Tomorrow there won't be any chapters because it's my birthday and I've been invited out. Normally I would do more, but oh well, you can curse whoever thought of inviting me out.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------
Anno Domini 829, August-26-September-14
After that strange event in the forge I left the work on my sword unfinished. I did not have time to complete it before going to sleep and when the moment to depart finally arrived we set out at dawn.
We were already mounting our horses when several Vlach riders of the local lord joined us, along with Dragomir who handled many of the local languages since he had often been forced to mediate conflicts between tribes and his own people. They followed us and began guiding our march, as my main objective was to find a large deposit of iron and decide where to establish the mining operations.
As we rode in the direction indicated by the Vlachs they told us that in that region there was a large iron deposit that supplied most of the local forges. However when we approached the location we saw a small wooden fortification raised on a hill.
We prepared to attempt negotiations with the local Vlach lord when a group of riders appeared and began speaking in an unfamiliar dialect.
Dragomir intervened immediately and began speaking with them in Vlach.
"He says he wants to know why you are present in this area" Dragomir said.
"Tell him we have come to establish the rule of Rome in these lands and that I expect the submission of his lord" I replied while looking at the riders.
Dragomir passed on my words. The riders returned to the fortress and shortly afterward someone appeared who was clearly better armed than the rest.
Our eyes met and he began speaking.
"He says that if you promise to defend him from the Slavs he will submit and pay tribute" Dragomir explained.
"Tell him we are willing to offer protection, we intend to remain in these lands for a long time until all the tribes and the Vlach and Rhomaioi lords are subdued" I replied.
Dragomir relayed my words.
The Vlach lord dismounted his horse and I did the same. The man lowered his head and began reciting several words in his language while bending slightly, then he pointed toward his fortress.
"He invites you to enjoy his hospitality, though he fears he cannot offer much for your men. A recent Slavic raid plundered several of his fields and he doubts they will pass the winter without difficulty" Dragomir said.
"Grain will be sent to his granaries, but what interests me most is seeing those iron mines from which they extract the ore that supplies the other Vlach voivodes" I replied while mounting my horse again.
Dragomir translated my words and the voivode along with his riders began riding toward nearby hills. We followed them.
As we advanced I saw several miners extracting ore. The work appeared very rudimentary, almost artisanal, as if they were only trying to supply a few local forges and little more.
"The location is good, there are many hills where we could build fortifications, only water is missing. I assume they obtain it from wells" I said while studying the terrain.
"There is a river further north if you absolutely need one my governor" Dragomir replied.
"Yes a river is important if we want to build a large forge. I believe the river you mention is the Marisus. It could be the ideal location, although I could also use the Alutus or even Târgoviște as a base" I said while pulling out the map I carried with me, a copy based on ancient Roman sources, and began searching for possible places to establish the forge.
"What do you intend to do then governor?" Dragomir asked.
"No, if we govern too far south messages will take too long to arrive. I will probably divide the region into several administrations and establish a capital near this stretch of the Marisus river to control the passage and build a large local forge. Ask the lord of these lands how much he wants to sell me the rights to the iron mine" I replied directly while looking at the man who was pointing toward the mine.
Dragomir approached him and they spoke for a few moments. The lord of the land looked at me thoughtfully before answering.
"He says that if nomismata are used as currency he asks fifty thousand for ownership of the mines" Dragomir explained.
"Tell him he will be paid when there is time to bring gold from Crete, but he should consider that the mines are already mine. I will draft a contract immediately so that he may collect later".
I dismounted, took paper and ink from my saddlebags and quickly wrote a simple purchase contract before signing it.
"All done. We will ride toward the Marisus river, we will look for a place to establish another administrative capital and continue our march. Tell the lord that I expect some of his riders to join my company" I said while beginning to organize my men to resume the advance.
"As you command my governor. I can recommend the settlement of Alba Iulia. It is an old Roman fortress and it still stands, although it is occupied by Slavs, so we would have to fight to reclaim it" Dragomir said.
"Perfect. It must have a good position if the Romans built it there. Give the instructions to the local lord" I replied before turning toward one of my Varangians who spoke Greek.
"You, take one thousand of my riders and several translators. Ride north and make all the Vlachs begin paying tribute to the Empire. Subdue every Slav you encounter. When you finish bring the Slavic tribes with you to Alba Iulia and request riders from every Vlach lord" I ordered.
The Varangian nodded without saying much.
After receiving a small group of forty riders from the local lord we continued advancing toward the Marisus river, subjugating the Vlach lords of the region and crushing several Slavic tribes.
Since they were nomadic or semi-nomadic peoples they had no real fortifications. Subduing them was relatively simple, surround them, negotiate or crush them, then make them join our ranks.
As we advanced toward the location indicated by the Vlachs we had already subdued more than a hundred Vlach lords and their small fiefdoms. They used old Roman fortifications as bases or refuges, nothing impressive, and in the worst cases the Vlach lords relied on their own small defenses, wooden structures built on rocky ground.
Among the Vlachs I had recruited nearly a thousand riders for my forces.
We had also subjugated hundreds of Slavic tribes across the region. The best part was that we used the same Slavs we had already subdued as warriors, so in theory even though we had fought against hundreds of tribes along the way none of my men had suffered losses.
All the casualties had been Slavs.
I simply rewarded the bravest among them with swords, spears and some armor so they would continue fighting. Slowly the competition between the tribal chiefs began to show, each of them trying to stand out before us in order to gain more rewards.
In that way the group of four thousand riders that originally accompanied me had grown to almost twelve thousand men, composed mainly of Slavs, Vlachs and Rhomaioi, together with the core of Varangian riders who had come with me.
Behind us also marched the families of the Slavic tribes. It was an enormous number of people and horses following our column, camping beside us as we advanced. They brought with them large herds of sheep, cattle and horses, feeding on the animals while continuing their movement.
After several days of travel and crushing every resistance along the way we finally arrived at Alba Iulia. The fortress looked well maintained and its construction was very similar to the Roman fortresses I had seen before.
Several tribes seemed to surround the place. That fortress served as the center of control for one of the Slavic tribal lords who dominated the region. Numerous tribes could be seen settled near the river along with large amounts of livestock scattered across the land.
"What do we do Basil?" Sigurd asked while his horse moved its head from side to side.
"I need the fortress to establish an administrative center here" I replied while studying the walls. "It is well built and will save us a great deal of time in fortifying… although we will probably have to rebuild much of it later. I do not think we can negotiate a surrender if we tell them we intend to take their fortress, at least not with the local lord".
While speaking with Sigurd I noticed the tribes beginning to move into alert positions. Riders quickly began to emerge and form up, preparing for what they believed would become a battle.
"Well we lose nothing by trying to talk first. I doubt they have more men than we do. We have crushed dozens of tribes and subdued many more. Perhaps we can reach an agreement".
As I closed my helmet I rode closer to the Slavic forces. From there I watched more riders emerging from the fortress and nearby settlements to join their ranks. Even so the numerical difference was obvious, we easily outnumbered them, yet it still spoke of the strength of that tribe.
"Try to find out what language they speak" I told Dragomir. "And if you can communicate with them offer terms, we will accept their surrender if they hand over the fortress".
Dragomir rode forward and began speaking with the Slavs.
We waited a long time until finally a rider appeared wearing Bulgar armor followed by several others.
"Are you a Bulgar?" I asked while looking at the Slavic leader.
"No… but I speak the language" he replied.
"Then I assume you know what happened to the khan of Bulgaria in Pliska. I hope you do not wish to repeat that story. I offer you an honorable surrender, give me the fortress and I will recognize you as a leader. You may continue living in these lands" I said while staring at him as my men prepared for a cavalry charge.
The Slavic leader looked at me calmly.
"I want a marriage. A bond of blood that unites us… not only words".
"I am already married Slav, and I have no relatives available for marriage. But I plan to leave someone governing here in my name. Would you be interested in a marriage with him or with his family?"
The leader considered it for a moment.
"Then it will be with one of my daughters. I will hand over the fortress if that marriage is fulfilled".
I rode closer to Sigurd.
"Sigurd, would you be interested in a marriage? I would grant you these lands to rule in my name".
Sigurd lifted his helmet and looked at me with disbelief.
"What? No" he replied bluntly. "I remind you that my oath is to fight at your side and die with glory. I did not come here to gain lands".
"Come on, I need someone to seal this alliance. We would avoid a battle and gain six thousand riders… and spare ourselves a siege".
Sigurd thought for a few seconds.
"What about one of my brothers? You know well that I have many. My father would be pleased if one of them ended up becoming a jarl".
"Yes… Hjalmar, no? He is your father's firstborn… and I believe he is already married.He at least have a daughter" I said thoughtfully.
"He can always take a second wife" Sigurd said with a shrug.
"Very well. Let me see if I can convince him".
I returned to the Slavic leader.
"We can agree to the marriage. The man I will leave as governor will marry one of your daughters as his second wife".
The Slavic leader raised his eyes toward the sky.
"Let the eternal blue sky witness our alliance. I do not want wars with the Romans. I want to know the man who will become my blood".
"He is not here. He is in the rear and will arrive soon. But you have my word that this alliance will be fulfilled".
The Slavic leader nodded slowly."I will wait patiently. I will consider your enemies mine and mine yours. I give you the fortress that once belonged to your people. I only hope you will be generous and grant us good lands wherever you lead the other tribes".
"Thank you. Soon we will march west and north. We will need your riders and all those you know if we are to continue uniting the Slavic tribes".
"So it will be. My riders will be ready" the Slavic chief replied.
"Well… what now?" Dragomir asked. "You have secured a good number of Slavs… but beyond them lie the Avars, and I do not speak their language".
"Then we must keep advancing" I replied. "We must secure as many tribes as possible while they are willing to join us. We will send groups south to continue securing vassals. If we want to establish a stable government here we must subdue the entire region".
"Good, then we will go south" Dragomir said.
"Yes. After that we will march north. There is another Roman fortress that could prove useful, Porolissum. It could serve as the seat for another of my governors. With that we would gain strong control over the region and we could dedicate our efforts to fortifying the passes of the Carpathians.
When that is done we will be able to say these lands are secure. Then we can begin building cities as in the Empire, with aqueducts, cisterns, libraries and forges. In time this place will not be different from what Rome once was".
I said that while urging my horse forward and galloping toward the fortress, intending to leave a garrison there and begin deciding how the place would be organized.
-----------------------------
If there are spelling mistakes, please let me know.
Leave a comment; support is always appreciated.
I remind you to leave your ideas or what you would like to see.
-------------------------------