Michael Castellvell: The Mongolian Wars

[beezneez]

The Journal of Michael Castellvell: The Mongolian Wars​

This is my first AAR, and honestly i'm not feeling all that confident in it's entertainment value o Although, they say you should write for yourself and the readers will follow, so that's what i'll try to do.

The basis of my AAR is to chronicle the wars between myself as Emperor of Byzantium, and the Mongols (Golden Hoard and Il-Khanate). However, it will be from the perspective of my bishop, Michael Castellvell, as he writes in his journal. He is greek orthodox, who has been named Diocese Bishop of the Empire of Byzantium. Although, he will not refer to himself as Bishop, but as Patriarch of Constantinople. Here are his stats:
Martial - 8
Diplomacy - 3
Intrigue - 10
Stewardship - 5
-Chaste, Skeptical
--Scholarly Theologian

This is my second full game of CK. My first as Prince of Hellas enden when the Mongols finally took me out, leaving England as the only unconquered Mongol land

I'm not experienced w/ posting pictures, so there wont be any unless I add them later. So just imagine what the characters look like, imagine the armies happily hacking and slashing away at each other. Hopefully Michael will be able to explain the situation better, and your imagination can take it where it wishes

The story begins in 1227, covers the major happenings of Michaels' time, and will end after Michael dies. I mean to keep it short as I want to work out the kinks, but I may continue the story w/ another writer until the mongols are vanquished or I am vanquished

 

[beezneez]

The Journal of Michael Castellvell: The Mongolian Wars​

-April 12, 1227: Heretics and Huns. Depravity, knavery, frailty, flagrency, infamy, immorality, corruption, wickedness, wrongdoing, backstabing and sin.

Heretics and Huns, depravity.....I've witnessed all of them. With such evil prevailing today, GOD himself has chosen our empire as the bulwark of the rightous against the wicked.

Fortunately, the Komnenus' line has provided the Empire with the leadership necessary to make this world pleasing to GOD. Southern Italy reconquered from Norman adventurers. The Holy Land, where the great Constantines' own mother Helena, discovered the True Cross. Egypt, North Africa, and Spain have all been reconquered. Even Persia, with the exeption of a few sheikdoms, is Roman.

Such is the Empire, as I write the first entry of my journal, on April 12, 1227.

 

[Mike von Bek]

Oooh, the Superpowers face off... lets hope the good guys win

 

[stnylan]

Let a titanic struggle commence.

 

[unmerged(18239)]

The Journal of Michael Castellvell: The Mongolian Wars​

This is my first AAR, and honestly i'm not feeling all that confident in it's entertainment value o Although, they say you should write for yourself and the readers will follow, so that's what i'll try to do.

That was a good start, go on like this and readers will certainly come.

BTW: I have never played Ck but do the mongols play a large role in it? And are they all powerfull?

 

[Mike von Bek]

They are pretty scary Mosby. They show up around 1220, and if a player isnt ready for them - they can be quite nasty indeed. Witness Megapimp's efforts to throw them back in his Run for the Hills AAR. Of course, were hoping that the beezneez will do better.

Onward Byzantium!

 

[beezneez]

The Journal of Michael Castellvell: The Mongolian Wars​

The Horde Arrives​

-June 24, 1227: Located north of the Caspian Sea and very near the egde of our known maps, lies the County of Bashkirs. A barbarian tribe, known as "The Golden Horde" have declared their independence and deposed the Count of Bashkirs, a vassal of the emperor. According to the messenger, the Count was, "dragged behind a horse untill his arse was filled with soil and rock." He was then beheaded, his skull stripped of it's skin and muscle, covered in silver, and is now used as a drinking cup by Morokha of Bashkirs, the barbarian's leader.

-The emperor sent gold to three of his vassals who border Bashkirs. War was not declared by either side, and the Horde seemed content in Bashkirs.


-August 1, 1227: The Horde's army has been estimated at 150,000 men. The empire's manpower is over 500,000. But, for the empire to field all of them would risk the loyalty of the vassals who provided those troops, not to mention bankrupt the empire in a short time. Besides, too many soldiers would die in transit to the front. Any major battles would have to wait. Besides, we were not at war, and the emperor has other options.....

 

[stnylan]

Would such other options include assassination?

 

[Mike von Bek]

Would such other options include assassination?

A time honoured solution. Lets see a no-holds barred, down-and-dirty fight! After all, its not like the Mongols where paragons of virtue. Heh - "I say old chap, just going to pillage the country, hope you dont mind. Good show!"

Byzantium must survive, whatever the cost!

 

[beezneez]

The Journal of Michael Castellvell: The Mongolian Wars​

Assasinations and the disappearence of the Mongol army.​

-September 6, 1227: The emperor's suberb spy network was ordered to destabilize the barbarian court. They began by assasinating Simonis Terter, Morokha of Bashkirs steward.

You flip ahead through the Patriarchs' journal. The entry you stop on is this:

-December 23, 1235: Since the beginning of September 1227, our assasins have dispatched six of the Horde's court:

--Simonis Terter: Steward
--Nomolun of Bashkirs: Steward
--Khojin of Bashkirs: Spymaster
--Rymgajla of Danzig: Exellent spymaster who took the place of Khojin. She proved very difficult to kill.
--On January 25, 1230, Morokha of Bashkirs, king of the Golden Horde, was killed.
--Febuary 20 of 1230 the heir of Morokha, Chanai, was assasinated.

-Husun of Bashkirs became the new king of the Golden Horde


-December 30, 1235: The Horde declared war on the County of Aral which borders Bashkirs. The emperor declared war and various vassals did the same. Anxiety was high throughout the empire. The Horde's reputation for depravity was well known. The emperor hoped his vassals and the army were ready for many years of war.


-April 15, 1236: Bashkirs castle captured. The Golden Horde's army was never seen or heard of. It is not beleived the barbarian army was on a far off campaign, but dispersed due to the loss of leadership.

 

[beezneez]

i guess assasination was the obvious direction i was going in, and as you see, it was
strangly i never the horde army. they declared war, and as far as i know, where not at war w/ anyone else. but i never saw them and bashkirs was purple once again.

a bit anti-climactic, but i know they'll be bcak, and the il-khanate has yet to arrive. but, a strange thing has happened that i've never seen before, but some of you may have, an actual family feud. at first i was worried, but it has become the fodder of the medieval world's rag magazines hopefully i'll have that story ready to post after work late tonight

 

[Mike von Bek]

Ha ha, thats what happens when you mess with the best - you get assasinated like the rest!

How anticlimatic. European history will be so much more interesting without the Mongol invasion though...

 

[beezneez]

Ha ha, thats what happens when you mess with the best - you get assasinated like the rest!

How anticlimatic. European history will be so much more interesting without the Mongol invasion though...

well, via events they will be back, plus the il-khanate will show. i may have to fast forward some till they show, but probably not to far.

 

[stnylan]

that's odd. Oh well, fill us in with what happens in the interim.

 

[Mike von Bek]

well, via events they will be back, plus the il-khanate will show. i may have to fast forward some till they show, but probably not to far.

Oh, dont get me wrong - I love it. Pre-emptive strikes dont leave much in the way of threats to build a tale around, but they are DAMNED effective. All hail the Emperor!

 

[beezneez]

The Journal of Michael Castellvell: The Mongolian Wars​

The Prinkips-Diasorenos Feud​

April 8, 1239: The empress Christina Diasorenos has been assasinated. She was weak, ill and the emperor needs strong heirs. Although I liked her, and never saw it coming.

April 19, 1239: The assasination of the empress has had an unexpected outcome. The now dead empress' father, Isaakios Diasorenos, has taken the death of his daughter, poorly. From his province of Homs (just north of Damascus), he has ordered the assasinations of Alexios Prinkips, Count of El bierzo, (near the NW corner of Spain), and his court.

It seems he believes Prinkips had some role in his daughter's murder, and members of the Prinkips court have already been assasinated. Prinkips, however, has answered in kind, assasinating members of the Diasorenos court. The emperor is very concerned and fears it may escalate to civil war.


May 3 1239: The emperor, Konstantinos Komnenus, has married Yeva Diogenes, the Armenian daughter of the Prince of Ikonion. The Prinkips-Diasorenos feud continues to rumble.


May 13, 1239: Isaakios Diasorenos has succeeded in murdering Alexios Prinkips! The emperor has decided he must do something.


June 1, 1239: The emperor succeeded in killing Isaakios' supurb spymaster. Hopefully this will send a strong message to the two families and hamper the Diasorenos' chances of assasination.

June 10, 1239: Without his strong spymaster to protect him, Isaakios Diasorenos has himself been assasinated. It seemed the emperor's move has just leveled the playing field.

August 10, 1239: Children now rule the provinces of Homs and El bierzo, but you couldn't tell the difference if their fathers were ruling. Court members continue to be murdered in a sort of "cold war" between these two families. The emperor has decided to stay hands off.

August 1, 1240: Another barbarian menace of the Mongol race, has invaded near the empire's territory. This time at the southern end of the Caspian Sea. They are known as The Il-Khanate.

September 12, 1240: In between assasination reports, we recieved word the Il-Khanate was quickly spreading and is at war with various Sheikdoms in the south Caspian area. War seems inevitable, but we are not yet at war.

 

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Ah, don't you love CK's assassination wars? Nice way to spice up a period of peace...

More Mongols, though? Better start praying...

 

[stnylan]

Better start sharpening those swords.

 

[beezneez]

im just surprised isaakios went after another court's members instead of my court. i did have his daughter whacked, not poor Alexios is it because i'm his liege?

 

[stnylan]

Good question, I've no idea of the answer. I wonder if its possible there is a bug that means a mistake is made is attributing blame?