Road of Queens - CKII India AAR

[Midnite Duke]

One may hide but Death claims Who it Wants When it Wants!

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eight Hundred-Seventy-Three : The Insanity!

The New Magistros

​

This chapter opens in late February, of the year 932 AD, with the Doux Einarr of Qamdo slowly winning his war with Mew. But only by a very small margin.

The fact was that Mew’s forces were greater in number, had more money, and were more active. The Doux needed to DESTROY the Rebel army if he wanted to win. But at this point it looked like both sides were focused on carrying out sieges.

The last news to reach the Empress in February, who was still on her Great White Tiger Hunt, was the Exarch Danujimadhava of the Pala Kingdom had passed the Levy Shifted Noble Obligations Law. So he wanted soldiers over coins.

“Hmmmm,” said the Empress to her staff. “I hope this is not a sign of another upcoming war.”

***​

In March Basileus Romanos, the Imperial Magistros, was hard at work. He was always trying to improve the Imperial Court’s relations with the Vassals and neighboring Realms. Anything to make his wife look good in the eyes of those around her.

So when a messenger showed up in his office the Basileus just nodded towards his in-box and said, “Put whatever it is in there. I get to it when I have time.”

“Eh…” The messenger, dusty and tied, looked a tad uncomfortable. “Before I give you the letter, sir, maybe I should explain what happened.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Well,” said the messenger looking down at the letter he held in both hands, “during the hunt the Empress had noticed just how LOYAL her horse had been during it. Glitterhoof IS a nice horse. As horses go.”

“What? What are you babbling about?”

The messenger sighed and handed the Basileus the letter. The Magistros opened the letter and found out he had been fired.

“I’ve been REPLACED by a HORSE!” he shouted in rage.

***

Indeed, Glitterhoof was released from his duty at being the Empress’s mount and showed up to take his place in the Council that very day.

He started working at his job the second he arrived. Most people interpreted his attempt at performing his job as him eating some of his paperwork and pooping on the office’s rug.

While somewhat slow and stubborn everybody agreed he was a very strong and attractive horse.

Basileus Romanos did not agree with any of this. In fact he was upset at being fired from the Council and being replaced by a horse. It was amazing that he wasn’t having a breakdown about it. As it was his opinion of his wife was now in the negative and who knew what he might do in return for this perceived insult.

By the 10th of March it was also noticed that the Host refused to engage in battle with the Imperial forces. Seems they didn’t want to have anything to do with the Imperials anymore. So the main Army was recalled back to the Capital.

So this chapter ends with a very unhappy husband and a NEW Councilor.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Glitterhoof more loyal than Hubs. I propose that the next time the giant gopher appears, that hubs gets fed to the gopher. The last time that I had Glitterhoof, it made the councilors work harder! Good Luck, my Lady.

Hubs could be bait for the tigers! -9 vs -17, who would win in a duel between hubs and Glitterhoof?

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eight Hundred-Seventy-Four : Medieval Sieges

“Load It Up Men!”
​

This chapter opens during the ides of March, of the year 932 AD, with the Basilissa trying to decide what to do to improve on her relationship with the Duke.

She decided to send the Duke Jau Wenshunu a letter in which she would share her knowledge of statesmanship with him. Everybody likes knowledge!

That same day the Empress was notified that there was a open position among the Imperial Commanders. So she was brought the list of available military leaders and noticed a nephew, the Count of Markam, was on top.

The nephew became the newest military Commander of the Empire.

Late March the Duke replied to the Empress’s letter. Seems he was pleased with the advice and really appreciated the time the Empress had taken to teach him about statesmanship.

Mew’s Revolt was still going strong. A Revolt that any skilled Noble would have crushed long ago. But the Doux if Qamdo was neither skilled nor aggressive.

Mew had finally liberated the Capital of Nangqen, the Castle of Zangda, and was now trying to free the City of Tana.

The Doux had finally taken the City of Resbui and was now laying siege to the Vihara, Temple, of Xiariha. This was the last rebel holding in the County. What he would do after capturing this holding was unknown.

So we close this chapter with a new Commander and a ongoing Revolt.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Internal revolts is almost as entertaining as watching tigers eating faction members.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eight Hundred-Seventy-Five : Spreading Sickness

This chapter opens in early April, of the year 932 AD, with the news that Slow Fever seemed to be spreading southwards towards the coast.

It was also realized that the Imperial Armies were heading for contaminated counties.

So the small Mauryan Army was ordered to halt and it stopped in the County of Kamatapur.

The large formation, the Army of Timotheos, was ordered to redirect itself to join the smaller unit.

Then it was noticed that the new Upadhyaya, Maurikios, was in the Imperial Capital hunting down heretics and blaspheming individuals.

The Empress didn’t like that idea. Religious fanatics sometimes saw heretics everywhere. She remembered what her parents told her about the old times when people would burn witches.

She sent the Upadhyaya to the County of Samatata to convert the populace to Buddhism. As the former Upadhayay had been doing.

And so the chapter ends with the armies NOT going to the Capital, the Mystikos still hiding under his bed, and the Upadhyaya being sent out of the Capital.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Plus Glitterhoof running the realm. Which had more power, Glitterhoof or Lord Meow-Meow?

 

[Eurasia]

Plus Glitterhoof running the realm. Which had more power, Glitterhoof or Lord Meow-Meow?

Well, Lord Meow-Meow never had a Council position. But she did have the ear of the Emperor.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eight Hundred-Seventy-Six : Fooling Around

This chapter opens in early April, in the year 932 AD, with the Basilissa noticing that, outside of the County of Samatata, the only other county not yet fully Buddhist yet was the County of Munda.

The County of Munda was still mostly, if not totally, Hindu. In other words the Empire, outside of two counties, was Buddhist.

The members of the Imperial Court pointed out, in a letter, that Glitterhoof might be the target of jealous Courtiers or enemies of the Empire. They suggested he needed armour.

The Empress dismissed such a suggestion. Glitterhoof was too brave for such a silly idea.

Then the Empress got some annoying news. Seems the Doux of Bhutan was seeking to kill Zacharias. A lowborn 40 year old nobody.

“Tell him to leave the peasants alone!” demanded the Empress once she read the letter. “I have other important things to do. I’m hunting here!”

A another latter arrived from the Council. Seems there was a empty Commander position. Again.

The Doux of Jharkand, Bhogishwar “The Wise”, was selected for the position. While his opinion of the Empress was bad his skills were at war was worthy.

But then, in early May, the Empress was told horrible news. Glitterhoof died due to…well…horsing around. Details in the records were slim but many historians believe Glitterhoof broke his neck while trying to navigate some stairs.

So we end this chapter with a very sad Empress.

 

[Midnite Duke]

See what happens when you are too cheap to buy Glitterhoof proper armor!

 

[Surt]

I think I missed the part where the Empress went mad, but the horse appointment and that someone would sink so low as to smear grease on a stair to kill the good horse is despicable.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eight Hundred-Seventy-Seven : Need A New Councilor

More Siege Warfare!​

This chapter opens in mid May, of the year 932 AD, with a opening on the Council.

And it seem Bhikkhu Akmal of Dhauli was willing to put out there that he was more than willing to take the newly opened position. Funny enough this was old news from BEFORE Glitterhoof’s death. Interesting….

The Empress already had her eyes on a replacement. At the top of the list was the Doux of Gorkha.

So, of course, he became the new Magistros (Chancellor) on the Imperial Council.

By June there was more news from the north. The Doux of Qamdo had completely captured all the holdings in the County of Dulan. With Dulan under his control he ordered his troops south. Maybe they planned to free the County of Qamdo?

Later that month Mew had finally finished liberating his holdings in Nangqen and was ALSO heading south. Right into Qamdo. Was he planning on meeting the Doux head on or traveling to either the County of Banbar or the County of Bome to lay siege to them?

Either way Mew was winning again.

So this chapter ends with the new Councilor and the Revolt swinging back onto Mew’s favor.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Did Ajmal murder Glitterhoof? Will Qamdo/Mew ever fight? Stay Tuned, for only the Shadow knows!

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eight Hundred-Seventy-Eight : The Hunt Ended LONG Ago

The Royal National Park?​

This chapter opens in early July, of the year 932 AD, with the Empress receiving good news.

It seems her Protostrator had discovered Adrianos. A lowborn with amazing skill at warfare. So the Empress decided to make him a Imperial Commander.

Of course that meant kicking out the Bhikkhu Tiberios of Hajo - the weakest Commander in her military. Which was okay with her.

Then one day the Empress saw the Great White Tiger and prepared her spear-cane to attack it.

“NO!,” shouted one of the Guards. “That’s not the Great White Tiger! That’s just one of the zoo’s tigers. The Hunt ended in February!”

“Wait,” replied the Empress with a confused look. “I’ve been in the Royal Zoological Park this whole time?”

“Yes, your highness,” replied the Guard. “You went off and came back complaining about a worthless magic potion and came to the zoo to relax. I guess you forgot and assumed you were still on the hunt.”

“That would explain all the snack stands and gift shops,” responded the Empress.

By mid July she received some bad news. Seems her daughter, Exarchessa Eulalia “The Unfaithful” of Bengal, was suffering from a high fever and it seems she had Slow Fever. Of course the Empress sent her own Doctor.

While this was happening it was noticed that Mew’s forces seemed to be moving through the County of Qamdo. Seems he wasn’t waiting for the Doux to arrive but was going to lay siege to the County of Banbar.

Due to the Imperial Court Physician, Jahanshah, being such a Renowned Physician he did wonders for Eulalia. In other words she was feeling much better. Of course the Empress gave him a small purse full of coins as a reward.

In August the Basilissa received some interesting news., Ikalay, a 38 year old woman and a Concubine of the Khan of Kundacid, had been released by the Mongol Empire. At least the Khan had one of his three Concubines back. The other two were still in the dungeons of the Khagan Yokhunan.

It seems the Mongol Empire had invaded one of the Khans and was now involved in a massive war. The defenders were a mixture of Horse Lords, Pagans, and Muslims. Religion no longer seemed to matter when one was defending Europe against the Great Khan.

Around the same time Mew started to lay siege to the Castle of Banbar. As it was a wooden Fortress it was doubtful it would last long.

So we end this chapter with a somewhat embarrassed Empress and the Doux of Qamdo totally failing to do anything about his revolt.

-----​

Author’s Notes:

OOC: Somehow I completely skipped a bunch of images from February about the ending of the hunt and event about a magic potion that had nothing to add to anything. Not sure how it was ignored. Sorry about that.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Missed images, obviously you had slow fever and was moving slower than normal. The Basilissa seems to have some courtiers with terminal 'slow fever'.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eight Hundred-Seventy-Nine : Ending The Revolt

The New Viceroyalty Of Kham
​

This chapter opens in the middle of August, of the year 932 AD, with the Empress getting some good news.

The two Imperial Armies had finally arrived - just outside the region of sickness. Of course the two were combined into one bigger Army. Made up of half Infantry and half Horse Troops.

At the same time, up north, the Doux of Qamdo was heading towards the County of Nangqen. No doubt to recapture the Rebel holdings.

​

“He’s just procrastinating now!” proclaimed the Empress.

​

A few days later the Doux of Qamdo received a letter from the Empress requesting he just give up to the Revolt. The Empress was getting very sick of the Revolt and even the fact that Einarr was related to her didn’t make her feel any sympathy for him.

​

The Doux sent back a letter saying he would surrender but only if all the costs of the war had been offset by a large sum of money. Of course a large sum of money to some people is nothing but pocket change to another. The Empress gave him the 160 gold coins worth of wealth he wanted. After all, she had over 990 gold coins worth of wealth in the coffers.

Of course when the Doux surrendered he was placed in jail. That was just a given. What the Doux may have forgotten about being the loser in a Revolt was he also lost his Duchy.

​

Not only was mew the new Doux of Qamdo but he now owned the Empress a favor. Always a good thing. But his opinion of her was horrible!

​

Wishing to increase his opinion of her the Basilissa gave him the Title of Seneschal. It helped but not a lot. A Non-Aggression Pact was out of the question till he had a better opinion of her.

The Empress thought on this and hit on a idea. Surely he was prove to be a useful Vassal on the northern border against the Mongols. So why not put him in charge of it?

So was put in charge of the Kingdom of Kham! Which did so much to improve his opinion of the Empress.

But he still refused to sign a Non-Aggression Pact with her for some reason.

“I wonder why he won’t sign a Pact with me,” she said to her Hunting Dog and her Pet Rock.

So we close this chapter ending with the Mew Revolt coming to a end.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Einarr not so bright, trading his freedom for a small bag of silver coins.

 

[Eurasia]

Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter Eight Hundred-Eighty : Surprise War!

This chapter opens in late August, of the year 932 AD, with the news that one of the Imperial Commander positions was open. Again.

“Do my Commanders just skip out or die or get kidnapped?” the Empress asked her Pet Rock. But the Rock was the silent type and keep its thoughts to itself.

“Bring me the list of our best warriors!”

And so the Court brought her the list of available men skilled in the art of war. And it was a sad list. Even the top pick, the Bhikkhu of Hajo, wasn’t as good as she would have hoped.

Still, he was the best one available and was selected for the NEW Imperial Commander.

The Empress also sent a betrothal proposal to Exarch Mew. She suggested his eldest marry Anthe. A regular marriage, of course, but it would help bring the two bloodlines together.

Exarch Mew sent back a letter on the first day of September agreeing to the proposal. Which pleased the Empress.

Then there was even more good news. The Bhikkhu Philaretos of Mahavinayak of the County of Khinkali Mandala had converted to Buddhism. Which also pleased the Empress.

Then the Empress got some bad news which was also a day old. Seems another war had broken out within the Empire.

Doux Dionysios III of Kathmandu had declared war on Countess Chrysogone of Kathmandu to take away her County, He had more men and money. And more military skills. It was very much going to be a one-sided war.

“Why can’t they behave!” mumbled the Empress. “I’m not even getting involved. Let them fight it out for all care!”

And so this chapter ended with another war starting up right when everything was settling down.

 

[Midnite Duke]

War among related Peeps! Who brought the popcorn?

 

[Surt]

Time to invite new courtiers to get better commanders?