Tyranny of Steel

Pope Julius sat upon his papal throne with an exhausted expression on his aging face. He had only become Pope a few years prior, and yet it appeared as if he had spent decades presiding over the Church. After countless losses against his rival in central Europe, he had just about lost the will to continue his struggle against the German Reformation and its damnable figurehead.

In his hands, loosely held by a failing grip, was a note that recounted the recent events in Iberia. King Felipe was dead, and so too was his army. However, that was not the worst of it. In the hours after the foolish Spanish King had walked into his death, the German-Granadan Alliance had marched into Spain, and conquered most of its territory.

Berengar, the accursed, had expertly laid a trap, and the Spanish King walked right into it. Worst of all, this damnable fiend had the nerve to extinguish one of Christendom's few natural stockpiles of the valuable resource, known as saltpeter.

Because of this, the Church's hopes of winning its upcoming crusade against the German Empire were slimmer than ever. The man in charge of the Catholic world could only sigh heavily in defeat as he contemplated just what reasoning God would have to continue to torment him to such a degree.

While Julius was lamenting his lot in life, a Cardinal entered the chambers and knelt before the man. He had a nervous expression on his face and clenched the report in his hands tightly, crumpling the paper as he did so. Julius knew that whatever news the Cardinal had received, it was nothing good. Thus, with a heavy sigh, he begrudgingly asked for the information.

"Go on... get out with it... What terrible news do you have to report to me this time around?"

The Cardinal struggled to look the Pope in the eyes. Such words caused a tinge of guilt in his heart, as he knew he was always the bearer of bad news, especially these days. However, in his panicked state he managed to mouth a few words, stuttering as he did so.

"T...th... the holy land! It has fallen!"

Julius' pupils grew wide in shock as he heard this news. At first, he thought he had misheard. After all, the Holy Land was owned by the Byzantine Empire, and he had received no news from the east that it had come under attack. Thus, he immediately asked for clarification on what had just been spoken.

"What do you mean, the Holy Land has fallen? Has there been a new Jihad I am unaware of? Just what has happened!?!"

The Cardinal realized that his choice of words was a bit misleading, but contained the truth nonetheless. Still, he spent a few moments collecting his thoughts before speaking about the information he had received from the Byzantine Emperor's public declaration.

"Emperor Vetranis has declared that he is allowing the Independence of the Holy Land. After careful negotiations with the Timurid Empire and the other Muslim Sultanates, they have established Republic which is open to both Christians and Muslims. This means that the Saracens now have power over the Holy Land! How shall we respond?"

The Pope immediately reacted to this news by picking up a nearby book and throwing it towards the Cardinal in a fit of rage. He could hardly believe such a thing had happened, and though Vetranis had been the one to voice this sudden change, Julius knew only one man could be responsible for such evil. Thus, he had no qualms about pinning the blame on his German rival.

"You damned fool! This is Berengar's work, I am certain of it! With one hand, he destroys Iberia, and with the other, he brings damnation to the Holy Land. This devil can not be allowed to further defile Christendom! We must respond to this incursion, send word to every able body man. The Holy Land must be reclaimed!"

It shocked the Cardinal when he heard this decree, and he immediately voiced his confusion over the matter.

"But what of Iberia?"

When Julius heard this, he gazed upon the Cardinal with an idiotic expression. The news of the Holy Land had made him forget the lament he felt just moments ago about the situation in Iberia. As the Pope, he could not very well abandon the Iberian Peninsula to the fate of becoming an extension of the Muslim world. The threat of an Islamic State on the borders of France was something that Christendom had not felt in centuries, and he did not wish to return to those days.

However, the Holy Land needed to take precedence, and since Julius knew he could not contend with the German and Granadan armies in the field, his only chance of achieving victory in the two theaters was to focus his attention on Jerusalem. Thus, with a heavy sigh, he decided on how to proceed.

"I will not abandon the people of Iberia to the Muslim hordes who now seek to conquer and control them. However, it has become painfully obvious to me we are not yet prepared to take on the might of the German-Granadan Alliance. Thus, we can only encourage martyrdom and give our people in Iberia the means to resist their unholy occupation.

What we can do is bring the might of the Catholic World into Jerusalem and reclaim the Holy Land for ourselves. It is doubtful that Berengar would commit troops to the region when he has left its protection up to the Byzantine and Timurid Empires.

So long as the German Empire does not interfere in our conflict, we have a high chance of winning. After all, we have spent the last few years preparing for a war with Berengar. Surely the means we have gained will allow us to defeat the Byzantine army and the Muslim hordes of the Timurid Empire."

When the Cardinal heard this train of thought, a sadistic grin etched itself upon his rat like features. He understood now more than ever the Catholic church needed a glorious victory, and Berengar had so kindly delivered it to them with the Holy Land's independence. Thus, he bowed before the Pope and asked for him to give the order.

"Your holiness, I would be honored to convey your commands to your followers so long as you are willing to give the order!"

With this, a smug sneer formed on Julius' lips as he issued the decree which would set Jerusalem ablaze in the flames of war.

"I, Pope Julius, hereby declare a crusade to reclaim the Holy Land from the Saracens who currently inhabit it. God wills it!"

Upon hearing this, the Cardinal grinned wickedly as he nodded his head and obeyed the command.

"Very well, I will muster the Crusader Orders and the Catholic Kingdoms to march on the Holy Land at once. Jerusalem must not fall into the hands of the Saracens!"

With that said, Julius dismissed his agent to get started on his task. It was only after he was alone that he collapsed into his papal throne, exhausted beyond measure. It took every ounce of his strength to maintain the facade of dignity and strength. He could not believe that he was forced to choose between Iberia and Jerusalem. With a powerful slam of his fist upon his gilded armrest, the pope cried out in fury.

"Berengar von Kufstein, I swear to God, one day I will have your head, and will permanently remove your lineage of vipers from the face of the Earth!"

After saying this, the man sighed heavily. The most he could do to the man was curse his name. If not for that fool Simeon, then perhaps the Church could have removed Berengar from power before he gained the strength to stand on his own. However, as it currently stood, such a thing was impossible.

The German Emperor had the backing of the most powerful military in the world, and the most advanced spy network. After the failed attack on his life, Imperial Intelligence had created a dedicated department whose sole goal was to collect information on viable threats against the Royal Family, and to counter such efforts.

It was virtually impossible to harm a hair on Berengar's head. The only way to kill the man would be to do so on the field of battle, and even then, Berengar had not been seen in battle for roughly a year. It seemed to Julius that his goal of claiming the man's life was drifting further away as time passed him by.

The only thing that could drown the pope's sorrow was wine, and copious quantities of it. Thus, he got off his seat and grabbed hold of the nearest flagon, where he poured the contents of his drink into an old venetian glass chalice.

Since Berengar had invented the means to mass produce clear glass, the venetian market had been completely strangled to death, and thus such an antiquated cup was only used by the most hateful of Germany's adversaries. Having filled the glass to its brim, Julius then engorged himself on the sweet red substance, drifting himself into a further state of intoxication.

If Berengar had known that he caused the Pope's alcoholism, he would surely be pleased with himself. However, he was unaware of such a reality, as was anyone else, and thus the Pope slowly but surely drank himself to sleep in the middle of the afternoon, completely defeated by the recent events that had occurred.