TNESI: The Glorious Mysteries

Consider it recertified, as strong as it has ever been before. May Allah smile on our friendship.

Welcome, Iggy!

I'm recovering from being sick, and so the update is nearing completion. As in, look for it tomorrow. Stats for PC's and many NPC's will be done over the weekend, and we'll get back to a normal schedule next week.

Ok?

Sounds good to me.

Maybe you should be working on your update instead of being Suzhou in ITNES

alex994 said:

Maybe you should be working on your update instead of being Suzhou in ITNES

Click to expand...

I'm doing both, and enjoying them.

Will the update come tonight?

Perfectionist said:

Will the update come tonight?

Click to expand...

Yes, I think it will.

Can anyone reccomend any good NPC nations that are open?

Is brittany open?

Yay! Looking forward to taking the Hadhramis into my own hands.

JosefStalinator said:

Can anyone reccomend any good NPC nations that are open?

Is brittany open?

Click to expand...

Brittany is open, but there's also the Holy Austrian Empire, Tsardom of Galicia, and several other NPC's. I'd be glad to have you join after the update, which will be posted in <2 hours.

Just doing the spotlight.

Galicia looks interesting... are they ethnically Russian (driven from Russia) or are they Ukrainian?

God damnit. Still no update!

*rails*

Update 3: 1506-1507

&#8220;Tyrants smile with their last breath
For they know that at their death,
Tyranny just changes hands,
Serfdom lives on in their lands.&#8221;

-Heinrich Heine, King David

Major wars break out all across the world, as popes and patriarchs gamble for power. Cross and crescent are raised in unison for the first time in centuries&#8230;or are they? Great cities will burn, as the dream of a mystical island called Avalon where people will live in peace attracts thousands from the war torn and oppressed regions of Europe. Claims will be made, fulfilled, and contested, and not one of them will be completely resolved. Resolution and closure; the promise of a peaceful hegemonic empire, these are all things the emperors and peasants of the world wish to see. Will they die confidently in their beds, or be crushingly defeated on the battlefield? The scything hand of death isn&#8217;t prejudiced.

Domestic Events:

The Irish Empire, seeing the chaos in Europe, decides to secure a greater portion of Avalon while their rivals are occupied. Under the orders of the Emperor, new slaves and bondservants are prepared for transport, along with several thousand craftsmen and farmers, to the New World. The errors of the last round of Avalonian colonization were solved, and a vast number of troops and ships were allocated&#8230;however the bureaucrats organizing the voyages were shocked to find that no funds whatsoever had been allocated towards the expedition. They frantically diverted money, but only a last minute pillaging of the coffers allowed the expedition to begin.

Admiral Se&#225;n &#211; Loingsigh&#8217;s voyage first charted the coasts of Avalon south of New Castile, all the way to the tip of the Floridas. Then he founded two settlements, named Fort Laigin and Fort Patrick. Large groups of colonists and soldiers died of dysentery, scurvy and malaria, but large-scale confiscations of food from the local Avalonian tribes, and the recruitment of some local natives friendly to European traders to help plant maize and other foods, has allowed the settlements to stave off starvation. But it will be a long time until these colonies are profitable, or even self-sustainable. Not to mention, Ireland has totally breached Leon&#8217;s claim to the entire coastline, and it remains to see how they&#8217;ll react.

Farther to the north, Irish colonists expand towards the creatively named Lake Eire, (OTL Lake Ontario) running into fierce resistance from the Four Nations. The Avalonians have somehow acquired gunpowder weapons, and are using them to great effect, along with raiding and other tactics. The newly expanded garrison is just enough to protect the new frontier territories, but the natives show no signs of giving up just yet.

Back in Ireland, the religious institutions are recentralized in Gallimhe, which makes the clergy happy again. (+1 Confidence) And the new &#8220;adventurers company,&#8221; the Avalon Fur Company, has begun large shipments of New World furs to the profitable European markets. (+1 Economy)

The Spanish hold a great ecclesiastical council in Toledo, to which the Pope is quite notoriously not invited. The council stresses establishing a Spanish community of clergy, uniquely separate from the Catholic one. This angers both the Pope, and the Archbishop of Barcelona, a strong Papal supporter, but the combined efforts of the Cardinal of Toledo and Emperor Ferdinand II (who makes a personal appearance) sway most Spanish clergymen to the side of the Empire. Also, the Emperor issues the Act in Restraint of Appeals, which restricts all appeals to Rome through the Cardinal of Toledo. Of course, the newly integrated Catalans grumble, but this can be borne for now&#8230;

All across Spain, spontaneous demonstrations of nationalist fervor break out. Almost as if planned, the nobles and parish priests alike agitate for a new crusade, and the peasants join the call. Finally, Ferdinand agrees. It is time for Spain to make her move. (+1 Spanish Culture) (See Spotlight&#8230

With the fallout from the Edict of Gibraltar, and the semi-permanent closing of the Straits after the beginning of a second round of wars in the Mediterranean, the Norse Emperor invests in building a new, modern port at Bristol. The superior infrastructure put in place allows it to quickly pick up some of the lost southern trade. Of course, Emperor Canute IV has much, much, bigger things to be worrying about&#8230;

(+Bristol Economic Center)

Genoa peacefully expands Nuova Liguria and Citta del Capo, which are by now filling up with skilled refugees from Europe. Though the closing of the Straits, again, does complicate things, overland trade routes are being organized. Also, thanks to a truly massive amount of hard work by Corsican laborers, the port of Ajaccio is finally both a serviceable capital and a thriving port. Wealthy Neapolitan immigrants are also arriving en masse, bringing their money with them.

(+Ajaccio Economic Center)

But many Genoans are grumbling, especially the ones living in Liguria. The ruined city remains ruined, they say, and nothing has been done about the absolute lack of infrastructure in the area following the Provencal invasion. They say that the mercantile executive cares more about their profits than their native-born Italian citizens.

(-Genoan Confidence)

Southern Italy quiets down, seething under the boot of the Byzantine Army. It seems that some semblance of peace is slowly being imposed on the land.

While struggles rage in Western Europe, Austria observes quietly. Aquitaine and Provence are integrated into the Catholic League, reconciliation is made with Pope Pius (since it&#8217;s rather impossible to have a Catholic League without the Pope) and the arts are encouraged within Vienna proper. A new era of music, more complex than the traditional medieval melodies, is becoming prevalent. Also, Emperor Leopold This, in combination with the military revolutions, pushes the Holy Austrian Empire into a truly new era of development. It seems that Spain, with a similarly powerful monarch backed by an elite military and strong culture, is not far behind.

(+Vienna Cultural Center, Holy Austrian Empire, Spanish Empire enter the Early Enlightened Age)

OOC: The Norse Empire, Byzantium, Bavaria, Aquitaine, and the Italian states are quite close to the next age as well. Min China and Sweden are slightly behind them, for various reasons.

(The Early Enlightened Age transfers thousands and ships into divisions and squadrons, making military forces of these nations superior to their less advanced counterparts. But a size stat is added as well, as feudalism declines and is replaced with a modern nation-state requiring more upkeep. )

Galicia completes their network of forts on the border with the Golden Horde. As traumatized refugees from Tver flee across the borders, the Tsar prepares a system of national conscription and levies to augment the professional army in the event of another Mongol invasion.

Rumors that the Hungarian king is merely a puppet to his Byzantine wife, (true,) and that he is actually preparing to outlaw the Catholic Church, (not quite, but still&#8230 are widely circulating among the peasantry. Certainly that reported tribute being paid to Byzantium isn&#8217;t helping matters&#8230;

(-Hungarian Confidence)

The Byzantine Emperor himself has been having a tough time of things. His health is reportedly declining, and while Demetrius is shrewd and intelligent as ever, several assassination attempts from unknown (but easily guessed) sources have nearly killed him on multiple occasions.

Also, it&#8217;s rather unclear who the successor to the throne will be. And everyone knows that when the Byzantine Emperor dies without an heir, things can get very, very messy.

OOC: Yes, Asia needs Domestic Events! They will be added within 48 hours. If you&#8217;d like to be mentioned more, invade someone.

Military Events:

Canute IV, or Canute the Ready, truly gained his epithet in the second half of the War for Lothair&#8217;s Throne. He had carefully been expanding Norse spy networks in Aquitaine and Sweden for most of the decade, and much of their plans had already been revealed. Though Norse efforts to stoke rebellions in the Swedish territories failed utterly, and most of the Norse spies were killed after Aquitaine and Sweden declared war, the damage had been done. He knew of their alliance, and of their plans.

Canute realized that fighting a bloody war to secure France and Lothringen while the Swedes captured the true Norse territories in Scandinavia was quite foolish. So he pragmatically decided to focus almost all of the Norse Empire&#8217;s considerable might on crushing their age-old rival.

The Swedish navy stormed out of the Danish Straits with a vengeance, blockading Copenhagen and heading out into the North (or the Norse) Sea. A small Norse fleet had been stationed off the coast of Bergen, which was easily crushed by the new, elite Vasa ships of the line developed by Sweden&#8217;s finest shipwrights. A small army was landed at Bergen, and quickly secured the city, with surprisingly little resistance&#8230;

Until a massive Norse army surrounded and crushed it almost instantly.

As the Swedish &#8220;invasion&#8221; forces crossed the border into Denmark and Norway, they realized with horror that the Norse armies sent to oppose them were more than triple their size. As they were meticulously crushed before they could retreat back into Sweden, the Norse and Swedish navies fought a series of furious engagements in the western half of the North Sea, with Sweden trying to cut the supply lines for the Norse armies in Norway. The Swedes gained the upper hand, despite heavy casualties&#8230;but were soon called back to the Baltic, as Sweden&#8217;s own supply lines to her colonies were now in doubt&#8230;

Two huge Norse armies advanced into Sweden proper. One headed down the southern coast, soon capturing Goteborg from the stunned Swedish conscripts that were swiftly crushed. As garrison troops from the Baltic States and Finland were frantically shuffled across the Baltic Sea, Skane fell to the Norse armies, who were aided by local Danes. The larger force, marching across central Sweden, was clearly heading for Uppsala, and it destroyed all the levies and irregulars thrown in its path. Even an army personally led by King Gustav Vasa failed to stop the relentless Norse, who then stormed Uppsala in a trademark lightning siege.

Meanwhile, a third army swiftly moved out of Denmark, and cautiously secured the coasts of Germany&#8230;fearing, but seeing no Swedish trap. Most of the coastal fortresses surrendered immediately, and German rebels seized the interior.

The onset of winter, and the harassment of the still superior Swedish navy, has caused the Norse to pause momentarily, to consolidate their positions. But as most of Sweden proper has been overrun, and Norse campfires can be seen from Stockholm itself, many of King Gustav&#8217;s closest councilors advise him to sue for peace while he still has a chance. And Sweden&#8217;s hold on her colonies is weakening, with only the dominance of the Swedish fleet holding everything together&#8230;

(-Swedish Education, (University of Uppsala was burned,) &#8211;24 Swedish Thousands, -21 Norse Thousands, -17 Swedish Ships, -7 Vasa Ships, -29 Norse Ships, -Swedish Economy, -Swedish Confidence)

A rebellion against the Grand Duke of Lithuania breaks out among the peasants and many of the more ambitious nobles. It seems to be well supplied with weapons from multiple foreign sources, and is swiftly gaining ground against the Grand Duke, who remains stubbornly loyal to his beleaguered Swedish allies.

(-11 Lithuanian Thousands, -Lithuanian Confidence, +20 Well-Supplied Rebel Thousands)

Further to the south, Aquitaine and Lothringen set their plans in motion. At the onset of the campaigning season, most Norse armies pivot to the south to meet Aquitaine&#8217;s expected invasion, which allows Lothair&#8217;s forces to surprisingly break out down the Rhine, and liberate Strasburg after a hard fought struggle.

Some significant rebellions in central France break out, motivated by Aquitaine&#8217;s agents. Unfortunately, the expected massive revolution fails to materialize, since a combination of Norse colonization and coastal Norman merchants profiting considerably from the Avalonian trade minimize the willingness of the population to rise up. And as the attack begins, several high-ranking Aquitanian commanders are suspiciously assassinated. (-1 Aquitainian Military Leadership) Apparently several aides-de-camp of the dead generals&#8217; staff were Norse agents. But nonetheless, the invasion begins. The attack towards Paris is countered, and turned back at the Battle of Orleans, but this was only a diversion in the first place.

Aquitaine&#8217;s major attack cut through a thin slice of Norse territory and then into southern Lothringen. The unprepared Norse forces in the area were caught between King Gilles&#8217; force heading north and Lothair&#8217;s force coming south, and were crushed. The two kings linked up their forces, and then formed a united thrust into western Lothringen. The Norse armies, true to their famous maneuverability, moved to counter this, but were dramatically crushed at the Second Battle of the Bridges, which utterly ruined what was left of Lothringen&#8217;s capital. Almost all of Lothringen is liberated, and the way towards Paris is now open, but it seems that winter, and all of the Norse Empire&#8217;s remaining armies in France, have joined forces to block the path.

On a more minor note, several military &#8220;advisors&#8221; have arrived from Austria and Leon, along with a small contingent of Italian Cohorts from Provence. In theory at least, the Catholic League is helping their own.

(-18 Norse Thousands, -14 Lothringen Thousands, -17 Aquitainian Thousands)

The remainder of the Sicilian rebels are crushed or pacified.

(-1 Aquitainian Thousands)

King Otto of Bavaria was in a difficult situation. Both Canute and Leopold were pressuring him to honor their respective alliances. So naturally, Bavaria declared its noninvolvement in the Norse wars, and focused on the east. A small strip of rebelling Swedish territory was &#8220;secured,&#8221; for the purposes of&#8230;um, security, right. In addition, Bavarian troops stepped into the chaos of what was the Prague Confederacy, annexing outright the German-majority areas that quickly pledged allegiance anyway. Then the Bavarians attacked Prague. The noble coalition began to fall apart, what was left of the army began to melt away, and the Kingdom of Poland began to cautiously advance as well, their nobles being far more organized and united. Prague collapsed into chaos and infighting again, with most remaining leaders pledging allegiance to Bavaria or fleeing the city as it fell. The Prague Confederacy has ceased to exist, and everything worth capturing has fallen into the hands of Bavaria and Poland. Indeed, Prague itself is in danger of being ruined if it isn&#8217;t rebuilt soon.

(-Prague Confederacy, -6 Bavarian Thousands, -5 Polish Thousands)

The Muwahhidun Empire mobilizes every aspect of their society for war. Anti-Sunni persecution ends, to be replaced with Christian persecution, and isolated tales of Orthodox villages being razed, and their inhabitants slaughtered or enslaved, are common. This enrages Byzantium particularly, and in a stirring event memorialized in several frescoes, Emperor Demetrius swore an oath to personally execute the entire ruling elite of the Druze. But rebellions within Egypt are cut off before they can begin.

In Alexandria, the situation grows dire, for both sides. Continuing attacks by the Druze, and the difficulty of supplying the city, leaves the Andalusian army holding the city on the brink of collapse. Several groups of infiltrating Egyptians caused many casualties before they were captured. And then, even worse news comes from the west. The Andalusians pull out, but not before burning every Druze who fails to convert. Obviously, the immolation of twenty thousand Druze wasn&#8217;t easy, and it had to be done within the city walls. The burning sparks began a massive conflagration that engulfed the entire city, just as the Andalusians were retreating, Byzantine troops were arriving, and the Muwahhiduns were on the brink of recapturing the city.

After three days of chaotic struggle, the undamaged sections of Alexandria were secured by the fresh Byzantine forces, which forced back the (rather small, it was revealed) Muwahhidun army that retreated back into the desert. But the ravages of war and fire largely destroy Alexandria, once a beautiful city carrying the cultural traditions of Druze, Christians, Muslims, and even a few Jews.

(-Alexandria Cultural Center, -7 Andalusian Thousands, -5 Byzantine Thousands, -6 Muwahhidun Thousands, -3 Medjai Warrior Thousands)

The Andalusians looked forward to an easy victory against the Hafsids, and the Majardid supreme commander confidently expected a quick and decisive battle at Tunis. The (recently expanded) navy bombarded the capitol, and the city was surrounded in preparation for the final assault. But then, a Muwahhidun army arrived&#8230;no, not just Muwahhidun, a Hafsid army as well!

In return for an alliance against Andalusia, Egypt returned all Hafsid territory they had occupied. While reluctant to make a deal with the Druze, the Hafsids realized that refusing would mean their inevitable destruction. The combined Hafsid-Druze army surprised the Andalusians, but fresh reinforcements were quickly brought up, preventing them from linking up with the capitol. But then a third force appeared on the Andalusian army&#8217;s flank. The Berbers, augmented by the rebelling Zayanid Army, also attacked the Andalusians in hopes of regaining their lands. This large, combined, somewhat ragtag force, in combination with a daring attack from the city garrison, overwhelmed the shocked Andalusians. And the army itself was soon pulled back, when news of a great disaster reached the commander&#8217;s ears&#8230;

(-12 Andalusian Thousands, -7 Muwahhidun Thousands, -8 Hafsid Thousands, -4 Zayanid Rebel Thousands, -1 Andalusian Ship)

In the wake of the retreat, Tunisia proper was recaptured, and the triumphant North African allies besieged Algiers.

(-2 Muwahhidun Thousands, -1 Andalusian Thousand)

Further to the south, the Muwahhiduns also make considerable gains. The Muwahhidun commander wisely allowed the disorganized Adalese armies to make their way into Sennar before surrounding and crushing them in the devastating Three Battles of Khartoum. At the news of this crushing defeat, most Adalese garrisons in Abyssinia fled back into Adal proper, hoping that the Muwahhiduns would not pursue.

But pursue they did. General Massari ibn-Ahmad, in a brilliant stroke of strategic genius, sent a small force to threaten the capital, gaining the attention of the Adalese levies. While they did so, he force marched his men southeast, from the Blue Nile into the Ethiopian highlands, and then swung around to face north. Even as the Adalese chased off his diversionary force back into Muwahhidun territory, Massari&#8217;s forces were bearing down on the capital from the south.

Needless to say, the Sultan of Adal didn&#8217;t live much longer. The portions of his country that didn&#8217;t surrender to the Druze collapsed back into warlordism and chaos, while some border territories pledged allegiance to Zanzibar. This event &#8220;encouraged&#8221; the Zanzibari commander to pull out from the west bank of the Red Sea, since the superior Druze armies were clearly coming for him next.

(-Adal, -11 Muwahhidun Thousands, +Muwahhidun Confidence)

On the other side of the Red Sea, the Muwahhiduns try to push back the Zanzibari and Hadramuti forces, who are trying to capture Mecca, for obvious reasons. Zanzibar lands and secures Jiddah in an amphibious invasion, but is bottled up there by thousands of newly recruited Medjai arriving from Arabia. Thanks to events up north, the Egyptians&#8217; supply lines are near collapse, preventing them from smashing the inferior, but well supplied, Zanzibari-Hadramuti (Just call them Zanzimuti for convenience ) armies. So the war here has settled into a stalemate, with the inhabitants of the Hedjaz still simmering on the brink of rebellion. Only the threat of Mecca razed by the Druze holds them in check.

(-5 Druze Thousands, -6 Medjai Warrior Thousands, -8 Zanzibari Thousands, -7 Hadramuti Thousands)

It seemed that this fate would be shared by the war in Palestine as well. Thousands of fresh Egyptian troops held the fortified line against wave after wave of Persian attacks, and the Shah seemed to be ruining his army for nothing&#8230;however, the attacks were a mere diversion. The Byzantine fleets, virtually unopposed in the Mediterranean, began a series of landings that soon secured Tyre, Acre, and Caesarea. While the Muwahhiduns had been defeating the Persian assaults with ease, they were completely unprepared for a coastal attack. Commissar Ramahd Alwan, the civilian and military governor of Druze Palestine, frantically ordered troops from the fortified line to repel the Byzantine landings.

But it was far too little, too late. The Persians took the opportunity to breach the weakened fortifications in multiple places, and easily linked up with the Byzantine armies at Tripoli. Forced away from the coast, the Druze made their final stand along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Multiple escape attempts to the south were cut off by well prepared Byzantine forces, and overwhelming Persian numerical superiority sent charge after charge into Muwahhidun pikes and cannons. Commissar Alwan died that day, along with the majority of his army, and all Druze hopes of retaining Palestine. But his death was not in vain, as a second line of fortifications were already being prepared to the south. And it will take time to replace the heavy casualties inflicted. But the liberation of Jerusalem is a happy event, especially for the Byzantines.

(+1 Byzantine Confidence, -14 Byzantine Thousands, -22 Persian Thousands, -23 Muwahhidun Thousands, -1 Muwahhidun Confidence)

Frantic, behind the scenes negotiations between the Sultanates of Delhi and Zanzibar bear fruit. After all, both sides had much to lose in India. So, Zanzibar re-recognizes the Sultan of Delhi as the legitimate ruler of India, and withdraws support from the Indus Valley princes that had been rebelling against the pro-Hindu decrees more than anything else. Though the decrees remain in place, the Sultan&#8217;s army has swept into the rebelling areas, pacifying the Indus Valley with threats of disowning any prince who refuses to submit to royal authority. Things are still unstable, and a few fanatical rebels still resist, but it seems that things have calmed down for now.

(-6 Delhi Thousands)

The Min Emperor finally decides to eradicate these annoying Muslims in the Feliben Islands, and gives Admiral Hsu another chance to prove his worth. Determined not to lose his position, (among other things,) Hsu begins a long and bloody series of skirmishes with the Mindanao tribes. Vast tracts of forest are being burned to smoke out the warriors, but many continue to elude Chinese patrols. Nonetheless, the Min have enough men to expand their base, and the occasional Felibino willing to cooperate with the foreigners can be found. Colonists are also beginning to arrive despite the danger, and the military base is now a town in its own right. But it seems that the tribes haven&#8217;t yet committed all of their strength&#8230;

(-3 Min Thousands)

Spotlight: The Reconquista

&#8220;For the glory of our God, and the glory of Spain, we will fight upon this western spur of mankind, prepared to retake all that mighty Rome once held. We are the new Rome, and God is the new Emperor.&#8221;

-Emperor Ferdinand II of Spain, Address to the Armies and Armadas of the Spanish Empire



Even as the gates of Barcelona opened to Leonese soldiers, Andalusia should have heeded the warning signs. Even as, in a coronation unequaled since the days of Imperial Rome, Ferdinand was declared Emperor of All Spain, the Majardids should have been preparing their levies and setting the defenses in order. Even as Lord Tomas de Malferit informed his liege that a unifying crusade would be the perfect thing to quell dissent in Aragon, summons should have been flying out of Ixvilla to Constantinople and Ajaccio, calling for aid.

The Andalusians were oblivious to the peasant levies forming right across the border, the intricate and rapid formation of several new armies in Toledo and Valencia, and the public calls for the execution of pagans and heretics. The signs of a new crusade were everywhere.

And to be honest, the Moors were blissfully unaware of all of it. An elite new combined arms force, the Tercio, was unveiled, without question the most fanatically loyal, disciplined, and effective troops raised to date in Europe. They would be the point of the Spanish spear. In the mind of Ferdinand at least, the date for the unification of the Iberian peninsula drew near.

When Don Rodrigo Borgia (the commander of the vanguard crossing the western border) entered Andalusian territory, he was shocked after several days of advance to find that literally no force had been drawn up against him. The Andalusians had left literally none of their troops in Andalusia proper! Of course, messages were flying as fast as possible to the troops in North Africa, and warnings to the small garrisons in South Avalon&#8230;but the situation seemed hopeless from the beginning.

With Borgia&#8217;s thrust a complete success, the general sent word to the supreme commander of all forces participating in the Reconquista, El Gran Capit&#225;n Don Gonzalo Fern&#225;ndez de C&#243;rdoba, Prince of Maratra, hero of the Aragonese Conquest, to begin his assault. With a large, professional force augmented by a mass of peasant volunteers, he began to advance steadily down the eastern coast. The goal of the two forces was unmistakable: Ixvilla.

The Sultan wasn&#8217;t an idiot, despite his incomprehensible blunder in allowing such a disaster to happen. A mass conscription of all able-bodied men was instituted, and the reality of Andalusia&#8217;s impending destruction brought thousands of citizens into the streets to be organized into work crews. And as the first levies were thrown into the faces of the Spanish generals, they decided to let the Muslims build their forts, and secured every square inch of territory before marching onward, putting down resistance mercilessly as they came.

Meanwhile, the Spanish Navy had laid an ambush for the regrouping Andalusian fleets off the coasts of Egypt and Tunisia. However, the Andalusian fleets had been almost doubled in size to prepare for the Egyptian Wars, and the sheer size of the fleets allowed many to escape and flee towards Gibraltar, the meeting point for the gathering Andalusian ships. Many were caught off guard and destroyed, but far more were able to elude their Leonese pursuers.

Don Enrique de Herrera, the supreme commander of Spain&#8217;s fleets in the Mediterranean, decided to destroy the Andalusian navy in one fell swoop. Fifty Spanish ships closed in on Gibraltar from both sides, but Herrera was surprised to see the Andalusians take the offensive. With an overwhelming force of numbers, the nearly seventy Andalusian vessels smashed a ragged hole in the Spanish line, and despite the superior seamanship and discipline of their foes, had divided and isolated the Spanish.

But then, two things happened. On the Andalusian flank, a small fleet appeared: The Tuscan navy, sent independently by the Florentines to defy the Edict of Gibraltar. It turned the right flank of the Majardid line, forcing a retreat as the Spanish regrouped. And then, cannon fire from the newly arrived Atlantic Spanish Fleet smashed into the unprotected sterns of the Andalusian ships. Their organized line collapsed, with half of the fleet fleeing for the north coast, and the other half for the south. The Andalusian navy was broken.

Despite this grim disaster, Andalusian resistance to the Spanish invaders only intensified. Though levy after levy was put down by El Gran Capit&#225;n, a huge fortified line protecting Ixvilla and Granada was being constructed with the time bought by the conscripts, a fortification that only desperation and forced labor could build. By the end of the year it was complete, and North African troops, along with Al-Coloni pulled back from Avalon and Africa, began to filter in, though only sporadically as Spain had near total control of the seas.

In Avalon, things were not much better. The attacking Spanish ships were thought to be friendly allies until the last second, as the warning from Europe had not yet reached the colonies. Avalonian tribes rebelled in the interior, as Hispaniola was quickly secured, and New Cordoba (E.C. on the north coast of South Avalon) soon followed. Despite all the resistance they could muster, there were simply not enough Andalusian troops in the New World to counter every Spanish attack. The Majardid colonial governor is already rumored to have fled for the interior. With the exception of isolated pockets of resistance and gathering militia, the war in Avalon is nearly over.

A cold ring of Spanish steel and ships now surrounds Ixvilla. Perhaps the reconquista will soon be over&#8230;but the devastating surprise effect of the Spanish attack has now worn off. Only the future will show us whose flag will fly over a united Iberia once more&#8230;

(-29 Andalusian Thousands, -42 Andalusian Ships, -2 Andalusian Confidence, -17 Spanish Thousands, -8 Tercio Thousands, -25 Spanish Ships, -4 Florentine Ships, +Spanish Confidence)

Random Events:

Hadramuti seems glad that the evil doomsday birds are gone. (+Hadramuti Confidence)

Galicia is seized with panic over a possible Golden Horde invasion, but agrees to the new defense plans. (-Galician Confidence, +Galician Culture)

The Swiss Republic's citizens want it to do something...anything! (-Swiss Confidence)

The Holy Austrian Empire's roads are improving, as merchants invest in new toll roads. (+Austrian Infrastructure)

Norse schools are lacking in good teachers and materials, for the most part. (-Norse Education)

Diplomacy:

From: Holy Austrian Empire
To: Bavaria

We request that you honor our alliance, and declare war on the Norse Empire.

From: Grand Duchy of Lithuania
To: Sweden

Please send aid...I do not know how long I can quell this rebellion.

From: The Papal States
To: The Spanish Empire

Recognize the rightful supremacy of the Papacy in spiritual affairs, and we will endorse your crusade.

OOC: I would like it if you guys write more stories. That is all. So, the stats will probably be done this weekend, and orders are due in a nice, comfortable 8-9 days.

No map for you!

We declare Austria, right after Egypt, to be an evil empire!

Wonderful update.

However, I protest the fact that Byzantium is behind Spain and Austria for a number of reasons.

Firstly, Byzantium, in the history, is the site of a cultural renaissance. One which has occured VERY recently. This should put us on the heels of progress.

Furthermore, Byzantium has had the characteristics of a modern nation state for quite some time, and fuedalism has been dead for several centuries. Our political systems are much more advanced than that of the Austrians, and so is our military (I increased the training vastly, yet this seemed to get no notice).

Well, I can (and will) move this post up, but please try not to post until I say so. Thanks.

That went better than I had hoped. Amazing update.

From: Norse Empire
To: Sweden
Are you willing to discuss peace terms?

From: Norse Empire
To: Bavaria
We call on you to honour our alliance, and declare war on Lothringen and Aquitaine. If you will not go so far as war, we ask that you remain neutral. We are aware that Austria has requested that you declare war on us, but we ask that you consider who your friends are. Austria does not have your best interests at heart. They desire to unite Germany under their rule, and you are the major impediment to that goal. Nothing would please them more than for you to waste your strength fighting us. The Norse Empire has no interest in Germany, and no designs on your territory.