Reichstag Headquarters
Frankfurt
Holy Roman Empire

"-SMELL LIKE CABBAGE!"

"How DARE you! My daughter smells of the sweetest roses - I think you mistake her for your OWN swine of a daughter!"

"Order! Order!"

"Quiet! All of you! This is madness!"

"YOU CALLOUS RAT-FACED LYING SACK OF-"

"We have more pressing matters at hand now!"

"And since when are you in charge, Adolf? Are you der Fuhrer now? The leader? Eh?"

"-UNCOUTH TACTLESS HANG-NAILED-"

"Order!"

"Dammit, Himmel, shut up!"

"BLASHPHEMY! BLASPHEMY!"

"-BUCK-TOOTHED SWINDLING-"

"Hans, messenger from the Imperial Palace!"

Silence, followed by horns.

Not that Hans would have heard them; he was, of course, a deaf-mute. He marched in, bowed (he was not bowed to, obviously), and nodded to the Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm of Bavaria.

The Baron left his seat and moved down to Hans, whereupon he was handed a small note. Sigmund bowed; Hans left; the note was opened.

"The Byzantines have invaded Bulgaria," he said calmly, almost apathetically, although in truth he was just as shocked as...

"OUTRAGE!"

"SCANDAL!"

"WAR-MONGERERS!"

In a flash the room was filled with the voices of the Reichstag, which were in no way coherent:

INSANETERRORTRAVESTYMUSTHEATHENWARARMYPOPEDISASTER

von Wilhelm raised a hand, and the room fell silent immediately.

"I will be arriving by the time you finish this note-"

"His Magnificent Illustriously Glorious Eminence, the Servant of Jesus Christ, the Servant of the Apostles, the Emperor of the World, the Most Pious Holy Roman Kaiser Otto the Third!"

Ta-ta-taaa!"

The doors opened and in walked the man - possibly the most powerful in Europe - himself.

A shudder ran through the room; a shiver down every lord and priest's spine.

Der Kaiser? Come to the Reichstag? Why?

Indeed, it was highly irregular, and at first Baron von Wilhelm, normally the quickest man in the Empire, stalled - should he return to his seat? Or wait where he was?

He stared at the little note while the Reichstag members rose and bowed - some so deeply they hit their heads upon the backs of the men in front of them - and then turned to the Kaiser:

"My liege, how... unexpected? We are humbled by your presence-"

Otto raised a hand and the Baron fell silent immediately.

Der Kaiser stared at the Reichstag, and the Reichstag stared back.

Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

Otto III was privately considered - for of course they could not say so in public! - rather... soft by the members of the Reichstag. Not that he was necessarily a bad man or even inept, but generally occupied more with matters of the Church than the Empire, of the Kingdom of Heaven rather than the Kingdom of Germany. He enjoyed going on pilgrimages and collecting relics, and was not known for having a very forceful personality - that was the trademark of his Deputy Commissioner, Baron Sigmund von Wilhelm, whom everybody knew would succeed Otto...

"The Byzantines have invaded Bulgaria."

"Yes, my liege, we received your message-"

Raised hand. Silence.

"This cannot be tolerated. Our flank cannot be risked. The Duke Josef von Speyer of Carenthia will lead a campaign into Hungary and Croatia in order to normalize the situation. The Pope has already been informed that I consider this an essential part of our 'war' against the Byzantines, of which we have already received his blessing and promise of funds."

Then the Duke stood.

"I thank you, your excellency, for appointing me to this command."

Otto nodded, and the Duke sat down.

"Am I to take it, then, my liege, that we are indeed at war with the Byzantines?" This from Sigmund.

"Nein. I do not wish a full-scale war yet, and neither, I think, does Basil II. Duke von Speyer, under no circumstances are you to seek any actual engagement with Byzantine forces in the unlikely event that you encounter them. Take any means necessary to defend yourself, of course, and do not surrender the initiative - but do not take the offensive."

"Jawohl, mein Kaiser-"

"Under pain of death."

"Er... ja, ja, mein Kaiser. I shall do as you command."

"That is all."

And with that, Otto III left.

***

So began the preparations for war.

The previous planning of the Germans came in handy; the armouries quickly began to deplete as vassals were equipped with spears, shields, bows and arrows. Knights shared boastful tales of past glories and assured each other that it was they who would be the first to kill.

Slowly but surely, the force began to assemble at Klagenfurt. The Duke of Carenthia had placed under his command a small but ambitious force of some 3500 spearmen and 2000 bowmen, assembled from the gathered vassals; all received leather breastplates and helmets, and the spearmen large shields. Some 250 knights would travel alongside the Duke, and a siege train of two catapults (dismantled, their pieces in carts) rounded out the assortment.

Josef von Speyer was loathe to attack Hungary until he could assemble a greater force; he would first attack and take the small, weak Kingdom of Croatia, presenting an immediate front to the Byzantines while a more suitable army for invading Hungary was prepared.

Soon, very soon, the Roman Empires would meet head-on...