The date is April 4, 1444. it is a time of chaos and death. the new world has not yet been discovered, and the old world is awash in blood. The crusades have come to a disastrous end for christendom. The final christian stronghold in the holy lands fell 150 years ago, and subsequent crusades have been utter failures. Suffering deep humiliation, christendom turns inward. Like a trapped animal desperatly gnawing on its own flesh, it unleashes a torrent of new inquisitions, attempting to purge itself of unwanted elements.
The Italian renaisance has not yet reached the Dark heart of Europe, and the protestand reformation is still a century away. As the Holy Roman Empire declines the Turkish Empire ascends. The Moslem religious war comes to a triumph, and solidify the Turks power base over the holy lands.