Chapter 15: Letting Go, And Holding On.
February, 1037
I am ill once again – this plague has been ruining our land this entire time, ever since I lost the throne to that Devil. Even though he has been dead for years, people are dying in the streets every day.
> April
I’ve been reading through our family history, looking for guidance in this disaster. More and more, I find myself drawn to the stories of The Father, Sabr-Ishu – the man who took Zicenia out of civil war, brought the kingdom together, and grew it into prosperity. Now, I am presented with a similar, and perhaps greater, challenge. The Kingdom is once again split in civil war, there are once again lands that have broken off, and once again we need a man to bring everything back together. I want to be that man.
> September
Practically the entire family has gotten sick by this point. This plague is more cruel than any I’ve seen, or even heard of.
May 30, 1038
Next, I move on to the writings of Shahlufa, the great conquerer. Though I’ve said much of the damage his fate left Zicenia to by the time of my ascension, the first half of his reign was legendary, and I’ve learned much from reading over his battle plans and ideas. In order to reunify and then reconquer, I must learn to lead armies as he did too.
> August
I’ve gotten over the plague, finally. No weakness here – I’m heading the army once again and fighting until I have nothing left to give. There is still evil to be slain once I take the throne, and so much more fighting to do afterwards.
> October
We won a great victory against the pretender forces today – they had started to regroup following the end of the Orevi invasion, thanks to the Divine Umarid armies. I will be sure to thank them after this is over – and to grow closer in general to the Kings nearby – another invasion like that one will be the death of us all.
May, 1039
I’ve managed to capture the pretender’s wife during another assault on Milan! I’ll keep her imprisoned for the time being to pressure him, but she’ll see the stake soon enough alongside her husband.
February, 1040
I’m defeating them again and again, but then stubborn bastards still keep coming at us.
> May
Another battle, another victory. I managed to personally slay the army’s commander during the battle, and we’ve taken several prisoners. This war drags on and on, but it goes in my favor. Soon, I’ll be ready to destroy all the remaining demon-kin in Zicenia.
The Devil’s plague has let up as well, fortunately. I’ve lost countless men over the course of this vile war, but I see the end on the horizon.
> September
We managed to catch them going for their capital – the battle was a dream. We had the high ground, even numbers, and clearly superior command. The battle went as well as expected, except for the fact that I was knocked out by a vicious slash into my face.
January, 1041
My face is ruined, and though I’ve survived the surgery, the wounds have gotten infected. The war is still raging, I hear, but this damned conflict never ends. And neither does the pain.
January, 1043
The pretender army was growing once again, and I thought we were in trouble… but another invasion force took them out. I’m not sure there will even be a kingdom left to save by the end of this.
> April
This war has gone on with no end, and there’s nothing left to gain. Ever since Tomarsa the Devil took my throne from me, Zicenia’s already seen three more kings – first, there was his son, Sabr-Ishu II, who I expected to easily take the throne from. He made it to 24 years old before dying of the same plague that struck me and so many others. Then, his cousin Lazare took control, but he only made it two years before being killed in battle by the northern invaders. Now, his 15-year-old brother Shila has the crown.
At this point, it’s over. The Kingdom is already devastated, and neither of us can even gain any advantage over the other, all while foreigners take more and more. I’m going to end this war and do my best to defend my Kingdom – the demons are dead, and so is everybody else.
> May
Working alongside the new king, I’m pledging what’s left of our army to drive everybody out of Zicenia. Two Princes out of Vogakny are the current invaders, in addition to the raiders that have devastated our coasts this entire time. Together, we can take them.
> June
I’ve given the extra lands I was holding onto to my son Laszio. He’s only 16, but I see brilliance in him, and between the two of us, one should be able to save this Kingdom eventually.
Additionally, I’ve gained a powerful ally – the King of Gojia, who may in time be able to help us retake our lands from Croatia.
> July
Already, Gojia wants to get to work – they’re attacking the Croatians before they have time to cement their rule in Italy. Even if we can’t take the land ourselves, better for Ferrara to belong to Gojia than to the Orevi.
That war will be his problem though for now – we need to stop the northern invasion first.
February, 1044
My army’s pushing into Bavaria, where the invaders hail from. There’s various enemy armies all over though, including the fighting in Croatian-occupied Italy. It’s hard to keep track of, but with my limited army, I’m keeping my focus where it belongs – Zicenia’s defense.
It’s getting exhausting.
Apparently a lot of foreign kings are getting involved as well, including Musnia. But the Siorach Kingdoms of the north are in chaos of their own too… It’s complicated.
April, 1045
The Croatian war ended in a white peace, though I believe the Gojian king could’ve managed it. Either way, our war against the Vogakny Princes continues – my battered army, only a shadow of its original strength, pushes on to try and push them into surrender, while the main force led by “King” Shila and his other allies beats down the Vogak armies.
December, 1046
It goes well, but slowly, and the army is still weak. I’ve had little reason to write, as it is more of the same. That being said, there is one silver lining I’ve noticed –Shila only has one son, who is a child imprisoned by the Vogak Prince. That boy is the only one in the way of my succession to the Kingdom again without violence – whether to me, or to my son if I die. With the King’s wife imprisoned as well, he won’t be having any other children in the meantime.
Anyways, all of this is just speculation. I don’t have any real power over their lives, so for now I still focus on my task at hand. Going to war over the crown just isn’t worth it anymore.
December, 1047
The invasion’s been repelled, and Zicenia’s stable once again, though of course that only means so much with a pretender on the throne and almost a third of our land in Croatian hands.
Historian’s Notes: Zicenia had been in a state of civil war for nearly 18 years, if you include the year-and-a-half intermission between Lazaro’s capitulation and renewed attack. For most of that war, the Orevi forces, spearheaded by the Kingdom of Vogakny and its various High Princes, had been attacking at the same time. However, it seems that during all of this infighting, particularly once Lazaro took to the field himself as a leader, his devout paranoia seemed to die down, replaced by a tired pessimism. There’s many different ways to interpret this – perhaps he started to grow into a more rational man, or perhaps the realities of battle kept his mind distracted from delusions. Perhaps the death of Tomarsa, along with many others, truly worked to pacify that fervent part of his mind that always saw a new evil. Or perhaps he simply was exhausted by decades of internal conflict.
Regardless of what was truly going on in Lazaro’s mind, his actions here managed to avert the collapse the Kingdom so nearly approached. By ending the civil war, which, though a stalemate, had generally been going in his favor, Lazaro helped Zicenia to rally its forces to beat back the remaining invaders. Of course, the rapid rise of the Orevi Kingdom of Vogakny hadn’t simply been a problem of Zicenia’s – the other Siorach rulers had been in near-constant warfare with the Orevi as well, keeping them busy enough to save Zicenia from any sort of organized full-scale invasion.
The Kingdom of Zicenia would land in an odd position following its stabilization though – a flurry of successors left the new branch of House Mirza with little legitimacy on the throne, and their eastern sympathies made them quite unpopular with those Zicenian vassals that hadn’t already been conquered by Croatia…
