You can also be independent as a King or Count, or you can be a vassal of someone. Your ruler can be anyone with a title, beginning from the lowest (Count) to the highest (Emperor). Instead, due to the Dynasty system, you actually build your own story through your actions and characters (more on the Dynasty system further below). But the game has no dedicated lore or story. The game takes place in the medieval era where empires like the Byzantine still reigned (mostly) supreme.
