The Emperor That Went Nowhere, Or A Most Tragic Tale Of A Storyteller-Gamer, His Character And His Overheating Laptop
I started a Manuel Komnenos game at the very beginning of his CK2 reign (1143 April 8th) with the intent of making a triumphant return to Anatolia. As you could see from the title, that would sadly not be the case.

The death of John the Just was mourned by many in his resurgent empire. Indeed, many have believed the emperor would ride with them to victory, reclaiming Anatolia from invaders in the east. However, all is not lost. In the emperor's plans upon event of his death, his youngest and most outstanding son Manuel was to succeed him as emperor. With tears in their eyes, men who had followed John and fought alongside Manuel hauled the young man on their shields into the capital, proclaiming him emperor.
The young emperor had many problems to deal with, the most glaring one of course that he is still a bachelor. As befitting his cosmopolitan nature, he chose a bride from a famous yet distant house - Constance Capet, Princess of France and sister of its King.

His father's inheritance was great and vast, but the family's ancestral lands at Castra Komnenon, within the Duchy of Paphlagonia were granted to outsiders. A situation that could ill-afford to be continued. For the glory of the family, our roots must be reclaimed. To prepare for that eventuality, the county of Paphlagonia was granted to a distant cousin of mine, hoping he would ally with his father in Sinope and accomplish this goal before I am forced to intervene.
Or hoping he lasts until I, Manuel, could fix this by myself later.

It would be useful to secure the Duke of Edessa as a tributary to cushion attacks on Anatolia by the various heathen powers in the region. Still, the project can wait until my fame has spread further, and the world properly acknowledges my position as successor to the great John.
(Strangely, Edessa was never attacked by the surrounding powers when it was at its weakest early years in this game. And I never managed to make it my tributary.)

Unsurprisingly, war has come to the Bastion of Christendom. The leader of the heathen Shia has the gall to claim all of our lands in the east. Their ambitions, of course, must be stopped if we are to accomplish ours.

To prepare for a great campaign in the east, we cannot risk fighting on two fronts like the great Alexios with our current resources. As such, I have married my niece to the Norman King Roger, so that the sacrosanct ties dissuade him from aggression.

While hostility has defined the relationship between us two powers since the Normans took over Sicily, Roger has proved cordial enough for an alliance. Such is a contract made in the eyes of God, yet let us hope for the sake of Roman pride this contract need never be convoked.

Still, Manuel, aware of the dangerous stage he dances on, swallowed his pride and made the call.

A historical moment.
For some genuinely good news, the empire celebrates the emperor's first born son, Manuel Chysogonos. May the empire stay strong and safe through a son worthy of the father's mantle.

Speaking of good news, the rowdy Franks that call themselves "holy warriors" have haunted the Romans since the era of the great Alexios. Indeed, there were often worries that only the barest threads of brotherhood in Christ are stopping the barbarians from pillaging our lands like the Saracens and Turks. Still, at the moment, such worries are laid to rest as the Franks point their swords at Egypt, hoping to reclaim the Apostolic land that accepted Christ through Saint Mark.

In the middle of our war against the Saracens, my vassals have demanded me to grant them the great powers of war declaration and imprisonment. Such concessions could not be allowed, yet with my forces bloodied against infidel invaders, I am in sore need of help. This was the situation wherein alliance between the Emperor of the Romans and the King of the Normans was convoked.
(I accidentally called Roger into the Shia Jihad for Anatolia. I had to call him in again after the rebellion properly broke out. In the middle of fighting a Jihad, I forgot to screenshot.)
While of little consequence to us Romans, word has reached us that infighting has broken out among the Papists in the middle of their Crusade. Interesting.

With the bulk of their forces fighting in Roman lands, the heartland of the heathen Shia fell quickly to the sudden onslaught of the Crusaders. Celebrations were tentatively allowed and carefully managed, to avoid bloodshed between Frankish merchants in Constantinople and the Roman populace.

I was most furious to see also my distant uncle Andronikos among the rebels. Still, due to bonds of blood and his advanced age, I spared him like I spared most of the rebels, demanding only a ransom to replenish imperial coffers. To a potential kinslayer's relief, Andronikos conveniently died of a sudden outbreak of smallpox one year later. Other problems were dealt with in more conventional ways, such as the county of Lykia, granted to the Strategos of Cibyrrhaeot's son then transferred to be Alexios' vassal. The imperial court has neglected to check whether he would revoke his own sons's title since the Strategos himself had fabricated a claim.
(Not pictured is the leader of the rebels, the Strategos of Moesia. He was executed to make a point and to free up the last Doukas with reproductive ability by this CK2 age.)

After finally catching a financial break, I, Manuel saw fit to intervene in Edessa's ailing situation. Thus, a Roman war on Turk-held Anatolia was launched, to secure a land route between Trebizond and the rest of the empire, in an effort to catch the attention of the Turks while accomplishing intended objectives. However, the Turks remained determined in their effort to take all of Edessa, sparing no more than 4000 troops to counter the 10k Roman host. With the emir of Taron also breathing down their necks, Edessa is lost.

I intended to press my cousins' claim on Antioch, so I clicked declare war as the Principality was in a convenient regency. At this point my game crashed, and the last save file was from ten in-game years ago. Which means this the last map of the game that could ever be produced, with half of Anatolia still in Turk hands. Most tragic, from a meta perspective, the ultimate downer ending.
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