[BTS] [RFC/DoC] Subir de um Império - A Story in a Day

Gruekiller

Gruekiller

Back From The Beyond
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Why hello there, Civ4 S&T. ;)

I've been a bit scarce around here for some time, mostly owing to a complete and utter lack of free time on my part. Thankfully, with my summer job over and school returning, the paradigm is shifting back towards "Grue has no life and likes to play video games". To inaugurate my return to the forum, I will be tackling a somewhat non-conventional approach to the Civ AAR, one which I have termed the SIAD [Story in a Day].

The idea is, I admit, pilfered from AlternateHistory.com's recent 'Timeline in a Day' trend, but to my knowledge no such effort has been attempted over here on CFC. In a period of 24 hours, from the time this introductory post is made, I will start a new RFC: Dawn of Civilization game, complete it, and write and upload it in its entirety. Sounds impossible? I hope to surprise you. :D

As for the story itself, I recently looked back on the success of my relatively brief story, Turks! The Scourge of the East! as a source of inspiration. In that story, I took one look at the historical Ottoman Empire, let out a guffaw of derisive laughter, and promptly set about conquering in the opposite direction. Eschewing history and carving my own path through the world seemed to be a big hit, so I will pursue a similar strategy... though not one exactly alike.

As for who I'll be playing and whither my armies will go, the only hint I can possibly give at present is to look at the title and start wondering... ;)
 
Good luck, do some ridiculous build/exploit and totally PWN as most likely Portugal or Spain or a Latin American civilization.
 
Finished the game in a bit over 3 hours. Time for the first part of the story. :D

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Stage One: Finishing the Reconquista​


The sun rises on the year 1139, in what another reality might call the Middle Ages. It has been seven centuries since the imperial authority of Rome crumbled in the west, leaving the provinces of its dying empire to their fate at the hands of rapacious barbarian tribes from the wilderness of Germania. For two hundred years the barbarians squabbled over the empire's remnants, but for a brief and shining moment, this time of war and collapse seemed about to end. The last remnants of the Empire, commanded by Justinian the Great from their capital at Constantinople, looked poised to retake Italia, Hispania, and Gaul, setting the eagle banner alight over Europa once more.

Alas, it was not meant to be. From the deserts came an alien enemy, sweeping across the Near East and Africa, and then into Europe itself over the Straits of Gibraltar. At last, the tide of the Islamic Empire was halted at Poitiers, and eventually reversed by the armies of Christendom. The damage, however, was done - the empire was hardly worth its name any more, Europe squabbled over the Roman legacy, and any hope that the Roman Empire would rise anew was lost.

Or so it seemed.

Into this troubled period emerges the Iberian principality of Portugal. Originally hailing from the lands of Galicia to the north, the people of this tiny realm united with their Spanish brothers in crusading against the Moors, slowly re-establishing Christian control over most of the Peninsula. The city of Lisboa has just been wrested from the grip of the Almohad Caliphate under the capable leadership of Afonso Henriques, and the uniting of the Portuguese realm seems almost complete.


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The lord of Portugal, however, is not content with this state of affairs. Afonso looks at his tax forms and sees the Latin language; he looks at the new cathedral in Lisboa, financed by the Roman Catholic church; he looks into his own family history to find the illustrious names of emperors past. With this proud heritage, why should the Portuguese nation not enjoy a larger place in the sun than as a strip of land along the Atlantic Ocean?

The Portuguese armies head east, capturing Sevilla and proceeding up the Guadalquivir River to Cordoba, the capital and last major city of the Almohad empire's Iberian domains. The Moors, caught off-guard by the arrival of the Portuguese, hesitate to engage the force as it approaches, fearing a flanking movement from the Castilians while their backs are turned. The ineffectual resistance allows the Portuguese to overpower the defenders, seizing the largest city in Spain and ending the Muslim presence on the peninsula forever.


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The crown of Castile is unimpressed with Afonso's ambitions, annoyed with his violation of previous agreements on dividing the peninsula and frightened by the growing power of the Portuguese state. Formal missives to Afonso are snubbed, raising the ire of the Spaniards and paving the way for the next stage of the expansion of the budding Portuguese Empire.


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The Second Imperial Age has begun...
 
I knew it.
 
Subbed.
 
Stage Two: The Unification of Spain​

Tensions erupt between the two Iberian powers as the Galician city of Santiago de Compostela revolts against Castilian rule, uniting with its Portuguese brothers to the south. Castile's plaintive cries that the city be returned are ignored, and soon Alfonso of Castile is pledging to march on Lisboa and unify the Peninsula once and for all...


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Not one to idly sit and wait for the enemy to come, Afonso of Portugal rallies his armies, overwhelms the border guards, and crosses over into Castilian territory himself. The capital at Madrid is soon under assault, its undertrained garrison cut down by the battle-hungry Portuguese.


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Alfonso and the remnants of his army fall back to the old Asturian capital of Santander, their redoubt on the Cantabrian Sea. Here the Castilians manage a more effective defense in the mountain passes of the north, but the resistance can only continue for so long until they are overwhelmed once again. The Crown of Castile comes to an end, just a week before Afonso I's death.


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The reigns of two kings pass before the growing kingdom conquers again. The eastern border with the Crown of Aragon has proven an uneasy border between the domains of Sancho of Portugal and Pere of Barcelona. A border incident near Saragosa proves to be the straw that breaks the camel's back, as Portugal retaliates in force. The smaller armies of Aragon prove no match for the ever-growing Portuguese army, which catches the Aragonese unprepared outside of Tarragona. The last of his castles captured, Pere flees north to the court of his royal cousin, the count of Toulouse.


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Portugal's eyes too turn north, wondering if perhaps the border of their kingdom shouldn't lie a bit past the Pyrenees...
 
Great update. Try to conquer the entire former Roman Emire.
 
Stage Three: Afonso the Conqueror​

Two more generations of preparation and unease on both sides of the Pyrenees pass. The Kingdom of France looks on with concern at the expanding kingdom of Portugal, worrying for the safety of its southern domains. The new king of Portugal, Afonso III, is not content to let this state of affairs continue forever. In the spring of 1390, France's worst nightmare comes true as Afonso - soon to be known as the Conqueror - crosses the Pyrenees into the Languedoc.


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Attempts to halt the Portuguese prove ineffectual, as the French army is swept aside outside of Lyon in 1400. The Portuguese fan out over France, capitulating city after city, while Afonso himself heads east to capture France's territories in Italy. He receives an unpleasant surprise, however, when he finds his way blocked. Frederick, the Holy Roman Emperor has looked on in alarm as his western neighbor is overrun by the Portuguese, and from his fortress in Milan, refuses them passage into Italy, which is nominally part of his domains. Afonso scoffs at the emperor and his pretensions to the Roman name, and responds by invading Lombardy and seizing Milan for himself.


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No army proves to be enough to give Afonso pause as he advances on Rome itself, seizing the eternal city later in that same year. In an elaborate ceremony at St. Peter's, he strongarms the Pope into crowning him Afonso I of the new Roman Empire, a direct challenge to Frederick's authority, and one which all of Christendom hears.


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Frederick responds with a counterattack into Lombardy from the imperial heartland in Austria. The recently-conquered city of Milan falls into Holy Roman hands again, threatening to cut off the supply lines from Portugal to Afonso's army, which is still in Italy. The Portuguese garrisons in Lyon respond quickly, retaking the city and burning it in retribution for its continued resistance.


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Soon, the remaining French and German resistance in Italy dies away, leaving the Peninsula in Afonso's hands.


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A second Portuguese army, ferried over from southern Italy, opens a new front against the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt in North Africa, while Afonso turns north to face the Germans head-on.


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Fierce fighting ensues in Venetia at the front line between the two empires. Under Afonso's brilliant leadership, the Germans are slowly beaten back to Slovenia, where Afonso seizes the fortress of Laibach and prepares to strike north into Austria itself.


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Stiff resistance meets Afonso all the way, but it isn't enough to halt his advance. The two armies meet for a final time outside the gates of Vienna. The battle rages for three days as the city is surrounded and Frederick forced over the Danube into southern Germany. When the dust clears, the city is in Portuguese hands, but at a terrible cost - the battle claimed Emperor Afonso's life, leaving his son, Sancho, the new Emperor of the Romans. The vengeful Sancho orders the city burned to the ground.


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The Germans, while they haven't yet surrendered, are battered and defeated in all but name. Leaving garrisons along the Rhine-Danube line, Sancho looks to the east for a new avenue of conquest...
 
Stage Four: Look to the East​

News arrives in 1425 from the North African army, which has captured the Egyptian city of Misratah. The Ayyubids have yet to field any significant resistance to the small cavalry force, which is soon to be bolstered with troops fresh from the conquest of France and Italy. The way to the rich lands of the Nile seems open.


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In the east, meanwhile, far from all of Portugal's conquests so far, the last remnants of the true Roman Empire have watched with concern as a new empire has arisen in its place. Constantinople has thus far declined to interfere in the demise of the kingdoms of western Christendom (they are just semi-barbaric Latins, after all), the fall of Austria and Italy has alarmed Manuel, the Emperor of Constantinople. Determined to prove its worth as the true holder of the Roman legacy, Byzantium pledges to push the Portuguese back into the Atlantic Ocean and to free Europe from their yoke once and for all. The response is predictable:


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This same year, the aging emperor Frederick approaches the Portuguese with terms: they will return the city of Frankfurt, recently seized, and Frederick will abandon the title of Roman Emperor and become Emperor of the Germans instead. Eager to remove troops from the German front, Sancho agrees.


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The new state of affairs doesn't last long. The loss in prestige for the imperial house in Germany is immense, and once Frederick dies in 1440, the kingdoms of the empire reassert their independence, sending Germany tumbling into chaos.


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In the south, meanwhile, the conquest of Egypt continues. The weak Ayyubid sultan can do nothing as his entire realm falls into Portuguese hands.


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Manuel of Constantinople, too, has suffered at Sancho's hands. All the way through Bulgaria, the Byzantines have harried Sancho's advancing armies, but every time they have been rebuffed. Despite their best efforts to halt the Portuguese, the capital is soon surrounded. The Greeks mount a valiant defense, and it seems for a time that Sancho may retreat with his flagging army. Alas, at this crucial moment, a lucky shot from a siege engine creates a breach in the walls, and Constantinople falls in AD 1450.


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Athens soon follows, and the last Byzantine resistance is cornered in Sparti in the south of the Peloponnese. The last defenders fight bravely, but the last remnant of the true Roman Empire falls in 1485.


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Sancho passes away soon thereafter, leaving his growing empire to his son, Afonso, the last, and most infamous, Portuguese emperor...
 
Stage Five: The Doomed Asian Campaign​

The truth about Afonso IV is that he is, unfortunately, quite mad. He is often seen parading around the palace in Lisboa dressed entirely in peacock feathers, always mumbling something about the Roman legacy and his past lives as Scipio and Claudius.


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The Empire upon Afonso IV's moving of the capital from Lisboa to Roma.​


This unstable mental state translates itself, in strategical terms, into a driving desire to see the completion of the 'reconquest' of the Empire. Despite the warnings of his advisors of the army's long supply lines and the strength of the enemy, he declares that the infidel must be destroyed, and wages war upon the Ottoman Turks in the east.


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Murad, the Ottoman sultan, has, in fact, been preparing for just such a moment. The son-in-law to the exiled Manuel, who is living in his court at Angora, the sultan looks forward to putting an end to the insane Afonso and his empire, and to restore the rightful emperor of the Romans to his throne in Constantinople. Afonso's army makes its way through Anatolia, seizing Nicaea and Smyrna on its way, before crossing the Halys into the Anatolian Plateau. The Portuguese realize too late that they are surrounded on all sides.


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Afonso desperately fights back, but the bombards of the Turkish and Greek armies shell his armies into disarray, and then, penning the Portuguese against the river, slay them to a man, at last ending the advance of Portuguese imperial authority in the Mediterranean.

The news spreads throughout the empire quickly, where subjugated peoples rise up against their erstwhile masters. The collapse is swift, final, and leaves no doubt that any ideas of Roman restoration are well and truly foregone.


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Epilogue​

The civil wars upon Afonso's death prove to be the costliest conflict in European history, seven million souls perishing in the ensuing struggle for dominance over bits of the fallen empire. Greece and the Balkans are returned to the control of Andronikos, the emperor Manuel's son (after the short-lived Emirate of al-Shupartah is put down in the south), under the watchful eye of sultan Murad. The former Empire of Constantinople will for some centuries be Turkish in all but name, as Andronikos' descendants swear their fealty to the sultan in Angora. Egypt is quickly occupied by the Turks as well, who look poised to remain the dominant influence in the Mediterranean world for some time.

In the north, Turkey's unifying role is emulated by the Polish Empire, which had already been expanding into Germany after that empire's collapse in the 15th Century. Poland emerges as a hegemon of sorts over the small French and German principalities, and will continue to do so until the Great Northern Wars of the 18th Century.

In the western Mediterranean, the situation is more messy. The Italian kingdoms squabble over the late imperial capital at Rome, and it takes the deaths of a million people until the status quo prevails, with Naples dominating the south, and Lombardy, Venice, and Florence in the north. The Kingdom of Leon re-emerges from the north in Iberia, subjugating Portugal and burning Lisboa in a fit of vengeance. Cordoba, with Turkish support, likewise rises again as a Muslim kingdom, checking Leon's expansion. The east remains a battleground for competing imperial ambitions, as Catalan, Basque, and Moorish princes, supported by foreign benefactors, vie for dominance in the region.

Across the sea, America lies, still undiscovered.

So ends the Second Imperial Age, and dawns the Modern Era.
 
You are truly as insane as Alfonso.

I should try this sometime. It would be crazy fun!
 
This was awesome! I wish I could could do this kind of thing in a day. Then again, I wish I could actually do something as Portugal. :lol:
 
Gruekiller said:
I guess when you look at the game and just say, "UHV goals? What are those?", you have to be at least a bit insane. :D

Regular updates for Legacy of Byzance will be resuming soon.
Click to expand...

If you look at my DoC OCCs, I must be pretty insane too...

Yay for insane DoC players!
 
The One Day's War.
 
constantinople said:
The One Day's War.
Click to expand...

Wish I'd thought of this.

Any way, those updates for Byzance I promised never did materialize, but I still have some free time over here, so that may soon change. We're only just a bit over a hundred years from when the game ended, after all! :D
 
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