Deus Le Veult: A short Hungarian AAR

An old man with skin parched by the sun, white hair and a slight limp appeared a the gates of our Monastery leaning on a staff and requested asylum in the House of God.

I was merely a novice back then and working hard to become a Bride of Christ, but I remember the man as clearly as if it happened yesterday.

Even though his clothes were rags barely covering him, it was easy to see that once they were of excellent quality. Even though leaning on the staff for support, it was clear to even my inexperienced eyes that he could use the staff for purposes other than support. His grey eyes, paled as they were old age, looked around and saw everything.
I saw lions once, and that's a good description of what I saw then: An old lion, weakened by old age, perhaps even dying, but not yet willing to give up.

Mother Superior came out and greeted the old man who introduced himself as Kálmán, bringing a look of recognition on her face. She then welcomed him and ordered one of the novices to bring him to our guest quarters and see that he was fed and clothed.

Later more, if people are interested. This is a very short AAR, because this was a very short game.

Dingo

Promising start! Looking forward to more.

King István the Tyrant paced around in the waiting room of the Emperor, his brother-in-law. Kálmán had dared to show his face on Hungarian soil and the Emperor got word of it. The Emperor has demanded an immediate explanation as it was István who was responsible for the capture or elimination of the Beggar King. István who before his marriage to the Doge's daughter was merely the general of King Lászlo's forces. István who betrayed his liege and usurped the Hungarian throne with Venetian aid. He cursed the day Kálmán was born and entered the Emperor's work chamber at the sign of a servant.
This was going to be hard to explain.

The story might become a bit longer than the campaign itself. That ended just before the year 1100 (I play at VH/VH with 6 months per turn).
So for those who have not guessed, István and Kálmán are two of the three generals the Hungarians start with.

Dingo

From the Chronicles of the Venetian Empire

... there was a great general amongst the Hungarians. He [István] had in a series of short campaigns defeat the rebel generals Támás and Benedek Benedek with inferior troops and numbers. These rebel generals fielded Bulgarian Brigands, Chivalric Knights, Dismounted Feudal Knights and lots of militia spearmen. Even with those odds the great General István defeated them with his retinue guard, his Magyar troops and the rabble spearmen and peasants that King Lászlo the "Honorable" provided for him, while he and his family were concerning themselves with parties of debauchery. Both the King and Kálmán the heir were known to frolick around with their mistresses, women as well as men.
It was three years before the end of Lászlo the "Honorable"'s reign that General István with his ragtag troops crushed the defenders of the village of Bucharest in a glorious victory.
And then a crusade against the Holy City was called by Pope Gregor.
István had proven himself on the battlefield already and was more then willing to undertake this divine task, but the "Honorable" decided that his son would go, and take along all the troops that had served István so loyally for many years. And then the mad debauched King decided that István should try to capture the Byzantine Emperor who was laying siege to Sofia.

Actually while the events are true, the debauchery of the King and Crown Prince isn't, but that's why it was written by the Venetians.

Dingo

P.S. Some reactions would be nice.

Excerpt from the confession of Kálmán, true King of Hungary written by an unnamed monk.

When the troops were assembled in Bran I left on the journey to the Holy Land. I looked at the troops and smiled. This was a fine force, fit for taking the Holy Lands back from the savages. The smell of hundreds of horses, the colors of hundreds of shield and the sound of all the horses and men waiting with anticipation for my signal to depart. It was a true wonder to the senses to behold and i was proud of this fine army, and proud to one day become their King.

As we departed I looked at the young men training it the central courtyard and smiled, István, my friend, would have a fine number of troops to command to defend our Kingdom.
My father had send me on the Crusade and kept our best general at home, because at that time we had a treaty of alliance with the Venetians and a strong enough presence in Bucharest to prevent any aggression from the Byzantines. To the north my brother-in-law ruled and the future looked very well.

As we were nearing the sea to cross over into the remnants of the Byzantine Empire a messenger arrived and handed me a letter from my father.
We were at war with the Byzantines. Emperor Comnenus laid siege to the castle of Sofia. A castle to which my father had laid claim a long time ago.
My brave friend István had rushed with some of the fresh recruits from Bucharest to lift the siege and try to capture the Emperor himself.
He did not succeed, as the cowardly dog shat himself and ran leaving behind his bodyguard to die. My father informed me that I had to be careful, as the Byzantines would surely avenge themselves for this insult.

I changed my course to avoid Constantinople and then I got news from a papal messenger that our friends the Venetians had joined the Crusade and would arrive at the Holy City a few years after me.

After a long journey we arrived at the gates of the Holy City and it was a wondrous sight to behold. My men prepared to lay siege and starve out the defenders. God wouldn't mind waiting for a few more years. Besides, my warchest was empty and I did not want to risk my troops in a massacre."

Kálmán arrived at the gates of Jerusalem, and because I was severely strapped for cash I decided to wait out the siege. Besides that, my army was mainly composed of horse archers, bulgarian bandits and militia spearmen, so it was in my opinion a much smarter idea to let the defenders come to me, and if I had cash I would hire some of the crusader mercanaries or Turkomans to assist me in the siege.

Dingo