Tyranny of Steel

Currently, Berengar sat in his office enjoying a cup of company with a guest. This guest was none other than the Grand Duke of Moscow. Since the days of Genghis Khan, the Rus states had been under the control of the Golden Horde. However, the Golden Horde had recently made a major mistake.

They had angered the German Empire by acting as a middleman in the sale of saltpeter to the Reich's enemies. Such a material was necessary in the creation of gunpowder. Berengar had always desired to limit the amount of firearms his enemies were able to field, and for a while, he had succeeded in this endeavor.

However, with the new Khan of the Golden Horde rising to power, he had sworn to avenge his predecessor, who was taken out by Berengar's assassins. Though he knew he could not win an outright war with Germany, he could at the very least supply their enemies with the means to put up some resistance.

Casimir of the House of Rurik was the Grand Duke of Moscow. However, the thing that surprised Berengar was that he was a young boy of roughly thirteen years of age. This child had recently succeeded his father after the man was poisoned to death. Rumors have it that the Prince himself was responsible for his father's death, but such allegations could not be proven.

After ascending to the throne, the boy had decided that he would do everything in his power to overthrow the yoke of the Golden Horde and liberate his people from their servitude. This meant he had to get involved with the devil in the west.

Despite Berengar's fearsome reputation, the young Grand Duke was not the slightest bit intimidated, rather he sat with such grace that even Berengar considered himself a barbarian in the presence of the youth.

Casimir was an oddity in Berengar's eyes. The boy looked rather androgynous. While Berengar wouldn't necessarily call him pretty or feminine, he certainly wasn't masculine either. He had delicate features, with a slender figure. His hair was medium in length, and was platinum blonde. He had a set of ice-blue eyes and pale skin. The Grand Duke had a cold glimpse in his eyes as he tasted the coffee that Berengar had personally brewed for him. Upon seeing such a reaction, Berengar could guess that the boy did not enjoy the drink.

"What's wrong? Is the beverage I have prepared not to your liking?"

The boy shook his head as he revealed his thoughts on the drink.

"Too bitter..."

Berengar did not know what kind of sweet tooth the kid had to deny his coffee. Berengar had always prepared his coffee with both milk and sugar. If it was bitter, then just what did the boy consider sweet? Because of this, the two monarchs were left in a state of awkward silence for a few moments. Ultimately, Berengar decided to shift the topic to business and inquired about the boy's reasoning for visiting.

"So... Let me guess you have come to Kufstein so that I might support you in overthrowing your suzerains. Is that correct?"

There was a hint of surprise in the Casimir's eyes as he heard this. His only reaction was a silent nod of his head. When Berengar witnessed this, he sighed before commenting on the reason for his visit.

"I can not provide you with military aid, however if you would like to establish trade between our two realms, I would be happy to sell you some firearms, as well as the gunpowder and munitions to use them at a fair price."

Casimir placed his cup of coffee down on a plate before nodding his head once more. There was no hint of emotion in his voice as he agreed to Berengar's terms.

"Name your price."

With this said, Berengar quoted his standard price for the sale of arms and munitions. In order to compete with the newest, albeit crude firearms that his enemies had produced, Berengar ceased the production and sale of arkebuses and falconets, and instead began to produce, and sell Matchlock Muskets, and Six pound cannons modelled after the 1417 12 lb field gun. Naturally, he raised the price for the superior arms.

"I will sell you matchlock muskets and six-pound cannons at a price of five German Guldens per musket, and twenty-five German Guldens per Cannon. If you buy in bulk, I will give you a ten percent discount. As for the munitions and gunpowder, I will sell you one barrel of musket balls for one gulden, and one barrel of gunpowder for three guldens."

Sitting next to Casimir was a man of Russian noble origin, and he was apparently the Grand Duke's military advisor. He was a tall and muscular man, despite his elderly age. The man was balding and had a long white beard. He whispered into the youth's ears something that Berengar could not understand, due to the language barrier. After the boy nodded his head, he agreed to Berengar's terms.

"I accept..."

Evidently Casimir was a man of little words, because he did not say much in Berengar's presence, and instead eyed him with caution, while acting with the grace befitting an emperor. There was, of course, another possibility. The boy did not speak much German. Either way, communication between the two parties was fairly stiff. However, Berengar didn't mind the boy's icy attitude. After all, he now had another customer in the arms trade. Though the idea of Russia's unification was something Berengar did not want to permit, his petty and spiteful nature got the better of him as he currently wanted nothing more than to get back at the Golden Horde for facilitating the trade of gunpowder to his enemies. Because of this, Berengar was glad to make use of the Grand Duchy of Moscow to act as his proxy in the matter. With a wicked smile on his face, Berengar nodded his head and responded to the boy.

"It is a pleasure doing business with you..."

Casimir simply responded with a nod of the head and a single word.

"Likewise..."

Upon seeing that conversing with the youth was lost cause Berengar merely sighed before ending the meeting for the day.

"So long as you are in Kufstein you are permitted to reside in my Palace. If there is anything you need while you are here, simply ask one of my servants and they will provide it."

The icy prince merely nodded his head in understanding and accepted Berengar's terms.

"I thank you for your hospitality."

After saying this, he stood up from his chair and left the room. His military advisor was in tow. The moment he departed from the room, he came across a young heterochromia beauty who was roughly the same age as him.

This girl was Princess Veronika, and she immediately caught the Grand Duke's interest. However, she did not even notice the androgynous boy, who stopped in his tracks as he gazed at the young woman with awe. Instead, Veronika ran into Berengar's office with a pouting expression on her face, yelling the words.

"Your Majesty, the Prince Hans is being mean to me!"

While he did not hear the rest of the conversation between the German Emperor and the Princess of Bohemia, he quickly turned to his military advisor and spoke in their mother tongue.

"Who is that beautiful girl?"

The military advisor was taken aback when he heard these words come from the Prince. Until now, the boy had never shown an interest in girls. It was because of that he made fun of the Grand Duke.

"His highness is interested in a girl? Hmm, I always thought you preferred the company of men..."

The cold gaze of the Grand Duke of Moscow shifted over to his advisor with a deadpan expression on his face as he responded to such an absurd claim.

"That's not funny Igor..."

The man instead sighed as he put up a defeated expression before commenting on the boy's tendencies.

"I thought for sure the Kaiser was more your type. It appears I have been mistaken. I humbly apologize for my ignorance. If your highness fancies the girl, I will have her brought to you room later."

Despite Igor's words, Casimir remained expressionless. He only responded with a silent nod of the head before departing towards the quarters he had been allotted during his stay in Kufstein. Even if he did not look like it, his heart was beating beneath his chest at the thought of the exotic bohemian beauty.

As for Berengar, he was entirely unaware of the conversation that was had between the Grand Duke and his advisor, for if he did, he would have put a stop to the notion that Veronika was available then and there. The Princess of Bohemia was his ward, and thus she was under his protection. It would be quite the misunderstanding later that evening when the Grand Duke of Moscow tried to force the girl towards his quarters.