And, just a few weeks before the comet sighting, Edward the Confessor had died childless, triggering a succession crisis for his island realm of England. The era to come is at the peak of the Middle Ages, an era where chivalric knights and population growth seem to be setting Europe up for expansion - and religious tensions are coming to a head.
But elsewhere around the world, from the Icelandic frontier in the New World to the Mesoamerican civilization; from African tribal kingdoms to the Far East, regional tensions are ever present. A new Conclave is held to elect the new Pope. The Second Investiture War begins to unravel into further chaos.
As Conrad has no clear succession of either his personal domains or the Empire, a new Imperial Election must be held to decide the new German Monarch. The remaining Salian Dynasty had become largely tied to the ruling Bilung dynasty of Saxony by marriage, but also the Hohenstaufen family claims succession by right of being the Count Palatine of Swabia.
Bohemond takes advantage of the papal focus on Pavia, marches on Piacenza with 16, threatening the rear of the Papal army, while 5, men move to retake Pavia. The Second Almoravid War continues to be locked in combat between the Christian states and the Moorish empire. Zamora ends in a stalemate with Alfonso the Battler turning away the Almoravids and taking the city of Zamora. The Iberian-bred Longbowmen gain reputation in Western Europe for single-handedly leading many victories for Christendom.
The Kingdom of Poland makes one last attempt to recover Pomerania from the Wends, and sends 17, troops to attack the Obortrite encampment.
