Queen Kyra Percy of Anatolia – Part II
Phase 2 of Kyra's master plan started. Grow Anatolia's power and secure her throne. She had invited the bastard daughter of the former Trebizondian duke to her court with the promise of making her duchess if she would swear fealty. King Iszák of Hungary was busy taking advantage of the Magna Francian civil war, but a gift assured that he didn't meddle in Kyra's war. A war Jacques of Wessex would follow from the dungeon, where he went for being an easy target for conspiracies.
As an adventurer announced his intention to invade Anatolia, the armies met in Kotaion. Trebizond had all advantages on its side, mountain territory, a river crossing, and only 1000 men less. Kyra's imported generals would have to prove their abilities, and they did it. Soon after, Márk surrendered, almost doubling Anatolia's size in its heartland.
The Crusade for Suomi was still fought, and Francois VI of Magna Francia, who didn't support the loss of lives in the cold North, installed an Anti-Pope, Martin II. This didn't have a big impact in Anatolia, and after two independent Muslim barons were annexed, Kyra used her mastery of the darkness to accuse Árpád of Herakleia of bastardy, growing her personal demesne. The Nikaean counts recognized the rise of a new power and swore fealty.
As heretics rose up in Hispania, Kyra wondered how long it would take until they reached Anatolian shores. She thought of converting to an heresy as well. The schism and the stuck Crusade dealt a lot of damage to the Holy Church's authority. But she decided not to follow that path. Her Zoroastrian neighbours' infighting persuaded her not to. The Abbasids and Armenia were in a civil war, the one chance Kyra would get to push Anatolia's borders eastward. The Templars were gained for her cause, Abyssinia honoured the alliance and a failed adventurer brought money to fund the wars.
Confronted with an external threat, the Persians stopped infighting and turned towards Kyra in unity. The Abyssinian reinforcements had arrived as the revolting Armenian Satrap was captured, resulting in Edessa being Greek again. Then came the battle of Marash. The whole power structure of the region was decided in that battle. The Anatolian attack on the Persian army, both numbering 13.000 men, seemed doomed, but the right flank held long enough for 16.000 Africans to turn the tables. From that blow, the Zoroastrians never really recovered. The war ended soon after.
Kyra kept the Templars hired and invaded Ani, which fell after a short while. Then, luck smiled on her.
Mandé(How on earth did that happen?) peasants had risen in Baghdad. And both Shahanshahs Manuchihr II and Ferdows fell in battle. Empress Mahdokht rose to the throne. Kyra attacked, with Lithuanian mercenaries as reinforcements. This war depleted the last levies of the Zoroastrian world.
Aleppo fell, followed by Damascus, Koloneia and Antioch. Kyra didn't care for the truce with the Empress, the loss of Aleppo and Antioch weakened the Empire much more then if she allowed them to recover; also, she was able to crown herself queen of Syria. The new doux of Aleppo even conquered land on his own. This caused severe religious repercussions: the schism ended, and the Zahakid shah turned his back on the Moaban-Moabad, languishing in Ancyra's dungeon in the same cell as the Immortal Grandmaster, and embraced the Mazdaki faith.
On the other side of the kingdom, Kyra conquered Lesbos, Chios and Rhodos thanks to her Magistros; they couldn't withstand the Anatolian armies long. She also assured alliances with Magna Francia and Hungary through her sons, while the marriage with the duchess of Cyprus ensured that the Percys would take over more of Greece by the diplomatic way for a change. Kyra's shadow loomed over Anatolia, but outside of the kingdoms' borders, her dark forces found their limits; the plot to murder all of the Hispanian Emperor's sons to get her cousin to become Emperor consort and place a Percy on the Iberian throne failed.
Kyra's favourite son and heir – he'll hopefully be able to lock every vassal up once I leave
As she reached the age of forty, she looked back on her shadowy methods to consolidate the crown. She had imprisoned and dealt with the Nikaean Hungarians through her sexual preferences. Her Mystikos, doux Leofheah of Powys, refused to end his factionalism as she confronted him with similar facts, and after years of dodging her tries to kill him, he was blown up in an inn. Swæfræd of Kent was caught spreading lies about her and went straight into prison. The duke of Wessex had been released as he became a Greek, but then she changed her mind and had him and his children murdered so that young Eadgyth Percy became duchess.
But now, nobody dared oppose her any more. She thought about joining the Crusade again; her victories had saved Catholicism from the schism, didn't they? But she remembered her uncle's decision to do so, and more importantly 35.000 Teuton Knights, inspired by Kyra's advance against the Zoroastrians, had just made landfall in Suomi, rendering any try to seize Suomi for herself useless. So she focused on improving her rulership; Anatolia had been mostly purged from non-Greeks with only Swæfræd of Kent remaining, in the dungeon. If her dream of becoming Empress had a chance to come true, she needed to respect truces; and if it did not, at least she wanted to prepare the ground for her sons as good as she could.
Bonus this time around:
Bonga, the slayer of Shahanshahs, and his people. Before his capture, he had some fun with the Bunga twins, it seems.
Those Abbasids have not only returned, they are everywhere. Not only they have become Zoroastrian Shahanshahs of Persia, but also this:
