Chapter I Part I: Baldwin Bulgar Slayer

This is the third Rome. This is the Latin Empire.She lacks in lands, in people, in a stable power base and a strong leadership. Religious zeal has cooled down as the Crusaders have begun to realize the folly of their actions, and the surrounding powers, the Byzantines, the Bulgars, and a dozen other disparate states all look hungrily at her land.To the east, the Byzantine Emperor has escaped and formed the Empire of Nicaea. Most of his vassals, such as Trebizond to the east or the entirety of Greece, have broken away from him rule and claim that they themselves are the remnants of the Byzantine Empire, refusing to recognize the basileus's authority. Moreover, the Crusaders themselves stand conflicted, and Boniface of Montferrat, who had been snubbed from the position of emperor by the Byzantines, has fled south with a portion of the crusading army and formed the Kingdom of Thessalonica, in direct opposition to his brothers in the north.The barbarous Bulgars also look hungrily at the lands of the Latin Empire. Always wishing to push deeper into Greece, the now fractured Byzantine Empire has opened a power vacuum for them to exploit. Already, they make plans for war. And much like them, the Muslims of the east now march on the Byzantines, hoping to finally destroy their enemies and conquer Anatolia. And if they do, it is doubtful they will stop.The Empire's only saving grace is its crusaders. Men of God who are now trapped in Constantinople, they fight not only for their leader but for their lives. They know that there is nobody to show them mercy if the Empire falls. 10,000 men in all, an army enough to possibly hold off the Empire's enemies.This is Emperor Baldwin. Baudouin to his friends. He is just, humble, chaste, and a natural diplomat. However, his greed can cloud his vision, and he has been yet to be gifted with a proper heir. He lacks in any real prestige, his most notable accomplishment being his leadership in the failed crusade, and although seen as virtuous by his comrades, he is not very pious. Already reaching middling years, his lack of an heir is troubling, and his chasteness is not aiding the problem.Baldwin's council is filled with glory seekers, cowards, and zealots. Bertrand the marshal and Antoine the chaplain both encourage holy war, wishing to finish the goals of the crusade as they originally meant to and destroy the Muslim heathens. Renier and Philippe, steward and advisor, both seek the path of least resistance and simply hope for their survival in the coming years. Henri, Conon, and Narjot, chancellor, spymaster and advisor, all seek glory. Having come to the crusade for prestige and wealth, and now in the middle of Greece, they want nothing more than glorious war to sate their thirst.All of these things are potentially dangerous for Baldwin, and each of his advisors, besides the priest, Antoine, have a significant amount of power in the realm.Baldwin scarcely sits on his throne for a day before the Bulgars appear on his border. Experienced through war with their neighbors and large in number, the Bulgars can field a formidable army, and it marches over the border between the Romans shortly after a message reaches Constantinople.Baldwin distrusts the native Greeks and marches out with his Crusaders, hastily attempting to form a resistance to the Bulgarians, who wish to conquer the fledgling empire. The leadership of the army is mostly based on nobility and those who have shown the most faith in the Empire, and the cocky Crusaders hope that with their superior numbers, having 10,000 knights and men at arms to the 7,000 in the Bulgarians largest invading army, that they'd easily crush the Bulgars.As they march, a message comes from Rome. The Pope has found support for the 4th Crusade, previously unseen when the Crusaders originally set out, and several more armies are now setting out for the Holy Land. The Latin Emperor and his men, who were originally supposed to join them, are ashamed that they can not, but promise to themselves to join their brothers when the threats to their new home are destroyed. After all, surely ending the schism and bringing Christ's light to the Orthodox Greeks is a worthy goal as well?Battle is joined with the Bulgars soon after the message reaches them.It is a disaster.A hard strike on the Crusader's flank sends the entire army reeling, and a rush through the center exploits the confusion and pushed the Crusading army in two. The Crusader's attempted to rally, but the Bulgarian King personally led his knight's into the fray, widening the gap and surrounding the left flank. The inexperienced commander of the Romans army was killed, and his men began routing soon after.The Bulgars rushed forth and struck down as many men as they could, hoping to crush the Crusader threat. Although many attempted to hold off the Bulgars, the rest of the line was soon collapsing. By the end of the day, 2742 Romans lay dead or mortally wounded, compared to only 2083 Bulgarians, and the Crusaders were routed back to Constantinople as the Bulgarians lay siege to the countryside.Baldwin was humiliated, and the Bulgarian king, Kaloyan, basked in glory. The Battle of Dorostotum destroyed the visions of easy-won glory that many of the Crusaders had created. As several other skirmishes were repelled and more of the Romans were killed, Baldwin reluctantly called his vassals and their Greek subjects forth to supplement his army.The people were hesitant, but fighting Bulgarians was nothing new to the Greeks, and a suitable army, albeit of lower quality, was summoned to supplement the Crusaders losses.During the battle, Eustache, Baldwin's brother, was captured whilst attempting to rally the Crusader's left flank. Baldwin personally vowed to free him from Bulgarian captivity.Baldwin, recognizing his lack of military prowess, gave command of the army to several hand-picked men, experienced Crusaders with a wealth of knowledge in warfare, he hoped they'd be able to better organize his army and not let another Dorostotum occur. After a few scant orders, which mostly amounted to "Remove the Bulgars from my lands." He turned to matters of state.The first project on his table was that of coinage. The Latin Empire still used Byzantine hyperpyrons for its currency, the faces showing Byzantine Emperor's of past and present. This would not do for a state hoping to supplant the Byzantine's as the children of Rome, and Baldwin had new coins commissioned with his likeness, most being smelted down from Byzantine coinage.However, his greed got ahead of him. Baldwin knew that if he debased the coinage, he could spread out the coinage and profit from the endeavor. The hyperpyron was the gold standard for European trade, and since the Latin ducat was simply a smelted down equivalent, the ducat would be as well, but if debased then the coinage would very quickly lose that reputation, and even worse, his face would be on them!But the profit called to him, and if he was lucky, nobody would ever know. It never occurred to Baldwin that having the first acts of his rulership be a war and the debasement of his currency for personal profit may have been a bad omen for the Empire.While he did this, the Crusaders marched out, now with Greek levies, to defeat the Bulgars who had now moved to Klokoknitsa.The Bulgars were yet again outnumbered now that the Crusaders had reinforcements, but the Bulgars had reinforced their armies as well, and the difference in numbers was even smaller. The Bulgarians had besieged the city of Klokoknitsa and had spread their lines out around the city's walls. Kaloyan of Bulgaria had expected the Romans to come much as they had before, cocky and sure of themselves, and moving with all the loudness an army that expected an easy victory could be sure of.Instead, a portion of the Crusading army, led by Narjot of Thrake, who had previously been given marginal control of the army but now had total, launched an ambush on the weakest portion of the Bulgarian line with a hundred of his men. The Bulgarian soldiers panicked, and thought the entirety of the Roman army had arrived, and sent most of their force towards the battle.With the lines diminished, the Romans launched their actual assault, sweeping the Bulgarian lines and slamming into their main force in the back and flank before they could even organize to fight Narjot's force. The Bulgarians put up a strong fight, but the Romans had caused a route even before the battle had truly begun, and King Kaloyan was forced to concede the battle, reorganizing his men and withdrawing back into Bulgaria. It was the Bulgar's turn to be humbled.During the battle, the Bulgarian general, Bishop Petar of Nish was also captured. The Bulgarian's finest commander, his loss would force the king to begin leading the van himself.This would prove to be the turning point in the war, for the Romans pursued the Bulgarians into Tyrnovo, and King Kaloyan was forced to lead the defense of his nation himself.Tyrnovo and Narjot met on the field of battle soon after. Both led the van, and both led the center into a charge. Cavalry hit cavalry, bowmen fired on bowmen, and tails would tell that Narjot of Thrake challenged the Bulgar king to single combat in the name of his emperor.Whether or not that is true will never truly be known, what is known is that Narjot led his men against the Bulgars, and within an hour, the Bulgar's king had fallen from his horse and was found dead. With the death of their king, the Bulgarian army shattered and retreated into the countryside.Without the king, the war was useless. The claims he pressed were in his name, and as the leader of the conflict, Bulgaria had nobody to continue it. The war was over only hours after the king's death.His daughter, Princess Bulyana, took the throne soon after. She was not particularly skilled and was not fit to rule a nation. Her father had kept the northern Cumans down while also almost expanding the Bulgarian state to the Aegean. He was smart, strong, and handsome. She was not.Shortly after peace fell on the two realms, Emperor Baldwin traded Petar of Nish, the famed Bulgarian general, for his brother Eustache.In response to the death of the Bulgarian monarch, Etrek of the Cumans rose up. An economic genius, the massive coffers of Wallachia meant that he would be able to raise an army the size of his queens on a whim, with more money to spare. In fact, he did so almost immediately after the death of the king. The Cumans had been repressed by a strong leader and a unified realm, but a weak willed queen was somebody he could easily rebel against.Etrek brutally put down the Bulgarian armies that marched to stop him, putting the heads of each of their enemies on pikes. The largest pike was reserved for Petar of Nish, who had come back home to immediately try and fight the Cumans at his queen's behest.Some whispered that Etrek may not be entirely sane.Emperor Baldwin, however, saw opportunity. The north was a source of danger as long as the Bulgarian's remained strong, and although the Cumans had held off the first Bulgarian forays, an even larger army was being formed in Sofia to combat them. If he was to invade the Bulgarians, he could take some choice pieces of land and clear the way for the Cumans, effectively dismantling the Bulgarian state.War was declared. The Romans hoped to take Mesembria, Tyrnovo and Styrmon. Forested and mountainous, the areas would be far easier to mount a defensive out of than most of the lands currently owned by the emperor. The province of Karvuna would also be taken. From there, the Bulgarian port of Constantina was only a stone's throw and easily blocked off from the rest of the Bulgarians. If a war was to begin, a small army could easily take the port and block the Bulgars from the sea.The initial battles swept aside Bulgarian resistance, the Bulgars losing many more men than the attacking Romans. Soon after, the Roman armies split apart and spread across Bulgaria, preventing the Bulgarian army from maneuvering out of the Roman lines, while the rebels were given the northern portion of Bulgaria to conquer.The Roman strategy was proving effective, and many saw the genius in such a move. With the north secured, the Romans could more easily defend against their many enemies to the south and east, such as the Nicaeans, who had brought Trebizond back under their heel and now stood even more united.In most circles, Baldwin was called Baldwin the Wise, his maneuvering of the Empire from certain doom to an uncertain hope was celebrated by the Crusaders, who believed their emperor to be their best chance of salvation.Meanwhile in the west, word came that the Muslims attempt to conquer Sicily and make a move into Italy had failed, possibly due to the renewed vigor of the Fourth Crusade.This was a boost to the Crusader's morale, which had been lowering as word came from Jerusalem about the constant and terrible failures of the crusading army. None said it, but many wondered how much a difference 10,000 men could have made. If they had not strayed from their duty, would Jerusalem have conquered her enemies by now?There was not all bad news, however. Baldwin's wife sent word to him that she had quickened with child, and a son had been born. In response, the emperor had casks of wine opened up and celebration spread through the Roman army, even the Greeks celebrated when enough spirits were put in them. The king had been worried about his succession, but the news that his line was safe heartened him.In honor of young Onfroy, Baldwin personally led his men in the next skirmish against the Bulgarians. Tales tell that he wrote Onfroy's name and full noble title as a prince of the Latin Empire on a golden cloth, wrapped it around his pike, and rode into battle at the front of his household guard.Some would say this was a poor omen for the future of his son. His lance struck true but lodged into a Bulgarian's armor. Baldwin didn't let go in time and the movement yanked his arm back, dislocating it immediately, and the force yanked him out of his saddle. Baldwin slammed into the ground and pulled out his sword, his helmet and crown having fallen in the confusion. He managed to kill one attacker, but a Bulgarian footman managed to score a strike across the emperor's cheek before his guard managed to take him to safety.The battle was won, but with far greater losses than the Roman's had expected. When they got back to camp, worse news arrived.The Crusade had fallen apart, the crusaders abandoning the cause and returning to their ships and back home to Europe, a scant few appearing in Constantinople. The Kingdom of God would be left to fend for itself, as even with the renewed vigor, the Fourth Crusade was ultimately a failure.Were they to blame?News of the failed Crusade drowned out the other news. News of strange horse lords in the east, unifying under a single leader. Nobody knew that this would prove to be of far greater consequence than a failed Crusade.Soon after, a huge Bulgarian army appeared outside the Roman camps. Next to the Bulgarian lions, red and white stripes marked the heraldry of the King of Hungary.The Bulgars had received aid, and the Roman's emperor had fallen.The Hungarian-Bulgarian army swept aside the Romans soon after, the armies retreating east in disarray. During the chaos of the retreat, Narjot of Thrake, the renowned Crusader general, died from an arrow piercing the slit of his visor. Although a Bulgarian army was beaten off in Rusi, there was not enough men to hold off both the Bulgarians and the Hungarians at once, and the victorious army was forced to withdraw as well.Nobody said it, but word began to spread. Onfroy, son of Baldwin, the Prince of Rome, was a curse upon the empire. His birth had only brought disaster.Rumors began to spread, about the oddities of Onfroy. Baldwin was too busy on the campaign trail to see for himself, but tales reached him of his son laughing at pain, scaring away animals, and making hellish noises when close to the other children. Words such as 'demon' and 'Satanic' reach his ears.Baldwin is worried and asks Bishop Antoine, who had accompanied him on the campaign trail, for advice.The answer is less than spectacular. Antoine had recently been in Constantinople, having been the one to bear news of the failed crusade, and personally vouched for the stories. According to him, the boy was a monster, a spawn of Satan, his mother a witch who danced with the Devil himself.Baldwin, however, would not hear it. His dynasty needed an heir, and despite evidence to the contrary, and whatever vicious rumors the petty nobles of Constantinople would spread, Onfroy was a gift from God. Word reached him that a suitable nanny had appeared in his court, a genius young woman who had seemingly appeared from nowhere, a variety of nobles Baldwin had never heard of sent letters vouching for her, and he eagerly accepted her aid.Worse news continued to filter in, however. The doux of the Aegean Islands, Theodoros the Hammer, had sent his men to occupy the isles of Lesbos.This was truly unfortunate, as the Romans had scarcely enough men to hold off the newly combined force of the Hungarians and Bulgarians. Additionally, if the Aegeans believed themselves to be strong enough to destroy the Empire, surely the other states would follow.Slowly, the emperor recovered, however, his wound turning into a scar. He once again took the helm of his army and began a new strategy to combat the Bulgars and his enemies to the south.First, a war chest was necessary. Luckily, Baldwin's greed meant that was in no short supply, and the treasury was already well stocked with Byzantine gold.With the money, a group of Bulgarian mercenaries led by the legendary knight, Sir Ognen the Bellringer, was gathered for a hefty sum. Getting his nickname from the huge mace he swung in battle, smacking the sides of helmets to ring them like bells and kill the unlucky bastard inside, his skill in warfare was near legendary. He would be a suitable commander against the Byzantines.While the Romans reorganized, the Cumans continued rampaging across the north. However, the Hungarian armies moved up north to stop them, putting down a Cuman rebellion in Birdlad, who had been hoping to join their brethren in Bulgaria. Instead of bothering with the land, the King of Hungary gave it to the Teutonic Order, in order to give the kingdom a buffer from its Cumanian vassals, and to act as a watchman on the kingdom's most unruly subjects.Soon after the declaration of the Teuton's new home, Baldwin's brother, Eustache, came to him. Eustache had been humiliated by his capture during the first war, and had began praying daily and styling himself as a monk, with a hope to have God show him the light and make him a strong warrior. When he heard of the holy knights battling the pagans to the north, he knew his calling.Baldwin gave his brother his blessing, proud of his atonement, and continued on with the campaign.With the Hungarians busy stomping out Cuman rebellion, Bulgaria was left suddenly undefended. A token force of Hungarians was left behind to aid the Bulgarian army, but it would not be enough to defend against a full assault, and the Romans swept them aside like toy soldiers.In the south, the Aegeans were beaten back by Sir Ognen and his companions, and the islands themselves were soon put under siege. The mercenaries were brought north to shatter the remaining Bulgarian armies, and the queen, realizing the folly in further resistance, surrendered.