CK3 Hardest Difficulty 1066 Komnenos 6: Consolidation

Sixth episode starting as Alexios Komnenos in the Byzantine Empire in 1178 and playing Crusader Kings 3 using the most challenging ruleset, including "very hard" difficulty, frequent scourge-of-the-gods conquerors with all heirs inheriting, doomsday plagues with unlimited random Black Deaths, and minus three domain limit for the player only. In the aftermath of the mighty Volga-Ural empire's sudden implosion, Basileus Traianos II sees the opportunity for expansion. He peacefully vassalizes many small rulers in the Balkans and Eastern Europe. He less peacefully conquers lands in Sicily and Northern Africa. The Eastern Roman Empire seems more powerful than it has been in centuries. Could anything ever happen to disrupt its ascension, the narrator asks foreshadowingly?