Welcome to the forums, baktru! Nice job so far with your first AAR! I'll be reading 
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@Enewald: Or the muslims will try their utmost to eliminate the rulers with identical names so they too, can make sense of it all.
@Democratickid: Thanks!
@Democratickid: Thanks!
April 20th, 1067: No force as terrible as a woman scorned.
A sunny afternoon saw quite a crowd gathered in the main plaza in the center of Oviedo, their murmurs and expectant whispers being carried throughout the western part of town by the strong wind blowing in over the hills. The heat of summer still being some months away, those who could afford the coin were trying to keep warm with the soft wines sold by the vendors attracted by the occasion, whilst others were savouring the honey-sweetened rolls or vegetable stews on offer.
Near the northern end of the plaza, a scaffolding had been erected for the occasion. Not a happy one for sure, yet even that was under fierce debate amongst some of the more vocal locals discussing the recent events. A few young men, dressed somewhat better than their fellows around them, were yelling encouragements to the hooded man who was practicing swings with a large two-handed sword upon the scaffolding. The crowd fell silent and gazed upon the proceedings as first a priest, and then three men dressed in tattered, blood-soiled rags were being led upon the podium by the count’s guards. None of the three even looked up to meet the gaze of the gathered people of the Oviedo, seemingly having accepted the fate awaiting them in the hour that would follow.
Jimena de Leon watched with carefully hidden glee as the heads of the trio of woodworkers were forcefully removed from the bodies to which they belonged. Conspiration to murder and high treason had been the charges of which they were found guilty, whereas in reality their sole crime had been no more moving their business from Burgos to Oviedo in recent months.
Jimena smiled as she noticed her father was still dumbstruck that anyone would have wanted to conspire against him at all, surely he had but the well-being of his populace and that of their immortal souls in mind? She quickly cast her glance, smile and all, down to her newborn infant Eva as she noticed Diego turning towards her, pretending to have been amused by a face made or a sound uttered by the babe in her lap.
The Duke smiled weakly as he glanced upon his only daughter, a mother herself now. “You should not have taken the risk of coming up here to halt this… to stop these… men yourself, my dearest. Is it wise to travel with so young a babe, and in your condition? The spring rains render the mountain passes treacherous…”
“It is yourself you should be worried about, father… It was but with luck, or perhaps the good will of the Lord our Saviour himself, that this plot was discovered at all… Look at them, three of the many woodworkers, shipwrights and carpenters that flocked to Oviedo attracted by the opportunities that arose from the construction of the new fishing fleet you ordered. If it were not for my informants, we might not have sat here today. You might not have laid eyes upon Eva at all.” Jimena sighed as she looked her father squarely in the eye, a look of concern obvious on her innocent-looking face.
“I still have difficulty imagining that the Castilians would want to see me dead. I have never been but a loyal vassal to the Jimenez family, both to King Alfonso now and King Fernando before him!” Diego looked back at the crowd which, seemingly pleased by how the proceedings had run their course, was dispersing slowly into the town again.
“Poor father, you never did have a nose for the politics behind the tapestries, did you? That is exactly why these so-called woodworkers were sent here! An attempt by King Sancho to weaken the powerbase of my husband, King Alfonso, is what it was… They did admit to it all with barely a smidgen of torture, did they not? And just imagine, what would Bernardo in El Bierzo have done if he saw that his liege could not protect his father from a threesome a spitiful as those?” Jimena gestured to the bodies that were being dragged away by the count’s guards, the heads being carried along in a basket borne by a couple of servants.
“Bernardo? I think he would set off with an army right away if he suspected any involvement of King Sancho in my death, without even consulting with the King.”
“You see… King Sancho would take these lands no matter what the cost… He is nothing like my husband. We here in Leon, are blessed to find ourselves with a wise and generous monarch. One who cares for his vassals enough to not only keep an eye out for himself, but for you as well.”
“You are too right, daughter dear… And I am thankful to the Lord for the many blessings I have…”, said Diego, turning his attention to his grandchild.
Jimena herself was all too pleased with how this all had turned out… The relationship between her father and her husband cemented further, and more importantly, that vile Violante, queen of Castile, would not be seen in her home making remarks about how Eva really didn’t look like her father, any time soon again. Hah! How had she even dared to imply Eva might not have been conceived by the King himself, in his own house? As for little Eva? She was just content to get this much attention from mother and grandfather both, gurgling happily under the warming rays of the sun.
A sunny afternoon saw quite a crowd gathered in the main plaza in the center of Oviedo, their murmurs and expectant whispers being carried throughout the western part of town by the strong wind blowing in over the hills. The heat of summer still being some months away, those who could afford the coin were trying to keep warm with the soft wines sold by the vendors attracted by the occasion, whilst others were savouring the honey-sweetened rolls or vegetable stews on offer.
Near the northern end of the plaza, a scaffolding had been erected for the occasion. Not a happy one for sure, yet even that was under fierce debate amongst some of the more vocal locals discussing the recent events. A few young men, dressed somewhat better than their fellows around them, were yelling encouragements to the hooded man who was practicing swings with a large two-handed sword upon the scaffolding. The crowd fell silent and gazed upon the proceedings as first a priest, and then three men dressed in tattered, blood-soiled rags were being led upon the podium by the count’s guards. None of the three even looked up to meet the gaze of the gathered people of the Oviedo, seemingly having accepted the fate awaiting them in the hour that would follow.
Jimena de Leon watched with carefully hidden glee as the heads of the trio of woodworkers were forcefully removed from the bodies to which they belonged. Conspiration to murder and high treason had been the charges of which they were found guilty, whereas in reality their sole crime had been no more moving their business from Burgos to Oviedo in recent months.
Jimena smiled as she noticed her father was still dumbstruck that anyone would have wanted to conspire against him at all, surely he had but the well-being of his populace and that of their immortal souls in mind? She quickly cast her glance, smile and all, down to her newborn infant Eva as she noticed Diego turning towards her, pretending to have been amused by a face made or a sound uttered by the babe in her lap.
The Duke smiled weakly as he glanced upon his only daughter, a mother herself now. “You should not have taken the risk of coming up here to halt this… to stop these… men yourself, my dearest. Is it wise to travel with so young a babe, and in your condition? The spring rains render the mountain passes treacherous…”
“It is yourself you should be worried about, father… It was but with luck, or perhaps the good will of the Lord our Saviour himself, that this plot was discovered at all… Look at them, three of the many woodworkers, shipwrights and carpenters that flocked to Oviedo attracted by the opportunities that arose from the construction of the new fishing fleet you ordered. If it were not for my informants, we might not have sat here today. You might not have laid eyes upon Eva at all.” Jimena sighed as she looked her father squarely in the eye, a look of concern obvious on her innocent-looking face.
“I still have difficulty imagining that the Castilians would want to see me dead. I have never been but a loyal vassal to the Jimenez family, both to King Alfonso now and King Fernando before him!” Diego looked back at the crowd which, seemingly pleased by how the proceedings had run their course, was dispersing slowly into the town again.
“Poor father, you never did have a nose for the politics behind the tapestries, did you? That is exactly why these so-called woodworkers were sent here! An attempt by King Sancho to weaken the powerbase of my husband, King Alfonso, is what it was… They did admit to it all with barely a smidgen of torture, did they not? And just imagine, what would Bernardo in El Bierzo have done if he saw that his liege could not protect his father from a threesome a spitiful as those?” Jimena gestured to the bodies that were being dragged away by the count’s guards, the heads being carried along in a basket borne by a couple of servants.
“Bernardo? I think he would set off with an army right away if he suspected any involvement of King Sancho in my death, without even consulting with the King.”
“You see… King Sancho would take these lands no matter what the cost… He is nothing like my husband. We here in Leon, are blessed to find ourselves with a wise and generous monarch. One who cares for his vassals enough to not only keep an eye out for himself, but for you as well.”
“You are too right, daughter dear… And I am thankful to the Lord for the many blessings I have…”, said Diego, turning his attention to his grandchild.
Jimena herself was all too pleased with how this all had turned out… The relationship between her father and her husband cemented further, and more importantly, that vile Violante, queen of Castile, would not be seen in her home making remarks about how Eva really didn’t look like her father, any time soon again. Hah! How had she even dared to imply Eva might not have been conceived by the King himself, in his own house? As for little Eva? She was just content to get this much attention from mother and grandfather both, gurgling happily under the warming rays of the sun.
I see you are already beginning to put Jimena to good use. Some nice plotting here. And I also like it very much how the Christians tear into each other. I am intrigued to see how this infighting will turn out once the Muslims come knocking.
Jimena is in the wrong court. She should be in Constantinople!
As The_Guiscard said, you do a wonderful job with your writing! I'm suspecting that in real life, the Muslims would have loved to see Christian infighting on this scale. CK AI Muslims, on the other hand... *shrug*
As The_Guiscard said, you do a wonderful job with your writing! I'm suspecting that in real life, the Muslims would have loved to see Christian infighting on this scale. CK AI Muslims, on the other hand... *shrug*
@Guiscard: I knew right away Jimena was a perfect character to get into the AAR. That vengeful trait/high intrigue combo is a nice one.
Now I need to go on reading the Furor... I want to see what happened with the whole Yolanda married to the greek guy thing
@General: I haven't gotten around to how things go with the Muslims yet in the AAR. But rest assured, soon, very soon they get to join the party.
Now I need to go on reading the Furor... I want to see what happened with the whole Yolanda married to the greek guy thing
@General: I haven't gotten around to how things go with the Muslims yet in the AAR. But rest assured, soon, very soon they get to join the party.
New Year's Day, 1069: Of difficult voyages and masterful plans.
Few onlookers had gathered as the royal party trudged into Pamplona, King Alfonso riding at the head of the small group. The trip itself had been uneventful, but tiring. In view of the deteriorating relations between Castile and Leon, rather than taking the land road through Burgos, the group had first travelled north over the ancient Roman Via de la Plata to Oviedo and Gijon. From Gijon, they had embarked upon a number of small fishing vessels, re-appropriated for the occasion of the royal voyage, and sailed east to San Sebastian, from whence they had endured over 10 leagues of muddy, if not inundated mountain roads.
The party certainly looked less than royal as they rode through the northern gate, spattered with mud and sagging in their saddles, though a few did try to keep a more appropriate posture for the arrival.
King Alfonso looked around bemused by how Pamplona looked most similar to his own capital of Leon, with the few scattered peasants and townsfolk that had gathered to see dressed in naught but coarse linen and wool as would have been the case at home. Alfonso was not riding his own Andalusian stallion Sienna Blood, since taking the fierce animal aboard on one of the fishing vessels would have been a sure recipe for disaster. King Sancho of Navarre had had horses ready in San Sebastian for the party, and so Alfonso was riding a docile and smallish chestnut mare. Next to him, the Kingdom's marshal Enrique Perez was seemingly uncomfortable with the horse he had been assigned.
"This bloody horse hasn't even looked sideways once since we left San Sebastian. Feels like she's been sleeping all the way here," he remarked as he shifted his weight around in the narrow saddle.
Alfonso snickered as he eyed his friend: "Surely it still beats walking all the way?"
Enrique snorted: "I'd rather have walked all the way with an army of hardened soldiers, than this! Never have I been this sore from riding before, I swear I have bruises from this animal's ribs all over my legs..."
"Really?" Alfonso smiled and replied: "Did you just say that finally someone has succeeded in wounding my general? A remarkable feat!"
"Heh. Well, you know how it is. Give me a battlefield and a fearsome beast to ride, and I'll be fine. But this? I'm darn glad we finally reached Pamplona. Getting off this horse will be good, and no more nagging from the women even better! I'm cold! I'm wet! I'm nauseous, make the ship stop wobbling please! Not to mention that chambermaid of your wifes who didn't dare mount her mule because it looked at her in a funny way. Hah!"
"Soon, my friend, you will ride your destrier in combat... We're not just here to celebrate after all. It's time we put this alliance to work..."
***
The day after New Year's, the two Kings and their armies' generals had gathered in one of the rooms of King Sancho's town house in Pamplona itself, with guards posted outside the doors and patrolling around the building.
A large map of Iberia was spread out over the single table in the room, illuminated by the little daylight there was on yet another overcast and grey winter's day.
Sancho held his head, a look of pain on his pale face. "Not so loud... That wine yesterday was obviously not of the best stock..."
Alfonso grinned: "I told you dear cousin, that too much of it would not become you well..."
"Yes I vaguely recall that you did at some point. I think. Yesterday is kind of a blur... But no matter... " Sancho grabbed a tankard filled with cold water and emptied it to the bottom as everyone looked at the map.
"Well," Alfonso started, "the most obvious route between our lands is St. James Way through Burgos of course."
Enrique nodded as he traced St. James Way through Rioja and Burgos to Leon. "It would surely beat braving the whims of the Atlantic whenever we travel back and forth, but..." He put down his finger on top of Burgos: "This may be a tough nut to crack."
King Sancho glanced at the map: "Surely between the hammer of Leon and the anvil of Navarre, Burgos should not be too much of a hassle?"
"I am sure that would be a battle we could win, but..." Alfonso started, "It would be a great risk, though. The people might be upset by yet another war within the family, although that is not the greatest worry. The troops of Castille are at least as well-trained as ours, if not better. The walls of Burgos are also thick, and as far as we know, still well-maintained. A siege would take a long time, during which we both would be vulnerable to other opponents..."
"If I may, my liege?", Enrique piped up hesitantly, not feeling all that comfortable interrupting the discussion between the two kings.
"For sure, you would not have been in the meetuing if it were not for he fact that I value your opinion...", Alfonso replied.
"That is not the only issues with an assault on Burgos. This plan is almost too obvious. Strike at where Castille is at its narrowest, where the capital is to be found no less. With the relations between us and Castille as they are, that must be what they are expecting. Even if we were to move fast, an attack on Burgos could never be a surprise. Worse yet, the marshall in command of the Castillian troops..."
"What about him?" Sancho asked. "He is but one man, is he not? Our forces combined are larger than theirs! That should suffice..."
Enrique smiled as he recalled what he knew of his counterpart in the Castillian court: "I have had the honour of sharing a battlefield with the young man. A young knight of indisputable valour he is, and a sound mind as well. A the battle of Graus, under the leadership of King Fernando, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar was in command of a small regiment of knights. Having seen the man in action, if but briefly, I am certain that he is destined for greatness. Excel he did, both in command of his regiment and in battle itself! It was the swift actions by his regiment that cut off King Ramiro from escape that day. That young lion, in my opinion, would have quite a few tricks up his sleeve. In my opinion, Burgos might turn out to be a lot harder to crack than we imagine..."
"Well," King Sancho sighed. "Then let's see about this here..."
Sancho pointed to another part of the map, just south of his own realm. "The sheikdoms of Calatayud and Molina... If we each conquer one of these, then we'd have established another landroute between us, albeit along one."
Enrique mused over the idea, studying the map for a while as he thought about whether an assault upon the two muslim states would be any easier. Having fought both against, and alongside Moorish troops before, his first intuitive reaction was that that should be feasible...
"My liege, " he said, "I think that King Sancho has just expressed a great idea. Molina is surrounded by open plains and fields. The terrain is a perfect fit for our knights, especially considering how the sheiks' armies tend to have more infantry than ours. Also, the city of Molina is not half as impressively fortified as Burgos."
Alfonso took another sip of diluted wine, and concentrated on the map once more. "Furthermore, our troops from Leon can assemble in Salamanca quickly, we could be at the walls of Molina before the sheik can even mobilize his host... I like this idea. As will Jimena. I'm sure she woudl even skip the festivities here next time if she were to endure another ride on a boat. The sea doesn't seem to agree with her stomach..."
Sancho lit up as an agreement had been all but reached: "Excellent! Then next spring, we both march into these sheikdoms and by the end of summer, we shake hands, right here." He pointed out a dot on the border between the sheikdoms of Molina and Calatayud. "Right here, in the middle of nowhere!"
Edit: Screenshots added.
Few onlookers had gathered as the royal party trudged into Pamplona, King Alfonso riding at the head of the small group. The trip itself had been uneventful, but tiring. In view of the deteriorating relations between Castile and Leon, rather than taking the land road through Burgos, the group had first travelled north over the ancient Roman Via de la Plata to Oviedo and Gijon. From Gijon, they had embarked upon a number of small fishing vessels, re-appropriated for the occasion of the royal voyage, and sailed east to San Sebastian, from whence they had endured over 10 leagues of muddy, if not inundated mountain roads.
The party certainly looked less than royal as they rode through the northern gate, spattered with mud and sagging in their saddles, though a few did try to keep a more appropriate posture for the arrival.
King Alfonso looked around bemused by how Pamplona looked most similar to his own capital of Leon, with the few scattered peasants and townsfolk that had gathered to see dressed in naught but coarse linen and wool as would have been the case at home. Alfonso was not riding his own Andalusian stallion Sienna Blood, since taking the fierce animal aboard on one of the fishing vessels would have been a sure recipe for disaster. King Sancho of Navarre had had horses ready in San Sebastian for the party, and so Alfonso was riding a docile and smallish chestnut mare. Next to him, the Kingdom's marshal Enrique Perez was seemingly uncomfortable with the horse he had been assigned.
"This bloody horse hasn't even looked sideways once since we left San Sebastian. Feels like she's been sleeping all the way here," he remarked as he shifted his weight around in the narrow saddle.
Alfonso snickered as he eyed his friend: "Surely it still beats walking all the way?"
Enrique snorted: "I'd rather have walked all the way with an army of hardened soldiers, than this! Never have I been this sore from riding before, I swear I have bruises from this animal's ribs all over my legs..."
"Really?" Alfonso smiled and replied: "Did you just say that finally someone has succeeded in wounding my general? A remarkable feat!"
"Heh. Well, you know how it is. Give me a battlefield and a fearsome beast to ride, and I'll be fine. But this? I'm darn glad we finally reached Pamplona. Getting off this horse will be good, and no more nagging from the women even better! I'm cold! I'm wet! I'm nauseous, make the ship stop wobbling please! Not to mention that chambermaid of your wifes who didn't dare mount her mule because it looked at her in a funny way. Hah!"
"Soon, my friend, you will ride your destrier in combat... We're not just here to celebrate after all. It's time we put this alliance to work..."
***
The day after New Year's, the two Kings and their armies' generals had gathered in one of the rooms of King Sancho's town house in Pamplona itself, with guards posted outside the doors and patrolling around the building.
A large map of Iberia was spread out over the single table in the room, illuminated by the little daylight there was on yet another overcast and grey winter's day.
Sancho held his head, a look of pain on his pale face. "Not so loud... That wine yesterday was obviously not of the best stock..."
Alfonso grinned: "I told you dear cousin, that too much of it would not become you well..."
"Yes I vaguely recall that you did at some point. I think. Yesterday is kind of a blur... But no matter... " Sancho grabbed a tankard filled with cold water and emptied it to the bottom as everyone looked at the map.
"Well," Alfonso started, "the most obvious route between our lands is St. James Way through Burgos of course."
Enrique nodded as he traced St. James Way through Rioja and Burgos to Leon. "It would surely beat braving the whims of the Atlantic whenever we travel back and forth, but..." He put down his finger on top of Burgos: "This may be a tough nut to crack."
King Sancho glanced at the map: "Surely between the hammer of Leon and the anvil of Navarre, Burgos should not be too much of a hassle?"
"I am sure that would be a battle we could win, but..." Alfonso started, "It would be a great risk, though. The people might be upset by yet another war within the family, although that is not the greatest worry. The troops of Castille are at least as well-trained as ours, if not better. The walls of Burgos are also thick, and as far as we know, still well-maintained. A siege would take a long time, during which we both would be vulnerable to other opponents..."
"If I may, my liege?", Enrique piped up hesitantly, not feeling all that comfortable interrupting the discussion between the two kings.
"For sure, you would not have been in the meetuing if it were not for he fact that I value your opinion...", Alfonso replied.
"That is not the only issues with an assault on Burgos. This plan is almost too obvious. Strike at where Castille is at its narrowest, where the capital is to be found no less. With the relations between us and Castille as they are, that must be what they are expecting. Even if we were to move fast, an attack on Burgos could never be a surprise. Worse yet, the marshall in command of the Castillian troops..."
"What about him?" Sancho asked. "He is but one man, is he not? Our forces combined are larger than theirs! That should suffice..."
Enrique smiled as he recalled what he knew of his counterpart in the Castillian court: "I have had the honour of sharing a battlefield with the young man. A young knight of indisputable valour he is, and a sound mind as well. A the battle of Graus, under the leadership of King Fernando, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar was in command of a small regiment of knights. Having seen the man in action, if but briefly, I am certain that he is destined for greatness. Excel he did, both in command of his regiment and in battle itself! It was the swift actions by his regiment that cut off King Ramiro from escape that day. That young lion, in my opinion, would have quite a few tricks up his sleeve. In my opinion, Burgos might turn out to be a lot harder to crack than we imagine..."
"Well," King Sancho sighed. "Then let's see about this here..."
Sancho pointed to another part of the map, just south of his own realm. "The sheikdoms of Calatayud and Molina... If we each conquer one of these, then we'd have established another landroute between us, albeit along one."
Enrique mused over the idea, studying the map for a while as he thought about whether an assault upon the two muslim states would be any easier. Having fought both against, and alongside Moorish troops before, his first intuitive reaction was that that should be feasible...
"My liege, " he said, "I think that King Sancho has just expressed a great idea. Molina is surrounded by open plains and fields. The terrain is a perfect fit for our knights, especially considering how the sheiks' armies tend to have more infantry than ours. Also, the city of Molina is not half as impressively fortified as Burgos."
Alfonso took another sip of diluted wine, and concentrated on the map once more. "Furthermore, our troops from Leon can assemble in Salamanca quickly, we could be at the walls of Molina before the sheik can even mobilize his host... I like this idea. As will Jimena. I'm sure she woudl even skip the festivities here next time if she were to endure another ride on a boat. The sea doesn't seem to agree with her stomach..."
Sancho lit up as an agreement had been all but reached: "Excellent! Then next spring, we both march into these sheikdoms and by the end of summer, we shake hands, right here." He pointed out a dot on the border between the sheikdoms of Molina and Calatayud. "Right here, in the middle of nowhere!"
Edit: Screenshots added.
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So, the Iberian nobility does finally get something else done than bickering among itself. I am very much hopint that they are going to stab each other in the back for the spoils of their expedition.
And Enrique's horse does remind me of Jolly Jumper...
And Enrique's horse does remind me of Jolly Jumper...
I'm not too happy with that update, Enrique doesn't come across as I he should eh. Ah well. Better next time
And fight over the spoils? But but... We like cousin Sancho! We don't like brother Sancho, but we do like cousin Sancho!
And fight over the spoils? But but... We like cousin Sancho! We don't like brother Sancho, but we do like cousin Sancho!
My apologies for the slowdown. I'm preparing for a move to Singapore soon so playing and writing is taking a hit... Should get an update in tomorrow or so.
B.
B.