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4. Japan - Japan is fairly flat around the areas where most (like, the vast chunk) of the population is concentrated, so control is not as difficult as it may seem. Also, the Koreans working for the Yuan may be really entrenching themselves all over Japan in place of the Sea Clans, being better sailors in general. In fact, Japan may be the lumber mill that supplies Korean shipyards.

Well, the cities may lie on flatlands, but any Japanese commander with a brain and a pulse is going to force the mongols to fight in the hills, and the coasts, not the grassy fields the mongols would like. The Japanese have the defensive, they essentially choose the terrain unless the mongols just completely outmaneuver them, which wouldn't be as easy for them as it was in the rest of their conquests. Also, aside from the 'turtle ships' thing, where are you getting that the Koreans are better sailors than the Japanese? The Japanese are fighting the Mongols in the Rocky north and central regions, not the plains of Tokyo or Nagoya, but the rocky foothills of Fukushima and Nagano. (I admittedly do not know if these are major cities in this timeframe, but I do know that these are the general areas where the borders are meeting, so the areas remain the same, if the cities do not.) And regardless if the Mongols 'control' the Urban areas, or at least most of them, they will still have urban uprisings to deal with as well as the guerilla fighters in the hills and mountains. This scenario is much like the fighting in Afganistan, when you think about it. The Mongols might be vastly superior as far as pure manpower and firepower, but the Japanese have the home advantage, probably more fanatical soldiers, (If not because of the fairly militaristic society, then purely out of the need to defend their homeland from invasion, an invading force will always have less incentive than a defending force to win.) and not only a distinct advantage in the general terrain which would be fought on, but the very fighting style which is used by the Mongols will likely be rather ineffective against the Japanese. Mongol tactics rely on causing a rout, or chaos in the enemy ranks, usually by either scare tactics (catapulting dead corpses, fire arrows, being led by generally badass dudes who burn entire nations to the ground, etc.) or by hit and run tactics and feigned routs and charges meant to lure a portion of the army into a disorderly attack or retreat, leaving a gap which can be quickly exploited by the fast mongol horse. The Japanese will likely be disciplined enough to resist these tactics, and the commanders surely know these tricks by now, meaning as long as the soldiers do not become so worried to act of their own accord, against orders, (Which all but the most untrained levies would not do.) the ranks will stay orderly and the mongols will be unable to gain the opening they desire. In mountainous or forested terrain, with no exposed flank or gap in the lines, the mongol horse will be almost completely useless, except to pepper the lines with arrows and wait for their korean foot levies to possibly create some kind of opportunity. Forcing the Mongols to rely on poorly trained Korean and Chinese levy troops, rather than their vaunted cavalry would undoubtedly spell the defeat of the Mongol invaders, and the liberation of the Japanese Isles.
 
The mongols have proven themselves quite good at breaking the fighting spirit of more than one warrior culture, and according to the map have managed to take quite a good part of the Japanese isles more populated areas.

What is of interest is rather the fighting forces left on the two sides, since a stalemate would work to the natives benefit over time. And regardless of whether the mongols manage a complete win or not it is quite possible the will find the samurai to stubborn to rule and 'deconstruct' the system, replacing them with more obedient bureaucrats and keeping the figurehead emperor around for legitimacy.

As for the forsets'n'hills oh noes, the mongols have overcome similar obstacles several times, it would take quite the japanese commander to outwit them at their own game.
 
Looks like the partial occupation of Japan spurrs more discussion than the victory over the Danes :D.

About Japan: I wonder if the Mongols are even willing to invest more resources into the conquest than they do now. The Japanese Isles are horribly short of riches and resources to conquer. Are the Mongols willing to fight to the death with the clans in terrain that doesn't suit them over a handful of rice, while the rich cities and bountiful fields of the Sung await plundering? I guess some kind of peacedeal (Japan nominally independent, but lead by a Mongol friendly shogun and paying tribute tot the Khan) might be the most costeffective solution for the pragmatic Khans.
 
I wonder if the Mongols are even willing to invest more resources into the conquest than they do now.

The question of course is; how much have they invested, how much have they lost and how much more would be necessary for complete victory? How many can they ship over and supply? They can't have sent that many, but clearly initial battles have heavily favored the mongols.

Its possible a relatively small force landed, lured out the japanese to a field of their choosing and butchered the samurai wholesale, leaving some mop up work in the hilly north.

It is equally possible that a core of professional fighters survived the initial setbacks and are now entrenched in inhospitable terrain, both sides unwilling to engage on the others terms...


BT, satisfy our bloodlusting curiosity! :D
 
BT, satisfy our bloodlusting curiosity! :D

Hear, hear!
And maybe also explain why Kyoto is in the ocean between Honshu and Shikoku?:p

The question of course is; how much have they invested, how much have they lost and how much more would be necessary for complete victory? How many can they ship over and supply? They can't have sent that many, but clearly initial battles have heavily favored the mongols.

Given the traditional samurai opportunism, it would only take one well-publicized victory and maybe a paper-thin veil of legitimacy to win the Mongols the allegiance of a whole host of dissatisfied warriors who wanted an excuse to kill their rich neighbors/cousins/immediate lords. And considering the fact that both the Imperials and Shoguns were virtual prisoners of the Hojo regency by this point, I doubt they'd have trouble finding a legitimate figurehead.

It is equally possible that a core of professional fighters survived the initial setbacks and are now entrenched in inhospitable terrain, both sides unwilling to engage on the others terms...

Northern really wasn't all that inhospitable; and traditonally it was where the nastiest warriors were found. If the Mongols are fighting in... a...

Aaagh! Nonono! Bad Antoku! Very bad Antoku! Stop derailing the thread to speculate on an offhand side note based on almost no TTL information.

Uhm, anyway.
Did anyone else get the sense that if Thomas (by which I really mean Nikephoros) wins, Thomas and Alexandros would suddenly meet with tragic and entirely accidental deaths? He doesn't strike me as the type to settle for one third of supreme power, particularly if one of his partners was unstable and the other was halfway competent (maybe I'm just conditioned by this AAR to equate "politically astute" with "assassination-happy kinslayer").

But I don't really see Nikephoros having the military force or political capital to truly weld the Empire together once he got it - in an empire bursting with Komnenids, at least one vassal would always have at least as big a power base and at least as good a claim, and once you've set the precedent of marching on the capital, it's hard to persuade people it doesn't work. Batatzes would have the same problem, I think. No matter how brilliant a tactician he is, I doubt he'd be able to wield any strong power outside his own troops.
And even if Andronikos crushes all the current rebellions, he can't afford to re-centralize. The trend of history is moving in the opposite direction, and besides that he'll probably have to make a lot of concessions to his loyal vassals to keep them loyal. And after two centuries of ever-increasing feudalization, how much real control would that leave him? At best, he'll end up a very prestigious Suzerain who's friends with all his well-armed potential usurpers. And even if he somehow keeps the peace with all of them, I doubt they'll keep peace with each other.

Is this the way the Empire falls? Inevitably indecisive victories?
 
Well, the cities may lie on flatlands, but any Japanese commander with a brain and a pulse is going to force the mongols to fight in the hills, and the coasts, not the grassy fields the mongols would like.

Southern China IRL is much the same, complete with fortresses so formidable nothing in Japan of the time can match it, more people, and gunpowder artillery. Japan isn't that different from Sichuan, and Sichuan is the only reasonable gap on the way to the South.

It didn't stop the Mongols. What did partially stop the Mongols was jungles and drastic overextension. It's ten times farther from Dadu to Pagan than from Dadu to Kyoto, but they managed.

Mountain and taiga tribes resisting: the Mongols faced that too in the wars in Dauria, trans-Amur and Uriankhai. Took a long time, but they got them pacified in the end. By a long time I mean 30 years.

Also, aside from the 'turtle ships' thing, where are you getting that the Koreans are better sailors than the Japanese?

The Koreans (even under Goryeo) had a professional navy that had a nasty tendency to get hamstrung by palace politics, but was otherwise both better trained and had much better ships. As did China, actually, but the Yuan weren't that into navies IRL, unlike here. The Japanese will pit against them the Sea Clans. They are brave, resourceful and ruthless, and the wokou were rightly feared, attacking Ningpo several times, frex (though always driven out). But if the Yuan take them more seriously than OTL, it's not that difficult to eradicate the Japanese nobles on the Islands and the West Coast, their families' strongholds being sine non qua for the wokou. And the Yuan/Goryeo could take care of fortified islands, see what happened to the Sambyeolcho.

I'm talking about Korean merchants and navy officials taking over from the Sea Clans. If the Sea Clans are defeated, they'd be fools not to take advantage of the situation.

The Mongols might be vastly superior as far as pure manpower and firepower, but the Japanese have the home advantage, probably more fanatical soldiers, (If not because of the fairly militaristic society, then purely out of the need to defend their homeland from invasion, an invading force will always have less incentive than a defending force to win.) and not only a distinct advantage in the general terrain which would be fought on, but the very fighting style which is used by the Mongols will likely be rather ineffective against the Japanese.

Everything you say is true, but one has to remember that IRL the Mongol forces landed in Japan to fight against defended beaches (in fact, the Kamakura knew exactly where the landing would take place and built a wall across the beach)...and the Japanese STILL found the fighting really difficult, with the Mongols being both horrendously outnumbered and out of supply (one Japanese historian actually says the Yuan ran out of arrows) due to the storms and unable to really set up a beach-head.

The Japanese will likely be disciplined enough to resist these tactics, and the commanders surely know these tricks by now, meaning as long as the soldiers do not become so worried to act of their own accord, against orders, (Which all but the most untrained levies would not do.) the ranks will stay orderly and the mongols will be unable to gain the opening they desire. In mountainous or forested terrain, with no exposed flank or gap in the lines, the mongol horse will be almost completely useless, except to pepper the lines with arrows and wait for their korean foot levies to possibly create some kind of opportunity. Forcing the Mongols to rely on poorly trained Korean and Chinese levy troops, rather than their vaunted cavalry would undoubtedly spell the defeat of the Mongol invaders, and the liberation of the Japanese Isles.

The Kamakura infantry that fought on the beaches was mostly composed of mercenaries and volunteers, who were exactly what you fear: fanatical but undisciplined, not to mention mostly unarmoured. You don't need tumens for them; Korean marines with their bows would do just fine, provided there's no storms, not to mention the actual navy with its cannon and rockets. The disciplined infantry would probably be the levies, which took little part in the historic Yuan invasions. I don't know how they'd perform. Generally speaking, it was the Yuan infantry that was disciplined and the Samurai and auxillaries impetuous, the two times they actually did meet.

The period Japanese nobles fought much like the Mongols, actually, ahorse and with bow, peppering, retreating, and charging after the levy mass cracked...except they had worse horses than the Mongols and a great big liking to fighting duels and single combats. Especially when dismounted. This was still relatively effective against other Japanese armies. What the Mongols could do to them is incomparably worse, not to mention that by that time the Mongols could assemble heavy cavalry charges as well, something the Japanese had never faced to date, and dealt really poorly with even as late as the Imjin war. The terrifying Takeda cavalry famously lost against Oda because his men were behind fortifications; I doubt the Hojo commanders would immediately think of that one once the war really gets going on the central plains, and the Takeda cavalry wouldn't terrify anyone of consequence on the continent, by comparison.

The Japanese of the time had indifferent siegecraft, which lead to noble armies retreating behind walls quite often; it was a legit battle tactic. Kublai sent his forces with the kind of equipment that managed to conquer Sichuan and the string of fortresses along the Yangtzi. The best Japanese walls would be lucky to last even a week.

If the Yuan do get ashore, they will be able to beat the initial force, after which the flimsy Kamakura structure would crack (it benefitted greatly from the failed Yuan invasion IRL), after which the rebellious nobles would soon find that their castles mean nothing to the Chinese. The Yuan would win the land war, and keep winning until the situation you describe occurs; but by then, hopefully, they have established some sort of puppet government and a stalemate would develop.

Finally, those Northern Nobles - do they not want the goods and the riches and the honours? Would they hide out in Tohoku, grimly and resolutely, shooting Yuan and Korean merchants (not to mention the Shikoku clans?) on sight, and exchanging raids with the Shoguns? If you were an Abe noble, would you really do that for decades or even centuries?

Eventually, the Yuan domination of Japan will fail, yes. But it is possible that it will take a suprisingly long time.

---

Anyway, I'm obviously biased, and this is dreadfully OT. Cheers!
 
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Observe. this is a Korean Admiral: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Sun-sin , admitedly not from the period, but 2 centuries later but still...
And this is one of his battles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Myeongnyang

Yes, and he used the feared Turtle Ships in many of his battles (though not that particular one it seems). In addition his navy was using much more modern tactics by that time, not boarding and fighting on the enemy ships, but rather using firepower to destroy the enemy ships from a distance (which by the way was not even being done by the Europeans at this time, this was a HUGE innovation in naval warfare.) This was not thought of in the 1200's or 1300's in Korea, so this is not a factor here. But that guy is just one admiral. Because he was a great admiral and decimated a Japanese navy, does not mean every Korean has a natural aptitude for admiralty and the Japanese are woefully lacking in the same skills.
Your citing this one admiral as a representative of every Korean admiral is like me using the Battle of Waterloo as a representation of Anglo-French military history in general. One victory does not make supremacy, neither does one great admiral mean the Japanese are worse sailors. It just means they were not a match for that man at that particular time.
 
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Your citing this one admiral as a representative of every Korean admiral is like me using the Battle of Waterloo as a representation of Anglo-French military history in general. One victory does not make supremacy,

Although on this one, one could make the argument that it does indeed serve as a fine representation of Anglo-French military history :p

...

Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. You're doing great!
 
I’m not going to lumber into the Mongol occupation debate—mostly because a) it’s far from areas that I know, and b) some authorial ambiguity might keep the tension in the story high. I actually wasn’t planning on a Mongol-Japanese interim down the line, but its apparent that the popular demand is there, so I’m going to have to dust off the few Japanese history books I have and put something together! :)

And one other general note—amidst all the news that Sortmark is defeated, Japan got invaded, a new eastern superpower might be on the rise, I was surprised no one caught the name of Alexandros’ son…:D

Siind – Kentarchos is a Greekification of “Century,” and in the original Thema System it was roughly 100. The Komnenids in this story have adopted the term as a simple smaller unit underneath the chillarchy. On paper, the kentarchos in this AAR would have a strength of roughly 250, though in practice it varies wildly.

Kirsch27 – Yes, the Danes got royally owned… this time, and only on the battlefield. Vishly, however, it still on the loose in Konstantinopolis… will they have the last laugh?

Vesimir – Thomas, very simply, is a way in for two sons of an excommunicated Emperor to get into the city. We don’t know much about how the system would evolve past that… it’s a safe guess though that Thomas would be well on his way to being a puppet like his father should Nikky and Alex get into the Queen of Cities…

FlyingDutchie – While yes, there’s no kamikaze myth, there’ll be plenty of chances for something else to arise in its place. People are good at creating myths from nothing. :)

Enewald – It’s literally there as an ulus for the descendants of Chagatai, and little more. Its militarily weaker than its neighbors, but it does sit astride the Silk Road…

Antoku – “Late” Komnenid, not “last.” :) Yes, most of the armies ringing the Med follow the tradition of the Komnenids, even if they don’t follow a Komnenid banner…

Mcy1000 – Yup! I’m not telling who the guy on the left is, however… not yet. :)

asd21593 – Thomas by himself would definitely be owned. Thomas backed by Alexandros and Nikephoros? That’s a different story…

TC Pilot – Bataczes might be tactically gifted, but he’s only got his one army, 20,000 strong or so. The Reserve Army under his buddy Tatikios has double that easily, and if he could get Tatikios to go along with a coup, there’s still the Anatolian and Syrian armies to worry about. And if Tatikios helps with a coup, he’s not likely to take a backseat with the larger army…. In short, Bataczes chances of taking the throne outright in the short term if he tried are not good. That said, as a popular and successful commander, he could definitely become a kingmaker and gain a great deal of power if he played his cards right… Long term, however, victories like these are what dynasties can be based on…

Fulcrumvale – Once I figure out how I’m going to work it in, there’s definitely going to be a post with some insight into Arghun and Altani. What we know right now is that she surrendered to him, and he let her keep Samarkand and the surrounding lands. There’s at least a lord-vassal relationship. Whether it’s a working one will depend…

armoristan – Altani was defeated, but she wasn’t destroyed. Her Nestorian state is still alive. Segeo’s in the sights of the western Komnenid armies, we’ll get an update on their progress next update. The Persian Komnenids, if Alexandros is any indication (marrying a native elite), are slowly headed towards becoming Persified. Finally, I’ve had in mind a while to do an update on culture and society, but it’s a big project that’s no where near done.

Tommy4ever – Thank you! It’s an honor to have been chosen!

RGB

1) Alex and Nikky are the antithesis of most of the Komnenids. Cooperation? What’s that?
2) Because Thomas is an idiot.
3) Still being worked out in my brain. I know where things are headed, just not how they get there…
4) I’m staying mum on Japan.
5) Its the way of the future in the Roman world… though after the plagues, huge numbers of standing tagma are likely to be one of the first things that go…

balkanite – Welcome to the AAR! You’re almost at the end!

Frozenwall – Staying mum on Japan. :)

4th Dimension – Definitely staying mum on Korean sailors and the like. :)

Hawkeye1489 – For most of their history, the French were the martial badasses everyone copied. It’s only been in the last final blip of history that they’ve foundered some… ;)
 
Alexandros. Why? Is it because of some interim long ago talking of a Alexandros the ?th being awesome? Or Alexandros Megas? Or whatever?

I think you're thinking of the emperors-reincarnated-as-gamers interim, where we found out there was an Emperor Alexandros and a King Alexandros of Persia. Someone less lazy than me want to find the page number? It was pretty early...
 
Suddenly remembered some references to an Alexandros II Megas. Could young Alexandros be that chap? Wonder if he will be Emperor of Romaion or of Persia...
 
I think you're thinking of the emperors-reincarnated-as-gamers interim, where we found out there was an Emperor Alexandros and a King Alexandros of Persia. Someone less lazy than me want to find the page number? It was pretty early...

Sigh... I did this once already, like ten pages ago.

Yep, in this post he foreshadowed Alexandros II Megas.

The question in my mind is whether he will be "Alexander II, the Great," or "Alexander the Great II."

It's a very significant distinction, considering the legacy of the name.
 
Hawkeye1489 – For most of their history, the French were the martial badasses everyone copied. It’s only been in the last final blip of history that they’ve foundered some… ;)

I know, it was meant to be a joke in the spirit of Blackadder to interject into the discussion on Korean/Japanese sailing ability since I had no idea what was going on because my knowledge of history stops somewhere around Baghdad geographically. At any rate it seems to have fallen flat on its face. At any rate, keep it up BT! I want to know what happens next! And with Altani! And...everything!
 
Hi, General_BT, just wanted to drop a line and let you know that I'm getting back to this truly splendid AAR, after having been reminded of it by your recent award. With my present schedule I half despair of catching up, but I can always hope :D.
 
TheHyphenated1 - Hey, thanks for sticking around! There's no rush, this isn't a race (and if it was, your prize is waiting for the next update instead of reading it whenever you want... not the best prize in the world...) Go at your own pace, this story does have an end... eventually... :D

Hawkeye1489 - Ah. Blackadder. Joke. My mind did not catch these things. My mind can be very slow. Molasses slow. :)

AlexanderPrimus - Thanks for proofreading, buddy. :)

FlyingDutchie - A huge distinction that is...

Antoku - Thank AP. Its also in the Table of Contents too as an interim, I believe...

Vesimir - Alexandros the nth is a sign you have too many Alexanders running around. :)

And now I have something special... I'm not sure what the special occasion is for it, more its something that's been on my mind for a while. As a warning:

IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED, STOP READING NOW.​

==========*==========

The End of All Things


April 8th, 1353

Gregorios Stefanopoulos, like the thousands gathered outside the Thomasine Walls of the Queen of Cities, craned his head to see over the masses of people. While Gregorios was nothing more than a shepherd outside those great and forbidding walls, he, like any man, was curious. Curious enough he left his wife, that insufferable shrew, as well as his eldest son to watch his flock over the hills and dales to the north.

Curious to see the Megas Komnenos, the Emperor of Christendom, the most powerful man in the world.

As he strained over a tall Bulgarian to his front, he made out the massed plumes of the Oikoi Hetaratoi, Kaisar Petros grimly at their front, sword at ready. Gregorios had only barely heard of the man—a warrior, a giant with salt and peppered hair. Only a man of such large frame would have fit on that immense white stallion. Behind him, beside him, for a thousand ranks wide and an unknown number deep, stood the massed tagmata of the Imperial Army, spears sharp in the morning light.

komnenid1.jpg

Gregorios grunted as a Spaniard shoved by him rudely. He pushed the man back, uttering a few words of Greek about where the man could shove his head. Gregorios, like most of the men, had seen his fair share of service—he’d been a politikos in the Reserve Army during the civil wars, and knew his way around a spear and a dagger as well as any other. When the wars had ended, he, like so many others, never received their land—a small amount of coin and whatever loot he’d acquired were his—that was all. So the son of Stefan had returned to what he knew—a shepherd’s crook and the bleating of sheep in the morning.

Finally the long blare of trumpets split the morning air, followed by the whump, snap! of thousand of soldiers coming to attention. Gregorios turned to the famous St. Michael’s Gate, the Gate of War, the traditional avenue of Emperors marching to the field since its construction by the Apokathistos. All eyes followed him, people craning, straining, trying to see. The shepherd distantly made out a small group of riders—men in mail and purple, carrying kontoi that streamed the saints of the Empire, and prayers to the Almighty. At the head of the small column was a man clad entirely in the color imperial, his white stallion resplendent with gilt barding.

Gregorios had seen the Emperor once before—it’d been fifteen years ago, when Gregorios had still been a lad. That day had been filled with pomp and ceremony—thousands of mailed men and soldiers on parade, the color and class of the great Basilioi and their retainers from Samarkand to Basiliopolis, a triumph that signaled the end of that long, dark civil war. The Emperor had been younger then, hale and hearty, full of promise. That triumph was supposed to mark the end of the long dark tunnel, where the horrors of the plague, the Persian invasion, and the civil war could be forgotten. It was supposed to signify the start of a new era, where the peace and prosperity of the Apokathistos would be renewed.

Now, the murmurs in the crowd spoke of the ill times—some merchants from Alexandria spoke loudly of an eclipse seen in Tripoli, while men from the East talked of the plague’s return, killing in hours instead of days, leaving blood on its victim’s lips. Others muttered angrily of yet more taxes, more levies, and Gregorios was inclined to agree. The False Pope in Hamburg was raising another to be Emperor in Germany, the Franks no longer sent tribute as they once had. The promises of peace and prosperity had disappeared as annually more and more of his meager coin was taken up by taxmen, some from the Emperor, some from his local lord, all wanting their share. As if the monies made from a herd of fifty-four sheep amounted to much to go around.

Now as the Emperor rode closer, Gregorios could see how the years had changed the man. Where there’d been a young man, now there was an old whitebeard, wrinkles from years of worry cutting deep into his face. His back was no longer as straight as the pikes carried by the formed soldiers, but stooped slightly with wearied age. There was no smile on his face, only grimness, and a dark determination. Gregorios’ father had often spoke of what the ill-fated Patriarch long ago had said—that this emperor was bound that his will be done on Earth, no matter of if man or God stood in his way. Even well past his 60th year, that same brooding iron was apparent in those cold eyes.

richardharris.jpg

Gregorios remembered his wife’s words from that morning, and held back his spittle. Others did not, some shouting over the massed ranks of the soldiers that the man in purple was a warmonger, a scoundrel, accursed by God. Others shouted the dissenters down, saying he was a hero, who had brought glory to The City, and that those Easterners, those fake Christians, those fat Persian lords, would be driven back as they had been driven away from the city long before. Tussles erupted, a few blows were exchanged—neither the imperial horsemen, nor his guards, nor the massed ranks of the army, paid them any attention.

Finally the man reached the center of that long, grim line of men, sharpened weapons and shining helms glinting in the sunlight. He reined up his horse—or was it the rider’s next to him adding to his feeble grip?—and the scrape of metal thundered in the air as nineteen tagmata drew their blades as one. A storm of light erupted across the plain—Gregorios cursed and blinked.

“Emperor of the Romans, Lord of Two Seas, King of the Two Rivers, Sole Vice Gerent of Our Lord, we salute you!” voices rumbled in a multitude of languages, a veritable thunder that crashed through the clear sky.

An aged, weary hand rose, and as quickly as they’d been drawn, those thousands of blades found their scabbards. The wind kicked up, banners and cloaks began to rustle. Gregorios blinked—he could see the man’s mouth moving, but he couldn’t hear the words. He turned and shushed a loud couple next to him, but still, nothing. He leaned closer, straining to hear. He caught bits and pieces—a congratulations, a thanks for their service in the ruinous civil war only a decade before. Then there were words that promised them one last campaign, one last hurrah, before peace would come as in the days of old. More words, these saying the Patriarch had been proven wrong, that God’s grace fell on the Throne of Caesars despite its alliance with the Aionites.

Words of encouragement, words of hope.

Words of wrath, words of vengeance.

Something about the Persians—Gregorios assumed it was the usual. That they only called themselves Christian but that they were truly Muslim, that they laid in plush divans surrounded by harems, that they consorted with Mongol and Dane alike, that they danced the devil’s dance and played the devil’s drums. There were more words—they’re leader, that Amazon, how she threatened the Christian world. Gregorios’ ears perked up, he listened more closely—he’d heard all sorts of wives tales about the Empress of Persian, how she led men in battle, how she drank the blood of virgins to keep her youth, how she laid with Mongols and beasts of the field. He’d assumed that was all rubbish, but now, as he heard the words from his Emperor’s mouth, he couldn’t help but wonder…

…was it all true? Maybe the dearth, the privation that this massive army had caused would be worth it?

Finally the Emperor’s speech ended, its final words too soft, to creaky for the shepherd to hear. The aged man’s retainers turned his warlike stallion, until that ancient face was turned towards the imposing Thomasine Walls. A wrinkled hand rose once more, and Gregorios heard the Emperor call out the famous words first muttered almost a hundred years before:

“Close the Gate of Saint Michael, and let the world know that the Romans are to war!”

Horses whinnied, iron and steel creaked, and those great bronze doors, always open, always welcome to any trader, merchant, or commoner heading towards the Queen of Cities, heaved and moaned. At first, they wouldn’t budge—Gregorios heard the cracks of whips, and even more frantic whinnies from the panicked draft horses. Finally, the left gate, groaning under the stress, began to close, then the right. A full minute later, the two doors slammed together, a final, metallic clang echoing across the plains of Thrace.

Gregorios had no idea that neither he, nor his son, nor his son’s son, would live to see those bronze doors opened again…
 
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Somewhat spoilerific, but a very interesting glimpse into Romaions future. Really like all the allusions to Marcus Aurelius rule. Guess the future will be the same for Romaion: the Pax Romana finally ends, the barbarians (German and otherwise) are stirring again and the Empire is finally collapsing under its own weight.
Guess the Byzantine renaissance would be pretty interesting, with Spain? discovering the New World and its riches. Guess it will only be a year or 2 before we find out :D.