Britannia: A Saga of Albion
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ummh this Nero? Does he have musical ambitions, a taste for burning cities, or is it merely youthful high jinks?
Or letting the lions eat the catholics (assuming he is orthodox)?
I do hope your invasion goes well.
I do hope your invasion goes well.
Enewald - That's how we're built.
loki100 - Nah. Only burning cities. French cities that is. (See what I did there?) Eh... I'm pathetic. It's his father that's crazy, remember? Well, was crazy.
mayorqw - Thanks to many factors, it will. And no lions eating catholics. Although there will be a lion.
As you've probably guessed already, I'm not too good at keeping promises... So I won't make any more promises. I promise. Wait....
Well that update I talked about won't come. I'll try to make this AAR stay a weekly update and not a monthly one. I'll try, cause whenever I promise, it ends bad.
Update will come eventually. Don't be afraid though, I'm not quitting this one. No matter what, I will finish this AAR. No matter what.
loki100 - Nah. Only burning cities. French cities that is. (See what I did there?) Eh... I'm pathetic. It's his father that's crazy, remember? Well, was crazy.
mayorqw - Thanks to many factors, it will. And no lions eating catholics. Although there will be a lion.
As you've probably guessed already, I'm not too good at keeping promises... So I won't make any more promises. I promise. Wait....
Well that update I talked about won't come. I'll try to make this AAR stay a weekly update and not a monthly one. I'll try, cause whenever I promise, it ends bad.
Update will come eventually. Don't be afraid though, I'm not quitting this one. No matter what, I will finish this AAR. No matter what.
When Nero arrived in Cordoba he found himself in a court lavish even for French tastes. Lions, panthers and even an elephant could be found at the court of the byzantine emperor. But it wasn't riches that Nero was after, well, he wasn't after them now. He was looking for an ally to help him overthrow France. The behemoth that stretched over western Europe and dominated the politics of the world for years. Young and ambitious nations like England and the Roman Empire would take it's place. Nero was in luck, because Leo Dukas was much alike to him. Young, carefree and ambitious, Leo was a perfect ally for England. After two weeks of "negotiations", the alliance was official. During his time in Cordoba, Nero found Leo much alike to himself, and that was one of the reasons he was always wary of his ally. He knew that if he could take advantage of him when he was in need, so could he. However, Nero did befriend a certain person from the roman court. Christina al-Qa'im was a young woman that was the prime example of the new Roman empire. She was a mix of castillian, greek and arabian genes, her mother some berber maid and her father a byzantine noble. She was also a part of the Roman emperors harem. Another thing the romans borrowed from the arabian cultures.
Harems became quite popular in the roman society after the spanish exodus. Their existence wasn't public knowledge for a long time, but that was caused by Roman isolationism. When it became public knowledge and the Patriarch of Athens found out, Leo Dukas, 43 years old at that time, said that if he was to choose between women and eternality in hell, he'd choose women. That was one of the more important events that led to the orthodox schism.
Thankfully for Nero, Christina was only 14, too young for the more controversial parts of living in a harem. For now she was only a conversation partner and a dancer. However, her great beauty promised a golden future, maybe even the role of a royal concubine. As part of the alliance deal, Nero asked for her to be given to him. Firstly, Nero treated Christina just as any other woman he "conquered". The few years he would spend waiting for to be of age however, would change a lot.
Another thing that was included in the pact, was the division of the French empire between the two belligerents. Much of France was to be put under English administration, south of France and all of french possesions in Spain were to become Byzantine. The Low Lands would be offered to the Holy Roman Empire after declaration of war to buy their support in the war. Everything else was to become the rump Kingdom of France that the three agressors would oversee for twenty years from the end of the war. After that, they would be free to invade by anyone who wanted to do so. The rump kingdom was to be ruled by another branch of de Normandies to make sure they would stay loyal. Jerusalem wasn't mentioned on the pact. Both the english and the romans agreed that if the muslims took it back, it would bring more glory to the next nation to take it as they would have the Papal blessing with them. As for the Pope, he too was left out of the pact. It was common knowledge that the leader of Christianity didn't put the french kings in favourable light.
French empire after the invasion.
After coming back to England, Nero found the country pretty much ready for war. The armies were ready and equipped. The invasion was to start in summer, one month from present. It was in that time that Nero started the works for one of Londons most famous landmarks, St. Pauls cathedral. It was to take the place of St. Johns as the main church of London and whole England. The enormous church was to be the longest one in all of Europe, it was to have the tallest spires and the stained glass was to be imported from Venice. It was also to be the new seat of the bishop of London. Neros dreams were coming true.
One of the final sketches of St. Pauls.
Poor old France - everyone always enjoys laying the smack down on them.
Good use of images and maps. History books can sometime overdose on those but I think you've got the balance perfect.
Good use of images and maps. History books can sometime overdose on those but I think you've got the balance perfect.
ummh still not convinced ... architect, wee bitty lusty, grand plans ... are you really sure he's not channeling for THE Nero? there's a lot of that in CK after all
great update, really nice mix of game events and background
v late edit - congrats on the ACA award
great update, really nice mix of game events and background
v late edit - congrats on the ACA award
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Iain Wilson - Thank you for you praise. Have you noticed the uber lions?
loki100 - Well, this Nero is going to lead the armies himself. And fight. THE Nero would probably sit around London creating poems instead.
Enewald - We'll see.
AllmyJames - Thanks and grats to you too.
mayorqw - Thanks.
6 posts and an award after an update? But that wasn't any update, was it? Admit you were bought by the nudity in the first pic.
Nothing else to say. Move along. Oh, also 9th most read AAR. Woo.
loki100 - Well, this Nero is going to lead the armies himself. And fight. THE Nero would probably sit around London creating poems instead.
Enewald - We'll see.
AllmyJames - Thanks and grats to you too.
mayorqw - Thanks.
6 posts and an award after an update? But that wasn't any update, was it? Admit you were bought by the nudity in the first pic.
Nothing else to say. Move along. Oh, also 9th most read AAR. Woo.
Vesimir said:
Ask, and I shall. Well, I actually already did.
So you know, this was an INSANE ride; probably insaner than King Sylvester.
So far we've had:
- A non-Danish Danelaw, and a non-Norman Norman England
- United Britain AND Mega-France AND Mega-Poland. But the last one didn't survive; I'd have predicted the complete opposite.
- Merchant Republics, not one, but three! At once!
- Restoration of the Pharaohs
- Sneak destruction of Constantinople
- A King called Bard who wasn't Crovanian
- A Roman Empire with harems, but without Rome
- Hundred Year's War Goodness...in SPAIN.
- A Nero who ISN'T Roman, unlike almost every else in Europe
- Looting for money leading directly to mercantilist capitalism, with no steps in between.
I am terrified of thinking of what might happen next. At the same time, I can't wait. It will probably be very entertaining.
I like your idea of pilfering deviantart for pictures, by the by.
----
And, since you know how this works,
RGB said:
You forgot about the english general running off into Africa.
I like your summary of the AAR.And I already tried reading it. It is rather big and I thought the story in a story plot to be unfriendly for the reader. But I guess I might start. Who knows, maybe it isn't as scary as it seemed.
Ah, um.
It's really up to you, of course, but you don't have to read the whole thing. If you follow this link, it restarts as a pure narrative in 1393; you can read it just like a novel, and only consult the previous chapters if you want clarification on the setup.
The backstory is not completely necessary.
Thank you for trying
Nero smiled as the bird landed on his hand. He alwas enjoyed falconry, it was also one of his hobbies that the court didn't have anything against.
"Birds are quite majestic, aren't they?" He turned his head to Jean smiling.
"Quite." The frenchman replied, his disinterest clear as the sky above them. "I don't understand why you insist on those trips. We could be doing other things right now you know."
Nero chuckled and shook his hand so that the bird would fly some more. "Like what?"
"Like getting ready for the invasion." Jean sighed. "Your forces are boarding the ships as we speak, and you've decided to go off as far as Northumbria, just because you received some bird?"
"Oh, but this is no ordinary bird, friend. This is a gerfalcon from as far away as Snæland." Neros eyes were concentrated on the white falcon as it circled above their heads and as it landed on a nearby rock. "Beautiful."
"Why can't you enjoy the finer things in life, Jean?" Nero turned back to his frined and sat next to him on a log. "Why do you have to be such dispensatour all the time?"
"I do enjoy the finer things in life. It's just that for me they are femmes, vin et la chanson. Not birds."
Nero laughed heartilly and patted his friend on the back. "There's more to life than that. But fine. I shall do as you ask and we shall head south. The armies do need leader after all."
Falconry was one of Neros biggest passions both in early and later life.
It is widely agreed that the invasion of France is the biggest military campaign of the Middle Ages. No other war was so thoroughly planned, dealt with so much land and changed the the political arena of europa so much. The mongol campaigns aren't included in the "list" of the campaigns as they were mostly unorganized and it was more of a race between the various commanders of the hordes too see who would be able to conquer and plunder the most.
The english armies sailed for Normandy and Bretagne in the fall of 1180, Nero at its helm. 40 000 men landed in Normandy under command of various nobles while the smaller part of the army, counting 20 000, led by Nero himself landed in Britanny. The french were, to say the least, suprised. For decades they lived as the rulers of europe, they were the ones declaring wars. The thought of invasion by foreign armies has never crossed the mind of any french king since the start of Henri le Forts rule. Now, king Stephane had to deal with something the country wasn't prepared for. The nobles held immense powers and they haven't been called to war for 20 years, they were also unbelievably wealthy. The poorest of the french nobles of the time was as rich as the Archdukes of Hungary heir apparent. And as it was predicted by the invaders, none of the nobles rose to the call of their king. That left only one army to deal with. But that didn't mean the war would be easy, the Armée Royale was the grandest army of Europe with experience from wars in Germany, Spain and Jerusalem.
King Stephane de Normandie of France had a tough task ahead of him. Would the myth live up to the reality?
Britanny and Normandy fell relatively quickly and news of the Romans advancing into french iberia were soon received by Nero. The Holy Roman Emperor still hasn't done his part of the task, but he was probably being catious. The Empires wars with France never ended well. The english forces were quick at taking land as they were mostly light forces, equipped with a longsword, a longbow and a rigid leather. Those were the footmans, the rest of the army was either the "Welshmen" or heavy cavalry which was being kept at the back so that it could enter the battle fresh and ready. There was also a 3000 regiment of light cavalry but they were basically footmen equipped with spears instead of swords and given horses. King Nero was in command of said cavalry regiment and it was during this war that he created one of the first elite military units in northern europe. The Wardens as he called them, were his personal guards and it was with them that he rode into battle. 72 men equipped with the finest leather armours to be found in Europe, marksman longbows normally available only to the "Welshmen", spears of arabian craft imported from as far away as Egypt and swords fit for dukes. The horses they rode where to brought by ship from the arabian lands. They were a force to reckoned with, and their skirmish tactics made them one of the deadliest soldiers in the invasion.
And is it was with most of the medieval wars, this one too was very well solved in one battle. As the main army moved south for Paris, Nero moved east wanting to secure the whole caost before moving south. And it was in Flanders, in the vicinity of Calais that the historic battle which decided the fate of the invasion took place. On a narrow strip of clear ground between the woods of Tramecourt and Agincourt the famous Battle of Agincourt took place. In the early hours of 25th October, Nero placed his armies at the southern exit from the forests while the Armée Royale was moving from Calais in the north. Nero placed his Welshmen at the brink of the forests, both on the east and the west while the footmen would stand guard on between them. At the same time, the Wardens with Nero at the vanguard would move through the forest to burst out of it after the french army passed them and attack from the back. This would make the french surrounded from four sides. Another thing the english used in their favour was spikes which they placed in fron of the archers. And so, the french had no choice but to push forward and after Nero would attack, they wouldn't have a chance at escape either.
The Armée Royale consisted of about 70 000 men. Most of them were lesser french nobles, both on horse and on foot. The army did have archers and normal footmen, but they were left in the back while the nobles insisted on being in the vanguard of the army. This was caused by the hunger for glory and hopes that they could distinguish themselves in battle. A chance to ride to battle with the king wasn't common. And yes, the king Stephane rode with the army and he, just like the nobles was on the front while the soldiers stayed behind.
A very imprortant factor in the battle was the terrain. Agincourt is placed on plains and so, the battle happened on a freshly ploughed land wet from the rains. This changed things dramatically as the heavy infantry and cavalry of the french had to move through mud while the light english soldiers stood waiting and could quickly escape if the need arose.
In the morning of 25th, the french forces started their advance with the heavy nobles. The infantry slowly moved through the terrain and shortened the distance to the english forces. When they got close enough, a barrage of arrows flooded them from the sides. Hundreds of men died in mere seconds. The heavy cavalry seeing the archers attack from the forest started to ride towards leaving the half of the cavalry including the king behind them. As the horses broke into a gallop and were seconds away from the edges of the forests, english archers removed leaf covered linen that hid the spikes. The french couldn't stop in time. Seeing the battle develop badly, Stephane ordered all of the heavy infantry left to move and attack the archers. After they moved and cleared the way, the king and the nobles broke into a charge aimed at the heart of the infantry. The french soldiers were still behind, not even close to the forests. They were ordered to stay behind and it was only recently that their commanders seen how the battle is developing and started moving towards Agincourt.
The vanity of the french nobles proved to be their doom.
Hundreds of breaths around him. Both humand and horse. The sun shining through the leaves above them. And the glimpses of blue behind the trees before them. The messenger still hasn't arrived which meant the french haven't started to rout. And the battle has been going on for a long time. What if they broke through? Nero shifted nervously in his saddle. And it was then that he saw the man he wanted to see.
"You took your time you bloody bastard!" Nero hissed at the man stopping his horse next to him. "Are we ready to attack?"
"Yes. The french are starting to rout." The man wiped the sweat off his brow. "But we must hurry. The soldiers are not far away. If we don't destroy the enemy quickly, we're the ones that will get encircled."
"Fine." The king looked around. "You're going to ride with me Rodrigo? Or are you to scared to go into the battle?"
"You wouldn't be asking such a question if you ever saw a spaniard in battle." Rodrigo smirked. "A real spaniard that is. Not one of those impostors in Cordoba."
"So we ride together." Nero took a deep breath and turned to the man on the right. "Michael, spread the word. We go out in the open now!"
As the Wardens took their places and readied themselves for battle, Nero took out a small rosary out of a pocket. Slowly rotating it in his hands he started praying. He could've ingored the clergy and the church for most of his life, but this was a battle he had to win. As he finished the Wardens were ready to ride. Rodrigo was next to him. Nero took out his bastard sword with his right hand while holding the rosary tight in his left.
"Tonight, we damn ourselves for eternality in hell." He whispered after which he rose his sword above his head and roared. "Charge!"
The battle has went terribly wrong. He had to run, escape. Clinging on to his horse he looked behind and saw most of his nobles doing the same as he. Cowards, later they would probably say they wanted to protect him. Putain! He was a king and he was forced to flee like a lowly peasant. As he looked up his eyes glittered with hope. The soldiers were moving towards him, the day could be won yet. He raised his empty hand as he was forced to throw away his sword, in an attempt to rally his men. If they were to run like cowards, they could just as well run to regroup and attack again.
"North! Ride north knights of France!" He pointed north and kicked his horse to speed up. It was then that he heard a yell. A yell that meant trouble. In mere seconds hundreds of horsemen rode out of the forest cutting off the only way to safety. As he pulled the bridle with all his strength, the attackers changed from a trot to a canter and started riding towards him, their spears drawn. At their front was a young man with raven black, unkempt hair and slight beard. He wore a black leather armor finished off with silver elements and held a long sword in his hand. He recognised his face. The young upstart wanted to fight with the sun? He would fight with the sun.
As the nobles stopped around him, Stephane looked back and saw the english footmen advancing towards his back as the enemy cavalry was riding towards him from the front, now in a full gallop. He turned to a noble, a young one, probably not even 18, closest to him and punched him in the face making him fall from his horse. He grabbed the sword the child held and swung it in the air.
"Knights! You are the flower of French nobility! You are the men that make this empire an empire! And now, you shall fight for you rights!" His words had the effect he wanted. They were all looking at him. "I ask of you just one thing! Fight for your rights, your wealth and your nation!"
The nobles sterned themselves and replied with enthusiasm. They were ready. They would either escape, or die trying. The "flower of French nobility" turned to the north, and with their king at the helm, rode to meet their destiny.
There goes an entire generation of frenchmen, much like Alcaçer do sal.
Do I sense some resent in rodrigo to the byzantine empire?
Do I sense some resent in rodrigo to the byzantine empire?
I just read a book on the Hundred Years' War, and your Englishmen are not killing nearly enough French peasantry to be believable
But that Rosary is most appropriate.
Agincourt - a very unimportant place if there ever was one, and now it will be famous. Alas how history echoes
But that Rosary is most appropriate.
Agincourt - a very unimportant place if there ever was one, and now it will be famous. Alas how history echoes
A nice update. Nero has a good sense of leadership after all. And a healthy fear of God. If the Germans don't show up, will they be next?