Chapter IV Part I: Death of Empires

Disaster strikes Christendom as the Byzantine’s to the east crumble in civil war, petty nobles battling over the position of basileus. While this would normally present opportunity to Amaury to strike at the Empire’s nemesis, he is beaten to this by the Mongols, who sweep in through the Caucasus and conquer the warring parties.This move comes at a shock to Amaury in his court, who now truly hold the title of successors to the Roman Empire. While their position was always precarious, this change means that the Empire is now the only thing that stands between the Mongols and further conquest in the Balkans. Although the Bosporus gives some protection, ships sighted off to sea prove the Mongols have inherited much of the Byzantine’s old navy.Refugees swarm into Constantinople as the people of Anatolia find their homes and churches burned, and not only does the conquest prove disastrous for the Empire, it shows poorly for all of Christianity. The Byzantine Empire is the last bastion of Orthodox Christianity, and was one of the most powerful Christian nations left in Europe.With the Holy Roman Empire falling before Mongol invasion and Byzantium gone, Christianity is finding itself in the least control of Europe it has been since the 9th century.With Christianity on the retreat in Europe itself, Jerusalem’s borders begin to shrink. Without support from their strongest allies, the Kingdom of God seems to be in a precarious situation at best, and many fear that it sits on the precipice of destruction. Declarations of Jihad from the Caliph only further seems to cement its poor position.Meanwhile, further north in the Latin Empire, Emperor Amaury begins to secure his position. Wedged between the spiteful Emperor in Carpathia and the Mongol Hordes to his east, the fires from the once Roman cities visible from the towers of Constantinople, Amaury has sought out foreign support for his crown.Closer to Europe than Jerusalem, and less reliant on constant aid, he finds allies more easily than his southern brothers. One such is the Holy Roman Emperor, who marries into the van Vlaanderen family by betrothing his third son to a van Vlaanderen bastard.Further attempts to create a defense for the realm is a research into eastern technologies, using methods learnt from scholars that have come west with the Mongols. Although the screaming rocket never truly takes off in the Latin Empire, it teaches its generals many things, especially the effect of morale on war and tactics. Some of the first treatises and methods on proper warfare are written by Roman generals as they research ways to hold off the Mongols. The screaming rocket is just one of the many results.Screaming rockets aren’t the only cultural exchange, however, as the Venetian, Marco Polo goes east to discover the source of the Mongol hordes and learn of their ways. He finds himself in other lands, such as Cathay, and he is just one of many examples of a growing expansion of the roads across the steppes. The Mongols now reach from Anatolia to Germany, and walking east on the roads the Mongols now own will lead a man to the easternmost fringes of the known world.The Mongol invasions are a travesty for all of Europe, but the Latin Empire is experiencing previously untold amounts of trade as merchants travel east through Anatolia and into the steppes, all the way to Cathay, or from Persia and into Georgia.The conquests continue however, as the Mongols demand the lands of Nurnberg, declaring rightful ownership of the entire area. While the Holy Roman Empire had been in retreat, and its various vassals had a tendency to bow before Mongol invasion, Nurnberg is considered one of the many capitals of the Empire and the Imperial Court, and the Holy Roman Emperor personally had the Mongol envoy killed on the spot.This has brought a rather obvious reaction, and the Emperor has declared the war for Nurnberg to be a ‘last stand’ for the Empire. Although normally divided from the constant infighting, the Empire has united with its allies, which include the Doge of Venice and Amaury, to finally try and halt the advancing Mongol horde. The Holy Roman Emperor, Otto III, has gathered every man of fighting age, and apparently spent the majority of his treasury to try and gather the largest force of mercenaries possible, and with the full support of his vassals and allies, as well as the majority of Christendom, he has finally gathered a force to oppose the Mongols.As Amaury is allied to Otto, his screaming rockets and military preparedness will now be put to the test. If this is the west’s last stand against Mongol aggression, it may very well be the east’s as well. If the Germans are broken, then there will be no other strong Christian power to save the Romans when the Mongols decide to move over the strait.Amaury does his part in the war and the Roman armies march north. In addition, he also begins making connections in the north, and accompanies his northern convoys up the Volga to the Finnish clans, where they trade for furs, timber and other goods.This pays off as some of the Finnish clans agree to open another front against the Mongols, Finnish warriors marching to help the Germans and Romans. All men are needed, and the coalition is glad to have them.Prince Amaury II also comes of age at this time. Although he is of impressive stature, and has dreams of becoming a warrior, he was raised from behind closed doors as Amaury I feared for his son’s life, the ironically byzantine nature of the Latin court combined with the wishes of Carpathia to see the van Vlaanderen’s weakened meant assassination was a constant threat, and his reclusion has showed.Amaury II is afraid of groups of people, exceedingly distasteful of concepts such as kindness, and walks around with a sad gloom immediately noticeable to all. In addition, despite a library in his hideout, Amaury has failed to learn too much about the art of generalship and despite some claims to be a warrior, when it comes to leading other men he is sadly lacking.The war goes on, however, and another front is opened up with the Mongols through the Caucasus as Georgia joins the war on the side of the Christians. The war is rapidly beginning to envelop much of the known world, with realms from Persia to Denmark fighting on one side or the other. It is already possibly the largest war in the past few hundred years.It’s really no surprise then that the stress of the war begins to reach Amaury. Helping manage three fronts of a war, constantly seeking new alliances and worrying about the fate of his realm has left Amaury feeling more and more stressed with his role.Amaury II meanwhile, marries into Italian nobility. Heike has some claim on the nominally Bulgarian island of Sicily, and although the war with the Mongols is pressing, the Empire has also been looking for ways to expand into the Mediterranean for years, and Sicily is a tempting future target. And in the worst case that the Mongol’s should overwhelm Greece, it could also be a good place to escape for the royal family.Shortly after the marriage, Amaury’s wife passes from the world due to one of the many sicknesses brought from the east. Amaury’s stressed life does not improve at the news, and he throws himself even further into his work. Work which grows even more difficult as the Muslim powers, ancient enemies nearly forgotten by the Empire, have decided to use the instability across the east as a chance to absorb Georgia.The war in Georgia is only worsened by large scale rebellion, the nation's southern vassals demanding their independence from the Georgian throne.The Roman armies march east, allowing the Germans to hold off the Mongol’s armies from Denmark while they attempt to relieve the Georgian armies. Battle is joined with the Muslim’s soon after.The war with the Mongols, Muslims, and other heretics however is bringing newfound religious fervor. Although the original religious further the crusaders brought was subdued by their initial failure and brought further down by the reign of Onfroy, the current war requires every man, woman and child to be prepared to lay down their lives for faith and Emperor, and it shows.Provinces have slowly begun to push out of their failing Orthodox beliefs and accept the Catholic faith their Emperor fights for. Lesbos is one of many that follow under the sway of the Catholic faith.The needs of the war are massive however, and like in Georgia, opportunistic vassals prove themselves to be one of the greatest threats to the realm. The Blachernae family, still scrabbling for power after their failure to take control of Onfroy’s regency, has gathered support from several of the vassal’s of the realm.Although their base of support is rather small, the hope of the rebels is that with Roman armies preoccupied in the east and west, they’ll be able to take control rather bloodlessly. As expected, however, Amaury is too proud of his throne, having fought for it tooth and nail against various Byzantine warlords, the Carpathian menace, and now against the full might of the Mongol horde.Several power hungry vassals attempting to bite at their master’s heels is nothing to Amaury van Vlaanderen, who marches his army west as not only rebellion breaks out, but his in laws from Flanders march to enforce their own claims in the chaos.As the Roman soldiers move west, Amaury briefly orders his force diverted to aid several 3,000 Georgians preparing to hold the main army of the Muslim Shah.With the assistance of Amaury’s men, the Shah’s army collapses in on itself, and soon after, the Shah surrenders. The Georgians proceed to march their army into Trebizond and conquer the province, and the east, for now, seems secure. At the least from the Muslims, if not the Mongols.Amaury II has a daughter, making Amaury a grandfather. One of the few pieces of good news to come from home as he makes his march back across Anatolia.Assisting the Christian armies are several knightly monastic orders. One of the more notable is the Teutonic Order. Doing battle proudly across the steppes of Russia. They primarily use Roman bases in the area to plan and organize their strikes against the Mongol’s soft underbelly, and they request the province of Lower Don in order to better do battle. The Romans gladly gift the proud warriors the new land, and receives gold for the war effort in return.Many expected the war to be an easy win for the Mongols, their armies nearly three times the size of the combined Christian forces. However, as it grinds on, the Mongols have been forced further and further back into Germany, and it seems as if at the very least, the Christians may be able to hold their own. In addition to this, the Khan of the Mongols passes in battle, and the horde quickly collapses into infighting.Hoping to use this chance to finally break the Mongol’s back, the Pope calls for holy war in Germany. Lotharingia will be freed, he declares, and dozens of kings and knights pledge their service to God in this holy war. Among the participating nations are the French, English and most of the petty Spanish Kingdoms.Amaury’s armies also enter Constantinople and turn a large host of rebels away, forcing them back into their holes as the capital is freed from its several month long siege. As the knights of the Empire reenter through the cities gates, with Amaury in his finest parade armor at their helm, numerous loyalists begin forming into contingents to aid their Emperor.They are sent to Thrake, still the official capital of the Empire, and Amaury meets with them and merges their forces into his main army soon after, bringing the fight to the rebels.Watching their chances slip by, the treacherous family of Amaury make their move, Boudewijn declaring his intent to conquer the Latin Empire on his sporous claims.He chose a poor time however, as the rebels are soon routed from their homes and their leaders captured, and most of the dissent in the realm dies down as Amaury secures his rule once more.With the Roman armies, supplemented by a newly raised force of mercenaries, marching north to assist the crusaders and their German allies once more, the Khan realizes his attempt to take Nurnberg has failed, and he sends an envoy asking for a mutual peace.The German Emperor agrees, and Mongol forces soon begin focusing their attention on the swarming crusaders. Most of their former enemies simply declare their assistance in the Crusade however, and the situation does not improve for the heathen enemy.In the midst of the war, Amaury’s idiotic in law's attempt to march their force straight from Flanders into Greece, and are wiped out by Mongols along the way. A rather fitting end for one who wishes to capitalize on the war’s, thinks Amaury, and not another thought is spared for them.Some time passes, and although Amaury would love to bring his sword against the Mongol’s, the war for Nurnberg was nearly disastrous for the Empire, and heavily in debt, it needs time to recover. It is Amaury’s hope that he can centralize his rule in the meantime, gathering his forces anew and retaking the lands that had slipped away from Imperial rule in the last century.So after several months, Amaury declares rule on the Duke of Thessalonika. Declaring that his independence to be a violation of their ancient feudal contract to the Emperor, Amaury also declares his intention to retake the County of Philippopolis on similar grounds.The wars are small and have little effect on the nation’s economy, which is booming as the Empire has become a zone of peace in the chaos of the massive war. The trade and other benefits this brings is a boon to the economy, and the war chest for the Empire’s eventual future wars against an actual power.Amaury has his tax collectors push harder, attempting to maximize his profits for the benefit of the war chest, but there is some kickback. Ebbon de Blachernae, his steward, is killed by a mob of angered peasants who are sick of the constant taxing of their goods.Some claim that this was an assassination. Ebbon being killed to further damage the treacherous Blachernaes, whose sole remaining heir is the Countess of Naxos.Everything is not well in the royal court however, as six years after the end of the Nurnberg War, the dreaded plague reaches the Empire. With the Crusades leaving Europe in flames and refugees pouring in from all sides, they bring with them a tide of disease as of yet unseen in Constantinople.The deaths are awful; bodies being stacked in the streets. Young Pernelle, Amaury’s youngest, dies of the plague at the age of 20. The death shatters the alliance between Jerusalem and the Latin Empire, the marriage alliance fading away into nothingness.