The Chronicles of a Lone Traveller - A Kingdom of Jerusalem AAR

[Zeloumea]

I have been monitoring these forums for quite a while now and have finally registered. The idea of RP-based AARs is very appealing to me and I got the new expansion yesterday so I figured I'd try to make one.

As for the campaign, I'll play the Crusades campaign as the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Sadly, I'm new to Total War games so I'll play it on Medium difficulty and my computer is too slow so I won't be able to take screenshots of battles (each time I try to ss I lag and can't concentrate on the battle).

I've already taken the screenshots of my first couple of turns but it's getting late so expect Chapter One tomorrow morning.

[Tajir]

A good first post, +Rep from Dahir.

[IrAr]

Can't wait!

[Zeloumea]

The Chronicles of a Lone Traveller - Pretext

I have travelled through these lands many years, perhaps a bit too many. I've seen things, some terrible things. I've seen kings rise and empires fall. However, none of my memories can compare to a certain period in history - the period of the Holy Wars, an age of fights fuelled by anger and rage only religion can inspire.

I am a person of no religion, a lone man who devoted his entire life to collecting information about the past, about great men, powerful armies and of death, of incredible pain and suffering caused by the foolishness of stubborn men. Do not mistake me with historians - they know nothing. All texts written by historians hide a part of the truth, depending on who payed them to write the text. Historians are no truth seekers, they are greedy fools who know to read and write and have some access to libraries across the world.

However, none of that is important. In this book I have included quotes of letters and journals. How I aquired them is of no importance as well. The story I am about to tell you is of a powerful kingdom. That is the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the warriros who give their life to fight for Christianity and the things they believe in.

[Zeloumea]

The Chronicles of a Lone Traveller - Chapter I - The Jewel of the East

In this first section of the book I will tell you about King Baldwin's rise to greatness. But first, I have included the describtion of Baldwin and his brother Guy by Gerard of Tripoli, a scholar and close family friend to the King.

Attachment - King Baldwin and his brother Guy

King Baldwin is a stubborn young man indeed. His father chose to educate him in the best possible manner, finding the best scholars in the Kingdom to be his teachers. Baldwin was taught in all kinds of warfare and settlement management, he was prepared to succeed his father since he was 8. None of us tought that his father's time would come so soon. I am not as good acquainted with Baldwin as I am with his brother Guy but I know him good enough to tell that he is a brave and proud warrior, he would back from no challange and do anything for the good of his people. I fear, however, that this may lead to his downfall.



Prince Guy is a lot like Baldwin, proud and stubborn. However, he's less talented. Even though he is the firstborn everyone always prefered his brother. I was the only one that took more interest in him, Guy had something I never managed to see in Baldwin - he had new ideas, his mind was open, unlike Baldwin's who was taught in the old ways. Guy was always a little bit jealous of his younger brother, even though I'm the only one he told. He was a fragile boy but from the day of his sixteenth birthday he was always ready to jump into battle to protect his people. The biggest blow he ever took was when his father decided that Baldwin, who was almost 16 at the time, was appointed as heir to their father. I remember how Guy came to me, crying, and told me of his troubles. I calmed him down, he spent the next month or so with me. One day, we were drinking in my home when a messenger arrived, telling us about King Almaric's death. I was very sad but it could in no way be compared with Guy's sadness. I sent him back to his brother so they could be together in this dark hour for their family and the whole kingdom.

After Almaric's death, the whole kingdom was full of sadness. However, the time for sadness was short because a threat was rising. The mighty Egyptian and Turkish nations led by Sultan Salah Al-Din and Sultan Nur Ad-Din respectively called a Jihad against Jerusalem, a call to arms urging every muslim warrior to attack and try to conquer the holy city.


Baldwin quickly called his council. He was clueless about what to do, I am sure. The only report of this meeting I was able to find is in Raymond of Tripoli's journal. I will attach more entries from Raymond's journal as he plays a vital role in further events. But enough of that for now.

Baldwin called all of his generals, including me, to a meeting in Jerusalem. With the Egyptian threat coming closer we had to take action. We spent many hours in a small room, talking about different possibilities for our kingdom. Attacking the Egyptians was out of the question because our armies were too small and our allies - the Principality of Antioch - were busy fighting Turkey. In the end we decided to take a few of the near cities to increase our income. I was against this but I was clearly outvoted. Sending our men to take new lands while they should be protecting our borders - this is madness! I shall return in Tripoli for now and wait for further commands.

This is a very strange decision for Baldwin. The true reason for this is unknown but I have consulted with some of my psychologian friends and they all agree that this decision shows how confident Baldwin is when defending, his ability to lead and his knowladge of the lands around Jerusalem are probably the reason he thinks that no army can threathen his beloved city.


Soon thereafter a messenger bearing good news reached the King. He brought the word of the 3rd Crusade, led by King Richard I the Lionheart was coming to their aid. Good news finally came to the Kingdom of Jerusalem after all the bad happenings of their recent years. However, Baldwin didn't call the attack he ordered off. Perhaps he though Richard's troops alone were not enough to attack the Egyptian army, perhaps he didn't trust the allies from the continent. No one will know his true reasoning.



The following months were months of endless waiting for the Kingdom. According to reports from guards near Ascalon, the castle closest to the Egyptian Empire, the people were starting to get scared from not knowing when the enemy would strike. Their morale was down. And finally, that strike came.


A small patrol was ambushed by a large Egyptian army. Their forces fought brave but they were outnumbered 7-1. Their brave sacrifice was not forgotten by the king. After the battle the enemies disappeared as quickly as they appeared.



At the same time the great general Gerard the Crusader, following the orders of King Baldwin, invaded the small town of Banyas near Acre with a force of over 1000 men.



Only one small report was saved from the battle, written by Gerard himslef.

My Lord,
the small town of Banyas was successfully occupied. Their soldiers were no match for our archers and knights and their wall crumbled at the force of our rams. The casualties we took aren't heavy and I will stay here with my army until further orders.

My scouts have found and infiltrated Damascus, the Jewel of the East, it'll be easy to conquer them. Would you give me the honour of being the one to lead the siege?

Your humble servant,
Gerard

At the same time, back in Jerusalem, King Baldwin found a wife worthy of carrying his baby. According to the book Baldwin, Lord of the East by Yusuf al-Carin it was a great ceremony with over 10,000 guests, 200 of which were higher ranked officers and veteran Templar knights.


Soon thereafter, Baldwin's first son was born. At that time nobody was aware of the dark future ahead of this man.


The next years of Baldwin's life were perfectly portrayed in Balain of Ibelin's journal.

Baldwin's getting impatient. Gerard is taking too much time to prepare for the attack on Damascus. I am afraid he has lost his chance.

[1 month later]

Baldwin's finally decided who will lead the siege. Raymond of Tripoli was his choice. His army will surely give the proud warriors in Damascus no chance. However, he should make his strike soon, our people are losing their morale, no longer do the people want to give their lifes for empty promises - they need to see results of their sacrifice.

[6 months later]




The siege is finally over! Raymond is victorious and the Jewel of the East has fallen. I have no details of the battle but I am sure Raymond has won a victory that will be talked about for generations to come.

Our men all across the Holy lands rejoice. Finally their sacrifice has produced results. I am sure that it is only a matter of time before the Crusaders arive and Baldwin orders the attack on Egypt.

Thus ends the first chapter of my book. Many more tales of conquest, greatness and of death await you further on.

Zellow Uh-Mia of Edessa
[for anyone wondering, that's not my real name]

[Swagger]

soo far soo good

[bomberboy]

Good start for a person new to AAR's. You know this is the second AAR that has part of my new AAR's name, good to know that.

[numio]

Looks good! I'm enjoying it so far! Looking forwards to the next installment!

[Molina]

I'm surprised at the similarity between your "Jihad called!" picture and mine in the Byzantine AAR. I even thought it was the same screenshot, but then I compared them with a .gif:

[Hellbent]

Great Job on this one, I love how the different generals have different writing styles.

[Zeloumea]

@Molina - sorry, I didn't have a good look at yours. The first time I saw the 'Jihad Called' event I just found it cool how the tower went through the sun.