Darbuka88 – I’m pretty sure the end result of your what-if would’ve been a much more stable, stronger Komnenid dynasty… and a far less bloodthirsty/backstabbing story… and yes, the bug has bitten you! Who are you playing first in CK? Italy sounds like an exciting trip—I hope you have fun there!
I’m pretty sure RGB was the only one who commented about the Monty Python mob picture…
KlavoHunter – Mali is undergoing some interesting religious changes, being that it’s cut off from the rest of Islam… but that’s something to come up a little later…
Frrf – I’ve got another world overview planned for when we hit 1300 (that’s when I next have info prepared on everyone… Europe, North Africa and the Middle East that is)…
armoristan – There was the start of an epic fight scene, but it got shelved, mostly because of time constraints.
Like a lot of interesting parts of this world, there simply wasn’t enough time to write it all out…
Servius Magnus – Andronikos is the first emperor in centuries who can make a claim to be Master of the Known World and have the facts and power to back him up. He’s become an atrocious human being in the process, even if his public image is smiling and victorious. The next question that needs to be asked—can he
hold all of it? And can he do what several other powerful emperors could
not do—create a stable succession?
Qorten – Thank you! Transoxania was one of the benchmarks I’d known from the very beginning would require some in depth, viable explanation. What happened in game was simply too outlandish. So the planning for that moment actually started way back when I introduced Altani and her father Hulagu. Considering how the real life Polos ( as well as other travelers) brought diplomatic missions as well as offers of alliance to the Mongols, I wondered what would happen if Kublai decided to actually act?
humancalculator – Thank you! Considering the work here in AARland, that’s high praise indeed! The whole scene in my head started with imagining Andronikos meeting his mirror-opposite… that Kublai was just as devious, ruthless, and heartless. Considering Andie’s temper, that led to Kublai being a little more clever than Andie thought, and rubbing it in not-so-subtly. It all unfolded from there.
phargle – To be honest, the translator aspect was one of the hardest parts—I wanted that feel of cumbersomeness to be there, but to not interfere with the flow of the text too much. I’m glad you found me on the right side of that thin line! I
almost threw in a surprise where Kublai revealed he knew a couple words of Greek to really surprise Andie, but I decided that simply was too much. I’m not so sure the Romans would be able to effectively interfere as much as you think—Persia is a client, yes, but an
unwilling one, and Persia’s bulk sits between Konstantinopolis and the Oxus by the most direct route. The more indirect route would go through Sortmark and the Blue Horde—its unlikely they’d ever cooperate with Konstantinopolis without demanding a pound of flesh. Its not completely out of the reach of the Romans, but it’d be just as hard for Konstantinopolis to direct affairs there as Dadu/Khanbalik.
Bagricula – Thanks for the in depth observations. Like the other readers have been saying, it’s a pleasant thing to see how others are seeing the affairs of yore, so to speak! You’re almost right on your guesses about Acheron and Memnon, but as you keep reading, you’ll see who they are.
As for Manuel vs. Basil and the feudalization debate, I agree that Manuel has been unfairly getting some of the blame. Yes, he started the process, but only in short term as bribes to keep the empire from flying apart. Basil kept things going through negligence—he was so busy fighting abroad that he didn’t take care of that problem at home, and the disastrous succession that followed prevented
anyone from doing anything about it until now, when under Nikephoros and Andie (the first Komnenoi to rule the entire realm since Basil), it’s had almost a hundred years to become entrenched as the norm, and is nigh unassailable without the risk of a massive uprising/civil war. So these later Komnenoi have had to adapt and build around it (the massive title inflation, etc.).
As for the post-Thomas I writing—Christina’s Regency was one of the weak points in the AAR. I started it with so many plot hooks hanging around I didn’t know what to do, so I instinctually went towards what I
did know—what I wanted to do with Thomas II’s reign. The whole Regency went from being a political scene in and of itself to being an explanation of Thomas’ lonely, damaging childhood, and a background as to a) why he heard voices in the first place, b) why, despite being a good person himself, he felt attracted to the voice of Acheron especially, and c) how, despite hearing voices at such a young age, he came to power anyway (the army wanted an army emperor, and dared anyone to say something otherwise).
Vesimir – I doubt he’d be pleased if Safiya gave birth to a kid by him. Firstly, he hates her. Secondly, if that child was a boy he has a better claim to being the ‘super Komnenos’ than even Andronikos—Andronikos united the Edessan and one of the Basil branches of the family… Safiya, descended from Gabriel, would bring the
other Basil branch in as well. If his true parentage was known, and he somehow got legitimized…
Kirsch27 – I can imagine Andronikos isn’t used to dealing with people who treat him like he treats others… so his ‘snapping’ at Kublai seemed almost obligatory!
Basil was a brilliant leader of soldiers, but in retrospect, the succession failure alone makes me hesitate to declare him a great emperor. The continuing of the feudal experiment of Manuel just reinforces that. Nikolaios and Manuel both did what they thought was in the best interests of the empire. Basil did too, but like Bagricula has argued, perhaps taking Spain wasn’t the best thing when there was so much rot at home? Even with Spain, though, the true change happened with Basil’s succession—if he’d had a few more years of life, or if he’d clearly designated one of his sons his successor, that son (be in Thomas with Mehtar at his side, unscrupulous David, or a Heraklios who would’ve developed far differently with a few more years tutoring by his dad), probably would’ve started the process of slowly de-feudalizing things (or in Thomas’ case, start a war and use the battle hardened imperial armies to smash the thematakoi of the nobility).
Interestingly enough, when I started writing Heraklios, I had initially envisioned him becoming a ‘second Nikolaios’—a studious, ‘pencil-pushing’ emperor alongside his more rash brother Thomas, and a senior emperor who would’ve guided the state while Thomas II was still in his childhood. That ended because a) the more I wrote Christina, the more I realized she’d manipulate the young man to her ends, b) she’d cast him aside when she was done, and c) Thomas II need to have a true root for all his madness and eccentricities—a messed up, lonely childhood fit his character far better than having a guiding, wiser elder helping him along.
Nikolai – Resistance is futile? Soon he shall be assimilated?
von Sachsen – Implosion is the only real risk for imperial destruction now, though a coalition of enemies arising could definitely break off parts of the empire… arguably that would set the stage for an implosion as well, considering the Komnenoi ‘brand’ is built on victory in war. A defeat, especially a catastrophic defeat, could lead to any other number of ‘relatives’ (by now, almost every noble in the empire can claim some Komnenid blood) deciding they would make a better “ever-victorious’ emperor…
SplendidTuesday - Kublai was fun to write. I needed something to make him memorable, since everything in the chapter led up to his appearance, and he got one shot at it. So, he not-so-quietly put our hated Andronikos in his place, something few people can say they have done. And the baby could be a red herring. I have thrown those out before (The Kaukadenos banner and people’s reactions to it still makes me crack up. I know, I’m an evil/bad AARwriter
)
Zzzz… – Yup, the ambassador was from Kublai—think of him as the ‘anti-Polo.’ Kublai’s response to the Polos coming to his court was to send a representative of his own west to maintain permanent contact with the other ‘great empire’ in the world.
Leviathan07 – Simply, the story demanded it.
In more complex terms, it
has happened before, with armies that were even more geographically limited than the Komnenoi—Trajan reached Susa with an army based around the Syrian legions. Both times the Komnenoi marched into Persia (the initial invasion under Thomas II, and Andronikos’ invasion) the local Persian forces were distracted by a Mongol invasion from the opposite direction. Additionally, the Mongols provided an excellent foil for the Komnenoi to stay in Persia. An interesting question is… what happens now, that the threat has subsided? A Muslim Persia is still within living memory for the elders, and while Gabriel et al have been tolerant, able rulers, how would they react to a Muslim resurgence, should one happen?
asd21593 – Oh, Andronikos isn’t evil. He’s ‘good-ness impaired.’ Or ‘fairness-impaired.’ Or ‘selfishness-enhanced!’
Enewald – You might pee your pants when you see what happens in the 14th century then.
There is one last ‘new’ Komnenoi kingdom coming as well (yet another one that was in vanilla CK but didn’t make it to DV)…
Archduke – Great-great-great-great grandson, I believe. All Andronikos needs to do is start gardening and sending people to Lesbos…
AlexanderPrimus – Hooray! I’m glad you liked it, and I’m glad some of my recommendations here have led people over to your writing!
Next update is maybe 20% done… last one in the chapter to wrap up a few loose ends. Then we’ll start the next chapter, tentatively titled
A Nest of Vipers. In the meantime, my bf asked me which historical people had cameos in the story…I had to sit and think for a bit, so far this is the list I’ve come up with:
Real Life People Appearing/have cameos in the AAR:
Richard the Lionheart (Richard de Normandie in this tale)
Innocent III (the Count that escorted the College of Cardinals out of Rome)
Frederick Barbarossa (Papal guard)
St. Dominic (Thomas II’s tutor)
Roger Bacon (Andronikos’ tutor)
Thomas Aquinas (Metropolitan in Orthodox Church)
Kublai Khan (as himself)
Hulagu Khan (as himself)
Genghis Khan (as himself)
Subodai (as himself)
Isaac Comnenus (Prince, uncle to the Megas)
Ibn-Tamyiyya (Found in Barcelona as child)
Ibn al-Nafis (rabble rouser in Alexandria)
Malik Shah (as himself)
Roger de Lauria (cook who kept Empress Theophano from getting pregnant)
I know there are probably more, I just can’t think of them. Anyone else think of anyone I’ve missed?