Tyranny of Steel

While Berengar was fighting in Austria, events that would impact Berengar's future were occurring on the other side of the Christian World. In the east within the ancient city of Constantinople, Arethas Maniakes was kneeling within the Royal Palace before the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. He was questioning the man about a particular area of interest.

Emperor Vetranis Palaiologos was the current Emperor of the Byzantine Empire; his ancestors had ruled over the Eastern Roman Empire for over a hundred years. He was in his early forties and already had a gray head of hair with a matching beard. The stress of overseeing the war with the Mamluke Sultanate, which reached a stalemate, had aged him drastically these past ten years.

However, for the first time in a long time, there was hope to turn the tides of war to his favor. Recently there had been developments in an obscure part of Europe, where the Count of Tyrol had developed an advanced industry and sold special equipment for a fair price to the Empire's forces.

Emperor Vetranis had no idea how Berengar von Kufstein had managed to create such a massive stockpile of high-quality steel, and yet he had personally witnessed the results. The enormous output that Berengar's factories were able to produce Mirror-Pattern armor was the likes that the Emperor had never seen before, and he had greatly desired to see Berengar's facilities for himself.

However, he could not very well travel to Kufstein, and thus he had to hear the details from his Strategos of Ionia, Arethas Maniakes, who had just entered the palace at the Emperor's request.. Thus the two men were face to face within the Palace of Constantinople for the sole reason as to inquire about Berengar's production capabilities.

Strategos Arethas, it has been a while since I have last seen you. How have you been?"

Arethas was permitted to stand, and as such, he rose from his kneeling position as the Emperor approached him. It had been some time since he last saw the Emperor face-to-face, and thus he was incredibly thankful for the current opportunity.

The young Strategos grinned before returning the Emperor's greeting.

"I have been well since the last time we spoke; how are you faring, your majesty?"

The two men were quite friendly with one another as Emperor Vetranis immediately began complaining about his life.

"I have been better; for starters, my daughter grows more beautiful by the day, her charm has managed to attract the attention of suitors across not only the Christian world but the Islamic world as well. I swear the number of princes she has declined over the past year must be in the dozens. She seems to have high ambitions for her future husband and won't listen to my suggestions! Raising a daughter is too much of a hassle for this old heart of mine to bear!"

Arethas immediately began to laugh at the Emperor's comment and tried to cheer him up.

"You are not that old, your majesty; you are only forty-three!"

However, the Emperor merely scoffed before chastising Arethas

"If I were a commoner, I would be close to death by now!"

Hearing such a response, Arethas began to laugh before patting the Emperor on the back.

"Well, then we are lucky you are not, in fact, a commoner!"

As the two men walked through the palace and continued their conversation, Emperor Vetranis eventually brought up the topic he wanted to discuss.

"Arethas I wanted to discuss with you about your visit to Kufstein. Tell me, how is that upstart Count capable of producing so much steel?"

Arethas sighed heavily as he shook his head, his brunette hair glimmered under the light of the sun, as he cast a downtrodden expression before speaking.

"I genuinely wish I could tell you, but I was not allowed to see how he produced the steel, merely the facilities he used to transform it into arms and armor. It was a level of production I had never seen before. Even our national armories can not compare to the efficiency that the Tyroleans are capable of. "

The Emperor sighed when he heard this news; he began to speak in a regretful tone.

"Well, that is a shame; I was hoping we could learn something from the Count of Tyrol. I hear he is currently involved in a war for control of Austria. Do you know how that is going?"

Arethas kept close contact with Berengar; after all, the trade they shared was very lucrative for both parties. With the war for Austria going on, the man was greatly concerned about Berengar's safety. Thus he nodded his head and informed the Emperor a bit of what he knew.

"Berengar's armies are far better equipped than any force I have seen. When I was visiting, his city guards were equipped with plate armor that covered their heads, necks, torsos, and thighs. They also wielded strange hand cannon variants which were of an unknown design. If his boasts are true and all of his troops are equipped to such a degree, then the likelihood of him winning this war is huge. He also appeared to have mounted dozens of cannons on his city walls. So he seems to be capable of mass-producing such devastating weapons as well."

Emperor Vetranis was shocked when he heard such information, and thus he quickly asked Arethas about a new possibility that had formed in his mind.

"Tell me, Arethas, is it possible to purchase such equipment?"

Arethas shook his head and sighed once more; there was not much he could do about this matter; Berengar seemed keen to have a monopoly on such technology. Thus he answered truthfully to the Emperor.

"As far as I am aware, Count Berengar intends to hold onto such an advantage at any cost. I doubt he would be willing to sell such valuable technology in fear of it being reverse-engineered. One would either have to defeat his forces in battle and scavenge their weapons, or they would have to pay a great sum that was worth such risky trade. I do not foresee myself being able to convince him to sell us such weapons or the armor."

However, the Emperor was adamant about this issue and did not take Arethas' word at face value and instead insisted upon broaching the subject with Berengar.

"Could you at least try to purchase such weapons when you next see the Count of Tyrol? I hear his weapons have a devastating effect, rendering even plate armor useless! To have such an advantage over our enemies would aid in the ongoing efforts to restore our Empire."

Just as the Emperor was about to conclude his business with the Strategos of Ionia, a beautiful young girl appeared as she walked down the gildest staircase of the palace. She was dressed in a lavish purple silk dress with a bold golden pattern. She wore gold jewelry encrusted with amethyst across her neck, wrists, and waist.

The girl was no older than fifteen and had long, elegant, and wavy chocolate hair. Her eyes were mint green in color, and her skin was as white as milk, despite her Greco-roman Heritage. Though she was not as busty as Linde or Adela's sisters, she was by no means flat-chested, in fact, the girl was perfectly proportioned with flawless hourglass figure, and her silk dress clung to her exquisite curves.

As she descended from the staircase, she had a scowl on her face. Something was upsetting this angelic beauty from the east. She instantly began to criticize the Emperor when she noticed his presence.

"Father! How can you engage me to the Prince of France? Aubry is so feminine that he is practically a woman! I won't stand for it!"

The Byzantine Emperor sighed heavily while looking at Arethas with a look that expressed his thoughts, those being, "See what I mean?"

By now, he had attempted to engage his daughter to over a dozen princes from various countries across the world, and she had a complaint about every one of them. Sooner or later, the Princess would say something along the lines of "I would rather kill myself than marry that man," thus forcing the Emperor to acquiesce to her demands.

This time he decided to put his foot down and enforce his will; after all, he was Emperor, and sooner or later, she would have to find a husband. Thus he put on a calm and gentle facade as he tried to coerce his girl into marrying the effeminate Frenchman.

"Honoria my only daughter, Aubry is the epitome of Western Chivarly; he is also the Heir to the French Throne. You will be a Queen if you marry him. It will also guarantee a powerful alliance for our Dynasty!"

However, the beautiful Princess, Honoria, refused to listen to her father's glib tongue and instead scoffed before make a rather rude retort.

"Queen of France!?! You have to be kidding me! Who would want to be Queen of a backwater Kingdom like that? How much are they paying you to sell me off as if I were mere cattle?"

Seeing the reaction on her father's face, she knew she had hit the nail on the head. He had for sure been paid a significant sum to sell her off to the prince of France. A man she was almost certain was a homosexual. If not, he was the girliest looking straight man she had ever seen. As such, she was more adamant about refusing this marriage proposal than any other before. However, she had already cried wolf enough times that her father would no longer allow her to refuse.

This time it was the Emperor who scowled in response to Honoria's strong words. Thus he began to chastise her as he made it abundantly clear she would be wed off to the future King of France.

"Enough is enough; you have turned down so many other candidates that this is my last option. You are my daughter and the Princess of the Empire. You will do what you are told!"

After hearing these words, tears began to fill in the girl's mint-colored eyes before she ran back upstairs in a fit of rage. However, before she left, she made sure to scream a set of hurtful words to her father.

"I hate you!"

After she was gone, the Emperor let out a heavy sigh and sat down at the nearest seat. He was getting too old to deal with his daughter's childish behavior. Thus he looked at Arethas and shifted the topic back to Tyrol.

"I am getting too old for this; promise me you will at least attempt to purchase Count Berengar's weapons the next time you see him!"

Having witnessed such a display just now, Arethas was in no mood to decline the Emperor and as such nodded his head. A wry smile appeared on the Emperor's face before dismissing Arethas

"Good... Good, well, I must scold my errant daughter. I will entrust this task to your capable hands. Until we meet again, Arethas."

Arethas quickly bowed with respect before departing; as he did so, he left behind a weary old Emperor and a delinquent Princess to further argue about their petty squables.