Lord" Gerolamo was most trilled, he threw a marvelous feast that night for Callisto and all the missionaries.


1093, March 19
Gerolamo got word from Arnolfo today that his wife was going into labor. Gerolamo could lead thousands of troops into battle, govern a large Duchy and even intimidate Popes, but he could not bear to watch his wife give birth. Gerolamo was traumatized watching his mother die at such a young age giving birth to his twin sisters and was now paranoid. However as soon as he received word that the pregnancy went well he entered the room which his wife was in. "What should we name him?" Sancha asked while holding her new born son. Gerolamo did not...


...hesitate to respond 'Lucca di Canossa of Tuscany'" the old man paused. He went into his room and got out a small bag in which he filled food, water and other survival equipment. "No offense, but aren't you too old to travel like this on your own?" I asked. The old man just looked and smiled saying "Years are nothing, knowledge is everything. Where I'm going you need knowledge" He went into the kitchen leaving me alone on the main room once more. He returned with 2 large sandwiches. "Eat, you must be starving" he said. The old man began to eat his, it was not hard to tell that he was famished. The bread smelled fresh and the meet inside looked rich and tender. I leaned in and took a bite of the delicious sandwich.

@Mike the Knight: Indeed, a heir is always nice. also I will focus on some events happening in the east in my next chapter

@Asantahene: They are hotting up indeed, a war in Verona is inevitable. Thanks for your kind words

Sadly this weekend I am beyond busy. The next chapter may only be posted on Monday, Tuesday latest.

Chapter 15: At Arm's Reach​

We both devoured our sandwiches as quickly as we could. I was ready to bid farewell to the old man as it was already noon, however the old man stopped me saying "I won't be leaving until someone important arrives. She was supposed to meet me here by now." The old man looked out the front window. After his quick check he sat back in his comfortable rocking chair reviewing some of his ancient documents. "Shall we continue while I wait?" The old man asked while he was reading a document. "Of course." I responded, knowing that once the old man left I would be deprived of his stories once more. The old man began to say "Callisto was a formidable Court Champlain, but no one lives forever...

1093, August 22
Callisto had done wonders for the catholic faith in he Mediterranean. He accomplished more in 2 years then any other Court Champlain to ever serve Tuscany ever did. It pained Gerolamo deeply when his courtier told him that Callisto had fallen ill and died. The funeral was quite large, as all the missionaries attended.


1093, September - 1094, May
In the following months the Holy-Roman Empire was fighting a losing war on all fronts. France had successfully seized various holdings on the border, while the Denmark launched multiple naval invasions. Hungary was a lot less active compared to the other 2 kings, however there are rumors that they have just formed an army of 5000 men and are currently marching them to the Holy-Roman borders. There was a lot less fights in the council, and Arnolfo was finally beginning to get along with Sancha. Eadwine was sent to fabricate a claim on Padua, a independent province within the borders of the Holy-Roman Empire.

1094, June 18
Sancha was once again pregnant and Gerolamo could not be more joyful. Sancha would be giving birth to yet another child.


1094, July 14
Eadwine entered the room at the crack of dawn with the claims necessary to wage war on Padua. Gerolamo was most pleased. He ordered marshal Oberto to give him information on Count Pietro's Allies. Oberto was the second most powerful man in Tuscany. He owned 3 provinces and became best friends with Gerolamo. Oberto was Gerolamo's right hand man. "Rather bad news, My Lord. Pietro is allied with the Duke of Lombardy and 3 other powerful Dukes within the Holy-Roman Empire." Arnolfo gave his own opinion on that matter. "Pietro is no more then a fat, 12 year old imbecile. I highly doubt other Duke will flock to his banners". Gerolamo agreed and ordered Oberto to begin his preparations for war.


1094, September 8
This week, Gerolamo officially declared war on Pietro. The council of Tuscany patiently waited for any of Pietro's allies to answer their call to arms. None did except for the Duchy of Lombardy, a rather weak Duchy who had no intentions of taking heavy casualties for Pietro. Gerolamo and Oberto would both co-lead the Tuscan army of 5000 men to battle. They marched their men down to Padua expecting a swift victory.

1094, December 17
On the 17th, the only major battle in the war ended. The Tuscan army fought well and Pietro's men surrendered very early into the battle. Among those who surrendered was Pietro's reagent, Lazzaro. Lazzaro was quite joyful of his imprisonment, he spoke of Padua quite poorly and admitted that Pietro would make for a horrible leader. "The kid is a sack of rocks. A fat idiot is what he is!" said Lazzaro while he was being transported to the dungeons of Tuscany.


1095, January 17
Gerolamo was inside his tent outside of Padua's capital managing supplies when a messenger arrived giving him a letter from his wife. Apparently his son Riccardo was born and while Sancha was healthy his new born son was quite sick and doctors had doubts of his survival past infancy.


1095, April 20
The Kaiser needed divine intervention to win the war against the 3 kings. The Kaiser was about to raise the white flag before his luck started to show. First France was plunged into a civil war. All their troops were pulled from Holy-Roman lands to help fight in the civil war. Hungary had to pull their troops too due to a inevitable war on it's eastern front. The Kaiser moved all it's troops from the other fronts and focused on Denmark, they pushed the Scandinavian troops out of Holy-Roman lands and back to Denmark, where the Kaiser dealt it's final blow by completely destroying the Army of Denmark in it's capital. With that, Denmark surrendered and the Kaiser was finally victorious. However he did not stop there, soon after his victory he declared war on Flanders for some land that rightfully belonged to the Holy-Roman Empire.


1095, October 8
Caracosa came of age today. She learnt the same skills as her brother Gerolamo and was a very good negotiator. Gerolamo and the council spent several days thinking about who Caracosa would marry. They thought long and hard, but were inconclusive. It appears Caracosa's marriage would have to wait.


1096, August 21
Matilda was a very Zealous women, however the same could not be said about Gerolamo. He enjoyed hedonism for many months, often going to bed with various courtiers. At feasts, they had 4 times more wine then Matilda had and it wasn't rare to see Gerolamo and his courtiers stumbling back to the chambers.


1096, October 7
Gerolamo was busy drinking with some courtiers when Arnolfo arrived. "If god wants something to happen, it will happen" Arnolfo spoke getting everyone attention. Gerolamo struggled to understand, after many glasses of wine everything appear a little blurry to him. With no response Arnolfo continued. "It appears as thought Bonifazio's house will indeed become extinct this generation. Orlando fell down a flight of stairs and hit his head. He is incapable." After a long pause, Gerolamo started laughing hysterically along with the rest of the courtiers. Arnolfo simply walked away, knowing he would have to repeat everything in the morning.


1096, December 29
It did not take long for Sancha to get pregnate once more. Her and Gerolamo were in their chambers nearly every night. It was no denying that house di Canossa would grow exponentially.


1097, April 3
Gerolamo accepted Pietro's surrender. Chants of victory could be heard all across Tuscany. More land has fallen into Tuscan hands. In the council meeting things were still quite serious. Everyone was planning the final attack for the Duchy of Tuscany. Gerolamo understood his current position. "With one more province we will have enough land to form the Kingdom of Italy. No longer will we be a Duchy." Arnolfo was the happiest council member. He saw Tuscany when it was a young Duchy and saw it grow to a huge Kingdom. "Keep your eye's out for another opportunity to seize land. The kingdom of Italy is at arms reach now." Gerolamo said looking out the window as soldiers were marching down the street cheering. They were so glad the war has ended. It won't be long before these same men will be away from home once more, to fight...


...Tuscany's final war." The old man concluded. He kept looking out the window, and as time went by the more disappointed he grew. "Who are you waiting for?" I asked. "The most important person in the world." he said. I was a little confused. He looked down at his hands; "I'm waiting for my wife".

@Mikethenight: Indeed. It took many wars and countless live but it is now reachable

@Asantahene: Yes a little mystery never hurts

@Nikolai: You will find out soon enough

Sorry for the delay between these 2 chapters. I have been very busy. The next chapter should be posted tomorrow. It will be the final chapter of Volume 2. I apologies for the wait.