From the front line

[Timsup2nothin]

The following is a letter from Jean-marc D'albret, a merchant in the city of Rouen, to his brother Henri in Paris, dated 1171.

Henri,

I am very sorry to hear about your captain. I always thought Baldwin was a little strange, and thought it very odd that the Duke chose him to head up the militia. I knew that you had to show him respect and courtesy, so I kept my opinions to myself. Do you think it was being captured by the Germans that unhinged him? I myself have to wonder if it is just the lot of the French to be commanded by madmen, or conquered.

I know that the great nobles have all gathered there in Paris to make some sort of stand, and that you believe your loyalty demands that you serve. But I would ask, do they serve France? It was their petty plotting that sent the King on his mad crusade, and their continued squabbling for power that has led to the Caliph taking the entire western half of the country under his control without even having to fight a battle. And I must say that times are good here under their rule.

The castle has finally been taken. The idiot Rene Couer held out for three years. He couldn't have had more than a dozen men, and it was obvious from the start that to relieve the siege our noble lords would have to abandon Paris. Small chance of that!

At first the Africans held the keep surrounded and wouldn't allow any contact, hoping to starve them out. After a few months it was obvious that there were so few men inside that they could survive indefinitely eating rats, which were breeding in the abandoned chambers faster than Couer and his misfits could eat them. At that point we were allowed to deliver food.

At the besiegers request we encouraged them to surrender. I was surprised that there were no threats of reprisals against the town, but they never tried that. They are certainly more civilized than the English, and I have to wonder if our own generals would have been as honorable. At first Couer refused what he called 'gifts from collaborators', but I think his men would have mutinied had he continued feeding them rats.

I was very surprised last year when they didn't mutiny, as a matter of fact. A representative came from Morocco. The Caliph offered to buy the castle from them and give them safe passage to Paris, or a full pardon so they could return to their homes. Since the keep wasn't theirs in the first place it seemed like a great opportunity, but somehow Couer kept them convinced that a French army would appear on the horizon any day.

All that appeared was a ship in the harbor flying the flag of Morocco. They unloaded three ballistae, rolled them up onto the hill overlooking the west wall of the keep, and knocked it down. General Muhammad gave them one more chance to surrender, and they fired a shot from their catapult in reply.

The battle was over in a matter of minutes. The General immediately set his troops to rebuilding the wall. The whole thing seemed rather pointless.

Also on the ship was our new Duke. They actually call him 'Amir'. He is a good administrator, and fair. The Imams are far more open in their teachings now, but there are no laws against the Catholics or any persecution that I have seen. A soldier who was shopping in the market today said that the Pope encourages war, so the Pope is his enemy, but the Pope is far away. He paid with a gold florin, and when I couldn't make change he bought extra bread and gave it to a beggar. I know our pious Lords say otherwise, but I am not sure these men are evil.

I fear for you my brother. The keep at Rouen has just fallen, but already the people are adjusting to new rulers. The army here will not be needed to keep the peace in Normandy for long. Surely the other provinces are being similarly pacified. Like Spain before us, we are being digested into the Caliphate, and once things have settled down there will be a vast host available to march on Paris. Please, come home.

Jean-marc

[I of the Storm]

It's been 2 weeks now.
Will you continue this epic?

[Timsup2nothin]

The world is thrice cursed by fools. The first curse is the fools who would call themselves kings. The second curse is those who would follow such a king to their deaths. The third curse is those who would criticize a king who is no fool. No time in history has seen such a plague of fools as these times.

The Caliph, Ismail, came to power upon the death of his father, and was derided as 'the boy' by generals and courtiers. He never faced battle. That was said, and truly, as every enemy he ever faced fled before him. On the battlefield they fled. In the royal court of Morocco his enemies stood boldly with sneers on their faces. The Caliph nears fifty, and has fathered many fine princes, and still they sneer, and call him the boy behind his back, but not to his face.

They question him, and he listens, though sometimes he must seethe at their lack of respect. "There is no man who has nothing to teach me," he says frequently. Over the years he has certainly taught them. Those who fear to speak out have been retired from the court. They have comfort, but when a man has had influence nothing can replace it.

Others, who spoke their minds enough to keep their stations, but maneuvered to raise them at the Caliph's expense have found the iron in the Caliph, and his steel in their bellies. To conspire against him he does not treat as a crime. To lead that conspiracy is to forfeit your life. He gives no quarter.

Beyond the court the iron shows with exactly the same tempering. Our Caliph is a single forging, pure in his consistency. To compare him to other kings should still the tongue of any critic.

The Arab Sultan, al Mustali III, descended of the Pharohs of Egypt, is a fine illustration of a fool. For over a decade he has scattered his forces, desultorily chasing Turkish armies in and out of Syria. The Byzantines destroyed the Turkish empire, they hold the Islamic Turks in bondage, and their armies stand at the borders and laugh. Thus is the heart of Islam protected in the east.

In the west, in Iberia, generations of peaceful management and prosperity have turned the lands of the Spanish king into an Islamic paradise. The good people of France, freed from their tyrannical Catholic nobles, flock to our teachers. Islam would be better served if united under the Caliph, but there are many in the mosques who know that he is not devout and they fear him. They don't see that if he displayed the pious nature they would have of him that the rich lands of France would be in turmoil rather than falling peacefully under his sway. The old Sultans of Turkey were devout, and their people now serve Constantinople.

Selim II, who calls himself Sultan of the Turks today, has suggested a united Islam. Of course he suggests this while his motley band skirmishes across the deserts, bringing nothing but ruin to the holy lands. A fool for a sultan leading an army of fools.

Fleeing Syria they captured Palestine. Had he chosen a path of stewardship the wealth of Palestine could possibly have allowed him to secure Jerusalem against the forces of al-Mustali III, but he and his generals were instead driven by their own rhetoric. Shouting for Islamic unity and apparently expecting a swell of support throughout north Africa the self proclaimed Sultan attacked our garrison in the Sinai and was crushed. Amir abu Salim and his general, ibn Mardanish, pursued and routed the Turks out of Palestine.

Abu Salim is now King in Jerusalem, and ibn Mardanish is Amir of the Sanai. The surviving Turks overwhelmed the garrison at Tripoli. The fool al Mustali has still not seen the necessity to raise his troops in force and eradicate his rival. At least with Jerusalem held by the Caliph it will not fall to the Byzantines, as seems inevitable for the lands disputed by the posturing sultans. But the greatest fool among kings was not in the east, but the west.

For generations the Catholic Kings of Aragon held sway in their mountainous little corner of the Pyrenees. All the way back to the reign of Yusef I the Arogonese have been our allies. When Yusef crushed the Spanish, Aragon stood wisely aside. When the French launched their crusade on Navarre and the Pope was howling for Muslim blood Aragon stood wisely aside. Felipe, last King of Aragon, apparently went mad.

The emissary from Aragon stood before the Caliph as if he was about to negotiate a trade agreement, or report on a drunken brawl in a border town. With a straight face and calm voice he looked the Caliph in the eye and said "My King sends greetings and regrets. Due to hostilities between your nation and our ally, the Sultan of the Turks, we have been forced to cancel our alliance with you and will be suspending all terms of those agreements. It is the king's most fervent wish that you come to terms with the Sultan before any violence between our great nations is necessary."

Silence fell in the royal hall. Had a beggar taken a gold coin in hand and promptly spit on his benefactor there could not have been greater shock. The Caliph actually tipped his head and shook it quickly, as if wondering if something lodged in his ear had perhaps distorted his hearing. Finally he said, in a quiet voice, "I understand. I'm sure you will be my guest while I assemble an appropriate response for your king."

The following year, having assembled over three thousand troops, Prince Muhammad delivered the Caliph's response. The generals say that a smaller force could have had a glorious battle. Once again, the Caliph has proven that he has no interest in glory, and an instinct that leads him to strike straight to the heart.

[Martok]

Another outstanding entry! I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record saying that all the time, except that it really is true. You're a truly gifted storyteller.

I loved your portrayal of the other faction rulers, particularly Felipe. The scene with his emissary in Ismail's court was little short of brilliant.

[I of the Storm]

Indeed. Simply brilliant. Wish I had time to play a bit myself...

[Ironsword]

Great story Timsup2nothin! -You really capture the atmosphere, and wrap it up with great personal narratives.

Looking forward to more!

[Timsup2nothin]

From the journal of Captain Ali ibn Tashufin, 1200 AD

I ply the storm tossed waters of the North Sea. I may some day be wrecked by those storms, but I will never be sunk by an enemy of the Caliphate. We are like the tide, our enemies mere waves.

At this turn of the century I look back over my decade of service and see the foundation of conquest has been laid. Our rise to glory is inevitable. Like many others I had doubts.

Ten years ago Philippe III declared himself king of France, rising from the ranks of the Earl of Wessex with a claim of royal blood. His forces destroyed the rebellious Earl, and like a wave French nationalism swept across the continent. The rebel nobles who had caused the fall of France bent their knees to the new king, from afar. The wave broke against our borders. In our provinces there is no nostalgic love for the autocratic French nobility.

I was tasked with preventing the passage of French ships. The new king has never built a navy. He remains trapped on Great Britain, sharing a meager meal with the King of England in an uneasy truce. Our transports deliver a thousand fighting men to the Flanders coast every year. Our army swells like the rising tide, preventing any crossing.

The French gathered their forces, and in 1195 they marched on Paris. The Caliph's brothers met them in even strength, holding a hill overlooking the road. Like a wave the French army rolled against their formation of rock; crashing, scattering, ultimately retreating, broken.

Our transports took away veteran units who had taken casualties. They formed the core of a recruiting effort that allowed our army to swell even faster in the following years. With Flanders secure and the French in disarray our armies marched inexorably from the south, liberating province after province. The Germans, who supported the resurgent French, were swept away as well.

We have more troops in Flanders than the French and English combined can muster in the British Isles, and the Muslim majorities there cry for liberation from their Catholic masters. Now like the tide our teachers carry the word of Allah through central Europe.

Our warships are a thin line, protecting our trade routes. Like the rising tide we have swept from the docks of Tunis to Cyprus in the east and the Baltic in the north. As a sailor I longed to see vast fleets and naval actions. Perhaps they may come someday. The Sicilians have some fleets that will have to be quashed, though they may be lost to stormy sea or broken budget before the day comes.

I, who went to the sea seeking war, now only hope to rest easily on her beautiful surface, and live to see the day when there need be no more war. It is coming, surely as the rising tide.

~finis~

With these words from the Captain my work is complete. While the Caliphate has not conquered the entire world...yet...the situation has reached the point of no return. I have described the rise, and avoided the fall. There is little fuel for a narrative in the mop-up that remains.

My deepest thanks go to my readers.