[BC AAR] Basileia ton Romaîon book 2: The Gates to Asia

[Musthavename]

Ofcourse Regent. If we lost you aswell we'd almost certainly have a civil war.

[Dreiko]

Regent,

I have sent every available informant in the remaining Abbasid lands trying to discover the Empreror´s whereabouts and, God forbid, fate. The information i have received so far point to the Emprero being alive and held only to be exchanged for peace and ransom. I have nothing else at the moment.
In order to keep the spirits up in the Army i can have one of my scribes write an declaration or letter, that we can later claim was written by the Empreror. The seal will not look very real but it will fool anyone who has not seen the actual Imprerial Seal. After all we only want to fool peasants and profesional soldiers not Senators and Generals.
I will be waiting for your orders.

Athanasios Aelius Comnenus

[Kallum]

how old is he? Or how much more can i live?

he's 59 the great commander Raunous will die soon
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Athanasios,

In order to prevent a direct civil war I want you to give orders within your organisation to kill any senators in Constantinople who are talking openly and in secret about the the disappearance of Constantine and how to restore power to the senate, as we all know that is the main goal of many Senators. Furthermore some other spies that are working on the mission are telling me about a secret meeting between the main heads of the orders. See if you can infiltrate that meeting and perhaps arrest some headfigures of these orders. Use violence if needed. Unlike Constantine I will not wait for friendship to have effect. Proper measures are to be used against these traitors.

Generals,
I ask you to clean your armies of any spies or assasins from the orders of Mars and the red eagle.

Matthew,
I'm happy to know that we'll be fighting in the future side by side.

I shall arrive soon from Antioch then we can discuss these matters and ofcourse the campaign it's self.

Regent Ammonios Palaiologus

[|Sith|Duke_Spartacus]

First scout report

Regent

Last week, we marched from Baghdad. All was quiet, and it was disconcerting. Every minute i am expecting a abbasid army on my back, although my very capable scouts have found only small bands of disorganized warriors for some distance around me. Just yesterday i sent patrols back on my path to see if we are followed, wich is a good possibility with this terrain.

We will clear the way for the Legions. With the taking of baghdad the morale is more then restored. The Auxilliary legion is ready for battle again after weeks of rest. Our swords are sharp and our shields are repaired. The supply train has been set up and we have enough supplies to last 2 months.
* ink was in a small puddle here, as if the writer hung the pen over the paper without writing*

Regent, disturbing news has reached me. I decided to continue this letter as it would take time making another new one. My scouts report there are Abbasid forces on their way to Baghdad. Maybe large enough to be a challenge to my Auxillia Legion. I suspect treachery, as it seems they know exactly where to find us. I have set my most loyal officers to questioning the staff discreetly.

I will not write you before this is solved. The army needs me now. I will report with you as soon as possible. I hope i will be able to write it then, as the outcome is not certain.

Auxilliary army, 7 days from Baghdad

Spartacus

[Richard of Crewe]

Spartacus,


as the orders of the Regent called auxilia armies to attack abbasids in the field, i shall lead my Kypchack auxilia to your aid. they will provide a wonderful surprise attack, as long as the Saracens don't realise we'll be tracking them on their way to you!

None of my men have been found to be collaborators in the Mars or Red Eagle orders. we haven't taken any suspicious new recruits either. this can only be good news.

i shall be at your position inside a week, due to our speed.


Best of luck,

Ricardus

[|Sith|Duke_Spartacus]

Ricardus

Thank you for your support. We have the estimate that we would lose about 1/4 of the army if we would attack them head-on. Your aid will be most helpfull as this victory would pave the way to the next great city. I have found 2 spies in my ranks. 1 has died from the questioning and 1 has answered some questions.

They both knew the other was in my army, and between them they wanted to destroy this army's chain of command, so the army would descend into chaos. so they could destroy the army in ambush. I have great news for you Ricardus, they do not know of your vicinity, it seems your scouts not only look out but also kill their scouts. We have captured several men patrolling, and they seem to be oblivious of your presence.

We will hold the battle of as long as possible, we await your arrival with great anticipation.

Spartacus

[Dreiko]

To all Field Generals and Commanders of the Empire,

according to the regents orders i have arranged for the arrest or deaths of all those we know are involved in any way with the Red Eagle and its allies. There is a need to be swift and decisive, therefore i have devised a plan for this attack to be full and unexpected. In a few days some of you may find part of their staff missing. If this is so, do not look for them. They are either dead or in custody.
In a few days (i do not wish to reveal when) the Order of Fate will arrest all those involved in one fell swoop. They will all be killed or captured the same day, with only hours to spare. This is planned this way, so that they have no time to warn each other of for the important members to hide.
The meeting of the Orders will take place in a "secure" place. That place is the basement of a tavern belonging to one of my agents. The tavern will be swarming with soldiers and they will be arrested one by one as they appear for the meeting. I will take all precaution to prevent this from being heard at the outside. If it proves impossible i have an entire century of men ready to storm the streets and keep everything quite.
It will all be done as ordered.

Athanasios Aelius Comnenus

[Richard of Crewe]

Spartacus, let me know of any features of the environment on the battlefield that could be of some use when we begin our raid. as i learnt training with the Papal Guard in my youth, everything we need to prevail is around us. ideally avoiding any spear positions the enemy may have. any artillery, we can destroy for you as well, so you don't have to send out suicide squads.


we shall be at your last known location in 2 days, if we push ourselves.

Ricardus.

Athanasios,

Thank you for the warning. none of my men appear to be collaborators, the majority are just Kypchak tribal men with no interest in politics. i shall be vigilant, and i will also interrogate the leader of the Abbasid army we are due to intercept soon, to see if there is any outside involvement.

i hope this business can be dealt with... efficiently.


Ricardus P. Grattus

[Kallum]

Well my brothers I have arrived at Baghdad if you want to meet with me I'm in the old palace of Shapur that has been renovated.

According to my messenger the news of the emperor's return has been accepted in most of the empire but I urge you to forbade any of your soldiers to speak about this matte with relatives. Any rumours can prove devastating for the order.

Athanasios congratulation with your outstanding work I'll make sure that you will be well awarded. Have your men in Constantinople already gave any word about their mission I'm eager to know

Ricardus and Spartacus I wish you the best of luck with your coming battle, may you prove just as succesfull as I and the emperor think you will be. The situation in Baghdad is quiet and unpleasant. Not many people like us yet. I hope that will change soon. Also not to forget Ricardus and Spartacus for the beginning of the campaign I think it's best if your armies stay close to Baghdad if the Abbasids decide to attack their old glorious capital

Athanasios I'm afraid I can't read german or french like Constantine could but I can read Arabic, so if you have that you think is of value send it to me I'll translate it as soon as possible

Your Regent, Ammonios Palaiologus

Richard, Dreiko and Spartacus + rep for your outstanding roleplay

[Kallum]

BTW stormer it came to my attention that you are muslim, I hope you don't mind that some of my updates may contain racism against muslims or other I certainly don't think this way about muslims ofcourse but just to draw the image of a 13th century Christian....

So if you feel attacked or something I want to apoligize for it as I don't mean any of it

[Commander Ruunu]

I began to feel oldness. I have waged war all my life and i don't have family, son whom i could teach all i have learned. Now i think, have i changed the history? Does all my work matter? How many lives have i destroyed? How many soldiers have i killed and how many under my command were sent to death? All these questions. Will i go to heaven or hell? Most of all i have begun to question my brutality in sack of Baghdad. Was it necessary? I don't know what to do anymore. Should i retire? No, maybe i should charge against certain death, to the enemy? Or should i become chronicler? All this life i have taken lives and i have given none. Maybe i saved some lives, innocents, men, woman, children, soldiers...These question, questions.... I feel empty. Was i destined to be general? Am i good general? Maybe i could have been merchant? Only more questions, but less answers. Soon i will be gone. Who will take my place? Empire is full of good generals. Ricardus and Spartacus seem to be good generals and one they they might be the ones who take my place. Many generals who joined this Empire (AAR) are now dead or senatores, retired from active combat duty. Shall empire live on? Will it be destroyed someday? Only more questions, less answers......

[Richard of Crewe]

very well sir. after the coming victory, i will remain close to Baghdad with my forces. any policing of the city you need doing, my men will happily hunt down malcontents. Kypchaks also make excellent scouts, so if you need a detachment sent in the direction Zagros, Georgia, the Hejaz or Oman, we can find the remaining Abbasids, and relay our knowledge back to you.


Ricardus, Ethnarch Auxilia



Spartacus,


My horsemen are a mere day away now. my advance scouts have made contact with the reverse of the Abbasid lines. We will be at you aid soon.

Send me a messenger with any detail regarding the field, before the Abbasids block their passage.


I shall drink with you in Baghdad soon!


Ricardus, Ethnarch Auxilia

[Heinrich VII]

Wow nice AAR,
If you want to see an AAR for HRE and TEutons hotseat click on http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...15#post3939115 I will take advice and constructive critisicm

[Kallum]

I began to feel oldness. I have waged war all my life and i don't have family, son whom i could teach all i have learned. Now i think, have i changed the history? Does all my work matter? How many lives have i destroyed? How many soldiers have i killed and how many under my command were sent to death? All these questions. Will i go to heaven or hell? Most of all i have begun to question my brutality in sack of Baghdad. Was it necessary? I don't know what to do anymore. Should i retire? No, maybe i should charge against certain death, to the enemy? Or should i become chronicler? All this life i have taken lives and i have given none. Maybe i saved some lives, innocents, men, woman, children, soldiers...These question, questions.... I feel empty. Was i destined to be general? Am i good general? Maybe i could have been merchant? Only more questions, but less answers. Soon i will be gone. Who will take my place? Empire is full of good generals. Ricardus and Spartacus seem to be good generals and one they they might be the ones who take my place. Many generals who joined this Empire (AAR) are now dead or senatores, retired from active combat duty. Shall empire live on? Will it be destroyed someday? Only more questions, less answers......

VERY WELL WRITTEN I would rep you if I could but already done this so I'm ashamed to not have repped this work of art please someone rep this guy for me
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General Raunous,

What you say is right. I'm sorry you feel this way and I'm sorry that serving for the glory of Constantinople have denied you the pleasures of a family, love and a quiet life. In return you have been given eternal fame and glory. Everyone knows who fought with the Great Emperor Zigavions. Everyone knows who helped the great emperor to rebuild the empire. You were not alone and I know that, yet you are the last one alive of the legends that restored the Roman Empire. Maybe when you leave the army and take your well earned rest you may still live long enough to feel the warmth of a woman and perhaps even the pleasures of a son or daughter. You say you doubt you come in heaven yet questioning your acts shows you feel guilty for the lives you take. When you are in front of god and he judges you how can he not forgive a man who feels guilty? For isn't it told by his holy son that guilt makes a man a better man? I'm sure you will go to heaven as you have helped spreading the faith of the true lord with every border you crossed. Yes you have killed many men but weren't the most of these deaths just? Most of the men you killed were enemies of us and there fore also enemies of the true lord.... You not have to worry about yourself Raunous. Yet it is a shame that a fine man like yourself doesn't have any offspring to tell their father's tale, but for you it will be the citizens of the Roman Empire who shall tell the tale of their great general Raunous who with the great leaders of our day expanded our borders far beyond our eldest borders. We can finally say we have defeaten our greatest enemy of them all: Babylon and all thanks to you. Maybe it's time for you to leave the army. Maybe it's time for you to see the streets of Constantinople again. You have my permission. And I'm sure that when you arive in Constantinople you will be greeted like a saint. A saint who saved the empire from a certain destruction. I hope my words will help you to clear the dark clouds in your mind. Will you join us in a last march to the Persian Sea? Or will you go to Constantinople to have a last chance of a family......

Your Regent and Friend Ammonios Palaiologus

Matthew,

I have a mission for you my lad. I have received a letter from a man claims to be an old friend (kasrkinios) I don't know who he is but he wants to speak with me. Could you get him for me? My work here in Baghdad keeps me to distracted to search for him. According to his letter he's in the docks of Basra so a little bit of stealth is in order.

Your Regent and Friend Ammonios Palaiologus

[Musthavename]

I shall seek the man out. I was due to meet him when I was campaigning with Musthavius & Draganos in the Levant, shortly before his supposed demise at the hands of pirates. I have no idea how he came to end up in the Caliphate's lands though. Hopefully I can seek him out.

Make sure you have ample guard. I would hate to see an attempt on your life succeed knowing I could have stopped it.

Athanasios, i'm worried your infiltration may have been tainted. The other day at the camp I was met by two men pointing blades at me. They thought I was a traitor. I proved my innocence to them and have sent them back. Supposedly they were told I was planning to kill the Regent. Ofcourse, I simply said to them if I had wanted to, I would've done it weeks ago, and they believed me. My guess is, someone in your organisation is trying to use your blades to kill the Emperor's loyal servants. My doubt is these people are not commanders, but merely those who would step into a General's shoes should they perish. My guess is, they're taking out the second layer of command before killing the first, which would send our armies into complete dissaray. Please, call these assassins off until it's too late!

Matthew

[|Sith|Duke_Spartacus]

Thanks for the rep kallum, i find this to be very intresting indeed!

Ricardus

The terrain is littered with sand and dunes. I will position my army on the tallest hill here, and have scouts out on the remaining hills around me. I am keeping the enemy army focused on me, by sending constant patrols around them, so their scouts cannot push your way. This way we can crush them between hammer and anvil. And destroy them utterly.

My advice is that you wait until the enemy army and my men are opposite eachother, and only advance when they do. They will not expect that there is another army in their backs when they have no reports of them. When we are enganged, our combined cavalry will smash them in the back, and slaughter them to the last man.

I am in no way attacking, if they want their capital back, they must go over our dead bodies, and that will not happen. I have strong archer regiments in my army, so the hill will prove usefull. With luck their army will be tired and thinned out once they reach my lines, after wich we will crush him with our cavalry.

By the time this message reaches you you should be 2 hours away at most. The battle is about to commence, and they are still advancing on my position. I have prepared my men according to my best abillities, and i have full confidence in them.

By this i stand by the record, for the Empire, for the Emperor and Victory!

Spartacus

[Richard of Crewe]

Spartacus,


Thank you for the information. I will not send any more information now, just to let you know, in case one of my boys is captured by the Caliphate.


Glory to the Empire! This ones for Constantine!

Ricardus, Ethnarch Auxilia

[Basilacius]

Somewhere in the Hills of Georgia...

"Where am I?" The emperor open ups his eyes. He sees nothing when he realises that his have been covered. "Where am I?" the emperor asked again this time a little bit louder. The emperor tries to move but he has been tied up. "Ah our prisoner is awake." An unknown voice begins to speak. "Explain yourself why am I here in this situation?" The unknown man begins to laugh. "Hahaha, can't you remember anything? I can; the most precious memories I have. I still see you dragged down the mountain by the Abbasid soldiers. You say nothing but your look when you see me, pure anger." The emperor thinks and he indeed remembers that disastrous night. The night were 9 of his most trusted men were executed. He remembers that he was dragged to someone. Someone they called Octavian. "It was you! You were the one that killed Musthavius, Emperor Zigavinos and Efstathios."
"No me and my order are not responsible for the murder of Zigavinos. Zigavinos was murdered by his mistress, the lovely Shorena, after he rejected her. Efstathios on the other hand was my fault indeed. The poor boy walked right in an Georgian ambush who thanks to me could take place."
"Why do you need me? I did nothing wrong." Then suddenly the man kicks Constantine in his stomach. "Nothing wrong you say? Thanks to you my noble family lost their prestige and honour. It shouldn't be you but I who should be emperor." The emperor thinks heavily "You want to be emperor? I thought that this was a matter about the order of Mars and the Red Eagle?" "Phah I used those orders to set your agents on a false line. Thanks to you and your agents those orders are now being mercilessly slaughtered and they can never be used against me." The story puzzled the emperor even further. "Why would they be used against you?" Another painfull kick in the stomach was the answer for Constantine. "You really don't know Roman history do you emperor?(spoken with a sarcastic tone) When Constantine the Great dealt with his enemy Maxentius at the Tiber he immediatly founded two orders to deal with future usurpators. These orders were called the order of Mars and the Order of the Red eagle. These were so effective that Kings, the ShahanShah and other warlords took over these ideas. All these orders were controlled by one man, he was named Augustus by the Romans, Cyrus by the Persians and had various other names in other languages. The objective of every Augustus/Cyrus was to defend every head of state from internal threats, if he failed he was to be replaced by one of the heirs or Octavians." The unknown man paused to give his mouth some rest. "But what is your share in these orders?" Constantine asked. "I was born when Zigavinos crowned himself emperor roughly 40 years ago. I grew up with stories about his great deeds and I grew inspired by him. I wanted to protect him. I got in touch with the order of Mars through some dark ways I will not discuss here. My rise in the order was fast and soon I became one of the personal assistants of the Octavian Cicero, he told me about some letters send to the Georgian king by Shorena. We suspected her about wanting to kill the emperor and we looked after her every day and night. Unfortunately she succeeded in her plan but she and her accomplice were killed shortly after her crime. We took no chance and we killed Efstathios as well. With the death of Efstathios everyone in the orders knew who would be the next emperor. But the generals decided otherwise and proclaimed you, the son of late emperor Efstathios the next emperor." The unknown voice paused for a few seconds when he continued.

"I'm Basilos Comnenus son of Alexios Comnenus, I'm the brother of Zigavinos the Great and the last living heir of the Comnenus family. And you stand in the way of my birth right."

Again the voice became silent and waited for reply of Constantine
"What about Loumbertos and his brother?" "Hahaha, Those are my sons. Elise sometimes looked for some male companionship when her husband was fighting in the far corners of the empire. And she regulary came to my house. They know they are my sons and they were a great help in making sure that you fell in my trap, now what shall we do with you?"

[Richard of Crewe]

dont do it jimmy!

[Kallum]

very well written Basilacius

+ rep bro