Prince of Antioch

Chapter 5: Victory in our grasp

20th of February, 1139 In the Year of Our Lord
Dear Diary,
Bohemond has lately started to disappear lately, pondering about the world, then coming back and asking me questions. The boy doesn't seem to understand that God will answer all his questions, and instead withdraws from the world. I'm beginning to think that his shyness is returning......

I trust the boy to come around eventually. Once he sees his mother again, all should be well. It won't be long till we reach Antioch.
4th of May, 1140 In the Year of Our Lord
It has been a year since I have feasted the Emperor at Antioch. For the first time in three years, I was able to spend time with my whole family. I was able to see my daughters and my wife, and Bohemond was able to see his mother and sisters. At the feast, I praised the Emperor's piety, and told him how glad I was to see him in these lands. He in turn pledged to rid my lands of the infidels, and we pledged eternal friendship to each other as I lead my armies to relieve Archa, and he lead his to Tripoli. As I left Antioch, I was confident that together, we would defeat the infidels. When I arrived in Archa, however, my army was crushed by an infidel army, and dispersed into the desert. Fortunately, all my top commanders managed to make there way back to Antioch, and Bohemond showed up with Godfrey trailing behind him into the city.
I greeted them as they were coming through the city gates, I greeted my brother and my son.
"It took you a while." I grumbled to them on my favorite horse, Selucus.
"We're not the one's who lost the battle." Godfrey replied dryly.
I colored, and smashed my brother with my gauntlet as my son stared silently at us.
My wife was greatly pleased to see her little boy in one piece, and I myself taught him how a few more poisons. However, I found him talking much less in my lessons, and generally thinking by himself more often than not. The lad rarely comes to dinner, and despite all my prodding, he's reserved and shy.

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Sorry that this chapters short, but I'm doing it in a bit of a rush. I'm open to suggestions still!

It does look bad, doesn't it........
Godfrey did quite a bit better than me.

I upload the screenshots to steam, then I save it from URL. All of my pictures use the link "cloud-4.steampowered.com". I don't do anything apart from that, just take screenshots. Sorry I can't help you.:sad:
Oh, and I always thought that holding on to the holy land was rather easy, so long as you had enough piety for the Holy Orders.
The next update should be tomorrow.
Edit: Hey Newbie, I've actually read your succession survival guide before I bought the game. One of the reasons that I bought CK2. hmy:

yah, I got lucky with the allies I managed to drag into my war!

Chapter 6: A small respite

12th of July, In the Year of Our Lord 1140
Dear Diary,
Today I got news the our dear Peter is now leading troops in some god forsaken land with some god forsaken troops for a god forsaken title.

As usual, Godrey was the one who came with the news to me.
I was in the middle of smashing my head on a table over my steward being wounded by some random peasants in a little village near Antioch. The whole was so stupid that I found myself laughing as I took out my frustration on the table.
"Shouldn't be so stressed all the time, brother." Godfrey had slipped silently into the room.
"Please tell me it's good news?" I lifted my head from the desk and stared at him hopefully.
"Depends on how you want to see it. Our dear brother Peter has an army now." He said it almost as if it could have been funny.
"What? Where is he? When did he get one? Send the letters, call up the troops!" I panicked, looking for paper to write on. Then I felt a laugh come to my lips, and before I knew what I was doing, I was talking. "God damn Peter. I should have killed him!" I screamed.
"Calm down, he's off in Italy or Scotland, I can't remember which honestly. Nobody wants this little hell hole. Honestly, it's way to hot out here, there are way too many Muslims here, and it's in the middle of three wars. Plus a crusade."
I calmed down after that, and stared at the ceiling to recompose myself.
"In other news, our dear cousins from Italy are now fighting the Infidels quite close to Antioch. You may want to reinforce them. Oh, and the people now call you the 'magnificent'. Hope you like the nickname." He turned and left after he was done talking, leaving me to call up the levies that a moment ago I would have raised to fight my brother, but now would use to fight the Infidels.
Magnificent........ I have failed to defend our land, chased my brothers out of power, lost thousands of good men in battles and am besieged on all sides by enemies. Magnificent indeed.

16th of June, In the Year of Our Lord 1141
Dear Diary,
A couple of months ago, Bohemond turned sixteen. To celebrate, I was thinking of throwing a party for him, but he rejected it immediately. He said something about having small family gathering. Admittedly, I shouted at him and called him a shy coward sixteen times for his sixteen birthdays, but when the day came, he got his wish.
"What one man calls cowardice is another man's intelligence father." He told me.
I stormed off in a rage, and left him smiling at my back.

It was a quiet little day, but we all spent the time together quite happily. One of his sisters was off married in a place far away, but the others were here to celebrate with us.
The battle against the infidels outside Antioch was fierce and contested, and not many leagues away from Antioch. If we lost, then Antioch would fall under siege. Luckily, we won against the infidels, and pushed them back into there own lands. Now the combined troops of Antioch and my Italian cousins seek to retake the holdings we have lost.
The French, who had offered to join our war and helped the Emperor take Tripoli, have moved on to join the crusade. The Emperor also has moved on, and since the alliance has served us well, I decided to betroth my dear Bohemond to one of the Emperor's daughters, securing help from the Emperor for another generation.

But today, he came to me to talk about something quite..... interesting.
I was studying maps and charts, wondering where I would position an army if the Infidels came with even more forces, when I heard a knock on my door.
"Come in." I said.
Bohemond came into the chamber, his blond hair shining in the area of light in the entrance.
"Father, I'll get straight to the point. While Godrey has served you well these past few years, I can't help but notice a few........ miscalculations on his part. He could get information to you much faster, but he doesn't comprehend how. He could figure out plots quicker, but his nature is too kind to exploit people. You need a replacement." He paused waiting for my answer. I didn't answer, I just let the silence fill the chamber.
"And that person if you?" I asked after a minute of uncomfortable silence.
"Yes. I can poison men, I can manipulate your enemies, I can fight your enemies from the shadows. Godfrey can do these things, but I can do things better." There wasn't much arrogance in his tone, it sounded as if he were simply telling me a fact.
I sighed to myself. "Bring in Godfrey." He slipped out and within ten minutes, had found him.
"This better be important." Godfrey said as he walked into the room.
"Brother, you have served me loyally for many years. Now, you are no longer required." I saw a little bit of confusion in his eyes, then it dawned on him.
"Ahhh.............., you've got a replacement have you?" He said it with surprising sadness.
"He's in this room." i replied.
He looked at Bohemond, then nodded.
"I'll show him all the contacts I've made, all the networks I've made, and all the secrets I have. Anything he'll find useful, he'll have." He went out the door, with Bohemond dogging his steps.

After they had gone, I thought to myself for a minute. Finally, I shook my head and exclaimed:
"Oh Godfrey, ever the best of all of my father's sons. What will you ever do now?"

Thanks for all the support guys!

I'm hoping he lets me off, lol. He's kind after all.

I know its been a while, but this AAR ain't dead yet! Sorry bout the time, but Happy Halloween (I'm a day late where I am), and I should get the next chapter up by the end of today!

Chapter 7: God and Antioch

21st of September, In the year of Our Lord 1141
Dear diary,
We've cleared out the area around Antioch, reestablishing my rule over our capital county.

Bohemond brought the news to me today as I was looking over recent developments in technology, and how they could possibly help the war effort.
"Father, I have good news." He said as he came into my chamber.
"I am in sore need of some. But tell me, how are things going for you as spymaster?"
He gave me a toothy smile, his amber eyes glinting.
"Well, my Lord. Uncle Godfrey's connections are quite useful, and they don't seem to notice the change." He waved his hand to dispel the wave of thoughts. "I'm guessing however, that you do want to know that we have restored the lands surrounding Antioch back to your hands, and that our troops and the Italians now march to free Archa."
He turned and left. Oddly enough, I do not feel relieved by the news, but instead feel a dark foreboding, a shadow that seems to stretch out in front of me.

7th of April, In the year of Our Lord 1142
Dear Diary,
It seems like a stalemate has developed.

To the north, the castles around Alexandretta are being raided and are under siege by Infidel forces. To the west, near Archa, our forces try to starve out the Infidel strongholds that stubbornly refuse to surrender. I have been given reports that the Infidel force is slightly more numerable than ours, but with our allies, we nearly stand even in terms of numbers. I have told my troops not to engage, and the Infidel forces still do not budge. It makes me uneasy to leave the enemy so close to Antioch, but it looks like we don't have much choice......
"Father, may I put a suggestion forward to you?" My spymaster and son Bohemond asked me today.
"What is it!" I snapped at him, having worried all night about the Infidel armies.
He shrunk back a bit. Despite his ambitious nature, his shyness makes my dear son easy to intimidate.
"Well, have you ever..." He trailed off, as if seeming to rethink the idea.
"Well spit it out!" I shouted at him.
"Have you ever thought about surrender?" He asked meekly.
I glared at my son, knitting my brows into a scowl.
"What?"
"Well, we may be given mercy if we surrender, be able to keep our lands...." He trailed off under my gaze.
I exploded at him.
"Mercy? Mercy! They shall take everything we have, everything you shall inherit. They shall take these lands and put them once again under Muslim yolk! Is that what you want?" I spat the words at him.
My son crept outside as I started taking my rage out on the table, breaking it in two.
"I shall not abandon my God!" I yelled at him as I saw the door close behind him.

28th of January, In the year of Our Lord, 1143
Dear Diary,
Ahhhhh, my wife is pregnant again.

It's been years since I've had such a spring in my step, waiting anxiously in anticipation for another son or daughter to brighten my life.
And how unfortunate that it its the only good news that I have had recently.
Me and my Italian allies were crushed in battle at Archa, the only survivors those who ran home or surrendered to the enemy. Now Antioch lies at the mercy of the Infidels, and I am left with little support from my allies.
However, I believe that this child is a gift from God, a gift that shows that my path is right. A few months ago, a former sister of law of mine approached me.....

I shouted at the woman, calling her a spawn of the devil and a disgrace to our family. And now, God has rewarded me with a child.
Good things shall come, I know they shall.
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I'm sorry about how long this chapter took, but thanks for the patience guys!