HRE NES

[foolish_icarus]

Duke Eberhard speaks:

Ah, good nephew, my own thoughts ran ahead of me, and in my mind it was so apparent what needed to be done that I entirely neglected to say it aloud! Aloud me to remedy that:
My first action in the coming seasons, whether I am elected King or no, will be to prepare and lead a host to stand against the Magyars, the most urgent threat to our Duchies. It is a crucial endeavor I hope you will all see the necessity of participating in.

[Nimitz]

Duke Vratislaus Speaks:
First I would like to thank all for the right to vote and speak my mind at this vote for our leader.
It is my belief if we are to end these conflicts and and return our lands to thier peace we must be forward looking. We can not just focus on surviving day to day we must actively move and eliminate our heathen foes. In my mind if we just lie back and let them take the initiative we will forever be reacting and never remove them. It is for this reason I support the proactive stance of duke Heinrich and vote for him.

[Cyclotron]

Duke Heinrich now has three votes. Only Bavaria has yet to vote. A Bavarian vote in favor of Heinrich or a vote to abstain will result in the election of Heinrich; a vote in favor of any other leader will produce a deadlock that, if not resolved, will dissolve the Reichstag.

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf Speaks:
With some small amount of trepidation, I must now cast my vote in favor of Duke Heinrich of Saxony. Saxony's initial speech gave some indication of decisive action against the Magyars. I strongly believe that Germany must present a strong, united face to the world, and we cannot do that without a King. Indecision now would be fatal. With those reasons in mind, and with the fervent hope that loyal Saxon troops will proceed to help defend our border, I cast my vote in favor of Duke Heinrich of Saxony.

[Cyclotron]

Duke Heinrich now has the requisite 4 votes. Unless anyone changes their mind between now and the time that I put up the update (it's coming, I swear), you have a new King.

[Cyclotron]

Stats for our new regions, Bohemia and Friesland, have been posted and are complete. All other stat blocks will be updated by the end of today. Edit: Okay, Foucault is taking longer to deal with than I thought, but I swear on a stack of bibles that everything will be ready to go on Monday at the very latest.

Note that both Bohemia and Friesland have a fairly low size rating; this is because significant stretches of both countries are in the hands of foreign occupiers (Vikings or Magyars). When this land is liberated it will be added to the stat blocks, and the size rating of each territory will rise (though Friesland is pretty small anyway).

[Cyclotron]

lol Foucault has made a mockery of my deadlines LOL

[appleciders]

Silly pendulums!

[Cyclotron]

Originally posted by appleciders
Silly pendulums!

Wrong Foucault

Anyway, I'm presently wrapping this up.

[appleciders]

There's two of him?

[foolish_icarus]

philosophy, blech!

Pendulums, on the other hand, are cool (and perhaps silly as well, but nonetheless cool)

[appleciders]

Of course they're silly! That's half the fun!

[Cyclotron]

No point in putting these all the way back with the last update, is there?

Saxony

Though Duke Heinrich has done much to secure Saxony against outside enemies, the activities of the Norsemen have caused increasing anxiety among Saxon nobles. In the west, the situation of occasional cross-border warfare between Frieslanders and Vikings has turned into a series of major incursions. The Vikings, operating out of their fortress at Utrecht and various islands, have raided deep into the mainland and draw no distinction between Saxon and Frisian land. In the north, minor raids have been reported against outlying Saxon villages, as King Hardeknut begins to look past Denmark’s borders.

The Mark Meissen remains relatively peaceful, though certainly many of its residents live in ignorance of any loyalty to the Duke or Christ. The lack of a garrison after the withdrawal of the Saxon Peacebringers may prove to be a problem in the near future. There are reports that Wendish leaders who escaped the Saxon invasion have found allies among their brethren to the north, and are stirring up feelings against the Saxons and their Duke.

Corruption in Saxony increases by 1% this year, due to the chaos on its western border.
Meissen has no ducal demesne, and thus no corruption factor.

Franconia

The death of the King has thrown Franconia into doubt. With the bulk of Franconian forces remaining in Bavaria, the very succession of Eberhard to the throne looks tenuous. The late King’s generals, von Mellrichstadt and von Ingelbeim, have been busily cultivating alliances of like-minded lords and barons against each other. All can see that they are edging closer to conflict while the new Duke seems oddly irrelevant, away in Swabia and without any army to support his new rule. His failure to secure the succession to the throne at the Augsburg Reichstag has only further emboldended internal malcontents and troublemakers. Perhaps the only positive notes to be found are that the borders of the Duchy remain relatively secure (though raids from Magyar bands continue), and that von Mellrichstadt has been too busy plotting against internal enemies to bother pressing the Thuringian issue with the Saxon barons.

Franconia has lost its corruption reduction for kingship, as it no longer holds the crown. Corruption has increased by 5% in Franconia, to 15%.

Swabia

The internal upheaval in Swabia was brief, and it seems even fellow Dukes of Germany were caught totally off-guard by the speed and finality of Burchard’s coup. The change in power has been almost totally bloodless, and has gone almost unnoticed by the peasantry (something all should be thankful for). Perhaps in anticipation of future trouble, however, the new Duke has begun raising a sizeable army, funded with the vast treasure of the Swabian Duchy.

Corruption in Swabia remains static at 16%.

Bavaria

Some semblance of order has returned to Bavaria. Though some rebel barons still remain in Thurgau, their leader has been killed, Regensburg retaken, and the back of the resistance broken. Most of the rebel knights are dead or imprisoned, and even the peasants have turned against them.

Despite this, Bavaria is still in a very fragile state. The country is still infiltrated constantly by Magyars, and has suffered plague, famine, ruin, and all the other great depravations that go hand in hand with war and rebellion. Bavaria’s peasantry is exhausted and in fear, while the nobility has been decimated by civil war and pestilence. It seems unlikely the Duchy would be a functioning unit at all if not for the presence of Franconian troops near Regensburg. Duke Arnulf is safe for now, but much work needs to be done.

Corruption in Bavaria is set 20%. Carinthia is almost entirely out of the Markgraf’s control, and does not have a corruption value at this time.

[Cyclotron]

And now, those beautiful words: Stat block updated.

I await your orders!

[appleciders]

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to King Heinrich of Germany
My lord, a clerical error led me to drastically underestimate the number of sets of light armor available to me at this time. I will be able to offer you 200 sets of light armor for 200 denarii at this time. You have also in the past expressed interest in purcharsing Magyar bows, and I have a surfeit of those at the moment that could be sold for 1 denarii apiece. Finally, I have more than 1,000 spears and shields, of which I would be willing to part with 300 of each for denarii per 10 items.

Duke Arnulf of Bavaria to Doge Orso II Participazio of Venice
My friend, I have regained my throne with your help, and I would like to resume our salt trade. Our previous deal was 800 d. of salt for 300 d. of leather, 300 d. of silks and spices, 200 d. of wine, and 150 d. of glassware. Might we resume our trade as we left it? I have a firmer hand on Bavaria, though not on Carinthia, so I regret that we may not have as much profit as in previous years, but it still seems a good idea for you to be getting some kind of return on your investment in mercenaries. My silver trade with Italy has been interrputed, and in short order I may be able to trade you that silver if we can establish this trade route.