[LTC AAR] Affairs of State: A light look at France

**Viking Prince** · August 30, 2009, 08:26 PM

It is the end of summer. I had started an AAR with Scotland and I have lost some of my files. To pass the time and still write a few words each day I thought to start a lighter AAR with France. Consider this to be a bit of competition for Nazgûl Killer – this is a battle for light tales in good taste for the lazy dog days of August.

note: France is blue (5 settlements) and England is red (6 settlements)

The play will take place within the confines of the mod, Lands to Conquer Gold. It will begin in the early era on very hard difficulty. I have set the battle difficulty to very hard, but I do not think any setting affects the game since Lusted has his own combat modifications in the mod. The unit sizes are normal, but just imagine a horde whenever one unit of 75 takes to the field.

I will be posting the first part shortly.

**Truth Fairy** · August 30, 2009, 11:45 PM

@Viking -- Actually, 75 men are 75 men. Who are you fooling?

**Viking Prince** · August 30, 2009, 11:59 PM

OK, I will concede that 75 men = 75 men. Now where was I? Oh yes, …

At any rate, the posts will be short and frequent. If you want to contribute ideas to the story line, you will need to log in daily with a response. Hint, hint… wink, wink… nudge, nudge. You know what I mean?

Now it is time to introduce my sidekick in writing this tale – the Truth Fairy. The Truth Fairy will sometimes ~~interrupt~~ contribute to the thread of this tale as my unofficial commentator. Yes, the Truth Fairy is a sock puppet. Since I have been known to carry on complete conversations with myself, I do not think this will detract from the tale if I were to indulge in this bit of whimsy.

**Truth Fairy** · August 31, 2009, 12:03 AM

Hello all. This is my second post on TWC. I am the Truth Fairy. Viking thinks he talks with himself, so I simply amuse him in agreeing that I am a sock puppet. But like Pinocchio, I really do have a mind of my own. I am not a sock puppet.

I am here to contribute. As a noob, I want some rep to come my way as well. If I make some mistakes, so be it. All can be forgiven when you are the Truth Fairy.

@Viking Prince – please check your calendar. It seems you have completely missed the dog days of August. You must have been sipping one too many cold brews while munching on Olathe boiled corn.

**Viking Prince** · August 31, 2009, 03:22 AM

Where has the time gone? Now that it is September, well maybe these are really the kitty days of back to school. Anyways, on with the tale!

Introduction

This is a tale of love, romance, and intrigue. So much for the generals of France and their men, but this is also a tale of a princess and her love of her father – King Phillip of France. We start this tale with Constance, a princess full of all the vigor of youth. She seeks love and adventure, well mostly love. What she shall find…. Sorry, that would be telling. You must read the tale and discover these little details for yourselves.

This is also the tale of Prince Louis, her brother and also the greatest general in France. Prince Louis is feared by his mere presence on a field of battle. We shall learn more about Louis later in this tale, but for now it is sufficient to know why Louis is Louis. France has been torn apart by William, Duke of Normandy. William fancies himself as a King. Prince Louis has taken on the task of bringing the lands of the various dukes under the control of the Crown. The flag of the sun, the symbol of King Phillip, shall fly over all castles and towns in France. Duke William is not the only noble resisting these efforts. There are also his allies of convenience in Anjou and Gascony as well.

There are also those nobles that do not even acknowledge Phillip or any king as their liege in Flanders, Champagne, Navarre, and Aragon. These nobles fancy themselves as kings, though the truth is they are petty nobles whose time of independence has passed. They will soon need to choose whether they are to be French nobles or perhaps subjects of the Holy Roman Empire or the Kingdom of Spain. Times are changing. The world is getting smaller. There is no room for the petty nobles sitting outside the great Kingdoms of Europe.