Previously, on A Tale of Two Germanies... BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP
@Enewald: Seriously, but its there in the England File, with a 5% chance no less.
@Marco Oliverio: I'm going to thank you again for that, and you're going to accept it
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@Winner: You'll love the actual book I'm planning on writing set in this time line. It's got an All Star Cast.
@Tweetybird: Thanks. And whats wrong with Parts? Or are you upset I dragged on update out into three posts? And the Pope ends up really disliked throughout most of the world, though through most of its history England was actually very tolerant of Catholics in this timeline.
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The following AAR is entirely fictitious. Any similarity to the history of any person, living or dead, or any actual events is entirely expected and intentional. Except where specifically noted otherwise in the cast and crew credits, all celebrity voices are impersonated and no celebrities have endorsed any aspect of this show. Is anybody still reading after all that?
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Other Reading
Ave Maria
By Claudia Koonz
Forward
This Work I hope to be a landmark in the study of someone who, until this time, has remained so far buried under the obscurity of time as to be largely unnoticed by not only her contemporaries, blinded as they were by prejudice or simple lack of interest, but also unnoticed by the more knowledged historians of this age. I hope I can suitably bring to light the experiences of a woman overshadowed by those who would prefer to ignore her.
Of the Empresses of Austria, the one studied the least is Empress Maria, and this is a crime against her, for her contributions to the Empire, even though short lived, remain as notable as the contributions of any other Empress, if not more so. It is likely for that reason that she has been so deeply pushed into the shadows of the histories of this age, with Hugo Grotius, the man who many regard as an authority on the affairs surrounding the Habsburg Dynasty before and during the German Revolution, gave her only a single paragraph, merely to announce her death.
The impact of Maria upon the world is admittedly hard to precisely determine, as she appears in very few writings, however this does not mean that she was without impact. Instead, and this view has become increasingly more common in recent years, it is suggested that she was of greater import than her Husband Friedrich 'The Terror' of Europe.
This View has become increasingly common as a way of explaining the utter paralysis Experienced by Austria and The Empire as a Whole following Maria's Death. It also explains the suddenly strained relations between Friedrich and his Children, as well as Austria's susbsequent defeats in both the Reformation Wars and Revolutions, despite facing vastly weaker forces and having previously triumphed over vastly superior forces.
The State of Things is Finally being acknowledged, and we find ourselves reaching a viewpoint not admitted in the four hundred years following their reign, that Maria Drove the Empire.
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Narriatives
The People of the Renaissance
Emperor Leopold 'The Slain'
November 23rd, 1497; Visiting the Lovely Couple
By the time I had reached the courtyard, the carriage was already stopped, the door openned, and there she was, standing straight and tall in her red gown. Before her, bowing slightly as he extended his right hand towards her, stood my brother. There was a smile on her face, her own right hand extending towards him, with her left hand closed resting upon her heart.
Their hands touched, and her smile grew larger, as he helped her descend to the ground and then stepped beside her towards me.
He was smilling.
I Bowed my head slightly as they reached me. "Lady Maria." I was smiling, her's was and always had been infectious. Her Dress was beautiful as always, exceedingly elaborate and rich both in ornamentation and the shade it was colored, as always, a deep red, darker than the Burgundy most would likely have expected her to wear.
Beyond simple clothing, her face seemed small and delicate, or perhaps that was merely because of whom it was placed beside, placed lightly atop a full frame. I suppose my looking her in the eye would serve as a better description of her physical stature than my words.
"How do you do? Heir Leopold." Her Voice was soft, eminating breathlessly forth from her form, which itself showed almost no evidence of having spoken, her lips themselves hardly seemed to move, having moved less than the solitary woman still sitting within the carriage in a simple red riding suit.
"As Well as ever." I replied.
She Laughed, a Pleasant Laugh, almost childlike in its earnestness. "Frustrated?"
"A Little."
"My Brother could never stand to be away from his duty." Friedrich responded. There was the slightest hint of a laugh behind his voice.
A Servant approached us as we stood there. "A Meal has been prepared my Lords. It awaits you in the main Dining Hall."
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The Meal had been readily consumed. We sat contented together in the main Library of the Central Citadel. All around us books fled upwards into the ceiling of the room. They had amassed an incredible collection, alongside their works of art both sculptural and upon canvas, and their contributions towards architectural feats, the two were revitalizing the Central Alpine Mountains on their own.
We spent the rest of the night talking of various things, beginning with the northern Campaign and my displeasure at having been forced to leave it.
"You must learn to relax." Maria said with a sense of simple amusement.
"He Really Must." My brother added.
"I need not take advice from you on how to relax. It was you who remained stoic throughout our game and all of the our conversations.
"You just don't know what relaxes me."
A Pause. He Sat beside her, his hand envelopping hers on the table between and before them. Her in her elaborate dress, he in his formal modern suit, a massive cloak in simple black shrouding his shoulders and billowing around the base of his chair as his hair did around his neck and head. She leaned upon the Left arm of her chair, almost pressing her head into his shoulder.
They were both smiling.
"You should relax now, My Brother, I fear once Emperor you will not have such a chance."
"Will you Aid me?"
"Always, in anything you require Aid in."
"Good, I imagine I shall require a General to replace me."
"I cannot match you strategically."
"You'll learn, we should have at least a decade to train you." I smirked slightly, It was at least slightly true, he was far from lacking in skill when it came to tactics."
He Smiled broader, his eyes disappearing beneath his lids. He almost lost the terror his stature so readily inspired.
Or perhaps it grew greater to know that one such as he could be amused.
"So you don't want any more land?" I asked.
"I told you, land does not interest me."
He Glanced at his wife, who had until this point remained largely silent, adding only small, largely meaningless comments when the conversation drew her attention. It did so now.
"Think of the good we could do with more land my Love."
"Perhaps, but it would be so dreadfully boring."
"I'm sure we could make it Interesting." She smiled, and I thought for the briefest of moments she appeared as would a fox. Her ears almost seemed elongated, and had I not known better, I would have thought her eyes, no, only her right, the eye furthest from Friedrich, was ablaze.
I shook my head slightly when they weren't looking and the phantasm passed from my vision like the dark before the fury of the Sun itself. She was once more simply Maria, a woman who I recognized as tall, however whom remained dwarfed by her Husband Goliath.
We Conversed for many more hours, however I must admit my mind was elsewhere. I could not shake the sight of her burning eye, though I saw them never again. I wasn't sure, but it had been as if I had pierced some great shroud that hid the Heavens from me, blinding me with the Brilliance of the Celestials.
Or Perhaps the Abyssals, I could hardly tell at this point, the lights would likely both be blinding, but in the end, did not both ride wings of Fire?
I hid myself then. My Responses became almost mechanical, though such was not detectable by any without the interest or skill to read the minds of others, who I knew my Brother was not, and who I hoped his Wife was also not.
I hid myself in thoughts of war and conflict, the blood of battle surrounding me, and giving me sollace. The World was simple, predictable. The intentions of the Rulers of Europe were easy to determine from their realms. The Propserous were interested in Greed, the Poor but impressive in Glory, those that were neither were incompetent or uninterested.
My Brother and his Wife gave no indication to any. Their realm was rich, but impressive, and yet they made no grabs for anything else.
I was brought back to my world forcefully. I could not refuse, this question was complex.
"Do you intend to bequeth unto me some greater parcel of land than this?"
"I don't know." was my only response, I did not want to discuss this. "I know not what the future will bring."
"You will have the Throne however."
"So it Appears. I have been sworn in as Lord of the Armies of Austria, and I control the land's Finances. I think it likely Father will abdicate before long."
Friedrich Sighed.
"He is always sad."
"What do you mean?" I asked, this wasn't like Friedrich.
"There is a Melancholy around him, there always has been. Do you mean you have never noticed. I have. Ever since, well." He looked at his Wife and Trailed off before resuming with; "He never loved after his first Wife's Death."
"He Didn't, I don't think he loves our mother."
"He Doesn't."
The three of us sat in silence once more. Although Friedrich was now once more his grim self, his wife still beamed a smile forth into the gloom. It was disheartenning in its simple beauty, like a fire, to a Moth who understand what such would do.
The Silence lasted for a long time, and I attempted to free myself from my body, hiding once more in thoughts of the Campaigns, who I would need to fight against in my Tenure as Emperor. France was Rebuilding, Hungary could be Trouble, althought they would likely remain occupied by the Turks, Poland would...
"Do You think father cares for us?"
The question shocked me, I had hardly heard it, and he might have repeated it. I acknowledged that I heard it when I could, turning towards him nervously, I could not hide my emotions any further. I was released from his gaze in a moment.
I couldn't respond in time. I sat there, my mind going endlessly over the last few words we had spoken at the battle of Kelding. Did he?
He wanted Friedrich far from the throne, despite his obvious ability. Why was this? I could come to no conlusion, and before I could say anything, there was a knock at the door, slight, barely audible, the door openned without being asked, and a barely familiar female figure stepped soundlessly into the room. I had my look at her, in the dark of candlelight. She was small, with an angular nose and large golden eyes hidden under a veritable mane of Pale Gray Hair, extending at least down to the middle of her lean, almost muscular thighs. She stood still in the simple red Riding Outfit, now with a pale grey cloak thrown almost carelessly over it. She was attractive, in an exotic manner. Was she greek? She Spoke in flawless German.
"Lady Maria, a Petitioner has arrived, it is Important." The Tone of her voice changed not in the slightest from word to word.
Maria Sighed, leaning slightly once more into her husbands arm, clutching his hand. She did not have to sigh a second time.
"Worry not my dear, I shall deal with this." He Stood, towering over this new figure, though she neither bent backwards to escape nor upwards to seek his face, merely moving to the side to let him pass and then following. As she closed the door, I heard the briefest of a sentance from my Brother.
"Who is he Seatailoss." Did I hear the name correctly? I do not know, for my mind was drawn elsewhere, as the door seemed to fade into the wall.
The sound of it shutting had not even begun when I turned to her once more. The Click sounded, and just as her eyes locked onto mine, her smile Died In the Beat of a Heart.
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Why did no one tell me I was constantly misspelling Narratives?
I can't wait to see people's Reactions to this....