It took two trips to find the clothes Melody wanted, because the first time I went, I didn't remember what she wanted. She chewed me out for it and gave me even detailed directions, so I made damned sure to get it right that time.
We didn't hang out together afterwards like I'd hoped. Said she had homework she wanted to get done. I wound up playing video games after she left. Screw it, it's my last semester. Just as long as I pass everything, I'm cool.
Monday, which means Morengay and his obnoxious grin.
"Good Monday morning, everyone! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!
When we left off last time, Orson the I the Restorer had just achieved unequalled success by becoming the Duke of Mesopotamia and Tripoli, establishing the strongest de Semur foothold in the Middle East ever. The Three Kingdoms were also richer than they'd ever been, turning a profit of 111 florins a month.
A quiet period followed, in which King Orson I concentrated and rebuilding and restoring The Three Kingdoms infrastructure to its former glory and beyond. Indeed, the only event of great acclaim for the rest of 1175 occurred in late September, when Bertrand, Orson's only son and heir, married Simonis Akropolites, the niece of the Emperor of Byzantium, further strengthening the bonds that'd developed between Orson and the Akropolite dynasty.
In June 1176, the unthinkable happened. Upon the death of the beloved and long-standing Marshal Charles Gradegenio, the latest in a long line of illustrious military men to lead the de Semur armies, Orson I appointed Abelard de Hauteville of the once-mighty de Hauteville dynasty as Marshal. Many in the family feared that Abelard would seek to inspire insurrection against the Restorer and once again bring about an independent de Hauteville power.
King Orson I waved off these concerns, saying that no man should be cursed by the crimes of previous generations. Some construed this as hope that the Premyslids might one day be able to return to court, but later historians have proven that this was the wrong hope to have, because Orson was very much attached to the Akropolites of his own generation and to the Jimenez of all generations, for remember, it was Sancho Jimenez, the King of Navarra, who first gave the de Semurs their prestige by marrying one of the women of the family.
In fact, the worriers were half-right. Abelard did incite something, but it wasn't against the de Semurs. It was urging Orson the Restorer to war with the Emir of Mosul, in order that Orson might be known as the greatest Christian king in the world, for Mosul was a formidable enemy and the Emir's defeat would mean that none could challenge King Orson I in terms of prestige or piety.
For those of you who might be surprised at Orson's readiness to accept, I must remind you that it was a common trait of every de Semur king to seek some kind of greater glory. It also doesn't sound quite so strange when I tell you that as part of his building projects, the Three Kingdoms monarch had invested heavily in churches and other religious constructions.
A fierce conflict immediately erupted on the border between the Emir of Mosul's lands and Orson's personal domains. Abelard de Hauteville decided that the best choice was to fight a defensive battle until the bulk of Orson's armies arrived from Italy and Croatia.
The fighting was still ongoing and still very much hanging in the balance when word reached the king on his way to Mosul that Simonis Akropolites died along with her child giving birth. Although Orson mourned for his son's wife and his grandson, he chose to press on to Mosul after sending a letter back to Bertrand, authorizing him to marry whomever he wished.
It was soon revealed that Abelard's plan was designed to destroy the de Semurs, as he deliberately lost battle after battle on the field, causing Bira and Almeria to fall to the Emir of Mosul by February 1177. This plot was not revealed until March, however, when Hransilav of Salerno angrily stormed King Orson I's tent with letters from Abelard to other de Hauteville loyalists. These letters had been intercepted by Hransilav, an expatrite, obscure captain in the Bira regiment who'd escaped the province with a band of his men by nightfall.
Impressed with Hransilav and his story, Orson immediately appointed him the new royal Marshal and vowed to deal with Abelard when he returned back to Bologna.
Under the new Marshal's direction, a plan was launched to attack Mosul directly and begin taking the Emirate province by province from within.
Although initially successful in taking Mosul in June 1177, it was almost immediately reconquered by the Emir, which set the stage for a very long war of attrition that wasn't likely to end until one or the other of these superpowers was fully conquered.
By late December 1179, the Three Kingdoms had not only undergone yet another marshal change, but they'd been driven completely out of the Middle East save for the county of Mesopotamia and the territory surrounding Tripoli.
It was then that the third plan was conceived and launched: to attack the northern part of the Mosul Emirate, which was not only isolated from the rest of the emirate, but also would form a land bridge with Mesopatamia. As incentive to try and get as many people to enthusiastically follow his plan as possible, King Orson I decreed that he would not keep the lands for himself, but give them posthaste to his courtiers.
This not only increased zeal for the crusade throughout the Three Kingdoms, it also had the effect of diverting the Emir's attention as the Mosul leader was of the opinion that the only way to defeat Orson was to take all of the king's personal domains.
It was a shrewd strategy, made all the more so by the Empire of Byzantium's joining the fray. Better still, Orson killed the Emir of Mosul in single combat in a July 1180 battle, meaning two years of regency and confusion for the Emirate. The Restorer pressed his advantage, swiftly conquering all three territories in the north before heading to the Emirate's main body to the south.
Things were progressing well until May 23rd, 1181, when Bertrand de Semur, the Three Kingdoms' heir and Diocese Bishop, who despite limited martial gifts, was fighting extremely well on the campaign, died in battle.
Now there was only one hope for a direct heir to the throne, the child in Antoinette de Blois, eldest daughter of the Duke of Champagne and second and last wife of Bertrand de Semur. Should she bear a son, the line could yet survive. Should she fail, the line would turn impure.
By May 1182, King Orson the Restorer's fight in the Middle East was done. He'd become disillusioned with the Crusade as his friend Anastosios Akropolites used his superior armies to conquer domain after domain, building on much of Orson's own work. Bertrand's death, later biographers have suggested, made him forever after cold to the idea of conquering the region.
So it came to pass that for a staggering 5,365 florins, which turned out to cover all of the massive war debt, Orson the I opted out of the battle against the Mosul Emir, now of age.
Few questioned his heart in accepting the deal, for he'd already spent more money and more lives than virtually any other monarch before him, and though the crusade was not the grand success he'd hoped for, he could at least hold his head high, for he'd not done all that badly, either.
Here's what the de Semur region looked like at the peace treaty signing. Outlined in orange this time, by my 5-year old."
We chuckle as we look at the map on the overhead.
I don't know. To me it looks like he didn't really make much headway at all. But then, I guess that's all we can do sometimes, is just tread in place. Kind of like how I seem to be doing with Melody now.
"What about Antoinette de Blois or whatever? Did she ever have the kid?" asks a fat guy in a backwards Florida cap in front.
Morengay beams, "Yes, as a matter of fact she did. A son, named Errard."
Scattered applause from throughout the room, which the prof grins at before raising a hand.
"But keep in mind, at the conclusion of this treaty, the boy's not even a year old yet and furthermore, he's not even in the Three Kingdoms at all. For where he was... come to class on Wednesday!"
I'll admit, I didn't expect this twist coming.
Then again, I didn't expect Orson the Restorer to fail at something either.
But then, there's a lot that's gone down recently that I didn't expect.
And I have the feeling there's even more unexpected things to come.
