Lithuania Eternal - A 1066 Lithuania AAR

[Dw0rf]

"...I had a dream last night brother."

"I hope you didn't drag me all the way over here just to tell me that. I'm supposed to be sparring with some tribesmen right now."

"This was no ordinary dream Puklios."

"If you're complaining about your nightmares again you should have called mother instead of me."

"This was no nightmare Puklios, though by Dievas it felt like one."

"Alright then, what kind of horrid dream did you have?"

"Do not laugh brother, but I believe I saw the future."

"The future?"

"I saw Lithuania burning Puklios, but it was not our Lithuania. in the beginning it was ours, but it grew and shrank and took many different forms. I saw it rise to heights never before seen, more powerful then you and I could ever dream of! And I saw it fall, deeper and lower into depths I did not know could be reached. Our people abandoned the gods, and then the gods abandoned them. Trampled, abused, I could not bear to look at it any longer."

"How are you so certain that it was a vision of the future? You could just as well have been visited by a spirit intent on tormenting you."

"I saw men with weapons no spirit could ever even imagine, men riding beasts of metal and hatred into wars the scale of which neither you or I could comprehend! No mere spirit could ever create such vivid imagery!"

"Tsk, if your dream truly is a vision of the future, then what do you intend to do with this future knowledge?"

"I can't answer that question, Puklios, the flesh is weak and this is a task that will go on long after our lives have ended. But if I intervene now and create a stronger Lithuania with my own two hands then perhaps...

...Perhaps we have a chance to make Lithuania Eternal."

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you will protect this cute little duchy​

INTRODUCTION:

Hello everyone, and welcome to Lithuania Eternal! This is an AAR in which I will be playing as the high chief of Lithuania in the 1066 start date. This is going to be a mix of a historical text and a narrative AAR, and i'll be switching between the two in the hope of creating a compelling story for you to read.

'Rules':

Roleplay: I won't drastically go against the traits my ruler has, and I will always try to pick the event option that would make the most sense for my current character to pick. Even if the outcome sucks. But I will also try to keep the characters past experiences and enviroment in mind. As a quick example: a kind ruler could start acting a bit more harshly if he's betrayed time and time again. Meanwhile a cruel character that is not possesed/lunatic/dull/imbecile will, when neccesary, keep the cruelty within acceptable bounds. If only to keep up experiences.

No blobbing: No random conquering sprees that make no sense! If obscene amounts of lands are aquired for whatever reason they will either be released immediately or 'lost' at ruler death. At the start of the campaign I will make sure that I won't go beyond the baltic/Kingdom of Lithuania. Of course if the situation demands it or if it becomes something that could realistically happen I will hold land outside of that.

Now then without further ado, the chapters:

Spoiler: Chapters

Prologue: A dream of eternity. (Scroll up)
Chapter 1: Swift Foundations
Chapter 2: Torchbearer
Chapter 3: Westward
Chapter 4: Reformation
Chapter 5: Outward Perspective
Chapter 6: Visions and Visionaries
Chapter 7: Forum Talk
Chapter 8: Church and State
Extra: The structure of the Romuvan faith
Chapter 9: Reaction
Chapter 10: Decade of Chaos I: Sunrise

 

[Dw0rf]

"Ah, Sven, it's good to see you again. You've been awfully quiet these last few days. Don't tell me you're still hung up over that dream of yours."

"It was not a mere dream, Puklios. And I have decided on a course of action to take."

"That is..."

"I know it's drastic Puklios, but this is the only thing I can do. But I can't do it alone, I need your help."

"My help? you're better then me at damn near everything!"

"You would make a fine marshal Puklios, and I need one that's not just capable but also loyal."

"Your really going to do this, aren't you?"

"I have no choice brother, And there is no more time waste. Soon we will march for our dearest cousin's lands."

"Heh, you always wanted those territories. Are you sure this dream of yours isn't just a bad pretense to sate your own greed?"

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​

The following is a few questions taken from a 2014 Lithuanian high school test correction sheet. Theme: Life of Sventaragis/Early Lithuanian expansion.

2 pnts
Question 5
Describe the likely political and religious reasons for high chief Sventaragis' expansionism.

A good answer should contain:
-Clear mention of the Baltic tribes' being surrounded by larger, more consolidated kingdoms. 1 pnt
-Clear mention of being surrounded by hostile religions. 1 pnt

IMPORTANT!: an answer that uses Sventaragis' vision as a reason for his expansionism is wrong

3 pnts
Question 7
Explain 3 reasons that limited Sventaragis' rate of expansion.

Valid answers:
-Clear mention of monetary issues caused by the high wages that the soldiers demanded.
-Clear mention of manpower shortages related to the large number of casualties suffered by Lithuania.
-Clear mention of troops being diverted to raid Russian lands for more money to fund the incessant warring.
-Clear mention of internal strife caused by disgruntled newly-subjugated chieftains.

Every correct reason is worth 1 point.

5 pnts
Question 11
Read source 3. -(an account of Sventarigis' deteriorating mental state. written in Poklius Palemnonaitis' journal) and answer the following questions.

A) According to the source, Sventaragis' mental state started worsening shortly after the battle of Lukoml, during a raid against the Kievan Rus. Explain the likely correlation between these two events.
B) Sventaragis started showing paranoid behavior against his family members a short while after his youngest brother was chosen to be the new chief of Deltuva. Give an example for this behavioral shift.
C) Is source 3 a reliable source?

Valid answers:
A) It is believed that the stress of fighting the Russians, combined with the stress of losing his right hand, led to Sventaragis developing a form of PTSD which was expressed through frequent bursts of anger. 1 pnt
B) The relationship between Sventaragis and his unknown brother is assumed to have been quite terrible. And the fact that this brother was as ambitious and envious as Sventaragis led them to frequently clash. Thus he feared that his brother would one day rise up in rebellion. 2 pnts
C) Yes: -This journal was only meant for Poklius to see, so he had no reason to lie. -Poklius was Sventaragis' brother, confidant and for a time, marshal, this means that his experiences with the high chief were first hand. 2pnts

​

1 pnt
Question 12
What were Sventagaris' plans after subjugating all of the Lithuanian and Prussian tribes?

A correct answer should contain:
-His plans for seizing the Romuvan holy sites to the north and to the south. Or:
-A reference to the extensive raids into Polish and Pomeranian territory that were planned at the time.

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Bonus image of this wreckage in human form. circa 1076 AD
​

That's chapter 1 done. i'd like to thank you for all the nice comments i've already received . I'd greatly appreciate any feedback you have to give for example should i do more images or more text?. I'll probably post the next part tomorrow no matter what.

 

[Dw0rf]

"You died rather suddenly you know? You could've atleast tried to keel over in Vilnius instead of in the siege of some Estonian wasteland.

You died as a king of course, I made them crown you posthumously, no one could deny the legitimacy your reign anyways. All we were lacking is the money to actually create the crown jewels.

I guess that would mean i'd be a king too huh? Though somehow I believe I won't be given the same honour you were. Something about not being fit for the job.

I made sure the wars you planned for got dealt with aswell, I couldn't have done it without those instructions you left me though.

Hiding them in those old tomes like that. You really didn't want anyone to find those texts about the future eh? Don't worry, when Skirmantas is handed the reigns soon, I'll make sure they'll be given to him. That's the least I could do with what time I have left here.

You'd probably want me to explain that last bit huh?

We weren't really sure about what it was, but appearantly i've been showing the same symptoms as one of our kinsman. He died last week.

As my headaches was getting worse I decided to send some men southward, to find a medical expert, the men there are strange but their knowledge can not be denied.

What I heard from the expert was bad, brother. And it's the reason i'm here to say goodbye

You see, that kinsman of ours did not simply die, he suffered greatly. I don't want that to happen to mel. Is it brave that i'm facing Velnias with open arms, or cowardly that i'm not willing to endure the pain I would receive? I guess it doesn't matter anymore now."

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Oh and there's no need to be concerned for the chiefdom kingdom, Skirmantas may be a bit, uh, strange, but don't worry, he really is your son. it's gonna be fine.​

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(Next chapter is going to be more like the previous one, I just didn't want to make Poklius a footnote for both Sven and Skir)
​

 

[Dw0rf]

Mail sent by Liudvikas Palaima, to Vladas Vasilyovich
Date: 12-3-2015

Hey Vlad,

Sorry for mailing you out of the blue but trust me, you're gonna love this.

We're gonna be making a movie about some Skirmantas guy, he's pretty important appearantly? I don't know to be honest but this is gonna be BIG you hear??

Anyhow the good thing is that I managed to get you a spot on the production team! (you can thank me later ;D)

So right now we're working on the trailer of the first movie. (we're thinking about splitting this into multiple films so this one will only cover the first part of his life) and I thought it'd be really nice to have some of your input!

See you soon!

Liudvikas.

[1 attached files]

[Script_Trailer_Skirmantas]

[FADE IN FROM BLACK]

[Young [Skirmantas] stands in front of a window in a castle room, looking over the departing army led by his father [Sventaragis]]

SKIRMANTAS: (WHISPER) i WANT TO BE A WARRIOR

[FADE TO BLACK]

OLD WOMAN; (LAUGHTER) YOU WIIL NOT BE A WARRIOR...

[FADE IN]

[Skirmantas is being crowned in a room filled with all of his chiefs and bodyguard]

OLD WOMAN: ...YOU WILL BE KING

[MAIN THEME STARTS]

[FADE TO BLACK]

SKIRMANTAS: I DON'T JUST WANT TO BE A KING...

[FADE IN]

[Skirmantas is on his knees, praying in front of an altar of Dievas]

SKIRMANTAS: ...I WANT TO BE MORE THEN THAT...

[Scene cuts to Skirmantas feasting with his noblemen in the great hall of Vilnius]

SKIRMANTAS: ...I WANT TO DO SO MUCH...

[Scene cuts to an overhead shot of Skirmantas looking at the great pillar of Vilnius]

[FADE TO BLACK]

SKIRMANTAS: ...AND I KNOW HOW TO DO IT.

[Main theme stops]

[Intense music starts playing]

[Cut to Skirmantas and his soldiers charging through a forest while screaming]

[Cut to a battle from the subjugation of Pomerania]

[Cut back to Skirmantas and his men charging through the forest]

[Cut to some battles from the Pomeranian revolts]

[Cut back to Skirmantas and his men charging through the forest, the end of the treeline is almost visible]

[Cut to the siege of Rana]

[Cut back to Skirmantas and his men finally leaving the forest and smashing into a Polish army]

[Music hits its peak]

[Short clips of the battle play in quick succesion]

SKIRMANTAS: I AM SKIRMANTAS

[More clips of Poles and Lithuanians fighting and dying]

SKIRMANTAS: AND I AM KING

[Cut to black]

[Title and release date fade in]

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From now on I'm planning of updating once every two days at the least. 'til next time.

 

[Dw0rf]

"Hello everybody, I'm Ichpochton, and my presentation is about the, uh...

.. Ah! The post-reformation Romuvan faith.

Now the faith was reformed by the great king, uh, ah yes, Sker- Skree- Sker-mentos? Am I pronouncing this right? Uh anyways he was the uh- i'll uh stop saying uh so much, sorry. He was the king who reformed the Romuvan faith into what it has become today.

Now Skiermantes was, uh, during his reign known to be a great scholar of the Romuvan faith, who had memorised all Romuvan holy texts in an attempt to get a vision similar to the one his father had.

Due to his uh, studies he eventually realised that the old Romuvan faith was very weak compared to the more organised religions around him, so he took it upon himself to reform the faith.

The Romuvan faith became all about sticking to the uh, old ways. You can still see that today in how Romuvans are very dedicated to their faith, even though atheism is on the rise. Though this means that people leaving the faith are also shunned by the believers. For abandoning the faith. For a long time there was even a death penalty for leaving the faith, which was only ended recently.

Their dedication is because a core tenant of the Romuvan faith is the belief that it is the faithful's duty to protect the faith at any cost. There have been uh, many instances of large amounts of Romuvans sacrificing themselves to save a religious official.

It is believed that the Romuvan fascination with astrology came forth from Skormotas' attempts to see the future like his father had. The king, after trying to find many ways to see the future. He really seemed to belief that he could see the future in the stars, so it was included into the faith as well.

After the new tenants of the faith were decided on, it was uh, decided that one of the priests would become the new, uh, First Vadas. This priest only held power as an, uh, religious official and did not own any land. It is also believed that the first one lived in Stettin but we're, uh, not sure why.

This was my presentation about the Romuvan faith I hope you learned something new today as well."

"Well class, what score do you think Ichpochton deserves for her presentation?..."

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Only read this part if you're curious about my choices for the reformation.
I actually really hate reformation, I always end up regretting my choices later but this time I spent a few hours considering what would have been fitting and realistic instead of metagamey and optimised.

Now I based my consideration on two things: Skirmantas' traits, and the Romuvan faith itself. Now the Romuvan faith is incredibly stubborn and hard to convert, IRL they were the last pagans in Europe. They are also in the defensive variety of pagans, so my though process about the faith is: 'preserve not expand'

Now the other thing I kept in mind was Skirmantas' traits. Among others he's; Dilligent, Patient, Kind, Honest and Zealous. So I can't imagine him actually doing anything self-serving in the reformation. He's also Homosexual but him being the father of 8 children at the age of 36 makes me doubt that, he's bi at best.

So without further ado, explanations:

Nature: Unyielding
This one is a given, really. Stubborn faith that wants to preserve itself at any cost.

Doctrines: Astrology and Defenders of Dievas
Defenders of Dievas is the unique Romuvan doctrine, I don't like it but eldership succesion seems to fit in with the idea of being an incredibly conservative faith. Especially with the prepackaged ancestor worship you get.
I eventually decided to pick Astrology as it is kind of neat. and it would fit the narrative of Sventaragis' vision of the future. I picked this over Haruspicy as Astrology is imo a far more established thing, and poor, Kind Skirmantas couldn't bear to see those cute critters die.

Leadership: Hierocratic
Skirmantas wouldn't strongarm himself into being gods representative on earth, if he was Proud or Cynical maybe, but not the Kind, Honest Skirmantas we all love. Autocephalos kind of sucks and it wouldn't make sense for a newly organised religion to have a decentralised leadership.

I hope this explains my thought processess behind the reformation. I also decided to just pop the reformation now as I was already seeing pretty Scary amounts of Military Organisation is my neighbors, and defensive attrition can only get you so far! Also sorry for the short update but pondering about the reformation unironically took hours. see ya.

 

[Dw0rf]

"Why, if it isn't Johannes! I thought the Moors finally got you!"

"I thought you knew me better then that, Giovanna. You need a lot more then 300 angry horsemen to end my reign of terror! Though it seems I've been gone for a little too long ,this time. Care to give me the latest news? Just a little favor between mechants, eh?"

"Well, I hope you didn't have any interests in the Levant. If you did you might want to take a seat."

"That bad, huh?"

"Worse, you remember the Byzantine holdings in Jerusalem?"

"Yeah, a few friends were planning to trade there last I heard."

"All gone."

"Damnit! The muslims weren't this aggresive in the past, what happened?"

"I'm not too sure about the facts, but it seems like something happened to their holy city, 30 years ago."

"Why are they only making their move now, then?"

"These past few decades seems to have been them pushing back these invaders."

"Do you have any news that's a little less grim?"

"Don't worry, I have news that's no doubt pleasing for you to hear."

"Well then, spit it out!"

"Your muslim friends are on the way to taking over all of western Iberia!"

"It wasn't my intention to piss them off like that you bastard! You make a few jokes and next thing you know every man from Galicia to Seville wants your head!"

"Don't be so sad, my friend. Pissing people off is the only talent you have, after all."

"Just give me some good news already."

"Well, after the old king of the Lithuanians died his realm seems to have been split."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, his cousin became king of Pomerania, while his two younger sons were made the duke's of Mazovia and Minsk."

"Damn, all my dad left me were bad habits and a failing company."

"If you could be serious for a minute here, it's gonna be a lot easier to do some trading in the Baltic area now. But avoid Lesser Poland at all costs."

"Why's that?"

"It was taken over by the heathens, who proceeded to give it to a bunch of heathen zealots. I wouldn't fancy my chances going near there as a christian."

"Damn it all! I'm gone for a bit, and now everyone's lost their minds. Excuse me but I think I'll just keep to Germany for a while, I'll look outward when the opportunity presents itself."

"Oh I wouldn't go to Germany if I were you."

"Do I even want to know?"

 

[Dw0rf]

Who was our first, First Vaidila? All the facts you need to know about our blessed ancestor!

Godly man:
Venerable ancestor Antavas was well known for his many virtues. He was known over the entire Romuvan world as a man who only wanted to serve the gods as well as he could!

Turbulent times:
Blessed Antavas served as First Vaidila during one of the worst times to be Romuvan!

In the early 12th century, in response to the Lithuanian realm of blessed Skirmantas splitting, and the failure of the great holy war for Germany, our christian neighbors attempted to invade us no less then 12 times! Every attempt was repelled however. We even managed to conquer land due to how disorganised the christians were!

Miracle worker: Surviving sources tell of how blessed Antavas originally did not rule over any lands, but when he heard of the immense corruption and the sinful ways of the priestess if Riga, the most important holy site for our people. blessed Antavas marched in alone and drove the evil witch from the sacred halls of the temple! To thank him, the villagers wanted to bestow the temples ownership onto him. Blessed Antavas refused at first but when Dievas himself appeared to him in a dream he was forced to accept the lands of Riga as his own demense.

Protector: When the crooked whore-queen attempted to sway the young heart of Skirmantas, it was only due to the good guidance that he had received from his regent and adoptive father, blessed Antavas, that allowed him to resist the foul lies of his mother!

Man of great cunning: Knowing that moving against the heretic-queen would incite the wrath of the steppe barbarians. He used his grand intellect befitting of his station he managed to butcher the foul queen with none of the barbarians any the wiser!

Favoured by the gods: Blessed Antavas was known to have lived for an incredibly long time! after Sventaragis died he would serve his third king, Svitrigaila.

Standing in the face of great adversity: Blessed ancestor Sventaragis' vision spoke of an eastern horde coming. But it placed the emergence of the mongols much later. Blessed Antavas was the first to realise that blessed Sventaragis wasn't wrong, but that the order of events was merely brought out of balance due to interference from blessed Sventaragis himself!

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<prev Outrage over 'secularised' high school tests! 'A heretical tumour on our school system, for the sake of the children it must be removed!' -High Priest Virjilius

8 HORRIFYING MISTAKES in new overseas movie about blessed Skirmantas! 'We are considering to ban this movie from Lithuania' -National Board of Culture next>

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I am wondering if i'm making these chapters too short, I'd like to know what you all think about that. I'm also considering rewriting the first few chapters that don't fit in with the rest of the narrative style. if y'all could also give your opinions on that. Auf wiedersehen

 

[Dw0rf]

Paradisus Forums
Forums-General disscussions-Offtopic-History

Invader deathmatch round 6 [FINALS] - Aztec vs Mongol - Double Trouble edition

Voracity:

We-we-we-welcome to the final round of the evil invader deathmatch!

These have been some very fun weeks for all of us, but it's finally time to wrap up. Don't worry though, because today we're gonna have the long awaited Mongols v. Aztecs match!

Instead of just a popular vote like last time, we're gonna have a jury pick a winner too, based on the debate on this thread!

And remember: keep things civil!

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​

Contestants:

Making the Chinese rage for centuries, and finally spreading the love to Europe, it's the Mongoooooools! In an invasion that either swept away all of Eurasia, or got crushed by some Cumans. It still was one of the biggest in history, but was it the best?

Smashing, sailing and slaughtering their way into the finals, it's the Aztecs! But would they sacrifice this foe to their gods? Or will they be driven back into the sea?

Debate points:
Who would win in a 1v1?
Who was the better plunderer alloted timeframe? (see below)
Who was the better conqueror in the alloted timeframe? (see below)
Temujin and Tizocic duel, who wins?

(To make it easier on everyone we've decided to only count the early conquests of both parties, as those are better classified as invasions.)

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clattanoia:

|Voracity said: |
|dw guys next thread won't be so late|

Honestly, i'd tell you to kill yourself if forum rules would allow it.

Anyways:
def Mongols
Aztecs
Mongols
Temujin.

Mongols win hands down, beware the salty Nahua's who're gonna congregate here tho lmao.

Edit: jesus, Voracity legit deleted his other post, the one that I quoted. wtf

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god_only_knows:

Compare THIS

To THIS

One country was stuck invading Cumania for half a decade, the other is conquering Europe!!!

Better land, better loot, better army, better leader!

Aztecs win, thread over.

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los_LOS_los:

>Literal 'MEXICO VERY POWER'
Either we need an iq lock during account creation, or we have to ban all Nahua's from getting on here. Same thing really.

>Muh Cumans
Is that all you Aztards ever think about???? legit curious lmao.

The ''''ínvasion'''' of Cumania was more like a border conflict, ofc Genghis wasn't gonna march over 100k men for a border conflict with some dumb Cumans lmao

And the other parts are arguable (for idiots, lol) but in a 1v1 your dumb vulcanic glass won't stop cavalry and superior Mongol tactics. Sorry, your dumb swarm is only useful as fodder

Mongols/Mongols/Mongols/Temujin

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Connect:

>using the meme arrows in the year of our lord 2018
Maybe you are the idiot here, my friend.

But the question: who conquered better? Is really good. Because the Aztec Invasions into Iberia, Morocco and Brittany were really succesful. I mean, look at it.

In areas hit the Aztecs def win, But the Mongolians managed to take so much land.

Also the question of which invasion would win in a 1v1 is pretty bad tbh, the Mongols are pretty much the perfect counter to the Aztecs, with their cav and stuff. I'm wondering tho, what country/group of countries could beat the hordes. that'd probably be a better metric

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Magia:

The Romuvan world would crush both of these so called 'ínvaders'. (using the term very loosely here lel) There is legit no force in the world that could defeat us back then.

Especially with the age of holy warring behind us. Now that the christians realised we could beat them back to Rome if we wanted to we were prospering hardcore.

We could take anyone on defensively! that's why we declared the second great holy war for for Germany!!!!

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los_LOS_los:

Ugh, just when you thought Lithuanifags couldn't possibly crap up another thread.

>We could take anyone on defensively!
Imagine waking up in the morning and actually believing this.

I'm not even gonna indulge you with this line of thinking.

can't we get some janitors in here to clean this mess up.

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clattanoia:

This thread is going south even quicker then the Seljuk v. Timurid one, last year.

I think i'll just check up on this thread in a day or two, it should be a lot tidier then

 

[Dw0rf]

"Good evening Lithuania, i'm Antavas Norkus, and this is Lithuania in review. And tonight we have a very special guest, Can I get an applause for the our most likely next first Vaidila, High Priest Virjilius of Chelmno!"

"Thank you, thank you. It's an honour to be here tonight, mister Norkus"

"The honour's all mine, your holiness. And please, call me Antavas."

"Alright then, Antavas."

"Now, we're here tonight to talk about one of the controversies your holiness has been involved in lately."

"I'm very sad to say that you'll need to be more specific then that, Antavas. Controversy might well be my middle name!"

"Haha, thank Dievas that it's not your holiness causing them, though! But to be clear, i'm talking about the recent portrayal of king Svitrigaila in a video game. In the game he makes numerous anti-Romuvan statements, more specifically, statements that go against the Romuvan church. Can we get your holiness' thoughts on that?"

"To be honest with you, Antavas, Svitrigaila is an incredibly controversial character, but only within our church."

"Oh? Could you elaborate on that, your holiness?"

"Haha, I'll try, unlike his predecessors, king Svitrigaila wasn't at all zealous, though popular culture, outside of Lithuania of course, often displays him as some sort of hero who withstood religious extremism, the real story is far more nuanced then that.

Svitrigaila was by no means an unbeliever, he wasn't even a cynic! No what marked his reign was silent conflict with the First Vaidila, and his succesor."

"Do we know why that was, your holiness?"

"Yes we do, both the royal family and the Romuvan church have records dating back to those times. It seems that all three of the people involved were incredibly ambitious, this was already a problem, but it was made all the worse by the political status of the church. The Romuvan First Vaidila stands below the king of Lithuania, politically, yet spiritually the First Vaidila holds authority over the king. Nowadays the church and the royal family work closely together of course, but back then people were still attempting to find out who was superior to whom.

It should also be noted that Svitrigaila and blessed Antavas simply disliked eachother. They did of course keep their mutual distaste out of country matters, but the seeds of discord were already sown. That's when blessed Antavas joined Dievas and his succesor took over.

First Vaidilute Svajone truly is a proof of how much our faith has changed, for me to even be considered as the succesor I needed to be a High Priest, have the approval of 2/3's of the other high priests, and I had to have been Romuvan from birth. These rules are in place to protect the faith from incompetent spiritual leaders. Svajone would not have become First Vaidilute under these rules. She was, completely unknown, unskilled and had the ambitions to match even the greatest of kings.

Svitrigaila despised her as she did him. When she declared the second Great Holy War for Germany he infamously said that he hoped the war would fail before he had a chance to properly join it, which actually happened.

That is where the rumours of his apostasy come from. He had conflicts with the leadership of the church, but he did in fact belief in the Legends, like his predecessors. Even with rumours that Svajone tried to assassinate him circling around the kingdom he never lost his faith.

The only real tragedy is how apostates and heretics posthumously adopted him as the standardbearer of their crooked ways."

"Very interesting, your holiness, thank you very much for this lecture."

"Ah, it's only my duty as High Priest to inform the populace of such matters, though I do tend to go overboard with my explanations."

"Oh don't worry your holiness! Though if I may, I'd just like to make sure. king Svitrigaila truly did nothing for secularisation? He never made a move against the church?"

"He didn't. and even if he did those efforts would have been for naught when king Ringaudas ascended to the throne."

"Alright, alright. Now on to some lighter matters, what's your holiness' opinion on the recent anti-Nahua sentiments spreading through Europe?"

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Hello everyone, I'm here to bring some annoying news, In the previous update I messed up hardcore with the images, I accidentaly showed the 'aztecs take cordoba event'
twice even though it was meant to be 'aztecs take cordoba' and 'aztecs take paris'. This has now been fixed. And just to make sure I don't get the medieval schlieffen achievement like a rl friend of mine suggested I will for the forseeable future hold on to all land I conquer in the de jure Wendish empire. All land outside of that will be released on succesion however.

 

[Dw0rf]

The Romuvan faith is one of the younger organised religions in the world, and altough it has nearly a milennium of history, the faith itself has changed remarkably little.

This is in large part due to the extremely conservative nature of the religion, and it's nigh-worship of those who came before. As while it is quite normal for people of the same age to disagree with eachother, to disagree with an elder is a taboo in nearly all layers of Romuvan society.

This may in part be due to the considerable secular power its High Priests wield. Even today, when Lithuanian administration is at the most secular it's ever been the church is still a major landowner. Altough the areas under 'church rule' are in fact controlled by an administration that contains both secular (government) and religious officials, with the High Priest as the head of their regions administration.

Technically speaking, every High Priest of the Romuvan church should own large swathes of territory- including cities, castles and other temples. Around the holy site they take care of.

In practice things are never that simple. The most notable exception to the rule about ownership of land is the High Priest of Chelmno, who, due to longstanding disagreements with the duke of Prussia, has never actually held land, as all the lands the High Priest should technically hold were owned by the Prussian duke. And when the nobles gradually reliquished their actual powers and land to Vilnius, the duke of Prussia demanded that none of his lands ever become church property. Even the current duke of Prussia is outspoken about never giving the lands around Chelmno to the High Priest.

Also, whilst it may seem that all High Priests hold a holy site, this isn't the case. It used to refer to those specifically, but the definition gradually changed to all Priests who hold land outside of their own temple grounds. This does not mean that the High Priests of the holy sites are their equals however. The High Priests who reside in the holy sites of the faith are placed above the other High Priests in the church hierarchy.

To qualify for the position of High Priest a person has to have served the church as a Priest for over a decade, and needs to have been born into the faith. If those two conditions are fulfilled a person can be marked as a potential succesor by the High Priest. When the High Priest dies, (or more rarely, retires) the other High Priests pick his or her succesor from the pool of potential succesors.

The method of selecting the First Vaidila used to be similar to this. But the position of religious head is too important to leave empty, yet also too important to hastily choose a candidate for, So nowadays after a First Vaidila is chosen, their succesor is immediately picked as well. This is via a process where all the High Priests debating with one another until 2/3 agree which one among them will be the new succesor. This does not guarantee anything however, as at any time a High Priest can issue a declaration of doubt in the succesor. When this happens the High Priests are obligated to go through the progress of debate once agains to reaffirm their choice of succesor.

The priesthood derives their secular powers mainly from a declaration issued in 1146 by the notoriously short lived king Ringaudas.

Shortly before his death, he is said to have written the infamous 'Donation of Ringauldas', in which he ordered for it to be written into law that any land given to the church, will belong to the church forever. Once given, church land could never pass out of the hands of the church. This solidified the power of the church in the Lithuanian state. It should be noted that the handwriting of his declaration seems to differ greatly from Ringauldas' usual handwriting. And that he seemingly never told anyone about this before the declaration was found on his desk.

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As the game is stubbornly refusing to let anything interesting happen right now, I thought I'd elaborate on the structure of the Romvan faith. Tell me if you'd like to see more of this. Next update is gonna be the usual again.

 

[Dw0rf]

"And so me da' walks in with the ugliest woman i've evah seen, yea? And 'e looks me into the eyes and 'e says 'look son, this is the bakers daughter, for a dowry of 3 cows we've decided that she's now yer wife.' So ah tell 'im 'Da, you said 3 cows, but I see 4!'"

"Heh. He wasn't too pleased with that answer I suppose?"

"Oh 'e wasn't! He went and punched me roight in the gut, he did! Told me ah shouldn't be such a brat. Turns out me fam'ly eldah supported the marriage as well! Had no more choice ah did!"

"And that's why you joined the town watch?"

"Hmm yeah, got so much work teh do 'ere that ah nevah see that demon!"

"Riveting, say have you heard the rumour about those western demons? About them being sighted at the border?"

"'ave you been listenin' to 'em Estonian tradahs again? Ye can't just trust 'em now that they've been converted and all. Why'd em westerners ever be at our border? And if they really are commin' i'll make a nice big skull pyramid out of 'em!"

"A skull pyramid?"


"Yea! You behead all of 'em men, women and children, yea? And then you embalm 'em heads, and then you stack 'em up into a pyramid!"

"Where did you get that idea from?"

"One of 'em merchants told me the demons did it in of 'em cross worshippin' cities, so why shouldn't we do it to 'em?"

"Oh my, how dreadful."

"Innit? Thinking of it, that merchant also told me the cross lovers didn't like that one! Appearantly they is gonna make one of em big holy wars against the demons!"

"Do you think they'll succeed?"

"Prolly not,"

"Shame, say did you heard that rumor about the death of king Sotvaras?"

"Wot? Another one of 'em royals bit the dust?"

"Yes, quite literally in fact. But that's not the point, you know the ledge he fell off right?"

"Ya mean that one? Of course ah do, ah walk past it every mornin'!"

"It's not high enough to die from falling off it right? I mean for Dievas' sake it's only been a castle for a scant few years."

"Now that ye'r sayin' it..."

"So I heard this from a guy who knew the court physicians wife okay? And he told me that he'd heard that it wasn't the fall that got him!"

"Wot got 'im then?"

"He was so scared from rolling off of his balcony that he had a heart attack! Pissed himself too I hear."

"Pfft, they don't make 'em nobles like they used tah. Blessed Skirmantas wouldn't 'ave done that, I tell ya!"

"True, say, I think we should get back to patrolling before the captain thinks we're loitering again."

"Ohhh that greedy bastard! He's lookin' for any reason tah withhold our pay 'e is!"

"Yeah, let's get going, quick."

 

[Dw0rf]

"Hello everyone and welcome to the Warwick museum of French history, i'm your guide Leofwine, and I hope you will all enjoy this tour...

...And this is the section dedicated to the Aztec invasions, Here we see a fresco which depicts Emperor Tizocic being dragged into hell while saint George condemns him. This piece was made after the Aztec emperor died of some stress related ailment in the midst of the 2nd crusade. It's also one the few pieces still in good condition from the rather bleak 'Aztecist' art period, which is known for essentially being anti-Nahua propoganda.

Here we have a renaissance style painting made by the famed Arab artist Shaiban ibn Dinar Abdel-Massih. It depicts the succesful jihad for Maghreb, now if you look at the top of the painting you can see a few fires in the distance. If you look at where they are in relation to the perspective of the painting you can see that they all point towards locations were anti-Nahua campaigns were ongoing at that moment.

In the direction of western Europe we see the smoke coming from the Spanish reconquista, the invasion of France. And also perhaps a reference to the numerous smaller uprisings that happened in France and Frisia at the time.

In the direction of eastern Europe you can see the flames representing the joint Hungarian and Lithuanian conquest of Bohemia.

This here is a chunk of a red pillar, these were erected all over western Europe and the Maghreb. the red colouring is the blood of Nahuas that were taken captive. They were usually built upon the mass graves of massacred Nahua populations as a warning to others. They are especially common and most well preserved in the Maghreb, as the Aztecs had settled many of their countrymen there. The restored Almoravid sultanate wasted no time in purging itself of their hated invaders. Other parts of Europe often didn't have enough Nahua's living there to enact purges on the same scale.

And this here is a relief of the 'Four Kings who saved Europe', it's made by an unknown master. It depicts Orsuf of France, Diogo of Galicia, Giolio of Italy and Rodrigo of Aragorn as the evangelists.

Rodrigo and Giolio are well known for their great support for the 2nd crusade, and the many achievements they made in Germany.

Diogo is well known for his use of a primitive form of guerilla warfare against the Aztecs in their invasion of Castille, outnumbered 10 to 1 he managed to inflict tens of thousands of casualties upon the invaders, all the while losing only small amounts of land.

And king Orsuf Ironside is the reason we are all standing here today. His legendary resistance against the Aztecs gave the rest of the world a chance to retaliate. His exploits are also widely known, such as his suprise attack on the Aztec capital, or his heroic struggle in France where he won a decisive victory over all the forces the Aztecs could muster.

Continuing on..."

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I hope no one here has an irrational dislike for the year 1170 as we'll be stuck here for a bit because the game compensated for nothing happening with everything happening. If you'd like a teaser: Something about a descendant of Skirmantas and a whole lot of kinslaying.

 

[Dw0rf]

"...And now for an update from our correspondent in Vilnius, Eadberht, What's the situation like over there? are the riots still ongoing?"

"Well Hilda the riots here show no sign of stopping, if anything they're getting worse."

"Terrible, do we know the cause behind these riots?"

"Yes, well, it's rather regrettable but these riots are an annual occurence over here."

"Ah, so this is a rather meaningful date then?"

"Yes it is Hilda, as you know the kingdom of Lithuania still restricts the political rights of the populace, it being, perhaps the last real absolute monarchy in Europe. So for many the 27th of December is a very important day. As it's one of the few times discontent came from within the country. In this case a revolt to install a pretender to the throne, which would go against the wishes of the church and the elders."

"Oh! Looking at the footage I see some protestors holding up a banner with multiple faces on it..."

"Those are the faces of multiple civil rights leaders and... If I look closely... Yes that seems to be Gintaras the pretender."

"It seems like this was a very important event to the rioters then?"

"Well, Hilda. It really was, the revolters are martyrs to the moderates and the republicans, who have to comb through history to find any who ever opposed the government. It's also not incorrect to say that how the rebellion was dealt with is so controversial that most prefer not to discuss it."

"Could you elaborate one that?"

"Ah well, both sides of the revolt banded together to fight back a German incursion, people though that this would mend relations but uhh...

...It didn't. Loyalist forces massacred the revolters and...

I'd rather not say what happened to the leaders of the revolt on television."

"Well, what are your predictions about the riots? Are they going to end any time soon or..."

"Well, the government has made no official statements about the riots, but they will probably send in the army to break it up today or tomorrow as preparations for Reformation day are beginning to be interrupted. It's not all bad though, the first Vaidila, Azuolas the Third has made it clear that he's willing to compromise with the protestors in an effort to get things to cool down."

"Let's hope things turn out well then. In other news: the Warwick museum of French history was recently vandalised, it seems that multiple of the prominent anti-Nahua pieces were damaged..."

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Rather short update but tomorrow the final 1170 part will be release which should have a bit more meat. And Teutons

 

[Dw0rf]

Transcription of 'Medieval Warfare with Hans Wolff' season 7, episode 12

Hans: I AM HANS WOLFF, AND THIS IS MEDIEVAL WARFARE AAAAAAAAAH!

[Title Card]

Hans: Last time we were in Anatolia for an exclusive look at the BADASS fighting techniques employed between the Greeks and the Egyptians!

[Movie footage of Byzantine cataphracts crashing into a line of Fatimid troops]

Hans: Today we are gonna talk about some of the EPIC battles and weapons from the Northern Crusade!

Narrator: Shortly after the restoration of christian Germany, plans were made to liberate Poland from the pagans and to christianise the Baltic.

Narrator: After 7 years of preparation, and the support of the Norwegian kingdom. The Teutons marched to war with an army said to be 20000 men strong.

Hans: One of my ancestors was actually a leader of the Teutonic order. And this sword is an actual heirloom from him. You can still see where it got chipped while smashing into Pagans hahaha! I will not be using this sword today though. Instead I'll use this replica!

[Footage of Hans smashing the replica sword into a dummy whilst shouting]

Hans: This is a replica of a battle axe found in Grodno! When the Teutons came to assault Lithuania they relied on discipline and faith, the pagans relied on COLD STEEL LIKE THIS HAHAHA!

[Movie footage of the battle of Grodno]

Hans: See this armour? This is based on the armour that the Teutonic knights wore! It certainly looks impressive, but is it impressive enough to take this?

[Footage of Hans smashing the replica axe into the armour repeatedly whilst screaming]

Hans: Now this is armour hahahaha! Barely even a dent, if only they had more of these!

Hans: When the campaign started they said that pagan blood would die the rivers red, they say more then 20000 teutons died here so it would actually be Teuton blood soaking the land hahaha!

[More movie footage of Lithuanians and Teutons fighting]

[Commercial break]

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Last of the 15 year long decade of chaos, they were all rather short but also important and difficult to fit together in a cohesive narrative due to the style I chose. After this updates are gonna go back to normal.

 

[Dw0rf]

The following advert has been made and endorsed with the Royal authority of King of all Lithuanians Skirmantas XIII(XII):

17% of the Lithuanian people don't know the exact name of the kingdom they live in, abroad, nearly 90% don't know the de facto name of our county.

To put an end to this the Royal bureau of information and declarations has started this initiative.

As you well know, the kingdom of Lithuania was established by our blessed ancestor Skirmantas I. At the time the kingdom was known simply as the 'Kingdom of Lithuania' with blessed Skirmantas as the 'King of all Lithuanians'

When decades later the kingdom of Pomerania was joined with Lithuania by king Ringauldas it meant that the king of Lithuania was also the king of Pomerania. But to supress seperatist elements within Pomerania the Pomeranian crown jewels were destroyed. Kingship of Lithuania therefore became synonymous with kingship over Pomerania. The king was henceforth known as the 'King of all Lithuanians and Pomeranians'.

When Skirmantas The Great reached his territorial zenith he declared himself the king of all Poles and the king of all Pomeranians. Once again divorcing the kingdoms of Lithuania and Pomerania. And creating the Polish one anew. Thus Skirmantas II became: 'The king of all Poles.', 'the king of all Pomeranians.' and 'the king of all Lithuanians'.

For his great deeds, the First Vaidila crowned him as the 'Emperor of all Wends'. 'Wends' referring to the Baltic and Slavic peoples east of the Elbe. His emperorship superseded his other titles and he became known as 'Emperor Skirmantas I of the Wendish empire'. And his lands became known by two names: 'The empire of the Wends' and 'The Wendish empire'.

But in his old age the luncacy that had haunted him from youth returned. At the pinnacle of his madness he renounced the Romuvan faith and declared himself a christian.

His son and his cousin both declared independence in response. Proclaiming themselves King of Poland and Queen of Pomerania respectively. This would bring an end to the empire mere months after its creation.

Emperor Skirmantas II(I) would soon after kill himself accidentaly. Drinking a cup of poison in front of court, thinking it was a medicine that would cure his phantom pains. In his final moments he would regain some sense and beg Dievas for forgiveness.

His son, Skirmantas III(II) would ascend the throne soon after. as king of all Lithuanians and emperor of the Wendish empire, but not as the emperor of all Wends. Whilst many things changed from this point onward the name and titles would usually keep the same name. Officially it would be: 'King of all Lithuanians and emperor of the Wendish empire' and our kingdom would therefore actually be known as the Wendish empire. But this is an empty title as our empire does not contain all Wends.

Therefore it was decided that in all matters, except for those concerning high ranking government business, the name 'Kingdom of Lithuania' would be used. And that's also why we have a king instead of an emperor.

Nowadays, the kingdom is only referred to as an empire on maps. With the kingdom officially known as 'The kingdom of all Lithuanians'.with the king known as 'The king of all Lithuanians'.

So if you hear anyone using the wrong name, politely instruct them on the topic as only you can stop ignorance.

This message is endorsed by the Lithuanian government.

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If you're wondering what the hell actually happened I'll explain here: I created the Wendish empire. This was done so I could never swear fealty to any ruler. I do this because the Mongolians are slowly creeping towards me and I do not want to be tempted into swearing fealty. But this caused a rather annoying problem, you see I was growing too large. With all nearby threats removed I decided to just dissolve my vast lands again in an effort to stay in line with my 'no blobbing' rule. But Poland and Pomerania are now in my dejure, so I couldn't release them because they're also of my faith. So ol' skir switched to catholicism for a minute via concubine. Then he used Vilnius to turn back to Romuvan. At the same time I killed him with suicide so that transition would be smoother, narratively speaking.

This incidentally means that we lost eldership, but I'll switch back asap and for as far as any of us are concerned the current dude was ELECTED and gavelkind doesn't exist. Cheers.

 

[Dw0rf]

The ultimate 13th century world map. Anonymous. #1241244 (OP)


Attached image:

>spend 5 weeks on map
>literal blood sweat and tears poured into it
>post on d/maps DerSawit
>ignored by the masses
>get banned by powertripping janitor for telling a Lithuanifag to shove a tree up his arse

Surely this will be welcomed here, at least?

Anonymous. #12312450
>#12412442 (OP)

Very nice work anon, though what's that purple in Finland? And why are the Seljuks pink?


Anonymous. #12312455
>#12412442 (OP)

It's been too long since someone posted quality content on this board, just the same lame Cuman jokes. Also wasn't the Mongolian empire still together at this point?


Anonymous. #12312470 (OP)
>#12312450

It's the small Romuvan states that were still under Lithuanian control before the Finnish kingdom was formally created.

The Seljuk court was located in Georgia and the Georgian colours help differentiate it from the other countries in the levant.

>#12312455

You can cry what you want but that won't bring your khanate back buddy. It was already gone.


Anonymous. #12312473

Imagine claiming to be the greatest power in Europe when half your lands were given to you by the pope and the king of Aragon. Will Angloids ever stop dissapointing the rest of the world?


Anonymous. #12312489

could you imagine a world where the christians got control over the Russian lands back after the Mongols came? how great do you think christianity could have been


Anonymous. #12312490

Go back to your dumb PDS games and alt-hist boards nerd. This board is for discussing things that actually happened

---Irrelevant arguing expunged for ease of reading---

Anonymous. #12313100 (OP)

Finally got the religious map of 1200 up too. I'm sure this won't ruffle any feathers.


Anonymous. #12313103

>#12313100
Why are some places highlighted?


Anonymous. #12313109 (OP)

>#12313103
Those are some holy sites that Romuvans used to visit. It's a relic of the original (Lithuanian) version of this map.


Anonymous. #12313120

>#12313109 (OP)
It's actually the Wendish empire. I think you should keep that in mind


Anonymous. #12313122 (OP)

>#12313120
no


Anonymous. #12313125

>#12313122 (OP)
You try to call yourself a map maker and then you gloss over such a well known fact. wtf is wrong with you. Do you have something against Wends or something


Anonymous. #12313129 (OP)

>#12313125
I'm not gonna waste words on some hound of dievas. don't you have political opposition to opress or something.