Bastions
Chapter Forty Two: Twilight in the East
Part 1
Prelude:
The succession of Tarnovo under Prince Constantine was followed by the leader of the Serbian rebels, Stefan Dušan, declaring himself Tsar of the Serbs. The Bulgarians used this to their advantage and slipped out "unnoticed" while the Roman Empire faced invasion from two sides. In the east, Armenia quickly made huge gains, including capturing the ever important island of Cyprus. In the west, Serbia marched southwards, conquering the core of Hellas. Emperor Æthelstan was left vulnerable, retreating from the public eye and leaving more and more power in the hands of his sister Isabel and his wife Helena. The two women essentially ruled the Empire, starting a period known as the "Haremocracy". Isabel was the most powerful woman in the world, and one of the most powerful people over-all. But there was a light in the distance for Isabel; she was still of child bearing age, and if she could forge a marriage with a powerful neighbor, she could unite Rome with another state, usurping her brother and securing her own standing in the world. However, Rome was surrounded by only by enemies. There was no state that would think of forging such bonds with Isabel. But there was one state that could use an ally and was looking for an excuse to invade Armenia: the Seljuk Empire. In the past, the once might Seljuks would have simply stated their intentions to invade and would have quickly received a writ of surrender. Now they had to find allies like any other nation at war. Within, their political structure was crumbling as the power shifted away from the monarchy and toward powerful warlords that controlled the territories.
Rome's military situation in 1365.
February 20th, 1365
The stench of sweat and shame hung heavily over Isabel as she clawed around the bed sheets for her clothes. Warlord Afzal bin Yaqub watched with a smile, sweat still running down his bare chest. "You know," he started, thoughts of a round four growing in his head, "The Egyptians have paid me greatly for my loyalty. I am not sure you have earned my trust. I command the army of Syria; I surround the lands of Jerusalem; I am worth more than this, am I not?" Isabel looked at him wearily: her shoulder sore from several bites and her legs drained of their normal strength from hours of convincing. But her weariness, her shame fed Afzal's glee. He wanted to see the most powerful woman in Europe naked and crying in front of him. It made him think of metaphors for his poetry later. But most of all, when the Seljuks collapsed, he wanted to know he could quickly gobble up Armenia and guarantee his dominance over the Near East. He would be a slave no more. And if he could, he'd snatch this Roman up and make her his bride, and then he would usurp the crown of the Seljuks for his future sons. The possibilities were endless.
"What would you have me do, Warlord?" she asked.
"Join me; bear my sons so that I might rule the world with you at my side. Convert to the light of Islam and together we shall rule East and West." As he spoke he but his hands on her hips and tried to force her around. Isabel knew she was too far gone, her methods had backfired. But she had put much into this mission, so she nodded as she lowered herself on to him.
"But you shall owe me a dowry," she said.
"Anything for the Queen!"
"I want the Queen of Cities: the whole of Rome to bow before us!"
But in Constantinople, Emperor Æthelstan was none the wiser, believing his sister had left to secure trade and peace with the Seljuks. Lord-Protector Doyvát had remained through the winter, despite the encroaching of the Serbians. He planned to understand the Romans thoroughly before he left. It meant working with them as a sort of advisor, despite his own treacheries he was the best thing going for the Romans. Rome needed to have its fat trimmed. The Prussian Prince watched as Æthelstan ate honey smothered fruits off a plate of solid gold. "How long do you think you have with your sister working behind your back?" he asked honestly.
Æthelstan put his next fruit down and looked at his guest quizzically, "What do you mean?"
"Really? You do not sense that you are in terrible danger with her running things?" Doyvát said in a very matter-of-fact tone. He scratched at a week of beard growth and watched the Emperor shrug and continue with his lunch. "Indrátsak! My lord, this is idiotic. I am literally watching you sleep through the destruction of the Roman Empire. You are not Caesar! You are not Augustus! Those men had to work to make Rome safe, the Serbians and Armenians are not just going to stop because you want them too. They will march on this city and then what will you do?"
Æthelstan finished his fruit and then sat there blankly. "I don't know," he said after a brief pause.
"You... you don't know? Your plan thus far has been eat fruit, wait for sister to solve everything, and then resume collecting taxes as normal? Do you get how stupid that is?"
"Please," a voice from behind said, "Leave my husband alone, you put so much stress on him... It does him no good." Helena walked over to her husband and draped her arms around him. She glared at Doyvát who just continued stroking his stubble.
"Helena, I have to ask you. Why listen to Isabel? What does she know? She whores herself out for power, but forgets that puts her at the mercy of others. She turns to the Seljuks for help overthrowing the monarchy, but where does that leave you?" Doyvát said. Then after a brief thought he said, "Safe... actually. The Seljuks are on the verge of collapse and civil war. The Turkish Sultan shall be no more, her Warlords forced to fend for themselves. Egypt will make its move. Her deals witll yield nothing."
Helena shook with anger, but Æthelstan seemed to wake, "What do you mean 'overthrow the monarchy?'" Doyvát took out a folded piece of parchment, the seal broken but still intact enough to be identified as Isabel's. He handed it to the Emperor who read over it briefly and then turned in horror to his wife. "This says you are supposed to keep me distracted and that she'd be returning in a month or so. 'If you can let the Serbians take Athens so Constantinople is cut off from Morea'?" He pushed her off of his shoulders and stood up.
"It is a fake, that damn Prussian has stolen your sister's seal! I have seen him poking around in places he does not belong, speaking to those who should be left alone!" She pointed an accusing finger at Doyvát who just shrugged.
"I am only a knight, my lady. Not a spy master. You give me far too much credit." Doyvát could not stop a malicious smile from spreading across his face. "Æthelstan, I strongly suggest that you surrender to the Serbians before they get too many visions of grandeur in their heads. Then you can focus solely on Armenia again."
"That is exactly what a Prussian would say! Husband, he is trying to weaken Rome! Weaken you!"
"What about Isabel and the Seljuks?" Æthelstan asked.
"Forget about them. Don't send a ship to pick her up, and the Seljuks will dissolve soon enough anyway," Doyvát said. Æthelstan nodded and then, pushing Helena away, sat back down. Failure hung about him as if it was a dark cloud. "Once they do, they will be no threat to Rome. Cut your losses in the Balkans. They are Christian and can be brought back in the fold. Don't lose to Armenia."
Æthelstan nodded and he turned to his wife, "Leave... while I still care for you enough not to have you killed." Doyvát watched as Helena slowly turned and then ran from the room.
"There is much to be done, my lord, and I cannot promise Rome will emerge unscathed. But it will emerge under your rule," Doyvát said sternly.
The Emperor dismissed his plate holder and fanners with a flick of his wrist and then turned to face Doyvát directly, "Then what should I do?"