Resitance is Feudal 2: History, Timeline, and AAR compendium

All my backstories (History Timeline) and all my maps + all discoveries are here

[thread=786415]Atlantean Backstory Thread[/thread]

for just the discoveries made so far, click [post=17651109]here[/post]

Excavations up to this turn (will be updated as we go along)

There goes my AAR contribution. Hope it helps!

Cyprus and the House of Antiochus

AAR post number 1 for session one [post=17661191]here[/post]

The Discovery of the Library of Apollo, 1072

In early 1072, a gardener at one of the palaces in Seleukia discovered a large hole in a garden. Investigating, he found a massive buried structure. Excavations were done by Doux Zacharias of Cilicia, which found a large domed building 40 meters below the ground. Inside it was filled with scrolls and books written in an incredibly ancient form of Greek. Research done by the Douxs scholars led them to believe that it was the Library of Apollo, the Great Library of the Atlantean Empire. The Psarion King Art was brought into inspect it, who concurred with the scholars. A vast trove of technological blueprints and ancient books lay inside, preserved by its location from the destruction of time and vandals.

The Library of Apollo was established in 1255 BC by Emperor Ierodomos the Builder on the outskirts of the Atlantean Empire. Its strange position (very close to the more-often-then-not hostile Persian Empire) was due to the attempt to facilitate trading of knowledge between the nations. It was later taken by the Persians during their occupation of Vithynia Allada in 1001 BC and was almost burnt down. It is stated in Persian accounts that the Persian Emperor was persuaded to let it live due to the efforts of its librarian, Thaos Psarion. Mining done beneath the area in 800 BC caused the ground to collapse and the library to disappear. Its design later inspired many Persian buildings and those of the middle east (see below).

There we go. http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...Feudal-House-de-Sella&p=17661882#post17661882

I must say, this is a very interesting concept that you all have created!

I'll have to try and keep up with as many of them as possible, although, I'm sure just reading might suffice for a region!

You don't have to be rich as a patrician in the Republic of Pisa, but it definitely helps. You can afford a lot if you are rich. You can even afford to be drooling imbecile and raving lunatic, if you wish to.

Imbecillio Pisporini inherited his patricianship, county and wast fortunes from his distant cousin, after all his other close relatives died unexpectedly. Allergy to sharp blades and cantarella is to be blamed. For some reason the simple Imbecillio was omitted during the interclan vendetta, so here he stays as the last hope of the once proud house.

My creed? Need greed, need breed! *drools* That's Imbecillios favourite line when asked about his views and future plans. Fortunatelly the family business is conducted by competent henchmen, so even after they take their outrageous share there is enough for Imbecillio to swim in gold. And of course there is enough to support his taste for breeding. You can easily count 16 sons, outcomes of his many alliances, some of them about to reach their adulthood soon. Someone could question their legitimacy, but Imbecillio believes their courtesan mothers that they are really his progeny explicitly.

Consideing his political views, Imbecillio considers "cool!" to be appointed into the high council of the republic as the foreign secretary. He treats visiting foreign dignitaries with pomposity, but he expresses his concerns about the treatment of fellow christians in the rival republic of Venice. Words about sacrifices of christian virgins by the jewish usurpers there reached him already, and he commented the issue as "not funny, borin'!".

The Sack of Venice, 1083



In 1083, due to intense feelings of resentment in the Christian ghettos, the people united and rose up. The Jewish ruler of the city, Serene Doge Shylock the Wise, was caught off-guard by this uprising. His forces, backed by mercenary bands from across Italy, were swiftly destroyed by the revolt and he was forced to flee from the city. The rebels then continued to rampage across Venice, burning all Jewish owned or associated buildings. The fire swiftly spread to other areas of the city though, and within a day almost all of Venice was burning. It was said that the glow and smoke from the fire could be seen across Europe, with accounts been described of a red haze on the horizon by scholars in Khazar, Cilicia, Portugal and Ireland. Eventually it became peaceful in Venice again under the new Count of Venezia, with the Serene Doge working under an assumed name and continuing his operations.

The First Crusade, 1091


Serene Doge Imbellicus and Pope Alexander II outside of Sidon, where they annihilated the Sultan and his Mamluks, ensuring overall victory.

A grand ceremony held by the Pope Alexander II, commonly called the Just, was arranged in February 1091 to see of the forces of his newly named 'Crusade'. This concept, while claimed to be of divine inspiration by the college of cardinals and Christian scholars of the time,is commonly believed to have been in response to the actions of one Hugues the Fierce. Hugues was a minor frankish noble, who led a large force in the attempt to take Jerusalem. Aided by the Doge Imbellicus of Pisa, he was succeeding in defeating the Shia Fatimid forces. Doubting the piety of Imbellicus' design on the region, Alexander called upon the entire Christian world to aid him in reclaiming the Holy Land.

Hugues successfully took the area around the city of Jerusalem for himself in 1093, proclaiming himself Duke of Jerusalem. The Crusade forces had been much slower in their successes, due to the interference of the Pisan forces. 1094 saw the final stages of the Crusade, which had dragged on for almost four years by this point. The Battle of Ascalon was the final turning point in the War, with the last vestiges of Fatimid forces (numbering almost 16000) clashed with the stranded Papal forces. A heavenly host supposedly led the Pisans to the location, who swept in on the Fatimids and routed them. The Sultan, wearied from internal disputes and threatened by growing Seljuk and Byzantine influence, concluded the Crusade with the Treaty of Sinai in September 1094. The Papacy was given the entire territory by the victorious Serene Doge Imbellicus, who was quelling fears over his rapid growth in power. Alexander then called for a month of celebration in the Christian, though it was short lived due to the actions of the Sunnis in Iberia.

Second session AAR done, you can find it in my signature.

AAR post number 2 [Post=17684036]here[/post]

The War of the Five Kings, 1091-1105

The War of the Five Kings technically began in 1090, as King Simon the Betrayer seized the throne of France from King Hugues II. This act resulted in numerous other de Bourgougnes pressing their claims, due to the perceived weakness of the French King. Duke Hugues (as he was forced back to his Duchy of Gascogne from the war) attacked first with the aid of Duke Riwall of Brittany, a loyal vassal to the true king. After him came his brother Count Renaud of Chalons, his uncle Count Robert of Vermandois and finally his cousin Count Richard of Paris. These were the five Kings that the war became named after. There was one more revolter, Count Bouchard of Vendome, who fought for Prince Eudes, another brother of Hugues who had fled to Aragon.


The Five Kings involved in the war and the Rebel Count of Vendome.

The Battle of Orleans in 1096 almost caused a decisive victory for Count Richard of Paris. The forces of Duke Hugues and King Simon had already clashed near the city and both sides were weakened, with the Kings army falling faster. Count Richard seized the moment and pushed on the two weary armies with his fresh one. What was to be a grand victory for Richard soon turned into disaster when the forces of Robert ended up charging into his army as it routed from Duke Riwalls reinforcements. Count Bouchards forces (who had been stationed in the city of Orleans) rode out to engage in the battle. The massive conflict now stretched across almost 20 square kilometers of land, with pockets of numerous armies fighting blindly. Aptly named the Battle that Ended a Generation, the final casualty number was around 70'000 (according to sources at the time). This devastated the armies of the Five Kings, leading to the slow crawl that the war became after this point.


The aftermath of the Battle of Orleans, showing the remaining forces of Count Bouchard searching for prisoners or survivors.

King Simons death in January 1103, from an illness linked to the stress and depression caused by his rule, saw King Richard given the throne by the Dukes still in the Kingdom of France. Richard was swiftly captured by King Robert though in June of the same year, been granted the Kingdom instead and been known as King Robert III. King Robert was then deposed in December 1103, when King Renaud succeeded in capturing his capital of Vermandois. This only left King Hugues II and King Renaud in the war, with both meeting eventually at the Battle of Paris in 1105. Deciding that fighting with what remained of their armies (King Hugues having around one and a half thousand men and King Renaud a mere one thousand two hundred), both Kings agreed that the crown dispute should be decided through a combat of arms. Duke Riwall offered to fight for Hugues and Renaud chose his favored swordmaster Sir Francois the Huge. As the knights prepared to fight, supporters of King Richard attacked the camps, forcing both to engage the enemies.


Duke Riwall and Sir Francois prepare to fight during the chaos of the battle.

While the two Kings defeated the rebels, Riwall and Francois engaged in a duel that was described as 'the strongest display [of] prowess and control that was ever seen from two combatants' by the Count of Bar. The duel ended, after almost twenty minutes, when Duke Riwall succeeded in tricking Francois into lunging in the wrong direction and cut the giants head off with one clean sweep. Renaud honored the agreement between him and his cousin and surrendered to King Hugues. The war officially ended in July 1105, when every Count and Duke of the realm re-swore their oaths of fealty to King Hugues, beginning with Renaud himself. The total casualty count at the end of the war was recorded at over 200'000, including civilians, and was cited as one of the major reasons for the halt in French ambitions of that period.


Count Renaud kneeling in front of King Hugues as he took the oath again.

that one history thing was so much effort, my computer crashed for no reason halfway through doing it

Ceremony of Atlantis' Fall 1114

Rising interests in the Atlantean culture, including discoveries by numerous kings and the rise of the High Kingdom of Nea Atlantia, led to the decision of King Uilliam Psarion (the foremost Atlantean descendant) to announce a grand ceremony. This grand ceremony would be held on the two thousandth anniversary of the fall of Atlantis, a prominent event for the history of the world. The event was attended by many foreign dignitaries, amongst them the King of Brittany, the Sultan of Mauretania, the Doux of Cilicia, the King of France, the Queen of Navarra, the Grand Duke of Lombardy, the Serene Doge of Venice, the Emir of Medina and the King of Scotland. The entire affair was recorded in Sir Artur Dalins book 'A Time of Great Uncertainty'.

'As one of the numerous officials attending this much esteemed event, i was commanded to watch and record all that occurred during the ceremony by the King of Nea Atlantia himself. It began very simplistically, as Uilliam commended all those who had come and noted that even though they shared numerous ethnical and religious differences, all of them had been touched by Atlantean ideals and culture at some point. He requested that they use this to build a bridge between the worlds of Islam and Christianity. After this speech and the normal elaborate displays by the rulers, they went off to explore the castle, which had been covered in various Atlantean pieces of art and interest.'


The Grand Hall where the speech took place, as it can be seen today.

'The first conversation of interest, had in one of the numerous side passages, was by King Hugues II of France, Queen Auro of Navarra and Sultan Ugwistan of Mauretania. Enemies for a long time on the opposite sides of a religious divide, it was a rather fascinating discourse between them. King Hugues was openly arguing with the Sultan (generally considered a foremost scholar in the world and a master of eight languages) about the "Satanic Muslim plan to invade France" and claiming that anyone who was not Christian could not be trusted. The Sultan was responding with reasonable points, claiming that he was merely defending the Sunni majority living in the Iberian peninsula and that he had no desire to take the land controlled by France. This comment ended up making the King more outraged, as he believed Ugwistan did not believe his nation was even good enough for conquest. Throughout all this, Auro was attempting to get them to both stop talking and notice her fancy Atlantean jewelry. I have my beliefs that at 72, she may have gone a little senile. Uilliams idea of religious unity was floundering in the conversation between these three, and seeing no change coming soon, i moved on.'

'The next piece of conversation was between the Emir Kewalladin of Medina and the Doge Shylock of Venice at the dinner table. The Doge had brought all 20 members of his family and was doing his best to avoid talking to them. His nearest opportunity for escape though was the Emir, who was attempting to devour most of the food in his nearest vicinity. This led to a fascinating one sided talk between them, with Shylock attempting to discuss almost anything he could and been systematically ignored by the Emir, who was focused purely on the next course that came his way. I watched this for almost two hours, believing that the Doge would eventually give up and go elsewhere but he kept trying, in between shooting wearying glances at his family. It was almost hypnotic in its unchanging nature but i was forced to move on as it held no real importance.'


The Doge with his family, taken in Venice 1112.

'I stumbled upon the Doux of Cilicia, Heirothos, next. He was fixated in what was a truly engaging conversation, flying accusations and discussions of potential plots abounding. Unfortunately, none of it seemed very trustworthy as he was talking to a vase. I was going to continue on down the passage past him when a hand stopped me. I turned around to see one of the most terrifying people i have ever met. A little girl, aged eleven. I had, of course, heard the rumors of the demon child of Anatolia but had passed it off as merely exaggeration. She had told me how she always went everywhere with her father, and that even when he died she would make sure he stayed with her. When i asked what she ment, she merely smiled at me and told me to continue my little walk. I left as quickly as i could, not deigning to turn back for fear of what i saw. That face, those eyes, will haunt me til the end of my days i fear. I accidently bumped into King Arzhel of Brittany in my haste, who invited me to join his discussion after my apologies. The discussion was over the need for Grand Duke Kelban of Lombardy, who was there also, to quickly ensure and take the Holy Roman Empire. I was suddenly listening to actual useful discourse and so i stayed. The reasons for Arzhels interest in this course of action seemed to be vague at best, though i would wager he wanted to gain control of the lands of Holland and Flanders, giving him more control of the Channel Sea. Kelban did not seem to be taken with the idea, saying that he would only take the throne if the people of the Holy Roman Empire wanted him to have it.'

'Suddenly, High King Uilliam came up to me and directed me to a side room. He asked how my experience of the lords of Europe had been and i told him the truth. I told him how they fought amongst themselves, how they worked for the betterment of themselves and how they ignored those who could not aid them further. Dejectedly he asked me to be seated. He told me of the vision his father had given him of Atlantis, a Grand Empire that covered the known world, a conglomerate of every culture and ethnicity, all working together under the divine rule of the Psarions. He told me how this had been brought to ruin by the very horrors i had told him. I realized he had used this conference to attempt to gauge how the rulers of Europe had become since the fall of Atlantis. Uilliam then invited in Malcolm V of Prydain, who had become his closest friend and ally, intertwining the lands of Scotland and Ireland. He then told me how this world was not prepared for the Aztecs when they came but that he and Malcom had a plan. There was a tribe of peoples, discussed as merely hunter-gatherers in the Atlantian books. Uilliam claimed that they had been set up by the Atlanteans to be a mild danger to the Empire. Their shamans had been guidance to bring the tribes together and conquer the world at the showing of a specific symbol. Uilliam claimed this was a back-up plan by the Atlanteans, an outside threat to the Empire in case instability brought them low. He told me to go to these Mongols, to show them the Psarion seal he was going to give me and to turn them into the scourge of civilization. So i departed the conference on the fastest boat in the Nea Atlantia fleet, to go the lands of Livonia first. So began the first real part of my life.'

Words cannot explain how excited I get reading these, Amazing work Smiley can't wait to see more.

Edit: I really envy people who have the creativity and patience to put things like this together. I'd like to try myself, but my work would probably end up lazy and half assed. Nevertheless, definetly looking forward to more of this!

if you want more, read my aar. like seriously. all aar people are just waiting for someone to tell them they like what they are doing

I am reading it actually and I probably should of posted this there in hindsight.