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Nope, I might try to get some real tension between them later...
canonized said:
An excellent set of chapters ! “He is not our son. We just happened to breed him.” really made me laugh , but it's really clever at the same time XD . Also , the description of a voice cold enough to kill cattle was very well done . Your diction is wonderful as always , Snugglie !
It's interesting that the "breeding"-comment is taken as humour by everyone, I thought of it as said in despise. But well, everyday-drama is often the best humour around...
Into what? Godfried City? Nah, but since it is impossible to re-name the provinces on the map, it would be somewhat a waste of time. But don't worry, eventually I'll need to instate some grand capital somewhere...
The palace of the former emir of Jerusalem, Rashid Ahmed, was larger than any castle Thiedric had seen in all his life. The entrance hall had at least four man-heights to the ceiling and pillars marked the paths that could be taken in the room. There were three exits; straight forward was the Grand Hall of the palace, even huger and richly decorated with golden quotes in Arabic; to the left was the wing with the living quarters of both nobles and servants and to the right was the refectory, the kitchen and the dining hall, as well as yet another hall that was especially designated for large feasts. Thiedric now stood together with the other German counts that had taken the cross and gone on crusade, and with them were also a few specially designated military commanders – Eckhard von Blankenheim, that had lead his Breda and Andernach-armies with great skill under the Imperial flag, was among them. Head of the delegation was the young Kuno von Nordheim, the hero of the battle of Jerusalem and the youngest son of the late Otto von Nordheim of Bavaria. Kuno was not tall nor of any significant stature, but his very character shone like an aura along his edges. He spoke loud and clearly and always aimed to get his will through, and all through gave a much more lord-like appearance than his older brother Heinrich that had inherited the ducal throne. Kuno had had to be satisfied with being count of Innsbruck, but with the conquest of Jerusalem he was now one of the most celebrated men in Christendom.
The German delegation was also flanked by a few translators and the French duke of Oultrejordain, i.e. all the French lands in Outremer; Bertrand Capet, the oldest son of the French king Philippe Capet and heir to the throne. For a passerby it would be obvious that had it not been for the importance to keep the two crusader-duchies on friendly terms, Duke Bertrand would never have stood there. He and his followers stood a few meters away from the Germans, as if to show that they did not belong to each other, they just happened to be on the same side of the negotiation-table. Also present was the Armenian duke-in-exile, who – after a long and hard-fought war with the emirate of Medina – had taken residence in lands previously held by Medina, just south of the duchy of Oultrejordain. Emperor Henrik von Franken would have been present, for he was indeed in the Holy Land, was it not for a wound he had suffered during the storming of Tiberias a few months earlier. He now laid in bed, being tended by the finest German healers in any of the armies.
After count Kuno’s invasion of Jerusalem, the Muslim troops of the Emirate of Al-Quds had all massed and formed a united front towards the Europeans. The sheer amount of Germans in the Holy Land had proved to be too much for this brave, last attempt of defence, and eventually the Muslim army had had to split up and spread out in order to try to break sieges at Ascalon, Jaffa and Tiberias. Jaffa was stormed at an early stage by the troops of Eckhard von Blankenheim, and in the name of his liege he immediately claimed it as Lotharingian territory. Meanwhile, Thiedric had been laying siege on Ascalon.
Ascalon was not as big as Jerusalem, but it was one of the bigger cities Thiedric had seen. The walls seemed to stretch to the sky, and when standing there, looking at the city that seemed impossible to take, he had realized what a small place that Holland was, as well as Lower Lorraine. The castles of Outremer were far more imposing than the forts of Western Germany, and Thiedric had started nourishing a hope to one day build an equivalent at home, in Holland.
He was violently snapped out of his thoughts by the slightly shrill, albeit loud voice of count Kuno, speaking in Latin.
“Honoured delegates of the Emirate of Jerusalem,” – all he said was translated by a tall, wiry man with a large, black beard that stood next to the, to say the least, resigned Rashid Ahmed – “I speak for all of the group,” – Bertrand Capet’s poisonous glance at Kuno hinted that not everyone agreed on that statement – “and we are here in your palace today to first and foremost seek peace. For more than two years now, we have both bled and healed, and then gone out to battle each other again. Our bodies are now becoming weary, and we sit it fit to end this war now.”
Rashid Ahmed muttered something under his breath that the translator did not convey the meaning of. Then he started speaking, louder than Kuno and with one hand gesticulating towards the domed ceiling, indicating heaven. “His most glorious majesty Rashid Ahmed of Al-Quds asks why he shall surrender, as long as soldiers of his are still making their stands in fortresses across the land.” the translator said, with an accent much less Arabic than it was Greek.
“It is only a short matter of time before the castles are taken, milord. Your last remaining city is Beersheb, a city in the deserted that is surrounded by my brother’s army in this very moment. Beersheb is closed off from water and all possible trade routes, and we are here by mercy for them, milord.” Bertrand Capet snorted at this, although Kuno ignored him. A few of the other German counts gave the Frenchman warning gazes though – their men had been fighting for them for all from one to two and a half years, and many of them would not think twice before striking a Frenchman. Capet kept his head high though, and did what he could to ignore them. “If the siege continues and your men indeed are as brave as you describe them, we will find a city of death when we take the city. Corpses of both man and beast will poison the streets and the rummaging diseases will prevent anyone from living in the city for years to come. We thus, as the inhabitants of Beersheb also do, ask you to resign, and not let your pride stand in the way for the good of the ones that still are your people.”
It was a long and effective speech from Kuno, and Rashid Ahmed seemed to sink down in his divan as if a weight the equivalent of two oxen had been put on his shoulders. He started speaking in Arabic to a few of his advisors, most of them elderly men whose beards had started turning white. His voice was demanding and upset in the same time, as the one of a child who knows that he has lost and does what he can to find a loophole in the rules of the game. In the end he seemed to dismiss all advises with an impatient wave of his hand and turned towards Kuno again, who still was standing up. Thiedric studied the young nobleman’s face, and was stricken by the determined glimpse in the storm-grey eyes and the authority signalled by his erect body. The light from the high windows was reflected in his oiled, blonde hair, and with the general strangeness of the situation, Thiedric for the moment imagined that he in the Alp-count saw the future king of the Empire – or, if not that, maybe the next king of the Holy Land.
“Rashid Ahmed wishes to hear your demands,” the translator stated casually. He seemed completely unmoved by the graveness of the occasion.
“The demands of the Holy Roman Empire are few, and simple. Despite their low number and simplicity, they do however have severe consequences.” Thiedric would later in his life swear on the fact that he saw something alike a flame or an unknown light flicker in Kuno’s eye as he spoke. “We demand Emir Rashid Ahmed hand to cede the title emir of Jerusalem in favour of Emperor Henrik von Franken. We also demand the secession of all lands controlled by Rashid Ahmed, directly or indirectly, to be distributed among the commanders here present. Rashid Ahmed will be allowed to keep his residence in the lands controlled by Henrik von Franken without further retribution, and will earn a yearly pension that will last until the day he draws his last breath. These are our demands, and if denied we have the time, manpower and intention to keep on the war until the deposition will be done by the Imperial troops instead.”
A dark shadow fell over Rashid Ahmed’s head when he heard the demands, ignoring Kuno’s face that radiated a mixture of triumph and newly gained power. In the end he muttered something to his translator whilst supporting his head with a fist under his chin.
“Emir Rashid Ahmed accepts your offer,” the translator stated casually, still the ever-lasting avatar of calamity and politeness. A loud cheer erupted from the German delegation; Bertrand Capet looked as if he had bitten the pit of a cherry, knowing it was there but having tried to avoid it for quite some time; the Armenian ruler mainly looked politely surprised, considering he spoke only bad Latin.
After the audience at the now ex-Emir of Jerusalem, the spoils of war were divided up between the main contributors to the war success. The Emperor had explicitly wished that no provinces were to be handed to his personal demesne, and everyone knew why – he had enough trouble on his back already home in Germany to be able to worry about a land on the other side of the sea.
In the end it was decided that two duchies were to be formed from the lands, together with three counties – two of which were under the rule of German duke, the dukes of Bavaria and Schwabia, and the third to the count of Morava – and the last province to be included in the personal demesne of the duke of Luxemburg. One of the duchies, comprising the major cities of St. Jean-de-Acre and Jaffa, was to form the duchy of Jaffa and be added to the long list of titles belonging to Godfried d’Ardennes of Lower Lorraine, and the other duchy, comprising the major city of Tiberias and the magnum city of Jerusalem was to be the duchy of Galilee, under the rule of Kuno von Nordheim. This all led to count Kuno, the second son of a duke, to become the first duke living in the German Holy Land, thus being the unofficial governor of the lands.
As the treaty was signed later that evening in both Arabic and Latin, the sixth of January 1086 A.D. marked the end of the First Crusade, and the beginning of a Christian presence in the Holy Land. The only thing that clouded Thiedric’s joy of finally going home was the prospect of yet another boat-tour across the Mediterranean.
Thank you all, since you all are so quick with commenting, I'll do my best to give you another update this week. Oh yes, you heard me right -- that would mean three updates in a week! When that happened the last time, if it has happened at all, no-one alive today can remember.
I also note that no-one has reacted on the absurdity of Armenia Minor being posted in Arabia...
crusaders are divided... will not last long if there is a powerful seljuk sultan... armenia minor... France... etc... complicated.
Just edit the game and create kingdom of Jerusalem.
crusaders are divided... will not last long if there is a powerful seljuk sultan... armenia minor... France... etc... complicated.
Just edit the game and create kingdom of Jerusalem.
Allright, so I was a little over-optimistic to expect to finish an update during the weekend; when I sat down to write a few hours ago I realized that I, for the first time since long, don't have any material. So first I'll play a few years, then writing, and then you'll have your update.
But well, everyday-drama is often the best humour around...
