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General_BT

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Is that a real game? If not, very cleverly thought out, bringing Nikephoros' dream to life, so to speak! :)
 

stnylan

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Very effective vision indeed. The problem with being a visionary is that you are generally regarding as being eccentric if people are being charitable, and mad if they are not.
 

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This story truly escalates as it goes on. Very good.
 

Olaus Petrus

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Friendly game of Hnefatafl indeed.

While I'm lousy in that game, I still found your description inspiring and tried to imagine the moves they made.
 

crusaderknight

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Chief Ragusa said:
Simply working with Nikephoros now and as king never occurred to him. The Morea's loss, I think. Such a waste!

An excellent scene. Simple yet so effective.
I think you will like some of the future plot twists concerning those two...

Simple and effective was what I was aiming for, there. I'm glad I hit it right on the mark! :)

canonized said:
A great layering you've done here ! Excellent different false entries there !
Thankyou. But I'm a little unclear as to what you meant by "Excellent different false entries". Could you elaborate, please?

General_BT said:
Is that a real game? If not, very cleverly thought out, bringing Nikephoros' dream to life, so to speak! :)
Aye, it is a real game. It's an old Viking game, believed to be the precursor the Chess. In the original language, it's called Hnefatafl, which translates in English to "King's Table".

stnylan said:
Very effective vision indeed. The problem with being a visionary is that you are generally regarding as being eccentric if people are being charitable, and mad if they are not.
Very true, stnylan. Perhaps you are referring to a character from a few pages back...?

Snugglie said:
This story truly escalates as it goes on. Very good.
Thankyou, Snugglie. I just hope that in all this escalation, I don't peak too soon.

Olaus Petrus said:
Friendly game of Hnefatafl indeed.

While I'm lousy in that game, I still found your description inspiring and tried to imagine the moves they made.
I'm glad the description was so inspiring. I acutally played the game a number of times online, to help with the description.
 

crusaderknight

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TheMorea.jpg

"I don't know how you did it, Fadil," said Ishaq, "but I'm glad you did."

Fadil smiled, and his brother, Jalil, said, "Are you kidding? It was no problem for Fadil to get safe passage for our army. Why, with his silver tongue, he probably could have convinced the Sultan to pay homage to Zeyd as his lord!"

Ishaq laughed, "I don't doubt it. Though sometimes I do doubt that you two are really related. Fadil is smart and well spoken, and you..."

"Yes...?" asked Jalil.

"You're just so... dull," was the reply.

"As if I haven't heard that one before," said Jalil, rolling his eyes.

"Gentlemen, please," insisted Zeyd, "not in front of the men! The last thing I want our soldiers to see is us quarreling."

"Yes, general," said the three.

Zeyd took a deep breath. They had been marching now for the better part of the day, and they had many more days ahead of them. They had been lucky to get safe passage from the Sultan. They would be allowed to march their 8,000 men across Seljuk lands to Acre, and from there, sail to Sicily. By the time they would arrive in Sicily, King Akbar would have already begun the invasion. Soon, Agrigento and Palermo would be reclaimed, and Messina would be conquered. After such a display of might, the Sheiks of Trapani and Syracuse would not dare refuse to become Akbar's vassals. Tunisia would rule all of Sicily...
_______________

It was a beautiful day in June of 1193. It had been a whole year since the end of the Fifth Crusade, and the victorious return to Korinthos. King Georgios III was as happy as can be. There was peace and prosperity throughout the realm. Why, just last November he had even recieved word that the province of Oleshye had converted to the True Faith. Now, all of the Pechenegs had embraced Christ. Truly, this was a good time to live in.

Even in his own family, things seemed to be going very well. Athanasios was 16 now, and as handy with a sword as anyone. He had also displayed his brilliant tactical mind with this game he had purchased from a Varangian, this "King's Table". Indeed, in over a year, not one opponent had defeated him.

Then there was his daughter, Belkonia. She was 14 now, and he was sure she was the most beautiful maiden in the Morea. And her heart was so sweet and pure. God had truly blessed him to have given him a daughter like her.

And young Valsamon. He was 5 years old, soon his education would begin. Georgios had decided that Valsamon would receive a military education when the time came. Peace was maintained by the sword, and it was the solemn duty of the Royal Family to keep the peace. If Georgios allowed his sons to become intellectuals, they would surely fail to defend the realm. No, they had to be warriors, both of them.

Just when he thought that nothing could bring him down, a messenger came running up to the King, panting. "An urgent messege, sire!" said the messenger.

"What is it?" asked Georgios.

The messenger took a deep breath, then replied, "Count Niketas de Hauteville of Messina begs you for aid. The Tunisians are attacking!"
 
Last edited:

Olaus Petrus

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Old enemies have returned to threaten the Moreans. We knew that peace would be short, but Moreans probably didn't expect that Tunisisans would raise so soon from the ashes.
 

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Zeyd's life seems to be destined to have him thrown to and fro in the name of intrigue and politics. Poor sod.
 

canonized

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Hmm . A clash once again . You can never get peace without a the price of eternal vigilance I suppose XD . Oh and I meant about false entries as in some things we believe to be correct and then they are not but we entered into them thinking we knew what was happening XD
 

crusaderknight

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TheMorea.jpg

Crown Prince Athanasios stood on the bow of the ship and felt the cool breeze blow against his face. There was no freedom like being on the open sea. The wind in his hair felt better than anything he had ever before experienced.

At last he would see battle. During the Fifth Crusade his father had left him in Korinthos as regent. Now, young Belkonia was regent in her father's stead. Some criticized the King for always having minors sit as his regents, but the King would always reply, "They will rule the Kingdom someday. Best to let them begin learning how when they are young."

Athanasios himself sometimes questioned his father's wisdom, but over different issues. The army the King had assembled to defend Sicily was made up of Peloponnesians alone. The Aspidai, the Knight-Guard, and the levies of Korinthos and Achaia, along with the armies of Count Mikhael of Methone and Count Bardas II of Monemvasia. A grand total of 4,000 men. When the King had left years ago for the Fifth Crusade, he had taken 6,000 men, with more coming as reinforcements. But thus far, no orders had been sent to raise so much as one man from outside the Peloponnesus.

It mattered not, he reassured himself. They were Moreans. The Tunisians would have to send at least three times as many men against them in order to be victorious. And with the ongoing wars with Toledo and Cyrenaica, Tunisia simply did not have that kind of manpower to spare.

He was interrupted from his musings by the arrival of Supreme Commander Nikephoros. "Lovely time to be at sea, isn't it, sire?" asked the general.

Athanasios smiled politely and replied, "Yes it is, Supreme Commander." But beneath his smile and pleasant face, Athanasios was already thinking devious thoughts. Look at him, wielding the Sword of St. Alexios, and wearing the red cape of the Supreme Commander, as though he really deserved it. Pah! No one in all the realm, in all the WORLD deserved it more than Athanasios. Every time he had to see that despicable traitor's son wearing such great honours, it made his stomach ill.

This was yet another instance where Athanasios questioned his father's wisdom. What man in his right mind trusts the son of a traitor? Nikephoros father had been Count Konstantinos of Bari, the man who had rebelled against King Petros for the sake of loyalty to the dead King Konstantinos the Crazy. It had been a blessing from God that Petros had slain Konstantinos II. To have some Dekanid Count rebelling in favour of a dead King was insane. And now the younger of Count Konstantinos' sons was the second most powerful man in the Kingdom. Did Georgios want to throw away the stability that Petros had won for the Kingdom? Sometimes Athanasios honestly wondered if his father indeed desired the downfall of the realm. He had the evidence, all he needed was a motive, and he could bring his father down and take the crown for himself. Then... THEN the world would see what a true King was like.

But until then, Athanasios would have to manipulate his father. This would be difficult. Georgios was a clever man. He may not have been wise in Athanasios' eyes, but nevertheless, Georgios had formidable wit. It would take a unique mind to devise a method for controlling Georgios. Thankfully, Athanasios' mind was just about as unique as could be...
_______________

Zeyd al-Rashid closed his eyes as he reclined on his bed. Tomorrow the army would depart from Jerusalem to Acre. From there they would go to Sicily and win back his homeland.

He looked to his right, and saw his brother Ishaq sleeping. To his left, Jalil was snoring rather loudly. Fadil was downstairs, having a discussion on religion and politics with the bartender. Zeyd smiled, his brother and his two remaining friends never seemed to complain. Zeyd had never asked them to come with him on this hellish voyage, but they had refused to depart from him. They endured every hardship with him, and never once did they complain.

The stay in Jerusalem had been a pleasant one. They had purchased fresh supplies for the army, and during some down time, Zeyd and Fadil had taken the time to visit the Dome of the Rock. It was truly awe inspiring to be in such a holy place. Yet there was no place like home. All Zeyd's thoughts ever returned to was Agrigento.

But, what would life be like when Agrigento was freed from the Morean? Things would never be as the once had been. Emir Sha'ban, Zeyd's oldest and truest friend, was dead. Abdul, his son, was also dead. Nasir and Ahmad were dead, too. All he had left were his companions who were with him now. He sighed. Sometimes the will of Allah was hard to understand

Nevertheless, he would do his duty. He would defend Tunisia to the last of his breaths. Together with General Abdul-Rahman, he would defeat King Akbar's enemies and save the kingdom. That was all the mattered right now. All that mattered...

At last, his thoughts drifted, and eventually... sleep overcame him...
 
Last edited:

canonized

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Very interesting . Already we see the infectious infighting that is inherent in such a dynastic system as of old . The nostalgia of our Muslim counterparts was well done !
 

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Is it just me, or do all Athanaisoses become maniacs after a while?
 

VILenin

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Well I finally finished reading and am caught up so I can comment now.

Athanasios looks like he'll be trouble for the kingdom when it comes his turn to rule. Sure, maybe he'll temper with age, but I find it more likely that something will happen to the King while they're fighting the Tunisians and Morea will get stuck with a monarch who's too intelligent AND ambitious to be good.
 

General_BT

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Snugglie said:
Is it just me, or do all Athanaisoses become maniacs after a while?

I think they do - maniacal behavior seems a trait inherent to the name in CK for some reason.

Things are setting up for a climactic clash - I'm worried though about Morea's possible overconfidence. Morean men might be far better soldiers than their Tunisian counterparts, but wouldn't more Moreans be even better?

I'm also worried Anathasios is going to manipulate his father into a bad decision, something dangerous while on campaign against possibly superior numbers.
 

crusaderknight

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canonized said:
Very interesting . Already we see the infectious infighting that is inherent in such a dynastic system as of old . The nostalgia of our Muslim counterparts was well done !
I'm trying to write more detail about Zeyd and his companions, but I never end up with as much as I wanted. I'm glad that the little bits I am able to write are so enjoyable.

Chief Ragusa said:
Athanasios may be a genius and certifiable, but he has no concept of building unity in a nation nor of just how deeply the Dekanos pledge of loyalty runs.
You are quite right, Chief. And it just may come back to haunt him one day...

Snugglie said:
Is it just me, or do all Athanaisoses become maniacs after a while?
General_BT said:
I think they do - maniacal behavior seems a trait inherent to the name in CK for some reason.
That does seem to be a trend in this game, doesn't it? I wonder if perhaps it was designed that way? ;)

VILenin said:
Well I finally finished reading and am caught up so I can comment now.

Athanasios looks like he'll be trouble for the kingdom when it comes his turn to rule. Sure, maybe he'll temper with age, but I find it more likely that something will happen to the King while they're fighting the Tunisians and Morea will get stuck with a monarch who's too intelligent AND ambitious to be good.
Glad to have you on board. :cool:

I don't want to spoil anything, but I will tell you that Athanasios' future will be very interesting, and heavily influenced by the decisions he's making right now.

General_BT said:
Things are setting up for a climactic clash - I'm worried though about Morea's possible overconfidence. Morean men might be far better soldiers than their Tunisian counterparts, but wouldn't more Moreans be even better?

I'm also worried Anathasios is going to manipulate his father into a bad decision, something dangerous while on campaign against possibly superior numbers.
In a perfect world, more would definitely be better. But when I started the 5th Crusade, I called for a Grand Mobilization of all of my soldiers. That ended up putting me deep in debt by the time the Crusade was over. When the war started back up only a year later, I still wasn't in the black, so I wanted to use as few troops as possible. 4,000 was the most I could afford without going much deeper into debt.

He will definitely try to manipulate his father. But I think the outcome will be a bit of a surprise...
 

crusaderknight

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TheMorea.jpg

"Delayed? What in Allah's name are you talking about?" demanded Zeyd.

The harbormaster took a step back instinctively, and managed to stammer out, "Th-that's what I was told. The Tunisian fleet will not be arriving for some time."

"Some time? How long is 'some time'?" came the response.

"I-I don't kn-know. That's all-all I was t-told. Please, don't shout. I am not responsible for this, I am merely reporting to you what I was told," squeaked the harbormaster.

Zeyd's face burned with anger. He opened his mouth to shout at the harbormaster some more, but then decided against it. He simply turned around and stormed straight off of the docks. As he marched through the streets of Acre, Ishaq, Jalil, and Fadil joined him.

"What's wrong, brother?" asked Ishaq.

"We have no transportation. King Akbar has not sent the fleet. We are stuck here in Acre with 8,000 men, and we will surely be pushing the Sultan's patience if we keep such a large army sitting just outside of his only port city in the Levant," replied Zeyd.

"He makes a good point," said Fadil. "The Sultan might think we have betrayed him, and that we are assisting the Fatimids in their efforts to reclaim Acre and Jerusalem... I should return to him and plead our case with him."

"No, I will not be a beggar," said Ishaq.

Jalil looked at him in frustration, "What other choice do we have?"

"I don't know!" came the response from Zeyd's brother.

"There is only one option left to us," said Zeyd, "we march."

He was met by blank stares. At last, Fadil said, "March? Zeyd, it was one thing when the four of us were riding horses across the desert to Alexandria, and from there to the Gulf. But to march 8,000 men from here to Tunisia? We cannot take them through the desert. We will lose half their number!"

Zeyd nodded, "What you say is true. Therefore, if we do this, we must march through the Emirate of Cyrenaica."

Fadil shook his head, "Zeyd, perhaps you have forgotten, but we are at war with the Cyrenaicans! I may be an expert negotiator, but do you honestly expect me to walk up to the Emir and say, 'Greetings, your highness, I would like to request your permission for 8,000 men to march through your lands to reinforce your enemy'?"

Ishaq said, "We'll fight our way through them."

Fadil huffed, "Really? Fight our way through? It will take us months to get there. Our men will be exhausted. EXHAUSTED! They will be in no condition to fight! The Cyrenaicans would barely need 2,000 men to wipe us all out."

A deep sigh drew their attention back to Zeyd, who said, "We have no other alternative. We can leave a message with the harbormaster for him to give to the fleet once it arrives, and they can pick us up on the way. Otherwise, this is our only way to get back to the war. We cannot just sit here."

The companions had to agree. But each of them wished to Allah that they would be picked up by the fleet before they reached Cyrenaica...
_______________

It was the strangest thing. Georgios simply did not understand it. When they had arrived at Messina, the Moreans had expected the city to be under siege by a Tunisian army. Instead, they found it peaceful, with its gates wide open. At first they thought it had fallen already, but then they saw the Banner of the Morean Cross flying over the walls, the city was still theirs.

Count Niketas had explained that after two weeks, the Tunisians simply disappeared in the night. One day they were there, besieging the city, and the next they were gone. At first, the Count had suspected some sort of "Trojan Horse" scheme, as a similar disappearance had occured during the legendary Trojan War. But after a week of waiting, nothing happened. Niketas had sent a few men to scout the area. They confirmed that the Tunisian army had left completely.

Georgios had immediately scoured the whole of Sicily in seach of the Tunisians. He even forced his will upon the independent Sheiks of Syracuse and Trapani. After seeing 4,000 Moreans knocking on their doors, the Sheiks had been only too happy to allow their lands to be searched. In the end, not one Tunisian was found on the whole of Sicily.

The King thought he smelled a trap. But two more weeks of waiting proved nothing. Where had his enemy gone? Nikephoros had suggested that now was the time to attack, and he reccomended sending a small detachment of the main fleet to search the Tunisian coast, to find a suitable landing place for the Morean invasion. Crown Prince Athanasios, on the other hand, said that a more direct assault was necessary. There was far better coast line for landing an army along the coast of Mahdia. The Sheik of Mahdia ruled the entire eastern coastline of what was once ancient Carthage. Mahdia had remained neutral in the conflict between Tunisia and the Morea, and Georgios feared that attempting to land his invasion in their territory would bring them into the war on Tunisia's side. However, Athanasios had been insitant. Thus far, the Crown Prince's judgement had always proven sound, and so the King decided to send an envoy to Mahdia, requesting military access. Now he awaited the reply.

He looked up to heaven, and said, "Grandfather, please, pray for me. I hope I am doing the right thing. I hope that I am going to strengthen this Kingdom, and this, your Dynasty. Please, pray that I am successful in this endeavor. I do not want to fail you..."
 
Last edited:

canonized

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Great update :D It seems that things aren't going according to 'plan' per se , but it leads for some interesting dramatic vacuums that are filled by the insecurities and motives of each character !
 

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