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Amanecer Ibérico, a Castilian AAR

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Cecasander

Cecasander

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Bivàrs horseshoes left a shallow trail in the fresh snow. Àlvaro was wrapped in a thick cloth to keep himself warm. Luckily Iberian winters never lasted long. He petted his horse Bivàr, and then rode to the ledge that overlooked the Jalón river. Behind him laid his homeland, Castile, great but weak, a kingdom with an infant king, puppet of the many nobles at the court, who were usually to busy to fight each other over a few acres of pasture. The king didn’t even have a true capital, and all of it’s trade was organized by greedy Portuguese and even greedier (and loud-mouthed) Genoans. Àlvaro de Luna sighed, and ordered Bivàr to head back to the track. He looked at his horse, a young brown steed. It was called after Rodrigo Diaz of Bivàr, the greatest Spanish knight, who single-handedly helped forging large parts of Castile. In these days, the Moors occupied over half of de peninsula, and Castile’s neighbors weren’t very peaceful either. But somehow Castile was able to grow and prosper. Perhaps it should grow once again.

The Aragonese had been very friendly with king Juan, as they saw they could use him as a puppet as well. The king of Aragon, Alfonso, was Juan’s uncle, and his sons had strong tied with both Juan and nobles along the border. As long as Aragon and Castile could stay in peace with each other, there would be no problems, but if there would be border twists, large parts of Castile would surrender to Aragon without a fight. Àlvaro had made it his personal goal to prevent this, as he didn’t like Alfonso, his sons, or any of the creepy, greedy Aragonese nobility. This was why he was on his was to Barcelona, the court of Alfonso; to sign a military alliance between Castile and Aragon, to safeguard the future of Castile. If the Iberian peninsula would stay peaceful and stabile, Castile would stay a change. If there would be open war, then Castile would be the first to collapse.

As Àlvaro arrived at the main road, he remembered the words of Enrique, Juan’s father, when he ordered his most trusted knight to patron his infant son. “I was not able to save Spain, and nor will he. But make sure that if Castile can’t unify Spain, no-one can”.

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Note from author: Hi there :)
I thought it would be fun if I would try to write an AAR for once. I tried a few times, but got stuck on time and inspiration. But these times are over! (or so I tell myself to force my to continue writing). I started out with (probably) the easiest and most potent nation of EU2 - with the most boring first 70 years of all major nations. I mainly choose Castile becourse I though I could write a nice story around it. So don't expect me to go on a major expansion war (or two) for the following century.

Goals for the next for decades:
- Unify the Iberian peninsula, either by sword or diplomacy
- Improve Castile domesticly, so that it can take a few hits (esp. economicly)
- Become a major power in Europe, or at least the western Mediterenian
- Write an alternative history for Spain :)
 
Bravo, Bravo, I like it so far and it's good. I especially liked the “I was not able to save Spain, and nor will he. But make sure that if Castile can’t unify Spain, no-one can”. quote. I want to see this one all the way though.
 
Chapter I - Reconquesta

Part I, the Pyrenean War

March 26, La Coruña.

The morning sun did it’s best to warm the air, but it stayed chilly nonetheless. Especially along the water, where the ocean’s fog met the warmth of the town. A tall man, dressed in a long red cloak, walked over the quay. He stopped for a moment, looked around, and then walked to another man, who was standing in front of one of the few ships that were docked.
“Signor, excuse me, I am looking for a captain, one mister… Sanchez” He peeked on a piece of paper.
“Captain Sanchez left this morning, just like the rest of the Armada, signor”.
The man gasped. “They left… already?”
“Why yes! The king has ordered the entire Armada Real to Cádiz, signor”.
“Yes, I know that, but they weren’t supposed to leave before Friday”.
“I heard some men saying they were afraid of Algerian raiders. Since Portugal has war with those Arabs, the Algerians control most of the Iberian cost, signor, all the way to La Coruña”.
The man with the red cloak looked around swiftly, as if he was expecting Algerian pirates to jump him any time.
“Don’t worry, signor, as long as the king keeps in line, and doesn’t upset the Algerians by allying themselves with the Portuguese, we wouldn’t have much to fear”.
The man in red gulped, and backed away.
“Signor, I am the official royal envoy, and I was to be sailed from here to Lisbon… to sign an alliance…”

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Eventually the envoy was able to make his was to Lisbon to sign an alliance with Portugal. Luckily, Portugal didn’t invite Castile in their war with Algiers and Fez, which would only involve a few sea battles, which were mostly won by the Portuguese. The war would turn out fruitless, however.
------------------------------------------

May 25, Valladolid

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, please listen to reason!” Àlvaro slammed his large fist on the table, and looked at the three kings, especially Alfonso of Aragon, who looked as if he had swallowed a whole lemon. “The border guards have ensured me that… that these attacks were just caused by angry farmers. They didn’t see ANY shield or banner”. Alfonso raised, and talked even louder the Àlvaro. “It can be a trap. Who says the Castilian border guards are reliable anyway?” King João of Portugal had buried his hands in his hair, and stared at the two arguing men. King Juan only looked at Àlvaro, but not with the casual respect and understanding. “Signor de Luna, my men definitely identified these… attackers as Navarrese soldiers. We should at least send men into Navarra to ask for an explanation”. “That would be like invading it” Àlvaro said. King Juan looked at him. “We’ll do it. Navarra has been out of line more than often. It’s time for action”. “But sire…”. “Shouldn’t we have stable borders in order to create a stable peninsula, Àlvaro?” “Why, yes, sire. But there is a difference between stability and domination”. King Alfonso sighed, although it sounded like a fake one. “I agree with my cousin. Navarra brings us nothing but trouble. Gentlemen, we’d better act quick, before they can prepare defenses”. “But we cannot just invade…” “Àlvaro, please leave us” Àlvaro did a step back, suppressed a curse, and looked at the king of Castile for one last time, before he walked towards the door. “Juan, you just passed a terrible threshold” he mumbled.

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On the 26th of May, 1419, Castile, Aragon and Portugal declared war upon poor little Navarra. The Aragonese invaded inmediately, but Castille wouldn't get involved in this war untill october.
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Poor Navarra, I love that little country. The King of Portugal seems rather annoyed.? Never the less, good update.
 
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