Part V: The Bishops of Halberstad and Pairis
Sargon
Grand Master of the Stronghold
- Location
- Empire of Sargon, Sheffield UK & Hong Kong SAR
Sorry for the delay. Not been an easy year. Have some more, good readers. And "Pairis" is a place in Alsace before any confusion may set in:
Late Afternoon, 19th July 1203, Venetian Fleet, Golden Horn, Constantinople, Empire of the Romans
A boat slowly made its way towards the ship that was resplendent in banners and bore the Venetian Doge. The two men in the boat had been talking heatedly for some time, but they fell silent as they reached the vessel and made their way to the main deck where the sightless leader awaited them. His visage didn't appear to be particularly happy.
Bishop Conrad of Halberstadt stepped forward and spoke, "The day's events are of concern to us. What thoughts do you have upon the matter?". His companion, Bishop Martin of Pairis, looked expectantly at the aged man. He was sure that whatever Dandolo had to say, it was bound to be interesting.
"Come. We shall repair to my cabin. I wish to speak privately with you both.". He made a gesture with his hand and a nearby attendant helped guide him to his private quarters, the two churchmen following him inside. After being led to his chair beside a table in what was a surprisingly Spartan room for one of such august status, he gestured for the man to leave them undisturbed unless called for and invited the others to sit. Both took a chair and settled themselves down.
"It is my feeling that the man who was seen upon the walls was some clever trick or foul machination. There is no miracle and we must challenge it.". Dandolo struck his fist down upon the table, causing an empty goblet to fall to the floor which somewhat startled the pair of division leaders who commanded troops from the Holy Roman Empire.
Martin leant forward, and spoke in almost hushed tones, "Miracle or not, it has made the men nervous. We already have the problem of the Holy Father's excommunication on this entire enterprise after we took Zara. We have kept that from the men to ensure the stability of the whole expedition. We stand to lose even more should he decide that this IS a miracle.".
Conrad nodded in agreement. "But why should it be a miracle? I have thought about it and I say it could easily be the Devil's work, after all, these Greeks are heretical. That Isaac may have granted all the items we agreed to with his son before we arrived here, apart from one of the most telling. He won't agree to submit his church to that of the rightful one in Rome. Yet his son made that promise to us and now the father rejects it. It is the work of the Devil I tell you!".
A smile spread across the features of Dandolo, wolf-like in its aspect. "My thoughts exactly gentlemen. If such a message could be spread about our men and the other leaders, then they will believe it as evidence of evil at work. They are the ones who have taken God's oath, not these schismatic Greeks, and that must be impressed upon them. Our goal should be to attain their submission to the Holy Father's congregation, and thus, he will see that we were right to come here and root out the evil that resides within those city walls, perhaps more urgently in need of addressing than that which is in Egypt. What better gift to expunge his order of excommunication and welcome us all back into the fold than that of the Greeks submitted to his religious authority? We will insist upon that condition and upon Prince Alexius set upon the throne as was agreed. It is no more than was already agreed to in good faith with the son of the Emperor.". Inside him, the Doge cared little for the excommunication, it was merely an inconvenience, yet the whole thing played nicely into his hands at this time if he could convince them of the necessity of stamping the Pope's authority upon the Greeks and therefore return home to be praised rather than shunned.
Rubbing his temple, Martin was still somewhat cautious. "If we can accomplish what you say, then it is a worthy enterprise. However, there is still the problem of the other leaders. I'm not sure Boniface will be quite so easy to persuade. he has links to the Greeks via a family marriage in the past. What if he were to reveal the nature of the Holy Father's letter to the men? It could cause the whole expedition to fall apart. He has kept quiet this far, such as we all have despite our misgivings we have had ever since the Holy Father excommunicated us, yet we kept on in the hope that God would indeed see us through. Indeed, also for the fact that we had to pay the debt we owed you, or how should we have carried on to Egypt or even returned home without great hardship?". He hoped the Doge could rationalise something out of that, yet his conscience still plagued him.
"Should they do that, then all hope for this Crusade would be over and they will all return home in disgrace achieving nought. I have the ships, and they will not be going to Egypt without the use of them, or even have an easy journey home for that matter should they be brazen enough to do such a thing. They would be left here and obliged to make their way across the bandit infested mountains and war-torn lands that lie between here and their homes. And what of the men you may ask? They would lose faith in themselves as well as their leaders. It is too big a risk for the other leaders to take, and even if they do, then we can use it to our advantage and tell all the men that the only form of redemption can come when this city is one with Rome in religious terms. That will give them the faith to rally, return home with honour and success and be welcomed back into the arms of the Church. If the Greeks try our patience, we should try to extract further concessions from them such as land to appease our nobles assembled here.". Dandolo was rather enjoying the situation at the moment now he had something to plot about, and he knew the value of material acquisitions to all men, religious or otherwise. Those usually added incentive and helped to quell arguments in his experience.
That seemed to satisfy Martin somewhat and he nodded in agreement. "It seems a reasonable course of action and a plausible way of handling the situation.". He turned to Conrad who had been listening with interest. "What say you?".
Conrad paused a moment as he studied the table for no particular reason other than it was there. "What about Isaac? If he is evil, then our men will want him dethroned. Their patriarch and people are convinced it is a miracle, and we may convince our men, but not them.".
Dandolo had been expecting that thought. "That is indeed a problem. However, they will have little choice to agree as we will not leave until they do, and no city, however large can withstand a siege forever. God is on our side. What does it matter if the Greeks think it is a miracle? Our men will not and that is what is important here. Their Emperor has proven himself an incompetent fool over these last twenty years, and Prince Alexius will see things our way. After all, he is sure to be less than happy at not having the throne that was expected to be his - I think it may be likely for him to find ways of dealing with his less than lucid father.". Although he remained sure that Alexius would do all he could to make sure his part of the deal was honoured in full, the Doge was still somewhat worried about Isaac. He would have to work out some arrangement with Alexius as a precaution perhaps. He turned his attention back to Conrad."So, are we agreed?".
Conrad nodded. "I agree. One thing. It is of course better not to have a direct meeting with Isaac as we would surely be tainted by his maleficence. It would best be done through Prince Alexius and his supporters.". There was another meaning in his words and it was clear enough to the others as they agreed with another nod - the further they kept Isaac away from their men, the more convincing it would be regarding their claims of protecting them from his evil - plus they would not be unnerved by his sight, restored or otherwise. And Conrad had the odd feeling he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know if the Emperor's sight was back or not.
Comments are of course gladly received.
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The Changeling: Byzantium 1203
Part V: The Bishops of Halberstad and Pairis
The Changeling: Byzantium 1203
Part V: The Bishops of Halberstad and Pairis
Late Afternoon, 19th July 1203, Venetian Fleet, Golden Horn, Constantinople, Empire of the Romans
A boat slowly made its way towards the ship that was resplendent in banners and bore the Venetian Doge. The two men in the boat had been talking heatedly for some time, but they fell silent as they reached the vessel and made their way to the main deck where the sightless leader awaited them. His visage didn't appear to be particularly happy.
Bishop Conrad of Halberstadt stepped forward and spoke, "The day's events are of concern to us. What thoughts do you have upon the matter?". His companion, Bishop Martin of Pairis, looked expectantly at the aged man. He was sure that whatever Dandolo had to say, it was bound to be interesting.
"Come. We shall repair to my cabin. I wish to speak privately with you both.". He made a gesture with his hand and a nearby attendant helped guide him to his private quarters, the two churchmen following him inside. After being led to his chair beside a table in what was a surprisingly Spartan room for one of such august status, he gestured for the man to leave them undisturbed unless called for and invited the others to sit. Both took a chair and settled themselves down.
"It is my feeling that the man who was seen upon the walls was some clever trick or foul machination. There is no miracle and we must challenge it.". Dandolo struck his fist down upon the table, causing an empty goblet to fall to the floor which somewhat startled the pair of division leaders who commanded troops from the Holy Roman Empire.
Martin leant forward, and spoke in almost hushed tones, "Miracle or not, it has made the men nervous. We already have the problem of the Holy Father's excommunication on this entire enterprise after we took Zara. We have kept that from the men to ensure the stability of the whole expedition. We stand to lose even more should he decide that this IS a miracle.".
Conrad nodded in agreement. "But why should it be a miracle? I have thought about it and I say it could easily be the Devil's work, after all, these Greeks are heretical. That Isaac may have granted all the items we agreed to with his son before we arrived here, apart from one of the most telling. He won't agree to submit his church to that of the rightful one in Rome. Yet his son made that promise to us and now the father rejects it. It is the work of the Devil I tell you!".
A smile spread across the features of Dandolo, wolf-like in its aspect. "My thoughts exactly gentlemen. If such a message could be spread about our men and the other leaders, then they will believe it as evidence of evil at work. They are the ones who have taken God's oath, not these schismatic Greeks, and that must be impressed upon them. Our goal should be to attain their submission to the Holy Father's congregation, and thus, he will see that we were right to come here and root out the evil that resides within those city walls, perhaps more urgently in need of addressing than that which is in Egypt. What better gift to expunge his order of excommunication and welcome us all back into the fold than that of the Greeks submitted to his religious authority? We will insist upon that condition and upon Prince Alexius set upon the throne as was agreed. It is no more than was already agreed to in good faith with the son of the Emperor.". Inside him, the Doge cared little for the excommunication, it was merely an inconvenience, yet the whole thing played nicely into his hands at this time if he could convince them of the necessity of stamping the Pope's authority upon the Greeks and therefore return home to be praised rather than shunned.
Rubbing his temple, Martin was still somewhat cautious. "If we can accomplish what you say, then it is a worthy enterprise. However, there is still the problem of the other leaders. I'm not sure Boniface will be quite so easy to persuade. he has links to the Greeks via a family marriage in the past. What if he were to reveal the nature of the Holy Father's letter to the men? It could cause the whole expedition to fall apart. He has kept quiet this far, such as we all have despite our misgivings we have had ever since the Holy Father excommunicated us, yet we kept on in the hope that God would indeed see us through. Indeed, also for the fact that we had to pay the debt we owed you, or how should we have carried on to Egypt or even returned home without great hardship?". He hoped the Doge could rationalise something out of that, yet his conscience still plagued him.
"Should they do that, then all hope for this Crusade would be over and they will all return home in disgrace achieving nought. I have the ships, and they will not be going to Egypt without the use of them, or even have an easy journey home for that matter should they be brazen enough to do such a thing. They would be left here and obliged to make their way across the bandit infested mountains and war-torn lands that lie between here and their homes. And what of the men you may ask? They would lose faith in themselves as well as their leaders. It is too big a risk for the other leaders to take, and even if they do, then we can use it to our advantage and tell all the men that the only form of redemption can come when this city is one with Rome in religious terms. That will give them the faith to rally, return home with honour and success and be welcomed back into the arms of the Church. If the Greeks try our patience, we should try to extract further concessions from them such as land to appease our nobles assembled here.". Dandolo was rather enjoying the situation at the moment now he had something to plot about, and he knew the value of material acquisitions to all men, religious or otherwise. Those usually added incentive and helped to quell arguments in his experience.
That seemed to satisfy Martin somewhat and he nodded in agreement. "It seems a reasonable course of action and a plausible way of handling the situation.". He turned to Conrad who had been listening with interest. "What say you?".
Conrad paused a moment as he studied the table for no particular reason other than it was there. "What about Isaac? If he is evil, then our men will want him dethroned. Their patriarch and people are convinced it is a miracle, and we may convince our men, but not them.".
Dandolo had been expecting that thought. "That is indeed a problem. However, they will have little choice to agree as we will not leave until they do, and no city, however large can withstand a siege forever. God is on our side. What does it matter if the Greeks think it is a miracle? Our men will not and that is what is important here. Their Emperor has proven himself an incompetent fool over these last twenty years, and Prince Alexius will see things our way. After all, he is sure to be less than happy at not having the throne that was expected to be his - I think it may be likely for him to find ways of dealing with his less than lucid father.". Although he remained sure that Alexius would do all he could to make sure his part of the deal was honoured in full, the Doge was still somewhat worried about Isaac. He would have to work out some arrangement with Alexius as a precaution perhaps. He turned his attention back to Conrad."So, are we agreed?".
Conrad nodded. "I agree. One thing. It is of course better not to have a direct meeting with Isaac as we would surely be tainted by his maleficence. It would best be done through Prince Alexius and his supporters.". There was another meaning in his words and it was clear enough to the others as they agreed with another nod - the further they kept Isaac away from their men, the more convincing it would be regarding their claims of protecting them from his evil - plus they would not be unnerved by his sight, restored or otherwise. And Conrad had the odd feeling he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know if the Emperor's sight was back or not.
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Comments are of course gladly received.
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