A longer update, but we're covering a lot more time to wrap up King Sahak's rule:
King Sahak of Georgia, Part Five: Chasing Ghosts
Prince Smbat of Hayastan wants me to help conquer Tabriz.
I'm a little upset at myself because I had been eyeing conquering the entire duchy. But I'm a good ally - we're family now after Sahak's marriage to his cousin - and I help him conquer Tabriz. One day we'll find a way to combine our realms, but that will have to be a long-term plan for later generations.
It's also a time to forge new alliances: My third daughter Nane comes of age and there are a long list of windowers Doukes in the Byzantine Empier thanks to the multitude of plauges in the region.
Perhaps it is a bit callous to send her off to such a far-away land currently ravaged by diseases, but we have complete faith in our daughter to persevere. Within a month she has caught the measles, but I am pleased to report she made a full recovery.
While we're at it, we marry our youngest daughter to the grandson of the Doux of Charsianon, a duchy on the southeastern end of the Byzantine Empire. He should become the heir down the line, and ideally this will create an ally down the road.
The war is going well in 903 with our forces sieging down Ardabil and Talish, and Prince Smbat coming along with his siege of Tabriz when some unexpected news arrives:
In December the queen gives birth to our second son, Malkhas. Perhaps an oversight to marry a woman who was still in her child-bearing years. If our heir Smbat had not yet had any children then this could be considered prudent to have a backup heir, but now it is just going to split our power in the inheritance. But there are ways to mitigate the situation, to help guide the inheritance to split along more favorable lines:
We ask Catholicos Tigran for more money and use that with a boon of taxes to create the Duchy of Shirvan. Now with two duchy titles the game will split them between the two sons: Malkhas will get the Duchy of Shirvan and the counties within it, and the lion's share will still go to the oldest, Smbat.
As an extra bonus, creating the title gives us Legitimacy. And boosting our Legitimacy has helped my vassals see me as their true king.
They also have helped Duke Konstantin see the benefit of joining the kingdom as our vassal! Now that we are allied and our children married the only thing that was holding him back was a low Legitimacy score for King Sahak. With the promise of allowing him to practice whatever religion he chooses, he accepts to join the Kingdom of Georgia.
Also shown is that the Accolade of "Most Feared in the Household" has been passed on to Mayor Hovhannes, as the knight who held that title passed away. I'll have to send the mayor off to tournaments and festivities to win glory in order to boost up the accolade again.
More good news in strengthening the realm: Princess Gadar is pregnant!
If you recall we had married her to Prince Grigor to help ensure he has an heir - otherwise his lands would have been inherited by Prince Smbat of Hayastan and left the realm.
We invade Ardabil, beating up on the Turks yet again. Truces are one-sided in this game, so even though we were just fighting them it was at the behest of our ally Prince Smbat of Hayastan, and the truce from that war is only between Turki and Hayastan. We are free to declare on them for Ardabil, and they are still very weak from that war.
It's as that war is starting up that we receive terrible news:
Our friend, Abu-Hafs ibn Marwan, has lost his battle with cancer and passed away at the age of 44. Sadly much too young for a man of his charm and diploomacy. Sahak, already melancholic, is hit hard by his friend's death.
His newest vassal, Duke Konstantin, attempts to cheer him up with a poem about the departed leader:
The poem also gives me a prestige bonus for every powerful vassal on my council. Aha, I see what you're trying to do there Duke Konstantin! A little bit of self-serving within your gift. Still, Sahak keeps the poem as a momento of his friend's parting.
We attempt to hold court to distract ourselves from Abu-Hafs death, but it is only pointless internal bickering: Duke Konstantin demands a seat on our council - he is the father of the future queen, so I accept. His wife, Duches Kekela, accuses Prince Arshak of ... well, of something nefarious ... but he denies it and without any proof I leave them all unhappy at me. (Also, this is where I open the family tree and discover that Kekela is Konstantin's aunt as well as his wife - perhaps its best they haven't had any children!) The proceedings end with a raving lunatic coming forward and proclaiming the world is about it end.
Perhaps a bit excessive, but I have him burned at the stake. Certainly not in Sahak's character, but it's been a stressful time.
The war is finally won in 907 and Ardabil is added to our kingdom.
They are so grateful that the culture in Ardabil changes over to Armenian (due to an event).
Meanwhile Sahak unlocks the Architect perk and with the discount to buildings we go on an infrastructure building spree:
- Barracks in Hereti to boost the swordsmen stationed there.
- Barracks in Tblisi to boost the pikes stationed there.
- Militia Camps in Kakheti to boost the archers stationed there.
...and a few fields and hunting preserves to increase taxes.
Everything seems to be going well: the realm is expanding, alliances are strengthened and new alliances forged, new heirs securing our legacy. Prince Smbat, our heir, has a son with his wife Lamara. As Sahak goes to bed one fall evening in 907 everything should seems to be well and at peace.
But he is awakened with a startle as a figure sits down on his bed beside him: the ghost of Abu-Hafs!
Abu-Hafs has come to tell me that I must repent for burning that raving lunatic in our court. Anything! We tell him we will do anything to avoid such a terrible fate. But Abu-Hafs only fades away and we are left with nothing but a feeling of dread.
Shaken by this appearance, Sahak continues with his wars in Persia. Next we move to conquer Beg Turhan of Maragha.
We burn the enemy banner and take their halls as our conquest. After a few years we continue the war, declaring on Qutlugh-Khan for their lands within the Siyahchashmid Shahdom (shaded light blue area below).
While fighting for this war, we discover the technology Planetary Assemblies. Unfortunately Prince Smbat of Hayastan is considered the head of Armenian culture so we do not get to choose the next technology. Casus Belli has the highlighted border, showing that is where Prince Smbat is researching next. However, Planetary Assemblies does let us pass Limited Crown Authority, and we do so: this will let us revoke titles from vassals (though we still need a valid reason to do it and not piss off all our other vassals).
With the capture of the Qutlugh-Khan leader in 910 we win the war and take the two counties in the Siyahchashmid Shahdom. Georgia has expanded greatly under King Sahak's reign:
Also, Prince Grigor has taken over the Marwanids, taking the last county from the hands of the son of Abu-Hafs. Perhaps this is the real reason he is haunting me!
The white outline shows the lands needed in order to reform the Greater Armenian Empire. I will attempt to limit my expansion to lands within that area, though I can't guarantee that will be the only conquering that will be done. You an see we will need to incorporate Hayastan, some small Emirates and Shahdoms in Mesopotamia, and the hardest part: parts of Byzantine and Arabian empires.
Still, we are making good progress!
An interesting event as we hold court in 910: Lamara, the wife of Smbat and future queen of Georgia, has a proposition.
She asks I bestow her the county of Kakheti and in turn she will develop it with a new holding. I would be reluctant to give up such a good county, but the lands will inherit back to their oldest son and be reincorporated to our line in 2 generations. And for the trouble we get a free holding.
Still, Sahak cannot stop thinking about his visit from Abu-Hafs. His evenings are filled with dread of the thought of seeing the ghost of his dead friend again, and he has been wrestling with how to free himself of this torment. Finally he comes to a conclusion about how he may appease the spirit and bring about his salvation:
Sahak decides that his path to attonement will come by benefitting the people of Georgia. When he is approached by a poor serf begging for money to feed his family he promises the man that he will be taken care of.
This must have been the catalyst Abu-Hafs was waiting for, because he visits for a second time shortly after:
(Odd bug: The game calls him
Duke of Mesopotamia here, though those were not titles he held in life!
He tells us that we must go to the Holy Land to find our redemption. We need to raise the funds for such a long trip, but by November of 911 we are off on our second pilgrimage: this time to Jerusalem.
Inspired to take a Pious pilgrimage, this will cause us to travel 50% slower. It will take us 9 months to get to Jerusalem, and there will be dangers along the way. 1 High Rated, 8 Medium, and 10 Low danger zones along the way. In late November we set out.
Not 4 days into our trip we are challenged to a dual by a wandering knight. I am on a pilgrimage, I will not fight. But my knight, Damianos, will fight in my place, and he bests this Thomas, who begrudgingly agrees to join our pilgrimage.
Thomas was never comfortable with our aims: the life of a pious pilgrim and the glory-seeking life of a wandering duelist are very different things. Within a week he has disappeared, wandered off or lost. We spend a few days looking for him to be sure, but he appears to not want to be found, and we never see him again.
In January we finish crossing the mountains south of Tblisi and reach the capital of Hayastan. Sunday Service is held outdoors in the cold rain.
Also, notice that we earned Diplomacy experience for traveling to another realm's capital. You earn XP the first time you visit any capital city (including your own), another bonus for encouraging these long traveling activities. The service concludes and thankfully nobody falls ill from being out in the cold rain.
Our caravan progresses south, and we leave Hayastan for the Marzpanate of Mayyafariqin. There we bestow our blessing upon some wretch along the way. I think nothing of it at the time, just sprinkling some water upon the poor soul. But in the days that follow we are swarmed with countless serfs along our path, each of them wanting a holy blessing from this foreign king. It delays us significantly, but we are here for atonement and I make sure to give blessings whenever they are requested.
As we cross into the Arabian Empire, we have our second encounter with a troubled knight:
Seyfullah has been abandoned by his squires after an argument, and he begs help in removing his armour. We offer him squires for his fealty and he joins our procession south.
Again, the newcomer has a difficult time fitting in with our caravan. Daimanos, perhaps wishing to befriend a fellow knight, or perhaps feeling that he does not want to repeat the errors made with Thomas, attempts to ask Seyfullah about himself and get to know him better. However his inquisitiveness is taken with hostility and soon the two of them are quarreling around the campfire.
I try to mediate, to assure our new friend that we have no ill intention. But he too leaves us in a huff. Sahak is displeased though he lets him go: this is not what he had in mind for how his attonement would go.
We reach the capital of Arabia in April, and our caravan master is lost. Realizing that he does not know how to continue, Sahak orders a halt to the progression. We stay in the capital city for 3 months, replenishing supplies and Avag learns more about the road ahead. Word reaches us that Judjuna has had a third son in our absence. I will have to conquer another duchy for him.
As the summer months come upon us we are off again. In July we reach Jerusalem.
We spend 3 months in the holy city. While in Jerusalem King Sahak comes across a vendor claiming to sell pieces of the one True Cross. We buy one for the return trip, or maybe just to have a momento of the holy land with us. King Sahak's illustrious mace is blessed: now it gives a 2% bonus to monthly piety.
By the end of October we set out for the return trip home. It has nearly been a year since we set out:
We get lost again in Damascus, and lose 7 days trying to find the way back. The lost time is spent with philosophers in the distant country, and while Sahak tries to learn from them and join in their discussions, he only receives sideways glances and knowing laughs from the learned men of this foreign land. Sahak tries to learn of their economical practices, noticing that they herd their sheep here in a different manner than the Georgians do back home - but he does not discover the reason why or how to gain anything from emulating it. By the end of December we have left the philosophers and are startign to climb into the mountains of Syria. Snows befall the caravan for the new year and locals help dig us out.
Another Hyena! Sahak decides he will save this man. His mace was blessed in Jerusalem, surely it will help him save this poor soul.
Or not. We are badly mauled and the person we attempted to save was killed. My physician attempts to treat the wound but fails.
Rather breaking the somber atmosphere, the next day the game gives me an event that a beautiful woman has caught Sahak's eye and that he is so caught up by her beauty that he insists on taking her home with him to Georgia. You're going to tell me that this pious, humble man who is on death's door after being mauled by a hyena is suddenly going to try to bring a mistress home with him? I don't think so.
King Sahak makes it to the northern border of the Arabian Empire. But he is too injured, too old, too melancholic.
In the end he died much like his brother: at the hands of a wild dog. An odd symmetry to their lives.
But there was a peace in his passing. Abu-Hafs has told him he atoned. His place in heaven is reserved:
(Oddly enough I got this conclusion before I even went on the pilgrimage. Another game bug I think. But for story telling I save it for the end here, with Sahak fulfilling the demands of his visiting ghost.)
Next update will be on the opening years of the gifted heir, King Smbat. Let's see if he lives up to the hype.
And wandering knights are apparently more hassle than they are worth. 
