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Post by Mizagium on Aug 27, 2010 23:55:18 GMT -5
In a nutshell, Rome never fell because vampires helped defend it from the Visigoths. Before that, Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium, and founded a Christian Empire. Christians migrated east, while the pagans and vampires stayed int the west. When the Visigoths besieged Rome, the Vampires helped defend it, and so Rome never fell.
Rome and Byzantium grew side by side, fueled by a mutual hatred for one another, effectively dividing the continent between them. Byzantium launched the Crusades, but this time they succeeded in reclaiming the Holy Land, and eradicating the Islamic presence in the Middle East. They are now only found in Africa.
Rome developed into a hierarchical empire ruled by Vampires, while Byzantium became a theocratic empire. Rome encompassed most of Western Europe, while Byzantium owned the East, and the British Isles.
Because both were empires, and one a RELIGIOUS empire, the Renaissance occurred on a smaller scale, and did little to effect the course of history. But the Age of Exploration still happened. America was found. The American Revolution still occurred because as they were rebelling against British (and therefore Byzantine) rule, Rome eagerly assisted in aiding the revolution. AS a result, America now likes Vampires.
Anyway, the plot of the story was supposed to be the Russian Revolution. The Russian Empire had survived being incorporated into either Rome or Byzantine, but Rome sought to change that. A group of anti-Czarist Vampires in Russia were planning a revolt; Rome secretly aided them. When they staged the assault on the Winter Palace, Rasputin, the Vampire mystic, ushered the family (or one surviving heir) out. The stage was then set for the White (Loyalist) Army to push the Red (Vampire/Bolshevik) forces out of Russia.
It all ends with a Loyalist victory, the Russian Czars being reinstated, and Rome denying any involvement.
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
ADVICE!?!?!!?
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 11:46:34 GMT -5
In a nutshell, Rome never fell because vampires helped defend it from the Visigoths. Before that, Constantine moved the capital to Byzantium, and founded a Christian Empire. Christians migrated west, while the pagans and vampires stayed int the east. When the Visigoths besieged Rome, the Vampires helped defend it, and so Rome never fell. ok. Rome and Byzantium grew side by side, fueled by a mutual hatred for one another, effectively dividing the continent between them. Byzantium launched the Crusades, but this time they succeeded in reclaiming the Holy Land, and eradicating the Islamic presence in the Middle East. They are now only found in Africa. Diggin' it. Rome developed into a hierarchical empire ruled by Vampires, while Byzantium became a theocratic empire. Rome encompassed most of Eastern Europe, while Byzantium owned the West, and the British Isles. Wait... Did the Roman and Byzantine Empires just swap places? Last time I checked, Rome controlled WESTERN EUROPE NOT EAST. Because both were empires, and one a RELIGIOUS empire, the Renaissance occurred on a smaller scale, and did little to effect the course of history. But the Age of Exploration still happened. America was found. The American Revolution still occurred because as they were rebelling against British (and therefore Byzantine) rule, Rome eagerly assisted in aiding the revolution. AS a result, America now likes Vampires. so did the vampires stay in the east? Or did they all just hang out in Rome after they saved it? Also, Lincoln will be pissed. Anyway, the plot of the story was supposed to be the Russian Revolution. The Russian Empire had survived being incorporated into either Rome or Byzantine, but Rome sought to change that. A group of anti-Czarist Vampires in Russia were planning a revolt; Rome secretly aided them. When they staged the assault on the Winter Palace, Rasputin, the Vampire mystic, ushered the family (or one surviving heir) out. The stage was then set for the White (Loyalist) Army to push the Red (Vampire/Bolshevik) forces out of Russia. So is Lenin a vampire now? It all ends with a Loyalist victory, the Russian Czars being reinstated, and Rome denying any involvement. The Czars were hated by roughly 97% of Russia's population. I think that the setting would be more accurate if the country remained in turmoil. I like this so far though. |
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 11:48:06 GMT -5
Whoops, got my cardinal directions messed up. hold on.
fix'd
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 11:51:20 GMT -5
Possibly
It could be that in this one, they disliked Rome and Byzantium more... I don't know. The Czars reclaim their throne, but the populace isn't happy about it - sounds about right.
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 11:53:50 GMT -5
I seriously like this though. I've often brainstormed about what the world would be like if Rome never fell, but it never occurred to me to have the Byzantines be their rivals. Awesome.
Will WWI factor into this in anyway? I like the Idea of a full out Rome Vs. Byzantine fight over middle Europe. Rome would lose, and lead to the rise of a man who blames the Reich's lose on the people who run the empire. Anit-Vampire Hitler Vs. Byzantine backed Stalin.
Alt-Historygasm
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 11:57:40 GMT -5
the original ide was that the Russian Civil War would lead up to WWI, but I remembered/found out that the Russian Civil War happened in 1917, and not (as I had previously supposed) 1897.
So...yeah.
But the Rome v. Byzantium thing wasn't originally there, until i started digging into some ancient Roman history, and learned that the empire was split into east and west with TWO emperors years before the Sack of Rome by the Visigoths. Constantine, while not officially a Christian, supported them over the pagans.
So naturally, I thought "Well, damn. Byzantium already existed."
Were Vampires to exist, I would assume they would find more in common with the Pagans.
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 12:09:08 GMT -5
Maybe the revolutionaries managed to hold a couple of cities and are now backed by Union of Roman American Republics.
Would Latin-America become literal Latin-America or Greek-America?
Man, the possibilities for this are endless.
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 12:14:38 GMT -5
Well, the Bolsheviks are backed by Vampiric Rome, but once it becomes clear they aren't going to succeed, they withdraw support and deny any involvement. the Bolsheviks still fight.
If the populace still doesn't like the Czars (even though they have reclaimed their throne) then Byzantium could make a ploy...
I don't know. Let's focus on the Russian Civil War.
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 12:23:04 GMT -5
ok. Trotsky (OTL) had an army that vastly over sized the white forces. I'm guessing that Byzantine drops the hammer pretty hard. Maybe they could claim lower Russia and Siberia as their base of operations. Perhaps even Alaska could be used as a staging ground.
There's gotta be civil unrest up the wazzoo. I'm talking about perpetual riots. Czars were more loathed than Satan.
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 12:30:04 GMT -5
Hm.
Then, both Rome and Byzantium send forces to try and bring the splintered lands into their respective empires. this needs to be huge. the Czars try desperately to hold onto their fragile rule, while the populace openly revolts, and to top that off, Roman and Byzantine forces have been spotted pushing into the motherland.
This could be what sets off this timeline's "Great War"
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 12:34:32 GMT -5
I'm diggin' it.
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 12:35:09 GMT -5
Also, America is pretty much America. Just with vampires.
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 12:38:00 GMT -5
I'd imagine that their (our?) government would be more in line with the traditional Roman republic.
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 12:40:03 GMT -5
Right. All of North America was colonized by Western Rome...so...would the United States own all of that...or would Rome? I could just say "screw it" and have Rome have colonized North America, and Byzantium South America.
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 12:41:45 GMT -5
Mexico and down is grouped under Greek-America. Except for Brazil. They speak... Gaelic. Yeah.
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 12:44:37 GMT -5
Like I said, we're focusing on the Russian Civil War for now...which I guess leads up to the Great War...
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 12:46:21 GMT -5
Ok. So are vampires a publically known phenomenon, or what?
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Post by Myrdraxxis on Aug 28, 2010 12:48:00 GMT -5
And Africa is still a backwater shithole and everyone still ignores the orient?
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Post by Mizagium on Aug 28, 2010 12:48:52 GMT -5
Oh yeah, Vampires are public knowledge. Have been since the Rise of Byzantium.
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Post by TEAM_DERRICK on Aug 28, 2010 12:50:20 GMT -5
I for one believe that Japan should be trying to take over china.
But, yeah, Russian Revolution leads to massive war... Then what?
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