SUENIK THE BELEAGUERED
CHAPTER 66 - PARTY TIME!
(1167-1168)
Well, you all must be itching to know what the celebration I've got planned is, eh? After all, a hundred years of glorious Gardman-Aghbania rule requires something pretty special, right? Hold that thought - we'll come back to the celebrations shortly. Until then, let's see how the war with the Emir of Mosul is going, shall we?
Poor him - his vassals didn't even come to his assistance; instead they choose to sit back and listen to my armies rampaging over his demesne and subduing it. I believe the Arabs have a word for that sound - it's called the sound of inevitability.
So... This celebration? Well...
Hang on...
What's that?
I summon Mleh and demand that he feed the current Royal Cartographer to the piranhas! Who the hell decided to paint Emba (wherever that is) the same colour as the Empire???
You all know what this means, don't you?
Thankfully Emba is defended by one man and his dog...
...so it's all over and done with rather quickly. I also decide to wrest this sandy arse-end-of-nowhere from it's existing ruler (if you can call "man who lives in tent and rules over a few hundred people and some camels" a ruler) and hand it over to the safekeeping of the Church.
Let's get converting those heathens! That would be a suitable addition to the celebrations!
Speaking of which, what I'm planning is...
What?
Obviously the decision to convert Emba hasn't gone down too well with her neighbours! Never mind, Aral is promptly dispatched and it's lands handed over to the (somewhat befuddled) Bishop of Emba. More heathens for you to play with. Have fun!
While he's working on the locals I can carry on with my plans for...
Would you believe it? Someone's knocking on my door! WHAT NOW?
Oh.
My decision to extend the One True Faith into the far east is really not going down well with the local one province minors who are making a brave, but foolish, stand against my "religious imperialism". Our next plucky contender is this guy:
Unbelievably they slaughter my armies and before I know where I am the very capital of the Empire is under siege!
...
Only kidding - they get the whupping that their hubris deserves and are shackled into the Empire.
Next!
No takers?
So - my celebration...
What would really show just how far Suenik has come in the last one hundred years?
What would make it clear to the world our metamorphosis from backwater little county on the verge of annihilation, to one of the world's dominant powers?
Hmm...
I know!
Are you ready for this?
Here's a clue:
Yup - I'm going to wipe the Seljuk Turks off the face of God's earth.
Happy Birthday Suenik!
Will Aboulgharib fulfill his promise? Do the Turks have any fight left in them? Is this a step too far for Suenik? Stay tuned for the next exciting episode of Suenik - Land of the Beleaguered!