Middle Ages: Interactive

[Comrade Alexeo]

Erm... OOC means "Out of Character/Context"...

...meaning you don't know what England and the HRE are up to.

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

Honestly Alexeo, if you dont want people to know that DONT SAY IT.

[Warluster]

Or maybe. instead of going OOC and saying what you're countries doing. And us pretending we dont know whats happening, why not say anything and PM that to Hannibal99?

[Comrade Alexeo]

Jeeeeeeeeeeeeez...

I'm just used to a different style of roleplaying, that's all. I'll stop for now but, man, calm down please...

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

I am calm. I just don't think I should change anything because it was "ooc".

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

Or simply DONT SAY IT.

My choices stay.

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

*gasps*! Whats this, new nations? Yes!

First Bulgarian Empire
Serbia


And since Spain (I'll keep them still)wasn't unified, I shall make the christain kingdoms of the reconquista:

Leon
Castille
Galicia
Barcelona
Aragon
Navarra



Orange is the Moors
Spain yellow

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

Seljuks ,holy Roman Empire, Give Me Your Choices!

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

Decisions:

Papal States:
1. Back the French in the war against the English
2. Expand Catholism into Moorish Iberia

Leon:
1. Attack the Moors, do not wait for help
2. Wait for help, it should come soon, right?
3. Unify the Spanish kingdoms

England:
1. Invade France's coast
2. Invade France through the Holy Roman Empire
3. Attack Scotland

France:
1. Invade England
2. Continue talks about a European Union
3. Invade Iberia, and assist Leon

Holy Roman Empire:
1. Attack France
2. Attack Poland
3. Continue forcing your demands

Seljuks:
1. Continue war in Egypt
2. Attack Arabia
3. Attack Persia

Byzantine Empire:
1. Excommunicate the Pope?
2. Attack Bulgaria
3. Attack Serbia

Sicily:
1. Continue fights in Tunisia, North Africa
2. Open a second front in Iberia

Song Dynasty:
1. Declare war on the Pope for his comments against you
2. Advance into Vietnam
3. Advance into Persia

Khitan Empire:
1. Continue the unification (should be done soon)
2. Advance into Siberia

[Comrade Alexeo]

Reichstag Headquarters
Frankfurt
Holy Roman Empire

"OUTRAGEOUS! ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS!"

"The Byzantines even now are threatening Vienna-"

"We've had no reports to suggest such a thing!"

"-we must strike back, and we must strike back now!"

"I concur! We have the Pope's blessing! We should not squander such an opportunity!"

"And leave ourselves open to France? Are you mad?"

"HOW DARE YOU-"

"Order! Order I say!"

"-YOU LOW-LIFE SON OF A-"

"Order!"

"The French would not dare attack us! They are already being placed on trial on heresy - assault would only cause them be burned with wet hay instead of dry!"

"-SLANDERING THE GOOD NAME OF MY FAMILY, WHICH GOES BACK-"

" To order! Order in Congress!"

"Your name is worthless, you cur!"

"Exactly! They are to be placed on trial - and because of us! Why wouldn't they attack? They have already lost everything - why not take what they can now?"

"-YOUR FATHER WAS NOTHING BUT A LYING SACK OF-"

"Shoot them all, I say! Let fly our arrows into Byzantium AND Paris! We control the Papacy now - we are the Kingdom of God!"

"BLASPHEMY! BLASPHEMY!"

"MY FATHER WAS MORE OF A MAN HIMSELF THAN THE REST OF YOUR LINEAGE PUT TOGETHER!"

"Order!"

"-FILTHY BLOODSUCKING HALF-WITTED SLEAZY SODOMITE PIGDOG!"

"The Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm of Bavaria!"

Instantly the room was silent.

Horns played, and the Baron, returned from Rome, entered the audience chambers, was bowed to by the Reichstag and bowed back, and spoke thus:

"Guten tag. I have just come from the Imperial Palace. Der Kaiser has ordered all noblemen in the Reich to call on their knights and vassals and asked for increased patrols along our borders with the Byzantines. At this point, he asks only that your vassals be organized into the groupings that they would be members of in case of war, and that you prepare your armouries to equip them as necessary. By no means should full mobilization and the actual equipping and arming of your vassals commence yet. It is at your discretion on how best to handle these tasks. That is all."

With that, the Baron bowed again, turned around smartly, and then exited the audience chambers.

Silence.

Then...

"And YOUR father was a low-life arse-sniffing mange-ridden toad-eyed foul-mouthed weasel!"

((Option 3, essentially, but gearing for war))

[Conqueror]

Khitan Empire:
1. Continue the unification (should be done soon)
2. Advance into Siberia

Option 1.

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

Ignoramus, you need to start being more active.

Heres the chapter.

It’s a sunny day out, a French soldier patrols the area. Until he sees something. English!

England has invaded France’s coast unopposed. This is due to France sending Her troops to Iberia to fight the Moors. The Pope, has sent hundreds of priests into Iberia to preach Catholism. It seems the war is not only being fought with swords. The Holy Roman Empire has continued pressing his demands on France and Europe, and has also geared the knights up for war. Sicily has captured Tunisia, and has moved on to Algeria. Byzantium’s Basil II declared war on Bulgaria. China has lost their Emperor, and the new Emperor orders the invasion of Persia. This could bring China and the Seljuks into conflict. The Seljuks have continued the war in Egypt. They have advanced as far as the Suez. The Egyptians are marching their army toward the Seljuks.

[Warluster]

What!! The English!!! There traitors!!! Pope!! How dare they!!Quick, get the Pope's phone number! :Ring Ring: "Who's speaking?" "Hello Mr.Pope, it is king of France,England just invaded!"
"thanks old chap, I'll be there in a tick!" OOC-Sorry for off topic..

[Csargo]

What!! The English!!! There traitors!!! Pope!! How dare they!!Quick, get the Pope's phone number! :Ring Ring: "Who's speaking?" "Hello Mr.Pope, it is king of France,England just invaded!"
"thanks old chap, I'll be there in a tick!" OOC-Sorry for off topic..

What did you expect?

[Comrade Alexeo]

Reichstag Headquarters
Frankfurt
Holy Roman Empire

"-SMELL LIKE CABBAGE!"

"How DARE you! My daughter smells of the sweetest roses - I think you mistake her for your OWN swine of a daughter!"

"Order! Order!"

"Quiet! All of you! This is madness!"

"YOU CALLOUS RAT-FACED LYING SACK OF-"

"We have more pressing matters at hand now!"

"And since when are you in charge, Adolf? Are you der Fuhrer now? The leader? Eh?"

"-UNCOUTH TACTLESS HANG-NAILED-"

"Order!"

"Dammit, Himmel, shut up!"

"BLASHPHEMY! BLASPHEMY!"

"-BUCK-TOOTHED SWINDLING-"

"Hans, messenger from the Imperial Palace!"

Silence, followed by horns.

Not that Hans would have heard them; he was, of course, a deaf-mute. He marched in, bowed (he was not bowed to, obviously), and nodded to the Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm of Bavaria.

The Baron left his seat and moved down to Hans, whereupon he was handed a small note. Sigmund bowed; Hans left; the note was opened.

"The Byzantines have invaded Bulgaria," he said calmly, almost apathetically, although in truth he was just as shocked as...

"OUTRAGE!"

"SCANDAL!"

"WAR-MONGERERS!"

In a flash the room was filled with the voices of the Reichstag, which were in no way coherent:

INSANETERRORTRAVESTYMUSTHEATHENWARARMYPOPEDISASTER

von Wilhelm raised a hand, and the room fell silent immediately.

"I will be arriving by the time you finish this note-"

"His Magnificent Illustriously Glorious Eminence, the Servant of Jesus Christ, the Servant of the Apostles, the Emperor of the World, the Most Pious Holy Roman Kaiser Otto the Third!"

Ta-ta-taaa!"

The doors opened and in walked the man - possibly the most powerful in Europe - himself.

A shudder ran through the room; a shiver down every lord and priest's spine.

Der Kaiser? Come to the Reichstag? Why?

Indeed, it was highly irregular, and at first Baron von Wilhelm, normally the quickest man in the Empire, stalled - should he return to his seat? Or wait where he was?

He stared at the little note while the Reichstag members rose and bowed - some so deeply they hit their heads upon the backs of the men in front of them - and then turned to the Kaiser:

"My liege, how... unexpected? We are humbled by your presence-"

Otto raised a hand and the Baron fell silent immediately.

Der Kaiser stared at the Reichstag, and the Reichstag stared back.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

Otto III was privately considered - for of course they could not say so in public! - rather... soft by the members of the Reichstag. Not that he was necessarily a bad man or even inept, but generally occupied more with matters of the Church than the Empire, of the Kingdom of Heaven rather than the Kingdom of Germany. He enjoyed going on pilgrimages and collecting relics, and was not known for having a very forceful personality - that was the trademark of his Deputy Commissioner, Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm, whom everybody knew would succeed Otto...

"The Byzantines have invaded Bulgaria."

"Yes, my liege, we received your message-"

Raised hand. Silence.

"This cannot be tolerated. Our flank cannot be risked. The Duke Josef von Speyer of Carenthia will lead a campaign into Hungary and Croatia in order to normalize the situation. The Pope has already been informed that I consider this an essential part of our 'war' against the Byzantines, of which we have already received his blessing and promise of funds."

Then the Duke stood.

"I thank you, your excellency, for appointing me to this command."

Otto nodded, and the Duke sat down.

"Am I to take it, then, my liege, that we are indeed at war with the Byzantines?" This from Sigmund.

"Nein. I do not wish a full-scale war yet, and neither, I think, does Basil II. Duke von Speyer, under no circumstances are you to seek any actual engagement with Byzantine forces in the unlikely event that you encounter them. Take any means necessary to defend yourself, of course, and do not surrender the initiative - but do not take the offensive."

"Jawohl, mein Kaiser-"

"Under pain of death."

"Er... ja, ja, mein Kaiser. I shall do as you command."

"That is all."

And with that, Otto III left.

***

So began the preparations for war.

The previous planning of the Germans came in handy; the armouries quickly began to deplete as vassals were equipped with spears, shields, bows and arrows. Knights shared boastful tales of past glories and assured each other that it was they who would be the first to kill.

Slowly but surely, the force began to assemble at Klagenfurt. The Duke of Carenthia had placed under his command a small but ambitious force of some 3500 spearmen and 2000 bowmen, assembled from the gathered vassals; all received leather breastplates and helmets, and the spearmen large shields. Some 250 knights would travel alongside the Duke, and a siege train of two catapults (dismantled, their pieces in carts) rounded out the assortment.

Josef von Speyer was loathe to attack Hungary until he could assemble a greater force; he would first attack and take the small, weak Kingdom of Croatia, presenting an immediate front to the Byzantines while a more suitable army for invading Hungary was prepared.

Soon, very soon, the Roman Empires would meet head-on...

[Patriarch of Constantinople]

Senate Building, Constantinople

Basil II stood up, calmly, and announced

"Bulgaria is what we need to start the restoration of the Roman Empire"

"Sir, the Holy Roman Empire has become increasingly unfriendly, and this could mean a war" A senate rose, saying "And the Pope will call a war against us"

His Holy Patriarch stood up

"The Pope will be excommunicated if he tries anything with us" His holyness announced.

"Sir, we have reports that the Byzantine Army has already swept into Bulgaria and will start the Siege of Sophia soon" A senate said.

"The Holy Roman Empire has nothing to do with us, and their knights are no match for Roman lances. We must secure our front with the Danube river, and I do not see why the Holy Roman Empire is so cautious." Basil II said.

"Sir, if the Holy Roman Empire do attack us in Bulgaria, what should we do?" A senator asked.

"Fight back" Basil II replied.

Basil II left the Senate.

[Ignoramus]

I was going to send in my decisions, but I need time to enter into diplomacy.