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Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty : Husband And Wife
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty : Husband And Wife
This chapter opens in early January, of the year 944 AD, with the Empress pondering making a Great Work.
But even the cheapest Great Work was beyond her current budget. Though maybe a few years of peace would fill her coffers enough to be able to construct a Great Work.
But she did order that the Capital’s Hospital build a section that helped Lepers.
After awhile she went back to watching her husband if he would just die already. Or was going to die.
The Basilissa and the Basileus didn’t get along very well. While they were both Buddhists they were different branches of the Religion. Also the husband seemed to truly be upset by the fact that his wife had killed people.
Also he had a friendship with the Great King Theophylaktos. Which upset the Empress.
“He is MY family!” she proclaimed. “He should be my friend!”
The Empress WAS a friend with the Bhikkhu of Zholhun. At least ONE person didn’t hate her. But it would have been nice to have OTHER friends. Powerful friends.
On top of that her latest victory was overshadowed by the killing of three cows. Stupid falling stars! And stupid cow birds! Eating up all that wheat! That could have been brewed to make beer. And maybe baked into bread to feed the people. But mostly it could have been used to make beer for the Imperial cellars!
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When Hubs kicks the bucket, it will be one less person that dislikes the Basilissa, but he is being stubborn. On a ratio basis, your passage of time is approaching @El Pip levels. Thanks
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Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-One : Yummy Tiger?
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-One : Yummy Tiger?
This chapter opens in January, of the year 944 AD, with the Empress realizing she now had a person who could become the Court Eunuch.
That’s right. With Basileios she now had somebody to fill that position. So he became the Court Eunuch. And no doubt he hated her even more now.
She also noticed, while going over the lists, that her Court Physician was not a Buddhist, was of the Persian Culture, and disliked her. And was a Lowborn. How crude!
She wondered if there was any way to improve on his opinion of her.
“Heck with that!” she said, as she grew bored and tossed the lists aside, “I want a tiger hunt! We need a new rug. And I want to know how tiger meat tastes like.”
And so the Tiger Hunt was announced and the riders were released!
This time the riders who carried the invites were dressed up in such a way that no bandits or highwaymen would think about trying to rob them.
In fact it seemed that nobody rejected the invitations. Maybe it was the outfits?
As the Empress selected which dresses to take and what dishes to be served during the hunt she was alerted to the fact that the Peace Deal with China was going to run out soon.
But soon the bags were packed, the mules and elephants ready, and the Hunters had picked a region to hunt in.
So the Hunting Party was off! Soon the tents were set up, the cooking fires started, the Imperial Guards stationed to protect the camp. The Empress was looking forward to roast tiger!
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Hopefully, the tigers do not get heartburn from Empress Tartare. Thanks
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Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Two : Failure!
“Message For You Ma’am!”
This chapter opens in late January, of the year 944 AD, with the Empress sending the Savaka-Sangha a letter via the otter mail service. No rain, snow, floods, or rivers would stop them from delivering their message. Though they could be bribed with a good piece of fresh fish.Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Two : Failure!
“Message For You Ma’am!”
Her letter asked to be advanced to the next rank. She gave it to the otter, with a fresh piece of fish, and watched it run away in a cute manner that only otters could do. Then went back to riding her Imperial Elephant and the tradition of drinking, eating, and enjoying the open air while her Hunters tried to find a tiger for her to kill.
Then, a few days later, they came back from the thick forest and announced they had found a tiger!
The Empress climbed down from her Imperial Elephant and demanded a weapon. She planned to kill the big cat herself.
“Get the sauce ready!” she shouted. “Tiger is on the menu boys!”
The tiger seemed to sense something about the Empress as she approached. Maybe it was the spear she was holding. Or the the bib she was wearing. Or the way she was smacking her lips. But the tiger ran for it after a few seconds.
“HEY!” shouted the Empress. “Come here and get roasted!”
So she failed and was pretty pissed about. That night she had just the regular three course meal. No tiger meat. How upsetting for her. Sadly, for her, the main dish that night was roast peacock.
Soon the Hunting Party was packing up the tents, putting out the camp fires, and loading up the pack animals. Time to go home to failure.
On their return journey the Empress got a letter from the Council via an old fashion rider. How cheap.
The man, covered in dust, handed over a sealed scroll. The Empress took it as she directed him towards one of her Servants.
“Wine and some fresh bread for this rider,” she said. “And make sure he has a fresh horse for carrying the reply.”
She broke open the seal and unrolled the scroll. Seemed her Designated Regent had disappeared and the Empress now needed a new one. She didn’t care where the woman who HAD been the Designated Regent had gone. She was still having issues with the whole being nice thing. She WAS trying but not doing a good job at it.
Her reply was simple. She selected the person in her Imperial Court who had the highest opinion of her.
That man happened to be a Nobleman called Vasudeva. He was the Doux of Gorkha and was of the House of Kumanchal. The man had the nickname “The Unready” and to be honest wasn’t very good at balancing the books, if the information in his file was true, but he did like the Empress. So that’s all that mattered.
Then the otter returned with a reply from the Arahnat Lanvarpala, head of the Buddhist Society, and it was good news. She was to advance to the next rank in the Savaka-Sangha.
She was so pleased that the otter joined her for dinner that night as they both feasted in fried fish and shrimp and, maybe, a little too much wine. Still, otters are well known for handling their drink and the otter was able to hold his own.
Still, even in the morning, as the Empress nursed a hangover, she wasn’t looking forward to the walk of shame when she entered the Capital. She knew that news of her failure would somehow beat her to the Palace and that the populace would greet her with frowns and turned backs.
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Author’s Notes:
To be honest my game crashed after the tiger hunt and I had to redo the hunt. The first time I killed the tiger but the second time I failed. And that’s the first time my game has crashed in years. Kind of worried.
Also seems the above sea dish has hush puppies in the image. So I guess India, in this timeline, had invented hush puppies.
Funny enough I looked up lemons and they seem to be from Asia. In fact they were in India. So, yeah, you can have sliced lemons with your dishes.
Learn something every day.
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He otter known better
Funny, where I come from a Hush Puppy is a well known brand of comfortable footwear.
What does it mean in US culinary terms?- 2
Hush puppies were said to originate in the southern United States. They are a traditional dish made from cornmeal, flour, buttermilk, egg, baking soda, and onions. Depending on the region there is also some spices and other things added, such as chedder cheese, garlic, and peppers. It is deep fried batter and is served as a side dish. Normally golf-sized. It is said to be great at quiting whining puppies or howling dogs depending on which legend you've heard.
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The hush puppies were imported from southern India. Tiger did not eat the Empress.
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Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Three : Welcome Home
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Three : Welcome Home
This chapter opens in mid February, of the year 944 AD, with the Empress receiving a message from the Capital via a duck.
Seems Theocharistos, one of her kin, had turned 12 and needed the second stage of his education to be selected.
The boy was the Heir to the Duchy of Yarlung. He would need to be strong.
So it was decided he would have a Martial Education. He would learn about the sword and the spear, the shield and the buckler, the dagger and the bow. The duck, after a short rest, took her reply back to the Capital.
Soon the Hunting Party was walking through the silent streets of the Capital. No one cheered them. Doors and windows were shut. Nobody wanted their bad luck to touch them. The Empress and the Hunting Party had failed. Failure was like a illness and could easily spread. The people believed that anyway and they wanted none of it.
Even the brothels were closed! How rude.
As for real illnesses they seemed to have disappeared from the Empire. One less thing to worry about.
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Would there have been a parade if the Empress had become a tiger's appetizer? Thank you
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Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Four : Bad News Is Just Bad News
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Four : Bad News Is Just Bad News
This chapter opens in late April, of the year 944 AD, with some bad news.
Seems Subhatavarman, of the House of Ayudha, had died from suspicious circumstances.
“Who cares,” dismissed the Empress with a shrug. “He wasn’t family or a friend. He had no titles and was of no importance.”
Then the Duchess Eustathia of Tirabhukti became known as “The Ill-Ruler”.
It was unknown how she had gotten the title. No skill at leadership? Too young to be s proper ruler? The fact she killed a Mayor?
And if that wasn’t bad enough the girl was going to get married to a man in his late sixties when she came of age. With a interesting nickname of his own!
“Any good news?” the Empress asked her Court.
“Well,” said one Courtier with a smile. “As you can see on this list there are only six plots happening at the moment.”
“Oh lovely,” murmured the Empress. “At least none are against me. And the threats that ARE against me?”
“Well, six, as far as we know,” replied the Courtier showing her another list.
“This only shows five threats,” pointed out the Empress. “You don’t know who the sixth threat is?”
“Err…no,” admitted the Courtier. “But at least no sickness has been reported within the Empire. “
Which was true. The Empire was clean. Outside of those dirty smugglers, of course. But that was already known by the Empress and nothing to be proud of.
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Are we going back to the Hudson Valley? Thank you
I agree with the Empress on the Ayudha. One less tummy to fill.
I agree with the Empress on the Ayudha. One less tummy to fill.
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If my other AAR dies I might play two CK2 AARs. Maybe continued with David.
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Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Five : A New Realm!
3-Way War?
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Five : A New Realm!
3-Way War?
This chapter starts in May, of the year 944 AD, with the Empress getting SOME good news.
Afsar, her Protostrator who was organizing the military, and his wife had given birth to a baby girl. A girl named Helene after Helen of Troy.
AS her father was a warrior the Empress decided the girl should learn how to deal with the hard knocks of life. She needed to be strong and to learn to fight.
Then she noticed her Cousin, Ioulia, was the Heir to Leadership of the Savaka-Sangha. Wanting to be on her good side the Empress sent her a small gift of coins. Which worked a little.
Sadly, the Wall Map showed a Revolt still existing within the borders of the Empire.
Then she was told the Great King Theophylaktos HAD a Successful Hunt.
“Are you people trying to upset me?” the Empress told her Courtiers. “I don’t care if he killed HIS tiger. I failed at killing mine. That’s all that is important.”
Then, one day in July, she was walking past the Wall Map, did a double take, and went back to the Wall Map. “What the heck is that?!”
Seems that a NEW Sultan had carved out a Realm of his own in the middle of the Middle East. The House of Lambakanna had created the Lambakanna Sultanate.
The Realm had been created in April, just that year, and already had over thirty-six thousand warriors. The weird thing was the Ruler was a Buddhist.
“Well, as a Buddhist he must have a high opinion of me,” remarked the Empress as she looked over the map.
“Nope,” replied one of the Courtiers. “Also he thinks Buddha promised him a Godhood.”
“So he is a loon,” mumbled the Empress. “Wonderful….”
Yet, while the Ruler was a Buddhist, the region was still mostly Sunni. No doubt because the populace, and most of the Nobles, were not yet converted to Buddhism.
“I would think the Abbasid Dynasty would want to crush him as quickly as possible,” pointed out the Empress.
“I am sure they would,” said one of the Courtiers. “But they are spread out, after marching into Africa and Asia, during the last few years. And they still have the Mirzid to deal with.”
“So..the Middle East is going to be a three-way war between the Abbasid, the Mirzid, and the Lambakanna.” The Empress pondered this. “Good. Maybe that would halt their advance eastwards.”
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Sultan Vebiliya may not be a loon. Total stats above 100, martial above 30, personal combat above 100, not genius or quick; someone in high places is looking after him. How many of 36K are special event troops? Thanks
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Maybe he has been promised a Godhood with stats like that. Are the Mongols and Aztecs still causing trouble?
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Crusader Kings 2 - The Road of Queens
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Six : Friends And Enemies - Part One
Chapter One Thousand-Thirty-Six : Friends And Enemies - Part One
This chapter opens in mid July, of the year 944 AD, with the announcement that the Aztec Holy War against Sultan Ajeddig was a victory.
Such a major victory that the man had lost ALL his titles!
It was doubtful that Huccalpixqui Garsiya II was planning to give them back.
Then the Exarchessa, her Ward, finished her training and became a woman.
Not just a woman. A well trained female warrior! A Skilled Tactician. Who would soon be a member of the Imperial Family.
AND had a very high opinion of her former Ward. Still, she wanted a Seat on the Council. Which may be possible….in the future.
Yes, the new Exarchessa Sundari of the Patola Sahi Kingdom would make a very good Vassal.
When you take into account how many enemies that the Empress had to have such a powerful ally was good thing. Wait….how many enimes did she have?
“Bring the lists!” she shouted to her Imperial Court.
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