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King Of Ice

Second Lieutenant
35 Badges
Dec 1, 2019
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The year is 1066. In the north, many kings squabble for the throne of England.
The Saracens have crashed inwards, dismantling the strong Ummayad Caliphate.
The Byantine Emperor fights with the Seljuk Turks.
Yet that is not the story we have today.

The Papacy- the most respected institution in catholic europe, is slowly coming on it's own, with Pope Alexander as it's head. He is controversial, known as a protector of Jews and helper of William the Bastard.

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Alexander

Hey guys! This is my 2nd AAR, my first ended prematurely because the save got deleted.

Some stuff to know

1.I will be using the Divine Intervention mod
2.I will be using Ironman
3.I will be using the following DLC: The Old Gods, Sword of Islam, The Republic, Rajas of India(useless) Legacy of Rome, Way of Life, Jade Dragon, Holy Fury, Charlegmane, Sons of Abraham, Customizer, and Monks and Mystics
4.I will try to RP to my best efforts


Any help is appreciated, so if you have any tips on the game, my writing, etc... feel free to share!
 
Last edited:
Good luck!
 
Thank you, Basileus! I shall soon delete those foolish saracens, as soon as I begin writing this chapter!
;)
 
subbed!
 
me when I see I have 2 people following this:
"I am no longer omega-male, I am.....
PSI-MALE!
 
Hey, so about my first chapter, it will be done soon, I have just organized the files, and am almost done writing up, all that's left to do is the tedious work of taking 36 images, putting them on a photocropping site, downloading each, and then hosting them on imgur.
It'll be between 1-4 days, but it is coming.
 
Will try to follow
 
The Pope, at age 47, is the leader of (almost) all christendom, and king of the Papal States. Alexander II is a… controversial man. He is a stalwart defender of the jews, and none can question his piety, yet he is plagued by ambition. No matter those whom snicker at him, he is determined to make the Papacy a strong temporal power.


It is december, and the Pope is sitting with his council. One of his advisors says “Your Holiness, Many kings refuse to let us choose bishops. We should persuade them to change this.” The pope nodded in agreement. “Whom should we send these to?” He asked. The advisor told him “King Garcia of Galicia, King Svend of Denmark, and Emperor Heinrich of the Holy Roman Empire.” Many hours later, the Pope had finished wriring his first letter, to Garcia, and told someone to give it to a messenger. This happened with Svend and Heinrich’s letters.

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It was january by the time the messengers came back, and they had good and bad news. King Svend of Denmark and King Garcia of Galicia had agreed. Alexander turned to face the messenger to the HRE. “Your Holiness..” the messenger stuttered, but regained himself and said “Heinrich refuses to allow us to choose bishops.” Alexander clenched his fists and yelled “That Bastard! He must be possesed by the devil!” As he regained his composure he said one order. “Tell all christendom, that Emperor Heinrich has been excommunicated from the Church.

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Alexander was in the library, when he noticed the thousands of books, and the thousands of empty spaces. A thought went in his head, and he smiled, knowing that soon there would be one less empty space. Later, he sat with some trusted scribes, and told them that he wanted to make a book on theology, and he set the scribes to work copying down his words.

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One day, the relative peace in the court was disturbed by an emmisary from foreign lands. After gaining an audience with the Pope, the emmisary went on his knees and said: Your Holiness, my liege, Chief Finn of Herjadalen, comes with an offer. He will buy indulgences to clean himself of his sins. He would be very, very happy to know that you accepted. The Pope chuckled, and replied “How can I refuse a man whom has dedicated himself to purging the devil, and pledging himself to the lord, Jesus Christ? Tell him I accept his offer”
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Some time later, an emmisary from Hungary came in. “Our King, Àrpad Salomon, wishes to betrothe your daughter, Aurelia, to his brother, Àrpad Dàvid. “How could I refuse to improve relations with the great kingdom of Hungary?” said Alexander. “Tell your king I accept his offer.”
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Soon a messenger came from a renowned member of the Dominican Society, asking him to do penance and contemplate his sins. Alexander agrees, and begins his seclusion in a simple chamber in a temple. He will do prayers, reads The Bible, and contemplate his thoughts and actions in this small room.
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As he is thinking of the bible, a messenger appears, with a message, and Alexander’s daily rations of bread and water. “M’lord, I have a message from king Phillipe of France” Alexander turns to the messenger and says “Make it quick.” The messenger responds “He would like to marry his daughter to your son.” The pope is irrritated by the message being sent NOW, but he soon realises it’s importance, and responds with a quick “yes.”
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Alexander is reading Thw Bible, and he is struggling to make sense of one of the passages. He decides to think more of it and figure it out on his own, saying a quick prayer to God beforehand.
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He mulled over it for hours, and compared it with other texts, until finally! He had figured it out! He said a quick prayer of thanks to St. Agustine. Unbeknownst to him, this affirmed his piety, as well as his reputation as a well-learned man.
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In his quest, he had discovered the Rule of St. Agustine, had been like Saint Dominic, avoiding excess, and his self-control grew. He began to resist most desires with ease, and when a servant brought him some of his favorite, but more elegant foods as a treat, he pushed them away and had simple foods. Bread substituted beef and pork, and water substituted fine wines. He had truly become temperate.
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One day, he realised much. He made sense of his life, actions, and place in the world, and all became very clear. He knew this meant he had made much progress on his penance, but he still had much to do. He said a quick prayer of thanks to the lord for helping him learn this, which he never would have had he not done this penance.
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Some time later, he became convinced that god had shown him the light, as he uncovered new meaning in several bible passages, which he knew he would stay with him all his life. He now knew with complete certainty that the bible is a book of wonders, and that he should have studied it more when he was younger. He begins to regret that he had not done this eye-opening experience whem he was younger, but alas.
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After a long time, he finishes penance, and this is recognized by others in his society, such as Conversus Ravenger, whom told him that he had taken a great step on the path of the Rule of Saint Augustine.
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His quest to be like St. Agustine helped him repress carnal desires, and he became a very chaste man. He had never been lustful, yet now he even more was unattracted to sexual desires.
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Some time later, Alexander wished for a new weapon, and sent his envoys to search for a weaponsmith. Many wondered why he needed one, and one courtier asked him this. To that he replied "My son, many kings do not respect the word of god. They only listen to steel and fury."
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A few days later, his marshal came in with the news that he had found a skilled commander who wanted to join. Alexander would gladly welcome a new commander, and told the Marshal to tell him that he could come, and that a house would be arranged for. The marshal stayed, and Alexander asked: “Is anything troubling you, my child?” His marshal regained his senses and replied a hasty “No.. no, your Holiness.” Alexander, confused, questioned him with a “What is it then, Onorio?” The marshal made a small smile and said “My men have found a suitable smith whom would be more than happy to work for you, residing in Siena.” He advised him to invite her to the court to see her pieces, so that Alexander could see if her style was of his tastes. He saw much of her work, and it was beautiful, and so without hesitation, he called her to come...




(Authors Note: Wheew! It took me a long time, and that's the shorter version of what I planned. Chap. II shouldn't be as big, so It'll take me less time. The main reasons it took so long were...
1. I lost most of my photos for my 1st and 2nd runs,
and
2.I have to go to an image-cropping site, crop each individual image, download that, host it on imgur, and then post it here, but it takes a lot less time.
Anyways, all I'm saying is that Chap.II will be earlier, but definetely NOT out by Newew Year's Eve, so see y'all in 2020, and have a great New Years!)
 
Things always seem to take longer :)
 
I'm kind of interested why he has children? Is it historical or do you switched on generate families? :)
generated.
But the others won't have kids, so the alliances and stuff are temporary.
And they get claims on the goddamned papacy!
So, um....
adventure(ers) time!
 
CHAP. II
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The smith walked into the council room. Adorned with crosses, sculptures of Saints, the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and paintings of scenes from The Bible, it was a very intimidating, yet serene, area. Her footsteps echoed off of the walls, sounding like a muffled version of a hammer striking against an anvil. She saw him, the pope, sitting elegantly on his throne. She knelt, and questioned him “Your Holiness, what would you like?” He responded with “ I have thought for a long time, and have decided that it should be a great sword, one to terrify the infidels whom would question the word of god.” The smith was dumbfounded, she had been expecting him to ask her to make a religious work or jewel, but once she got over her shock, she nodded and told him that production would begin soon.

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Then, she remembered something that she had forgotten to ask. She raised the query of “What quality should the sword be, Your Holiness? I ask so that I may finalize the blueprints, and also to expect what payment I should receive.” The Pope, after muzzling over it for a few minutes, replied with “ Give me the highest quality you have. I shall pay you 500 gold for it.” She nodded, and set out on her way to begin making it.


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Some time later, the Pope was alone in one of his rooms, reading. He snoozed for a second, before snapping awake. He groggily thought “I am always tired in the morning! I should seclude myself, and spend some time alone. Yes! I should do that!”
Some time later, and he had much newfound respect for those hermits he had read about. His time secluded had done him good, and he beleived that God had strengthened his mind.

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Some time later, and as Alexander walked near Mistress Beatrice's smithy, he heard not the satisfying sound of hammers striking anvils and of progress, but of… voices. He peeked inside, and his daughter, Aurelia, had been talking with Beatrice about different metals. “This must be why the sword is taking so long!” Alexander angrily thought. He angrily ordered his daughter to not do such things with Beatrice, and wasting her time. That night, as he explained it, Aurelia was quite dissapointed, and avoided him for the rest of the day.

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After being asked to by one the seniors of the Dominican Order, Alexander began packing for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Yet, as he was finishing packing, he heard a soft *knock knock* on his door. A servant walked in, and told him “Your Holiness, Mistress Beatrice’s work is finished.” Alexander went back down to the council room. There, one of her assistants handed him the sword, and he examined it. It was elegant yet simple, truly a sword to bring to battle. Soon after, he embarked on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

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Sleeping at the inn, Alexander dreamed. He was in a dense forest, walking through. Tiny squirrels ran across the path, and a few birds sang, a song more beautiful that all the earthly instruments combined. He sniffed the air, full of exuberant and exotic smells. He also smelled one familiar smell. One charred one. Yes, yes, it was…. FIRE! He startled awake, and his worst nightmare had come true. The inn was on fire! He carried buckets, and slowly, together, everyone helped put out the fire.

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It was late at night, and he and some others were sitting at their camp, telling stories and eating. Then, a large group of fellow pilgrims appear. They travelled far, and are very hungry, and they checked their supplies. Alexander and the others saw that they only had some bread and a few fish. Those he was traveling with were saying that they should let the fellow pilgrims go without food, but Alexander reminded them of the time Christ had shared his bread and fish with people. It was very filling, and they shared it around with the other group.

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He had finally reached Jerusalem. He walked past the gates, and was overcome with awe. He quickly made plans to visit every holy site in Jerusalem, but first he had to find a place to stay, as he didn’t want to end up in a stable.

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He was in his room, pondering his day. He had hoped for more than this. It was simply a lot of people, some churches, and oddly suspicious bones. He had heard amazing stories, but it simply wasn’t as described. He was overcome by a sadness, and soon became quite cynical.

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He had finally returned. He felt… mixed feeling about the pilgrimage. He wished that he hadn’t done it, but at least it was over and he could forget about it.

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Hoping to find some sort of fulfillment, he delved into work on his book. But he overworked himself, and became grievously ill. He was forced to retire to bed. Thankfully though, he was soon better after much resting.

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He soon received a messenger from the French king. “Your Holiness, my lord, Philipe of France, accepts your proposal of an alliance between our two nations. The Pope smiled, as this was the best news he had heard in weeks.

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The pope was sitting in his council room, when an envoy came in. He knelt and said “Your holiness, my liege, count Guthekeld Keled wishes to buy indulgences for his sins, and to clean himself. The pope managed a smile and replied with a “yes, my child. He will be forgiven by God.

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As the pope is relaxing, a servant hurries in and tells him “My lord, a letter from hungary has arrived” The pope received and and soon read it.
“Your holiness” it read. “I would be very much pleased if you could come to personally coronate me at my coronation in a few weeks” The pope read it again, inked his pen, and began writing back.
“Arpad Salomon, king of Hungary. I would be much pleased to coronate you at your upcoming ceremony. I ask only for a small donation to the papal treasury”
He ordered a servant to come here, and giving him the paper, told him to tell a messenger to deliver it to Hungary.
It had been weeks since his letter was received. The pope looked around at the quite… bare throne room. Compared to his, it was nothing. Clearing his thoughts, Alexander looked at the soon-to-be king, Salomon, whom was especially nervous. A bell rang. It was time. Salomon knelt before Alexander, whom slowly placed the crown on his head, officialy making him king.


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Now at home, the French king asked for the betrothal of Leonello to Emma Capet be honored, which Alexander happily accepted.

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Now fully back at home, Alexander set back to his work of following the will of God. Yet sadly, he learned that ssome men, whom thought they were better than god, and neglected the laws which Jesus himself gave to the Holy Church. He wrote a letter asking this king, Sancho II as he was known, to follow the true doctrine. He also decided to send him some money to fight the Saracens with, as the coffers of the church were quite full.

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Later, as he was riding on a horse, Alexander inexplicably fell down. His riding mate screamed, and rushed for a doctor, but by the time they got there, he was already dead. Later research showed that he possibly had a heart attack. Even as the Cardinals mourned him, they got down to the business of electing a new Pope. All of christendom mourned and weeped for a great, pious, temperate man, whom was… Alexander II.



-OOF: Sorry guys, I've been really busy, the next update will be a lot quicker!
Can't wait to see how Urban II does
 
He was a fairly respectable Pontiff all things considered
 
Hello All!
As nobody has noticed, I have not posted anything on this AAR for 2 months, due to me being busy. Now that I have extra time due to the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, I might be able to post, however It will still be infrequent.