I just thought that as i have a beginning of a story, but im a bit dry of ideas, i could post the beginning here and let everyone interested add their own bits and then see how it finishes....
But just write seriously. Coz i started seriously and wouldnt like to see it finish as a Monty Pytons film... http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cg...s/bigthumb.gif
There it is:
I swear to God Almighty that the streets of Constantinople are dark at night. Specially now that all those bodies are hanging on the ancient Theodosian walls and move when the breeze from the Galata blows a little stronger.
Strangely enough, there is noone outside .Or maybe it isnt that strange. After the recent riots, the new governor has been very concerned with order, and the armored patrols took everyone who happened to be out after sunset to the prison yard and kept them there until the sun was up again.
The governor was a capable man. The first year after his assignement to the post he had to face two revolts, only with the 500 men the Prince left him. He defeated both rebel armies on the field and after that hanged all the captured prisoners on the walls of the city as a warning to others. There were no more revolts, but the folk remained unruly and the assaults were still common by night. As an extra measure, the governor was training militians to maintain the order in the city.
The way I see it, what the people hated most was the fact that the governor wasn´t greek. He didn´t assume the powers following the ancient tradition. He didn´t rely on the Varangis. He looked down to the ancient byzantine traditions, and said that there is no point living in the past if you cannot protect your legacy.
He was right to some extent. Violence is a resource. An extreme resource, but a valuable one. And when a society is so concentrated in enjoying its memories that it forgets the cost of power, then power goes away, to someone who was actively pursuing it.
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The governor himself was not byzantine either. Spanish blood flows in his veins. As far as I can tell, he offered his sword to the Grand Prince when his own king expulsed him from his natal lands.
He was tall, brown, and looked as if he had been burned by the sun, thin and dry, with black hair and cold green eyes. He seemed to live moved by anger, a fury that made him irradiate naked violence even when he was relaxed, and was noticeable through his politeness and barely understandable greek. He could be seen horseriding, surrounded by 10 of his picked men wandering around the city, the people turning his heads, avoiding face him, his guards silent and serious, trotting through the crowds.
He did not fall into the abuses that were such common in this great city. He avoided social events, and never have been seen with a woman in the 2 years he have been in the city. The scum said he was castrated and that was the origin of his anger, but i do not believe those rumors.
To complete the description I must say that the Tzar seemed to trust him blindly, and I am almost sure that the word given by such a man would not be broken.
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I kept walking to where i heard the horses. The smell from the neighbouring industrial district was strongly noticeable even for an insensitive nose like mine, and i could understand why the horses were not calm. I turned around a corner, checked my back in case i was being followed but the strets remained silent and dark. Once again i touched the short gladius I was hiding under my robes, much more useful for street skirmishes than a long broad sword. I went downhill to the sea. After 200 feet i stopped and called holding my breath:
- Sirius - Sirius was a merchant who was expected to meet me there and get me out of the city until the order was reestablished. This was the third time we did it, and it did not seem to be the las one. Sirius didn´t answer, only the horses whinned nearby. I stood still for a second. Then a voice spoke calmly:
- In the name of the governor, you are arrested.- and 6 men came out from the shadows. All of them were armed properly and seemed to be proffessionals, so I rejected the idea of fighting. One of them had Sirius held with his hands bound behind his back.
I let go my gladius when the men took me. My hands were bend together and the men pushed us forward, to the sea.
The short trip in the boat ended at the other side of the Golde Gate. I presumed they were taking us to the outer military zone, but after following the Egnatian way for about 30 minutes we turned right, to the Jucendiae Palace that was a massive black structure, some bright points i recognized as torches were lit along the walls and windows.
The air was clear here, and colder, much colder than in the city. The ancient trees that surrounded the path were dark and the shadows at theit base were darker than the night itself. Only now I realized that the moon was absent.
I tryed to talk to Srius, but the soldier hit me in the ribs and i had to open my mouth trying to breath in. When i finally managed to recover my breath we were in the yard illuminated by torches.
There were arounf 50 solfiers there, doing various tasks. My guards took mr into the main building. The guards let us through the corridors to the upper floor and then to the impressive balcony that had a great view over the yard.
There were 4 men in the room. The governor was wearing dark blue clothes and was sitting and writing something at the big oaken table in the centre of the room. The captain of the Varangis was staying to his right, looking down to the yard. The other men were the councellor and a slave that held papers and brought vine to his master when requested to do so.
The guards brought us in and stood still, waiting for the governor to speak first. The tanned man looked tired. Not that there was any weakness in the figure, but the anger he irradiated seemed less intense than when he was on the streets. Or maybe, i thought it was just that, the streets were the streets and this was his office. After a while he looked at the man in the front of the soldiers that captured us, and the man reported.
-Sir, they were trying to leave the city as you suspected. We also have their horses.-
- Do you know where were they going?- the voice was cold and trained, but he spoke russian was even worse than he spoke greek.
- No sir. We caught them on their way to the harbor of Theodosius. We did not follow them to their destination. Did we have to, sir?
- Possibly, captain. Now leave with your men. Leave the prisoners here. Take their weapons. Close the door.- He said that word. Prisoners.
The soldiers were gone, and i noted the gaze of the councellor, the governor and the Varangi studying us with some interest. I straightened my back. I knew that my clothes were far away from exceptional, and they would be deciding how to treat me and my friend by studying the way we behaved now.
Finally the governor spoke:
- Do you understand Spanish? - I nodded. Sirius nodded too. We both spend years in a ship, trading with all the Mediterranean. I was the Firstmate and he was the owner. The routes between Rome, Sicily, Tanger and Cartage Nova were very profitable until the pirates reappeared as the war between Spanish and Muslims started again. After that event we turned to the east. I spent some time in a Byzantine battleship, while Sirius tried fortune trading in the Black sea, and the Holy lands.
The governor didn not changed his expression, but started speaking spanish.
- Who are you? - he asked.
- And who are you? - I said - to have the right to ask me questions.- I did not want to be insolent, but I dont want to be treated as a criminal. Not without having commited crime at least.
The governor stared at me for a long moment.
- I am Diego Rafael Ortega de Trastamara, governor of Constantinople thanks to the will of the Grand Prince. - he said. His voice cold.
- Who are you? - he repeated the question.
- My name is Sirius Hekantompilos born in Crete. - Sirius voice was calm enough.
- I am Gregorius Stellas born in Constantinople. - I answered.
- I see. And why were you trying to leave the city?- the governor came closer and I could smell the leather and metal. I didnt let Sirius answer.
- We wanted to leave the city until the riots and assaults are over. - I answered looking him in the eye. I realized that Sirius looked at me for a moment. Wondering surely if the governor would take that as insolence and take my head off.
He crossed the room to the mosaic on the wall representing many galleys engaged in combat in the middle of a storm. The sails were not very precisely outlined, and the closest ship had too many sails for that weather.
- Afraid of the riots it is?- the governor walked along the balcony. - How do I know that you were not supporting those riots? How do i know you were not about to leave and meet the rebels outside the city?
We couldnt prove anything, and we were clearly violating the rule against going out after darkness fell. It was a situation where he had to trust us.
Then he turned on his heels.
-However we can make a deal.- His eyes shone with inspiration.- I request your cooperation
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The next morning was rainy. I didnt have a good night sleep after the interview with the governor and having been listening his plan for the most of the night. He had a dream called Byzantium, and i was surprised to find it so similar to mine. I believe it is not a matter of nationality or tradition, this city has been alive for more than a thousand years and couldnot be destroyed and kept her charm and beauty. And turned men to her cause when a capable leader appeared. And men died for it as they died for the women they loved, the men they hated and the words they respected.
Few cities had that power.
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The new leather armor with the distinctions of a captain of the internal governor´s militia was hanging on its support. So was the blade, short and sharp, and the bronze helmet, lying on the table.
The offer wasnt easy to reject. Security, some wealth, and working for the city were tempting, but the risk was high. My life. Sirius´ life, the city, the governor´s life. It is curious how did he rely on us that quickly. Or maybe he didnt, but I would accept the offer again if offered.
I dressed and left the room. The varangis were patrolling the inner corridors of the palace, their enormous axes looking strange in the elegant halls and under the faces of the ancient emperors that looked from the walls and the ceiling. I walked following a servant to the square we crossed last night where the governor was preparing to depart. He saluted formally and i returned the salute.
- Those horses will bring you both to the harbor of Theodosius.- he waved his hand to the right where a servant held 2 horses. - And they will be your escort - he nodded to two soldiers heavily armed that waited already on horseback.
I sighed looking as the 10 guards closed their formation around the man and walked slowly to the horses. Like all seamen i didnt feel sure riding a horse, and for a moment i consdered how to ask the servant which one had better mood, but then spitted in my mind and pushed myself up to the animal that was closer. The animal stood still.
Sirius appeared from the building minutes later and hurried to where i was. Then he climbed his horse and finally we left the yard preceded by our guards.
The rain made its way through my clothes and i felt the wetness on my neck. The Golden Gate was left behind and we entered the Exokionion, crossed the square where the church of St. John gathered the people to hear the first messe of the day. Sirius drew a cross in the air when we approached the church and remained silent. We didn´t say a single word since last night and everything looked clear.
The smell of the Mese was even worse than the one of the outer districts. The dirt and the rubbish builded up in the trenches at both sides of the road. We rushed our horses, thankful to God because there were very few people in the streets.
At least, the forum of Bous. We turned right and the harbor suddenly appeared in front of us. Then I heard a noise.
It sounded to me like an arrow, but i didn´t wait to find out. I fell from the horse and the suddent thump showed me that I judged well. The guards were on their feet already, drawing their swords. I looked at Sirius and saw that he was trying to control his horse, it had an arrow in the back. I gained my feet. Where were they hiding?
Suddenly half a dozen men poured from the small streets yelling and screaming. The two soldiers took 3 of them, Sirius was far away still on his horse and I saw myself facing 3 men. I rolled under one of the horses to leave it between my attackes and me, then ran around the animal and slid my sword into someone´s ribs. The man screamed and still tried to stab me with his dagger, but I kicked his face as hard as I could and he fell. Just in time to face the two others. The horse ran away, scared, and I was left to face both of them without any cover. Luckily they only had daggers, so I had an advantage in reach. We faced each other for a long second. I tried to remember if someone would want me dead for any reason, but I couldn´t think of anyone.
I knew that if I made a mistake and concentrated on one of them, the other one would stab me to death with that dagger. I waited for them to attack. The man on my left movewd closer. I waited the moment he had a foot in the air and then stamped my food into his knee. The dagger didn´t get me for an inch, but the other man was more succesful. I noted the iron touch the bone on my hip and couldnt avoid shivering, hot blood running down my leg. I turned and sank my swords in the man´s throat, his blood splashing onto my face and my arms. I turned again to face the man I kicked. But he wasn´t there anymore. He was gone. I grinned at my own pain and tried to reach the wound with my hand. I couldn´t but I could move the leg, so I left that for after the fight. One of the guards was bleeding through a cut on his face, and the last of the men who faced them was running away. They went after him, but I stopped them:
- Wait He could be leading us to a trap. We have to make our way to the harbor. - The soldiers turned around, hesitated, and followed me. Four men were lying in blood and dirt in the place we fought. Why?
I didn´t believe they were thefts. I just hoped there would be no more horseriding today.
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Sirius was running uphill his sword held in his hand. His horse was standing and trembling, still with an arrow in its back.
- Sorry, I couldn´t help. - Sirius welcomed us. - Are you injured? - I nodded.
- I have a good physician on the ship. Lets go.-
I just realized that the street was deserted. And have been deserted since we turned right at the Forum. The trap was well prepared.
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BTW, if my english isnt as correct as you expected, forgive me and correct me if you want to.
