Europe, 690 A.D.
The war in Eastern Europe is resolved. Poland withdraws from the Magyr lands with a wounded pride and many dead men. However, to the North, the Franks and Estonians are pulling out of their homeland as well, so Poland is relatively well-off, albeit scarred. The economy has begun a slow recovery, although it almost crashed again due to the King's foolish attempt to raise both the economy and army in the same decade.
In Russia, the royal family seems to be active once again. A new wonder is started, and the money from the ancient trade routes begins to come in once again. They expand in all directions and Russia greatly increases in size.
In Hungary, Ludovik begins to rebuild his war-torn country. They expand heavily towards the east where they encounter several small unidentified tribes. Back in Buda, the Palace of Budapest is started in order to increase the number of knights in the army ranks.
In Constantinople, an emissary from the Russian city of Novgorod finally reaches them. The two empires have contact for the first time. The city is booming after the construction of a great marketplace, and is growing even stronger with the announcement of plans for a brand new church, the Hagia Sofia.
Finland, like many nations, appears rejuvinated. Prince Nicholas (now king) has ordered an expansion of the old marketplace once built by his ancestors. It should greatly help Finland's economy. Finland also begins to heavily expand for the first time in a long while. The people are farily easily converted. However, many sailors from the island chain between Finland proper and Finnish-Swedeland bring back strange tales of queer ships wearing a dark blue flag.
The Icelanders grow a little less ambitious. France had once again shown it's dominance over the European political scene, creating yet another enemy. They expand in Ireland, who's locals surprisingly greet them well. They're mostly a culturally oriented folk with priests called "Druids".
Germany also grows more powerful with the building of more warships and more knights. They are now firmly among the three most powerful nations in the World. However, the other two are France and Norway, it's neighbors. Both seem to be growing at amazing paces. In the case of Norway, it's because of a booming population and a fanatical order of knights; Kriegers. In France however... nobody is quite sure how the Franks are getting 2-4 economy levels a turn.
In Northumberland, King Holmes dies, and instead of the land being split by his two sons, its taken over by his advisor Arthur. He get's rid of the two troublesome teenagers, and procedes to build up the Northumberland navy till it is the mighties in all of Europe, bigger even than France.
In Norway, the Norwegians quickly surpass France as the strongest nation in the world. The boom in the population is absolutley spectacular, and hundreds upon hundreds of men join Norway's forces. Those who don't, are quickly drafted into the order known as the Krieger Knights, who are now almost as large as Norway's army itself. The Norwegians fail to set up another chain, similar to the one that the French were caught on earlier, because elsewhere the sea is too wide. However, a new class of siege ships, seemingly modeled after the ancient Roman siege triemes, make an appearance along the original chain and patrol it heavily. Every single piece of land the Norwegians control is heavily fortified, and the Norwegian nobility seem to have a suspicious amount of knowledge of the actions of their Estonian, Finnish, German, and French counterparts. Ragnar Savag II's dreams were still haunted by images of foreign invasion... however he must've misinterpeted them. For several months he slept at ease, ignoring the possibility that perhaps the threat wouldn't be a direct one. But then, it happened.
It was a relatively calm day in Northern Norway, when the local fishermen saw something unbeliavable. Several large ships were heading toward them. They panicked and abandoned the village, leaving so quickly out of fright that they barely managed to catch a glimpse of the French flag fluttering in the wind. Indeed France had set up a small self-sustaining colony in Scandanavia itself. The local populace completely refuses to convert to Catholocism however, and the local Norwegian nobles are immediatly notified. Everyone from the peasentry to the might order of the Kriegers is enraged. All that is left is to see the reaction of Ragnar Savag II himself.
To the South however, France has greatly expanded itself. A new knight, the Paladin, has appeared, and many say it is quite possibly as strong as the Kriegers, although significantly more expensive. France, continuing to feed off os some mysterious economic surplus, have bought land from the Visigoths in the strategic strait of Gibraltar, and have given this area to Wallonia. They have also expanded in Italy and Gaul as well, and their Wallonian allies have managed to take over many small islands throughout Europe, however not the ones to the very far North, as their navigation skills aren't nearly that advanced (in fact, only the Icelanders are advanced enough to sail through those seas).
While all of this is happening to the North however, the newest religion, Islam, is growing at an amazing pace. Both the kingdom of Tripoli, and Sassanid Persia have recently converted to the faith, and joined the empire under the rule of Abu Bakr, long-time friend of the deceased prophet Mohammed. Despite the new power, the Muslims show no signs of wanting to attack neighboring Christian empires... for now. Trade between Muslim and Byzantine Egypt has flourished of late. However, the Muslims have their own problems to worry about. The empire, while perhaps the largest in the world, is torn on the inside by politics and religious debate. Many predict it will fall apart relatively soon, and the smart ones are preparing themselves to take power once this happens.
.Even though he wasn't sure what he wanted to happen he stayed peaceful for another 10 years.
