The tale of CanAARias

[Slinky]

It actually is a dance. It just reminded me of the moonwalk, hence the dance reference.

[kadvael56]

Chapter Fifteen: Mennad ‘Crowfeeder’ the Builder (aka ‘The Drunk’)

In the four years following the end of the war, Mennad the new king of Tlemcen undertook several construction projects, mostly improving the roads, digging new mines and enhancing the tile production industry. He also made a new castle in Marrakech to show his power.

The Berber wise men improved the knowledge in many fields; craftsmen made sculptures, the peasants used iron-edged wood ploughs, promissory notes were used for trade, and the temples became wealthier as the poverty became part of the rule for the priests and the people would pay to have their sins forgiven by the gods.

The scars of the war were slowly fading and the prosperity of the newly conquered lands was steadily increasing. Mennad showed no mercy for the thieves that prowled the muslim lands and therefore he was known as Mennad “Crowfeeder” in the eastern provinces of his realm.

When Buxtuc died, his son did not believe he was dead by old age as his father was only in his fourties, instead he was convinced his father had been cursed by a muslim witch, undoubtedly it affected his personality. A warrior named Adrir fled from a distant land, his martial skills were astounding and Mennad thought he was the right man to lead his armies. He even agreed to give him his eldest daughter though the amount of money he received for this wedding could not easily be refused.

A tragedy happened when Zilgum who had been stressed became depressed and later committed suicide. The sadness lasted for some days but life went on and Mennad’s son Yunes was married. He was a pious man and the gods were with him. His wife’s diplomacy skills were interesting and she quickly adapted herself to the life in north Africa. It was not long before she was pregnant.

Mennad’s reputation had never been very good but his conquests only made it worse. In order to improve it he relinquished his claim on the chiefdom of Infa. As Urz’ig had become a brilliant strategist, Mennad decided to give Ifni to Adrir and give Urz’ig the title of marshal.

Mennad was a great man, one of his few flaws was his fondness for wine. The greatest part of his subjects was not troubled by that. However when Mennad decided to enter the lists for the tourney prepared by the king of Hammadid things did not go so well. He was quite drunk when he started singing this popular song:

“Red, red wine
Go to my head

Red, red wine
It's up to you
All I can do, I've done
Memories won't go
Memories won't go

Now I find
Just one thing makes me forget

Red, red wine
Stay close to me
Don't let me be alone
It's tearin' apart
My blue, blue heart

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
You keep me rocking all of the time

Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dinars when your just in my hand

Red red wine you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go it make me feel bad

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Mek me feel fine all of the time

Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above

Red red wine I love you right from the start
Right from the start with all of my heart...”

Hard words followed afterwards but all agree that the king of Hammadid first started the strife. Therefore Mennad claimed that the kingdom of Hammadid should belong to him.

[Enewald]

Hmm, who do you accept tournaments?
They are heathenish!

[Slinky]

Those first two gifs are a little fast, it's difficult to see what is actually happening. Can you make them a little slower next time

The children seem to be getting a good education at your court. Have you thought of inventing an university

[kadvael56]

Enewald: Heathenish tournaments for a drunk pagan where is the problem?

Slinky: You are right about the first gifs, I have to apologise , I did not use the same software and I think the time parameter was for the whole sequence and not for the time between pictures. I will have to be more careful about it for the next chapters.

The children seem to be getting a good education at your court. Have you thought of inventing an university

There is already one in Fes, I can not yet build one in Marrakech but as soon as I can I will build the university.

[Olaus Petrus]

Silly Hammadids, thinking that you shouldn't drink wine when their own subjects consume wine as much as the Pagans*. But then again all converts** are like that.

*North African Muslims are known to be more tolerant towards drinking wine than their Middle Eastern brethren and plenty of alcohol is produced in the North African countries.

**Hammadids converted from Shiites to Sunnis.

[kadvael56]

Olaus Petrus: Thank you for your comment, wine is tolerated in north Africa though the religious laws still forbid it but that is mainly theoretical. It is often "Do as I say not as I do". Anyway as I already used Mennad's fondness for alcohol when he had problems with his wife I thought it would be a good explanation for his troubles with the king of Hammadid.

[demokratickid]

Bah! Tournaments are for Catholics! Still, good work sir!

[kadvael56]

demokratickid: Thank you for your support.

The next chapter should be ready in a few minutes.

[kadvael56]

Chapter Sixteen: Ten Years of peace

Mennad’s kingdom had reached a size were it would not be easy for him to control every province. Roads, harbours and posts were built to strengthen his power. Mennad built schools and libraries to improve the education level of his subjects. His rivalry with the kingdom of Hammadid and the certainty that sooner or later they would be at war against one another prompted him to start the construction of many training grounds to prepare his armies. Gold would be needed for all these buildings and many moneylenders took this opportunity to settle in the kingdom of Tlemcen, glassworks were also built to increase the income. In nine years 38 construction projects were carried out.

Mennad’s investments improved the state of Fes, the city had been one of the strongest muslim cities in north Africa, but the former king of Tlemcen had been a bad ruler and after the conquest the people were struggling to survive. The city was still poor but it was slowly improving. Mennad could not have done this alone and he felt he had to reward his mother for the work she had been doing for years. Atissi had been doing some hidden work but he had good results as Mennad’s prestige was increased, therefore his skills were rewarded too.

Mennad’s eldest son Ziri was the chief of Infa, though he seldom came to Marrakech, he remained on friendly terms with his father. His second son Yunes was his advisor on the matters of religion and Mennad thought Yunes deserved a reward as he felt the kingdom’s prosperity was also a consequence of the blessings the gods gave him.

The smiths discovered new ways of making iron tools and weapons, and ironworks were spreading through the realm. Snassen’s hills provided the ore, consequently the prosperity kept on increasing. Mennad felt it would not be a problem to levy extra taxes and the royal treasury was so filled that Mennad’s wealth would become a legend. Alas there is an end to every good thing in this world and Anna finally left it at the age of seventy three.

Mennad’s love for his mother had always been strong and his voice was full of sadness when he sang these words:

“I saw your face in the morning sun
Oh, I thought you were there
I heard your voice as the wind passed me by
Silently, whispering my name

So many things that I wanted to say
Forever left untold

There is a light down at memory lane
Slowly fading away
Still holding on to the dreams torn apart
I will follow my heart

Still on my own, chasing the sun
Of a time long ago
The shade in my heart, tearing apart
Everything that I long for

I saw your face in the morning sun
Oh, I thought you were there
I heard your voice as the wind passed me by
Whispering my name

All I can do is cry
Save a little prayer for the fallen one”

Mennad’s difficulties began. He did not really win against the outlaws. In Tlemcen he hanged both the thieves and the smugglers however the thieves reappeared in Figuig and Hanyan. The disease in Cebta was also something that did not go as well as he wished.

Mennad decided to foster some of his relatives, his niece Wnissa (Lunja’s daughter) and his nephew Agellid (Br’ir’uc’s son) were sent to the court in Marrakech. Both good and bad consequences came from this. While Agellid found friendship, Wnissa found rivalry.

Mennad’s hatred for the king of Hammadid was well known and the sheik of Mértola thought he could use this to have a powerful friend but Mennad would not befriend people who did not worship the old gods. After ten years of peace some people told that Mennad’s claim was no longer valid. Though it hurt his prestige and reputation, Mennad maintained his claim.

[Olaus Petrus]

Ah, calm before the storm.

I think that periods of peace are more important in DV than in original CK. I have noticed that now when we have stability system, when the wars drag your stab to -3 then it's likely that your whole demense becomes poor and rebellious. But when there's peace then your lands prosper and you gain enough money and men for your future wars.

[kadvael56]

Olaus Petrus: Stability is important, I hope the tide will not change. There is also one reason why I did not go to war, I was waiting for some of my lands to convert. Vassals are very bad at converting people, that is why I wanted to convert the provinces before giving them to vassals. Unfortunately, nothing happened . My efficiency is not at its best so I will not be able to take many provinces.

[Enewald]

Chaplain?
What happened to the last High Priest?

[Slinky]

Yes, waiting for conversion can be a real pain. The fun of this game is the randomness, but that is also my largest irritation

[kadvael56]

Enewald: Unfortunately the high priest is either called chaplain or diocese bishop. Playing pagans is not a foreseen feature of CK .
What happened to the last High Priest? . I edited the save game to give this task to my second son as the game engine did not allow me to do it otherwise.

Slinky: CK's randomness is great, you can play many games with the same nation and have completely different stories. I will be patient for the conversion, I think it would not be fun if I could convert all the north African provinces in one year.

[demokratickid]

An interesting series of power-jockying events in the court, nice work...

[kadvael56]

demokratickid: One of the great things in CK is that even when you do nothing, events can change your game , friendships and rivalries from childhood can have consequences many years later, it is good to have such an unpredictable game.

[demokratickid]

Originally Posted by kadvael56

demokratickid: One of the great things in CK is that even when you do nothing, events can change your game , friendships and rivalries from childhood can have consequences many years later, it is good to have such an unpredictable game.

And that's why I love CK...

[kadvael56]

Chapter Seventeen: War in the East

The king of Hammadid was greatly displeased when he learnt his rival still had claimed his king title. In his wrath he foolishly decided to start the war, however his first move was not unexpected. Mennad called his banners to defend his kingdom and many people wished to join his armies. As he had previously done, he split his forces in two hosts, one went along the coast and the other through the hills and mountains. Urz’ig his nephew led the first one, while Yunes his son was given the command of the second army.

The war did not start well, when Yunes was captured the king of Hammadid made another mistake when he accepted to free him against a small ransom. In the north things were slightly better when Urz’ig displayed cowardice on the battlefield, decreasing the morale of the troops.

Mennad could not believe he would lose this war, he decided to raise another army to increase his chance of success. It was helpful, as one after the other the enemy’s provinces were controlled by his troops but he was worn out and finally his heart stopped beating though he was not yet fifty.

Yunes had inherited the kingdom but also he had to avenge his father and take revenge for the time when he was captured. In the evening while he was looking at the fire, Yunes sang these words:

“I pull the sword from the glowing fire
And hammer-beat in on the anvil

Forging it with rage and hate
I will seal my enemy's fate

I engrave the blade with magic runes
And summon gods by sacrifice in blood
Pure blue hate shines within this sword
His magic sword will cut only once

No sword has ever been like this one
The avenger is its name

Now my sworn enemy
Vengeance will belong to me
A year has gone by
Now my sworn enemy
It's your turn to die
It's your turn to die!

The sword cuts through his throat
His head tumbles to the ground
The headless body lies gently down
Down to sleep in a pool of blood

The avenger has lost its shine
The magic is now drained
Dull and useless it rests in my hand
Its purpose is soon fulfilled”

This prophecy came to fulfilment a few months after that. Before killing him Yunes made him surrender all his titles and said: “When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground.” And as the blood came from his enemy’s throat both the rivalry and the war were ended.

The sheikdom of Mzab had been a part of the kingdom of Hammadid but the sheik had declared his independence some years before the war. For his safety he sought the protection of the Seljuk king. Yunes was aware that the Turks were in a civil war and they were also at war with many other powers so that they were no longer as strong as they were when Alp Arslan and Malik ruled them. Therefore Yunes attacked Mzab and quickly took control of the province after thet he sent armies to Murcia which belonged to the Seljuk king and took the city. A peace deal was made; Yunes would keep Mzab and give Murcia back to the Turks.

Yunes was glad to end this war because while he was at war there had been rebels in three provinces, Cebta, Tlemcen and Kabilia. The clergy and the peasants were drowned in their own blood and the provinces were converted. He finished the construction of several buildings that his father had started. In order to improve his reputation, he decided to relinquish his claim on Infa which was ruled by his brother.

Yunes had become one of the strongest kings in the west of the world.

[Enewald]

Cool moustaches!
So much prestige and fame, lo!, where is the money?