well ok here it is, hope u enjoy.
Some notes to readers about unit type
Vestiaritae = Byzantine Infantry
Vardiriots = Byzantine Cavalry
Psiloi = Tebizond Archers
Stratiofari = I think Byz lancers, not to sure.
Ok first off, you will notice I call the Byzantine Empire, the Roman empire. Well that is what they considered themselves; Roman. Later on i will begin calling them Byzantines, but here at the start they call themselves Romans, therefore so shall I. Please stick with me here, this first chapter is a bit well plain. But it gets better in the next so...yeah.
Prologue
The Eastern Roman Empire, its history is filled with both victory and defeat. Ever since the fall of Rome and the death of the last Western Emperor in 476 A.D, the East has tried desperately to reclaim its lost lands and reinstate the glory of lost days. Over the course of the one hundred years the empire took back Italy, Sardinia, and parts of Northern Africa including Carthage. However time was working against them, and soon the Romans where pushed out of their holdings, and the Empire's wealth began to wane.
In Italy the Normans drove out the Romans, leaving them with only holds on the coast, and even those havens were under constant raid. The Arabs in Africa effectively ended Roman rule there by destroying Carthage. Along with the loss of Egypt, the Sinai, Palestine, the Roman Empire was on the brink of collapse. As if things were not bad enough, at the battle of Manzikrert, the Romans suffered a crushing defeat at the Hands of the Seljuk Turks and they were forced to pull out of many of their Asia Minor holdings.
It was with this reason that the Roman Emperor in Constantinople, Alexius I, wrote a letter to the Pope. In the letter the Emperor begged the Western Christians to come to his aid in battling the Turks. Of course, the western knights being hungry for power and glory only needed an excuse to go on their holy war, and with their help, the Emperor regained some of his lost territory reinstating Roman rule there.
(end of historic material)
That is where our story begins, the year is 1093 and a crusade has just passed through the land on its way to Antioch. The Roman Empire is clearly not what it used to be, and ever since Manzikrert in 1071, they have been forced to rely more and more on mercenary forces. In fact, the Empire's finest troops, the Varangian Guard based in Constantinople, are in fact mercenaries recruited from Vikings. However do not mistake weaknesses for defeat, this fading child of the Roman war machine may have lost a few steps, but it is still a force to be considered with, and the Roman Emperor still commands great respect. His name and riches are whispered about in palace throne rooms, and Princes of the West dream of one day visiting the eternal city of Constantinople.
Now let the story begin...
Chapter I part i
A New Beginning
It was a cold evening as the sun escaped sight for the last time over the city walls of Athens. The skies held within them clouds and the red glare on the horizon faded away and gave the dominion of the vast blue to the moon as she peeked over the eastern sea. As the full of the moon rose, its pale light on the land shinned out like a beacon in the night, it signaled the end of the day and the start of a time when one could rest easy. Night had fallen and already many where resting in deep sleep preparing for the next day to come.
Yet there was some who even in this serene moment were not able to find sleep. Deep in the castle of Athens, hidden in a secret vault, lit with the light of a number of torches. Five men sat around a long wooden table surrounded by stone walls. Their voices were aged and hardened by time, and the sound of their discussion echoed though the castle, yet the shouts fell on deaf ears, none where around to hear this council, and even if there were, not many would care. For many saw that an end of days may be near as the Roman Empire seemed to be falling apart. Of these men was the emperor himself, Alexius I, his first son, Andronicus, and his second son Manuel. As well as two generals from the East, Isaac Comnenus, and Nicephorus Diogenes who made their way to Greece at the request of the emperor.
Andronicus was a tall man and dark haired. A warrior by nature and a skilled commander, some say even better than his father, if such a thing is possible. Raised within the walls of the grand city of Constantinople itself, he grew up learning of The Lost city of Rome and the fall of the West and its former majesty. Long he dreamed of seeing it for himself. Always at his side was his sword. Its surface was smoother than polished diamond and its power was greater than a thousand spears, so say the tales, in his hands it was a true weapon of War. He was a legendary warrior, and none could match him in hand to hand combat.
Manuel, the second son of the Emperor was also a warrior, however not as tall and not as great as his older brother. He was a fine speaker, and he could weave great poems and paint pictures with his words with ease. He was the kind that loved to tell stories and sing songs of deeds done by those in the past. While he was a soldier and had great skills at arms, he had no taste for war. He did not like the smell of blood or that of battle, it was long said that he would fight if roused to do so, however he never enjoyed such acts. Yet like his brother he wished to journey back to Italy and reclaim what was theirs.
The others present were the King himself, and two commanders from the eastern outposts. Alexius was the one who wrote the letter to the pope and asked for the help of the Crusaders, and he got it indeed. As the Turks were concerned with fighting off their new and bitter enemy, the emperor launched an attack and reclaimed the lost province of Anatolia. At the head of that Attack were the two commanders Isaac Comnenus and Nicephorus Diogenes, who are also present at this war council. They drove off the Turks and successfully reclaimed the land for the Romans, however there now was a problem.
There was an urgent matter at hand and that matter was the purpose this war council had convened, apparently the Turks had had enough of the Roman's rule and revolted against them fielding a sizable force. Already the territory of Anatolia had been lost once again, and Trebizond was being threatened not only by these rebels, but it was a great possibility the Turks would ride north and aid them. None where sure of what could be done, for many of the Empire's forces were mercenaries and had little loyalty for the Emperor himself, and had already deserted the army, leaving the province of Trebizond in a very vulnerable state. The first to speak was Comnenus.
Isaac slammed his fist down upon the table, the wood shook beneath his might as his cry echoed from the stone walls about him, How can you sit here and ignore our plight? he screamed clearly talking directly to the emperor. Already outposts along the southern border have been overrun, The Turks are massing only five hundred yards from our nearest cities, and my best troops have already been cut to pieces securing a safe passage here. These mercenaries are not enough
I agree Andronicus said placing both hands on the table, his voice was calm and not full of anger like that of Isaac's. However the Turks are not our only concern he continued, To the North are two thousand Hungarian horsemen just waiting for a chance to ride south. Listen to me, I have just come from the battlefields of Bulgaria, there we secured the land for the Empire, however always in the shadows of the forests we felt we were being watched. It was two days later we spotted a Horseman ridding back north; he was riding hard back to his King in Hungary no doubt.
I have received word from our general in Serbia and he reports much the same, we must strengthen the guard to the North. If we ignore the threat so clearly in front of us we will be doomed to fall beneath our foes.
There was silence for a moment, but then the emperor rose from his seat and walked to a wall nearby his chair. His head was looking down at the ground when he uttered the following words barely understandable Do you know what we are known as? There was confusion to say the least; it was such a strange question none of them realized how to answer. Not sure if it was a trick question or not they all stayed silent, but ever looking at their king they remained. A very uneasy silence filled the room, the only sound to be heard was the kindling of the fire of the torches, and that brought no comfort. Finally the Emperor turned and looked back at his generals, to them he answered I shall tell you, he said as he walked slowly to the other side of the room. We are known as the 'Masters of the Mediterranean'. A French merchant called us that; it's strange how the passing of time changes things. For had this been many years ago he would have said 'Masters of the World'
Diogenes, who had up until now stayed silent, showed his vast intellect and spoke. His voice was not as aged nor as hard as the other's who had spoken before him, for he was just a young man at the age of 26, yet many say he is wise beyond his age and is some what of a walking encyclopedia. Then why do you not just create a new 'legion' a troop to counter act these new threats and take ‘your’ lands back he said almost half laughing, yet he was quite serious. Many around him thought he was insane, such a thing had not been done for ages and in this day and time a standard legion could never stand up to the forces of the Turks. No no, he said shaking his head when they pointed that out. I said a new legion, one like but yet unlike that of old. All the elements are there one must only rearrange things for better quality.
As he spoke it was becoming clear of what he had in mind, a completely new type of Legion for the Eastern Roman Empire. No more would they rely on mercenaries. Diogenes drew the plans out; each legion would contain four, one hundred sixty six units of men called Vestiaritae. Armed with curved sword and a sort of long kite shield these men would form the backbone of each army and would serve as the main fighting force. As well as these soldiers, each army would contain three units of one hundred archers called Psiloi. Armed with both bow and sword they would make up the auxiliaries of the legion. To complement the Infantry a regiment of cavalry made up of both Stratiofari and Kataphractoi numbering at three hundred. The Stratiofari would serve as the main cavalry forces and be sued to drive off enemy horse archers, while the heavy kataphracts charged into the main battle aiding the infantry. All added together one legion would contain 1264 troops, and while it was only a fraction of what the older legions contained, it was seen as a vast improvement over the unordered ranks of Mercenaries the Empire currently had. Suddenly the doors to the chamber flew open as if a great wind had just gust and through them ran a messenger. He threw himself to the ground as he gasped for air.
“My Lords” he said panting trying to draw breath, “Its Prince Osman of the Turks, he’s on the move” There was a moment of silence as all eyes turned to the Emperor. Alexius sat down and asked desperately “Tell me, where is he going?
The Messenger still gasping for breath said “For Trebizond”
There was silence before them now, Alexius rose to his feet and said “Trebizond...so he wishes to take the remnants of our power with one battle Lure our entire host out from our city walls, defeat us, and then Push on Constantinople. I must say this son of the Sultan has fortitude, however I will not let him take the Last grand city. Recall our troops from Trebizond We will fall back to Constantinople and attack with the full strength of the Legions when they have been raised.”
The man sprang from his seat on the ground and hurried out the passage. The king sat down and all eyes turned to him as the doors shut, all was quiet again.
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