When the Best Laid Plans Go AARwry

[Actinguy]

(This is from Deus Vult, no cheats or downloads or any of that fun stuff.)

Manuel Komneus was no Prince.

But his father was.

Prince Ionnas, Manuel’s father, was the Prince of Armeniacon, and the Count of Sinope…for now. But the man was elderly…a good sixty years old. He was regularly sick, he had some sort of internal parasite…he wasn’t going to be around much longer.

And Manuel, as the oldest son at 30 years old, stood to inherit it all.

It was only right, of course. 19-year-old Isaakios had already split off from the family and become Prince of Antioch. And Alexios, 18, had followed suit, becoming Prince of Paphlagonia AND Akrya. His youngest brother Adriano was only 11…hardly old enough to be a Count, much less a Prince. And his sisters Maria and Eudokia had been lucky to even earn court positions…the bible was clear on exactly what a woman’s place should be. And it wasn’t ruler of a Princedom.

No…it was Manuel who should be Prince of Armeniacon.

And it was Manuel who would be Prince, in just a short time.

But first, there were more pressing issues.

The issue of a wife.

The issue…of power.

Manuel had been waiting until he was Prince before he wed…assuming that the new title would win him a better bride. But now he was 30 years old…if he waited much longer, he may have a hard time getting a bride at all.

Especially the bride that he wanted: Mariam Bagratuni.

Mariam, 25, was a good, honest woman…still full of life despite her advanced age…and just enough trouble to keep Manuel’s attention.

More importantly…she was the only daughter of Bagrat Bagratuni.

The King of Georgia.

The King had a son, Girogi…but Girogi had no children of his own. So if something should happen to Girogi…either before or after ascending to the throne, provided he had no children of his own…then Manuel’s own son would inherit the throne of the King of Georgia.

But first he had to have a son.

And that meant marrying Mariam Bagratuni.



As it turned out, this would be the second-worst decision of his life.

 

[Lord Valentine]

Great another Byzantine AAR (or perhaps not when I consider your plans?)!
Anyway it's nice to see a Komnenos AAR not featuring Alexios. *subscribes*

~Lord Valentine~

 

[Actinguy]

(Ha, thanks. I haven't read the others, but now you've peaked my interest.)

The Kingdom of Byzantine wasn't at war.

The Kingdom of Byzantine was at WARS. With an S. With LOTS of S's.

The Shiekdoms of Nisibin, Kurdistan, Al Bichri, and Tadmore...the Beydom of Al Jazira, the Sultanate of Seljuk Turks, and the Emirates of Korasan, Mosal, Mazandaran and Abbasid were each biting at the empire's edges...and some of those bites were leaving marks.

They had already killed the Emperor.

Slain on the battlefield by the evil Muslims, Emperor Konstantinos Dukas...who had almost made it to 70...left the entire Empire of Byzantine to his son, Michael. The new Emperor, unfortunately, was no better than his father. A man of few principles and fewer actions, spending money the Empire didn't have, trying to mask his speech impediment with an unnecessarily aggressive attitutde...there were few things to like about him as a person.

And even fewer things to like about him as a leader.

But none of this mattered to Manuel...because his mind was not on national affairs.

His mind was on his wife, Miriam...and their new-born son, Heraklios.

The plan was coming together. The King of Georgia, Miriam's father, was only in his 40's. They probably had a good twenty years before King Bagrat passed away. And in twenty years, Heraklios would be ready to ascend to his grandfather's throne. Sure, there was the matter of the King's son...but who's to say he would even be alive in twenty years? After all, Manuel himself would certainly be Prince by then, and Princes have a way of...making things happen.

Yes...it would all come together by the time King Bagrat died. Twenty years was plenty of time to plan for his son's future.




Two days later, King Bagrat was dead.

 

[Lord Valentine]

It's never good to count on those Georgians!
In 99% of the cases they would have got themselves killed by the Turks before your son would have learned to say "Daddy" anyway. I am curious to see where Manuel will redirect his ambitions too.

~Lord Valentine~

 

[Actinguy]

Redirect?

Redirect?

With but one mortal man standing between his son and the King's throne?

Obviously, you have never met Count Manuel Komneus, who once had a wall built for the specific purpose of banging his own head against it, intentionally, on an hourly basis.

This, my friend, is but the beginning.

 

[Iudex]

Yes...it would all come together by the time King Bagrat died. Twenty years was plenty of time to plan for his son's future.




Two days later, King Bagrat was dead.

:rofl:
this really convinced me, if it continues like that it should be a very interesting AAR

 

[Actinguy]

He'd been on this Earth for sixty-two years...but he'd spent very little of that time actually running across it.

He was making up for that lost time today.

He'd outrun the arrows, outrun the swords, outrun even the horses. And still, he was running, now through the woods, in the dark of night.

He could run no longer. Once he got to the edge of these trees, he would stop.

Once he got to the edge of these trees, he'd be safe.

Once he got to the edge of these trees, he could put his plan in motion.


Of course, once he got to the edge of the trees, he was alarmed to find himself surrounded by hundreds of men. Armed with bows. Armed with swords. Riding horses.

Alarmed, of course, because any man in his right mind would be alarmed in this very situation. He was many things...but out of his right mind was not one of them.

Alarmed, also, because he thought he had successfully crossed the border...alone, in the dark of night, but most importantly, without anyone noticing. Especially, say, hundreds of men who made a living by killing anyone who attempted to cross the border without anyone noticing.

But, mostly, he was alarmed, because while he immediately recognized these soldiers...they did not immediately recognize him.




Some time later, Kosmas walked the halls of the fort, located on the top of a hill, overlooking the sea. He had just received an odd message, and didn't know what to make of it.

Of course, he did know what to "do" with it. Report it to the Count. Then follow his orders.

He knocked on the Count's private door, knowing that even at this late hour, the Count would likely still be awake, plotting his son's future.

"Sire?"

"Kosmas? What is it?"

"Sire...the guards. They have a man in their control. A man they caught crossing the border in a highly suspicious manner."

The Count looked at him, unsure of what it was his marshal was trying to tell him.

"Kosmas...should I begin expecting regular late-night updates from you on the status of every prisoner within our borders?"

"No, Sire...but this prisoner...this may be a special case."

"Quit speaking in tongues, Kosmas. Out with it."

"The prisoner, Sire...he claims he is the Prince."


Count Manuel shot up from his chair and stepped towards the Marshal.

"The Prince? Which one? Isaakios? Alexios?"

"No, Sire...it's not your brothers."

"Well? Come on, then. Who is it?"




"He...the prisoner...he claims..."





"He says he's your father."

 

[Actinguy]

The Muslims had taken Sinope, and with it, Manuel's father's only land.

Manuel's only pending inheritance, save the now almost-meaningless title of Prince of Armeniacon.

Naturally, Manuel freed his father from his own prison, allowing him to stay at the fort with him until the Emperor could reclaim the lost land. But they both knew it could be a long wait...the Muslims were now making serious inroads into the Byzantine Empire...a good portion of the Eastern empire was gone to those heathens. Manuel himself gave his soldiers to Emperor Michael Dukas, to attempt to shore up the southern border.

But, as usual, it was not the Muslims who kept Manuel awake at night.

It was Leo Beriotes who had that job.

Leo, who had only recently arrived from lands unknown, had quickly taken an interest in helping Manuel in his mission to help his son ascend to the throne. As such, it was he who frequently ran through what-if scenarios with the Count.

"Sire...if your son is to become King, we must begin preperations now."

"Preperations? What sort of preperations?"

"Sire, as you know, King Giorgi Bagrutuni...your brother-in-law...is only 19-years-old. And your son is his first heir."

"Precisely, Leo. Which is why we have plenty of time. The boy is just 19. Even if he dies early into his 40's, like his father, we still have twenty years."

"No, Sire...we do not."

The Spymaster pulled out a chart and began making marks on it.

"Look...the King is 19. His wife is barely 16. Yes, we probably have twenty years, at least, before the King dies naturally. But twenty years...it took you nine months to produce a son. Imagine how many sons the King can have over the course of twenty years."

Manuel was speechless. How had he not considered this? Was the throne really never going to be his son's, when it was so close within reach?

"The answer, if I may, Sire...is clear. We have to take out the King. Now. Before he has a chance to produce any of his own heirs. If we wait even a matter of weeks, it may be too late."

"Now? But my son Heraklios isn't even old enough to stand on his own. He's not ready to be King."

"Sire...if we don't act now, we may lose it all."

"Then that is the risk that we take. But I'm not going to force my son to the throne before he is ready. Perhaps the King's wife will prove infertile. They may never have any children at all.





Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Georgia...





The King's wife was pregnant.

 

[Actinguy]

There were ways that this could've worked out in Manuel's favor.

The child could've been stillborn.

Or perhaps even claim the King's wife's life with it's own.

Or, even, it could've been a girl.



But none of these things happened.


Because on December 29th, in the year 1068, the King's wife gave birth to Teirmuraz, first heir to the throne of the King of Georgia.

Even the discovery that wife Miriam was pregnant again did not lift Manuel's spirits for long.


The Count called Leo into his private chambers.



"You were right, Leo."

"Yes, Sire."

"We may already be too late."

"Yes, Sire."

"But we have any chance at all, we have to act now."

"Yes, Sire."

"You have my order. Kill King Giorgi."



"No, Sire."



The Count, unaccustomed to such blatant disrespect, spun on his heels to face his Spymaster.


"No? Did you just refuse my order?" he roared.


"I did not refuse, Sire. I am simply saying that it can not be done. You don't have the resources here to arrange such a high-profile assassination. And with your father's land gone to the Muslims, it's unlikely that you ever will. At least, in the near future."

"You're telling me that it's over? That Heraklios will never be King?"

"Not at all, Sire. I'm simply saying that killing the King is no longer the way to go."


"You're not suggesting..."


"Sire...if you give the word...I could remove Teirmuraz. I could remove the only person standing between your son and the throne of a King."


The Count was stunned. It was disgusting. It was vile. He ought to have Leo himself killed for even thinking such a thing, much less actually saying it out loud.

"GET OUT!" the count ordered...somehow managing to growl and bellow at the same time.

Leo turned and walked towards the door. As he reached it, he heard the Count call him once more...his voice barely recognizable in the whisper.

"Leo..."


"Yes, my Liege?"








"Do it."

 

[Farquharson]

The Count is a childkiller! Still, I'm sure the first one is always the most difficult - the next few sons Giorgi manages to have it will be a much easier decision to make! Could get expensive though...

 

[OxfordNik]

Another fantastic AAR. *subscribes*

Sigh. When will I have time to keep track of them all?!

 

[Actinguy]

Ha...I'm afraid this one is abandoned, since I lost both the saved game and the notes.

I can tell you he succeeded in killing the child...but before the day was over, the King had retaliated.

By killing Manuel's son, Heraklios.

Man...the second I saw that, I think my heart actually broke a little.


The King soon had another son (and one or two more, if I recall correctly)...but Manuel began producing only daughters...and eventually became an enemy with his wife. Eventually, his land was overrun by Muslims, effectively ending his story.

I was really looking forward to writing it...both the retaliatory murder of his own son, followed by the feelings he was cursed, the fallling out with his wife...I was even thinking that as the Muslims surrounded the castle, the wife would confess she had killed Heraklios herself in revenge for him killing her nephew.

Ah, the AARs that get away...

 

[unmerged(59077)]

I have to say the constant misdirection is delicious.

And yes, best laid plans of mice and men.

The only thing to make this even better - some kind of title graphic and maybe some formating. To make it look all formal-like.