Chapter III Part II: On Roman Neck a Magyar Yoke

Amaury was allowed to live in exile in Thrace. He has kept his families lands outside of Constantinople (though the city itself remains in Carpathian hands), as well as some lands in Greece. The poor steppes of Crimea are also kept by him, mostly because nobody wished to take them.In essence, he is the strongest vassal in Greece, while the other states are strong enough to match him in power if they were to side against him as one. Not terribly unlikely, given the popularity of the van Vlaanderen line, and certainly he is no match for the iron grip of Imre.His council, seeing the disaster as the child's fault, take further power away from him and Amaury is forced to hand over much of his power as emperor over to his advisors.While meanwhile in the south, the Catholics, believing the conversion of the Byzantines and the return of Greece to the Catholic fold, see this as a sign of God's will. A new Crusade is called to further expand the lands of Jerusalem. The Catholic world takes a massive loss soon after however.Having slammed through the lands of Rus like a storm, the Mongols were seemingly unstoppable. When the people of Finland bowed to their will, the King of Sweden saw little choice but to give the Mongols anything they wished in exchange for his life. The Mongols, accepting the king's money and seeing what little else he had, demanded the right to move their armies through his lands.He accepted.Denmark fell, and shortly after, the horde appeared in the lands of the Teuton, sweeping south and conquering Saxony, Prussia, and even further south. The lands of Germania fell within months, collapsing inward at the sudden, horrifying swarm of Mongol warriors, with siege equipment made in Swedish forges.There is little celebration as the crusade in Jerusalem is won, despite what the Pope decrees.Soon after, however, Amaury reaches young adulthood.Amaury is tall and muscular, a talented swordsman for his age, and behind his bulk is an unwavering faith in the Lord. He seems to be growing up to be a model ruler, and he has none of the signs that his dread father had during his own childhood. Many are hopeful, though most still hold reservations.He enjoys reading the bible, not quite the theologian his father was, but still a man who can argue with the best of priests on matters of theology.And he dreams of being like his grandfather, Baldwin, loved by his men and victorious in his pursuits. He believes his blood is pure, despite the things he has heard whispered of his father, and refuses to believe that he is not to be a great ruler.Overall, Amaury is a particularly average man, but most see him take the throne and his crown and find that he seems honest, simply wishing to improve his lands and his family name. He is not his father's son.Instead of delving into madness life hos forebearer, Amaury sets to matters of state, immediately obtaining the hand of the daughter of the King of Croatia in marriage. Then, he sets his eyes on his people, making it known that he wants only for their wellbeing.He proves this soon after when he welcomes the Jews back to Thrace, paying dividends to help them rebuild their homes and communities. There is no hint that he wishes to take from them again. Amaury tells his council that he simply wishes to, "right the wrongs of my father."And shortly after, he requests baptism, writing the Pope to inform him of his change of heart. Now, for the first time in living memory, the Pope's will extends from the fertile lands of Ireland to the deserts of Anatolia, unhindered. With Amaury no longer quite the outcast he was expected to be, he begins delving into the Hungarian court, mingling with the nobles in a series of impressive balls in his home in Thrace, wowing as many Carpathian lords as he can.At these parties, with some of the most powerful people in the realm, he makes sure to hand many symbols of his faith around his keep, as well as personally leading the assorted in grace before the main meal. Afterward, Amaury showed himself as the model host, generous with food and drink and a great conversationalist.He also shows his wit with a game of chess, easily defeating even the best game players at the party. Amaury thoroughly enjoys the game and seems disappointed when he defeats all of his challengers without even a close victory.Amaury had impressed the Carpathian nobility, most of whom had never seen the son of Onfroy before. Most had feared to go into his keep, expecting a monster in his father's image. Instead, they now celebrate his name openly, even as they go home to Magyar lands, where the Carpathian Emperor grinds his teeth at the obviousness of Onfroy's plan.Most realize that Onfroy is playing a game greater than chess. Laszlo had feared that the Romans might once again rise up and had been prepared to take steps against his. Imre, however, believes his power to be secure, despite the upstart attempts at fermenting rebellion by some exile in Thrace, and makes no move against him.Onfroy, meanwhile, looks at his own people next. Despite the Greek's having slowly taken to French ways, and the Crusaders having slowly absorbed into their culture, the two are still quite different. The Latin Emperor's before Onfroy had seen themselves as above the peasants they ruled, but not Onfroy. Instead, he reaches out a hand to his people, and when his Chancellor, Count Ancel, suggests that he learn their language to truly understand their ways, Onfroy eagerly agrees.Onfroy takes to his studies quite well, and with his own power seemingly secure, soon after makes moves to slowly regain the lands lost in the war. One such move is made with the help of the Bulgarian Band, who hold the Latin Emperor's, and their ilk, in high esteem as their main employer. Some say the Bulgarian Band should be renamed the Latin Band.Nevertheless, with their aid, Onfroy's power soon begins to expand.The esteem of his court and his people is only cemented after however.While in court, a Greek peasant came to him, requesting the audience with his duke (though, referring to him as emperor. Onfroy has refused to discard the trapping of the Latin Emperor), and stammered in broken French to Onfroy about Hungarian soldiers who had slept in his home and raped his daughter. The farmer sought justice, but the court only laughed at him as he stumbled through the various wards.Onfroy began speaking in Greek instead. Heavily accented, quite poorly spoken Greek, but Greek nonetheless. The farmer stood dumbstruck as Onfroy asked him exactly what had happened.And then, deciding that Greek was not enough, he proceeded to ride personally to the farm, and to the keep of a Carpathian noble nearby, whom he spoke to in passionate Hungarian. The soldiers were hung, and his court was amazed. Baldwin could speak French and a spattering of the Dutch of his subjects, and Onfroy only spoke in French and the occasional ancient Aramaic in his bouts, but none had shown such an easy grasping of a foreign language before.And he further showed off his linguistic ability when he held several more feasts, speaking to each of his vassals in their own language when he could.Which even allowed him to connect with his old enemies, like the Count of Himerios, who had made a habit of demanding power from Amaury and attempting to break off from the realm. Instead of trying to kill him, as his father would have, Amaury invited him to his keep and feasted him while speaking to him in his native Greek. Count Himerios was swayed to Amaury's side.And so, within only a few years, Amaury had secured the loyalty of both his servants vassals and his people, as well as the friendship of the most powerful nobles in Carpathia. Even as the world burned down outside of Thrace,It seemed as if things could only get better. For the first time in a generation, the people of Greece did not live in terror.When Amaury married his betrothed, sealing an alliance with the King of Croatia, the most powerful man in Carpathia after the Emperor, it seemed as if his power was set.And when he sealed the pact with the birth of his son, Amaury, after his father, there was actually rejoicing. The people of Greece celebrated their lord's firstborn son, something they could not have imagined only a few years prior.But Amaury's goals were still higher. He stubbornly refused to accept the loss of his families station and his power seemed to be at its peak. He only needed weakness in the Empire to launch forward and secure his freedom.And he got it when the Emperor of Carpathia, Laszlo, choked to death on his food at a feast with his vassals.His son, Laszlo the Second, is not his father. Where the first Laszlo was at least a firm ruler, able to keep down rebellion like his father and at least match Amaury's attempts to gain power, his son is a fool. Wreckless, arbitrary, a known liar, and coughing and sneezing even as he is crowned, he is known as a poor steward and an even worse diplomat and his complete indifference to religion has alienated the church.His council, instead of helping him adjust to his station, instead reject him, plotting against his crown even as his father is lowered into the Earth.Amaury sees this as opportunity. The Emperor is weak, and he is at the height of his power. If there was ever a time to regain his rightful throne, it would be now.Laszlo refuses his demand for the return of his land. If he was to surrender his southern holdings, not only would he be effective giving away a large portion of his realm, but he'd practically be giving up his crown, bearing his neck to the pack of wolves that was the Carpathian court.Amaury is joined by his father-in-law in Croatia, as well as several other minor nobles. Much of the Carpathian nobility, instead of pushing their forces to help their Emperor, instead keeps their men home, respecting Amaury too much, and instead electing to sit back and watch how the game plays.The Bulgarian Band had already gathered in Thrace as soon as the first Laszlo passed, and are ready to march as the war begins.The people of Thrace, as well as the French nobility of Greece who despite their new Hungarian overlords, all pledge their support to Amaury, volunteers and glory-seekers all surging into his court to give him their sword.When the Roman armies split up and march into Carpathia, only the one in the north finds any real resistance, the rest finding that the Carpathians can't even organize a large enough army to field against him. His men secure several victories against the weak and dispirited Magyar armies soon after.The Carpathian's are scattered, and when the northern and central armies link up in Pest, the capital of the Carpathians, and begin laying siege to it, the northern realms declare war against the Emperor of Carpathia themselves. As do those in the south. The nobility sees their Emperor's power is broken and having been flattered into friendship with Amaury, see little reason to keep loyalty to their crown.Pest falls after a short siege, Laszlo fleeing the keep before the Romans even breach the walls, and in the south, the Croatians route whatever resistance the Carpathians manage to gather.The war comes to a conclusion at Csanad. It is not an epic battle, 2,000 harried Carpathian soldier's, retreating from the Croatian forces and hoping to link up with another 5,000 in the east, are ambushed by 8,000 men under Amaury's personal command. The battle is not long, but it effectively ends whatever hope the Carpathian's had of ending the war.Laszlo sends a letter to Amaury, accepting his demands, the man refusing to give the newly crowned Latin Emperor the satisfaction of his personal surrender.And once again, the Romans are free.