Tyranny of Steel

Deep within the center of Constantinople, the Byzantine Emperor sat on his throne with a downcast expression. The man was on the verge of tears, but he could not allow himself to be seen crying as Emperor. As such, he steeled his resolve and continued to read the letter in his hands written by his son Decentius.

Arethas was dead, according to his second son; the man had died in combat against the Mamluke forces early on in the campaign. Since then, Decentius had been leading the Byzantine troops to victory in North Africa.

The news of the death of a man who was more of a brother to Emperor Vetranis than his siblings was a great shock to the man. With the Strategos ’ death, many things became uncertain. Especially in regards to their relations to the West.

News had spread to Constantinople about Austria ’s war for independence, which appeared to favor the self-proclaimed King Berengar von Kufstein. The Byzantines had not taken a stance on the conflict. Instead, they stayed utterly neutral.

After all, Berengar was the largest supplier of arms and armor to the Byzantine Empire. Though they had begun to have success in replicating the Arkebuse, most of their weapons still came from Austria. Meanwhile, relations with the Holy Roman Empire were tenable at best.

This was not the only reason for staying neutral in Austria ’s war for Independence. There was a matter of significant debt that the Byzantine Crown had towards Austria due to the agreement made about unlimited arms support.

Arethas was the mastermind of all dealings with the upstart King in the West. Without him, it would be challenging to maintain the friendly relationship that the Byzantines had with their debtor. If he sent the wrong diplomat to negotiate further, it could spell ruin to the Empire ’s finances.