The Eastern Vikings - Baltic Megacampaign Part 1
- Thread starter RedTemplar
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Total collapse of Italy. Millions dead. There might be opportunities here, if Estonia isn't hit too hard...
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Marry one of your daughters to him, stat! If anyone knows how to survice the Scourge of Heaven, it is him.
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Well, this isn't good. Then again, maybe that'll be enough time for everyone to recover and get strong before the Mongols or Aztecs show up.
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And Italy goes out in a way none of Europe could have predicted... We'll see how the Franks do with that new source of power.
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I'm wondering, why hasn't East Francia become Germany yet? Does CK2+ still have the mechanic where their name changes if the Karlings are deposed?
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I believe it's because the monarchy is still Frankish. I would assume that if they become another Germanic culture it would change.
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Did West Francia become France before or after they changed from Frankish? I think they use the same mechanics as East Francia.
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Once it came under a French-culture ruler, it changed to France. So I suspect East Francia will do the same thing. I'm actually surprised Frankish culture has held out this long.
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I have no idea what is going on lol. I looked at Saxony today.... and there are more Tamil vassals than Saxon ones.
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Once more the Tamils will rule the world! ... And we shall have peace.
I was late for -The Wise reference, but at least not for this.
I was late for -The Wise reference, but at least not for this.
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This is why I love this game. You can't make this stuff up.
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Death Comes To the East
976 - 980 AD
The Scourge of Heaven976 - 980 AD
By 976 AD, almost every kingdom in the world was familiar with the Black Death, either through experience or through stories of its devastation. From its origin in Dunhuang, it had ravaged Anatolia, claimed the life of a Byzantine Emperor and Constantinopolitan Patriarch, slain the King of Italy and sent his kingdom into the hands of the Franks, and killed close to a dozen noteworthy noble leaders in the heart of Europe. It spread north into England and traveled west into Iberia, and gradually found its way into Scandinavia, where it took a heavy toll on Sweden by annihilating the Ulfing dynasty, which had ruled the kingdom of Vilkinaland (Sweden) since the early 900's. Fylkir Arne succumbed to the Plague in September of 976, and each of his two sons inherited the throne only to be killed by the Plague themselves within the first year of their reign. With no men of the Ulfing dynasty left to inherit the throne, Sweden instead passed on to the Gautske line, a minor Scandinavian noble family which briefly ruled the kingdom in the 9th century.
When word reached Estonia that the Plague had come to Scandinavia, it created a panic; despite all of their prayers, offerings, and pleadings, it seemed inevitable that the Scourge would visit Estonia, as well. It first crossed the Baltic and arrived in Suomi, in western Finland. It took little time for the disease to sweep through Finland and down into Estonia proper, in the midst of a civil war between King Raak II and yet another small coalition of rebel vassals.
The war had only just begun, but the Black Death quickly finished it. The Plague claimed more lives than the fighting did, and as both sides saw their manpower diminished by pestilence, the war came to a quiet and uneventful end. As casualties mounted, entire regions of Estonia suffered massive depopulation, even in the heart of the kingdom. Saaremaa was the center of the Karasi family's rule, home to the holy temple at Kaali and the city of Kuressaare, the first formal city ever formed within the kingdom. By the late 10th century it was one of the most densely populated regions of Estonia, and a common destination for Suomenusko pilgrims visiting the holy site.
Within a year of the Plague's arrival, over half of the island's population was dead, and fear of disease had put an end to pilgrimages, leaving the temple at Kaali all but deserted save for the shamans tasked with watching over it -- many of whom died within its walls. The Plague continued eastward into the Steppes and Russia, looping back toward its original origin. Only Africa was spared the taste of the Black Death on its long and winding route through the world. Throughout the Plague-affected area, war came to an almost complete halt -- most kingdoms were so ravaged by death that their rulers could not gather enough fighting men to form more than a small warband.
The Scourge made no differentiation between peasant and noble, and it ravaged the Karasi family just as brutally as any other. It reached Saaremaa in August of 977, and within two months, King Raak and all four of his children had contracted it. The family residence was closed off, and Raak's personal physician, an orthodox scholar from Greece, worked tirelessly to treat him. All around, the death continued -- the King of Russia and his young son;,a second Byzantine Emperor; a child King of Bohemia; five successive Warrior Priests of the Disciples of the Old Gods; one Warchief of the Sons of Kaleva -- all victims to the Plague. Soon, his youngest son and only daughter joined the legions of Estonian dead, and the bedridden Raak was forced to send their bodies off to be burned in the mass cremations, without so much as a proper funeral.
Then, the miraculous happened -- the symptoms began to fade, and before long not just Raak, but his two eldest sons, were declared Plague-free; they had survived the Scourge of Heaven. For his children, Ohevald and Kaomeel, this ensured that they would live on to have their own lives and reigns and carry on the family name. Sadly, for Raak, it meant little; he survived the Plague, only to die from Cancer in 980 AD, passing the throne on to his eldest, Ohevald.
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Besting the Plague is one way to show off your superiority to your neighbors.
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Should definitely boost the dynasty's position in the eyes of the faithful!Besting the Plague is one way to show off your superiority to your neighbors.
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