Tyranny of Steel

The night was dead quiet in the Royal Palace of Byzantium. A horrific scene of gruesome murder had played itself out merely a few hours before, and all except for a certain couple had difficulty gaining any peaceful rest on this wretched night.

As for Berengar and Honoria, the two of them were so used to taking lives that the death of Decentius did not affect their beauty sleep in the slightest. If anything, there was a sense of relief knowing that they completed a goal that had been on their bucket lists for several years.

When morning came, it was no surprise to see the Royal Family, and all who bore witness to the brutal death of the Second Prince, all having heavy bags underneath their eyes. As if the sight of Decentius' cruel fate had permanently etched itself into their memory and haunted them throughout the night.

When the dynamic duo responsible for this event entered the dining area, where the Byzantine Royal family ate in silence, they immediately noticed that none of the royal family members would meet their gaze.

To Honoria, this was a bit depressing, but to Berengar it was a sign of his power. To kill a member of the Byzantine Royal Family in the middle of their home for all to witness, and walk away as if nothing happened, was the ultimate representation of earthly authority.

Regardless as to Decentius' crimes, the man should have been tried and convicted, and yet the Emperor simply deferred judgement to his daughter. Resulting in a ruthless execution via poisoning. Eventually, when Berengar sat down at the table, he broached the subject of their meeting, and in doing so ending the awkward silence that prevailed in the room.

"For the sake of our Alliance, I am willing to move an artillery brigade to your borders with the Timurid Empire. Though powerful in its own right, it will be completely moot if overwhelmed by superior numbers.

After all, it would not be easy to provide logistical support to the Brigade which is far from my borders. The moment they run out of munitions, they will be in trouble, which is where your forces should come into play. Assuming there is anything left remaining of the enemy army after my artillery fires off their barrages, it will be up to your infantry to surround and eliminate the rest of our enemy's forces.

I think it is in our best interest to provoke a conflict with the Timurid Empire sooner rather than later. After all, the Mameluke Sultanate is still recovering from their defeat in North Africa, and it will be a while before they can effectively mount an offense.

If we can take out the bulk of the Timurid Army in a single border confrontation, we will be able to delay the Jihad by several years. To put it simply, we will use the same strategy I have used to keep the Catholic Kingdoms off my back. In other words, divide and conquer..."

Besarion no longer had the strength to argue with Berengar after what he witnessed the man's utter disregard for life the night before and simply nodded his head in agreement. If war was inevitable, they might as well make the first move.

As for Emperor Vetranis, he sat back and contemplated on the idea, thinking deeply upon it for several moments. After an enormous sigh, he nodded his head before explaining the condition of his current armies.

"With Palladius' support, I can potentially field a division worth of troops to the eastern Border. However, it means I will be taking the soldiers from the Balkans and distributing them to the east. As you may know, that is a particularly volatile region, and I worry about the consequences of such actions."

Despite the Emperor's support for this idea, Berengar immediately rejected it before outlining his reasoning for doing so.

"No, I do not need your best troops, just those who are appropriately trained and equipped. As you have said, the Balkans are a turbulent region, and need a steady hand to ensure its loyalty. The Balkan Army is also of critical importance to the existence of our alliance, and the deterrence of the Catholic Church.

By moving them eastward, you will create problems for all of us. Thus, I offer a counter-proposal. I will supply whatever army you wish to deploy to the area with the weapons, munitions, and training necessary to repel the invaders. I simply advise that you ensure the Strategos in charge of this division is a man completely loyal to you."

Vetranis thought about this for some time. It was no paltry sum to equip a division with the most modern equipment available; it is one of the many reasons the Byzantine Empire had yet to field rifled muskets to all of their soldiers, and were still relying on a mix of arkebuses, muskets, pikes, and medieval weaponry.

Not to mention the largely fractured military system beneath his command. While in theory the Byzantine Military may be more united than their counterparts in the west. The reality was in practice the politics of the court's influence determined which armies would be first equipped with the newest gear, and where they were stationed.

Palladius was a prime example of this. The Emperor had placed the man in charge of the balkans because of his competence and loyalty to the crown. Vetranis also favored him and his army with the quickest access to the newest equipment. A privilege that once existed solely to Arethas.

After considering that he could arm another army loyal to the Byzantine Crown with the latest weapons, at no additional cost, Palladius nodded his head in agreement it was simply too good of an offer to pass up.

"Very well, I will select the best candidate for the job, and inform you of how many weapons I will need, and the munitions, to use them effectively."

After hearing this, Berengar nodded his head with a smile on his face. As for Honoria, she ignored the conversation in its entirety. Instead, she was playing with her food, and was rather upset that a very important piece of her recent diet was missing.

Since introducing the potato to Austria, Berengar had used the colony he established at the foot of the Andes to secure mass quantities of the product and plant them across the Empire. Only a single harvest had been fulfilled since then, but the amount of dishes Berengar introduced to his Kingdom because of it had expanded the staples of German cooking by a great deal.

One dish in particular was the Schupfnudeln, and it had become a favorite of the young Byzantine Princess. The lack of potato-based dishes at this meal caused Honoria's expression to sink, as she was more interested in playing with the Byzantine cooking than eating it.

The Empress gazed upon her daughter's depressed appearance and mistook her poor mood for something far less trivial. Thus, the Empress forced a smile as she grabbed hold of her daughter's ivory hand and tried to console her.

"Honoria, if there is something you wish to talk about, I am here for you if you need me..."

The Byzantine Princess immediately looked up at her mother with confusion in her eyes as she asked for clarification.

"I'm sorry, mother, but what are you talking about?"

A bitter expression appeared on the Empress's face as she explained her misunderstanding aloud.

"I can tell you are depressed. You always play with your food when you are feeling down. Is this perhaps because of your brother?"

Despite her mother's expectations, Honoria did not break down crying. Instead, she started laughing, eventually wiping a tear from her eyes before explaining the reason for her current state.

"Oh, no mother, it is not anything so serious. I am just upset that one of my favorite German dishes is not present at this meal. You should really visit Kufstein sometime. The culinary talent of the German people is simply divine!"

The Byzantine Empress did not know how to react to such a revelation. She thought for sure her daughter must be guilty over the role she played in her brother's demise. Yet, the entire time she had been sulking in her spot was because she no longer enjoyed eating Byzantine cooking? Just what sort of insanity was this?

While this misunderstanding was occurring on the other side of the table, Berengar and the other Monarchs had come to an agreement about the roles they would play in this upcoming border conflict with the Timurid Empire.

Germany would provide artillery and logistical support to their Allies, while a combination of Byzantine and Georgian forces would provide infantry and cavalry to the conflict. Together, they would draw the main Timurid Army into their borders and annihilate them in a single battle.

This would allow Byzantium to press its claims in the region and establish a peace accord that should last a few years. Buying them much needed time to divide the Arab alliance and crush its member states one war at a time.

With this agreement, the Kingdom of Georgia had entered the Alliance between Germany, Byzantium, Granada, and the Kalmar Union. In doing so, unwittingly subjecting itself as a secondary power in support of Germany's interests.