Quotes / This Is Madness - Story of the Crumbling Europe

From This Is Madness - Story of The Crumbling Europe

In the Grim Darkness of the Crumbling Europe, there is only War.

It is the 1st millennium since the coming of Christ. For more than a thousand years the Roman Empire has stood, ruled from Constantinople. The Basileus is the Lord of innumerable lands by the Will of God and the might of his inexhaustible armies.

Mighty fleets cross the wide seas and vast armies give battle in his name on far lands. Greatest among his soldiers are the Imperial Tagmata, professional soldiers trained for war. Their comrades in arms are legion: levies and conscripts from the Themata, and the Brotherhood of the Sepulchre to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to defend the Empire from heretics, heathens and invaders.

To live in these times is to be one amongst millions, it is to live in a collapsing, warring continent. These are the tales of these times. Forget the promise of progress and understanding for much is forgotten, never to be relearned. There is no peace amongst Men, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of heathen gods.

-Nikephoros II

From Imperium Sine Fine:

It is the end of the 7th millennium since the creation of the world. For more than a thousand years the Imperium Romanum has stood, ruled from the Sacred Palace in Konstantinoupolis. Since the days of Saint Markos Isapostolos the Angeloi have sat on the Throne, preserving his everlasting legacy. His descendant Markos III Angelos is Basileus Basileon by the Grace of God, Caesar Augustus of the Romaioi and all Men, Autokrator of the Holy Church and Protector of the Christendom. He is the lord of the innumerable lands by the will of Iesus Kristos and the might of his Imperial Army.

Mighty fleets cross the wide seas and uncounted Roman soldiers give battle in Emperor's name on far lands. Greatest among his warriors are the Kataphraktoi, elite heavy cavalry unmatched on the battlefield. Their comrades-in-arms are legion: the professional soldiers of Tagmata and brave levies and conscripts of Themata, the ever-vigilant Athanatoi and battle-hardened Auxilia from Christian Kingdoms to name only a few. But for all their multitudes, they are barely enough to defend the Imperium from endless hordes of xenoi, barbarians and heretics.

To live in these times is to be one amongst millions, it is to live in a collapsing, warring continent filled with violence and hatred. These are the tales of these times. Forget the promise of progress and understanding for much is forgotten, never to be relearned. Soulless xenoi have conquered countless lands, rivalled in size only by those controlled by the Horde and sons of Timur, bringing untold destruction upon the Christendom. In the ashes of the old world the Imperium still stands, its ever-expanding borders barely outpacing the rate of decay of its immense body. Unimaginable horrors hidden in the mists of the Far West are waiting to be discovered and unleashed upon surviving Christians.

But what lies beyond the uncharted seas may be the only salvation of the Imperium exhausted by centuries of never-ending war – or it may be its undoing. For there is no peace amongst Men nor hope for victory, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of dark gods.