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The Sublime State - An Ottoman AAR

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100 posts and 36 hundred views! I think its time to celebrate with another beer.

Milites: #3 is the current favorite. And thanks for voting!

And before anyone asks, no the Title Bar (BAAR?) I used for the Krieger bit is just for those parts from his POV, not a replacement.

rexodia48: Me too. But from where the votes are trending, I think I'm going to be using the bigger Title Bars for special occasions. New Sultans, for instance.

Qorten: You'll notice the one thing Krieger dragged with him was his writting case. ;) And thanks for the compliments!

phargle: :p (And thanks for the comments!)

EnragedKiwi: . . . I've nearly gone cross-eyed trying to spot that bloody heart. Is it like one of those 3D eye-puzzles? And thanks for commenting, glad you like it!

canonized: Thank you, glad you like it! To be honest, I've been wanting to bring in some kind of a narrative aspect to this AAR for some time. My first AAR was all narrative, and I got a little bored with that to be honest. Blame the ADHD (my motto about anything I do, by the way).

At first I experimented with switching between Krieger giving the "Historical Account" of events and then the people themselves giving the real story through narrative (see Part 2), and having them contrast throughout the AAR, but I quickly discarded the idea as I really liked the character of Krieger and wanted him to play a bigger role in the "story".

Of course, since I'm making this all up as I go along I'm still trying to figure out who the gunmen are. . . Oh crud, did I just say that aloud!? :eek:
 
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I love your writing. :nod:

This...
“My god,” I whispered, not quite sure what I was witnessing. I felt empty and insignificant as I watched innocent people die, tears of impotent rage sliding down my cheeks.
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...is truly quite good.

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daemonofdecay said:
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100 posts and 36 hundred views! I think its time to celebrate with another beer.
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Congratulations! :D I also love your depiction of yourself. :p
 
daemonofdecay said:
Just ask Ubik about those "framed" events.

*Angrily raisese fist to heavens* Ubiiiiiiiik!
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I heard a lot about this guy. I must try Magna Mundi one day, perhaps I'll learn to hate him too :D Too bad the mod seems to run awfully slow on my computer.
 
EUROO7: Thank you very much, on both counts! Cheers! *clink*

etycaj: I hope I don't dissapoint. Thanks for posting!

Winner: Well thats a shame. Its an amazing mod that really changes how the game is played. But you really do develop a love-hate relationship with the developers. . .

*Still angrily raising fist to the heavens* Ubiiiiiiiik!

Enewald: You people are never satisfied, are you. :D Fine, he now knows Arabic. And Cantonese. And, I dunno, Singlish.

Herr Abate; he got a PhD in world languages from Street Urchin State University. ;) And thank you for commenting!
 
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Johannes Krieger
The Dark Night
Part 2​


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Ettore silently moved ahead of me, slipping from each pool of shadow to the next as he scanned the surrounding woods for any of the gunmen from earlier. For my part I was happy to just avoid falling on my face as I snapped twigs and crushed leaves underfoot, each noise as loud as a gunshot in my ears. Indeed, I expected to be cut down at any moment from the unidentified assailants firing from the impenetrable darkness around us.

“Herr Krieger,” Ettore whispered in my ear, causing me to jump in fright.

“W-what?” I gasped, trying to slow my heartbeat. Without another word the youth pointed ahead through the forest. My eyes had become quite adjusted to the night, and I could immediately spot what he had seen: there were faint lights up ahead, their pale yellow glow a welcome relief to the uncomfortable darkness we trapped in.

“Finally!” I sighed in relief, starting to move towards the light before Ettore grabbed my arm to stop me.

Shaking his head, his whispered “No, Herr Krieger. We don’t know if the people up ahead are working with the others.”

“With the bandits?” I said incredulously, shaking his hand off. “No, no my boy. Those bastards who attacked the train were just a group of opportunistic criminals, most likely deserters from the earlier wars who prey on people in these forests.” Giving him a reassuring smile, I began moving towards the lights quickly, eager to escape the damnable forest and its sharp branches poised to gouge out my eyes at any moment. “We just need to get some directions from the travelers so we can reach a large enough town to report the attack to the proper authorities.”

Ettore bit his lips, looking like he wanted to say something before he nodded and moved to follow me. Having finally spotted a means of escape I found myself making good time as I stumbled through the trees. Ignoring the grasping branches and the numerous small scrapes and scratches from my headlong charge, I burst into the clearing with a gasp of relief. The forest had been cleared here for a long road which disappeared into the night further on in each direction, raising my hopes of escaping this nightmare and finding blessed civilization at last. Perched partly on the road was a large yellow and black stagecoach, illuminated by the bright flickering flames like a great beacon in the night.

Between me and the coach lay a large fire, burning strongly with a number of large logs fueling its flames. Still wheezing a bit from my exertions I hurried past the fire to the stagecoach, trying to keep a grin on my face. “Ciao! Hello!” I called out in Italian, climbing up the slight embankment to reach the coach’s doors. “I must ask for your help, please!”

Reaching the door, I grasped the handle tightly, only to jerk my hand back as it landed in something wet and sticky. In the dancing firelight, I could suddenly make out the numerous small holes in the stagecoaches wooden sides, the smashed glass that my feet had crunched through in my eagerness to reach my salvation. I brought my hand closer to my face where I could see the thick red liquid drip from my fingers, filling my nostrils with the copper smell of blood.

With fear and foreboding beginning to fill my heart as I gradually became fully aware of my surroundings. There was another smell too, one that I hadn’t noticed at first but now filled the air strong enough to cause me to break into a coughing fit; the aroma of cooking meat. Praying that I was wrong, I forced myself to look into the bright flames of the fire. What I had mistaken for large logs were the bodies of the coach’s passengers, their charred black skulls smiling at shared joke as the flames seared the last scraps of their clothing and flesh from their frames.

My mouth wordlessly moved as I tried all at once to scream, cry, pray and vomit. The latter won out over the others and I turned from the haunting sight as my gorge rose in my throat before vomiting over the carriage’s wheels, my stomach rebelling at the sight and smells of the incinerated bodies as the memories of the screaming passengers trapped within the burning train coming back to me. I fell to my knees as my body purged itself of every scrap of food I had eaten, the exhaustion of the past few hours sapping all my remaining strength.

When I was finally done I wiped my mouth clean with my handkerchief, my hand shaking in fear. “Why?” I managed to ask the darkness, unsteadily trying to raise myself to my feet.

“Herr Krieger?” Ettore asked as he helped me stand, picking up my writing case from the ground and placing it into my trembling hands. I gripped it tightly as I blinked away the tears I didn’t know I had shed while the boy guided me to the front of the carriage where the horses still stood, shaking their heads and stamping their feet impatiently.

“Can you ride, Herr Krieger?” he asked me as he began to unhook the two horses from the bullet ridden carriage. I nodded, taking a few deep breaths through my mouth to calm my nerves as I tried to ignore the smell of cooking meat.

“Yes, yes Ettore. I can ride,” I managed, feeling decidedly incapable of getting on a horse but desperate to escape the burning corpses and their merry smiles. I moved forwards to help Ettore prepare our mounts, ensuring my writing case was securely held in place before I climbed atop mine, Ettore managing to climb onto his after a moments struggle. He smiled at me sheepishly.

“I am not experienced rider,” he admitted, looking intimidated by the large horse. I managed to force reassuring smile, gently prodding my horse forwards to take the lead.

“Don’t worry, my body. We won’t need to ride long before we find a town or village where we can rest.” Using my knees to guide the nervous horse I began to move down the road, fairly certain I was heading north. As soon as the light and smell from the fire began to fade, I could feel my own spirits rise. It had been a long time since I had been on horseback, and my pleasant memories of riding through the forests on my fathers estates helped to keep me from thinking about the horrors I had witnessed this night.

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The two soldiers saluted smartly as the third figure moved up to them, casually taking in the burning wreck of the train as other soldiers continued to toss the bodies back into the hungry flames, removing the evidence of their presence.

“Did we find his body?” he asked them as he turned his intense stare on the two junior officers.

“No sir,” the senior of the two said smartly, the flames illuminating the dark red of his uniform and the fine gold thread sown into the sleeves.

Raising an eyebrow, the third figure looked at the younger man curiously. “Oh, is that so?”

“Yes sir,” the other officer answered, glancing at the other officer before continuing. “But we believe that he was killed when the train derailed. Most of the passengers were unable to escape before the flames consumed their cars due to their injuries from the derailment.”

The figure nodded, stroking his white beard thoughtfully. “But we don’t have his body, and that means we don’t have the papers. We cannot take the risk of him having escaped, no matter how remote the chance.”

Making sure he had both men’s full attention, he repeated himself. “He cannot be allowed to escape with the information. Do whatever it takes.”

“Yes sir!“ the two officers snapped, saluting the figure. He returned the salute, sparing one last glance to the burning train and the grisly but necessary task the soldiers were performing before turning to leave them to their duties. He trusted his men to do the job, no matter how unpleasant it was. This was too important, too vital to leave any doubt. They had to be sure. “No matter what” he grunted, leaving the funeral pyre to burn brightly in the dark night.

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:(

I felt sorry for Herr Krieger, and the story has me very intrigued...

Another beautifully written update! :D
 
It makes you wonder... Were they after Krieger, a German historian, or Ettore, the boy who we know nothing about?
My money would be on Ettore, were I willing to bet money on a story told over the internet. :p
 
They're lucky the rebels didn't shoot the horses of that carriadge too, deliberately or by accident. And wath information can he have with him that they want it so badly? Some papers about the history of the Ottoman Empire can't be that important... Krieger seems to be more then you've shown us until now.
 
Colonel Bran: Don't worry about that, the AAR itself is still the core of the AAR. The narrative bits are just a little something to break it up a bit, a little story within a story. And my next update will be back to the good stuff!

EUROO7: Thank you very kindly!

Enewald: Forgive me for not knowing the term "mosjoo". But even if I did, I wouldn't tell. :p

EnragedKiwi: I also take goods and services in addition to money. And thanks for commenting!

Qorten: We will get to Krieger's full backstory in good time. And it was pretty lucky. . . or was it!? *Dum dum duuuuuum!*

Thanks to the Colonel for providing the dum dums.
 
Interesting, interesting. *strokes chin*

Herr Krieger ("the warrior") has information vital to a collective of unidentified interlopers who are stopping at nothing to have him killed, lest the information fall into the hands of others. Unbeknownst to Krieger, the young lad - and everyone on the train - were sent to guide and protect him against the menace. And who are his protectors?

I brought my hand closer to my face where I could see the thick red liquid drip from my fingers, filling my nostrils with the copper smell of blood.
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Vulcans, my friends. That makes the adversaries time-traveling Romulans sent to destroy Krieger's quest, which will bring knowledge of the Ottoman Art of War to the West, thus setting the world on a path to Federation and galactic domination, and the eventual ruin of the Romulan empire.
 
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Herr von Steuben,

I had to add another letter to the one I wrote earlier, which you should find paired with this one and attached to my latest manuscript pages.

I find it hard to write you right now, but I know that I must. I have just witnessed one of the most despicable acts imaginable, and barely escaped with my life. Bandits struck my train just as we were entering the Papal States, derailing it with malicious intent. I managed to escape the overturned car with Herr Abate’s help before I was killed or before my manuscript was damaged by the spreading flames.

But we had scarcely crawled free of the wreckage before the saboteurs showed themselves, and I could only watch helpless as they gunned down all my fellow survivors. Me and Herr Abate are safe, as we managed to locate horses and ride to a nearby village, but I fear we are the only witnesses to the tragedy. After gathering my wits I reported the incident to the local authorities before riding on, desperate to put lots of distance between myself and the horrors I had observed. The nightmares haunt my sleep still, and I don't think I shall ever forget the sound of the screaming wounded.

I am now staying in a town called Anagni, where I managed to rent a room with the last of my cash reserves. I am staying here for a day or two, before I finish my trip to Rome. I humbly beg that you might send me some money that I might finish my trip home, as all of my belongings were lost in the train. You can dispatch it to the Hotel that I mentioned before, where I will wait to pick it up. Thankfully, I already had arranged a room there, so I will at least have a roof over my head while I wait.

Sincerely,

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Johannes Krieger
August 20, 1854​

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Part Eight
A New Rome
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Mehmet then sent officers to all his lands to announce that whoever wished should come and take possession in Constantinople, as freehold, of houses and orchards and gardens... Despite this measure the city was not repopulated. So then the Sultan commanded that from every land families, rich and poor alike, should be brought in by force... and now the city began to be populous.​
- Ashikpashazade, Turkish chronicler​


The renewal of Constantinople, otherwise know as Kostantiniyye is most official Ottoman documents, is an intriguing look at the inner workings of the Sultan’s mind. Although the city had fallen ten years earlier, Sultan Mehmet was often away on campaigns and not able to give the new capital his full attention. Upon his conquest, he had offered many of the Greeks and other Christians who had been citizens of Kostantiniyye a free and safe return home, in the hopes of repopulating the empty metropolis of a mere 30,000 souls.

When the Turks had captured the great city, Mehmet had instructed that most of the Byzantine systems that were already in place would remain, a measure that would help speed up the process of integrating Constantinople into its new role as Ottoman capital. It also ensured that many of the Greeks would remain, no longer needing to fear their new Ottoman rulers as Mehmet embraced the pluralism that would come to define the Ottoman system of governing.

By keeping the Byzantine offices and government agencies intact and working, Mehmet was able to put off the reformation of the city and indeed the entire Ottoman government until he was fully prepared to fully devote his considerable intellect to the problem. During his campaigns Mehmet had issued decrees to help speed up the repopulation of his new city, which ranged from pleas for Muslims to come live there to forced resettlements of Turkish families from the older lands in Anatolia, including the lower nobles and lords who were ordered to build a residence in the city, and spend half of their time each year living there. They were also made to keep family members at these residences year round: wives, sisters, sons, or other relatives. This was a masterstroke of genius: Mehmet was able to both increase the city’s population and importance by bringing in the wealthy upper classes, but he also helped centralize the government by ensuring that any rebellious noble would always have relations living within the Sultan’s reach.

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- Dress of Jewish men in Constantinople c.1850​

... every one of us lives in peace and freedom. Here the Jew is not compelled to wear the yellow star as a badge of shame as is the case in Germany, where even wealth and great fortune are a curse for the Jew because he therewith arouses jealousy among the Christians and they devise all sorts of slander against him to rob him of his gold.​
- A Rabbi's letter c. 1455​


The population of Jews, Greeks, and even Gypsies would grow steadily as they flocked to the tolerant Ottoman nation, seeking a safe haven to prosper and practice their faiths. During the same period the population of Muslims would also grow steadily as Mehmet sent out decrees, bringing in thousands of Muslims to help repopulate the city. in the new seat of Imperial power. By the time of the 1470 census there were 9,526 houses occupied by Muslims of all nationalities and ethnicities, some of whom were converts either willingly or through the devşirme. The census also lists 3,891 Greek, 1,927 Jewish, 305 Crimea Christian and 41 Gypsie houses within the city as well.

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But the Byzantine system was decrepit and inefficient, and the old Ottoman lands in the east were still governed by a feudal system that promoted corruption, as the nobles lacked a real binding loyalty to the Sultan. Beginning late in 1463 the Sultan would begin a sweeping system of reforms that would streamline and improve the Sultan’s ability to rule his realm. Utilizing the devşirme system to recruit Christian youths into both the current Janissary corps and the new body of government personnel, the Sultan was able to build a body of professional and well trained officials who were loyal to the Sultan. The devşirme system would be a sore point for many of the Christian populations, even long after it was abandoned in the 18th century, despite the fact that many of the boys taken were much better off being well paid and respected Janissaries or bureaucrats. This author is quite convinced that it is better to be a learned gentleman than a peasant farmer.

The most important changes were in how the Ottomans were able to fairly tax the lands and peoples within their borders. Both Muslim, Jew, and Christian was subject to taxation on their property, with the non-Muslims having to pay an additional tax for the freedom to practice their religion. This system was undoubtedly the most fair and balanced within Europe, and the Ottoman empire would soon be a haven for the repressed Jewish populations of Europe who would flee to the growing capital, forming very large and distinct communities within the walls that were often given some minor autonomy, which in turn helped keep the diverse groups loyal to the Sultan.

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The old feudal lords in the Ottoman lands to the east were upset by the changes Mehmet implemented as now they were unable to hide as much from the Sultan’s agents, who were quite adept at calculating the full worth of each land and assigning the taxes for it. The corruption of the past had lined their pockets, but these new agents owed the nobles nothing and were unlikely to overlook something as a favor to the nobility. The noble’s anger was short lived, however, as the efficient bureaucracy quickly yielded dividends as the value of Ottoman coinage stabilized, creating a trading renaissance amongst Ottoman merchants. The competition amongst Ottoman and Italian traders would still remain fierce, but a number of Italian families would utilize the stability of the Ottoman coin to create lending houses in Constantinople.

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With an efficient and professional bureaucracy having replaced the old Byzantine system, the Ottoman empire was enjoying a stable period of growth and wealth. Neighboring Ottoman nations like Qara Qoyunlu, sometimes referred to as the Black Sheep Turcomans, were quick to send envoys to Constantinople to establish diplomatic ties with the Ottoman Empire. This alliance would help secure the Ottoman eastern border as Mehmet allowed his nation to flourish under his care, allowing the Turkish state to rest after the many campaigns of the previous years.

- Johannes Krieger, The Sublime State: A History of The Ottoman Empire; vol. 1

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I love Bureaucracy. Very important for administrative efficiency. Too bad Krieger can't get home now. I hope he makes it home safely!
It's nice to see you're incorporating the Greeks into your empire. Did they become an accepted culture, or were they already?
 
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