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Pov of Bardas
Anno Domini,834-March-18-April-7
"Basil's forces are marching north, my basileus Rhomaion… The scouts estimate that the rebel has some eighty-five thousand men under his command, advancing toward our lands and leaving detachments behind to besiege the fortifications" said one of my commanders, alarmed by the considerable increase in Basil's forces.
"We should have attacked him while he was withdrawing… He crushed the Syrian pretender in a matter of days. Almost the entire army joined Basil, who now has all those troops at his disposal. Besides, it seems he has defeated the Abbasids as well" said another commander, even more nervous than the others, as we examined the positions of our fortresses, now besieged by that enormous army.
"And the reports about his supplies are no better for us. According to the few spies we still have among the officials of the imperial administration, Basil has several supply routes from the capital and is using a substantial portion of last year's harvest to keep his men in the field…" I said, bringing my hands to my head as I tried to decide what we could do.
"And that is not the worst of it" interjected one of the strategos supporting my cause, his expression warning of further misfortune.
"What has happened?" I asked, folding my arms as I looked at the commanders and aristocrats supporting our attempt to restore our dynasty to the throne.
"One of our sources, who has access to the imperial correspondence, has informed us that the commander of the Varangian Guard killed the Sicilian pretender in single combat. After keeping him besieged in Syracuse for some time, his repeated challenges finally drew him out to fight. He killed him before his own men and secured the region's surrender. It is only a matter of time before the Varangians return and reinforce Basil further" the strategos replied, visibly nervous.
"More Varangians… Damn it… How long ago was that letter sent? They may already be at sea, and we could have them in the north sooner than we expect" I said, anxiously searching for some maps buried beneath the others.
"The letter was sent about two weeks ago. The Varangians may already be on their way, or they may have assembled in Italy, since rebel forces still remain in those lands" the strategos replied.
"I doubt it. According to our reports, they are trying to cut off the rebels' supplies. The region suffered extensive damage during the imperial campaign, and without the funds allocated for its reconstruction, it will not produce enough food to sustain their troops. Besides, there have already been uprisings against the rebel strategos in the area" said one of the aristocrats who still had contacts within administrations where the purges had yet to run their course.
"Then he has not even sent men to Italy. He will let them starve, and without gold to pay their wages, their troops will soon mutiny. Those themas brought in no revenue; they only incurred expenses… It is only a matter of time before they surrender without Basil having to draw his sword, or find themselves forced to swear allegiance to the Carolingians. But they are still fighting among themselves, and as long as they continue their war against the Muslims of Hispania, I doubt they will want to face Basil again before someone manages to defeat him on the battlefield" I said, resting my hands on the table as I contemplated a situation that seemed increasingly hopeless.
"The winter levies have yielded good results, my basileus Rhomaion. We have mustered some sixty-five thousand men. If we concentrate all our forces, we can try to force Basil to fight on ground favorable to us. If we manage to defeat him, many of those who remain loyal to him out of fear might change sides" said one of the commanders with a nervous smile.
"You make it sound easy to defeat a general who has not lost a single battle in his entire career" I said through gritted teeth, studying the road along which Basil might advance toward us.
"Basil is leaving small detachments behind to besiege the region's thematic garrisons. Since he continues advancing without waiting for the fortresses to fall, he could reach Chandia by the end of March. He will surely have to halt at the passes most heavily affected by snow, but he will arrive in late March or April" said another commander.
"Very well… We have trained and equipped men at our disposal, so our best course is to begin preparing our formations to respond to his movements and intercept him if he makes a mistake" I said, forcing a faint smile solely to instill some confidence in my men.
I felt as though the world had come crashing down upon me… My father had died during the winter. His exhausted body had given out in his sleep, and knowing that he had at least died peacefully was a great comfort. Yet I had never been able to give him the peace of knowing the truth about what had happened to Theodora and his grandson. We had only rumors and reports of what Basil himself had said, with no way of knowing how much truth there was in any of it.
Now all I could think about was how our plans, precarious from the beginning, were collapsing under their own weight. We had recruited throughout the winter in the hope of mustering eighty thousand men, but we had not even come close to that number. While we had hoped Basil would lose troops on his march south, he had managed to gather even more, bringing numerous trained soldiers from Syria and Jerusalem.
I, on the other hand, would have to fight with barely trained men. Although we had intensified their training and kept the region's smiths and miners working ceaselessly, we had failed to equip every recruit. We lacked the means to gather so many weapons and suits of armor. We knew Basil faced similar difficulties, since he had a vast number of soldiers scattered throughout the empire. Yet with the principal forges and workshops under his control, it was only a matter of time before he could equip them all.
Now I found myself trapped in everything my father had brought about. I was surrounded by commanders who knew that defeat would cost them everything they possessed and were desperately gathering every resource at their disposal to avert it.
But it seemed impossible. Basil had no other rivals left in the region, and the other fronts did not appear to be his priority. The Abbasids had been defeated. We were alone.
The worst of it was that I could not even surrender. The very commanders who had proclaimed me emperor at my father's urging would be the first to kill me if they believed I had betrayed them. On the other side stood Basil, who offered no better prospects: he had mercilessly put thousands of aristocratic families and numerous priests to death, carrying his purges to unprecedented extremes. Theophilos's religious persecution seemed like child's play compared to his. His troops entered churches without the slightest hesitation to kill traitors and those seeking sanctuary.
It was a terrible feeling. Every report from the scouts seemed to announce that death itself was coming for me. With each passing day, the moment drew closer, while the man who would come for my head stood on the verge of entering our lands.
I began counting the days until the great battle, for there was nothing else to do but train the troops and inspect the arsenals and smithies, hoping something might change the outcome. At last, the thaw Basil had been waiting for arrived, and his forces began advancing through the mountain passes and hills, attacking several fortresses as we, too, set out on the march.
The entire army mobilized to confront him, hoping to catch him in an unfavorable position, but that opportunity never came. We tried to harass his forces and get the better of his Slavs and Serbs, but it was no easy task, for they moved swiftly through the rugged terrain.
Thus, we continued giving ground until my own commanders began preparing for battle. Basil had reached a city of some importance, and one of them had persuaded the others to fight to prevent his properties from being damaged. We would have to sacrifice our men because an aristocrat wished to preserve his possessions.
Realizing that the day of my death was closer than ever, I decided to make one final move so that I might at least die with some pride, even knowing that I had helped bleed the empire dry in a lost war. I obtained aconite through my father's physician and, with the help of some of my men, made certain that the wine at our final dinner before the battle was poisoned.
Drinking a different wine myself, I watched the nervous commanders empty their cups. Occasionally, one of them noticed the taste, but they were so preoccupied with the approaching battle that none realized they had been poisoned.
As they began retiring for the night, I mounted my horse and galloped toward Basil's camp.
Some soldiers pursued me when they saw me leaving the camp, but they gave up when several foederati rode out to meet me and attacked my pursuers.
"What happened, Roman? A surprise attack gone wrong?" asked one of Basil's foederati, bringing a sword to my throat as I remained in the saddle.
"No… Take me to your commander. You may not have to fight tomorrow" I replied, lowering my head.
"Come" said the foederati officer.
We soon reached Basil's camp, which clearly demonstrated the skill of his engineers. In a single day, they had dug ditches and erected palisades. Everything was arranged in good order, and numerous guards watched us from the towers.
They led me to the center of the camp, and we entered a tent where several commanders were still preparing for the next day's battle. They were examining the most important positions to occupy and discussing how they expected the fighting to unfold. From what I could see, they intended to concentrate their cavalry on the right wing to envelop our entire army.
"Bardas?" asked Basil, lifting his head from the map and looking at me in bewilderment.
"Yes" I replied, watching him as he continued to look surprised.
"Leave us alone for a moment" Basil ordered. All the commanders left without a word. Only several Varangians dressed in purple remained, guarding the entrances to the tent.
"What are you doing here?" Basil asked, settling into his chair while still regarding me with bewilderment.
"I have come to put an end to this… There is no sense in continuing. Tomorrow, you will defeat us. You have far more cavalry than we do, and the ground favors a charge and an envelopment of our flanks… You will repeat what you did against the Bulgarians" I said, looking at him.
"With a few variations, of course, but that is my intention, given the terrain. I will not deny it: I was waiting for the Varangian reinforcements to arrive before putting an end to all this, but if you have decided to fight here, I was hardly going to refuse the opportunity… Why are you offering battle?" Basil asked, still somewhat confused.
"One of the principal commanders owns property in the area and has persuaded many of the others to defend it. I have done everything in my power to prevent this and fight somewhere we might stand a chance, but I fear they mistake my patience and caution for cowardice… I no longer command the army" I said, pressing my lips together.
"I am sorry to hear that… Because it means they will fight with or without you. You have surrendered yourself without offering us anything in return" Basil replied, resting his face against one fist.
"I poisoned the commanders with aconite… They all drank heavily while we prepared the battle plan. They are probably suffering its effects already. By tomorrow, they should be dying or dead, if you are fortunate" I replied without moving.
"Ah… Then it seems there will be no battle. That is good. I suppose you have saved many lives… Now I must decide what to do with you" said Basil, looking at me with a faint smile.
"We both know how this will end… I only want… peace of mind. I want to hear from you how Theodora died. Of my own free will, I would never have taken up arms against the empire. It was madness, but my father… My father forced me, and, unfortunately, he is no longer among us" I said, shaking my head.
"Marinos is dead?… Then it seems we find ourselves in very similar circumstances… Bardas, I did not kill your sister. She drank poison, a very potent one, I believe. She had taken it a few hours before our arrival, and by the time we found her, she was already dead. The eunuchs led her to believe that I had betrayed Theophilos while I was foolishly trying to resolve everything… I did not realize that the iconodules and the other aristocrats who hated Theophilos were using me. Unfortunately, your sister and your nephew fell victim to those lies, which drove Theodora to seek death by poison for herself and her son" Basil said after a heavy sigh.
"Believe me… Had it been up to me, I would have placed your nephew on the throne, though I would probably never have allowed your sister and your father near Theophilos's son again. But events unfolded as they did, and I was forced to act quickly… Theophilos's death could not go unavenged. I did not want this. I never wanted the crown, and not a day passes when I would not trade this piece of gold and jewels to have him by my side again… Being emperor is a nightmare. All I wanted was to retire to Crete, live peacefully by farming the land, raise my children with my parents beside me, and have the family the Bulgarians had taken from me. It is a terrible sorrow that everything has ended this way" Basil said, and I could see profound sadness in his eyes.
"At least I want to know that I will not take thousands of men to their deaths with me… Spare those young men and fathers who have nothing to do with my ambitions… I care nothing for the rest" I said after taking a deep breath.
"If there is no fighting tomorrow, it will be done, Bardas… I wish I could spare your life, I truly do, but whenever my government faced difficulties, everyone would turn to you, and I cannot allow that. I bear you no hatred. Theophilos would not have wanted to see us fighting one another; he wanted us to be one great family. Unfortunately, your father and your sister never stopped putting their own interests before those of the empire… But today, you have shown that the empire matters more to you than your own life. For that reason, I will spare you… Though the moment I hear of any intrigue in your name, I will send you into exile with your entire family" Basil said, looking much calmer.
"Truly?" I asked, somewhat incredulous.
"Yes. My quarrel was never with you, but with your father, as I have already told you. Your claim to the throne depended on the loyalties you had secured, and you have already lost them… Naturally, I will confiscate all your properties, but you will keep your life, and I will give you your sister's remains. You can reunite with your other sisters and decide together what to do with them. You will receive some gold to settle wherever you wish, but stay away from imperial politics" Basil said, signaling for one of his men to escort me outside.
As soon as I left the tent, the commanders went back inside, and the Varangians led me to another where I could sleep.
The following morning, the army surrendered. With no commanders willing to continue the struggle, the men gradually accepted that resistance was futile and laid down their weapons, leaving those lands at the mercy of Basil's troops.
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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.
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