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I'd like to know more about the people of rest of europe, how the cultures are evolving, like the prussian one is :3

I -really- love your alternative universe so -any- information about the world is like omg gief <3

I usually check atleast 2 times a day for an update, it's in my hotlinks so I check whenever I see it ^^
 
Tell some medieval stories from Prussia. :p
And possibly also from the rest of Europe.

I'd like to know more about the people of rest of europe, how the cultures are evolving, like the prussian one is :3

I -really- love your alternative universe so -any- information about the world is like omg gief <3

I usually check atleast 2 times a day for an update, it's in my hotlinks so I check whenever I see it ^^

I will try to combine these in the next few updates. I thank Keanon for the praise. There is definitely much about the rest of Europe that I have to cover, especially culturally.
 
Yeah, I'd like to see a story or two from places that know of "Prussia" only in rumors, not factual news. Something showing just how different the world is there compared to OTL.
 
Big news: I have finished playing through EUIII, so that concludes the part of the story that I shall actually play and the parts that I will just write. EUIII officially will make up books 2, 3 and the first bit of 4. I have tried to split it in such a way that each book has a very specific "feel" and it does not feel all hacked up. :cool:

As such the names of the last three books have been changed to reflect the length of EUIII, Oceans and Ironworks got bumped up, and Bastions was added in the 2 slot. Book 4's title slipped off the face of the Earth.

Yeah, I'd like to see a story or two from places that know of "Prussia" only in rumors, not factual news. Something showing just how different the world is there compared to OTL.
I agree, I have put some thought into it and such stories definitely have places to fit, but this next update probably won't be that place.

Great updates! (sorry didn't have the time to comment much) Kiten is getting to the former glory of his ancsters.

and funnily! a Centrlazation effort!
Welcome back and thanks, gis. I'll actually try to concentrate on the centralization a bit more outside of the history book preludes and actually in the main story. But like above, this next update (which is about 1/3 done) is in limbo.
 
Holy shit update!

Homelands
Chapter Twenty Nine: March of the Prussians
Part 3


Prelude:
The war against Germany went as Kiten wanted. Germany in 1288 was a failed state. It was once stated by a Prussian historian that "...civil war was an understatement. Germany ceased to be a country, ceased to be an idea... it became nothing more than a group of people, all at war with one another." So the war with Germany was over before the war with Pskov. Shortly after Prussia made off with large parts of German territotry, Germany stabilized under the old Zähringer dynasty. But for the time being the Prussians brought the riches of Germany back to Memelgrád and brought Unionism to Germany. Kiten found himself revered by Christians around the world, apparently for sparring Christianity from the evil of the Caliphate. But it was obvious that he could not conquer all of Europe. By the end of 1288 many in Europe wanted Kiten crowned "Defender of the Faith" a title that would raise him above all Christian peoples. The movement was opposed, however, by two main forces: the Emperor of Rome and the King of Sweden. It didn't seem to bother Kiten who went about his plans to conquer Croatia and subdue Mordvia.

Germany1288.png

Prussia, German and a few selected neighbors in 1288. The hashed provinces represent the on-going occupation of Pskov.

September 15th, 1288

Rivers, Kiten had found, were a mystical thing to all peoples, Every civilization, every culture, every religion had some strange fascination with rivers. To Prussians rivers were a force of good, the Volga especially was seen as a massive wall dividing the evil wilds of the Urals from Europe. German tails told of maidens in the Rhine. From the east rivers held some magical property, everything from healing to bringing forth life. But now, sitting in a palace in Kiev, the King and his family enjoyed the fruits of victory alongside the Dnieper. Vishly sat off to the side while Oleksander and Blazena sat next to Kiten with their feet in the river. Everything was very relaxing and Kiten drifted off to sleep as his two sons played around him. Vishly was only five years old, yet was showing to have quite a mean streak. The King, with his eyes closed and his head cozy in the lap of his wife was suddenly snapped awake by a splash. Quickly sitting upright he saw Vishly leaning over the water and swatting at passing fish.

"Vishle, stát!" he said. His face was firm, but kind and Vishly seemed to react positively to his command.

"Bæt tevá! Shis márká hát æmi geizacinájæn!" Vishly contested. Blazena laughed and reached out her arms to her son. Vishly grumpily walked over to her and sat down in her arms, letting her hug him tightly.

"He's bored, Kiten... I told you they have too much energy!" Blazena began tickling Vishly who laughed and squirmed around. "Maybe you should tell them a story or something, keep them busy."

"Yeah! Tell a story, dad! Tell a story of when you went to the far-away lands!" Oleksander shouted. He took a seat in front of Kiten and was soon joined by a red-faced Vishly.

"Okay, okay... just settle down boys. As you know: a long, long time ago I traveled the far-off lands of the east. There I met people from lands of dragons and lands of jungles. These people had never heard of much of Europe or even Prussia!"

"Wow, how can they be so dumb?!" Vishly asked.

"Well, have you ever heard of Indus? Or China?" Kiten asked. "Anyways, I was in this massive palace, it was so big it had a river flowing through it and small canals. When you sat down for dinner, food would float out on little barges. And you could grab what you wanted as it floated by."

"Why did you leave Prussia?" Blazena asked.

Kiten was surprised by the question, and quickly turned a reddish color. "Well, that is a totally different story, beloved, one I am not fond of telling." The group grew quiet and soon the boys became bored and wanted to run around some more. As they let out their energy, Kiten and Blazena continued their own conversation.

"I am sorry, Kiten, I didn't realize it was a big personal thing. I thought that your father had sent you on some mission."

"No, I left on my own choosing. Karnak and I did not always see eye-to-eye. Eventually in childish anger I couldn't stay put any longer. Karnak was too willing to serve the nobles, he forgot who was in charge." Kiten sighed and leaned back with his legs in the cool waters. He turned at watched his sons running around. Vishly was younger than Oleksander but already had some advantage over him. Kiten couldn't put his finger on it. The King just watched as Vishly grew bored with running around and returned to the river edge to watch the fish.

"What is it now?" Blazena asked.

"Nothing, I was drifting in my thoughts. I was thinking that I am getting old but Vishly is still so very young. What if I were to die tomorrow? This year? Is he to be King? At such an age? The nobility would tear him to pieces... literally."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Kiten, you are strong and you are healthy. Worry about more realistic things." Blazena put her hands on Kiten's shoulders and massaged him lightly, trying to get his mind of such black things. "Vishly would be safe, the guard and people are loyal to you and by extension to Vishly."

Kiten smiled, "You are right. There are things stronger than the grubbing fingers of the nobles." He turned his eyes back to Vishly who was still sitting at the bank of the river. The small boy dipped his hands into the clear water and then his eyes fell on a small frog near-by in some reeds. He slowly crept to the small creature and quickly jumped forward, catching it in his small hands.

Vishly opened his hands and saw the frog sitting there dumbly. "Heh" he scoffed, slowly stroking the frog's back. "My frog." He covered the frog with his other hand to prevent its attempts of freedom and turned to Oleksander. "I have a frog and you don't!" He stuck his tongue out and then returned his attention to his query just in time to watch the frog make one final struggle for freedom and with a ungraceful leap and an unsophisticated plop the frog was free. Vishly turned red as he heard Oleksander laughing.

"Nice frog, Vishly."

"Shut up, stupid!" Vishly shouted. He slowly turned to his mother and said, "Frog escaped, make him come back!"

"It is better that he is gone, frogs are all icky and will give you warts," Blazena said.

"Warts?" Vishly suddenly got an evil look on his face and began chasing Oleksander with his muddy hands outstretched. "Let me touch you, Oleks!"
 
Soon to build canals, from Volga to Elbe, from Ladoga to Black Sea, from Oka to Danube?

Elbe, Oder, Veiksel, Dvina, Danube, Dniestr, Dnieper, Don and Volga... quite a bunch of nice big rivers with fertile valleys. And to build enough canals, the potential of your lands is just too big. :D
 
Clearly, wherever it is Kiten went, they know how to throw a party worthy of a true pimp! :rofl:
 
Soon to build canals, from Volga to Elbe, from Ladoga to Black Sea, from Oka to Danube?

Elbe, Oder, Veiksel, Dvina, Danube, Dniestr, Dnieper, Don and Volga... quite a bunch of nice big rivers with fertile valleys. And to build enough canals, the potential of your lands is just too big. :D
That it is. ;)

As always, a fantastic AAR, Mr. Capiatlist.
Thank you.

Clearly, wherever it is Kiten went, they know how to throw a party worthy of a true pimp! :rofl:
You can catch a glimpse here.
 
Homelands
Chapter Twenty Nine: March of the Prussians
Part 4


Prelude:
In 1289 the war with Pskov concluded with Prussia taking over the Russian fortress. Kiten was quick to move ethnic Prussians into the region to help stabilize it. The King was starting to have trouble ruling the entire Empire as a single entity, so it was obvious that any major steps to true centralization would have to wait for now. The Empire was divided into three entities: Prussia, Hungary and Bohemia. Prussia, however, was divided further into "Grand Duchies" and "Marches" which were between the Princes and the King. Grand Duchies were usually considered safe or stable, Marches were usually under some form of military guidance as their purpose was the be a first line of defense for the heartland. Outside of their territory, however, Grand Dukes has very little authority. Kiten was anything if not unwilling to share the authority of the King. He faced pressure from all sides to relinquish some of his power to prevent revolts and keep the different factions happy. In the waning years of the XIII Century the Kingdom faced a threat that was mostly internal, she was getting too big. Kiten was unwilling to give up at inch of soil he conquered and so Prussia was now growing again. What Kiten didn't realize is that the only King who could rule such a realm was sitting under his nose.

GDsandMarchesofPrussia.png

Grand Duchies and Marches of the Prussian Empire.

December 14th, 1289

Kiten and his family took up residence in the far south, on the Black Sea outside of Morcárgrád. The King sat at his desk trying to figure out what to do. Under his desk Vishly played hide-and-go-seek with Oleksander. Blazena watched from aside as her husband shifted through letters and complaints and suggestions from those below him. The clergy wanted more money for churches, the nobles more money for palaces. The generals wanted more money for keeps and towers. It was all maddening to Kiten. His face drooped as he read one letter.

"What is wrong with these people?! They are suggesting that I open my succession to the nobles and not to my own children!" Kiten crumpled the letter and threw it away, "Spineless creep didn't sign his name! The solution, the solution is to just have them all killed when I find out who did it!" Kiten shouted. "But no, I am as spineless as they are. I let them get off easy! I let them walk away!" He stood up, artfully avoiding Vishly, and papers in hand, threw them all into the burning fire in the corner. He watched as the flame took hold and the edges darkened and eventually evaporated.

"Is that really the solution, Kiten? To kill everyone who stands in your way? Who questions you authority or power?" Her question was rhetorical, but Kiten felt urged to answer anyways.

"Yes. Simple as that."

"And what would you have done?" she asked, getting more concerned, "Build a massive gallows? Crucify them?"

"I don't know. But I am sick of this. Why is it anytime I even skirt the law I get a million complaints but in complaining they are breaking the law! Why am I the only criminal here?!" Kiten turned back to his desk and saw Vishly standing on his chair, leaned over to reach the desktop.

His son looked up at him and shouted, "Mine!" Kiten scoffed and then walked over and took Vishly in his arms.

"See, Blazena, even my own son wants my throne already," he laughed. Vishly squirmed and kicked, trying to escape his father's hold. Eventually he just bit Kiten's arm and in the resulting confusion escaped into the hallway with a dramatic bound. "Blast!" Kiten shouted.

"What happened?!" Blazena asked as she got up to see where Vishly was headed. When she looked out into the hallway it was empty. A clean get away.

"He bit me!" Kiten said, shaking his arm and then straightening out his shirt sleeve. "It doesn't hurt, but damned it caught me off guard!" Blazena chuckled and walked over to her husband, taking his arm in her hand and kissing the wound.

"Better?"

"Of course," Kiten smiled and then returned to the task at hand, "Did you see where he went?"

"No, disappeared into thin air. I don't know where he gets it from." The two of them stepped back into the hallway. The corridors were dark, lit only by candle light and the limited amount of light from the setting sun in the windows. "Vishly!" Blazena shouted. In the quiet the faint sounds of footsteps could be heard in the room across the hall. Kiten opened the door and instead of Vishly found Oleksander hiding under a chair.

"Oly, have you seen your brother?" Kiten asked kindly. The little boy shook his head quickly and continued to hide from whatever force he thought to be watching him. Kiten scrunched up his face in confusion and then walked around a bit. "Where is your brother?" he asked more forcefully.

"Closet."

"Thank you, Oly," Kiten said. He opened the closet and found Vishly sitting in the open.

"Traitor!" the boy shouted as Kiten picked him up again. "Traitor! I'll get you!" Oleksander stuck his tongue out at Vishly and Kiten carried him off to return to Blazena.

"I found him," he said, almost triumphantly. Blazena looked relieved and took Vishly from his father. He settled down into her arms and slowly went off to sleep. Kiten and Blazena sat down in front of the fire and warmed themselves.

"You need to watch your temper, Kiten," Blazena said, "I don't want Oleksander and Vishly emulating it with one another. Oly is already terrified of Vishly. It is so strange, Oly is so much bigger."

Kiten nodded, he rested his head in his hand and thought, "Yeah, I don't get it either. They are both behaved enough, or at least I think they are. The maids don't complain, do they?"

Blazena shrugged her shoulders, "I have never heard a complaint, so you know as much as I do." The two parents shifted their attention to Vishly, asleep in his mother's arms. "So, the court is curious, what is next on your list of dubious things to do?"

Kiten laughed, "I am not quite sure. I want to settle into peace for a while, but finishing Croatia is going to happen eventually. Mordvia might have to be dealt with too," he said, winking.

PrussianEmpire1289.png

The Prussian Empire in 1289.
 
Hmmm, the dark red ogre is close to indigestion... but ready for another plate ? :D
 
Danmarch, I have heard that somewhere before. :p

If Kiten has travelled in the east, like Persia, surely he ought to know of satraps? :p
Even that is better than rule based on blood.
And what of 'Kitai'? ;)
No news from there?

The next king will be a disaster.
 
Denmark still waits for liberation. And closing the Baltic to foreign influences for good would be good for Prussia.
And wait it shall. Prussia dominates the Baltic now, but a new threat isn't too far off. ;)

Danmarch, I have heard that somewhere before. :p

If Kiten has travelled in the east, like Persia, surely he ought to know of satraps? :p
Even that is better than rule based on blood.
And what of 'Kitai'? ;)
No news from there?

The next king will be a disaster.
I know, weird?

I can finally include China, don't you worry.

A disaster only for some.
 
Hey guys, Spring break has started and I began by finishing the notes to the rest of the AAR! Wooo! It is pretty epic, let me tell you. :p

Anyways, Prussian lesson on the way, then the last update with images for a while. I won't have photoshop at home, just a massive stack of notes and a lot of free time. So hopefully I can get a chapter out in the coming time.

See you guys later.
 
Prussian Lesson #9
Advanced Phonology


Prussian in a language that contains many sounds, many which are second nature to native speakers though might be unseen to secondary speakers. Influences on Prussian came from Old Prussian (a Baltic language), Old English (an Anglo-Frisian language) and Old Polish (a Slavic language). Combinations of consonants, vowels and consonants and vowels all have particular ways of being said in every-day speech regardless of the formal rules. Examples given here are examples from grádrunáshá or "City Speech". Specifically it is the dialect commonly heard in the nation's capital. Other dialects of Prussian exist, and some are rather strong. Bessarabian and Silesian are often considered their own languages, though both are officially part of the Prussosphere. Pronunciation examples are from English.

--== "-r" ==--

The letter r has a strange influence on pronunciation. Common Prussian has twelve vowel combinations with the letter r:

ar - "air" like "air"
ár - "ar" like a pirate says
ær - "er" like in "theater"
er - "eer" like in "deer"
ir - "eer" like in "deer"
or - "or" like in "or"
ór - "oour" say "oo" then "uhr" with less emphasis on the "uh"
ur - "ur" like in "urn"
ier - "eeu" say "ee" then "uh" with less emphasis on the "uh"
eor - "ayor" say "ay" and then "or" without spacing them out
eur - "oier" said as "oi" then "er" with less emphasis on the "er"
oir - "oar" like in "oar"

--== The Conjoining "I" ==--

A conjoining "i" connects a stem with a prefix or suffix. Examples in Prussian usually involve with words grád ("city") or ("land"). This can sometimes be confusing as words like sambigrád contains an "i" but are really examples of sambi + grád and not samb + i + grád. In cases with a conjoining "i" the "i" is usually not pronounced, instead it is represented with a small separation in speech. Here are some examples:

gruzijá = gruz + i + = /gɹəʦ'ja/ ("Georgia")
ármenijá = ármen + i + = /aɹmin'ja/ ("Armenia")
cærnigrád = cærn + i + grád = /çɛɹn'gɹad/ ("Chernigov")

--== Consonants ==--

Prussian words sometimes contain a great deal of consonants one after the other. Because of this Prussians have evolved their own ways of pronouncing these sometimes tricky combinations. Here are a few selected one:

"hw" = ʍ : Like the "hw" and "wh" in Old and Middle English : hwæt ("lo")
"dz" = // : Non-existent in English, instead combine the "d" sound with the "s" from Asia : ludzó ("please")
"ksk" = /ks/ : like "x" in English "six" : keorfakskalp ("ax-man")
"-s" = ' : the ending s is often dropped after consonants, especially hard vowel consonants : serigs ("mournful")
"gn" = /gən/ : Try not to emphasize the "ə", but like English "gun" : gænugn ("enough")
"wi" = /ʍi/ : "hwee" : mordwijá ("Mordvia")

--== Compounds ==--

Compounds are common in Prussian and like any Germanic language they are always pronounced as one word even when written as two. The best example of this is from English. Try saying "I live in a white house" versus "The President lives in the White House". Can you tell the difference? Germanic speakers naturally combine attached ideas that way: "a white house" is an object and an adjective, "the White House" is a single word.

keorfakskalp is a combined compound word. It is made up of keorfaks + kalp ("axe" + "man" usage: executioner).

web vetá is a separated compound word. It is made up of web + vetá ("web" + "place" usage: web site). Note, "web" has no meaning in Prussian outside of "se web" (the internet) or "web vetá". It is a loan word from English.
 
Oh God, why cannot it all be just pronounced as it is written?
Finnish is so simple, pronounce just like it is written. :p
That's why Latin is easy for Finns. Too bad I dropped it a year ago. :eek:o