Chapter 74
Upon receiving the news of Sennar’s defection to the infidels, my attendants are shocked to see me weeping. I am speechless, so I cannot tell them that I weep from joy. No more baboons, no more angry peasants that seek to stab us in the back, no more crusted over wells. Now with no embarrassing distant province of Sennar to hold me back, there is no limit to what I can achieve in Byzantium. I have become ambitious.
I am with child again. This is not what I had in mind for my ambitions, advancing another dynasty's bloodline while leaving my own stagnant. If I cannot bring new life into my dynasty, then I will bring land.
Sultan Mamlan the Cruel attacks Tsar Fedot the Ill-Ruler of Russia in a Rawwadid Invasion of Khazaria. With my new ambition in life, I will keep careful track of the neighboring wars involving the infidels. Setting up marriages for my heir to inherit additional land is good and all for my dynasty, but if I want additional lands within my lifetime I am going to have to poach them from non-Byzantine lands. If Sultan Mamlan does poorly, I might be tempted to declare holy war on one of his duchies, which adjoin my territory.
Half of my court are blatant Monophysites, and the court chaplain picks on one of the actual Orthodox faithful? Mayor Antemios of Van is an inbred paranoid with barely a trace of talent and dabbles too much in mysticism, but he is not a heretic. I gently remind my chaplain that he should be looking for those who do not believe our religious principles. Those are the heretics, not the paranoids or inbreds. My chaplain assures me that I do not have to remind him of what our religious principles are, which is good because I cannot remember them precisely anyway. That is why I have bishops around.
Some months pass and I have another son.
The 66-year-old co-assassin of my father, Luitgard, is getting decrepid, and each week makes it more likely that a natural, peaceful death will steal her from us. She is our next target for murder.
I'm not sure what is more shocking: the number of people jumping at the chance to murder her, or having that many people in the plot with a plot power lower than 700%.
Impious, cynical, lying, envious, and arbitrary—there are not a lot of reasons to like her. But even I am surprised to see how many people want Luitgard dead. Eighteen courtiers are willing to take part in a plot on her life, and even some among the 13 remaining would be willing with the proper monetary inducement. So many people are involved in the plot that our gatherings to scheme become almost like parties, with sweetmeats and wine, and it becomes important to make sure we don’t accidentally mention something about the gatherings to Luitgard.
I'm not sure whether "Ill-Ruler" means he is ill a lot or just plain stinks at ruling.
The Kingdom of Russia is immense, but that is not helping the Tsar do poorly against his attackers, though.
And the Sultany of Rawwadid (Sultanate of Georgia)—just one of his attackers—has twice his number of troops. It is not looking like I will be able to poach some land off this infidel.
I really have no idea what I am drawing on these maps, but my generals have to let me do it.
But then the Yousidfid Emirate joins the war against the Tsar of Russia, and I notice that Uqaylid Emirate is only a new realm, fighting for its independence from the Seljuk Turks. Perhaps I could sneak in and grab a duchy while the infidels’ attention is turned.
Rumor reaches us that the province of Aintab, here within the imperial borders of Byzantium, has become predominately Monophysite! I can’t imagine where these Monophysites are coming from. I mean, it’s not like the few that linger in my court could cause something like that. Could they? As if the rumors agitate him into action, no matter how good or bad the results, my court chaplain is again stirring up trouble by labeling good Orthodox faithful as heretics. Bishop Nikolaos of Surb Khach may be an imbecile, but he is not a heretic. One could barely throw a stick in my court without hitting two or three Monophysites, and yet my chaplain keeps pointing at Orthodox believers? I instruct him to leave off exposing heretics for a while and focus rather on furthering our capital province’s cultural advances. Ironically enough, this turns out to be religious flexibility.
Within a week of my court chaplain’s accusations against Nikolaos, I receive word that the accused Bishop Nikolaos has died. The official pronouncement is that he was reduced to such a state of shock by the false charges of heresy against him that he lay down, refused to eat, and expired. The unofficial story is that his unbridled hedonism and lust led him to die of sexual excesses. I really had no idea that such a cause of death was possible, but then again I live a sheltered life and not the life of a Byzantine bishop, apparently.
My chief assassin Artemios tells me that Luitgard will soon meet her end due to a… faulty carriage? Eighteen co-conspirators and a carriage breaking down is the best we can do? I guess it is true what they say about the usefulness of committees.
Oh, I see. The carriage-over-the-cliff plan. Much better. I don’t even have to hear her screams, which is much preferable. And now we are rid of one more of my dear father’s assassins.
I decide the time is right to declare Holy War on the infidels and bring the true faith to the six-county-duchy of Mosul. These would more than double my current holdings and make me one of the most powerful doux in Byzantium. It is a grand war aim, one worthy of a descendent of the legendary warrior, my Great-Great Grandfather, Count Tesfaye, grandson of the last Christian King of Abyssinia. I only pray that his wisdom and bravery guide me as I take my duchy to war.
Upon receiving the news of Sennar’s defection to the infidels, my attendants are shocked to see me weeping. I am speechless, so I cannot tell them that I weep from joy. No more baboons, no more angry peasants that seek to stab us in the back, no more crusted over wells. Now with no embarrassing distant province of Sennar to hold me back, there is no limit to what I can achieve in Byzantium. I have become ambitious.
I am with child again. This is not what I had in mind for my ambitions, advancing another dynasty's bloodline while leaving my own stagnant. If I cannot bring new life into my dynasty, then I will bring land.
Sultan Mamlan the Cruel attacks Tsar Fedot the Ill-Ruler of Russia in a Rawwadid Invasion of Khazaria. With my new ambition in life, I will keep careful track of the neighboring wars involving the infidels. Setting up marriages for my heir to inherit additional land is good and all for my dynasty, but if I want additional lands within my lifetime I am going to have to poach them from non-Byzantine lands. If Sultan Mamlan does poorly, I might be tempted to declare holy war on one of his duchies, which adjoin my territory.
Half of my court are blatant Monophysites, and the court chaplain picks on one of the actual Orthodox faithful? Mayor Antemios of Van is an inbred paranoid with barely a trace of talent and dabbles too much in mysticism, but he is not a heretic. I gently remind my chaplain that he should be looking for those who do not believe our religious principles. Those are the heretics, not the paranoids or inbreds. My chaplain assures me that I do not have to remind him of what our religious principles are, which is good because I cannot remember them precisely anyway. That is why I have bishops around.
Some months pass and I have another son.
The 66-year-old co-assassin of my father, Luitgard, is getting decrepid, and each week makes it more likely that a natural, peaceful death will steal her from us. She is our next target for murder.
I'm not sure what is more shocking: the number of people jumping at the chance to murder her, or having that many people in the plot with a plot power lower than 700%.
Impious, cynical, lying, envious, and arbitrary—there are not a lot of reasons to like her. But even I am surprised to see how many people want Luitgard dead. Eighteen courtiers are willing to take part in a plot on her life, and even some among the 13 remaining would be willing with the proper monetary inducement. So many people are involved in the plot that our gatherings to scheme become almost like parties, with sweetmeats and wine, and it becomes important to make sure we don’t accidentally mention something about the gatherings to Luitgard.
I'm not sure whether "Ill-Ruler" means he is ill a lot or just plain stinks at ruling.
The Kingdom of Russia is immense, but that is not helping the Tsar do poorly against his attackers, though.
And the Sultany of Rawwadid (Sultanate of Georgia)—just one of his attackers—has twice his number of troops. It is not looking like I will be able to poach some land off this infidel.
I really have no idea what I am drawing on these maps, but my generals have to let me do it.
But then the Yousidfid Emirate joins the war against the Tsar of Russia, and I notice that Uqaylid Emirate is only a new realm, fighting for its independence from the Seljuk Turks. Perhaps I could sneak in and grab a duchy while the infidels’ attention is turned.
Rumor reaches us that the province of Aintab, here within the imperial borders of Byzantium, has become predominately Monophysite! I can’t imagine where these Monophysites are coming from. I mean, it’s not like the few that linger in my court could cause something like that. Could they? As if the rumors agitate him into action, no matter how good or bad the results, my court chaplain is again stirring up trouble by labeling good Orthodox faithful as heretics. Bishop Nikolaos of Surb Khach may be an imbecile, but he is not a heretic. One could barely throw a stick in my court without hitting two or three Monophysites, and yet my chaplain keeps pointing at Orthodox believers? I instruct him to leave off exposing heretics for a while and focus rather on furthering our capital province’s cultural advances. Ironically enough, this turns out to be religious flexibility.
Within a week of my court chaplain’s accusations against Nikolaos, I receive word that the accused Bishop Nikolaos has died. The official pronouncement is that he was reduced to such a state of shock by the false charges of heresy against him that he lay down, refused to eat, and expired. The unofficial story is that his unbridled hedonism and lust led him to die of sexual excesses. I really had no idea that such a cause of death was possible, but then again I live a sheltered life and not the life of a Byzantine bishop, apparently.
My chief assassin Artemios tells me that Luitgard will soon meet her end due to a… faulty carriage? Eighteen co-conspirators and a carriage breaking down is the best we can do? I guess it is true what they say about the usefulness of committees.
Oh, I see. The carriage-over-the-cliff plan. Much better. I don’t even have to hear her screams, which is much preferable. And now we are rid of one more of my dear father’s assassins.
I decide the time is right to declare Holy War on the infidels and bring the true faith to the six-county-duchy of Mosul. These would more than double my current holdings and make me one of the most powerful doux in Byzantium. It is a grand war aim, one worthy of a descendent of the legendary warrior, my Great-Great Grandfather, Count Tesfaye, grandson of the last Christian King of Abyssinia. I only pray that his wisdom and bravery guide me as I take my duchy to war.
