Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears! For centuries, two great empires and two great peoples have both claimed that they are the rightful heirs of the ancient. The Germans were crowned by The Pope as Kaisers of Rome, and the Greeks have their own reasons. For centuries, both empires have been vicious rivals, each labeling the other a pretender to the glory that was Rome. Let it be known that today all of this will end. No longer will the Germans and the Greeks have to argue over who is the true Rome. No longer will Europe and Christendom suffer under the barbarian yoke. For today, I, as Kaiser of the Germans and Basileus of the Greeks, declare that the two empires be united as one, so that both empires, both Germans and Greeks, can proudly boast that they are equally the heirs of Rome. For today, the Römisches Reich is reborn! Ave Roma!
— Kaiser Friedrich II the Glorious, first Kaiser of the Romans, on 3 April 1105
The story begins In Medias Res, in 1236 AD. As the Roman Empire struggles after the Mongol invasions upon their eastern borders, a new threat looms on the horizon in the West. The power-hungry Aztecs led by Ocuil Acatl have arrived upon the shores of Rome intending to subjugate the newly discovered land.
Part 2 picks up in the mid-15th century. After the Aztecs were pushed back into the sea, the Romans build up their navy and look across the Atlantic, intending to cross over to the New World. Led by explorers like Kristoff Eimerich, the Reich plans to take the fight to the Aztec homeland and get revenge for the Sunset Invasion. In the east, Roman traders discover new lands full of commercial opportunity.
Part 3 begins at the start of the Industrial Revolution. Following the Sunrise Invasion and the decline of the Mexica Empire as a major power, the Reich turns back to the Old World, where new ideologies have arisen. Nationalists begin calling for the reunification of the Chinese dynasties. Old empires like Lithuania, Scandinavia, and Russia are ill-equipped for the new challenges ahead. And at home, the Maximist pretender movement gains momentum as the Reich enters a period of economic crisis.
Part 4 picks up in the 1930s, when the Reich is is the midst of another economic crisis. Its old ally India has fallen to fascism, while Russia and the Eimericas have fallen to equalism. China, the dominant power in Asia and the Pacific after fighting the Reich to a stalemate in World War I, slowly marches towards military dictatorship and envisions a Sinocentric world where it bows to no one. At home, the ambitious fascist leader Markos Angelos builds a movement to remake Roman society in his image, and he begins to see the young Kaiser Otto as the last remaining obstacle between him and absolute power. Soon, their rival interests come to a head, while around the world, the forces of radicalism and extremism take up arms once again, setting off another global war which would determine humanity's future.
Part 5 begins in 1946. Kaiser Otto emerged victorious from World War II. Angelos and his rebels were defeated, and the murderous Rasa Indians were destroyed, but victory came at a cost. China is now firmly a dictatorship calling for a Sinocentric world order, with its troops having seized large swathes of Asia from the crumbling Axis Powers. The Soviet Commune seized the Occupied Territories, Roman lands, from the collapsing Angeloi, dividing the Reich, while equalism consolidated its control over North Eimerica. At home, the Reich is bloodied and battered, with its industry and economy in ruins and its military shattered and divided. Otto's task for the next few years is to not only heal the scars dividing Roman society by addressing the flaws in the political system but also defending his people against the rising Soviet and Chinese threats.
Part 6 is slated to begin in 2100 with humanity taking its first steps outside the solar system.
This story depicts the struggles of the restored Roman Empire (Roman Reich, or just the Reich), which was reformed by the Hohenzollern dynasty after uniting the Byzantine and Holy Roman Empires. Concurrently, there is a supernatural-oriented plot as angels intervene in mortal affairs and humans react to their constant meddling. This story was created by the Paradox Plaza user Zenphoenix and can be basically summed up as Supernatural meets Grand Strategy, at least for Part 2.
It can be found on the Paradox Forums: Part 1
, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
This work provides examples of:
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- Tropes A-M
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And remember, Witko Is Tito!
