Christendom Aflame - 1100 IH
1100 Anno Domini, and Europe, or Christendom, is a land emerging from Darkness. The dark ages are over, and yet it's successor, the Middle Ages, is no less war torn and violent. It is continent divided by blood and conflict, by creed and faith. War is as commonplace as death and pestilence is in these lands, and more battles are waged as new causes rise the ashes of old. For such a small landmass, it is no less bloodied and broken for that.
In the West, on the lone isle of Britain, a new Kingdom begins to stretch it's legs. The Kingdom of England, having conquered and subdued the Saxons that preceded them, looks out to the fellow nations in the isles, and lusts for conquest. However, it's monarch, the fair Rufus I, lies at death's door and his two sons, Henry and Robert, rush to claim his crown before it falls from his brow, while the Scots, the Welsh, and the Irish look on, fearing for their continued existence.
South, on the Continent, the power of the King in Il-De-France has all but vanished. However, such surprises none. His supposed vassals are kingdoms in their own right, perhaps more-so than the one that governs from Paris. However, trouble brews in this divided land over the King's recent annexation of Bourges, a small county in Berry, which has alienated him from some of his more displeased vassals, such as the Duke of Brittany and that of Burgundy.
In the realm of Iberia, the Reconquista has quickened pace, however it is threatened by a new development, the king of Castile. He has, with papal blessing, declaring him Emperor of all Spaniards, and preceded to go to war with all his christian neighbours, threatening to ruin decades of reconquest from the hated moor. However, hope still remains with the legendary El Cid, and his campaigns against the infidel, even capturing the city of Valencia quite recently. There is still chance for the Reconquista of Spain.
For the King of the Germans, his reign is on a knife edge. The Investiture Controversy has the Holy Roman Emperor pitted against the Pope himself, and has thrown said empire into turmoil. Saxon pretenders have frequently attempted to overthrow the Rhineland Emperor, along with Austrians, Italians, Flemish peoples, and more. The problem has gotten so bad that his own son had converted to the rebel's cause, forcing the Emperor to announce his second son as his successor. Unless he can defeat all of his opposition, Heinrich faces the lose of his crown and his head.
In the pine forests of Russia, all authority in Kiev has collapsed it it's entirety, as divided Druzhina and Kynaz's war over the winter realm. New states, such as Novgorod, Smolensk, Polostok, Rostov-Suzdal, and others have divided Russia into a frozen battleground, with every Sovereign claiming he is the true successors to the Keivan's who's own domain is barely beyond the walls of the Grand Capital. The neighbouring states are looking to the conflict, and greed is in their eyes. The land is ripe for the plucking.
For the successors to the Romans, times seem to be changing. under their new and dynamic Emperor, Alexios, has halted the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian Restoration. He has directly taken the fight to the heathen Turk, and intends to revenge for Manzikert. Meanwhile, the authority of said Turk has been obliterated, as numerous new beyliks and former kingdoms have returned to destroy their sultan and restore their glory.
And Finally, the most bloodied battleground in Christendom: Outremer. Urban's call of Crusade has mustered thousands upon thousands of god-fearing Christians to crush the Muslims of the Levant and impose a good catholic kingdom in the holy land. And they seem to have succeeded. With Jerusalem captured, two new kingdoms emerge; The Principality of Antioch and The Kingdom of Jerusalem, both of which prepare to extend their power beyond the holy cities and expel the heathen, while said Heathen prepares for the new Christian onslaught. Truly, Christendom has been changed forever.
Map
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Factions:
Munster - Lord Marshmallow
Toulouse - KippyK
Almoravid Empire - Frederick II
Holy Roman Empire - Warman
Denmark - Vuvuzela
Sweden - Salem1
Hungary - Dan the Man
Keivan Rus - Barry Goldwater
East Roman Empire - Kaitsar
Jerusalem - Vortimore the Conqueror