All hope lies in Rome -- A science fiction Byzantine AAR

Chapter 6: Softsword vs Sword of Sunnis



Emperor Bardas was so impressed with the Illuminati. They had assembled a dedicated military order, known as the Brotherhood. Clad in white, the Brotherhood consisted on warriors (both male and female) who believed in the Illuminati's purpose to save the world. Reed quickly briefed the Illuminati to ready themselves within the day.



The Sunnis had a special military force known as the Order. Calling themselves the Sword of the Sunnis, they proved no match for the Brotherhood at the Battle of Pella. Using grenades launched from hollow tubes, the Order's lines was disrupted before the Brotherhood's heavy cavalry mopped up the stragglers.





Reed however, did not manage to see the end of the war. He passed away peacefully as reports of victory at Irbid started coming in.



As the Illuminati mourned for their founder, Emperor Bardas followed the strategies recommended by his late friend. Suskind was more than happy to elaborate. If they could take the coastal areas from the Arabian empire, the Sunni Caliph would suffer from an economic recession. Less money would mean less logistics and therefore even smaller troop numbers for the Caliph.

After the war, Emperor Bardas gratefully donated the territory of Aleppo to the Illuminati and the Brotherhood. Nevertheless, Ecumenical Patriarch Diogenes, the new Illuminati leader was unprepared for the emperor's next offer.

Emperor Bardas requested, "I want to join the Illuminati."


The Empire in 911

DKM said:

Looks like your doing pretty good. Question- In-game did you boost your military tech to max to show the guns and grenades or is all of that just in the story?

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I did not change anything in the game files, but I'm just playing normally on Ironman mode. I'm simply telling a story. Thanks for your interest!

Chapter 7: Look, a son!

Emperor Bardas attended Reed's funeral respectfully. Breaking with the Orthodox Christian tradition, he allowed Suskind to raise a rune stone dedicated to Reed. After the ceremony, the blonde lady approached the Emperor. Reed's last words were for Bardas-- "All hope lies in Rome".



The emperor knew what Reed meant. Reed often shared dark glimpses of the future, and now the responsibility of preventing the Great Mistake laid with the stability of the Empire. Yet he had pressing matters to deal with. Despite his military victories, Emperor Bardas was still called "Soft Sword". His wife Empress Theochariste hated Bardas, and borne him only a daughter. He needed a son.



A few years into the marriage, Theochariste was assassinated. With careful detective work from the Illuminati, members of the Senate were found responsible. They had hated a heretic as an empress. The Emperor had all those who were involved executed. The Senate was temporary suspended, leaving the Diocese to choose the next bride. An exotic Ethiopian was chosen.



Unfortunately, she died in childbirth. Yet another daughter was born. The Diocese worked their connections to find a pretty English lady.



She too, died in childbirth. Frustrated, Emperor Bardas held an Illuminati meeting. He wanted to know if they could help him.



Ecumenical Patriarch Diogenes paused a moment. Even though Reed was no longer with them, they continued their scientific research. They had developed a drug that could increased blood flow to the relevant areas. It would increase the fertility of Emperor Bardas.



Within weeks, Empress Heledd announced her pregnancy. The empire held its breathe as it was revealed that the new baby was male. Taking reference from the Bible, Emperor Bardas called his son Reuben meaning "Look, a son!". The challenge of having a male heir was over.



Turning to the Illuminati, he rewarded them with riches to continue their research. Ecumenical Patriarch Diogenes decided to reallocate funds to the youthful Bishop Mendel, who was working on pea plants. Despite objections from his peers, Bishop Mendel insisted that his work on plant offspring would be beneficial to the empire in the long run.

"We will breed a super-soldier."


The Empire in 922

LumberKing said:

Achievement hunting?

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Not really. I'm just playing-by-ear.

Chapter 8: Rome reports

With the restoration of the Alexandrian church, Emperor Bardas was troubled. Despite being a member of the Illuminati, he was often kept in the dark about certain details. The Brotherhood soldiers had armour of inter-locking plates that prevented piercing damage from arrows or blades. Some of the Illuminati members had glasses that enabled them to see great distances. In their territory of Aleppo, the monks were using ink that enabled them to write on almost any surface.

Such technology was not shared with the rest of the Imperial officers, and Emperor Bardas went to meet with his new Ecumenical Patriarch Euthymios.



Patriarch Euthymios explained that it was Reed's vision not to share technology unnecessarily. If such information leaked globally, it would accelerate the coming of the Great Mistake. Emperor Bardas was unsatisfied with answer, but moved on to other matters. His forces were at the doorstep of Rome, and demanded the Pope's immediate surrender. Naturally the Pope rejected the offer, calling on all Catholics to protect their mother church. However, the Holy Roman Empire was too busy dealing with the Norse pagans to help Rome. The French was occupied defending against Sunni Spain. The Kingdoms of Scotland and England were locked together in a succession crisis.

Only the Swiss Guard heeded the call of the Pope, and launched a surprise amphibious invasion of Byzantine-controlled Croatia. Nevertheless, through an efficient network of telegrams, the Brotherhood was ready for the invasion, scoring a victory at the Battle of Attienities, while Emperor Bardas personally led the Varangian guard into the gates of Rome.



With the fall of Rome, and the restoration of the Roman church, Ecumenical Patriarch Euthymios approached Emperor Bardas with a proposal on the structure of the Illuminati.



The Illuminati would be led by the Ecumenical Patriarch, and vice-leadership would be under the Patriarchs of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem, and the Grandmaster of the Brotherhood. The Ecumenical Patriarch would also lead the Diocese (as one of the houses of Parliament; the other being the Senate) to support the Illuminati in political matters. Emperor Bardas was troubled by the arrangement. Where did he fit in their plans? Was he a mere active member in the system?

"We live all the serve you, my liege," Patriarch Euthymios assured Bardas.



Emperor Bardas said nothing, and later traveled to meet his loyalist members in the Senate. The Illuminati had become too powerful for their own good. The Emperor was going to save the world -- on his own terms.



The Empire in 927

DKM said:

Are you going to mend the East-West Schism?

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Wait and see!

Chapter 9: The Fall of the Illuminati



Rome had fallen. The Christian world long having been split between the Catholics and Orthodox, now waited with bated breathe as Emperor Bardas gathered his top Orthodox theologians discussed the future of Christianity. Unlike Emperor Constantine I at the Council of Nicaea in 325, Emperor Bardas wanted to insert his political goals into the council. However, Ecumenical Patriarch Euthymios halted him. Truth could not be compromised. The theologians had to be of an independent mind.

Exposing the Donation of Constantine (a document that supported the supremacy of the papacy) as a fake, the Council of Rome agreed that all churches should be looked after by their independent Bishops. Orthodox rituals should be held, and taxes should be paid to the individual secular rulers, rather than the Pope.



After the mending the Schism, many Christian rulers chose to follow the Orthodox faith, rather than risk the wrath of the Emperor Bardas. He was now know as the Bardas the Saint-- his reputation as a "Soft Sword" was no longer applicable.



However, the Emperor was not interested in religious matters. He waited patient till Patriarch Euthymios had passed, and suddenly accused his successor as an immoral pleasure-seeker. Immediately, the Ecumenical Patriarch Alexandros II found himself imprisoned. With the Illuminati in disarray, the Varangian Guard stomped the Illuminati's fortress in Aleppo.



Nevertheless, the Illuminati had contingency plans. Immediately, a shadow cabinet was assembled as the Grandmaster, and the Patriarchs of Rome, Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem were placed under house arrest. With Bishop Mendel as their new head, he argued against resisting the emperor. A united empire was necessary to save the world. A civil war would be contrary to their noble goals. Despite the Illuminati destroying most of their research, Emperor Bardas managed to obtain his hands on Reed's theories on combustion. He ordered that his Imperial engineers worked on a project, code-named "Greek Fire".

Retiring to his palace, Emperor Bardas grinned to himself as he set out plans to dominate the world. He was surprised to see his palace guards unconscious. Before he could call for help, his mouth was covered by a firm grip.

"Yell and I'll slit your throat," a thick Northern accent threatened. Suskind released Emperor Bardas upon his agreement.

Suskind removed her camouflage cloak, that had helped her enter the palace unnoticed. A knockout gas had been pumped into the palace, causing the guards to faint. This allowed Suskind to confront her persecutor alone. She blamed Emperor Bardas for the destruction of the Illuminati, and betraying the legacy of Reed, his late best friend.

"We could have save the world; now I realised you only wanted to save yourself from obscurity."

Showing Emperor Bardas a cut-piece of his robe, Suskind reminded the emperor that she could have killed him anytime. In honour of Reed, she chose not to.



After her statements, she threw her cloak back on and vanished into the night. It would be the last time Emperor Bardas saw her.



Meanwhile in the outskirts of Memphis, Bishop Mendel looked at plans to rebuild the Illuminati. From this day forward, they would work in the shadows.


The Empire in 934

Chapter 10: A chance at redemption



He was a man with no name. However he did not need one. His deeds were more famous than his words. As part of the Varangian Guard, he fought bravely against the pagan Hungarians at the battle of
Sibenik. It was then that the youth was given a name-- the Serbian Wolf.



Now to understand how awesome that name was, you did not simply call one a "wolf" for being soft-spoken and having back-injuries carrying heavy items. "Wolf" was a name that you gave people who ate German Knights for breakfast. Furthermore, "Wolf" was not just a name. It was a gurgling sound one makes when he receives a blow with an energy of a million exploding suns to his gut.

It was a little wonder that Emperor Reuben saw potential in the warrior. At the age of 16, Wolf led an assault into Cyrenaica and secured it for the Empire.



Soon, he was appointed to lead the Emperor's body guard. His success soon became his downfall. During a battle with the African Sultan, Wolf fought off waves of African soldiers and dodged an arrow that was aimed directly at him. Seeing a clear path to the Sultan, he charged single-mindedly towards his target and swung his battleaxe at any unfortunate poor sod who stood in his way. Within minutes he captured the Sultan and forced a surrender. However, it was a Pyrrhic victory. The arrow he had earlier dodged pierced the neck of the unsuspecting Emperor Reuben, causing his infant son Constantine VII to succeed him.



Blamed for the negligence, leading to the death of the Emperor, Wolf found himself chucked into the dungeons of Constantinople to await his trial and eventual execution. As Wolf began to regret joining the Varangian Guard in the first place, a thick smog engulfed the prisons. Struggling to stay awake, his last thoughts were of his childhood sweetheart, whom he had promised to return to Sweden to wed.

Awakening, Wolf looked around to see himself surrounded by several Orthodox priests and a handful of Brotherhood soldiers.

"Good evening, Wolf," Bishop Mendel, leader of the Illuminati greeted. The Serbian Wolf did not respond. What did his rescuers want?

"Would you like a second chance at life?"


The Empire in 940

LumberKing said:

Is that the Holy Roman Empire in the corner?

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Yes, they controlled most of Italy