Invocations (and one lack thereof) all around . Let's see how Providence unfolds XD
The Morea, a Palaeologid AAR
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Things do look a little bleak for the Muslims. Though the spectre of Athanasios hangs like an unwelcome cloud in the sky, heralding a storm.
Aha! Are those crossbows I see before me in those siege towers?! It's nice to see that technology is slowly chugging along in the background during all this relentless slaughter. Now they have even better ways to kill each other! 
Though better ways to kill each other usually soon leads to better protection as well.
I would say it looks like the Moreans are about to affirm their formidable military reputation yet again...
I would say it looks like the Moreans are about to affirm their formidable military reputation yet again...
Ah, the battle has started. Since I know that it is supposed to be epic battle, I'm certain that Tunisians still have some cards left and it won't be easy victory.
Providence has a way of making interesting things happen. I hope you like how it plays out in this next update.canonized said:
You are very insightful, stnylan. I won't tell you what kind of storm he will bring, but you are quite right that he will bring one.stnylan said:
You are correct, Andreios, those are crossbows. But the moslems still have a surprise of their own in store for the Moreans...Andreios II said:Aha! Are those crossbows I see before me in those siege towers?! It's nice to see that technology is slowly chugging along in the background during all this relentless slaughter. Now they have even better ways to kill each other!
Quite right, BT. But such defensive innovations may come too late for poor Tunisia...General_BT said:Though better ways to kill each other usually soon leads to better protection as well.
I would say it looks like the Moreans are about to affirm their formidable military reputation yet again...
I will let you see for yourself just how the Moreans' reputation will be affected...
You are right, this won't be an easy victory. Rather, it is going to be a very hard fought one.Olaus Petrus said:
Crown Prince Athanasios sat on his horse, with his helmet in his hand. He could feel the cool breeze blow through his wavy, sandy brown hair. He was only 17 years old, but he felt far more grown up. Being on a battle field, in command of one thousand men, tended to give you that feeling. He wondered if this was how Megas Alexandros had felt at his first battle, for Alexandros had been only 17 when his father, Philippos II, had given him command of the Makedonian cavalry at the battle of Chaeronaea. That had been a glorious day for Alexandros, perhaps it would be for Athanasios as well.
He looked to his right, to his closest friend and companion, Stephanos Beroiaios. Stephanos was a year older than the Prince, with dark brown hair. He spoke with a strong accent, because his father had come to the Morea from the province of Makedonia, and the Makedonians had always spoken with a different accent, and even a slightly different dialect, than the Greeks. Stephanos was a testament to his race. Devout, courageous, fiercely loyal, foul mouthed, and a lover of the finer things in life, which to a Makedonian were two things and two things only: wine and women. Ofcourse, now that they had been Christian for over a millenium, Makedonians were not the druken womanizers they once were, but they still had exceptional taste in wine and in women.
Athanasios smiled. As he watched his friend, he could see the Makedonian praying for God's blessings. Perhaps that was the only flaw in the Makedonian race, the Prince mused, they were too dependent upon divinity. In ancient times it was the gods, now it was the Triune God. But regardless of who they looked to, Makedonians never did anything without first praying about it. But in the Prince's mind, Stephanos did not need to pray to God for help. Stephanos was one of the best warriors in the Morea, perhaps the best of all, after ofcourse Athanasios himself. And... Nikephoros Dekanos as well, the Prince admitted grudgingly.
The Crown Prince looked up to the walls and saw that by now the towers had reached the city. The battle had officially begun. He put his helmet on and shouted so that his men could hear him, "Ready yourselves, boys! Soon those gates will open and we will storm the city!"
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Despite being over sixty years old, Arsenios Karamallos led his men from the front. Indeed, when the bridge dropped, he was the first Morean to leap onto the walls of Medjerda. He raised a loud war cry which was carried on by his men as they joined him in the fray.
The Tunisians had been weakened and frightened by the volleys of crossbow bolts which had struck them as the towers advanced, and now the Morean soldiers were easily gaining ground.
One Tunisian tried to push Arsenios off of the wall, but the old soldier pushed against him, and broke free of his grip. He then took his sword and pulled it across the Tunisian's stomach. The man screamed in pain as he dropped his sword and shield to hold his innards in with his hands. He sank to his knees, and died.
As the fierce melee continued, Arsenios noticed that the Moreans were no longer gaining ground. In fact, they were now losing ground. The Tunisians had found a new resolve and were fighting now harder than they had before. Men fell left and right, and before long the situation on Arsenios' side of the battle was looking grim.
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Things were no better on Nikephoros' side of the battle. He had already lost hundreds of men. He wanted to strike out, but he remembered St. Alexios' words, "...Be wary, at first. Wait for my sign..." and so he waited. Clouds had covered the sun, casting a dark shadow over the battle. As Nikephoros deflected a blow, and then drove his blade into his attacker's heart, he saw a small break in the clouds. A sliver of sunlight broke thought them, and landed upon a banner of the Morean Cross, illuminating it. He heard a voice in his head say, "Now, Nikephoros! Now!"
He was suddenly overcome with adrenaline. He felt his heart beat so fast he was sure it would burst. He could feel his muscles tighten and strengthen, until his sword and shield felt weightless in his hands. From deep within, he felt a shout rise up. It swelled within him until he could contain it no longer. At last, he cried out at the top of his lungs, "For God and the King!" and with that he rushed forward into the mass of enemies.
The sheer force of his charge sent the enemy lines reeling back. He lashed out with his sword and caught a man across the face. The Tunisian screamed as he fell off of the wall from the force of the blow. He reached out to one of his fellow soldiers in an attempt to save himself, and ended up bringing the man down with him. They both fell, screaming, to their deaths.
Nikephoros continued to shout and lash out with his blade. By now he was the only Morean on his side of the wall actually fighting. The rest of his men simply looked on, awestruck. The Tunisians could not comprehend what had happened. Some thought that he was demon possesed. Others thought he actually was a demon. Regardless of what he was, it was clear to them that they could not withstand him.
Men continued to fall to his relentless attack. It seemed that with every swing of his blade another Tunisian would die. At last, they broke, and many fled from the walls into the streets and to the palace. Nikephoros looked back and saw a line of bodies trailing from where his attack had begun. He could not guess the exact number, but it seemed to be close to one hundred.
He saw his men still standing there, in complete shock. He pointed his sword down the stairs and shouted, "After them, fools!" The men obeyed and rushed to pursue the fleeing Tunisians. Nikephoros, however, rushed into the gate house to finish his mission.
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Khazim looked around him at the ten men who were with him in the gatehouse. These were among the best warriors Tunisia had to offer. Veterans of Abdul-Rahman's campaigns against the Toledans and the Cordobans. They would sacrifice their lives before letting the gatehouse fall, and he knew that each of them was worth at least two Moreans.
He heard foot steps as someone ran up the stairs into the gate room. Odd that it sounded like only one pair of feet. A messenger perhaps?
He was shocked when he at last saw this lone person emerge from the stair well. His armour and his once white cloth were stained red with blood. His shield was splattered with gore, and his sword was red to the hilt. He had lost his helmet and his face and hair were also red. It looked as if this man had come straight out of hell.
The man was breathing heavily. One of the soldiers looked to Khazim, and though he said nothing, it was clear by his eyes that this soldier was asking what should be done. Before Khazim could answer, the man spoke, shockingly, in perfect Tunisian Arabic, "I am Nikephoros Dekanos. This gatehouse now belongs to King Georgios III of the Morea. Step away from it so that I may open it for him, and your lives will be spared."
Khazim replied, "There are eleven of us and only one of you. Who are you to make such a demand?"
Nikephoros bowed his head and said, "Then I am to assume you will not relinquish control of the gatehouse?"
"No," said Khazim.
Without another word, Nikephoros let out a loud battlecry and rushed the ten defenders. One was dead before they could do anything about it. As the others began to react, Nikephoros quickly cut two more down. The seven remaining soldiers encircled him, and for a moment they seemed to have the other hand, but within seconds they were somehow all dead, slain by Nikephoros' sword.
Khazim was reminded of stories that his father had told him of Viking warriors who would call upon their god Odin, and he would possess them with his living spirit, giving them the strength of one hundred men. The Vikings had called this berserkergang. Khazim knew in his heart that whatever strength was given to Nikephoros was a thousand thousand times greater than the berserkergang. He readied himself to defend the gatehouse, though deep inside he already knew that he was going to die.
He said to Nikephoros, "If I am to die, let me die with honour."
Nikephoros nodded. The two of them discarded their shields, put their shield arms behind their backs, and proceeded to fence. The fencing match lasted for close to five minutes, but at last, Nikephoros won, and Khazim was slain.
Nikephoros opened the gate with ease, and suddenly his strength was sapped. He collapsed to the ground, breathing hard. He could hear the horns sound the advance of the other two thousand Moreans, and knew that victory would soon be theirs. He looked up to heaven, and said, "Thankyou." He then proceeded to cry for all those who had had to die to achieve this victory.
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Crown Prince Athanasios saw the gates open, and shouted, "The Gates! The Gates! To the Gates!"
His thousand let out their battle cry, "For Christ and Glory!" and rushed behind him into the city. Soon after, their cry was echoed by the King's thousand, and now all of the Moreans were pouring into the city.
But the battle was not won yet. There were still Tunisians on the walls fighting against Karamallos, and two thousand more within the city. In addition to their remaining numbers, the Tunisians had yet to employ their secret weapon against the Moreans...
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Nikephorus is well named. Bringer of victory indeed.
I wonder if Athanasios will try to take the credit.
I wonder if Athanasios will try to take the credit.
Wow good grief ! XD I bet his hair flashed blonde and eyes turned green while a golden aura surrounded him right ? XD XD
Well, he can try, but after what will happen in this coming update, it will be very hard to do.stnylan said:
Super Saiyan Nikephoros? Sounds interesting, but I think his name has too many syllables to make a good Saiyan.canonized said:
RGB said:
"Use the Force, Nikephoros!"
crusaderknight said:
That, and he didn't take three episodes to power up.
Wonderful battle description - it was exciting, vivid, and just plain wow!
I see that Nikephoros is indeed a very brave warrior. His fighting skill almost matches skill of Conan of Cimmeria, at least both have similar superiority compared to their opponents.
I have been reading Robert E. Howard recently and Nikephoros reminded me about Conan.
I have been reading Robert E. Howard recently and Nikephoros reminded me about Conan.
This AAR has really become great all since the funky dreams with St. Alexios started. It was very, very good before, but now it's really taken yet another step upwards. And I do believe that Nikephoros is the most sympathetic character in the story this far -- brave, skilled and with a destiny full of happening.
Also, I second the theory that he actually is a Jedi. I would however like to add, that I think Athanaisos might already have joined the dark side.
Also, I second the theory that he actually is a Jedi. I would however like to add, that I think Athanaisos might already have joined the dark side.
Thankyou for the high praise! I hope to make all future battle descriptions as exciting (though there won't be anymore Super Saiyan action).General_BT said:That, and he didn't take three episodes to power up.
Wonderful battle description - it was exciting, vivid, and just plain wow!
Wow. Nikephoros has been compared to Super Saiyans, to Jedi, and now to Conan! I am honoured.Olaus Petrus said:I see that Nikephoros is indeed a very brave warrior. His fighting skill almost matches skill of Conan of Cimmeria, at least both have similar superiority compared to their opponents.
I have been reading Robert E. Howard recently and Nikephoros reminded me about Conan.
Wow! I'm glad that my story telling skills have improved so much! I hope to contunue to improve as the story continues (because we still have a LONG way to go...). And don't worry, St. Alexios hasn't made his final appearance just yet...Snugglie said:
That would be a good guess. I guess you could say that Athanasios is a regular Anakin Skywalker.Snugglie said:
To all my readAARs, after my finals tomorrow morning (Tuesday) I will be done with school for the summer! Yeehaw! I plan on celebrating this by updating all three of my AARs after class! Since this is my oldest and most popular, I will update it first. Now, I might be too tired after class (and my lack of sleep over the past couple of nights) to update all three as planned, but I promise that I will update this one regardless!
Abdul-Rahman stood on the palace steps and looked back to the walls. He saw the Moreans overrun his men. With tears in his eyes, he bowed his head and wept. Khazim was dead, he knew. His friend would never have run.
But now was not the time to mourn. With him was King Akbar, along with the Regent, Ibrahim al-Ibrahim, and ten elite soldiers. He had to get them to the tunnels. They had to escape the city. If King Akbar fell into Morean hands the cause would be doomed.
They rushed deep into the palace, into the sewage vat. It was the perfect place to hide secret royal tunnels. The sewage vat was the last place on earth anyone would suspect a secret passage to be. Ofcourse the stench was horrible as they passed by pools full of human excrement, but that was a small price to pay for escape.
After passing the fourth pool, Abdul-Rahman stopped, and motioned for the others to halt as well. He crouched down to the floor, and starting with the lowest row of stones that made up the wall, he counted up six rows. He pressed a stone in the sixth row. Nothing happened. He tried each of the stones next to it. Still nothing. Had it really been so long that he'd forgotten? Pressing the third the stone to the right answered that question for him. The stone slid inwards a mere inch. He had not forgotten!
Moments later, there was a rumbling which shook the underground tunnels. Everyone but Abdul-Rahman looked around in fear. They felt that the tunnels would surely collapse on them, and they would be buried next to the pools of fecal matter. But that was not what happened. A door slid open in the wall, one which had been so expertly hidden that no one could have seen it before it opened. It led into a new tunnel, which went deeper than the sewage tunnels. Eventually, it became pitch black. Abdul-Rahman grabbed a torch from the walls, and said, "Everyone grab a torch. Where we're going, we will want lots of light. Now, follow me, and don't make a sound! But be quick, the door will close in two minutes!"
Everyone obeyed and followed the General into the dark tunnel. Only seconds after the last of them had entered, the rumbling returned, and the door sealed shut. Now nobody could find them. Ibrahim al-Ibrahim hoped that Abdul-Rahman knew what he was doing. Being trapped inside a tunnel was not the way he had hoped to die...
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Athanasios shouted his battle cry at the top of his lungs as he and Stephanos led their men through the gates of Medjerda. They were followed first by the Prince's new elite bodyguard, the Hippaspidai.
The arrival of Stephanos Beroiaios and his father, the retired Roman Strategos Iason Beroiaios, had led to some changes in the Morean Army. Iason had arrived in the Morea ten years ago. At first he had been only a minor advisor in the King's court, but during the Crusade, he became increasingly important.
Indeed, during the few months of siege before the assault of Medjerda, Iason had provided a slight Makedonian influence to the elite Morean guards, the Aspidai. At his suggestion, King Georgios III had increased the number of Aspidai from 400 to 600. The 200 new guards were equipped identically to the original 400, however, there was a difference. These new 200 men were mounted, as opposed to the 400 who were infantry. The mounted Aspidai, who were now called Hippaspidai, were meant to be modern versions of Megas Alexandros' Hetairoi body guards. The original 400 Aspidai, in order to be easier distinguished from their new mounted counterparts, were renamed the Pezaspidai, or "Foot Shieldsmen" as opposed to the Hippaspidai, or "Mounted Shieldsmen".
And so Athanasios, Stephanos, and the 200 Hippaspidai led the charge into the city. Behind them ran 800 of the Morea's heavy and light infantry. They cleared the gate just in time to catch the routing Tunisians and cut them down. Athanasios cheered with delight as he cut a fleeing Tunisian down.
The Crown Prince and his Hippaspidai continued to plow deeper into the city. They headed straight for the palace. They rushed past some barrels but payed no attention to them. King Georgios had forbidden looting of the city. As they came nearer to the palace, they suddenly heard loud whooping from the roof tops around them. Athanasios called for a halt, and the Hippaspidai obeyed in perfect cohesion.
Athanasios looked around, who was making the sounds? Suddenly, men popped up in front and behind the Morean cavalry, as well as along side streets. The men tipped over the barrels which now spilled pitch across the streets. Before Athanasios could order his men to withdraw, a loud war cry rose up from the roof tops, and flaming arrows struck the pitch. Every way out was now blocked by a raging inferno. The men on the roof tops now exulted, before leaping from their vantage points and throwing the Hippaspidai from their mounts. A violent and incohesive melee began, as both sides fought in deperation...
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King Georgios III and the 400 Pezaspidai had just entered the city when he saw the flames shoot up only a few hundred feet ahead of him. He saw men on the roof tops leap down to where his son and the Hippaspidai were surrounded by fire.
He called for men to bring water from the camp to put out the flames, and meanwhile, he and the Pezaspidai rushed to the flames, trying to find any way through. But it was not meant to be. A thousand men suddenly leapt into their number from the roof tops. The Tunisians had been well prepared.
The ambushers attacked wildly, and many Pezaspidai fell in the first few seconds of the fight. Once the Moreans had regained their cohesion, they began cutting into the Tunisians with ruthless efficiency. Men fell left and right, but more seemed to keep coming. Outnumbered over two to one, and trapped in narrow streets, the Pezaspidai began to fall...
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