The Story of Souls: A Sweboz AAR

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty Four: Rebellion
(From the Runic book:)
Autumn 387AD
Once again the highly complicated rules for succession amongst my people have managed to bring our lands into civil war. When i confronted the pig bastard yesterday at the All-Thing meeting, with trying to seize the throne he retorted that his family had just as much right to the throne as mine did. He pulled out a complicated family tree that seemed to prove his point. However i could tell it was a fraud, due to my knowledge of the only true line of succession documents being under the DIRECT care of my family.
As the rest of the All-Thing did not know this there was a call to immediately vote on whether, or not this claim should be validated. I immediately invalidated this claim by pulling out my captive assassin and forcing him to tell his story. Once he was done, many of the council members wanted to vote on whether or not we should execute the bastard.
He countered by grabbing one of his Franxica throwing axes and hurtling it at my head. As the weapons are notoriously inaccurate it missed, but he used the resulting confusion to escape the All-Thing chambers along with most of his tribes top members. They are rallying an army as we speak to overthrow me. I have outlawed him and his whole tribe as a result of these actions. The Burgundoauzez, Swebozez, Makromannoz, and Silengozez have rallied to my banners. and am at the head of the army that is chasing him currently. However the Franx are a powerful tribe and he has gathered many warriors to his banners. We shall soon go to battle over this issue.

A week later
Well the first true test of my skills as a commander are over. I have thoroughly crushed the traitor, Jurlarzez, and his Franx warriors as well.
The battle was a fierce one. We fought within an area between two small forests while the sky was shedding tears of pain.

We formed up to defend the path back to the capital while they were trying to batter aside our forces so that he could crown himself High King. He was in direct command of all of his warriors.

Unfortunately the traditions of my people say that a woman cannot directly head an army, so i had my best general, Richezmor head the force and make most of the tactical decisions.

Those same traditions do NOT state that a woman is excluded from battle so i fought with my Elven High Guards.

The battle began with the Franx warriors yelling their war cries and charging forward, to get through the forest before we halted them within. We had no such intentions for we knew that if we broke our ranks the more numerous Franx would overwhelm us within a heartbeat.

Soon the archers, myself included began to fire pitch-flame arrows into the oncoming Franx warriors, with nasty results. Meanwhile General Richezmor swung his cavalry around the flank of the Franx warriors. Bursting forth from the trees he surprised and overwhelmed several herbands of Franx spearmen.

However it was then that Jurlarzez saw what was happening and took his cavalry to stop Richezmor's. The general saw this and pulled his cavalry back. Seeing this as a weakness Jurlarzez followed him with a furor. This proved to be both a blessing and a mistake for him. He overwhelmed the herbands that i had placed there, and several sword herbands poured into the gap. However there were other spear herbands in the woods that popped up to attack the Franx herbands. However the Franx were left a way out, right into the archers on the left side of those woods, my Guards included.

They surged towards us, I had to call the reserves to my aid, thankfully they came with great swiftness. The battle turned into a stalemate at that point. Warriors went down left and right on both sides. I killed at least six swordsmen myself. One of them had an excellent sword, i know this because it broke mine in half without a scratch. However right before he killed me an arrow landed in his throat. I took the sword out of his dying grasp, and fought on.
What finally broke the stalemate was the second clash of the cavalry. General Richezmor's cavalry turned the flanks of the outmaneuvered Franx cavalry and routed them. However my unit came under heavy attack from one of the infamous Fraxican herband. I must say those axes are indeed terrifying, the man right behind me had his head split open by one of them. The danger to me force my general to break off the pursuit of Jurlarzez. But he managed to save me. When there general fled so did the Franx warriors.

The day was ours.

But the battle was brutal. And much of our army was torn apart. As i write this we are chasing many of the Franx around Germania. I have no idea what is going to happen next, and i can only pray that this turns out for the best.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty Five: Times of Hardship
(From the Runic book:)
Autumn 387AD
Well thing have just gotten MUCH worse! Last week i received a report that Jurlarzez had gathered almost ALL of the Franx to his banner. As we took off in pursuit of the newly formed Horde, it quickly became apparent where he was going, Gaul. We tried several times to halt his advance and we came close with a series of ambushed that we tried two days ago. But i the end he escaped us with a HUGE amount of people and equipment. And from what the reports tell me of Northern Gaul he isn't going to be facing a whole lot of resistance for a VERY long time.
After the Huns invaded nearly ten winter ago, they went on a MASSIVE killing spree all over Gaul. They wiped out almost 45% of the population of Southern Gaul, and 80% of the population of Northern Gaul. Over those ten winter the Roman authorities have been concerned with repopulating Southern Gaul as fast as possible because it has the best farmlands and the best forests available to the Romans throughout nearly all of their remaining Empire. Northern Gaul has been neglected, in many cases reverting to a near wild state. The only real administrative center is the Great city of Augusta Treverorum on the Roman shore of the northern Rhine. And the Franx have invaded Gaul at the crossing to the city. If we follow them any further it will be considered an invasion and i cant have such a massive international incident on my watch. I can only pray that the commander of the garrison of Augusta Treverorum can fight them off until more Romans arrive. In the meantime i have sent a messenger to the Roman court at Ravenna to explain the situation.

Winter 387AD:
Well things simply could not get any WORSE if i asked for it. The Franx took advantage of the late Autumnal drain on the Rhine to cross en-mass. After that they QUICKLY beat aside a Roman border force.

As winter set in, the Roman commander of the garrison, whom had been move up from Hispania two years ago, having never seen a German in his life, who was also confused as to why he was under attack by Germans and at such a poor time of the year, decided to stay within his walled fortress-city, rather than try to take on the Franx directly. This gave Jurlarzez and the Franx free reign of the countryside. This they took to heart. Killing their way across an already depleted countryside.



After slaughtering so much they are currently besieging the minor city of Sassions. It is one of the few areas to be repopulated after the Huns left northern Gaul. They also took out the only Roman army, i think they call them storage sites, that was in northern Gaul.

I can only pray that the garrison of Sassions can hold out long enough for the Roman Legions to arrive.

[desert]

99%?


Come on, not even the Mongols killed 99%, and they were there for years!

I would accept 80% in Northern Gaul and 25-40% in Southern Gaul.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Ok, ok well maybe i was being a BIT dramatic. Ill probably look over them and make a few modifications

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty Six: Cracks (Part One)
(From the Runic book:)
Winter 387AD
Well it seems that the Franx have won. Sassions has fallen to their forces.
The battle was a hard fought affair alright. The Romans had their Legio VIII deployed all over the region and their main base was out of this city. All of the attacks over the past month had decimated most of their units, however the core of the Legion, including their eagle, were still within the city. As the chaos that surrounded them finally hit their doors, they sealed off the walls. However the Franx had time and numbers on their side. When the commander of the Legion refused to surrender, the Franx attacked them without mercy.



Well, even though the Romans put up a spectacular resistance, in the end it mattered little, the Franx simply overwhelmed them.

They also captured the Roman's eagle, something the Romans find unbelievable. They have entered into desperate negotiations, with both us and the Franx, to get it back and stop the violence that has resulted. Im trying to force the Romans to turn the traitors over to us, and they are trying to make their own state out of Northern Gaul. The negotiations are VERY heated. I can only hope for the best.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty Six:Cracks (Part Two)
(From the Runic book:)
Winter 387AD
Well it would seem that those traitorous bastards shall get to live after all.
After the negotiations began the Franx made the mistake of trying to expand their fledgling kingdom as much as possible before the Roman authorities brought to the table by force. With all of the parts of Gaul east and south of the Franx positions well defended the only logical way for them to expand was west, namely into the province of Armorica.
Armorica is a strange place. It is like a place that time forgot. It is mostly underpopulated, and wild territory. They of course serve the Romans but only as clients, they pay an indendum to Rome each year, and send some of their very high quality Celtic swords to Rome as well. Even he people there seem to have been forgotten by the chaos of time, still living like the free Celts did before the Roman conquest, in small villages, worshiping their old gods still, unlike almost all the rest of the Empire which converted to the teachings of the Christ-God nearly 100 winters ago. Even the Huns didnt touch the place oddly enough. The only city that is of any size at all is a small island city on the edge of the Armorican peninsula called Ys.
However the Franx would attempt the first invasion of this province since the Invasions of Germanicus and Constantine. It took the Armoricans almost two weeks to realize that they were actually under attack. The Franx had gotten about half-way up the Armorican peninsula before the Armorican's only real army halted their advance.

Of course these men were armed in a VERY old-fashioned way, their only really dangerous troops were their nobles that had the great-swords.

Of course the Franx quickly formed up for battle, and surged forward hoping to scare the hell out of the Armoricans.

However the Armoricans still had the traditions of the Celtic Druids, this included the men in full body paint. These men apparently began to chant a fear magic charm. While the charm didnt immediately take hold it did slowly worm its way into the Franx warriors. As the two lines collided the fighting became very fierce.

And for nearly an hour the Armoricans held their ground. However the Druids of the Armoricans had completed their fear chant. With a single note the shattered the minds of much of the Franx army, send them all into instant flight.

The Armoricans followed in pursuit slaughtering most of the Franx.

This ended the Franx attempts to expand their kingdom and they immediately surrendered themselves to the Romans in order to protect themselves from the Armoricans retribution. The Romans gave the bastards generous terms. All they had to do was surrender the stolen eagle to Roman authorities, convert to the religion of the Christ-God, and pay a large indendum to the Romans every year in the form of troops and gold. They were not allowed to govern themselves however, so they are in reality little more than slaves now.
Of course the Roman emperor did send me a nice gift to appease our side as well. It was the head of that bastard, Jurlarzez. It was thoughtful of him to say the least.
However i must return to my work, for there are many things left for me to do as i rule this great kingdom of Germania.

((And with this we close the Runic book))

[HunGeneral]

Great chain of events Olaf. I really didn't see that one coming. I wonder what will happen in Constantinople now? (Is it just me or am I starting to repeat myself?)

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Well this Act is almost done so not too much is left.
(But dont worry i have a general plan for nearly every piece of history up till the Cold War in place)
(Insert Evil Laugh Here)

[Olaf Blackeyes]

And now a special treat for everyone.

A political history of Germania.
The Early Years
By Prof. Val Herbing
University of Ohio c.1987
The early years of the Kingdom of Germania were not easy. For most of the time until the Event, this land was a patchwork of tribal kingdoms and feuding tribes and clans. Heruwulfaz, or the Great Battle Wolf, took his tribe, the Sueni, or in their tongue Swebozez, to the "heights" of power in the mid 260s and early 250s. Even so the tribes did not become "one" until well after his death in 241BC at the hands of the Romans. This event so enraged the tribes that they marched as one to Rome itself and sacked it, as Brennus of old once did. Even though they never did fully defeat the Romans the war set them on the path to "unity".
This "unity" however was still one of tribes to a ruler and not one of a people to a ruler. This coupled with the early Germania tradition of splitting ones holdings amongst ALL of ones sons made this state at best a loose confederacy of tribes. This tradition continued for many generations, allowing for gradual Roman rather than German domination of Gaul and other parts of Europe. This was due to near constant civil war and successor wars amongst the family of the Royal Tribe of the Germans. When the current High King died there was a dividing of the tribes amongst his most powerful children. In many cases this resulted in war and bloodshed, but in a few the younger or less powerful siblings allowed the highest amongst them to take the throne. However with war a near constant the People of Germania began to look for a better way to establish rules of inheritance. The most obvious solution was, of course, to have fewer children. However this was also dangerous due to the unpredictability of life in the forests of ancient Germania. In a few cases the royal line had to be passed down the female part because the sons had all died off or been killed. While dangerous this policy also allowed more female participation in the the political process, a major part of which was fighting and killing stuff. By the year 50AD It was common to see the daughters of the previous High King take the challenges for the throne as well as his sons, including female warriors in the line of battle.
The Year 59AD saw a significant shift in the equation however. The Teutons and the Cimbrii tried to overthrow the rule of the Royal Tribe. When this plot failed the current High King did something no other had ever dared consider to do, he Outlawed both of the tribes. Not wanting to be killed for their lands and goods of course the tribes banded together and migrated out of the forests. This began a cycle where when the new High King/Queen was crowned they Outlawed many of their former rivals, in some cases entire tribes. This sparked a period of migration among the displaced tribes.
The greatest, and final, of these migrations was after the attempted overthrow of the High King Ashruz in 360AD. This combined with the Hunnic incursions inspired almost 2/3s of the German tribes to migrate to safer and greener pastures. The previous invasions had usually been destroy or absorbed by a massively strong Roman Empire. However by this time the Empire had been broken in half, the Greek East and the Latin West. In addition to that The Eastern Empire was a hodgepodge of Greeks, Semitics, Persians, and various steppe peoples. So many of the tribes went for the weakest provinces of the weakened Empire. The Saxons, Angles and Jutes invaded Britain, the Alemmanii, tried to hit Northern Italy but were repulsed. However the biggest upset came when the Goths obliterated three full legions of the Eastern Empire at Adrianople in 378AD and killed the Emperor Valens. The utter chaos that was left in the wake of this battle allowed for nearly all of the German tribes to migrate into the Eastern Empire and take a HUGE part of it. The Goths continued until they hit Egypt, the Lombard's took Syria, the Alemmanii took the eastern Balkans and, in a very bold, but successful move, the Vandals stole a Roman fleet and invaded North Africa. The Roman garrisons there, having faced nothing but Berber tribes for centuries, were shocked and quickly destroyed by the Vandals.
The next 6 years were consumed by the utter chaos and insanity of the Hunnic Wars. The Germans played a pivotal role in those wars. After it was over, the Germans crowned a new High Queen, Mezthenalza. The reason it went over so smoothly was the fact that the Huns had killed all of her other family during the wars. However once again a tribe tried to overthrow her. This time it was the Franks, one of the most powerful, if not THE most powerful tribe at that time. They were defeated however and decided to migrate as well. They invaded much of northern and central Gaul, which had been effectively depopulated by the Huns. However the Romans defeated and subjugated the Franx in a great battle with their subjects of the Armorican tribe of Celts. After this disaster, Queen Mezthenalza decided to do away with many of the old traditions, including the tradition of splitting up your family estates amongst all of your heirs. She decreed it illegal to do so and establish a new tradition, passing all of your lands and family to your Eldest born or eldest surviving child. After this the internal conflicts nearly ceased amongst the Tribes of Germania. However due to so many previous wars and conflicts the lands of Germania would take a LONG time to recover. By the years just prior to the event, however, Germania was once again a fully fledged power in its own right. Of course, like so many others, all of this changed with the Event.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty Seven: Corrupted Blood (Part One)
(From the Greek book:)
Summer 388AD
As the city officials below clean up the mess that the recent coup attempt has left behind, i can finally get married to Patrestoles.
Let me explain, for i have not had a chance to do so in many months. After Maximian's murder spree i began to think really hard about how i could discredit or kill both of him and Heraclitus. However as much as i wracked my brain i never managed to figure out how without being killed. However one night i suddenly stumbled upon the answer. I had to poison myself! Yes at first i thought it would be insane as well. But the more i though about it the more i realized that this was the quickest and best way to get these two idiots out of my way. It would be highly risky but i figured that i would come up with something.
I had them invited to a great festival during the spring. I had the best foods and the finest wines imported for this feast. I also had several types of poisons imported from Germania. Two were based off of a German variety of Hemlock, one off of the Silvereye plant, and one that was a stomach disruptor.
After the festival had gone on for four days, without incident, i decided to spring my trap. I had to have my agents poison all of the trays that were going to my table at the feast. Mine was poisoned with the Silvereye, this of course being the weakest poison. I gave the other two types of poisons to those bastards. These of course being lethal would surely either kill them or put them in such a position as to disqualify them for the throne. During the meal, as i expected the third course was excellent. The fourth one however ended in disaster. The poisons did not take effect as was intended.
The trouble began when Lord Heraclitus began to complain of a taste of blood in his mouth. About two minutes later Lord Maximian fell over, dead. This caused a general uproar, with cries of poison everywhere. While everyone around him was in a panic, he had a smile of victory on his face. As i called my guards in to restore order the poison that i had imbibed finally took effect. As it was a very minor form of poison, all i really did was throw up quite a lot. However i also made sure to fall over, screaming, and attempting to claw my eyes out. His smile turned to a look of horror, for he knew that "his" assassin had obviously made a mistake and that this would SIGNIFICANTLY harm his chances in spite of all of his major rivals being dead. As i was carried out i even made to look like i passed out. I heard cries that i had died. I can only imagine the look on that pig bastards face when THAT went around.
I "woke up" that evening. What happened after the festival disaster was that my guards arrested everyone there. In fact many of them were still in the banquet hall. Of course the ones that i want arrested were still there, the rest were let go within hours. I had Heraclitus charged with the murder of Maximian and for attempting to kill me as well. He of course vehemently denied these charges. He also attempt to have me marry him but he had lost too much support for his claim to be effective. Thus his claims were discredited.
However this was not the end of the matter, for several generals then got it in their heads that i was too much trouble to control. They raised their flags in rebellion against me.

However all that they could raise against me were disaffected peasants and minor levies. While i had the most elite forces at my command. However as i had no ability to command the army myself, i chose a general to do it for me. I, of course, chose Patrestoles. And i was proven right in the end, he destroyed the rebels brilliantly.

This made him by FAR the most popular choice for my husband. This shall happen in a few days from now, and to be honest i couldnt be happier.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Thirty Seven: Corrupted Blood (Part Two)
(From the Greek book:)
Autumn 388AD
As the leaves change around us my new husband and i are busy with tasks of state. Ah the honeymoon was WONDERFUL, but as Aesop once said, "All good things must come to an end." However there is more good news on the way. Yesterday it was confirmed, i am with child. The whole of the Arche has burst out in celebration, i hear many arguing over whether its a boy or girl.
In other news, the reports that we have gotten out of the steppes are worrying. It appears that infighting has broken out amongst the Baltic tribes over territorial rights. It has only been five or so years since the Things forever left us, and they are squabbling like children over issues that are unimportant. However the Romaioi have sent ambassadors to quell the chaos, so all that we can hope for is a swift conclusion to this dispute. The new confederation is still highly unstable, and things dont look like they are going to improve anytime soon for it.
But i have work that must be done, so i must end this entry.

Winter 388AD
(From the Greek book:)
As the months wear on things are growing more stable very quickly. Most of the plagued lands have been reclaimed, all of the rebellions and madness have abated. Trade has risen by an incredible amount. The poleis around me bristles with vitality and life. And of course my belly has swollen. There is much speculation as to whether it will be a boy or girl. I am really hoping for a little girl, in spite of almost everyone else wanting it to be a boy.
But i digress, there is news from beyond the Arche. To the east there is more fighting between the Langobards and the Sassanids. The siege of Arkerus (Homs) had ended after three brutal years.

And the Langobard counter attack has stalled out, once again.

However, as the fighting goes on more and more peoples are getting drawn into the conflict. The Pontics fight for the Sassanids of course. The Armenians fight with the Langobards. The Goths fight with the Langobards as well. The chaos gets wider and wider. We have tried to moderate the conflict but have had little luck so far. I can only pray that things get better.

Spring 389AD
(From the Greek book:)
(There are tear stains on these pages)
I simply don't understand. Am i just cursed? Or does evil seem to follow me around?
My son was born a week ago. Everything went perfectly, at least during the birthing. After he was cleaned up and i held him i was so happy. I named him Alexios. Then the next day, we noticed something horrible, he at first looked as if he was molting. But as the days passed he...changed. His eyes went from a baby's gray to 5 colors at once, his skin had blotches of bright blues and greens and reds and purples, and even yellows. It looked as if a rainbow had been flung into his body. I was horrified and sent for every doctor, and healer that i could find. Not a ONE of them could find anything that would cause this.
The answer was finally provided to me by the German seer girl that had helped save this poleis 3 years ago. She told me that Alexios's blood was corrupt, as was my own. The monster that had hit me with his black energy that day 3 years ago had managed to curse my children and even my bloodline forever. She told me that it wont affect him in any other way than physically, but he looks so strange. All that i can ask is why? Why does this insanity have to happen?
But i must announce this to the people soon. I can only pray that they do not overthrown me on this pretense, for there are many that would LOVE to do so.

(Two days later:)
Well i am still here, as is my family. As the priests baptized Alexios, the water turned golden. This was taken as a sign from God that my family was meant to rule. The people have accepted this answer and i can raise my child in a happy home. The future is finally bright and life is wonderful once again.
Also i am turning this book over to another historian, i simply dont have the time to write in it anymore. So i must be gone, the Arche shall be maintained.

End of Act II

"Now how was THAT for an ending?", the old man said to his grandchildren. "It was great Grandfather.", the little girl said. Her brother was asleep. "Can i hear more please?", she asked. "Not tonight," a woman behind them said,"Now you have to go to bed." "AWWWW",she said. The woman, whom was obviously their mother, said,"NOW!" The little girl was sad and pouted for a little bit, but eventually got up and went to her room. After the mother had tucked them both in, she went back into the main room and said to the old man, her father,"You know i don't like it when you fill their heads with these stories." "Yes i do but i prefer to teach them this way, rather than let the schools do it. They are still corrupt, no matter what the Councilor of Education says.", he answered. "Well could you at least tone down the violence please?", she pleaded with him. "When i told you these stories as a little girl you didn't seem to mind.", he remarked. She blushes. "Well it is late.", she said trying to change the subject, "Don't you have to get up early for duty at the Temple tomorrow?", she asked. "Yes i do.", he answered as he got up. He kissed her on her forehead,"Goodnight, my sweet.", he said as he went to bed.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

So what does everyone think?
Act III is soon.

[HunGeneral]

Very interresting but I have been saying that all the time

However I must add that this "cliffhanger" like ending with Alexios is truly fascinating - I wonder if this will go on into Act III..

I must say keep up the good work Olaf - this AAR will surely become a classic

[julius_caesar_the_first]

Very very nice . Your AAR is truly unique. I can barely wait to see what Act III is all about . Nice ending to Act II as well. Keep up the good work

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Wait, how is that a cliffhanger ending?

[Olaf Blackeyes]

As the old man set foot in the door way, he set his scrying gem, an obvious sign of his office as a Rune Priest, down on the table. He hugged his daughter and went into the living room to watch the tv. As he turned it to the news, he saw a story about how the Elven Guard had foiled an attempt on the life of the Chancellor, the third one this year. "Damn terrorists", he mumbled. It seemed ever since the attacks on Girhos and Rome, the world had gone insane, once again.
At the moment however his grandchildren came home from school. "Grandfather!", they both shouted in joy. He hugs both of them tight,"How was school?", he asks them. "It was boring today, but at least we didnt have to do any work. They just watched the news all day", his grandson replies. "Well go eat supper, and wash up. Then ill tell you more of the story. Okay?", he says. "OK!", they reply.
After all of that they settle in once again, and the old man pull out another book, written in Runic.
As his daughter listens in, he opens the book.....

ACT III The Time of the Trials
((Bonus point for the person who can guess WHAT event i am starting this from))

Chapter One: In Battle
(From the Runic book:)
Summer 609AD
My name is Jurzalez. I am an ambassador to the Romans, and, starting today, historian of the High Court of Germania. I am a minor noble from the Norda lands, at barely 20 winter of age. And i just got through watching a battle between the Romans and the Kassite tribes the Upper Danube.

The Romans formed up in their usual infantry formation.

Meanwhile the Roman general, whom is my gracious host, rode with his horsemen through the woods to outflank the Kassites.

It worked beautifully. The Kassites were surrounded and didn't stand a chance.

In the end it was a massacre. And the Kassites retreated back to their lands on the Danube.

How times have changed. It used to be that the Slavic Tribes were mainly out on the steppes were they belong. The Steppe confederation was a grand shield for the rest of Europa. They had deflected three other steppe invasions, and life was good. The only real trouble was in Mikra Asia with the continuing wars of the Langobards and the Sassanids.
But then... then came the Avars, and the world almost imploded. The Confederation was brutally crushed within six winters, in a near repeat of the Hunnic wars. The only real different, the Avars kept going. The southern Slavic Tribes fled into the Iron Sky Mountains, the Alans... well they didn't survive. The Northern Slavs fled into the deep forests of Hyperboreia. The Vampire Lords fled into their deep mountains homes in the Iron Sky, and the centaurs fled for the southern Black Forests.
Even with almost ALL of the grass seas theirs, the Avars kept going. They shattered the Iron Sky Mountains, and drove all before them. Their Khagan, drove his men with a furor of the demons once again. The Slavs fled into the Balkans, shattering the Roman and Greek defenses along the Danube forever. The Poles BARELY deflected them, with massive German support. So instead of going west into the forests they went south into the mountains.
The Greeks took the brunt of their invasion. After many brutal battles, they stopped the Avars for good just north of the great city of Constantinople. However the Avars still manage to enslave many of the Slavic Tribes of the Balkans. Their two main clients were the Serbs and the Croats, with the Albans under Greek protection. The final border was the southern portion of the Eastern Balkans. However, this was not the end of the Greeks troubles, for the Langobards and Pontics took FULL advantage of the Iris Throne's weakness and invaded the Central holding of the Arche within Mikra Asia. They were stopped just short of the coast in many places and made it TO the coast in a few other places.
Some of the Slavs escaped the Avars however. These hit the Roman Balkans hard. The Kassites even managed to take much of the south shore of the Danube. The Oblics took Illiyria, except for the cities of Salonae, and Dalmatias. The Fortress at Aquilea is what halted their advance. After his Danube frontiers were shattered, the Roman Emperor at the time Cassius Garus, decided a new defensive position was needed. He set up MAJOR defensive works in and set four legions to the central Alps. This place has since before a true fortress and probably the safest place in all of Europa. The Emperors since him have sent their cash, their families, their philosophers and thinkers, their extra food reserves, and one even set up his CAPITAL within this place. In fact the Alpine territories are amongst the most advanced and wealthy within the whole of the Empire.
All of this of course was 50 winters ago. Now, even the constant incursions of the Avars, PALE in comparison to what, we later found out, they were running FROM. The Khazar... or as most call them, Huns spawn. Ten winters ago they arrived on the outer edges of the Sea of Grass, complete with undead slaves, summoned demons, and their Khagan was a demon in disguise. We were force to ally with the AVARS to stop these beasts. In the end all we did was force them to fall back to the steppes. They will return, and SOON if reports are to be believed.
However i have much to do yet, so i must leave off for now.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

And now Europa 610AD

The Red is of course Rome.
The Green is Germania.
Britain is in its OTL Dark Ages mode.
Orange North Africa is the Vandals.
The Blue is the Arche Byzantiou.
The Yellow-gold is Poland.
Bonus point if you can guess whom the Purples in the NE corner of the map are (Or are going to be).
The Maroon in Syria and Southern Asia Minor are the Langobards.
The Brown in southern Judea and Cyprus are the only possessions of Gothic Egypt that this map would give me.
The Light Purple in Mesopotamia are the Sassanids.
The Gray south of Poland are the lands of the Centuars.
The Deep Gold in the Carpathians and Eastern Balkans is the Avar Khaganate.
The Steel Gray in the steppes are the Khazars.
The Pink in northern Asia Minor is the Kingdom of Pontos.
The Puke Green are the Kassites.
The Rose Pink in Illiryia are the Olbics.

And all of the Lined colors are client states.
The Purple lines is Armenia.
The two golden lines are the Croats in the North, and the Serbs in the South.
The Albans are the Blue lines.

[julius_caesar_the_first]

The purple in the north could be the Finno-Ugric peoples (Hungarians and Finns) or the ancestors of the russians but I'm not 100% sure.

Nice alternative history you have there

[HunGeneral]

Finno-Ugrics?

Now that would make things even more interresting...

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Fraid its not the Proto-Fins. Good guess though.
But its 350 years too late for that to be them.

BTW I ****ING LOVE Paint.Net!

[julius_caesar_the_first]

All the maps I've found show the Finno-Ugric peoples in that area at that time. Only other guesses are the Rus or Magyars (but they seem to be a lot more to the south).

[HunGeneral]

Well besides Magyars (300 years too early, pluss to high north) Rus (I guess to much to the north aswell) or Khazars (there back on the steppes) I couldn't think on anyone or atleast I can't remember right now.

Nice work Olaf now you got me thinking on that one.... can't wait to see who they are...

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Remember this is not OTL is is an ATL.
Stuff can change pretty dramatically with the Butterfly Effect.
Beside you guys have guessed at it several times by now, but you arent giving me a final answer.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Chapter Two: Peace
(From the Runic book:)
Winter 609AD
As the snows set in another winter has come. I have returned to the Capital of Germania, Gawjam-Suthezkoz. The reports that our High King, Ardawulfaz, has received are not good. The Khazars are once again on the move, this time it looks like they are heading for the Avars. This will mean more fighting and bloodshed in the winter to come.
To the south the Langobards and Sassanids are entering their 25th winter of war with one another. How EITHER of these peoples have the will to fight for 25 winters is beyond me. It is, as ever, a bloody stalemate along the western bank of the Euphrates River.


In spite of numerous attempts, neither side will come to the table, the Langobards claiming that the Sassanid are oppressing fellow Christians in Armenia, and the Sassanids claiming that these lands have belonged to them since time out of place, as the "Heirs to Akkadia". So things have been forever it seems. These two peoples have gone to war nearly 50 times in 200 winters. This is one of the longer ones however.
Closer to home, the harvests have picked up recently, the Gawjams of Hamburgoz, Akerusoz, and Dietmoz have had plentiful harvests this winter, so when the snows met it will be a good winter.
But i must sign off for there are things i must take care of.

[desert]

Didn't they stop ending everything with -oz by then?

I'm pretty sure Old English was invented around 600 AD.

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Yes, Old English is in England, a former Roman province and there are massive Roman cultural inroads into Saxon culture there.
But also remember, by now the Romans were gone and Roman culture had deeply spread amongst the Germans. Without the Fall of Rome, this diffusion into Germania proper will take a LOT longer. You have to take account of the butterfly effect, which i am trying to do.

[desert]

WTF. How did I equate England with Germany...

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Your thinking of the Mixing of Germanic and Latin cultures that occurred at this time in OTL due to the formation of the Holy Roman Empire, aren't you?
Well technically the Saxons are Germanic

[desert]

I don't know what I was thinking. I just thought questioned your continued use of the -oz suffix because it seemed hard to believe the language would stay basically same for 1000 years. Then I thought of Old English and for some reason decided the story took place in England. IDK, alright?

[Olaf Blackeyes]

Well i would like to take this time to apologize to everyone, but i miss dated the Start of this Act, so in order to have to avoid putting in 5 years of filler i moving the dates forward.
Again i apologize for my idiocy.