Author's Note: Welcome to the reboot of my original EU4 Siena AAR! Yes, I understand that you folks haven't seen me for awhile and have been wondering what happened to my Siena's campaign. Well, it's a little thing called save file corruption. Yeah, it kills your game, story, and mood to write!

Anyways, let's get to work, shall we? I won't bore you with the details of Siena's early history or my small introductory again. You people want actual stories and I'm here to provide them! Well, one of them anyways. Then again, I prefer to think of my AARs to be more historical narratives and almost history book like in terms of writing. Doesn't matter, the history (aka plot written more or less on the go) is what matters. So let's begin!

Oh, and just so you know, I have every last DLC up to El Dorado and this will be my first play-through with it. Here's hoping to a successful Repubblica d'Italia with these new events!

Prologue

Siena's Rivals (1444)

The date is November 11th, 1444. Just six hours earlier, the merchants, aristocrats, peasantry, and all the people of the glorious Repubblica d'Siena had cast their votes and voices in the calling for a new gonfaloniere (Of course, the merchants and aristocrats' votes counted the most). From this respectable and civilized contest of worthy men came one man, the thirty year old Mauro Salimbeni. While certainly not the most gifted of men (Some of the populace called him a coward who would lick the boots of enemy troops), Mauro had proven himself a capable enough diplomat and administrator to be able to rise to power as the new leader of Siena. Whether or not Mauro proved a glorious commander or a ruinous traitor would remain to be seen.

However, more important facts were present in the small corner of the world that Siena occupied. For several centuries (roughly five), the Italian peninsula has been split into several small states, some claiming the right to the old kingdom of Italia's rule, others claiming to be the Holy Roman Emperor's (HRE) hand within the region. Yet others claimed to be descended from a much older and prestigious nation, one whose name still resonated in the ears of the masses. The Roman Republic, the greatest empire to have ever claimed dominion over the Mediterranean, had many states claiming to be its successors, such as Siena and many of the ones who claimed descent from Italia or power from the HRE. The powers within the region had vied and contested each other and meddling outsider nations for power over the peninsula. Yet even now, centuries after the Romans fell, none had managed to restore law and order to all of Italy.

Instead, the numerous successor states had only managed to weaken themselves to outside influence. Along the western coast of Italy and in the north, the HRE claimed dominion over the rival kingdoms of Savoy and Milan along with the city-state of Tuscany and Siena. While this claim did not do much as the four could easily have fought each other at any time, it did give the defender a fighting chance as the Emperor (depending on his country of origin) would defend nearly any nation within the realm from both inner and outer threats. Also in the north was Venice, a merchant republic that had proven a thorn in the side of the HRE for centuries, refusing to bend a knee to the Imperial Throne in its bid for luxury through trade. It was an insult to the HRE due to the republic's possession of numerous provinces that rightfully belonged to the Empire. One day, Siena would aid in (and hopefully profit from) the restoration of these Imperial lands.

In central Italy, there were a few minor states, almost all of which were hostile to Siena. Most such as Ferrara and Modena were kingdoms where the people did not have a voice within the government. Instead, they were ruled by petty kings, claiming descent from the Karlings of old. A foolish idea as the line of royalty they claimed had no members holding a real position of power. However, it comforted them and gave them a sense of superiority over the glorious republic. They would eventually bend a knee to imperial rule as well, along with the lands that belonged to the Papal States. While most respected and feared the Church of Saint Peter, there were still many who believed that the land they claimed as their own belonged to the people of Earth, not to the angels of Heaven. Siena would eventually put this view to the test when it came time to confront the Papacy for hegemony.

Finally, there were the southern portions of Italy and its neighboring island of Sicily. Both were under the rule of Spaniards, Aragonians to be precise. While still a nominal puppet of Aragon, the Kingdom of Naples that occupied the boot of Italy still remains a immensely powerful and ever present danger in the minds of the people of Siena. They would need to tow the line carefully with the kingdom as their cousins in Aragon would not take kindly to any attempts to enforce imperial rule, be it by the true Romans or by Holy Romans. The republic was in no position to win such a war, even if Austria and Tuscany were to join its side in the conflict.

Instead, Mauro focused his nation's efforts on the states of Urbino, Ferrara, and the Papacy for the moment. These three states were Siena's greatest obstacles to power at the moment, forming a deadly half-encirclement of Siena with the help of Modena, Ferrara's vassal. They all wished to prey on the republic's small size, to swallow it whole before it grew to swallow them. Mauro needed to discover a way to protect his nation while also sabotaging his enemies. Thankfully, Siena's rivals provided the very answer by picking another mutual enemy.

While not as great as say Milan or Savoy, Tuscany would serve Siena's early needs for a protector. Mauro knew the Austrians wouldn't come to their aid quickly if attacked. The mountains of northern Italy covered a portion of Austria's border with the peninsula, making their advance slow due either to marching across the Alps or to marching around the snowy peaks and low valleys that the mountains held. The Gonfaloniere needed a closer ally and Tuscany was the best answer he could discover for the issue.

However, the Medici were not as welcoming of Siena as Mauro believed they would be at first. While still on better terms with the larger state than say Urbino or Ferrara, the republic would need to solidify and smooth over relations a great deal before Tuscany would warm to them. Hopefully, an alliance could be forged before Siena's mettle in battle was tested. To prepare the nation, Mauro gave a series of orders to the militant arm of the administration to build up the republic's arms. Along with this came orders to train a further two militia brigades to properly ready the military. Soon, the republican forces would total a full five thousand troops, a thousand of which were cavalry troops. While it would not last long against the full legion of the Papacy's ten thousand troops, it would have a chance with the aid of Tuscany's men of nine thousand warriors.

I know it's not much, but it is a prologue. Hopefully, I'll have more time over the weekend to post.