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#82
November 13th, 2011, 10:36 PM
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 As for paganism in Germany, I'm thinking perhaps Christianity that's had the living crap Paganized out of it, to the point where it's mostly unrecognizable. Or just Wotanists. The former seems more interesting to me. Quote:
 ).EDIT: Five pages! Huzzah! 
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#83
November 14th, 2011, 05:25 PM
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Aside from that, I'm loving it. Alamanno Rikijan looks/sounds good. And perhaps the Saxons can form a Prussian analogue with the HRE from OTL.
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#84
November 14th, 2011, 11:03 PM
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#85
November 15th, 2011, 04:37 PM
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 ...iff the saga's are true
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MOLON LABE!!!
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#86
November 19th, 2011, 03:48 PM
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No update this weekend, sorry. Feeling a bit sick and need a little bit more time to get my thoughts together. All next week is a holiday though, so I may have time to write more than one update this week.
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#87
November 26th, 2011, 02:02 AM
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Aaaaaaaand we're back. Sorry about the delay. While writing this update, I had to consciously stop myself from typing "Jarl" in place of some of the noble titles. Skrim has invaded my brain, it seems .Barbaric Diplomacy: 789-810 AUC Chapter IV, Part II The Germanic Union had lost any sense of isolation after the First Germanic War. Before, they were far too busy with internal affairs to bother with the outside world. Now, their reach was expanding rapidly across the tribes east of Rome. The prosperity and might of the Germanic Union, while meager compared to the Roman Empire, drew the attention of the neighboring unincorporated tribes quickly. This prosperity flowed out from the Germanic Union as they traded with the tribes. Some tribes sought to emulate this prosperity, with a select few opting to pursue urbanization and complex civilization. This drew them closer to the Union, while those who did not embrace such concepts grew increasingly hostile and somewhat fearful of the tribes that rose in power. Perhaps unwisely, they primarily did military business; selling higher-quality weapons, hiring out mercenaries to ambitious tribal warlords. These warlords and tribal theudanoz conquered and created small kingdoms of their own, while the Germanic Union kept careful track of who owed it for these transactions, and used these upstart kingdoms to carve out a sphere of influence in the Germanic world. In particular, the Saxons to the north were forging strong kingdoms of their own, along with close ties to the Germanic Union. The Germanic Union’s place of prominence among its neighbors was not bereft of drawbacks, however. Some of their neighbors saw their wealth as an enticing target, waiting to be plundered, even if a trained army stood in the way. Germanic tribes began to lead raids into Union territory, burning villages in the outlying regions and taking crops, weapons, supplies, whatever they could get their hands on. The Union responded with ruthless force, launching assaults into raiders’ lands and repaying their deeds in kind. Countless villages were set ablaze, many were taken into slavery, and their leaders either submitted or were killed. The Union’s allies, the Saxons, lent their warriors to the onslaught, taking land and slaves for themselves, and earning a fearsome reputation. The Germanic Union did not come to conquer and annex though, at least not for the moment. Manno was more concerned with getting the Union’s existing land in order before seizing any more. Thus, he made use of a practice which “barbaric” peoples had made use of since time immemorial: demanding tribute at the edge of an axe. The Germanic raiders, thoroughly subjugated and crippled, were now crushed under the iron heel of the Germanic Union, with little hope of escape. Manno was not unreasonably cruel however; he had made his point, and left the tributary lands enough food and supplies to sustain themselves. Even so, the Union was becoming extremely unpopular with the tribes. The Cimbri, Ambrones, and Teutones of Jutland had not been attacked by the Germanic Union yet, but feared that it would not be long before the Union set its sights on their lands. This tribal alliance, which had inspired fear in even the mighty Roman Republic not three centuries prior, thus made a preemptive attack on the Germanic Union in the Spring of 802 AUC. The Germanic Union had little in the way of a navy, making the initial strike of the Jutlander tribes, who were skilled sailors, all the more unstoppable and devastating. The Jutlander ships made landfall on the northwestern shores of the Union, where they razed fishing villages and annihilated what few soldiers had been garrisoned on the coastline with ease, fearsome on land as they were at sea. They ravaged the northeast for a full week before Manno’s response arrived. The Germanic Union recovered from the shock of the invasion quickly, and sent a large army northwest and another army north to Jutland to combat the Jutlanders in their homelands. The Saxons were also petitioned by the Germanic Union for aid, which they supplied happily. The Jutlanders in the northwest were halted, but not reversed, and fierce combat would engulf the region for most of the war. Under the command of Athalwulfaz, the Saxons and Union soldiers advanced slowly through Jutland, which was far from unprotected. Only a few weeks in, the war had reached a standstill. The stalemate was broken when the Jutlanders led a second invasion on the coastline, this time with the aid of warriors hired from the Heruli, a normally isolated tribe from Scandinavia. This assault was more vicious than the last, and demanded that the northern army retreat to face them, lest they break through to the Germanic heartland. When the second Germanic force arrived, the war in the northwest began to tilt in favor of the Germanic Union, and the Jutlanders were turned back with difficulty, and driven out of the land in a month. By this point, both sides were exhausted and diminished. The coastline could not withstand another battering, and the defense in Jutland was unlikely to be broken without massive losses. Unable to advance upon the Jutlanders, Manno was reluctantly forced to call for a peace with the Jutlander kings. They met in a city in northern Germania, where the Jutlanders presented their terms clearly and firmly. To the surprise of the Germanics, who were beginning to see the other tribes as barbarians, they demanded only a modest tribute, and the release of several Germanic tributaries. Manno’s diplomats managed to negotiate for some ships and slaves to be given over to the Union, and the peace was sealed without incident. Some in the Germnic Union were angered by this submission, but had little choice but to accept to put an end to the devastating conflict. The hotheaded Athalwulfaz was particularly vehement in voicing his concerns, which became somewhat divisive in the Thingan. The Jutlander War reshaped the political environment of the Germanic world. The Germanic Union, while still strong, had been checked by the Cimbri, Ambrones, and Teutones. In addition, some tribes began to adopt the Union’s political structure, and more small kingdoms were being born across Germania. Germania as a whole was on the path towards advanced civilization, and perhaps one day may come to rival Roman heritage, culture, and might.
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#88
November 26th, 2011, 03:18 AM
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it lives
 nice update
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#90
November 26th, 2011, 03:50 AM
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Skyrim invades everything but the Rikijan will survive! Hmm... We already have Jutlanders invading, maybe some Norse at a later point in the timeline?
But anyway, I love it, man. Athalwulfaz vs Manno anytime soon?
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#91
November 26th, 2011, 05:25 AM
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#92
November 26th, 2011, 02:02 PM
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 though i still say you need to bring denmark and the low countries into one massive germanic empire  
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#93
November 26th, 2011, 02:47 PM
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Yeah, I'm somewhat surprised by the outcome, since the GU should have a notable advantage over the Jutlanders in terms of manpower and economy. Then I remind myself that the GU has the same problem pretty much every large nation/empire of the time had; getting all those men to where the actual fighting takes place, infrastructure being what it is. Not to mention they still have to keep an eye on Rome...
Still, I hope the GU will take care of the Jutlanders in due time... perhaps after assimilating a few tributaries (and maybe the Sacons) and building up a fleet? - Kelenas
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#94
November 26th, 2011, 04:28 PM
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For a name how about something like Die Deutchebundenheit which in late protogermqnic would be something like Teutazbundheedaz. Sorry I'm not sure of all the sound changes or when they took place, although Gothic seems to be the most archaic of the written germanic languages, so use it as a model
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#95
November 26th, 2011, 05:00 PM
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Anywho, the Germanic Union/Alamannia still has a few hundred years before the Huns inevitably arrive to ruin everyone's day. They'll be doing quite a bit of expanding in the meantime. Quote:
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#97
November 27th, 2011, 05:12 AM
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#98
December 5th, 2011, 12:28 AM
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Enduring Union: 816-817 AUC Chapter IV, Part IV Over the next six years, tensions began to climb across the Germanic Union. The Jutlander invasions had taken a toll on the Germanic people and their prosperity, especially on the northwestern coast. Minor revolts had broken out in several areas across the Union. Violent conflict in the Thingan Hauhaz was frequent, and the Thingan representatives were becoming increasingly factionalized. At the heart of the political conflict was the tension between Manno and Athalwulfaz, the two most powerful voices in the entire union. The two clashed on nearly every issue, from expansion to infrastructure. It is unclear how much of this argument was simply done for the sake of disagreement, given the degree to which the two supposedly despised each other. Both the Thingan and the populace tended to side with one or the other, to the extent that these two men essentially controlled entire tribes, and where the Thingan no longer discussed the will of the people, but the will of these two men. Even worse, some were proposing that Athalwulfaz would make a better Theudanaz than Manno. Numerous incidents of violence between supporters of either side occurred in villages across the Germanic Union. Manno increased the size of local garrisons in particularly volatile areas; however this did little more than exacerbate the civil conflict. An occurrence at the village of Straumstadz is perhaps the foremost example among these revolts. When a small group of guards attempted to quiet a drunken citizen who was going on a public tirade against Manno, the drunk threw punches at them. One of the guards attacked and severely injured the man in self-defense, and from there all hell broke loose. The villagers, almost all of whom supported Athalwulfaz, took up arms and rebelled. The guards fought back of course, and the end result was a bloody conflict. The villagers were eventually overwhelmed by the garrison, but at great cost. By the end of the revolt, three guards and twenty-one villagers had been slain, the guardhouse had been damaged, and a building had been set ablaze. After the Straumstadz revolt, the Union stood on the brink of civil war. In January of 817, the fires of war were ignited at long last by an old enemy of the Germanic Union. An envoy of the Frisii came to the Thingan, and begged the Thingan to give refuge to the Frisii. He described the sea as having risen up and swallowed many of the lowlands inhabited by the Frisii people in floods. Entire villages had been submerged by the waves, and the Frisii had little other choice but to leave their homelands. While Manno and many others remembered the Frisii’s defiance in the War of Germanic Unification, the old hatreds from that time had subsided for the most part. The Germanics had suffered little in that war, and were not inclined to hold grudges against anyone other than Rome. Manno had no significant objection to their people joining the Union. Athalwulfaz, on the other hand, was more than a little xenophobic, as he had shown in the Suebic Wars. Athalwulfaz was scarcely trusting of outsiders, and objected strongly to the Frisii joining the Union. The Theudanaz took a vote on the matter quickly, before violence could erupt in the hall again. The Theudanaz voted in favor of accepting the Frisii into the Union, and then the point of no return was reached. Athalwulfaz declared Manno unfit to be Theudanaz, essentially declaring his intent to rebel. He left the Thingan hall with his supporters, about two dozen in number, intending to raise an army against Manno. This would prove to be the final test of the unity of these once-divided tribes. Athalwulfaz built his army in the northwest, where his support was strongest, and in the Langobardi territory to the east. Within weeks, Athalwulfaz had a force of 100,000 at his command. Nearly all of the northwestern tribes sided with him, and a fair chunk of the army defected to Athalwulfaz’s faction. The Cherusci, now even more powerful than the Marcomanni had been, naturally sided with Manno, as did the Hermunduri, the small tribes in the south and central Union, and even the Chatti who had rebelled years before. Unfortunately for Athalwulfaz, the numbers were not stacked in his favor. The Langobardi and northwestern armies made simultaneous pushes into the Cherusci territory at the very beginning of the war. Even the mighty Cherusci began to tremble slightly under the enormous weight of the attack. The Hermunduri provided the most aid to the Cherusci during the conflict, while the Marcomanni and other tribes pushed towards the northwestern shore, where the heart of Athalwulfaz’s support lay. Athalwulfaz’s forces were able to keep this push out by the skin of their teeth, but Manno was determined not to let up the offensive. If the war dragged on for too long, the Jutlanders might enter, and that would likely spell the end of the Union. To ensure a quick victory, Manno exploited every advantage he possibly could. He called on the Saxon kingdoms to act as a “distraction” of sorts to would-be raiders from outside the union; they would ensure that no Germanic states would attempt to take advantage of the situation in the Union. In addition, the region of Isernmarsk [1] in the eastern edge of the Germanic Union began to pump out large quantities of iron for Manno’s forces, which controlled the region. While Athalwulfaz’s attack would be broken eventually, Manno feared that time was short, and the Jutlanders would mount an invasion soon. The Suebi posed the solution to the problem. The Suebi were a warrior people with huge numbers, who had unfortunately been crippled under the Germanic Union. Now, Manno sent a proposal to them, giving them a chance to regain the prestige they once had. He offered to free most of the Suebic slaves, as well as to lift the martial law on their lands, formally inducting them into the Union, provided they assist Manno in defeating Athalwulfaz. The Suebi, whose lands and people had been so horribly ravaged by Athalwulfaz in the Suebic wars, accepted eagerly. The Langobardi were no doubt filled with unspeakable dread when a massive force of Suebi flooded into their territory. Within days of the Suebi’s arrival, the Langobardi king, Asigar, renounced his support of Athalwulfaz, and surrendered to Manno. Such a swift surrender was because neither Asigar nor the Langobardi, Athalwulfaz’s own tribe, had ever been strongly supportive of rebellion. Athalwulfaz had a great deal of influence and force in the area, though, and was able to pressure their people into joining the rebellion. The Suebi army pushed onward, eager for vengeance and blood. The tides had shifted in favor of Manno, and the war was all but won. At the climax of the war, Athalwulfaz himself led the majority of his army against the Cherusci capital, and the greatest city in the Union, Hwitburgz. A force 50,000 strong battered against the walls of the great city, unrelenting, determined to take it even though their chances of victory slimmed by the second as the Suebic army approached to reinforce the city. Athalwulfaz’s forces showed enormous determination in the face of imminent defeat. By the time reinforcements arrived, the walls had crumbled in several places, the gates were bashed down, and siege towers lined the perimeter of Hwitburgz. The Suebi’s numbers and ferocity did little to slim the conviction of the rebels, who fought fearlessly to the death. Not one retreated as the Suebi washed over them like a tide of blood and iron, and Athalwulfaz himself died fighting that day. With the Battle of Hwitburgz, the war was over, two months since its onset. The Germanic Union stood united once more after the War of Athalwulfaz. They had withstood the trials laid before them with dignity, might, and valor, and now their position, and their unity, was secure. The names “Cherusci,” “Marcomanni,” “Hermunduri,” and others meant less and less to them with each passing day. With the war, the tribes had died and a true unified power was born. “Alamanno Rikijan”—the Realm of All Men. They now called themselves one people, Alamanni, and would until the end of time. Europa now lay to rest for eighty years. Alamannia would recover from its wars and trials, and would rise higher than ever before. Vindex sat on the throne of the Gallian Empire, presiding over the fledgling nation, already prospering in the absence of Rome. Rome itself had withstood a tempest of catastrophes, but under the leadership of Cossus would persevere. The eagle would soar again soon, in all of its might and majesty. Peace had come to Europa, if only for a brief moment in the annals of time. But they sat in the eye of a hurricane—the storm had not yet died. [1] Iron Marsh, OTL Silesia, an ore-rich region Last edited by Vinland; December 24th, 2011 at 08:45 PM..
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#99
December 5th, 2011, 12:39 AM
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nice update, glad to see its still alive
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