Rome, 1146
The Eternal City:
It was in panic like only a few times before in its storied history. Once Kaiser Heinrich's army had crossed the border into Papal territory, word had spread like wildfire that he was coming straight for the Seat. After all, where else would this cagey old man be going? Surely he wasn't taking his army on an excursion to see the sights of Campania.
The people's fears proved to be right. Some time after the Papal borders had been violated, the city had awoken to find an Imperial Army knocking at its door.
The outnumbered garrison had quite a task to do even before it set off to do battle with the Kaiser's forces: calm the people. Eventually, Guido de Avena, commander of the garrison, made his way to the city square, got everyone's attention, and made the following announcement:
"QUIET!", he boomed. "God will see us through these hard times. After all, the Kaiser has no siege equipment, and by the time he builds enough to overcome these walls, good Pope Gregory will be here and dispel this monster forever!"
Meanwhile, outside the city gates, Kaiser Heinrich gave his orders.
"Ballistae, forward!"
The sound of bolts hitting the gate suddenly set the city back into a panic. Guido, fed up, directed his forces to the point of battle. This was not supposed to be happening!
The Kaiser watched the ballistae work with uncontained satisfaction. At long last, the gates broke open and the road to Rome and redemption was clear.
As the men walked down to road to the city, a spontaneous cheer erupted for their gallant leader. Few knew how long he had brooded and dreamed of this moment, but all knew that he still harbored some resentment towards Pope Gregory.
This is my moment, he thought to himself as he entered the city personally.
Guido de Avena marshalled his forces in a desperate attack to try to drive the Imperials out and kill the Kaiser, but his opponents' morale was quite high. After all, how many men could say that they took part in the capture of the Eternal City? It was hopeless. This was a day for Heinrich. Guido was quickly swarmed and fell victim to hundreds of spear-thrusts.
The yellow-and-black steamroller continued to plough the way to the very city square that had been used as a point to calm the people of Rome less than half an hour ago. From there, a horn sounded, and Kaiser Heinrich and his escort charged triumphantly in, cementing the Imperial victory.
Victorious, Heinrich turned to his men.
"Take whatever you want. This is a day of celebration. However, leave the churches alone."
Cheering, the men proceeded to loot the city.
This is the easy part, the Kaiser thought to himself. What will be difficult is predicting and dealing with Gregory's revenge.
The fall of Rome
Originally Posted by TosaInu
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